Quiet Walks [KYO]

There were a few people that I really didn't want to cross, at least not today.

I sighed, absently mussing my hair as I walked down the hall in near silence. A few people passed going the opposite way but they ignored me and so I ignored them right back, keeping my head bowed forward as I continued on. It was like everyone was rushing somewhere to do not much of anything, a lot of 'hurry up and wait'. But that wasn't really important to me currently. Like I said, I was being ignored.

Idly I let one hand rub my neck, a bruise still apparent from the scuffle with Matthew. It still hurt, too, and I wasn't enjoying it. I had other bruises, too. No matter what I did, I knew I would just have to wait for them to heal. It was tender, but I couldn't stop playing with them.

This wasn't exactly how I'd wanted to spend my days.

I paused, however, as I reached a door I vaguely recognized as Kyo's. Maybe I was weird, but I'd figured out what room he was in after a while. It wasn't hard with our paperwork outside for people to look at. Most patients probably ignored it, but I'd been too interested in seeing who was around me. Considering Kyo was right down the hall... Well, it hadn't taken long.

There was a hesitant moment before I knocked on the door, not even sure if Kyo was in the room. There was a pretty big chance he wasn't, but I was sick of walking the halls. Especially when people I didn't want to see were walking around.

That knock barely roused me from my position, splayed out on the mattress face first and head buried underneath my pillow. It’s almost like I was trying to drown out the sounds from everywhere else. A deep, heavy sigh dragged from my lungs as I breathed into the mattress with a soft groan, but other than that, I made no motion to even regard the knock against my door. Chances were it was just a doctor announcing their presence politely before they’d come barging in anyway. At least I had clothes on.

My knuckles were sore from the scuffle in the hallway but really other than that I didn’t hurt much. I walked away with the least amount of damage, other than Die of course. He was just a spectator. I did lose my apple though, I was very bummed about that.

I waited for a long while at the door, hand lying flat against it before I gave up, walked off and actually walked to the cafeteria, sneaking a couple of apples as well as some water out before heading back to my room, humming softly to myself.

I still felt like an asshole about this whole thing, and I needed to at least get on terms with one person.

So instead of walking to my room I ended up heading for Kyo's again, knocking a couple times again before quietly opening the door. I slipped in without a word and set one of the apples next to Kyo's hand so that it was touching slightly, then warred silently with myself on whether I should stay or leave. I decided to stay, ready to wave with a small and awkward smile should Kyo decide to sit up.

I actually had no idea how to deal with this. I didn't feel bad for what happened to Matthew - he deserved it. But I did feel bad for what Kyo was having to go through as punishment.

Nothing? Nothing at all? I shifted barely where I lay when nobody entered my door after that knock and after a blank stare at the wood of my door I resumed shoving my face back into the sheets upon my mattress, letting the pillow mask over my head with a deep sigh.

I wonder if I’ll get my fucking duck taken away after a show of bad behavior, hah.

In any case by the time those knocks sounded again I grumbled incoherently into my bed and still didn’t care to move, not even when it swung open and feet entered my unit. Nor did I stir even as the man made his way across my floor, but once I felt something touching my limp hand I pulled my arm back, finally lifting my head. The pillow was balanced on top of inky black locks and drooped over, hiding most of my expression as I glared at the offending… apple? I finally shifted my attention to one side, noting that it was Jiho who came on in wth his small smile and tiny wave. I wasn’t about to ask how in the seven hells he managed to smuggle two apples and balancing a water bottle out of the cafeteria past the nurse on duty in those tiny pockets of his pants. Did he put them in his hair or what? I swear this fucking staff has no idea what they’re doing…. But regardless I snagged up that fruit in my palm with a tiny grunt of thanks before pulling it underneath my pillow with me, and flopping back onto my stomach.

“Mrff.”

In reality it wasn’t so bad, yet… I mostly worried that the damn event would somehow put a black mark against my paper work and I would be stuck in this hell hole for even longer just because I decided that Jiho didn’t need to die. I made no move to kick the man out of my room however, lazily splayed out against my pathetic excuse for a bed.

I opened my mouth to talk but by the time I managed to even let out a squeak Kyo had already let the pillow drape over his head again and I stopped myself, noting the grunt of thanks and pursing my lips.

They didn't really care if we took something as simple as fruit back to our rooms, and what were they going to do with water? Scold me for trying to keep hydrated? A nurse had even asked what I was doing with it. I told her I was thirsty and she'd left it at that. I'd looked pissed - maybe that had something to do with her lack of interest.

Finally I walked over, setting the water and apple down and crouching near the bed before lifting the pillow so I could see at least part of Kyo's face. It was pretty much bathed in darkness from the shadow of the pillow, but that was fine.

"You're welcome," I mumbled, chin resting on the edge of the bed. I was starting to be able to speak 'Kyo grunt', how proud was I?

"And thanks," I added even softer, breaking eye contact from Kyo and glancing down at the sheets, still holding the pillow up with one hand and playing absently with the bedding with the other.

The least I owed him was a thank you.

After having tugged the apple back with me underneath that pillow it was unsure if I actually took a bite out of it or not, or if I was just grappling with it to acknowledge the tiny gesture and holding on to make sure that it wouldn’t fall to the floor. It basically disappeared within the sheets.
I did however feel the corner of that pillow lift and the weight being displaced upon my skull, myself still face first into the blankets and uncaring if it was hard to breathe. Jiho was getting a nice view of my ear I’m sure. When he thanked me I heaved a slow, drawn out breath into the blankets, offering a small shrug of my shoulders. No biggie. It wasn’t like I hated the guy.

After a prolonged silence I finally mumbled, my words hard to cohere past the muffling blanket. “… the hell did you do.” To start all of that anyway. I missed the entire beginning of their little escapade.

It couldn't have been fun to breathe, what with being face down in the blankets, but for the moment I let him lie like that, noting the shrug of the shoulders and nodding in response. Not like he could see it, but I needed to respond somehow.

When the question was posed I sighed loudly, shaking my head and rolling my eyes. What had I done?

"Fucking nothing," I replied, still staying in my spot. I pursed my lips, brow quirked as I looked away. "He came in, smashed my fucking vase, then ran off. So I followed after him and I guess I made the mistake of, I don't know, touching his shoulder to stop him? I just wanted to know what he had against my stuff." I shrugged. "But I did something wrong I guess, considering I ended up getting choked out."

I laid my head down on the bed, cheek resting on the covers for a moment before I narrowed my eyes up at the other man.

"Can you breathe okay?" I asked, brow quirked.

I was making a rather great face into the pillow actually in a faint attempt to breathe easier past the plush. It wasn’t working so well. I was too stubborn to give in and move though, so there I lay, sprawled out like a lifeless slug.

Nothing eh? A tiny part of me doubted that… I mean, people just don’t start fights that serious for no good reason. Then the other part of me second guessed that – this was a metal institution after all. Who knew what anyone else suffered from and why they snapped.

Besides, that Matthew guy struck me as kind of uneasy in the first fucking place. I wouldn’t put it past him to be a legit whackjob.

“The hell.” I mumbled in atrocity, shaking my own head to the other’s description. A vase? I assumed he got it from Caroline, since she graced me with a rather random assortment of gifts as well. “Maybe he’s pissed he wasn’t getting pussy.”

Yuh, I said it. Bland as day too. A small smirk tugged at my lips as I shifted enough to at least sneak a nostril past my pillow case to breathe, just as Jiho questioned me.
“Yup.”

I’m such a good time.

I blinked when Kyo spoke, then raised both brows and shrugged. That was very possible. People just took sexual frustrations completely different ways. Or maybe he had a thing for Caroline, who the fuck even knew anymore. He'd never answered my question anyway, but regardless that was over and done with. It wasn't like I could reverse time and not get into the fight. Lips pursed, I settled on the ground, cheek still resting on the sheets.

"... You sure?" It certainly didn't look like he could breathe. But who was I to question him? If he was comfy, why not. "If you say so, man..."

I sighed softly, brows furrowed as I looked away from the other man.

To be completely fair, I wasn't one-hundred percent sure why I'd detoured to the other man's room opposed to mine. Other than chucking an apple at him and the fact that I didn't particularly enjoy staying in my room alone, I was completely at a loss of what to say.

"I didn't like him since the first time I met him... He's a creep," I mumbled, still looking away as I quietly recalled him making me take off my shirt to 'see my tattoos'. I shivered very gently, shaking my head.

Red flag number one. I'm a damn idiot.

"... You want anything else?" I asked, mostly referring to the food from earlier. Finally looking back up at Kyo's face and noticing that he'd shifted so he could breathe, I smiled softly and reached out a hesitant hand to touch his shoulder for a moment, giving it a little squeeze. "If your hand hurts I can offer a massage. Can't promise it'll be great but I can try." I laughed a bit.

Anything to get my mind off that stupid fight.

When Jiho asked again if I could breathe I took an exaggerated inhale just to prove the point, my back rising and falling with the intake of air as I filled my lungs. I probably drooled somewhat into my pillowcase even but I was far past caring at this point. Now I’m just being an asshole.

Which really isn’t any different from any other day.

Fingers wrapped around the apple as I rolled it pointlessly around in my palm, buried underneath myself and the pillow somewhere until eventually my fingers found the tiny stem, twisting it back and forth while my ears picked up on Jiho when he began explaining further. ‘Creep’ wasn’t exactly my word of choice when explaining the brash Caucasian man, but I could see how it fit.
Of course when he asked if there was anything else I wanted I simply shook my head into that rather flat plush, eventually tugging the stem completely free from that apple with a pop. Whoops. I remained mostly silent, until the idea of pressing fingers into my sore knuckles came up. That didn’t sound very appealing. I did finally manage a huff of a chuckle however, mumbling into the bed.

“A massage in general sounds nice.” Even if he sucked. Hah.

I watched Kyo fidgeting around, rolling my eyes and chuckling a bit as he responded. A massage better sound good - massages were the best. My brother had made me learn when I was little so I could pay him back for getting me out of trouble all of the time, which was an odd thing to think about but still. I stood, stretching for a moment to loosen up a bit from my awkward sitting position before sitting on the bed.

"I haven't given one of these in a while," I admitted, chuckling. This kind of stuff didn't really get forgotten, though. With all the other stuff I'd forgotten, I guess I was just good at remembering the rest of it.

Considering his hand was still toying with the apple and was currently far away, a normal massage would suffice. I would even deal with him laying down even though I was used to people sitting up. So I just sort of started, brows furrowed when I hit the knots in his back.

"I didn't want to say the cliche masseuse 'you're so tense' thing right off the bat but..." I mumbled, thumbs and palms working into shoulders and trying to knead out the muscles. It was far from a professional massage but I was doing my best to make it feel good.

On the list of things I didn't expect to be doing while stuck in a nuthouse... This was up there. But I couldn't help it...

Wow, yeah. Talk about awkward. Good thing I wasn’t a mind reader. I don’t think I would ever massage a male sibling… if I had one.

When Jiho stood I shifted enough to be able to peer out from underneath the pillow that dropped back onto my head, watching him as the corner of the pillow case fell into my line of vision. Was he serious? Of course he was serious. This was Jiho we were talking about here. Once he stretched and sat actually on my bed I made sort of a mumbled, albeit a little pleased sound into my mattress, a hidden smirk tugging at bejeweled tiers as I resumed burying my face underneath the pillow.

I’m sort of like a child throwing a silent tantrum, I guess. All moody and reclusive, unwanting to talk. Oh well.

Pulling my arms back up above my head I felt Jiho’s palms moving right in for my back, over the shirt I was wearing of course. I couldn’t stop the soft groan I shed when digits pressed into tight muscles indeed. “I don’t think… I’ve ever gotten a massage before…” I grumbled. That was sure to explain it, right? Or maybe I’m just tense in general. My doctor seems to think so.

I watched him, not exactly sure what was going through his head or what he was thinking. If he was assuming I was joking he was in for a wake-up call - I never kidded around about stuff like this. If he didn't want to talk that was alright, too. Usually I was pretty quiet during this kind of thing.

I was quiet until he spoke, though my mind was too busy focusing on the groan beforehand. I don't know if he noticed the minuscule pause in my movements when it happened but it was certainly there before I started again, hands still working the same spots before I let my movements slip a bit lower. I cleared my throat, fidgeting a bit in my spot.

I know, shit like this was a normal massage occurrence, but it didn't matter.

"Never?" I asked, biting my lip a bit. "Well that's a damn shame. Good thing we're fixing that."

Absently my hands worked lower, knowing that a lot of stress could be carried there. I was paying too much attention to his reactions and little movements in response...

Hm...

The sound that spilled from me was definitely pleased, even as those hands wandered lower down my spine and worked themselves into tight, toned muscles hidden behind thin, blue scrubs. “Haa…” I shifted just barely, feeling the man’s legs pressed against one side of my back as I squirmed into the blankets. Yup. Never. I haven’t exactly had the greatest of childhoods. When Jiho spoke up too I huffed a breath of a laugh, finally giving in and deciding to stop my silent spree. I made no motion of pulling my features out of that plump, soft pillow however, so my words were still muffled and nearly a mumble.

“… have any doctor’s told you anything yet.”

I had this bad habit of asking questions without any sort of infliction at the end of my words, which probably made me come off as a douchenugget but hell if I cared. I was mostly curious if they had decided if Jiho was crazy or not… in case anything... Well, you know. progressed. Eheh.. where was my mind wandering now? In all honesty I was exactly why I had abruptly backed off our first little… alone time together, I didn’t want to touch a ticking time bomb after all. Though I’m sure he wondered the same about me.

Hmm...

I stayed silent for a moment, looking down and shrugging to myself. I know he couldn't see it, but the slight give in the pressure I was putting on his back should have been enough to let him know that the action was there. In any other room, this situation might have been awkward, but not now.

"I got some privileges taken away, and apparently the Indian thinks I'd be good for some... what the fuck did he say... I don't know. They haven't told me much. But I guess the less they check on me, the better they think I am, right? Or maybe that means the opposite, fuck..." All the while I spoke I continued to massage, mostly gently though I did manage to work a few spots a bit harder.

I felt my leg touch Kyo's back and I pulled it away slightly, pausing for a moment before just looking at the other man. The amount of time I spent just looking, hands slowing down until they stopped moving completely, was probably longer than I thought.

Yeah, the whole 'nuthouse' thing was a pretty prime reason to back off of some weird... thing... whatever the fuck I was trying to pull... But the feeling wasn't easing off any time soon.

"The people here seem to be really fucking lax in their work." I shrugged. "Who knows..."