Disclaimer: I still don't own One Piece.
The word "kiss" is a soft word in itself, Kaku thinks, and when he imagines the action it's romantic and sensual -something he's seen in the movies or in plays. He confessed this to Blueno, sitting at the bar -although he really didn't see anything embarrassing about it, it could hardly be called a "confession." Paulie had overheard from his seat nearby. Kaku doesn't think he's ever seen Paulie laugh so hard before.
"What kind of guy are you, Kaku? Haven't you ever kissed someone before?" He chokes out each word between tears and slaps to the table. "What kinda crap do they feed you in your hometown?"
Kaku's face had turned red almost instantly, and he puffed up his face to counter but found he had nothing to argue with. It was true, at the time he hadn't kissed anyone -when would he have? You don't really make out with people training for the Marines, and youcertainly don't kiss other CP9 members. But thinking back on it now, Kaku thinks he was a little naive, there are plenty of things young agents do if only because they have no one else to do it with. Kaku just wasn't one of those people.
He kept his preconceived opinions about the subject until Lucci. Kissing Lucci, Kaku muses, is like an assault -although "assault" usually has bad connotations. The first time their lips had ever met, Kaku's body was thrust into the nearby wall and Lucci, wasting no time, crushed his lips against the other agent's. It was rough, and Kaku's first instinct was to struggle and prepare himself for injury instead of what had come next. He frowns when he remembers just standing there, shocked enough to not actually respond. Kaku really had never been in a situation like that before, and every kiss he had ever thought of was between a man and a woman, although granted, he didn't think of kissing often. Being in a relationship with Lucci -and he hesitated to call it a relationship at all- had pretty much changed all of his thoughts regarding couples. If Lucci was a boyfriend, something was seriously wrong with every romantic comedy he'd heard of. The thought of Lucci being anything other than a "co-agent" felt a little absurd and thinking of Lucci as a "lover" just made him laugh.
Lucci's first kiss with Kaku was executed perfectly, it wasn't awkward or uncomfortable -not after a few seconds anyway- and that's what Kaku would have expected from the other man. Kaku's first attempt, however, wasn't nearly as smooth. He figured, being born with his nose he'd realize it was on his face -it had, after all, been there for as long as he could remember- but apparently his mind wasn't on his features when he leaned in to kiss Lucci and his nose immediately made this a problem. He'd backed up, frustrated, and tried again -tilting his head to the side slightly. Apparently he hadn't tilted enough, this time his nose hit Lucci's cheek. Kaku had frowned, thoroughly disheartened, and wished he had had some sort of training for this. He was fairly certain that kissing for people with abnormal nose structures was not a class he could take up. Lucci had been the one to solve the problem, much to Kaku's dismay. It was almost like Lucci knew the dimensions of Kaku's face more than he did, because he didn't seem to have a problem with his nose. Neither did he normally, Kaku thought in frustration, but his mind had been on other -much more important- things at the time.
Lucci finds that Kaku's lips are soft, he assumes he wouldn't have noticed at all if not for his keen observation skills -after all, it's usually not the first thing on his mind. He's proud to tell himself that his self hasn't been compromised because of Kaku, he hasn't taken the time to study his face -other than what he does to people out of instinct- or really even done anything slowly or gently when it comes to Kaku. Lucci is not at all a sensual person and he can't see himself changing for any person -man or woman. As close as Kaku has gotten to him, Lucci doesn't associate him with any title. Kaku is merely a person he trusts about as much as Lucci trusts himself. But he is still a firm believer in never fully trusting anyone. Kaku is no exception.
It's only when his face was close enough to Kaku's to see every feature that Lucci noticed anything. People had always described Kaku's orange hair and long nose, and Lucci had to admit that these were especially defined features, but seeing the other man so close Lucci had to notice the light freckles on his cheekbones, the long eyelashes, the tint of Kaku's eyes. That was where he forced himself to stop, this was getting ridiculous. Lucci didn't bother justifying himself, he simply threw Kaku aside after a long, unforgiving crush against the other's lips, and left the room.
Kaku's pretty sure that a kiss from Lucci is more like marking his territory than anything else. And although Kaku enjoys it, he's not sure how to feel about being someone's property -he'd rather not be a pet to anyone, the thought makes him a little uncomfortable. But Lucci doesn't treat him any differently than he did before, he's just a little more, and Kaku struggles to find a word that isn't, affectionate. Kaku characterizes Lucci's affections as violence without intent to kill -or without any sort of threat behind it. Kissing Lucci is like that, he decides. Painful, but not in a way he particularly minds.
He's happy to announce -but mentally- that Lucci has never told him, "Mine."
Kaku dwells on that a bit, no, Lucci has never actually claimed him for himself, but he's fairly sure that Lucci hasn't seemed as predatory around anyone else. He thinks for a minute that maybe he's overanalyzing, this is Lucci, he's part leopard - cats are territorial creatures - why not Lucci? It's around here that Kaku remembers that he's a giraffe-man and that he doesn't really have the same instincts as one - not that he would mind, he's quick to add.
The only times Lucci lets Kaku kiss him at all -without being provoked- is in the morning. Kaku almost likes mornings if only for that reason and he makes a point to be as soft as possible if only to bother Lucci -even a little. It's usually early and Kaku knows all too well that Lucci hates waking up early. He does it and he doesn't complain, but he's significantly colder in the morning -if that's possible. Kaku loves to lean over and brush his lips gently over Lucci's, just enough to wake the man up. And every once in a while, Kaku manages to duck just enough so Lucci doesn't swat him in the face, more often than not Lucci wins. He can't remember when they started sleeping together, probably around the time they had to work together for Galley-La. Kaku assumes that it was easier to live together with their secrets than to get close to anyone else. He smiles, even if it's only for convenience he doesn't mind waking up next to Lucci -daily strike to the face or not.
The door opens and Kaku is thrown from his thoughts, turning quickly to see who's there. He's pleasantly surprised that it's Lucci, who always seems to know when someone is thinking about him -good or bad. Lucci has a knack for coincidental arrivals. Almost as if he waits around and just periodically shows up in hopes it throws someone off guard, Kaku laughs a little thinking about it, but Lucci's not that frivolous.
"You're in good spirits today." And he closes the door behind him before crossing the room. Lucci seems a bit groggier than normal.
"No more than usual." Kaku replies, and he gives a playful smile, carefully pours coffee into a plain mug and hands it to Lucci, "Were you considering calling in sick?"
Lucci doesn't justify the statement with anything more than a low grunt, Kaku knows he wouldn't miss a day of work regardless of the circumstances. Picking on Lucci is possible only early in the morning -he doesn't usually care enough to fight back, it seems even less worth his time during hours like this.
Kaku decides now is a perfect time and leans in towards Lucci's face and Lucci, who seems to have finally woken up enough to react properly takes advantage of the close quarters. He grabs Kaku by the neck of his jacket, enough force to elicit a gasp, and pulls him into his own lips -long enough to take Kaku's breath, but not much else- before he gets up, coffee in hand.
"You're going to be late."
Kaku watches Lucci leave the room to get Hattori, not entirely sure how Lucci always seems to be one step ahead of him. He's a little frustrated, he should've been expecting that -he let his guard down. Whoever defined a kiss, Kaku thinks, clearly had never kissed Lucci.