Hi everyone! It is I, Gocty. I've been away from the Beyblade fandom for a long, long time. Most of you guys probably don't recognize me, so to explain: I was quite active in this fandom a couple of years ago, but I stopped after running out of inspiration to write content about Beyblade. Many of my friends on here are no longer that active. I'm not even sure if anyone at all will read this story. I still miss writing fanfiction for this fandom, though. I'd like to think that my writing skills have improved a fair bit since my last Beyblade fanfiction (seriously, for your own sanity, DO NOT read my old fanfiction; it's terrible), and I'd like to think that there are still fellow Dynamis fans out there, waiting, hungry for more angsty fanfics about him.

It's good to be back, at least for a moment, not to mention that Dynamis deserves more love in this fandom. The fandom's changed a lot, but he's still my favorite character! I just had to get this story off my chest, for not writing it down just seemed too intense to bear. Dramatics aside, enjoy.

Oh, and one more thing! I'd also like to thank resplandorrosa626 for reviving my interest in Beyblade fanfiction! Your fics are amazing, and I love your character dynamics. If you're reading, thank-you for being the spark of inspiration I needed!

Also, very IMPORTANT warning: This fanfic contains themes of internalized homophobia, so if you're triggered by that, then proceed with caution, if you choose to do so at all. If you do not, do not worry. Your mental health is way more important than my dumb fanfic.

Also, this fanfic mentions and talks about sex, so if you're uncomfortable with that, you can most certainly leave if you want.

As they rode back from the battle, he felt numb.

As they gathered in the WBBA headquarters to celebrate, he felt numb.

As his friends cheered for Rago's defeat, he felt numb.

That was not Rago, he had to remind himself. That was Nemesis. The Rago he knew was gone.

Hands, cold. Face, stiff. Confusion. Confusion.

Why had he left? What did he have to leave him?

As soon as they all arrived back in Japan, Ryo demanded that they go straight to the doctor's office. Some groans. Some moans. Everyone wanted to beyblade, but they could not with their broken beys and broken bodies. Hesitantly, tentatively, they all agreed to go in for hospital treatment.

The hospital was so clean, so new, so strange. Dynamis fought his overwhelming urges to touch the walls, to touch the screens, to press his face against the cool glass of doors which moved on their own. Everything seemed as if it were made of magic. The lights had no fire in them. Horseless carriages roamed the streets, going faster than he could have ever imagined. Bright lights: everywhere. For the first time, Dynamis felt dizzy because everything was so bright. When they arrived in Japan, it was night, yet the city below was blinding. Dynamis squinted, unable to believe that the people of the city lit so many fires when it was dark.

They were not fires.

They were called electric lights, and Dynamis wanted to yank one off its base, just to make sure that it was real.

Ginga teased Dynamis as the doctor looked over them all. All of them, all of the legendary bladers, and quite a few others as well, had received injuries. Cuts, bruises. Some bones were about to break. Internal bleeding. Bleeding. Everyone looked so bloody and hurt.

Everyone except for him.

As Aguma sat next to Dynamis, Dynamis noticed how the other man's breaths ragged on. Up and down, up and down rose his chest, and Dynamis heard the hallow inhale, the unsteady exhale. Guilt.

"Whoa, Dynamis! You're, like, not injured at all! Haha! Guess you got lucky, then."

Dynamis did his best to smile. He lips strained, and so did his face. He contorted every muscle in his face so that he would not cry. He could not. Everyone wanted to celebrate. He could not ruin it. He could not ruin it. He could not ruin it.

Just stay strong, and smile. And pretend that everything is okay. And pretend that everything is not a mess, a complete and utter mess.

It was no coincidence that out of all the bladers who had battled against Nemesis, Dynamis seemed to not be hurt in the slightest.

Rago, even as Nemesis, would never hurt him.

That day, Dynamis died on the inside. He wanted to die. What was the point of living without him?

Dynamis could barely remember any event from the celebration party. He was just too lost, too alone, too afraid.

It was the Will of the Heavens.

Dynamis felt that he was being punished. He agonized as he attempted to ignore that part of him which screamed at him. It was screaming that he was an abomination, that he was a sin. He felt as if his very existence was sin. As his friends celebrated, Dynamis buried his face into his arms, fingers tangling in hair which had been so loving stroked by pale fingers. Those pale fingers were not his own.

He pretended to simply be tired, as to not ruin the moment, but he really was exhausted. He had been exhausted for a long time.

He did not know how long he could keep up this secret. This sin.

"Ginga and Madoka, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-"

Before King - who was currently visiting from America and on a months-long trip to Japan - could even finish, Madoka had started yelling. Gods, could that woman yell.

"YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT! STOP IT! STOP TALKING! I CAN'T STAND ALL YOU GUYS IN MY HAIR, ALL YOU BOYS TRYING TO -"

Dynamis did not pay attention to what Madoka said after that.

All he knew was that by the end of it, most of his friends - King and even Ginga included - lied on the ground, in a heap, panting, exhausted, and also undoubtedly frightened. Droves of bladers frantically unpiled themselves, stepping on top of each other, fighting to be the first one to get away from a livid Madoka.

Dynamis wanted to laugh, yet he could not.

Everywhere he went, he was reminded. At this age, all his friends ever talked about were crushes. Kisses. Teasing. Teasing about crushes. Why couldn't he just be normal? Strangers. Dynamis could not help but eavesdrop on the conversations of boys around his age. He just wanted to be like them. He just wanted to be normal.

"You think that Ami's pretty cute, right?"

"Don't tell me, you have a crush on her?!"

.

"Nah, I think Daitan's pretty nice!"

"Why's that?"

"Her hair, her clothes! Her person-"

"You just like her boobs!"

"Why you little twerp -"

.

"Man, I really want to ask Yoshiko out, but I'm just nervous, you know?"

"Don't be a chicken, man! Do it! Do it! Do it! Do it!"

"Okay, fine! Fine! I'll ask her out!"

Everywhere Dynamis went, his male peers constantly brought up love. Brought up girls. Boobs. Butts. Big boobs and big butts.

The pressure began to mount, began to build inside him like a lit fire cracker. His secret. He could not let it go. He had to tell someone. But he couldn't. But he had to; he'd die at this rate if the secret kept building! Kept festering! Kept growing and growing and growing in power. In pain. Everything felt so raw, so intense. He had to tell someone, anyone! Someone had to know what was going on! Someone had to know how to cure him! Why did he feel so alone?

Why did he have to be so alone?

Dynamis rejoined the crowd at the train station. He was on his way to B-Pit to pick up his now newly repaired Jade Jupiter. He still had not acclimatized himself to large groups of people. To buses. To trains. To the noise. The endless, the droning, the constant noise. It was good that he had not grown accustomed. The noise distracted him.

He had to go back to Mist Mountain, and soon, but not because he wanted peace and quiet. He had to cleanse himself. Purify himself. He felt unholy. He felt dirty. He needed to be punished. He needed the Heavens to punish his existence. He did not deserve to be happy. He was an abomination to the gods.

People stared at his robes. They stared at him.

What a funny-looking girl.

Dynamis hid in that security.

Dynamis sat down and held his stomach. He remembered the sensation, the bedsheets against his skin, his sweat, his helplessness against it all. He remembered his blood from the first time they did it. The way rough hands touched him. The way soft lips kissed him. Then, pleasure. Dynamis knew that he would never feel that way with a woman. He should not have wanted to feel that way again, but he did. He liked - loved - being naked and pinned against the bed. It made him feel so safe, so loved.

It had been only a month since it happened. Since he left him. But knew already knew. He already knew that he would never love another like he would him ever again.

When he picked Jupiter up from Madoka's careful hands, he should have been happy. He could not. He thanked Madoka and quietly tucked away his bey. Madoka smiled and sent him on his way. His bey just reminded him of him. They had defeated him, and he was not coming back.

Come back. Please come back. He was begging, please come back.

Dynamis had been shocked when the WBBA so graciously decided to host the legendary bladers after their battle with Nemesis. He felt that he did not deserve such kindness. Dynamis had sinned, and he felt dirty. His secret. His huge secret. What would they do if they found out? Honestly, he should have gone back, but he did not want to. Something told him to stay, just a little longer. He did not know at the time that by staying, he was saving himself. At the time, he did not know that he needed help. He did not know that he deserved help. He did not know that he was normal, that nothing was wrong with him.

"Dynamis, why are you so serious all the time?" King had asked, out of the blue, out of nowhere, really. He, Dynamis, Aguma, and Chris sat in one of the lobbies of the WBBA. Dynamis felt as if he was tainting the couch just by sitting on it. They had been in comfortable silence. Dynamis had been relieved within this silence. Had been.

Dynamis was taken aback. He was joking, right? King didn't think that he was that serious, right? That could not have been the case. His responsibilities; he had just cast them aside. He was not responsible. He was not serious. It had been months, and he had not returned to his shrine. It had been months, and he had not once looked at the Will of the Heavens for guidance. It had been months, and he still had not let go. It had been months, and he still could not shake these sinful thoughts. These overwhelming desires. Dynamis, at every waking moment, felt absolutely disgusting. He was disgusted at himself. At what he wanted.

Dynamis had no answer. He just put his elbows on his knees and rested his face in his hands.

He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. A strange wave of emotion smacked him right, there, and then. It was sudden. It was frightening. Feelings. Feelings. Too many feelings.

Don't cry.

Don't cry.

Don't cry.

In a single moment, months of work had been undone. All this time, he told himself that he was not allowed to cry. He couldn't cry over him.

Then, the sobbing began. Oh, god, the sobbing. What seemed to be months of tears just hit him, all at once, like a waterfall. What had come over him? What was happening to him? Dynamis was screaming how. He screamed until he could not scream anymore, until his throat was raw, until his voice grew hoarse. He started pulling at his hair. He didn't pay attention to the people around him. He didn't pay attention to anything other than his own cries. They were cries for help. He just needed to reach out and have someone, anyone, help.

He sat, frozen in place, unable to so much as begin breathing normally again. Tears slid down his face, then his chin, then down his neck and robes. Wails filled the room. He was shrieking as if he were some unholy ghost. Still crying. There was no sign that the crying would stop. Still crying. Still crying.

Chaos around him. Everything happened around him, but he could not focus on anything, not one little thing.

The room span.

Lights flickered in and out of existence.

He began to hyperventilate. He couldn't breathe. Gods, he could not breathe. Everything else was a blur. Memories, voices, lights, comforting hands, they all blended together.

At the moment, the only muttered sentence which penetrated Dynamis's mind, through his veil - his shield - of uncontrollable sobs was this:

"Sometimes, King, it's the quiet ones who need help the most."

Had it been five minutes? Ten? An hour? Ten hours? Time felt so irrelevant, yet, no matter how long he wept, they were still there. Hands continued to rub comfortingly up and down his back. They continued to pet his hair. Those around him - they had, for now, been caught up in the haze, and Dynamis could not pick them apart - continued to whisper words of comfort to him. They were soft. They were quiet.

Gods, Dynamis thought to himself. He did not deserve this. These people were too good for him. If they knew, they'd never want to touch him again. At this, his breath hitched in his throat. Air crashed its way, violently, out of his lungs. He felt as if he was going to pass out. Things were going black. The haze grew stronger. Was he dying? He felt like he was dying. Oh, gods, he was dying. He was finally being punished for the sins he had committed.

He collapsed, but instead of rolling onto the floor, he was caught. By who, he did not know.

A glass of water was shoved to his face.

"Drink. Please."

So he did. The coldness brought him back. Just as quickly as he had succumbed, he had snapped out of it. He looked around. He saw the concerned faces of King, Aguma, and Chris. Dynamis was shaking. He was trembling. His sobs, however, had calmed, and had been reduced to this helpless, pathetic whimper.

"Do you want to eat something?"

Dynamis shook his head.

"Does anything hurt?"

Dynamis shook his head again.

"Okay, listen to me. Take a deep breath in. Take a deep breath out. Breath in. Breath out. That's it. You're doing good, very good. Everything's going to be alright. Everything is going to be alright. There. There. See? Dynamis; Dynamis; stay with me; stay with us. You're okay. You're doing great. Everything is going to be okay. See? You're doing great. Breathe in. Breath out. In, out. In, out."

Dynamis looked up, his eyes red, his posture hunched, his normally tanned skin now pale as his robes.

"Dude," King said, all of a sudden, "the color from your face, it's gone! Dude, are you alright, are you- "

Chris shushed him by smacking him in the head. "Shut up; just let him calm down first!"

Aguma lied Dynamis down on the sofa. After a while, the room stopped spinning.

At some point, Chris had kicked King out because he was apparently being too loud. Aguma knelt at Dynamis's waist-side while Chris sat beside Dynamis on the couch. The couch was narrow, Dynamis had noticed, so Chris sat on the very edge of the seat's arm.

"Hey, buddy, welcome back." Chris smiled weakly.

"I apologize -"

"Don't be sorry."

Aguma spoke next. "Please, I know it may be hard, but please, I want you to confide in us. What's bothering you?"

Silence.

"I don't deserve your help." Dynamis shocked even himself as he said that aloud. He rolled over onto his side, away from his friends, so that he faced the back cushion of the sofa. It felt safer here.

More silence.

"No, Aguma, don't try to turn him back around. Just let him do what he wants to do."

"Dynamis," Aguma began, his voice softer than what Dynamis could have ever imagined. It reminded Dynamis of him. His voice. His voice had been so soft when it talked to him, whispered to him, told him that he loved him, "of course you deserve our help. Friend, you helped me. You helped convince me to join your side, to save this world; you convinced me that this world is worth saving -"

"I don't deserve to be saved." Dynamis, again, shocked himself as well as the others.

"Dynamis, please, you are worthy. The star fragment chose you."

"The star fragment must have made a mistake."

"You said so yourself; it could not have been a mistake! The star fragment chose, with its own will! It chose YOU."

"Dynamis," Chris began. His voice was rough, scratchy from years of blading in harsh conditions, but it spoke tentatively. It spoke softly, quietly. That relieved Dynamis. He needed nice, quiet voices. His ears were ringing. Everything was too bright. Everything was too loud. "Dynamis, why don't you think you're worthy?"

Then, it spilled. The secret he had kept for so, so long - kept for his entire goddamn life - spilled. And stained. But it was a release. A relief. Even if they hated him after this, it was a relief to finally, finally, finally tell someone, anyone.

"I am an abomination." It came out as a mumble, Dynamis was mumbling into the couch - perhaps in the hope that no one would hear - but it rang clear as day.

The group of three went quiet.

Aguma dared to speak. "Dynamis, why would you say that? Good god, Dynamis, why would you say that? You're not an abomination, you helped save the world, you -"

"BUT I AM!" Dynamis snapped up, eyes hard, body positioned like a cobra and ready to strike anyone who touched him. "AGUMA, I AM AN ABOMINATION." His voice was venom. His hands became claws as they gripped the couch. He held the cushion so hard that soon, he felt stuffing spill out in between his fingers. The stiches on the sofa began to pop.

"I AM AN ABOMINATION," Dynamis spat. He repeated. He was pathetic. He was desperate. He felt like a caged animal. He felt trapped. He slammed himself, buried himself, back into the sofa face-first. He tried to dig into the safety of the cushion. A hand was placed on his shoulder.

"Dynamis," Chris spoke once again, "I know you may not want to, but I want you to elaborate. Why are you an abomination?" His voice was still gentle, still soft. They were being so gentle to him.

"Please, Dynamis, please don't try to bury yourself into the couch. I know it feels safer that way, but please. What's wrong? Tell us. We can help you."

"Then cure me."

"Excuse me, what now?"

"Cure me."

"Of what?"

"My desires."

"What desires?"

"What I did."

"What did you do?"

Dynamis snapped up again, breath furiously held in his cheeks. He tried to restrain himself. He tried to keep it in. Keep it in. Keep it in. Keep it in.

He couldn't anymore.

He wailed, wailed as loud as he could through his raw throat. He was yelling at the top of his lungs. He was louder than the birds. Louder than a pride of lions. Louder than Madoka.

Dynamis sprung up, up and away, almost, as if he was about to launch himself to the sky. Aguma - gently - stopped him by gripping his arms and carefully pinning them behind his back.

And then it was out.

"I FELL IN LOVE WITH A MAN!"

And it was out.

And Dynamis was horrified. He was horrified at himself, horrified that his secret had finally been let out, as if some monstrous beast had escaped its prison, but nonetheless, this incredible wave of relief washed over him. This feeling did its best to wash the tears away.

"And I'll never love a woman in that way. I can never. I'll never."

Dynamis was gay. Dynamis was gay. Dynamis was gay.

Dynamis was gay.

Quick, think of something, anything to say to make him feel better.

God, god, god. Why did homophobia have to exist? Why couldn't gay people just live their lives in peace? Why couldn't idiots just leave them alone? Why couldn't the world just let them be happy? What did coming out of the closet so often have to be a fountain of tears and a flurry of cries and a begging for help?

"Help me; help me; help me."

Aguma had released Dynamis, only for the teen to curl up into a ball of robes. He trembled. He was scared. Chris knew that he was scared.

Dynamis needed help. He was asking for it, practically begging for it. He needed help. He had needed help for so, so long. Aguma and Chris looked at each other in dumbfoundedness, in exasperation.

Why had they not noticed sooner?

Why did it have to come to this?

Dynamis needed help, and no one had helped him.

Chris wanted to slap himself.

Sometimes, it's the quiet ones who need help the most.

"Dynamis. You're not an abomination. You're normal. Being gay is completely, totally, normal. There's nothing wrong with who you are or who you love."

Silence.

Slowly, Dynamis uncurled himself. He unfolded himself. He undid himself. At last, he was sitting on the couch, his posture so much looser, so much weaker, than Chris had ever seen before. He weakly folded his hands into his lap. His eyes were red. His eyeliner had been smeared, streaked with tears. The color to his face returned, but Chris knew that he still wasn't okay.

Dynamis whimpered. It was heartbreaking.

"What, what do you mean? What does... what does gay mean?" Dynamis looked so scared, so frightened, like a scared little dear. His eyes glazed over with tears. Chris could tell that he was barely keeping it together.

"It means that you're attracted to men," Chris explained.

Dynamis didn't say anything for a while. He was processing. Good god, had no one ever told him that being gay was a thing?

Right, he grew up in an isolated temple. Isolation was oftentimes a recipe for disaster for those who didn't fit in with the majority.

"Dynamis, gay people are in the minority, but there's nothing wrong with them."

"Are... are you? Are you?"

"Nope, not gay."

"So how could you understand, how could you just accept me... so easily?"

"I was a blader for hire!" Chris could not help but laugh, "I've met all sorts of people! Gay people, straight people, everyone in between! When you're out there, just beyblading for cash, you have to work with all sorts of different people! You have to trust people. You have to accept them. And besides, even if I hadn't met all those people, there's no reason why I would not like someone just because they were different! It doesn't make sense, man! If you liked the color red, you don't hate other people for liking blue better, right?"

"You're not an abomination."

Both Chris and Dynamis jumped slightly at the sudden interruption. Chris then realized that Aguma hadn't said a thing since Dynamis told them what was possibly the biggest secret he'd ever keep in his entire life.

"Dynamis, you are not an abomination." With that, Aguma walked out, but not before saying, "Take care of yourself. You deserve to be happy."

The silence returned, but not for long.

At this point, since Dynamis was no longer laying down, Chris was able to sit comfortably. He even invited King back in, seeing that Dynamis had sufficiently calmed down.

.

"You were just gay all this time?! I thought that you were dying, or that the world was about to end all over again! Geez, don't scare me again like that -"

Inviting King back was a mistake.

Chris slapped a shocked King clean across the face. "Zip it, Mars boy."

.

"Okay."

.

"So, now that you know, do others have to know now, too?" Dynamis asked. He looked shy. He still looked scared. He wasn't making eye-contact. It made Chris sad. It made him sad that Dynamis had been distressed about this for so long, and it took an entire mental breakdown just for him to hear that nothing was wrong with him, that he deserved help.

"You can take this at whatever pace you want. Even though we know, you're not obligated to tell other people if you don't want to. And we certainly won't tell anyone until you're ready." Chris then glared at King before elbowing him harshly. He said through gritted teeth, "Right. King?"

King nodded, probably more so out of fear than anything else, but as long as King didn't spill the beans before Dynamis was ready, that was fine. Although King was a massive, massive blabbermouth. Chris, even though he was not a religious man, prayed to god to keep King's mouth shut for the time being.

"Well, if you don't mind Dynamis, could you tell us more about it? You still seem pretty freaked out, so maybe talking about it will help." Chris had to be careful. But he also wanted for Dynamis to open up. Honestly, the kid probably needed therapy. He probably needed professional help for the cocktail of issues just simmering away inside him, but getting Dynamis to open up was probably a step in the right direction.

"What do you wish for me to disclose?"

"Anything you're comfortable with. And if you choose not to share, that's alright, too."

Dynamis went quiet for several minutes. He looked to be thinking. Chris closed his eyes and leaned back, not intending to interrupt. He could only hope that King would do the same.

Finally, Dynamis began to speak once more.

"Well... I fell in love... with a man. And... I... Can I share who he was?"

"Of course."

More silence, before finally-

"Rago."

"Rago? Who now?"

"The Black Son? Nemesis." It came out as a choked sobbed.

"Oh."

"I... I don't know what had come over me... Well... I... this was before... this was several months ago. This was months before all of this happened. We knew it wouldn't work, but... the desire was just too strong... I... I..." Dynamis took a moment to let the tears fall, but Chris didn't mind. It was nowhere near the level of the meltdown he'd had earlier, so he just let Dynamis cry it out before continuing.

"Please don't hate me for this. Please, please, I know he was the enemy, I know, but," Dynamis looked to be on the verge of tears again. Chris placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, indicating to him that it was alright. It told Dynamis that he had all the time in the world to tell what happened, and that Chris - and probably King - were not here to judge. Only to listen.

"He loves- loved me. I loved him. I still love him. I know I should not have fallen in love with him. He... he was the enemy, I know that, everything inside me was screaming at me, telling me not to do it, but I was so lonely. Growing up at the temple was so lonely. I spent all of my time alone, with my thoughts, with my desires, you know? I couldn't take it anymore. One day, Rago was climbing up the mountain for who knows what reason. He was exploring, exploring the world, I guess, taking one last chance to see the world before it was his time to destroy it, you know? We met. I was attracted to him, even though I knew who he was. He was surprisingly... shockingly, kind? Nice? Gentle? Nowhere near as monstrous as I had been told? I don't know... he wasn't the monster everyone had told me he was... He treated me, always treated me so kindly... So we began... a relationship. It just started... it started out so small, you know?

"The normal things. We held hands, we kissed each other on the cheek, we walked around the temple grounds, and Zeus seemed to have not struck Rago out of existence for being at the temple yet, so we continued on, even though we knew it wouldn't work.

"I was lovely. It was probably the best few months of my life, honestly. But things escalated... What began as an innocent friendship turned. It started with us kissing each other on the mouth. And I wanted more. And he wanted more. We started hugging. Then he... he started holding me, by the waist, like this," Dynamis wrapped his arms around his waist. Christ then noticed that while he disguised it by frequently moving his hands towards his lap, Dynamis in actuality was holding his stomach.

"Rago started kissing my neck. He started leaving... marks, I guess? I liked it. I knew that it was wrong -"

"Remember, there's nothing wrong with being gay." Chris knew he should not have interrupted, but Dynamis could not just keep putting himself down like this. "Besides, I can't really judge you for loving the enemy. I worked for them for a couple of months. Willingly I might add, too."

A tentative chuckle was shared amongst them.

"Right... right... And I... one thing led to another. He told me he loved me, that he'd always protect me. He was right. During the final battle with him... remember when afterwards, Ginga teased me about not being nearly as injured as everyone else? In fact, I hadn't been injured at all, really."

Chris and King nodded.

"Well... that wasn't a coincidence."

"Oh."

"Yes, so... we... when... when all that wasn't enough... when I still wanted more... Rago still wanted more... the desire was so intense. I thought that maybe if I did some kissing, some hand-holding, I'd get it out of my system, you know? Maybe then I would realize that I wasn't actually attracted to men. But it didn't work. I realized that I couldn't live without it. I loved every second of it. Being held. Being kissed. Being touched by a man. We started touching each other, but what started out as small grew and grew and grew. Eventually... eventually... oh, gods, this is so hard to say... eventually, we started having... we started... we started having sex."

All the while, Christ nodded. King looked ready to speak multiple times, but the glares Chris sent his way told King that unless it was important, or constructive, or necessary, then he should just zip it. While Chris knew that King meant well, knew that he was a nice guy, Chris also knew that he could be reckless without even realizing it. Dynamis was in a fragile state right now. He needed to be listened to.

"And the sex... well, it hurt at first. Actually... now that I think about it... it felt good, but it hurt."

Christ quirked his eyebrow in concern. "You know, I don't mean to interrupt, but from what I've heard from other people who've done what you've done, it's not supposed to hurt, especially if you use lube."

"Wait, what's lube?" Dynamis asked, curiously.

Chris and King looked at each other, then looked upon Dynamis in horror.

"Did... I do something wrong?"

Silence.

"So..." Chris didn't try to stop King this time. Dynamis needed to know... he couldn't have been that oblivious... right? "Dynamis... you're telling me, telling us, that you don't even know what lube is?"

"No...?"

"THAT'S WHY IT HURT! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO USE LUBE, YOU DUMMY!" King looked panicked. That made Chris panic even more.

"What IS lube?"

Silence. More panic.

Christ decided to take one for the team. "It's stuff... it's like a gel that a lot of people use when they have sex. It'd actually be pretty important in your case. You did stuff with your butt, right?"

Dynamis turned red, but he nodded. "Yes... it was my butt."

"Well, the butt's... let's just say dry? So you'd need some... moisture, so to speak, to make things easier. Smoother. Less painful..."

King's eyes widened with another realization. "Wait, Dynamis, please tell me you know what a condom is."

"A what now?"

Shock.

This poor man had been being man-handled and he didn't even know it. No lube... no condoms... now that's a recipe for a sore butt.

"You know, that little thing... you put on your," Chris leaned in close so that he could whisper, "your penis?"

"What? I don't understand." Dynamis looked on in confusion. He crossed his arms. He pouted. "Now you're going to tell me that it's not normal for my blood to appear on the bedsheets the next morning!"

More horror was exchanged between Chris and King.

This poor, poor man.

"I'll take that as a no."

"No, that is NOT normal," both King and Chris informed Dynamis simultaneously. Frantically.

Dynamis could take this at whatever rate he wanted, but what he needed NOW, as in IMMEDIATELY, was a crash course on how to have safe sex.

Good god, were they going to need a lot of bananas.

Chris felt a jolt of concern as he glanced at Dynamis, who had started to awkwardly fiddle with his fingerless glove.

Good god, that man had been grieving, and nobody even knew it.

Good god, did this man need help.

Chris remembered Dynamis had said that he should go back to Mist Mountain. Chris knew, though. He knew that it really, really wasn't good for Dynamis to be alone like that. It was a bad idea for him to go back.

Dynamis needed help.

Dynamis needed his friends.

Please, Dynamis. Don't go. Don't leave.

Stay.

We can help you.

I'm not quite sure if I'll leave this as a one-shot of if I'll expand on it in future chapters. It depends on how well this story does, I guess, but admittedly this was quite the spontaneous passion project. It's less edited than any of my normal work, so there may be lots of mistakes I haven't noticed. It's rougher as well. I wasn't as careful about writing as I usually am for my other fanfics. I enjoyed writing it, though, and while I'm not sure whether or not you enjoyed reading it, I still hope that you're doing well.

Good day, everyone. I'm not sure when I'll see this fandom again, but it was nice to pop on by and just see how everyone's doing. :)