Crimson

Vita's dose

Vita awoke slowly like a man unused to violence .

He was staring at the darned spear , he awoke instantly .

He remembered laying next to Juno , he had been unable to fall asleep , so he had decided to just watch Juno sleep , he could do that for as long as possible .

Somehow , he had fallen asleep .

A brief perusal of the rest of the bed showed Juno was missing .

Not only had he fallen asleep , he had also lost all sort of consciousness .

How could Juno have left and he had not even noticed ?

All his training as a brigadier turned to mockery .

He sat slowly and realized his shirt was missing .

Juno's blankets were very thick , so he had not noticed earlier .

This was bad , he had no idea how his shirt had disappeared .

Had there been something in the chocolate?

He had prepared it , so that was impossible .

The door to the house opened and Juno walked in .

Vita watched him , he had not noticed that Vita was awake .

He was wearing a red shirt tucked into black pants , his feet were bare and his toes curled weirdly on the floor.

" You are awake ."

While he had been staring at Juno's funny toes , Juno had been watching him .

Vita nodded hoping it ended there .

If he had seen Juno's face , he might have realized it never ended there for Juno .

Vita was facing a dilemma , his shirt was missing and he wanted to get off this bed .

He knew Juno would not mind him walking around without a shirt but Vita was not ready to have Juno see him .

" Are you sure you are a brigadier ?"

Vita raised his head sharply and a wave of vertigo hit him .

He went quiet , waiting for his vision to clear and watched as Juno began to tilt his head to the side .

He had noticed that Juno liked to watch things with his head tilted .

His vision finally cleared .

" What do you mean ? "

Juno smiled , a smile Vita was beginning to realize only looked harmless but was completely the opposite .

" You sleep like a log ".

Vita began to cough maniacally .

Juno watched him , his head tilted to the other side now .

His coughing finally subsided .

" I do not sleep like a log ".

Juno nodded , he still had that ridiculous smile on .

" I was tired that must have been why ".

Juno's smile widened , then , he turned around and pointed behind him where Vita's shirt hung from the door of the closet .

Vita groaned softly .

" How did that happen ?"

Juno walked closer or more like hopped closer , Vita could not hold it anymore .

" Why are you walking like that ? "

Juno groaned loudly as he fell on his bed , he raised his legs up .

His feet were in Vita's face , they were small , really small and Vita could not believe himself but he had to admit Juno's feet were cute .

" I have cold feet ", Juno announced .

Vita blinked , " What ? "

Juno pressed his face into the sheets , moaning .

He had put his hair in a loose braid .

" My feet get cold so easily and wearing thick boots is such a hassle , they are incredibly heavy ".

Vita smiled and touched Juno's hair , it was so shiny , rubbing it did not reduce the shine , his dream of stealing some of the shine of Juno's hair for his went down the drain .

" I took your shirt off while you slept and you did not notice ".

Vita stilled , " You did what ? "

Juno raised his head up and pointed towards the shirt .

" I...Took ...It ...Off...While...You....Slept ".

Juno smiled and crawled up .

" I took a bath already , like you said I do have water , very hot water . When are you going to wash up ".

Vita pulled the blankets tighter around him.

" Why ? "

Vita was not an exhibitionist . He had never been worried about his body but after seeing Ali's inked body , he was afraid Juno might compare it to his own pale body .

" I guess because it is hygienic ".

Vita blinked , trying to make sense of what Juno was saying .

Juno frowned then , his features scrunching together .

" Did you mean why I took off your shirt ? "

Vita nodded .

Juno looked like he was thinking of his answer but Vita had realized that Juno always knew what he wanted to say instantly , he would only think of the most appropriate ways to say it .

" It was an eyesore ".

Well , he didn't think too long of the most appropriate way .

Vita looked around then and noticed that the entire space was themed .

Everything was red or black except the furniture that was white .

Even the sheets were red .

" You do realize your house looks like a cult ".

Juno gave him a look .

" Ali said that too , he then went ahead to paint my shelves and closet white . I would have repainted but I'm afraid he'll paint my whole house white while I'm away ".

Vita nodded offhandedly , Ali again .

" So you woke up and my shirt did not match the sheets ? "

Juno sat on his folded legs .

He touched Vita's face , wiping the side of his eye .

Vita rested the side of his face in Juno's cold hand .

" Ask me what you really want to know Vitalis ?"

Vita closed his eyes .

" I know it's stupid but tell me about Ali ".

He did not want to see the look on Juno's face , so he kept his eyes shut .

" I told you yesterday Ali is my family and I am his . We have been together for as long as I can remember . Ali is a little strange but he's a beautiful person in and out ".

Vita opened his eyes ,Juno had gotten closer to him .

" I have money because The Haze was my idea and Ali and I are joint owners ".

Vita frowned ," I didn't ask about that".

Juno smiled , his red lips stretching and showing a glimpse of white teeth .

" You were curious ".

Vita could see tiny brown spots on the top of Juno's nose and cheeks , the sunlight from the huge window had made them very visible .

Juno's eyelashes fluttered and Vita wondered how someone that was not Juno's blood had stayed just family with him .

" I am curious about a lot of things that involve you ".

Juno nodded , blinking as he did so .

Vita gasped softly , he mentally face palmed , now he was gasping ?

Juno had different coloured irises , they were not very obvious but sitting so close to him had made them obvious .

His left eye had a bluish tint , while the right eye looked like a painting of the sea that Vita had once seen .

It had been painted by the king and was displayed in the royal gallery .

" Your eyes are multiple coloured ".

He had said it before he realized that it might have sounded offensive .

He watched Juno leisurely .

Juno only smiled though .

" It's the only thing I have from my father ".

It was not a smile like the others , it was cold and changed the whole of Juno's demeanour .

Vita did not ask any further questions , he pushed himself off the bed , he would walk to the bathhouse without a backwards glance.

" I can wash in your box ? "

"No ".

The ice that came with the reply made him turn immediately.

But Juno was smiling when he turned .

" Did you think you could rush off without letting me have a look ?, you saw me naked , it's only fair that I see you too ".

Vita was still in his pants but he felt very naked .

" Juno got off the bed and began to walk to where he stood , he stretched his hands forward , his eyes on Vita's chest.

Vita braced himself , he would show nothing .

Juno put his hand down , winked at Vita and walked past him .

" I'll get you soap ".

Vita almost felt stupid but he had heard the distinct snort that Juno had produced .

Vita smiled , he should have been getting used to Juno's tricks , how did he still fall for it everytime ?

Juno was holding a small tube , it contained an opaque liquid .

He pushed it into Vita's chest and went back to the bed , his toes curling weirdly .

Vita got into the shower box , after several fails he finally got the water running and managed to wash himself .

When he was done , his pants were missing .

He sighed , he should have expected this from Juno .

There was no point in dallying , he stepped out of the shower .

Silence first...

And then , full on crazy laughing .

Vita began to rethink all his life decisions .

A piece of cloth flew at him , it was a towel.

He wrapped it around his body and finally had the courage to face Juno .

He was lying with one hand propping his head up.

" You are so unbelievably cute , Vitalis ".

More laughter .

" I thought you would refuse to come out but here you are ".

Vita watched expressionless as Juno got off the bed and walked towards him.

He locked hands with him when he got to where Vita stood and pulled him towards the closet .

" I'll dry your hair ", he announced as he pushed Vita on a stool in front of the mirror .

Vita studied his face quietly in the mirror and watched from the side of his eyes as Juno thought long about which towel to use on him .

His face was still the same but he had changed a lot .

He was different from the person he had been before coming to Agrippa.

He was even different from the person he had been the morning before and the person responsible for that change stood behind him trying to pick the appropriate towel .