[Fic] Wanderers
Pairing: Akame
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Home is where the heart is.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. JE owns them all. This was written for fun and no infringement was intended.
A/N: I started writing this for a prompt in the akame mass comment fic thing redux and... kind of continued on. Even if it took me a while to finish. It is hard to resist gypsy!Akame?
Written for lilmatchgirl007, the Michael Phelps of interns (or jinterns aj;dfs) and edited just in time for KAT-TUN's third anniversary ♥
Many thanks to razberrycreme for beta-ing and the bubbling. ♥
They never stayed in one place for too long-a week or two at the most, just enough time for everyone to restock on supplies and wander through which ever city they ended up in, and then they were off. New city, new town. New corners and crooks to explore. Kame loved it, the bustle and murmurs of a new city, the brisk pace and rush of excitement that Kame always enjoyed. Jin didn't as much, Kame knew, though that was mostly because Jin hated to live by anyone's pace but his own-and cities were always rushing towards something.
Their next stop was a large city-Kame wasn't sure what it was called, but it looked like it could be the size of a capital-and they had arrived right in the midst of preparation for a festival. Kame turned and glanced at a napping Jin through the open flap of their caravan. Jin would love the festival, almost enough to tolerate the sticky humidity of the summer nights here. The thought cheered Kame up considerably since a cranky, sweaty Jin meant increasingly impossible demands made on Kame until he-exasperated and annoyed-couldn't resist the urge to throw something at Jin. The last time, Kame had thrown his boot and accidentally hit Jin in the head; he hadn't meant to, and had really been aiming for a shoulder, but the resultant guilt trip hadn't been worth it. Kame had more than once cursed his own conscience, which kept telling him he owed Jin even as Jin gleefully made Kame his slave for that whole week.
Scowling, Kame turned back to his list. They were running out of dried meat and fruit; the only vegetables they'd had were in last night's soup and Kame didn't know when they were stopping again or even if they would. Sometimes they passed by towns and cities, camping just on the outer fringe and resting until the next day. Sometimes they stayed, like now, but nobody knew how the cities were picked. It was random, as far as Kame could see, and while a part of Kame hated the lack of organisation, another part of him enjoyed the freedom.
Kame unbundled one of their packs and frowned. He added soap and razor to the list; he paused for a moment, tapping his chin with the feathered end of his quill, and then added perfume scents. It was summer, and Kame's nose wrinkled at the thought of travelling with a sweat-soaked Jin. Just as he was packing up, Jin came out of the caravan, sleepy-eyed and mellow. His limbs stretched-for miles, Kame thought-in a supple ripple before he made his way towards Kame.
"Kame, what're you doing?" Jin yawned, and then ran one hand through messy dark hair.
"Checking our supplies." Kame pursed his lips, trying not to be distracted even as he noted Jin's sluggish movements from the corner of his eye.
"Why?" Jin asked, though Kame knew Jin was merely asking for the sake of asking and not because he had any desire to know.
"We're running low." A slight trace of annoyance seeped through despite Kame's effect to keep it hidden. Jin had an habit of annoying him for fun, and one of Kame's main objectives in life became stopping Jin before he got started on that potentially fatal path in the first place.
"But we can do that later." Jin crouched down until he was facing Kame. He quickly snatched Kame's quill away, and Kame turned to Jin, frowning.
"Give that back," Kame said, hand reaching for his quill. He stared at Jin and waited, wondering whether he should make a grab for it or wait for Jin to hand it back. Jin was stubborn and selfish, like a small, spoiled boy. He didn't give in, not when he could make Kame give in.
Kame was just as stubborn, but had little patience for immature antics, which was why he usually let Jin have his way. At least that was what he told himself. He really didn't want to think about how easy it was to let Jin charm him into doing what he wanted.
"No." Jin stood up, hands stretched up as high as possible while Kame scowled even harder.
"That's not fair," he said, irritated. Jin was taller, and used it to his advantage frequently.
"I'll give it back," Jin raised an eyebrow and grinned at him with that dumb, stupidly endearing leer, "if you play with me first."
Kame stared at him, arms crossed, and waited.
"I want to go and look at the festival." Jin finally stopped leering and looked at Kame stubbornly.
"It hasn't started yet," Kame said exasperatedly. "There's nothing to see."
"It'll start soon," Jin said defensively. "And I want to look at all the stalls before the crowd gets too big. Being early means we'll be the first there," Jin continued explaining, though at that point Kame didn't entirely understand Jin's reasoning. He shook his head.
"We need to restock before we leave," Kame said firmly. He watched Jin turn inwards, and became wary at the calculating gleam that suddenly appeared.
"But we can do that after." Jin's voice was cajoling now. "You know we'll probably stay even after the festival's over, when everyone's going home and it's not as busy. It'll be easier to get supplies then, ne?"
Kame bit his lip, staring at Jin's hopeful face. The hopeful face that he knew Kame couldn't resist. Sometimes, Kame wondered why he even bothered resisting. It was futile, he knew, and probably a waste of their time. It would be more efficient just to agree to Jin's ideas and then spend all the spare time he had left finishing off his chores, but then Kame remembered one of Jin's previous ideas and sighed. Or, maybe not , he thought.
"Fine," he grumbled, and watched Jin whoot in triumph. "But you have to give back my quill."
Jin just grinned and held out his hand.
***
As soon as they entered the city, Kame was overwhelmed by the noise and people crowding around in preparation for their stalls, overseeing a million and one details; stress and excitement soaked the air, humid and wet and clinging to Kame's skin. He shivered, and Jin tightened his hold on Kame's hand.
"Jin, where are we going?" Kame asked, exasperated when Jin led them aimlessly around this and that, turning until Kame couldn't remember which direction they'd headed for or where they were-or even if they'd reached where Jin had wanted them to go.
Jin shrugged, bright grin lighting up his face, and pulled Kame towards a stall. Cotton candy, sweet apples, and cold fruits dipped in syrup. Kame inhaled the sweet scent and his stomach rumbled in response. Jin tugged Kame forward, leaned down-lips brushing against Kame's ear; long, dark hair caressing Kame's cheek, soft and ticklish, bringing memories of their lazy, heated mornings-and Jin murmured, "I'm hungry."
Kame shivered, hand still entwined with Jin's, while Jin haggled with the stall owner for pineapples. Chilled and sweetened even more by the syrup, they were perfect against the humidity. They wandered east, where the majority of the crowd cramped together. Jin was curious, Kame didn't care, so they wandered up aisle after aisle, drawing closer only when something caught their eye. In Jin's case, anything shiny and foreign, which meant they more often than not ended up buying bright trinkets rather than anything useful. The only reason Kame never made as much of a fuss as he should have was because Jin could charm anyone into anything-including dropping down prices until it was more than a bargain-and because Jin would just pout and sulk otherwise, which meant Kame would waste too many hours of the day coaxing Jin out of his tantrum when he could have been doing something more useful, like fixing the chipped and crooked left wheel of their caravan or mending their clothes.
Kame's fingers were sticky-sweet, the wet chill of the syrup gone. He threw away the stick in a nearby bag and made Jin throw his stick away too. Jin made a face at Kame but did it anyway, and then pulled him towards a fireworks stall.
"We should get a couple," he said, eyes gleaming. If he could, Kame knew he'd be rubbing his hands in glee. "It'll be fun."
It was tempting-really tempting-but Kame couldn't shake off the feeling that something bad would happen if he left Jin alone with fireworks. It didn't help that Jin nearly caught on fire that one time Kame let him boil water.
"Maybe," Kame said, staring at the colourful-and dangerous-pieces on top of the table.
"Come on, it'll be great. We can light it at the camp." Jin looked at the table longingly, one hand reaching forward. Kame debated with himself.
In the end, Kame reluctantly said, "I don't think it's a good idea."
Jin's face fell. He scowled at the ground and kicked at the dirt. "Of course not. It's always a bad idea."
"Jin."
Kame caught his arm just as he had started turning away, but Jin pulled back roughly. He was angry, Kame realised, really angry. It wasn't the usual tantrum or sulk Kame could tease or pull him out off-it was actual anger, low and simmering and dark like Jin's eyes right now.
"I'm not a kid, Kame." Jin wouldn't look at him.
"I know," Kame said. He didn't know why they were having this argument in the first place, but maybe it had been waiting just in the back of Jin's mind for something to set it off. It had been a longer journey this time around with no one but each other for company, with Jin finding more and more childish and nonsensical ways to entertain himself and Kame trying rein back his impatience and temper. He knew he wasn't the best company when stressed. Very few people liked him then.
"Then stop treating me like one," Jin bit out, and shrugged off Kame's hand. "I'll see you back at the camp," he said roughly before he was swallowed up by the crowd, one more stranger in a city of strangers.
Kame drew back his hand slowly and turned away to look at more stalls. He needed a distraction, something to take his mind off the argument and the suppressed anger and hurt just waiting to spill over. Since the time they were twelve and fourteen, huddling inside a worn-down and abandoned warehouse, he was the mature one, the grown up one who took care of them both. He still was.
And maybe if he found something strange and interesting for Jin, their earlier argument would be forgotten and lost under the Jin's short attention span. If nothing else, food always worked too.
***
When Kame arrived at their camp, bundled parcels of fruit and meat held in his arms but no interesting and strange items for Jin to peruse, he paused in front of the sign that hadn't been there when they'd left. A sign made of a plank of wood Kame had thrown away just this morning and ink Kame used to write his lists with. His mouth opened slightly as Kame stared at the crooked, dripping letters.
Entrance fee: 500 yen
And underneath, in smaller writing:
People named Kame have to pay 1000 yen
"Jin," Kame called out, still staring at the sign. He wondered about their earlier argument and how Jin had just proven Kame right.
"What?" Jin popped his head out from behind the flap of their caravan. He stilled and narrowed his eyes. "1000 yen to enter," he said imperiously.
"Jin ," Kame said. "Half of this caravan belongs to me-"
"So." Jin angled his head up so he could stare down at Kame. "I'm in charge now."
The parcels in his arms felt heavy and Kame wanted nothing more than to put them down, but Jin was looking at him challengingly with that stubborn glint in his eyes, and Kame knew if he didn't take care of this now, they would never get any peace.
"Really." Kame casually lifted the bulk in his arms higher. "I guess you won't need these then."
"What are they?" Jin asked when Kame turned and took a few steps forward. "And where are you going?"
Kame lifted an shoulder in a casual shrug. "I thought I'd restock our food supply but since I'm not allowed near my own caravan-"
"Half ," Jin interrupted and then paused.
"-I thought I'd stay with Koki for a while-"
"That bald pervert," Jin hissed.
"-at least until I can afford the entrance fee to my own home," Kame continued and nearly fell when big hands grabbed his shoulders and started pushing him back towards the caravan.
"Half," Jin muttered in a petulant tone from behind him as Kame stumbled forward, mouth quirking up when Jin quickened the pace.
"No entrance fee?" Kame couldn't help but ask when he opened the flap and started piling up the food parcels, back turned towards Jin. He regretted it a moment later when he turned around and Jin was looking at him, narrowed-eyed and smug.
"You can pay it off in other ways."
"Slave again?" Kame inwardly winced, remembering the last time.
"Other kind of slave." Jin grinned, before he wandered over to Kame's personal space. He took hold of Kame's wrists and pulled his arms up and around his neck, until Kame was firmly pressed against him. Jin leaned down, eyes dark and hot, and Kame's heart skipped a beat.
"That kind of slave, huh." Kame managed to say before his mind blanked out in a haze of pleasure and lust, and Jin's soft kisses and perfect hands.
***
Late at night when they were curled around each other under the stars, sweat-slicked and warm, Kame said, "I just like taking care of you."
"I know," Jin said, voice husky and low, and pressed a warm kiss on Kame's shoulder. "You always do-take care of me. I just like arguing."
Kame snorted and tried to hide his smile, burying his face into Jin's neck. "You're such a jerk."
"You're such a-"
Kame reached up and brushed his fingers against Jin's collarbones, bursting out in laughter when Jin pushed him away and held up his hands around his neck protectively.
"You were saying?" Kame asked, raising an eyebrow while Jin glared back.
"I was saying," Jin started angrily but then faltered, staring at Kame with an indescribable look on this face. "You're perfect."
Swallowing hard, Kame pulled Jin back down and kissed him, hands cradling his face. He shivered when a breeze turned the air cold and stars became even brighter, like jewels swallowed up by the dark sky, and the slick heat and touch of their bodies was the only thing he knew.
Every week it was a different city or a different village, a journey and an adventure, and people they had never met, languages they had never spoken though they tried to with their tied tongues and stumbling mouths, but the stars and the earth stayed the same no matter where they went, and they were never alone.
Even though he never had one before and probably didn't know any better, Kame always thought this was what it felt like to have a home.
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Home is where the heart is.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. JE owns them all. This was written for fun and no infringement was intended.
A/N: I started writing this for a prompt in the akame mass comment fic thing redux and... kind of continued on. Even if it took me a while to finish. It is hard to resist gypsy!Akame?
Written for lilmatchgirl007, the Michael Phelps of interns (or jinterns aj;dfs) and edited just in time for KAT-TUN's third anniversary ♥
Many thanks to razberrycreme for beta-ing and the bubbling. ♥
They never stayed in one place for too long-a week or two at the most, just enough time for everyone to restock on supplies and wander through which ever city they ended up in, and then they were off. New city, new town. New corners and crooks to explore. Kame loved it, the bustle and murmurs of a new city, the brisk pace and rush of excitement that Kame always enjoyed. Jin didn't as much, Kame knew, though that was mostly because Jin hated to live by anyone's pace but his own-and cities were always rushing towards something.
Their next stop was a large city-Kame wasn't sure what it was called, but it looked like it could be the size of a capital-and they had arrived right in the midst of preparation for a festival. Kame turned and glanced at a napping Jin through the open flap of their caravan. Jin would love the festival, almost enough to tolerate the sticky humidity of the summer nights here. The thought cheered Kame up considerably since a cranky, sweaty Jin meant increasingly impossible demands made on Kame until he-exasperated and annoyed-couldn't resist the urge to throw something at Jin. The last time, Kame had thrown his boot and accidentally hit Jin in the head; he hadn't meant to, and had really been aiming for a shoulder, but the resultant guilt trip hadn't been worth it. Kame had more than once cursed his own conscience, which kept telling him he owed Jin even as Jin gleefully made Kame his slave for that whole week.
Scowling, Kame turned back to his list. They were running out of dried meat and fruit; the only vegetables they'd had were in last night's soup and Kame didn't know when they were stopping again or even if they would. Sometimes they passed by towns and cities, camping just on the outer fringe and resting until the next day. Sometimes they stayed, like now, but nobody knew how the cities were picked. It was random, as far as Kame could see, and while a part of Kame hated the lack of organisation, another part of him enjoyed the freedom.
Kame unbundled one of their packs and frowned. He added soap and razor to the list; he paused for a moment, tapping his chin with the feathered end of his quill, and then added perfume scents. It was summer, and Kame's nose wrinkled at the thought of travelling with a sweat-soaked Jin. Just as he was packing up, Jin came out of the caravan, sleepy-eyed and mellow. His limbs stretched-for miles, Kame thought-in a supple ripple before he made his way towards Kame.
"Kame, what're you doing?" Jin yawned, and then ran one hand through messy dark hair.
"Checking our supplies." Kame pursed his lips, trying not to be distracted even as he noted Jin's sluggish movements from the corner of his eye.
"Why?" Jin asked, though Kame knew Jin was merely asking for the sake of asking and not because he had any desire to know.
"We're running low." A slight trace of annoyance seeped through despite Kame's effect to keep it hidden. Jin had an habit of annoying him for fun, and one of Kame's main objectives in life became stopping Jin before he got started on that potentially fatal path in the first place.
"But we can do that later." Jin crouched down until he was facing Kame. He quickly snatched Kame's quill away, and Kame turned to Jin, frowning.
"Give that back," Kame said, hand reaching for his quill. He stared at Jin and waited, wondering whether he should make a grab for it or wait for Jin to hand it back. Jin was stubborn and selfish, like a small, spoiled boy. He didn't give in, not when he could make Kame give in.
Kame was just as stubborn, but had little patience for immature antics, which was why he usually let Jin have his way. At least that was what he told himself. He really didn't want to think about how easy it was to let Jin charm him into doing what he wanted.
"No." Jin stood up, hands stretched up as high as possible while Kame scowled even harder.
"That's not fair," he said, irritated. Jin was taller, and used it to his advantage frequently.
"I'll give it back," Jin raised an eyebrow and grinned at him with that dumb, stupidly endearing leer, "if you play with me first."
Kame stared at him, arms crossed, and waited.
"I want to go and look at the festival." Jin finally stopped leering and looked at Kame stubbornly.
"It hasn't started yet," Kame said exasperatedly. "There's nothing to see."
"It'll start soon," Jin said defensively. "And I want to look at all the stalls before the crowd gets too big. Being early means we'll be the first there," Jin continued explaining, though at that point Kame didn't entirely understand Jin's reasoning. He shook his head.
"We need to restock before we leave," Kame said firmly. He watched Jin turn inwards, and became wary at the calculating gleam that suddenly appeared.
"But we can do that after." Jin's voice was cajoling now. "You know we'll probably stay even after the festival's over, when everyone's going home and it's not as busy. It'll be easier to get supplies then, ne?"
Kame bit his lip, staring at Jin's hopeful face. The hopeful face that he knew Kame couldn't resist. Sometimes, Kame wondered why he even bothered resisting. It was futile, he knew, and probably a waste of their time. It would be more efficient just to agree to Jin's ideas and then spend all the spare time he had left finishing off his chores, but then Kame remembered one of Jin's previous ideas and sighed. Or, maybe not , he thought.
"Fine," he grumbled, and watched Jin whoot in triumph. "But you have to give back my quill."
Jin just grinned and held out his hand.
***
As soon as they entered the city, Kame was overwhelmed by the noise and people crowding around in preparation for their stalls, overseeing a million and one details; stress and excitement soaked the air, humid and wet and clinging to Kame's skin. He shivered, and Jin tightened his hold on Kame's hand.
"Jin, where are we going?" Kame asked, exasperated when Jin led them aimlessly around this and that, turning until Kame couldn't remember which direction they'd headed for or where they were-or even if they'd reached where Jin had wanted them to go.
Jin shrugged, bright grin lighting up his face, and pulled Kame towards a stall. Cotton candy, sweet apples, and cold fruits dipped in syrup. Kame inhaled the sweet scent and his stomach rumbled in response. Jin tugged Kame forward, leaned down-lips brushing against Kame's ear; long, dark hair caressing Kame's cheek, soft and ticklish, bringing memories of their lazy, heated mornings-and Jin murmured, "I'm hungry."
Kame shivered, hand still entwined with Jin's, while Jin haggled with the stall owner for pineapples. Chilled and sweetened even more by the syrup, they were perfect against the humidity. They wandered east, where the majority of the crowd cramped together. Jin was curious, Kame didn't care, so they wandered up aisle after aisle, drawing closer only when something caught their eye. In Jin's case, anything shiny and foreign, which meant they more often than not ended up buying bright trinkets rather than anything useful. The only reason Kame never made as much of a fuss as he should have was because Jin could charm anyone into anything-including dropping down prices until it was more than a bargain-and because Jin would just pout and sulk otherwise, which meant Kame would waste too many hours of the day coaxing Jin out of his tantrum when he could have been doing something more useful, like fixing the chipped and crooked left wheel of their caravan or mending their clothes.
Kame's fingers were sticky-sweet, the wet chill of the syrup gone. He threw away the stick in a nearby bag and made Jin throw his stick away too. Jin made a face at Kame but did it anyway, and then pulled him towards a fireworks stall.
"We should get a couple," he said, eyes gleaming. If he could, Kame knew he'd be rubbing his hands in glee. "It'll be fun."
It was tempting-really tempting-but Kame couldn't shake off the feeling that something bad would happen if he left Jin alone with fireworks. It didn't help that Jin nearly caught on fire that one time Kame let him boil water.
"Maybe," Kame said, staring at the colourful-and dangerous-pieces on top of the table.
"Come on, it'll be great. We can light it at the camp." Jin looked at the table longingly, one hand reaching forward. Kame debated with himself.
In the end, Kame reluctantly said, "I don't think it's a good idea."
Jin's face fell. He scowled at the ground and kicked at the dirt. "Of course not. It's always a bad idea."
"Jin."
Kame caught his arm just as he had started turning away, but Jin pulled back roughly. He was angry, Kame realised, really angry. It wasn't the usual tantrum or sulk Kame could tease or pull him out off-it was actual anger, low and simmering and dark like Jin's eyes right now.
"I'm not a kid, Kame." Jin wouldn't look at him.
"I know," Kame said. He didn't know why they were having this argument in the first place, but maybe it had been waiting just in the back of Jin's mind for something to set it off. It had been a longer journey this time around with no one but each other for company, with Jin finding more and more childish and nonsensical ways to entertain himself and Kame trying rein back his impatience and temper. He knew he wasn't the best company when stressed. Very few people liked him then.
"Then stop treating me like one," Jin bit out, and shrugged off Kame's hand. "I'll see you back at the camp," he said roughly before he was swallowed up by the crowd, one more stranger in a city of strangers.
Kame drew back his hand slowly and turned away to look at more stalls. He needed a distraction, something to take his mind off the argument and the suppressed anger and hurt just waiting to spill over. Since the time they were twelve and fourteen, huddling inside a worn-down and abandoned warehouse, he was the mature one, the grown up one who took care of them both. He still was.
And maybe if he found something strange and interesting for Jin, their earlier argument would be forgotten and lost under the Jin's short attention span. If nothing else, food always worked too.
***
When Kame arrived at their camp, bundled parcels of fruit and meat held in his arms but no interesting and strange items for Jin to peruse, he paused in front of the sign that hadn't been there when they'd left. A sign made of a plank of wood Kame had thrown away just this morning and ink Kame used to write his lists with. His mouth opened slightly as Kame stared at the crooked, dripping letters.
Entrance fee: 500 yen
And underneath, in smaller writing:
People named Kame have to pay 1000 yen
"Jin," Kame called out, still staring at the sign. He wondered about their earlier argument and how Jin had just proven Kame right.
"What?" Jin popped his head out from behind the flap of their caravan. He stilled and narrowed his eyes. "1000 yen to enter," he said imperiously.
"Jin ," Kame said. "Half of this caravan belongs to me-"
"So." Jin angled his head up so he could stare down at Kame. "I'm in charge now."
The parcels in his arms felt heavy and Kame wanted nothing more than to put them down, but Jin was looking at him challengingly with that stubborn glint in his eyes, and Kame knew if he didn't take care of this now, they would never get any peace.
"Really." Kame casually lifted the bulk in his arms higher. "I guess you won't need these then."
"What are they?" Jin asked when Kame turned and took a few steps forward. "And where are you going?"
Kame lifted an shoulder in a casual shrug. "I thought I'd restock our food supply but since I'm not allowed near my own caravan-"
"Half ," Jin interrupted and then paused.
"-I thought I'd stay with Koki for a while-"
"That bald pervert," Jin hissed.
"-at least until I can afford the entrance fee to my own home," Kame continued and nearly fell when big hands grabbed his shoulders and started pushing him back towards the caravan.
"Half," Jin muttered in a petulant tone from behind him as Kame stumbled forward, mouth quirking up when Jin quickened the pace.
"No entrance fee?" Kame couldn't help but ask when he opened the flap and started piling up the food parcels, back turned towards Jin. He regretted it a moment later when he turned around and Jin was looking at him, narrowed-eyed and smug.
"You can pay it off in other ways."
"Slave again?" Kame inwardly winced, remembering the last time.
"Other kind of slave." Jin grinned, before he wandered over to Kame's personal space. He took hold of Kame's wrists and pulled his arms up and around his neck, until Kame was firmly pressed against him. Jin leaned down, eyes dark and hot, and Kame's heart skipped a beat.
"That kind of slave, huh." Kame managed to say before his mind blanked out in a haze of pleasure and lust, and Jin's soft kisses and perfect hands.
***
Late at night when they were curled around each other under the stars, sweat-slicked and warm, Kame said, "I just like taking care of you."
"I know," Jin said, voice husky and low, and pressed a warm kiss on Kame's shoulder. "You always do-take care of me. I just like arguing."
Kame snorted and tried to hide his smile, burying his face into Jin's neck. "You're such a jerk."
"You're such a-"
Kame reached up and brushed his fingers against Jin's collarbones, bursting out in laughter when Jin pushed him away and held up his hands around his neck protectively.
"You were saying?" Kame asked, raising an eyebrow while Jin glared back.
"I was saying," Jin started angrily but then faltered, staring at Kame with an indescribable look on this face. "You're perfect."
Swallowing hard, Kame pulled Jin back down and kissed him, hands cradling his face. He shivered when a breeze turned the air cold and stars became even brighter, like jewels swallowed up by the dark sky, and the slick heat and touch of their bodies was the only thing he knew.
Every week it was a different city or a different village, a journey and an adventure, and people they had never met, languages they had never spoken though they tried to with their tied tongues and stumbling mouths, but the stars and the earth stayed the same no matter where they went, and they were never alone.
Even though he never had one before and probably didn't know any better, Kame always thought this was what it felt like to have a home.