That last creature had been more powerful than the ones he had met so far, and as he put his sword away, Soma decided a little break from the fighting would be a good idea. The place seemed to be overrun with creatures of all kinds and sizes, and he didn't even dare to think what he would find behind the area where that last one had been, and he didn't feel like taking on them without recovering from the last battle.

He crossed the corridor he had came from, thankfully finding it free of monsters right now. The creatures seemed to return if he left the area for too long, but he managed to make his way over to the vertical tower with the room where he could rest with no trouble. There were a couple of bats in the tower, but he dodged them and climbed up, into the safe room.

Soma didn't know what made these rooms so special - maybe it was the Virgin Mary statue that kept the monsters away - but it wasn't like he cared. The place was perfect for resting, and somehow being there made him feel more refreshed. He sat by the statue, idly checking through the items he had managed to find. One healing potion, some other random items and weapons he had managed to find...

There were footsteps by the door right then, and Soma froze. Monsters weren't supposed to enter these rooms - at least, he hadn't seen that happen so far. He reached for his item collection and grabbed a Combat Knife that some zombie had dropped when dying, and leaped up, raising the weapon at the monster sneaking into the room.

"Whoa," the someone said, backing away. "No need to get so excited. Soma, wasn't it?" The man in a white suit smiled. "Put that away. I'm a friend, right?"

Soma blinked, his hand dropping. "Uh. Sorry about that, Graham," he replied with an embarrassed smile. He recognized the man now; they had met earlier, before he had ended up in the chapel area. "It's just that I've noticed these rooms are safe from monsters, and I wasn't expecting anyone to show up."

"That's quite fine," Graham replied with a hint of a smile on his face. "Someone like you, unrelated to all this, would be more safer staying in a room like this, though."

The boy shrugged. "Nah. I can't do that, got to find a way out of here. So you're here to take a little break from exploring too, huh? I just beat some... strange monster in the chapel area over there. Big ugly thing. Hope there aren't many more of those kind around."

"Perhaps," the older man answered, nodding towards where Soma's things where. "But if you don't care for company..."

Soma shrugged. "Oh that's okay. Seeing someone who's actually alive is a welcome change from all those zombies." He returned to the statue and collected his things. "Sit down or something. Or need a healing potion? Don't know what's really in these, but they seem to help..."

"No thank you, you save your potions. You might run into something even more nasty out there." Graham said, smiling. He did take the offer of resting for a while, though, and he sat down by the statue and stretched his arms a little. "Besides, these rooms will heal you. Remains of Dracula's magic... Interesting isn't it?"

"I guess," the boy replied, leaning his back against the statue. "Not many of these around though. Will have to do with what we can find I suppose."

Graham chuckled and gave his companion a strange look. "Better rest while you can then. Would be a shame for a handsome young man like you to lose your life while fighting those things."

Some grinned, a little embarrassed from being suddenly praised like that. It wasn't, however, completely unknown to him - he was aware of his looks, and tended to get random compliments. "Heh, thanks," he said, before glancing at the older man quite admiringly. "I could say the same thing about you," he added then with a smirk.

"Could you now," Graham asked, giving the young man another look. "Well if you excuse me, Soma. Didn't think you were into such things while running into you back there. Then again, you do seem to have a taste for clothing..." He turned a little and raised his hand to Soma's coat. "Nice design..." He commented, before slipping his hand to the boy's thigh.

Soma blinked. Graham hadn't given him the impression of being really anything either, but... The older man was certainly making a move on him. He considered for a moment but smiled then. Not that he had anything to lose, and Graham was pretty nice. Soma really wasn't into casual sex, but then again, taking where they were into consideration...

"Thanks," he replied, his gaze studying the older man. He was about to comment something else, but Graham then smirked and turned around, kneeling in front of the boy and working on Soma's jeans.

"Well," Graham commented. "What's there wrong in a little break from that fighting? We're friends after all." He smiled at the boy as he undid Soma's belt. The young man of course had no idea what Graham was thinking - which simply was that Graham felt like amusing himself a little. The boy offered no threat after all, and he idly considered keeping Soma around after his mission in the castle was accomplished.

Soma looked down, trying to figure out something to say. It was kind of sudden, and he was supposed to be trying to find the throne room as soon as possible and Mina was waiting for him too. They needed to get out of the castle. Then again, Graham was just as stuck here as they were.

That was as far as he managed to get with his thoughts - Graham finished his task quickly and slipped his hand onto the boy's crotch. Soma couldn't help but to blush a little. He couldn't help the fact that someone touching him like this - the fact that that someone here was as handsome as Graham was included - aroused him.

"A lovely sight," Graham complimented with a mischievous tone, fondling the younger man's erection. He then leaned forward and captured the tip of the sex into his mouth, and Soma slapped a hand over his mouth to keep himself silent.

He couldn't really tell if Graham had done it before or not, and it wasn't like he had that much experience in the end. He closed his eyes, suddenly remembering where they were and exactly what he was leaning against, but that certainly didn't seem to be bothering the older man. Graham's touch felt warm, almost hot, and certainly ten thousand times better than touching himself.

"Mmmh," Soma mumbled against his hand, unconsciously slipping his free hand to Graham's shoulder and spreading his legs a little. The older man chuckled a little before continuing to lick on the tip of the boy's sex, his fingers working on the base of the organ. Soma pressed himself forward a little, sensitive to touch.

"A lovely sight indeed," Graham said, glancing up. "And you look quite adorable..." He returned to his caresses, taking more of Soma's erection into his mouth now, deeper this time. The boy squirmed and pressed his hips forward again. He mumbled something again, the sound ending up muffled against his palm. He felt that he couldn't take it much longer.

Graham continued, his actions firm and determined, and to Soma he appeared somewhat amused, although the boy couldn't figure out why. The warmth around his erection was too much very soon - Soma was, after all, only 18. He tensed for a moment and pressed his back against the statue, a quiet moan escaping from his lips, but he managed to keep himself from crying out as he came. He slumped against the statue then, feeling a little weak for a moment.

"There now," Graham said as he stood, catching the boy before he fell. "Feeling good, perhaps?"

"Ah, yeah," Soma mumbled, reaching to pull his coat to cover himself before trying to adjust his clothes a little. He searched his pocket for a handkerchief but found that he didn't really need one. He fixed his pants then and glanced at Graham.

"You, um..." He handed the handkerchief to the man, giving him a silly grin. Graham smirked, then took the item and cleaned his hands. "That was kind of..." He laughed a little, then smiled. "Eh, well..."

Graham laughed. "A little friendly gesture. After all, you did need a break from being chased by those creatures out there. Perhaps we could..." He paused, studying the boy with an odd smirk on his face. "Try this again after this is over. Or what do you say, Soma?"

"Sure, maybe, I mean, why not," Soma replied, feeling that he needed to sit down for a moment. "When we figure a way out of here and all..."

The older man smiled. "Certainly. Well, I must be off then. Good luck, and do be careful." He patted Soma on the shoulder then went for the door.

Soma watched as Graham left and grinned to himself. A little break was what he had wanted, and he sure had gotten one.

Author's notes:

Another challenge entry. I had no ideas so... Blaming this on MarsDragon again. Yeah the challenge was about "friendship" and Soma did think Graham was so friendly to him.

- Lady Harken (April, 2006)