This chapter is 13+. Don't worry, there's nothing graphic.

~

The silence between Ken and Daigo was getting a little tense, but not in a bad way. As the two snuggled together on the beanbag chair, reading their books, Ken could gradually feel a sense of warmth in their stomach growing by the minute. Probably because Daigo had his hand on their thigh. Hell, Ken could barely concentrate on their book.

"You doing okay?" Daigo asked casually. He wasn't even looking at them - it was though he could sense the waves of heat coming off of Ken. It made them so frustrated.

"I'm fine," Ken insisted through gritted teeth. (They weren't.)

"So, uh," - Daigo shut his book - "you wanna make out or what?"

"B-but what if someone sees us?" Ken stuttered. They weren't opposed to the idea, though. Not at all. The thought excited them.

Daigo smirked devilishly.

"Isn't that part of the fun?" he argued, giving Ken's thigh a quick squeeze.

Ken's heart skipped a beat. They had to admit, that did sound thrilling.

"C'mon, play with me," Daigo whined.

Ken let out a yelp of surprise as Daigo grabbed the front of their T-shirt and hauled them on top of him, the beanbag sinking under their combined weight and puffing up around them as though shielding them from potential onlookers. Ken couldn't help but giggle, but when their eyes met with Daigo's, they went quiet: he was gazing up at them with a captivating lust Ken had never seen from him. They wanted to bury their face in something and scream.

"You know you wanna," Daigo teased them.

Ken opened their mouth to respond, but for a moment, nothing came out. They were practically short circuiting.

"D'you . . ." They checked their surroundings before dropping their voice to a whisper. "D'you want me to fuck you right here?"

"No," Daigo scoffed, though he was smiling. "Not in public. Let's just . . . have a little fun, y'know?"

Ken's stupid, nervous grin faltered slightly.

"You're not gonna regret anything later on, are you?" they asked cautiously.

Daigo's smile did the same as Ken's did. But when he spoke, his voice was nothing if not sincere.

"I highly doubt that," was what he said. "I trust you."

For the second time in a minute, Ken's heart skipped a beat. They took a shaky deep breath. In their head, they mapped out what they wanted to do.

"Just trust yourself, okay?" Daigo reminded them.

"Okay, just . . . just tell me when you want me to stop."

Ken leaned in and closed their eyes, their slightly parted lips soon meeting Daigo's. They cupped his face in their slightly quaking hands, their face burning as Daigo slithered in his tongue and grabbed onto their waist. Again, again, again Ken went in for more kisses, unable to get enough. They slid their hands into Daigo's hair, forming protective fists.

"Mmnph," Ken couldn't help but whimper. Daigo smirked in response, and Ken shut him up with another kiss.

At last, Ken pulled away, panting for breath. They started brushing kisses against Daigo's jawline, traveling to his neck. Daigo moaned quietly, causing Ken to bite down without realizing it. Daigo moaned again, this time a little louder. In a panic, Ken clamped their hand over his mouth.

"S-sorry," Ken whispered. They looked up nervously, and their breath caught in their throat when they realized Daigo didn't look annoyed at all. Ken slowly removed their hand from his mouth: his lips were smeared with their pretty pink lip gloss.

Daigo sensually bit down on Ken's forefinger. When Ken's eyes widened, he winked sinisterly. Damn, his eyes . . .

Ken awkwardly cleared their throat and looked away, but Daigo grabbed their chin and turned them back to facing him. The rest of the library seemed to fade away.

"Do me a favor and bite me a bit more?" Daigo asked persuasively. He pulled back the collars on his jacket and shirt, exposing his pale neck.

At last, Ken worked up the confidence to smirk back.

"As you wish~" they replied. They leaned back in and sank their teeth into Daigo's neck. They tried not to apply too much pressure, as they didn't want to actually hurt him. But it was hard to ignore the voice in the back of their head, telling them to bite harder. . . .

"Damn . . . yeah, that feels good," Daigo grunted.

Ken felt as though their heart was about to rocket right out of their chest. By the time they were done, they struggled to pull away. Their hands shook with excitement. The atmosphere was heavy.

"Thank you~" Daigo sang.

Ken produced a small amount of bashful laughter. They gazed down upon the smudges of their own lip gloss that had transferred onto Daigo's face and neck. It looked good on him, along with the bite marks. . . . It took a while to notice that Daigo was suddenly looking a little shy.

"Everything okay?" Ken asked worriedly.

Daigo reached up to caress Ken's cheek.

"I'm okay," he reassured them. "Just admiring you."

At last, Ken swallowed their nerves. The two's eyes were locked together.

"Can I be your partner?" they finally asked. They were surprised at how steady their voice was for a moment. "I-I know it hasn't been long since . . . the incident, but I promise to take care of you. So . . . please?"

Daigo's eyes widened, and a warm smile appeared on his face.

"This isn't the horniness talking," Ken added hastily.

"Don't worry, I know." Daigo promised sincerely. "I'd be more than happy to be your boyfriend."

Ken couldn't stop smiling.

The walk back home was again, tense, but again, in a good way. Ken held Daigo's hand, their fingers interlocked with his and their borrowed book tucked away safely in their satchel. What had happened in the library was replaying over and over again in Ken's mind: they could barely walk in a straight line.

"Hey, Ken?"

Ken jerked back into focus.

"What's up?" they replied.

"This is kinda a random question," Daigo admitted, "but d'you think you'd be happier if you were born a girl?"

Ken didn't blame Daigo for asking something like that. They had definitely put thought to that exact notion before.

"Nah," Ken said with a shake of their head. They felt their face fall. "I'd still be unhappy with my body."

"Oh," Daigo exclaimed. "Didn't mean to bring down the mood."

"No, no, it's cool," Ken promised. "I think I've made peace with it. Deep down, though, I just wanna be . . . nothing, y'know?"

"I don't know," Daigo said frankly. "But I hope you know that I don't give a shit what you look like under your clothes. You're still you."

The idea of Daigo undressing them made Ken's face suddenly bear a striking resemblance to a ripe tomato. Daigo noticed this and smirked.

"This was fun," he said. The look in his eyes indicated that he wasn't lying. It made Ken's heart sing.

"I'm glad you agree," Ken replied with a smile, but it soon faded.

"He'd be proud of us." they remarked. "He'd be proud of you. Y'know . . . for staying."

Daigo abruptly froze in his tracks in the middle of the sidewalk, lowering his head. Ken gritted their teeth, panicking internally. Had they said something wrong?

"What's the matter?" Ken asked.

Daigo took a deep breath and smiled.

"It's okay, I . . . I think I needed that." he replied. "Thanks a lot for taking me out." But there was a sadness in his eyes, as though he believed he didn't deserve to be happy now that Ryota was gone. Part of Ken felt the same way, but in this moment, they were grinning so large that their cheeks were starting to hurt.

Ken kissed his cheek. They placed Daigo's head upon their shoulder, slinging an arm around his waist as they walked back home together.

"Anything else you wanna do today?" Ken asked as they crossed another street.

"I don't think so," Daigo answered. "I think I just wanna go home. Maybe watch some YouTube."

"Well, you're not doing it alone." Ken insisted. "I'm not leaving your side."

Daigo groaned with annoyance, and Ken frowned. For a moment, they were a tad worried, but they stood by their decision: there was no way in hell they were leaving Daigo alone again. They kissed the top of his head.

"I'm not letting you grieve alone anymore," Ken said softly, their voice wobbling a little. "I miss 'im, too."

Daigo took a shaky deep breath. When he spoke, his voice was tender and sincere.

"I really love you, Ken."