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Neither Beyond nor I really expected this chapter to happen. But it did and some stuff happened that's sort of important. I AM NOT BEYOND IN DISGUISE. You know, in case anyone actually thought that. Opinions of the hired character Beyond do not reflect opinions of fanfic writer.
Alucard and Beyond have some things in common. Just an observation.
The portal between the Shinigami Realm and the Human World imagery was not on purpose. Make of that what you will.
Fandom: Death Note
Rating: I'm gonna go with 'Teen'.
Pairing: Beyond/Kyoko
Warning: Mention of self-harm
Beyond Birthday is taking a bit of a break from his fight with Kira to go on a date. A romantic sort of date. With a girl. All right, they’re both sort of allies in this fight against Kira, and it’s just a shopping trip with friends. But still. He most certainly did not see this coming when he decided to take up where L left off...
If anything, even MORE people crowded the platform at Shibuya. Beyond fought the urge to cringe, gingerly stepping off the train and making his way through the crowd. At one time, groups of people hadn’t intimidated him at all. When he was playing Rue Ryuzaki with Naomi, for instance. Naomi…was she dead? If she was, she had probably been killed by Kira. Something had been mentioned about possible suicide…
You’re wracking up quite the death toll, aren’t you, Kira?
The numbers didn’t matter much to him one way or another, though he realized that by this point the murderer had surpassed the death toll of every other serial killer since the dawn of history and was threatening to eclipse the totals of genocide or war. Still, that didn’t make him do much more than blink. It had been observed more than once that he’d had sociopathic tendencies, and had trouble forming even the most minimal of bonds with another human being. Without such bonds, he wasn’t likely to care about the long list of Kira victims. He found it easier to connect to abstract principles…what the would-be god was doing was evil. Taking people’s lives into his own hands, judging another life that he had never lived and would probably never understand. If he’d somehow been forced by the power to live each life, feeling the feelings and motivations of each and every person he’d killed, he might-might-be somewhat more qualified to judge, but then he would be humble, not the arrogant b****** Yagami came across as. In Beyond’s eyes, however, the worst crime was very certain of the victims on the list. L. Naomi. Wammy. Few else knew what they’d meant to the members of the orphanage, past and present, when they had been struck down by the invisible power that stole into their bodies and took every last drop of life from them. Even if that list of people he personally cared about was as little as those he actually knew about, that was still three names too many.
It was only when he was standing by the lion-dog statue that Beyond realized he had been lost in the daze of anger long enough to make it outside without being consciously aware of his steps. That was a bit of relief, but still all of Tokyo and possibly Japan seemed to have decided that this particular area was the place to meet or hang out.
To his relief before long he heard a voice calling his name and turned to look. That was Kyoko calling him, being proper and only using his last name. It was strange that he remembered her voice, even after such a brief acquaintance with it. With her. He saw her face and smiled shyly, making his slow and painful way over to her. Her smile eased his pain and frustration. Like a nice smear of strawberry jam coating his fingertips. His tongue ached to roughly lick the sticky substance off his fingers…but he was here now. He might be able to get some jam if and only if he was alone and Kyoko bought him some. Which might happen, but it wasn’t likely. Sadly.
Still, he could be patient. If he had to be. So instead he smiled shyly, put his hands in his pockets, and made his careful way over to her. “Sato-san. Konnichiwa.” He even bowed, and the brunette with her giggled.
“It’s just us three. The rest were going to meet us in Tower Records. Some of my friends are crazy about Kishi Kami, so they’re drooling over the records now.”
He turned to stare at her friend.
“Um…Ryuzaki-san, this is Hanari Yuki. She’s one of my closest friends.” She was acting all shy again. Beyond might find it annoying if it might not turn to aggression at any moment. He found the danger exhilarating.
“Yeah, so if I don’t like you, you’ll be thrown back in the ocean, right Kyoko-chan?” She elbowed the fiercely blushing mouse, and a slow smile crept over Rue’s pale lips.
“If I am not mistaken, I believe that is Sato-san’s decision, not yours,” he murmured quietly, indirectly protecting Kyoko. He wasn’t going to use brute force here, and anyway his was the imperceptible touch of a ghost in most situations anyway.
Yuki smiled a bit, eyeing him up and down. “Well…I agree he’s not bad. He might be clear for one kiss, but any more than that and I’ll have to do some more research.”
“Yuki!” she half-squealed, and a few people looked over, laughing.
Kyoko started walking in the right direction, looking alone and a little bit overwhelmed. Beyond suddenly realized why some people might complain about chaperones. “So you’re a polite, boring young normal sort of Japanese man, aren’t you?” Yuki asked, poking him, and something flashed through his eyes.
He bit his lip, one canine making a small indentation in the soft flesh before answering. The flitting heat of anger could stay out of this if it knew what was good for it. This ‘date’ wasn’t going very well, and losing his temper, especially when he didn’t really have one to begin with, would just be stupid. A visualization of glowing trails of light darting to the top of a bottomless well or pit before fading, the light dancing and reflecting off the walls, floated to the top of his mind before he dismissed it. He didn’t need idiocy either. “I’m beginning to find I’m full of surprises.” That was certainly true. He wouldn’t have predicted himself to be here, trying to catch Kira…or surviving yet another suicide attempt…or agreeing to date a girl, mostly on the basis of unknown powers (a fluke?) and possible jars of strawberry jam…
Yuki suddenly stood still, and he stopped walking too. Whatever she was about to say was important. “Will you hurt her?” That question, at least, she was taking seriously. More than anything else.
That took him by surprise, and he flinched as if he’d been slapped. His eyes were wet, and his lip trembled a little. That emotion was real. He wasn’t faking it. His greatest fear, hurting others, losing control…
bloodfreakmurderermonsterhurtlaughkillmadnessbackupfailureknifesoulnumbersablood…
He gulped, closed his eyes for a second to gather himself together and quiet the voices before looking at Yuki again, who was somewhat shocked at his reaction. “I’ll try not to,” he stated simply, hoping that that was enough…even though it seemed pale and inadequate in his own eyes.
She saw him, too, as a gentle, nice person with a phobia. Was that really him? Or was his disguise just that good? But she still couldn’t leave this alone. It was her best friend. She wasn’t willing to let that response rest. “Will you hurt her?” she repeated, searching his eyes.
He shivered again, but let the grey ones meet her own in complete honesty. “I’ll protect her from harm. Even from myself.”
That, too, wasn’t the response she was looking for, but she deemed it passable. “She’s crazy about you, you know. She gets really shy just talking about you, but she’ll actually defend you, instead of ignoring it when I say mean things about you. Or just staring in your direction with hearts in her eyes or daydream about you. If you do break up with her, you’ll do it like a gentleman. And if you aren’t the absolute nicest to her, even if you decide you don’t want her to be your girlfriend anymore, I will hunt you down and I will hurt you.”
Something flickered through his eyes again, yet this time a light of understanding, not anger. Yet another threat—only this one, unlike Light’s, was justified. He bowed his head toward her, indicating his agreement with such rules. “I will do my very best to keep that in mind.” A slight, gentle Rue smile graced his lips, the tears almost dried, and she was once again surprised, this time at how fast his emotions could change. He truly was grateful, though. Something, perhaps, to keep the beast inside caged.
“Go kiss her!” she dared him, giggling.
His turn, apparently, had come to stare at her in shock. “Is that appropriate?” he asked, wondering. He hadn’t paid much attention (no one at Wammy’s had) to the niceties of dating, or interactions in most relationships. He guessed that Kyoko’s earlier kiss was far too early, and he had no idea what the rules on public kissing were.
She giggled. “In younger generations of Japan, yes! Go get her and stop her looking so sad, you utter moron!”
His look at her was searching, then he glanced at Kyoko, who indeed was walking slowly with hunched shoulders and a bowed head. “I believe that is your fault,” he stated with dignity, before winking and beginning to move again, long stride easily taking him through the crowd that he’d found such an obstacle before. Yuki never heard what he said to her, and at first her friend had even attempted to walk on, unable to accept the comfort he was willing to give. But then, apparently, he found the exact right words, and she looked up at him with such a sweet smile that she clapped her hands and nearly yelled in joy. To her disappointment, the two didn’t kiss, but Ryuzaki-kun did slip his precise, soft hand through Kyoko’s tiny fingers, and the change in their demeanors was striking. Both looked happy and at peace.
“Kawaaiii!” she squealed, hoping that no one had heard her before trying to catch up with the two.
He hadn’t minded looking at movies. Just from looking at the covers he discovered that he didn’t like horror movies very much. If it’s everyday, he supposed, it’s not very interesting…although that logic seemed to conflict with many people’s obsession with so-called ‘reality TV’. Then again, most people defied logic simply because of their stupidity…or rather, their refusal to actually THINK. Highly annoying, but he couldn’t stir the whole of the unthinking masses into action. Not by himself.
Maybe a miracle would come some day. Maybe one day people could all act like L. Idiot though the man was, he was still a genius, and he was almost always thinking. But then, he reflected, maybe his presence was good after all. Certainly after meeting him it seemed Kyoko was thinking on her feet, rather than just reacting to life, actively getting involved rather than drifting through the world.
He’d been interested in the…what was it? Miyazaki films. They were animated, but they looked clever, and imagination and creativity were marks of the intelligent mind. As such, he decided he probably liked fantasy. Maybe some science fiction, but…not the popular stuff, like Star Wars. And Star Trek? He didn’t think he’d heard about such fluff before. What did these people have in their heads to write such meaningless garbage?
He was far less enthusiastic about the clothes shopping. It seemed her friends (he suspected that was a loose word and that many were merely acquaintances or friends of Yuki) were very interested in fashion and just HAD to tour every single clothes store they passed. He was less than amused when they made him try on an outfit or two. In fact, his hands began shaking, and he had to bite the inside of his mouth hard enough to draw a steady stream of blood in order to keep his instinct to hurt something down.
Luckily, Kyoko noticed (since when was she so fluent in his body language?) and insisted that they have a look at the trenchcoats, hats, boots, and leather gloves. How she had that idea, he didn’t know, but he was thankful for it. She actually persuaded him to try them on with a smile, and had blushed in delight, saying he looked like a noir detective. Which was sort of the point, he supposed. And she whispered in his ear to think of them all as disguises, to have fun trying to fool them (or pretending to try to fool them). To his surprise, it actually worked.
Okay, so he could think of torturous experiments he’d done to himself that were less painful than this. But at least he wasn’t to the point of hoping that Kira would try again and finish him off already. And Kyoko’s hand in his own calmed him just slightly, especially when her fingers lightly and almost imperceptibly stroked his palm.
He did, however, laugh at some of the outfits she donned. Maybe she was being incredibly bad at matching outfits on purpose. And the sight of her in a dress was really too much. Maybe with different hair, or less shy looking glasses, or…something. While the others were watching, she pouted, and a couple of the guys lightly (warningly?) punched him. When they looked away, a small smile crept over her face and she winked at him.
She did try one outfit that he loved, and he insisted on buying it. A cream colored skirt, long but loose and flowy. He especially liked the way it moved when she twirled to show it off to them. A snug, form fitting button up shirt, a pale aqua that showed a little bit of her curves but not too much. And a short-sleeved jacket, again in that delicious cream.
“Watch out,” one of them whispered. “He’s already deciding what clothes you should wear.” And they all tittered at that.
She ended up changing into the outfit fairly soon after they left the store, and he could barely take his eyes off her, drinking in her appearance.
I guess I really could be interested in someone romantically, after all. Who would’ve guessed?
Whenever she noticed his new monopolized attention, she blushed, smiled, and squeezed his hand. Which happened to be quite often.
She retaliated by buying him an entire detective outfit in crimson and black, and ignoring his protests as she paid for it, smiling sweetly instead. She then made him change in the next store. He came out muttering about how they were all bonkers, the lot of them, but her delighted expression and her rushed kiss on his cheek left him speechless.
When at about one thirty he indicated that he was getting hungry (and the others laughed and teased him about his lack of stamina), Yuki and her date agreed that they should go eat. So Kyoko, Beyond, Yuki, and a man whose name he never quite caught (nor bothered looking at) ended up breaking off from the main group and heading to Rainforest Feast for Brazilian food. Odd, but then anything non-Japanese (novelties) was ‘cool’. At least he was being fed. That’s all he really cared about.
To his surprise, Yuki, with a wink, got a separate table for herself and her date. Within sight of ‘Rue’ and Kyoko, but still…Beyond nervously bit his lips every few seconds, forced himself to relax, only to bite his lip again, whereas Kyoko could barely sit still, fidgeting. Only the hand that remained safely captured in his own refrained from the anxious twitching.
He leaned in to whisper in her ear, aware that he might be making a stupid mistake and signing his own death sentence…but it wasn’t like he hadn’t had one near death experience recently. And she had been the one to save him, after all. “You can’t tell anyone, or use this to address me, but…I’ll tell you my real name if you want.”
Her body went rigid against him, and as much as he liked the feeling of power that it gave him, that reaction worried him. Had he made a mistake? Was she upset that he’d put himself in danger like this? He turned to study her expression, to tell how badly he’d miscalculated. Instead, he was met with a smile as wide as the sprawl of Los Angeles. “You can…you could just tell me your first name if that’d help.”
He grinned wryly. “I’m not sure that it would…I have a very…unique first name. If any records do exist-which L assured me they don’t, although as we saw even he was capable of making mistakes-it’ll be easy to pick me out of the crowd.”
Her expression was cautiously hopeful. “You…don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. It would be dangerous, right? I mean…there must be a reason that you didn’t use your real name before. And I guess that means that L used an alias before.”
A slow, slightly creepy smile spread over his face. He couldn’t suppress his true self forever, although he found that Rue was slowly becoming integrated until he couldn’t tell the difference between what was original and what was added anymore. He was proud of her. She was following pretty well in her mousy humble way. “Yeah…I wouldn’t have mentioned it if I hadn’t wanted to do it. And it won’t be a problem unless you talk in your sleep, or something…if you ever are in danger, which I will try my best to prevent, I can have you airlifted out to the English countryside in a matter of hours. Not forever, just until this war is over. Just promise not to laugh. It’s a bit weird.” He realized he did think of Japan as a war zone, but quickly shrugged it off. At an eager nod, he leaned over again, close enough to let his hot breath tickle her ear, and whispered, “Beyond Birthday.”
She pulled away and stared into his eyes. He nodded once. Why he was actually telling the truth, he wasn’t exactly certain…only that he saw her as a useful ally. A second of locked eyes, and then she giggled, leaning to his ear. She was close enough that he could feel the ghostly touch of her lips on his ear, and shivered. “I love you, Beyond.”
That probably hadn’t been what she’d meant to say, but she pulled away quickly, blushing furiously, one dainty hand over her mouth. He smiled at her, a few more teeth showing than in a normal smile, but still closer to Rue’s smile than his own. Self-consciously, he began to bite his lip, one hand absentmindedly pushing the hair out of his eyes yet again. After they’d ordered their food, he blurted quietly, “I love you, Kyoko-chan.” That was pretty much a ‘you’re on the team, congratulations’.
He could barely look at her until one soft hand guided his head back to look at her. “So…what are we going to do about K?” K for Kira. Smart. It wouldn’t do to talk about the so-called savior in the middle of a public restaurant.
His mind was directed off the path of romance, something his already overwhelmed intelligence found very welcome. “Uh, before we go there…call me Rue Ryuzaki for now. Please. And anyway I’ve been called that for a while, so…I hear that more often than anything else. Okay…L. Y. is K. That much I’m sure of. Just…the way he reacts to everything…”
“Right. No, I’m caught up to that part.” He’d just wanted to start at the beginning. “Don’t worry, Rue. I can keep romantic secrets.” She fluttered her eyelashes at him, before breaking out in giggles. “I can’t…do this…” she managed, hiding her still laughter-lined face with a napkin.
He frowned at her, before realizing that she was covering up what he’d told her. Telling names was the sort of thing a hero in a romance novel would do, he supposed. (Never having actually read any of said romance novels.) She was ahead of him, even in this…if he hadn’t found it intriguing, he’d probably find it frustrating. “Let’s see. He wants to know your name and what you look like.” Name and face needed for destruction.
She giggled and squeezed his hand. “Don’t tell me he’s jealous!” He gave her a look, until he figured out that the silly words were just more code.
“Yeah, maybe. Let’s just say that he’s an emotional person.” Childish. With his emotions-anger especially-easy to manipulate. Sometimes. At least, when he didn’t see it coming. It was hard to know what he’d actually planned for though.
“Wasn’t he on that Sakura TV special?” (What in the world happened there?)
He shook his head, accepting the strawberry soda and drinking one long sip before setting the glass down carefully. She ignored her fizzly water for the moment. “Nah, that was his fangirl. Another K. Wanted to be exactly like him. Doing pretty good at it too.” How to tell her about the Eyes? “Er…she’s pretty good at guessing people’s names, just from what they look like.”
Her eyes went wide. “How?”
He shrugged. “It’s all in the way you see people. I’m not bad with it either. It’s a great party trick.”
She went from scared rat to cornered rat. “How?” she mouthed again, before pulling herself together and pointing at a waiter at the pompous table.
“Nomura Keiji,” he muttered back quickly. They repeated this exercise several times before she was satisfied that either he was a really convincing liar, or he was telling the truth. (Both, actually, were correct, but he couldn’t just tell her that here.)
“K’s very charismatic, and he’s good at getting people to do what he wants. It goes as far as control and manipulation actually. At least, that’s how it appears.” Hopefully she was following, because he wasn’t used to this method of communication.
“I see…anything else?” She took a sip from her glass as well.
“Uh…Other K is superstitious. The type that thinks she can read tea leaves.” That was just misdirection, lead-in for what he really had to say. “But she thinks they can predict their life…including their date of death.” That was dancing closer to the edge than he had this whole entire time. Besides telling her his name.
She blinked. “How does Other K manage to copy him so well? I mean, if she’s a girl.”
Frustrated, his lips curled slightly as he looked aside quickly. He was angry that he hadn’t discovered that part yet. Of course, he probably had more clues than L did to start with, but that was probably only because of the groundwork the now deceased detective had laid for him, not because he was that much more clever or anything. “I don’t know. But it’s possible others might join the fan club, and that either K can give it up for a while. And one more thing…as much into the supernatural Other K is, she also interested in morbid things…”
“So she’s a Goth,” Kyoko interrupted.
Beyond blinked several times, not certain what ancient Roman ransackers had to do with blonde Barbie Kira dolls, but refrained from commenting. That was probably something social he was supposed to know. “…and Japanese spirits.”
“Like Kami?” He looked slightly alarmed. Perhaps she had said too much? She hurriedly backed it up with, “You remember her, she’s in our class and always making charms to ward off ghosts.”
He visibly relaxed. Most wouldn’t notice—like his also-cute predecessor, he was fairly good at hiding his emotions…if he felt any. But it was enough for her to notice.
Rue met her with a smile and turned back to the table, sure that food would begin coming soon. He wasn’t ready for his ‘date’ to begin screaming.
Oh, she’s picked a brilliant time to start seeing Shinigami…what would it be doing here anyway…?
But her eyes were focused on something, truly horrified. Slightly grumpy, he turned to see what she was staring at, and his eyes widened. A waiter. Whose numbers were quickly, unnaturally quickly, reaching zero…
The man gave a strangled cry and slumped to the ground, the dish tray he was holding flying out of his hands. What truly surprised him, however, was how the meek mouse lady had started screaming before the man died. Hopefully no one else had noticed that detail. If they had…it would be Light Yagami. Would he be above pulling her in as a suspect, just to push Beyond? …not really. It only mattered whether or not such would be related to his plans.
His frantic looking around concealed his more careful and studied search for cameras. To his surprise and obvious relief, his position, especially when he wasn’t hunched over pretending to be L, prevented a full view of Kyoko. A column stood in front of the waiter.
Luck saved him once again. Oh, how he loathed that. He was having far too much luck, and while most would welcome it, that meant that he was not in charge of his own destiny but having to rely on the roll of the dice.
He would never make a good gambler, and in fact the thought that such a diversion would be entertainment for some merely bewildered him.
He bit deep into his lip, letting the steady stream of blood trickle into his mouth, his tongue clearing whatever remnants threatened to escape. After all, it wasn’t as if he could just walk down the street, blood oozing down his chin. People would panic. They did little else, but he didn’t feel like giving them another reason to let their emotions take over their lives. After a moment, he slowly made his way over to the dead man. Nothing could be gained by checking whether the man was alive—his name and numbers had disappeared, pronouncing him deader than any science could do—but it couldn’t hurt for appearances. He checked with bare fingers (oh, how he hated the need for appearances) to make sure no pulse was forthcoming.
Many couples were fleeing the restaurant, and he supposed that he had better do the same. Although this entire turn of events left him feeling as angry and irritated as the whole shopping spree had threatened to turn out.
No one was thinking about the restaurant owner, though. He took a still-shaking Kyoko’s hand and headed over to the counter. “He’s suffered a heart attack. I suppose this means he had criminal charges, but whether or not he did wrong I am sorry. I’m sorry for your loss, and while money will never make up for the death of anyone, I hope it will cover the subsequent trying circumstances that accompany such an event.” Leaving a still gaping manager with a handful of money (sometimes, his former connection with L was useful), he pulled Kyoko out and across the street, not caring what Yuki or anyone else would think. He then turned her, still shaking, toward him. So she was slightly in shock.
“His death. How did you know?” His voice was equal parts gentle care and harsh, unyielding interrogation. Mostly because he couldn’t decide between the two. That was a first for him, but then before he’d always been deciding what tactic to use to achieve the best result.
“He…he looked red. Like you did.” He blinked. That didn’t make much sense. “When you tried to kill yourself. You had this red haze. I thought it was because you’d hurt yourself and…the rain.” Okay, that didn’t make much sense either. But he was beginning to get it.
“So…people who are about to die have a red…aura?” That took a little while to sink in, even if he did have eyes that could see people’s names and faces.
“I’ve never seen the red before. And…I’ve seen…on TV. And…in elementary a boy took his own life.” She was shaking even harder now. Maybe he shouldn’t be hanging out with her after all. Maybe she’d just get him killed.
… “Did you see Lind L Tailor? The L versus Kira announcement?” Maybe it was only Kira victims…?
“Um, no. Depressingly. I read all about it in the paper though.” Actually, she’d heard most of it from Yuki, but she wanted to look partially responsible.
He wanted to comment on how interesting it was, or how it could help capture Kira if she could predict the killer’s targets, or…something. Instead…he was distracted. She looked pretty, and she was shaking hard enough he wasn’t sure that she didn’t need a doctor. People had died of shock with no other injuries or medical problems. And that simply wouldn’t do…
He found his lips on her mouth with no real idea of how they’d gotten there. He hesitated for a moment, then pulled her up against him roughly, greedily and passionately attacking her lips. That, as well, was rather stupid, especially as she was trembling even harder now, though whether it was from fear or the overwhelming feelings he seemed to be feeling, he wasn’t sure. He liked this, but he didn’t want it to be…like this. Did he?
When he realized he’d gone too far, though, was when he bit her lips. Hard. She moaned into him, the breathy, warm exhale making him feel tingly but…NO! He pulled away with a snarl. “If I ever hurt you again,” he growled, staring into her eyes with something like his most honest, dangerous expression, “Slap me. Hit me. Leave. Something. Don’t. just. take. it.” He bit out each word. It’d be surprising if he didn’t end up hurting himself sometime today.
She pulled him closer, and he again found himself with his own lips on hers, this time a comfortable, gentle, sweet kiss that ended, in his opinion, far too soon. He found his mouth quirk into a smile despite himself…and how weird his mouth felt. Licking his lips didn’t seem to erase the tickle.
“That’s more like it,” he shook his head, attempting to clear it. She was still shaking, but stared at him with a shy expression on her face. “No smile? That bad, huh?”
“No, you’re…amazing.” Quiet as she usually was, he could barely hear her now.
He pulled her into a gentle hug. He’d meant it to be comforting. Whether or not the action was appropriate or correct in this instance he wasn’t sure, but he was probably going to find out.
She thoroughly relaxed, so either he was doing something right or she wasn’t listening to a word of his advice. In fact, the lack of tension was so noticeable that he suspected if his arms weren’t supporting her she would ooze to the ground. That was almost as worrying as her body jerking around out of control, but since that had stopped and she was still breathing (and appeared to be conscious) he supposed it was all right. Carefully he rubbed her back, almost a massage trying to increase blood flow. He had read somewhere that psychological shock could lead to physical shock (which could be life-threatening), but didn’t remember how to treat it. All he knew was that blood had to keep reaching the vital organs, and that if it didn’t Kyoko could die. “Keep breathing,” he ordered. Right now, only concern had its place. Any other emotions had to be shunted aside.
She managed a shaky smile as he checked her pulse, one strong, soft hand very noticeably resting on her neck. He was sure her heart began to race when she noticed his warm fingers on her throat. “No. Breathe. Or I’ll make your uncle visit you this time.”
A shy smile crossed her face, but she did as he ordered, breathing steadily in and out and otherwise snuggling into the hug, obviously seeking the warmth.
“Is she okay?” Finally, the other couple had joined them. Kyoko kept trying to fall asleep, but Rue wouldn’t let her, the rhythmic stroking designed to get her circulation up again shifting every time he noticed her getting close to drifting off again.
“I…don’t know, honestly.” Rue spoke quietly, gently, his attention fixed on keeping up the unique balance between lack of stress and oblivion. “Um…I think keeping her awake, for a little while at least, though, is good…if I remember right…”
The look he received was half amused, half serious. He supposed that was no less than he deserved.
