This chapter contains sexual situations, but it is safe to read down until it switches to Takao's POV. Don't read if that offends you. The rest of the story picks up in the next chapter - I promise.

POV Midorima

Dad says that Takao must be observed and Mom doesn't argue when I announce that he will sleep in my room tonight. I don't need a shower, but Mom insists, so I rush through it, neglecting my hair and barely soaping up, before rinsing. I dress perfunctorily in a t-shirt and loose pants. I swallow the pills out of my key chain fob with water cupped in my hands. I hurry down the hall, my wet feet leave footprints along the tatami.

Mom is sitting with Takao and she is holding his hand as they talk about basketball. I have always adored my mother, but in this moment I have never loved her more. He sees me in the doorway and his red-rimmed eyes aren't as dead as they have been all evening.

"Thanks, Mom," I say. She leans forward and kisses Takao's cheek. He blushes.

She touches my hand as we pass. I stop and look down at her. In that moment, her eyes tell me so many things. She is angry and worried, but at the same time she is proud of me.

"Rest well," she says as she slides the door closed.

Takao has claimed the right side of the futon and when I lay day, he burrows into the space between my arm and chest. I reach up and stroke his hair and his eyes fall closed. His sigh might start in his chest, but it runs out along his whole body.

POV Takao

A car door slammed and I woke shaking; Dad was home. I bolted upright and reached for the photo of Shin-chan above my head to touch it for luck and strength, but there was nothing above me but air. My breath caught in my chest and in the dark and panicked place a hand reached out to me.

"You are safe," Shin-chan said very slowly and he took my shoulders into his large hands and pulled me back into his chest. My heart beat was so loud I could hardly hear as he whispered into my ear.

"You are safe," he repeated.

There were no more tears, but my lungs ached for air, labored and painful. He turned my head with his hand, strong on my chin and his lips found mine in the dark, even without his glasses. He wasn't hesitant like he was before, three months ago when we slept together for the first time in this bed. I opened my mouth and welcomed the feeling of him. Without thinking I spun in his arms and clung to him, my rock in the middle of these nightmares. He tugged at my yukata, pulled it free, and tossed it to the side. His hands, warm and large, roamed up my back. I fought for air now, not because I was scared, but because his lips didn't leave mine for more than a second. I pushed him back and he started to protest, but I shut it down by tearing his shirt over his head. We came together with a clash of teeth. He laughed.

"Shh, your parent, your sister," I panted.

"I could scream that the house was on fire and Kaori would sleep right through it and my parents are on the other side of the house," he said and flipped me on my back and stole my boxers down in one smooth move. He wasn't any more careful removing his own pants, but it didn't matter when he ground against me.

"I want to make you feel safe," he said, a ghostly whisper into my hair.

"You do, I do, always."

"Tell me what you want, my mouth, my hands, my…anything you want."

We were both too shy to say what we both wanted, so I ran my hands down his spine to the swell above his skinny ass. He threw his head back and mewled. A generous helping of lotion later, I took myself in hand and guided it between his legs. With my other hand, I urged him down. When I entered him, his eyes went wide and then closed, his long lashes sweeping over his cheeks.

"I like this, even better than at the library," he said.

"Of course you do, you're totally in control and we are in your bed," I told him. "Now set the pace."

He held perfectly still and I knew he was listening to his internal clock. If it hurt, he made no sign of it. He put his hands on the pillow to either side of my head and rocked down on me hard. He rolled his hips and established a pace that made my head spin. It was better like that, with him riding me, looming over me with all his hot, flushed skin available to my hands, my mouth. It was difficult keeping my hips from rushing to meet his, but his was so damn sexy with his back arched that I gave up and enjoyed now hard he was working for me. I ran my hands down his back and then up his sides, drawing forth a chuckle when I hit a spot between his ribs. That sound was so magical and I felt special knowing I was one of the few people he could laugh with. He shifted all his weight to one arm and dragged one of my hands off his narrow hip and down between his legs.

"I want to…with you inside me," he gasped.

"Shintarō, you are my world, my everything."

"Always," he growled into my mouth and I came. He joined me a few minutes later, all hot and sticky over my stomach and chest. He groaned and peeled away from me.

"I'll be back," he yawned and padded quietly into the bathroom. He came back with a wet cloth and carefully wiped away the evidence from my belly.

"Just in case," I said and handed him his pants, then I put mine shorts back on as well. After we settled back down, I tugged on his arm until he covered me like a blanket.

"This can't possibly be comfortable. Can you even breathe?"

"It doesn't matter; I just need you."