High [Boy X Boy]

10 - You Can't Help Yourself

(Song Recommendation: None.)

Link woke up the next morning to a bitter silence. He sat up and brought his arm up over his forehead to shade his eyes from the bright sunlight. The bedroom seemed different to what it was normally like too. He was so used to a warm(ish) bed and a set of drawers right beside him and a window that overlooked some of the darker parts of New York. His bed was now a lot bigger, a lot cosier and more fluffy in his opinion. He was greeted by not only his old stuffed animal but several new teddy bears and plushies he had never seen before.

Despite not knowing where they came from, he loved them. Not to mention they were great for snuggling with.

The view of New York from his bedroom was spectacular and revealed each and every building. He raced out of the bed and up to the glass to press his fingertips to the panes daintily. "... I should probably apologise to Vulture... He doesn't need to tell me not to because I-" Link turned around and his eyes met a note placed on top of a rectangular box.

He anxiously approached the box to rip off the note and read it with trembling fingers.

"You've probably realised now that you're in a new bedroom. It may confuse you but you're just in a different suite in the hotel. I think you need your privacy and I need mine. I'll still need to check on you every so often due to the threats of other gangs so please be dressed and ready to leave your apartment at eleven in the morning. It gives you a little time to sleep in.

I'll come to your apartment at ten past eleven and under no circumstances do you EVER leave without me. Please take care of yourself and if you have any issues, let me know.

P.S. I hope the stuffed animals... And things, don't seem excessive.

- Vulture."

"... W-What?" Link threw the note aside and opened the box with the slightest tear in his eye.

"Wear this today.

- V."

(Outfit reference image)

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Link didn't want to succumb to his monophobia and beg to be in the same hotel room as the man who took advantage of him. Besides, he would be twenty soon and he would have to "grow up," as they say.

He sat down on the side of the bed and pulled off his jeans and shirt carelessly with a light-headed sigh, dropping them down beside him to leave them creased and crumpled. As he grabbed the white shirt to wear beneath his sweater, a chuckle enacted from the doorway. "I hope you plan on folding those." Link threw the shirt over his head and pulled it down over his underwear to hide his nude body and bruise-kissed skin. "Y-You're early."

Vulture shook his head and scratched his head. "As a matter of fact, I'm late. It's half eleven."

"... Did you have an issue with me being in your apartment?" Were the first words that escaped Link's mouth and he regretted mentioning them instantly. "A-And I will fold the clothes, I just-" "I don't have an issue with it, Rookie... But you obviously do. There are certain things I want to do that I can't do when you're around..." Vulture explained quietly. "R-Right... I-I understand." Link choked out with a weak smile. "T-Thanks for... These." Link picked up one of the many plushies (the plushie he had a grip on happened to be a large watermelon) and held it close to him. "... S'alright. Figured you might get lonely."