He found himself holding his breath as Keiichi answered the door. He knew who was on the other side already, without Keiichi telling him. He raised his legs onto the couch and hugged them. He lay his head on his knees and slowly breathed. His heart rate was increasing by the second as he waited to be ratted out. He finally escaped...and now...

"My name's Ooishi. I work for the police you see, and we were wondering if we could ask you a few questions."

This was it. It was all over.

He wiped his sweaty palms on his pants before clutching the damp fabric again. He shivered both from fear and the cold. He didn't want to go back. He wanted to be free. He wanted to have a life again. Even if he couldn't remember his time before the clinic, he still desperately wanted freedom. He knew he didn't belong there.

It felt like an eternity...waiting for Keiichi's answer. He shut his eyes, just waiting for the words he knew were going to come. He wanted to cry... There was no hope for him. Keiichi had wanted to contact these people from the beginning. It was all a matter of time. Maybe it was better this way...He couldn't miss something he never experienced.

"Isn't it a bit late for this? Can't it wait?"

He looked up. Had he heard that right? Had he? He couldn't have...

He strained his ears more as he listened to the conversation. This Keiichi...he was covering for him. He wasn't ratting him out or sending him away. He was protecting him...

He felt numb from shock, even after the conversation had ceased and the people were gone. He rested his head on his knees again, this time cocking his head to the side so he could watch for Keiichi's return. It had been a few minutes now since the talking had ceased and Keiichi was no where in sight. He vaguely wondered if he should check on him, however, he felt if he tried to stand he would most definitively fall right back down. He felt so weak... Even now he felt light headed.

He didn't have to wait much longer after that. Keiichi reappeared, a cheerful smile on his face.

"Sorry about that," He laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head. "You doing okay?"

Keiichi watched the blonde boy slowly nod. The gaze from pale pink eyes left as the boy turned his head and looked straight ahead. Keiichi stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do. When he noticed the other was shivering, he remembered the clothes.

"Oh, I almost forgot. You must be cold in those clothes...I know I was," He laughed and grabbed the clothes he had chosen for the other. He held them out for the other to take.

"Here ya go." The brunette put on another huge smile.

The other stared at the clothes for a few seconds then at Keiichi, then at the clothes one final time. One arm left his legs and tentatively reached out for the clothes. He gripped the soft fabric tightly in his hand as Keiichi let go. The blonde placed his feet back on the ground and set the clothes in his lap. He stared at them silently. Keiichi turned away and began to walk towards the hall, so he could lead the boy to the bathroom.

"Here, follow me and you can change in here," Keiichi absently looked over his shoulder. He resisted the urge to face palm when he saw the other had already unbuttoned his shirt and was slipping the other on. Keiichi got a glimpse of the pale, milky skin that had been hidden before. He noticed there were scars and bruises that flawed the otherwise perfect skin. His arms were bruised as well. Keiichi was surprised he hadn't noticed before how bad they were.

The bruises reminded him of the kind that people who were in a hospital for a long time got. The ones that had IV's and the like stuck in their arms. Keiichi winced at the thought of what caused those horrific bruises. Whatever it was, it looked painful.

Keiichi had been so caught up in thought he didn't realize he was still watching the other, as he was struggling to stand in order to change pants. Keiichi noticed the other hadn't even bothered buttoning up his shirt. If he would have paid more attention, he would have seen that the blonde had struggled with the buttons while Keiichi was lost in thought. Eventually, he just gave up.

When the blonde boy started unbuttoning his pants, Keiichi's eyes widened. This guy...he wasn't shy at all.

"Ack!" Keiichi yelped and began to turn his head. He was invading the others privacy, even if the blonde was kind of asking for it. He had just started stripping without Keiichi's consent.

Keiichi heard the fumbling of feet. He tried his best to ignore the curiosity that was tugging at his will. More fumbling and this time a frustrated grunt. Keiichi frowned. He wouldn't look until the guy was done changing.

But when would that be? It wasn't like he was going to talk...This guy hadn't said a word since he met Keiichi. Keiichi was beginning to wonder if he was mute or something.

More fumbling. Keiichi couldn't take it anymore.

He turned around to see what was going on.

The blonde's pants were on the ground. He was struggling to keep his balance as he tried to stick a shaking leg into his pants. All the blonde's concentration was on getting those pants on, even if his legs were obviously still shaking from his weak condition. Keiichi inched closer, wondering if he should help. The only thing holding him back was the thought of this guy thinking he was some kind of weirdo.

However, when the blonde lost his balance and started to fall, Keiichi hesitated no longer.

"Shit." He cursed and ran to catch the other. He succeeded in catching him under the arms and pulled him back to his feet. The brunette thought it would be okay to let the other stand on his own, but as soon as he stopped supporting him, the blonde began to fall again. Keiichi desperately caught him again, this time not letting go.

"Those were close calls." He laughed in order to cover up the awkwardness. He helped the other back onto the couch.

"Here, put them on sitting down first." Keiichi told him as he sat in front of the other. Keiichi wouldn't register how strange this was until later.

The blonde said nothing per usual and did as he was told. Keiichi got another good look at those bruised arms as they pulled the pants up the blonde's pale legs. The blonde stood on shaky legs in order to pull them up the rest of the way. He collapsed as soon as they were on correctly. Keiichi could tell he was tired.

"That better?" Keiichi asked, already knowing he'd get no reply. "You forgot to button up the shirt." He pointed out, meeting the blonde's eyes. The other kept silent and broke the eye contact. He stared down at his chest. He brought the shirt together and fumbled with the buttons. Keiichi watched as he struggled and failed. Keiichi had to bite back an amused smile. It wasn't that he found it funny the other couldn't do it. He found it amusing because it reminded him of how he used to not be able to button things properly either. He finally found something he and the blonde could relate to.

"Want me to help?" Keiichi offered, not thinking before he spoke. The blonde looked up at him, the same vacant look in his peculiar pink eyes. Keiichi wondered what he was thinking about, and what floated behind those empty eyes of his.

He received a slow nod from the other, indicating he would allow Keiichi to help him. Keiichi crawled closer, amused by how much of child this guy was turning out to be. He knelt in front of the other and reached out to grab the shirt. His hand brushed against the others warm chest as he brought the shirt together. His hands slid down the shirt and he began to fumble with the bottom button until he got it buttoned. He could feel the other's gaze on him, which made him nervous. It just made this more awkward for the brunette.

He moved his hands up to the next button and buttoned it as well. He continued to work his way up, the blonde's gaze on him the whole time. He seemed almost intrigued, Keiichi thought. It was strange.

Keiichi found himself at the top button in a matter of seconds. Those were always the hardest to button, he thought. He struggled with it longer than all the rest. Vacant eyes stayed looking at his face, as they had now for the past minute. Keiichi glanced up ever so slightly and met the gaze. He smiled meekly and then looked back at the troublesome button. He fiddled with it some more before finally getting it to cooperate.

"There ya go." Keiichi told him cheerfully as he stepped back to admire his work. The boy just stared back, eyes still vacant, almost lifeless. Keiichi turned away and scratched the back of his head.

"Geez...this is worse than talking to a wall..." The brunette thought to himself. "Maybe he really is mute..."

Keiichi turned on his heels and faced the boy again. He was still staring off into space.

"Um...You must be tired...after all, it's been one hell of a night...at least...for me..."

Keiichi paused, seeing if he'd get a reply, or at least some kind of explanation for the events prior to now. He only received silence. He didn't let him discourage him, and just kept talking.

"If you want, you can sleep in my room. You can have my futon. I'll sleep on the ground."

The boy's eyes traveled over and rested on the other. Keiichi could see that he looked like he wanted to say something, but didn't.

"If...you want to follow me..." Keiichi said uneasily and slowly began to walk towards the stairs. He waited at the bottom to see if the other was going to follow.

Slowly but surely, the blonde rose to his feet, shakily. Keiichi rushed back over and wrapped his arm around the blonde, in order to help him up.

"It's okay, I've got you," He told the injured. The boy didn't seem to hear him.

Keiichi assisted the other in walking to the stairs. He stopped at the bottom again, accessing the best way to do this. After a seconds thought, he figured it better to just wing it. He took a step forward, as did the blonde. The slowly clomped up the steps, the boy almost falling a few times. If it weren't for Keiichi's support, his wobbly legs and bruised arms would be the least of his worries.

Once at the top, Keiichi took a breathing break. It wasn't that he was tired... it was more...his heart had suffered from mini panic attacks every time the other had slipped up. The boy, however, seemed unfazed. Keiichi wasn't sure if it was because he was too tired to care, or if he just wasn't all there. Even when almost falling, he showed no sign of surprise. All emotion he had shown earlier was now nonexistent, like it hadn't happened at all.

"Almost there," Keiichi told him as he watched his face to see if it even appeared like the other was listening. Keiichi wasn't sure. He helped the other forward and slid his door open. His room was in the state of chaos he had left it in earlier, when he was in a mad dash to get clothes and a towel. He doubted that the other noticed nor cared about what his room looked like.

He assisted the other again in laying on the futon. When Keiichi's support disappeared, the boy fell limp and collapsed on the soft structure. Keiichi smiled a little, realizing the other was probably more tired than he was. Maybe he'd talk in the morning...

"Will you be alright there?" He asked, already knowing he'd get no reply. The blonde just lay there, staring off into nothingness again. Keiichi took that as a yes and gathered up some blankets for his make-shift bed. He threw them down on the ground next to his futon and fixed it up as nice as he could. He turned off his light before laying down.

"Whew, I'm beat." He commented as he sat on the ground and pulled the covers up around him. He fell backwards then turned on his side, facing the futon. In the darkness he could barely make out the shape of the other. The only thing that confirmed his presence was the soft sound of him breathing.

"Night," Keiichi said as he closed his eyes. He snuggled up against his covers, getting all nice and warm when a sudden voice made him freeze.

"...Thank you."

Keiichi sat up immediately, not sure if he imagined that or not. The voice he heard...it was soft and gentle... it fit the stranger perfectly.

"Wh-What? Did you say something?" Keiichi pressed, hoping he would speak again. Keiichi sat there in silence for awhile before he gave up.

He fell asleep, still wondering if it was his imagination or not.

A/N: Whoo, another quickie update :D I have inspiration to write this, so hopefully updates will be plentiful :3 Review to keep me fueled?

I'm going to go ahead an post this now, since I'm not sure if I'll have another chance this week. So, enjoy :D