A/N: I've had this idea floating in my head for some time. Mostly in dreams. It was inspired by my own search for comfort, and also from the cover of Volume 9 of the manga. I think this pairing is adorable, and there are just not enough fics of them out there. So I decided to contribute to the small fandom of KiraxSetsuna a little bit. I actually really like how this came out, I think it's very cute, if a bit short.

Oh, and I don't know why Setsuna is so beat up. That's just the way it happened to work. That's why he seems so helpless. I thought it was cute...

Slight Warning: This is a shounen-ai (guy/guy) story. It's only cuddling and whatnot, but if you don't like that kind of stuff, then please just don't read it. It's as simple as that.

Disclaimer: All characters belong to the incredible Kaori Yuki.

Kira leaned back in his chair, idly thumbing through a paperback mystery novel that was barely managing to hold his interest. It was the same old story with all of them: someone is murdered or something was stolen, the detective finds clues, has suspects, something happens and there's a huge plot twist that you never saw coming (or did you…?), and someone ends up falling in love and/or going to jail. It was boring nonsense, and he couldn't remember why he even bought the thing in the first place. Besides, there were more important things that needed his attention at the moment.

He looked up from the book at the barely-open door across the hallway, where an injured Setsuna slept fitfully. Kira stilled his tapping foot, ceased the rifling of the pages, and held his breath, listening intently. All was silent. Kira was relieved, and went back to shuffling through the bent pages of the paperback. But though the room was quiet, he kept one ear listening towards the door in case Setsuna called for him.

Setsuna. There was hardly a moment where the brunet boy wasn't occupying Kira's thoughts. He was, after all, sworn to protect him (Alexiel) and be his (Alexiel's) guide. Though recently he's found that he's become more enchanted with the boy and enjoyed being around him, not just being there because he was meant to. The boy made him smile, and he felt something he'd never felt before. He made all sorts of excuses to be near him, to talk to him, to touch him. And Kira sometimes found the boy responding, as well. Was it possible he felt the same…?

Kira was so wrapped up in his own thoughts, staring with unseeing eyes at the book in his hands, that he hadn't noticed the battered, bandaged figure that had emerged from behind the door across the hall.

"Kira?"

Startled at the small, quiet voice, Kira's head snapped up and he almost fell backwards with the chair. Setsuna stood in the doorway, arm and chest bandaged, face and shoulder bruised and swollen. He wore a loose, thin shirt that was about three sizes too big for him and drooped off the shoulder, and a pair of sweatpants that clung to his hips. He leaned slightly against the doorjamb for support.

Immediately Kira was out of the chair and crossing the room to Setsuna's side.

"Are you alright? What do you need?"

Setsuna stared at the floor, fidgeting. He seemed shifty and nervous. Kira was worried.

"I had a nightmare…" he mumbled to the carpeting. "I can't get back to sleep."

Kira smiled slightly and breathed a silent sigh of relief. Was that all? For a second there he was worried something had happened, or his wounds were hurting him again…

"Come here."

Setsuna stumbled forward, and Kira caught him in a reassuring hug. He ran his fingers through the short brown hair and rubbed the bruised back gently, trying to get the injured boy to relax. Setsuna pushed his face into Kira's neck, small hands fisted in his t-shirt, eyes half open as he drowsed in the taller boy's comforting warmth.

But even through the transfer of body heat, Setsuna shivered. Kira felt it, and pulled away slightly.

"You must be freezing. Here," Kira sat Setsuna down on the couch and covered him with a large grey blanket. Setsuna wrapped it around himself, trembling slightly at the loss of body heat, even with the blanket. Kira busied himself with making some tea to warm them both up, while Setsuna stared blankly at a threadbare patch on the sofa.

Letting the teabag soak in the hot water, Kira turned back to Setsuna, who looked up at him with large, doleful eyes. Without really knowing why, Setsuna felt cold and alone underneath the blanket. He shivered again. Looking back at Kira, who was staring at him with an anxious expression, Setsuna motioned for Kira to sit next to him. Kira smiled at him and sat.

Setsuna scooted as close as he could to Kira without sitting on him, and leaned his head against the older boy's shoulder. He felt strong arms wrap around him and the blanket, and the feeling of chilly loneliness disappeared.

Wanting a more comfortable position (he was sitting half on, half off the couch), Kira shifted Setsuna onto his lap, so the boy's uninjured shoulder was against his chest. Setsuna was startled for a moment, then relaxed back against Kira. One hand slid securely around his waist, resting on his hip, while the other came up to caress his face. Kira's thumb softly slid along his cheekbones, jaw line, the bridge of his nose.

Setsuna was now completely relaxed. Any thoughts of the recurring nightmares that he had been seeing whenever he closed his eyes the past couple of days vanished in the warmth and tenderness of Kira's body so close to his. He felt Kira gently sweep away a strand of hair from his forehead, and his lips press a soft kiss to the spot his fingers had touched.

Holding Setsuna so close, Kira felt truly happy and calmer than he'd been in a long while.

"Don't worry," he whispered, as Setsuna's eyes slowly began to close, "you don't have to be afraid anymore."

His lips brushed those of the broken, sleeping angel he held tenderly in his arms, a silent promise of protection and care.

"I'll always be with you, and nothing will ever hurt you again. I'll never let you go."