Chapter Warning: None!

Claire walked gently through the backyard, past the clothing lines, opposite of the gardens towards a small red house in the back, tucked away under a patch of pine trees. This little renovated hut acted as a hole for the guests that traveled far and needed to spend the night; also held the sleeping man Claire promised to check on. It was a few yards away from the back porch but also far enough to feel completely alone in the soft western fields. The summer sun was setting on the mountains. The light streaked into the plains below, casting dark shadows where light could not reach, but creating a path of shimmer gold, where it could.

Upon coming to the door of this small red house, Claire opened the door as if entering her own home. She enjoyed sitting in this small home alone on the nights the crickets sung in the tall grasses and the frogs of the strong river were so loud, you couldn't hear your thoughts. It was dark in this small space. Turning on the lights, the warm light revealed a small corridor with three doors. Two of those doors were bedrooms. One was a bathroom. Claire took off her boots, that weren't even tied to her feet, and hummed her way to the left door.

Once that door was open, lying in the soft darkness that was slowly receding into the corners of the room as the sun disappeared behind the giants of the earth, was a man – breathing gently in his sleep. Since he had been there, Claire had visited him frequently to check to see if he had awaken or just to make sure he was stable. As Claire became aware of the shadows that danced along the floor and waited patiently for the light to leave, so they could have their take in this empty space, Claire reached for a bed side lamp sitting as a beacon. Turning it on, the red light shinned enough to shush away the waiting shadows and give enough for the eyes to be happy.

Claire's eyes were indeed happy. The man, lying so peacefully made her smile. He was madly handsome in her eyes. She liked to watch him for a little. Watch the way his forehead twitched through his eyebrows or the soft movement in his fingers indicating the dreams were creating some world he was living in for the while. It made her smile jump around when he muttered the same name he's been calling for. Knowing that it was his brother, made wanting to understand his mind more enticing. If he wasn't how the news portrays him to be, but still had an attitude, did that make him a softie with a hard exterior. An egg?

Claire laughed at the thought of a man being an egg. The men she was used to were rough through and through or well-rounded men with beautiful smiles. So far Mokuba was a well-rounded boy with a beautiful smile. Maybe it could be said the same for the man that laid in that bed?

Claire sat on the side of the bed and watched him breathe. No staggers, he wasn't having any trouble. She wondered what that felt like. Being able to breath on a whim. Not struggling against yourself to fill your lungs with enough air to stand straight. She wondered what healthy lungs felt like as she watched his chest rise and fall. Were they not heavy at times? Were they not trying to kill you? Were they not useless? Were they filled with a power that could fuel a voice with the loudest scream when the emotion rose?

Claire took a deep breath trying to imitate what she saw, but her throat got locked up in a foreign chamber, making her cough. It was a light cough, but it was all the same of suffocating. It made her hunch over as the air she tried to give to herself, was immediately let back out. It felt as if her lungs were stabbed flat and blocked away her chances of breathing again. But in response to the cough, Claire breathed back in with a fist to her mouth and she was able to breathe again.

She cursed herself to think what it would be like if she didn't have to choke all the time. It was a sad fault. It was probably really nice, but nothing she'll ever have.

Regaining her composure, Claire cleared her throat, to push away anything else that wanted to force her airways shut. Biting down on her lip, she threw her hands together and threw them to her chest, pushing against her cages. Against her thoughts, the pressure of her fists gave her a little more to think on. Claire did take a breath as deep as she could and this time - she didn't fail at it.

However, as she stared off into one of the darker corners, that held those little whispers of darkness. The man beside her stirred.

"Mokuba…" He called out yet again.

Claire turned to him and she bent over to check on him. His eyes were open, but was it false again? Was he falling in and out of consciousness?

Claire took a hand away from her chest and decided to dust away the strands of hair that clung to his forehead. "Your brother is safe, I promise."

She didn't know if it was her voice or the touch of her fingertips on his skin. But he jerked to the side, somewhat like a scared child clinging to their mother because the monsters under the bed were going to get them. Claire in the moment, flinched and moved to catch him. Which in the end, caused his arms to wrap around her waist as his head cradled in her arms. It was her first instinct to feel onset shock. It was her second instinct to hold him close and shush him. It took her a few calming hushes to realize that the man was asleep again as his whole body became as heavy as lead, causing her to curse herself now that he was practically lying in her lap.

She tried her best to not drop the man. She tried her best to make the position more comfortable and maybe a little better for her to slip out of soon. As she tried her best to get her arms to slither behind him and hold him back as his head lay soundly on the inside of her elbow. Finally, when he was in a much better position, Claire sighed in reprieve. It was then, Claire looked down at him with wonder in her eyes. She saw this man closer and it made the tip of her nose red. He was so pretty to look at. What wasn't pretty was the large gash behind his ear that kept in all directions. She pondered if that was the source of the delirium. Tilting her head, she clicked her tongue in response to reaction her body gave. Her body internally retreated from the sight of the excess blood and bloody staples. Her imagination made her gut hurdle forward as she wondered how hard someone's head had to smack to get something like that.

Claire closed her eyes to forget the thoughts that abruptly filled her. After a couple of sullen defeats in her mind, Seto took a deep breath in her arms and it reminded her that she needed put him back down on the bed.

Claire moved as carefully as she could, succeeding where she believed she could. As quickly as he threw himself at her, Claire had him back on the bed. Except, when Claire freed her hands, she ran her fingers over his forehead once more and down to the tops of his cheek.

A face like that shouldn't be mean.