Nearly There Nicely 25

From a hiding spot Crow was sitting on some short narrow stairs with a heavy cloak he'd found in a store, he saw through the misting rain Will come down the street. The fancy trees and identical houses really made him stand out. In the dingy gray blue colors, his pink hair kind of had an ephemeral glow about it.

Crow stood and waved to him, “Hey! Will!”

Will stopped and looked toward Crow ahead of him. Crow could see a drained, almost sad, expression on Will's face. It was kind of surprising to see such a striking and strong emotion on Will's face that Crow let out a gasp. He hurried down the steps and over to Will.

“Hey! You okay? I didn't hit you that hard, did I?” Crow asked, the hood over his head. Will shook his head a bit, and looked down away from the glistening golden eyes. They looked too cheery in the rain.

Crow frowned at him. “Where are you going? Your house isn't this way.”

“I'm not going home.” Will answered and pushed past him.

Crow turned and watched in silence as Will continued down the road. As he walked, he saw the rain getting heavier. Feeling uneasy about Will just walking around looking in a state of shocked loneliness and aimless, Crow started to follow him. As the rain got heavier, the sky darkened more with thicker clouds. Night was coming and that was bringing a wind, more rain and a storm. Aimlessly Will had walked out of the housing area, toward the docks, up a grassy hill and wandered into a gated graveyard. Up here there was more wind and rain, and by now both young men were soaked. Crow followed Will into the graveyard, watching as the boy stopped in front of a hefty gravestone that was beautifully carved reaching up to Will's shoulders. He went onto his hands and knees, shifted and laid next to the stone, with his forehead resting against it.

Crow walked over to him, looking over the stone. He only needed to glance at the name to realize it was Will's mother's grave that he had wandered to. Crow sighed, looking at Will, who was curling into a ball.

“Hey,” He said softly, leaning over Will, resting a hand on Will's wet shoulder. “You wanna say some nice words and then come inside with me?”

Will peeked open his eyes, looking to Crow. Then he closed his eyes again.

“I'm not going to leave you in this rain.” Crow answered, stubbornly.

“Might as well.” Will answered, just as stubbornly.

“Oh yeah? Why?” Crow kindly asked.

“Cause there's no point in going anywhere else.”

Crow looked away, up to the clouds and then back to Will. He pursed his lips and moved his jaw around some, thinking over what to do.

He heard a rumble of thunder.

Crow's head snapped up, looking around at the clouds as the wind picked up. He looked back to Will, who hadn't moved at all.

At the next rumble of thunder, Crow jerked his body forward, grabbed Will like a sack of potatoes with an arm under his legs and one around his shoulders, and yanked him up into his arms. It took a few seconds of fussing and positioning before Crow had Will up in a bridal carry, and was walking briskly with him out of the graveyard back toward town.

Will jerked and shook around, “Put me down now, Crow! Stop it! You're just gonna kidnap me again?”

Crow glared at Will, and shifted his grip, holding Will tighter. “I almost lost you once cause I was reckless. I'm not going to let it happen again.”

“What?” Will asked, and started squirming.

“Don't move around so much!” Crow shouted to him. “I'll drop you!”

Will froze in his arms, and though tense, let Crow continue to carry him.

Every now and then Crow had to stop and shift the weight some, but he never put Will down. He continued to carry him all the way through the pouring rain, with the wind at as his back through the city. By the time they were thoroughly soaked, Crow came to the stairs he had been sitting on before. He stopped in front of them and called to the area, “Open!”

A door just left of the stairs appeared instantly. There was no magic moving bricks or vines or dust fading. Just, boom. A door was there. It swung open for him, and with a very surprised Will in his arms, Crow walked through the door, which slammed shut after him.

Inside, he carried Will over to the bed. It was very quaint inside this mysterious door. The room was a very small eight-by-nine room. There was a queen sized bed that had a few pillows, comforters and blankets on it making it look extremely comfortable. There was a door open to a closet that had some coats hanging in it. Next to it was a small fireplace with a tea kettle hanging on an iron hook next to it, while there was a comfortable rug in front of the fireplace. In the only open corner of the room left was a tiny small sink with a small table stacked with just a dish, bowl, cup and a set of silverware and a can opener in the pile.

“What... is this place?” Will asked, looking at Crow.

Crow closed the curtains around the room and made sure the door was locked before answering. “It's my secret hideout. No one can find me here.”

“Are we... back on the Threshold?”

“No, and yes.” Crow said as he pulled off the cloak and dropped it in the sink. “It's a real space in our world, where we just were. But the door's been sealed with magic I learned. No one from any world but me can enter it.” He chuckled, “Not even a god with a Bind over me can get me here.” He continued to undress, taking off his shoes and socks next, putting them by the sink. And then his shirt. “You too.”

“Huh?” Will gaped.

“Undress. Now.”

Will startled, nodded.

Like clockwork, he took off his shoes and socks first. Crow put them next to his. Then his shirt, and Crow put it with his in the sink. Then he stared as Crow pulled off his pants, so Will took off his own. And they joined their shirts. Crow pulled Will to sit on the rug in front of the fireplace as he got a fire going and had left a blanket wrapped around the boy. It wasn't until the fire was going that Will had realized there had been no light bulb or anything on in the room.

It was silent in the room, but they could hear the pounding of the pouring rain, the wind blowing, and every now and then, a clap of low quiet thunder rumbled. Will sat cuddled up in the blanket staring at Crow's back. It had a bit of moisture on it, but that might've just been the lighting. Once the fire was going well, Crow grabbed another large blanket and sat next to Will on the rug. Not too close, but next to.

Crow spoke first. “What were you doing by the palace?”

“Going to talk to King Rhys.”

Crow nodded. “He's your godfather, right?” Will nodded, not saying anything. “I went to talk to him, too.” Will looked to him. Crow shrugged, “I wanted to get his chalice from him.” He looked to Will and smiled. “I'm going to get my freedom back if I do it right.”

“Do... what right?”

He smiled. “Get that item that Rhys used to become King-- that 'trick' one.” He explained, “I need the two chalices, the sword stolen from Matéas and a lyre. I already got the sword, and I know where the first chalice is. Isaac's looking for the second one with Akiio. I just don't know how to get your mom's lyre....”

“What?”

“Your mom's lyre.” Crow answered, looking to him. “It's the one I need. Do you know where it is?”

Will shook his head. “Not anymore. Mia burned it to ashes.”

Crow's face paled. “To... ashes?” He looked to the fire. “That... can't be. It's... It's a magical item. They shouldn't be able to be destroyed.”

“She did.” Will replied.

Crow grit his teeth. “Dammit!”

Will looked to him, “Crow?” Crow just stared at the fire in frustration. He flinched a bit at the sound of thunder that rumbled. “What are you trying to get?”

“My freedom.” Crow answered after a moment. “That god--- He... He took my eyes, my name, my identity. I know who I was, but I can't place it exactly. I know who's son I am, and why I ran away. But I can't remember my name. I haven't tried to remember in a while, and now that I'm looking for it, it isn't there to be remembered.” He turned and looked at Will, “I can remember some things clearly.” A small smile came on his face, his golden eyes glinting in the fire. “I can remember the pink shade of your hair, the tone of your skin and lips, and...” He looked at Will's eyes, the fire dancing in their blue vibrancy. “I can recall the blue of your eyes.” Then his smile faded and he looked down to his own hand. “But I can't really remember my skin's tones, or what color my veins are in places. I can guess, but I'm not sure.”

Will watched Crow looking more and more depressed as he spoke. A clap of thunder came rumbling through. It was surprisingly loud and made both boys jump. It continued to rumble for nearly ten seconds, burning its echo into their ears. Crow shook covering his ears and pulled the blanket over him.

Will shifted to touch him. “No! Don't touch me!”

Will frowned in anger. “Don't tell me what to do.”

“Then don't touch me!”

Will looked to the closet and then back to Crow's huddled up figure. “No, I will touch you, Crow.”

“You will not!”

Arguing and shouting the whole time, Will stood up and grabbed the blankets from Crow and tossed them on the closet floor. Then he grabbed Crow along with the blanket he was clinging to from the bed and yanked him into the closet with him. After a few moments, Will was laying on his back with Crow laying on top of him and the blanket draped over them with the closet door closed. In the cold wet darkness Will was forcing Crow to put his head down. Crow was fighting back fiercely, almost wrestling with him.

But when another loud clap of thunder sounded and the wind picked up, Crow jerked down resting his body so quickly and heavily onto Will with a hug that he knocked the wind out of the boy. Will adjusted the blanket as the thunder echoed in it's rumble and wrapped his arms around Crow's shoulders, with one hand rested in the navy hair.

Crow shifted to get up, but realized he was being enveloped into a warm embrace with his ear against Will's chest, listening to his heart.

“I... can hear your heart.” Crow said softly. As he said that, he felt a nervous breath go into Will's lungs as they lifted and widened some, and the pace of the heart beats quickened. “It just got faster,” Crow chuckled.

Will closed his eyes, taking in another nervous breath. “Don't listen!”

“No.” Crow answered with a stubborn tone and closed his eyes, resting his full weight onto Will. “I'm going to listen to it.” He heard Will let out a soft protesting noise, but the other didn't move to push Crow away.

They laid in the silence for a bit, and at the next thunder clap, Crow shifted and wrapped his arms up under Will's so his hands were on the edge of his shoulders on the side of his body.

As the next round of silence came, Crow whispered into the darkness, “I thought I was going to protect you.”

Will answered softly, “Let me do this. I'm not helpless.”

“Never said you were.”

Will shifted his head to the side, “You think I can't do anything for myself, don't you?”

“A bit. You are a noble's son.” Crow chuckled.

“Maybe you're right. Maybe I can do nothing at all.”

Crow shook his head against Will's chest. “You can't do nothing. Instead, do everything.”

“I can't do that either.”

“Then do what you want to.”

“But, I don't know what I want...”

Crow shifted a bit, laying more of his weight on Will. “I know what I want.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah.”

Will sighed, his chest lowering and then Crow felt him take a gentle breath. “Maybe... I want my dad to remember me. But....”

When Will didn't continue after a few seconds Crow asked, “But.... What?”

“But if he remembers, he'll be sad.” Will answered softly. “And, right now, he's happy. If I stay near him, he'll be mad at me, and … maybe remember. And then he'll just be sad. And I... don't want that.”

Crow felt a pain hit his heart. He knew why Will's father, Adell, had forgotten everything about Will and his mother. But, even in this safe place, he couldn't tell Will. And, if he did, wouldn't that just make Will fill up with more sadness?

“That's all what you don't want, but what do you want?”

Will sighed audibly. “I just... I don't know.” His voice was gravelly, soft and sounded heart broken. He didn't need to say anything more. Crow could empathize with that feeling of lost and abandonment.

“Don't worry. I'll protect you.” Crow whispered after a minute. He shifted his head up and over a bit, and kissed the skin he had been laying on. He heard a soft surprised gasp of air go into Will and felt the chest rise. Again, Crow kissed the skin, moving over a bit. He kissed a short trail to where Will's heart was, feeling the beats vibrate up to his lips. He kissed and kissed again and again.

“Stop that.” Will said softly through the darkness.

“Not yet.” Crow replied, licked the skin above his heart and kissed it again. Then he began to suck. Will let out a soft gasp when Crow gently pushed his teeth against the skin, but didn't bite at all for there was no force in his movements. Crow just continued to lick, kiss and suck, leaving little marks all over Will's heart. As he did this, Crow felt the heart pound harder and harder.

Finally when Crow was content he laid his head back down, and refused to move even when Will shifted to get out from underneath him. They laid like that all night. Every now and then Crow would hug and cling onto Will when the thunder sounded, the rain poured harder or the wind battered against the walls and windows. As Will fell to sleep he wondered what could've made Crow so afraid of thunder storms. Crow seemed like a fearless and brave man.