A Trio Of Tigers: Blood-arc Series, #1 - (BoyxBoyxBoyxBoy)

Chapter 8 - Words Of Beginnings

A disoriented grunt was muffled behind his closed lips. Gunner shifted, suddenly nauseous. He almost regretted forgetting to swipe a few bottles of painkillers from the hospital he had visited a couple of weeks back - the pills would have been useful right now.

But he didn't have them, so what was he supposed to do?... Nothing, he couldn't do a fucking thing. And like always, Gunner would have to hold out as best as he could. Complaining wouldn't change anything, so he just had to make do.

Gunner practically lived by the rule; Scavenge around for whatever you can find, dig for scraps and be grateful for anything you can get your hands on. Anything you don't have, you move on and make the best for yourself.

A slow smirk lifted on his face; At least he wasn't dead. The wound would hurt like hell, but luckily, it wasn't deep enough to kill him.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Skaris straightened and started easing closer to him. His steps were deliberate and small, face hard with hostility.

Gunner jumped immediately and tore the cloth from his lips, turning around. "Stay where you are, you damn asshole!-Move and I will shove these two cards down my throat. I'm only warning you once. You're damn lucky I'm feeling generous right now."

Skaris halted, eyes widening. He shook his head, hissing at Gunner.

With a quick sigh, Skaris frowned at the boy, his lips dropping into a small scowl, but otherwise the man stayed in one spot, eyes trained on Gunner.

"...You are a strange human." The man's voice was clipped and rough, but the usual deadly tone was no longer there. Gunner was sure he was dreaming this time, because he was sure he had heard a shred of amusement and acknowledgement in his tone. It was so subtle a change... but still there, behind all that coldness of the exterior.

Eyes like flame. Cold as ice, yet so full of life.

Somehow, Gunner knew that he was already caught with these three men, and try as he may, but there was no stopping it.

There was something there that was almost as dark and heavy as the cruel bite of a monster, but at the same time, it was firm and pleasant. It felt so safe, in ways he couldn't explain and fathom.

Trust was often hard to find in his world. It rarely appeared, and was even more rare to keep. Trust was fragile and weak, broken too easily... Gunner had learnt this the hard way living the way he did, and he wasn't so stupid as to give it out on a whim. Gunner knew that exterior physical wounds could only hurt you, but never truly scar you enough. The heart however wasn't as strong as bones and flesh. It needed to be held tightly and cautiously to protect from hits that may damage permanently.

But with these three, trust just came by itself... He couldn't say why or how, but it was just there.

He didn't trust them, rather, he trusted in them.

It was mysterious, yet it was also sweet and gentle.

When Gunner's eyes found the second man, Mikkel, he felt his chest constrict in his chest and a similar familiarity appear. When their eyes met, Mikkel's light ones narrowed in suspicion and filled with aggression.

In front of Mikkel, Gunner's eyes flowed until they met Viking's at last. The anger was still apparent in his swirling depths like before, but now the darkness was gone, replaced by something far more bright.

Gunner snapped back to Skaris, a smile tugging on the corners of his lips. "I don't think I'm strange." He chuckled lightly and raised an eyebrow.