Icing
Sunny and bright and not a cloud in the sky, Judai and Asuka currently sat in the grass sprawled under a
large oak tree near her university. Like a whirlwind he'd knocked on her door yesterday, one of the rare
occasions Judai appeared before her in the last several months. He seemed to alternate between them
all in an irregular tempo. Asuka suspected that he visited when it suited him the most. He had spent
Christmas with Johan where snow blanketed the rooftops; he'd never seen snow likely. Still, this visit to
Johan's wasn't out of the ordinary. Granted, despite the unpredictability of his visits, he made time to
visit everyone on special occasions depending on the holiday. New years he visited all of their friends,
and she was the last stop, easily determined by the way he plopped on the couch exhausted. Valentines
and White day were especially reserved for Asuka and Rei, vague excuse being that it was important to
girls.
No one could account for what he did on gaps of time when he wasn't with one of them. Sometimes
spanning months, weeks, or days, Judai was not the predictable sort. She had suspicions, of course. On a
past occasion, Judai had happy as can be greeted her in the middle of the night, quickly stepping inside.
She really would have thought that he hadn't even considered the odd hour if she hadn't noticed
droplets of blood dripping from his perfectly intact arm, to her eyes anyway. He'd only spent the night
that time. Sho called a day or so after saying Judai was with him at the opening of their pro league,
obviously hers wasn't a planned visit. She'd let it go as it was no business of hers. Judai could handle
himself. He just needed to be fed regularly like a cat. She looked down at the stack of cupcakes between
them which he was quickly tearing through. She frowned. Does he even eat if we don't feed him? Sure,
he would eat ravenously before, but he now consumed twice as much and more rapidly than in the past.
Johan complained that his fridge would be stacked with food only to have Judai sweep by an inhale it.
From his tone, he likely didn't care very much. If she managed to gather all their friends, they, likely
could make a very nicely written guide on how to care for Judai. A hand waved in front of her.
"Hey, Asuka, you haven't even eaten one yet." Placing one in her hand, she stared down at it intently.
She took a rather large bite to placate him. Icing covered her mouth, she was about to lick it off when
someone beat her to it. Judai without much thought lapped up the icing from her lips. He leaned back
quickly, wide eyed, only now heavily aware of what he'd just done. Curse my love of sugar, he thought
to himself. He had turned his back to her. She was sure if she bothered to check, he would be blushing
in embarrassment. She considered what her next action should be.
Asuka could ignore it. She quickly disregarded that notion. Judai and Asuka would likely spend the rest
of the day awkwardly trying to make conversation, resulting in a premature departure. Asuka was not
going to relinquish her time with Judai over a cupcake. His visits were so rare and in between, it was
even an unspoken rule among Judai's friends that they each not visit during someone else's visiting
hours, unless invited. Asuka might directly address the issue and tease him. The idea was quickly
crumpled and discarded in her mind. Judai would likely become uncomfortable around her. She had
avoided confessing her feelings to avoid this type of precarious circumstance. So what would relax poor
Judai? An idea flew to her like a leaf in the spring breeze. Asuka reached a verdict.
Without hesitation, she dipped her fingers into the icing of a cupcake and smothered it on his mouth.
She then proceeded to wipe it off with her tongue in one fluid movement. Judai did not react for several
minutes. She grinned at him.
"The icing is good right?" She stretched her limbs on the grass as if nothing out of the ordinary had just
occurred. Judai comprehended the situation now. He returned the grin with one of his own. He picked
up another cupcake dipping his fingers into the icing. Licking it from his hands, He split the cupcake in
half that now had a small dent where he'd placed his fingers. He handed her one of the halves.
"Yes, it is."