Catching up (Ray)

[Raylaigh Hawthorne]

Raylaigh couldn’t stop grinning, he’d known getting Nao in on the museums was the ticket. Nao was a bit of a nerd, he resisted laughing, he bet if he got Nao into one of those museums he’d never get the speedster to come out again. Ray didn’t understand how someone could love learning that much. Sure it was interesting but Nao took it to a new extreme. It was endearing though. Finally Ray couldn’t hold it in anymore and he laughed. He wrapped his arms around his torso as if worried it was going to explode. “Well then come to DC, silly,” he said between laughs. It really was an easy solution. Besides if Nao couldn’t go home it would be too bad if he had to stay behind at Hammel when Ray when home for a week. He reached over and ruffled Nao’s hair before he let his arm drop around the shorter boy’s shoulder. “Not to mention the monuments and all that jazz.”

Talking about the lecture caused Ray to drop his arm from around Nao’s shoulders and he was sure he was painting his face brilliant crimson. Somehow Ray had a mix of feelings, he wanted to break Nao’s innocence, but at the same time he desperately wanted Nao to keep it. Raylaigh was so flustered himself with his thoughts and his description of the lecture that he didn’t even have anything to say when Nao’s expression went blank and his face grew more and more red. He stared sheepishly at Nao as Nao just stared wondering if Nao was going to say anything at all or if the young man had actually short circuited. When Nao finally spoke Ray couldn’t help it. He giggled nervously trying to dispel some of the awkwardness that was stretching between them. Ray was no stranger to sex and though there were things he desperately wanted to do with Nao, well the younger boy’s reaction spoke volumes about how unready he was to take that leap.

“I-informative?” Ray sputtered in surprise. That was all Nao could think of to say? Informative? Oh poor innocent Naozumi. Raylaigh suddenly wanted to shelter Nao from all of the things that made him uncomfortable, but well, Ray couldn’t say that Nao’s growth and sudden sprouting of gorgeous did anything to help him quell his temptations. He’d never pressure Nao for anything, not when his best friend had been nothing but that, a best and dear friend. Nao wasn’t quite making it easy either but Ray was at least able to laugh it off and school his blushing down to a dull pink. “C’mon Nao, it’s not so bad. I’m sure it’s a hell of a lot more boring than you’re imagining.” He said, which was the primary reason he decided that optional was what the lecture was.

That particular statement got a startled laugh out of Ray. “You liar,” he accused, “I doubt you even know how to do anything slow!” Ray was struggling to keep himself from giggling like a school girl and the more Nao tugged at him the harder it became to keep himself from rolling on the floor. “No!” Ray whined, or tried to. Ray stuck his tongue out. “To fast for you?” He joked and snatched a morsel off of Nao’s plate and popping it in his mouth before Nao could stop him. He laughed, greatly enjoying himself. How he’d missed his friend these past couple months. The server lady gave the pair of them a stare and threatened repercussions if they didn’t settle down, but unless they dropped something then there wasn’t much she could do. Ray made a motion as if he were going to bite Nao’s arm. He giggled and piled his plate high with food, chicken of sorts, some delicious looking cheesy pasta thing. There were some fries in there somewhere and maybe a carrot or two. His mouth was watering and he called back to his friend. “I’m gonna go grab a table.” He found a smaller table near the side with the windows and set his plate down. He looked around for Nao and when he caught the Asian’s eye he left to seek out a drink. Ray was not foolishly confident enough in his balance to carry a plate and a drink.

[Deleted]

Nao didn’t think he’d ever been called a nerd before. At least never to his face. And so he’d never considered himself to be one before. Naozumi was just Naozumi, a kid who had an interest in languages, history, and martial arts. And now, in Raylaigh. His eyes brightened, almost as if he’d just been offered a pot-of-gold, stars shining bright within them, as Ray told him to just come to DC. Was that…an invite? Did he mishear him? Misunderstand? Because Nao was more than willing to accept the offer if that’s what it was. “Okay!” he said with a smile. He still didn’t know when that was going to happen, though.

Naozumi couldn’t lie, he really did think that such a lecture as The Talk would be quite informative…because the only “examples” he’d ever had were given to him in prose form, while he was translating one book or graphic novel from one language to the other. He’d had to get very creative with those translations and he was certain that his interpretations were subpar to what they ought to be. Yes, Nao was unready to take that step, but that didn’t mean he had no interest. And the random thought of doing some of the things he’d seen in picture with Ray….he swiftly pushed that from his mind, pretending it was never there. Getting carried away would do neither of them any good…and it wasn’t ever going to happen anyway.

“Mmhmm,” he confirmed with a nod, red still coloring his cheeks. “I mean, it’s not like I don’t have any interest in that sort of thing,” he admitted with a shaky voice, though his face was somewhat determined. “It could…definitely be useful for the future, even if I don’t need it…quite yet…” Oh god, what had he just admitted to?? Ray was going to think he was a perv of some sort, wasn’t he? Nao looked up at Ray sharply. “Just what do you think I’m imagining!?” he exclaimed, not sure he wanted to know the answer.

“I do many things slow!” he countered. “Like… Like what? “Thinking! And walking!” Yes, those were his primary slow traits. Nao didn’t even know how to speed those up, at least not the first one, and the latter only with his power when he was in a hurry. Walking only had two speeds, slow or fast, there was no in-between. Running was a different story. And eating. And stealing food from Ray’s plate. “Hey! That’s mine!” he protested, reaching up too late to take back his morsel. Two could play at this game. Yes, Ray had no idea how often he’d engaged in food wars at his family’s kitchen table. “And I’m not food!” he complained, trying to swat the older boy away. Then he laughed, his teeth shining brightly in his glee, and his eyes positively sparkling. He’d missed this. “Okay,” he called back to Ray as he left to find a table. Nao quickly finished padding his own plate, checked in with the lunch lady, then went in search of his friend in the large crowds of the lunchroom. Luckily, Ray didn’t make it all too hard as Nao noticed him right away when he stood up, and Nao headed right over, sitting down in the space across from his friend. He’d wait for Ray to come back before getting his own drink. In the meantime, Nao took the liberty of nabbing a couple of fries from his plate, making no effort to hide the theft, and merely smiled once his friend returned.

[Raylaigh Hawthorne]

Nao was totally a nerd, geek and all other definitions of the word. Ray didn’t think it in a ridiculing way, in contrary it made Nao’s behavior very endearing. The way Nao’s expression lit up made Ray smile, he wondered if Nao was getting that excited because he got to visit Ray or if in visiting Raylaigh he would get to see all of the museums. He laughed and bounced on the balls of his feet, having a hard time keeping them on the ground. He’d of course have to ask him mom and everything but he was sure it would be alright. Ray would definitely let Naozumi know when this was happening, maybe this summer, that would probably help Nao feel better about not going to Japan, but it was still too bad.

Ray couldn’t find anything to say and just worked on making it so his face wasn’t radiating heat, and his face not grinning. The fact that Nao kept blushing, but also that he kept talking was doing nothing to help Raylaigh recover. He wasn’t going to lie there were a lot of things that he wanted to do with Nao, but Nao was shy and hell he wasn’t even sure if Nao was playing for his team or not. Nope, he would keep those thoughts to himself for the time being. Raylaigh struggled to keep a straight face and failed miserably. Half of him wanted to implore Nao to stop talking but the other was highly amused and wanted to see where Nao was going with this. He tried not to look too eager when Nao said he didn’t have no interest. No, bad Ray, he scolded himself, you get your head out of the gutter right now!

Raylaigh covered his mouth in an effort not to completely burst into laughter. Oh Nao, oh poor innocent Nao. Finally he couldn’t hold it in and he covered his face as he collapsed into laughter. He could hardly stand, he was laughing so hard. He fell into Nao as he swayed, barely able to breathe. “Oh Nao!” He blurted between gasping laughter. He didn’t recover enough to speak for a little while longer and when he did so he had this to say, “Nao! Way to make it sound totally not sexy!” He deteriorated again, unable to answer Nao’s question. Only Nao could make sex sound mechanical and… educational? Ray was very close to tears now and he felt terrible for laughing at Nao but he couldn’t stop. He put his hand on Nao’s shoulder for support and bent in a vain attempt to get himself under control again.

He recovered after a few residual giggles and he patted Nao’s shoulder. “Oh, Nao.” Was all he could say to his precious and adorable best friend. He looked back at Nao and grinned at him. He’d missed Nao so badly. “I don’t believe it for a second,” he said giving Nao a sly look. Sure he knew Nao had problems with his power, just like everyone else, he knew that thinking at the speed he was running would be a challenge for anyone, but that didn’t mean Nao was slow. Ray grinned like a loon, completely unapologetic as he snacked on Nao’s fries. Ray ducked the mock blow and stuck his tongue out at Nao with a bright ‘missed me’ expression. Ray glanced back and smiled, he should have known better than to leave his food unguarded around Nao. He made it back to the table and smiled in return. “Thief,” he accused lightly taking his seat and prepared to inhale his lunch. Granted, Raylaigh had started it… oh well. “Good stuff today,” he commented and dug in.

[Deleted]

Perhaps Nao should have stopped talking a long time ago. Perhaps he shouldn’t have brought it up in the first place. Or stopped when Ray insisted that The Talk was of a subject matter that was going to be uncomfortable…for the both of them. Why couldn’t he wait and find out another time? But now that he’d asked, Nao was determined to turn the circumstance into a positive one and a less embarrassing one. But it seemed, the more he talked, the more he was digging himself into a hole he didn’t want to be in. Even if he was interested in the subject. There was just no delicate way to talk about this, he supposed.

Nao flattened his mouth disapprovingly as Ray doubled over in laughter, his face continuing to redden in an awkward shame. He wasn’t trying to…well, maybe he was trying to make it unsexy…because otherwise it would be even more awkward, wouldn’t it? Were he and Ray on close enough terms to be talking about…that to one another in a casual manner? If not, then Nao could only think to address it in a serious way…because any other way…Ray might…find out…things… Things that Nao wasn’t ready for yet. Ray wasn’t expecting him to be tossing out raunchy words and talk of technique and what kind of ‘things’ you like, was he? Nao lowered his head, embarrassed. “How am I supposed to talk about it, then?” he asked, looking at Ray with a pouting glare. Ray wasn’t making this easy. Nao shrugged Ray off his shoulder and walked on, his face still scowl-pouting. “If you keep laughing like that, I might actually get mad at you,” he threatened, looking back over his shoulder.

He was worried for a second that that might be a bit too much again. Was he allowed to associate with his friend like that? Pretending to be upset? Threatening to be so? What if Ray took it seriously and was honestly hurt by it? Nao had never had a friend with whom he could interact with in such a way, so he was still learning what those boundaries were. Then again…Ray was always making fun of him, so really, Nao shouldn’t be shy of getting a little payback, right? “It’s true,” he insisted, when Ray expressed his disbelief. “I can make a list if you want.” Nao could pay attention enough to the things he did ‘slow’ throughout the week so he could make that list and give it to him sometime next week. Maybe that was going too far to prove a point though?

Nao smiled innocently up at Ray when he returned with his drink. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, feigning innocence. Then he reached over the table to grab another couple of fries, right there in front of Ray. “Mmmhmm,” he agreed, munching on the slim tater and leaning forward with his chin in his upturned palm. Nao raised his eyes up to watch Ray as he turned his attention down on his tray of food. And again, he thought that he’d rather just take the rest of the day off and spend it with Ray rather than return to class. He wondered if his desire to put his schooling aside was a result of getting older, or just of wanting to be with him. And he wondered if Ray would scold him for it. Nao decided to test the idea subtly. “Mmm…I don’t want to go back to class,” he muttered idly, finally starting to consume his own meal.

[Raylaigh Hawthorne]

Watching Nao get all excited about museums was having a strange effect on Ray, he wanted to keep making Nao that excited. Though he was very confused about why he got so excited about the museums. Really, Ray got it, they were cool, but Nao got a curious thought in his mind and he just had to know. It was just how he was. Now Nao’s curiosity took him down a completely different track. Oh no, he thought but he couldn’t’ stop himself from breaking into giggles, because he was so mature, he could certainly handle The Talk without giggling. Oh who was he kidding? Worse Nao had that look on his face that said he was completely serious and Raylaigh could barely hold it together long enough to breathe.

Nao’s face reddened and Ray worked to get himself under control. He still couldn’t believe how unaware Nao was of so many things. Even not having been to The Talk, Raylaigh was no stranger to what it talked about, after all he did spend most of his nights with Jack, when Jack was still on this planet… He shook the thought off. The mere thought of sex and Nao together in a sentence, no matter the sentence, was bound to make Raylaigh nice and bothered and Nao was utterly clueless to how hard he was making this being all sexy and confused and pouting over there. Ray covered his mouth and shook his head. “Not like it’s a research topic you want to write a paper about!” He got out in a quick gasp between his laughter.

He was working hard on getting himself under control but when Nao actually got mad Ray’s heart plummeted and he panicked. Oh no. His mind took off, he’d gone and done it now, Nao was pissed and he wasn’t going to forgive him, he’d said the wrong thing and now… now… Ray swallowed and stopped walking for a moment when Nao shrugged him off. What if… what if Nao… no, no, no. He shook his head, he didn’t want to think about it, but for a moment he imagined Nao would turn and have that icy smile… ‘No one will ever love you like I do, Ray. Besides I’m the only one who can put up with. You know no one actually likes you?’. No, Nao was nothing like Jack! He bit his tongue and forced the thought away, but the fear lingered as he caught up with Nao. He gave a soft and apologetic smile, “Hey, Nao, I’m sorry, you know I’m just teasing…” He didn’t want to lose his friend, but what if Jack was right. What if Nao was just pretending?

Ray swallowed the dark emotions that lurked just underneath and before Nao could even guess something was wrong he was grinning and laughing again. “You’re gonna have to, cause I do not believe you,” he teased, but he was careful, he didn’t want to upset Nao again. It was almost nice to get a moment away to gather his wits. He watched Nao sitting there snagging food from his plate. Comparing him to Jack wasn’t something Ray wanted to do, but hard as he tried Jack kept creeping into his thoughts. Ray pushed the thoughts away as he approached the table and made a shooing motion over his plate at Nao as he sat down. He watched Nao for a moment, admiring his tired and carefree expression. Ray was mid bite when Nao spoke and he stopped cold, looking at Nao as though he was slowly growing another head. If Nao thought Ray would scold him for that then Nao was more tired than he realized. “You should, you deserve a nap,” he waved a fry in Nao’s direction, “Besides you work too hard, no one is gonna scold you for skipping.” Ray on the other hand… he didn’t skip, but he really couldn’t afford to, but that wasn’t to say he didn’t think about it often enough.

[Deleted]

It was one thing to know how “things” worked mechanically. Nao “knew” what sex was and how it worked, but he didn’t really know what to do. After all, he had absolutely no experience, just snippets of things he’d read every so often, and those weren’t exactly “how to” books on sex, especially…gay sex. Nao would flush again at the thought, while Raylaigh continued to giggle up a storm over Nao’s sincerity. “I could…if I wanted to,” he mumbled, pinching his lips together sourly. “It’s better than going in without knowing exactly what I’m doing.” That’s how Naozumi made up for his lack of experience in most cases. By asking questions and conducting careful research.

….maybe Ray had a point. It did sound silly, didn’t it?

Still, Naozumi wanted to turn this embarrassing moment into a more positive experience. A playful one, if at all possible. He was trying something new, just to see how Ray would respond to it.

Ray had stopped walking and Nao froze for a second. Did he go too far? Oh, god, he went too far, didn’t he? He turned away to continue walking, nervous and unsure of what might come out of his lighthearted teasing. He was afraid to see Ray’s face. Ray spoke and Nao debated with himself on how he could respond so that Ray knew it was all just a silly game. This was so far outside of Naozumi’s element, how could he…?

An impulsive thought emerged in his head. Nao turned as Ray drew closer. The lack of heigh difference is what made it easier. He didn’t have to reach up as far, or even stand on his toes anymore. They were close enough in height now that Nao could get away with it before anyone else noticed, right? But as soon as he turned, Nao lifted his chin and planted a quick peck in the vicinity of Raylaigh’s lips(he didn’t have much time to aim, unfortunately), then took a quick step back with a subdued, yet amused, smile. “I am too,” he said meekly, his cheek speckled with a here-and-there red. Nao turned and continued forward with barely a pause. “I’ll send you an email,” he notified. A list of all his faults. Just wait, Ray was going to be surprised to see what they all were, wasn’t he?

Nao must’ve really been tired to have done what he just did, despite the reservations he normally had. The “practice” sessions that he normally had with Ray were always carried out in the sanctity of one of their rooms, or at least somewhere where no one else could look in and leer. Again, Nao hoped he wasn’t crossing any boundaries he was unaware of.

“You think so?” he asked, following the flailing fry with his eyes. His face dropped at Ray’s assessment. “….I’m tired,” he started wistfully. “But that’s not it.” Nao lifted his eyes back up to Ray’s . “I just don’t want to go,” he said plainly. Nao sighed slightly and took a bite of his meal. He continued at a moderate, yet consistent pace.

[Raylaigh Hawthorne]

If Ray were smoother, and perhaps a little more mature he might smoothly be able to tell Nao, but he’d never get through it with a straight face. He found that doing it was one thing, talking about it was a whole different story. Jack had not liked talking about it either, so maybe that was why Ray didn’t have a good speech or anything. In Ray’s case he had really learned by doing, he’d come out but Jack was still very much in the closet, but Jack had been older and who knew how he figured out what to do, but it had happened and well… that was that. Ray nodded a bit, that was very true. He was too busy laughing at the thought of Nao researching it, poor Nao, in Raylaigh’s mind he was still very innocent and god forbid he go on the internet, there were some… strange things out on the internet.

It really wasn’t Nao’s fault, there was no way to know that something like that might trigger something for Ray. He’d never told anyone about him and Jack and he’d certainly never told anyone about the other stuff. It was believable enough that he’d banged himself up by just being clumsy himself. That was how Ray liked it. God knows what Nao would think of him. He swallowed back the shame and the fear. He hesitated and forced himself to keep moving, Nao wasn’t Jack, he was far from it. He was sweet and kind and wonderful. He could only hope his apology would soften Nao’s anger. The looking at Nao’s back he wondered if Nao was really angry with him and his heart fell. Maybe Jack was right, and now that he’d upset Nao he’d gone and ruined their friendship.

Maybe if they hadn’t just been apart for a month Ray could have been better able to pick up on Nao’s joking cue but a month apart had allowed for doubt to grow in Raylaigh’s mind like a weed. He smiled as Nao turned and then Nao kissed him. It landed a little askew partly on Ray's lips but mostly on his cheek but it was still enough to make his brain short circuit. Ray blinked in surprised, just staring at Nao after he pulled away. His heart started to beak again and his brain clicked back on. Ray’s face broke into a wide smile. Nao had just kissed him. In public! It occurred to him then that, besides the first time they’d kissed when they’d both been bitten by the crazy bug, this was the first time anyone had ever kissed him in public. Well, that was a lie, there was the girl at the party… but he didn’t really count that. Ray laughed at himself wondering how he could have been so stupid.

He caught up with Nao and wanted so badly to steal another kiss, a proper one. Nao had to work on his aim. Ray grinned slyly as he thought to himself, maybe Nao was more than a little interested in being not just friends, but being not just friends would mean a whole slew of problems… this was indeed a conundrum. Nao was tired, he reasoned, chances were he was not thinking straight. “I do think so,” he said firmly and his smile softened as Nao admitted to it. Poor Nao, he did work too hard, Ray had a feeling his teacher were surprised to see him this morning too. Raylaigh looked at his friend and gave him an analytic gaze. Ray reached out and touched Nao’s forehead, as if he were checking for a fever. He allowed himself to gently ruffle Nao’s hair. “Then don’t,” he winked. He was the devil on Nao’s shoulder. “It’s only one day. I don’t tell.” He lowered his voice conspiratorially toward the end.

[Deleted]

Oh, Nao knew what was on the internet. No, he didn’t actively look for it, but it was hard to not come across it in his line of business. Most of his commissions involved doing some sort of research and every so often, something really strange would pop up. Sometimes his commissions were those very strange things themselves. Nao, of course, had learned to look at them with the mind of a professional, detaching himself from the content and focusing merely on the script he had to translate…but he was still aware of it. If only Ray knew the kinds of things Naozumi had to work on, but Nao was very careful to make sure there was no one around to look over his shoulder while he was working. Not just because of the possible NSFW content, but because he was self-conscious overall about his work.

It was unlikely that Nao would ever let Ray be around when he was working. If he knew…then surely Ray would tease him for that as well? Naozumi had gotten used to Ray’s kind of teasing, and had learned to take it more playfully over the months since they’d first met. But Nao still didn’t like being teased very much, especially about specific things. What Ray was doing now, the laughing, was yes, something that irritated Nao, because Naozumi was being serious. However, Nao was also tickled by the friendly treatment, that there was someone with whom he could associate in this manner. Friendly teasing, knowing that it wouldn’t result in the destruction of their precious friendship. It was possibly also because of that that Nao felt confident enough to try smoothing over his little joke with a quick, innocent kiss.

They were friends. Friends who kissed. That wasn’t too strange to see, right? Naozumi’s face burned red while his back was to Ray again, butterflies swarming in his stomach, but also mortified that he’d done such a thing so casually. He hoped Ray wasn’t upset with him over that. No, he couldn’t be. They kissed all the time…just not in public. Arg! And Nao was the one who initiated this one and when he was the one self-conscious about his sexuality!! His heart raced as they walked. A quick look back to check on his friend, only to see Ray’s brilliant, relieved smile, melted any doubts Nao may have had over his actions. He was okay. This was okay. Naozumi smiled to himself, though it would be some time before his face faded back to normal.

However, his face may still have been somewhat warm when Ray placed his hand over his forehead…and may even have heated up some at the touch. But Nao tried to keep himself composed, despite the close contact. He closed his eyes at the hair ruffle and sent Ray a meek smile. Ray…of course he supported Nao ditching class. Nao had to keep from rolling his eyes. He chuckled instead. “But, I don’t know what I’d do other than sleep.” And if he did that, then his sleep schedule would end up getting messed up. Nao blinked up to Ray, his eyes with a small spark of mischief in them. “Do you have any suggestions?” he asked. Maybe he could convince Ray to skip class with him? Nao silently scolded himself for promoting such behavior, but really…Nao was tired. He just got back from a long trip. He deserved to be a little selfish, didn’t he?

[Raylaigh Hawthorne]

It had been mentioned in passing that Nao did odd jobs when he needed money, but otherwise Ray’d all but forgotten about the subject. So far as Ray knew Nao translated stuff and that was that, he didn’t even give a moment or a mind to what. He assumed it was books or papers or other stuff like that. Really strange things could pop up just about anywhere, there were few things that were safe once the internet got ahold of it. Not just random terrifying pictures, but even things like innocent new stories or journal articles could make their way into conspiracy theories. Maybe one day Nao would tell him about it, but there were many secrets in their friendship, the largest elephant being their kisses. Done but never directly addressed.

Raylaigh was starting to catch on that the greatest difference between them was that Nao took everything serious and Ray didn’t take any serious at all. Perhaps they were both learning from each other. Ray still had quite a bit of learning to do, a lot of maturing too. Who would have thought the younger of the two would be better equipped to deal with topics like sex without giggling. While they were learning about each other and themselves they were fumbling, as teenagers tended to do with their feelings, stepping here and there in a complicated dance and occasionally stepping on each other’s toes. But Nao had the right ideal, not only did the kiss wash away Ray’s fears but it smoothed over the topic and left a pleasant feeling in its wake. Nao had a strong and strange effect on Ray and Ray wasn’t sure how to feel about it. Well, he knew how he felt, but he wasn’t sure how he should feel. Was this even right? He couldn’t get past the idea that he’d tricked Nao into this.

Ray was still feeling bubbly when they sat down at their table. Nao wasn’t eating as quickly as he usually did, and Ray took that as a symptom of his tiredness, but he did feel a little warm when Raylaigh reached out his hand. Ray smiled at Nao, he couldn’t imagine why Nao wouldn’t want to sleep, sleep was glorious. One of Ray’s favorite activities, besides flying of course, and kissing Nao and eating. “You could read, or do something completely mindless like play video games,” Ray started almost as soon as he was asked for suggestions. Ray could come up with just about a million things he would rather do than class. This probably wasn’t good. Nao was the studious one, he was the one who scolded Ray and kept him on track when they were doing homework. If he wanted to skip, well there went all of Ray’s motivation.

The flyer was still filling the black hole he called a stomach. He just wanted to spend time with his friend. He could play hookie for a day. No big deal. He gave a sly smile to Nao. “You might need someone to help you if you’re gonna do this right. I mean no class, no studying either,” he said waving his finger at Nao. That was what he could imagine Nao doing. He would sit around and do nothing for about ten seconds then he would hit the books. Ray made a show of considering the options then coughed giving Nao a deliberate wink. “You know I haven’t been feeling well all day, either,” he lied terribly, not even able to keep a smile off his face. Not that anyone else would care but in case someone was eavesdropping, well who were they to say if Ray was sick or not. If all else failed… no that was a terrible idea, breaking things hurt.

[Deleted]

However it happened(we know how they met, but not how it happened), Nao was glad that he’d crossed paths with Ray and become friends with him.  Even if he hadn’t developed the biggest crush ever on his best friend, Nao was thankful for Ray’s overall companionship.  He thought they balanced each other out well, Nao with his calm and serious demeanor, and Ray with his happy and excitable persona.  They kept each other in check.  Nao kept Ray focused on things(mostly homework), and Ray taught Nao how to relax and enjoy life.  It was a good balance. 

Though perhaps Ray was rubbing off on Nao more than Nao was rubbing off on Ray?  Otherwise, why else would Nao risk some of the behaviors he’d been daring to do lately? Getting distracted by text conversations with Ray, getting caught up in pointless races and competitions with Ray, kissing the older boy(in public even!), opting to ditch class(with Ray of course).  Ray was at the center of all his abnormal behaviors. And while it disturbed him to be acting so out of character, somehow, Nao didn’t want it to stop. He wanted to keep moving in this direction….if it meant that he could get closer to Ray, then it was worth it. Wasn’t it?

“Video games?” he repeated, as though the term was completely foreign to him. “I don’t really have any video games to play.” Though there was nothing ‘really’ about it, Nao didn’t have any at all. He didn’t play them. Nao sighed internally, once again thinking that he must be pretty boring, to not even have normal hobbies that other kids his age had. The only “mindless” activity that Nao ever engaged in regularly was kissing Ray. That required very little brainpower. In fact, it had a tendency to short circuit his analytical brain.

Nao should probably focus his attentions more on the food in front of him instead of the man, he still was very hungry, but it was hard to concentrate even on eating with how tired and distracted he was. He blinked at what Ray was proposing. At least, he thought that’s what Ray was proposing. That he also skip classes and show Nao how to do it “right”. However that might be. His smile began to grow. Nao could play along with this game, right? “If you’re not feeling well, then you should lie down back at the dorms.” It was hard to not suddenly break into giggles. This was a silly little act to put on. “Do you need help?” he ‘offered’. “Getting back to the dorms?”

[Raylaigh Hawthorne]

Ray had spent a lot of time considering just these questions. He’d never actually thought he’d been able to talk Nao into kissing him, and yet he had. Something crazy had bitten them that night and Ray had worried that Nao would wake up the next morning, filled with regret and avoid the flyer at all costs. But that hadn’t happened, instead it happened again and then again and again. Raylaigh found himself intoxicated by the small Asian, he wasn’t sure it was love because he wasn’t quite terrified of Nao yet. He bit his lip, he didn’t know if he wanted to be in love, what the hell was wrong with him? Hadn’t he learned his lesson? Apparently not. Maybe Nao was really straight and just humoring Ray, hell that would make things a whole lot easier. All he knew was that the more time he spent with Nao the less he was sure of anything.

He couldn’t help it, his jaw dropped. Nao had to be the only teenage boy around that didn’t have any video games. No matter, Ray had plenty, he’d gotten a Wii from his Dad one year as apology present after missing his birthday for the fourth year in a row. Ray smiled at Nao and shook his head. It wasn’t like video games were the only thing in the world to do. Honestly, if it was sunny outside Ray was probably outside, but when it got cold and dreary all Ray wanted to do was stay in and not do anything or go anywhere and so video games. Sometimes his inspiration for drawing actually came from video games or movies. He loved them, especially the animated and claymations of Tim Burton. He had a great deal of fun attempting to recreate Burton characters. Perhaps that was where his strange doodles came from.

For a while Nao didn’t say anything and so Ray peaking a look at him, breaking his act carefully. He was sure Nao was about to fly into a lecture about how Ray was already behind and how he should be using the time he had to study so he wouldn’t fail. Nao’s smile bloomed and his face lit up along with it. Ray watched, captured by the beauty of watching a smile start and grow. Ray almost laughed and gave them both away when Nao went along with him. Inside Raylaigh was dancing he was so excited. He slumped on the table, giving Nao a miserable look. “I suppose you’re right,” he sniffled and pushed his food around his plate like he’d lost his appetite. He took another few bites before glancing up at Nao. Raylaigh didn’t know why he’d started this, he was a terrible liar. If someone caught them on their way back Ray would probably quake in his boots and cry for mercy before accusations were even thrown.

Ray took a drink of water and looked at his plate, looking as if he were sick of his stomach, but honestly he was just a little disappointed that he wouldn’t get to finish all of his food. Oh well, he had food in his room. He looked up sheepishly at Nao and rubbed his head. “Would you mind?” He asked as if ashamed to ask for help, “I mean, I think I can make it, but knowing me I’d get dizzy on the stairs and die.” He laughed half heartedly. He didn’t know if Nao would think that was funny. Ray was after all very breakable. If he did get dizzy, chances were he would fall and knowing his luck he’d be on the steps and then he’d be in much more trouble than he was before.

[Deleted]

Last fall when Nao first manifested his power, he had been, in all honesty, surprised. Much more so than what people assumed. He was simply of the mindset of ‘worrying about it wasn’t going to make it not true, or make it go away, may as well go with the flow.’ After all, how was one supposed to react to suddenly developing superhuman powers when there was no indication of anyone else having them in his family. He was the first. And for a situation like that, no matter how much he resisted, it wasn’t going to keep him from being sent to school, or needing to train his power properly.

Naozumi may have had a similar mindset when it came to Ray, and everything that they’d done together. If he avoided Ray, ran away in his embarrassment or shame, it wasn’t going to make it so nothing happened. Even today, Naozumi remembered just how euphoric and utterly out of his mind he was that night, such that the memory alone could bring a shade of pink to his face. But if he avoided Ray…then he wouldn’t be able to be with him. To be around him, and talk to him, and share their experiences together. The two months he’d been gone for summer had been hard enough to handle, but how much more would it have been if Nao kept his distance over his embarrassment, and then lived with the constant uncertainty of when they might be able to talk again as they did before? So once again, Nao decided to just go with it and see where it led.

This was their relationship, as so defined by the day they met, the first time they kissed, the many times they did after that, and the many many other interactions they’d had since, everything from studying together, to Nao scolding Ray, to Ray teasing Nao, to them sharing lunches, walking across campus together…..They were friends. Who were allowed to kiss each other. While Nao wasn’t sure if he wanted more – he certainly knew that he liked Ray a lot, in that way – he was sure that he just wanted to continue to be by his side. If that meant holding in some feelings, then so be it…..

But how long would that last? Because reunited with Ray like today, Nao had already been thinking how he might want to take that risk and tell Ray the truth. Nao was so conflicted…he had his priorities all mixed up...

Best to just keep doing what they were doing, then…probably…that was the best option.

Like with what they were doing now. Ray was looking at him strangely, as if he’d just grown a second head. Nao stared straight back at him. “What?” Was it really so strange for Nao to not have video games? Even if he had an interest, which he didn’t really, Nao didn’t have the means to get them, so it was a moot point anyway. His parents would never buy them for him either.

Nao himself was about to give them away, because watching Ray flop around like he was, pretending to be sick, was downright amusing. He couldn’t help the smiles that came along with his amusement. “Of course I’m right. Rest is always the best medicine.” Something his grandmother would say whenever he or his siblings were sick. Poor Ray…he looked like a forlorn puppy being taken away from his favorite meal. Which he sort of was. Nao shook his head as he stood up from his seat and stepped around the table to ‘assist’ his ‘sick’ friend. “Just hold onto me. We’ll be there in no time.” Though the close contact once again emphasized just how much Nao had changed over the summer, as Nao was now tall enough to reasonably hold up his friend without making it awkward. A small blush tainted his cheeks. “You’re not going to die.” Nao looked up to Ray and smiled. “Not while I’m taking care of you.” Nao wouldn’t let it happen. Not to Ray.

“Let’s go,” he announced their departure. “Just hang in there and we’ll be back at your room before you know it.”

[Raylaigh Hawthorne]

Ray wasn’t quite as wise or accepting as Nao was about this kind of thing. Raylaigh was still not over what had happened. No one even knew he’d been dating anyone, and who would ever believe him? Surely no one that knew Jack. And he’d lied about what happened during. No one ever knew, it was very easy to explain things away to his clumsiness. The closest he’d ever come had been when he was laid up with that broken leg for a few months. He’d called his mother intent on telling her what happened, that he hadn’t just tripped down the stairs, Jack had pushed him. But he could never get the words out. He would first have to tell her that he was gay and… well that was it. She would surely hate him. That was what Jack said. The flyer sighed and gave a smile to Nao to hide his thoughts.

The flyer’s grin turned real as Nao inexplicably blushed. “What’cha thinking ‘bout?” He asked poking Nao’s forearm. Could he have something like that with Nao? Nao was a lot different than Jack, he was nice and he was kind. Blushing Nao was delicious to look at and it stirred all sorts of butterflies in Raylaigh’s belly. Ray couldn’t help but thinking, when would it come when just kissing wasn’t enough anymore. He was a teenage boy and he’d already experienced that magic, and Nao was altogether too tempting. Ray swallowed, he couldn’t push that on Nao, he wouldn’t. Not when Nao was innocent, hell he wanted to do research!

Raylaigh shook his head. “Nothing, nothing…” He said with a shrug looking away from Nao for just a moment then turning his eyes back to the boy. “Oh Nao, it seems I’m going to have to corrupt you again,” he said and gave the other boy a saucy wink, “I have Mario party and we are going to play.” He pointed a finger at Nao, very firmly not taking no for an option. And, now that they had an excuse to skip classes for the rest of the day well, Ray had a fairly good idea of what they would be doing. Along with maybe some kissing if he could talk the speedster into it. Nao had certainly grown up while he’d been away, he was beautiful and wonderful and basically everything that made Raylaigh’s blood get hot and bothered.

“Meh,” Ray uttered in reply and set his head down on the table with a dull thunk. “Ow…” he muttered, having placed it down a little harder than he expected. He didn’t lift it again until Nao came around the table to ‘help’. Ray could milk it too if he so chose and today he chose. He put a hand to his head as if he was sleepy and headachy. If they passed any teacher they probably wouldn’t be convinced but at least classmates would be able to mutter something along the lines of ‘I dunno I think he got sick off lunch or something.’ “I still can’t get used to you being so tall,” he said with laughter in his voice. He gladly put his arm around Nao’s shoulders and leaned his nonexistent weight on Nao. “I’m gonna die!” Ray simply moaned in response now letting his head sag and rest against Nao’s hair.

He couldn’t stop himself from taking in the smell of Nao. His shampoo and the wonderful softness of his long-ish hair. He was glad that to an outside observer, a blush might be taken as a fever. “Okay,” Ray said and made a show of leaning on Nao as they left. The flyer stopped leaning on Nao as passed through the door, but he didn’t move himself to be further from Nao. Which was probably a good thing, since when they reached the stairs one of Ray’s wings got tangled between his leg and Nao’s and he would have face planted into the stairs if Nao hadn’t been holding him up. By the time they got to his room he was holding back giggles so much so that he didn’t speak as he unlocked the door. Once safe behind the closed door Ray couldn’t hold it anymore. He sputtered then exploded in an all out guffaw.

[Deleted]

What was he—? That small shade of pink suddenly blossomed into a field of red when Ray asked him to iterated his thoughts. If he could…wouldn’t he have already? he thought. “Nothing!” he asserted, maybe a bit too much. That was weird, wasn’t it? And now his face was burning hot with no clear explanation. Well, he was caught spacing out, so that could have explained it reasonably enough, couldn’t it? But what if Ray didn’t buy that? Asked him to elaborate? Pushed him into providing an answer? He turned away slightly, begging for his cheeks to go down in color.

Nao pouted out his lower lip. ‘Nothing’ his left foot! It was always something, and Nao didn’t like feeling like he was being mocked for some reason he didn’t understand. “‘Corrupt?’” Nao tilted his head, not entirely understanding. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “How have you corrupted me already?” Was it the kissing? Skipping class? And he wasn’t sure how he felt about being forced to play video games….though he wasn’t going to say no. It wasn’t something he did and…well, new experiences weren’t a bad thing. Especially not with a companion like Ray. “If you say so. I suppose I can try it.” If it were up to Nao they would…they probably would anyway.

Was it too shameful that he was looking forward to that time? Was it terrible that he didn’t care if they did anything else?

Nao giggled when Ray thunked his head upon the table. “Don’t hurt yourself,” he said softly, leaning forward. Really, Ray was such a baby sometimes. Sometimes it was frustrating as hell, other times, it was all Naozumi could do to hold back his smiles. As he was doing right now. He shook his head “You can’t get used to it? How do you think I feel?” A dumb question. Ray had already been through this exact phase of growth himself. “You could be an actor at this rate,” he whispered to Ray as they walked together out of the lunchroom and towards the dorms. An actor who couldn’t stay in character for the life of him, for the moment they were outside, Ray was already dropping the helpless act.

Naozumi said nothing to Ray keeping close to the slight Asian. Instead, he treasured those moments, as long and short as they lasted up to Ray’s room. Even the near fall on the stairs…it only gave him an excuse to hold on more. By the time they reached Ray’s dorm, however, he too was already losing himself in the hilarity of it all. Such a thing, he’d never done before! Faking sick just to get out of class? His mother would scold him if she found out! Naozumi watched with amusement as Ray practically collapsed into his bellows, holding his own hand up to hide his smile while his shoulders and sides trembled from never ending giggles. “I can’t believe we did that,” he said when he finally thought he could speak. He looked at Ray with a broad smile. “I’m going to be in so much trouble.” Nao’s voice held a laugh as he spoke, and he stepped forward and jabbed his finger into Raylaigh’s chest. “And it’s going to be your fault,” he said as a playful accusation. “Take some responsibility!”

[Raylaigh Hawthorne]

Gotcha, Raylaigh grinned wickedly watching Nao’s face get more and more red as the seconds dragged on. His enthusiastic denial only bathed Ray in mirth and he couldn’t keep himself from giggling. “Riiight,” Ray drawled, pointedly rolling his eyes at Nao. He turned quickly back to Nao letting himself torture Nao with his gaze. Oh how nice it would be if Nao was blushing because of him! It made all of Raylaigh’s innards feel wiggly. He wondered if he could make Nao keep blushing. Ray was just that kind of friend. He giggled and poked Nao in the side. Raylaigh was also that touchy feely friend, who preferred to be touching people when he talked to them and if that couldn’t be arranged he was one of those very antsy friends. His mother had never had him tested but she was pretty sure he had ADHD. She didn’t believe in medicating for it so she’d never bothered, but Ray was kind of curious if he could be classified as such or if he was just a normally hyper person.

Raylaigh laughed. “Oh Nao, c’mon the minute we started hanging out you were a goner.” Because Ray was such a bad influence. He tapered off into a chuckle and gave Nao a sweet smile, his eyes turning into little crescent moons as he did so. “But you’ve corrupted me too, I mean I’m practically a responsible human being now.” He joked and he couldn’t wait to see how much Naozumi laughed after that. Ray was absolutely serious, he was going to get Nao to play video games. He wasn’t sure he could get Nao to sit still long enough, but he was excited to teach him. “Yes!” He clapped his hands with joy and then realized what was actually going on. They were going back to his room. Raylaigh was going to have killer hot Nao in his room. It wouldn’t do to misunderstand, Ray had found Nao attractive before, in an adorable sort of way, and the little Asian could always light him on fire when they kissed. But now, well now Nao was attractive in the not so innocent kind of way.

The flyer chuckled and gave Nao a thumbs up before lifting his head from the table and playing all ‘miserable’. Leaning on Nao, Ray couldn’t help but get distracted. What did Nao want from him? He was terribly distracting. “It gets better, it’s not every summer you grow like a weed. Soon you’ll be taller than me,” he jested, giving Nao a mock pout. He was still growing himself, and eating more than twice his weight every day (at least according to his mom). Ray blushed, taking that as a compliment. He would be a terrible actor and they both knew it. To think he’d become such a rule breaker! Well, considering this was the first time he’d ever skipped class he supposed that wasn’t quite true. He was terrified of getting caught. He always looked like a dejected sparrow if he got yelled at. Really, the first time he’d done anything crazy had been with Alex, now that had been wild. Spraining his wrist was totally worth it!

Ray nodded his head unable to speak through his giggles. He couldn’t believe they’d just done that either. He was filled with a strange sensation, like he was flying. He really wanted to fly! The flyer was suddenly filled with incredible energy and he couldn’t help laughing and tossing conspiratorial looks at Nao. “Ah-ah!” Ray cried waving his hand at his friend, “If we get caught.” The flyer smiled broadly, and waved a hand to catch Nao’s finger and missed. “My fault!?” The flyer yipped, as if insulted, “Now whose not taking responsibility, Nao?” He retorted. The energy and the rush running through his veins the flyer couldn’t take it. He reached forward and grabbed Nao’s collar and kissed him, letting the heat of the moment fill it with passion, more than Ray himself had expected. He was flushed red and giggling when he finally released Nao. “That was fun, let’s do it again.” He said his face only inches from Nao’s, even the flyer wasn’t sure if he was talking about skipping class or the kiss.”