The lost Prince

Chapter 6

It was late in the evening and the candle on Taro's little desk fluttered with the movement of the young man who sat next to his bed on a chair. The silence in this quaint little house was almost grotesque to the drama they had all experienced earlier this day.

Kentaro was speechless when Tadashi carried the exhausted Taro inside his house, followed by Akira who explained the situation to him. It was more than tragic that Taro had to get to know about his future in that way. After everybody had calmed down over a cup of coffee, Akira made his way back to the office to finish his work and he made Tadashi stay behind at Kentaro's place to calm Taro down in case he woke up from his sleep. As a mentor to both young men, Akira realized the calming effect Tadashi had on Taro, so he encouraged him to be there for Taro when he couldn't.... that was until the young man had to leave for Hamburg of course.
Tadashi leaned his chin on his hand and observed the even breathing man next to him on the bed. It was past ten o'clock already and despite from turning and murmuring in his sleep, Tadashi wondered whether Taro had nightmares again... like he once told him. When he jolted in his sleep again, Tadashi reached over to the bed and hold onto Taro's small hand.... and again, it felt so natural. To hold onto him, to calm him down, even when he explained seemingly trivial daily things to him, Tadashi enjoyed all of that, very much.
Although Taro's physical appearance seemed younger than he really was, his brown, curious eyes were too wise for his age. He carried eyes which had seen too much already.
The dreamy air he had about him was always there and Tadashi was sure that Taro knew and felt instinctively more than normal people did. Which made him a wonder.

A soft knock pulled Tadashi back into reality and Kentaro leaned his head inside and whispered to Tadashi that the bed in the guest room was ready for him. Tadashi thanked him and gestured to be there in a moment.
The door closed shut again and when Tadashi wanted to stand up to close the curtains, he felt how his hand was being hold in place. He studied the seemingly sleeping figure inside the bed and found Taro staring back at him motionless. To be honest, for a second he was quite startled but Tadashi moved back from his half standing position and knelt down onto the floor to be on the same level with Taro's eyes. He smiled back at the young man who still didn't say a word but kept on holding onto Tadashi's hand. With the other hand, Tadashi stroke a few strands of hair out of Taro's face and he tried to smile to him but again, it didn't reach his eyes.

"Why are you sad?" Astoundingly, it was Taro who asked him this question first.

"Me? Well....." He paused. "It makes me sad seeing you being sad."

"Why did no one tell me about these plans with Hamburg?"

Tadashi paused again. To be honest, he didn't expect Taro to ask the heavy, intelligent questions right away and then he realized that they had treated him like a child way too long.

"We were all afraid that you would be upset. Akira wanted to tell you after his return from Frankfurt in a week."

Taro looked down onto their touching hands but neither one of them pulled away. Then he lifted his gaze, broke eye contact and looked over Tadashi's head, Taro almost whispered. "I am sorry for causing you trouble."

Tadashi shook his head. "Not at all. I am sorry that you had to learn it this way, please excuse us so very much for hurting you in that way."

Taro pulled back his hand and finally sat up. He pulled down the blanket and his black hair was tousled and the white sleeping shirt crumpled. Tadashi could almost feel the warmth emanating from the sleep relaxed body. "I don't want to leave this place, I love it here. I will miss the people... I will miss you." Taro still whispered.
Tadashi smiled and thanked him. "There is no place like home and Akira and Kentaro made you a home here. They are the kind-" Taro moved to the edge of his bed and his naked legs dangled over the wooden frame. His white shirt was way too long for his petite body which was another detail Tadashi shouldn't care to notice. That was when Taro reached for Tadashi's hand and pulled it up to his chest over his heart. It was beating slightly faster and Tadashi was sure that his heart must feel the same. He had no idea what was going on right now but he had no power to do or say the right thing right now.