A few hours later, I woke up in a bed, my clothes.. or rather my blanket folded neatly next to me, and a small glass of water on a small bedstand next to me. Someone had changed me into a pair of soft cotton pyjamas and for that I was grateful despite it being a little small. The sky was still dark outside, and I couldn't see anything else in the room. I felt around until I hit a small switch that turned out the lamp beside me. It was a small and quiet room. And in one corner sat a sleeping figure, the same one who had comforted me through the night. I got up slowly from the bed, my head still pounding from whatever it was that had caught me.

"H-Hey you're awake.." He said as I turned around to face him, perhaps a bit too fast as my headache grew worse and my knees betrayed me again.

"W-Whoa!" The boy darted forward and caught me, helping me back to the bed.

"You have a serious fever… you should be more careful….."
"I… want to go home…"
"Your house? Tell me where it is and I'll call one of your family members to come and get yo-" He paused as I shook my head.
"No one… will come.."
"T-Then… "
"I want… to go home…." I repeated as I tried to get up again, this time to have him stop me.
"W-Wait… you cant go home and be by yourself…. It's too dangerous…! W-Why don't you stay here…. And rest up before huh?"

"W-What… do you want…." I asked, my words slurred as if I was drunk, but my head pounded twice as badly.
"Nothing… Just… rest okay?"
"I know… what you want… Its what they always want…" I stumbled again as I laid back onto the bed and I opened my shirt to him.

"W-What?"
"You want… My innocence, you want my body, you want to devour me… just tell me which one it is…" I slurred again and I felt his hands just barely brush my side and to my surprise… They pulled together my pyjama tops and re-buttoned them.

"What I want… Is for you to get better." He said as he helped me move back to a lying position on the bed.
"Why…? Wh-"

Before I could finish, the light in my head disappeared again and I saw no more…

Another few hours later, I woke up to find it was midday now, and the house smelled of food. I felt my stomach growl and I got up slowly, remembering how much my head spun when I moved too quickly. The soft carpet below my feet welcomed my steps and at first… I felt so uneasy, this was…. a complete stranger to me….and here I was… about to go out and ask for food…

"Ah! You're awake! I was going to wake you up anyway so good timing!" The black-haired boy walked in carrying a tray of what looked to be carefully steamed egg, with a few pieces of bread and a bowl of soup.

"W-What…?"
"It's all healthy food for you! So you can get over the fever faster" His smile was so bright, and for a moment I blanked out..

"-And so then I put your blanket…a-are you listening?"
"H-Huh!?"
"I put your blanket into the wash and I changed you into some of my clothes… I'm smaller so i wasn't sure if they would fit... Is… is that okay?" He looked a bit shy.

"Its…. Fine…" I shrugged it off and sat down on the bed again as he took his place on the other side of the bed. Tension hung in the air as neither of us really knew what to say to get a conversation going. He resorted to absent-mindedly trying to straighten out creases in the bed sheets while I gazed around the room and focused on a small photo frame with neatly carved letters into the wooden frame.

"A-Ah… I'm – er… my name is"
"-Takao Kazunari"
"Y-Yes. Um… How did you know?" Takao blushed and I held up the small photo frame for him to see.
"O-Oh.." He nodded his understanding and took the frame from my hands. It had been a picture of him on some trip, where he and another boy were proudly holding up fish that they had caught.

"How…does it feel?"
"Hm?" Takao set down the frame and looked at me, puzzled.
"To be….. that happy?" As soon as the words left my lips, my fingers flew to seal my mouth shut, why had I just blurted out such a stupid question?

"To be… this happy?" I turned to look at him and his soft blue eyes stared back at me. I hated it, the way he pitied me…. that look that people always gave me…
"Never mind." I said flatly, picking up the small bowl of soup from the tray.

"Have you… never been happy?" He asked
"There are few things in my life to be happy about…" I said, annoyed with myself for even starting this line of conversation.
"W-Whats your name?"
"Midorima.. Shintaro." I said cautiously, trying to debate between giving him my real name and my… stage name.

"Shintaro… what did you mean….. last night… when you said you knew what I wanted… what "they" all wanted?"

And with that question, I froze.

"Shintaro… when… I put you into those pyjamas… I saw some bruises….. some scratches….. a-are you okay?"
"I'm… fine." I said quietly, remembering the way Kise dug his fingers into my back, the way his fists would slam down onto me to make me scream his name as he drove himself into my body.

"Shintaro…. Are you… sure you're okay?" I felt a hand on my back and I jumped, almost splattering the soup on my hands.

"Shintaro?" He asked standing up.

"S-Sorry…" I apologized and set the bowl down on the tray again.

Gently Takao walked towards me and I backed into the wall. Here it comes….. I thought as I closed my eyes and I felt the gentle brush of his fingers.

"Shintaro, You've got some of the liquid on you." Takao explained as I realized he had a napkin in his hands and was merely trying to remove what little of the soup that had spilled.

"Shintaro… "

It was the sixth time he had said my name in the same hour, and hearing it over and over with his voice…. Was so alien to me…

"I just… want to make sure… you're okay…." He said again and this time placed his hand gently on mine, and it was then that I understood. It wasn't pity in his eyes... it was concern…. Genuine concern.

Knowing that…. I faltered a bit as I pushed him away and ran out of the room. My body moved by itself as I sprinted through the unknown maze of his house and I found the front door. Just as I pried open the door I felt a hand clasp around my wrist and I turned to see him staring at me.

"Wait…. Please….."

He begged me with his eyes, with his voice…. With his heart.

"Please… don't go…." He said again and my knees betrayed me again as they buckled with his gaze.

"I-I'm sorry…I… I shouldn't have touched you… I shouldn't have asked so many questions…" He began rambling on and on. Looking at the boy who had just saved me lecture himself…. I began to pity him… and it was then that I found the positions reversed, how I hated the look that I was giving right now…

"Takao…. Why did you help me? Why do you care so much?"
"Why.. wouldn't I?" The reply was simple, pure…. Innocent. He meant it….. and I couldn't explain to him why either.

"Shintaro… just…. stay here until you're better okay? Just that much…"
"Takao… Are you… lonely?" I asked bluntly and his eyes lit up at the mention of the word.

He merely stared at me, and that was all I needed…

"Then… Let's be not so lonely... together…" I said sighing and closing the door. It was just my luck to be saved.. by such a baby…

That night I learned so much about my host… his name was Takao Kazunari, the son of a lawyer and a law student himself. He had been sent into the heart of Tokyo to attend school and lived by himself. He lived here in his parents' house, though for most of the year, it was just him.

He told me of his life, he told me of what he wanted, his dreams of being a professional basketball player, his desires for someone… to "ease the nights."

He told me he wanted my friendship, not my body.

"If you'd like… maybe… you can move things from your apartment to here? I-It might be closer to your school anyway…" He offered shyly and I couldn't reply as the scenarios ran in my head. I would wake up every morning and stumble into him, I would have meals with him, and as these images swam in my mind… I trembled.

"Y-You don't have to! If you don't want to…" he quickly added.

I didn't know if the warmth I felt, was from the raging fire before me in the fireplace, or from the embrace my imaginary Takao was giving me.

"Are you lonely at night?" I asked, shaking off the image of that Takao. When he didn't reply, I could tell what he wanted to say and I nodded.

"Then I'll move here… and we can be less lonely at night together as well."

"Then… will you let me do one more thing?"

"What?"

"Let me…" I jumped as I felt his hands on my back and I turned to look at him, those same concerned eyes stared back.

"Let me… treat your bruises…. Okay?" He said, and that stern voice that he seemed to have acquired, shook me, and I could do nothing more than nod.

I lay on my side, as he set down a small kit of medicine and gently placed his hand on my bare side. His hands were so warm…

"It's going to sting a little okay?"

The medicine that he spread across my back burned and I hissed as it only got worse with time.

"It'll help heal the bruises faster and make the cuts and scrapes heal normally without scarring." He said as he rubbed away the lotion like stuff.

Gently he helped me sit up and slip on my shirt again, and as I buttoned it I looked at Takao through the mirror in front of me

"T-Thank you.." I said barely above a whisper, and I don't know if he heard me or not, but he smiled, and my humility suddenly didn't seem so stupid.

That night in particular, was so different. I had never really laid in such a big and comfortable bed by myself. It would usually be me and one of my "clients" or just me alone in my small bed back home. Peace surrounded me, the cool air of the room, the soft rustling of the small bushes just outside the window, and even the occasional fluttering of wings from the birds the landed and took off.

It was just too quiet… and my restless mind wouldn't let me sleep, I wasn't used to… peace.

Quietly and sneakily I got up from the bed and opened the door to the hallway, the marvellous cool stone floor beneath my feet made me shiver a little as I tread down the path to some unknown part of the house. Although I expected to see nothing, I caught a glimmer of light from the far room.

Stealthily I crept to the door and looked through the crack. Takao sat on his bed, his legs drawn up to his chest and his eyes forward, glued to a television set. He smiled occasionally but never laughed…

"Whos there?" He must have noticed me, and he got up to see.

"Shintaro?" He called as I cursed my slow feet for not being able to carry be out of his sight fast enough.

"Shintaro?" He repeated as his warm hands clasped around my wrist again, and my knees trembled.

"Are you… okay?" He asked me and I could only look at him. Just as soon as those concerned eyes appeared, they changed into a beaming smile. Takao pulled me into his room and he sat me down on his bed, pulling the blankets up around me.

"Would… you spend the night in my room?" He asked and I turned away, my pride wouldn't let me show him my blushing face.

He left the TV on through the night, and I listened to the comedian tell his jokes, but the thing that brought me to a grin, wasn't him, but the sound of Yabu's laugh. He tried to hold it back out of respect for me who was supposedly "sleeping" but sometimes… I wish he didn't…. this kind of peace, I loved.

The next morning I woke up to the sunlight streaming through the laced window and onto my face. I heard the soft melodies of the flowers as the winds rushed through their petals and just as I made to move, I felt a weight around my waist. Turning slowly, I found Takao, his sleeping… adorable… face… just inches from mine. He had the appearance of an angel, gently dozing, his lips just barely open and his eyes fluttering gently between sleep and consciousness.

I stared at him, for a while, unable to make up my mind as to what I should do. Should I leave…. Should I… stay? Right now, the latter sounded better, and I gave in to my body's need for warmth. I curled into Takao's smaller body, feeling his warm firm frame behind me, and in doing so, his arm tightened around my waist and I felt… loved. Not my kind of love… but a real love, one that felt as if it would last beyond a day and beyond a night in bed. It was this feeling, that was hard to come by.

But as I lay there, a curiosity boiled within me and soon after I turned around again to look at the boy who encircled me. Slowly I pushed myself up a bit, just enough so that I could just barely press my lips against his… and I relished the feeling of such soft lips, ones that wouldn't bite me, ones that wouldn't shout at me to "ride harder" or "scream my name".

"mmnnh.." Takao moaned and I shrunk back down into his embrace, and closed my eyes.

"Mnh… S-Shintaro?" He mumbled and I pretended not to stir.

I felt the motions behind me as the arm around my waist slowly withdrew and I felt cold again

"Gomen... for taking advantage of you…" He whispered under his breath before setting the blankets around me to keep me warm. I watched through my pretend sleep eyes as the tall thin boy walked into my view and into the bathroom. He took off his shirt and I felt his radiance, the blankets were far warmer now, and I was hopelessly trapped within them. Takao made to close the door and just as he did, I caught the small glimmer in his eyes as he stared at me with a smile before shutting the door.

I sat up in the bed alone and I took many deep breaths, Why… was I like this? I've bared my body to so many men and boys, but… why with him? Why… was I… embarrassed?

Pulling my knees to my chest, I sat against the bed's headboard and I must have looked like a sulking little boy. But before I had time to really pity myself, I heard the door of the bathroom wiggling and open.

"Shintaro! You're awake… Hi… "Takao stepped out in only a towel.

"I.. forgot to grab my change of clothes…" He explained as he reached into the dresser and pulled out his pants and shirt.

"G-Good morning…" I said quietly

"Would… you like to take a bath with me?" Takao asked innocently as he stepped back into the bathroom.

"I-It's okay… I don't want to in-"
"You wont be intruding… it's okay… really…c'mon." He walked over and grabbed my wrist again, the moment his hand touched my skin, I knew I wouldn't be able to protest, and I felt myself dragged along into the now warm bathroom.

Gently he helped me take off my shirt, and slowly stripped off my pants.

"I-I don't want to… make this… awkward for you… gomen…" Takao blushed slightly before turning around and leaving me to finish undressing myself.

I heard the waters ripple, and I turned to find him laying against the bottom of the tub, his eyes still closed. Somehow, I think if his eyes had been open… I would have been… embarrassed.

Gently the warm waters slid over my body and I paused a little as I accidentally brushed against him. The tub was certainly big enough for the two of us to fit without touching, but…

"It's okay… Shintaro…" Takao smiled, his eyes still closed, and I felt inclined… to sit down before him. Two strong arms reached across my shoulders and embraced me, bringing me back down until my head rested against his chest.

His hands were strong, his fingers gentle… they traced over me and brushed the soap onto my body, and as they drew ever slowly downwards, he paused and stopped.

"Gomen…" He said quietly, as he brought the water in his hand crashing down upon me, and the suds disappeared.

"I… shouldn't have made you come in here… maybe… it was too soon" Takao said under his breath, and for some reason, I grinned.

"It's okay…but… just… stay with me for a little while okay? And… you can open your eyes…" I laughed to myself at his innocence. This moment here, surrounded by the water's warmth, his warmth, and the warmth of the sun, was perfect. We stared through the window that obscured everything from the outside garden, talking about the blurs of color that represented the blooming roses just beyond the wall. We talked of things beyond our imagining, and things we'd thought we knew. And all the while, his arms never left their place around me, and I was grateful…

Takao let me leave the bath first, his eyes closed again and I appeared to him next in the bedroom, dressed in the same pyjamas I had on before, except now my hair was a little bit messier. He smiled at me saying that I had never looked more natural, and threw on a small thin t-shirt the color of crimson red.

"I'm going to go out and take care of some errands okay Shintaro?" He called as he grabbed his keys.

"S-Should I go…?" I asked sheepishly and he shook his head

"Just rest… and maybe… consider… staying with me?" He said quickly, and before I could look up at him, he was gone.

I heard the car leave the house, and the silence that followed left me with nothing else to do but think. If I stayed here, would my days be like this? Would I be happy here, would I still be lonely?

Through all my thoughts, the small picture of a smiling boy, the one who had hugged me just moments before shone through, and I stared at the picture of him grinning broadly, holding his catch of the day.

What was I saying? There was no way, someone like him, could possibly live with someone like me. We're not even in the same world… and we could never be. He and all my other…

"they're the same…" I said to myself, and I set down the picture frame. Finding a set of clothes that is too big for Takao, I slipped them on before walking out the door of the ornate house. Standing on the street before it, I looked at the place that had brought me such peace, and smiled as I kept the memory, but knew I wouldn't be coming back. I had left Shintaro a note, pinned against the picture frame that now rested on the pyjamas he had lent me, and with a gentle kiss to the boy in the frame, I left.