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Venom is present in a wide variety of animals across the world, in both predator and prey, and both vertebrates and invertebrates. It can be classified in four major classes of toxin: neurotoxins, which affect the nervous systems; myotoxins, which damage muscles; cytotoxins, which kill cells; and haemotoxins, which disrupt blood clotting. While arachnids are the animal class with the most venomous species in the world, it's snakes who cause the most bites and fatalities. The most venomous snake in the world —the inland taipan— has a venom so potent that mere micrograms can kill most prey in less than an hour. A single bite's worth of venom can easily kill a hundred people.
Fortunately, the inland taipan is a shy species, hiding in remote deserts, far away from any civilization, and thus, does not pose a real threat. The snakebites and subsequent deaths caused every year are done by species far less venomous than it, such as the saw-scaled viper, Russell’s viper, and Indian cobra. Symptoms include swelling, tissue death around the bite, feeling faint, vomiting, breathing problems and tingling of the limbs among many others. Some bites even result in loss of a limb and chronic problems.
You had no time to think about any of that. You didn't even have to for the most part, since with the arrival of reptiles Zootropolis had perfected antivenoms and precautions around venom overall. You didn't even know when or where you were bitten. All you knew is that you visited Gary, and collapsed while waiting for your train back home.
“They'll be okay, but since the antivenom has been administered so late they might still experience the secondary effects of the bite…” You couldn't even understand what the paramedic was saying. You couldn't even tell if the person talking was one, just assume by the few sentences you could make out. Your eyes were struggling to adjust to the light. Your ears were ringing, and every noise was muffled by your own heavy breaths and the rhythmic beating of your heart, reverberating within your entire being. Every word you dared to speak was coming out as a weak whimper. Every move was met with a shock coursing through your body.
The man bid farewell, and so you were left alone with a familiar looking reptile. It was Gary himself, misty eyed and with trembling lips.
“I'm so sorry… I must've bitten you when you left. I swear I've always been careful of my fangs when hugging, I don't know how it happened. I'm so, so sorry…” He took a moment to wipe the tears away and give you a look over, tilting your chin up to meet his face. “Look, I'll take care of you until you get better, okay?”
You replied with a nod. You could somewhat pinpoint the place where you were bitten by how your shoulder palpitated, sending jolts of pain every now and then.
“Will I get better?” you whimpered.
“Oh, of course you will! You’ve already been given the antidote. It's just that you’ve got it so late you might still feel sick for a while. Not sure if you heard the doc but he said to keep a close eye on you. You know, general care, clean the wound, and inject more antivenom if anything swells up, just in case. But you should be fine.”
The unnecessarily long explanation paired with all sorts of nervous mannerisms made you uncertain of what the future held for you, but you couldn't really do much in your current state. Your best bet was to stay still in that bed, rest, and let everything in Gary’s hands, or rather in his tail.
And so, you simply… stood there. Laying in bed—Gary’s bed probably. Standing still made you feel every throbbing of the wound. Moving to the side, and the pain forced little “ouches” and “ows” out of your trembling lips. And somehow, going back to your original position made things even worse than before.
It felt like torture. The feeling of thousands of needles prickling your body didn't let you even stretch your sore muscles. And even if you weren't in pain, the paralyzing effects of the venom still had a certain grip on you; minutes were wasted for each and every small move. Staring at the ceiling was also a no-go; the lightbulb pointed at you burned with the wrath of a thousand suns. It was made specifically for lizards though, so in all fairness, it was a miniature sun in itself. Paired with your symptoms however, it felt like your very eyes were being pierced by the rays of light.
Noticing your labored breathing, Gary slithered to the side of the bed. “Need me to turn off the light?”
“Please.”
His tail reached to touch your forehead, his look becoming weary. The tail flicked around your face some more, prodding and turning your head left and right as the viper examined you.
“I’m getting dizzy.” You mumbled, cutting him off right as he was about to say something, urgency setting within him.
“Do you need a bucket? I'll go grab one."
By the time he set said bucket next to the bed you were all swollen up, struggling to breathe. The viper scrambled around for his signature antivenom pen. With the press of a button, the needle popped out, its built-in speaker guiding its user in a cheerful yet unsettling tone: ‘Stab me straight into your heart!’ Scared, you reached for Gary to stop him. Your yelps and pleas were drowned by your own throat, asphyxiating you. In retaliation, the viper constricted you with his own body to keep you in place, struggling, pleading back for your understanding.
“Please stay still! I just… want to… help!”
Thankfully, you were too weak to keep him away, and the pen’s cold needle found its way deep under your skin, subsiding your symptoms. However, your struggles caused your wound to bleed, dyeing the bandages crimson. Gary wasted no time in searching for a first aid kit, bandages, or anything to treat the wound.
He hopped on top of you, and inched in close to examine the wound. “Look what happened.” he murmured, “You should've stayed still.”
You wished you could explain yourself, that you were simply afraid of the needle and that you just wanted him to be gentle. And gentle he was. His tail carefully worked around the bite, dabbing the blood away with a wet piece of cotton. His warm breath washed over your neck, sending shivers down your spine and coaxing a deep sigh out of you. You wish you could tell him how grateful you were for his help. Embarrassed, you swallowed any words you had for him, and stood still, letting the viper treat you.
“Scared of needles, I assume?”
“Mhm,” you mumbled.
“Did that translate to fear of snakes by any chance?”
You shook your head. “The venom was what scared me.”
“Oh.” He paused for a second. “I'm really sorry I fanged you then. You barely got over your fears and here I was, reinforcing them. I'm really sorry…”
Your guilt emerged again, leaving you with a lump in your throat. And again, you swallowed it. “How is the bite looking?” you asked, trying to change the topic.
Gary winced with a little hiss, giving you a look of disapproval as he slowly shook his head side to side. “Bad…”
“How bad?”
“It's black.”
“Black?”
“Black. And swollen. But don't worry, it'll get back to normal once you get better! Pinky promise, even if I don't have one.” He curled the tip of his tail to emphasize that last bit.
You weren't fully sure of it, but you didn't want to question him either. Gary was a venomous snake after all. Besides, the feel of him slithering around and tending to your wound was rather comforting. With the utmost care, he replaced the gauze with a new one, rubbing the bandage gently to keep it secure. Almost like little caresses, the sheer tenderness he applied made you want to melt in the viper’s hold.
“There you go! Better? Need anything else? Water? Something to eat? Just ask.”
“I’m okay,” you lied to yourself. You couldn't put your finger on it, but you wished you could rip that gauze off just for him to start over again. It's been barely a minute yet you already missed that feeling. Same feeling from months ago, when you two huddled for warmth for hours at a time. Most of all, you wished you could tell him how much you yearn for it. And all you did was stare at him like a deer in the headlights.
“Okay then.” The viper got out of bed and finally turned off that light that had been pestering you all that time. “It’s late anyway, and you especially need to rest. And since you're laying in my bed” —He hopped in bed, coiling himself up right in front of you— “I have no choice but to share it with you. Besides, I need to keep an eye on you. Hope you don't mind if I get under the sheets for warmth in the middle of the night. Oh, and if you need literally anything, you're free to wake me up. Especially if it's an emerg—”
“Gary.” You interrupted him, leaving you two in a rather awkward staring contest. “Have you ever fanged someone?”
“Oh. It's not that common for me to happen, but accidents can happen no matter how careful one is.”
“On purpose, I mean.”
Your question seemed to have stirred something within him.
“...Oh. Well, there was this one time, quite recent actually, from when I arrived in Zootopia,” Gary admitted with a sorrowful look in his eyes.” “It's a long story, but to summarize, I only had two friends back then. One of them backstabbed me and this other friend, quite in the literal sense I must add.”
“And you bit them?”
“Tried to. They were faster and grabbed me before I could do it. For the better, probably.”
You didn't answer. You stared at the ceiling, looking at nothing, deep in thought. Gary hasn't been living in the city for long, not to mention Hopps’ and Wilde’s case on the reptile population. And to think it must've happened during said investigation. It sent shivers down your spine to think what could have forced him to do it.
Gary got closer to your face all of a sudden, making you flinch out of your trance. Without any warning, he pressed his lips against your forehead, and rubbed the back of your head with his tail.
“Do not worry about it, okay? I'd never ever hurt anyone. But I will still defend my friends if anyone tries to hurt them.”
He kept rubbing the same spot, as if waiting for your reaction. You nodded, adding a little “mhm” for emphasis.
“Good. Now let's sleep, you must be tired after today. How are the symptoms going?”
“Manageable,” you mumbled.
“Sounds good to me. Remember to wake me up if anything happens.” The viper leaned in to kiss your forehead one last time before coiling up again. “Good night.”
“Good night.”
You took a deep breath. Those two kisses still tingled. It made you wish for him to hold you close again. If you weren't paralyzed by the venom you would've already pulled him into a tight hug already, but your best bet for now was to hope for him to huddle for warmth in the middle of the night just as he said before. For now, you had to settle for those kisses, and they were more than enough. At least for now.