Chapter 21 - "it's not a toy"

"You can let your ears and tail out if it's more comfortable for you." Declan said casually after a lull in their conversation.

It seemed like Faun had finally come to terms with the fact that Declan didn't see him any differently, nor was he kicking him out on the streets.

"You don't mind?" Faun asked hesitantly.

"No."

Declan's short response was so like him that Faun smiled a little.

"Don't you have questions?" He wondered absently, making a move to walk past Declan.

His ears and tail had made an appearance, his bushy tail flicking from side to side.

He had just remembered that he had made brownies and wanted to sneak a greedy bite of it.

He didn't get far though, a squeal leaving him when he felt Declan catch his tail and tug on it.

He jumped out of reach, gathering his tail to himself with a disgruntled expression. "It's not a toy."

Declan steadily gazed at him, and although he was sitting and Faun was standing, they were almost eye to eye.

"I don't have any questions but I would like to inspect your ears and tail." He said calmly, a serious expression on his face.

Faun was caught off guard by this, he hadn't been expecting that response.

"Um… okay." He agreed, sounding unsure of what he agreed to.

"Great, come over here."

Faun hesitated, wondering what he had gotten himself into. "Just… just don't pull on it, it hurts." He warned, taking tentative steps forward.

How did he get to this point? Where he could tell a human that with a straight face?

Declan lifted his eyes from Faun's tail to his eyes. "I'll try." He said seriously.

"Alright…" Faun started to reply only to freeze up. "Wait, what?"

Declan had already moved on, he had kept his hands to himself because he didn't want to cross the line, not to mention that Faun had no idea he knew what he was.

But now, his curiosity was brimming and spilling over the edge, he reached out to snag Faun's arm before he threw all caution to the wind and dashed for his room.

Faun let himself be pulled, wanting to see what Declan would do.

Declan reached up to cup his face with his free hand, serious grey eyes studying Faun's twitching ears.

Faun worried that his instincts were broken because he felt neither anxiety nor terror at the fact that a human was currently checking out his abnormalities.

But there was no judgement in Declan's eyes, merely curiosity and he kept to his word of not pulling.

"You can turn into a Fox... can you?" Declan asked after quiet minutes of intently studying Faun. "You are free to do that if you want."

Faun snatched his tail from Declan's hold again, clutching his bushy tail close. "Yes but I'm most comfortable in this form so I'm fine." He replied honestly. "You want brownies?" He asked casually, walking past him.

"No, chips." Declan corrected, stretching out on the couch.

"Then get them yourself." Faun huffed, his tail sweeping behind him.

Declan blinked in surprise, sitting up. "But you asked…"

"If you wanted brownies." Faun reminded him, disappearing into the kitchen.

Declan pushed his hands through his hair, was it him or was Faun getting meaner? He pushed himself off from the couch to go get himself the chips because he knew very well that Faun wasn't bringing any back.

Faun had his wild red hair tucked in the fridge as he got out the brownies, without thinking, Declan finally gave in to the urge to ruffle Faun's hair, walking past him to grab his snacks.

Faun tucked his head between his shoulders, a bright blush trailing across his face.

Declan didn't notice this, already heading for the living room.

"Can you read the books I gave you?" Declan asked bluntly after they had been watching shows for a while.

Faun nervously rubbed a twitching ear, averting his face. "A little." He spoke in a small voice.

"I could help you out, it's not like I have anything else to do." He offered.

Faun's eyes went wide. "Thank you." He was quick to accept.

"We might as well get started." Declan added.

"Now?" Faun was caught off guard again.

Declan watched Faun skip happily away to grab the cookbooks, a conflicted expression hidden underneath a blank mask.

What the fuck was he doing?

Picking a Hybrid off the streets and just letting him slowly become a part of his life.

He had no ulterior motives but that would not be enough to salvage things when everything fell apart.

What made it worse was that he was doing all this as much for himself as it was for Faun.

The only explanation had to be that he cracked his skull open immediately after he met Faun and forgot about it, it was the only thing that could explain his current behavioral pattern.

Or maybe he had spent too long in Oakwood, pretending to be a normal human for so long was starting to change him.

Faun was already rambling as soon as he got out, plainly telling Declan exactly what gave him issues.

It was easy to teach Faun, he was open and didn't hesitate to ask questions.

Declan could catch frequent glimpses of how he really acted when he wasn't terrified for his life or his secret.

He was bright to rival his hair, his eyes twinkling every time he got something right and every time Declan handed him a compliment.

Isla would have a mild heart attack if she saw him being nice and patient with someone else, he wouldn't blame her if that happened, he couldn't explain it too.

They spent the entire night going through the cookbooks, Declan deciding to buy Faun a phone and a couple more books if he wanted.

He made quite some money from writing after all, what better way to spend it than on Faun?

Yeah, he definitely cracked his skull open.