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Kaoru could have sworn that Daichi was staring at his lips. maybe he wanted to kiss too? Before he could think too much about it he was being turned around and Daichi's cheek was pressed to his. Kaoru managed to smile and he had to admit, it really was a nice picture. "Could you send that to me later?" he asked as he looked back at the panda. his cheek still felt warm from where it had touched Daichi's. "Hmm?" he nodded a little at Daichi's suggestion, suddenly realizing how hungry he was. He hadn't really eaten much dinner the night before and hadn't been able to eat breakfast either. "Yeah, i'm pretty hungry too." His eyes widened a little at feeling Daichi's hand on his hip, a finger in his belt loop, but Kaoru would being lying if he said he didn't like it. He leaned slightly in that direction, letting his side press again Daichi's hand.

He looked at the map and saw there were a couple places to eat. There was one titled 'Penguin Overlook' that had a star next to it saying it was new. "Why don't we go there?" he asked, pointing it out to Daichi. It wasn't very far away, either. "Looks like it's a sushi bar. makes sense, considering what penguins eat." it sounded delicious, that or he was just really hungry and everything sounded good. He waited for Daichi to say ok before they started to walk to the restaurant, but he made sure to stay by Daichi's side so that the man's arm was still around him and his finger in his belt loop. They arrived and got a table for two. the place was busy, but they were seated fairly quickly. Sadly Daichi's arm went away as they sat across from each other.

"I think I'll just get whatever is the special, if that if ok with you. If i try and look at the menu, i'll never be able to decide." he ordered a boba green tea and a water before looking down at the penguins playing below. "thank you again. i-" he blushed and shook his head, "just thank you."

((sure))

Kaoru enjoyed their lunch and ate far more than he should have, but Daichi encouraged him to continue so he didn't feel too bad about it. They shared a mochi ice cream for dessert and continued to see the sites. It seemed as if Daichi was closer and touched him more, but Kaoru wasn't complaining. in fact, he moved closer to encourage it. He found himself smiling more than he had in years, possibly his life. he even laughed when a wandering peacock chased them away from what Kaoru could only guess was it's nest. He didn't want this day to end, but it had to. The sun was setting and they were making their way to the entrance when Daichi took his hand and called his attention to a gift shop. He saw the tiger and the panda as Daichi drew him close. They weren't obnoxiously large like some of the others, they were small and perfect. "can we?" he asked, looking hopeful, but Daichi was already picking up one of each. Kaoru held the tiger and ran his hand over the fur, "it's so soft!" he said as he reached for the penguin and found it to be just as soft. "These are perfect."

They bought the toys and Kaoru held the bag they were in as they walked out. He slipped his hand into Daichi's and glanced over, hoping it was ok. The man didn't seem to mind, so Kaoru left their fingers laced together. they walked back to the car and Kaoru sadly let go to get in the car. He sighed softly as he leaned his head back against the rest and closed his eyes. he was tired, but in a good way. his legs were a little sore despite Daichi's stopping to rest frequently. Kaoru glanced over when Daichi got into the car and started it up. "I know you told me I don't need to thank you, but really, Thank you so much. I know you didn't want to be forced into this marriage, but I hope it's at least bearable for you. I know that I doubt I could have found a better situation. Even without the tradition, I would have married who my parent chose for the betterment of the family. At least I am with someone kind." he doubted anyone his mother chose would be nearly as nice as Daichi.

They were driving home when Kaoru's stomach growled and he laughed with a little blush, "Guess all that walking made me hungry, despite that huge lunch!" he shook his head, "i'll make us something when we get home. what do you want for dinner?"

Little did Kaoru know that at that moment there were several pictures of himself and Daichi being posted to Facebook. They had been spotted by a group of his classmates at the restaurant and one of the pictures show a close up of his left hand where he wedding ring was visible. Suddenly the quiet, often overlooked kid in class was the hot topic of discussion as the pictures were commented on and shared with his entire class. People were texting and calling each other and the news spread like wild fire. no one had his new number or it would have exploded with messages. he didn't even have a facebook, Kaoru would remain blissfully ignorant of his sudden popularity.

Kaoru nodded when Daichi told him to only thank him once."i'll try to remember," he said softly, worried he'd annoyed Daichi. He would have to be careful from now one. Daichi asked if they had what would be needed to make ramen and Kaoru nodded, "i think so. If you don't mind the instant stuff, but we have other things to add to it to make it tasty." they stopped and he got the bag and walked with Daichi to the elevator. he took off his shoes and walked to the kitchen with Daichi, surprised that the man was going to help. "You can sit if your feet are-" he stopped when he saw the look on Daichi's face. He washed his own hands and nodded to the fridge, "Could you get two eggs, a green onion, the sliced ham, picked ginger, and the fish cake for me please?" he got out two pots and filled them with water. he put the eggs in the smaller one and set them both to boil.

"We have miso flavored, I hope that's ok?" he asked as he got out the packets of instant ramen, he thought it might be since there were several packs that had been their before they got married. "Could you cut the green onion and the fish cake into thin slices and the ginger into match sticks please?" he poured the seasoning into the bigger pot and added a little instant dashi powder to make the flavors more intense. once the eggs were boiling, he turned off the heat and set the timer for ten minutes. It took the bigger pot longer to boil and once it was ready, he added the noodles to cook, "will you get out two large bowls?" he stirred the noodles to make sure they didn't stick and took the eggs to the sink to run cold water over them. "And when you're done, could you peel the eggs and cut them in half?"

By the time Daichi had finished, the ramen was ready. Kaoru separated it into the two bowls and then arranged the eggs, pork, fish cakes, and ginger in each bowl.
"Dinner's ready," he said as he took out two pairs of chopsticks. he gave one to Daichi and took the other pair as well as his bowl to the breakfast bar. "thank-" he stopped himself and glanced at his bowl as he sat down, not sure if this is one of those times he shouldn't thank Daichi. but it felt strange to not thank the man for helping him prepare dinner. "I hope it's to your liking." he finished lamely. he took a bite and smiled, loving the soup. "I think ramen is one of my favorite meals. would have to sneak out to get it before. Mother and Father didn't approve of eating it. They said it was 'working class'." he shook his head, "I tried it for the first time at school because I was curious and I was hooked. Thank goodness mother never found out! Though, I guess, since you eat it It's ok for me to eat now? They won't be able to disapprove if someone from the main house eats it." shook his head, "if mother could only see us now...actually, i'm rather glad she can't. life is far less stressful out from under her gaze. he glanced over at Daichi, "sorry. i know your tired. is there something pleasant you would like to talk about?"

Kaoru smiled when Daichi said he enjoyed the food. Even if he'd had help, he was glad he could make something Daichi liked. He listened to the man, surprised by how much he liked the sound of Daichi's voice. It was deep and rang with authority, but soft and soothing at the same time. "Yeah, my sister wanted nothing to do with me. I think I've spoken to her maybe once or twice. There was never anything to compare between the two of us. I could never hope to come close to her abilities." she was busy working with their father and didn't have time for a failure. She'd moved into her own place when he was two and then he only saw her at events and business dinners where it would have looked bad if he hadn't been there. "Hm?" he replied, a little puzzled when Daichi asked what he wanted to do. "I-" he stopped and had to think for a moment. Before the announcement that he'd been chose as the flower bride he'd thought about possibly going to college and finding a small job in the family business. Something without much responsibility to ensure he didn't make any mistakes and put their family in a bad light. After the announcement? he'd just focused on being the best bride he could be and the training to do so.

"I guess I never really had much plans for what I could do outside of-" he waved his hand a little to indicate the apartment, "maintaining the household. even before we were engaged I never really had very high aspersions." He took another bite to give himself time to think, "i guess read more? Mother was very strict about what was and wasn't appropriate. maybe try to improve my playing?" he glanced at the piano, "other than that, i just don't really know. I'm sorry." he'd been told where he would be and what he would do since he was born, it had always been laid out for him. now that the was given a choice, he just drew blanks as to what he could possibly do. it's not like he was good enough to be of use at anything.

"What about you? You are running your own branch, but did you ever want to do anything else? travel or anything?" he was curious, maybe if he heard Daichi's answer he could use them as inspiration for his own.

Kaoru thought about where he would want to go if he could chose a vacation. He'd been on occasional trips with his family, but it was more social gatherings than actual vacations. "Out of the country?" he frowned and picked up some noodles with his chopsticks, "maybe Italy? i wouldn't mind see the old ruins and going to some plays? The food would be good too." he took his bite as he thought, "or visit some of the temples and castles here? like Kyoto, Tokyo, some of those?" he shrugged, "i'm easy to please."

He'd finished eating and took his dishes to the sink so he could rinse them off. "Kyle? he's the guy from last night, right? the one you went drinking with?" the man had been fairly good looking, was he a friend of Daichi's? or maybe something more? he put his dishes in the washer and turned back to Daichi, "Are you two close?" he didn't want to seem jealous, he just wanted to know. "He seemed nice...he brought you home at least." Kaoru was glad that Daichi had friends, the man seemed to work too much for such things. maybe Kyle worked with him? that was probable. "Does he travel a lot?"

Kaoru felt a little relieved that Kyle was just someone Daichi worked with, and would know of places they could go thanks to his job. "No, I don't mind," Kaoru said when Daichi asked if he could use the shower first. Kaoru watched Daichi walk away before moving to the piano and starting to play softly. He wasn't really playing any song in particular, just putting together cords in a random melody. When Daichi finished, Kaoru took his turn in the shower, washing off the dust from the day's adventure in the zoo. He got ready for bed and blushed a little when he remembered what they had done together the night before. He mentally shook his head and lay down on his side with a yawn. "good night, Daichi," he said softly as he drifted off to sleep. surprisingly he slept well once again. No dreams or nightmares to bother him. He woke early, as usual, and slipped into the kitchen to make breakfast, planning a quiet day. He wasn't sure what Diachi was planning, the man had promised to work less and it was Sunday, so maybe they could spend the day together again?

The day passed far to quickly for Kaoru, he was enjoying the company of Daichi, but soon it was time to go to bed and Daichi would be going to work again the next day. Kaoru felt a little depressed at the thought of being alone again, but he smiled and made sure it didn't show, not wanting to make Daichi feel bad. Kaoru didn't really sleep that night. He knew Daichi promised to be home for dinner from now on, but Kaoru felt guilty that he was taking the man away from his work. Just because their families decided they had to live together doesn't mean Daichi should have to rearrange his whole life for Kaoru. Around four, Kaoru gave up on trying to sleep and went into the kitchen. He made a breakfast casserole and put that in the oven to cook. While that was going he made Daichi a bento for work. He didn't know if his husband had business meeting during lunch like he'd seen in movies, but if he did then he could give the bento to someone or save it for later. He was deciding how to arrange the food when an idea came to mind. He smiled to himself before making the bento into something he knew Daichi would enjoy.

When everything was done, Kaoru wrapped the bento and placed it on the counter. He pulled out the casserole and served a plate for Daichi, not very hungry because he'd been picking at the food as he'd been cooking. When everything was set out he checked the time and saw it was around when Diachi would normally get up. He'd managed to time it perfectly.

((OOC : I don't mind, when would you want to skip to?))

Kaoru shrugged a little when Daichi asked if he couldn't sleep, "Bad dreams," he said softly as Daichi ate. "Not really, I might go to the library to see if there's some music books." He watched the man leave and smiled, nodding when Daichi reaffirmed that he would be back for dinner. "i'll be waiting." he cleaned up breakfast and prepped for dinner. he was planning a stew and salad night. he got the soups cooking on low so it could simmer all day and be delicious by the time they ate. he made a pasta salad, a potato salad, a green salad, and a fruit salad. He hoped Daichi would like it. He got Daichi's text around lunch time and smiled, glad he'd made the man something he liked. He responded 'I'm glad' and got ready to go to the library. He ended up spending a little while there, reading an interesting book he'd seen on display. It was this odd itch between his shoulders that made him finally go home. It felt like someone was watching him. He was probably just being silly because the main character in the book was dealing with a stalker. The feeling stuck with him until he got to the apartment complex. Kaoru kept looking around, but he couldn't see anyone. "Just being silly," he muttered as he got in the elevator.

He checked the time and got everything ready for dinner, but he wasn't sure when exactly Daichi would be home. He was hoping around 6, but he'd chosen a meal easily to take out of the fridge and serve for this reason. He was reading in the living room when Daichi came home. Kaoru heard the door open and quickly put his book down. "Welcome home," he called as he went into the kitchen and got the salads out. "Hope you like soup and salad." They ate together, Kaoru so happy he forgot about the strange feeling of the afternoon.

A few months passed in a similiar fashion. Kaoru's sleep was disturbed by bad dreams on occasion, but waking up next to Daichi's warmth helped. He was worried he was becoming paranoid, though. more and more he got the feeling of someone watching him when he left the apartment. It was starting to effect whether or not he would go out. His visits to the library became less frequent. He just got more while he was there, but he stayed away from any murder mysteries now. He didn't mention anything to Daichi, the man had enough to worry about beyond his silly husband's over imaginative mind.

It had been a week since he'd gone to the library and Kaoru needed to return his books...actually it had been a week since he'd really left the apartment. He put it off as long as he could, but he knew he needed to leave right then if he wanted to get back in time to finish dinner. He gathered his courage and head out. The feeling came back as soon as he stepped outside. he nearly turned around and went right back in, but he straightened his back and made himself go on. he got the the library as quickly as he could and planned to just drop off the books and go home. He put the books in the return box and turned quickly, accidentally running into someone. Soft hands held him steady so he wouldn't fall and Kaoru looked up to mutter an apology. but he recognized the man as one of his former classmates.

"Kurosaki-san?" he said with surprise. The man had been on their rather successful soccer team so most people in his class had known his name though Kaoru didn't think they had ever spoken before.

"Nishimi, isn't it?" Kurosaki asked, lifting an eyebrow, "you seem a little rushed. everything ok?"

Kaoru flushed and nodded, "Yes. I'm sorry, I just needed to hurry home to make dinner."

Kurosaki glanced at his watch, "Little early for dinner, isn't it? you sure you're ok? I think this is the first time i've ever seen you sweat."

Kaoru looked down, "just-just read an article about someone getting attacked near here. it scared me i guess." he gave a small smile, making up a story on the spot.

"Really? hadn't heard about that." Kurosaki rubbed the back of his head, "yeah, i bet that'd be scary for a little guy like you. want me to walk you home?"

Kaoru's eyes widened, "you'd do that?"

"Sure. I'm done with practice for the day and got nothing else to do. why not help a fellow classmate?" was the simple reply.

Kaoru debated for a second, but he knew he'd feel a lot better if he didn't have to walk home alone. "I don't want to bother you..."

"No bother," Kurosaki, said as he lifted his soccer bag to his shoulder, "which way we heading?"

Kaoru smiled and pointing east, "to the apartment building about four blocks that way." Kurosaki nodded and they started walking together. They were both fairly quiet, neither much of a talker, but the feeling of being watched wasn't there and Kaoru was able to breathe again. he thanked Kurosaki for walking him home. Kurosaki offered to walk him whenever he wanted and Kaoru laughed, saying he should be fine. they exchanged numbers anyways, 'just in case' according to Kurosaki. Kaoru waved goodbye and went back up to the apartment smiling, thinking he just might had made a friend.

He got dinner ready, pork cutlet bowls tonight, and hummed to himself as he was cooking. He was excited to see Daichi and tell him about the friend he'd made...Kaoru stopped mid-stir and felt his stomach drop. What if Daichi didn't like Kaoru making friends with another man? He'd never implied that he was interested in Kaoru in a romantic way, but how would any husband feel if they came home to their spouse telling them about some other guy they had met. He chewed on his bottom lip and by the time Daichi returned home, he'd decided to not tell him. It wasn't like he was planning on anything with Kurosaki. They had just talked a little and Kurosaki had helped him. that's all. He smiled when the door opened and moved the last of the dishes to the table. "welcome home! how was work, Daichi?" he asked, happy to see the man home as he always was. the apartment was too big for one person.

Kaoru smiled at the complements, "pork cutlet bowls," he said as he finished getting everything ready. "same as usual, went to the library to return my books." he always was happy when Daichi complemented his food. he was glad he made things his husband liked, "thank you." he was mid-bite when Daichi asked if he had any plans for the weekend, but he shook his head 'no'. he never had plans unless they involved Daichi. he swallowed as Daichi pulled out the tickets, his eyes widening. He read the tickets, not sure if he actually was reading them right. "This is for an onsen-" he said softly as he looked at Daichi, "is it really ok? I mean-" he looked at the tickets again, "i would love to go. I've only been to an onsen once when I was a child and I wasn't allowed in the bath, mother said i was too dirty. and a festival too? but-it says we would be leaving tomorrow. don't you have work on Fridays?" Was Daichi really suggesting he miss a day of work for this? for Kaoru?

he felt his eyes water up as Daichi confirmed that he was going to miss tomorrow to take Kaoru on a trip. "Thank you!" he couldn't contain himself as he jumped out of his chair and hugged Daichi. "thank you! I'm so excited. I-what should i pack?" he shook his head and decided to be bold by giving a Daichi a small kiss on the lips, "you're so good to me." he realized he was practically sitting in Diachi's lap and blushed, but he didn't want to move away either. "um-" he said softly, "too much? i know i get excited easily. sor-" he been working on saying sorry, but he felt this was a time he really should apologize, "sorry." he pulled himself away reluctantly and sat back down, still holding the tickets like they were made of gold. "i've never really been on a trip like this before." he added again, lamely as if that would excuse his actions.