Between Heaven and Earth   von NanaSaintClair
                              ([Kaoru x Die] AU)
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                           Kapitel 3: Chapter Three
                           ------------------------


The next morning Kaoru took a look inside the bags Toshiya and Die had brought
from their shopping tour. Quickly rummaging through their content until he had
found something suiting for the events ahead, he took the pile of clothes and
entered Die’s room. The red-haired man was still fast asleep, lying on his
belly, the book next to the bed. He had fallen asleep during reading since it
had been a little bit boring unlike the other book he was reading at first.

Kaoru dropped the pile next to Die and unceremoniously woke him. “Get up, Die.
Dress properly.”

Yawning and blinking with his eyelids to adjust to the bright morning sun, Die
watched the host march off, before he swung his legs out of his bed and
stretched. He had slept like a stone, another thing that was totally different
than in Heaven. There he only slept lightly, always on alert. Being an angel had
been a serious matter after all. Now he just smiled to himself and grabbed the
pile of clothes, taking a look at them. They were indeed fine and just the feel
of the material against his fingertips was making him smile.

Once Kaoru was done inside the bathroom, Die quickly headed inside in need for
the toilet. Gods, it felt weird, all these human needs, especially to let out
all the liquid he had consumed the day earlier. With a sigh he tended to this
urgent need, then quickly showered and got dressed. Then he even combed his hair
and put some wax in it. He had seen how Kaoru did that and he was happily
surprised when his hair suddenly smelled somehow nicely, even if he couldn’t
quite say of what exactly it smelled. To smell was one of the things adding to
the new sensations of being a human but he liked it. Only in the city there were
bad smells, but here, in Kaoru’s home, everything smelled nice to Die.

With a smile he grabbed himself something to eat from out of the fridge and ate
it before Kaoru already urged him to leave. At work Die began to greet back all
the friendly people who offered him and his boss a ‘good morning’. He had
brought the book and was ordered to read again while Kaoru made some phone calls
and studied some files. But after a while the lawyer checked his watch and got
up, slipping inside his jacket. “C’mon, Die. We’re heading to the court.
There’s an important trial today and I want you to watch.”

No question, Die was all up for it. Beaming he stood next to Kaoru in no time.
“A trial?”

“Yeah, the case of Mrs. Inari. She’s claiming for damages against her
ex-husband,” Kaoru explained while they were heading out of the building and
inside a cab. The lawyer hardly used his own car to get to the court. Modesty
was a thing judges appreciated more than to show off with expensive cars. “But
he’s actually trying to make the judges declare Inari for certifiably insane.
Should be interesting for you.”

He couldn’t help his last remark since he was sure Die literally was insane
but it made the redhead only enthusiastically nod. “It is. But why would he do
that? Is she insane?”

“No. Well, not really. Technically she’s been a pill-addict of some sort.
We’re claiming she’s not but that she’s been in therapy militates against
her. Now I’ve just got the medical certificate about her being released as
cured. That’ll erase his claim and she can sue him for what he’s worth.”
That someone actually listened to all that crap was indeed even nice, Kaoru had
to admit. No one of his friends or those who wanted to be his friends was truly
interested in his work. Even if they were listening, Kaoru could see that it was
because of different reasons and he had become mistrusting. People these days
only wanted to use any information for their own advantage. Not so Die. He was
gleaming for every tiny bit the lawyer told him and he was actually looking as
if he was really interested. Sure, there was still the possibility that Die was
a ‘spy’ but then Kaoru would’ve to compliment the one that had had this
idea – it was just too absurd.

“Why does she sue him at all? What kind of damages did she gain from him? Did
he hit her?” This was just too exciting and all these human-things were highly
fascinating for Die. He just wondered if it was normal for the human kind to
have this sort of problems. Why wasn’t Kaoru married? Did he have someone to
sue too? Would he fight today for the poor victim? A hundred new questions
followed the first and Die’s mind was overturning itself with thoughts.

“Psychological damages,” Kaoru stated as the car came to a halt and he
opened the door to climb out. “We’re claiming that she’s been mentally
abused. Because of his assaults on her she became an addict, went through a
therapy and now that she’s cured, she deserves some financial compensation.
Now shut up. No word about it in the court, okay?”

Of course Die would keep it secret, but he still couldn’t help it. He didn’t
really get what the whole thing was about. Mentally abused? How was that
possible? How could humans abuse each other mentally? Humans were supposed to
work, fall in love, have children, some not, but all in all not to mentally
abuse. Could they kill each other by mental abuse? That would be new to Die. He
really had still so much to learn.

During the trial Die sat and watched enticed by the whole matter and most of all
Kaoru. The best part was his final speech, when he delivered the pleading. It
was breath-taking even, and stunned Die watched when the lawyer turned things to
his advantage, leaving a good impression on the judge. That Inari’s former
husband had tried to declare her certifiably insane added at last to the things
that actually spoke against that man. She got compensated with a lot of money in
the end and after the judge had finally pronounced his judgment, she even hugged
Kaoru and thanked him. It brought a huge smile upon Die’s lips when he met
with Kaoru right after.

The lawyer was now in good spirits and even smiled back at Die before they made
their way back to the cab. “Now we’ll have a drink. I deserve one after that
case.”

Not complaining Die just widely grinned and followed. They were brought to a bar
Kaoru usually spent time to celebrate whenever he had won a trial. Most of the
people there were businessmen like him or at least richer than standard. Kaoru
led them both to the bar and instantly ordered two beer. “Consider yourself
invited, Die. I’m so relieved this is over and won. Inari isn’t exactly one
of my favorite clients.”

“Thanks,” Die beamed and took the offered beer that the bartender had
quickly served. “Why is that? Don’t you like all your clients?”

“Of course not. One can’t like everybody. That’s only human, my dear
angel,” the dark-haired man said in a teasing tone, still not quite thinking
that Die had been an angel, ever. “Inari’s actually quite a bitch.”

Unbelievingly Die raised his brows, not grasping that either. “Then why are
you helping her?”

“What do you think? For money naturally.” Kaoru scoffed a little but then
chuckled, too high from his victory to be seriously annoyed right now. “Being
a lawyer is a job, Die. I earn money by helping these people. If I only helped
those who I liked, I’d have not a penny.”

Humankind was indeed difficult to understand but Die guessed, it would be
normal. Every human was working to gain money and so did Kaoru. It would surely
take some time until Die would fully comprehend the matters of a lawyer’s
work. But he was eager to know all about it. Yet, there was something else in
his mind that he had contemplated since their ride in the cab. “Hey Kaoru, why
aren’t you married?”

“Why would I be?” Even if he wasn’t exactly prepared for the question,
Kaoru was used to it and casually shrugged.

“Because most humans are. They fall in love, marry, have kids. I haven’t
been an angel under Cupid for long, only had two chances to prove myself in this
department, but that’s what I’ve learnt.” It was true. Die had tried to
make people fall in love on two occasions but since he hadn’t been successful,
he was sent to try himself as a guardian angel. That hadn’t worked either.

“Not everyone is eager to marry.” Kaoru took a sip from his beer and lit
himself a cigarette. “Besides, I don’t go for women anyway. So don’t even
ask about kids.”

“You like guys?” Smiling Die scratched his head. That was new and yet not.
He had heard about those already. “I was never sent to guide a gay couple into
love. But you’re right. They can’t have kids. Women bear them.”

“Right.” It made the lawyer actually laugh. Die’s whole way of thinking
was quite adorable, even if completely silly and weird. But in a way he wasn’t
really dim, more like that his brain cells needed some training first. But right
now Kaoru didn’t want to think about it, didn’t want to think about anything
at all. Fed up with work for once he would call it a day. If he just thought of
laws right now, his head would throb. “I say, let’s have this beer and then
go home. I’d like to check if you’ve gained any knowledge about cooking.”

The small smirk upon Kaoru’s lips was teasing but Die didn’t even notice.
“Yeah! I’d love to! But don’t we need some things like food first? And
spices, I read so much about different spices.”

“Fine,” the lawyer agreed. “Then let’s get my car from the office and
buy some food.” He wasn’t that eager for shopping but what had to be done,
had to be done. He was actually in quite a funny mood to offer this at all, but
in case Die wouldn’t prove himself to be a good cook, it didn’t matter
either. Kaoru was never that hungry and he just liked to keep his ‘angel’
busy.

About an hour later they had gathered all the necessary items and drove back to
Kaoru’s house. He even switched off his cell phone what usually made him
restless, but the fact that he had still a working phone at home, fax and email
calmed him down enough. While Kaoru sneaked off to have a quick and relaxing
shower, the former angel started to prepare a meal. As soon as Kaoru emerged
back from the bathroom, a delicious smell filled his nostrils. Dressed in casual
jeans and shirt, he got closer and took a glimpse at what was in the pan.

“Fried rice-balls?” He raised one skeptical eyebrow. “Is that all?”

Die happily nodded. “I figured it wouldn’t take much time.”

“At least you’ve made many of them and it smells good.” The slightly
smaller man sniffed a little, then walked to gather something to drink from out
of the fridge. “When will they be ready?”

“I’m not so sure,” the redhead pondered and frowned. “The book says
nothing precise. Just that they should have a golden brown color.”

Setting the table with two plates, Kaoru shrugged, before he sat down and waited
for his meal. Shortly after, Die decided that it was good enough to try and
taste. He served the rice-balls and sat down opposite the other man. “Bon
apetit.”

A snort emitted from Kaoru. “Where did you get that from? The book?” Die’s
merry nod confirmed his guess and carefully he tried the rice-balls with his
chop-sticks. But he wasn’t happily surprised when the food was spicily hot.
“Urgh. Don’t you think there’s a little too much curry in it?” He
quickly took a huge gulp from his orange juice.

Tasting his food Die coughed. “Could also be the chili,” he breathed and
bravely kept on eating. “I don’t know. What did I do wrong?”

“Are you crazy to eat that?” The other man shoved his plate away and was
about to tell Die that he should stop eating that since Kaoru was in no mood to
call a doctor for him. Die wasn’t insured after all! But the doorbell cut the
lawyer off of everything his mind contemplated. With his drink in hand he got
the door and found Toshiya standing there was a sly grin plastered on his face.

“Hey! What are you two doing? I thought I could pay you a visit, since your
cell phone is off…” The sentence trailed off when Toshiya’s voice
purposefully got lower and he entered the house. The host didn’t reply
anything at all, just let him inside and got back to his seat on the table. He
knew too well that his friend was curious like hell about Die and that this was
the only reason for his spontaneous appearance. Toshiya slid on the chair at the
side between them, gazing at Die. “Hello beauty, how are you doing?”

“Hm?” The red-haired man looked up from his food, hadn’t dared to take
another bite and grabbed his coke. He took a mild sip, wondering if the man had
really meant him with beauty, before he answered. “I’m fine, and you?”

“Fine, fine. Oh, I’m interfering you two eating. I’m sorry, that wasn’t
my intention,” the tall dark-haired guy said but didn’t offer to leave
anyway. “Did Kaoru cook?”

“Nope,” the addressed man replied in a sly tone. “Die did. Wanna try?”

Mentally grinning in a dirty fashion Kaoru shoved his plate to his friend. He
could literally read the other’s mind. No, of course Kaoru hadn’t cooked. He
never did, not for guests anyway. Not even if he was charming them and that was
exactly what the other was hinting at. It was a little suspicious that Kaoru
offered his food so generously but Toshiya wanted to try nonetheless. He liked
the redhead and just to show him that, he would eat whatever he had cooked.

“Maybe you shouldn’t—” Die started but never finished when it was
already too late. Toshiya had taken the chop-sticks and eagerly munched down
some of the rice-balls. He should soon regret that though. Innocently the
redhead stared at the other man while Kaoru couldn’t suppress his snort that
mixed with some spiteful giggles.

“Do you like it, Toto?” He asked leaning closer and patting his friend’s
back. Sometimes it was just the friendliness of other people that annoyed the
crap out of Kaoru and his friend here was definitely too kind.

“Spicy,” he pressed out between his teeth but could not contain himself any
longer, reaching for Die’s coke. “Gimme that.” He brought the can to his
lips and drank it all out.

Die watched and tilted his head. Now his drink had gone. That wasn’t quite
nice. With large puppy dog eyes he looked at his host. “Can I have another
can?”

“Serve yourself,” he replied and lit a cigarette.

“I’m sorry,” Die began to explain once he had fetched something to drink.
“It was my first time cooking. Obviously I’m too dense for that too.” He
bowed his head low, referring to the time when he had failed all his missions as
an angel.

“No!” Toshiya shook his head severely, not able to take the look on Die’s
face without getting weak and to pity the redhead. He was sure that Die had
tried his best. “Don’t worry about it. It is good. For a first try it is
good, believe me.” He tried to be convincing and made the red-haired guy look
up with doubtful eyes. “Trust me. Kaoru’s cooking skills are way worse.”

That earned him a glare from the lawyer but Toshiya’s mind was too occupied
too notice. He hadn’t come here without ideas for the evening anyway. “Hey,
what do you think? Shall we go out and have a drink together? We can snatch
something to eat on the way. What do you say? Die? Kao?”

“I’m not in the mood,” Kaoru replied not even giving it too much thought.
He had planned on relaxing at home for once and maybe to tease his guest a
little but certainly not a night out with Toshiya. His friend was nice and the
best he had but he was an exhausting company. “I have an appointment
tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? It’s Friday. What about weekend?” His friend couldn’t
understand that at all. Usually Kaoru was anything but a party pooper, opposite
to what people might think. But he was still more of a workaholic.

“Can’t be helped,” he said and shrugged. “The client is important. Maybe
I’ll go out tomorrow night.”

“Too bad,” Toshiya sighed and looked at Die with huge eyes. “What about
you? C’mon, don’t let me down too!”

Thinking about it Die didn’t mind, not at all. The guy was nice company and he
would like to experience more from the human society and their habits. Yet, he
wasn’t quite sure if he was actually allowed to, and with questioningly raised
eyebrows he turned to look at Kaoru. “May I?”

Kaoru certainly hadn’t expected Die’s eagerness but he wasn’t exactly
surprised either. He just minded the fact that he would probably spill too much
information about his doubtful background. Then again an evening without any
human presence was so tempting. With no time to think about the whole matter for
long, he shrugged. “Do as you wish. You’re off duty right now.”

A bright smile nearly broke Die’s face. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me. Just don’t be back too late. I’ll wait until
midnight,” he explained since he had no intention of giving Die or even
Toshiya a key for his home. Not in a million years! Kaoru unceremoniously got up
and walked inside the living room, taking a seat there in front of the TV. Beer
in hand he pretended to watch when in truth his ears caught every word that was
spoken between his guest and his friend.

“Awesome,” Toshiya beamed and stood up as well, dragging Die up. “C’mon.
You should wear the black shirt we’ve bought yesterday.” They disappeared
into the guest room where Kaoru had stored Die’s clothes sometime during the
day. He hadn’t like it when they were just decorating the middle of his
living, since he loved things tidy and neat.

Once the two men emerged back and passed Kaoru by, Die stopped while Toshiya
already went to the front door. “Erm... Toshiya? I... well, I don’t have any
money yet.” He felt odd, didn’t want to ask his boss for credit when he
still was in debts, and Kaoru ignored this statement on purpose. He had already
spent enough money on clothes and food. If Die wanted to have drinks, he
would’ve to ask Toshiya for an invitation.

The problem solved itself when the dark-haired guy just waved, “You’re
invited. Now come on,” and marched outside.

Another huge smile appeared on Die’s face and he was about to leave as well,
when Kaoru stopped him. “Die.” He waited for the redhead’s attention and
looked at him seriously. “I’d appreciate if you won’t tell too much about
your past.”

Although the red-haired man didn’t quite understand why that was a problem for
Kaoru or humankind in general, he still didn’t mind. If the lawyer would be
happy if Die wouldn’t tell TOO MUCH, he was fine was that. “Okay, no
problem.” He smiled. “Goodbye Kaoru! I’ll be back on time!”

With that he quickly hurried after Toshiya. Kaoru sighed and shifted into a
lying position, staring at the ceiling. Finally peace. With Die he almost felt
as if he had a kid to watch after.

---

Toshiya stayed true to his words and fetched something to eat from a drive-in
before he steered his car to where his favorite bar was. They had eaten their
food during the ride and headed straight into the location. Entering, Die
couldn’t help but gape. He had never been into such a place. There were
dancers on a small stage but he wasn’t sure if they were males or females.
Music sounded from everywhere around him, the lights were dim but colorful and
it smelled of pleasant smoke, unlike when actually a fire was burning.

“Come, come,” the dark-haired male waved for Die to follow, making his way
to a small table with four comfortable looking chairs. Both men settled down and
ordered beer. Die for sure wanted it and nothing else. He had developed an
instant liking for the bitter-sweet drink.

“How d’you like it?” Toshiya asked and leant closer to Die, who was still
gazing around in awe.

“Awesome,” he replied with a smile. “Are those dancers males or
females?”

Chuckling, the other man grinned. “Males. They’re cross-dressing. It’s not
everybody’s taste but I like it. They give a good show, better than naked
girls dancing. You don’t like it?”

“I like it,” Die nodded and took another glimpse at the dancing people. They
really were fascinating. He had never been to any show at all, whether with
naked girls or cross-dressing males. “Why do they do that?”

“You mean, dancing or cross-dressing?” Toshiya asked with a smirk but
realized what Die meant when he was nodding at the end of the question. “Well,
it’s some sort of art. At least that’s what I think. Some people are just
disgusted by dancing cross-dressers but so are they when meeting gays. I just
think that doing a show like that is very much about art.”

“It is,” the redhead agreed, because dancing seemed to him an art he should
be highly fascinated about. The way they moved their feet, their hands, their
whole body – it had to be art.

The other man liked the way Die was thinking. He hadn’t dared to judge or ask
about whether he was gay or straight yet, but he was determined to find out.
Because if this cute red-haired man was anything near gay, then Toshiya would
certainly not wait for long to properly check him out. Full stop. But first he
just wanted to enjoy his company and learn a little bit more about Kaoru’s
sudden guest. “And do you like working for Kaoru?”

“Yeah,” Die beamed and nodded several times, before sipping from his beer.
“I do like it. I started to read a book about basic law and at first it was
boring but now that I’ve seen Kaoru in a trial, I wanna read the rest so
badly.”

Although it was hard to imagine Die as a lawyer, Toshiya didn’t question his
interest. Anyone who had ever seen Kaoru in action would dream about being like
him. That was just Kaoru, a perfectionist, a legend in his business and for good
reason. It wasn’t hard for Toshiya to guess that Die hadn’t attended all the
schools to be educated enough to actually become a lawyer but if he had an
interest in law, it was for good. Then at least Toshiya didn’t feel as if he
needed to pity Die. “And you like him? Kaoru, I mean.”

“Yeah,” Die answered again with a small smile and a nod of his head. “He
is nice. And I’m so grateful that I can live with him. Without him I’d
probably starve on the street.”

The black-haired man bit the insides of his cheek, not really knowing what to
say. Maybe for once in his life Kaoru was actually doing something good for a
person, not just for money, though still not unselfish. If Die had really been a
former junkie, owning nothing but his skin, then he sure was grateful for any
help. But Toshiya wouldn’t push the matter any further. “I’m glad, really.
That you and him get along well is good. Just,” he bit his lip, not sure if he
should really speak of his worries or not. But in the end he decided to spill
the beans since he just liked Die already much. “Just don’t get involved
with him privately, if you know what I mean.”

“Huh?” Wasn’t Die already involved with Kaoru privately? He lived with him
and he was his friend. He and Toshiya and maybe also Mai were his friends so
far. Now Die really didn’t get what Toshiya was talking about. “No, I
don’t know what you mean.”

“I mean that he likes guys and you are one of that kind. A cute one for that
matter,” Toshiya said and grinned, but sighed afterwards. “Kaoru’s my
friend and I don’t wanna run him down but because you’re really a nice guy,
Die, I wouldn’t wanna see you become one of his flings.”

Die’s eyes widened a little. He didn’t see a problem in Kaoru liking him,
not at all, he would appreciate that. But he hadn’t even thought about having
a fling with the lawyer. Now the idea was kind of new and didn’t sound too bad
either. Love was a good thing in any way. Yet, Die had no clue about the
physical love between two humans, not to mention two of the same sex.
Technically he knew what they did but he had never experienced that himself in
human form. For now it was out of question anyway since he was here with
Toshiya, not Kaoru. What Die truly didn’t get, was why Toshiya wouldn’t
wanna see him become one of Kaoru’s flings. Would that be bad? Didn’t he
grant his friend such thing? “Why are you saying that? Kaoru’s your friend.
That’s what you said.”

“He is.” With a small nod and a sigh Toshiya tilted his head, not
understanding why Die didn’t just take his friendly hint. Was he already into
the lawyer? If that was the case, there was nothing he could do. To warn Die
wouldn’t help. “But he’s also a jackass. And I say that because I am his
friend. Everyone else just doesn’t dare to say it out loud. I know him for so
long and I can count on him any time, really, that’s why he is my friend. But
I’d never get involved with him on a sexual basis. No way. He’s just not
made for the everlasting love.”

“But there’s someone for every human, Cupid says,” Die countered, even if
what Toshiya said in the beginning might be true. But the last statement was
just not correct at all. “For you and for Kaoru too. And sometimes humans just
need a little help to see this other person with whom they are supposed to live
happily ever after.”

Now Toshiya was gaping, mouth open. Suddenly he broke out into laughter. Die
couldn’t be serious. That guy was a joker and his jokes were definitely ones
of the best. He always said such things from time to time and the black-haired
man was sure, Die was trying to kid him. “Man, you’re really good, Die. You
got me there.”

“Thank you.” Smiling Die was happy about the compliment. Being good was a
fine one of that sort.

Still with tears of laughter in his eyes Toshiya ordered another round of beer.
Maybe Die was a clever one, too smart to give away that easily if he had an
interest in Kaoru. Either that or he had simply none. But one thing was for
sure: he was a highly entertaining company. And so they chatted away, Toshiya
beginning to explain what he actually did for a living and Die listening
intently and asking away about everything he didn’t get in the first place.

---

Meanwhile Kaoru had become restless. Tapping his fingertips against the surface
of his desk, he just hoped for Die’s sake that he would be back in time. Not
that Kaoru was worried about him. That wasn’t the case. He had just never
waited for anyone and he was definitely feeling as if he was waiting for Die. It
was absurd. Why did he trust a guy who he hardly knew? Why did he believe a guy
who usually behaved like he had no brains at all? It was half past eleven when
Kaoru swore that if the redhead wasn’t back on time, he would surely kill him.
He could’ve run off with his new clothes, even if that wasn’t likely to
happen. Then he should’ve done that with the credit card. And Toshiya was
harmless and faithful, but certainly not attentive. He was careless.

Kaoru had tried to read, to watch television and in the end settled to do some
work. But he couldn’t help his mind drifting to the redhead. That was why he
had never any serious relationship. He had too many important things in his
head, was in charge of so many different serious matters, there was no space to
even think about someone else. Not even a guest who believed he had been an
angel. But the damage was done and Die was hired.

“Fuck it,” Kaoru sighed. When did it happen that he had turned into a fool?

---

After his fourth beer Die had stopped listening to Toshiya’s tales of how he
had become and still was a fashion designer. It wasn't that Die didn’t want to
listen but his attention just wouldn’t keep focused anymore. His limbs were
trembling in anticipation to move and every time he watched the dancers, it was
getting a tad bit worse. His eyelids blinked more often and faster and his hands
moved differently, although he couldn’t put his finger on the reason yet.
Unconsciously he quietly began to sing along to the music, no matter that he did
not know the lyrics.

“Oh my,” Toshiya mentioned when he took a glimpse at his wristwatch. “We
better go now or you will be in trouble.”

Die frowned since he hadn’t even realized how late it had become and he really
didn’t want to make Kaoru mad at him. With a nod Die got up on his feet and
stumbled a little. Was he still a human or why did he have the slight feeling
that he could fly? Well, he could definitely not feel any wings on his back and
the flying sensation was kind of different but still, his feet were so light
even. He couldn’t say it any differently.

“My god, Die, you’re shambling. Are you drunk already?” Toshiya couldn’t
help his giggles. The redhead was looking just too cute lurching like he did.

“What? I dunno,” he replied with a sheepish grin. “But my head feels a
little odd, like everything’s spinning.”

“You’re drunk, that’s what you are.” Putting an arm around the other
man, Toshiya guided him outside and neatly placed him inside the car. “Fasten
the seatbelt and don’t you dare to puke.” Shaking his head, he took the
place behind the steering wheel and started the engine.

Only a few minutes later they both stood in front of the door at Kaoru’s
house, or rather Toshiya stood and Die leant against him. Ringing the doorbell
it wasn’t before long when the owner admitted them entrance. Kaoru instantly
frowned when he saw the two of them and a small sound of surprise emitted from
his mouth when Die literally lurched forward to wrap his arms around the smaller
man’s shoulders, hugging him to steady himself.

“Hello back, Kaoru!” For a moment the lawyer was that dumbfounded that he
couldn’t help but just gaze quite stupidly as the redhead practically clung to
him. But when he heard the silly giggles of his friend, Kaoru glared and shoved
Die off.

“Yeah, great,” he mumbled but didn’t dare to keep his hands off Die’s
shoulders, afraid he’d fall flat against him again.

“I’ve seen cross-dressing dancers!” The redhead proudly beamed with a
smile that could lighten the whole city. “And I drank beer. But you know what,
I’m kinda tired or something ‘cause my body feels as if I could just lie
down, so heavy my limbs are and my eyelids, and there’s some sort of jumble
inside my head. Really odd, really odd,” he babbled away and tried to keep his
eyes focused on the man holding his shoulders for balance, of which he was
grateful for by the way.

Kaoru heaved an outrageously annoyed sigh, suddenly dragging one of Die’s arms
ruggedly around his shoulders. He was pissed but not entirely because of Die.
Without to care about gentleness he dragged the redhead into his room and
dropped him on the bed. Facedown the taller man muttered some thanks into the
pillow but didn’t even turn around anymore. Muffled, he wished Kaoru a good
night, even after he was already gone and had closed the door.

Toshiya mildly laughed about the whole situation because Die was just too funny
when drunk. But when Kaoru’s dark glare was suddenly upon the taller
black-haired man, his laughter died and he shrugged. He was about to ask what
his problem was, but the other man was already faster and snapped: “Thank you
for making him drunk! Was that really necessary? Tomorrow he’ll be hung over
and that’s certainly the least I can need.”

“Why are you mad at me? Is it my fault that he can’t take four bottles of
beer?” Toshiya pouted and crossed his arms. “Really, Kaoru. Four bottles,
and he was like that. You could’ve warned me if you’ve known he can’t take
that bit.”

With a hardly audible growl the lawyer went to gather one of his cigarettes and
lit it almost hastily. His friend was right. Not even Kaoru had known that Die
couldn’t take much but at least Kaoru would’ve guessed it. But still Toshiya
could’ve realized it earlier. “Oh well, forget it. At least you’re back
and I can finally go to bed now.”

Suppressing to roll his eyes upwards, Toshiya ignored Kaoru’s grumpiness, used
to it by now. That was just his character and long ago the other man had given
up on caring about it anyway. In all the years he knew Kaoru, he had been like
this but somehow managed to show his more friendly side from time to time. That
was probably why Toshiya was still his one and only real friend. “It really
wasn’t my intention to get him drunk. But you must admit, he’s cute when
he’s drunk, ne?”

Raising his brows, Kaoru just looked at his friend with indifference. “If you
say so,” he sighed again and took another long drag from his cigarette, slowly
blowing the smoke out, somewhat calmed down by it. He didn’t mind the two of
them hanging out, it had somehow been his idea in the first place, but there was
another problem coming closer in Kaoru’s opinion. Fact was, Die was nuts and
good only for working his heels off. The thing was, that no matter what he
believed he was or had been, he was a gorgeous, nice and cute male and Kaoru’s
tall dark-haired friend easily fell for other men. “Toshiya, I’d prefer you
don’t hit on him.”

That said, the other guy gaped. Sometimes the bluntness of Kaoru was hard to
take. “Why? Are you interested in him yourself? Just say so and I’ll keep my
hands off him.” Although it would be a pity if he would’ve to keep his hands
off the redhead, Toshiya would be true to his words. He had never interfered
between Kaoru and any of his guys and for their friendship he would do anything
to keep it that way. It was simple. Kaoru had known Die before and that’s why
Toshiya would back off. But only if the lawyer indeed held any interest in the
redhead.

“I’m not,” Kaoru honestly replied and thought about how to make Toshiya
see that he meant it without having an interest in Die himself. Not on a sexual
basis anyway. “I’ve already told you who he is and that is why I don’t
wanna get him involved with anyone.”

“I’m not anyone and you only told me that he’s some sort of fosterling of
this judge. So what if I just check out if he’s interested. I don’t even
know yet if he goes for guys. But seeing how he was fascinated by the
cross-dancers...” Toshiya drifted off and rolled his eyes in a dreamy manner.

“Toshiya, no.” The smaller guy wasn’t even in the mood for his friend’s
dreamy expression right now because this matter was serious to him. It would
only cause problems if Die and Toshiya had a thing going on. “Don’t even try
it. Could you do me this one favor? I never ask you such thing. But this time
it’s something else. If you wanna hang out with him, fine, do it. If you wanna
go out with him, I don’t mind. But just don’t try anything else. I mean it.
At least not as long as he lives under my roof.” He intently gazed at his
friend, hoping for his understanding.

Sighing, Toshiya gave in. “Fine. But when we moves out, I won’t care
anymore. Be sure of.”

“That’s how I love my Toto!” Kaoru grinned, relieved. Even if he
couldn’t show his appreciation like other people did, but he was still very
thankful to have a friend like Toshiya. Throughout the years he had learnt to
trust him and knew that he had a hard time to cope with Kaoru sometimes. Even if
he should be good with words being a lawyer, those that spoke of affection were
always hard to say, if not impossible. Kaoru had proved to be a good friend in a
different way, whenever Toshiya had been in troubles, or they simply stuck
together when the situation demanded it.

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” the other man waved it off, openly showing that he had
understood the unspoken words of thankfulness. “You love me when I do as you
say.”

“Right.” Kaoru widely grinned. “Who couldn’t love a good boy like
you?”

“Stuff it, Kao. You’re not charming me with your words. I know you too
well.” With a smirk the other man turned to leave. “I’ll head home. Night,
Kao. And call me when Die moves out, yeah?” He didn’t wait for any reply and
left the house, sniggering. After all Kaoru hadn’t mentioned anything about
not teasing and urging him in any way concerning the redhead. Time will tell if
he would stay true to his words or not. Toshiya wasn’t so sure about Kaoru
really having no interest in Die at all.

Inside, Kaoru finished his cigarette and walked up the stairs into his bedroom.
Maybe he was too selfish asking his friend to keep his fingers off the redhead,
but he was sure it was for Toshiya’s best. Hell, Kaoru didn’t even know
himself why he had taken the risk to take the former angel with him. He felt
almost crazy having done this. Of course he had noticed that Die was a handsome
and even beautiful man, but the lawyer had no intention whatsoever in taking him
into his bed. He would if Die were sane. But that wasn’t the case and he still
needed him. Once he had had him as a lover, he wouldn’t allow him to be this
close to him anymore.

Sighing lowly, Kaoru sat down on the bed and rubbed his palms across his face.
It was possible, and almost crazy he mentally added, that Die could even turn
out to be a friend. But since Kaoru had already decided to use his stupidity to
his advantage, it was unlikely to happen. Now if Toshiya fell for Die and the
other way around, could he really use the love of his one and only friend? Nope,
he couldn’t.

Selfish, yes.

“This turns out to be a mess,” he mumbled and let his body fall backwards on
the bed. If he had met Die under different circumstances, he could’ve allowed
Toshiya to do as he wished. Then again, Kaoru would’ve probably taken the
chance himself. That was if Die weren’t crazy. Fact was, Kaoru had hit him
with the car and the damage was done. Now he couldn’t take his decision back
and end of story. All this thinking annoyed the crap out of him. Wasn’t it his
reason for not falling in love? There were more important things. There always
were. Nothing would ever change that. That he was sure of.

Closing his eyes he slowly and unconsciously drifted off and fell asleep.

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