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Chapter twenty three

The day slowly went by and soon, Yuui found himself waiting for Syaoron once again only this time inside the cafe. He went to work as usual but was surprised (well not really) to see a few officers around the area. But as long as they didn't scare the workers and customers, he was fine with that.

As soon as he walked in though, he found himself a bit peeved when everyone was either being worried about him or trying to help him in any possible way. He had a wounded shoulder, it wasn't like he arm was ripped off. Moving on... He texted Syaoron and an hour before, letting him know and he can feel Watanuki's eyes on him as he waited. He sighed. What a tiring day.

"So...I ordered new windows and furniture." He said surprised to see Yuui back.

"Good, good." Yuui idly nodded. "The cafe needed some renovations anyway."

"Should be fixed by the end of tomorrow." He replied. "How are you?" He asked confused.

"I'm fine." Yuui answered. He felt like he answered that question a million times to every worker he had. It was getting a bit annoying to be honest.

"I get you don't want to be babied and I'm not going to." He replied. "Just it was a lot to deal with you know."

"It's a bit too late for that Watanuki." Yuui frowned a bit. "Or have you missed the many times our fellow chefs would take over most of the dishes today?" His eyes then softened. "And I know. I don't need a repeat though. Happened at home, I don't need it here."

"Alright." He didn't ask what the blonde meant. "Waiting on Syaoron?"

"Yeah, I need to pick up some medicine, you know for prevention of infection." Yuui nodded.

He nodded in understanding. "I'm glad it wasn't as bad as it could have been."

Yuui shrugged. "It's better than my brother's boyfriend; that's for sure."

"He was attacked too right? By the same people?" He asked curious.

"He was." Yuui replied. "Stabbed from behind. Poor guy."

"I saw that on the news." Watanuki didn't know what was going on, but he knew some people he could ask.

"Ugh, that's the last thing the both of us need, our faces on television." Yuui groaned. "All I want is for everything to go back to normal. Maybe not everything but still."

"Well there were reporters of course, but no one knows you were the one hurt." He remarked shrugging. "I chased them all out, tch tracking in dirt over the floor I had just swept."

Chuckling a bit, Yuui nodded in approval. "You'll do just fine taking over the cafe in the future." He stated with pride in his voice.

"You talk like you're some old man and you're not that much older than me to begin with."

"What, you rather I give it to Doumeki?" Yuui teased. "That might up his game with you working under him if I do."

"No!" Watanuki screeched. "That, that ogre wouldn't know what to do. Besides he wouldn't give up his teaching job at the college."

Everyone who was at the cafe stared at the young man before going back to their day as Yuui chuckled loudly. "Then we are in agreement." He smirked at the young man.

Watanuki pouted, glaring. "...Very."

"Oh don't look so sour. It'll ruin that cute face of yours." Yuui teased. "Besides, people here would kill to own the most popular cafe in this part of the city."

A blush dusted pale cheeks then. "Fine."

Laughing freely, Yuui failed to notice a familiar brunette coming from behind.

Tapping his shoulder Syaoron stood there smiling as Watanuki jumped when he suddenly saw someone right behind them.

"Oh!" Yuui turned around in slight shock before smiling brightly. "Syaoron! Hey~!"

"Sorry, was I interrupting?" He asked before leaning in to kiss Yuui.

Leaning in for the kiss, Yuui then pulled back. "Nope. Just discussing to Watanuki about the benefits of not having his significant other, Doumeki take over the cafe in the future." He smirked at Watanuki when he said it.

He clearly didn't get the joke as Watanuki stomped off. "You two go on, I'll wrap up here!"

"Okay~! Hugs and kisses, Watanuki! Oh wait, Doumeki can handle that, bye~!" Yuui quickly took Syaoron's hand and left the cafe before Watanuki and get a word in edgewise.

There was the sound of metal clanging in the kitchen in response as Syaoron was dragged out.

Laughing loudly, Yuui had a bit of a skip in his step.

Syaoron followed after not asking any questions.

As they were close to the hospital, Yuui calmed down a bit. "Sorry about that. I'm more calmer then that." He smiled sheepishly.

He shook his head thinking it wasn't a big deal. "How was work?"

"Annoying, painful, irritating, not very well." Yuui firmly stated as they entered the main entrance.

"Sorry to hear that."

"It's nothing." Yuui felt so tired; the anger just wasn't in him. They soon entered the waiting room that was connected to a pharmacy. It was mostly empty with the exception of a couple people waiting. "Okay, wait here and I'll go get the medicine." He smiled.

"Alright." Grabbing a seat he watched Yuui walk off.

Yuui talked to the nice nurse who was stationed at the front desk before he asked about his prescription. Watching the nurse go into the back to get it, he yawned. He then stole a glance at

Syaoron and blushed a bit. Dumb heart and all the feelings that went along with it.

Syaoron was staring off at a far off wall as he waited, thinking that at least Yuui seemed to be better.

"Thank you very much." Paying the small fee, Yuui picked up his bag of medicine and yawned. He was about to move when something bumped into him. "Oh!" He stumbled back. "I'm sorry. Didn't see you..." He trailed off though as he soon looked down and saw the biggest deep eyes ha had ever seen. Short, young and...a girl. It was a young girl and was wearing a hospital gown no less. "...there..."

The young girl in question blinked up and shook her head. "It's okay." She bowed a bit; her short dark hair moving wispy as she did. "Hana was going to fast so Hana's sorry."

"No, it's fine." Yuui chuckled. "I'm just glad I didn't hurt you."

She shook her head again. Syaoron spotted them from hsi seat, but didn't get up.

"Hello." She said then, staring blankly up at him.

"So Hana's you name huh?" Yuui smiled. "And what's a lovely young lady doing all the way over here?" He was fully aware that the girl might be a patient of some sort by the look of her gown.

"Walking around. I don't like watching the TV."

Yuui can understand that. "I see. But have you asked the nurses or doctors that you can be out? I'd hate for you to be in trouble for something as simple as that." He chided gently.

"They don't mind." She responded.

Slowly nodded, Yuui got a closer look at the girl before he smiled knowingly. "You must be very young for a dragon. And cute too." [Likes the idea of Hana being a small dragon. w]

"I'm six." She said smiling a bit at that.

"Ooh!" Yuui almost gushed but held back for the child's sake. "And so mature for your age. I'm impressed." He hoped Syaoron didn't see the blush that was coming on his face. He had a weak spot for children.

She nodded. "Everyone says that. I can already fly too."

That nearly made Yuui fall over with excitement. "That's amazing. But I heard that flying can be hard for a dragon. Especially young ones. I'm hope that you didn't get hurt the first time trying it."

"Nope." She smiled wider. "My daddy took me out of the city for lessons."

"Wow, that's extraordinary." Yuui wondered who the girl's father was at that point. "Does your father visit you when you're stuck in this boring place?" He joked lightly.

"He does when he can."

Oh man, in Yuui's mind it meant one thing: busy parent. "I think that it's admirable that your father would try to spare as much time as he could for his lovely child." He smiled softly; reminded of his own parents that he and Fai lost long ago. "You must be very happy then you see him, huh?"

"Uh-huh. He's really nice and brings me noodles."

"Noodles, eh?" Yuui then smirked. "Well I'll have you know that I make tons of noodles where I worked. I have learned how to make many kinds of it in fact." Though recently he hasn't made any noodle dishes, he wasn't lying. "Maybe I can bring you some to eat if you'd let me. Of course, if you don't mind, I mean." He can tell that he and the child would get along quite well later down the road.

She stared bright eyed at him. "Yes! Hana loves noodles a lot!"

"Good~!" Yuui clasped his hands. "Then I'll be sure to make lots of them for you when I visit you." He smiled brightly. He really had a soft spot for children.

She nodded fervently.

Chuckling, Yuui looked at the clock and saw that it was getting late and he was making Syaoron wait enough. "Okay, I guess I must be going." Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a business card. "Here. Name's Yuui Fluorite. Owner and head chef at this cafe." He pointed to the name.

"Feel free to call me anytime you want and I'll visit you as much as I can. And with noodles, of course." He smiled. "Just make sure you tell your father about me so he doesn't think you're letting in some stranger, okay?"

Hana looked over the card after taking it from him. "Hana will!"

Nodding, Yuui patted her head softly. "I must be off. Syaoron! Let's go!" He called out. "Bye, Hana. I'll be seeing you."

The small girl waved the then, his card held delicately in one hand. Syaoron smiled at the blonde, not saying a word as he got up and left with him.

As they exited the building, Yuui waved back before walking along with Syaoron. His face a bit pink. "You're quiet." He couldn't help but say.

"You were cute with that girl." He said suddenly.

"I'm not cute!" Yuui retorted just as suddenly before looking away. "I-It was just a conversation...that's all."

"A cute one." He remarked smiling as they walked out of the hospital.

"Dear lord, it's not cute." Yuui groaned as he covered his face with one hand to hide the blush that was invading his cheeks.

Syaoron laughed while they walked down the street together. "Are we heading to your place?"

"Yes but first, let's get something for our stomachs." Yuui smiled. "I don't think I can cook something proper tonight."

He nodded. "Sounds good."

Doing the leading, Yuui took Syaoron to a small quant restaurant that does takeout and delivery. It was close to his place and the cooking there was simple but very delicious in the blonde's opinion. Entering the door, Yuui got one of the paper menus and gave it to Syaoron.

"Here, it's a variety restaurant so pick anything you like." He smiled.

He nodded looking over the menu. "Everything sounds good here."

"Usually is." Yuui chuckled a bit as he got a menu out and started looking over the items. He was thinking about getting something filling like a huge pasta dish with maybe fish and chips. He'll get some soda along with it since he deserved to wind down for a bit.

Syaoron ordered a cheese steak along with fries and a soda. "Your neighborhood has a lot of good restaurants."

"Hmm?" Yuui wanted to cross his arms but that would make his wound move a bit. "Huh. Haven't noticed. When brother and I first moved over here, there weren't many restaurants...well. ones that were good anyway." He rubbed his injured shoulder lightly. "Then again, I'm always stuck at the cafe so if I knew any of them, it would be through a friend."

"Well this one and the few we've gone to before on dates." He pointed out.

Blushing at the word, Yuui nodded. "True." He looked away so Syaoron wouldn't see him. "So...how were things on your end today?"

"Same thing as always. Working on fonts and ads." He grinned. "It wasn't as hectic, but I'm always hunched over a desk so it doesn't really matter."

"That can't be good for your back." Yuui pointed out with worry. "Remind me when we get to my place, I'll rub those shoulders for you." He smiled. As much as Syaoron was doing so much for him, it wouldn't be fair if he didn't do the same. After all, they were together, weren't they?

"If you're sure." He smiled before their drinks arrived and he opened his bottle.

Getting his drink, Yuui can feel his shoulder aching a bit. Taking his bag, he tried to get out a couple of pills from the capsule. He sort have lied about the medicine. It wasn't for infection but for pain since he was in a alot of it throughout the day.

"Your shoulder acting up?"

Looking up, Yuui tried to smile. "Well I am healing from a wound."

"I know." He replied.

Faking his smile, Yuui managed to get two pills into his hand before popping them into his mouth. He quickly drank as the pills were leaving a nasty taste in his mouth.

Soon enough their food was brought out Syaoron realizing then just how hungry he was.

There was a TV just over the other side of the restaurant; it was showing the news channel. The headlines were at the bottom but the story on the very screen was about the recent attack on Yuui's cafe. About how the culprits were yet to be found and no one was severely hurt; apart from a couple. Frowning, Yuui played with his straw a bit.

"I hope they find whoever did that." Syaoron stated, having seen the news anchor talking about the incident.

"God, I wish they would stop talking about it." If there's one thing that Yuui hated, it was the news; especially if it was about him; indirectly or otherwise.

"They'll move on after another day or two." He explained as he scrapped a few fries onto the blonde's plate.

"I can only hope." Yuui sighed before he noticed that Syaoron was giving him a bit of food. "I also hope brother and Kurogane are having a good time together."

"Is Kurogane still having problems with his shoulder too?" He asked curiously. "Fai must be taking care of him."

"I think so. Couldn't tell for sure." Yuui shrugged. "Man's a fighter. Though that is to be expected from a dragon like him."

He nodded. "Still nearly getting your heart pierced can make anyone want to just rest and take it easy."

"I would." Yuui agreed. "But I bet brother would do anything in his power to keep the man up and healthy if not for his own amusement." He chuckled slightly.

"That's true too. Fai's probably driving him up the wall right now." He smirked shaking his head.

"Wouldn't be surprised if some of our stuff gets scorched in the process." Yuui laughed.

"I'll help clean if there are."

"How nice of you to lend a hand." Yuui blushed a bit but smiled anyway. "It'll be alright though."

"Probably." He grinned finishing off his food.

After the two ate, the check came for them. Yuui took out his wallet; willing to pay.

"You got last time." He said reaching for his own wallet.

"Oh no, it's fine..." Yuui started but already the other was quicker in paying then he was. He cursed his injured shoulder for that.

"We can take turns if you really want to, but regardless I'm paying." The brunette grinned.

"..." Yuui grew silent as he slowly nodded; just giving in for once.

He told their waiter to keep the change before he was up and offering his hand to the blonde.

Smiling a bit, Yuui took the hand as he stood up. "You're quite the gentleman, Syaoron." He blushed.

"I don't know about that..." He grinned and pulled the other out.

"How else would a lovely man like yourself be if you're so caring for little ol' me?" Yuui teased.

"You have a point there." He chuckled and tugged the blonde along.

Laughing, Yuui leaned close to Syaoron as they were on their way back to the blonde's home.

Almost fifteen minutes later, Yuui had Syaoron holding one of his hand while the other was unlocking the door. He then pushed the door open; wincing though as he used his hand that the injured shoulder was attached to.

"I don't hear the TV on do you? Think they went out?" He asked stepping in and toeing off his shoes.

Sure enough there wasn't any sounds of the TV or anything in the house. Shrugging, Yuui took off his shoes. "Guess they did. Not surprised, really."

"In any case they'll turn up eventually." Syaoron said then glad for some peace and quiet at least.

Smiling, Yuui went to the kitchen. "Want some tea? I can heat up some water for the both of us."

"Sounds good."

Taking a kettle, Yuui filled it up with water and placed on the stove before turning the heat on.

After that, he rubbed his injured arm; even with the medicine, it was still irritating.

Syaoron sat on the couch listening to Yuui work. Overall it had been a good day.

It didn't take long before Yuui came to the living with a tray; two cups of tea, a tea pot for refills, sugar, cream and a pair of spoons. However as he was walking around to place the tray on the table; his injured arm was shaking. But he handled worse.

"Are you okay?" He stood up to take the tray from the other.

"Y-Yeah." Yuui smiled a bit. "J-Just a minor issue, that's all."

"It's your shoulder. You should rest and not worry your shoulder."

Yuui didn't say anything but his expression wasn't a good sign. He stubbornly placed the tray down on the table. However he moved too fast which caused him to wince greatly as a pang of pain went up from his shoulder.

Syaoron eased him onto the couch. "You'll have to do physical therapy for it if you keep aggravating it." He warned.

"I'm fine." Yuui sighed. "I was fine today and I'm fine now." He didn't want to upset Syaoron but he can handle it. It was just a matter of...actually handling it.

"I'm going to worry about it Yuui. I don't want you in pain."

"I was in pain before so this won't be so different." Yuui muttered; thinking that Syaoron wouldn't hear it.

He held the other's hand then. "I want to help."

"..." Yuui hung his head in guilt. "Y-You don't need to. I...I'm okay..." His voice cracked a bit.

"I know I don't need to, I want to." He argued kissing his boyfriend's cheek. "Just don't overwork your shoulder for me."

"...C-Can you do me a favor then...?" Yuui asked softly.

"Anything."

"..A...A hug might be nice right about now..." Yuui continued with tears in his eyes.

Giving the other a smile Syaoron gathered Yuui into his arms.

Only using his uninjured arm, Yuui hugged back; burying his head on the crook of Syaoron's neck. He gripped the back of the other's shirt; trying not to sob.

"If you're hurt I want you to tell me so I can help. You don't need to permanently damage your shoulder."

Slowly nodding, Yuui gripped the back of the other's shirt more tightly. He should try to trust the other since Syaoron really wanted to help him. Lifting his head up a bit, he smiled. "...Syaoron...?"

"Yes?"

"...I like you..." Yuui figured he should tell Syaoron about his feelings for him...if only a little. "I like you...a lot..."

"I know you do." He smiled in return rubbing the other's back.

"...Out of everyone I've been with...you're the only one that...I mean...oh god, I'm forgetting what I'm saying..." Yuui chuckled.

"Take your time."

"That." Yuui pulled away. "That is what I'm talking about." He rubbed his eyes a bit; cursing at himself for losing his control. "How can a saint like you be with someone like me. I was never this unsure of anything, even in my past relationships despite how hopeful I was...until I was with him. But now...it's like...you're giving a piece of myself back. I know that it sounds weird and creepy but...it's true. To me it is."

"It's because I love you and want you happy and as long as you're hung up on him you won't be happy." He remarked, brushing a loose lock of hair out of Yuui's face.

"...It's because he had no heart to begin with so he broke mine instead." Yuui answered with a voice void of emotion. "Well tore it to pieces is more accurate."

"Then I'll help you with that too."

Looking at those deep brown eyes, Yuui's smile came back. "Can you really put those pieces back together?" He slightly joked. "They're very tiny."

"I can work with that. Though I might have to stick around for awhile to do it." He grinned.

"Well, you might be at it for a long while then." Yuui teased but had that question underneath it.

"I had planned on it anyways."

Yuui smiled widely with a blush. "Well...if you're really sure..."

"Absolutely sure." He interjected.

Laughing a bit, Yuui reached over and put some sugar in his tea. "If you don't mind then, there are some things that I like to know more about you."

"Shoot." He replied leaning over to make his own tea.

"Are you mostly a top or a bottom?" Yuui smirked into his tea cup.

He blushed at that, blindsided. "I uh...usually top, but I've bottomed before."

"Huh, I figured." Yuui sipped his tea. "So who you topped and who topped you? You don't have to give me names but considering that you were good in bed the last time, I was curious."

"Well I haven't dated a lot of people...only three, not including you. I only bottomed a few times for my second boyfriend, the other's preferred me topping." He shrugged.

"Three?" Yuui blinked. "My goodness, I had no...I mean...you're very handsome so I assume-no! No that came out wrong. What I'm trying to say is..." Yuui was just rambling at that point.

"You thought there would be more?" He chuckled. "Me and Syaoran moved around a lot with our dad when we were in highschool."

That shut Yuui up more or less. "Oh...I see. Well tell me about the ones you were in a relationship for. I'd love to hear it." He smiled.

"The first was this guy me and my brother were friends with. It was more experimenting than dating though. When me and brother moved we kept in touch. The next guy was in highschool, we were on the soccer team." He explained. "We used to do a lot of stuff together, but that was more the hormones fault. We broke up when I moved again. The last guy was nice and we slept together a few times before I broke it off." Syaoron shrugged.

"Um...what was happening in your last relationship that led you to breaking up with him?" Yuui hesitantly asked; hoping he wasn't crossing any lines.

"I just didn't feel anything for him. My father had died and me and Syaoran had other things to worry about. We had decided to move one last time. He threw a fit over it and I realized how stupid I was to have dated him in the first place."

"..." Yuui lowered his head. "Oh...I'm sorry that it didn't work out for you two." He wasn't going to complain. He had Syaoron now but he kinda felt bad for him.

"It's alright. I don't know what I saw in him anyways." He shrugged. "But I'm glad that opened me up for finding you."

Blushing, Yuui looked away. "I'm glad that I met you too. Even if was accidental at first." He chuckled.

"But it ended up being pretty good."

"...Yeah...yeah, I guess it did." Yuui rubbed the back of his neck with a larger smile. "I never knew though that you had a twin. You told me that you had a brother but you know...that meant almost anything to me..." He admitted.

"Sorry, I didn't really think about it." He smiled before taking a drink from his cup. "I wasn't keeping it a secret or anything."

"I know you weren't. Although..." Yuui chuckled. "It would have saved me the embarrassment at the library." He added in a joking manner.

"Why? You didn't try flirting with him did you?"

"You wish." Yuui deadpanned. "Like I would willingly cheat one twin with another even if I didn't know. One of my friends did that once and let's just say he got what was coming."

Syaoron laughed at that. "He would have been mortified and begging for forgiveness."

"Oh he was and I got a front row seat of the show." Yuui smirked before drinking more out of his cup.

Laughing still he could only imagine his brother's face when he realized who Yuui was.

Glad at making Syaoron laugh; Yuui finished off his cup with a content smile. He decided that he loved the way Syaoron laughed. It was music to his ears.

They were settled on the couch watching tv when there was a knocking on the door.

"Coming!" Yuui stood up. "One sec, Syaoron." He smiled at his boyfriend as he left the living room. He unlocked the door and opened it. "Hello?"

There was a dragon, sap green scales and slightly shorter than Yuui as he wore a type of vest that most dragons wore when working, there standing on his hind legs holding up a rather stuffed looking bag. "I'm here to deliver food to a..." Long fingers looked at the slip of paper on the bag. "Fluorite."

"...Yes, I'm Fluorite." Yuui answered. He assumed that Fai ordered some food and forgot about it halfway there. Thank god he had his wallet and cash with him.

The dragon nodded and took the blonde's money before wishing him a good day and leaving.

"Who was that?" Syaoron called.

"Some delivery guy." Yuui shrugged. He then took a look at the bag. "Brother must have order some food and forgot about it. Not the first time this has happened but we have enough cash to go around so..." He then went to the kitchen and placed the bag on the table. "I guess we can sample the food later if we're hungry enough. Hope brother won't mind." He smiled before going back to Syaoron.

"Maybe you should call him and make sure he remembered?"

"Yeah, I guess." Yuui yawned a bit before taking out his cell and texting his brother about the food.

Fai texted back within a few minutes telling him how he had gone with Kurogane to his mother's and they had gotten sidetracked.

Rolling his eyes, Yuui texted back saying that it was all right and all. "Brother really likes Kurogane." He joked.

"They balance each other out." He said sitting back with the blonde.

"That's the surprising part." Yuui smiled.

"Why's that?"

"Hm..." Yuui thought about it. "Well, I knew brother all my life and well he's very open and while annoying, very cheerful. Kurogane's more reserved and probably isn't very open in public if his body language is any indication. That and he's a dragon. I bet he's never had someone like brother before."

"I doubt a lot of people have been with someone like Fai."

"That is also true." Yuui snickered. "There's no one like brother. But still, they seem almost complete opposites at first glance."

"It works for them." There wasn't much of an explanation for it.

"I guess." Yuui supposed that opposites attract and Fai hit the jackpot on that one. With that settled, Yuui snuggled closer to Syaoron with a smile.

TBC

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