CHAPTER 3
Barbatos woke up, stretching languidly in the bed. He reached out for Ikutachi, propping up on his elbows when he realized the bed was empty. To his surprise the Anima was already up and getting dressed.
"Good morning, beautiful." Barbatos said, sitting up and holding out his arms towards the Ikutachi. "Come here and lay with me for a while. It's still early."
"Like I told you last night, I don't cuddle."
Barbatos sighed, dropping his arms to his sides. "Then just come and lay down for a bit. I can't imagine how much pain you must be in right now. You rest here and I let me draw you a warm bath. After, I'll give you a massage and then walk you back to your room."
"There's no need for that." Ikutachi replied; his eyes noticeably avoiding Barbatos. "I'm perfectly fine so…"
The Anima stopped mid-sentence when Barbatos' naked form got out of the bed. His wide amber eyes ran up and down his body, pausing both ways on Barbatos' groin. Ikutachi licked his lips, taking a steady breath before returning his attention back to dressing.
"So…. What?" Barbatos asked. He was making the Anima nervous and he couldn't help but enjoy it.
"Will you please put on some clothes? Or at least wrapped something around your waist!"
"Please don't tell me this is making you uncomfortable." Barbatos gestured to his naked form, tilting his head to the side and regarding Ikutachi's blushing form with great interest. "After everything we did last night, I think you and I are past the point of such ridiculous boundaries."
Barbatos reached for Ikutachi, flinching at the Anima's rejection when he pulled back. What was even worse was that Barbatos could see Ikutachi was in excruciating pain, and it was his fault.
"Please, Iku, let me…"
"How dare you address me so informally?" Ikutachi snapped. "You don't…" He staggered forward; his legs giving way.
Barbatos tried to catch him, but Ikutachi staggered back, gripping the dresser for support. "Don't touch me. I don't want your help."
"I understand you don't want it, but right now you need it. It's my fault you're hurting, at least let me make amends."
Ikutachi bit his lip; his eyes flickering to the Barbatos. "Th-this doesn't mean anything," He said quickly. "Y-you may help me but, it doesn't mean we're, you know, together."
"I get it. I just want to help you."
Barbatos lifted Ikutachi in his arms, laying him gingerly on the bed. He removed the clothes the Anima managed to put on, and then covered him with the blanket.
"Don't move. I'm going to run you a cool bath to get your fever down then have some food brought up."
"Thank you." Ikutachi replied, settling underneath the covers. "As soon as I recover, I'll be out of your hair."
"What if I don't want you out of my hair?" Barbatos asked, picking up Ikutachi's clothes and folding them on the bed.
He didn't want to keep staring at the Anima and inadvertently make him more nervous, so he busied himself with the simple task.
"Whatever you think this is, Phantom, I assure you…"
"I'm not thinking anything, I swear." Barbatos said carefully. "But I need you to know that whatever this is or isn't, I… I don't want it to stop."
Ikutachi was quiet for several moments, so Barbatos went into the bathroom to run the bath, then rang down for breakfast to be brought up to his room. When he came back to help Ikutachi to the bathtub, the Anima grabbed his arm.
"I-I don't want this to end either." Ikutachi said quickly; not quite meeting Barbatos' eyes. "You're an excellent lover as it were, and I wouldn't mind continuing this… this casual…"
"Relationship?"
"It's not a relationship!"
"Right, of course, we shouldn't worry about labels right now anyway. I like what we have regardless of what we decide to call it."
"Or not to call it." Ikutachi added.
Barbatos chuckled softly. "I would never pressure you into anything, Ikutachi. Not unless you want me to. Now," he continued, helping him from the bed. "Why don't we focus on more important things like getting your fever down?"
Ikutachi nodded once, allowing himself to be pulled into Barbatos' arms. "By the way," he said softly, "you can call me, Iku."
