Two Steps Back

Whoops, my writing slipped again.

These boys will not leave my mind, I tell you.

This story is a bit of a jumbled mess. It is supposed to be a flashback story. It is taking place in February, but the situation that is mostly presented happened in early to mid January. There is a little bit of extra context sprinkled throughout to get a better picture of their budding relationship, mostly leaving off of the previous story "Utopia Incarnate."

Thank you, my dear readers. Enjoy.

The months rolled by like a wind through an open valley.

Late October turned the following year into early February in a near blink.

The holidays came and went.

Keith's relationship was Pico was growing. Ever since that day when he was rescued and took him back to his house. Him and Pico developed a bond unlike he had with his other two friends. This felt more personal and special to him. He has never felt this way about another person before.

On that faithful day after Pico finally ate his small slice of pizza he made, they decided on a game of Mario Kart. It wasn't hard to tell that the ginger's level of expertise with video games was not on par with Keith's. He was pretty bad at the game. He would constantly fall behind with every course. Sixth place here, fourth place there. They were only playing on 50cc, too, the easiest difficulty. Needless to say, Keith was constantly coming up in first place, and sometimes when he was unlucky at the end of a race with the blue shell, second at times.

Keith was very animated with his gameplay, while Pico sat there quietly and played. He never shouted or got upset at his losses. He was never irritated in the slightest. He seemed to be just enjoying the game for what it is, while blue hair jostled roughly with his movements. Keith would constantly be tilting his controller, tapping buttons loudly, and moving his entire body to the motions of the character on screen.

Pico seemed to find it rather amusing. Especially on a particular course where the ginger was falling behind, once again. They came across an item box and Pico ended up with a blue shell, Keith was in first. He was rather far behind in sixth place and managed to catch up to third still holding onto the shell, preparing for an attack.

Keith noticed the bottom half of the screen that Pico was controlling, clearly seeing the menacing winged culprit taunting him. "No-no-no-no, dude-dude-dude, come on...! I am so close to winning...! Don't-don't-don't!" Keith nearly pleaded, as he glanced from the corner of his eye and saw those pearl irises look back at him. Pico grinned, making a particular loud click of a button press.

That distinctive sound of warning blared through the television, a bubble of a blue shell showing up on Keith's top half of the screen showing his doom. The finish line was in sight, and then it was too late. Keith's character was struck, pulling him to a complete standstill as his ride flew up in the air and back down to the track. Keith saw Pico surpass not only him, but the second place NPC as they crossed the finish line.

"Awww, Duuuuude! Pico, that was so cold, man...! How could you...?!" Keith practically flailed, dramatically. The results shown on the screen, finally announcing Pico as a winner for once, as he came in third this round. The blue-haired male wasn't actually upset, but he put on such a show. Waving his arms around with a slight pout on his face. He was really proud. The orange-haired male learned fast.

A genuine and soft laugh brought Keith back down to earth, stopping his tirade. He saw those tired looking eyes shut with a smile, his hand covering his mouth in an attempt to hide his laughter. A chord struck across Keith's heart at that sight. It brought a smile to his face watching the normally depressing male laugh for once. It was a low-pitched chuckle that had the other's shoulders shaking. He could get used to hearing that.

After their video game escapade, Keith's parents came home at their usual time, making the sweater-clad male really nervous for some reason. His parents were kind, and introduced themselves to him, and he gave them a short greeting back with respect. He stated that he had to get home and booked it for the door.

The taller male had to stop him from jetting so quickly, asking if he wanted a ride home, or to help walk him back safely. It was getting rather dark out. Those incredible eyes darted up to meet his own, a small smile adorning him as he was gripping his left shoulder out of nervousness. "I'll be fine..." He stated, before turning to begin walking out the door.

"Wait!" Keith nearly yelled, as he was already halfway across the cobblestone entrance to his yard. He could see the other flinch harshly, turning to look back curiously. Lighting-blue hair waved frantically as he managed to snatch a pen and scrap paper from nearby. Pressing it to the door, he scribbled down his number before running down the couple of stairs after him. "Here's my number, text me when you get home. Ok? I want to make sure you get back safely."

With the sun setting, the shadows were catching from the houses and trees in the neighborhood. It shadowed Pico's face, but it couldn't hide the blush that decorated his freckles. "O-Ok..." He said softly, looking back up at gentle emeralds again with a small smile. Turning away, he made his way to the sidewalk and started his way back home.

Keith watched from where he stood, looking at that darkened figure walk off in the distance. It was really cold out now, and he felt like such an idiot. He should have offered him a coat on the way back. He did, practically, kidnap the guy. He probably had a jacket in his locker at school. Keith sighed as he disappeared behind the view of other homes around the corner.

He found out that Pico lived in the same neighborhood as he did. He received a text on his phone from a number not on his contacts saying, "I made it back." This had to be Pico, and it was only about seven minutes since he initially watched the other man vanish in the distance. It made him curious about how he never saw him on the bus. Did his parents take him to school every day? Maybe that was why he was so difficult to find at the beginning and end of the day.

As little as they interacted in school, they texted a lot during the night. Keith found out that Pico was much more talkative over text than in person. He was actually able to ask him the questions he initially wanted to when they first met and get answers this time.

His favorite color is green. He likes sweet tea a lot and prefers spicy foods. He didn't have a favorite video game, but he enjoys open world exploration types. One of his hobbies is to collect vinyl records. He texted a picture of a small wooden crate containing some of the collection of his favorite bands.

Over the months of late-night texting, he learned that Pico was actually a victim of the school shooting from the next-door county in late August. He didn't elaborate further, and Keith didn't push him for any more details. He knew it was a touchy subject, rightfully so, on the other male and he didn't want to bring up bad memories.

He managed to introduce Pico to his two friends over at his house after a month and a half of nearly daily texting sessions. Keith convinced the ginger to come over to his home about every Saturday, until one particular day when both Darnell and Cherry came over for a surprise visit.

That day in January brought out a strange feeling to surge through Keith's core. It wasn't unpleasant at all.

~ O ~ O ~

Pico and Keith sat on the loveseat together. The orange-haired male was cross-legged, sitting closer to the television. His head in his hands as elbows rested on his thighs. Keith was sitting in his usual ghetto way, his right foot pressed against the coffee table edge and the other curling his other under his lifted knee. Left arm tossed across the top of the couch and chin on his fist, elbow resting on the arm of the chair he was leaning against.

They were watching a anime that just to happened to be on and they both nonchalantly agreed to it. Pico was very focused on the screen, while Keith kept getting distracted. His green gaze would keep floating over to the other man. From his angle, he could see the reflection of the television in his eyes. Looking over him more, he noticed that Pico was developing more of a healthy glow.

Before, he was really scrawny, abnormally pale, and had a confidence issue. Now, he was starting to gain a bit of weight. His face wasn't as sunken in as the first time he brought him home. Never once did he admit to seeing his abdomen and his true condition to Pico at all. Keith didn't want to scare the other away thinking he was violated. He kept that knowledge to himself, but secretly he would try and only have fattening foods out to eat whenever he would come over.

He still ate nothing at school, but Keith would make sure that he would eat while he was over at his home on the weekends. Sadly, he couldn't force him to do the same at home, so he was unaware of his eating habits while they were houses away. The blue boy offered to come over to Pico's home to spend some time, but he always refused. He said that his house wasn't very "homey" and he didn't want Keith to feel unwelcome. He never asked a second time, since over text, it seemed like Pico's house situation was rather complicated. He didn't seem to have much of a relationship with his parents like Keith did.

The bags under his eyes were still visible, but apparently, he was sleeping better. Definitely not as bad as that day he passed out in the cafeteria. Over text, Pico mentioned that he had sleeping problems. After that, they started to talk over the phone through calls. They would call every other night and just talk or have the phone on and they would be doing other things and saying nothing. It was the act of someone listening and being there that made the difference. Pico stated over text after they started calling that he has been sleeping a little better during those nights. Since then, their calling sessions became nearly every night.

It nearly broke his heart to hear about him suffering like that. Keith was really grouchy if he didn't get up to eight to nine hours of sleep, he could only imagine what the ginger was going through. Yet, he still would come over once per week on Saturdays. He always looked tired with those bags under his eyes, but he still would be calm instead of completely sleep deprived.

He is still a ginger redhead, so he did understand that he was going to be naturally pale. However, Keith was so perplexed by it. He looked much worse when he was rescued on that day, practically looking like a walking ghost. After a few months, he still looked pale, but he didn't look deathly ill like before. Especially whenever he would gather a bit of red on his cheeks from the cold or when he was embarrassed.

Keith felt the proudest of building Pico's confidence. He was still a major recluse at school, but while texting, he was a near open book. That was how he was able to know almost everything about each other. Keith was very open about his likes and dislikes, and so was Pico. He could tell that he was withholding some more information, but he was certain that with a little more prodding he could have him completely open up comfortably.

Their calls were mostly of Keith doing the talking, but Pico would reply with short words and phrases that would make the blue-haired males heart race with happiness. It wasn't difficult to hear the smaller male over the phone express his gratitude through those small phrases of someone talking to him at all. No one at school would, and it made Keith even more eager to talk with the quiet man. Seeing him on the weekends was something he would look forward to every Saturday.

They even made a randevu point after school to walk home together, after many weeks of constantly asking him. Keith kept using the excuse that "What if you got hit by a passing car?" or "What if you slip and fall on some ice?" He tried every single one he could think of. The one that finally broke the other man was "What if you get kidnapped?" Keith didn't mean for that one to slip, but he still remembers how his heart stuttered at the sound of Pico's gentle laughter through the phone.

"You mean, like how you did that?" He spoke as a snarky reply. Keith was glad that this wasn't a video call, as he blushed at the slight mess, he dug himself in. If only Pico would have seen him after that question. He was nearly speechless.

Lifting a hand behind his neck, he tried to laugh it off alongside the other male over the phone. "Y-Yeah... Just like how I did it." He lightly stuttered, then tried to twist it on its head. "But only with some other guy! Someone who wants to hurt you?" He lightly joked, but he did not expect a reply as sincere as what he received.

Pico's laughter died down to a small chuckle. "Don't worry. I know if that happens..." He paused, and the next thing he said was spoken with honesty. "You'll rescue me... Won't you...?"

"Of course, I'd save you!" Keith nearly yelled, covering his mouth immediately, looking at his door. His parents were trying to sleep just a few doors down. "S-Sorry, I didn't mean to yell..." He spoke quieter, but just enough for his voice to get across. "You know that I would do anything to save you if you were in danger..."

If it was possible, he could have felt the heat from Pico's blush across the phone speaker as he heard him stutter a "U-Um... Th-Thank you, K-Keith..." The blue boy smiled at that, pink dashing across his own face at the response.

After that, it wasn't hard to convince him to meet together after school behind the shed near the bleachers. That same shed that Pico had passed out at while Keith was skipping class with him before. Pico would always beat him there; it was amazing how fast he was sometimes. They would walk back to their neighborhood together, making small idol chat, Keith doing most of it. It was much more fun than sitting on the school bus. He and his other two friends wouldn't be on the same ride home, and it was rather boring.

His life had changed so much in the past few months, but he wouldn't trade it for the world.

"...Keith...?"

"Keith...?"

Green eyes blinked rapidly, "Huh?" He just noticed that those near white irises looking with such concern. Pico was turned to face him. His position switched to sitting on his legs, away from the television towards the blue-haired male. Those orange eyebrows lifted in worry on his face.

"...You were staring at me..." Pico lifted his shoulders to his ears. His right arm lifting to his left shoulder. He gripped his usual green sweater out of nervousness, pearl eyes glanced down towards his left. He learned that the ginger would easily display his emotions through actions rather than words. Now he looked rather insecure. "I-Is there something wrong...?"

Keith immediately straightened himself, putting his foot down that was on the coffee table and sitting up. "N-No! Not at all, sorry dude. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." He tried to come up with an excuse for his behavior. "I-I just, uh... N-Noticed that... Um-" The doorbell rang disrupting his excuse for simply just staring at that freckled face glowing from the television set.

Both Pico and Keith looked over at the door with a slight jolt, then back at each other. "I-It's nothing important. I'll get the door." Pico gave a deeper frown in worry and lowered his gaze. Getting up, Keith felt a sharp stab at his guilty conscious for making the smaller male feel upset. He would have to make it up with him later with a real apology.

That feeling ached the entire walk to the front door, as Keith gave a small glance back at the saddened ginger on the loveseat. Giving a small sigh, he reached down to open the door, not even checking the peephole to see who it was first.

He barely had the opportunity to look up before a person was hurled at him, and then another larger frame encircled them both. With a reaction of a sloth, he only was able to wrap his arms around a familiar curvy frame that had their own arms around his shoulders. The larger body that was wrapped around himself and the curvy individual, gave a sharp squeeze on both of them.

"Hey, BF~!"

"Yo, Keith what's happenin' my man!"

They both spoke, nearly, at the same time. A bright smile lit up his face. "Hey, guys! I didn't expect you to come over today!" He spoke with glee, giving Cherry a hug back, and shoving her between himself and Darnell's front in a large hug. They all separated, Keith immediately turning to invite them in without saying a word.

The couple strutted in like they owned the place, as Keith shut the door behind them. They both took off their shoes near the door, "It's been a while since we both visited ya. Thought we could hang out and play some-" Darnell paused, as he started his way into the living room, standing in the doorway. His chocolate-colored gaze landing upon another person already sitting on one of Keith's couches.

That unmistakable orange colored hair was the first thing to catch his attention. That same guy at school who would be in his third period and at lunch. Those near white eyes, mostly a pupil visible, were shocked looking up at him from his spot on the sofa. Arms wrapped around his knees that were pressed against his body in a curled position.

Darnell couldn't contain a glare to cross his face. "What's He doing here?"

~ O ~

Pico was taken aback from the harsh voice that echoed in the quiet room, only the sound of the television broke the silence completely. The ginger gripped his knees tighter. He sunk his head halfway behind the top of his knees, eyes staring at the far left at the wall next to the television. Shoulders scrunched up completely against his neck, as if he was trying to hide himself away from the others view.

The voices were coming back again, this time they were cackling quietly. It was as if the gates were open when the other two appeared and the shadows that Keith tucked away were busting through. He has never experienced that anxiety at the blue boy's home. This was supposed to be his sanctuary. Keith had been working on his condition, secretly, without him even noticing it.

His sleep was getting better with the daily calls. The voice from the phone helping to drown out the noises from the whispers trying to taunt him. It was getting easier for him to sleep, now getting up to four to five hours at night at most. He was still skinny, but his ribs weren't showing as profoundly as before. His stomach was still sunken a little, but he was definitely putting on some healthy weight. It didn't help that Keith would only have high calorie foods available when he came over. He would still feel nauseous with eating such meals, but it was getting easier every time. Especially since he didn't have to deal with those hallucinations over at the taller male's home.

He knew that he wasn't liked by a lot of people, especially after the incident at his other school. He was nearly segregated from his other classmates from this school without actually being fully separated. The only person who dared to make any contact with him was the emerald eyed taller male. He did so much to help him without even noticing it. Pico was incredibly grateful for their friendship. It was his everything.

It wasn't going to last, he thought.

The accusatory tone from the tallest male in the room, nearly boomed just from that one sentence. It made Pico shiver from the sound. Fear started to creep into his subconsciousness once again. The tendrils of the shadows started to stalk the corners of his sight, just like before. He could feel the cold gaze from the offended male stare holes into him.

"Oh! Yeah, guys this is Pico. You know? He's the kid from-"

"-I know where he's from, Dude. Why is he here?"

Those three distinctive tones from the harsh words silently spoken aloud made Pico flinch harshly as if he was struck. He sunk further into himself, trying to be as small as possible from the glare he was receiving, never once looking back at the stares. He locked his pale gaze onto the wall, trying to ignore the whispers chuckling at him.

~ O ~

Keith's eyes widened at the sight of Darnell digging a glare into the clearly uncomfortable Pico on the couch. He moved in front of his best friend of many years to force his eyes on green ones instead. He noticed Cherry move past him into the room, while the darker haired male stayed put in the doorway, as if he was disgusted with the layout or a putrid odor. He didn't pay any other attention to anyone else other than those brown eyes. "He's here because I invited him here, Dude." He spoke rather harshly, trying to fight for the ginger's dignity.

Cherry cautiously made her way to the loveseat sitting next to the visibly shaken man. Her blue-eyed gaze rolled over him, assessing the situation. He looked terrified, and probably didn't even notice her sitting there to begin with. She half-listened to the other two boys near the entrance to the living room, Keith trying his best to calm the situation that Darnell was trying to stir. She leaned in a little bit, "Hi, Pico... My name is Cherry, hun. Are you ok?" She asked quietly, as to not alarm the curled figure.

"You invited him!? Man, are you fucking crazy?!" Darnell nearly yelled, his intense brown eyes drilling into solid green. His arms pointed out to exaggerate his stance further.

Keith flinched back at the taller male but stood his ground. "What do you mean by that!? He's done nothing wrong!" He bit back, "The only one acting crazy here is you, Dude! Knock it off!" The blue-haired male was getting a little frustrated. They have had their spats here and there in the past, but this one felt much more personal than ever before.

Cherry blinked when Pico suddenly moved his hands to grip onto his head. "Pico?" She asked, lifting a hand herself to hover over the other male's upper back, contemplating to touch him or not. She understood why Darnell was upset. There were only bad rumors that surrounded this guy. He looked like he was about to cry. Such a far-off vision of what she initially thought of when hearing about these rumors. His entire frame was shaking, making a harsh flinch at the harsh syllables that were lashed out from the other two males. It was like he couldn't hear her at all.

"Me?! Do you know that this guy is a fucking psycho!? He's probably killed people, and you have him in your house!? What if he kills you next?!" Darnell accused, jabbing a finger at the others chest.

The taller male was stronger, but Keith only took a step back at the poke to his ribcage. His eyes never once leaving the other male. "Dude! What the hell is wrong with you!? Don't say shit like that!" the aqua males face was getting red out of anger at the insult to the poor ginger. "He's my friend!" He accentuated harshly, making sure that his voice was heard as he leaned further against the finger that pressed against his sternum.

"Boys!" Cherry shouted, as she shoved her way between them, hands first to push them apart. "We didn't come here to fight." She successfully put herself in the middle and turned towards the taller of the two. "Right Darnell?" She said sternly, making sure to raise her voice with a hint of anger at his actions.

The black-haired male huffed, shaking his head at the other man over the girl between them. "Man, I can't believe you. This is probably the stupidest thing you've done." He crossed his arms that firm stare hitting back at dimmed emeralds.

"What I've done!? I don't insult people as soon as I meet them!" Keith jabbed back, GF having to put a hand on his chest to prevent him from getting closer to the other.

"It's not an insult if it's true!" He stabbed back, a long-nailed hand pressed against his chest too.

"Would you two stop it?! That's enough!" She successfully managed to push both of them back a step from each other, giving each a look of disappointment, mostly focused on Darnell. "Keith... I'm so sorry for this-" She rarely would say the blue males first name unless it was serious, but a glance past his shoulders stopped her mid-sentence.

Keith looked at her, then followed her gaze past his shoulder into the living room. Pico was missing. No one even heard him get up and leave. There was no way he made it out of the front door, since they were mere feet away and would have noticed. He just seemed to vanish. Emerald eyes widened with dread. His heart ached horribly, he had to find him. Ignoring the other two, he jogged over to where he was originally seated and looked around. "Pico!? Pico!? Where are you!?" He shouted, looking behind the bits of furniture that were in the living room.

When he clearly wasn't in the room, he rushed out a near panicked shout of his name echoed in the small home once again.

"Tch, great, now there's a killer loose in Keith's house. Look for the missing knives..." Darnell quietly mumbled as he watched his best friend leave the vicinity. A hand quickly slapped across his face, his head jerked to his right harshly, completely catching him off guard and shifting to the side. He raised his own to cup the slightly reddened cheek, looking down at Cherry with a confused look. "What did I do...!?" He whispered quietly at her pissed off aura.

"I can't believe you did that...!" She stood, folding her arms together a harsh look stapled to her face. "That was incredibly rude...!"

"Whaaat...!?" Darnell whined, tossing excuses to ease their only stability in the trio.

~ O ~

Pico managed to find his way into a darkened small bathroom to hide. He shoved himself between the toilet and wall at the far corner of the room, not even bothering to close the door behind himself. The whispers were starting to form words for the first time. "Killer." It was like they were learning and developing. The shadows were getting darker and taking a more human shape, he could almost see teeth on their heads grinning wildly at him. He was so terrified, as he huddled further into the dark corner.

The voices were echoing across the tiles as they chanted their new word at him endlessly. "Killer-killer-killer-killer!" Almost like a child who learned their first word, it never stopped. In the darkness, the shadows couldn't get to him as easily, since he couldn't see very well either. Pico couldn't contain the slight sobbing echoing from his throat, as tears lined his vision. His place of salvation was now a nightmarish hellhole.

He shut his eyes and placed his hands over his ears to try and block out the sounds. He could hardly feel the wet tears roll down his face and drip onto his curled-up knees, dampening spots forming onto his pants from the droplets. He couldn't help but to begin to plea "S-Stop... P-Please stop...! L-Leave me alone..." He begged the voices. Trying to reason with them.

"Killer-killer-Pico?-Killer-killer"

"Pico!?"

~ O ~

Keith searched high and low on the first floor of his home. He was lucky that his parents decided to go out today, he had the house to himself. There was no way that the ginger could have made it upstairs since they would have noticed him jetting up the stairs. The only other place he hasn't looked is the back door to the yard, or the bathroom.

Getting close to the restroom, he could hear light sobbing echoing from the confines of the darkened room. The door was half closed, and he slowly approached it. As he did, he could hear Pico from the other side speaking. It was as if he was begging to someone, pleading for them to stop. He quietly spoke out his name in question, putting his hand on the door to push open.

The creek of the hinges rang loudly, as he pushed the door open. The light from the hall illuminated the majority of the restroom, save for a darkened corner. A sharp sob struck the small room, making it startle Keith into moving abruptly. "Pico!?" He jolted from his stance and ran towards the darkness, not even turning the lights on at all. He could see the figure from where he stood curled in the corner.

Keith dropped to his knees, letting his eyes get adjusted to the dark and immediately went to grab at him. Gently, he felt around the general area where his head would be and felt those cold hands pressed on either side of his ears. He was trembling terribly as with every sharp intake of break his body would jolt. Pressing his hands against the others, Keith shushed him quietly "Pico... Oh, Pico... Hey... Dude..."

It was a tight area, and Keith was rather surprised at how the smaller male managed to fit himself in such a confined space. He could barely get his arms in there to pull him out, so he just tried to gather his attention instead. "Shhhh... Hey, look at me... Look, it's me... Shhh..." He quieted, only receiving violent sobs back. Those incredible eyes were clamped shut, like he couldn't hear him at all.

The taller males heart felt like it was being ripped out of his chest at the sight of what he could see. He rolled his hands down from the gingers to see if he could find his face. What he felt was the distinctive wetness of tears. That alone, almost made himself start tearing up. He forced his hands to cup his cheeks to lift his head up. "Pico... Hey... It's me, Keith... Shhh... Don't cry, it's ok..." Even though it was still not easy to see, Keith could clearly make out the gloss of his eyes as they blinked open in disbelief. The glow of the hallway light making the wetness of his tears reflect it, almost making them sparkle in the darkness. It just made those pearly irises stand out further.

A gasp left Keith's near breathless body at the sight. "K-K... K-Ke-Keith...?!" The said boy could honestly feel his heart skip a beat at that cry. He could feel the body he was holding flinch with every syllable that he stuttered out. The way the fresh tears that rolled down his cheeks were caught with his fingers as that single word he spoke made more fall.

"Yeah... It's me... Aw, Pico, come here... Shhh..." Keith reached back up to his hands prying them away from his head to help pull him forward. Managing to get him to lean into him a bit, Keith wrapped his arms around his upper back, pulling him towards himself. The awkward angle of the way he was seated with his knees up, forced the blue boy to pull a little harder than intended. He felt the other man stumble out of the small space and fell out into the light of the doorway and onto his chest. His back hit the opposite wall. Luckily it was only a couple of feet away and he hit the wall with minimal force, his legs kicking out to help absorb his backwards momentum.

Pico's body was fully pressed against him; the blue boy immediately wrapped his arms around the smaller man in fear of him being injured from the fall. His knees ended up on either side of his waist for balance, and he was seated on Keith's hips. His chest was practically flushed against the other mans. The tears from his face were dampening the long-sleeved shirt where it lay on his collarbone. Small hands gripped on his shirt to help him stabilize.

He could feel the other man shudder in his grasp. Keith gripped him into a tight embrace, making sure that Pico knew he wasn't alone. "Shhh... Hey there... Come on, it's ok..." He hushed quietly, taking a moment to rub at the others back. His spine was still easily felt, but not as prominent as before. The aquamarine-haired male placed his cheek against the others gelled hair. The texture was a little uncomfortable, but he was willing to withstand the scratchy locks for any kind of comfort he could provide.

"I-I... I didn't..." Pico sobbed quietly. His low voice barely echoing off of the walls of the dark bathroom. "D-Didn't... Didn't m-mean t-to..." A sharp intake of breath jolted his entire body as he felt more tears begin to wet his shirt further. Green eyes glowed with unshed tears at the others misery. Keith blinked them away as best as he could, he had to be strong for Pico.

"Shhh... You didn't do anything wrong..." Interrupting him, and not fully understanding the context of his statement, but reassuring that he was innocent. Only Keith was aware that Pico was, in fact, a part of that shooting. He didn't want to acknowledge anything that the smaller male did that was wrong. He was in a very dangerous scenario. He did what he needed to do to survive. If anyone else were a part of that situation, he was sure they would have had to do some things that were morally unacceptable to escape. "It's not your fault..." Keith spoke softly, raising his hand to the back of the others head for a more stable comfort.

This was the first time he had seen the other break down like this. The first time he has ever held him. He was hoping that the ginger couldn't hear the quick beating of his heart. He didn't understand why his body was responding this way, he conjured it up to guilt for an excuse. His new friend was hurting so much.

Pico didn't say anything more, as he sobbed quietly against the larger male. They stayed in that dark bathroom for a good while as the sounds of the smaller male dulled as time went on. Keith closed his eyes to help focus on rubbing his back in comfort. He stayed curled onto the blue boy. The sounds of sadness echoing off of the tiles in the small restroom. The lamentation was quieted as Keith continued to hush him softly.

"...Keith?"

Green eyes darted open, as he looked over to his left. Cherry peeked from the side of the doorway. Her voice was overbearing in the, now, quiet space. "Is he ok...?" She questioned quietly, giving a glance at the orange-haired male in the other's arms.

Keith rubbed his hand against the others back in a light massage, listening for a moment. He could feel the gentle rise and fall of his back, momentarily disrupted by a sharp intake of breath before going back to normal rhythm. Tilting his head back and to the side, he looked over at tired closed lids, eyelashes glittering with stuck on wetness from earlier. His fists were clenched near his head and onto his shirt, wrinkling it horribly from the dampness of the tears. It looks like he fell asleep.

Keith couldn't brush away a tinting of pink on his face at the way Pico clung to him. "He's asleep..." He spoke quietly, hoping that the vibrations from his voice wouldn't startle the other man awake. Luckily, the sound carried over to the door where Cherry was so she could hear him pretty clearly.

"Aww..." She cooed softly. "Darnell wants to apologize..."

Keith sighed softly, making sure to take a too big of an intake of breath to disturb his slumber. He looked over at Cherry before going back to his main focus. "When he wakes up... He doesn't get much sleep... Let's leave him be..." He spoke each phrase as quietly as he could, pausing in between to make sure he wasn't disturbing him.

"Ok... We'll be in the living room, hun..." She said softly, quietly leaving the two alone.

~ O ~ O ~

Pico woke up after a good hour. His face was pink with texture marks from the way he was pressed against Keith's chest. He seemed to be calmed down enough to go back into the living room. At first, Pico wanted to leave. Keith had to quietly beg him to stay. He couldn't make him do anything, but the blue boy didn't want him to walk away in his condition. He has heard the tales of his sleepless nights and starvation tactics. He wanted to make sure he would be ok before being out of his sight.

They were holding hands on the walk back to the living room, Keith guiding the way. Darnell actually did apologize. Pico didn't say anything about the apology. He kept his gaze locked on the floor and halfway hid behind the taller aquamarine-haired male.

They spent the rest of the evening together, but Pico refrained from saying anything at all. Even when he was asked direct questions or opinions on games or things to eat or drink, he would go back to using gestures again. Keith was crestfallen. He had worked so hard to get him out of his shell, and it seemed that he crawled right back in again in the blink of an eye.

Darnell didn't engage with Pico for the remainder of the day. Cherry tried to be friendly and ask him a question about what kind of games he is into. He did not respond, except for shrugging his shoulders. That pale gaze locked right down onto the floor.

He didn't participate in any gameplay, nor did he eat or drink anything at all. Keith even brought out some spicy ramen to encourage the other to eat something. Pico just shook his head, eyes never looking up at Keith's own. He wouldn't even drink the sweet tea that he bought for him when he went to the store with his parents last Sunday in preparation for his visit.

He didn't let it show, but his reclusive state was really bothering Keith the entire evening. He waited for his two friends to leave in the late afternoon. Darnell gave a final fist good-bye and darted his gaze over to the ginger still on the couch holding a pillow. Keith gave a fist bump back and followed his gaze behind him. The tallest male gave another sigh and apologized to his best friend of a decade this time for his behavior. Cherry gave the blue-haired boy a full hug and wished that Pico would feel better soon.

As little as Keith wanted to, he accepted the apology and waived his friend's goodbye. He looked back over at the ginger kid with a soft sigh. Looks like it was back to square one for him.

That night Pico didn't reply to any messages Keith sent and ignored the two calls he tried. Luckily, he did answer the following day. The blue-haired boy almost wanted to cry. His heart ached terribly, and he wasn't aware of why. He felt so terribly for the other man, especially when he thought that his friendship may be over after ignoring him that night.

Pico still showed up every Saturday after that, just like usual. However, his defenses were back up again, but not as prominent as when his friends were here. He lightly asked if his two friends could surprise visit him on Sundays instead. They both agreed and respected his statement.

He wanted to make it up to him tonight.

Keith had been planning this sleepover for weeks since that day.

He did manage to encourage the smaller man to come out of his shell a little bit, but not as much as before. Something changed in him that he couldn't understand. Before the confrontation, Pico would speak in relatively complete sentences. He would lock eyes with him without hesitation or shying away much. And best of all, he would give a small smile or chuckle in laughter during parts in shows or movies that deserved the comedy. Pico actually ate over at his home and would slightly bicker about being full as the taller male would try and make him eat more. Keith missed those days tremendously.

Now, he was starting to speak again but only in chopped up words and mostly using non-verbal communication. His gaze would never meet his own unless Keith would ask him to "look at me... please?" first. Worst off, he never smiled again. Even when they would play a game or watch a funny movie. Keith would give a chuckle or a curt laugh at it, but Pico would just stay quiet. The smaller male never ate anymore. He would shake his head "no" at the offer of any foods. Even the ones that Keith would know to be his favorite from experience. The blue-haired male never thought he would miss something so trivial.

The bags under his eyes were getting worse, and he was starting to lose weight again.

The light of his life was now a dim bulb again. It was so depressing.

Keith decided to surprise the other man into a surprise sleepover. He did a lot of chores around the house to earn an allowance bonus from his parents. Going out to the store he bought a bunch of junk food that he thought Pico would enjoy eating. Chips, ice cream, soda, candy, frozen meals. Keith went all out with the food. Even though he knew that it would be impossible to eat it all for a normal person, let alone someone with his thin stature. He bought a bunch of different types of sweet teas. He didn't even know that they had that many flavors of teas until he looked.

He purchased some open world games from the local games store. One of them was even multiplayer so that they could play together on co-op. He made sure that his favorite blanket was washed and ready for use. Pico would always want to use that blanket whenever he was over. He stated that it gave him a sense of comfort that he couldn't get at home. Also, Keith guessed, was that he was always cold because of his thin frame.

His parents promised to stay out of their fun, as long as they didn't leave the house. Keith fully agreed, only promising to be in the kitchen or his own room during the night and not messing around in the living room. His parents even allowed him to eat up in his room as long as he didn't make a mess. He had his television in his room and could bring the games console upstairs to play if needed.

On this Saturday, February 14th, his plan was going to be put into motion.

Keith could hardly wait.

As one can see... This particular oneshot is not over.

We still have the sleepover to attend to!
Keith has to win back Pico's secret affection! What better way than with a boys only sleepover? ;)

As always, my lovelies, I'd love a comment and any ideas you may have for a wonderful time these precious boys can have together. I'm all ears.
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