"What… what did you say?" Eiji's voice trembled.

"If you really want to go out with me, let's give it a try."

"Are you serious?!" he stood up, unbelieving.

"I am."

Eiji grinned happily and hugged Shuichirou tightly, surprising him.

"You won't regret it, Oishi-san! I promise I will be the best boyfriend ever!"

He showed him a small smile and touched his hand gently.

"But, first, we need to talk about…"

Suddenly, the alarm on his cell phone started to ring and he broke the embrace.

"Ah, I'm so sorry, I need to return now! Please, don't think I'm abandoning you, it's just…"

"I understand. It's okay, you can go."

"I will contact you later! I promise!"

"Okay." He said, before Eiji left in a hurry. Shuichirou stood up and took a deep breath while watching him.

############

Eiji looked up to the water drops on the bathroom's ceiling. He was exhausted. It was past midnight when he and Mika were finally at home, after helping to organize and clean his classroom after the festival ended. He was very praised by his teachers and was happy everything went well.

He went straight to the bathroom and took a quick shower before entering the bathtub. The warm water was comfortable on his cramped muscles. He put one of his hands over his chest. His heart was finally coming down from his conversation with Oishi.

Kikumaru could still remember how his chest was overflowing with happiness and his face hurt with the wide happy grin he held for the whole night.

He smiled again to himself, remembering the sensation of hugging Oishi again, after so long. He had missed it so much!

"I'm Oishi-san's boyfriend." He whispered to himself, before closing his eyes and taking a satisfied, relaxed breath.

############

"Hello, Eiji-kun." Shuichirou had a gentle smile when opening the door. It was Sunday night and Eiji had sent him a message asking if he could stop by. "Please, come in."

"Good evening." He could feel his blood on his cheeks. He was blushing terribly. "I can't stay, sorry. I need to go to work. I just came to give you this." There was a small bag on his hand and he handed to Oishi.

"What's it?"

"An obento for your lunch tomorrow. It's enough for Harada-san as well, if you want to share with her."

"Oh, Eiji-kun, thank you so much. You really shouldn't worry."

"I…" even thought he was embarrassed, the dark blue eyes looked straight at him. "I promised I would prepare delicious meals for you, so I'm just putting in practice since I'm your boyfriend now."

"Is that so?" he asked kindly.

"I hope you like it. I'm only working on Fridays to Sundays now, since summer vacations ended, so I won't be able to see you on those days, but… I hope we can arrange something."

"How about Monday night? Are you free after class? Would you like to come by? We could have dinner together."

His heart jumped a beat with the invitation.

"I'm free!" he answered excitedly. "I can definitely come!"

"Good." The green eyes were gentle.

"I need to go now." He came close and placed a kiss on Shuichirou's cheek, surprising him. "See… see you later!"

"See you. Have a nice shift." He said, before he went down the hallway.

Oishi took a deep breath and there was a small smile on his face. How could someone be so adorable?

################

"Wow!" Haruka appeared on the park near the hospital and sat across from Shuichirou's table under a big tree. He had invited her to have lunch together. She sat down across from him. "This is beautiful! Is it an special occasion? This obento must have been expensive!"

There were thick pieces of grilled salmon, green salad with cherry tomatoes, roasted potatoes with olive oil and oregano, shrimp tempura and seasoned rice.

"Eiji-kun left it for me yesterday." He said, with a small smile, before offering her a pair of hashi.

"Isn't it nice? You guys weren't talking lately, right?"
Shuichirou took a while to answer her. He knew it would be a surprise what he was about to say.

"Actually, I need to tell you something. We're dating."

Her whole face froze.

"What?"

"Eiji-kun and I are dating." He repeated gently.

"What do you mean?! When did that happened?! Did you break up with Tezuka to be with him?!"

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you before." He took a deep breath. "Tezuka and I broke up for a couple of months already. I found out he was the reason Eiji-kun moved out. He said terrible things to him and we had a fight. We spent some days apart and he confessed he had cheated on me."

"Shuichirou…" Haruka felt incredibly sorry for him. Her hand covered his gently. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I told Takumi and asked him to not say anything to you." He smiled sadly. "I was afraid you would say "I told you so."

"I would never do that." She said seriously. "I was always rooting for your happiness. You're my best friend, I never wanted to see you hurt. I'm so sorry."

"Thank you." he said gently.

"So… how it happened? Between Eiji-kun and you?"

"He confessed out of the blue and gave me time to answer him. First I rejected him and he was so heartbroken, he didn't talk to me for two whole months. On the day of the festival, he asked for us to date again and I gave in."

"You accepted to date him out of pity?" she removed her hand and looked at him worried.

"Of course not. I really care about Eiji-kun."

"Are you in love with him?"

"No, but…"

"Dating someone is more than caring, Shuichirou. What are you expecting? That you're going to fall in love with him on the way? How is that going to work?"

"Some people start relationships like that, right? Even arranged marriages and they find love between them later on. I just… didn't want to make him suffer. I know how painful it is to fall in love with someone that doesn't see you with the same eyes. I like Eiji-kun and I really miss him in my life." The green eyes looked extremely sincere. "I want to fall in love with him."

"I see."

"Are you against it, Haruka?"

"I just… don't think it's something you can just decide to do. I don't want you on a complicated relationship again and I also don't want Eiji-kun to be hurt. I really like him."

"I will not hurt him, I promise. I'm going to take things slow and have a proper talk to him."

"Okay, then." She showed him a small smile.

###########

Shuichirou looked worried at Eiji. They were having dinner at his place. Kikumaru waited for him to be home and went there after college. They made dinner together and Oishi tried to talk to him about his day, but he was extremely uncomfortable and avoiding to look at him directly. His shoulders were tense and he was eating quietly and slowly and it was like his mind was far away.

"Eiji-kun?"

"Ye...yes?!" he responded nervously.

"Is everything all right? You seem troubled."

"Not… not at all!" he smiled, trying to disguise it.

"Please, tell me what's wrong. I know you already."

"Well… it's just…" he averted his eyes again.

"Yes?"

"It's our first meal as a couple." He finally looked at him and he was blushing terribly. "I'm worried if I should've taken you out to somewhere nice."

"Ah, he's so cute." Oishi thought to himself, before smiling at him.

"Do not worry, Eiji-kun. Just being here with you, eating the food we made together, is already good enough."

"Really?" the blue eyes were apprehensive.

"Yes."

He finally showed him a sincere smile and Shuichirou was relieved.

###########

"All set for your lunch tomorrow." Eiji said, gently putting the lid on the obento before placing it in the fridge. "Did you like the food today?"

"Yes, it was delicious. But you don't have to worry on doing it every day. You have your own things to do, right? Aren't you tired after a day of college and working on the weekend? Don't you have to study as well?"

"You don't want me to come?" he was worried again.

"I'm not saying that." He caressed his hair. "I just don't want you overdoing it."

"How can we see each other, then?"

"How about we see each other Tuesdays and Thursdays? Those are good days, right? We can cook together on those days as well."

"It sounds good." He seemed very happy.

Oishi looked at his watch.

"Do you have to go home already? It's almost 8:30."

"No, I can stay a little bit more." He blushed again.

"Let's watch some tv together." He went to the sofa and sat down, smiling at Eiji to do the same. But Kikumaru sat all over the other side. Shuichirou stood up and sat by his side, making him blush even more.

"Eiji-kun, why are you so nervous around me?"

"I… I just don't know how to act. It really hit me this morning that we were actually going out. I am incredibly happy, but I never dated anyone before, so… I'm worry to do or say anything that might be impropriate. I don't want you to regret it." His words were rushed.

Shuichirou stood up and sat on the other side of the sofa again and Eiji looked at him confused. He patted the fabric with a smile.

"Lay here on my lap."

"Eh?!"

"Come. It's okay. I'm going to be hurt if you don't do it."

It took Kikumaru a whole eternity to obey. His whole body was tense when he laid down and rested his head on Oishi's thigh.

"See? Not so bad." His voice was so sweet. His fingers touched Eiji's fluffy hair, like he was petting a kitten. "You know, Eiji-kun, it's still me. You don't have to be so nervous."

"Of course I do. I want to do everything right. I promise I would be a perfect boyfriend." He turned around and finally looked straight at him, with no embarrassment. "I know you don't love me yet, Oishi-san."

Shuichirou was surprise, but, before he could say anything, Eiji turned around again and closed his eyes, enjoying the caress on his red hair.

"Don't feel guilty about it, its okay. I will wait until your heart is ready to accept me. You can take your time."

"Eiji-kun…" he was so touched by his words.

"I will give you reasons to fall in love with me."

Oishi was sure that Eiji had an incredible talent to soothe his heart. He was also amazed by his capacity of being so mature in the most right and crucial moments.

It didn't take long for Kikumaru to fall asleep on his lap. He was indeed very tired. Shuichirou continued to gently pet his hair. There was a small smile on his face and the green eyes were filled with care while observing Eiji's cute and relaxed expression.