Ren hadn't imagined Leon to be this anxious. Sure, they'd been together for a while, but Ren thought that the blond would retain at least some form of independence. He didn't, but Ren didn't really mind.

"I need to be off for a few days," Leon mentioned to Ren one day. They were snuggled warmly, comfortably, under the blankets in Ren's – or rather, their – bedroom. With Ren spooning the shorter male, Leon could let his mind wander. Tonight, he decided to mention to Ren about going away for some time.

"Where to?" Ren muttered back sleepily, in his ever-lazy tone. Being cuddled up with Leon was really one of the only things he might ever love equally with Vanguard, also thanks to the fact that Leon himself is a cardfighter.

"Ahh… to my island. I want to take care of some things."

"You sure you'll be alright?" Ren asked, increasing the intensity of his grip on his boyfriend. Leon could feel the concern and anxiety behind the manoeuvre and in return, placed his own two hands onto Ren's protective arms, gently squeezing Ren's lean, slightly toned flesh.

"Yes. Ren, I've done this year after year. This time it'll just be my first year visiting while having a boyfriend," Leon said, and snuggled a little closer to Ren to sink himself into his boyfriend's beautifully sculpted body.

"If you're sure…" Ren replied, giving Leon a nice tight hug.

Leon shivered. He didn't remember the last time his own bed felt so terribly cold. He had no recollection of it being so immensely vast either. He felt like a speck on his own bed, and god help him, he thought he'd be swallowed up and suffocated by his own sheets.

He held his pillow tightly against his torso, as if trying to draw heat from it. Like he would from his boyfriend. Leon shuddered as he turned over and tried to sleep on his right side now, facing the window. Outside the moon shone brightly, but Leon noticed the faintest trace of clouds.

Once illuminated by moonlight, Leon's room had now been enveloped by darkness.

Where's Ren when I need him? Leon thought. He picked up his phone. No missed calls. No voicemail. Not even a text. It worried him, seeing how clingy Ren was compared to their current state. Leon had visited his island to polish his tribe's graves, something he did every year, but being out here alone instilled fear in him instead. He remembers this place. It was where he gave in to Psyqualia and the Void. At the thought, his right hand started to sweat and he felt his feet go cold. His breath hitched at the memory of the pain and power he had, and frankly, he was so powerful he feared himself. And right now, that creepy sensation was returning once again.

He grabbed onto his right arm and sort of strangled it as best he could. He willed his nervous system to stop sending him these false signals, but he didn't dare doubt his body entirely. He pulled his eyes shut, tightly squeezing them, as he tried again to halt that tingle from rising any further than his arm. Needless to say, he didn't really succeed. His right shoulder tensed up after a while, and suddenly, all he could think of was Ren.

Using his left hand, he picked up his phone and visited his "recently contacted" list. Sure enough, Ren's number was the first one there and Leon swiped at it immediately. It didn't take two rings for Ren to pick up.

"What's wrong, Leon?" his boyfriend asked in an overly-adorable voice, laced gently with comfort and concern. It was obvious by the way Ren said Leon's name – instead of his usual flirty tone, he opted for a mellower, you-can-tell-me-anything voice.

"I… Ren…" Leon simply couldn't get the correct words out. What was it that he had called to say? He noticed that he didn't really think it through, but thankfully, it didn't stop Ren.

"… You want me to stay on the phone, don't you?" Leon's moist eyes widened for a second – Ren just read his mind without him even saying anything other than the redhead's name.

"Please," was all he could manage back.

"Alright. Are you in bed, Leon?" Ren said tenderly into the receiver, the speaker conveying his feelings through perfectly. At those words, Leon curled up in his sheets even more; lying on his right with the phone nestled between his ear and the pillow, looking out the window. The clouds were slowly moving out of the moon's way.

"Yeah," he said after a pause while rearranging himself. "How'd you guess?"

"It's like one in the morning in your time. Leon, I know I'm stupid, but I can still count," the redhead replied, chuckling lightly. Leon's body quivered less – it was still cold but at least he wasn't scared anymore – upon hearing that graceful laughter.

"Sorry. It's kind of a staple for Vanguard fighters to do the math, huh?"

"Of course! Don't tell me Sharlene and Jillian do your calculations?!" Ren teased the blonde. Once again, his voice had slipped back into that usual cheekiness that had Leon falling head over heels. The blonde could feel his face heating up immensely at that.

"Never!" he retorted. "I can count just fine!"

"Yeah, I know that. I was just messing with you," Ren replied dismissively. Listening to that tone, Leon could imagine what Ren's action would be – a nonchalant wave of the hand with his eyes closed and lips slightly parted. Again, blood rushed to the blonde's cheeks – in his mind, his boyfriend just looked too good – making him burrow deeper into the sheets as a cover.

"… Are you sure you're okay, Leon?" Ren asked after another beat of silence on the phone. Leon's eyes were getting considerably heavier by the second – he hadn't realised exactly how tired he was until he was able to relax. Hearing Ren's voice had really soothed him after all.

"Mmm, yeah," he mumbled into the phone. "Keep talking, Ren. I… I want to listen to your voice."

And there it was again. The light-hearted, soft laugh that the redhead made when he was slightly amused, in the affectionate way. It was unlike the belittling sound of enjoyment he made accompanied by a condescending snake-gaze – not that Leon hated that side of Ren; he thought it made him cooler – this side of Ren was saved up, hidden, and shown to those closest to the redhead only.

"Of course. Then can I tell you about Kai and Aichi?"

"Sure, by all means," the blonde replied.

Instantaneously, the redhead flew into a flurry of complaints about the other couple: how apparently, they have been getting more and more openly affectionate lately, and it was pissing Ren off because it was obviously some conspiracy theory to make him jealous now that Leon wasn't around. The blonde curled his lips into a smile at Ren's childish behaviour, and the flutter in his chest that was rapidly growing was becoming increasingly harder to ignore. Seriously, Ren had no idea how melodious his voice sounded, even if he was spouting nonsense.

"… and then he kisses Aichi! How dare he taint Aichi's lips in front of me! It's so unfair. He also knows I'm getting disturbed because I immediately avert my eyes, but he freaking smirks at me and kisses Aichi deeper! And for the most part, Aichi-kun looks flabbergasted but he doesn't make a move against that stupid Kagero player either. Seriously Leon, they're ganging up on me! When you get back…"

And the blonde doesn't hear much more than that because he's already drifted off to sleep to the sound of Ren's voice lulling him continuously. Those violet eyes closed peacefully for the first time that night, entering a world of dreams where Ren's voice was tickling his ear as it had been on the phone. After that night, Leon supposed that there was truth when people said that what you think about before you sleep affects what you dream, because that night, his dreams were filled with nothing but passionate red.

-PhoenixFireBlade