Habit && Routine

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Habit && Routine

Summary: At age sixteen, Niwa Daisuke and Hiwatari Satoshi still endure constant teasing about their roles in the Ice & Snow play two years prior. What happens when harmless teasing... results in reality?

Disclaimer: I don't own D.N.Angel, blah blah blah... Ack! You people know the drill. I'm just writing this so I don't get in trouble. -.-'

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Rendered helpless in his slumber, the sixteen year old Niwa Daisuke tossed and turned as if there was no tomorrow upon his bunk. Settled above the hollow that made up his desk and work area, it was very possible that any more of his restlessness would result in a crash and fall.

Daisuke…

One bright flash of blue and then nothing. Daisuke turned onto his right side, fingers curling, clutching his blanket. Through the chill of the night air, plus the vivid intensity of his dream that seemed to go nowhere, he was shuddering every now and again.

Daisuke.

Daisuke whimpered. He rolled over onto his left side and repeated his actions. He pulled the blanket up over his shoulders to fight off the cold, and shield himself from the meaning of his dream, whatever it was. Yet another vibrant flash of color, followed by the glint of glass.

Daisuke…

Then, he shifted onto his back, and an eerie voice overtook the soft, smooth one that had been present until that moment.

Dark.

Daisuke bolted upright in his bed, eyes open and his breath lost. He panted as though he’d just run a marathon, when in actuality, he’d been laying there the past seven hours.

“What in the…”

“Kyuu…?”

A long-sleeved pajama clad arm moved, and his hand went to rub at the corner of his eye where sleep had crusted. “What was that about?” he asked himself groggily in the dark. His curtains were drawn, but his peripheral vision caught sight of the morning sun’s glow on his balcony.

“Kyuu…” With awoke with great reluctance. “Kyuu!” And yet, he brightened up considerably as he spotted Daisuke awake as well. “Kyuu, kyuu!”

Daisuke chuckled tiredly and patted the little creature’s head. “Morning, With.”

The teenager stretched his arms over his head. The light blue pajamas he wore scooted up his stomach in correspondence. “My alarm hasn’t even gone off yet…”

“Kyuu.”

“Good morning!” a voice suddenly chimed. Daisuke cried out in surprise and fell right over again.

Towa was beaming. “Rise and shine, Daisuke!”

“Kyuu, kyuu!” With was more happy to see her than Daisuke was. The teenager could’ve handled a little more sleep…

“Do I absolutely have to get up now?” he asked groggily. “I’m tired…”

“It’s already seven o’clock, silly! Missus Emiko is making breakfast!”

Daisuke sighed and pushed his covers away. “Alright, I’m up. I’ll be down in a minute.”

“’Kay!” Towa chirped. “C’mon, With.”

“Kyuu!” With hopped off Daisuke’s bed and onto Towa’s shoulders to be carried on out. He was more impatient about his food than Daisuke was, so naturally, he’d be the first one at the table.

Yawning once and stretching again, Daisuke waited until the two had left his bedroom to start climbing down the ladder that led up to his bed. He made a point not to be too quick about it, lest he end up falling over in his fatigue.

Whatever dream he had the night before did a Hell of a number on his nerves and energy. As for Dark… He hadn’t even heard that name since he was fourteen. That was two years ago. No, Dark was gone. Daisuke had his life back, though he found he sometimes missed the trouble-loving entity. He chuckled at the thought of him.

“Dark.” Daisuke shook his head.

But what was the rest of that dream about…?

A face flashed before him just once. A face from his dream, albeit only a partial glimpse of it. Red eyes began to blink. Daisuke recognized that face, but… why couldn’t he pinpoint just where he recognized it from?

Ridding his mind of it for the moment by deciding thinking wasn’t the greatest thing to do on an empty stomach, Daisuke went about finding his school uniform for the day. It was winter now, so long black pants and a matching black shirt with zigzagging white on the collar.

He liked winter, he noted idly as he got himself dressed, though his eyes were fixed out the window. Winter brought snow.

Daisuke loved the snow.

~*~

“Bye, Mom!” Daisuke called out from behind the piece of toast in his mouth as he bolted out the front door and headed down the road.

“Have a good day at school, Dai!” she shouted from the window.

A wave of his hand and then Daisuke was off to school. Routine day, he thought. He appreciated routine more than he used to. Routine was dependable. He found he liked not having to go stealing right when he got home from school. Now, he could just relax. He could paint when he wished, spend time with Riku when he felt like it, and not worry about a thing. Yes, that was the way it was for two years straight. Habit and routine. He loved it.

“Morning, Daisuke!” said a man packing boxes.

“Morning,” he chimed back.

Everyone on his route to school knew him. That was probably because a lot of times, those people were struggling with something or another, and he would stop in his trek to help them out. But today, as he was munching on his buttered piece of toast, wasn’t going to be one of those days. He got to the cable car in good time.

After a few minutes of idle waiting, and he was finished with his toast, the car arrived and everyone shuffled in. Daisuke squeezed between a few people to find a safe haven in the back. He may have been sixteen, but he was still a little short in comparison to some of his classmates, more so these businessmen who he shared the cable car with. Even Riku was an inch or two taller.

Riku… She’d been another habit and routine event. Every Saturday afternoon, they would meet at the restored fountain by the seaside. From there, they trek to a café for a smoothie, and then move on to either Riku or Daisuke’s house where they would spend the rest of the day doing random little things that occupied their time. Riku brought a smile to Daisuke’s face whenever they were in contact, and he did love her.

But…

Crimson eyes traveled out the window of the cable car.

Habit and routine didn’t work well in a relationship. Daisuke wanted something more. Something different… And Riku didn’t have that. In spite of it, Daisuke said not a word and went on about being a good boyfriend. She made him happy. What more did he need?

After a few minutes, the car paused at its next stop. This was the one where Risa boarded. Riku would drive her bike to school.

“Hi, Niwa!” Risa called from the middle of the car, whereas Daisuke was in the back.

“Morning, Miss Harada!” he shouted back with a wave. And then he sunk back down again. With what was on his mind about Riku, he didn’t feel much up to being around either of the Harada’s. Too awkward, he decided.

As the car pulled to a soft-screeching halt, Daisuke was one of the last to exit. He narrowly avoided tripping on the sidewalk as he leaped off of the platform. Congratulating himself silently, he broke into a casual jog to get to the school entrance.

Today’s gonna be a good day.

Finally, school was in sight. He slowed himself as not to run into any of the passing student body. Looking around at random, he failed to notice a rather wide crack in the pavement. The end of his shoelace got snagged in the rift of broken concrete and Daisuke lost his balance.

“Ack!”

He shut his eyes and braced himself for a harsh landing on the pavement, though the cold concrete wasn’t what he felt next. No, this wasn’t the ground… These were arms. Long, lean arms had caught him before he’d collided with the pavement.

“Huh…?” Daisuke dared to look up. Instantly, he was greeted with the sight of baby blue eyes and matching hair.

“Hiwatari!” he exclaimed.

The elder-by-a-few-months teenager chuckled and helped Daisuke up to his feet. “Clumsy as always,” he noted.

Satoshi’s “father” having died two years back resulted in the teenager inheriting just about everything. The house, the car, the money. True, he was still a minor and he lived under supervision, but he was more than independent thanks to his wealth. He’d stayed in high school for another shot at normalcy, and he was thus far succeeding. He had a mild social life, and he was visibly more content than he had been before, albeit only just. There was still a coldness in his eyes at times.

Laughing nervously, Daisuke shook his shoelace free of the gap in the pavement and brushed himself off. “Yeah… Thanks for that. My mom would kill me if I came home with a bruise.”

Ice may have been evident in Satoshi’s eyes, but a warm smile still surfaced.

That much made the faintest of heats spread across Daisuke’s visage.

“Better watch yourself, Niwa,” Satoshi chided. “As much as I’d like to, I can’t be catching you all the time.”

Daisuke smiled. He and Satoshi had grown a bit closer since their ordeal. Whether he liked to admit it or not, he had both Dark and Krad to thank for that. A year with Dark in his body definitely paid off in a few senses.

“Oh, I know,” said Daisuke. “Hey, we better be going. Class is gonna start soon.”

Satoshi stole a glance at his watch. “You’re right.” He nodded off in the direction of the building. “Come on, then.”

And with that, the blue-haired teen led the redhead off into the school’s four walls.

As they were walking, conversing idly, Daisuke couldn’t help but ponder. That flash of blue, the glint of glass… Satoshi had blue hair. Satoshi wore glasses that tended to reflect sharp light. But… Satoshi never said his name. “Niwa” is how he differentiated him from the rest of the class. Never “Daisuke.” On occasion, Daisuke had considered addressing him as “Satoshi,” but wouldn’t that be awkward if the gesture wasn’t returned?

He flushed at the prospect. He knew he was because of the heat on his face.

Why do I keep doing this? Ack, knock it off.

Daisuke credited his constant blushing to be because of the fact that ever since they had participated in the “Ice & Snow” play at school, they were always teased about being a couple. Since they’d become closer friends, sometimes Satoshi would counter the playful verbal attacks, by draping his arm over Daisuke’s shoulders and pretending to whisper in his ear. Daisuke would only blush and lean into Satoshi’s arm, while Satoshi would snicker as soon as the girls’ backs were turned, and then release him.

It was only now that Daisuke began to wish that… Satoshi would do that again.

Wait. What am I thinking?! Quit it!

“… about it?”

Daisuke, snapping away from his reverie, looked over to his companion. “Uhm… What?”

Satoshi sighed. “I said that we have a test coming up and I was wondering if you needed help studying for it.”

“Oh,” Daisuke said in understanding. “Sure thing.” He brightened up considerably, by smiling widely to his companion as they walked on down the hall. “I’d love to.”

“Hey, look! It’s Niwa and Hiwatari,” some random girl whispered to her friends.

“Aren’t they cute?”

Satoshi grumbled lightly, just under his breath. Only Daisuke could’ve possibly heard him. Daisuke promptly began to fight back a blush.

Oh, no… Why is it always those girls who tease us about that stupid play?

They were almost to class. Just a little farther…

Before Daisuke could’ve reacted, Satoshi slung his arm over the backs of Daisuke’s shoulders. Daisuke had expected it, considering Satoshi just loved to tease those girls right back, but that didn’t stop the fact that he had begun to blush, despite all of his effort. Wasted effort, now.

Satoshi abruptly paused in mid-step. Daisuke blinked.

“You’ll really come over, Dai-chan?” Satoshi asked sweetly. They were standing right in front of those three girls, the same ones who had dressed them up so elaborately for the play.

Daisuke froze.

Dai-chan?

“Uh…”

Satoshi’s free hand moved to cradle Daisuke’s fragile chin and tilted his head in such a manner that Satoshi could fake a loving gaze.

He was faking…

Right?

“You know how lonely it gets in that big, empty house of mine. Besides, I think some… studying… could do us both a little good.”

The way Satoshi had said “studying” made Daisuke’s heart skip a beat, as stereotypical as he knew it was.

“What do you think, Dai-chan?”

“I…”

Blushing about seven shades of red, Daisuke fished around for words. In any other situation, he would have responded truthfully and simply. But he knew those girls were watching, and he knew Satoshi was putting on a show.

Daisuke was never much good with adlibbing.

“You’re so cute, Dai-chan,” Satoshi said with a smile as he ran his hand back through those unruly crimson locks. “Blushing like that. It’s adorable. You will come over… Right?”

Satoshi leaned close enough to Daisuke’s face that the redhead could just feel Satoshi’s breath. Hell, he was breathing the very same air that Satoshi was exhaling.

Swallowing back the lump in his throat, Daisuke nodded. “Of course,” he said. Suddenly, he got right with the act and wrapped his arm around Satoshi’s waist with a shy smile. “As long as I can be with you, Sato-kun.”

Now Satoshi was a light shade of pink.

He’s… blushing?

It made Daisuke want to giggle so badly that it hurt, and yet he kept himself silent. Satoshi kept the act up just as strongly and chuckled expectantly. “Good.” He pecked his lips to Daisuke’s nose in mock affection -- no… real affection, Daisuke decided to believe -- and then they were back on their way to class.

The squealing of those damn schoolgirls echoed after them. It made both Daisuke and Satoshi cringe and shudder. Only once they turned the corner did either of the boys even look at each other.

Each one abruptly stopped.

The bell rang, and the entire student body began to file into their classrooms. It was almost a blur to both Daisuke’s and Satoshi’s peripheral vision, but they didn’t turn away from one another. No, Satoshi’s icy blue eyes locked with Daisuke’s deep claret ones and stayed there as the students walked right past them without a thought.

Daisuke was blushing, no surprise, a shade almost as red as his hair.

Satoshi’s arm was still around Daisuke. Daisuke’s arm was still around Satoshi. That was just how it was.

Silence reigned until Daisuke dared to speak.

“Uhm… We… We have to get to class…” His words came out a bit strained.

“I know,” Satoshi said with confidence. So confident in comparison to Daisuke, who was about ready to start trembling.

Satoshi started to move, though it wasn’t to lead them into class. Instead, he inched Daisuke into a little caddy corner between a set of lockers and the wall, a short distance away from wandering eyes of the classrooms.

“H- Hiwatari!” Daisuke exclaimed. “We’re… going to be late…”

Satoshi shushed him gently as he freed his arm and instead placed his hands to Daisuke’s shoulders. “We won’t be that late.”

“But…”

“Shh. I say we give those girls reason to tease us.”

“What are you… What do you mean?” Daisuke asked hesitantly.

Satoshi smiled. This smile was enough to melt the blue-haired teen’s frigid barrier and allow Daisuke to know that this grin, this soft display of emotion was truth. “You’re so naïve,” he teased subtly as he leaned in. Before long, Satoshi’s slim hands found Daisuke’s lean sides and rested there gently.

Daisuke nearly jerked away, but that intense stare delivered from behind thin sheets of glass via cerulean optics prevented such a thing. He was frozen there, trapped like a rat. And yet…

It wasn’t so bad.

“Hiwatari…”

Satoshi grunted lightly in disapproval. “Not Hiwatari,” he scolded him softly as he dipped his head in closer. “Satoshi,” he corrected him, before words made no difference. Almost expertly, even though Satoshi had no experience to speak of, save for a date or two with Harada Risa, Satoshi laid his warm, pale lips upon Daisuke’s own, closing their mouths together for a soft, tender kiss.

Red eyes were quick to widen in shock. Well, he hadn’t expected that. Satoshi’s warm hands were on his hips and his mouth atop his own… Before long, Daisuke found himself melting into the touch. His eyes grew glassy and the lids before them began to fall, while instinct took over. His smaller hands found Satoshi’s arms and grasped gently, while he consented to the kiss offered him and even began to kiss back.

Obviously pleased, Satoshi silently sighed into the embrace, his body leaning forward completely so that his and Daisuke’s forms were pressing closer. In a few moments’ time, the red-haired teen had wrapped his arms around Satoshi’s slender back to pull him closer and Satoshi was only too happy to oblige.

Satoshi’s sinuous tongue had only touched the bottom of the other teen’s tongue, and Daisuke immediately clutched his back. True, Daisuke had often kissed Riku in this manner. Riku was, after all, his girlfriend, and he and Satoshi were at great risk performing such an act at all, let alone on school grounds. Still, it felt only natural to Daisuke to part his lips and welcome in Satoshi’s wandering tongue.

Soon, Satoshi was searching Daisuke’s mouth, probing every cavern and tasting him with fervor. Soft, the kiss stayed, as Daisuke’s own tongue reacted; gently brushing Satoshi’s own and provoking a shiver from the taller boy.

Tongues entwined and lips melded together, both of them were visibly unwilling to let go of one another. Still, the reminder of class hung over their heads and Satoshi reluctantly peeled his lips away first.

Daisuke, breathless, dropped his head against the locker behind him and briefly wrestled with his lungs to get back his stolen breath. He failed miserably, seeing as how the greedy Satoshi had stolen more than his breath in those few moments’ time.

“We should… get to class now,” Satoshi murmured to the other boy tenderly as he gazed down into those beautifully glazed scarlet eyes.

Daisuke nodded. His fingers hesitantly moved back through strands of pale blue hair. “Yeah… We should… get to class…”

Satoshi smirked for a moment. “You really are cute… Dai-chan.”

A smile crept onto Daisuke’s lips and he nodded. He didn’t have any time to reply; Satoshi gently nudged him in the arm and then their focus was set on school.

Or…

They pretended their focus was set on school.

~*~

Of course I'm not leaving it at that. Gosh. =/ Another chapter soon to come. ^^