Disclaimer: Loveless does not belong to me. If it did, more Yayoi please!

Yayoi was surprised when he had been invited to one of his classmate's sleepovers. He was absent so often, he was forgotten frequently. Never going to birthday parties or ever having any of his own. He had been excited to go to this party. It made him wonder if maybe he could finally start to be closer to his classmates.

Though he had wondered why Ritsuka was at the party when he had got there. The boy wasn't in his class.

"I didn't want to," he explained and his entire disposition showed that this was obvious. His cat ears were twitching and his tail was swishing back and forth as he scowled. "But I was talked into it and wasn't given a choice to say no. I wasn't going to go, but then Soubi said something about living out my youth. Stupid Soubi."

Yayoi had heard rumors about Ritsuka's mother and so when he asked, Ritsuka looked away, clearly not about to go into that little detail.

"You're here, aren't you? Might as well try to have a good time." When he didn't say anything to that, Yayoi wondered just what Yuiko saw in a sourpuss like him. Yuiko deserved somebody more happy and upbeat! Who would smile and always try his best in everything there was! "Or are you just going to be stubborn and not even try?"

Ritsuka still wasn't looking at him. "I know I'm not going to. Why would I at something like this? It's just a sleepover. If you've been to one, you've been to them all."

What was with this guy and his pessimistic attitude?! Ready to try and make him see the brighter side to it all, Yayoi was interrupted when Takashi-kun, the boy who had organized the sleepover, spoke up.

"Okay, you guys! This party's dull! Let's do something! How about fifteen minutes in heaven?"

Fifteen minutes in heaven? Wasn't that the game where you got locked in a closet with somebody to make out with them? Yayoi looked around the room curiously, wondering where the girls were. How did you have girls sleep over anyway? Would his mom actually allow that?

"I nominate the two girly boys!"

"Yeah! Aoyagi-kun and Yayoi-kun!"

"Haha! Good one!"

Yayoi had tried to protest, asking them exactly what they thought they were doing as he was pushed into the closet with Ritsuka, who actually looked ready to give somebody a black eye (or at least tell them off because Yayoi didn't thin it was possible for Ritsuka to actually hurt anybody). But before either of them could do anything, the door was closed and locked and no matter the banging and demands, nobody did a thing.

"This isn't funny," Yayoi murmured, falling down on his butt to lean against the wall. This was not what he had been thinking of doing when he had gone to the sleepover. What did they expect him to do? Make out with Ritsuka? Really! Who would do something like that?

"To them, it is." A sigh. "Stupid Soubi. Making me go to this thing."

Yayoi wasn't even going to bother with optimism, too irritated at the prank pulled on them. "Expecting us to kiss and everything. Like we would give our first kisses to each other." The closet itself was small and so their arms were touching and Yayoi felt Ritsuka freeze up. "Ritsuka? What's wrong?"

"Nothing! Why would you think something was wrong?"

"The way you just tensed like that. Is this bothering you? I mean, I don't expect you to kiss me because I know you probably don't want me to kiss you. Right? So we'll just wait here until they open the door. It's no big deal."

"I don't think it's a big deal! Kissing isn't a big deal!"

Why was Ritsuka acting so badly about this? It was making him feel uncomfortable and Yayoi wished he had a watch on because when would the fifteen minutes be over? He was beginning to wish he had never come to the sleepover now.

"I think kissing is special." He wanted to try to get Ritsuka's mind off their current problem, but why he chose that subject, he just didn't know. It wasn't a good choice later on.

"It isn't."

"But it is!" Yayoi argued, noticing how his voice echoed somewhat in the small room. He tried to be more quiet. "It is special, Ritsuka. It's how you show somebody you love them and--"

Ritsuka's lips were on his and anything that had been in Yayoi's mind instantly vanished.

The kiss probably hadn't been long. It had probably just been a little brush of lips, barely a kiss but still one. It probably should have meant nothing, but it was Yayoi's first kiss and so it meant almost everything at that moment.

"You see?" Ritsuka asked as he pulled away and in the dark, Yayoi could see a glint of something in Ritsuka's eyes he couldn't really name because he was sure he had never seen it before. Something he was sure nobody should ever see or experience. "I just kissed you and it isn't even like I love you. A kiss doesn't always mean everything. It doesn't always mean you love the person. It's just a kiss."

Maybe Ritsuka did have a point, but Yayoi found he couldn't just agree and give up to Ritsuka's more pessimistic way of thinking about kissing. Yayoi wasn't an optimist, he knew that. He was a lot more pessimistic than optimistic. But Ritsuka's cynicism disturbed Yayoi in ways he didn't think was possible.

A kiss could mean something. Ritsuka should have known that and even though Yayoi had no idea why Ritsuka thought the way he did or why he was so bothered that Ritsuka thought that way, he couldn't let it go on.

It probably shouldn't have been him to do it. After all, he had only been kissed once and that had been because Ritsuka wanted to prove the exact opposite at what he was attempting. It shouldn't have been him, but…

Who else would do it?

He kissed Ritsuka.

He didn't know what he was doing. It was a little scary and Ritsuka tried pulling back, but Yayoi put his hand on the back of his head and kept him there. Ritsuka's hair was soft and he wondered how a guy could have soft hair like that and--no! His mind was wandering! He had to focus.

Maybe if he pulled back a little and kissed again and again? Doing that seemed a little tiring and--he wasn't doing this right! This kiss was lousy! It was downright horrible and why did he even think he should do it? He had wanted Ritsuka to like kissing more and everything, but was it even his right? They weren't exactly friends and Yayoi kind of considered him a rival because Yuiko liked him so much…

He pulled back finally when the embarrassment became too much and he didn't bother to look at Ritsuka because he wouldn't be shocked if Ritsuka did something to get even. What he had done hadn't been too polite, had it?

"What the hell?!" Yayoi winced. "What did you do that for?! What is it with everybody just kissing me like that without even thinking about me?!" Was that his problem? Who else had he been kissed by?

It was not his business so he didn't ask and instead tried to explain himself.

"I'm sorry I kissed you like that. But I wanted to show you a kiss could mean something."

"Your kiss didn't mean anything! You just kissed me for no reason!"

"I kissed you because I wanted you to have a kiss that meant something!" Yayoi explained quickly. Ritsuka looked ready to say something, but Yayoi continued on. "Okay, okay! I know it sounds weird! I'm just saying that I didn't kiss you for no reason. I kissed you with a reason for you in mind! It wasn't like it was something I did selfishly! I did it for you, so it meant something!"

He almost wanted to whine. This was not going how he had wanted it to!

"I-I--okay! I'm making no sense, but honestly, Ritsuka! It meant something! Maybe it wasn't love or friendship or like or anything like that! But it was still something!"

He gave up then. He was just digging himself a deeper hole and there was no reason to continue this torture and so he let out a sad sigh. "I'm sorry the kiss was so bad." He wasn't expecting Ritsuka to say anything to him for the rest of their lives. He wouldn't be surprised if Ritsuka tried to press some kind of charges against him…

And so he was shocked when Ritsuka actually said something.

"The kiss wasn't too bad, I guess."

Yayoi found himself smiling and feeling a lot more relieved. Maybe he had proven something to Ritsuka after all.

Notes: T-the Ritsuka angst! It came from nowhere! This was supposed to be a comedy and it turned angsty. Thanks, Ritsuka. Thanks.