A Little More Trust Cpt. 62

About a half an hour went by before Bryan got bored with simply sitting around watching them. Setting his half-full glass of water on the table near Zack, he stood up and went to the camera, stopping the recording. “I think that’s good for today,” he muttered, closing the small viewfinder and picking it up. He glanced over at Felicia and rolled his eyes, though she didn’t see it- she was too busy "dancing" with the littler one. She did glance up at his statement, however, and he added, “You can keep them out if you like. I’m just going to work on getting this footage where I want it.” He held up the video camera and shook it slightly by way of explanation.

He set the camera next to his seat on the couch, before disappearing into the office briefly. He returned with his laptop and opened it up, plugging the camera into it to transfer the video. A thought struck him and he glanced over at his girlfriend. “Did you ever eat lunch?” he asked, somewhat judgmentally. He of course had eaten right before she got back, but then the success of the medicine with the little ones had overridden any other thoughts. It had been hours since then- he would be surprised if she wasn’t starving. She did sometimes obsess over things though, to the exclusion of better things on occasion, and this might have been one of those times. It was understandable- after all, this was the breakthrough of the century.

Felicia raised her eyebrows in some embarrassment. Her stomach seemed to rear up at the reminder, but she thought she could probably be excused for forgetting. After all, things were even more exciting than yesterday, with the little ones behaving so well now. "Well. Michelle brought smoothies to lab for the girls. But that's all I had," she answered with a sheepish chuckle.

Felicia glanced down at Adrian in her hands. He looked back at her placidly, though she thought she saw a faint hopeful expression behind his sedated mask. She reached over and set Adrian in the fruit bowl, stroking his head once with a finger before she turned her attention to Zack. He was tilting his head and looking at the water in Bryan's glass, but he had hardly flinched even when Bryan set the glass down.

"Come here, you oddball," she said with a grin; Zack was so much cuter this way. The only squirming he did in her hands was to make sure he was upright, and he blinked owlishly as the movement gave him the spins. Adorable. She set him next to Adrian and got up. Before she left, she asked, "You want anything, babe? I can make you a snack while I'm in the kitchen."

“Yeah, sure,” Bryan said, sounding distracted. He didn’t even look up from where he was seated on the couch, leaning over his laptop as he worked on getting the film where he wanted it. After a couple of moments he detached the camera from the computer and turned it off, setting it on the coffee table next to his water. Stretching out on the couch he glanced over once at the two little ones stuck in the fruit bowl. They were so quiet and controlled now, sitting contentedly and letting the humans do with them as they pleased.

Grinning at the thought, he turned back to his laptop, pulling up the footage he got from the day. The morning’s film just served to remind him how much of a change it was. Only earlier that day Zack had been misbehaving horribly, irritating him and totally upsetting Felicia. Now she seemed to be nearly as enamored with him as she was with Adrian. Skipping the morning film for the moment he worked on putting together a small reel from the afternoon. Honestly, he wasn’t sure if he would use the film showing their misbehavior- at least not at first, when they finally decided to go public. It would be better to convince the world of their reality and domestication first; only then, perhaps, could they show their new audience how hard he and Felicia had worked for this.

With Felicia gone, Adrian sat down with a sigh. He didn't like being touched one bit. He couldn't bother himself with worrying about it, but he quietly disliked it when the humans held him so much. He wished he wasn't their favorite. "I wish I could go back to Charlie's."

"Hmm," Colfax replied. He was frowning at the rim of the bowl. He remembered well that he wouldn't be able to climb out, but he almost wanted to try. "I wonder if they'll come," he muttered, his gaze falling. He wrapped his arms around his middle.

Felicia put together a small plate of apple slices for Bryan, with a dollop of fruit dip on the side. Easy to eat while he worked, and good for him. Perfect. For herself, she microwaved a can of soup. It should hold her over until she cooked dinner. She carried it all back into the living room, setting Bryan's food on the corner of the coffee table nearest him so he could reach. She sat on the floor to sip on her soup, retrieving the little ones to set them back on the table now that she was there and could watch them. She saw Zack briefly look at the fruit at the other end of the table before he quickly looked away. Bryan really had put a fear in the foul-mouthed little guy. It was for the best.

Bryan could hear the little ones talking to each other in the bowl, but he couldn’t quite catch the words, and he didn’t try. He was much more interested in his work on the computer- they were Felicia’s to deal with now, and a little quiet chattering wasn’t a big deal. When Felicia returned with food he grunted his thanks, eyes never leaving the screen in front of him. Absently reaching over, he ran into one of the little ones first before eventually finding his plate and picking up an apple slice. He ate it absentmindedly, almost mechanically, before reaching for another one. His attention was wholly on his work, and it would be until dinner unless something came along and distracted him (in which case he would be thoroughly irritated with the interruption- after all, this was very important).

Adrian fell over when Bryan's hand blindly swept past. He sat up, blinking a few times. Now, the food in the room had more of his attention, and he was definitely starving. He was almost dizzy from it, though that might have been the drugs in his system, too. Probably both, he thought with a faint smile. Why was he smiling? He was drugged and starved by a pair of psychopaths.

Colfax looked down at him with concern, but didn't offer a hand. Adrian was glad, because in his current state he'd probably have taken it. He remembered that he was rather unhappy with Colfax, and as he stood, he rubbed a sore spot on his arm where his fellow viri grabbed him to hold him down. Colfax's heavy-lidded eyes caught this, and he looked away in shame. But Adrian looked between the humans. "Can we please eat too?" he blurted out, sounding polite and mildly curious. Colfax's eyes widened slightly and he looked over at Bryan fearfully.

Bryan looked over at the little ones and frowned; the medicine had effectively shut up loudmouth Zack, but it had practically turned little Adrian into a chatterbox. A polite chatterbox, but his questions weren’t wanted all the same. “Adrian,” he chastised quietly, his tone cold but not menacing. “You shouldn’t talk out of turn. That’s the rule around here.” He didn’t think he would need to teach Adrian the same lesson as Zack, what with the smaller one being so mild-mannered, but apparently he did need reminded of his expected behavior.

Still, the smaller one did raise some kind of point, and Bryan turned his frown on Felicia. It was slightly accusing, though not outright aggressive. “I thought you were going to be in charge of feeding them,” he said to her, sounding annoyed. She’d seemed so excited about it the day before. He’d completely forgotten about the issue, assuming she’d do enough to keep them alive without him having to take care of that as well. “It’s not going to be any good if they starve to death, now is it?”

Adrian's face turned a little pink and he looked away from Bryan quickly. He knew that rule, and he'd gone against it anyway; but, the gnawing hunger in his gut was becoming harder and harder to ignore. The medication may have quelled his anxiety, stuffing it into a box and locking it away within himself, but it could do nothing for physical sensations. Adrian glanced over at Felicia, looking shy now that he'd been chastised.

Felicia frowned and put down her soup. She straightened up to look into the cage. She could have sworn she gave them enough yesterday to last a little while. Perhaps her count had been off. Oh well... she could easily fix that. She stood, a blush on her face. "Sorry, babe, I didn't think they ran out already." She reached for the tiny pair, hastily putting them in the fruit bowl while she left the room in a hurry. She'd have to figure out a dish for them.

Colfax groaned from yet another rapid transition. The haze made it seem like he was almost getting used to these humans grabbing him so much, shaking him around. He winced as he thought about how he'd nearly gotten used to Sawyer's handling. Sawyer had never squeezed him or tried to hurt him. The hours since Adrian sent their message... every single one felt like it pushed them farther and farther from Charlie and Sawyer's help. Colfax shuddered at the thought of getting caught in the cycle forever, of being afraid of Bryan, or slipping up a little and getting Adrian hurt, or slipping up a lot and getting himself crushed, or-

"Here we are," Felicia announced when she returned to the room. Colfax looked up in time for one of her hands to reach into the bowl to get Adrian. Colfax blinked a few times and soon enough he was set down next to his friend again, marveling that the smaller viri still didn't quake. "Sorry, sweeties, I thought you had more bread." Colfax was nearly knocked back by his own dizziness when Felicia put something in his hands. He took a bite immediately and discovered that it was a chunk of apple half the size of his head. His relief was almost immediate, and he glanced to the side to see that Adrian was equally relieved.

“Hmm,” Bryan said, already back to his work on the computer. “Well, just make sure you’re taking care of that from now on.” This was said in the kind of manner that gave no doubt it would be agreed to, and followed. “I don’t want to deal with it.” Considering it done, he proceeded to ignore Felicia and the two on the table. They weren’t going to die now so he was of the opinion she could take care of it. After all, if she got bored (unlikely, that) then she could always just put them back in their cage and be done with it. It wasn’t as if they needed watching every hour of every day- as tiny and helpless as they were, not to mention drugged now, it wasn’t as if they could get themselves into trouble while properly contained.

He hardly glanced up from his computer for the next few hours, the occasional clicking or loud sound coming from his speakers the only sign that he was even doing anything. His focus was intense, and a bit on the intimidating side; his entire demeanor was closed off while he busied himself with editing the video. A train could probably have rolled through and he would have simply scowled at it before returning to his work. The occasional smile would flit across his face as he found a clip of particularly good behavior, or if he started imagining the future as it was looking to be right now. What a time to be alive- everything was working in their favor so far.

Felicia finished up her soup while the little people ate their fruit. They were so cute like that, nibbling away. She was already thinking of the different things she might be able to put in a dish for them so they had a good enough variety.

After the little people's ravenous little appetites appeared to be satisfied, she set aside her mug and reached out to hoist them to their feet. Adrian accepted this with a mostly blank look on his adorable little face, but Zack winced. Poor thing is probably still pretty battered, she realized, and she wrapped a hand around him. She held him close, gently stroking his back with her thumb. Touching his head seemed to get the faintest of squeaks from the zoned out little guy, so it must be too painful. The medicine wouldn't be helping with his headache either, the poor dear. Felicia held onto him, and he didn't fight her grasp at all, which made her smile.

Felicia's other hand approached Adrian. She led him around like she enjoyed doing, and she also moved his arms around, tilted his face, just taking in details. Her fascination should have been unnerving, but mostly Adrian was bored and listless, and he rubbed his eyes drowsily. At one point she lifted him by the back of his jacket, and he squirmed a little, earning a delighted giggle. Eventually, after quietly playing for a few hours, she placed them in the cage and locked it. She went into the kitchen, and Adrian assumed it was to cook nice food for herself and Bryan again. He watched the door blankly, while Colfax stumbled and sat down against the foot of the doll bed.

The smell of dinner cooking eventually permeated into Bryan’s awareness. Glancing up and around the room he noticed that Felicia had left at some point, and the two little ones were back in their cage. He rubbed his eyes roughly, having looked at the computer screen for too long of a time and gotten a slight ache from it. Saving his work, he shut the computer and slid it onto the coffee table, in what little space was left between the video camera, miscellaneous dishes, and the cage. Standing up he stretched, a low groan escaping him as he lifted his arms above his head. All this excitement was getting to him, his back was getting somewhat tense. He exited the room, shaking out sore arms.

The living room was dim now that the sun was sinking below the horizon outside. Colfax's head pounded from pain and from what he had to assume was the drugs he'd been put on. He cradled his head in his hands, feeling like it was on fire. He felt a little like he was falling. And the only thing he could find as his dizziness evened out into a general drug-addled haze was guilt. He'd held Adrian down and let them stick a needle in his side, turn him into the eerie imitation that sat cross-legged in the cage, looking over the shiny items with bored eyes that he kept rubbing like he was exhausted.

Adrian sighed. Colfax was sitting near, clearly in a lot of pain and sending him guilty glances. He absently polished a button over and over with his sleeve, feeling restless and under stimulated. He kept getting dizzy spells and his eyes were so heavy. Adrian was confused and it only got worse the more he thought about it and tried to be anxious like he should be. He didn't like being afraid, but he didn't like having this gaping empty feeling in his head. It was driving him nuts.

Suddenly he got to his feet. "I'm gonna sleep," he announced, thinking that maybe he'd feel better once he woke up. There'd be a moment or two of clarity and freedom before the whole thing started over again. He walked over and laid down heavily on the doll's bed, and the tranquilizer drugs in him helped him fall asleep almost immediately.

With Adrian sleeping soundly, Colfax stood up and began to pace back and forth. It felt like he was walking under water. He took a drink of water, paced some more, and then drank more water. He didn't like the way things had turned. Before, while he'd been nervous about what the humans might do if he stepped out of line, he'd been quite giddy. Now the same giddiness was turning into something like paranoia. What did he have to be paranoid about?! The worst things that could possibly happen had already happened.

Not all of them, he reminded himself, and the thought made his heart flutter in panic. Sawyer and Charlie might never come. Adrian's message probably didn't make it through. They'll give up looking, if they haven't already, and then when you're broadcast on the news, it won't matter. Everyone will be rounded up. Because you got yourself caught and you're too scared to do anything about it. Some strong viri you are. Colfax ended up sitting near the wall of the cage, leaning heavily on it and staring blankly out while his own inner voice whispered abuse.

Bryan made his way into the kitchen, the smell of cooking food making his mouth water. He hadn’t realized he was so hungry, but that small snack of apples had been a while ago. It was a good thing his girlfriend was actually here to make food this time. Felicia was busy at the stove with something, humming contentedly to herself. “What’s for dinner?” he asked, going up and leaning against the counter space next to her. He looked over and peered curiously at what she was stirring.

Felicia glanced up from the chicken she was tending and smiled softly at him. He still had a slightly tired look in his eyes from working so hard at the computer. As always, he had been very diligent with his project. "We had some rice left so I'm making chicken and rice if that's okay," she answered, tossing a pinch of seasoning onto the chicken while she spoke. One more reason to be glad she was with Bryan, was that she'd learned to be quite a good cook; she was determined when she found that he seemed fairly content with making himself just sandwiches every day. "Hope the video editing went well."

“It did,” Bryan replied to Felicia, giving her a smile. “We got a lot of great footage today, and I can only expect to get more tomorrow. Honestly if things keep going as they are, we might be ready to reveal them to the world by the end of the week.” It was an exciting thought, one that made his heart pound and his eyes gleam. To think that by the end of the week their lives could be changed forever… that they could be famous and rich by the end of the semester, every media company and talk show wanting them to go on air… it was positively thrilling.

All because of Charlie not taking good enough care of his pets, and Felicia believing in fairies. The oddest string of coincidences he had ever heard of; but it was good enough for him. Better than good. These little people- fairies, whatever they were- were going to send him to the big time. And to think that he had a couple of idiots like Charlie and Sawyer to thank for it. He almost wanted to send them a card; but in a week or so, he wouldn’t have to. They’d know all about their little pets making it big, and they’d be stuck on the sidelines to watch it happen. The thought put a wide grin on his face that he just couldn’t shake.

Felicia's eyes brightened. "You think so? They really did behave pretty well after they got their medicine. A few hiccups here and there but I think they'll adjust." After all, starting on a new medication could make most humans a little off for a while, so Felicia could scarcely imagine how it was affecting the little dears for their first dose. She knew she had measured things out properly for them, of course. But actually seeing their reactions to the medication was a little bit intriguing (and downright adorable at times). She paused in her cooking to give him a kiss on the cheek. "You did amazing work with Zack. Now that he's acting right I can hardly remember what the scowly little thing used to look like."

“It was a dual effort,” Bryan admitted, winding an arm around her waist. He grinned into her shoulder. “He might have gone back to his misbehavior eventually if you hadn’t given him such good medicine. Between the both of us, though, he’s almost a perfect little angel.” Not a spark of misbehavior out of him since then, which Bryan was proud of. Especially considering where Zack started from it was absolutely astonishing. Bryan still wondered what on earth Sawyer had done to make such a creature behave so atrociously; it didn’t matter anymore, however. Sawyer was never getting his little plaything back, and Zack was properly trained under their own hands. Everything was as it should be.

"Almost," Felicia agreed with a grin. The little one might be able to get used to the medication so it didn't make him so dizzy all the time. Then he would just be a docile, pleasant little thing that, thanks to Bryan's reinforcement, followed instructions well. His aggression had been a real roadblock, but removing it seemed to make the little thing's walls crumble immediately.

"Adrian is just a sweetheart, though. I'm so glad he's not so anxious anymore." She continued to tend to the food, which was nearly ready to serve. "I definitely think he'll be our featured one. He's better behaved and he's smaller, which I think will have a better impact on our audience, right?" Of course, his little face was absolutely darling, like a tiny doll prince. She wasn't sure if fairies had royalty, but if they did Adrian was probably it.

“Yes, I think it will,” Bryan agreed. Zack might be better behaved now, but Adrian was definitely the sweeter one. Not to mention he was simply much tinier than Zack- and if Felicia’s reactions were any reflection on the rest of the population, that would automatically make them all completely enamored with him. “I’m already featuring him a little more in the demo reel I’m putting together,” he told her, sitting down at the table while she doled out food onto plates for them. If anything Adrian simply talked a little more in the well-behaved footage, which was most of what he was using; he didn’t think Zack had said a word since getting his medicine that afternoon.

They ate dinner together and discussed their exciting future. Bryan discussed some of the possible tricks he wanted to try with the little ones the next morning, and Felicia of course was delighted at the prospect of helping with them. She was to be his hands in this operation, the camera his eyes; between the two of them they had the potential for a show all by themselves. After dinner, Bryan left Felicia to clean up and returned to the living room. A quick glance at the cage showed the two little ones were quiet, and Adrian at least was already asleep. Picking up his computer and the camera from the table he returned them to the office. Walking back he gave Felicia a quick kiss on the cheek and told her he was going to bed- he had stayed up too late the last night working on things, and he was pretty tired from the busy day. With that he disappeared into the bedroom, not to be seen until morning.