[zapdragon555]

It was incredible how much and yet how little a relationship could change, just from a few exchanged words in the dim light of a hotel room. Grimmer was awkward, more so than Tenma at first, alternating between urgency and timidness. A mis-aimed kiss that landed near Tenma's cheek rather than lips, Grimmer's nose bumping his cheekbone in a way that Tenma knew must have been a bit more painful than Grimmer's sheepish laughter let on.

Even so, Tenma's heart swelled. He tangled their fingers together and held tight once the man punching train tickets left their car, their hands tucked safely in the shadow between seats.

Tenma wasn't sure when he'd fallen asleep--wasn't sure the last time he'd fallen asleep anywhere but a locked room. When he woke up, Grimmer had let go of his hand, but covered him with a jacket. He glanced out the window, not immediately recognizing the scenery.

"Good morning," Grimmer murmured, a note of joking in his voice when Tenma met his eyes. Tenma stared for a moment, his heart doing something boyish and fluttery in his chest, smile reaching his eyes with warmth and vigor.

"It is a good morning, isn't it," Tenma sighed, tilting his head back to rest for a bit longer. The last dregs of illness were stubborn, but easing away steadily. He would miss that little town. Perhaps they'd go back one day...

[zapdragon555]

The rational side of Tenma caught him before his heart could tizzy too far into thoughts of leisure. He opened his eyes, the warm smile on his face fading into something more present, more serious. He quietly sat up, the jacket slipping down and pooling in his lap. Grimmer gave him a questioning look, brows knitting ever so slightly as he studied Tenma's distant gaze.

"You alright?" came the soft question, threatening to put Tenma at ease.

He didn't quite let it. "Nuremburg is close to here," Tenma murmured, realizing it as he said it, taking in the passing towns and recognizing a few. The thought of leaving the safety of the train, where he could pretend for a few moments that Grimmer and he were on some vacation (impossible--no vacation made his joints hurt like they had for months), some honeymoon... ah, what a silly notion.

Tenma knew better than to plan for the future, especially when it involved another person. As he'd decided before... if anything went wrong, he'd make sure Grimmer escaped safely, and if that meant never seeing the man again, so be it.

He repeated that promise in his head over and over again, setting his expression into a sad, aching one. Grimmer's eyes hadn't left him. Quietly, Grimmer stood, and closed the door to their train car with a click, enough of a noise to draw Tenma out of his thoughts.

[zapdragon555]

When Grimmer returned, satisfied with the bit of increased privacy, Tenma had pressed his face into his hands for a moment, rubbing at his eyes, pushing his hair back. "You're upset about something," Grimmer murmured quietly, sitting back down, and then, a timid, "aren't you?"

Tenma nodded, deciding lying was useless. He took his hands away, eyes rimmed with wetness. "It isn't important," he said softly, resting his mouth and chin in his palm and angling his head to stare out the window. His body flinched at the gentle hand that rested on his shoulder, trailed down his arm to finally take his hand, their tangle of laced fingers out in the open.

Tenma squeezed, drawing strength from Grimmer's willingness to do things so confidently. Where as Tenma flourished behind closed doors, public was frightening, was unsafe in more ways than one. All eyes, all ears, constantly vigilant. Grimmer made up for his inexperience with love, with feeling, in his unflinching calmness.

"Thank you," Tenma whispered after a moment, a few tears escaping his eyes, hurriedly wiping them with his free hand. Grimmer nodded, expression one of soft worry.

"Always."

[zapdragon555]

For all of the harrowing things he'd been through, Tenma felt somewhat at-ease about their mission for this area. A stronghold directory, previously untouchable and unknowable by the old government's laws, had recently come into the hands of a private investor that donated all of its records to a public space. It was recent--Tenma could only hope they'd get there before anyone else who was after the same thing did.

The likelihood that this directory had originally held information about 511 Kinderheim, or any of those government experiments, was higher than Tenma could've hoped for. With luck, they'd find something tangible this time.

Over time the closed train car door eased Tenma into a slouching position, leaning towards Grimmer's seat as he allowed his eyes to close once more. Truth be told, he hadn't slept much the previous night. His heart wouldn't calm down. He could think of worse reasons to be sleepless, but it did nothing for him here. And damn his heart, it kicked up speed again when Grimmer's hand untangled from his and looped around Tenma's shoulders, supporting the doctor with a steady arm. "It'll be a little while before we reach Nuremburg. You can sleep. I promise." Tenma blinked, glancing up at Grimmer in his peripheral, which was as much warning as he had before Grimmer turned to press the softest, and quickest of kisses against his temple. Tenma made a soft sound, staring at nothing for a few seconds, then tucked his face into Grimmer's shoulder with a kind of happy groan.

"I won't sleep much if you keep doing that," he murmured, voice warm with affection. It had been easy... so easy to slip into this dynamic. Like they'd been this close all along, with nothing but a thin barrier separating them. It felt better than Tenma imagined--and far, far more comforting, more like home.

It had been a long time since he'd felt something like that.