Hotch came to the bed worriedly.
He was surprised to find that Bruce seemed to be asleep. "Bruce?" The person on the bed frowned.
He seemed to have reacted.
But he did not open his eyes.
Hotch looked at Bruce.
The latter was facing the outside and curled up on the inside of the bed, leaving more than half of the bed.
His face was still pale under the light of the fire not far away.
But Bruce's expression was very calm, as if he was not the one who had fought a difficult battle with the vampire, or the one who had experienced the thrilling drifting.
Yes, vampires.
Hotch's heart shrank slightly when he thought of this word.
He never thought that one day he would really meet such a creature. In his impression, it was just an evil supernatural creature that fed on human blood. He had to admit that his heart beat violently when he saw the vampire, not only because of the vampire's powerful strength that was not afraid of guns,
But also because of the vampire's disdainful attitude towards them as food. There was a sense of pressure that made his hand tremble slightly when he pulled out his gun.
At that time, Bruce had quickly attracted the vampire's attention. However, Bruce's ability did not play much of a role against such a fast and powerful opponent.
When Bruce fell to the ground and closed his eyes as his blood was sucked away,
Hotch almost thought that this was the end.
Hotch felt panic.
It was not because of the danger he might encounter later.
It was because if Bruce died just like that.
He still had a lot to say.
He had not yet told Bruce that he was angry when he saw Bruce with a few more wounds on his body and did not care at all.
When Bruce took it for granted that his injury was more important than his own, he was touched.
There was also Bruce's heartbeat when he told him, "You're more important than anything else" after he was drunk …
Hotch did not know when it started.
But when he thought about it, there were too many things. Bruce would easily back down when facing him, as if he could do anything for him. He should have felt pressure from such a relationship, but Bruce even noticed this and even restrained himself from keeping a certain distance.
It was like having a person who would always protect you from behind, but didn't need you to look back. It was enough to just watch you move forward.
At that moment, Hotch suddenly understood. Even though he wasn't sure if this was love, no matter what, Bruce was important to him. If he lost Bruce, his heart would only be filled with regret and despair.
Looking at Bruce's peaceful sleeping face, Hotch felt his heart quickly calm down. He looked at Bruce for a moment before returning to the fireplace to warm his damp shirt. He didn't want to walk around the forest wearing wet clothes tomorrow.
After drying the clothes, Hotch felt tired. He spread the clothes on the table and hung them on the chair. He added some wood to the fireplace and walked to the bed. When he saw Bruce's unmoving face, he sat on the bed gently.
Just as he was about to lie down, Bruce suddenly stood up. Before Hotch could react, he was already on the ground with a dagger pressed against his neck.
"Bruce?" Hotch felt Bruce's strength on top of him.
As Hotch's voice rang out, Bruce's originally dark eyes gradually brightened. "Sorry, sorry, I overreacted." With his left hand, he wanted to put the weapon back into the armguard. However, the armguard was still wet from the water and the dagger slipped onto the bed. Bruce laughed dryly.
"You still carry a weapon when you sleep?" Hotch pushed Bruce's shoulder to make sure he didn't fall on top of him.
"I'm used to it." Bruce moved away. After thinking for a while, he picked up the dagger and threw it at the table beside him. It landed accurately on the table. "Don't worry, I don't have anything on me now."
What kind of experience made you use to carry a weapon even when you sleep? Hotch looked at Bruce and thought about how the latter's reflexive action was just a reflex. The part of his body that was pinned down was still aching. However, he didn't ask about it. He hoped that one day, Bruce would be willing to tell him.
"Let's go to sleep." Hotch tugged at the animal skin in the middle of the bed that had drifted away due to Bruce's actions. When he saw that Bruce had retracted back into the animal skin, he laid down as well.
Bruce closed his eyes until he heard the even breathing beside him. He opened his eyes again. Even though he felt sleepy, he couldn't fall asleep with someone beside him. He didn't want to sleep either. There weren't many opportunities to look at Hotch so closely.
The sound of rain hitting leaves and wood could be heard from outside. Occasionally, the wind would blow through the gaps in the door and window. However, Bruce felt a sense of tranquility. At this moment, Hotch's usually stern face softened a little. Bruce's lips curled into a smile.
"Are you going to keep looking at me like this?" Hotch opened his eyes and said helplessly.
Bruce didn't say a word and slowly closed his eyes. It seemed that he wasn't the only one who couldn't sleep. He was amused. After all, in this simple wooden house, there was a hard wooden bed without a blanket. There was also another person beside him. The bed was indeed too small. He had no doubt that Hotch could feel his breath on his skin.
The bed creaked twice. When Bruce opened his eyes again, he saw that Hotch had turned his back to him. He pouted gloomily.
Looking at Hotch's back, Bruce suddenly leaned forward and reached out to hug Hotch from behind. Before Hotch could break free from him or speak, he said in an aggrieved tone, "I'm so cold."
Hotch felt that the temperature from behind was obviously higher than his skin. In the end, he didn't say anything. The temperature here was indeed quite low. He also felt cold.
However, he sighed silently in his heart. So be it. Let nature take its course. In his heart, he could no longer raise the thought of stopping Bruce from approaching.
oo00oo
When Hotch woke up again, the house was dark. He could only see a faint light through the gaps between the door and window. The fireplace had been extinguished, but he didn't feel cold at all. His body was like a small stove that emitted heat.
"Good morning." Hotch sat up immediately when he heard Bruce's voice.
Bruce got out of bed and opened the wooden window. The room was instantly lit up. There were birds chirping outside the window. The cold air with the smell of soil and grass entered through the window. He took a deep breath and walked to Hotch's side. He watched as Hotch put the battery back into his phone. "Can the phone be used now?"
Hotch pressed the power button, but the screen didn't light up.
"Okay, we should be able to get out of the forest if we follow the river." Bruce sighed. "But I'm so hungry." After resting, his mental strength had recovered. However, he was still a little weak from not eating. "Why don't we go hunting?" He suggested excitedly.
"What do we use to hunt? My gun has run out of bullets. "Hotch obviously disagreed with his suggestion.
"I have one here." Bruce passed his FBI gun to Hotch. He hadn't used a single bullet in it.
"What about you?"
"I still have one." Bruce shook the revolver, but there were only two bullets left. Fortunately, they were bullets that had been stained with his blood.
"Oh, right." Bruce touched his trouser pocket and took out two candies. "I can't believe this is still here." He threw one to Hotch and eagerly popped the other into his mouth. "I know it's a psychological effect, but I feel like I have strength again."
"You eat it." Hotch handed the candies back to him.
Bruce didn't even look at them. He took out a dagger and cut a piece of animal skin from the bed board and put it on. He tidied up his things. "Let's go."
The hunting proposal was shelved. There were few prey in the winter and they didn't have time to waste on it. However, if they encountered any prey along the way, they wouldn't be polite. They walked to the river bank and walked along it. There were fish in the river, but they didn't have the ability to catch them with their bare hands.
They didn't choose the direction to go back. Although they could find the way back, who knew if they would encounter the vampire? Although the probability wasn't high, Bruce didn't want to take the risk.
"If it weren't for this situation, this would be a good place for an outing." Bruce suddenly said with a smile as he walked. He felt that the sound of running water beside his ears was crisp and beautiful. "I still remember when I was young, what I looked forward to the most was playing with my family because they were always very busy."
"Mrs. Jones must be a great mother." Hotch noticed that Brosnan used the word "they" in the plural.
Bruce paused and turned to look at Hotch, who was walking beside him. He sighed softly as if he had made a decision. "No, I'm not talking about her. Of course, I admit that she's great. She worked so hard to raise Bruce. I'm talking about …" Another part of his life.
Hotch keenly noticed Bruce's choice of words. "You don't seem to think that Bruce is your life." He didn't intend to ask about it, but Bruce brought it up himself.
"You can't say that." Bruce was a little confused by Hotch's words. "But Bruce's childhood was like a dream to me. Now, they're like a dream too. Do you believe in … "Reincarnation? Reincarnation wasn't the right word, but it barely fit his situation.
Before Bruce could finish, he saw a figure not far ahead. "Hey, the one in front, wait a minute." He quickly ran to catch up.
"Hello?" The person in front heard the voice and turned around. It was a young man wearing light clothes and carrying a big backpack. He looked like a hiker.
"Sorry, we're lost in the woods. Can you lend us your phone and let us have a look at the map? Of course, it would be better if you could tell us the way out."
The young man took out the map and showed them their current location. The place was not close to any of the exits. The nearest one was two to three hours away. Bruce thought about it and decided to borrow the phone to contact Meggen. He asked her to send the map and their location to Garcia so that he could ask for backup. Vampires were not something they could deal with.
"Remember, Meggen. Just take a screenshot of the video until we met that thing. You don't have to send the video after that." Bruce emphasized that he didn't remove the suppressor during the fight. He could still use his ability, and he didn't want to expose that. "Oh, we'll wait for backup at the cliff." Bruce pointed to the location of the cliff, which was only a few hundred meters away from them. It was more spacious and would be easier for the helicopter to spot them.
He thanked the young man and told him about the dangers in the woods. He asked if he wanted to wait for backup with them, but the young man refused. He could only hope that he would leave the woods as soon as possible.
Not long after, Bruce and Hotch came to the cliff and saw the coast below. Not far away, pelicans floated on the waves. A flock of seagulls and a long eagle circled above their heads.
The biting cold wind whistled past the waves. It was cold and had a salty taste.
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