Innocence

Title: Innocence

Author: Kalika

Summary: Zadei, a high school drop out, meets a young man named Tetius one night on his way home from work.

Warning Codes: Yaoi, AU, H/C, Language, OOC

Pairings: Zadei/Tetius

Authors Note: This story was a request from a friend of mine. She had only two rules. One: Zadei and Tetius had to be the only Seimaden characters included. Two: Tetius had to be a sheltered virgin of high school age. The rest was up to me. I did try to keep them mostly true to their characters, but I also had a little fun with it.

Disclaimer: Characters owned by You Higuri. I wrote this simply for my own entertainment.



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Chapter 2





“Oh, shit!” Zadei snarled under his breath when he realized that he was staring at the boy again. He just couldn’t keep his eyes off of him.



It had begun to pour when they were a block from Zadei’s place and by the time he had gotten them home both he and the one he was carrying were soaked. Zadei had laid the boy on his bed and covered him with a comforter to keep him warm. His head was still peaking out from under the covers and Zadei couldn’t stop staring at his soft white skin and lank platinum tresses. With an angry sigh Zadei pulled the towel off of his shoulders and began to towel off the boy’s hair, careful not to wake him.



He carefully lifted the boy’s head to reach the hair that he was laying on. As Zadei laid his head back on the pillows the boy gave a soft moan and shifted onto his side facing Zadei. The man gave another sigh and knelt to pull back the hair that had fallen to conceal the boy’s face. He tucked the loose strands behind his ear before allowing his fingers to trail across the soft cheek and satin lips. Zadei pulled back sharply when he finally noticed that he was stroking his thumb across the boy’s soft lower lip₁.



“Fucking hell!”



He turned sharply and stormed into the kitchen to grab a beer. He cracked it open and downed half in one gulp before stalking over to the old sofa and throwing himself down on it. He took another long gulp as he settled back to keep watch on the boy in case he woke up. He didn’t want him to wake up frightened in an unfamiliar bed.



The boy on the bed shifted again with a soft sigh and Zadei had to force himself not to get up and go over to him. God dammit! Why the fuck do I care…? Screw it…it doesn’t matter. When he wakes I’ll call him a cab, He’ll go back home, and I’ll never have to see him again. Zadei nodded to himself before downing the last of his beer and placing the bottle on the floor. He ran a hand through his still damp hair and sat up to pull off his soaked shirt. He briefly considered doing the same for the boy before deciding that it would just make things more difficult when he finally woke. Zadei placed his hands over his eyes and dropped back to rest.



xxxx



Tetius shifted against the pillows as he began to wake. He rolled onto his back and opened his eyes to stare at the ceiling. He was still rather drowsy and it took him a few moments to realize that he wasn’t looking at the soft green ceiling of his bedroom.



“You’re awake?”



Tetius turned in the direction of the voice to find the young man that he had run into the night before watching him from a rather run-down looking sofa. He sat up suddenly, eyes wide, when he remembered what had happened the night before. His grandmother, walking through the streets, and finally crying himself to sleep in the arms of the young man who was currently watching him. Tetius gasped and pulled the comforter up to his nose when he realized how rude he had been. He lowered his eyes in embarrassment.



“Oh, shit! Please don’t be scared.”



Tetius raised his eyes to find that the young man had stood from the sofa and was watching him with concern. Tetius was about to speak but the other man beat him to it. “Do you remember what happened? You fell asleep in the park. I didn’t know what else to do, so I brought you to my apartment. That’s all. I swear.” the man had moved closer but was still watching Tetius with concern.



Tetius lowered the blankets and raised his eyes to meet the other’s. He could feel a blush peppering his cheeks as he stammered. “I’m sorry for imposing. I’ve been so rude, while you were so kind to me.” He watched the other man relax and move closer to the bed.



“It’s all right. How are you feeling?” The other boy had now moved to crouch beside the bed. Tetius couldn’t help staring into the man’s golden eyes. They were so gentle and full of concern.



Tetius pulled together his courage and extended his hand to the dark haired man. “I’m all right. Thank you… for helping me. My name is Tetius.” He felt his hand taken and smiled softly.



“You can call me Zadei.”



xxxx



Such a beautiful smile! Zadei was nearly struck speechless by the pale creature in his bed. He couldn’t bring himself to release the hand that had been extended to him. It was soft and small with long, graceful fingers. Tetius, huh? I’ve never heard such a name.



Zadei saw Tetius shiver suddenly and realized that his clothes were still soaked. “Are you cold? I didn’t want to do anything while you were asleep, but you must be freezing.”



Tetius nodded slowly. “I’m a little cold, but I’ve imposed on you enough. I should probably leave.” Zadei watched him move to the edge of the bed and stand. Zadei stood with him and felt a sudden sense of panic that Tetius was going to leave. He tightened his grip on Tetius’ hand and watched the boy turn back to look at him.



“Don’t go.” Zadei nearly winced at the desperation in his voice. He dropped Tetius’ hand suddenly and took a step back looking down. “You’ll catch a cold if you go outside like that. At least stay here until your clothes are dry.”



“All right.” The soft voice brought his eyes back up to the boy in front of him. “Do you have something I can change into?”



Zadei nodded and went to rummage in the closet to find something that would fit Tetius. The boy had to be at least three sizes smaller than himself. He pulled out a pair of black drawstring pants and a dark button up shirt. “Here, these are the best I can do. Why don’t you change while I get you something hot to drink.”



“Thank you”



xxxx



Zadei poured the canned soup into a mug, turned back to the main part of the room, and nearly dropped it in shock. His guest was standing beside the window combing out his hair with his fingers. He was half turned away, but Zadei could see his pale chest past the unbuttoned shirt. The light illuminated his white hair until it shone like diamonds.



Zadei cleared his throat and Tetius turned to smile at him, clutching the too large shirt closed as best he could. Zadei felt his breath catch when he caught a glimpse of the pants sitting low on the boys hips. His breathing cleared as Tetius proceeded to do up the shirt so that he was properly covered.



Zadei walked over and handed Tetius the mug, taking the wet clothes from the boy’s hands. He laid them over the radiator and turned the heat up to help them dry. He turned back to find Tetius standing nervously by the bed. “Why don’t you sit down? It’ll be awhile until your clothes are dry.”



Tetius nodded and moved over to the sofa sitting slowly. Zadei came to sit beside him and turned to watch Tetius out of the corner of his eye. The boy looked uncomfortable and distracted. Zadei sighed to himself. Why am I doing this? I should have just thrown him out. He heard a soft sigh and turned to find Tetius staring into the mug of soup.



“Is something wrong?”



xxxx



Tetius sighed as he swirled the soup in the mug. He had disobeyed his grandmother and he was still imposing on Zadei. It was at Zadei’s insistence and it would be rude of Tetius to refuse, but he still felt uncomfortable around people. And sitting here made him nervous. Besides, he wanted to check up on his grandmother.



“Is something wrong?”



Tetius jumped at the words. He turned to look into Zadei’s eyes before turning away and gave another soft sigh. “I shouldn’t be here. I promised my grandmother that I would go straight home from the hospital. I’ve never disobeyed her before, but I was so upset I just couldn’t handle going home alone.”



“Your grandmother is in the hospital? What happened?”



“She… had a stroke today.” Tetius felt his breath catch as he thought about it. He carefully placed the mug on the end table. “I was just finishing my class at the time and the teacher took me to the hospital. I was so scared that I was going to lose her. I think she was worried about me when she told me to go home and sleep, but I just couldn’t do it. I couldn’t go back to that empty house.”



He felt Zadei touch his shoulder gently. “You live with your grandmother? Where are your parents?”



Tetius sniffed and shivered weakly. “They died. A couple years ago. I’ve been living with my grandmother here in the city ever since. It’s been hard. I love my grandmother very much and I know she never approved of how my parents raised me, but I wish that nothing had had to change.” Tetius was about to stop when he realized that Zadei’s hand was softly stroking his shoulder. For some reason it made him feel like he could keep talking, despite his wish not to burden this man with his own problems.



“I had a very sheltered childhood. We lived just outside of a rather small town in a very large house. It was nice and quiet. I very rarely left our home. I was allowed to play in the yard or maybe up and down the country roads but I could only go into town with my parents, and even then it was only to do some shopping and then head right back home. My parents didn’t like television, so I never got to watch one. My mother home schooled me while my father worked. I never really got to interact with anyone other than my parents and my grandmother, who would visit often.



“Grandmother said that the reason why my parents keep me so sheltered was because my mother didn’t like how corrupt and cruel this world is and she wanted to keep me safe. My grandmother didn’t agree with her. She thought that it was wrong to cut me off from everything around me. I understand what she meant. It’s been… hard for me to adjust to living in the city and having to interact with the other students in my night class.



“I don’t blame my parents for what they did. They only wanted me to be happy. But I thank god everyday for my grandmother. If it hadn’t been for her frequent visits and my trips to spend a few days with her in the city every so often… I don’t think that I would have been able to go on after my parents died.”



xxxx



Zadei was starting to feel sick. This poor boy’s parents had been twisted. They could have done irreparable damage to their son’s mind and social skills. It was amazing that he was doing as well as he was. Though his level of trust in complete strangers was rather surprising. Or perhaps not, if he had been sheltered from most of the horrible things that people are capable of.



Zadei shifted his hand so that it was now softly stroking Tetius’ back. When he had asked if something was wrong, this was not the answer that he had been expecting. Normally, he wouldn’t bother to ask anyone about their past, but for some reason he wanted to know more about Tetius’. He wanted to know everything about Tetius, and that fact was starting to make him feel very uncomfortable. But regardless, he gave the boy his full attention.



“… I don’t think I would have been able to go on after my parents died. I was visiting my grandmother here in the city when it happened. There were some burglars that broke into my parents house. The police said that they had probably thought that there was no one home. My father must have heard something and gone downstairs to investigate. They killed him because he surprised them. He was hit in the head with a crowbar. According to the confession that was given when they were caught, they were only trying to knock him out before he could see their faces. When they realized that he was dead they panicked. Unfortunately, my mother had decided to come down after him when he didn’t return. She was killed because they thought that they could still get away if there weren’t any witnesses. The police caught the robbers just as they were sneaking out of the house. If… if I hadn’t been with my grandmother at the time…I …I…”



Zadei could feel Tetius trembling and knew that the poor boy was trying desperately not to cry. He shifted to the side and pulled Tetius against his chest and continued to softly stroke his back. Tetius wound his arms around the man and began to weep.



Zadei continued to hold him until the sobs had died off into soft hiccups. Tetius pulled back slowly, apologizing for his outburst. Zadei wanted to tell him that it was all right, but at the same time was confused by his desire to comfort this person he barely knew. He settled for gently brushing away the tears that ran down the boy’s cheeks.



Tetius smiled weakly. “Thank you for listening. I’ve never told anyone that before.” He reached down and took hold of Zadei’s hand. “I’ve imposed on you enough. I should change and go home.”



Zadei couldn’t bring himself to say anything as Tetius collected his clothes from the radiator and slipped into the bathroom to change. His mind was racing with so many thoughts. He wanted to ask Tetius to stay. To walk him home. To just throw him out and be rid of these horribly confusing feelings altogether.



He settled on calling for a cab and then dropping back onto the couch to wait for Tetius to come back out of the bathroom.



It wasn’t long before the younger man had returned, now dressed in his own, still slightly damp, clothes. The pants and shirt that he had borrowed were neatly folded in his arms. Zadei stood as Tetius handed the clothes back to him with a soft thank you.



“I’ve called for a cab. It shouldn’t be too long.” Zadei watched the boy nod. Why is this so hard? I never have trouble talking to anyone, but this boy makes me pause over everything I want to say.



Now that everything had been taken care of, there didn’t seem to be anything left to talk about. The silence was beginning to stifle Zadei and he turned to find something to distract himself. Noticing the cup that he had served Tetius his soup in, he went to pick it up. Zadei was, by no means, a neat person, but at least it gave him something to do. He wasn’t accustomed to feeling so uncomfortable.



As he lifted the cup, he realized that it was still full. “Did you not like the soup?” Turning back to face his guest, he watched as a bright blush spread across the pale cheeks₂.



“I’m so sorry. I’m sure it was good. I just couldn’t bring myself to eat.” Tetius’ voice came out in a rush. “I didn’t mean to be so rude.”



Zadei couldn’t help it, he just had to laugh. He had never seen anyone who could become so embarrassed over such a small thing. It was rather cute. “Don’t worry about it. It’s not important.”



He placed the cup on the kitchen counter before turning to grab his keys, preparing to walk the young man down the two floors to the street. The cab would be here soon, but the buzzer for his apartment was broken. He didn’t want Tetius to miss his ride.



It wasn’t long before they were both standing on the sidewalk, waiting. Tetius hadn’t spoken since they had left the apartment, and Zadei honestly didn’t know what to say. So they stood in silence, simply waiting side by side for the cab to arrive.



It wasn’t until he could actually see the vehicle coming down the road that Zadei began to realize that this was it. If Tetius got in that cab there was a very good chance that they would never meet again. For some reason that realization made Zadei unhappy.



Plunging his hands into his pockets he searched desperately for a scrap of paper. He always had a pen on him, but it was very uncommon for him to carry paper. After a quick search he felt the tips of his fingers brush against something in his back pocket. He pulled it out to find that it was a piece of folded paper, slightly damp from the earlier rain. He scribbled his number down as legibly as he could and handed it to Tetius.



The young man had been watching him with curiosity. He glanced at the paper before looking back up at Zadei. “This is your phone number?”



Feeling slightly embarrassed, but not willing to show it, Zadei nodded. “I just thought that you might… want someone to talk to.” He covered his uncertain pause with a cough, hoping that Tetius hadn’t noticed. “If I’m not home, you can always leave a message and I’ll call back.”



The brilliant smile that he got from Tetius was much more than he had been expecting. The pale man was acting as if he had just received a winning lottery ticket, not some soggy piece of paper with seven digits scrawled across it.



“Thank you, Zadei. Thank you very much.”



As the cab pulled to a stop beside them Zadei wondered if perhaps Tetius’ upbringing had made it difficult for him to make friends. Before he could ask, the pale young man was climbing into the vehicle. Tetius waved goodbye to Zadei, and before he could help it Zadei found himself waving back.



He stood on the sidewalk, watching as the cab disappeared from sight. I know he was happy, but I wonder if he will actually bother to call. He may be too nervous.



With a sigh, Zadei turned and began to ascend the stairs to his apartment. There wasn’t anything that he could do about it now. He would just have to wait and see.



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TBC





1- I know this seems rather fast, but I always got the impression that Zadei was a love(lust) at first sight type of guy. Even in the manga, he became infatuated with Tetius almost as soon as they met.





2- Favourite expression number two. Yay =)