Libertà - Chaper 2

 

 

2

 

            It was often said that you could tell a lot about a person just by seeing their bedroom. Now that he stepped into it, Ran realized that as many times as he’d been over to Mario’s home, he’d never set foot in the boy’s room before. The first thing his eyes fell upon, was of course the boy himself. Mario sat curled up on his bed, enraptured in a book. Those blue eyes, brighter than Ran’s own scanned over the pages of the novel. Mario seemed completely lost in the world the author had created. So, as he hadn’t been noticed yet, Ran allowed his eye eyes to wander.

 

            A small synthesizer sat against the wall next to where the brunette stood. The teen felt his curiosity peeked as he gazed at the machine. There was another surprise. He hadn’t even known that Mario played anything. It looked like it was new, yet the sheet music set out before the keys showed that Mario had recently been playing. There wasn’t a single scrap of dirty clothing on the floor, and everything that sat on the blonde’s desk was organized. It was almost strange for a teenage boy to be so clean! There weren’t even any posters on the pale blue walls.

 

            A tiny mew reached Ran’s ears, a small kitten scampering out from under the bed. The tiny white one’s dual colored eyes seemed to light up when she spotted the nekojin.

 

            “Hey there, Nia!”

 

            Mario jumped, nearly dropping his book when he heard the other boy’s voice. “A-ah, Ran?” Confusion clouded in his eyes as he watched his friend kneel down to pick up the kitten. “What...?"

 

            “Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you.” Figured, he accidentally did what Cyn asked him not to do. “Cyn said it was alright if we spent the night. You mind?”

 

            The other shook his head, hesitating before he marked the top of the page he was reading and closing it. He didn’t like dog-earing the pages, but at the moment he had misplaced his bookmark. “Is everything okay?”

 

            “Just the grandparents being b*****s as usual,” Ran admitted with a shrug. “But, I don’t really wanna talk about it. How are you doing?”

 

            Ryu peeked into the room before she walked in, moving to sit on her brother’s shoulders while he knelt. The boy gave a yelp, nearly falling onto his face and would have had he not caught himself with one hand. The girl crossed her legs, sitting there as if it was a completely normal thing to do.

 

            “How are you, Mario?” She asked.

 

            The younger one held back a laugh, reaching to cover his lips. “F-fine. And you?”

 

            “Alright, I guess.” Ryu looked around lazily, giving a small ‘hmm.’ “I think this is the first time we’ve ever been in your room before,” She admitted. “It’s a lot neater than ours is.”

 

            “That’s for sure,” Ran agreed, putting Nia down as he spoke. He didn’t want to risk falling on top of the kitten should his sister become too heavy. The twins didn’t have actual hampers. So most of the time, they just threw their dirty clothes on the floor. Their walls were covered in anime posters, or at least the parts of the walls they could actually get to. Their grandmother’s collections even spanned into the siblings’ room. All of the shared books and DVDs they owned were all piled into one bookshelf, the shelves themselves full from side to side as well as top to bottom from the stacks.

 

            “Are either of you hungry?” Mario asked softly. “Cyn and I already ate, but there’s lots of dinner left over, if you’d like.” Even when the woman worked night shifts at the hospital, she always tried to have at least one meal with the boy a day. With both his schooling and her work, they didn’t have a lot of time together. Cyn wanted to make sure Mario knew she would always be there for him, even if it was in little ways like eating meals with him.

 

            At the mention of a home cooked meal, Ran and Ryu both seemed interested. If it wasn’t one of the concoctions their grandfather liked to make, it had to be good! Yay for decent food!

 

*   *   *

 

            What a night. A delicious dinner, a nice hot shower, getting to spend time with who Ran considered his best friend, and now they got to sleep in a warm comfortable bed. He did feel bad that he and his sister had taken Mario’s bed from him, but the younger boy absolutely insisted. They were the guests, and as such they got to sleep there. The other had made himself a little set up on the couch after making sure the twins would be comfortable in his room.

 

            Ryu had managed to fall asleep early while Ran had stayed up to spend more time with Mario, yet eventually both boys grew tired as well. As the brunette snuggled into the sheets beside his sister, he couldn’t help but dwell on how nice it had been to stay there. Everything they had done at Cyn’s apartment was so simple, yet so pleasant. Why couldn’t life be like that at home? Then again, could he really call his grandparent’s house his home? If the saying “Home is where the heart is” was true, then that wasn’t anything like home. It just happened to be the place they were staying at.

 

            Closing his eyes, Ran took in the sweet scent against the pillow; Mario’s scent. How could one smell be so oddly calming? The boy found himself cuddling with the pillow, curling around it slightly. Why did he feel so strange? Just that smell alone made his stomach do an odd summersault inside of him. He tried to push it away, yet every time the teen inhaled, there was that feeling again. His heart seemed to have sped up, and there was a burning heat against the brunette’s cheeks. Ran’s legs squeezed together as he felt the odd cramping sensation between them. Feeling in a daze, he allowed one of his hands to move downward. Yet just before it was about to reach it’s goal, Ran’s eyes went wide as realization hit him.

 

            Before he could stop himself, the boy sat up quickly to chuck the pillow across the room. Had he just been about to….Right next to his sister?! In Mario’s bed?! Ran growled at himself, reaching up to slap at his own cheeks.

 

            “I don’t wanna be a creeper!” He whimpered. Ran felt so dirty now! He’d been about to touch himself while smelling his best friend’s pillow. “What the hell’s wrong with me?”

 

            Ryu groaned, shifting before she slowly opened her eyes to look up at Ran. “Whassa matter?” She slurred.

 

            “Oh, n-nothing,” Ran answered quickly. “It’s nothing. Go back to sleep.”

 

            He didn’t have to tell her twice. The girl didn’t even finish rolling over before she was out cold. The teen gave a groan of his own as he fell back against the bed. The pillow stayed where it was on the other side of the room as Ran forced himself to sleep. All he would have to say in the morning was, thank God it was a dreamless sleep. He didn’t know what he would do if his sister or even worse, Mario himself heard the nekojin moaning out the younger one’s name. The thought alone made him shiver.

 

            Ran wasn’t sure what time he awoke later that night. All he knew was that it was a crash that had awakened him. It was like someone had come into the room and dropped something before rushing out. The boy’s eyes barely opened before they fell closed once more. He didn’t know what it was, and for that matter he didn’t really care. He had just been about to fall back into sleep’s grasp when another sound reached his ears. Soft music began to flow through the air, and it was a song he knew. Its name eluded him in his dazed, sleepy state. In his quest to search his brain for the title of the sweet piece of music, the brunette managed to rouse himself completely.

 

            Moonlight Sonata. That was the name! But who was playing it? Ran glanced down to his sister, amused to see her still dead asleep. She didn’t even seem to have heard it. The girl could sleep through earthquakes, and in fact had a couple times when they were younger. Slipping out of the bed, he made sure the covers were still around her before the boy made his way to the door to look outside. White light made its way down the hallway, the soft music growing louder the closer he grew. What amazed Ran the most about it was that he could feel the emotion in the song. It was so sad, yet so beautiful, as if the person playing it was about to burst into tears.

 

            Yet even with the sadness of the song, the sight before Ran’s eyes took his breath away. There sat Mario, using one of the dining room chairs to play his synthesizer. The notes rang crystal clear as the boy played with his eyes closed; the rays of moon light shimmered against the younger one’s creamy golden locks. His movements were graceful and precise. His posture was straight and elegant. Ran honestly didn’t think he’d ever seen anything or anyone so beautiful in his life. It was like some sort of scene straight out of the movies. Yet, he was convinced that even movies wouldn’t have looked this wonderful.

 

            Mario suddenly stopped, his eyes fluttering open to look at Ran in surprise. As that gaze fell upon him, the brunette felt his heart skip a beat. “R-Ran.” The boy pulled his hands away from the instrument rather quickly, pulling them close to his chest to rub them together. “I’m sorry. D-Did I wake you?”

 

            The elder one opened his mouth to speak, but found that no words would come out. Why, he wasn’t sure. It seemed his voice had left him. The teen shook his head, offering Mario an affectionate smile. Rather than turning to go back to bed, he stepped forward to pull a second chair beside the younger boy.

 

            “Keep playing,” he whispered, taking a seat.

 

            At first, Mario didn’t move. However, soon enough he allowed his hands to move back to the instrument. Slender digits once more began to dance against the ivory colored keys before him. Bright blue hues once more fluttered closed, and the boy seemed to lose himself completely in the music. It flowed through him, becoming part of his very soul before it floated on to wrap itself around Ran. The song itself was still sad. Nonetheless as Mario played it felt as if it grew warm. How music could feel warm, Ran wasn’t really sure. All he knew was it did indeed feel that way. It was sweet and inviting, much like the person playing it. He was actually sad when the song ended. The last note drifted into the air before it faded away to silence.

 

            Neither of them spoke for what felt like a long time. Ran’s gaze met Mario’s own, and in that moment he felt the strongest urge he could ever remember having. He wanted to kiss the younger boy. Mario’s lips looked so sweet and soft. Ran’s better judgment fought with his emotions and eventually won the battle. He tried to tell himself that what he was feeling wasn’t real. It was just hormones. It had to be! The brunette cleared his throat, forcing himself to speak.

 

            “What are you doing awake?”

 

            “I…” Mario hesitated, lowering his gaze into his own lap as he fiddled with his hands. “I had a nightmare,” He admitted. “I couldn’t sleep. So I wanted to play.” Playing his ‘piano’ always made him feel better.

 

            “A nightmare?” No wonder Mario had picked a sad song to play. He was getting out the emotions he’d felt in his dream. The elder one’s expression softened as he watched the blond; a smile making its way into his features. “Silly,” he cooed. “You could have come to lay down with us if you wanted to.”

 

            “Hmm?” Again, the other boy seemed surprised. Not only was Cyn being so kind to him, but Ran and Ryu as well. After what he had been through, Mario was still finding it hard to believe that he had found such wonderful people to be around. It felt as though one day he was going to awaken to find himself still in that hell house with the woman he was so sure was a devil. It felt as though everything in his life at that moment was a dream. Even still, he shook his head. “I-I couldn’t do that. I’d take up too much of your space,” he said shyly.

 

            “Mario, it’s your bed,” Ran reminded him. Nervously he reached to take the smaller one’s hand, pulling Mario up with him as he stood. “Come on. Let’s go to sleep.”

 

            The other’s cheeks lit up brilliantly in the dark room, the boy’s gaze again falling to the ground as he followed along. Ran climbed into the bed first, pushing his sister further along the cushy mattress. The girl rolled obediently in her sleep, clinging to the nearest pillow. Mario picked up the pillow that had found its way across the room, bringing it to the bed to lie down on. However as Ran spotted the fluffy thing, he felt his own cheeks flush a dark shade of crimson. He cleared his throat again, willing the color to go away before he held the blanket up to let Mario crawl under it.

 

            “Good night,” Mario whispered.

 

            “Night,” Ran whispered in return. He watched silently as Mario snuggled against the evil pillow, the boy seeming to fall right to sleep. The elder one shot the pillow itself a glare before he smiled to Mario. It made him feel good to have helped the younger one feel better.