Nero cracked his eyes open slowly, glancing over at the clock to check the time. He groaned low and sat up on his knees, looking over at the other two men smooshed on the bed together. Smiling softly, the raven removed himself from the bed and quietly pulled on his Tsviet uniform and gathered up Roxas' clothing. He walked out of the large bedroom that was built specifically for Lord Weiss and turned down the hallway, making his way to the laundry area.
…
Roxas blinked a few times and stretched out. As he wiped the sleep from his eyes, he saw a mess of white hair in front of him.
Weiss hummed softly in his sleep and he nuzzled his pillow. He grumbled something that faintly sounded like 'Nero... don't eat the bunny's shoes'.
Biting back a chuckle, Roxas disentangled himself from Weiss and stretched out. He looked around and didn't see Nero anywhere. Taking a glance at the floor, he saw that his clothes were no longer there. Must be related. He shook his head and watched Weiss sleep.
Weiss snorted and woke himself up; he shook his head a little and opened his eyes slowly. "Hello...? Bunny...?"
"Sorry," Roxas chuckled softly. "Not a bunny. Dreaming about them?"
The Emperor of Deepground blushed deeply and shook his head, "No!"
Not quite sure what his boundaries were, Roxas sat with his hands underneath him. "You sure about that, Weiss?" He grinned at the sleepy man.
"Yeah... Yeah, of course I'm sure!"
Nero opened the door and closed it when he was inside the bedroom, "Brother? What are you shouting about?"
"Nothing!"
"Bunnies," Roxas said, bursting out in laughter.
"Bunnies?" Nero asked, tilting his head slightly, "What do you mean, Roxas?"
"I believe your brother was saying something about you and how you shouldn't be eating the bunny's shoes, and then called me Bunny when he woke up." Roxas smiled. "Where'd you go?"
Nero chuckled softly, "Wow, Brother," He took a seat on the bed, up on his knees, so he was facing the other two. "That's even worse than that dream you had when you wanted to invent flying elepha-cars. Remember that one?"
Weiss crossed his arms over his chest and pouted, "I can't control what I dream about."
"I know, Brother." The younger of the two kissed his sibling's cheek and looked at Roxas, "I apologize, I was starting your laundry."
"Thank you," Roxas said. "Um...is there something I can wear in the meantime? I know I'm probably asking a lot."
"It is fine, Roxas." The raven smiled softly and hummed, "I am sure you could borrow some of brother's clothing?"
"I think those may be a little too big for him, Nero."
Roxas sighed. "It's okay. If that's all that's available, it's fine. I'll make do. Sorry for the inconvenience." He fiddled with the blanket on the bed, not wanting to look at either of the brothers.
"Oh... Roxas..." Nero cooed softly and moved closer to the younger man. He reached forward and cupped the other's cheek, lifting his head so he could look in the bright blue eyes, "Don't be sorry... We invited you here... we want to keep you happy."
"I'm sorry," the Nobody whispered. "I...I don't mean for it to be like this. I hate having to trouble you. I know that I'm small. I know that. Please. It's okay. I'll just make do with whatever. I can just wear a towel. It doesn't matter."
The raven pulled his hand away as if he had been burned. He spoke quietly, "Roxas... I... I didn't mean anything by what I said... I apologize..."
"What?" Roxas looked at him, confused. "Please, Nero. I didn't mean anything bad by that. I just..." He sighed. "I know you invited me here. And I appreciate that, I do. I just..."
"Just what...? If you want to go away... I understand..." Nero moved off the bed and looked around the room nervously, "I... I'll go do more laundry."
Weiss frowned, "Brother you're not going anywhere and neither is Roxas. You both are staying here."
Speaking quietly, Roxas continued to fiddle with the blanket. "I have nowhere to go."
"Which is why you're staying with us, Roxas." Weiss nodded and met the younger man's blue eyes with his own grey, "No one's going anywhere."
"Are you sure?" Roxas asked. "I don't want to put you two out. You both are so very nice. I...I really appreciate everything you've done so far for me." He blushed, not knowing how to put into words what he was thinking.
"Don't worry," Weiss smiled, "I know that you have no where to go... We aren't going to put you out on the streets. We have enough room and supplies to support you, Roxas."
Roxas got up off the bed and walked over to where Nero was standing. "Do you want me to stay? I didn't mean to make you upset, Nero. I'm sorry." He laid on a hand on his shoulder, wanting the raven haired man to understand.
"I- I didn't want to make you feel like you did... I... I didn't mean it..." He looked down, biting his bottom lip.
He gave Nero's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "I know you didn't, Nero. And neither did I. I...I'm just very conscious about my size. I'm sorry. I got teased a lot by the guys I live with on my world."
"I didn't mean to hurt you, Roxas..." He pulled away from the other man, "I didn't mean to..."
"I know," Roxas said. Not knowing what else to do, he placed a soft kiss on Nero's cheek.
"Y- You don't have to do that..." He whispered, moving away to take clothes out of the hamper in the far side of the room, "Please... I.. I am going to do more laundry..."
"Nero..." Weiss sighed, "Please, you need to talk about this..."
"I don't want to talk..." He hurried out of the room, holding an armful of Weiss' clothes.
Sitting back down on the bed, Roxas stared at the door. "What did I do wrong?"
Weiss sighed, moving to sit beside the Nobody. He kept the blankets over his lap to hide his privates, not wanting to make Roxas uncomfortable, "He does that sometimes..." He sighed, "He gets over-emotional and always blames himself for things... You've just got to give him a little time."
"I understand," Roxas said. He rested his head against Weiss' arm, hoping that the man did not mind. "I just don't want him to think I'm upset. I'm really not."
Weiss pet Roxas' hair with his other hand, "He'll realize that... He hasn't had many nice people in his life, Roxas. He needs to get used to you. He's constantly afraid that he's going to fail."
"I always feel like that too." Roxas leaned into his hand. "I...I don't want to leave. I feel welcomed here."
"We don't want you to leave either, Roxas." He smiled softly, kissing the other's cheek gently, "Everyone will be fine. No one's going to leave."
Roxas nodded. "Right. Good." He smiled and looked at Weiss. "Besides Nero doing laundry, what do you two usually do during the day?"
"Well... It depends... I usually have to stay here... sometimes I need to meet with people. Nero usually always either goes on missions, stays with me, or goes in his room to be alone."
"Huh." Roxas nuzzled Weiss' shoulder. "So, Nero has his own room?"
Weiss nodded, "He does, yes."
"Does he...does he ever stay in there by himself? Or is he always in here with you?" Roxas asked. "I'm sorry. I barely know the two of you. I'd like to get to know you both better." He blushed, looking down at the floor.
"Don't worry, Roxas. I'll answer any questions that I can." Weiss continued to pet Roxas' spiky but surprisingly soft hay-colored hair as he spoke, "Nero stays there sometimes... but he doesn't like to."
"Besides me...are you two exclusive?" Roxas asked, blushing a bit more. "I mean, I know you two are...well...you know..."
"As much as we can be, we are." He nodded. "You are the first to have us in... years." He chuckled softly.
"Really?" Surprise was etched on Roxas' visage.
"Yeah. We don't really like when other people touch either of us... Did that make sense?" He chuckled again, smiling softly at the younger man.
"Why me, then? What makes me so special to let me into your relationship in that way?"
"I... I felt a connection... I don't know if it was the same with Nero... But I felt like... you would end up being close to us... like... like a soul mate or something... That must sound stupid."
The Nobody's eyes widened and he shook his head. "No, it doesn't sound stupid. But...I have no soul. So, I don't know how that would work. I'm empty inside. I just have memories of feelings."
Weiss blushed a little, "Oh, I'm sorry... That was silly of me to say then."
"No, it wasn't. I get what you're trying to say because I felt it too." He fiddled more with the blanket.
"You did? Really?" Weiss smiled softly, tilting his head at Roxas.
"Even though I can't use the Darkness right now to get back to my home, I knew I'd be safe with you two. I don't know why, but it was just my gut instinct." Roxas smiled, looking into Weiss' eyes.
"I'm glad, Roxas... I'm glad you knew. We'll take care of you, I promise."
The Nobody nodded. "Do you have a mission today? Or do you have plans already?"
"Today is my day off." He nodded, "No plans at all. Why?"
"Just wondering..." Roxas looked around the room.
"Alright." Weiss smiled softly, "Do you want to ask anything else? Nero should be back soon if you want to ask things that you don't want him to hear."
"He wasn't born with those wings, was he?" The Nobody asked cautiously.
"No," Weiss shook his head, his smile fading, "no, he wasn't. He was born normal as you and me aside from his powers."
"They must hurt him a lot."
"Yeah... I feel bad for him. He can't lay down on his back, it hurts him a lot to sit in chairs or to lay on his side... The poor thing... He's not even that sturdy... He's so skinny, I wouldn't imagine that his back can take such pain..."
Roxas' eyes widened. "Oh, that's not good at all. Why would he agree to put them on?"
"He didn't. They were forced onto him... He never wanted any of what he had to go through..."
"Oh..." Roxas said. "How awful..."
"It's what we had to go through..." Weiss sighed, "We never wanted what we got but we were born into it."
"But you don't have wings." It was more of a statement than a question. Roxas could not see anything physically different about Weiss, unlike Nero with his wings.
He nodded, "I don't. I was a successful experiment. Nero was... they called him a failure. Because of that, he was subjected to many different experiments. I wasn't..."
"What else has he been put through?" Roxas looked at Weiss.
"A lot... So much... My poor baby brother..." The older of the brothers closed his eyes to hold back tears from the memories, "He... I shouldn't be the one to tell you these things but he never would... he's so ashamed... but... you... you'll be with us for a while... right?"
Reaching out, Roxas placed his hand in Weiss'. "Of course not. I don't have anywhere to go. I would like to stay with you. And if it's his story to tell, then I'll ask him. That is, when the time seems to be right to talk about it." He smiled. "Thank you for being so honest with me."
Weiss smiled softly back at him, "You're welcome... Nero's so happy that you're with us, Roxas... I know he is... Once he gets a little more comfortable, he'll tell you... We just don't spend time with a lot of people... so we don't know quite how to act."
"It's okay," the Nobody chuckled. "Neither do I. After...after my ex moved on, I just kind of kept to myself."
"I guess we all have a bit to get through, hmn?"
Nero opened the door to the room and stepped inside, "I'm back... I'm sorry for running out like I did... but... the laundry... um... really had to be done..."
Roxas stood up. "It's okay, Nero. Can I help you with anything?"
"No." The raven shook his head and moved across the room to stand before the younger man, "But," he held out his hands which held a small pile of all black fabric, "your clothes are all clean..."
Roxas took the offered clothes with his hands. "Thank you." Looking down, he could feel the color rise to his cheeks. "Should...should I put them on?" It was more of an open invitation than a question, the Nobody not quite sure how to suggest otherwise.
Nero blushed, "I... do you want to...? Um... Do you want more pleasure, Roxas? I can give you more." His blush darkened as his wings twitched.
"I mean...we don't have to...I just thought..." Roxas became flustered, not quite sure how to answer what Nero was suggesting.
"Well... Do you want something? Roxas, it's okay if you do." Nero smiled softly, "You can tell me that you want more and I can give you what you want. Or brother can."
The Nobody looked down at the floor. "I...I don't know..."
"Are you scared of us...?"
"What?" Roxas looked at Nero with wide eyes. "No, not at all. I just..." He took a deep breath. "All of this is very strange."
The younger of the two brothers blushed and looked away from the Nobody, "My apologies, Roxas... Is there any way I can fix that...?"
"Can you show me where the bathroom is?" He got up from the bed, covering himself up a little.
"Oh... Of course, Roxas." The younger brother nodded and got up from the bed, "I'm sorry." He walked over to a closed door inside the room and opened it, "The bathroom is right here."
The Nobody quickly got up from the bed and walked over to the opened door. "Thank you. I'll be right out." He dashed into the bathroom and closed the door.
Nero blinked and looked over at his older brother, "Do you think we upset him..?"
Weiss shook his head and sat down on the bed, "No... No, I just think he needs a little space..." He ran a hand through his hair and sighed, falling against the mattress to lay on his back, "This is all odd to him, Nero. You've got to understand."
"I... I do understand, brother." Nero walked over to the bed and sat down, "I won't pester him. I promise."
"Alright, brother." Weiss smiled softly before moving his arm so it covered his eyes.
Finishing up in the bathroom, Roxas opened the door. He saw the two brothers sitting side by side on the bed. "Sorry about that."
Nero looked at the younger man and gave a small nod, "You don't have to be sorry..."
He walked over to where his makeshift bed was on the floor and sat down on the blankets. "I know..."
"If you do not want us... to touch you, then you can just say so." Nero looked down at his lap and clasped his hands together, "I understand."
"What?" Roxas said. "No, that's not it at all!" He blushed brightly.
"It... It's not?"
"No..." Roxas said, wringing his hands in his lap. "I really liked it when you touched me. A lot. And I enjoyed touching you." He looked at Nero, his face flushed.
"You did...?" Nero blushed faintly, looking up at the younger man.
"Yes." Roxas looked back down at his lap, fidgeting nervously.
Nero smiled softly, "I'm glad, Roxas.."
"Yeah?"
The raven nodded, "Yeah."
Roxas' eyes widened as he watched Nero move off the bed. "Nero? What...what are you doing?"
Nero sat beside the other on the floor, far enough away from the bed that his wings wouldn't knock against it. He smiled softly and hugged his knees to his chest to get comfortable, "I'm sitting with you."
"Why?" Roxas asked, watching him.
"You looked lonely down here by yourself..."
"But what about Weiss?" Roxas looked up at Weiss.
As if on cue, the older of the two brothers let out a loud snore and rolled onto his side on the bed.
Nero chuckled softly, "He is sleeping."
"Oh..." Roxas blushed. "Well...did you want to sleep too?"
He shook his head, "No. I'm okay... Are you sleepy?"
"Not really," Roxas shook his head.
"Okay." Nero smiled, "Are you feeling okay, Roxas? Or are you homesick?"
He thought about it for a moment. "No...not really. No one really cared for me back there."
"How sad..." The raven frowned, "Why is that..? You don't have to answer if you don't want to... I'm just curious."
"It's okay. I got in the way a lot. And with things going badly between my ex and I, I mean...It's probably for the best that I can't get back there." Roxas said.
"Well, if it makes you feel better," Nero sent a soft smile Roxas' way, "We'll always treat you well here. You're welcome to stay as long as you need to."
"Can I ask you a question, Nero?" Roxas looked at him, beginning to fidget again.
"Of course you can, Roxas."
"Weiss was telling me you have your own room? Do you stay with Weiss often? I mean, I figured you two would just be rooming together." Roxas blushed. "If you don't want to answer that, it's fine."
Nero gave a small nod, "I have my own room, yes... though it isn't very nice... Brother lets me stay here. It is much roomier and more cozy." He chuckled softly, "Plus we can both fit on the bed."
"That's the most important part, yes?" Roxas chuckled.
Blushing a little, Nero nodded once more, "Yes... though, if you meet others that live here... please don't mention brother and I... being... together... in any way..."
"I understand." Roxas said. "You guys don't let others know about it because...well..."
"You can say it, Roxas..." Nero's voice grew soft, "Because it's wrong... because it's disgusting..."
"No, that isn't what I was going to say, Nero." Roxas touched Nero's leg. "I was going to say because it's taboo. Even I know that. But I don't think it matters. If you two love each other, then what's wrong with that?" He shrugged his shoulders.
"We love each other very much... We love each other and always will... But I don't like how people don't approve... I'm rarely allowed in public with Brother because he thinks people might suspect something... I don't think that's right... I think that I should be allowed to go out some place with him..."
"I'm sorry, Nero. Perhaps with me around, we could all go out? Then maybe it wouldn't be so difficult or awkward for the both of you? I could be your buffer?" Roxas gave the raven a gentle smile.
He shook his head and hugged his knees closer to his chest, "No... That wouldn't be fair to you, Roxas... But if you want, I can bring you out... or Brother can. I'm not supposed to leave often anyway."
"How about...we worry about that later, yes?" Roxas touched one of Nero's knees. "Please? I didn't mean to make you upset, Nero."
"It's okay. You didn't upset me. I'm sorry for bringing all that up, Roxas." The raven chuckled softly, "That's my fault."
"No, it's okay. It's better that I know these things than make some silly mistake. I don't want either of you to get into trouble."
"It's better you learn now, Roxas... But I always get in trouble. I'm not really wanted around. I only leave this room to go on missions, and still, that's only... maybe three times a week. Brother is the one that leaves often. He needs to rule this entire place."
"Your brother is in charge?" Roxas' eyes widened as he looked over at the slumbering Weiss.
Nero nodded, "Yes, Brother is the Emperor of Deepground, leader of the Tsviets."
"And we're in Deepground right now, yes?"
"Yes, that's what our town is called."
"What's a..." Roxas yawned softly. "What's a Tsviet?"
"Tsviets are elite soldiers. Brother and myself are both part of the Tsviets." He got on his knees and stood up. Leaning over, he picked up the younger man and placed him in the bed beside Weiss.
"Nero...?" Roxas asked, barely able to keep his eyes open. "What...What are you doing?"
"You're sleepy, silly." The raven kissed the younger man's cheek gently, "I'm tucking you in." He covered both Roxas and Weiss with the blankets on the bed, making sure both were covered.
Roxas was about to ask him another question, but sleep overtook him. He let out a soft snore, snuggling close to Weiss.
Nero chuckled softly and pet the younger man's hair, "So cute."
