The boy didn't respond, only curled tighter, clutching at the sheets as if they were the only barrier between him and the world.
Eiden's brow furrowed. With a quiet breath, he slipped an arm beneath Anore's knees, the other supporting his back. Anore flinched, struggling as Eiden lifted him effortlessly.
"Put me down.." Anore's voice cracked, breath hitching as he thrashed weakly against Eiden's hold. "Let me go. It's not fair, why do I have to suffer like this? Why do I have to endure this… when I didn't choose it?"
His words spilled out, shaky and raw, each one laced with frustration that had nowhere to go.
"There are no chains. No cages. I have a warm bed now. So why… why am I still trapped?"
Eiden's fingers brushed the damp strands of hair from Anore's face, his sigh soft but edged with something deeper.
"My, my.." Eiden murmured, thumb gently wiping away the tears streaking Anore's cheek. "Your eyes are all puffy. You must have been crying all night."
Anore's lips trembled. He turned his face away, but Eiden didn't allow it.
"You ask why you aren't free? It's your mind, Anore. It shackles you tighter than any iron ever could. The wounds up here—" Eiden tapped his temple lightly, "—they don't vanish with a warm bed. But with time… and with choice, you'll loosen those chains yourself."
Anore flinched at the words, his shoulders curling inward as though to hide, but Eiden's arms didn't relent.
"Now, let's get some food in you. And you stink…" Eiden's nose crinkled dramatically. "Why haven't you taken a bath?"
A flush of embarrassed color bloomed across Anore's cheeks. "Put me down. I can walk myself.."
"No." Eiden smiled lazily, already turning back into the room. "You'll just curl up again and refuse to eat. I'll have none of that."
He placed him gently on the bed, retrieving the tray of food from the table.
"You'll eat. Then you'll bathe. Afterward, we'll decide whether you still feel like falling apart, hm?"
Anore's fingers trembled as Eiden held a spoon to his lips. Pride warred with necessity in his eyes, but his body had long since lost the strength to resist.
He allowed himself to be fed.
Eiden didn't press him for conversation. He simply continued with the calm efficiency of a man tending to a beloved but troublesome pet.
Once the meal was finished, he guided Anore toward the adjoining bath, made sure the water was just the right temperature, and didn't leave until he was certain the boy had cleansed himself properly.
When Anore finally emerged, his damp hair clinging to his cheeks, Eiden was already waiting, a clean set of nightclothes in hand.
He tucked Anore into the freshly made bed, sitting beside him, his presence like a steady anchor.
Anore's voice cracked as he whispered, "Why are you treating me this way? I don't understand. I don't deserve it."
Eiden's lips curved into a small smile, though it held no mockery. "Mhm. I bought you, remember? That makes you my responsibility."
Anore's breath hitched, his fingers clutching at the sheets.
Eiden leaned back against the headboard, one arm draped loosely around Anore's shoulders.
His hand moved slowly, rhythmically, patting Anore's chest like a lullaby.
"If you need me, I'll be right here.." he murmured.
The silence stretched, but Anore's body, though tense, gradually softened against him. Sleep, fragile and uncertain, began to pull him under.
Eiden remained still long after Anore's breathing evened out.
The boy had pressed closer in sleep, unknowingly seeking warmth.
His face, finally calm, was turned just slightly toward Eiden's chest.
Damp lashes rested against cheeks still faintly flushed from the bath. In his sleep, he looked younger. Softer even.
Vulnerable in a way that twisted something deep in Eiden's gut.
He sighed, eyes tracing the curve of Anore's cheekbone, the slope of his nose, the way his lips parted just barely as he breathed.
He's beautiful..
Eiden didn't even realize his fingers had moved until they were brushing lightly across Anore's jaw.
It was a touch too intimate, too lingering. He froze as their faces hovered just inches apart, the heat of their breath mingling in the stillness.
What am I doing?
He pulled back like he'd been burned, face hardening with quiet alarm.
He's just a child.
Eiden stood abruptly, the bed shifting slightly with the absence of his weight. He ran a hand through his hair with a frustrated sigh and moved to the desk across the room.
Am I really that bottled up?
He reached for his notebook, flipping it open with stiff fingers. Anything. He just needed to do something.
First, a word or two.
Then shapes.
Eventually, a sketch began to form, lines that curved into the shape of a face he'd just been too close to. The tilt of a chin. The fall of damp hair across a sleeping brow. The small part in his lips. His lashes, full and dark.
Eiden stared at the likeness once it was finished, startled by its softness.
With a quiet scoff, he snapped the book shut, cheeks tinged with something dangerously close to embarrassment.
The sound must have stirred Anore, because a moment later, he blinked slowly awake.
His voice was drowsy, hushed. "You… really stayed."
Eiden turned, composing himself quickly. "Did you have any nightmares?"
Anore rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. "No.." he mumbled. He didn't even sleep much, he was startled awake the moment he felt hands on his face, and he felt as though his heart would leap out of his throat when Eiden tried to kiss him.
Why? Why did he do that.
Anore looked at Eiden, voice soft but unreadable.
"I want to tell you something.." he said. "Come closer."
Eiden raised a brow, but leaned in without much thought. "What is it?"
The second he was close enough, Anore shifted.
In a fluid motion, he reversed their positions, Eiden blinked, suddenly flat on his back with Anore straddling him.
His hands were planted on either side of Eiden's shoulders, face lowered just inches from his.
"Why did you try to kiss me?" Anore asked, voice barely above a whisper, yet his words cracked like thunder. "I thought you said you weren't interested in me?"
Eiden froze. It was like being caught red-handed — like a thief that hadn't even realized he'd stolen something until it was pointed out.
"I—" Eiden's mouth opened, but no words came. His chest rose and fell sharply. "If you were awake… why didn't you stop me?"