Just One? (Nao)

[Raylaigh Hawthorne]

“Nao?!” Raylaigh called after his friend after Naozumi rushed out the door after his kiss. He looked both ways and ran down the hall after Nao, hoping he didn’t put in a little extra bit of speed. He caught up with Nao just before the younger boy got to the stairs and Ray reached out, lightly grabbing Nao’s forearm, trying to get Nao to stop, but not using enough force where it would be something Nao didn’t have an option about. Jack used to do that, using physical force to control him, there was no way Ray would do that to Nao. If Nao really didn’t want to be stopped it would be easy to pull his arm loose. “Nao, are you okay? What happened?”

Raylaigh’s eyes were glassed with worry and confusion, he was feeling a little hot from whatever he’d been drinking. Ray was confused and concerned about what happened to Nao, had Alex done something or said something to upset Nao? He searched Nao’s face to try and see if the answers were there but the quick action of moving and this now were kind of making Raylaigh a little nauseous, but he was able to swallow that down and his eyes ran over Nao’s face, his lips where the woman had kissed him and to Nao’s eyes, all seemingly moving and it taking a second for Ray to process that his eyes had moved on and were seeing something new. “What’s wrong?” He asked gently, concern making him able to focus a little better.

He wanted to take Nao in his arms and hold him until all of the scary thoughts went away, but he still wasn’t sure about how Nao would take that. He wanted to tell Nao that he liked him, but he wasn’t sure he wanted a boyfriend, and hell maybe Nao didn’t even want a boyfriend, it was still possible in the cards for Nao to be one hundred percent straight. For someone who was gay, Raylaigh had terrible ‘gay-dar’. He just secretly wished every attractive man he saw was gay. Just like he really hoped that Nao was gay, but Raylaigh couldn’t make that decision for him, no matter how much he wished it.

[Deleted]

Nao had to get out of there before everyone else saw how much of a baby he still was, tearing up over something so…trivial… He could fall and scrape himself up like a piece of roadkill without batting an eye, but clearly kissing had opened a door that he didn’t even know was there. He was still feeling dizzy and confused for that as well and maybe just a little more emotional than normal, but that was to be expected after such a horrible experience, right?

Nao was so closed in on himself that he didn’t hear Ray call after him when he left the room. The speeding boy had managed to make it to the end of the hall before he was stopped by his friend. The warmth of his hand was enough to keep Nao from running further but he kept his head down, not wanting Ray to see the horrible color on his face or the wetness in his eyes. This all probably looked so stupid to the older boy. It probably did to everyone else in that room. Since when did he care so much about what other people thought? There must’ve been something in the air. The small boy’s shoulders started shaking, which may have given the impression that he was sobbing over the incident, but on closer inspection, one could see his lips curled into a smile while he softly laughed and wiped away the dampness from his eyes. Crying or laughing? Perhaps it was both?

“Heh heh…I’m okay,” he said with a giggling sniffle. “I was just surprised.” A little bit of a lie, but more or less the truth. Nao leaned himself back against the wall, tucking himself into the corner beside the stairwell door and tilted his head in a shrug. Though his arm he pulled from Ray until his hand was comfortably settled within his friend’s. “That was my first kiss,” he said with a small, dumb smile. “It was…gross.” Nao giggled again, trying to hide his obvious upset.

[Raylaigh Hawthorne]

Raylaigh didn’t think it was weird, well he thought it was a little strange but he didn’t think of it badly, he was worried. Extremely worried, more worried than he knew what to do with. He didn’t know what was wrong and that was bothering him to no end because if he couldn’t figure out what was wrong then he couldn’t make it better. When Ray caught up he wasn’t sure what he would be up against, it could be bad. Maybe Nao was just really uncomfortable or maybe that Alex girl had done something. Oh he was going to get her if she’d done anything to Nao. He’d Have to get the much cooler skater Alex to help him pull a prank on the multicolored haired Alex.

Nao was shorter and so when he lowered his head Raylaigh would have had to duck and look up to see his face, which under normal circumstances he would do, but he wasn’t exactly in the right mind so instead he bent sideways and looked at Nao’s face, his own head almost tipped all the way to the side. Immediately it was a bad idea and his head swam a bit from the strange angle that he was holding it at and he tried to blink away the fuzziness. He straightened when he say the tears and Nao’s shaking shoulders. He wanted to hug Nao but then it almost seemed like Nao was… was Nao laughing? Raylaigh looked at his friend with confusion written over his face. “What…” He started and he smiled with relief glad that Nao was okay but confused as to why he was crying in the first place. “Then why are you crying?”

Surprised? Was it a good surprise or a bad surprise? Ray blinked failing to understand why that brought along tears and laughter. He was completely not thinking about the situations where laughing hard enough could bring tears. Tears meant upset in his mind right now. Ray got distracted by Nao’s hand in his and he giggled uncontrollably suddenly focusing on how nicely Nao’s hand fit in his, but then Nao dropped a bomb on the flyer. Ray’s eyes practically bugged his head in shock. “That was your first kiss!? And you did it with a stranger in a Spin the Bottle game?” Raylaigh laughed and bounced a little on his feet. “Gross? It was gross? Oh Nao, your first kiss. You just didn’t get kissed by the right person. You’ve gotta have your first kiss with someone who means something to you.” Raylaigh blabbered on and he smiled warmly at Nao, how much he wanted to show Nao what a real kiss was like.

[Deleted]

The tears were from…no he was not laughing so hard that he was crying, he was laughing to mask the crying because…because…what the hell had he been thinking!? Nao had come to such a silly little game with the hope of getting his first kiss from someone he really liked, and then throwing it away to some girl he didn’t even know who practically inhaled his face! That’s not what they looked like on television and in movies(granted, he only watched PG-13 or lower rated programs), so why couldn’t this girl have done something like that? Or why couldn’t God have simply made the bottle land on someone else, preferably the person he was looking forward to…?

Ray asked why Naozumi was crying, but that answer should have been apparent after Nao explained it to him between his sobbing chuckles. “I know…that was dumb of me,” he said, lowering his head again. His face felt like it was on fire, he was so ashamed of such a little thing.

What Ray said made sense but…Nao wasn’t even sure if he’d be able to tolerate that kind of kiss from anyone! “But…! It was slobbery!” he complained like a kid, looking up again at the tall flyer. “And her tongue was in my mouth! Is…is that what’s supposed to happen?” He squirmed a little, still thinking back on the memory and remembering thinking how slimy it was, lightly swinging his hand clasped in Ray’s all the while. “I thought it’d be different,” he admitted, trailing his eyes down to the side to look at the opposing wall.

[Raylaigh Hawthorne]

Nao would have to excuse Raylaigh, he wasn’t operating at one hundred percent at the moment and he’d missed that rather important piece of information. It had really gone in one ear and out the other. He was still very stuck on the fact that Nao had had his first kiss like that. Poor Nao! His first kiss had been the makings of a make out. The little Asian really had no idea what he’d been getting into and Ray couldn’t stop laughing because he couldn’t believe Nao had done that. Shy Nao, Raylaigh couldn’t get over it, his first kiss during a game of spin the bottle. “Oh, Nao,” Raylaigh said with a sympathetic laugh. Ray remembered his first kiss, it had been with Jack and it had been strange at first, but it had also been absolutely wonderful.

Raylaigh, as concerned for Nao as he was, couldn’t even control the giggles that were coming out of his mouth. “Slobbery?!” He asked in shock and fell into giggles. He should have felt bad, it probably looked like he was laughing at Nao, but he just really couldn’t help it and he couldn’t feel bad, he was feeling too good. Ray grinned like a loon and finally found some form of control over his laughter. “It depends. I wouldn’t have done that in this kind of situation, but to each their own.” He shrugged and grinned at Nao, Nao was just too adorable and the way he was describing it was so truthful, it was just that no one ever talked about it like that because it was supposed to be magical and sexy or whatever descriptor the kids were using these days.

He squeezed Nao’s hand, feeling a boldness he didn’t normally feel. Raylaigh saw his chance and he took a leap of faith. “It can be,” he said. He was being completely selfish at the moment and he knew it and for some reason he didn’t care. “Nao, what if were to show you what your first kiss should be like?” He raised a brow and raised his free hand. “No tongue or weird stuff, I promise.” He smiled and looked at Nao, unveiled hopefulness in his eyes. All this time he’d wanted to kiss Nao, maybe this was his chance, and he could show Nao that kissing wasn’t gross, it was great. He watched Nao with big eyes while he waited for Nao’s answer.

[Deleted]

Nao wasn’t feeling much like himself either. The running off with tears in your eyes like some jilted maiden was not something he ever imagined himself doing, though to be fair, the feelings related to the outburst were understandable. Nao was not such an emotionally expressive person, he didn’t know what was going on with him to make him feel so overwhelmed. Although, as his embarrassment had surly calmed down a little more by now, he still felt a kind on numb warmth on his face, centered in his cheeks and in his eyes. His eyes which were still glossed with some sort of twinkle behind them and scrunched up in a kind of silly mirth. Was it terrible that he wanted another one of those drinks that they’d left behind in the room?

“It was slobbery!” he insisted, unable to hide the amusement in his voice. “It felt like I was swirling around a bunch of goo in my mouth!” Which was basically right, except the goo was a mouthful of someone else’s drool. Nao brought his other hand forward to clutch his side lest it become to sore from the genial heaves. He continued to giggle as Ray spoke, remembering that his friend didn’t seem to have given that sort of mouth invading kiss to the girl he’d been forced to by the game.

Again, Nao wished that it’d been he who had received such a nice looking kiss. And Nao was somehow feeling…a little less bashful than he normally did; his face was relaxed and expressive, weaving in and out a flurry of expressions from nervous to coy to flirty, amused, and bold. His eyebrows raised along with his eyes when Ray made his proposal and he nervously bit his lip as he looked away again. His stomach did a sudden flip. “Okay,” he said, possibly a little too quickly. Nao tried to make it sound causal, yet was still shifting from from one foot to the other despite himself. “I mean, if you’re okay with it.” He smiled. “I could probably use the experience…and more practice.” Yes…Ray could be his kissing instructor. That sounded like a good plan!

[Raylaigh Hawthorne]

The fact that Nao had run away had thrown Raylaigh for a loop, he hadn’t even imagined that Nao had never been kissed before, but now it made sense. If his first kiss had been like that, with a stranger and very deep he probably would have freaked out too. That wasn’t to say that the Alex with the colorful hair had meant to freak Nao out, she probably didn’t know either, and that was probably a very good kiss, just not for someone like Nao. Raylaigh grinned at Nao, completely unable to keep himself from giggling. “Ew!” Ray exclaimed, that did sound gross and if Nao kept putting it that way then Raylaigh would be put off kissing as well. It was a good thing Raylaigh was experienced and he smiled at Nao asking his question, he could teach Nao.

Ray watched Nao’s face as the smaller boy started to blush and the reserved expression Nao usually held was left far away and Raylaigh was enjoying watching his emotional thought process read over his face. Ray was very hopeful and his heart was beating in his chest in anticipation. Raylaigh’s heart jumped with excitement. Okay! Okay, he was going to get to kiss Nao! Ray was overly excited and he had trouble keeping his feet on the ground as his wings fluttered with excitement. Nodding Ray said, “Yeah, I’m a good teacher,” he grinned slyly and his heart fluttered as fast as his wings. He smiled and his nerves returned but that thing in his head that normally would have given him pause had taken the day off apparently and Raylaigh was jumping at the chance to kiss his best friend.

“Just relax,” Raylaigh whispered and hesitantly reached up a hand and put it on Nao’s warm, and a little moist, cheek. Raylaigh’s eyes were on Naozumi’s dark eyes for a long time before his eyes went to Nao’s lips and the desire Ray had been feeling all of this time to kiss Nao took over. His heart was hammering and his eyes slid closed as his lips touched Nao’s. It was a very gentle and chaste kiss, no weird stuff, as he’d promised but it had his heart racing nonetheless. It lasted significantly less time than Nao’s first kiss and Ray pulled back his eyes coming up to look at Nao’s, and the flyer didn’t pulled away from Nao. His face was the color of cherries and he was smiling excitedly. Goal of the day accomplished! He’d gotten a kiss for Nao, now he was really hoping that it was better than Nao’s first kiss.

[Deleted]

Since Nao had nothing to compare it to, there was no way he could determine if what Alex had done was considered good kissing or bad. Perhaps she really was a good kisser and Nao was just….bad at it. Well, for someone with no experience, that was to be expected. There’s no way he could be good at it. Was it too terrible that Nao was hoping to maybe, just maybe, rope Ray into giving Naozumi frequent “lessons”? Well…maybe Ray had a point before. Who it was had a lot to do with how much you wanted to or could enjoy the kiss.

It was a lot easier for Nao to smile for some reason. Well, when he was truly with a person whose company he enjoyed, Naozumi would smile as often as possible, but at the present moment it seemed so much less strained. And he was a lot less worried and self-conscious about how honest he may have been in his affections toward the older boy. Less, but not completely. He still thought he was a complete fool for running out like he was, but most of those feelings had been replaced with a sense of…he didn’t quite know how to put it, but he was definitely happy that Ray was here, with him, with their hands still clasped, and that Ray had been concerned enough for him to follow him out, even though that meant he’d end up missing out on the rest of the party.

Even more so since Ray had given his offer, and again when he didn’t seem to be put off by Nao’s acceptance. Nao kept his back straight against the wall behind him, flitting his eyes up to meet Ray’s, then away again, only to fixate again on their dark color as the handsome face of his good friend gravitated closer. He felt his breath catch as he felt Ray’s fall into his face. The nervousness he felt seemed numb, like it was both there and not there at the same time. His heart was thrumming like the wings of a hummingbird, yet not a muscle in his body seemed to tense as his eyelids fell and Ray pressed his soft lips against his own. Nao wasn’t sure what he was expecting, if it would be like the agonizingly long kiss that Alex had given or something thankfully shorter, but he knew that when Ray finally pulled away, his first thought was that it hadn’t lasted nearly long enough. His head felt like it was floating as his eyes slowly reopened to see that blissful smile on the lips that had just touched his.

Naozumi smiled up at his best friend Ray, at his super-crush Raylaigh, and this time, he didn’t turn his eyes away. “I think…I might need more practice.” His hand was still clasped around Ray's.

[Raylaigh Hawthorne]

Boldness in whatever was in that liquid courage was coursing through his veins and rushing through his brain giving him a light and excited feeling. Whatever few inhibitions that Raylaigh held were currently being thrown out the window, had he known it was alcoholic he probably wouldn’t have drunk it so fast and so frequently, that alone probably had the biggest affect on the tipsy way he was acting. The pair of them were so unprepared for the effects that alcohol would have had on the situation, but here they were and there was nothing to do but keep blundering on and Ray was definitely game for blundering on.

Nerves were vibrating in Raylaigh’s body making his shake a little but after the initial hesitation he was going for it. He was moving forward like a train, it would take a lot to derail his intentions at the moment. Ray was pretty sure he could hear his heart beat racing as he went in for the kiss he’d been hoping for. It wasn’t until after he realized that he was hearing something because his wings were fluttering and making the small sounds as they beat the air as fast as his heart was beating. He was so close to Nao and looking down at Nao and looking into his eyes, Ray’s hand didn’t remove his hand from Nao’s cheek, and he was aware of his soft and warm skin. He gently wiped his thumb to try to dry the tear streaks from his cheeks.

Ray’s brow quirked at Nao as he spoke. A sly grin turned on Raylaigh’s face and he let out a low chuckle. He gripped Nao’s hand in his and smiled down at his best friend. His face a still aglow with a rose tint. “I think so too,” he said and the hand on Nao’s cheek. He felt embolden and he forgot his promise to leave the tongue out of it and this time when he lowered his lips to Nao’s his lips were slightly parted and encouraging for Nao to do the same and now he could taste the residual alcoholic and peach taste on Nao’s lips. Raylaigh was drunk on alcohol and he was drunk on Nao and the tispy flyer was on top of the world, his feet were having a hard time staying on the ground, which was a problem, because he was already a lot taller than Nao and he didn’t need his wings getting excited and banging his head on the ceiling. He pulled away reluctantly and his eyes opened shyly and he felt his blood rushing to his head enhancing whatever dizzy effect he already had.

[Deleted]

By this time, even to one as slow as Naozumi, it had crossed his mind that Raylaigh might be gay. If not that, then bi. Though he was still paralyzed from being completely honest by the fear that Ray might just be a really, really good friend, willing to help out someone as meek and unsure as Nao. Because you didn’t have to like someone like that to want do whatever you could to help them out, right? If things were indeed like that, then Nao would feel both saddened and lucky. Sad because his own affections probably wouldn’t be returned the way he wanted them to, but lucky because his best friend was so cool that he was willing to help him out with such a sensitive thing.

If the situation was like that, then Nao wondered how often he could get away with using the sake of “practice” as an excuse to kiss him? Because while his first kiss was something he’d like to forget, his second had him wishing it was his first. And had him wanting a third already. And a fourth. As many as he could get away with until it didn’t matter anymore which number it was.

Naozumi wasn’t certain how the whole tongue thing was supposed to work, but Ray, so far, was a much better teacher than the girl in the other room. He didn’t force anything, but instead invited. And Nao, despite worrying about what the inside of his mouth might taste like to another a few minutes ago, had completely forgotten about that now that he was lost in whatever it was that was going on between him and Ray. He was reaching up, nearly on his toes, in order to match Ray’s height, something that both bothered him, as he did wish he was taller to make this easier, but still found that he didn’t might the height difference as much as he once did. Or rather, it just didn’t matter to him right now, because all that mattered was the fact that he’d gotten not only one, but two kissed out of Ray!

But it was at that point, when their lips parted the second time, that Naozumi noticed the slight breeze on his ankles. He looked down to see the older boy’s wings flapping ridiculously about like an excited sparrow, threatening to give Ray’s feet a bit of lift that they certainly didn’t need. Nao’s face only deepened in color. “Ray!” he accused, his foggy head trying to process what it meant(and failing somehow). “Are you trying to make this more difficult!” he complained, reaching his hand up to emphasize the height difference. “I’m short enough as it is!” Because clearly addressing it seriously was beyond the tipsy-boy’s capabilities at the moment. He relaxed his shoulders again, giggling with his hand cupped over his smile.

[Raylaigh Hawthorne]

Raylaigh didn’t know any friend who would be this good of a friend, especially if he was a straight male. If that were the case, Ray knew he would have never been caught kissing another boy in the hallway. Ray was being completely selfish and he knew that. Being Nao’s kissing teacher would give him ample opportunities to make out with his best friend and that was putting Ray on cloud nine. What was better, not once did Jack cross his mind. Part of him was afraid of comparing the two, but thoughts of his ex-boyfriend might as well have been on a different planet at the moment. In this case Ray was happy to be the best friend to help Nao out with his kissing experience. Nao was positively making his dizzy being all cute like that with the blush on his face and looking up at him with those big dark eyes.

There was also the alcohol, that might have also been contributing to the dizziness, but it was a good dizziness, it had made him wave good bye to the hesitation and he’d just done it. He was extremely glad that Nao hadn’t rejected his offer, in Ray’s mind that meant that he was at least open to the idea of a same sex relationship. Which was awesome. Nao was a fast learner and Raylaigh was the happiest flyer on the planet at the moment. Ray wanted the kiss to last and last. Ray certainly didn’t mind bending down for the shorter boy, it was a different experience for certain, he was still getting used to being tall and as a result this was the first time he was the taller person. It was kind of exciting. He held tightly to Nao’s hand and his hand on Nao’s cheek moved back by Nao’s ear. He wanted to just wrap his arms around Nao and bring him close.

And then it was over. Over too soon and Nao looked down and Ray for a moment thought he’d done something wrong and he started to formulate an apology when Nao called his name in an accusing tone. He opened his mouth to apologize but Nao was already continuing. Ray’s eyes widened in surprise, absolutely sure that he’d done something wrong now. He was making it difficult? That last kiss had been too much hadn’t it… Way too much, now Nao wasn’t going to want to kiss him anymore. It took Raylaigh a minute to process that Nao was talking about height but when Nao reached is hand up Ray reflexively took a step back and his feet got tangled in his wings and he fell back. “Woah!” He cried out as his balance failed and he landed on his rump. Consequently, his hand was still gripping Nao’s and when he fell he didn’t think to let go or use Nao to keep himself from falling and he brought Nao down with him.

Raylaigh started laughing and couldn’t stop. He was marveling at the fact that he didn’t hurt. “Whoops,” he got out between giggles, “Sorry.” Ray’s face was flushing a bright red color and he still held onto Nao’s hand as he laughed. He grinned at Nao an idea suddenly occurring to him. “Now we’re the same height.” Because that was what mattered right now. Raylaigh was feeling just fine.

[Deleted]

Naozumi didn’t intend on causing Ray any distress over his protests. They were merely meant to be teasing complaints, something like a joke which Nao still wasn’t sure he had the timing or cleverness for. But everything about this night had make Nao so much more relaxed than normal and a lot more daring. The worries that he held over his own sexuality were still there, but they were overshadowed by this fluttery, light happiness he was experiencing, a dizziness that was only made worse by the flurry of emotions he was rushing through over the mere fact that he’d been able to receive two whole kisses from his best friend. Nothing he was thinking or doing was typical behavior for him, and he knew it, vaguely, but it was hard to care about that right now.

If Nao had known that Ray would have reacted in such a way…well, he couldn’t have known, and he was, strange as it may seem, thankful that it happened, for it gave Nao a chance, or rather, the excuse to press himself up against Raylaigh, increasing their contact further than just that of their firmly gripped hands, which still showed no signs of letting go of one another. The fall itself had been a rush and Nao was a hair-widths away from jumping into one of his forward tumble, completely missing the older boy altogether. But that would have meant releasing their hands. Also, Nao’s reaction time was still depressed by the alcohol he unknowingly consumed earlier.

While the fall should have left him stunned, and it did to a point, Naozumi’s heart was suddenly racing from not only the fall, but the sudden closeness that was now present between their bodies. Nao was resting his slim torso completely upon Ray’s, the momentum of the fall having, as Ray pointed out, given Naozumi the boost in “height” that he needed to match the the boys face to face. He followed suit in his own flurry of giggles, burying his blushing face into Ray’s chest, his free hand gripping at the fabric of his shirt. This was such an embarrassing position to be in, for one he had no idea what to do with his legs now, so ended up just letting them fall wherever they could. For two, this close there was no way that Ray wouldn’t be able to see the pure nervous and giddiness on Nao’s face. Nao had no idea what he was supposed to do! And that thought was filling him up with trembles and giggles.

“You’re right,” he agreed, finally blinking up to meet their eyes, the difference in “height” now no more than a couple of inches. His eyes panned over Ray’s features, from his eyes, to his cheeks, then down to his lips, then right back up to his eyes. Ray really was very good looking. With another giggle that sounded more like a gleeful squeal, Nao reached forward met their lips one more time for a kiss that was somewhere in between their first and their second. Nao had already forgotten about his very first one with the girl, his mind was completely occupied by the man right in front of him. When he pulled back, Nao grinned. “Now, I’ve given you a kiss,” he said smartly. “Now we’re even.” Since Ray gave Nao kisses, it was only fair that Nao give them back. One down...

[Raylaigh Hawthorne]

It really wasn’t Nao’s fault, Ray was a little off right now, he was constantly afraid of doing something wrong when it came to this kind of thing and it wasn’t Nao’s fault. Once Nao had mentioned the height thing it had registered as a joke but he was worried that Nao might go running away from him. He was just very jumpy now and on a normal basis he wasn’t very coordinated and in this case he might as well have been completely without the ability to stand on his own two feet. And then wings are added as an extra challenge. Really, four little wings on his ankles were amazingly quick and maneuverable when it came to flight, honestly Ray imagined those wings that were on peoples backs to be horribly in the way. His wings were just right. Until it came to walking and then it was just bad.

Ray was on the ground laughing uncontrollably and the fact that Nao was laying on top of him gave him excited chills. When Nao started giggling the sensation of his shaking tummy migrated to Ray and renewed his excited giggles. At this rate they would just lay here on the ground and giggle forever, and Raylaigh was completely okay with that. For once Raylaigh was not at all upset or annoyed about falling because it had gotten him precisely what he wanted, Nao to be close. Ray wrapped the arm he had on the ground around Nao’s torso giving him a tight hug as he hid his face in Raylaigh’s chest. Ray had apparently lost the ability to be embarrassed and his cheeks glowed red but he didn’t seem to care, he probably wouldn’t care so long as Nao’s legs didn’t end up accidently kneeing him in a sensitive place.

Ray beamed up at Nao and his eyes became half moons as he gave a little bit of a dopey happy smile. Ray lifted his head just a bit to meet Nao part of the way and he was smiling into the kiss and the arm he had around Nao held him closer. Never did it occur to the flyer that they were laying in the middle of the hallway, pretty much making out. If anyone saw, well everyone either knew or guessed that Raylaigh was gay, but he’d never heard rumors of Nao one way or another. It was quite possible that Nao was just too small and adorable for most people to realize that he was actually closer to Ray’s age than not. His wings fluttered, but luckily with Nao’s added weight (even though it wasn’t that much) and the fact that he was in a strange position, he wasn’t going anywhere unless he really tried.

He reached after Nao when he pulled away before letting his head rest back on the floor. The silly flyer’s mind was in the clouds and he might as well have been weightless in flight right now for as good as he was feeling. Raylaigh grinned up at Nao and stuck his tongue out in a silly expression. “Even?” Ray asked with a sly looking his eye and he took his free hand and held it over his head as he made a show of counting something in his head. “I thought you were good at math, Nao, ‘cause the way I see it you’re still down by one.” He made doe eyes and batted his eyes at the younger boy flirting shamelessly. A mock pout came upon Ray’s face as he looked up at Nao. “You’re not gonna leave me with only one, are you?”

[Deleted]

Nao was always overly-conscious about how much affection he showed toward any one person, especially a person he had developed such a hopeless crush on, for fear that…well, Nao didn’t want to scare them away. He and Ray had a good friendship, which was rare for Naozumi, he didn’t often make such close friends with other boys. Which was why it was essential that Naozumi do what he could to maintain it…to hide, or cover up his… It would crush him if Ray decided he didn’t want to be friends anymore because he found out that Nao was gay and then became too uncomfortable around him. These were thoughts that were always running through Nao’s head…though right now they were faint. Not gone, otherwise Naozumi wouldn’t have labeled all of this as mere “practice”, but definitely subdued. Subdued enough for Naozumi to not worry as much and actually take the risk to steal a kiss(or three) from his best friend.

It was for that reason that the present state Nao was giddy and having the best moment of his life, the whole silliness of the situation and embarrassment being enough to send Nao into even more giggles as if it were the most entertaining thing ever. After all, Ray’s wings were getting in the way! They were fluttering about so much, it was funny! Ray was startled so much that he fell over and pulled Nao down on top of him! They both must’ve looked like a couple of crazies, lying there giggling in the hall for the world to see. It was so embarrassing that the only thing Nao could think to do with his floaty head was laugh some more. The normal Nao would have been mortified to see himself behave as such. But this one….just wanted to hold Ray tightly and cuddle up against his chest. He just wanted Ray to wrap his arms around the small boy and keep him warm…even thought all this excitement had him feeling exceptionally warm already.

Those arms did come and Nao felt like he could fly just about as high as Ray if he wanted to. When would he have the chance for this again? Who knew? Which was why Nao soaked in his touch and relished in it, deciding to enjoy it for as long as possible. It was hard, however, with the tremors of their manic giggling ever coming with no end in sight. Nao mirrored Ray’s action and produced his tongue out from between his gleeful lips. “Oops,” Nao teased with a tilt of his head, his wide grin never ceasing. The boy scooted up closer, making little attempt at being careful of his legs and their placement over Ray’s, to match his face even closer over Ray’s. Ray and those beautiful eyes of his. An idea sparked within euphoric boy, which may have been given away by the brightening in his dark eyes.

Nao finally allowed his other hand to separate from Ray’s as he brought it up to prepare for the final kiss he owed his companion. Both hands rested on either side of the flyer’s face, cradling the older boy’s head between them as Nao slowly lowered himself to place his mouth over Ray’s, much like Alex had done during the game, but with the same gentleness that Ray had shown Nao in their second kiss. But, like Alex, Naozumi did not pull away for a good, long while, wanting to keep that connection for as long as his breath would let him. A small gasp inspired through his lips the moment he pulled away, his breath feeling like it would never catch up with him. Sitting atop the older boy like an oversized cat, Nao peered down at his friend. “How was that? Do I pass?”

[Raylaigh Hawthorne]

As far as Ray was concerned he had no boyfriend anymore and Nao was basically the most adorable person he’d ever seen and therefore Nao could have all of the “practice” he wanted. It was a simple if this and that therefore statement, no other variables were there to complicate the equation. Ray wanted nothing more than to spend more time with Nao, this was actually exactly what he wanted. Something friendly, and with Nao, hot, and exciting. Not getting bogged down in emotions and relationships and all of the pain and agony that came along with that. That was, unfortunately, not taking into account what Nao wanted. If this was what Nao wanted and there were no strings attached things would be great. Ray would be glad to keep being Nao’s best friend and Nao was the best friend he had ever had, Raylaigh didn’t want to lose that.

If Ray could lift Nao and take him up in the sky with him, Ray would do so. Maybe he could, Nao wasn’t that heavy, but then he also risked falling and breaking both of them into little pieces, so probably best not to risk it. Nao’s mirroring his expression made Ray’s heart flutter and his blood ran hot then cold then hot again as it pumped through his heart faster and faster. He couldn’t even begin to fathom how lucky he was to be here kissing Nao and his smile was not going to be wiped off. So long as they were here, two people having a great deal of fun teasing each other, grinning like loons, and giggling like school girls. Raylaigh’s body shifted under Nao’s as he moved and Raylaigh was looking up directly into Nao’s eyes, it was kind of nice being on eye level with him.

Raylaigh wondered how much of the heat from his face Nao could feel through his hands. His free hand wrapped around Nao’s body and pulled him closer again his chest. His eyes slid closed as Nao kissed him, Ray took the invitation to deepen the kiss and Raylaigh’s mind was swimming though bliss and in all manner of speaking it shut down and the only thing his brain could think of Nao and this intoxicating kiss he was receiving right now. The kiss was carrying on even after it was gone and Nao stole his breath away and Ray was dizzy and as he finally took a breath he was grinning up at Nao his eyes half open and looking up at Nao with a dreamy expression. This was the kind of thing that he had read about in books and saw in movies, it was the kind of thing he never thought would happen in real life, but here he was blissfully laying on the ground with Nao.

“Hmmm?” He hummed a little slow in processing Naozumi’s question. His smile grew and he looked up contently at Nao with a sly smile on his face. “You’re a quick learner, Nao. You most definitely pass,” he giggled, “But that doesn’t mean I’ve taught you all I know,” he added giving Nao a flirty wink. Raylaigh laughed and consequently his laughter was fueled by the small motion of Nao up and down as he laughed. He was not only excited that Nao had accepted his sly advances but the fact that Nao encouraged the action made Ray an even more excited flyer. His brain was slow to start working again but when it did he was starting to get a little nervy again. “We’ll have to make sure you practice and next time you kiss Alex you’ll blow her out of the water.” He teased with a bright smile. He wondered if Nao still found the idea of tongue swirling gross.