Wake of the Dead | Two

Chapter Eleven | Jasper

The next morning, Jasper's eyes shot open with a sharp gasp and he sat up. Adrenaline raced through his veins, his eyes wide and darting all around the room, breathing heavy and hands shaking. An uneasy shudder ran down his spine as he ran a hand through his hair, damp with the cold sweat on his forehead. A smaller form stirred next to him, curling into a tighter ball and and burying their face into the bed irritably. Even in his sleep, Killian was just as bristly as always. 

Just as Jasper managed to catch his breath again and recover from his horrifying dream, Killian's eyes fluttered open. His golden-hazel gaze flickered up towards Jasper, looking at him from beneath their thick lashes. The other man's brows were knit together with that early morning frown, the internal disappointment of being dragged away from the comfort of unconsciousness. After his lips parted into a quiet and delicate yawn, Killian stretched and mumbled, "Are you okay?" 

Nodding reassuringly Jasper said, "Just a bad dream. The usual." He ruffled Killian's hair playfully, ignoring the way Killian batted aggressively at his hand to try and stop him from doing so. Not being able to help his chuckle of amusement, Jasper could still see the remnants of sleepiness on Killian. When the younger man sat up, he swayed a bit, almost falling over again as his eyes blinked lazily. After a few minutes he recovered, forcing himself to wake, and let out a reluctant huff. 

The sun was barely lifting above the horizon, not even the birds had begun their singing. Despite not setting a foot outside, Jasper could already feel the biting chill of winter through the walls of the farmhouse. "It's cold." He heard Killian mumble. Watching as the other man tugged Jasper's old jacket around him was something that made his heart flutter. Seeing Killian wearing his clothes at any point in time would do that, even if they were just the dog tags. Especially when that jacket had his name embroidered into it. Jasper had been told he could get a bit possessive at times, that was always at the back of his mind. But knowing Killian also wore his name every time he put on that jacket? It definitely did something for him. What he had said the previous day was more than the truth, it was literal. Killian was his. 

"Yea, I feel it too." Jasper said, reluctantly getting up and out of bed. Killian had suddenly fixed him with a bit of a judgmental stare. Jasper knit his brows together with a frown, "What?" 

With a dignified lift of his chin Killian sniffed, "You also sleep without a shirt. Maybe that's why you're cold."

Rolling his eyes, Jasper took that comment as a hint and picked his shirt up off of the bedside table, pulling it over his head. He did a bit of a shimmy to get comfortable in it again, then bent down to put on his boots. When he didn't reply, Killian hesitantly stepped over to him and poked his ribs. Jasper glanced at the other man with a raised brow. "You're supposed to argue." Killian said bluntly with an aggressive huff, narrowing his eyes. 

Playfully jabbing Killian in the ribs in return Jasper said, "I don't like when we argue, it's not fun, even if we're joking." Standing up after his laces were tied, Jasper stretched out one arm at a time. Ever since he started having almost constant nightmares, his muscles tensed up in the middle of the night--resulting in waking up sore the next morning. It was painful, but after a while, he'd learned to ignore it. Although he noticed, Jasper felt much safer sleeping next to Killian than alone by himself...in the dark...in a world where anything and everything could kill you. From an infected papercut to a dead monster wanting to take a bite out of your neck. 

He parted his lips to say something else to Killian, until the door creaked open and interrupted him. Looking over his shoulder, Jasper saw that is was only Tom who had come to say a word to them. "Hmm?" Jasper prompted. 

Greeting them with a nod, Tom's deep voice was kept just above a whisper as to not disturb anybody else in the house. "The others are already awake, waiting down stairs." He said. "I've already given them this talk, but please if you can, be careful." His brows knit together, focusing on Jasper. He felt uncomfortable as the group leader singled him out, his stomach twisting anxiously. "Don't help any groups that might want something in return, don't piss anybody off, and for the love of God, don't give anybody a reason to track you back to the farmhouse."