Chapter 21 - Drop

Iris

+--

Valkyre stirred his hand in the water, testing. Warm enough. The building from Maeve was a nice one, still in order though it'd been abandoned for a good while now. The heated water was a blessing.
"Iris." Valkyre called, softly but loud enough for the boy to hear, who appeared with his bare feet shuffling on the slightly stained linoleum floor. The hunter rose to his feet, sighing. "You should have a bath," he commented, unable to resist reaching out and running his fingers through the boy's hair again. "The water's ready, and I-I'll see if I have any clothes you could use for a while."
Valkyre lowered his hand, lightly touching the backs of his fingers to the bat tattoo on the boy's skin. He still didn't like it being there. "...Uh, well, go ahead, okay? I'll go get the clothes..." Valkyre trailed off and stepped out of the bathroom quickly, shivering at the change from the steamy, hot room to the cooler air of the rest of the interior of the building. The angel rummaged around and managed to find a pair of black pants and a slightly stained sleeveless white shirt. It would have to do, though the pants would probably be a bit too large.
His bag was almost empty by now. They'd eaten already, finishing off most of the food he'd had left. They would have to get more soon.
The angel peeked back inside the steamy bathroom, pushing the bundle of clothes and a spare towel onto the sink top. Iris was a hunched-up form turned light gray through the foggy steam, arms wrapped around his knees. "...Uh, make sure you wash well, okay? The clothes are right here..."
Valkyre tried to give a reassuring smile when Iris turned to look at him as he made to leave.
"...Wait." The angel stopped, wincing slightly. The boy's eyes were cloudy, looking scared, hurt. "...Don't leave me..."
Valkyre looked away, coughing slightly. "Uh... I-It's just a bath, you'll be fine, I"-
"Valkyre."
Iris' face was hidden in his knees, hunched over. The hunter immediately felt regretful for whatever it was that'd made the boy so scared, and he let out a small sigh of exasperation as he stepped inside, closing the door behind him. "You, uh, want me to...?" he trailed off, mentally cursing himself for being such of a soft-hearted, bumbling idiot.
Iris didn't reply, still curled up. Valkyre gave up; he'd need a bath sooner or later, so he might as well. The hunter undressed quickly and folded up his clothes in a neat pile, then eased himself slowly into the warm water behind the boy. Iris looked back at him, and there was a small smile of relief on his face. The angel blushed, awkwardly shifting around a bit, uncomfortable at being so close. Iris' back clearly showed the small rise of the spine down the center, paralleled with the two faded scars of the impossible wings. The boy's shoulder blades were also clearly defined on the alabaster-white skin over which the tangles of his silvery hair fell.
The hunter reached over and ran his fingers through the boy's hair, damp at the ends. Valkyre was startled at first as Iris leaned back against him, but the warm water was soothing on both his weary body and his jarred nerves, and he found himself relaxing. He picked up a small bottle of soap, easing down Iris' head towards the water to wet the rest of the hair before he set himself to washing it out. The suds built up quickly, letting out a lightly perfumed scent like mint and vanilla, cleansing and gentle.
The boy remained quiet during it all, but his face seemed almost peaceful when Valkyre snatched a glance; eyes closed, expression relaxed, mouth slightly agape in what could've just been a sigh, or could've possibly been a smile.
The angel grinned to himself as he worked the bubbly foam through Iris' hair, feeling the boy's warm body pressed against him, soft and delicate, unmarred.
"...Hey."
The boy blinked open his eyes, turning his head to look at the angel. "...You're okay, aren't you?" Valkyre knew he was only asking it again, but the worry wouldn't completely leave him, and he sought the reassurance to try and ease away the guilt. Iris nodded just faintly.
Valkyre sighed, rinsing out the last of the soapy suds from the boy's hair, which, under the water, had been an even brighter and glossy silver. The hunter sighed, then tentatively put a hand on the boy's shoulder, smiling briefly as he felt the boy's small, warmed fingers wrap around his own.
"Iris... Can you... can you tell me what happened back there?"
The fingers squeezed at his, then slid away. Iris kept his back turned, not saying anything. Valkyre frowned, gently rubbing the boy's shoulder. "...Please? Can you tell me?"
The hunter drew his hand back slowly as Iris curled up on himself, wrapping his arms around his kneecaps, hunched over. Valkyre felt a pang of guilt seeing the boy like that, pulling back his hand and running his fingers over the tattoos on his own skin. The dark markings looked like they'd seeped out of his veins, black blood twisting into shapes, slowly stealing over his body.
He was almost too caught up in his own thoughts to realize that the boy was murmuring softly, in a faint, breathy voice he almost couldn't hear.
"...He was there... he saw me..."
"...What?"
Valkyre shifted closer, water sloshing around, licking at his torso but leaving him feeling cold and washed-up. Iris was still hunched over, and he noticed now that the boy was trembling.
"...The lab... from the labs... he saw me..."
"...Who?"
Valkyre dipped his fingers in the lukewarm water, rubbing the boy's side gently, and then his hunched shoulders, seeking to soothe the tensed, quivering muscles there. Iris wasn't responding.
The hunter sighed, then leaned over and draped his arms over the boy's shoulders, pulling him back slowly, gently, and pressing his lips softly to the boy's water-logged, silvery hair. He didn't know why he did it, but whenever Iris was hurt or sad, this was the only way he knew to try and bring him back from the edge he crawled ever closer to. Valkyre found words meaningless to this boy, and all he had left was touch, was feeling coming from deep inside, threatening to overwhelm and spill out. He held on to the boy tightly, pressing more light kisses along the boy's shoulder, neck, and ear. Iris' trembling slowly ceased, and the boy leaned back slightly into his touch, sighing softly.
"...He was... from the labs?" Valkyre brushed the boy's hair from his face, delicately touching the dry cheeks and brushing against the quivering, butterfly fluttering eyelashes. "...Iris, listen, please."
The boy opened his eyes briefly, emotionless again and mottled gray. He closed them again, nodding faintly. The water around them was still warm and steamy, but he remained colorless, untouched, skin gaining no pinker shade that hinted at crimson blood and beating life in his body.
"...What happened... I was careless. I-I'm sorry. I am. And I promise... I promise I won't let it happen again. I promise I won't leave you." It didn't matter if it was from the 'labs' he kept hearing, or the state; he'd decided to make sure that Iris was never hurt again. The incident had brought upon Valkyre the startling knowledge of just how much he needed the boy; without Iris, he'd been afraid, he'd been furious, he'd been worried and confused and hurt. He couldn't stand losing him again.
Valkyre wrapped his arms tighter around the boy, blinking open his eyes to see the soft stone gray looking back at him, wordlessly. "...Do you believe me?"
Iris smiled, making Valkyre's heart melt. He smiled back, seeing the faint, quick nod of the boy's head, the gray eyes roving and Iris' fingers brushing against the tattoos along his arm. The angel stopped, stiffening. The boy remained oblivious, small, wet fingertips tracing along the swirls and arches and tiny spikes, leaving a warm, drying trail of water on the other's arm.
Valkyre shifted uneasily, turning his eyes away. He had given himself those tattoos, caught in an almost mindless sense of emptiness as he'd worked the ink onto his skin, but it didn't mean that he liked them. He hated them, hated himself for having been so weak and so dark, so trapped within himself and unable to run, to turn and escape.
"Valkyre."
The angel blinked, turning to look at the boy.
Iris leaned up gently and kissed him.
Amethyst eyes snapped open. Valkyre was startled beyond words, beyond expression. He did nothing as he felt the small, hot mouth against his own, slick tongue pressing between his lips, one thin and frail arm wrapped around his neck. Iris' eyes were closed, peaceful, body tipped to bend up towards him.
Valkyre let his lips slide apart, and he closed his eyes as well. The feeling was something soft and sensual, completely seperating him from the lukewarm water and the steamy air, leaving him in a cold, empty vacuum filled only with this one tiny touch of mouth on mouth, this miniscule embrace that cancelled out the void, cancelled out eternity.
The boy was sweet, tasting like dewdrops hanging between laden blades of grass on invisible strands of spider silk, like pure and crystalline honey the golden amber of tree sap, like the scent of the night-blooming jasmines backset by the crescent, waxing moon. It was a slow, spinning descent into velvet darkness, milky smooth and endless, beautiful, burning and whirlwind strong, lifting him from the press of humanity on the cold earth, letting him spread dusky-pure, true wings and sift through the echoes in the wind that eased him into the air.
Valkyre felt Iris break away from him, part of lips bringing him back to the slowly cooling room and the harsh stone and steel of the city, leaving him cold and washed clean, empty.
He let out a ragged breath, too stunned to speak. Iris only smiled.

+--

AN: Chapter 21, officially tying this up with Nocte. :) But this'll be going further! A-And I still think it's good!! ^_^-
First kiss, too. Gawd that took a while, eh? So sorry. Hope it was a good one. :3
[My writing seems a bit different, I blame it 'cuz I took a break between writing this and reading 'Dangerous Angels' by Francesca Lia Block, I swear, she's one of the best authoresses ever... gawd...]
Well, anyways. A [haha] 'steamy' chapter, 'cuz we can have bishies, but they've got to be hygenic, eh? ... ...I sure hope so. o_O
Another note... With all of the updates, you guys are all completely caught up with the chapters that I've done. This ch. was fresh off my comp., unlike the older chapters that I finished earlier [probably 'cuz they were so short ^^;] So please be patient, I'll try to get up as many updates, but there's always school and all... Okay?? Also, I've got a little one-shotty stuck in my head, so let me write that down first. :3
Thanks for all of the commenters, I've got a sudden boost so now there's 5 continual, dependable commenters! Thank you all! Ohmigosh! I'm so happy!!! [was on the verge of tears earlier]
Oh, and something that I'd like to know... Would you guys prefer if I gave the chapters one-word titles or somesuch? I'm reading over some of the chapters of Iris, and I get confused myself on what's what and when, so would titles with one word [like with Nocte] be more helpful to you all?? I'll do that if you guys don't mind, 'cuz it bugs me too now. Numbers can get dull. :3
Thank you all very much for the comments!!! I promise to always continue with Iris!! ::bows furiously::

You are not authorized to comment here. Your must be registered and logged in to comment