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Kyuro looked skyward, blinking the mingling tears and raindrops from his dulled ruby eyes. He stood in the empty street, lost, alone, unsure of where to go next. Brushing a few soaked strands of his fiery hair from his face with long, gentle fingers, he sighed and turned up the street. He strolled along, no place to go, no particular destination in mind anyway.
He had no home, no family. His friends... well... he didn't want to bother them. They all had lives and loved ones, but Kyuro... Kyuro had the rain tonight and the emptiness in his soul. The fire demon scuffed his boots on the dark pavement. "Useless..." he muttered in his husky voice. "Utterly useless..." He shook his head; hair plastered to it by the rain, and set a course for the edge of town, the forest, then... who knew? He doubted he'd make it very far, how he'd made it this far, across the city on foot, he would never know. Why did he keep going when everything was completely futile to him? No one wanted a fire demon around, except the few friends he had, but all of them couldn't possibly spare any room for him in their small apartments. He didn't have a job because of his harsh temper, and no one, man or woman, found him attractive in this filthy city where finer and more docile people and possessions were available. All in all, Kyuro Daniels should have been dead a long time ago.
He shouldn't have even made it to be an adult, not after what his father did. Not after what he did to his father. In his defense, it had been entirely his father's fault. Beating Kyuro's mother until she eventually grew so frail she threw herself from their 7th story apartment window and splattered herself on the same dark, city pavement Kyuro was walking. Then his father had thought to turn to Kyuro, to beat him senseless at the loss of his previous punching bag. Well, Kyuro wasn't as meek as his mother after he watched her die. No, he was out for blood, and it was blood he got. All over his hands and body. He still couldn't scrub the filthy smell off himself when he washed. He could still see the knife, sticking from the final of many wounds he'd inflicted on the man in his blind anger. He remembered seeing sparks, flying from his own body as he backed away in horror of what he'd done, landing on the man, how he went up in flames, so hot, yet sending a cold wave of fear over the young boy. He remembered running, and the darkness as he'd tripped over something and passed out. When he came to, he forced out the memories during the day, and feared slumber and the terrors he relived.
Kyuro stopped short as he heard a soft rustling around him and the rain seemed to have stopped. He looked up and around, at first, not comprehending where he was. "The forest..." he murmured to himself and turned, walking backwards a little, seeing how far he'd come. He shook his head to clear it and turned to face forward again. "Might as well keep walking." he sighed, trudging on igniting a small flame on his finger for a bit of light, careful not to let it spark and hit one of the trees. His eyes wandered; taking in how tall and dark the trees were, remembering rumors and tales of creatures in the forest. No one ever believed them of course, but Kyuro was ready to believe it just fine. "Maybe they'll get rid of me quickly." he chuckled grimly.
He stopped, turning as he thought he saw the glint of eyes watching him from between some trees to his left. He blinked and closed his hand, putting the flame out with a slight hiss. He walked towards the trees. A soft rustling, that could have been the wind that came with the storm overhead, emanated from all around him. Still, he moved in the direction of the glinting eyes. Suddenly, he felt the world fall from under him and everything went black.
----------
Sheehan Raejins glided from between the trees just in front of the fallen fire demon. He gave the other a wide berth as he circled, making sure he really was out. His platinum hair was dulled by the shadowy trees, but lit up with the lightening, making him look rather sinister, though he was far from it. His turquoise eyes scanned the figure on the ground, deeming him harmless for now, but he'd have to be careful of those flames if the being woke up. Sighing, he figured he'd better not leave the demon sprawled out in the path like that. Especially not with how pitiful and alone he looked.
Sheehan rolled Kyuro over and tugged him under the arms, pulling him under the largest tree near them. He gently set the other in the roots, guarding from the rain and giving him a bit of a hiding place, before looking him over more closely.
"What is a fire demon doing out here at a time like this? Especially in the rain. Doesn't that make him weak?" he mused. He gently prodded at Kyuro with a thin finger. "Not that he's very strong to begin with. I wonder why he's alone. I've never seen a fire demon without 2 or 3 others..." his eyes shifted around nervously to make sure, but Kyuro was obviously the only one.
Suddenly, Kyuro's hand latched on to Sheehan’s, and his eyes opened slightly. Sheehan tensed and tried to tug his arm away, but the demon was stronger than he seemed. "W-Who are you?" he croaked out, his deep voice groggy from his fall. Sheehan stared at him and blinked. For such a rough grip, his voice was surprisingly gentle. Sheehan relaxed a little bit.
"Sheehan." he replied. "I live in these woods and was curious to find a fire demon wandering through here so late on a rainy night. He flinched when Kyuro chuckled darkly.
"Sheehan?" he smiled a little bit. "Nice to meet you, I'm Kyuro. But don't worry. I'll be moving along soon... Searching for who knows what..." he shook his head weakly. "I'm just walking. Walking until my body gives out. That's all. So don't worry your pretty little head over my being in your forest. I'll leave soon..." his voice faded and it took Sheehan a moment to realize he'd passed out again. He tried to pull away again, but the fire demon held his arm tight.
"Kyuro?" he said, trying the name out. Relaxing, he sighed as he settled down for the night, obviously not going anywhere until Kyuro decided to let go of him. The demon seemed so pained and desperate, that Sheehan couldn't help but be a bit calm around him. This demon was no threat, he could barely talk. And there was only one of him, no matter how strong his grip was. No, this Kyuro was obviously just some lost demon passing through, but Sheehan sat and pondered his words still.
"I'm just walking. Walking until my body gives out that's all."
---------------------‘Where am I?’
Kyuro opened his eyes slowly and blinked groggily. He rubbed a hand across his eyes and stared at the towering trees around him. His eyes continued scanning and came to rest on his hand, which gripped the arm of the one from his dream the night before… at least, he had thought it was a dream.
“Sheehan…” he mumbled, the night before coming back to him slowly. The figure stirred at the sound of his name, the slight breeze moving the shadowy patterns on him cast by the leaves above. Turquoise eyes fluttered open and a gentle sigh slipped from between soft lips. Kyuro blinked and slowly released his grip as the other sat up.
“I… sorry.” He said softly. Sheehan cocked his head to the side, confused. Kyuro twined his hands together in his lap, eyes set on the ground. “For making you stay here all night.” He said in reply to the unspoken question. “Did I leave a mark?” he asked, eyes flicking to Sheehan’s arm to make sure.
Sheehan shook his head and held up his arm to show it was just as pale and smooth as the rest of him. Kyuro nodded softly and stood, looking back towards the main path. Sheehan was surprised. For all he’d heard that fire demons were ruthless, violent creatures, and for all the demons he’d seen to prove that, Kyuro’s calm and sad actions confused him. This demon wasn’t ruthless or violent. In fact, he was the exact opposite. Kyuro just seemed to be lost and blank. His eyes were dull, and stared without ever really focusing. Despite the warnings in his head, Sheehan was compelled to try and help him.
“Come with me.” He said, standing and brushing himself off. Kyuro stared at him blankly. Sheehan sighed and rubbed his head. “You must be hungry. You need to get out of those wet clothes as well.” He said. “Now come on.” He held out his hand and was surprised when Kyuro pulled back.
”N-no… it’s okay.” Kyuro said. “I’ll be fine.” As he said this, his clothes began to steam as he heated them up and the water all evaporated out of them. Sheehan shook his head. He grabbed Kyuro’s arm and dragged him towards a safe house he knew of nearby. Kyuro looked stunned but didn’t struggle. Sheehan shook his head again.
Kyuro’s eyes focused for the first time on Sheehan. He watched how the light that made it’s way between the leaves and caught, lighting up the platinum hair. Every time the boy looked back at Kyuro, his eyes lit up in the same light, and looked like clear Caribbean water. Kyuro was spellbound. Even though all had been hopeless yesterday, here was this beautiful creature, intent on helping him, even though he was a fire demon, which caused most people to avoid him. When they reached the cabin and Sheehan reached for the door handle, Kyuro grabbed his other arm. Spinning him around, Kyuro pinned him to the wall of the house. He did it gently, but forcefully, holding his arms tight on either side of his head.
Kyuro didn’t do anything after that; he just stared, watching the light and shadows play across the soft, pale skin. He watched the slight breeze ruffle the boy’s hair, and admired the way his clothes hung off his body. Their eyes met and he saw the slight fear and confusion in his eyes. Blinking, Kyuro let go and turned away.
“Sorry...” he said softly. Sheehan rubbed his wrists, though they didn’t hurt, and turned to open the door.
“Don’t worry about it. You just scared me a bit.” He said, opening the door and ushering Kyuro inside. The demon meekly moved past him and looked around the small house. Really, it was more of a hut. A counter separated the main living room area where they were standing, from a small kitchen area. There were a few boxes of nonperishable foods on the counters, showing that the house was probably used quite often. In the living room, right in front of them, there was a small table and a couch that was probably a pull out, due to the lack of any place other than the floor to sleep on. Kyuro’s eyes roved back to Sheehan, who was watching him cautiously.
“Thank you.” He said, surprising the elf boy yet again. Sheehan ducked his head in reply and nodded. Kyuro smiled a little. ‘How cute.’ he thought. He shook his head and moved into the room. “Are you going to stay here with me?” he asked. Sheehan blinked at him and cocked his head to the side.
“W-Well, I hadn’t really planned on it.” He replied, realizing he had been silent a while. Kyuro’s eyes flicked away and he couldn’t help but step forward. “But I’ll stay a while, at least until you’re feeling better.” He smiled and leaned to catch Kyuro’s eyes. Kyuro looked at him and moved forward with a soft smile. Sheehan held himself still.
“Do you think you can make me better?” he asked when he was right in front of the boy, looking down, though not in a way that made him too uncomfortable. In fact, he kind of liked the soft look in the demon’s eyes as he looked up into them. The ruby color didn’t even scare him; it was a warming look, like a gentle fire in his home fireplace. He bit his lip and looked aside, unable to answer. Kyuro chuckled softly and slid a finger under Sheehan’s chin, pulling his face up again. Sheehan shivered, he was starting to get a chill from this after all. Was the demon casting some sort of evil spell on him? Perhaps those eyes weren’t quite so calming...
Kyuro smiled and raised an eyebrow, smelling the elf’s fear. He grinned, showing sharp canine teeth. Running his thumb over the boy’s soft lips, he chuckled before turning away with a sigh.
“If you can help me, I would be forever in your debt.” He muttered quietly, heading into the kitchen to find something for them both to eat, leaving Sheehan standing in the entryway, frozen and trying to remember how to breathe through the pressure of his pounding heart.
--------------
After dinner that night, the two settled down in the living room. Sheehan curled up on the couch, and Kyuro sat in the windowsill. He rested his head on the cool glass and stared out at the new storm that had started sometime in the afternoon. His eyes watched the thick drops fall between the leaves and onto the already overly muddy ground.
“If this keeps up I won’t be going anywhere.” He said softly, startling Sheehan, who looked up from the book he had found on a dusty shelf in the corner of the room. “Not that I’m complaining.” The fire demon turned to look at the pale creature on the couch and smiled.
There it was again, that feeling that his heart was pounding so hard he couldn’t get his lungs to work. He faintly felt his face heat up and Kyuro chuckled. “Don’t worry little elf, I won’t harm you while I stay here. I owe you for having the courage to pull me out of the mud and rain last night.” He gracefully slid off the seat and wandered over to look at the bookshelf. He hummed softly, scanning the titles and running his fingers over the spine of each book, enjoying the textures on his sensitive fingers.
Finally, he turned away. Sensing eyes on him, he looked up, only to fid Sheehan with his nose buried in his book, his face slightly flushed, as it seemed to get every time Kyuro spoke to him. ‘How cute.’ He thought again, strolling over and sitting on the opposite side of the couch. Setting his chin in his hand, he pretended to be staring off into nothing, while glancing over at Sheehan every now and then, observing him.
Finally, Sheehan sighed and shut the book, unable to take the silence any longer.
“So, why were you walking through the forest all alone in the rain last night?” he asked when Kyuro turned towards him. Kyuro made a face, eyes going a little empty again.
“Why not?” he said simply. He looked at his hands and rubbed at them like there was some invisible dirt there he couldn’t scrub off. Sheehan looked at him curiously. “I have no place else to go. “I was just walking straight through the forest, but I guess it was too much for my body, because I’d been walking since yesterday afternoon.”
Sheehan blinked in surprise. “But it was after midnight when you got here!” he exclaimed, raising up a bit and leaning in towards Kyuro. Kyuro smiled a little and looked over at him, leaning a little too.
“Was it? I wasn’t really keeping track of the time as I walked. I was thinking...” he trailed off, remembering just what he was thinking about. Not that he ever really stopped thinking about it. Memories like that never went away, no matter how hard you tried to suppress them, or cover them up. Sheehan saw the pained look on his face and felt the sudden urge to comfort him again. He reached out a hand, hesitantly, but started to pull it back, thinking it would make Kyuro uncomfortable. He was surprised when Kyuro’s hand shot out, like the night before, and grabbed his. He squeezed it gently closing his eyes and taking a few deep breaths. Kyuro smiled softly and made something of a snickering sound, but not unkindly. “You act like you’re the one having a harder time with this than I am.” He chuckled. Sheehan glared softly.
“Hey, don’t tease me.” He snapped, but there was a playful tone to his voice. Kyuro shook his head and once chuckled again. He squeezed Sheehan’s hand in return.
“I’m sorry. Thank you for bringing me here.” He smiled sweetly and leaned forward, causing Sheehan’s heart to skip a beat. “You know, you keep jumping like that and I might start to think there’s something wrong.” He purred gently, his eyelids lowering a bit, causing him to have to look at Sheehan through his long lashes. Sheehan’s eyes drifted to Kyuro’s mouth. There was a small silver stud just below and to the left of the full bottom lip. Sheehan had seen it sparkle in the light before, but hadn’t really registered it as a piercing.
Kyuro realized what he was looking at and flashed a sweet smile, watching Sheehan’s eyes flicker as they followed the tiny glint. He leaned forward until Sheehan was cross-eyed trying to see it, and then pressed their lips together delicately, just as Sheehan closed his eyes to shake off the strange feeling in his eyes. Before Sheehan could open them again, Kyuro had pulled back and was looking at their twined hands, avoiding Sheehan’s gaze with a soft smile. Sheehan made a soft, questioning noise, staring at Kyuro.
“Wh-what was that?” he asked, starting to tug his hand away. Kyuro looked up at him, looking hurt. He held on to the other’s hand, not wanting to let it slip away from his own.
“What? You were just so cute, I couldn’t help myself.” He said, sticking his lip out in a pout. Sheehan flushed.
“C-cute? What are you talking about?” Sheehan stuttered. Kyuro smirked and leaned forward, making the elf lean back to get away. “Hey, stop that! What do you think you’re doing? Is this how you repay me for saving you?” he cried, closing his eyes and cringing, now lying on the couch and unable to go any further. He cracked an eyelid when he felt Kyuro freeze.
The red head was staring down at him, an unreadable expression on his face. He sighed and looked away, getting off the couch, and letting their hands fall apart.
“Well... I thought of it as a thank you. But apparently you don’t seem to like it.” He tilted his head and looked up at the low ceiling. “I’m sorry for scaring you. You just… you were so sweet looking and... Well... I couldn’t help myself.” Sheehan stared at him.
“I’m not a girl.” He said flatly. “Why are you using words like ‘cute’ and ‘sweet’ to describe me?” he stood, putting his hands on his hips. Kyuro didn’t look, just cocked his head a little when he heard the elf stir behind him. “I’m NOT a girl.” He repeated firmly. “So why are you treating me like one?” he set a firm glare on the back of Kyuro’s head, faltering a little when he chuckled.
“I’m not treating you like a girl. And what else do you want me to call you? Handsome? That doesn’t quite fit you.” He sensed Sheehan’s face had flushed again by the way the boy gasped. “I can’t use the same treatment towards girls and boys, even if it fits?” he turned and gave Sheehan a quick, questioning glance. “Besides, you said you’d help me get better. What if that helps me?” his voice faded and he stared down at his hands, wanting to wipe the blood he could see on them, but he knew wasn’t there. “Then again, perhaps you have a right to be afraid and angry... I don’t know why you stayed.”
Sheehan was utterly confused now. One minute, the demon boy was playing tough, and then he totally changed back to being depressed, and said such cryptic things. He gave an exasperated sigh.
“Stop doing that.” He admonished, taking a step forward.
“Doing what?” asked Kyuro, still focused on his hands.
“Changing your moods so quickly, I can’t keep up.” He rolled his eyes and reached to grab both of Kyuro’s hands, covering the tan with his own pale skin. Kyuro gave a half-hearted snort and saw the blood receding from his vision. His ruby eyes flickered up again.
“Well, I can’t help it if you’re slow.” He said flatly. Sheehan blinked a little bit then a smile slowly crept across his face.
“Hey, I’m not that slow!” he replied with a little snicker.
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah!”
“Well, you still can’t keep up with this.”
“Wh-?”
Kyuro’s lips were pressed firmly to his, yet again, and al he could do was blush and freeze up, feeling his entire body getting hot. Kyuro pulled away after what seemed like an eternity and smiled.
“See? Your brain is so slow it’s on overdrive and still hasn’t comprehended that.” He giggled. Sheehan frowned.
“Why do you keep doing that?!” he snapped. Kyuro stuck out his lip in a pout.
“I told you. You’re cute. That, and it’s fun to see your face get all red like that.” He kissed both the boy’s cheeks to emphasize his point.
“Stop that!” Sheehan spluttered. Kyuro’s lip returned to it’s pouting position.
“You don’t like it? Why? I thought you liked me because you haven’t pulled away yet...” his eyes flicked away, uncertain.
Sheehan frowned and opened his mouth to say something, but snapped it shut when he realized what Kyuro was saying. His frown turned from angry to confused and he looked up into the demon’s innocent ruby gaze.
“Wait, wait.” He said, shaking his head. “You’re saying, you’re not just doing this to mess with me? You’re saying you like me after only knowing me for one day?” he shook his head harder, denying it and tugging his hands away. Kyuro caught them and held them tighter.
“Yes. Well, I admit it is fun to tease you, but I wouldn’t go that far unless I liked you.” He smiled charmingly. Sheehan stared at him, mouth hanging open. The other boy smirked. “What? You going to deny that you like guys?” he asked deviously.
“Well, I don’t...” Sheehan mumbled. Kyuro grinned and pulled him into a tight hug.
“But, I think you could like me.” He said firmly as if settling the matter. “So let’s give it a shot.” He nodded and kissed Sheehan’s head.
The boy roughly shoved him away. He shook his head and turned, retreating towards the door.
“No, I don’t think-“ he bit his lip and shook his head again, more forcefully. “Just NO.” he finished. Kyuro stared at him, shocked. Not that he was surprised deep down. He hadn’t been truthful, and if the elf already didn’t like him, knowing he was a murderer was only going to drive him further. Sheehan watched the demon’s eyes glaze over again and felt a pang of regret, though he denied that’s what it was.
“I see. It’s okay. I understand. I mean, if you don’t-“ Kyuro turned and went back over to the window. He curled up in his previous seat and stared outside, watching the drops of rain slide down the pane of glass, like the tears he’d longed to shed, but had learned not to when he wasn’t in private for fear of angering his father more. Sheehan slowly crept back over to the couch and stared at it for a long while before slowly pulling the cushions off and opening the bed.
“I’m sorry for hurting your feelings.” He said quietly, almost positive he hadn’t been heard. He took a breath and spoke louder. “Come on. Let’s go to sleep. Get over here on the bed.” He stripped off his shirt, slipping beneath the thin blanket.
Kyuro shook his head slightly and sighed.
“I’m fine.” He said simply, never looking away from the window. “And you didn’t do anything wrong, it was me. I’m not mad at you or anything.” He stared at the hands wrapped around his knees, for the millionth time in his life and cringed a bit, hiding them again. Sheehan wondered why the other boy always stared at them, but he was too shy to ask, as it seemed to be the reason Kyuro was constantly depressed. Better to not press the matter and make things worse. He curled up around his pillow and gave a gentle sigh, thinking of what Kyuro had confessed to him just minutes ago. It couldn’t be true. The demon was just depressed and looking for something to cling to, that’s all. He couldn’t have been serious...
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So, this whole thing was originally 3 chapters, but it seems to look better as one long one on here. Beware next chapter, there will be “happy fun stuff” as some of us call it, and some of you may want to avoid it if you no likey. bows R&R please? .o.
