kitty tokyo uzumaki: Hehe~ I am glad you liked it. :D As promised! A quick update.

CluelessLeaf: We may do it. I have several ideas going through my head for it. I am glad you enjoyed the update. Happy new years to you too~

Chapter Twenty-One: Defining Love

The ride to Kaito's apartment lasted an hour but it seemed like less than that. The conversations jumped so many times that Len and Akaito no longer had any idea on what was being talked about by the time the car was parked. With a sigh of relief, Akaito exited the car stretching as wide as he could. "I hate being cramped up for long periods of time." He hissed coldly, moving to stand next to the passenger side.

Rin snickered, hearing him. "Well it was that or risk hurting yourself more. Kaito san and my words are law. You had to rest!" She countered playfully as she left the car. Kaito laughed as he got out of the car as well. It was nice seeing that Akaito and Rin quickly returned to normal. His eyes traveled to Len, who still had yet to leave the car. His eyes seemed to stare off into space before he flinched and looked around. It seemed he did not even realize that they had stopped. It concerned Kaito a little, but he was not going to push the matter at all.

Len soon got out of the car, his eyes looking to Kaito. He has only been in the apartment once, which was practically a month or so ago. He could not remember where it was. With that, Kaito smiled and started heading to the apartment. Len could not help but to follow closely. He mentally mocked himself, feeling a bit like a lost dog or a little duckling following its mother. He found himself giggling at his last thought as he imagined Kaito as a duck… or more of a mother hen. The idea made him oddly happy.

Rin grabbed Akaito's hand and soon started following Kaito and Len. Akaito stayed quiet as she did that though an odd wicked smiled soon graced his lips. "I'm not use to being led by a girl." He teased as he sped up his steps to be the one pulling her along. This action caused Rin to pout though it quickly turned into a grin as well as she quickly took the lead again. "Well, I guess ya better get use to it, Akai kun~" She countered playfully.

Len smiled as he listened to the two. He fought his own urge to grab Kaito's hand. His cheeks reddened at the idea. He let himself speed up to at least be a little closer. Len was still confused on how he felt about Kaito, though there was an intense fondness and admiration he felt each time he looked at him. If he could, he'd get lost in the deep blue pool of his eyes. Len shook the thought away, forcing himself to smile as they approached the door.

Kaito fiddled with the keys for a few minutes before unlocking the door and opening it. He motioned for Len to go inside first. Len gave a nervous look as he went inside. It would be interesting to see the apartment in a more positive perspective rather than his previous cold demeanor. After getting inside, he slid his shoes off and moved into the living room.

Kaito was not too far behind, Rin and Akaito still outside, seeming to have gotten into a conversation just outside. He watched Len as he slowly walked about the living area, taking in everything. "It's pretty empty right now, Len kun, but Rin and I are going to get it looking nice." He commented, giving a small smile as Len walked over and sat down on the couch.

Kaito moved to stand behind Len, his hands lightly touching his shoulders. Len was tense, though Kaito could not really blame him. Feeling that he might make Len uncomfortable, he started to move his hands away but felt Len's hands touch his. "You okay?" Kaito could not help but ask.

"I-I'm fine. Your hands are warm though." Len answered; though the tone in his voice made it obvious he was lying. Led did not want to admit that he felt relaxed with Kaito's touch, though they were simple and not much. He leaned back, pulling Kaito's hands forward a bit as he did. Kaito found himself against the back of the couch, standing a bit awkwardly though he was not going to complain. Lightly, Len rested his cheek against Kaito's right hand. He closed his eyes and gave a small smile even though Kaito could not see it. A smile came across Kaito's lips as well. He leaned forward and rested his head on the back of the couch. Kaito took in a small deep breath. He closed his eyes. He was close enough to catch Len's scent. It was sweet and oddly soothing… It was nice.

Kaito opened his eyes, hearing some giggling from not that far in front of him. Rin and Akaito were on the love seat across from them just staring. Rin gave off a large grin as she threw her hands up and clasped them together. "Oh Kaito san! That can't be a comfortable position to sleep in!"

It dawned on Kaito that he had fallen asleep, and Len seemed to have drifted off as well. Now that Rin mentioned it though, his knees were a bit sore. He must have lowered to his knees when he drifted off. He gave a nervous laugh when he realized Len was still resting his head on his hand. "A…ahaha… I just couldn't bring myself to move… I must've dozed off in the meantime." It was a lie. He fell asleep almost instantly.

"I was hoping you'd fall over." Akaito jested coldly, a big grin on his face as well. Rin lightly elbowed him.

"Be nice! Hehe~" Rin teased as well. "Besides. Len gets grumpy if he gets woken up suddenly. So I am actually glad he didn't fall over." She was not sure if Len would still be like that, but better safe than sorry. Akaito snickered at the thought.

Kaito shook his head at the two. Their sense of humor was obviously in sync. He gently slid his hands out from under Len's. It took him a couple minutes to be able to bring himself to a standing position after having being in that position for a while. "I guess I should take Len kun to the room. Sleeping like that might not be all that comfortable." He was a bit concerned Len did not even stir when he moved his hands, though it was probably because of how tired he was. With all the events from the last few weeks, if he were in Len's shoes he'd probably be tired too.

"Hey Akaito, since it seems that you don't have anything else to do, think you can turn in Len's prescriptions?" Kaito asked in a rather demanding tone. Akaito only grinned and stood up. Rin following after.

"We can! We have to turn in Akai kun's as well!" Rin stated, moving to a bag to get the prescriptions out. Akaito shook his head as he moved to wait by the door. In his honest opinion, he did not need the meds. They were just for pain anyway. Rin held the prescriptions up and met up with Akaito at the door. "Alright! We'll be back later!" She chimed, pulling Akaito out the door after she slid her shoes on.

Kaito sighed with relief after the two left. His eyes moved to Len who was still asleep. "You look so peaceful…" A sigh escaped him as he moved to the other side of the couch. He leaned down and carefully picked Len up. His cheeks turned a shade of red when Len's head rested against his shoulder, picking up Len's scent again. Kaito was not sure if he could contain himself much longer. He shook away any sordid thoughts as he went to put Len in the guest room.

He gently laid Len on the bed though had a little trouble trying to get the blankets out from under him. His attempt failed as when he moved back he caught site of bright green eyes staring at him. The sight nearly made him melt. "Aa! Len! I am sorry! I didn't mean to wake you up! I… was trying to… wait… GRAH! That wouldn't sound appropriate!" He brought his hands to his head, ruffling his hair in frustration.

Kaito was shocked when a finger came to his lips in an attempt to hush him a bit. Blue eyes once again met with the intense emerald green of the others. "S-sorry." Kaito stammered.

Len laughed, bringing himself to sit up. "You could have just woke me up… instead of bringing yourself to such trouble." The smile on Len's face was worth the trouble, though the boy seemed amused with Kaito's antics, more so today than usual. Len broke their gaze and looked down. He took a deep breath. There seemed to be a lot on his mind. "Can we talk for a little?" He asked, though a bit shaky.

Kaito sat down on the bed, being careful not to sit on Len's legs. "Of course. You don't have to ask." He kept his eyes intently on Len. He was glad he seemed to feel comfortable enough to confide in him. "What is it?"

There was a long pause. Len's hands slowly gripped the blankets then released in a repetitive manner. "Kaito san… What is love? What… does it feel like?"

The question took Kaito by surprise. This did not seem like something Len would normally ask. Just figuring out how to answer it was hard. The silence fell unto the room again. Kaito took a deep breath. "Well… When you meet someone… sometimes. There is something about them that makes you feel different. A feeling to want to be near them. A longing. I guess some even have described it as having butterflies in their stomach." Kaito swallowed hard. He knew how love felt… he was in love right now as it was.

Len looked back at Kaito. "How can you tell if it's love and not just a childish want…" The question was confusing, but he wanted to know. His current feelings confused him. They were foreign to him though oddly pleasurable. Kaito found himself looking down.

"Well… A crush… A crush is just a feeling of want. A desire, I guess." He smiled at Len, bringing a hand to rest on Len's hand. "Love… It's a complex emotion. It's different for everyone."

Len smiled, closing his eyes and leaning his head to the side. "What does love feel like for Kaito san?" Maybe if he could understand it from another's view, then it will be easier for himself.

Kaito blushed. Len was not making this easy. He cleared his throat and looked at the ceiling. For the third time the room had fallen silent. How could he answer this without embarrassing himself?

After a few minutes Kaito finally broke the silence. "I get nervous. I don't know what I want to say. My palms get sweaty. I get the urge to want to be with them, even if they don't want me to. I guess I am a hopeless romantic? Or a desperate one…" He laughed a little. "Love isn't very easy to describe."

"You're in love though, right?" Len asked. His demeanor seemed off. His presence just did not feel like Len's at the moment.

"W-well yes…" Kaito found himself answering. "I guess I'm pretty obvious… Though I guess I said it a couple times… Ahaha…" He rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Is Len kun in love?" The question came out before he thought about it. Of course Len was…Though he lost that person years ago.

Len looked down, blushing. "I…I don't know if it's love… but…" He bit at his bottom lip. "It makes me happy. I… I hope it is. The feeling is enjoyable… but… confusing. I don't think I ever felt this way before."

Kaito laughed inwardly though felt a bit of jealousy as well. "This person must be very special to you, Len kun." He wanted to bite his own tongue for saying that, but he did just want Len to be happy.

Len's cheeks turned a darker shade of red at Kaito's comment. "Y-yeah… I… I guess he is."

Kaito forced himself to stand up, startling Len a bit. "You hungry?" he asked, now wanting to get his mind off the topic.

Len nodded, giving Kaito a warm smiled. "Yes… I didn't get to eat much of the food you made for me last time. I would like to try some."

Kaito stepped back. His cheeks a light shade of pink. This was a new smile from Len and was completely unexpected. "Alright! I will make Len kun something extra special tonight~!" He chimed as he left the room.

Len laid down on the bed, the smile still on his lips. "In love, huh? So this all makes sense now… How do I tell him that it's him?" He whispered to himself and closed his eyes, an unusual yet calm feeling overcoming him as he fell into a peaceful sleep.

A/N: Here it is! Chapter 21! I hope you will all enjoy it! This is possibly one of my most fluffiest chapters in the story. There will be more fluffy ones to come.

Please R&R! Thanks you~

~ Haname Yukina

Ryelu's notes: This was indeed an interesting chapter. Yukina has been on a role in writing it all. Chapter 22 should be up within the week, if not this week, then next week. We really hope you enjoy this chapter!

Please read and review! Thank you!