Cat and Mouse p.11

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[CW pet whump, slamming doors, yelling, broken bones, emeto/vomit mention (no actual vomit), vampire whumper.“

Danny forced himself to stay up all night until Ciaran came to get him. He was so, so tired, but that was good. Maybe he would actually be able to sleep through the day despite being forced to spend it with Ciaran. Fish had plenty of food and water, Danny had eaten and used the bathroom and everything, he should be fine. He would make it through another day, he just needed to be smart. He just needed to be good.

“Are you ready for bed, my dear little mouse?” Ciaran called as he descended the stairs. Danny scrambled quickly to the middle of the room, kneeling like he had been earlier, just waiting for whatever it was that Ciaran had planned. Sure, he hadn’t been told to do that, but better to do too much than too little, right?

“Y-y-yes, M-master.” He nodded shakily. Danny stared at the ground, too nervous to look up. Ciaran’s feet entered his field of vision soon enough. Danny stayed put, not daring to move without permission.

“Well?” Ciaran asked, filling the nervous silence of the room. “What are you waiting for then? Give me your ankle.”

Danny immediately adjusted to sit fully on the ground, offering his chained leg to him. Ciaran wasted no time, pulling Danny to stand the second his ankle had been freed. Hell, why stop there? Danny yelped as he was thrown over Ciaran’s shoulder and was carried up the two flights of stairs into his bedroom. Ciaran unceremoniously dumped him onto the plush mattress.

Danny couldn’t help but squeak as he was flung down, but landing on something so soft was a pleasant change from the hard ground of the cellar or the cheap mattress he’d been sleeping on. He looked up at Ciaran warily, but Ciaran had turned his back on him, stripping off his shirt after swinging his door shut. 

Ciaran put on the softest looking pajamas Danny had ever seen and god was he jealous. He tried fruitlessly to suppress a shiver as Ciaran turned to him with a predatory glint in his eyes. Was the shiver from his fear or the chill in the air? Danny couldn’t tell, and Ciaran didn’t care. He simply relished in the power he held over his new pet.

A small, fearful noise cut through the silence as the light was shut off suddenly. The room was plunged into darkness, and still Danny could see a hint of the hungry red eyes of the monster trapping him. The bed shifted beside him, two cold hands maneuvering him to the perfect position to be a little spoon.

Danny let himself be pliable. He wouldn’t get hurt if he didn’t resist, right? Besides, it wasn’t worth it to fight. He would be able to sleep in a bed, with a blanket. That was more than enough incentive, even considering the person holding him. Besides, it didn’t seem like Ciaran was planning on doing anything to Danny in the bed. Nothing like… that. It really just seemed like Ciaran maybe just wanted company. 

Ciaran’s body was surprisingly warm. For the first time in this awful place, Danny felt a crumb of comfort. He could imagine that the arms holding him from behind were someone else. Someone kinder. He was in a real bed, with a big, plush comforter and he was warm. He could hear a contented sigh from the man behind him. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad.

“I think I was right, little mouse.” Ciarnan hummed. “You do make a nice little body pillow.”

“T-thank you, Master.” Danny said quietly. He felt a hand card through his hair, he could almost melt into it. For the first time, he felt something… nice.

“What for, mouse?”

“It’s warm…” Danny murmured tiredly. “I-I mean, um… Thank you, f-for letting me, um, for l-letting me be in y-your bed for tonight.” He tried to pick those words carefully, which was difficult considering he hadn’t slept at all, but he didn’t want it to seem like it was more than it was. He didn’t want it to seem like sleeping in a bed, or sleeping was a privilege that Ciaran could take away if he wanted. He didn’t want to give him any ideas. 

“You’re very welcome, darling.” Ciaran yawned. It didn’t take long for either of them to fall asleep like this.

— — —

Both of them jolted awake at the sound of slamming doors and yelling. Danny nearly fell off the bed with the violence at which he jumped.

“CIARAN!!!” They heard Marcus yell frantically, angrily. It was terrifying… To Danny, at least. “HE FUCKING ESCAPED, CIAR! HOW THE FUCK-”

Ciaran simply heaved a sigh and sat up. Danny yelped as he was pulled forcefully from the bed by a hand in his hair. They came out to the railing overlooking the entryway of the house where Marcus was pacing frantically.

“He’s right here, dummy.” Ciaran said, still holding Danny by the hair.

Danny lamented the small break he’d had from shivering, the small break of comfort. His mind was racing now. Would Marcus punish him for leaving the basement, even if it was by Ciaran’s orders? Would Ciaran punish him for being woken up, even though Marcus was the one slamming doors? Danny resigned himself to the fact that today would likely be filled with pain. 

And he was right. With a small movement of Ciaran’s arm, he was flung down the nearby stairs, groaning in pain as he hit the bottom. He looked timidly up at Marcus and quickly looked away. He looked angry. Shit, he looked so angry. 

“Dunno why you were looking for him, but whatever.” Ciaran called from above. “Do whatever you want with him, I’m going back to bed.”

Without a word, Marcus had Danny by the hair and was pulling him back towards the basement. He made tiny pleas as he was pulled along, but it was no use. For the second time in 3 minutes he was thrown down the set of stairs. He screamed this time, a sickening crack rang through the cellar as he fell. 

When he settled at the bottom, he cried, cradling a broken wrist. It felt like burning. His whole arm hurt, the pain radiating from the broken joint. It hurt like a tree struck by lightning, and his stomach churned like a lake during a storm. He felt like he was going to vomit what little food he had in him.

He wouldn’t have time to. Marcus followed him down the stairs, though he stayed upright on his descent. Mercifully, he grabbed Danny’s good arm, to drag him back to his bed and lock the shackle back around his ankle.

“I’m going back to bed.” Marcus growled. “I’ll figure out what to do with you later. And quit your pitiful crying. It’s disgusting. I swear if I so much as hear a whimper reach my room, you’ll fucking regret it.”

Marcus left the mess of a human curled up on the bed. Danny turned to lay on his side, elevating his bad wrist as best as he could by putting his one pillow between his side and his arm. He didn’t care right now. He would use the pillow, he would use the blanket. He had fucking earned it by now. Marcus would know that he didn’t deserve this reaction if he had just stopped for two seconds to figure out what actually happened.

Danny buried his face into the blanket and let himself cry.

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