Y'all didn't think I was gonna leave Kiv out of Whumptober, didja? Happy 15th day of Whumptober 2025 to all, everyone gets a squishy bonus chapter!
Blessings on @doomeddestination for condoning this and creating such amazing worlds with lovely whumpable characters. Kiv is my faaaavorite and I'll love Midnight forever, especially the AUs!
This chapter is based on Prompt #17: “Tell me there’s a hope for me.”
Read it on ao3 or right here. 1502 words. Enjoy 🫂
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Home sweet home,” Trouble muttered, holding the door for Kiv. His nose wrinkled as the stale air hit him full in the face.
Kiv turned on the lights and scanned the rented room before moving cautiously inside.
“Not the worst I’ve ever been in.” Apart from the poor air circulator, he could smell that the bed linens had been washed.
“Tired,” Kiv muttered.
Trouble closed and locked the door, then watched as Kiv went through the only other doorway.
A moment later, Kiv turned the light back off and re-emerged. He looked pale, his expression drawn.
“We’re alone,” Trouble assured him, making a show of lifting his nose and sniffing the air. “No one else has been in here for hours.”
“The whole time we were walking?” Kiv made a beeline for the bed and collapsed onto it.
“Probably.” He smiled and shook his head, but moved to join Kiv anyway. He sat on the edge of the bed, opposite the side Kiv had claimed. Glancing over his shoulder to make sure Kiv was still facedown and unmoving, Trouble lifted his shirt and looked down at his side. There. A red, raised mark from the stun baton. He scowled at the bruising around it. Sahota had jabbed a lot harder than was necessary.
Trouble bit his lower lip as he gently touched the edge of the bruise. He tensed as pain bloomed in his side, radiating out from the injury, but didn’t make a sound. Lousy asshole.
“You okay?”
“What?” He yanked his shirt back down and twisted to look at Kiv, breathing in sharply at how uncomfortable the movement was. “Yeah.” Trouble turned away and rubbed his face. “I’m tired, too. We should sleep.”
“D’you...want help?”
“Nah, I’m not hungry.” He sighed. “I told you, I don’t need to feed everyday.”
“...”
“Hey.” Trouble sighed again; Kiv was holding his breath. “What’s up?” He held back a sigh at the sound of rustling fabric. He could picture Kiv fidgeting in place. “Look, I know we walked a lot further than you’re used to.” A corner of his mouth curled up as he recalled Kiv’s top complaint while they walked. “And we did it shoeless. But we needed to put some distance between us and that apartment.” And your old pal Sahota. “You get that, right?”
“I get it,” Kiv replied softly. Eventually.
The rustling continued. Feet still on the floor, Trouble let himself flop backwards, head landing on the squashy pillows. “You can say what’s on your mind.” Kiv had complained freely for most of the walk. Until he got too winded to do more than grumble. How was it different now that they were done walking?
After a long pause, Kiv sat up and slid off the bed.
“Or not.” Trouble watched him duck into the bathroom. He pushed back the blanket and, wincing, tucked his legs under, not bothering to take off his shorts. The stun baton burn would heal faster if he fed, but Kiv didn’t need to know that.
He closed his eyes and crossed his arms under his head. So long as he didn’t bump or scratch it, Trouble knew the burn would be fine after a few days.
“Um.”
Trouble’s eyes flew open; Kiv’s voice was right above him. He popped up on his elbows, frowning.
Kiv backed a step away from Trouble’s side of the bed, holding out a first aid kit like an undersized shield.
”Oh.” The tension bled out of his shoulders. “Uh. They’ll charge for anything we use out of there.”
”…but until the cred-stick gets deactivated, why not spend it?”
“Never thought anyone would use my own line against me.” Trouble’s nose wrinkled, but at the discouraged look that flashed across Kiv’s face, he relented. “Thanks,” he said, holding out a hand to Kiv.
Kiv swallowed, hesitating before he tightened his grip on the kit. “I can do it.”
”You’re hurt?”
“No.” Kiv stared, deadpan. “I can help with your burn.”
”Oh.” Trouble blinked. “Uh…thanks.”
Kiv set the kit down at Trouble’s side and rummaged through the contents.
He rucked his shirt up and relaxed back on the bed. He looked away, pretending to study the terrible abstract art hanging on the walls as color rose in his cheeks.
“This will numb the pain,” Kiv said in warning before he dabbed gel onto the raised burn.
Trouble closed his eyes and nodded. He sighed when Kiv’s light touch brought instantaneous relief.
“You didn’t say you were hurt.”
“It’s a small burn.” His ears twitched as Kiv tore open a package. He pressed his fingers into the mattress to keep still while Kiv taped a bandage in place. “I only saw the pistol, so I wasn’t thinking about any stun baton.” He huffed. “It’s been awhile since someone got the drop on me.” He opened one eye to look up at Kiv. “He’s human?”
“Sahota?” Kiv frowned and nodded. “Yeah.”
“Ugh.” Trouble made a face. “I’ve never let a human drop me like that.” He watched as Kiv closed the case and straightened. “How come you didn’t want me to hurt him? Were you friends back at that place?”
Kiv tensed, then headed for the bathroom with the first aid supplies.
“I was just curious,” he mumbled, tugging his shirt back down and pulling the covers up. He stared at the ceiling. There were three stains. Shit. Trouble sat bolt upright.
Kiv gasped and froze, nearly back to his own side of the bed.
“Your food. You barely got to eat anything before he showed up.” He frowned. “Are you hungry? There’s a tablet over there on the desk. Delivery wouldn’t take long.”
“I...I’m more tired than hungry.”
“Breakfast in the morning then?”
“...isn’t it almost morning?”
“Food when we wake up, whatever,” Trouble chuckled.
“Shoes, too?”
“Yeah.” He looked away as Kiv tentatively peeled back the covers and eased onto the bed. “Boots if you really want them. We probably shouldn’t stay here for longer than we need to, though. Sleeping, new shoes, and you eating.”
“Okay.”
Trouble glanced over at Kiv. “Is there any place you want to go?”
“I don’t really...know many places.”
He let out a low whistle. “They kept all of you on lock down, huh.”
Kiv closed his eyes.
Trouble could hear his teeth squeak as he clenched them. “Kiv?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks, for the bandage.”
Kiv nodded and drew the blanket up to his chin.
“And I’m sorry your friend came after you, instead of leaving that place with you.”
He stopped breathing and stiffened, then turned onto his side, facing away.
Trouble’s ears drooped. He picked at the blanket. “You don’t have to sleep right on the edge like that. I’m not gonna hurt you.” He stared at the back of Kiv’s head. His hair looked tangled. “Kiv?” His brow furrowed as Kiv gulped, then sniffled.
“Need a sec,” he muttered tightly.
Waiting was never Trouble’s style. He chewed his lip, trying to be patient for Kiv’s sake. The scent pouring off Kiv was sharp: grief, and anger. And a touch of something sour: shame. It made Trouble’s nose itch. He shivered, then curled on his side to wiggle closer to Kiv. Keeping the blanket between his touch and Kiv, Trouble set his hand between Kiv’s shoulder blades.
Kiv jerked, but he didn’t shoot off the bed. Or shrink away.
Slowly, he rubbed Kiv’s back in gentle circles. He didn’t stop when he felt Kiv start to tremble, or when his breathing went uneven.
“I--” Kiv’s voice sounded pinched. His breathing hitched.
“I’m not gonna hurt you, or bite. Okay?” Trouble put his arm carefully around Kiv, then paused, giving him a chance to react. When Kiv only shook harder, gasping in air and choking back sobs, Trouble drew Kiv to his chest. He tucked the blanket closer around Kiv and held him tight, his forehead pressed to the back of Kiv’s head.
Trouble wasn’t sure how long it took Kiv’s scent to soften. Hugging Kiv wasn’t entirely selfless on his part; it was a different kind of relief to be so close to someone else. Someone who wasn’t going to lash out, or run, or beg to be let go. He felt when Kiv reached up to hold his arm. When Kiv stroked his thumb back and forth near his wrist, Trouble had nearly purred. He’d nearly drifted off when Kiv cleared his throat.
“How much time?”
“Hm?” It took Trouble a moment to open his eyes. His sleepy brain didn’t seem to want to unscramble Kiv’s scratchy-sounding question.
“H-how much time do I get?”
Once he understood, he gave Kiv a brief squeeze and kissed the bump of his shoulder. “S’much as I can give you.” Trouble nearly dozed off again.
“You won’t hurt me?”
“Mm-mm.” Trouble smiled and touched his nose to Kiv’s neck. “Nah. You’re Kiv, not food.”
“No hitting, no biting?”
Trouble chuckled and gave Kiv another squeeze. “No biting, no hitting. We’ll figure it out.”
