Chapter 17: Misunderstanding to deep understanding

Along with all the organizations that sprung up in the new era, some with twisted operations and function unfortunately mixes in. Most of them flaunts their irrational acts for the world to see, while some blends along with everybody under the daylight while underneath, continues their sneaky real intents and doings that are as ugly and dirty as the rotten carcasses of beasts.

These dark organizations are naturally composed of lunatics that are beyond to be reasoned with. Their philosophy are so twisted that they wouldn't make sense and normal people would shudder once they hear them.

One particular goal seems to be a trend among these organizations. That is to make the 'apocalypse' a success. This means that their goal is to eliminate the humanity from the face of the world with whatever means necessary.

"These troublesome people…" Will murmurs with frustration. Will have a lot of spy drones monitoring one dark organization in their country.

They call themselves the 'atrophy brigades'. They have somehow gotten their hands on an absurd information from a foreign dark organization's high member who apparently have a mysterious ability to see the future or see the 'truth', as how they call it. This person prophesied that in the deepest part of the 'labyrinth' that started appearing all over the world lies a powerful unknown that could grant one wish to the very first person who reaches it.

The lunatics under the organization easily bought this absurdity and then commenced their operation to get their hands on the labyrinths first. They have a lot of counterparts all over the world with the same goal and the knowledge seems to have dissipated to all of them. This raises these organizations to boldly operate on the surface as if they are competing for the legacy of a lifetime. 

Will was entrusted by the military to keep the location of the labyrinth that appeared in their country strictly away from being known by the masses, along with sealing the mouth of the explorer who initially discovered it that time. Will can't let these sneaky lunatics know its location before the military completes their exploration to identify its severity or else, it would stain on Will's clean reputation. Will is sure that the old higher-ups wouldn't miss this chance to strip off what they can from Will once this happens.

Will is also finally reaching the most crucial juncture of his plans. He could only feel thankful that those 'atrophy brigades' or whatever haven't figured out that the greatest threat to all mankind is in the dark mountain. Probably because the most attractive option for that self-proclaimed prophet is that 'one wish' that could grant anything. They probably plan to wish for the world to end once they get their hands on it first.

Will don't really know the credibility of that 'prophecy' but he couldn't afford to risk ignoring it. Will also isn't sure whether that 'prophet' knows something about the dark mountain or not, but since that 'prophet' is from a distant country, maybe their ability couldn't reach here.

This means that Will is still clear from worrying about that thing inside the dark mountain until its finally born. He could still have some lenient space in him to deal with the dark organizations from reaching that 'wish' that they could use to destroy the world.

Will grunts with the realization that dangers to the world with catastrophic level of severity still keeps popping up out of nowhere.

"When can I finally have some peace of mind?" This is how Will starts the second day of his 'vacation'. Will couldn't help but remember what Cat.5 said. Him having a vacation is impossible.

Will's feet leads him to Sean's door somehow. He knocked and waited for a long time before Sean finally opens the door for him.

"Will?..." Sean is still in his sleepwear and his eyes are still heavy as he peeks at the person by the door. He looks back at the clock and it's still four in the morning.

"What's wrong?..." Sean lazily asks. What could have happened to make Will wake him up this early? They have plans for today but that was decided to start later at nine. He looks at Will and he is also still in his sleepwear too.

"Can you let me in first?" Will grabs the doorknob and pushes the door open. Sean's brain is still so fuzzy from sleepiness and also don't have much strength. He could only resign to whatever what Will wants.

Will enters Sean's room while avoiding the summons sleeping on the floor.

When Sean finally regains his consciousness, he's already too late to realize that its once again only the two of them in the room. He then sees Will doing something to the doorknob and then enchants sound proofing effects on the walls.

"What is it Will?..." Sean could tell Will is distressed based on his severe complexion.

Will grabs the chair from the study table and sits while facing Sean's bed. The same thing he did the other time. The bedside lamp's warm light glimmers on Will's side profile but the shadow envelops most parts of his body. Sean looks at this seemingly gloomy image of Will.

Sean wanted to turn on the bigger light but Will says it's fine. Both their eyes have adjusted to the dim light anyway. Sean then sits on his bed and faces Will.

"Actually… I'm sorry I just came here to grumble…" Will confesses. Ever since he told Sean all his secrets and lies, he realized how it eased the heaviness in his chest. He can't help but search for that ease once again, now that another headache arrives all of a sudden.

Sean understand immediately that Will wants him to carry some of his burden to lighten it up. Although that sounded bad if put like that, Sean empathize Will. Will holds a lot of responsibility and lives in his hands, while he's just fifteen years old. Sean can't imagine it if he's the one on Will's shoes.

Sean says its okay to let it all out on him. Will then tells him about the dark organization, especially the 'atrophy brigades' in their country and their goals. Sean shivers hearing their intent and modus operandi so far.

Then, Will explains that he received a 'favor' from the military and now those lunatics could possibly jeopardize Will's clean track record, and surely some of his peers and superior will make it hard for him.

Sean hearing all this could feel the weight even with just a touch of its gravity. He couldn't imagine how Will handled pressure like this all this time. He couldn't reply properly this time. He apologizes to Will but the other just says its fine. He came here to grumble, not ask for some advice.

"Unlike magical beasts, my drones have limited alternatives against ability users. These 'atrophy brigades' especially. They are the combination of cruelty and shrewd, as well as the smart and dynamic abilities. I can't use my explorers since the fewer people that know this, the safer for the information of the location of the labyrinth from dissipating…" Will lean his back on the chair and looks up on the ceiling with his hands supporting his nape. His sharp jawline accentuated while his silk sleepwear reveals the skin on his chest and belly to peek in-between the sparsely positioned buttons.

Sean couldn't help but gets distracted by this. No matter how hard he try, its as if some magnetic force pulls his mind on it.

Sean gulps then thought up of something. "Shouldn't the military know this? I mean, regarding the 'wish' at the bottom of the labyrinth… that could bring huge benefits for the first person who reaches it… shouldn't they protect that from getting on the hands to the wrong person the most?"

Will sighs. "The words of those lunatics aren't credible. I don't believe it either… but I also can't risk it. My superiors would laugh at me for believing those lunatics and become even more unreasonable. My task is to seal the location of the labyrinth from the public… I should stick to that specific order or I'll be deemed incompetent for failing such simple task…" Many such mysterious places also exists in Will's previous world for thousands of years. The one's who dived in too deeply haven't been able to come out ever since. There's a chance that these 'labyrinth' have the same difficulty like that of the ones in Will's previous life.

Such great price should also have as difficulty of challenges and trials before it.

Sean looks at Will and just want to ease his burdens as much as he can. Unfortunately, he's even more powerless. He wants to hug him or something but that would be just weird. They're not quite there yet.

"I swear I won't tell anybody about this…" Sean could only say a promise.

Will chuckles and replies with confidence. "I know…" He then smiles weakly and Sean. "Thank you…"

"I didn't even do anything…" Sean feels timid about the sudden thanks.

Soon, Will could feel that his sleepiness is coming back. He haven't gotten a wink of sleep after finding out about the information regarding 'atrophy brigades' and their new plans yesterday. He yawns softly then straighten up his posture. He cross his arms together below his chest and then close his eyes.

Sean observes Will that suddenly turned silent and unmoving. "Will?..." He whispers.

Sean couldn't help but turns still too. However, a few minutes passed and Will don't seem to even move an inch. If its not for his soft and even breathing, Sean would have thought that he somehow froze in time.

Sean stands up and observes Will closely. "He's asleep? Wait, Will… your back would hurt if you sleep in this posture… how did you even manage to sleep while sitting up anyway?..." Sean softly touch Will's shoulder to wake him up. However, he wouldn't wake up.

"Will… this is my room…" Sean desperately tries his best to wake him up but Will seems to be dead asleep.

"Holy…" At this rate, he would have to carry Will back to his room. There's also another option to put him in his bed so then, they could sleep together.

Sean burst into heat that raises up his face to engulf it in pinkish glow. "How can I think about that… Am I a pervert?..." However, he feels so excited with that thought for some reason. He must really have turned into a pervert.

Will is so close to him. He's asleep and he shows no signs of waking up soon. Sean have all the responsibility regarding him. He have all the choices.

"Blue… please help me carry Will back to his room…" In the end, Sean couldn't give in to his selfish desires. He could carry Will and their rooms are right in front of each other anyway. "Stay alert on the ground and help me if Will happens to slip…" he instructs the slime Blue.

Sean crouches in front of Will then put the latter's arms in front of him, then, he wrap his own hands on Will's upper thighs to keep him in place behind his back.

Sean and Will have the same height, however, Will seems to be a lot heavier despite his fit figure. Sean grunts as he stands up. Will plops against Sean's back, only their clothes are on the way. However, their body temperature permeates on each other's body.

Sean desperately shifts his attention from the soft bulge at the bottom of his back and then walks towards his door. He twists it, however, there seems to be an enchantment on it to prevent it from opening by other's hands.

"How…" When did Will managed to do something like this?

He stabilizes Will's head on his right shoulder and shift his body weight on that side, he then grabs Will's hands to wrap the doorknob and twist it. The gleaming lines on the doorknob returns back into Will's hand and the door finally opens up.

Sean walks with silent and steady few steps across the hallway. He face Will's door and then grabs the doorknob. Unfortunately for him, it's also enchanted with the same energy recognizing function.

Sean uses Will's own hands again to twist it open and then finally places the other on the bed. Sean looks around the room and sees an AI ball auspiciously floating beside the bedside lamp. It faintly glows intermittently like a calm beating heart.

Will set up the annoying barrage of trivial reports by Cat.5 to be received by this AI while the most important ones are directly towards him, filtering the matters regarding his organization that he needs to know. Will could brows the trivial reports later when he has the time. With this, he could have a relatively peaceful vacation.

Sean heaves a sigh of relief and then stands up. He takes one last look at Will on the bed and realizes that what he felt last night wasn't just an illusion. This confirms that he really must be developing romantic feelings towards Will.

"What should I do?..." Sean knows what are his options regarding this matter, but that doesn't mean he's free from the complications they bring along regardless how he handles them.

He could choose to hide his feelings in secret and deal everything by himself, or he could tell it to Will and get dumped once and for all. Both ways are for him to suffer.

"But…" There might also be the possibility that his feelings has a chance. Will also haven't shown any interest towards romance so its not confirmed whether he's homo or heterosexual. What if Will could also develop some feelings for him? Sean falls in thought regarding some what ifs.

The soft and shiny silk sleepwear accentuates the lights and shadows wrapping Will's body. His curves and bulges can be clearly seen by Sean who gazes down on his figure.

"I should head out now… I'm a pervert!" Sean smacks his red face and then faces the other direction. He grabs the doorknob but then realizes a crucial mistake. The doorknob wouldn't turn.

The only way for it to open is to make Will do it himself. Sean stills stupidly by the door for while and then ultimately decided to sit on the corner of the room with Blue. He looks outside the window and sees that its already sunrise anyway. Maybe its better for him to just wait for Will to wake up.

Once Will finally wakes up, he immediately sees Sean on the study table. He appears to have logged into the VR world. Will looks around and realizes that they're in his room. The other must have brought him here after he passed out and then unfortunately locked himself in. Sean must have considered Will that's too tired and shouldn't be woken up so he decided to just stay in this room.

He troubled Sean too much earlier and he should thank him again once he logout.

They have plans to stroll and explore the expanded areas in the Ardent city to have one last look at their hometown before they all move to the capital city. They also plan to visit and play at the new entertainment facilities. Looking at the time, Rick should be arriving soon.

Will looks at Sean and decides to inform him about the time. But then again, maybe they're together playing inside while waiting for Will to get ready.

"I should just get ready first…" Will seems to overlook the fact that Sean still hasn't done his own preparations too and gets himself ready on his own.

Sean finally logs out only to see Will by the wardrobe in the middle of putting on a breezy and soft pair of shorts. His boxer brief is in full display as well as his bare tops. He fixes the shorts on his hips and then chooses which shirt to pair it with.

He sees Sean's reflection in the mirror finally moving. "I unlocked the door… sorry, and thank you for the trouble…"

Will's supple buns and the soft skin on his upper thighs are still very fresh in Sean's mind and couldn't speak. He could also see Will's soft and flat stomach and chest on the mirror. His peach and adorable nipples looks especially attractive.

"Ah…" Sean releases a stupid sound while his gaze constantly glued on Will's figure in the mirror.

Will grabs a large light-brown shirt and put it on. He lift his arms and arch his body backwards. This stretches his faint back muscles and side oblique, as well as his flat abdomen that faintly bulges with abs that are separated with soft white cross.

The image teases Sean's eyes briefly until the light-brown shirts unfortunately covers them.

"Does it look weird?..." Will turns around and ask Sean. The large shirt's wide sleeves covers all the way at the upper pinkish elbows while the hem goes all the way down just below the crotch. It looks flowy and fresh. Will's white shorts reaches his pinkish knees but it shows them when they sway.

Will's bare shin looks fair and smooth all the way to his ankles and feet. Sean scrutinize them and couldn't help but swallow a large gulp.

"Is Rick on his way yet?... Did something change for today's plan?..." Will asks Sean noticing that the other doesn't seem to want to get up and get changed. He looks at where Sean is looking but he can't see anything strange. "What is it?..." Will gets closer to him.

Sean's eyes follows the glowing smooth shin and feet then realizes that he's starting at it too much like a pervert. "N-nothing… I just thought that you don't seem to have any leg hair…" Right after those words came out, Sean want to smack his mouth.

Will receives this nonchalantly and sits on his bed. He pulls up his leg and looks at it. "Really? I think yours is smoother and cleaner than mine though… I have fine hair on them… see?" 

Will pulls Sean's right leg and put it up on the bed, then he also put his right leg on Sean's chair right between his crotch. Their inner calves brush against each other. Will is very casual about this since it was Sean who brought it up anyway. He also thinks that the two of them are as close as best friends now and he read somewhere before that friends often compares their body parts.

Will compares their legs and as expected, Sean's is much softer, his is a bit thicker though. "See? It's a lot softer… you don't seem to have much hair do you?..." Will creases them to compare how they feel to the touch.

Will finally feels that he's not that dry from human intimacy since he opened himself to Sean. He's very happy about that fact. Will looks up at Sean only to realize that the other looks so red.

"I'm sorry… am I doing something inappropriate?" Will asks anxiously.

"No!... I'm just a bit surprised. Where you always this intimate?" Sean retracts his leg down and seem to have forgotten that Will's feet is between his crotch. Now it's stuck in there, and even pushes deeper with Sean's sudden move.

Will felt something hard just now and couldn't speak. He then thinks calmly and realizes that it must be a morning log. This is a normal phenomenon and even happens to him.

"That's just normal. That means you're now a healthy young man…" Will says with a professional tone.

Sean turns even more red in embarrassment and then runs back to his room.

"I might have said something unnecessary…" Will mutters seeing Sean's door instantly shuts close.

Later, Sean tried his best to avoid being in the same place as Will. He's too embarrassed and don't know what kind of expression he would make once they see each other. However, they live in the same house and that feat is quite hard to accomplish.

Will also tried many times to reach out to Sean and apologize. But the other runs on another direction whenever he sees Will. Will can't have this go on. Will needs Sean in his plans and it was going so fine all this time. But now Sean avoids him without even trying to hear him out.

"What are you guys doing? Are you playing some kind of game?..." Rick on the couch comments after observing the two for a while.

Will knows enough that he shouldn't tell something about it because it is something private for Sean. "I just… did something wrong… now he probably hates me…" Will says dejectedly and sits beside Rick.

"What?!" Rick exclaims. "Are you fighting again because you're jealous of him?!"

"What?... did we fought before?... What do you mean me jealous?" Will thinks that Rick is saying something absurd.

"Will… you should stop this behavior. I can't believe you can still be childish at times… something like this happened before too and you were the one desperately avoiding Sean!" Rick still remembers what happened in their initial meeting with Sean. Sean is so close with Will's family so the latter got so jealous. He ended up taking his rage at Rick and tortured him with endless tutoring. Rick himself even ended up breaking into rage and shouted at Will that the latter should learn the ways of the human.

"I don't remember doing what you said. That's impossible…" Will still couldn't believe Rick's absurd claims.

"Will… you didn't even realize it yourself… you admit that you did something wrong to Sean this time right? Do you even know what you did wrong?..."

"Well…"

"As expected!... You should reflect on yourself!... You're a genius, I bet you can do it if you try… we'll stroll around the city today. Make sure that you'll apologize to Sean, all right?... We'll take care of Tom… you should do your best with Sean. He looked like he really don't want to have anything to do with you…" Rick don't want for Sean to have any problems with Will, or else, Sean might just go back to his parents. He should work together with Jess in this matter and make the two get back along. They were so close before, how did this happen? What did Will do?

At the bus stop, the four boys seems to have a complicated atmosphere around them. Sean insists on avoiding Will. He stands quite far from them.

"You should do it slowly or else Sean would feel irritated and sees your apology insincere…." Rick coaches Will beside him.

Tom goes to Sean and asks him what happened. "It's nothing Tommy…" Sean says with a stiff expression.

When the bus finally arrived, Sean hurriedly slides in first and then finds an available seat where others already occupied around it.

Will looks around but there's no longer available seat near Sean. He have no choice but to sit at the very back with Rick and Tom.

Sean acts as if nothing is happening but he can feel an intense glare on his nape making it feel steaming hot.

"Will… what have you done? Sean isn't usually unreasonable… can you recall what you did before Sean started acting like this?..." Rick looks at Sean worriedly. The latter couldn't even look at Will's direction.

"Well… I said something along the lines that he's a healthy fine young man?..." Will omitted the reason why he said that.

"That's nonsense! Sean couldn't have been offended by that! Think about it more! What you've done, not what you said!"

Will rubs his chin. " I creased him I guess?..." Will says honestly. It's his fault and it wouldn't be credited to Sean anyway so this should be safe to say without offending Sean's privacy.

"What?! H-how could you?!" Rick shivers after hearing that. "Do you like Sean That way? Do you bend that way?!"

"What do you mean bend that way?... Of course I like him… he's a very good listener and easy to talk to…" Will replies honestly.

"Huh?... Are we talking about the same like here? How about his looks? His physical traits? How do you see him?..." Rick asks in grave tone. He'll be happy for his friend regardless of their sexuality. This also means one less love rival for himself. Plus, if Will and Sean happens to have a romantic relationship, this might just be his chance to have Jess all by himself. If Jess sees the two boys she's crushing on ends up together, she'll surely be broken hearted and Rick will be there for her.

"I think Sean looks beautiful?... He also have a very smooth, soft, and hairless skin..." Will replies his thoughts exactly as the truth. He creased Sean's shin and calves and they truly are fair and smooth. They are nice and gives a calming effect. Sean's face also looks very good with androgynous charm that would be indisputably beautiful to the eyes regardless of the gender of the onlooker.

"Are you for real?..." Rick couldn't believe his ears. Will might just have romantic feelings for Sean but it doesn't seem like he realizes it. Rick needs to make Will thinks that he sees Sean romantically whether its true or not. This is his only shot. "Is that why you creased Sean? How did it happened anyway?..."

"That's right…" Will was comparing his to Sean's skin after all. He creased him just to confirm. "Well, we were in my room… and Sean was the one who initiated it…" Will explains the truth.

"What?..." Rick couldn't believe his ears even more. He covers Tom's ears. If Sean was in Will's room and even initiated the intimacy, there's a high chance that Sean also has feelings for the latter. Will might have just did something to break their good mood just then and deeply disappointed Sean.

Rick thinks that this is too good to be true. He's honestly very happy for Will and Sean, but he's even more happy for himself. Their friendship might even turn into a double date soon. Rick laughs while imagining that future. "Will… I'm so happy for you two…"

Will thinks that Rick is talking about his and Sean's progressing friendship to even have that much intimacy. "You are? Sean ended up ignoring me now though… I don't really want this to happen too. I have just gotten my hands on him…" Will's plans was going so smoothly just yesterday. He even told Sean all his plans and he doesn't seem to be against it or won't cooperate.

Rick just heard something shocking at the end of Will's sentence and chokes on his words.

"Will… I'm not really an expert regarding this matter but I know that you will be able to get through this simple hiccup of your relationship. Even married couples quarrel sometimes too… Just do your best to win him back. Remember, I'm rooting for you guys!"

"Really? thank you… I still don't know what to do though…" Will says dejectedly.

"How about you take him somewhere nice while I take Tom and distract Jess somewhere else?..."

"Is that so?... That might just show my sincerity right?..." Will could apologize for what happened without others around. He touched something as private as Sean's manhood after all. Sean must be embarrassed to talk about that publicly. Will now realizes how insensitive he is to apologize regarding that while others are present. They might ask Sean what happened after all.

Will searches for places that they could use comfortably and with a very good privacy.

"A luxurious hotel would be a nice place right?... There seems to be a new one here with the best view…" Will says while browsing Brain2.0.

"Will!" Rick exclaims and covers Tom's ears once again. "Is 'that' what you only think about? This must be how you offended Sean! How about you take him somewhere formal first… like a restaurant. Yes! A restaurant would be perfect… you should do this more discreetly and follow the process!"

" I don't really understand but will a restaurant be good enough? Don't you think the hotel also serves good food and have better privacy… I'm not really following what you mean…" Will looks at Rick confusedly.

"Of course you don't! You don't think like human after all! Just do as I said and take him to the restaurant first!" Rick is fuming with anger for some reason. Sean is his friend too. How can Will just treat him like that? As if that's his only value.

"If that's how you think so…" Will turns even more dejected by suddenly being scolded and insulted. He must be doing another bad thing unconsciously again. There must really be something wrong with him. He really must have turned socially inept.

The bus finally arrives at their stop. Will walks out of the door and step on the ground anew. Rick reprimanded and gave him a lot of tips to mend his relationship with Sean.

They meet up with Jess and then strolls around the park first. The weather is nice although it's a bit hot. There are few ice cream stalls of vending machines here as well as parasols and the trees that canopies overhead, blocking the intense sun.

Jess wants to cozy up with Will immediately but the other's mind appears to be so preoccupied. She looks at Will's face and sees him gazing at Sean intensely. She then looks at Sean and sees his face blooming with beautiful pinkish glow. Jess feels repulsed about this and slows her phase a notch.

Rick looks at Jess's face and could only feel sorry for her. However, Jess seems to regain her confidence immediately and walks back along with Will.

"Will? What happened? Is there something going on with you and Sean?..." She asks nervously. Jess, of course knows a lot about boy and boy romance and could feel the air between Will and Sean seems ambiguous.

"I did something bad that made Sean very angry…" Will replies with dejected body language and tone. He seems very heart broken and deeply regrets his mistake.

Jess knows that the two gets along very well. They could talk with their eyes and could fall deeply in a conversation that others couldn't catch up. They seem to match up very well. Too well in fact. Jess's heart feels like its being pressured with an invisible force after realizing that fact.

"Y-you did something bad?..." Jess couldn't imagine something like this to happen.

"I'm sorry I don't really understand it myself… Rick said that I was going on too fast with no control… that's why Sean thinks that I don't respect him… I don't really understand how I did that… maybe Rick was just telling me nonsense…"

Hearing this, Jess halts on her tracks and suddenly runs away.

"Wait, Jess!" Rick calls out to Jess and understands what happened.

Will stands still dumbfounded. Did he say something that could offend others again? Will is more than confused about himself now. He don't know what to believe or do. He thinks very deeply but couldn't recall anything bad with what he said.

"This is bad…" Will mutters and could only feel frustrated for being clueless.

"Will, I will take care of Tom and catch up to Jess. Just focus in dealing with Sean first. You could handle Jess later after you mend your relationship with Sean!..." Rick says and drags along Tom with him.

Tom vaguely knows that his big brother did something wrong. First, big bro Sean suddenly avoided him, then, Rick scolded him, and then big sis Jess ran away while crying after talking with big bro Will for a bit just now. "Big bro… please don't do anything bad anymore…" Tom left those words.

Will hears his little brother's words and confirms it once again that he really must be doing something wrong.

"I'm so sorry everyone…" Will just want to cry right then and there.

End of chapter.