3rd World Aru Akise
I sat on the edge of the pool, glancing down at Yukiteru-kun, waiting for him to ask me his question. I was reluctant to break away from our… unusual encounter, but I was also eager to find out more from him. I could tell he was an introvert and didn't have many friends, that much was obvious. I also knew that he mostly likely didn't have parents- or at least not very caring ones –since on the rare occasion that work slipped into the late night, he'd go home alone. I offered him a ride with my mother a few times, but he politely refused, muttering a few incoherent excuses. I felt pity towards the boy, but I tried to shake my emotions off whenever I did my profiling.
A detective doesn't let their emotions blur information, and Yukiteru-kun was a big mystery I desperately wanted to unravel. He shuts everyone out, I can tell, because his social skills are lacking. It's endearing, in a way, but I don't want to let my opinions get in the way. So even as I see Yukiteru-kun awkwardly shuffle around in the water, I don't allow myself the thoughts that come to surface. Thoughts about how adorable he can be, how his expressive face can easily twist up into embarrassment, or joy, or amazement. No, they must be pushed away.
I couldn't control myself a few moments ago. As a result of those thoughts, I had pulled him back to me selfishly. Even if I had enjoyed it in the moment, I had a case to crack, and I wasn't going to scare my current project away. I had to muster up as much self-control as possible.
One look back at a soaking, half-naked, blushing Yukiteru-kun was all it took shatter my common sense, and I was finding the task of not tackling the boy to be impossible. There he goes again, being waaay too cute for his own good. He was looking up at me with wide, teal eyes, still in the water. He seemed to be searching for what to ask, and I repressed a chuckle when he did his imitation of a fish with no water.
"Wh-why don't you like your last name?" He finally spoke up.
Crap. I didn't expect that one this early on. I hadn't meant to let it slip out when I first told him, but I was somehow more comfortable around the brunette. I felt as if he wouldn't be one to judge, if I ever told him about my past. And I guess it didn't help that at the time, he was being adorable again. Did he do it on purpose? To disarm me? It was definitely working. Well, I had been honest to him up until now, so I'd have to continue. At least for now. Though I hoped I wouldn't have to give everything away, since detectives never let others know more than they should.
"Ah, well.. my father is the owner of this bigwig medical company and my mother is a well-known attorney, so people just assume I'm riding on their coattails when I go inquire about these prestigious universities. They try to be nice to me in the hopes of obtaining any leftovers; which I wouldn't mind so much if they didn't go behind my back and plot against me with blackmail and such," There. I said it. It's a bit of a relief to get if off my chest, even if the details are all murky and vague, but it's more of a worry now; knowing that Yukiteru-kun could try to get at my money, too. Even if he doesn't seem like the type of guy to do that, I've met others that were similar to him.
"…Oh. I didn't know.." Yukiteru-kun is looking at me strangely now. Do I see pity in his eyes? With just a hint of.. jealousy? Why would he be jealous? Oh, right. I practically just claimed that my parents earn a lot of money.
"Yes, I realized that when you elbowed me in the face the other day in the studios and didn't even bother apologizing," I clucked my tongue and crossed my arms in a way that my mother often did when my father compared her to someone else. Guess it's an inherited trait.
"I did?! Why didn't you say anything?! I never noticed! Oh my gosh- I am so sorry! Forgive me Akise-kun!" I heard him thrash around in the water, trying to get my attention. I kept my gaze on the rollercoaster in the distance, trying to keep a stoic face. I utterly failed when I heard a meek, "Please?" and I felt the corners of my mouth twitch. I turned towards Yukiteru-kun once more, and was pleased to see furrowed brows and flushed cheeks. Does he know what he's doing? Because he's an expert on manipulating me. Seriously, it has to stop, or I'll be tempted to kidnap the kid and take him home with me.
"All right, all right, I'll forgive you," At this, Yukiteru-kun let out a sigh of relief. What, he honestly didn't think I was mad at him, did he? Well, I guess the lack of friends can explain that. I was trying to treat him like just another case again, but I found the usual clinical tone slightly unwanted. I wasn't sure why, since it helped me distance myself from my cases, but I somehow didn't feel comfortable being at a distance again. I was interrupted from my thoughts when Yukiteru-kun decided to speak up again.
"Th-thanks.. And umm.. I'm not like those other guys.." Damn right you aren't. But what does that have to do with anything? I cocked my head to the side, giving off a confused expression indicating that he needed to be a bit clearer. "I mean! I.. don't care who your parents are. Akise-kun is Akise-kun, and not some money cow that needs to be milked dry or whatever. I like Akise-kun for who he is, and not for his rich parents!" Yukiteru-kun's smile shone brightly in the sun, splashing merrily in the water. The sight caused my heart to speed up a bit, and the words stunned me. He shouldn't say something like that so carelessly! Or at least, not without the expectation of getting jumped!
Luckily I was a few feet away from him, so it made the temptation a bit easier to resist. I exchanged my best smile, while saying my thanks, hoping it would be enough for him. It seemed like it was, because he simply nodded, adding a smaller smile to it. I suddenly felt at ease now, being able to converse with Yukiteru-kun. I slipped back into the pool, letting my body get re-adjusted before I let myself float on my back as I searched for one of the many questions I had for him. Since we seemed to be on the topic of parents, and me wanting to confirm my suspicions, I asked,
"What about your parents? What do they do for a living?"
Silence. The only sounds to be heard were the waves in the pool. I didn't look up from my positions in the water, but I could tell Yukiteru-kun was caught off-guard. Normally, I'd cheer myself on for being able to correctly guess what other peoples' issues were, but this seemed… a bit off. I suddenly regretted asking, knowing I should've been able to find out anyway without being so direct. Ah, well.
"My mom is a video game programmer, but she has to travel a lot because of it, so she's never really home. And my dad.. I don't know what he does. Last I heard he was having money troubles, so he can't be doing anything too spectacular," The brunette responded icily.
Well at least I was right. Not sure if that makes me feel any better. Perhaps it might be best to move on from that. I don't really know how to comfort people. Though I guess it doesn't hurt to try, right?
I pushed myself up and swam over to Yukiteru-kun. He didn't look up, though I knew he took note of my presence because he tensed when I moved in front of him. I cupped his wet cheek, causing him to finally acknowledge me and look up. I gave him a soft smile, hoping to calm him, and spoke in a soothing voice,
"Like you said, it doesn't matter what your parents do. You're still yourself. Cheer up. Although that pout of yours is extremely adorable, you look even more adorable when you smile. Now hurry up and ask me your next question." I smirked when I saw his cheeks light up. He wasn't even trying to move away, though he did frantically try to look at everything but me.
"Akise-kun, are you gay?"
He might as well have slapped me in the face, because that what it felt like. My smirk disappeared, and I let my hand drop back down. I took a few steps back, miraculously not slipping on the wet tile. Was I gay? Are you serious? Well, I guess it did kind of seem like it with all the stuff I was pulling. No, I wasn't gay. At least, I didn't think so. I've never questioned it before. I just never had time for girlfriends and such. Ok, that was a lie. I had plenty of time in between cases. It just… never occurred to me. And the thought that I could be, actually didn't horrify me. I've dealt with homosexual or bisexual people in my line of work, and I've never had a problem with them before.
Though there are others who do have problems with that. Was Yukiteru-kun one of them? If he was, then I didn't want to risk losing my new favorite case. What was one little lie? I lied all the time to clients. Besides, I didn't think it was necessarily a lie. At least not fully.
"Ah, sorry Yukiteru-kun. I bet it seemed like I am, but I am not. I'll try to stop doing things like that in the future," I apologized to him. Taking control of the situation before it got even more awkward, I climbed out of the pool and called out, "We should probably get going if we want to be able to get on any rides!"
I left to go take care of business, not waiting for him, since I knew he would soon follow. A half hour later, I met up with a tense Yukiteru-kun outside. I guess that was partly my fault. Still, we were here to have fun, not be all awkward around each other and stay silent. I saw the rollercoaster I had mentioned earlier and almost grabbed his arm to lead him to it, but I refrained from doing so, chastising myself in my mind. Instead, I called out for Yukiteru-kun to follow, which he hesitantly did.
After much screaming and clinging on for dear life, it was my idea to go inside the haunted house and do some more of that wonderful screaming. Though it was only he who held on to me for dear life, which was, yet again, too cute. I had decided that it was enough for now, hearing Yukiteru-kun's stomach growl, him flushing in response. I paid for our meal, continuing our little game of twenty questions.
By the end, I had learned that his favorite color is blue, though a darker shade, whereas my favorite color is a lighter blue. I had also learned several other things, like who his crush was (unsurprisingly a girl), his favorite type of food, his secret passion for reading, and his dream to go see the stars with his parents among many other things. I revealed a couple of other things too, but nothing too personal. I decided it was best for the two of us if we didn't let that mistake happen again.
"Oh no!" Yukiteru-kun exclaimed as he looked at the setting sun. "We totally forgot about work! Ms. Everest is going to be super mad!" Seemingly forgotten about the earlier incident, he frantically pulled at my sleeve, looking stressed. It's his fault that he keeps looking like that, it's not mine for not being able to resist. I patted his shoulder, trying to calm him down.
"Hey, don't worry about it. She probably didn't notice we were gone, with all the yelling that she does, I'm surprised she even notices the people around her." He giggled slightly at this, which only made my want to try harder to reassure him. "And even if she does get mad, just say that I kidnapped you and you had no choice in the matter." At this, he only tightened his grip on my sleeve.
"Akise-kun can't take the blame! You're the one with the big role; you can't get fired over a stupid reason like me!"
Stupid? Yukiteru-kun, you're not stupid. Don't say those things. I only thought it, though, since I knew he was a bit touchy with that sort of thing now. Instead, I opted for, "It's ok, I'm sure she won't get mad anyways," I waved him off. "Hey, let's go on one last ride before we go! How does that sound?" I offered, wanting him to stop worrying.
"But the rollercoasters were scary…" He looked up at me with wide eyes, seemingly frightened. I desperately wanted to lean down and peck his forehead, but I refrained from doing so. That would only scare him more. I instantly came up with a solution.
"We don't have to go ride one of those. We can ride the ferris wheel. Does that sound better?" I asked softly, smiling down at him. He nodded, and I lead him to the giant wheel. Once we got on, I heard a static-like noise come from Yukiteru-kun's pocket. He pulled out his phone and looked at the screen, seemingly enraptured by the device.
Strange noise for a phone to make. I silently remarked. He had been typing on it while we were eating and answering questions, though it had never made that noise before. I had thought not much of it before, but when he looked up from the screen to stare at me in horror, a dusky pink decorating his cheeks, I was concerned.
"What is it, Yukiteru-kun?" I inquired, looking at the phone in his hands and back up at him. I was sitting on the opposite side of him, so I couldn't see what was on the phone. I tried leaning forward to catch a peek, but he only shifted away from me, cheeks now blazing red. What was on that phone of his?
"I-it's nothing…" Yukiteru-kun kept pushing away from, edging closer to the exit. I understood if he was uncomfortable, but he was getting to close to the edge, and I couldn't risk him falling off, especially when we were this high up in the air. I reached out, but he only shifted farther away.
"Yukiteru-kun, what's wrong? You need to be more careful, you could fall-" That must've jinxed me or something, because it was at that moment that he leaned too far to the right and almost plummeted to his death. Luckily, I grabbed his arm in time and pulled him back in. My heart was beating from the risk of losing Yukiteru-kun like that. I felt each individual pump trying to hammer its way through my chest, and I even felt it spread across my left side.
Wait, what? No, it was another person's heart beating against me. It could only be one other person. Yukiteru-kun. I guess I must've pulled too hard, but can you blame me? I was terrified for his life! And as a result of that, he was sitting up on my lap. In this position, he was actually taller than me, with his legs bent and on either side of my hips, chest flush with mine. Guess that explains the extra heartbeat I was feeling. Which seemed to be in a competition against my own to see who could go the fastest. His head was tucked away into my neck- shivering- and arms tightly wrapped around my waist. He seemed to be clinging on for dear life, and I couldn't blame him. He had almost fallen out at hundreds of feet in the air, even if it was his fault for sliding away so much.
Well. This won't help with the whole gay issue. I desperately wanted to clear the misunderstanding, knowing he wouldn't take it too well once he got over his panic attack, so I gently pushed him back far enough so that he could at least look at me. He unwrapped his arms from my waist, and I suddenly regretted not relishing in the moment a bit longer.
Thud!
The ferris wheel had unexpectedly stopped for a brief second, causing Yukiteru-kun to re-wrap his arms around me, though this time it was around my neck. He squealed, holding on tightly. I, too, was caught off-guard, and gripped his hips, slightly digging my nails in. The contraption quickly continued again, slowly revolving.
This time, he pulled back on his own accord, though still not removing his arms. I felt extremely grateful for that. His warmth was seeping through my button-up shirt, and his breath smelled of cotton candy. I looked into his questioning eyes, tears starting to form at the corners. He was biting his lower lip, eyebrows furrowed and face flustered. We reached the highest point in the ferris wheel, and the sun was setting behind Yukiteru-kun. With his seemingly black bangs framing his face, the sun illuminated the edges of the locks and revealed their dark brown color. He was truly a sight to behold.
I looked into his cerulean eyes, silently asking for permission. Though I didn't really expect him to know what I was asking for, he nodded after a beat, eyes moving down to stare at my own lips. I smiled, and pulled him to me. I moved against his rosy pink lips, trying to be subtle. He didn't seem to be so sure of himself, but when I gently rubbed my hands over his sides, he seemed to relax. He finally started taking part, eagerly moving with me. One of his hands carded through my hair, and I leaned into the touch. I licked at his upper lip, the taste of cotton candy a bit more evident when I did that. I didn't ask for more, though. I didn't want to rough the kid up too much. I could tell it was his first kiss. You need to work on that, Yukiteru-kun~
Once breathing became a problem, we pulled apart, panting. I could still feel his heart beat against my chest. He shakily smiled, reached out, grabbed the strands that fell between my eyes, and pulled them back. It would've made my heart throb, but instead it just made my head throb, because he had pulled waaaay too hard...
"Ouch!" I winced. This kid was stronger than I thought. Yukiteru-kun instantly released his grip.
"Ah! S-sorry Aise-kun! I just w-wanted to see your face be-better… I thought it would be romant-tic.." He stared down at me with his watery eyes. How could anyone be mad at that?
"It's okay, you can try again, if you like," I chuckled and leaned up, letting my bangs flop on my forehead. He tentatively nodded and pulled my hair back again, though much softer this time. I smiled up at him. He was standing on his knees now, making it easier for me to push him closer to me. I ran my hands up his back, feeling the tremors underneath. I was vaguely aware of the blood vessels running to my face when he leaned back in and kissed me. He was still a horrible kisser, but the shy innocence of it took my breath away. A bit literally. I kissed him back, holding him upright as he fully leaned on me. He was very light, so that task was easy.
The sun was barely visible anymore, and I shivered, forgetting to bring along a jacket. Yukiteru-kun must've noticed my trembling, so he unzipped his own jacket and tried to sternly instruct me to slip my arms inside; utterly failing to look serious. But. He was really cute. So I happily obliged, making sure to add a, "Yes, sir." We continued to kiss for a little, breaking away now and then for big gulps of air. It remained chaste and sweet. I suddenly didn't care about my policy for emotions on cases, nor for the fact that Yukiteru-kun claimed he was straight. All that mattered, was that I had this adorable little bundle sitting in my lap, sharing cotton candy flavored kisses under the dying sun.
What, I can be poetic, too, y'know?
The shadow saw them get off the giant machinery, desperately trying to evenly share the sweater between them; which only forced them to walk flush beside each other. The jacket may have been a bit big, but they were obviously having trouble. The shadow stared at them, or more so at the white-haired boy. Something would have to be done about this. But later. It's too risky to try anything right now. The dark figure trailed them all the way home; close enough to keep them in sight, but (sadly) far enough to not being able to pick up their conversations. With a kiss on the lips, the one with a beige beanie disappeared into his house. The other was still being trailed, and the stalker was about to strike.
He unexpectedly pulled out his phone and dialed someone. "Hey mom. I'm heading home already, but can you pick me up?" He seemed to almost call out to the attacker, glancing his way. After that, he continued speaking on the phone in a hushed tone, seemingly in no hurry to hang up.
The kid was smart. The shadow didn't try to attack while he was in contact with someone. Who knew how far their parents were already? The being glared, but begrudgingly left, using the shadows of the night as cover.
AN: I'm alive! And longer chapter today! Hurrary! And thank you for asking good citizen, Mexico was nice. A bit too superstitious for my tastes, but family is family, right? At least the ice cream was good, and that's all that matters! Well anyways, criticism and reviews are greatly appreciated! Thanks, you guys! Edit: Geez, I usually don't make this many mistakes... I tried to catch them all, but if I missed some, I'd be so grateful if they were pointed out.