Spectra had thought there would be nothing left of him once you took away the darkness of the Vexos and the screams of a few hundred fans and his aura of red, black, and blinding power. But here he was, almost two months later, and it turned out there was another man underneath the mask; Keith Clay, someone he thought he would never be again. Now, he was a fan of the simple pleasures of life: grilled cheese without black flecks on the crust, jeans that didn't pinch the better parts of him, coffee so filled with sugar and creamer it was almost completely white, ten to twelve hours of sleep, his sister's smile.

And Gus.

Keith wasn't sure how he felt about Gus now. Once his colleague, then loyal companion, now roommate and friend, which was enough, right? And yet, if it was, then what were these feelings Keith got when he was around him? Feelings that made his heart speed up and his breathing hitch and his head spin?

He didn't know if Gus felt these things as well, and yet there were some times when the blue-haired man betrayed little gestures that might lead to the idea of such emotions, but nothing to concrete. It was like an itch, fine if he was busy, but murder while he was standing still. He didn't know how to deal with it, the strange insecure feeling he got when he thought about revealing himself. The Phantom inside of him would've just shoved the emotions aside and took what it wanted from the bluenette.

But that wasn't him anymore. And he didn't want to hurt Gus, who had already been hurt enough in the past few months. Keith hated it, seeing the stiff movements Gus made, the way his face would go white whenever he jostled his ribs. It made Keith wish Zenoheld was still alive just so he could kill him again.

That day he was with Gus at his doctor's appointment to check up on his condition for the second time. He was doing extremely well, almost all of his cuts healed save for the ones on his stomach, back, and thigh. Those were still a little raw, but would heal in another week or two, the doctor had said, along with Gus' ribs. It made Keith feel relieved and he thought Gus would too. He supposed the bluenette would later, after they had left the hospital, a place that always seemed to put Gus on edge. Keith couldn't really blame him, he disliked hospitals even at the best of times. But still, he didn't like the way Gus' eyes hollowed out and how jittery he got while waiting on the small cot, talking to the doctor, glancing at Keith now and again as if to make sure he was still there. Everytime he did, Keith flashed him a reassuring smile, which seemed to calm him.

When they had finished with the doctor and were leaving the hospital, Keith asked Gus "So, what do you want to do now?"

"Huh? Oh," Gus said, after being seemingly lost in thought. "I don't know. Do you… want to do something?" he asked nervously. That was another thing that bothered Keith, Gus was so timid about everything now. Like he thought he was going to be punished for asking a question. Keith felt a little guilty, because he felt he must have put a part of that there. As Spectra, with his requirement of unquestioning loyalty.

Keith wanted to reach out and hug Gus, brush back his blue hair, tell him he didn't need to be afraid, that Keith wouldn't let anything hurt him-

Keith cleared his throat. "I asked you, not me."

Gus' green eyes blanked out for a moment, and the blue haired man shuddered, a quick, barely noticeable movement, except that Keith had seen him do it several times before.

What did I say?! Keith thought, panicked. Then Gus' expression cleared.

"Well...lunch would be nice." Gus said faintly, giving Keith a weak smile. After almost of month of eating next to nothing, Gus' stomach had shrunk. Recently, however, he had been getting his appetite back. And by that, Keith meant he could hear Gus having late-night nom-nom raids.

"Lunch it is then." Keith said, taking his car keys out of his pocket.

-x-

Keith had taken them to a simple, yet classy diner. Not a grand, opulent restaurant where you usually couldn't pronounce half of the words on the menu and the prices were bigger than the food portions.

Nope, that wasn't him anymore.

Gus kind of liked it, to be honest.

They were sitting on opposite sides in an old, red, possibly plastic furnished booth. Both already had their food, burgers that were greasy enough to taste good but not enough that it left film in their mouths. Even though Gus had gotten a little more than Kieth, he had still finished before him. And sucked down most of his drink. Now he just sat there, slowly shredding a napkin while Keith finished, not that he had much left. Gus tried not to stare at the fries left on the blond's plate. He must not have been doing a very good job, because a moment later Keith dumped the rest of his fries on Gus plate.

"You don't have to do that." Gus said, but it didn't really carry much weight since he was already reaching for the fries.

Keith shrugged. "You can have them. I'm full anyway."

Gus felt grateful, yet also slightly embarrassed at his ravenous hunger. The two mens hadn't spoken too much during their lunch, but suddenly Gus felt awkward with the silence.

"So...uh...how're things...at work?" Gus asked lamely. Keith and Mira had taken over the company their father had once run. It used to fund the research of things such as the mechanical Bakugan and the BT System, but now the Clay siblings were turning it into something more...productive. Gus could probably be working there too, if not for his injuries.

"Slow." Keith responded, not commenting on Gus; awkwardness. "Honestly, really boring. It would be better if you were there."

"I'd love to help." Gus blurted out. He missed working alongside the blond they way they always used too, when it was just the two of them. Not even work, just being with Keith.

Really, Gus just hated being alone in the house all the time.

"Not now, not until you've completely recovered." Keith said sternly. Gus looked down, slightly embarrassed. Keith spoke again, softer this time. "I just don't want you to push yourself."

Gus sighed. He finished his last fry and wiped his fingers on a napkin.

"If you're done, we can go. Unless you wanted something else?" Keith said. Gus could feel his leg pressing against his under the table.

He wanted, he wanted-

Gus shook his head. "I'm fine, let's go."

Keith stood up, stretching as he did so, his shirt lifting up slightly. Gus swallowed and glanced away. He slid out of the booth, accidentally banging his ribs on the edge of the table. He sucked in a sharp breath as a sudden pain lanced up his side.

"What's wrong?" Keith said sharply.

"Nothing." Gus grunted as he stood up. "I'm fine. Hit my side, that's all."

Keith's blue eyes regarded him carefully for a moment before nodding. Gus sighed.

Keith threw some bills on the table for the waitress, then the two of them paid at the register and left. Gus had one hand cupped over his side where he hit it, rubbing it carefully. It wasn't really his ribs as much as the faint bruising left on his skin and in his muscles. When they got to the car, he got in carefully, not wanting to irritate his side. He still winced slightly and Keith noticed as he got in.

"Here," he reached across Gus and opened the glove compartment. A little bottle of painkillers was rolling around in it.

"Thank-you." Gus said gratefully, even though he technically he was supposed to be weaning himself off medication. He unscrewed the bottle and shook a white tablet out into his hand.

"I don't have anything for you to take it with." Keith said apologetically.

"That's fine. I can just," Gus put the pill in his mouth and dry-swallowed. He put the bottle back and closed the glove compartment.

Keith pursed his lips. "So, where to now?"

"I don't know. Home, I guess."

"Are you sure?"

Gus frowned. He didn't particularly want to go back and sit around the house all day. "I mean, there's not really anywhere else to go, is there?"

Keith leaned back in his seat with his lips still pursed, staring out of the windshield, thinking. He started to speak slowly "Gus, would you mind if I took you somewhere I used to go when I was younger?"

"Not at all." Gus said, slightly surprised, but curious at the same time.

-x-

The place Keith took them too was an old dilapidated warehouse. Gus as struck with a sudden wave of nostalgia; even though this wasn't the same warehouse, even though they weren't on Earth. He swallowed.

"C'mon." Keith said, getting out of the car; Gus followed. The blond led them over to the side of the warehouse where a rusty ladder was attached to the wall, leading all the way to the roof. "You first."

"Up the ladder?" he asked. Keith nodded. "Why do I go first?"

"So I can catch you if you fall." Keith said, flashing a familiar smirk. Gus felt his cheeks get warm. He quickly started to climb the ladder, feeling it creak whenever Keith climbed up after him.

When Gus reached the top, he climbed over the lip of the roof and moved away from the ladder to allow Keith to get up. He looked around, his breath catching at what he saw.

I can see almost the whole city from up here!

"I used to come up here to think a lot." Keith said, coming to stand beside Gus. "What do you think?"

"I love it." Gus breathed. Keith smiled.

Gus could, strangely, almost picture that long ago Keith coming up here; with his white and gold shirt, strawberry blond hair, familiar blue eyes, even then wearing a confident smile. Gus smiled to himself, pleased that Keith had shared this place with him.

A sudden gust of cold wind blew on them, and Gus shivered, shrinking in on himself.

"Cold?" Keith asked. "Do you want to go back down?"

"No, I'll be fine." Gus insisted.

"If you say so." Keith said, going to sit on a discarded crate on the roof. He patted the space beside him and grinned lazily at Gus. He flushed and hesitantly went to go sit beside the blond.

"What's the matter? I won't bite." Keith said.

"I'm just...trying to give you some space." mumbled the bluenette.

"I don't mind. You can sit closer if you want."

Hesitantly, Gus scooted closer to him. This close, Gus could feel the heat emanating off of Keith. Gus swallowed and hugged his arms to his chest, trying to ignore the burning desire he felt to reach out and touch the blond.

"Why so tense?" Keith asked curiously.

"Just...just cold." That was technically true.

"Here." Gus felt something warm wrap around his shoulders, closing around his body. Keith's jacket.

"What about-" Gus protested.

"You did the same for me." Keith reminded him quietly.

And suddenly, just like , it hit Gus: He was in love with Keith Clay. And just like then, he didn't know what to do about it.

Next chapter will last chapter. Hope your enjoying this so far.