The Bars Between (MxM)

5

He was more daring next time, taking a bigger pitcher of water and a cloth bag full of several little bits of food down to him the next day.

He had gotten a few weird looks in the halls, but ignored them, instead looking forward to seeing Ryion.

The man's eyes lit up the second that the light of the torch came to them, scooting over to the bars quicker than last time.

Adren helped him with the water like last time, and it took many seconds until Ryion broke his lips away to breath. "You should slow down, save some for later." Adren suggested, holding out the bag to him. "You might want to drink after eating some of this."

Ryion slowly opened the bag, his fingers shaking, and pulled out a piece of bread similar to what he had yesterday. Adren had stuffed the bag full of various foods he found in the kitchen, which ended up being mostly baked goods, but there were several fruits and some meat in there too.

He watched him as Ryion ate and drank till there was nothing left, his eyes eventually dropping shut when he was finished like last time.

Adren smiled and took the bag and pitcher in his hands, taking a moment to look at him. His face was so dirty, leaning up against the bars.

Adren looked into the pitcher, seeing a thin layer of water on the bottom. Dipping two of his fingers in, he hesitantly brought his fingers to Ryion's cheek.

It was almost as cold as the bars, making him want to withdraw his hand at first, but then decided to keep going.

At first, the soft circles made a difference, some of the dirt wiping away, but he still couldn't see skin, couldn't press harder to get the deeper stains out without waking the man and that'd be an awkward conversation.

Eventually, the dirt ended up getting pushed around on his face and Adren gave up. Standing back up, he could barely tell he was doing anything at all.

Turning on his heel, he walked out of there, determined to come back the next day.