A/N: Okay, how many of you are ready to shoot me now? *bows head* I mean… I haven't updated since what? JANUARY. O_o;;; Gomen nasai!!
The reviews have kept me going, I must admit. So I thank everyone who's reviewed from the bottom of my heart. ^_^ I know it's kinda stupid of me to say that when I take this long to get a damned chapter out… O_o; but I kinda lost inspiration after awhile… but now I'm back in school, and my beta-reader is RIGHT there ready to whack me with her Mallet of Impending DOOM... so... ^^;;;
Without further ado~ Chapter three!
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Find Yourself a Back Door
Ch. 3 : Mutual Agreement
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Sunlight gathered in the small room the next morning, lighting up the dark corners and driving all shadows away and into hiding. It streamed through the small window, and onto the peacefully sleeping faces of the two occupants of the room. Both were curled up in each other's arms and sleeping soundly. Horohoro ever so often letting out a light snore.
After a short amount of time, the sun began to grow impatient with them and began shining very brightly in order to get the two up and out of bed. Horohoro's eyebrows scrunched together and a frown crossed his features as he began to wake and see the bright light behind his eyelids. He opened his eyes and blinked for a moment, adjusting them to the harsh light that was shining so happily into his face. He cursed under his breath, mumbled something incoherent, but probably relating to the "Damn sun shining in his face this early in the morning..." and promptly threw a pillow over his head. A light and nearly inaudible sound came from Horohoro's chest, and he lifted the pillow slightly off his head to peek down at what had made it.
Ren had his head comfortably pillowed on Horohoro's chest, just below his neck. Horo blinked for a moment, taking in this odd sight. Ren looked so defenseless while he was asleep. Helpless, peaceful... and also rather cutely innocent. Horohoro smiled gently.
Horohoro pushed the pillow entirely off his head and raised a hand to the side of Ren's face. He traced over a defined cheekbone, soft, silky bangs, and entangled his fingers within the long lock of hair that made up Ren's ponytail. He massaged the back of Ren's head softly, trying not to disturb the other boy.
Ren made a soft, sleepy murmuring noise in the back of his throat and cuddled closer, clinging more tightly to Horohoro's chest. Horohoro found himself chuckling at the sight.
"... Kawaii..."
Wait.
Freeze.
Horohoro blinked and resumed his earlier expression of surprise and curiosity. He felt his cheeks begin to color and burn bright red as he quickly withdrew his hand from Ren's long lock of purple hair.
"... What am I DOING?!" Horohoro whispered harshly to himself.
He laid his head back onto the pillow with a 'Wumph!' and a long sigh. What was he thinking?! Ren... cute? That was a new thought to enter his head. I mean, come ON! He wasn't...GAY!
...Right?
His opinion of Ren had changed completely. That's all. After last night...
Horohoro's lips drew out into a firm line as he recalled the night. Ren had nightmares. Not just any nightmares, but horrible, plaguing ones of his father. Horohoro had no idea that the other boy had been put through anything so harsh.
He had a feeling once Ren awoke, it would be back to their old bickering again. Ren was just trying to act tough. Horohoro frowned. Ren would stick it out and deny everything. Then night would fall and the nightmares would come back and the cycle would begin again.
He'd think about it later though. Horohoro slowly sat up, so as not to disturb Ren. He placed a pillow under Ren's head and got up. Ren frowned in his sleep.
Shower time.
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'Mmmm... That felt good...' Horohoro thought to himself as he towel-dried his hair. Nothing like a nice warm shower first thing in the morning to get you going.
Ok, so he was still sleepy. The events of last night caused him to miss an hour of sleep, and they had gone to bed pretty late to begin with. He'd prolly need a nap later on. Great.
A short and concise knock on the door interrupted Horohoro's drying process.
"Yeah yeah... one sec." He replied loudly to the door. He finished drying himself off, slipped on a loose black T-shirt with writing on it proclaiming "Stop staring at me" on the front and "Stop following me" on the back in bold white letters, and pulled on an old pair of jeans that had been ripped and torn in several places.
He rubbed the fogged up mirror to get a clear look at his appearance. His hair was messy and wet still, but it'd dry. He raked a hand through it one last time and turned towards the door.
He opened it with a flourish, steam spreading out behind him as he bowed forward.
"Your shower is ready, oh impatient one."
Ren stared at him briefly before storming past Horohoro and slamming the door behind him. Horohoro's eye twitched.
'Definitely NOT a morning person...'
It definitely confirmed the statement that they would be back to their old bickering again, though.
Soon, the sound of running water was heard, and Horohoro departed to go unpack a few things to make settling in easier.
He pulled off a box piled higher than the rest, thinking it was his. He opened it and observed the contents briefly before realizing it was Ren's. There was a picture frame laid on top of an elaborate chinese outfit, and Horohoro picked it up carefully.
The frame was made of a nice, dark, richly-colored wood. An exquisite chinese dragon wound it's way around the frame, curving and snaking it's way all around the carved wood. The picture behind the glass, however was far more interesting. It must have been taken some time ago... A much younger Ren stood in the very front, sullen expression on his face. An older girl, who could only be his sister by the looks of the green hair stood next to him, smiling jauntily and waving at the camera. There were two people standing behind the children, and Horohoro realized that he was looking at what could only be Ren's parents.
His mother could only be described as gorgeous. She had deep purple hair that framed her perfect, heart-shaped face and trailed down her shoulders. She wore a tired look on that face, which said she had been through a lot during her years, and had gained wisdom from it.
As for his father...
Horohoro turned his eyes to the face of the man who plagued Ren's dreams, suddenly feeling very protective. Ren's father was a stern-looking man, pointed face with jet-black hair that was pulled back into a tight bun. His beard curved slightly to a point as well, and he looked, well... evil. The typical image of any chinese villain in any storybook.
Horohoro carefully put the picture back in the box and moved it to the side, mouth set in a tight line.
He moved to a different box, and, discovering it as his own, began to unpack.
================================================
As Horohoro suspected from Ren's earlier display, everything was back to normal. They bickered and argued and disagreed on things as usual, although both boy's efforts seemed half-hearted.
Anna put them to work almost immediately. Since Horohoro had gotten up before everyone else, he had gone and fixed breakfast out of habit. Turned out that Anna liked his cooking better than Yoh's, so he was charged with fixing meals from here on out. Shortly after, she assigned Yoh and Ren to cleaning the Onsen and scrubbing the decks.. There were also some rips in the rice paper walls that she wanted them to attend to. Horohoro had snickered to himself, thinking he would get away with the least amount of work, until Anna had rounded back on him and told him he also could do the laundry and wash the dishes after meals. He had sputtered loudly and Ren made some comment about Horohoro making a good housewife.
Between all the work each party was made to do, neither had much time to discuss the events of last night. That was... if Ren even WANTED to talk about it -- Horohoro certainly did; but... Ren was an entirely different matter. Horohoro had plenty of time to think while he worked. Despite appearances, Horohoro liked having a task at hand. He liked working hard and keeping busy, and whenever he was given a job, he'd do it as best as he could. At least he was never bored...
He thought things through over and over, imagining endless possible situations that could arise if he brought the subject up to Ren. He thought about what he'd do... what he'd say... and found himself unsure each time.
How could he convey his feelings? This was a VERY awkward subject!
You could look at it in any way you wanted to, but it was just not NORMAL for two boys to share the same bed. ESPECIALLY when one of said boys was clinging to the other like a lifeline.
But... Horohoro was surprisingly OK with it. It helped make Ren feel safer, right? So it couldn't be such a horrible thing.
No. Horohoro didn't mind it at all. He kept justifying it as he was just worried about the other boy, that he didn't like seeing people hurt for no reason. (Having this happen to, of all people, Tao Ren, scared him out of his wits quite frankly.) However, thinking of this morning, Horohoro could still remember the warmth upon waking up. How Ren's weight was comfortably draped across his chest. The softness of a pale cheek and the feathery feeling of Ren's hair... How he had felt so protective last night, just holding Ren and murmuring words of comfort as Ren sobbed into his chest...
Horohoro shook his head.
'I'm getting NOWHERE with thoughts like... like... THAT!' he thought, mentally scolding himself.
He decided that the correct moment would arise sooner or later during the day. He'd just have to see where it would take him. With that said, he quickly finished washing the dishes and went to gather the laundry.
Horohoro's moment finally came sometime after lunch.
Anna had stopped by for a bit to eat and promptly sat herself in front of the TV with a dish of crackers, Yoh and Ren began the deck scrubbing, and Horohoro set to unloading the first load of laundry and starting on the next.
As he was throwing the second load into the washing machine, Ren came into the kitchen, looking very hot and very sweaty. He made his way to the fridge with only a sideways glance in Horohoro's direction for acknowledgement, intent on getting a glass of milk. Horohoro continued the task at hand, and began to measure out the detergent to put in.
"Where's Yoh?" He asked.
"...Outside."
"Ah." Okay. That's good... no one to interrupt...
'Now...' Horohoro thought. 'How to start this out...'
He didn't have to think long, however, because Ren started the conversation first.
"Listen..." Ren said it cautiously; as if he was carefully thinking about every word. "About last night..."
Horohoro stopped measuring detergent to give Ren his full attention. The other boy seemed to be deeply considering something now; his face was set in concentration, as if he wasn't sure exactly what he wanted to say at this point. Finally, he must've come to a conclusion, because his expression became more determined, and he opened his mouth.
"Forget about it."
Horohoro stared blankly as Ren took another swig of milk. He had been expecting this to be Ren's reaction... but he hadn't been expecting Ren to come right out and say it. Nonetheless, Horohoro wasn't gonna let Ren get out of it that easily.
"Those nightmares will come back tonight, won't they?" Horohoro asked plainly. Ren just stared at him, not saying anything. Horohoro continued, "They'll come back, and it'll be the same thing all over again."
"It's not your problem." Ren said sharply, clearly getting annoyed now.
"I'm making it my problem." Horohoro responded evenly.
Ren narrowed his eyes, getting more and more angry as the seconds ticked by. He fumed silently and silence descended for a brief moment, before Ren closed his eyes tightly and took a deep breath.
"Why are you doing this?" He asked, finally.
"Because..." Horohoro started out, choosing his tone of voice carefully. He wanted to make sure Ren fully understood every word of what he was about to say. "Whether you want to believe it or not, I care, Ren. Like I said last night, stop pushing someone who's worried about you away!"
Ren flinched at the familiar words. Once again, he felt it really hard to push away the concern that was shining so brilliantly in Horohoro's eyes. He felt his resolve beginning to weaken under that gaze.
"Besides..." Horohoro said softly, "It helped. Didn't it? You came back after I went back to bed."
Horohoro watched as Ren averted his gaze, cheeks burning a vibrant red. Now it was apparent that this was getting awkward, but Horohoro wasn't gonna let that daunt him.
"Ren. I don't mind it. If it helps you to sleep with me -- for you to have some kinda teddy bear, I don't mind it at all. No matter how odd that seems or sounds." He laughed lightly, smiling as the other boy faced him again, eyes changed to reveal a little more vulnerability. "And I'd keep it between us. It's not like I'm gonna use it as fair game to tease you about it when we bicker. I'm not THAT much of a jerk!" Horohoro continued, keeping that same light tone of voice.
"It'd stay just between us..." Ren said softly, as if pleading for assurance.
"Just between us. My lips are sealed!" Horohoro made a movement as if to close his lips with an invisible zipper.
The zipper was broken however, as Horohoro's mouth fell slightly agape at the scene that graced him next.
Ren smiled.
Not his usual smirk, No! But... for the first time since he'd known Ren, Horohoro saw a genuine smile grace the boy's face. It made Ren look so much more gentle. Almost... sweet.
Horohoro mentally gave his thoughts a barrage of kicks as he grinned back.
"Alright." Ren said, smile falling, but the gentleness hadn't left his face quite yet. "But If the nightmares don't come..."
"If they don't come I'll leave you alone. Simple as that." Horohoro responded, voice sounding a lot heavier than he thought it would. There was also a rather odd tightening sensation in his throat...
"Alright. Fine." Ren said, and proceeded to finish his milk and toss the empty bottle in the recycling bin.
"Better get back to work..." He said before leaving the kitchen.
Horohoro set back to his laundry.
And that was that.
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After that, the day had passed rather uneventfully. Manta showed up for a surprise visit and ended up staying for dinner. He had complimented Horohoro heavily on his wonderful cooking, and Horohoro took it all in with a rather embarrassed attitude. He had NEVER been complimented on his cooking before. Especially this much.
Manta and Yoh had managed to slip away after dinner to go take a walk. Those two had always been the closest of the group...
Ren surprised Horohoro yet again that day by helping him do the dishes. The Chinese boy had silently followed him to the sink, and as Horohoro washed the dirty dishes, Ren would take them, dry them, and wander around to figure out where they went.
By the time they were through, it was time to see Manta off and go to bed.
The night was extremely hot, and with some reluctance, Horohoro opted to wear nothing but his boxers to bed. He knew that this would probably make the situation even MORE awkward for Ren, but Horohoro couldn't help it. It was just too damn HOT.
He settled himself into his futon, and laid his hands behind his head, staring up at the ceiling. It was all up to Ren as to how tonight would work out. Would the boy go straight to Horohoro, or attempt to drive the nightmares away alone? All Horohoro could do was wait.
Finally, Ren came in, softly opening and closing the sliding door and clicking the light off, plunging them into darkness. Their eyes met breifly, and Ren went to his own futon, sitting down and getting settled there.
'Ah. So that's how it's gonna go.' Horohoro thought. He moved his hands and curled up onto his side with his back to Ren. He had no intentions of falling asleep, however. He planned to wake Ren up if there was the slightest hint of a nightmare.
Ren meanwhile, facing the wall with eyes closed tightly, was trying in vain to will all threatening visions away before he descended into dreamland. He did NOT want to go through what happened last night again. More for his own sanity than anything else.
He had acknowledged to himself a while back, and ONLY to himself, that the opposite gender didn't interest him. It was a rather small acknowledgement, as Ren had really no intention of being in a relationship to begin with and he hadn't thought much of it.
It was blaring in his mind now, as it had been ever since this morning. He wanted desperately for Horohoro to just forget about everything that happened. To stop being so damned NICE to him. To let him suffer with his nightmares instead of offering comfort in the form of cuddling up to the other boy...
Because Ren liked it. He woke up feeling warmer and more comfortable than he had ever felt in his life. It had felt just so good to be held like that... and his body was filled with such odd sensations that he had never felt before in his life. He loved it and wanted to feel it again... to just run into those arms that Horohoro was offering freely and openly to him...
Those feelings scared him out of his mind. Almost as much as the nightmares.
But he wasn't gonna think about that now. All he needed to do now was concentrate on fighting off those nightmares. For a few minutes, he concentrated hard on keeping them at bay, before slipping off to sleep.
Horohoro lay there quietly. He had changed positions when he had heard the breathing next to him even out and was now observing Ren as he slept. He couldn't see
much of the other boy, just the back of his head, but it was good enough. The nightmares would come; Horohoro was sure of it, and when they did, he'd be right there and ready to help Ren escape.
The wait wasn't particularly long. Soon enough, Ren had turned onto his back, face contorted into an odd expression of pain and fear. Horohoro didn't hesitate a moment, but quickly shuffled out of his futon and next to Ren, firmly grasping the boy's shoulders and giving him a small shake.
"Come on... Wake up!" Horohoro muttered when Ren didn't respond to the first shake. Tears were beginning to slip from Ren's eyes...
Horohoro shook him again, a little harder this time. Golden eyes flew open and Ren gasped, struggling within Horohoro's grip to sit up. Horohoro let go and Ren flew into a sitting position, curling his knees to his chest and clutching his head in his hands.
"D-dammit...!" Ren choked out, his back shaking, though Horohoro had to admit, it wasn't as bad as last night. Horohoro must've woken him up just in time...
The words "Didn't I tell you so?" rested precariously on Horohoro's lips, but he thought better of speaking them aloud. Instead, he chose to run a hand soothingly along Ren's back, once again murmuring words of comfort.
Ren took some deep, gulping breaths, as he got ahold of his sobs. The nightmare hadn't progressed to more terrifying stages, thankfully because Horohoro woke him up just in time. The lingering ill feelings were quickly lifting however, as if the hand tracing gentle circles on his back was chasing them away with each soft turn and whisper of comfort. He found himself leaning towards the warmth at his side, and fell against Horohoro's chest unceremoniously, tucking his head against the other boy's neck, and allowing himself to be pulled into a firm embrace.
Horohoro continued to rub soothing circles against Ren's back as the other boy cuddled up to him. He almost missed the feeble whisper from the other boy.
"...You win."
Horohoro was about to protest that Ren didn't have to sound so upset about it, before the chinese boy murmured in a more louder tone that he was tired and that they should get to sleep. The embrace was broken, and both settled into Horohoro's futon, where the embrace was resumed and both boys drifted off into a peaceful sleep.
The shadows in the corners, daunted yet again, shrank back as far back as they could. It seemed as though they weren't going to be able to haunt the purple haired boy's dreams for a very long time...
~~~~~~~~~~~~ End Ch.3
Whee~ Uke!Ren! o.o;;
Sorry if the writing in this wasn't as good as previous chapters… for some reason, I'm extremely self-conscious about how this chapter came out… O_o;; I'm feeling as if I did kind of a sloppy job here… but then again, it's not my opinion that counts, it's YOURS! ^_^ So as always, PLEASE R/R!
And if anyone is interested in the character designs… (since I kinda mentioned something about Ren having a ponytail… ^.^;;) pictures will possibly be uploaded to my Deviant Art account. ( http://nekotenshi.deviantart.com ) I know there's kinda sorta one already… O_o;; but check it out if you wanna. ^_^
The reviews have kept me going, I must admit. So I thank everyone who's reviewed from the bottom of my heart. ^_^ I know it's kinda stupid of me to say that when I take this long to get a damned chapter out… O_o; but I kinda lost inspiration after awhile… but now I'm back in school, and my beta-reader is RIGHT there ready to whack me with her Mallet of Impending DOOM... so... ^^;;;
Without further ado~ Chapter three!
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Find Yourself a Back Door
Ch. 3 : Mutual Agreement
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Sunlight gathered in the small room the next morning, lighting up the dark corners and driving all shadows away and into hiding. It streamed through the small window, and onto the peacefully sleeping faces of the two occupants of the room. Both were curled up in each other's arms and sleeping soundly. Horohoro ever so often letting out a light snore.
After a short amount of time, the sun began to grow impatient with them and began shining very brightly in order to get the two up and out of bed. Horohoro's eyebrows scrunched together and a frown crossed his features as he began to wake and see the bright light behind his eyelids. He opened his eyes and blinked for a moment, adjusting them to the harsh light that was shining so happily into his face. He cursed under his breath, mumbled something incoherent, but probably relating to the "Damn sun shining in his face this early in the morning..." and promptly threw a pillow over his head. A light and nearly inaudible sound came from Horohoro's chest, and he lifted the pillow slightly off his head to peek down at what had made it.
Ren had his head comfortably pillowed on Horohoro's chest, just below his neck. Horo blinked for a moment, taking in this odd sight. Ren looked so defenseless while he was asleep. Helpless, peaceful... and also rather cutely innocent. Horohoro smiled gently.
Horohoro pushed the pillow entirely off his head and raised a hand to the side of Ren's face. He traced over a defined cheekbone, soft, silky bangs, and entangled his fingers within the long lock of hair that made up Ren's ponytail. He massaged the back of Ren's head softly, trying not to disturb the other boy.
Ren made a soft, sleepy murmuring noise in the back of his throat and cuddled closer, clinging more tightly to Horohoro's chest. Horohoro found himself chuckling at the sight.
"... Kawaii..."
Wait.
Freeze.
Horohoro blinked and resumed his earlier expression of surprise and curiosity. He felt his cheeks begin to color and burn bright red as he quickly withdrew his hand from Ren's long lock of purple hair.
"... What am I DOING?!" Horohoro whispered harshly to himself.
He laid his head back onto the pillow with a 'Wumph!' and a long sigh. What was he thinking?! Ren... cute? That was a new thought to enter his head. I mean, come ON! He wasn't...GAY!
...Right?
His opinion of Ren had changed completely. That's all. After last night...
Horohoro's lips drew out into a firm line as he recalled the night. Ren had nightmares. Not just any nightmares, but horrible, plaguing ones of his father. Horohoro had no idea that the other boy had been put through anything so harsh.
He had a feeling once Ren awoke, it would be back to their old bickering again. Ren was just trying to act tough. Horohoro frowned. Ren would stick it out and deny everything. Then night would fall and the nightmares would come back and the cycle would begin again.
He'd think about it later though. Horohoro slowly sat up, so as not to disturb Ren. He placed a pillow under Ren's head and got up. Ren frowned in his sleep.
Shower time.
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'Mmmm... That felt good...' Horohoro thought to himself as he towel-dried his hair. Nothing like a nice warm shower first thing in the morning to get you going.
Ok, so he was still sleepy. The events of last night caused him to miss an hour of sleep, and they had gone to bed pretty late to begin with. He'd prolly need a nap later on. Great.
A short and concise knock on the door interrupted Horohoro's drying process.
"Yeah yeah... one sec." He replied loudly to the door. He finished drying himself off, slipped on a loose black T-shirt with writing on it proclaiming "Stop staring at me" on the front and "Stop following me" on the back in bold white letters, and pulled on an old pair of jeans that had been ripped and torn in several places.
He rubbed the fogged up mirror to get a clear look at his appearance. His hair was messy and wet still, but it'd dry. He raked a hand through it one last time and turned towards the door.
He opened it with a flourish, steam spreading out behind him as he bowed forward.
"Your shower is ready, oh impatient one."
Ren stared at him briefly before storming past Horohoro and slamming the door behind him. Horohoro's eye twitched.
'Definitely NOT a morning person...'
It definitely confirmed the statement that they would be back to their old bickering again, though.
Soon, the sound of running water was heard, and Horohoro departed to go unpack a few things to make settling in easier.
He pulled off a box piled higher than the rest, thinking it was his. He opened it and observed the contents briefly before realizing it was Ren's. There was a picture frame laid on top of an elaborate chinese outfit, and Horohoro picked it up carefully.
The frame was made of a nice, dark, richly-colored wood. An exquisite chinese dragon wound it's way around the frame, curving and snaking it's way all around the carved wood. The picture behind the glass, however was far more interesting. It must have been taken some time ago... A much younger Ren stood in the very front, sullen expression on his face. An older girl, who could only be his sister by the looks of the green hair stood next to him, smiling jauntily and waving at the camera. There were two people standing behind the children, and Horohoro realized that he was looking at what could only be Ren's parents.
His mother could only be described as gorgeous. She had deep purple hair that framed her perfect, heart-shaped face and trailed down her shoulders. She wore a tired look on that face, which said she had been through a lot during her years, and had gained wisdom from it.
As for his father...
Horohoro turned his eyes to the face of the man who plagued Ren's dreams, suddenly feeling very protective. Ren's father was a stern-looking man, pointed face with jet-black hair that was pulled back into a tight bun. His beard curved slightly to a point as well, and he looked, well... evil. The typical image of any chinese villain in any storybook.
Horohoro carefully put the picture back in the box and moved it to the side, mouth set in a tight line.
He moved to a different box, and, discovering it as his own, began to unpack.
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As Horohoro suspected from Ren's earlier display, everything was back to normal. They bickered and argued and disagreed on things as usual, although both boy's efforts seemed half-hearted.
Anna put them to work almost immediately. Since Horohoro had gotten up before everyone else, he had gone and fixed breakfast out of habit. Turned out that Anna liked his cooking better than Yoh's, so he was charged with fixing meals from here on out. Shortly after, she assigned Yoh and Ren to cleaning the Onsen and scrubbing the decks.. There were also some rips in the rice paper walls that she wanted them to attend to. Horohoro had snickered to himself, thinking he would get away with the least amount of work, until Anna had rounded back on him and told him he also could do the laundry and wash the dishes after meals. He had sputtered loudly and Ren made some comment about Horohoro making a good housewife.
Between all the work each party was made to do, neither had much time to discuss the events of last night. That was... if Ren even WANTED to talk about it -- Horohoro certainly did; but... Ren was an entirely different matter. Horohoro had plenty of time to think while he worked. Despite appearances, Horohoro liked having a task at hand. He liked working hard and keeping busy, and whenever he was given a job, he'd do it as best as he could. At least he was never bored...
He thought things through over and over, imagining endless possible situations that could arise if he brought the subject up to Ren. He thought about what he'd do... what he'd say... and found himself unsure each time.
How could he convey his feelings? This was a VERY awkward subject!
You could look at it in any way you wanted to, but it was just not NORMAL for two boys to share the same bed. ESPECIALLY when one of said boys was clinging to the other like a lifeline.
But... Horohoro was surprisingly OK with it. It helped make Ren feel safer, right? So it couldn't be such a horrible thing.
No. Horohoro didn't mind it at all. He kept justifying it as he was just worried about the other boy, that he didn't like seeing people hurt for no reason. (Having this happen to, of all people, Tao Ren, scared him out of his wits quite frankly.) However, thinking of this morning, Horohoro could still remember the warmth upon waking up. How Ren's weight was comfortably draped across his chest. The softness of a pale cheek and the feathery feeling of Ren's hair... How he had felt so protective last night, just holding Ren and murmuring words of comfort as Ren sobbed into his chest...
Horohoro shook his head.
'I'm getting NOWHERE with thoughts like... like... THAT!' he thought, mentally scolding himself.
He decided that the correct moment would arise sooner or later during the day. He'd just have to see where it would take him. With that said, he quickly finished washing the dishes and went to gather the laundry.
Horohoro's moment finally came sometime after lunch.
Anna had stopped by for a bit to eat and promptly sat herself in front of the TV with a dish of crackers, Yoh and Ren began the deck scrubbing, and Horohoro set to unloading the first load of laundry and starting on the next.
As he was throwing the second load into the washing machine, Ren came into the kitchen, looking very hot and very sweaty. He made his way to the fridge with only a sideways glance in Horohoro's direction for acknowledgement, intent on getting a glass of milk. Horohoro continued the task at hand, and began to measure out the detergent to put in.
"Where's Yoh?" He asked.
"...Outside."
"Ah." Okay. That's good... no one to interrupt...
'Now...' Horohoro thought. 'How to start this out...'
He didn't have to think long, however, because Ren started the conversation first.
"Listen..." Ren said it cautiously; as if he was carefully thinking about every word. "About last night..."
Horohoro stopped measuring detergent to give Ren his full attention. The other boy seemed to be deeply considering something now; his face was set in concentration, as if he wasn't sure exactly what he wanted to say at this point. Finally, he must've come to a conclusion, because his expression became more determined, and he opened his mouth.
"Forget about it."
Horohoro stared blankly as Ren took another swig of milk. He had been expecting this to be Ren's reaction... but he hadn't been expecting Ren to come right out and say it. Nonetheless, Horohoro wasn't gonna let Ren get out of it that easily.
"Those nightmares will come back tonight, won't they?" Horohoro asked plainly. Ren just stared at him, not saying anything. Horohoro continued, "They'll come back, and it'll be the same thing all over again."
"It's not your problem." Ren said sharply, clearly getting annoyed now.
"I'm making it my problem." Horohoro responded evenly.
Ren narrowed his eyes, getting more and more angry as the seconds ticked by. He fumed silently and silence descended for a brief moment, before Ren closed his eyes tightly and took a deep breath.
"Why are you doing this?" He asked, finally.
"Because..." Horohoro started out, choosing his tone of voice carefully. He wanted to make sure Ren fully understood every word of what he was about to say. "Whether you want to believe it or not, I care, Ren. Like I said last night, stop pushing someone who's worried about you away!"
Ren flinched at the familiar words. Once again, he felt it really hard to push away the concern that was shining so brilliantly in Horohoro's eyes. He felt his resolve beginning to weaken under that gaze.
"Besides..." Horohoro said softly, "It helped. Didn't it? You came back after I went back to bed."
Horohoro watched as Ren averted his gaze, cheeks burning a vibrant red. Now it was apparent that this was getting awkward, but Horohoro wasn't gonna let that daunt him.
"Ren. I don't mind it. If it helps you to sleep with me -- for you to have some kinda teddy bear, I don't mind it at all. No matter how odd that seems or sounds." He laughed lightly, smiling as the other boy faced him again, eyes changed to reveal a little more vulnerability. "And I'd keep it between us. It's not like I'm gonna use it as fair game to tease you about it when we bicker. I'm not THAT much of a jerk!" Horohoro continued, keeping that same light tone of voice.
"It'd stay just between us..." Ren said softly, as if pleading for assurance.
"Just between us. My lips are sealed!" Horohoro made a movement as if to close his lips with an invisible zipper.
The zipper was broken however, as Horohoro's mouth fell slightly agape at the scene that graced him next.
Ren smiled.
Not his usual smirk, No! But... for the first time since he'd known Ren, Horohoro saw a genuine smile grace the boy's face. It made Ren look so much more gentle. Almost... sweet.
Horohoro mentally gave his thoughts a barrage of kicks as he grinned back.
"Alright." Ren said, smile falling, but the gentleness hadn't left his face quite yet. "But If the nightmares don't come..."
"If they don't come I'll leave you alone. Simple as that." Horohoro responded, voice sounding a lot heavier than he thought it would. There was also a rather odd tightening sensation in his throat...
"Alright. Fine." Ren said, and proceeded to finish his milk and toss the empty bottle in the recycling bin.
"Better get back to work..." He said before leaving the kitchen.
Horohoro set back to his laundry.
And that was that.
================================================
After that, the day had passed rather uneventfully. Manta showed up for a surprise visit and ended up staying for dinner. He had complimented Horohoro heavily on his wonderful cooking, and Horohoro took it all in with a rather embarrassed attitude. He had NEVER been complimented on his cooking before. Especially this much.
Manta and Yoh had managed to slip away after dinner to go take a walk. Those two had always been the closest of the group...
Ren surprised Horohoro yet again that day by helping him do the dishes. The Chinese boy had silently followed him to the sink, and as Horohoro washed the dirty dishes, Ren would take them, dry them, and wander around to figure out where they went.
By the time they were through, it was time to see Manta off and go to bed.
The night was extremely hot, and with some reluctance, Horohoro opted to wear nothing but his boxers to bed. He knew that this would probably make the situation even MORE awkward for Ren, but Horohoro couldn't help it. It was just too damn HOT.
He settled himself into his futon, and laid his hands behind his head, staring up at the ceiling. It was all up to Ren as to how tonight would work out. Would the boy go straight to Horohoro, or attempt to drive the nightmares away alone? All Horohoro could do was wait.
Finally, Ren came in, softly opening and closing the sliding door and clicking the light off, plunging them into darkness. Their eyes met breifly, and Ren went to his own futon, sitting down and getting settled there.
'Ah. So that's how it's gonna go.' Horohoro thought. He moved his hands and curled up onto his side with his back to Ren. He had no intentions of falling asleep, however. He planned to wake Ren up if there was the slightest hint of a nightmare.
Ren meanwhile, facing the wall with eyes closed tightly, was trying in vain to will all threatening visions away before he descended into dreamland. He did NOT want to go through what happened last night again. More for his own sanity than anything else.
He had acknowledged to himself a while back, and ONLY to himself, that the opposite gender didn't interest him. It was a rather small acknowledgement, as Ren had really no intention of being in a relationship to begin with and he hadn't thought much of it.
It was blaring in his mind now, as it had been ever since this morning. He wanted desperately for Horohoro to just forget about everything that happened. To stop being so damned NICE to him. To let him suffer with his nightmares instead of offering comfort in the form of cuddling up to the other boy...
Because Ren liked it. He woke up feeling warmer and more comfortable than he had ever felt in his life. It had felt just so good to be held like that... and his body was filled with such odd sensations that he had never felt before in his life. He loved it and wanted to feel it again... to just run into those arms that Horohoro was offering freely and openly to him...
Those feelings scared him out of his mind. Almost as much as the nightmares.
But he wasn't gonna think about that now. All he needed to do now was concentrate on fighting off those nightmares. For a few minutes, he concentrated hard on keeping them at bay, before slipping off to sleep.
Horohoro lay there quietly. He had changed positions when he had heard the breathing next to him even out and was now observing Ren as he slept. He couldn't see
much of the other boy, just the back of his head, but it was good enough. The nightmares would come; Horohoro was sure of it, and when they did, he'd be right there and ready to help Ren escape.
The wait wasn't particularly long. Soon enough, Ren had turned onto his back, face contorted into an odd expression of pain and fear. Horohoro didn't hesitate a moment, but quickly shuffled out of his futon and next to Ren, firmly grasping the boy's shoulders and giving him a small shake.
"Come on... Wake up!" Horohoro muttered when Ren didn't respond to the first shake. Tears were beginning to slip from Ren's eyes...
Horohoro shook him again, a little harder this time. Golden eyes flew open and Ren gasped, struggling within Horohoro's grip to sit up. Horohoro let go and Ren flew into a sitting position, curling his knees to his chest and clutching his head in his hands.
"D-dammit...!" Ren choked out, his back shaking, though Horohoro had to admit, it wasn't as bad as last night. Horohoro must've woken him up just in time...
The words "Didn't I tell you so?" rested precariously on Horohoro's lips, but he thought better of speaking them aloud. Instead, he chose to run a hand soothingly along Ren's back, once again murmuring words of comfort.
Ren took some deep, gulping breaths, as he got ahold of his sobs. The nightmare hadn't progressed to more terrifying stages, thankfully because Horohoro woke him up just in time. The lingering ill feelings were quickly lifting however, as if the hand tracing gentle circles on his back was chasing them away with each soft turn and whisper of comfort. He found himself leaning towards the warmth at his side, and fell against Horohoro's chest unceremoniously, tucking his head against the other boy's neck, and allowing himself to be pulled into a firm embrace.
Horohoro continued to rub soothing circles against Ren's back as the other boy cuddled up to him. He almost missed the feeble whisper from the other boy.
"...You win."
Horohoro was about to protest that Ren didn't have to sound so upset about it, before the chinese boy murmured in a more louder tone that he was tired and that they should get to sleep. The embrace was broken, and both settled into Horohoro's futon, where the embrace was resumed and both boys drifted off into a peaceful sleep.
The shadows in the corners, daunted yet again, shrank back as far back as they could. It seemed as though they weren't going to be able to haunt the purple haired boy's dreams for a very long time...
~~~~~~~~~~~~ End Ch.3
Whee~ Uke!Ren! o.o;;
Sorry if the writing in this wasn't as good as previous chapters… for some reason, I'm extremely self-conscious about how this chapter came out… O_o;; I'm feeling as if I did kind of a sloppy job here… but then again, it's not my opinion that counts, it's YOURS! ^_^ So as always, PLEASE R/R!
And if anyone is interested in the character designs… (since I kinda mentioned something about Ren having a ponytail… ^.^;;) pictures will possibly be uploaded to my Deviant Art account. ( http://nekotenshi.deviantart.com ) I know there's kinda sorta one already… O_o;; but check it out if you wanna. ^_^