A sound almost akin to a vacuum suction and a bright flash of light signaled the arrival of two teens covered in black soot in the otherwise quiet apartment complex.

The blond one stepped forward, patting his jean pockets, before pulling out a set of keys from the back pocket of his jean shorts, inspecting the ash that came with it.

"Ness, I don't think failing to teleport twice before actually getting here is doing our washing machine any favors." He simply said, before inserting a small silver key into the rusty golden lock. The other teen merely scoffed, crossing his own soot covered arms.

"The alley was crowded, Lucas." He complained, not taking his eyes off the other's movements with the lock. He shuffled his feet on a previously bold red welcome mat that had all but faded with age, and was now dirty with ash. "And I didn't want to do it in public, that's basically just asking to get kidnapped and experimented on."

"We could've just walked home." Lucas suggested, before frowning and then muttering under his breath as the lock refused to budge.

"You did also hit yourself, so I don't know about that. By the way, that was quite the fall back there too." Lucas rolled his eyes at Ness's statement, already expecting to be chastised about his carelessness that had led to him falling and hitting himself against a corner of a table.

"Yes, I should've watched where I was going." He replied absentmindedly, twisting the key again several times without results and making a mental note to get their lock oiled.

"Yeah maybe." Lucas rolled his eyes again at his snark before the lock finally relented with a satisfying click, and the door to their apartment swung upon. "Are you hungry?"

"Not really- ah." Lucas winced as a pang of sudden pain jolted up his back. He didn't miss Ness's look of concern, however, but continued to pull his keys out and step inside.

Lucas could sense Ness's frown without even looking at him, and sure enough having turned around after closing the door behind them, he met the glow of his violet gaze directed towards him.

"What's wrong?" Ness's voice was laced with concern, and it made Lucas immediately feel bad for making him worry about something so insignificant.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it." He muttered, turning around to walk away, stopping when he felt a hand reach out to rest on his shoulder. He allowed himself to be slowly turned around, meeting those violet eyes that now shone with worry.

"Lucas." Those stern words made him look away, shifting his feet awkwardly as Ness's grip on his shoulder tightened with each second of silence.

"...I think I hit that table harder than I expected." He winced as Ness swore quietly, letting go of his shoulder as he stepped closer to look him over.

"Where?" From Ness's hand, a warm light green glow appeared, illuminating the dark room. Lucas felt tendrils of it melt into him just by standing near Ness, who was staring at him with a look of apprehension.

He hesitated. "...My lower back."

Immediately, Ness stepped closer to him in an urgent manner. Lucas felt him wrap his arms around him, hands trailing up his back, slipping through his shirt and pressed against his waist.

"Here?"

"Mm." Lucas hummed in response, sighing as the glow of the healing spell was absorbed into him as pleasant warmth. He closed his eyes, feeling a smile emerge. "That feels nice."

"Yeah?" He nodded at Ness's murmur, feeling the warmth spread throughout his whole body as the spell intensified. He allowed himself a smile as he moved closer, wrapping his own arms around the source of the warmth and burying his face into Ness's chest.

"I could fall asleep." He tiredly whispered, before yawning, smiling at the thought of Ness being an oversized teddy bear, which he was, essentially.

"Then I guess I should get you in bed." Lucas only hummed tiredly in response, not even protesting as he felt himself get hoisted up, instinctively wrapping his legs tighter around Ness's waist as he started to move.

"Am I too heavy?" He murmured, his voice muffled by his face now resting comfortably in the crook of Ness's neck. He felt the vibration of Ness's chuckle as he spoke.

"Sunflower, you need to eat more, actually. You're too light." Lucas groaned tiredly as Ness voiced his concern, holding on to his shoulders a tad tighter as he felt Ness start to climb the stairs.

"Too busy." He complained, to which Ness simply laughed. He felt him give a light squeeze to his waist.

"Too busy to eat?" Ness teased, making Lucas groan again as he dared not open his eyes in case he would be pulled back into the reality of their stressful world. He heard the door to their room creak upon, and the light turned on before he felt himself being laid down onto their bed, instinctively curling up on a pillow as Ness moved away.

"Glutton." He muttered, hearing Ness's laugh ring from the closet. The door closed moments after, accompanied by the light turning off, and he felt weight on the bed come from behind.

The pillow was tugged out of his hands, making him whine out of protest while Ness laughed before turning him around and pulling him towards him.

"Does it still hurt?" The note of concern in Ness's voice was enough to lure Lucas out of the darkness and open his eyes, meeting Ness's concerned ones before shaking his head.

"Kind of, but not really. It's just sore." Ness nodded, and in an instant the green glow was replaced by a blue one, and Ness's hands were once again pressed against his lower back. As one of those hands moved upwards, Lucas shivered, feeling a smile tug at his lips as he held back a laugh.

"You're shaking. Are you cold?" Lucas snapped his attention back towards Ness's voice and away from the feeling of Ness's fingers tracing circles gently on his back.

"No. I'm fine, it's warm actually." He laid his head back down on Ness's chest upon hearing Ness's hums in response, fighting the urge to laugh as Ness kept drawing shapes on his back.

Finally, he couldn't take it anymore. He squirmed, his body betraying him as he let loose a giggle when he felt Ness trace circles on his sensitive shoulder blade. There was a pause, and Lucas didn't need to have the light on or even look up to know there was a devious smirk growing on Ness's face.

"Oh, I see. You're ticklish!" This time Lucas couldn't hold back laughs when Ness poked his sides, laughs of his own mixing in with his as he held a hand up to his mouth to cover his laughs while using the other to push Ness away, although his efforts were in vain.

"Ness, stop!" He managed to gasp out, however hearing the other laugh in response, his fingers tickling his waist before trailing up towards the sides of his abdomen made Lucas laugh harder.

"Never!" Lucas heard him crow, and they laughed for a moment longer before Ness started to slow down and eventually let go, allowing Lucas to finally breathe and smile as Ness let out a content sounding sigh.

He felt his arms wrap around him once more, one hand on his waist and the other higher on his back, and he let himself be pulled into Ness's chest, warmth and safety radiating off of the teen, making Lucas press himself closer as he heard Ness murmur something and press a kiss against his temple.

Blue eyes met violet ones in the dark, and if he squinted, Lucas could just barely make out the outline of a content smile on the others face, which was reflected on his own face when he felt Ness run his fingers lovingly through his hair.

"I love you." Lucas couldn't help but giggle again, however this time his laughter was full of giddiness at Ness's whispered words to him, and only him. Although he had heard them many times, as Ness tells him those words every day, it still made his heart speed up just a little faster whenever he did.

He leaned down, and although it was dark, he pressed a chaste kiss against the other's lips, smiling into it when he kissed back.

"I love you too, you goof."