Hello again.

This was inspired by the fact that Ivan is the only one who dies when I play GS.

I don't own anything. Isaac's POV. Enjoy.

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Feather

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We all knew it, the moment he joined us. He knew it too. He was fragile.

Ivan was definitely a great addition to our team, but he had many disadvantages. He was small, was not very strong and could not sustain much damage. But, he was fast, agile and certainly powerful. His spells were particularly effective. I, for one, would rather not be the target of Shine Plasma, Thunderbolt or Tornado.

He has always known his small stature would be a major drawback in combat. Garet and I rarely suffered damage, Mia did sometimes, but Ivan always got most of it. After many difficult battles, he would be in pretty bad shape. Ivan never stopped fighting. He wanted to be at the battlefront with us, he wanted to be part of the group, he wanted to fight and become stronger.

That particular time, the fight did not leave him stronger at all.

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We were fighting exceptionally strong monsters around Xian. After an enormous amount of effort, we finally defeated them, but not before one of them got to Ivan. With a single blow, he was hit so hard, he lost consciousness. He was left with a relatively wide wound on his side. He also broke his arm when he fell on it after the blow. Both Mia and I were worn out from this fight and previous ones, so we could not heal him right away. We made our way back to Xian. Garet carried Ivan.

We decided to stay the night at the Inn in Xian, even if we had originally wanted to go straight to Altin. I wanted to make it back as fast as possible, because I knew Ivan needed to be healed right away. When we got back to the city, Mia stopped us before we got to the Inn.

"If we are going to stay here, I might as well go buy some more supplies. I could use another staff." She said. Mia is a very nice girl, but she has a tendency to buy too much stuff and overpack. It's a good thing we have a lot of money and a strong guy like Garet to carry things.

"Okay, get us something to eat too, will you?" I asked.

"Of course! Garet will help, alright?"

"What should I do with the little guy?" Garet asked.

"I'll take him and heal him with the Psynergy I have left." I answered.

"I still have a Psy Crystal if you want to use it." Mia offered.

I accepted the item and then took Ivan from Garet's arms. The Mars adept and the Mercury adept then left.

I was surprised at how light Ivan was. I estimated him to weigh around 90 pounds. I know the boy is very short and can't weigh all that much. But still, a healthy young man should weigh more than that.

I walked into the Inn and when the Innkeeper saw us, he quickly got up to give us a room and also brought me towels, so I could care for Ivan's wound.

I laid the light figure on the bed delicately. Somehow, I was scared to break him. Carefully, I took off his blood-stained tunic and undershirt. I could tell by looking at his face that his skin was very pale, but I couldn't imagine the paleness of his chest. It's as if his skin had never been exposed to the sun, as if it had never been touched. I blushed at the thought. My hand was on his stomach, next to his wound. The skin was soft.

Wound. Right, there's a wound.

I snapped out of it and got to work. Using the Psy Crystal, I regenerated a big portion of my PP. I carefully wiped the blood off his wound with a towel and started curing it. After a while, the wound stopped bleeding, and, using some bandages I had in my bag, I wrapped it around his side, lifting his small body off the bed for a moment, before letting it back down slowly. I then moved to his right arm. His forearm was swollen and he also had a small bruise. Judging by the way he fell, he probably broke his humerus. I felt his arm around the place I suspected the bone was broken and felt a simple crack. Using what Psynergy I had left, I reduced the appearance of the bruise and started to fix the bone. Before I could finish, I ran out. I proceeded to immobilize his limb, by folding it carefully over his chest, wrapping it in a towel. Using the bandages I had left, I wrapped it around his neck and his left shoulder, to make sure it doesn't move.

I sighed. That was the best I could do, and it wasn't much.

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A few minutes later, Mia and Garet got back to the Inn. He was carrying a couple of weapons and other supplies, like Potions. She was carrying food, rice noodles I suspected. She put it down on the table, as Garet let his load off his back on the floor with loud bangs. I winced. I didn't want Ivan to wake up from all the noise, but he seemed fine.

"How's the little guy?" Garet asked, with his usual obnoxious voice.

"... He's fine." I answered, not talking too loud, hoping Garet would learn by my example.

"Great! I was worried about him!"

I swear every time that guy talks, it's like an earthquake.

Mia walked to Ivan and checked on the job I had done.

"He's not bleeding anymore." I explained. "Also, his fracture is only partial."

"Is his arm swollen?" she asked, like the caring doctor she is. I nodded. She placed a small block of ice on his makeshift splint. "You'll be alright, little guy." she whispered. She then stroked his hair. Seeing her hand go through his golden locks, I felt like doing the same. His hair must be smooth and soft.

We then decided to eat. Mia had gotten four portions of noodles. Garet, Mia and I all ate our portion quietly. Then, there was one left, Ivan's. Garet offered to take it, to relieve us from it, with all his benevolence. I denied him. Looking over at Ivan, I knew that the boy should not be skipping meals.

I picked up the bowl, walked over to his bed and sat next to him. I placed the bowl on the nightstand for a moment.

"If he misses a meal, it's not that bad." Mia said.

"I know." I answered. "I'm still going to do it."

"...Okay then."

Mia and Garet continued with their own activities.

I then turned all my attention to the boy lying next to me. I got closer to him, to his delicate face and parted his lips with my fingers. I couldn't help but blush a bright shade of red. This felt surprisingly intimate, and wrong, because the boy was unconscious. I found myself staring at the parted lips. They were not too thin, not too full, not dry, soft ... just kissable. I pushed the strange thought from my mind and focused back on the task at hand. I grabbed the bowl back and, using my chopsticks, I cut one of the long noodles to smaller pieces. I was very talented with chopsticks, too.

I brought a bite to Ivan's lip and put it in his mouth. I then helped him swallow, and repeated the process.

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After half an hour, about half the bowl was gone, and I decided it was enough for him. I gave the rest to Garet, who reheated it and stuffed his face with it.

It was getting late and we were all tired. The room we were in had three beds. Of course, Mia would get one. So I had to decide whether I wanted to share with Garet or Ivan. To me, the obvious choice was Ivan. If the boy woke up, I would be next to him, and I would also have way more room. And, in all honesty, I just wished to be close to him... Garet didn't mind at all. He threw himself on his bed and almost instantly started snoring. Mia removed the ice block from Ivan's arm and disposed of it, then got changed in the bathroom and got to bed, without making a sound. I then got changed also and walked back to the bed I was going to share with Ivan.

Carefully, I put the covers over his figure. I moved to the other side of the bed and lied down next to him.

After a few minutes, I found myself unable to close my eyes; I was too distracted by Ivan's calm breathing. I turned to look at his face, the only part of his body that wasn't covered. He seemed so serene, so calm, so... beautiful. My hand found its way out if the covers, to his face. Carefully, so I wouldn't wake him up, I placed my hand on his cheek. As expected, it was soft, and it was also warm. I caressed it slowly with my thumb. My skin felt rough against his.

Suddenly, I felt him move under my touch. For a second, I was worried I had waked him up. After a moment, he stopped moving. His face was now towards me, my hand still on his cheek. I smiled. Maybe somehow my caresses were comforting him. I continued. I could see a small smile on his lips. I moved my hand to his hair and played with it a bit. I was right... it is soft.

Unconsciously, I moved closer to him. My other hand moved to the other side of his face, touching his lips with my thumb. My face got closer. All I could see were his lips. So soft and delicate, slightly parted... My heart was beating fast.

I got closer. Our lips came into brief contact. I backed up, trying to calm myself down. In the back of my head, I thought that this was wrong. I felt like I was taking advantage of him, and really I was. But, it was like I had no control. In a second, my lips were back on his. My breathing was fast and irregular. My right hand left his face to go to his soft, slender neck, as I was kissing him. His lips were motionless, but tasted like heaven.

My hand continued their journey down the fragile body. When my hand touched the bandages, I jumped back, terrified. I was flushed, I felt strange, like I had never felt before. I looked at Ivan. His head was still turned to me. His lips were open, a bit swollen and reddened from my ministrations. He was still unconscious.

I suddenly felt bad, dirty. I should not have done that. I had lost control of my body. But kissing him felt so good...

This whole situation brought tons of questions. As I fell asleep, I was left confused.

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"I-Isaac..." said a weak voice.

I woke up. My eyes took a moment to adjust to the darkness. Finally, I could see Ivan, lying next to me. I could tell his body was shaking.

"What's wrong Ivan?" I murmured.

"Isaac... it hurts." he answered.

"Where does it hurt?" I asked, worried.

"What happened?"

"You got badly hurt in our last fight. You got hit on your side, and broke your arm when you fell."

"... Where are we?"

"In Xian. Don't worry, you're safe."

"I can't move my arm."

"Don't, Ivan. You shouldn't move it."

He started to cry silently. I could tell by his breathing punctuated by sobs.

"Don't cry. You'll be okay. In the morning, Mia and I will heal you. It'll be over soon."

He didn't stop crying. Instinctively, I wrapped my left arm under his light frame, and my right arm somehow found his way to his other side, making sure I didn't hurt him or move his splint and his bandages. I held him to me, against my chest, as tight as I could. His body was shaking against me. It felt as if I was shaking too. Maybe I was.

Shaking like a light, fragile feather, Ivan's weeping eventually died out and he calmed down in my embrace. He put his left arm around my right shoulder and held me. I blushed. Maybe he did also.

A moment passed and his hold loosened, as he slowly fell back to sleep. My hold did not loosen. I wished I would never have to loosen it.

"Sweet dreams." I whispered.

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Thank you for reading! And thank you for reviewing also! ;)