#hiddenxillusions

a pretty flower >w>

                         ”…………—”

     The other was clearly making fun of him now, but despite that,       Kakeru found himself unable to even summon up a glare to       direct at the older Strain, as tempting as that mere thought a-      lone was. Then again, staying angry or anything remotely simi-      lar of that sort had proved to be difficult since the two of them       returned to talking terms again. Not to mention with the way       the tattoo artist’s finger glided along his skin. The next words       though caused him to pout, albeit only slightly, but he had no       idea what to reply to that - and by the time he managed to       come up with a halfway fitting response, he had found himself       already left alone at the entrance.

          Leave it to Aoi to have his ways of surprising him.

     Another sigh spilled past his lips as the aquamancer finally       seemed to have regained enough strength to get up again.       He wondered whether Aoi’s words had some hidden mea-      ning, indirectly hinting something at him to do, but then simp-      ly shrugged it off. First, he should make sure to put the things       he had brought back with him to their rightful place. After stay-      ing with the tattooist under the same roof for a bit less than       two months, one of the places he knew rather well was the       kitchen, seeing that he somehow ended up taking care of       both their meals. Not that he minded, to say the least: he’d       have felt bad if he really ended up staying for free, despite the       fact that the burgundy-haired male let him stay to repay the       favour of being saved.

     Some time later, with a cup of freshly brewed coffee in his       hand, Kakeru walked over to the older male, making sure to       be silent since the other seemed to be concentrated on work       as he carefully set the drink down onto the desk.

    He hadn't exactly expected Kakeru to get the hint, see the underlying     connotation to his words -- he wondered why he hadn#t been blunt,     clear and simple, and instead chosen to word what he had wanted to     say in the way he did. Maybe a part of him did expect the other to     understand, after all; maybe he had thought the obvious hunger he     had displayed for the aquamancer had been enough of a giveaway     for him to know that those sketches were the last thing Aoi wanted to     focus on. In the end, he couldn't quite focus on them, the details     never looking good enough for his tastes no matter how many new     sheets of paper he tried his luck with. Soon enough, the little trash-     can next to his desk was overflowing with crumpled up balls of paper,     all full with unsatisfactory sketches of his customers' tattoos.

    Aoi never did anything half-heartedly when it came to his job.

    He loved being a tattoo artist. it was his creative outlet, his passion,     the sketching and the tattooing and the smell of the tattoo ink and     the noise of the machine -- it was soothing to him, calming, and kept     his mind occupied. But currently, keeping his mind occupied was     difficult, when he knew Kakeru was back and only a short distance     away from him, and the only thing he really had to do to get what he     wanted was to rise to his feet, approach him, and --

    The sound of a cup being placed onto the hard surface of his desk     caused for his thoughts to derail, and slowly, his gaze guided up-     wards to glance at the very male he had just been thinking about.     Briefly, his eyes wandered to that cup, and watched the steam set     off and dissipate in the air, filling it with the scent of...

    He had made him coffee.

    A slender eyebrow quirked upwards as he once again regarded Ka-     keru with a glance, and then, wordlessly, reached out to hook his      right forefinger around the rim of the other's pants to tug him a little     closer.

                         "...tell me what you think of this."

     And just as before, the black panther silently pressed some       more kisses along the side of his snowflake’s face, trying to re-      gain his composure as well as hoping that it would sooth the       albino, if only slightly. The way Naoki tried to keep any sounds       to himself was enough to tell the raven-haired male just how       painful that whole process must have been. He felt torn, not       sure whether he should tell the bluebird to stop what he was       doing, or just let his fellow clansman continue, seeing that nei-      ther of them were unfamiliar with their current situation.

     Still, he wasn’t even remotely surprised at the way his heart       would gave a painful squeeze whenever his ears picked up the       softest sounds spilling past the Strain whisperer’s lips.

     He had never felt more relieved as the other finished using his      abilities. Mien growing more worried as silver optics darted       over to the blue-haired male upon picking up the way Kaoru’s       breath escaping him in irregular pants, the frown on the black       panther’s lips only seem to deepen. “…you should sit down and       rest for now,” he murmured softly, his voice kept quiet since the       risk of his voice breaking in the middle of the sentence was still       there. Then, his attention shifted towards the white-haired male       still cradled in his arms. “…and you should probably sleep. Or       take a bath - up to you,” he said, followed by more soft kisses       pressed onto his beloved’s forehead.

    All Kaoru was able to do was nod, vision blurring a little just from that —     maybe he had used a little too much power for that, compared to other     instances, small amount of injuries. Deep down, at the very core, he     supposed, he was too good of a person, after all. Maybe it was Ryou-     ichi’s influence, or maybe still that urge to be like Hibiki; he wasn’t     certain. But he was glad to see Naoki relax in the black panther’s arms,     and despite not wanting to, finally sprawled out across the floor, any-     was, panting softly still but smiling.

                “I’m just gonna need like, five minutes, ‘nd then I’m leavin’                 you two lovebirds alone.”

    The comment earned a weak chuckle from Naoki, less wry and more     mirthful now, but still not like it was supposed to be. He was still sore,     and tired, and both mentally and physically beyond exhausted. It     took him everything he got to keep his eyes open, if he had to be      completely honest, and the only thing he could really and properly     focus on were those arms around him and that warmth he was so     familiar with, radiating off of Soushi in slow, soothing waves. Slowly,     he turned a little in the panther's hold to snuggle closer to him,      seeking that warmth and almost clumsily clutching at the front of     his shirt with his hands. His cheek then rested against the taller's     shoulder, and he allowed his eyes to close briefly.

    "...I haven't showered in two days and I'm still caked in blood in one     too many places, Sou... I really need to get some soap and water      onto my skin." Naoki's eyes opened again and peeked up at a strand     of usually white hair, covered in crusted crimson now. "...and my      hair." Once more, he shifted a little in his position to sit up slightly,     a quiet groan slipping past his lips -- as expected, moving anything      at all was a hassle still. "...I somehow doubt I can manage that alone     though. That's... a problem."

    With a defeated sigh, he simply let himself fall back against Soushi,     forehead leaning against his collarbone. Sleeping sounded like     heaven, of course, but he really did not want to stay like he was a     second longer. It wasn't only the blood which bothered him, but the     dust and dirt and the stench of that place he had been forced to stay     in with that person he loathed more than words could describe. A-     nother sigh followed as he turned his head to glance over at the     bluebird, who was slowly rising to his feet again.

    "Why's that a problem? You've got Sou-chan t'help you." Stepping     forward, Kaoru leaned down for a moment, seemingly fully recovered     from that brief exhaustion, and shot him an optimistic grin. "I'm gonna     go home now, yeah? You can buy me a cake or somethin' for     healin' you once again later." The Strain then turned on his heel,     still grinning widely, saluted the other two with a suggestive glance     over his shoulder, and left the apartment without another word.

     ”…I told you not to talk so much,” he finally breathed out as      he carried the albino over to the couch where Kaoru was      already waiting for them. “Let’s focus on patching you up       first, and then we’ll talk.” He nuzzled some more against       his beloved’s face, the movements gentle while trying to       be assuring at the same time. He had no doubt that his       own clothes were getting drenched as well, but he couldn’t       care less as of a current, if he had to be honest.

     Upon arriving at the bluebird’s side, Soushi carefully moved       to settle his albino down onto the soft mattress before sea-      ting himself so that the other would be able to lean against       him for support when needed. Then, he looked at his fellow      clansman. “…please tell me if there is anything I can help      you with…”

    Auric eyes watched the black panther attentively, watched his every     move, and he was almost astounded how careful he was with Naoki --     but that was probably to be expected. For a split second, it brought     a smile onto his face.

               "Ah, you can... hold his hand, I s'pose. This ain't gonna be fun."

    His attention then fully shifted to the cryomancer, taking in the sight     of him leaning a little against his boyfriend and fluttering his eyes closed     briefly. A faint sense of deja-vu washed over him, reminding him of     similar situations, and he couldn't help but sigh softly and shake his     head. "Th'day you don't get yerself into trouble's probably gonna     be th'day the world ends," he commented off-handedly, and earned     a weak, painful grin from the white-haired Strain.

    "You know me too well, Kaorun."

    Kneeling in front of the cryomancer then, Kaoru leaned up, hands     carefully placed on Naoki's upper thighs for support, and he could     feel him flinch from only that, which was not surprising at all. Still,     he didn't retract his hands, and stayed in his position adamantly.     "What d'you think? Is this as bad as the other times?" he asked,     head tilting a little as he watched the other's eyes open once more.     But instead of speaking this time, Naoki merely shook his head, and     Kaoru wondered whether it was a reflex to try and make him worry     less, even though he knew Kaoru would see how bad his wounds     were, or if he was honest. 

    He shrugged those thoughts off, and reached up finally to press     his fingers lightly against the cut on Naoki's lips. Judging by the state     the wounds on his face were in, after all, he had already cleaned     at least those, which was a little less work for him. The cryomancer     winced as the healing light of Kaoru's Strain ability brushed over     his skin, and as always, the feeling of his skin and flesh growing     together was nausea-inducing and painful, but he stayed silent.     After a few moments, Kaoru withdrew his hand, and assessed the     situation again, wondering where to continue.

     How he managed to still keep his composed expression in       place though was a mystery. He found himself unable to re-      turn that smile that probably looked as painful as it was, and       the moment he noticed his boyfriend leaning back against       the wall for support, Soushi had closed the distance between       them to pick the other up gently - carefully even as not to wor-      sen any other possible injuries that were still hidden by the       drenched clothes.

          “…you talk to much, baka,” he muttered softly, his worry            washing over his face as he gently pressed his lips onto            the cryomancer’s forehead.

     Then, his attention returned back to the blue-haired male.       ”…let’s take him inside and have a look at his injuries first.       I’m counting on you, Kaoru… please…”

    Just like Soushi, Kaoru could feel sheer worry take a hold of him, nearly     choke him for a moment — but in the end, he had expected worse. He     always did, especially when Naoki or Izumi were the ones requesting     his help. They were both reckless, and admittedly, the state Naoki was     in currently was probably one of the better ones he had seen him in.     But that was only an idle observation, made to keep his mind as      clear as he could. Healing with a troubled mind didn’t work as well,      the bluebird knew that, and maybe that was why he simply stepped      into the apartment and vanished for a moment, only to return with a     small bucket of water in one hand and a first aid kit in the other,     a rug and a towel slung over his small shoulder… it was routine. He     could heal, of course, but still needed to clean wounds if they were     a little older. Kaoru wondered whether he was too used to this by     now as he set his utensils down on the coffee table in front of the     sofa and then allowed his gaze to wander back to the albino and his     boyfriend.

    Meanwhile, Naoki had barely noticed the black panther coming closer,     too focused on staying conscious despite his body’s fervent need for     rest and something, anything that drowned out the pain. Being     picked up registered vaguely in his mind, and it was only when the     other’s voice sounded that he seemed to be fully awake.

              “…I disappear for a few days and the first thing you do is insult               me? I shouldn’t be surprised…”

    Reflexively, and despite the pain the movement brought with it, he     curled his arm around Soushi’s neck, bloodied fingers digging     shallowly into the back of the taller’s clothing. “…I’m so sorry…”

    What he was apologizing for, he wasn’t sure, maybe for vanishing,     maybe for worrying the other, maybe for being weak in the end des-     pite all his power and despite the assistance, even though forced, of     the Blue Clan’s third in command.