Kaleidoscope

by onelastecho

fanfic written for a dating sim game. What I thought happened. AHYEAHTHERESMINTHISANDYAOIYAY

This is a fanfic written for this game: /d3icf6g and /d4hf0tx

I had a phase of playing dating sim games okay

ಠ_ಠ

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The sleepless nights were endless and the pills were no longer helping. Sleep was impossible, and his mind was slowly slipping. Anything that had once inspired him was gone, thus his life as an artist was dissipating through the cracks between his fingers, leaving nothing left but a broken spirit. How could he possibly create art in this way? Sleepless and at a loss of inspiration—It was even more tiring to be this way than to just be without sleep. That he'd dealt with for years, but the pills weren't helping him sleep anymore. Nothing was helping him sleep. It had become intolerable and Cero was losing his mind.

Cero was a twenty-five year old artist on the rise; at least he had been until the insomnia kicked in. He would go weeks without an ounce of rest, and even somehow wondered how he was alive with no sleep. As a fairly good-looking young man, he never had a problem finding someone to spend the night with. Until the insomnia kicked in and he turned sour and bitter, without an ounce of sleep to calm his nerves. But with the few naps that he could manage, he still managed to keep up an appearance. He had short brown hair with a bit of a bedhead style, and with one strand to the right of his face a bit longer, it was dyed yellow and kept in place with two hair clips. He constantly wore a black choker around his neck, though he couldn't remember where he'd gotten it for the life of him now. It was always there though.

This sleeplessness was becoming overrated and Cero was tired of it, as he'd been for the weeks and the months. He set out on a dreary morning in October, dressed in dark gray pants and shoes, along with a white t-shirt, but with a matching dark gray jacket over that, the zipper lined in yellow. And even on top of that was another jacket, a short one, only coming down to mid-chest, which was deep mustard yellow. And because this lack of sleep was affecting his health, he wore a stylish yellow belt to match his outfit; it had a diamond pattern on one side and the other was a mix-mash of buckles. His goal today was to find some way to fall asleep, something that could force him into dreamland again; anything to get some sleep.

He walked along the sidewalk, his hands in his pockets and his feet dragging along the concrete. His lips were slightly pursed and his eyes drooped down half way, and doing nothing to hide the dark bags under them. It was amazing he could still dress himself in the morning. If it could be called morning, it looked more like the evening, with a dark gray sky and the wind blowing. He prayed there would be no rain until he was home, safe in his loft. But of course, there was no such luck, as it seemed the minute he sent his prayer off to be listened to, the thunder roared out its devilish intentions and the rain began to pour down in copious amounts all at once, there was no subtle entrance as it suddenly took its stage in a downpour of misery and water.

Cero cursed under his breath and was quick to duck beneath the nearest covering, which hadn't been quick enough to save him from the utter downpour that had soaked his clothes through and through, ruined his hair, and made him far more irritable than he had been before. He sighed and rested against the side of the building, safe under what seemed to be a storefront. A store. He looked up at the door, having now collapsed on the small porch. His lips pursed again and he titled his head—he'd never seen this place before as it was. And the door was plain; nothing to hint at was within. So, with whatever strength he had left, Cero pushed himself to his feet and pulled the door open.

Inside the store it was just as plain as the outside, shelves filled with various products, a cold section in the back which most likely held things like milk. He didn't need milk, he needed sleep. After another curious glance, there was no one at the counter either. So, feeling quite obligated to now, he entered the store and let the door close behind him before beginning his search. He wandered the short shelves for a moment before stopping at a section of candy bars. He did like candy, and he did have some extra money in his back pocket… So why not treat himself? He could sure use it. But before he could grab one of the bars, he heard something come from right behind him.

"Are you looking for this?" an old voice asked, broken down from the years of a hard life.

Cero jerked around immediately, nearly knocking the poor shelf right over in his panic. He breathed hard for a moment, looking at this bent over old woman, her back in a permanent bend and hair long and straw like as if she'd taken it straight from a broom.

"Looking for what?" Cero almost whimpered. That had surely taken whatever strength he had left in this tired state.

"This of course," the old woman said and held up a small vial full of a clear liquid. Water? No, water didn't sparkle the way this did. But Cero wasn't thinking straight and he took the vial to examine it further.

"What is this exactly?" he inquired, looking inquisitively at the old woman. She gave a light chuckle and shook her head.

"You're tired, aren't you, Cero?" she said.

With a sudden jerk, Cero woke up. He was back outside the store and his head was just throbbing now. He rubbed it, feeling it was still damp, but the rain had stopped. How long had he been asleep? He stood up and immediately felt his pockets making sure he still had everything. His wallet, check, a comb, check, the vial, check—the vial. There was a vial in his pocket. He turned around and looked at the store now, a local convenient store bustling with people.

"A dream, of course," he muttered then and slipped the vial back into his pocket, walking down the small steps and onto the sidewalk. It was dry. "A dream, I dreamed it all up. I sat down to rest and managed a power nap," he told himself, trying desperately to believe. But then the vial didn't add up in his theory, but he didn't want to think about that.

The journey home was a long one for his tired feet and legs, but he finally made it up to his loft and sat down at his work station like he always did, as if some idea would just magically appear before him. But to his surprise, it did. Something propelled his arm to pick up his paintbrush in one hand, and his pallet in the other, and just pain. He painted; grays and reds, blacks and peaches, a person. He painted a person, but when he was done, his eyes were blurry with sleep depravity. He moved off the stool, dropping his paints and brush to the ground where they splattered into a mess. Cero no longer cared though.

He stripped down, the jackets leaving first, then his shoes and finally his shirt. He grabbed the vial, remembering that the lady had asked if he was tired. And he was. So maybe, maybe this would help him sleep. He had to sleep, he needed to sleep. Without hesitation, he downed the bottle of sparkling liquid and collapsed to his bed. His sleepless eyes began to droop and he struggled to keep them open, though he wasn't sure why. Eventually he let them close and a sound sleep came to him. It was a pure sleep, not even a dream to disturb him. He slept for the first time, really slept for hours, for the first time in months.

When Cero's eyes slowly opened, all he saw was darkness, like he'd never opened his eyes at all. Did the power go out? He didn't remember turning the lights off before he fell asleep; he just sort of fell asleep. He pushed himself up and looked around, he didn't recognize this place.

"Where am I?" he asked himself.

Welcome to the Dream World, he heard a voice speak. Cero stood up, looking around the dark place. Where was he? Dream world?

This will either be your sweet dreams or your worst nightmare. You have 30 Cycles to find your soul mate. And only then will you be permitted to leave. If this task remains unaccomplished, you will stay here forever, the voice finished speaking and left with a gust of wind, turning the lights on.

Cero stood up, looking around. He was in some sort of city, but it didn't look like any city he'd ever seen before. Behind him was a small house, his name written atop the door. It simply read his name. But before him was another building. He entered it hesitantly, as there was nowhere else to go.

"What is this?" he asked to himself, and then approached a small table centered in the middle of the curved building. There was a wallet sitting on the table with his name on it as well.

"Why is there a currency… Isn't this a…uhm… Dream World?" He asked himself a picked it up. He saw the sleeves of his yellow jacket now, then his eyes shot down. He was dressed again, but he remembered going to sleep in only his pants. What was going on here? This was some world.

He tucked the wallet into his back pants pocket and looked around. The floor was a barren darn brown and tan checker board pattern, while the walls were a deep purple that reminded him of eggplants. He inwardly winced to the thought of an eggplant. Then he noticed something strange, the floor seemed to shine, and so did the walls. He looked forward, past the table. The wall had doors. Six doors to be exact, each glowing a special color. Except the very far one and it wasn't too interesting either, so he left it alone. Besides that, there was yellow, blue, red, green, and purple.

"Find my soul mate, eh?" Cero shrugged and moved around the table. He started from the right and opened the door. He stepped in and listened to it shut tightly behind him, but before him was a forest. A river split it in two, but the trees were tall and many in number, a lovely breeze blew and rustled Cero's hair. He smiled and looked up, a blue sky. This place was calming, but he didn't understand how. He looked down then, into the lush green grass to see it covered in little mushrooms. He picked one up and smiled at it. He didn't eat it though; it didn't look like it was edible. But regardless, he picked them all up and put them in a bag. He was compelled too, and he wasn't sure why he did. But when he turned around a small basket had appeared with a sign that said "Sell?"

Cero blinked and emptied his bag into the basket, the mushrooms falling in. When they were in, they vanished and left a pile of money. Fifty dollars and he'd dropped in five mushrooms. Ten a piece didn't seem so bad. He shrugged and looked back at the forest, it was peaceful, but there didn't seem much more to it. So he stepped out of the door and back into the main room.

"Next door I guess," he shrugged and grabbed the green door's handle. There was a name above this one; Riri. He didn't know what that meant, but he walked inside anyway. He was immediately met with the moist air of the waves, low tide seeming to come to an end as the moved up onto the beach. Cero looked around; he was indeed on a beach. A young woman stood closer to the water, and he assumed this to be Riri.

He approached the girl and waved, "Hello," he said, trying to hide how awkward this was for him. The girl turned around, her long blonde hair flowing in the wind gracefully and creating a lovely frame around her dark face, her dark skin stood out wonderfully in the moon light. A peculiar feature was her eyes, one black and one orange. He didn't see how that could happen, but he shrugged it off. She wore a white shirt, if that's what it could be called. It was a tank-top and acted more like a sports bra, if it wasn't for the black underlay that made it more of a midriff-shirt, that's what he would've assumed.

"A visitor? Strange, but can you please leave? I don't want to talk to anyone right now," she replied sternly, a look of shock was evident on her face, but it was obvious she didn't want to be spoken too.

"Eh, sorry. I guess I'll go then…" Cero muttered and shrugged. He turned on his heels and left, shoving his hand into his pocket. It was strange to see her smile after his comment, but it didn't matter to him.

The next door was red and Cero took no time before stepping into it, only to find himself in some mystical cloud land, a kingdom in the sky. He was on some sort of a balcony and at the rail-less edge was a girl with long fiery hair, tied into a low pony-tail and a headband to keep her bangs spiked up away from her face.

"Hello!" Cero called to her as he approached. She turned around to reveal a very sporty outfit. It was blue, and the neck was covered by a scarf and only one arm was covered by a sleeve, the other had no sleeve. Funnily enough she wore suspenders attacked to shorts as well, all blue and white like the sky above them was.

"I'm Cero," he went ahead and introduced himself, feeling a much lighter tone from her than he had Riri.

"Hello," she chimed back, "I'm Rylee, nice to meet you…uh Cero was it? That's a weird name," She said with a sort of giggly smile.

Cero chuckled, "Ah, but it's unique anyway," he smiled.

"I'm kinda hungry, what about you?" Rylee asked with a quick of a grin. Cero gave her this strange look, he wasn't hungry. But she laughed, "Yes, Dream Souls have to eat too," she nodded.

That confused him more, what was a Dream Soul? Just the people here? Was he a Dream Soul too?

"You know, you look really familiar…" Rylee interrupted as she approached, looking over him. She was a little shorter than he was, so it proved not difficult to eye-search him.

"People say that a lot, I got a common look apparently," Cero said with a shrug, he didn't get it himself. But still, he smiled at her.

"I know you just got here, but what do you think of this place? It's called the Celestial Palace," Rylee explained and pulled Cero to stand at the edge of the balcony to see the entire kingdom.

Cero chuckled, "better than the other realm's I've seen so far," he commented, as this was definitely better than the lonely beach or the useless forest.

"Really? I definitely love here it, fits my personality well," she teased with a giggle.

Cero nodded, "Seems like it, you're very bubbly," he commented.

"Maybe it's just that I live here, but I really like wings," she said next, seeming to just keep changing the conversation topic. It was off-putting to Cero, but he listened.

"Really?" he inquired.

She nodded, "Yeah, Xam has some great stuff for sale with wings, but I can't really afford it," she sighed and slouched over.

Cero looked at her then with an inquisitive look, "Xam?" he repeated quietly. He hadn't finished exploring yet, maybe he'd meet this Xam.

"I should get going," He told Rylee, letting her off smoothly that he wasn't quite enjoying his time here. But Rylee perked right back up.

"Alright! See ya later," she smiled and waved.

Cero waved goodbye and stepped back into the main room, closing the red door behind him with a sigh. He didn't think he'd be seeing much of Rylee if she couldn't hold a conversation. So after a moment of resting, he went to the next door. It was blue and still just as shiny.

When he stepped in, he saw another forest. It looked very similar to the one behind the purple door, except for one key factor. By the river there knelt a young girl, in a teal dress that reached about mid-thigh with spaghetti straps and a lacy bodice. Her hair was brown and a little teal bow was nestled in it. She noticed Cero before he could speak, and he just watched silently as she stood.

"Hello, Welcome to the Weeping Lily Forest," she said and outstretched her hand to shake Cero's. "I'm Angel, the soul of this realm," she gave a sweet smile to match her soft and almost somber voice.

"Hi, Angel. I'm Cero," he replied. Angel gave him another sweet smile.

"It's not often we get visitors, how did you end up here?" she asked, turning and making her way back towards the river. Cero followed to continue talking.

"Well… I was asleep, so I think I might just be dreaming," he chuckled to himself at how silly this whole thing was. But Angel seemed not to be listening.

"Do you like the color green?" she asked, gently waving her hand through the longer grass at the side of the river. The river was glowing with life and was the clearest water he'd ever seen, but it ran slow and sad, the fish inside not showing much vigor. Cero looked around him, listening to the soft moaning breeze and watching the tree's cry away their leaves.

Cero shrugged then and looked down at the water, "I'm more a fan of blue if we're talking calming colors," he said. Neither was his favorite color, as he preferred yellow and gray, his outfit choice.

Angel looked up then, sensing a strange mood from Cero. She stood up then, slowly and gracefully, her hands folding behind her back. "You have a sad look about you, do you have a sad story to tell?" she asked.

Cero looked at her a little strangely and shook his head, "No, I don't…" he muttered.

Angel's smile dropped then, she could see the sadness on Cero's face, "Have you suffered?" she asked. "They call this the Weeping Lily Forest because all those here have suffered in life, and now in death," she smiled.

The word hit him like a bullet. Death? Was he dead? Were they all dead? Riri, Rylee, and Angel? Was everyone here in Dream World dead? He hoped not. But then he remembered. If he could find his soul mate, he could leave right? Maybe that meant one of them could leave too… But of the three, he didn't like any of them very much. Angel was too sad and somber, Rylee too upbeat and unfocused, and Riri… Well she was just mean.

Cero didn't say a word then, his mind wandering in the thoughts of death. This had made Angel smile though, the thought that he was listening and had some respect for the dead.

"Can you hear them sing?" she asked suddenly as she knelt down and picked up a floating flower. "The forest, the trees, the lilies… They're alive, and when they sing, it calms me," she said and stood back up to drop the flower in Cero's hands.

Now that she mentioned it, Cero could hear the soft singing sounds of nature, and he smiled weakly. "Yes, it's lovely," he whispered and looked at the flower. He was beginning to feel tired. Angel looked at him and gently felt his forehead.

"Perhaps…you should go and rest," she smiled, signaling that was all for the day. It shocked Cero, maybe he was the one being too somber for her. Which would've been a long shot, but he shrugged anyway and nodded.

"Yeah, you're right… I should get going," Cero said with a smile and waved goodbye. He stepped out of the door then and down onto the floor when suddenly his head began to spin. Since when was he so tired? He was used to feeling tired, but this was different, exhaustion, like he was going to fall over and collapse on the floor anytime now.

He tried to walk, trying to make it out of the building and across the street to his own building, but it was no use as he collapsed down to his knees and then the floor where he lay, completely asleep.

When he woke up, Cero was lying on a couch in what looked to be a modern apartment, but it definitely wasn't as the window showed a picture of the city that was outside, and, now that he had a chance to look, was more like a photo than a real city. Like how the other worlds had been before he really walked into them. He sat up, rubbing the back of his head and looked around.

"Where am I?" he mumbled, feeling the de-ja-vu set in quite nicely.

"Oh, you're awake," he heard a voice, and when he turned, was met with a smiling man. The man sat on the coffee table in front of the couch, nothing but smiles. He wore a vest, and that was it, that was held together by sort of old fashioned buttons, one on each side and connected with a string. Beneath the vest was some kind of red shirt with two crisscrossing strips or more red, each studded with small gold beads. He wore black pants, from what Cero could see, but were covered with white chaps, a brown belt, and another low hanging belt that was red and black.

Cero looked at him, blinking and pretending he hadn't just spent what felt like forever staring at his crotch, trying to figure out the two-toned pants. He nodded and sat up on the couch correctly, but jerking slightly when their knees touched.

"It's nice to see a fresh face around here," he smiled and stood up to avoid the awkward knee touching. "I mean, it's another vict—customer for me, right?" he chuckled nervously. He folded his arms, but rested his cheek against his hand as he walked, his hips swaying slightly.

Cero chuckled, "Yeah, I guess so. Uhm, why am I here?" he asked, causing the man to jerk and turn around, his arms falling.

"Oh, you collapsed outside," he said with a smile and gently folded his arms over his chest again, his shoulders hunching up in what seemed to be an attempt to hide. "I, uh, didn't know where you from so I brought you here to rest," he smiled and rest his cheek to his hand again, his face seeming to go a bit red.

Cero stood up then and smiled, "well, thank you. I should get going," he said and waved goodbye. The man awkwardly nodded and waved goodbye as Cero walked out the door.

Cero sighed and stood near the table again, rubbing the back of his neck, "He acted sort of strange…" he muttered, and then looked around. Nothing seemed to be different. So he left the building, thinking he'd just taken a quick power nap. Back in the small house with his name on it, he crawled into the bed and went to really sleep.

What Cero didn't realize, is that when he woke up the next day and stretched, yawning away the groggy feeling of the morning, that it was day three, and not day two like he thought. But, he was content thinking that it was day two and left the building after pulling his jackets back on. He walked into the other building and stopped by the purple door forest to pick up some more mushrooms to sell. This time he got a whole eighty dollars, totally over one hundred. He felt accomplished, then stepped out of the door and into the main room. There was one door left to visit, the yellow one. He gulped and walked over to it, gently pulling on the knob.

He was expecting some place new, but instead he saw the same Modern apartment he had just been in not long ago, and the same man standing near a counter, behind it, his back turned and he was messing around with a few things.

"Hello," Cero said, leaning over the counter, taking a quick look at all the things behind it. He assumed this was a shop now, seeing as how there was a cash register as well, and there was too many duplicates of things to all belong to the man.

The man jerked, "What can I do for you, Sir…?" he smiled and leaned onto the counter too, unaware that he was slightly waving his hips to a tune of some sort as he hummed.

Cero smiled, "Seems you got a lot of girly stuff here," he teased gently.

The man frowned slightly, "Well I assume you've seen it, the rest of Dream World is filled with girls," he smiled then, "so I have to sell girly stuff."

"Well why don't you stock up on guy stuff? You're here, I'm here," Cero said, leaning now against his hand.

"My inventory replenishes itself, so I don't…choose what's here," he said and titled his head to the other side.

Cero smiled, "Wow, like Magic?" he beamed at the thought, "Uh...Xam," he smiled, looking down to the man's name tag on the front of his vest.

Xam smiled and stood up, "Come on, less chitchat and more business," he said and folded his arms much like he had previously.

Cero smiled, "Well I guess I'll look around some more," he said.

Xam gave a sigh then, but smiled, "You're a horrible customer. Buy me something then—a black vest. I look good in them if you can't tell," he teased.

Cero hummed, "I wonder if I look good in one…" he commented then and looked up to imagine himself. Xam pursed his lips at that comment, as he was hoping that Cero would want to buy him something.

Cero laughed then, "Well, thanks! I'll come back if I wanna buy something," he said and waved as he left. Xam huffed and leaned against the counter again. Things got so boring here, it was almost unbearable and Cero had provided a little bit of entertainment that he would never want from any of the female Dream Souls. There was just something about them, or maybe that it was just that they were female, but he didn't like them. But Cero was new; he was nice and laid-back, happy even. He never even thought about, or refused to think about, that maybe Cero had other preferences.

The artist moved out of the Shop door and back into the main room. He hummed, trying to judge how tired he was—and he wasn't, so he shrugged and looked at the other doors. It couldn't hurt to get to know some more people while he was here. He decided to try on Riri again, as she was the only one he hadn't actually had a conversation with, so he should at least give a thought.

With just a few steps, he was inside the beach realm again. Lunar Beach, if he remembered correctly. The blonde girl was sitting in the sand near the waves as they washed against the land, up to her feet. She obviously had an intention of sitting there a long while as her tight black pants had been rolled up to her shins as to not get wet. She turned when Cero began to walk towards her, his sneakers crunching the sand and catching her attention.

"You're here again?" she said, a look of shock coming upon her face. She must've thought she scared him off with her first comments.

"Yeah, we didn't really get introduced. I'm Cero, and…I really don't mean to keep bothering you," he mumbled and rubbed the back of his head.

She scoffed and turned back around, picking at the knees of her pants, "Guess you're bad at reading people or something, I don't want to talk," she mumbled and looked back out over the ocean.

Cero's face scrunched up in annoyance, "Well I can just stand here quietly?" he grumbled.

So the silence fell and Cero stood there awkwardly, shoving his hands into his pockets now as he shifted. But apparently he stood quiet enough as he heard Riri's angry voice come out beneath her breath.

"Why is that crown so expensive? Xam is rotten," she huffed to herself and folded her arms over her knees.

Cero jerked when he heard that and folded his arms now, "I don't think he's so bad…" he huffed out.

That seemed to have angered Riri as her shoulders went stiff and she straightened up, "No, he deserves to punched in the face," she growled and folded her arms tightly across her chest in what seemed to be an angered pout.

Silence fell again as Cero decided he wouldn't comment on that, because it definitely wasn't what he believed. While he hadn't actually bought anything, he figured the prices couldn't have been that bad. And when the silence wasn't remedied, Cero turned on his heel then and left the room. Besides, he was feeling tired again and figured it was time to head back to his room and sleep.

The next day, day three in Cero's mind, was started off back in the forest selling the silly little mushrooms to get some money, and then happily made his way into the shop again. But he went quietly to do a little sneaking up on the poor shop owner, who was bent over behind the counter cleaning a few shelves. Cero walked over and bent over the counter to look down at Xam, who was again humming a tune and subtly swaying to it.

"Hey there," he said suddenly, in a chipper mood.

Xam jerked when he heard the sudden greeting and hit his head on the shelf above him. That hadn't been a part of his plan at all.

"Ah! Are you okay?" Cero asked as he hurried around the counter, squatting down beside Xam. He didn't even think twice before his hand went to the man's head, over where he'd hit it quite hard on the shelf.

Xam grumbled slightly and looked at Cero, "That was mean," he said, then noticed that it was Cero's hand on his head, carding through his sandy-blonde hair, feeling if there was any sort of wound or bump.

"Um…" came Xam's quiet confusion, but it was enough to make Cero jerk his hand back.

"Ah, sorry," he chuckled and stood up, helping Xam to his feet too. "I didn't mean to scare you like that," he lied. He had meant to scare the shopkeeper, but not so much that he would hurt himself.

Xam scoffed a chuckle, "Well you know, I'd look good in a red-checkered vest. They're not expensive at all, you could buy me one to make up for it," he cooed with a wink.

It occurred to Cero then that this was confusing. Xam could've easily taken his own stock, or bought himself one if he didn't want to take it. So why ask to have one bought for him? He inwardly shrugged it off and instead chuckled, "I prefer the black ones," he mentioned. He noted how Xam's face went a little red.

"Well, if you're so good on fashion. What would you think of a red tie?" he asked and brushed off some invisible dirt before pouting his lip and picking at his vest.

Cero hummed as he thought over it, "It might look good," he said with a nod.

Xam smiled then, "and a red-necklace! I have one for sale too, would you look at that," he teased.

"Well it isn't that expensive…" he muttered as he looked at the little cubbies with the clothes folded up in them, then over to the ones with jewelry. The necklace wasn't that expensive at all, and he was actually considering buying Xam a present.

"Glasses would look good too—I mean I don't have an eye problem, of course, but they're fashionable," Xam continued to add, hinting at little things he wanted very bluntly that it couldn't really even be called a hint.

Cero chuckled, Xam was trying so hard, "They'd look good on you," he commented. Xam was becoming more sure of himself the longer Cero stayed with him. Maybe he didn't like the girls, maybe Cero liked him.

"Well, tell me what you think," he said then and pushed Cero to the other side of the counter as the customer should be, "the other souls don't look as good as me, yeah? And are definitely cheap," he huffed.

Cero laughed, "Not at all, they're not as fashionable as you," he teased. It definitely worked, as even though Xam brought it up, his face still went red.

"You don't mean that! Go, go!" Xam laughed and pushed Cero towards the door. "You're a terrible customer," he added, but of course he didn't mean it either. This reaction surprised Cero a little, because he had meant it, but he still left easily and waved to Xam who's face seemed to have only gotten redder.

Cero definitely knew he was starting to like this guy a lot, maybe more than he should have. But he didn't care; the voice did say true love.

He stepped out of the shop and closed the door behind him, only to look across to saw the door to Lunar Beach open, and he saw Riri peeking out.

"Hey, you," she said and waved Cero over and onto the beach. "What's your name?" she asked, clearly having forgotten Cero had introduced himself. "I'm Riri, the Soul of Lunar Beach," she said.

"I'm Cero, I told you already," he replied a little gruffly, having more than his desired amount of time spent with her.

"Cero huh? That rhymes with Zero," she teased, or meant to tease.

Cero shrugged, "Well alright, can't say I have a retort for that," he huffed and looked around, his hands back in his pockets.

"Well, I was just about to go for a swim, so don't interrupt me," she huffed right back. And that left Cero confused. She had been the once who asked him here, obviously. Or he wouldn't be here.

"Maybe I came for one too? I don't know, you asked me here," he grumbled, trying to find some way to speak nicely still.

"Well, company isn't so unreasonable then," she said. "I wanted to buy that white bag that Xam has for sale," she started again, "But his prices are so unreasonable," her arms folded across her chest.

"Then don't buy from him? God…" Cero rolled his eyes. How could she not see such an easy solution.

"Yeah, I don't need that stupid bag… Oh but it is so pretty," she said happily, almost.

"You should pay attention to what you need, not what you want," he replied. He was having a hard time not just leaving at this point. It wasn't that she was annoying; it was just that all the sudden she wanted to him to be there, and almost immediately decided to try and insult Xam right in front of him.

She went silent for a minute, chewing on her lower lip. She looked back to Cero and gave a weak smile, a really weak smile. "I love the moons here, they're so beautiful, I could stare at them for hours," she said and turned back towards the water.

Cero looked up then, passed the water and too the sky. He'd never noticed it before, but there were several moons in the sky, each seeming to be in a different cycle. There was a large one, the way a moon looks when it's just rising and seems larger than it truly is, then one high in the sky completely full, and one crescent moon off to the side of the other too. They were blocked slightly by the misty clouds, but they were moving along with the wind and allowed the moons to shine through, reflecting their light onto the ocean and creating a glow.

"They are amazing…" he muttered, entranced. But instead of thinking about Riri, he was thinking about what Xam had said, how he wanted to come here. He thought about how he could share the beauty of these moons with Xam, how much fun they could have. "But so is the ocean, I could stare at that too," he chuckled.

Riri got the impression that Cero's loving expression was to her, and not that his mind had wandered to someone she disliked so greatly, so she continued to speak: "The sound of the waves crashing against the sand really calms me," she said.

Cero nodded absently, "I should get going," he mumbled and that was all he gave it as he turned and left, his hand rubbing the back of his neck. He didn't even notice Riri's strange look at him as he left the Realm.

He went straight back to his little abode and sat on the bed, now wondering to himself why he wanted to think of Xam that way. There was no reason for it, he just wanted to and it was simply that. It might have not even been that he wanted to, but it was how it was turning out. Riri was the only girl he'd gone back to see, but only because they hadn't actually talked before with her terrible attitude. And yet he wanted to, no, he made an over-exerted effort to visit Xam every day. And now he just seemed to want to do that no matter what, even if it meant staying there until he was tired.

Cero laid down then on the bed and smiled, gently clutching at the pillow. He couldn't wait for the next day, he realized. And he was pretty sure he was done going to see everyone else, he just wanted to spend his time in Xam's realm.

After another trip to the forest, Cero was back in the shop on what he believed was day 4. It felt like it had been a lot longer than four days, or even the real five. But there was just something special about being with Xam, and even now, just walking into the shop, it felt right.

"Hey," Cero greeted with a wave, walking over to the counter to lean against it.

Xam turned around and smiled, "Well hello," he greeted back and came up to the counter, leaning over it and resting his chin in his hands. "You sure spend a lot of time here. Maybe you should make some money and buy some stuff," he teased.

Cero scoffed, "hey! I sell those…mushrooms and stuff, get money from that. I got a nice full wallet," he said right back with a bit of a leer which successfully turned Xam's face red.

Xam hid it with a laugh, "Ah you are definitely my favorite face in Dream World. You…look good today," he smiled and stood up straight now to move away.

"Well thank you, I learned from the best," he teased. He hadn't really changed what he looked like since he came, but it was nice flattery.

Xam immediately turned around and folded his arms, "you're still a bad customer. Money makes the Dream World go 'round, you know," he said and nodded to himself.

Cero stood up straight, "Hm, but it can't buy you love, you know," he said, more serious than he had been before.

Xam dropped his arms then and his head followed, looking down at his feet, "Well, I beg to differ, but you may be right," he shrugged, "I guess."

Cero sighed and reached across the thin counter to place his hand on Xam's back, gently patting him and rubbing his back.

"You know, back before I became a Dream Soul, I was poor," Xam suddenly said after a long moment of silence in which he had been enjoying the sincerely caring touch at his back. "So poor, that I would starve for days sometimes," he said with a light chuckle.

Cero stopped when he heard that. He tugged Xam's shoulder to make him turn around, and with the slightest gesture of his head, told Xam that they should go sit down. Xam stared for a moment, but he nodded and moved to the other side of the counter where he allowed Cero to lead him across the room and to a couch where he sat down, crossing his legs. Cero waited a moment before sitting down beside him.

Silence fell over the two as Xam picked at his pants, and then played with his hands. It was obvious he felt nervous, especially having said something so personal to a man he'd only met a few days ago. But it didn't matter, he felt safe having Cero know about his past.

"Life…wasn't happy," he muttered suddenly, very audible and so Cero just barely caught what he was saying. "There was no time for…love," he muttered.

"Why wasn't life happy?" Cero asked just as quietly, not wanting to disturb Xam in anyway.

Xam let out a scoff, "I was alone," he muttered.

"You're not alone now," Cero reminded and placed his hand on Xam's knee, "I'm your friend," he smiled. Friend wasn't the right word, but it was all he had for the moment.

Xam's nice smile returned then and he looked up at Cero, "Thank you… That means a lot, maybe I'll give you a discount," he beamed. Cero was wary now at the sudden topic change, but he didn't want to dread up any old memories that might make Xam uncomfortable.

"I'd like that," he smiled and removed his hand to put back on his own leg. He pursed his lips now as he looked around, feeling a little nervous himself now. He tried to hide it though, even though he was failing.

"I don't have any new stock, but you should buy something," Xam tried again, smiling at Cero. "I heard Rylee likes earphones…" he said and uncrossed his legs, only to re-cross them with the other leg on top.

Cero titled his head as he looked at Xam, "Thanks for the information, but I know what you like," he smiled.

Xam's face turned that adorable flush of red again, "I really wouldn't mind if you bought stuff for the girls," he huffed, crossing his arms as he tried to hide his embarrassment. "No, I would mind. Ah, it's strange…" he sighed.

Cero chuckled, "Don't worry, I understand," he smiled, causing Xam's face to only turn a deeper shade of red. But it was gone when Cero yawned.

"Oh! You should get to sleep," Xam smiled and stood up, pulling Cero up as well.

Cero shook his head, "Oh, no, it's fine really, I don't have to go," he said, feeling a little rude for abruptly ending their night with a yawn.

Xam chuckled, "no, we don't need a repeat of that first night, right? Go to sleep, I'll be here when you come back," he said.

Cero didn't need to be persuaded, as he was sort of tired. So he nodded and waved Xam a goodnight before leaving the Shop and the building.

Xam closed the door and he sighed. He might not be here when Cero returned in the morning. For some reason he just had to start talking about the love thing and it got Xam thinking back on his past, something he didn't exactly want to remember. He didn't think on it fondly and definitely wasn't happy upon recalling it so vividly. The visions weren't nice, the words he remembered, the feelings, the touches. There was nothing about it that he liked and had sometimes thanked whatever was out there that he had ended up here in this Dream World. While he was alone most of the time and disliked the girls who were overly stingy about his already lower-than-they-should-be prices, it was peaceful here and he enjoyed his time where he got to read books.

It was then that he retreated to his room and settled down in his bed to read a book. It didn't take long for it to just drop to his chest as his eyes closed and he fell asleep. He'd decided that he wouldn't be there when Cero visited the next day. He didn't want to just yet, he needed time to think if he wanted to continue or not.

When Cero walked into the shop on the sixth day, he looked around. It was strange to see the Shop so quiet and empty. He walked up to the counter and peered over, still empty. It confused him, as he'd never seen Xam anywhere else but this place and he'd never seen another door in the apartment either.

"Xam?" he called out and waited. There was nothing but silence. He shrugged then, deciding he'd worry later. He took out the small wallet in the back pocket of his pants and took out what he needed, counting up from the adding he'd done in his head from the prices on the wall. He left the money on the counter and proceeded to pick up the gifts that Xam had asked for. A Black vest, a checkered vest, the pair of glasses, the red tie, and the red necklace. He smiled and tucked those away in a bag and left the store. This bag, he left in his room, and he stayed there too.

Four more cycles had passed and it was now the tenth day. Cero was starting to worry about Xam, more than he before. He'd sold the mushrooms, made money, and went to bed. He didn't want to talk to the others, and after every day of finding an empty store with no Xam in it, he was beginning to get worried about what might happen.

Today, he marched right into the Shop, ignoring even the forest now, to find Xam. The worry was building, and yet it was suddenly destroyed with overwhelming relief upon seeing Xam standing there behind the counter. His back was turned to the door like it usually was, but he was there, standing there, unharmed. Cero didn't even try to hold back as he moved behind the counter and hugged Xam, wrapping his arms tight around the man's waist and holding him close.

"You're alright…" he mumbled, his hand holding the back of Xam's head, gently carding through his hair again.

Xam was a little shocked and even struggled for a moment before he relaxed and stood loosely in Cero's arms. Hugging back would've been murder the way Cero was holding him, his face buried into Xam's neck and arms wrapped tightly around Xam's own arms as well as his waist.

"Yes, Cero," Xam said quietly as he pushed him back a little. Cero took the hint and let go completely.

"I was so worried, it's been five days," Cero said, taking Xam by the wrist and pulling him over to the couch to sit him down. "Where have you been?"

Xam smiled weakly, "Cero, would you choose wealth over love?" he asked, very sullen.

Cero jerked slightly and let go of Xam then as he sat down beside him, "I would choose love," he said, very sure of himself. There was nothing that could change that fact.

Xam smiled a little stronger then, "I'd like to go out for a drink," he said. In other words, to forget the moments he'd spent the past few days reliving.

"Do you do anything else for fun…?" Cero asked, not ever having been one to believe in drinking. But that answer seemed to have done nothing, as again the topic changed.

"Angel acts…like an angel. Rylee's nice I guess, a little crazy," he shrugged, "and that Riri… she's just rude," he huffed.

Cero couldn't have been more confused now, but he nodded, "Yeah, that just about sums it up."

And still, this didn't seem to satisfy Xam for a conversation. He was fidgeting, continually shifting about on the couch to get comfortable or to pick at some imaginary dirt.

"Do you work out?" he muttered, now looking at Cero and taking his arm. It was obvious his mind was elsewhere, but Cero played along to keep him happy.

Cero shook his head, "No, I don't. I guess it's natural," he smiled.

Xam smiled and leaned against the jacket covered arm, "I'd like to run a little, through Lunar Beach. But I don't want to deal with Riri," he sighed.

"Well, I'll go with you then. I'm sure we can avoid her," he added.

Xam nodded, "I'd really…like to hang out with you," Xam said, looking up and smiling. The stray piece of hair that had always been there now was hanging in Cero's face.

"But there's so few places to go," Cero huffed and gently tugged on the hair, moving it out of the way.

"Is that why you're always here? Or is there something in my shop you like?" Xam asked again about the shop, for as far as he knew, Cero hadn't purchased a thing.

"I come here for you," Cero replied seriously and moved his arm from Xam's grip, only to wrap it around Xam's shoulders.

Xam sighed and pushed away then, the distant look on his face retuning and his mind began to wander again. He looked at Cero, now a nice gap between them. There was something about his face that made Cero grow nervous about what was going to be done next. Surely it couldn't be that bad, but he wasn't at all sure about what Xam was going to next with the strange way he was acting.

"You remind me of someone…" he whispered.

"Who?" Cero asked, curious now.

"Do you…really want to know more?" Xam asked. The look on his face told Cero that it wasn't very good to remind him of this person.

Cero nodded silently and allowed Xam to settle back down against his chest.

"I had a crush on someone," he said quietly, "he didn't exactly know I existed. Not the way I wanted him to."

"Yeah? Tell me more," Cero said, rubbing Xam's arm supportively. It made Xam's lips perk up very little into a smile. But it vanished quickly.

It was Tuesday again, the clock hitting the perfect time of Noon. He always came Tuesday at noon, every week he would fill his car and walk into the small convenient store to buy something. When Xam first saw him, it was like love at first sight—his heart started to pound and everything else was blocked out. He hadn't even noticed himself staring so rudely. And when someone snapped him out of it, he made sure to try to ignore this customer. But he did return every week, and at first, Xam had a hard time judging if this man was straight or not.

Everything changed about the fourth week when the man walked in with another man. And they were holding hands. While it was definitely a guarantee that this handsome young man enjoyed that kind of company, Xam cursed him for having someone else after he'd never gotten a chance to make his move. So he sent his curses to the man and his partner.

Week six came and Xam finally learned the strangers name upon hearing this same partner speak to him out-loud and use his wonderful name. His name was Kai, and he was the most handsome man Xam had ever seen. His hair was messy but ever so tamed in its own way, and it was dark, blew gracefully in the wind and gave him a lovely walk. Kai always dressed up too, usually in some sort of casual sports jacket or suit. No matter what he wore, he always had that look about him of complete seduction.

When Kai came into the store, he would wander the parallel shelves and look at all the items available, each time, even if nothing had been moved. And each time he would pick up a soda and a bag of chips, then walk over to the counter to where Xam stood. He definitely looked like someone who worked at a gas station, his clothes were old and the apron used to cover them was almost just as dirty. And sometimes, in the really bad times, Xam wouldn't be able to shower and would come in looking like it. Kai was never impressed with him to say the least, and would drop the bag of chips along with the soda bottle on the counter, then turn his back and lean his finely muscled rear against it to talk with his boyfriend.

"That'll be, um, five dollars and fifty cents," Xam would always say with a smile. But from the first day, Kai would drop the money on the counter and take his purchase without a second glance to the cashier. Just like that, he would be gone, and Xam would be alone again.

As the weeks went by, Xam tried his hardest to clean up and look his best for when Kai appeared. He was recognizable by the roar of his sports car's engine. It always made Xam giddy, the idea of riding in it. But today was different. While Xam had done himself up pretty for Kai's arrival, Kai walked in looking a little less than average. His hair was disheveled, his outfit unkempt. Instead of wandering the isles like always, he went straight to the back and opened the freezer. Instead of a soda like normal, he walked up with a couple cans of beer and set that on the counter. And then, if it wasn't strange enough, Kai didn't turn around either.

"You don't look so good," Xam commented as he rang up Kai's order like normal. Kai scoffed and shook his head.

"No, definitely don't. You're always here, remember that little brat? Goddamn asshole dumped me, believe it or not," he shrugged and leaned down against the counter.

Xam had to fight to control his smile upon hearing Kai was single, "I'm sorry to hear that," he smiled and pushed the cans back to Kai. "Ten, even," he said.

Kai dug out the money and handed over a fifty. This was a new one too, he always had exact change. Xam was happy to have to break it for him, and handed back the forty dollars, letting his hand brush Kai's as he set it in the outstretched fingers.

Kai seemed to stare at the touch, and his eyes wandered up to Xam's poor red face. "You like men right? I can tell, the way you act," Kai chuckled.

Xam jumped slightly and looked around before nodding quickly, then he couldn't believe he had looked around instead of just coming right out. Kai knew already so what was the point? He didn't have much time longer to regret what he'd done as Kai stood up.

"What time you get off work?" he asked.

"A-at four…" Xam mumbled quietly, his hands gripping the apron. While it was still dirty, it wasn't hiding dirty clothes anymore.

Kai smiled, "Great, I'll pick you up then, alright? You better be ready, I'll take you to dinner."

Xam's face flushed terrible and he nodded, "A-alright! That sounds wonderful. I'll be waiting," he smiled then. He was so happy that his wish had finally come true. Kai had asked him out, had finally noticed him, and knew he existed.

Four o'clock couldn't have come fast enough, but when it did, sure enough there was the roar of the engine again. Xam couldn't have been happier and he put away his apron, clocked out, and barely controlled himself from dashing right out to meet Kai. He walked calmly to the convertible and climbed into the passenger seat. It didn't seem strange at all when Kai handed him a soda to drink, but he smiled and thanked him.

The first night had been wonderful together. They went to dinner and then out on the town, and Kai bought Xam his first present. From there, he dropped Xam off at his house and drove off. He hadn't even said a word about Xam's poor apartment building. But he hadn't gone in either. By the second date though, Kai walked Xam up to his apartment and said goodbye there, after dinner and a movie. About a week had passed before things started to get a little strange.

They had first gone to nice restaurants for five star meals—as Kai came from a rich family and had a lot of money. But the quality of where they went got lower and lower, and they no longer went to movies together or downtown to shop. They would go to the park or just walk. There was no more spending of money it seemed. By the second week, they were eating at fast-food restaurants and Kai was asking Xam to pay for their dates instead. And Xam didn't have all the money in the world, so their dates were cut down even more. There was a bright side, Kai stopped by the gas station every day to see Xam.

By the third week the visits had stopped too, and while they were an item, there wasn't much going on between them. But the beginning of the fourth week seemed to start some kind of new beginning, as Kai showed up at the gas station at four o'clock. Xam hadn't been expecting him so he was back in his old clothes and he definitely looked skinnier than normal.

The strangest thing became that it angered Kai when he saw Xam that way. And not because Xam looked unhealthy or that he might be sick, but because he looked like a slob.

"That's what you decided to look like today?" Kai snapped.

Xam jerked slightly when he heard such a gruff tone, "H-huh?" he asked.

"I mean look at you, you look like some street bum," Kai growled, "couldn't even look nice for me? Don't you care about me?" Kai asked.

"Of course I do!" Xam protested, but it only earned a scoff from Kai.

"Get in the car. The back of the car," he put an emphasis on that last part, that Xam wasn't good enough to sit in the front with him like this. So Xam stayed silent and sat in the back, hunched over and almost hiding from Kai now. Kai was right, he did look like some street bum, but he hadn't eaten in a couple days—all the money he got from the gas station had to go to rent towards his apartment. Whatever is left over he used to buy food, but sometimes there wasn't much to spare.

Xam looked up when he started to recognize where they were at, and that was the road to his apartment.

"Where are we going…?" Xam asked.

"You're place. I wanna see it," Kai responded, but he didn't say anything else. In fact, he turned the radio up so he didn't have to hear if Xam spoke again. Xam slid down in his seat and went back to hiding.

When they arrived at Xam's apartment complex, Kai stepped out of his car and began walking towards the front door, leaving Xam to scramble to catch up. But Kai still didn't slow. He walked inside and let the door fall shut in Xam's face and made his way to the elevator. Xam was barely able to get inside before the elevator doors closed, but he was inside the lift. That's when Kai's arm slinked around his waist and held him close, placing a kiss to his head.

"I apologize for how I've treated you, I want to make it up to you tonight," Kai mumbled. And at the time it sounded sweet, like something bad at happened to change how he acted, and now he wanted to make everything up to Xam. But that's not what it was.

Xam wasn't sure how it happened, but when he unlocked his apartment, something in Kai changed. Kai grabbed him by the arm and pulled him inside the apartment, shutting and locking the door tightly. Being man-handled was an understatement as Xam found himself unceremoniously tossed to the couch.

"Even your apartment is disgusting," Kai grumbled. "You out of money yet?" he growled with somewhat of a devilish smirk on his face. That last sentence had shocked Xam a little. Was he out of money yet? He didn't have much money to begin with, and now he seemed to be even lower on it before. Had that been Kai's plan all along? To take whatever he had left?

Next thing Xam knew he was flipped to lie on his back, and he never saw it coming as a now completely bottomless Kai crawled over him, straddling his neck. Xam hadn't had time to even register what was going on before that erection was forced right into his mouth which had been yanked open hard enough to strain his jaw. It was even further strained as the entire shaft was forced down his throat, but careful enough not to make him gag or anything even more disgusting.

"Now, why don't you make it up to me—having the audacity to mock my wealth with your absolute disgusting poverty," Kai growled and moved his hips. It made Xam gag and his whines grew louder. He wanted to struggle, but his hands were pinned and it hurt when he moved, so he laid still and absolutely defeated.

Because he didn't do anything, Kai got angry again; angry enough to buck his hips and pain Xam's virgin mouth.

"I said make it up to me, and that means I want you to suck," he growled. His tightened grip on Xam's wrists made him re-think ignoring the request and he hesitantly began. He began to suck, and it was awkward having never even thought to do this before, but he worked his mouth around the base where he was stuck, and his throat around whatever was left. Though it wasn't much, it was enough to give Kai what he wanted as his face began to contort in pleasure.

Xam just wanted this to be over with, so he quickened his awkward movements and pressed his tongue along the underside of the shaft, moving the muscle little by little to press against the folds of the skin and the protruding veins. It seemed to do the trick as the organ in his mouth began to almost tremble with need. It was a little frightening, but Xam let his eyes close as he continued.

He heard a sudden grunt above him, and then the feeling of some substance being shot into his throat. He panicked and that's when he started to struggle, which was another mistake as it caused Kai to pull back and the remainder of the murky liquid to spurt out onto his face, leaving Xam laying there completely violated and on the verge of tears.

Kai scoffed and moved off the couch, pulling his boxers and pants back on. Without a second look, without a word, without an acknowledgement—he left the apartment and slammed the door shut behind him. Xam listened to his footsteps, and when they were gone, he let the tears slowly fall as he hurried to the bathroom where he bent over the toilet and vomited immediately, barely making the bowel. When that was finished, he pulled himself into the shower and turned it on with his foot. His arms were crossed over his chest, hands gripping at the opposite shoulder in some attempt to hide from no one. But he let the hot water now stream down him and wash him from that terrible experience.

After brushing his teeth for what seemed like hours, Xam allowed himself to curl up in his bed and hide under the blankets. While they weren't freshly cleaned or fancy sheets, they smelt like home and he was able to hide under them and feel safe, like he really was safe. In the back of his mind he knew he wouldn't be safe under here. He stayed there until he had finally cried himself to sleep.

When Kai came to pick Xam up from work again, he didn't fight it and he didn't question it. He was having a hard time pulling himself away, as Kai had really paid attention to him for the first few weeks and that's what he wanted, the attention, someone to look at him and not look past.

They arrived at Xam's apartment and the same thing took place, and it did for days after days, for weeks. For two, and at the end of each week, when Xam would finally smile when he got his paycheck, Kai would take it from him and leave him in the apartment, dirtied and violated and poor again. He called it "paying back" for the money Xam had "used" on their dates. After that, Xam really saw what this was about, and it was about ways to get more money out of people, ways to use them.

It was too much, especially when Xam got the eviction notice. He hadn't been able to pay rent, and the landlord wanted him out now. He would be on the street by the end of the month, and by that time Kai probably would've acted out his threat—raping Xam and leaving him to die on the street. But if Xam was going to die, he wanted to be the one to dictate it, as it seemed the only thing left in his life he could dictate.

Because of that, he borrowed a rope from a neighbor, and his body was found the very next day with Kai stopped by for a visit.

By this time, Cero had moved Xam into his lap and was now holding him, letting him rest against his neck as his voice grew softer with the end of his story. He hadn't dared to cried or let out a squeak of sadness. He just sat there, playing with the strings of Cero's yellow jacket.

"But, I don't think about him anymore," Xam finally whispered and sat up a little to look at Cero.

"Good," Cero said softly and put his hand to Xam's cheek, gently stroking the soft pale skin, "you don't need to. Because I'm here now, and I want to replace his memory," he brought Xam back to lie against him, nestled up against his neck where he had been.

Xam smiled and slid his hand up to rest on the other end of Cero's neck, "you already have, so I have to thank you. Money isn't important."

"But still, you gotta keep being you, that's all I want," Cero said with a smile, gently rubbing Xam's bare arm and sending shivers up his spine.

"I wanted to change myself for him…" Xam whispered, then closed his eyes as he got comfortable against Cero.

"That's not what love is about," Cero said, "it's about compromises, not changes," he whispered and placed a kiss to Xam's forehead.

Xam nodded slowly then, "You don't ever have to buy anything; stay as long as you want," he said. He went quiet then as he fell asleep there on Cero's lap. When Cero heard his light snores, he laid the man down on the couch and covered him up. With another kiss to the forehead, he was gone and back to his bed instead.

When he sat down, he looked through his bag of presents and picked one out. He neatly folded the black vest and put it into his side bag, the one that hung at his hip. He was determined to ask Xam out for a date the next day.

Cero stepped into the shop, day 12 on the clock, 11 in his mind, and walked up behind the counter. Before Xam could even say hello before he was picked up and sat on the counter, his hips being nicely held in Cero's hands. Xam smiled then and waved before, for the first time, slipping his hands into Cero's hair to feel it.

"Xam, would you honor me to a date?" Cero asked, smiling as he was the happiest he could be right now.

Xam beamed then and flung himself at Cero, "Yes!" he cried out and wrapped his limbs around Cero as if he was absolutely refusing to let him go.

"Wonderful! Come on, we can go out to dinner and for drinks," Cero smiled and then looked up at Xam who seemed to be entranced with his hair, playing with the little yellow strip, "and then, we'll go to the beach," he smiled.

Xam looked down at Cero and smiled brighter if it was possible, "Yes! Yes, let's go, that sounds wonderful," he said and let go to stand on his own two feet again, though he did much prefer being carried.

Cero took the man's hand and immediately pulled him from the Shop and out of the building. Xam had never really stepped outside of his Realm, and now that he had, he was in total awe of the little world around him. He didn't want to stand still upon finally coming out to see what there was to offer, and he was jittery as they walked down along the street, but part of it was nerves. His first and last boyfriend had been Kai, so he worried.

"Hey," Cero said when he felt the tight squeeze on his hand, "don't be nervous, okay?" he smiled, and it calmed Xam for the moment.

When they arrived at the restaurant, they sat in a booth off to the corner where they ordered a dinner. Cero got himself a nice steak and Xam ordered something much lighter, a fillet of lemon salmon. And as a treat, Cero ordered Xam a tropical alcoholic drink, remembering that he had asked to go out for drinks at one point.

"You know, you would look great with a red tie…" Xam suddenly said, hiding behind the glass of his drink now when he said it.

Cero chuckled, "you think so? Well, when we get out of here, I'll be sure to buy some to wear for you," he smiled and leaned onto the table, his chin resting in his hand.

Xam's face went red then, "You want to leave with me?" he asked quietly, smiling.

Cero nodded, "Yeah, I do," he reached across the table and took Xam's free hand, "I would really like to leave this place with you. Just you and me, we could live in my loft together," he said.

Xam titled his head, "Your loft?" he wondered.

Cero perked up, "Oh! Yes, I'm an artist. Did I not tell you?" he wondered, then shook his head, "I guess I didn't. See, I was a good artist, coming up on the rise. But, I've had diagnosed chronic insomnia for the past few years," he said with a hum, "So, along with my sleep, my art declined as well. Well, I came into possession of a sleep tonic and…ended up here," he explained.

Xam huffed and gently squeezed Cero's hand, "That must've been hard on you. Well don't you worry, if I get out of here with you, I'll take care of you. Make sure you get your sleep, and I'll work to help bring in money," he smiled.

Cero smiled and pulled over that hand to kiss it, "Thank you, that would be wonderful," he cooed.

"Until then, you keep coming back, okay? Besides, those girls wouldn't understand you like me," he cooed and took his hand back to lean against it.

Cero chuckled, "Gosh, you're still worried about them? I haven't spoken to any of them in a long time," he said. That brought a smile to Xam's face and he tentatively drank the alcohol. But his eyes never left Cero, he just kept looking at him with a longing look, but in return it earned a leer from his date. Either way, silence fell as they looked at each other, until Xam set down his glass and his face turned red again.

"Thanks for asking me out," he muttered under his breath, "I had no idea, when we first met, that you even liked men…" he said and looked down, twirling the stray hair around his finger.

"Honestly, neither did I. But I haven't dated anyone in years, and last time I did, she and I left hating each other," he chuckled, "So I guess it makes sense… But I saw you and, ah, I just had to check it out. So, I guess it's a good thing I passed out, yeah?"

Xam nodded then.

When dinner was finished, they stood up from the booth, but before Xam walked off, Cero stopped him and pulled him close. He reached into his pocket quickly to remedy how confused Xam looked. But his face went from confusion to happiness when he saw the vest.

"You bought me one!?" He asked and immediately flung himself at Cero again, hugging him tightly. "Thank you, I love it," he smiled and kissed Cero's cheek.

"I have one more surprise, alright?" Cero said and took Xam's hand again. They left the restaurant and began the short journey back to the building they had both spent most of their time together in, and then finally into the Lunar Beach Realm. Riri was there at the beginning like normal, but they weren't stopping here. Cero took Xam down the beach, walking along until Riri was out of site and they were alone. On the beach was a small blanket laid out with a few snacks too, and that's where they sat down.

"You said you wanted to come here, so I planned for it," Cero smiled and began to work his jackets off. "Wanna go swimming?" he asked then, to fix Xam's confusion as to why he seemed to just be stripping in front of him.

Xam smiled then and nodded. But when they had both stripped down to something reasonable to go swimming in, Xam didn't stand up to go down with Cero to the water. He was too busy hiding and staring at what Cero's body had to offer. How nicely toned he was and how terrible the clothes he had flattered him. It only made Xam look away in the end as he was embarrassing himself.

"Hey, come on," Cero said and reached down to take Xam's hands and pull him up to his feet. But he saw how the man seemed to be shaking with his nervousness, so Cero didn't look anywhere but his face. "We don't have to go swimming if you don't want to," he said, to which Xam shook his head.

"No, I want to… I'm just…" he looked down and off to the side, avoiding eye contact with the man.

Cero smiled and wrapped his arms around Xam's waist, pulling him close so they were pressed against each other and he could lean in to whisper something. "You look wonderful," he whispered to an ear, then pulled back to see that adorable blush returning to his face.

"Th-thank you," Xam said. This definitely had a different feeling to it; no malicious intent or off putting look. This was different—the look in Cero's eye was one of love and care. Xam relaxed and looked back at Cero, then smiled and pushed him back so he could take off running towards the water. Cero was left dumbstruck for a moment, but took off after Xam. Of course, he didn't make it to the water first, and when he did Xam was long gone and under it. But it didn't take long to find him as Cero was tackled into the water.

They played for some while before the night air began to roll in and they moved back to the blanket to sit together out of the water. When they got there, Cero was the first to sit down and he got a chance to look at Xam really for the first time. He was cute, and all though not too curvy, he wasn't muscular either. His skin was smooth and fine, a pale and perfect complexion. It was obvious Cero was staring as his eyelids drooped and he smiled.

"S-stop staring at me!" Xam protested and plopped down beside him, knees coming up and arms around them as a defense, "it's embarrassing," he muttered.

Cero laughed and opened a small container, offering Xam a piece of watermelon. "It's my favorite," he commented and took a piece himself. Though, he did stop staring as Xam as requested.

"Alright, I'll try it," Xam smiled and took a small piece. He ate it in one bite and hummed as he chewed. It was a nice one, full of juice and flavor. But because it was Cero's favorite, he took a bigger piece that required a few more bites than just one. By the time he was finished with the piece, there was juice rolling down from the side of his mouth. Either he hadn't noticed it, or Cero was hoping that Xam reacted to it. And he did.

Xam leaned in and licked the juice from the side of Cero's lips. It did shock Cero and he jerked to look at Xam, but then he smiled weakly and leaned closer to him. Xam moved closer too, his hand going to rest on Cero's bare chest, his eyes slipping closed as their lips touched in a sweet and innocent kiss. Slowly, it grew heated as Cero pushed back and laid Xam on the blanket, continuing their kiss. It didn't take long for Cero to find himself on top of Xam, feverishly kissing him like it was all he had left. Xam was a little more hesitant, but he wrapped his arms around Cero's neck and pulled him down closer so that they lay flush against each other.

They soon had to part, both panting heavily to their long kiss; Xam again flushed, but Cero was too this time. He pushed himself up, sitting on Xam's lower stomach and looking down at him, his hands finding nice resting places against his chest.

"I've…never," Xam muttered and looked away. Even after what he'd gone through, he'd never been subjected to this yet.

Cero smiled and leaned down again to kiss Xam, "Me neither," he whispered against those smooth lips. Xam smiled then and pressed their lips together again; after hearing that he couldn't have felt safer with Cero, knowing they were going to be doing this together.

Cero slid away then and moved Xam's legs open so he could rest between them. He wasn't sure where to start, what to do. Not only was this his first time, but Xam was the first man he'd been with as well. His nervousness showed and Xam sat up slightly, taking Cero's wrist with his hand and pulling it to himself, placing it on his chest.

"Touch…me," Xam whispered, not making eye contact. He was just as nervous, but he wanted this, and if he had to be the one to push Cero to do it, then he would.

Cero nodded and pushed Xam back down onto his back. He leaned over Xam now and decided he'd just do it and ignore the weird feeling in his cut. Down he went until his lips were pressed to Xam's smooth neck, and that's where he would start—he kissed it, but decided that even that wasn't enough. He parted his lips to suck on a patch of skin, and that's what seemed to elicit a response from Xam, nothing but a soft shudder. He'd have to do better. His hands began to wander, starting from Xam's hips then back up to his chest where he brushed a nipple—which caused a whine. Cero smiled to himself and pulled back a little to nip at Xam's neck instead. It was painfully obvious he was going too slow, but it's all he could do.

Cero's nips trailed down Xam's neck then and over his collar bone where he stopped to provide extra attention. It amused him when he pulled back to see two little marks forming on Xam's skin. And they proved to make him want to go further down. And he remembered the whine he'd got when he brushed a nipple with his hand, so when he reached one, he licked it. He was growing more confident now when Xam whined again. He lapped at the small nub, making it stiffen up and redden. Then, Cero went even farther and took it into his mouth, gently holding it between his teeth as he sucked on it.

"Ah!" Xam cried out suddenly, causing Cero to pull back, worried he'd done something to hurt Xam. But that action only made the former whine and pull Cero back down, "don't stop, you meanie…" Xam whined and whined until Cero continued the small ministration. His other hand came up, rubbing over Xam's chest before taking the other nipple between his thumb and index finger, pinching and twisting it. Combined, it was enough to make Xam cry out again, though he'd been trembling this entire time.

Now Cero moved back though, letting his hands roam down Xam's body and down to what was left of his clothes and hooked his fingers under the waist band. Xam froze and propped himself up slightly, staring at Cero with a red face and worried eyes.

"Don't worry," Cero whispered and moved forward to catch his lips in a kiss as he began to pull the clothes down. It didn't take long before they were off and Xam was bare, but Cero got no time to explore with his eyes as Xam made sure to keep him down, gripping his shoulders. If that was how Xam was going to play, then Cero was going to make him regret it. He didn't need to look to know what he was doing. He braced his hands in the blanket and began to move his hips, grinding against the man below him.

"A-ah! What are you—?" Xam panicked but it was gone when he moaned, arching his back up towards Cero and tightening his grip by wrapping his arms again around Cero's neck, hands burying themselves in his hair. He couldn't even bring himself to be embarrassed with how sensitive he was, but the rough fabric of Cero's boxers were doing him in right about now, and they were wet too. When it occurred to Xam that it might have not been the water, he was ecstatic and began moving against Cero as well. His hands left Cero's hair and travel down his sides, finding the waist band of his boxers quickly and trying to push them down. When it wasn't working, he used his feet instead, but finally got them off.

The feel of Cero's bare erection working against his was unbearable, so much that Xam wanted more and more of it. His legs wrapped around Cero's hips now, tightly to keep him close. The friction, the heat—All Xam knew was he wanted more. But the next thing he knew, this knot had formed in his stomach and he groaned outright, tossing his head back with his quick orgasm. Again, totally embarrassed, Xam pushed Cero off and rolled into his side to pout.

Cero chuckled and slid closer again, his hand running him Xam's chest while he leaned down to kiss the side of his neck again, trailing now down his back. Xam was panting now and quickly heating back up as the kisses trailed lower and were soon at his hip, and there was nothing he could do as he was rolled onto his back again—Cero finally getting his chance to see his lover. Between his thighs was a semi-hard cock that only seemed to be growing again as Cero stared at it, but the thing that caught him most off guard was how completely clean shaven Xam was.

Xam whined and used his hands to cover himself, "stop staring," he muttered. But he didn't fight when his wrists were grabbed and pinned down above his head—at least Cero was looking at his face again.

"Don't be so embarrassed," Cero whispered and kissed Xam again, letting go of his wrists to trail his hands down the smooth skin, back down to his lap where he felt over the smooth skin, down past Xam's quivering erection and two his balls. He gently slid a finger between them, rubbing that and just past to find more sensitive skin. Xam moaned out, his arm moving to cover his face as he groaned, back arching again. His hips jerked up, forward, trying to find something to fix the growing problem.

"C-Cero," Xam whined, pulling him close. "C-C'mon… I…" he muttered, but said no more. Instead, he acted. He wasn't sure how much Cero knew about what they were going to do, so he would do his best to guide him—hopefully.

Cero let his hand be taken now, and his pinky and thumb bent to leave just this other three fingers up. The three digits were simultaneously taken into Xam's mouth, causing a surge of arousal to just shoot through Cero as he watched. It was new to see Xam keep eye contact locked, but he did as he gingerly sucked on the fingers, moving his tongue around them, between them—coating them wonderfully in saliva. It made Cero shudder, watching as Xam's eyes slowly drooped and he got more enthusiastic in sucking, soon even forgetting why it was he brought the fingers into his mouth.

Suddenly, Xam's chin was taken into Cero's hand and he moved his own fingers, exploring Xam's mouth with them, thrusting them in and out. Xam shivered and let his hands drop, taking what Cero was willing to do. Drool started to drip from the corner of his mouth, and that's when Cero pulled away, but licked Xam's face clean.

"Do you know what…to do?" Xam whispered.

That was enough to turn Cero's face red and he shook his head, "n-not really," he muttered, "sorry…" he began to pull back, like he'd done a great disservice. But Xam shot up and quickly grabbed his shoulders to keep him close.

"Then… I'll help," Xam smiled and lay back down. He liked being like this, and he was sure he'd still be able to help from here. Cero nodded and waited to do what he was instructed, but words never came. Xam was sure if he spoke what needed to happen he would die more than he was going to already with just showing what he had to happen.

He spread his legs and moved them up onto Cero's hips. He took a deep breath and took Cero's hand again, by the wrist, the one with moist fingers, and guided it down. He had to sit up a little, but he pushed the hand down between his thighs and even lower. He folded the other two fingers down to leave only Cero's index finger out. Xam gulped and tightly closed his eyes now, blushing heavily as he moved the single finger to its target.

Cero nodded and moved Xam's hands away so he could lie down and relax and hopefully not embarrass himself anymore. Cero moved his finger around the opening before gathering himself and pushing inside. He went slow as this caused Xam great discomfort and it showed as his face contorted and he gripped Cero's shoulders tighter. But, Cero used his instinct on this, as his finger went deeper he pushed at Xam's inner walls, enough for his second finger to move in so he could really work Xam open.

It took some time, but soon Xam was groaning instead of wincing, and his little hips moved to try to get more inside. Cero wasn't about to yet though; he wanted to make sure that he wouldn't hurt the man; that would've killed him more than anything. Cero kept moving his fingers apart, pushing the walls more open until his two fingers seemed to slip with ease and left Xam whining again. Though it did boost Cero's ego that he was actually pleasuring the man. Now, his third finger slipped inside and it became a tight fit again, but he continued on, his own erection straining at this point for a little bit of attention. Still, he continued to move in deeper until Xam shot up, his back arching and he moaned out, and even his cock gave a little spurt of excitement.

"Oh god…" Xam whined and lay back down, straining, panting. He moaned again when Cero purposely pushed against the bundle of nerves that had brought upon such an erotic action. But that was enough and Xam begged for him to stop and get on with it. He needed more; these fingers weren't doing it for him.

Cero pulled out his fingers them and wiped them on the blanket. Xam pulled him closer, still gasping for a bit of breath, and gave him a nod. With that nod, Cero situated himself blindly, being again locked in a fiery kiss with Xam, and pushed inside. The kiss was broken immediately as Xam's head went back and he moaned, but that gave Cero an opening to go at his neck and latch onto it again while he waited for another okay to start moving. Only at the moment he hadn't stopped; he kept going until he had completely disappeared inside Xam.

"d-don't…stop," Xam panted out, gripping Cero's hair now. And with those two words, Cero continued now with the slight flick of his hips, pulling back and move in. It was an awkward moment and he had to move off Xam to do it, but the longer he went at it, the better it got.

Xam soon started to move his own hips against Cero, knocking them together as he moved down and Cero moved up. He was able to go back down, lying over Xam, and continue to move now, rubbing their bodies with the slow motion of their hips.

With Xam still sensitive from his orgasm earlier, and Cero having not even had one yet, they were coming close together, their moans and the sound of wet skin slapping against wet skin filling the air around them. It was Cero who climaxed first, but the feeling, the gush of hot seed rushing into Xam's body pushed him to his second one.

They lay there, completely spent and tired, for a few moments longer before Cero found it in him to pull out and flop down on the blanket. He smiled when Xam rolled over to snuggle up at his chest, tucking his head under Cero's chin. Cero's hand came up to rub up and down the other's back.

"That was wonderful…" Xam muttered, still trying to catch his breath. Nonetheless, he was smiling, drawing little patterns on Cero's chest with the tip of his finger nail. "Thank you for tonight," he continued and kissed the skin, "I had a wonderful time… But, uh, can I ask you something?" Xam muttered and moved back to look at Cero.

That worried Cero now—had he done something wrong? He looked down to Xam who brushed his hair from his face and placed a kiss to his lips.

"What is it?" Cero hummed.

"Will you sleep in my realm tonight?" Xam asked, smiling and looking down. That was definitely a relief and Cero let out a happy sigh.

"Of course," he replied and sat up. He used the blanket to clean them both off before tossing it off somewhere. They didn't really need it. Then he dressed and helped Xam as well. After trying to get Xam to his feet, he ended up carrying him while he had the container in his lap. Of course, Xam wasn't heavy or anything, and by the time they reached the shop—all of five minutes—Xam was fast asleep in Cero's arms. He was laid on the bed and the container of watermelon put away, and Cero joined him in bed for a nice sleep.

For his remaining days, Cero stayed with Xam in his shop all day, and sometimes even slept there. The days were flying by too fast almost, and the two had made it on three more dates, Xam receiving one more thing he'd asked for each time. They didn't get intimate again, but there were times when they would come back from the beach and sit on Xam's couch. Xam would move closer until he was in Cero's arms again, his hand resting gently over Cero's chest. And their lips would meet and they would kiss—kiss for what seemed like hours; it was so full of passion that they didn't need to be intimate to get the feeling. And when that was done, they would sleep wherever they happened to be, the couch or a bed, or the floor if that's where they ended up.

There were some days they didn't speak, just sat together in the Shop. Other days, all they did was talk; everywhere they went it was non-stop chatter. And some days they'd mess around; one of Cero's favorite things to do was to just carry Xam around, set him up on the counter and continue from there.

With things running smoothly and their love doing nothing but growing, the days passed by quickly. It was a particular night where they had slept separately—because Cero had some big plan. Of course, waking up that morning he didn't realize his 30 days had passed, still believing that he had one day left to spend with Xam before they escaped together. In his hand now he had the pair of black glasses that Xam had asked for, his final present for the man. He had the most wonderful plan to surprise Xam with them, and couldn't wait to act it out. He tucked the glasses into his hand and started the small commute over to the other building. And from there things got worse.

Your 30 Cycles are up the voice said, causing all color to drain from Cero's face.

"What? No! No, they can't be!" he cried out, but that changed nothing.

Pick a door was the last thing the voice said before it was gone.

Cero ran for Xam's door, immediately gripping the handle and yanking mercilessly on it. But it wouldn't budge open, none of them would. The panic was setting in, greatly. Cero pounded on the door then, his fists coming down on it like a hammer to a nail, and no matter the pain that it brought, he kept pounding.

"Xam! Xam!" he cried the name over again, his eyes welling up with tears at the thought that he was going to be the person that left him behind without a goodbye, a second word to tell him he was sorry or that he cared. The tears began to fall when he saw everything around him disappearing, the doors, the floor, the walls, everything.

"No! No, this can't be happening! Xam! Please tell me you're in there!" he begged, sliding down to his knees now, staring at the door as it too began to fade. His head was shaking and he was crying harder now.

"Xam…" he whispered and let his forehead hit the door, watching it vanish before his eyes. Everything turned black.

When Cero woke up, he was in his familiar bed, in his familiar loft. The sheets were a deep ocean blue, like they had been before he left. And it was like he'd never left in the first place, back to wearing nothing but his pants. He sat up and the first thing he noticed was that he was clutching something in his hands. He looked at it and the tears immediately returned. The glasses were tightly gripped in his hand still, and it brought everything back to him. He moved off the bed then and over to his work space to see what he had painted before he fell asleep.

Upon seeing what mockery he'd painted, he fell to his knees, collapsing in utter despair and bawling into his hands. On the easel was a canvas with a painting on it. The painting was of Xam. Xam, his Xam. He'd painted him before ever having met him. How could this possibly happen to him? Why him, why did he have to go that Dream World and meet Xam in the first place if all it was going to cause was this… This heartache.

Then it hit him, what Xam would think. Cero was gone, he wasn't there anymore, after he promised to be there for Xam, not even the day before.

Xam was easily lifted up and placed on the counter again, but today there was something off in his face. He didn't laugh or lean down to hug Cero like he usually did, instead he stared blankly and stroked Cero's hair.

"Cero?" Xam asked quietly, causing Cero to look right up at him.

"Yes?" Cero asked, taking the hand from his hair to kiss gently.

"Will you ever leave me? Like he did?" he asked, allowing his hand to be showered with love and affection.

Cero jerked and immediately shook his head, "No, never. I would never think of something so…low," he decided and smiled, "I want to take care of you and make sure you never suffer something so terrible ever again," he said.

Xam smiled weakly, "Why, though?" he wondered. "What's so special about me?"

"What isn't special about you?" Cero threw the question right back and kissed Xam's hand again. "It doesn't matter what's special, because… I love you," Cero said. He watched as Xam stiffened up to the words, but almost immediately relaxed and fell into tears. He collapsed into Cero's arms then, sliding off the counter to be held.

"Hey, hey now. Why are you crying?" he questioned, rubbing Xam's back soothingly. Xam didn't respond, just choked on a sob and clenched his hands tightly in Cero's clothes. Cero hugged him tighter to stop the shaking.

"I…" Xam muttered, but he wasn't sure what to say at this point. "He used to say that but… I know… I know you mean it," he said and smiled slightly moving back to wrap his arms around Cero's neck.

Cero smiled and pulled Xam closer to him, his hands resting at the small of his back.

"I… love you too," Xam said and pushed himself up on his toes to kiss Cero.

Now Cero was kneeling on the floor of his loft, alone. No Xam. He'd done exactly what he'd promised never to do. He'd left Xam, left him alone in that world that he so desperately wanted to escape. He couldn't even begin to feel sorry for himself knowing that he'd betrayed Xam like that. He didn't even get up from the floor, in fact he let himself sink down to lay on it.

When he finally pulled himself from his sulking a day later, he came to find that he'd really been gone for 30 days, asleep in his bed for that long. The first thing he did was get himself something to eat. From there he fell into a deadly routine. He didn't sleep for another month, thinking that the sleep he'd had during the 30 days just kept him up, but after that month it persisted. The insomnia was back, this tonic had done nothing but torture him. So every day after wandering about in the city, he would come back to his loft and go into his work room where the picture of Xam was hung on the wall. He would sit there for hours, staring at a blank canvas. He wanted desperately to paint something. But now instead of talentless doodles, there was nothing. His brush couldn't even hit the paint, much less the canvas. There was absolutely nothing there anymore.

After hours in the work room, Cero would wander out and have another bite to eat. It was futile to eat, as it wouldn't stay down any longer. After puking whatever he'd consumed back up, he went to his bed and tried to sleep. Each night he seemed to get less and less relaxation time in. There was no nap, no time to just lie quietly. It was a constant struggle.

By the third month of this terrible existence, Cero decided he had to find that damn old lady again. He had to get that tonic; he had to get back into that Dream World. He couldn't do it on his own and he needed help. He went out every day, wandering the sidewalk like he had those four months ago in search of that old building that didn't belong in a city. He would walk for miles, until his feet bled, until he collapsed. Once he actually passed out on the sidewalk and awoke in jail, only having to talk his way free that he was suffering from insomnia and some nights would walk to try and sleep. He only seemed to have gone too far. It was a lie, but it checked out with his records and he was released.

He repeated this constant search, no matter what happened to him on the way to or from. Two more months had passed and he hadn't made a single step of progress, though the whole city had been searched twice over. Cero had no clues, nothing to lead him to the old lady who had seemingly saved his life.

It was now April and nothing was changing, and nothing did change. The rains came and they passed, the flowers and the trees bloomed up and released their seeds, new plants were planted and they grew. But nothing changed with Cero, not even as the city around him changed. It went through its celebrations and its parades. People moved away and people moved in, new people discovered and lost. But Cero stayed the same, and was now living on what little money he had saved up. With no art to sell and his buyers breathing down his neck for something, he was completely lost.

He hadn't realized it before how much he had really lost when he was lamenting. He knew he'd lost someone who he loved, but what he didn't realize was the inspiration and the sanity that had gone with him. He left it in the Dream World—where he was able to sleep, where he was able to enjoy life. Now, his life had become consumed with looking for someone who probably didn't even exist. The whole thing was a dream; it had to be a dream. But Cero wouldn't ever believe that possibility and he relentlessly kept searching for anyone who might know who she was, where he could find her. But there was no one. No one knew of her, no one had heard of her. The shop he had visited didn't exist, and with the only thing in his life fading away, so did the dream of ever seeing Xam again.

The months passed even slower then and all Cero could do was lay in bed. Eating became impossible, he didn't want to sleep—even if he wanted to he wouldn't be able to. His health was slowly declining. The cold weather set in again in October. And Cero was back out in the city searching when the month came. This was the month in which he had found that woman. October. And his vigor had been renewed with the thought that maybe it was something about this month, maybe he could find this woman again if he searched and searched.

October 23 came around and Cero had stopped walking out in the middle of the sidewalk, standing in front of a storefront. It looked so familiar and familiar things began to happen. The rain began to pour and Cero rushed under to hide from it. He didn't notice how familiar it was, not even when he felt obligated to walk into the store, searching the shelves, stopping at the exact same place. But the lady wasn't there this time. Cero even just walked out of the store, and there was no waking up outside it. But as he walked away, then dared to look back, it wasn't there anymore. Bu the knew he hadn't imagined the whole thing. That was impossible.

But nonetheless, it was gone. He had nothing left anymore. If he had to die in order to see Xam, then he would. But when he walked home, full intentions on suicide, he found a vial sitting on his bed. The very same vial he had come into contact with a year ago. Filled again, filled to the brim with the sparkling clear liquid that had sent him to the Dream World in the first place.

Cero ran to it, he didn't even bother undressing or getting into bed or anything that would waste time. He downed the liquid and waited. His eyes closed and he collapsed onto the floor of the loft.

Again, Cero woke up in a strange place. But he knew it now, the room he had had a year ago in the Dream World. He was back in his yellow and gray outfit, the glasses tucked into his side bag where they should be. He ignored the welcome voice again and ran into the opposite building, completely ignoring everything. The wallet, the other doors. He went straight to the yellow one, still glowing brightly.

However, when he walked inside the door, the shop was absolutely empty. Xam was nowhere to be found. Cero sighed and walked inside, looking around. He saw the strange new items on the shelves, and the new prices which were much higher than they normally were. He liked the new stock though, as there was more men's things. He hadn't been there for ten minutes before he heard the door open again. He turned around, looking happy.

"Xam—?" Cero said, but suddenly went quiet. He wasn't Xam he saw, it was Riri. She smiled for the first time ever and approached Cero, taking his arm.

"It's been so long since I've seen you," she said. "I liked you, you didn't talk much. Come on, that ass isn't here. Come to the Beach with me," she coaxed and tried to pull Cero.

"Ah-no, no I need to stay here and wait for Xam…" he muttered, but he couldn't fight Riri's otherworldly strength.

"No you don't, Xam is no good," Riri said. But just as she said that, Xam reappeared from his bedroom. He kept quiet when he saw Cero with Riri, and then watched how easily he let himself be dragged away. True, Xam was angry to see Cero, but the blood boiled over when he watched the man he loved go off with Riri, the woman he hated most in all of Dream World.

"C-Cero…" Xam whispered, but he was gone before Xam could even get out his words. He frowned then, and that frown didn't leave his face.

It took long enough for Cero to finally pull away from Riri, but by that time she had wasted whatever strength he had, so he was forced to go to sleep. But immediately upon waking up, he rushed over to the building and to the glowing yellow door.

Inside the door, he saw Xam again, doing his familiar working behind the counter. Cero didn't even notice that something was off about him. He ran to Xam and flung his arms around him, embracing him tightly. He had missed him the first day and planned to make up for the year he'd been gone, and this time they would leave together. He wouldn't lose track of the days. But things were different. Xam didn't react the way he should've; he should've been so excited and jumped around to embrace Cero as well.

But that's not what happened.

Xam stiffened immediately and pushed the offender away and turned to face him, a heavy scowl set into his brows. Cero only stared, completely confounded with what was happening. The next thing he knew he was being slapped across the face hard enough to send him into the counter, which he grasped as he tried to stand correctly.

"Xam?! What the hell—?" Cero shouted, but stopped short when he saw the look on Xam's face. Hidden behind his mask of anger was pain, and he could see it clearly in those eyes.

"Get out," was all he said before he turned around again. Even his cute little humming had stopped.

"Xam but I—!"

"I said get out!" Xam boomed and turned around. "Get out! I never want to see you again, you bastard!"

Cero blinked then and backed up, "w-what?" he muttered, he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Could it really be his Xam saying those things?

"I said get out! Are you deaf?" he cried out and pushed Cero back. "I can't believe you even had the audacity to waltz back in here! You left me, you asshole! Right after you promised not to, and now here you are to mock and bask in your glory," He growled.

Cero was absolutely dumbfounded and he had no words to say now, only stutters and partial words.

"You were no different," he growled. "Took what you want and left."

Cero shook his head wildly, "N-no! That's not it all! I didn't leave on pur—!"

"I said get out! Why don't you go hang out with Riri, hm? You seem to enjoy her so much!" he screamed now. This time he threw something at Cero. It exploded in a cloud of smoke and Cero went blank again.

The young woman had short blonde hair that had once held bounce, when she was younger and her life was better. She had a wonderful voice and was the brightest child her family had seen. And suddenly the illness struck and she became mute. Her life went with that. While once happy and bubbly, she became quiet and sadness hid behind her eyes. Because of that, she ended up keeping to herself and had very few friends. Few very good friends, but few either way. The loss of her voice had taken away everything—she used to sing in cities all over the world, entertaining people with the amazing voice she had. And now she was reduced to a disability.

One of her greatest friends was her older brother Noah. He had his own life to live, but had sacrificed to stay with Soffie, the young mute girl. She was grateful to him, to say the least. And now he was treating her to the Carnival on the last week of its opening. In the middle of October, she walked hand in hand with her brother to the Carnival. They played games and went on the rides, and even partook in the terrible carnival food. By the end of the night they were laughing and having fun.

Soffie pointed to a stand they hadn't seen before, then in perfect sign language said she wanted to go check it out for a moment. Noah handed her some money and nodded.

"Alright, but stay there. I gotta run to the restroom, I'll see ya in a moment," he said and left her with the five dollars she needed. Soffie walked over to the stand, which read Fortune-Teller. A bent over old woman sat behind the stand, her back in a permanent bend and hair long and straw like as if she'd taken it straight from a broom.

"Why hello there," she said in an old cracking voice.

Soffie smiled and pointed to her lips, shaking her head. Something easily understandable that she couldn't speak. But she handed over the money anyway.

The old woman chuckled and took something from behind her, a vial with clear liquid in it. "Drink this, and you'll get your voice back," she said with an eerie smile.

Soffie stared at the vial, and then nodded. What did she have to lose if she drank this? The worst that could happen was that nothing would change. So she took it and walked off, meeting back up with Noah and hiding her vial from him.

A couple days passed and Soffie kept looking back to that vial. She had been a little apprehensive about it, but she decided maybe it was time to drink it. It was close to midnight and she was in her bed, dressed in a light blue tank top and black shorts, ready to get to sleep. But she took the vial now and opened it. She wished herself luck and drank its contents slowly. Then she laid down to go to sleep, hoping that in the morning, her voice will have returned to her.

However, when she woke up, she was in an unfamiliar place. It was dark like her room had been, but she heard noises and they weren't of her family. She stood up slowly and looked around.

"Where am I?" she asked, and then gasped and her hand went to her lips. "I can speak!" she cheered. Then suddenly the lights switched on and she was in a city, but a city she had never seen before. It looked almost unreal, and in front of here there was a single building, her name over the door. She turned around to see yet another building. And then she heard the voice.

Welcome to Dream world. You have 30 days to find your Soul mate. If not, this sweet dream could turn into your worst nightmare the voice said.

Soffie didn't seem at all scared though, she smiled. She was dressed now in a collared tank top, a ribbon-y tie tied around her neck. She had a jacket that was a little too big for her, one of her favorites, which matched her blue hat with its blue trim. Along with her skirt, she had a nice brown bag as well.

"I can't wait to explore," she smiled and moved towards the building in front of her. The building had a checkered floor with tan and dark brown, and a deep eggplant colored wall. There were six doors in front of her, each one glowing and a different color. From a dark brown, yellow, blue, red, green, to purple. There was a small table in front of her and she walked to it, seeing a wallet. Inside was her name and fifty dollars.

"A currency system? Wow," she smiled, "I wonder why," she shrugged then and tucked the wallet into her bag.

She started with the purple door, walking right into it. Inside was a peaceful forest with a small little river running not far from where she stepped through the door. She looked in amazement at the other side of the river to see lots of mushrooms. She smiled and walked up to the river then hopped across to see the mushrooms. But suddenly she heard a scream and she jerked back.

"Ah!? What?" she called.

"Don't step on me!" she heard. Then knelt down to see a brown mushroom with a little face and a yellow strand hanging off the side, two little clips in it.

"Whoa! A talking mushroom," she laughed and picked the mushroom up, only to see it smile.

"Why thank you for noticing," it said, but it didn't sound so happy. "You should get out of here as soon as possible," the mushroom said.

"What happened to you, then?" Soffie asked with a smile.

The mushroom went silent for a moment, thinking about what had happened. "I hate twenty mushrooms and they cursed me," it said. Soffie didn't notice how hesitant the mushroom had been to say that.

"Were you a human like me?" she asked, fascinated by the little mushroom.

"Yes. The name is Cero," the mushroom said with a sad look. "I need to get out of here," he almost whined.

"Well, how can I help?" Soffie beamed.

Cero huffed, "I don't know, I've been trying to cure myself," he said. He wasn't aware of how long he'd been a mushroom in this forest. All he knew is that after Xam had blown up at him, he woke up here and he couldn't move very well. It took a while to figure out what he was, but it turned out he was a mushroom now. What he didn't know is that it had been near two months.

"If I could find a magical potion or something…" Cero sighed, thinking about what had happened again.

Soffie smiled, "I'll try and help the best I can!" she decided.

"Thank you, I would really appreciate that!" He said. "Hey, what's your name anyway?" he asked.

"Oh! It's Soffie, nice to meet you," he smiled.

"It's nice to meet you too," Cero greeted with a cute smile. He was putting on a show, as he was dying to get out of here and back to fix what he'd done. "How did you end up here?" he asked to fix the silence that had fallen. He remembered being asked that a few times as well.

"Oh! Well I wanted to sing again," she said and set Cero back down on the grass, sitting down beside him.

"Are you mute in the real world?" Cero wondered then. When silence fell, as did Soffie's happy expression, he immediately took it back, "Ah, sorry that's a bit personal, hm?" he mumbled.

Soffie shook her head, "No, it's okay. I am mute, yes," she smiled.

"So you ended up here…?" he asked again.

Soffie jumped with a giggle, "Oh, yeah. After I drank some potion I got from a witch, I guess," she nodded.

Cero's eye's widened, "So did I!" he exclaimed. That's how he found himself here twice anyway.

"Well why did you come here?" Soffie asked.

Cero sighed, "For inspiration for my art, and for love I guess," he muttered.

"But…you became a mushroom," she pointed out with a giggle.

Cero pouted, "Thanks for the reminder, missy," he huffed and sighed again. Thanks indeed for the reminder that he'd screwed up the only love he'd ever had.

She chuckled weakly, "Well, did you find what you were looking for?" she asked.

Cero's head shake was barely noticeable, but it was cute, "Not really," was all he said. He had found love. But he wasn't about to spill out that story to Soffie. "You know," he said, changing the subject to try and get his mind of Xam, "I bet the cure is something crazy," he said.

"Try eating another mushroom! You never know," Soffie laughed and pointed out.

"That makes me a cannibal doesn't it?" he asked, skeptical.

Soffie shrugged, "You were a human once."

Cero huffed, "Fine, I will eat a mushroom. Get me one," he said.

Soffie nodded and reached forward to grab a mushroom. It was the only one of its kind—not red spotted like the others, but it was gray. She sat it in front of Cero and let him eat it. Suddenly the mushroom began to grow, shining as well. Just like magic, a man now sat beside Soffie. It was Cero, the very same as he had been when he again came to see Xam.

"Awesome! I'm cured, thank you!" Cero said happily. He could finally go back and do what he'd been planning for all this time. But quickly, he checked his bag, and then sighed a relief when he saw the glasses.

Soffie laughed, "wow, it really worked," she was surprised himself.

Cero chuckled awkwardly, nervously; obviously hiding something, "Yeah, can't believe the cure was the twenty-first mushroom."

Soffie nodded with a laugh.

"Well, now I should repay you," he said with a smile.

Soffie shook her head, "Oh! No, no, it's perfectly fine. It was my pleasure to help you," she said.

He blinked, "Really? Well, alright," he shrugged. Then he grumbled under his breath a little bit. "How do we leave here again?" he asked.

"We have to find our soul mate, of course," she said.

Cero jerked, then nodded, "Yeah… right, that's the rule," he sighed. Then look at her, "you should make sure to get rest. When I first got here, I passed out," he said.

Soffie nodded then and stood up, "Well I guess I'll get going then! I might come visit tomorrow, you're very interesting," she smiled.

She wasn't tired, but it was an excuse for her to leave anyway. She decided to visit some other doors, but instead of going down the line, she took a different direction and went straight to the glowing Shop door. She walked inside and smiled when she saw the Shop Keeper just standing there.

"Hello!" she said and walked inside. Xam looked up at her then, suspicious of why she was here.

"Ah, another victim," he said under his breath and crossed his arms.

"How are you doing?" she asked and stepped up to the counter. From what he used to be, Xam was a much more angry person, and wasn't liking this unwanted company.

"Stop chatting, if you're here you'd better buy something," he said. "And no window shopping."

Soffie giggled, "Very blunt, I like that. I don't think I have enough money for anything yet," she smiled.

Xam rolled his eyes, "Well you should get some," he gave his best fake smile, "I have very high quality things."

Soffie nodded, "I can see that. It's very nice. I'll be sure to get some money and come back," she said. Xam nodded and stopped talking after that, which wasn't a problem as Soffie had begun to feel tired. Soffie smiled and left the store to head back to her room. She took Cero's warning and went to sleep, not wanting to pass out or anything.

When Soffie woke up on day two, she came back to visit Cero like she promised. She hopped across the stones in the river to sit on the small hill beside him, where he was laying down, arms crossed behind his head. He did smile at her, happy to have a little company.

"So, you like anyone yet," Cero laughed at the stupid question, but he was already starting to fall for Xam within the first week.

Soffie shrugged, "I didn't get to talk much to anyone. But I kinda like Xam," she smiled.

Cero almost choked on absolutely nothing. He flew up and sat, "I uh, hear Xam likes boys," he muttered and rubbed the back of his neck. Last he heard Xam hated everyone though. He heard from Riri before she disappeared, because now she hated him too. He never stopped regretting not being there, not taking Xam with him.

"Well, when you find someone, I hope you'll tell me," Cero smiled. It was a subtle hint that he didn't want it to be him.

Soffie nodded, "Of course," she said.

"You know, most dreams souls have sad stories," he muttered and looked to her, "might need a nice listener like you," he said.

"Do you?" she asked.

Cero shook his head though. His story wasn't for her. And the story of how he found his way into Dream World wasn't at all sad.

Soffie smiled, "Well, I like your story. It doesn't need to be sad, looking for inspiration and love is special," she said, pulling her knees to her chest and leaning against them.

"Well, tell me more about yourself. I'm sure I can tell you who to go talk to in here," he said with a smile, another not so subtle hint.

Soffie seemed to understand, "That would be great. See, when I was a child, I loved to sing," she said with a happy sigh.

"You weren't always, uh, speech-impaired?" he stepped around it gently.

Soffie shook her head.

"Would you sing for me?" he muttered with a sigh.

"Maybe…if we get closer," Soffie muttered and shrugged.

Cero laughed, "A little nervous? That's alright."

Soffie sighed and nodded, "I'm really nervous. You're the only one I've talked to so far, besides Xam. And he wasn't so nice," she chuckled.

Cero sighed then and laid back down in the grass, "It's my fault," he whispered and rolled over onto his side.

Soffie looked over at Cero then with a little noise of curiosity.

"I…ruined everything," he muttered and sighed.

Soffie titled her head to the side, "What… do you mean?" she asked then.

Cero didn't move, he just slightly curled up so Soffie couldn't see him, "I hate to reject you or anything if you were starting to like me," he shrugged, "But… I came here before. And I fell in love with Xam," he muttered.

Soffie didn't seem surprised at all, but she rubbed Cero's arm soothingly, "What happened? You're both still here…"

Cero shook his head, "No, that's just it. I promised I'd take him with me, when I left. But something happened and I lost a day somewhere… so I didn't get to give him his final present and make sure everything was set for us to leave together. So I just vanished. I spent an entire year trying to find my way back and when I did…" he sighed and thought back to what Xam said.

Why don't you go hang out with Riri, hm? You seem to enjoy her so much!

"What did you…do?" Soffie asked, a little worried now.

"I came back to see him, to take him back. But he wasn't there and one of the other Dream Souls took me away, and I guess he saw it and got angry and—" he stopped himself short when he felt his eyes well up again, then shook his head and sat up.

"Soffie, I really hate Gage," he muttered then, "But you two. I think you'd be good together. He's in the next Realm over, okay?" he smiled. "It'd be best to leave me be. I have to fix things with Xam and I have to get out of here," he said triumphantly. He was going to make things up to Xam.

Soffie nodded, "I wish you luck. Thank you." She said and stood up, waving goodbye.

Cero stood up then and brushed himself off from the grass. He had to stop sulking. It had been over a year and two months, long enough without his Xam. Cero quickly moved from the Forest and over to the yellow door. He took a deep breath before he grabbed the handle and opened the door. He pushed it open and moved inside the Shop.

Xam wasn't behind the counter, instead he was over on the couch, lying down and reading a book. It made Cero think of the glasses he had in his pocket, and he squeezed his bag slightly. When the door closed, Xam's attention was caught.

"I'm not open for selling anyt—" he stopped short and turned back to his book when he saw Cero. "It's you," he grumbled.

"Xam, please listen to me—"

"I'm done listening to you," Xam growled, "look where that got me," he ordered as he set the book down and sat up. "I believed everything you said to me, and then I wake up one morning and you're gone!" he stood up then and walked over to Cero. "I looked for you! I searched over all of Dream World and tried to find you! But you were gone, you left me!" he was shouting now, but he didn't look angry. He looked hurt.

"After everything you said! You weren't going to be like him, you weren't going to use me, you weren't going to leave me! You were going to replace his memories, take care of me, love me! And I…" he shook his head in utter disbelief, "and I let you do that to me," he looked horrified, "and and god the worst part is I wanted it…" he backed off and went to the couch.

Cero was absolutely mortified upon hearing this, and his face was one of shock and absolute emotional turmoil. Did Xam really mean all this? No, he couldn't let himself fall into that. He had to prove to Xam that he was wrong, and tell him what really happened.

"No!" Cero shouted and that caught Xam off guard, who whirled around, angry again.

"That is not what happened," Cero growled and came up, grabbing Xam by the wrist to keep him where he was. "Something happened, Xam. I lost track of a day somewhere, and on the thirtieth day, I didn't think it was the end! I had a plan, a surprise for you! But I came into the building and I heard a voice telling me that it was the last day! I panicked, I tried so hard to reach you. I pounded on your door, calling your name and I…" he let go of Xam then, softening. "You…couldn't hear me. Next thing I know I was waking up in my room.

"I had painted something before I fell asleep," he immediately changed topics when it came to him, the pain he had felt upon seeing that picture. "I don't know what possessed me to do it, but I painted you! And when I woke up, that portrait was there to mock me," he grumbled and looked away now. "It mocked me, told me everything I had done wrong to you. Everything I had failed at, everything I had lost!

"I lost you, my love and my everything! Everything I needed, the man who wanted to care for me! Remember? You said you were going to help me make sure I slept and, if you had to, would work to pay for things. Even though I had never asked, you wanted to! No one had wanted to—I was a mess in the real world until I came here, until I met you!

"Then the worst happened and I was back in Reality without you. Without you! I couldn't live! An entire year I searched for the woman who gave me that tonic that sent me here! An entire year and…" he sighed. "I thought I was never going to find it. I had plans to kill myself," he admitted there.

Xam hadn't softened at all through the entire tirade about what had happened, but upon hearing that, his shoulders drooped a little bit and his frown seemingly disappeared.

Cero breathed a little, knowing something was getting through to Xam, "I knew what pain I had caused you by disappearing… I never wanted to be like him, and knowing that's exactly what I had become in your mind… Well I was ready to die in order to prove you wrong," he said and placed his hands on Xam's arms, rubbing the bare skin there. Then he shook his head, "And I never used you. You were my first, and so far, my only. Our night together," he smiled, "is my fondest memory."

Xam looked down then, "But… When you returned you went off with her." He growled slightly and turned away. There was no way he was falling for Cero all over again, not after what he'd done.

Cero shook his head, "that little bitch dragged me off," he sighed. "I tried to stay, but I couldn't fight it…" he moved away from Xam then. "I'm sorry… I had such a great day planned out for us. We were going to go out for dinner again," he started. It made Xam look back at him.

"Yes, dinner," Cero chuckled, "and after that we were going to go see a movie, whatever movie you wanted to see—I would pay for it. And, of course we wouldn't watch the movie at all because what would the point be? We'd go to the top of the theatre and kiss like we did," he smiled as he thought about it, his back turned to Xam by now. "Afterwards, we would go to the beach again, escaping Riri like the first time. But this time, we wouldn't need watermelon to make us comfortable enough to be close—it would come natural and we would just…fit right together," he smiled weakly. "And after we'd finished and were laying there down on the beach, I'd get up and go over to find my bag. You'd ask me why I left, and I would've stayed quiet, but came right back with my bag in hand. And I'd open it and slip something out," he turned around then and walked over to Xam, opening the bag on his hip to take out the pair of black glasses he had.

"And I'd slip them on your face," he continued and opened the glasses up to do just that, slipping them onto Xam's face and over his ears to rest gently. Cero smiled, "And you'd look amazing in them, just like I thought you would."

Xam couldn't help himself now as his eyes welled up in tears. He flew at Cero, but instead of hugging him, he clenched fists and beat on the man's chest.

"You have no idea what you did to me! If I wasn't already dead I would've killed myself again! Waking up to see you were gone? It was the worst experience of my life!" he cried out and pushed Cero back. "How do you know we can even leave?" Xam brought up then.

Cero smiled weakly, "I know we still can. If we find true love… at the end, we'll be free," he said with a smile.

Xam sniffed slightly and hugged himself, "I may need to…fall in love with you again," he muttered. Cero didn't take that for an answer and walked closer to Xam, immediately lifting him up in his arms like he always had.

"You're still in love with me," he whispered, "and I've given you the last gift…" he smiled and kissed Xam's cheek where his tears had begun to fall.

Xam gave up on his anger then and clung to Cero tightly, "Thank you so much… the gifts, they were keys," he whispered. "We can go…" he muttered and just held Cero as tightly as he could, afraid that when their time was up this time, Cero would disappear again.

The days began to pass quickly now that they were together again, but the worry still remained. Would they be able to leave at all? Cero had been there for well over 30 days by now, but every time Xam brought up his worry, Cero would calm him and tell him even if they couldn't go back to reality, they would be together so it didn't matter. It always seemed to work, but as the 30 day deadline was approaching, and Soffie having already left the Dream World with Gage, Xam's anxiety rose.

But he didn't want to show how nervous he was, so on the final day, again, they slept apart. But this time, it was different. Cero had no last minute gift, no last minute plans. All he wanted to do was leave with Xam. His wish was granted.

Cero walked into the building again, and the familiar voice spoke out that it was time for him to choose a door. It was no contest that Cero went to the shop again. He still couldn't open the door, but he watched as the door, and only the door, vanished from his sight. Cero smiled and touched the wall where the door had once been, and then let his eyes close and the darkness over take him.

There was something wrong with Cero woke up. He wasn't in his loft like he expected, but he was in a completely white room, beeping machines. He opened his eyes and sat up, looking around. The plan room was nothing but plan—while there was a TV mounted on the wall and a few sad pictures, the walls were white and the furniture was a plain wood—not even stained. But Cero knew where he was immediately, and if the machines he was hooked up to wasn't enough, it was when a doctor came in.

"Oh," the man said, looking quite surprised to see Cero sitting there, wide awake and perfectly fine. "You're awake. Well that's good, we were beginning to get worried about you," he said.

"What...happened?" Cero asked.

"You don't remember? Your landlord called it in, said you'd been acting strange and he found you passed out in your apartment," The doctor explained as he worked, though Cero hadn't the slightest clue what he was doing. "A failed suicide attempt," the doctor said.

Cero didn't protest that, even though he hadn't even tried to do that. It was the tonic, but he was sure that wasn't there anymore. But Cero smiled, "I'd like to go home now. I have someone waiting for me."

The doctor looked at him, "Are you sure? It was suggested we tell you to seek some help, at least for a while."

Cero shook his head, "No, I won't need any. I got my help. It was stress, but I'm sure I'll be fine," he assured. He was anxious. Xam wasn't here, so he had to find Xam, and he had to find him soon.

The doctor sighed and nodded, "Well, you can choose when you want to go." He said then came over to unhook the machines, freeing Cero. He knew the doctor was being a bit negligent, but he didn't care.

As soon as Cero had done his paperwork, was dressed, and was out of the hospital, he was almost running down the street to get to his apartment. Maybe Xam would be there waiting for him. So he ran and fought his way through the crowds, went right through the busy streets. It didn't matter to him what he did, what havoc he caused, because when he got home, someone would be waiting for him.

When he reached the building, he tore the door open and skipped right over the elevator and went straight to the stairs, bounding right up then two or three at a time. He got to the third floor and ran down the hallway and fumbled with his keys when he came to his room. It seemed to the most difficult thing of his life—to get the key into the lock. But when he did, he moved slower into the loft. He didn't want to get too excited, at the thought that Xam might not be here.

After looking through the main room, Cero moved to his work room. Immediately upon arrival, he smiled. Xam stood there looking absolutely fabulous. His arms were crossed over a black vest tightly buttoned around a white dress shirt and a black tie tied loosely around his neck. To match, he had black shoes and black slacks. What really made Cero smile was the pair of black glasses sitting on the rim of Xam's nose, the blush on his cheeks, the smirk on his lips, and the painting he stood beside.

"Xam," Cero muttered and dashed forward and embraced him tightly, looking into those bright sparkling blue eyes. He had never seen them so bright.

"You kept me waiting," Xam whispered, his arms tight around Cero's neck, keeping them nice and close, their breaths mingling together.

"I ran home," he whispered and leaned in closer, letting their foreheads touch.

Xam smiled, playing with the hair at the back of Cero's neck. They met together in a kiss then, but it was slow and passionate. It quickly became heated and they began to feel each other. Within minutes, Xam was wrapped completely around Cero and being taken to his bed where they fell together. In a sudden furry of limbs tearing at the other, they were completely naked and moving against each other. Something had definitely changed since their first time. There was no hesitation, no question.

Xam threw his head back with a moan when Cero pressed inside, and now his lips locked onto the former's neck, sucked as his hips quickly rocked against Xam. The man's cock was nicely sandwiched between them and adding further to the friction and the heat. This was something different and within moments Xam was left a complete moaning and dripping mess. That was exactly what Cero had hopped for and his intensity increased.

In one night he showed Xam more love than he had ever felt in his life, in both lives. He had never been happier than when he was with Cero, and the same went for Cero himself. With Xam in reality with him, Cero had somehow found his sleep. Months later when he went to the doctors, it had been confirmed that his chronic insomnia was completely gone—like some miracle had fixed it. The doctor warned him to be careful, but Cero was too happy to care about what he said. But he contained it and left the building to meet Xam outside, where their hands clasped.

"So?" Xam smiled.

"He said some miracle cured me," Cero reported, leaning closer to Xam as they walked.

"A miracle, hm?" Xam raised a skeptical eyebrow.

Cero chuckled, "Yeah. A miracle named Xam," he smiled. It didn't matter how cheesy it was, Xam still smiled and they shared a brief kiss. When they first returned, this sort of public display would've never happened. But not showing off was one thing that brought back a feeling of inferiority for Xam, and with one talk about that, they held hands everywhere. Sure they got looks, but it was worth it.

Not even long after that did Cero sit down at his work station again, no longer in the pathetic loft, but a lovely condo they had bought together. But when Cero sat down, a canvas and a paint brush, he didn't need to think on it. His paintbrush hit the canvas and, like magic, a painting appeared not an hour later.

"Looks great," Xam commented as he came into the room. He pushed the glasses up, a special pair with just glass for lenses.

"Thanks," Cero smiled as he looked back to Xam, pulling him over. He looked at the wonderful landscape Cero had painted, then laughed.

"It's the forest," he said and hugged Cero's neck from behind, resting his chin on Cero's head.

Cero nodded, rubbing Xam's arm. It was bare, and Cero didn't have a hard time guessing that the man had gone without a shirt under his usual vest. "Yeah, the one you so rudely trapped me in," he teased.

Xam chuckled and kissed the wonderful brown hair, "I don't regret it," he said and pointed to a spot on the canvas, right in the grass. "Put a little mushroom there," he commanded gently.

Cero picked up his paintbrush again and did just as told, placing a little brown mushroom beside Xam's finger. Then he was done working and stood up to take Xam into his arms. "You should wear a shirt, you know," he said.

Xam shook his head, "No, then you won't look at me like that," he smirked.

"Of course I will, I always will," He said and gently tugged the piece of stray hair, leaning down now with it out of the way to kiss Xam fully and whisper his love into those lips.