thingies:

-warning : terribly fluffy fic, coz i feel like it. not my fault if you sprout cute bunny ears and start bouncing about in a field of flowers n butterflies. or die from the shoujo manga-ness of it.

-It doesn't feel right inflicting too much sap on Inukai, so my victims for today are the gp. forgive me if it's OOC. XP.

-thanks to all the nice pple who commented on my previous fic! hee hee hee.

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When he wasn't feeling his usual self, Eiji liked running up the hill, up to that huge storage container that had been there forever. Then, he would just sit there until the stars twinkled in the sea of darkness and his keitai buzzed urgently, always his mother asking worriedly if he would be home soon.

Recently, he had been visiting what he called his "un-genki" spot quite often. He'd noticed it himself, but he didn't really know why.

For the sixteenth time that month, the fifth day that week, Eiji deftly climbed up to the container, removed his earphones, and watched the evening city pass beneath him.

He absently scratched another marking against the paint of the steel, running fingers against the few ridges that he had carved, each one representing a visit to the un-genki spot ever since he started Seishun Gakuen.

He remembered most of them, because not many things daunted Eiji's lively spirit, and those that did left an impression. He remembered the first one, where the family pet had died, and there was another, where his grandmother had been in hospital. There weren't many, and he could easily see sudden increase in visits during the past...

"I knew I would find you here."

Eiji turned, surprised to see Oishi looking up at him from the road. Surprised faded into a irritation, which felt vaguely strange to Eiji, because he never got irritated with Oishi before.

"Ne, go away! This is Eiji's private moping spot!!" He stuck out his tongue at his friend. Of all the places, of all the times, Oishi had to appear now. He didn't know why, but he just didn't feel like seeing the boy right now. Not especially since he had been trying his best to avoid Oishi during the past week. As strange as it sounded, seeing Oishi made those unfamiliar feelings come back.

Of course, Oishi ignored him. Throwing his bag over before him, the vice- captain hoisted himself off the ground and up next to the other boy in one swift motion.

Eiji turned away from the clanging noise made by Oishi and felt a pout coming. He didn't want Oishi here now; it made him feel even more like he needed to mope. Then, he felt the warmth of Oishi's body as the latter settled next to him, head peering down into his line of vision.

"Ne, Eiji, what's wrong?" came the question. Eiji's eyes widened a little against the jade pupils of his friend, green depths that were filled with concern and worry that were so typical of his doubles partner.

He felt something in his stomach flutter, before he looked away. There was something wrong; he just couldn't pinpoint what it was exactly, and why it was there. A sense of helplessness tugged at him. While it was too difficult to say anything, he couldn't pull the cloth over Oishi's eyes and deny the fact that there was something on his mind. Oishi could read him too well.

"It's nothing much really ... just that lately, I've started feeling... a little odd. " Eiji tried to collect his thoughts. "I mean, school's fine, everything's going great, I'm still failing math but hey, that's normal! " He smiled at Oishi who grinned a little. "But. I don't really know when nya, I suddenly felt..." he rocked back and forth, struggling for the right word before settling with something that made him cringe. "...sad?"

He looked up at Oishi, face open with honest confusion and written with questions, as if his friend would have the answer to them. This strange new emotion had encroached upon his mind in such gradualness that it when he finally realized, he was too confused to do anything. During class that day, while watching the colours in the outside world fade dully into each other, he could only react in hapless surprise as he felt a tear make it way down his cheeks.

He didn't know the whys and the hows, only that it was happening and it was invading his mind with a million foreign emotions. What he couldn't comprehend further was that in the company of others, it was so easy to slip back into his usual and friendly self, to feel like the normal happy boy he was, as if those lonely feelings never were.

But the next time he was by himself, he couldn't hum happily to himself, nor think back on the day's events with a smile on his face. Walking home after another burger session with Momo and Ochibi, the streets would seem terribly dreary, the walls unfriendly, and all he wanted to do was to find his un-genki spot, sit there till the open sky turned from dusty pink to velvet black and talk to the stars.

What was worse was that these feeling were amplified every time Oishi was near. He wondered why, because when he was near Oishi, he always felt happy, and at the same time, it was as if he was the loneliest person in the world. And Oishi, did Oishi sense it as well?

He finally realized that the other boy was looking right at him. Eiji gave a mental squeak, Oishi must think he weird, spacing out like that!!!

"Ah, I'm sorry Oishi! I'm..."

"I think. I know how Eiji feels." came the soft reply from the Oishi.

Something was different about Oishi, and Eiji watched transfixed, as his doubles partner crept closer to him. He remained motionless when Oishi lifted his hand to run a finger gingerly across Eiji's cheeks. As if bound within a spell, he let Oishi's finger trace past his ears, playing with his hair a little before sweeping gently across his jaw, and finally, along his lips.

"And i think..."

He felt Oishi's hand gently tilt his head, bringing him closer and closer...

"I know how to make Eiji feel better..."

Merely inches apart, he heard Oishi whisper, "... suki. "

The kiss, was the simplest of kisses, of soft lips lending a mere ghost of a touch upon the other, and yet, all Eiji could do was to sit there, feeling like invisible talons were forcibly clutching his lungs, severely incapacitating his ability to breathe.

For a moment silence wrapped around them like cloaks, stopping time in the tiny little world where the two boys locked eyes with each other.

And then, Eiji smiled the widest smile and Oishi relaxed. With lightning speed, Eiji leaned forward, placing a kiss on Oishi's lips, one that was a reply and firm promise at the same time.

It seemed strange, how natural it was to accept the affection Oishi had shown him, even if it meant that their friendship would be taken to a higher level, into something deeper than what they had now. To his surprise, he realised it was what he wanted all along. He decided that he was really quite dumb sometimes.

"Nya Oishi, you DID make me feel much better." he grinned up at the other boy. Now that he knew, all the feelings in the past month seemed insignificant.

"You're smiling again."

"What?" Eiji furrowed his eyebrows cutely in a confused look.

Oishi made it sound like he hadn't been himself for the past month. He was certain he didn't go weepy on anyone nor did he look terribly out of sorts during the past month. In fact, he was sure no one knew there was anything wrong, because Eiji himself hadn't known what was wrong in the first place for his emotions to have shown fully.

"What I mean is that, your smile stays with you now, Eiji. A week ago, when you laughed with the others, your smile doesn't linger as long as it usually does. It disappears the moment you turn away... did you think that I wouldn't notice?"

Eiji blinked in wonder.

"According to my calculations, your smile last for a shorter period of 1.5 seconds, which would lead to the conclusion that something is amiss" Oishi pushed up imaginary glasses, a perfect imitation of their data player, causing Eiji to break into fits of giggles.

"Inui would say that!"

Oishi smiled back, lowering his head such that his eyes met Eiji's.

" I don't need Inui's data, Eiji. Because everything I need to know about you, I can see with my own two eyes." Oishi paused.

"I want Eiji to be happy, always."

Eiji chewed on his lips, knowing that he was blushing and felt rather thankful that it was too dark for Oishi to notice. "Nyaa, this is embarrassing Oishi! I'm really hungry now! You up for some ramen? Quickly, before the store closes!" He hopped off from where he was perching, impatiently urging Oishi to come down.

"Eek! I forgot something!" Eiji yelled frantically just before they left. He climbed up again, searching for the groove he had made earlier that evening. Grabbing a stone, he ran it against the steel once more.

When he left, there was one long groove against the steel container that stood out against the others; the first happy marking in his un-genki spot of unhappy markings.

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kirihara akaya sez: ooh. what a grooovy ending.

me sez: shut up.