How to Make a Sinner Sleep - Chapter 35: Chapter 35

Kaden was well aware of his idiocy.
Agreeing to a full-out duel with one of the most powerful living species, albeit undeveloped and still growing, while suffering from occasional insomnia and eternal stress, was not exactly a wise decision.
His entire body ached, particularly the stab wound where he had charged forth mindlessly, ignoring the sword that pierced through his body.
However, with the painful aching came a sense of exhilaration and excitement.
A fight for the sake of fighting. And not only had he won, hadn't he revealed to Noah his feelings, in some way or form? That he wouldn't back down, but that he wasn't just a controlled dog listening to Reed?
That the rumours, though most true, weren't entirely accurate?
He wasn't sure exactly what he wanted to tell Noah or to prove, but he'd given his all into the fight just because he could.
Kaden blinked slowly at the intrusive lights in the infirmary, the stench of medicine and also the faint pungent odor of blood wafting in the air. Though he may have been partly to blame for the latter stench.
His mind blurred in and out of conscience, tired from over thinking and not sleeping. In the distance, he could barely make out a few voices.
A certain, irritated dragon and a worried human stood outside the door.
Noah leaned against the wall, black-inked fingers tapping sharply with impatience as Niklas blocked the entrance.
"You're irritation is too obvious right now. You'll disturb the patient."
"If he wanted me to show consideration for him, then he shouldn't have impaled himself on my sword." gritted out the dragon with deep anger.
The feeling of watching somebody get injured by a weapon he was holding, watching the sword sink through the soft flesh before piercing through to the other side. The blood that stained the metal after, the cold body in his arms.
It wasn't something he ever wanted to know.
Niklas glanced backwards at the ward, checking that Kaden was still sleeping before he sighed with frustration. "What are you guys even doing? I knew that you had a disagreement, but what happened?"
The cold, unflinching stare moved over to Niklas' face. There wasn't an ounce of warmth in them. "I wanted him to put down his facade."
"And a duel was the most ideal method?"
"No, but I believed it to be the freest way he could express himself." Noah's words, despite their anger, had an air of calm confidence. "A way that he didn't need to speak, but would expose him nonetheless."
Niklas fell silent at Noah's honesty.
In reality, it was true that only extreme methods could make Kaden completely drop his facade. That the self the man had revealed during that duel was likely the truest version of Kaden they'd ever seen.
A reckless, immature idiot. With movements free and without abandon, a trail of elegance and also chaos in the harsh swings.
"What was he trying to do, putting his life at a risk?" seethed the dragon.
Niklas stared at him quietly, before looking back where Kaden remained sleeping peacefully. Aware of Kaden's insomnia, he wondered if the only reason he could sleep so peacefully, was due to sheer exhaustion.
"I think he wanted to prove himself to you. You challenged him in order to reveal a vulnerable side of him, and he agreed, only after you threatened to end your relations, might I add. Perhaps it was a way of answering you."
Answering? That would mean there was a question Kaden was responding to. But the only question Noah recalled was one that received a negative response.
To prove himself? Perhaps it hadn't been consciously, but did Kaden wish to prove his trustworthiness? A contradictory answer compared to the original one, only able to be told through the clashing of swords?
Noah closed his eyes, recalling every sensation of their duel.
In a way, it had also felt as if Kaden were willing to take everything Noah wanted to give to him. Every heavy blow, every cut—Kaden didn't hide away from them.
The dragon felt irritated beyond means.
If that was the case, what was that fool trying to say? To trust him, or to not trust him? To believe in his existence, or to not?
Honestly, Noah cared about none of those things at the moment. The more pressing matter was that—what sort of absolute fool charged into a fight with no defense? The injury could've been fatal if there'd been any mistake.
He really couldn't look away from that man, subject to dozens if not hundreds of rumours. That man who could hardly take care of himself.
The dragon's anger continued to rise endlessly.
Really, who cared if Kaden was insistent on pushing Noah away? Noah had pushed Kaden too far, forcing the man from exposing a side of him he wasn't ready to reveal. That led to the current situation.
Therefore, Noah should simply wait patiently for Kaden to slowly unravel, layer by layer as he revealed himself with each passing day. The duel had reaffirmed his determination to remain by Kaden's side.
Until the bitter end.
Noah raised his head, and turned to the front of the door with a new resolution. For now, he would have to take care of that death-seeking man and train new lessons into his brain.
How to defend yourself in battle, how to cook and eat regular meals, how to make sure to get enough sleep...
If Niklas knew the ever-changing thoughts of his friend's, he would've roared out in laughter, wondering how it ended up with such a strange conclusion.
"Move. I'll check his condition."
Niklas stared at Noah oddly. "I have the feeling my child will be corrupted if I let you through?"
"What nonsense are you speaking?"
"A person who knows the future and absolutely everything like me should have their words taken very, very seriously. And I say that your anger seems to have been replaced by some weird resolution."
The dragon looked utterly unamused as he stepped forth. "Move."
"Now, now, my second most important friend," begun Niklas dramatically, before the door behind him swung open and he fell back in surprise.
Kaden caught the man by the shoulder, clutching his wound with his other arm as he groggily peered at them through his pale green eyes. A bandage was wrapped around his sculpted, exposed waist as blood seeped through.
Pink hair hung in loose tangles over his eyes, disarrayed and messy after collapsing, and also from the fight.
"You're too noisy..." muttered the man, half delirious from waking.
"Kaden! You're awake." said Niklas brightly, spinning around as he switched their positions, so that Kaden was leaning against him instead. "You're injured, why did you get up?"
Thinking that, and looking at the slightly loose bandages, Niklas flicked the patient on the forehead.
Kaden jerked back, wincing. "I'm injured, yet you choose to abuse me?"
"I'm giving you character development through strict training. What fool tries to wander around after being stabbed in the stomach?"
"It's a minor wound."
Noah watched the exchange silently through his dark eyes, narrowing his gaze. There was no pretend act in Kaden's features—he genuinely thought of it as a minor infliction, not something worth worrying about.
He wanted that fool to be honest, but was Kaden's honesty simply a lack of common sense? In that case, he'd prefer for Kaden to at least pretend to care about himself.
How ridiculous. The dragon felt immensely irritated again.
He stepped forth, interrupting the two people before him as he plucked Kaden away from Niklas, dragging the injured back to the bed he should've never left.
Dropping Kaden down, Noah turned and grabbed a new roll of gauze to re-wrap the bandages that had been loosened with movement. When Kaden looked up with bewilderment, attempting to stand up, the dragon glared viscously.
"You said once that you'd prefer to be my dog."
Kaden's confusion only increased. "What? Oh, yes, I did previously." He furrowed his eyebrows, blinking blankly until some clarity returned to him. "Are you interested in having a pet like me, dear Bellamy—"
"Then sit."
Kaden, half-standing, fell back onto the bed with a plop, sitting in a well-mannered position out of sheer confusion.
Before he could realize what an obedient display he committed, Noah said,
"Now stay. And shut up."
Niklas, still at the entrance, stared with wide-eyes before he roared out in loud, wheezing laughter. "What—why, god, Kaden, what an obedient pet you make—hahahahaha—"
A wonderful smile bloomed on Kaden's expression, the epitome of syrupy sweetness. Goosebumps immediately rushed up Niklas' arms.
"My dear, lovely, darling friend."
"No, no, no, I think that sort of language is best used against Noah, not me." Niklas hurried to say, waving his arms as Kaden continued to peacefully smile. "I'd rather you cursed at me, please."
Kaden sneered, raising his green eyes through the disordered strands of hair. "Begging for a scolding?"
Niklas' expression warped in disgust. "Must you word it like that?"
"If it elicits a reaction like that, then yes."
"How cruel. Our decades of friendships amounts to such torture."
"It's been less than a year."
"Time is a human construct." Niklas spread his arm wide, putting on the expression of a teaching elderly man. "It has felt like decades to me."
"And a few minutes for me."
Niklas grinned. "It feels so short because time passes faster when you're talking to me."
Kaden raised his eyebrows. "Is it passing faster, or is my lifespan shortening from your stupidity?"
Niklas smiled silently, before spinning around to the dragon, who finally found the roll of gauze. "Noah, I'll leave it to you to treat our patient. Please teach him a strict lesson so this doesn't occur again. A good scolding is very necessary!"
Noah glanced over with an impassive face, nodding.
With everything confirmed, Niklas sped out of the room like a bright gust of wind, escaping before he could suffer any more abuse under Kaden's pale gaze.
Kaden raised an arm to stop him, but the man was gone before he could utter a single word. He woodenly turned to Noah, feeling slightly uncomfortable. After all, their last proper conversation had been more of a disagreement.
One where he told Noah to not trust him.
He realized how contradictory he was being, how half-baked his determination of the future was. In order for his revenge to carry out, and for Noah to tear down the royal family, he would betray that dragon.
Becoming good friends with Noah was not an option, and one that he seemed to be walking upon. But he didn't want to entirely fool Noah, have that proud and noble creature stand by his side, only to be broken to pieces.
And Kaden himself was getting attached—genuinely. To a man that would be his judge, and send him to his final destination.
That was terrifying.
Despite that, he didn't want Noah to leave his side just yet.
It was greedy and selfish. It could be called cruel and manipulative, depending on the momentary warmth that Noah's presence provided, and clinging to it.
His thoughts sunk into murky darkness before the tap of fingers broke him away, and he lifted his gaze to meet Noah's black eyes. The dragon moved towards him slowly, glancing down at the wound.
"Raise your arms."
"What?"
"I'm going to re-wrap the bandages you foolishly loosened." There seemed to be a bitter edge to the low voice. "I'll have to unwrap the bandages first."
Kaden opened his mouth to say he'd do it himself, but under the dragon's scrutinizing stare, he couldn't bring himself to.
However, he soon realized after lifting his arms and feeling Noah's gloved fingers pry at edges of the bandages, that he had to stop the other from continuing.
The person that had wrapped him up covered his entire torso and shoulders, acting as if he were bleeding from everywhere.
But it was in fact, tactful wrapping.
Because underneath the layers of white and red bandages, Kaden's body was a ghastly sight of deep and ugly scars, crossed and layers over every crook of skin.
Wounds from countless years of survival—it was a proof that he lived.
But also a terrible reminder.
There were also scars across his arms and legs, but the ones on his arms were thankfully not vivid compared to his torso and hands. Now, it wasn't that Kaden thought scars were hideous or unsightly.
He just thought that his, from murder and filth, were. From beatings and lashings due to his weakness, from those who tried to defend themselves.
And maybe it was true, that the people he'd killed weren't good people either. But Kaden was no celestial being; and with the weight of blood on his back, he had no right to judge others either.
He jerked away from Noah violently, wrenching his body as the bandages loosened more, and his wound flared with pain from his movements.
"Chauvet." Noah attempted to reach out to the man.
Kaden reacted more violently, rushing to cover himself in blankets as he tore himself out of the dragon's grip. He wasn't ashamed, standing in front of any person, and letting them witness the weight of his sins.
What would it matter for a stranger to judge him, and deem him unworthy? There opinion was both unnecessary and a buzzing whisper he could ignore. Or at least pretend to.
The dragon was different.
Because he was no longer simply a stranger.
Noah watched the frenzied and almost chaotic movements, the horror in Kaden's green eyes and the brilliant bloom of red that burst through the bandages.
"Kaden!" snapped Noah, anger vibrating in his throat as Kaden flinched, swiveling his head up.
Noah squeezed his eyes shut to ease his fury, breathing deeply. "Chauvet, if you don't want me to see your wound, then I'll call for the attending teacher. However, your wound has opened again and must be treated."
"It doesn't hurt."
"Does it really not hurt? Or have you started to believe in the lies you've been telling yourself?" wondered the dragon gloomily, accusing.
Kaden chuckled wryly. "Aren't you wonderfully talented at prodding where it stings the most? This is why I adore you so much, dearest Bellamy."
"You must think lowly of me."
"What?"
"If you still believe that I can continue to allow myself to get distracted by your purposeful words of irritation, to the point of ignoring your injury. Chauvet, say as you please, but my priority is your well-being."
Exactly how much would it take to hammer into that man's foolish brain that his body was bleeding and wounded?
Noah sighed, and walked over to the roll of gauze that had been tossed to the side during Kaden's frenzy, calmly tidying it without any impatience. He'd suppressed his anger in moments.
"Enough nonsense, and tell me. Will you let me wrap your wounds, or do you want for me to call the attending teacher?"
Seeing Noah's insistence, Kaden couldn't persist in changing the topic. His actions were currently shameful, but his scars were even more so. Yet he was bleeding profusely, and there was no telling where the attending nurse left to.
He wouldn't die, but there was the possibility of passing out again. And although something like that was a minor inconvenience, he had a feeling Noah would be incredible irritated.
With their relationship balancing on a thinning thread of string, Kaden swallowed back any refusal.
The blankets fell from his shoulders, and he moved to the edge of the bed again with great reluctance. Unwillingly, he lowered his eyes and hooked a finger at the edge of the bandages.
With a tug, he successfully unraveled the loosened fabric, pulling the rest away as it fell around his waist. A sculpted and narrow waist was revealed, with a beautiful mermaid line and an abdomen built over years of fighting.
The wound at his stomach was hideous and bleeding, crusted slightly as red smeared around the center.
Noah's sharp eyes fell onto the man's body, but surprisingly it wasn't on the wound he'd inflicted. No, suddenly that deep gash seemed minor and little.
Surrounded by a garden of dark scars.