Opossum Eighteen

Grim immediately sat up on his chest, then reached down to shove his thumbs between Ian's lips. He then pulled them to either side, startling him a bit.

"What did this mouth just say? You think you're hot enough to bag this excellence?" Grim teased as he pulled a little more, making Ian groan until his mouth was finally released.

He immediately licked his lips, then turned his head and licked Grim's thumb before it could retreat.

The man leaning over him immediately moved his hand to flick his nose in response, but he stopped himself right before he did.

"You brat, you think I'll just roll over because you're pretending to act cute?"

I love him so much, Ian thought as his heart raced in his chest.

Look at me more. I'm right here and I want to be here for you.

Reaching up, he gently settled a hand against Grim's right side, then pressed there until the man, with a confused look on his face, slowly allowed himself to be guided until he was on his back with Ian on his hands and knees leaning over him.

The guy looked utterly taken aback as he stared up at him, unable to say a single word.

Maybe I pushed him too far?

Ian pursed his lips, then grinned wide, deciding to just roll with it.

"I made your excellency roll over!"

Grim's slightly parted lips slowly closed until they were tightly pursed and his brow was furrowed.

Um...

Right as he was considering running for his life, Grim lunged upward and grabbed him! Soon he was the one on his back again, then there were blankets thrown over him as he was rolled around, his flailing arms and legs quickly subdued as they got tangled in the sheets!

It felt like it took him forever before he was able to partially crawl out from beneath them... only for his arms to suddenly be yanked behind his back and bound?

Huh?

He expected to just have his wrist tied up with whatever Grim had grabbed, but when the man swiftly and easily secured his arms nearly all the way up to his shoulders, he was more than a little confused.

What is going on? Where did this long rope come from?!

It actually felt closer to leather, so it couldn't have been just a normal rope.

Once he felt the man's hands leave him, Ian rolled over and looked to the side where he knew Grim would be.

The man was smirking down at him, standing beside the bed with one hand on his hip.

"Now who's rolled over?" he asked, making Ian blink a few times, unsure of how to respond to that.

When he didn't reply for a bit, Grim tilted his head and crossed his arms over his chest, making Ian subconsciously lick his lips as he saw the man's muscles flex beneath his shirt.

It actually took him a few moments to return his gaze to Grim's, but he was extremely glad he did.

His face... is red. Does he like tying people up?

Ian nuzzled a little against the pillow his head was on as he continued to watch Grim with one eye.

"I-I don't mind if you tie me up, sir" he said, really trying hard to act cute for his love.

It actually freaked him out for a few seconds when he'd realized what Grim had done, but when the man simply stood back and stared at him afterwards, seemingly pleased with his work?

"I don't mind, I swear. If master Grim wants to tie me up, I'm okay with it."

The guy's face turned even brighter red as he looked away while reaching up to muss up his own hair.

He's so cute!

Ian was just opening his mouth to try and woo him again when Grim turned to face him more and pointed at him.

"Y-you be quiet and think about what you've done to your master!" he stuttered, then quickly hurried out of the room, storming off like an angry locomotive spitting and sputtering.

Ian watched him go, then blinked a few times and frowned.

I... guess he's not going to untie me.

At least the leather bindings weren't too tight, and it felt like they were made well and even had padding so that they didn't rub against skin too badly.

If this was what Grim liked, he could definitely get used to it.

At least, so long as the man was with him. He wasn't exactly happy being left tied up away from his love.

He did his best to just relax as he waited for Grim to come back, but before that happened, he felt his body begin to tingle oddly, then itch.

Huh?

His arms soon slipped out of the ropes that had been holding him as his body shrunk down to the size of a small house cat.

Or really, opossum.

He could immediately feel sheer terror welling up in the poor things mind as its little body began to shake.

It's okay, sweetheart. This is a safe place. No one is going to hurt you here.

A loud scene from the movie that was still on nearly made the possum pee itself, startling it so badly that it jumped off the bed and ran out of the room, its mouth wide on a silent scream until it stopped behind the sofa in the living room, its lungs heaving for mental trauma.

At least he didn't run into Grim's room. I don't think that would end well right now.

Looking through the little guy's eyes, he noticed something that caught his attention right away.

Ammo shifted back?

The man appeared to have just finished getting dressed, but for some reason, he couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right.

Wait, he's heading out? He always lets us know before he leaves...

He couldn't see his face, either.

Hey bud? Let's go see if we can get his attention. Maybe he's not feeling too good right now, he told Grim's possum.

Unsurprisingly, however, the possum had zero interest in moving any closer.

Ian would have tried to calm himself down and maybe consider that he was overreacting, but then he noticed something else.

He's not putting his shoes on? Or taking his keys?

When Ammo opened the door, then quietly closed it after stepping out, Ian felt his heart drop into the pit of his stomach.

Okay bud, we really need to scream right now, okay? Just yell as loud as you can! We need to get Grim's attention!

That last sentence had the little possum quickly backing further behind the couch and clamping its mouth shut tight.

Darn it!

It was a cool, crisp, beautiful day to die.

He hadn't thought much about anything before getting dressed and walking out the door. His feet quickly became chilled as he shuffled along the cold sidewalk.

After about twenty minutes, he slowed to a stop beside a busy road and sighed. There were no bridges in the area, let alone any large sources of water that would be useful.

His capybara perked up at the thought of water, not understanding his train of thought at all.

It's okay, hun. We're going to go visit our love soon.

He'd thought that he'd be able to move forward from her death over time, but he wanted nothing more than to join her.

Turning his head, he watched as a large truck went by, clearly speeding, though that was no surprise. Most of the vehicles were going faster than the limit.

A semi truck would do the trick.

When he saw one barreling down the road a few moments later, he didn't hesitate. His right foot left the sidewalk and stepped down into the street... right as he felt an abrupt yank on the back of his T-shirt!

He landed on something firm yet soft, with both him and it grunting from the impact.

When he looked over his shoulder after pushing himself into a sitting position, Ammo blinked, then frowned.

That's a big cheetah.

He paused for a moment, then took a closer look.

"...jaguar?"

The big cat made a deep rumbling sound and gave its head a shake, then yawned wide, revealing some surprisingly-large teeth.

Without thinking, Ammo reached up and grabbed one of the largest ones between his fingers, then leaned closer to examine it.

The jaguar seemed stunned by his action, making it hesitate to close its mouth or even pull away.

"You could probably kill me pretty easily with teeth this big," Ammo whispered, more to himself than to the cat.

The jaguar didn't seem impressed with his words, however, and got up, then walked around him until it was blocking his access to the street.

He wasn't impressed, either.

Ammo stood up, then looked to the left, then right. He could possibly try to run past the cat, but he doubted that his own animalistic reaction speed was anything close to matching his new fuzzy friend's.

"What do you want? I'm busy right now," he eventually said with a huff, putting his hands on his hips like a frustrated mother.

When the big cat simply leaned forward and nudged his left leg, then nodded behind him, Ammo glanced over his shoulder.

No one in that direction was trying to get his attention, though a few people were staring at the beautiful cat.

Does he want me to go that way?

It looked like just a normal side street... and the traffic wasn't nearly as ideal as what was in front of him.

Returning his attention to the cat, he narrowed his eyes on it to try and look intimidating, but the big feline simply raised an eyebrow, then looked down, drawing Ammo's attention in the same direction until his gaze landed on his own dirty bare feet.

Okay, the intimidation route is not going to work today.

The big cat nudged him again and again until Ammo rolled his eyes and turned around to begin walking down the quieter sidewalk.

"You know, this could be considered kidnapping," he told it as the beast moved to his left side, blocking the street.

These cars aren't going fast enough anyways.

He was lead halfway down the sidewalk until the cat nudged his hip, making him slow to a stop and turn towards a small building. It looked like a house, at first, but as two people stepped out the door, chatting happily with containers of leftovers in their hands, Ammo realized what it was.

Glaring down at the cat, he pointed towards the building.

"You want me to go into a restaurant right now?" he asked, exasperated.

He wasn't in the mood to eat anything, and he hadn't even brought his wallet or keys, let alone shoes!

The cat seemed insistent, however, and even nipped the back of his leg!

Scowling, Ammo stomped up the clean white stairs and opened the door.

Oh...

Something smelled amazing!

His feet decided to take him inside without further hesitation, leading him up to the hostess stand.

This looks like an old house that was converted into a restaurant.

"Hello sir," she said, seeming a little nervous after looking him over. Her eyes had stopped specifically at his bare feet.

Ah right, no shoes no service usually...

He was just about to excuse himself when his new fuzzy friend walked around the podium and grumbled up at the young woman.

"O-oh! I apologize, Mr. Warren, your booth is open," she quickly said as she grabbed two menus, then looked between them both.

"Please follow me."

Ammo raised an eyebrow but did as told, following the young lady through the restaurant until they got to the last booth in the back corner.

Once he'd settled in a seat, he looked up to see his feline friend directly across from him, a faint rhythmic thumping sound telling him that it was likely flicking its tail against the upholstery.

When their menus were set down and the lady excused herself for a moment, Ammo glanced down at it. Now that they were actually sitting inside the restaurant, he realized that his stomach really wasn't interested. No matter how good it smelled around him.

I just want to sleep...

A new tapping sound and motion drew his attention to the large clawed paw now pushing his menu closer to him.

"I'm not hungry," he said firmly as he met the cat's golden eyes.

It simply pushed the menu closer.

Bristling, Ammo stared at him for several moments before glaring down at the menu and reading it in a blur.

"You're paying for all of this," he eventually said before looking up at their waitress as she came by to take their orders.

"I'll have a pint of your strongest alcohol, a medium rare T-bone steak, garlic mashed potatoes, broccoli and cheese soup, and a piece of dark chocolate cake," Ammo said before handing his menu back to the woman with a tired smile on his face.

His new friend just gave a quiet grumble and nod, earning a "yes sir," from the woman before she left, then brought out their drinks.

Ammo quickly downed a good bit of his beer, drinking straight from the pitcher, before setting it down and looking across the table at the cat's drink of choice.

Really? A dog bowl with milk?

The cat looked up at him and licked its lips, then flicked an ear as if to say and?

Ammo glanced around the restaurant as they waited for their food, but nothing seemed to make his poor mood any better. Everyone in the building was happy, whether it was people on dates, families out for brunch, or single people enjoying a relaxing lunch break.

He didn't belong in this kind of world anymore.

The thought to simply walk out passed his mind several times as they waited, but each time he was about to get up his friend grumbled or sneezed, snapping him out of his thoughts just long enough to quell his racing heart.

After his third near-meltdown and also after draining more than half his pint of beer, their food came out.

He dug into everything without thinking, tearing apart the steak like a starved hyena. It was probably the best one he'd ever had, but his mind was so muddled by his depression, as well as the alcohol now taking over his system, that he really couldn't appreciate it.

The soup was also amazing and disappeared just as quickly.

That eventually left just the cake, but by this time he was struggling to sit up straight. The cat across from him also looked quite blurry as it finished its own thick cut of meat.

I... might... puke.

He'd feel terrible if he did, because the food had really been fantastic, but he'd kind of brought it upon himself by eating in such a sour mood while adding a ton of alcohol on top of it.

After leaning against the table for quite some time, Ammo felt gentle but firm fingers calmly grasp his arm as another hand settled against his back.

He was given as much time as he needed to inch his way out of the booth. The person beside him helped steady him once he was out with an arm wrapped around his waist, but he was too nauseous to risk even looking to see who it was.

Probably just a restaurant employee hoping that I don't make more of a scene by puking in front of their customers.

He nearly did a few times as he was walked to the back of the building then, for some reason, out the back door and through a small, well-kept lawn.

The person helping him paused as Ammo leaned over at some point and forced himself to just-barely hold back a wretch.

It took a lot of effort to hold it in, but the warm hand gently rubbing against his back helped calm his system just enough to keep moving.

They were soon back inside, the cool air from the air conditioner making him realize that he was sweating profusely.

I really need to puke...

He stumbled his way through the new building until, finally, he was slowed to a stop. That had him forcing one aching eye open.

With relief flooding his system, Ammo dropped to his knees on a towel that must have just been placed in front of him, then leaned forward over the toilet and began emptying his struggling belly.

The entire time he felt the other person's presence, whether they were helping hold him up, brushing his sweaty bangs away from his face, or rubbing his back after a particularly painful bout of vomiting.

By the time he was finally done he had no idea if it was even light outside anymore. All he wanted to do was curl up into a ball and die.

Unfortunately, since he doubted that was an option right then, a shower would have been a close second since he was covered in sweat, but he doubted that he'd be able to stand long enough to clean much.

Once it was clear that he was done puking, he was helped backwards until he was settled against the wall. The hands that had been helping him disappeared then, making him tense up and begin to shiver again as his body started trying to recover from the shock and stress of his stupid mistake.

He waited impatiently for the hands to return, but by the time they did, he was nearly asleep.

His eyes refused to open as he felt fingers begin to unbutton the shirt he'd slid on earlier, but that was no surprise. He had completely soaked through it sweating, and wouldn't be all that shocked if he got himself sick from stress.

"Here," came a familiar voice as something soft was pressed against his nose, prompting him to blow into it... and realize that he'd had a ton of snot dripping down his face.

He should have been embarrassed, especially since Harrison was the one who had found him, but he just couldn't find the energy to care.

"Again," the man said calmly as he pressed a new clean tissue to his nose.

Ammo did as told, then did it again. Then again.

Once his face was reasonably cleaned up, Harrison moved around a bit, prompting him to finally squint open one tired eye to watch.

The man was dampening a washcloth in the sink.

Soon that cloth was being rubbed along his face, its slightly cool temperature relieving some of his remaining nausea. It traveled down his neck after a few moments, then wiped away a good portion of the sweat on his upper body before being returned to the sink for a rinse.

Ammo listened the quiet sound of the running water as he let his eyes drift closed again.

The cloth returned a few seconds later, wiping away more of his discomfort and nudging him closer to drifting off to sleep.

In fact, he didn't react again when he felt himself picked up a minute later, nor did he even bother to open his eyes as he was set down somewhere soft.

The next thing he knew he was dozing, just-barely recognizing the sound of texting here and there.

One thing he did notice, however, was that the man didn't touch him again once he'd gotten him settled to rest. He probably wouldn't have bothered to fight even if he had, but just the fact that he was being left alone after having been taken care of made him relax a little better.

He wasn't covered in snot or sweat, and his stomach was comfortably empty.

As he finally slid into a peaceful sleep, he had one simple thought cross his mind.

Perhaps today was just a beautiful day... and not the one I'm meant to die on.