[BL]The Hero and his Party Won't Let Me Go

"Kaiden, is Shuu-"

"He is fine. I can feel how exhausted he is. But he should be fine after some rest. You don’t need to worry about him. At least not now."

Kaiden reassured Caelis and Rin as he walked faster and in front of the pair. His attitude assured Caelis that Shuu would be fine once they got home. That made his heart lighter and he quickly dragged Rin after him.

Kaiden took Shuu back to his room and put him on one of the softest mattresses this world had ever seen. It made Shuu’s body sink, and he made an uncomfortable face at the feeling of softness against his back. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

"It doesn’t look like Shuu likes soft mattresses. What should we do now?"

Caelis asked, and Kaiden quickly dragged Shuu into his arms and changed the position so that he was sinking and Shuu rested on his chest.

"I will go to sleep now. You both are free to join me or do whatever you want to."

Kaiden assured as he closed his eyes and went to sleep. The two kids looked at him before they sighed and decided to head out.

"There is no point in staying here anymore. I don’t feel exhausted enough to sleep, and I don’t think Kaiden wants us to join him either."

Caelis confessed, and Rin nodded before he followed him out of the room.

There was an awkward silence in the room where the kids did not know what to do or how to interact. The last time they met, they had been physically younger than 2 years old, and now, they were suddenly 7 years old.

"So Rin, how were you-"

Rin did not give Caelis a chance to finish before he wrapped his arms around the other kid. The hug was tight and warm, and Caelis felt his arms reflexively close around Rin’s shoulders as he pulled his friend closer as well.

"I missed you. I missed you a lot."

Rin whispered as he held the other kid close. He wanted to cry, but his feelings felt cold and frozen. They were starting to melt, but it would take some time before he could feel properly again.

Caelis understood the hurt Rin was feeling and his stagnant emotions. So he allowed Rin to hold him for as long as he wanted to.

"Get it all out, Rin. We won’t have to be apart for much longer now. Don’t worry at all. We will take care of everything for you and Shuu."

Caelis promised, and Rin believed him. After all, Caelis had never lied to him.

__________

"Shuu, are you going to wake up soon? Give me a signal once you do. There is a lot I want to talk to you about and tell you as well."

Kaiden whispered in Shuu’s ears, but he did not get a response from Shuu. Shuu was frowning and closing his eyes in agitation before he settled against Kaiden’s body.

It made Kaiden feel good to have Shuu depending on him. But he also felt like he had to do something to make things better for him.

He waited to fall asleep, but instead, Shuu woke up and blinked as he looked at Kaiden. The tender look in Shuu’s eyes was one Kaiden seldom saw, so he wanted to stay quiet and see what Shuu would do next.

Shuu reached out to touch Kaiden’s face with his hands, and his eyes fluttered as he looked flushed at the feeling of something warm and alive under his hands.

"Kaiden...? Is this a dream? Ah, it does not matter. I missed you a lot. I wanted to meet you again, even if this is just a dream. Thank you for helping me out until now."

Shuu’s voice was the softest and purest Kaiden had ever heard. He wanted to keep hearing that voice for even longer and let it wash over him.

"There is no need to thank me. You belong to me, and it is only natural that I take care of what belongs to me, right?"

Kaiden asked, and Shuu smacked his chest. That small touch made Kaiden’s heart flutter, and he could hear it beating faster and faster in his chest.

"Don’t say things like that out loud. They are embarrassing..."

Shuu admitted, but Kaiden laughed even more at that.

"Is this embarrassing? Are you sure you are not mixing this with something else? All I am doing is holding you tightly-"

"But it’s been so long, and I am not used to it now. And why are you arguing with me in my dream? Should you not do as I asked you to?"

Shuu questioned quickly, and Kaiden’s laugh worsened. His laugh was shaking Shuu’s body as well, and he felt sorry but not sorry at the same time.

"I am arguing with you because that is what you like. Don’t you feel closer to me when I hold you like this? There is no need to get embarrassed."

Kaiden reminded Shuu, and the guide looked offended. But he slowly came to his senses and sighed.

"You are so annoying... I cannot make you do as I want to even in my dreams. This is so unfair..."

Shuu complained before his eyelids started to close and he began falling asleep.

Kaiden did not stop this, mainly because he knew that Shuu’s body needed all the rest it could get.

"That’s it, honey. Go to sleep, and when you wake up, we can talk about all this. We can also head back home..."

Well, home was where Shuu was, so this world could be called home as well. But there were people dependent on them back home.

In the end, it would depend on Shuu what they were going to do next. Kaiden had his preferences, but in front of Shuu’s orders, none of it actually mattered.

But more importantly, Kaiden ended up thinking about what to cook tomorrow...or, well, order for tomorrow. He and Caelis were getting by on everything until now, but he wanted to have proper food now that Shuu was back.