~Oliver's POV~

"Mmngh~" what's this feeling? It feels so warm here... I want it to be like this forever... Slowly I opened my eyes to reveal what had given me the warmth.

"A-ah" I lightly squealed when I saw the hand resting over my side, luckily I hadn't woken it. That's right, I had let Len sleep with me last night. What was I thinking, this feels really weird... and inappropriate. My mom would never have let me sleep with a friend, let alone a stranger! But... it feels safe somehow, to be wrapped around Len's arms. This safe feeling, I get it whenever Len is around me, it feels like- he's always protecting me.

I closed my eyes again and snuggled close to him for another few minutes before deciding to get out of bed. I lightly lifted his arms and placed them somewhere else carefully as to not wake him. Then I got up to brush my teeth and went to prepare breakfast for the day.

In the kitchen, I reheated some leftover soup I had and cooked up some scrambled eggs. After I was done preparing the meal, I went back to check on Len.

I checked the clock, it was already 8 am. It was a Tuesday though, and the market is closed on Tuesdays.

"Len?" I looked over to see that he was still in deep deep sleep. Adorable, that's the best word to describe him right now. His hair slightly covering his right eye, his face in a calm setting, his chest slowly rising and falling,

"Leeen." I said in a whiny tone, nudging him a little.

"Ngh- five more minutes Rin." He mumbled back before instantly snoring again. Rin? Who could that be? His mother? No, he would have said mom if it was... maybe it's his sister? Older sister? Yeah, that sounds about right.

"Len, wake up!" I almost shouted.

"Mmn~ I don't want to do the work" he mumbled a little louder than before. Work? Len was barely older than me, and he has to work? Well, to be fair, I do too but it was only because I couldn't survive otherwise. But Len, he didn't look like poor at all, his clothes are in perfect condition.

"Len? What are you talking about?"

"Huh?" His eyes finally opened.

~Len's POV~

"Leeen"

Who was that? The voice sounded... girly. Was it Rin?

"Ngh- five more minutes Rin." This bed is so cozy, so comfy. Why does she always want to separate us? Me and my bed, we are inseparable.

"Len, wake up!" Gaah- now she's angry. I probably have to do *that* today.

"Mmn~ I don't want to work" I really don't want to. Not when 'work' involves-

"Len? What are you talking about?"

"Huh?" I shot my eyes open, revealing a blonde boy with a bandaged left eye. Oliver!

~Oliver's POV~

"What do you mean Len?" I was curious as to why he would need to work.

He looked at me strangely before answering, "Nothing." That was a lie, I knew it was a lie. But I couldn't force him to tell me, so I just left it at that.

"O-oh alright then. Want a cookie?" I brought a cookie out of my jar and handed it to him. I made it myself, believe it or not.

"Sure, thanks" Len took the cookie, his eyes widened as he took his first bite, "this is delicious!"

"T-thanks" I said looking away, hiding my tomato-red face.

"how about we go out today?" Out? As in out out? Stupid Oliver, he probably just wanted to get some fresh air. Yeah, that sounds much more reasonable. How did I even begin thinking about that, I don't even like him that way, we barely met. Besides, we're both boys.

"Ooooor do you have any other plans?" He asked me again, as he mistook my silence for a no.

"No-no it's alright"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I don't really have any plans for today." I assured him, "So... where should we go?"

He seemed to think about it for a moment before answering, "how about the ice cream shop near the park?"

I nodded immediately, I didn't have any reason not to go. if anything I had wanted ice cream for the past few weeks. "Sure!" I replied late.

I changed to my 'outside clothes' and once we both were ready, we walked to the ice cream shop together. The walk there was pretty uneventful, we didn't have many conversations, and the ones we had were all pretty short and boring anyway.

Later, we arrived at the shop. When we got in, we both walked up to the only available staff member behind the counter.

"2 scoops of banana ice cream please!" Len told her, "And what are you getting Ollie?"

'Ollie'? What kind of nickname is that?! It sounds so cutesy and I don't like being 'cute', it's what got me into all this trouble in the first place.

"Huh? Ollie?" Again?! Really?

"Don't call me 'Ollie'" I reflexively snapped at him to stop him from saying that again. "And I think I'll just have vanilla" I added afterwards.

"S-sorry about... that" I apologised, scratching my head.

"It's fine. It's my fault for calling you a nickname you didn't approve." Len replied, trying to comfort me by patting my back and *almost* hugging me. Which, to be honest, worked very well.

"Here's your ice cream!" The woman said, handing two cones of ice cream to us. We took it before thanking her, then left to find a place to enjoy it.

"Vanilla huh? Sounds so boring." Len nudged me.

"Wh-what? Cant I have my own opinions?" I looked away, pouting slightly.

"Besides, the vanilla ice cream here is really good!" I added, putting emphasis on 'really', before continuing to endlessly lick my ice cream.

"I bet you won't say that once you've tried my banana ice cream." He smirked for a split second. Was that a dare? It sounded like one but why would he? I mentally shrugged at the thought then continued to lick my ice cream.

"Do you want to try some?" He asked, moving his ice cream slightly closer to my side of him.

"Sure"

I took a small lick... "Mm, that's good too~," I said before the realisation that I had indirectly kissed Len hit me. My face turned bright red in almost an instant. I also noticed an indescribable feeling appear at the same time. Why am I feeling this way? Why does he make me feel this way? I started to ponder with these thoughts and feelings.

"You alright Oliver?" Len's voice snapped me back to reality from who knows where that was.

"Y-yeah" I lied.

"Is there anything on your mind?" Wha- how did he know? Was I that obvious?

"No" I tried to answer as naturally as I could, without stuttering. I didn't want to have to tell him that such a petty thing had me in a mess. I'd look weak, and I hate looking weak!

Len stopped asking, probably out of respect, so we continued to walk together in silence for a while, finishing our ice cream in the process.

"Where should we go now?" I asked him once I was sure I had calmed myself down.

He stopped.

"Len?"

"Oliver..." He started

"What is it?" I asked curiously.

"Do you like me?" He asked, facing down. Do I like him? What does he mean by that? Does he mean it as a friend or...?

"Y-yeah... You're a great friend" I answered, hoping it was what he was looking for. He paused for a moment before his expressions started to move again.

"Do you love me?" He asked again, with a clear shimmer of hope in his eyes.

Do I love him? Love? What!? What does he mean by 'love'? Is it the same kind of love I had for my parents? No, it can't be, we aren't family. then... the only other choice is... but we're both boys, that kind of love only happens between girls and boys right?

"W-what do y-you mean?" I asked him.

"I mean: do you love me?" He said the same thing again.

"B-but we're both boys and that kind of love o-only happens between boys and girls."

"Tch, that doesn't matter! I don't care if you're a boy or a girl, Oliver! Boys can love boys too!" Those last 2 sentences echoed in my head. Is it true? Does he really feel that way to me? But why would he? I'm just an injured homeless boy, what could he possibly want from me?

Do I feel the same way to him? I thought back to a few moments ago when I licked his ice cream... Was that love? And this morning... was that love too? Being around him makes me feel more comfortable and safe, but does that mean I love him?

I must've been thinking for way too long as when I had moved back to reality, Len said "I guess you don't, huh." And slowly backed off. He looked really hurt, as if he was about to cry.

"Len... I think I love you too" He looked back in pure shock, all the pain he had left him with no trace. He closed his eyes and leapt at me.

A strong pair of lips touched mine, it felt amazing, it felt right... all my previous thoughts faded away and focused on Len. The kiss went on for a few more seconds before Len pulled away.

"I love you, Oliver!" he said slowly, and sexily. A part of my mind protested at the word I used as it was taboo for me, but it quickly went away.

"I love you too, Len!" I happily replied, going in for a hug and resting my head on his chest.

"Let's go home!" Len announced.

"Yeah!"

※ Watch out for the next chapter, it's gonna be a big one! :D