"Hey Tad, I'm home, how are you feeling?"
Before David came back, Tadeus cleaned up the mess his "experiments" made, and was now waiting by the dark oak table in the living room. Now, as he met gaze with his lover, they both knew they needed to talk.
"What happened Tad? You told me you were fine, but by the look on your face I can tell something's bothering you."
"I… changed. That accident really did have an impact on me, but not what you were worried about. Remember when I told about the new organism I study? Before that crash, I caught it. Must have accidentally touched the petri dish, or maybe-"
"You're rambling."
"Right. I caught it, and it's probably the only reason I'm still alive. Concordis saved my life that day, it made me… regenerate."
"Like Doctor Who?"
"More like Wolverine or Deadpool. Anyways, I also started feeling this tingling, this urge to do something. To use this power, to achieve something, to… change the world?"
"So let me get this straight. You think that you caught a virus from a thousand year old piece of space rock, and it gave you healing powers. Now you wanna go around saving the world like a superhero. You really are not fine."
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
Tadeus sighed. He knew this would not be an easy discussion, but he was getting frustrated.
"No, you don't get it. I can prove it, watch."
As Tadeus reached for a knife, David started shouting, trying to stop him. But Tadeus was faster and sliced his open palm.
"Tad, what the fuck?! Quick, where is our first aid kit?"
"David, calm down, look! It's not bleeding!"
As his boyfriend held out the cut palm, David saw the blood, but it was not pouring out of the wound. Then he watched in astonishment as the cut started closing before his very eyes. After a moment, there was no sign of the self-inflicted injury.
"Now you believe me?"
"Wha- I- I need to sit down."
"I am not finished yet, David." At this, David tried to say something, but was cut off before he could open his mouth. "I told you about this new urge. I need you to keep me in check. I need you as my anchor, otherwise I'll do something drastic, more drastic than cutting my hand. I don't know what parts of me are me, and which are this new instinct. I need you David, more than ever before." Uttering the last sentence, Tadeus started sobbing. He was lost, and the last thing he wanted is to be abandoned by David.
Said tall man pulled his partner in a hug, kissing him on the forehead.
"I won't leave you. This is all very fucking weird, but I'm with you. I've been by your side for 6 years and I'm not gonna leave you now. I am very lost right now, and so are you, but we can find the way together. Cosmic, magic virus or not."
Still crying, the shorter man laughed a little. "It's not a virus. It's an alien microorganism somewhere between a bacteria and an ameba."
"Nerd!"
And they both collapsed on the sofa laughing, still wrapped in a hug.
They stayed laying like that for a while, but it didn't matter to them how long exactly. Eventually they both fell asleep, not worried about what the new situation would bring.