Just One? (Nao)

[Deleted]

Naozumi wasn’t exactly sure what he wanted. Being closeted in his sexuality, he had never pursued anything back at home, simply crushes that he was satisfied with having from afar. And aside from that, he was still a boy of only fifteen, fourteen and younger prior to Hammel. A relationship of any sort was out of his realm of consideration back then. But so far, here at Hammel, while he still held many, many reservations about pursuing any sort of relationship, it was the sheer openness that Naozumi had been exposed to thus far in the various couple types that had him thinking that it might be a possibility. Not necessarily a full-on relationship, because who was he kidding, Nao didn’t know a thing about that, but…just someone he didn’t have to hide that part of himself from. Even without the alcohol affecting him, Nao was wishing that Ray could eventually become that sort of person. But without the alcohol, it would have been much, much longer before Nao even dared to share that part of himself with Ray.

It was far too much to hope that this could be anything more than friendship…as nice as that would be.

But those weren’t things that Nao was especially thinking about right now, for they required a amount of brain power which was impossible for the young, tipsy boy, so drunk on both drink and the heat of the moment. Responding with his first impulse was the most that he could manage. He didn’t know why, and found, he didn’t care either, because right now he was happy, and giddy, and swept up in a web of unfamiliar tickles and emotion, all of which was keeping Nao from wanting to do much more than continue to lay there and connect with this person he grown so attached to over the past few weeks.

He felt warm, an unfamiliar heat radiating outward from the points where their bodies connected. He was self-conscious, and yet pursuant to make this feeling last for as long as Ray would allow their closeness to linger. His eyes stared down at the older boy and Nao felt like his head was stuck in the fog of a dream. Whatever was going on, the young boy was basking in this unfamiliar, blissful feeling, having never guessed that it was something that existed. And the warmth that they shared, he found, was only getting warmer. Though now that he’d returned every kiss back to his friend, Nao was already yearning for another one, sad that he had no more excuses to continue pressing forward. Or at least…that’s what the implication seemed to be, until Ray spoke up.

“There’s more?” he asked with honest surprise in his voice. His already sluggish mind was processing this new information even slower, all the while leaving Nao wondering exactly what else there could possibly be for him to know, or rather, for Raylaigh to teach. Always the eager student, and at the moment especially eager for this kind of lesson, Naozumi widened his grin to reveal a bright set of pearly white teeth, his giggles suddenly swelling as he felt the same gleeful tremors erupt from the boy beneath him. Nao clung to the other boy, his tiny hands grasping the fabric of Ray’s shirt as he laid upon his chest like an oversized kitten. And he may as well have been, considering how much he had to keep from nuzzling his face down into the flyer’s chest, face, and neck.

At Ray’s next comment, however, Nao’s face dropped slightly. “You want me to kiss her again?” he asked with noticeable less enthusiasm than what he’d been expressing moments before. The thought of having her tongue inside his mouth again did not sound appealing to him, despite all of the same tongue kissing he’d been doing with Ray over the past several minutes. Nao buried his head down into Raylaigh’s chest with a tiny mewl. “….I don’t want to,” he muttered into the fabric of Ray’s shirt.

[Raylaigh Hawthorne]

In many ways it was good that he was a little bit buzzed because his inhibitions were down, but he hoped to god that he didn’t regret this later. He really liked Nao and he wasn’t sure he could control himself around him after he’d gotten a kiss from him. It was all he could do to not tell Nao outright that he liked him, like more than a friend liked him. But that might mean something more and Ray was afraid of that. He didn’t tell people he had an ex-boyfriend from a reason and that reason was because he didn’t want to be in a relationship, he wanted to erase everything about that former man and start new, but starting a relationship was terrifying because he couldn’t just forget what it was like. What if Nao was someone who was violent? What if Raylaigh had learned it from Jack and became violent himself? Raylaigh took those thoughts, balled them up and tossed them to the back of his mind because Nao was kissing him and he couldn’t think about anything coherently anymore.

He was giggling and his face was probably several shades of red at the moment and he was warm and Nao was warm. It was like having a blanket on him and it was comforting. He fed off of Nao’s happy attitude as much as Nao fed off of his and he was a bleary web of bliss and he was starting to wonder what was in those drinks, but the thought was passing and it never made it to his lips. He didn’t want to let Nao go now that he had him in his arms, it wasn’t like Nao was going to disappear if he let him go, but Ray wasn’t exactly thinking rationally. He looked up into Nao’s beautiful dark eyes and giggled, he couldn’t believe he had talked Nao into kissing him not once but several times! Raylaigh wanted more kisses! He wanted all of the kisses! For a beginner Nao was a quick learner and he had the makings of a great kisser and Ray was going to be more than happy to play guinea pig for him.

Ray held his tongue between his teeth as he laughed. “So much more, my friend,” he verified. Well, Ray’s mind was thinking a little bit beyond kissing, that might have to have a leash on it, if his mind couldn’t control itself it wasn’t going to be allowed to participate in these kind of activities. Raylaigh was so very grateful that Naozumi didn’t have telepathy or something or he would be in so much trouble. “But don’t worry young grasshopper, I’m a good teacher,” Ray added after a moment. Did I say that out loud? Oh shit, I think I just said that out loud. Ray flushed a darker shade, he hadn’t meant to say that out loud. He needed to be more careful, there wasn’t a whole lot of filter between his brain and his mouth, but there seemed to be a few more holes in it right now. Maybe it was hanging out with Maddie that made him think it, but he was graced with a dazzling smile from Nao and he just wanted to steal the moment in time and look at it all the time.

At this rate they were never going to stop laughing. This positive feedback loop was just that, never ending, so long as Ray was laughing and Nao was laughing. It was hard to do anything else when this blissful and happy emotion took over, he just wanted to fly to the sun and he wanted to dance among the stars. Nao was completely adorable and Ray’s eyes became crescent moons as he smiled widely. Instead of being sympathetic to Nao’s plight Ray just laughed harder. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” he replied, not that he would be happy about Nao kissing anyone else, but then again, he was just the trainer he had to be unbiased. He took a hand from around Nao and reached up ruffling his hair. Nao was so cute, Ray literally didn’t know what to do with himself.

“You know what, screw all that,” he said, indicating the Spin the Bottle game. He smiled at Nao and hugged Nao’s head as he tried to burrow it into Ray’s chest. He giggled. “I still can’t believe you made that your first kiss, oh Nao, what are we gonna do with you?” He laughed, it was a good thing that Nao had Ray around to help him with things like kissing. And Ray was lucky to have someone who was only too willing to allow Ray to talk him into things, which wasn’t always true, this had been Nao’s idea after all. “We should do something,” he said softly his blood was pumping hot and he was feeling more adventurous than usual, he half wondered if they should have their race but he wasn’t sure that was a good idea at the moment.

[Deleted]

How much longer was this dream going to last? Because that’s exactly what it felt like, a dream. Not only was Nao kissing Ray and practically rolling around on the floor with him, but he wasn’t feeling like himself. He wasn’t feeling like he was actually here, in his body, in his head, the things he was doing were not things he would normally do, and he didn’t care, which was something else he didn’t do. He was saying things he would never say, things that he kept in the deepest, most hidden part of his mind, and he didn’t care. He was thinking of Ray in a way that he would never admit he wanted and, moreover, relating with him in that way. Another thing he’d never do. And he didn’t care.

That’s why this had to be a dream, right? Doing things he wouldn’t do, and doing them without the fear that usually surrounded them? Naozumi wasn’t sure he knew the difference anymore…and again, he didn’t care.

Naozumi had no idea what Ray had in mind to further their ‘lessons’ in kissing. Anything beyond that was…well, Nao was aware that there was something further, but his mind was, as usual, slow and as he’d never had to consider those things, it wasn’t on the forefront of his mind, even at the mention of “so much more”. So he just stared with blank amusement as Ray made his silly joke and declared himself a good teacher. “That’s good, sensei,” he replied. “I hope I’m a good student.” Because certainly now there were going to be regular lessons, right? And Nao was planning on learning as much as he could, for as long as possible; he wanted to get as much as he could out of this before Ray called it off…if he did. Because he was sure to once he’d shared all his “techniques”, right?

Nao face was a never ending red tonight; from the alcohol, from the heat, from the nervous and giddy embarrassment, from the laughing. He felt like maybe he’d never stop and that he’d never stop smiling so long as he was close to Ray like this. That is, until the question of the girl Alex came up. For about a minute. Ray’s response had Nao a little bit taken aback, not quite sure why he was laughing, making his face flush an even deeper red of shame for so blatantly refusing such interaction with the girl, but…honestly, Ray’s laughter was infectious - it had to be, especially with Nao still feeling every tremble and quake as he laid on top of the older boy - and that quickly coaxed an extra meek smile from him as his chest started quivering with the giggles again. Not only that, but Ray’s touch…Nao instinctively curbed his head into Ray’s ruffling, like a kitten wanting more pets and lovings.

He smiled into Ray’s chest as he was pressed even further into it, whining a little bit as if he couldn’t breath under the pressure. “I’m sorry…” he said in a muffled voice. I just wanted to kiss someone…you… Nao forced himself upright again, against the hold that Ray had on his head and shoulders. “Like what?” he asked with an innocent(and smiley) tilt of the head. What could they do? A moment barely passed when Nao spoke up with, “Let’s go outside!” Yes, that was a good plan! “It’s really hot in here.” Because of the drinks, unbeknownst to Nao, and a few select other things. “It’s too hot,” he whined.

[Raylaigh Hawthorne]

Once Ray figured out that Nao had given him alcohol, that was if he ever figured it out, he would have a field day teasing Nao about drugging him. Not that he minded this fun and floating feeling, he was having too much fun to think about any of the consequences of his actions. The slipped in here and there and Ray couldn’t grab onto them and ride them somewhere where they could eventually become a problem. The only thing that Raylaigh was conscious of and feeling was Nao’s weight on top of him, and what a good feeling it was. Ray was beside himself with happiness. A kiss! A kiss from Nao! Several kisses with Nao, actually. Dream come true! He didn’t want to tell Nao how much he had been crushing on him, because last time he admitted that to the person it was Jack.

“Sensei?” He asked, he only knew that word from what he’d seen in movies and of course that only inflated Raylaigh’s ego and he fluttered his wings preening with the complement. Honestly he had no idea what he had in mind for future lessons, he couldn’t really think that far ahead at the moment, all he knew was that he wanted to kiss Nao a little more. Ray would probably just start making stuff up at a certain point, but there were several things that he could teach Nao in general. Not all of which involved kissing in the conventional sense. Raylaigh had to be careful with his thoughts he was getting very dangerously close to falling into the gutter and if that happened there would be no recovery for the flyer. He grinned at Nao, “I’m sure you’ll be the best student I’ve ever had.” Because he’d done this a lot, which was a complete lie.

Raylaigh couldn’t handle how cute Nao was being right now, his heart was so full of bursting that he laughed out loud and snuggled with Nao. He was so full of energy he needed to do something or he felt like he was going to absolutely burst into a million pieces. His heart was fluttering among the clouds and Nao was making it hard to breathe, not because he was sitting on him, but because he was adorable and wonderful and his kisses had stolen all sense from Ray’s head. The color on his cheeks was matching the color on Ray’s and Ray was pretty sure all of the smooth moves he thought he had were currently blank sheets in his mind’s filing system. Nao was such a kitten, Ray was already deciding that he was going to get Nao something stuffed for his birthday to snuggle with. Raylaigh wished that he could snuggle with Nao late at night, but that was jumping a few far paces past kissing.

He laughed again and propped himself up on his elbows, his eyes focused on Nao as he brainstormed things to do. Ray was feeling down for just about anything and Ray nodded excitedly. Outside! He loved outside! He was like a puppy that couldn’t wait to be let out to explore the great wide world. Raylaigh hadn’t noticed until Nao had said something but now he felt it. It was very hot, Nao was very hot. “I’m sorry,” Ray said fanning his face with his hand dramatically, “I’ll try to tone it down next time.” He wiggled out from under Nao and stumbled his way to his feet having to reach out his hands to keep himself from face planting into the wall. He giggled uncontrollably and he gave Nao a wink. “Last one down’s a rotten egg!” He cried and dashed to the window, throwing it open then carelessly throwing himself out with a joyful whoop. He feel a few feet before his wings caught on and all of the excitement translated into energy and he could do anything. He did a loop and laughed as he spread his arms out of the wide sky and then let gravity take hold and he came in for a sharp descent.

[Deleted]

Nao shook his head, bemused that Raylaigh would be surprised at the title that Naozumi gave him. “You’re the one who called me ‘grasshopper’.” Wasn’t that what the movies always called the students to great teachers? To the grandmasters? “And you’ll be the best master. Raylaigh, the grandmaster of kissing,” he mused out-loud, shaking his head cheekily. It had an interesting ring to it. Naozumi moved their faces closer once again. “I wish to know all your secrets,” he said in a hushed voice. He pulled back and started giggling again, his cheeks a blooming shade of red. What those secrets were…well, he would find out. Nao couldn’t believe that there could be so much to kissing that he never knew.

It was probably the close contact between the boys that was making the boy feel so flushed and heated. If one had ever nearly strangled themselves on giggles, then that could be close to the feeling that Nao was experiencing right now. It was like he’d been running and now had to catch his breath…being around Ray like this literally took his breath away, with the brunette’s face so close, with Nao worried and wondering exactly what it was Ray was seeing and thinking, even the proximity of the air they were breathing, it was so close, it was like an entire blanket of warmth had simply fallen over the two rolling boys, trapping them, suffocating them, and forcing them to share that same tiny pocket of space.

With a pursing smile, Nao gave Ray a small swat on the head. “It is your fault!” he insisted as Ray started to wiggle out. “You’re too hot!” Nao didn’t quite realize what he’d just said, and so continued to sit up and giggle with those red cheeks.

Naozumi, in truth, felt like he could stay the way they’d been forever. Now completely oblivious in his head to their location in the girls’ dorm hallway, Naozumi felt like he could even have fallen asleep right there, still laying on top of his kissing friend. HIs eyes felt heavy enough for it. But Ray…Ray wanted to do something. And that’s what brought on his idea to venture outside, because what was more(or just as equally) enjoyable as living in this little bubble of theirs than feeling the chill of the night air wash over them, like cold sheets pressing upon your skin?

And besides that, it was outside, and there were so many more things one could do outside than inside! Like racing! Which seemed to be what Ray wanted to do but nooo!! Racing was for the outside, not inside! “Raaay! That’s not fair!” he chastised the flyer as he hopped out of the 4th story window. Nao couldn’t fly! Though he was tempted to jump out into Ray’s arms and make the older boy catch him, but even drunk, Nao wasn’t that stupid. Quickly, Nao turned back towards the stairwell and started going down as fast as his little speedster legs could take him, stumbling a bit here and there and most definitely running into the walls a few times before he burst out the ground floor doors and out into the open. Still running, his eyes took to the dark sky as they searched for the boy with the wings on his feet. “Raaaay!!” he called waving his arms like a flagger on the runway or something. Nao really wished he could know what it was like to fly like Ray could.

[Raylaigh Hawthorne]

“Right,” Raylaigh agreed once Nao reminded him of that fact, he grinned like a loon. He was the sensei of kissing, he really liked that. He was like Yoda, but only more awesome cause he wasn’t three feet high and green. Ray practically squealed with excitement and his heart rate flew as Nao drew closer. The sound of Nao’s voice had his blood boiling and Ray tried to lift himself toward Nao in an attempt to see if he could steal another kiss but Nao had already moved away by the time Raylaigh’s mind processed lifting himself up and balancing on his elbows. Ray’s face was crimson and he attempted a sly smile, “That’s a lot of lessons,” he said and gave Nao a wink, “I think you might have to work up to a few of them.” He couldn’t stop smiling. Did he just succeed and convincing Nao to keep having random make out sessions with him? He thought so, but he wasn’t one hundred percent sure. Maybe ninty-eight percent.

Ray laughed and fluttered his eyes and ducked his head trying to look as innocent as possible. “I can’t help it, it’s a curse!” He exclaimed falling back onto the floor his arm strewn across his forehead as if being this beautiful was simply too exhausting for words. He couldn’t keep a straight face and covered his eyes with his arm and giggled along with Nao. “You’re not helping either,” he accused peaking at Nao from under his arm. He reached up and poked Nao’s red cheeks a loopy grin on his face. He held his tongue between his teeth as he resisted the strong desire to keep laughing. He was flying on cloud nine right now, he was lighter than air and if he didn’t have skin to hold him together he would fear he would break apart into a million butterflies.

The flyer barely heard his name called after him because the wind was rushing through his ears and he was laughing himself. Nao was so cute and Ray had just made out with him, he was like a kid in a candy store. It was a really good thing Nao decided against testing his own flight feathers, Ray was not prepared to have to catch someone and he’d never done that or even lifted someone. They would probably both die. Ray’s arms were out held out balancing himself as he all but rocketed back toward the earth, his wings propelling him forward. His smile could not have been wider but still be felt like it wasn’t conveying how excited he was right now. He caught sight of Nao and redirected toward the runner. Now he had to land. Landing was always so complicated. Why couldn’t the ground just be soft like the clouds, then there would be no problems. Nao was also watching, therefore his had to be one of Ray’s most impressive landings ever. He kicked his feet under him and his twin sets of wings spread out to their full extent. Which still wasn’t very wide but it was doing its job of slowing him down.

He touched down with one foot and when he threw his other foot forward to catch him and help stop him forward momentum he forgot that little detail where he had wings on his ankles and his back foot never made it to the ground and Raylaigh’s body pitched forward. Non-intoxicated Raylaigh would have probably done a roll or even a touch-and-go, but he wasn’t very good at those. However, Ray was a little tipsy and so next thing Raylaigh knew he was flipping head over heels in a roll and somehow he came up on his feet trotting a step or two to catch himself. He stood for a few moments unsure of how he had ended up on his feet after that. “I’m okay!” He declared brightly and gave Nao an I meant to do that thumbs up.

[Deleted]

A lot of lessons. Just how many were there? How many would Nao get out of this? “I really will be a good student!” he urged, his face looking about as red as if it were burnt in the summer sun. “I’ll study very hard!” And get in as much practice as he could get with a person he really liked. And a person he really enjoyed kissing. And by now, he’d had so many that it really did matter anymore which number kiss they were on. All that nervousness and anxiety had completely fled from Naozumi. At least it had for the moment, come morning, he might not know what to make of tonight. Would he be able to handle the random kisses like he was expecting and willing to get right now? Only time would be able to tell.

“How is that a curse?” he asked, the pitch in his voice heightened in his growing excitement. Naozumi wanted to throw something at Ray for being so self-glorifying. He was like that before, wasn’t he? Back when they first met and Ray was prancing around showing off his talents. And now it was completely different talents that he was showing off, which Naozumi was honestly appreciating a lot more despite his exasperation. Nao wiggled his cheeks as a finger prodded into them. It tickles and he replaced the poke with his own hand, as if to protect himself from further pokes but more so just indulging in the warm after-feelings of such a touch.

Nao didn’t see Ray right away as he searched for the flyer in the night sky, but as the older boy descended and approached Nao, that tiny speck in the clouds started to grow into the shape of his good friend. His friend that he’d kissed. His friend that he could kiss in the future. Nao’s face was the happiest it’s ever been, a smile spread out from ear to ear and having started aching long ago, but still felt no inclination to cease his glee. “Raay!” he called again, still waving his hand up to his quickly descending friend. He was coming in awfully fast, Naozumi was for a moment concerned that he wasn’t going to make it and his worry showed on his face, even more so when Ray seemed to miss his step and topple himself head-over-heels.

In fact, Naozumi covered his face, too scared to see what actually happening and how it would end. Because it was sure to end badly. But even so, Nao peeked through his feeling as soon as he heard feet hit the ground and start to thump against it, indicating that Ray was alright and on his feet. “…Ra~y!” he whined with worry. Nao didn’t believe the flyer for a minute that he was okay. He rushed over to the boy, despite his jolly thumbs-up, and, without hesitation, reached up and smacked the taller boy lightly on the top of the head. At least he hoped it was light, Nao was still rather tipsy and might not be completely in control of his own strength. “I told you to be more careful!” he scolded with a face full of worry. “I don’t want you to get hurt.” Though it wasn't like he did, but Ray could've! And that was scary!

[Raylaigh Hawthorne]

Ray smiled broadly his heart leaping with excitement! Huzzah! He had indeed just talked Nao into kissing him a lot! Score! It was exactly the kind of noncommittal thing that Ray wanted and he got to do it with Nao, who was quite possibly one of the most adorable human beings alive and he was super sweet. He was, Raylaigh realized, the kind of person he wished he had dated the first time around. “Good,” Ray said giving a sly look to the Asian, “We’re going to have to make sure you get plenty of practice. In many ways Ray was aware he should probably feel bad, he was definitely taking advantage of Nao for his own purposes. Not that it seemed like Nao wasn’t enjoying himself, Ray had maybe a little too much self confidence in that area. Well it was the one thing that Jack had said he was good at.

He peaked from under his arm at Nao and smiled, holding his tongue between his teeth. “Because do you know how incredibly exhausting it is to be this beautiful?” He sighed dramatically and giggled, watching Nao move up and down a little from the movement of his stomach. That was endlessly entertaining. Ray had forgotten about Nao’s scolding him the first time around, something about being too prideful or something or other, Raylaigh’s attention span wasn’t that long and he’d taken the joke anyways. “Aw, you’re blushing!” Ray declared as Nao hid his cheeks, automatically assuming that that was why Nao was hiding his cheeks, Nao’s cheeks were already red, he didn’t understand why he was becoming embarrassed by it now.

Raylaigh loved flying, flying was the best thing in the world, it really sucked that he had to land at all. He lacked coordination at the best of times but the whole air-to-land interchange was a perpetual challenge. It just went to show that he should practice, but there came a point when one successful landing out of a hundred ended up leaving him with a whole lot of bruises and a whole lot of disheartening results. If only he could just fly around forever and never touch the ground, he’d like that, but he couldn’t sustain that. It was a curse. And he had to have an epic fail, of course, right in front of Nao. Cute, adorable Nao who Ray really wanted to look good for, well he could go ahead and thank his power for nothing, having wings on his feet was great, walking however, was not the easiest thing. Sure he could hide them completely, but why would he do that? Raylaigh was honestly expecting a hospital visit after that one but when he came up on his feet he wasn’t completely sure how it had happened and was mostly sure that he was being lied to. The ground wasn’t beneath his feet, that wouldn’t make sense, he should be sprawled somewhere or at least face down in the nearby flowerbed. But he was none of those things. This, this was a successful landing!

He grinned at Nao, he was going to have to remember how he did that the first time. Nao approached and before Raylaigh could process what was happening he was smacked upside the head. “Ow!” He yelped, more in surprise than actually pain. “What’s that for?” He rubbed his head grumbling. He blinked in surprise, oh now he remembered, Nao had told him that, but he was fine, no harm done, and a twisted ankle that time was the least of all injuries that could have happened. “But, I’m not hurt, Nao,” Ray said opening his arms and shrugging, “No harm done see?” He turned and bounced on his feet. Everything in working order. No harm, no foul right? He didn’t need Nao to worry about him, everything was fine. As touching as it might have normally been, Ray’s parents worries, his siblings worried, his trainers worried, everyone was so worried that he was going to break himself that somehow worry had started to sound a whole lot like nagging. He shrugged it off, Nao didn’t know that. He patted Nao’s head. “No need to worry, everything’s fine. Now what were we going to do?” It had been Nao’s idea to go outside, well, they were outside.

[Deleted]

If Ray thought he was taking advantage of Nao, then he should take a good look in Nao’s head to realize that Naozumi was the one who thought he was taking advantage of the situation. How often did one find a friend you liked who was willing to kiss you just to help you gain experience? If anything, Naozumi should be the one feeling bad because if Ray found out how conniving the little Asian has really been in coming to their arrangement, then…he would most likely be disgusted with Nao, wouldn’t he? Who tricked their best friend into kissing them for their own selfish purposes?

“I am not,” he pouted, puckering out his lower lip like a petulant child, his hand still rubbing at his cheek. “And you’re too conceited. I don’t know if I like you anymore.” He was joking, of course, but being caught up in the moment, Nao didn’t really realize how that phrase could be taken. Though he’d certainly look back on it later and be mortified with himself.

But seriously, was Naozumi going to have to scold this giant kid for everything he did? It was starting to seem like a pointless task because clearly Ray didn’t listen to a word of warning that Nao had given to him previously. He was going to end up seriously hurting himself in his efforts to show off for the young Asian boy. Nao wondered if he was this reckless all the time? He must’ve been because he’d nearly broken himself with Maud that one time. And just because he didn’t, didn’t mean that he couldn’t have! That didn’t mean that it wasn’t still reckless! And Ray just…set it aside, like his concerns meant nothing. “That’s not the point..” he mumbled, lowering his head. “I don’t want to see you get hurt…” He didn’t even like the idea of Ray getting hurt.

Nao didn’t want to drop the issue, but it seemed like Ray was all set to do so. He kept his head lowered, not sure why he was being so emotional about it. It was very strange, he usually didn’t get so worked up of such matters. Nao was slow to respond. “…I don’t know. We could go to the pond.”

[Raylaigh Hawthorne]

If they figured out that each was being completely diabolical it would probably be hilarious for the both. Ray wouldn’t be upset, he’d probably be relieved that he wasn’t taking advantage of Nao. This had been Ray’s idea after all, and he was thinking himself rather clever right now, how foolish he might feel if he realized that his skillful work talking Nao into this was actually unnecessary, he couldn’t even imagine that his crush would be crushing on him as well. Well, he could and the result that followed wasn’t something he wanted to repeat. It would almost be easier if they both avoided all emotion, just fun. It might have been almost a year since he had last seen Jack, but he hadn’t forgotten all of the pain, both physical and mental that he had allowed himself to be subjected to. And now he was just embarrassed, he couldn’t believe he’d been so blind.

“You so are!” Ray teased with a laugh. Nao was completely adorable Raylaigh wanted to capture him in his arms again and snuggle with him. Ray gaped at Nao in shock. “I am not conceited!” He protested indignantly. Maybe he was a little. If he had met Nao a few years ago he would not have had the same opinion, it had taken a lot for Ray to come out of his shell after his ex and he was not looking to go back into his shell. Never, even if that meant he never actually dated seriously ever again. He didn’t want to be in love, not if that was what love was like, no thank you. It was so much more fun to have… well, fun. Raylaigh flushed with worry, was he too arrogant for Nao? Did Nao really not like him anymore. He opened his mouth to start saying something and closed it again and decided he was going to keep it fun still. So he made doe eyes at Nao and batted his eyes, “Awe, but Nao, then I can’t teach you anymore.” He frowned and looked like someone had just taken his candy away.

Raylaigh had already broken everything at least once, he didn’t want to live his life in a bubble, it was no fun that way. He was breakable and yes, he should probably be more careful, but he wanted to be normal and he wanted to have fun. He had a feeling that when he broke his next bone he was going to get an earful from Nao. He didn’t think of breaking something as an ‘if’ anymore it was really inevitable, he was not the most coordinated human being on the planet. Ray smiled, touched by Nao’s worry, it a little annoyed. He reached out and gave Nao a hug. “I know, thanks, I’m sorry.” Naozumi was just looking out for her. He smiled and released his best friend giving him a shrug and a duck of his head. He was clumsy, he couldn’t promise not to get hurt and he didn’t want Nao to worry. “I’ll try to be more careful,” he said, but that was all he could give Nao, and more careful, he didn’t say how much more careful he’d be, but hopefully that would be enough for Nao for now.

“Ooh the pond!” Raylaigh exclaimed excitedly and started then stopped and gave Nao a sly look. “We could race there so long as you promise not to fight with bugs again.” He poked Nao in the nose. If Nao hadn’t realized it yet, Raylaigh was never going to let him live the bug incident down. He’d healed up really nicely from his dive in the street. He smiled teasingly at Nao sticking his tongue out at his adorable little friend.

[Deleted]

Naozumi wasn’t sure what he wanted out of all this, though considering their current state, such thoughts weren’t even being considered at the moment, though they’d definitely pop up later. Later, after the buzz of euphoria calmed down, after the heat of the moment faded, but who knows when that would be; probably not until morning. He liked Ray. He really did. Nao just wasn’t sure what Ray thought of Nao. And while he too was apprehensive about a relationship, he still knew that he wouldn’t want to find out that Ray liked someone else or that he was leaning towards someone else in regards to a relationship….Nao freaked out over simply finding out that Ray had a crush(though there still was no confirmation on that front, that girl had probably just been joking). It was just confusing for Nao, because he didn’t know what he wanted.

What he did know was that he liked Ray…and really liked kissing him. And really liked being close to him. And really liked talking to him and laughing with him and didn’t want to see the older boy being reckless and end up hurting himself because of it.

“What? No! I take it back!” he said immediately when Ray retracted his offer to teach Nao. “Meanie!” Nao didn’t really care that Ray had a bit of an ego, though he suspected that his recklessness was attributed to that ego, it just gave Nao something to tease him about. Because really, what else was there to tease Ray about?

Well, there was always nagging. Ray was right, Nao was going to pitch a fit if he ever saw the flyer walking around with a cast for a broken bone. Not just to remind him for the nth time to be careful, but fussing over him as well. The hug helped to calm Nao’s worry…a little. “Okay…” he said quietly. Why did he have the feeling that his concerns were just going to be bypassed? Was Nao really thinking too hard about it? Worrying too much? Now Nao wished he had a friend he could talk to seriously about this…Ray would be that person if he wasn’t the person it was about.

He sighed as their pace shifted from one thing to another, wrinkling his nose and rubbing it with his hand once the poke came upon it. “Fine,” he said with a firm look. “Just as long as you promise not to trip over your own feet.” Which he knew was something Ray did often enough. Nao smiled sneakily at Ray before taking off for the pond without warning. Just let Ray try and keep up with Naozumi. He wasn’t going to be defeated this time. Nao wasn’t going as fast as he was the other day though, so he dared a quick glance behind him to see if the other boy was following.

[Raylaigh Hawthorne]

Nao was impossible to figure out. One minute he was fine and the next he was rushing off. Ray had been completely baffled but he figured everything was alright and hadn’t brought it up when Nao had come over to tutor him. One problem, Nao probably now had actual proof that Raylaigh was an idiot. He was a terrible student and couldn’t be made to focus for too long. Ray was confused but asking Nao about his feeling would mean admitting to his own and what would be do if Nao liked him and wanted a relationship? Ray swallowed, he was fine keeping things open, he was completely oblivious to how his flirting and messing around with other people might look to Nao. Raylaigh was equally glad that Nao hadn’t brought up what his dear friend Yancey had let slip.

Raylaigh looked at Nao doing his best innocent eyes. “Does that mean you like me again?” He asked coyly. He stuck his tongue out, clearly unfazed by being called a ‘meanie’. Nao was adorable and Ray was going to take that as a good sign and was sorely tempted to give Nao lesson number two. Ray gave a wink to Nao, he was making it a personal goal to make it extremely hard for Naos’ face to return to a normal shade. He just looked delicious with his cheeks cheery red and his wide smile. Ray just wanted to squeeze Nao and keep him forever. He remembered Nao saying something about going to Japan every summer, Ray wondered if he was going to go again this year, he hoped not! What was he going to do without Nao!? Ray was going to die of boredom. Maybe that was being a little melodramatic, but he was going to miss Nao if he went away.

There was a tenseness in Ray’s neck as he hugged Nao. He suppressed a sigh of relief as Nao let the subject fall. He had been a little scared there for a minute. He had to admit that Nao was a lot less intimidating than Jack, but he wanted Nao to like him and well, he was already conceited and had almost lost Nao to that he didn’t want Nao to decide he didn’t like Ray anymore because he was a liability. This was precisely why a relationship was too hard. They could be friends and bicker but if they were in a relationship then Raylaigh would have to beg forgiveness for this fight. It was his fault, if he wasn’t so careless he’d be better off. He knew he was breakable. He shook his head and let go of Nao giving him a dashing smile. Being friends was easier. Much, much easier.

“Promise,” Ray said raising his right hand to make his promise. He was still standing there like a dork when he realized Nao was off. “Nao!” He laughed and jumped into the air skating across the grass. “Cheater!” He called ahead of him a bright smile on his face as he strove to catch Nao. It wasn’t easy for Raylaigh to catch up but he was trying. He could potentially rocket himself forward but that would mean taking his fragile control out of the equation and he was already in hot water with Nao for his successful landing. He didn’t want to know what would happen if he really did meet a tree head first. He caught Nao looking and narrowed his eyes, lowering his head and driving himself forward. His shoes brushed the tops of the grass blades and since Nao had cheated, well, Raylaigh found no desire to follow the rules. Nao hadn’t specified a path. He kicked himself up a few feet and turned toward the pond taking a shortcut over the hedges.

[Deleted]

It didn’t help that Nao was normally such a stoic face, it was no wonder that people often found him hard to read. Unless you were a telepath, it was next to impossible to tell you what he was thinking(hint: it’s mostly about food), but in truth, Naozumi could be a very emotional person. Emotional, patient, inquisitive, and always striving to do his best. It’s why Ray so easily baffled the small boy, with his endless amount of energy, his impulsiveness, and his inability to focus for more than 10 seconds on his studies. It was frustrating for Nao sometimes, who could so easily be distracted by someone else who was easily distracted. Welcome at times, but when were they supposed to get their work done?

Despite his frustration, Naozumi had found himself watching the older boy closely during their study sessions, during their normal hangouts. Even if they were buckled down and doing what they were supposed to, Nao found himself distracted merely by watching the other boy struggle with a simple assignment. And again, he’d wonder what was the relationship Ray had with the many girls he’d seen him hanging out with around campus.

“Maaybe,” he pouted, looking away slightly only to bring his eyes back up in time to see a wink from his counterpart. Then he looked away again, all hope of his face cooling down having been completely lost in an instant.

Naozumi didn’t think he could ever hate Ray, no matter how much they bickered. It was because he liked him and enjoyed his company that he got worried when his friend was irrationally reckless. Nao seemed to cling just a slight to Ray as his arms finally let the shorter boy go.

Then they were into their race that wasn’t much of a race, not with Nao taking cheap shots and using his ability. It was playfully though, not meant for anything more than to tease the flyer. But then Ray hopped himself through a shortcut that Naozumi hadn’t considered and he called out much like Ray had before. “Hey! No fair!” Nao couldn’t fly, he could only run fast, and not even as fast as he could in the dark. Still….he didn’t want to lose a race he knew he could win! Nao hiked up his speed, dragging his shoes against the dirt and grass as he cornered the hedges and bushes and sought to catch up to his competitive friend. The pond would be in sight by now….if there was any way to see it.

[Raylaigh Hawthorne]

Ray would be completely okay if they never got work done. It was so much more fun to well, have fun and having fun in Raylaigh’s mind did not have homework on the list. It was probably an extremely good thing that his best friend wasn’t also a bad student or they’d probably be in bad shape. The flyer was definitely bird brained and flitting here and there was how he liked to live. He didn’t want to spend his entire life indoors and studying, he wanted to spend it out and doing things. He guessed that in many ways it was similar, Ray wasn’t completely opposed to learning, but he wished it could all be like labs and experiments and interacting (playing) with chemicals. It was fun learning like that. Going over math problems over and over again was not fun. At least having someone to practice the language made it fun, it was pretty much chatting but thinking about it in a different language. It was homework without thinking of it as work. If only he was better and didn’t have to look something up every other word.

“Na-oh!” Raylaigh whined squeezing Nao tightly and smiling, taking ‘maybe’ as a ‘yes’. Ray was oblivious if he was upsetting people and he hated to upset people, upsetting Nao wasn’t something he wanted to do again, but the fact of the matter was that he was delicate and he could be careful, but then he’d never doing anything and that wasn’t fun. Maybe he could focus more on his training and he could get better and then he wouldn’t have to worry people so much. That would also mean taking more risks. That was the conundrum that Ray faced. He could work it out and just sit inside all day but well, god gave him wings and he was going to fly with the wind at his back. He was not going to sit back and watch the world pass him by, he’d done enough of that already.

Raylaigh shrugged it off and was glad the subject dropped, he didn’t’ like having this conversation with people, mostly his parents, they could go on and on and on. The race gave a way to keep avoiding the topic. It was easy to get himself flying, he’d been making out with Nao and that already had him feeling lighter than air. It was a challenge staying on the ground and well, Nao had cheated first and therefore all rules were off. He laughed hearing Nao shout after him. Ray spun in the air and stuck his tongue out at Naozumi. “Meep meep!” He cried and zoomed off over the low bushes. Ah the benefits of flight, a car could go fast but a plane could go faster just by the benefit of not having to dodge things. “Woah!” Ray swerved drastically. Well, except that tree. Who put that there? He straightened with a giggle and looked around for Nao and then spying him rush toward the pond.

He grinned and focused his eyes forward, “No you don’t,” he muttered. He pushed himself faster and dove forward. His eyes flickered back to Nao. He was racing toward the pond and from Ray’s angle he could see the change in the terrain and the difference in the lights that reflected from the water. He wondered if Nao could see it, he looked like he was going pretty fast. Ray didn’t think he was gonna beat him there. It would be close, Ray had cut the distance significantly and he raced forward. Ray was neck and neck from his angle with Nao. He grinned slyly at Nao and angled himself toward the runner pushing himself up and then diving himself so he was rocketing forward horizontally as fast as he could, he was leaving nothing in his reserves after this. He laughed. “I’m gonna win!” He declared, “I want another kiss!” Ray was boasting about it already and he hadn’t even won yet.

[Deleted]

If Ray was oblivious to it, then he would likely never see Nao upset if only because of how difficult it was normally to read the young boy. Naozumi liked to think that if he was really upset about something, then he would let them know, but….clearly that hadn’t been the case the other day when he’d met with Ray and Maud. Though maybe it was more obvious than he thought. Either way, the subject hadn’t really come up, so there was no telling how Ray and Maud perceived his sudden outburst. Based on that experience, Nao realized it might be a lot harder than he thought to be honest with someone about his feelings. Unless he’d been drinking, though that would be a terrible way to learn how to be honest. And Nao still wasn’t aware of the circumstance with the peach schnapps, so the point was moot anyway.

At least he didn’t have to think about any of that at the moment. Not while he was running and racing through the trees and the brush. He had on the dopiest grin he’d ever had in the face of Ray’s little “cat call”, which of course, only served to spurn the short boy on faster. And of course he wasn’t really thinking about the outcome of this race. At least not until Ray dropped his desired reward should he win.

Nao would have flushed again if he weren’t already flushed from running. His eyes darted over to Ray, away from whatever was in his path…which was nothing, actually. It was all clear from here until the pond, which just looked like a black void to Nao. Oh, no wait, there. He caught the glimmer of light reflecting from the pool and turned his head towards it. Then back to Ray.

“Oh no you don’t!” he called, suddenly putting it in overdrive. A small detour in his trajectory and Nao was no longer heading for the pond…but for Ray himself. Towards Ray heading towards the pond. He leaped forward and collided with the other boy just as they were about to reach the point where one would naturally start to slow down…and instead pressed on further…right into the water…

The water was cool, but refreshing considering the exercise they’d just done.

For the record, Ray hit the water first. He won.