Breeder

Kuna adjusted the shoulder strap of the computer bag he carried. He would need to ask Juana to make it bigger again. He walked up the path to his best friend’s house.

He had always admired Xavier, but he would never tell the small boy so. It would only complicate their friendship. Plus, it is not as if the beauty admired him also. No, his admiration lies with Kyden. He didn’t really understand where the appeal was. Kyden was the bad-boy of the 11th grade. He was a rebel, a problem child. It was rumored that his father, Idia, was an alcoholic. He was bed news. Not that any of the many boys that admired him saw it that way.

“Angst-y,” was how Xavier had described him.

Kuna had simply rolled his eyes and responded, “Trouble.”

The conversation had ended there, the boys finding more entertaining activities than arguing about Xavier’s school-boy crush. Kuna smiled, hearing Xavier’s innocent laughter floating through his mind as they started throwing pillows at each other. It amazed him just how much he cared about Xavier. Simply seeing him smile could make his day. And seeing him in pain, well…

He knocked on the old-fashioned wooden door, using the special rhythm he and Xavier had invented when they were young. He shifted from foot to foot nervously, pushing his fair blonde hair out of his green eyes. Xavier was almost always outside waiting for him, except on the days he managed to sleep in. He wondered if there was anything wrong as he waited for Xavier or Loka to open the door. As the worries started to become slightly over-whelming, he forced himself to stop.

He knocked again, more frantically. He frowned, his intense eyes glaring at the door, as if its closure was its own fault. He raised his fist, about to pound on it again, when it opened slowly. Xavier’s small face peeked through the crack.

A relieved smile crossed his pretty lips. “Oh, Kuna! I thought you were some murderer coming to get us with the way you were knocking! Come in,” he said, smiling softly.

Kuna returned the smile happily, but not before rolling his eyes at Xavier’s wild imagination. He tended to over-react, and became paranoid about the silliest things. “Yes, I’m here to kill you, X. Better watch out,” Kuna said, his deep voice sinister, a smirk stretching across his lips.

Xavier simply rolled his eyes, before opening the door to allow his best friend entry. “Oh, what am I to do! This big, scary man is in my house!” Xavier said over-dramatically, head buried in his hands.

Kuna laughed, the sound rich and deep. He stepped close to Xavier and wrapped him in his strong arms. “I’ll protect you,” he promised, smiling down at him.

Xavier raised an eyebrow, the corner of his mouth rising in amusement. “You’re going to protect me from you?” He giggled, hugging Kuna tightly.

Kuna grinned. “Yeah, of course. I would protect you from anything.”

Xavier smiled and shook his head, pulling away from Kuna. He walked over to the black couch, made of soft fake-leather, and curled his legs beneath him as he sat in the corner. Kuna followed him, suddenly aware that something was indeed wrong. He noticed for the first time that Xavier was still in his blue pajama pants and a small t-shirt. He clearly wasn’t planning on getting dressed anytime soon.

“Umm…you okay, X?” he asked cautiously, his eyes worried. He slowly sank into the cushion beside Xavier, keeping a small amount of distance between them.

Xavier looked down at his knees, his brown hair swinging in front of his face and shielding parts of it. He picked at the soft cotton of his pajama pants. Taunt, awkward silence hung in the air, so thick it was almost physical.

“Xavier?”

He finally glanced up. He knew when Kuna called him by his full name he was either scolding him, or really worried. “I…I’m fine. Really.”

“I know that expression, Xavier. It’s the I-don’t-want-to-tell-you-something-so-I’m-stalling face. What is it?” Kuna said sternly. He knew he could get whatever was wrong with Xavier out in the open soon enough. It would just be helpful if he cooperated.

“Kuna… something happened. I mean, a big something. Something that will change my life forever,” Xavier said quietly, tears starting to brim his beautiful eyes.

Kuna eyed him worriedly, unsure if Xavier was just over-reacting. Something in his troubled eyes told him he wasn’t. And suddenly, he was afraid to know what happened. Suddenly, he wasn’t sure if he really wanted to know. Still, he said, “Just tell me, X. I’m sure it isn’t quite that bad. Maybe I could help.”

Xavier just shook his head sadly, a tear sliding down his pale cheek. Kuna’s breath caught, and he quickly moved closer to Xavier. He wrapped his arms around his small waist, lifting him into his lap. Xavier immediately buried his face into Kuna’s neck, his familiar, woodsy scent calming him slightly.

“C’mon, honey, just talk to me,” Kuna said pleadingly.

Xavier sniffled, and pulled away from Kuna. He looked down at his lap, and vaguely noticed the difference, as he always did, between his thin, feminine legs and Kuna’s muscular, masculine ones. “Kuna…” he whimpered.

Kuna’s arms tightened around him comfortingly. “Please, Xavier…” he whispered desperately.

Xavier gulped, trying to gather his courage. He didn’t want to tell Kuna. He didn’t want to tell anyone. Saying it somehow made it real. Saying it made it permanent. “I can’t…” he whispered back.

“Please,” Kuna begged lightly. He felt close to tears himself. He needed to know what was bothering Xavier so much. He needed to make it better, to wipe the tears from those pretty eyes.

“I’m bleeding,” Xavier blurted out, collapsing into sobs. He head fell onto Kuna’s wide shoulder.

Kuna stared at him, green eyes wide. He honestly did not know how to respond. How did anyone respond to something like that? It was the last thing he expected from his small friend. “You’re…you’re a…a breeder?” Kuna mumbled, almost fearfully. Xavier just continued crying on his shoulder. Kuna wrapped his arms around him tighter, and rubbed comforting circles on his back. “Shh, shh, honey, it’s okay. It’ll be okay. Calm down. Just breathe. Everything’s alright,” he murmured softly.

“Don’t even say that! How can it possibly be alright? Do you even know what this means?” Xavier shouted though his heart-wrenching sobs.

Kuna actually did know. Xavier would never be his. It was now impossible. On the positive side, he would never be Kyden’s either. He would be a stranger’s. Worry filled him. What if Xavier’s mate turned out to be awful? What if he didn’t respect Xavier? What if he wasn’t as gentle and loving as Xavier deserved? He couldn’t stand the thought of Xavier unhappy. But, Loka wouldn’t be that reckless with his son’s future. He would spend hours upon hours searching for a good mate, one that would match Xavier perfectly. He knew Loka. The thought comforted him slightly. “You know Loka will choose carefully. It will be okay. You never know, you might even fall in love with your mate.”

Xavier scoffed disbelieving. Fall in love with someone he didn’t choose? It would never happen with him.

“It has happened before, you know,” Kuna said softly. The very thought of Xavier falling in love with someone else, losing his virginity to someone else, made jealousy rush though his veins. He knew there was no way around it though.

Xavier simply nodded, still not believing his best friend. “Kuna…do you think you could stay with me?” he whispered.

“Yeah, I’m sure Juana and Silas would understand. I just need to contact them to let them know,” he said, smiling as Xavier pulled away from him and nodded.

Xavier stood up on shaky legs, and slowly walked into the kitchen. He grabbed the phone from the stand on which it charged, and made his way back to Kuna. He felt uncomfortable in his own skin, as if his body was no longer his. Well, he thought, it didn’t belong to him any longer. It would belong to whoever his mate was to be. The thought made his heart turn to stone, and suddenly, he found anger flashing though his entire body. He thrust the phone at Kuna, before sitting beside him, scowling. He glared down at his knees.

Kuna raised his eyebrow at Xavier’s sudden mood swing. Wasn’t that a symptom of bleeding though? He couldn’t really remember. It was mandatory for every boy to learn of breeding at a young age, just in case. “Umm, you alright?” he asked cautiously.

“Why did this have to happen to me? I can’t have a baby! You know as well as I do that I can’t handle pain! How the hell am I supposed to do this? Huh? Do you have any ideas?” Xavier demanded, switching his glare unto Kuna.

Kuna just stared at him with wide, confused eyes. He didn’t know how to respond to the younger boy’s anger. It was rare that Xavier really allowed anything to bother him. He was a very calm, laid-back, peace-maker. He hated fighting, conflict of any sort. So, why was he acting like this was all Kuna’s fault and trying to pick a fight? “Uh…” was all Kuna managed.“Of course you don’t have an answer. Nobody has any fucking answers!” Xavier said moodily, slouching back, folding his thin arms over his chest and pouting adorably. Kuna couldn’t help but admire his beauty, even while he was being strange.

“I’m sure we’ll be able to find some answers, X. How about after I phone home, we go online and search this, okay? It will make more sense,” he said comfortingly.

Xavier huffed, like Kuna was being the difficult one. “I did that last night! Even if I didn’t, I already know the basics. But, nothing says why it has to be me,” Xavier grumbled, his gaze moving to the carpeted ground.

Kuna sighed tiredly, and tried not to roll his eyes. He sensed that would just make Xavier angrier. Still, he had the feeling learning more about it would calm Xavier down more. He picked up the phone and dialed the 12 digits that he had memorized in Kindergarten: 4R6 6J3 F6G 7D3.

He held the phone cradled in the palm of his hand as it beeped annoyingly. He pursed his lips as there was no answer for a few long moments.

“Greetings!” Silas cheery voice chimed.

Kuna smiled, before saying, “Greetings, Silas.”

“Kuna? Aren’t you supposed to be in school by now?” his father asked, sounding confused.

“Yes, normally I would be. But, uh, something happened. Xavier needs me to stay at his house today,” he said cautiously. He knew both his fathers were very enthusiastic about education. A day off school was almost unheard of in his household.

“Oh, really, now? And why is that?” Just as Kuna expected, Silas didn’t sound impressed.

He shot a glance at Xavier, noticing that now he looked sad again. ‘This is going to be a very long day,’ he thought to himself. “Well…Silas…Xavier discovered he was a…breeder last night,” he mumbled. The word felt awkward on his tongue. He almost felt like blushing as it slipped past his lips. Of course, he was used to the idea. It was natural, and it was needed for the survival of the human species. But, using it in the same sentence of his beloved Xavier, using it to describe his beloved Xavier…

“Oh! Oh, my! Well, of course you can stay. Wish him luck for me, and remind him that Juana and I are here for him. Oh, this is so exciting! Our little Xavier, a breeder! Wow, this seems so unreal!”

“I know, it really does. Um, well, I’ve got to get going now. I’ll probably be home tonight,” he mumbled. He knew as well as anybody that Silas was known to be able to talk.

“Okay, we’ll see you tonight then. Have a good day, honey! Bye-bye,” Silas said excitedly. Kuna could practically see him thinking of how to tell everybody about Xavier.

“Yeah, see you,” he said, quickly disconnecting.

“So, computer?” Xavier said quietly, glancing up at Kuna though his eyelashes. He forced a weak smile.

Kuna smiled widely and nodded. “Research.”