#blasterblades

                                    aichi’s face was flushed, holding the flowers in his hands, and he had such a soft smile. aichi looked so cute like this, kai momentarily forgot what the purpose of this was. he tried to seem as unaffected as possible. he didn’t want to ruin the surprise. it wasn’t very likely aichi would know the significance of the number of flowers, but he didn’t want to give the meaning away right away. he wanted this to be perfect.

                                            “ well, i hope you don’t have anyone else that would send you a bouquet of roses. ” of course, there was no one else who would send them but kai. kai and aichi hadn’t been hiding their relationship. kai just wanted to tease aichi a bit. he wanted to enjoy this moment for as long as possible. he moved over to sit on the edge of the bed, eyes not leaving aichi for a moment. “ i wonder how many there are. you should check the tag. ” on the tag would be the listing for red roses -- 108 of them, and kai’s note -- simply written, ‘ look down. ’ hopefully aichi would take a moment to read the note so kai could move into action.

                                  kai watched aichi cry out in pain and fall to the ground. he wanted to be the one to fight link joker, but he didn’t actually expect aichi to lose. he crossed the distance over to aichi, not caring about what link joker was saying or the state of the world. he knew he was going to usher in the world’s end, but seeing aichi die wasn’t a part of that. his empty heart stung with stabbing pain. “ aichi, stay with me -- ” he pleaded, gripping aichi’s weakening body. “ don’t go away, aichi -- ”

                                  “ it’s because i love you. ” it was embarrassing for aichi to point it out, but kai didn’t want to take aichi for granted anymore. he’d let him go far too many times. he wanted to be with aichi as much as possible, to show him how much he was loved. kai held him closer, placing a kiss on the top of aichi’s head. “ you’re one to talk. you’re cuter. ”

                                          kai remembered he used to be like this. a long time ago. before his parents died, they were very affectionate with him. it was normal to be hugged multiple times a day, to have a kiss good night every night and a goodbye kiss before school. but he’d spent so long without that, he forgot what it was like. he thought that he would be okay without it. without having the warmth of another person by his side. aichi reminded him that he was wrong. he was only human. he needed people. he needed aichi.

when gaillard became sick during his visit, aichi took care of him. he thought he would be better off in a hospital, but respected gaillard’s wish not go. for n ow at least. if he got worse, he would definitely take him there. it wasn’t too serious, but aichi couldn’ help but worry. he was on semester break right now, so he could focus all of his attention on taking care of gaillard. “gaillard-kun, i’m right here...” he spoke softly, sitting on a chair right beside the bed gaillard was laying on.

when gaillard began rambling, aichi started blushing. he must be really out it. saying things like this...he didn’t expect it at all. he really was sick. aichi’s heart was racing, but it also hurt. gaillard probably didn’t mean the things he was saying. or at least, he didn’t mean it in the way aichi was hoping. even if it sounded romantic, aichi had doubts. even with gaillard’s behavior toward him, he wasn’t sure if he truly felt that way about him. “i-i’m not going anywhere...im right here.” he squeezed gaillard’s hand lightly. “you don’t have to apologize, it’s okay...you should get some rest. you really need it.”

                                     even though aichi reassured gaillard he was still there, gaillard whined. he could feel aichi’s hand in his, warm compared to gaillard’s hands that were clammy and sweaty. but he couldn’t see aichi. he tried too look over at aichi, but he couldn’t see him. he couldn’t see anything. ( his eyes were closed. ) “ i wanna see you ... ”

                                             even in his state, he could tell aichi was feeling upset. gaillard was always in tune with aichi’s emotions. he had to be, especially when his life became solely protecting aichi. he still wanted to protect aichi now, after all. “ i mean it, i wouldn’t say it if i didn’t, aichi-san, ” gaillard slurred, his throat dry. “ wanted to protect you but i just made you suffer ... ‘ll never be the knight that you deserve. but i wanna be. i wanna be good enough for you to be by my side like this, all the time ... ”

                                    kai’s face heated up as soon as aichi asked. he did like it when aichi called him by different petnames. he liked calling aichi by petnames, too, even though it made him flustered. it made him feel more ... normal. the last time he had a term of affection used on him was by his parents. it was special to him. he felt loved. he still didn’t think he deserved it.