You're just gracious that he helped you out, his mind sternly told him. Right, that's all.
Kaoru tried to gently slip out of bed so as not to wake the other man but the movement stirred Die out of his slumber. Sitting up straight, he exclaimed, "Don't get out of bed! You're sick! I'll get you whatever you need!"
"Good morning Die," Kaoru said with a smile. "I'm feeling much better, and besides, I need to go to the bathroom! You can't get that for me!" (Rei: All right, I could throw in a comment about Die getting a bottle for Kaoru to pee into, but I won't ^^;;; oops, I just did. *Rei is chased far far away by mobs of angry fangirls*)
Grinning sheepishly, Die replied, "Eh, all right, but I'll go make you some food and you go back to bed after you use the bathroom! You never know when the illness might strike!" Kaoru shook his head, laughing, at Die's overprotectiveness, and made his way to the bathroom.
Stretching, Die got up off of Kaoru's bed and went into the kitchen, looking around in the other man's cupboards. When he found what he was looking for, he smiled, busily going about preparing it.
To humor Die, Kaoru went back and sat down in bed, even though he was feeling much better. His mind went over and over the fact that Die had been there all night to make sure that he was all right. He could've gone home, or he could've not even come at all, but no, he'd been there the whole night, right next to him. A feeling Kaoru had never experienced before arose within him. It was warm, light, a tingling in the center of his chest.
Before his mind could think anymore, Die bumbled into his room holding a tray with a bowl of steaming soup on it. "I made you chicken noodle soup!" he exclaimed proudly, a big happy smile on his face.
For breakfast? Kaoru thought, but he didn't want to burst Die's happy bubble. "Thanks a lot!" he replied, taking the spoon from the tray which was placed on his lap. The yellow broth steamed with an inviting warmth and Kaoru tried a bite. Okay, well, Die wasn't the greatest cook, but the warmth, at least was nice on his throat.
"Is it all right?" Die inquired, eyes wide like a little boy.
Putting a smile on his face, Kaoru replied, "It's delicious!" He forced himself to eat the rest of soup, egged on by Die's incredibly happy face. Kaoru just wanted to see more of that face and would feel terrible if he didn't eat the soup.
Stop thinking like that!! Die's your friend!! You don't feel that way and neither does he!!
When he had finished the soup, Die asked him, "Do you feel okay now?"
"I feel much better," Kaoru replied. "Die, I don't know how I can thank you for just taking care of me."
"It was my pleasure!" Die exclaimed, truly meaning it.
"I need to pay you back somehow, though!" Kaoru insisted, placing the tray on his bedside table and moving closer to Die.
God, how Die just wanted to take Kaoru into his arms and kiss him until neither of them could breathe. That would be the best payment ever. "You don't need to pay me back," he said instead, thanking the lord that Kaoru couldn't read minds.
"Yes I do. Come back here tonight at 5:00 and we'll go out to dinner, okay? My treat!" He smiled, making Die want to melt.
"Only if it makes you happy," Die mumbled, although ecstatic himself.
"It does. Thank you so much again." He reached out and gave Die a friendly, one-armed, guy friend hug.
Die drank in the smell of Kaoru, the feel of his body against his, even if for just a brief moment. Smiling almost intoxicatedly, he got up and moved to the door. When it was shut and he was outside of Kaoru's apartment, he nearly laughed out loud with excitement. He was going to dinner with Kaoru!
Kaoru glanced up at the clock. 5:15. Die was late. A great disappointment filled Kaoru as he wondered, Could he have forgotten? Sadly, Kaoru thought about sitting in his apartment alone, all night, eating instant noodles by himself in the kitchen. Whenever he was with Die, he felt happy, no matter what they were doing. Could that be...?
No, Die is your friend. Nothing more, nothing less. Maybe he forgot about a date with his girlfriend tonight or something...
Just then, the doorbell rang. Kaoru lept out of his chair and ran to the door, opening it more calmly to reveal a sheepish looking Die. "Eh, gomen ne, Kaoru! My car got towed. ^^;;"
"Nani?" Kaoru asked, confused, letting Die in.
"Yeah, last night when I just kind of parked it in front of the building, they towed it. I spent all day trying to get it back and paying."
"Why didn't you tell me this morning? How'd you get home? I could've taken you!" Kaoru exclaimed, slightly hurt that Die hadn't come to him for help.
Eyes widening, Die told him honestly, "But you were sick, Kaoru! You shouldn't have been driving! I'd bothered you enough by being there all night!"
Bothered? "What are you talking about? I'm so grateful that you were here! You weren't a bother at all!" the purple-haired man insisted.
"Hontou?" Die asked, looking Kaoru right in the eyes.
That look, it made Kaoru dizzy. Die's eyes were so dark, so deep, and he felt as though he were drowning in them. "Of course." Blinking a few times to clear his mind, he added, "Should we go, then?"
Excitedly, Die nodded. They made their way out of Kaoru's apartment and out to the street. "It's just down the road," Kaoru told him. "I thought because the weather's nice, we could walk." He hoped he didn't sound too stupid.
But Die merely smiled happily, pushing his hands into the pockets of his black pants and taking in his surroundings. Taking in Kaoru. He looked so pretty walking next to him, tight leather pants clinging to his slim legs. He felt his gaze wander down Kaoru's body. Trying to wrench his eyes back up, he told himself, I am looking at his face, yes... his.... The eyes wandered lower again. ...face.
Kaoru got the feeling that he was being watched and glanced quickly over at Die, who averted his gaze immediately. Something seems different, Kaoru thought, in the way he looks at me... He shook his head, trying to rid it of any false notions, and fixed his eyes forward. Yet his heart was still beating faster than usual and the silence seemed more awkward than it ever had.
Finally, Die mumbled, "I hope I'm not too casual."
Kaoru, given the excuse to look over at him, did so, running his eyes over Die's shapely body. Was he always that handsome? "You're just fine! It's not too fancy." Casting his eyes down, he added, "I hope you don't mind."
"Food is good," Die replied, laughing slightly. The silence then returned, pressing down, suffocating them.
Much to their relief, they arrived at the restaurant. It was small, but nicely furnished. Inside, Die waited for his eyes to adjust to the dimmer light. It looked like an indiscreet enough place, a place where he could enjoy a meal with Kaoru. Then again, he could enjoy a meal with Kaoru anywhere, so long as it were with him.
They were seated and Die scanned the menu. "The food looks good," he said, eyeing all of his choices. He decided on tempura, a personal favorite of his. Without even looking at the menu, Kaoru ordered the same. A spark of hope lit inside of Die. Could that be a sign?
"I always order the tempura, it's the best thing here!" Kaoru exclaimed, handing the menu to the waitress before she left. The spark went out and Die felt let down. So he always got that. Die stared off to a spot on the wall behind Kaoru, silently thinking. About what, not even he was sure. Moving in front of Die's line of vision, Kaoru asked, "Hey, Die, are you all right?"
Snapping out of his daze, Die replied, "Yeah, fine! Why?"
Kaoru shrugged. "I don't know, you just seem different lately. Awfully quiet."
"I guess your seriousness is rubbing off on me, ne!" Die joked, feeling bad for not telling Kaoru what was on his mind. But how could he? How could he confess that he was feeling romantically attracted to him? Kaoru would probably stand up from the table, disgusted, leave and never talk to Die again. Die would rather have Kaoru as a friend than not have him at all.
"Maybe so, too much time with me!"
Too much time? Kaoru didn't understand, Die thought, he could never spend too much time with him. Die felt as though everything Kaoru said just beat him down more and more. Perphaps Kaoru was hinting that Die had spent too much time with him and he didn't want to see Die anymore. Frustration welled up inside of the red-haired man and he tensed, clutching his hands under the table.
"You're sure you're all right?" Kaoru insisted.
"I'm fine! Trust me!" Die exclaimed, turning his head away so as not to make eye contact.
Kaoru wasn't convinced but let the subject drop. Whatever was bothering Die, he wasn't going to talk about it. Instead he turned the attention of the conversation to the upcoming live, making the best small talk he could.
When the food finally arrived, it was as though the tension lifted from the table. Now they had an excuse not to talk! Die reached his hand out across the table for the salt- only to feel Kaoru's hand reach it at the same time. Their fingers rested lightly on each other's, Die's heart flipping inside him. Neither of them said anything, but merely sat there, waiting for the other to move first. Die took a mental picture of their hands together like that and tucked it away in his mind, so as not to forget it. Kaoru's fingers were warm, soft to the touch. The red-haired man's breath started to come quicker as he searched for words. "U-uh, you can have the salt," he managed to stutter.
Equally shaken, Kaoru replied, "No, it's all right, you can have it first." Still neither of them moved, fingers still meeting on the salt shaker. "Die?" Kaoru urged.
Die finally moved, bringing his hand up, but instead of taking the salt with him, he kept a hold on Kaoru's hand, fingers shaking. He locked his eyes on the other guitarist's, stammering, "K-kaoru, I don't really know what to say. L-lately I've been feeling, well, attracted to you, more than friends I mean." His face turned bright red and the trembling of his fingers only increased. "Oh, I shouldn't even be asking this, but, what would you say if I told you that I, well, loved you?" His eyes searched Kaoru's face for an answer as the purple-haired man quickly moistened his dry lips.
"I-I don't know, Die, this is kind of sudden," he replied, heart pounding hard inside of his chest.
Die stood up, letting go of Kaoru's hand, mumbling, "God, I need a cigarette." Quickly, he moved to the door.
To Part 3