The silver light from the moon in a dark sky shimmered behind the thin curtains of the studio apartment, casting its illuminating shadows on two sleeping figures on a king-sized bed. One, deeply ensconced in his dreamland which someone could only guess at. The other... well, let's just say he got home really late. Working at a 24 hour convenience store really didn't give him decent hours to get home with sometimes, but he had to do something to pay off his final year tuition fees. Studying to be a forensic scientist wasn't the cheapest option at university, but Shingyouji coveted the position... so all he could do was work at it.

Work now though, seem to bog him down. As it is, he feels ready to fall on bed without even changing out of his clothes. But he knew if his lover woke up in the morning and found him like that, he was going to get an earful. Reluctantly, the younger male dragged himself to the bathroom to take a quick shower and pull on his track pants, before slipping underneath the covers, eyelids heavy.

Just before the sandman claimed his fingers upon him though, the shift of weight from the other end of the bed alerted him, just a couple of seconds before a slender pair of arms wrapped themselves around his bare torso, and tugged at Shingyouji to pull him closer. And even if he knew the owner of the pair of arms was asleep, the gentle smile still touched the edge of his lips. Times like this, makes everything worthwhile.

Turning around in the other's arms, Shingyouji couldn't help staring at his sleeping profile, tenderness clear in his iris as he traced the high cheekbones his lover prominently displays.

"Arata-san... I love you."

"Go to sleep, Shingyouji. It's late." He never replied in kind. In the three years of their awkward, odd relationship, Shingyouji was always the only one who expresses any words of affection. But he knew that was just how Misu Arata was... and believe it or not, he was content. Because at the very least, Misu let him stay by his side, and that very fact alone was enough for Shingyouji, at least for now.

The sun was perhaps the only thing that forced his eyelids open, and Shingyouji groaned as he rolled around the bed, struggling to tear his eyelids open. When he finally did, the male was greeted with an empty apartment. Well, he had to expect that. Training to be a surgeon was no easy task, and couple his erratic hours with Misu's schedule, and the two of them hardly got to see each other these days.

Climbing out of the king-sized bed they shared, he smiled when he saw the covered glass of lukewarm milk along with the buttered toast Misu had left on the table, before his eyes finally fell on the wall clock.

"Yabai! I'm late!"

Scrambling to down his breakfast, the male all but ran all ten blocks down to his university, and got there just in time, as his professor walked in. Being left with no other seat but the vacant second row from the front, he dropped in to the empty chair breathing heavily, not even noticing the new student next to him. That is, until he was called. "Ohaiyou."

"O-ohaiyou... Who are you?" Shingyouji blinked and stared, when it finally registered that he hadn't seen this classmate of his before. It's already the second month of classes, how could anyone new be here?

"I'm a transfer student from the business school. Kanata Mimoru, hajimemashite!"

'Wow, he's energetic isn't he? And I thought Hayama-san was the most energetic one I've ever met.' Shingyouji internally monologued to himself. Externally though, he grinned and took the extended hand, introducing himself in kind, before class finally started. Throughout class, the male hardly took notice of the new student, concentrating more on what his professor was going on about the human body and their bone structure. Which was why it surprised him when after class, as he was making his way down the corridor to his second class, the new student actually tracked him down.

"Shingyouji-san!" came the loud call of his name, followed by a clatter of a pair of feet before the new student fell in to step next to a surprised Shingyouji, wearing a smile on his face. "Shingyouji-san, could you tell me where this class is?"

"Oh, I'm taking the same one. Just follow me then."

"Ah! Arigatou!" Kanata replied with a grin, letting a short silence fall. "Ne, Shingyouji-san. I heard you work part-time, de?"

"Ah, h-hai." he hesitantly answered, a little surprised that the newbie actually got that little tidbit of information.

"Where do you work?"

Shingyouji blinked, okay. Now this was getting a little bit odd. "Eh, it's the 24-hour mart next to university. Ministop Mart."

"Ah... Ne, Shingy-"

Just before Kanata managed to finish his sentence however, the cell phone in Shingyouji's pocket rang. Smiling an apology, the male quickly scrambled for his cell phone, and the gentle smile graced his lips again when he recognized the familiar voice. "Arata-san... is there anything you want?" he automatically asked. Shingyouji wasn't really used to getting calls for nothing from Misu, but he liked being useful to him. At the very least, it made him feel less useless for being next to a guy as smart and with as many achievements as Misu.

"I'm just reminding you; don't come home too late tonight. Remember the film festival?"

"Ah! Of course I remember. I already changed my job shift to this afternoon, right after my last class."

"Mmm. I'll see you then."

And even as Shingyouji hung up, he still wore the gentle smile he had whenever Misu talked to him. He didn't get it. After three years, it made no sense for him to still be as infatuated with the stoic, cold man as he is now... but he just is. Shingyouji could see what others couldn't, the caring personality behind Misu's cold facade. He knew that somewhere deep down. Very very deep down, Arata-san really did care for him.

"Who was that, Shingyouji-san?"

Oops, he almost forgot that Kanata was still walking next to him. Avoiding the answer, he just smiled and shook his head, before they entered the class. When his last class finally ended for the day however, all Shingyouji spared his new 'friend' was a wave goodbye, before he dashed out of university. He couldn't be late, or he'll be kept later at his shift and be late for meeting Misu for his film festival, and Misu wouldn't be too happy after all.

Dragging on the apron that constituted the uniform for every worker in the convenience store, after about an hour or so of working there, Shingyouji looked up in surprise when the door to his boss's office opened. His boss was hardly ever there, and most of the time he only reported to the manager. So what was his boss doing there today? With…

"Hi, Shingyouji-san!"

"Kanata-san! What are you doing here?" Shingyouji almost jumped in surprise when he saw who was standing behind the bulky figure of his boss. "Shingyouji-kun, I'm putting you in charge of teaching Kanata-san what he needs to know about work. Toshihisa-kun quit yesterday, so I needed extra help and Kanata-san just came in today."

"A-ah. O-of course, joushi."

"Yoroshiku, Shingyouji-san! I hope I won't be a bother!" Kanata grinned as the boss left, leaving him to join Shingyouji at the counter. Shingyouji on the other hand, couldn't comprehend the why or what did Kanata want by joining him at his workplace. "Ne, Shingyouji-san. What should I do now?"

"O-oh. Eh, just arrange those cans in the aisle and-" before Shingyouji finished his sentence however, the loud ringtone cut from a Bleach theme song rang clearly throughout the small space, and Shingyouji widened his eyes. Misu rarely if ever asked or even bothered about Shingyouji's hobby with anime's, and Shingyouji understood. He knew his lover had more sophisticated tastes, and was happy sharing his anime obsession with his old Shidou classmates. Recently though, most of them have either moved away or been busy, so when Shingyouji recognized the theme song the latest season, he all but pounced on Kanata as the other male silenced his cell phone.

Blinking in surprise, Kanata grinned and nodded. "I love Bleach! I've been following it ever since I was in high school. My okaa-san thinks it's a waste of time, but I'm not about to let that stop me."

Enthusiasm, you can't say Shingyouji doesn't have enough of it. In no time at all, the two guys had launched in to a lengthy and in-depth discussion of the latest ten episodes of Bleach, which soon branched off in to the manga and the many collectibles each of them have. Shingyouji was surprised when Kanata boasted of having the limited edition collector's item of Rukia and Ichigo action figures.

"May I see them? I actually wanted to get them, but by the time I got off work they were all sold out."

"Of course! I keep them in a box at home, but if you come over I'll show them to you for sure."

"Ah, yatta! I've wanted to get Ichigo-"

Ring! His cell phone started buzzing in his pocket. Instinctively, Shingyouji looked at the time and almost bolted out of the door. He was late, again! Hurriedly pulling off his apron while he gave an apologetic smile to Kanata, the male answered his cell phone all whilst trying to gather his stuff.

"Arata-san!"

"You're late, Shingyouji. We have to leave in half an hour, where are you?"

"I'm coming now, I'm coming! Gomen gomen, I was training a new worker here!"

"Hurry or I'm going to leave without you."

"H-hai!" Shingyouji quickly replied as his lover hung up. "I'm sorry, Kanata-kun! I have to go."

"It's no problem, Shingyouji-san. I'll see you tomorrow in class then!" Kanata replied, but his wave was barely seen as Shingyouji raced out of the convenience store, down the ten blocks and up the five flights of stairs to be greeted by Misu as he opened the door with a frown.

"Hurry up and take a bath and change, we have to leave soon or we'll be late."

"H-hai!" came Shingyouji's nervous reply, as he quickly dashed towards the bathroom where, seconds later, one can hear the gush of the water from the showers. Sitting at their bar top counter, Misu smiled ruefully, shaking his head. He wondered when his lover would ever stop being so nervous and rushed. Ever since high school, Misu seemed to always make him ruffled and unorganized. Still, he did like to watch Shingyouji as he dashed around. Maybe it was just him being sadistic, but Misu took pleasure in knowing that Shingyouji would only ever feel that nervous around him. It just proves that he really wants to make a good impression on Misu, that Misu would mean that much to him.

People often wondered, how Shingyouji could remain with Misu even after the way he treats them. Half the time, Misu feels like rearranging the faces of people who said that. Perhaps the only thing that stopped him from actually going through that notion was the fact that he knew Shingyouji would never leave him. Call it arrogance, but Misu was proud to know that Shingyouji would remain forever by his side. Admittedly, he liked having the attention Shingyouji lavished on him. And he liked how he was the only one to have any effect on the normally cheeky, mischievous younger male.

The onetime Shingyouji acted like Misu wasn't the most important being on earth anymore… Misu honestly felt completely at a loss. The fact that Shingyouji would ignore him, somehow didn't feel right. That the younger male wasn't constantly hounding his steps every inch of the way just brushed Misu the wrong way around, and he eventually fixed the situation by claiming (very loudly might I add), to everyone that Shingyouji was his. But even then, his pride dictated that that was all he said, no more no less. To express words of emotion was not Misu's way of doing things, and as such he settled for claiming possession.

Besides, his lover seemed happy enough, so he wasn't about to push his luck. Glancing towards the bathroom door as Shingyouji walked out with his damp hair, pulling on the white dress shirt, Misu smiled ruefully again, and walked over. Pulling out the upturned collar, Misu straightened the stiff material before grabbing the towel from Shingyouji's hand and started rubbing his scalp dry. "Next time, try and not lose track of time, would you?"

"H-hai." Shingyouji stammered. He still felt nervous, uneasy when Misu started treating him this gentle. Perhaps it was because he was used to how Misu usually ordered him around, but when his lover started being this way with him, inadvertently a blush would always rise on his cheeks. And oh, Misu did so love seeing his shy lover's cheeks get tinged with the blood rising.

"Ja, let's go. We're really going to be late."