Black stone on a White stone

 
A soft melody filled the room.
 It could have been easy to say that a radio was on, and a song with indescribable lyrics was playing at a low volume. But in reality, the soft humming of Nezumi’s at times tremulous but overall tender voice, ricocheted the walls from the bathroom––adjacent to the piles of books, a simple door separating both spaces. 

Meanwhile Shion sat absentmindedly in bed, but once the sounds came to him in apacible waves, he closed his eyes and enjoyed the melody. 
Sweet nothings into his ears. 

 
Nezumi had a beautiful voice. His songs could heal and take the dying souls into a different realm. Drifting away calmly the second the soft tunes left Nezumi’s mouth. 
But this time he was only singing while taking a shower. The splashes of water served as a rather jarring contrast. A mundane reality rather than a divine ceremony. But to Shion, it was all very much the same; He entered a trance then. With eyes closed he travelled through green pastures and up beautiful hills. Soft and tender winds blowing his hair, birds chirping at a distance and he imagined the water falling as it coming from a nearby stream, returning always to the very beginning. Nature and the cycle of life.

The sound halted and so his fantasy died abruptly. 

Walking into the room was Nezumi; topless and wearing baggy linen pants that Shion had given him as a present a couple of weeks before. I don’t need new clothes, Nezumi had said, but Shion’s gesture wasn’t born out of pity for him, it was simply something he resolved; it could have been a ring, a book, or something as simple as a fruit. There were things Shion wanted to give to Nezumi, besides the abstract, the material things also slipped in there, from time to time.

Nezumi stood in front of Shion, the shadow of his body covered Shion’s completely. 

“The shower is free” Nezumi said lightly; with a hand he held a microfiber towel that patted his head, in a messy attempt to dry his hair. Shion simply smiled and nodded but did not stand up, he remained seated, then he reached out with one arm and pulled Nezumi closer by the waist. “What are you doing” Nezumi said and looked down at Shion who had rested his head against Nezumi’s abdomen. He looked defeated, somewhat. “What? Too lazy to go take a shower?” He continued, his hand ruffled Shion’s pristine white hair. 

“No” Shion’s voice came out muffled, and it’s reverberation ticked Nezumi’s skin. “I have to dry my hair. Let go” Nezumi attempted to move away, at first playfully but as he noticed how tight Shion had gripped him, he moved harshly. “You know I hate sleeping with damp hair” Nezumi said. Shion finally let go off him, his lazy smile remained intact. 

It was true, Nezumi cared for his own appearance. Sometimes to degrees Shion didn’t understand, such frivolity was alien to him. But it was one of Nezumi’s traits and there was nothing he despised about Nezumi. He found it funny too, when he messed with Nezumi’s hair in bed and he would get a sometimes playfully angry response. Don’t touch my hair, Nezumi warned him at times, but it was all useless, for Shion loved to play with his hair, comb his fingers through and mess around with it. Sometimes, he’d pull at it––devoid of tenderness–– when Nezumi was in between his legs and he thought that the strands of long hair would get in the way of his ministrations. The few times he had done it, he had gotten the impression that Nezumi liked it. 

“Let me help you out with that” Shion said, patting the spot next to him in bed. “With what, drying my hair?” Nezumi responded. “Yes, and comb it, too.” Shion insisted. If it were up to him, Shion would dry and comb Nezumi’s hair every day. In the mornings he’d even braid it, and in the nights, just like this after a shower, he’d pat it dry and comb through the beautiful and soft strands of dark hair. 

“Go take a shower” Said Nezumi, but he did sit next to Shion. It was his passive way  of agreeing. Shion smiled and took the towel. “Turn around” he said, and Nezumi complied, silently. As Shion patted his hair dry, he noticed how long Nezumi’s hair had gotten in the span of six months; the hair that barely reached his shoulders before, now ventured all the way down, and passed said shoulders. 

“Do you want me to braid it?” Shion asked then, playing with the hair; the shorter pieces at the front he brought back and tried to tie them up as in a bun, joyfully. 

“No, just comb it. And go take a shower. I refuse to lie in bed with you otherwise.”
Shion did as told, took the comb from Nezumi’s hands and began the endeavor. It was easy, Nezumi’s hair was soft and it didn’t tangle- it’s texture was silky smooth, the comb went through with ease, it was a quick task to complete even if he had a lot of hair.

When Shion was done he stalled a bit, trying to see how else could he style the hair and as he tried to place some strands back he got to appreciate the view of such contrast–– dark hair against pale skin–– the beauty laid in that juxtaposition, it was the same from the smoothness of that hair and the raw edges of Nezumi’s scars. Shion did not resist the urge and leaned in to kiss Nezumi’s shoulder blade. I could stare at your back all day, he thought but didn’t say. Not because he was shy or embarrassed but because Nezumi probably knew it already. Instead he moved the hair out of the way and kissed down Nezumi’s back. Shion placed one and two and three kisses down Nezumi’s scars and in between them, covering the red skin, as well as the white skin, with his lips.
Nezumi, who had remained silent then, turned his head slightly to the side, receiving the kisses but shying away from it. Shion knew he was self conscious about his scars, maybe over anything else about his body. The overconfident Nezumi was insecure about his scarred back- not because his frivolity had clouded him, but he didn’t see beauty in the horror that represented those marks. And the fact that Shion wanted to kiss him there, that the kisses were constant and almost felt like devotion, to Nezumi it was hard to understand. 

“I don’t understand” Nezumi had spoken after a while surrounded by dark silence and the kisses that Shion gave to his back and shoulders.

“What is that you don’t understand?” Shion said, chin resting carefree on Nezumi’s shoulder, arm around his waist.

“Why you love my hair and my back and…it’s just hair and..” Nezumi stopped himself but his hand searched for Shion’s and held it. “I love your hair too, you know” Nezumi continued, his fingers caressed Shion’s. “And that red snake that surrounds your body. It suits you, but me…my hair is just dark and straight. And my scars are keloids– weird shapes.” 

Silence followed, Shion gave another kiss to the tender skin on Nezumi’s neck and then retreated.

 “If you asked me I’d simply say I like everything about you. But your hair, wet like this…it reminds me so much of that night we met. I guess when you wear your hair down, you look younger and it brings back the memories of a night that changed me forever, you know.” 
It changed me too, wanted to say Nezumi but Shion did know that already.

“And your scars…the first time I saw them was also that night. But you didn’t want me to see them. I wanted to know more about you so I figure that having you right here, next to me, and being able to not only see you fully bare, but to touch you…it fills me with euphoria…of finally knowing you whole.”

Nezumi turned his body to see Shion, they locked eyes. Shion’s cheeks were slightly tinted and so were Nezumi’s ––even his ears flamed––, the first to move was Nezumi, ever so stealth, but then Shion mirrored the moves and so they kissed, like they always did, slowly and with no pressure. Lips over lips, Shion’s hand combed through Nezumi’s hair eventually and Nezumi let him do as he pleased, for as long as the kisses lasted or for as long as a life time, it would be that way.

Some moments passed and they were now laying in bed, the kisses had escalated just enough for them to gasp for air and in the in-between of that display of desire, Shion had almost settled on top of Nezumi––until he was stopped, a hand on his chest.

“I said I’m not sleeping with you until you take a shower” Nezumi said, strictly.

Shion looked down and stared, embarrassed. “I’m sorry I got carried away”.

“You always do, now go.” Nezumi replied, a bit shy too.

“5 more minutes, let me kiss you a bit more” Shion tried to impose and Nezumi sighed abnormally loud. “You are so…” But his lips were trapped suddenly by Shion’s and he did nothing but to kiss him back, for that was the only thing he could do…his weakness, his shackles, the irresistible nature of Shion’s kisses had turned Nezumi into a soft mass.

The night grew darker and the lamp died shortly after, two bodies tossed around.