“That was very sympathetic of you, Hellboy, running off like that. And such kind parting words you leave behind.”
“Fuck off, Abe. And I mean that in the most sympathetic way.” Hellboy took a long draw of his cigar and stared moodily as his cats crawled his slouched form. He ignored his friend, even when the merman came to stand directly in front of him.
“He is asking for you.”
“Is he now? I dunno, I’ll have to check my schedule. It’s pretty booked up for the next little while.”
“That does not work on me, Red, and you know it.”
Hellboy raised an eyebrow at him and blew smoke rings. “What doesn’t work?”
“Your foolish attempt to cover up how you really feel with bad humour. We both know that you care for our young agent, and that you are just dying to go see him now as we speak. You are also feeling remorse for what you have said to him earlier, and do not worry; John knows that you do not mean it. Although you did hurt him badly when you said what you did.”
“Why am I such a prick to him, Blue?” Hellboy sighed heavily. “He’s the only one that cares enough to come out after me in times of danger, and yet I still treat him like shit. I can’t help it, I just get so scared that something bad will happen to him and I freak out on him when I realize he’s safe. But I almost DID lose him this time Blue!”
“Hellboy, you can not control what happens in the future. You try to keep him out of harm’s way in the battles, but he can easily be killed in a car accident while out on an errand getting your cat’s kitty litter.”
Hellboy tensed. “Damn, I didn’t think about that.”
Abe sighed softly. “He comes after you because he loves you Hellboy. It is his need to know that you are alright and that he is by your side if anything was to happen to you. It does not matter that you may be five times his size, and that he is much more vulnerable out there then you are. All that matters to him is that he is doing what he can to ensure that you are safe. Duty or not, nobody can force John to make decisions that are not his own. And his decision is to watch your back.”
Hellboy puffed quietly at his cigar, contemplating on what he just heard. “Soooo…,” he slowly drawled, “You think Myers loves me?”
A smile cracked on Abe’s face. “He does, Red. He is also IN love with you.” Abe stood up and started to leave the room.
“Hey Blue!” The merman stopped and turned to look at Hellboy. “How did you know he’s in love with me? Did you get it from his head?”
Abe looked insulted. “Indeed not! You do not need to be a telepath to know how he feels about you. Everyone can see with their own eyes, only an oaf can fail to miss those signs.” Abe paused and flicked his eyes to look over his friend. “An oaf indeed,” he said before stepping out.
>>>>>
“Knock knock.” Hellboy poked his head through the intensive care door and wondered if his presence really was welcomed. John had been resting with his eyes closed and when he opened them, the red demon almost took a step back. “What the hell?”
John looked alarmed. “Red? What’s wrong?” He started to get up and realized his hands felt strange. Looking down at them, he saw that his fingernails had thickened and grew into long, sharp points. “Oh my God, what the fuck is happening to me?”
Frightened eyes, now the colour of fierce yellow, stared beseechingly up at Hellboy. “Get Blue!” he yelled out into the hallway at the various medical staff that lingered by. Then he hurried into the room and took a hold of one of the human’s hands in an attempt to calm him.
“I’m changing already aren’t I?” Myers mumbled.
“Don’t worry about it Squirt. Blue will find a way to fix you up real good.”
“Give me a mirror.”
“Look, I don’t think it’s…”
“GIVE ME A FUCKING MIRROR!”
Very few things catch Hellboy off guard, and this was definitely one of them. He had never seen his mild-mannered partner explode like that before. Quickly, he scrambled off of his seat and grabbed the mirror vanity off of the wall in the private bathroom. He held it in front of the young man and cringed as a high hiss suddenly emitted from Myers.
John studied his image in the mirror and did not quite know how to react upon seeing glowing eye staring back at him. With closer inspection, he can also see that his ears were starting to grow into tips. He concentrated on them and realized that he can hear conversations that were happening outside the room. Doctors and nurses were hurrying to get a hold of Abe and none wanted to have to deal with Hellboy personally.
He knew the exact moment when Abe had walked into the ward, and John looked up at the doorway expectantly, waiting for the merman. Puzzled, Hellboy followed his line of sight and wondered what the man was staring at. A few seconds later, Abe appeared and headed straight for John’s side.
“How are you feeling?” Abe asked as he took in a few readings from the monitors that John was hooked up to.
“How do you think I feel?” John growled. “I’m turning into some fucking cat!” Abe paused at the feral sound and took in the man’s appearance.
“John, we are trying the best we can to isolate the protein marker left in your system, in hopes that we can develop an antibody to fight against it. Actually, if we are lucky enough, we might also be able to find a way to fight against the Felesdaemn themselves.”
“You better not be using him as some sort of guinea pig, Blue,” Hellboy said warningly.
“I would never use John for that purpose,” Abe protested. “I am just saying that the way to break down the foreign substance in John may be the same way to fight against the demon.”
“What happens if you don’t?” John suddenly whispered.
Both demons stopped arguing above him at the soft-spoken question. “I am not really sure how far your progress will go,” Abe admitted. “Everyone that was bitten by the Felesdaemn were either eaten or left to die. You are the only one we were able to safe so far. I have to say that you are already progressing much quicker then I had anticipated.”
John nodded, looking defeated. “I’d like to be alone for awhile please.” Abe accepted his request and stood up to give the privacy that was requested; Hellboy followed grudgily.
“You ARE close to some sort of cure, right Blue?”
“The other scientists and I are working as fast as we can. There are a few tests already in the alpha stages, but nothing is turning out the results that we need so far. Now if you will excuse me, I have to go back to assist them. Please notify me if there are any more changes in our friend.”
Hellboy grunted and watched as the other left. He desperately wanted a cigar, but knew that he would not be allowed to light one up in here. So instead, he paced the hallways for several minutes, before a few doctors suddenly came running towards him. Before he was able to ask what they wanted, in the corner of his eye he caught movement and he turned towards the source.
He was shocked when he saw John standing at the doorway to his room, dressed simply in his white scrubs. There were tiny droplets of blood splattered on the stark white material and on his arms from where the tubes and wires must have been ripped off. “Myers?” he asked as he headed towards his friend.
John turned his head towards him, and Hellboy saw no recognition in those golden globes. He backed off when the man suddenly hissed at him, a loud piercing sound, and exposed long sharp fangs in his mouth. “God damn…,” Hellboy swore softly, finding himself face to face with another demon and not his friend. But unlike other demons, he cannot destroy this one.
“C’mon now buddy, let’s not do anything hasty here. You remember me don’t you? It’s your pal, Hellboy.” John cocked his head to one side and slowly began to approach the other demon. Hellboy studied him. Myers was now the result of a hybrid between a human and a Felesdaemn. Save for the blatantly obvious changes in features, he still looked for the large part human. It appeared to be mostly movement and behaviour that were demon influenced, as Myers moved towards him in a graceful stride, the pointed ears twitching every so often.
It was in that moment when Hellboy finally realized how beautiful his friend really was, even despite the demonic alterations. There was the arch of the cheekbones, the fullness of the lips, the intensity of his stare… of his normally soft brown eyes. Hellboy allowed Myers to slowly circle around him, letting the man study him to his content. Hellboy started to notice that there was some sort of light scent that enveloped his friend. It was very subtle, but pleasant musk. He didn’t dare make a crack about John needing to take a bath now however.
When John finally paused in front of him, the hybrid began to slowly stroke across Hellboy’s chest with his new hands. The claws gently scraped against the material of Red’s shirt, but never once ripping the threads. Myers stared up at Hellboy with his golden eyes, a sense of need in them. He began to emit a low sound, almost like a purr, and the smell around him grew stronger. Hellboy maintained eye contact, caught in a state of trance. He suddenly had the need to kiss Myers, even with the sharp teeth present there.
It was at this time when Manning chose to invade the ward with his agents and soldiers. “Get him!” he yelled and several armed men started to surround the two of them. Eye contact between the two broke and Myers suddenly hissed loudly, backing away from him. Hellboy was ready to ripped Manning’s head apart from his body when Myers leaped over the agents and jumped through one of the windows.
“Shit!” Hellboy pushed the men aside and ran towards the broken window. His heart beat loudly as he watched John fall down ten stories. He couldn’t bear to see the man land in a broken mass, and almost started to laugh hysterically when, just like a cat, Myers fell gracefully to his feet and pounced off into the dark night.
Turning around, he marched straight for the bane of his existence and grabbed him by the neck of his shirt. “Just what the fuck do you think you were doing?” he growled.
Manning coughed and struggled futilely with the stone arm that held him up by a few inches off the ground. “Isolating a dangerous situation. Put me down!”
“Isolating a…?” Hellboy began to shake the man in his grasp. “Just who the fuck do you think we’re dealing with here? It’s Myers!”
“According to my reports he’s now compromised and must be dealt with in the appropriate manner.” Manning gasped when he was suddenly dropped to the ground and he collapsed, landing on his hands and knees. “What the hell is the matter with you?” he demanded. “Agents come and go, you do your job and eliminate the problem.”
“I’m gonna pretend I didn’t hear that,” Hellboy said quietly. “Don’t worry Manning, I’ll go take care of Myers, but if anything happens to him the only eliminating I will be doing will be done to you,” he warned. Ignoring the tirades the man was now spewing to his back, Hellboy stepped through the broken window and jumped down, landing none too lightly and effectively destroying the cement beneath him.
The scent on Myer’s body still lingered in the air and Hellboy began to follow it. He knew that the man was headed in the general direction of Central Park, so he picked up his pace, trying to shorten the distance between the two of them. “You better be okay, Boyscout, or God help me…”
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