Chapter 4

At the Inn

The nice Inn Keeper was sitting outside, looking around the town for any hopeful visitors who would, no doubt, need some place to get cooled off from the desert.

"Excuse me? Miss?" Sorey said politely, waiting until the older woman stood up from her seat in polite greeting.

"Oh, Sir Shepherd! Is everything alright? Can I get you anything?"

"Actually, we were wondering if there was a place to get any food? We weren't sure if you provided that for us, or if we needed to look around town," Sorey said straightforwardly.

"Oh!" the woman said, her brown eyes lighting up with delight. "We have several things available for you and your companions. Let me get you a list of what we have, and you can choose what you like. Don't worry about payment, it's-"

"Of course we'll pay you," Sorey said quickly. "Please. It's the least we can do," he said. "We're already taking up space in your tents for free, and...it just wouldn't' feel right, not paying you for the food as well."

The Inn Keeper continued to look uncertain, even as she handed Sorey a menu of what was available.

"Please," Sorey asked. "If you're still uncomfortable with it, just...think of it as you letting me not have a guilty conscience?" he half-asked, half-stated.

The Inn Keeper's shoulders relaxed, and she smiled at Sorey.

"Well alright. I think that sounds fair," she replied with some mirth.

"Let me know what you and your companions would like, and I will see to it," and she bowed politely to Sorey, before standing and waiting patiently.

"Right," he said in response, before pushing himself back through the entrance of the tent, and held up the menu proudly to the others.

"Okay! So, it looks like we have some options," he said to the others. "They've got...some sort of beef stew, a spinach lorraine quiche, a...lizard kabob, and I'm not so sure what Pot au Feu is but they have that too. Oh, and baked potatoes and simmered cactus," Sorey said, before holding the menu towards the others.

He wasn't so sure how good cactus would taste like, but he had to admit he was curious.

"A very…eclectic menu," Mikleo commented. "But I suppose we're on this journey for the experience of it after all. And since that's the case, I will try the cactus."

"That's pretty brave of you," Zaveid said. "Don't cactuseses, have spikes on them?"

"Cacti," Mikleo corrected. "And yes. But I assume the chef would remove them before serving. It would be a liability otherwise."

"I wouldn't assume anything. I once ate something called escargot, and it came inside the snail shell. I learned pretty quick you don't want to eat those."

Mikleo couldn't help himself, he chuckled. Lifting a hand to cover his mouth, he didn't want to appear too amused at Zaveid's mistake.

"What's...escargot?" Sorey asked, eyebrows raised. "Snail?" And he looked to Mikleo, whose facial expression confirmed it.

"Well, I'm willing to try just about anything at least once," Sorey said. "So I think I'll take the lizard kabobs. Who knows, maybe they're delicious and we just don't know about it," he said. He'd had the mind to order the cactus...but didn't want to copy Mikleo's order. Besides, Sorey knew he'd be able to snag a piece off of the seraph's plate. They sometimes shared food, so it wouldn't be a big deal.

After they all ordered, the inn keeper showed them to a separate tent that they had for dining. Inside was a long wooden table and a few smaller tables with chairs. A few other people were dining in as well, but their group, being the biggest, took the large table.

At first, a lot of the other humans were confused to as why the inn keeper gave such a huge table to just one man, but then their eyes widened with shock when they saw four other chairs pull out seemingly on their own. And what was more, was that when utensils and glasses were brought out, those seemed to float in midair as if someone invisible were holding them. And the man who sat at the table was clearly having some sort of conversation that they could only hear one side of.

"That…that must be the shepherd!" Came the impressed whispers. But Sorey and the seraphim were used to such things from onlookers at that point in their journey, and so they carried on like always.

Sorey had been right about sharing food, and once it came, Mikleo had no shame about stealing one of his lizard kabobs. And of course, he offered Sorey about half of his cactus. The two were precious, and clearly interested in one another. Lailah ate it up, Edna ignored it, and Zaveid was as clueless as ever.

"Here try the scorpion too!" Mikleo said, eagerly scooping some of the minced scorpion meat onto Sorey's plate. "We should familiarize ourselves with as much native cuisine as we can while we travel. That way when we write our book, we won't leave out any details."

"Oh, a book?" Lailah questioned, looking intrigued. Mikleo nodded, an excited smile coming over his face.

"Yes. Although we can't pretend it'll be even close to on par with the Celestial Record, keeping a tome of our journey around the world is something we've always wanted to do. It only makes sense to write it all down once we're done."

Looking back to Sorey, Mikleo let out a laugh of amusement when he saw Sorey looking warily at his scorpion meat.

"I've already tried some Sorey. And none of the venom is in it, I promise. I read a cook book once that said the chef chops off the tail before de-shelling it."

Sorey's face remained dubious.

"Well, alright...if you say so," he said, and took a brave bite. Much to his surprise, it wasn't all that bad, actually. A little spicy, but that he could deal with.

"Mmn! Not bad!" he mumbled, then took another bite. "I actually really like the flavor. Who would've thought? Thanks Mikleo," he said with a smile, ignoring the rest of the dining room as much as possible.

He heard what they were saying...but at this point in their journey he was so used to it, it didn't faze him all that much anymore.

"And yeah! We're definitely going to write a book. There's so much to record already, and I feel like our journey has just started. I have a feeling it's going to take us a while to write it all down..." and he bit off a bite of his kabob, swallowed, and then continued on, all in a span of about two seconds. "But it's going to be great. I just know it."

"Don't choke on your food Sorey," Mikleo scolded. "Chew."

Sorey laughed, then smiled at him in that way that always made his heart contract. Sometimes he was just too cute. Turning away and back to his own food, Mikleo took up another bite of cactus. It was a nice cool dish, and he usually preferred plants over meat. And so he rather liked it. Besides, Cacti were mostly made of water, so it was within his element.

After dinner, they paid the nice inn keeper, then they all departed and headed back over toward the inn's tent. Mikleo watched as Sorey stretched, rubbed his stomach, and commented, like always, on how full he was.

Mikleo always marveled at the human body. Sorey was always talking about his gastrointestinal tract. If it wasn't gas, it was a stomach ache, or if neither of those things, then he was hungry, or nauseous, or…worse things that Mikleo wished didn't have to happen to Sorey. He spoke of feeling full a lot too.

Seraphim never experienced those things, and Mikleo mostly only ate because it was a bonding experience with Sorey. That and he liked the taste of most foods of course. But he simply never could know all of the other things Sorey spoke of concerning his body. It was at moments such as these that he was reminded of the fact that they were indeed different, and that no matter how close they were, there were sometimes things between them.

Mikleo never liked feeling separate from Sorey. And so he, and he knew Sorey too, worked very hard to bridge those differences. It was one of his favorite parts of their relationship. Working so hard to understand one another, even when unable to experience something themselves, showed the other person how much they truly cared.

Mikleo had spent plenty of times taking care of Sorey when he was sick with either a virus, fever, or other bug. And Sorey did plenty to bridge that distance for him too. Sorey had once spent an entire day not speaking to anyone in the village in an attempt to understand how it might feel to not be heard or seen by human beings. It had been one of the sweetest things he'd ever done.

Mikleo smiled warmly in remembrance of it, and during their walk back, he couldn't help but to bring it up.

"Do you remember that time when we were twelve and you'd just learned that humans could neither see, nor hear seraphim?" Mikleo asked. He looked to Sorey affectionately. "You wanted to know what that might feel like for me, if we ever left the village, and so you vowed to take a day of silence?"

Sorey looked back to watch Mikleo as he spoke, green eyes full of curiosity, then remembrance, as he recalled the event Mikleo was describing.

"Yeah, I remember. It was...so startling to learn that," he started, before swallowing and looking straight ahead again. "I remember being really upset about it, thinking about what it would be like for you. And so I just had to know, for myself, what that might be like, not being able to speak to anyone else," he said, before stopping in place and looking directly at Mikleo again.

He was silent for just a second, but quickly started up again. "It was hard," he confessed. "And I never want you, or any of the other seraphim, to feel like you don't belong in this world. So, that's why...one of the reasons why, I have to make that dream a reality," Sorey said seriously.

The shepherd didn't add in the part that he thought it was a crying shame other humans couldn't see how beautiful Mikleo actually was...because he wasn't ready to say that just yet. But all the same, the youth thought it. And that thought made an almost imperceptible smile creep up his lips, before it subtly changed into his normal one.

"Anyway...we'll get there. Together," he said, before extending his arm and holding it out for an affectionate bump, the way they did sometimes.

Sorey's grin was contagious, and so Mikleo couldn't help but to smile too. Lifting his own arm, they bumped them together, forming a cross as they did so.

"I had to run around and explain to everyone what you were doing. It was a real pain," he said. "And I explained to you that since we lived in Elysia, there was no point in doing such a stunt, because when would I ever be among humans? But you didn't care. You were stubborn, even back then."

But despite some of the negative wording in Mikleo's comments, it was clear by his expression how much such a thing had meant to him. Even Zaveid saw it.

"D'aww, you two dudes are seriously close!" he commented, seeming impressed. But the poor bastard clearly still hadn't put the pieces together.

"You can't fix an idiot," Edna commented.

Sorey just laughed.

"Well, yeah," he continued. "Mikleo and I have done everything together since we were babies. Gramps raised us together. And I know...we were just in Elysia, but there was no way I wasn't going to do that for you, Mikleo. And it was also for me too, you know. So I could understand you better," he said, understanding that although the water seraph had some sass to him, he said everything with affection.

Mikleo was quiet for just a second, then said softly, "I know."

The group reached the inn tent. Stepping inside, they found the inn keeper had rearranged things for them. They would be the only people spending the night, so she'd lined up five beds in a row for them, having asked Sorey earlier how many seraphim were in his party. And as soon as they stepped in, three out of the five people in their group whooped for joy.

"Oh my GOD! Our own beds!" Zaveid cried with delight. "No more sleeping on the floor for me!" And then of course, he leaned in very closely to Lailah, a sly, flirtatious grin overtaking his tanned face. "Although as I mentioned at the past several inns, I wouldn't have minded sharing."

Lailah, stepping away from Zaveid before he had a chance to rest his arm on her shoulder, flurried over to one of the aforementioned beds.

"Oh my!" she said with delight. "Edna and I won't have to share!"

"Thank God!" Edna said. "Sleeping next to you is like sleeping next to an oven. I wake up sweltering."

Zaveid, clearly excited, looked over to Sorey and Mikleo, wanting them to join in on the joy.

"And Sorey and Mikleo won't have to share anymore either!"

But, oddly, at least oddly to Zaveid, Mikleo and Sorey didn't look happy. The bed situation had been something unpredictable at the start of their journey. As soon as Lailah had joined the group, and before the townspeople knew Sorey was the shepherd, it only made sense to get one room with two beds. It would have looked weird for Sorey to get more than one room, since the humans thought he was traveling alone. And with Lailah in the party, it only made sense to have the two boys share and let her have the other bed.

That custom continued throughout the entire rest of their journey. Even later on in other towns and after Zaveid and Edna joined the group, they only ever got two rooms because that equaled four beds. That meant two people still had to share. And Mikleo and Sorey had already explained to everyone that they used to sleep together all the time as children. And so, they continued to do so, never having mentioned that after they got older…Gramps had basically forced the two to get their own houses in order to separate them…because it was clear what was developing between them.

And so, the journey had given them a perfect excuse to start sharing again. And now, neither of them wanted to stop. But now…with five beds presented to them, neither could come up with a logical reason why they might continue to do so. With Zaveid out of the loop it would look weird.

"What's wrong with you guys?" Zaveid asked, noting their crestfallen faces. "Your own beds! Come on! Isn't that great? Now you can stretch out your arms and your legs! You don't have to share the blankets!"

Knowing they were already dangerously close to giving themselves away, Mikleo quickly answered.

"Yeah," he said, trying to fix his face back into its usual stoic position. "Sorey is a pretty awful blanket hog."

"What?" Sorey said, whipping his head to the side. "I...I am not," he protested, all the while knowing it was sort of true.

"You're just as guilty of that as I am," he retorted. "And I don't have ice feet," he said, even while crossing his arms over his chest and acting like that actually bothered him.

For they both knew...it didn't. Sorey liked being Mikleo's foot warmer. And...everything else warmer. The bed was just...nicer with him in it.

Well...this is definitely not so great.

"BWAHA HA HA!" Zaveid roared. "Ice feet! I bet Mikky has the worst ice feet in the world since he's a water seraph!"

A quick, pink, blush came to Mikleo's face, mainly because it was very true and he couldn't deny it, but also because no one else had ever known about his ice feet until now.

"Maybe my feet wouldn't be so cold if I had some blankets to put on them!" he retorted. Zaveid only laughed harder. As he laughed, Mikleo started over to the bed second away from the wall. He knew there was no putting off the fact that he had to choose a bed, but at the very least, he chose one that had an empty partner beside it. Making sure not to face the others, he let his disappointment come over his features. Sighing to himself, he lifted a hand to the zipper of his cloak and started to undress. The others were doing the same. Having been traveling together for so long now, and sharing such tight quarters, everyone had simply learned to look away as everyone else changed. Well…except for one.

"Zaveid, get out while we change," Edna demanded.

"Ugh, fine. Single me out, as always."

"We wouldn't have to if you could just keep your eyes to yourself."

Slipping out of his cloak, leaving a black undershirt beneath, Mikleo folded his clothes carefully and lay it on the floor just beside his bed. Then, he moved to remove his pants in a similar fashion. Beneath, he had a pair of white stretch shorts so as not to reveal anything to their traveling companions. And since he was a seraph and not a human, he didn't need to change clothes.

He didn't sweat…well…except in extreme circumstances like today. But even then, his sweat didn't smell like a human's. He had no body odor and Sorey had often told him he smelt like fresh rainwater all the time. And since his clothes were already dry, they didn't need to be cleaned. He himself never had to bathe unless dirt got on him. Daily hygiene wasn't something he had to do and was very similar to how he didn't have to eat. But he did both simply because he lived with a human. He'd gotten into the habit of brushing his hair and his teeth because Sorey did it.

Gramp's had encouraged it. He said that it was important for Sorey to see other's doing the same daily activities as himself. He explained to Mikleo once that because Sorey needed to do such things, it would make him feel bad if he thought he was burdening the others with chores that they themselves didn't need to do. But Mikleo had never thought of it as a burden. After all, he'd been raised beside him, and so ever since he was a baby he'd been doing the same things as Sorey. It wasn't just habit, it was a comforting daily routine. No matter where they were or what they were going through, bodily function and hygiene had to occur.

Using his magic to call fourth their bag in the same way he called fourth his staff, Mikleo set it on top of his bed. Then, ruffling through, he withdrew the toothpaste they shared, and then both of their toothbrushes.

"Here's your Sorey," he said, holding his out to him. "I'll make you your usual ice cup with water for rinsing."

Sorey had, somewhat dejectedly on the inside, hurried over towards the bed right next to Mikleo's and started to change. Unlike his seraph companion, he did sweat, and he was worried that he did smell a bit. But as of right now, there was no place to bathe. And so, he was stuck feeling a little grimy and sweaty from the day's journey.

He'd taken off his shepherd cloak and his dark blue outer shirt, and stayed in the black undershirt that clung to his skin. Sorey frowned. He didn't like the fact that it felt like it was clinging to his skin. And he really didn't like his very human smell.

Why couldn't he smell like Mikleo, who always seemed so fresh and dewy? Like a mountain spring, or a summer rain.

Well... Sorey thought. At least he won't have to deal with my human smell, since...we won't be sharing a bed tonight.

Even as he thought it, he felt saddened. He'd like to think that Mikleo might not mind so much.

With an imperceptible sigh, he shrugged off his pants, revealing shorts not dissimilar to Mikleo's. And of course, he put his things on the floor next to the bed too. They weren't as folded or as pristine as Mikleo's pile, but at least he'd tried.

He looked up right as he was tucking away his socks to find Mikleo's hand outstretched, offering his toothbrush.

Sorey straightened up with a smile, and took it from the other young man.

"Thanks, Mikleo. Don't know what I'd do without you," he commented, meaning it. And...at least, if he brushed his teeth, that part of himself wouldn't be so odorous.

Mikleo's eyes, as always, lingered just a little bit too long on Sorey's body as he changed. But at this point in their lives, he was well disciplined, and so after handing off Sorey's toothbrush to him, he quickly looked away once more and turned his attention back toward their bag. He never let himself indulge too much on Sorey's looks, lest someone catch him. And he was so well trained to pretend that he wasn't as infatuated as he was, from living in Elysia with so many prying eyes around, that it was only second nature to continue the façade for present company.

Still, looking away, no one was able to see what he'd captured in his mind. And Mikleo had seen all too clearly the way Sorey's undershirt had stuck to his skin from sweat, the wet shirt revealing very clearly the type of muscle Sorey had built since the start of their journey. And of course, in his brief glance, Mikleo had also seen the thick thighs Sorey now had from all of their walking and running all across the land.

Sorey was growing up: fast. And his body was changing with him. Mikleo, as a seraph, didn't experience such things. His body, he knew, would remain the same for a very long time. Although he was still growing currently too, being so young as he was, he knew he'd hit a point where his looks would simply stop. He would not build muscle from working out or from traveling. He would stay exactly as he was. He wondered if he wasn't already at that point. He'd stopped growing in height, and Sorey had surpassed him in that aspect.

Pulling out one of Sorey's plain tee-shirts and a change of shorts for him to sleep in, Mikleo raised his head and looked to him again, his face carefully crafted to be as stoic as ever.

"Here, you need a change of clothes," he said matter-of-fact. "We've been trouncing through the desert all day, you're sweaty."

And for what must have been the hundredth time since they started their journey, Mikleo couldn't help but to think of how easy it would be to help Sorey wash himself. Making water was his specialty after all, and if he'd wanted, he could have made Sorey an entire pond. But he knew the suggestion was inappropriate. After all, how would they do such a thing out in a desert town? Just step outside, strip off Sorey's clothes and then stand there and act as a shower head as he cleaned himself?

The idea was ludicrous. And besides…Mikleo knew he wasn't in a place where he could suggest such a thing. After all…he hadn't even yet found the courage to confront him with his emotions. Their conversation earlier today, although he knew it wasn't his fault, had felt like a terrible failure.

Waving a hand, and with incredible ease, Mikleo formed the ice cup he'd promised. As always, it was pristine, clear, and as beautiful as if it were made of crystal. Holding it, he waved his other hand over it and filled it with water. Then holding it out, he offered it to Sorey.

"I'll make us a basin to spit into."

Edna's eyes widened with sudden shock at the sentence.

"Wait…what?" she asked. "You're going to spit into a basin? Why?"

"Sorey's human," Mikleo explained calmly. "He needs to brush his teeth or he'll get cavities or gum disease. In order to do that he uses toothpaste to literally scrub away plaque. But he can't swallow it, because it'll upset his stomach."

Edna scoffed.

"Human's are so gross…"

"It's not gross," he defended, equally as calmly. "What's gross is not brushing your teeth. Gramps said a mouth could literally rot if you don't keep it clean."

"Gaah! You're making it SO much worse! Please stop explaining your disgusting human habits to me."

It was Mikleo's turn to scoff. Turning away from Edna, he faced Sorey once more.

"Just ignore her Sorey. She doesn't understand how important it is."

As much as he wished they hadn't, Edna's comments hurt a little. Sorey had never been treated as 'gross' or 'weird' or different, and he most certainly had never been called disgusting. He'd been raised in a very supportive community, with seraphs who loved him very much. It hadn't just been Mikleo who'd done things to help Sorey not feel so out of place; the whole village had made themselves houses with rooms and beds, even though they didn't need them.

Because of that, Edna's comments hurt.

A look of disappointment crossed Sorey's face, and his chin tilted a little lower towards his collarbone. But he didn't say anything back in defense. Edna could think he was gross all she wanted. The person who mattered, which was Mikleo, understood him, and didn't think he was gross or disgusting. And so, the water seraph was the one he replied to, instead of Edna.

"Yeah..." he said, but it would be easy for someone to tell that he wasn't exactly happy. "Thanks, Mikleo." Then the shepherd offered a smile.

Mikleo was always defending him, and protecting him. It was sweet, and nice. Sorey would do the same for him in a heartbeat, if anyone ever dared to say something truly upsetting about him, but...

What would they say?

Sorey thought he was perfect. And he didn't have to brush his teeth, but chose to do so anyway, for Sorey. He knew that. And that fact floated around his mind, making him feel instantly happier the more he mulled over it. For if Mikleo was there with him, and understood him...what did it matter what Edna, or anyone else, thought?

Mikleo, of course, saw the expression change on Sorey's face. And he immediately hated the glimpse of a hurt expression he saw there. He wanted to wipe it away. But he knew better than to say anything now. Focusing on it would only make it worse, and he'd already defended Sorey to the best of his ability. The only thing left he could think of to do…was perhaps spit out his water onto Edna's head when he was done brushing his teeth. He indulged in the fantasy for a second, but knew he could never seriously do such a thing.

After everyone finished dressing, Zaveid was invited back into the tent so he could change too. While he did so, Edna and Lailah started to settle into bed. That left Sorey and Mikleo to their odd human habits. Brushing their teeth together, as they had always done since they were children, Mikleo found great comfort in the daily routine. It may not have been necessary for his dental health, but it was certainly necessary in other ways. Brushing his teeth with Sorey made him feel close to him.

"They've never witnessed your bathroom habits before, because we've always had a decent inn with a restroom for you to use," Mikleo explained quietly after he finished rinsing. "Other seraphim, who didn't help raise a human child, like everyone else in Elysia, aren't accustomed to how humans live. Don't let it bother you." Mikleo turned to look to Sorey, then offered a soft smile, "Besides, if you're strange, then I suppose I'm stranger still. I'm so used to these habits, it feels wrong not to do them, and I have no real need like you do."

Mikleo was trying to cheer him up again, and Sorey found that to be just as sweet as some of the ice cream treats the seraph made him sometimes.

"Thanks, Mikleo," he said, quickly rinsing his own mouth. "I know you're right. They just...well, like you said, they haven't been around a human the way you've been with me," he said, taking a break to swish his toothbrush around in the remaining water, to make sure there was no residue left on the brush.

"And I don't think it's strange, not at all," he said, responding to Mikleo's statement about himself. "You've been doing it for as long as I have, so...in a way, it would be wrong to suddenly stop. Plus...it's nice, having someone understand. And sharing in the experience," the shepherd said with a smile, unaware of the fact that the water seraph had been thinking the same exact thing.

Mikleo felt a slight flutter in his chest, the kind of flutter that let him know he had to step away from Sorey before something happened that might give them away in front of the others. And so, he kept it simple and gave a quick clap on Sorey's shoulder as a show of support before turning away and heading toward his bed.

"Well, goodnight," he said. Then he climbed into bed and pulled the covers up to his waist, purposefully laying on his side so that he wouldn't be looking Sorey's way. If he tried to fall asleep looking at him, he knew he'd only feel heartache from not being able to share the same bed with him.

Straight away, he felt the bed was cold, and he was already deeply saddened by the distance between them, which was really only three feet or so. But still…it was too much. He'd gotten used to Sorey's presence.

Despite his best efforts not to, he sighed. But before anyone might focus on his depressed sigh and ask him anything, he forced his eyes shut. Maybe everyone would leave him alone if he made it clear he didn't want to be bothered.

With his mind burdened by the thoughts of his earlier failure to convey himself properly to Sorey, and of course, now, with the painful new distance between them, a cold bed, and Edna's hurtful comments from earlier about Sorey disappearing: he struggled to fall asleep. And of course, his fears of the malevolence was still swimming around as well. A natural worrier, and a natural caregiver and healer, the journey had long ago started taking a toll on the kind water seraph. And although he certainly was a strong person in mind and spirit, no one was immune to such stress.

He already knew this must have been the source of his nightmares, which he'd started having weeks ago since the battle. All the same, he didn't know how to quell them. And so, he did what he always did and he'd been hiding his nightmares, along with everything else, ever since they started in an attempt to protect Sorey. Sorey was already dealing with so much, and the last thing Mikleo ever wanted to be was a burden on him.

I came to lighten his load, he reminded himself. To make this journey not only easier for him, but fun. I want to be…his greatest support. And of course, with those thoughts, he couldn't help but think to how he'd passed out from the heat earlier in the day.

His face started to burn at the memory, and just like earlier on, he suddenly wished he could disappear. It'd been so humiliating, and he'd forced Sorey to carry him all the way to town, and then take care of him.

He felt a pressure start to build in his chest, and to his sudden horror, he found himself fighting tears.

Shit! Quickly he fought them. But he at least had solace in thinking no one would notice he was so upset. He hid things well. Hell, he was a pro. And the lights were already off in their little tent. The others were no doubt asleep.

After taking a few deep breaths, he managed to calm himself down.

I don't cry damn it! He chastised himself. I'm a support to Sorey! A strong, unmovable support! And that started to work. Feeling a little better at the reminder, and using it as always to push away any troublesome feelings that might get in his way of being that pillar of hope for his love, he repeated the message in his mind.

I'll support him. I'll take care of him. It's up to me to make sure he doesn't do something stupid, or get himself hurt. I'm here to be strong.

He repeated other such messages in his mind to himself, using it to chase away the ghouls that had started gathering in his mind and heart at night. And slowly, he started to settle into yet another fitful, restless sleep.

Something about the way Mikleo had said goodnight felt anticlimactic. Sorey wasn't exactly sure why. The other boy had said goodnight in very similar ways before, but something made the shepherd feel as if...it wasn't all Mikleo wanted to say. And that confused Sorey.

Maybe he wanted to complain about how...we're not sharing a bed tonight, Sorey thought, daring himself to think on it, too, as he padded over towards his own bed, swinging his toned legs underneath the covers mere seconds after Mikleo had nestled himself into his own bed.

He was aware, very much so, of the fact that Mikleo wasn't facing him. And the distance between the two of them was...awful. For all Sorey teased him about having ice feet earlier, the bed was infinitely colder without the seraph's warm, pleasant presence, and Sorey found himself curling his knees up to his chest, feeling out of sorts for more than once that evening.

The shepherd took a deep breath, and forced himself to close his eyes, even though his mind was racing. He thought over a lot of things...about how scared he'd been when Mikleo had collapsed, to how desperate he'd felt to get to the inn, and how relieved he'd been to see the seraph's beautiful amethyst eyes flutter open after Sorey had nursed him back to consciousness.

And then, he thought of other things, too. Like how good it had felt to take care of him. And how good it had felt to hold Mikleo's hand in his own.

He wanted that again. And more, somehow. He wanted to be close.

Then, he thought of how Mikleo had torn that hand away from him once Lailah and the others had slipped back into the tent, and he remembered how that sudden and surprising feeling of anger had risen up from inside of himself when they'd been interrupted.

Sorey didn't get angry or frustrated very often. But he was definitely feeling frustrated. He was upset that Mikleo had pulled away, and he didn't like that they weren't sharing a bed. He didn't like how Mikleo had, for whatever reason, gotten frustrated with his simplicity, and he...Just felt a lot of things, none of which he knew how to sort through or make sense of.

It was late, he was tired and exhausted from his journey and worrying over his companion, and he was lonely to boot.

But what could be done about that, right that that moment?

He might not be able to do something directly about the situation with Mikleo right then and there, since...the other boy was asleep and so was everyone else, and he should be too. Well, that was something he could take care of.

Sorey inhaled deeply, silently, smelling the musty smells of the tent and the desert and the familiar smell of himself, and let his thoughts linger on something more pleasant. Like how...beautiful Mikleo was when he slept. And once again, of the warmth that had emanated from the smaller boy's hands...and how nice it had been to have a moment alone together.

Why did that make his heart pound?

Even with those thoughts, Sorey quickly found himself drifting off into sleep, exhaustion finally taking its toll. He remained unaware of the struggles his companion, only three feet away, was having...for if he knew that Mikleo had been sad, he would've done something about it. But Sorey was a heavy sleeper, hard to disturb, and once he was on the sea of dreams, it was hard to bring him back to reality.