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Alex sat alone, in Yin's bedroom, knee's pulled up to his chest, arms wrapped tightly around his legs. His forehead was rested on his knee tops, his face hidden from view.

He wasn't sure why he was here, why he had come back after he'd gone out on a search for Yin. He'd waited here all day, after the weremantis said he was going out for a morning jog. Waited until he couldn't wait anymore, waited until the worry that had wormed it's way inside of his brain and clenched a fist around his heart couldn't be ignored anymore. Yin had been gone for hours. Hours. What could possibly have happened to him, to make him stay away for so long? None of the idea's that had popped into Alex's brain were pretty, and almost all of them too horrible to think about for long.

And so, he had left the room, for a time, intent on finding Yin, or on finding whoever it was that had taken him away, since clearly the other boil must have been abducted to have not returned yet, or to not have at least made an effort to somehow let Alex know where he was. It took everything he had in him not to go stumbling out of the room as fast as his clumsy, stiff legs could carry him. He kept a level head though, despite how much he wanted to panic, tried to think things through. If Yin had gone for a jog, what route might he have taken? Would have have gone anywhere else? Maybe he'd gone to town to get some food, or do some shopping. Well, no, he'd require more money for that then Alex was led to believe he had. The creepateria then? Well, that wouldn't really account for hours of missing weremantis, unless the food was really just so delicious the mantodae couldn't tear himself away. He might have been out visiting a friend, sitting in their dorm room and losing track of time, but how would Alex ever figure out where to begin looking for him in that case? Danny's? Xui's? He'd never been to either of their rooms before, so finding them would be pain.

There was really only one place left that Alex could think to look, though he couldn't figure out why the weremantis would be there either. Oh well, he would have a glance in the gymnasium first, because it couldn't hurt.

Except that it had hurt.

Though first he had felt relief at the familiar sight of green and brown, It had somehow hurt as well. He had approach the double doored entrance, taken a quick peek inside, only to see Yin was in fact there, but he was sparring. The mantodae looked beaten, worn down, in pain, yet he continued to fight. How long had been here? Surely not all day..not since early this morning...He wouldn't have left Alex, alone and worried, all day long, just to do this...

But the proof was right there, in front of him, and even though he didn't really understand it, and didn't quite understand why he felt this pain in his chest, he backed away silently, not bothering to go inside and interrupt. Instead, he left, headed back outside, mulling over his troubled thoughts, heading towards the undead dorms to feed and spend time with his pets, before making his way back to the monster dorms once more.

Where he continued to wait for Yin. And wait. And then wait some more. The zomboil hadn't eaten all day, though he for once didn't really have much of an appetite. He hadn't really moved, since returning either, just curled up with his knees against his chest as he was now. Just waiting, wondering what was going on, upset that Yin wouldn't have come back yet. Worried that he had done something wrong and that Yin didn't want to be anywhere near him right now.

A sound on the other side of the door had him rising his head, his eyes blinking as he glanced outside, where the sky was darkening, then back towards the door.

He heard the movements outside the door, and his arms moved up to cross around the tops of his knees, his head lowering down so his chin was resting with arms encircling, hiding half of his face. His eyes were visible though, and they watched the door, watched it as it slowly opened, as Yin walked in, smiling as though leaving for an entire day without telling Alex any of his plans was perfectly normal.

That thought actually took him aback a bit. Maybe this was perfectly normal. Maybe he had just gotten too used to being with Yin nearly all day every single day since the trials. Maybe...maybe Yin was sick of it, and ready to go back to the way things were and Alex shouldn't have sat here waiting all day. That sudden realization made him unsure of himself, the words that he had wanted to say to Yin when he finally returned slipping out of his mind.

But something still just seemed..off. Things had seemed off since yesterday, after Alex and Yin had had their spar. Was something about that fight bothering the other boil? Was he just upset that Alex had won, (even though Alex was still fairly sure the weremantis had thrown the fight, in the end) ? Maybe that's why he had been sparring in the gym.....but all day long?

Yin was speaking now, and Alex didn't know how to reply. He kept his head lowered, kept his eyes trained on the other boil, trying hard not to show how upset he was, how confused this situation was making him.

"I...I had thought you would have been back sooner..." he said, quietly. "You know, if you have better things to do Yin.." like getting yourself pummeled in the gymnasium all day, "...you...you can just tell me and I will leave." Instead of sitting here all day, waiting..not knowing..worrying..

And suddenly, he was asking Yin a question. He didn't know what possessed him to ask it. Perhaps he just wanted to see how Yin would answer, if he would at least grace Alex with the truth. "Where were you?"

Yin's first answer didn't sit well with the zomboil, and he felt like shouting at him, but instead he said, in a surprisingly calm tone of voice.... Okay, no, it was perhaps a little bit cold, and there may have been some small traces of irritation evident. "The only thing that held me back, Yin, was the thought that you were actually planning on returning at some point today, and that you would have wanted to spend time with me. Obviously that was wrong of me to assume, but If I'd known that wasn't the case, then I would have gladly gone elsewhere." Okay, Ya, apparently he was deciding to settle on resentment right now.

If Yin's first answer didn't sit well, his second one left the zomboil feeling positively ill. Though at least Yin had apologized for it, in the end. That had to be worth something, right?

He shrugged in response. "So you said." he practically grumbled, shifting uneasily in his spot, then raising his head, uncrossing his arms, and unfolding his legs with a sigh.

Time to tell the truth, and try to figure out what the hell was going on with his boilfriend,

He scooted himself forward, then turned his body and continued his movement until he was also perched on the edge of the bed, sitting next to Yin, placing his hands in his lap, and then turning to look at Yin before speaking. "I didn't actually stay here all day. I got worried, and I went looking for you. I saw you in the gym, saw you fighting or sparring or whatever you want to call it." He eyed the weremantis's face, reaching up to lightly prod the area on his jaw that he had punched the day before. It looked worse now then it had this morning, which either meant something was terribly wrong, or Yin had been hit there again. He pulled his fingers away as though they had been burnt, and then continued to speak.

"Yes, I would have appreciated knowing where you were or at least knowing you wouldn't be coming back. I would have also appreciated being told the whole truth, but since I hid the truth from you as well I can't really be all that judgmental but..." He stopped, he had pulled his fingers away but now he was reaching up again, concentrating his fear, brushing his fingers against that swollen area of jaw and attempting to at least help ease some of the pain it must have been causing.

He brought his hand away again, and frowned, not even bothering to hide the hurt and confusion from his eyes anymore. "Can you just tell me why? Please? Why would you put yourself through this all day? Is it because of me? Because of our..spar, yesterday?" Yin had said that they would take that spar slowly, to make it easier on both of them, but it hadn't quite turned out how Alexander had planned. And now Yin was just throwing himself into fights, getting himself hurt, not seeming to care about Alexander...

..Which only made his heart ache all the more because he knew how much he really, truly cared about Yin.

Alex flinched back when the 'No,' came out of Yin's mouth, because it was said too quickly, too hastily. And there again, Alexander wasn't sure he believed Yin. He was hiding something, there was something he wasn't telling. The question now was, would Alex leave it, and just let it rest...

...Or would he be his usual stubborn headed zombie self, who was now so focused on figuring out what was going on he didn't care who the answer hurt, or how much it did?

"Something...came up..." This was familiar, this was really a lot like the time 'something came up' and Yin had not shown up at the library that day. Alex had spent and entire night looking for the other boil then, again, worried that something horrible might have happened to him. But back then they had just been friends. Best friends, but just friends nonetheless. Now Yin was so much more then just that to him, and if something was bothering the other boil, he wanted to know what it was, so he could try and fix it, and try to make him happy.

Emotions were still conflicting inside of him. He felt relief that Yin was okay, even if he was physically beaten. He felt frustration that the weremantis had put him through this stress and worry for a second time, after he thought the first time he had made his feelings about doing things like that pretty damn clear. He felt angry that Yin was clearly hiding something from him, something likely more serious then the other boil was letting on. It had to be pretty damn serious, to keep him from Alex's side all day long, and to let himself get so beaten up over.

"A while longer...right." He scoffed. A while longer had turned into and entire day. How many spars could the weremantis have had in a day? His head was starting to hurt. A stress headache, perhaps? Whatever it was, it was making it hard to think, which was again, quite reminiscent of the spar they had had, the morning after he had spent an entire night looking for Yin.

That wasn't a spar, that was almost a massacre...

But Alex had controlled himself then, in the end, and he would control himself now, no matter how much he wanted to growl, to rage, to punch his fist through a wall. Why didn't Yin want to tell him what was going on? Why was he hiding things? Did he hide things from Alex like this all the time, and Alex was just too blissfully content to care or notice?

"Tell me." he said, his voice suddenly flat, his stare suddenly hard. "Tell me what it is that was not so terribly important, but was important enough to avoid me all day. Tell me, because if you don't, It's going to drive me crazy." There, that was the truth too, though he was more tempted to say 'tell me or I'm leaving right now, and I don't know when I'll be back' because honestly, if Yin kept acting like this, Alex was going to lose control, and things were going to get out of hand.

And at that point? It would probably be in both of their best interests if Alex took some time away to cool off.

Could Yin spend a day on his own without permission? Of course he could! Alex didn't give a s**t if Yin wanted to spend several days on his own, as long as he let Alexander know that that's what he needed, so that he didn't sit around all day, first feeling worried, then confused, and then like a complete dumbass for believing that Yin would have wanted to spend the day with him when it was clearly not the case.

As Yin started to speak, looking into Alex's eyes, the zomboils hands started to tighten into fists, nails digging deep into his palms as his hands began to shake with the massive effort it was taking not to start yelling, to start venting all of these pent up emotions that were starting to make his head throb and his vision go a little red around the edges. Yin was not giving him an answer. He was hedging around the truth, again, as he had been doing since the moment he'd walked into the door.

Abruptly, Alexander pushed himself to his feet. He couldn't stay here like this. He was going to lose control again and he couldn't do that to Yin, couldn't let him witness that again, or worse, be on the receiving end of it.

He had taken two jerking steps towards the door before Yin spoke again, finally answering Alex's question. The zomboil blinked, the horrible agony of emotions receding for a moment as he turned and stared at the other boil in confusion. "But..but why?" He asked, blurting out the first thing that came to mind, though he heard Yin say it was just for a moment, which meant that it was a fleeting thought, right?

Well, if Yin's current condition was any indication, it must be more serious then that.

Hesitantly, he took a couple of small, shuffling steps back towards Yin, "But you wouldn't...you wouldn't actually go, would you? You wouldn't......you won't leave me....." The last part wasn't even a question, just a short statement spoken in an incredibly quiet and incredulous voice.

Alex needed to hear Yin's answer, the one he was sure he was going to hear. He needed Yin to say that no, he would not leave, he would never even consider it. So why was it, when Yin did say it, Alex was not at all reassured. He just stood, there, staring down at Yin, full to the brim with feelings and emotions that he no longer knew how to control, and he felt like Yin's words were completely empty, that they didn't mean anything.

He wanted so much for that not to be the case, for it to just be his imagination, but he was sure there was something in Yin's voice that sounded almost insincere, like he was again just saying what he thought Alex wanted to hear and not what he was truly feeling. "No..." he repeated, almost dumbly, closing his eyes, taking in a deep shuddering breath as he started to consider the fact that maybe this relationship wasn't as secure as he had thought it was.

The pain in Yin's voice didn't go unnoticed, but it was almost too little too late. Almost. But if Alex had known what had really caused that pained tone, he would have given up and walked out of the room right then, but the tone was enough to make him stop, to ask the question he felt he already knew the answer to, but had to hear it for himself.

"If you..if you left...you wouldn't take me with you, would you? You would just leave me..." He said, quietly, his own voice raw and full of pain as well as he started to feel the faint trembling of the oncoming earthquake that was about to shake his world down around him. Yesterday, things had been fine. This morning, he had still thought things had been fine, if not a little tense and awkward.

Now...now he didn't know what to think, he didn't know how things could have changed so quickly. Sadness began to well up inside him, to join in the emo party taking place in his heart and in his brain, but he clenched his jaw against it, tried to shove it back down, to bury it deep beneath everything else. He didn't want to think about Yin leaving him, not again, not so soon after he'd thought the'd lost him forever, not now that he was just starting to feel normal again.

Silly zomboil, for thinking that things could ever just be that easy.

And that was it. That one simple word, said again but in answer to a new question, a much more important question, in Alex's mind.

No.

No he would not take Alex with him. He would just leave, and Alex would be left behind. Had Yin said anything else? Alex couldn't even hear him anymore with this sudden pounding in his ears. Couldn't see him any more as his vision suddenly became distorted by a haze of red. He could feel a warmth creeping up the back of his neck, but it wasn't just from embarrassment, it was from anger as well. Alexander felt foolish. He felt like Yin had somehow made a complete fool out of him. If there was one thing he hated, it was when he was made to feel stupid.

This was a rather odd turn of events, but it's how Alex's mind chose to focus his angers and emotions. Not on the real problem, but on something new, something simple and basic that Alex could finally lash out about.

"Don't lie to me." He snapped, his voice suddenly a low growl. He could feel himself backing away, towards the door, and that was good. He needed to get out, get away, and not be facing Yin while he felt like this. He needed to get out before he lost control, but his emotions were in a turmoil, and he didn't really want this either. He also wanted to stay, to work things out, to end the night with Yin wrapped up in his arms, with a feeling of security once more. But this day had been too long, too full of small insecurities that had built up and built up more over time. Maybe it wasn't even just this day, maybe it had been this past several days since the trials, as he had struggled daily to just be himself, to show Yin that he was going to be fine.

"I would give up everything for you. I would have gone with you, if you asked, and you know I would. I told you I never wanted to let go.." His voice almost broke then, to many emotions vying to be on top, too much too deal with at once. He composed himself and finished what he had to say, hand groping for the doorknob behind him, his voice icy as he opened it up.

"You're always running away from something, I guess it was only a matter of time before you ran away from me as well. Here, I'll make it easier for you. I'll leave instead." That was...harsh, even for Alex, who knew how to be an a*****e if the occasion suited him, but he wasn't feeling particularly friendly at the moment, and before he could say anything to possibly hurt the mantodae more, he was gone, out the door and closing it behind him before he took off down the hallway. He needed to be away from Yin right now, he needed time to...he didn't even know what. He just needed to get away. That was the first step. He'd figure out what came next later.

Alex returned to the room, hours later.

He was mentally and emotionally exhausted, but ultimately, he was feeling a lot better then he had earlier. His spar with Mitzi had been..interesting, to say the least. It had actually been a welcome experience, it gave him an outlet with which to vent his frustrations, and it gave him little time to think about anything but what was happening in that moment. It was upon reflecting on this later, that Alexander may have gotten an inkling of why it was Yin had done what he had. He'd had an upsetting thought, one that he didn't want to focus on, and had dealt with it in the same way that Alex had now just dealt with his own problems.

With that realization firmly in mind, Alex had departed from the gymnasium, worse for wear then when he had arrived, and full of painful regret. It was at about this time that he remembered that he hadn't actually eaten anything in over 24 hours, and he decided that possibly going for a hunt and getting himself some food might give him time to cope with how he was feeling, and time to think of what he should do next.

Some time later, with blood still smeared on his face and hands, Alex found himself wandering the campus aimlessly. He wasn't paying attention to where he was going, just letting his feet go where ever they may while he remained buried deep in his thoughts. It wasn't even too long later that he stopped, his eyes rising from the ground in front of him to see where his footfalls had taken him, and not even all that surprised to see that he was standing outside of the monster dorms, eyes automatically seeking out the window of Yin's bedroom.

Surely it must have been a sign.

And so, the bedraggled and messy zomboil shambled his way into the building, quietly making his way through the maze of hallways, up the flight of stairs and back towards the room that was becoming more of a home for him of late then his own dorm room. When he reached the door, he paused, the shame of his earlier words before he had left the room flooding back to him. Yin probably didn't even want him to come back after that, and the zomboil couldn't really blame him. But still, they were bonded, and this was his boilfriend and he couldn't just leave him like this. Yin needed support, and Alex should have been the one there to give it to him, not to throw his words back in his face, accuse him of lying, insult him, and leave. He felt absolutely wretchedly horrible for all of it, and wanted nothing more then to just be able to go back, and to have had none of it happen at all.

But it had happened, and Alex could really only see one way to move forward from here. He reached out, and slowly turned the door handle, pushing the door open as silently as he could before shuffling himself inside and closing the door behind him with a soft 'click'.

His eyes immediately found Yin's sleeping form, pressed up against the wall on the bed. Alexander wasn't sure if he should be relieved or disappointed that this was the case. He really needed to talk to the other boil, to apologize and let him know that he was there for him, no matter what. But at the same time, he was scared, scared that he might have gone to far, that his words might have hurt the weremantis too much.

Finally, after standing by the door for what seemed like ages, the zomboil made his way slowly across the room and towards the bed, sliding himself up on to it and over towards Yin, reaching a hand out to touch the other boils shoulder, gently. "Yin?" he whispered, as his pale eyes watched the weremantis in the dimness of the room, illuminated only by the moon shining in through the window. "Yin?" he whispered again, applying a little more pressure.

But the weremantis appeared to be out cold, likely exhausted from his days physical exertions. Alex hesitated, ready to say something else but closing his mouth. No, he would wait until Yin was awake, and talk to him then. For now, Alex rolled on to his back, and closed his eyes, trying and failing over and over again to block out all unnecessary thought so that he could just put him self in stasis mode. Eventually, he gave up, and not knowing whether it was a good idea or a terrible one, or possibly not caring either way, turned back towards Yin and flung an arm around the other boil, and buried his face against him, just wanting that bit of warmth, that bit of comfort, even if it wasn't being offered, in case it was the last time he ever could.