On the fourth morning, Al was awoken by a strange groaning sound. He sat up, rubbed his bleary eyes, and looked around. He realized the sound was coming from Yui’s bed. More specifically, from Yui. He was still asleep, but he was tossing and turning and making incoherent sounds. His face looked contorted and pained. Al stood up, leaned over, and shook Yui’s shoulder firmly. “Hey,” he called. “Hey, Yui, wake up!” His strong, deep voice did the trick, and Yui opened his big seafoam eyes. Sweat was dripping from his face. He looked positively confused. He moved his lips a little, but no words came out. 

“You were having a nightmare,” Al explained.

Yui wasn’t awake enough to respond. He rubbed his eyes sleepily and wiped the sweat off of his face with the blanket. He then looked down and acknowledged that he was soaked in sweat. He grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled at it to air himself out. Al helped him by lifting off his covers. He was a little startled by how much the kid was sweating, considering it was mid-autumn and the air, even indoors, was rather nippy. It must have been quite a bad nightmare to have that effect on his body.

Yui started becoming aware of his surroundings. He realized his heart was pounding terribly. He couldn’t remember what the dream was about, and he didn’t want to remember. He knew he felt really frightened, and he was still a bit on-edge. He realized he was very hot and wet and overwhelmed. “Could,” his voice cracked from dryness, “could you get me some water?”

“‘Course,” Al replied and quickly left the room.

Yui stripped off all his clammy clothes, including his underwear. He had an outfit to change into in his travel bag, but he wanted to let himself air out for a moment. 

“Wah!” He nearly jumped out of his skin when the door opened sooner than he expected. It was more out of leftover anxiety from the nightmare than fear of being seen naked. Al, on the other hand, was so flustered by the full-frontal naked man in front of him that his face turned very red and he nearly dropped the glass of water. He looked away and covered his eyes, before he really got a good look at him.

“Sorry,” Al said, as he covered his eyes and held out the glass of water. “I should’ve knocked.”

“It’s okay,” Yui said, as he picked up a blanket and covered himself with it, more for Al’s comfort than his own. “I’m used to strangers seeing me naked.” He held the blanket in front of him with one hand and carefully avoided tripping on it as he walked forward to take the cup with the other. He took a generous swig, like he had when he had arrived at Al’s house after traveling through the desert. Yui placed the cup on the bedside table. “I’m gonna get dressed,” he informed Al.

“Right,” Al said. He locked the door and turned to face it. He realized there might not have been much reason to lock the door, since Anabelle had most likely seen Yui naked, but it made Al feel better to have it locked. He didn’t want to get caught in between those two.

As Yui got dressed, his eyes wandered around the room, to the posters, games and toys. He didn’t know why, but something about the room sickened him all of a sudden. He felt claustrophobic. Like the walls of the small bedroom were trying to close in on him and suffocate him. He felt dizzy and held his head in his hand. “I don’t feel so hot,” he admitted.

Al turned around cautiously, and saw that Yui was fully dressed. He was wearing a red hoodie and jeans, which were really refreshing for Al to see. He looked like a normal guy for once. “I’ll see if I can find you something to eat downstairs,” Al offered.

“No,” Yui said, “I think I’d rather go out for breakfast. I feel like I need some fresh air.”

“Want to go to that café from the other day?”

“That would be great!” Yui’s face lit up, and he looked like his usually perky self again. Al felt relieved. He’d only known Yui for a few days, yet he already felt like something was amiss if he wasn’t a little ball of sunshine twenty four-seven. 

The two quickly got themselves together and left the house. At this point, Al had gotten used to the rush of emotions that he experienced when stepping out onto the street. He spent most of his life putting up with frequent mood swings that he had no control over. He had survived this long, so surely he could handle going back into society again. At least, he tried to convince himself that he could. It was like having an extremely weak immune system, where he caught every pathogen from the people around him, except the contagious diseases in this case were emotions, and everyone had those at all times, whether they were really aware of it or not.

Yui took a deep breath as they walked along the sidewalk. He felt a lot better now that he was outside. Although the polluted city air wasn’t the freshest, it was still better than being in that stuffy room. Yui couldn’t tell why that room suddenly made him feel ill. It felt like it wasn’t just physical either. He woke up feeling sad and scared. He knew he must have had some sort of nightmare, but something about his surroundings made those feelings linger. As he exhaled his breath, he tried not to think of it.

“Any better?” Al asked.

“Loads,” Yui replied. Okay, so maybe his mind was dwelling on it a bit, but at least he physically felt better.

“You might be a bit shaken up from last night,” Al observed.

“Could be,” Yui shrugged. That didn’t feel likely to be the cause, if the bedroom made him uneasy. Don’t dwell on it, he told himself.

Before long, they arrived at the café. It was bustling a bit more than before, but the people inside were in a good mood, so it wasn’t too bad for Al. The same barista was at the counter again, but this time, she didn’t jump when she saw Al. 

“Welcome,” she said, serenely, with a tilt of her head that made her brown ponytail swing back and forth. “What can I get you guys?”

“Hi, Nina,” Yui said casually. “You look like you’re feeling well.”

“Never better!” She beamed. Her teeth sparkled white against her light brown skin.

Al looked from Yui to the barista. He looked at her apron. She wasn’t wearing a name tag. “You’re on a first name basis with her now?” he whispered to Yui.

Yui gave Al a sidelong glance and a smile. “Last night,” he said, simply.

Al thought for a second, as he remembered what Yui was doing the night before. He felt his face get warm as he looked down at his black laceless boots. While Al seemed temporarily incapacitated, Yui ordered himself a breakfast sandwich and a hot chocolate. He turned to Al and said “you’re up.”

Al broke out of his trance and ordered himself a sandwich with English breakfast tea. They sat down at the same table as before, in the middle of the café. 

“You seem like you’re getting more comfortable,” Yui noted, after they took a couple bites of their hot sandwiches.

Al’s mouth was full, but he raised his eyebrows to express that he wasn’t sure in what way Yui meant.

“There’s a lotta people here,” Yui said with a wave, gesturing to the full tables around them. “But you seem okay.”

Al swallowed his food. “You think so? I think I’m just getting better at not showing it.”

“Does Nina feel right?” Yui asked, with his mouth full, after having taken another bite.

“She… feels like Anabelle and Mia did, yeah.” Al wasn’t quite sure that this was “right”, but he didn’t voice that aloud. 

“I’m glad!” Yui exclaimed, not sensing Al’s disturbance.

Al took a sip of his tea. Part of him wanted to ask Yui what exactly he did to those girls to make them in a permanent state of serenity like this, but… he wasn’t one to ask about someone’s sex life. Even if they weren’t smack in the middle of a public place, he wouldn’t feel comfortable. Even when he was young, he was too prudish to talk about such things.

Al was in a trance again, so it took him a moment to realize Yui was staring at his chest rather intently. “Something wrong?” Al asked. He felt the need to close his coat, which he never bothered buttoning.

“Oh, uh,” Yui seemed taken aback. Al thought he saw a tiny bit of pink on his cheeks, as though he had been doing something embarrassing. “I was just thinkin’ we should get you some new clothes. That’s the only outfit you have with you, right?”

“Oh,” Al remembered. “Yeah.”

“We should go get you some clothes after this!” Yui suggested.

“Sounds like a good idea.” Al smiled. The mood in the room was contagious. Even though he couldn’t literally feel Yui’s feelings, he was happy to see that the boy was feeling better than he had that morning. Before long, they finished their food and drinks, and they made their way to the clothing store.

After looking in a couple shop windows, Yui dragged Al into a place called Unique Boutique, which had lots of extravagant street fashion. “Isn’t this more your kind of thing?” Al asked, gruffly, as he looked up at the gaudy, multi-belted leather and spandex clothing on the walls. Some of it made him wonder if this was a sex shop. His eyes lingered on a full-body catsuit with the sides slit open. Where would someone wear that? He wondered to himself, as he gave the outfit the same exasperated look that he often directed at Yui.

“Jackpot!” Yui exclaimed, as he spotted something in the back of the store and ran to it.

“Don’t tell me you found the sex toys,” Al groaned. He was afraid to let his eyes follow where Yui had run to.

“No, no, look!” Yui sounded like a kid in a candy shop. He grabbed something black off of a rack, and Al slowly proceeded forward, to reluctantly see what the fuss was about.

Yui held up a large black shirt with long, puffy sleeves ending in ruffles at the wrists. The collar had matching ruffles, and in the center was a huge black lace jabot. It looked like something straight out of a historical drama. Al loved it.

“Whadda you think?” Yui beamed.

Al looked at the floor. “I couldn’t wear that anywhere.”

“Nonsense,” Yui protested. “I’m sure you’d find somewhere to wear it! You could even wear it around the house! Who cares if it’s fancy?”

“…I don’t have much money,” Al said, meekly. “Or a job.”

“Yeah, ya do,” Yui disagreed. “Remember? I hired you last night.”

Al scrunched his face.

“I’ll pay you half of my earnings,” Yui said, as though that were nothing.

“What?!” Al growled. “Hell no! You’re the one working!”

“But if I don’t have a bodyguard, I won’t be able to work!” Yui expressed, “you’re a necessity!”

Al grunted and folded his arms.

“C’mon, I wanna see you in it,” he said, playfully, as he got real close to Al and held the shirt against him. “It’s on sale,” he added in a sing-song voice.

“I’ll… try it on,” Al acquiesced.

“Yes!” Yui did a little fist-pump.

“Where’s the dressing room?” Al asked, without looking around. He didn’t feel like looking at all the dominatrix outfits on the walls.

“Looks like it’s right over here,” Yui said. He tugged Al’s sleeve and brought him to the dressing room.

Al went in, closed the curtain, and changed his shirt. Yui waited impatiently outside. He bit his lip in anticipation. Al stepped out, and Yui looked at him in awe.

Al held his hair back, so the ruffles would be fully visible. It gave the illusion of his hair being tied in a low ponytail. He looked to the side. He was nervous yet happy at the same time. 

Yui observed the way the cloth flowed over his form. The loose, elegant black attire went so well with his sharp, pale aquiline profile. He looked like something fantastical. Like a vampire who lived in a gothic castle and drank blood out of a wine glass while sitting on an ornate throne. “Does it look okay?” Al asked.

“You kidding?” Yui asked in disbelief. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest. “You look hot!”

Al hadn’t been called hot in a very long time, and he certainly hadn’t expected it from someone less than half his age. His porcelain white face turned a pretty shade of pink. “Thanks,” his voice seemed to get caught in his throat. “I… guess I’ll get it, then,” he muttered.

“Yay!” Yui literally jumped for joy.

Al shyly retreated back behind the curtain. “But I still have to buy some real clothes,” he added, as he got dressed.

“No problem,” Yui replied. He had a big smile on his face while Al was in the dressing room. 

They brought the shirt up to the register, and Yui took a wad of bills out of his pocket. He started counting them. “Here you go,” he said, as he handed Al $75.

“You sure?”

Yui nodded vehemently.

“O…kay,” Al said, hesitantly. He took $30 from it and handed it to the cashier. Al felt a little funny accepting money from someone so much younger than him. Running to meet Yui last night didn’t feel like work. He did it because he was worried about him, so he didn’t feel like he deserved the money.

They found a store with more normal clothes. Al got another black shirt and pants, along with underwear and socks. He was reminded that $75 didn’t go a long way when it came to clothing, but he just barely had enough.