Chapter 18 Honda

The building seemed to be a house. One room on the main floor, two rooms upstairs, three rooms in the basement. There were maps and glass cases along every wall. Upstairs, there were three pallets with plaques and personal effects, the kind soldiers might carry. The pallets had rough wool blankets.

Honda took them.

"Sorry, guys. No disrespect, but Ryuji needs these more than you right now."

The wooden structure was almost 200 years old, if Honda had read the date on one of those glass cases right, and there were cracks between the boards. But it was better than staying outside.

The biggest draft came from the door Honda had forced in. Unfortunately, the hinge had given way, so now the door had nothing holding it in place. Honda had pushed the nearest display case against it and hoped that would keep the snow out. There wasn't much he could do about the wind.

He hurried back down to the first floor. Ryuji was still where he left him - leaning in a corner, shivering. Honda took his own coat back and wrapped two of the three blankets around his lover.

"Here babe. That's better, right?" Watching Otogi pass out, had terrified Honda. Ryu-chan still seemed dazed, more unconscious than awake.

As he slipped his coat back on, Honda tried to remember the things he'd learning while camping as a kid. Find shelter. Check. Build a fire. Not here. The fireplace was blocked and building one anyplace else would likely burn the building down. Stay dry. Honda had already taken off his socks - which were soaked - but he'd forgotten Ryuji's.

"Right! Okay, babe. I know this sounds crazy," he started taking off his lover's shoes. "But wet feet is how you get gangrene. I think. You get something." Ryuji's feet were pale blue. "Oh. Jeez." Honda realize that a tear was rolling down his cheek. "Guess I owe you a foot massage, right?" He began rubbing them, trying to get some sign that they weren't already frostbitten.

The light in the room was grey, not bright, but not casting shadows either. Time seemed to stand still. Otogi's feet and hands all seemed too pale no matter how long Honda rubbed them. Finally Honda wrapped the third blanket around the sleeping - hopefully sleeping, not dying - man and got up.

The snow was still falling. It coated the windows, making it difficult to see anything outside. Honda checked his cell phone again. The battery was orange, but there was no signal even if he had power. And no outlets even if he had brought his charger. If Ryuji had his mobile, Honda hadn't found it.

Honda went downstairs.

It seemed a bit warmer, but there was no light. The air was dank and stale. From the base of the stairs, he could see that most of the room was roped off. On the wall near where the rope began was a sign and a picture. There wasn't enough light for him to make much sense out of the sign, but he vaguely recognized the word 'morgue'. The picture was a sketch with bodies stacked like cordwood. That was enough for Honda.

He went back upstairs; there was nothing he needed in a room full of the unmourned dead.

He checked Ryuji's hands and feet. They were swollen but purple, not blue. Honda wasn't sure if that was a good sign or not. He re-wrapped the blankets and slipped under them himself.

"Some protector I am, huh?" He tried to laugh. "Take you for a romantic walk and wind up turning us both into popsicles." He tried to get more comfortable and put his arms around his beloved. "Tell you what, you just rest. Soon as I thaw out, I'll give you the grand tour, Okay? I mean, pretty amazing that a wooden building managed to stand for, like 200 years, right?"

Honda woke suddenly.

It was hot under the blankets, so he pulled them back. It was still astoundingly cold in the room, but the wind outside had died down, so there was less of a draft. Honda removed his own coat and Ryuji's, and checked Ryuji's feet again. They were still purple, but they seemed more bruised than swollen.

"Owww!" Ryuji moaned.

"Ryu-chan? You awake, honey?"

"I fucking hope not." He replied weakly.

Honda wanted to cry with relief. If Ryuji could make jokes, then he wasn't delirious. Cold, yes. Fever, no. Honda moved beside his lover and stroked the man's cheek.

"Where the fuck -"

Honda kissed him. Swearing, annoyed, cold, but alive. 'Let me have this kiss,' Honda silently prayed, 'and the spirits of this house can have me.'

"Wow," Ryuji sighed, when they both finally had to breathe. "So snow gets you hot. I'll have to remember that. Pity I don't think I can do this now."

"I know, honey, I'm sorry." Honda blushed. "I'm just so glad you're alive. And I don't think it's frostbite - your feet, I mean. There's super cold - hyperthermia! Been trying to remember that word all morning. I think it's just hyperthermia."

"Oh good. What the hell am I wrapped in?"

"I, uh, found a couple blankets."

"They smell like they haven't been cleaned since the ugly things were buried."

Honda couldn't resist a smile; that could well be true.

"Okay, so when do we go back to the hotel? They have a hot tub I can thaw in."

"Yeah. Well, it's still snowing, so not 'til that stops at least. Do you have your mobile?"

"No. I left it on the charger."

Honda nodded. That would explain it. "So, we've got a while." He cleared his throat and tried to sound excited. "Hey, tell you what. You just rest, and I'll read the exhibit to you! This a museum, right? There's probably an admission but we get it all to ourselves and free. Can't beat that, right?"

He tucked two of the blankets around Ryuji and the third around himself. "Okay, let's see...I think it starts...here! Okay 'this house was the home of...Mob...Mobs...some guy."

"Your English sucks."

"Hey, it's dark in here, and this stuff's faded. Okay, I won't read it, I'll just summarize. Uh, okay this guy was just a guy - not a politician or soldier or something..."

Honda's took his time, less to actually translate all the details and more to make sure that Ryuji was alive and really okay.

Eventually, it was too dark to even pretend to read. He tried to check Ryuji's feet again, but the man cried out in pain and they both thought it might be better to wait for sunrise.

"Just sit with me. You've been as hyper as Yugi on a sugar rush all day."

"Oh. Yeah." He sat, arranged the blankets and pulled Ryuji into his arms. It would all be romantic, if he knew how they were going to get home again. "This was kinda gonna be a big day for me. I was going to - okay, don't laugh. I was going to, y'know, pop the question."

"What question?" Ryuji yawned as he snuggled closer.

"THE question. The 'will you marry me' question." Ryuji didn't respond so Honda cleared his throat, picked a casual tone, and hurried on. "It's good that I changed my mind, though. Not about you - I love you. But marriage. I mean, I can't take care of you on a walk in the snow. I'm not ready to take care of you for our whole lives. Besides, you shouldn't marry me. I mean there are millions of better looking, richer, smarter men you should be with. You deserve someone special. Someone spectacular. I mean, you're amazing. You really are. You're smart, but not a know-it-all like Kaiba. You laugh like Jou, you play like Yugi. You're as wise as Yami, as sexy as Marik and Malik combined, and more beautiful that every woman I've ever known combined. The longer I know you the more I want to know you. Why should you settle for me?"

Ryuji shrugged slightly and Honda's spirit sank. He was hoping Ryu-chan would say something. He cleared his throat to prevent himself from sighing. His dad always said that only women in romance movies sigh. "You shouldn't settle for anyone. Anything. No, you should marry a man - a woman - the perfect woman. One who cooks great and cleans and won't bitch if you don't help. Someone kind enough to be down when you're down, but strong enough to hold you up when you feel like falling. She'll be beautiful with long hair that looks like water and feels like silk. Her eyes will be so green, they make you think of Mount Daisen in summer. Her body, wow. Her body will be perfect. Long, slender, firm. Skin like - like - like I don't know. Smooth and soft and warm. A face that makes you happy to be alive. An ass that makes you…well, you know." He paused. "You know? Ryu-chan?"

Ryu-chan was asleep, warm and breathing softly. Safe. He must feel really safe to sleep like that Honda thought.

Honda did sigh this time. "Probably a good thing; he never believes me anyway." He yawned himself. "Might as well sleep. Can't do anything until morning most likely."

Author's End Note:

Standard reviews welcome. Even if you don't feel comfortable commenting, I would deeply appreciate a ":-)", ":-l", or ":-(". I feel a bit alone on this one. From the stage, the lights are blinding and you don't know if anyone is watching if the audience is silent. Let me know you're out there, please. Thank You. SJ