"He'd wear them on his hind legs, obviously!"

"He walks on four legs, you dingus. Pants go on the legs you walk on. You don't see us walking around with pants on our arms."

"What pants have four leg holes in them?"

"Ones for dogs, of course!"

How this argument started, no one really knows. How they got on the topic of dogs wearing pants?

Touma and Kaede are both insistent on the idea that if dogs wore pants, they'd wear them on all four legs. NightHaze and Kaito, on the other hand, are arguing that if dogs wore pants, they'd wear them on only their hind legs.

"How would they walk if they wore pants on only their hind legs?" Touma asks, throwing his hands up in the air.

"At least they won't be waddling around if their four legs are encased in fabric!" NightHaze snaps back.

"And they won't be waddling around like penguins with only their hind legs in pants?" Kaede asks, incredulously.

"If you were a dog, would you wear pants on all four legs?" Kaito raises his voice to be heard over the yelling.

"Of course I would!" Touma pounds his chest with a fist. "It makes the most sense!"

"It does not." NightHaze growls. He and Touma lock eyes in a rather furious staring match, while Kaede and Kaito argue listlessly over how dogs would wear pants.

Strangely, none of the four bring up the question why exactly they're arguing over something as stupid as dogs wearing pants, as dogs wouldn't even wear pants in the first place.

A day at the zoo was something that NightHaze had never done, so Kaede, Kaito and I decided to take him on a surprise trip to the zoo. The ride was quite a long one, and Kaede was driving, Kaito in the passenger seat, both NightHaze and I in the back.

NightHaze is nodding off, next to me, his head rested on my upper arm, too short to reach my shoulder. He's snoring lightly, and I find myself smiling down at him, brushing my lips against his forehead.

Kaito and Kaede are talking quietly in the front, and a sudden shifting noise has me looking up, Kaito meeting my gaze, a small smile on his lips as he watches us. I mirror the smile, and stroke my fingers through NightHaze's hair, who stirs with a sleepy grunt.

"Are we there yet?" NightHaze asks, silver eyes bleary.

"Almost." I respond, pulling him in for a quick kiss on the cheek. NightHaze lets out a contented sigh, and shifts closer to me.

"We're pulling into the parking lot now," Kaede calls from the front seat. NightHaze immediately peers over my shoulder to stare out the window, curious and apprehensive - we never told him where we were going. His eyes catch the few banners on the lamp posts lining the street, and they light up.

"The zoo?" NightHaze's expression is immediately turned into one of excitement. "You listened to me?" He shifts back to stare at me, and I flush lightly. Kaede finds a parking spot, and stops the car.

"Of course I listen to you." I respond, before climbing out of the car, eyes briefly scanning the crowds. "You're my boyfriend, and the one that I love, so I'm going to want to make sure anything I do will make you happy."

A soft noise from NightHaze has me turning around to look at him, but before I can do anything else, he's jumped out of the car and thrown himself at me, arms wrapping around my waist as he presses a kiss to my lips.

Startled, I grasp his waist, neither pulling him close or pushing him away. I can feel his giddy smile against my mouth, and pull away gently, resting my forehead on his. A snap of a camera has me turning my head, and Kaede's grinning at the both of us, phone in hand.

"You two are cute." Kaede says. NightHaze flushes and buries his face in my chest, and I thread my fingers in the hair at the back of his head and hum, shifting to close the door behind NightHaze.

Kaito comes to join us on the other side of Kaede's car, and as Kaede locks it, we start towards the entrance. I can almost feel NightHaze thrumming with energy, with excitement. I pay for the four of us, much to Kaito and Kaede's dismay, and we let NightHaze choose where he wants to go.

It's adorable, to see him so happy and careless with the eagerness of a young child. NightHaze is a few paces before Kaito, Kaede and I, and my stolen hoodie flaps around him as he waves his arms, pointing at a few animals before running to the next exhibit.

"Glad you brought him here?" Kaito asks.

"Very," I smile, eyes breaking away briefly from NightHaze's form to meet Kaito's amused gaze. Kaede's hurried ahead at NightHaze's eager shout, leaving Kaito and I to trail after them at a slower pace. "I like to try to make him as happy as he can be by letting him do the things that he never had the chance to as a child."

"That's really sweet of you." Kaito murmurs. I shrug sheepishly, clasping the back of my neck. A sudden shriek of my name has my head snapping up.

"Touma!" NightHaze is perched on Kaede's shoulders, pointing towards some busy exhibit. Kaito and I chuckle, before hurrying forward, managing to push our way through the crowd until we reach NightHaze and Kaede. Kaede shoots me a pained look, as if blaming me for having NightHaze beg him to climb on his shoulders to see.

"It's not his fault he's short." I grin. NightHaze lets out an offended squawk, and aims a feeble whack at my head. I peer over the heads of the others, Kaito content with staying where he is, and notice that it's the wolves exhibit that caught NightHaze's attention.

It was feeding time, and the wolves had trotted out from their dens as the workers heaved over large sections of meat over the fence. I watched NightHaze, as he watched the wolves with rapt awe and attention, even when some around looked away in a sense of discomfort.

When it was over, I helped Kaede as he crouched, balancing NightHaze, letting him cling onto me as he climbs off of Kaede's shoulders. Kaede ruffles Kaito's hair, pressing a brief kiss to his temple, as if placating him for carrying NightHaze earlier.

"I think Kaito knows you're hopelessly in love with him, so don't worry about thinking he's thinking you're cheating." I chirp, earning a whack upside the head by Kaede. "Ow!"

"It was coming for you," NightHaze grins, reaching up on his tip toes, tugging at my sleeve before kissing me lightly. "Thanks for bringing me here. I really appreciate it."

"Anything for you," I whisper, leaning down to brush my nose against his. NightHaze lets out a giddy laugh as I scoop him up, manuevering so he's perched on my back, arms wrapped around my shoulders as he nuzzles into the crown of my head.

"Where do you wanna go next?" Kaede asks.

"Wherever Touma wants to take me!" NightHaze cheers, leaning over to smack a kiss to my temple. I flush, and Kaito and Kaede laugh. I'm so relieved to have someone like NightHaze standing by my side, to have friends like Kaito and Kaede.

I'm so happy to have someone who have someone who cares as much about me as I do about them, and NightHaze's last comment makes me feel so much warmth inside of me.

"Guess you're stuck with me forever, then." I grin, glancing up at him. NightHaze hums, giving me an equally as broad grin.

"I don't think I'd mind that."

Touma had been a professional photographer for years now, and he was getting irritated. There were so many models that had come in, and all of them he had sent away after a few pictures. None of them seemed to have any kind of passion, any emotion, there was nothing there. It had been so long since Touma had a proper photoshoot.

Sighing, Touma tilted his head back against the couch in exasperation, camera hanging around his neck. He'd just turned another hopeful ten away, immediately deeming them as useless. Touma had earned himself the reputation within the photographing world.

He excelled at his job, he knew the best way to draw out the models' talents, their features, everything, but he was incredibly particular about who he chose. Picking up his latest photos, from over three months ago, Touma groaned, flopping to the side on the couch.

His manager and childhood friend, Kaito, had promised to bring his other friend over, one whom he thought had a lot of potential. Touma didn't know when, or how much longer it would be until Kaito brought in this friend of his. Touma trusted Kaito's judgement, and paired with his own, they were able to determine who was "worthy" and who was not.

Not only did Touma's models get paid well, but they needed a lot of mental and physical strength to keep going. Touma's shoots usually lasted several hours beneath harsh lighting, and sometimes other conditions, such as fake snow and fan-made wind. The mental strength came from having to deal with several things happening at once, Touma's sharp orders and Kaito's piercing comments.

The murmuring of voices in the corridor had Touma perking up as he recognized Kaito's voice, along with someone else's. Could it be...? Touma sat up properly, staring at the door, ears picking up the voices outside.

"Come on, Kazuko, you agreed to it!" Kaito complained.

"The hell I did!" Whoever Kaito brought along, presumably his friend, sounds quite reluctant, as well as aggressive. "You dragged me out of my damn house. I'm not even a model, or model worthy, so why are we doing this?"

"You've got a pretty face." Kaito retorted, before entering the room through the open door. "Oh, hey Touma. Brought my friend along."

"I can hear." Touma grinned wryly. "He sounds like a piece of work."

"Who're you calling a piece of work, you piece of-" The owner of the voice stalked through the door and promptly freezes when he sees Touma.

He does have a pretty face. Touma thought.

"You?!" The man whirled around to stare at Kaito, silvery eyes blown wide, and Kaito only smiled back sheepishly. "Since when have you been working with him?" Touma shot Kaito a curious look, torn between amusement and offence.

"He's been a big fan of your work for a while now." Kaito responded, which earned him a pained and embarrassed glare from his friend. "Touma, this is my best friend, Kazuko. Kazuko, this is my childhood friend, and famous photographer, Touma Itsuki." Kazuko bowed in a sheepish manner, and Touma chuckled, before looking over Kazuko in a rather analytic way.

Kaito's friend definitely had potential, though Touma could tell that Kazuko hadn't tapped into it yet, or didn't know it existed though it was most likely the latter. He definitely had a pretty face, one that Touma himself as a person was interested in, and could tell that would look good behind a camera lense.

Touma's models never needed any photographic editing, no photoshopping, all of his photos and magazine covers were in their purest form. Kaito often spoke highly and rather giddily of the outcome of the photos. With his large friends network and connections, Kaito had been the one to help get Touma's work noticed by those around their city and internationally, and his work had blown up over night.

Touma's eyes flickered back towards Kazuko. Kazuko could potentially be a perfect model. He had slender facial features, but he wore baggy clothing, clothes several sizes too big, so it was difficult to see his form beneath. Touma gestured to Kazuko to take off his shirt, and Kazuko blinked, before his eyes darted over to Kaito, looking uneasy. Kaito nodded, and Kazuko sighed, before pulling the material over his head.

His form was lithe, well compact, and would definitely look good behind the camera lense and beneath certain lighting. Well, it was quite an incredible sight without any camera lense or special lighting. Kazuko was looking away, obviously embarrassed if the flush on his cheeks meant anything.

That drew Touma's attention to his eyes - and he decided right then that they were the most intriguing, specifically the color of his eyes. They were a pale, silvery grey, and in certain lighting, they would almost appear to be white.

"I'll see what we can do." Touma said. Kazuko looked confused, and Kaito looked shocked that he'd made a decision so quickly. Kaito recovered quickly, features lighting up in excitement, before he clapped his hands together.

"Let's go!"

"I never agreed to this. I never agreed to this." Kazuko chanted as Kaito dragged him out of the room before Touma, his shirt still balled into one hand. Touma let out an amused snort, watching as Kaito hauled Kazuko down the hall and towards the studio.

"You never told me what kind of job offer this was." Touma could hear Kazuko's mumbling a few steps ahead. Kaito had stopped dragging him after the silvery-eyed man became compliant and followed him without protest.

"But you agreed to it anyways!" Kaito chirped. "How many times have I told you, you've got the face and the body of a model without doing crap. Do something with it." Kazuko rolled his shoulders back, shirt still clutched in one hand. Touma could see the muscle rolling beneath the skin, and tilted his head in curiosity.

Once they reached the studio, the rest of Touma's lingering staff looked up, gazes resting on the newcomer with what appeared to be awe. As Touma ducked through the door, they all immediately scrambled to get back to what they were doing.

"Don't worry about too much." Touma called, his voice echoing in the relatively empty room. "We're just gonna see how he does." Kazuko curled his lip back slightly, and to mostly anyone, it would appear unsettling and rude, but in Touma's eyes, it did nothing but accentuate his features. Kaito took Kazuko's shirt from him, and gestured towards the white backdrop.

Kazuko growled beneath his breath, and stalked over, hands shoved in his pockets, shoulders tense and lean muscles rippling beneath his skin. When he got to the white cloth, however, he paused, and glanced over his shoulder towards Touma and Kaito, as if seeing if they had followed. Touma had, and Kaito followed close behind.

Settling in a comfortable position, Touma gestured for Kazuko to turn to face him, before lifting his camera. Kazuko looked incredibly awkward, even a bit endearing if Touma admitted that to himself.

"Try to relax," Kaito called. Kazuko shot him a scathing look, completely natural, and Touma snapped a few photos. Clicking through them briefly, Touma quickly found that Kazuko did have lots of potential, and he had a natural talent for the camera even if he didn't think of it.

"I'm not fit for this." Kazuko protested, raking an irritated hand through his hair. Snap. Snap. Snap. Kazuko started, eyes darting over to Touma, who lowered the camera sheepishly.

"You're fine. Doing a lot better than most people, actually." Kaito piped up, earning him another exasperated look from Kazuko. "And no, you can't have your shirt back." Touma was impressed with how well Kaito could read Kazuko, although the silver-eyed man's discomfort wasn't the most subtle. Kazuko sighed, and looked back at Touma.

"What else do you want me to do?"

"First things first, stand up straighter. Cross your arms over your chest, tilt your chin up and give me a defiant look." Touma suggested. Next to him, Kaito snorted.

"That shouldn't be hard for him." Kazuko scowled again, but followed Touma's instructions, though his expression didn't quite match what Touma was looking for. "Come on, Kazuko. Look defiant! What would you do if someone insulted you?"

"Punch them in the face." Touma couldn't help the snort of amusement that passed his lips. Why wasn't it surprising? Moreover, why wasn't he so strict and harsh like he usually was? There was something about Kaito's friend that intrigued him. Not only did it appear that Kazuko was a fan of Touma's work, but Touma wasn't sure what his childhood friend would think if he tried - key word, tried - to pursue this silvery eyed man.

"Something that doesn't include violence." Kaito sighed, looking exapserated himself, though there was a trace of a smile on his lips. Kazuko blinked, thumbs hooking into the loops of his jeans, tilting his head as a thoughtful expression crossed his face. Quickly, Touma lifted the camera and took a few more shots. To his delight, he saw a small smile lift the corner of Kazuko's lips, as if he was slowly getting the hang of this.

"Mm, give them a careless look and then walk away." Kazuko finally said.

"That's the complete opposite of what you said before." Kaito arched an eyebrow. "What kind of personality are you trying to portray?" Kazuko rolled his eyes. Touma let out a sharp, but low whistle, one that had Kazuko's eyes snapping back to him, giving him a displeased and disgruntled look. Momentarily pleased, Touma took a few more pictures, before straightening.

"You're quite good." Touma hummed, earning a few surprised hushed whispers from the others in the room. Kaito doesn't look surprised.

"I told you he had potential!" Kaito cheered as he turned to face Touma. His violet eyes were filled to the brim with excitement, expression giddy, before turning to Kazuko. "See? I told you."

"You didn't really tell me much." Kazuko grumbled, pouting a little bit as Kaito tossed him his shirt, pulling the fabric over his head. Touma almost found himself disappointed as Kazuko's shirt fell over his body, and he fingered the hem of his baggy sweater-shirt anxiously. "You're the one who barged into my apartment, and my room at three A.M., jumped on me, and screeched that you found a potential job oppurtunity for me and you said that you knew that I would do well and would refuse to tell me where and what the job was."

Touma looked over at Kaito, who looked sheepish, but defensive at the same time. Crossing his arms over his chest, Katio tilted his chin up before speaking, "well, would you have come otherwise if I told you what it was? You trying out to be a model to be photographed?"

"No."

"Exactly." Kaito shifted his gaze back to Touma, and arched an eyebrow, awaiting a response.

"I think you definitely have something there. It's a rare talent to be able to just appear as if you were made for the spotlight and camera." Touma said.

"Strangely enough, I hate being the center of attention," Kazuko said, in almost a petulant way. Touma regarded Kazuko in an almost accusing manner.

"If you're up for it, we can work out an arrangement." Touma suggested. Kazuko's eyes strayed towards Kaito, as if searching for some reaction. Kaito's expression remained neutral, and Kazuko sighed.

"Fine, but I'm not having a meeting today. I have other business to attend to." Kazuko glanced at the watch on his wrist, and scrunched up his nose. "Which I'm probably going to be late to if I don't hurry soon."

"Ah, then," Touma reached into his back pocket and pulled out his business card, handing it to Kazuko, who plucked it delicately from Touma's fingers. "I'm pretty much free for the next few days, so feel free to call or text whenever."

"You're only free because you've turned all the other models who've come to you away." Kaito snorted. Touma shot him a scathing look, which Kaito promptly ignored. Kazuko bowed lightly in respect, before Kaito gave him instructions on how to get back to the parking lot.

"He's unique." Touma commented, before quickly adding, "in a good way, of course." He reached for his water bottle, before taking a swig.

"He's your type, isn't he?" Kaito asked, and immediately ducked for cover when Touma spat the water out incredulously.

"What the hell, Kaito?!" Touma sputtered, and Kaito laughed, poking his head out from behind the chair he hid against.

"You weren't the most subtle with your curiosity and interest." Kaito said, rolling his eyes, before grabbing a rag to dry the table and chair. "I'm surprised Kazuko didn't notice. He's usually quite keen."

"Usually?" Touma asked, tilting his head. Kaito nodded.

"He's smart. Perceptive, really. He can pick up a lot of things, but it seems that whenever it comes to romantic interest, he's as dense as a brick." Kaito mused, staring at the door Kazuko had left from. Touma's mouth opened and closed, though he was unable to formulate any words. "Oh, don't worry. If you wanna chase him, I'm fine with that."

"What?" Touma said, dumbly.

"He's a fan of yours, not to mention has talked about how attractive you are." Kaito said bluntly. "I was impressed, honestly. He's never really found anyone attractive in his entire life, and I swore he was asexual for the longest time possible."

"So you're saying -" Touma started.

"Yes, just like your idiotic snail brain, Kazuko bats for the same team, and he most definitely bats for you." Kaito responded. Touma fell into a contemplating silence. It was known that Touma was gay, he'd openly admitted it during the few interviews he had agreed to. Of course, Touma hadn't known at all that Kazuko was gay, however, he did have a habit of falling for gay guys, whether or not he knew they were gay or not.

As if reading his mind, Kaito spoke up again. "I swear you have a radar for gay guys. The only ones you've ever found attractive, you learn that they came out recently, or a while back. It's never the straight guys."

"They just don't interest me," Touma protested.

"Well, duh," Kaito drawled. Touma flushed, and grumbled something beneath his breath, capping his water bottle before trudging out of the studio, Kaito easily falling in step behind him.

It was approximately two days later when Kazuko contacted Touma. Kaito had explained to Touma that Kazuko usually didn't use his phone, or too many electronics in general. If his response was slow, it was probably because of that.

The message had been quite brief and awkward, to say at the least. It was clear that Kazuko's other appointment had left his "audition" a little open-ended and unclear of what would happen next. They agreed to meet up, along with Kaito, over lunch the following day.

Touma and Kaito were the first ones there, snagging a table outside at the cafe. Kaito was fiddling with his phone, brow furrowed at the screen, and Touma was clicking through the pictures on his camera, from Kazuko's first test shooting. The sound of a chair dragging against pavement had him looking up, and he nearly did a double take.

Unlike the first time he'd seen Kazuko, he was wearing clothes that accented his body form quite nicely. Kazuko was wearing black Converse, dark washed jeans, a black t-shirt beneath a lighter blue and white button down hanging loosely around his torso. There was a plain black ball cap on his head, shadowing his silvery eyes.

"Hey," Kazuko said as he sat down. Kaito immedaitely reached over and swatted him upside the head. "Ow! Hey! Why are you hitting me?!"

"Because you're an idiot!" Kaito barked. Kazuko narrowed his eyes at Kaito.

"Not only did you barge into my apartment telling me you found a job oppurtunity, but the day of, two days ago, you dragged me out of the house before I could get dressed properly!" Kazuko threw his hands up in the air. Kaito shook his head, but dropped whatever argument they were having. Awkwardly, Touma cleared his throat, and Kazuko's gaze flicked over to him.

"Kaito said that the two of you come here frequently for lunch, so he already ordered for you." Touma began. Kazuko nodded, and took off the cap, hooking it on the arm of the chair. "So, I'm guessing we can get right into business."

"Right." Kazuko said, leaning forward and clasping his hands on the table. "First things first, I know nothing about being a model or anything remotely in that area. I know of your reputation to be harsh and pushing on your models, but the work you produce is incredible, so it makes up for your critique." Touma tilted his head, before he leaned forward, clasping his own hands and resting his chin on them as he stared at Kazuko.

"Looks like you know a little bit about my work." Kazuko flushed, and turned his head away, and Kaito snickered.

"Of course. I've been a fan of your abilities to capture the things your advertisements and magazine covers portray. It's a talent to be able to draw out the most in everyone to it's extent." Kazuko responded, eyes flicking back to Touma, though he still looked embarrassed.

"You," Touma started, "have great potential. I can see it in you. You just need to get more comfortable with being in the spotlight."

"I don't like people staring at me." Kazuko muttered, resting his chin in his palm. A sudden new presence had Touma looking up as the waitress placed their lunches on the table. Touma had ordered a salad along with grilled chicken, Kaito had ordered himself some kind of creamy pasta, and Kazuko had a panini sandwich.

"If you're going to become a model, then you're going to have to get used to being stared at." Touma sighed.

"Yeah, it's even more awkward because it's you." Kazuko muttered, and it was too low for Touma to catch it. Shooting Kaito a confused look, Kaito simply shrugged, mouthing it's nothing though the grin on his lips let Touma knew it was definitely something.

The rest of lunch was mostly talk of what Kazuko would do if he accepted the job, and Touma found that Kazuko really had no idea what he'd do. It was clear that Kazuko didn't know how to accept or react to a compliment. Each and every time Touma would comment on something that he liked about Kazuko's potential, and what he saw, the latter would turn quiet, cheeks flushed red.

Kaito had a rather smug grin on his face, even after he had slipped in the conversation that Kazuko couldn't handle compliments too well. When Kazuko excused himself to go the the bathroom, Kaito faced Touma immediately.

"What are you doing?" Kaito hissed.

"What do you mean?" Touma asked, confused

"Haven't you listened to anything I said a couple days ago?" Kaito pointed a finger rather violently towards where Kazuko had been sitting. "Think before you say stuff!"

Oh.

Kaito snorted as realization settled into Touma's features. "Oh." He said dumbly. Needless to say, it became a bit awkward when Kazuko returned.

They agreed on a three week trial for Kazuko. It was enough time to determine whether or not he liked the job or not, and after three weeks, he'd be free to leave or stay. After lunch, Kaito and Kazuko argued over who'd pay the bill as Touma slid the waitress a few bills.

The three of them headed down the street, Kazuko pulling his cap further down his head as people recognized and approached Touma, whispering from afar, some even braving to go up to talk to him. Despite his reputation as a harsh work critic, people knew that outside of work he was friendly and cheery.

Kaito hung behind, only giving a small wave and nod when anyone acknowledged him as Touma's manager. When Kazuko, an unfamiliar face, caught Touma's fan's attention, they'd ask questions about him, even approach him, but Kaito would always stop them.

"He's blind, and he's uncomfortable with those who get to close to him." Kaito warned. Touma blinked, bewildered. Kazuko... wasn't blind as far as he knew. Suddenly, Kazuko's words from lunch filtered through his brain, "I don't like people staring at me." and connected the dots. It was fortunate that his natural eye color gave him that blind appearance.

Kazuko immediately went along with Kaito, and Touma figured it was probably some kind of routine if anything like this happened. Shifting closer to Kaito, Kazuko's eyes darted back and forth, before settling to the right of one of the girl's face.

"Oh, we're sorry." One girl said, before peering at Kazuko. "Hey, you're kinda cute."

"Um. Thanks, I guess." Kazuko mumbled in return, eyes flickering over towards Kaito, then to Touma.

"He is, isn't he?" Kaito crowed, slinging an arm over Kazuko's shoulder, who rolled his eyes and tried to push Kaito off. Touma laughed, drawing the two girls' attention.

"Sorry, but we've gotta get back to my studio. He's working for me now." Touma said, pointing towards Kazuko. The girls nodded, though they did ask for a quick picture with Touma, Kaito and Kazuko, and the three were on their way back to Touma's studio.

"Does that happen often?" Touma asked after a few moments of silence. Kazuko glanced up at him, he was walking in between Touma and Kaito and nodded.

"Yeah. That's why he never leaves the house." Kaito snorted.

"I don't like interacting with strangers. It's exhausting." Kazuko mumbled. Touma tilted his head.

"But you interacted with me just fine." Touma pointed out. Kazuko opened his mouth to respond, but closed it and turned his face away. Touma's gaze flicked to Kaito, who grinned.

I told you, he likes you, Kaito mouthed. Touma flushed, and wrenched his gaze away, staring at the sidewalk straight before him.

"Pole."

"Ow." Touma groaned, rubbing his forehead, and heard Kazuko and Kaito snicker, looking up to see the two of them standing in front of the door to Touma's studio. "Guys, why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"You seemed to caught up in your thoughts." Kaito said.

"We said 'pole' several times." Kazuko replied at the same time. Touma sighed, and headed over, hand over his camera. Luckily, nothing had happened to it. Kazuko had agreed to do a couple hours today, as Touma already had a few ideas on how to get started on his new project.

Kaito brought Kazuko to the clothing room to get the clothes while Touma set up. Since it wasn't a set date today, they were the only three in the studio. Soon, the lights were set up and Touma had taken out a few makeup tools. Kazuko already had enough natural beauty to him, that Touma only needed to accent bits and pieces so he didn't appear washed out beneath the lights.

Kazuko and Kaito returned, voices low murmurs, and Touma glanced over his shoulder. Kazuko had swapped out his black t-shirt for a white one, and wore a leather jacket. His original shirt and button down were slung over an arm. Touma gestured for Kazuko towards him, and the silvery eyed man obeyed.

He looks so cute. Touma thought, hiding a grin to himself. "You're going to need a little bit of makeup, just so you don't look washed out in the lights." Kazuko nodded, and sat in the high chair that Touma gestured to. It was only then that Touma noticed how much shorter Kazuko was than him. He knew Kaito was short, but he was sure that Kazuko was even shorter.

Touma tilted Kazuko's chin up lightly with his fingers and dusted a bit of powder along Kazuko's cheekbones. Kazuko reared back suddenly, ducking his head as he sneezed.

"Sorry." He said, sheepishly, as he lifted his head. Touma smiled wryly and shook his head, picking up the brush to brush some more powder onto Kazuko's skin. Kazuko's eyes squeezed shut, expression scrunching up. Dammit, why is he so adorable?

At twenty five, Touma shouldn't be flipping out over someone else he barely knew. Finishing with the powder, Touma used his thumbs to smear the top edges of where the powder was still visible, and Kazuko started, eyes fluttering open.

"Mm, let's take a few pictures and see if anything needs to be altered or added." Touma said. It took a lot of strength to pull back.

"Okay." Kazuko breathed, before hopping off his seat and heading towards the white backdrop.

"Great job!" Touma called, before standing up to relieve the strain in his legs. Kazuko smiled shyly, and took the towel and water bottle that Kaito offered him gratefully. Beneath the harsh lighting and white backdrop that reflected the light, it got extremely hot, and with a leather jacket on and almost all black, it was worse. Kazuko stripped from the leather jacket, dragging a towel across his face and down his neck to wipe the sweat away.

"You're doing quite well." Kaito said. Kazuko shrugged one shoulder.

"I honestly still don't know what I'm doing." Kazuko sighed, clasping the back of his neck with one hand as he tilted the water bottle back with the other. Touma approached, and nudged Kazuko lightly with his hip, getting his attention before showing him the photos he'd taken.

Each one had been with a different pose, sometimes slightly altered, and sometimes the exact same. There were some sequence photos and some with changed lighting. Kazuko looked striking in each one, capturing several emotions perfectly - whether intentional or not. Touma watched Kazuko's silvery eyes flicker from photo to photo, occasionally glancing up at him or towards Kaito.

"You have something here." Touma insisted. "You're incredible at being able to show a certain emotion when asked and at a record pace." Kazuko shifted on his feet and mumbled a quiet thanks. Touma sighed, and let the camera dangle once more from his neck after turning it off. He checked his watch for the time. "Well, it's probably enough for today."

"Ah. Okay," Kazuko responded, before promptly stripping from the white t-shirt, padding halfway across the room to grab his own shirt and button down that was slung across the back of a chair. Touma averted his eyes a bit awkwardly, unsure of where exactly to look. Instead, he looked back at his camera screen.

A few moments later, Touma picked up the low murmuring, and noted that Kaito and Kazuko were talking quietly to each other as Kazuko put his ball cap back on his head.

"Thank you for today, Touma." Touma blinked, eyes flicking to Kazuko as the silvery-eyed man bowed slightly. "Um, I guess I'll stay in touch with you."

"Right." Touma said. "I hope you don't have too much planned for this week?"

"Not really." Kazuko shrugged. "I have a bunch of free time on my hands and I need to get out and do something instead of laze about."

"I'm still envious of you, you know." Kaito huffed, before smacking his hand palm-first against Kazuko's abdomen. It was a hearty slap - Touma could hear it clearly and winced. Kazuko coughed, wheezing.

"Ow!" Kazuko gasped, grasping Kaito's wrist and holding him at bay. "The hell was that for?"

"For having the body of an athlete without doing anything." Kaito retorted.

"You do have a pretty fit body form for someone who doesn't do anything." Touma piped up. "From what I understand, you don't do too much exercise or sports?" Kazuko shook his head.

"Not really..." Kazuko responded, frowning slightly.

"Damn. Like Kaito, I'm pretty jealous. I've gotta constantly do something at least three times a week for an hour and a half or so, or else I lose everything I build up. Kaito's just a twig in general." Touma mused.

"Hey!" Kaito shot Touma a scowl, who grinned when Kazuko snorted. "You're short." Kaito snapped at Kazuko, who merely tapped Kaito's nose and escaped the room. He moved so quickly, so fluidly, it was graceful - nearly like a dance as Touma watched him leave.

Kaito sauntered up to Touma, and poked his cheek playfully, before dangling Touma's phone before him, displaying his home screen.

"So, when did you set him as your background?" Flushing furiously, Touma snatched his phone back from Kaito and stuffed it in his pocket.

"How do you know my password?" Touma hissed.

"You know, 2580 isn't the most effective password," Kaito said. "Now, when did you set him as your background?" Touma scowled.

"A little after the first day." He grumbled petulantly. For some crazy reason, Touma had set his home screen background to one of the first photos he'd taken of Kazuko. It had been the one where he looked as if he was deep in thought, thumbs hooked into the loops of his jeans, a small smile quirking up one corner of his lips.

"And you haven't asked him out yet?"

"It's weird! I barely know him!" Touma protested.

"He's your home screen on your goddamned phone. Is that not weird?" Kaito shot back. Touma flushed, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. "You're my childhood buddy, Touma, but you know, you can be really..... slow."

"What? So you expect me to just straight up tell him, 'hey, I like your face. Wanna date me?'" Touma arched an eyebrow at Kaito, who gave him a deadpanned look in return. "You're not serious." No answer. "Kaito..." Another quirked brow. "Come on. I've barely known him for two days!"

"Yet you like his face." Kaito grumbled.

"I can like anyone's face." Touma shot back.

"Look, I'm not against you wanting to date him, but I'm telling you to do something about it if you're actually serious. If you're going to string him along and give him false hope, I'll kill you, childhood friend or not." Kaito said, rubbing a hand down his face. "It's not my place to elaborate, but Kazuko's had a hard past, worse than yours by far, and I don't want to see him hurting again."

With those final ominous words, Kaito left the studio, leaving Touma alone with his thoughts.

Kazuko blinked, gaze lifting from the screen before him before glancing over as his phone buzzed on his desk. Putting down his touch pen, he reached for it, pressing the home button to see a new chat notification:

Unlocking his phone, Kazuko opened the application to see that it was a group chat of him, Touma and Kaito. Amusingly, and predictably, Kaito responded first.

Kaito: What the hell, man?! It's 3 AM in the goddamned morning.

Touma: then why are you awake?

Kaito: because you woke me up you dumbass.

Me: I'm trying to work here.

Touma: at 3 AM?

Me: Yes, is there a problem with that?

Touma: No?

Kaito: Ooh, is it another drawing? Ö

Me: Yes

Touma: A drawing? You draw?

Kaito: No, Touma, he's obviously not a drawer.

Touma: Wait, actually?

Kaito: and you're still dumb as a brick. Sarcasm goes over your head way too easily.

Kaito: You're tall too. You should be able to catch it somehow, I don't give a damn if it's your face or not.

Kazuko snorted softly, Kaito sounded pretty pissed. Whether it was irritation at Touma's denseness, or being woken up at an ungodly hour, it was hard to tell. Kazuko switched his attention back to his drawing tablet, where he was just going over his rough sketch with thicker and bolder lines.

Touma: Kaito's so mean to me ):

Kaito: Damn straight I am.

Touma: But Kaito, you're not straight.

Me: It's a figure of speech, you idiot.

Touma: Is Kazuko siding with Kaito? What is this? D:

Touma: So mean.

Me: Eh, whatever.

Kaito: Kazuko! Drawing! Now! OwO

Me: It's not done...?

Kaito: I don't care. It'll be a nice sight to see before I go to bed. I don't want Touma's whiny voice via. text stuck in my head before I have to go see him in less than six hours.

Touma: r00d.

Me: No. Don't do that. Ever again.

Me: Kaito - [image]

Kaito: holy hell, that's incredible!

Touma: you can dRAW, damn!

Kazuko flushed, setting his phone screen down after turning off the vibration in the settings, and picked up the touch pen once again. He'd go to sleep soon.

Kazuko ended up sleeping in late, and woke up to hear the door to his apartment open and had a matter of mere seconds before something jumped on him with a loud shout.

"Oof." Kazuko groaned, arms flailing to try and whack whoever it was off.

"You're late!" Kaito shouted, shaking him violently. "How many times have I told you, stop staying up so late to draw! Use your free time during the day to do it, not the wee hours of the morning!"

"I'm never motivated in the morning." Kazuko moaned, burying his face in his pillow and laying belly down. Kaito grumbled something and climbed off. Kazuko shifted to watch Kaito as he picked up Kazuko's drawing tablet, switching it on to look at his newest, finished drawing. He'd yet to color it in.

The drawing was a bust of a dragon's head. The scales took the most amount of time, and even the basic outline of the eye looked realistic if looked at from afar. The lower jaw was hinged open, all teeth and fangs visible, forked tongue curled up near the end of it's snout. The immense amount of detail that Kazuko had put into it took way too much time and effort, and though he'd given up halfway, he still thought it looked.... decent.

"Come on, you've still got two weeks and six days left." Kaito said, before grabbing Kazuko around the waist and hauling him off the bed with a thump. Tangled in the sheets, Kazuko rolled towards his bathroom, leaving Kaito with the rumpled sheets on the floor.

Padding into the bathroom sleepily, Kazuko took a quick shower, brushed his teeth and threw on a simple jeans and hoodie, before grabbing an energy drink and rice ball from the fridge before meeting Kaito at the door.

"Ready?" Kaito asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be." Kazuko grumbled in return. Kaito held up a satchel, one that Kazuko recognized immediately. "But I thought-"

"Nah, today's more of a planning and deciding what to do kind of day. We're gonna be planning and stuff for most of the day with breaks, so I figured you could use this to destress." Kaito said, shrugging one shoulder, a small smile quirking the corner of his lips.

"Thanks." Kazuko breathed, before stuffing the rest of his hastily snatched breakfast into his mouth and taking the satchel, nearly stumbling to put his shoes on.

Waking up to a snow day was one of the best feelings, I decide as I stare outside the window at the winter wonderland. There's so much of it. Pattering downstairs to the smell of chocolate chip pancakes and bacon, I nearly trip over my calico cat, Ohana, who hisses at me and scampers away.

"Good morning, Touma," Mom calls from the kitchen, sounding amused.

"Snow! Ma, snow!" I chirp, unable to contain my excitement as I press my hands against the glass of the living room floor-to-ceiling windows. Dad passes by, ruffling my hair, chuckling as an indigant squawk escapes me as I bat his hands away. "Mama, Papa, can I ask if Kazuko, Kaito and Kaede wanna come over?"

"Three K's in the house?" Dad asks, newspaper in his hands as he sits down at the table.

"Yep!" I beam."They're my best friends!"

Where I live is pretty much an apartment complex, four apartments joint into one. However, these apartments are bigger than the average size for those usually found in Japan. Kazuko, Kaito and Kaede all happen to be my three neighbors, and we're all about the same age.

"Of course," Mom smiles, flipping a few pancakes in the pan. "You can eat breakfast first, then go knock on their doors."

"Ok." I run into the bathroom to wash my hands, before I help Mom bring the plates to the table. Once we're all ready to eat, we clasp our hands together and give our thanks to the food before digging in.

Pancakes and bacon are a very Western-type of breakfast, but Mom only makes these kinds of things on days such as snow days and birthdays. She knows it's one of my favorite treats to have as a breakfast.

"How is it?" Mom asks, looking amused with a smile on her face as I shovel my mouth with pancakes. I swallow, and gulp down a mouthful of milk tea, before responding.

"Tasty as always, Ma." She smiles, and dabs at the corners of my mouth with a napkin before letting me finish. Both Mom and Dad start talking, and I catch a few words, here and there about politics and their jobs, but I'm more focused on eating and getting to play with my friends in the snow.

When I'm done, I hop down from my seat, grab my dirty dishes and head over to the sink, rinsing them before placing them in the dishwasher. I then go back in the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my hands and face before I head back out into the main room.

"If you're going out into the snow straight away, be careful." Mom calls.

"I will!" I cheer. I get dressed in snow pants, boots, gloves and a hat, and grab my jacket before I wave, before heading across the hallway to Kazuko's door. I rap on their door a couple times, and I hear a yipping inside, signaling that Kazuko's German Shepherd pup is near the door.

"Atlas, stop!" I grow excited as I hear Kazuko's soft voice, and the doorknob shakes a few times before it opens. Kazuko stands there, small hands grasping the door and his mom's hand on the handle. Kazuko's puppy runs in circles in the background.

"Hey, Touma." Kazuko says, in that usual shy manner of his.

"Hi, Kazuko." I grin. "I was wondering if you wanna come play in the snow and then come over to my apartment for hot cocoa? I'm gonna go ask Kaito and Kaede as well." Kazuko looks up at his mother, for permission, and she smiles.

"Go ahead, just don't get lost in the snow." She says.

"I'm not that short!" Kazuko yelps, glaring up at his mother. He's probably trying to look scary, but he just looks adorable.

"You couldn't reach the handle," I pipe up. Kazuko sighs.

"I'm almost there." He grumbles, before turning around and reaching in to the closet near the door to pull out snow clothes.

"I'll be back, hopefully with Kaito and Kaede!" I chirp. I hurry up the stairs of the apartment complex, and soon, I've gotten the permission from Kaito and Kaede's parents as they eagerly pull on their snow gear. We head back down the stairs and run into Kazuko, who's sitting quietly before his door in the corridor. I offer him my hand, and pull him up so we can all go outside.

Continuation of Photographer Touma and "Model" Kazuko AU.

When Kaito and Kazuko arrived at Touma's office, the photographer was already jotting something down on a pad of paper, before chewing on the end of the pen. He only looked up as Kaito placed the grocery bag on the table. Kazuko and Kaito had bought a few rice cakes, bags of chips, instant noodle bowls and cookies before heading up to the studio.

Kaito gestured for Kazuko to sit next to Touma, before taking the seat across from them, folding one leg over the other and resting his chin on folded hands.

"I'm really sorry for being late." Kazuko said, trying and failing to stifle a yawn. Touma merely gave him a wry smile.

"It's fine." Touma responded. "Here, look at this," he pointed at a few fliers and letters spread out on the table. "These are the offers I've gotten from clothing brands to make their advertisements. Are you interested?" Kazuko set his tablet bag down on the couch, before sitting down.

"I mean, I don't really like the idea of having my face plastered on advertisements." Kazuko mumbled, averting his gaze.

"It'll be fine! You've got a gorgeous face and body, so don't feel too conscious!" Touma replied cheerily as Kazuko flushed and Kaito kicked the photographer swiftly in the shin.

"You're not making my situation any better." Kazuko pouted petulantly, sinking down on the couch, cheeks still aflame.

"Is that a yes?" Touma asked eagerly, fighting the urge to shoot Kaito a dirty look. Kazuko sighed, before grudgingly nodding his head. "Great! I'll contact the companies back." Standing up, Touma reached over to his desk to grab his laptop.

The first two or so hours were complete work: determining what sets and what locations needed to be reserved in need of a specific shoot, and what Kazuko would and wouldn't be comfortable with.

The bags of chips have already been opened and munched on, and Kaito stood up to get a kettle to boil hot water for the noodles. Kazuko reached for his tablet bag, shifting slightly to get more space before taking it out. He was aware of Touma watching him curiously.

"Um, you can look if you want." Kazuko invited. Touma looked hesitant, before he scooted closer, his upper arm brushing against Kazuko's shoulder. Their height difference made Kazuko feel rather daunted. He unlocked his tablet easily, which opened up to his sketch from the night before.

Touma gave a low and impressed whistle. Kazuko glanced up, watching as Touma's amber eyes flicked across the screen of the tablet. Kazuko smiled wryly, before picking up the tablet pen and creating a new layer to start creating lineart.

"Is it just going to be in black and white?" Touma asked.

"I haven't decided yet." Kazuko mused. "If it was in color, I'd probably choose some dark blues and whites, along with some amber-orange eyes."

"So, kind of like me?" Kazuko froze, glancing back up at Touma, who had a curious expression on his face, lips quirked up to the side in a smirk. Kazuko didn't even notice that his color scheme idea matched Touma's hair color and eyes until it had been pointed out to him.

"I guess so." Kazuko mumbled, averting his gaze awkwardly. His hand stilled with his drawing, and he jolted as he heard Touma sigh, and a weight drop to his shoulder. His eyes flicked down to his shoulder, only to be met with the top of Touma's head.

Rolling his eyes and fighting a blush, Kazuko continued to draw over his sketch, involuntarily leaning into Touma's warmth as he drew. He barely noticed when Kaito came back in the room, the smile that grew across Kaito's face, or when Touma fell asleep.