such a beauty and a mess

Forbidden Fruit

Chopsticks that were half way to Win's mouth drew apart slightly, letting grains of rice silently fall back down into his rice bowl. He rested the chopsticks on the side of the ceramic as guarded eyes stared across the table.

"... why do you ask?" Win inquired, busily shoving rice around in his bowl.

"... you said you never went back, right? How do you know they won't forgive you?"

'Or at least help get you off the streets,' Bright finished in his mind.

Win sighed, looking discouraged as he sat his rice bowl down.

"Think if you were in my situation, how your father would react if you suddenly came crawling back?"

Bright very nearly winced. Could Win's father really have been that bad?

"Then what about your sisters? They're innocent in all this. Don't you want to see them?" Bright insisted. The look on Win's face bothered Bright. His lips were curving upward, but the smile was mockingly distant.

Win had thought of this before. He knew where his sisters' school was, so why didn't he just stop by?

Because he was admittedly scared - scared that his parents might have spoken ill about him. He didn't want to face the possibility of them shunning him too.

This was, however, not something he wished to share with Bright. Why was the guy getting all personal, anyway?

... well, maybe it was Win's fault for ever bringing it up.

"Thought I warned you about getting personal?" Win remarked, suddenly not so hungry anymore.

Bright frowned at the obvious avoidance, but stopped his pursuit, regardless. Finally focusing on the meal in front of him, Bright chose what was to his liking.

Win sat and sipped at his green tea, enjoying the warmth emitting from the table, and the feel of the steam floating up from his cup onto his face. It was all making him feel unusually warm, including the guy sitting across from him.

Win couldn't bring himself to understand why Bright would even ask. The first questions about his life were mere curiosity, and then they turned into a topic diversion to help Bright escape thoughts of his own life. This time the questions came out of nowhere, and with, dare Win say it, such concern.

He hadn't had someone care about him like this in a while. Green was a good friend, but in their world, everyone was out for themselves. Green would go out and blow Win's money, much much less use his own to buy something for him. Green would probably laugh at the thought of Win getting kicked out of a high-end store, meaning well, but still being a little asshole.

And that's why Win actually liked Bright. He enjoyed his company. He looked forward to the days left with him. And it wasn't because he was going to get paid at the end of the week.

The brown-eyed man wondered how a thought could both scare you and comfort you at the same time.

He observed Bright reaching for the plump red grapes sitting in the assortment of fruit they had been served, and acted.

Setting down his tea, he used fast reflexes to snatch the bundle of grapes before Bright could get his hands on them. Bright blinked in surprise, looking a bit disgruntled as Win stood.

"Consider this a reward for spoiling me earlier," Win chimed as he walked around the table and sat down on the mat next to Bright. With a smile and a pat on the lap, Win beckoned, "Come here."

"... why?" Bright asked cynically. He certainly wasn't expecting a reward for the shopping, and definitely not after trying to pry into Win's past.

"Put your head in my lap and let me feed you," Win said, rolling his eyes as he popped a grape into his mouth, "Don't all you rich people get servants to do this for you anyway?"