A/N: It feels as though it's been forever! ... but I'm finally back. A tad rusty, I'll admit, but... meh. It shouldn't take much for me to get back into the groove.


By now Nezumi had learned the basics of tending to wounds, and most of the damage was limited to bruising rather than cuts. Though, there was a fair chance that a few ribs had been cracked, if not broken. All in all it had been a rather brutal beating, but even so, it could have been far worse... He was alive, with wounds that would easily heal in time, and all because of Cobra.

Nezumi sighed as he bandaged the last of his wounds, and his grey eyes settled on his new 'master.' The man looked like a complete disaster... His hair was still matted with blood that had dripped down along his face, coating his neck and chest, and still there was a near-perfect handprint set on his cheek from before.

"Dammit..." the boy thought to himself as his guilt-burdenned mind tried giving him a new task. He couldn't just leave Cobra coverred in his own blood like that... could he? Over a few passing moments Nezumi tried to deny such an obligation, but the more he fought against the idea the heavier his guilt became. The boy cursed under his breath as he cautiously approached the older male with a clean cloth in hand, and with barred teeth he carefully wiped away the stains of blood from his face. "Tch... he looks arrogant even in his sleep," Nezumi muttered under his breath, and with a partial glare he set his sights on the remaining smear of blood that trailed down Cobra's neck and to his chest. His eyes narrowed to glare in full as he stared at the man's bloodied shirt, and, as little as he wanted to, Nezumi carefully unclasped the top half of the buttons...

To the boy's relief, Cobra remained asleep as he quickly - but carefully still - washed away the rest of the blood, and aside from a few uninteliigble murmurs and a momentary shiver, Cobra had also remained quiet. His white shirt was doomed to stay bloodstained, however, but within minutes Cobra himself, though unaware, was finally clean.

Satisfied with his work, Nezumi returned to the workbench and packed up the remainders of the first aid kit, and set his sights on the door from where the box had been retrieved. "Probably a bathroom or something..." the boy thought to himself, and, after making one last glance to ensure that Cobra was still asleep, he quietly made his way to the room. With relief he sighed as he locked the door behind him, and finally he was able to relax. For now, no one could get to him - not without putting in a great deal of effort to break down the door, at least...

Nezumi took his time as he inspected the lavish bathroom. The bathtub was huge - big enough for ten people at least! - and the size of the room in general just as big as the bedroom. And it was so... so white... The floor was made of white marble tiles with swirls of black and yellow hues, the extensive countertops were also white, the bathtub was white, the toilet was white, the sink was white, there were four serpent statues that were white, and two bright green plants with white blossoming flowers in white vases... Luckily the walls at least were a deep mohagony red or the whole place would be an eyesore.

Idly Nezumi wandered around the large bathroom, and glanced through the cabinets and drawers and the like until finding a good place to stash the first aid kit. All in all it was a very normal bathroom, despite the luxury and the size... "I'm surprised I didn't find anything weird or perverted," Nezumi grumbled to himself, though it was actually somewhat of a relief. With a slight frown he glanced at the locked door, and then back to the bathroom. He was there anyway... may as well use it.

It was the all too familiar sound of a flushing toilet that managed to stir Cobra from his sleep, and though it first came as a mild shock he quickly remembered bringing someone home with him. "So he hasn't tried to run off yet," he thought to himself with a partial smile, "I'm glad." Slowly Cobra sat up, having hardly remembered making it to the bed to begin with, and it was then that he noticed something... different. One, two, three, four buttons of his shirt had been undone, and there wasn't a trace of blood to be seen on his pale skin. A smirk pulled at his lips as he heard the bathroom door unlock, and he eagerly waited for the occupant to show himself. "Was this your doing?" Cobra asked the minute he set his eyes on Nezumi.

The boy shrugged, clearly trying to make light of the situation, "Yeah, so what if it was?"

"Come here," Cobra replied, his smirk unfaltering as he lied back down on the bed with his arms crossed behind his head.

Nezumi took a small step back at Cobra's remark, and unnerved he stammered, "I-I..."

The older male chuckled quietly as the younger seemed near to panic. "Don't be afraid, Nezumi," he said gently, but the remark struck another nerve.

"I'm not afraid!" Nezumi glowered, and in a huff he marched straight to the bedside. But with every step his pace slowed, until he crept those final few steps to the side of the bed. In the time it had taken him to get there Cobra's eye had closed again, and he was lying still aside from the occasional twinge of pain that was marked by a twitch in his brow or lips... He looked altogether harmless, but even so Nezumi was afraid - if only a little. Barely a week ago he had shared a bed with another, but that other was Shion who was clearly harmless. But Cobra... he was older for on, and already he had made certain... advances...

"Well..?" Cobra broke the silence, and opened his eye to see just how close Nezumi had come, "Are you going to climb up here yourself, or should I pick you up?"

"Sh-shut up..!" Nezumi replied heatedly, "I was just looking at your eye..!"

The boy's answer was clearly a lie, but with a smirk Cobra chose to go along with it. "Oh..? Are you worried about your new master?"

Nezumi's jaw clenched at the word, and he sharply turned his head away. Master... What right did anyone have to be his master!? Even if he had agreed to it...

"Perhaps I took things too far..." Cobra thought to himself, and forced his body to sit up again. Gently he coiled his arms around Nezumi's thin waist, and rested the uninjured side of his face against the boy's shoulder. "Don't think of it as a bad thing, my little rat," he said softly, and nuzzled against Nezumi's neck, "Yes you are mine which means that you are no longer free, but it also means that it falls on me to look after you and keep you safe... Though, it seems that you've also decided to look after me."

Nezumi remained tense, and quiet, but after a few moments Cobra finally pulled away... Slowly the boy turned to glance at his master, and found that he had lied back down with his forearm covering his eyes. He belonged to this man... this crazy man who had made it perfectly clear that he would do anything to protect him... Was it really so bad, having someone who cared? Even if Cobra had strange reasons to care so much, it was more than anyone else had ever bothered to... Nezumi frowned to himself, and after carefully considering things he decided to climb onto the bed... the edge of the bed, but still... the bed.

Feeling the added weight on the mattress Cobra moved his arm from his remaining eye, and glanced at Nezumi with a subtle smile. "You know you are free to come closer if you like, my little rat. I promise I won't bite... I'm too exhausted to try anything right now." His remark was unanswered, but it was easy to see that the boy was struggling to stay on the bed. With a quiet, but marked, groan Cobra moved further to the other side of the bed, allowing Nezumi more space.

The sound was just loud enough to catch Nezumi's attention, and curiously he turned to see the added distance. "... Master?" he clearly forced the word.

Though clearly tired, Cobra glanced at him with a humored smile, "If you stay there it's inevitable that you'll soon find yourself on the floor. Or is the source of your discomfort the bed itself and not the thought of lying next to me?"

"Shut up!" Nezumi yelled in flustered reply.

"That's 'shut up, Master' for you, my little rat," Cobra corrected with a laugh.

The calm reply disrupted the boy's flash of anger, and he scowled as he scooted further onto the bed. "Yeah, whatever... Not like I plan to stay here for long anyway..." Nezumi grumbled, admitting a defeat for the battle, but not for the war.

"Is that so..?" Cobra replied, and without warning he slipped his arms around Nezumi and rolled him over, making the boy's head land on his shoulder and comfortably snuggling against him. "Then I suppose I'll have to enjoy your company to the fullest while I have it," Cobra murmured just above Nezumi's ear, "But I'm quite confident that you'll choose to stay, once you see what it's like out there."

Furiously Nezumi tried to squirm away, but the more he moved the tighter Cobra's grip became, his legs tangling with Nezumi's and both arms wrapped securely around him with his hands pinned... The only option Nezumi had left was to headbutt him, but even in this situation, he simply couldn't do it... not with the injured eye... With a defeated groan the boy stopped struggling, and Cobra's grip soon became a gentle embrace. "... what do you mean, I'll choose to stay?"

Cobra smiled as Nezumi calmed down, and gently he shifted them both to lie down on his back with the boy lying completely on top of him. "Once we've both recovered you're going to accompany me on a venture through the neighborhood, my little rat," Cobra explained, setting a hand on Nezumi's back and pulling him closer, "And then we'll see how you feel about staying with me."

With a clearly uncomfortable frown Nezumi turned his gaze. Nothing could make him want to stay here, he was sure of it!

Even with such a distinctive frown, the boy was cute, and being so few inches away from his face was becoming much too much to bare... "Open cheek," Cobra warned with a fleeting smirk, and planted a kiss on Nezumi's cheek.

With a horrified glare Nezumi turned to him, "Would you cut it out already!?"

Despite being yelled at Cobra simple laughed, and fondly ran his hand through the boy's hair, "I'm afraid I just can't seem to help myself... You're just too beautiful to resist."

A faint blush hit Nezumi's cheeks, and, still glaring, he turned away yet again. It was never enough... No matter how much he yelled, or rebelled, or insulted Cobra, he was never upset about it! Instead he was calm and accepting, even happy, and as annoying as it was it always seemed to deter Nezumi's anger...

A heavy silence had fallen once more, but this time Cobra decided not to break it. He was tired, exhausted, and still in a great deal of pain... Briefly his embrace tightened into a gentle hug, before loosening again as he settled into sleep once more.


A/N: Well... I'm not quite as rusty as I had thought... XD