SEQUEL TO "A RETURN TO THE SEA" This makes no sense unless you've read that one already.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters.

Please R&R^^


Letting out a deep yawn, Kohaku tried to hold on to being asleep a bit longer, but the daylight coming through the gap between the curtains made that impossible. Opening his eyes, he sighed. The beautiful pale face of the one he loved, was only inches away from him, their arms still wrapped around each other's bodies. Lucille was still sleeping, so the violinist didn't feel the need to get out of bed soon. Instead, he kissed the blonde gently, not waking him up, and held him even closer. Being almost able to feel Lucille's heartbeat like this, would never cease to make him feel so happy and grateful.

Letting out another yawn, he forced himself to sit up anyway, remembering that he actually had something to do today. If he'd be at the market early, there'd still be some choice in colored paper and other stuff that would seem useful to make Christmas decorations. And if he'd manage to be ready to go early enough, he could go before breakfast, so Lucille wouldn't have to wait for him. Though the blonde did need to wake up for just a moment now.

Gently, he shook at the singer's thin shoulder. A soft sigh was the only response, so the next shake was a bit rougher. "Mmh… Kohaku? Is it morning already?" Lucille mumbled, looking at him through sleepy eyes.

"Yup. You can sleep for a bit longer, though. But I'm going to the market now, so I'll be back within an hour or so. All right?" He needed to know for sure that the blonde was awake enough to remember this conversation. If he'd wake up without remembering where Kohaku had went, the singer might panic. Which wouldn't create the right atmosphere to make decorations for Christmas, and besides, Lucille had endured more than enough stress already. No need to make it any harder on his body to heal.

"Within the hour? And we'll have breakfast after that?" the singer asked.

"That's the idea," Kohaku confirmed.

"Mmh… okay." A long yawn. "Then wake me up when you come back."

"Sure." Almost like he was touching a glass doll, Kohaku gave the blonde a kiss onto his lips, his hand on Lucille's cheek to support him as carefully as he could. When his lips left Lucille's, he felt the singer sighing against him. "Sleep well." No audible response, just a sleepy little smile while the blonde's eyes slid shut again. Seems like it wouldn't be a problem to get back home before Lucille would wake up again.

Luckily, the market wasn't crowded yet. Within minutes, he had bought everything he needed, and he was back into the house with still over fifteen minutes left. After putting down most of the stuff onto the table, he started making some sandwiches for breakfast. When he came into the bedroom, the blonde was still asleep, sprawled on his back and his mouth a bit opened. Carefully, Kohaku sat down beside him, putting the plates onto the nightstand.

"Hey, Lucille!" Carefully, he made the singer sit up, without waking him up. Slumped against Kohaku, the blonde just sighed softly and slept on. "Geez… Wake up already." Shaking at his friend's thin shoulder, the taller man finally managed to wake Lucille.

"Mmh? You're back already?" the blonde mumbled. "How long have you been gone?"

"Less than an hour. You ready for breakfast?"

"Yeah, I guess." A deep sigh. "Did you get the stuff to make Christmas decorations?" It sounded a bit uninterested, to Kohaku's worry.

"Yup, they're in the living-room."

Immediately, the singer's face cleared up. "Great! Then can we start on that after breakfast?"

"Sure," Kohaku agreed happily, while grabbing the two plates from the nightstand, putting one of them on Lucille's lap. "Can you try to eat by yourself? Just one bite?"

"I'll try," Lucille mumbled, almost hurt.

"Not because I don't like feeding you, moron. I just wanna know if you've gained any muscle strength over the past few days," Kohaku explained, without Lucille even asking.

The singer smiled somewhat relieved. "Ah, okay." Slowly, he picked up the sandwich, barely managing to take one bite before his arms dropped limply back onto his lap. "I can't seem to manage more than that. My body just feels so heavy, still."

"Well, at least you managed to take one bite," the violinist remarked. "It's a start." Carefully, he fed the rest of the sandwich to the frail blonde, before eating his own one. "You do seem to have your appetite back."

"Yeah, that's good, right?"

"Definitely." Letting Lucille lean against the wall behind the bed, Kohaku stood up. "I'll be right back." Within minutes, he had cleaned their plates and left those in the kitchen, and then returned with the colored paper, sparkles and other things he had bought. "Be careful with the scissors, okay?"

"I will," the blonde promised. "Besides, you'll have to help me anyway. I don't even think I can lift up a scissor now."

That was probably true, but precisely because of that fact, Kohaku had warned Lucille. Last thing they needed was for the blonde to hurt himself by trying to use scissors while he was still too weak to handle them. "What do you wanna make first, anyway?" he asked, while sitting down crossed-legs next to the singer, putting down all materials partly on the bed, partly on Lucille's lap.

"Maybe some hanging decorations? Like stars?" Lucille suggested, looking at him almost child-like. "And some small ones to put in a tree, and some strings of colored paper and glitter?"

"More than enough ideas," the violinist grinned. "Let's start on some small stars, then."

"'Kay." With some effort, Lucille grabbed a piece of red paper and a pencil. "I'll draw one, and you'll have to cut it." Using Kohaku's chest to keep the paper straight, he carefully drew a small, pretty detailed star, with small Celtic knots inside of it. "Done. You only have to cut the shape, not the details."

"Lucky me," the violinist chuckled. "If I'd have to cut all those weird knots, don't count on it being finished before Christmas." Lucille only smiled faintly. "What are those supposed to mean anyway?"

"Just… something like family. Closeness, happiness…" the singer tried to explain. "It's supposed to improve those things."

For a moment, Kohaku merely looked at the beautiful blonde, who had already started on another small star. Though he had known Lucille really wanted, needed, such a relationship with someone, to be completely sure and at ease with another person, he hadn't thought it occupied the blonde's thoughts that much. "You know I'll do anything I can to make you feel safe and that I really love you, right?" he asked unsurely, feeling a bit awkward and even embarrassed for asking that kind of question.

Lucille seemed strangely happy about it, though, smiling at him like he'd given the singer a present. "Thanks. That… that's exactly what I need."

Kohaku only kissed him gently, and then went back to cutting out the star. After about fifteen minutes, and ten stars, Lucille's hands were trembling so much that even Kohaku noticed. "Hey, if you need a break, just say so."

"Hm, yeah that might be a good idea," the blonde sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. "I can't seem to draw decent stars anymore, anyway."

"No kidding," Kohaku chuckled, gently taking the piece of paper from Lucille's hand and looking at the somewhat disfigured star-like form. "It's nearly lunch-time anyway, so you can relax a bit while I make some sandwiches."

"Okay," the singer agreed, putting down the pencil and slumping against the wall a bit further. "Ouch!" he suddenly cried out, sitting up straight again. Immediately, Kohaku practically jumped towards him, worriedly embracing the frail blonde. Before he could even ask what was wrong, though, the singer smiled at him sheepishly. "G-guess I shouldn't make the scar bent like that yet. It stung pretty badly." The way he clutched his stomach with both arms, made Kohaku know he it was hurting more than he wanted to let show.

"Do you need to lie down for a while?" he asked, not sure how to handle this situation. He'd never been particularly interested in medical stuff, and his own scar was a much different one than Lucille's. So he plainly had no idea what the blonde felt, what movements caused it, and how the pain would disappear as quickly as possible. "Can I help?"

"I'm fine, don't worry," Lucille tried to reassure him. "If I just sit still for a while, it'll stop hurting." A faint smile. "But it's cute how you jumped towards me to help."

A blush crept onto Kohaku's cheeks, making him look away embarrassedly. "Ah… well, nice for you."

"I didn't mean anything bad by it." A deep sigh, followed by a faint growling sound. "Eh, weren't you going to make sandwiches?"


I'll update again next week^^