Title: Symbiotic
Pairing: Kidou/Fudou (Squint and you'll see Genda/Sakuma and Gouenji/Endou)
Rating: PG-13
Warning: Mild language, very slight suggestive moments.
Length: 3,074 words
Summary: Kidou walks home after training, and as things usually happen to work, Fudou was following right behind him. In a particularly spontaneous stream of thoughts, he invites him out to coffee.

Quite frankly, Kidou was in a very peaceful mood. Soccer practice took up a portion of his morning (from exactly 7AM to a little bit past 10AM) and afterwards he had the day free from any work. The children at Teikoku worked excellently and completed all their assigned training with ease. His plan was to go out for a quick cup of coffee and eventually head home for some relaxation.

Kidou walked alongside the river, his bag filled with papers and information on the students slung over one shoulder, tugging at his scarf for warmth. The air was chilled with the mere warning of winter's coming, and everyone had begun digging out their coats and mittens weeks ago. The water in the river seemed to move slower, as if the chilling of the bones affected them as much as any human. It was a cold morning, but soothing nonetheless.

"And you're following me why?" Kidou stopped abruptly, turning on his heel to face the boy who had been following him ever since he exited the soccer grounds.

"Tch. Who says I'm following you?" Fudou stood a few feet behind Kidou, his hands shoved into the pockets of his black trench coat. His nose was red from the weather with the ears to match, his breath coming out visibly. Fudou became a regular attendee of the Teikoku practices, observing and making snide comments at any given moment. Sakuma became irritated quickly, never fully grasping Fudou's way of being, and Genda had to calm him with quiet comments. Kidou, however, understood and conveyed the harsh cuts as constructive criticism. Fudou had been trekking behind Kidou silently, acting as a shadow. Unfortunately, shadows didn't go unnoticed by their makers.

"Considering you haven't strayed from the path I've been taking, I'd say you're following me." Kidou crossed his arms.

"Maybe I'm just heading the same way?"

"And where exactly would that be?"

"Nowhere," Fudou scoffed, refusing to carry the conversation any further. Kidou knew he won, and grinned in victory. They stood there for a few minutes, neither making a move to continue the walk. Although it was obvious Fudou had been caught red-handed, he tried to maintain his confidence. Kidou weighed his options: either he told Fudou to leave immediately, or he begrudgingly invited him to have coffee alongside him. Seeing as Fudou never seemed to be doing anything or going anywhere, he had no other choice but the latter.

"Would you like to come with me for coffee?" Kidou offered, moving his hands into his pockets and relaxing his stance.

Fudou pulled his scarf up to his nose and huffed, eyeing Kidou as though he was seeking the pun. When it never came and he was still intact he scoffed, "I don't want pity if that's what you're getting at."

"Fudou just say yes." Kidou rolled his eyes.

Another silence held them, Fudou seemingly lost in the question. Unwilling to succumb to Kidou's wish, yet craving the attention, Fudou simply chuckled and started walking in the direction Kidou was originally headed. Right as he passed by Kidou, he reached over and tugged at his sleeve, beckoning him to follow. Kidou smiled knowingly and they began walking side-by-side to the little bistro. No words were spoken on the way, a comfortable silent conversation taking place where only small gestures were permitted. Occasionally Kidou would tug lightly at Fudou's sleeve signaling for him to turn or to stop at the red crossing light.

As the scenery began changing to a more rural setting-trees flourishing and advanced buildings nowhere in sight-they approached a small conglomerate of shops in the lower parts of Raimon. Kidou remembered being shown this area by Endou along with Gouenji years ago (and a Mukata or two might have show up as well). It was relatively barren, only the locals shopping amongst themselves. That made it the perfect place for silence and a decent cup of coffee.

"Over here," Kidou motioned towards the small bistro stationed in between a candy shop and a massage place.

Fudou observed the sign above the store reading Jolie Fleur in curvy letters. The building was petite, covered in brown, cream and milky colors. They walked in, the little bell above the door jingling pleasantly, and the air in their lungs immediately filled with the scent of cocoa beans and vanilla. Around them were small tables with two chairs neatly pushed into each. A small counter was located in the middle left of the room, taking up barely half of the space. Behind the counter, an elderly woman and a younger woman were brewing coffee, talking in hushed voices. Kidou always felt a sense of home whenever he sat down and had a cup of coffee here. It was as though time froze and he was allowed to forget the struggles going on around him. And between the impending end of soccer through the growing Fifth Sector and his suspicions that they might start infiltrating Teikoku, he needed any moment of peace he could get.

"Ah, Yuuto-kun!" The younger one smiled brightly, quickly getting back into her position behind the register, "What can I get you today?"

"Well-"

"He'll have a mocha frappuccino with minimal whipped cream and I'll just have one of the chocolate muffins." Fudou cut in, stepping up farther than Kidou, slightly blocking him from the woman's line of sight. He glanced up at the menu then down at the food as he selected what they would be having, his arms loosely crossed.

"Oh, of course…I'll get that right away. Have a seat anywhere you'd like." The young woman glanced at her grandmother, a knowing look passing between them.

Fudou nodded and chose a table in the far right corner of the store that was blocked off by a portion of the wall that jutted out. He sat down, taking off his black coat and hanging it on the chair. Fudou looked around the small shop, avoiding eye contact with Kidou. Deciding it was better to not question his motives immediately, Kidou pulled out his chair and sat down, hands clasped on the table.

A few minutes passed, neither making a move to speak as though a silent battle of who caves in first was taking place. It would have lasted an eternity if the elderly woman didn't arrive with their things.

"Here you go sweeties," she placed their respective orders in front of them, "Enjoy yourselves."

With that she walked away, leaving the two to their lunches and silent conversations. Fudou regarded his muffin with hungry eyes, but made no move to eat it. Kidou observed, taking a small sip of his coffee, and pondering. Fudou had always been an enigma to him despite them having so many similarities. It was as if Kidou had figured out nearly all the pieces to the puzzle called Fudou, but when he observed closely, he realized there was still one last important piece that was nowhere to be found. He followed Kidou around often, although he usually just disappeared once they approached the riverside, and he seemed to become accustomed to attending the Teikoku practices. Waking up at five in the morning to get ready and prepare everything before practice wasn't something any normal friend would do, and Fudou never admitted to being just plain friends in the first place.

"How did you know I'd want this specific coffee?" Kidou casually maneuvered into a conversation, the silence finally beginning to bother him.

Fudou smirked and shrugged, "You brought it to practice once and I overheard you mentioning to Sakuma that you didn't like too much whipped cream on your coffee when he was ordering."

"Ah, so you're keeping tabs on the things I like." Kidou acted nonchalantly, sipping leisurely at his drink.

Fudou's smirk faltered momentarily before he resorted to a stoic expression. "It's nothing like that," he mumbled, "I just happen to have an excellent memory."

"Of course," Kidou smiled to himself.

"Shut up," Fudou grumbled and peeled the paper wrapping off his muffin, biting into it from the bottom.

"Why did you follow me?" Kidou tried asking again.

"I told you I wasn't following you."

"Except you most definitely were."

"Why did she call you 'Yuuto-kun'?"

Kidou sighed and rubbed his temples in little circles. Fudou was the type to avert questions he didn't wish to answer, and quite unfortunately, he always found a way to succeed. Fudou seemed to know how to work his way around Kidou, avoiding the point and managing to redirect questions. Kidou always tried the same methods, but it never worked out properly, and to avoid further humiliation, he would just answer immediately. Unlike Endou and Gouenji who always had it easy in expressing themselves-mostly because Endou was always so straightforward-Kidou and Fudou never spoke about anything that wasn't absolutely necessary.

"Because I frequent this place often enough that we consider each other friends." Kidou tried to pass it off calmly, but he saw Fudou's eyes darting anywhere but where he was.

"You never let me call you Yuuto."

"She asked, you didn't," Kidou set down his drink, "It's as simple as that."

Fudou scoffed, stretching and lazily putting his hands behind his back. His face didn't show any signs of actual jealousy or aggravation, but Kidou knew it was there. The way he slightly furrowed his eyebrows when his eyes found the woman behind the counter, or how he shifted in his seat awkwardly and kicked the ground lightly; everything was a little hint, and Kidou had learned how to pick up on them quickly.

"You could call me that if you please, however I wasn't aware we were friends," Kidou poked and prodded, attempting to get an actual reaction out of Fudou.

"I never said it because I thought that you, being a self-proclaimed genius and all, would figure it out on your own. Maybe I do need to provide the baby steps." Fudou smirked.

"Unfortunately, I'm not self-proclaimed. It's worldly known that I'm a genius."

"A genius who doesn't know his friends and doesn't like whipped cream."

"I know my friends; you were just too nebulous about our relationship. And whipped cream is too…creamy."

Fudou laughed, his head falling into his palm, "That's the point! It's supposed to be creamy. Without it, certain desserts taste like shit."

"You don't need whipped cream for something to turn out delicious," Kidou started getting aggravated, his lower lip jutting out just slightly.

"Says the one who nearly burned down his kitchen trying to cook for Otonashi-san's birthday."

"That was one time." Kidou slammed his hands on the table, trying to hold in the force so that he didn't cause a ruckus.

"Admit it; I'm a much better cook than you are!"

"We weren't even talking about cooking! We were talking about Mei calling me Yuuto!"

"Oh, so you call her Mei?" Fudou smirked.

"Mei-san." Kidou grumbled.

Fudou went into a laughing fit, clutching at his stomach while his eyes watered from the trembling of his body. Kidou tried to get him to stop, but Fudou was far too amused to go back. He was wheezing and gasping for air by the time he finally stopped laughing, small chuckles occasionally streaming out of his lips. It was a nice and euphoric sound despite the aggravation Kidou felt. His voice filled the quiet atmosphere of the bistro, a lovely contradiction that formed an air of affection. After nearly three minutes had gone by, the silence began settling once more, and the less pleasing atmosphere returned. Fudou reclined in his seat, rubbing his abdomen and muttering something about Kidou being ridiculous. Whenever Kidou looked up momentarily to grab his drink, he would see Fudou staring straight at him, a mixture of curiosity and something else crossing his face.

"Yuuto."

Kidou stopped mid-sip, his eyes darting towards Fudou, a small thump in chest. He choked on his coffee in surprise, sputtering and coughing into his sleeve. Fudou had propped his elbow up on the table and had his mouth buried in his palm, watching the scene unfold before him. Kidou cleared his throat, coughing quickly into his sleeve, settling back down in his seat and making eye contact with Fudou for the first time since they walked into the small bistro.

"You okay there?" Fudou was smirking into his palm.

"Yes it was just…surprising." Kidou tried to act calm and collected.

"Why? I thought you said it was okay if I called you that, Yuuto." Fudou's grin grew wider when Kidou's face began heating up.

"Of course," Kidou's mind wasn't working fast enough for him to avoid the questions, "I'm going to get something to eat. Excuse me."

"Oh," Fudou broke off a piece of his muffin, motioning for Kidou to take it, "Try some."

Eyeing it as if there was poison laced within the small chocolate bits, Kidou hesitated taking him up on the offer. If anything, he was just hoping that Fudou was joking and the entire conversation could return to them in silence. Despite how much he loved hearing Fudou's voice, the consequences of the current situation (namely embarrassment) weren't enough to keep him going. Against his wishes, however, Fudou didn't retract his hand or his offer. Kidou leaned over the table and simply ate the piece straight out of Fudou's hand, hoping that it would distract him long enough to stop the teasing.

"H-hey! I told you to take the damn piece!" Fudou snatched his hand away, cradling it with the other. His face flushed brightly, his paler skin unable to hind the emotions.

"That would mean getting my hands dirty. Why would I do that when yours were already dirty to begin with?" Kidou calmly replied, his inner workings trying to stay calm.

"Asshole," Fudou mumbled, hardly audible to Kidou's ears. "You got the tip of my fingers in your mouth anyway." Fudou wiped his hand on a napkin.

Kidou placed the tips of his fingers to his lips, pondering the taste before smirking slyly, "Delicious."

"Yeah," Fudou had given up on his composure and sat slouched and flustered in his seat. Fudou wasn't quite sure if Kidou was referring to the muffin anymore.

"You're my friend, by the way. In case you still can't understand it." Fudou said in a hushed voice, unable to make eye contact with Kidou.

Kidou pondered the statement. He was certain that they were friends since the FFI, but a confirmation after all these years was a nice thing to listen to. Fudou had been flustered and awkward for the past minute and Kidou couldn't help but want to reach over and hold him. This was what Kidou meant by Fudou's emotions were beautiful. Because in these rare moments when he was flustered and open about his feelings, Kidou new that Fudou was the only person he wanted to be around in the moment.

"What plans do you have for later today?" Kidou spoke, elbows propped up on the table and chin set on top of his clasped hands.

"Nothing. I'm just going back to Genda's place for a while. He's supposed to be out with Sakuma or something." Fudou shrugged.

"Ah," Kidou nodded. He had his suspicions that Fudou was freeloading off of Genda, occasionally hopping in between his house and another friend's place. Nobody necessarily questioned his actions (besides the ones suffering from his presence at home), so no confirmation ever came. Kidou contemplated his choices once more.

Fudou was strange, unpredictable, rash, angry, and rude. His voice came out louder than it should at times, and he had experienced misfortune just as many others Kidou has met. Often times Fudou insulted him or ignored the problem whenever he caused a stir. At the same time, however, there were moments where Fudou was affectionate and used words like "friend", "companion", "beautiful" and "love". There was no doubt that Fudou was closed off about how he felt, but in rare moments when he showed it, it was as though Kidou was witnessing a flower blooming before his eyes. Fudou was beautiful in his own way, constantly showing his feelings in very underlying manners, and Kidou admitted to being curious about what else he had to say. Before he knew it, he found himself not caring if Fudou was following him around or showing up at practice, because it wasn't a burden to be around him. Kidou genuinely, honestly, and truly cared.

"In that case, would you like to come over then?" Kidou finally said.

Fudou froze mid-glance, looking directly at the window to his right. His eyes slowly widened as his mouth was kept closed solely by the palm pressed against it. He didn't respond immediately as though he was holding himself back from any excitement, and if Kidou knew anything about him, he was. What? Did I hear correctly? Is there some sort of hidden meaning? Is Kidou trying to play with me? Kidou heard the gears in his head turning as Fudou stared wide-eyed at the world outside, but focusing on nothing other than Kidou.

"Akio," Kidou murmured gently. For a moment, no reply seemed to be forming, the name lingering quietly in the air between them.

Finally Fudou smirked, leaning back in his seat and shrugging, "Sure."

Kidou grinned in response, reaching over and giving Fudou's free hand a light squeeze. He called for the elderly woman to bring them the check, placing their now finished lunches on the tray for the woman to clean it up. He pulled out his wallet and paid for the lunches, giving Fudou a sharp look when he tried to fish out the little money he had. Together they walked back outside, into the world of chatter and people, but they were standing so closely that they could only hear the other's heartbeat.

"I didn't say you could call me Akio, by the way." Fudou piped up.

"I just assumed that you, being a self-proclaimed genius and all, would know that friends typically call each other by their first names."

"You're a dick, Yuuto." Fudou shoved him, grumbling about his stolen words. Kidou couldn't help but smile and reach over to clasp the other's hand, Fudou quietly accepting the gesture. They made their way back to his house in a very boisterous manner, and silence, for once, wasn't as soothing to Kidou as the sound of Fudou's happy voice was.