The tension in the student council office could be cut with a knife, and Nokoru was getting sick of it fast. There was a short pause, when Nokoru stopped scratching on his paper with his pen and gazed between Akira and Suoh thoughtfully. Suoh opened his mouth to remind Nokoru to get back to work, but Nokoru cut him off before he could say anything.
"I don't know what's going on," he said, leaving Akira to wonder if he really didn't know or if he knew exactly what the matter was (as he typically seemed to.) "But I'm tired of you two being angry with each other."
"We're not angry," Suoh and Akira both exclaimed at once, and then traded an awkward glance.
Nokoru's expression seemed to read, oh please, as he stood up. "There's obviously something the matter," he said. "And furthermore, I cannot work when you two keep looking at each other when you think the other person isn't looking, and-" There seemed to be an implied "argh!" at the end of the statement that Nokoru was simply too graceful to say. He headed towards the door, and before Suoh could get up and protest his leaving, the door closed behind Nokoru. And clicked shut.
"Door on voice command," they heard Nokoru say from outside.
"Acknowledged," a little machine voice came from the door.
Suoh groaned and buried his face in his hands. Now the door would unlock only at Nokoru's command, meaning that the lock couldn't be picked to let them out.
"You're staying in there until you've worked whatever it is out," Nokoru informed them cheerfully from the other side of the door. "I'll check back in an hour."
"Rijichou, this will not get you out of the paperwork!" Suoh yelled through the door.
"I have my briefcase with me," Nokoru's voice floated back, as he clearly headed off somewhere. "I'll work on it."
Suoh and Akira stared at each other. "Um, I think he meant the bit about not letting us out until we worked it out," Akira mentioned hesitantly.
Suoh's head thudded against his desk. "Akira-"
"I'm sorry!" the dark-haired man exclaimed suddenly. "Don't be angry with me!"
Suoh looked at him, utterly befuddled. "Why would I be angry with you? I was worried that you were angry with me…" he winced slightly.
"Suoh…" Akira looked equally confused. "I'm not upset with you. I was just worried that you were upset with me – and – " his head suddenly thudded against the desk. "I guess we're both idiots then. I'm guessing you were thinking the same thing." He smiled hesitantly. "Well, now that we know that neither of us is angry with the other, can we stop acting so upset with each other? We're obviously upsetting Rijichou…"
"Rijichou wants everyone to get along, all of the time," Suoh sighed. "An admirable goal, but not always that realistic. Yes, and I'm sorry for making you think I was angry with you. I'm not angry at all."
Akira heaved a sigh of relief. "Why would I have been angry with you?"
Another wince came from Suoh. "Because I hurt you…" he half-mumbled, and looked up, guiltily. "Akira, I felt so bad…"
Akira nearly laughed. "Is that all? Suoh…I needed that. It was some of the best sex I've ever had…" Not entirely true, but he'd needed some sort of close contact, badly, and he felt a lot better now. It had been messy, it had been rough, but the emotions made up for the slight awkwardness.
Cue a predictable flush from Suoh. "Oh." A slight pause. "Um, well, why would I be angry with you?"
"Well…um…because you'd never, uh, done that before," now Akira was flushing too, set off partly because of the line of conversation and partly set off by the pink shade Suoh was turning.
"You were worried you took advantage of me?" Suoh queried. At Akira's slight nod, he shook his head. "No. I wasn't that drunk. I could have said no, but-" he shrugged. "There didn't seem to be a point in waiting any longer. I mean…it was starting to build to ridiculous levels of anticipation." He rubbed his temples. "I didn't need that."
Akira looked utterly relieved. "Let's just agree that we took advantage of each other and that neither of us needs to be angry or worried."
Suoh laughed slightly. "That sounds like a plan."
Akira bounced to his feet, and walked over to Suoh, hugging him around the shoulders. "I think if Rijichou found out I took someone's virginity and didn't even buy them dinner, he'd kill me," he said with just a hint of a twinkle in his eye. "So may I buy you dinner?"
Suoh hid a smile. "You bought me drinks – Akira, are you asking me out on a date?"
Akira blinked. "I…guess I am," he said, thoughtfully. "I miss playing footsie under the table and trying to pretend like nothing's going on, even though the waiter clearly knows better."
Suoh nearly choked. "Akira…" he said. And then firmly. "No footsie. I don't want to see that headline in the tabloids."
"Says the man that was kissing me in broad moonlight the other night," Akira teased. "So does that mean you'll go with me?"
Suoh nodded, slowly. "I'll go with you."
Akira beamed. "Good," he said simply. "…I wonder when Rijichou's coming back."
Suoh sighed. "Probably never, if he thought he could get away with it. I'll call his cell."
Luckily for Suoh's sanity, Nokoru actually picked up when he called, and after threatening Suoh vaguely about not fighting any more, he agreed to return to the office. To Suoh's surprise, when he returned he pulled several stacks of completed paperwork from his briefcase, proving that he actually had been working.
"I trust you worked that out," Nokoru said severely.
"Yes, Rijichou," they chorused, innocently.
"Good," Nokoru continued in the same severe tone of voice. "It made me sad."
Suoh tried not to snicker at this pouty statement. "Sorry, Rijichou," he said. "We'll behave-" There was a short pause. "But only if you do. Finish your paperwork!"
Nokoru sighed. "So cruel, Suoh. I'm just worried about my two closest friends…" He smiled sweetly. "But since you managed to make up, I suppose I can manage to do my work without being harassed for once."
Suoh's imagination conjured up the Hallelujah Chorus singing. "Thank goodness," he muttered, flopping down in his chair.
Akira snickered.
Akira picked him up the following Friday evening. Having been the one to suggest a date, he insisted on being the one to plan and execute it, which Suoh promptly decided was fine. He had no real reason to want to plan the date, so if Akira wanted to do it, he would relax for once in his life and let the other man take care of things. After all, Akira was the one whose competence he trusted above anyone else's when it came to Nokoru. He could certainly trust him to plan a simple date.
"So, what are we going to do?" Suoh asked after a moment, slightly nervous in spite of himself. If anyone had told him that he'd be in this position a week ago, he would have laughed.
"I thought we'd go to the park and have dinner," Akira said. "I brought a blanket and I made foods that are good for picnics…" His eyes shone. "I think I made some good things! I haven't done a picnic in ages, so I wasn't quite sure what to pack, but my moms suggested some really good foods for taking in a picnic basket."
"That sounds….really nice," Suoh confessed, after considering for a moment. Akira pulled his car into the parking lot and got out – and insisted on rushing around to open Suoh's door for him. Suoh looked amused, but allowed this treatment from Akira. Really, it was quite adorable, even if the part where he felt vaguely like he was being treated like a girl wasn't quite as nice.
He wrapped an arm around Akira's shoulders after Akira picked up the picnic basket and blankets. Akira shifted the things to his opposite hand and wrapped his now free arm around Suoh's waist, snuggling up to him. "Where are we going to walk to?" Suoh murmured.
"Unless you preferred otherwise, I was thinking the lake," Akira said, as they set off. Suoh nodded, quiet, in agreement. It wasn't an awkward silence at the moment, though. Suoh was just a quiet person, and Akira was happy to let them walk in silence, admiring the darkening night as they headed to the lakeside.
It was the work of a moment to spread the blanket and set the basket on top of it, just far enough from the lake that they were resting on grass instead of dirt. "It's lovely here this time of day," Suoh murmured, eyes scanning the park automatically. The back of his mind assessed possible dangers and escape route; his conscious mind was able to take the chance to admire the area. And without even thinking about it, he quoted, "Abide with me: fast falls the eventide; The darkness deepens, Lord, with me abide…"
"It is lovely," Akira agreed, watching Suoh scan the area, well aware of what he was doing without even thinking about it. "You're lovely," he blurted suddenly, and blushed. "What was the poem?"
Suoh looked surprised, which seemed to be turning into a normal reaction around Akira lately for him. "Akira…" he said slowly. And then, when he thought about it, what else could he say but, "Thank you. And it was 'Abide with Me' by Henry Lyte. One of many poems written about the evening hour."
Akira smiled slightly, a near-mysterious smile that Suoh wasn't used to seeing on his face. Though the ninja didn't realize it, it was the smile of the thief 20 Masks. "Come here," he said, patting the blanket next to him. Suoh sat down beside him and he took the man's shoulders, pulling him so that his head was in Akira's lap. "Here," he said softly, holding a morsel of something or other to Suoh's lips.
He couldn't quite tell in the moonlight, but he was pretty sure the other man was flushed again as he took the food from Akira's fingers, chewing. "Delicious," his voice came quietly from the darkness. "But I'd expect nothing else from you."
Akira grinned slightly, picking out another piece of food and eating it himself before feeding Suoh another. "I am the god of cooking, naturally," he joked, his free hand somehow finding its way into Suoh's hair.
"Did you…" Suoh started quietly. "If I may ask, did you ever do this for Utako?"
Akira started slightly at the question, "Yes, it's fine," he said without thinking, and then realized to his own surprise that it really was okay for Suoh to ask that. "I did similar things…I cooked meals for her all the time, of course. And we did picnics in my backyard a couple of times. Though I tried to feed her once and she insisted she could do it herself." He chuckled slightly, the memory funny though it also couldn't help being slightly painful.
"She'd be glad you're still able to smile about the things she did, you know," Suoh said softly.
"I know," Akira whispered around a slight tightening in his chest. "It still hurts despite that, though. I'm trying to be strong for her memory... I'm sure she'd come down from heaven and kick my ass if I sat around angsting about it or something."
Suoh chuckled slightly, the sound transferring through to Akira as a soft rumble from where Suoh rested on him. "I can just see it now. 'Ijyuin Akira, why are you sitting around in your underwear watching soap operas? Get off your butt and go find yourself someone nice to spend the rest of your life with!' Your wife was scary when she was angry…"
"This from the great Takamura clan head," Akira teased.
"Hey, hell hath no fury like that of a woman," Suoh said seriously. "But she was good at getting people to do what she wanted. Almost as good as Rijichou is."
Akira chuckled. "Well, I believe that's why the two of them were class presidents, and we were not," he pointed out, switching from the shredded and spiced chicken bits he'd been feeding Suoh and himself to apple slices, slipping one past Suoh's lips and then leaning down to kiss him when the telltale munching had ceased.
Suoh blushed and spluttered slightly, not having expected that. "Isn't kissing supposed to wait until the third date?" he covered.
"That's for people who haven't had drunken sex already, and anyway, I wanted to taste the apple," Akira replied, pretending to pout, and then smacking his lips in overexaggerated delight in the taste.
"Fair enough," Suoh agreed, and caught Akira's fingers in his lips the next time they presented an apple to him.
After dinner and dessert had finished, Suoh lay on his back, Akira resting on his chest and listening to his heart beat, the soft rise and fall of Suoh's chest lulling him into a state of drowsiness and contentment.
"The stars seem extra bright tonight," Suoh said, his chest rumbling with his voice. "Perhaps they glow brighter to see your beautiful face lit up."
"Cheesy, Suoh," Akira said, though he was clearly flattered.
"As long as it makes you feel good," Suoh said agreeably.
"You know…I think we both convinced ourselves that we were more drunk than we actually were the other night," Akira said softly. "Because…we both wanted it, but didn't want to admit that we did, or wanted an excuse for feeling that way…" he sighed. "So we convinced ourselves that we were trashed, and…"
Suoh snickered slightly, smoothing his hand over Akira's hair. "I think you might be right…but either way, it worked out well for us. I'm glad my subconscious gave me a bit of a kick."
"Mmm," Akira mumbled, nuzzling Suoh's chest.
Glancing down, Suoh realized that Akira was almost all the way asleep. "Sleep well, Kitten," he murmured, the nickname popping into his head unbidden.
"Kitten?" Akira asked sleepily.
Suoh nodded, combing fingers through his hair gently. "I think it suits you. Rest up."
Akira nodded and yawned, eyes fluttering the rest of the way shut as his breathing evened out.
Akira was, apparently a very heavy sleeper. He didn't wake when Suoh wrapped him up in a blanket and carried him back to his car. He wasn't awake when Suoh made a second trip to get the picnic basket and other things they'd left, packing them into the trunk, and he didn't wake when Suoh started the car and drove them back to his apartment. And he slept soundly when Suoh carried him up to the apartment and settled him down on the bed, pulling him into his arms once again.
