Days passed and Noah was set free from the hospital bed, Maison came to him often. Noah trusted Maison, he was the one who would listen to Noah often. Noah could talk to him about anything, about what has been going on in his head, about Zenix, and about meals that appear at his bedside table. In the days he was bedridden, Noah formed a bond with Maison. A bond much stronger than anything he had before, Maison was his friend, his best friend. Walking to the room he shared with Ben and once Zenix, he stood before the door. Maison looked at the hesitation Noah was displaying with his fingertips that trembled ever so slightly and the tiny display of lip biting. Others wouldn't have noticed, but Maison who had been watching Noah for the last days and nights could see clearly how Noah felt.

He laid a hand on Noah's shoulder, "When worse comes to worse, he might have switched rooms. Or you have new roommates." That didn't make Noah feel any better, because if Ben wasn't behind that door then everything he worked so hard for in his friendship with both of them would be for nothing.

He slowly opened the door, but no one was in it. Looking around he saw that one bed was missing, Zenix's bed. He looked at the corner where Zenix's bed stood in guilt, "They took it just two days after his death." Noah turned around and stood face-to-face with Ben, he had quite a pissed-off face.

Then he displayed a snarky smile, "You were Zenix's friend, not mine, and just because I'm still in a room with you doesn't mean I like you. You stay away from me and I stay away from you, with Zenix dead. It severs all our ties." Ben bumped into Noah's right shoulder with a little more force than needed. Noah couldn't be mad at him, he understood his pain and he understood that he deserved that pain. No one could blame Noah more than he already blamed himself. Then he watched as Ben moved his bed away directly to the place Zenix's bed once stood. A very sad and gloomy atmosphere walked through the room and a respectful silence spread for about five minutes.

"Noah," Maison said into the room, looking at the back of said person. Like woken up from a trance he shot a sad smile at Ben and turned around to walk to Maison. In front of Maison, he just felt like he needed a hug, the need was so strong that Noah just hugged him. Maison was surprised at first but put his arms around Noah. He was going to stay like that until Noah was ready to let go. His face was buried deep between Maison's shoulder and neck. He breathed in the smell of pine and freshly mowed grass, everything around him vanished. With this scent he felt like he wasn't in an apocalypse, but the woods. Lying on the ground, grass and different flowers all around him, but he couldn't smell those. Only the grass and the pine, a smell of nature and peace. The illusion was cut short though, with a slam of the door behind him.

Signaling that they better leave and that Noah only comes back when Ben's asleep.

"I wanted to show you something, but with the slam just now you better sleep in my room. Don't worry it is spacious and we slept together two days already. Sure, you were unconscious, but that doesn't matter, after all, you needed someone on your side and hey there I was on your side," Maison began rambling, but Noah somehow had another picture in his head.

Val was standing in front of his door, flowers in hand. Sunflowers, trying to ask him on a date, but not getting to the point. Just stuttering for five minutes, it was so unlike the confident Val he knew. He chuckled and accepted the flowers, as they went on a date afterward.

Slowly coming back to this world, he smiled softly, "I don't mind, if you don't mind that is." Maison was a little stunned, this soft look in his eyes and the slight quirk of Noah's moth sent him a brain frizz. He began nodding before even saying anything and even ended up saying nothing, just nodding like an idiot. Amused Noah gave him a sigh to show him the way. Maison walked in front of Noah leading him upstairs.

...

In the upper floors of the dojo, Noah looked out a window seeing high buildings with broken windows and a zombie sometimes falling out of them.

"They are pretty suicidal, the funny thing is when you see the same zombie falling out of it just an hour after it already jumped," that voice, he turned his head. Just millimeters away from his face was Jay's cheek, his eyes still focusing on the view he just watched.

Jay slowly leaned back and observed Noah, "Listen, I admit the way I treated you was a bit like fresh meat, that you can fuck with once in a while. Yes, I have been a bit obsessive, but what do you expect? We have been in there for two months, and none of the people I was with were even remotely able to spend a night with little old me." Noah looked at him dead-faced while Jay who was in front of him tried to look really pitiful. With a side eye to Maison, he noticed that Maison looked bored as he listened to his brother.

"Well, I was interested in Zenix, but he told me straight to the face that even if he tried to experiment a bit, he would never in a thousand years choose me. Do you know why? I apparently had too many flings. SOOO~ when you came around all weak looking like that I knew you were a good fuck probably..."

Noah was confused didn't Jay say to him that Zenix was straight?

Maison put a hand on Jay's shoulder as to try and shut him up before he said anything more bullshit that would just make him look worse off than he already was.

Jay looked at the hand and then Maison in his face with scrutiny, "Right, my dear brother. I think it is so funny how you are looking for me the whole time and here you are with Noah. Who by the way was supposed to be mine."

Noah gave the biggest eye roll, as he wanted to speak Maison cut in, "He can very much choose for himself, and the brother thing we already talked about. What I looked for was the brother, who knew what respect meant, who knew how to help others, who knew me and our family. Not you, not an egocentric prick, not a boy who never even heard the word respect and morals."

Slight hurt was in Jay's eyes before it vanished just as quickly, "Fine, take my leftovers. Would have been a boring experience anyway, as Noah is very much a virgin and I don't want to teach him everything." With a smug smile, he walked away and made sure to bump into Maison's shoulder hard.

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Noah shook his head, "Don't worry, he is just behaving like a child that didn't get what he wanted."

He nodded as he looked at the back of his twin brother, "It's just how could my kind and awesome brother turn into someone so.. so.."

"Assholey? Selfcentered? A prick?" Noah tried to help him find words.

Maison shook his head, "No, into someone so in need of attention and with such a self-obsession. He walked far away from the path he once was on, he wanted to be a police officer. Now look at him he looks like the guy mothers tell their daughters to stay away from." Noah looked at the bawled fists of Maison, took one of them in his hands, unbawling them, and pushed his fingers through giving him an encouraging squeeze. Surprised he looked at Noah, who looked at him so cutely and the soft smile on the lips of the other made him have thoughts that linger in his heart.

More like his soul, everything in Maison's body screamed, 'MINE. He is mine... must protect.' His focus on Noah's lips was obvious as Noah shied away, even getting their hands untwined.

Noah even stepped away one space, "You wanted to show me something remember? I am sure it was not a kiss." Heat went into Maison's head, he ducked his head and walked away expecting Noah to follow.

Maison's room was fancy, he had a big bed and two people definitely fit in there. If not even a toddler in between, the luxury of being from the family hit deep.

Maison scratched the back of his head, "I know it's not much, but we could definitely make due."

Noah looked at him like he was joking, "Not much, I had to share my room with two others you have a queen bed. I just hope I won't bother you, I don't know if I have a calm sleep or not. I have never slept with another person before."

Maison nodded absentmindedly, and then the heat that left his face came back, "Really so like never? Like you're really pure huh?"

Confused Noah looked at him, "What do you-" Realisation hit him like a truck, heat also went into his heat so much so that he looked like a big red juicy tomato.

Fumbling with his fingers he looked to the ground, "Well yeah, but I meant like I have never had anyone sleep in my bed. Not at all the things you were thinking about."

Maison looked away embarrassed, "Oh."

'Oh indeed, what is wrong with me? I never had such a reaction to any guy before, why am I so self-conscious around him? Not even Val had such an effect on me or did he? Why can't I remember,' just like that the before embarrassed face, turned into a deep frown. He looked up and saw that Maison was not there anymore, still frowning he walked around, seeing light he walked toward it and saw Maison in front of the mirror washing his face. Thinking that the other probably needed to cool off, Noah walked to the bed and let himself fall right on it. He felt so relaxed, other than his bed this bed was so soft, and his back felt so comfortable. So soft...

...

Maison came out of the bathroom and looked at Noah who was sleeping on his bed, he looked so soft, and his jet-black hair tussled as it lay there. His nose was twitching sometimes, it was like watching a little mouse search for food. With a soft smile he walked to him, he then tried to pick up Noah so then he could position him right. Maison wanted to sleep on this bed too, so he placed him on the right side of the bed. Carefully he tucked Noah in, he watched him for a few seconds before he went out for a walk. He kept in mind what Noah said to his twin brother, that he shouldn't touch Noah as he pleased and don't watch him while he sleeps, it would be creepy. In the hallway he looked out the same window Noah was looking out of before, he watched as zombie after zombie just threw themselves down the building. How there somehow was a pattern after watching, it over and over again. After the third time, they would run on their fourth time, running and then jumping to their demise. When they came back it was just like the first three times, there was one zombie he could recognize it had a bright red shirt on. It was moving to the pattern he counted, again and again. It almost seemed like it wanted to kill itself desperately and after the run up it seemed like it was new to falling out of the building. Something was seriously wrong with those zombies. It was a circle of trying to kill themselves.

A hand was on his shoulder, as he looked back he saw his brother, "It isn't a good idea to watch them do that over and over again. Kind of depressing actually. Listen I wanted to apologize, I don't have beef with you and I don't dislike Noah that much either either. But he said that in front of so many people, they look at me and whisper to themself. Talking about how I would rape people and stalk them, even watching at night. The things I said, I don't mean it. I am just so... so.." Jay struggled to find the right word, as he held a kind of hopelessness in his eyes.

"So stressed? Tense? Nervous?"

Maison tried to help, his brother smiled softly, "More like everything at once, this whole situation is shit. Zenix died, he died and I couldn't be there for him. I shouldn't have talked like that, he and Ben were my first real friends in a while. I always had to pretend before, never anyone I could be myself with, and now one of them is dead." He looked heartbroken his raven black hair fell back and his hand was on his eyes as he looked up.

A deep breath trembling through Jay's body, "It is too late for that, he is dead and there is nothing I could have done to stop it. I never got to tell him that it was not me they were thankful for, I just accepted their friendship. I am such an asshole. I viewed it as a game, even made a bet of how long they needed to realize I was not their guy."

Confused he looked up at his brother, "What are you doing? I never told that anyone, but you make me want to spill it. Something is wrong with you. Same with Noah, he opened up pretty quickly to you. Even though he can act very well, only in front of you all the walls we put up are slowly put down and you're not even saying anything."

Shaking his head Jay backed up until he hit a wall, his face filled with horror, "You have an ability don't you? One that makes people want to tell you everything." Then Jay ran back where he came from, and Maison bit his lips, his eyes had a guilty glint. Turning around he walked to his room, only to stop midway as he saw Noah looking at him with big eyes.

"You have a truth field or something around you? Does it affect yourself sometimes? Is that why you told me about Zenix and Ben when we just met?"

Maison nodded as he walked in front of Noah, "It affects me only if I have strong feelings for that person."

Noah scoffed, "So what does that mean? You were swooning for me as soon as you saw me."

He nodded, as he sent Noah an awkward grin "I told you, you affect me in weird ways."