✧ 60 ✧
Ilya fluttered his eyes open, long black lashes dropped and rose on magical green irises with a hint of golden specs on the edges.
He sat up, feeling a headache around his temples.
He rubbed them, swiping his messy dark hair from his bedroom eyes.
This strange feeling could only resemble a hangover, or so he heard.
His hand reached for his forehead, crunching his button nose with half an eye open. His face regained its color, and his eyes got their natural vibrant hazel green.
Ilya was irresistible at this moment, add to that his similarity to Ned, Billy could barely restrain himself from hugging and kissing him.
Billy was standing right next to Ilya, but he didn't want to scare the boy. He had to alert him to his presence without giving him a heart attack. So, he cleared his throat. Unfortunately, it only made things worse.
Ilya jumped at the sound of that deep voice coming from beside him. Then, a sudden pain surged from his arm. His arm sling was back. He forgot that he had a broken wrist covered in a cast holding its bones in place.
When the pain became manageable, his heart started beating quickly, like it was about to jump out of his chest. He glimpsed that towering brawny man standing next to him with a fur coat on his wide shoulders. He backed away from his shadow until he glued his back to the wall behind him.
Ilya was back at that dreadful hospital, with no windows or signs of life. The mattress underneath him was worn out as if it had been there for three decades at least; it was smelly and torn in a dozen places, but that wasn't what worried him.
The worst part of all this was that he realized he was in the beast's den.
Ilya asked himself, why would Beast bring him to his bedroom?
This was obviously his room. He could tell by the dry blood on the walls and floor and that unmistakable scent of rust. He could tell from the awful stench and piles of bone on every corner.
If his heart wasn't still pounding in its place, he could swear it ripped his chest open.
Billy heard the poor boy's pounding heart. He detected the smell of fear in him, even when Billy was in his human form.
Billy tried to make a friendly conversation with the boy, starting with a simple question:
"Are you alright?"
Billy witnessed the boy stuttering and shaking.
"I... I d-d-don't know."
Ilya didn't move his eyes away from Beast as if he would eat him at any moment—why else would he bring him here?
A couple of tears escaped his twinkling eyes.
Ilya was scared out of his mind. The two tears doubled, then quadrupled.
He started hyperventilating, and that tore Billy's heart into pieces.
"Hey, hey." Billy raised his hands. "It's OK. I'm not gonna hurt you."
Billy attempted to get near the kid. He leaned forward, but that made Ilya close his eyes and brace himself for the worst.
"Elliot," Billy started. "Look. It's me, Billy."
Ilya wouldn't dare to open his eyes. All he thought about was those dreadful yellow eyes feeding off his fears, playing with him as if he were a toy. Ilya had had enough of Beast's cruel tricks. What if this was just another one of his so-called games?
"Just trust me and open your eyes." Billy kneeled to meet the boy's height. "Open them and check the colors of my eyes. Check them, and you'll see that it's me. It's Billy."
The voice was different. Ilya almost felt comfort in hearing Beast's voice.
It was kind and caring, rather than scary or malicious.
A voice that fell on his ears like an angel from heaven.
At that moment, it didn't matter how big Beast was.
All Ilya could focus on was his voice. That wasn't the voice of a ruthless killer.
That voice belonged to a different person.
Ilya's breathing calmed down. He remembered a crucial piece of information: Beast had piercing yellow eyes, whereas Billy had those warm and friendly brown ones. But which personality will he face?
Ilya gambled on his luck. He held his breath and slowly opened his eyes. To his surprise, he was met with the most soothing shade of browns.
"See?" Billy chuckled. "There's no reason to be afraid anymore."
Ilya finally breathed the sweet air of relief. This was not the Beast's cruel eyes. This was Billy, alright.
Ilya wiped away his tears and nodded.
Billy, on the other hand, was feeling fluttering butterflies in his belly. The sensation of being accepted by this beautiful innocent boy filled his heart with warmth.
This... feeling.
It has been years since he felt it.
And he wished he would feel this way... forever.