Not that they were close. If Aki had actually trusted people enough to have real friends in life, Yuki would certainly not be his best friend. They were too different for that. But still, they got along, and they could TALK about things. That counted for something surely.
As he wrapped the towel around himself before going back to his room to change, he started humming. There was no particular tune- just nonsense notes as they came out. It didn't matter. He was HAPPY. It was an extraordinarily new feeling for him, really.
Not even running into Yuki in the hallway outside the bathroom could jolt him out of his euphoria. Yuki didn't hate him, he would have no cruel words for the white-haired klutz now practically skipping to his room. When we he went into his room, there would be nothing surprising, no cruel tricks played on him by a vengeful black-haired boy. Though, perhaps Yuki had looked a trifle embarrassed, there was something a little shocked in his eyes when he saw Aki half-naked, dripping water down the hallway. But certainly embarrassment was normal when you collided with your roommate humming tunelessly in the hallway, skipping in idealized bliss.
Now fully dressed in a white shirt and jeans, Aki skipped again out into the hallway, crashing face-first into Yuki- the boy who didn't hate him, unless it was because he was so KLUTZY- and falling back into the wall. There was no denying it this time, Yuki was definitely blushing when they made eye contact. Well, then.
Aki opened his mouth to say he was sorry before going back to his state of impermeable happiness, but the signals must have gotten crossed. "YOU DON'T HATE ME!" It was practically a scream, really.
"Is that what you've been so happy about then?" Yuki didn't seem angry at all, actually, but was instead offering Aki a hand up.
"Yes… ooph." The last was because Yuki had pulled rather too hard, and the boys had collided again on Aki's way up. They were now standing there hugging. In the hallway. Aki was hugging Yuki in the hallway. Yuki, the boy who didn't hate him, or hadn't hated him, until Aki's clumsiness had resulted in a painful, embarrassing hug in the hallway. Yuki, who was holding him rather too tightly.
It was Aki's turn to be embarrassed as he pulled back and darted away before he could see the blush slowly creeping across Yuki's face.
Aki couldn't sleep. At home, he'd always been a light sleeper. He'd stayed up almost every night while he was alive, terrified that his mom would come home drunk or wake up hung over and take it out on him. It was sad that in the first month in purgatory he'd probably gotten more deep sleep- angry Yuki, unconscious mental ordeal, and all- then he had in the last year at home. He'd always blamed his insomnia on the fear, but he wasn't scared now, yet he certainly couldn't sleep. The last good sleep he'd gotten was that night that he and Yuki had had their conversation- a real, honest-to-god conversation!- and he'd fallen asleep in Yuki's bed, embarrassing as that was.
Muttering quietly about not being able to sleep, Aki tiptoed past Yuki's room, down the stairs, and into the kitchen, where he stopped, surprised. Blinking, he wondered why Yuki was sitting there, drinking coffee, at one in the morning. Of course, he wasn't one to judge, considering here he was, blinking, in that same kitchen.
"Coffee?" Aki was too dazed to be grateful for Yuki's uncharacteristic offer. Taking the mug from Yuki's outstretched hand, he gulped down some of the black liquid, pulling a face when he realized it was unsweetened.
"Sugar," he said as he reached for the container, dumping what must have been half a cup into the mug.
"Sorry, I forgot you like it sweetened." It was only then that Aki's head had cleared enough to realize that it really was Yuki- the boy who probably didn't hate him anymore- sitting in the kitchen, who had just given him a mug of coffee- his mug, Aki realized.
"S-s-sorry. I wouldn't have taken it if I knew you were offering me yours."
"What? Why? I offered, so you had every right to accept. I probably would have been offended had you refused."
"Want it back? I know you don't like sugar in your coffee, but… well, you can have it."
"Nah, I'll pour some more. This is the second pot, anyway. I won't desperately need more caffeine for a little while."
"Second pot…" Aki wondered fleetingly at Yuki's strange behavior as the dark boy poured more coffee into a second mug, stopping when he realized that he had NO IDEA if this actually was strange behavior.
"So…"
"So."
"What are you doing up?" Yuki's mouth voiced the question that Aki had been thinking.
"I couldn't sleep. You?"
"We~ell, I've been having these dreams as of late. I thought, just maybe, if I didn't go to bed for a while, I could avoid them."
"Ah. Nightmares?" Aki was certainly no stranger to that concept.
"Not exactly…" Aki was surprised to see that Yuki was blushing.
The two boys sat in silence for a while. It was only when Aki glanced up at the clock-it was now 2 AM- that he realized Yuki had been staring intently at him for a while, while his thoughts had been absorbed by the steam twisting over the black mass in his cup. He blushed when they made eye contact and looked down again.
"I'm sorry for being such a klutz today. I hope you don't change your mind about hating me. I know I can be an idiot sometimes."
"You're being one now. I don't drink coffee in the wee hours of the morning with people who annoy me or even people who I might decide to hate. Besides, I should be sorry for hugging you like that. That whole incident was really more my fault, anyway."
"It's okay. I'm not used to being hugged like that, though. It was kind of nice. Every time my mom hugged me I was always more scared of her than anything."
Aki wondered what that noise was, and then realized that it was Yuki choking on his coffee. He looked with some concern at the dark boy, and then realized Yuki was blushing. His embarrassment must've been communicable, because Aki could feel an answering blush creeping over his cheek. Why was his heart beating so loudly?
"I- I should go to bed. Good night." Aki didn't know why his voice shook as he said that.
"Good night," said Yuki with some regret, dark eyes following the blonde boy up the stairs.
Aki lay awake in his bed a long time that night. Why was his heart beating so hard at the thought of Yuki and the scarlet blush that had played over the dark boy's cheeks? Why was he so glad for his company? Why did he feel so lonely, here alone in bed?
His questions paled in comparison to Yuki's, though he couldn't know that. Neither boy got much sleep that night.