Mika tensed and shook his head violently, wincing at the pain in his neck. “Gen, no, don’t–”

“I didn’t hear from you for two hours after I left,” Gen said. “I just assumed I freaked you out when I told you I liked you. That you didn’t feel the same way and wanted to distance yourself. I mean, I get it, we haven’t been hanging out for very long–”

“We’ve been hanging out for almost a month,” Mika said. “So what if it’s mostly over math, I still consider that as us hanging out.”

Gen said nothing, unsure what he should say. Mika walked up to him and sat in the gaming chair that was nearby. He reached out and took Gen’s hand, folding his small fingers between Gen’s larger ones. 

“I like how big your hands are,” he said. “They make me feel safe.” He looked into Gen’s eyes. “I like you, too, Eugene Parker. I really, really do.”

Gen blushed and looked away. “Dammit, Kana,” he moaned. 

Mika grinned. “It’s not a terrible name.”

“It’s hideous!” 

Mika laughed. “I like your name.” 

Gen ran his free hand through his mohawk. “Can I tell you something?” Mika nodded. “I had originally planned on never talking to you again after Spring Break. I was looking forward to becoming invisible again.” He took Mika’s other hand in his. “But, the more we hung out, the more I wanted to be seen. I can’t go back to how it was before. Not now.” He reached up and gently placed his hand on Mika’s face. “I want you to keep seeing me. I want to keep seeing you, being near you.” He reached around and brought the tail of Mika’s braid over his shoulder. He gently tugged off the band and began unraveling the hairdo until Mika’s hair fell in waves around his face.

“You really are beautiful, Mika Torino.”

Mika tucked some hair behind his ear, his heart racing. “You shouldn’t say things like that, Gen,” he said softly. He stood up and moved to sit next to Gen on the bed. 

“Why not?”

“Because it might not just be me that starts to see you. Other people are going to start noticing you, too.”

Gen grinned. “The same way you do?”

Mika giggled. “They’d better not.” 

They sat close together, heads bent until their foreheads touched.

Gen closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Now or never… “Mika, will you…go out with me?”

Mika placed a hand on Gen’s chest, feeling how fast and hard his heart was beating against his ribcage. The smell of Gen’s soap invading his senses, the music filling his head, driving away all the fear and anxiety he still had clinging to him when he left that house. Here was safety…Gen was safety. He trusted him completely, even if he wasn’t ready to tell him some things. There were still secrets Gen was hiding that were eventually going to come out, but in the meantime, they could start here.

He wrapped his arm around Gen’s neck and nodded. “If you think I’m worth it.”

Gen gave a wide grin, his teeth showing through in the dim light. “You’re worth it all.” His smile faded a bit as he took Mika’s face in his hands, his eyes dancing until they landed on his mouth. The spot he chewed on was scarred, his crooked tooth visible through his partly opened lips. His breath was ragged and uneven, his face flushed, his eyes heavy-lidded.

“Gen?”

“Yeah?”

The tip of his tongue pulled in his lips and they bounced back slowly, wet and glistening. “Just kiss me already.”

Gen’s lips touched Mika’s, softly and a bit unsure at first. He breathed him in, his kiss more confident, Mika’s teeth catching Gen’s bottom lip, making him gasp. His hands moved from Mika’s face to his back and he pulled him closer as he deepened the kiss. His tongue plunged nervously into Mika’s mouth and Mika moaned, his own tongue moving with Gen’s. The kiss began to intensify, Mika’s arms wrapping tightly around Gen’s neck as Gen lowered him back on the bed, one hand moving from his back to his throat.

Mika tensed and Gen pulled back, suddenly aware of the bruises. “I’m sorry,” he said, breathing heavily.

Mika shook his head. “It’s okay. It’s just…” he swallowed. “It’s fine.” He grasped Gen’s mouth with his own, ravenous, as though he couldn’t get enough, his own hands becoming lost in Gen’s mohawk, his nails gently scratching his scalp, Gen’s body shivering in response. His knee bent, Gen’s hand running down Mika’s leg to hold him against his hip. 

Gen pressed closer to him, wanting to feel even more of Mika’s body, feel his skin respond to his touch. He could already feel Mika’s arousal pressing against his own as the fire they were kindling began to blaze hotter. His hand slowly went up Mika’s shirt, his fingers grazing his defined abs and over his chest, around his side and to his back. Completely forgetting Mika’s reaction when Kana had hugged him earlier, he dug his fingers into Mika’s skin.

Mika’s head snapped back as he screamed in pain. Gen sat up, terrified he had hurt him. Mika clapped his hands over his mouth, his eyes pressed tight as tears formed.

“Shit, Mika, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean–!”

Mika shook his head and slowly turned on his side. He curled up, breathing deeply to get through the intense pain that flooded his entire body.

“What can I do?” Gen pleaded, helpless. He had hurt him…he knew it. “Tell me, what can I do?”

Mika opened his eyes and took his hands from his mouth. He lay there panting, gasping for breath. His head turned slowly and he looked up at Gen’s face, his own mouth open in silent apologies and remorse. Mika reached up and put his hand on his new boyfriend’s face.

“It’s okay,” he breathed. “I promise. I’m okay…It’s nothing…Just…hold me. Please…”

Gen swallowed and crawled up the bed to the pillows, helping Mika up to him. He lay down, Mika’s head on his chest and his arm around his stomach, while Gen wrapped his arms gently around him, holding him close.

They lay that way for a while, silent, allowing themself to come down off their heat, Gen absently playing with Mika’s long hair.

“Probably a good thing we did stop,” Gen said, his voice rumbling in his chest. “Things were starting to get a little too…intense.” 

Mika grinned. “You got a hard-on?”

“Like you didn’t?”

“Good point.”

They fell silent, listening to the music that filled the room. With a new idea in mind, Gen sat up and jumped out of the bed. Mika sat up, watching him as Gen turned off the stereo and found a portable music player with wired headphones. He came back and leaned back against the pillows, handing one of the earphones to Mika. He searched the playlist until he found something he thought they both would enjoy. He put the other earbud in his ear while Mika did the same in the opposite ear.

He closed his eyes as Imagine Dragons began to play.

“Thought I would change it up a bit,” Gen said, his voice sounding sleepy. He lay down next to Mika, facing him, and took his hand. After a minute he said, “I know we just started this, but I don’t want to go too fast with…certain things. If that’s okay.”

Mika nodded. 

There were several minutes of silence while they enjoyed the music, letting it take them away from all the problems of earlier in the day. Mika reached to rub his throat out of habit, but curled his hand by his face instead, Gen’s breath warm over his fingers.

“My dad talked to your mom earlier.”

Mika’s eyes opened and he stared into Gen’s face, his own eyes still closed.

“Relax,” he said with a small grin, his eyes opening halfway. “You can stay the night but you have to go back home tomorrow.”

“When?”

“That part was not made clear.”

Mika leaned his head forward, letting it rest against Gen’s and smiled. “Good to know.” 

Minutes later, they drifted off to sleep, still listening to the music plugged into their ears, their hands still entwined, the moon shining down upon them from the skylight overhead.

-*-