Aku sighed as he looked at the paper in his hand for the millionth time that day. I don’t see why he gave this to me...he is so scared of me...I will probably scare him off completely if I do call him. He pulled himself out of his thoughts enough to make his way to class, the class that he shared with Amal.  "Here goes nothing," he muttered to himself as he walked into class, once again the last student in. The only seat open was the one beside Amal. He sighed and sat down and pulled out his laptop and just sat there looking at the screen as it booted up. He wanted to say something to Amal but he was half afraid that the boy would bolt for the door as he did in the restaurant.

Amal glanced sideways at him once, then twice. He had been a little confused when Aku didn't call him, and a little disappointed to. But then after the way he had fled Aku last time, Amal supposed he couldn't blame him. Amal slid into his e-mail and sent off a quick note.

Aku muted his computer as it dinged and he went into his email and looked at the email Amal had sent him.

Aku,
I'm sorry about the other day. Forgive me? T_T I really liked the food though, I had to threaten my roommates to keep their hands off of it, and the last bit of Alfredo still got stolen. When I find out who took it... So, uhm, can we maybe, still be friends? Or did I make you hate me? I'd be sad it I did.
-Amal

He looked over at the small boy and then down at his computer again to type a quick response.

Amal,
No, I don’t hate you.  We can be friends if you want. It’s all right I scared you. Nothing more. I’m glad you like the food though.  Whenever you want more, you just give me a call. Here’s my number. (578) 612-3186
-Aku

Once he was done he pressed the send button. His tail wrapped around his waist again and he leaned back in his chair, still not paying any attention to the teacher. The teacher likewise ignored him.

Amal's quick eyes scanned the e-mail and then his fingers even more quickly typed his response. To everyone else he supposed it just looked like he was taking notes of the teacher's lecture.

Aku,
Okay, I admit. You did scare me. I...I thought you were just using me. Most of us 'freshies' are just that: fresh meat to more capable seniors. Can you blame me for being wary?
I still want to be friends with you...

Amal stopped typing for a few seconds, and considered whether or not he really wanted to put the next line. Then it was decided, and he typed it and sent it off without a second thought.

...And maybe even more???
- Amal

Aku pressed the mail icon as it showed he received a new one. He quickly read it and went to write his response.

Amal,
That is up to you.  I was just trying to be nice yesterday. I can’t blame you. Friends or more, it’s your choice. I know what I would like to be but it has to be your choice.  If you want another lunch come on by the restaurant anytime. It’s always on the house.
-Aku

At that moment the professor chose to pick on Aku and called him just as he pushed the send button. He asked him to explain the process of something to the class. Even though Aku hadn’t been listening, he stood up and told in perfect detail the process then sat back down.

Amal blinked and shook his head. Aku wasn't just cocky and, Amal forced himself to admit it, hot – he was also smart. Amal shifted impatiently in his seat after reading the last e-mail; he wanted to talk to Aku in person instead of just through e-mail.

As if on cue, the bell rang and Aku began to pack up his laptop as the professor tried, unsuccessfully, to glare holes in Aku's head.

Amal looked between the professor and Aku and smiled, then slipped his laptop away and stood, his ears perked happily and his tail swaying. "Aku, what are you doing after this?" he asked.

"Going home. What about you?" Aku stood up and stretched as he shouldered his pack and made sure his tail wrapped itself safely around the strap of his pack.

Amal blushed and looked down, and his ears flattened to his head in a sheepish gesture. "Well, uhm, I was hoping, maybe, I could hang out with you for a little?"

Aku nodded. "If you want.  I have to do some work around the restaurant but if you don’t mind then you’re more then welcome."

Amal's ears drooped. Aku seemed a lot more distant today than he had been. Amal knew it was his fault. But he smiled and said, "Sure, that sounds wonderful!"

Aku ruffled the boy’s hair and then walked out of the classroom. He left Amal to follow him if he wanted to. He noticed the way Amal had been somewhat excited, and it hurt him to be so curt with the cute boy, but he had to watch what he did at school. As his thoughts turned more towards the dirty side, he had the untimely luck that one of the girls he had been with recently walked up and rubbed against him.

Amal blinked and backed up from where he had been following Aku. Who was this girl, and why was she doing that to Aku? Better yet, was he feeling jealous? Yes, as a matter of fact he was. He blinked and looked at Aku for an answer.

Aku grinned smoothly and whispered something to her making her blush and giggle.  With a gentle kiss on her lips he patted her rear and sent her on her way before looking at Amal.

Amal backed up one step and then two, his eyes wide and his tail taking on a bottlebrush aspect. He didn't like what he just saw, didn't like it at all. Partly because it made him feel jealous and partly because it made him think Aku really was just a player looking for a challenge and that challenge he had found had been Amal.

Aku turned full face Amal. "Amal..." he says softly and then takes a step closer to the smaller boy.  He wasn’t sure what he wanted to say about what Amal had just witnessed.

Amal took another step back as Aku took a step forward. He was starting to shake a little and his tail, if it was possible, puffed up even more. "No, st...stay away. I was right...you...you just want to use me...I'm just a game to you," he stuttered. Tears began to brim in his eyes but they were not allowed to spill over yet.

"Amal that wasn’t what you think it was...she was a girl I used to be with.  There is no game I’m playing with you...please...lets just go to my place and talk about this ok...Please..." Aku holds his hand out to Amal.

Amal sidesteps the offered hand. "Against my better judgment, I'll go to talk with you," he said quietly, yet with a pain in his voice. "But do not touch me, and do not come close to me." He started off; he remembered the way from yesterday. Even if it was an old girlfriend as he said, why did he let her rub on him, what did he whisper to her, and why did he kiss her and smack her that way?

Aku sighed and walked slower after the smaller boy. "Amal you might as well slow down. The door is locked. I won’t touch; I promise,” he says softly as his bangs once again fall to cover his eyes.

Amal ignored him but when they approached the restaurant he did slow down and then stopped by the door. His tail was still fluffier than usual and his ears were plastered to his head pointing backwards and he was just barely managing not to growl or cry

Aku moved by Amal, making sure not to brush him and unlocked the door. He moved inside and held the door open for him. "Come on in…" He tried to think of a way to convince the boy that there was no game being played. 

Amal's tail twitched and he edged through the door so that he didn't have to brush Aku and then sat at a table near the door so he could leave quickly if necessary. "So, talk."

"Amal...I haven’t been playing a game with you...not from the beginning. When I saw you...there was something that drew me to you. I couldn’t help but hack into the school system to get your info...I had to know about you..." He spoke quietly as he shut the door and sat down at the same table as Amal but on the opposite side.

Amal's ears remained plastered to his hair. "You kissed her, you smacked her, I don't even want to know what you whispered to her. You're a playboy, the school playboy. I had heard rumors but...I didn't want to believe it because I felt drawn to you too. But how can I believe I'm not just another 'victim' to be used and tossed aside?”

"I whispered that I would pack her a special dinner and send the runner boy, her boyfriend, over by her place tonight." He sighed and leaned back in his chair. "I kissed her because we still get along and it was just a friendly little peck. I smacked her bottom because I always do that. It was a old joke for us."

Amal twitched his ears. Could he believe him? "And that's why she rubbed up on you? An old joke?" He failed at keeping the jealousy out of his voice.

"She still likes me...but it has been over seriously for a while...before she got with my delivery boy a couple days back before you got here. I had a one-night stand. She knew it was that...but I think she wants to continue it..." He sighed and leaned forward. He put his forehead on his hands and his elbows on the table.

Amal sighed and his tail swished. "Well what am I to you Aku? A game? A one-night stand? Just a friend? What?"

"Amal...you are my friend...and I hope you can be more than that. I want you as more then a one night stand...I want you as my lover...I really deeply and truly care for you...No one else that I have been with or seen has ever eaten my food or even been to my restaurant while I was courting them or even when I was with them. They didn’t even know I own this place...you are the first to come here..." He looked up at Amal so that he can see the truth in his eyes.

Amal blushed and his ears flattened to his head again, this time in embarrassment. Did   Aku just say...lover? Amal looked down. "I...Aku...I...I was jealous," he whispered.

Aku sighed softly. "You don’t have to be...I have never felt the way I do now for anyone else... I’ll understand if you don’t believe me though..." He stood up and started to walk away from the smaller boy.

Amal looked up and then suddenly stood and ran the short way to Aku, half-slamming into his back as he wrapped his arms tight around him from behind, crying a little. "No, I don't want you to go away..."

Aku pulled Amal’s arms off him and turned around to face him, tilting Amal’s head back so he could look him in the eye. "Is that true?" he questioned softly and stroked the boy’s cheek softly.

Amal's eyes closed as he instinctively leaned towards Aku’s hand, a small purr coming out before he blushed. He let himself look into Aku’s eyes and then glanced down, nervous, before he looked back up again. "Yes, I...I liked the way it felt when you held me yesterday," he whispered.

Aku smiled. He leaned down and kissed Amal softly, and held him tightly against his own larger body.  His hands rubbed Amal’s back gently and tried to relax him.

Amal stiffened when Aku kissed him then melted and relaxed a little. Amal’s eyes drifted closed and his arms loosened their grip on Aku slightly. He let himself be held up by Aku’s arms. He had never been kissed before, and these feelings still were new and somewhat scary to him. When the kiss ended he kept his eyes closed and leaned his head into Aku's shoulder. He allowed himself to rest in the feeling of Aku’s warmth and his arms around him.

Aku let his hand move down a bit more and stroked the base of Amal's tail and just rocked with him gently in his arms. "Its ok...I won’t do anything more now...I know you’re inexperienced..." He whispers softly into the boy’s ears

Amal sighed contently and relaxed even more and started to purr, his eyes still closed as Aku stroked the base of his tail and held him so gently. The gentle stir of Aku's breath sent a shiver through his body and his purr grew slightly stronger. He admitted he was inexperienced, greatly, and he just wanted to take things slow with Aku, try to sort through the confusion of all these new feelings and thoughts and sensations.

Aku kissed Amal's ears gently and stroked the base of his tail a little more as he held Amal closer.  "Amal..."

Amal nuzzled even deeper into his grasp and purred louder but then stopped when Aku whispered his name. "Mmm?" he asked quietly. "Yes Aku?"

He pulled away from the smaller Neko. "Maybe we should stop for now,” he said quietly but continued to caress Amal’s cheek.

Amal frowned and his tail flicked once. "Do we have to? I like being held by you." And to his surprise he found he meant it. He didn't think he knew of anything else that he liked better than being held by Aku. "I mean, I'm not saying I'm ready to go farther, but do we have to stop cuddling?" His lids were half-closed and he was leaning into Aku's caress

He nodded. "Alright...but let’s sit down…" He kissed Amal again softly and then playfully pinched his cheek before he picked Amal up and carried him to the back and up some stairs to his room and sat down in a large chair and held Amal close. "How is this?" he whispered softly.

Amal had let out a small mewl when he found himself suddenly picked up but then when they were in the chair he found he could snuggle with Aku even easier. He wrapped his arms around Aku's neck and nuzzled his head into his shoulder. He breathed in Aku’s scent as his eyes began to drift closed.

Aku rubbed his back a little more and rocked him gently as he began to hum.  He continued to rub Amal's back tenderly, trying to relax him completely.

Amal relaxed slowly. He was really very tired and tense. He had been working so hard on school he wasn't getting a lot of sleep. So it wasn't long until he did fall asleep, right there in Aku's arms.

Aku smiled softly down at the boy in his arms. He maneuvered very slowly and gently until Amal was stripped down to his boxers. Then Aku tucked Amal into his bed and stroked his hair gently as he sat beside him, making sure he was deep asleep.

Amal hadn't even woken during the process of his clothes being removed. When Aku placed him in the bed he curled up on his side, facing the warmth of Aku. Other than that he didn't move except to breathe. It was the most peacefully he had slept in a long time

Aku grabbed the phone and called Amal’s roommates to let them know where he was before he stripped down and headed towards the bathroom

Amal stirred briefly in bed but then he managed to get hold of one of the pillows on the bed. He wrapped his arms tight around the pillow and after that he settled back down.

After twenty minutes or so Aku came back out in only boxers and smiled down at Amal. "You little mink...you had better share that pillow" he whispered to Amal and gently moved him over as he slipped into the bed.

When Aku moved Amal, he started and woke up, blinking and looking around sleepily. Then he realized he was in his boxers. After that he realized Aku was in his boxers. His ears shot up and the panic in his eyes was crystal clear. "A...Aku

"Shh...you fell asleep so I undressed you and put you to bed. I called your roommates and told them you would be staying with me for a while and I just got out of the shower. I was just going to hold you…I swear,” he whispered soothingly as he gently stroked Amal’s arm, trying to ease the panic he saw in Amal’s eyes.

Amal took a few deep breaths and under the covers his tail lost its bottle-brush look. He swallowed and nodded, trying not to admire Aku in his boxers too obviously. He laid back down in the bed and scooted closer to Aku. He abandoned the pillow as he looked at Aku, his eyes practically begging to be held.

Aku grinned and hugged the boy close. He buried his face in Amal’s neck. "Mmm you always smell so good..." he kissed Amal’s neck softly then rubbed his back softly, letting his fingers trace over the gentle flesh.  "And I must say…your skin is even softer then I thought when I first saw you…"

Amal shuddered and moaned softly. He blushed at Aku's words as he found himself being coaxed into sleep again. "Mmm, that's good then." His eyes drifted closed. "You smell good too," he mumbled sleepily.

Aku chuckled softly and kept his face buried in Amal’s neck. Aku held Amal as close as he could as he slowly slipped off to sleep beside his little lover.