♥♠Ace of hearts【Nichu】♠♥

♠Chapter 5♥

Yao waited at his own door, looking around for Kiku. He searched for the Japanese's face in the small crowds that moved in front of him. He rubbed his arm nervously, the darkest thoughts starting to pop into his mind.

'What if he isn't really coming? What if something happened to him?'

The Chinese bit his lip and winced slightly at his own thoughts. Luckily, all the scary thoughts vanished away and faded as soon as Yao's honey-amberish gaze met Kiku's, a darker chocolate.

Yao held himself back from running up to the Japanese man and hugging him, not wanting to be paid too much attention from the people.

His smile grew a little as he noticed how safe Kiku made him feel. Maybe it was his soft voice, his gentle smile and features, or his small but compact frame. Anything it was, it comforted Yao even after a nightmare.

"Yao! Are you alright?" Kiku sounded and looked genuinely concerned, which made Yao both worry for concerning Kiku over a nightmare, and feel better after checking that the Japanese cared about him.

"I'm feeling better, don't worry," A little nod answered to Kiku's question. "Anyway, I still feel like I should tell you what happened. It's not fair for you to try and help me without knowing what happened exactly."

Kiku sighed softly, nodding lightly at the Chinese's statement. He would have wrapped an arm around Yao to comfort him, but he wasn't really sure if Yao would be okay with that amount of physical contact.

"Let's head home, Yao. We'll get comfortable and talk, okay?" Kiku smiled softly, almost imagining he was trying to comfort a child. He instantly regretted it, thinking that his tone and smile would seem offensive to Yao, a grown man.

But to his nice surprise, Yao replied to his smile with a shy grin and nodded. "Okay. Thank you so much, Kiku"

Yao's heart pushed him to hug the Japanese, but he recalled Alfred telling him about how personal hugs were in Kiku's culture, so he restrained himself from the hug he needed.

Kiku sighed internally in relief, smiling a little more at Yao. "There's no need to thank me. When I offered myself to help you, I offered honestly, because I really want to help."

Kiku's gentle words made Yao widen his eyes, a light blush burning on his cheeks. "T-Thanks for offering yourself then!" Kiku chuckled softly. "It's nothing."

♠~·~♥~·~♠

Yao could hear Kiku in the kitchen, preparing some tea. He stroked Pochi's little ears, the puppy had quickly recognized him and set on the Chinese's lap.

A soft smile made its way up Yao's cheeks. He had completely forgotten about what he was supposed to remember, structure and find a nice way to tell Kiku about. It was the first time he had been able to keep it completely out of his mind.

The atmosphere at Kiku's house was really nice. The air conditioner kept them from sweating, Kiku had lit some vanilla and raspberry scented aromatic candles; and the decoration was very nice.

All of Yao's senses were delighted, thanks to the soft pants and happy growls that Pochi let out as Yao stroked the soft fur around his neck, and the warm tea that Kiku brought soon.

Yao smiled as a 'thank you', and Kiku replied with a soft bow.

When the tea was at a nice temperature to drink, Yao took his cup and brought it to his lips. Kiku smiled at his soft, gentle moves.

Yao's lips curled up in a smile as he tasted the tea. "Green tea! Did Alfred tell you that it's my favourite kind of tea?" Kiku's eyes widened in surprise, smiling. "No, he didn't. It's my favourite tea too!"

They giggled, having their tea.

"So..." Kiku's soft voice ended the momentarily peace for Yao, he understood perfectly what Kiku meant.

Yao nodded, sighing calmly and hugging the fluffy puppy softly. It felt like hugging a pillow.

"I... I was in an abusive relationship. I know you know, Alfred probably told you." Yao sighed, taking a sip from a glass of water that Kiku had brought along with the tea. "It's all over now. Zhen ended up moving back to China, he had a lover there."

Kiku nodded. It was painful for him to see Yao in such a tough situation, to notice how he remembered how much he loved Zhen.

"He made it obvious. He wanted me to notice, he knew how I'd react. He is a psychiatrist, or something like that. He knew every corner of my mind and used that to hurt me. I loved him, Kiku. I loved him even more than I loved myself..."

Yao's eyes filled up with tears, but only one of them was brave enough to jump and roll down Yao's cheek. Kiku quickly shifted closer, not knowing what to say or do. He held Yao's hands gently, squeezing them reassuringly.

"I-It was horrible... O-Only Alfred made me notice what Zhen was doing to me, and later he made me met you... I-I really owe so much to him..." Yao cried softly, his voice wavered with every tear that fell.

Kiku held his arms open for Yao, nor daring to directly hugging him yet. "You don't owe him anything, Yao... He's your friend, it was the least he could do."

Yao's eyes widened at Kiku's invitation, shyly huddling into his open arms and hugging him, sobbing softly. Kiku felt his cheeks burning a soft pink, hugging the thin Yao close and rubbing his back gently. "It's alright... It's over now, Yao... Zhen is gone..."

Kiku's soft whispers slowly calmed Yao down, soothed him as his gentle thumb wiped the tears away from his reddened cheeks. A very slight smile curled Yao's lips, who nuzzled into the Japanese's chest.

Kiku squeaked very softly, his blush turning brighter at the physical contact. Yao smiled softly, letting out a soft giggle at Kiku's cute reaction. "Thank you so much, Kiku. I feel a lot better." "It's nothing, really!"

Kiku smiled. He really cared about Yao. He didn't think too often about his feelings, but he was sure that Yao was very important for him.

Yao pulled away, aware of Kiku's slight discomfort. He rubbed the sadness off of his eyes with his sleeve, keeping his smile. He thought of Kiku as his closest friend, but his heart gave him too much feelings about the Japanese, and he couldn't explain his pink blush everytime he got a message from Kiku.

Anyway, he wouldn't declare himself in love so easily.