Author's Note: Oh, gosh, thank you everyone for your encouragement! After certain people (:D you know who you are!) kept tossing me puppy dog eyes, I figured I might as well continue this story two more chapters to at least give it a more satisfactory "ending". This is a fun pairing to write, so I'll probably write more once the plot bunnies attack more. Anyway, no need to talk about the future when I've got a fic to share with you in the present! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Characters not mine. Just borrowed for a little harmless fun.
It took some time for the inn staff to convince their young master to allow Horohoro to stay for the night. They all wanted Ren to relax on his rare vacation, but, luckily for Horo, the idea of sending a young boy to his certain death in the cold vastness did not sit well with them either.
Ren had contemplated informing them than Horo was quite in his element in the cold, but his jaw clamped up tight before he managed to utter a single word. Just what did he think he was doing, explaining himself to the help? He was about to banish Horo from the area when he saw the hopeful looks on both the staff and Horo. He knew that if he had been his normal self, he would have no only sent Horo away in the freezing weather, but he would have laughed all the while. As it were, however, Ren couldn't bring himself to do it: he couldn't put Horo in danger and he couldn't disappoint the inn workers.
With a loud sigh, he had waved dismissively and allowed Horo to stay, though warning him with a low growl to just stay out of his way. Horo was shown to his room and Ren assumed that would be the last he would see of him for a while.
Later that evening, he realized how foolish such an assumption was, seeing as the inn only had a communal bath out by the hot springs. He had just started to relax in the hot water when Horo had walked outside, just a white towel hugging his slender hips. He slipped into the water, eyeing Ren nervously.
They sat there in tense silence for nearly ten minutes before Horo finally spoke up. Not that Ren was surprised. Horo never was one to enjoy the joys of blissful silence. "They, ah, the staff I mean, they told me to take a bath because I was kinda muddy from my trip. And…this is the…only bath," he tried to explain, looking at Ren hopefully.
"Fine," was Ren's curt reply, closing his eyes and sinking in the water a bit. He seemed calm, but inwardly, he was berating himself. What on earth was wrong with him? There must really be something wrong when someone like Ren begins to act complacent and accepting. He did not want to fight with the workers so he let them take Horo in. He did not want to fight with Horo, so he accepted his excuse and let it go. Ren was beginning to wonder if he had the will to fight anymore at all. If he couldn't muster up the fortitude for a simple verbal sparring match, he had no hope in a real fight for his life. He couldn't believe just how weak he had become.
Ren was only roused from his downward spiral when his shoulders were suddenly grabbed. Eyes snapping open, he was about to bark at Horo when the blue haired youth pushed him down into the water. He held Ren there for a second before quickly moving away. Standing up suddenly, coughing and sputtering, Ren looking around, rage growing on his face. "Just what the hell do you think you're doing?" he demanded, eyes burrowing deeply into Horo, as if willing him to spontaneously combust.
At the questioning, Horo just nonchalantly shrugged. "Well, that's pretty simple isn't it? You were looking so, you know, sad and lonely. And you know how much I hate being ignored. I just wanted you to know you're not here alone, so stop moping. This isn't the Ren I know. Nope, the Ren I know is too much of an egotistical jerk to let anything get him down. So, come on, cheer up, you egotist!"
Ren was flabbergasted. He knew Horo was an idiot, but he never knew the young man had such a glaring death wish. He should have been more than happy to comply. He should have just leapt at Horo and beaten him up and thrown him naked from the inn. He should have at least called Horo a bastard for calling him egotistical. Instead, he just sat there, dumb founded for several moments before he began to chuckle. "I swear…you really are like a dog. You're completely lost unless someone is giving you attention at all times, aren't you?" Ren relaxed in the water again, this time, Horo sitting only about an arm's length away. Ren hated to admit it, but it really was nicer having someone with him. Horo might have been thick-headed, but he kept Ren from thinking himself into an endless loop. Horo was keeping him from making himself miserable. Ren was actually a little glad that he didn't send Horo to his death. Not that he would ever actually admit that, of course.
As they talked, mostly about nothing at all, Ren lost track of time. Horo was giving him a large grin as he recounted his many adventures in the mountains, most no doubt played up for Ren's amusement. Horo's boastings reminded him of all the stories he used to read, the ones about the great heroes: strong warriors who fought for and sometimes against the gods themselves. Ren's tense muscles began to relax as he listened to his companion go on about how he saved some children from freezing to death only a few days ago. Or something like that. Ren was feeling so calmed that he was only partly listening, gaze beginning to wander towards the distance, seeing snow beginning to fall on the mountains.
Only when he sensed someone close did Ren turn his head back to look at Horo, the blue haired teenager leaning his head towards Ren's. Instinctively, Ren brought his wet hands up, roughly grabbing a hold of Horo's face and pushing him away. "Who said you can get close to me like that?" he spat out, suddenly defensive.
Horo, dripping wet from having been knocked back into the water so roughly, looked at Ren in surprise. Suddenly he burst out laughing. "I take it you didn't hear me? I kept saying 'Ren? Ren? Earth to Ren? Are you dead? Hello?' You didn't say anything and your eyes were starting to glaze over. I was worried that you, I don't know, passed out with your eyes open. I was leaning in to make sure you were still alive when you snapped out of it and attacked me."
"Well you shouldn't have gotten so close to me in any case."
"You know, you almost looked like a startled cat," Horo snickered. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you got all defensive thinking I was going to kiss you again."
Feeling his cheeks begins to redden, Ren looked away. It was just from the heat of the water, he told himself. He was only looking away so that Horo wouldn't get the wrong idea. His cheeks were red from the heat of the water, nothing else.
Horo was about to tease Ren once more when Ren spoke up first. "As if I would want to be kissed by someone as filthy as you. What happened in the car, it was a one time thing. A critical lapse of judgment and it won't happen again, believe me," he suddenly snarled, regaining his composure. Before Horo could say anything in his own defense, Ren was up and out of the water.
Horo just sighed when he was left alone. He sank into the water a bit. He had planned to stay in the water a bit longer until he caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye. When he turned to see what it was, there was nothing. A shiver ran down Horo's spine and he quickly got out of the bath, having changed his mind about staying in the water by himself.
That night, Ren had supper in his own room, not wanting to see Horo for a while. At least not until he figured out some things. He had told Horo, and himself, that what had happened in the car ride up to the mountain inn had been nothing, but that hardly explained why his cheeks warmed up whenever he thought about it. He tried to put thoughts of it out of his mind as he finished his meal and went to bed. He was willing his mind to think of anything other than the blue-haired youth down he hall, who by then was probably snoring away, lost in sleep. Eventually, Ren began to drift off to sleep as well, curling up under the thick blanket.
He was asleep for several hours when the sound of creaking woke him up with a start. He was staring at the ceiling, but still lying on his back. It was then that the realization hit him that he couldn't move. He couldn't move a muscle and the footsteps were getting closer. Like many other people, he had experienced sleep paralysis before, but it had never lasted so long. He tried to stay calm, but his heart started to race. It would have been easier for him to keep a rational mind if those damn footsteps weren't getting so close so quickly!
Ren's breath hitched slightly when he felt cold finger tips running along his jaw line. His mind was racing with worst case scenarios, knowing full well the vulnerable situation he was in. He was, after all, the son of an influential and feared family. It would not be unthinkable that he had been poisoned in an assassination plot and now his assailant had snuck into his room to finish the job. The paralyzed boy was still thinking of assassins until he caught a brief glimpse of blue hair come into his line of sight just before he felt a pair of surprisingly warm lips pressing against his own. Ren only half-heartedly thought that he should probably push Horo away. Only half-heartedly.
As the kiss continued, Horo trailing a warm tongue along his bottom lip, Ren could feel more and more of his body returning under his control. When he could finally move his hand, he pressed the palm against Horo's chest. One moment he was pushing him away, the next he grasped at his shirt and pulled him closer. Horo smirked against the kiss as he pulled away just far enough to mutter breathily against Ren's wet lips. "Is this a 'critical lapse of judgment', too?" he asked, parroting Ren's own words.
"Shut up," Ren just grunted, not missing a beat as he leaned up to crush their lips together once more. This time, he was not content with allowing Horo have control. Deepening the kiss unceremoniously, he slipped his tongue against Horo's, his hazy mind registering the taste of wild mountain berries. He moaned tremblingly against the kiss as he felt cool fingers running down and under his own shirt. By then, the last of the sleep paralysis had already lifted away, but all thoughts of struggle had already disappeared from Ren's hazy mind. It felt so good to kiss and touch Horo, to be kissed and touched in return, that Ren couldn't remember just why he had protested so much against it before. If he had just let himself do what he had wanted earlier, he could have just closed the distance between himself and Horo in the hot springs.
All of his thoughts were suddenly derailed when he felt finger tips moving past his waist band, running down the heated skin of his hips. Pulling away from the kiss as his back arched into the touch, Ren couldn't stifle a low moan. Horo chuckled as he licked against the shell of Ren's ear, nipping against the lobe. He muttered something against Ren's ear, but Ren was too preoccupied keeping quiet to really listen. He had moved his hands up to cover his mouth, silencing any moans that escaped. Horo was only massaging his bare hips, but the touch was so intimate that Ren wasn't sure he could keep quiet. He had a feeling being walked in on would probably ruin the heat of the moment.
Just as Horo's hands began to travel down Ren's thighs, Ren sat up suddenly with a gasp of Horo's name. Sitting in his room, panting and gasping for breath, he realized now that he was alone. His body was slick with sweat and his bedding and clothes a mess from all of his tossing and turning. Even though it had only been a dream, albeit an incredibly vivid dream, Ren thought he could still feel where Horo had kissed him, touched him, whispered against him. The memory made him shiver for a moment before he suddenly felt defensive. The stupid dream was all Horo's fault. He had gotten Ren so flustered with his idiotic comments before he slept that it had made its way into his subconscious and corrupted Ren's normally peaceful dreams of ruling the world. Obviously Horohoro was to blame. Practically jumping to his feet, he stormed out of the room.
As he passed the inn keeper as she walked out of her room, he didn't even say good morning, his mind too set on getting revenge. Throwing the sliding door to Horo's room open, he looked down at blue-haired boy with a dark grin. Horo was sprawled out on the ground, partially off his futon, the blanket only covering one leg. He was snoring just as Ren has assumed he would be, drooling out of the corner of his mouth. "Oh Horo," Ren said, almost sweetly as he loomed over Horo's sleeping form.
With a sleepy murmur, Horo squeezed his eyes tightly against the sun's light before opening them. He was obviously surprised to not only see Ren so bright and early in the morning after the previous night, but was even more surprised to actually see him smiling. In retrospect, the fact that he was smiling like that should have been warning. Horo smiled in return but didn't have the chance to utter the 'good morning' that was on the tip of his tongue when Ren raised a foot and brought it slamming down between Horo's legs. All of the air escaped Horo's lungs as his eyes welled with tears, unable to help but gargle as he curled up in fetal position.
Ren had a smug expression on his face as Horo curled up, clutching between his legs as he tried to remember how to breath. "That's what you deserve for being a pervert," he said with a huff and walked out of the door, leaving a confused Horo to get up to his feet with must effort, and ridiculously limp after him. "W… ait! " he wheezed out as he tried to keep up to Ren, "At…least tell me what I did!"
As Ren stormed through the halls, blushing from embarrassment, with Horo limping behind him. The inn staff watched on in confusion, though there was a light giggle floating through the halls, fading as quickly as it came.