Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/621312.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Underage
  Category:
      M/M
  Fandom:
      Alice_Nine
  Relationship:
      Tora/Hiroto
  Additional Tags:
      Fluff, Angst, Romance
  Stats:
      Published: 2013-01-03 Updated: 2013-01-28 Chapters: 4/? Words: 10535
****** Lost and found ******
by Juusangatsu
Summary
     Hiroto has been scraping by on the streets his entire life. He
     doesn't know how to trust, nor how to love. he simply survives. But
     all that changes when fate decides he should meet Tora.
Notes
     So, my first new story on here. As usual I promised myself to only
     upload this when it was fully done, but I'm just not patient enough
     for that XD;
     I probably won't update that frequently and I'm sorry for that,
     but... here, enjoy.
***** From the streets *****
Taking his keys out of the contact, Tora got out of his car and locked the door
behind him. He turned and headed for his apartment, stuffing his key in his
pocket. Passing the alley near his house, he suddenly heard a shuffling sound
beside him. He stopped dead in his tracks and looked into the alley, expecting
to be attacked at any moment.
What he saw though, wasn’t a robber. It was a kid. A small, filthy looking kid.
The boy was rummaging through Tora’s garbage and didn’t even notice the man
looking at him from the street.
“Hey kid, are you looking for something?”
At the sound of a voice the boy jumped and looked at Tora. Their eyes met for a
split second, before the kid bolted and made his way into the darkness of the
alley.
Tora stood there for moments after the boy had disappeared. Something in that
look had him nailed to the ground. Those eyes, round and wide open with shock
and fear and something he couldn’t quite put his finger on.
He shook his head to snap himself out of it and sighed softly before resuming
his way over to his front door.
***
Tora didn’t understand. For whatever reason, that boy from a few days ago had
been on his mind constantly. Those eyes… He had figured out the kid was
probably homeless, judging from the way he looked and the fact that he was
searching through garbage, and that had only spurred on his thoughts. How old
would he be? Twelve? Thirteen maybe? He slammed his fist down on his desk in
frustration. “Fuck. What does it matter? Why am I thinking about him anyway?
I’ve got lots of work to do, and a deadline to make, and now I’m even fucking
talking to myself!”
He stood from his desk and walked over to the bathroom. Maybe a shower would
help him relax.
***
Hiroto peeked around the corner into the alleyway, and sighed in relief when it
was empty. It had been a few days, but he had finally gotten the opportunity to
come back here again. He had seen some really nice things in the garbage
container in this particular alley, and it had been a few days since he’d eaten
a proper meal. He knew it was risky for street thugs like him to enter into
fancy neighborhoods like these, but he preferred this over having to steal from
markets or shops; he’d been caught by the cops one too many times.
He approached the container and opened it carefully before starting to open
bags and search through them. He found papers and cardboard boxes in one, but
that wasn’t what he was looking for right now. He was hungry. After a while he
finally found something remotely edible: two apples with only small brown spots
on them. He just couldn’t believe what rich people threw away.
“That’s no place to look for food.”
Hiroto was so badly startled at the sudden voice next to him that he fell down,
his apples rolling to the ground. It was that same man that caught him last
time.
“Th-that’s my business.”
He scrambled over the floor to grab his apples, his eyes on the rich man
standing a few feet away from him. He was glad that the guy wasn’t calling the
cops on him, but he wasn’t staying around to see what he was going to do.
Getting up as quickly as he could, he ran off with the two apples.
“Hey wait!”
Tora watched the boy flee with a small sigh. He couldn’t believe someone would
actually eat something they found in a bag of garbage. He felt rather sorry for
the teenager.
It hadn’t exactly been a coincidence that he was out there. He’d been working
at his desk and had heard the screeching noise of his garbage container being
opened.
Walking over to the container, he started re-closing the bags that had been
opened. When he finished, he shut the container and looked into the alley once
more. This would probably be the last time he’d see the boy and that thought
made him feel a little sad.
Shivering lightly he turned and retreated back into the safety of his home.
***
Third time’s a charm. That was what drove Hiroto back into that alley again
that night. He sneaked around the last two corners and soundlessly made his way
to his destination. Slowly, as to keep the lid from creaking, he opened the
container and looked inside. His eyes widened at what he saw: on top of the
plastic bags was a neatly folded blanket. He reached out and slid his fingers
over the fabric. It was softer than any fabric he had yet to touch in his
entire life. He greedily grabbed the blanket and unfolded it, wrapping it
around his shoulders. He couldn’t help but close his eyes a moment at the
amazing feeling of something so soft and warm on his skin. When a thought
struck him however, he opened them again.
He couldn’t go back to his neighborhood with this. The others would surely take
it from him. It was one of the downsides of being so small. Sighing softly, he
tucked the blanket closer around himself and tried to figure out what to do.
In the end he couldn’t just walk away from this opportunity and he walked over
to the side of the container, sitting down on the filthy floor. His back
supported by the wall, and his head resting against the iron container.
So warm… Sleepy…
His eyes slipped closed and soon he found himself drifting to sleep.
***
Unable to sleep yet again, Tora had decided to go for a walk, deciding that
fresh air would do him good. He slipped on his shoes and grabbed his coat and
scarf. Fall was starting to fade already, winter gradually pushing it out of
the way. Is he cold right now? Trying to sleep somewhere on a bench or in a
metro station? He growled at his own thoughts, knowing either way he couldn’t
do anything about it. He’d left a blanket in his container but knew it was
unlikely that the boy would come back to find it.
He grabbed his keys and stepped outside, looking up at the clear night sky and
inhaling deeply. He started walking and when he passed the alley looked aside.
He wanted to keep walking, but suddenly noticed the garbage container was open.

I definitely closed it the last time…
There could only be one explanation, and because of that he walked over to the
container to check if the blanket was gone. When he got closer he noticed
something else that was off: Two small bare feet were visible from next to the
container.
He carefully looked around the corner and laid eyes upon the sleeping face of
the boy he’d been thinking about, the blanket he’d left for him firmly wrapped
around his shoulders. He was unsure what to do for a moment. If he woke the
small figure up he’d definitely run away again, but he couldn’t just ignore him
and leave him there, right?
No, Tora couldn’t just leave the kid. Instead he carefully crouched down and
with some effort placed one hand on the youngster’s back, and the other in the
hollow of his knees. Then he slowly stood, lifting the boy up. It took him no
effort at all because he weighed less than an average eight year old, and to
his surprise the younger male didn’t wake up. He cradled the dirt covered form
in his arms and walked back over to his house, unlocking the door and letting
them both in. He did everything as carefully as possible so he wouldn’t wake
the other up. He made it to his bed and after a moment of hesitance --the boy
was really dirty and smelled just as bad as he looked— placed the smaller male
on his bed. He would change the sheets later on.
Still, the boy didn’t move and Tora had to check whether he was still breathing
to ensure himself he was still alive. He sighed and took his book from the
nightstand before sitting down in the chair in the corner and starting to read.
He wasn’t going to leave the boy’s side and risk him waking up and doing who
knows what to his house.
***
It wasn’t until the next morning that Hiroto woke up, rolling over once before
his eyes shot open when he realized he was lying down. He hadn’t slept in a
horizontal position in ages. That was much too cold. He wasn’t cold. He sat up
in a split second and frantically looked around, trying to figure out where he
was.
“Don’t panic. It’s okay. You’re safe.”
He whipped his head around and looked in the direction of the voice. It was
that same man. The man who had caught him twice. The man the garbage belonged
to. He struggled to get up from the bed so he could run away before he would be
hurt or turned in to the police.
Tora stood and dropped his book on the seat, raising his hands and walking over
to the bed. “No, no! Please don’t run again! It’s okay I promise!”
Hiroto wasn’t about to believe this man while he just woke up in an unfamiliar
place with no clue about how he got here. He looked at the only door in the
room and bolted, taking a desperate sprint for the exit.
Tora benefited from his long arms and legs though, so he managed to grab onto
the young boy’s chest. “Don’t run! Please! I’m not going to hurt you!”
Panic infested itself around Hiroto’s heart and he struggled for his life. “Let
me go! Don’t touch me, you pervert!”
Tora held fast onto the boy, not planning to let go any time soon. He just kept
firmly holding on, until finally after minutes the struggling died down.
Hiroto was panting and exhausted, still making some futile attempts to escape.
“Please… I won’t come near your house again if you let me go, I swear.”
“That’s not what this is about.” Tora loosened his grip slightly. “Will you
stand still if I let you go?”
Hiroto nodded furiously and Tora let up on his grip. It hadn’t even been one
second before Hiroto was bolting again and this time his run backfired on him
when the taller man grabbed the back of his shirt.
“Aaah! Let me go! Help! HELP! HMM!” He scratched with his nails at the hand
that closed over his mouth, tears of utter panic starting to form in his eyes.
“Please stop screaming! I’m not doing anything to you!”
The process started all over again until Hiroto was simply too exhausted from
all his struggling and lack of breath.
“Look, I want to help you. Why did you think I left you a blanket? I’m not
going to hurt you. Really. At least just talk to me? I promise I won’t touch
you again if you just talk to me for a bit.”
This time Hiroto reluctantly nodded, and when he was released carefully he
didn’t run again. Instead he looked up defiantly and pointed his finger at
Tora. “No I won’t give you a blowjob and no I’m not a whore. I’m also not going
to join any kind of gang. And I-“
“Are you hungry?”
Hiroto didn’t know what to respond to that question at first; of course he was
hungry, but he wasn’t about to be fooled into becoming someone’s whore for some
food.
“I- I- I… guess… But I’m not doing anything in return if you wanna give me
food. Nothing.”
Tora was surprised at how suspicious this boy was towards him, but he guessed
it couldn’t be helped. He raised his arms to show his innocence.
“You won’t have to do anything in return.”
Nodding with a slight glare, Hiroto awaited Tora’s next move. Getting food
without actually having to do anything for it sounded too good to be true, so
he wasn’t letting his guard down.
“What do you like?”
Hiroto narrowed his eyes more at that. “What do you mean? Food is food right?”
Tora was slightly stunned at the answer, noticing that the two of them were
talking on completely different levels.
“Right… I’ll just fix something then… follow me to the kitchen.”
He walked over to the kitchen, checking if Hiroto was following before starting
to rummage around to make some food.
Hiroto slowly followed, still entirely focused on not getting tricked. When
Tora started preparing food, he stood and leaned against the wall, as close to
the door as possible.
Halfway through preparing the meal, Tora figured the boy had to be thirsty too,
so he took a glass and poured in some juice before setting it down on the
kitchen table.
“There, I guess you’re thirsty too. I hope you like orange juice.”
Only when Tora had his back towards him again did Hiroto step forward and take
the glass of juice. Again something he’d never had before so he was greedy when
he put the glass to his lips and tipped it back. Some of it spilled down his
chin but he didn’t care. It tasted delicious and he was way too thirsty.
When he was done he put the glass back where it came from and wiped his face
with his dirty sleeve, more grey streaks staining his chin after that.
Tora looked back to see the younger watching him with wary eyes. Wasn’t it
clear by now that he could be trusted? Apparently not because with every move
he made, the younger male tensed and looked at the door.
Tora finally finished cooking and put the rice and vegetables next to the meat
on a plate, before pouring the sauce onto it. He’d probably put more effort
into it than the boy would appreciate but he couldn’t stand not putting love
and attention into a meal.
He set down the plate on the table and placed the silverware next to it.
Then he poured the younger boy another glass of orange juice and sat down on
the opposite side of the table.
“Sit and eat.” He commanded gently.
Hiroto looked from the food to the taller man and back to the food. The other
was too close to the plate for his liking, but the scent that wafted into his
nose from time to time was too tempting to be able to resist. He anxiously
approached the table and sat down on the chair, his legs to the side so he
could get away easily if something were to happen. Then he grabbed the piece of
meat with his hands and started biting chunks off of it in a fast pace,
swallowing them almost immediately.
Tora was once again astonished. This time by the savage way in which this boy
ate, and it took him a while to find words to say.
“Hey, slow down… I’m not going to take it from you or anything… And try to eat
with the silverware. Eating with your hands is dirty.”
Hiroto didn’t respond to his words and just ate the meat. After that he reached
for the orange juice again and downed the second glass much like the first.
He proceeded with the rice and vegetables, but that proved to be a lot harder
to eat with his hands. He looked at the spoon beside his plate and after a few
seconds took it, holding it in his fist like a little kid and starting to shove
the rest of the food into his mouth.
“So… Have you been living… on the streets your entire life?” Tora figured
talking some more to the other would calm him down.
Hiroto didn’t respond until all of the food was gone, having barely even heard
the question in his feeding frenzy. “Yeah.” He looked up and once again found
he was getting nervous because of how close this stranger was to him. In the
streets he wouldn’t have been like this at all. It was his territory, he knew
the do’s and don’t’s out there. But this was a completely different story. He
stood from the chair and took a few steps back.
“So… I guess I’m gonna go now…”
Tora stood at those words. “No please.. It’s cold out there. I wouldn’t want
you to go back out there. You can stay if you want to. You can use my shower.
Please, I just want you to be well.”
Wriggling his bare toes, Hiroto bit his lip. Could it really be that this man
genuinely wanted to help him? Without any catch? The food had been delicious
even though he could already feel his stomach starting to ache because of the
sudden intake of so much of it. A shower also sounded heavenly since it hadn’t
rained in a while and he was dead curious what it was like to have hot water
raining down on him.
“I’m still not gonna do anything in return… I’m not someone you can just use
‘cause you’ve got nice stuff and loads of money.”
Tora shook his head slowly, giving the other a reassuring smile. “I don’t want
anything from you. I’ll show you where the bathroom is.”
Tora walked past the small teen and over to his bathroom, opening the door.
“It’s in here. You can use my shower products if you want to… shower gel and
shampoo… towels are in the cabinet over there.”
***** A warm house *****
Chapter Notes
     Second chapter!
     And the writing is actually going quite fine right now owo
     I don't make any promises about updates though... I've learned that
     much from the past, LOL
     Just read what mischievous little Ponpon is up to
 After more than half an hour, Hiroto still hadn’t turned off the water and
Tora was starting to get worried something was wrong. He walked over to the
bathroom door and knocked softly.
“Is everything okay in there?”
“Fine.” Was the answer he got in response.
Hiroto didn’t want to leave the shower. The hot water pelting down onto his
skin was just too good. Everything smelled good from the products he had used.
He knew which products to use on what body parts because of the magazines he’d
read, so he was fairly confident that he was properly clean by now. He was just
enjoying this foreign feeling for as long as he could.
“Will you take much longer?”
“Yeah.”
Tora raised an eyebrow at the blunt answer. With his question he had meant for
him to hurry up a little, but apparently that hadn’t gotten through to the
youth.
“Please make it as quick as you can.”
He got no answer that time and just sighed and walked back to the couch. He
wasn’t sure what he was going to do once the boy was fairly healthy and clean
again. Putting him back out on the streets again was out of the question, and
he’d heard nothing good about the orphanages around the city, but he would most
likely become a nuisance if he’d let him stay in his house.
He heard the water being turned off and was glad about it. He didn’t like the
youth being out of his sight. He’d already changed the sheets of his bed and
cleaned the floor where the boy had walked. He didn’t even want to know where
those feet had been before they entered his house. It would surely be more
pleasant to be around the other now he was clean, not only for the dirt
everywhere but also for the smell the teen had emitted.
Suddenly he heard a loud bang and various objects falling to the ground. He
shot up from the couch and ran over to the bathroom, not hesitating to pull
open the door and stepping inside. The boy was lying on his back on the floor,
some bottles and pots from the counter scattered around him.
“A-are you alright?”
Hiroto opened his eyes and groaned softly, reaching for the back of his head
and rubbing where it had hit the floor. He’d been slightly dizzy from all the
steam in the room, and when he’d stepped towards the counter to reach for one
of the bottles he’d lost his footing on the slippery floor.
“I guess…”
He sat up and frowned. His head hurt quite badly from the collision with the
floor.
Tora sighed and nodded, looking the naked and now clean teenager over. Only now
did he notice how skinny the younger man exactly was. He could count every one
of his protruding ribs and his hip bones were only covered with a thin layer of
skin. He really was just skin and bones and with that little fat on his body,
Tora doubted if the other would’ve gotten through the winter on his own.
“Can you get up?”
Hiroto nodded and slowly got up on his feet again, nearly falling over again
but managing to stabilize himself on the counter.
When Tora laid eyes on the younger one’s feet he was in for quite another
shock. On the other’s left foot, near his toes was a wound. A severely infected
and inflamed wound. He hadn’t noticed it until now, probably because of all of
the dirt that must’ve covered it.
“Holy shit, your foot. You need to go to a doctor with that.”
Hiroto wasn’t sure what Tora meant for a moment, but then looked down and
noticed how the wound stood out more now the rest of his skin was milky white.
“Oh that… Nothing to worry about, it’s been there for some time and it hasn’t
killed me yet.” It did hurt though. It hurt and itched like crazy, but ignoring
it was the best way of dealing with it for him since he’d never had the chance
to see a doctor before.
He walked over to the cabinet in which Tora had said the towels were and got
one out of it. He was starting to get cold so he wanted to get dry as quickly
as possible.
“Nothing to worry about!? But it’s inflamed! You could die from a wound like
that!”
Tora’s eyes followed the boy when he turned around, observing his backside and
checking for other abnormalities. There weren’t any though, apart from some old
scars on his upper back, and he found himself staring for a few moments longer
than he needed to. Despite being too skinny, the boy was really good looking,
and he had to shake his head to keep from thinking perverted thoughts. When the
other didn’t respond to his words he just sighed softly.
“Y-you can finish up yourself right? I’ll get you some clean clothes.”
Tora left the bathroom and walked over to his bedroom where he started looking
through his closet for some clothes actually small enough so they wouldn’t fall
right of the teenager’s fragile frame. In the end he found some boxers, a pair
of drawstring pants and the smallest shirt he owned.
He walked back to the bathroom and opened the door again after knocking softly.
“I don’t know if they’ll fit but I picked the sma-“
He looked up and was met with the sight of very bare buttocks and milky white
legs. Tora nearly dropped the clothes he had in his hands and stared.
Hiroto stood bent over with his back towards the door to dry his hair, rubbing
the towel over his head before standing up straight again and turning around.
He noticed the way the taller man was looking at him and he blushed and
frowned.
“D-don’t look at me like that! I-I said I’m not gonna be your whore!”
He used the towel to cover himself and stepped away from the taller man, the
suspicion that had faded a little returning.
Tora snapped out of his daze at those words and looked up at Hiroto’s face.
“Oh! No! I-I wasn’t- I mean I don’t- I-I’m sorry! Here. Clothes. I hope they
fit…”
He held out the bundle of clothes and Hiroto snatched them out of his hands
before stepping away from him again.
Tora shook his head at his own stupidity and left the bathroom once again.
Fuck… I can’t be attracted to him at all! It’s wrong. He’s only… well, young.
Just a kid!
After a while Hiroto exited the bathroom, Tora’s clothes barely clinging to his
form, but he didn’t care. They were soft and clean and warm and like heaven on
his skin. He hugged his arms around himself and walked over to the living room,
where Tora was sitting on the couch.
“S-so… what now?”
Tora looked up and nearly smiled at what he saw. Hiroto looked utterly
adorable, nearly drowning in the large clothes on his body, his arms wrapped
around himself, his damp hair sticking to his face. At the question he wasn’t
sure what to answer at first, but then he remembered the younger one’s foot
needed tending to.
“I’m going to have to take a look at that foot of yours. Really, infections
like those are dangerous.”
Hiroto shrugged, not really caring either way. He’d had wounds like these
before. They left nasty scars, but they went away eventually.
Tora nodded in affirmation and beckoned Hiroto to follow him back to the
bathroom, which the younger one did moments later.
“So, do you want to tell me your name?” Tora asked as he mentioned for Hiroto
to sit down on the counter and went to grab the stuff he needed from the
cabinets.
“I’m Hiroto. And you?”
“I’m Tora, nice to meet you, Hiroto.”
Tora set down the supplies next to Hiroto and smiled at the teenager. He
received a glare in return and he saw the younger one tense up.
“So, why are you taking pity on some street thug? What business do you have
with me?”
The taller one took Hiroto’s foot, to which he tensed even more.
“Kids shouldn’t live in the streets, especially not small ones like you.”
Tora took a closer look at the wound and figured they would have to go to a
doctor soon, for now he could at least try to keep it from getting worse.
Hiroto huffed softly. “I’m not small. I’m already fifteen… or something.”
Tora looked up at that. “Or something?” Honestly, Tora didn’t believe the kid
was as old as that, he looked no older than thirteen.
Hiroto shrugged, wincing when Tora took a wet cloth and started dapping at the
infected wound. “I’m not really sure how old I am, my mom never bothered to
celebrate my birthday. I’m guessing it’s somewhere between fourteen and
seventeen though.”
Tora grabbed the tube of ointment and started putting the stuff on the wound,
making Hiroto whimper softly in pain.
“So you live with your mother?”
Hiroto shook his head. “She died a long time ago”
Tora stopped what he was doing for a moment to look the teenager in the eyes.
“I’m sorry…” He said genuinely.
Shrugging again, Hiroto started swinging his good foot around. “Wasn’t much
good anyway… always high on heroine. Selfish bitch… Because of that I’m this
fucking short.”
“Hey, watch your words.” Tora was shocked at Hiroto’s story, but didn’t show
it. He grabbed the gauze and placed it on the wound before starting to further
bandage the other’s foot.
“Do you want to stay here for a little longer?” The taller one finished up his
work and looked Hiroto in the eyes hopefully.
The younger one raised an eyebrow suspiciously before glaring at Tora again.
“Why?”
“Because my house is a nicer place to live than the streets… safer too. Plus,
it’s cold out there. Winter’s approaching. You’re going to freeze to death if
you get out there in this condition.”
Hiroto got off of the counter, wriggling his toes at the weird feeling of
something wrapped around one of his feet. “And what’s in it for you?”
Tora was silent for a moment, considering the question. “Well… I get to do some
good for once… and I get someone to talk to other than my notebook.”
Folding his arms over his chest, Hiroto looked Tora up and down. “And how do I
know you won’t rape me as soon as you get the chance?” It wasn’t hard to see
that the older man was more than capable to do so if he wanted to.
Tora was once again at a loss for words at one of the kid’s questions, before
deciding to try and talk to Hiroto in his own language.
“How do I know you won’t steal my stuff and get out of here as soon as you get
the chance?”
Hiroto thought about those words for a moment and then shrugged. “I guess you
don’t. So we’re both taking a risk.” A lopsided smile followed the words. “I
like you. You’re cool.”
Tora snorted and reached out to ruffle Hiroto’s damp hair.
“Come on, let’s go watch some TV.”
Hiroto’s eyes lit up at those words and his smile brightened. “Really!? Can I
try to use the remote?”

***

Hiroto couldn’t help it. This couch, this warm and nice smelling house, the
quietness… it was all just too comforting. He was lacking sleep, he’d been
lacking sleep for years now. He tried his best to keep his eyelids open, not to
let his guard down.
Have to stay… awake. Alert. Don’t… trust… anyone…
The only sound that could be heard in the room was the busy scribbling of
Tora’s pen. The other man was currently sitting at his desk, writing something,
while Hiroto was sitting on the couch, watching TV without sound.
This day had definitely been the best in Hiroto’s entire life. Only the more he
realized that, the more he became aware of the likeliness that he was going to
have to pay for it later on. No he definitely couldn’t let his guard down.
Tora looked up from the desk and at the boy on the couch and shook his head
slowly. It was clear that the younger male was completely exhausted, but that
he was too scared to fall asleep. He was sure he would eventually though, and
he would wait for that so he could take him to bed without all the struggling.
As Tora had thought, within minutes, Hiroto’s head started bobbing until it
came to rest on his knees, his arms wrapped around his legs. The taller man
looked at the scene and figured this was probably his usual way of sleeping. It
couldn’t possibly be relaxing though, and thus he stood and walked over to him.
Picking him up in the same fashion he had last night he carried Hiroto over to
his bedroom and lay him down on the mattress.
“Hnn…”
The way in which the small boy frowned and nuzzled into the sheets was utterly
adorable and Tora couldn’t keep the smile off his face. He dragged the covers
over Hiroto’s tiny body, making sure he wouldn’t be cold. He softly moved some
dark hair out of the sleeping teen’s face and looked at him for a few moments
longer.
“Good night.”
Then he turned around and walked back to the living room to resume his work. He
had a column to finish before the weekend.

***

When Tora finally decided to go to bed, he wasn’t sure whether to just go sleep
next to Hiroto in his own bed, or to go sleep on the couch. He didn’t want the
other to get the wrong impression, but the couch was seriously uncomfortable.
In the end he just walked over to his bedroom after he finished preparing
himself to go to sleep. Softly closing the door, he walked over to the bed and
started taking off his clothes. He kept on his boxers for this once, since
Hiroto would most likely not appreciate a naked man sleeping next to him.
Slipping into the bed soundlessly next to the pretty boy, Tora looked upon the
cute sleeping face. This young male was so beautiful, it was a miracle he
hadn’t been picked up by some criminal organization; one of those who turned
humans into sex slaves.
That thought nearly made the taller man blush. No, don’t go thinking sexual
things again.
But the damage had already been done. For a long while he couldn’t stop looking
at those pretty pink lips, so deliciously plump and kissable.He released a
shaky breath and let his eyes follow the sharp jawline to a delicate neck and
protruding collarbones. Fuck…
He squeezed his eyes shut to stop himself from perving over the young boy any
longer, but it only caused his imagination to kick in. He could understand
Hiroto was distrusting now; if he had this effect on every man that was at
least halfway bisexual he’d probably had some bad experiences before. But it
was just so easy to imagine how good the smaller male would look while writhing
and falling apart beneath him. How good he would feelwith all that amazingly
soft skin and those lips.
Tora groaned opened his eyes again, looking at the innocent teen sleeping
beside him for a moment longer before getting up out of the bed and walking
over to the bathroom.
Time for a cold, cold shower.
***** The calm *****
Chapter Notes
     Chapter three! Enjoy ^^
The next morning Hiroto woke up, it was once again with a heavenly soft and
warm cocoon surrounding him. A little less alert, he smiled and tried to think
about why he was feeling this good. When he did though, his eyes flew open and
he sat up immediately. I fell asleep. He looked around frantically and saw Tora
sleeping beside him. He quickly stumbled out of the bed and checked if he still
had his clothes on, or at least the clothes the older man had given him
yesterday. He sighed in relief when that was the case and calmed down a little.
He didn’t feel any different from the day before so he probably hadn’t been
drugged or hurt. And Tora wasn’t looking particularly threatening either, with
his messed up hair, and sleeping face. Though it wasn’t clear whether the other
was wearing anything.
After a few minutes of checking himself over silently, Hiroto concluded he
hadn’t been sexually assaulted and he looked at Tora again. He kept his
promise… for now.
He was astonished at that simple fact for the reason that he had been convinced
up until now that men were scum. All of them. Period. Okay, except for young
ones like himself.
He rubbed his eyes and looked around in the room, trying to decide what to do
next. Tora wasn’t awake yet and that would give him the opportunity to take as
much as he could carry and get the hell out of here. He walked into the living
room and started to strategically think up a plan. Not too heavy, but valuable,
but nothing that could be easily recognized as stolen. He’d never done this
before, because no one had ever brought him into their home. His home… Suddenly
Tora’s words from the morning before hit him. The other hadn’t touched him, as
promised. So would he now take advantage of the older man’s kindness by
stealing from him and disappearing without a word? Hiroto shook his head to
himself, that didn’t seem fair. So what did he do?
In the end he just sat down on the couch and switched on the TV like he’d
learned to do the day before, and started watching something. Anything was
interesting really, since he was not at all used to these kind of luxuries.
After about an hour he was starting to get hungry, and after half an hour more
the temptation to go and look for something to eat was just too great.
He didn’t know if he was allowed to eat more of Tora’s food at all, but he just
couldn’t resist. Good food had never been this close to his grasp, just there
for him to take as he pleased.
He started to look through the kitchen, opening cabinets and searching through
the contents (and forgetting to close them afterwards). He found all kinds of
things he’d never eaten before: a package of dried fish, a pot of pickles, and
a pot olives (of which he couldn’t completely appreciate the taste), potato
chips and a bar of chocolate (of which he ate until he started to get
nauseous), and pasta and rice which he found not to be edible while uncooked.
He also tried to eat some of the good smelling herbs, but they were terribly
dry in his mouth, so he didn’t like that. After the cabinets he happily
proceeded with the refrigerator, not at all realizing that the products inside
would go bad if he left the door open. He drank some fruit juice and ate some
leftover fish from a plate. When he was just about to reach for the next item,
he suddenly heard a voice behind him.
“What the- Hiroto!”
Hiroto quickly spun around and looked at the older man fearfully, knowing he’d
done something bad and afraid of the consequences.
There stood Tora, with his bed hair and his sleepy face set on something
between anger, disbelief and misery. His kitchen was a mess.All the cabinets
were open and scattered over the counter were all kinds of foods. On the ground
in front of the fridge was the mischievous teen who was the cause for it all
and the young boy was looking positively guilty, and even more scared.
“I-I’m sorry! I was hungry, and I know I wasn’t supposed to take anything
because it’s not mine but yours and I couldn’t stop trying things because I’ve
never eaten all this stuff before and it tasted so good well not all of it but
most did and I won’t do it again but please don’t call the police!”
Tora could barely keep track of what the other was rambling and after Hiroto
stopped talking he just stared dumbly for a few seconds before shaking his
head, taking a chair and sitting down on it. This was not a nice way to wake
up, even though he had to admit the face the younger one was pulling right now
was too adorable to be mad at.
“Hiroto, i-it’s okay to eat something if you’re hungry, but… just pick one
thing! And clean it up after you’re done!” He looked at the smaller man’s
terrified face again. “I’m not going to call the police you silly. Stop looking
like a beaten puppy.”
Hiroto pouted at that, making himself look even more like the puppy Tora just
mentioned.
“Do you… want me to leave now?”
Tora shook his head quickly, no he definitely didn’t want this kid out on the
streets ever again. It was dangerous. “No! No… You can stay. Please stay,
otherwise I’ll be worried for you. But the next time you’re hungry, could you
just ask me to make you something?”
Hiroto nodded furiously at that, infinitely glad that he wasn’t going to get
sent away. If the rest of his life would be like this, he wouldn’t mind to do
as told at all.
Tora stood and walked over to the younger one, closing the fridge behind him.
“You shouldn’t leave the fridge open, it makes the things inside turn bad.”

***

Hiroto had been given permission to explore the house, as long as he didn’t
touch anything valuable because he wouldn’t be able to pay for it if he broke
something. He had been doing so for the past half an hour, and the only part of
the house he hadn’t closely inspected was the desk Tora was currently working
on again. He didn’t want to be a bother, but figured it was okay. So he walked
over to the older man and started looking over the desk, picking up things he
could see that weren’t valuable and taking a closer look at them.
“You really have lots of nice stuff…” He commented idly.
Tora looked up from his paper when he noticed Hiroto starting to look at things
on his desk. He wasn’t sure what to reply to the younger male’s words, since
he’d never thought he had anything particularly nice or special. “Uhm… thanks…”

“What does this do?” Hiroto snapped the stapler at Tora playfully, showing a
sloppy grin afterwards.
“ Careful, that’s a stapler.” He took two sheets of blank paper and the stapler
from the other boy’s hand. “It’s to put pieces of paper together, so you won’t
lose one of them if they belong together.” He stapled the papers together and
showed the other the result.
Hiroto was amazed by the simplicity, yet brilliance of the object and tried it
for himself, even more amused when he saw he could do it too. Then he put the
items down and looked at the paper the taller man had been working on.
“M- ma… ny… pa- people… have...”
Tora’s eyebrows raised in surprise at those words, since they were the first
three words of the article he had been writing.
“You can read?”
Hiroto looked up and nodded. “Only the simple words though.”
“Who taught you?”
Shrugging, the younger replied. “I did.”
Tora was even more amazed at the answer he received; learning to read by
oneself was an amazing achievement, especially if they didn’t have the proper
resources.
“You taught yourself how to read? Really?”
“Yup. I had a friend who worked at a paper dump, and he gave me an old book
once. I liked it, despite that I couldn’t read it, and asked for more. Because
of the pictures in most books he gave me I started memorizing words.”
“Wow, that’s amazing… Can you write too?”
Hiroto shook his head. “Not really, never could keep a pen and paper for long
enough to practice writing. I could once write my own name, though it’s been a
while since I’ve tried.”
Tora immediately grabbed a piece of paper and a pen and put them down before
Hiroto.
“Do you want to try it again?”
Shrugging again, Hiroto took the pen, trying to remember how he used to hold it
in his hand. “Why not… It’s probably crap though.”
In a shaky handwriting he wrote in big letters: ヒロト.
Tora smiled at the cute way in which the younger male was concentrating on his
task, and it actually wasn’t that bad what he had written down, despite that it
was in katakana.
“That’s awesome! Can you write your last name too?”
Hiroto shook his head at that and put down the pen. “I don’t have a last name.”
Frowning, Tora looked at the paper and then back at Hiroto. “But everyone has a
last name right?”
“I don’t. I’m just Hiroto.” He wasn’t sure why everyone was meant to have a
last name, but he knew they were since the police had always stressed the point
of his last name too.
“Didn’t your mother have a last name?”
“Dunno. She never told me.” He was silent for a bit and then added. “The police
did want me to pick out a last name the first time I got arrested… I don’t
really remember what I picked… It was a couple of characters that looked
fancy.”
Tora looked at the youth a little sympathetically for a few moments before
trying to turn his attention back to his work, assuming Hiroto to go back to
examining all his stuff. After a short while he suddenly heard a soft chuckle,
much to his surprise. Looking back, he looked up at the teenager's cute smiling
face.
“What is it?”
Hiroto shrugged a little and continued reading over Tora's shoulder as he had
been.
“This here is a joke right?” He pointed to a sentence in the article Tora was
working on.
The older man looked down again and was surprised to see what sentence Hiroto
was pointing to.
“Y-yeah it is... I'm surprised you can understand it...”
He meant both in the sense of being able to read the words as well as in the
sense of getting the joke. Hiroto was obviously quite a bright kid despite that
he hadn't had any education. Looking back at the youngster again, Tora looked
at him for a few long seconds more, basking in the glow of that smile and
feeling his heart skip a beat.
***
Tora hoisted the heavy bags up his porch and panted a little when he set them
down to grab his keys. He was excited to come home this evening because it was
christmas and he'd just done some christmas shopping for himself and his
adorable foundling. He was determined to make the youth's time with him the
time of his life and that included pampering him quite a bit.
“Hiroto, I'm home!” He called out as he closed the door behind him and set the
bags down.
He received no answer, which was rather common since the teenager still didn't
know the interaction rules that were customary among most people. Leaving the
bags at the door for now, he continued into the living room where Hiroto was
sitting on the couch, watching TV.
“Hey...”
Hiroto looked up a little nervously before looking back at the TV. “H-hey...”
Tora recognized this behavior from the youth all too well and he had to refrain
from groaning.
“Hiroto...” Another shifty look from the smaller male. “What did you do..?”
Hiroto bit his lower lip, a habit Tora found all too adorable and made him
unable to really focus on the potential problem at hand here.
“I-I uhm... Th-the mirror in your bedroom... sort of b-broke...”
Tora did groan this time, both at the news he heard about his bedroom mirror
and at the flutter he felt in his gut at the look the youth was giving him. The
minor attraction he had felt to the youth when he had first taken him in had
grown, and it was becoming a bother.
Hiroto tried to offer the taller man an apologetic smile, trying to appeal to
him so he wouldn't get scolded. It worked as usual and he heard Tora sigh
before the other was walking off to the bedroom. The small teen sat there for a
few moments longer before standing from the couch and walking over to the door.
He'd heard the sounds of heavy bags when Tora had come in and since he hadn't
seen any of them yet he figured they must still be at the door.
Hiroto had an incredibly curious nature and that was what drove him to look
into the bags and start pulling some things out. He recognized these things
wrapped in colorful paper and ribbons from magazines and TV; these were
presents. His eyes lit up at the realisation, immediately hoping that these
gifts were intended for him. There was even more stuff in the bags that Hiroto
was happy to see in there; some of his favorite snacks and food.
When he had satisfied his curiosity, he took one of the presents back to Tora's
bedroom where the older man had started picking up pieces of broken mirror and
putting them in a bucket.
“Is this for me?” He asked excitedly, thinking that he'd escaped punishment for
his accident and everything was fine again.
Tora looked up when he was asked that question, seeing Hiroto standing there
with one of the presents in his hands. The older man was slightly annoyed at
the youth's selfishness, though he obviously didn't mean any harm by it.
“No.” He answered bluntly as he picked up the last large shard and put it in
the bucket before picking it up and walking over to the pantry where the vacuum
cleaner was located.
With a pout Hiroto followed Tora, unsure which other people the other man knew
that the present could be intended for.
“Then for who is it?”
The way Hiroto was following him around was entirely too adorable to Tora and
it irritated him to no end. He hadn't taken the teenager in to end up
struggling with his own feelings like this the whole time.
“It wasfor you, but now you're not getting it because you broke my mirror.”
To that, Hiroto pouted even more, sitting down on the bed and hugging the
package to his chest. It wasn't his fault that mirrors broke so easily, he
simply hadn't paid enough attention and knocked it over.
“B-but I didn't do it on purpose...”
Before the youth received an answer however, the vacuum cleaner was turned on
and their conversation was put on hold for now, something Tora was grateful
for. He knew he should be more strict with the youth but it was hard when he
was more than just platonically interested in him, something that he knew was
wrong to begin with. When he turned off the vacuum cleaner he just sighed and
looked at the smaller male sitting on the bed cutely.
“I know you didn't, Hiroppon...” The use of that nickname easily showed he'd
forgiven Hiroto already. “Well, it's christmas... so we might as well make it a
merry one.”
The taller man smiled a little and stood again to go and put the vacuum cleaner
back in its proper place, patting Hiroto on the head as he passed him.
“Does that mean I can open this?”
The youngster followed Tora again, a hopeful smile on his innocent face.
Chuckling, Tora closed the door of the pantry behind him and gently pulled the
present out of Hiroto's greedy grasp.
“Tonight... I plan on making us a nice dinner and afterwards you can open your
presents.”
***
Hiroto sat on the couch, stuffing pieces of chocolate into his mouth and
waiting eagerly for Tora to finish setting down all the presents on the coffee
table. He'd eaten the most delicious things today and had been entirely
satisfied if it hadn't been for those gifts alluring him with their mysterious
contents.
Tora was feeling giddy as well, though he knew the contents of all the gifts.
He discarded the bag when he was finished and picked up the first package and
gave it to the youth.
“Now don't be disappointed at this... I think you will like it in the end.”
Tora's words only served to make Hiroto even more curious and he quickly tore
off the wrapping paper to reveal a book. It was a school book about writing and
reading, and the youth's eyes lit up at the sight of it. “I-I'm not
disappointed! This is awesome!”
Hiroto's attention was quickly diverted away from the book though, because he
knew there were lots more presents to be unwrapped.
In the end he'd gotten some more books, some clothes since he hadn't had too
many yet, and even a pair of shoes for when his wound would heal up completely.

“Now, I have one more thing for you... But you don't have to use it if you
don't want to.”
Tora gave Hiroto the last present, since his own had run out a few rounds
before anyway. He had really just run by this at the supermarket in a sale so
he'd bought it on impulse.
Hiroto quickly unwrapped the present, infinitely curious as to what it
entailed. He looked at the box for a few seconds, trying to figure out what it
said.
“Is it... Hair dye?”
Tora nodded and pointed to the picture on the box. “It's blonde hair dye...”
Hiroto stared at the package for a few moments longer before grinning. “I'll
look like a yankee... Will you help me?”
Tora couldn't help but laugh at that and nodded. “Sure.”

***
Tora looked up from his laptop and directed his gaze at the couch where Hiroto
was sitting. He sighed and rubbed his forehead, unsure whether he wanted to try
and scold the youth when he would probably just end up giving in as usual.
“Hiroto... You know you shouldn't watch TV for so long... You've been at it
for... three hours now.”
Turning around slightly, the now blond teenager crossed his arms and rested
them on the back of the couch.
“But why..? It's fun...”
Growling under his breath, Tora steeled his reserve and turned back to his
laptop so he didn't have those pretty almond shaped eyes looking up at him.
“It's bad for your health. And you should be studying anyway, I did give you
those books for a reason you know.”
Hiroto huffed and crossed his arms over his chest, turning back to the TV.
“You've been at your laptop for much longer anyway.”
“I'm working, Hiroto. That's different. It's what feeding that mouth of yours.”
That sinfully gorgeous mouth of yours. Dammit.
When he received no answer to that he took off his glasses and stood from his
desk, walking around the couch and turning off the TV manually.
“Hey! I was watching something!”
“And now you're not anymore.”
Huffing in defiance, the teenager stood up and walked over to the TV as well,
turning it back on just as soon.
“Yes, I am.”
“Hiroto...” Tora warned low, before turning the device back off and grabbing
the younger male by the arm when he made a move to turn it back on once again.
“L-let me go! You can't tell me what to do!”
Tora didn't let go and dragged Hiroto back over to the couch, intending to get
him to study.
“Yes, I can, Hiroto! You're living with me, in my house, so I can tell you what
to do!”
Hiroto struggled violently against the hold the larger man had on his arm, but
he was no match at all so when he was pinned to the couch, all he could do was
look up with an angry face and wait for when Tora would decide to release him.
Tora however couldn't help but notice the position they were currently in and
it was suddenly hard for him to remember what he had wanted to make clear to
the youth.
Shit, why is he so beautiful...
“...T-Tora...?”
Only at that tentative question did the older man notice he'd been inching
towards Hiroto, and their lips were only a hair's breath apart. His eyes
widened and he pulled back immediately.
“Uh... Sorry... Right... What was I saying..? J-just at least turn down the
volume okay? I can't concentrate...”
Hiroto was left on the couch, slightly baffled at what had just happened. Or
rather, what had almost happened. Was Tora really about to kiss him or was it
just his imagination? The blonde tried to shrug it off and turned the TV back
on, lowering the volume like the older man had asked.
What the hell...
***** The storm *****
Chapter Notes
     This chapter is kind of short, but it's an eventful one so I hope
     that makes up for it ^^
     Beware, shit is about to hit the fan xDDD
The frustration and inner turmoil was stifling Tora's creativity, making him
unable to put out a decent article. He pulled at his hair slightly, trying to
focus on his work while his thoughts were really with the situation with
Hiroto. Said youth was refusing to listen to him in the slightest, just doing
what ever he pleased when he pleased to do it. On top of that, he made a mess
everywhere he went, never cleaned anything and then there was Tora's not so
small crush on the youth. It was starting to become too much to handle for the
older man, and it showed. He was stuck with his work and starting to run behind
with the chores around the house. He hadn't an idea of where the annoying
little pest was right now, nor did he think he wanted to know. Sighing and
getting up, Tora walked over to the kitchen to make himself a cup of coffee.
Hiroto had been hiding in the bedroom ever since the argument he'd had with
Tora earlier that evening. He wasn't sure why, but the older man had grown more
hostile towards him as time passed until the point he couldn't even cough or
he'd get scolded. In response the youth's attitude had turned bad as well and
by now he was prone to piss off Tora on purpose. Just like right now.
He opened the door and peeked into the living room, noticing Tora was missing
for now. He walked in with a frown, wondering where his temporary guardian was
because he hadn't heard him leave. When he walked past Tora's laptop he noticed
an open file, an article the other man was obviously working on at the moment.
After a moment of consideration, he huffed in annoyance at the memory of their
quarrel and took the computer mouse, closing the file without saving it as his
revenge. He didn't think it was that serious, and it had probably been saved
numerous times already. On top of that Tora plain deserved it.
Said tall raven haired man just walked out of the kitchen with a cup of coffee
when he saw Hiroto at his laptop. Immediately he was onto the youth's intention
and sped up to where the other male was.
“Hiroto. Fucking hell, what did you do?”
Hiroto hadn't meant to get caught this way so when he was pushed aside by Tora
he quickly sped over to the only room in he house with a lock on the door; the
bathroom, and locked himself inside. He heard the bellowing voice of the older
man after a few seconds as Tora found out all his hard work had been for
nothing.
“You idiot! Fucking- get out of there you fucking ingrate!”
Hiroto jumped as the bathroom door was violently kicked and he realized he'd
gone a little too far this time. Still, he wasn't about to go out there to
apologize and possibly be hurt.
He heard Tora stomp around in rage for a while longer, sitting down on the
bathmat and hugging his knees to himself. He still wasn't sure to what extent
he could trust the man he'd been living with, nor what was up with his mood
swings lately, but right now Hiroto decided hiding was the best option.

***

At some point the young blonde had dozed off a little, sitting in this familiar
sleeping position from his nearby past. When he woke up he realized he was
still in the bathroom, which must mean Tora was still out there, and probably
still angry. The youth knew he couldn't just stay in here the entire evening
and he was sure it was already getting pretty late anyway. He just listened for
any sounds and when everything seemed to be quiet, he carefully unlocked the
bathroom door and peeked outside. Slowly he left the safety of the bathroom and
explored, unsure whether he wanted to find Tora and reassure himself he
wouldn't be hurt later on when he was asleep and vulnerable or avoid him and go
straight to bed. When he looked into the living room, he saw the older man
sitting on the couch, seemingly having dozed off. On the coffee table in front
of Tora were a glass bottle and a drinking glass, of which Hiroto could about
guess the contents. "Tora...?" He started hesitatingly. "Are you alright?"
He'd seen people die from drinking too much alcohol before, so he was concerned
about the older man, seeing him in this state. When Hiroto received no answer,
he slowly approached the unconscious man on the couch. Tora reeked of strong
alcohol, and the teenager scrunched up his nose in dislike.
"Tora...?"
Afraid that the raven haired might really be dead, Hiroto shook Tora's
shoulder. Suddenly his wrist was grabbed by a large hand, and when the blonde
looked back up he was met with an angry face.
Hiroto's movement had woken Tora out of his drunken slumber and he instantly
recalled they had been fighting. He was drunk out of his mind though, and
unable to control himself as he usually would. He looked into those almond
shaped eyes with his own half lidded ones and growled under his breath when he
felt something stirring in his gut.
"I- S-sorry... I didn't..." Hiroto sensed something dangerous in the older
man's eyes and tried to pull free from that powerful grip on his wrist. Tora
didn't budge. Instead the youth felt himself being pulled closer despite how
much he tried to escape.
"L-let me go!"
With one harsh tug he fell over, and moments later he found himself sprawled
awkwardly across Tora's lap. Before he could even try to recuperate from the
shock he was manhandled and maneuvered onto the couch where the bigger man
pinned him down.
"T-Tora! What are you-!"
"Why," He was cut off by the raven haired man's raspy voice. "do you always
have to provoke me?"
"I-I-hmpf!"
Hiroto's reply was cut short by Tora's lips pressing against his own
demandingly, throwing the teen off even more. He didn't understand why Tora
would do such a thing, even while drunk. He struggled desperately to free his
wrists so he could get away but it only made Tora tighten his grip and push his
hips down, pinning the younger one down even more.
"I do everything for you, and you give me shit in return!"
"Tora stop! G-get a hold of yourself!"
"No!" Hiroto looked up into those burning hot eyes that stared him down. "I'm
through with holding back. With your adorable fucking eyes and these lips and
your demeanor. I'm going to take what I deserve!"
Hiroto hadn't at all realized how Tora had been struggling with his feelings
all along and so it was shocking for the youth to hear these words so suddenly.
It disgusted him though, thinking that the raven haired was like all the men
that had approached him before. Caring only to take advantage of him, and
discarding him as soon as they'd had their fill.
Tora was completely out of control, starting to pull off Hiroto's clothing with
brutal force. He completely ignored the youth's protests, trying to shut him up
again by kissing the smaller male's plush lips harshly. That only resulted in
getting his lips bitten and he cried out when those teeth broke his skin.
"Fucking brat!"
He was just about to flip the smaller man over when suddenly he felt a sharp
pain to the side of his head and his vision went black.
Hiroto quickly threw the unconscious Tora off of him and dropped the end of the
-now broken- bottle he'd hit the other with.
"Shit... Shit shit shit!"
Scrambling up and off the couch, he ran over to the bedroom and opened the
closet, quickly pulling out some clothes and putting them on. Then he took the
first bag he could find and stuffed as much into it as he could. He was back in
survival mode. Clothes, food, a knife, valuables to sell. Nothing mattered
anymore but getting back home safely. He wasn't sure whether he had killed Tora
with that blow to his head but he wasn't sticking around to find out. He sped
through the house and out of the door, bolting in the direction of the slums.
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