Nezumi saw total adoration reflected in Shion's facial expressions as he spoke his request. How could he have allowed this to happen? Could this be what he too was just feeling? But to be attached to someone in such a way was dangerous! Just the thought was frightening. He tried to write it off as pure lust— a reaction to Shion's ingenuous brand of sexy— even though part of him protested this really was something new.

The one thing Nezumi knew for certain was that he was aching to be touched by the angel before him. Pushing all other thoughts aside, he collected a series of very hungry, lingering kisses that gave Shion butterflies even after all he'd just experienced.

Shion smiled, encouraged, and began to— at first tentatively— lift up Nezumi's shirt. He now realised why he had always felt that flush rising to his cheeks whenever he allowed himself to steal glances at a topless Nezumi, towelling off his hair fresh from the shower. He was absolutely exquisite, chiselled perfection. It hardly looked to Shion like this body could be real— but he had felt for himself before the warm pulse of the heart beating inside that chest. Even before he was finished lifting off the shirt, Shion pressed eager kisses to Nezumi's breathtaking torso. As he did so, his upstretched arms carefully hoisted the shirt up above Nezumi's head.

Once it was over his head, Nezumi tossed the shirt aside and took Shion's head in his hands, fingertips smoothing back partly-damp hair, and coaxed him into yet another kiss. The airhead's actually not half bad at this, he thought to himself, as the nude and snake-scarred boy slid his palms slowly up Nezumi's chest, down his sides, and began to remove his trousers, mid-kiss.

In No. 6, Shion's most prized mental ability was his incredible memory. There was muted praise as well for his perceptive abilities (mainly from classmates who wished they too could daydream while flawlessly absorbing class lectures). Until his twelfth birthday, the No. 6 testing boards and managed schools had celebrated Shion's auspicious ability to memorise vast quantities of information at a rapid pace. Combined with his unique perceptive capabilities, he was able to learn just about anything after doing, experiencing, or often just witnessing it only once.

"Mmm… Shion… You… you haven't done this for anyone else before?"

"No, I haven't." Not for someone else, anyway, he kept to himself. "Is it… good?"

Both on their knees, Shion was behind Nezumi, straddling his legs and reaching around to stroke with one hand, while the other hand alternately gripped and fondled chest and nipples, lips and tongue travelled neck, and the rest of his body was pressed flush against Nezumi's back, bobbing slightly.

"Nnnot bad," he panted, "…for an airhead." Thrilled at the rare praise, Shion leaned toward Nezumi's turned head to nibble an ear and claim a kiss. "Liar," Nezumi laughed. "You said… you wouldn't bite."

Another mental quirk Shion possessed was considered disadvantageous, and frequently discouraged during his earliest, most tender years. No. 6 experts and officials referred to Shion's "childish ideations" as unbecoming a top-class gifted program candidate. He and his mother were told that once he grew older, if such patterns of thinking persisted and "interfered" with his decision making skills, he would be assessed as "lacking in good judgment," lose his privileges, and be removed from Chronos.

Imagination and creativity were anathema to the structured confines of No. 6. Citizens were to remain malleable and did not incite others. However Shion's mind knew no limits because of its boundless curiosity. Karan's love for her son was unconditional. She always encouraged him in all he did, but Shion's never-ending flood of questions and unconventional ideas was toxic to No. 6 officials.

"So it's really alright?" Shion asked. He absently trailed his fingers down Nezumi's hip and thigh, and squeezed the closest cheek, without even realising what he was doing.

When Shion told Nezumi what he was thinking of trying, he was expecting to get an initial response along the lines of Nezumi's reaction to receiving stitches, the night that they met. Instead, Nezumi took mere seconds to magically produce a bottle of lubricant from a box hidden under the bed.

"Believe me, Shion… I don't need a biology lecture… just… do it." There was mild impatience in his voice, but it was tempered by Shion's unconscious groping at his rear, which had created an engrossing counterpoint to the pleasure he'd been receiving up front.

Shion was surprised there really was no need for him to further explain how the male prostate gland and anal canal should be positioned in ideal proximity to allow for sexual stimulation via digital penetration. He was delighted to learn this was already a widespread practice, this 'fingering.' Anecdotal evidence suggested his postulation was correct! Academically satisfied, he filed away the science-y thoughts.

"Right…" Nervous, and always concerned for Nezumi's safety, Shion double-checked his nails and ensured his fingers were well-slicked before continuing.

For a time the city's education authorities succeeded in manipulating Shion into limiting his inquisitiveness to an "acceptable" level, and most importantly, to resist impulses to apply it to "inappropriate" topics. This would ensure retention of the promising assets that were Shion's superior genes and IQ.

Young Shion grew restless. He felt trapped. But he didn't realise it himself, until one stormy night, he let a captivating young boy into his life— just his own age, but so very different— who reawakened his curiosity and inspired his fascination. That one night's chance meeting freed the twelve-year-old from his stifling life as one of the 'petri dish elite,' as the evening's intruder liked to call them. Shion was allowed to be himself again.

"Ahhhh… that's… it…" Nezumi crooned in approval. "Aaahh… Shion…"

The small movements of Nezumi's body along with his shallow breaths, the way that body was swaying against his own, Nezumi calling his name out in ecstasy… Shion found it all so overwhelming, his heart was already thumping away again. The now red-cheeked, white-haired boy worked deliberate fingers within, while his other hand remained at work at the other boy's front. He had been carefully following Nezumi's instructions so far. Finding Nezumi so dependent on him now— so vulnerable— was entrancing. Shion found himself excited all over again.

Nezumi let out a small, breathy laugh. "Shi-on, you… really bounced back fast…"

"Watching you is so… you're so… I couldn't help it…" Shion was glad Nezumi couldn't see the colour he could feel in his cheeks now. He wasn't sure why he found it so embarrassing really, but there was no way to hide the fact he was getting very turned on again; his front side was still pressed against Nezumi's back, and his breaths were getting heavy.

"Your reactions… are usually… so slow." Nezumi reached around to grip the growing stiffness against his back and massage it gently, fondling the tip with his thumb.

Shion gasped, eyes closed, and sighed; "Ahhh… Nezumiii…"

"Come inside me, Shion."

"You mean—"

"Take those fingers out. Lube up."

"B-but—"

"Shion. I want you in me, and… I wanna hear you again… like before."

Experiencing an odd combination of heightened arousal, his heart aflutter, and giddiness at the words he'd just heard, Shion did as he was told.

Above all other activities, Shion had a lifelong love of learning. From the functions of the 60 billion cells of the human body to the most interesting colour combinations among his classmates' choices of clothing, every new piece of knowledge he obtained was a source of happiness.

Naturally, he was in constant awe at all that Nezumi was showing him about people, life, and the true form of the world outside No. 6. So in a way, Nezumi was right when he told Shion that his confessed attraction to him was a fascination with something "new" and "different." But Shion felt Nezumi was very wrong about the reason for that fascination. He hadn't grasped the depth of it. And he didn't comprehend just how long ago Shion's feelings for him had emerged.

Never was there any other topic— not even the cherished interactions of innumerable species across interlinking ecosystems that he held so dear as a young Ecology major— never was there anything that he longed so much to experience more of or learn more about than he longed for Nezumi over the last four years. He never wanted 'information to convert into numbers.' He wanted Nezumi's thoughts, feelings, and way of seeing the world. On the night they met, twelve-year-old Shion was immediately drawn in by an innocent fascination with beautiful silvery-grey eyes, the likes of which he'd never seen before. This night, Shion was realising just how powerfully he was attracted by the magnetism of Nezumi's incredible body. He definitely wanted that too. In a word, what Shion really yearned to have from Nezumi was intimacy. In every sense of the word. And it was more important to him than anything else in the universe.

Shion slid into Nezumi, exhaling slowly. He felt instantly electrified, tingling all over with restless desire. But his gaze passed over the prominent scars on the taller boy's back as he asked: "Are you alright, Nezumi?"

"Yeah, fine. Don't hold back too much."

Shion began to push forward and back slowly, in gentle exploration. Small ripples of pleasure formed and washed over both boys at once. They each sighed, nearly in unison. Incredible. Shion was amazed at their togetherness; Nezumi simply needed more. He soon reached a slow and lingering but steady rhythm, and they both continued to sigh and moan.

Bodies connected, moving together, sighing together, their shared pleasure… it felt to Shion like he and Nezumi were falling in sync. Nezumi was losing himself more and more in the moment. Shion was entranced as Nezumi's defenses disappeared. Even as he was entering total blissful abandon, the dark-haired boy's movements remained as graceful as ever.

Shion leaned in to kiss that beautiful boy's back. But as his lips met scar tissue, Nezumi's muscles began to tense. "You're so beautiful, Nezumi. Please…"

"Shion, it's…"

Silence.

Nezumi?

"I don't know who or what it was that hurt you," Shion whispered, "But I'm still very grateful you could survive, and we could meet, that day."

Shion caressed and then kissed Nezumi's scarred arm.

"Remember, Nezumi?"

Nezumi understood completely. It seemed right now they both understood each other completely. Shion had once healed a wound in Nezumi's flesh. But the discolourations on Nezumi's back represented a wound to his soul. In an uncharacteristically tiny whisper, he replied: "I don't want it to contaminate you too."

Shion smiled and ran a finger slowly across the back of Nezumi's neck, where his own incision scar would be. From there, Nezumi had removed the parasitic wasp that had contaminated his body. "Thanks to you, I survived this. I'm grateful for that too."

The pale and white-haired boy carefully pulled back Nezumi's left arm, and brought that hand to his left leg, running its fingers across the the red mark that spiralled around it. "Now I've got this coiled snake and…" He hesitated a moment, chewing his lip: "If you let me bite you some more, maybe we can call it even."

Nezumi was simultaneously amused and scandalised. "Shion!"

Shion leaned forward and playfully nipped at Nezumi's shoulder blade. From there he began to lay kisses across Nezumi's back, traversing the scars there. Nezumi didn't expect to enjoy such attention as much as he did. Shion continued rocking his hips against Nezumi, losing himself again in the amazing sensations as he thrust inside, the elegant motions of toned muscles, and the melodic tones of the other's voice.

He pushed deeper inside and began to pick up to a faster tempo, becoming hyperaware that this was the closest he had ever been to Nezumi, both in mind and body. It was the most beautiful experience he'd ever had, with the most beloved person in his life. With each thrust, feverish waves of pleasure crashed harder and harder, and lasted longer and longer, the heat splashing across more and more of each of their bodies. Their movements together became more and more frenzied and frantic; their cries louder and louder. It seemed neither would last very long now.

Shion had held back as long as he could, and just as Nezumi began to come, moaning loudly and calling out Shion's name, Shion himself experienced an explosive release, which left him shouting out his ecstasy, joyous but incoherent. He gripped Nezumi tightly, and the two of them shuddered together on the bed.

Soon they became still; spent and exhausted. "I love you, Nezumi," Shion whispered. He knew not to expect a reply in kind, but he couldn't hold in his own feelings any longer. As he drifted off to sleep, he spoke again: "I've always… loved… you."

On and off throughout the evening, Nezumi had found himself concerned with what was transpiring between the two of them. But it wasn't Shion's fault. Nezumi, himself, had surrendered to his urges. Nezumi, himself, had seduced the other boy. And deep down, he must have already known what would happen. Sure sex hadn't attached him to anyone before. But he knew it was long before this evening's escapades that he noticed how very different Shion was from anyone he'd ever met. Pampered, sheltered, weak, defenseless, too innocent, too inexperienced, too many questions, head in the clouds, too trusting, frustratingly unpredictable, a totally oblivious airhead…

Cute, charming, caring… alluring.

And so it really had come to this. Nezumi didn't want to be separate, unrelated persons anymore. He didn't want to live apart. He wanted Shion to always, always survive, at all costs. He had become a burden. A special, irreplaceable person in Nezumi's life.

Someone he wanted to protect.

Shion was danger. Both a weakness and future enemy. He would make some damn blood serum to save the lives of the worthless people in the so-called Holy City. The same cursed city that would kill him if he dared to step too close again. And he would leave me alone to do it. He'd choose No. 6 and death, rather than staying here and living with me.

Shion lay fast asleep, nestled against Nezumi's back. Nezumi slowly shifted away and turned around, taking care not to wake him. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't see the peacefully resting Shion as an enemy. He would never be able to either kill him or to allow him to be killed. But would Shion ever agree to help him destroy No. 6? Still, he didn't seem to want to stand in the way, either…

You don't think it's enough that the place is a lie and a parasitic blight. You want to know my reason to crush your precious wind-up toy town. Even if I tell you… If you learn the truth… You won't change your mind. If you decided help me, you wouldn't be you.

I need Shion to stay Shion.

I need to eradicate No. 6.

Either way, whatever you choose, we drift apart.

I'd surrender to you, Shion. I'd… love you. Maybe I do already.

But just like the night we met, we need another miracle if we're going to stay together.

The End