Opossum Four

Ian slowed to a stop in front of Grim.

His teeth were chattering and his body shivered even through a sheen of sweat. He was absolutely struggling to keep from passing out or throwing up... or really, both.

Thankfully, most of his panic was on the inside. The stress Peter had spawned was now being replaced with a different kind of worry.

He didn't want to look so pathetic in front of the one person that meant everything to him, but he couldn't manage to calm himself down!

Grim looked away from him for a moment and spoke to several of the other people in the room, but the ringing in his ears had Ian unable to hear anything but a faint deepness from his voice.

He couldn't remember how many nights he'd dreamed of that voice, and yet here he was right in front of its owner and he couldn't even hear it!

Ian was just about to shake his head to try and dispel some of the stressful noise when he felt a warm, calloused hand take his wrist firmly, then guide him down a long, brightly-lit hallway.

He wasn't being forced to move, and honestly, Grim barely put any pressure on his wrist , or person in general, to follow him.

He was doing it because he wanted to.

They eventually stopped at one of the rooms on the left and ducked inside. It was nearly pitch-black, with only a few emergency floor lights giving off a soft glow to keep people from tripping over their own feet.

It smells like fresh grass and citrus.

He walked until Grim stopped, then released his wrist to turn around and sit straddling the edge of a long wooden bench.

Without thinking, Ian settled on his knees between the other man's, then looked up at him in the darkness. He couldn't see his face very well with such poor lighting, but that also meant that Grim likely couldn't see him all that well, either.

At least, he hoped not, because he knew that he looked like a mess, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get his teeth to stop clicking together in the silence, nor could he manage to calm his body enough to stop its shaking.

At least, not until he felt the bend of Grim's pointer finger gently brush against his bottom lip, then press forward, silently requesting entrance.

Ian opened his mouth.

Grim's smaller pointer knuckle settled just-barely inside.

Ian immediately realized what was going on and forced himself to stop clicking his teeth together so that he didn't accidentally bite Grim.

His body calmed down soon after and ceased shaking.

His heartrate followed, slowly relaxing into a steady beat for the first time in hours.

A few moments later, he allowed the last of his stress to slip through his nose in a calm, content sigh as he lifted his eyes to Grim's.

The man gave him a smile, the edges of his eyes crinkling the slightest fraction.

"There's my babe," he said as he gently began to sift the fingers of his free hand Ian's hair, making him nearly fall asleep right where he was. A few moments later Grim withdrew his finger from his mouth, then used that hand to cradle Ian's head.

"You came so quickly," Grim said, a hint of humor to his words that made Ian's heart flutter.

He didn't mind if Grim messed with him, as long as he had his attention, he was beyond happy. In fact, even though he was now realizing how tired he really was after such a stressful start to his day, he happily returned the jab with a poke.

"As long as it's you, I'll come as soon as I can."

Grim chuckled, his smile turning into a beautiful smirk as he playfully tugged at a bit of Ian's hair.

They were silent for a good while before Grim spoke again, but it took Ian's foggy brain a few moments to put things together and respond.

"I... don't have allergies."

A gentle head pat later and Grim was asking another question.

"Food preferences?"

White bread and peanut butter?

He bit his tongue on that response, since he doubted Grim would want to hear about his lack of eating. Instead, he replied with a simple, "I'm not picky."

Another pat to his head was his reward for answering, and he accepted it wholeheartedly.

"Alright. I still have a class I need to finish teaching, so we'll go eat in about two hours," Grim said as he finally, unfortunately, released his hold on him, making Ian's head bob once, then twice, as he tried to shake the sleepiness from his system.

"Come here, Ren," Grim said as he stood and stepped away from the bench, making Ian immediately push himself to his feet, his exhaustion taking a backseat to Grim's order.

He followed him a little farther into the dark room, then around a small corner.

A bed?

"Sometimes I have classes really late, then some early the next day and don't feel like going home in between," Grim explained as he pointed to a few sets of clean clothing, then the small shower behind the sleeping nook.

"Everything here is clean, including the towels. Take a nice long shower and get some rest. I'll come get you when my class is over," Grim said, making Ian rub at his eyes, then yawn, trying to wake himself up a bit more.

He was just beginning to nod even though he couldn't manage to get his right eye to open all the way yet, when he felt a firm arm wrap around his waist, then tug him forward into the best, and strongest, hug he'd ever gotten.

"Fucking cute little shit," Grim stated as he squeezed him hard enough for some of Ian's muscles to pop, earning a content groan from the pressure.

He smells like fresh grass and citrus, too...

Ian was a bit confused by the little part, though, since he was clearly at least an inch or two taller than Grim, but he definitely wasn't going to mention it.

Besides, next to Grim, and what he had evidently accomplished, he felt pretty damn small.

At the same time, however, he was actually beginning to feel taller than he ever had.

Before he could help himself, Ian leaned forward and tilted his head to rub his cheek against Grim's warm one, a quiet hum coming from his throat that he usually never had to worry about suppressing.

How are you awake so early?

His other half usually only woke up after midnight and rarely ever bothered to come out. There was never much for it to play with, nor eat, so it tended to just sleep its days away.

He wanted to immediately apologize for doing something without permission, but when he felt one of Grim's hands leave his back and lift all the way up to gently pat his head, his nerves slowly calmed down.

"You never mentioned that you had a shift, Ren," Grim said, curiosity clear in his voice as he moved his hand down from Ian's hair to trace along his cheek, then jaw.

Ian leaned back slightly, sensing what the man wished to do, and wasn't surprised at all when Grim gladly grasped his chin, then stroked it thoughtfully with his thumb.

His animal immediately responded with another content rumble, seemingly making Grim quite pleased.

"Sounds like you've got a pussy hidden in there, babe."

Ian felt his face warm but nodded.

"He never really interacts with anyone, and he's usually asleep until late at night," he said honestly, still surprised that it was awake already, not to mention actually interacting with Grim.

Grim seemed like he wanted to say more, but then glanced back toward the door and pursed his lips.

"I've got to go. Rinse off and get some rest. I'll wake you up later for dinner."

Ian quickly nodded again, then watched Grim walk away and around the corner.

It was the hardest thing he'd done all day.

Okay, shower.

His cat wasn't the biggest fan of water and immediately voiced its displeasure in his head as he got the shower turned on. He wasn't going to disregard Grim's request, though.

If he wanted him to shower, he would.

If he wanted him to rest, he would.

He was also probably a decent bit sweaty from running earlier, too, and from stress... likely mostly from stress.

Ignoring his frustrated feline, he tugged off his shirt and folded it up to set aside, then removed his pants and did the same.

He was just reaching for the waistband of his boxers when he heard footsteps behind him and immediately tensed!

"Just me babe," Grim said as he walked back over, clearly unbothered by his mostly-undressed state.

It was thankfully still pretty dark, even in the back of the locker room, so Ian managed to keep himself reasonably calm as Grim wrapped a large, super soft towel around his bare shoulders.

"Use this. I forgot I washed it earlier. It's much better than the old ratty ones they offer here."

Ian couldn't manage to even swallow the saliva in his mouth, let alone respond with anything verbal. His mind just kept replaying the thought: Grim uses this towel.

"Christ, you really are my simp. Want me to wash you, too?" Grim teased as he pressed a firm finger to Ian's chest and used it to nudge him backwards, while at the same time tugging the towel from around his shoulders so that it didn't get wet.

The warm water now pattering against his hair snapped Ian out of his blushing daze right away and made him realize that he was making a fool of himself.

"I-I got it!" he stuttered as he quickly turned to grab the little bottle of body wash to his right... only for it to slip right out of his damp fingers and thump to the floor.

Both their gazes followed it, but while he saw Grim lift his eyes after a few moments, Ian couldn't bring himself to do the same.

"Fucking cute," Grim eventually muttered with a chuckle as he leaned forward and down, into part of the warm spray, and picked up the bottle.

Once he'd straightened back up, Ian finally managed to look at him, but his tongue was completely tied. He couldn't even utter a thank you when Grim slid his fingers gently down his arm and into his hand, then settled the bottle against his palm.

He then leaned forward and slightly up.

"Don't tell anyone that I bent over for you, babe. It'll be our secret," Grim whispered against his ear... before it wiggled the slightest bit, clearly taking the other man by surprise as he leaned back and tilted his head curious.

"Your ear..." Grim mumbled before reaching up and promptly grabbing it between two fingers.

Ian felt his cat respond by immediately wiggling his left ear again, making his mind whirl like a merry-go-round on acid!

He desperately wanted to explain that his cat was the one doing the ear-wiggling, because it was clearly interested in Grim for some reason, but words continued to fail him. Especially after he realized that Grim could clearly see in the dark much better than he previously thought he could!

Thankfully, he was finally given a break when Grim stepped back, allowing his fingers to fall away from his ear.

"Be a good boy and clean up, then bed," Grim restated before finally walking back around the corner and out of sight.

Ian waited in the shower, the only sound the quiet pattering of water mixed with the panting of his breaths until...

The door to the locker room clicked shut, informing him that Grim had actually left this time.

Grabbing the shampoo and conditioner bottles with shaky hands, he slowly sank to the floor of the shower, with the body wash, too, and scrubbed himself to the bone, lost in a daze with a permanent blush on his face.

By the time he finally stepped out and turned off the water, he was absolutely exhausted.

He dried off about as quickly as a zombie that had overeaten, then tugged on a pair of clean shorts and fell over into the little nook bed.

He would have passed out right then and there if he hadn't noticed something uncomfortable beneath him, making him have to lean up and tug it out from under the blanket.

A big plushie?

He squinted his eyes to get a better look, then raised an eyebrow before smiling.

"A possum, huh? You're a cutie," he told it as he snuggled the huge plush against his chest.

It was surprisingly soft.

"Hmm?"

He felt something firm rub against his nose as nuzzled into the stuffed animal, quickly realizing that it was a collar... though it seemed a tad big for the large plushie.

I wonder what your name is?

He was going to check, but before he could make himself move again his eyes decided to close, then refuse to open again.

Another minute later and he was drifting off, no longer willing to try and stay awake any longer.

He would just find out the stuffed animal's name later.