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Softly, the wind outside whistles across the window, the ornamental bushes outside swaying with its song. Zir closes his eyes and focuses on the comforting sounds of the light storm and rain.
It had been Amethio’s idea to come here.
He’d wanted to go somewhere else, still reeling from what Gibeon had said to him. Zir had been happy to follow along, Conia as well. He had picked a good hotel for them to go to, one with a nice gym that Zir had used earlier. Conia mentioned wanting to check out the spa area.
Amethio, despite picking out the place, had been rather distant for their trip so far.
That’s to be expected, he thinks.
In the span of just a few days, a lot has happened. He’s proud of Amethio for recognizing he needs a break and taking that step back. Zir won’t pretend he doesn’t enjoy coming along for the ride, either.
The kid had looked rough a few days ago, trying to hide red tear tracks under his eyes. No wonder he wanted to get away from the Explorers, if only for a little while. Zir’s just happy he trusts them enough to let him and Conia accompany him. He does feel better Amethio is nearby, it’s a small comfort to know he isn’t out picking fights with legendaries.
No, he’s resting a few doors down. Or maybe Amethio is still awake. It’s not late in the night yet.
Does Amethio like storms? They’d met the Rising Volt Tacklers during one, Zir remembers that. It was cold and wet, Amethio’s face didn’t betray what he was thinking in the slightest. Like trying to read a brick wall.
Zir has always found storms oddly comforting. Like, the world could be falling apart around him and here he is, safe inside and wrapped up in a blanket, listening to the raspy way the wind sings as it dances across the sky, punctuated by claps of thunder. He breathes out, focusing on the rustling of the leaves and the quiet pitter patter of rain on the porch.
The occasional sound of a car driving down the road, disturbing once settled puddles as it does.
Soft footsteps padding up the hall, nearing closer and closer to his door.
Quiet knocks on wood, delivered with an air of hesitance.
He opens his eyes, sitting up on the couch and staring at the door quizzically. He wasn’t expected company. Maybe Conia is done with the spa and has come to see him? Moving to sit up halfway, he calls out,
“Come in”
After a pause, the door slowly creaks open. Amethio’s face peers through the door, then the rest of him. He steps in, looking more nervous than Zir has seen him over the last few months.
“Am I interrupting?”
His voice is small and unsteady, too. Nothing like his usual punctual and direct way of speaking.
“Of course not, come make yourself comfortable”
It’s not clear why Amethio is visiting him so late in the evening, but Zir would never turn him away. Amethio steps into the room, quietly shutting the door behind him and Zir’s not certain, but he thinks he hears the soft click of the lock, drowned out by the gentle rain through the window. His hair is damp from a recent shower and he’s wearing a silk sleep set with a shirt that hangs loosely around his shoulders.
The sight makes him look younger than he is. Zir finds it endearing to finally see him with his guard down. There’s a moment after Amethio steps in where he just fidgets with his hands, staring at Zir oddly. Amethio has never been one to fiddle or fidget when he’s nervous, not that Zir has seen.
Must be he has something he wants to talk about. Zir won’t press him. Instead, he pats the seat next to him in invitation. It’s a nice couch.
Amethio looks at him again, consideration on his face, before he walks over and sits down.
“Storm bothering you?”
He’ll give him the space he needs to say what it is he came here for, in his own time. Maybe it is the storm. But there’s something sad in Amethio’s eyes when he asks that, before he blinks and it’s gone.
“Not particularly . . .” There’s something more he wants to say, but the words don’t make their way out. Instead, Amethio grabs onto his own arm, pulling himself closer like he’s trying to self-soothe.
Sensing his oncoming anxiety, Zir gives his best yawn and stretches, settling his hands behind his head and twisting so his legs playfully knock into Amethio’s personal space, flashing a slight grin.
“Must be you just like my company, then”
It’s supposed to be a light joke to ease the mood and make Amethio more comfortable, but the teen just stares at him in a peculiar way, like there are a million gears turning behind his eyes that Zir can’t see.
“I suppose you could say that”
Zir’s half leaned back on the couch, almost looking up at him from the new angle. Amethio does seem more comfortable now, at least. He reaches out a hand, gently pushing against Zir’s chest to guide him to a lower position. Confused, Zir obliges. Whatever Amethio wants, it’s not hurting him any to humor the silent request.
His curiosity is peaked and as he looks up, he notices there’s something in Amethio’s gaze that he’d been trying to pinpoint since he walked in. He finds himself staring into the teenager’s eyes, attempting to figure out what’s going on in there.
Amethio looks really relaxed now as he peers down at Zir, so he considers it a win.
“Is that so?”
He offers another playful response, hoping that going along with it will make Amethio feel comfortable enough to talk to him. There’s a renewed sense of confidence that lights up his face, and Zir briefly thinks that he did it, and Amethio is going to talk to him about whatever it was he came here for.
But instead, he climbs over Zir’s legs and straddles him.
Zir freezes.
This is-
Never before has Amethio willingly gotten this close to him. Sure there's been shoulder touches, handshakes, maybe leaning on his shoulder on a rare occasion. Nothing like this, though. It makes him feel uncomfortable, acutely aware of the sexual nature of the position they're in.
“Amethio?”
There’s no verbal response, only Amethio trailing his hand along Zir’s side, as though attempting to count each of his ribs or otherwise commit the area to memory by touch alone. It sends shivers down his spine and on impulse, he twists underneath him.
The movement prompts Amethio to grind down, and like a switch is flipped in his brain, Zir stirs back to life, his hands quickly shooting out to Amethio’s sides, holding him in place to keep him from continuing.
“Amethio-”
This isn’t right. Why is he-
“I see. Forgive me for being haste. Let’s start again”
Leaning down so they’re face to face, Amethio presses their lips together in a rushed display of intimacy which has Zir reeling to push him away so fast that the sudden loss of support around his hips causes Amethio to stumble and haphazardly mash his face into Zir’s shoulder with an mmph!
“Amethio!” Zir says, a little too forcefully by the way the teenager flinches and oh no, he didn’t mean to do that.
To his credit, Amethio still rights himself, resting his hands against Zir’s chest for support while Zir keeps his own hands firmly to his sides. That confident look from before is gone, replaced with confusion.
“Was that not good? Did I do it wrong?”
He takes in Amethio’s now disheveled and desperate appearance as he tries to organize his thoughts,
“Because I can do it better! I promise I’ll make it up to you. Just let me make it up to you-”
The words are rushed and nearly breathless, so far from how Amethio usually is that it takes Zir longer than it should to catch up to what he said. There are frantic eyes staring down at him, looking for approval anywhere on his face. Zir takes a deep breath, tries to focus on the rain again.
“Slow down there, buddy. Make what up to me?”
Amethio stares at him, looking like a beached Magikarp.
“I- all this” he waves one hand around, “You- you said you’d- why else would you-” Amethio trails off, growing increasingly panicked and making less and less sense. Zir can’t follow him at all.
“Hey, deep breaths, bud. In and out, see?”
The first breath he takes in is sharp and pained, but after a moment of following along, Amethio slowly begins to calm his breathing. He repeats this a few times until he starts to relax. Once his breathing has evened out and he doesn’t look like he’s on the verge of panic, Zir speaks up again,
“Alright. I promise I’m not mad at you, Amethio. I’m just a little confused is all. What were you saying about making it up to me?”
This time, Amethio looks embarrassed, as though he wants to hide his face.
“You and Conia - both of you said you’d follow me even though you knew you wouldn’t get any kind of promotion. I wanted to-” He trails off again, not wanting to finish the sentence. It’s clear what he wanted.
To make it up to them.
The thought makes something churn uncomfortable in his gut, how Amethio got that idea in his head, but he pushes it down for Amethio’s sake. Right now, this is about Amethio. What was it he said earlier, after he agreed to let them follow him?
I’m in your debt.
It makes sense now, why Amethio had seemed so nervous coming in here. Zir lets out a breath his didn’t know he was holding.
“That’s alright. Amethio, you know don’t have to make up anything to us. We’re here because we want to be. No strings attached. That’s a promise. You got that?”
Amethio sniffles and wipes at his eyes,
“Yeah” he takes in a shaky breath, “I got that”
He gives Amethio a moment of quiet as he gathers himself, then sits up enough to swing his leg back from across Zir and wedge himself between him and the side of the couch.
“Can I still stay here?”
Zir, content that the teenager will no longer be making any unpredictable moves, settles his arm around Amethio’s shoulder.
“Of course you can. Want to see what they have for movies?”
There’s a non-committal hum as Amethio tugs at a blanket on the side of the couch, letting it fall over and cover his face. While Zir scrolls through the hotel’s movie selection, he can’t help but get the impression that Amethio never really wanted that kind of contact with him. He just felt like that’s what he had to do.
In the morning, he’ll talk to Amethio about it. Right now, though, the kid is still scared and shaken up.
Whatever you need, he thinks, I’ll be there.