Welcome to Gaia! ::

They walked Hana, who was more than happy to smell all the smells and get out even though she had played a lot today. She was still a puppy after all, still lots of energy. Daichi chuckled and pressed a kiss to Kaoru’s head as they walked. It was a pleasant walk, and it was nice to be out in the open air after being stuck inside all day. The sun was getting lower, so they headed back. They walked back up to their apartment and Daichi opened the door for them. He laughed as Hana sat tiredly, waiting for her harness to be removed so she could go plop on the couch. “Poor puppy.” He said with a laugh as he removed her harness and watched her trot off.

He smiled at Kaoru and followed the male into their bedroom to get ready for bed. Daichi pulled his shirt over his head, hanging in on a hook to use tomorrow. He ran a hand through his hair, grimacing at the feel of it. He wanted to shower. Daichi turned, eyes searching and find Kaoru. “Kaoru… shower with me?” he asked, gently. He didn’t want Kaoru to force himself if he wasn’t comfortable but it would be nice to shower with his husband… all the warm soapy water… it could be fun… and they’d get clean, eventually.

~~

Akiko nodded, blushing slightly, eyes down to his plate in an attempt to hide. He was embarrassed by how happy the nickname made him… he really shouldn’t get so happy for just a name but… it was a nice nickname and… it made him feel all warm on the inside.

Rui reacted positively to Akiko’s requested to go to work with him. The shy male couldn’t help a shy smile at Rui’s obvious embarrassment of his book keeping skills. “I’m sure it’ll be fine…” he said, not trying to boast his skills but… he used to be pretty good at the books, and running a business. Before his wife… he ran it all, well too. Then his daughter came of age and his wife demanded that their daughter take over so than Akiko could be home more often… he shook his head a bit, trying to force himself down a different train of thought. His current track was just depressing and… he didn’t want to be sad, not anymore.

Akiko blinked up at Rui, confused for a moment by the warmth and praise he was receiving. He blushed and bit the inside of his cheek. He was getting praised for crying and asking to work… that didn’t sound like something he should be praised for but.. he couldn’t lie and say he didn’t like Rui’s praise. “Th-thank you…” he said softly, taking another bite of food to try and relieve his awkwardness.

They finished breakfast and cleaned up the kitchen together, quite in sync. “I’m g-going to go get dressed.” Akiko said, wanting to change into something a bit better suited to do office work. He would feel weird working on the books in he wasn’t in a at least a button up shirt… He went to his room and pulled out a plain grey button up and some dress slacks. They didn’t fit him nearly as well has they had before, not with all the weight he lost. But he managed to make the look decent before stepping out of room, ready to leave. “Rui?” he called, walking out to the living room in search of his roommate/ therapist.

~ Time skip 5 D+K ~

~~
Akiko nodded and headed to his room. He pulled out a pair of dress pants and a button up shirt. He fumbled with the shirt cuff and mentally argued with himself over whether or not to wear a tie or not. He decided to wear the tie. If it was too much, Rui would tell him, and he could leave it in the car. He glanced at himself in the mirror and frowned. The shirt and pants were no longer tailored. He had lost too much weight to make the clothes look good on him. But it was all he had, and there really wasn’t much reason for him to get new clothes… he hardly worked anymore… Akiko sighed and bowed his head, fiddling with the tie as he walked back out to the living room with his dress shoes in his hand.

Akiko looked up at Rui and his breath caught. Rui looked good… good wasn’t the right word… handsome? Perfect? Sexy? Akiko couldn’t help but blushed at his thoughts. Good gods… Rui was his *therapist*… get your head out of the gutter… *like someone as capable and handsome as Rui would want someone so broken as you*. Akiko shudder slightly at the thought. Luckily, his maudlin thoughts were well covered up… on the outside, it looked like Akiko was reacting to Rui’s compliments and reassurances, not his own inappropriate thoughts and self-hatred. “Okay.” He said softly, shallowing hard. He nodded when Rui gestured to the door and he quickly followed. ((let’s brush over it.))

They went about their day and it all happened as Rui said it would. The other therapist all wanted to meet him, but they were careful to only come one or two at a time, with plenty of time in between for Akiko to calm back down and get some work done. Rui hadn’t exaggerated when he said he was back at his books. There was a lot to do here… and even with Akiko’s skills, he was going to need to work on them for a little while to get them in order. He had a bit of a panic at that, but Rui was a comforting support, telling him that he didn’t have to get it all done today, that he understood it would take some time.

(I have replied through pms but they are just sitting in my outbox... not sure why...)

Rui collected him at the end of the day and Akiko couldn’t help but flush under the praise. “There’s still a lot to do but… I-I think I can handle it.” He said, semi-confidently. He was riding a high! He couldn’t help but smile and feel a little good about himself. Rui mentioned taking him to dinner and Akiko tried to shake his head. “You don’t have to do that…” he muttered softly. The Rui leaned in, slowly, and wrapped an arm would Akiko, a small hug and Akiko blushed again, leaning into the touch. “I’m happy to help… you-you’ve done so much for me already… it’s the least I-I could do.” He stumbled with his words, out of embarrassment more than anything. He really shouldn’t enjoy a hug so much but… he did.

They walked out of Rui’s building and headed to the car, the offer for dinner still on the table. Akiko sighed softly and tried to think about what he wanted to eat. Because, yes, he was hungry. And going out with Rui sounded… nice… and he was sure the male was sick of being indoors. He bit his lip, a nervous tick, as he thought. “How a-about a ramen house?” he asked, softly. He was still slightly wary of giving his opinion, of having a voice, but he knew Rui wouldn’t mind, encouraged it even. It was still hard to get used to but… he was trying.

Once at the car, they had to part ways and Akiko immediately missed Rui’s warmth. He got into the passenger’s side and slipped on his seat belt. “There used to be a small ramen shop by my old job… we’d often eat lunch there. It was always very good.” He said softly, remembering the fond memories… before his wife had gotten over jealous with her abuse and… no, don’t think about her. It would ruin his mood and Akiko wanted to enjoy dinner with Rui tonight.

Akiko wasn’t surprised Rui knew the general direction to the ramen shop. Obviously, it was in his file where he used to work, and Rui was a very good therapist… Akiko wouldn’t be surprised if Rui was so detailed in his knowledge with all his patients… the thought made Akiko a little depressed… he wasn’t special, not to Rui. He was just another patient. And as soon as he could, he’d ship Akiko off and take on a new patient… someone who would need him more. … … Seriously, Akiko needed to stop thinking about that because it was going to ruin the mood for the evening. “It’s on the corner or 12th and Linbar Ave.” he said, trying to distract his melodramatic brain by giving directions. They weren’t too far away, a few more minutes. And Akiko figured they would ride in silence. But then Rui held his hand out, palm up and Akiko looked at it, then to the male’s face before he blushed. Was he that obvious? Akiko nibbled on his lip and glanced back at Rui’s hand. He found himself wanting to take the male’s hand. Would it hurt? Maybe this was a test? But Rui wasn’t one to give tests… not like this… so maybe Akiko could allow himself this? Just for a little bit? He could pretend Rui actually liked him for him… that he was more than a patient… and Rui was the one to offer… Akiko doubted the male would offer to do something that he was not comfortable doing. Slowly, Akiko slipped his hand into Rui’s, blushing like mad. He laced their fingers together and tried not to make things awkward. “Th-thank you.” He said softly, staring at their hands, unable to look up at Rui. His face was scarlet.

By the time they arrived at the ramen shop, Akiko had gained control over his blush. They had to part to get out of the car, and soon they were seated at the ramen bar, looking at menus. Their hands were occupied, but Akiko still felt the itch to take Rui’s hand again. He restrained himself. He didn’t want to seem clingy and they were in public… he doubted Rui wanted any misunderstanding with the other patrons. Akiko glanced away from his menu when Rui spoke. “Hmm? Oh, yes. It is very good. O-one of my favorites.” He said. “I think I’m going to get the Tonkotsu, with pork as well.” He said, folding his menu. he took a sip of water as they waited for the waiter/chef to come back and take their orders.

Once they had ordered, and the menus were moved out of the way, Akiko became nervous again. This kind of felt like a date. It wasn’t, of course it wasn’t but… Akiko fiddled with his chop sticks silently. “You-your staff are all very n-nice.” He said, trying to spark a conversation.

As the waiter walked away with their orders, Rui placed his hand on the table, palm up. Akiko stared at the hand, then glanced at Rui and realized the male was staring at him. He blinked at the silent offer, then blushed deeply before he shyly took Rui’s hand and laced their fingers together. Carefully, he brought their hands to his lap, a slightly more comfortable angle (and it didn’t hurt that it helped hide the semi-intimate action). It took a lot of mental scolding to get Akiko’s brain to focus on the male’s words. His brain just wanted to run off with excitement of holding Rui’s hand in a restaurant. But he had to pay attention to the conversation… it was only polite.

Akiko’s blush deepened as Rui complimented him. His shoulders hunched in shy embarrassment. He didn’t know what to do with the compliments. He really didn’t. Akiko looked up shyly and got lost in Rui’s eyes for a moment before he had to look back at the table or risk spontaneously combusting. But Rui’s next words made Akiko’s breath stutter in his chest. Did he hear that right? No, no, couldn’t be… there had to be another meaning behind it… Rui didn’t mean it like it sounded… but then Rui started to apologize… Akiko risked a look at Rui and the male was blushing. He looked remorseful… had he truly meant what he said… with the meaning Akiko was taking it? It sure looked like it…

Biting his lip nervously, Akiko gave Rui’s hand a squeeze, just in case Rui tried to pull away. Maybe… Akiko could have this… just for a while… it would be nice to… pretend, if only for a little bit. “I-I’m not uncomfortable.” He said shyly, looking at Rui through his lashes. “I-I… I li-like you too Rui…” he blushed so deeply he was sure the blush went down as far as his chest.

Akiko blushed even deeper when Rui placed a gentle kiss on the back of his hand, like he was some far maiden. Surprisingly, he didn’t mind being Rui’s maiden… if that’s what he wanted he could… he was pulled from that train of thought as the waiter dropped off their food. Akiko blinked at it a few moments, trying to figure out what was happening. Food. Right. He blinked down at their hands, then back to the food and Rui seemed to read his mind. He nibbled on his lip and gave Rui’s hand a squeeze before he slowly released it. “May-maybe we can hold hands a-after?” he asked. The last thing he wanted was to be a burden to Rui. And he wasn’t so needy and dependent that he couldn’t go through one meal without Rui’s touch.

Just before Rui released his hand, squeezed it as he spoke, and Akiko was left speechless. He wasn’t sure how to take Rui’s words, but he nodded shyly, nibbling on his lip. “T-thank you.” He said, because it felt like it needed to be said. Rui was willing to go at Akiko’s speed… at least for now. Sure, there would probably be some point when Rui would realize he wasn’t worth the wait. But until then… until then, Akiko got to keep Rui and Akiko would hold onto that for as long as he could. Akiko gave Rui a soft shy smile before he picked up his chopsticks and soup spoon.

The food was a good as Akiko remember and he hummed in pleasure at his first bite. He waited for Rui to try his before he spoke with barely repressed excitement. “How is it? Do-do you like it?” he asked.

Akiko watched Rui take his first bite with batted breath. He bit his lip as he watched the almost orgasmic look fluttered against Rui’s handsome features. And he couldn’t hold back the smile or the blush from Rui’s praise. “I-I’m glad… I’m g-glad you like it… you're wel-welcome.” He said shyly, hunching slightly over his own food, but he was smiling softly, and there was a soft, happy look in his eyes. The burst of joy and pride Akiko felt was almost too much to contain. Rui liked one of Akiko’s favorite places… it just made butterflies flutter in his stomach.

Akiko took a few more bites before a thought entered his head. And he blushed… it took another few minutes before he gathered up the courage. “Rui… Would-would you like to try mine?” he asked, pointing to his ramen with his chopsticks. He spooled a bite on his chopsticks and then held it up with a blush, ready to feed it to Rui himself.