No.6 - Taste of Perfection - Part 1

It had been a quiet day. Sion had already set the soup to boil (and rescued Hamlet from early death by drowning twice already), and was now sorting out the lower bookshelf that the kids left in a bit of a state earlier.
He guessed it had to be around evening time - it was a little hard to tell down here, in a room with no windows. Regardless, he was sure Nezumi should be finishing his little errand soon.
Finished with the books, he leaned back against the shelf, glancing around the room for something else to occupy himself with meanwhile. His eyes got caught on the little closet - containing Nezumi's enormous wardrobe consisting of two shirts, two pants, one jacket and that huge scarf.
Hmmm...maybe he could see if that needed any tidying up.

Just his luck. The rain had just started as he'd exited the theatre. Honestly, they really did pick their moments.
Sighing, Nezumi tugged his scarf over his head, making it into a hood, tucking the package he'd received into his jacket as he scurried home.
No doubt Sion had started cooking dinner, so he didn't really want to keep him waiting.
After the short journey, he swung the font door open, quickly tugging his scarf off, shaking off any excess water. 'I'm home,' he greeted, taking the package out from his jacket and placing it gently on the small table. 'I see you've been tidying up.'
It somewhat irked Nezumi how settled Sion was getting in this place, helping himself to his books, cooking dinner, making his bed...but at the same time, it made this dump actually feel like a real home. 'But would you mind not going through there...'

Seriously, that timing was something to be feared.
Just as he was about to reach out for the closet handles, those familiar footsteps echoed up the hallway, and seconds later, Nezumi walked through the door.
Him and his scary psychic rat-powers.
"Welcome back!" the white-haired boy called out cheerfully, stepping away from the furniture as requested and choosing to sit on the edge of the bed instead. "And yes. Dogkeeper didn't keep me for very long today, so I had some time. Thought I'd sort out the mess the kids left."
He would have stayed longer, but he got chased out. And maybe it wasn't the best time to gush to Nezumi about how the puppies were doing. He seemed a bit irked.
"How was your day? Did the play go well?

Honestly, now he could see why Dogkeeper decided to give Sion the job of cleaning his dogs. He was so fucking obedient...and didn't even seem to mind being told what do to.
And kids? That idiot was still treating this place like a crèche? What on earth was he doing?
Still, the dark haired boy gave a slight shrug. 'It was only a pep-talk for a new play. We were just given our roles and the script.'
Nezumi moved to slump down on the small couch, reaching out to make sure the script was at the top of the package before proceeding to open it. He took out the pile of paper loosely tied together with string before sitting back and having a flick through the pages. 'Pen...chuck me one, would you?'

"Ah, really? Which play is it going to be this time?" Sion perked up, moving over to retrieve the box he had gathered the pens lying around the room in. "Another Shakespeare?"
Maybe this time, he could see it without having to sneak in the last minute.
...was it worth bringing up again? Last time he did, Nezumi got quite angry. And it's not like their last time at the theatre went down all that spectacularly.
Briefly, he wondered whether this role involved a dress too as he chucked the pen the taller boy's way, putting the box back in its place and grabbing the bowls placed on the lower shelf.
Even if Nezumi didn't seem to make a move to eat, he was starving.

Really, why must he pry into everything?...then again...it was slightly refreshing that he was showing an interest in proper literature.
Nezumi caught the pen, quickly beginning to circle his lines, pausing for a moment to scribble a couple of notes.
'Yeah, it's called "Twelfth Night." It's one of his comedies. Gender switching resulting in hilarious consequences,' he replied, glancing up at his bookshelf, wordlessly calculating the location of the text itself. 'It's over there somewhere, if you want to read it.'
(I chose Twelfth Night coz it's the only Shakespeare play I know really well aside from Romeo and Juliet...which I doubt Nezumi would want to be a part of...carry on.)

Twelfth Night...Twelfth Night...
"It sounds familiar...is that the one with the brother and the sister who get separated, and there's a king...or that other one where this couple argues all the time and their friends try and get them together...?" he asked after a pause, setting the bowls down on the table before moving towards the bookshelf, scanning the titles.
This was probably going to earn him another little remark on his severe lack of knowledge on anything that was important and good in the realms of literature, somehow linking it all back to being No. 6's fault.
Well, he was never going to know if he didn't ask, did he?
Ah...there it was.
"Shakespeare has a strange sense of comedy." Sion remarked, quickly flicking through the pages, pausing to take in some of the illustrations. "I mean, don't you think it's funny how once, people would hear these lines once, and then laugh because they understood them immediately? Today, you have to read some of these puns with a dictionary, and sometimes, you still don't understand it."

Carefully dogearing the script and placing it back on the table, the dark haired boy got to his feet, picking up one of the bowls. 'Not exactly. These twins get separated, the sister needs a job, so she poses as a boy and works for this Duke. This Countess falls in love with the sister, whilst the sister is in love with the Duke...it's a bit of a love triangle,' he explained, helping himself to the food Sion had prepared, quietly commenting that it smelt pretty good.
'You must remember, Sion, humour 400 years ago wasn't quite the same as it is today. This was probably hilarious back then, although the humour is lost in translation today,' he chose to state, moving over to him, peering over his shoulder to have a look at the page he was on before chuckling lightly. 'Those are the comic relief characters...probably as funny as you can get in this story.'

Oh...so it was the first one. He'd seen a movie based (very loosely) off it with Safu once a couple years back.
Wisely choosing not to mention that to the other, Sion turned the page before glancing up at the quiet compliments, smile broadening.
"Thank you! I found some vegetables in the market that actually looked edible. I hope it tastes good!" he said, expression morphing into slight embarrassment as his own stomach loudly decided to make its emptiness known.
Well, as fascinating as the book seemed, it could wait until he ate.
The fact Nezumi had decided to take a peek at the book over his shoulder took him a little by surprise, however, causing a slight lapse in between his ears receiving the information and actually processing it.
"Yeah, I know. Still, it's pretty funny in a way. How these things turned out." he replied, craning his neck so he could face the darker-haired boy. The heavy smell of the market still clung to him faintly.
"Then again, it's not like the guy knew he had to make this funny for people who would be reading his work six hundred years later he wrote them...that's a bit of a scary thought, isn't it? Probably a good thing he didn't know when he was writing it..."
Cuz, you know, bro. No pressure. Now get back to writing those plays!
"So, who are you going to be playing then?"

Glancing down at the smaller boy, Nezumi couldn't help but give a slight smirk. 'Well he was pretty popular back then too,' he stated, pulling back and going to sit back on the sofa. He lightly blew the steaming bowl before giving the soup a tentative taste.
Wow...it was actually pretty good...it was scary what a fast learner this guy was. Still, he wasn't complaining about his culinary skills. At least now his companion could earn his keep in all...even though, Nezumi probably wouldn't have the heart to kick him out and all...
And listening to him talk was pleasant enough...until he started asking annoying questions.
'Does it matter? You're not going to come see it anyway, so you don't need to know,' he muttered before taking a rather large sip from his bowl.

Glancing down at his feet, Sion set the book down on the table and moved to serve himself a bowl in silence, carefully blowing the steam off the surface.
Hot...hot.
"...why not...?" he asked tentatively after a while, quickly gulping down a mouthful of soup right afterwards - and consequently burning his tongue.
The face he was making probably not helping his case either...still, Sion did genuinely want to know why Nezumi was so reluctant to let him anywhere near the theatre.
Was it the fact he was going to be playing a girl again? But the taller boy said so himself that in the beginning, men played every role...and wasn't this sort of thing the mark of a fantastic actor?
And if it's the dress he was concerned about - well, he looked gorgeous in it, no doubt about it. Even more so then usual.

Urgh, why the hell was he so keen on prying into his personal business? Nezumi wouldn't ask about his job cleaning the dogs, so why would he be so interested in the things going on at the theatre? 'Because it's none of your business.'
Although the obvious discomfort displayed on the other's features, caused his rather stern expression to morph into one of slightly more concern.
Idiot.
'Hey, don't just gulp it down! You trying to ruin your mouth?'
He carefully put his bowl on the table, getting to his feet and grabbing a bottle of water from one of the boxes and removing the lid before offering it to Sion. 'Here. And don't do that again.'

Well, what was he supposed to do if not swallow it? It was already in his mouth, and he wasn't going to go and spit it out. You just don't waste food.
With a little effort, Sion managed to swallow it, coughing before accepting the bottle with a muffled 'Thank you' and drinking greedily until his mouth didn't feel like it was on fire.
Briefly, he wondered whether Nezumi's order was about the soup or about his previous enquires.
"...it's none of all those strangers' business either, if you think about it." he muttered, eyes downcast and fixed on the bottle in his hand, swirling it around absentmindedly before taking a sip. "You don't seem to have a problem with them coming to see you."

Giving a slow nod, Nezumi went back to his seat, flipping the script open again, eyes scanning over the page.
Che...they had to go and keep /that/ scene in this, didn't they?
He raised an eyebrow at Sion's words, blinking slowly at him.
Although he did have a point, the dark haired male was far too proud to admit that. Instead he just scribbled onto the paper harshly, tearing it a little from the heavy friction. 'Must you continuously pry? I've already said you aren't coming to see it and that's final,' he snapped. 'Therefore, you don't need to know what role I'm playing. I was generous in telling you what play we're doing, so be content with that, alright?'
His voice was harsh and cold, yet all the while, he wasn't meeting the other's gaze, focusing more on editing the text in front of him, highlighting certain parts that needed emphasising and such.

It took a bit of effort from the white-haired male's part not to flinch at that tone, hands freezing in mid-motion for a few seconds.
...wow. It's been a while since he was in such a bad mood.
Perhaps something happened during the rehersal...?
Wordlessly, Sion set down the water bottle on the floor carefully before picking up his bowl and finishing his soup, taking care not to burn his sore tongue any further. Once his bowl was empty, he wrapped up the remainders and busied himself with washing-up, still in silence.
The first time, he let it pass. But now, his mind wasn't going to give him peace until he found out just why Nezumi was so eager to keeping the smaller male from seeing him on stage.

Ah, silence, just what this place needed...although, it had left an almost undesirable tension in the room that Nezumi did his best to ignore, busying himself with making a few sarcastic annotations on some of Olivia's lines.
Stupid girl, being in love with her own brother...The Bard really did get away with the stupidest things.
Although, eventually, the silence had to be broken, the taller male leaning back, eyes locked on his companion. 'Why're you so interested anyway, Sion? You could go to any other theatre and see a play with professional actors perform the same thing.'
He'd already seen him in Hamlet...surely that had been enough for him.

Having been lost in thought (and mostly unaware of the tension and discomfort emanating from the other), Sion jumped a little as Nezumi suddenly broke the silence, glancing over his shoulder to meet his gaze, eyes widening a little at the question.
"...because I want to see /you/ perform, Nezumi." he replied with a straight face, tone suggesting incredulity at the dark-haired boy 's suggestion.
And 'Hamlet' totally didn't count. After all, he got to see Nezumi act for about two minutes before he collapsed on stage, and he -
Right, let's not recall how Sion felt at that particular moment in time.

It just...didn't make any sense...Sion could go to any theatre and watch some amazing actors really do the plays justice and make them something simply more incredible than could ever be imagined from reading words off a page, yet...he was so keen to just see him. Those eyes didn't lie, either. He was dead serious.
Nezumi couldn't deny how intimidated he felt when the white haired male got this serious, spouting things that could be akin to a love confession with unwavering eyes...
Slumping forward in defeat, the taller boy gave in. '...I auditioned for Olivia, but I got given Viola...it's the first time I've not been given the role I auditioned for,' he muttered, glancing over at Sion. 'It's not exactly a challenging role, either. The girl doesn't say much, despite her having the most stagetime.'

He didn't expect Nezumi to actually tell him what was bothering him. Sion couldn't exactly conceal his surprise initially, but he quickly covered it up with the cheerfulness that followed.
"Just clear it up for me which one's which." he laughed, putting the dishes back on the shelf and moving to sit beside his companion, quickly scanning over the annotated script and acquainting himself with the characters and their (confusing) relations.
"...Viola's the leading lady though, so I guess it makes sense that they gave the lead role to you." he concluded after a while, nibbling on his lower lip thoughtfully. "I mean, that makes sense. Also...Viola's a girl, pretending to be a boy. And...you're a boy who's pretending to be a girl...who's then gonna pretend to be a boy, whilst trying to still be somewhat of a girl when she's around the guy she likes. That...sounds like quite a challenge to me...don't you reckon?"

Well...at least he seemed content now that he knew what the problem was. And after a brief explanation of the two characters, he seemed all the more interested in the roles themselves...heh, it was good he was actually showing an interest in proper literature and all.
Ah, shit, there was a bit of fabric sticking out from the parcel. Nezumi reached over, trying to tuck it back out of sight as discreetly as he could. Yes, he'd just expressed his annoyance about the situation to Sion, but he was nowhere near being comfortable with him seeing /that./
Though he listened to the other's words, actually finding a fair bit of truth behind his reasoning.
This...was true...he'd been given the lead role...and it probably would be more challenging than he had initially thought. It wasn't just about memorising lines and regurgitating them; it was about becoming the character and making the audience believe you're actually them...
'...I suppose you're right...'

Luckily for the budding actor, Sion was too absorbed in the task of trying to understand the play and the dynamics between the characters to notice his actions - for now, at at the compliment, the albino got up to make some coffee for the both of them quickly before slipping back into his seat, picking the conversation up about the play where they left off.
It wasn't often that Nezumi allowed a peek into his...job? Hobby? One of his passions? - so Sion was all too eager to jump at the chance, and find out about it as much as he could until Nezumi deemed him to be too nosy and a nuisance.
But he really did want to help the other with his acting any way he could - he really did wanted to let the dark-haired boy know he supported him, and that he could ask Sion for pretty much anything.
...hold that thought.
"Do you want me to help you practice with your lines?" he piped up after a few more minutes of quiet discussion and annotation. "I mean, like...just so you get a feel for it? I mean...it's easier if there's someone to interact with, isn't it...?"

Despite all that was said earlier on, Nezumi's insecurities about his role in the play and Sion knowing of these insecurities, he really did feel a lot better. He'd been in a bad mood for most of the afternoon because of it, which was extremely noticeable when the cast were sat in a circle and reading out their lines and "Eve" was mumbling his lines out less than enthusiastically. Maybe playing Viola was going to be a lot more interesting than he'd anticipated.
And that suggestion that Sion made was...actually a pretty good idea. His answer came in the form of flicking through the pages and stopping at one scene in Act III with Olivia and Viola in the garden before handing it to the albino and getting to his feet. 'Just read Olivia's lines out as well as you can,' he said. 'We'll start from when the two of them are left alone.'

It was probably a good thing had just set his coffee on the table when the script was handed to him. Otherwise he might have spilt something.
"O-okay!" he replied enthusiastically, getting to his feet as well to stand opposite Nezumi, glancing over the paper in his hands.
Right. From what he gathered, Olivia was a woman of noble descent - a bit like a dame, or a duchess. So she would have been brought up knowing all sorts of etiquette and whatnot. Probably carried herself with grace and confidence.
And now, she had been left alone with the man that had caught her eye, and made her heart flutter.
Or rather, the man a woman was posing as.
Pulling himself up straight, Sion smiled at the other gently, extending one of his hands. "Give me your hand, sir." he quoted, voice soft and polite but carrying a quiet air of authority he imagined a lady of Olivia's standard would have.

Well, would you look at that. From the way Sion was looking at the script, the dark haired male could only assume that he was trying his best to portray this character to the best of his abilities.
Did he not realise this was only a practice and Nezumi had only been expecting him to read the line, not be all grand and stately in the process?
Still, it was something to work with, better than some invisible person he'd always used to practice with in the past.
Alright...you are a woman...pretending to be a man. With that idea in mind, Nezumi reached out and delicately held Sion's hand, grasp growing slightly tighter before he gave a slow bow. 'My duty, madam, and most humble service,' he replied words and voice strong, yet there was something mixed in there, perhaps to make it seem like this were two women speaking.

Wh-wh-
Whoaaa.
If Nezumi was going to approach the 'male' aspect of this character with such...overbearing charisma and charm, he doubted the actor playing Olivia was going to have any trouble portraying the lady's adoration for this 'young man'.
"W...what is your name?" he managed to enquire, fighting off the slight flush that might have risen to his cheeks. Thankfully, his voice came out strong, and his posture held too.

Right. Should he stick to his annotation of kissing Olivia's hand?...meaning he would have to kiss Sion's hand...who was seemingly already flustered like hell from, what, one sentence.
...Yeah, go on then.
Leaning down further, Nezumi lightly pressed his lips against the other's hand before letting it go and standing straight. 'Cesario is your servant's name, fair princess,' he recited before the conversation continued, only stopping a couple of times for the aspiring actor to take a quick glance at the script.
His words didn't seem forced and fell from his lips almost effortlessly as continued to unwittingly attract the clueless Countess Olivia whilst shamelessly trying to plug his own Duke.
Sion was right...there were a lot of thoughts running through his head as to how he could make this role more believable. The whole time, he was thinking "I am a woman pretending to be a man" and carried this illusion off perfectly.
Even Sion seemed to be getting into his role, which was really great to see.
He gave one last bow to the Countess before continuing to speak. 'And so adieu, good madam: never more will I my master's tears to you deplore.'

As they exchanged the lines, Sion felt his earlier insecurities vanish, slowly replaced with growing joy as he got more and more absorbed into the play.
He felt like now he could understand why Nezumi loved acting so much - how amazing it was to simply loose oneself into another's role.
Viola (or rather, Cesario) bowed, getting ready to leave - and for a brief second, Sion could actually feel Olivia's pain. It's a shame the scene was about to end.
Sighing softly, he dipped his head gracefully before quickly stepping forward and catching Nezumi's wrist, imploring him with his eyes to stay for another minute.
"Yet come again; for thou perhaps mayst move...that heart, which now abhors, to like his love." he quoted, voice dropping to a soft whisper towards the end - crimson eyes locked together with his companion's grey ones - as he stood on his tiptoes and - like the script suggested - pressed a kiss against the other's cheek.

Alright, guess that wrapped the scene up.
Nezumi was getting ready to ask for some feedback and criticism; what could he work on, what was good, etc. Though that was cut short when he had a load of Sion all up in his face, looking at him all endearing.
Was he...still acting? Jeez...that whisper sent a shiver down his spine, whether or not it was desirable, he wasn't quite sure. And even before Nezumi had a chance to pull back, the other's lips were against his cheek.
He...he didn't have to go /that/ far.
The taller male could've done plenty of things. He could've shoved him away, barked at him for being inappropriate or even tilted his head to the side slightly and pressed their lips together. Though instead, he pulled back a little, meeting Sion's eyes before giving a slow nod and turning away, as if to walk off stage.
A few moments later, he grinned at the other male. 'Good. That was good.'

As Nezumi turned away to walk 'offstage', Sion's eyes gaze softened, corner of his lips tugging up into a little smile.
In that second, he felt like he was completely encompassed in the role - having been given a brief glance into the world of someone whom he admired.
Just a brief look - a brief taste - with a wordless, uncertain promise that this wasn't the last time he would allow the albino this close.
And then the moment passed, and they were back in the little underground room, back to being Nezumi and Sion.
"Yeah, I thought so too!" he nodded, reciprocating the grin, setting the script back down on the table. "I think you're really getting a feel for this character - I mean, that was really amazing."

Nezumi was actually quite surprised he'd managed to keep his cool when Sion had gone and planted one on him...no...it hadn't been Sion. It had been Olivia expressing herself to Cesario...Sion wouldn't...well, he would but he wouldn't use acting out a scene from a play as an excuse to do it. He'd just go ahead and do it. That much seemed obvious.
The taller male couldn't help but smirk a little at the comments he was receiving. Oh no, you're too much, stop it~
'It still needs a bit of work though,' he declared, deciding it was high time to hide that blasted parcel away somewhere and try on the contents in private. Although fate just didn't seem to be on his side as the rest of the paper ripped open as he picked it up, the contents falling on the floor.
And what contents they were. It almost looked like fabric...no...a dress, which was nice and crumpled on the floor.
Sion be damned. Nezumi was going to get into so much trouble if the costume was ruined. He hurriedly crouched down, picking it up and inspecting it for creases. '...Man...that could've been our dinner for a month just gone down the drain.'

"Yeah, there were some parts where you just seemed like too much...too much Cesario, you know?" Sion chuckled, picking up his mug and drinking the remainder of his now cold coffee. "I mean, Viola might be a great actress and all, but I still think she'd get a bit freaked out that the lady is coming onto her this hard."
For a sixteenth-century dame, Olivia sure was pushy.
However, the dress withdrew his attention quite successfully.
"What's that?" he inquired, putting his mug down and stepping besides the grumbling male, eyes widening in awe as he inspected the garment.
"Wow, this is really pretty!" Sion exclaimed, reaching out to run a finger along the skirt line, marvelling at the softness and the sheen. "Where did you get this from? I mean, this is /really/ nice fabric!"
It must have cost a fortune, seeing as someone most probably smuggled it out of No. 6...

Too much Cesario, huh? Well at least that was something to look into and work on. But it's not like he was pushed for time or anything. Nailing this role would take plenty of practice, but it'd be perfect by the time the performance came around.
Oh, and over he came. Urgh, just his luck. And denying it was meant for him just seemed, well, dumb now. Nezumi held the dress out in front of him, allowing the two of them to have a good look. Made with a light grey tinged silk, the dress trailed down to the ground, as showing your ankles back in Shakespearean times was simply unheard of. Though less showy than the dress used for Ophelia, it wasn't loose around the shoulders, instead stopping around the neckline, ribbons decorating the edges. The sleeves opened at the elbow leaving space for a black undershirt that was still lying on the floor. 'I was asked to try it on. It's only for the last scene, so it's not going to be used all that much,' he explained.

Sion hummed at that nonsensically, eyes still fixed on the soft contours and the simple decorations.
Classy and simple. He had no doubt Nezumi could pull this one off just as well as Ophelia's dress.
"Does it fit properly?" he asked curiously, twisting his body a little so he could look at the back too.
Good thing it didn't have a corset, that would have been uncomfortable.
"Is this why you don't want me to poke around in your closet?" he chuckled as that sudden thought hit him, lightly nudging the other teasingly. "That's where you keep all these gorgeous dresses from your plays?"
Which begged the next question. Or trail of thought.
Has Nezumi ever played any male characters on stage...?

Alright, enough gawking at the dress, time to put it away.
Nezumi stepped across the room opening his closet to reveal, as mentioned earlier, his enormous choice of clothes. But no dresses. He took a coat-hanger and carefully hung the dress up in the closet before shutting the door. 'I'll find out some other time if it fits or not,' he replied before grinning at the albino. 'Of course not, Sion. The dresses belong to the theatre. Do I look like I have the money to afford one for myself?'
Honestly, it was brave of the company to lend him this dress in the first place. God knows what'd happen to it. It was obviously not that valuable if it had been bundled away in a parcel. Dresses he'd worn for previous roles may not have been treated with such disregard.
He picked up the script and carefully placed it on one of the shelves, commenting that he would take a closer look at it another time before picking out a book from his enormous collection and getting himself comfortable on his bed, cracking the book open and beginning to read.

Strange topic to be having such a causal conversation about.
Oh well. This was Nezumi, after all.
"I wouldn't know. I've been wrong before." the albino shrugged with faked nonchalance as the dress was hidden away from the world, and their normal evening routine commenced.
The hours ticked by. Sion had fallen asleep a little while ago on his assigned spot on the couch, his coat wrapped around his upper body to keep him somewhat warm. Hamlet was curled up at the crook of his shoulder, beady little eyes cloudy and fixed on Nezumi's figure.

After a while, Nezumi noticed Sion had fallen asleep.
Hm...maybe he should wake him up and tell him to come sleep on the bed, for the sake of being more comfortable.
Slowly getting up and moving over to the albino to do just that, a low, ominous rumbling tore through the silence in the room. Nezumi winced, quickly covering his ears before making a beeline for the cupboard, swinging the door open before crawling in and tugging the door shut behind him.
This was horrible. He should've seen this coming, what with the black clouds decorating the horizon.
The dark haired male pulled his hands away from his ears just for a moment to check if it had been just him hearing things, when another low rumble emanated from the sky, causing him to curl up into a ball, hands clamped hard on his ears.
Come on...stop...stop...come onnn.
(Little ode to Ouran here...couldn't resist)

That coat of his, clumsily covering him, really wasn't enough to keep him warm.
The chill, combined together with the sudden sharp clapping of thunder roused Sion awake shortly after. Blinking owlishly, he sat up, rubbing his eyes, wrapping an arm around himself to keep himself warm.
"...what's that noise?" he murmured, glancing towards the bed -
And he was instantly awake.
"Nezumi?" he called out, quickly scrambling to his feet and checking behind the shelves too just to make sure, his worries multiplying when he caught no sight of the dark-haired male.
Where could he have gone this late?
Quickly stepping into his shoes and tugging his coat on, Sion pushed the front door open and ran down towards the stairs that led up to the surface, occasionally calling Nezumi's name.
Still no response.
"Nezumi! Nezumi, are you out h-"
He hadn't expected the wind to be this strong.
It was icy-cold, almost knocking him back down the stairs. The clouds swirled above him, covering any source of light - save for the web of electricity that crackled across them ever so often, soon accompanied by the crashing sound.
It made Sion halt right in his steps, holding his breath, eyes wide and transfixed.

Nezumi was quietly chanting to himself, urging the storm to hurry up and go away, eyes squeezed shut.
And he swore he just heard the sound of the front door closing. Taking a deep breath, he nudged the door open with his cheek, peering around the room. Fuck...Sion had gone...he must've woken up, noticed he was missing and gone out to look for him.
Another loud crack of thunder caused the young actor's head to retract back into the cupboard.
Oh God...no...he had to go after him. He had to find him and bring him back inside before. That fucking idiot.
Taking a few deep breaths, Nezumi crawled out of the closet, hastily wrestling with his shoes and jacket before quickly exiting his small home and heading up the stairs.
There he was...just standing there, obviously. Maybe this time he wouldn't start screaming at the skies. 'Sion! Get back inside!' he called out to him.

Unfortunately, Nezumi's voice was drowned out by the howling of the wind. Not even a word reached the albino's ears.
Formulas and calculations he had memorised (seemed so terribly long ago now...) ran through his mind briefly as the wind slapped him in the face again, tugging at his clothes and hair furiously, as if wanting to snatch them away and carry them off into the darkness.
The clouds clashed.
The lower part of the sky lit up somewhere far away, followed by a distant rumble five seconds afterwards.
Wow...it was a storm over a larger area then...maybe even reaching across the sea...
For a brief moment - perhaps the first time since Nezumi had rescued him from the clutches of certain damnation - he felt that old, familiar sense of giddy happiness he felt on that night of the typhoon.
So Sion simply closed his eyes, tipped his head back, took a deep breath and just allowed himself - for a brief moment - to just feel the storm.

Still standing there, calling out to his companion, Nezumi's words were lost to the wind, carrying his voice away from their target.
What...on earth was he doing? Just standing there, getting soaked, letting the wind blow over him , through him, most likely soaking him to the bone.
Nezumi had just been about to take a step forward, when that bright light and rumbling almost seemed to push him into a sprint as he flung himself at Sion, arms tangling around his body from behind, his whole body shaking.
Oh God...this was horrible...this was so fucking horrible.
Sion...please...let's go back inside...please.
His grip on the smaller male only increased when another loud rumble echoed across the skies.

Long ago, on that same stormy night, Nezumi, with all the seriousness of his rough twelve years, had asked whether he was always like this - leaving himself completely open and vulnerable.
His words rang true four years later too - testified by the fact that Sion was completely oblivious to the dark-haired boy's presence until the latter literally threw himself at the albino.
Cry of surprise lost in the clatter of the storm, Sion twisted and struggled in the other's grasp, heart pounding in his chest - until blueish-grey locks fluttered in his view, and the familiar scent identified his attacker.
"Nezumi! Where were you? I couldn't-" he called out, voice cut off as the sudden light from the thunder illuminated his companion's face.
Those familiar grey eyes shone with nausea and terror.
Quickly, he grasped the other's hand and wriggled in his hold, leading the other down the stairs carefully, pulling him as close to his body as he could.
"Come on...let's get out of the rain then. Watch your step - don't slip..."

It never ceased to astound Nezumi how Sion could just read his actions and know exactly what he was trying to say without even saying anything. It was almost as if their mutual understanding of one another had hit such a point that they both knew exactly how the other felt just by looking at him.
It was terrifying...but almost reassuring. Sion would say the strangest things to him, yet Nezumi sought comfort in those words, just like he was seeking comfort in how close they were right now.
He clutched tightly onto the albino, not letting him stray too far away as he was lead back down to the tiny room.
Upon walking through the door, the taller male wasted no time in shedding his coat and kicking his shoes off before turning to look back at Sion. 'What the hell were you thinking?' he snapped, another crash of thunder making him tense up and back up towards the cupboard, hand reaching back to grab one of the handles.
Urgh...this was so bad...Sion wasn't supposed to see him like this...it was so embarrassing.

It wasn't often Nezumi allowed the albino to comfort him in such manner.
It wasn't often that he was granted a glimpse deeper then the image of Nezumi the young actor had deemed safe for the world to see.
So despite being soaked to the bone and expecting to be on the receiving end of some severe lecturing and shouting, Sion couldn't help but feel a small sense of happiness bubbling up in his chest as he clutched his companion reassuringly.
Once back inside, the smaller male followed suit and slipped out of his coat, flinching back as the tirade began - and got unexpectedly cut in half.
"W-wait, Nezumi, what are you doing?" Sion stuttered, grabbing onto the other's upper arm, frightened by the unnatural stiffness of the other's posture. "You need to dry off - dry your hair at least so you won't catch a cold - and I'm sorry, I just woke up and you weren't there, so I thought you might have gone outside - "

Tense? Ha! He didn't even know the meaning of the word, until Sion grabbed him and the tension in his body just got that much worse that he had to pull his arm back and crawl back into the cupboard, being extra careful not to get the dress wet in the process.
'I'll dry it later, just shut up,' he snapped, readopting his position of curling up into a ball, silently praying for the storm to hurry up and pass. 'Just go back to sleep or something. And don't go back outside to just-' Nezumi was cut off by another rumble, his sentencing ending in a slight flinch as he covered his ears, eyes shutting once again.

It didn't take much of a genius to figure out the source of the dark-haired male's discomfort.
"Like I'm going to leave you alone!" Sion retorted at the other's hurried suggestion, swallowing his annoyance quickly and crouching down next to the other's level, biting his lower lip. "...Nezumi." he called quietly, reaching out to gently grasp his shoulder. "...Nezumi, please come out of...out of the closet."
There are much better ways to deal with this thunderstorm.
Please...
Please just let me help you.

Grey eyes creaked open when he felt a warm hand on his shoulder, glancing up slightly to look at Sion. He let one hand leave his ear so he could hear what he had to say.
Heh...bless your innocent little mind...you have no idea what you just said, do you?
After a couple minutes of more coaxing, the dark haired boy slowly slid out of the closet and onto the floor, wincing when another rumble met his ears.
Urgh...keep it together...come on...
'This is...I really don't like this,' he admitted, watching his friend, eyes laced with the fear he was obviously feeling right now. 'I really don't like this at all.'
Help me Sion...please.

In a couple of days, the albino would replay the conversation in his mind - and cringe.
However, at the present, his main objective was to help his companion until the storm passed.
"A...alright, well...come sit on the bed, alright?" Sion began carefully, gently squeezing the other's wrist and pulling him towards the furniture in question. "Your shirt's wet, isn't it? I'll get you another one. Just...sit down first. It'll be okay."
He sincerely hoped the other wouldn't find him patronising. He just wasn't too skilled in the smooth, psychological-way of speaking.
Quickly, he got Nezumi's spare clean shirt and a towel out of the closet. He handed the shirt to him before kneeling beside the dark-haired boy, draping the fabric across his head and rubbing it dry gently.

It was strange...just having Sion there, tending to him, making sure he was alright...it was extremely comforting.
Wordlessly, Nezumi got to his feet and moved over to the bed, pausing to remove his soaked shirt before sitting down, the old mattress creaking under his weight.
He watched as Sion went about getting him a fresh shirt, smiling gently at his attentiveness.
Honestly, he really was far too nice for his own good. Though the taller male didn't voice that aloud.
After a couple of minutes, Nezumi leant over, pressing his head against the other's chest, giving a heavy sigh. '...You don't think I'm pathetic, do you?'

If Sion was surprised by that unexpected move he didn't show it.
"Of course not!" he replied honestly, lifting the towel a little to accommodate the other better. "...and neither should you think things like that, Nezumi."
Slowly and almost cautiously, Sion placed one of his hands at the back of the taller male's neck, gently stroking along his spine. His fingers lingered briefly over the burn scars, but then drifted past them quickly.
He really got the worst of the rain. His skin was almost clammy and cool to the touch.
"I could also say there is quite legible explanations as to why you're...not very fond of thunder, but I'll save the psychological lecture for another time."
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Nezumi's customary ponytail had become loose in the process, and had tumbled down across the other's shoulders.
...so handsome.

Those tentative touches...had he not been in a complete daze he would've shoved Sion away, not too fond memories of that time he'd touched a pressure point coming to mind.
And don't touch those scars...I don't want you to know how I got them...I don't want you to know anything about me...you mustn't get attached to me.
Nezumi let his eyes flutter shut as he shivered a little against Sion's body, listening to him speak.
His voice...it was so calming..even when he was spouting complete drivel that made no sense. 'I know why. I don't need a lecture,' he mumbled before eventually straightening up and tugging the clean shirt over his head.
Mm...still cold...

Once again, a thousand questions flooded him, begging to be answered.
And again, he quelled them.
One day, perhaps. When Nezumi wanted to answer them, he will know.
Perhaps.
"I know. I'm sorry." he said softly, moving to drape the other's wet shirt over the back of the chair, doing the same with the damp towel once he quickly rubbed his own hair somewhat dry with it too.
It was only in times like these he found himself longing for the reliable electricity of No. 6, alongside its various household appliances.
The storm seemed to be dying down. Although they could still hear the thunder, it was much more muted, drawn-out rumbles instead of sharp whiplashes of noise.
Nezumi still looked cold.
Kneeling on the mattress again, Sion reached for the blankets and wrapped them around his companion's shoulders, scooping his damp locks out of the way so they lay on top of the fabric.

It might be an idea to get out of these tracksuit bottoms too...they were pretty damp.
Fishing a pair out of the cupboard, Nezumi quickly changed, the used pair joining his shirt in an ever growing makeshift clothesline.
Though once curled up in bed, facing the wall, the taller boy couldn't help but smile gently as Sion pretty much tucked him in.
So attentive...
He twisted his body around slightly and looked up at the other male. '...I really don't get you...I yell at you, call you names...yet you treat me with so much care. Why is that?'
It had been bothering the aspiring actor for a while now, but it that during this peaceful mood would be the best time to bring it up.

The albino paused in mid-motion of straightening up and sliding off the bed, eyes widening a little at the question.
For a few seconds, he simply blinked at the other male. Then, he just shook his head.
"Silly. You're the one who takes really good care of me." he answered as if it was the simplest, most obvious thing in the world.
However, judging by Nezumi's expression, he was forced to elaborate.
"I mean, you're the one who works all day - and sometimes, all night - so we can have food, water and anything else...not to mention you always get me out of tight situations. This is your home - one you're sharing with me. "
Despite growling and complaining about it.
"You helped me realise so many things - about others, about myself - that I otherwise would have remained oblivious to, much to my misfortune. And it always pains me how you never seem to let or accept any help from me. So...I'm happy if I can help you and take care of you in return."

This...sounded so like what he'd said before he'd gone and kissed him.
That stupid farewell kiss that had mixed Nezumi all up inside...there still had been no /real/ explanation for that...he could've hugged him...he could've kissed him on the cheek...What on earth had been going through his mind when he kissed him?
Still, the dark haired boy gave a slight shrug. 'It's only repayment...'
Though the final comments were giving him deja vu, and Nezumi was coming out of his little daze and just couldn't help but tease the other. 'You gonna come over here and kiss me again? Maybe as gratitude for all the things I've done, helping you out, making you have these epiphanies?'
He was joking, of course...but in all fairness, he wasn't sure if he'd stop Sion if he did come over and reduce the space between them in order to kiss him...

Sion waved a hand, shaking his head a little at that.
"I didn't save you so you would feel indebted to me for the rest of your life. That thought's a little scary, actually."
...scarily enough...
Not the 'rest of your life' part.
The notion that you're only doing this out of feelings of debt and responsibility.
Nezumi's teasing words made the smaller male pause once more, eyes cloud over with something unidentifiable before Sion dipped his head once more until he could feel the other's breath against his cheek.
"If that's what you want." he whispered, corner of his lips pulled into something akin to a soft, soft smirk. "Thank you, Nezumi."
And with that, he closed the distance between them and pressed their lips together.

Oh, Sion...you just don't realise, do you, how incredible it was that you saved me...
And if you hadn't saved me...I'd probably be dead...don't you see that? I'm most likely going to be forever indebted to you...

And as usual, the closeness just...didn't seem to bother them. Nezumi was beginning to wonder why he would let Sion so close to him like this...why he would let him touch his bare skin, kiss him so tenderly, as if he were something to be cherished.
This wasn't like the first kiss they'd had...it had been over before it started. This was lasting longer...maybe because Nezumi had a chance to actually react, reaching up and weaving his fingers into the white locks, holding Sion in place, not letting him escape just yet.
He pulled back, blinking slowly at the other male before giving a gentle smile. '...You're welcome.'

If he was being perfectly honest, he had planned for this to go very similarly to the last (and first) time he kissed the other - short and sweet, leaving the scene composed, if not somewhat nonchalant.
And then Nezumi just had to pull him closer and make him all ridiculously weak in the knees and ruin that plan.
His soft exclamation of surprise was lost against the taller male's mouth as he was kissed back, making his eyelids droop and the warmth in his chest swiftly multiply.
It was probably a good thing Nezumi's strong, careful grip held him in place even after the contact was broken, guiding him to rest his forehead against the other's.
"...you have really pretty eyes." he found himself murmuring quietly. "Like a stormy sky just before the dawn."
Oh, man, he was going to get laughed at for that. Blame the books he'd been reading all day.
At least Nezumi had less of a reason to complain about his vocabulary...

Truth be told, that warmth was present in Nezumi's chest too. But he was trying his best to ignore it and just pass it off as a fever or something.
The closeness...so much closeness. Sion, you need to get closer, for God's sake.
His free arm moved to slide around the other's waist, holding him in place as he looked up at the other, fingers idly playing with stray locks of white hair.
'...You say the strangest things sometimes,' he murmured in response, giving a low sigh.
Like how you're drawn to me.
And how you can't bear to lose me.
And how you're glad to have met me.
Do you actually realise what you're saying, or are you just drawing me in...tempting me...waiting for me to do something stupid before disappearing from my life altogether?
Trying to shove all those nasty thoughts away, he dipped his head slightly, brushing their lips together again before giving his back a light pat. 'Come on...off me. Get ready for bed.'