Few people in the world could look upon Kyo Sohma and see the portrait of innocence. Hatsuharu could. Kyo's heart had never been broken; he had never tried to end his life; he had never tried to fry his brain with an opiate. In Haru's eyes, Kyo was innocent.

Haru rubbed his eyes and did his best to shrug off thoughts of Kyo. Looking into a nearby window, he grimaced at what he had done to his eyeliner; he complicated re-applying it and then decided it would be too much effort. He slid his feet backwards on the pavement, then dropped to his knees and rubbed his face on it.

"Mmm... Oh man..." Haru proceeded to rub his neck, then found a filthy puddle and dipped his fingers into it. "Oh man." His eyelids fluttered. His hands fumbled with his pants until they found a shitty cell phone in his left pocket. Kyo's name stood out in the address book. Haru pressed the call button.

A few seconds; Haru took a few deep breaths and marveled at the pleasant sensation.

"... Hello?"

"... Hey!" Haru's eyes widened as if he hadn't been expecting Kyo to pick up. Maybe he hadn't. "Oh man. I wish you were here right now. It's fucking magical."

A sigh came from the other end, and then Kyo grudgingly asked, "Haru, what are you on?"

"I'm rolling," Haru admitted fluidly. "Kyo, you have such a sexy voice."

Kyo seemed to disregard this comment. "... Rolling? As in..."

Haru laughed a little too loudly. "It means I'm on ecstasy, dumbass!"

"... Get your ass over here before you get arrested, okay?"

Haru chuckled a little bit and ran his hand through his snowy hair, repeating the phrase "oh man" a few times. "Kyo-kun, why are you awake at like 2:30 in the morning?"

"No reason," replied the voice at the other end. Haru imagined the boy rolling his eyes. "Haru, where are you?"

"Near that gentleman's club up by 29th. Isn't it weird how they call it that? Oh man, I love the summer. I wish it could just stay like this forever, Kyo. It would be even better if you were here..."

"Haru, shut the fuck up. Can you take the train here? I'll meet you at the station." Kyo's rudeness didn't faze Haru a bit.

"Okay." Haru paused, and ran his thumb over his lips a few times. "Oh man, Kyo, have you ever felt your lips?"

A moment of silence; then Kyo, taken aback, exclaimed, ".. What?!"

"Nevermind. Kyo, I'll get on the next train... Do you promise you'll meet me there?" Haru unwrapped another piece of gum and stuffed it in his mouth.

"Yeah." Kyo didn't seem tired at all, for whatever reason. Maybe this was why he slept so much during the day. "I'll see you there."

"Thanks," Haru said. He contemplated calling Kyo "babe" or saying "I love you", but he knew he'd regret it; he hung up. It really was such a gross cell phone... but as long as it transferred Kyo's voice to his ear, he was happy with it.

Although a bit dizzy, Haru stood up and pushed himself against a nearby brick wall, sighing at the pleasurable sensation of the pressure on his chest. "Oh man, oh man, oh man. When was the last time I ever said 'oh man'? Oh shit." He didn't really care much that no one was there. He looked up and reeled back, nearly falling over. "Oh shit."

Train. Yes. The train. He had five... six... seven... eight bucks. It was enough. He had unknowingly swallowed his gum and was crashing his teeth together ferociously.

---

Kyo had been sitting on the wood bench of the train station for forty minutes, ignoring weird looks. His hands dangled between his legs, one holding a cell phone and the other tapping out some indistinguishable rhythm on his inner thigh. His phone had died ten minutes ago. Nothing to do but wait.

Kyo decided to go to the bathroom, but didn't have much business to do there, so he washed his face and hands. He leaned his forehead against the mirror over the sink and looked down at the drain, just breathing heavy and enjoying a slight headache. He should have brought his iPod or something.

Upon returning to the lobby, Kyo was greeted with the sight of Haru feeling up the floor and making a lot of noise. Kyo grabbed him by the upper arm and pulled. An enormous grin lit Haru's features as the two stumbled out the automatic doors and the white-haired boy realized who was dragging him.

"Look, asshole, you can't just take off like this," Kyo mumbled, not really putting too much effort into what he was saying. "Everyone gets worried about you, and stuff."

"I know, I've heard it," Haru replied, trying and failing four times to catch Kyo's hand in his. "I'm glad I have a friend like you I can count on, though..."

"Mmhmm," Kyo hummed, trying not to make eye contact as they meandered down the street. As he dragged Haru under a street lamp, he felt pressure on his shoulders and found himself pushed against the light's post. Haru, still partially swathed in darkness, made eye contact and asked the question: "Kyo, can I kiss you?"

For a moment Kyo just recoiled and stared. "... What? Fuck no!"

Haru rubbed his hands up and down Kyo's arms. "Why not? What have you got to lose?"

The boy with orange hair forced Haru's hands away from him. "I'm not into guys. You're only acting like this because of the ex."

"Can I have a hug?"

"NO, Haru."

For a moment, Haru felt really hurt. Then he realized how nice it felt when he rubbed his hands together, and he forgot all about it. The two began to walk again.

"Are you a virgin?"

The question caught Kyo off guard, but after a moment's hesitation he answered yes.

Haru laughed. "HOW? You're SO hot, dude."

"Shut up. This is the ex talking right now." Kyo was getting a little pissed off.

"I swear to god it isn't. I've wanted to fuck you since like seventh grade." Haru's eyes followed a firefly as they turned onto a dirt road through a grove of trees.

Kyo decided not to say anything back. Growing anxious, his fingers curled into a fist.

"If you want, you could practice on me..."

Kyo struck Haru hard across the face, watching him lose his balance and fall on his ass in the dirt. "I don't wanna fuck you! Get it through your head!"

"..." Haru drooled blood and then rubbed his eyelids. "... I'm really sorry, Kyo. You know I'm not thinking straight right now..."

"You're damn right I know. Oh, and you're sleeping on the couch."

They walked side-by-side, not making eye contact; Haru amused himself with the fact that sometimes their steps were in unison, and sometimes not. On several occasions he had to stop and ask himself why his eyes were clouded with tears.