Kurama lay on the bed, just staring up at the ceiling. He'd heard Yuusuke come in and he'd looked up, only to see his best friend stomp across the room and go right into the bathroom, slamming the door hard. Kurama looked at the door for a moment, then had laid back down, deciding not to bother him. It was one of Yuusuke's moods. He knew his friend well enough to know when to bother him and try to help him fix the problem and he knew when to let things go because Yuusuke just needed to blow off steam. At least… he had known Yuusuke that well.
Now he had his doubts. The Yuusuke he'd known a year ago was quite different. He was used to the school bully who really wasn't that much of a bully once you got the chance to see beyond his tough mask. He was used to carefree, almost air-headed boy who had the goofiest grin on the face of the planet, and who occasionally had made a hobby out of groping him in the hallways just to get his reaction. Yuusuke hadn't even seemed to care when he'd been slapped across the hallway into the other lockers, he'd just taken it as part of the game. Apparently he thought Kurama's blush was the best part of it.
And Yuusuke was the only one who Kurama let call him Kurama.
Kurama turned on the bed, rolling over on to his side as he looked at the wall. The paint had cracked in one area and was just starting to peel away, barely even noticeable, but he noticed it. And for lack of anything else to look at on the bland off-white wall he focused on it, just piecing through his thoughts.
It'd taken forever for Yuusuke to tell Kurama about his parents and his living situation. Kurama had suspected there was something wrong when he realized that Yuusuke was starting to spend more nights 'sleeping over' with his friend then he was at home. And he showed up to school looking tired, almost never with a lunch to eat. It had taken some prying and poking, but Kurama had finally been able to get him to spill about his home life. Or lack there of.
A mother who was almost constantly drunk or passed out and a father who left before Yuusuke could remember him. It really helped to explain a lot of Yuusuke's attitudes to Kurama. He was actually surprised the boy went to school at all, but Yuusuke's response was it got him out of the house, and anything was better then extended time with his mother.
So the two had become close friends. Kurama had even let Yuusuke use his nickname, Kurama, rather then his real birth name which was Shuuichi. It was a nick name he preferred to his real name, and if he could help it he used it instead. He just never let the teachers or other students know it. Because one time his parents had heard it, and they disapproved.
The last thing he wanted was for them to disapprove of him. If truth were told, that was actually his worst fear. Being disapproved and shunned because of it. Perhaps that was why he was actually the best student in his class.
The bathroom door opened and Yuusuke stepped back out, dressed in a loose robe as he rubbed his hair dry. Kurama sat up and glanced at him, and Yuusuke offered him an apologetic smile.
"Rough night?" Kurama asked.
"Very. Looks like I'll be sleeping in here."
Kurama just nodded, not asking more then that. A large part of him had wanted to ask what had happened, but he knew better. If Yuusuke wasn't looking like he wanted to spill the information but just didn't quite have the words for it, then there was a good chance that Kurama wasn't going to get anything out of him. Least not yet.
Then, on top of that, there was the fact that Yuusuke's life for the last year and a half was something Kurama hadn't been a part of. He'd shown up at the door to this place expecting to find his friend from school, expecting life to just pick up…
What he'd found was a much older friend who recognized him, but was still different. The Yuusuke who'd opened the bedroom door seemed taller, by just a bit, showing that his late growth spurt wasn't actually much to wait for. However the rest of the year's aging had been quite good for him, somehow managing to help him morph from the bullying clown that Kurama knew so well to someone that might actually be considered mature and sexy, especially considering the choice of clothing he'd become accustomed to with his new job.
And it was perhaps the new job that had changed him the most. Kurama could see a difference in the way Yuusuke acted. He thought about things more, and he wasn't prone to outbursts or yelling as much as he used to be. Where the high school Yuusuke would have blown up at someone and would have been barely able to keep from punching them, this Yuusuke had a more mature and aged look in his eyes, and Kurama actually saw him stopping and thinking more then usual. Granted, he still had his moments of bad temper, but they weren't as common as they used to be. And his eyes definitely held an age that could only be gained by living in the real world outside of school. It wasn't a bad thing by any means, but it was usually a look that wasn't gained until after high school was over and college was being considered.
Kurama turned on the bed to look at his old friend as he laid there and oriented his eyes on the same crack which had filled Kurama's vision a moment before. He wanted to say something, ask, anything. But this part of Yuusuke's new life was something he knew nothing about.
"There was a blow up." Yuusuke murmured. "Damn silver haired prince is a frickin asshole," he muttered angrily under his breath.
Kurama blinked. "Silver haired? I haven't met anyone here with silver hair…"
Yuusuke sighed. "And that's a good thing. Trust me, he's got a real attitude problem. Worse then mine." Kurama watched as his anger seemed to melt away and he sat up. "I should go check on the kid, I'm not going to get any sleep."
"Yuusuke… what happened?"
His friend turned and looked over at him, giving a small shrug. "You're still good at listening and talking right?"
Kurama nodded. "I'm out of a year's practice since you were gone, but I still manage."
"Good. Because there's a blond kid that needs a friend right now. And I have a feeling that none of us are going to be able to speak with him."
"Oh, because you're…" How did one say that? Every word that popped into Kurama's head seemed horribly offensive, and something like 'midnight entertainer' just seemed like a joke rather then politically correct. So he just left it hang, knowing that Yuusuke would know what he meant. Apparently Yuusuke hadn't found a good word for it yet either.
"Yeah. That."
Standing up Yuusuke led Kurama out of the room and to where the living room was. He must have guessed correctly, because Kurama immediately spotted a new blond boy sitting in the corner on a pillow. He seemed calm enough now, but from the fact that he was sitting in what could have easily been used as a hiding spot and he was still lightly hugging his knees, Kurama could tell he didn't look nearly this calm too long ago.
Haku was currently sitting next to the boy, but they weren't saying much, and Kurama could see that he was a bit uneasy and not sure what to say. Without waiting for Yuusuke to say anything, Kurama stepped forward and crossed the room. He glanced at Haku before kneeling down in front of the blond and extending his hand into his line of vision. Haku took the hint and stood up, quietly slipping away.
"Hey," he said softly, keeping his voice friendly and light. The blond in front of him reminded him of Yuusuke in a way, or at least the side of Yuusuke that no one was ever allowed to see. He looked in desperate need of a hug and some comfort, but it was also one of those looks that told you that any such attempt would quickly be rejected with a fake smile and an insistence that nothing was wrong.
The blond caught sight of his hand and slowly looked up, looking a little nervous. He met Kurama's eyes and blinked a bit, almost looking confused. "You're… new," he said quietly.
Kurama smiled softly and nodded, at least the kid had calmed down enough to speak. "I'm actually just visiting a friend, but no I'm not from around here. They asked me to come and talk to you because, well, Yuusuke thought you would be more comfortable speaking with me instead of someone else."
The blond winced a bit. "Because they all work the same as he does…. Yeah." He sighed and looked down. "That sounds real shallow doesn't it? I come here every night I can to sleep with Triton, and yet when it comes to speaking with one of them like a real person, I just can't."
"Believe me, I know how you feel. I just found out myself what Yuusuke does at night. It does take a bit to wrap your mind around it. I wouldn't worry about offending them, you can tell by the look in their eyes that they know what they do, and don't care."
Quatre lifted his head and looked past Kurama at the small group sitting over in the other side of the room talking. He sighed again and tried to relax a bit. "I should probably leave."
"You don't have to. You can stay. In fact, you look a bit hungry. You should at least stay to get something to eat."
Quatre shook his head, his fingers playing with the edge of the pillow. He sighed and glanced back up, his eyes crossing the room and obviously looking for someone. Someone who wasn't there.
"Did you want to go for a small walk… to somewhere where we can talk alone?" Kurama offered, just watching the boy. He could tell he was self conscious of the others hearing anything he wanted to say. More then likely the boy was just like him and Yuusuke and didn't know what words to use without offending them or making the situation worse. So the first thing to do was take him to a place where that wouldn't be an issue.
Apparently the blond liked that idea, because he slowly stood to his feet and responded with a small nod. Kurama gave him a smile and offered him a hand, then both of them walked out of the room.
After some searching they finally found a small room in the very back of the warehouse which had a few cleaning supplies and a pair of dead chairs which were falling apart with worn fabric and springs struggling to escape from the sides. Quatre dropped onto one of the chairs and blinked in surprise as it gave a crack and at the same time almost bounced him back out from how uneven it was. Kurama gave a small smile and eased into the other, making sure it was safe.
"So… you don't live here?"
Kurama shook his head. "I live a couple miles away. Yuusuke used to live down the street from me. He went missing so I came looking for him."
"Then he's got a good friend." Quatre sighed and pulled his knees back to his chest. "Is he like the others?"
"You mean the wings and horns and such? No. Yuusuke's only talent is to be incredibly annoying when he really wants to. And his short temper. Can I… ask what happened? Why you're here?"
"Some boys at school dared me. You probably don't know the rumors about this place, but some of them are pretty bad. People who sleep for money…that's the nicest one. Most of them are centered around… freaks and… monsters." Quatre winced saying those words, obviously not liking them. "But I know he's not that. He's just… hurt."
Kurama blinked, realizing that Quatre was talking about someone else. What was the name Yuusuke had said? "Triton?"
Quatre looked up. "You know him?"
"No, Yuusuke just said his name, that's all."
"Oh." Quatre looked back down. "I showed up the first night and stumbled into him, and he was nice to me. I tried to act bold and like I belonged here, but he kept calling me kid. But I paid and… we…"
Kurama couldn't help the small smile that crossed his face. "You fell in love."
Quatre seemed to wither up and nodded, tightly hugging his knees. "I didn't mean to. I know you're not supposed to. He told me not to. But I can't help it." Quatre sighed. "I made a big mistake, and you'd think I'd be upset about the fact that Karasu knocked me into the wall. I'm not… I'm upset I don't get to see him tonight and… and that was the last I had."
Kurama remained quiet as the blond boy finished spilling his thoughts. The two weren't that much different in age, in fact Quatre was probably only a year younger, if even, and yet this one had made the mistake of falling in love with one of the people here. Kurama had never worked at a brothel or a night time entertainment club, but he knew that falling in love was something that had to be forbidden. It only made sense. Falling in love with your clients severely curbed your method of income, not to mention that it made a difference in your performance at night when you were with others. It didn't take a jump of logic to figure that out.
So Quatre was faced with the prospect of a one sided love that he actually had to pay for to continue, and this had been his last chance. Kurama didn't know anything about Triton, but he had a feeling that any attempt at an appeal would probably be met with coldness or uncaring. Even if Triton returned the feelings, which seemed unlikely, there wasn't a good way out of this.
"Maybe… I can talk to Taski for you."
Quatre shook his head. "I don't want to create any more trouble. I'm already a bother. I should just go home and stay there."
"And give up."
Quatre started to nod, then stopped himself and ducked his head. "Y… yeah."
Kurama opened his mouth but stopped, settling down to sigh softly. The blond across from him was quite stubborn and almost as bad as Yuusuke, in his own way. He realized he could offer and offer all he wanted and maybe even attempt to force the boy into asking, but in the end it wouldn't hope. Both Kurama and Quatre knew he was fighting a losing battle and at this point, after a loss like this, forcing him to stay longer would only hurt him more. It was times like this that Kurama hated his rational mind.
Silence filled the room for a long moment, before Quatre finally stood up and stretched a bit, relaxing and seeming to shrug off his own feelings. He stepped toward Kurama and thanked him quietly, then turned to the door, moving to leave. Kurama didn't stand up to stop him, knowing better then that.
But the blond boy stopped himself at the door and glanced back. "You know, I just realized, you have the same eyes."
Kurama looked up and blinked in surprise. "What?"
"You and Triton. You have the same eyes. It's the same dark forest color that turns gold in the moonlight. I mean, I haven't seen yours in the moonlight... but I'm sure its the same."
A shiver moved down Kurama's back and he forced himself not to show it, his hands gripping tightly against the arms of the chair as he hoped Quatre didn't see. He didn't know what to say, so he just stayed silent, his entire body seeming to stop as if every part of him could hold its breath.
Quatre just shrugged it off and smiled. "Night." Then he left the room, heading for the front door. Kurama watched him leave in silence and was suddenly overcome by the strange urge to mimic his earlier posture, hugging his own knees to his chest.
A moment later he pushed away that feeling and stood up, heading back to Yuusuke's room where he spent his nights. He didn't understand why he felt so uneasy all of a sudden, but he was probably over reacting. He could tell the sun was close to rising outside and it was far too early in the morning to be awake unless you had a final the next day. What he needed right now was sleep.
Not some nagging voice in the back of his head that told him there was more to all this then being tired.