Silence. The pinpricks of anticipation as they make their way along his skin. At the back of his neck, Killian's hairs rise from the static. A moment that felt like it could stretch on forever. Only for it to shatter at the sound of a beep.

His heartaches and bleeds when faced with the suffering of others. Heartbreak, the death of love, they splatter crimson on his walls.

Why?

Did he love you that much?

Would he continue to do so if he knew the blood on your hands?

If he saw the real you.

Disgust is such a powerful emotion. Fernando's lips rocket it down Killian's throat and into his stomach like an atom bomb. The acid splash of gastric juices ignites the explosive once it lands, threatening to jet vomit up and out at any moment. If not for the candied touch of Misty Terrain snuffing the wick between vaporel fingers, it would have.

Espeon drew power from their connection. She siphoned more strength than she could channel on her own to perceive the branches of time—a kaleidoscope of potentialities. Loveless saw all that the future and its many possibilities offered. Somewhere inside slept the answer, the truth. Loveless need only sift through the noise to find it.

Hospitals made him uncomfortable on regular visits. They smelled like medicine, the doctors asked too many questions, and then there was the crap food. He'd heated better-tasting things in the microwave while waiting for mom to come home.