Iori had spent a good portion of the day cleaning his apartment. The other part was spent anxiously waiting for Kyo to arrive. He had already wiped down the counters, mopped the floors, cleaned the toilet, fed the cat… at this point, more cleaning and tidying would make him go insane. The one place he'd left untouched was his bedroom. Iori wasn't planning on having anything happen there. Not yet, at least.

He's snapped out of his thinking by a loud knocking at the door. Startled, Iori looks at his phone. He'd lost track of time; it was already past five.

"Hi," Kyo says, as Iori opens the door. He's carrying a plastic bag. "Starting to get cold out. Didn't think I'd need more than my jacket, but…"

"Probably colder when you're on a motorcycle," Iori says. Zarathustra, his cat, curiously approaches the genkan to stare at Kyo.

"Oh, you have a cat," Kyo leans down and holds his hand out to Zarathustra. "I'm allergic to cats."

Iori stares at him. He berates himself for not asking in advance if Kyo has a problem with cats.

"I… I'll put him in my room," Iori scoops Zarathustra into his arms. "Sorry, I didn't think to ask–"

"No, no, it's fine! My allergy really isn't that bad, he can stay he–" Kyo pauses. Blinks a few times.

"Kyo?"

He sneezes. Both Iori and Zarathustra jump.

"R-really, it's not that bad–" He sneezes again. And again. Iori stares at Kyo in concern, praying that he won't have to take Kyo to the hospital or something.

"I'm putting him in my room. I'll be back in a minute." Iori walks off.

Iori didn't think his evening with Kyo would be spent vacuuming the living room while Kyo waits on the balcony, but here they are. He lets Kyo in once he's finished.

"You didn't have to vacuum the place," Kyo scratches the back of his neck, "or change your clothes. Like I said, my allergy isn't that bad…"

"You sneezed three times in front of my cat. I call bullshit. Also, I'm constantly covered in cat hair, and I don't want you sneezing on me."

Kyo pouts and flops onto the couch. "That never happens. Usually my eyes water a bit, but I don't sneeze like that," he mumbles. Iori sits next to him.

"Zarathustra was hexing you," he says. Kyo laughs.

"What's his name?"

"Zarathustra."

Kyo stares at him, eyebrows drawn together.

"I can't say that."

"You haven't even tried it."

Iori spends the next ten minutes trying to teach Kyo how to pronounce "Zarathustra," but Kyo somehow butchers it despite Iori's help. He ends up laughing at himself instead (and Iori, for picking what he thinks is a ridiculous name), and Iori can't find it in himself to be upset. Kyo's laughter is contagious.

"He's a character in one of Nietzsche's books," Iori explains, "and a religious figure."

"Ni– what? Who the hell is that?"

"Nietzsche, he's a German philosopher." Iori's cheeks become warm as Kyo's grin becomes wider. "I like his work."

"So you're into philosophy?" Iori nods. "Nice. I can't read for shit."

Iori gives him an amused look. "That explains a lot."

"Oi!"

Kyo goes on to tell him that he never graduated from high school. Normally, Iori would make a smart remark, but he chooses to remain quiet as Kyo explains his troubles with academia.

They spend an hour talking. Iori realizes how little he and Kyo know about each other outside of the coffee shop. The redhead has never been good at opening up, but he does his best to tell Kyo little things about himself– his hobbies and whatnot. As for his family… that will have to wait. Kyo, on the other hand, talks about himself animatedly. Iori eventually puts on a movie, and Kyo pulls out the contents of the bag he brought– alcohol.

Halfway through the movie, Iori cracks open his second can. It's not a particularly good film, but it gave Kyo an excuse to unsubtly slip his arm around Iori, and the redhead likes the contact.

"Yagami," Kyo says, pulling away slightly, "I know this is our first date, but I need to ask you something."

Iori's eyebrows draw together. He doesn't like the sound of that. But he nods.

"I just wanna know… y'know… um, where do you see this going? Like, do you want it to be casual, or… more?"

Kyo draws his arm back as Iori sits up properly. No one has ever asked him a question like this. Kyo looks back to the TV and takes another sip from his can, though Iori can see that his body is tense.

"I don't want to be casual." Kyo snaps his head back to Iori. "I'd like for us to… be more than that." His face is warm. Kyo gives him a small smile and reaches for his hand.

"Good to know we're on the same page."

Iori relaxes into Kyo's side again, though he has a hard time focusing on the movie. The person next to him is far more interesting.

After the movie ends, Kyo whines about how bad it was while Iori orders dinner for them. He leaves after they've finished eating.

"So…" Kyo runs a hand through his hair. "I had fun."

Iori nods. "I… did too. Sorry that we couldn't go out," Iori shifts uncomfortably, "I don't like… doing that."

"I don't mind. Honestly, I'm not the kind of person who likes fancy restaurants or whatever, so…" Kyo pauses, "I'm alright with meeting here. Or you could come to my place. But I'll warn you, Benimaru is a menace." Iori smiles at him.

"I'll consider it. Maybe we could go to a bar. There are a few that my band plays at regularly, so I don't mind being there."

"Cool. So… I'll see you later, I guess." Kyo slips his shoes on and Iori follows him to the door. He grabs Kyo's shoulder before the brunette can leave.

"Hm?"

Iori kisses his cheek. He's momentarily stunned by the fact that he can see Kyo's brain stop functioning for a minute. The brunette blinks several times before turning to Iori, only for his brain to stop functioning again due to how close their faces are.

"Bye, Kyo," he whispers, "be safe. Text me when you get back."

Kyo nods once he stops zoning out. Iori opens the door and watches him leave, only going back inside once Kyo's motorcycle is out of view.

Iori sits on his bed with a big, stupid grin on his face for who knows how long. He can't remember the last time he's felt this way about anyone, or if it's even happened at all.