L'Arc en Ciel fanfiction .::. Working the Streets

Episode 2 ~Santa??~

"I... I... think the bump on my head really affected me..." Tetsu mumbled staring at Hyde. His eyes so wide it almost hurt.
"Oh? Really? Well, I'll walk you to hospital, then..." Hyde said staring back at Tetsu in preoccupation.
"...Affected my hearing..."
"I said I'd walk you to hospital!" Hyde screamed getting closer to Tetsu.
"No... I heard that all right... but right before... I'd have sworn, please don't be offended... I'd have sworn you said you are a whore."
"Oh." Hyde blinked and after a couple seconds he laughed "Oh, well, I am."
"No... way..." Tetsu said right before gaping.
"Yeah, I'm a whore. A child-whore. There's a hungry market out there, and I milk it... hehehe... literally."
"You... you...? You sleep with people for money?" Tetsu rattled aghast, pointing at Hyde in shock.
"Well... they don't let me sleep much while we are at it... hehehe... besides sleep... I can do it on the bed, on the floor, standing, against a wall, or whatever... You see, I've been in the business for almost two years now. I have a wide array of tricks... hehehe... I'm an expert."
"I think I must be hallucinating..." Tetsu said hitting his forehead lightly with the palm of his right hand.
"Hontou? Sugoi! What do you see...? Ne, ne... What do you see?" Hyde asked eagerly.
"It's not what I see, but rather what I hear..."
"Ya hear things?! Sugoi!! Whad d'ya hear?!" Hyde asked in over-excitement.
"Uh... I hear you talking like a whore..."
"Oh. Jerk. I'm talking like a whore. Cuz I'm a whore. Well, anyway. Come on over." Hyde said laughing and pulled from Tetsu's arm, almost dragging him along.
"How come you are a whore?! You are too young, and you are a boy!" Tetsu protested aghast. "And mind that arm, it hurts..."
"All the more reason. I get paid a shit-load. Your arm hurts? You gotta get it checked..."
"What do your parents say? Do they know about this?! My arm's gonna be OK, don't worry."
"Uh... Maybe they do... if you believe in dead people watching over the living..." Hyde shrugged. "I don't believe shit, so I dunno."
Tetsu swallowed for a moment. "Are your parents dead?" He asked tentatively.
"Yeah. You almost joined them a while back. Yeah, they are dead. The deadest people in the world. They died years ago." Hyde answered distractedly and then cursed at some passer-by for some reason only he knew.
"And you are a whore cuz you were left alone?" Tetsu kept asking and trying to make some sense out of the story.
"No, I wasn't left alone... I was left under the care of my uncle..." Hyde replied and dragged Tetsu by pulling from his clothes.
"Oh... Your uncle knows about your... hmm... occupation?" Tetsu walked being dragged and trying not to stumble.
"I don't know. I haven't seen him in about two years..."
"You ran away from home?"
"Hey! What's with the fucking quiz? Who are you? A cop? Undercover cop?"
"No. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rude..."
"Un... OK." Hyde mumbled staring at Tetsu for a brief moment with suspicion.
A long pause ensued and both boys walked a couple blocks in utter silence under the snow.
"Yeah... I ran away from home." Hyde muttered suddenly breaking the silence.
"Oh... I see..."
"How about you? How come you became a beggar? It's not such a wise career move, you know?"
"Yeah, I know. But it's better than being... a whore, for example..." Tetsu said and shrugged.
"Haha... Very funny. Dead-boy thinks he can pull out sarcasm. Listen, that's what you think. I never passed out on the street from famine and cold..."
Tetsu rolled his eyes for an answer. "I ran away from home too..." he mumbled.
"Oh... We are two runaways, ne?" Hyde said patting on Tetsu's back. "How long, dead-boy?"
"About a year now... Been begging for six months or eight..."
"I see. You're a newbie... You probably kinda expect them to come looking for you, right? Well, let me be the one to defile your fantasy. They won't."
"I know that." Tetsu sighed.
"Your face won't appear on milk cartons..." Hyde said narrowing his eyes and poking his finger on Tetsu's chest.
"I know..." Tetsu sighed again.
"You won't become famous among milk lovers..."
"I know, I know..."
"Go back home. You are too frail, you'll never make it on the streets." Hyde spat.
"I won't. I'd rather die of hunger than..." Tetsu stopped for a second.
"...than...?"
"Nothing. Forget it."
Hyde stared at Tetsu with curiosity. He observed how the young beggar, about 10 centimeters taller than him, rubbed his hands against each other.
Hyde suddenly felt guilty... "Are your hands cold, Tetsu-kun?" he asked softly.
"Yeah... kinda... but it's OK, don't worry." Tetsu answered smiling.
"Uh... I'll lend you my gloves... I can keep my hands inside my pockets." Hyde offered taking off his gloves and smiling sweetly. He was indeed a cute child.
"Ah... You shouldn't..."
"There. Wear them, Tetsu." Hyde said putting the gloves on Tetsu's hands.
"Ah... ah... arigatou..."
"Uh-huh... let's hurry... the snow is getting heavier. Hey, by the way, got a cig?"
"Huh?"
"Cigarette?" Hyde snapped matter of factly.
"Oh... come on, no! I'm only 13..."
"Well... at your age... I had already been smoking for about six months..." Hyde shrugged. "Only I can't when I have a client, cuz, you know... I can't smell of tobacco..."
"Tobacco is not good for you, Haido-kun. You are too young to..."
"Yeah, yeah, right... I'm also too young to be fucking around, yet I'm doing it. Don't lecture me, dead-beggar-boy."
"You are quite of a character..." Tetsu observed staring at Hyde as they walked.
"Nah... I'm the next-door type. Only difference is I'm a whore."
"Uh... I see..."

"Sa... This is my home. Twentieth floor, ikuso." Hyde exclaimed and taking Tetsu's hand he ran into the lobby.
They reached the elevator and went up. Hyde whistled an old, corny song rubbing his hands and checking his looks on the elevator mirror. Tetsu stared at him without leaving his perplexed state. He expected a miracle, OK... but this was kind of a weird one...

Hyde opened the apartment door and turned on the light.
"You can take a shower there." Hyde said pointing at a semi-open door. "I'll lend you clean clothes and I'll cook some ramen for both of us."
"You are very kind, Haido-kun..." Tetsu said politely and bowed in front of Hyde.
"Ah, no problem. I thought I'd spend Christmas at a warm home, eating the best delicacies in international cuisine, listening to daiku and fucking until my ass fell off me... Now because of you I gotta stay at home alone, so... I guess it's better to have someone to harass and talk to... Christmas stinks. New Year is worse, though."
"Do you feel lonely, Haido?" Tetsu asked looking at every little corner of the one-room apartment.
"Feh, no big deal..." Hyde said shrugging.
"Well, we'll keep each other company then, ne? We'll watch the American fireworks together." Tetsu smiled broadly.
"Sure. You can see them quite clearly from my window, since this is a high floor, ne... I'm sure it's gonna be great." Hyde said and started undressing behind Tetsu's back, who was watching everything in the apartment in awe.
"I so appreciate this, Haido-kun." Tetsu said happily. The place was warm, and it looked safe and cozy. A little too full of childish objects, maybe... The decoration was nothing short of tacky.
"Well, thank me later. Now... go take a shower. You smell of sewer..."
Tetsu smiled nodding and turned his head.
"I'll get you clean briefs. You must be about my size."
"Thank you---!"
"Yeah, yeah, cut it out with thanking me. By the way, check if you are hurt..."
"Oh, I will..." Tetsu stammered upon catching sight of the scene developing in front of his eyes. Hyde had taken off his clothes to complete nakedness...
"Wha---what are you doing?!"
"Uh? Getting comfy..." Hyde answered matter-of-factly.
"Hey! Wait! You said you are a whore! You probably want sex with me---!"
"Ne... Don't worry, dead-boy. You don't have the money to afford sex with me." Hyde answered nonchalantly, and after kicking his clothes into a heap near the wall, he walked to the small kitchenette and turned on the stove.
"Go take the shower, man. You really stink." Hyde snapped. Tetsu almost had to collect his jaw from the floor before he obeyed.

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