Author's Notes: Well, it's a few days after Christmas, but here's the next chapter! If you're interested in seeing my Christmas fanart, check out the link to my fanart gallery in my profile.

Hope you all enjoy!

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Chapter 4: Do You See What I See?

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Jakotsu looked down at his attire one more time before bringing himself to knock on the apartment door.

"What do you where to things like this anyways?"

There was a soft voice from within, and immediately Jakotsu knew he'd caught Suikotsu on a good day.

"Come on in."

"Suikotsu? You busy?"

"I'm in here reading."

Jakotsu weaved his way around the furniture and headed towards the voice hailing from the bedroom. There, seated in the recliner in the corner, was the brown-haired man flipping through the pages of a medical dictionary.

"Um, since when is a dictionary reading?"

"Since I have an exam tomorrow over terms."

"Ah, well if you're busy…"

Suikotsu folded over the page corner and sat the thick book down, "I could use a break, don't worry about it. Anything you want to talk about?"

"Well…" Jakotsu walked over and plopped down on the bed, "It's sorta complicated."

"It wouldn't perhaps have something to do with all the door-slamming downstairs this morning, would it?"

"That would be part of it…"

Figuring that Jakotsu and Bankotsu had just simply gotten into a fight over some trivial matter, the older man shrugged. "It couldn't have been that bad. What happened anyways?"

Taking a deep breath, the black-haired man decided to get right to the point.

"I kissed him."

Suikotsu laughed, "No really, what happened?"

Flopping back on the pillows further, and trying his best not to look as miserable as he felt about the situation, Jakotsu reiterated, "Just what I said… I kissed Bankotsu."

Suikotsu blinked then let that sink in, "Now that could be a problem."

Sighing, Jakotsu nodded. He was beginning to get bitter about the whole thing, desperately wishing that Bankotsu would take the words he didn't mean as the truth.

"It was just mistletoe. Can't he take anything as a joke?"

Suikotsu stood, walking over to look out the window as he spoke.

"But…that might be the problem, Jakotsu."

"What?"

"He might not be taking it as a joke, what if he took it seriously?"

Jakotsu paused a moment as he thought that over. Then, baffled by it, he posed a question, "Who takes a kiss under mistletoe from their best friend seriously?"

The older man paused and thought that over, a look a mild shock registering as he hit upon something.

"Someone who might be harboring a crush on that friend would."

The two sat in silence as Suikotsu's words hung thickly in the air. The brown-haired man gave a brief glance towards the lower apartment in which he was certain Bankotsu was very confused at the moment.

"Okay, perhaps you should start explaining at the beginning. I'm going to try and get the whole picture before I start making anymore conclusions."

"I…I think I like him…" Jakotsu blurted out, his hands flying up to cover his mouth the instant the words left his mouth.

Observing his behavior, and taking it into account, Suikotsu sighed and rubbed the back of his head. It was probably the first, and last time, he would ever be dealing with Jakotsu confused about his feelings for another man. Jakotsu was usually, so…forward.

"And here I thought my finals were tough…" Suikotsu muttered his thoughts aloud.

Grabbing up a pillow and burying his head underneath it, Jakotsu's muffled voice filtered through.

"This is all so confusing…"

"Actually, I think it's a bit simpler than you're giving it credit for. The main issue would be confirming Bankotsu's feelings one way or the other."

And as if on cue, the phone rang interrupting the discussion.

Walking over and picking up the receiver, Suikotsu's eyes widened as he realized just who it was on the other end.

"Hello? Bankotsu?"

Jakotsu sat up immediately at the name and stared at the man on the phone.

"Well… I'm working on studying at the moment," He made a quick motion to make sure Jakotsu remained silent before continuing, "What's wrong?"

Suikotsu's expression turned from slightly surprised to thoughtful as he nodded.

"All right, once I'm done with this segment of reviewing I'll call you and have you come up and talk to me. Now, can I ask you one thing- are you sure that's what you feel? Okay, then I'll see what information I can pull before you get here. Try not to get down about it, it's not bad or unhealthy in anyway. It's a perfectly natural facet of the human nature. Just stay calm and think if there's anything else that's possibly been a precursor to this. All right, bye."

Hanging up the phone, Suikotsu found that his current guest was sitting on the bed frozen in anticipation of what the other half of the phone conversation was.

"So…?"

Suikotsu gave a warm-hearted smile and returned to his seat.

"I can't reveal all his secrets, but let's just say… you're not the only one dealing with some strange feelings right now."

Jakotsu paused, opening his mouth then closing it as he found he wasn't sure what to say.

"You mean…he…he…"

"He's very confused, but let's work on getting your feelings sorted out. Once we get your emotional state analyzed then we can look at the rest of the picture."

Nodding mutely, Jakotsu's mind was racing as he tried to put everything into perspective.

"Then…then there's a chance if…if we can both just stop being so confused. Is that what you're saying, Suikotsu?"

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Bankotsu sat down the phone and sighed, his eyes subconsciously drifting towards the direction of Jakotsu's apartment.

"I think…the more I think…the more I wonder why I never...never noticed it before now…"

Running his fingers through his bangs, he tried to figure out what to do until Suikotsu was able to talk to him.

"I…I wonder if Renkotsu's busy?" He mused aloud.

Then, deciding that lying there any longer would drive him insane; he got up and straightened his clothes.

"I guess it's worth a try."

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Renkotsu's apartment was silent, just the state he preferred it in, as he pushed his reading glasses up on his nose and continued sorting through the paperwork on his desktop.

The afternoon was peaceful with Ginkotsu currently at work, and for once, there was no noise coming from Jakotsu's room at all.By all appearances, it seemed he would finally get some nice peace and quiet. That was, until the unexpected knock on the door.

His pencil halting where it was on the page, Renkotsu paused as if he was surely mishearing things.

"There is something strange going on," The bald man thought to himself standing to answer the door, "First the unusual ruckus downstairs this morning, then someone visiting Suikotsu when I didn't notice Kikyou's car outside is also a bit…" He opened the door, his eyes catching sight of Bankotsu practically hiding around the corner, "…odd."

"I assume this isn't a prank since you haven't ran away yet."

"Um…no. I just…needed to talk to you about something," The black-haired man replied.

Raising his eyebrow, Renkotsu stepped back to allow the younger man to enter.

"I take it Suikotsu's busy?"

Bankotsu gave a sheepish smile and nodded, "Am I that easy to read?"

"Like a children's book. Go on, sit down."

Walking over to the couch, the braided young man took a seat and began to fidget nervously. Sitting across from him in the armchair, Renkotsu cleared his throat.

"Well?"

"I um…have a friend that has a bit of a problem."

Figuring that it was merely a lame attempt to hide the fact it was his own problem, Renkotsu couldn't help but sigh in irritation.

"All right, so what's this friend's…problem?"

Taking a deep breath, Bankotsu tried to relay the situation in the best possible manner, "Well… let's say, as a joke, a friend kisses you, then you get mad at them. Not for joking around, but because they were joking. I mean, like- you wish it wasn't a joke even though it was and then…"

Rubbing at his temples as if the headaches of the future were already getting to him, Renkotsu bluntly cut in, "He kissed you, didn't he?"

Blush betraying his earlier attempt to hide his own identity, Bankotsu couldn't help but demand clarification. This demand coming in the rather eloquent form of, "What?"

And Renkotsu figuring it would save him more headaches, cut right to the point, "Jakotsu kissed you."

Bankotsu's face turned brighter red as he realized how transparent he must have been.

"I'll take that as a yes," The older man muttered before beginning to start in on sorting things out, "And to answer your question, since I assume that was the point of this visit, if you wish it wasn't a joke, then you must have some special feeling for this 'friend.'"

Swallowing hard at hearing his suspicions confirmed, Bankotsu stared blankly forward.

"That being said," Renkotsu continued, "If you move back in with him, I request that you two keep quiet in your little romantic…escapades. I don't want to know or hear what goes on in your bedroom."

"I was only asking bout kissing him not…not…that!"

"One thing tends to lead to another…"

The full impact of the situation sank in and the room fell silent for a moment.

"Why do I have to be like this…" Bankotsu's lament broke through the tense air that seemed prevalent in the apartment at the moment.

Shaking his head, Renkotsu adjusted his glasses and leveled a serious expression on his younger friend.

"By the same string of bad luck that dictated I would be your choice advisor for your budding… homosexual tendencies."

"Renkotsu!" The braided-man flailed as he practically fell from his seat, "Be quiet! He's just downstairs- what if he hears you?"

Rolling his eyes, he gave a half-hearted glance towards his floor which joined with Jakotsu's ceiling.

"If he heard us, then I'll not be getting any sleep tonight due to the racket that is certain to occur."

Dragging a hand down his face and hoping to hide his embarrassment, Bankotsu looked towards the door.

"Maybe I should have just waited and asked Suikotsu for advice…"

"He is the doctor around here."

"Yeah, but- you're really smart," The black-haired man reasoned, looking about at all the books and papers scattered about Renkotsu's apartment, "I just thought that…"

"I'm an accountant, not a psychiatrist. My only advice is one, accept your…urges. And two, be quiet when acting upon them."

Burying his face in his hands, Bankotsu muttered to himself.

"Why me…"

"I was just asking myself the same thing," Renkotsu countered.

Bankotsu frowned, and leveled his friend with a stern gaze, "Come on, this isn't easy for me. I mean, I'm just starting to realize that I…I…I…"

"That you like Jakotsu?" He prompted.

"I've always liked him…but now…it's…it's different."

Resigning himself to the position of Bankotsu's counselor for the moment, Renkotsu figured being a bit serious and friendly wouldn't hurt him.

"Have you told him this yet?"

He shook his head in the negative, "I'm just…well figuring it out myself."

"I'd talk to Suikotsu when you have the chance, but you can't avoid Jakotsu forever."

"I know but… what if he doesn't…"

Standing as if to signal that the conversation was ending, Renkotsu headed for the door.

"From my standpoint," He paused watching as Bankotsu stood to leave, "You two have both been skirting around the obvious for quite some time. I just didn't say anything because I like the quiet I get."

Stopping in the doorway, Bankotsu nodded and offered a slight smile.

"Sorry to have been so much trouble."

Renkotsu shrugged, "Eh, it wasn't that bad."

Smiling widening at that, Bankotsu leaned forward and hugged the taller man.

"Thank you, it…"

"Save it for Jakotsu," Renkotsu cut him off, slowly pushing the over emotional-man from him.

Taking a few steps back, the braided young man gave an apologetic smile.

"Sorry…I just…"

"I know, I know," Renkotsu turned to close the door behind him, shaking his head as his muttered to himself, "And he's just now realizing he's gay…"

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Preview for Chapter 5:

With their new advice in tow, what will Jakotsu and Bankotsu do now that they've figured a few things out.