No Place For Me | [boyxboy]

CHAPTER 16

Rue's memories that were scattered in the darkness of his mind all aligned, piecing together what he remembered Harlow as back then while comparing him to the Harlow now four years older. He was still tall, his brown eyes and red hair still bright and the disbelief smile that climbed on his face, the very one Rue had thought he had forgotten, had never changed.

Rue felt his heart slip downward as if it had fallen into water. The tears that rushed his eyes slowly cleared his spotty vision by rinsing the red stains away. Rue couldn't stop himself from shaking, nor could he understood why such a happy moment was frightening for him.

Unsure how to appropriately respond, Rue turned to leave but felt Harlow's hand grab him, before pulling him into a hug. Rue bit his lips to keep from crying as he hugged him back. Harlow's embrace became so tight, that Rue's bow pressed into his wound, causing him to groan in pain.

It wasn't long until Harlow realized that Rue was injured. His fingers and white sleeved were stained in blood and dirt. Pulling back immediately, Harlow turned Rue around to see the wound before looking at him with wide eyes.

"You seem you attract danger," Harlow said, worried as he took Rue's hand.

As Harlow pulled Rue towards the back door, Rue panicked afraid Harlow's parents would see him. When Harlow saw how frightened Rue was, Harlow reassured him that it was ok.

When they entered the home, Rue saw Harlow's parents and another a woman, clearly with child, standing on edge as if they were waiting for Harlow to return.

Harlow's parent's eyes widened in disbelief as they looked from Harlow to Rue. Rue wondered if they recognized him or were they surprised to see an injured person in their kitchen.

When Harlow's mother uttered Rue's name, Rue froze. In seconds Harlow's mom cleared the distance between them to hug him. Rue's eyes continued to water until he couldn't take the pain from the tight hugs any longer, and he collapsed in her arms.

When Rue woke up, the first thing he saw was the ceiling covered in a hand sketch map of the world. He has never seen their world map before; when he was younger, his mother could never afford to spend money on frivolous things. So Rue had no clue how big this world was—and it was big.

Rue had seen Aangula's world map many times during his studies with Zsuzsi. On his own time, he would often open the map and wonder where Roxas was at the moment.

Looking at the map, Rue was quite impressed with the details and wondered how long it took Harlow, who used to doodle during their lesson, to make it.

When Rue shift slightly, his skin brushed against the sheet, when he moved his arms up, he realized that he was topless and that his torso was bandaged. When Rue turned his head to the side, he saw Harlow sitting in a chair beside him, but with his head pressed against his arms on the bed sleeping.

Rue froze, as his heart tried to understand everything that had happened and what he sees with his own two eyes. How? Rue thought as the fresh tear rolled down from the corners of his eyes.

"How?" Rue asked, reaching and touching his fire red hair that felt softer than any fine material he has ever touched. When Harlow felt Rue, he quickly lifted his head adjusted his eyes before he smiled.

Rue's could feel his heart tightening; never in this lifetime did Rue think he would see Harlow smile at him not once, but twice, ever again. Rue's soul was happy.

"You've been sleeping for almost two days," Harlow said, his eyes glossy. "You had a high fever, and I was worried you wouldn't wake up."