Sometimes Minato wondered what his parents thought of him now. Would they be proud that he's moving along with the current of life? Or would they want him to drown and be with them? In a way, Minato wanted to be with them too. To receive hugs, kisses, and love again would be a dream he wouldn't want to wake up from.

His mother used to not only tell him about flowers, but also about a garden of happiness in the sky. It's a place where people would go to when they died. Minato knew that his mother was fibbing about some of the details and simply wanted to tell a bedtime story, but he wanted it to be true. It would be the best resting place for two lovers of nature. Perhaps a castle, some rainbows, and a magic beanstalk there too. Just like in the story of a boy who journeyed up the beanstalk, hoping to steal some treasure. Would there even be treasure in that garden? If so, what would it be?

Those were the thoughts in his mind as he watched Souji's fingers glide over soft petals. The other boy looked surprisingly content, as if he was never bombarded and tailed by the paparazzi a week ago. Minato had to admit, he was jealous of that ability to forget.

"...Do you like flowers?" Minato suddenly asked.

Souji promptly stopped stroking the petals and nervously smiled. "They're pretty to look at."

"So you like them?"

The other boy hesitated. He broke eye contact and looked off to the side, his face no longer fully visible to Minato. "I do. Is that weird to say? For a guy to like flowers..."

"I don't see why that's a bad thing. You do you."

"That's true," Souji replied. The silver haired boy lowered his gaze to the roses. But instead of going back to his previous task, he stuck a finger into the vase. Minato raised an eyebrow at what he was doing. "I'm just checking the water. It's really cold." From their short time together, Minato could draw one conclusion about the other boy.

He's strange, but in a quirky sort of way. So unpredictable that it keeps a person on their toes. He could see the appeal of that, yet he can't at the same time. Too much, like now, is just confusing.

"What about you?" Souji asked.

"They're nice I guess."

The silver haired boy nodded. For a few minutes, Minato continued to watch Souji admire the roses. While they are indeed pretty, Minato didn't know what to think about them. Beautiful on the outside, but destined to die and wither away. He wondered if Souji knew it too and was simply smelling the roses and enjoying the small things in life while he still could. That ability to see those small things was something else he was jealous about.

Souji seemed oblivious to his more darker thoughts, however. His companion took a rose out of the vase and approached the blue haired boy with it. Minato was about to question what he was doing until he threaded the stem through blue hair. A faint smell of perfume lingered in the air. Sweet and calming. "Before our conversation about the flowers... You were thinking about something happy earlier," Souji started. "It felt like... I was dreaming... It was nice to feel something happy from you."

Minato turned away from Souji, anything to not make eye contact. Though he couldn't help but glance at him from the corner of his eyes. If Souji could feel his embarrassment, then that might explain why there was a big goofy smile on his face. Or he could see his reddened cheeks, that's a possibility too.

"Listen to yourself... You sound so... cheesy. A bit of privacy would be nice."

His smile vanished into a panicked expression. "I-I'm trying to control it. I really am! But it's hard because it's so random with what I can feel..."

Minato sighed and frowned. He removed the flower from his hair and set it down on a nearby table. The smell from the rose had mostly faded, the sweetness and calming effect gone. "We need to get some help with this already. At least to let us close... whatever this is and open it whenever we want."

Souji tilted his head. "Now that I think about it, is this tell...luh...puffy...?" he stated out of the blue.

"Telepathy, Seta," Minato enunciated so he would know how to say it next time. Souji slowly nodded in response. "Maybe it is. Or maybe it's not. I don't know. Do you think your dad can help?" Minato added on shortly after to steer the conversation back.

"I don't know if he can. He's never had to do anything with feelings before. He likes... something that isn't..." Souji paused. He had a contemplative look on his face for what Minato assumed to be finding the right word. Minato decided to let him be for the time being and walked over to his bed.

Minato could feel the curiosity from the other boy. It was getting rather tiring to deal with the barrage of constant instincts and emotions exchanged between the two. "I'm... going to go sleep," he responded to hopefully quell the feelings of unease from the other boy.

Souji's expression transformed from one of deep thought and concern to great confusion. "But you're not that tired?"

Curse this double-edged sword ability.

"I am," Minato insisted before crawling onto the bed and throwing the covers over his head. Minato heard a deep sigh and slow, yet quiet footsteps. When he felt a dip in the mattress, that's when his instincts sprung to life with red alarms blaring over his head.

"You're not sleeping with me."

"It's healthier for the body when you sleep with someone. That's what dad told me."

"He can be wrong about these things..." Souji pulled down the covers, leaving Minato's head exposed.

The silver haired boy looked at him directly in the eyes. "If there's a chance it'll help you with your sleeping problems, I'll do it."

The blue haired boy laid there with a dumbfounded look. He never knew that Souji could be so blunt and adamant about something. "You're weird," Minato simply said.

Souji shrugged. "You're weird too." True to his word, the other boy went under the covers. Though the boy quickly jumped back when their arms accidentally brushed against each other. "You're freezing!"

"What did you expect? A human pillow?"

Souji sighed again. "No. Though I was hoping you wouldn't be like... snow."

"I hate to break it to you, but you're not allowed to use me as an ice pack or human pillow."

Souji covered his mouth with a hand and laughed. Though muffled, Minato rather liked the sound of his breathy laughs. Even if he would never admit it, the room brightened up a little when someone else was here. Souji is like a nightlight, something to scare away his fears no matter how small. He wondered if he would be able to get him to truly laugh someday without trying to hold something back.

"We don't need to have contact. Dad never mentioned anything about that."

"...You don't seem to be someone who cares for personal space anyway."

"This again? I said I couldn't help it and apolo-"

"See? You didn't care at that time and you still don't now," Minato interrupted.

"I-I suppose?" Souji's said. Minato didn't let the change in inflection slip by him. It was like he was doubting his own random actions. For a person who randomly did things out of instinct to start analyzing themselves, this thought amused the blue haired boy. It would be an impossible task. "...If you don't mind... It might take me a bit to get used to your... iciness. So no hugs for now."

"You're still not allowed to use me as a human pillow, so you wouldn't be able to hug me anyway. You can do anything else though, just to make it clear."

Souji sheepishly smiled. "I got it. So using you as an ice pack is fine?"

Minato gave him a deadpan look. "No."

The silver haired boy raised his hands in defense. "Okay, okay..." Souji turned away from Minato, his back touching Minato's own. The blue haired boy liked the warmth, just like the feeling when his parents gave him hugs. But like usual, he doesn't want to embarrass himself by saying so. "...Sweet dreams," Souji said.

Silence flooded into the room. All Minato could hear was some chatter outside. None of the words were clear, but he could make out the words "children and medication". What that meant, he wasn't entirely sure. But if he wanted to get any sleep, he would need to ignore them for the time being.

Minato turned his head slightly. Souji might be asleep by now, since he was so quiet and didn't move at all. It's quite amazing, really. How someone who always seemed to be full of energy somehow being knocked out in less than a minute. Was the silver haired boy much more tired than he seemed to be?

"...Sweet dreams to you too," Minato whispered. The blue haired boy, at first, wasn't sure if his sleeping buddy had heard that. But with a burst of happiness tinged with embarrassment in his chest, he knew by another instinct that he had heard. Now he wished he didn't say that.


Later that day, Doctor Seta entered the room for his daily check-up with Minato after checking the other children. While his schedule was, for the most part, awry because of somewhat recent developments, somehow Arisato was always awake to see him. Not this time.

Two sleeping boys in a single bed wasn't what he expected to see. Both boys seemed to be comfortable, but he wasn't very surprised to see that Souji had taken most of the blanket. How Arisato didn't wake up because of that is beyond his understanding. Most people would. Then again Arisato wasn't an ordinary child.

He debated on whether to wake them both or let them be. Though that former thought was shortly thrown out the window as he smiled at the content and innocent expressions on their faces. Their chests rose and fell in a rhythm as if they were one, something that calmed Seta's mind by watching. That innocence of youth was something that he hardly saw nowadays. Not when the world is vicious to so many people who are struggling, like a single domino being pushed and the rest falling from the force.

He's one of those people. Except instead of being the reactor, he is the instigator, that one single domino that started it all.

Seta let out a soft sigh. He didn't expect Arisato and his own son to become acquainted with one another. He couldn't believe it when Souji had told him that he met the blue haired boy a week ago. Would this relationship be a good influence on his son's life? He wasn't as confident as he should be if past experiences were anything to go by.

He hoped he would be proven wrong.

Seta approached the bed with quiet steps. Souji had somehow stuck out a hand during his blanket tugging, he presumed. The doctor brushed one of his fingers against Souji's palm. He smiled when smaller fingers curled around his larger one. As a doctor, he did this a lot with newly born infants to see if something went wrong while they were developing in the womb. But now with his patient asleep, he could ignore his duties for a bit, even if it's for a few moments.

Life is a journey of making choices and learning from mistakes. One lesson he learned, was that he is first and foremost, a father. He wished he learned this lesson sooner. Now there's no turning back. There's no chance that his son would forgive him for the mistakes he had made and dragged him into.

His mind elsewhere, he didn't notice that someone else followed him and watched him with a calculating eye until said person spoke, "Like father, like son." Seta's eyes grew wide. He slowly turned his head to meet with the person he dreaded most seeing in the doorway. Whatever venomous statement he planned to say for their next meeting, the doctor was unable to. So instead silver eyes narrowed as he glared daggers at the sudden intruder. Seta had an idea of what the other person wanted and he wasn't going to like this conversation.

The other person didn't seem to care and barged into the otherwise peaceful space. Seta swallowed the bile rising in his throat. He continued to relentlessly glare, hoping by some small miracle that he won't have to do this. That somehow he won't have to choose and all the troubles will go away. His eyes only sharpened the dagger's blades with the words that came out next, "When will you stop running away, Seta?"


A/N: Sorry for not updating for awhile. This update is to let you know that I'm still alive! School has been hell and it's my last year, so it's been quite hectic! No doubt that it will become busier as my graduation creeps closer. Also, I'm not going to lie, I've been writing a crossover too and it has been taking a lot of my free time so... no excuses there. Yes, you may yell at me.

Hurray! We're finally moving on with the plot and you won't get a chapter with a lot extended metaphors! (unless you like them, which... means I'm doing them well?) If there's a problem with my pacing, someone yell at me if it's going too slow or fast. Pacing isn't one of my best skills when it comes to writing... I would like to improve on that.