Scars

King shouted, fear filling his entire boy as one of Ram's huskies came closer to him, a curious look on the dog's face as it sniffed him. Dogs were cute, even King could admit that, but the thought of one of them being close enough to touch was enough to send King into a panic attack and a horrible trip down memory lane.

"Down, boy!"

At the sound his master's voice, the dog whined and sat down immediately, stopping its advancement towards King.

"Cool Boy!" King said, relieved, hands and knees shaking as he tried to scoot further down the couch he had been sleeping on. "I think he managed to get the door open. Can you please put him back inside the room?"

"Yeah, sorry, P'King." Ram said, taking the dog by the collar and leading him back into King's extra room. When he came back, King was still breathing fast, eyes closed as he rested his head on the back of the couch. He looked pale.

"P'King, are you okay?"

King opened his eyes and ran a hand through his floppy hair. He tried to crack a smile but it came out looking like kind of a grimace. "Sorry, Cool Boy. I just can't stand dogs."

Ram was silent, wanting to ask King why but didn't want to overstep his boundaries with the senior. He was very grateful for how King had comforted him about his dad, not telling him what to do but just being there for him and he wanted to return the favor somehow.

"Duen could take them in." Ram said finally. Maybe King would appreciate that. Ram would have to move out; he couldn't possibly ask Duen to take care of his dogs alone. He didn't want to be away from King right now though...

King reached over, hands no longer shaking. "It's okay, Ram." Ram's heart beat fast at King's use of his name. He rarely did that but when he did, it sent Ram's heart and head into a frenzy. "I know how much you love them. They can stay. Just," he sighed. "Don't let them get too close to me. I sort of get worked up when a dog gets too close."

Ram wanted to know. But he didn't want to ask. Why was it so hard to express himself? With a grim look on his face, he sat down right next to his senior and let out a sigh. He felt very conflicted when it came to King. They had gotten close over the past few weeks that he had been staying over and even Duen, who was typically very slow about these things, was noticing how Ram reacted to King.

"You want to know why, don't you?"

Ram's head shot up at King's knowing voice. The other boy was staring at him, no judgement on his face. He looked better after Ram put the dog away; a healthy flush was back on his cheeks.

Ram nodded eagerly, much like a puppy would, King thought to himself absently.

"Take a close look at my face, Cool Boy."

Ram blinked rapidly and stared intently at King's face. He didn't see anything. If he was scarred there was no way Ram wouldn't be able to---

Shit.

Ram raised a shaking hand to King's jaw, just underneath his left ear.

It's a scar.

"It's a scar." King said with a soft hum, eyes closing as he allowed Ram's fingers to trail over the thin, spidery lines that ran down his jaw and neck. They were so thin you could barely see them unless you were close enough to look.

Oh my. With gentle fingers, Ram pushed King's head to the side, exposing the path of scars from his jaw, neck, to the back of his ear, the very same place King revealed he wanted a tattoo. The scars extended past his hairline to the back of his head; King could feel thicker, raised scar tissue on King's scalp as he ran his finger's through the senior's silky black hair.

"Claws." Ram whispered in horror, dropping his hand limply on his lap.

King smiled bitterly as he recalled the day he was mauled by their neighbor's dog.

"It was a long time ago." King said quietly, taking a deep breath before planting his head on Ram's lap and twisting the bottom of the younger boy's shirt in his fingers. "I think I was seven years old, old enough to play outside with the other kids without supervision. There was a new dog a few houses down and it was a rescue dog and hadn't been trained yet. It got loose and well, I was close enough to the gate when it escaped."

"Did it bite you?"

"Barely. It latched on to my shoulder and its claws caused the scars you saw." King shuffled on his side a bit and pulled down the neck of his large sleepshirt. There was another set of scars on his left shoulder, but they were flat and darkly pigmented against the rest of his white skin.

Ram raised his hand to touch but dropped it quickly in embarrassment. He leaned forward, soft, floppy hair falling into his eyes as he stared down at King. "I'm sorry, P'King."

For leaving you with that dog that day.

For forcing you to live with my three Huskies.

For not asking why you were so scared of dogs in the first place.

"It's okay, really." King replied quietly, staring back up at Ram. "You didn't know."

That doesn't make it okay.

Ram let out another sigh and pressed a soft kiss to King's forehead, lips lingering for a few seconds before Ram adjusted his aim for the senior's lips.

"Can I...?" Ram murmured softly.

King's eyes closed sleepily with a nod and he let out a small smile. He brought one hand up to Ram's neck and pulled him down, lips pressing against each other in a soft, open-mouthed kiss.

I like you, P'King.

"I like you too, N'Ram."