Connection

Sometimes you need to look past what's on the outside to really see someone.

Chapter Four

Real

Going two weeks without seeing each other was a task on its own, and Kawaki was so thankful he'd given B his number. If nothing else, they could at least call or text each other and they did just that at some point everyday, some days several times a day. They were comfortable, more so than Kawaki could ever imagine himself being comfortable with anyone and by the time they finally had their fifth date, he'd been itching to see him. It was just dinner at Iwabe's place, which Kawaki hadn't been so sure about.

After not seeing B for so long, he would much rather have him alone, but it couldn't be helped. It was one of their shortest dates yet and Kawaki wanted more, he wanted to get these dates over with and he told Iwabe as much. It wasn't okay with him to be so lacking. Shit, it had been over two months since he'd last had a piece of ass and B wasn't making it any easier on him.

Every day it got harder and harder, but no matter how difficult it became, Kawaki wouldn't try and fuck anyone else. He could have, easily, but he didn't want to. He wanted B and right now he was dedicated to him completely. Nobody else mattered, he was too focused on that petite, soft spoken guy who drove him insane. Soon. Soon he would have him.

Their next date was on a Friday morning, a wine tasting that would last several hours. They had both become accustomed to the blindfolds and got around much easier, but they were both concerned about tasting such a wide variety of wines. They didn't need to be getting drunk in their current states. Horny was one thing. But drunk and horny. Shit.

It happened though. Two hours into the tasting, B was more giggly and clingy than he ever had been, enough so that Kawaki had to take him away from everyone else—not that he gave a damn about the others. Outside, Kawaki held onto B's shoulders, listening to him giggle about nothing.

"You okay? I can call Iwabe for a ride." Kawaki asked thoughtfully.

"What's an Iwabe?" B questioned, but shook it off. "I'm fiiiiine. Totally fine. Oh, I might be drunk though . . . K, I'm a lightweight. Did I tell you I was a lightweight? I'm pretty sure I did."

"No, baby, you didn't tell me." Kawaki smiled and moved his fingers through B's hair. "It was too much, too fast."

"Shit, I didn't tell you?" B frowned and wrapped his arms around Kawaki's waist. "I'm sorryyyy."

"That's okay." Kawaki rubbed his back reassuringly. "I don't mind at all."

B grinned. "Good, that's gooood. Say, why is it so dark?"

"Oh no." Kawaki breathed, moving his hands to B's head to make sure the blindfold was in place. "You can't take this off."

"Mm, no? But why?" He whined.

"Because you're not allowed to see me." He explained softly.

B pouted and tugged at Kawaki's shirt. "I don't like that . . . but okayyy."

"Good boy." Kawaki smiled and ruffled B's hair. "I should get you out of here. I'll call Iwabe."

"Oh, I'm not that drunk. Not off of wine." B insisted. "I've been drunked . . . um, drunkered . . . ah, drunkerer before."

"Yeah?" Kawaki hoped not, but didn't say anything as he pulled out his cellphone and called Iwabe. "Hey,"

"Hi." B replied happily.

Kawaki laughed lightly and hugged B to him. "Come pick us up. Hurry." He told Iwabe before hanging up and sliding his phone back in his pocket.

"I don't think I can pick you up, K." B mumbled. "Much less me and you."

"No, baby. Don't try that." Kawaki said. "Let's sit here together." He told him, sitting down on the ground and pulling B down with him, settling him in his lap.

"Sitting. We're just gonna sit?" He asked. "That's booooring."

"Aw, come on. How often do we get to be like this?" Kawaki asked with a smile.

B thought about it and then snuggled up to him. "I like it."

"See? It's not boring." Kawaki mused, his thumb stroking B's hand softly.

It captured his attention and soon he took Kawaki's hand in both of his. "It's larger than mine! By so much!" He exclaimed and lined up one hand with the one he held, comparing them.

"Yeah. I'm a lot bigger than you. Haven't you noticed?" Kawaki asked, wondering why the hell he was so happy.

"Oh?" B voiced and then went about feeling Kawaki's chest. "Oh. Oh my."

"You forgot?" Kawaki laughed. "Feel all you want, baby."

He gladly took him up on that and starting moving his hands around. He marveled at Kawaki's shoulders and his arms, going on about how strong he was. It was all fun and games until his hands traveled south.

Suddenly B had a hold on Kawaki's crotch and started giggling. "I got your dick!"

"Shit, what the fuck?" Kawaki gasped, grabbing B's wrists and pulling his hands up.

"Heyyy. I was touching that." He complained.

"Yeah, I noticed." Kawaki grumbled. "You can't."

B frowned again. "No? How come? I wanna."

"Well for one reason we're sitting outside of a wine tasting and there could be anyone watching us. Also, you're not about to get me worked the fuck up and me not be able to do anything about it."

"Oh . . . well that's no fun."

"You're right. But it can't be helped. I can't believe you did that to me." Kawaki sighed.

"You don't like that?" He asked. "I'm sorryyy."

"I do like it. That's the problem."

That confused him. "If you like it, it's not a problem. No problemo."

"Yeah it is, if I can't fuck you." Kawaki muttered.

"Whoa." B gasped. "Damn . . . I like that better. Let's do that."

"Yo." Iwabe called as he walked up and Kawaki sighed in relief.

"Iwabe." Thank goodness.

B turned his head. "Iwabe? Hmm . . . so that's an Iwabe . . . I can't see him."

"No, you're blindfolded." Kawaki explained as he got to his feet, pulling B up with him.

"Oh yeeeah. When can I take it off again?" He asked, clinging to Kawaki's arm.

"Whenever we go our separate ways."

"Separate? Noooooo." He protested. "What's with that shit? I don't wanna."

"Not right this second." Kawaki told him reassuringly. "But you can't take it off until then." He reached out and laid his free hand on Iwabe's shoulder, leading B along.

He still didn't like the sound of that. "I promise I won't take it off so you'll stay, right?"

"I'm not going anywhere." Kawaki assured. "Let's just get away from here. Are you hungry?"

"Mmm, yes."

"Iwabe, take us somewhere we can eat privately." Kawaki said.

"Alright, no problem." Iwabe nodded, grinning wickedly to himself.

B came along happily, satisfied now that Kawaki wasn't leaving and refusing to let go of his arm. "I'm ready to eat." He giggled.

"I know, we're going." Kawaki promised just as they arrived at Iwabe's car and got in the backseat together.

After everyone was buckled in, B made sure to be as close as possible to Kawaki, resting his head on his upper arm. He had one hand linked with his while the other ran up and down his thigh. Kawaki could only shake his head and will himself not to react. B was drunk and Kawaki had never experienced it before, it was a lot more trying than sober B.

"Stop." Kawaki whispered to him chidingly when he kept rubbing his thigh more and more sexually.

B puffed out his cheeks. "Fine." He said shortly and started rubbing his chest instead.

He was so undeniably cute that Kawaki couldn't stand it. They couldn't have made it to Iwabe's place fast enough. Iwabe explained that he would make them lunch so they would be safe from the public. Kawaki could tell his friend was enjoying this a hell of a lot, but he didn't call him out on it. While Iwabe started making food, Kawaki took B into the living room and sat on the couch with him. Yet again, B cuddled up to him and had to have some part of him to rub on. Kawaki let him have at it.

"Your friend will be upset he wasn't around to chaperone you. Won't he?"

"I don't care about that." He told him. "I have you. I don't need Shikadai's ass."

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Shikadai said as he entered the room, making B flinch.

"Fuck, he found us!" B whisper yelled.

"Seems so." Kawaki nodded slowly. "Life's hard when you can't see shit."

He agreed with that. "Right! We should take these off."

"Whoa, Whoa!" Kawaki scoffed, moving his hands to B's head again and holding the blindfold in place. "You can't."

"Alright, how wasted are you Bor-B?" Shikadai corrected, thrown off by the familiar setting of a drunk friend.

Kawaki's face scrunched in curiosity at what Shikadai almost said. B's actual name. Bor- he wondered what it was and wanted to ask.

"Why are you calling me barbie?" B grumbled. "I'm not that drunk so piss off."

"What is wrong with you, how many times do I have to tell you to pace yourself?" Shikadai scolded. "You got drunk off of wine? Really? Usually you're better with that at least."

"I wanted to taste it! And we were having a good time until you showed up, bastard. Go awayyyy."

Shikadai took a deep breath. "I should ban you from drinking period."

B gasped. "Noooooo! You can't do that. K, tell him he can't. I'm not even drunk!"

"Yeah, you can't do that." Kawaki agreed aloud but he was shaking his head at Shikadai.

"Yeah! What K says goes! So there." B said, turning up his nose.

"Alright, calm down killer." Kawaki sighed, wrapping his arm around B.

He settled down almost instantly and snuggled back up to his side. Shikadai rolled his eyes, but he was smirking. "I'll just let you handle all of that then."

"Fuck." Kawaki whispered, knowing he was shit out of luck now.

"I thought you said we couldn't?" B asked and Shikadai took his leave.

"We can't. That's the truth."

His hope was crushed. "Aw."

"I'm sorry." Kawaki smiled and gently brushed both his hands through B's hair. "I really want to."

"Me too." He hummed. "Feels nice."

"Yeah?" Kawaki smiled again, continuing to play with his hair.

It was relaxing and he didn't end up responding until a few moments later. "Mmmm. Sleepy."

"You want to sleep? Go ahead. You can get up when the food is ready."

"M'kay."

In less than a minute, B was sleeping soundly snuggled up to Kawaki and Kawaki rubbed his back soothingly. He was thoughtful, because for the life of him—no matter how much he thought over his time with B—he couldn't understand how he'd ended up in this position.

Drunk B was even cuter than his sober self and it was hard to handle. Normally, Kawaki would hate the clinginess and the closeness period, but he loved it when it came to B. He honestly never wanted it to end.

…

Boruto hadn't planned to get drunk, but hell, he got drunk. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if he didn't know, but he knew everything. He remembered every embarrassing thing that had happened and hadn't really sobered up until after he ate. He was mortified and locked himself in the bathroom until K talked him out of there. He didn't want to face him even though he couldn't see him, but K called him in that gentle tone and it wasn't possible to resist.

However on the way back to his flat, he gave Shikadai a hard time over almost letting his name slip. His friend wasn't one for making mistakes, but he wasn't perfect and Boruto made damn sure he knew it. None of that saved him from hearing the rant about getting drunk, but it still made him feel better. The following two weeks consisted of Boruto working his ass off, ending up busier than he usually was. An indecisive couple in particular was stressing him out with whiplash with how frequently they changed their minds.

The added frustration built and he was struck once again with that fact that he really, really needed to get laid. Masturbating just wasn't as good, but he wouldn't go out and search for a quick fuck. He was a one man at a time guy and K was that man. He was ready to unwind though and the next date couldn't come soon enough. The seventh date was set at the park, a picnic that had a few hitches in the beginning. Boruto hadn't been on one in years and even then it was with family, but Shikadai and Iwabe were doing it all wrong.

The spot was great and the set up was as well. The food on the other hand, that shit had to go. Once he knew what was going on, he refused to leave his flat unless they threw away the food and let Boruto fill it with things he made. So maybe there was nothing wrong with the food per say, but Boruto wasn't about to go on a picnic with K and have him eat something he didn't make. That wasn't how picnic dates worked. The small ordeal ended up making him late and he apologized when he arrived.

K had been waiting patiently and didn't seem upset in the slightest. Still, Boruto thought he deserved an explanation and told him what had happened. K laughed, but was more than happy to eat what Boruto had made. For some reason he was nervous as K took that first bite, even more so because he still couldn't see shit. All he could do was wait. Instead of responding, K had proceeded to stuff his face and paused to thank Boruto in the middle of it all. It made Boruto smile and he couldn't stop.

They ate and talked about work, Boruto ranting about the difficult couple. K had a busy two weeks himself and told him about some new hires he was training. The conversation relieved some stress and later moved on to the usual flirting. K was in top form and had Boruto blushing more than normal. Finally Boruto had to tap out, the teasing way too much for him and K relented after sneaking one last comment in. The day grew colder and they ended up huddled together, silently enjoying the others company.

It was a good idea to have the picnic before it got too cold, but Boruto loved using the excuse to cuddle with K. He gave into his urges more after his drunk episode, learning that K didn't have a problem with it. The simple and easy going day made Boruto's longing to see K's face stronger. It wasn't just for the sake of curiosity or wanting to know if he was hot, he just longed to see him. He wanted a name and a face to give the man he was growing so close to, closer than any man before him.

He wanted to run his fingers through his hair, trace the lines of his face, look at him. He was at the point that no matter what his physical features were he would find them beautiful because they were his. Sure he wanted sex, but he wanted to be intimate. He wanted to know all of K and the realization shocked him. It was a reminder and a slap in the face, Boruto was a shallow person and Shikadai had been right. He had been only interested in looks and thinking that he could have missed out on K made him ashamed. However, it wasn't like that anymore. Boruto refused to be like that anymore.

The picnic date ended with K buying Boruto the milkshake he owed him, making Boruto laugh. In all honesty he had forgotten all about it. He decided to share it with K and then the pair reluctantly went their separate ways. It got harder and harder to let go every time. Date eight was really relaxed, the two of them did arts and crafts in Shikdai's living room. Again Boruto was a little put out over doing something creative, but it was with K so it was more than worth it. They planned to give each other their creations when they were finished and Boruto knew he would keep this one as well.

In truth, while he preferred to stay away from all things artistic because he sucked at it, he loved art. He loved all kinds of artistic expressions even if it came in the form of a piece of furniture. For years he collected bits and pieces of it that really blew him away, they were his secret treasures that only a few knew about. He had told K that he collected things once, but K didn't know the depth of it. Boruto had a single room where he put his treasures, not wanting to leave them out in the open in his flat. Even Shikadai hadn't been allowed to go inside it. The room was off limits to all.

Hanging on the wall in that room was K's painting, standing tall. Boruto hadn't been lying when he said he liked it and he didn't hesitate to add it to his collection. This time though, K's creation was going in the room simply because he had made it for Boruto.

"Would you rather confess to a crime you didn't commit and serve five years, or condemn someone for life for something you knew they didn't do?" Boruto asked, continuing the game they chose to play while they worked.

"I'd rather confess and do the time myself." K told him, knowing he could never pin anything on anyone else.

"A man of honor." Boruto grinned.

"Would you rather eat nothing but sweets for a week or skip one meal a day for a week?" K asked to keep the game going.

Boruto bit his lip, torn. "That's a hard one . . . eating sweets would be hard, but I could work off the calories . . . and skipping a meal . . . I like to eat, so that would suck." He thought out loud. "But I don't like sweets other than dairy . . . um, I think I'd rather skip a meal and just make my other two bigger."

"That sounds like cheating, but okay." K chuckled.

"It's not cheating." Boruto insisted. "Okay, my turn. Would you rather be stuck in a pit of bugs for one hour or stuck in a pit of snakes for four hours?"

"Damn that is a tough one. I don't think I can make a decision. I don't want to be around any bugs—no snakes either."

"Same here, but you have to pick one." He pressed. "Personally I would go with the snakes. I don't do bugs. Period. Ew."

"I think to save some time, I would go with the bugs. Otherwise it would be the snakes for sure." K laughed. "Would you rather see me for five minutes or have an extra ten blind dates with me?"

Now that was a hard one. "Shit, I want both of those though!"

"Only one." K smiled.

"Noooo. Fuck." How could he choose? "Just because I see you for five minutes doesn't mean we won't have more dates . . . but if I pick an extra ten dates that doesn't mean I won't get to see you at all . . . hmmm . . . I'd rather have the ten."

"I would have made the same choice." K admitted softly before kissing Boruto's cheek.

Boruto blushed and found inspiration for his next question. "Would you rather kiss me on the cheek as many times as you want or only get to kiss me on the lips once?"

"I want to kiss you like crazy. One kiss on the lips would never be enough. So I'll take the cheek kisses and whatever other ones I want to take too."

Boruto giggled in delight at his answer. "Okay, how about this. Would you rather turn your head to the left or to the right? Don't tell me, just do it."

K grinned and turned his head slightly to the left. Boruto waited a few seconds to make sure he turned and then leaned forward, kissing him on the cheek.

"W—Hey. Only I can do that." K huffed, the back of his neck heating up.

"Too late, I already did it." Boruto laughed and sat back down.

"You did." K hummed. "Don't get sneaky like that again."

"I make no promises."

"Good."

Boruto wasn't expecting that. "Wah!" He exclaimed and laughed loudly. "You're not supposed to say that! Tease!" He got out before he snorted.

"Never that." K said while laughing with him.

They continued to joke around and talk as they finished their arts and craft projects, Shikadai's table ending up covered in glue and glitter. Once they exchanged creations and cleaned up everything except the table, they said their goodbyes. It was longer than usual and neither one wanted to go. Knowing they would see each other on the next date wasn't as reassuring as it used to be because they wanted more time together. The pair finally parted, K pulling Boruto into a hug with a whispered promise to call him later that night. The more and more dates that passed, the more they realized it wasn't enough. Date twenty was too far away.