Three Scoops of Heart-Wrenching Sorrow(Ray)

[Raylaigh Hawthorne]

Getting hit in the eye by a bug was perhaps the last thing that Raylaigh would have thought to be a problem, thought it made sense, considering that cars and stuff got hit all the time by bugs, or was it the other way around? He had never had that problem, chances were if he kept this up he would at some point. Seeing Nao fall all but stopped Ray’s heart and he had a great deal of sympathy for the runner. The worst power related injury Ray had gotten was from a fall like that, well not exactly, he’d hit a tree first, but that was beside the point. Rushing to Nao’s side, Ray was frantic. Seeing Nao fall and spin and not being able to do anything about it was horrifying. He’d never been on this end of things, he’d never had his heart stop like this and he couldn’t get to Nao fast enough.

When Ray got to him, Nao seemed to be moving and he couldn’t help but give a breath of relief as Nao got to his knees. What was worrying Ray was that Nao wasn’t responding. He looked beat up but there could be something terribly wrong. Nao looked like road kill when he sat up, torn up and just in general painful. Raylaigh winced in sympathy as he looked over Nao. Raylaigh fretted and looked over Nao’s wounds, panic racing through his mind. Ray blinked hearing Nao for the first time. Ray stopped for a moment his panicking and looked at Nao and his bloodied face. It was really just scrapes, honestly very similar to what one might get from a skateboard fall at high speeds, but about ten times worse because Nao had rolled a few times before he’d finally stopped.

“You sure? You look like hell, man, no offense, just… oh Nao.” He said digressing and taking one of the few napkins he still had and dabbing at Nao’s face. Ray stopped and let his hands rest in his lap for a moment as Nao told him what happened. Ray’s lips twitched and he fought against it for a long time before he couldn’t hold it in any longer. Nao was up and he was talking and all of this because of a bug. Raylaigh burst out in laughter. “I’m sorry… sorry,” he apologized for laughing while he was laughing and struggling not to laugh but that was by far the best thing he’d heard. He covered his mouth and as he tried to recover he gently dabbed at Nao’s scrapes again with the napkin. “Don’t worry we’ll come up with a better story.” He grinned.

He finally sobered and he looked into Nao’s eyes so he could see if Nao was lying. “But seriously, does anything feel broken? We should probably still get you to see someone, it looks like… well, it looks like you slid on pavement.” He gave a supportive smile. “Do you think you can stand up?” He asked, he could probably help Nao, Ray wasn’t all that strong, but he might be able to carry Nao, if he really tried, if Nao needed it. At least they were a fair distance to Hammel now, probably a few blocks now before they got to the hill. Ray looked over Nao’s arms and he really hoped that Nao wasn’t in too much pain, though it looked like it hurt like hell. Ray frowned as a persistent cut on Nao’s face wouldn’t stop bleeding and Ray gently supported Nao’s chin and even more gently pressed the napkin over the wound. “Hold that on there,” Ray instructed. Ray had picked up a few things from being in hospitals all the time.

[Deleted]

Nao remembered seeing that one cartoon movie with his little sister a few years back(back when she was an angel). What was it called? The Incredibles. In the movie, they specified the inconvenience that capes posed to superheroes, that they got snagged into thing far too often leading in the hero’s death. That was a fairly good point that they brought up there, but it also brought to mind what other problems could rise up from improper or unprepared use of one’s superpowers. Having a bug fly into his face while running at the speed a car normally travels was one of them. Well…you live and learn, he supposed. For the future, Naozumi decided that he might want to invest in a pair of goggles or glasses to shield his eyes from such debris. He was lucky it was only a bug. What if it had been a rock?

The small boy was already covered in a multitude of scrapes and bruises from this fall, but to have an additional injury that could potentially leave him blind was a little bit scary. He was thankful that it didn’t happen like that, and that he had the training and muscle memory to compress himself in an appropriate form for falling and reducing the impact he would have sustained from falling into the road at such a high speed. It only took a few pounds of pressure to break a bone and that was well over the weight limit. “Mmm…” he said with a nod. It hurt, but he seemed okay. Though he supposed he wouldn’t know for sure until he tried standing, which he should probably do soon. The gravely-ness of the road was starting to dig into his knees. “Thanks,” he said as Ray started dabbing the blood from his face. Guess he was bleeding pretty bad from his head? Maybe it was more serious than he thought…?

But then Ray started laughing. Nao blinked, surprised to hear those gleeful sounds come from his mouth after he’d been sounding so worried and shocked. And…as ever, it was infectious enough to get Nao to smile, feeling quite foolish for the display he must have put on, which gradually started to degenerate into quiet giggles himself. “Okay,” he agreed. Yes, a much better story they’d have to tell, because this was just too ridiculous! So much damage, being thwarted so badly, by a mere bug. It was…unheard of! Nao opened his mouth to laugh but then winced as the joyous tremors ached and agitated something they shouldn’t have.

Nao’s smile faded away at the question(and also the wincing). “I don’t know. I feel okay, I think.” But again, he would have to stand up to be certain. The image of little Nao sliding and skidding on the pavement brought another short burst of wincing chuckles from the small boy. “I think so,” he said, prepared to use leverage from Ray to help himself up. He didn’t expect Ray to grab hold of his chin and continue working on the cut on his head. This was no time to be embarrassed or shy, Nao! Though whether or not Ray saw the change in color was unknown, it was hidden behind scrapes, bruises, and black scuff marks from the road. “Okay,” he said again, bringing up his hand to hold the napkin in place. With his other hand, Nao grabbed hold of Ray’s hand and used him as support to get to his feet. It ached, like the sore you got the day after an intense full-body workout, but still nothing seemed broken. He straightened out his knees. They seemed fine. He rolled his ankles. His left one twinged a little. He scowled. “I think my ankle is hurt.” It didn’t feel broken. Most likely twisted or strained. Sprained at the worst. “But I think I can still walk.”

[Raylaigh Hawthorne]

It would be nice if these powers came without their side effects, Raylaigh would have loved to get wings without sacrificing the structural integrity of his bones. He wouldn’t have thought that a bug would be a problem but he supposed it made sense. Ray was just glad that he’d never been hit by a bug. He had been mobbed by crows though, that was not fun, not fun at all. To them he was just a big predator. Live and learn, Ray had gotten into the habit of backing off very quickly when he heard angry squawking. And Nao might get a pair of eye shields. He supposed that it was right that their powers had checks. If there was nothing to balance the power then there was nothing to stop someone from getting all powerful. It was like how even the most powerful telekinetic or telepath could get splitting headaches. It kept one from getting out of hand. At least relatively speaking.

Ray smiled at Nao and shrugged, there was no need for thanks, it wasn’t like Raylaigh could just leave Nao to bleed. It was probably just the nature of face and head wounds and how they just bled more than normal. But it looked bad nonetheless and Ray couldn’t help but feel bad for Nao and his new collection of painful looking skid marks. He wasn’t sure he really believed that Nao was completely alright, he had to be in a lot of pain, maybe he was just good at hiding it. Ray didn’t mean to laugh, it really wasn’t a laughing matter, but when things looked back he found that laughter was sometimes the best medicine because it took the kind off of things, but they could deal with a new story later. Maybe something about how Nao had been attacked by a biker and fought off the biker, or something more impressive than a bug.

A smile stretched Raylaigh’s face and he nodded but winced a little at Nao’s wince. He could only imagine the way Nao was feeling. He was being a trooper though, Ray would probably be swearing up a storm or otherwise cursing the world. “You sure?” Ray asked, still not sure that Nao was sure. “Sorry,” he apologized, he really shouldn’t be making Nao laugh it looked like it pained him. But he was glad he was here for a distraction and to make sure Nao made it somewhere where he could get himself looked at. He nodded, but he wanted to make sure that the cut on his cheek was taken care of, or at least as well as it could be. Ray was too focused on the cut and dabbing it clean to notice Nao’s color. Passing the napkin onto Naozumi, Raylaigh gladly offered his hand to help Nao up. He didn’t let go once they were standing but gave the smaller boy all of the support that he could. He let Nao take his time, he knew very well how shaken someone could be after a fall like that, it was necessary to check each limb to be sure.

“Alright, hold onto me,” he said, “We’ll get you to the nurse and they’ll get you all fixed up.” Raylaigh was a fair amount taller than Nao and if Nao wasn’t so hurt their closeness would be giving Ray ideas. He switched hands and wrapped an arm around Nao allowing him someone to lean his weight on. He would go as slow as Nao needed. He shuffled along and gave Nao a smile as he looked down at the runner. “Well, I think we can say you won this time.” Ray was really hoping that his ankle wasn’t broken. Sometimes it was hard to tell. But if he could still move it that was a very good sign. Ray blinked, he would forever hold onto the image of Nao standing, torn up but not letting that stop him. Nao was small but it was now Raylaigh realized that small didn’t mean he should be underestimated. “You were going so fast too, that’s awesome, I bet that bug’ll never think to mess with you again.” He smiled and looked down at Nao. Adorable, but Ray wasn't going to mistake that for anything but strength.

[Deleted]

Nao wondered how long it would take for all of his injuries to heal up? He’d been in fights before, he’d even broken bones before. It got inconvenient being tied down by injuries, especially when it was just a collection of small ones like this. When it was too bad, then he couldn’t practice his arts as effectively as he wanted to. A broken arm or leg meant he would be out of commission for a long time in some areas. Nao still liked to do what he could though, in those instances. Even so, the worst that Naozumi had gotten was a fractured ulna after one of the more intense fights he’d been in. His parents still didn’t believe the school officials when they told them what happened. After all, how could a mild-mannered person like Nao get into scuffles intense enough to break bones?

He hadn’t at Hammel yet, and Nao hoped it stayed that way. He didn’t like hurting other people.

It hurt to laugh, but Nao was fine with it. He kept a small smile on his face. “It’s okay. I’m the one who shouldn’t be laughing.” As in, Nao should have better control over himself. Though in this situation where he had to be careful, the fact that he still had it in him to laugh meant that he was comfortable with his company and sincerely amused at the circumstance. “Besides, it’s going to hurt anyway. I may as well be be happy.” If it was between laughing and crying, both of which essentially used the same muscles, Nao would rather laugh.

He nodded and grabbed hold of Ray’s arm. Nao could probably stand to walk by himself but…he had to kick himself for using his injury as an excuse to hold Raylaigh’s hand and snuggle up close to him. How pathetic could one get? Oh well…Ray didn’t have to know and Nao would just enjoy it while he could. He really would do better with the assistance anyway, at least until they got to the nurse’s office. “No, you would have won if you kept going. Mistakes are also a testament of one’s ability.” So was luck. There were many factors that went into measuring ability, and foresight was one that Nao should have had. “Next time,” he started with a cheeky smile, “I won’t make the same mistake.” He wondered when the next time would be, though. Probably not for a while. Nao giggled softly, trying not to aggravate his aches and pains. “Well, the bug is dead, so I doubt he will either.” At a loss of what else to do(because seriously, he couldn’t do much), Nao playfully bumped his shoulder into Ray’s side as they walked towards the edge of campus.

[Raylaigh Hawthorne]

Ray would also be surprised if he heard about Nao fighting someone. He just couldn’t see it. Unlike Nao, Raylaigh was very familiar with the nursing staff here at Hammel. He’d broken more bones than he cared to remember in the time he’d been here. Admittedly they had been mostly his fault, though the most severe break had come as the result of a argument with Jack, but Ray’d told everyone that he’d tripped and fallen down the stairs so no one knew but Ray and Jack. Ray didn’t fight, he was a pacifist and while he didn’t let people run him over he also didn’t fight people to make them go away. Really, the only person who’d ever messed with him had been his older brother, no one else did for fear of gaining the wrath of Kyle. Raylaigh knew that getting Nao to the nurse was the most important thing. Even if none of his wounds needed stitches or anything they definitely needed to be cleaned of all of the road matter that had gotten into them.

The smile on Nao’s face encouraged Raylaigh and the flyer couldn’t help but grin at Nao’s explanation. “Well, I can’t argue with that.” Ray smiled a little bit as he started to consider alternatives. “I’ve got it, we’ll tell people that you fought off a mountain lion.” He nodded because that was totally a feasible alternative to getting hit in the eye by a bug and going flying. “Or you were running from a bloodthirsty, yet oddly attractive flyer,” he flipped his hair theatrically, “and didn’t realize your shoe was untied.” Ray giggled keeping an eye on Nao to gauge how he responded to that kind of teasing. It also showed the vanity that was Raylaigh and his peacock attitude. If he wasn’t preening his feathers to look their best he was making sure his clothing matched in the best way possible.

As Nao came close Ray’s mind wandered and he tried to keep his face from blushing but he wasn’t sure it was working. If he wasn’t so worried about Nao’s injuries Ray’s mind would be drifting a lot farther. Ray looked down at Nao in surprise, “What? There’s no way I could have just left you. That’s such a douche bag move. That’s not winning.” Ray had no qualms about holding Nao closer as they moved. “And I hardly think that having a bug run into your eye is a mistake you made,” Ray pointed out, then he did a double take at Nao and laughed in surprise as his brain processed what Nao said. “Name the time and place Nao, and wear bug spray.” He grinned and nodded, he wasn’t so sure he could beat Nao anymore but he was definitely going to try, so long as it meant he could spend time with Nao. Ray’s eyes flickered with humor and he would have poked Nao in the chest if he thought he could have done so without hitting some wound. “Case and point,” he said decisively.

Ray looked at Nao a shocked expression on his face as he was bumped. One look at Nao’s face told him it was playful and Ray gave a grin to his companion. Raylaigh was definitely blushing now and he couldn’t say he was minding it all that much. He wasn’t that good at balance, Nao shouldn’t try too hard to knock him over. Ray gave Nao a sly look, he was going to blame that on his foot. If Nao wasn’t injured and Ray wasn’t afraid of hurting Nao he would have tried to discover where Nao’s ticklish spots were. “Careful,” he said instead, “Lean on me,” he suggested, because he wanted to helpful, and maybe he really just liked feeling Nao close. They passed onto the Hammel grounds and now it was the matter of getting Nao inside and to the nurse.

[Deleted]

Nao was actively trying not to giggle, but Ray was making it very hard with his silliness. In this sort of situation, Naozumi was used to simply getting back up and dusting himself off. Things hurt, but that was just something to be expected. Even though Nao had been bullied a lot while he was younger, he couldn’t remember any of the injuries being bad enough to warrant him complaining about them, much less actively crying. Sure, it brought tears to his eyes, but that was a natural physiological response, right? No, the words that the bullies threw at him hurt much more than any physical injury. He remembered crying a few times over those. It was for that reason he started taking martial arts in the first place, so that he could learn how to be strong in those kind of situations.

And in these kind of situations too.

“How do you come up with this stuff?” he giggled out, clinging onto Ray for support as he tried to not let the sores from laughing ultimately become his downfall. That’d be an even more pathetic story to tell. ‘Hey guy’s, I skid on the road at 30 mphs because a bug flew in my eye but what really done me in was the chuckles. I laughed myself to death!’ Nao shallowly shook his head, all smiles. But the thing was…he could see himself tripping that badly from an untied shoe! And being chased by a…oddly attractive and bloodthirsty what?? Nao looked up at him. “Why bloodthirsty?” he asked incredulously. As if the ‘attractive’ flaunt was beneath his notice. Still, it was better than focusing on the parts of that statement that he thought true. “Were you planning to eat me?”

It reminded him of that misunderstanding when they first ran into each other, where Ray was intending to trip and simply scarf down Nao’s ice-cream as he dove forward. Now, instead of the ice-cream being swallowed up by Ray’s big mouth, Nao was imagining Ray somehow lunging forward and engulfing the entire boy in one giant, super-deformed swallow. Like he was some sort of cartoon! He was smiling like a good as he continued to hold onto Ray subtlely snuggle up next to him. “As soon as I’m healed up,” he confirmed the challenge.

But one thing at a time, first they had to get to the nurse. Nao continued to hold onto Ray as they crossed the grounds, and was enjoying every moment of it. He wouldn’t risk bumping Ray again, though. At least not so soon. Maybe when Nao wan’t covered in sores and bruises, because it took a toll on him too. But the gesture was one of affection. Playful enough to be considerd friendly, but affectionate enough for Nao to satisfy him.

[Raylaigh Hawthorne]

Part of the problem was that Raylaigh thought that Nao had just the most adorable laugh even and he was very selfish in trying to keep hearing that noise. Raylaigh hoped that it helped a little bit in Nao’s ignoring the pain. Probably not, considering the fact that laughing hurt. Ray had never been bullied, well, not by anyone that wasn’t his brother, but he didn’t think that really counted. He was also trying to keep the mood light so Nao didn’t cry, he didn’t know what he’d do it Nao cried. Ray was considering Nao a friend, a best friend now, and if someone messed with him Ray would come to his aid. Not that he was sure Nao would need to be defended, nor was Ray very sure about how much he could help if he was about light enough where someone could easily lift him and throw him. Well, he could fly and throw things at them, he’d be like a squirrel, up where they couldn’t get to him.

A smile crossed Ray’s face and he put a finger to his lips and whispered his secret to Nao. “I’m secretly genius,” yep, that was Raylaigh’s big secret. Really Ray just spend a lot of time letting his mind run away with him and he thought a lot about drawing crazy things or imagining crazy things. “You don’t think that’ll work?” He asked and grinned jokingly as he tried to come up with another situation. He was in the midst of formulating something that had to do with dolphin aliens trying to abduct him when Nao asked about his second theory. “Sure,” he answered with a sly expression. “After all, why would you run from someone so strikingly attractive?” Raylaigh’s grin became wide and teasing as he waggled his eyebrows at Naozumi and tried to see if he could see a blush somewhere on that face. It was a little disappointing though that Nao didn’t react too strongly to Ray claiming he was attractive. “Hmmm, well I’ve got you now, nom nom,” he mimed an eating motion over Nao’s head before giggling again.

“Deal,” Ray agreed, “Any maybe over grass so if you do hit a bug on the windshield again you don’t get all torn up by the road.” Stupid road, hurting Nao. Ray would have been content to just walk anywhere with Nao snuggling him like this but they had a goal. He wasn’t usually a slow walker and he figured Nao wasn’t either, but Nao had a hurt ankle and it wouldn’t do to get Nao hurt again. He was already covered in painful looking bruises and scrapes and Ray could only wince in sympathy and be glad that Nao hadn’t broken anything. Broken bones were no fun, not at all. Feeling Nao against him, even for the moment they’d bumped was enough to tell Raylaigh that he was crushing on Nao. It was hard not to. Ray wasn’t going to push anything, he wasn’t even sure he wanted a relationship, but more importantly he didn’t know if Nao was a player on his team.

Ray helped Nao through the door and to the nurse’s office. He knocked lightly on the door before entering. The nurse’s first reaction was to go to Raylaigh, but then she saw Nao and got on the smaller boy’s other side and helped him up onto one of the beds. “What happened?” she asked immediately and looked between the two boys. Raylaigh swallowed and looked at Nao. The embellished story was for other people, but the nurses should probably get the truth, it probably wasn’t the most foolish thing he’d ever heard. The nurse wasn’t going to wait for an explanation, she went right to work dabbing at Nao’s cuts and taking some hydrogen peroxide to cloths and setting them to disinfect the wounds. Ray winced in sympathy, that was probably painful. Without thinking Raylaigh reached out and held Nao’s hand, offering a supportive smile.

[Deleted]

Clearly, obviously(or maybe not so much since he was actively trying to hide it), Naozumi thought that Raylaigh was attractive. Very attractive. As much as he tried to repress his sexuality, Naozumi was becoming aware that he had a type that he gaze at like some girl crushing from across the room. Tall…tall was definitely something he liked. Maybe he was projecting, though, because Nao himself yearned to be tall. A solid frame for a face…nice jawline. Some facial hair might be nice. Brunettes over blondes, but he’d ogled over both. Manly…outgoing…. basically, pretty much everything Nao was not, he supposed.

So maybe Nao was just a little insecure, but who wouldn’t be when your face has been compared to a girl’s all your life?

Raylaigh almost an ideal image of what Nao determined to be manly. A little skinny, but good proportions nonetheless. If Nao even dared to speak of that, however, then no doubt it’d be as obvious as a neon sign in the dark how much Naozumi liked the older boy. Even now, just Ray talking about it, it was hard to keep the color from his cheeks. Naozumi deflected. “In japan, when someone says something like that about themselves, we respond with Jibunchuushin na no mo komorimsu.” Nao looked up at Ray with his “serious” face. “It means, ‘don’t be so full of yourself!’” Even if it was true. He froze that “serious” face for a few moments before squinting his eyes and balling up his cheeks in a smile. It was meant to be lighthearted, a joke, but after saying it, he was suddenly afraid that Ray might take it the wrong way. He tried to laugh it off.

Which wasn’t hard to do once Ray started nomming over Nao’s head. He ducked down slightly, a movement that had him wincing again, and then even more from the laughing. “Heelp! I’m being attacked!” But it was in a good way this time.

“Mmm,” he agreed. Yes, grass was better. Softer. More favorable to roll on than the road…unless he happened to roll through some dog poop or something hidden in the grass. Eww.

It was getting easier to walk the more they did it. That was a bit of a relief, it meant that his ankle wasn’t hurt that badly…either that or it was hurts much much worse than either of them thought, but Nao was fairly certain it was the former. Guess there was no point worrying about it, they would find out from the nurse soon anyway. As to be expected of anyone who just saw a road-kill student walk in, the nurse urged in concerned surprise for an explanation just before going to work on Nao and his cuts and scrapes. Nao hopped up onto the exam table and allowed the nurse to start cleaning him up.

“I—“ He opened his mouth to start with the explanation when he felt Ray’s hand fold over his own. Nao’s first instinct was to pull away, so there was a twitch as he quickly glanced down at their hands, but then he turned away again, freezing his features into something stiff as he tried not to think about it and failing spectacularly. He could literally boil a pot of tea with his face, it was so hot. “….I fell,” he finally said, offering nothing further. Nao winced slightly at the sting of the antiseptic on his wounds.

[Raylaigh Hawthorne]

Raylaigh wasn’t sure he had a type, he’d only ever dated Jack and well, his ex had been very controlling as far as that went. Ray didn’t used to talk to people as much as he did now for fear that somehow it could be turned against him. He’d never have dreamed of being so familiar or so close with Naozumi now if he weren’t now free. Glancing over his shoulder Ray had a small irrational fear that his ex would return from wherever he had vanished to and Ray would be sucked back in. He loved Jack, he would always love Jack, it was his first love, but he would never go back to that. Not in a million years, or so he told himself. Ray was starting to think that attractive was his type. Basically anyone pleasing to the eye, male and available was someone Raylaigh made eyes at, but there was a big difference between lust and love, even if the lines blurred from time to time.

It wasn’t easy to tell but Raylaigh thought he saw just a tiny shade of red under the scratched and tar stained face. Ray blinked in surprised and without comprehension when Nao spoke another language. Japanese he figured, but he ducked is head at Nao’s serious expression. Raylaigh flushed and grinned getting the hint. A laugh burst out of Ray, “But Nao, I have to be the most humble person ever,” he nodded in mock seriousness clearly enjoying his word play. If there was one thing that Ray had learned it was to never take things too seriously, especially if there was something that could be joked about. Life was just far more fun for those who were dancing through life. Maybe Raylaigh didn’t take thing as seriously as he should, but he got decent grades, he could probably make it into college, but as for any sort of future he was not very certain at all about what he wanted to do.

Nao was only fueling his fire and for a moment Ray forgot the task at hand and captured Nao in his arms. “There is no escape!” He exclaimed laughing brightly. He realized after a moment he’d started that he was probably hurting Nao and they had to get him to the nurse quickly so that he could get better. “I suppose I have to take you back to my lair to devour you if you’re gonna keep screaming like that,” Raylaigh joked giving Nao a ferocious expression, which for Raylaigh mean bearing his teeth in an exaggerated snarl and wrinkling his nose. He was about as terrifying as a newborn kitten. Which all things considered might be more intimidating than the flyer pretending to be a bloodthirsty, yet attractive, beast.

Raylaigh wasn’t meaning to make Nao uncomfortable and he was too unaware to realize that he was. The nurse looked at the both of them with a critical eye. “You may go Ray,” the woman said and Ray looked up in surprise. She gave him a knowing glance. She was going to have to really clean Nao’s wounds and Raylaigh knew better than most that that was best done in private. And it was never useful to note a person’s health while someone else was around. “But…” Ray started, he wanted to be here for his friend but she gave him a stern look. Raylaigh hung his head and gave Nao a smile. “You’re in good hands, Nao, I’ll see you later.” Ray squeezed Nao’s hand before pulled away and shuffling reluctantly toward the door.

[Deleted]

The idea of Ray being humble, after he’d pranced himself about like a bird doing a mating dance, only made Naozumi lose his serious face sooner and degenerate into more painful giggles. Every single one of those was worth it, though. It was people like Raylaigh, the ones who were able to see the lighter part of life, that brought Nao out of his serious shell. He could follow them along easily and listen to them and empathize with their view on things. If it weren’t for the lighthearted people he met in his life, Naozumi would probably miss out on so much. He valued them a lot more than people probably thought. And now, Nao was starting to value the boy Raylaigh as one of the best meetings he’d had since arriving at Hammel. Even if he did end up falling and torn up after a foolish racing stunt.

“Mmmm~!” he whined like a petulant child as Ray pulled him into a tighter hold. It did hurt, but Nao wasn’t thinking about that right now. His hands immediately reached out to hold onto Ray’s arms as he pretended to struggle. Well, it was only half pretend, Nao was still incredibly sore everywhere!

While yes, Nao was uncomfortable, it wasn’t in a terribly bad way. Not bad at all. Just in an unfamiliar way. Though it was true that Naozumi would have been far too self-conscious with Ray there to allow the nurse to treat all of his wounds. Even so, he was disappointed when the nurse started to shuffle the older boy out of the room. It was brought Naozumi both a flurry of butterflies in his stomach to have Ray there, as well as a cloud of comfort just having the other boy around to ensure for the younger boy’s health. He returned the smile, his face still a twinge of red. “Okay, thank you Ray. I’ll see you later.” Nao’s eyes followed the tall boy until he’d completely left the room. Then he sighed.