Fingers were tracing over his back.

Ren twitched. “Cut it out.”

Movement only made the sheet slide further down, and the fingers cheerfully moved on to the skin now bared. They danced across his shoulder blades and skipped down the small of his back.

“Cut it out,” Ren ordered, a bit muffled by his pillow.

He really had to stop sleeping on his stomach.

“Why?” Yoh asked.

Ren was silent a moment, and Yoh slid a fingertip down the length of his spine. Ren twitched again. “Because it tickles, damn it,” he grumbled.

“It does?” The innocent tone made Ren growl; he was never sure how serious Yoh was. “Sorry.” The fingertips retreated.

Just as Ren was settling down to go back to sleep, in the expectation that Yoh would leave him alone now, the touch returned. Palms, instead of fingers, stroking down the planes of his back. Ren buried his face in his pillow, stifling a resigned sigh. He should really know better, by this time.

Warmth settled into him, as Yoh’s hands moved up and down his back, sweeping over his skin. Ren sighed again, pleasure overcoming irritation. It was never very difficult for Yoh to smooth his irritation away, a fact which, when he was properly wound up, irritated him in and of itself. But at the moment the gentle hands passing over his back as though clearing something away took up too much of his attention for him to be annoyed.

And then Yoh stopped.

“Anna says that Tamao says dinner will be ready soon.”

There was a pause while Ren assimilated this information. “This was all just to wake me up for dinner?” Ren inquired, flatly, half wishing he could find the idea harder to believe. He was going to get Yoh for this, later tonight, even if he had to arm wrestle Anna in order to get possession of him. As long as she didn’t insist on poker again…

“You don’t want her to send Horo Horo up to wake you, do you?” Yoh asked, laughing.

Ren snorted. But when he stretched and would have turned over, Yoh’s hands pressed him down again.

“Just a minute.”

Ren was drawing breath to object, strenuously, when he felt Yoh’s hair brush his back. His shiver gave Yoh time to press a kiss to the center of his back, and Ren stilled, suddenly flushed.

“Okay.” A rustle as Yoh sat back. “Ren?” he added, when Ren didn’t move.

“That was the first place you touched me,” Ren said, voice low. Not in body, of course; that had probably been during the scuffle to get him into the water at Yoh’s house in Tokyo, which Ren still remembered vividly. The place Yoh had just kissed was where Ren’s father had touched him to set the family sigil. It was the place he had felt warmth when he cast the sigil off. It was the first place Yoh’s spirit had truly touched him.

“I know.” He could hear the smile in Yoh’s voice, and Yoh’s fingers brushed across his back once more. “Come on. Dinner.”

Ren waited until the heat in his face subsided. Even if Yoh’s grin told him that Yoh knew perfectly well it had been there, it was a matter of principle.

“Hurry up, then,” Ren told him, pulling on a robe and sweeping past Yoh to the door. “You’re always so laid back about everything. Don’t think I’ll leave you any food out of pity if you’re too slow.”

“Of course,” Yoh said, agreeably.

Ren stalked down the stairs ahead of him, dignity intact. Even if he did have to bite back a soft breath as Yoh smoothed the cloth over his back one last time.

He was definitely going to get Yoh back for this later tonight.

End