Taylor was out for nearly a day before he felt someone shaking his shoulders. He still felt exhausted, but as his mind began to return to its senses, he knew that he couldn't afford to rest any longer. So, he pulled himself together and forced his eyes to open at the same time he gasped out in pain, "they took them, Adon."
"I know," his friend said in a hushed whisper as he pulled Taylor forward into his arms for a strong hug. "I saw the ring missing from my keys and ran downstairs immediately. They took Caleb's bones, too."
Taylor didn't even try to blink back tears as he returned Adon's hug tightly, then replied as he buried his face against the man's sweater.
"The exorcist tricked me into putting Caleb into his bones. They took them, so they took him."
Adon seemed to pause for a few moments, taking in the information. When he released him and stood up, Taylor wiped off his wet eyes and watched the man walk over to the counter.
"I don't think they have him... at least, not unless he wants to be there."
What?
Taylor scrambled to his feet, stumbling a few times from exhaustion as he made his way over to the counter to stare down at what was making a smile appear on Adon's lips.
"The bones..."
Hesitantly, Taylor lifted a hand and gently touched one of the tiny fish bones.
"Caleb? Are you able to hear me?" he asked, his voice nearly as quiet as a mouse.
It would have been too good to be true. There was no way that he hadn't just lost one of the best people he'd ever known.
Feeling a warm hand settle on his shoulder, Taylor bit his lower lip and looked up into tired, dark-rimmed eyes.
"We'll get through this," Adon said reassuringly as he turned his attention toward the chalkboard on the wall, nodding to it to draw Taylor's eyes in its direction.
Upon seeing new words scratched sloppily on its surface, Taylor hurried over.
Wait... what?
Adon's arm wrapped around his middle as he felt his legs begin to give out, holding his weight as he reread the words with him.
PLSE ADN HLP M. ND YOR BDY PRMLY.
"But you said that you didn't want to do that before," Taylor said in a hushed whisper as he felt his shoulders sag. "You wouldn't accept my body. Why would you ask him for his?"
Taylor turned as he spoke, bringing his eyes up to meet Adon's calm ones.
"Why does he want your body and not mine? What did I do wrong?" he asked, not understanding.
Adon reached up and gently ran his hand through Taylor's hair a few times, trying to calm him.
"He doesn't want your body that way," he finally said, making Taylor's brows knit together. He still didn't understand, which only made Adon's lips turn up into a small smile.
Taylor swallowed his unease and straightened, making Adon slowly lower his arms.
"So what you're saying, is that you're giving yourself to him so that we can be together? Adon, you can't do that," he said, his voice raspy with stress. "We'll find another way to save him."
Adon shook his head once, his smile growing as he gently brushed Taylor's bangs away from his eyes.
"I trust him, Taylor. I feel like he knows things that we don't, even though he is unable to convey them. He's being honest, too, not trying to lie to get things his way. Don't you trust him, Tay?"
Taylor wanted to shake his head, if only to keep Adon from doing what he knew he had already decided on... yet he couldn't. He slowly lowered his eyes until his forehead was pressed against Adon's chest.
"I trust him."
Adon hugged him one more time before walking over to the fish bones and picking up the sharpest of them. Taylor watched from where he stood as the man slowly but carefully dug the tip into his wrist. He thought that the bone would easily break, considering what it was and its age, but it wasn't too surprising to see that it not only didn't snap, it actually cut well, too.
Caleb is there helping him do it.
The line of blood rose halfway to the bend of his elbow before he pause abruptly, his body stiffening from some sort of shock.
"Adon?"
When the man didn't respond, Taylor hurried forward, getting to him just in time to catch his falling body.
"Adon? Adon, come on!"
He shook the man a few times, checking for a pulse at his neck when he didn't get a response.
Thank god, he's still here.
Taylor looked around for a blanket and quickly located one that had previously fallen off the couch. He gently laid Adon down on the floor, then hurried to scoop up the blanket before coming back. He knew that being possessed was going to drop his body temperature, so he needed to make sure that he was able to get him warmed up fast.
After draping it around his own back, Taylor pulled Adon into his arms, then got the rest of the large blanket wrapped tightly around them both. It was a bit awkward since Adon had some height and weight on him, but he wasn't going to let the guy freeze just because he was slightly insecure about his own body.
They stayed like that for some time with Taylor drifting in and out of a light sleep. Every hour or so he'd wake up and check on him, but there was barely any difference. It was good, at least, that he wasn't losing too much body heat. The last time he woke up, some time around seven or so in the evening, he actually felt the man shift a little in his arms.
"Adon? Are you there? Are you okay?" he asked nervously, leaning closer to try and catch anything he might whisper.
He waited for a while before unfamiliar eyes blinked open to stare up at him in a daze.
Wow, they look like a mix of Adon's and Caleb's.
A huge smile widened his mouth as he exclaimed his excitement at just seeing the man awake again.
"Was'... out," Adon eventually mumbled, his lips barely able to manage the words.
Taylor leaned a little closer, confused about what he was supposed to watch out for. There was nothing else in their home, for once, and he definitely didn't seem able to move.
"Watch out for wh—mph!" Lips sealed over his mouth as a hand grabbed the back of his head, pushing him closer.
Adon began shifting his body around in his lap, eventually getting onto his knees so that he could lift his other hand to grasp the side of Taylor's face and deepen the kiss.
Taylor's mind felt like there were a bunch of flies buzzing around, banging into walls as they tried to figure out which direction they were supposed to go with this new shocking development. None of them could figure it out, though, so he just stayed still, staring with wide eyes until finally, after what felt like at least five minutes, Adon leaned away enough for both of them to try and catch their breath.
"Holy crap," Adon eventually rasped as he let his hand slip from the back of Taylor's head, then made himself remove the one against his cheek.
"I'm sorry. I have so many new emotions going crazy in my head from him, but I couldn't get control of that one," he said, looking up after a few moments so that they could look at each other.
They were both still panting hard, but Taylor was just trying to process what the guy was saying.
"You're... still Adon? You have control?" he asked, confused. He'd thought that Caleb would have taken over his body. He'd even said that he'd need it permanently.
Adon smiled and rubbed at the back of his neck, then shrugged.
"I am... but I'm not. It's different then when Nikolai possessed me, though. We aren't fighting each other for control, per say, but there are a lot of emotions and feelings shuffling around, trying to all find a place to exist without being erased by each other. Caleb is definitely here, though. That kiss was all him. He was super excited to get a chance to show you affection with a real body."
Taylor felt his face heat at his words.
"I'm still kind of confused. Didn't he take control to do that?" he asked, trying to put the pieces together so that they fit better.
Adon chuckled and reached up, mussing the guy's hair before leaning forward, only to stop himself and quickly lean away again.
"Calm down, Kay. I promise I'll do my part," Adon said, seemingly to himself, before returning his attention to Taylor.
"You know that I wouldn't just kiss you out of the blue," Adon said, earning a nod from Taylor. The guy had always been polite. He had become a good friend, but he never appeared to want to change that. He also had a girlfriend, and he didn't seem like the type to even consider cheating.
"Well, I think I'm going to have to break up with my girlfriend now. I might not have been one-hundred percent sure on my feelings towards you, but Caleb definitely is, and I can't really argue. You are pretty great. The amount of love he wanted to show you kind of forced my body to move before I could stop it. Thankfully that got the emotions to simmer down afterward," Adon said, frowning as he sighed. "I'm still sorry about that. I wasn't ready for so much need to suddenly smack me in the face."
Taylor let out a small chuckle and shrugged.
"It's fine. So, you're... you, and him, now?" Taylor said, trying to wrap his mind around it as he stared at Adon's eyes.
"You know, your eyes are a mix of yours and Caleb's. They're really pretty," he said, then looked away, feeling slightly nervous.
Adon tilted his head, a familiar grin drawing Taylor's attention back to the man's face.
Before he could react, Taylor was hugged so forcefully that he fell over onto his back.
"Uh, Adon?"
Adon nuzzled his face against Taylor's chest as he replied, "I'm sorry, again. He... caught me off guard a second time. I swear I'll try to reign him in better so that I'm not jumping you all the time."
Taylor was going to tell him that it was probably a good idea to do that, but at the same time, he could just imagine how Caleb felt. The guy could finally express himself after being perpetually frozen inside of a nearly-emotionless wraith for years. He couldn't blame him for flooding Adon's mind with strong emotions.
"It's alright," he eventually said as he lifted a hand to settle atop Adon's hair. When the man didn't respond, he began running his fingers through it and closed his eyes to try and calm down a little.
"Hey Tay?" Adon asked, making Taylor reply with a quiet "Hmm?"
There was silence for a few moments before Adon responded.
"Because he's here now, possibly permanently, I think, at least until we figure out this new version of possession... that we, maybe, split our names? Caleb is part of me for the time being, and wants to exist... so maybe I should change our name for the time being?"
The thought was a bit weird, but it was true that Caleb definitely seemed to have influence over his emotions. It could also change as they settled in with each other, so perhaps it was a good idea to recognize that he was there, too.
"I'm sure he would love that. I think a simple version of your mixed names would work well," Taylor said as he continued to run his fingers through Adon's soft hair.
"How about Cadon?"
He heard the man still lying on top of him hum for a moment, then push himself up just enough to look down at him in the dimly lit room.
The guy's smile appeared brighter than any light in his house could.
I see you, Caleb.
"That sounds perfect!"
Taylor returned the smile and yawned, then slowly sat up so that Cadon had to move off of him.
"Let's get something to eat, then rest a little longer. Once we're both fully recharged and you have a good idea of how you two are going to function together, we can go find our last missing piece?"
Cadon stood up with a nod, then leaned down to offer him a hand up.
"Sounds like a plan."