*.•Within this house of Books•.* {Don x Ray}

06#.

(No One's P.O.V)
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"Perish, or face the wrath of the bubble bath"

It was time for baths, they were outside all day setting up a make shift stage with Don, and taking measurements with Gilda. The children were all beat out and tried, sweaty and hungry.

Emma and Norman were in charge of the baths today, to say it was a struggle was an understatement. They kept testing them, sneaking out of the tub as they were tending to others, wetting the floors and making a mess in their trails.
Norman or Emma always caught them, but that didn't stop them from throwing water in their faces.

The youngest ones were a handful. Kids like Rossi and Sherry knew better though, and cooperated wonderfully.

After finishing and sending them all up to bed, they were exhausted and sweaty themselves. "Was it worth the struggle Emma?" "No, I don't believe so"

They were alone, with Gilda taking time for herself. A spa day you could guess. "Where's Don and Ray? I haven't seen them since Don cut open his finger, it looked pretty deep" the question wasn't unexpected, Norman was waiting for Emma to mention it.
"I don't know. I offered to check it out to see just how bad it was, but he told me he was fine. I'm worried it'll get infected."

-

"Hold still, it's only alcohol" Ray couldn't understand why Don hadn't just gone to Norman. It was deep, looking so fragile that if you pulled on it too roughly, it might just rip off. A bloody thing it was.

"It still burns" Don whined, tears pricking the corner of his eyes. It hurt, but Ray looked so careful with his hand, it made his chest hurt. He didn't know what to do with his feelings, they were simply too large.

He wanted to love Ray unconditionally without being scared. He wanted Ray to hold his hand like this all the time, without him having to be injured.
But if it took him getting his thumb almost chopped off, he'd probably (definitely) do it again.

"I'm sorry it hurts. Maybe close you're eyes so you don't look at it?" Then I wouldn't be able to look at you. "No, I'll tough it out." Ray's laughs were so abrupt, so sudden you almost jumped out of your skin the moment you heard it. That's when Don knew, something he said had humored Ray enough to be as loud as he was. It kept going, and Ray made sure he let go of Dons hand, to insure he didn't hurt him. His head ducked forward, and he bent over, laughing while slapping his knee.

Don started wheezing at the sight, the pain in his thumb practically evaporated away.
They laughed until their voices hurt and they ran out of breath, a smile present on both of their lips.
"Sorry tough guy, your comment caught me off guard."

"I am a tough guy. I'm strong, and big, and cool, and snazzy, anything you could want"
"Anything I could want?"
Sometimes, he wouldn't think before he spoke. He was careless, he should have watched what he said. He should always watch what he says when he's around Ray. One day he'll say something he can't make a joke out of, a day when he's not ready to explain how he feels.

"Yeah, you might need me to carry your books! I like being able to carry your books" it wasn't always a funny joke to follow his mistakes, but he could always almost come up with an excuse.

"Yeah. Thanks by the way. I feel like I don't thank you enough for all you've done to help out, especially when you have your own tasks to handle. Sorry it had to be in this situation of your thumb almost being chopped off."

"Heheh, maybe another hug could be used as a thank you? Or a smooch, on my little cheek, because is it just me or do I feel like I've deserved it?"
Don was being too confident again. He asked for something, which he regretted immediately afterwards. He hated asking for favors in return for his help, it made him feel like a selfish person, like he was being compared to horrible people again.

So he did what he usually did and apologized. "Oh-I'm sorry! That's weird, forget it. You don't need to thank me at all, I love helping you out Ray."

"A little kiss on the cheek never hurt anyone Don"

It was warm. A little peck, but he felt like it could end a war. The war going on inside his chest on what to do about his emotions, how to handle and let them vent out at a healthy pace, it all stopped. It was like when Ray hugged him alone for the first time, full of care. He felt so safe in that moment.
He wanted Ray to give him pecks and hugs all the time.

"You didn't have to do that Ray, sorry if it made you uncomfortable"

Ray wanted to laugh, Don seemed so tense about a little kiss. He was more then willing to kiss Don. Don wouldn't even have to ask, it was just a kiss. A kiss friends gave each other all the time.

"I told you, it's just a kiss. I'd be more then willing to kiss you at any time Don, just ask."

Don wasn't sure he heard that right, but he felt his entire body spasm into excitement. He was digging profusely into his leg with his uninjured hand, feeling his nerves shoot into chaos. He was nervous, and he knew his face looked as red as can be, but he was happy.

Even if Ray meant that in a friendly way, it was a step forwards. Ray continued to clean and bandage Dons thumb, and they chatted. About what Books Ray had read recently, about what ideas Don came up with for the play.
Even after Dons thumb was taken care of and tied tightly in layers, they continued to laugh and poke fun at each other. It was the best night of Dons life.

-

It had been a week, a week since Ray wrapped Dons thumb and gave him a peck on the cheek. Don remembered it so visually, he dreamt of it every night.

He was hammering planks of wood together, one nail after another penetrating the board. He'd gotten his finger a couple times, he wasn't concentrated. His mind was circling back over the week, he looked like an idiot with the way he smiled. Even as he stubbed his toe or hit his head on something, the grin never left his face.

He never asked Ray for a hug or kiss, no matter how tempted he was. He didn't want to seem desperate and make Ray think he was needy, even though he was. He craved attention, he craved validation from Ray. He wanted to be told he was doing a good job, he wanted to be praised. He let his relationship fantasies spiral, and that's all he thought about.

All he wanted to do with Ray and it not be labeled as "that's what friends do." He wanted to be able to call Ray his lover, he wanted to call him cute little pet names that didn't make sense, he wanted to play with his hands.

If you looked in his dark colored eyes right now, you'd probably see hearts. He felt so corny, because that's exactly what he was. A corny, love sick teenage boy.

"Ewwww, Dons being weird again Emma!" Hans complained, tugging on the hem of Emma's shirt. He kept hurting himself, and for what? What was going on inside his head enough to keep him distracted like this?

"And then the fire nation attacked" Norman. Emma laughed uncontrollably, holding herself up by grabbing Normans shoulder and letting herself go. Tears of humor pricked her eyes, and she wheezed out "His face is so red too!! HAHAHAHA"
A smile claimed his face, relieved. He always had to explain his jokes, he was happy that this one got across. Norman was just not winning in life. "Glad I didn't have to explain the joke"

"Yeah, you're a loser! Your jokes never make any sense"

"Seriously though, we better stop him before he actually chops off a finger" Norman was right, he was being careless. He hurt himself horribly last time, he didn't need a repeat of it.

It was on his dominate hand too, making it much more worse. He's had so much trouble doing task like eating with utensils and writing letters back to the post office, he couldn't afford to get another injury like that.

Ray had been the one to help him out all week, much to Emma and Normans favor. Norman had paper works and prescriptions to handle as well as heading out to town for paperwork. Emma had to take care of the kids and clean up after them and Gilda had their money to manage as well as the children's growth in case they grew out of their old clothes, so Ray stepped up and offered his help. They basically ran the place, no upper hands helping. They handled all the legal procedures and bills, and they did it all together.

"I'll talk to him"

:) 1,560 words. I'm proud of how this turned out, I think it was a nice change in pace. Have a wonderful day/night and sorry for updating slowly.