My name is Ninebrels, and I'm falling in love with a stranger.

It's been three days since I first came across Jask. Three days since I decided to bring him to my home to wait out the storm. And only two days since I found him crying in the night and helped bring him some comfort.

I don't know where things stand between us now. Jask is polite and friendly whenever I'm around. He asks questions about myself, my home, my people. But at the same time, he is nervous around me. I'll catch him sneaking looks at me when I'm not watching him, but he'll quickly duck his eyes away as soon as I seem to notice. When we train, he is more focused on me than he is my or his fighting. And he must surely realize that I'm aware of his hands lingering on me.

He will not say it, and given what I've been able to glean about his home and his people, I can hardly blame him for that. They seem intolerant of people who prefer their own gender. People like Jask. ...he really is not as good at hiding it as he thinks.

I've never dealt with something like this before. Here, things are not like that. Most of my people, myself included, don't even care about gender. It's irrelevant to us. Those who do have a specific preference, whether it be their own or the opposite, they are a much smaller minority...but they're a minority that is respected. Treated with equal dignity to anybody else.

Not shunned. Not forced into hiding, as I can only presume Jask has been. Not driven to the point that they struggle to sleep sometimes, ending up crying against a window bemoaning being the way that they are.

It's a damn shame, to be honest. Jask deserves better.

I don't know why I find myself so drawn to him. Maybe it's that air of dangerousness that surrounds him. I've always been drawn to adventure, and daring, and exploring everything before me regardless of risk. Now I'm face to face with somebody who lives that life, perhaps it's only natural that I want to be a part of theirs.

Or maybe it's that pain in him, so raw and undeserved. Maybe I think I can do something about it, make him better. Maybe I'm filled with nothing but your typical "I can fix him" fixation.

I don't know, but I don't think so. Because what I can say, is that every time I lay eyes on him, my heartbeat goes a little faster. It doesn't matter if he's doing anything exciting or talking about something dangerous, it doesn't matter if he's sobbing his eyes out or stewing in quiet anguish. All I have to do is look at him sitting at a table waiting for a meal, relaxing in the library reading a book. Hell, just watching him walk down the hall makes my heart do a flip of joy.

But I say nothing. I don't know if he's ready to admit to feeling anything. I'm terrified that if I speak up, if I go to him and tell him just how he makes me feel...I'll only end up making it worse. Hurting him more. Adding to his pain instead of taking away from it. And that's the last thing I would ever want to do right now.

So, I stay quiet. I maintain my distance for the time being.

The rain still pours outside. It's likely to be several days more before it finally lets up, and hopefully, by that time, one of us will have figured out what we're supposed to do.

Jask watches me as I prepare lunch for the both of us. I can feel his gaze as I stand before the counter, slicing apart a green stalk before mashing its pieces down further, continuing until they form a green paste. I scrape it into a bowl before pouring in some white liquid, stirring until I get the consistency I want.

I'm resisting the urge to look back at him. I don't want him to be scared away again, so I think desperately for a way to respond without that.

Drawing some of the paste from the bowl, I form it into a patty, placing it on a tray before starting on a second.

"You know..." I say without turning, keeping my eyes on my work. "You still haven't told me much about your home." Jask is silent for a few seconds before he replies.

"Not much to say, really." he says.

"Nah, there has to be more." I place another patty on the tray, carrying it over to the stove and placing it over the flame.

"Such as?" Jask asks. I finally look at him as I move to retrieve a squeezable container of moderately thick sauce, bright orange in color.

"Well..." I set the container on the table before moving to a cupboard and retrieving a couple of wheat buns. "How about this? Most of what you've told me so far has been about things you don't have, or don't like. What about the place DO you like?" I set the buns down, opening them. Jask contemplates before he gives me answer.

"I'll say this for the Hive Queens..." he says. "They can be royal bitches sometimes, but they make some fantastic honey."

"Ho...ney..." I say testingly. My unfamiliarity with the word doesn't escape his notice.

"For real?" he asks. "You don't have honey here?"

"Nope." I shake my head. "I don't even know what it could possibly be, Jask. You'll have to enlighten me."

"It's a gooey substance made from nectar." Jask explains. As he speaks, I grab a spatula and flip the patties to their other side, the bottoms now nicely browned from the heat, the outer layer searing together into a thin protective shell. "One of the sweetest things I've ever tasted. Really was just the perfect thing to cap off a meal."

"Hmm." I dig around in a cupboard and locate a bag of thin white chips, pouring a helping onto two plates. "I bet you could whip up some awesome dishes with it."

"Probably." Jask agrees. "If we did that sort of thing."

"I could teach you." I offer, the thought just sorta popping into my head. Jask seems surprised by the suggestion. "I mean, you're teaching me." I nod to his swords. "Only seems fair that I return the favor in some fashion."

"You really think you could?" Jask asks.

"Sure." I shrug. "It's not so difficult, honestly. You'll get the hang of it in no time." I grab two glasses and fill them with a light green watery liquid, tossing a packet of some sort of powder onto the table with it.

"Okay." Jask nods. "Thank you."

"Ah, it's nothing." I smile as I head to retrieve the patties, scooping up one with the spatula. "Though it might be a while before you can do it like THIS." Tossing the patty a few times on the spatula, I fling it toward the table, landing neatly on one of the buns. Going for the other, I repeat the process, landing on the other as I twirl the spatula.

Jask laughs and claps his hands as I do a dramatic bow before walking over and taking a seat.

"Most impressive indeed." Jask grins at me. "Unnecessary, but impressive."

"Hey." I grab up the bottle of sauce and wink. "A little flourish never hurts." I flip the bottle and squirt a line of the sauce onto the patties, spiraling it inwards to the center. Repeating the process with the other, I set the sauce aside and place the top buns onto them. As I do, Jask's eys flick away from me. I swear there's a flush to his face. Placing his burger on his plate, I hold it out to him.

"Thanks." Jask takes it, his fingers briefly coming into contact with mine, sending an electric surge of excitement up me as they hesitate for a moment before he pulls the plate away.

"So..." I say, wanting to keep the conversation rolling before he figures out that I noticed. "What else about your home do you like?" Ripping open the packet I put on the table, I pour half into each of our drinks, causing them to begin bubbling.

"Mmm..." Jask hesitates as he raises his burger. "I enjoyed learning how to fight." He says. "My teacher was really smart and clever, with a ton of tricks to him."

"He still around?" I ask. A dark look comes over Jask's face.

"No..." He shakes his head. "He uh...he passed away, unfortunately."

"I'm sorry." I say quietly after a moment. "I didn't know."

"Course." Jask manages a small, halfhearted smile. "Duh, that's why you asked." I think about asking how it happened, but something tells me Jask doesn't want to relive that. Instead, I simply take a bite out of my burger, prompting Jask to do the same. "Mmm..." His face grows confused as he chews. "You sure this is plant-based?"

"Yep." I nod. "Why?"

"Cuz it's got a really meaty taste to it." He tells me, taking another bite and chewing carefully. "Not exact, but close enough I have to really focus to tell the difference."

"I see." I shrug, taking another bite of my own. "I wouldn't know."

"It is good though." Jask assures. "Just caught me by surprise." I pop one of the chips into my mouth, chewing on the salty flake as he goes on. "What about you? What do you love most about this place?"

"Hmm...what I love most..." I consider the question carefully. Unlike Jask, who seems to have to dig for positive things to say, I have no shortage, but which one means the most to me? "I think...I think I would have to go with the unconditional support."

"The what?" Jask asks.

"You know..." I wave. "Everyone here looks out for each other, and cares unconditionally for their neighbors. They'll stand behind them no matter what choices they make, whatever path they choose to follow in life."

"Sounds nice..." Jask's face takes on a troubled frown. "What if somebody decides to do something bad though?"

"Like what?" I ask.

"Like..." Jask seems baffled by my question. "Like, well, what if they steal from somebody, just as an example. Or something worse?"

"Oh." I shake my head. "Never been an issue. We're an inherently peaceful people." I smile. "I mean, I'm the only one who wanted to learn to fight at all. What does that tell you?" My smile fades. "I guess your planet does have people who act like that?"

"Some." He frowns. "They don't...last long though." He finishes the last bite of his burger and downs the rest of his drink, quickly standing. "Hey, I gotta go to the restroom." He says quickly, moving for the door.

"Jask?" I call. "Are you..." The door closes behind him. "...no, you're not okay." I sigh, wondering what it was that I said.

I spend the next fifteen minutes pacing in the kitchen, trying to clean up after lunch, but unable to get my mind to focus on it. I'm far too busy debating about what do.

Eventually, I find myself standing outside the library door, tentatively raising my hand and knocking.

"Jask?" I call. "You in there?"

I wait as silence comes back, long enough for me to realize that it's my own library and I really don't need to be asking permission to enter. All the same, it somehow feels like the right thing to do, and eventually, an answer comes back.

"Yeah." Jask's voice emerges. "Come in."

I open the door and slide in, closing it gently behind me. Jask is seated beneath the room's primary light, a book open in front of him, his eyes moving side to side as he reads through it, unusually fast, from my perspective. I quietly walk closer, all the ideas of what I was going to say abandoning me with every step.

After the silence becomes too awkward, Jask looks up at me curiously. My eyes move away from his and to the book he's holding. The title is simply 'Home'. It's a story about a young boy who, tired of his family dictating his life, runs away from home, ending up on an adventure that takes him across the world and eventually leads to him falling in love, and by the end, he comes to realize that his home isn't really a place, but a feeling, and that his real home is on the road.

"I love that one." I'm supposed to be saying something much more important, but at least it's something. Jask looks to the book and smiles.

"It's good so far." he agrees. I eye up his position in the book, thinking the story over and estimating where he is.

"You're past the point where he meets Anna, right?" Jask nods a yes to my question.

"She's great." he smiles. "I like how no-nonsense she is. Great counterpoint to Otto's...shall we say, privacy."

"Mhmm." I tilt my head. "You know, that book flopped." Jask looks at me curiously. "Most people didn't like it. They thought Otto was selfish for leaving his family behind like that, and that the story's message was weird, maybe a little off-kilter."

"I see." Jask looks back to the book. "I suppose I can understand where that would come from."

"Same. But I can't help but love it." I sigh. "I guess I just understand where Otto's coming from, when he talks about how his family's plans for him don't excite him, and he wants to do something different, something not because he has to, but because he wants to, and it makes him happy." I shrug. "Never found a character I related to in quite the same manner."

"Yeah..." Jask muses. "His parents are kinda dicks too, aren't they?" I can't help but laugh.

"That too." I agree.

"Always talking about how what he feels doesn't matter." Jask frowns. "And that he needs to put the family before himself." I'm unable to say much of anything back. I get the feeling that Jask just told me a way that he relates to Otto, similar to how I did before.

"Listen, Jask..." I at last speak up. "I'm sorry about what I said."

"What?" Jask furrows his brow in confusion, and hell does that make him look cute. I swallow nervously.

"At lunch." I clarify. "I don't know...what exactly it was I said that made you react like that, but...whatever it was, I'm sorry." Jask stares at me and I almost want to jump up and leave, now that I've said my piece, but I can't bring myself to break his gaze. Sighing, he shakes his head.

"It wasn't anything you said." he tells me. "It's just...memories."

"About your home?" I ask, immediately wanting to bite my tongue afterwards as a look of sorrow comes up in Jask's eyes "Hey, listen, I didn't need to ask that, and you don't need to answer it." I quickly rise to my feet. "Sorry, again."

"Ninebrels." he calls as I start to turn away. He points to the chair. "Will you sit back down...please?" he asks nervously. Slowly, I nod and return to my seat. Jask locates a bookmark and places it in the novel before closing and setting it aside. "It's not you, as I said. I promise you it's not. I just..." He struggles to go on, and I want nothing more than to sit forward and place a hand on his knee to reassure him, but every instinct in me screams that will scare him away.

"It's alright." I tell him. "You don't have to tell me. Really."

"No, but I want...I want you to know that it wasn't your fault." he sighs. "I was telling you about my teacher, right?"

"Yeah..." I say slowly. That was not the direction I was expecting him to go.

"Well, the way he passed away...he didn't, really. He was...he was killed." he says sadly. I almost feel like slapping myself. Of course that was what had gotten him so unsettled.

"I..." Jask shaking his head cuts me off before I can say anything.

"That's not even the worst part." he tells me. "The worst part is the why and how." He swallows. "My teacher...see, he wasn't like everyone else on my world."

"Ohhhh..." I'm starting to get the feeling that I do in fact know where this is going.

"He was gentle, and kind, and compassionate." Jask goes on. "He could kick your ass in a heartbeat, but he never would unless you gave him one heck of a reason. He didn't like to fight, he was just good at it. But more importantly...he didn't want to reproduce with the Hive Keepers."

"He was gay?" I ask. Jask shakes his head slowly.

"I don't think so." he says. "I never got that impression from him. I just don't think he had any interest in anybody, honestly." He sighs. "But, you don't go to the Hive Keepers long enough, and sooner or later, rumors start to get spread around."

I have nothing. How am I supposed to respond to that? The notion that such a person would be killed just over a rumor of who they are, sickens me to my core, a feeling that only deepens when I realize Jask must imagine the same will happen to him.

"I saw it happen." I almost close my eyes; how did it just get worse? "He took a lot of them down with him, but in the end..." He shook his head. "I...he didn't...there was no chance he could've ever escaped it."

The silence in the room is so heavy, I feel like I'm being crushed, and I can only imagine that it's worse for Jask. I have to say something, have to figure out something to tell him, something to make it better.

"Thank you." I offer. "For telling..." I frown, that sounds so empty to me. "For being that open." I try, hoping that might improve it somehow.

"I wish..." Jask sighs. "I wish my teacher could've had a better life, you know? Someplace..." He waved around him. "Someplace like this, for example. He would've loved it here."

"I'm sure he would've." I give him the best smile I can muster. "And I'm sure everyone here would've loved him too." After a moment, I stand and move closer, nervously resting a hand on his shoulder. "I'll let you...get back to your book." I say quietly. Jask nods slowly as I head to the door, offering one last nod before I close it behind me.

After leaving Jask, I head back to the kitchen and dive more properly into cleaning up. With my mind a bit more clear, it's a much simpler task. Before long, I've washed, dried, and put away the dishes, wiped down the table, and even gone about dusting the tops of the cupboards. It has been a while since I've done that particular chore.

Once I'm done, though, my mind begins to spin once again, as I start to think over Jask's story more. That bit at the end, about wishing his teacher could've lived someplace like this...was that actually about Jask himself, underneath it all? Maybe not, perhaps I'm wishfully reading too much into it, but what if it was? Was I meant to pick up on that? What did I even respond to that with?

"Oh god..." I mutter to myself as I remember what it was, my own words echoing through my head. 'I'm sure everybody here would've loved him too.' A blush crosses my face. If that WAS about Jask, then did I just...?

I sincerely hope I'm just reading too much into this all.

I decide that I really need to go to my quiet room. There's too much going on in my mind again, and I really just need to relax and zone out entirely.

I enter the room, the chairs still pushed together from a few nights ago. My mind wanders back to that as I approach, sitting and reaching out a hand, rubbing against his chair arm as I remember comforting him.

Closing my eyes, it feels like I'm there again, feeling his head resting against my shoulder, hearing the sound of his breathing become more and more steady as he tires until it turns entirely into the sound of him drifting to sleep. I can still smell his lingering scent on the chair.

Grabbing up my instrument, I position it on myself and try to play something, but my mind is betraying me, going elsewhere. Back to the book Jask is currently reading. A scene comes to mind, one of the earlier interactions between Otto and Anna.

I remember the two sitting on the edge of a towering bridge over a massive river. Anna sat on the very edge, her feet dangling over the side, kicking back and forth through the air, while Otto sat a bit further back, cross-legged and definitely less likely to slide off the edge. The two of them had just met and spent the entire day hanging out, the street girl showing Otto all of her favorite hangouts and places of interest for surviving on the streets. Now that the day was coming to an end and the sun setting, they were just sitting there, talking and watching it set.

'Whatcha gonna do with your life?' Anna asked.

'Hmm?' Her question confused Otto.

'Ya know...' she shrugged. 'Whatcha gonna spend the rest of your life doing? Job? Stay-at-home type?'

'Supposed to take over my parents' job.' Otto told her.

'Kinda late for that, ain't it, Mr. Runaway? And I didn't ask what your parernts wanted from you, dummy.' she chided. 'I asked what YOU want to do with your life.'

Somewhere as I've been thinking, my fingers have finally started moving, playing the instrument in my hands with a soft, reflective tone, something that I'm entirely unaware I'm doing at all.

'Honesty, I'm not sure.' Otto had told Anna. 'I've looked at every career I can think of, and none of them...they just don't appeal to me. I don't know what my path is supposed to be. Maybe I just don't have one at all.'

'Don't be stupid.' Anna snorted. 'Everybody has a path. Now, you listen to me, very carefully this time.' She flicked at his ear, making him tilt his head away in annoyance. 'Forget what anyone has told you. Forget anything you've thought about before. Right now, this moment, what do you want to do more than anything?' Otto didn't give her an answer, not sure if he wanted to say the first thing that came to his mind. 'Well? Out with it!'

'What we just did!' Otto at last told her, Anna blinking in surprise. 'Just...going around, seeing new things, exploring, never spending too long in the same place. Always something new around the horizon.' He looked down. 'I used to dream about doing that. I'd live off doing odd jobs for people I met along the way. Whatever they needed done, I'd help them with, and they could give me food or money or a place to spend a night in exchange. And then I'd move, to the next, and on and on and on.' He shook his head. 'It's a stupid dream.'

'...you're an interesting guy, Otto.' Anna said with a laugh.

'Interesting is what people say when they think what you said is dumb, but don't want to be rude.' Otto muttered.

'No, it ain't.' Anna narrowed her eyes. 'And you know perfectly well I will be rude to you when you earn it, moron.' Otto couldn't help but laugh.

'Yeah...guess you will.' he agreed.

'So...let's do it.' Anna suggested, Otto's head turning her way in shock. 'You're already a runaway. What's stopping us? Might as well be a runaway living the dream.'

'Us?' Otto asked.

'Well yeah, I'm coming with you, obviously.' Anna scoffed. 'You wouldn't last a day without my guidance.' She looked at him sideways. 'Don't you dare try to argue with me on this.' A smile slowly crept over Otto's face.

'Wouldn't think of it.' he told her.

I finally notice that I'm playing a melancholy song and my hands come to a stop. Sighing, I set the instrument aside and stand, beginning to pace about the room.

Otto and Anna had pulled it off, a whole whirlwind of adventures, struggles, and triumphs throughout the rest of the book. They had eventually married and lived a happy life together, on the road as Otto had always dreamed.

I'd meant what I told Jask earlier. I really do love that book. Hell, I had thought to follow Otto's path when I first read it. Packed up and everything; I had been completely ready to ditch and explore more of the planet, maybe eventually more of the universe if I could find a ride offworld.

Something had stopped me, and I still didn't know what it was. To this day, a part of me screams that I should do it. But something had been...off, is the only way I can put it. My mind comes back to Jask yet again, and I can't figure out what to think.

Being in this room isn't helping me. It always has, anytime I need to calm my nerves or focus, I have always been able to come here and achieve it. Now, I am just as much a mess as before I came in.

I move back to the seat and scoop up my instrument yet again, coming to a decision. If I can't achieve inner quiet in this room, I might as well go the other direction.

I begin to play again, a song unlike any I have ever played before. Faster, louder, harder I play, the song bouncing off the walls and positively filling the room as I pour everything into it, the loud, angry, but undeniably passionate beat sinking into me as I close my eyes.

Soon, I begin to tire, in more ways than one. My arms need rest from their speedy strumming and the feeling in me begins to calm and burn out. Sighing, I set the instrument aside, raising a hand and rubbing at my eyes as I contemplate.

A sound reaches my ears, pulling me out of my thoughts. My eyes slowly rise up to find Jask standing before me, clapping his hands.

"How...?" I try to speak, fail miserably for a moment before I manage to remember how words work. "How long have you been...?"

"Most of that song." Jask tells me. "I could hear that all the way into the library."

"Sorry for disturbing you." I mutter.

"It's alright." Jask takes a seat beside, looking at me in uncertainty. "What's bothering you?" he questions.

"Who said something's bothering me?" I ask.

"You did." Jask nods to my instrument. "Through that. And I just wanted to know..." He stops and frowns. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

There are absolutely things he could do to help.

"Nah. I'll be fine." I lie. Jask continues to stare at me, clearly not buying it. I shift in my seat under his gaze until he finally rises and holds out a hand.

"C'mon." he tells me. "Let's train."

"Why?" I ask, nonetheless allowing him to pull me to my feet.

"You clearly have a ton of stress about you right now, and you need to work it out of your system." he tells me.

"I just did that." I protest.

"You need to do it more." he insists, marching to the door and holding it open. "Now come on. Let's go."

The training session in the back of the house easily goes on for a solid hour. For all of Jask's talk about me being the one to need to work some stress out, he seems like he's getting just as much out of it.

We take turns the entire time, one of us being the aggressive fighter while the other plays defensive and tries to counter them. Currently, it's my turn to be the latter.

Raising my swords, I block a strike from both of Jask's swords, needing to use both of my own to stop the sheer force of his swing. Spinning, he ducks lower and swipes at my legs, making me jump up and back. I try to bring my swords down on him from above, but he's too quick to twirl aside.

I'm left open as he swings towards my chest, only a mad drop-back manuver keeping me in the fight. The new position on the floor isn't much better, and Jask is quick to come for another strike at me, forcing me to again raise blades to block his.

Hooking my foot behind his leg, I managed to make him stumble, giving me enough leverage to force him aside and roll over to my feet. Jask looks back at me and grins, circling as I do the same to keep him in front of me.

Dashing forward, he swings high. As I go to defend with one blade, he drops his other one entirely, lowering a shoulder and tackling me to the ground. I try to bring my blades around, but he has me pinned beneath him before I can, his sword pressed to my neck.

After a moment of thought, I retract my blades back in. Jask sighs as he pulls his own away from me, grinning down.

"Good one." he offers. "I didn't expect you to get out when you were grounded."

"Well I certainly wasn't expecting that last move." I reply back, smiling. "You're some kind of fighter, Jask."

"Thanks." Jask says, falling silent. He looks down, suddenly realizing that he's still straddling me and leaping back and away. I hadn't noticed either, but as I push myself up into a sitting position, he starts stammering an apology.

"Sorry. I was...I didn't..." A clap of thunder cuts him off, making him yelp and practically jump out of his skin. I burst into a fit of laughter as Jask whirls around, almost falling over.

"Just thunder, Jask." I manage to get out.

"Yeah, I know..." Jask sighs. "I just...nevermind." He looks out the window. "I don't understand how this place isn't flooded after this much rain."

"The trees." I tell him, rising to my feet. "We don't get much rain except from these storms, so when they come, those big old trees soak up as much water as they can get their roots on, as fast as they can get it." I walk forward to stand beside him, staring at the water still pouring from the sky. "Everything has it's purpose, its place that it fits in perfectly. That's the balance of nature."

"Hmm." Jask looks down. "Yeah...balance of nature..."

Turning, he moves to retrieve his other sword from where he tossed it, placing them both away in their sheathes. I watch him, and manage to catch what I said that threw him off this time.

"You have a place to fit in too, you know." I say without even thinking about it. Maybe it would've been better if I DIDN'T notice what I had said. But there's no going back now, I just have to salvage it as best I can. "You just have to figure out what it is."

Jask had frozen, stiff as a board, at the first thing I said. At the second, he turns his head to face me with a nervous smile.

"What...are you talking about?" he asks. I take a deep inhale. There's no way he didn't notice what I meant by that. Might as well be honest at this point.

"Jask, I know you're gay." I tell him. Jask pales at the statement. "And from everything you've told me, I can figure why you wouldn't want anyone to know. But you don't have to worry about me." I march forward and reach out to grab both of his shoulders, feeling them tense briefly under my grip. "I'm not going to judge you for anything, Jask." Reaching up, I cup his hand in a cheek. "There's no reason to be ashamed of who you are."

I feel Jask tremble under my hands, and I wonder for a second if he's scared or laughing. He has every right to be the former with everything his people did to those like him, and it's always possible that I entirely misread the entire situation and he finds that hilarious.

But I soon realize it's neither of those. It's crying. He moves forward, wrapping his arm around me and leaning against my chest. I can feel a slight damp spot forming from where he's pressed against me, but I merely reach to rub a hand on his back.

"There..." I murmur. "It's okay. You're safe here. You'll always be safe with me, Jask."

"I'm sorry..." Jask says quietly, not loosening his grip. "I wanted to tell you, but I just...every time, I would think about...about what my people would do if they knew..."

"They're not here." I pull back enough to look him in the eye and smile. "What they think, what they want, what they approve of, none of that matters right now. All that matters is you, and me, and what we think, what we want, what we approve of."

Jask nods slightly, reaching up to rub at his eyes, seemingly embarrased by his breakdown. I certainly could understand where he was coming from. His gaze remains on me as he does, my eyes locking with his own and refusing to look away.

"What I think..." Jask steps forward suddenly, grabbing my hand. "I think that you're the most wonderful person I've ever met, Ninebrels." My heart might as well have just stopped right there. "You have just...such a beautiful open heart, and you're smart. Talented. One hell of a fighter." He pulls me closer. "The more I stay here..."

"The more what I want is you." I finish the sentence for him, gripping his hands back as he stops in surprise. "It's true. The more I get to know you...you don't deserve anything you've had to suffer, Jask. You deserve happiness, and I want nothing more than to be the one to help you reach it." I lean closer, my head alongside his, so close that he can feel my breath on his neck. "You have no idea what you do to me." I whisper to him.

Jask turns to press his lips against my neck, immediately earning an excited whimper from me. He chuckles at the reaction.

"That's adorable." he speaks into my ear. As he pulls back slightly, I can't take it anymore. My head dives forward, my lips seeking out his.

I'm expecting it to be a little awkward. Our faces don't exactly match. And...yeah, it is. But for everything we lack in proficiency, we make up for in enthusiasm. Jask's arms wrap around, pulling me closer against him as we figure out how our kisses can match up through pure experimentation.

Mid-process, I push Jask back, taking us out of the room and into the hallway behind, determined to direct him to my room, but unwilling to stop making out with him to do it. Jask similarly doesn't want to let me go, his hands running down my back, exploring all over me. Partway down the hall, he suddenly twists and pulls me to the side, kicking open the door to his guest room.

Hell, that'll do. It's closer anyway.

Pushing the door closed behind me, Jask pulls me forward harder, enough that we both topple onto his bed, me landing on top of him and looking down into his grey eyes, filled with a mixture of excitement, affection, and a little bit of worry. I hesitate, holding his hand down as he reaches up to try and pull my head back down into a kiss.

"Wait..." He looks at me in confusion. "Are you sure, Jask?" I ask. "I don't want to do anything that...you're not sure about..."

"Brels..." He reaches up again, his finger running under my chin and making me shiver, the affectionate nickname sending warmth flowing through me. "Please..." he begs. Smiling, my head dips down and into another kiss, much more natural this time. We really are starting to get good at this. Reaching out, it takes me a few attempts to find the light switch, my finger flicking it down and sending us into the cover of darkness.