Together

Chapter Two

Paint

Thursday arrived and Kawaki was looking forward to meeting his support group, as he always was these days. So, the last one was a little on the trying side, but it still gave him an escape. One he knew he needed. It had taken a long time for him to acknowledge his faults and to truly want to control his rage. Having it court ordered was one thing, but actually wanting to change—it was very different for him.

Shikadai was good at what he did. He had a way of getting people to open up without overwhelming them. That was important and though it was unusual for the counselor to bring new people in their group, it's how they'd all ended up together. He knew how to group the right people together and they all understood the most important thing.

They needed each other.

Boruto needed them and they would of course welcome him into their circle. It could get dramatic. It could get scary and emotional. But they all cared. They knew what was best after each of them had been woken up and while they still struggled with their demons daily, they trudged through together.

It was the first time Kawaki had met a blind person and he wanted to know more about the blond and his story. He knew these things couldn't be rushed though and would be patient. Today they would all meet again and he couldn't wait to see how things went.

While he was walking down the street towards the building they always met at, his phone was going off back to back. Kawaki tried not to let it annoy him as he pulled the phone out of his pocket and saw several texts from Hōki.

'Bet you can't wait to see BoRuTo today.'

'If you play nice and smell good, you might have a chance!'

'We're going early so you can't try anything funny.'

A picture followed the last text, of Hōki and Inojin smiling into the camera while showing off a couple of smoothies. Kawaki rolled his eyes and scrolled down.

'Oh, Boruto brought snacks again today.'

'And I'm talking about him.'

'Aw you're gonna die when you see him! Better hurry!'

Kawaki returned his phone to his pocket after silencing it and continued on his way. Seemed like today wouldn't be easy on him either, but he hoped most of all that Boruto didn't feel uncomfortable. When Hōki went off, he really and truly didn't know what to say to him.

When he finally walked in, he found Boruto sipping a smoothie of his own and the other two huddled close to him. Inojin appeared excited in a subdued kind of way and Hōki was overly enthusiastic, gripping Boruto's free hand and linking their fingers together.

"You're the same size as us, Boruto!" He beamed and then started poking at Boruto's stomach. "Oh but, wow~" Hōki's dark blue eyes darted to Kawaki and mask or no mask, there was no hiding how smug the look he was giving was. "You're in really good shape, huh?"

"I run." The blond said shortly, having no idea why the little ones warmed up to him so quickly. Were they that easily won over by snacks? "Please stop poking me."

"Ooh, you run?" Hōki gasped. "I tried it once. Not for me unless I have to."

"Are you talking about a treadmill too or an actual track?" While Boruto wasn't determined to make friends or anything like that, he toned down his rudeness around the other two. They didn't seem like they could take being yelled at.

"Me? Oh, I mean in general." Hōki laughed until he snorted. "And… and I… I don't like people looking at me."

Boruto hummed and uncharacteristically took a chance at humor. "Well you don't have to worry, I won't be looking at anything." It had been a long time and he was rusty, but surely that was passable.

Hōki giggled and latched his arms around Boruto's middle, resting his head over his shoulder as he hugged him. "You're easy to be around… but I wouldn't mind you seeing me."

Inojin smiled widely, proud of his best friend. "High praise." He said quietly.

Boruto didn't know what he was expected to do with the information or handle being clung to. Himawari was one thing, but these little ones were something else. "Thanks." He eventually got out and was surprised he hadn't tensed up at the contact.

"He's like us, right?" Hōki asked Inojin as Kawaki finally started crossing the room to take a seat.

"I think so." Inojin nodded, but Boruto wasn't in agreement with that. He was older after all and not nearly as sweet and innocent.

"You're both really cute." Hōki sighed as if he couldn't have been happier.

"So are you." Inojin quickly added, not letting Hōki leave himself out.

Boruto didn't know what the hell was going on or why Kawaki was pretending this was normal. Maybe it was, but it wasn't anything he was used to. He figured it was best not to resist it or else tears might spill and silently sipped his smoothie.

"We get it, you're all cute as fuck, can we move on please?" Kawaki pulled the chair in front of him closer and then rested his feet in it and let his head fall back. He thought two cinnamon rolls was enough, he didn't know if he could handle three.

The blond was ready to move on just as much as Kawaki was, however he didn't have anything to talk about. Boruto pushed his sunglasses further up his face and wondered if the pause in conversation felt awkward to anyone else.

"Kawaki just said Boruto was cute as fuck." Hōki whispered to Inojin, a big grin wrinkling his mask. "The big softy is growing up."

Inojin giggled, whispering back, "Where does the time go?"

It was blatant the little ones shipped Boruto and Kawaki together, though he had no idea why. He had no ill feelings towards the other man, but he didn't see what the big appeal was. Perhaps because Boruto couldn't remember the last time he thought about romance and he wasn't looking for it in a support group. Feeding his sweet tooth and downing the rest of his smoothie, he detangled himself from Hōki to go to the bathroom.

After he prepared his cane he stood and asked for directions. "Is there one near here?"

Kawaki was torn for a moment, wanting to offer to lead Boruto there immediately but also not wanting him to think he was trying to assume he couldn't handle it himself. It didn't feel right though, knowing he was in an unfamiliar place and unable to see. If he wanted to act like a baby about it, that's just how it would be. Kawaki would be firm if he had to be.

Getting up from his seat, he walked over to Boruto and placed his hand at the small of his back. "I'll take you."

The blond didn't expect the help much less the touch. Still it wasn't like he could refuse, he had no idea how big the center was and didn't fancy getting lost. "Alright."

"This way," Kawaki urged him along and soon they were in the hallway, making their way down to the restrooms. "Still with the shades?"

"Always." Boruto said as he moved his cane along the floor. "Makes it more obvious, don't you think? Blind man with a cane and a pair of sunglasses . . . no questions asked." That wasn't really his reason, but it was a small part of it. Wearing shades prevented him from unknowingly staring at people and making them uncomfortable. Like this, he didn't have to worry about which way he was looking or feel self conscious about it.

"I guess I see your point. But you don't have to worry about that with the group." Kawaki wanted him to feel at ease, just like the others had helped him when he first came to them.

That was easier said than done. Boruto didn't know them like Kawaki did and he wasn't trying to get to know them, this was all a phase that he had to wait for Himawari to get over. They both went into the restroom and into different stalls to do their business. The blond ended up coming out first and propped his cane up against the wall as he washed his hands.

Kawaki wasn't far behind him, taking the sink next to him to do the same. He stared at Boruto through the mirror in front of him, trying to see through those shades to his eyes. It was impossible to fully judge him without seeing the entirety of his face and Kawaki was undoubtedly interested. It would have been so easy to reach over and pull them away, out of his reach even. But Kawaki wanted him to willingly remove them.

"What if it's just me?" He asked, deciding to go the nicest route to begin with. If it failed, he would take a different approach. Either way, he was going to see those eyes today.

"What do you mean?" Boruto asked, not following.

"It's just you and me here. Nobody to wonder if you can or can't see… I want you to take them off."

Boruto didn't know why the other man was so curious, turning off the water and turning his head towards him. "I don't think I will." He said for no other reason but to tease Kawaki.

"Why not?" Kawaki frowned, not sure what the blond's problem with it was. "It feels like you're hiding."

"I'm not." Boruto told him and then asked where the paper towels were.

"Take them off and I'll tell you." Kawaki bargained, cringing at how much of an ass he was being.

He was seriously bothered by his sunglasses and Boruto felt the urge to keep teasing him. "You know I'm not doing it simply because you asked me to."

Kawaki glared down at those black shades, fingers twitching. He wanted so badly to rip them right off of him. "Just take the damn things off already." It wasn't like he couldn't put them back on.

Boruto broke out into a smile. "Are you going to have an aneurysm if I don't?"

"...maybe." Kawaki wasn't so sure anymore. He just knew he needed to see.

Taking pity on the other man, the blond shook one of his hands before raising it to take off his sunglasses. "Surprise, I look like a normal human being."

He spoke so casually, so unemotionally and yet Kawaki was taken aback by the reveal of his eyes. They were a breathtaking shade of baby blue, bright and absolutely beautiful. They complimented his face so much, piecing the man together and making Kawaki realize one thing.

Hōki was right. He had a crush on Boruto.

The silence stretched on longer than it should have and Boruto wondered what was up, if his silence was a way to get back at Boruto for messing with him. "You good?"

Kawaki floundered at realizing he was just gaping at Boruto, completely lost in his eyes. "I… sorry. It's just…" He couldn't even talk right.

"Not what you expected?" Boruto supplied and slipped the shades back on. He understood, a lot of people lost their eye color when they went blind, but he was one of the lucky ones.

"No." Kawaki admitted, disappointed to have those eyes taken away from him. "So much more."

"Oh . . ." Boruto didn't really know what to say to that. Thank you? "Those paper towels. Mind helping me out now?"

Kawaki pulled a few and grabbed Boruto's hand before placing them in it and then turning his attention back to his face. "You have beautiful eyes, Boruto. I hope you'll show me again sometime." He wanted to be honest, so he was.

Now it was the blond's turn to be taken aback, not expecting the compliment. "Thanks." He said a bit timidly as he slowly dried his hands. His heart decided to kick it up a notch, beating faster in his chest.

"Yeah, whatever." Kawaki huffed, ears burning as his words played over in his own head. He was such an idiot.

After drying his own hands completely, he shifted on his feet, waiting for Boruto to finish and grab his cane. Once he had, Kawaki's hand found its way back to Boruto's back as he led him out of the bathroom and back into the hallway. The blond was thrown off balance by Kawaki's behavior and words. He couldn't figure him out.

By the time they returned to the meeting room, everyone else had arrived and were waiting on them. They sat in their circle and started off by chatting and telling about what they had done on Wednesday. Not much had happened and everybody seemed to be in great spirits. When the day's activity began and they all had to partner up, Kawaki knew he was going to snag Boruto.

"You're with me." He said without giving the blond any other option, wrapping his arm around his waist and pulling him over to one of the prepared tables.

Each one had its own poster-sized paper and every color of paint. No brushes though. All they had were their fingers and a chance to have fun. Kawaki smiled since activities like this really calmed him and he didn't realize he was still holding on to Boruto. The blond was rendered speechless by the sudden turn of events and all the touching was making it hard to focus. First the little ones and now Kawaki? Did he have some kind of magnetism he wasn't aware of? Boruto stood still as everyone got to work around him, not daring to move as the heat from Kawaki's body was making him question a lot of things. What the fuck.

"Ah, here," Kawaki pulled his arm back to take Boruto's left hand and raise it slightly, then went about rolling up the sleeve. "It's a nice shirt… I'll try not to get you too messy." He mused as he moved to Boruto's right hand to roll that sleeve up at well.

More touching? Kawaki certainly wasn't shy, was he? Boruto nodded his head and let him do as he pleased since he was so keen about it.

"There." He smiled once he finished and then ushered Boruto into the seat. He leaned over Boruto's back and took his hands, Moving the left over the paper, then the right to the paint. "We have all the basic colors here." He explained while moving the blond's hand over the area to familiarize him with it.

"Right." Someone was excited. And close. "Planning on making a masterpiece?"

"No, just a memory." Kawaki chuckled and released his partner to pull his chair a little closer and sit down as well. He still kept close enough to be Boruto's guide whenever he was needed. "But shit, if we're lucky… maybe it will be a masterpiece too."

"A memory . . ." Boruto repeated softly to himself, it was a nice sentiment. When was the last time he strived to make a good one? "I want to use pink."

"Alright, got ya." Kawaki hummed and grabbed one of the disposable bowls and moved it in front of Boruto. Then he brought over the red and the white paints. His hand laid over Boruto's right and moved it to the red paint. "Here's the red. Let's just get a bit." He scooped his fingers in with Boruto and together they moved a portion of the red paint to the empty bowl. "Now, here's the white."

They repeated the process with the white and then the two of them started mixing the two colors in tandem. It turned out that they'd added way more white than red, leaving the mixture a pale pink.

"How pink do you want it? It's like a baby pink now… should we add more red?"

Boruto was sure his face was red at this point, but Kawaki's effort to include him wasn't lost on him. "Darker. More of a hot pink." It was the only pink that mattered.

"Okay, more red." Kawaki nodded and moved their hands back to the red, adding plenty enough this time. As they mixed, that hot pink color became visible and he grinned. "This is perfect. You feel the paper, right? Start anywhere you want and then I'll join… I think I want green."

Boruto was a little lost without Kawaki guiding him anymore and wasn't sure what to do. He could feel the paper, but what was he supposed to paint? Why even bother when he couldn't see it? He stood still for a moment before lowering his hand. A memory, huh? He could do that. Instead of trying to make something in particular, the blonde let his fingers run free and ran paint in random directions.

Kawaki followed his strokes with the green on his own fingertips, carefully creating a tribal look that blended well together. "So much pink. You trying to convert me?" He teased.

"Oh, so you see the fault in your color choosing?" Boruto shot right back. He wondered if this counted as abstract.

"I wasn't complaining… just fucking with you." Kawaki said with a sigh and continued with adding the green.

Maybe Boruto's humor wasn't as passable as he thought. "Yeah . . . I got that."

"Is pink your favorite color?" He wondered as he purposely dragged his fingers over Boruto's hand.

Boruto moved away, thinking he caused the collision. "You could say that."

"I like blue." Kawaki announced.

But you chose green, Boruto wanted to say but didn't. "Blues a good color too."

"It's the best in my opinion. I love every blue, but nobody knows that. Except you now…" Kawaki hummed to himself, surprised he was doing all this talking.

And he was sharing all this with Boruto because? "Grey is a close second for me . . . nobody knows that." He joined in for the hell of it, it wouldn't do any harm.

"Grey?" Kawaki cocked a brow, not expecting that. "That's a unique choice… I like grey too, especially for shirts. I'm wearing a grey shirt now."

"That's quite the coincidence." Boruto mused as he reloaded, dipping his fingers in more hot pink paint. This day was . . . kind of bipolar so far. Or maybe he was the one being bipolar, he couldn't be sure, but it was catching him off guard. Why was he finger painting again? "How's it looking? Did I miss anything?"

"It's looking good just—" Kawaki grabbed his hand and pulled it over towards him, to the side of the paper Boruto had been avoiding, whether on purpose or not. "It's empty here."

"Look at them… totally in love." Hōki sighed to his best friend, Inojin joining him as he stared at the pair a few feet away. "I'm so jealous."

"It's really sweet." Inojin agreed.

The little ones were at it again and Boruto pretended he couldn't hear them. He focused on getting the area he had missed while trying to stay out of Kawaki's bubble, but it wasn't an easy task.

"Yeah, that's better." Kawaki praised and then looked over at the paint. "You want to make grey and add it in?"

"Now Kawaki is offering to make another of his favorite colors." Hōki groaned. "Get a room."

"We're in a room." Inojin pointed out.

Boruto wished they would stay over there and keep their attention on finger painting. "Why not? Let's go for it."

"I meant like a bedroom. Ugh makes me more jealous." Hōki sulked.

Kawaki grabbed another empty bowl and then took some paper towels to dry the paint on their hands so it wouldn't affect the grey. He once again took Boruto's hand and guided him through getting the black and the white and blending. He was having a lot more fun than he expected.

"Little more white." Kawaki mumbled, bringing it over with his free hand and then helping Boruto finish mixing. "Just a little lighter than my shirt… closer to my eyes I think."

The touching . . . Boruto needed to tell him to knock it off. "Your eyes?" He questioned instead, unable to let the details slip. "You have grey eyes?"

"Yeah. Sometimes they show some blue, but most of the time just plain old grey." He answered with a smile.

"Hmm." It sounded pretty cool. Boruto had never met anyone with grey eyes before, if only he could see it.

"It's ready, you can add grey wherever you want." Kawaki told him, watching him closely with his own fingers covered in grey paint.

The blond could feel himself starting to get irritated and it continued to grow as he added lines of grey in random places. He wouldn't see Kawaki's eyes and he wouldn't see this stupid painting either. What made him go along with this, how did he get dragged into some group activity? It wasn't like him at all, none of it was. He wanted to leave. His cane was back over where the circle of chairs was set up, but he hated using that wretched thing. Boruto stood and felt around the table before walking off in what he hoped was the direction of the door.

Kawaki frowned as he watched, trying to figure out what had happened—what he said that was wrong. He'd thought he was being nice and helpful and thought that Boruto was enjoying the activity even if he couldn't see it. He didn't understand, but he wanted to, so he got up to follow him.

"Boruto?" He called quietly as he reached his side.

Boruto was feeling along the wall, not giving a shit about getting paint everywhere. "I'm going outside."

"Okay, let me help you." Kawaki said, reaching for his free hand.

The blonde pulled back when he felt the other man's fingers and set his jaw. "No." He was going to do it himself, he was going to walk out of here on his own like a normal person. Blindness be damned.

Kawaki had to remind himself not to get angry. Boruto couldn't see and he could only imagine how frustrating it must have been. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to upset you."

"Yeah, well I'm upset!" He yelled, searching more frantically. "Where is the fucking door?!" Not two seconds later his hand brushed against it and he pushed it open, taking a left into the hallway. He didn't get very far before his foot caught on something and he tripped. "Damn it!"

Regardless of his attitude, Kawaki was quick to help steady him. He knew a thing or two about being angry at the world. "Calm down, okay? I'm sorry. It's okay."

No, it's not. And it wasn't going to be. "Just . . . just take me outside." Boruto wasn't familiar with the place yet, he couldn't do it on his own no matter how much he wanted to.

"Alright." Kawaki sighed, taking his hand this time without Boruto snatching it away. Quietly, he led the blond outside, hoping the fresh air would help calm him.

Boruto waited until they were further away from the door before he let go of Kawaki's hand and sat down, not caring if he was in the middle of the walkway or not. He closed his eyes and took off his sunglasses before setting them on the concert by his side. He was mad, he was frustrated and wanted to throw something, but deep down there was sadness behind his anger. He should have been used to it by now . . . but it didn't get any easier . . . he didn't have anything other than this darkness.

Kawaki took a seat beside Boruto on the ground, thankful they weren't in the way of anything or anyone. He sighed again, knowing Boruto's frustrations were justified. How would he feel if he couldn't see anything? If he was being honest, he didn't think he could live in total darkness.

"I have this…" He said as he pulled his stress ball out of his pocket. It was a new one he'd just bought the day before, just in case the old one did have a squeak. He hesitantly placed it in Boruto's hand. "It's new and… doesn't squeak. I don't think it does anyway… maybe it will help? It works for me most of the time…"

"A stress ball." If it had been any other situation, Boruto would have snorted. He gave the ball a squeeze for the hell of it and was surprised to find that it was practically silent aside from a faint whooshing sound. Not nearly as annoying, it was definitely an improvement.

A relieved smile covered Kawaki's face as Boruto started working the stress ball. "Is it okay?" He didn't hear anything, but that didn't mean Boruto didn't.

The blond nodded. He continued to take out his anger on the small ball and thought that the fact it was reeling in his temper was extremely odd. Of course that's what it was made for, but he never thought something like this would work on him. He came to a stop when he processed what Kawaki had said.

"New, huh . . ." Boruto trailed and opened his eyes to look down at the object in his hand. "I got paint all over it, didn't I?"

"A little." Kawaki chuckled. "Memories."

Boruto's lips pulled up into a small smile. "You're ridiculous."

"I like making good memories. They're rare gems. Don't you think?"

Yeah . . . he could see that. "I think you're weird." Boruto told him. "But I kind of like it."

"Good. Because I think you're cute. And I definitely like it."

The blond blushed and turned his head so the other man couldn't see it. "Nonsense."

"What? No it's not. I mean it." Kawaki laughed.

Boruto didn't comment and held his hand out over Kawaki's lap to give him back his stress ball. "Here."

"Keep it." Kawaki said, pushing his hand back gently. "It helps… and I still have the squeaker."

"Don't even think about it." Boruto warned, turning to narrow his eyes at him with heated cheeks.

"Don't worry, I won't use it around you. I'll just buy another new one."

"Thank you." He said and started rolling the ball around in his hand. He let out a deep breath through his nose and angled his head towards the sky, listening to the birds flying over them. "Guess we're in for the same thing." In case it wasn't obvious by now.

"Because we're both pissed off?" Kawaki asked, not bothering to hide his amusement.

"You got it. Welcome to anger management." He chuckled. "Bet the others didn't see that one coming." He certainly put on a nice little show back there.

"Oh… our meetings aren't always just easy and fun. We all have our own issues and we all have bad days. Anything can set anyone off. At least you didn't hurt anybody."

Boruto couldn't imagine that to be honest, but then again he was just beginning to get to know them. It was only his second meeting with the group. "You don't really need your fists to hurt someone . . . ask my sister." He said without knowing why he suddenly decided to share that piece of information.

"You have a sister? Sounds nice…" Kawaki smiled, glad to know Boruto had somebody close to him. "And I know… but I didn't used to give a damn. Sometimes I still don't care, if I'm having a bad enough day."

The blond understood what that was like. "Most of the time it's just a thought that sets me off, not being able to do something so simple and getting mad about it." It was never a person that pissed him off. It was always himself because he was so fucking useless. "The worst part is after the rage passes . . . and you realize just how much of an asshole you really are."

"It took me a long time to come to that realization. I just didn't care, you know? I didn't care if I hurt anyone else because I was hurting. Everybody was an enemy. I hated myself too." Kawaki confessed. "Metal talks about his feelings like you explained. When he lost his leg, it took his wrestling from him and a lot of other stuff. He tries to stay peppy, but sometimes even we can't cheer him up."

Maybe Boruto had more in common with them than he thought. "Kawaki . . . be honest with me. Does this support thing work? Is it worth it?" He needed to know. If he was going to even consider giving this group a shot, he had to make sure he wasn't offering false hope to himself and to Himawari.

"It really does." Kawaki hummed truthfully. "When I first started, it was only because I had to. It was this or jail. I don't really like jail, so it seemed like the best thing for me to do. I was so fucking mad all the time. I lashed out over everything for no reason and even here when everybody just wanted to help me, I was still so angry. I took it out on them a lot, but they were patient and kind and understanding. They made me want to change and be a better person. So here I am, still coming faithfully even though I was freed six months ago."

Boruto listened thoughtfully and wondered what would have happened if he tried something like this sooner. Maybe it would have helped, but it didn't matter since he was here now. Hearing Kawaki's story made him curious about everyone else's and he was admittingly feeling a lot better than earlier.

"Impressive." That was some control Kawaki had gained considering he didn't so much as raise his voice when Boruto had flipped out on him. "Sorry I yelled at you before . . . you didn't do anything wrong, I was just . . . I wanted to see your eyes." He said and looked in Kawaki's direction with a sad smile. "I feel like I'm missing out."

Kawaki's heart skipped a beat but whether it was Boruto's confession or being able to look directly into his clear blue eyes, he wasn't sure. Still, it flustered him and he cleared his throat, glad the blond couldn't see him at least at this moment. "You don't need to apologize. I understand, really… but they're nothing special so don't feel like that. Just boring grey eyes. Nothing like yours."

"You think so?" Boruto asked quietly, smile widening. He still would have liked to see, grey didn't sound boring at all, but it was sweet of Kawaki to compliment him again. A little embarrassing too.

"I know so." Kawaki hummed and leaned closer to nudge the blond with his elbow. Even if some people considered his eyes to look nice, they dulled in comparison to Boruto's. At least in his opinion.

The blond nudged him back, not about to let him get away with it. "Thanks."

"No, thank you… for showing me again."

He said that as if it was something special. "It's not a big deal." Boruto shrugged, rolling the stress ball in his hand again. "You can see them whenever you want." Wait, what the hell was he saying? He didn't mean that like it sounded . . . however it sounded.

"Really?" Kawaki beamed at that, grinning wide. It made him ridiculously happy. "You don't say that to everyone, do you?" He teased.

Boruto didn't say that to anyone. "No . . . it's a weird thing to say when you think about it."

"Maybe if you said it to someone else. But not me." Kawaki would be glad to keep them to himself because he was just greedy like that.

"That's because you're weird." Boruto reminded, fighting off another smile as he put his sunglasses back on.

"Hey, are you taking it back?" Kawaki huffed, rolling his eyes with a smile. "Whatever. If we don't get back inside soon, Shikadai will come after us. Are you okay to go back?"

Boruto nodded before standing up, taking a few seconds to dust his pants off. "Lead me back in?"

Kawaki joined him, taking his free hand without a second thought. "I can only imagine the shit Hōki will go on about when we get in there." He mused as they walked inside.

He had already gone on about quite a lot, but the blond wasn't going to repeat it. "Who knows. He's got too much energy and a big imagination to match." An adult kid indeed, but endearing he supposed.

"Well, that's because Hōki isn't comfortable with many people and he's really comfortable here. He's actually pretty self conscious and easily offended. I know, you would never think. Right?"

It was certainly unexpected. Boruto got the impression he was more confident and outspoken, but he had behaved differently when they first met. "Right . . . I guess I'm lucky he took to me so quickly."

"I think it's because you're like him and Inojin." Kawaki said with a smirk, though he'd never taken the same interest in them that he had Boruto.

"What does that even mean?"

"You're all cinnamon rolls."

Boruto wasn't any less confused. "I'm not following . . . or noticing any similarities." He was older and way more mature, no offense to them.

"Well… you're all short. And cute. And now I know you all have blue eyes too. Crazy right?"

"I'm not short." He quickly protested. Though it was odd they all had the same eye color, and Boruto wasn't going to address the cute comment.

"You're short as fuck." Kawaki snorted as they made their way down the hallway hand in hand.

"I'm average." Boruto stressed and figured the other man had to be taller than he was if he was talking smack. "What about you? Are you a giant or what?"

"Giant?" Kawaki laughed. "No. I'm the average one. You're short."

The blond stopped in his tracks. Kawaki had some nerve, but he was going to see for himself. He put the ball in his pocket and then reached forwards, hand coming into contact with Kawaki's chest. Oh . . . . . he told himself not to get distracted by the hard muscle and trailed upwards. His fingers went over his shoulder to the bottom of his neck, but he had to raise up on his toes to reach higher. His paint covered digits ghosted over Kawaki's cheek and almost to the top of his head as he combed through what felt like an undercut.

Interesting. "Like I said, you're a giant." Boruto stated and pulled his hand back, mouth suddenly dry.

"Just over six feet. Average." Kawaki chuckled and then took his hand again to start walking.

"Is not." Boruto grumbled.

Kawaki decided not to argue about it since they finally made it to the room. When they went in, everybody was still sitting at their tables with their partners. It wasn't surprising that everyone's attention turned to then either they came back in—and just as they expected, Hōki went off. Kawaki was glad Boruto was in a much better mood and he even helped Kawaki finish their panting which Kawaki asked if he could keep and Boruto agreed. He had no way of knowing that Kawaki had plans for it.