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Slumped down on the couch of his living room, Aoi glared at the beer bottle in his hands.Today had not gone how he had hoped; there had been no birthday wishes, no presents, no signs at all that anyone even remembered his special day. To Aoi, it seemed like everyone had forgotten about his whole existence.He let out an angry groan, the label on the bottle peeling off little by little as he dragged his nails over it.Not only had it been a crappy birthday, it had also been a miserable day overall. He had woken up feeling like shit. The cold that had been plaguing him for the past few days had not gotten any better, just the opposite; what had started of as a mild cough and a slightly runny nose was now a full-on beast of a flu. His eyes were watering for no reason, his head felt like someone had hit him over it with a brick and his nose was so stuffy that he couldn't even breathe properly which had made sleeping an absolute nightmare. He wondered if he'd barely gotten a few hours of proper rest altogether last night, the lack of sleep leaving him feeling woozy and extremely irritated. But being as stubborn as he was, he had still stayed in bed until his lower back was yelling at him to get up.And so, as he had finally managed to drag himself out of the bedroom around midday and into the kitchen, he had realized he didn't have any coffee left. Not having any energy to actually go out and buy some, nor did the idea of being around other people in his current condition leave him feeling nothing but queasy, he had smoked half a pack of cigarettes to make up for it —all in vain of course. The only thing he'd managed to gain was a sore throat.Trying to inhale through his congested nose, Aoi took a gulp of the already flattened beer in his hand, his eyes focusing on his feet that were resting on the coffee table and the swollen big toe that stared right back at him all purple and throbbing in pain. When he had eventually given up on all hope of the day getting any better, he had decided to just drink his misery away. But as fate had decided not even that had gone as planned as he had hit his toe on the leg of the kitchen table on his way to the fridge.Sighing out loud he threw his head back, closing his eyes. Maybe he should just give up and go back to bed..
Sudden loud banging at his door made him jump. Blindly fumbling around the couch he eventually managed locate his phone, his eyes widening in disbelief as he looked at the time; he had accidentally slept for almost four hours. The two and a half beers he'd consumed plus the cough syrup he had taken for the tar in his lungs had truly done their job.”Aoi, open the goddamn door!” he heard the muffled yelling as someone kept hammering the door.Still half-asleep Aoi pushed himself off the couch and slowly -and painfully- made his way to the hallway. Yawning loudly he opened the door, only to find a very frustrated looking Uruha on the other side.”What the hell took you so long!?”, the taller man barked as he entered the apartment without an invitation.”Please, do come in”, Aoi mumbled, his voice drenched with sarcasm as he rubbed his weary eyes. Following in the other guitarist's footsteps Aoi found Uruha sitting on the couch that he himself had been occupying just a moment earlier.”I've been trying to get a hold of you for hours already”, Uruha fumed. ”I thought something had happened to you so I came here and you wouldn't even open the bloody door! I was this of calling the police!”, the guitarist lifted his hand for Aoi to see, holding his index finger and thumb half an inch apart to emphasize his point.”Sorry.. I fell asleep”, scratching the back of his head, Aoi tried to look as apologetic as he could when in reality he didn't really feel sorry at all. Afterall it was his birthday and weren't people allowed to do whatever they pleased on their special day, even sleep through it if they so desired?The blonde guitarist let out a sigh, his anger and frustration slowly fading away and he seemed to visibly relax. He threw his other arm over the back of the couch in a casual manner as a cheeky smile rose on his lips.”That's ok, I wasn't really that worried”, he chuckled, brushing it all off with a wave of his hand. Slightly confused, Aoi kept staring at him. There was the laidback Uruha again, the one who never seemed to have a trouble in his mind. At times Aoi envied him for this feature, wondering how it must've been like to live practically carefree.Uruha picked up the half-drank bottle of beer Aoi had left behind but before Aoi could stop him, the man had already taken a big gulp, only to spit it back in.”Eww!” he exclaimed, trying to stop himself from gagging as he wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his hoodie. ”You have some more beer? Even I can't drink that anymore.”Aoi rolled his half-lidded eyes before limping into the kitchen and back, holding out a bottle for his friend —and one for himself. He really wasn't feeling too social at the moment so perhaps alcohol would help.”Dude, what's wrong with you leg?”, Uruha asked mildly concerned as he opened the bottle by hitting the cap against the edge of the coffee table.”I hit my toe”, Aoi shrugged, slumping down next to the other man before lifting his foot and showing him the swollen digit.”Geez, that looks bad. No wonder you had to get drunk.””I'm not really..”, Aoi muttered. ”Just sick.”He flinched slightly as Uruha without a warning pressed his palm on his forehead. The other man's touch felt so soft and warm that Aoi instinctively leaned against the hand, a satisfied smile on his lips.”No fever”, Uruha concluded as he -to Aoi's dismay- pulled his hand away. ”Good. Then there's no reason for us not to party.”Aoi raised an eyebrow, ”Party?” His train of thought was derailing big time, ”Why?””'Cause it's your birthday, dummy”, Uruha chuckled, giving a poke to Aoi's temple. ”That phlegm must be affecting your brain as well.”Smiling half-heartedly, Aoi made a small noise to indicate his amusement even though he didn’t find anything even slightly funny about his situation. Apparently the flu was getting to him even worse than he'd thought as usually just being around Uruha's presence made him feel better, no matter what was bothering him. Just to hear the blonde laugh was enough to make his heart flutter and a smile to rise on his lips. But not today. Right now he was feeling grumpy and tired and as old as time, and to be completely honest he just wanted to lie down.”I didn't think anyone remembered”, he mumbled downheartedly, fishing out his keys and opening the beer in his hand with the bottle opener that hung from the chain. Not bothering to stuff the keys back into his pocket he threw them on the coffee table. He had once tried to open a bottle the way Uruha just did but all he had ended up with was a chipped table —and a lighter wallet as it had been Ruki's table and he had to pay for the repair. Oh, the vocalist had been so pissed back then.”Everyone remembered”, he heard Uruha snort, causing him to focus his eyes on the other man again. ”I was supposed to come and get you to your surprise party but..”Aoi stared at him inquiringly.”..actually now that I look at you, I don't think you're in any condition to go anywhere.”No shit Sherlock. Aoi could've told him that the moment he opened the door if Uruha had only bothered to ask. Though perhaps the other man wouldn't have believed him and only would've thought he was trying to avoid celebrating his birthday altogether —something he had done in the past. He wasn't always too keen on the excessive hoopla that came with birthdays but he'd noticed that the older he got all the more he tolerated it. Being the center of attention for one day of the year and being showered with gifts wasn’t half-bad, that he had to admit.As Uruha got off the couch and onto his feet, Aoi instinctively grabbed the hem of the taller man's shirt, stopping him from going anywhere. Uruha gave him a warm-hearted smile as Aoi's pleading eyes met his.”I'm just gonna call the guys and tell them the party is not gonna happen”, he told Aoi reassuringly. Releasing his grasp, Aoi nodded. Biting on his bottom lip he watched as Uruha moved over to the window before pulling out his phone. He let his gaze fall, staring at the two bottle caps lying on the table before him -filled with used tissue papers he now noticed to his embarrassement- as he listened to Uruha's soothing voice. He could only make out some mumbled words as the man spoke, such as his own name and the words ”sick”, ”party” and ”off”. Even with his currently overly slow brain he was able to figure out what was being said.”I'll stay and take care of him”, Aoi's head snapped up at the comment, only to notice Uruha staring at him intensively. He could feel his cheeks heating up as Uruha continued to hold his gaze, the taller man eventually turning away with a smirk on his face.”Oh shut up, Rei”, he heard Uruha chuckle before the man stopped to listen to the rambling on the other end of the line. ”Yea yea, I'll talk to you later. Bye.”As Uruha stuffed the phone back into his pocket and started making his way back to the couch, Aoi moved further into the cushions in hopes of hiding his flushed state as he took a long sip of his beer.”Have you eaten anything today?”, Uruha asked with his lips slightly pursed and Aoi bashfully shook his head. ”You're hopeless”, the taller guitarist sighed before ruffling Aoi's hair, the ravenhaired man scrunching his nose at the action. He followed Uruha with his gaze as this made his way into the kitchen.”Your fridge is fucking empty!”, the man soon wailed in disbelief. ”Aside from the beer of course...”, Aoi could swear he could hear the eye-roll in Uruha's voice before the other continued. ”You have some instant ramen or something?””Umm..”, rubbing his suddenly aching eyes, Aoi tried desperately to recall the contents of his cabinets.”Nevermind, I found some!”Throwing his head back against the backrest, Aoi sighed. He didn't even realize his eyelids had closed until he felt a nudge against his side. He wondered if he had dozed off for a minute or two. Eyes opening he lifted his head, instantly cringing as the muscles on his neck screamed in pain from the sudden motion. He noticed the steaming bowl of ramen on the table and gave Uruha a nod in appreciation. The blonde smirked, slumping back down next to the shorter man.”Eat”, he then commanded causing Aoi to raise an eyebrow yet he obediently reached out for the bowl, taking it in his hands.”What's gotten into you?”, Aoi inquired. ”You've never been one to care about nutrition. Don't think I haven't see the contents of your fridge.”Uruha laughed before explaining, ”Kai told me to force some food down your throat.””I should've known”, Aoi hummed quietly before leaning down to stuff noodles into his mouth, taking a sip of the broth afterwards to wash them down. Truthfully, he wasn't feeling all that hungry but he had to admit that filling his stomach with something other than beer felt good and the hot liquid soothed his aching throat rather nicely. ”Good boy”, Uruha smirked once Aoi finished his meal by slurping down the last of the broth. Aoi mumbled a quiet ”thank you”, feeling a slight tingling sensation as their fingers touched when Uruha took the bowl from him, taking it back into the kitchen before returning with a new beer. When the man had had the time to finish his first beer, Aoi had no idea but he shouldn't have been too surprised —it was Uruha afterall. He could make drinks disappear like a magician.”You wanna watch a movie or something?”, Uruha suggested, an amused grin forming on his face soon after. ”Though I doubt you'll be able to concentrate on anything in your zombie-like state.”Aoi let out a groan of annoyance even though he knew the other man was more than correct. His brain activity was pretty much dead. It was a miracle he'd been able to have any kind of conversation with Uruha at all tonight.”Just put on whatever”, he grumbled, waving his hand in front of him in a nonchalant manner, and without hesitation Uruha grabbed the remote. Aoi yawned intensely, tears forming on the corners of his eyes while the taller man searched through the contents of a streaming service, eventually pushing play as he found something that piqued his interest. Aoi didn't have the slightest clue what it was as he hadn't been paying any attention. His head was spinning. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he momentarily clenched his eyes shut.As Uruha took a more comfortable position, leaning against the backrest, Aoi turned his head to look at the other man, noticing the smirk on Uruha's face as this stared at the TV screen. The way his eyes glimmered with excitement made Aoi smile. He loved seeing the blonde get this giddy about something other than guitar equipment for a change. To Aoi's disappointment they mostly talked about work related topics when alone with each other, at least that's what it felt like to him. He would almost desperately try to steer the conversation elsewhere; babble on about his day, tell jokes (mostly bad and dad-like), anything at all besides shoptalk. Uruha would always listen and nod and occationally chuckle, sometimes perhaps comment briefly on the topic but not truly engage in the conversation —which often made Aoi feel like he was bothering him. But then there were times when Uruha would suddenly open up to him, share something personal of himself, something that Aoi felt like was for his ears only. Like a little secret of theirs. Usually there was alcohol involved when this happened but nonetheless such rare occasions warmed his heart immensely.He watched as Uruha brought the beer to his face, his lips wrapping around the mouth of the bottle as he took a long sip before lowering his arm once more. Aoi's focus was now on the long slender fingers wrapped around the bottle and the way Uruha slightly tapped his index and middle finger against the glass as it rested on his jean-covered thigh. Without thinking, as it had become clear that such process was too much for his brain today, Aoi brought his hand over Uruha's, caressing his palm against the back of the other man's hand affectionately. He wondered how Uruha could keep his skin so soft and smooth in the middle of winter.”If you want me to get you a beer, all you gotta do is ask”, he heard the amused chuckle from beside him which caused him to lift his gaze, his startled eyes meeting Uruha's. Instantly Aoi retrieved his hand, a blush rising on his cheeks.”S-Sorry”, he mumbled under his breath.”Here, take this”, with a grin Uruha shoved the beer into Aoi's hand and got up, disappearing into the kitchen.”What the hell am I doing?”, Aoi mentally slapped himself, hoping he hadn't made Uruha feel uncomfortable. Gulping down a mouthful before the blonde returned he tried to ease his nerves. Not daring to look in the other man's direction, he turned his attention on the TV and the blurry figures talking to each other on the screen. Maybe they weren't actually blurry but Aoi couldn't seem to get his hazy eyes to focus. But it was okay as he had no interest in the movie anyway. His mind was a fog and the only thing he cared about at this moment was the man sitting next to him.They continued to watch the movie in silence aside from Uruha's random chuckles that echoed in the apartment every now and then. Aoi bit down on his lip, wondering if he'd dare to disturb the other man by breaking the silence between them. Even though Uruha had basically invited himself in and stayed without asking Aoi if he even wanted company -a request Aoi wouldn't have ever said no to when it came to Uruha-, he still felt like a bad host. He should've been entertaining his friend by keeping up a delightful and fascinating conversation and so making Uruha feel like a wanted guest —not just sit without uttering a word and doing things to the other man that could easily be misread, like fondle his hand all of a sudden. But knowing his brain wasn't co-operative tonight which meant he couldn't have come up with anything to talk about even if he wanted to, Aoi threw such imagery aside and just finished his beer, laying the empty bottle down on the coffee table afterwards. Grunting, as every muscle on his body suddenly seemed to ache like a truck had ran him over, he leaned back against the backrest. His eyes were burning as chills ran through his body causing him to tremble throughoutly. The room suddenly felt freezing cold. In order to warm himself up he snuggled close to Uruha's side.”You're hot as hell!”, the other man exclaimed.”You're not so bad yourself”, Aoi chuckled, his eyelids suddenly feeling heavier than ever before. Resting his cheek on the taller man's shoulder he closed his eyes.”Idiot”, he felt a light slap on the back of his head. ”No, I mean you're burning up. You have a fever.””Mmmh”, Aoi managed to mutter as he felt himself drifting off to sleep.”Nuh-uh, don't you even think about it”, Uruha's voice sounded so distant in his ears. ”I'm taking you to bed.”Aoi smiled drowsily, ”That's where I've wanted to take you all my life..”He felt a pair of arms hoisting him up on his feet and the next thing he knew was him being stripped out of his pants before he was tugged under the covers of his bed. How they had gotten to his bedroom, he had absolutely no idea as he had no recollection of the journey there what-so-ever.”I'll be right back”, Uruha’s assuring voice resounded before the man's footsteps disappeared into the bathroom. Even under the warm blanket, Aoi shivered from the cold. Pulling his bent legs up against his chest, he curled up on his side, running his hands up and down his bare shins. His mouth suddenly feeling awfully dry, he smacked his lips.He let out a whined moan as he was gently pushed to lie on his back once more, forcing him to let go of his legs. A wet cloth was laid on his forehead which felt almost heavenly against his burning skin. But then something was carefully thrusted into his ear and he groaned in annoyance.”Don't be such a baby”, he heard Uruha chuckle. There was a soft beep and whatever was jammed in his ear canal was finally pulled out. Uruha let out an understanding hum, ”39,1°C. That explains a lot.”Aoi peeked an eye open and tried to get his gaze to focus, eventually making out the details of the taller man's face as this sat next to him on the edge of the bed. The faint moonlight shining from between the slightly open curtains illuminated the right side of his face, highlighting his jawline and curvy lips, and Aoi had to wonder if Uruha had ever looked more beautiful.”You're really pretty, you know that?”, he mumbled, the smile on his face slightly crooked.Uruha let out an amused snort, ”And you're delirious.”
Aoi's lips formed into a childish pout as he huffed.
”Here, take these”, he noticed Uruha holding out two small tablets and a glass of water. With slight difficulty he took the pills being offered to him and threw them into his mouth. Then he lifted his head as Uruha guided the glass to his lips, him taking a gulp to wash down the medicine before throwing his head back against the softness of the pillow. A pleased hum left his lips as Uruha's fingers wiped the sweaty strands of hair away from his face.”I'm gonna let you rest”, Uruha's deep voice murmured. As he was about to get up, Aoi suddenly grabbed him by the forearm. Before the taller man was able to question the action, Aoi had already hoisted his upper body off the bed with a swift move, the wet cloth now falling on his lap as he pulled Uruha closer to him, capturing his lips to a passionate kiss. His hand sneaked behind the blonde's neck as his lips moved over Uruha's in a sensual manner. An unintennional moan escaped him.When he eventually pulled back, he was feeling completely out of breath as he had barely gotten any air through his nose during the kiss. Falling back down on the bed, he panted heavily as he threw his arm over his eyes, trying desperately to catch his breath. Never before had kissing been such an exhausting task.He heard Uruha chuckle as the cloth was once more placed on his skin, ”Ok, birthday boy, now you seriously need to rest.”Lifting his other arm Aoi gave Uruha a thumbs up, hearing the blonde laugh lightly in response before patting him on the side.”Sleep”, the stern command was the last thing he heard before drifting off to dreamland. With a grunt Aoi slowly opened his eyelids, the sun shining from between the curtains hitting him straight in the eye, blinding him. Stretching out his stiffened limbs, he yawned. To his surprise, he had slept better than he had all week. He might've finally beaten the flu for once and for all. And on top of that he had had the most pleasant dream which involved a certain blonde guitarist. It wasn’t the first time he had dreamt about kissing Uruha but this one had felt the most realistic for sure.As he tried to crack his back, he turned his head, only to notice Uruha sleeping on the bed next to him. Slowly and careful enough not to wake the other man he turned to lie on his side to face him. Eyebrows furrowed Aoi stared at him, scanning his fully clothed form from head to toe, trying to figure out just how and why was Uruha in his bed.Then it dawned on him; Indeed Uruha had come over last night. He had fed him and then they had drank a few beers and watched a movie and..Aoi’s body stiffened and his eyes flew wide open in horror as the realization hit him; it hadn’t been a dream at all. He really had kissed Uruha in his delirious state of mind. Burying his face in his hands, Aoi groaned in agony. How would he ever be able to explain his actions to the other man, what excuse would be plausible enough for Uruha not to think weirdly of him. And what if the rest of the band heard about it —which he was sure of that they would. Uruha had never been good at keeping secrets and he knew the guys -even if they wouldn't openly admit it- pretty much lived for juicy gossip like this. He’d surely be mocked for the rest of his life.Slowly he trailed the hands off his face, his gaze focusing back on Uruha. He watched how the man's brow furrowed ever-so-slightly and how his eyelashes fluttered as he dreamed. Aoi's eyes roamed over the pouty lips he had had the pleasure of kissing last night as he tried to recall every detail of what had happened. But all he seemed to remember was that he wouldn’t have wanted to stop, and maybe it had been his fevered brain playing tricks on him but he could've sworn he had felt Uruha kissing him back. Reaching out his hand, he gently caressed the taller man’s cheek, fighting off the strongest of urges to just lean forward and claim those lips once more.As he noticed Uruha stirring, he quickly retrieved his hand and closed his eyes, pretending to still be sound asleep. He could hear the other man yawn and some rustling of sheets and clothing before the mattress dipped as the man shifted his weight. Soon a slightly cold hand was pressed on his forehead as a deep voice resounded.”I know you’re awake, dumbass.”Aoi opened his eyes, throwing a glare at Uruha who only smiled back at him boastfully.”Looks like you’re gonna live. No more fever.”Hoping that the other man was suffering from an amnesia and didn’t recall what had occured last night, Aoi gave him a rather nervous smile.”Too bad”, Uruha sighed wistfully which caused Aoi to quirk an eyebrow. A wicked smirk rose on the taller man’s lips, ”I rather enjoyed the fevered, unfiltered version of you.”Aoi's shock and confusion over the comment must've been visible on his features because Uruha let out a laugh before his face got more serious again. His hand on Aoi's cheek, he softly caressed the flushed skin as he agonizingly slowly began to lean forward. In that moment Aoi forgot how to breathe, his wide eyes staring at Uruha and the gorgeous lips that were slowly closing the gap between them, inch by inch drawing ever nearer. A tiny whimper left him as he closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable contact, his lips pursing slightly to welcome Uruha's.The seconds went by and in his mind Aoi began wonder how long was it going to take for Uruha to kiss him. In curiousity he peeked on eye open, only to find the blonde grinning at him. Realizing just how ridiculous he must've looked with his lips protruted in anticipation, Aoi wailed in anguish, burying his face into the pillow to hide his embarrassement. Uruha's laughter resounded in his ears, mocking him, and he wished for the bed to swallow him up —kind of like in an old horror movie Uruha had once made him watch. Of course he would like to skip the "being shred to pieces and dying violently"-part of the scenario if it were to become reality.He felt Uruha's hand soothingly running over his upper back before trailing down his spine and under the blanket that still lay half over him. Eventually the hand settled on the small of his back, almost teasingly caressing the naked skin that peeked from underneath his shirt.”C'mon, you're acting like us kissing is a big deal”, Uruha chuckled and Aoi felt a jab at this heart because to him it was a big deal.It wasn't like last night was the first time they had ever kissed —they had shared more than a few kisses in the past in fact. But the pecks they shared on stage in front of their fans didn't count in his eyes. Those kisses weren't real, at least not from Uruha's part. To him it was all a part of the show.Yet there had been a couple of times when Uruha had kissed him off stage, most likely on a drunken whim, but Aoi could never tell if there was a deeper meaning behind those kisses or if it was all just for fun. Uruha was an enigma in that sense. They never talked about it afterwards. It was almost like Uruha pretended that it never happened —or perhaps he just didn't remember it happening. Whereas Aoi, he remembered every kiss, and each kiss he landed on Uruha was one filled with affection and admiration towards the other man. Of course he had never admitted that to Uruha -or to anyone else- but there was so much hidden in those fleeting moments.His breath hitched as he felt Uruha's lips ghosting over his ear as his deep voice whispered, ”You love me, don't you?”Aoi's head turned so swiftly that he was afraid to pull a muscle, his shocked eyes meeting Uruha's flirting brown ones, the taller man's face merely an inch away from his. Gulping slowly, Aoi carefully turned to lie on his back, Uruha now hovering over him. Almost as if in a daze, Aoi nodded, the time seemingly standing still as he waited for Uruha's next move, the man's lips soon moving, the words that left him almost sounding like a dare.”Say it.”Aoi searched for any sign of mischief or amusement in Uruha's eyes yet he found none. The man kept his eyes locked on his and suddenly Aoi felt incredibly weak as if Uruha's gaze could pierce right through his soul. Lifting his head off the pillow, Aoi closed the distance between them, capturing Uruha's lips to a kiss —a kiss he hoped would convey all his emotions and longing for the other man. A soft moan left him as Uruha soon deepened the kiss, his tongue pushing past his lips into his mouth. Arms winding behind the taller man's back, Aoi's fingerstips dug to Uruha's shoulders, as if holding onto his dear life as the kiss grew more intense.With a gasp, Aoi eventually forced himself to break away, panting harshly through his still slightly parted lips. Uruha stared down at him with eyes dark with lust causing him to shiver. Soon the left corner of the blonde's lips curved into a sly smirk.”You still didn't say it.””Oh shut up”, Aoi mumbled under his breath, pulling the now chuckling Uruha in for another kiss that would leave them both breathless.Pecking Uruha's lips over and over again as the kiss broke, Aoi tried to memorize every detail of the taller man's lips as if afraid this was all a dream. He let out a groan as Uruha stopped him by gently biting down on his bottom lip. He threw a glare at the other man.”We'll have time for that later”, the words that rolled from Uruha's lips caused a dreamy smile to rise on Aoi's face. All these years he had spent pining over the blonde guitarist had at last bore fruit and, weirdly enough, he had his fevered episode to thank for it. Even though they hadn't talked about it, Aoi knew he could finally call Uruha his.A gentle flick of a finger on his forehead brought him back to the present.”Stop that weird smiling. You look like an idiot in love”, Uruha rolled his eyes before climbing off of Aoi's body with a grunt. ”I need coffee.”Still grinning, Aoi watched as Uruha slowly got off the bed. The man's shirt rode up his torso as this arched his back, arms lifted above his head as he stretched and Aoi's eyes roamed over the newly exposed skin of his flat stomach. As he noticed Aoi's gaze on him, Uruha smirked before making his way out of the bedroom. Aoi stared at the ceiling before closing his eyes with a content sigh.”There’s no coffee by the way”, he soon hollered, laughing maleficently as he heard Uruha shout in horror.