rabenhorst | (no subject)

Title: Spring; Chapter 3: With sixteen, it's always true love
Author:

fonulyn
Rating: PG [going up to NC17]
Pairing: Die and Kaoru
Disclaimer: We own no one, only our dirty imaginations.
Summary: Kaoru is the most popular guy at the whole school, the student council and a straight A student, leading a life that most people consider perfect and flawless. Die is a happy-go-lucky, lazy average student who more likes to concentrate on enjoying life rather than giving all of his time for studying. When the latter is about to fail physics amongst some other subjects, the former is hired to give him private lessons. The boys don’t exactly like each other to begin with though…
Comments:

seinen_no: Aw girls, this must be one of my favourite chapters. C'mon, you knew we were pathetic, didn't you? But aren't they sweet? I just hope you enjoy reading this as much as we enjoyed writing it. I remember that it was really late at night when we were writing this part and I had to go to bed but I didn't want to before finishing this! Have fun^^

fonulyn: haha, well things are going pretty fast for now in the story, but keep in mind that they really are young and going through their first falling in love! You knew we’d end up here rather sooner than later XD I hope you enjoy!

And feel free to add our journal if you like the stories!
Plus, the archive .

Previously happened: Part 1, Part 2

Chapter 3: With sixteen, it's always true love

At first Die had been determined to ask Kaoru about the reasons why he had come to the baseball game in the first place, but once they saw the next time he totally forgot about the matter. He was increasingly enjoying his tutor's company, even looking forward to their meetings more than ever before.

Kaoru didn't mention the game with one word either, although he knew Die had seen him, had greeted him, smiled at him even. But he thought words weren't needed and he didn't want to explain himself. At times, they extended their lessons and Kaoru stayed at Die's place even after the paid amount of time had passed. Then, the two were usually watching TV, or they just casually hung out together without talking much.

That was in a way simultaneously the oddest and the most comforting thing in the relationship between them. They were silent often, not speaking about anything but still felt comfortable together and didn't want the moment to end. To Die at least it was beginning to feel more like he had a friend rather than a mere tutor, and he liked it that way.

Still, at school, they hardly ever met since Kaoru was in another part of the building and he usually didn't take lunch in the cafeteria, but had his lunch with him and preferred to eat it in silence somewhere, nobody really knew where. It didn't bother Die, or more he never noticed it until one day something made him realize that he and Kaoru hardly ever spoke a word at school, even when they happened to pass by each other in the corridor or in the yard.

It didn't really bother him, or he at least tried to convince himself that it didn't. Truth was that he would've wanted to go talk to Kaoru at school too, to meet him more than just these few times they had for studying together. He even considered telling Kyo about it at one point but knew that his friend would just laugh at him and mock him endlessly so he kept the information to himself.

The blonde noticed though that something seemed to darken his friend's mood, but he kept quiet about this as he sensed that it was something more serious than usually. Maybe Die didn't pay him enough respect, but he was sensitive when the occasion called. On the other hand, he was good at distracting people, and even cheering them up although one would have never guessed.

So the next day, he waved two tickets for a rock-concert underneath Die's nose. "How about it? I heard they are good." He looked utterly enthusiastic and there was no way Die could deny him the fun of going there together.

That undoubtedly managed to lighten the redhead's mood considerably and he was clearly dwelling less in the contemplations afterwards. He was truly grateful that he and Kyo had become friends as they had so much in common and it made both their schooldays more tolerable. The thoughts that were nagging the redhead never vanished completely though, as he simply couldn't shrug them off. Mostly he managed to look like everything was as normal as always, but there was this slight misplaced feeling inside of him he couldn't quite explain.

He was again lost deep in his thoughts as he hurried back home after a late extra-practice of the school's baseball team, pulling his jacket tighter around himself as it was beginning to rain. Inwardly, he cursed as he hadn't taken an umbrella because it had been a sunny day before. Right now it was starting to rain though, big heavy droplets falling down from dark clouds. He quickened his steps but then suddenly spotted a familiar figure a few paces away and it made him almost freeze in his movement.

Kaoru was clinging to his umbrella, a slight breeze making it hard for him to hold it. He was hurrying home after giving a hopeless case extra coaching lessons. Almost running, he didn't see the figure that came towards him from a street to his left at first. Something attracted his attention though and he raised his gaze, peeking at the redhead from underneath his umbrella. There was something unreadable in his expression, as he just stood there for a few heartbeats, the raindrops drumming heavily on the shelter above his head.

Lifting it a bit, he signalled Die to come there too, not wanting his friend to get soaking wet although it was probably too late already. Quickly Die slipped under the umbrella, trying to shelter himself from the pouring rain which meant squeezing him closer to the other teenager until their bodies were clearly touching. "Going home?" he asked more or less cleverly, not knowing what else to say either. He was smiling though, looking Kaoru in the eyes as he tried to read the expression on his face since there was something out of ordinary in it.

It took long before Kaoru managed to even nod. Gazing deep into Die's jet-black eyes, he finally cleared his throat to explain a bit further. "Yeah. Had a long day, just like you obviously." Something in the closeness made him feel utterly uncomfortable and yet he didn't want the contact between their bodies to break, didn't want to get further away from Die although he was dripping wet.

"Know what? Once I'm home I'm determined to get some hot chocolate and just get stuck in front of the TV for the rest of the evening. I recommend." The younger teen smiled, just saying whatever crossed his mind. The truth was that he was fully occupied trying to resist the urge to wipe away a loose strand of hair from the other's forehead, telling himself he was acting totally ridiculous.

Neither of them seemed to notice that they were not moving for several minutes already, just standing there and desperately trying to figure out what had caused the change in the atmosphere. Only distantly, Kaoru heard the words that were so smoothly falling from Die's lips as he stared at them in awe.

That must have been the problem from the first moment on; he didn't hate Die, he ... liked him. "You- I mean I think we should get going." The words only came out as a soft whisper, so quiet that it was hard to hear them against the rain that seemed to increase with every passing second.

The words startled Die and instinctively he leaned a bit closer even as if to say he didn't want to leave, didn't want to break the moment. He had no idea what had come over him, he had never acted like this before in his life. The truth was that he was hypnotized, standing on his place like petrified. "I -" He began, but never finished the sentence and instead leaned a bit closer again, until their faces were almost touching.

Instinctively, Kaoru had turned his face upwards, his eyes falling shut when he felt Die's breath tickle his skin. A drop of water fell down on his face and, like drawn in by gravity, he closed the last distance between their lips. It was soft, chaste and wet and yet enough to make his head spin, his heart shooting up into his throat where it began to hammer like a drum, going a thousand miles an hour.

When he felt Die's lips move tentatively against his own, he mirrored the action, marvelling the sweet sensations of their mixing taste, the sudden warmth that spread all over his body although, a second ago, he had been freezing. Suddenly though, he became aware of what they were doing, of what was happening and he pulled back, staring at Die from huge, questioning eyes.

Why had the other one allowed that, why hadn't he stopped him? Following his instinct, he suddenly turned around and ran, ran as fast as his legs would carry him. The umbrella, which had fallen down right before Die's feet, being the only witness of that scene.

For a second Die froze completely, just staring after the other teen who was rapidly getting more distance between them. Just a second ago he had been so close, made him feel so warm and now there was only the hammering rain again that was pouring down on him. "Hey! Wait!" Suddenly the redhead snapped back to reality, reaching out his hand towards the older boy.

Forgetting the umbrella completely he darted forwards, running after Kaoru. He was a good runner, had the advantage of his long legs and the desperation, and he swiftly was approaching the other student. "Kaoru!" The name had barely left his lips in a strangled outcry before he was finally able to reach the smaller one, grabbing his arm instinctively to make him stop.

The older teen didn't struggle, but kept his gaze ahead and didn't turn around. His whole body was trembling, but it wasn't only because of the effort. "I-," Kaoru tried to speak, tried to find an excuse, an explanation for that. He wanted to apologize, wanted to get back to where they had been before, friends, close friends even. At least that was how he felt. Now it seemed that he had destroyed everything and it brought tears to his eyes despite the fact that one couldn't see them as his face was wet from the rain.

Die was totally out of breath, and didn't even know what to say anyways. He used his grip to make the smaller one turn around to face him, looking him deep in the eyes. He still didn't know what to say, what to do and how to react and he played it all on one card, deciding that for once in his life he could take a risk. Quickly he leaned closer, planting a soft, chaste kiss on Kaoru's lips. It was only short, but definitely there, and he was blushing when he pulled back.

That seemed to have the opposite effect as he had been hoping though, because it made Kaoru shake his head a bit and he took a step backwards. Then, he closed his eyes, trying to imagine the feel of the redhead's lips on his own, their moist softness, the heat that was radiating from Die's body.

"Die?" Slowly, Kaoru looked up, blinking as water was running from his eyebrows down his temples, getting caught in his eyes. "Do you love me?" He knew it was unfair to ask this, but it was the first thing that crossed his mind. Could it be that the other boy was in love with him? That his feelings were mutual and he wouldn't have needed to worry?

"I - I don't know." The redhead's first answer was completely automatic as he hadn't really thought about the matter this way. He had just been so sure about what was between them that he hadn't tried to name it, to determine how deep the feeling went. But at that moment when he was looking deep into Kaoru's chocolate brown eyes, he felt something twitch in his chest and slowly he nodded.

It made the older student smile and he stepped close again, shuddering a bit when he felt Die's bodyheat, imagined to even hear his heart beat. "I love you too," he whispered, wrapping his arms around the taller one's waist to get as close as possible. At that moment, the magnitude of his own feelings had become strangely clear to him. All the fear, the tension seemed to fall off his shoulders as he leaned his head against Die's chest.

Instinctively the redhead wrapped his arms around the other one's form, hugging him tight against himself. Never in his life had he enjoyed hugging someone this much and he simply closed his eyes, concentrating on the feelings. Kaoru's warm presence there right beside him, against him, was the only thing that filled his consciousness and he didn't even feel the cold rain that was hammering mercilessly down on them.

*

Kaoru was looking over Die's shoulder to see if he did alright with the maths exercises he had given the other teen. They hadn't talked much that day, despite about schoolwork and now he used the moment of silence to just watch him while Die was trying to solve the mathematical problems. The redhead's concentrated expression with the pursed lips and the steep wrinkle between his eyes made him smile.

It were small things like these that made him enjoy those moments; made his heart beat a bit quicker in his chest. He still hadn't gotten used to the way his body reacted to the new sensations and although he was longing to get even closer, he held back as he had no idea how to do it without it appearing forced or clumsy.

At first the younger teen had no idea that he was being watched, and he was truly concentrated on the assignment. But at one point he started to feel watched and took a glance to the side, giving a quick smile as he noticed that Kaoru was looking at him. He tried to concentrate on the assignment again, but it was too hard now that the other teen's near presence kept on distracting him.

Somehow, the older student seemed to notice it and finally sat down in a chair next to his friend's desk. As the silence dragged on, his mind started drifting off and he allowed his gaze to roam through the room. It was so much unlike his own, messy with random clothes, computer games and books scattering the floor. Not only didn't it bother him, it was more that he envied Die for the freedom to do whatever he wished with his room.

Maybe, Mrs Andou didn't have enough time to look after him since she had two more kids to take care of, but it was more likely that she thought it didn't matter that much as long as one could still step into the room. His own mother was completely different and although she never said anything to him, there was something in her that made him try to be perfect. He simply didn't want to be worse than his brother in anything.

The silence went on a bit longer but then finally the redhead spoke up tentatively. "Uhm, Kaoru? I really don't know how to solve this..." It somehow felt like such a stupid thing to say as he would've wanted to say so much more and certainly not about the schoolwork, but he simply stuck to the familiar routines as he didn't know how else to react right now.

The question startled the older teen, but he got a hold of himself quickly and smiled at the other one. "Oh sure." He slid the chair closer to the table. First, he took a sideway-glance at the redhead, giving him an insecure smile. There were still so many unvoiced questions between them, but neither dared to break the constant silence and bring them on. They were comfortable with each
other and if one asked Kaoru, he was madly in love with the redhead, but there was this barrier between them, this tension, and he didn't know how to get rid of it.

One look at Die's notes showed him the problem and he pointed at one row of numbers. "You forgot to take that into account." It was routine to him, and he explained how it was supposed to be done, completely focused on the task at hand without allowing his inner confusion to distract him.

What he didn't notice was that Die was in no way concentrated on the task at hand right now. When Kaoru spoke he kept on staring his lips, just watched him and barely heard the words he was saying with the nice tone of his voice. There was a goofy grin on Die's lips and he felt insanely happy for some weird reason. Maybe it was Kaoru's mere presence, Die had no idea, but he didn't want the moment to end right now.

He was nervous too though, almost shaking as he had no idea how to get past the barrier that seemed to be between them; a barrier of nervousness and insecurity. Acting on instinct he suddenly leaned closer, planting a tiny, chaste kiss in the corner of Kaoru's mouth.

Like struck by lightning, the older teen hushed and stared as the other one from wide eyes. Slowly, he brought his fingertips to his mouth, as if they would remember the fleeting feeling of Die's lips on his. Then, a smile crept on his face and he shook his head. "Anything to ditch studying, huh?"

Both knew that it was meant as a joke, something to make the awkward feeling bearable for both of them. Before Die knew what was happening, he had received another peck on the lips and the next second, Kaoru was sitting on the floor, holding up the controller to his friend's Nintendo. "You win."

"Of course I win, I always do!" Die chuckled merrily, and it only took mere seconds before he had gotten up from his seat and plopped down right beside the older teenager. He made sure that their shoulders brushed against each other and that he was sitting close enough, reaching for the other controller.

It was one of the most relaxed moments of gaming they had ever spent together and although there was nothing else besides exchanging covert glances and stealthy touches, it was still sufficient to make both boys' hearts flutter with joy.

"Diiiiieeee!!!" The door flung open and Erika burst in like she tended to do whenever the two teens were hanging out togehter. "Mom says you should let me play too." Just seeing the redhead's angry expression made Kaoru chuckle. As annoying as Die's little sister was, it was cute to see how she tried to get her older brother's attention.

"Why can't you go bug your own friends or something?" Die whined, but when his sister sat down on the other side of him it gave him the perfect excuse to shift a bit closer to Kaoru. Something good at least, although he would've much rather thrown his sister out of the room at that instant. "I WAS bugging my own friends while you were studying, mister Thickhead." Erika instantly poked out her tongue to her brother, showing a victorious grin.

After some more comments between the siblings, Kaoru addressed the word. "Okay, you can play with us, but Die and I are not done studying yet, only take a break. So in an hour or so, you leave us alone again, okay?" Erika pondered for a moment, but then nodded. "Deal."

Actually, it was nice to play games together, although Kaoru would have preferred to be alone with Die. Maybe there would have been the chance to get another kiss? Of course they forgot time and only when Mrs Andou shouted for them that dinner was ready, they realized it. "Damn! I gotta go." The older teen looked both, sad and apologetical. "My mom's having guests over tonight, some family gathering or so and I had to promise to be there."

"So you can't stay over to eat here?" Die looked totally disappointed, unable to conceal it although his sister was in the same room still. Erika didn't seem to notice anything weird in it though, and just naturally took her bother's side as she liked Kaoru a lot too. "Mom's been asking you to eat here several times now! Once you'll have to stay."

"I'm sorry, but today, I really can't. My mom would fry my ass and my dad would scold me all day." The older teen shook his head. "Next time, okay?" While he was talking, his gaze always shifted from nothingness to Die's face, trying to read his expression. There were some things on his mind he would have wanted to say, but if it came down to it, he wouldn't dare anyways. "We see tomorrow at school, right?"

"We always do." Die smiled, and deep down inside wanted to add, 'And never talk to each other' but just swallowed the comment. He would've so much wanted to just spend a moment or two with the older teen, but he knew that there'd be a chance for that later if he was just patient.

Nodding, Kaoru got up and denied himself to ask if Die would bring him to the door. "I'll tell your mom that I can't stay." Since Erika was still there, he didn't dare to say anything further and quickly made his way to the door where he turned around once more. "I'll check he exercises tomorrow, so better get them done still." There was a slight malicious grin tugging his lips, but before Die could protest, he was gone and already stomping down the stairs.

The younger one had already opened his mouth to say something but didn't have the time, and slowly a grin appeared on his lips. He was still looking at the door, and only his sister's voice brought him back to reality. "Are you sick or something? Why do you look so happy that you have to do the exercises?" Die turned to look at her instantly, trying to look as casual as possible and even gave her a little glare. "It's an insider, you wouldn't understand anyways."