Perfectly Plausible
As promised, more In The Flesh! Kieren/Rick of course. I'd call it an AU but as we don't know what happened after the last episode it could well happen.
Alas, once more i must tell you that i do not own it. Would that i did.
Kieren is not entirely sure what woke him at first, a glance at the clock next to his bed tells him it's not yet gone 3 and then his eyes adjust to the darkness and he spots the figure at the end of his bed.
"Ren."
He knows that voice. He hears it in his dreams, in his nightmares, in his unguarded moments.
"rick?" he manages to breath out.
"Yeah. I don't...i don't-"
"hold on" there is a sudden flurry of movement as Kieren scrambles to reach his lamp, almost knocking it over, and then there is light. A warm orange glow that leaves everything in the room blurred at the edges.
Both boys are silent for a moment as their eyes meet.
"How are you here?" Kieren is the first to break it.
"I wanted to see you. I remember...not much else, but that. The last thing i remember: I just wanted to see you."
"And here you are." he tilts his head slightly, questioning, "are you real?"
Rick huffs out a laugh at that and it's been so long since he heard it that Kieren finds there are tears in his eyes.
"I think so yeah. Feel real anyway. Still dead though." he shuffles his feet for a moment, a sure sign that he has something to say but doesn't think Kieren will want to hear it. "My dad?"
"dead." is the short reply.
"Oh. I was thinkin' that was why i was back, get revenge and all that."
"Bit late now. If it helps i went round there and yelled at him just before."
"You? Kieren Walker? stood up to my dad?"
"Don't sound so surprised. I was angry, livid. He killed you and then he- he dumped you on our doorstep! Like you were...like you didn't mean-" a sob cut that sentence short and Kieren found he couldn't go on as the memories of that day came back to him.
"Ren."
Then the dam broke and the tears flowed more freely then they'd done since that fateful day and he was cold. This time though, this time a pair of arms wrapped around him and Rick was there, whispering nonsense into his hair. Holding him close as he climbed onto the bed with him.
"I'm sorry, i'm sorry, i'm so, so, sorry. I shouldn'ta left- i should never have left."
"Don't Rick." Kieren clutched at the arms around him, trying to offer some comfort in return, "just don't. please?"
Time could have stopped at that moment for all the boys would have noticed; the surrounding dark, the light rain against the window (but of course it has to be raining when the dead have risen, it's only fitting), the night moving on outside and Kieren unaware of it as he lies there in Rick's arms, the tears drying as he slowly falls asleep once more.