RP Log: Kaidoh & Kenken
Apr. 2nd, 2006 05:13 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
https://users.livejournal.com/-rattlesnake/ posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
tenipuri_xpDate: Tonight (Sunday, 4/2)
Rating: PG-13/R
Summary: Kaidoh & Kenken go on what starts out as a wonderful date~ Alas, things go severely wrong when Kaidoh's image inducer is broken. D:
Kaidoh fidgeted with the bottom of his sweatshirt, glancing at the clock and realizing he only had a few more minutes before Aoi-kun was supposed to come and pick him up. They were finally getting off campus (Kaidoh hadn't been far from school been in weeks, so even though he was still a little nervous, he was looking forward to it), going out to dinner at a fairly decent restaurant. He hoped he wouldn't look too out of place - he didn't have many nice clothes, but he'd tried to find his newest and cleanest hoodie, as well as his nicest non-ripped pair of pants. He petted Neko and sat on his bed, waiting, studying Kuwahara-kun's soccer ball on the floor of the other side of the room.
Ken skipped down the corridor, counting the yen in his wallet with a gleeful grin. Having rich parents was AWESOME. Just insinuating he had a date was enough to get them to transfer the cash into his account! Ken tried not to overuse the privilege, of course, but he couldn't help but spoil the people he liked! And he REALLY liked Kaidoh! So, semi-fancy restaurant it was! He didn't really like the stuffy places, so he didn't bother with one of those, but this was a nice Italian restaurant owned by a family who actually CAME from Italy! Boca de Beppo's had the BEST food, Ken hoped Kaoru would like it! He wasn't really sure whether or not he liked foreign food when he thought about it...
Today, Kentarou was wearing a nice red ribbed shirt with short sleeves and a pair of stonewashed blue jeans, both showed off his body to acceptable degrees. He and Kaidoh were going to look really good together!
"Kaoru-chan! Time for our daaaaate!!!"
Kaoru had given him permission to come into the room when he liked, so he didn't bother to knock like he usually did, but swung the door open with a bright grin and strolled over to join Ken in petting Neko. The action reminded him of the kittyfied Ryoma, and he chuckled merrily.
"Ryo-chan looks more like Neko than himself recently! It's really cute! ...Hey..."
Ken stared at Kaidoh's outfit and frowned.
"Why are you wearing a hoodie out today? It's nice weather! You should put on something lighter! Something that shows off more like mine!"
Ken flexed, displaying just how good his shirt was at outlining his muscles.
Kaidoh smiled nervously as Aoi-kun entered - he looked really nice, Kaidoh thought. He nodded as the other came over and scratched Neko behind the ears, but started, blushing when Aoi-kun paused and frowned at him.
"I... I, um, I don't know if that's a good idea," he said, glancing down so it wouldn't look like he was staring at Aoi-kun, though he looked even nicer when he flexed. He looked at the hem of his hoodie, feeling a little silly now. "I mean, I know I have the image inducer, but, um, I still don't know..." Come to think of it, Kaidoh hadn't worn short sleeves for anything other than a workout in nearly half a year. He'd been trying to hide his mutation so much that even when he'd received the image inducer, he still tended to wear the hoodies or other longsleeved shirts.
He did have a stash of fairly new t-shirts in his drawers, but he rarely wore them. "D-do you really think I should wear something better?" He glanced up at Aoi-kun now, figuring if he was going to be paying, then Kaidoh should be nice enough to wear something the other liked. He guessed. If it wouldn't be too bad...
Ken frowned again.
"I think you can wear whatever you want, but I don't like it when you cover yourself up like that! ...Wait a minute!"
Ken bounded over to the other boy's dresser, opening drawers, blushing when he spotted the underwear, and eventually finding some nice new t-shirts! One of those would be fine. And a nice button up to go over it too. Perfect! He held them up for Kaoru to look over.
"See? This would look nice! Don't be ashamed, Kaoru-chan! You should like who you are!"
Ken nodded firmly to punctuate his argument.
"Um -" Kaidoh started, but Aoi-kun was already going through his clothes... He was presented with a new set of clothes, and he took them tentatively glancing at them, then Aoi-kun. He... supposed he could wear these. They were new, so he'd have to be careful not to rip them, but they weren't so bad. Nothing he would've thought to wear on his own, though. Maybe he was going to need advice or something.
Nonetheless, he had something to wear now. "Um... okay," he said, blushing as he turned around, pulling off his hoodie carefully. Okay, so he'd changed in front of Ohtori-kun countless times - and even Kuwahara-kun, they were roommates. This wasn't so hard - and he already had the image inducer turned on, so at least Aoi wouldn't see the horrible growths along his ribs or shoulders. Kaidoh pulled on the new t-shirt, careful not to catch it on anything (even without visual cues, he knew where every sharp piece was) and carefully slid the buttoned shirt on over it before turning around, doing up the buttons and glancing up nervously. He felt strange, wearing such close-fitting clothes that weren't for working out.
"I-is this okay, now?"
Ken leaned forward to unbutton the shirt that Kaidoh had buttoned up, leaving it open so it could better show off his strong chest and collarbone. He grinned and laid a kiss on Kaoru's cheek.
"Perfect! You look much better when you're not hiding everything! Ready to go now? I think you'll like this place!"
Before waiting for an answer, he took the other boy's hand and started leading him out the door.
"Y-yeah," Kaidoh replied, but he was already being led out. He waved a quick goodbye to Neko, and then they were out the door and down the hall and leaving the building altogether. He quickened his steps a little, so they were at least walking side-by-side, though he didn't particularly feel like pulling his hand from the other's grasp. He... kind of liked the way Aoi-kun held his hand - Aoi-kun was strong, and very sure of himself. Kaidoh wished he could be like that, but it was hard.
The weather really was beautiful, and it was nice to be able to enjoy it without worrying too much about people staring at him. Kaidoh was still nervous, though, and kept glancing at the image inducer to ensure it was still on - he didn't want it to fail in the middle of this.
Ken squeezed Kaoru's hand, carefully, and smiled at him.
"Don't worry! It'll all turn out great, you'll see!"
He pointedly ignored any people staring at them as they walked, blissfully hand in hand, down the street. His dad always told him that anyone who'd hate someone over something so stupid wasn't worth his attention, and if they gave him anything over it, it was okay to belt them in the face.
Ken insisted on paying for everything, including the bus passes, and when they got on the bus, Ken sat them down and wrapped his arm around Kaoru.
"Wow the weather sure is great today! Oooh, have you heard that new song by... who does it again? The one that goes Dada dadaadadada dadadaaaaaadaaadadaaaa..."
Ken hated not being able to remember songs...
Kaidoh just nodded, trying to enjoy the afternoon. It wasn't hard, actually - Aoi-kun's good mood was kind of infectious, and Kaidoh really did like being outside a lot better than he liked being cooped up inside. The fresh air felt nice on his face, and he found himself grinning despite himself as they boarded the bus, though he still thought that maybe he shouldn't let Aoi-kun pay for everything.
Kaidoh nodded his agreement at the nice weather, but blinked - and blushed a little - as the other slid an arm around him and began singing. "I... I, uh... wait, I do know. Um, but I don't know who sings it either..." he said, feeling a little silly (people were giving them looks, but he supposed it could be worse). And besides - Aoi-kun really had a very nice voice. Nothing at all like Kaidoh's - Kaidoh had decent pitch, but his voice was just... not made for singing.
Ken snapped his fingers in frustration.
"I'll have to look it up when we get home! I wanted to sing it at a Karaoke bar! Ne, we should sing Karaoke together too! You've got such a deep voice! You must be a great singer!"
Ken's fingers busied themselves in Kaidoh's short black locks, curling strands of hair around them in such a way that he almost missed their stop. Luckily he pulled the cord just in time.
"We're here!"
Kaidoh blinked. Him? Sing? "Oh, n-no, I can't sing," he protested - he didn't like the way his voice sounded at all when he tried to sing. But Aoi-kun could sing all he wanted...
And then Kaidoh couldn't help but smile contentedly as fingers played through his hair - that felt really, really nice - and he barely stopped a pleased hum from escaping, saved by the fact that Aoi reached over to pull the cord to stop at the last moment.
He blinked, pulling himself back together as they stood, exiting the bus and walking down the sidewalk maybe half a block before they arrived at the restaurant - an Italian place that looked very nice from the outside. Kaidoh hadn't had Italian in ages - but he really liked pasta, so he squeezed Aoi's hand in appreciation as they entered, smiling happily and glad this was going so well. His track record hadn't been so great for a while, when it came to dates.
Ken grinned at the concierge, a fat, friendly Italian man who shook Ken's free hand merrily and patted Kaidoh on the back as they entered. He spoke in perfect, lightly accented Japanese.
"Ah! So good to see little Aoi grown up! And with a date, no less!"
He obviously wasn't overcomfortable with said date being a boy of all things, but to each his own and all. The Aoi family had been coming here since the Beppo's moved here from Italy during World War 2 after all, so there was more than a little customer loyalty when it came to them.
"Hey there Ossan! Got my reservation?"
"Of course! I got a good, private booth for you two, huh!"
Giuseppe was the man's name, though Ken could never pronounce it so he just called him Ossan instead. The main restaurant was downstairs, they passed through an authentic-looking brickwork staircase and hallway, comfortably carpeted and covered in portraits depicting Italy in all its glory. Portraits of the Vatican, novelty pictures of cute babies with wine, raucous parties with pasta and bread being passed around. The atmosphere was kindly and familial and there were plenty of other patrons! But, just as promised, there was a booth next to the stairs empty, with a "Reserved for little Aoi" sign on it.
Ken sat Kaoru down and Giuseppe gave them some menus, then bustled back upstairs to do his job. Consuela, the daughter, would be by in a bit to take their orders.
"What do you want, Kaoru-chan?"
Kaidoh was a little overwhelmed - not entirely in a bad way, but still... He tried not to gape as they were seated at a reserved table, with a sign for Aoi-kun and everything. "I didn't know you knew them!" he couldn't help saying, glancing around as the concierge left them to their menus. "I... that's amazing." He'd gotten the idea that Aoi's family was important before - but this brought the idea home a little more solidly.
Now he looked at the menu, trying to figure out what kind of pasta to get. There were so many kinds - and they all looked excellent, it was hard to choose. He scanned the menu over for several minutes before he was able to pick - Penne Cardinale, pasta with chicken and cream sauce that sounded delicious. "I... um, really, thanks." He knew this was probably nothing big to Aoi-kun, but it was something very big to Kaidoh. He felt like this was one of the best days he'd had in a long, long time.
"Nothing special, really! My grandparents knew them, so my parents know them, so I know them! Jii-san and Baa-san got married and had their dinner here! So it has nice memories for them! We went all the time when I was a kid, but I haven't been here for a few years. I promised myself I'd only come back here when I had someone special to share it with!"
Ken browsed the menu quickly, though he had a feeling he already knew what he wanted. Tortellini Carbonara, a rich, meaty stuffed pasta in a sauce with bacon, tomato and egg. Plenty of protein! And it tasted SO GOOD. He also took the liberty of ordering an appetizer platter and soup, along with salad and breadsticks. You didn't go to eat Italian without bringing along a big, empty stomach!
Consuela, a pretty Italian lady in her mid twenties, took their orders with a smile and a wink, promising to be back with their drinks in a moment.
"Isn't this place the best, though?"
"Yeah, it really is," Kaidoh agreed, blushing a little but even so, he was slowly relaxing - he had nothing to be nervous about, right? They were just getting dinner together - and everyone here was treating them so wonderfully, it was hard not to relax, if even just a little. The entire restaurant was festive, and he decided he really liked it here. "We never ate out at places like this," he admitted - then again, his family hadn't eaten out much to begin with. Which was all right, really - his mother was a wonderful cook, and he missed her meals. But when they had gone out, it hadn't been to anywhere like this.
He settled back in his chair, glad that Aoi-kun had asked him on this date. Maybe he could be the one to ask next time - he'd never stop worrying unless he made a conscious effort to try, right? He spotted Consuela (she was very pretty, and so courteous!) coming back over with their drinks, and offered her a shy smile.
Consuela did a deft twirl, taking the drinks and setting them down one by one as she did so, a little trick the customers liked. She smiled brightly with the edge that came from desiring tips and wanting to dazzle her "audience," and gave a bow that spoke of her Japanese naturalization. She left and soon after arrived with their appetizers and soups. Ken was so happy! Things were really going smoothly!
As he dipped some bread into his soup and bit into it, he couldn't help but take a moment to just look at Kaidoh, at how he seemed so happy and had such a nice glow around him! Aoi spaced out staring at the other boy, a twinkle in his eye and a positively goofy grin on his face.
Kaidoh thanked Consuela politely as she deposited their appetizers - she was very good at what she did, making it seem more like fun than work. He liked this place, that was for sure. He hoped they could come back sometime; but that wasn't important right now. He had to concentrate on today, right now, because he was having fun.
He glanced up at Aoi-kun, who seemed to be a bit spaced out, with a silly grin on his face. Kaidoh tried not chuckle as he shifted in his seat, waving a hand carefully in Aoi's direction. "Um... moshi-moshi?"
Ken blinked when the object of his attention tried to get his, well, attention.
"Eh? What, what? Food here yet?"
He stared around for a moment before realizing he had just spaced out.
"Ehehehe, sorry about that! You're distracting Kaoru-chan!"
If he were typing there would have been little hearts after Ken's words, the way his eyes were set to sparkle in Kaidoh's direction. He felt LUCKY! Kaoru was such a good, sweet person, he was also handsome with a great body. A PERFECT match!
"You know Kaoru-chan, you're the biggest reason why I'm so happy to be going to Ryuhana!"
Ken's grin was genuine and beaming, as usual.
Kaidoh shook his head at Aoi's question about the food, smiling a little at how the other was blinking. "I - I don't mean to be..." He trailed off, wondering how he could be distracting when he had the image inducer on, but the other didn't look like it was a bad thing, so he supposed it was all right.
It was Kaidoh's turn to blink, though, at the... well, it must be a compliment, what else could it be? He flushed, looking down at his plate, playing with the hem of his napkin. "I... I, um." Just spit it out! "I'm glad you came," he said quietly, glancing back up at Aoi-kun, trying to smile shyly. "I really like this." He wasn't even sure what “this” was - Aoi-kun paying attention to him, the restaurant, the date, everything. It was so different from how he'd felt only a few months ago, when he thought he'd done something terrible and sent Ohtori-kun running.
For once, things seemed to be working out all right in the end.
Before either could say anything more, though, the food arrived - and it looked more than just delicious.
Ken practically slobbered all over himself. It looked SO GOOD and things were SO PERFECT. He picked up the fork and shouted out an "Itadakimasu!" before taking his first bite and moaning in the back of his throat as the tender prosciutto practically melted on his tongue.
"MMMMMMMMM!"
He swallowed and sighed.
"Try it, Kaoru-chan! It's so good!"
Aoi-kun certainly looked excited. And the food did smell wonderful. He nodded, saying his own itadakimasu in a much more reserved fashion, but dug into his meal nonetheless. It was definitely good - he nodded, eating carefully, but now that there was food in front of him, he realized how hungry he was, and it started to disappear quickly.
"It is good," Kaidoh agreed, as they finally slowed after about a fourth of the food was gone. He wanted to enjoy the meal, and enjoy their time here, so he settled back, eating slower, to watch Aoi-kun eat. He certainly enjoyed it, that was for sure, Kaidoh thought, smiling just a little wider now.
Ken was quite enjoying himself, stuffing pasta into his mouth and washing it down with coke. This place really was the best! Ken totally complimented his grandparents on their choice. After a while he noticed that Kaidoh was slowing his eating down, so Ken did too, wiping his mouth with his napkin and grinning.
"Heeheehee! I love this place! Oh, Kaoru-chan? I was curious. When did you first find out about, umm..."
Ken made some vague gestures that indicated Kaidoh's bone spurs and the spikes on his face.
"You know... about that?"
Kaidoh nodded his agreement, then paused at the question. When? He thought back, realizing he'd been at Ryuhana for almost a year now. So that meant...
"I, um... noticed about two years ago, I think," he said quietly. "The... parts on my knees and elbows grew in first, but I could hide those okay." He glanced down at his plate. "B-but they didn't go away, and I had to wear long sleeves all the time, and then other stuff, like on my ribs, started growing in." He flushed. It had so severely impacted his tennis that people had started getting suspicious. He'd almost been ready to quit, but he hadn't wanted to, even though the bones caused him constant pain and made moving harder.
"And then, around last April, the stuff here," he motioned to his cheeks, "grew in, and I just... couldn't hide it anymore." He shrugged carefully. "M-my parents found out, and soon after that, Ryuhana contacted us." And he'd been very, very glad for that.
"How about... um, you?" he asked softly, hoping Aoi-kun wouldn't mind the same question in return.
Ken listened closely, but was still curious about a lot of things! Like how he felt when it happened and how it affected his friends and all of that...
"Hmmmm... I guess I was twelve, just in middle school. There was this bully there, who always picked on the freshmen, but he left me alone because I was biggest in the class! Then one day he pushed down this one kid and broke his glasses and was going to beat him up, so I stopped him. He tried to punch me in the stomach and ended up breaking his hand... After that, sensei chased me off campus with a broom like I was a scary monster or something!"
Ken couldn't help but chuckle at the memory. It had been painful earlier in life, but now the thought of that little old woman chasing him with a BROOM of all things was really very funny!
"After that my parents home-schooled me with my brothers' help, and then I came to Ryuhana!"
"Oh," Kaidoh said, though Aoi-kun was chuckling, so he apparently wasn't very embarrassed by it. It was kind of funny, to try and picture someone chasing Aoi-kun with a broom. He grinned a little, imagining that if someone had broken their fist on Aoi, then a broom stood little chance against him.
"T-that doesn't sound too bad, but I bet he wasn't very happy about breaking his hand..." Aoi-kun's parents sounded awfully nice, though, to keep him home and continue schooling him. "But I'm sure the boy t-they knocked down was grateful." He smiled, thinking that Aoi-kun was a very kind person, no matter what he was doing.
Ken nodded. The memory reminded him of how GOOD it had felt to help that boy and make sure that that bully got what he deserved!
"Yeah, yeah he was! He wasn't scared of me at all! It was great! I kinda felt like a hero! Heh, I've always kind of wanted to be an X-man..."
Confessing that made Ken blush a bit. It sounded so... childish! Normally that didn't bother him, but they were in a nice restaurant and he was on a DATE with Kaoru-chan and it just didn't fit the situation. Ken kept smiling, though, red-tinted as it may be. He pretty much WOULD do anything to be one of those amazing American mutants.
"Oh, n-ne, what do you want to do? Like, after school?"
An X-man? That was really... noble, Kaidoh thought, though it was kind of... cute, he thought, the way it made Aoi-kun blush to say it. "I think you'd make a great X-man!" he blurted - because it was true. Aoi-kun was so nice and he cared about everyone and he was really strong and capable. He was sure people like the X-men needed people like him, and badly.
But what did Kaidoh want to do after school? That was a... painful question, actually. Because he'd thought he'd known... but then his mutation had sprung up and ruined his life. "M-me? I... wanted to b-be a professional tennis player," he said quietly. "B-but I can't do that anymore. So I don't know..." He hadn't really thought about his future since coming to Ryuhana - he'd been trying to get through all-too-difficult todays.
But he didn't want to seem distressed on their date. Kaidoh resolutely looked up; "I'll think of something, I’m sure... someday..." he said.
Ken shook his head. It wasn't fair that Kaidoh had to feel like his dream was ruined just because he was a mutant!
"Nuh-uh! You should be a tennis player if that's what you want! You'll see! One day no one will care anymore! We'll be able to teach people that mutants are people too! I just know it!"
Ken reached over to put his hand over Kaidoh's and smiled at him, nodding firmly.
"M-maybe..." It was a nice thought, Kaidoh had to admit - though even he knew it might not ever come to pass. But maybe someday people would understand... And he did suppose his power wasn't something that could ever be considered cheating... though it actually hindered his ability to play more than anything. "I... still have to retrain and all... The bones make it a lot harder to move, and I'm heavier, and stuff," he said quietly. "And I need a better racket." He only had one right now, and it wasn't like the ones he'd had before - he'd given away all his old rackets as payment to Inui-san, and most of his money as well. This one wasn't bad, not at all, but it wasn't quite the same as his old ones.
He shook his head, not willing to let this ruin their date. "I-it's okay. I'll think of something in the meantime," he insisted, blushing a little and taking the other's hand for a brief moment. "I-it's not important right now."
Ken made a note to get Kaidoh some REALLY good tennis gear! He definitely deserved that and more, life had dealt him a bad hand of cards to play with! Ken gave his hand a VERY gentle squeeze before going back to his food, licking off the sauce that had ended up on his elbow.
"Well, you'll get stronger and stronger! Soon they won't even be a problem!"
The meal was spectacular and both boys finished in no time. Soon, Consuela came twirling back to the table, taking their plates with expert grace, but bumping the table as she passed, sending Kaoru's water onto his wrist, onto the Image Inducer...
Kaidoh saw his glass tipping, but there was nothing he could do - it tumbled over, spilling onto the table. And his wrist. He froze, staring at the image inducer, hoping beyond hope that -
But he didn't even have time to fully process the vain wish before the device sparked, sputtered, and the air around him flickered. He felt the blood drain from his face as the smooth skin of his forearm and hand vanished, to be replaced by the bones that marred his true appearance.
Oh no. Oh, no. He risked a glance over at Consuela, who for a moment was too busy apologizing and pulling out a napkin to mop up the mess - until she actually looked at him. And blinked. And dropped the napkin, backing away, eyes wide.
Kaidoh wanted to disappear. He wanted to melt into the floor or fall over dead or anything, anything at all, so that this wouldn't be happening.
And then someone screamed.
Ken was totally confused for a moment. Kaidoh suddenly turned back to his normal appearance, maybe the Inducer ran out of batteries? Just as he was about to round off the evening with a nice light Italian cake, someone screamed. A lady at the next table, who started picking up her silverware and throwing it at Kaidoh! Ken dove over the table, knocking it over, shielding his boyfriend from the barrage of metal and glassware that was now being issued from the lady AND her impressionable children.
"HEY! Stop that! He didn't do anything! What's wrong with all of you!"
The people at the table next to them stood and began to leave quickly, foreseeing the trouble on its way.
"MONSTER! THERE'S A MONSTER IN HERE! HEEELLLP!"
A plate crashed against Kentarou's hardening flesh. His teeth were showing in a snarl, his anger rising steadily. How DARE they say such nasty things about Kaoru!
"He's not a monster! Don't talk about him like that, you don't know him at all!"
"HEY HEY HEY, What's going on down here!?"
Giuseppe stomped down the steps, hands gesticulating wildly.
"Little Aoi? You and your little friend are gonna have to leave! I can't have this in my restaurant! Go! Go now!"
Ashamed at his clientele and himself, the old Italian gestured for them to leave. Ken scowled, grabbed Kaidoh's hand, and hauled the both of them out of there, with that woman's hysterical wailings echoing in his mind, and those kids screaming "MUTIE MUTIE!!"
Kaidoh didn't even know what to do. He just knew he wanted to die - and it seemed like most of the people in the restaurant would be happy to oblige him. He didn't even duck when they started throwing things at him, so blindsided by it that he didn't even think to react. He blinked as Aoi-kun came crashing over the table, blocking him from the barrage of silverware and plates and glasses. He screwed his eyes shut, shaking his head and now trying to duck down, to hide - why did this always happen to him? And Aoi-kun didn't deserve this, not at all - it wasn't fair -
Someone stomped down the stairs - Giuseppe - and told them firmly to leave. Amidst all the screaming and crashing, he felt Aoi-kun grab his hand and pull him up; Kaidoh stumbled after him, blinking dumbly as it seemed like all he could see and hear were angry people, wanting him gone or dead. He didn't resist as the other pulled him out and away, only trying to cover his head and keep from getting hit, wishing he didn't have to hear all the yelling...
He didn't even know how far away they were before they stopped. He wasn't looking where they were going, so he crashed into Aoi when the other came to a halt. His legs gave way, shaking - everything was shaking, he felt so horrible and maybe Aoi should've left him back there. Kaidoh nearly sank to the ground, trying to hide, wishing none of this had ever happened. "I-I'm sorry," he choked out, feeling worse than terrible, scrubbing at his face because he was crying, shit, and he didn't want Aoi to see it, but all he could think was that all those people were right and he really was a monster, and he would be better off dead. "I - s-sorry, sorry, I'm sorry..."
Ken stopped abruptly, feeling Kaoru bump into him from behind with the sudden action. They had stopped a good distance from the restaurant, tucked into an alley where Ken felt it was safe to slow down and gather himself. He almost lost it on those people in there... For a second he thought he was going to sink down to the level of those brotherhood guys. He took slow, deep breaths like he had been taught and when the pounding left his ears and his fists unclenched, he became aware of a most heartrending sound. Sniffling, and Kaoru's rough, masculine voice choked with tears and sounding no more dangerous than a child. Ken turned, eyes wide with something akin to panic. He was never good at things when other people cried! It just made him start to stress, and suddenly HE wanted to cry too!
"Ah! K-kaoru-chan! Don't cry! You didn't do anything, nothing at all! It's those people, not you! You're a good person!"
Ken stepped close to the shorter boy, gently rubbing at his tearstreaked cheeks with the backs of his knuckles, pulling him in for a firm, but gentle hug, mostly to comfort his stricken boyfriend, but partly to hide the tears brimming in his own wide brown eyes. It wasn't FAIR! He couldn't hide the waver in his voice or the thick way the words passed through his lips.
"Shhhhh, don't cry! You don't deserve any of this! Grrrrrrrr..."
No one knew how nice Kaoru was! Or how dedicated and strong! They didn't have any right to judge him based on what he was... none at all...
He wanted to run away, and leave Aoi-kun alone, where he was better off without him, but Kaidoh couldn't move - all he could do was bury his face against Aoi's shoulder, grasping the other's shirt in his fists, afraid that if he didn't hold onto something he would fall.
But he could hear the way Aoi's voice sounded - and it sounded like he wanted to cry too. What if he regretted this - he'd known those people for years, and Kaidoh had just ruined it all, and he couldn't even begin to apologize. He shook his head, feeling worse. "N-no, it’s my fault - I l-look like this and it's t-terrible and they're right. I know I look l-like a monster!"
He pulled back, yanking a large piece of bone out of his arm with a grunt and tossing it on the ground, staggering a little. He knew it wasn't going to work. He'd tried before - and all it had done was land him in medlab overnight and everything he'd pulled out had grown back worse.
Ken grabbed Kaoru by the arm, yanking him towards him and checking the wound none too gently. He wasn't concentrating on his actions, so they were a little out of his control strength-wise.
"NO! Don't do that! Don't hurt yourself, don't call yourself a monster! Just... DONT!"
Ken gave the other boy a shake, then spotted his arm, torn and bleeding from ripping his bone out. Ken ripped the sleeve from his shirt easily, tearing it in half and wrapping it tightly around the wound.
"This... This isn't! Gah! You're not a monster!!! Monsters are mean and cruel and... and you're not! You're sweet and kind and you just got a bad hand in things is all! And you're NOT UGLY! I think you're the cutest boy I know!"
Ken crushed Kaidoh to his chest, holding him tightly enough that he wouldn't be able to escape again and hurt himself.
Kaidoh flinched as Aoi grabbed him - but he only checked the skin where Kaidoh had pulled the bone out; the piece had been too big, and not ready to go, and it was bleeding a little. Kaidoh flinched again as Aoi tore his sleeve, binding the wound with it - it would get better, really, and he was used to the pain -
But then Aoi pulled him into a hug, and wouldn't let him go, and Kaidoh didn't really have the strength anymore to try and break away anyway. Aoi said he thought he was cute?! Really - he thought Kaidoh wasn't ugly? Kaidoh didn't even have the strength to pretend he didn't want to believe him, and badly. Because he did - he really, really did, because he didn't think he could take one more person telling him he was a monster, or one more glance in the mirror to see what he knew was already true. So fine - he'd try to believe Aoi-kun, because why, after all of that, would he still lie?
Slumping against the taller boy, Kaidoh just nodded wordlessly a moment. "Sorry," he said again, after a few minutes of silence, feeling a little stronger again. He tilted his head up, just enough to reach Aoi's chin, kissing his jaw lightly. "R-really, it was n-nice, though... I am s-sorry."
Ken realized that he was holding on REALLY tight, now that Kaidoh appeared to have calmed down, so he loosened his grip. The little kiss to his jaw made him smile again, and he sniffed away the rest of his tears, leaning back to give Kaidoh a watery smile, and then a firm, wet kiss. He pulled back feeling MUCH better with the situation.
"Just don't believe those stupid people, okay? You're GREAT and you should know that! Now... wanna go home? I don't feel like hanging out outside anymore..."
Aoi loosened his grip a little, and Kaidoh realized he felt a lot better. He nodded - not so sure about the great part, but feeling like at least he wasn't terrible. Or at least as terrible as he though he was.
He nodded, realizing it was cooling down as the sun prepared to set, shadows growing longer on the streets. "Y-yeah," he agreed. "Um... w-we should walk, though..." He didn't think taking the bus or a cab or anything like that was such a good idea - he didn't have long sleeves or a hood or anything, "I-I'll just stay close and you c-can hide me." He took Aoi's hand tentatively, pressing himself against the other's side a self-consciously, hoping that if he just walked next to and a little behind Aoi-kun, no one would notice him much.
It was a bit of a walk - they'd taken the bus to get here, after all - but it was nice, watching dusk fall, and there weren't too many people out on the streets now anyway. Plus, Aoi-kun's side was warm, and Kaidoh thought guiltily that it was kind of nice to have an excuse to walk this close to someone who cared about him, after all that.
They arrived thankfully without incident, the gate of Ryuhana shining like paradise after that little bout of hell they'd just gone through. Ken was buzzing warmly from having Kaoru pressed against him the whole walk home and they HAD eaten a full meal, so Ken was feeling stuffed and happy. He was ready for some TV and maybe some dessert! He could only hope that Kaidoh was as well.
"Ne, ne, Kaoru-chan? Since we didn't REALLY finish our date, how about some cookies and TV? You know, to wind down after all of that?"
Kaidoh glanced up - he'd barely noticed they were even approaching Ryuhana, keeping his eyes trained on the ground and trying to duck his head so no one would see his face. He blinked, then flushed a little, and nodded. At least now he didn't have to admit that he really didn't want to be alone right now, and that he also didn't think he could bring himself to go back to his room and face Kuwahara-kun asking how things had gone - he was afraid he might dissolve into tears again - or something equally embarrassing.
"Y-yeah... that sounds okay," he said, and followed the other back onto campus and up towards his room. He realized he'd never even seen Aoi-kun's room before, actually, and was interested to see what kind of things the other boy had.
"Be careful! It's not so clean, heh!"
Aoi cracked open the door of his room, which was freshly refurnished after the mall incident, where Ken had broken a lot of his things on his way out. It was furnished like most teenage boys’ rooms really. Idol posters on the walls, Kimeru, Gackt and Boa, a TV with a PS2 and Gamecube beneath it, clothes strewn about the floor and a queen sized bed with a reinforced structure. Ken opened a drawer, his stash of snacks for when he was supposed to be on some special menu or another the school fixed for him, and fished out a box of generic chocolate chip cookies. He flopped onto his bed, which creaked despite the newness and the steel reinforcements, holding out an arm, obviously for Kaidoh to recline in.
"What should we watch?"
Kaidoh glanced around, thinking it wasn't that messy, really, just the clothes on the floor. That wasn't bad at all - he looked at all the posters on the walls while Aoi-kun dug through his drawers, but looked over again when he heard the bed creak. Wow - it was a big bed, bigger than the regular school issue beds. He made his way over, tentatively, blushing a little as he sat and tried to think of how to position himself so he wouldn't scrape Aoi-kun with anything sharp, or rip the covers - that would be awful.
He pulled the image inducer off his wrist - it wasn't working, what was the point of wearing it? He'd have to ask to get it repaired later; he already could see the way Hanamura would look at him, and be disappointed in him for breaking it. What if they couldn't fix it? Or what if they wouldn't let him have it again because he'd mistreated it?
Kaidoh shook his head to clear it - Aoi'd asked him a question. He blinked, then shook his head again, this time in answer. "Um... I d-don't know. Whatever you want..." Aoi-kun had decent taste in entertainment, from what little he'd seen. He realized he didn't care at all - he just wanted to sit here and not think about what had happened. Blushing even more, he pulled his legs up carefully and curled up against Aoi's side, resting a cheek tentatively on the other's shoulder. Now he was starting to feel better. "I d-don't care. Anything."
Aoi's arm curled around Kaidoh's back, holding him gently. Aoi's other arm clicked on the TV, some nice drama or another, and set the cookies in the space between their bellies, lifting one to his lips to munch happily.
"Mmmm, this is nice too! We don't need fancy stuff like that, ne?"
"Yeah..." Kaidoh said softly, taking a cookie and eating it slowly. "I'm still s-sorry, though." He took another bite. "T-things like that always seem to happen to me." He took a few deep breaths - but it was over now, what else could he do? He still felt bad, but Aoi-kun was acting like it hadn't been a big deal, even if it had been.
"I hope you can still go back there," Kaidoh whispered, settling a little closer, a little embarrassed at how much better just being held made him feel. "B-but this is nice, really."
Ken turned a little more toward Kaidoh, only half-interested in the show.
"Yeah, don't worry about that. Ossan will forget all about it, and I bet Nee-san was only surprised, I bet she still thinks you're cute!"
Ken punctuated his statement with a kiss, nuzzling his mouth over Kaoru's gently, tongue teasing just a little into the other's mouth.
Kaidoh had his mouth open to disagree with that assessment when Aoi-kun kissed him - he felt the blush on his cheeks reinforce itself, but he didn't want to pull away. It was even harder than before to convince himself that Aoi-kun didn't mean what he said when the other was kissing him gently like this. He tried to ignore the worry still pooling in his stomach and kissed back, closing his eyes and balling his fists against the other's chest, thinking that if he concentrated on the here and now, he wouldn't have to think so much about what those people had looked like, throwing silverware at his face.
Ken's free hand moved to gently cup Kaoru's cheek, the kiss deepening under his control. He was glad to make Kaoru feel better any way he could, but kissing was his personal favorite! And by the way he was kissing back, and his face was reddening, he seemed to be liking it too. Ken hands slowly drifted down from Kaidoh's cheek, to rest on his strong chest, feeling it rise and fall under his palm as he rubbed the flesh through his shirt...
Kaidoh let Aoi-kun take control, feeling like the more he concentrated on this (and how couldn't he?), the more the rest of the day seemed to slide away, forgotten. He sighed contentedly at fingers brushed down his cheek and neck to his chest - that felt nice, and very different when it was someone else's fingertips, even through his shirt. He leaned against Aoi-kun, hoping the other didn't mind, but still careful not to lean closer with any part of himself that had something sharp. He draped one arm shyly across the other's chest, resting fingers along Aoi's side and feeling that it wasn't fair to be the only one to take comfort in being held, hoping it would help Aoi-kun as much as it was helping him.
Ken sighed into the kiss as Kaidoh moved closer, strong fingers playing at his side. His hand had traveled lower, feeling the strong ridges of Kaidoh's stomach as his shirt rode up just so with a little encouragement from the tall boy. Ken was hard and wanting at this point, Kaidoh's thigh coming just barely into contact with his crotch, the way they were settled against one another. He ground his hardness against that muscled thigh, hand slowly traveling lower and lower, dipping just into Kaidoh's waistband, teasing and playful.
Kaidoh jumped, blinking, feeling his face go warm all over, mind racing. Everything had felt so nice, but - but this was -
He remembered the last night he'd had with Ohtori, how close the other had tried to get, how the silver-haired boy had suggested something more than kissing, and how he'd run away less than an hour later. Kaidoh was still sure Ohtori had been trying to be nice, trying not to tell him that something like that, with Kaidoh, was just not possible.
And all Kaidoh could think was that he didn't want something like that to happen again, not with Aoi-kun. He couldn't bear for the other to touch him like that and then realize his mistake, just like Ohtori had, and leave him. He would die. He couldn't go through that again. He didn't want to be left all over again, not today.
"I - I... u-um. T-that's not a good idea," Kaidoh stammered, pulling back a little. "Y-you won't - you'll..." He stopped himself before he said anything stupid.
Ken pulled back with difficulty, heat of the moment clouding his mind and affecting his actions. He gazed at Kaoru for a moment, hoping he hadn't gone too far too fast and scared him. He let Kaidoh have a little space and put his hand back splayed on his belly.
"What's wrong? Did I go too far? And what do you mean by me? Heh, I'm the one who wanted to go farther. If you're not comfortable though, I'll wait."
Ken would wait for a good long time if he had to.
Kaidoh closed his eyes, shaking his head, curling up a little tighter. "Y-you'll just... you won't like it," he insisted, ashamed. He buried his chin against his chest, he didn't want Aoi-kun to think Kaidoh didn't like him - that wasn't it at all. He did like him - and that's why he couldn't bear it if Aoi realized his mistake and left.
"I don't want you to leave," Kaidoh said softly, wishing he wasn't so stupid, wasn't so ugly.
Ken shook his head, pulling the other closer instinctively, not minding the ribs poking him slightly.
"Nonono, I won't leave! I thought I scared you and you were gonna leave! Just tell me? It's okay if I don't like it. We should talk about it anyway! Talk?"
Ken nudged the other boy's hair gently with his nose. Kaidoh had to get this out, no doubt about it.
"I just - " Kaidoh stopped, having to take a few breaths. He didn't want to cry again; once in one day was more than enough. But now he was remembering everything he'd been working so hard to forget - how nice Ohtori-kun had been, and how happy he'd seemed, and how happy Kaidoh remembered being. And how it was kind of exciting, trying that, but then Ohtori had left. He'd left and hadn't talked to Kaidoh for months, and when he'd finally called, something terrible had happened to him and Kaidoh was sure it was all his own fault. Everything bad that had happened to Ohtori-kun since then was his fault - he wouldn't have left if not for Kaidoh. They were talking now, but Ohtori was sometimes like a different person and Kaidoh was still scared. It was all his fault.
How was he supposed to say all that, though? "It's - h-he left. He left w-when we... we tried something and he s-stopped liking me and he left. And he didn't talk to m-me and bad t-things happened to him and it's all my fault a-and please don't leave." It was really hard not to cry; Kaidoh wanted to sob, but he couldn't, so he stopped there, biting his lip, hoping Aoi-kun wouldn't say he was right and shove him away.
Ken's chest tightened. So it was all about another guy? Probably that Ohtori person he was talking about while they waited for the cookies to bake those weeks ago.
"He sounds like a total jerk!"
Ken stared into Kaidoh's eyes with his own, serious ones. How could someone leave Kaidoh like that so that he'd blame himself?
"It's not your fault at all! Did you go out and make sure bad things happened to him? HE left YOU, right? And did he even say goodbye or tell you why or anything? Sounds like he was just a coward, that's all! Kaoru-chan is special and sweet and handsome... A good person wouldn't have left you alone like that..."
Kaidoh blinked. "H-he...." He knew Ohtori hadn't meant to make him feel bad. Ohtori was a really good person, and he'd always been nice. But when he'd left Kaidoh couldn't come up with any other explanation than it had been his own fault. But Aoi was trying to say it wasn't? He didn't know Ohtori at all, though -
"W-well I... don't think he meant to," Kaidoh said in Ohtori's defense... "B-but no, I mean, I didn't want anything bad to happen to him... I just - I know he left because of me," he insisted, sure that part at least was true. "I don't... I don't want to mess this up again," he buried his head again, feeling stupid, but it was the truth. He wanted Aoi-kun to stay, and to like him. Whatever had happened before, part of it at least was Kaidoh's fault, and he didn't dare make the same mistake twice.
"I-it's just that... If you s-see me, y-you won't like it." Who would? "T-things d-don't work so well with me."
"But I can see you right now and I think you're really good looking!"
Ken's words left his lips before he could think about it. Then he realized what the problem REALLY was.
"Oh... OH... Do you have bones growing in, down THERE too? W-well I guess I could work around them? Or you could touch me! I just know that if you try it and see how good it is you'd like it! I can PROMISE that Ohtori didn't leave because of THAT! Really!"
Ken laid kisses along Kaidoh's brow and temple. If Ohtori really WAS as nice as Kaidoh said, he wouldn't leave him in such a state just because of that, would he?
Kaidoh flushed all over again. “N-no, but just… just, s-still. I’d scrape you.” Well, he’d never tried it, really, but he was sure he would. He’d never even done that much with Ohtori, but he’d seen the scrapes and bruises on the other sometimes, and he was ashamed. How could someone like him if they couldn’t get close to him? He couldn’t blame anyone for that, but he still didn’t want to be left. He felt so selfish, but there it was. Maybe if he could keep Aoi-kun from seeing, maybe then Aoi-kun would stay.
“I don’t w-want to hurt you,” he said. Ohtori had ended up with a bone in his shoulder, once. What if the next time, it was even worse?
Ken pulled Kaoru down on top of him again, feeling the bones poke at him, but none of them so much as hurt, let alone pierced his skin.
"But you can't hurt me, Kaoru-chan! Not so long as you keep making me happy to be around you!"
And to prove that they didn't even need to test THAT theory, Ken kissed Kaidoh gently and rearranged the both of them carefully so that they were resting comfortable against each other, the bones protruding from Kaidoh's flesh arranged safely away from Ken's body as they lay on their sides, facing each other, Kaidoh's head pillowed on the taller boy's bicep.
"And see? Isn't this nice anyway?"
"I... I, um... yeah." Kaidoh closed his eyes, nodding, because he couldn't possibly disagree. "It is." It was nice - he really liked Aoi-kun, and liked being close to him, and if he could just... keep from messing this up, he hoped everything would be okay. He kept doing stupid things, but Aoi kept... not minding. It was amazing. And he didn't want to lose that.
He wrapped one arm around the other's waist as best he could manage, and settled down a little more. He didn't want to, but he was getting tired. He felt like those people at the restaurant had taken all of the energy from him. And now, the TV droning in the background was starting to get to him, and so was Aoi's warmth and scent. He wanted to just lie here forever. "C-can I stay for a while?"
Ken nodded against Kaidoh's hair, half paying attention to the TV and half watching the sweet boy in his arms. A hand went to idly pet the soft black hair.
"Sure. You can stay as long as you want, Kaoru-chan! Don't even hafta ask..."
The evening's stress must have been getting to him, because Ken was feeling uncharacteristically tired already. He let out a yawn, eyes slowly closing until he was snoozing lightly, arm tightening slightly around Kaoru.
The hand stroking his head was... very soothing, and quickly putting him to sleep. Kaidoh knew, vaguely, that he shouldn't sleep here - that he should at least let Kuwahara-kun know, so he wouldn't worry - but he couldn't bring himself to move. He was just so comfortable, and he felt so safe, and he wanted to stay right here...
And so, as Aoi's arms tightened just the smallest bit around him, he figured it would be all right to fall asleep for a little while, at least.
Rating: PG-13/R
Summary: Kaidoh & Kenken go on what starts out as a wonderful date~ Alas, things go severely wrong when Kaidoh's image inducer is broken. D:
Kaidoh fidgeted with the bottom of his sweatshirt, glancing at the clock and realizing he only had a few more minutes before Aoi-kun was supposed to come and pick him up. They were finally getting off campus (Kaidoh hadn't been far from school been in weeks, so even though he was still a little nervous, he was looking forward to it), going out to dinner at a fairly decent restaurant. He hoped he wouldn't look too out of place - he didn't have many nice clothes, but he'd tried to find his newest and cleanest hoodie, as well as his nicest non-ripped pair of pants. He petted Neko and sat on his bed, waiting, studying Kuwahara-kun's soccer ball on the floor of the other side of the room.
Ken skipped down the corridor, counting the yen in his wallet with a gleeful grin. Having rich parents was AWESOME. Just insinuating he had a date was enough to get them to transfer the cash into his account! Ken tried not to overuse the privilege, of course, but he couldn't help but spoil the people he liked! And he REALLY liked Kaidoh! So, semi-fancy restaurant it was! He didn't really like the stuffy places, so he didn't bother with one of those, but this was a nice Italian restaurant owned by a family who actually CAME from Italy! Boca de Beppo's had the BEST food, Ken hoped Kaoru would like it! He wasn't really sure whether or not he liked foreign food when he thought about it...
Today, Kentarou was wearing a nice red ribbed shirt with short sleeves and a pair of stonewashed blue jeans, both showed off his body to acceptable degrees. He and Kaidoh were going to look really good together!
"Kaoru-chan! Time for our daaaaate!!!"
Kaoru had given him permission to come into the room when he liked, so he didn't bother to knock like he usually did, but swung the door open with a bright grin and strolled over to join Ken in petting Neko. The action reminded him of the kittyfied Ryoma, and he chuckled merrily.
"Ryo-chan looks more like Neko than himself recently! It's really cute! ...Hey..."
Ken stared at Kaidoh's outfit and frowned.
"Why are you wearing a hoodie out today? It's nice weather! You should put on something lighter! Something that shows off more like mine!"
Ken flexed, displaying just how good his shirt was at outlining his muscles.
Kaidoh smiled nervously as Aoi-kun entered - he looked really nice, Kaidoh thought. He nodded as the other came over and scratched Neko behind the ears, but started, blushing when Aoi-kun paused and frowned at him.
"I... I, um, I don't know if that's a good idea," he said, glancing down so it wouldn't look like he was staring at Aoi-kun, though he looked even nicer when he flexed. He looked at the hem of his hoodie, feeling a little silly now. "I mean, I know I have the image inducer, but, um, I still don't know..." Come to think of it, Kaidoh hadn't worn short sleeves for anything other than a workout in nearly half a year. He'd been trying to hide his mutation so much that even when he'd received the image inducer, he still tended to wear the hoodies or other longsleeved shirts.
He did have a stash of fairly new t-shirts in his drawers, but he rarely wore them. "D-do you really think I should wear something better?" He glanced up at Aoi-kun now, figuring if he was going to be paying, then Kaidoh should be nice enough to wear something the other liked. He guessed. If it wouldn't be too bad...
Ken frowned again.
"I think you can wear whatever you want, but I don't like it when you cover yourself up like that! ...Wait a minute!"
Ken bounded over to the other boy's dresser, opening drawers, blushing when he spotted the underwear, and eventually finding some nice new t-shirts! One of those would be fine. And a nice button up to go over it too. Perfect! He held them up for Kaoru to look over.
"See? This would look nice! Don't be ashamed, Kaoru-chan! You should like who you are!"
Ken nodded firmly to punctuate his argument.
"Um -" Kaidoh started, but Aoi-kun was already going through his clothes... He was presented with a new set of clothes, and he took them tentatively glancing at them, then Aoi-kun. He... supposed he could wear these. They were new, so he'd have to be careful not to rip them, but they weren't so bad. Nothing he would've thought to wear on his own, though. Maybe he was going to need advice or something.
Nonetheless, he had something to wear now. "Um... okay," he said, blushing as he turned around, pulling off his hoodie carefully. Okay, so he'd changed in front of Ohtori-kun countless times - and even Kuwahara-kun, they were roommates. This wasn't so hard - and he already had the image inducer turned on, so at least Aoi wouldn't see the horrible growths along his ribs or shoulders. Kaidoh pulled on the new t-shirt, careful not to catch it on anything (even without visual cues, he knew where every sharp piece was) and carefully slid the buttoned shirt on over it before turning around, doing up the buttons and glancing up nervously. He felt strange, wearing such close-fitting clothes that weren't for working out.
"I-is this okay, now?"
Ken leaned forward to unbutton the shirt that Kaidoh had buttoned up, leaving it open so it could better show off his strong chest and collarbone. He grinned and laid a kiss on Kaoru's cheek.
"Perfect! You look much better when you're not hiding everything! Ready to go now? I think you'll like this place!"
Before waiting for an answer, he took the other boy's hand and started leading him out the door.
"Y-yeah," Kaidoh replied, but he was already being led out. He waved a quick goodbye to Neko, and then they were out the door and down the hall and leaving the building altogether. He quickened his steps a little, so they were at least walking side-by-side, though he didn't particularly feel like pulling his hand from the other's grasp. He... kind of liked the way Aoi-kun held his hand - Aoi-kun was strong, and very sure of himself. Kaidoh wished he could be like that, but it was hard.
The weather really was beautiful, and it was nice to be able to enjoy it without worrying too much about people staring at him. Kaidoh was still nervous, though, and kept glancing at the image inducer to ensure it was still on - he didn't want it to fail in the middle of this.
Ken squeezed Kaoru's hand, carefully, and smiled at him.
"Don't worry! It'll all turn out great, you'll see!"
He pointedly ignored any people staring at them as they walked, blissfully hand in hand, down the street. His dad always told him that anyone who'd hate someone over something so stupid wasn't worth his attention, and if they gave him anything over it, it was okay to belt them in the face.
Ken insisted on paying for everything, including the bus passes, and when they got on the bus, Ken sat them down and wrapped his arm around Kaoru.
"Wow the weather sure is great today! Oooh, have you heard that new song by... who does it again? The one that goes Dada dadaadadada dadadaaaaaadaaadadaaaa..."
Ken hated not being able to remember songs...
Kaidoh just nodded, trying to enjoy the afternoon. It wasn't hard, actually - Aoi-kun's good mood was kind of infectious, and Kaidoh really did like being outside a lot better than he liked being cooped up inside. The fresh air felt nice on his face, and he found himself grinning despite himself as they boarded the bus, though he still thought that maybe he shouldn't let Aoi-kun pay for everything.
Kaidoh nodded his agreement at the nice weather, but blinked - and blushed a little - as the other slid an arm around him and began singing. "I... I, uh... wait, I do know. Um, but I don't know who sings it either..." he said, feeling a little silly (people were giving them looks, but he supposed it could be worse). And besides - Aoi-kun really had a very nice voice. Nothing at all like Kaidoh's - Kaidoh had decent pitch, but his voice was just... not made for singing.
Ken snapped his fingers in frustration.
"I'll have to look it up when we get home! I wanted to sing it at a Karaoke bar! Ne, we should sing Karaoke together too! You've got such a deep voice! You must be a great singer!"
Ken's fingers busied themselves in Kaidoh's short black locks, curling strands of hair around them in such a way that he almost missed their stop. Luckily he pulled the cord just in time.
"We're here!"
Kaidoh blinked. Him? Sing? "Oh, n-no, I can't sing," he protested - he didn't like the way his voice sounded at all when he tried to sing. But Aoi-kun could sing all he wanted...
And then Kaidoh couldn't help but smile contentedly as fingers played through his hair - that felt really, really nice - and he barely stopped a pleased hum from escaping, saved by the fact that Aoi reached over to pull the cord to stop at the last moment.
He blinked, pulling himself back together as they stood, exiting the bus and walking down the sidewalk maybe half a block before they arrived at the restaurant - an Italian place that looked very nice from the outside. Kaidoh hadn't had Italian in ages - but he really liked pasta, so he squeezed Aoi's hand in appreciation as they entered, smiling happily and glad this was going so well. His track record hadn't been so great for a while, when it came to dates.
Ken grinned at the concierge, a fat, friendly Italian man who shook Ken's free hand merrily and patted Kaidoh on the back as they entered. He spoke in perfect, lightly accented Japanese.
"Ah! So good to see little Aoi grown up! And with a date, no less!"
He obviously wasn't overcomfortable with said date being a boy of all things, but to each his own and all. The Aoi family had been coming here since the Beppo's moved here from Italy during World War 2 after all, so there was more than a little customer loyalty when it came to them.
"Hey there Ossan! Got my reservation?"
"Of course! I got a good, private booth for you two, huh!"
Giuseppe was the man's name, though Ken could never pronounce it so he just called him Ossan instead. The main restaurant was downstairs, they passed through an authentic-looking brickwork staircase and hallway, comfortably carpeted and covered in portraits depicting Italy in all its glory. Portraits of the Vatican, novelty pictures of cute babies with wine, raucous parties with pasta and bread being passed around. The atmosphere was kindly and familial and there were plenty of other patrons! But, just as promised, there was a booth next to the stairs empty, with a "Reserved for little Aoi" sign on it.
Ken sat Kaoru down and Giuseppe gave them some menus, then bustled back upstairs to do his job. Consuela, the daughter, would be by in a bit to take their orders.
"What do you want, Kaoru-chan?"
Kaidoh was a little overwhelmed - not entirely in a bad way, but still... He tried not to gape as they were seated at a reserved table, with a sign for Aoi-kun and everything. "I didn't know you knew them!" he couldn't help saying, glancing around as the concierge left them to their menus. "I... that's amazing." He'd gotten the idea that Aoi's family was important before - but this brought the idea home a little more solidly.
Now he looked at the menu, trying to figure out what kind of pasta to get. There were so many kinds - and they all looked excellent, it was hard to choose. He scanned the menu over for several minutes before he was able to pick - Penne Cardinale, pasta with chicken and cream sauce that sounded delicious. "I... um, really, thanks." He knew this was probably nothing big to Aoi-kun, but it was something very big to Kaidoh. He felt like this was one of the best days he'd had in a long, long time.
"Nothing special, really! My grandparents knew them, so my parents know them, so I know them! Jii-san and Baa-san got married and had their dinner here! So it has nice memories for them! We went all the time when I was a kid, but I haven't been here for a few years. I promised myself I'd only come back here when I had someone special to share it with!"
Ken browsed the menu quickly, though he had a feeling he already knew what he wanted. Tortellini Carbonara, a rich, meaty stuffed pasta in a sauce with bacon, tomato and egg. Plenty of protein! And it tasted SO GOOD. He also took the liberty of ordering an appetizer platter and soup, along with salad and breadsticks. You didn't go to eat Italian without bringing along a big, empty stomach!
Consuela, a pretty Italian lady in her mid twenties, took their orders with a smile and a wink, promising to be back with their drinks in a moment.
"Isn't this place the best, though?"
"Yeah, it really is," Kaidoh agreed, blushing a little but even so, he was slowly relaxing - he had nothing to be nervous about, right? They were just getting dinner together - and everyone here was treating them so wonderfully, it was hard not to relax, if even just a little. The entire restaurant was festive, and he decided he really liked it here. "We never ate out at places like this," he admitted - then again, his family hadn't eaten out much to begin with. Which was all right, really - his mother was a wonderful cook, and he missed her meals. But when they had gone out, it hadn't been to anywhere like this.
He settled back in his chair, glad that Aoi-kun had asked him on this date. Maybe he could be the one to ask next time - he'd never stop worrying unless he made a conscious effort to try, right? He spotted Consuela (she was very pretty, and so courteous!) coming back over with their drinks, and offered her a shy smile.
Consuela did a deft twirl, taking the drinks and setting them down one by one as she did so, a little trick the customers liked. She smiled brightly with the edge that came from desiring tips and wanting to dazzle her "audience," and gave a bow that spoke of her Japanese naturalization. She left and soon after arrived with their appetizers and soups. Ken was so happy! Things were really going smoothly!
As he dipped some bread into his soup and bit into it, he couldn't help but take a moment to just look at Kaidoh, at how he seemed so happy and had such a nice glow around him! Aoi spaced out staring at the other boy, a twinkle in his eye and a positively goofy grin on his face.
Kaidoh thanked Consuela politely as she deposited their appetizers - she was very good at what she did, making it seem more like fun than work. He liked this place, that was for sure. He hoped they could come back sometime; but that wasn't important right now. He had to concentrate on today, right now, because he was having fun.
He glanced up at Aoi-kun, who seemed to be a bit spaced out, with a silly grin on his face. Kaidoh tried not chuckle as he shifted in his seat, waving a hand carefully in Aoi's direction. "Um... moshi-moshi?"
Ken blinked when the object of his attention tried to get his, well, attention.
"Eh? What, what? Food here yet?"
He stared around for a moment before realizing he had just spaced out.
"Ehehehe, sorry about that! You're distracting Kaoru-chan!"
If he were typing there would have been little hearts after Ken's words, the way his eyes were set to sparkle in Kaidoh's direction. He felt LUCKY! Kaoru was such a good, sweet person, he was also handsome with a great body. A PERFECT match!
"You know Kaoru-chan, you're the biggest reason why I'm so happy to be going to Ryuhana!"
Ken's grin was genuine and beaming, as usual.
Kaidoh shook his head at Aoi's question about the food, smiling a little at how the other was blinking. "I - I don't mean to be..." He trailed off, wondering how he could be distracting when he had the image inducer on, but the other didn't look like it was a bad thing, so he supposed it was all right.
It was Kaidoh's turn to blink, though, at the... well, it must be a compliment, what else could it be? He flushed, looking down at his plate, playing with the hem of his napkin. "I... I, um." Just spit it out! "I'm glad you came," he said quietly, glancing back up at Aoi-kun, trying to smile shyly. "I really like this." He wasn't even sure what “this” was - Aoi-kun paying attention to him, the restaurant, the date, everything. It was so different from how he'd felt only a few months ago, when he thought he'd done something terrible and sent Ohtori-kun running.
For once, things seemed to be working out all right in the end.
Before either could say anything more, though, the food arrived - and it looked more than just delicious.
Ken practically slobbered all over himself. It looked SO GOOD and things were SO PERFECT. He picked up the fork and shouted out an "Itadakimasu!" before taking his first bite and moaning in the back of his throat as the tender prosciutto practically melted on his tongue.
"MMMMMMMMM!"
He swallowed and sighed.
"Try it, Kaoru-chan! It's so good!"
Aoi-kun certainly looked excited. And the food did smell wonderful. He nodded, saying his own itadakimasu in a much more reserved fashion, but dug into his meal nonetheless. It was definitely good - he nodded, eating carefully, but now that there was food in front of him, he realized how hungry he was, and it started to disappear quickly.
"It is good," Kaidoh agreed, as they finally slowed after about a fourth of the food was gone. He wanted to enjoy the meal, and enjoy their time here, so he settled back, eating slower, to watch Aoi-kun eat. He certainly enjoyed it, that was for sure, Kaidoh thought, smiling just a little wider now.
Ken was quite enjoying himself, stuffing pasta into his mouth and washing it down with coke. This place really was the best! Ken totally complimented his grandparents on their choice. After a while he noticed that Kaidoh was slowing his eating down, so Ken did too, wiping his mouth with his napkin and grinning.
"Heeheehee! I love this place! Oh, Kaoru-chan? I was curious. When did you first find out about, umm..."
Ken made some vague gestures that indicated Kaidoh's bone spurs and the spikes on his face.
"You know... about that?"
Kaidoh nodded his agreement, then paused at the question. When? He thought back, realizing he'd been at Ryuhana for almost a year now. So that meant...
"I, um... noticed about two years ago, I think," he said quietly. "The... parts on my knees and elbows grew in first, but I could hide those okay." He glanced down at his plate. "B-but they didn't go away, and I had to wear long sleeves all the time, and then other stuff, like on my ribs, started growing in." He flushed. It had so severely impacted his tennis that people had started getting suspicious. He'd almost been ready to quit, but he hadn't wanted to, even though the bones caused him constant pain and made moving harder.
"And then, around last April, the stuff here," he motioned to his cheeks, "grew in, and I just... couldn't hide it anymore." He shrugged carefully. "M-my parents found out, and soon after that, Ryuhana contacted us." And he'd been very, very glad for that.
"How about... um, you?" he asked softly, hoping Aoi-kun wouldn't mind the same question in return.
Ken listened closely, but was still curious about a lot of things! Like how he felt when it happened and how it affected his friends and all of that...
"Hmmmm... I guess I was twelve, just in middle school. There was this bully there, who always picked on the freshmen, but he left me alone because I was biggest in the class! Then one day he pushed down this one kid and broke his glasses and was going to beat him up, so I stopped him. He tried to punch me in the stomach and ended up breaking his hand... After that, sensei chased me off campus with a broom like I was a scary monster or something!"
Ken couldn't help but chuckle at the memory. It had been painful earlier in life, but now the thought of that little old woman chasing him with a BROOM of all things was really very funny!
"After that my parents home-schooled me with my brothers' help, and then I came to Ryuhana!"
"Oh," Kaidoh said, though Aoi-kun was chuckling, so he apparently wasn't very embarrassed by it. It was kind of funny, to try and picture someone chasing Aoi-kun with a broom. He grinned a little, imagining that if someone had broken their fist on Aoi, then a broom stood little chance against him.
"T-that doesn't sound too bad, but I bet he wasn't very happy about breaking his hand..." Aoi-kun's parents sounded awfully nice, though, to keep him home and continue schooling him. "But I'm sure the boy t-they knocked down was grateful." He smiled, thinking that Aoi-kun was a very kind person, no matter what he was doing.
Ken nodded. The memory reminded him of how GOOD it had felt to help that boy and make sure that that bully got what he deserved!
"Yeah, yeah he was! He wasn't scared of me at all! It was great! I kinda felt like a hero! Heh, I've always kind of wanted to be an X-man..."
Confessing that made Ken blush a bit. It sounded so... childish! Normally that didn't bother him, but they were in a nice restaurant and he was on a DATE with Kaoru-chan and it just didn't fit the situation. Ken kept smiling, though, red-tinted as it may be. He pretty much WOULD do anything to be one of those amazing American mutants.
"Oh, n-ne, what do you want to do? Like, after school?"
An X-man? That was really... noble, Kaidoh thought, though it was kind of... cute, he thought, the way it made Aoi-kun blush to say it. "I think you'd make a great X-man!" he blurted - because it was true. Aoi-kun was so nice and he cared about everyone and he was really strong and capable. He was sure people like the X-men needed people like him, and badly.
But what did Kaidoh want to do after school? That was a... painful question, actually. Because he'd thought he'd known... but then his mutation had sprung up and ruined his life. "M-me? I... wanted to b-be a professional tennis player," he said quietly. "B-but I can't do that anymore. So I don't know..." He hadn't really thought about his future since coming to Ryuhana - he'd been trying to get through all-too-difficult todays.
But he didn't want to seem distressed on their date. Kaidoh resolutely looked up; "I'll think of something, I’m sure... someday..." he said.
Ken shook his head. It wasn't fair that Kaidoh had to feel like his dream was ruined just because he was a mutant!
"Nuh-uh! You should be a tennis player if that's what you want! You'll see! One day no one will care anymore! We'll be able to teach people that mutants are people too! I just know it!"
Ken reached over to put his hand over Kaidoh's and smiled at him, nodding firmly.
"M-maybe..." It was a nice thought, Kaidoh had to admit - though even he knew it might not ever come to pass. But maybe someday people would understand... And he did suppose his power wasn't something that could ever be considered cheating... though it actually hindered his ability to play more than anything. "I... still have to retrain and all... The bones make it a lot harder to move, and I'm heavier, and stuff," he said quietly. "And I need a better racket." He only had one right now, and it wasn't like the ones he'd had before - he'd given away all his old rackets as payment to Inui-san, and most of his money as well. This one wasn't bad, not at all, but it wasn't quite the same as his old ones.
He shook his head, not willing to let this ruin their date. "I-it's okay. I'll think of something in the meantime," he insisted, blushing a little and taking the other's hand for a brief moment. "I-it's not important right now."
Ken made a note to get Kaidoh some REALLY good tennis gear! He definitely deserved that and more, life had dealt him a bad hand of cards to play with! Ken gave his hand a VERY gentle squeeze before going back to his food, licking off the sauce that had ended up on his elbow.
"Well, you'll get stronger and stronger! Soon they won't even be a problem!"
The meal was spectacular and both boys finished in no time. Soon, Consuela came twirling back to the table, taking their plates with expert grace, but bumping the table as she passed, sending Kaoru's water onto his wrist, onto the Image Inducer...
Kaidoh saw his glass tipping, but there was nothing he could do - it tumbled over, spilling onto the table. And his wrist. He froze, staring at the image inducer, hoping beyond hope that -
But he didn't even have time to fully process the vain wish before the device sparked, sputtered, and the air around him flickered. He felt the blood drain from his face as the smooth skin of his forearm and hand vanished, to be replaced by the bones that marred his true appearance.
Oh no. Oh, no. He risked a glance over at Consuela, who for a moment was too busy apologizing and pulling out a napkin to mop up the mess - until she actually looked at him. And blinked. And dropped the napkin, backing away, eyes wide.
Kaidoh wanted to disappear. He wanted to melt into the floor or fall over dead or anything, anything at all, so that this wouldn't be happening.
And then someone screamed.
Ken was totally confused for a moment. Kaidoh suddenly turned back to his normal appearance, maybe the Inducer ran out of batteries? Just as he was about to round off the evening with a nice light Italian cake, someone screamed. A lady at the next table, who started picking up her silverware and throwing it at Kaidoh! Ken dove over the table, knocking it over, shielding his boyfriend from the barrage of metal and glassware that was now being issued from the lady AND her impressionable children.
"HEY! Stop that! He didn't do anything! What's wrong with all of you!"
The people at the table next to them stood and began to leave quickly, foreseeing the trouble on its way.
"MONSTER! THERE'S A MONSTER IN HERE! HEEELLLP!"
A plate crashed against Kentarou's hardening flesh. His teeth were showing in a snarl, his anger rising steadily. How DARE they say such nasty things about Kaoru!
"He's not a monster! Don't talk about him like that, you don't know him at all!"
"HEY HEY HEY, What's going on down here!?"
Giuseppe stomped down the steps, hands gesticulating wildly.
"Little Aoi? You and your little friend are gonna have to leave! I can't have this in my restaurant! Go! Go now!"
Ashamed at his clientele and himself, the old Italian gestured for them to leave. Ken scowled, grabbed Kaidoh's hand, and hauled the both of them out of there, with that woman's hysterical wailings echoing in his mind, and those kids screaming "MUTIE MUTIE!!"
Kaidoh didn't even know what to do. He just knew he wanted to die - and it seemed like most of the people in the restaurant would be happy to oblige him. He didn't even duck when they started throwing things at him, so blindsided by it that he didn't even think to react. He blinked as Aoi-kun came crashing over the table, blocking him from the barrage of silverware and plates and glasses. He screwed his eyes shut, shaking his head and now trying to duck down, to hide - why did this always happen to him? And Aoi-kun didn't deserve this, not at all - it wasn't fair -
Someone stomped down the stairs - Giuseppe - and told them firmly to leave. Amidst all the screaming and crashing, he felt Aoi-kun grab his hand and pull him up; Kaidoh stumbled after him, blinking dumbly as it seemed like all he could see and hear were angry people, wanting him gone or dead. He didn't resist as the other pulled him out and away, only trying to cover his head and keep from getting hit, wishing he didn't have to hear all the yelling...
He didn't even know how far away they were before they stopped. He wasn't looking where they were going, so he crashed into Aoi when the other came to a halt. His legs gave way, shaking - everything was shaking, he felt so horrible and maybe Aoi should've left him back there. Kaidoh nearly sank to the ground, trying to hide, wishing none of this had ever happened. "I-I'm sorry," he choked out, feeling worse than terrible, scrubbing at his face because he was crying, shit, and he didn't want Aoi to see it, but all he could think was that all those people were right and he really was a monster, and he would be better off dead. "I - s-sorry, sorry, I'm sorry..."
Ken stopped abruptly, feeling Kaoru bump into him from behind with the sudden action. They had stopped a good distance from the restaurant, tucked into an alley where Ken felt it was safe to slow down and gather himself. He almost lost it on those people in there... For a second he thought he was going to sink down to the level of those brotherhood guys. He took slow, deep breaths like he had been taught and when the pounding left his ears and his fists unclenched, he became aware of a most heartrending sound. Sniffling, and Kaoru's rough, masculine voice choked with tears and sounding no more dangerous than a child. Ken turned, eyes wide with something akin to panic. He was never good at things when other people cried! It just made him start to stress, and suddenly HE wanted to cry too!
"Ah! K-kaoru-chan! Don't cry! You didn't do anything, nothing at all! It's those people, not you! You're a good person!"
Ken stepped close to the shorter boy, gently rubbing at his tearstreaked cheeks with the backs of his knuckles, pulling him in for a firm, but gentle hug, mostly to comfort his stricken boyfriend, but partly to hide the tears brimming in his own wide brown eyes. It wasn't FAIR! He couldn't hide the waver in his voice or the thick way the words passed through his lips.
"Shhhhh, don't cry! You don't deserve any of this! Grrrrrrrr..."
No one knew how nice Kaoru was! Or how dedicated and strong! They didn't have any right to judge him based on what he was... none at all...
He wanted to run away, and leave Aoi-kun alone, where he was better off without him, but Kaidoh couldn't move - all he could do was bury his face against Aoi's shoulder, grasping the other's shirt in his fists, afraid that if he didn't hold onto something he would fall.
But he could hear the way Aoi's voice sounded - and it sounded like he wanted to cry too. What if he regretted this - he'd known those people for years, and Kaidoh had just ruined it all, and he couldn't even begin to apologize. He shook his head, feeling worse. "N-no, it’s my fault - I l-look like this and it's t-terrible and they're right. I know I look l-like a monster!"
He pulled back, yanking a large piece of bone out of his arm with a grunt and tossing it on the ground, staggering a little. He knew it wasn't going to work. He'd tried before - and all it had done was land him in medlab overnight and everything he'd pulled out had grown back worse.
Ken grabbed Kaoru by the arm, yanking him towards him and checking the wound none too gently. He wasn't concentrating on his actions, so they were a little out of his control strength-wise.
"NO! Don't do that! Don't hurt yourself, don't call yourself a monster! Just... DONT!"
Ken gave the other boy a shake, then spotted his arm, torn and bleeding from ripping his bone out. Ken ripped the sleeve from his shirt easily, tearing it in half and wrapping it tightly around the wound.
"This... This isn't! Gah! You're not a monster!!! Monsters are mean and cruel and... and you're not! You're sweet and kind and you just got a bad hand in things is all! And you're NOT UGLY! I think you're the cutest boy I know!"
Ken crushed Kaidoh to his chest, holding him tightly enough that he wouldn't be able to escape again and hurt himself.
Kaidoh flinched as Aoi grabbed him - but he only checked the skin where Kaidoh had pulled the bone out; the piece had been too big, and not ready to go, and it was bleeding a little. Kaidoh flinched again as Aoi tore his sleeve, binding the wound with it - it would get better, really, and he was used to the pain -
But then Aoi pulled him into a hug, and wouldn't let him go, and Kaidoh didn't really have the strength anymore to try and break away anyway. Aoi said he thought he was cute?! Really - he thought Kaidoh wasn't ugly? Kaidoh didn't even have the strength to pretend he didn't want to believe him, and badly. Because he did - he really, really did, because he didn't think he could take one more person telling him he was a monster, or one more glance in the mirror to see what he knew was already true. So fine - he'd try to believe Aoi-kun, because why, after all of that, would he still lie?
Slumping against the taller boy, Kaidoh just nodded wordlessly a moment. "Sorry," he said again, after a few minutes of silence, feeling a little stronger again. He tilted his head up, just enough to reach Aoi's chin, kissing his jaw lightly. "R-really, it was n-nice, though... I am s-sorry."
Ken realized that he was holding on REALLY tight, now that Kaidoh appeared to have calmed down, so he loosened his grip. The little kiss to his jaw made him smile again, and he sniffed away the rest of his tears, leaning back to give Kaidoh a watery smile, and then a firm, wet kiss. He pulled back feeling MUCH better with the situation.
"Just don't believe those stupid people, okay? You're GREAT and you should know that! Now... wanna go home? I don't feel like hanging out outside anymore..."
Aoi loosened his grip a little, and Kaidoh realized he felt a lot better. He nodded - not so sure about the great part, but feeling like at least he wasn't terrible. Or at least as terrible as he though he was.
He nodded, realizing it was cooling down as the sun prepared to set, shadows growing longer on the streets. "Y-yeah," he agreed. "Um... w-we should walk, though..." He didn't think taking the bus or a cab or anything like that was such a good idea - he didn't have long sleeves or a hood or anything, "I-I'll just stay close and you c-can hide me." He took Aoi's hand tentatively, pressing himself against the other's side a self-consciously, hoping that if he just walked next to and a little behind Aoi-kun, no one would notice him much.
It was a bit of a walk - they'd taken the bus to get here, after all - but it was nice, watching dusk fall, and there weren't too many people out on the streets now anyway. Plus, Aoi-kun's side was warm, and Kaidoh thought guiltily that it was kind of nice to have an excuse to walk this close to someone who cared about him, after all that.
They arrived thankfully without incident, the gate of Ryuhana shining like paradise after that little bout of hell they'd just gone through. Ken was buzzing warmly from having Kaoru pressed against him the whole walk home and they HAD eaten a full meal, so Ken was feeling stuffed and happy. He was ready for some TV and maybe some dessert! He could only hope that Kaidoh was as well.
"Ne, ne, Kaoru-chan? Since we didn't REALLY finish our date, how about some cookies and TV? You know, to wind down after all of that?"
Kaidoh glanced up - he'd barely noticed they were even approaching Ryuhana, keeping his eyes trained on the ground and trying to duck his head so no one would see his face. He blinked, then flushed a little, and nodded. At least now he didn't have to admit that he really didn't want to be alone right now, and that he also didn't think he could bring himself to go back to his room and face Kuwahara-kun asking how things had gone - he was afraid he might dissolve into tears again - or something equally embarrassing.
"Y-yeah... that sounds okay," he said, and followed the other back onto campus and up towards his room. He realized he'd never even seen Aoi-kun's room before, actually, and was interested to see what kind of things the other boy had.
"Be careful! It's not so clean, heh!"
Aoi cracked open the door of his room, which was freshly refurnished after the mall incident, where Ken had broken a lot of his things on his way out. It was furnished like most teenage boys’ rooms really. Idol posters on the walls, Kimeru, Gackt and Boa, a TV with a PS2 and Gamecube beneath it, clothes strewn about the floor and a queen sized bed with a reinforced structure. Ken opened a drawer, his stash of snacks for when he was supposed to be on some special menu or another the school fixed for him, and fished out a box of generic chocolate chip cookies. He flopped onto his bed, which creaked despite the newness and the steel reinforcements, holding out an arm, obviously for Kaidoh to recline in.
"What should we watch?"
Kaidoh glanced around, thinking it wasn't that messy, really, just the clothes on the floor. That wasn't bad at all - he looked at all the posters on the walls while Aoi-kun dug through his drawers, but looked over again when he heard the bed creak. Wow - it was a big bed, bigger than the regular school issue beds. He made his way over, tentatively, blushing a little as he sat and tried to think of how to position himself so he wouldn't scrape Aoi-kun with anything sharp, or rip the covers - that would be awful.
He pulled the image inducer off his wrist - it wasn't working, what was the point of wearing it? He'd have to ask to get it repaired later; he already could see the way Hanamura would look at him, and be disappointed in him for breaking it. What if they couldn't fix it? Or what if they wouldn't let him have it again because he'd mistreated it?
Kaidoh shook his head to clear it - Aoi'd asked him a question. He blinked, then shook his head again, this time in answer. "Um... I d-don't know. Whatever you want..." Aoi-kun had decent taste in entertainment, from what little he'd seen. He realized he didn't care at all - he just wanted to sit here and not think about what had happened. Blushing even more, he pulled his legs up carefully and curled up against Aoi's side, resting a cheek tentatively on the other's shoulder. Now he was starting to feel better. "I d-don't care. Anything."
Aoi's arm curled around Kaidoh's back, holding him gently. Aoi's other arm clicked on the TV, some nice drama or another, and set the cookies in the space between their bellies, lifting one to his lips to munch happily.
"Mmmm, this is nice too! We don't need fancy stuff like that, ne?"
"Yeah..." Kaidoh said softly, taking a cookie and eating it slowly. "I'm still s-sorry, though." He took another bite. "T-things like that always seem to happen to me." He took a few deep breaths - but it was over now, what else could he do? He still felt bad, but Aoi-kun was acting like it hadn't been a big deal, even if it had been.
"I hope you can still go back there," Kaidoh whispered, settling a little closer, a little embarrassed at how much better just being held made him feel. "B-but this is nice, really."
Ken turned a little more toward Kaidoh, only half-interested in the show.
"Yeah, don't worry about that. Ossan will forget all about it, and I bet Nee-san was only surprised, I bet she still thinks you're cute!"
Ken punctuated his statement with a kiss, nuzzling his mouth over Kaoru's gently, tongue teasing just a little into the other's mouth.
Kaidoh had his mouth open to disagree with that assessment when Aoi-kun kissed him - he felt the blush on his cheeks reinforce itself, but he didn't want to pull away. It was even harder than before to convince himself that Aoi-kun didn't mean what he said when the other was kissing him gently like this. He tried to ignore the worry still pooling in his stomach and kissed back, closing his eyes and balling his fists against the other's chest, thinking that if he concentrated on the here and now, he wouldn't have to think so much about what those people had looked like, throwing silverware at his face.
Ken's free hand moved to gently cup Kaoru's cheek, the kiss deepening under his control. He was glad to make Kaoru feel better any way he could, but kissing was his personal favorite! And by the way he was kissing back, and his face was reddening, he seemed to be liking it too. Ken hands slowly drifted down from Kaidoh's cheek, to rest on his strong chest, feeling it rise and fall under his palm as he rubbed the flesh through his shirt...
Kaidoh let Aoi-kun take control, feeling like the more he concentrated on this (and how couldn't he?), the more the rest of the day seemed to slide away, forgotten. He sighed contentedly at fingers brushed down his cheek and neck to his chest - that felt nice, and very different when it was someone else's fingertips, even through his shirt. He leaned against Aoi-kun, hoping the other didn't mind, but still careful not to lean closer with any part of himself that had something sharp. He draped one arm shyly across the other's chest, resting fingers along Aoi's side and feeling that it wasn't fair to be the only one to take comfort in being held, hoping it would help Aoi-kun as much as it was helping him.
Ken sighed into the kiss as Kaidoh moved closer, strong fingers playing at his side. His hand had traveled lower, feeling the strong ridges of Kaidoh's stomach as his shirt rode up just so with a little encouragement from the tall boy. Ken was hard and wanting at this point, Kaidoh's thigh coming just barely into contact with his crotch, the way they were settled against one another. He ground his hardness against that muscled thigh, hand slowly traveling lower and lower, dipping just into Kaidoh's waistband, teasing and playful.
Kaidoh jumped, blinking, feeling his face go warm all over, mind racing. Everything had felt so nice, but - but this was -
He remembered the last night he'd had with Ohtori, how close the other had tried to get, how the silver-haired boy had suggested something more than kissing, and how he'd run away less than an hour later. Kaidoh was still sure Ohtori had been trying to be nice, trying not to tell him that something like that, with Kaidoh, was just not possible.
And all Kaidoh could think was that he didn't want something like that to happen again, not with Aoi-kun. He couldn't bear for the other to touch him like that and then realize his mistake, just like Ohtori had, and leave him. He would die. He couldn't go through that again. He didn't want to be left all over again, not today.
"I - I... u-um. T-that's not a good idea," Kaidoh stammered, pulling back a little. "Y-you won't - you'll..." He stopped himself before he said anything stupid.
Ken pulled back with difficulty, heat of the moment clouding his mind and affecting his actions. He gazed at Kaoru for a moment, hoping he hadn't gone too far too fast and scared him. He let Kaidoh have a little space and put his hand back splayed on his belly.
"What's wrong? Did I go too far? And what do you mean by me? Heh, I'm the one who wanted to go farther. If you're not comfortable though, I'll wait."
Ken would wait for a good long time if he had to.
Kaidoh closed his eyes, shaking his head, curling up a little tighter. "Y-you'll just... you won't like it," he insisted, ashamed. He buried his chin against his chest, he didn't want Aoi-kun to think Kaidoh didn't like him - that wasn't it at all. He did like him - and that's why he couldn't bear it if Aoi realized his mistake and left.
"I don't want you to leave," Kaidoh said softly, wishing he wasn't so stupid, wasn't so ugly.
Ken shook his head, pulling the other closer instinctively, not minding the ribs poking him slightly.
"Nonono, I won't leave! I thought I scared you and you were gonna leave! Just tell me? It's okay if I don't like it. We should talk about it anyway! Talk?"
Ken nudged the other boy's hair gently with his nose. Kaidoh had to get this out, no doubt about it.
"I just - " Kaidoh stopped, having to take a few breaths. He didn't want to cry again; once in one day was more than enough. But now he was remembering everything he'd been working so hard to forget - how nice Ohtori-kun had been, and how happy he'd seemed, and how happy Kaidoh remembered being. And how it was kind of exciting, trying that, but then Ohtori had left. He'd left and hadn't talked to Kaidoh for months, and when he'd finally called, something terrible had happened to him and Kaidoh was sure it was all his own fault. Everything bad that had happened to Ohtori-kun since then was his fault - he wouldn't have left if not for Kaidoh. They were talking now, but Ohtori was sometimes like a different person and Kaidoh was still scared. It was all his fault.
How was he supposed to say all that, though? "It's - h-he left. He left w-when we... we tried something and he s-stopped liking me and he left. And he didn't talk to m-me and bad t-things happened to him and it's all my fault a-and please don't leave." It was really hard not to cry; Kaidoh wanted to sob, but he couldn't, so he stopped there, biting his lip, hoping Aoi-kun wouldn't say he was right and shove him away.
Ken's chest tightened. So it was all about another guy? Probably that Ohtori person he was talking about while they waited for the cookies to bake those weeks ago.
"He sounds like a total jerk!"
Ken stared into Kaidoh's eyes with his own, serious ones. How could someone leave Kaidoh like that so that he'd blame himself?
"It's not your fault at all! Did you go out and make sure bad things happened to him? HE left YOU, right? And did he even say goodbye or tell you why or anything? Sounds like he was just a coward, that's all! Kaoru-chan is special and sweet and handsome... A good person wouldn't have left you alone like that..."
Kaidoh blinked. "H-he...." He knew Ohtori hadn't meant to make him feel bad. Ohtori was a really good person, and he'd always been nice. But when he'd left Kaidoh couldn't come up with any other explanation than it had been his own fault. But Aoi was trying to say it wasn't? He didn't know Ohtori at all, though -
"W-well I... don't think he meant to," Kaidoh said in Ohtori's defense... "B-but no, I mean, I didn't want anything bad to happen to him... I just - I know he left because of me," he insisted, sure that part at least was true. "I don't... I don't want to mess this up again," he buried his head again, feeling stupid, but it was the truth. He wanted Aoi-kun to stay, and to like him. Whatever had happened before, part of it at least was Kaidoh's fault, and he didn't dare make the same mistake twice.
"I-it's just that... If you s-see me, y-you won't like it." Who would? "T-things d-don't work so well with me."
"But I can see you right now and I think you're really good looking!"
Ken's words left his lips before he could think about it. Then he realized what the problem REALLY was.
"Oh... OH... Do you have bones growing in, down THERE too? W-well I guess I could work around them? Or you could touch me! I just know that if you try it and see how good it is you'd like it! I can PROMISE that Ohtori didn't leave because of THAT! Really!"
Ken laid kisses along Kaidoh's brow and temple. If Ohtori really WAS as nice as Kaidoh said, he wouldn't leave him in such a state just because of that, would he?
Kaidoh flushed all over again. “N-no, but just… just, s-still. I’d scrape you.” Well, he’d never tried it, really, but he was sure he would. He’d never even done that much with Ohtori, but he’d seen the scrapes and bruises on the other sometimes, and he was ashamed. How could someone like him if they couldn’t get close to him? He couldn’t blame anyone for that, but he still didn’t want to be left. He felt so selfish, but there it was. Maybe if he could keep Aoi-kun from seeing, maybe then Aoi-kun would stay.
“I don’t w-want to hurt you,” he said. Ohtori had ended up with a bone in his shoulder, once. What if the next time, it was even worse?
Ken pulled Kaoru down on top of him again, feeling the bones poke at him, but none of them so much as hurt, let alone pierced his skin.
"But you can't hurt me, Kaoru-chan! Not so long as you keep making me happy to be around you!"
And to prove that they didn't even need to test THAT theory, Ken kissed Kaidoh gently and rearranged the both of them carefully so that they were resting comfortable against each other, the bones protruding from Kaidoh's flesh arranged safely away from Ken's body as they lay on their sides, facing each other, Kaidoh's head pillowed on the taller boy's bicep.
"And see? Isn't this nice anyway?"
"I... I, um... yeah." Kaidoh closed his eyes, nodding, because he couldn't possibly disagree. "It is." It was nice - he really liked Aoi-kun, and liked being close to him, and if he could just... keep from messing this up, he hoped everything would be okay. He kept doing stupid things, but Aoi kept... not minding. It was amazing. And he didn't want to lose that.
He wrapped one arm around the other's waist as best he could manage, and settled down a little more. He didn't want to, but he was getting tired. He felt like those people at the restaurant had taken all of the energy from him. And now, the TV droning in the background was starting to get to him, and so was Aoi's warmth and scent. He wanted to just lie here forever. "C-can I stay for a while?"
Ken nodded against Kaidoh's hair, half paying attention to the TV and half watching the sweet boy in his arms. A hand went to idly pet the soft black hair.
"Sure. You can stay as long as you want, Kaoru-chan! Don't even hafta ask..."
The evening's stress must have been getting to him, because Ken was feeling uncharacteristically tired already. He let out a yawn, eyes slowly closing until he was snoozing lightly, arm tightening slightly around Kaoru.
The hand stroking his head was... very soothing, and quickly putting him to sleep. Kaidoh knew, vaguely, that he shouldn't sleep here - that he should at least let Kuwahara-kun know, so he wouldn't worry - but he couldn't bring himself to move. He was just so comfortable, and he felt so safe, and he wanted to stay right here...
And so, as Aoi's arms tightened just the smallest bit around him, he figured it would be all right to fall asleep for a little while, at least.
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Date: 2006-04-03 12:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-04-03 12:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-04-03 03:29 am (UTC)Tori'd tell him Aoi will be better to him and he deserves someone like that.
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Date: 2006-04-03 04:26 am (UTC)Aw~ ::pets Tori!:: Kaidoh's glad he seems to be happy with Shishido, even if he doesn't like Shishi very much. ^^;