Hunted

An internal alarm clock went off.

Julian's eyes slowly opened and sleepily gazed over the unfamiliar surroundings. Where was he? As his disoriented awareness acknowledged the form sleeping on the couch, vague memories of the night before flooded back. He had slept at Kyun's place. It had been a long time since he had slept away from home, but he welcomed the change.

The room was silent. Everyone must have been sleeping. He reached out his arms in a tight stretch and then stumbled to his feet. He felt a bit idle, standing there with no one to talk to, so he straightened out the blanket to start folding it. The last thing he wanted was to leave a mess.

During the day, they planned to go to the shop with him. It bothered him a little that they were only going to meet with Rick, but Julian was still excited about having company for at least a short while. Maybe he'd be able to talk them into getting ice cream with him afterwards.

He glanced at his watch, and then at Choi's sleeping form before tip-toeing to the bathroom. He had to wash his face and fix his hair before anyone saw him.

After returning to the living-room, he heard a door open and footsteps headed his way. Eventually a figure came into view, dressed in a bright blue t-shirt and an orange pair of shorts.

A messy, yellow-haired head gazed drowsily at him, and then flashed an amused smirk. "Good morning," He said in a near whisper, "breakfast time!" Takuya ruffled his own hair - it looked shorter now without the headband - and moved closer, obviously intent on passing up the bathroom for now. "Don't worry, I'm not going to eat you... I think."

It didn't take a genius to figure out that Takuya was the teasing type. Julian encountered many of them at the car repair shop he visited every day. With a shy smile he started toward the mattress he had slept on. "I'm not worried. No one's tried to eat me so early in the morning before."

Apparently his response was well received. The Japanese smiled at him on his way to the kitchen corner. He switched on the heat before digging through the fridge. Despite his hushed voice, filling a pot with water didn't seem to bother him. "How long are you staying," he started curiously, "or is that not up to you?" He retrieved a big knife and begun chopping at the vegetables he had pulled out.

"Staying? I'm pretty sure it was just for last night. After they talk to Rick, there won't be a problem anymore." When he thought of going back to his empty house, a sadness weighed down on him. Julian sighed and stepped up beside Takuya. He kept his voice low and asked, "Whatcha making? Can I help?"

Takuya quickly opened a drawer, pulling out a peeler and sticking it into the purple-haired guy's hand. "Peel the potatoes." The Japanese said dryly, then shrugged and shifted his attention to what he was doing. A few seconds later, a smile was back upon his face. "They talk to Rick? I thought that was going to be me!" He chuckled lightly as he nudged Julian aside, retrieving a frying pan from the cupboard where he had been standing.

Julian continued glancing over at Takuya whenever he could while he began to peel. Those were not common ingredients in breakfast, at least not locally, so he gave up on guessing what it could be.

"I didn't know you were involved too?" He concentrated on what he was doing for a moment. Upon deciding he liked the idea, he flashed a bright smile. "Well, whether you're serious or not, the more the merrier!"

A cupboard door was opened, and the Japanese fished out a small can. "Want tuna in yours? We've only got this canned shit, unfortunately." He left it on the counter, and then poured a bit of oil into the pan.

In his what? He went on to peel another potato. Tuna was good and he liked all the other ingredients, so he figured there was nothing to worry about. "Yeah, tuna's fine... Is Kyun always so caring about people he barely knows? He's been very kind so far, and it's not something I see often. Maybe that's my own fault for hanging out with pig-headed mechanics every day." He chuckled lightly and glanced at the frying pan. "Are you going to tell me what's for breakfast?"

Another sleepy figure appeared around the corner, and Takuya jogged over in the next instant to block the passage to the bathroom. "Julian wonders what's for breakfast," he said as he patted Kiyoshi's shoulder, "go finish it, I'm off for a shower."

As the yellow-haired youngster disappeared and locked the door behind him, his younger companion rubbed his eyes, stumbling on over to the kitchen. Stifling a yawn, he looked over the food on the counter, then shook his head with a smirk. "Looks like there's enough for three. If that shower lasts long, maybe you should wake Choi up."

"I don't think anyone would appreciate being woken up by a stranger." He finished with the potatoes and went to the sink to rinse off the peeler. He hadn't had the chance to learn anything about Kiyoshi, but he seemed like a really nice guy. As of yet, there wasn't anyone in that apartment he disliked.

Kiyoshi gave him a sleepy smile as he put the potatoes into the boiling water. "None of the Koreans would appreciate being woken up. At all." He looked over what vegetables had been chopped before starting to open the tuna can. "They might be up for lunch in a couple of hours, though."

Julian frowned. That was a long time to wait to see Kyun again. He leaned against the counter, watching the other man cook. "I don't have to see any clients today... but maybe I should go to the shop. I could leave a note?"

"The shop?" The Japanese seemed confused. "I thought we were all going to go there together? I guess you could just give us an address if you want..." He returned a light frown, then gazed absent-mindedly in the direction of the larger bedroom.

"Everyone? Really?" A bright smile crept on his face but he tried to fight it. He considered mentioning that they hardly needed so many people just to talk to Rick, but he liked the idea too much. "Is there a gym nearby? I could go play a bit and leave my cell number. Someone can call me when they're ready? After breakfast, of course."

After thinking about that for a bit, clearly a bit amused, Kiyoshi finally answered. "I guess the correct answer is 'I wouldn't know', but if you ask nicely, maybe you and Takuya can head over there together."

"I wonder how nicely I'd have to ask. As great as it would be to have someone to play with, I wouldn't want to bother him with that. I'm sure if I walk around a bit, I'll find a park or something... That smells good. What is it?"

Kiyoshi shrugged. "It will be a vegetable-based soup with tuna and potato slices eventually... not quite sure what he intended to make, but he'll have to live." He paused for a bit, then smiled sheepishly. "I'll ask for directions for you. Good to see that you know better than to be seen with him."

~~~~~

This is a collab, written together with Chlover. You can find her author profile here: http://original.adult-fanfiction.org/authors.php?no=26260