Step and Slide

[Amoris]

Amoris glanced over and smiled at Akia. "Your star?" He tried to get a peek out of the window, but couldn't figure out what one the other was talking about. "Which one is it?" he asked.

He looked at the one Akia pointed to and smiled before turning back to the front. "How interesting...We're going to be heading in that direction actually. Jeskara's over there. We'll be there in several days time."

The brunette messed with a few buttons before turning back around in his seat. "Speaking of, I just remembered that I wanted to show you something..." He got up and lead the silver haired boy to the back living area.

"I figured out sleeping arrangements while you were gone. See? I moved the cot onto the floor and found some extra blanket stuff, so if you don't mind...Both of us will be able to sleep on the mattress essentially," he said before glancing over at Akia. He couldn't just let Akia sleep on the floor; he knew how uncomfortable that was. And, Well...

"No offense to you, but I don't feel comfortable about you trying to shift. Although you can, you never had any sort of teaching like the rest of us did. I don't want you to try forcing yourself and getting stuck. I hope you understand...If you want, we can try to get Master to help you out or something of that sort," he offered.

((^_^ Thanks!))

[danicaloy]

"That's very kind of you Amoris."

Akia smiled at the the other's thoughtfulness, but began to blush at the sudden thought of sleeping in the same position as Amoris, and neither of them would transform.

At a quick side-ward glance, trying to get rid of the redness in his face so Amoris wouldn't see, Akia noticed the kitchen area.

"A-are you hungry Amoris? I could make some lunch or dinner." Akia murmured as he began moving away from Amoris.

[Amoris]

Amoris grinned when he heard that. He could just feel his mouth beginning to water and he moaned lightly at the thought of having actual food while on a ship. "Oh, yes, please! I never get any actual food when I travel...which isn't very often, but whatever."

He walked over to the small cabinets in the corner and opened it. "Wow...Food. See these things here? The little tablet things? That's mostly what I eat when I'm on here. Vitamins and protein pill junk." He made a face, wincing. "Luckily we have normal food up here...Well, normal by my standards, I suppose..."

He began to pull down some stuff, so Akia could reach it better and smiled. "I'm a horrible cook, so if you don't mind, I think I'll leave that to you...?" he asked, turning slightly towards the door so he could go back to the control panel.

[danicaloy]

Akia laughed as Amoris left to go back to the cockpit. He didn't want Amoris to leave him but the boy just shook it off, and decided he would thank Amoris properly by making him the best meal he could fix.

Smiling, Akia made his way around the kitchen searching the cabinets and fridge trying to find something he could work with. He had never fixed anything from another planet. So he just started out easy. After rummaging he found some eggs and frozen bacon and started up the small stove.

As he went to work, Akia couldn't help but feel right. He was so happy he could make meals for Amoris. He didn't even mind if the other would complain if it tasted awful.

He wanted to please Amoris so much that he was absorbed in what he was doing that he forgot to make something for himself. But that didn't matter as long as Amoris was satisfied.

When he was done, Akia took the plate up to the cockpit and sat down next to Amoris. "Here you are, I...uh...I hope you like it." All the while the light blush in his cheeks came back.

[Amoris]

Amoris smiled to himself, happy that they were making such progress. He flipped a switch on the board in front of him and leaned back into his chair, eyes scanning the screens in front of him. Everything seemed fine.

He allowed himself to relax then. The brunette leaned back into his chair and closed his eyes sighing. It was funny...At first, he had thought his whole vacation had been wrecked. Originally he was supposed to go to Sensaforia and spend the day and night at a luxurious spa, but he had to admit that he much preferred what had actually happened.

After all, if he had had went any where else, he wouldn't have met Akia. I he hadn't met Akia, he knew that he wouldn't have such a warm feeling inside him. It was the feeling of belonging and home and sweetness and joy and...Well, everything that he might ever feel good about, he felt when the other young man was around.

"Akia...," he whispered to himself before he heard the sound of footsteps against metal. He sat up straight just as the door opened and the object of his thoughts walked into the room. He smiled as the silver haired young man approached him and he gratefully took the plate. "Thank you...," he said before glancing at Akia's hands.

"Where's yours? Aren't you going to eat with me?' he said curiously.

[danicaloy]

Akia was glad that Amoris accepted the plate, but he had to wonder why Amoris was calling out his name.

It was brushed aside when Amoris asked his question.

Akia felt so comfortable sitting next to Amoris that he didn't what to move again. He blushed a little deeper, however, he was looking at the floor so he wouldn't get caught in the intense brown gaze.

"It's all right Amoris, I did have some soup earlier, remember. You just go ahead and eat. We don't need you passing out at the controls." Akia gave a light chuckle hoping to counter any worry Amoris had.

[Amoris]

Amoris frowned and shook his head. "That was a while ago though...I'm supposed to protect you. I mean, I'm care about you, you know? And protecting you includes making sure you get fed. I don't want you passing out again," he said.

An idea struck him then and he looked back over at Akia. He glanced down at the plate in his hands and used his fork to divide it into half. "Here," he said, passing his fork over to the other young man. "We'll share. After that, we'll hit the bed...Well, mattress. We still have a couple days ahead of us, and you're right; neither of us need to be passing out."

[danicaloy]

Akia looked slightly startled by the gesture the other man had made, but had to smile again. Amoris was so kind to him, Akia never wanted to leave his side.

"...I want to protect you too." The boy whispered.

Akia then took the utensil from Amoris and went to take a bite of his half of the meal, then passed the fork back to Amoris. "We'll take turns."

[Amoris]

Amoris smiled at the other young man and nodded. "Fine," he said as he took the fork and used it to spear a bit of his eggs. He placed it in his mouth and murmured happily at the wonderful taste of it. Vaguely he wondered if that was really the food or simply the taste of the almost indirect kiss that had been passed to him by use of the fork. He shook off the thought though and passed the utensil back to Akia.

Dinner continued in that same way until both sides of the plate were cleared. The two had chatted about various things throughout the dinner and were now both very tired. It had been a long day, after all.

The brunette stood and took hold of the plate before walking to the back room. He placed it in the sink before turning back around to see Akia had followed. He went and picked up the other's luggage before handing it to him.

"It's about time for bed, don't you agree? We have quite a while in front of us before we get into port and we need to be rested for those days," he said as he began to strip himself of his shirt. He threw it onto a small pile in the corner as he walked over to his bag to get the pajama pants he would wear tonight. He hated sleep shirts and never wore them, so he didn't worry about that.

Glancing back at Akia, he noticed the silver-haired youth hadn't moved. He gestured at the bathroom door if the other wanted privacy or something. He wasn't sure why when last night not only had they changed in the same room, but had seen each other completely naked - albeit accidentally.

"If you want to go in there and freshen up or whatever, I'll just change in here and get the bed ready for us. I'm sure I had another blanket on the thing," he said, muttering the last part out to himself.

[danicaloy]

Akia couldn't help but stare as Amoris stripped his shirt, changing to his sleepwear. Well, they had seen each other naked before, so there was nothing new to them. But when Amoris noticed Akia wasn't changing and pointed it out to the other. The boy became a little self-conscience.

Giving the other some privacy, Akia turned around, and set down his bag. Shifting through it, Akia found his favorite deep blue pajamas. Quickly, he stripped his clothes and replaced them with the sleepwear. After he placed his bag next to a wall near the bed, then went to the bathroom to freshen up.

When he came out, Akia noticed was already getting settled under the blankets. Akia began to blush crimson at the thought of sharing a bed with a half-naked Amoris. 'Oh, what am I worried I did it before! True when I fell asleep last time Amoris was a bird.' He moved closer, and got in under the comfortable and warm sheets. "Goodnight...Amoris." Akia was so sleepy that he fell right to sleep.

~~

During the night, even though he was snuggled underneath the warm sheets and no breeze blew, Akia still shivered. His body was cold, and immediately began to seek out the first warm heat source it could find. That was Amoris.

Akia unconsciously snuggled closed to Amoris, as his body tried to stay warm.

[Amoris]

The next morning, Amoris' eyes fluttered open slowly at first. He almost closed them and went back to sleep, but they flew open when he felt he warmth pressing against him shifting. Slowly, he turned his head to see what it was.

He blinked at the sight of the youth in front of him before smiling. He hadn't dreamed it then! Being in the typically cold ship had brought on dreams where he had gotten to Sensaforia just fine and had never met Akia. He knew he would have cried if something like that happened.

The other youth was perfect. Not to mention how great he felt snuggling into the brunette's skin like that. He just wanted to wrap an arm around Akia and never wake up again, only to be trapped in the moment.

Duty called however as a small alarm clock sounded above their heads and the Jshiko groaned. How he wanted to smash the thing...

Still though, he slowly roused the silver-haired young man after getting a few moments of gazing at the other. He hated to do it, but he really kind of wanted to get home. Akia woke with a confused look on his face and he had to smile.

"Mornin'," he said as he wiggled out from underneath the blankets. "Sorry about waking you up in the mornings, and I promise to try to knock it off when we get home, but I need your help right now. I suppose I could do it myself, but it would be easier and quicker with two. We can get breakfast later, but right now...we need to get some stuff done. While I go make sure we're on course, I'll need you to check to make sure there's no problems with any of the gages." At Akia's nod, he grinned. "Okay, let's get to it!"

And thus began the days until they got to Jeskara.

[danicaloy]

The days went by almost too quickly for Akia, until the day came when Jeskara came fully into view, in all its splendor. "It's beautiful. I can't wait to see it when we land."

~~

The white-haired boy crouched down in one corner of the ship out of the view of the cockpit where Amoris, currently was seated guiding the ship. Akia peaked around the corner. He just couldn't help but stare at Amoris at every chance he got, while his stomach became a knot that his blue eyes were ready to burst with tears.

The boy crouched again, pulling his knees to his chest. In his hands was gripped tightly the picture of Kale. He missed the boy so much, but now his heart was torn in half, he still loved Kale, but now he knew was quickly falling in love with Amoris. He lowered his head and silently cried, every minute he thought of this, was hurting his heart even more.

[Amoris]

Amoris hummed to himself as he steered the craft towards the port where they would in and meet up with his master. They had been able to get in contact with each other once they were in space again. and together they made to arrangements for their arrival. He just hoped that Akia would enjoy himself.

He wasn't sure why, but the other young man had quickly become someone that the brunette was sure he couldn't live without. The silver-haired youth was everything he had every dreamed of and more; it was like he had been made for him...

The Jshiko shook his had at such silly notions. Akia wasn't his; the other was in love with this...Kale. He sighed and tried to focus on the task at hand, but couldn't shake that small feeling inside him that said he was onto something...

He turned the ship a bit, angling it so that when they entered the gravitational pull of the planet, they wouldn't crash. The brunette set the controls onto 'auto' then, knowing that the men from port would lock onto their vessel and assist with pulling in.

"Akia...?" he asked outloud when he finished with that. He knew they had a bit of a wait before the attendants would pay them any attention, and he wanted to talk to the other boy.

When no one answered him, Amoris got up and started walking to the back room. He was almost to the door when he heard a slight sniffling. He blinked and moved over to an area slightly hidden by boxes.

There was Akia, but the young man was crying...Slowly, the Jshiko crept towards the other and put a hand on his shoulder when he got close enough. "Hey...C'mon," he said, wondering what could possibly be wrong. He didn't think that Akia would be homesick yet...And the youth had seemed so excited about going to a new place...and he didn't think it was him...

It was then that he caught sight of the picture within the silver haired boy's hands. He felt a part of him wilt and die, saddened by the fact that even on 'their' vacation, Kale had come too. "Oh."

He couldn't just leave Akia though, so he wrapped his arm around the other's torso completely to help him stand. "We're going to be pulling in soon...Want to come to the front and watch all the strange going-ons with me? We can talk...or be quiet, if you want. Whatever you want," he muttered softly.

[danicaloy]

Akia at first didn't even register the fact that Amoris had him wrapped in a somewhat protective embrace.

Cerulean eyes gazed up slowly, his vision of Amoris was blurred by tears stinging his eyes. But he still gasped, and quickly tried to stop not wanting to worry Amoris, however, as he stared into those deep brown pools, the other already looked like his heart was broken.

Akia followed Amoris' gaze to the photograph in Akia's hands.

"I'm sorry Amoris, I really don't know what prompted me to bring this. I'll put it away so you won't have to see it again."

Akia hurried over to his bag and tucked the photo in safely. Then came back to Amoris, who was waiting for him at the controls in front. Tentatively, he slipped his hand into Amoris', trying to get back some of the warmth he felt when Amoris was holding him, helping him to stand. But now, the hand felt stiff and cold. Akia lowered his head, not wanting to see Amoris' expression.

"Amoris are you upset with me?"

[Amoris]

Amoris looked down at their joined hands and sighed. "No," he said, shaking his head slowly. "Why would I be upset? I mean, I have no reason to be..."

He caught Akia looking back at their baggage guiltily and he felt his heart clench. "Because of that picture?" He forced a smile onto his face. He had to turn his head, so he could quickly drop it since holding it in place was painful.

"Why would that upset me, Akia? It has nothing to do with me if you bring a picture of your 'boyfriend' or not," he said before furrowing his eyebrows in thought. "True...I find myself not liking him from what I've heard, but my feelings are unimportant in that matter. It just sounds like he could have treated you better...like you deserve...and he didn't."

Looking over at the other youth, the brunette sighed. "Nevermind...," he said, sighing. He shrugged as looked up at the window in front of him, trying to distract himself from the pain within him. "Oh, look. We're in line to go next..."