Will You be the Marshmallow in my Pineapple Shake?
Chapter Two

Byakuran stretched his arms and wings, then glanced down at Mukuro, who was still curled up on the floor, asleep. He moved his sheets away, and flew silently to the other man, having slight difficulty using his undeveloped wings to move his heavier body the short distance. His mother would've given him a severe scolding for trying to fly before he was ready.

He watched Mukuro, frowning when he saw that the boy was trembling slightly. He was cold, with only a single, leather jacket as cover, and a hard carpet floor beneath him. Byakuran rather pitied the sight of the quivering young man, and he sighed, wondering what he could do to help. It was then that he was distracted when his gaze strayed to the other's face. Those long, beautiful eyelashes that twitched as Mukuro dreamt, and those pale, smooth cheeks; the man had such a delicate complexion. But most importantly, were those thin, soft, pretty lips that were ever endearing, and so very welcoming. Byakuran reached up, and placed his index fingers over his own lips, wondering what it might feel like to kiss someone like Mukuro. Would it be sensual? Or more soothing?

And how would Mukuro react if he woke up with Byakuran kissing him?

Such an intresting notion it was.

Byakuran watched the other's sleeping face for a while longer, then reached down, and, remembering the words of his parallel world's self, brushed his hand across Mukuro's cheek, stroking the flesh as gently as he possibly could. Against his warm fingers, Mukuro was awfully cold, and it made Byakuran frown to think that someone so supposedly important to him had spent the night on such uncomfortable bedding.

"Nn..." The other man gave a quiet moan of a protest, and opened his eyes, and the albino stared into the mismatched gaze, finding himself lost in the mysterious beauty of the conflicting worlds that were portrayed through the stare. Earth and sky. Fire and ice. Life and death. Heaven and Hell, even.

"Morning, Mukuro-kun," Byakuran greeted, sitting back and resting his hands on his knees. "How are you?"

Mukuro stared at him for a moment, then closed his eyes again, making Byakuran frown as he was ignored. "Ne, Mukuro-kun...," he began again, never to be put down, "I was wondering, what do you like?"

The other man continued to shun the albino, and Byakuran stood up, getting excessively agitated. "Ugh- What's your problem?" he snarled, crossing his arms and turning a little red as he said, "I try to be friendly, I really do! I'm a nice guy, right? I'm not whiney, and I don't scream, but... but you just keep ignoring me! Fine, Mukuro-kun, have it your way! I won't talk to you, either!"

With a grunt of anger, the man fluttered up onto his bed, back turned on Mukuro, when he heard something. A sort of gentle chuckle, that resonated in the silence of the room, before escalating in volume.

A laugh.

The albino dared to peek over his shoulder, and his purple gaze widened when he saw that Mukuro was really and truly laughing at him. The other man had sat up, and, apparently unable to control a snicker, had eventually let out everything in the rumble that became the avalanche of sound. The deep voice that Byakuran had heard yesterday was portrayed even through the indescribable beauty of Mukuro's laugh- it was a sweet, vibrating noise that gave the albino a strong sense of harmony. His heart sped up as the laugh slowed, and Byakuran blushed lightly, wondering how much effort it took to produce such a pleasant noise.

"Mukuro-kun," he murmured, "what... what DO you like?"

The young man looked up, straight into his eyes, and the albino was almost worried that the pounding in his chest could be heard. "I hate everything in this world," he said, his voice clear and, at the same time, gentle. He smiled as he gave his reply, and Byakuran just sat there, once again paralyzed by the sheer tranquility that Mukuro shot into him with his words. Wings pulsating, Byakuran drew his lips into a smile.

"You know, Mukuro-kun... I think we'll get along just fine," he said. Mukuro chuckled once more, the sound swaying the albino yet again.

"Perhaps," he sighed, looking down. "I apologize... but I'm simply not a social man. I find humans to be repulsive. They only care about themselves. They're egotistical, rotten-"

"I love to hear your voice, Mukuro, really, but I'm going to stop you there," Byakuran said, smiling. "I... agree with you..."

Mukuro stared into the albino's eyes, and his smile touched something in Byakuran, making him shuffle shyly with the fluttering in his heart. He knew that he was starting to get feelings for Mukuro, regardless of not knowing the other man for a long time. He wasn't an ignorant man. He was fully aware of 'emotions,' and the way he reacted to Mukuro made it clear that he was attracted to him. And, if it wasn't bad enough that he realized his gravitation towards the other early-on, it was a disturbing feeling to think that he was having such feelings for another man. Furthermore, being Byakuran meant that he didn't care about other people. He wasn't supposed to be lured in by anyone!

But oh, was Mukuro pretty.

In fact, pretty was an understatement. Mukuro was the most beautiful being Byakuran had seen or heard in all of his long, eighteen years. He was a delicate rose among a garden of weeds. And if that wasn't enough, he told Byakuran precisely what he wanted to hear when asked what he favored. Though he wouldn't admit it, Byakuran could tell, as he gazed into those multicolored, gem-like eyes, that the two of them were almost soulmates. From ideals to intrests, they would make the perfect team.

'Perfect.'

Yes. That was just the word to describe their divine combination. It was a word that suited them- much like how marshmallows suited icecream, Byakuran himself might have added. It was certain that by working together, they could accomplish all of their goals.

And as he continued to gaze into those intriguing eyes, he got an inkling that Mukuro was thinking along the same lines.

KNOCK KNOCK.

"Byakuran? Byakuran!" called a voice from behind the door. "Kikyo's visiting from Italy!"

"Eh- I'll be right there!" Byakuran replied, before looking at Mukuro. He hopped off of his bed and held out his hand. "Come with me?" he asked. The other man shook his head.

"I need time to become accustomed to my new home," he sighed, "I'll be about the building. Farewell for now."

'For now,' Byakuran mentally repeated, smiling as Mukuro left the room. 'Words that mean that I will see him again.'

'How nice.'

The albino walked out of his room after Mukuro, giving Irie a greeting at the door before he walked off to see Kikyo.

Kikyo was a good friend of Byakuran's, and had been since they were in middle school, in which he was a year higher than the albino. Kikyo had magnificent, bright teal, long, flowing hair, and often wore some rather flashy makeup around his eyes, making his appearance complete with formal attire and the occasional piece of jewelry. It wasn't an often occurence for Kikyo to be intrested in someone other than Byakuran, but on that day, that's what brought him to Shoichi's little inn.

He had brought over a young man with long, wavy, pine-green hair, who looked like he was in desperate need of a good night's rest. They also had a rather unsightly scar, running down the side of their face. As Byakuran took his seat beside the two, Kikyo began his story. "Okay," he started, "this is Daisy, a zombie of a man."

"'Zombie?'" Byakuran repeated. "Living dead, you mean?"

"No, and yes," Kikyo replied. "Put simply, he can get himself out of a tough situation pretty easily. Can we allow him in the... eh- what was our name, Byaku?"

"Gesso," Byakuran replied, "You know. Like... the white paint stuff. That's the name of us, and yes, mister Daisy can certainly join us. He looks like... well... someone who would... fit in."

"Oho? That's exactly what I was thinking," Kikyo replied with a smile. Byakuran grinned, and held out his hand to Daisy.

"Welcome to our club, Daisy-chan!"

The other gave a small smile, and took Byakuran's hand, and the albino couldn't help noticing the thread wrapped about the other's fingers, and going up his arm. "You into sewing, Daisy-chan?" he asked. Daisy looked at his own arm, blushing lightly.

"Oh, yes, a little," he said, "this thread is special, though."

"Hm?"

"Nothing."
Byakuran sighed, retreating from his handshake, and leaned back, kicking his feet onto the table. "Kikyo, I have an urgent appointment that I must attend to."

"Oho?"

"Yeah, my bed reeaally misses me," Byakuran said, grinning. Kikyo chuckled, then placed a bag on the table.

"At least take this before you go back into hibernation," he told the albino. Byakuran took the bag and leapt to his feet.

He exclaimed, "Marshmallows? No way, how'd you know I was all out of these?" he asked. The other man laughed.

"Just a feeling," he replied. Byakuran, overcome with joy- and his marshmallow obsession- hugged Kikyo tightly for a brief amount of time, using his wings to avoid the table between them.

"Thank you~," he said happily. "This is why we're such good friends."

"Because of the marshmallows?" Kikyo asked. Backing off, the winged man grinned and nodded, before turning to Daisy.

"Take note of this, Daisy-chan. An easy way to get on my good side will be to get me snacks. Hehe~!"

"As long as you don't hug me, Byakuran-sama," Daisy muttered. Byakuran giggled and shrugged.

"It's a deal!"

-End Chapter

Phew. We've touched on Byakuran's little fetish now... lol...

Yeah. Please keep reviewing!