High Tide (boyxboy)

Chapter 9: Until next time

"Maybe next time then."

☆

"So...this is the real deal." Stan comments, hands resting on his knees as he sits next to Kai on a bench, opposite a large version of the 'seascape' which Kai had hanging in his apartment. 

"Impressive isn't it." Kai says, leaning a little to Stan. An audio was playing in the background of waves crashing, giving off the feeling of being inside the image.

"There's nothing like the sound of the sea." Stan says, closing his eyes, taking the sound in. It wasn't quite like being home, but it wasn't too far off. 

"I can't wait to do this for real." Kai adds. "To sit and look out into the blue. It's so...."

"Relaxing."

"Yes...relaxing. Kai agrees. "I could sit here all day." 

"Well you won't have to wait too long to see the real deal." Stan smiles, opening his eyes again. "You know I might just have to come over to your's more often, just to stare at your print....recreate some background music." Stan laughs.

"Haha any time. I'm just glad we caught the exhibition before it closes." Kai looks at Stan. "What is the time by the way?" 

Stan looks down at his watch. "Ten to six. We've been here nearly four hours."

"Well I guess it's time to go then." Kai sighs, getting up off the seat with much effort. Stan stays seated continuing to stare at the image as if mesmerised. "You know." Kai adds, "You can come over to mine."

"What?" This does grab Stan's attention as his eyes dart from the image to Kai looking down at him with those piercing eyes. 

"Like you said, I have this on my wall at home." He chuckles.

"Ah yes." Stan smiles, finally getting up, stretching slightly from being sat down for so long. "That really does sound appealing but I need to get on with my lyrics. Jojo gave me something to work through before we catch up again. But we do live in the same building so...we can walk back and admire the scenery on the way."

"Maybe next time then." Kai smiles. 

***

Stan and Kai stop outside Kai's door, on the way to Stan's apartment. Stan stops momentarily, rocking back and forth on his feet, hands in pockets. 

"Thanks for joining me today Stan. I hope it wasn't too boring." Kai says as he taps in his passcode. 

"Not at all. It was...." Stan was never good in these situations. 

"Yeah it was." Kai interrupts, laughing at Stan and his loss for words. 

He doesn't know why, but Stan knows at this point he should say goodbye and leave but he just stays there, looking at Kai, looking at his own feet, then looking at Kai again. Kai has his hand on his door ready to push it down to leave but is waiting...waiting for Stan to do something...anything. 

"I um..."Stan begins. But it is cut off by lips being pressed against his cheek. Stan's eyes widen, a little surprised, though it felt quite pleasant. Kai pulls away seconds later. 

"Until next time." Kai smiles, turning back to enter his apartment, going inside and closing the door behind him. 

Stan is left as still as a statue. No more rocking on his feet. Time momentarily stood still. He eventually stands up straight, clearing his throat and casually walks to his apartment door, with maybe a little more swagger than before. 

Kai leans on the back of the door for a moment smiling at himself. He would have kissed Stan right on the lips if he could, but did not want to scare him. A kiss on the cheek would have to be enough right now. 

He removes his shoes and decides to shower and change before making some dinner for himself. He heads into the bathroom and lets the shower run a little before getting in. He gets undressed and enters the shower. The water cascades over his head. Thoughts of Stan invade his mind. He didn't really know Stan that well yet but he felt they had a connection. Kai wondered about this boy. The boy Stan once knew. Where in the world would he be? 

He exits the shower and begins to dry himself. For some reason his eczema seems to have flared up, especially on his stomach. He pats the area down with a towel and looks at the dry and inflamed skin in his mirror's reflection. He grabs his skin cream from the shelf and applies some to the area. The sensation feels weird. Instead of the cream rubbing in, it seems to be removing small patches of his skin. Kai looks at his fingers at the dry flakes, washing them away under some running water. He then wipes his stomach again with the towel. It's strange...he looks at the sore area of his stomach, running his fingers over the once itchy area. It doesn't feel rough or uncomfortable any more, but it seems odd, a weird dull grey colour with some kind of sheen.