Chapter 3 “The First Night”
At approximately nine o'clock, the clock struck exactly as it had been. When all was said and done, the boys had ended their game.
“Alright then, I'll go back,” remarked Kaien as he put on his shoes. “Bye”
Benji waved him back with, “See you tomorrow...”
Allen replied with a wave and ‘Bye,’ as well.
After opening the door, Kaien continued walking forward while giving his friends another wave. He then left Benji’s house and returned the spare key to its proper location. Outside, he looked up at the snowflakes that were falling from the sky in a heavy and persistent manner. As the temperature began to drop, he made a mad dash to get inside his flat as soon as he could. Since he had left his house unattended for the entire day, the temperature inside was even lower.
“...What a long day...” Benji sighed. He had not moved from his position next to the door.
“Ben, I'm sorry...” Allen said.
“What? Why did you apologise, Allen?” Benji asked, a bit confused.
Allen stated while looking down, “Because I invited Kaien in and played without your permission...”
“Allen, I couldn't be happier about today if it weren't for the two of you! You don't have to apologise for what you did.” Benji replied as he placed his hands on Allen's shoulder and continued. “Besides that, you two forced me to play my Playstation, which hadn't been touched in two years! It's incredible, you know... Since I started college, I never imagined I'd have another chance to get my hands on it again.”
“Then... I was wondering if I could spend another night here,” Allen asked. Even now, he had no desire to return home. He detested where he lived.
“I believe you only have one bed, correct? Are the two of you going to sleep in one bed?”They were halted in their tracks by the sound of a voice. And it was Kaien. He opened the door once more in a stealthy manner and entered without drawing anyone's attention to himself.
“Kai! What is it that you keep coming back here?” Benji shouted.
“I left my mobile,” Kaien remarked. He went into the living room without waiting for a response, took out his phone and then announced. “I've got two beds in my flat. It belongs to my younger brother, but since he's not around right now, Allen, you can sleep there if you want to.” Why Kaien had asked Allen to his house but not Benji was a surprise to him. Maybe because it was Benji’s apartment, Allen was the guest but Benji did not have an extra bed. The cause could have been as straightforward as that, but it could also have been something else entirely.
“If that's the case, count me in!” Allen agreed in an animated manner.
“What?” Benji was stunned. “But...”
“I don't want you to continue to sleep in the living room any longer. After all, I'm the one who's supposed to be sleeping in the living room,” Allen said before Benji could object.
“Well, then, it's decided,” Kaien stated after some thought.
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“Kaien, do you happen to have any toothpaste in your house? I can't find one here,” Allen asked from inside the bathroom. 
“Really? Maybe I left it somewhere else. Wait, I'll look for it,” after a brief pause, Kaien answered to the question. Eventually, after a little absence, he came back with the tooth paste. It was left on the kitchen counter, where it had been forgotten. Kaien had no idea how it came to be in the kitchen in the first place. In all honesty, he never really paid much attention to the location of his belongings during his entire life. It had turned into one of his bad habits.
“Here, Allen,” Kaien greeted his friend as he opened the door to the bathroom. The sight of the man in front of Kaien causes his eyes to widen in shock. He was wearing white pajamas, just as pure as the snow that Kaien saw when he was heading back to his apartment. It went wonderfully with his milky complexion and glossy jet-black hair.
“Is anything wrong?” Allen asked. 
“Nothing, nothing...” Kaien shook his head as he headed towards Allen. “Here's the tooth... Woaaaaa!” Kaien slipped, and suddenly he found himself on top of Allen.
If he was taken aback the first time he met Allen, then this time he had completely solidified into a rock. He was able to feel the breaths of the other person surrounding him despite the fact that he was holding his breath. Straight across from him, he was able to make out the dark eyes of Allen that were shining brightly.
“Kaien, you're heavy...” Allen voiced his displeasure.
“Soo... Sorry!” As Kaien stood up and handed Allen the tooth paste. “I'll wait outside.”
After making a hasty trip to the bathroom, Kaien made an immediate run for his bedroom and promptly went to sleep. After placing his head on the pillow, he made an effort to fall asleep. But once more, the pattern of his heartbeat had only begun to quicken, and he was able to get any amount of sleep at all.
‘Our lips were so close to touching...’ thought Kaien. 'Damn it! What the devil am I even thinking? He’s a man and so am I! It's impossible for me to become gay overnight due to the fact that a man can be more attractive than a woman. Geez...’
As soon as Allen emerged from the shower, he made his way straight to his own bed, which was situated in the opposite direction of Kaien's bed. Kaien persisted in covering his face with his hands. He chose to rest his head down, but he was unable to fall asleep no matter how hard he tried. After a little wait, he gradually broke the silence and began a conversation with Allen.
“Allen, are you ok? What I mean to ask whether you were wounded or hurt when I fell on top of you?” Kaien asked. When he used the word ‘fell,’ he exuded an air of hesitation that could be heard in his voice. Was it a literal interpretation of what took place or was it a metaphor?
Kaien lifted his face and turned his attention to Allen's bed when he did not receive a response to the question he had asked. What he saw was the body of an angel who was resting peacefully in his slumber. It was likely that the angel was so fatigued that he was unable to move. After giving it some thought, Kaien thought that Allen must be too exhausted because he had been playing with him for the rest of the day, regardless of whether they had been using Benji's playstation or participating in some other particular activity.
Kaien got up and walked towards Allen's bed. He rearranged the blanket so that it was in the correct position for Allen. Then, without realising what he was doing, he hushed a soft whisper, “Good night, sleep well.” He thought back to the unsettling dream that Allen had experienced when they had first met before they started getting along with one another as friends. His hope was that Allen would have a dream that was calm and enjoyable tonight.