Kiss.

Shiki Sougi

It had been a week since she had moved in with Tsukishima. He didn't go out often, usually just for a quick morning walk and usually stayed inside, reading. The only other times he left the house were to buy groceries (Which had diminished when Shiki began to share shopping duties with him) and to accompany her on one of her whims.

Which was another thing she found interesting. Tsukishima didn't seem like the kind of person who was extremely protective or even caring, but almost every time she wanted to leave the apartment after dinner he would simply put on his coat (he'd leave it if it was particularly hot that day) and walk to the door with her.

He was a man of few words who seemed to only notice what was going on in his book, but Shiki knew that he was in fact very aware of his surroundings. What had happened a few days ago was plenty proof.

. . .

"Agh! Why won't it go in?" Shiki groaned. Great.

Earlier that day she had gotten back a science test with a 45% scrawled on the top.

Then in gym they had been forced to play basketball. One of her shoelaces had become undone and she had tripped, getting a mouthful of dust and a rather nasty gash on her leg.

And now her key wouldn't fit. "Is there some higher force that hates me today?" She felt like screaming. All she wanted was a nice, quick shower and then she wanted to bake some cookies. That always cheered her up. Maybe her aunt would even let her add a bit more sugar...

Her aunt.

And suddenly, the day got infinitely worse.

"Kh!..." All of a sudden Shiki felt a tremendous weight on her very core, sapping away at her strength. She slumped down on her knees in front of her old apartment door. I'm not going to cry! It was getting hard to keep her eyes open. She sat there for a while, not moving.

"I thought you'd be here." Shiki jumped at the voice, startled.

"Who...?" Oh. It was Tsukishima, who had temporary custody of her while they sorted out all the legal issues in her aunt's will.

Of course, he was reading a book.

Silently, he walked over, shrugged off his coat and draped it around her shoulders, then gently but firmly took hold of her arm and led her to the next apartment door, where he lived. All while never once taking his eyes off his book.

Inside the small apartment, he led her to the worn-down but soft couch and sat her down, then sat down next to her and continued reading. Feeling as though the tears she'd cried out already had re-entered her body somehow, Shiki curled up tightly and began slowly rocking back and forth. This went on for a long time, Shiki's rocking gradually slowing down until she had unfurled and sat normally with her eyes closed, leaning against the couch.

Throughout the whole time Tsukishima hadn't said a word, and hadn't left her once, not even for food or the washroom.

Shiki slowly stood on still slightly wobbly legs and took off the coat.

"I'm going to take a shower." Tsukishima glanced up for the first time, nodded, then went back to his book. The shower felt wonderful. As the day's diet and sweat was washed off her she felt immensely refreshed. Drying herself off, she changed into her Doraemon pajamas. She remembered how embarrassed she had been when Tsukishima had first seen her wearing them and chuckled. She had quickly learned that appearances were one of the last things he cared about.

"Tsukishima-san?" Shiki walked into the living room. No response. "Tsukishima-san?" She walked over to the couch - he was still sitting there. When she reached his side, her eyes widened slightly. He was asleep! Tsukishima always went to bed after her and woke up before she got up, so she had never actually seen him asleep before.

Shiki walked around the couch to face him. She glanced at the discarded coat. Slowly, she reached across and picked up the coat, bringing it to her face. She placed it over her lower face, inhaling deeply. What are you doing? Her mind screamed at her but she ignored it. She had stopped listening to it a while ago, when she had given up resisting him. It smells like him... She thought, putting down the coat. She then glanced at Tsukishima again.

He looked the same as ever, mysterious and aloof. The only difference was the tiny, adorable (in her opinion) snores that came from him. She raised a hand hesitantly and brought it to rest the back of her fingers on his cheek, running down his face. She gently traced the scar above his eye. Then, slowly, she leaned forward, closing the distance between their faces...

OKAY THAT'S ENOUGH! Her mind screamed. She decided to listen. Sighing, she let her hand fall and pulled back her head.

"Shame. Your lips would have felt quite soft, I'm sure."

"Hiiiii!" Shiki jumped, startled. She looked up sharply. His eyes were open. Oh god... "How long..." A smirk.

"I was never asleep." Oh. Oh god.

"..." Shiki collapsed on the couch, curling up again. Great. She'd never be able to look him in the eye again. Tsukishima smiled knowingly and moved closer.

"It's fine." Huh. She'd been expecting something from those lines. "You never received the love of a true parent, nor have you had any romantic relations with anyone. Naturally when you feel love in any form, even slight care, you feel the need for more." Huh. Hadn't been expecting that. "From how you hesitated, I would assume you have yet to have your first kiss."

"..."

"From how long you stayed, however, I believe it's safe to say that you have... Stronger feelings for me." Wait, what? "You are still unsure of what exactly those feelings are, you only know what the feelings exist. Am I right?"

"..." A nod. How could she have been so careless?

"Heh." ... She could practically hear the smirk in this voice... Suddenly, she felt a hand nudge up her chin and an arm gently pull her across the couch so that she was pretty much straddling Tsukishima, one hand on his chest and the other on the couch.

"Wha?" Before she had the chance to even try to get away, he pulled her down sharply. Their eyes met briefly and Shiki forgot everything for a moment as she stared into his pitch black eyes. On closer look, they're actually a dark blue.. She realized. A split second later she felt something moist on her lips. ! He's- He's- He was kissing her.

It was a sweet, chaste kiss, their lips gently but firmly pressed against each other. Shiki's heartbeat had, during those few seconds, almost doubled in speed.

"Mmfff..." They slowly separated. Shiki immediately sprang back, as far as possible from him on the couch, hands on her mouth. Tsukishima simply smiled.

"WHAT ARE YOU-"

"What? It's what you wanted, right?"

"WHAT? No it's not-"

"A kiss doesn't necessarily mean romantic love, you know," he added matter-of-factly. "It's meant to symbolize love in general between the people involved. The kiss on the lips is more often used between lovers but doesn't have to mean that kind of love." He chuckled and returned to his book.

Shiki didn't know whether to feel better or worse. She calmed her racing heart down. But... A kiss between lovers, hmm?

"Then..." Tsukishima looked up. "What does a kiss between lovers feel like?" Oh god. Why was she asking things like that? And to him nonetheless! This wasn't like her!

"... Longer, for one," Tsukishima replied thoughtfully. "And deeper." Huh? Her confusion must have showed. Tsukishima smirked again. "Would you like to feel it for yourself?" He put down his book and beckoned Shiki over. He then gently cupped one of his hands under her chin and raised her face to his. He paused, looking into her eyes for permission to continue. Slowly she nodded.

He pulled her closer until their faces were nearly touching, noses brushing. "Close your eyes." She obliged. Shiki jumped slightly when she felt his lips on hers again, but Tsukishima had taken a firm grasp on her head. She made a slight sound of discontent when she felt him probing at her lips. She heard him sigh then started when he suddenly bit her lower lip.

"Ahh!" The next moment she felt something wet and moving enter her mouth and gasped sharply. "Hhmm!" He'd slipped his tongue into her mouth. Shiki wriggled around, but Tsukishima was too strong. Try as she might, she couldn't escape, or even turn her head away. She shuddered as the tongue explored her mouth, covering every inch, before joining with her own tongue. She slowly felt herself responding, loosening the hand that had been grabbing tightly on his shirt. Sometime during the kiss he had let go of her head and had begun to gently run his fingers through her hair.

They pulled apart, Shiki gasping for air, red and flustered while Tsukishima simply looked a bit disheveled.

"That..." Shiki didn't know what to say. Tsukishima merely picked up his coat and draped it around her, then pulled her over so that she was lying on his lap. He began to pet her head gently. Blushing, Shiki pulled the coat up to cover her cheeks, even though she doubted he could see. In a few minutes she was asleep.

The next morning Shiki woke up on the couch with Tsukishima's coat still draped over her. Tsukishima was awake, and judging from the sounds coming from the kitchen, he was cooking. Remembering the previous day's events, Shiki reddened, then sighed and smiled. He was right, after all. This was what I wanted. Tsukishima walked into the room with a tray containing a plate of tamagoyaki and a bowl of miso soup. He set down the tray on the coffee table in front of the ouch and sat down beside her, pausing to pat her on the head. Then he picked up a book and began reading.

. . .

Most people would have hugged her or said things like "It'll be okay, you'll be fine." But he had seen through that and saw that she simply needed someone's presence there, someone to reassure her that she wasn't alone.

He, who had known Shiki for only a month, had been able to understand her better than her five year friends.

OMAKE.

"Tsukishima-san? :/ "

"Hm? ^^ "

"... How do you know so much about kissing? -_-' "

"Books, of course. ^o^"

"Eeh, Tsukishima-san doesn't seem like the kind of person to read romance stories. o "

"I've read all the kinds of books there is to read, Sougi. Romance included. I've even read some yaoi manga. \^o^/"

"... O.o "

"Heh, just joking. I generally stay away from manga. The literature isn't rich enough. I have read romance books though. ^^ "

"... -_-' "

A/N

This came from a random flash scene I came up with in my head. I might write some more one-shots featuring the same OC (Shiki Souran), probably some AUs. Tsukishima will seem a bit more mellow than usual, since I adore fluff but he's just recently made an appearance and we can't determine his complete personality yet.