Reap the Earth at Which you Stand [boyxboy]

Chapter XX

~Tuesday 5th December 2017~

"You'll freeze out here, y'know?" Dakota looked up when Mylo draped a blanket over his shoulders, settling down on the swinging bench next to him. The balcony was big enough for such things without them being any sort of risk, bigger than the one outside of Vasile's bedroom anyway. Dakota hadn't spent much time in there lately, only when he had to, at night. He preferred to just stay out of Vasile's way wherever possible, it was better than seeing the expression on his face whenever he looked at Dakota. That was more painful than he could have ever imagined.

"Barely feel it," Dakota knew Mylo wouldn't believe him, not when he could see the boy's fingers trembling, almost blue at the tips. The temperature dropped low at night, but Dakota just wanted to feel something. Anything. Even if that was physical numbness, that was better than emotional. That was eating away at him, he wasn't sure how long he would be able to last anymore.

"Have you eaten?" For someone with their own issues eating, Mylo didn't half pester others about theirs. Wherever possible, he would make sure others were well fed. Maybe it was a coping mechanism, maybe not, either way, Dakota didn't bother to mention it. It was harmless, he wasn't hurting anybody.

"I had a little something earlier, I'm not really all that hungry," Dakota had grown up on lies, and deceiving Mylo was just as easy. It was for his own good, he didn't need to know. Dakota tended to forget the physical when he was lost in the mental. Maybe he would tell Kalvin about it, that he was getting bad again, thinking too much, losing himself. Or maybe he would take the easy route out and just keep his damn mouth shut. Speaking, putting himself out there, recently, that hadn't been too successful for him.

"Well, Koko says he wants to order in something a little later. He's probably gonna get double of what he wants so he can make me eat it but, if not, I could make us something else. Something a little less-" with that subject on the table, Dakota found himself desperate to find out anything about Mylo that he could. He didn't want to think about himself, nor Vasile. It was better to keep Mylo in the limelight.

"Does he force you to eat?" Dakota's eyes didn't stray from the setting sun, the rusted oranges and golds a welcome sight to him. At least he could still appreciate the beauty of the world, even if he didn't feel so much himself.

Kalvin would have told him that he was dealing with the situation incorrectly, as blunt as always with his choice of words no doubt. He should just muster the courage to talk to Vasile and ask him why he was acting so strangely. The only problem was, he was afraid. He didn't want to hear that the man hated their night together, that he only did it because Dakota was in heat and because he wanted to soothe him. That had to be the reason he was avoiding him though, because Dakota had forced him into something he wasn't comfortable just yet. If only he had said something...

"Used to, in the beginning," Mylo curled up, sliding closer to Dakota, resting himself against the boy's shoulder, "used to make me sit at the table until I'd finish what he'd put in front of me. Didn't matter if it was cold, didn't matter if I was sobbing, begging for him to just let me go. He knew what I wanted to do, he knew where I'd run to if he let me go," Dakota shifted slightly, moving his arm to drape around his brother's shoulders, "he did once. He caved. He thought I would go to him, sit and cry like I always did, tell him I was sorry. But I didn't. I locked myself in the bathroom and..." Mylo sighed, snuggling closer to Dakota, wrapping his arms around the boy's torso, "it's better now. I'm not a kid anymore, I can understand why he does it. And he understands my boundaries. As much as he wants me to, I can't consume the amount he does. He didn't realise that at the start. He has ways of knowing when I'm done and when I can do more. Gentle encouragement is a better idea than us yelling at each other for hours."