Changes

Author: Nancy

Fandom: Beastmaster: The Legend Continues

Pairing: Dar/Tao

Rating: NC17

Feedback: yes, please!

Archive: Sure! Just let me know!

Summary: Dar and Tao get more than they bargained for while exploring an ancient city.

Warnings: Angst and quasi-sex (*grin* you'll see)

Disclaimers: Not mine, never will be, not making any money from this.

Notes: Written for the Beastmaster Fuq-Q-Quest challenge #16 - Tao is changed into a tiger, how do they cope?

Changes

by Nancy

Tao looked around the ruins with a shiver, not liking the strange foreboding that went all the way through to his bones. Dar, as usual, roamed ahead. He looked things over curiously, but with no real intent. Ruh and the other animals had refused to come inside the borders of this ancient city, a sign that Tao was starting to wish they’d taken seriously. "Dar?"

Turning back at Tao’s quiet call, Dar smiled at him with reassurance and said, "This place has been deserted for a long time."

"I know," Tao agreed, uneasy. "I think we should leave."

Arching a golden eyebrow at Tao, Dar replied, "You’re going to let superstition drive you out?"

Pursing his lips a moment, Tao said, "I think I’d rather call it heeding my own intuition. Can’t you feel it? You’re the one who’s usually connected to things more closely."

Surprised, Dar shook his head saying, "I don’t sense anything about this place, aside from its abandonment. Why? What do you feel?"

Tao rubbed his arms as if that would warm his insides and answered, "Something bad. I don’t like it, Dar. We need to leave."

Nodding agreement right away, Dar walked towards him, concerned. "Are you all right? You don’t look well all of a sudden."

A bowshot of pain sliced through his stomach and Tao dropped to his knees, arms clenched around his gut as he gasped, "I don’t feel well! Dar?"

But when Tao looked up, Dar was struggling against an invisible wall. Nausea was fast on the heels of the pain and Tao retched up the breakfast he’d had hours ago, until there was barely anything left but bile. Gasping and shuddering, Tao collapsed onto his side, away from the vomit, thankfully, and tried to regain control of his body.

He could hear Dar shouting his name, panic and frustration running through the warrior’s tone, but only had just enough energy to turn his head. Dar was slamming the invisible wall with his staff, but to no avail. All that force, all that power, and nothing earned the other man even a finger’s breadth of gain.

"Oh, Gods," Tao moaned as another all-over body ache made its presence known.

His stomach protested what little was left and it was violently expelled, mixing with blood.

And that really can’t be a good sign, Tao mused vaguely. Curled in a ball, Tao could only repeat Dar’s name as the pain grew unbearable until finally, Tao was screaming for him, begging for surcease from the pain.

***

Tears streamed down Dar’s cheeks, unnoticed and unwanted as he continued to batter at the invisible barrier keeping him from Tao. His lover’s screaming rent his soul with echoes of pain and he shouted Tao’s name, calling for him to be strong, that he’d be there soon. Only there was no reason to think that he’d be able to follow through on the promise. Nothing he did made even a dent in whatever it was that kept them apart.

When the screaming cut off, the empty city rang with its lack and Dar heard his own gasped breaths, labored sobs of desperation for the first time. Tao was still curled into a ball, but he’d stopped moving altogether. Dar’s heart broke when he saw that not even his lover’s back moved with breathing and he collapsed to his knees in an eerily similar fashion to Tao from just a short time before.

His stomach tightened in shock as he watched Tao…change. He seemed to melt, become sleeker…hairier. The black hair on his head grew, even as his head changed shape. Dar stared as his lover was transformed and he was utterly helpless to do anything about it. This time, unlike the first time, the change didn’t stop halfway through. The fur continued to grow, thick and coarse, as Tao’s body continued to contract in upon itself.

When the transition was done, there was a tiger lying in the center of the small glade, still somehow dressed in Tao’s clothes. A handsome tiger, strong and powerful, and black all over. Something that the natural world had never seen before that Dar knew of. Even in animal form, Tao was unique. Pained, Dar reached a hand out to brace against the invisible wall only to find it gone.

Leaving his staff where it was, Dar crawled to Tao, exhausted from his fight to get to his friend. Hesitant, Dar touched the tiger’s shoulder and was relieved to find it warm and supple, not hard and cold with death. Maybe there’d had to be a brief death for the final transformation to occur. He didn’t know and didn’t care, so long as Tao was alive.

In any form.

Dar curled up around Tao, his arm sliding over the tiger’s midriff and moving into the position behind his lover. The fur was overly warm against his skin considering the early summer month, but he ignored the discomfort, relieved only to have contact again. Pressing his face into Tao’s scruff, Dar sighed deeply and relaxed into an exhausted sleep.

***

Something was definitely wrong.

Tao couldn’t figure out what, exactly, but he knew instantly that something was very different and very wrong. He had slept hard, both literally and figuratively, not remembering anything of his dreams or even falling asleep in the first place. He felt arms around him his nose twitched, identifying Dar’s scent. And Gods Above, Dar must need a bath if his smell was so strong!

Not that it was unpleasant, just very strong, like when he’d been running too long, or it was too hot. Yawning, Tao’s tongue flickered out to lick his dry nose and he shifted carefully out of Dar’s arms in order not to wake his lover. They’d obviously had a rough night if the warrior hadn’t woken first.

Shaking himself out for the morning, he yawned again, his lungs expanding deeper than he remembered them doing before, Tao shook himself out of appallingly large clothing and wondered if maybe he’d been sick and his own clothing ruined. It would explain Dar’s exhaustion if he’d had to take care of Tao. Shrugging to himself, Tao trotted towards the nearest water supply.

It was easier than usual to find and he grinned to himself thinking, Dar’s tracking lessons have obviously taken hold.

When he bent down to drink was the first time that Tao really noticed what was wrong. Everything up until that time had been automatic, but there were no hands with which to cup water into. He had paws instead, blunt paws covered with black fur. Panic surged through him and Tao looked into the clear pool of water to find a black tiger staring back at him.

A howl of fear escaped him to resound through the clearing. Oh, Gods, oh, Gods, oh, Gods, what do I do? What’s going to happen to me?

"Tao? Tao, calm down."

Spinning around, Tao snarled at Dar and shouted within his mind, Calm down!? Calm down!? How do I calm down, Dar? I’m a tiger!

"I know, I’m sorry," Dar whispered from a short distance away. He knelt and held out both hands, pleading.

Tao’s lips were still pulled back in a feral grimace and his chest rumbled with the anger and fear to result in a perpetual growl. A combination of hurt, fear, caution, guilt, and pleading that looked far too complicated to be possible all at once had settled on Dar’s handsome face.

Human face, Tao thought resentfully. Why does this happen to me? Why am I always the ones the magic wielders go after?

Hands still out, Dar inched closer and whispered, "I don’t know, Tao, I wish I did. But we’ll fix this somehow. We’ll find a way to get you back, I swear."

The caution was something new and Tao really didn’t like it. He stepped back as Dar crept closer, one paw going into the pool by accident. There was a faint scent of fear permeating the air now, and it confused Tao. Was Dar afraid of him?

"Tao, please, calm down before you get too hot and hurt yourself," Dar asked softly. "You’ve got thick fur now, not skin, and you aren’t breathing properly for this kind of exertion. You need to relax, just a little, breathe and calm down."

He hadn’t noticed before in his agitation, but Dar was right. It was stiflingly hot and his lungs were pinched with the effort to maintain his current level of anger and growling.

"I won’t come any closer, but you have to let this go for now."

Knowing that Dar was right and putting it into practice were suddenly very different things. Tao had always been able to let things go, backing down had never been an issue for him, especially where keeping the peace and smoothing things down were concerned. Pride just wasn’t as big a deal to him as happiness and security. Now, though, it felt like he had to keep hold of this even though he knew that he shouldn’t. His blood was pounding with his anger, the fur on the back of his neck raised and his teeth showing his fury.

After a few silent moments of standstill, Dar cautiously sat the rest of the way on the ground. Once there, he lowered himself forward, onto his chest, and bared his neck in submission.

Slowly, Tao’s anger relaxed and his body followed in stages. It seemed a long time before his panting slowed into the deep, easy breathing of before, but it happened. Then he crossed to Dar and nudged the man’s head with his nose, thinking, It’s okay, I’m calm now.

Dar looked up, hesitant, then pushed himself up into a sitting position, moving slowly and openly. Sitting brought him to eye level with Tao, which irritated Tao, but he forced himself to remain calm. He had no wish to repeat the racing heart and tight lungs situation. Breathing in through his nose, Tao could smell the worry and pain coming from Dar in waves. It broke through his anger, and he closed the distance between them, licking Dar’s face.

Laughing in relief, Dar wrapped his arms around Tao and held tight, thinking, You scared me, Tao, please don’t block me out like that again. I’m never a threat to you.

I know, I’m sorry. I just…I was overwhelmed.

I understand. But no matter what form you’re in, I’ll always love you, Tao, and we’ll find a way to get you back to human body.

Do you really think so? This is an ancient city under an ancient curse. What if all its citizens were transformed and they just stayed animals? What if…

Tao! You’re working yourself up again!

Tao stopped short, realizing that Dar was right. His tail was lashing from side to side and he paused at the curious sensation. Frowning to himself, he stopped it then huffed in annoyance at Dar’s grin. What are you laughing at?

Me? Nothing.

Uh huh.

Dar cleared his throat and got to his feet. Aloud, he said, "Okay. Let’s backtrack a bit. I can’t read the runes like you can, but I can describe them to you."

But Tao planted his butt down, accidentally sitting on his tail, and thought, No.

Startled, Dar repeated, "No?"

No. What if what happened to me, happened to you? We can’t take the chance.

Tao, we have to. If we don’t…

I’d rather stay a tiger the rest of my life than risk you like that.

Dar looked at him, speechless, and Tao’s jaw dropped in a grin at the sight. It wasn’t often that he could so surprise his mate, and even with the circumstances, he enjoyed it.

Finally, Dar thought, Tao, I am not going to let you stay a tiger because there’s a chance I could be turned into an animal.

And I’m not letting you take the chance.

It was a stalemate and Dar knew it, from his expression watching Tao stretch out on the ground in that infuriatingly calm manner that all cats had, great and small.

Dar glared at his impossibly stubborn lover’s head in the dark and wondered how on earth they were going to get passed this. Every time Dar started walking back towards the stone monoliths, Tao would growl and his fur would ruffle. And though he’d never hurt Dar, he could easily work himself into a fit without realizing it.

So they were stuck.

Poking morosely at the fire with a stick, Dar didn’t think about anything, his head hurting because he’d been trying to figure a way out of the situation. On top of that, Tao’s thoughts were battering at him, chaotic and insistent in a way that the animals’ weren’t. He couldn’t exactly describe the difference, just that he heard actual words with Tao, and more like sensations and fleeting images from the animals.

A long, heavy sigh from the tiger caught Dar’s attention. He looked over at the barely visible shape and questioned, Tao? Something wrong?

Aside from the obvious?

Yes.

Dar could’ve sworn that he felt embarrassment coming from the other man and prompted, What is it?

This form, Tao answered.

What about it?

Everything’s…more concentrated.

Frowning, Dar asked, Meaning?

Instead of answering, Tao got to his feet and trotted off, but not before Dar saw his lover’s cock protruding from its sheathe. Dar swallowed in sudden lust. They’d been on the go for so long that they’d not had time to do more than suck or bring each other off with hands. Groaning as he thought about being buried deep inside his lover, Dar gave it up and unwound his loincloth, taking himself in hand.

There was the echo of mental sensation as he did so, and Dar knew that Tao was with him at the same time. He felt and heard his lover’s presence in his mind as his hand gripped and stroked his cock. He pictured taking Tao, of slowly pushing his cock into the other man’s tight ass, then picking up speed and driving inside his lover, harder…and harder…and…

Dar shouted with his release, hearing the roar of a tiger echo in the distance as he did so.

***

The next morning, Tao refused to even think about the shared, but not shared, lovemaking, feeling that there had been something shameful in his participating without Dar’s real consent. Whenever Dar tried to bring up the subject, Tao steadfastly blocked him out. He knew the man was getting frustrated, but couldn’t help it. It wasn’t something he wanted to think about for many reasons, not the least of which what would happen if they couldn’t change him back.

Tao knew there was no real way to keep Dar from the ruins, so all he could do was stay as close as possible and pray for the best. But the day passed without mishap, thankfully, and though they didn’t find anything that would lead to Tao being transformed again, they did at least rule out the ruins themselves as being the cause.

Restless and aggravated, Tao found it increasingly difficult to care about the tiny scratchings in the stone. It was a waste of time. He was never going to get changed back, so he might as well just get used to being a tiger. Not like Ruh found it a bad life or anything.

He kept his distance from Dar that night, opting instead to hunt. It had been a long time since he’d had meat, owing first to his friendship and then his relationship with Dar, who ate no meat. But there was something calling to him, something hardening his cock in its sheathe and Tao knew that unless he wanted a repeat of the night before, he had to go do something fast to slake the lust.

He loped through the surrounding woods, tracking the spoor of an old buck with tenacity. He actually left the confines of the city and met up with Ruh at the outskirts. The great cat’s hackles rose at Tao’s confident approach and it wasn’t until the last second that Tao showed his submission. Cautious of a trick, Ruh sniffed him over, drawing back in obvious shock when he recognized the fundamental scent, no matter how altered.

Tao huffed in amusement and stood, loping away after the spoor that he’d been trailing. After a short pause, Ruh ran after him and they began the hunt in earnest.

***

Dar was careful to keep back from the tigers engrossed in their hunt. Not that they would hurt him on purpose, but an animal so focused could be startled into a bad reaction. And with tigers, that reaction could be deadly.

It was strange to watch the two work in concert to bring down the buck. Tao had always been squeamish about shedding blood before, but that definitely wasn’t the case now. They ran the buck ragged. First one, then the other, would swipe a massive paw to draw blood. The proud animal lashed out with hooves and landed a glancing blow to Tao’s head that had Dar clenching his staff in fear.

Tao staggered, but regained his footing and launched at the buck, landing on its back and holding on, bringing it down with a despairing cry. The sound was cut off when Ruh bit into the throat and killed it. Sickened by the killing, even as necessary as it had been since Dar knew that neither animal had eaten in a few days, he turned away.

Dar wondered, briefly, when Tao had changed in his mind to ‘animal’ and sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

***

Dar woke suddenly, feeling cold despite the early morning heat. But the cold was in his own mind, he understood that almost immediately, no longer sensing Tao with it. Lurching to his feet, he shouted, "Tao! Tao, where are you!?"

Nothing. Not a whisper of sound. Not a hint that Tao was anywhere near him. In the last few days, Dar had desperately been trying to get Tao interested in reading the runes, but the other had most definitely not been. It didn’t matter what Dar had done. The only thing that Tao was interested in was leaving the city and joining Ruh.

Snatching his staff from the ground, Dar ran flat out from the small area they’d made camp in and headed for the edge of the city. Just when he reached it, the crumbling walls and grass covered walkways denoting its edge, he slammed into another invisible wall. The force propelled him backwards, into a half-broken wall where his shoulder snapped with excruciating force and his head connected, knocking him out.

***

Prowling ever closer to the remains, the black tiger ignored his elder’s presence. He knew there was something in there that he had to get to. He didn’t remember what it was, or why it was so important, just knew that it was. A warning growl echoed from behind, but he ignored it and burst into a run.

He didn’t know how long he’d been at his elder’s side, learning how to hunt and wandering the countryside. There was something about the other tiger that made it impossible for him to understand. They communicated after a fashion, understood each other’s meanings, but couldn’t actually talk as he saw the elder do with other tigers and animals. It didn’t matter, though, because the other tigers held no interest for him, and they regarded him in the same fashion.

It was the night-cries that had kept him on edge all this time. The elder tiger tensed every time the being cried out with the force of its loss. He knew that something was terribly, terribly wrong, but not what. And now he was going to do something about it. He would listen no longer to those despairing cries.

He would free whatever creature was being held captive, or die trying.

***

It didn’t matter how much Dar struggled against this metal bindings, all his strength was useless. He didn’t have any idea how long he was there in the odd, open-air prison, but it was long enough for him to be weak from not being able to move around or sleep regularly. He was never hungry or thirsty, but that had to be due to the magic.

His tormentor was still unknown. A man roughly his own age, at least in appearance, handsome, with dark hair and eyes, a strong, broad build that reminded Dar of the men who worked the mines in the Uplands. It was the darkness in the eyes that caused Dar to shudder even just thinking about him. There was pure evil there and it lived to torture him, in various ways, every single night.

No reason had been made known to him. There was no explanation for why Tao had been transformed. The loss of his lover was what cut most deeply and the other exploited that nightly. He would come and he would taunt Dar, would show him in a crystal vision that Tao was living quite happily as a tiger: hunting, playing and mating with other tigers. Tao not only mounted the females at will, but lay down for the males in his pride as well.

While Dar was struggling not to feel the ache of betrayal, the being who held him would put his hands on Dar’s chest and agony would drive from his heart all the way through his body. He would scream then: his futility, his pain, his despair, his broken heart.

The soft padding of leather soles on rock caught his attention and Dar barely withheld a moan of anticipatory fear and pain.

The being came into the open then, with the revelation of the moon above. Mocking, he questioned, "Did you miss me, Dar?"

Dar shrank from the touch of the fingers over his abdomen, but couldn’t avoid it strung up against the stone wall as he was. "Please…"

"Begging so early tonight. How lovely," the man replied, a smile touching his face as he leaned close. "I do so love to hear you pleading with me to stop. Not that I will, but it’s nice to hear."

Looking away from those black eyes, Dar tried to concentrate only on the love that he felt for Tao, the certainty that some day soon, he would be rescued.

An ugly laugh filled the space around them as the being stated, "He’s too busy starting his own Pride, Dar. He’s an animal now. Rutting like them. Hunting and killing like them. No thought enters his brain now, I’ve seen to that."

Dar’s eyes closed as pain broke in his heart. He didn’t need the vision to know that the other was right. Hands pressed into his bare chest and the heat began. Before it could grow to familiarly painful degrees, though, a tremendous roar shook the area and then the hands were gone. Dar’s eyes snapped open to find Tao on top of the creature, his jaw around its throat. In less than a second, the sick sound of bone snapping echoed sharply.

The chains around his wrists vanished like they’d never been and Dar dropped to the ground in a rush, unable to hold himself up without their support. He was too exhausted and shocked at the sudden violence to do more than stare as Tao loped slowly towards him. In the black of the night, illuminated by the moonlight, the tiger was an incredibly savage and beautiful sight. With his mind still closed, Dar knew that he should be frightened, but he couldn’t summon the energy.

Then Tao lay down beside him, whining softly and nuzzling against Dar’s throat, licking it. Staring into the wide, glittering eyes, Dar saw only unthinking love there and sighed deeply. He sighed deeply and fell forward against the coarse, warm fur, wrapping around Tao and drifting towards the first true sleep he’d had in an age. No matter what happened, he knew that now, Tao wouldn’t leave his side.

It was enough.

***

Tao groaned when he woke to the heat of sunlight on his face. His body was sore and felt as though it had been used for pummeling practice by a horde of Nords. His own words amused him and he snorted, forcing his eyes to open. He frowned, not recognizing the glade that he was in, and missing Dar.

Pushing himself up, Tao looked around the area and found himself lying on a soft bed of sweet-grass. He was in a small clearing, surrounded by trees with a small pool to one side. Running fingers through his hair, Tao yawned and called out, "Dar? Where are you?"

He got an answer when his lover broke the surface of the water and smiled. Getting to his feet, Tao frowned when his legs wobbled as though uncertain of how to walk and forced himself to continue to the edge of the water. He was nude, though he didn’t remember disrobing, and so just walked into the water. Dar swam forward, silent, and met him halfway.

Something important was going on behind his lover’s eyes, Tao could tell. Dar only got that careful look when he was trying to decide something that was basically life-altering. Cupping the other man’s face, Tao leaned in for a slow, sweet kiss, reveling in the way Dar responded to him. It changed rapidly, growing hungry, almost desperate in quality. When Tao pulled back, he was gasping for breath and worried. "What’s wrong? What happened?"

"You don’t remember?"

"Remember what?"

"The ancient city? The curse? The creature who…held me? The one that you…killed?"

The words shocked Tao into silence, even as he racked his brain for those memories. Nothing came to the surface, though, and he answered, "I killed someone?"

Dar shook his head. "That thing wasn’t a someone, Tao. It had changed you into a tiger and fed off my suffering."

"Like that thing Zad thought he had control of a couple of years ago?" Tao questioned, gripping Dar’s arms.

"Close, but it was more evil somehow…more…predatory," Dar answered. "It caused our rift, caused you to…"

Dismay grew within as Tao demanded, "Caused me to what, Dar?"

Glancing away, Dar replied, "You were a tiger, Tao, an animal. Subject to their…needs."

Tao blanched and swam backwards, shaking his head in denial. "No! I wouldn’t have betrayed you like that! Never!"

"Tao, it’s okay. You had no control over yourself," Dar soothed, wading forward.

But Tao stalked the rest of the way out of the pool and snapped, "I don’t care, I wouldn’t have done that!"

Dar shook his head as he got out of the water. "I know you think that, but Tao, I saw you."

"How? I…I don’t remember what happened, but…I can’t believe that I would…" Tao’s voice trailed off uncertainly and he refused to look at Dar when his lover stopped in front of him. Maybe he had. If he’d been an animal…well…animals were hardly reasoning creatures.

Gripping his shoulder, Dar pulled him close, arms going around Tao to hold him tight. "It was a vision crystal. The creature who held me, showed me what you were doing so he could better feed off my pain."

Tao buried his face against Dar’s damp skin, pressing his lips there for a moment before replying, "I’m sorry. I don’t remember."

"You don’t remember, because it didn’t happen."

They both turned, startled, at the Ancient One’s voice and found the man standing a short distance away. The beads and crystals in his hair glittered in the sunlight as he strode forward, shaking his head and making disappointed noises. "Really Beastmaster, you should know better than to believe that some evil spirit is telling you the truth. Especially when it’s trying to hurt you as often and as much as possible."

Dar stiffened, but Tao didn’t let him pull away. The Ancient One had been benevolent towards them in the past, but there was no reason to assume that would continue.

"If you don’t believe me, ask your tiger friend when he returns. Young Tao here, spent his time harassing Ruh and hunting, and that was it. Well, and waiting for you, of course."

Relief caused Tao to sag against Dar, a smile lighting his face as he continued to look at the Ancient One. "Not that I’m complaining, but why are you interfering by telling us? Doesn’t that break the rules?"

The Ancient One wagged an admonishing finger at Tao and answered, "Because I have no use for the creature that you killed and am actually rather indebted to you for doing so. You see, it could only have been killed by one of its victims, but because most of them just went the way of the animal they were turned into, that never happened. And to clear myself of this debt, I have a warning for you."

Dar’s arm wound protectively around Tao as he demanded, "What warning?"

"Because the curse was broken, not lifted, and yes, there is a difference, it isn’t entirely gone."

Fear coiling his stomach, Tao questioned, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, that in every cycle for the nights surrounding the full moon, and all time in-between, you will revert to tiger form. Until and unless you find a cure, that is," the Ancient One replied.

Tao’s jaw dropped and he looked up at Dar to find his lover staring stonily at the Ancient One. "I’m going to be a tiger three days out of each cycle!?"

"That’s correct."

"Where can we go to find a cure?" Dar asked quietly.

The Ancient One shrugged carelessly.

"You know of one."

A faint smile crossed the older man’s face and he agreed, "I know of one."

"What is it?" Tao demanded.

"There’s a witch who lives at the Edge of the World, in the Misty Forest. Find her and she might be able to help you out. She’s always doing silly things like reversing curses for people she thinks deserve it. On the other hand, she generally asks for something in return, and you probably won’t care for whatever that might be."

Tao opened his mouth to ask for more details, but the Ancient One was gone in a flash of light. Sighing, he relaxed against Dar and murmured, "At least we have a chance."

Dar kissed the top of his head. "I’m sorry for doubting you, Tao."

"I’m just relieved that I didn’t betray you, or our love," Tao replied. "The rest doesn’t matter."

"It matters to me."

Hearing the troubled tone, Tao looked up again and stated, "It doesn’t matter, Dar. You were mistaken, and men make mistakes, as much as we don’t like to admit it."

At that, Dar gazed down at him, a rueful expression surfacing. "That’s true."

Tao wiggled against him with a grin and, "Besides…I think we have some reacquainting to catch up on."

Dar smiled full out then, and questioned, "Oh, you do, do you?"

Pressing against his lover, holding onto Dar’s hips, Tao looked up at him and asked, "Are you all right?"

Surprised, Dar repeated, "Me?"

"Yes you," Tao exclaimed, exasperated. "You were held prisoner for, wait, how long was it, anyhow?"

Dar shrugged. "I lost track, and I’m fine."

Sighing deeply in a mix of aggravation and love, Tao knew that was all he’d get from his lover, at least for the moment. Weariness flushing through him, Tao leaned against Dar and said, "Come to bed with me."

"Tao, you’re in no shape to…"

"Just hold me," Tao interrupted, kissing Dar’s throat. "Just hold me while I sleep."

Dar murmured, "Only if you hold me, too."

With a gentle smile, Tao led the way back to their makeshift bed and settled on it. Dar dropped lightly beside him and they turned to each other, twining limbs and curling close. Resting his head on Dar’s chest, Tao yawned and said, just a little uncertain, "We’ll find a cure."

Nodding slowly, Dar kissed the top of Tao’s head, but didn’t answer except to tighten his arms protectively.

THE END