Kiku woke up on the morning of July fifth with a headache and a fierce scowl. He groggily pulled himself out of bed, sinking his bare feet into the fluff of the carpet below. He sat silent for a moment, then with a huff stood up and left the room to answer to his growling stomach. The lids of his eyes were heavy as he walked into the kitchen and his lips were slack with indifference, that is until he saw Alfred out of the corner of his eye. The American boy was sitting on a bar stool at the counter, hunched over a bowl of cereal, and even though Kiku was in his direct line of vision, Alfred seemed to be deliberately pretending not to see him. Kiku sneered but continued preparing his bowl of cereal, his nose in the air as if trying very hard to ignore his roommate. Alfred, who was watching Kiku intently now that he had turned away, scowled, taking a loud, harsh swig of his orange juice, setting the cup back down on the counter with more force than necessary. After filling his bowl with cereal and pouring his milk, Kiku returned the jug to the fridge, slamming the door shut harshly, making sure not to look at Alfred as he passed by to sit at the table. Alfred lifted his bowl to his mouth and forcefully gulped down the remaining contents of his breakfast. The chair whined as he stood abruptly, dumping his bowl in the sink and then walking briskly to the shared bedroom and wrenching the door behind him. Kiku gritted his teeth, slamming his fist down on the surface of the table, causing droplets of milk to spill over the rim of his bowl, the events of the night before replaying in his head, only fueling the fire inside him.

The night before at the fair, after Alfred had stormed off, Kiku left the park, fuming, and took a cab home. Alfred, however, had stayed behind.

"Look, there he is!" Matthew had said. "Alfred's back!"

"What on earth were you doing that took you so long?" Francis asked as Alfred took a seat next to the two boys. "You missed the show." Alfred stayed silent.

"Did...something happen?" Matthew asked quietly, watching the look on his friends face. "You look-"

"Kiku happened," Alfred said in what was almost a growl. Francis and Matthew looked at him confusedly. "I mean, seriously! What was I thinking, trying to be that bratty little prick's friend?"

"Alfred..." Matthew murmured.

"I take it the two of you had a quarrel ?" Francis asked knowingly. The foggy haze in the sky from the fireworks was slowly dissipating, and most of the people on the hill had left.

"That would be putting it lightly," Alfred sneered. "He's such a spoiled brat! I mean, my family let's him stay with us, and he acts like we're terrible people for it! Who does that?" Alfred was huffing from his boiling insides, ready to burst.

"Sounds like the two of you need to work out your sexual tension," Francis gibed.

"Shut up, I'm not kidding around!" Alfred glared.

Matthew frowned at the two of them. "I dunno, maybe Kiku just needs some space to work out his problems..." he suggested.

"Tch, he can have it. I don't ever want to see his face again!" Francis and Matthew looked at each other, and then at Alfred. "In fact, I'll just stop talking to him altogether. From now on, Kiku Honda is my enemy."

"Don't you think that's a bit melodramatic?" Francis raised a brow.

"No," Alfred replied darkly, crossing his arms. "He had this coming to him. He can go fuck himself."

Alfred was in a fowl mood throughout the rest of the time he spent at the park. He even began to bum out Matthew and Francis, who suggested he go home and sleep off all the rage. Alfred decided to oblige and left the park and walked home.

Back in the apartment the next day, after slamming the door, Alfred threw himself on his bed with a thud. Just seeing Kiku's face made his blood boil. Alfred let out a sigh. He usually spent his time in the living room playing video games, but now that Kiku was out there, and he had been so careful to snub him, he couldn't go back out there. The boy let out another, more irate sigh, turning and burying his face in his bed. What was he supposed to do now? He didn't know how Kiku could spend all day cooped up in this bedroom, there was nothing to do, and even if there was he wasn't in the mood for it. So instead Alfred kept his face buried, an eye peaking out, starring at the blue fabric of his blanket. The last thing he remembered was counting the stitches in the thick blanket before falling asleep.

Kiku sat at the dining table, starring into his cereal as it grew ever soggier. He had only taken a few small bites before realizing he had no appetite. After sitting blankly for a few minutes, Kiku stood, bowl in hand, and walked into the small kitchen to pour out the contents of his bowl into the sink. As he washed his bowl he thought about how Alfred had stormed off to the bedroom, deciding he would wait for the boy to come out before he went in to work. Kiku decided to clean the kitchen while he waited, but when Alfred hadn't emerged by the time the kitchen was spotless, Kiku went on to clean the living room, and then the bathroom. It was already past one in the afternoon and Alfred had shown no signs of picking up his usual routine. After making lunch and cleaning the entire kitchen for a second time, Kiku accepted the fact that he was running out of things to occupy him, and decided to take a walk. After slipping on his penny loafers Kiku took the apartment key from a hook on the wall near the door and left, neglecting to bring along his phone or wallet. They were both on his nightstand in the bedroom, and he considered that area a no-access zone for the time being.

Leaving the tall apartment building in his wake, Kiku walked on with a vacant expression, time seeming to creep by as he went. He had been walking for about half an hour in the general direction of where he and Alfred did their grocery shopping. He only knew the routes that he and the American boy had traveled on up until then, and preferred to stay on the beaten path. He came upon a hilly, grassy area a short ways outside the shopping mall he had been to before, and thought he'd sit down for a few minutes. As Kiku walked closer to the tranquil area, he saw that there was a person already there, lying in the grass, and was going to keep walking to avoid any confrontation, but upon a second glance he realized that the person was very familiar. It was a boy around his age, lying on top of a brown coat, with his arms spread out loosely. Kiku inched slowly toward him, and was now standing at the base of the small hill, neck slightly craned. The boy appeared to be asleep, his chest rising and falling with his light breathing. Kiku was about two feet away when he remembered where he had seen the familiar face. It was the boy from the furniture shop he had met when buying his desk.

The sleeping boy opened his eyes, blinking down at Kiku. He sat up abruptly, stretching his arms out with a large yawn. Kiku blinked, beginning to feel rather awkward, but before he could decide whether to say something or turn and walk away, the boy said quietly "how is your new desk?"

"I-" Kiku began to say without thinking. "It's, er, quite nice. And...your mother's lamp?"

"She said it was perfect," the boy said. "I never got your name, by the way."

"Oh, ah, it's Kiku. Honda Kiku." He averted his eyes awkwardly.

"I'm Heracles Karpusi,"

"That's an interesting-"

"-name? Yes, my family is originally from Greece."

"I see," Kiku blinked. He had never realized just how diverse this city was. He glanced away, feeling even more awkward now that he couldn't think of anything else to say. "So...I see you didn't bring your cat with you this time..." he finally said.

"Oh no, she's here," Heracles corrected, the grayish-brown cat popped it's head out through the neck of the boy's shirt.

Kiku blinked, cocking his head to the side in surprise. "Do you take here everywhere you go?" he asked.

"Pretty much," Heracles shrugged. "She's my best friend. I don't have many human friends." Kiku gazed at the odd boy with understanding. "You're the same as me...aren't you?" Heracles said after a moment. After Kiku gave him a questioning look he continued. "You don't have very many friends, or people you can connect with." Heracles looked up at the bright sky, a light breeze ruffling his wavy brown locks. "There's an invisible wall that separates you from most people."

"How do you..." Kiku began quietly, but trailed off, unable to find the words, or even the question he wanted answered. Heracles held out a hand and motioned for Kiku's, who hesitated, unsure of what the boy wanted.

"I won't bite," Heracles pressed. After another moment Kiku slowly extended his hand to the boy. Heracles gently took Kiku's hand in his, and with his free hand pulled a black marker from his pocket. He brought the marker to his lips and uncapped it with his teeth, bringing the felt tip to Kiku's palm, scrawling something on it before releasing it. Kiku brought his hand up to his face to look at what Heracles had wrote. It was a seven digit number. "It's my phone number. In case you ever want to talk."

Kiku stared on at his palm for a few moments, and when he lowered it he saw Heracles a few feet off, walking away. "Wait...!" he called, taking a few quick steps forward. Heracles turned back, his soft eyes brushing over Kiku inquisitively.

"What is it...?"

"I...!" Kiku began, slightly flustered, only to realize he didn't know the answer to Heracles's question. Why did he stop him? "I...don't know..." he felt a hotness wash over his face. Well that was stupid, he thought to himself in embarrassment.

"Don't worry," Heracles replied with a look of understanding, walking backwards now, still looking at Kiku, one hand in his pocket. "If you want to contact me again just give me a call," he raised his own hands, pointing at his palm. Kiku looked down at his own palm again, where the phone number was written.

"R-right..." Kiku frowned as he watched Heracles wave goodbye and turn around again, walking in the direction of the mall.

Back in the apartment Alfred twitched lightly, clearing away his doze. His eyes slowly opened, though they were telling him to go back to sleep. He had fallen asleep facing Kiku's side of the room, and now saw that the boy wasn't in his bed or at his desk. The clock on the nightstand glared at him through bright red numbers. It was already after three in the afternoon. After a few minutes of lying still Alfred finally pushed himself up, letting out a large yawn, stretching his arms above his head. He lazily pulled himself out of bed, tiptoeing towards the door. He reached out a hand and turned the doorknob as quietly as he could, slowly pulling it open, just enough for him to peak out and see down the hall. His stomach gave a harsh growl. Though he couldn't see much form this spot, he heard no signs of Kiku, and though it safe to leave the room. He crept down the hall, and when he got to the end, he peaked around the corner into the living room. Kiku wasn't there, and the spare key was missing. At this point Alfred figured Kiku wasn't home, and headed straight for the kitchen. He had gotten into the habit of Kiku leaving a portion of lunch in the fridge for Alfred, but today there was nothing. Alfred scowled and turned to the pantry, deciding to eat whatever took the least amount of effort to prepare.

After a few minutes, Alfred sat down at the counter with a bowl of cereal, beginning to eat much slower than usual. He wondered where Kiku had gone off to, it was unlike the boy to willingly leave the apartment. It was already half past three, which meant Kiku could have been gone anywhere between five minutes or five hours. Where the hell did he go anyway? Maybe he had gotten lost? Or what if he wandered into dangerous territory? Grim possibilities began to fill Alfred's head, and before he realized it he had started to worry. He gradually stopped paying attention to his cereal, which was now an unappetizing soggy mess in his bowl. He pulled his cell phone from his pocket, and after a moment of hesitation dialed Kiku's number. No ring tone, his phone wasn't even on. The bowl of cereal was forgotten as Alfred went to the door to put on his shoes, ready to go out and search for the boy, He unlocked the door and opened it, his heart violently shooting into his throat. Kiku was standing at the other side of the door.

"What are you gawking at?" he sneered at Alfred.

"You stupid asshole!" Alfred shot loudly.

"Excuse-?" Kiku began, only to be cut off.

"Shut up, you-" Alfred began to grow hot in the face, "-you asshole!" With that Alfred slammed the door, running off to his bedroom again, leaving Kiku to stand there on the other side of the door.

"Tch, all I did was ask what you were gawking at, stupid Alfred..." Kiku grumbled, sticking the apartment key in the knob and twisting it.

~x~

My darling readers~! I'm SO sorry it's taken so long to update! ;~;

I've been getting busier and busier by the day! And honestly this chapter was a bit difficult for me to write because not much went on in it, and for that I apologize.

But even though I've become so much more busy, I promise I'll try to be more consistent about putting out chapters orz

Oh, and one more thing, I've been getting a few comments on Kiku's out of character personality. I know it isn't like him, but trust me there is a reason for it!

As always, I love all my wonderful readers and hope to see some feedback and hope that you continue reading!

See you next chapter~! 3