High [Boy X Boy]

46 - Paranoia In The Pencil Marks

"W-Well, I wouldn't say that... It's just a tea bag and boiling water... A-And I didn't exactly know what you wanted, Sean... You mentioned feeling a little upset earlier so I tried this." Link handed a small white teacup to Vulture, which he politely took with a quiet "thank you" as Ivory leapt from his lap. "... It smells good, what is it?" He asked, taking a sip. "W-When I was in Skinned Rabbit, a pregnant woman taught me how to make a particular type of tea. It calms the mind and the stomach, she told me. It was always hard to make and even harder after she passed away but it's a blend of cinnamon, milk, ginger, apple rind and a tablespoon of apple juice... It tastes a little weird at first because of the ginger and the apple but you get used to it..." Link explained warmly, taking his own drink from the tray to quietly sip on it.

"Peach and passion fruit tea... In case you were wondering..." He mumbled, gesturing to his own cup with a single "tap" against the ceramic material.

"I forgot we had that stuff... I can't believe you brought it to Chicago actually... Besides that, how's your tea, Sean?" Red questioned, taking another noisy sip of her earl grey tea.  Vulture had already finished his cup and was snuggled up amongst his bed sheets whilst Link was sat on the floor and Red was sat on the bed ledge. "It was nice... Sorry for my lack of attention that I'm pushing towards you both... The tea is just making me feel a little tired..." Vulture yawned. Red grinned and stood up, taking Link's tray and Vulture's empty mug. "I'll leave you two for the night... Sleep well, my loves... Come on, Ives...!" Red spoke to both boys as she took the dishes out of the room, along with the cat's presence.

Link sighed and stripped himself of his clothing to slide under the bed sheets. His empty mug sat solemnly on the bedside table as his fingertips traced the delicate bumps across Vulture's arms. "... Are you taking care of me?" Vulture asked with a tired chuckle. "... Do you want me to?" Link answered calmly, his fingers burrowing into the taller male's hands. They were practically laced together instantly, entwined with a warm and quiet harmony.

"... Y-Yeah... I-I want you to take care of me..." Vulture whispered, his eyes resting shut.

"... I will, Sean... I promise-" Link was cut off by quiet snores. "... Are you sleeping?" He grunted. "Already? I actually said something sweet to you for once..." The teen shook his head with a click of his tongue before he turned to the other side of the bed to cuddle with his pillow and the corner of the bed sheets.

As Link began to fall beneath the clutches of a deep slumber, Vulture rolled onto him with a groan and buried his head in his neck. "Sean, get off..." Link sighed, pushing him away. The gang leader rolled away, only to then roll back on and tie a leg around the teen's hips. "I love you..." He whispered through his slurred sleep talk, drool dripping from the corner of his lips as his small snores escaped his ajar lips.

Link sighed, leaning into Vulture's sleepy touch. "As you have told me more than once..."

"... I love you, Link..."

"... Yeah... I love you too, Sean."  As soon as the words slipped from his lips, Vulture's eyes flicked open like a frightened butterfly. "... Hm?" He asked. "I-I thought you were asleep-!" Link broke into a terrified panic, jumping out of bed and moving away from Vulture. Vulture smirked with a chuckle. "Well... Your thoughts were incorrect... What do you say, we... Move onto a little something?"

"W-Wait, what? S-Sean, no-!"

"Oh come on, why not? You just told me you loved me, right? And you wanted me to make love to you earlier... Isn't now the time...?" His voice sunk down into a provocative whisper as he slipped out of the bed to crawl over to Link. Link backed away until he was pressed up against the bedroom wall with the lips of the opposing male on his neck. "S-Sean, you promised you wouldn't do this without my consent again-" "Well... One more time wouldn't hurt, would it?"

The teen felt tears brim in his eyes, causing the damned red veins to crawl over his white sclera. The warm water poked his sockets and dragged at his lashes before dispersing over his pale skin. It burnt like a bitch until he felt a sharp pain attack his cheek. "... S-Sean?"  Link looked up after being slapped for practically no reason. "Get with the program, Rookie."

"... R-Rookie? W-Wait! S-Sean, please! P-Please, no-!"

"L-Link-!" Link threw his body forwards, panting with the same dreaded tears running down his cheeks. "H-Hey, are you okay? W-What happened?" He looked around quickly before his eyes met the calming red pair that he had feared only moments ago. His body slumped over and he sighed, laying down in bed again. "... I-I don't know." "... Is it something to do with me...?"

Link turned his head when Vulture lay down beside him and took hold of his hand. "... S-Sean, would you ever take me... Without my consent?" Vulture paused, a little confused. "... What makes you say that? I swore to you after last time that I'd never do it again... Were you having hallucinations about the past?"

"... N-No... I-I just... L-Last night, you were sleep-talking... Y-You kept saying you loved me... A-And when I fell asleep, I heard myself confessing to your love... A-And then you became desperate and needy and you just... Let loose..." Link explained nervously as the taller male leant over him, propping himself up on his elbow. "You know I would never do that... Whether you told me you loved me or you didn't... I'm not going to say that I've done worse... But I don't want to hold down any more guilt..." Vulture glanced away as he spoke, shaking his head.

"Of course not... He was taken by the gang when he was six... His sisters and mother were dragged in too... And then he was brainwashed... They liked his confidence and made him the gang leader when he was thirteen. When he was fifteen, he killed one of his sisters when they tried to knock him out of his brainwashed state... This then led to other gang members murdering his mother and the other sister right before his eyes... He ordered for them to be dead... And he was so young..." Red sighed shakily, tapping her fingers on the leather car wheel as she continued driving.

"When he turned nineteen, he started changing... He developed severe depression, social anxiety, suicidal thoughts, paranoia, PTSD... He doesn't talk about it... But he really should... Have you seen the cuts on his arms?" She questioned, stopping at another red light. "... Y-Yeah... I don't ask about them-" "Link. You need to confront him about it. It'll make him open up to you more and that's what you want, right?"

Link choked on his own thoughts, sitting up to pound a fist against his chest as he cleared his throat.

"That's what you want, right?"