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^^^SEE THAT. THAT'S FANART. I love it when I get fanart :') Thank you Akame_koi13
Morris didn't really want to open his eyes. He remained conscious, lying on the bed, trying to pull himself together in case of fatal disappointment to follow.
Tentatively, he let himself reach out across the mattress.
It still shook his bones to feel an empty spot.
Whereas most would experience this sort of abandonment after a night of fiery sexual intercourse, in Morris's case it must've been the exact opposite reason. All they did once they returned to his place was goof around, try and retrieve Noah's balloon from where it'd floated to the unproductively high ceiling, then watch a horror movie throughout which Morris could only bury his head in Noah's shoulder and whine. Then, they cuddled to sleep.
And that, was the reason Noah was gone next morning.
Morris opened his eyes. The same lonesome view he'd seen ever since his ex had become ex greeted him coldly. It made him want nothing more than to close them right back and drift off to sleep, but if he'd always given into his desires he'd be a wife-beater shirt, sweatpants and beer kind of guy for the rest of his sorry life.
But beer meant beer-belly. It was motivation enough for him to crawl to the edge of the mattress and plant his soles on the ground, one by one, two thuds echoing in the silence. No, they didn't echo, the place was packed with fancy furniture and decorations, but he was known to overdramatize.
He hunched his back and rubbed his face up and down before staring down sorrily. It was then that he felt it. The way his heart beats went a little lazy... he was kind of starting to give up.
And just as the failure became officially engraved into his chest, a ghostly hand jumped from under the bed and gripped his ankle.
"Blinking son of a cream-faced driggle-draggle!"
...
The fingers loosened up their grip and then the hand slowly inched back to where it came from. Morris gripped at his chest, feeling the madly beating heart. He'd watched a horror film last night, the kind that'd haunt him for nights to come, he wasn't ready for this kind of shenanigans!
As the main character would in any horror movie, he got to his knees and hands and peeked under the bed.
Noah lied curled up on the soft carpeted surface, staring at him with a weirded out expression.
"Y-you're...what are you doing..." Morris's voice faded into a whisper as the fact finally sunk in...
Noah hadn't left him.
Before he knew what he was doing, Morris was halfway under the bed, holding Noah's head and pecking his lips repeatedly. The young man gripped at his shoulders and rose as much as he could, which was a considerable amount of space since the bed was really high; queen style. At the end of the day, Morris was just that.
"Umpff..." Noah puffed, pulling away a little.
"What?"
"Morning breath."
Morris felt a blush creep across his cheeks. "W-well what about y-"
"Used your toothbrush."
Morris let his shoulders slump. "Right before returning here to crawl under the bed."
"I was bored."
Morris snorted, glancing around. It was nice, being in this tiny, secluded world of their own. "How long have you been up?"
"Mmm... A lot. I don't sleep too much."
He started picking at the carpet as to avoid the man's gaze, well aware of the face he'd pull.
"Well that has to change... Don't want to end up like Chester, do you?"
Noah peeked at him with a tentative smile and then pressed his temple to the ground, making himself comfortable.
"You're... weird." Morris scoffed, but pecked his head nonetheless. "I'll go make breakfast. Um..."
Transparent eyes peeked from underneath white lashes. "Love you too."
Morris broke into a sheepish grin and crawled out to brush his teeth.
After that, on his way to the kitchen, he noticed the balloon. They'd tied it to the bobble-head Abraham Lincoln figurine. At some point when visiting Victor at his library, Morris pretty much stole it.
He happily poked the head before entering the kitchen and rubbing his palms together, ready to cook.
-------
"Please...?"
Noah kept twirling the fork and knife in his hands. "I am so full, Kent. Just trust me, I am."
"I can't trust you, it'd be a horrible truth to trust!" Morris nibbled on his nails, watching the barely touched food on his plate. He'd munched half a waffle with maple syrup, from the total of three, and managed a very tiny bacon slice.
"Just try." he said softly.
Noah pulled a thin, bitter smile that was so characteristic of him, and Morris was once again facing Noah for the first time. The Noah with a hand on the mouse, Morris's silly dancing footage on the screen as he happily messed with the older man's head by the use of word play.
The smile went out of sight as he bowed his head and started shoveling the food into his mouth. Morris opened his mouth in protest but then glanced around the silver and dark brown kitchen, trying to compose himself.
"Vin stop acting like a child."
When he could no longer hear clatter of tableware, his eyes lingered on a set of tiny kitchen ornaments he's been adding to ever since he moved in there, before eventually moving on Noah.
He dropped his own fork and stood up, but not before Noah bolted to the bathroom, hand pressed to his mouth.
Morris hardly found his footing, but eventually made it in time to hold Noah's hair as he vomited. Absent-mindedly, his eyes distant, Morris reached for the elastic band that kept his Q-tips together and used it to tie Noah's hair into a tiny bun.
He kept hold of the many shorter strands that escaped, while using his other hand to rub his back.
When Noah let the lid fall down with a loud noise, Morris flinched out of his state and watched him rinse his mouth. Only once he was done did Morris rise from his knees to hug him from behind, gently.
After a few moments of silence he peeked at the mirror to see Noah stare somewhere low, but then they locked eyes. He looked sad. No puzzle factor to his expression, just sad.
"I'm sorry." they said at the same time.
"What?" Morris asked perplexed, meaning to tighten the hug but he feared to discomfort his stomach further.
"You... you put so much effort into acting like you made the waffle mix yourself when you really just microwaved bought ones..."
Morris gaped.
"Even put out the ingredients and all." Noah chuckled in a frail, croaky voice.
"I just... well..." Morris sketched a grin, but it looked especially fake once his eyes started tearing up.
"Hey now I didn't mean offense by it..."
Morris shook his head, scoffing at his attempt to avoid matters, and moved his head aside to sniffle. Noah twisted in his arms until he was facing him, and touched his chest as though the touch of bony fingers would help matters.
"Let me mouthwash and I'll... I'll tell you something."
Morris nodded, secretly grateful to leave the bathroom and no longer have to hold back tears. He wiped away, only letting out short breaths, but unwilling to let his face scrunch up or snot escape. After all, how could a crybaby take care of their baby?
With that thought in mind, he easily pulled himself together and sat down on the couch, fishing out his phone to quickly text Victor the happening.
Just as Noah came out of the bathroom, he read the reply.
"Why isn't he on a feeding tube?"
He blinked at the concept before moving his full attention on Noah, opening his arms in invitation. Noah obediently settled down on his lap sideways and hugged, in turn, a pillow.
For a while, he only shifted around uncomfortably until he turned to look Morris in the eyes. "Can I have a coffee?"
The man bit his lip in consideration and the moment he barely started nodding, Noah was on his feet and towards the kitchen.
------
"Really, now." Morris was tapping his fingers against the couch's armrest, which was really a pillow since the whole couch was an ensemble of pillows.
Noah had gone to the kitchen claiming he meant to put the empty mug away, only to return with it filled to the rim. "It's the last one, promise."
Morris meant to protest but how could he when Noah lowered onto his lap comfortably and pecked his cheek before curling into his chest? Let's not mention how he was wearing Morris's crisp white shirt like a boyfriend shirt, along with nothing but boxers. And he looked adorable with his hair in a bun!
The man sighed, hugging him with an arm. "Have you ever had a feeding tube?"
Noah froze a little, only to shudder afterwards. "Fuck that..." he whispered. "No. And I'm not entirely sure it'd go the way it did in The Fault in Our Stars.
Morris sketched a sad smile. "It'd be cute."
"Of course it would be cute." Noah rolled his eyes. "How cute would it be when I become a chubby bastard."
The man frowned. "Why do you even care as long as you're healthy? And- and you know what? I'd love it. You'd get an appetite for candy and then I'd be your sugar daddy."
Noah gawked at him. "You don't know what a sugar daddy is do you Kent?"
He frowned. "Why, the term itself wraps up the concept well enough."
"Oh Kent." Noah sipped some coffee and straightened his back, running a finger along the mug's rim. "So."
Morris tightened his grip on him. "So."
"It's just, I feel like you should know the cause of all... this." he waved a hand at himself.
"Why, when an angel and another angel love each other very much..."
Noah made non-lexical noises and pinched the man's nose. "This is serious stuff. Are you up for serious stuff?"
Morris nodded obediently and glanced out the wall sized window at all the buildings. "I'm listening."
"Okay. Well... It's about um... This guy Davin." he peeked at Morris to see him lower his eyes, as though willing himself to just sit and listen. "This was back in college..."
"So, a year ago." Morris murmured.
"Two. I was seventeen when I entered." Noah bit his lower lip. "Um... See, back then I was healthy, actually. Everyone liked me and I liked them in turn to some extent, despite being well aware it was all about my albinism and nothing more. Still, I felt good about myself, what with all the friends and compliments and girls crushing over me."
He took a sip of coffee. "But then Davin came along." he twirled the black liquid in his mug. "He was kind of... lowest of the low. He was drunk most of the time, took the piss at everyone, and had this... this grin. It was like he wasn't- he wasn't part of society. That grin was just animalistic to some extent... inhumane. Not brutal or crazy, it was like he was calmly saying 'Our brains will never coincide. We are not part of the same species'."
He glanced up. "He was a nihilist. Extremely so."
Morris was getting a little cold. He hugged Noah's thin waist and rubbed circles over his hipbone. The guy peeked at him to maybe test the waters before continuing.
"Then he approached me and... To this day, he's the only one that saw past my albinism and to the dull, unimpressive shithead I really am. I could see it in his eyes, they were just void of any form of respect or admiration."
"And to me that was really cool. He even kept me around and modeled me to his liking. Convinced me to start choosing black for my braces, handed me clothes of his to wear, and said that I stop eating so much- it'd get me drunk easier. That, and food wasn't necessary... by his nihilist ways. He was tall and just... bones." he looked around for a little bit as if waiting for his train of thoughts to pull into the station.
"Right. And then I only started hanging out with him... Well, we didn't even talk, really. Just leaned on walls, looking drunk and handsome. And I loved it. People stopped looking at me as though I was this cute intriguing thing, I was just... unsettling to the eye." he grinned.
"And then came a party. Davin was the kind of guy that did whatever he felt like doing, and that night he felt like doing me." he spoke, intonation going monotonous. "And it must've been satisfying enough for him because ever since then we'd sometimes do it, if he felt like it. And if... if he felt like it, he'd occasionally kiss me. Even in public."
His eyebrows knitted together and his eyes widened as though something was hurting. Morris placed a palm to the mug and raised it to Noah's lips so that he took a sip. Noah glanced at him over the rim and then lowered his head.
"It... I..." his tiny shoulders approached each other as he hunched. "He was something else, he really was, which is why... which is why he knew he didn't belong here. Here, as in this... this... He was on the roof of the college building, with a bunch of people watching. I somehow knew it'd get to that. He just always looked so void of any spark of interest to his surroundings, so far away... I'd never understand what went through his head at any time..."
He pressed a knuckle to his cheekbone, as though avoiding to wipe a possible tear.
"From the very second I saw him up there, I- I lost my appetite forever. And when he jumped, and when the- the thud-" he took a short breath. "I kind of became him. Moved into his apartment... which is the one I'm currently living in... and wore his clothes and attitude."
He snapped his eyes to Morris. "It's why... When I met you, you were... my past. This funny, smart guy with dorky jokes- I was that. Therefore, I acted towards you the way Davin did towards me, you know? And then... Letting myself love you meant letting go of the Davin inside me."
Noah started bouncing his knees into one another. "But I did."
Proof enough was how barely a few tears were tracing thin, gray lines on his white skin. Morris placed a palm on his right cheek and wiped them away. Noah scoffed with curled lips.
"Now that I say it out loud..." he rubbed the other cheek. "It sounds like some fucked up movie."
Morris put his hand on Noah's naked thigh and ran it over the skin. He could feel but couldn't see thin, soft hairs brushing his palm as it approached the knee. He circled it with a thumb, feeling the bone underneath.
"It sounds like hell..." he murmured.
Noah finished his coffee in a row of gulps.
"It's horrible that you went through that. I can't even imagine how it's like." he took hold of Noah's chin to make eye contact. "And I don't want to. I really don't want to find out. So please... let me get you help."
Noah nodded right away, at which Morris sketched a smile and started arranging the collar of his shirt, that Noah was wearing. Crisp white and oversized, it stood so nice on him, forming a very pleasant sight.
"That form..." Noah murmured. "I want to sign it asap."
Morris broke into a grin and stole a slow, gentle peck. "I'm happy."
Noah nodded. "Me too." he sketched a grin, but then closed his lips tight." What color should I get my braces next?"
Morris took a deep breath, and along with his exhale the heavy atmosphere dispersed. He glanced around and caught sight of the red balloon, attempting to float away from Lincoln to no avail.
"Red." he brought him even closer. "I'd like them red."
Noah glimpsed at the balloon as well and scoffed. "Said and done. Just have to wait for my next appointment."
"You mean, the appointment after the one to follow."
The young man raised his eyebrows and then his face smoothened in realization. "Right..." he sighed. "Feeding tube..."
"Right." Morris pressed his lips to Noah's cheek. "It'll be okay and I love you."
"Well that was self-contradictory..."
"Don't be mean!"
"Not mean, just driggle-draggle."
"You don't even know what that means."
"You don't even know what sugar daddy means."
"I don't love you anymore..." a few seconds passed with Noah poking out his lower lip. "Okay I take it back."
Noah rolled his eyes with a snicker and bumped their noses together. "Oh, Morris Kentson."
Morris grinned. "Oh... Um... Vin..."
He gulped dryly. Noah blinked, all amusement gone. "You didn't forget my name."
"Of course I didn't forget your name."
"You forgot my name."
Morris blushed, eyes widen, and started shaking his head.
"I swear it's a condition."
Yish. A condition called being a forgetful little goofhead. I love him so much.
I think this... this might be coming to an end? Next chapter maybe? I don't know! I don't! This whole book was just improvisation, I hope to God people didn't notice... Even if they didn't, I just blew it with this author message...
I'll distract you form that embarrassing confession by rubbing that fanart in your face! Seriously it's so awesome :") imma cry.
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