Moral Support

by VTPM

"Then let me help you..." "I... I-I don't like help.." "Well, you have to learn to accept it, Vector... Please, just let me try with you..." He still didn't look very comfortable with the thought of help, but gave a hesitant nod. "Just... don't think of it as help... Think of it as support..." "A-Alright.. I'll try.."

"..Look, I..er...I c-can be caring when I want to, okay? So shut up and take a nap while I clean up."

Yuma frowned at Vector, not seeming like he liked that idea. The explosion in the microwave had been his fault, after all.

"But Vec, I made the mess..." he insisted. "You really don't have to clean it up... And I'm not tired..."

That wasn't true. Yuma was struggling to hold back a yawn and had faint bags under his eyes. He hadn't been sleeping well at all lately because of school, but it was the weekend and he refused to rest when he could be having fun again.

Vector snorted and put his hands on his hips. "Mhm... Sure you're not tired. Go up to your room and at least lay down. I'll be up in a few minutes after I'm done cleaning up your mess.. And don't even argue because I'm not taking no for an answer."

Yuma pouted at him, but finally caved and went upstairs to lay down, his head spinning a little from exhaustion.

This isn't fair... I should be down there helping him... It was my fault, not his...

Yuma finally got to his room and stumbled over to his bed, collapsing over it and pulling the covers over himself tightly as he wrapped his arms around the large, bulky pillow under his head.

A bit of time passed before Vector entered the room, wiping his hands on his pants legs. "I got most of it cleaned up, but the microwave is just a little broken and I'm pretty sure though scorch marks are permanent. I'm sure Kari will be happy to see what you did." He said casually, though something else seemed to be on his mind as he said it.

Yuma groaned softly. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure Kari's going to kick my sorry ass..." he mumbled into the pillow, curling up tightly and rolling onto his side.

"You didn't have to do that, though... I could have at least helped you..."

Vector shook his head. "No, it's fine. I'm better off doing things by myself anyways."

Truth was, Vector just wanted to do as much for Yuma as he could. The boy had already cleaned up his mess of a life and Vector had offered no help except for killing himself. Cleaning up his little messes was the least he could do to repay him, and he didn't want Yuma helping after he'd done nothing but make things worse for the teen for so long. He had hoped Yuma wouldn't pick up on the subtle favors and help, since he remained oblivious to everything else usually, but it seemed he was starting to figure it out.

Yuma sighed and looked at Vector dully.

"Why are you so hell bent on this stuff anyway..? Why don't you just make me do it myself when it isn't anywhere near your fault..?" he asked, yawning a little afterwards.

"Because... I.. You're just... You're incapable, okay? Face it, you need me." Vector told him, a bit insensitively.

That, of course, was a lie. It was honestly more the opposite of that. He wasn't sure where he'd be right now without Yuma, and he was just a little terrified of loosing him like he had everyone else he'd ever cared about. Okay, make that a lot terrified.

Yuma blinked at him, then frowned and stiffly sat up, wrapping his arms around Vector in a gentle hug.

"I'm sorry, Vector... I know I'm being annoying but... I worry about you..." Yuma said quietly. "I really do..."

He had really been worried about Vector all along, especially after the Numbers War. The former Barian Emperor had been so distant, and so lost in his own thoughts that sometimes it was difficult to communicate with him.

So why not worry..?

Vector glanced down at him. "Why the hell would you be worried about me? I'm fine. And you being worried about me is annoying." He muttered, trying to pull his hands off of him, not much for physical contact.

Yuma quickly let go of him, looking down in shame.

"I-I'm sorry... I forgot that you didn't like that very much..." he whispered quietly.

He knew Vector was still recovering from everything, so he always tried to have as much patience for the carrothead's temper and attitude.

After all, Yuma was pretty annoying, right..? At least Vector wasn't wrong there, or at least, in Yuma's mind.

Vector sat on the bed next to him and glared at the ground. He knew he was messing up and making Yuma feel bad, but he didn't know how to stop himself before he said things nor did he know how to fix what he'd done, so he figured staying quiet was for the best.

Yuma noticed his silence and felt slightly pained at it.

"Vector, it's okay... I'm not upset, I promise... But I can't just stop being worried about you..."

"Why not..? Everyone else did..."

"Well, I'm not everyone else, then... And I don't want to be everyone else either..."

Vector glanced at him and sighed. "You're really not, huh..?"

"Well, I don't plan to be... I care about you Vector..." Yuma replied.

He snorted. "Don't see what's left of me to care about..."

"Everything about you..." Yuma insisted, smiling at him. "Maybe you don't think so, but I do..."

Vector gave him a blank look. "You know, sometimes I don't believe you're real..." He muttered, poking Yuma in the cheek.

Yuma smiled more. "Nah, I'm real~ I'm just different, I guess..." he admitted.

"No kidding.. I still don't see how you got Nasch to give me another chance..."

"I have my ways~" Yuma replied with a slightly scary twinge of innocence.

Vector raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh really?"

"Mhm~"

Yuma honestly had bugged Nasch half to death and maybe threatened to spill a few secrets if he didn't give Vector a second chance, therefore the former lead Barian had given in and done as Yuma had asked.

Yuma knew that maybe the Barians didn't fully accept Vector, but he was at least trying to get them to try.

"Hmm... Maybe we could share tactics sometime, eh?" Vector asked, half-jokingly.

Yuma giggled a little at that remark. "Yeah, I suppose we should~"

"Never took you for a con artists.."

"Mmm, I'm just good at getting what I want~" Yuma sang in reply, seeming pleased with himself.

"So it seems..." Vector murmured.

Yuma sighed. "You know, you should get some rest too... You've been really out of it lately..."

"I don't need sleep." Vector said bluntly. "I'm used to staying awake all the time."

"That's not a good thing..." Yuma protested.

"Why not?"

"Because it isn't healthy... You realize you can actually die from lack of sleep, right..?"

He shrugged. "Not a big loss.."

Yuma frowned more at that. "Yes it would be... Don't say that..."

Vector looked over at him. "Look, I know you say you care about me, but you just care about everyone... You'd probably get over it if I died within a month..."

Yuma shook his head. "I would never get over you... Trust me Vector, you're very important to me..."

"...I don't really see why..."

"Why not..?"

"Because... Face it, no one cares about the 'bad guy'.."

"Well, I do... I care a lot..." Yuma murmured. "I don't care what you did during the war... You still need at least someone to be there..."

"...I don't need anyone.." Vector mumbled, looking away almost guiltily.

"Yes you do... Vector, I can tell when you're lying..."

"You couldn't tell before.."

"But I can now..."

Vector sighed and fell backwards on the bed to stare at the ceiling, growing bored with looking at the floor.

"Vector, really... I don't like it when you act like this... It scares me a little..."

He looked sideways at Yuma. "You should honestly always be scared of me... We both know I'm still messed up in the head.."

"But I'm not scared of you... I don't care if you're messed up in the head... I like you for who you are..." Yuma told him quietly.

Vector blinked at him. "..Really..?"

"Of course..."

Vector opened his mouth to respond, but shut it, not sure what he should say.

Yuma sighed softly. "I'm sorry... Usually I'm good at holding conversations but..."

"It's fine. Just, you're tired. You need to sleep. If Kari comes home, I'll tell her I broke the microwave. You don't need to worry about it considering you're already stressed enough with school." Vector told him, standing up.

"But I don't want her to get mad at you..."

"At least I don't live with her. What's the worse she can do to me?"

"Kick you out... Or make you pay for it..."

"I can pay for it.. And if she kicks me out, I can sneak in and climb back in the window."

"Still..."

Vector snorted and ruffled his hair. "Look, it's fine, okay? I've been through worse than your sister."

Yuma squeaked when Vector ruffled his hair. "H-Hey..! N-Not the hair..!"

Vector snickered. "What, don't like that?"

"Not really."

"Well, too bad." Vector said, doing it again, before turning and going toward the door.

Yuma huffed at him, but slowly started to close his eyes, unable to stay awake anymore.

Vector smiled slightly. "I'll be back after you wake up..."

Yuma murmured softly, "M'kay..."

Vector nodded and quietly went downstairs to leave him alone.

By the time Yuma woke up, it had been nearly four hours. "Shit..!" he cursed, rolling out of bed and falling on the floor. "Ow..! That hurt..!"

After a few minutes, Vector peeked into the room. "You okay..?"

"Yeah, I just fell... I'm fine..." Yuma replied, standing up and sliding out of the tangled up blankets.

Vector nodded a bit and retreated downstairs again, not really waiting for him.

Yuma yelped and ran after him, at least seeming a lot better.

Vector had plopped himself down on the couch in the living room, busy looking at his cards.

Yuma plopped down next to him and put the TV on since Kari wasn't home just yet.

Vector glanced up at the screen every so often, though didn't seem very interested in it.

Yuma was flipping through channels, mumbling the occasional muffled insult at certain shows, most of the insults consisting of "boring".

Vector snatched the remote from him and put it on a horror movie. "Exciting enough for you?"

Yuma blinked at it, then shrugged. "Sure."

Vector sighed and glanced at him. "You feel any better?"

Yuma nodded and smiled. "Yeah, much better..."

Vector sniffed. "I told you were tired. Not that anyone really listens to me, but.." He shrugged. "Their loss."

"I guess..." Yuma murmured, looking away some.

"...Now what's wrong?" He asked Yuma.

"Nothing... Don't worry about it..."

Vector crossed his arms. "No, you got me interested. You have to tell me now."

"I already told you earlier..."

"What, about me?"

"Yes... When I said I was worried about you..."

Vector sighed. "Yuma..."

"What..?"

"Look.. I'm glad you care... But it's really not necessary for you to worry about me this much..."

"Yes it is... Maybe not from your perspective, but it is necessary in mine..."

"Why? What about me makes you care so much..?"

"Vector, I like everything about you... I can't complain about anything about you except that you feel so negatively about yourself, but I...I want to help you through that..."

He opened his mouth to respond, but for the second time that day, couldn't think of an answer. Instead he bit the inside of his mouth and got up, turning for the door to leave the house, not knowing how else to react to what Yuma said.

Yuma quickly jumped up and grabbed his wrist. "Vec, please wait..."

He did stop and glanced over his shoulder at him. "Huh..?"

"Please don't go..."

"I just.. What am I supposed to say..? I'm not good at this 'feelings' stuff..."

"Then let me help you..."

"I... I-I don't like help.."

"Well, you have to learn to accept it, Vector... Please, just let me try with you..."

He still didn't look very comfortable with the thought of help, but gave a hesitant nod.

"Just... don't think of it as help... Think of it as support..."

"A-Alright.. I'll try.."

"Thank you..."

Vector nodded, fidgeting nervously. "How are you supposed to he- ..support me anyways..?"

"Teach you how to understand your emotions."

"You think you can..?"

"Of course I can..."

"But.. How are you supposed to know what I'm feeling if even I can't..?"

"I understand them though... I can tell you..."

"..Okay..."

"I'm sorry that you feel this way though..."

"..It's okay."

"Vector, it isn't..."

Vector sat back down on the couch and pulled Yuma with him. "Yuma..?"

"Yes Vec..?" Yuma asked quietly.

"...I.. I.. W-Well.." He stuttered a bit, seeming a little uncharacteristically nervous.

"Yeah..?"

"I-I.." He took a deep breath. "I-I l-like you.. I know th-that much o-on my own..."

Yuma blushed slightly, then smiled. "You too, huh..?"

Vector blinked. "H-Huh..?"

"I like you too, Vector..."

"R-Really..?" Vector asked, fidgeting nervously.

"Yeah, I do~" Yuma replied, smiling some.

Vector blushed a bit, though looked down to hide it.

Yuma leaned against him a little and grinned. "I'm glad you at least feel the same way I do..."

"Me too, I guess.."

Yuma sighed and hugged him again. "You should get used to these..."

Vector stiffened uncomfortably and tried to get out of his grip, despite trying to restrain himself from pushing Yuma away.

"It's okay... I'm not hurting you... A hug is just a sign of affection..." Yuma explained, though he loosened his grip some.

"I-I know but... I-I'm not.."

"I-I'm not used to it... For me, touch has always just been harmful... I-I don't remember the last time, besides you, that I've ever been in contact with someone and had it be positive..."

Yuma frowned some again, then gently held his hand. "Well, you can trust me... I promise I won't hurt you..." he whispered.

Vector looked at him for a second, like he was trying to figure him out, before nodding. "Okay.."

Yuma smiled gently and gave his hand a soft squeeze of reassurance before letting go to give Vector some space.

He looked a bit relieved at being let go, though tried not to act like it was a big deal.

Yuma sighed. "Don't worry, I don't mind if you don't like it just yet... But hugs are normal..."

Vector nodded. "I will try to remember that..."

"Okay..."

Vector fidgeted a bit again, but leaned on Yuma, seeming to want to get used to contact.

Yuma giggled, leaning on him a little bit to make them slightly more even.

Vector smiled weakly at him. "Th-This isn't so bad, I guess.."

Yuma giggled again. "Yeah, it's fun~"

Vector hummed a little, seeming to get distracted.

Yuma seemed to zone out a little himself, having something on his mind.

"...No one is going to react well to this.." Vector mumbled.

Yuma blinked. "Huh..? What do you mean, Vec..?"

"Everyone hates me... No one's going to like me around you.. They're going to think I'm up to something to hurt you again.."

Yuma sighed. "Well, I don't think that... And if they have a problem with it, then that's their problem... They should take my word that you aren't up to something if they really do care..."

"I guess... But you're pretty naive you know.."

Yuma shrugged and grinned. "I know~"

Vector gave him a serious look. "How do you know I'm not tricking you again?"

"I can tell. And even if you are, I'd just keep giving you chances... That's just who I am... And I...I really care about you Vector..."

Vector sighed and looked away. "You're really not the smartest... You're going to get yourself hurt..."

Yuma weakly smiled and gently turned Vector's head back towards him.

"It's not like I haven't been hurt before...

...right?"

Vector blinked at him, not looking sure how to respond.

Yuma sighed and shook his head some. "Just... don't worry about it..."

"..Alright..."

Yuma leaned on him again, closing his eyes once more.

Vector sighed and let him, looking down at the floor. He wasn't sure what he should do. No one had ever cared about him like this, and a part of him did care about the boy, but another part of him couldn't trust, couldn't let anyone get close again. It's the part of him that was already trying to think of this as a way to use him and gain something by tricking him away like he had with 'Rei', but it'd been the caring part that tried to warn Yuma it could happen if he couldn't keep the other part of him in line.

He looked back over at Yuma and smiled unconsciously, deciding it'd be worth it to try to control the dark part of him for Yuma.