It couldn't have been a colder day to start off the morning.

Aoba delayed leaving his bed and when he finally did, he realized he was about to be late to work.

As he rushed out of the house trying to put on his jacket, he realized he hadn't seen Clear this morning which was awfully odd of him.

Aoba arrived to work fifteen minutes late but as he investigated the empty building, he noticed a note left on his desk by his boss saying he had to run on a quick errand and that he would be back within the next two hours.

So there he sat.

Twiddling his thumbs and messing around with his computer, he decided to listen to his music and just do whatever he could to kill time at his job. It was kind of a shame that no one showed up to the shop for days on end.

He wasn't going to lie, it made him feel kinda lonely.

Until he finally got a visitor.

The door opened and the person who entered stunned Aoba entirely.

It was freaking Clear.

After months being missing, the little cutie finally reappeared!

"Clear..?" Aoba had looked up from his computer and did not expect this whatsoever. He felt his heart beat race as soon as he saw his face.

"Aoba-san," Clear replied with a priceless smile full of content on his face.

"How are you-" He was interuppted by a tight hug from Aoba. Months after his disappearance and he thinks he can just show up at his work like that!

"Where have you been?"

"I-I.. I didn't know if you wanted to see me again.. A-After what happened..." Clear returned his embrace and put down his umbrella to pull him in closer.

Suddenly, he could hear a quiet sob come from Aoba, who buried his head into his shoulder. He couldn't tell if he was happy to see him or sad that he was gone for so long.

"I'm sorry for making you worry like that.."

Clear pulled his face up to meet his and pressed his forehead against his.

"I promise, I won't leave you like that again." There was a sudden change in his tone.

"C-Clear.." He couldn't manage to mutter anything other than his name.

Then the door opened and another person came into the store.

This time, a legit customer.

Aoba let go of Clear and approached the person.

An older man, at least that's what he seemed like, wore a hoodie that covered up a good portion of his face.

The only thing that showed was a smile that creeped through the darkness of his face.

"Can I help you?" Aoba smiled away and awaited to help the customer in any way he could.

"You certainly can." His smile grew and caught Clear's attention immediately.

When the man turned around to face Aoba, he had left a small opening where the zipper on his sweatshirt ended.

That's when Clear noticed the Morphine tattoo scrawled, partially going up the side of his neck.

The man lunged at Aoba before he could say anything and held him up against a wall by his hair, with a knife to his throat.

"Tell me now. Where is the man with the voice?!"

"Wh-What are you talking about..?"

"I've seen you with him, where is he?!" He out the knife closer to his throat to the point where a little cut started to form.

"Pl-Please, let go..of my h-hair.." Aoba couldn't handle the pain and began to lose consciousness.

At that moment, Clear completely lost it.

He took the umbrella from earlier and with one swift hit, knocked him out completely.

Aoba fell out of his grip and onto the ground, completely unconscious.

Like a knight in shining armor, Clear picked him up and brought him all the way back to his house.

While Aoba's grandmother took care of him, Clear sat next to his bed and watched over him.

"Please watch him for me. I don't what might happen when he wakes up." She commented before leaving the room.

While left alone with his thoughts, Clear remained baffled at the day's events.

He didn't even think Morphine still did things like this.

It didn't help that he already felt guilty for leaving Aoba. He didn't intend for anything to be like that, but certain things came up that he had to deal with.

Things he didn't want Aoba to be involved with.

Clear felt something for him he hadn't ever felt before he met Aoba.

Maybe it was the overthinking, but he felt very attached to him. If he didn't, he wouldn't have hit the man trying to attack Aoba with his now bloodstained umbrella.

He wondered.

There were issues like this in fairy tales he heard from his grandfather.

Maybe Aoba was just sleeping, just like the princesses in those stories.

And maybe...

All he really needed to wake up was a kiss.

Clear bent over his bed and placed a light kiss on Aoba's lips.

Unfortunately, fairy tales remained fairy tales and his master remained asleep.

For now, he decided he would sit outside and wait.

He turned around and took a few steps towards the balcony.

"Clear.." A tired voice echoed through the small bedroom.

He quickly turned around and found Aoba smiling in his half awake regression.

"How are you feeling, Aoba?" He came back to his bed and sat next to the sleepy young man.

"Happy now that I know I actually felt that.."
"A-Ah.. I'm s-sorry about that, I just thought-"

"Don't be sorry, in fact," Aoba sat up in his bed.

"I've been looking forward to that for a while.." He giggled.

"Aoba, I feel something very weird happening to me right now and I'm not sure what it is, but it only happens when I think of you and talk to you. And that feeling is something..that makes me want to act in certain other feelings.."

Aoba came in and abruptly kissed Clear.

"Does that trigger that feeling?"

Clear slowly pulled Aoba into him and kissed him back. He began to kiss him much more deeper than he thought he ever could, pulling him in closer.

With Clear the way he was, Aoba didn't know what to expect from him. But that never stopped him from loving him the way he did.

Clear pulled him in closer and let his hands run up the front of his chest. Aoba couldn't help the little moan that built up in the back of his throat and wrapped his hands around his neck. They parted for a mere second and looked at each other.

The two of them shared an intimate moment and smiled at the thought of it.

"Wh-Whaa.." Clear's cheeks burned a bright red and he turned away.

"Clear, are you alright-"

"I'm so sorry!" He hid his face into a nearby pillow and let the guilt take over his thoughts.

"But you did nothing-"

"Aaah, I can't believe I just took advantage of Aoba-san!" He cried out, trying really hard not to freak out.

"But why did it feel so good?! I don't understand!" He continued to complain into the pillow.

Meanwhile, Aoba figured he would just let him cool off before explaining to him that it was a perfectly normal function and feeling within everyone.

At the store where Aoba worked, his boss came back around an hour after his leave and entered the store to find a Morphine gang member passed out on his floor and nearly passed out himself.