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“KEVIN!”
Kevin laughed as Brian’s yell shattered the peace in the manor. He then heard footsteps stomping down the stairs. He smirked as the angry cyborg entered the kitchen.
“Good day, Brian. Can I get you something to eat?” The human blinked innocently as Brian gritted his teeth.
“Care to explain why I woke up to my room filled with cans of WD-40?”
“Oh, well, I just figured you were running out and all. So I decided to help out a little. I know how busy you can be.” Kevin bit his lip to suppress a huge grin from spreading across his face.
“My joints are not squeaky you feckin’ eejit. Maybe get your ears checked.” Brian scolded as he delivered a swift flick to Kevin’s temple.
Kevin’s smile tightened as a flash of pain spread through his head from the impact point. Luckily, Brian had turned his back on him by then, claiming to be returning upstairs to tell Daniel about Kevin’s prank. Kevin said nothing as he began to rub the side of his head.
“A bit too hard there, Brian,” Kevin murmured under his breath, not wanting any of his friends to hear. “I hope that doesn’t leave a mark.”
This wasn’t an odd occurrence. Kevin is often on the receiving end of playful roughhousing. It gets a lot less playful when his friends forget that they have enhanced strength that humans can’t keep up with. Kevin has received multiple minor injuries from the lads, not that he’d ever tell them. He’d much rather have a few bruises and scratches than have his friends be nervous to interact with him.
“KEVIN!”
Seán's yell was unexpected. As far as he was aware, Kevin hadn’t set up any pranks for the werewolf today; he was saving them for next week. Said werewolf burst through the back door and made a beeline for the kitchen. He ran up to Kevin, pausing for a second to catch his breath before gripping Kevin’s arms and shaking him slightly.
“Kevin, you have to come see these bones I just found. It’s almost a full skeleton!”
“Okay, just quit shakin’ me or else I’ll get motion sickness.” Seán halted his movements before running back to the door and motioning Kevin to follow him, to which the human happily obliged.
The setting sun casted an orange glow on the forest surrounding Dan's house. Seán quickly led Kevin to a patch of disturbed dirt where a shockingly well-preserved skeleton lay.
“It looks like a fox!” Seán pulled Kevin down by the sleeve of his hoodie to get a closer look.
“Woah, cool!” Kevin awed at the impressive find before a malicious smile made its way onto his face. He swiped at the skeleton, grabbing the skull and running away.
“HEY!” Seán cried angrily.
“Dibs!” Kevin called back, laughing at Seán's shocked and annoyed face.
“Get back here!” Kevin heard Seáns yell and then heard the sound of four paws rapidly approaching him.
The chase didn’t last long. Never in a million years could a human outrun a werewolf. Seán pounced on Kevin, his paws colliding with the man's back and knocking him down. Kevin's neck snaps forward as he falls, pain shooting through his head. The wind is knocked out of him as he is sandwiched between the hard ground and the weight of Seán in wolf form. He ignores the pain and lets out a semi-forced laugh so as to not make Seán suspicious. Seán transforms back into his human form, laughing as well.
“Alright, you got me. Here.” Kevin holds out the still intact skull to Seán, who gingerly takes it.
“I can’t believe it didn’t fuckin’ break.”
“I know how to handle me bones.”
Seán laughs as he offers Kevin his hand and helps him up. Kevin suppresses a wince as the sudden hoisting makes his vision darken for a split second. The dull pain that had lingered after Brian had flicked him was replaced by internal throbbing in his skull. He wanted to give up the bone mission and just lie down.
“I think we should head back. Dan will probably be up by now.” Seán looked to Kevin for approval. The human nodded before immediately regretting it. They started the 5-minute walk back to the manor, a comfortable silence falling between them.
Kevin kept repeatedly flicking his lighter open and closed to distract from the pain ravaging its way through his head. He felt off-balance and dizzy as he tried to keep pace with Seán. After what felt like an eternity, they finally made it back to the mansion.
When they entered, they were met with the sight of Brian, Daniel, and Nogla playing Uno.
“Daithi, you can’t stack a +2 on a +4.” Dan laughed as Brian argued with the spector.
“Since when?”
“Since forever!”
“Oh, hi, Seán, Kevin. Where did you two go?” Dan was the first to notice their presence. He smiled and waved them over. Seán happily sat next Brian while Kevin slowly and silently made his way over to sit in between Dan and Daithi.
Dan stared at Kevin, confused by how quiet the human was. He also couldn’t help but notice a small bruise forming on the side of Kevin's face. It didn’t look serious but Dan figured he would ask about it later.
“We can start over and deal you both in?” Dan suggested, much to Brian’s dismay.
“Start over? I have Uno! I’m not gonna start over!”
“Ah calm down, Brine. You don’t even have Uno.” Nogla snickered.
“The fuck? Yes I d-, You fucking bitch!” Brian cusses at Nogla as the ghost lays down a +4 on top of Dan’s, forcing the cyborg to draw eight.
“Come now, Brian. I bet you could still win.” Seán laughed.
“Y’know what, fuck this. Fine, let's start over.” Brian throws his cards onto the coffee table. Dan grabs the cards and begins to shuffle, sneaking glances at Kevin, who still hasn’t said anything, just smiled at the conversation happening around him.
“You alright, Kevin?” Dan asked quietly so only Kevin could hear, not like the others were paying attention though.
“Hm? Uh, yeah. M’fine.” Kevin gave Dan a wobbly smile, which did little to reassure the vampire, but he didn’t want to push.
“Actually lads, I think I’m just gonna go to bed. Going bonin’ really sapped my energy.” Kevin stood up from the table, stumbling slightly which caught the attention of the rest of the lads.
“Wait, Kevin.” Dan followed his friend out of the kitchen and towards the stairs; Seán, Brian, and Daithi not far behind. “Are you sure you’re okay? You seem off?”
“I said I’m fine, just tired.” Kevin starts up the stairs, trying to escape from his concerned friends.
“Kev, wait-” Dan grips Kevin's arm, tugging him backward. Except he didn’t take into account his vampire strength, nor did he factor in Kevin’s poor balance.
Kevin slipped, falling backwards down the stairs. All four of the lads leapt into action to keep him from hitting the ground. Dan was the one to catch him, steadying him and leading him to the couch in the living room.
“Brian, do a scan.” Dan motioned to Kevin, who was now on the couch with his head in his hands.
“On it.” They’re all silent as Brian scans their resident human, who is quietly groaning in pain.
“He has a concussion.” Brian finally said after what felt like ages.
“What?! Kevin, when did you get a concussion?” The volume of Seán’s voice causes Kevin to flinch.
“I think it was when I fell in the forest.” Seán’s face dropped at Kevin’s statement.
“You mean when I knocked you down? Oh god, Kevin, I’m so sorry!”
“It’s fine. I’m pretty used to minor injuries.” Kevin didn’t fully comprehend what he said until he heard his friends gasp. “Wait, I didn’t mean from you guys. Most of them are from, uh, clumsiness.”
“Kevin, how often do you get injuries from us?” Even with his blurry vision, Kevin can see the guilty look on Dan’s face.
“Um, not that often. Only a few days a week. But they are really small. Like bruises and stuff.” Kevin talks fast, as if the speed will lessen the impact of his words.
“Is that bruise on your temple from earlier?” Brian stared at the side of Kevin’s head where a purple mark was visible. Kevin didn’t answer, just gave a tiny nod in response.
“Why did you never tell us?” Daithi asked.
“Because I didn’t want this to happen! I didn’t want you to see me as some fragile human who you have to take care of.”
“Friends are supposed to take care of each other.” Dan placed a hand on Kevin’s shoulder. “We’re not going to baby you. We just need to know what is too much and when to tone down our strength.”
“I also knew you would feel guilty if you learned about it.” Kevin averted his eyes.
“Well duh. Of course we would feel guilty. We don’t want to hurt you. But I’d rather know so that I can pull back.” Seán put an arm around Kevin in reassurance.
“Agreed. Please be honest with us Kev if we’re ever being too intense.” Brian laid his hand on Kevin’s head.
“Alright lads. I promise to say something. Now can I sleep?” Kevin clasped his hands in a begging motion, causing his friends to laugh.
“Sure, but you should sleep out here so we can keep an eye on you, just in case.” Nogla, Seán, and Dan all nodded in agreement at Brian’s statement.
“Fine.” Kevin laid down and closed his eyes. Despite the pain in his head, he fell asleep with a smile on his face.