Sorry it's been so long without an update! I've just been terribly busy with school and theater, and haven't been able to find time to do much of anything. But I finally sat myself down (because I have an off day tomorrow!) and finished a chapter of Siege of Astaria. Hopefully this'll get me started back up, since this is the last week of theater for now. I really do want to finish up these fics and get to some more that are in the works right now.

So, here you all go!

"H-Husky…! Please…!"

The crow +Anima's shrieks nearly fell upon deaf ears. For all the volume his screams and pleas contained, few things at the moment could penetrate Husky's head. The silver haired boy stared at Cooro as though his friend was thin and transparent as air – was air. But Cooro was the center of Husky's attention, and his sharp eyes missed no detail, however minute it may have been.

He studied the curves of the boy's exposed upper body; the radiant tan skin; the face that had to have been carved by angels; those striking, beautiful brown eyes that were dark as cocoa, brighter than midmorning oak, and smooth as chocolate.

Those eyes…they absolutely drove Husky mad. It had to be criminal for orbs so beautiful to be imprisoned, no matter how magnificent a prison it might've been.

"It's so cold…!"

Up until that point, Husky had only subconsciously realized that the crow +Anima was stark naked. Now, though, that he blinked and pulled himself back down to the ground, it was all too obvious. His face went a deep shade of red, and he instinctively raised a hand to cover his features; the move did little to help, however, as his entire body was slowly turning from pale to bright pink. All the while, his eyes were locked into place, unable to avert their view from Cooro's lower body. Those hips were a Michelangelo sculpture, a perfect display of craftsmanship.

But it was the boy's nether regions that caught Husky's major attention. It was on full display, and no amount of Cooro shivering could detract from the scene. The fish +Anima had a mind to just reach out there and grasp it in his own hand, to feel it if only for a moment, to find out the true meaning of pleasure; his heart skipped a beat.

Just as his hand was about to shoot out, Husky thought that Cooro was his best friend. What was he doing, reaching out at his best friend's exposed…Husky couldn't bear to utter the body part's name. But it was there, so slender, so absolutely there for the taking…

His hand did shoot out, but the silver haired boy redirected its path with a tremendous mental energy. Instead of closing in on Cooro's pelvis, the hand reached around the boy's neck.

"H-Husky…?"

Somewhere in Husky's mind, a hazy voice told him that he wasn't wearing any gloves, so what else didn't he have on? And misty vision told him that he, like his friend, wore nothing. But at that moment, Husky didn't care what his senses warned.

One tug was all it took to get Cooro off balance; the raven haired boy tumbled forward, right into Husky's chest. The silver haired boy bent his head down, shimmering eyes the size of dinner plates; his heart was playing symphonies under his skin. Husky pushed his nose into the mass of black hair atop his friend's head, and inhaled sharply. The smell was pungently sweet, some sort of mix between winter mint and the spray of the ocean. Whatever it may have been, Husky was sure that it was the greatest scent his nose had ever picked up. This time, as he inhaled, he made sure to progress slowly and carry all of the scent with him.

Cooro's hands were clenching into fists, holding onto Husky's bare chest for support. Husky's cool hands wrapped around his friend's back, caressing the boy's spine with lithe, teasing fingers.

In milliseconds, calm night air swept around Husky, surrounding him, engulfing him, and eventually blinding him. The boy called out in surprise, wondering why night had fallen so fast. A moment later, he realized he couldn't feel Cooro's frame against his own.

The next thing he knew, Husky was bolting up in his sleeping bag, sweat running profusely down his forehead and back. The boy held a fist up near his chest, breathing heavily. He let his eyelids droop for a second or two, then slowly reopened them. Nighttime and the cover of the tent encompassed his vision; the rhythmic breathing of Senri and Nana, along with merry crickets, were the only noises he perceived.

Sighing discontentedly, Husky reclined slightly against his pillow. Once again, it had all been a dream – and one that he had quite often, at that. Had his head been straight on his shoulders, he might've been able to guess that the experience was all his imagination.

But what did the dreams mean? If the things he saw when he dreamed were fake, then what about the emotions? Were those feelings raw? Or were they merely elements of the dream that wanted only to haunt the boy?

"I need to think this over…" Husky mused to himself, slowly and carefully removing the sleeping bag from over his body. He quite enjoyed wearing pajamas (something he would never admit to certain people, namely the likes of Nana) and had to be extra quiet because the slightest rustle would give him away. Even if the back of his pajamas were sticking to his skin, that didn't mean the legs couldn't brush up against one another, and he would have a hard time coming up with an explanation Nana would buy as to why he was sneaking out of the tent.

Husky proceeded to crawl out of the tent, zip up the front flap, and venture out into the meadow. After all day traveling from the town where the group of friends had lost Husky, they'd found an abandoned camping spot and decided to spend the night there. They were headed for the capital city, hoping that they might find some help. Husky moaned at the idea, because he already knew who that help would turn out to be: Igneous, captain of the guard, and it was no secret that all four disliked each other.

After walking for a few minutes, Husky came upon his personal destination: a small pool, a bit detached from the dirt path and heated to the perfect temperature for relaxation. The fish +Anima sighed; it was no hard task to get used to the comfort the pool offered. Normally, he wouldn't get excited over water (since he spent a lot of time in it), but the water he usually traveled in was cold and salty.

After wrestling his shirt off, and undoing his pants, and throwing them to the side, Husky slipped down into the refreshing water. Now a guy could get used to this…

Minutes passed, and more minutes passed, before Husky finally got around to what he meant to do: mull over his odd dreams. Now, he admitted to himself, he had always found Cooro cute, but in that kitten sort of way; you just wanted to pet it and hear it purr. Only recently, the thought of kissing Cooro had entered, rather rudely invaded in Husky's opinion, the silver haired boy's conscience. It was completely random.

But, maybe not so much…Was it weird for a guy to find another guy, no matter how cute, attractive? Husky was positive that he wasn't gay, but…

Husky went over everything in his head. The images of kissing Cooro, of getting tongue from the boy, signaled an immediate aversion in the fish +Anima. But his heart cheered whenever he watched Cooro moving his body or taking clothes off. There was also the fact that Husky had a deep distrust of women, and his only solace came from men. Likewise, Cooro was the only one who truly understood the fish +Anima; no one had really ever tried.

Everything considered, Husky really didn't know anymore.

"Hey, are you alright?"

Startled, Husky whipped around and looked up on the pool's bank to see Nana standing in the moonlight. She was still wearing her black satin nightgown, and her body hung in a tired stance, but she had a bit of a concerned look on her face. "You weren't in the tent."

For some reason, Husky smirked. "Were you just checking up to see if I really am a guy?" He knew that the bat +Anima had gotten over the suspicion a long time ago, but the memory still made her blush the color of a watermelon. After he'd had his little bit of fun, Husky sighed. "I was just…thinking…"

"What about…?"

"A dream…" Husky didn't intend to take it any further than that.

"What was your dream about…?"

The fish +Anima's eyes met with the bat +Anima's, and Husky immediately turned away. His cheeks were tinged light scarlet, and his jaw twitched. "You wouldn't understand. You're a girl." Under normal circumstances, this remark would've gotten him a well-deserved smack across both cheeks. But, that night, Nana was feeling rather troubled herself, and didn't wish to take it out on someone like Husky (besides, wasn't his terrible taste in fashion punishment enough?).

She squatted down near the grass, which seemed to glow blue in the light of the moon, and told her friend, "I might understand if you told me."

"Forget about it." It wasn't necessarily what Husky wanted to say, but he'd been put on the defensive. After mumbling to himself a moment more, he grumbled, "If you come and heat up in the pool, I could try and tell you."

"No way. Why don't you come up here and tell me? The bare truth, no more walls."

Husky's eyes softened. He believed that it would be impossible to explain to someone with an attention span like Nana's what he felt. But, well…she was trying, and hell, it was worth a shot. So Husky pushed himself up out of the pool and got comfortable (or as comfortable as possible without the heated water enveloping him) before beginning.