Washed Up

by Celianna

Five years later since they last spoke to one another, Momoshiro and Kaidoh meet up again under strange circumstances; washed up on an abandoned island. MomoKai. Roleplay.

39. Good Night

Washed Up

A/N: last log before they get rescued. Yeah you heard me, rescued!

Authors: Celianna (Momo) & Happiestwhen (Kaidoh)

Rating: T

Events leading up to this log:
- Kaidoh 'sleeps in' every morning since the last log so he can have breakfast with Momo
- Sometimes Kaidoh comes back early to go to bed at the same time as Momo
- Momo sends Kaidoh a message that he needs to come home before 11 PM to eat dinner

Date: December 15, 2012

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Tonight, everything will be perfect.

Or at least, very damn well near perfect, Momoshiro thinks. He doesn't want to admit it outright, but he's got something special for Kaidoh planned. It wasn't like he'd been planning on this forever—definitely not—but he came up with the idea this morning, when one of his scavenging hunts had introduced him to a small area in the ocean in which scallops lay.

At first Momoshiro was under the impression they were oysters, and he'd been giddy about opening it up and finding a pearl inside, but instead was introduced to something fleshier. As he recalled, it wasn't an oyster, but a scallop. And they were considered delicacies. At least it's better than fish or crab that they've been eating so far, so Momoshiro spend a good four hours diving for a bunch of them.

Which is why he's in their hut, arranging the cooked scallops on a plate, decorated with green vegetables which he doesn't remember the name of, completed with some mashed potatoes, courtesy of Kaidoh's garden. It's the perfect meal for this island, and Momoshiro is pretty proud of the fact that it looks really good. Mouthwatering. Not only that, he even succeeded in making those coconutballs he'd been talking about a couple of weeks ago. It took a little bit of trial and error, with some help from An—but he did it!

Actually, he spent way too much time on something as simple as a meal. Truth be told, Momoshiro sort of, but not really, wanted to do a little something special for Kaidoh.

The last few weeks, the snake had listened to Momoshiro's pleas to sleep in late, and go to bed early—simply so that he'd be there when Momoshiro woke up, or went to bed. And he did it, every single day. Sure he'd complain and be grumpy about it, but with each passing day, Kaidoh had complained less and less, and Momoshiro was sure that he was enjoying this as much as he was. Yes, Momoshiro really likes spending his mornings and evenings with Kaidoh.

He'd be lying if he said seeing Kaidoh's face first thing in the morning ruined his day. Quite the opposite; it makes his day.

It's become a routine for the both of them now, and Momoshiro is very pleased with himself, so much, that he felt the need to do something nice for Kaidoh in return. In his mind, that means cooking a very nice meal.

Momoshiro had already sent a text message to Kaidoh to come home before 11 PM; he doesn't want to wait forever to eat it, and right now, it's still hot and fresh. He quickly lights on a few candles and places them on top of the wooden table next to their plates, and waits for Kaidoh to come home. A bit impatiently, he rocks back and forth on his spot, staring at the door, then back at the food, then back at the door, and sighs; he's getting too excited for this. Well, it's not like he can help it! He feels like doing something nice for Kaidoh, and perhaps see Kaidoh in a good mood—or even smile. Yes, he'd like to see Kaidoh smile for once.

Kaidoh was already on his way back when he got Momoshiro's message, but seeing it makes him pick up his pace, and he doesn't even feel like griping about it. He doesn't like changing up his routine, but over the past couple of weeks, this has become as much a routine as anything else he does, and he's come to not mind it. The peak of daylight isn't nearly as hot as it was in the summer, so Kaidoh can run during midday and save the cooler mornings and night to spend back at the hut.

Sure, it had started as a stupid request from Momoshiro, one that Kaidoh didn't really take seriously, but now it's something he does on his own, by choice. Well, everything he does is by choice—he just doesn't like to let Momoshiro know that he's doing these things freely, rather than as a result of constant prodding. Because that would just be weird.

He stops by the river to wash the sweat from his face and arms and neck—another recently formed routine after each run, since Momoshiro harped on him about it enough—before jogging the rest of the distance back to the hut. He checks the time on his phone and it's only 10:35, so for once he isn't late. He considers loitering around for a bit just to make Momoshiro wait since he doesn't want to look like he was eager to rush back, but he isn't that much of a jerk, so instead he just dries his face with his towel and heads up the steps to open the door.

"I'm back," Kaidoh starts to say, as the door swings open, but the word is cut short by his breath as he sees the table all set up with a fancy meal. There's a look of confusion on his face for a second, like he's an animal trying to figure out if it's just walked into a trap, but when his eyes meet Momoshiro's, his expression is just happy and open, like there's no hidden agenda there. Kaidoh can't even muster up a glare in response to that.

He takes another step inside, and lets the door swing closed behind him. "You made dinner," he observes, but it comes out sounding like a question. It wasn't that Momoshiro hadn't made food before, but this looks a lot nicer than any simple breakfast. In fact, this looks like it must have taken a lot of time.

The first thing Momoshiro does when Kaidoh walks in is smile like an idiot. Then he realizes he's being an idiot, and promptly stops, but his lips are still tugging up on their own. The second thing he does, is check out Kaidoh's body for sweat; it seemed he washed himself before getting here. Good. He wouldn't want to have Kaidoh stink up the place when he prepared such a nice dinner.

"Yo!" he greets Kaidoh, lifting up an arm to give him a small wave. He eagerly shifts his weight around on his spot, and gestures for Kaidoh to sit next to him, on a nice fluffy pillow.

Sure, Kaidoh could be sitting on the opposite side of the table, but Momoshiro likes to sit next to each other so that they're close. It's easier to hit him then, he thinks.

"Guess what I found," says Momoshiro in an eager voice, almost leaning over the table with a happy smile.

Kaidoh looks at Momoshiro a bit warily, like he's worried he found another creepy-looking sea slug thing to adopt as a pet. But after scanning the room, he doesn't see any signs of stray creatures flopping around, so he decides that he can probably stop worrying.

He pulls his towel off, folds it, and drops it onto his pile of laundry by his bed before joining Momoshiro at the table. And maybe Momoshiro's good mood is rubbing off on him, because Kaidoh doesn't look all that grumpy either. Well, running did work up a bit of an appetite, so maybe that's just because he's feeling a little hungry.

"What did you find?" he asks, indulging Momoshiro with the question, since he knows he'll find out in a second anyway, whether he asks or not.

Momoshiro looks at Kaidoh as if he's a bit too slow on the intake. That was a rhetorical question, idiot.

"Obviously, this," he says, and points to the scallops neatly aligned in a circle on the plate. "Fancy food."

"Oh," Kaidoh says dumbly. "Wait, are those scallops?" He blinks back at Momoshiro and can't help but look kind of impressed. "How'd you get scallops?" Okay, so maybe Momoshiro is actually a better fisherman than Kaidoh after all.

Momoshiro shows him a peace sign. "I dived for them! Well, I found one washed ashore first, thought it was an oyster and thought I was going to get a pearl, heh, but then I realized it was a scallop! And man, they're huge you know. So I dove into the ocean and looked around for a bit until I fished out plenty of them." He leaves out the part where it took him four long hours, and by then his skin had gotten all wrinkly and pruney.

"This island is full of surprises, you know," says Momoshiro. "So yeah, I made us a nice dinner. We deserve it!"

Kaidoh shrugs. "If you say so," he says, not sure what one does to deserve food, but whatever. "It looks good, at least."

"And I made us dessert as well," says Momoshiro, remembering the coconutballs. "You may or may not like them, I don't know, we'll see."

"I guess so," Kaidoh says, sounding a bit skeptical, since he's not really fond of most desserts. But everything Momoshiro's made for them to eat hasn't actually been half bad—which Kaidoh chalks up to the fact that he's been living on an island for over six months now, so anything that isn't a fish grilled over a fire is bound to taste good. Of course, he doesn't want to give Momoshiro the idea that he's some kind of culinary master … Well, Momoshiro probably thinks that already.

But tonight's meal does look pretty good. Take away the ocean sounds and the sand and the simple wooden hut around them and under their feet and Kaidoh could almost imagine they're in a restaurant somewhere. Which isn't the kind of thought Kaidoh should be having, since why would he and Momoshiro be having a candlelit dinner out a restaurant? That would be way too much like a date. Which would be weird.

Luckily they're just in Kaidoh's hut, and the candles are for lighting more than anything else. And Kaidoh's glad for that, because dates are stupid.

"So you're hungry?" he asks, nudging Momoshiro in his side.

"Starving! Making this food just makes me hungrier you know—it's not easy preventing myself from taste-testing it as I cook it, so be proud of me for controlling my urges." Momoshiro proudly beats his chest, which in turn makes his hand touch the cold metal of the medal still slung around his neck. He looks at it with a smile and says, "Well, I guess you already are."

Kaidoh rolls his eyes at Momoshiro. "I can't believe you're still wearing that thing …" Or well, he can believe it, because it's Momoshiro and he's an idiot like that. But Kaidoh kind of likes that he is.

"What, you rather I didn't?" Momoshiro looks a bit dumbfounded; why wouldn't he wear it? Sure, it's stupid and pointless, but Momoshiro likes it. It's a little something to keep him from going insane on this island. He needs stupid stuff like this to distract himself. Besides, he likes handmade gifts, especially those that come from Kaidoh because they're rare.

"It doesn't get in the way or anything, and I like it." Momoshiro pushes his fist against Kaidoh's shoulder in an encouraging way, as if he's saying thank you.

"Well, as long as you like it," Kaidoh replies, knocking his own fist into Momoshiro's arm in return. He huffs. "You can do whatever you want." Which is pretty much what Momoshiro does anyway.

"Is that so …" Momoshiro grins mischievously, before hunching over his shoulders, and sneakily creeping an arm up behind Kaidoh's back. Within a swift second, his fingers have gotten a hold of his bandana, and he's slipped it off.

He laughs. "Then you won't mind if I take this off, no? You'll be going to sleep soon anyways!"

Kaidoh hisses, and shoots Momoshiro a half-hearted glare. But then he just says, "Yeah, I guess so. Let me fold it though so it doesn't get all wrinkled." He's very serious about keeping all of his bandanas neat and organized.

Momoshiro hands him the bandana with no objections whatsoever; he can do whatever he wants with it, as long as his head stays bandana-free. Momoshiro likes the easy access to it.

"Now, let's eat! It's getting cold, so hurry up." Momoshiro grabs his chopsticks, positions them neatly between his fingers, and quickly grabs hold of a finely cooked scallop. He swiftly brings it to his mouth and chomps away. The flavour is strange, and much different than fish—Momoshiro's eaten enough fish these past several months that he knows all the different flavours—but it's a good flavour.

A delicious flavour. In fact, is so good, Momoshiro's mouth drops open after he swallows and stars appear in his eyes. He turns to Kaidoh with this dumbstruck look on his face.

"Kaidoh … this is really good," says Momoshiro in amazement. And this time, he's not just bragging. Well, maybe a little.

Kaidoh lifts his own set of chopsticks and uses them to pick up a scallop for himself which he pops into his mouth. And Momoshiro isn't lying, as Kaidoh thought he might be—well, the guy thinks every kind of food is good, so how can he trust his opinion? But this actually really is delicious.

He even gives Momoshiro a small smile as he nods in agreement. "Yeah, it is," he says, once he's finished chewing.

This makes Momoshiro feel even more radiant than he already is; Kaidoh's approval and his tiny, tiny smile is probably the best thing in the world right now. This night has gotten so much better already, he's glad he found the scallops and cooked them for Kaidoh and himself. Even the candlelight casting a nice warm glow around them seems to lift the mood up even more. The cozy atmosphere makes Momoshiro feel fuzzy inside, and he nudges closer to Kaidoh until his leg brushes up against Kaidoh's. It's actually, if you squint and hold your head sideways and pretend Kaidoh is a girl, a little bit romantic, he admits. Most of these days it's like this.

Momoshiro brings a hand up Kaidoh's back, and gently strokes his head in an affectionate way, his fingers gliding down his hair. "Maybe I should be a chef when I go home," he jokes with a small laugh. He's feeling pretty content right now; nothing can go wrong.

Kaidoh snorts. "I don't know what restaurant would trust you around that much food," he points out flatly, but sounds more like he's just teasing him than actually arguing. "You'd probably eat as much as you cooked." Because if there's one thing Kaidoh is certain of, it's Momoshiro's ridiculous appetite. There's no denying that food makes him happy, and that in turn makes Kaidoh feel not half-bad himself. Not that he pays extra attention to Momoshiro when he's eating or anything—well, no, he kind of does. He can't help it; when Momoshiro's looking all stupid and smiley, it's like a weird magnetic force pulling Kaidoh in, despite all his efforts to avoid it.

Momoshiro leans into Kaidoh, his arm now slipping around his neck and shoulders. "Hey, I'll let you know I've actually worked at a restaurant before." He uses his chopsticks to get another scallop and dip it in his mashed potatoes before he puts it in his mouth.

"Had a part-time job at some fancy place—didn't touch any food! But boy … it sure did look good alright. I was hungry every time I got off work," he says with his mouth full. Momoshiro remembers the painful memories of going back home and eating instant ramen instead, because that was all he had. And now? Now he's sitting here with Kaidoh eating scallops.

Kaidoh picks up a second scallop as well, but unlike Momoshiro, he swallows it before responding, as though he's trying to set a good example for Momoshiro and his annoying lack of manners.

"You're hungry most of the time anyway," he says. Or at least, Momoshiro acts like he is.

Momoshiro laughs. "True!" he spits out. He finally finishes chewing his food before swallowing, and then eagerly opens his mouth again to blab on some more. "But I was more hungry. Besides, I could only eat instant ramen at home. It was never anything as fancy as this. You could say island life is pretty good to me."

"Huh, I wouldn't want to be eating instant ramen either," Kaidoh agrees, his mouth crinkling at the thought. "This is much better."

"I knew it, I should be a chef. Maybe then I'd finally get fat." Momoshiro snorts at the thought of him being fat; he's never weighed more than sixty kilos, it's a miracle. Then again, it's not like he had access to a lot of food when he was in college.

Kaidoh looks disgusted. "Why would you want to get fat?" Although, Kaidoh's often found himself baffled by how Momoshiro isn't already—he's seen the number of burgers the dumbass can put back in a single meal.

"That was sarcasm!" Momoshiro splutters. He doesn't really want to get fat. "I mean, I'm just saying. I don't gain any weight whatsoever. Hm." Momoshiro looks over at Kaidoh, his eyes trailing up and down his obviously trained body. "I wonder how fat you'd be if you didn't work out."

Kaidoh shoves Momoshiro in the shoulder. "Gross," he says, clearly horrified. More at the thought of not working out than the thought of gaining weight. "That's not going to happen."

"Hah, I guess not! You not training would be the end of the world—you're still obsessed with it." And before Kaidoh can punch Momoshiro, he quickly scoots to the right and flashes him a grin. "But I guess you're improving." Kaidoh is after all, here with him right now.

And that is actually pretty cool. Sitting here in their hut eating dinner together, cracking jokes, and surrounded by the nice warm glow of the candles. Eating food he could never get at his own apartment, talking to someone he probably would have continued to ignore back at home. Everything's different here, everything feels like an improvement almost. Sure he doesn't have a fancy toilet and warm water, but he's got a full and satisfied stomach, and company which he likes—which he's missed. He's got routines now, he gets his own food, builds his own house (even if Kaidoh was the one to make their hut), he gets things done, and honestly? He doesn't miss his apartment that much. This, island Dumbnuts, it's starting to feel like …

Momoshiro looks down at his plate and takes another scallop from it, chewing on it thoughtfully. "Hey Kaidoh," he starts slowly, rolling the scallop between his tongue. "This is starting to feel like home to me now."

Kaidoh looks over at Momoshiro, for a moment just noticing the way the candlelight frames his face—not staring, of course, because Kaidoh isn't some kind of freak—and then he smiles a little and says, "Yeah, I guess I'm kind of getting used to it too."

"It's not that bad here … really it isn't. Besides, I didn't burn our food, so we get to eat yummy meals, hehe." Momoshiro chuckles for a bit until he eats some more of his mashed potatoes. The potatoes taste really delicious, he'll have to compliment Kaidoh for growing them sometime later.

Momoshiro stares at the door for a bit, chopsticks hanging loosely between his fingers, and wonders what it would be like to return to the civilized world again. Could he adjust to all the advanced technology again? Buying food from the store instead of fishing for it himself? But more importantly; would he and Kaidoh still talk to each other? He doesn't want to go back to five years of white noise again. But then again, he doesn't know how to say that to Kaidoh. That would be weird, as if he wants to see and talk to him after this. And he does, but saying it out loud and admitting it feels kind of scary, like they're agreeing to something and it's set in stone. As if what they're doing right now—with kisses in the morning and some fooling around at night—could continue well into their life back at home.

And yeah, Momoshiro would like for that to happen. Yet it feels like the hardest thing to say out loud, despite his eagerness to start talking ten words a second. It's not like they really talk about it, that one really awkward time Momoshiro managed to ask if they're going to do this, and Kaidoh said yes, was probably the most he could get out of them both—and they're not very articulate either.

Perhaps he's gotten used to the safety of their routines, that are tied to this island. If the island is gone, will the routines go away with it? He can't imagine going over to Kaidoh's house and have breakfast with him, then kiss him goodbye as he goes on his run. That would be awkward, weird, and it's not like Kaidoh lives alone or anything. And besides; what would Kaidoh want? Maybe he doesn't want it to continue after this island, maybe this is all Momoshiro is going to get; fun on the island, but the vacation is over when they go home.

And just like that, Momoshiro feels this dread sink down in his stomach; he doesn't want to go home anymore if that's true.

"I uhm, I'd be ok with staying here," he murmurs under his breath. He stares at his plate some more, still deep in thought. Yeah, he'd rather stay stuck here on the island, then pretend nothing ever happened between them and go back to pure silence once more.

Momoshiro realizes what he's really saying, that is, that he's okay with staying alongside Kaidoh, and quickly tries to cover it up. "I mean, we've got a roof over our heads, with a door even, food on our plate, and well, no one to bother us."

"Yeah, but," Kaidoh starts, "it would be nice to have some solid routes to run on again." He misses the flat expanses of parks and the meandering sidewalk trails along the riverside. He's gotten used to running in sand and uneven island terrain but that doesn't mean he likes it. Well, sure, he likes running, whatever the form, but he still has preferences.

And he never thought he would, but he actually kind of misses running in the city.

He thinks for a moment about that, if he were home in Tokyo right now, if they both were, what would Momoshiro be doing? Would he still be sending Kaidoh demanding text messages and bothering him in the middle of his run to come spend time with him? Kaidoh's gotten used to that too, and unlike the sand, he actually kind of likes it. He's come to anticipate Momoshiro bugging him, so now it doesn't annoy him so much as just feel kind of nice and familiar.

Not that he'd say as much out loud. He doesn't want to confirm what Momoshiro already seems to know—that Kaidoh lets him get away with a hell of a lot, just on merit of who he is.

He shrugs. "Well, I don't mind it here anymore," he says, careful not to look at Momoshiro as he says it, because he doesn't want it to seem like he's the reason for that—although he kind of is. "But I hope we aren't stuck here forever." He doesn't like the thought of his parents sitting at home worrying about both him and Hazue, wondering where they are and if they're okay. That's not the kind of burden he wants to put on his family. Especially when they're actually perfectly fine, and healthy, and not in any kind of immediate danger.

"Yeah … me neither." As long as Kaidoh goes home with him.

It's strange how it all changed so much. Before, Momoshiro's time in the civilized world was spent worrying about having enough money for food, or paying rent, and getting any kind of job he could find. And if he had the time, he would send badly written resumes to any kind of tennis club he could coach. No luck, of course.

There was no mention of Kaidoh in his life. After all, they did split up for years, and Momoshiro was managing his life without the grumpy snake. Of course, he had thought about him a bunch of times. Like when he'd see someone's bento wrapped in a cloth that looked similar to one of Kaidoh's bandanas, or when he'd see someone jogging on the street, wearing a black tank top, briefly thinking it actually was Kaidoh. Sometimes at night, he wondered what all his old classmates, and his team members from Seigaku were doing, he spent an unnatural amount of time wondering what Kaidoh would be doing, what he'd be thinking of, and perhaps if they're ever going to meet again. Other than that, Kaidoh was not a part of his life anymore.

But now? Momoshiro can't stop involving Kaidoh into his life, and he wants him there, as long as possible. He enjoys bugging him relentlessly, messing around with him and getting into stupid arguments about whether or not fish are an animal, or to get into stupid competitions with each other to see who can catch the most fish. Or throwing fists at each other until they're both down in the sand and gasping for breath. Then there's the other kind of gasping for breath which leaves them feeling as if they've been working out all day long … And even the milder stuff, like Kaidoh making trinkets for him, or Momoshiro doodling on his face, or sending messages to each other—Momoshiro has grown really fond of it. He's grown very fond of Kaidoh.

And that's still something he's not willing to admit out loud, especially in front of said Kaidoh.

That's just embarrassing, and also sort of mortifying, that Momoshiro's former rival, the guy whose guts he was supposed to hate (and kick his ass), is someone he wants to continue to be in his life. To be there to bug, tease, argue, fight, touch, kiss—he wants it all.

Is that a good thing? Or a bad thing? To be this attached to someone …

Momoshiro decides, for the meantime, that it's a good thing, and he shouldn't think about it too much. He should simply enjoy what he has.

"I'll buy you some new sneakers, if I get money for it," says Momoshiro. "Since the ones you have now are falling apart." It seems like an innocent gesture and remark to make, but Momoshiro is hoping that by saying this, he can get Kaidoh to hang out with him still even after they go back to their old lives.

Inconspicuously, Momoshiro places his left hand between the both of them, inching towards Kaidoh's thigh, until his pinky touches the fabric of his shorts and he stops. He gorges down another scallop, acting oblivious, and hopes Kaidoh takes the invitation of his hand without having to outright say it, or grab it himself.

Be in my life. Momoshiro tilts his head a tiny bit to the right, as his eyes dart over to Kaidoh until their eyes lock onto each other. Maybe it's the lighting, or maybe it's the cozy atmosphere, but Momoshiro's body starts to feel fluttery and hopeful again.

Kaidoh smiles a little at Momoshiro and wiggles his feet against the toes of his sneakers, feeling the places where they're worn down, yet spectacularly still holding together.

He leans back, like he's stretching himself out, and slides his hand a little until it grazes over Momoshiro's, trying to brush it off as accidental. But once it's there, it's hard to keep pretending it's an accident, his fingers longing to curl around Momoshiro's own.

Maybe it's the good food or the nice atmosphere that disarms him of his shyness, but Kaidoh lets go and lets his whole hand cover Momoshiro's, hesitantly yet determined. He feels his cheeks heat up like he's just drawn in close to a fire, and like his shoes, he's amazed that their hands can still hold together, too. That this is something he's allowed to do. That this is something he's able to do. Since when did he become so bold?

"Yeah," he says, sounding slightly wary, and his eyes flick away from Momoshiro and then back to him again, once he realizes, relieved, that Momoshiro's not going to yank his hand away anytime soon. He continues, "New shoes would definitely be nice. If we're stuck here for too much longer I'm going to have to start running barefoot." His forehead crinkles. That sounds really uncomfortable, given the distances he runs. His feet have callused from all his hard training, but they're still not ready for that kind of exposure.

"I don't know if I could do it …" he admits, frowning as though that would be the worst thing in the world. Well, to Kaidoh, not being able to run just might be. And admitting that there's something out there he might not be able to do is up there as a pretty terrible thing in and of itself. Since Kaidoh has his pride after all, especially when it comes to anything athletic.

He hisses, and then adds, "I just mean it would be annoying," like he needs to clarify that it wouldn't be a matter of him being physically able to handle it. Because he likes to think he could handle anything, and wants to make sure Momoshiro doesn't think any less of him either.

Why Momoshiro's opinion of him is important isn't really something he wants to dwell on. He doesn't care what people think. What most people think, anyway. But he does care what Momoshiro thinks, even if that makes him a big idiot.

"Feels kind of cool though, walking barefoot on sand," says Momoshiro encouragingly. He spreads his fingers out and softly twists his wrist around so that his palm faces up, his fingers brushing against Kaidoh's, and he grips it, feeling Kaidoh do the same.

It's nice that they're able to do this, and even nicer that Kaidoh does it in the first place. It gets easier each time, slipping together like another routine, a comforting and familiar routine. It doesn't make it any less exciting though, to reach out and link hands; if only Momoshiro had the courage to do this all the time. But he'll settle for when they're just alone together. It's hard to prevent himself from smiling at their linked hands, but Momoshiro pretends it's because he's looking at some really good food.

"Well, I mean, on wet sand at least. Feels cool to the touch. Probably wouldn't be ideal for running though. I think you need a treadmill or something. Hm, I wonder if we'd be able to make one." Momoshiro frowns as he starts thinking of how to conjure one up that would actually work. This would also give him the benefit of keeping Kaidoh in one place; aka, close to him. Yeah, that would be very nice.

Kaidoh looks a bit perplexed, like what Momoshiro is suggesting is a totally foreign concept. "If I'm going running I want to actually be moving somewhere," he says, as though it's obvious. A treadmill would make him feel too much like a hamster on a wheel.

Although he has seen some really advanced ones in sports stores before, ones where you can adjust the terrain and create a virtual running course. That kind of appeals to Kaidoh's need for control, but he's fairly certain he and Momoshiro wouldn't be able to build something like that on this island, even if they did find all the electrical parts for it. No, especially not then. Momoshiro would probably electrocute himself before they got anywhere. Or else he'd electrocute Kaidoh. Either way, someone would end up zapped.

"I'll stick with sand for now," Kaidoh grumbles, since that's a better alternative to possibly getting his insides fried from electric shock. He looks down at their hands. Yeah, he gets enough of those fizzling feelings as it is without any wires or sockets.

"Guess so. So, do you run to go somewhere, or do you do it purely for moving your legs? I mean running in one place would be pretty useful, you don't have to go away pretty far to run a long distance, and you'll always be here where you can get some food or water." And where Momoshiro is, but he doesn't say that.

Momoshiro leans over the table to eat some more of his food; it's almost gone. With some mashed potatoes stuck to the corner of his lips, he looks at Kaidoh's plate; still pretty full. He raises his head and looks at Kaidoh.

"Not hungry?" He points with his chopsticks at the plate. Or does Kaidoh not like the food? That makes him feel a bit queasy.

Kaidoh blinks. "No, I just …" Need my hand back. That's not really something he can say out loud. That would mean acknowledging that they're actually sitting here right now, holding hands. And Kaidoh knows that's what they're doing, and Momoshiro knows it too, but calling attention to it would be super weird.

It would be simple enough to just let go, but Kaidoh doesn't really want to do that either. So he just hisses and clumsily picks up his chopsticks with his left hand instead, somehow managing to sweep up some mashed potatoes from his plate and push them into his mouth. Then he gives Momoshiro a cursory glare, like he's risen to some challenge of chopstick use.

"Well, I'm not a pig like you," he argues, since that sounds like a more legitimate excuse than, 'I want to keep holding hands'. "I'm eating at my own pace."

Momoshiro grins as he feels his cheeks glow with a pleasant warmth. Right, Kaidoh can't use his right hand, and he is right handed. Momoshiro suddenly feels a lot less worried whether or not Kaidoh likes the food, and instead is feeling quite content and happy knowing Kaidoh won't stop holding his hand. Momoshiro doesn't want to either; he's fine sitting here like this, eating food, and feel the warm skin of Kaidoh's hand against his own. It's soothing and actually pretty comfortable. Maybe it's the nice atmosphere that's making Momoshiro feel so affectionate, or perhaps recently, he's just growing more touchy feely with Kaidoh. More daring.

"Well then." Before Kaidoh can make another sad attempt at snatching some food with his left hand, Momoshiro sweeps up a scallop from his plate, using his expert chopsticks skills, and hovers it in front of Kaidoh's mouth. "Then I'll feed you, say aaa, Kaoru-chan." He's trying to hold back his smile as he says this; it's always fun to tease Kaidoh. He softly squeezes Kaidoh's hand, to let him know it's either the hand, or the food.

Kaidoh narrows his eyes at Momoshiro and scowls. "Dumbass," he mumbles, keeping his lips together. Momoshiro may enjoy being fed, but for Kaidoh it's just kind of embarrassing. It's only natural for him to be reluctant when Momoshiro is shoving food in his face like he's a baby bird.

"Please? " Momoshiro whines. "I worked hard on this!" He starts to circle the scallop in front of Kaidoh's juicy lips. Hm, those suddenly seem very attractive to Momoshiro. Kaidoh better hurry up and use his lips before Momoshiro uses it for him.

"… Fine," Kaidoh says after a long moment, like he had to have some kind of internal struggle before he could finally agree. Which isn't that far from the truth. He huffs, parting his lips, and gives Momoshiro a look as if to say, Well, get on with it already.

Eagerly, Momoshiro moves closer and closes the distance between the chopsticks and Kaidoh's lips, the scallops touching his bottom lip so he can go ahead and take it off himself. He can see Kaidoh roll his eyes at him as he takes the piece and pulls away from the chopsticks. Immediately, Momoshiro feels giddy that he's allowed to do this, that he's allowed to do any of this. Sitting close to Kaidoh, holding his hand, feeding him food.

If only they could do this every day. Yeah, Momoshiro would like that.

"There, wasn't so bad, right?" says Momoshiro. He gives Kaidoh a thumbs up with the chopsticks still clutched between his fingers. "Want more?"

It's kind of funny the faces Kaidoh is making; he's being grumpy and obviously showing disdain towards this feeding thing, and Momoshiro really doesn't care, it's actually sort of cute. Which isn't the kind of thought he should be having about Kaidoh. Kaidoh is not cute. That's weird, and disgusting. Girls are cute. Kaidoh is grumpy. It's hard to convince his mind of this, because now he can't stop picturing Kaidoh as some entitled kid who is carrying out a punishment, and pouting the whole way through. How can anyone not think that's sort of adorable? Besides, it's not like Momoshiro is forcing Kaidoh to accept food from him; he's doing that all on his own.

Kaidoh swallows the scallop and then goes back to glaring at Momoshiro, which is a little less effective now that he's also blushing. Well, anyone would be. This is stupid and embarrassing. Although Momoshiro looks like he's enjoying himself. Moron.

"Whatever," Kaidoh says crankily. "Fine." He might as well let Momoshiro get it out of his system and then he'll stop bugging him. And, to be fair, the food is really pretty good.

"Hehehe," Momoshiro giggles pleasantly. He pinches Kaidoh's cheeks again with the chopsticks—he can't resist doing it. "Well aren't you cute," he says. Which is actually not a lie.

Well, no, it is. Kaidoh's not cute. His actions are. Right?

"Fuck off," Kaidoh growls—because like hell is he cute!—and uses his free hand to bat at Momoshiro's arm. "That's not what chopsticks are for, asshole."

This just makes Momoshiro want to do it again, but he restrains himself. "Well, why not—they're used to pick at things! So why not your cheek." This time Momoshiro scoops up some potatoes with the chopsticks and lifts it up to Kaidoh's mouth once more.

Kaidoh scowls. "Because my face isn't food, moron!" he retorts, but he still complies and opens his mouth, leaning forward a little to grab the potatoes off Momoshiro's chopsticks before Momoshiro can shove them into his mouth—since Kaidoh wants to demonstrate that he's not totally helpless.

"Obviously your face isn't food." But it's very fun to pinch since his actions are kind of endearing in a way. Momoshiro can't help feeling that way; more and more grumpy Kaidoh looks less of an annoyance to him, and more like something he wants to tease.

"Then stop poking at it," Kaidoh grumbles exasperatedly. That should should go without saying.

"But it's fun!" Momoshiro whines.

Kaidoh shoots Momoshiro a glare. "For you," he says, rolling his eyes. "It's annoying."

"Aww …" Momoshiro looks crestfallen; pouting his lips and shrinking his head into his shoulders. Then he perks up immediately. "So you prefer my fingers then?"

Kaidoh's cheeks flush. "N-no …" he stutters. "I'd prefer if you didn't pinch me at all. Obviously."

"Not even a little bit?" Momoshiro really insists on being able to do this, purely for getting funny reactions out of Kaidoh. Endearing reactions. His fingers are already itching to pinch it. "I'll do it really softly, how about that?"

"Whatever," Kaidoh says, his voice thick and reluctant. He shifts a little on his spot and his eyes flick warily to Momoshiro's hand. "If it will shut you up."

"Really?" asks Momoshiro in a disbelieving tone.

Kaidoh huffs. "Yeah, idiot. If that's what you want."

"I do," Momoshiro hums and he leans closer, staring at the side of Kaidoh's face. He puts his chopsticks down on his plate, then uses his free hand to pinch Kaidoh's cheek—gently, of course. He doesn't let go though, instead lingers, his grip not hard at all, but becoming more and more like a caress or something. "How can I resist these rosy cheeks?" he jokes.

Kaidoh's lips curl into a scowl, but it's not like he can turn off the color to his face. In fact, Momoshiro's words and the soft touch of his fingers only seem to make Kaidoh's cheeks feel even warmer. It's annoying. More annoying than the pinching itself, because Kaidoh can't do anything about it.

Maybe something was in those scallops, because why else would Momoshiro be saying such weird things?

"Shut up," Kaidoh protests, and he uses his free hand to grab Momoshiro by the wrist. But he doesn't shove his hand away, just pulls it back from his cheek, gripping it awkwardly, and keeps scowling. Punching would probably be a more effective way to demonstrate his irritation but for some reason the thought of fighting isn't even occurring to him right now.

The scowling and the fidgeting, and the stupid insults, only serve to make Momoshiro want to do it more, it's enticing. He doesn't know why this is so much fun to him, but making Kaidoh squirm is pretty high up on his list of things he likes to do. Right below punching him, which is below uhh … well, other things. He looks at Kaidoh gripping his other hand, so now they're in this weird position, hands intertwined below the table, and one up in the air, being gripped by Kaidoh. Does he want Momoshiro to stop pinching him, or does Kaidoh think it's totally awesome to keep holding him like this?

Well, he won't deny that there's something fuzzy about holding Kaidoh's hand like it's natural. Not that he will admit this, and besides; his arm up in the air is not exactly comfortable, nor natural. He finally tugs it down so he can rest it on the table, Kaidoh's hand going down with him.

"You're the one who said it was okay," Momoshiro mumbles. He looks away, to his hand, to Kaidoh's hand, and then thinks it's not so bad to hold that one as well. His fingers move before he can even finish thinking about the option, and they're digging themselves underneath Kaidoh's palm, until he's holding that one, too.

This is not really about the food anymore, is it? Not that Momoshiro minds. Food does taste better when he's got someone to share it with, after all. It's the reason why he likes feeding Kaidoh. Partially, at least. The other part is just to mess with him, and because his rosy cheeks are really something Momoshiro doesn't mind seeing more of. Yes, an embarrassed Kaidoh, he does like seeing that a lot.

Bonus points if he's the one to make him blush and stammer.

"Unless you'd prefer something else other than pinching," Momoshiro suggests. Immediately he thinks back of all the mornings they've had, with Momoshiro sort of saying goodbye to Kaidoh before he goes on his morning run, by kissing on his cheek. Kaidoh had rosy coloured cheeks then too. Then the snake dashes off before Momoshiro can enjoy it, and perhaps pinch it. Momoshiro sometimes runs with him, and when they're finished, kisses him on the cheek as well, for good behaviour. Or something. Or maybe just to mess with Kaidoh. Or maybe because he likes it.

He'll settle for messing with Kaidoh. In a nice, fuzzy kind of way, that doesn't involve using his fists.

Kaidoh's forehead creases and he looks away and down at his lap instead. "You're such an idiot," he growls. An idiot who needs to stop talking about Kaidoh's face before it actually gets stuck at this mortifying shade of red. That seems to be what Momoshiro is aiming for, though.

When Kaidoh looks up again, the most he can manage is a hiss. He isn't great with words at the best of times, and he's totally hopeless when Momoshiro won't stop calling him cute or commenting on his cheeks—who does that!? He doesn't know what else to do besides retreat into dumb insults.

"I'd prefer if you shut up," he says grumpily, and both his hands curl more tightly around Momoshiro's, as though that's supposed to be some kind of threat. Somehow it's a lot less effective than an angry shirt grab.

Momoshiro's grin grows wider; he's enjoying this. Kaidoh is squirming after all, completely uncomfortable with the 'affection' Momoshiro is giving him. He really can't take compliments or suggestions, but hey, at least he hasn't been punched in the face by now. Which is a miracle, actually. Kaidoh is getting more lenient with him, and that makes Momoshiro want to push boundaries even more, see what he can get away with. Poke and prod Kaidoh everywhere, just to make him blush. Oh yes, he definitely wants to do it now.

There's an undercurrent of electricity flowing between them; Momoshiro can feel it buzz through his hands, and it's only getting intensified the harder Kaidoh grips them. Kaidoh could easily let go, but since he's not, Momoshiro won't either, instead he squeezes right back; he won't back down from this. It simply serves to encourage him to keep going.

"Are you sure? I thought you liked my voice," says Momoshiro as he pulls himself closer to Kaidoh, nearly hogging his entire side with his chest. "Besides, how can I not comment on your face, when it's this adorable," he stresses, his voice ending in a high note. Not that Kaidoh is adorable or anything. It's his cheeks. He wants to pinch it for emphasis, since they're pretty red right now, but he thinks Kaidoh gets the point, and his hands are being held hostage. It's always fun teasing him.

"Asshole," Kaidoh growls. Can't Momoshiro see him glaring at him right now? But that doesn't seem to work on Momoshiro anymore, if it ever did. In fact, much to Kaidoh's annoyance, it seems to be having the opposite of the intended effect, because Momoshiro just keeps drawing closer, crowding Kaidoh's personal space.

Kaidoh's long since gotten over the instinct to shrink back, or shove Momoshiro away. He can't decide if that's a good or bad thing. All he knows is that it gives him annoyingly fast heart palpitations. And the embarrassment is still something that's hard to shake, especially when Momoshiro keeps pushing all his buttons like this.

He nudges Momoshiro with his shoulder, but doesn't really accomplish much in terms of getting Momoshiro to leave him alone, since his fingers still stubbornly won't let go of Momoshiro's hands. He tugs at their hands still on the table, like he's trying to pull an invisible tug-of-war rope between them back to his side, and petulantly grumbles, "Quit being so disgusting."

Momoshiro pulls back on their hands, sliding it over to his side. "You really find this disgusting?" Momoshiro asks.

If there's anything disgusting about what they're doing, it's because Kaidoh is dead set on calling him names—Momoshiro has gotten used to it, but it would be nice if for once, Kaidoh didn't resort to insults. If that wasn't his default go-to reaction or something. Sometimes, Momoshiro wondered what it would be like if Kaidoh acted nice, and simply smiled at him as if there was no need to argue with each other. Obviously, that won't ever be a reality. Is it really disgusting when Momoshiro is doing something that makes him happy? Eating food he cooked, under the warm glow of the candlelight, locked together, and simply being with each other? To feel that rush pump through him, leaving him tingly all over, and he can't resist indulging that feeling?

Well, fuck Kaidoh. Unlike him, Momoshiro doesn't find this disgusting. He stares long and hard at Kaidoh; his cheerful expression transformed into a much more serious one.

"I meant you saying all those weird things!" Kaidoh argues.

Then the scowl on his face softens into more of a bewildered frown as he adds in a quieter voice, "… It's embarrassing." He's not sure why he mumbles it … it's not like it's some kind of secret, not when his cheeks are already doing a great job of broadcasting it. He knows Momoshiro is just saying stupid shit to fuck with him, but knowing that doesn't seem to make him blush any less.

Aha, so Kaidoh doesn't find what they're doing disgusting. Good. Momoshiro would have punched him if he did. Or sulk a lot; he doesn't know why the thought of Kaidoh being disgusted by him suddenly feels like such a low blow to him. Kaidoh has thought, and voiced, many things about him—but outright disgust (aside from pigging out while eating, which is sort of understandable), hasn't been one of them.

So Momoshiro chuckles, his previous happy expression gracing his face once more. "Lots of things are embarrassing to you, idiot," he says.

Momoshiro starts making himself more comfortable, by turning away from Kaidoh and facing the table, leaning his head on top of Kaidoh's bare shoulder. It feels warm against his cheek; he wonders if a blush can extend to one's shoulder. He finally lets go of Kaidoh's left hand—not letting go of the other—so that he can pick up his own chopsticks again to scoop up some more food for himself, and eat it while relaxing against Kaidoh. When he's done, he picks some food from Kaidoh's plate, and brings it up to his mouth once more to feed him.

"Embarrassing things means you'll just have to get used to it for it to stop being embarrassing," says Momoshiro with a light squeeze of Kaidoh's hand. Which means he'll have to call Kaidoh adorable or cute lots and lots of times. He smiles; that will be fun.

Kaidoh accepts the food, a little less reluctantly this time, because he is still hungry after all, and it would be a shame to let the meal go to waste. Not that it would, Kaidoh knows that Momoshiro would gladly eat his share. How he has that much room in his stomach, Kaidoh will never understand.

Maybe the food was Momoshiro's plan to keep Kaidoh from flinging an insult back, because although Kaidoh wants to argue that it would be a lot easier if Momoshiro just didn't do the embarrassing things in the first place, he can't with his mouth full. He's not an animal like Momoshiro who talks while his face is stuffed with food. But even so, Kaidoh can recognize that it's stupid to be this embarrassed by Momoshiro. It's Momoshiro, after all, and if he can make Kaidoh blush with just some stupid words then, competitively at least, doesn't that mean he's got an edge over Kaidoh? Which is really annoying.

So maybe if Kaidoh can get used to this, he'll stop turning the color of a tomato around Momoshiro. That would be nice. And he's gotten used to other new things recently, so it's not like it's an impossible task. He no longer flinches every time Momoshiro uses his first name, for one. But it's still hard to change things that are involuntary, and for some reason Momoshiro being weird and affectionate, even if he's just doing it to get a rise out of Kaidoh, makes Kaidoh's insides all jumpy and his face feel like it's pressed up against a heater. And that, Kaidoh thinks, is sort of disgusting. He should be annoyed by Momoshiro treating him that way, and he is, but it's not because he hates it. Instead it's because it fills him up with nervous and excited energy and he doesn't know what to do with it. How does someone get used to that?

Once Kaidoh swallows the food, he huffs and leans his weight into Momoshiro a little. "Easy for you to say," he mumbles. Momoshiro doesn't blush at the drop of a hat.

It's interesting how easy Momoshiro can manipulate Kaidoh. It's also quite funny, and it gets a rise out of him too. Even now, he's already accepting food without a complaint, and Momoshiro is positively glowing with the way Kaidoh is allowing this all—even leaning into him.

"Well it's true! Did you think I popped out into the world being as awesome as I am? No wait, I totally did, forget I said that." Momoshiro laughs. "Now, don't tell this to anyone but … when I was little, I used to be scared of talking to strangers, it was embarrassing, I would stutter all the time, and not know what to say. I was like three years old though, so, don't be too hard on me. But anyways, my mom forced me to talk to loads of strangers in a week, to get over my shyness, and hey, it worked. I'm totally awesome right now." He nudges his shoulder against Kaidoh. "You can be too."

Kaidoh rolls his eyes. "Who said I want to be like you?" he replies with a snort. He can't even begin to imagine that. Being super friendly and outgoing just isn't who he is. Besides, it's not like he's scared of talking to people, and he certainly isn't scared of talking to Momoshiro. He just doesn't see the point in acting all eager about it either. Especially not when Momoshiro is calling him cute and pinching his cheeks. Kaidoh thinks any normal person would think that's weird.

"I didn't, I said you'd be as awesome as me," says Momoshiro as he rolls his eyes. Kaidoh could never come close to being him. That'd be weird anyway.

He eats some more from his own plate, almost finishing the entire thing, then goes to Kaidoh's and grab the second to last scallop and brings it to his mouth once more. "But hey, feel free to be embarrassed, I don't care. I think it's fun."

Kaidoh scowls at him. "You have some weird ideas about what fun is," he grumbles, and then, just before he takes the scallop from Momoshiro's chopsticks, adds, "Idiot."

Momoshiro grins. "You're always fun to tease, stupid snake." He quickly pinches Kaidoh's cheeks with the chopsticks as he laughs.

"Stop poking me with those," Kaidoh says, letting out an annoyed hiss. "You're probably getting food on my face." Not that the chopsticks even look that messy, but they still belong in a person's mouth and not on their cheeks.

"Well then." Momoshiro takes his chance without even thinking about it, it comes naturally to him. He leans closer so he can crane his neck around, and face Kaidoh's cheek. He then sticks out his tongue, and licks his entire cheek, from bottom to top. "Now it's clean," he says while laughing again.

"D-dumbass …" Now Kaidoh's cheek is both red and wet. He uses his free hand to punch Momoshiro's cheek in return, although it ends with him simply pushing his knuckles into Momoshiro's face, like he ran out of steam mid-action.

"Don't use your tongue to clean things," he says grumpily, embarrassed to even be saying something like that.

"What else do you want me to use it for then?" says Momoshiro with a snort.

Momoshiro pushes Kaidoh's hand away (he can't believe he didn't get punched for real) by pressing his entire face against it until he leaves him alone, and he can focus on finishing his own plate of food. He resumes his previous position; leaning his head against Kaidoh's shoulder, and lazily picking off food from his plate.

"Just … use it to eat your food, stupid," Kaidoh retorts, and shrugs his shoulders a bit so Momoshiro gets jostled, but not hard enough to actually knock him off.

"Stop moving," Momoshiro grumbles back. He stays put against Kaidoh, and even lifts up their hands between them, so it can rest on his lap instead, fingers still secure and warm around Kaidoh's. He scoots closer until everything between them is touching, with their hands secretly hidden away under the table on his lap.

It's nice. It's even nicer that Momoshiro can get away with it. He won't question why he's doing it, why he likes it, but the fact remains, he wants to do it. Stay close to Kaidoh that is, and enjoy his food. He quickly manages to finish his own portion of food, stuffing everything inside of his mouth like he's a hamster that's saving up food for the winter. With his mouth still full, he goes over to Kaidoh's plate—already half empty—and picks up the last scallop and offers it to Kaidoh.

Had anyone told Momoshiro years ago that he'd end up feeding Kaidoh while holding his hand, he would have punched the guy. But here he is.

"Come on, Kaoru-chan, it's the last scallop, you can do it," Momoshiro encourages him with a slight chuckle, mouth still full of food.

"Obviously I can, moron. I'm not incapable of eating," Kaidoh grumbles, and pulls the scallop into his mouth. He's going to pointedly ignore how it might appear, at the moment anyway, that he is incapable of picking up food on his own.

Momoshiro swallows his own food, then smiles at Kaidoh. "Good boy," he says. He brings the chopsticks back down (resisting the urge to pinch him again—how can he not!?) to the plate to scoop up some potatoes, but patiently waits for Kaidoh to finish what he has in his mouth.

"Hey, Kaidoh," Momoshiro nudges his hand, "would you be back in Japan by now? Since you were in California or whatever."

"Florida," Kaidoh corrects. He's not great at geography himself, but he's pretty sure California is on the other side of America. "And yeah … I guess I would be. That study abroad thing was supposed to finish in July." Which suddenly feels like a very long time ago.

"July you say? Damn. I wonder if they'll give you your money back, unless it was for free." Momoshiro slouches against Kaidoh, realizing just how long they've been stuck here.

"I dunno," Kaidoh says. "I hadn't really thought about it." He cranes his neck back and looks up at the ceiling of the hut. "I wonder if they think I just dropped out or something."

Momoshiro snorts. "No, wouldn't you be put up as missing? Unless no one actually missed you." Momoshiro squishes his cheek closer against Kaidoh's shoulder. Well, at least one person missed him.

Kaidoh shoves Momoshiro with his elbow. "Shut up, my parents would." Then he frowns. "I really hope they don't think Hazue and I are … well, you know. I wish they knew we were okay."

They probably do. "We're okay … we'll be okay. Hey, at least you know, we didn't leave anyone special behind, like a girlfriend or anything. That would suck. They would think we're dead, and try to move on, and when we'd see them again, they've have another guy! That would really suck. Good thing you can't seem to get a girlfriend," says Momoshiro teasingly.

"I wouldn't want one, idiot," Kaidoh grumbles. Nearly all his experience with girls has been an uncomfortable nightmare. But isn't a matter of him not being able to get a girlfriend—no, in all likelihood, it probably is. But it's not like he's ever even tried to in the first place. He's always had more important things to think about.

You better not. Is the first thought that crosses Momoshiro's mind. Kaidoh having a girlfriend would kind of ruin what they have. They definitely wouldn't be sitting here like this if he did, and they definitely wouldn't be fooling around with each other, alone and naked in their hut. The thought alone makes Momoshiro's cheeks warm up a little bit. He definitely does not want to give up on that, so he's glad, that Kaidoh can't get a girlfriend to save his life.

"Not like a girl would want you too, dumbass," says Momoshiro. And he's glad that's true. He gathers some mashed potatoes with his chopstick, failing a little bit and having to try twice, and brings it up to Kaidoh's face.

Kaidoh rolls his eyes. "Well whatever," he says dismissively, not going to argue with Momoshiro on that point, since it's not like he wants girls to want him. That would be stupid, and awkward, and kind of scary. He already gets flustered enough when girls simply give him compliments. Well, no, he gets flustered when those come from anyone, actually.

He doesn't seem too flustered by the feeding anymore though, as he takes the potatoes off Momoshiro's chopsticks without even a protest, and rolls them around in his mouth before swallowing and adding, "I don't care if they do anyway, you can have them." Although he'd kind of rather Momoshiro didn't. But Momoshiro likes girls—he's made that much pretty clear—so maybe he's looking forward to getting home and finding some nice girl to date. Well, fine then, if he wants to be stupid like that.

"I don't have to have them," huffs Momoshiro. "They drop at my feet, I can pick them out if I want to." Not that he really wants to … not anymore actually.

Momoshiro might act and talk like he's some big hot stuff, and has got a fanclub of girl chasing him, but the cold reality is that he doesn't. He's friendly, outgoing, and can make people laugh—but a lot of girls see him as childish, and not date material. Even Tachibana An said so, and she's been the only girl he's dated so far. He used to like her, had a small crush on her, and they went out for about two months, perhaps even shorter, and realized, they were just not very compatible. Ever since then, Momoshiro hasn't had a girlfriend since.

It probably has to do with the fact that he wasn't really looking, and he's unemployed. No one wants to date someone who's unemployed.

Kaidoh doesn't seem to mind though.

Not that they're dating. Hah! Preposterous. That's stupid. besides, they're both guys. Momoshiro likes girls, and he definitely doesn't like Kaidoh.

Even if they're sitting here, holding hands, snuggled up against each other, and Momoshiro feeding him food.

Yeah, they're just … being Momoshiro and Kaidoh together. It's definitely not part of anything that resembles 'dating' or 'like', that would be really gross. And Momoshiro doesn't like to think about that, because it makes him feel queasy, excited, guilty, ashamed, and kind of fluttery. Those thoughts are better left in the corner of his mind, a subject which he shouldn't touch upon, because it could ruin what they have right now. As long as it's undefined, then maybe, just maybe, they can stretch this out longer.

Momoshiro plays around with the mashed potatoes left on Kaidoh's plate, picking at it, and swirling the mass around. Yeah, as long as it doesn't get put into words, then it's okay. They can get away with anything. He finally brings some more food to Kaidoh's mouth, which he takes, and despite his inner thoughts, he thinks nothing of it, it's like second nature to him now. Feeding Kaidoh that is. And perhaps being close to him and touching him wherever he's allowed. If Kaidoh had a girlfriend, then he couldn't do this.

Momoshiro doesn't want Kaidoh to get a girlfriend then. Despite the small chance of Kaidoh ever getting a girl to like him enough, Momoshiro doesn't feel like sharing. Besides, picturing Kaidoh with a girl just seems strange. Big, bulky and muscular Kaidoh, next to a petite shy girl. It's weird, and doesn't fit; Momoshiro tries to shake it from his mind.

And well, it's not like Momoshiro wants one right now. The desire to curl up against a cute girl all but left him by now. Maybe he's just not interested anymore, what with being busy with his island life. Or maybe it's because he's curled up against Kaidoh instead. Big, bulky and muscular Kaidoh. Momoshiro's eyes dart over to him as he studies Kaidoh's profile, his gaze soft and lingering.

"Not that I want to right now … anyway," says Momoshiro in a small voice. He doesn't know why he says it, why he lets Kaidoh know, but it makes him feel warmer and and content with the way things are right now.

Kaidoh smiles a little at that, although he doesn't know why he even cares. Momoshiro can do whatever the hell he wants with his life. It's not Kaidoh's problem. But hearing Momoshiro say that … it's kind of a relief. It settles the nervous edge in Kaidoh's stomach, and he has to fight the urge to say, "That's good". But that's kind of how he feels. That, for whatever reason, it's a good thing that Momoshiro doesn't want a girl right now.

But he's not about to say as much, because he doesn't want Momoshiro to think anything weird—setting aside the fact that this whole situation they have themselves in right now is kind of weird in and of itself.

Instead he just elbows Momoshiro in the side and says, "That's because no one's actually dropping at your feet, dumbass." Well, technically Kaidoh probably has, a couple times before when they were fighting, but that was only because Momoshiro shoved him to the ground, and it's not like Kaidoh let Momoshiro stay on his feet for much longer after that, so Kaidoh's pretty sure it doesn't count.

And besides, Kaidoh's not a girl. And he sure as hell isn't about to act like one around Momoshiro of all people. That would be stupid.

But he's not sure what to call what he's doing right now, because letting some other guy feed him and hold his hand is not really what guys do, but somehow it's become what they do. It's strange that it's not stopping, that Momoshiro doesn't ever take a step back to gloat and say, "Haha, gotcha!" like it's some big joke. It doesn't feel like a joke at all, and more and more Momoshiro seems to be prodding at Kaidoh for reasons other than just to pick a fight. Maybe there's no word for that. Or maybe Kaidoh's trying his best to not think of one, because they've been doing well this long without defining it, and Kaidoh would rather not have anything change.

Momoshiro can't sit still as Kaidoh elbows him without repercussions, and mock his ability to get girls. So he stretches out his body a bit, his face now at the same level as Kaidoh's, and swiftly grabs that same cheek with his chopsticks. He pinches it a bit harder and wiggles it around as if he's a piece of sushi he needs to eat. Payback.

"Well, that's because you're always around me, and you scare them away with this kind of face!" Though to be honest, Kaidoh's face up till this point was anything but scary, more or less the opposite.

"Asshole, there's nothing scary about my face!" Kaidoh protests, swatting at Momoshiro's hand until he dislodges the chopsticks from the side of his cheek. Although, if there's any grain of truth to what Momoshiro says, then Kaidoh thinks he wouldn't mind scaring people off if it meant he gets to keep Momoshiro to himself. Which is sort of a weird and embarrassing thought to have, so Kaidoh tries to shove it out of his mind as quickly as it had entered.

Momoshiro sits back down, slumped against Kaidoh's side, and he brushes his fingers against the palm of Kaidoh's hand, softly. "You'd look a lot more pleasant if you stopped scowling so much. A smile will do wonders."

Kaidoh's brow furrows. "I don't have to smile all the time to look pleasant," he grumbles and, miraculously, manages to not scowl completely as he says it—like he's deliberately holding back to prove some kind of point. "What the hell does that even mean? There's nothing wrong with how I look normally." Besides, Kaidoh doesn't really care about looking super friendly and approachable. If he looked happy all the time, more people would try and talk to him, and the thought of that makes him anxious.

"You look like you hate everyone around you, that's not exactly a good kind of face." Momoshiro pouts his lips. "Really couldn't hurt to look like you don't hate being around me …" he mumbles very softly.

Stubbornly, he picks up the chopsticks and feeds Kaidoh some more, waiting for him to take the bite.

"I don't hate being around you, moron," Kaidoh says, because it's true, but it's also kind of embarrassing to not be throwing back something insulting instead. So he uses the food presented in front of his mouth as an excuse to shut himself up.

Something bounces off Momoshiro's chest, and his fingers feel warmer than normal. "Then stop being so grumpy," he says as he pulls his chopsticks back. He'd like to be able to enjoy his time with Kaidoh without him looking so damn grumpy all the time. A smiley and happy looking Kaidoh would be so nice to have around.

And kind of weird too, since Momoshiro is used to Kaidoh being a thorn in his eye.

"Smile some more!" Momoshiro suggests in a cheerful voice. "And if you don't want to smile to everyone … just do it to me." Just like he wants Kaidoh to do other specific things only to him.

Kaidoh rolls his eyes. "I can't just smile on command," he says, sounding a bit thrown by the idea. "That would be weird." He'd look stupid wearing a big toothy grin like Momoshiro often does. It's not his fault his mouth just naturally curls this way … well, that and he's often annoyed by stuff and it shows on his face.

Momoshiro grins. "I bet I could make you smile …" His eyes look down at Kaidoh's side. "You don't happen to be ticklish, right?"

Kaidoh narrows his eyes at Momoshiro. "I'll punch you," he warns.

"Is that a yes?" Momoshiro teases, leaning in closer.

"Asshole, I'll seriously hit you in the face," Kaidoh protests, his free hand curling into a fist to show he's serious about his threat. No one's tickled him and gotten away with it. Well, not that anyone's really tried … he doesn't let most people close enough to have the chance in the first place.

"That's a yeeeeeess," Momoshiro drawls out excitedly. He finally lets go of Kaidoh's hand, which Kaidoh had been squeezing a bit harder to show he meant his threat (not that Momoshiro cares). Now he turns his entire body to face Kaidoh, one arm around Kaidoh's back, the other in front of his stomach, and his fingers flexing and ready to tickle.

"I'm going to make you laugh—that's much better than a smile!" Momoshiro grins and leans his chin on Kaidoh's shoulder. A punch in the face will be worth it.

Kaidoh grabs the hand Momoshiro has poised over the front of his tank top. "No, you're not," he argues, feeling his face heat up. "You're just going to piss me off." If there's any smiling or laughing happening, it will be completely against Kaidoh's will. Because tickling is stupid.

Momoshiro tries to pull his hand free, giggling at the prospect of tickling Kaidoh—one thing he's never done before—but Kaidoh's being a dickhead and is too stubborn to let him go. Well fine; he's still got one free hand! With a devilish grin, Momoshiro's left hand sneaks around Kaidoh's waist, and starts lightly poking his side with his index finger.

Kaidoh lets out an undignified yelp and flinches away from Momoshiro's finger, ending up shoving into Momoshiro's chest in the process.

"Stop it," he grumbles, directed at himself as much as it is to Momoshiro. He's annoyed at the way his body keeps betraying him and squirming each time Momoshiro's finger jabs into his side, despite his best efforts to not give Momoshiro the satisfaction of getting a reaction out of him.

Momoshiro simply laughs, though he's a bit disappointed Kaidoh's not the one laughing, but hey, his reactions are always funny.

"No way," he says, and jabs his fingers into Kaidoh's side again. And when Kaidoh jerks away in response, Momoshiro frees his other hand in the process. Now he's got both hands; time for a full tickle attack.

Momoshiro lets out a battle roar, and pushes Kaidoh down onto the floor, getting on top of him. He lets his fingers tickle his chest, his stomach, his sides, everywhere he can think of in this small time frame where Kaidoh hasn't punched his face yet.

Kaidoh twists and squirms around underneath Momoshiro but he's not agile enough to escape Momoshiro's fingers, which only makes him even more frustrated and squirmy. He can't even concentrate long enough to throw Momoshiro off of him, he's too focused on trying to keep from making embarrassing noises, while still remembering to take in air.

Then when Momoshiro pokes his finger into his side, just under his ribcage, a sharp, strangled bark of laughter bubbles out of Kaidoh's throat before he can stop it, and Kaidoh, mortified, lets out a growl and throws a frantic punch. But his body isn't cooperating. He's flailing around too much to get a clear shot and ends up socking Momoshiro in the side of his head—which really fucking stings his knuckles—instead of hitting him squarely in his face like he'd have liked. Well, he's lucky he managed to hit anything at all, given how helpless a position he's in.

Momoshiro tries not to wince at the blow to his head, but it's not hard to ignore it, not when Kaidoh is desperately trying to prevent himself from making any noises. Squirming underneath him, face red and agitated—but that golden sound of laughter is still ringing in Momoshiro's ears, even if it was short lived.

So Kaidoh can laugh.

It makes Momoshiro smile and forget about the pain Kaidoh is trying to inflict upon him, he feels like he always does when they have one of their fights, pumping adrenaline coursing through his veins, and hands touching everywhere. Only this time, he's not trying to hurt Kaidoh, but force him to laugh.

It's making Momoshiro laugh, as if it's some kind of contagious disease. Or maybe he's just pretty happy at the moment. Or maybe he just really wants to hear Kaidoh laugh again. A sound so rare, Momoshiro can hardly recall a time where he's heard Kaidoh's laughter. So he wants to treasure it—hear it again.

So his hands go back to work as they rub, poke, and pinch Kaidoh's skin where he knows people are very sensitive. Momoshiro tries to dodge Kaidoh's dangerous fists, which are becoming more sporadic, and without aim, as he tries to get away from his fingers which are making him twitch and squirm, and Momoshiro's loving every second of it. He tries to keep Kaidoh down, pinned beneath him, but one wrong aim of Kaidoh's fist, brushes up against his own side. He jerks away at the touch, cackling out a loud laugh in response.

"Nghhaah." Momoshiro promptly shuts his mouth.

Right, Momoshiro almost forgot he's extremely ticklish as well. He was hoping, or relying on, Kaidoh's nature to be a grump and not try to return the favour. As weird as it is to see Kaidoh laugh because he is ticklish, it's even weirder to see him try to tickle Momoshiro in return. He probably won't do it. So Momoshiro tries to brush it off as an accidental bump, and goes back to attacking Kaidoh's stomach, sticking one hand underneath it for skin-on-skin contact.

"Asshole, cut it out!" Kaidoh gasps, but hardly manages to sound threatening when the syllables are all punctuated by sharp, wheezing breaths and then Momoshiro's fingers manage a particularly accurate jab and his protest turns into a choked laugh instead.

But he's not enjoying this! In fact, he feels like kicking Momoshiro's ass right now, but it's hard to fight against his body's reactions every time Momoshiro's fingers find a sensitive spot, and he knows Momoshiro notices because he's exploiting all of those spots mercilessly. Even punching doesn't seem to be doing much to deter Momoshiro. Not that Kaidoh can even seem to land a punch anywhere that hurts.

So he decides to go for a different tactic and tries to pry his own hands under Momoshiro's fingers, but it's hard when Momoshiro won't stop moving them, and Kaidoh's own body won't seem to hold still under their onslaught. Eventually he manages to catch one of Momoshiro's hands and he holds it in a death grip and glares at Momoshiro. But before Kaidoh can catch Momoshiro's other hand, it pokes into Kaidoh's stomach again, making Kaidoh wheeze out an unwanted laugh through his gritted teeth. His whole body flinches too, and he ends up kneeing Momoshiro in the thigh—on accident, but it startles Momoshiro enough that Kaidoh is able to make a grab for his other hand. He holds onto them both now and looks up at Momoshiro, tight-lipped—afraid of the noises his treacherous mouth seems to want to make—and trying to ignore the lingering itchy feelings crawling over his torso.

"Stop," he repeats grumpily, his voice sounding strained and defeated and still out of breath.

Momoshiro tries to free his hands, tugging at Kaidoh's arms, but he's stubbornly not letting go, and hissing at him.

"But why!" he whines, his voice already slipping into a laugh. He leans his entire body down so he can hover his face right above Kaidoh's. "Mamushi's actually ticklish—who would have thought?" He must take advantage of this discovery! He grins at Kaidoh's distressed face. "And you can laugh after all … soooo."

"So?!" Kaidoh retorts, his face now an angry shade of red. "That doesn't mean I want to!" Any laughter that happened just now happened against his will and Momoshiro knows it.

"I wanna!" Momoshiro says with a giggle. He tries to break free again, but doesn't seem to have much strength in him anymore, not after enjoying himself like that. "Let go!" he says.

"Hell no," Kaidoh growls, tightening his hold on both Momoshiro's hands. "Not if you're going to do that again."

Momoshiro tightens his lips into a suppressed smile, as he tries to look serious again. "Promise," he lies.

Kaidoh raises his eyebrows and gives Momoshiro a skeptical look. Then he huffs. "If I punch you again, I'm not going to miss," he says finally, and, a bit reluctantly, lets go of Momoshiro's hands.

"Whatever." Momoshiro's fingers are twitching and aching to reunite with Kaidoh's skin again—but he restrains himself. He'll have to distract Kaidoh first. Well, that's easy.

Momoshiro leans down towards Kaidoh's face even more, quickly planting his lips on Kaidoh's open mouth (lately the snake doesn't even so much as flinch or move away when he does it). He sucks on it a little, then tries to block Kaidoh's view from his arms, which are sneaking down towards his sides.

Even though Kaidoh is still feeling a little short of breath from the earlier torture, he doesn't really mind feeling breathless if it's because of this. He hisses softly, like he's still trying to keep up the pretense of a protest, before letting his eyes close and pressing his mouth back against Momoshiro's. At least this kind of touch is something he can tolerate, although he'd probably feel a little more comfortable if he weren't still pinned underneath Momoshiro, since, up until a few seconds ago, that was a pretty dangerous place to be. Which might be why he's still got one hand balled into a fist, ready to defend himself.

The tingling sensation of their lips slowly moving together makes Momoshiro's mind a little hazy, like there's a lot less incentive to tickle Kaidoh again. As much as he loves hearing the snake laugh, he does enjoy this whole lot more.

Momoshiro smiles pleasantly against Kaidoh's lips, pressing against them harder, and sucking at it just the way he likes. His hands lower at Kaidoh's side, but this time his fingers aren't itching anymore. He always tends to lose track of his objective when Kaidoh's mouth is on his, demanding all his attention. Instead, his hand lightly presses down on Kaidoh's bicep, trailing it down to his hand—which is enclosed in a fist. Slowly he tries to pry it open so he can slip his fingers between Kaidoh's, and after a bit of kissing and wiggling in there, Kaidoh's fist relaxes and Momoshiro can entwine their hands together.

This is nice too.

Momoshiro's lips pull away from Kaidoh, but he leaves their mouths close together, in case they'll kiss again. He smiles as he stares at Kaidoh's closed eyes. "I guess you don't want to stop this, huh," he says in a smug voice.

Kaidoh's eyes blink open and he immediately gives Momoshiro an annoyed look like he's suggesting something totally embarrassing. Which it is, even if it also happens to be the truth.

"Shut up, dumbass," he grumbles, while at the same time squeezing Momoshiro's hand.

"My pleasure," hums Momoshiro, and he presses his lips on Kaidoh's again. Now he can't decide whether or not to tickle Kaidoh again. It would definitely interrupt their fun-time, and he'd get a black eye, probably. But Kaidoh's laughter is addicting! He wants to hear it again.

… Not that what they're doing now isn't addicting either.

Well, he can have a little bit of fun before prodding again, so he keeps their lips smacked together, kissing and sucking slowly. His fingers keep brushing against Kaidoh's, playing with his fingertips.

Kaidoh easily forgets any embarrassment or irritation once their mouths are back on each other's again, pushing gently back and forth. Somehow something that was once stressful to even contemplate doing is now almost the opposite. Which is, in itself, kind of stressful, because what the hell? But Kaidoh's not about to question it and run the risk of having it stop. Because Momoshiro's right—Kaidoh doesn't want this to stop.

His teeth tug a little on Momoshiro's bottom lip and, in an effort to keep Momoshiro from pulling back to talk again, he slides his free hand up and around to the back of Momoshiro's head so he can keep him close. Although Momoshiro seems to have gotten the message and doesn't seem to be going anywhere anytime soon.

One of Momoshiro's hands glides down Kaidoh's chest, towards his stomach and … goes right back up. Alright, so maybe he had wanted to tickle Kaidoh, but with the way things are right now, he's getting kind of blown away by fizzly and pleasurable feelings that are way better than attacking an unwilling Kaidoh. This Kaidoh however, is very willing to continue kissing. It's kind of strange the way it happened, to be so comfortable with kissing. To be able to call it kissing period. But it's what they're doing; lips suckling on each other and Kaidoh is making sure to keep Momoshiro trapped so he can't escape. Not that he wants to. And shouldn't it be the other way around? He's the one on top of Kaidoh after all.

Kaidoh's teeth playfully tug on Momoshiro's bottom lip again, quietly demanding attention. Well, he's got Momoshiro's full attention. Kaidoh always gets his attention, even if there's some lovely food around them that Momoshiro would love to eat—Kaidoh just has this way of quietly screaming 'look at me'. Or perhaps 'kiss me'. The image of Kaidoh telling Momoshiro to kiss him, makes his heart jump inside of his chest, and his fingers squeeze Kaidoh's hand even harder.

That … seems so out of reach. So forbidden. To talk about it, to ask for it, to admit they're doing it. But to be honest, Momoshiro does want it, and he likes it too. Yet it still seems like some huge mountain to overcome to come right out and say; hey, let's kiss. It's silly and stupid, but imagining Kaidoh saying that to him makes his heart race once more.

But right now, they are strictly non-verbal. Kaidoh did tell him to shut up after all. And if anything, Kaidoh seems to be asking for Momoshiro to open his mouth, what with the way his teeth are biting on his lips again. So Momoshiro complies. He opens his mouth, and can feel Kaidoh do the same, then he swiftly slips his tongue inside, meeting up in the middle with Kaidoh's hot and smoldering tongue. His body shivers at the sensation. No matter how many times they manage to do this, it still feels good and almost like a fantasy—too good to be true.

Kaidoh's tongue swipes against Momoshiro's and he feels electricity shudder through him clear down to his toes. His heart is pounding now, steadily speeding up as Momoshiro's mouth becomes more demanding against his own and Kaidoh can't help but respond.

He runs his tongue over Momoshiro's, and presses until he's pushed his way into Momoshiro's mouth instead, where he rolls his tongue around a bit, before drawing it out again, letting it linger over Momoshiro's bottom lip and then slipping heatedly against Momoshiro's tongue once more. This always feels like muscle memory to him, requiring almost no thought at all but still managing to send every nerve-ending in his body into a state of high alert.

Kaidoh likes the way he can feel Momoshiro tense and shiver with each changing movement, the way his fingers clench around his own, so tightly Kaidoh can feel his pulse. It mirrors the anxious and excited pounding in his own chest, and it somehow eases away any lingering embarrassment to know that Momoshiro is just as into this too. It's been like that from the beginning; neither one of them holds back when it comes to this. If either of them did, it probably would never have gotten this far.

Kaidoh's fingers trail down through Momoshiro's hair and curl around the back of his neck, his fingertips pressing solid, yet gentle, circles into the skin. It's something he wouldn't do freely any other time but when they're like this it feels like it's allowed, like he has an excuse, like he can get away with being gentle or affectionate or any number of things.

And it's something Momoshiro likes. The warm feeling of Kaidoh's hand wrapped around his neck, his fingers pressing down like a comforting presence that won't go away. It's very comfortable, and also a little exciting. Like Kaidoh is fine with keeping him here, with holding him like this. Momoshiro is more than fine with it.

He slurps up Kaidoh's tongue, his own moist lips sliding over his tongue as he pulls back a little, before coming back to meet Kaidoh's mouth again. He could do this for ages. Usually however, that doesn't happen. Things always ... escalate. It's hard to continue sitting on top of Kaidoh, with their tongues entangled, and not feel like there's something about to happen. Something more, something better. Momoshiro knows exactly how this situation will play out.

Like it has, many times before. Yet each time it happens, it still feels like some kind of dream, like Momoshiro is making the whole thing up, and he's just having horny fantasies about Kaidoh. But he's not, it's real, as real as Kaidoh's tongue and his hand, refusing to leave Momoshiro alone. And not only that, they agreed, didn't they? To continue this thing they share with each other. It's probably the most verbal they will ever be regarding this issue, but Momoshiro is glad his big mouth started talking before he could stop himself, because now he doesn't feel anxious, now he's not scared.

Now he simply feels excited at doing it again with Kaidoh. Because he knows … it will happen.

And Kaidoh doesn't seem to be rejecting his advances, in fact, he's into it as much as Momoshiro is. Their previous tickle attack has long been forgotten by now. Even the food on Kaidoh's plate, lies there cold and alone.

Wait, food. Hey, Kaidoh didn't finish it. Momoshiro tries to focus his mind as Kaidoh swirls his tongue around his, causing him to let out a strange groan from the back of his throat.

Right, he had food. He made dinner for Kaidoh which he didn't even finish. Oh, and the dessert!

Momoshiro separates their lips, taking in a deep breath and readying himself to speak. "Wh—" he manages to say before Kaidoh quickly sticks his tongue in his open mouth. The rest of the words are muffled, and Momoshiro twists his hand into the fabric of Kaidoh's shirt, pulling them both closer. Ahh, this is not good, if Kaidoh keeps doing this, Momoshiro is sure he'll forget all about food. Hmm … Kaidoh ... or food. Both sound really good together.

Again, Momoshiro parts from Kaidoh to take another breath. "Wait," he finally manages to say. His eyes are half open and feel tired and heavy—his entire body feels heavy. Kaidoh looks up at him, irritated to have to wait, but still looks as disheveled as Momoshiro.

"I've got ... balls," says Momoshiro in a hitched breath.

Kaidoh's forehead creases in bewilderment and he narrows his eyes at Momoshiro. "I … know that, moron," he says slowly. Why the hell is Momoshiro interrupting their thing to tell him this? Actually, why the hell is Momoshiro talking right now at all?

"What."

Kaidoh's expression turns into more of a scowl. "What do you mean 'what'?" he demands, sounding impatient. The more he's having to talk, the stuffier the air between them is starting to feel. "What's your point?" He really hopes Momoshiro has one; now is not a time when Kaidoh can tolerate his pointless rambling.

"My balls! They're on the plate still." Momoshiro frowns. "The coconutballs, you idiot. Not my own."

Kaidoh blinks. "Oh," he says dumbly. He huffs and loosens his grip on Momoshiro's hand and around his neck. "So what, you're … hungry?" Somehow his voice comes out sounding a bit insulted, like he's offended that Momoshiro would get so easily distracted by the idea of food. He's not sure why he's surprised though, it is Momoshiro, after all. He can probably sense food from miles away.

Momoshiro takes his time before answering, looking down at Kaidoh, who is slowly starting to squirm beneath his body. The warm hand on his neck now feels hesitant and uncertain, as if he can't make up his mind whether or not he's allowed to do this anymore. Momoshiro wants to say; it's okay. But again—talking seems like a mountain he hasn't overcome yet. Instead he looks down at their hands together, which also feels reluctant.

"No … I mean …" Momoshiro looks back up at Kaidoh again, feeling a bit bashful. "I just made them for you … that's all."

"Oh. Uh." Kaidoh glances away, feeling awkward, and then looks back at Momoshiro. "Thanks … I mean, whatever … Do you want to eat them right now or something?" he asks, still confused about why Momoshiro suddenly brought them up and interrupted their kissing just as it was starting to get exciting.

"Uhh …" Momoshiro feels awkward as well; Kaidoh's rubbing off on him. He didn't mean to eat it right now, it was just … a friendly reminder. Or something. "Well I guess they'll still be good till tomorrow morning," he says. And it's true, it can stay in shape for two days at least. But he did want to eat them today, it was just something he wanted to make Kaidoh happy with.

Kaidoh looks anything but happy right now though. Damn, he should have just kept his mouth shut.

Momoshiro's fingers uncurl from Kaidoh's shirt, and he sits up straight, feeling like he's put on the spot when they're so close to each other and talking instead of kissing. He clears his throat and averts his gaze from Kaidoh. "Unless you want to eat them right now."

Kaidoh's mouth pinches into a frown. "No, I …" want to be doing something else right now, is that he wants to say, anyway, but that sounds mortifying even in his head, so there's no way he'd let those words leave his mouth. "I'm fine," he finishes instead, and glances down at the front of his tank top, which is looking kind of rumpled now.

"Right, okay then." Momoshiro scrunches up his nose as he tries to think of what else to say. Or do. It's weird now, they're both aware of what they're doing, yet neither of them is addressing it.

It's stupid, that's what it is. If Momoshiro can easily kiss Kaidoh without any sort of embarrassment, then he should have no trouble regaining the momentum they lost right now. Though Kaidoh isn't helping, not with that face, the face that says 'I hate you, why did you talk, this is awkward'. At least it's still sort of cute, since his cheeks are coloured red again. Momoshiro snorts, and lifts his hand up to Kaidoh's face.

He pinches Kaidoh's cheek. "You look stupid," he says. But not really. Momoshiro smiles at him; they can go back to not being awkward again. As long as someone takes the first step.

"You look stupider," Kaidoh retorts weakly, his hand sliding from Momoshiro's neck to his shirt collar and tugging at the material, like he does when he's trying to pick a fight. Only this time he's not pulling very hard, and he doesn't look like he wants to punch Momoshiro either.

"You're the stupidest," Momoshiro fires back with a grin. His own hand glides back to Kaidoh's chest as well, fingers curling around the fabric. Why does Kaidoh not walk around shirtless?

Kaidoh hisses and twists his fingers into Momoshiro's shirt so that his knuckles press against Momoshiro's collarbone. "Dumbass," he grumbles. "You're the stupid one, not me."

Momoshiro rolls his eyes. "Do you want to take this off for me?" he asks, referring to the way Kaidoh is gripping his shirt.

Well, Kaidoh certainly wouldn't object, but he's not about to agree to something embarrassing like that. Especially not when Momoshiro asks it so bluntly. So instead Kaidoh gives Momoshiro a challenging look and says, in a tone that suggests he thinks Momoshiro is helpless, "What, you can't take it off yourself?"

"Hmpf." Momoshiro pushes against Kaidoh's chest to heave himself off from Kaidoh's body, finally freeing him. He stands up straight, turning away from Kaidoh. "Let's just undress," he says as he tugs at the hem of his shirt to take it off. They have to go to sleep sometime.

Kaidoh kind of gapes at Momoshiro's back for a moment, before rising to his feet as well. "Uh, yeah. Okay," he says hesitantly, feeling a little uncertain about what exactly he's agreeing to here.

Momoshiro pulls off his shirt, messing up his hair in the process, but it was already a bit messy when Kaidoh's fingers were in it. He smiles to himself as he tries to fold his shirt in a sort of neat way. At least Kaidoh is getting more assertive. He dumps his shirt next to his bed, then tugs off his socks, trying to not look like a total spaz as he hops around on one leg. Then his brown shorts are next; he wedges his thumbs underneath the waistband and starts pulling it off till it pools at his ankles, leaving him standing there with his white boxershorts with heart prints on them. This is … kind of weird, what with Kaidoh behind him, and he can hear the ruffling sounds of fabric moving as well.

Momoshiro hopes they can continue where they left off, just kissing. But sleep is also important. Maybe … Momoshiro looks at his bed, remembering the times he and Kaidoh laid there together after doing that. That usually happens afterwards though, but perhaps, they can … together … now? It sounds like a nice idea in his head, to sleep against Kaidoh's warm body during the night. And just as fast as that thought entered his head, he pushes it out, shaking his head and frowning at his own blush spreading on his cheeks.

He keeps his back turned to Kaidoh—stupid red cheeks—and shuffles on his spot. "Done?" he asks.

Kaidoh has managed to get his shirt, shorts, and shoes off and all lined up neatly near the foot of his bed, and now he's just standing awkwardly behind Momoshiro, feeling exposed and also like a creep for staring. So he looks down at the floor instead.

"I guess so," he says, still sounding hesitant. He's got one finger hooked in the waistband of his boxer shorts. Well, is he supposed to lose those too? He shifts his weight from one foot to the other like he's waiting for a cue from Momoshiro on what to do next.

"Oh," says Momoshiro as he sees his shadow flicker on the wall. "Gotta blow out those candles."

Momoshiro turns around, avoiding Kaidoh for a tiny bit, and bends down at their table to blow out two of the three candles, each blow making the room darker and darker. The third candle however, is nearly burnt out, so Momoshiro decides to leave it, it'll give them a bit more light until they fall asleep. His eyes blink in the dark, gauging where Kaidoh is, who is somewhere behind him, being a creep.

It's a totally stupid and ridiculous thought, not to mention embarrassing, but today, Momoshiro feels like nothing should be embarrassing anymore. Instead, he thinks he'd be okay with sleeping next to Kaidoh's body. For his warmth, that is. Not because he wants to be close or anything. Totally not …

It's hard to come right out and ask for it though. Yo, wanna sleep with me? It sounds ridiculous and stupid, not to mention completely mortifying, and Momoshiro is kind of tongue tied here.

Kaidoh's eyes start to adjust to the dimmer lighting and he looks back at Momoshiro, feeling like he should say something, but somehow words seem a lot harder with fewer items of clothing to cover them. And what would Kaidoh say anyway?

He takes an awkward, and apparently poorly navigated step forward, a little closer to Momoshiro, but ends up bumping his shin against the table in the middle of the room instead and curses under his breath. Real smooth. At least he didn't knock anything over.

"Watch it," says Momoshiro with a chuckle. His hand reaches out for Kaidoh's leg, trying to see where he got hit and if he's not bleeding, or has a splinter stuck in it. Momoshiro has a nasty memory of having that huge splinter in his back that one time.

He decides Kaidoh can live with the damage, and retrieves his hand. "Idiot," he mumbles. He finally gets up, facing Kaidoh in the very dim light of the last candle. He's undressed alright, and Momoshiro doesn't know why this makes him feel all fluttery and nervous again. He tries not to stare. Tries.

So how does one get a guy into bed anyway?

Maybe Momoshiro can just push Kaidoh into his bed, maybe then he'll get the message. Or maybe he'll get pissed at Momoshiro for pushing him, and punch him in the face. Okay, well, plan B then. He could lure Kaidoh into bed. And that sounds really fucking gross, like he's some demon luring men into bed. Ew, gross.

Is asking really the only option?

Momoshiro grits his teeth and looks away from Kaidoh, down at their bare feet. "So …" he starts. "Uhm …" This is pretty awkward to ask for. "Do you want to …" He gestures towards his bed and hopes that conveys his message. Thank god it's too dark in the room to see him blushing. If Kaidoh says no right now, he might just stab him with a splinter in his back.

Kaidoh feels something clench in his throat, like a bunch of words are jammed in there but he can't seem to get any of them out. His face feels warm and he doesn't have anything to hide it behind anymore, and even his fingers feel aimless without a pocket to stuff them in. He looks down at the floor of the hut too, like he and Momoshiro are both studying the same very interesting floorboard.

"Yeah ..." he says finally. It's low and drawn out and he sounds like he's amazed to hear his voice come out at all. It makes him flush even redder, but it's not like he can take it back now. He looks up again, his eyes still nervous, and cautiously reaches towards Momoshiro for his hand, finding his fingers and trapping them between his own. He can't take that back either, nor can he very easily brush it off as being accidental. Well, maybe for once it's okay for him to not have an excuse.

Momoshiro feels his entire body light up like a christmas tree, a warm and fuzzy feeling filling him up, coming from Kaidoh's hand which is curled around his own. It's there, completely voluntarily, just like everything else they're doing is done on purpose, though a bit hesitant, as if they're testing out the waters. But it's been how many months now? Since this all started. It's been long enough that Momoshiro shouldn't be afraid of doing what he wants, so he tightens his grip on Kaidoh's hand—not wanting to let go of him—and takes a step forward to him.

As if they're two puzzle pieces that fit together perfectly, Momoshiro pulls Kaidoh closer, tugging gently on his hand, until they meet up, meshing together in this dimly lit room. Their warm chests softly press into each other, their waists connecting, and Momoshiro almost steps on Kaidoh's foot. He laughs a bit nervously at his mistake, but doesn't pull away, doesn't let go of Kaidoh's hand, instead he runs his other hand up on Kaidoh's back, and presses his face against the smooth skin of Kaidoh's shoulder. He can feel Kaidoh's heartbeat pound softly against his chest, like a steady and comforting presence that he's there. That this is real.

This is not something Momoshiro could ever get enough of. It's already amazing he can do this, with Kaidoh not pulling away at all. Instead they stay like that, embracing each other and quietly enjoying it.

Momoshiro sighs against Kaidoh's skin, closing his eyes. When it's just the two of them like this, nothing else seems to matter. He's glad they live alone. Which reminds him …

"... You locked the door, right?" he mumbles against Kaidoh's shoulder. His fingers fan out on Kaidoh's back, moving down until they hook around his waist.

"Oh," Kaidoh says, embarrassed. He forgot about that. It still hasn't really become second nature to him … maybe because he hasn't quite broken the expectation that he'll be going out running again later, or maybe because he's still embarrassed that they have a need to lock the door in the first place. Like locking the door makes what they're doing somehow more deliberate and planned, and much harder to ignore.

He pulls back a little, seeming reluctant to do so, and then finally takes a step backwards as well so there's space between them again, although he doesn't let go of Momoshiro's hand right away. The distance only makes Kaidoh more self-conscious about what they're doing, and why locking the door might actually be important. After all, he'd be mortified if anyone walked in on them right now and at the moment all he's doing is holding Momoshiro's hand.

"I'll um…" he starts, sounding uncertain, "I'll do that now."

"Okay," says Momoshiro. He'd rather not anyone walk in on them right now. Or ever. He likes the privacy they share together, even if it's embarrassing. But it'd be more embarrassing if someone saw them. Like this, holding hands. Momoshiro finally loosens his grip and his fingers slip away from Kaidoh's.

"I'll …" Momoshiro doesn't want to finish that sentence. Instead he just turns around and saunters over towards his own bed. He hopes Kaidoh isn't having second thoughts, and will return to Momoshiro's bed and not his own. Just the thought that this could all go wrong, that Kaidoh would reject it and perhaps even make fun of him, makes the palms of his hands sweaty and sticky. He wipes it off in his boxers and then kicks at his bedsheets for some distraction.

Momoshiro can hear Kaidoh walk to the door—it's not that far, since this is a small room—and he tries not to pay attention to the way his feet sound like in this silent night. The way the floorboards creak with each step. As if they're setting everything up, making sure everything will go alright. That no one can see them at least. Not that anyone will in the middle of the night, but still, they might in the morning. Momoshiro takes off the blanket from his bed; it's small and narrow. Alright for one person, but for two people, it does get quite cramped. Momoshiro doesn't know if that's a bad thing, or, when he thinks about Kaidoh's warm chest against his, and his legs entangled together, a really good thing. He'll settle for it being a good thing, and tries to squish down that weird thought in the back of his mind that is saying 'just make the bed bigger for two people'.

He slips under the covers and pushes himself up against the side of the wall to make space for Kaidoh, which is right next to him. He looks over at Kaidoh, but can barely see him as the candle is starting to slowly fade out. He smooths his hands out against the blanket, riding over his own knees, as if he needs to give his hands something to do, otherwise it's too quiet.

The door makes an embarrassingly loud click as it locks shut and Kaidoh simultaneously blushes and grimaces at the sound, like it's announcing to the night that he and Momoshiro want some privacy to do private things. And while that may be the truth, Kaidoh sure as hell doesn't want to think about it that way, because it's mortifying.

He huffs and pads back over the floorboards, toward the table where the candle has now burned down almost entirely, casting very little light over the room. But there's enough for Kaidoh to make out Momoshiro's shape in the bed and seeing him there makes a nervous feeling shiver around in Kaidoh's stomach, and he hesitates, stealing a glance over at his own bed before looking back again. But luckily he doesn't have time to second-guess this, because his feet have already made up their mind and start moving again, like they're being pulled along by some invisible string, until Kaidoh's over at Momoshiro's bed.

His movements are stilted and even a little tense as he sits down on the edge of the bed, like he's still not sure he's allowed to do this, like he's still not sure he's going to allow himself to do this. In the darkness he looks over at Momoshiro for reassurance. Is this really okay?

"Move closer," says Momoshiro. He's thankful for the darkness, as Kaidoh can't tell how red he is for saying that. For wanting him to be closer. "... You'll fall out otherwise," he says, as if he needs to have a reason for getting Kaidoh to come closer. Other than wanting him near.

Momoshiro scoots over a tiny bit more, propping himself up on his elbow, and flips over the blanket so Kaidoh can come and … well … lie in it … with him. For once Momoshiro isn't cold anymore, not with the way his skin keeps heating up. But even the thought of lying next to Kaidoh makes his cheeks glow warmer. This should really stop being embarrassing, he just wants to sleep like this. Together. Without any questions asked, or anyone to bother them.

Kaidoh slides in a little, blushing when his leg brushes against Momoshiro's. "Sorry," he mumbles awkwardly, like he's suddenly worried about crowding Momoshiro's personal space. He's not sure why the proximity is making his heart race. It's not like it is anything new to him, but it seems different from anything they've done before, because now it feels like something they've consciously decided on. Which is a little scary, but not scary enough to make Kaidoh want to leave.

What was it that Momoshiro said a little while ago? This should stop being embarrassing already? It's true, and Momoshiro is a bit irritated with the way Kaidoh is hyperconscious of the way their skin is touching, and it's making Momoshiro self aware as well. He doesn't want to be though, so he bites the bullet.

"Just lie down already," he says with a huff. And then, without giving Kaidoh the opportunity to lie down on his own, he throws an arm around Kaidoh's body and pushes him down flat against the pillow, and flings the blanket over the both of them, so it rests at their shoulders.

And now … they're really, really close together underneath this blanket. While Momoshiro can't see, he knows how close his face is to Kaidoh's, and there's definitely a lot of touching involved. Their legs are touching, and their hips are too, not to mention Momoshiro still has one arm around Kaidoh, which he drops down to rest at his warm waist.

He feels happy, that Kaidoh is here, that he didn't decide to go to sleep on his own after all. It's like as soon as they touch, as soon as they're this close, it doesn't matter anymore, thinking about what ifs, and whether or not it's allowed. Once they're like this … Momoshiro doesn't care about anything else anymore. He shuffles around until he's lying on his side, then takes the brave move of pushing himself closer to Kaidoh, so his entire body is hogging Kaidoh's side. The tip of his nose lightly pokes Kaidoh's shoulder, and he's trying to send ESP signals to Kaidoh to turn over too.

Kaidoh isn't much of a mind reader, but he doesn't have to be because now that Momoshiro's snuggled up against him, all the fear and shyness that was making Kaidoh hesitate is replaced by a simple desire to be close to Momoshiro too.

He rolls over onto his side, and Momoshiro doesn't miss a beat, his arm sliding along with Kaidoh's body, and even curling closer, each fingertip feeling like the bulb of a heat lamp. Kaidoh doesn't need light to know that they're face to face. When Momoshiro breathes out, Kaidoh can feel it against his chin and lips, and he exhales a hiss of anticipation in response.

Momoshiro feels himself shiver a little at the sound, at the closeness of them being together. Usually such moments are reserved until after they've done their perverted thing, and even that only lasts for so long before they break up and return to being Momoshiro and Kaidoh. But right now, there is no excuse of 'I feel so good I can't tell what's going on', they're simply here, together, not moving away. The warmth of Kaidoh's body is engulfing him, making him feel kind of woozy, but in a good way, like he's just done a dunk smash but jumped too high and feels lightheaded.

Why can't it always be like this? Why is it always so awkward and hard to arrive to this point, when they both know that as soon as they're together like this, it's like they connect.

It is getting harder to deny that this is something alright. Momoshiro has been trying, to not let his thoughts wander, to not think of the ramifications that result from their actions. The meaning of what they're doing. It's a scary thought, one that makes Momoshiro's throat close up, so he tries his best to pretend everything is alright, everything is fine and okay. But when they're like this, there really is no excuse at all—and even then, Momoshiro doesn't run away in fear. He stays like this, his hand slowly moving up and down Kaidoh's waist, gently applying pressure to the naked skin.

Only moments before, he would have tickled that waist. But now, now Momoshiro is busy enjoying that fluttery feeling again in his chest, and the dizzy feeling from feeling Kaidoh's breath so close.

The candle on the table finally takes its last breath and burns out, leaving the two surrounded in darkness. But Momoshiro doesn't need to see Kaidoh to know how close they are.

He bumps his forehead against Kaidoh's, and takes in a deep breath as he feels his entire body snuggle closer, as if they can't be separated. He won't allow it. Kaidoh's forehead feels warm, and despite only his nose lightly brushing against Kaidoh's, he can also feel how warm Kaidoh's face is. It's a comforting thought, and he would like nothing more than to stay this close to his face.

In fact, being this close makes Momoshiro want to continue what he interrupted with his balls. It's okay if it's just them, and no one is around, he can indulge in his wants and needs, meaning kissing is looking like a very good idea to him right now. He flicks his tongue over his lips to wet them, inching a tiny bit closer. Then, out of nowhere, the thought of Kaidoh asking for a kiss pops right back in his head again. It makes him feel tingly, but there's no way Kaidoh would ever say that (even if this would probably make his heart beat out of his chest), since there's no way Momoshiro would say it.

And if Momoshiro won't do it, Kaidoh sure as hell won't. That doesn't mean it wouldn't be nice to hear though.

Kaidoh blinks, he can't tell if Momoshiro is still looking at him. He can't tell if he's still looking at Momoshiro either. It's too dark now to see much of anything, but that's making all of Kaidoh's other senses heightened and alert. Momoshiro's fingers are making shivers and goosebumps race up his side, and Kaidoh doesn't understand how Momoshiro's touch can do that to him when the rest of his skin still feels warmer than an oven. He can hear their breaths echo in and out, and his heart is beating in his chest like a drum. He can smell Momoshiro's hair and skin, even the blanket smells like him. It's comforting in a way Kaidoh never expected. He's reassured by the fact that Momoshiro isn't making any effort to leave space between them, or to pull away. He's keeping close like he wants to be there, and Kaidoh wants him there, too, more than he can put into words.

Well, he doesn't need to right now; Momoshiro must know, or at least have some inkling. Kaidoh wouldn't do this with anyone else. This is something only Momoshiro can get away with.

And for some reason that's not a source of embarrassment or nervousness for Kaidoh the way it once was. He's okay with it. He lifts an arm between them and his fingers find Momoshiro's cheek and slide over it, down to his neck where they curl into the skin. And then Kaidoh bites his lip, hesitating for one final moment, before he shakily leans forward, tilting his face until he feels his mouth press over Momoshiro's.

Momoshiro's face flushes with blood and his heart skips several beats. He leans in, his lips warmly accepting Kaidoh's, the pressure between them gentle and soft.

He hadn't expected Kaidoh to do this, or perhaps Kaidoh can read his ESP signals after all. Kaidoh initiating anything like this is rare, and each time he does it, it throws Momoshiro for a loop, like he doesn't know how to respond and is overloaded with thrilling sensations. There's one thing he does know; it's that he wants more of this daring Kaidoh. It's weird, but Kaidoh kissing him first means something more than when he takes the first plunge. It feels special, he feels special, what with the way Kaidoh is massaging his lips with his own, and his hand on his neck feels so caring. Yes, Momoshiro likes this Kaidoh a lot.

Kaidoh might not have used words, but the meaning is the same; I want to kiss you.

Momoshiro slowly moves his lips along Kaidoh's warm ones; I want to kiss you too.

And that, is all Momoshiro needs to know to be okay with this. Words are scary, but words cannot begin to describe what transpired between them both. The feelings they get, the urges that surge, the actions they make. It cannot be put into words, so why does Momoshiro even try. All that matters is that Kaidoh wants this too.

He wants to be with Momoshiro, here, in this bed, lips gently sucking on each other, and hands unable to leave their skin. If only Kaidoh knew, what Momoshiro feels when they're like this, how each touch of Kaidoh's hand is like filling him up with sunshine and goose bumps, how he seems to crave his touch more and more. But maybe he already knows, he isn't running away from it at least, and Kaidoh is good at running.

Yeah, Momoshiro is okay with this. He's okay being like this with Kaidoh.

He smiles against Kaidoh's lips, and tightens his grip around his body. Definitely okay with it.