Vanilla Ch. 3
A flash of panic bolted through your belly like lightning as you remembered the events of the previous night.
Another knock.
Forcing yourself to calm, you modulated your tone into something easy and pleasant before calling out, “Who is it?”
“BPD.”
Though the bass in that voice made your heart drop into your stomach, you still unlocked the door (without unlatching the chain), and peered outside to see a tall man whose voice was belied by a somewhat overgrown, boyishly thick head of wavy black hair. “May I see your badge?”
He compliantly opened his suit jacket, and unclipped a badge that he handed over for you to examine. Truth be told, you hadn’t the foggiest idea of what you should be looking for, so you just stared at it for long enough to seem plausible before returning it along with a smile that you didn’t feel. Steeling your nerves, you unlatched the chain, opened the door, and leaned against the jamb with an even more charming smile. “I’m sorry about that, Detective, but as a woman, you can never be too careful nowadays. You know how it is.”
“No problem at all.” He dimpled disarmingly, curls falling into his eyes as he tilted his head to look down at you. “Unfortunately, I do know how it is. As you saw, I’m Detective Park.” He gestured to an elegantly curvy woman with skin like your father’s, and the sleekest, most voluminous body wave you had ever seen, standing further down the stoop, “and this is my partner Detective Jenkins.”
You patted your own, currently rather puffy hair somewhat self-consciously. “I apologize for my casual appearance; I wasn’t expecting visitors.”
“Honey, what’s going on?”
You froze, but the smile never left your face. Why, oh, why had Baekhyun left the bathroom?! These detectives were probably here regarding that man from the night before, and they might even be looking for him. For both of us, actually, you thought with an inward grimace as you remembered your little breaking and entering adventure. If you were arrested, then your father - both your parents, actually, were going to kill you. Maybe they’d take turns. Turning, you stifled your surprise to see Baekhyun in comfortable jeans, a loose tee shirt, a baggy crocheted cardigan - and no tail in sight. His hair and ears were also hidden by a black knit beanie.
He walked over, and slid an arm around your waist, briefly smiling down at you before turning to look up at the detective in the doorway.
Leaning against Baekhyun’s body, you tried to appear as relaxed and girlfriendly as possible. “These detectives have come by to…to…” Evincing a look of charming confusion, you pouted up at the detective in the doorway, and then slowly smiled. “I’m sorry, I don’t think we got that far?”
The detectives reintroduced themselves.
Baekhyun’s smile was as sweet as yours as he asked, “How can we help you, detectives?”
“We’re investigating the battery of a man that occurred in this neighborhood last night.”
“Oh, no!” You frowned (but made it cute), put your hand over your heart. “Is he okay?”
“He’ll live,” Detective Jenkins assured you.
“Oh, that’s a relief,” you said faintly, then frowned in earnest. “A battery? Here?! But it’s so quiet!”
“As you said,” Detective Park remarked, “You know how it is.”
“I guess…” you responded faintly.
“So, we do have to ask you a few questions, if you don’t mind.” Detective Park smiled as he took out a little notebook and a pen.
“Not at all,” you assured him.
“Did either of you see, or hear anything unusual last night, between the hours of 8:30 PM and 5:30 AM?”
“Whew, that’s a pretty big window,” Baekhyun remarked, as he tilted his head, seemingly in thought.
“Any information you can give us would be helpful,” Detective Park responded.
You pretended to think, as well. “Between 8:30 PM and 5:30 AM?” you asked faintly.
“That’s right, ma’am,” Detective Park said.
You looked at Baekhyun, and forced a blush to your face. “Unfortunately, we were celebrating, and were…a bit occupied for most of the night.”
Detective Park looked unconvinced. “For nine hours? That’s a,” he glanced over Baekhyun’s slight figure, which was barely larger than your own, “Pretty big window…”
Baekhyun responded with a boyish grin, and his hand lazily traveled up and down your waist. “Well, you know… Off and on…”
You lightly slapped his chest. “Oppa… Stooop…”
Detective Jenkins shifted to lean against the wrought iron handrail, her expression growing increasingly bored.
Detective Park tapped his pen against his notebook with an easy smile. “What were you celebrating?”
“Our anniversary,” Baekhyun said confidently.
This time, when the detective smiled, it looked slightly less amiable. “Right. You both…live here?”
“We do,” you assured him.
“Excellent,” Detective Park said, “Then, may I also have your names and dates of birth, so we can find you in case we have any other questions?”
You gave your information, then waited as Baekhyun gave his, surprised that his birthday would be in about a month. You’d have to do something nice.
“Thank you,” Detective Park said, snapping shut his notebook, and tucking it away, before producing a card, and handing it over to you. “If you can remember anything, anything at all - even if you’re not sure how it could be useful - then please give me a call.”
“Of course,” you murmured, looking down at the card before placing it in the receiving bowl sitting on the stand by the door.
“Have a nice day,” Detective Park said pleasantly before turning to join his partner in walking down the stoop.
“Thank you, and - Detective Jenkins?”
The woman stopped at the bottom of the stairs and turned back.
“I just have to tell you… your hair is everything.”
Detective Jenkins gave you a slow, thoughtful half smile. “Clock it,” she said, quirking an eyebrow before turning and heading for the next house.
You closed and locked the door, then walked back into your apartment, and sat down on the sofa with a huff as Baekhyun removed his beanie and stuffed it into his pocket. With a grimace, he twisted, lifting his cardigan and reaching down the back of his pants to thread his tail through the hole in his jeans before sitting down and leaning heavily against your side, plopping his head on your shoulder. “Oh, poor baby! Does it hurt,” you cooed, as you reached around his back to gently stroke his tail.
“It’s not the most comfortable, but I’ll be fine,” he sighed.
When you deemed his tail satisfactorily petted, you readjusted his body and slipped further away on the couch, so you could rest his head in your lap and scratch around his ears. His sigh sounded like it came from his toes, and he relaxed completely. “Where are the clothes you were wearing yesterday?” you murmured.
“In the bathroom hamper.”
“Blood?”
He shook his head.
“Good. Still, we should get rid of them. I'll take care of it. What do you think that guy said?”
“Not much. I broke his jaw when he grabbed your ankle.”
“And it was dark, so he probably wouldn’t recognize us…” You sighed.
“Do you regret taking me?”
His voice was small, causing you to look down into his sweet brown eyes, and press your palm against his cheek. “Absolutely not. You saved me. And even if you hadn't, I still would have wanted you. I wanted you before you saved me.”
He nuzzled your lap.
Later that night, you contemplatively stared into the flames of the early-spring fire you had decided to light in the fireplace in order to ward off the night’s chill. Baekhyun once again had his head on your lap, though this time he dozed as you slowly stroked his back. You stayed awake late into the night watching the flames as they burned, until there was nothing left but glowing coals and then, dying ash. When you were young, you had wanted a sibling, but unfortunately, due to an injury that had rendered your father sterile, that dream was not to be.
Since you couldn’t have a little sister or brother, you figured a best friend would do, but having to move countries so much guaranteed that you were always the new girl - never able to grow close with anyone, or bond. You thought that you had found friends for life in college, and to be honest, you knew that you could call any one of them now, show up to their houses, and be welcomed, but friendships scattered across the country did little to alleviate the daily loneliness.
You supposed that you could have gotten a pet, and that would have helped, but it could never have compared to this. To this thinking, talking, sweetly responsive creature. It hadn’t even been 24 hours, and already Baekhyun had wormed his way around your heart. You would die to protect him.You would kill to protect him. There was absolutely no way that you would allow him to be incarcerated for protecting you.
Slipping out from underneath him, you stood, slid a throw pillow under his head, and pulled the blanket from the back of the couch to lay over him, cooing inwardly at the way his mouth silently worked in his sleep. Then, pushing back your sleeves, you quietly washed the fireplace with bleach, and flushed the cold ashes down the toilet. Finally, after washing yourself, you went to bed.
If, when on the cusp of sleep, you felt arms wrap around your waist, and pull you into a warm body, felt a cool, soft nose nuzzling against the back of your neck, felt the tug of fabric’s brush against fabric as sturdy thighs tucked under your own, you wouldn’t remember it in the morning. After all, there was no need to awaken, no need for alarm.
You were safe.
***
Your knuckles hovered tentatively over the bathroom door until your bladder gave another urgent pang, driving you to overcome your embarrassment and finally knock. “Uh…Baekhyun?”
“Hmmm?” His relaxed voice lazily drifted from behind the door.
“Are you almost finished? I - ” Awkwardness made you fumble the words, but you tried again. “I…have to use the bathroom.”
“Oh. Sorry. It’s alright; you can come in.”
Oh, thank goodness, you thought as you turned the knob. He already finished his b- You stopped short to find Baekhyun, not in his pajamas brushing his teeth, or combing his hair, but still in the bathtub, bird chest, and knobby knees sticking out of bathwater that didn’t have nearly enough bubbles for your comfort.
He smiled sweetly.
“Why - uh - I thought -”
“Go ahead,” he said, jutting his chin toward the toilet, “I don’t mind.”
Trying not to be weird about it, you closed the frosted glass shower door before sitting down to empty your tank. As you peed, you tried to look anywhere, but at the blurry shape of the naked hybrid who sat three feet away. Why hadn’t he been a girl? Having a male hybrid was so much more awkward. Even though you could tell from his shape through the glass that he wasn’t looking at you, once finished, you still asked him to turn away so you could clean yourself in private.
After you had washed your hands, you turned to tell him that he could resume his regularly scheduled lounging activities and noticed - even through the glass - that the skin on his back looked a bit off. “Baekhyun, what’s wrong with your back?”
“Hm? I don’t know. It has been itchy lately…”
Without thinking, you pulled back the door to see his skin more clearly. Red, angry welts and bumps covered his back, marring his otherwise perfect skin. Squatting, you reached out to touch it. “It looks like you have a rash.” Delicately, you ran your fingertips over his skin. “Does it hurt?”
He shook his head, cool droplets from his wet hair flying to mist your skin. “The more you touch it, the more it itches, though.”
“I’ll schedule a doctor’s appointment.”
Baekhyun moved, and you stood with alacrity, keeping your eyes on the space between his eyebrows as he turned to face you. “I don’t like going to the doctor.”
“No one likes going to the doctor, but we all have to.”
“I’m fine. It’s just a rash.”
“Yes, but what’s causing it? What if it worsens? What if it spreads?”
“I’ll be fine.”
Sighing, you squatted to his level, looked him in the eyes with a pout. “Puppy… Please?”
He mirrored your pout, but looked away with a long-suffering air. “Fine.”
Reaching out, you scratched behind his ears. "That's my baby. Thank you.” You stood, wiping your palms on your pants as you turned to leave the room. “Enjoy your bath.”
“You can leave the door open,” he called as you grabbed the knob.
“Uh…” your voice faltered. “Let me close it.” You smiled, “Don’t want to let out the heat.”
“That’s true,” he murmured before closing his eyes and relaxing against the back of the tub. “Alright.”
You escaped before the bubbles stopped upholding their side of the bargain.
***
“What’s wrong?”
Baekhyun wore a measured expression as he quietly sat with you in the doctor’s waiting room. “I don’t like it here.”
“I’m sorry…” you responded soothingly. “But it was necessary. You know that, right?”
“I’m here for you. If it were up to me, I wouldn’t be.”
You laid a hand on his arm. “Thank you.”
That seemed to calm him, take some of the tenseness from his shoulders.
“Byun.” A small, smiling nurse with shining black hair pulled back in a low bun, stood in the doorway, looking around expectantly.
As Baekhyun stood, you reached over to take a magazine from one of the side tables to pass the time. Before you could touch it, he grabbed your wrist, tugging you to your feet. “Wait, what?”
He began to pull you toward the door.
“No, it’s okay, you can go alone. I don’t mind waiting here.”
“I want you to come,” he said stubbornly.
“But this is a full check-up,” you protested, voice cracking.
“So?”
You swallowed uncomfortably, but allowed him to pull you through the corridor into the examining room, which you were gratified to find was bisected by a curtain, behind which sat a chair.
While you settled, Baekhyun was whisked away by the nurse to have his height and weight taken, and was also given a brief eye exam. After they both returned, she gave him an ear exam (both sets), and took his temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure.
As she stood to leave, Baekhyun hesitantly reached out and touched her wrist. “Wait.” He looked at you, seemingly a bit uncertain, before reaching up to remove his earring. “Could you…update my microchip? With her information?”
So, he had made his decision.
The nurse smiled, accepting the earring with a soft, “Of course”, and sitting back down to scan it. After his file loaded, she input your name, email, phone number, and address, before returning it to Baekhyun, who threaded the snug hoop through his ear, and closed it with a small click. The tiny feather that housed the actual microchip dangled from the hoop, briefly catching the light. That done, the nurse stood, gave you both a brief smile, and left.
“Are you sure?”
He nodded. “I’m sure.”
There was more you wanted to say, but just then a quiet knock sounded at the door.
“Come in,” Baekhyun called.
A tall, uncleish-looking man with greying hair and silver-rimmed spectacles entered. “Good morning, Baekhyun, I'm Dr. Sanchez.”
“Nice to meet you,“ Baekhyun responded.
“And this is Miss Owner?” Dr. Sanchez inquired, peering at you over his glasses.
You stood from the chair beside the examining table to introduce yourself, shaking his hand with the mild correction, “I'm his guardian, yes.”
“A pleasure,” the doctor said noncommittally before perching on the stool in front of the computer. “Let's see…” he began, perusing Baekhyun's electronic chart. “Have you eaten anything today?”
Baekhyun shook his head.
“Good. Then we'll take blood samples before you leave.” He stood and blew on his stethoscope. “Lift your shirt.” Baekhyun did so, allowing the doctor to move the stethoscope around his chest and back, occasionally murmuring, “Inhale. Exhale,” before removing the buds from his ears. He took a pen light from his coat pocket. “Say, ‘Ah’”. The doctor examined Baekhyun’s throat, then his ears, after which, he rubbed his hands together to warm them before checking Baekhyun’s lymph nodes. “Good, good,” he murmured. “Lie down.” Once Baekhyun complied, the doctor lifted his shirt and pressed gently against his abdomen here and there, then lowered his shirt with a nod, and told him to sit up.
After Dr. Sanchez tested Baekhyun's reflexes, he sat back on the stool. “Well, everything appears to be in order, though you are a bit underweight.”
“We're working on that,” you interjected. “He was malnourished for several weeks before he came home with me. I started him on rice porridge, then we moved to soup, and he has been eating stews for a couple of days. I just didn’t want to overload his system.”
“You’re doing well,” the doctor allowed. “No stomach trouble?”
Baekhyun shook his head.
“Then, I think that he can start on solid food, maybe starting tomorrow. Make sure he gets plenty of protein, and vegetables.”
“Yes, sir,” you agreed.
“Excellent. Now,” Dr. Sanchez said, slapping his thighs, and looking at you over his glasses, “Is there anything in particular you’d like to discuss?”
“Yes, sir, he-”
“Go ahead.”
A bit taken aback at the interruption, you hesitantly continued, “He has this…rash on his back.”
The doctor looked up, his expression a bit surprised. He turned to Baekhyun asking, “Do you mind?” before proceeding to lift the back of Baekhyun’s shirt. “Ah, yes, I see… Does it hurt?”
Baekhyun shook his head. “No. Just itches.”
The doctor gently palpated a particularly large welt. “No broken skin, no weeping…” He pulled down Baekhyun’s shirt. “It looks like contact dermatitis - an allergic reaction to something. Probably something new in his environment, like a soap, laundry detergent, or fabric softener. I’d recommend buying some sensitive skin, fragrance free personal hygiene products, and gradually reintroducing your normal products one by one until you figure out which one is causing the problem.”
“Alright,” you agreed.
“In the meantime, I’ll prescribe an antihistamine cream.” He looked at you. “You’ll have to apply it twice a day, along with a moisturizer.”
“No problem,” you nodded.
“Wonderful.” Dr. Sanchez stood then, looking at Baekhyun, and gesturing to a hospital gown left on the examining table by the nurse. “I’ll leave the room while you put that on.”
Then the doctor was gone, and you were left with a rapidly disrobing Baekhyun. Hurriedly, you closed the dividing curtain just as his thumbs hooked into the waistline of his pants. There was the soft susurration of fabric, and then he pulled back the curtain. You jumped slightly, but he was already in the hospital gown, looking at you placidly before he walked back to climb onto the examining table, and pull the little paper blanket over his lap.
Dressed in the hospital gown, he looked even smaller, and your heart felt squeezed. Suddenly you wanted to protect him.
Another soft knock at the door alerted you to the returning doctor, who strode in, pulled a pair of latex gloves from a box stuck to the wall, and then slid them onto his hands with a couple of sharp snaps. “Alright,” he said. “Just jump down, bend over, and we’ll start the prostate exam.”
The world blurred, and then you were outside, feeling slightly dizzy from how fast you had moved. Your heart was pounding from the alacrity with which you had teleported, and you leaned heavily against the closed door, pressing your hand to your chest. “I’ll…uh…wait out here,” you called softly through the door. “You just…call me if you need me.”
You hoped with all your heart, your brain, your appendix, and your spleen that he would not need you.
Silent minutes lollygagged by as you paced outside of the door like a young father awaiting the birth of his first child. Finally the doctor exited the room.
“Well, he’s perfectly healthy,” he said, his smile avuncular.
You didn’t realize how tense you had been until you relaxed at his words.
“In addition to the antihistamine cream, I’m prescribing a multivitamin,” He handed you a piece of paper. “Give this to the nurse on your way out.”
“Alright.”
“Did you have any questions?”
“I don’t think so,” you answered.
“Are you sure?” Dr. Sanchez stared at you meaningfully.
You squirmed. “Um…ye-es?”
“Alright.” He sounded unconvinced. “Well if you think of any, just leave a message with the front desk staff, and I’ll get back to you. If nothing changes, then I’ll see you again in six months.”
“Okay.”
With a perfunctory nod, he turned and walked away.
He had only taken a few steps when something did occur to you. “Oh, wait! Dr. Sanchez!”
The doctor turned, his expression unsurprised. “Yes?”
“He said that he takes hormone blockers, but he’s probably almost out, I think. Um, could you write a new prescription?”
Dr. Sanchez stared at you for a few moments, his expression unreadable, then nodded before walking back, taking the piece of paper from you, and writing something. “Refill on hormone blockers. There you go.” He smiled at you thoughtfully. “Have a good day.” With that, he turned, and walked away.
After a few moments, Baekhyun exited the room with an amused smile.
“Glad that’s over?” you asked, heading toward the exit nurse.
“Are you glad it’s over?”
“What? I just wanted to give you a little privacy.”
“I’ve never seen anyone move so fast.”
“If I take you for ice cream after we pick up your prescriptions, will you stop teasing me?”
“Absolutely.”
He lied.
