Disclaimer: I don't own Wild Adapter or any of the characters in the manga. That honor belongs to Kazuya Minekura.
It was hot and humid out, the kind of day where the air feels like it's pressing you down into the earth. Summer in Japan really sucked, sometimes. The air conditioner was running full blast in the living room but Tokito was still sweating. He was sitting on the couch, television on but he wasn't interested in the stupid drama show that was on. Kubo-chan was sleeping in his room, having made a late night delivery for that freak of a quack doctor.
The delivery took longer than normal so Kubo-chan came staggering home, tired and drained of all energy in the early hours before dawn. A stump of a cigarette dangled from his lips and he went out on the balcony to finish it. Tokito had been dozing on the couch, waiting for Kubo-chan. Through sleep blurred eyes, Tokito watched Kubo-chan's body shuffle outside and smoke. He thought about talking to Kubo-chan but he had been strangely distant the past few days.
A drop of sweat trickled down the back of his neck, a short breeze from the air conditioner kissing the drop, cooling him off for a fraction of a second. Maybe he'd have some ice cream. That would cool him off.
The old fridge in Kubo-chan's apartment hummed and shuddered when Tokito opened the freezer door. Damn, the cold air felt good on his hot skin. Maybe he should pull up a chair and sit in front of the freezer instead of roasting in the living room. Yeah, and Kubo-chan would think he was a stupid kid for wasting electricity.
"Where's the ice cream?" Frozen peas, empty ice cube trays and not much else sat in the frozen space. "Tch. I thought Kubo-chan bought more than that." Slamming the door, Tokito opened up the fridge and spied something else that might cool him off. Chocolate syrup.
"Yes!" Shutting the fridge door, giving it a kick to make sure it stayed shut, Tokito went to the cupboard to get a bowl. He wasn't an animal, no matter what his hand looked like. There was no way he would eat it right out of the squeeze bottle. Finding a small bowl, Tokito poured the rest of the chocolate syrup in the bowl, watching the last few drops slowly fall.
Gotta recycle the can.
Kubo-chan's voice sounded in his head. What a pain in the ass. Recycling was just more work on a hot day like today. Turning on the hot water, Tokito put a fur-covered finger under the tap. When it finally got hot enough, he rinsed out the bottle, grumbling all the while about the hot water in the building. Damn water. Took fucking forever to get hot.
The living room was so empty without Kubo-chan there. Tokito sighed. He was lonely when Kubo slept without him. How was it possible to miss someone so bad when they were asleep in the next room?
Being lonely usually wasn't a problem for Tokito because they both kept the same schedule. During the day, Kubo-chan and Tokito usually spent all of their time together, looking for information on the mysterious drug, Wild Adapter, or being chased down because they were looking for information.
Nights were different. If Kubo-chan wasn't beside him, Tokito didn't know if he could ever fall asleep. He had grown used to Kubo-chan's deep breathing in his ear, lulling him to sleep. And when the nightmares came like clockwork every night, Kubo-chan's arms wrapped around his body, holding him tightly while he gasped for air. He couldn't sleep without Kubo-chan beside him. Every sound in the apartment was louder, more sinister. The dark was deeper, more evil and alive.
Looking down at the cold bowl of chocolate syrup in his hand, it suddenly didn't look very good. Too sweet. His feet carried him to the bedroom, his mind telling him that he was just seeing if Kubo was awake. In reality, he needed Kubo-chan. Even if all he did was sit on the floor by the bed and suck chocolate syrup off his fingers, he needed Kubo-chan to be there.
Kubota was sprawled out over the bed, his arms out to his side and one leg bent at the knee, the sole of his foot against his jean covered leg. Black hair, tousled from sleep, swept over his forehead. Tokito pushed the bangs out of Kubo-chan's eyes, although it didn't matter because Kubo-chan wasn't awake. But, Tokito liked to touch Kubo-chan now.
Kubo-chan's hands never hurt him.
Tokito watched the rise and fall of Kubota's chest as he slept. Dipping a finger into the sweet syrup, Tokito brought it to his mouth, licking and sucking his treat. Kubo-chan's room was as hot as hell and the condensation collecting on the outside of the bowl made it hard for Tokito to hold on.
Sitting down on the edge of the bed, Tokito tried to keep the bowl from slipping out of his right hand. He didn't want to break the damn thing and if he held the bowl too hard in his right hand, he was sure to break it. Juggling the bowl between his hands, Tokito tipped the bowl too much and dribbled chocolate syrup on Kubo-chan's belly.
Tokito froze. The last thing he wanted to do was wake Kubo-chan up. He just wanted to sit by Kubo-chan and eat his treat. Tokito waited for a few seconds but it didn't look like Kubo-chan was going to wake up. Must be really tired.
Tilting his head to the side, Tokito looked at the drizzle of chocolate. It kinda looked like one of the characters in Kubo-chan's name. If he just added a line here and a swirl there and maybe extended the second line to Kubo-chan's belly button…
Oh shit! He just wrote Kubo-chan's name on his belly! Wait, were those goosebumps on Kubo-chan's arms? He was sweating pretty bad, after all and maybe the cold chocolate was cooling him off a bit. Or it could have been Kubo-chan's reaction to being touched by him.
Whatever it was that made those goosebumps pop up on Kubo-chan's arms, Tokito wanted to make them come back. It was true that Kubo-chan had touched him a lot in the past but not lately. Maybe Kubo-chan was mad at him or he was worried that Tokito might hurt him again, like he'd done in the past. After all, when you break a guy's arm just by grabbing it, you don't want to touch or be touched by them again.
Indecision sat heavy on Tokito's mind. Should he keep writing on Kubo-chan? Would the touch of his hands bother Kubo-chan's sleep? Did he really care about waking him up?
Dipping his left finger in the chocolate, Tokito hesitated, his hand hovering over Kubota's chest this time. The characters making up Tokito's name were a lot smaller and less detailed than the ones making up Kubota's name. A few quick strokes over Kubo-chan's chest and Tokito would have his name over Kubo-chan's heart.
Oh gods. His name would be over Kubo-chan's heart. As if a jolt of electricity had gone through him, Tokito felt his heart skip a few beats and then settle into a fast rhythm. Did that mean he loved Kubo-chan?
Fat drops of chocolate landed with a plop on Kubota's chest. Staring at the drops but not really seeing them, Tokito's hands started shaking. He was in love with Kubota. There was really no question about it. They needed each other. Something was missing when the other wasn't there. Tokito smiled. Once, the quack doctor told Tokito he was Kubo-chan's truth and while he didn't understand what he meant at the time, Tokito knew now what the doctor had meant.
"Aw, fuck it. If you wake up, Kubo-chan, you wake up." Smearing the chocolate syrup around on Kubota's chest, Tokito quickly made the characters for his name. It wasn't as neat as the characters for Kubo-chan's name but they were pretty good, if he thought so himself. A half grin on his face, Tokito licked his fingers clean.
"You forgot something, Tokito."
"AH!" Jumping at the sudden sound of Kubota's voice, the bowl in Tokito's hand slipped out of his hand. His right hand shot out to stop the bowl from landing on the bed and he caught the syrup filled bowl.
The sound of the ceramic shattering echoed throughout the room, louder than any bullet, or so Tokito thought. Chocolate rivers ran over his fur-covered hand, over his wrist, only to end up on the clean white sheets. Dark explosions of chocolate decorated Tokito's bare chest and he shivered from the sensation of the stickiness of the chocolate.
"Shit! Kubo-chan! Don't scare me like that." A long, drawn out sigh from Tokito. "Now I made a huge mess. It's your fault you scared me and that means you're washing the sheets."
Lifting his head from his pillow, Kubota looked down on his chest, reading the names upside down. A soft look came into Kubo-chan's eyes as they met Tokito's fierce ones. Honestly, he was still his little stray cat, ready to spit and hiss at him at the first hint of anger.
"And what did you mean, I missed something?"
Kubota sat up, opened up his legs a bit more and tugged Tokito to him. "I was going to show you what you forgot to write when you were doodling on my chest but now, I think I want to do something different."
One long, wet lick against his cooling chest. Kubota's tongue licking up the chocolate that had been splashed on Tokito's chest. Watching Kubo-chan's tongue dart out of his mouth and lick it's way across his chest. Hands shaking, desire welling up within him, mouth dry at the sensual sight of Kubo-chan before him.
Kubota smiled at Tokito before moving in for a kiss. "You forgot to write the character for love."