A/N: Italics represent people's thoughts, usually Daisuke's.

-o-o-o-

Aoi.
Chapter 4: Overdose

Daisuke sighed as he contemplated Dark's sleeping form. He'd waken up all of a sudden, feeling uncomfortable only to find himself trapped in an awkward embrace by the purple-haired teen. He couldn't help but feel a little nervous about such discovery, since, after thinking and dreaming and waking up to ponder on his situation, he'd come to the conclusion that he was starting to develop romantic feelings for the boy. To someone like himself, so open-minded and free of spirit, it shouldn't be much of a problem nor a surprise, but still... knowing he might be falling in love with a boy somehow upset him. He cursed then the influence of Gravitation in his life as he tried to forget the images that suggested embarrassing situations between Dark and himself.

And speaking about Dark, the boy was now stirring to wake up, nuzzling his nose unintentionally in Daisuke's neck as he took in his scent. Daisuke smiled unconsciously as he heard the weird, humming noises coming from the boy's throat. Then came a yawn and a purring sound and Dark was awake. "Ohayou... Dai-chan."

Daisuke blushed as he stuttered his reply, "O- ohayou... Dark-k-kun..."

Probably because of the deep red tint on his friend's cheeks, Dark finally realised what his strange behaviour was all about. He had his arms wrapped around the boy's body, his face almost completely buried in the crook of his neck... they looked like a couple! "Go-gomen ne, Dai-chan..." Dark said in a very low tone of voice as he slowly pulled himself away from the boy. "I had been sleeping, so I didn't notice..." he couldn't say anything else. He suddenly felt as if he had an army of drunken, hyperactive butterflies fluttering about in his stomach. Luckily for him, Daisuke interrupted him, telling him that it didn't matter and that it wasn't all that terrible. Of course, after those words, the boys looked at each other and then tore their gazes away, trying to find something in their minds that would distract them from their weird feelings and the images of lovey-dovey birds chirping as they danced. Yes, they were hopelessly (falling) in love with each other.

Daisuke looked outside the cave and took in a few gulps of fresh air. It had stopped raining, so they could return to their tent. And they should do it soon, since everyone had probably packed their things to leave and they were the only ones missing. He winced; that could only mean trouble. Saehara would have a field-day with the innuendo and Krad... he didn't even want to start thinking about Krad. He just hoped Satoshi wouldn't want to tease him as well... that could be disastrous.

"I think we should get going..." Dark said as if reading the boy's mind. He smiled a bit nervously and, remembering last night events, he held out his hand for Daisuke to take. The redhead squeaked, making Dark blush crimson and put the offered hand in his pocket as he snickered, wishing for the earth to open and swallow him whole.

They walked together in utter silence to their tent. As they had both imagined, everyone had already packed and were now having lunch. They had slept for more than eight hours, it seemed, considering the scene before them and the late hours of night in which they'd finally fallen asleep. Krad was the first to talk, as usual. He smirked and told them, "is it just me or spring has already started wreaking havoc?" Both boys blushed and avoided looking at the other since then, what Satoshi found most suspicious. He shrugged after pondering on the possibilities for a while; it wasn't that he cared, after all...

-o-

The ride back to the Azumano district was long and tedious. Dark and Daisuke had tried in several occasions to speak to the other, but all of their attempts had been futile; each time they opened their mouths to say something, they would end up sighing and looking away or saying some stupid line to either Krad or Satoshi. It was rather pathetic, actually, and Krad couldn't agree more. In fact, the blond teen was starting to get a little bored of teasing them.

Two hours before the end of trip, Krad had started thinking about the unusual behaviour of both his friends. The whole thing seemed too weird to lack a logical explanation and so, he was resolute to find it. And as he considered the time and space of the situation, the situation itself and the many mood swings of the boys, he came to a conclusion. Of course, how could I have been so blind? Smirking, satisfied with himself, Krad went back to his conversation with Dark. Though it wasn't really a conversation, but something more like Dark speaking and Krad pretending to listen while he dwelled on his friend's situation in his mind.

Satoshi was playing cards with Daisuke in the seat behind Krad and Dark's. The redhead had told him pretty much everything that had happened, which wasn't much, really, carefully avoiding any mention of his feelings and/or ideas on the happenings. Not that Satoshi needed them, anyway. Just like Krad, Satoshi knew -or thought he knew- exactly what his friend was going through and what he felt towards Dark. He didn't dare asking, however, because he didn't want to pressure Daisuke into confessing. He trusted the boy and he knew he was trusted as well, so he thought better to wait. And besides, it'd be better for him to have some time to think about this whole problem.

He may refer to himself as an open-minded, carefree person, but that's just a facade, Satoshi thought to himself as he played his cards. Daisuke knows very little, if anything at all, about this matters and I'm sure he's scared as hell. He's avoiding him, after all, that has to mean something, right? Yeah... I think he's finally realising how hard these things can be. Yet, no one ever said love would be easy...

The bus came to a halt in front of the school building. It was five in the afternoon and the institute was mostly empty, except for the parents that had been waiting for their sons and daughters to arrive. Among the multitude, Emiko Niwa stood waving next to an uncomfortable-looking Kosuke. Daisuke waved back at his mother and made a sign for her to wait; he wanted to say goodbye to his friends before he went home.

He walked next to Satoshi to where Dark and Krad were. With each step he took, he felt his throat drying up and his hands start sweating. What is this thing I'm feeling? Why the sudden change? This never happened to me before! He was thinking desperately to himself, searching for answers he knew he wasn't going to get as he approached his friends. The blond boy gave him a quick, rough hug -a manly hug, he liked to call it- and pushed him, rather inappropriately, in his companion's direction. Daisuke crashed face-first into Dark, his cheek smashing into the boy's chest as he held onto his hips to avoid falling. By this point, Dark was nearing hysteria and his cheeks had tinted red; Krad had left with Satoshi, leaving the two boys relatively alone. Daisuke pulled himself away from Dark and looked away, swallowing saliva as he looked for the right words to say. He thought he should just act normally, as he did when Dark went to his home or when they walked together to school, but even though that had only happened a weekend ago, he couldn't remember how he'd done it.

Dark was having a hard time as well, trying not to run away in panic. He was confused and unsure of his feelings or what his feelings were, to begin with, and he was struggling to control himself. Krad had left him and Daisuke alone and he was cursing the name of his so-called friend as he thought about the possibilities... No, bad thoughts! He shook his head violently, willing the uncalled images to vanish. Daisuke looked at him in a funny way, wondering what was wrong with him. Dark smiled and snickered and Daisuke giggled; they looked like two idiots... though they did make quite a lovely couple.

Daisuke bowed to Dark politely and wished him a good day. Dark did the same and promised to meet him up the next day, something they were accustomed to and didn't seem too hard to do or speak about. They parted ways, walking with uncertain step and shaking like leaves. Kosuke frowned at his son as Emiko giggled and told him he looked rather dishevelled; Daisuke himself couldn't agree more.

Classes the next day proved a hard task for both Daisuke and Dark to get through. Everyone in the classroom had commented or been told about the sudden and unexpected disappearance of the boys during the last night of the camping trip. Different ideas and opinions had been voiced aloud for the boys to hear, but mostly there were squeals and screams of 'kawaii' among the girls. The two boys wished themselves dead, then.

Daisuke had been avoiding Dark the whole morning and said boy had been doing pretty much the same. Neither were happy about the situation, but they didn't complain either, since being together or relatively close to the other was proving to be difficult. Satoshi, back in his usual spot next to Daisuke, had been constantly trying to get them to speak to each other, at least to look themselves in the eyes, but nothing worked. It looked like they actually wanted to ignore the other. What for, he had no idea, but it was truly odd. There came a moment during the course of the school day when Satoshi threw his arms in the air, defeated, and decided to stop intervening. If they want to ignore each other, fine by me, but they'll regret it. Soon.

And it was true; they would, eventually.

The third day after arriving home, the boys were starting to feel sad. Embarrassment didn't seem that much important now, which led them to mind about other things like anguish. Dark was, probably, the one that suffered the most. He had trusted Daisuke with everything he was, everything he had and now he couldn't stand being apart from him. But, judging by his feelings, being with him was just as painful, something he still couldn't fully understand. Daisuke wasn't doing any better, since he missed Dark too much. Satoshi was still his best friend, but Dark... he was different from anyone else he'd known. He had certain qualities that made him unique, from the way he walked to the way he talked; everything he did or said was different. Daisuke missed that exotic flavour the boy had added to his life.

Still, knowing how much they missed each other's company, neither was ready to make the first move. Not yet, at least, though the possibilities were still there for them to take.

-o-

The next Saturday, Krad stood with his cousin, Satoshi, in front of the Niwa household. They were both dressed to kill; Krad clad in leather -something quite unusual for him-, while Satoshi had put on a pair of dress pants and a tight, short-sleeved shirt to match. Daisuke had frowned at their looks as he opened the door and, once they'd explain, he'd gone back inside to change himself. "I honestly have no idea of how you convinced me of doing this," Satoshi drawled boringly. Krad smirked and turned to him, looking almost evil. "Trust me, you'll enjoy this," he said and Satoshi feared the worst. Or he expected it, at least.

Daisuke opened the door and went outside, wearing a tight pair of black jeans and a just-as-tight long-sleeved polo shirt. He looked stunning, Krad decided, and slapped himself for getting distracted over such little and unimportant matters. Satoshi shook his head, they're all insane, he thought. "So, let's go," Krad announced and everyone started walking. Step by step, little by little, all the while chatting and joking about anything that came to mind, the three boys reached their destination.

"Krad?"

"Yes, Daisuke-kun?"

"This..." the redhead had started stuttering. "This is..." He could not believe it. Krad had taken him to a...

"It's a bar, Daisuke-kun, a bar," he explained as if it were a five-year old he was talking to. Daisuke glared at him for being such a prat and he smiled. "Come on, I'm only joking... though not about the bar thing..."

"Krad," Daisuke insisted. "We're all underage, we're not allowed to drink."

"Oh, always the goodie-goodie one..." he shook his head, grimacing in a mocking way. Daisuke kept glaring at him as he tried to talk some sense into the older boy. "Daisuke, grow up, it's just a bar. We'll have some drinks and chat about things. It'll be a friendly, happy meeting and you won't regret it, trust me."

Daisuke doubted for a while. Somehow, trusting Krad was not one of the things he would consider for his priorities list. Still, knowing Satoshi was there as well helped his resolve collapse. "You knew about this?" he asked his best friend. Satoshi nodded and shrugged, he wasn't too convinced about this thing either, but it wouldn't kill them to try it... Finally defeated, Daisuke shrugged his agreement. Krad squealed in delight -something most uncharacteristic for him to do- and pulled his two companions inside the dim-lit bar.

The blond teen led them to the furthest end of the room, where they found a round table with three chairs. Each took a seat around the unstable-looking table as they looked around the place, studying its architecture... or lack thereof. "So, what are you having?" Krad asked to the boys as he looked through a list of beverages.

"Whatever it is you're having," both boys answered in unison. Krad raised his eyebrows in surprise and then smirked; this would be much easier than he'd thought. Holding up his hand, he called for the waitress. The young-looking woman walked to them and flashed a wide grin at them. "May I help you?" she asked and Krad nodded.

"We'll all have sake," he declared. Both Satoshi and Daisuke's eyes widened as the waitress left to get their order.

"Are you insane?" Satoshi snapped.

"Do you want to kill us?" Daisuke asked, alarmed, already wanting to get out and far away from Krad. The blond just laughed and told them to calm down.

The bottle of sake arrived only minutes later. The waitress set out three glasses and poured a generous amount of the alcoholic liquid into them. Bowing politely, she left them to enjoy their drinks. Krad raised his glass, proposing a toast. "Come on, don't be shy..." he teased. Satoshi and Daisuke looked at each other before reluctantly picking up their glasses as well. All three glasses raised, Krad chanted "to love!" and gulped down the contents of his own. Satoshi and Daisuke followed, imitating the boy's actions. They knew they would regret having done so, and too right they had been.

Three hours and five bottles of sake later, Daisuke couldn't lift his head and Satoshi was more than a little dizzy. Krad, given his experience in pubs and bars, didn't look like he'd been drinking. In fact, he was perfectly normal and could move and talk without any kind of difficulty. Lucky me, he thought. "Hey, Daisuke-kun?"

"...huh...?"

Bright answer, little one... "Say, what is the whole thing with Dark? I mean, it's like you're trying to avoid him; it seems odd..." He hoped Daisuke understood what he'd ask.

"m'notta voiding -nyone..." the redhead spoke unintelligently. Krad cursed himself for letting him drink so much.

"Yeaah, you're..." Satoshi couldn't finish his sentence. He just started giggling maniacally and for no apparent reason. Krad was getting more and more irritated with each passing second. If only I could get drunk that easily... "Tha thin'is..." Satoshi carried on, half-slurring the words. "You looooooove Dakkun..." Krad's ears pricked up at that. Finally, the moment he'd been waiting for had arrived. He wanted to know, he wanted to find out...

"Is it true, Daisuke-kun?"

But Daisuke didn't answer, he just broke into a fit of giggles, followed by Satoshi who kept repeating 'you loooove Dakkun...' Krad sighed, this night had gone too far. Calling up the waitress once more, he paid for their drinks and stood up. He walked to where his cousin was and shook his shoulder. The blue-haired boy smiled up at him and stood up; Daisuke did the same, still under giggle-shock. He led the two staggering teens home, all the while thinking it had been almost pointless to bring them to the bar. He thought it'd been almost pointless because, at least, he'd managed to get some pictures of the drunken boys. Yeap, that was what he liked to call blackmail material.

Daisuke fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. "...akkun... daski..." he whispered as he fell asleep. Krad stopped dead in his tracks. With a bright, wide grin he congratulated himself. It seemed... the best was yet to come.

-o-o-o-

Well, this is it, chapter four's done. It's a little bit shorter than the last two, but... it's hard to write something decent when you have such a strong Writer's Block like mine... Ah well... Oh, yeah, this chapter's title is a song by Pierrot, one band I truly like. And I'm in love with Kirito, too. Just a quickie note: the 'daski' thing is the drunk version of the word 'daisuki' which means 'I love you'. I think. I'm pretty sure, at least... Well, I hope you liked this and if you did, I expect your reviews . Until the next chapter, ja ne!!

Hang on... I almost forgot: I'm going to build a DNAngel shounen-ai fic archive. If any you would like to contribute and/or suggest fic titles to include, please tell me in your reviews or via mail at killerlullabyculthero.de. Rules: to suggest fics of your own, send me your alias, the title of those fics and the address where I can find them. If they're not uploaded anywhere, send them to me. To suggest a fic, tell me the title of it, the writer's alias and the address where it's hosted AND, if possible, the writer's e-mail address. Please, help me here!!!

Now, it's review-response time:

darksaphire: here it is!!! I really hope you like it... I wasn't sure about this one, but... ah,well, less is nothing, ne?

Luine: here is the fourth chapter, I'm not doing that bad with the updates, ne?

baka-chibi-puffs: I AM updating now, why won't anyone have a little faith in me????

Inferno13: I'm glad it did, hope you'll continue liking this!!!

KageKitsune16: I did get over it, see? Chapter FOUR... why didn't anyone but darksaphire reviewed when I posted last chapter?? I'm sad... I'm going to cry... no, not really, but please do review this chapter, kay? Ja ne!!