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“Oh.” Trez knew all about nightmares, and how they could affect one’s sleep. He wasn’t sure if he should offer to listen to Taiki’s nightmares, or change the subject. Did he want to talk about them? Some people did that. But then other people, like himself, avoided the topic like the plague. “You know, sleep is important. You shouldn’t push yourself too far without it.”


But the tension dissolved when Taiki sat on the couch, pulling some of the blanket over himself. He tilted his head, smiling a bit. “Well, at least I get to spend my last moments with you. I survived Rhys in one piece, and honestly that was a miracle. I can’t imagine getting that lucky twice. I’d like to apologize in advance for the copious amounts of blood my death will bring to your apartment. I’d offer to help clean up afterwards, but… Ya know, I’ll be dead.” he laughed, shaking his head slightly. “But in all seriousness, I’m ready to face facts. Running off like that was… beyond dumb. But, like all my great ideas, it came to me when I was drunk. I just hope I can make it up to everyone.” He sighed, the smile having faded from his face. He looked down, busying his hands by fiddling with the edge of the blanket. He genuinely did feel bad. Everyone had probably been worried sick. He hadn’t even left them a note, or a message. Just ran off in the middle of the night, shirked his responsibilities, and all for a selfish mission that wasn’t even successful.


“I’m really sorry. I know I said that already, and I also know that just saying it isn’t enough, but there isn’t anything else I can do right now.”

“Well, if you’re right, and I’m alive at the end of it, I promise to make sure your apartment is clean. My hidden talent is actually removing bloodstains.” he said, smirking just a bit. Those few words, though, were a knife to his heart. ’Spending weeks searching for you.’ He knew Taiki hadn’t meant it to hurt him, and that he was simply being overemotional. More than likely from the alcohol that was still in his blood, as well as the lack of sleep and proper nutrients. Still though, the seam on the edge of the blanket became increasingly more interesting, as he rolled it between his fingers, staring hard at the tiny, perfect stitches. Anything to keep his focus off of the situation at hand. To keep himself from thinking about how badly he had screwed up this time, or how worthless he suddenly felt.


So, of course, when his distraction was suddenly torn from his hands, he jumped. Startled, he looked over, only to see Taiki smirking. He felt a grin begin to rise up on his own face, and by the time the male was done talking, he was laughing quietly. “Alright, then.” he responded, pushing up from the couch, to head into the kitchen. ”Let’s see, something to do for three hours… Well, do you have any board games? I think I’ve got Uno over at my place, but I don’t think it’s the best idea to try and leave and come back, honestly. Charades is always fun, but I don’t know if either of us has the energy for that.”


When he got to the sink, he did a quick wash of the cup that Taiki had been using earlier. He set it on the counter, before searching through the male’s tea collection. ”We could just talk, but that could get boring pretty quick. Oh!” He picked up the box of Mint Vanilla Chai, and turned back towards Taiki. ”Do you have any markers? Me and my brother used to play this game during long car rides, where one person says a word, and the other has to draw the first thing that comes to mind. It can be any word you want, and as simple of a drawing as you’d like.”


He turned back to the counter, to actually make the tea, trying to emulate how he had watched Taiki do it earlier. Not that he was sure it would make much of a difference, but in case it did, he’d rather not mess it up.

When the microwave beeped, Trez carefully moved the cup on the counter, and began scooping in the insane amounts of sugar he had seen Taiki put into his last cup. He was careful to stir it between scoops, letting the hot water dissolve the sugar. It smelled amazing. He knew better than to try to actually drink it, but the smell alone was calming his stomach, and easing the ache that had begun to build in his head.


“They don’t need to be colored, no. It’s more fun that way, but it’s not necessary.” he called back, focusing on the tea. It shouldn’t be difficult, honestly, but he was known for being able to scorch water and somehow cause simple microwave meals to be inedible. The last thing he wanted was to give his best friend a case of food poisoning from a bad cup of tea.


Once all the sugar was mixed into the cup, he started putting away the tea box, washing the spoon he had used, wiping down the counter for good measure. Making sure there was absolutely no trace of him having been there. Partially out of respect for the male’s home, but also because he himself couldn’t stand to have things looking out of place.


“Um. Well, One blanket is enough for me, honestly. If you don’t wanna share with me on the couch, I suppose I’ll take one, so you can have yours back. And pens will do fine, Starshine. If the markers don’t work, it’s no big deal. It will be fun either way.” he said, chuckling a bit.

Once Trez was satisfied that everything was clean, he carefully picked up the hot mug, enjoying the way it warmed his perpetually cold hands. He made his way back to the couch, handing the mug to Taiki. "Here. It's the Vanilla Mint one? I hope I made it right." he mumbled. When he was sure the other had a firm drink on the beverage, (to prevent another shattering mug incident) he took up his place on the couch beside him, getting comfortable under the warmth of the blanket.

"I'll let the artist draw first. And yes, it can be any word, but if the other person can't think of anything, you have to choose something else. When you're done drawing, you can explain why you drew whatever it is, or just let it be." he shrugged.

"Sicta and I never really had to explain, because we had similar thought processes. And most of the time, our parents were nearby, so it wasn't easy. But in this case, I'll leave it up to you." he smiled, leaning back as he tried to think of a good word to start with.

"Ah! Your word is blue." he said, grinning.

Trez laughed when Taiki rolled his eyes at him, but was soon lost in the motions of the male’s hand. It always fascinated him when people drew things, and they actually looked like they were supposed to. The talent it took was almost overlooked, especially when Taiki sketched through the process as if it were second nature. He had almost felt bad for choosing such an obvious word, knowing that everyone who knew him had a slightly obscured idea about the word. But when the sketchbook was turned around, he grinned along with Taiki. “No, you don’t have to explain it. I will say I’m very glad that I have ruined an artist’s thought process about the word blue. I feel flattered.”

But, it took every bit of strength and will within him not keep that grin in place, to keep his body relaxed, and not to ask him to choose another word. Of all the words in the entire universe that he could have chosen....

’Innocence? Is he trying to kill me?’ His mind was a mess, a warzone of memories rising from the deep to assault him. The object of this game was to draw the first thing that came to mind. But there wasn’t enough ink in any of those pens and markers to draw out all the things in his head. Besides, how did one even draw out a lack of innocence? Guilt? Pain, and the feeling of being tainted?

He didn’t want to lie. But he had wanted this game to be fun, and that is the exact opposite of what it would be if he was honest. Still, he was a terrible liar, and his hands shook slightly as he reached to take the sketchbook from Taiki. He grabbed one of the markers, and uncapped it, thinking for a moment.

Slowly, he drew out a dandelion in the corner of Taiki’s page. It was small, wobbly, and looked like it was drawn by a toddler, but it was at least obviously a dandelion. Or he hoped so, anyways. “It’s one of those wish flowers,” he explained quickly. “I was obsessed with them as a child. I was convinced they were real magic. Innocence.” he said, smiling a bit, passing the book back to the male. He wasn’t sure how well he had pulled that off, but he could only hope.

“Your turn. Home.”

There was something extremely calming about watching Taiki draw. The confidence in his hand as the images in his mind transferred almost flawlessly onto the page. It wasn't that he envied the talent, just enjoyed seeing it in action. His own hands shook too bad to even think about competing with that, and his mind was too often a jumbled mess.

When the male handed over the sketchbook, he stared at the little drawing in awe. It was obviously himself and his siblings; he recognized them from the pictures in Taiki's house. And as quick and simply as it was drawn, there was still an amazing amount of detail.

"That's beautiful. The picture and the meaning." he mumbled, staring for a few moments longer, before flipping to a new page for his own word.

Which, of course, stopped him in his tracks again. 'Cute...? When was the last time I ever thought something was cute...?' He slowly picked up a pen, and chewed on his lip.

"Heh... I'll be honest... Kinda drawing a blank on this one... But, maybe. Oh!"

Trez's eyes lit up as his mind clicked on an answer. It was nowhere near as well drawn as Taiki's, but the meaning was there, anyways. He struggled with the lines for a bit, trying to force it to look the way it did in his head, but eventually, he gave up. He put the cap on the pen, and handed the book back to Taiki.

"It's supposed to be a garden. The woman at the end of my block started one at the corner, just to brighten it up, ya know? It's got a few flowers, and some... What to do you call them... Succulents? Like cactus, but without the prickly things? Anyways, yeah." he shook his head, laughing softly. "It's tiny, and cute. I'm drawing a lot of plant stuff... Huh. Too bad I kill all things green, since my subconscious obviously loves em."

He hummed in thought, staring off into space for a moment. "Your next word is... Umm... Elegant!" he said, grinning slightly. "Have fun with that one."

Trez scoffed at the adorable comment, and then again at Taiki mentioning Rhys. Sure, there were probably plenty of plants he couldn't kill, but he wasn't sure he was ready for the responsibility of taking care of anything living. That, and with his luck, he would find a way to poison the poor thing, and then have to face the wrath of Rhys. Which was never, ever a good thing to be faced with.

He simply grinned in amusement as he watched the wheels turning in the male's head, stammering over the difficulty of the word he'd given him. But when the pen finally went to the paper, Trez was once again entranced by it's movements. It made him wonder if he himself could ever focus on anything long enough to become that skilled. To be so sure of himself.

He took the sketchbook as it was offered to him, and smiled. "Yeah I'd say butterflies are pretty elegant." he mumbled. "Alright so... Fierce. What is considered fierce.... Oh, oh!" he laughed a bit as an idea crossed his brain, and started drawing excitedly. He knew he would have to explain this one.

After a few moments of struggling, he held the sketchbook out, beaming proudly at his work. "It's a lion, trying to eat your butterfly! Fangs and all!" he laughed, shaking his head. "If that were a real lion, he'd probably be thrown out of the pride. Looks pretty pitiful. Whatever."

"Let's see here. Your next word is..." he hummed as he thought, trying to be more reasonable this time. "Hmmm. How about fluffy? That should be easy enough. Lots of things are fluffy."

Trez’ laughter was much louder, much more full than it should have been. But it felt good. It felt better than the deep, dark depression he had been in for so long. And when Taiki laughed as well, it made him warm. He made a mental note to store away memories of this night for the dark times he would surely face in the future.

Following what seemed to be the routine, here, he watched in awe as the male drew his given prompt. His old cat, one-hundred percent fluff. He smiled, tilting his head slightly.

“She’s cute. I love cats, honestly. I wanted to get one, but I’m never home. I would feel terrible, leaving it waiting for me all the time.”

His thoughts shifted, trying to think of something shiny. It should be easy, but of course, he was drawing a total blank. ’Probably the lack of rest.’ He knew they should both be sleeping, given the events due to happen tomorrow (technically today, given the current time), but honestly, this was better than rest.

He tapped the pen on the paper a few times, trying to force himself to think. Then, staring at the tiny dots of ink on the page, he had an idea. He made the dots a bit bigger, and added some lines around them, added a few more details, and passed the book.

“Stars are shiny, right? I hope so, cause honestly I’m drawing a blank here.” he said, chuckling.

“Um. Next word… Uhhhhh…… Hot?”