Five awoke to Nine standing over him, wearing a silly grin. As his one-eyed vision focused, he recoiled with a yelp.
"N-Nine!" He said, muffled as he covered his face with his duvet. Nine beamed, although slightly sheepishly. "Get up." He ordered, "We're going to get ice-cream."
It took Five a few minutes to realise what he was saying. He flushed slightly. "You...don't have to take me. It was a joke." He assured, nervously. Nine shook his head adamantly. "Nope, we're going. C'mon, let's make it a date."
"...A...date?"
Nine suddenly realised why Five looked so horrified for a moment. He waved his hands worriedly. "No, no n-not like that! Unless you want it to be, but I don't know...I don't mind, I just..." He began rambling awkwardly, and Five, despite still reeling from his words, found it rather endearing.
"It's...okay." He assured, swinging his legs over the edge of his bed and standing up, showing off his toned figure. He was quite lean, with fair skin and he had quite an impressive set of muscles, probably due to his archery. Nine found his archery skills incredibly impressive, but was personally useless at the sport, despite Five's offerings to teach him.
Nine went slightly pink and purposely averted his gaze, as if he had stumbled upon a girl getting dressed and although Five found it sweet, he was also slightly offended. Most likely because deep down, he wanted Nine to look at him. He wanted the attention, despite his generally shy demeanour.
Nonetheless, he got dressed quickly, fixed his eyepatch and pulled on his shoes.
"You ready?"
Five nodded with a smile. "Definitely. Where are we going?" He asked, as Nine herded him out the door, locking it behind them. "I found a good place in town. It's easily within walking distance." He smiled, stepping out into the sunshine.
As they walked towards the ice cream parlour, Five found himself staring at Nine. His face seemed to glow in the sun, his lips turned up in a cheerful smile. When Nine smiled, ninety percent of the time, Five smiled as well.
For the longest time, Five had always had good feelings towards Nine. Whether they were romantic or platonic, he absolutely adored the younger man. He wasn't quite sure why, but there was something about him. He was extraordinarily normal, and so would Five be if he wasn't missing an eye. Nine was possibly the most generic person he had ever might, despite his slight hero complex.
But for some strange reason, he found himself drawn to him.
"Why are you staring at me?"
Five looked vacant for a moment, before crying out in alarm. "Wait, no, I wasn't! I just!" He yelped, and Nine snickered. "Calm down, Five. You were just zoning out right?" Five paused, before nodding furiously. Of course that was it. Nine blatantly knew Five was staring at him, and Five knew that, embarrassingly enough.
He sighed, before almost walking straight into Nine, who had stopped suddenly.
"Oh, we're here." He mumbled, looking up at the small parlour, wedged comfortably between two larger buildings. It had a light green and pink striped awning, and the building was painted a nice, pale blue, with white windows. Five cracked a smile, as he followed Nine inside.
"What do you want?"
Five almost missed the question, as he was too busy looking around at the cheerful looking place. It was cosy, although slightly empty. He turned back to Nine, still not being able to tear his eyes away from the decor.
"Uh...I'm fine with vanilla." He mumbled, absently. Nine sighed, rolling his eyes, as he fished through his pockets for change. "It's not about what you're fine with. It's what you want." He chided, and Five blushed. "I...guess. I'll go for...mint choc chip, then." He said, with a shy smile. Nine nodded in a satisfactory manner.
"And I'll have...toffee!" He said, brightly, chucking his change on the counter. They waited patiently, as the lady took the change and made their ice-creams. When she handed them to them, they found a table in the corner, by a window, and took their seats.
Nine smiled warmly at Five. So warmly that Five thought that Nine would melt his ice cream. He took a tentative lick of his own ice cream, holding back his own grin. He felt shyer than ever now and he hadn't a clue why. He'd spent lots of time alone with Nine, but this seemed to have such a strange effect on him.
His eyes were glued to Nine, as he licked his own dessert. As his cherry coloured tongue darted out to swipe up some of the melted cream, Five felt as if somebody had just chucked an ice cube down his collar. He involuntarily shivered, and Nine looked up.
"Too cold for you?" He joked, and Five flushed, shaking his head. "N-No, not at all." He said, politely, and continued to eat.
It wasn't until Nine leant over the table, did he stop eating.
He looked at the younger man with curiosity in his eyes. Nine's gaze seemed to bore into him, exploring every inch of his body and soul. He shivered once more and Nine tilted his head.
"You're cute."
Nine was, of course, never one for subtly. He was quite, and often accidentally, open about things. He was honest to a fault, but that just made him who he was. That honesty made Five adore him even more.
Especially now.
Five let out a shaky breath, smiling shyly, as he tucked a lock of hair behind his ear. He wasn't entirely sure what to respond with, but he knew no matter what he said, the result would be the same.
"So are you." He said, but his voice was awkward and shaky. Nine chuckled, and it felt like a warm breeze. Five unintentionally sighed blissfully, almost dropping his ice cream. Nine laughed again, this time, a little louder.
"It's the little things you do." He said, fondly. Five found himself blushing deeply. Nine was always a straightforward, blunt and slightly fumbling dork. Why was he being so smooth all of a sudden. Words failed Five completely.
"Uh...thank you." He said, quietly, as a small smile formed on his lips. He stared intently at his ice cream, taking small licks from the frozen treat. It was just as Nine had said earlier. This was...a date. It was a date. The words span violently around Five's head as he registered this fact. Nine had planned this from the off, hadn't he?
He hadn't noticed Nine inching closer. Once he noticed the proximity, he looked up at Nine, with wide eyes.
"You have ice-cream around on your lips." He said softly.
Five...
...
Five didn't know what to do.
He gripped his ice-cream so tightly, the cone broke, letting the melted dregs slip through his fingers. He was holding his breath, sitting dead still, eyes shut.
As Nine pulled away, only then did he let out the breath he had been holding for what felt like forever. His eyes fluttered open, and he felt incredibly hypersensitive. He began noticing every tiny detail on the other mans face. Every feeling his felt, felt amplified by 1000. The feeling of the cracking wafer cone beneath his fingertips. The feeling of warm breath on his lips. The warm leather beneath him. The cold, wooden floor beneath his feet. The minuscule breeze that swayed his light brown hair ever so slightly. He could hear Nine's blinking and breathing.
"Nine..."
"Five..."
"I think I..."
"...love you."
ship it like fedex lads
