Ren hastily stuffed the tiny shopping bag into his pocket. He was relieved the bag and its contents were small enough to fit. If it had not, the situation would've been even more awkward.
"You're here," he said, his voice carefully casual. "I made them sleep and tied the criminals up. You can arrest them, though the others might take a while to wake-"
Ren didn't get to finish his chatter.
Kade instantly pulled him into a fierce hug. The tight embrace almost crushed his bones. Howbeit, Ren did not dare to protest.
The abruptness of Kade's actions startled Ren, but it was the tremor in Kade's heavy breaths and the thunder of his heartbeat against his ear that rendered him speechless.
"You're fine. You're fine..."
Kade repeated the words like a mantra while holding Ren as though reassuring himself that Ren was really perfectly fine. He didn't let go until the tension in his body finally eased.
