If everything goes wrong, do something right (Part 11)
Kyouichi scanned the sky for the tiny blue dot that had been Tatsuma only a split second before.
Quick fucker.
Sighing, he bent to pick up his bokken which had clattered to the ground during their first descent. Next to the bokken lay a blue pencil.
That wasn't there...
Kyouichi picked up the pencil and read "Lofty Suites, 500 15th Street, Tokyo" in bold white letters. He glanced back up at the sky, smiled and pocketed the clue.
***
Tatsuma waited inside of a cloud for an elderly woman on the 10th floor to finish watering her window plants before descending onto his balcony. Stepping inside and setting down his bag, he couldn't help but think about his long day at school while circling the open space mindlessly.
Unbelievable. Mr. million-questions turned utter asshole pops his head in late, pleads for help, harasses me all day, demands to be my boyfriend, before finally jumping onto me from a roof...
Tatsuma could feel himself getting more upset than he'd allow. He shook his head and took in a deep breath.
Enough. It's done and through.
As he exhaled he let his feet touch the ground. He didn't care because it simply didn't matter.
Looking up, he realized that his apartment was waiting for him to do something. He considered leaving to watch for crime or demons but decided against it - still daytime. He considered starting his homework and brushed off the idea- he had all night. Reading, making or getting food, exercising, and seeing a movie all occurred to and displeased him for various reasons.
He floated into his kitchen and decided to take out the trash, which wasn't full.
After that he opened a book he'd promised an old mentor that he would read and tried to figure out where he'd stopped three months ago. Four minutes later he set the book down and apologized to his mentor for thinking the book was boring as hell.
Finally, Tatsuma gave up, dropped his arms, and announced to no one that he was bored.
***
Kyouichi ran back into the school searching for the one person guaranteed to have it.
Too short, no glasses, black hair, black hair, no glasses... there!
Tohno looked sarcastically at Kyouichi as he ran up to her and began.
"I need a picture of Tatsuma."
"Why?"
"Because he's gone missing and the police are asking for a photo." Too easy.
Tohno laughed. "Class ended twenty minutes ago. In what country is twenty minutes considered legally missing?"
"Er, I found the ransom note."
Tohno shook her head. "Someone powerful to kidnap Tatsuma is asking for money? No."
Damn. "Look I don't have time to argue with-"
"You mean lie to." She interrupted.
Kyouichi ignored that. "So just give me the picture I know you have or I'll I break your camera and your glasses."
Tohno smiled while adjusting her glasses. "You're right- I have one, but you're nuts if you think you're getting it for free."
Kyouichi rolled his eyes. "What do you want?"
She smiled evilly. "A picture for a picture?"
Kyouichi looked confused and felt wary. "What kind of a picture?"
Tohno glanced around and signaled for him to follow her into a dim and empty room.
"This will do." She stated simply while pulling out her digital camera and shutting the door behind him. "Now then, let's see that fighting face. And don't be shy."
Kyouichi groaned.
***
Tatsuma was tired of his nap. He flipped onto his left side, then his stomach. After a few more minutes of failed sleep he lifted off the bed and amused himself by walking around his ceiling in a circle. Sick of the cramped space, he decided to go downstairs to watch the television in the community room. Maybe something important was happening somewhere.
***
"Ok, one more from the left."
Kyouichi snorted but turned on his heel. Tohno snapped the picture and nodded. "Alright, we're done."
Releasing a long breath and relaxing some mental muscle Kyouichi felt his face cool and get that tingly, loose feeling. He complained loudly and rubbed his cheeks.
"That bad?" She said jotting down notes.
"Just feels weird when you're not using it." He shook his arms to drain a little nervous energy. "What are you writing?"
"Words and gestures." She said simply.
"Hm." He walked toward her shoulder to catch a peek. "I should be checking for accuracy."
"Tut, tut! Accuracy is my highest goal." She pocketed the tiny notebook. "Secrecy is second."
"Not other people's."
"Naturally." She shrugged. "Speaking of, didn't you want a picture of some kind?
He nodded as she stood.
"Follow me, IF!" She defiantly blocked his way. "You can swear on pain of death to keep your mouth shut."
He thought back and smiled. "That I can manage."
***
Tatsuma flipped through the channels for any violent looking news.
Come on evil guys- don't fail me now.
***
Tohno led Kyouichi to her house in silence. She introduced him politely to her mother, who glanced at him with too much hope and shuffled them upstairs eagerly.
"You should tell your mom we made out. It'll make her day."
Tohno glared. "This won't take long."
Inside her room she approached a heavile shelfedcloset and pulled two notebooks from the walls. She held up the red one first. "This is group pictures."
She held up the thinner dark blue book. "All Tatsuma."
Kyouichi pointed at the blue one, which she handed over.
"You can sit at the desk. I'm getting water, you want anything?"
"No." Kyouichi said absent mindedly.
***
Tatsuma woke up during the traffic report with a start.
He glanced around the room and tried to figure out the time. Almost four thirty.
He glanced at the lack of news and decided to change channels.
Apperently it's the perfect day. I should be happy.
***
Kyouichi turned the fifty-somethingth page (filled with Tatsuma eating) and felt his jaw drop.
"Tohno!" He yelled into her hallway while plucking the naughty four by six from it's clear pocket. "You are so busted!"
She opened the door as Kyouichi presented the pic to the hallway. Her snarky remark snagged in her throat and she whipsered "shit" under her breath.
Kyouichi cocked an eyebrow. "This the boy's locker room, isn't it?"
"That's none of your..." She reached for the picture.
"Because I don't think," Kyouichi said twirling the chair away from her. "Tatsuma walks around town with his shirt off."
"It's not what..."
"So he knows?"
Tohno started to answer but couldn't.
"Uh huh." Kyouichi nodded his head slowly. "So here's what we're going to do."
Tohono sat sadly on her bed and listened.
"I'll be taking this," He pocketed the shirtless picture. "As well as this one." He showed her a smiling pic of Tatsuma in class. "And you are going to stay out of the boy's locker room, yes?"
"Yes." Tohno whispered, head hung low.
"Good girl." He patted her shoulder. "You can keep my picture since you know better than to embarrass me now, right?"
Tohono nodded.
Kyouichi stood to take his leave ans as he walked through her door he said quietly over his shoulder- "Pervert is easier to spell than paparitzi."
"Papparazzi." She corrected emotionlessly.
"Exactly."
***
Tatsuma wasn't listening to the shampoo commercial, but he wasn't looking away either.
What show was I watching?
He sighed and changed the channel only to see the same shampoo commercial ending. Holding in a groan, he turned the television off and looked at the stack of magazines on the table.
Rag mag, fitness mag, news mag... and mostly one's he'd read during the past weekend. He settled on last month's car magazine only to discover the first twenty pages were ads. Frustrated, he tossed the magazine down and made his way to the door. He refused to admit that he was exactly as bored as he'd been all Saturday and Sunday.
So much for a community center.
***
Kyouichi looked up at the tall, dark blue apartment building covered in glass. Spiffy for an orphan.
The sign outside read "Lofty Suites" in the same bold white letters as the pencil in his hand.
Kyouichi opened the front door for a middle aged woman before going in.
There was an elderly guard behind a mahogany desk and a card reader next to only the elevator button. Kyouichi confidently walked up to the guard.
"Hi. I delivered a pizza here yesterday and forgot to give the customer back his debit card. Can you call the elevator down ?"
"Sure son. What floor?"
Exactly. "If I remember right it was five, though I may be thinking of another place. A few months of this job and every building looks the same, you know?"
The old man smiled and spoke appreciatively of his good deed while pulling a white, plastic card out of his desk and heading to the elevator.
"Oh, it's no biggy. I'd want someone to give me my card back." Kyouichi said while politely following the guard.
"But that's just what's wrong with the rest of youth today. Never thinking who they would feel in another's shoes." The elevator dinged and the doors opened.
"You're right." Kyouichi said while stepping around the guard and into the elevator. "Kids today- completely thoughtless."
***
Tatsuma decided he was hungry. He headed for the elevator before remembering the utter solitude awaiting him. Feeling a little silly for avoiding his own home he turned towards the main entrance in search of a decent meal. There had to be one good ramen shop on this side of town.
***
Kyouichi stopped on the second floor, looked down both hallways, saw no one, and glared at the fourteen other buttons.
This could take a while.
He stepped out of the elevator and decided to start on the left.
***
Tatsuma slowly made his way out of the building, waving at his gaurd as he left.
***
Kyouichi knocked on door furthest to the left and waited. Cop? Gangster? Brother?
A woman in her twenties opened the door and smiled at him coyly. "What can I do for you stranger?"
Kyouichi held up the smiling picture. "Have you seen this young man before?"
She looked at it and frowned. "No. Why, he in trouble?"
"No Mam, he's actually been missing from his family for weeks. If you see him please call this number." He pulled one folded piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to her.
"Alright, I'll watch for him." She said taking the paper and then leaning against her door frame. "So, can I call if I don't see him?"
"Mam, this is a very serious matter and I would appreciate your not making lite of it. Besides, I'm seventeen." He said turning away from her door.
"Yeah, well nice business card too, loser!"
Kyouichi smiled. Hope it's not this floor.
***
Tatsuma found a ramen shop with a huge red sign advertising the freshest vegetables and cheapest prices. Jackpot, he thought as he went into the small restaurant and took a seat at the bar. Seven other patrons surrounded him and Tatsuma enjoyed the human company, silent as he was. Across the room sat three teenage boys in a booth laughing and tossing each other's silverware onto the ground. Tatsuma couldn't help but listen as he glanced through the menu.
"Man you've got to be kidding me. I'd never bone Jing-Mei- her boobs are TINY. They're so small every morning they point inwards." Says a short young man with cropped black hair.
"You're wrong man. The girl's with the tiniest boobs give the best blow jobs because their moms and grandmas all gave the best blow jobs. It's social evolution." The other two laugh at the tall, black eyed youth. "I'm serious though." He continues through their laughter. "The gorgeous girls get headaches right before bedtime and want to break up every time they gain five pounds. Fuck that. I'll take a normal, decent, dick-sucker any day."
"Well you can have all the ugly, dick-sucking moms and grandmas you want. More gorgeous women for me!" Says crop-head.
"Yeah right. You'd be lucky if a whore laid you for twice the price." Laughed the last friend who was wearing a baseball cap.
"Twice? Last time your mom asked for half." Retorted crop-head.
Tatsuma laughed aloud and the cropped haired boy turnedaround towards him and gave him a appreciatively look. The other two glanced over a second later, less curiously. At the three full stares Tatsuma wanted to say something, but could think of nothing, so instead turned back into the menu. A few seconds later they continued talking and Tatsuma tried to ignore them.
A middle aged woman in a green apron approached him politely, asking for his drink and food order.
"Number 35 with a strawberry milk, please."
The woman nodded, repeated his order, took his menu and left. Tatsuma waited a few minutes, cleaning his nails. Finally, with nothing else to do, Tatsuma turned toward the three boys again.
Just say something...
***
The door slammed in Kyouichi's face. He glared, put the photo back in his pocket and kicked the wall next to the door. The old man inside bellowed that he was calling the cops.
"Go ahead! The station's closer to my house anyway!" Yelled Kyouichi as he rushed into the waiting elevator.
Hopefully not floor six
Once inside he reached down and picked up his shoe, which he'd left to stop the doors from closing, and hit the button for floor seven. He fished out his master paper and scratched out floor six before rethinking it and writing "11-18 ?".
Having staked out the building for nearly twenty minutes two worries were becoming insistent- 1.) that Tatsuma might not live in this building (hence,the pencil was never his) and 2.) that if this was Tatsuma's building Kyouichi was undeniably stalking him against his will. These thoughts disturbed him, though not as much as what to say if he found Tatsuma.
Sorry I figured out your life secret, blew up in your face, and then hunted down your house. Wanna kiss and make up?
Kyouichi laughed to himself. Chasing a dragon for a date. Weird world.
The bell dinged for floor seven as a new though dawned- Tatsuma can fly.
He scratched his chin before pressing the button for the fifteenth floor. Start at the top, duh.
***
Tatsuma's face was burning as he waited for his server to bring back his order back in a to-go container. The crop-haired boy had his arm over his shoulders. "Aw, you're leaving so soon?"
"Yeah, you should stay." Said baseball cap.
"I just have some stuff that I needed..." Started Tatsuma while desperately watching for a flash of green apron.
"Nah man, just chill with us and we'll show you a good time." Replied cropped-hair.
"Yeah, you want to show him a good time." Said baseball cap with a laugh that the other two joined in on. Tatsuma eyed the three of them quietly and hoped that he could leave before anything happened.
"I think my food is ready so if I could just get around-" He indicated for cropped-hair to scoot over and let him out of the booth. Crop-hair just squeezed Tatsuma's shoulders and leaned in close.
"Where's the fire, huh?"
"Your pants." Replies the tall boy.
"Shut it faggots." Cropped-hair shouted angrily. The other two smiled and looked away. Cropped-hair glared intensely for good measure then turned, smiling, to Tatsuma who was considering flying the coop. "We really don't mean anything by this bullshit, they're just joking around. But seriously, you said you went to Magami high right?"
"Yeah." Hiyuu shifted away from the closeness as best he could.
"I hear there's some real hotties there."
"Uh, yeah." How long does it take to box noodles?
"You ever get with one? Or two?"
Tatsuma forced an expressionless face. "That's private."
The three waited for more.
'So is this!" Cropped-hair hollered while reaching between Tatsuma's legs. Tatsuma's face burned as he knocked the hand away and the other two laughed loudly.
"Stop."
"Aw, he's no fun." Said the tall boy seated across from him.
"Nah, just shy." Said cropped-hair with another meaningful squeeze. "Never been with a chick, right?" He licked his lips and waited for a reply.
"Have so." Tatsuma said, jerking the hand from around his shoulders and pressing it into crop-haired's chest. "Two, specifically."
The other two hooted with laughter and crop-hair looked a little embarrassed. Tatsuma beemed.
"Nice man, that's what i'm talking about!" Said the tall boy who Tatsuma trusted slightly more. "So tell me, what we're their boobs like?"
Shit...
***
Kyouichi hadn't figured out much. No one answered their door on the top floor, his first thought. The fourteenth floor yielded a little old lady who knew nothing and and middle aged man and wife who only wanted to be rid of him. He decided to skip the thirteenth floor out of superstition and was waiting for the twelfth floor when a young girl got onto the elevator.
As good a shot as any.
"Excuse me pretty young lady-" Kyouichi said smiling. The girl giggled and looked down. "I was wondering if you've ever seen this boy before." He showed her the picture and she nodded sweetly.
Bingo.
"That's great. Do you know where he lives?" She nodded again. "Can you tell me where?"
"He lives bellow my grandma and carries her groceries when she asks." She said while gently taking the picture and shifting left to right.
"Wow, that's cool for your grandma." She nodded. "And where does your grandma live?"
She shook her head. "Not supposed to tell strangers that."
Kyouichi looked mock bashful. "Well, you're just too smart for me!"
She smiled and glanced down at the picture again.
Kyouichi had an idea.
"You like it?" He said pointing at the lamenated valuable. She nodded shyly. "Well,If you tell me which floor he lives on you can keep it."
She nodded happily and pushed the button for the eleventh floor.
Fish in a barrel with bait.
***
"Well, uh, really soft and warm, duh. What'd you expect?"
"You got any pictures?" Demanded the boy with the baseball cap, and the tall boy next to him nodded enthusiastically.
"I don't keep those on me." Tatsuma answered, looking for his waitress.
"Shit man, that blows."
"Yeah," Agrees crop-hair, speaking up for the first time in a while. "But you do remember how big they were, right?"
Tatsuma nodded slowly. "Sure." Anytime would be great, lady.
"And the nipples? How big were those?" Asked crop-hair. The other two glanced at each other with a smile.
"I don't remem-"
"Were they like this?" He made a small circle with his thumb and index finger. "Or more like this?" He widened the circle.
"Uh, the first, but I don't really feel comfortable -"
"Well that's not so big." Interrupted baseball cap.
"You must be lying. All girls have big nipples." Said the tall boy.
Tatsuma felt the corner he was being backed into. "Well I didn't look really look at the-"
"Like this." Crop-hair made the largest circle he could. The other two nodded and Tatsuma awkwardly nodded at the gesture.
"Sure, like that." He turned away only to have an arm snake around his shoulders again.
"You fit that into your mouth?" Said crop-hair, pressing his circled fingers around Tatsuma's mouth. "The whole thing?"
"I never said-" Tatsuma started but was interrupted.
"Prove it!"
"Yeah, prove it!" Agreed the two across from them.
Tatsuma looked confused. "Prove what?"
"That you could fit a nipple that size in your mouth." Said crop-haired while the other two gigled. "Just get your mouth around this and prove it."
Tatsuma wasn't putting someone's hand in his mouth. He batted the circle away. "Stop."
"Come on." Cropped hair pressed the circle closer to Tatsuma's mouth as the other two laughed loudly.
"How soft?" Wheezed baseball cap.
"Soft enough." Answered cropped-hair. Tatsuma looked at him confused. "I think he'd be pretty good once he got used to the pressure and tas-"
Which was when Tatsuma finally figured out they're joke and decided he was getting out of the booth. He pushed, and when crop-hair shoved him back into the corner, Tatsuma let loose.
***
Kyouichi now knew that Tatsuma lived on the eleventh floor and not in the first, second, third, fourth or fifth apartment from the right as those housed people who were not Tatsuma.
Lucky number six?
He knocked four times and waited. Nothing. He knocked four more times. Still nothing.
Kyouichi frowned, took out his master paper and wrote "six?" with a circle around it. Then he moved onto seven.
***
The shrill, female owner was calling the cops and demanding that Tatsuma stay and sign insurance papers admitting fault. The two other boys were kneeling over their unconscious friend, picking away the broken bits of two booths from around his mangled body. The other patrons had left after the "explosion." Tatsuma had been trying to since he rose, horrified, from the ground four minutes earlier.
"You can't leave. You must stay and sign and tell the cops what you did." Yelled the owner.
"I told him to stop." Tatsuma said for the fiftieth time. "But he wouldn't and I pushed him. I swear I just pushed him."
The owner shook his head. "You pushed him through half my resturaunt?"
Tatsuma rolled his eyes. "Look I really have to go."
"NO! You are responsible-"
"I told him to sto-"
"I don't care! He's unconscious so it's your responsibility."
"When are the fucking medics coming!?" Yelled the tall boy.
"They said twenty minutes ten minutes ago." Replied the owner.
"He may be dead in ten minutes." The tall boy said while glaring at Tatsuma. "What the fuck is wrong with you? We were just joking you psycho."
Tatsuma turned to the two kneeling boys and took in their despising glares, turned to the owner and saw a similar look that involved money more than violence.
"I'm sorry." Was all he said before walking toward the door. As the owner went to grab his arm he sped up and got away.
Tatsuma walked the short distance back to his apartment watching for cop cars, or anyone from the ramen shop. No one seemed to notice him, though, and soon he stood inside his building, safe and secure.
How fast was I moving back there? Did it look normal?
He waved at his guard, who smiled and waved back, before swiping his card and waiting for the elevator.
I paid and never ate Tatsuma thought to himself as he slumped against the steel doors.
***
Kyouichi had reached the end of the hallway. He glanced at his master paper while walking back to the elevator.
Possibly six, no one answered at eight. Apartment fourteen had the TV on but didn't answer, and someone definitely looked through the peep hole and didn't answer in seventeen.
He looked down the long hallway again. Probably seventeen. He started to return to try again, but paused, Try again tomorrow. No point in being ignored all night.
He hit the down button and waited.
***
Tatsuma stepped into the elevator and pressed for the eleventh floor. The floors slowly dropped beneath him.
***
Kyouichi was still considering re-knocking on seventeen. It's got to be him. Who else would look and then leave? He turned towards the curious door again and wondered until the elevator dinged for ten and he turned back.
***
Tatsuma felt a stinging in his arm and looked down at this bleeding elbow.
Crap.
He twisted his arm to see the awkwardly placed wound.
***
The doors opened and Kyouichi saw Tatsuma looking down. Kyouichi instantly stepped right as the door continued to open, barely covering him as he slid. Go left.
***
Tatsuma covered his arm as he stepped into the hallway and walked to his door.
***
Kyouichi watched Tatsuma's back as he walked away and let out a quiet breath.
***
Tatsuma opened, entered, and shut his door before quickly going to his cabinet for some gauze.
***
Kyouichi cooly walked up to apartment eight and knocked on the door.
***
Tatsuma's head shot up.
They found me that quick?
He froze. They don't know I'm here.
The knocking continued, louder.
Or they followed me and absolutely know I'm here.
He cursed himself, cursed his birth, and cursed his arm as he shouted in a strained voice. "One second!"
***
Kyouichi smiled at the voice and when the door popped open a second later, Tatsuma looked so relieved and happy that Kyouichi quit worrying for a split second.
"Hey."
"Hey." Tatsuma replied without thinking.
"Can I come in?"
"Yeah-" Tatsuma caught himself. "Wait, what are you doing here? Wait-" Tatsuma blinked. "You know where I live?"
"This is yours." Kyouichi held out the blue pencil with white letters. "Figured you might want it before someone else figures it out."
Tatsuma looked down, felt stupid, and snatched the pencil away. "Nice. So now you're stealing things from me?"
"I didn't steal it, I found it on the ground after school."
"Yeah right." Tatsuma went to shut the door.
Kyouichi put his hand and foot in the door. "I came all this way and you're not letting me in? Aren't we still friends?"
"Yeah, until you stole my address."
"Listen, was the pencil in your pocket or your backpack when you started flipping and dropping me behind the gym?" Kyouichi tilted his head to the side and offered his innocent hands to the ceiling.
Tatsuma thought back, cursed himself, and widened the door. "Ok, you didn't steal it, but you can't come in. I've had a rough day and I just want to be with someone."
Kyouichi looked confused. "What?"
"I said I've had a rough-"
"Caught that." Interrupted Kyouichi. "Need that last part again."
"I just want to be alone."
"No, no." Kyouichi shook his head. "That's not what you said the first time."
Tatsuma glared.
Kyouichi smiled.
They stood in expression-filled silence for a few seconds until Tatsuma suddenly shoved Kyouichi two feet back and slammed his door.
"Just go home." He yelled while walking to his cabinet again.
Kyouichi picked himself off the ground and called Tatsuma's mother a rude name. Leaning against the door he gathered himself for this next ploy.
"Tohno has a naked picture of you."
"WHAT?!?!" Tatsuma nearly fell out of the air. "Where? How did she-"
"I dunno, but I got it now."
Tatsuma was worried. "You have it?"
"Wassat? Open the door!" Kyouichi yelled.
Tatsuma paused, thought of what could be in the picture and quickly opened his door
"You really have it?" Tatsuma said sadly.
"Yep, yep." Replied Kyouichi as he stepped around Tatsuma and into the apartment. "Whoa." He walked to the middle and spun around. "Just one big room. Pretty cool."
"No, no come on in. Make yourself at home." Tatsuma said sarcastically to the hallway while shutting his door. "Look just give me the picture and-"
"Can't. It's at my house, under my mattress." He looked over at Tatsuma who winced. "See but unlike her, I won't show it to all the girls in our class."
"What?" Tatsuma said, his shoulders sagging and his face dropping.
"Well maybe not each and every one but, you know, a good few." He looked up. "Is that a punching bag hanging from your ceiling?"
"Huh?" Tatsuma looked up. "Oh yeah."
"Is that what you use to practice?"
Tatsuma nodded sadly.
Kyouichi looked up at the twenty foot gap appreciatively. "Cool. So anyway I got it from her and it's safe now."
"Give it to me."
"No."
Tatsuma was stunned. "Don't joke around."
"I'm not. I won't give it back unless I get another chance." Kyouichi rubbed his neck and shook his head. "I figure if we're really done it's a good way to remember the good times, you know?"
Tatsuma sat on his bed and covered his face with his hands. You can't just beat him to death.
Kyouchi paused in his slow perusal to look over at the distraught boy.
"You ok?"
Tatsuma threw up a flustered "ok" sign only to think about his last attempt at eating and found himself laughing bitterly.
Kyouichi was regretting the white lie somewhat. He quietly walked over and sat next to his upset friend.
"Rough day?"
Tatsuma laughed. "You're the one threatening me with keeping my, my..."
"Unwitting pornography?"
Tatsuma groaned. "Just give me the stupid picture
Kyouichi sat without responding for a few minutes, enjoying the silent proximity. Finally he lay his head on Tatsuma's lap and lazily tossed his arms around his waist.
"I had a shitty weekend." He said into Tatsuma's leg.
Tatsuma was surprised at the passive move and genuine complaint. "What does that have to-"
" I couldn't stop thinking about kissing you; all night, all day." Kyouichi turned onto his back and pointed up at Tatsuma. "You're my sad weekend."
Tatsuma didn't know how to respond.
Kyouichi was thinking a deal was in order. "Anyway, wanna trade a pic for a peck?"
"I thought you didn't have-"
"Deal or not?" Kyouichi lifted both his hands to show Tatsuma his two options.
Tatsuma glared, rolled his eyes, and looked away.
Kyouichi lowered his arms, sunk a little more comfortable into the soft lap, and shut his eyes.
Tatsuma glanced down and felt his pulse rise at the sight of the patiently waiting brunette. He brushed a few bangs back and whispered- "Just once."
"Of course." Kyouichi said without opening his eyes.
Tatsuma waited another second, then lent down and softly touched mouths with the taller boy bellow him. Kyouichi gently wrapped his hand behind Tatsuma's head.
For the first time in three days they both lost track of time.
THE END!