Once his secret got out, his life was never the same. How could it be? He had the power to take away pain, and people had plenty of pain to be taken. But there was something that they didn't know, that nobody knew. Each and every time he gently placed a hand on their shoulder and smiled happily as their pain melted away into nothing, their pain didn't actually disappear. It just moved. It moved into him.

Behind every gentle smile was an internal wince, a sharp flinch from a sudden throb in his knee or burn on his finger. And yet, for all the pain he felt, nobody knew he was hurting. Nobody could see it, and even if they could, they wouldn't want to believe it. So nobody thought twice about approaching him and asking him to take their pain. Nobody thought twice about his pain.

Nobody, that is, except Dev. Because Dev had accidentally seen Ren, once, when he thought he was alone in the school bathroom. Dev had seen the tears streaming down Ren's cheeks, the expression of pure agony on the face of someone who was usually golden boy extraordinaire, smiles and sunshine to the point of absurdity. The limp in his gait. But then a crowd of boys entered the bathroom, and in only a second's notice, Ren wiped the tears from his face and carefully schooled his expression into his classic golden smile.

It couldn't have possibly been bullying, Dev was sure. Because somehow, even the typical bullies couldn't find a bone to pick with Ren. They didn't target him with sharp insults or threatening kicks like they did to other unfortunate kids. He was untouchable to everyone around him.

It chilled Dev to the core to have seen Ren like this, especially because the transformation was so practiced and flawless that it couldn't have been the first time it happened. And that knowledge haunted him for days, for weeks, for months. It was all he could do not to scream out as he watched Ren move through the world placing a small and delicate hand on the arm of everyone he passed, knowing full well what the consequences were for his own body. For his own sanity.

Even so, he was afraid, he realized, of talking to Ren about it. Confrontation was not something Dev did well, not at all. It was something he shied away from, something he avoided at all costs. Especially when it was about something important. Like talking to his crush about suffering through unimaginable amounts of pain. That was certainly something important.

But unfortunately, life had other plans for him. Because he kept injuring himself in one stupid way or another—getting attacked by his neighbor's cat was most definitely not his idea of fun—and the bruises and scratches that dotted his arms did not go unnoticed by Ren. Ren kept finding Dev in the hallways, in the bathroom, in the lunchroom, and reached out with that same, delicate hand. And each time, Dev would flinch away, making up some lame excuse and running off before Ren could touch him.

Dev started avoiding places in the school he knew Ren would be unless it was impossible to avoid going there. He even started taking a different route on his walk to and from school, because he wouldn't put it past Ren to chase after him there. If there was one thing Ren was good at, it was being stubborn to the point of vexation.

Unfortunately, he couldn't run away forever.

Ren eventually cornered him at the bottom of the stairwell, his brilliant golden smile making up for the flickering lights that barely kept the shadows at bay. There was only one working light down here in the basement, and nobody bothered to fix it because there was only one classroom down here. The walls were worn down and covered in years' worth of graffiti, too, which only added to the whole atmosphere. Not to mention that the ceiling tiles were either missing or covered in suspicious stains.

This pathetic excuse for a hallway would have spooked Dev out if Ren weren't there, but he was. Which was both a blessing and a curse.

Ren cast Dev another sweet smile and tried to ignore the fluttering in his stomach when Dev blushed. Ren wasn't oblivious, as naive as he might seem. He had noticed how Dev was always staring at him in a not so subtle fashion. He had noticed the way Dev blushed whenever he got caught staring. And he had noticed that look Dev had in his eye whenever he stared at him, the one that was a mix of tenderness and longing and love.

It was a weird feeling to be liked, Ren had noticed at first. He didn't quite know what to do with himself. Should he be happy, should he try to impress Dev? Or should he be weirded out and push Dev away? He wasn't sure. Instinctually, he wanted to push Dev away, but when he really took the time to think about it, he didn't actually want to do that. Because he craved some sort of intimate connection with someone.

Over time, Ren grew used to Dev's looks, his blushes, his flustered expressions. He grew to look forward to them, even. Especially after people found out that he could take away their pain. Because from that moment on, the pain never left him, and seeing Dev acting all cute and flustered was one of the only reprieves he got. He craved it.

But unfortunately for Ren, Dev was surprisingly stubborn. He refused to approach Ren at all, let alone make a move, even though Ren tried as non-subtly as he could to drop hints. And it was infuriating. So naturally, he decided to take matters into his own hands. And while he certainly didn't like his pain, that was the best excuse he had to approach Dev without scaring him off. Besides, if he was willing to take strangers' pain, then he would certainly do the same for Dev.

"Why won't you let me touch you?" Ren asked Dev, making sure to keep his hands behind his back so that Dev didn't run off again. "Why won't you let me take your pain?"

"Because I don't want you to," Dev replied, stubbornly avoiding Ren's gaze. Ren's gaze did weird things to his heart and his stomach. Ren's gaze made him cave in and do things he didn't want to do.

"Why?"

"Because I know what it does to you."

Ren let out a nervous laugh and hid his hands behind his back to hide the fact that they were suddenly a bit shaky. There's no way he could know, right? He'd been careful not to let anyone know, to hide his own pain. "What do you mean? It doesn't do anything to me."

"It does," Dev insisted. "I've seen you when you thought nobody was watching. In the bathroom that one time. You're in pain, Ren. And I can't just let you take mine when you're already drowning."

"I'm not drowning," Ren said. But then his chin started to tremble, and he sank to the ground, not caring that the thick layer of dust that covered the ground was bound to get all over his pants. Because knowing that Dev knew that he was in pain put a crack in the dam that held back oceans of emotion, and that crack quickly spread until the whole darn thing crumbled. "Okay," he whispered. "I'm drowning."

Dev crouched anxiously by Ren's side. He put his hands out at first, but then caught himself, leaving his fingers dangling helplessly by his side. "What can I do?" he whispered. "I'd give you a hug, but I don't want to—"

"A hug would be nice," Ren interrupted. "Please?"

"But then I'll—you'll—"

"I don't care. Shut up and hug me, Dev."

Dev found himself hastily sitting down on the ground beside Ren. Never mind that he was allergic to dust and that he'd be sneezing for the rest of the day. That wasn't important right now. He paused one last time before touching Ren—was Ren sure that he could handle the pain? —but the desperation and fragility in Ren's eyes made it impossible for Dev not to offer comfort. And hugging was what he was best at.

As he wrapped his arms around Ren, Dev's heart began to pound, and he had to resist the urge to pinch himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming. After all, he couldn't really be holding Ren in his arms, gently rocking him back and forth, could he? He couldn't really be whispering words of comfort in Ren's ear and running a hand through Ren's gorgeous hair, could he? Surely it wasn't true. It was too good to be true. He had wanted this for far too long to accept that it was happening.

Ren's hand went instinctively to his forearm as soon as Dev's arms made contact with his skin, because that was where Dev had his worst scratch from his fight with the cat. But despite his flinch, Ren didn't lean away from Dev's warmth. He leaned towards him instead, just letting himself be held in a way that he hadn't in a long time.

Ever since people had found out about his capabilities—he didn't like to call it a gift, but it wasn't exactly a curse either, so he had trouble finding a good word—every touch had been tainted with pain. And not only physical pain, but also the pain of knowing that people were always coming after him with some ulterior motive. That they never came to him solely for his company, for him.

But Dev was different. Dev had even gone as far as to stay away from Ren to avoid causing pain since he found out, and at his own expense, too. He was so selfless compared to Ren, Ren thought. Because Dev had borne his own pain even when he knew there was an easy solution, but Ren was wrecking that by coming after Dev like this and forcing him to do things he didn't want to do.

Ren couldn't bring himself to feel that sorry, though—here he was in Dev's arms. Sure, he was crying from the pain and making a general fool out of himself, but he was wrapped up in Dev's arms nonetheless. He was happy.

"Are you doing a little better now?" Dev murmured, breaking the silence reluctantly. Because as much as he wanted to just sit here and enjoy the moment forever, Ren was still in pain, a lot of it. And Dev was far too selfless to ignore that. Or was it selfish? He didn't know.

"Yeah," Ren replied after a moment of though. And it was true—while the pain was still there, it didn't feel quite as oppressive as before. There was a distance between his body and the pain, now. It was still a part of him, but it wasn't him. Even though touching Dev was giving Ren more pain, it was also taking it away. "Thank you, Dev."

"It's not a big deal," Dev said bashfully, averting his gaze.

"But it really is," Ren insisted, frustrated by Dev's downplaying of the whole thing. If Dev knew how much pain Ren was in, why couldn't he give himself some more credit? So Ren brought a hand up to Dev's cheek and gently tilted his cheek back so that their eyes met. "It really is."

The curly tips of Dev's chocolaty hair brushed against Ren's fingertips, and his equally chocolaty eyes met Ren's own questioningly. All of a sudden, Ren became hyperaware of their intimate position, and time seemed to freeze. The creepy atmosphere, the flickering light, the dust—it all vanished. It no longer mattered.

"Um, Ren..." Dev trailed off, his face turning pinker by the minute. Ren loved it. "You know you're a little close, right?"

"That's the point," Ren said, mustering every ounce of courage he had before leaning up the rest of the way. Because after this happened, there was no turning back.

Ren couldn't help but flinch when he kissed Dev, but only half of it was from the pain. The other half was from the sudden intensity of warmth and tingling that spread through his body like wildfire. With that warmth and tingling came such a strong feeling of satisfaction that Ren couldn't help but smile against Dev's lips. And, much to his relief, Dev was smiling as well.

"Took you long enough," was the first thing that Ren said when he caught his breath. "Except you didn't really do anything. Idiot. You made me do it."

"I couldn't read you," Dev said stubbornly, a smile still stretched across his face despite the frustrated tone of his voice. "And after the whole thing—you know, the pain and all—I didn't know how to approach you. Or more like I was even more unsure of how to approach you."

"Why were you unsure?"

"Why wouldn't I be? You're popular, and everyone's always watching you. You're always surrounded by people. I didn't want them to know and judge you for what I'd do. And I could never muster up the courage, anyway."

"Well, I hope you have the courage now." Ren squeezed his arms tighter around Dev, and it was only then that Dev realized he was still wrapped in Ren's embrace. Butterflies flitted around in his stomach and sent another impossibly bright smile dancing across his cheeks.

"I do," he whispered.