Published: February 1, 2026
Feeling comfortable yet a little warm, Rizel slowly opened his eyes.
His body was still painfully small compared to usual, but unaware of this, he snuggled closer to the warmth before him. Pressing his forehead against the black tank top, he felt the body beneath the fabric tremble slightly with a breathy laugh.
The arm that had been wrapped around him moved, ruffling Rizel’s hair at the back of his head. Eleven, trying to hold the small body close and get back to sleep, was met with Rizel squirming and shifting about.
“Mmm… no, don’t, stay asleep a bit longer.”
When Rizel tried to slip out from the arms, Eleven stopped him with a hoarse, just-woke-up voice.
The body he held was incredibly warm—almost hot to Eleven. Sweat faintly beaded on his forehead, but he didn’t feel uncomfortable. Looking down at the figure in his arms with drowsy eyes, he saw Rizel staring back.
Though still a little sleepy, his eyes were surprisingly wide open, making Eleven think that Rizel might have actually been better at waking up as a child. Although, in any case, the early morning hours had already passed.
“Eleven?”
“Ah… sooo sleepy…”
Rizel slowly sat up and looked down at Eleven. Eleven lifted his hand from the bedsheets. Just raising his forearm, his palm easily reached Rizel’s cheek, and he gently stroked under his eye with the back of his fingers, causing Rizel’s eyes to squeeze shut tightly.
When Rizel’s large eyes opened again, it was clear he wasn’t going back to sleep. Eleven felt disappointed but pinched his cheek playfully. Soft, yet firm and springy. Wonderful.
“I’m awake.”
“Wait, wait!”
Rizel went along for a moment, but then he seemed to realize Eleven still wanted to sleep. As Rizel moved across the sheets trying to go somewhere, Eleven stopped him by shifting his hand from Rizel’s cheek to the nape of his neck, lightly pulling him closer.
Rizel shook his head as if to say, “That tickles,” so Eleven quickly let go. But once Rizel decided to get up, he wasn’t going to be swayed into going back to sleep. Eleven ruffled his red hair and sat up.
“Eleven, are you sleepy?”
“Super sleepy.”
Although Eleven had gone to bed early last night with young Rizel, he had fallen asleep at an unusually early hour for him, which caused him to wake up at a strange time. Basically, he had gone to sleep early when he usually would still be awake, and now he had woken up when he normally would still be asleep.
Naturally, the sleepiness had vanished, and he couldn’t fall back asleep. So he spent the time just watching Rizel sleep. Even when he called, stroked, poked, or flipped him over, Rizel never woke up.
In the end, Rizel was able to fall asleep again only after dawn, which left Eleven genuinely tired at that moment.
Still, he wasn’t about to leave Rizel alone. Sitting cross-legged, he scooped up the small body sitting quietly beside him with both hands.
He placed Rizel facing him on his lap, and the small hands grasped tightly at Eleven's tank top. When Eleven removed his supporting hands, Rizel instinctively leaned closer for balance, looking up at him. Eleven’s lips curved into a smile as he gently cupped Rizel’s cheeks and fondly stroked them.
Rizel, smiling softly, seemed pleased to be cared for—perhaps because he was still so young. Yesterday, when Eleven had tried to play with him while reading, Rizel had been reluctant.
“Ah.”
“Eleven?”
“Shh.”
Eleven gently placed his thumb over Rizel’s lips, silencing the question on his puzzled face. Rizel, looking bewildered, obediently closed his mouth. Eleven narrowed his eyes in approval, then turned his gaze toward the door, enjoying the soft contact of his lips playfully on Rizel’s cheek.
A few seconds later, his fingers retreated.
“Big Brother just got home, so if it’s with him, it’s fine.”
Though Rizel didn’t hear or perhaps barely noticed the sound of the door opening, Eleven seemed to recognize who had just entered.
Cradling Rizel with both hands under his arms, Eleven rolled onto the bed, intending to get back to sleep. Rizel was laid down on his stomach but didn’t try to get off immediately, instead climbing up onto Eleven’s chest.