The ocean seemed to clear the subtle awkwardness of the mood quickly, and the couple were back to their normal bantering and teasing as they returned to the house a few hours later. Akaito's fingers entwined with Kaito's as they walked slowly, enjoying the fresh air and gentle breezes that smelled of the sea. There was a lot to get done yet, so they worked together to put a quick snack into their stomachs and get back to work. The weather had warmed up, forcing them to shed some of their clothes and change into the swim suits Kaito had earlier claimed they didn't have, simply for the sake of comfort. But the atmosphere felt brighter than it had before, and Kaito finally seemed to be over his distracted mental state.

"Oh, wow!" From the other room, the bluenette's voice exclaimed, catching Akaito's attention. "Hey, Akaito, this one's pretty big. You could probably fit inside it yourself!"

Investigating, the curious redhead popped his head in and saw a box that Kaito was gesturing to. It looked rugged; reinforced cardboard. The grinning bluenette turned his head briefly.

"Do you think so?" Akaito stepped over to it and stepped inside, much to Kaito's amusement. He crouched down to test his lover's claim; it was a very tight fit and he couldn't quite do it. "Ah, not quite. Maybe you'd fit, though! I wonder what it was for originally; I haven't seen anything that this box would fit. It's not quite big enough for a refrigerator. Maybe it's just a random extra?"

Kaito laughed and shook his head. "What? No- why would I fit when you don't? We're the same size!"

"Maybe. Or maybe I'm bigger," Akaito smirked naughtily, winking. Kaito flushed, but quickly recovered, and rolled his eyes. "Come on. Try it! I can't be the only one here."

"It kind of looks fun," Kaito said, intrigued despite the obvious outcome, and he crouched down in the box, too. "Nope, not me either. My head's too big."

"I'll let you off that one," Akaito retorted, grinning bigger, and earning a dirty look for a brief moment. "Oh- what about a hole? Then you'd fit, heh."

The redhead scanned the room and found the box cutter. Kaito watched in disbelieving amusement as his lover made a hole in one end of the box, big enough for a head to pop through. A few moments later, apparently feeling satisfied, Akaito stood back up and gestured somewhat grandly to it.

"You're kidding!" Kaito laughed in disbelief, but when Akaito just grinned expectantly, the bluenette shrugged as if to say 'okay,' and he hopped back in the box. The size of the hole was perfect. Kaito craned his head outwards looking around as if he was a giant cardboard turtle. He laughed, feeling dumb, because even though his head did fit, the rest of his body still was a little too big; his butt poked out of the top of the box from the other end. "Still no go, Akaito! My butt must be too bootylicious for this box."

"Okay, hold on. I'm gonna make this happen," Akaito pushed up his invisible sleeves with determination to Kaito's further, shameless amusement. The redhead got stubborn about the weirdest dumb things, but it was always entertaining to watch. It was one of the personality quirks about Akaito that Kaito loved the most.

"Alright. Knock yourself out," the bluenette offered, stepping out of the box and back a little, to watch Akaito's progress. He facepalmed the instant Akaito started cutting a second hold on the other end of the box. It was clear it wasn't for an arm or leg. Kaito tried not to dissolve into ridiculous laughter as the determined redhead finished and looked up authoritatively.

"Okay, done," Akaito proclaimed.

"I'm not getting in that," Kaito exclaimed, unable to hold back his laughter any longer.

"Come on, you owe me," Akaito prodded.

"What?! What for?!" came the disbelieving cry of amused outrage.

"You remember the thing three months ago when-" Akaito didn't get to finish.

"No! That totally doesn't count! And you volunteered for that!" Kaito cut him off, still laughing.

"Do it," Akaito said. "I'm invoking the peer pressure law of chanting you into submission. Get into my masterpiece. Do it, do it. Do it."

Kaito couldn't help himself and he dissolved again into peals of beautiful, helpless laughter. He shook his head and held his hands out, squeezing his tearing eyes shut and giving in. "Okay, okay! I'll do it. You know I can't resist the peer pressure chant of submission. I will beta test your magnificent piece of cardboard magic. But tonight, we get aisu with no teasing on the side!"

Akaito debated that firmly for a moment, but then nodded his agreement, and Kaito hopped into the box once more, putting his head in first and squeezing the rest of the way in with some difficulty. His narrow little butt hung out the back side of the box through the masterful hole Akaito had made for it, looking both comical and strangely really tempting at the same time. Akaito grinned mischievously, picked up the packing tape, and advanced quietly on his lover.

Kaito startled at the ziiiiip sound of tape being ripped and the box being taped effectively shut from above. The box closed perfectly on top of the bluenette, so that only part of his swim trunks and his soft blue head were visible. Kaito craned his neck, grinning in delight at the stupidly ridiculous situation. Akaito moved so that the bluenette could see him as he grinned down at Kaito, but then let his eyes trail over the box and the few visible parts of his lover thoughtfully. It WAS a tempting sight. Very.

"You look kind of like a bonsai kitty in that position. I could fuck you right now and you wouldn't be able to stop me," Akaito murmured almost to himself, but blinked and turned his head sharply as Kaito's pupils contracted and pulsed instantly, the prior amusement suddenly gone and a serious, wide-eyed look of anxiety replaced it. The bluenette stared at him with that expression, and Akaito silently stared back, a long moment stretching out for what seemed like an eternity.

Akaito crouched next to the box slowly and touched the cardboard part of it. He ran his fingertip along it, as if he were touching the person trapped inside of it at the same time. Kaito's wide, silent eyes tried to watch the movement, his sharp ears hearing every soft whisper of material, and feeling the very gentle vibration of the touch through the box. The bluenette's heart sped up, terrified all of a sudden- not of what Akaito might do, but of being disapproved of again. He couldn't bring himself to say a word. He shivered inside the cardboard box, eyes still wide.

"Can you move, Kaito? At all?" Akaito called out softly as he stood again and slowly rounded towards the back of the box. He could still see Kaito's silky blue hair, but the bluenette couldn't crane his head enough to fully see him from the angle he was standing at. At best, Kaito had maybe a little peripheral vision. That might be why he jolted when Akaito touched him suddenly on his still-clothed rear end.

"I... can move my hands just... a little... but, other than that, it's a very tight... fit in here," Kaito managed to reply in an tense, almost strangled voice as Akaito moved his hand lower to try to sneak under the swimming trunks and touch Kaito's soft balls directly. He couldn't quite manage it. Kaito's family jewels were trapped on the inside of the box, away from the ability to touch or tease. Akaito's heart clenched in his chest.

"I love you, Kaito," The redhead's voice ghosted from somewhere behind the bluenette after a very long, anxiety-filled few moments. "I love you so much that even if you didn't have arms and legs, I'd still want you just as much."

The bluenette struggled to keep his breathing even in the tight quarters, focusing so hard on his lover's words as he was. Another long silence stretched out before Akaito continued to speak in an even quieter tone.

"...Kaito? Before, you said... you were afraid I might leave you someday? I can't even imagine thinking you might leave me. Not because I'm so perfect or great, or whatever. I just... I can't let you go. I always want to touch you. I want to be with you. I need to be with you. And the thought that you don't feel the same... I don't know what to do. Maybe I should keep you locked in this box so you can't drift away from me... like you've been doing... the last few days. I need your happy face, I need your voice, your presence, your eyes... your body. I need you. How do I make you understand how you're everything to me? I want to give you everything /you/ need, too. I don't want to hurt you or scare you or take away anything from you. But I..."

Kaito barely breathed as he continued to listen to the redhead's quiet voice. Akaito rarely spoke like this. This level of seriousness. But the words twisted in the bluenette's heart. He cast his gaze down and tried to swallow the hurt in his chest. His selfish request had caused Akaito to worry this much. The guilt and shame hurt, but just as much, it hurt that his lover's words reinforced that Akaito didn't understand. That hurt the most. Despite trying to explain things, despite everything, Kaito suddenly felt very alone.

"Akaito..." Kaito said quietly into the long silence. It hurt. "Let... Akaito, let me out of the box now."

There was no reply.

"Akaito?" Kaito felt alarmed as the silence stretched on. Had Akaito left? Was Akaito... leaving, like he'd reassured himself over and over again that his lover never would? A feeling of panic began to settle in and an edge of real fear came into Kaito's voice as he called out again. "Akaito?"

"You're... so beautiful," the redhead's deep voice finally answered quietly. Kaito's rising panic didn't calm much, but he listened with every fiber of his being, eyes frightened. "You're... so beautiful, Kaito. All... all I want to do is touch you. Don't go away from me. I love you. Kaito? I need you. I don't... want to hurt you... so..."

Kaito's alarm quieted a little and his face grew more concerned and less scared with Akaito's continuing words.

"I know. I... trust you, Akaito," the bluenette replied trepidly. "Please let me out now."

"No," Akaito said, jarring Kaito's nerves further. "No. You don't trust me. You're scared right now, because... because of something maybe I don't understand. Kaito, if you get really scared or seriously hate something, I... say your own name. I'll stop. You don't have to trust me. But... you're... so beautiful."

Something cold and thin and metal against Kaito's bottom gently cut through the fabric of his swim trunks. Kaito's eyes instantly went huge at the sound and feel of the box cutter, the suddenly shocking, cool, slimy feeling of lubricant, and the warm, dry, confident touch of his lover's red-tipped fingers rubbing in small circles against the tender area of his quivering backside.

"Akaito?!" Kaito asked, his heart deeply alarmed.

"Kaito..." The sound and vibration of the cardboard being touched from somewhere, the sound of clothes being dropped and stepped out of. Akaito's warmth near him, being soaked up and captured by the material of the box. The slight pause and the change in the tenor of Akaito's voice. "Kaito... Tell me, 'No.'"