Bang. Bang. Bang.

            Ignore it and it might just go away, his brain begged.

            Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang.

            Nope, not really going away, it seems. ‘Coming!’ he shouted to the entrance’s general direction.

            Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang.

            ‘I said I was com…’ he started angrily while opening the door.

            ‘You are home!’ Jin exclaimed, at  which Kame sighed because he should have guessed, what with the insistent pounding of his door and all. ‘I…’ he tried to interject, just to be interrupted by his visitor’s voice.

            ‘I’ve been banging on your door for fifteen minutes now. Your neighbors must think I’m retarded or something.’

            ‘I…’ Kame tried again.

            ‘Why are you waking up so late, anyway? Do you feel that tired? Are your meds putting you to sleep?’

            ‘I…’ he started again, expecting to be interrupted, but this time Jin only looked at him, blinking a few times. ‘I didn’t call you,’ he finished.

            ‘What’s your point?’ the other asked curiously.

            Kame threw his one good hand in the air in defeat and rolled his eyes, walking back to the living room.

            Jin closed the door behind him and followed. Once he had placed his shoes by the door he looked around the living room, his eyes suddenly focusing on the other occupant of the space.

             ‘Aren’t you ever going to shower and change clothes again?’ he blurted.

            ‘What?’ Kame asked, flabbergasted.

            ‘Shower, you know? That thing we do with water that falls down from a…’

            ‘Shut up, Jin. I know what a shower is,’  Kame replied in annoyance.

            ‘If you know what a shower is, then why didn’t you take one this morning?’

            ‘I…’ Kame started, and he was sure he meant to come up with a really rude reply that would make Jin drop the subject, but despite his best efforts, he ended up blushing lightly and mumbling something else completely.

            ‘What was that?’ Jin asked, coming closer and placing one hand over his right ear like a shell.

            ‘I’ve tried, dammit. I’ve tried taking this t-shirt off but,’ and at that, Kame moved his arms a little inside the clothing ‘I just can’t lift the cast that much. It still hurts,’ he finished, looking at the floor and feeling embarrassed as hell for making such a ridiculous confession.

            Jin’s eyebrows climbed a little on his forehead and his mouth formed an ‘o’ of understanding. ‘I see,’ he said ‘Why didn’t you just say so?’

            ‘What’s the use of…’ Kame started, but his reply was cut short when he suddenly felt both of Jin’s hands gently land on his shoulders, moving to his neck.

            ‘Jin? What are you…’

            Before Kame could even get the entire question out, Jin had ripped his t-shirt in two halves with one quick movement.

            ‘JIN!’ Kame shouted, looking horrified at the two parts of his ruined shirt still hanging from his torso. ‘Fucking hell! What do you think you are doing?!’

            ‘It was the only way,’ Jin replied with a sarcastic smile, completely ignoring the other’s outrageous cries and ripping the rest of the shirt. Once he was done, he removed it from his friend’s frame with a careless gesture, throwing the remains of ripped fabric to the floor. ‘So, do you have the same problem with your pants?’

            Kame, who had been speechless for the last couple of seconds, got his voice back in a flash. ‘Don’t you dare come anywhere near my pants, you psycho cloth ripping freak!’ With that, he practically ran to the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.

            ‘Thought so,’ Jin smirked.

*********

            Fifteen minutes later Kame padded out of the bathroom. Freshly showered and refreshed, he didn’t even remember why he felt so angry before stepping under the spray.

            ‘Feel better?’ Jin asked, throwing a blue bottom up shirt that hit Kame in the face.

            Oh, now he remembered.  ‘Much. Thank you for your rather destructive but effective help,’ he replied in a monotone voice while removing the shirt from his sight.

            ‘Anytime,’ Jin chirped happily and smirked.  Once he caught his friend’s eyes he winked.

            Kame blushed furiously at that. The bastard!  ‘I hate you Akanishi,’ he spat, but there was no real heat in it. Actually, Kame thought, the entire situation had been rather bizarre and somewhat funny.

            He kicked Jin, and Jin let him, while both of them laughed.

*********

            Kame woke with sunlight in his face, which was very weird because he was sure he had closed the blinds in his room the night before.

            ‘Wake up princess,’ he heard, right when another ray of light filtered through the bedroom and hit him right in the eye. Kame moaned pitifully and covered his head with his blanket. Why God? WHY?

            ‘What did you say?’ Jin asked, still moving around the room, pulling blinds and moving things out of his way.

            ‘Why are you here? I didn’t call you!’ the other replied, and his voice was raspy from sleep and his mouth felt like it’s full of cotton.

            ‘Well, I…’

            ‘Don’t answer,’ Kame interrupted, kicking the blankets and holding out a hand. ‘First just tell me this: how the hell did you get in?’

            Jin looked genuinely surprised at this, although Kame knew better because his eyes had that glint to them. ‘You gave me the key,’ he said.

            ‘I DID NOT!’

            ‘Oh,’ Jin said, not sounding apologetical in the least. ‘I must have stolen one then.’

            Kame groans and wished Jin would disappear. Instead, he closed his eyes again and when he opened them he found Jin’s face suddenly very close to his.

            He blinked a couple of times, feeling his eyes start to drop and his breathing getting a little shallow. He suddenly opened them wide and put some distance between them. What had just happened?

            ‘You know,’ Jin says nonchalantly, just like it was one of those afterthoughts that you share with a friend but don’t expect anything to come out of it. ‘You look like hell.’

             Kame stared at him in disbelief. ‘Gee Jin, thank you so much,’ he said bitterly. ‘Having YOU of all people complaining about my looks is just what I needed after having my arm broken on stage on national television and my apartment invaded by…’

            ‘I mean your hair,’ the other interrupted.

            ‘What is wrong with my hair?’

            ‘It’s…greasy. And dirty looking,’ Jin scrunched up his nose a little bit. ‘It looks really bad. You haven’t washed it since you came home, right?’’

            ‘No. No I didn’t,’ Kame relents with a small sigh, ‘I…’

            ‘Yeah I know. It must hurt to move your upper body enough to do it,’ Jin said, tapping his chin thoughtfully.  ‘Well, no matter, it’s okay. Let’s wash it now.’

            ‘What?’ Kame was sure he was gaping like a fish at the suggestion but he couldn’t for the life of him concentrate on changing his expression. He was sure a small part of his brain had shut down.

            ‘LET’S WA-SHE EET,’ Jin repeats slowly, emphasizing every syllable.

            ‘You are not washing my hair,’ Kame replied.
 

            ‘Oh, I think I am,’ Jin says, eyes becoming mischievous.

            Kame jumped from the bed. ‘Get away from me!’ he exclaimed, looking around and running quickly to the next room.

            Which happened to be the bathroom. Damn it! He looked around, desperately trying to find something to repel the other. He grabbed a soap bar and held it as menacingly as he could manage.

            Jin smirked at the sight. ‘Stop being such a baby, Kamenashi.’

            ‘I’m not a baby,’ the other said, and pouted for effect.

            At that, Jin stopped his advances and laughed, his entire frame shaking with amusement.  And then Kame laughed and the tension in the room suddenly vanished.

            ‘Come here,’ Jin said gently. ‘Sit on the floor near the tub and take that shirt off. You can keep the pants.’

            Kame did as told, removing his shirt while watching as Jin pulled his pants legs up. He sat on the floor and Jin sat on the side the tub, his feet inside it, and he started the water from the tap instead of the main shower head.

            ‘Bend your head down,’ Jin commanded, pushing gently at his forehead. Kame closed his eyes and sighed happily upon feeling the warm water soaking his hair, soft hands going through the strands while carefully washing them.

            ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ Jin asked, cutting through the comfortable silence they both had felt into somehow.

            ‘What didn’t I tell you?’

            ‘That you wanted to wash your hair.’

            Kame took a deep breath, tensing a little despite feeling more relaxed than he remembered being in days. Maybe that was what made him say the words that left his lips next. ‘I just…don’t want other people to see me like this. It’s pathetic.’

            ‘That’s ridiculous,’ Jin interjected, his hands stilling their gentle massage for a second. ‘You are injured. It’s not…’

            ‘It is, and I don’t want anyone to see,’ Kame said simply. There wasn’t more to it, really.

            Silence. Rinse. Lather again.

            ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ Jin asked again, in a very soft tone.

            ‘It’s just hard talking about these things,’ Kame breathed. For some reason, both of them were whispering. Kame didn’t know why, but he didn’t feel like raising his voice and breaking the spell either.

            ‘Even with me?’ the other asked, and was that a hint of…sadness?

            ‘Especially with you,’ Kame blurted before he could even think about his words, and he opened his eyes while speaking because even if he got shampoo into them, he still felt like he had to look at Jin’s face while saying it.

            ‘Why?’ Jin inquired, and the question seemed simple, like something he wanted to know out of mere curiosity.

            ‘I… don’t know,’ Kame replied honestly, because he really didn’t.

            Jin rinsed his hair again, and left the bathroom. While Kame got up off of the floor and out of room, towel gently rubbing his hair, Jin was already gone.

*********

            The day started with rain and Kame felt gloomy. There was no bang on his door and no sudden presence in his room or in his kitchen.

            He cooked his own breakfast and then lunch, but he didn’t really feel hungry. When night rolled around, he felt agitated and restless.

            He tried to play videogames one handed. He skimmed the TV channels until his eyes were glazing over. He even contemplated putting on a baseball cap and shades and going out to take a walk. Nothing worked.

            Around midnight, he grabbed his phone and started dialing. He was two numbers away from completing the call when there was a sudden knock on his door.

            He slowly walked to it, already knowing who it was.

            When Kame opened the door and saw Jin on the other side, looking sheepish like he never had before when visiting – or invading – his apartment, he knew. He just knew.

            He placed his one good hand gently on Jin’s cheek and looked at him long and hard. Jin exhaled heavily through his nose and closed his eyes slowly, and that was all the encouragement Kame needed before closing his own eyes, inclining his head and leaning up, letting his lips meet the others softly.

            They stayed like that for a couple of seconds, and then Kame opened his mouth a little, and Jin took full advantage of the move, slipping his tongue inside and gently coaxing the other to do the same.

            When they broke apart, Kame found one of his hands curled on Jin’s neck and the other clinging to his shirt. He also noticed that Jin had an arm around his waist and he had no idea how it had gotten there but he couldn’t say that he minded.

            ‘Why didn’t you show up earlier?’ he breathed.

            ‘I thought you needed some space,’ Jin said, and Kame smiled at that. 

He remembered the way Jin seemed to instinctively know when he wanted to be alone, when he needed to eat, when he felt dirty and miserable. How Jin would be a completely obnoxious bastard who would push his luck to the limit to make sure that Kame was okay.

            ‘Maybe I did,’ he whispered, not wanting to admit too much just then. ‘But why are you here now?’ he asked, pulling Jin closer again, dropping quick kisses to his chin and the corner of his mouth.

            ‘Well,’ Jin smiled knowingly, eyes closed, ‘You called.’

            ‘I did?’

            ‘Yes. Just like every other time.’

********************************************************