The Kiss:

Shindo Hikaru had a problem and this was a veeeeeeeery big problem to him. As he thumbed through the pages of the book that a certain redhead had given to him the other day, he stopped at the one that had the words:

The Second Stage

…. blazoned upon it as a heading. He had studied the book diligently. He had memorized every step in which to take to make sure that his wooing methods would be up to par. But as much as the book seemed to make everything look easy, the main problem still remained.

He had never kissed anyone before.

Oh, sure he had given the occasional peck here and there, but…to actually go all the way with anyone?! Shindo had never really given that much thought to it at all…that was until he and a certain rival had begun to get even friendlier. According to the book, the ‘warning’ signs had begun to show. And what were these warning signs you might ask? Why, just in chapter two, the author had pointed out a series of events that would make one believe that such a thing was about to occur.

There are several ways to know when your partner is ready to make the first move in a relationship. One very important sign to take note of, is the way she tends to move a little bit closer to you each time. No, my dear reader, it is not your imagination…she clearly wants to get to you better. So go for it, Romeo! This is the chance you have been waiting for. A chance to finally get to see what those lips are really for….the kissing stage.

Shindo gulped and wiped his hand across his forehead, feeling the sweat break out on his skin.

The kissing stage.

It was clear that his rival was looking for that. Just last night alone, Touya had been sitting so close to him that Shindo was sure he had been ready to sit on his lap! And then there were those rather coy or shy glances he kept getting from the longhaired boy…

If she begins to flirt even more than usual with you, then you know without a doubt that she is more than ready to make the first move with you. Watch out for batting eyelashes, shy smiles, coy grins and the ever-popular senseless giggle that comes after every corny joke you make.

Did Touya giggle?? Shindo wasn’t really sure. He had this light laugh he gave when something amused him…but Shindo wasn’t sure he could call that a giggle.

Cursing softly knowing that he had little time left, he flipped the pages to the very one he was looking for:

How to make her moan with just your lips…in other words THE BIG SMOOCH!

And like a boy possessed, Shindo furrowed his brows and began to study.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Akira stole another puzzled glance at his companion as they made their way across the bridge. For one thing, this was not their usual route home and secondly, Shindo had been acting a little bit strange lately. The bleached blonde looked preoccupied and had had this intense stare that was nothing like the look he had while playing Go. Touya gripped the edge of his bag and remained silent, since Shindo hadn’t exactly said anything much to him either.

Their steps led them towards a park and watching the kids on the playground brought a small smile to his lips as he tucked a stray strand of hair from his face. It was a beautiful evening. Just perfect for two people to…

“Waaah! Shindo! What…what is it?!”

He found himself being gripped, rather harshly, on his shoulders as the other boy was now staring at him with a look in his eyes that had Akira gulping in growing worry. What was wrong with Shindo? Why did he look so…?

“To…Touya!” Shindo began roughly. This was it! This was the big moment! He was going to kiss Akira right here and right now…on his lips…in front of everybody…there was no backing out now!

“Shin…Shindo…?” came the bewildered response as Akira was helpless to stop the light blush that filled his cheeks.

“Touya…I…I…”

Akira blinked. “You…you can’t what?!” His panicked mind went into overdrive again. “You aren’t going to quit playing Go again, are you?! Shindo!!” Now, it was his turn to place his hands on the blonde’s shoulder as he shook him roughly. “Don’t you dare quit playing Go on me again!! I won’t let you, do you hear me?!”

For a moment, Hikaru allowed himself to be shaken, wondering how the subject had changed so suddenly. Realizing that Akira was about to go hysterical on him, he stomped his foot and bellowed out in frustration.

“No, I am not quitting Go, Touya!!”

“Oh.” Akira released him gently with a small sigh of relief. “Goodness…don’t do that again to me, Shindo. For a moment I thought…” He stopped and frowned. “So, if you aren’t quitting…what were you calling my name for?”

“Calling your name?” Shindo asked with a blank look on his features.

“Uh…yes? You kept calling me and you were holding my shoulders…”

The kiss!!

It was Akira’s turn to blink as his face filled with color. Had Shindo just said…? “Wha…what…what do you mean?” And why in Kami’s name was his heart pounding so fast now?

“What do I mean by what?”

“You just said the…the…kiss…”

Shindo gasped and blushed in embarrassment. Had he said that out loud? Damn his mouth!

“Uh…I…eh…I…” He scratched the back of his head and shuffled his feet nervously, suddenly unable to look at the other boy any longer. “I…I…”

Why wasn’t the ground opening up to swallow him by now?

Akira shuffled his feet as well and stared at the ground with seeming fascination, the color not fading from his cheeks as he waited patiently for the blonde to make the first move. After what seemed like eons, Hikaru lifted his gaze shyly and asked quietly.

“Would you…I mean…may I…if you don’t mind that is…I mean…” This was definitely not going very well. Who knew kissing another person could be this difficult?

Akira took a step forward, still not lifting his gaze. Hikaru noticed the movement and couldn’t help smiling a little. With similar tentativeness, he moved a bit closer himself and then stopped. Akira took another deep breath and moved even closer, stopping himself as bare inches separated them at this point. He felt hot – incredibly hot and now he burned as he felt Hikaru’s finger below his chin, gently lifting it up to force their gazes to meet.

In a voice that sounded a bit alien to him, Akira muttered out softly. “I haven’t kissed anyone before, Shindo…so…hurry up and let’s get this over with before I lose my nerve.”

Well, this was certainly not romantic, Shindo thought with an inward sigh, but he could tell that Akira wanted to do this just as badly and trying to remember all that the book had thought him, he closed his eyes and slowly closed the distance between their lips.

A feather like caress was how it begun.
Two tentative touches as if testing to see,
Who would crack beneath the pressure.
He tasted like ramen…
He tasted like heaven…
Eyes fluttering closed
Breaths mingling as one
Was that a tongue?
Oh, yes, it was…
As they part to warmly welcome it in.
Knees feel weak…
Can barely stand…
I have to stop…or God help me…I won’t stop…

They pulled apart and stared at each other with something akin to surprise in their depths. Even though they were both still blushing, Akira was the first to pull back with a light snort and a slight toss of his head as he began to walk away.

“You call that a kiss, Shindo?” He taunted. “Even Saeki-san was better than that.”

Shindo’s jaw dropped to the ground in shock as he began to run after the striding boy.

“Sa…Saeki-san?! Since when did you and Saeki-san…?! And how dare you compare me to him!! I am way better than he is!!”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah, I am!! Let me do it again and you will see, I will make it better this time!!”

“No, Shindo! You got your chance…”

“But I thought you said that you had never kissed anyone before?!”

“……………..”

“Toooooouya?!”

“Forget it, Shindo! This conversation is over!!”

“No, it isn’t! Let me kiss you again! I know I can make it better!!”

And so it was, that Shindo Hikaru’s problem only became so much worse as he realized that he really needed to practice on his kissing skills.

~ OWARI ~