"You're still awake?"
Don was surprised to hear a voice and turned his head to see Gai entering his workshop, eyes a bit sleepy and hair disheveled.
"Yeah...I'm fixing Marvelous' mobirates," Don replied, turning back to his work. He glanced at the clock on the wall; he'd been so focused he hadn't thought it would be past 3:00 AM already. "What about you? Why are you awake at this hour?"
"I was on my way back from the bathroom and thought I saw a light on down here," Gai sighed, seating himself without invitation right next to Don. He looked at the mobirates in Don's hands, which had been taken apart and was having its inner parts tinkered with. "What happened to it? Did Marvelous break it?"
"It got wet, and hasn't worked since."
"How did it get wet?"
Don held back a chuckle. "I asked him that, and he didn't really give me a straight answer. Honestly, I think he accidentally dropped it in the toilet." Gai laughed out loud. After a few seconds of silence, Don noticed Gai was still sitting beside him, watching him. "So, ah...you gonna go back to bed?"
The newbie Gokaiger shook his head. "Nah, I'm just gonna watch you, if you don't mind."
Don did mind, a little bit, only because he was used to working on projects in private; but he was also too polite to say so.
"Not at all," Don said. "But I'm sure you'll only find it boring..."
"No, it's kinda fascinating," Gai said. "I have no idea how you know what you're doing, how all those little parts work."
Don tried to shift his focus back to fixing the stubborn device. Only one internal piece had been really damaged by the water, and it was a fairly simple matter of removing it and replacing it with a new one; or it had seemed simple at first, but had turned out to be a repetitive, slightly frustrating process. Don promised himself that when it was fixed, he'd return it to the cocky Captain only after scolding him for being so clumsy with it.
At long last, the tiny piece fit into place the way it was supposed to. Anxious to test it out, Don used it to call his own mobirates. Success! Now he had to replace the casing, and he was done. He put the cover back in place and started putting the tiny screws back in. As he was turning the fourth and final one, he felt something touch his shoulder. He looked to his right and...it was Gai's head, snoozing on him! For some reason, the blonde pirate felt his face flush. Either Gai was sleepier than he let on, or more time had passed than Don thought. Glancing again at the clock, he cringed seeing the time. It was amazing how he really lost all sense of time when he was working.
Now to deal with the sleeping Gai. Don very lightly poked him. "Umm...e-excuse me...umm..."
Gai snapped awake, seeming momentarily confused. He looked up at Don, locking eyes for a moment. Don was suddenly very, very aware of how close he was and flushed even brighter. The next instant Gai came to his senses. "Ahhh, sorry about that," he mumbled, leaning back and stretching.
"I told you you'd be bored," Don said with a smile. Gai looked back at the table.
"Oh! You fixed it?"
"Yup, it's all done," Don said, picking up Marv's mobirates.
A grin spread across Gai's face. "You're amazing!"
Don looked at the other pirate, surprised. "What? No I'm..." he trailed off, looking away from Gai's face. Then he remembered what Navi had told him, about how Gai admired and wanted to be like him. Don still didn't quite know what to make of it. He couldn't imagine himself as someone worth being admired or looked up to. But never the less, from the way Gai so intently watched him while he worked, while he cooked, while he did most anything; it must be true. Unable to help himself, he smiled and chuckled quietly as he stood up from his chair.
"What's funny?" Gai asked, also standing.
"Nothing," Don replied. He switched off the light and started up the stairs out of his workshop, Gai following close behind. "Something Navi said, is all."
"What? What did she say?" Gai inquired. Don rolled his eyes. So many questions!
"It's really nothing!" Don insisted. He began to head back to his own room when his stomach gurgled loudly and noticeably. Embarrassed, he expected Gai to laugh at him. Instead he sighed.
"I can't believe you! You work yourself so hard, you forget to eat!" Suddenly becoming excited, he put his hands on Don's shoulders. "I'll make something for you! What would you like?"
"Oh, you don't need to...I was just gonna go to bed..." Don feebly attempted to pull himself away.
"Nonsense. You're too skinny!" Gai practically shoved him onto the sofa. "Just relax, I'll whip up something delicious, okay?" And with that, the excitable boy bolted into the kitchen. Don heaved a sigh, rubbing his temples.
'It can't be helped,' he thought. His lack of sleep suddenly catching up with him, he decided to rest his eyes a moment. He flinched at a loud crashing of some pots and pans in the kitchen, but then found himself drifting off, curling up on the sofa.
Meanwhile Gai was staring at the contents of the fridge, trying to decide what would be best. Spotting the carton of eggs, he settled on making an omelette, as it would be quick and easy. He began pulling out ingredients and setting them on the counter. "Wait...is Don allergic to anything?" Pulling the green Gokaiger's recipe book off the shelf, he saw that Don had detailed everyone else's allergies and dietary needs, but of course not his own. He'd better ask, before serving his friend some onions or whatever and then having him break out in hives or have to be taken to the hospital. He leaned out of the kitchen doorway to ask, "Hey Don, do you..."
He saw that Don had fallen asleep on the couch. He smiled. Oh, well. He'd just have to make sure to make an extra big breakfast for Don in the morning. He quietly tiptoed to his side and slowly pulled a blanket over him. Don was fast asleep. He twitched a little and 'hmm'ed, but didn't wake. Gai realized he'd been staring at him and felt a bit embarrassed with himself; yet he couldn't help it. Don was intriguing in a way unlike anyone else Gai had ever met. And it wasn't just his intelligence, or his compassion, or any of the other wonderful qualities he admired. More than that, it was something a bit more...superficial, also.
It was a charm that Don possessed, and he probably didn't see in himself. He may have dressed pretty lame, yes, and had fluffy out-of-control hair, but he was still...cute. Yes, Don was cute. Maybe it was his eyes or his smile or some other feature, but he was irresistibly cute. Mentally admitting to himself for the first time that he found Don cute, Gai blushed intensely and felt his heartbeat speed up.
Gai's fingers grazed Don's cheek with a feather-soft touch that wouldn't have disturbed a butterfly. He hadn't even noticed he was touching the other boy's face! He withdrew his hand. He wanted to do something, but what? Maybe he could just...yeah. It couldn't hurt. Just to get it out of your system. He wouldn't wake up, right?
Gai leaned in slowly and carefully, and just as gingerly as he'd touched it, planted a soft kiss on Don's pale cheek. Not a quick kiss, a slow one. Just baaarrrrely making contact, but it was there. Don was warm. Gai started to pull back, then planted one more. Being so close, he caught the scent of Don's hair. It was nice, and very distinctly him.
Don wasn't the only person who had a habit of losing track of time. A kiss that was supposed to last just a second had lasted much longer. Before he had time to react, Gai felt Don stir. His face turned. Gai felt something against the corner of his mouth; a pair of lips? Startled, he pulled back. Don's eyes were still closed. They slowly opened to look at him. With a shock, Don bolted upright.
Gai quickly backed away. "I-I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
"Wha..." still processing everything, Don looked puzzled. "What was that?"
"It was, umm, I..." Gai stammered, trying to come up with an explanation that could possibly make him come out not looking insane.
Don touched his cheek. He'd been having a dream, about someone kissing his face...or...? Realization flooding in, Don's eyes opened wide. "Did you...k-kiss me?"
"Uhhh..." Gai had sealed his own fate. He couldn't very well lie. He just nodded. Still shocked, Don said nothing. Gai furrowed his brow as he too realized something. "But...you kissed me, too."
"Huh? I did?" Gai nodded again. Neither could think of anything to say for a moment. Both were blushing brightly enough to glow in the dark. Finally Don began, "Why...did you..."
"I dunno, I just felt like it!" Gai blurted out. God, what a lame response. Struggling within himself, he decided he'd just have to come out with it. "Or, I guess, umm..." The words got lost somewhere between his brain and his mouth. How hard could it be? How is it that this young man could charge boldly into battle against some of the nastiest creatures in the galaxy, but he suddenly became a coward when it came to just telling someone that you like them?
Gai swallowed. His hands, needing to find something to busy themselves, fiddled with the hem of his shirt. "I guess I just like you."
Another silence followed. Gai didn't look at Don's face. How did it look now? Angry? Disgusted? He noticed movement. Don had gradually settled back into the sofa. Finally he asked, "Why me?" Gai looked to his face and found...mostly mild puzzlement. He'd expected any number of reactions, but that was not one of them.
"Why you?" Gai's shyness diminished. He seated himself next to Don. "Why NOT you? You're incredible! I've never met anyone like you in my whole life." Now it was Don's turn to fiddle with his hands nervously. "I'm sorry," Gai said with a crooked grin. "I'm not too good at this. I've never told someone I liked them before."
"I've never been told I was liked," Don replied. Gai laughed. The green Gokaiger looked up at him.
"I find that hard to believe," Gai said. Their eyes found each other again. Gai didn't quite know what to make of the expression on Don's face. But...he wasn't angry. He wasn't disgusted. He hadn't run from the room. And, he'd even...well, he was asleep at the time, but he did kiss Gai. Did he know somewhere deep down who it was? Could he, maybe...?
Don answered the question for him. Before Gai knew what was happening, there was a pair of lips on his, again. He felt his stomach do backflips. Don's kiss felt so perfect, like for whatever reason the universe had allowed two people to be in the exact right place at the exact right time. Gai's hands moved up to the sides of Don's face, his fingers threaded through that mop of golden hair, which turned out to be quite soft. In turn he felt hands on himself as well, caressing his sides.
Gai, ever the type to run on impulse, shoved Don by the shoulders onto his back, falling on top of him. This earned a surprised yelp. Gai's kiss became heated. His hands felt all over the body beneath him and started to unbutton the fabric barrier between skin and skin. "Ahh, Gai..." He hesitated hearing Don breathe out his name.
"What?" he asked quietly. Don's breathing was a bit heavy, and Gai could swear he felt his heart beating like a jackhammer through his chest. But he seemed to not be able to find whatever words he was looking for. "Want me to stop?"
Don gulped. After a moment looking at Gai, he shook his head. He gladly let the ginger-haired boy pull him into another embrace accompanied by a sweet, passionate kiss. He didn't protest when he felt hands touching his bare upper body, making his spine arch and his skin become covered in goosebumps. Even when those hands eventually found his waistband to unbuckle his belt and unzip his trousers, the normally shy and chaste Don, wrapped up in his feelings for Gai, didn't stop him.
The next several moments; which could have been thirty seconds or thirty minutes, neither of them could tell; were a dizzying blur of sensations both familiar and strange, of racing thoughts, needy sounds, moaning each other's names. Somehow, it came both as a slow, gradual crescendo and as a sudden unexpected arrival; a series of fireworks exploding in Don's brain, making him see stars, gasping desperately as he clutched Gai's body tightly, and the other wasn't too far behind.
Ages later, Don's senses started to come back. There was a slightly uncomfortable weight pressing on him, belonging to the body of an exhausted silver pirate. Gai felt a gentle nudge. "Hey, look," Don whispered. Gai looked up and saw Don gesture towards the window. When he looked outside, he saw the sun was just beginning to break over the horizon. He heaved a sigh and grinned.
"Maybe now we should finally sleep, huh?"
When Gai groggily dragged himself out of his room later that day, he found everyone else had been up for some time.
"Jeez! What are you doing sleeping in so late?" Luka said. "Being a pirate doesn't mean you get to be lazy!"
"I'm not lazy," Gai yawned. Don stumbled out of his workshop, looking heavily sleep-deprived from the dark circles under his eyes, and with an exasperated groan shoved Marvelous' mobirates into the captain's hands.
"There! I had to stay up all night to fix it for you, so don't you dare let it break again!" After berating Marvelous, he glanced over and saw Gai. He blushed and looked away, but Gai distinctly caught a smile.
"Well, thanks for working so hard," Marvelous said, his eyes a bit shifty, as if he hoped no one would inquire as to how it broke.
Joe turned his attention to Gai. "So he's tired from working all night; what's your excuse?"
"Me?" Gai tried to play as innocent as possible, making sure not to stare too obviously at Don. "I-I don't know, I was having crazy nightmares all night, they kept me from sleeping!" Not a great lie, but the crew seemed to accept it. Don and Gai shared a brief look of relief. They might reveal things someday, but clearly today was not that day. "So what's for breakfast?" Gai asked.
"Breakfast?" Ahim said. "But it's nearly lunchtime!"
"Ahh, you're right!" Don chimed. "I'll go start making lunch for everyone!"
"I'll help!" Gai excitedly followed him into the kitchen. The other four Gokaigers watched them with puzzled looks.
"Isn't it wonderful," Ahim said, "that they seem to be getting along so well now?"
"Oh yes," Luka agreed. "It's very wonderful!" Both she and Joe wore amused grins. The captain cocked a brow, wondering what they all seemed so happy about, before shrugging it off and wondered instead what would be for lunch.