Special Friends

5

Their thoughts were quiet. As if at that moment, neither of their brains worked.

Akechi pulled away from the kiss and put his hands over his face.

His face was on fire.

You could cut the air with a knife.

...

"I-I'm sorry...I...don't know why..."

Without warning, he felt his hands being pulled from his face. Saiki grabbed his hands and placed them in his. Akechi could feel the cool metal of his ring.

"It's fine."

Saiki always felt it was odd using his real voice, but he needed to tell him.

Akechi felt nervous and happy, almost. It was a new, yet familiar feeling.

"C-Can I... Do it again?"

Saiki squeezed his hand gently.

Akechi leaned towards him and kissed his cheek again, this time, a bit longer.

When he stopped, instead of pulling away, he rested his head on Saiki's shoulder.

What just happened? Is this good? Oh yes, this is wonderful. I'm ecstatic!

Akechi smiled and blushed. He was almost giddy.

Saiki only sat there. He felt... comfortable. Though he was calm and collected as usual, he enjoyed this more than he would ever admit.

"Kusuo-kun?"

Saiki looked down to meet his eyes.

"I... I think I love you."

Saiki thought for a second.

I'm supposed to hate this. This is everything I avoided. I spent my entire life running away from this. I always despised love, and romance. But...

Why do I enjoy this so much?

Saiki didn't know what to say. He smiled and pulled him closer. Akechi waited for some kind of response, but all he got was a quiet sigh.

He's so warm.

As Akechi's heart sped up, Saiki's slowed down. Akechi held his hand tightly, as if to keep him there forever.

I'm not going anywhere.

Saiki stroked his hair gently.

It's so soft...

Neither of them would've minded staying that way forever.

Unfortunately, "forever" only lasted ten minute, because they had forgotten about the cake until the timer rang in the other room.

"Oh... Y-yeah, the cake. We should probably get that."

Saiki nodded and they both stood up.

The cake came out perfectly, which surprised Saiki, who had already forgotten that it was Akechi who had done most of the work. He took a moment to appreciate the aroma while Akechi set it out to cool.

He grabbed a box of strawberries from the fridge.

"We have some time while it cools; would you like to watch TV?"

Saiki replied with a small nod.

They went to sit on the couch. Akechi turned on the TV and sat down next to Saiki. He cuddled up to him and sighed happily.

They watched Cyborg Ciderman while Akechi ate strawberries. Normally, Saiki might have complained at having to sit through a 30 minute long advertisement, but with Akechi next to him, he didn't mind it so much.

"They're not nearly as sweet as you..." Akechi whispered under his breath.

Saiki choked on air. He started to cough, and Akechi started to giggle. He hadn't meant for him to hear that, but he's glad he did.When Saiki finally caught his breath, he gave him a menacing look that shut him up immediately.

Saiki smiled.

Akechi stood up to get the frosting from the fridge. He had it prepared since the morning. He figured it would of been easier to have it pre-made, especially because he was too excited to sleep properly. He frosted the cake while Saiki cut some strawberries for the top. Once it was finished, they pulled the coffee jelly out of the fridge and sat down to eat.

They cuddled close on the sofa and ate their sweets.

Both of them felt as if dessert had never tasted sweeter.

"Kusuo-kun?"

...

"What are we now?"

Saiki sighed and shrugged his shoulders.

I'd rather not think about that right now.

Saiki eased his worried look with a small kiss on his head.

Akechi smiled.

He didn't mind not getting an answer if it meant he'd get to sit comfortably with Saiki for several hours.

I think the world is quieter when I'm with you.

When the time came to leave, Akechi hugged him goodbye.

This time, it didn't take long for Saiki to give in and hug him back.

****************************************************************************

Kurumi heard the door open and close. It was 6:30 p.m.

"Ku-chan? Is that you? You were gone for a while, I was beginning to worry."

Saiki was smiling the tiniest bit. Only his mother could notice one of those smiles.

"Ku? What is it? What happened?"

Saiki pulled his ring off his finger and into his pocket.

'Nothing happened. I'm fine.'

Saiki placed a bag of coffee jelly in the fridge.

Kunihara walked in, quickly throwing the manga volume he was reading into a nearby laundry bin.

"Oh, you're home Kusuo?"

Saiki walked into his room and closed the door.

"What was that all about? Is he upset?"

"I don't know, he wouldn't tell me."

"Do you think we should be worried?"

Kurumi smiled.

"No, I think he can handle himself fine."

"He was at a friend's house, right?"

"Yes."

Kunihara shrugged.

"Alright then."

****************************************************************************

Akechi was lying in his bed when he heard his mother's keys jingle.

"Touma? I'm home!"

He ran into the living room.

"Hello, mother."

He walked up to hug her.

"You had a friend over today. How'd it go?"

Akechi blushed slightly and smiled.

"It went good..."

"Would you like some cake?"

****************************************************************************

Saiki closed his door and slumped onto the bed.

He replayed the afternoon over and over in his head. It was an odd day, to say the least, but it was still wonderful.

For once, he felt grateful for his mother's meddling.