Disclaimer: I do not own Cardfight! Vanguard

Author Notes: No spoilers. Set in Link Joker before Kai-kun gets Reversed.

Pairing: Aichi/Kai or Kaichi.

I'm sorry if anybody is out of character. I tried keeping them in character as much as possible.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy it!

Italics = thoughts

Surprises and Rainy Days

Sendou Aichi doodled some of the units from his deck on his paper not even bothering to try and take notes anymore. He glanced around the classroom bored finding only a couple of people actually taking notes (if that is what they are doing). The rest were doodling like him or trying to disguise the fact that they were fast asleep. He looked towards the front of the classroom where Yamato-sensei was lecturing in a monotone voice seemingly either not caring if his students weren't paying attention or actually not knowing most of his students weren't paying attention.

Aichi looked at the clock at the front of the classroom. They still had another half hour until class was over for the day. He sighed silently then making sure Yamato-sensei wasn't looking looked out the window next to him. It was sunny with some dark clouds starting to gather nearby. He hoped the dark clouds didn't come this way or he would have to make his way home in the rain since he had forgot his umbrella. The weather forecast this morning said a zero percent chance of rain so he thought he would be fine without it. Now as he watched the dark clouds move in closer to where he was he wished he had brought it.

He sighed silently again then turned back to his paper this time deciding to draw Blaster Blade Liberator. Just as he was starting to work on the finer parts of the armor, the bell rang signaling the end of the classes for the day making everybody who wasn't paying attention (or sleeping) cheer and start gathering their stuff.

"Alright class, this is where we will stop for today. Please read these forty pages for homework," Yamato-sensei closed his textbook and turned to the chalk board. He wrote down which pages to read as the class groaned at the thought of homework.

Aichi groaned as he wrote down the homework then after putting his paper and pencil into his bag stood up. He closed his school bag, grabbed it with his hands and started walking towards the exit. He was about to exit the classroom when somebody tapped his shoulder. He stopped and turned around to see Yamato-sensei. "Yamato-sensei, what is it?" Aichi asked respectfully.

"I'm sorry Sendou-kun. I know you want to hurry up and go home because there is no club today but I have a favor to ask of you," Yamato-sensei smiled apologetically at Aichi.

"What is the favor?" Aichi asked. He sighed inwardly. There went his chance to run to Card Capital untouched from the rain. Hopefully the rain was still far away and this favor wouldn't take too long.

"You don't mind? Thank you Sendou-kun. Could you please take these handouts to Taichi-sensei?" Yamato-sensei gestured to the pile of handouts on the desk near them. "He should be in the staff room right now. I'm really sorry to trouble you like this. I would do it if I could but I've got an appointment I've got to go to right now."

Aichi nodded, shifted his bag so he could hold it in one hand and grabbed the pile of handouts with both hands. He smiled at his teacher, "Leave it to me Sensei."

"Thank you Sendou-kun. I really appreciate this. See you tomorrow then," Yamato-sensei said. He ran out the classroom door waving at Aichi.

Aichi sighed and started walking towards the staff room.

ZZ

Aichi groaned out loud as he heard the thunder rumble. Unfortunately while he was doing the favor, it had started raining outside. Now it was pouring at Miyaji Academy and the surrounding area and he didn't have an umbrella to use. He sighed resignedly. Might as well get going. He didn't know how long this shower would last. He took off his inside shoes and placed them in his shoe locker after taking out his outside shoes. Aichi put on his outside shoes and closed his shoe locker. He raised his arms over his head to block the incoming rain (not that it ever helped) and started running as fast as he could.

A couple of streets away from Card Capital, he panted heavily and stood under a store's overhang. If he was in shape, he could probably run to Card Capital with no breaks. But since he wasn't in shape, he had to take a break. At least he wasn't getting wet anymore.

Aichi looked down at the ground and heard puddles being splashed in but thought it was some kids playing so he didn't think much of it.

"Aichi?" A familiar voice said in front of him.

He looked up and to his surprise Kai Toshiki was standing in front of him. "Kai-kun!" He exclaimed.

Kai held the black umbrella open in one hand and in the other was his school bag laying against the back of his shoulder like always. Aichi noticed Kai had his school uniform on as well. He must've been heading to Card Capital after school. Unlike him though, Kai was prepared for the rain evidenced by the umbrella he was holding.

"What are you doing here?" Kai asked the shorter boy in front of him. He was a little curious as to why Aichi was hanging out in front of a store alone. Since it seemed like he didn't have club activities today the blue haired boy should've already arrived at Card Capital. He could tell that Aichi was soaked and assumed that he was hiding from the rain. The wind blew furiously and as Kai tightened his grip on the umbrella handle he watched Aichi shiver. The smaller boy was most likely freezing in his soaked clothes.

Aichi gave a shaky smile to the brunette trying to stop his shivering. "Sensei asked a favor of me so I stayed behind at school. By the time I finished, it was already like this," He gestured to the horrible weather. "What about you Kai-kun? Heading to Card Capital?"

"Yeah," Kai said simply. He turned back to face the sidewalk and started walking. He stopped after a couple of steps when he noticed Aichi wasn't with him. "What are you doing? Let's go."

Aichi blushed embarrassed because he forgot his umbrella. "Eh? B-But I don't have –"Aichi started.

Kai grabbed Aichi's wrist and brought him to his side under the umbrella making Aichi stop what he was saying and look hesitantly up at Kai. "Let's go Aichi," Kai repeated.

Aichi nodded looking at the ground to hide his red cheeks. Kai let go of his wrist satisfied with that answer.

Aichi and Kai walked under Kai's umbrella in silence. Every once in a while, Kai would look at Aichi and make sure the blue eyed boy was still under the umbrella. He narrowed his eyes when he noticed the smaller boy was staying as far away from him as possible but still staying under the umbrella. They weren't very close but Kai hoped that Aichi knew that he cared about the smaller boy. The blue eyed boy had been spending a lot of his time with his club activities lately. He hated to admit it (even to himself) but he felt a little lonely whenever Aichi didn't show up. Aichi never acted like this around him though. Kai could remember numerous times where Aichi was nervous around him. But he wouldn't describe this current behavior as nervous.

The brunette continued watching the smaller boy trying to see if Aichi would display any hints as to why he's behaving that way. He figured Aichi would display a hint sooner than later because of his very expressive face. He watched Aichi step into a big puddle and get caught off balance. Aichi flailed about and as he was about to fall, Kai stopped walking and wrapped the arm that carried his school bag around Aichi and drew him close to his body. "Are you alright?" He asked looking Aichi over for any injuries.

Aichi's face turned a dark red as he realized he was right near Kai's body. "Y-Yes. I'm alright Kai-kun," He assured the older boy.

Kai relaxed a little glad the shorter boy was alright. "You should be more careful," He said letting go of Aichi and giving him some space.

Aichi nodded a little disappointed that Kai let go of him so fast. Aichi started walking forward with Kai by his side.

A few minutes later, they arrived at Card Capital. Aichi felt disappointed that he couldn't spend more time with Kai alone. Before they went in, Aichi grabbed Kai's jacket sleeve on impulse.

Kai who was about to stand in front of the sliding door sensor, stopped and looked at Aichi questioningly.

Aichi looked down embarrassed at what he did. His hand that grabbed Kai's jacket sleeve tightened as Aichi gathered his courage. "Um Kai-kun…..would you-"Aichi started hesitantly.

"Oh! Look who is finally here! Took you a while Kai!" Miwa unintentionally interrupted while poking his head out the sliding doors of Card Capital with a grin on his face. Seeing Aichi standing with Kai and with his hand grabbing onto Kai's jacket sleeve and Aichi and Kai looking at each other, Miwa raised an eyebrow. "Did I just interrupt something?" He asked slowly his grin disappearing from his face.

Kai glared at Miwa. Aichi hastily removed his hand from Kai's jacket sleeve and brought it back to his side. "N-No! Y-You didn't!" Aichi said quickly. Aichi walked into the shop with Miwa and Kai watching.

Miwa scratched his head embarrassed. He turned back to face Kai a sheepish grin on his face. "Oops. I just did something bad," He said.

Kai resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "No you didn't. I didn't even know what he was going to say," He said closing his eyes seemingly bored with the conversation already.

Miwa started listing off possible theories of what Aichi was about to say. Kai closed his umbrella, shook out most of the water on it and walked inside the shop. He rolled his eyes as Miwa kept on continuing with his possible theories. Kai watched as Aichi dried off from a towel he was assuming came from Tokura Misaki. Except Tatsunagi Kourin, Kai could see that Aichi's other club members and friends were already in the shop. Ishida Naoki and Shingo Komoi surrounded the blue haired boy and started asking Aichi to watch their fight.

Aichi nodded to Naoki and Shingo. He turned to face Misaki. "Thank you for the towel Misaki-san. I'll return it after I have washed it," He said smiling gratefully at her.

Misaki grabbed the towel from his hands making the blue eyed boy protest. "It is okay. Don't worry about it Aichi. Shin-san was going to do laundry today anyway," She said. She turned to Card Capital's Manager Nitta Shin who was working behind the front counter. "Right Shin-san?"

"You mean 'Manager' right?" Shin said not taking his eyes off of his work. "Don't worry Aichi-kun. We can wash it later. Are you sure you don't need to use the towel more?" He addressed Aichi.

Aichi shook his head and smiled at Shin. "Thank you very much Manager. But I already dried off. I'm fine now," He said.

"I see. Well then that is good," Shin said smiling kindly at Aichi. "Misaki, remind me to do the laundry later. You can help me make dinner later as well," He said to Misaki.

Misaki rolled her eyes. "Do it yourself," She said.

"Aichi! Watch our fight, watch our fight!" Naoki said enthusiastically.

Aichi smiled at his friend. "I will Naoki-kun."

"I don't know why Ishida is so pumped up. He's going to lose like always," Shingo muttered.

"What did you say Granny Glasses? I'm going to win!" Naoki placed his starting Vanguard face down on the Vanguard circle and started shuffling his deck. He and his friends were standing near the standing fight tables which helped a lot.

"Maybe in a hundred years," Shingo said copying what Naoki just did and started shuffling his deck as well.

Aichi sweat dropped as Naoki and Shingo started arguing. Both Naoki and Shingo placed their decks in their respective places while still arguing. "You two, fighting is bad. Come on, start your fight," Aichi said trying to stop the two boys arguing.

Naoki and Shingo looked at Aichi then at each other. "Fine," They both said together. They glared at each other while drawing five cards from their deck. "Stand up, Vanguard!" They flipped their starting Vanguard face up.

Aichi's eyes wandered around the shop curious if all of his friends were there forgetting that he had promised to watch Naoki and Shingo's fight. He saw Morikawa Katsumi and Izaki Yuta in the back of the store bent over in their seats discussing something. Morikawa had some cards in his hands which he was gesturing animatedly to as he spoke which made Aichi think that he was talking about his Grade 3s again. He was surprised to see Katsuragi Kamui and Sendou Emi fighting each other in the back of the store as well. Those two hadn't fought each other in a while to Aichi's knowledge. He was curious how their fight was going but made no move to walk over there. As always, Uno Reiji and Saga Eiji were with Kamui standing by the table watching their friends' fight.

"Aichi! You aren't watching our fight!" Naoki said looking at Aichi.

Aichi's eyes snapped back to Naoki and Shingo's fight at Naoki's words. "I'm sorry Naoki-kun. I'm watching now." He said smiling apologetically.

As Shingo took his turn and Naoki went back to concentrating on his fight, Aichi's eyes started wandering around again forgetting the fight once more. He noticed Tatsunagi Kourin wasn't in the shop at the moment. He wondered if she was doing some idol work. He saw Miwa and Kai sitting at a table near the front counter. Miwa was grinning and gesturing animatedly with his hands as he spoke to his best friend. Kai who was looking through his deck looked bored but Aichi knew he was listening to his friend even though he didn't look like it.

Aichi's eyes stayed on Miwa and Kai's table watching the two older boys. He looked at Kai once more wondering if Kai was having problems with his deck and wanted to fight somebody.

"Aichi!" Naoki said.

Aichi looked back at Naoki wondering why his friend had called his name. "What is it Naoki-kun?" He asked.

"You aren't watching our fight. Seriously, what is up with you today?" Naoki said sounding a little irritated. His blue haired friend had promised to watch his fight with Shingo but he hadn't been watching at all.

"The delinquent is right for once," Shingo said. He ignored Naoki's angry shout and looked at Aichi. "Sendou-kun. Are you alright?"

Aichi frowned feeling upset with himself that he hadn't been watching his friends' fight like he had promised. "I'm fine. I'm sorry you two. Please continue," He murmured looking down at the fight to see how it was going.

Naoki looked at Aichi concerned for his friend. He was irritated that Aichi hadn't been watching but his concern overrode his irritation. "Are you sure you are alright Aichi?"

Aichi nodded forcing a smile on his face. "I'm fine. Sorry for worrying you."

Naoki and Shingo looked at Misaki wondering what to do. Misaki gestured for them to continue their fight. They nodded and after glancing at Aichi to make sure his attention was on the fight turned back to what they were doing before.

Aichi resisted the urge to look at Kai as he focused on watching Naoki and Shingo's fight. Naoki had 4 damage while Shingo was still at 3. Aichi noticed that Shingo had fewer cards in his hand than Naoki and guessed it was because he used up cards to guard the last turn. Shingo was playing with his Murakumo deck while Naoki was playing with his Narukami deck like always.

"Stand and draw," Naoki said standing his units and drawing a card from his deck. He scowled as he got a critical trigger unit and not Eradicator, Vowing Sword Dragon like he had hoped. One of his Vowing Sword Dragons had fallen into the Damage Zone and he hadn't had any luck drawing one of the other two still in his deck. Not that he relied on that card but its Break Ride skill is very handy to have. "Ride! Armor Break Dragon!" He said putting the card on top of his current Vanguard.

"Too bad you can't use its Limit Break. You only have two cards in your hand," Shingo said pushing up his glasses with the hand that didn't hold his cards.

"Shut up! I don't need my Break Time. You only have one card in your hand. Victory is mine!" Naoki said. "Red River Dragoon boosts! Thunderstorm Dragoon attacks!" He called out turning the two cards to the right.

"No guard!" Shingo called out. He flipped the top card of his deck for his Damage check revealing Stealth Beast, Night Panther. "No trigger," He said putting the card into his Damage Zone making his damage 4.

"Red River Dragoon boosts! Go Armor Break Dragon!" Naoki called out turning the two cards to the right.

"Guard!" Shingo said placing his card on the Guard Circle revealing his only card in his hand to be Fox Tamer, Izuna; a critical trigger unit with a Shield of 10000. "Also Intercept!" He said moving his Stealth Beast, Bloody Mist to the Guard Circle. Shingo had Covert Demonic Dragon, Magatsu Storm as his Vanguard and with its skill had a total power of 11000 making his total Shield 26000.

Naoki grimaced. He needed two triggers in order to break past Shingo's guard. As long as he drew a critical or stand trigger, he had this game won. That was a lot of pressure. "Twin Drive!" He called out. "First check!" He flipped the top card of his deck revealing Vowing Sword Dragon. Finally! He thought. "Second check!" He flipped the top card of his deck once more this time revealing Sacred Spear Eradicator, Pollux. "Alright! Critical trigger!" He exclaimed grinning. "I give the +5000 power and critical +1 to my Barrage Eradicator, Zion."

Shingo frowned as he moved his two Guardians to the Drop Zone. He would have to hope on a Heal trigger.

"Corposant boosts," Naoki said turning Corposant to the right. "Also, Counter blast so Zion gets +3000 power. Zion, finish him off!" He called out turning the card to the right.

"No guard!" Shingo said. He flipped the top card of his deck for his Damage check revealing another copy of his Vanguard. He placed the card into the Damage Zone and brought his hand back to his deck. "Second check," He said flipping the top card once more this time revealing Stealth Fiend, Rokuro Lady; a Draw trigger. Shingo hung his head and closed his eyes disappointed. "My loss," He said.

"Alright! I won!" Naoki cheered happily punching the air above him with one fist.

"It was a good fight you two," Aichi said smiling at his friends.

"How do you know it was a good fight? You only saw the last turn Aichi," Naoki said letting his arm fall back to his side.

Aichi smiled sheepishly. "Sorry Naoki-kun."

"Porcupine Head got lucky. I would've survived if he didn't get a damn trigger," Shingo muttered under his breath.

"What did you say Granny Glasses?" Naoki growled.

"Nothing. Let's fight one more time and you'll see that luck will only get you so far," Shingo said as he raised his head and pushed up his glasses with one of his hands.

"Fine! Bring it on!" Naoki said irritated.

Aichi sweat dropped as both boys started arguing once more. He looked over at Miwa and Kai's table and saw they were fighting. Aichi was tempted to just walk away from his two friends and walk over to Miwa and Kai's table. He had to admit, he was very interested in Miwa and Kai's fight. He had never seen them fight each other after all. He glanced at his two friends who were arguing then at Misaki. Misaki seemed like she knew what Aichi was thinking about and nodded to him. Both Aichi and Misaki crept away from Naoki and Shingo and walked over to Miwa and Kai's table.

"Final Turn!" Kai declared as Aichi and Misaki stopped by his and Miwa's table.

Aichi frowned disappointed that he would only get to see Kai's last turn. A few minutes later, Miwa lost. Aichi wasn't surprised at the outcome; Kai was very strong and that was part of why Aichi admired the brunette so much.

"Too bad you lost Miwa-kun," Aichi said.

Miwa and Kai looked over to see Aichi and Misaki standing by their table. Kai glanced at Aichi then went back to looking through his deck once more. "Yeah, well that is how it goes. I've never won against Kai because he's too strong," Miwa grinned.

"Aichi!" Aichi turned towards where he heard the voice come from. He saw Emi standing beside them.

"Emi. Your fight is over already?" Aichi smiled at his little sister.

"Yeah. It was a close fight. Anyway Aichi, we should get going," Emi said grabbing a hold of Aichi's sleeve.

"Eh? Already?" Aichi said surprised.

"Come on," Emi said pulling on Aichi's sleeve.

"I understand Emi," Aichi said trying to remove his sister's hand off of his sleeve. He turned to look at his friends. "Sorry guys. I've got to get going now."

Aichi and Emi walked out of Card Capital stopping under the overhang. Aichi noticed that it was still pouring outside. "Emi, you don't have an umbrella by any chance do you? I forgot mine," Aichi said rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly with one hand.

"Honestly! What am I going to do with you Aichi?" Emi huffed. She got out her umbrella and handed it to Aichi who had dropped his hand to grab the umbrella.

Aichi laughed nervously. As thunder rumbled, he opened the umbrella and looked at Emi who scooted closer to him so she wouldn't get wet. "You ready?" He murmured.

Emi nodded. Aichi and Emi started walking together to their home.

ZZ

The next day, Aichi sat in his seat trying to pay attention to Yamato-sensei. He was lecturing in a monotone voice which made it hard though. Aichi sighed silently and took out the drawing of Blaster Blade Liberator he had started the day before giving up on trying to pay attention once again. He glanced out the window beside him to see that it was raining outside. This time, Aichi was prepared and remembered to bring his umbrella. Since there was no club again, he was planning on going to Card Capital after class ended. He went back to concentrating on his drawing. A few minutes later, the bell rang signaling the end of classes for the day.

Aichi wrote down the homework and put his paper and pencil into his school bag. He closed his bag, grabbed his bag with both hands and stood up. As he started walking towards the exit, he heard Naoki shouting angrily. He looked over guessing it was Shingo (like most of the time) but was surprised when he saw Naoki was alone. He walked over curious what Naoki was shouting about. As he got closer, he could hear Naoki cursing himself. "Naoki-kun? What is the matter?" Aichi asked stopping beside his friend's seat.

Naoki looked beside him to see Aichi standing there. "Oh Aichi. It is horrible! I have an urgent appointment to go to but I forgot my umbrella. Why am I so forgetful? Damn it!" Naoki shouted.

Aichi winced a little at the volume and made a quick decision. "Naoki-kun," He said making Naoki look at him once more. "You can use my umbrella if you want," He said opening his bag and getting his umbrella out.

Naoki brightened at Aichi's offer. "Really Aichi? You don't mind?"

Aichi closed his bag and nodded at his friend. He smiled as he offered the umbrella silently asking Naoki to take it. Naoki grabbed the umbrella and looked at Aichi. "Thanks Aichi! I owe you one! I'll return your umbrella to you tomorrow okay?" He said walking over to the exit with his school bag in one hand and Aichi's umbrella in the other hand. He ran away before Aichi could respond obviously in a hurry.

The thunder rumbled and as Aichi took out his outside shoes from his shoe locker, he glanced outside to see it had started pouring. He grimaced; he had to sprint through the rain for the second day in a row. He wouldn't have had to originally since he brought his umbrella but he had already lent his to Naoki. Aichi didn't regret his decision though; he would do anything to help his friends out even minor things like this.

After taking off his inside shoes, Aichi put them inside his shoe locker. Closing his shoe locker and putting on his outside shoes, he lifted his arms over his head and started sprinting out into the rain. After running for a while, Aichi rested under a store's overhang trying to get his breath back. This reminds me of what happened yesterday. But Kai-kun won't be coming along again like yesterday. He thought.

"Aichi?" Aichi looked up and to his surprise Kai was standing in front of him just like yesterday. Except this time Aichi felt embarrassed getting caught like this again.

"Good afternoon Kai-kun," He said offering a smile at the brunette.

Kai raised an eyebrow at the shorter boy. "Forgot your umbrella again, did you?"

Aichi rubbed the back of his neck with one hand embarrassed. "Actually, I lent mine to Naoki-kun," He said. Seeing Kai just stare at him he quickly added, "It is fine! I'll just run to Card Capital. In fact, I think the weather is lightening up some." The rain started pouring heavier and the wind blew furiously as if the weather was responding to what he just said. Aichi sweat dropped watching the weather get worse silently.

Kai shook his head and grabbed Aichi's arm bringing the smaller boy to his side under the umbrella. Aichi blushed and raised his gaze to Kai's face. Kai let go of Aichi and gestured for them to start walking.

Aichi eyed Kai nervously as they walked along the street. He didn't think he would share an umbrella with Kai two days in a row. Being alone with Kai made Aichi nervous. Lately it seemed like there was an awkward vibe whenever he met up with the older boy. He also felt Kai gazing at him a lot lately, especially when he was cardfighting somebody. Aichi didn't know what that meant. He didn't want to get his hopes up thinking Kai was interested in him but he didn't know what else it could be. He had ignored it at first thinking it was his imagination or a dream but after convincing himself it wasn't a dream multiple times (usually by pinching himself which would warrant confused looks from his friends) and seeing it happen too many times, he finally accepted that it was reality.

Kai glanced at Aichi making Aichi look away hurriedly lest Kai caught him staring. "Aichi," Kai said.

Aichi gulped inaudibly nervous that Kai caught him staring and was going to ask him about it. "W-What is it Kai-kun?" He asked. His stuttering made him cringe as that made it more apparent he was nervous.

Kai raised an eyebrow confused as to why Aichi was nervous and stuttering. He decided to forget about it for the moment and ask something else instead. "You didn't have club activities today either?" He asked.

Aichi sighed inwardly relieved that Kai didn't ask him about his nervousness. "We're taking a break from club today. I think everybody might be at Card Capital to hang out though," He said smiling up at the brunette.

"So you are free then?"

That question made Aichi stop in his tracks. He hadn't been expecting that question to come out of Kai's mouth. Kai stopped as well so Aichi wouldn't get wet from the rain. "W-What? W-What did you just say?" Aichi asked nervous and a little hopeful of the answer. Did that mean what he thought it meant?

"You are free right now right?" Kai asked not letting anything show on his face.

Aichi nodded. "Yes, I'm free. I was going to Card Capital to hang out with everybody. Why?"

Kai grabbed one of Aichi's wrists and started walking in the opposite direction of Card Capital.

Aichi stumbled a little. Kai had surprised him with the sudden action. "Kai-kun! This isn't the direction of Card Capital," He said. If Kai had heard him, he didn't react at all. He still kept walking in the same direction while holding onto Aichi's wrist. "Kai-kun!" Aichi stopped walking and tried to get Kai to let go of his wrist. Kai turned to look at the smaller boy wondering why he had stopped. "Kai-kun, where are we going? We're not going to Card Capital, are we?" He said.

"…..with me," The words came out in a hurry making Aichi confused and only get to hear the last part.

"Eh?"

Kai let go of Aichi's wrist and looked away from the blue haired boy. "Hang out with me," He muttered. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Aichi open his mouth to respond. "Just the two of us," He said hastily.

Aichi closed his mouth at that. Kai was acting really strangely. Telling him to hang out with him, didn't he usually do that? The two of them hadn't hung out by themselves for a while. Not that Aichi was against it. He loved it when he got to hang out with him even if Kai looked like he was ignoring him the whole time. But now Kai was telling him to hang out with him. He noticed Kai purposefully looking away from him and the hand that was holding onto his school bag run through his hair that was covering his eyes. Maybe he's embarrassed? Aichi thought. It was hard to tell since Kai always had a wall up and he couldn't tell what he was thinking a lot of the time. "Okay," Aichi said.

Kai looked at Aichi his eyes widening a little bit. While he didn't think Aichi would refuse, it was still surprising that he agreed to hang out with him alone. He turned around and gestured for them to continue walking.

Embarrassed Kai-kun is really cute. Aichi thought.

"So if we aren't going to Card Capital, then where are we going Kai-kun?" Aichi asked curiously. The wind blew making Aichi shiver.

Kai said nothing continuing to walk with a purposeful stride making Aichi speed up in order to walk with the brunette side by side. Every so often, Kai would glance beside him to check if Aichi was still beside him. After a while, Kai stopped and Aichi who was trying to keep up with Kai had sped up and accidentally walked past Kai and out into the rain. Kai grabbed Aichi's arm and brought him back under the umbrella once more.

Aichi smiled apologetically at Kai then turned to look at where they were. He was surprised to see an apartment complex in front of him. He looked at Kai. "Kai-kun," He said. Kai glanced at Aichi then started walking forward still holding onto Aichi's arm. Could this be Kai-kun's place? He thought walking forward as well. The blue eyed boy had to admit he felt a little nervous and excited to go into Kai's home. He also felt like he was important to Kai. Since Kai hasn't shown his place to anybody yet and the brunette was letting him see, it must mean something.

He blushed scarlet thinking those thoughts. Sure, he had his own fantasies and dreams of wanting to be closer to his idol but he didn't think it would become a reality. Kai probably thought of him as a really important friend, nothing else. Aichi who was lost in his thoughts walked into Kai who had stopped. Kai glanced at Aichi wondering why the blue haired boy had walked into him. Aichi shook his head offering another apologetic smile.

Kai raised an eyebrow but let it go once more. He let go of Aichi's arm and dug through his pockets looking for his key. After finding the key, he put it in the lock and unlocked his door. The brunette opened the door gesturing for Aichi to go in first.

"I'm sorry for intruding. Please excuse me," Aichi said out of custom and pleasantry. After he stepped into Kai's home, he immediately took off his shoes and put them off to the side where they wouldn't get in the way.

Kai closed his umbrella and shook out most of the water on it before walking into his place. He closed his door and locked it. He took off his shoes as well and placed them next to Aichi's. He leaned the umbrella against a wall near the door off to the side where it wouldn't get in the way. He put on his slippers and got out a pair of guest slippers for his guest. "Wait here," He muttered walking off and disappearing from Aichi's sight. Aichi waited patiently not moving from the entrance respecting Kai's wishes yet he couldn't help but wonder why Kai told him to wait. Kai came back moments later with a towel in his arms. Aichi noticed that Kai had already taken off his jacket, tie and put away his school bag. "Here Aichi," Kai said offering the towel.

Aichi blushed. He had forgotten he was still dripping wet from the rain. Apparently Kai hadn't forgotten which was why he had made him wait at the entrance. "Thank you Kai-kun," He murmured taking the towel and starting to dry himself off. As he dried off, Kai gestured for him to follow. The smaller boy put on the guest slippers and followed Kai. The towel covered Aichi's view as he worked on drying the front part of his hair. "Ooof!" Aichi said surprised at the thing he walked into. He lifted the towel and saw Kai who was in front of him looking at him. Aichi blushed and laughed nervously. He had walked into Kai again. "Sorry Kai-kun," Aichi said rubbing the back of his neck nervously with one hand.

"It is fine," Kai said.

"Thank you very much for the towel Kai-kun," Aichi said holding onto the towel with both hands.

"Yeah," Kai muttered. He took the towel out of Aichi's hands making Aichi protest. He gave Aichi a look which made the smaller boy close his mouth immediately. Kai put away the towel and saw Aichi standing in the middle of the room looking around awkwardly. "You can sit down Aichi," Kai said walking over to the kitchen.

Aichi looked hesitantly at Kai then tentatively sat down at a nearby table looking in Kai's direction. "You need help Kai-kun?" He asked about to get up again.

"No. You are a guest. Just wait a little bit. What do you want to drink?" Kai gave him another look which made Aichi remain seated.

"Um, tea is fine," Aichi said still feeling out of place in Kai's home.

As Kai prepared their drinks, Aichi looked around Kai's home once more. He didn't know what he had been expecting but somehow the plainness of the place didn't surprise him. White walls, an old couch, a TV and a plain looking kitchen area made up where they were now. Blue eyes slid away from looking at Kai's things to look at Kai once more. He really did look handsome in his white long sleeved button down school shirt and blue pants. Aichi shook his head blushing at his thoughts and quickly looked down at the table when Kai turned around with their drinks in his hands.

Kai set down Aichi's cup on the table and sat across from him. Muttering his thanks, Aichi grabbed his warm cup with both hands and started blowing to cool it down. Aichi sipped his drink quietly feeling warmer already. He set down his drink and looked at Kai once more. Kai sipped his drink quietly thinking of what to say when he felt eyes on him. He looked at Aichi and Aichi immediately looked down at the table face red.

Kai narrowed his eyes as he stared at Aichi. Something wasn't right with the smaller boy. "Are you alright Aichi?" He asked setting his drink down. Blue eyes looked at him in confusion. "Your face is red. You didn't catch a cold did you?" He got up and walked over to where Aichi was sitting.

Aichi started to shake his head but stopped when he felt Kai's hand on his forehead and jumped in surprise. "K-Kai-kun. I'm fine, really," He said trying to will away his blush.

Kai didn't respond, not convinced. If the blue eyed boy had caught a cold, he wasn't surprised. Aichi had dried himself off and was currently drinking hot tea but he was in soaked clothes still. Kai walked out of the room making Aichi sigh in relief glad Kai wasn't touching his forehead anymore. Aichi sipped some more of his tea as he waited for the older boy to come back. Kai walked back into the room with some clothes in his hands.

"Kai-kun?" Aichi asked confused setting his cup back down on the table and turning to look at Kai.

"Here. These should fit you. Go take a shower," Kai said holding out the clothes to Aichi not looking at him.

"E-Eh?! Kai-kun, I-I don't need to, really!" Aichi stood up, blushed red and waved his hands back and forth rapidly.

Kai gave a look to Aichi that made him stop what he was doing and grab the clothes. Kai pointed to where the bathroom was and waited until Aichi walked out of the room to sit down. He felt his face warm up as he realized what he just did. He drank some of his now lukewarm tea and felt some more warmth enter his body. One of his hands rose up to his hair that was covering his eyes and ran through the brown locks there. He sat in silence waiting for Aichi to come back. After a little while, he set his cup down and looked over to the direction of the bathroom hearing footsteps coming closer.

"I-I'm done Kai-kun," Aichi said walking into the room dressed in the clothes Kai had given him before. Kai noted that although the shirt was a tad long on Aichi, the clothes fit him perfectly. Aichi was wearing one of his old red shirts and blue pants. He looked really good in his old clothes. Kai looked away from Aichi hurriedly feeling his face warm up again. Aichi sat back down and sipped his now cold tea. "Kai-kun," He said after swallowing the rest of his tea. He held out his cup with both hands.

Kai assumed that meant he wanted more and got up from the table grabbing both his and Aichi's cups to refill them. After refilling both cups with hot tea, he walked back to the table, set down both cups and sat down once more. Murmuring his thanks, Aichi blew on his tea. He sipped his tea smiling at the warmth entering his body.

Aichi and Kai sipped their warm tea in silence each busy with their own thoughts. The blue haired boy realized he should thank Kai for all he's done and set down his cup. "Kai-kun," He said getting Kai to look at him. "Thank you for all of this. Showing me your place, letting me borrow your shower and some clothes," Aichi blushed as he said the last thing.

"Yeah," Kai muttered looking away from Aichi now. "Aichi," He said. Blue eyes looked at him curiously. "No. It is nothing," He said making Aichi stare at Kai in confusion.

Aichi opened his mouth to ask Kai something when a ringing sound interrupted him. Blue eyes looked around the room trying to find where the sound was coming from. He noticed a clock that had been the source of the noise on the wall and noticed the time. "It is getting late. I should get going," He said standing up. He picked up his cup with both hands and swallowed the rest of his tea. "Thank you for the drink," He said setting his cup down, walking over and grabbing his soaked school uniform which were now in a plastic bag.

Kai stood up as well and walked Aichi to the door. He watched Aichi put his shoes on and gave him his school bag. He opened the door and they noticed it was still pouring outside. "I'll be right back," Kai muttered. He grabbed his school jacket and walked back to Aichi. He put on his shoes, grabbed the umbrella and walked out with Aichi.

Aichi watched as Kai closed his door and locked it. They both walked down the steps leading to the front lobby. "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow. I'll wash your clothes and hand them back to you then okay?" He said stopping before the doors. Kai narrowed his eyes at Aichi, grabbed his wrist and walked outside. "Kai-kun?" Aichi asked getting dragged. He watched Kai open the umbrella and felt Kai tugging him forward.

Kai watched Aichi stop next to him under the umbrella. He held out his jacket to Aichi looking away from him.

"Kai-kun?" Aichi asked confused.

"Wear this Aichi. I'll walk you home," Kai said still not looking at Aichi and holding out his jacket.

Aichi blushed red and grabbed Kai's jacket putting it on. "T-Thank you very much Kai-kun," He said. Kai looked back at him and saw Aichi with his jacket on. Aichi noticed Kai was looking at him and smiled gently at him.

"Yeah," Kai said. The brunette looked away from Aichi avoiding the urge to run his hand through the hair covering his eyes. Kai started walking forward with Aichi.

Sometime later, they stopped in front of Aichi's house. Kai walked Aichi to his front door so he wouldn't get wet. Aichi turned around to face Kai. "Thank you very much for walking me home. You can come in you want, Kai-kun," He said. He took off Kai's jacket and offered it to the brunette thanking him once again.

Kai accepted the jacket and shook his head. "I should get back home," He said making Aichi's face fall. Aichi quickly plastered a fake smile on his face. He shouldn't worry Kai; besides the older boy probably had plans of his own to finish. As much as he wanted the older boy to come inside his home, he would have to wait for another time. Kai noticed Aichi's face fall and his fake smile and felt a little bad that he was the cause of it.

"Okay. See you later," Aichi said turning around to face the door. Kai dropped his umbrella, walked up to where Aichi was and wrapped his arms around the smaller boy. The brunette had to admit that he was acting on impulse but it didn't feel bad or wrong at all. Aichi froze, his body tense as he felt Kai hugging him. He blushed crimson and turned his head to look at the brunette. "K-Kai-kun?" He asked. The blue haired boy didn't know what this hug meant. Maybe it was an apology, maybe Kai just wanted to hug him or maybe it was the start of something new for their relationship. If he was honest with himself, he was hoping for the latter but knowing Kai that might take a while. He relaxed after a while enjoying the hug.

The brunette said nothing continuing to hug Aichi. Aichi opened his mouth to speak when Kai turned his eyes on Aichi. Aichi closed his mouth and gulped as he met Kai's gaze. "See you later," Kai said staring into Aichi's eyes not letting anything show on his face.

Aichi nodded. He thought it was odd how he could speak a little while ago but now with Kai looking into his eyes, he couldn't. Kai slowly leaned away from Aichi and let his arms drop from Aichi. The brunette turned away, picked up his umbrella and walked away as if what he just did was nothing. The blue haired boy turned around and looked at Kai's retreating back. He could've sworn he saw Kai's eyes soften while they looked into his own. Something told him that he couldn't just let Kai go like that. He had to do something.

Kai continued walking and put his free hand inside his pants pocket. "Kai-kun," He heard Aichi say. He stopped walking and turned in Aichi's direction wondering what he wanted. He saw Aichi on his tiptoes right beside him. Aichi kissed Kai on the cheek, smiled at him and blushed crimson once more. "See you later Kai-kun," He said going down from tiptoes. The blue eyed boy ran into his house embarrassed at what he just did. Kai stared after Aichi a small smile on his face. He walked away from Aichi's house feeling very satisfied with how this day went.

It had been dark and gloomy for the past two days with the thunderstorms but somehow looking at Aichi's smile made everything better in Kai's world. Maybe he would let Aichi know how he felt about his smile the next time they met.

ZZ

Authors Notes: I'm finished! This one took a while to finish. I wasn't expecting this story to be so long.

If you have time, please review! I would love to know what you thought of my story.

See you next time!