Mika woke up after what felt like a sleepless night. He felt like he had only properly slept for a couple of hour. His body was heavy, he still felt the linger of a lump in his throat. His chest felt tight. He opened his eyelids. The room was flooded with sunlight. What time was it? The window was open and the sun was already shining high in the sky. He turned to his side to see that the bed was empty.

"Mika, wake up!" Yuu's voice called through the wall.

The bedroom door flung open to reveal Yuu holding a cup of coffee. Mika's jaw dropped; Yuu and coffee? Yuu hated coffee. Though what was more astonishing than Yuu holding a cup of coffee was that Yuu had just taken a shower. His black hair was messy and wet, his bangs stuck to his forehead, water dripping from them, and just a t-shirt and boxers to hide his naked body. It was too early for this. Under normal circumstances, Mika would thank the universe for giving him this gift that is Yuu's handsomeness. But now, all he wanted to do was hide his face and cry his eyes out on the pillow. He hadn't realized at first how Yuu not responding to his feelings had messed him up. And he felt stupid for still clinging to this last bit of unrealizable fantasy. He wouldn't do the mistakes he did last time. Yuu is his friend. Nothing more.

"Since when do you drink coffee?" asked Mika, half by actual curiosity and half to try and focus his mind onto something else.

"Well, I thought that now that we are adults we should do these things," said Yuu, "going grocery shopping and drinking coffee in the morning…"

"Yeah, you're right," replied Mika, trying to act as detached as possible.

"Do you want one too?" asked Yuu.

At this point, Yuu was dangerously close to the bed. His proximity made it impossible for Mika not to get affected by him; the sight of his water-dripping hair, the t-shirt hanging around his cute thighs, the colour of his nipples and the outline of his boxer briefs showing through the transparency of the wet white t-shirt.

"Y-yes, please," replied Mika, trying to contain himself. He didn't really want coffee, he just wanted Yuu to be out of his sight as soon as possible. As much as he tried, he couldn't think of a situation where he wanted Yuu to be away from him. Even when they fought, he never wished for Yuu to go away. Truthfully, he felt sorrow for feeling this way.

"Ok, I'll make you one then," said Yuu and exited the bedroom.

Mika sighed in relief. He took a pillow and smacked himself across the face a couple of times to get himself back to his senses. This was going to be a long day.

After washing up, he went to the living room. He prayed for Yuu to have put some clothes on. He turned the corner; to Mika's huge relief, Yuu had worm some pants. He was searching through the suitcases they had brought with them.

"Hey Mika, your coffee is over there," said Yuu, pointing to the table in the living room, "you can take it."

"Thank you, Yuu-chan," said Mika. "Are you looking for something?"

"Not really, I'm just thinking we should start unpacking our things," replied Yuu. "We might need a bigger dresser," he added picking up a stack of Mika's clothes. "Actually, there's a lot of things we need."

'Yeah, we definitely need a second bed', thought Mika, recalling the events from last night.

"I don't think we can afford anything big right now," said Mika.

"Yeah," replied Yuu, he stood there and thought for a moment and then added, "we should find jobs."

"That's right," said Mika, "we should start looking,"

"I'll look online for part-time jobs near this area," said Yuu and got out his phone. He typed and scrolled and pressed until he found the right website. "There are some stuff here- wow the pay is unexpectedly high on this one."

"Really? Let me see," said Mika and got behind Yuu to look at the screen of his phone, he froze at what he saw next, "oh, umm, Yuu-chan?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't think it's a very good idea,"

"What do you mean?" asked Yuu, surprised

"Well…" hesitated Mika, "you know what this place is right?"

"Yeah, it's a maid café?" probed Yuu, "lots of people mistake it for a perverted place, but it's not," he scrolled down and clicked on a picture of a pretty girl in a maid costume "it's cute."

"Yeah, I know," replied Mika, "most of them are not, but this one seems-"

"It seems pretty ok, they're even hiring male staff. It couldn't be perverted!"

'It could. It could be very perverted,' Mika wanted to reply.

"Well, you never really know. These places are shady," explained Mika, "I don't think this is a good idea. Look at how high the pay is, it must surely be something illegal."

Behind his cool and composed image of a responsible adult, Mika couldn't stop thinking of Yuu in a maid dress. And he hated himself for it.

"Yuu-chan, let's find something else okay?" he concluded.

They spend the whole morning looking through newspaper ads on the internet. Unfortunately, they had no luck.

"All of them need qualifications," said Yuu laying across the couch "how are we going to find a job if we only graduated highschool?"

"Don't worry," said Mika, "I'm sure we'll find someth-"

A sudden buzz sounded from the front door.

"I'll go get it," said Mika and strode to the door. He opened the door and was met with their beloved next-door neighbour.

"Good evening!" she said in a lively voice.

"Oh, Hikari-san!" exclaimed Mika, "How are you?"

"I'm good, thank you," she replied, "how about you? Did you settle well?"

"Yes, everything is okay," said Yuu, who had joined them to the entrance.

"Do you want to come in, Hikari-san?" asked Mika.

"Oh, I can't, I'm off to go visit a friend," said Hikari, "I just came by to see how you were doing. And I also wanted to apologize for running off like that yesterday."

"Ah, don't worry about it," said Mika.

"Well, I really need to go, my friend needs help with her shop. I'm helping her until she finds an employee," said Hikari, "Unfortunately, she hasn't had any luck finding someone."

Mika and Yuu looked at each other. "Hikari-san, actually we're looking for jobs right now…"

Hikari stayed silent for what seemed like forever to Mika and Yuu. "Are you insinuating I should introduce you to my friend as my neighbours, so she can employ you?" asked Hikari.

"Well, yes. If it's not much trouble-"

"Are you kidding me? Of course I'll introduced you!" exclaimed Hikari and shook the two boys by the shoulders. "My friends shop is in Asagaya, we better get going."

Hikari led the two boys in her car and they all drove to the Asagaya district.

"We're here!" said Hikari as soon as they arrived in front of her friend's shop.

The shop's sign read "Red and Pink Camellias". The shop's window displayed a variety of flowers arranged by colour. The colours ranged from red to orange to yellow to green to blue to purple, making a rainbow. Hikari pushed open the glass door. The little giggle of the bell sounded and soon, the scent of flowers filled their nostrils.

"Hikari-san, long time no see!" spoke the woman standing behind the counter.

"How have you been?" said Hikari and went in for a hug.

The woman looked over Hikari's shoulder, where Yuu and Mika were standing.

"Oh, are they…?" she said, pulling apart from Hikari's embrace.

"Yes, it's them! Aren't they perfect?" said Hikari. "Anyways, you said that you needed someone to help you around the store. I brought them to you!"

She then turned to face the two boys, "There's only a spot for one of you though," she said in a regretful tone.

"That's okay, Yuu can go," said Mika.

"Wait! Are you sure?" said Yuu and turned to face Mika.

"Yes, you were really upset when we couldn't find anything," said Mika.

"You were upset too, we should-" objected Yuu.

"Really, you can take the job," Mika cut him off with a hand on his shoulder. He realized that his hand was trembling and tried to steady it. He felt a burn coming from inside his ribcage. "I'll stay home and cook for you," he added with a smile and lifted his hand from Yuu's body.

"Thank you, Mika," said Yuu smiling. He encircled Mika's shoulders with his arms and brought him closer to him. Mika did his best to try and return the hug, placing his hands on Yuu's lower back. He slightly bent his body forward, trying to minimize contact between the front of their body's.

Hikari couldn't prevent a little scream from escaping her lips. "Okay, so it's settled!"

"I'm Yuu Hyakuya," said Yuu, turning to face the woman, "it's nice to meet you," he bowed.

"It's nice to meet you as well!" said the woman, joyfully.

Yuu stayed in the flower shop, to get to know his new employer and learn the ropes of the job, while Mika and Hikari drove back home.

Mika was ready to push his keys into the keyhole when Hikari called out to him. "Mika-kun! Do you want to come have tea with me?"

Mika accepted politely and followed Hikari to her apartment.

"You and Yuu-kun seem close," said Hikari, pouring tea in her cup.

"We are," said Mika, holding his cup of tea with both his hands, "we're very close." The tone of his voice seemed strangely distant.

"Is everything okay with you two?" said Hikari, sensing the discomfort in Mika's attitude.

"Wh-what makes you say that?" said Mika placing his cup down on the table with a bang.

"I'm sorry, did I say something wrong?"

"No, no! I-I'm really sorry, Hikari-san!" said Mika, realizing how rude he had been. "It's just… I'm in a bad mood, that's all."

"If there's something I can help you with, you can tell me," suggested Hikari.

Mika remained silent for a second. Maybe voicing his troubles will be helpful.

"I'm not sure you'll be able to help…" started Mika, "but I guess I can tell you." He took a deep breath and continued "Well… the thing is that I-I like… Yuu…"

"Well, I knew that already," said Hikari, smiling to herself.

"You knew?" said Mika, shifting forward in his seat.

"You can see it miles from here," replied Hikari, bluntly.

"I… I hadn't realized it was this apparent," said Mika, taking his cup back from the table.

Hikari smiled. Young love really was so adorable. "It's hard to hide it when you're in love. There are some things, like blushing and the looks one person gives to their loved-one, that can hardly be missed. I still remember how you were looking at each other the first day I met you," said Hikari. "Maybe a regular person wouldn't have noticed, but I surely did."

"Are you not… a regular person?" asked Mika, tentatively.

Hikari started laughing loudly. "Ahh that was a good one," she said wiping a tear from her eye, "I won't beat around the bush: I'm a mangaka."

"Oh, really? That's so cool!" exclaimed Mika.

"A yaoi mangaka," said Hikari, crossing her legs, a noticeable smirk on her lips.

"Yaoi mangaka?"

"I basically write and draw relationships and sex between men," said Hikari her eyes lighting up, her lips stretched out into an enormous smile.

"S-s-sex… between-between… men?" whispered Mika, his face red.

"Yes! This is why I'm telling you, you can tell me anything about it!"

"Oh… umm Hikari-san, I-"

"Don't be embarrassed. I'm telling you, it's okay to talk about it," said Hikari "now, tell me what seems to be the problem?"

Mika stayed silent a bit, looking at Hikari. She was frantically nodding her head, urging him to go on.

"Well… I love Yuu… very much. And I told him that, and he said he loved me too," started Mika slowly, "But his kind of love is a lot different from mine. He loves me as a friend, as family, but I… I want more. I want to do stuff like holding hands, and hugging, and kissing, and… umm… s-sex too… I'm in love with him." Mika stopped for a moment, his throat felt tight, his eyes became teary. Words spurred out of him, he had gone through so much this past day, he needed to vent his feelings to someone. "But he doesn't love me back. And it's painful. And I don't know what to do. I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I want to forget my feelings for him. I want to forget I ever felt this way. I want to stop loving him this way! I want us to be just friends! Why can't I stop loving him?" Tears started rolling from Mika's blue eyes, once again. Hikari sat next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

She spoke after giving him a tissue, from the tissue box she carried with her all times of the day. Mika was trembling and sobbing under Hikari's reassuring hand.

"Tell me, do you truly wish you were just friends?" she said in a soft voice.

"W-w-well, no I want…" sobbed Mika, "I want us to be more than th-that, but I know that it's impossible."

"And what if I told you that it's not impossible?"

Mika stayed silent.

"I have seen how he acts around you. It's not impossible!"

Mika responded with a quiet sob.

"Tell me Mika-kun, has he ever talked about anyone else other than you? Has he ever been interested in someone else other than you?"

Mika shook his head. "B-but… still-" he uttered in between sobs.

"I know that it's hard to comprehend that you like someone of the same sex. Let alone admit it. Wasn't is confusing when you first realized you liked him in that way? You have loved him for a long time, you know how it's like. He just needs to realize it, just like you did. It takes time. I know for a fact that he loves you!"

"Do you… do you really think so?" said Mika, a glimpse of hope in his voice.

"I do," said Hikari, "and I really want to help you."

"How can you help? Yuu will never understand. I'm not even sure if he even knows that it's possible for two guys to be together."

"Mika-kun, you're talking to a professional here," said Hikari-san, crossing her arms in front of her chest, "I'm sure we can succeed!"

Mika didn't have time to retort. Hikari had already stood up and was making her way to a door.

"Are you coming, or not?" she called out.

"Hikari-san, where are we going?" yelled Mika, and quickly stood up to keep up with Hikari's fast pace.

When the door opened, Mika almost got a heart attack. He had never seen such a chaotic room before: empty cups and plates on every corner of the room, a desk that could barely withstand the mountain of papers and books that was on it, two big bookcases filled to the brim with manga. Though this wasn't the only aspect of the room that gave Mika an almost heart attack. The walls were plastered in some very promiscuous posters, unconceivable to Mika's imagination.

"Hikari-san, what-what is all this?" asked Mika.

"This is my workroom, all these posters and drawings on the walls are for inspiration," she said and pushed aside some of the books she had on the desk, "sit anywhere you can find."

Mika took a pile of papers from a chair and placed them on the floor. He looked at the first paper on the pile. It was a drawing of a dark-haired boy, stripped to the waist and a blond boy on top of him, looking at him lustfully. These characters oddly looked like him and Yuu. He decided not to comment on this finding and sat on the chair.

"Your face is really red," commented Hikari.

"I-I know!" shouted Mika.

"Here we'll find all the knowledge you need to make Yuu-kun like you," said Hikari, and picked up some books and papers, "to the point where he'll beg for you."

"Hikari-san…" muttered Mika.

"This is what's going to happen, I can guarantee it! I mean, look at you! You are handsome and kind and you'll do anything for the person you love. And you cook! Yuu-kun could never have someone better than you. He will be yours, I promise! You just have to trust me and do as I say," said Hikari.

"I guess there's no harm in trying," mumbled Mika.

"Great! Okay, so first you have to make him understand that two guys going out with each other is a thing, and can happen to you too. And then we'll see how you can go from there."

Hikari's enthusiasm gave Mika a new-found confidence. Maybe he will succeed. He just needs to have the right approach.

He had thought, until Hikari-san started explaining "the operation", as she called it.

"Hikari-san, I'm sorry, there's no way I can do this," said Mika.

"Why? What's so difficult about getting him to watch gay porn with you?"

"No, this is so embarrassing! And all these other things, I- no, no way,"

Hikari looked at the list she had drawn on the flip chart.

"Okay, I understand, maybe we can find something subtler," said Hikari, "Mhm, he has to understand by himself." She stayed silent for a moment, lost in her thoughts. "I know!" She exclaimed and went over to one of the book cases to retrieved a book. "Here, take this!"

"What should I do with this," said Mika, taking the book in his hands. He looked at the cover "My Best Friend's First Love" was the title of the book. He flipped the pages and landed in a random moment of the book, "oh… wow, is that?"

"Yeah! A yaoi manga!"

"Yes, I see. But what do you want me to do with it?"

"I want you to have it around the house, in a place where Yuu-kun can see it,"

"Ok, and how is that going to help?"

"He'll see it laying on the table, he'll pick it up, he'll open it and see all the magic,"

Mika was looking at Hikari, with a freaked-out expression.

"Trust me, Mika-kun. This is the best way for him to understand what two guys can do together. This is the way I learned it and this is the way he'll learn it too," said Hikari, "and please be careful with it, it's the first yaoi manga I've ever read and I'm emotionally attached to it."

"Sure, don't worry, I'll take care of it," said Mika, "I'll also try to do these other things… even though I'm not sure if I can succeed."

"Mika-kun, have confidence. It's the most important thing. Do you want him?"

"I… I want him,"

"Say it again, with more confidence,"

"I want him!"

"Again!"

"I want him!" screamed Mika.

Suddenly, a knock on the door. Mika froze.

"Oh, yes. Come in!"

The door opened to disclose a handsome man.

"Welcome home!"

"Sorry, Hikari-chan. I didn't realize you had guests," said the man.

"Oh yes! This is Mika-kun, he's our new tenant!" said Hikari.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Mika Hyakuya," said Mika and bowed to the man.

"I'm Hikari's husband, it's nice to meet you too!"

"Mika-kun is living next door with his soon-to-be boyfriend," exclaimed Hikari and clapped her hands excitedly.

"Hikari-san, you know, the chances that it will work are still-" said Mika in a low voice.

"No, no, no! What did we say? Confidence!" shouted Hikari.

"Hikari-san I-"

"Is she bothering you?" asked Hikari's husband, "Hikari, what did we say? You can't use real life people for your stories."

"Why? It's better to get inspired by real life situations!" said Hikari. She got closer to her husband and whispered, "they don't know I'm using them as my subjects yet." She then turned back to Mika, "I just want to help two young boys in love!" She clasped her hands together, her eyes shining. "Go home and do as we discussed, okay?"

"As you discussed? Oh no, Hikari! What did you do again?" said the man.

"What, what did I do again? Let me work in peace!" shouted Hikari.

"Mika-kun, if she is bothering you, I can get rid of her," he offered to Mika.

"Oh, no… it's-" uttered Mika.

"Mika-kun! Tell him! I'm helping you get laid!" shouted Hikari.

"Hikari-san," said Mika and his face turned red instantly.

Mika entered his apartment. He plopped on the bed, holding the manga Hikari-san gave him. This wasn't going to work. At all. "This is so stupid," he sighed. Mika extended his arms in front of him and looked at the manga, he flipped a couple of pages and started reading. The two characters were childhood friends. They often slept over to each other's houses and slept on the same bed. Until, one of the characters decides one night to touch the other character and they end up having sex. Things happen and situations lead to them being a happy couple. Kind of dumb. This can't happen in real life. Nonetheless, he found it interesting.

Truly, Mika didn't have anything to lose anymore. He might as well try. He went to the living room and placed the manga in one of the empty cupboards. This was too obvious, so stupid. Hikari had told him to be obvious. And confident. Confidence is key. He was going to do it. He was tired of waiting for Yuu. He will have to force Yuu to love him. He was too deep in his feelings for Yuu, he couldn't back down now. It was already too late. He wasn't worried about ruining their current relationship. He didn't want their current relationship. He wanted more. And he will never be satisfied before having this more.

Suddenly, he heard key sounds coming from the front door. Yuu was home. Mika closed the cupboard and quickly went in the kitchen. He slipped an apron over his head. Here it goes. The operation was on. Mika wanted to slap himself across the face at how silly this was.

"Hi, Mika!" said Yuu.

"Welcome home, honey!" said Mika, emerging from the kitchen.

Yuu became red, instantly. "Mika… why are you calling me honey? You've never called me honey before."

"Well, I like you, so…" said Mika. He got closer to Yuu and caressed the side of his face. "Isn't it normal to want to use affectionate words to the person you like?"

"I like you too, Mika. I'll call you honey too!" said Yuu, excitedly.

This will not be easy, thought Mika. But he will not lose hope. Hikari's words replayed in his head. Confidence. Confidence. Yuu will be his.

"Yuu-chan, make yourself comfortable while I'm making food. How was your first day at work?"

"It was good, the woman was nice and the shop is really pretty, although I don't know how it's going to be like when I actually have to service customers,"

"Yeah, you are a bit short-tempered," remarked Mika.

"What did you say?" snapped Yuu, instantly.

"Oh, nothing. I think you'll do great!"

"Is there a remote for the TV? We haven't checked it out yet," said Yuu.

"There must be, search in the cupboards," said Mika, from the kitchen.

Yuu got up and looked inside the cupboard below the TV. The cupboard was empty apart from one lonely book. No remote.

"Mika! The remote's not here!" yelled Yuu and closed the cupboard.

"Well, search somewhere else!"

Yuu walked around the room, looking inside the different pieces of furniture. He had done a full lap of the living room and passed in front of the cupboard below the TV once again. Curiosity struck him and he reopened the cupboard. He grabbed the book and looked at it. Yuu looked at the cover, his eyes wide. He flipped a few pages and his eyes met a full page of a drawing with two guys on a bed. His eyes widened even more. He was ready to flip the pages when, "Mika, did you find the remote?" he heard Mika's voice coming from the kitchen.

Startled, Yuu closed the book and hid it behind his back. "N-no, i-it's not… here!" yelled Yuu.

'He found it,' thought Mika with a smirk. "Yuu-chan, is everything ok? You're stuttering."

"Wh-what are you talking about!? I'm not stuttering, at-at all! You're so stupid!" yelled Yuu.

Yuu stomped to the bathroom. His thoughts were racing by a hundred miles per second. What was this book? Why was it there? Were they really…? Was that even physically possible? Manga are very different from real life, it couldn't possibly be true. Right? Before Mika called out to him, he was ready to flip the page. Why did he want to flip the page? He had to get rid of the book at once, it was making him weird. He opened the bathroom window and was ready to throw it in the street. His hand stopped. "God dammit," he whispered. He was unable to do it. He opened the book furiously. He couldn't fight the desire of seeing more of this. He was so insanely curious. He read the book from beginning to end. At first, he didn't like it at all but as he continued he involuntarily got engrossed in the story line. He understood how the characters felt. He wasn't going to lie, he found it romantic. He even read the sex scenes and found them beautiful. Even though he was shocked at all the different things two guys could two together, he couldn't help but blush. He had never imagined things like these could happen. The feelings two people share are indeed regardless of gender.

He hadn't realized how much time had passed. Half an hour, an hour, more? He felt as if everything had happened in the blink of an eye. He hid the manga under the stack of towels they had put in the cabinet under the sink. This was good enough for now, he'll need to find a better place later. Or throw it away, all together. He opened the bathroom door brusquely and was met face to face with Mika's collarbone.

"Mika! What the fuck are you doing here?" yelled Yuu, avoiding Mika's gaze.

"I just wanted to check up on you," replied Mika.

"Go away!" said Yuu and pushed Mika aside. He hated doing this but he couldn't help it. He almost turned around to apologize but quickly suppressed this urge. He didn't want to show his embarrassed state to Mika. He felt ashamed. He stomped to the bedroom, slamming the door behind him. Little did he know, Mika had noticed his embarrassed expression.

Mika proceeded to the living room. He opened the cupboard. The book was gone. This was too good.

Yuu was laying on the bed, looking at the ceiling. He had been unable to look Mika in the eyes. And he didn't even know why. He could've just shown him the manga from the very beginning and laughed it off. He started thinking about him and Mika. He felt that they were too close, but at the same time he loved this proximity. He liked living with Mika, sleeping in the same bed as Mika, hugging Mika. Was he like the people in the manga? Was Mika like the people in the manga? He had never fell in love; his life had been filled with Mika since day one. Just as if he had heard his thoughts, Mika knocked on the door, attempting to fill his life again.

"Can I come in?" sounded Mika's voice behind the door.

It would look suspicious if he said no. He didn't respond, so Mika took this as a green light. He entered the bedroom and sat on the edge of their shared bed.

"Are you okay?" said Mika and placed a hand on Yuu's leg. Yuu flinched at the touch. Mika was acting weird. Or maybe he was the one acting weird.

"Yeah, I'm fine," said Yuu and he slightly inched his leg away from Mika's hand.

"Dinner is ready, you can come," said Mika and stood up from the bed. Yuu didn't move.

"Yuu-chan, I said dinner is ready," he repeated. Yuu didn't show any sign of responding. Mika smirked, he had seen the opportunity and grabbed Yuu's ankles. He started pulling on Yuu's legs, trying to drag him out of the bed.

"Mika! What the fuck are you doing?" said Yuu and grabbed the bed sheets to prevent from falling out of the bed.

"I'm getting you off the bed," responded Mika.

Mika continued persistently tugging on Yuu's legs. Yuu's sweatpants slid down to his thighs, exposing his underwear. Yuu startled, released his grip on the bed and his body slid to the end of the mattress.

"Caught you~" said Mika.

Mika was towering over a dishevelled, terrified and half-stripped Yuu. It took him all his will power not to touch him more. Yuu was looking irresistible.

"M-M-Mika, wh-why," mumbled Yuu. He didn't know what to say. Because more than confused and annoyed at Mika's actions, he was stirred by the lustful look Mika was giving him. He saw Mika looking at his uncovered skin with a hungry gaze.

"Mika… can you-can you let go of me, p-please," stuttered Yuu.

"You know… you have a very beautiful body, Yuu-chan," said Mika. Yuu wasn't going to admit it but he was aroused. It was the way his name, followed by the word of endearment, that sent electricity to the pit of his stomach. Yuu felt weird. His whole body felt weird. He had never felt that way before. He had to stop this feeling this instant.

"Mika, please… please let go of me. I'm going to come eat with you,"

"That's my Yuu-chan!" exclaimed Mika and released Yuu from his trap, "I was wondering why you didn't want to eat my cooking. I got worried, I thought you were sick."

He turned around and exited the bedroom. Yuu fixed his clothes and followed Mika out of the bedroom and into the living room. They both sat down on the table where the food was waiting for them.

"You like this, right? Eat up!" said Mika.

"Yes, thank you, Mika," responded Yuu.

He couldn't get out of his mind the image of Mika towering over him, looking at him with this indecent look. Why was Mika so normal now? Had he imagined all of it? Maybe the images he saw on the manga had influenced him.

"Is there something on my face?" Mika's voice sprung him out of his thinking.

"Wh-what?"

"You were staring at me,"

"I-I was not!"

"Yes, you were," said Mika "do you want to ask me something?" he added nonchalantly.

"No, there's nothing," said Yuu.

They resumed their dinner. Mika could see Yuu was troubled. He avoided looking at Mika. His gaze was fixed on his chopsticks instead.

"Yuu, are you done?"

"Y-yes!" said Yuu, startled.

"We also have dessert," said Mika, waiting for a positive reaction from Mika.

"Oh, oh we do?" said Yuu. Mika couldn't see his face clearly since Yuu avoided to face him, but he could tell he was extremely happy. He could picture Yuu's gleaming eyes and his wonderful smile, perfectly in his mind. Mika went to the kitchen and brought out the cake he had bough from the supermarket, along with some whipped cream.

"I figured since you like cake so much," said Mika and cut a slice of the cake for Yuu, "there's whipped cream too. You love whipped cream too, right?"

Yuu nodded. Mika shook the whipped cream container and topped some on Yuu's slice. He then took the slice in his hand and offered it to Yuu. Yuu extended his arm to try and take the slice of cake but Mika withdrew his hand at the last minute.

"Can I have it?" probed Yuu

Mika rested his head on his palm, extended his arm once again, the slice of cake directed at Yuu.

"Mika… what are you playing at?"

Mika didn't respond, he tilted his head to one side, and starred into Yuu's green orbs.

"I want to feed you," he finally stated.

"Wh-what?" uttered Yuu, "What are you saying?"

"You don't want to?" said Mika, with a hurt expression.

"Th-that's not it!"

"So? What is it then?" Yuu didn't respond. He couldn't respond. How should he respond? Seeing that Yuu didn't show any signs of responding, Mika took the slice of cake in one hand and dipped the index finger of his other hand in the whipped cream. He brought his two hands in front of Yuu's face. He then pressed the cake onto Yuu's lips. Yuu couldn't fight back his appetite for sweets, neither the sweet smell of chocolate that was filling his nostrils ever since Mika had brought the cake out of the kitchen. He couldn't wait to find out how it tasted. He opened his mouth on his own accord and took a bite of the cake. As expected, the taste was divine. Mika let Yuu enjoy the taste he loved so much before bringing to Yuu's notice his whipped cream-coated finger. Yuu looked up at Mika. They remained still for a while, lost in each other's gazes. The atmosphere felt electric. Maybe Yuu did love him after all. Mika remembered his mission, "Do you want some?" he asked, pressing his finger to Yuu's lips. Yuu looked down at the finger on his lips and back at Mika, his cheeks flushed. He was so adorable and erotic at the same time, Mika wanted to scream. It would've been weird if he started screaming out of the blue, so he opted to internally scream instead. Yuu opened his mouth and let Mika slip his finger inside. He started licking the whipped cream off of Mika's fingers. He was so embarrassed he couldn't look at Mika directly. When Mika retrieved his finger, a drop of whipped cream fell on Yuu's lips. Mika used his thumb to clean him; how much he wanted to lick it directly off of Yuu's lips and not have to use his finger, only he knew.

Mika decided that he had teased him enough and let him go.

"Did you like the food?" said Mika.

"Yes, yes, I did," said Yuu, weirded out by the normal tone of this conversation "it was really good," he added smiling.

"I'm glad," responded Mika.

They remained silent, looking at each other.

"Well now, it's getting late, we should get ready for bed," Mika broke the silence, "you can use the bathroom first"

"Yes, uhm thank you," said Yuu and got up from the table.

He took refuge in the bathroom. He was feeling so weird about everything Mika. He opened the sink and splashed water on his face. This needed to stop. He undressed and stepped into the shower. The cold water pouring down on his body did wonders in calming his hot skin.

When he got out, he realized that he had forgotten fresh clothes. "Fuck," he said to himself. He had to ask Mika. He wouldn't have had a problem before. Mika had seen him naked plenty of times. He wrapped the towel around his waist. He gathered his courage and shouted Mika's name. Mika came instantly knocking on the door.

"Yuu-chan, are you okay?"

"I forgot my clothes… and under…wear,"

"Ok, I'll bring you some,"

He heard Mika's footsteps moving away and getting closer at once. The door brusquely opened to reveal Mika with a pair of underwear, a t-shirt and gym shorts in his hands.

"Here,"

"Thank you," said Yuu and approached his hand to his clothes in Mika's hands. Their fingers accidentally brushed against each other's. He unwillingly flinched and looked at Mika. He hadn't noticed a thing. He took the fabrics in his hands. "Thank you, I'll get dressed now." Yuu looked at the clothes more carefully, "Mika, I think… this is your underwear,"

"I'm flattered you know how my underwear looks like,"

"Of course I know what your underwear looks like!" said Yuu, his sentence coming out a lot more passionately than he intended it to be. He cleared his throat, "Umm, can you bring me my underwear?"

"Does it bother you wearing these? I think they'll look good on you,"

"Mika…!"

In the end, he went by Mika's request, after this one's persistent pestering, and wore the underwear. Why was it so uncomfortable? In the past, he wouldn't have minded, it was just like wearing your brother's underwear, it wasn't a big deal. Why was he feeling this way now? He went out of the bathroom and looked at himself in the full-length mirror in the entrance. Mika's underwear was too tight on him and the gym shorts he gave him made nothing to hide them. He decided to ignore it. It was fine, really. He went to the bedroom, where Mika was. He didn't look at Mika but he knew. He knew that Mika was ogling him with that gaze. That gaze. Just like he had done earlier. He ignored the eyes that were scanning his body and got into bed.

"Aren't you going to take a shower?" asked Yuu, nonchalantly.

"I'm too tired, and I didn't really do anything today, so," replied Mika.

"Oh, ok," Yuu got under the sheets and turned his back to Mika. He pressed his face into his pillow to try and sleep.

"Yuu-chan, aren't you going to wish me good night?"

"Yeah, good night,"

He heard bed sheets rustling behind him and before he could wonder what was going on he felt Mika's head on his shoulder.

"Mika…!" he protested.

"What?"

"What are you trying to do?"

As a response, Mika snaked his arms around Yuu's waist. He lightly tugged on the hem of Yuu's t-shirt.

"I'm taking off your shirt," said Mika, "it's summer, it's hot"

"I don't want to-"

"Look, I'll get mine off too," he said. Mika retrieved his hands from Yuu's waist and removed his shirt, all in one swift movement. His hands then darted back where they were some seconds ago, on Yuu's waist. Yuu shuddered slightly, and wished that Mika hadn't seen it, or rather felt it. He felt Mika's bare chest on his clothed shoulder blades. He could feel Mika's chest swell up with air and his breath on his neck that made his skin pucker with goosebumps.

"I'll help you with your shirt, ok?" whispered Mika in his ear "…Yuu-chan" his voice trailed off. Yuu had to contain an embarrassing cry from escaping his lips. He lifted his hands up to his face and clasped them on his mouth. He didn't dare respond, in fear that his voice would come out weird or not come out at all.

"I'll take this as a yes," whispered Mika in Yuu's ear. Mika grabbed the hem of Yuu's t-shirt between his fingers and slowly uncovered Yuu's lower abdomen. Mika's hands felt hot against Yuu's already hot skin. As Mika was uncovering more and more of Yuu's body, Yuu could feel his face heat up. It was too hot. The weather was hot. His body felt hot. Mika's fingers were hot. Burning.

Mika smirked at the sight of Yuu's ears turning red. He felt a little bit bad for him. But this will soon be over when Yuu will realize his feelings. They were there, he was sure of it now. Yuu wouldn't have acted this way if they weren't. Maybe the manga had influenced him. A little bit. Just a little bit. The manga wouldn't have played any role if Yuu didn't harbour feelings for him to begin with. Hikari-san was right.

Mika lifted up Yuu's shirt until it reached his armpits. "Lift your arms," he whispered back in Yuu's ear. He could feel Yuu softly shiver whenever he whispered close to his ear.

Yuu obliged and tentatively removed his clasped hands from in front of his mouth and extended his arms over his head. Mika flung the t-shirt over Yuu's shoulders and head. Yuu was breathing heavily, almost panting. The rise-and-fall of his back made his muscles tense up and relax. He could feel Mika's piercing gaze on his back. The blonde boy folded the t-shirt sloppily and swayed it in front of Yuu's face. "Here, your shirt," he said in a whisper.

"Th-th…" Yuu cleared his throat, "thank y-you". The boy stopped and slowly turned his body to face Mika.

Mika smiled at him. "Now, let's sleep, you have work tomorrow." He leaned in and kissed Yuu's forehead. Just like Yuu had done to him the night before.