Hello. Sorry for the long wait. I could blame that on school work, but truthfully I've just been a little lazy and too busy reading yugioh fan fiction. Sorry. (shifty eyes)
Well, anyway, here's the next chapter.
Chapter 14
"Yeah, thanks again Keane," Husky mumbled to his the red head, who had just turned to leave
"It's fine, like I said before, if you need anything else, anything at all, just call me, okay?" Kean said, still a bit reluctant to leave his half-brother alone. He looked sick, his skin was paler then usual, and he had a large blanket drawn around him. Keane hadn't seen him let go of it even once since he'd come in with the items Husky had asked him for. Not to mention he was speaking in a much quieter and weaker tone then the ginger was used to when dealing with the usually disrespectful boy. Well, except for about a week after he had first moved in, that is.
"Okay, I will," The silver boy mumbled once again. "Um, Keane?" Keane shot up and looked at Husky. He wasn't mumbling anymore and he was no longer smothering himself in the blanket. It still was up all the way to his neck, but at least it no longer covered half of the boy's face.
"Yeah?" Keane asked, looking a bit confused and concerned. Cooro, who had been standing in the corner for most of the time, was watching the two brothers with interest.
"Go home and either take that shoe off, or find it's mate or something, you look ridiculous," Keane simply stared at Husky, completely befuddled, before finally looking down at his feet. Wait… where did his other shoe go? Did he ever put one on?
"Gah! Um, right, shoot, uh, bye Myrrah. Remember, just call me, okay? Cooro, make sure he calls me," Keane stumbled, sounding a bit like a concerned mother once he got over his embarrassment. Cooro just laughed and nodded, then proceeded to show the red head the way out.
When he came back, Husky was still on the bed like he had been all morning, although his grip on the blanket had relaxed considerable. Cooro grabbed the duffle bag off the floor and placed it at the end of the bed.
"Here, ya want to get dressed?" The black haired boy asked. Husky simply nodded, so his friend turned to leave.
"Hey…" Cooro barely heard it, but he still turned around to look at the silver boy. In his hand was something rather familiar to him.
"Hey! It's the origami fish I made you!" Cooro declared happily, skipping back over to the bed, although suddenly a small gasp escaped his lips, and he froze. "The fish…" His eyes went from the sparkling paper to meet his friends eyes, the same thought seeming to be running through his mind as well. They both turned to look at the seemingly innocent piece of paper, until Cooro broke the silence by suddenly laughing.
"Wow! Husky, it's like I can see the future or something! Funny, huh?" Cooro said once he finished laughing. Husky just nodded, not appearing to find it very funny, looking almost scared. He placed the fish hesitantly on the small table next to the bed, and coughed like people normally do during an awkward moment.
"W-well, I'm gonna get dressed now," The silver boy said, pulling some random clothing out of the bag. Cooro just nodded at his friend and turned to leave the room like he'd been trying to before they were interrupted by the little fish.
Cooro wandered around the front part of the church absentmindedly. It was Sunday, so mother superior was out working at the local soup kitchen, and no one else in the congregation actually lived in the church. Cooro stopped and stared at the candles burning in multitude in every corner. He had never really liked candles, or fire in general for that matter. He didn't know why, he'd never actually burned himself, and you think living in a church surrounded by candles would make you used to them by now. It was simply one of the things he hated, and one of the even fewer things that had never actually hurt him personally, unlike something like, bees.
Staring at a cluster of small flames, the black haired boy figured it couldn't hurt to put a few out. Grabbing the little cup on a stick, he couldn't remember the official name for it, he began snuffing out a few of the flames at the top, closest to the fabric decorations hanging on the walls above them. You shouldn't burn fire near fabric, especially when there wasn't any adults home.
Reaching a bit higher, the small boy tried to reach the top candle, the one closest to the cloth. Standing on his tip toes, the cup was almost over the candle when Cooro fell forward. He was able to regain his balance and stop himself from falling into the flaming structure, but the stick-cup banged roughly into the top candle, causing the whole thing to wobble unsteadily.
"Ah!" Cooro gasped as the top candle hit the fabric, setting the corner ablaze. Instinctively, the black haired boy reached out to steady the metal structure. His eyes were on the flaming fabric though, so instead of wax or metal, he grabbed fire. "Gah!" he yelled loudly, pulling his hand back and holding it agents his chest, feeling his hate for fire finally justified.
"Cooro? What's going on?" The eleven year old turned around to face the source of the voice. Husky was standing in the doorway leading to the back of the church. He now had a light blue collared shirt on and jeans, and he had a confused, almost concerned look on his face, having ran down after hearing Cooro's scream.
"Fire!" He yelled, pointing with his good hand at the fabric that was slowly being consumed by the flames. The silver haired boy looked completely shocked for about ten seconds, although he soon ran over to where the fire extinguisher was hanging agents a wall. Running back to where Cooro and the fire was, he began spraying in the general direction of the fire. Sure, he was a little short, so he managed to not only stop the fire on the cloth, but put out every single candle, but one stubborn little flame on the sculpture.
"Cooro! What in the world were you doing! You could of gotten us killed! What did you- Hey, are you okay?" Husky asked, stopping in mid-rant, trying to get a better look at the black haired boy's hand. He was holding it rather gingerly, and tears were already starting to form in his brown eyes, although that could have been from the fire and then getting yelled at.
"I b-burned it," Cooro whimpered, showing his friend his right hand. Husky winced. That looked like it hurt. There was a line or skin, shinny and red and smooth, running from the edge of his hand all the way to the center, and already dried wax was coating most of it.
"Ouch, c'mon, where's the kitchen?" Husky asked, beginning to lead Cooro back to the house in the back of the church.
"T-this way," Cooro showed him, still trying to hold back tears. Once in the kitchen, Husky had him hold his hand under cold water before placing some ice on it.
"Not really sure what else to do besides that, never treated a burn before. Where is everybody," Husky asked, sitting at a table as Cooro help the ice to his palm. The black haired boy noticed that his friend was acting like himself again, although it was probably because he had to take care of someone else right now. He had something to distract himself with.
"Mother Superior volunteers at a soup kitchen on Sundays, she'll be back around six I think," Cooro explained, much calmer then he had been a few moments ago. The silver haired boy nodded before getting up and heading over to a drawer.
"Think you'll be okay until then? Hey, you guys have any disinfectant?" He asked. Cooro nodded.
"Yeah I'll be fine. It's in the second drawer," Husky pulled out a spray bottle and walked over to the burned boy, who winced before he'd even gotten there. He always hated that spray, it stung really bad!
"Put out your hand," Husky demanded, not seeming to notice his friend's reluctance, until he shook his head in protest.
"I don't want to!" Cooro wined, although it only caused his friend to sigh, not looking like he was about to give up that easily.
"C'mon, you want it to get infected and then have to get it chopped off at the wrist?" Husky asked impatiently. That caught Cooro's attention, and he reached his hand out hesitantly.
"Fine," the ebony haired boy mumbled, wincing when his hand was sprayed twice. It didn't sting as bad as normal, it wasn't an open wound, but it still hurt a little, although that could just be the burn itself starting to hurt again from being out from under the ice.
"Now put the ice back on," Husky demanded, and Cooro did was he was told, this time without any complaints.
After this the two boys returned to Cooro's room, only coming back down periodically to get more ice once the blocks they had melted. Cooro, seeing as the fire had been a good distraction for Husky, attempted to keep his mind off of anything bad or emotionally scarring. After a few hours of random games, the two were playing go fish.
"Got any sixes?" Husky asked, his voice sounding monotone and bored. This was apparently not his favorite game in the world. Plus he was losing by ten cards.
"Nope, hey Husky," Cooro said. He had a smile on his face. He was trying to keep his friend's mind off of this, but the opportunity was just too perfect.
"What?" He asked, not seeming to get why Cooro seemed all giggling all of a sudden.
"Go fish! Get it? Cause you're a fish, and it's funny cause I told you to go fish? Get it?" Cooro explained, very proud of his new joke. Husky just rolled his eyes, finding it more lame then anything. It didn't have any adverse affects though, like making him all gloomy and smothering himself in a blanket again, so it was still funny to Cooro.
"Whatever you say, feather-brain," Husky grumbled. He wasn't really sure where that nickname/insult had come from, probably the feathers Cooro always wore in his head, but whatever, it fit him somehow.
The sound of the front door to the church suddenly sounded in the room. "Oh my!" Cooro and Husky turned to each other, both hearing the shocked voice from downstairs, and both remembering the mess of extinguisher foam left in the corner by the two boys, completely forgotten, until just now, that is. Dropping their cards the two boys scrambled to get downstairs and explain to what would be the obviously confused nun.
"Um, Cooro, what on earth…?" Mother Superior asked, gesturing haplessly to the mess left by the boys.
"Uh, well, I was trying to put out some of the candles, but accidentally knocked the whole thing, which caused the top candle to hit the cloth, but when I tried to stop the wobbling I grabbed a candle and burnt by hand," the black haired boy paused here and help out his hand, now bandaged up, courtesy of Husky, "and then Husky came down and put it out with the fire extinguisher, but after we fixed my hand we kind of forgot about the mess…" Cooro finished explaining. The old woman just nodded, still looking a bit dumb struck. "Uh, we'll clean it up now," Cooro offered, hoping to pull her out of her stupor.
"No, no! Wait until morning at least, you two must be exhausted after everything that's happened these past few days," The two glanced at each other. Poor old lady didn't know that half of it, although that was probably for the best. "Now Cooro, let me see your hand, and neither of you are going to school tomorrow," The nun announced, beginning to unbandage Cooro's hand.
Once she saw the boys hand was fine, although he'd probably have a nasty little scar there, and fed them dinner, she sent them off to bed. They didn't have to be told twice, both falling asleep almost the instant they laid down.
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Tada! Once again, sorry about the delay. And if any of you are reading my Full Metal Alchemist fan fiction, I promise to have an update for that by the end of the week as well.
Also, I know how Cooro feels, I've burned myself so many times cooking, and it hurts! I still have a bit of a scar from one of them. Well, please review.