With You - by Triste
There were few things worse than being sick. Although Tao Ren was usually a very fit and healthy individual, even he wasn't immune to catching the occasional cold. That in and of itself wouldn't have been so bad, seeing as how he could have slept most of it off so that his body could have healed itself, but instead of spending the rest of the weekend recuperating, he'd had to put up with Hao.
Usually, Ren didn't mind Hao all that much. Actually, he liked him a lot, at least when he wasn't being irritating or embarrassing. Although it had been a while since Hao had first turned up outside his bedroom window in the middle of the night looking soaked and miserable and in need of a place to stay, Ren had to admit that he'd gotten used to the other male's presence far too quickly.
Of course it was annoying to be treated as some sort of housewife, but Hao more than made up for that with the things that he sometimes said or did, as well as the way he would act when he was around Ren. Hao was naturally a very charming and seductive person anyway, but he could also be surprisingly sweet at times (though unintentionally).
Ren didn't really mind the random gifts that Hao would bring him from time to time, so long as they weren't either past their sell-by date, or some random article of women's clothing. It was just one of Hao's little quirks, one of the things that made him...him...
Right now, though, Hao was probably the very last person that Ren wanted to see. He hadn't even wanted Bason around him, and that was saying something. Bason had almost had a heart attack when he'd found out that his master had fallen ill and had immediately suggested calling for an ambulance to take him to the hospital.
After Ren had told him to stop being so idiotic, he'd then attempted to make Ren drink all the milk in the refrigerator. Although most people seemed to think that milk was essential for making a person grow taller, Bason also seemed to think that it contained some sort of magical healing agents, and that if Ren just drank enough of it, he would somehow regain full health completely.
Eventually, Ren had grown tired of Bason's ramblings and had put him back inside his memorial tablet so that he could actually get some rest. He'd only just started appreciating the peace and quiet when suddenly he heard the front door open.
He groaned to himself, knowing that it was probably Hao. He was the only person that Ren had given a spare key to his house for, after all. Not that Hao really needed things like keys. He did have that habit of being able to transport himself from place to place without actually having to use his legs, or worry about locks and alarms.
Ren sighed as he listened to the little puttering sounds coming from the kitchen as he idly wondered what on earth Hao could actually be doing. He was far too tired to bother guessing what he could be up to, though, so he just sighed again and shut his eyes, hoping that Hao hadn't decided to bring him another one of his random gifts.
The bedroom door creaked open a few minutes later, but Ren didn't bother to open his eyes again. He could sense Hao's presence, as well as hear the almost inaudible sound of his footsteps against the wooden floor. Then came the sound of Hao's voice.
"I heard that you were ill, so I decided to visit and cheer you up."
Ren resisted the urge to groan, not even wanting to contemplate what Hao's idea of 'cheering up' a person might be. "Where did you hear that?" he asked sleepily.
"From you, of course!" Hao replied cheerfully.
If Ren hadn't been feeling quite so ill, he might have yelled at Hao for poking through his mind yet again, but as it was, he couldn't really work up the energy. He'd just have to scold Hao yet again over his tendency to read people's minds without their consent some other time. Instead, he just yawned and snuggled further into the covers. "What do you want, Hao? I'm really not in the mood to give attention to you right now."
"I know, I know." Hao sounded slightly hurt, but Ren ignored it as he felt the bed dip down slightly under Hao's weight as the other seated himself next to him. "I told you that I came here to cheer you up. I also came here to take care of you."
Ren reached out behind him and patted Hao reassuringly. "That's sweet, but also kind of unnecessary. Why don't you go back into the kitchen and see if you can find something to amuse yourself with?"
"I did that already," Hao informed him proudly. "I'm making you some soup. Or at least I will be, once I figure out how. I need to go over to the neighbour's garden first and steal some of their leeks."
"Why leeks?"
"I need them to make the soup with."
"Hao, I hate leeks, you know that."
"I know, but Yoh says that when people catch a cold, they'll soon start feeling better when you make them soup out of leeks."
Ren made a face. This was going to be like the conversation with Bason all over again, but worse, because Bason actually understood the concept of things such as common sense and how to be normal. Hao didn't seem to understand either.
"Hao, it's nice that you want to take care of me, but I'll be fine. Really. I don't need milk, or leeks, or anything else that you might decide to feed to me. All I want is a bit of peace and quiet so that I can get the rest that I need, okay?"
Again, he reached out to give Hao a reassuring pat, but paused when he touched bare skin. Frowning slightly, he ran his hand a little further upwards, feeling puzzled when he realised that he was touching Hao's naked thigh. Although he probably shouldn't have looked, he really had to make sure that Hao hadn't decided to cook without wearing any clothing for some strange reason that only he himself could understand. It was unhygienic after all, to walk around the kitchen nude.
And so, Ren rolled over so that he was on his side and facing Hao, opening his eyes and fully expecting to see the other stark naked in front of him. Instead, he ended up getting quite the shock when he saw that Hao was actually clothed...after a fashion. Ren was proud of the fact that he hadn't twitched, and his voice was steady when he calmly asked Hao what on earth he was supposed to be wearing.
"It's a nurse's uniform!" Hao told him cheerfully, getting up off the bed so that Ren could get a better look. "You are sick, after all. So I've come here to nurse you back to health!"
Ren continued to stare. "I've told you already that I appreciate the gesture of you wanting to take care of me...but you really don't have to go to so much...effort..." It was then that he narrowed his eyes, pushing himself up slightly. "Hao...you're not wearing underwear underneath that skirt, are you?"
"Nope! Wanna see?"
Hao turned around and bent over, causing the already far too short skirt to ride up over his hips as he gave Ren an impromptu moon show. Ren's cheeks had already been flushed due to his illness, but now they had darkened into an enraged blush as he hastily stuttered out for Hao to straighten up again.
"I don't care where you got that outfit...and to be honest, I don't think I even want to know, but I swear, if you even try anything with me while I'm feeling like this..."
"Relax, relax," Hao said, waving his hand dismissively. "I would never take advantage of you in your fragile state. I just thought that seeing me in something like this might help you feel better, is all."
Ren stared at him in disbelief. "Better. Right. Watching you prance around my bedroom while wearing the sort of thing that doesn't even cover you up properly, and makes you look like a complete...a complete...slut is not something that will help me 'feel better' as you so helpfully put it."
Hao looked vaguely crestfallen, but Ren refused to feel guilty. There was such a thing as tough love, after all, and sometimes where Hao was concerned, he had to be cruel to be kind...for Hao's sake, if not for his own.
"I see..." Hao pursed his lips and looked thoughtful for a moment before smiling again and leaning down to press a quick kiss to Ren's forehead. "Well, if the outfit didn't work, then I guess the soup might help some. Wait here and I'll be back before you know it."
He left the room before Ren could even open his mouth to protest.
Ren just sighed heavily and sank back into the bed, hoping against hope that Hao would eventually just get bored and wander off to find something else to entertain himself with.
Things were pretty quiet for a while and Ren had almost drifted off to sleep, when suddenly, the door opened again and Hao strode back inside. Ren was not happy at all at having been disturbed when he'd been so close to achieving a blissful state of unconsciousness, but he was even more irritated by the almost overpowering scent of leek that was filling up the bedroom. And, as if that wasn't enough, Hao had decided to change out of his nurse's uniform. Oh, he hadn't changed back into his usual outfit, of course. That would have been far too kind of him. Instead, he was standing before Ren, holding a tray bearing a bowl of soup, a glass of milk and wearing an even sluttier-looking maid's outfit.
Ren wondered what he must have done wrong in order do deserve something like this. He hadn't killed anybody in years now, and he hadn't even been particularly rude to anyone lately. He always paid his bills on time, always made sure to use fabric softener with his laundry, always made sure to colour-code his socks and underwear, and keep his books in alphabetical order...so what on earth had he done to deserve leeks and Hao in slutty women's clothing?!
Okay, so he didn't usually mind it whenever Hao wore women's clothing. It wasn't often at all that he did such a thing, actually, and if Ren hadn't been feeling so sick and irritable, he might even have admitted that such an outfit made Hao look somewhat...sexy...if a little strange.
As it was, though, Ren was in no mood at all for sex, or even for admiring his lover in his current get-up. Nor was he in the mood for leek soup. He was never in the mood for leek soup, never had been, never would be. He hated leek, after all. Hated the way it looked, hated the way it smelled...
Usually, though, he could sort of tolerate it, but now that he was ill, it only served to make him feel even worse. Smelling it was bad enough. The idea of actually having to taste it was even worse. Knowing that it was something Hao had concocted made him feel like running to the bathroom and throwing up the contents of his stomach.
Hao was good at a great many things. He had a power and an intelligence that most people would consider to be frightening, after all. He had an excellent memory, a wonderful singing voice, the ability to play almost any musical instrument (or pick up any sort of weapon and be able to use it far, far too well)...
As much as Hao often claimed that he was above 'petty human beings', though, it didn't change the fact that he himself was human, too...and that he suffered from faults and failings, just like everybody else on the planet did.
Sometimes, he could be just a little too greedy for his own good. Sometimes, he could be rather arrogant and inconsiderate, and he was usually vain and conceited, as well as being very, very stubborn.
Ren didn't really mind any of that. He wasn't exactly perfect, so he couldn't really criticise Hao for any of his faults, even though they tended to annoy him slightly on occasion. He could deal with it, though, and they were just a few of the many things that made Hao so unique.
One of the things that he did mind was Hao's inability to cook. Hao's idea of a good meal was cup ramen and marshmallow sandwiches, after all. Ren often shuddered to think about what Hao's diet must have been like before they'd become lovers. He didn't really mind taking care of Hao too much, and really, Hao needed someone to make him eat 'proper, solid, nutritious' food, as well as make sure that his clothes were clean, and that he was wearing a fresh pair of boxer shorts every day (as opposed to none at all...it had taken Ren long enough to persuade Hao to start wearing underwear in the first place).
What he did mind, however, was the notion of Hao taking care of him. He'd gotten used to Bason mothering him over the years, but there was no way on earth that he'd allow Hao to make him crappy, sub-standard 'meals' in the hope that they would make him feel less ill than he already was.
That was why he'd been prepared to yell at Hao and tell him to pour the damn soup down the sink and make sure that he'd turned the stove off properly before anything could melt or catch fire...
But then he caught sight of the gentle smile on Hao's face, the little vase with a single red rose standing inside it and the fact that the soup actually looked like...well...soup.
"I wasn't exactly sure how to make this stuff in the first place," Hao admitted sheepishly as he placed the tray carefully down in front of Ren. "But there was a book in the kitchen with lots of recipes in it, so I just followed the instructions and hoped for the best. I stole the leeks from next door neighbour's garden," he added brightly. "And while I was there, I thought I'd take one of their roses, too. I thought you might like it. It is red, after all."
Ren couldn't help but smile a little when Hao said that. Of course, it wasn't really good that Hao had decided to pilfer his neighbour's flowers and vegetables like that, but it was sweet of him to go to so much effort. Even though most people viewed Hao as being extraordinarily selfish and uncaring of anybody other than himself, Ren knew just how loving and kind he could be sometimes. Okay, so he was the only person who ever got to see Hao's gentle side, but it was enough just to know that Hao really could be very considerate sometimes, whenever he felt the need to be.
"Hao...I don't know what to say..." he admitted, still smiling as the other helped him up into a sitting position, piling up the pillows behind Ren's back so that he'd have something soft to rest upon.
"That's okay," Hao told him reassuringly. "You can just say something like, 'but you look so sexy in that maid's outfit!'"
"If I said that, then I would be inflating your ego even more," Ren told him archly. "And besides, I think I warned you earlier that I'm not in any sort of mood for seduction. I am ill, remember? You know what ill is, don't you?"
"I wouldn't really know," Hao said with a shrug. "I've never been ill in my entire life. Actually, I've never been ill in any of my lives on this earth before."
"Well, that's nice, but not all of us are super-human like you," Ren reminded him. "But I suppose the least I can do is thank you for what you've done."
He did feel slightly better when Hao beamed in response. Ren supposed that if he actually liked leeks, Hao's soup might not taste all that bad...but as it was, he didn't want to risk upsetting his stomach.
"Soup looks nice," he added after a while.
Hao nodded. "You should eat it before it gets cold."
Ren continued staring down at the bowl in front of him. "Ah, you're right."
Frowning a little, he picked up the spoon and cautiously dipped it inside the soup, stirring it slowly and pursing his lips. Hao was watching him with a hopeful expression and Ren knew that he was just waiting for him to eat up.
Ren sighed as he gradually raised the spoon up to his lips. If he managed a couple of mouthfuls, then drank the milk that Hao had brought for him, the taste of leek might not actually be all that bad. And, seeing as he was sick, he could always fob Hao off with some excuse that he wasn't really hungry in the first place.
Satisfied, Ren swallowed down the first mouthful, but started choking immediately afterwards. Hao was watching him in concern, but Ren just waved his free hand and smiled weakly, reaching for his glass of milk and finishing off the contents in about three gulps.
"Thank you, Hao," he said politely as he placed his things back down onto the tray. "That was lovely."
"But you haven't finished eating the soup!" Hao pointed out. "I went to a lot of trouble to make it for you. It's my first ever soup. The only soup I eat tends to come out of cans. I never even knew that you could make it from scratch until I read that cookbook of yours."
"I know and I'm really grateful, but to be honest with you, I'd much rather sleep than eat right now," Ren told him, leaning up to place a tiny kiss against Hao's cheek before settling back down into the covers. "You do love me, don't you, Hao?"
"Of course I love you!" Hao was smiling at him the same way that he always did whenever he spoke those words, and again, Ren leaned up slightly so that he could give him another little kiss.
"That's good. Because if you love me...really, really love me...you'll leave me alone right now so that I can get some rest."
Hao's smile disappeared instantly, leaving a forlorn expression in its place. "Are you sure you don't want me to keep you company for a while?" he asked. "I'll be very quiet. You won't even know I'm here. I'll just lie down with you and silently emit healing waves from my body onto yours."
Ren resisted the urge to roll his eyes, wishing that he could dispose of Hao as easily as he could dispose of Bason. Unfortunately, though, there was no way that Hao would ever go inside anything resembling a memorial tablet. At least not without a fight.
"Maybe if you wash your things up first, then I might consider it," he said, somewhat reluctantly. "And you must promise me that you won't try anything. I'm very sick. My body might not be able to cope with it. You might even worsen my illness. You wouldn't want that now, would you?"
Hao shook his head meekly. "I want you to hurry up and get better so that we can start having sex again."
Ren couldn't help but smile. "I know, I know. So be a good boy and clean up, okay?"
He closed his eyes when Hao disappeared off into the kitchen again, wincing when he heard the sound of something smashing, but feeling far too tired to ask what it could have been. Hao came back a few minutes later, looking slightly sheepish, but saying nothing as he stripped out of his outfit and left it puddled carelessly on the floor.
He slipped into bed beside Ren and snuggled up to him and Ren went with it, figuring that it would be easier to just let himself be held than bothering to fight against it.
It felt nice, actually, lying there in Hao's arms, feeling the warmth of Hao's body pressing against his own. It might have been better if he'd actually been wearing some form of clothing, but seeing as how Ren himself was still donned in his pyjamas, it wasn't really all that bad.
Hao, true to his word, was actually being quiet as he ran his hands soothingly up and down Ren's back and they continued to lie in silence for a while before Ren spoke up drowsily.
"Hao...what did you think of me when we first met?"
"You mean the day we met at the airport, or the time when I managed to get you alone to tell you that I would make you mine?"
"Hmm...at the airport. What did you think?"
Hao pondered for a moment, trying to decide whether or not he ought to respond in a truthful fashion. "Well...I guess the first thing I remember thinking was that your coat was far too long. I wanted to be able to get a proper look at your ass."
Ren knew that he ought to have been annoyed by such a response, but instead, he just smiled. "It was cold that day," he murmured. "That's why I put on my coat."
"Yes, but you wore it right the way across America, even when you were in the desert," Hao reminded him. "Surely you can't have been cold then."
"How would you know that anyway?" Ren asked. "You only ever used to show up on the rare occasions when you felt like bugging Yoh."
"Just because I wasn't actually there with you doesn't mean that I didn't know what you were up to, or what you were wearing," Hao replied with a smirk. "I have special spying skills, remember? Anyway, what did you think of me the first time we ever met?"
"Honestly? I thought you were an arrogant prick. Then I wondered why you looked so much like Yoh. But mostly, I remember thinking of you as some sort of idiot show-off."
"You're just saying that because I defeated you so easily."
"Hao, I'm letting you in my bed right now because I somehow manage to find it in my heart to be nice to you, unlike most people. Do you really want to anger me so much that I'll end up kicking you out onto the street?"
Hao shook his head quickly. "No, you're right. I'm sorry. So what did you think of me the second time we met?"
"The second time?" Ren paused to think for a moment. "I thought you were even more of an arrogant prick than before. But there was something else...something that made me think about that encounter for a long time afterwards."
"You mean my dazzling good looks?" Hao suggested. "My beautiful hair? My confident attitude? My sexy, irresistible aura?"
"No, I think it was the fact that you were wearing odd socks," Ren said thoughtfully. "And I couldn't help noticing that little rip on the corner of your shawl. Oh, and the offer of more power was somewhat tempting, I must admit."
"You were tempted by my power, but not by my body?" Hao asked mournfully. "Only you, Ren...you're the only one who's ever been able to resist my advances. You're the only one who's never swooned at my feet before."
"I know, and that's why you were so keen to make me your latest conquest," Ren informed him, twitching slightly. "That was why you started sending random minions out to bother me, as well as Yoh. That was why I had that idiot priest whose brother I killed telling me that he was going to bring me back to 'Hao-sama' as a 'gift.'"
"Well, it was almost my birthday, you know. You were the only present that I actually really wanted. Well, you and the Great Spirits, of course." Hao smiled dreamily and lifted one hand so that he could run his fingers gently through Ren's hair. "It all worked out in the end, though, and we did end up together eventually. What did you think of our first kiss?"
"I hated it," Ren said bluntly. "But you were such a seductive bastard that I couldn't help liking it at the same time."
"You hated it?" Hao pouted slightly. "That's not nice."
"But it's true. I'd never had anyone attempt to shove their tongue down my throat before. I thought it was horribly unhygienic. The second kiss was better, though, once I actually knew how everything was supposed to work..."
"Yes, I remember you slapping me that first time. And you slapped me the second time, too, now that I think of it. And the third time...and the fourth..."
"I never slapped you the fifth time we kissed."
"That's because I was busy trying to get my hand down your pants. So you kneed me in the groin instead."
"That was your fault for trying to move things along too quickly."
"I couldn't help it. I was horny. It was my birthday. You were supposed to be my present and I wanted to unwrap you and get at you as quickly as possible." Hao's expression turned slightly nostalgic. "You used to hit me a lot during those early days. It took me forever just to get anywhere near you without being slapped or punched or kicked. You slapped me the first time we ever kissed. You slapped me the first time I asked you to marry me. You even slapped me the first time I asked you to wear girl's panties for me."
Again, Ren couldn't help but twitch. "When I slap you, Hao, it's usually because you deserve it. You can be very pushy sometimes, as well as being very perverted."
"I helped broaden your horizons, though," Hao told him smugly. "I've taught you so much."
"Yes, you've taught me that there are some very sordid and frightening people that exist in this world, and that you're probably the most sordid and frightening person of all."
"Well, I do try, you know. I have to make some sort of effort to keep my reputation untarnished."
Ren didn't even bother giving that particular comment a response. Instead, he chose to ask another question. "When did you realise that you were falling in love with me?"
"I think it was the first time you ever did my laundry," Hao told him, smiling blissfully. "Or maybe it was the first time you ever made me a proper meal. I don't think it really matters, because I ended up proposing to you not long afterwards."
"Yes, I know. You even bought me a ring."
"Which you threw away."
"Because you stole it. I wouldn't have minded that much, only it was still attached to the poor dead person's finger when you gave it to me."
"Okay, so when did you realise that you were falling in love with me?"
"Well, it took a while for me to figure it out," Ren admitted, looking thoughtful. "I think it was probably when I realised how much you really needed me. We'd had that argument, remember, and instead of throwing you out of the house, I ended up leaving instead. When I came back, it was to find that you'd blown a fuse, cut your finger and had to spend the whole night without electricity or food. The stalking did kind of bother me at the beginning of our relationship, but really, I'm glad that you hardly ever leave me alone. I know that you'd probably wither away into nothing if it weren't for me. At the very least, you'd be hungry, horny, miserable, dirty and depressed."
Rather than looking offended, Hao simply stared down at Ren adoringly. "Whatever would I do if I wasn't with you, hm?"
"I just told you," Ren said with a yawn. "You'd wither away into nothing." He smiled fondly and kissed Hao's forehead before snuggling closer to him. "Now shush. I need to get some sleep. If you're very good and I'm feeling better when I wake up again, I might find some way to repay you for what you did for me earlier. For now, though, let's just rest."
"Will you wear my maid's outfit for me when you wake up? I'll make you some more soup if you do."
"Hao, I love you so much...but if you don't shut up and go to sleep, I'll be forced to slice you in two."
"Yes, dear..."
End.
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