Let the sleepover commence!


"Akoya, is all this really necessary?" Ibushi implored, staring at the ajar door leading to his bathroom.

"Of course it is!" Akoya protested from Ibushi's bathroom. "You haven't lived until you've tried these masks!"

Ibushi quietly huffed and laid back against the mattress. He and Akoya had gotten back to his house not long ago, after their afternoon in the city and dinner at a more casual restaurant in the area. Or, well, more casual for them: still within Akoya's standards but they could come as they were with no problem. Actually, all Ibushi had to do was say "Arima" for the hostess to get them a private room. It was great to just act normally around Akoya for a change. Conversation led to its usual places: school, Student Council, Akoya nitpicking the silverware placements when he got bored. No one had to act or worry about someone else's reaction unless their waiter came in to bring food or see if they needed service. It was just him and Akoya; and it felt great.

After Ibushi paid the bill (because what gentleman lets his "girlfriend" pay?) they walked back to his house. The sun hadn't begun to set yet, but it was getting close to that time. Ibushi stuck close to Akoya's side, holding his hand once they got back into his neighborhood. As they reached the front gate, Ibushi noticed one of the gardeners walking towards the back carrying a pair of hedge clippers. Huh. Must have just finished up.

Upon entering the house and taking off their shoes, Ibushi spotted the woman who let Akoya inside earlier, house assistant Mayu. She was dusting off some framed photos hanging up in the foyer when they came in.

"I'm home." Ibushi called.

"Oh, welcome back Ibushi-san, Akoya-san." She greeted. "How was dinner?"

"Lovely." Akoya claimed.

Mayu grinned. "I'm glad."

Ibushi slipped by her, Akoya in tow. "We'll be in my room; we wanted to watch few movies before I brought Akoya home."

Mayu said "Alright" as they climbed the stairs and headed towards their destination.

Now Ibushi was just sitting in his room because Akoya told him to wait there.

Well, okay, not just wait for him. Before he disappeared, Akoya had given him the candles that he'd bought earlier that day and told Ibushi to light them and put them on the night stands on either side of the bed. The task was simple enough; it was only another minute before the sweet smell of sugar and vanilla began to drift through the room. While he was at it, he closed his blinds for the night, allowing them some extra privacy.

The third-year stared at the ceiling and listened to the sound of running water coming from the bathroom. He knew he'd agreed to this, but Ibushi still wondered how he wound up like this: indulging Akoya through sampling a mud mask with him. He and Kinshiro had both done similar things in the past, allowing the second-year to bring them places that his family owned for the sake of gaining a new opinion. They were opportunities to spend time with one another and, even better, the services they received were on the house. Not that he couldn't afford going to the places himself, but even people as wealthy as the Arimas like free stuff.

"I've gone to the spa before." Ibushi voiced. "I think you've taken me to the spa before."

"Trust me, this is different from the spa." The water turned off and Ibushi heard some shuffling, like things were being arranged in a box.

Another minute later and Akoya emerged from the bathroom carrying a small caddy, filled with supplies that Ibushi couldn't recognize, even when he sat back up to try to get a better look. Akoya put the caddy down on Ibushi's desk and took a pair of headbands out of it. As he walked over to the bed, Akoya put one of them over his head and let it hang around his neck.

"Okay, first thing is getting your hair out of the way." He instructed, handing Ibushi one of the headbands. "Put that on so it holds your bangs up." Then, he walked back towards the desk again.

Ibushi did as he was told and then watched Akoya finish doing the same thing to himself, with a bit more difficulty because of the length of his hair. Once he was satisfied, Akoya took the caddy and brought it to the foot of the bed, removing two washcloths once he'd sat down on the mattress.

"Now put this over your face." He ordered, handing one of the cloths to Ibushi. "The steam'll open your pores so the mud can do its job."

Ibushi nodded and watched Akoya drape his cloth over his face and lay down on his back. The older boy followed his example and all of his vision was taken up by the white fabric on his face.

"Start relaxing." Akoya's voice was quieter now, and muffled by the washcloth. "Just focus on the warmth of the water and the smell of the candles." He took a deep breath through the nose and then fell silent again, leaving Ibushi's mind to wander about in the peace of the room.

It was nice, sitting in a quiet area like this for a change. Normally Ibushi was accompanied by others, who were almost always talking. A lot of the time, he was either the topic of conversation or a part of it, so laying down in his wing of the house, in the presence of someone else but not talking, was very welcome.

Only a few minutes later, he felt weight shifting to his left. Akoya was moving a bit, maybe sitting up?

"That should be long enough." His voice was clear again. Ibushi sat up and took the cloth off of his face, suddenly feeling a bit of a chill now that the source of heat was gone. He looked at Akoya and noticed a slight flush on the other boy's face, most likely from the hot water.

Akoya snatched up both cloths, reached for the caddy, and pulled it between the two of them. He adjusted his position so that he was across from Ibushi on the bed, setting out in front of them a large plastic jar containing a brown substance, a mirror, some towels, and… a paint brush? Once he put the washcloths back in the caddy, Akoya grabbed the jar and unscrewed the lid, revealing what looked kind of like cement to Ibushi. Then, he took the paint brush in his hand and swiped it in the stuff in the jar.

"Now's the fun part." Akoya claimed with a smile. "Putting the mud on our faces."

"Why do you use a paint brush?" Ibushi wondered out loud.

"I used to use my fingers but using a brush is just… more fun. It's kind of like painting." Akoya playfully explained. "I'll put it on you and then you can put it on me, okay?"

Ibushi just nodded before he felt something cold and moist touch his right cheek. The bristles lightly tickled his skin as Akoya worked the brush to spread the mask onto more of Ibushi's face, the feeling retracting every so-often when the brush needed to be re-dipped into the mud.

To Ibushi, it felt like a long time had passed while Akoya painted the mud onto him. But it had to have lasted for only a few minutes. After a little while, he didn't even feel the bristles that much anymore. Was he just getting used to it or was this stuff thick enough to block the sensation?

One more stroke to his nose and Ibushi opened his eyes (when had he even closed them? He didn't remember closing his eyes!) Akoya pulled the brush back to grab his mirror. He held it up and Ibushi saw that his whole face, minus his eye lids and lips, were coated in a layer of mud. "Now, do it like this on my face, got it?"

Ibushi nodded.

Akoya put down the mirror and handed him the brush. "Just make sure you apply it evenly, okay?"

"I'll do my best." Ibushi picked up the jar of mud and swiped the brush in it before looking back at Akoya. He was staring in Ibushi's direction, but not particularly looking at him. It was like he was focusing on the space around Ibushi instead, maybe getting lost in thought in the process. That is, until about ten seconds later.

"Come on." He ordered. "Hurry up, before yours hardens too much!"

"Alright, alright." The older boy appeased, putting his first stroke onto Akoya's right cheek, like he'd done moments ago. And another, and then he made a small circle… and got an idea. Like painting, huh…?

Ibushi dipped the brush into the jar again and placed a matching circle on Akoya's left cheek, then filled the two of them in. Aww, it's kind of like he's blushing.

After that, Ibushi wasn't sure what came over him. He started putting more mud on him… and the next thing he knew Akoya had twin daisies decorating his face. Cute! Ibushi was sure he was blushing under his own mask.

"What are you doing?" Akoya questioned, clearly getting annoyed by the other's pace. "Go faster."

"S-sorry." Ibushi quickly painted over his little flowers and managed to get Akoya's whole face covered within the next two minutes. "How'd I do?"

Akoya took his mirror again and inspected the other boy's work. "For a first try, you did well." He complimented. "I have no clue why you took forever to do my cheeks though."

"Just… getting the hang of it." Oh, Ibushi hoped his smile was believable. "What do we do now?"

"Now," Akoya scooted up towards the headboard and stacked two of Ibushi's pillows on top of each other. "we let it sit for twenty minutes. Want to watch some TV in the meantime?"

"Sure." Ibushi grabbed the remote to the flat screen hanging on the wall opposite his bed and turned it on. "Any requests?"

Akoya hummed in thought. "Not really? I don't think you'd enjoy what I like to watch."

"And what kind of shows are those?" Ibushi asked as he went back to the bed and reclined beside Akoya, resting his back against a pillow stack Akoya had made for him.

He began flipping through the channels as Akoya muttered. "You'd laugh…"

"Come on," Ibushi playfully knocked his shoulder into Akoya's. "you can't be worse than me. My TV's almost always on HGTV, unless there's an interesting documentary on."

Akoya chuckled. "That's so like you." He sat up again and propped up the pillows like Ibushi had before sitting back. "I like… reality shows."

The smallest laugh bubbled in Ibushi's throat. "Somehow I'm not surprised."

They spent a few minutes just going from one channel to the next, making small commentary about each one they passed by. They'd fallen into that comfortable rhythm until there was a knock at the door. "Ibushi-san!" It was Mayu.

Of course this peace wouldn't last forever… Ibushi stood and walked towards the door, stopping a few steps before it. "What is it?"

"May I come in?"

"You may." He allowed.

The knob turned and Mayu poked her head through the opening. When she took notice of Ibushi and Akoya's faces, she smiled brightly. "What's going on in here?"

"Akoya wanted me to sample this mud mask with her." Ibushi supplied.

Akoya groaned from his spot on the bed, immediately falling into character. "Ibu-chan, I just wanted you to relax! You're always so tense."

"He's a bit of a worrier, isn't he?" Mayu added.

"Yes!" Akoya exclaimed.

Mayu giggled. "Okay, I won't keep you long then, Ibushi. I just wanted to tell you that my shift ended for the night, so Aya might come by to check on you later."

"Alright." Ibushi answered.

"Okay, I'll see you on Monday." Ibushi nodded and she left, closing the door behind her. Another minute passed before Ibushi went back to the bed and layed back down to resume channel surfing.

"How often does someone come find you like that?" Akoya questioned.

"It depends." Ibushi stated. "Usually every few hours but, considering you're here tonight, it might be more frequent."

"Wow." Akoya mused. "Sometimes I go all afternoon without someone looking for me."

After that, conversation died down to idle comments about the different channels until they settled on some competitive cooking show. Then, their talking shifted to whatever was happening on the show. A few commercial breaks later and Akoya decided that it was time for their masks to come off. The two of them washed the mud off and Ibushi felt a difference the minute it come off. It felt like a breeze had hit him as the air once again met his skin. The closest thing he could compare it to would be the feeling in his mouth right after he'd brushed his teeth.

"Well?" Akoya was looking up at him expectantly.

"I definitely feel it." Ibushi replied.

"Yep. In the morning look in the mirror and you'll see your skin's tone will be more even." Akoya slid off the headband holding his bangs up and began sectioning his hair into two parts. Then he went into his bag and took out his brush.

"Now what are you doing?" Ibushi questioned.

"Braiding my hair." Akoya replied, hands already working on the left side. "So it doesn't get all knotty while I sleep."

"Would you like me to braid it for you?"

Akoya's dark blue eyes shot up to meet Ibushi's face, more surprised than anything. Akoya almost never let anyone touch his hair, but Ibushi had gotten the "honor," as Akoya called it, before. He'd braided it for him on the way to the beach one time, just to keep in-practice. And, just like last time, Akoya was hesitant but he eventually said "Yes."

Akoya sat down on the foot of the bed and took his hands out of his hair, holding the brush out for Ibushi to take. He did so gingerly and sat down behind Akoya and brought one of the sections to rest against Akoya's back.

"You always do two braids when you go to sleep?" Ibushi asked as he got to work.

"Yeah." Akoya answered. "They're easier to sleep with than one big one."

Ibushi just nodded and hummed in response, noticing that Akoya's focus had turned back to the TV. The commercial break was over and the challenge the chefs were participating in was winding down. He was only half paying attention as he brushed Akoya's hair free of knots and began the first braid. The only background noise was the TV for a few more minutes. And then there was a knock at the door.

"Ibushi-san." It sounded like Aya. "May I come in?"

The two looked at each other and Akoya nodded.

"Yes." Ibushi replied.

The door knob turned and a short woman with a mole next to her nose stepped inside. Yep, Aya. "Sorry to intrude, Ibushi-san, I just-" She stopped when she saw the scene before her, watching as Ibushi finished off Akoya's first braid.

"Yes?"

She cleared her throat and went on. "I wanted to remind you that your parents are flying in early this morning, and ask if Akoya-san was staying for much longer."

"I'm aware." Ibushi answered. "And Akoya will be staying until late; we planned on watching some movies together."

Akoya giggled. "And it's my turn to pick, Ibu-chan~!"

"Uh-uh," Ibushi playfully countered. "it's my turn to pick."

Akoya pouted and crossed his arms. "Okay, fine."

"Alright then…" Aya awkwardly interjected. "Let someone know if you need a car to take her home, Ibushi-san."

"I will."

Aya left and shut the door behind her gently. Ibushi began working on Akoya's second braid.

"I thought you said it was every few hours." Akoya complained.

"Usually." Ibushi reminded him. "Me being alone up here with my girlfriend might not sit right with Mayu, but Aya's usually a lot calmer. She should leave us alone for a while."

Akoya hummed in understanding and sat quietly while Ibushi braided the other half of his hair. After he secured it with a hair tie, Ibushi muttered a "done" before standing up and walking to the cabinet under the TV. He opened it up to reveal his collection of movies and looked back at Akoya, who was still seated on the bed.

"So," He began. "what are you in the mood to watch?"

They spent a good fifteen minutes deliberating on what title to put into the DVD player. Finally, they settled on a movie that Ibushi had honestly forgotten he'd owned until he was reading titles off to Akoya: The Parent Trap. It was decided that neither one wanted to get too invested in an emotional movie, or make the commitment to watch a long one, so ultimately a light-hearted movie was the way to go.

Ibushi put in the DVD while Akoya blew out the candles, and turned off the lights. Once it was playing, the two got comfortable on Ibushi's bed. They stayed side by side for a short while and then Akoya moved. He sat up, picked up one of Ibushi's arms, put his head down on Ibushi's chest, and draped the arm back over himself.

Before Ibushi could even say anything, Akoya explained himself. "If someone walks in on us again, we've gotta be playing the part right?" One of Akoya's arms wrapped itself around Ibushi's middle. "Is this okay?"

Ibushi didn't know what to say, so he just gripped Akoya's shoulder and pulled him a little closer.

Aya came back in one more time, about an hour into the movie. Though position had changed multiple times, the two of them were still hanging off of each other in the darkness of the bedroom, hardly disturbed by the woman peeking in to see what was going on. She commented on how much she loved the movie before taking her leave again, leaving the "couple" to themselves.

As the movie reached its end, Ibushi felt Akoya relaxing more against him, snuggling against his chest once or twice in the process. He wasn't sure when it happened, but when he looked down as the credits began rolling, Ibushi noticed that Akoya had fallen asleep. He yawned himself and oh-so-expertly maneuvered a throw blanket from the foot of the bed and on top of the two of them. Ibushi nuzzled the top of Akoya's head as he accepted the fact that he wasn't going to be moving until morning.