I slam the phone to its craddle. That was -- who else - Izumi. Just another set of whining and nagging from her. I sigh. I really can't understand woman. Sometimes she is the sweetest thing in the whole world, other times she is a real pain in the ass.

"Move aside," I growl at Ayu, pushing her aside so I can sit on the sofa. I throw myself to the cushion, opening a can of beer in my hand. Ayu keeps meowing and rubbing herself to the side of my arm, expecting to be petted, but I'm still annoyed over the whole things with Izumi that I decide to ignore her.

I turn on the television, switching from channel to channel. I really don't put any attention to the television. It's just to divert my mind from Izumi. It doesn't succeed though… nothing can make much different when I am highly annoyed.

It isn't only the whole Izumi trouble that annoys me. The fact that both my car and my laptop need to be repaired only drop my mood even more.

The doorbell rings loudly.

Sigh. I am too lazy to answer it. I just hope whoever that person is will take a cue and just leave me the hell alone.

The bell rings again. And again. …And again.

My thinning patience finally snaps and, cursing under my breath, I stomp towards the door. "What do you want?" I snap brusquely as I opened the door roughly…

… And come face to face with a slightly taken aback Jiro.

I blink. "…Jiro…?"

"Uh… hi," he smiles somewhat nervously. "Am I disturbing you?"

"… No. What do you want?". Okay, so I sound impolite, but I'm just… surprised. We are not really close to each other, so finding him at my doorstep is unexpected.

"Um… nothing actually. I just happen to pass by and I thought I just wanna drop by to say hi," he grins a little. "You know, we live pretty close but I've never come here before so…"

I stare at him, the young man that is standing before me. The boyish young man who is the last to join GLAY. Standing at my doorstep, and I see the faint expectation on his face.

Is he expecting to be invited inside?

If I don't invite him inside, will our relationship become worse?

I know that he still feels like an outsider in GLAY. I over heard it when he was talking to Takuro. And I know I'm not making the matter any better by putting space between me and him.

Maybe I should just invite him. To show him that eventhough my behaviour towards him all these times were not what most people would love to have, but to me, Teru and Takuro he is not an outsider.

How can he be an outsider while he has contributed greatly for GLAY's massive success?

"Um… you know, Hisashi, if I am bothering you, you can just say it," he says and I realize that I've been silent for a decidedly long time. I stare at him, and see him trying to see nonchalant. But I can see the faint lines of disappointment on his face.

"How about some beer?" I finally ask.

He stares at me unsurely for a moment, and then his face brightens. And I mean *really* brightens.

"You don't mind?" he asks with some sort of childish excitement.

Why does he sound so excited anyway? I'm only offering some beer, right? Nonetheless, I find myself almost smiling at his reaction. Almost. "Well, of course I don't mind," I shrug cooly. "That's why I offered it to you"

He looks like he is about to say something as he opens his mouth slightly but then he closes it again. "Thanks," he finally says.

"Well, come on in," I say as I walk inside.

I hear him taking off his shoes and follows me to the kitchen. I scan the kitchen… and finding it pathetically lack of foods and decent things to eat. I sigh. I am too lazy to do food shopping, I have to admit that. Usually Izumi or the housekeeper is the one who does that, but right now Izumi is highly pissed off at me and the housekeeper is sick.

How splendid.

"You have cute cat," I hear Jiro says from the livingroom.

"Yeah. Be careful though coz she is unfriendly to stranger. She clawed Takuro the last time he came here" I warned him, smiling a little at the memory. Crap, really nothing to eat. I guess I have to have a delivery here…

"… She is?" I hear him reply in wonder. "But she is very friendly…"

… Friendly…? I turn around and walk to the kitchen door that connecting the kitchen with the livingroom. And I see Jiro standing there with Ayu in his arms, rubbing herself at him, purring softly.

I raise an eyebrow at him. "That's strange…"

Jiro grins happily. "She likes me"

"You bet," I mutter. "Anyway, since it's dinner time, you want to have dinner here? But I'm ordering delivery since I've got no food…"

"Can I?" he asks hopefully, staring at me with those luminious brown orbs of his.

I roll my eyes. "Yes, of course," I sigh. "I've invited you so of course you can stay for dinner. Is fried chicken allright for you?"

"Yeah, it's more than okay," he smiles.

I quickly make an order to my usual restaurant. I take two cans of beer from the referigerator, the only things that I know I won't ever be lack of. The beers. They are always there in the referigerator.

Okay, now what I really have no idea of is what to say to Jiro. I have to admit that I'm not that good in opening a conversation. Especially with someone I'm not really close with.

Not that I don't want to be close friend with him… it's just that I haven't gotten myself to do that.

I quietly watch him from the door. He is still playing with Ayu. He chukcles a little as Ayu licks the tip of his nose. The deep voice of his that betrays his babyish face. And for that moment, he looks almost… natural there, sitting in my livingroom and playing with Ayu. It was as if he was my best friend suddenly came over to play.

I step into the livingroom, making my presence known, and suddenly the atmosphere around him changes. The naturality that I found in him just a second ago is gone and he is back to what he was like before.

An outsider.

He's still playing with Ayu, though, but something changes. I can't put my hand on it, but I know that something about him changes.

"You like cats?" I say, trying to open up a conversation. Okay, so maybe that is not a first class way to open a conversation, but that is what pops up in my mind now. It's better than nothing.

He looks up and I toss him a can of beer, which he catches just in time. "Thanks," he says. "…Yeah, I like cats"

"You have cats at home?" God, what is it? An interview with Jiro??

"No," he replies. "I used to have a dog, though… but he ran away". Ayu nuzzles him some more and he smiles delightedly. "Since when do you have her?"

"… I dunno… I forget. But it's been a damn long time"

"She's cute"

"I know"

And the conversation just stops right there and then. I don't know whether it is me, or him, or even both of us that is pathetic. I am starting to feel stupid. And I don't even know who is the one that is stupid… him for coming here or me for letting him in.

There is silence for a decidedly long time, but both of us are trying to pretend to not notice it, him by playing with Ayu and me by drinking my beer and stare blankly at the television, trying to get a way to get out of this uneasy situation.

Thanks God that the doorbell suddenly rings. The deliveries. I quickly walk to the door, taking them, giving the man some tip and walk back to the livingroom with a quite big bag of fried chicken in my hand.

… Okay, so maybe I ordered too much fried chicken, but who cares.

"C'mon, let's eat" I tell him.

He nods, setting Ayu on the sofa and follow me to the kitchen.

Okay, just why for God's sake that he is so quite while he usually is somewhat noisy?

I put the fried chickens on a big plate and put it in the middle of the table, while he takes a seat across me, putting his beer near his plate.

"You order so much fried chickens," he says.

Like I need to be pointed out about that… "Yeah, just feel like it. I'm hungry and I don't know whether or not you are hungry too, so I took precautions"

"Am I bothering you?"

"…what?"

"I am bothering you, right?"

"Why do you think so?"

"You look… uneasy"

"Well, I thought it is you who is uneasy"

"I'm uneasy because I think I have made you uneasy"

"Why do you think so?"

"Because we are not really close with each other?"

"What do you want to do so we can get closer with each other?"

"I dunno… talk maybe"

"Okay, let's talk then"

And it happens just like that. Him sitting across me, both of us take the fried chicken, he tries to open a conversation and suddenly… yeah, we talk. We are having a decent conversation, actually.

Oh, shoot, it isn't a kind of conversation like the one I usually have with Teru and Takuro. It doesn't go that smooth either. But we are talking. Both of us put an effort to keep the conversation alive, I know it.

Time drags on eventually, but I don't think both of us really notice it. We are too busy to try to make this conversation fun. We don't fully succeed actually, but we don't fail either. There are still some awkward moments between us, but actually he sometimes can manage to say some funny remarks that get both of us laughing… or at least chuckling.

The night gets deeper and eventually the mounting fried chickens now are only a pile of bones. Empty cans of beer are also on the table. For once I think my referigerator will be lack of beers, but I actually don't mind. And our conversations get better. I don't know whether it's because we are finally getting use and feel easy with each other's presence or whether it is because of the beer, but I'm glad. Honest. And I can see it on his face too.

He's so easily read, really.

When the night gets quite late, he finally excuses himself to go home. I walk with him to the front porch, bringing Ayu in my arms. He turns to me on the doorsteps, tightening his coat as the cold autumn wind blows the chocolate locks of his hair.

"Thanks," he says, grinning a little, almost shyly. His eyes bright and his cheeks rosy pink. "I really have a great time"

"Me too," I reply in all honesty, smiling a little.

He rubs his nose a little. Habit. "You know… when you invited me earlier… I thought you did that just out of pity. I mean, me standing at your doorstep and things… I thought you you felt like being forced to invite me in…," he chuckles a bit nervously. "I'm glad I was wrong"

"Jiro," I say and he looks up to me almost expectantly. "You need to stop that"

"…What…?"

"Stop acting like you are an outsider in GLAY," I say. "You are part of GLAY, so stop behaving like an outsider. Okay, so I do realize that my behaviour is not the most welcoming and friendliest, but, you know, it's what I am. I've given up trying to change it. I behaved like this too towards Teru and Takuro when we first met, but it's getting better. Or at least, I am getting better… or so I think" I smile a little and he grins that cheeky grin of his in return.

"So, what I am trying to say is," I continue. "None of us think you are an outsider just because you are the last to join. Try not to act like one"

He smiles brightly at me and I can feel it, the gratefullness and relief in that smile. "Thank you, Hisashi," he says. "Wow, I got so much from you…. First the great time here and now these words. Thank you, really"

There is honesty in every word he said, I can feel it. "Don't mention it," I say. "You can come over again someday, Ayu would love it"

"Yeah," he grins. "Or maybe now is my turn to invite you over to my house. Come over anytime, I'll be really glad. But don't come when I'm having a heavy hangover"

"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind"

"So…"

"So…?" I echo, looking at him who looks like hesitating to say something.

"Nah," he shakes his head. "Nothing. I guess… I should be going then. Thanks again, you know. I really have bothered you"

"I said stop behaving like that"

He blushes a little and grins sheepishly. "Yah, right… old habit dies hard" he says. "Good night then"

"Yeah, good night"

He turns around then, walking to his car. He opens the door but then he stalls there. Then he lifts head again, staring at me somewhat unsurely.

"What is it?" I ask. "Spill, before I make you do it"

"Um… I hear that your car's being repaired," he says. "If you want to, we can go together to practice tomorrow"

I chuckle a little. "I thought you were going to say something dreadful or what," I say amusedly while he grins sheepishly. "Yeah, of course I want to. Thanks, it's a great help"

His face brightens again. He is so easy to please…

"Okay, tomorrow then!" he says excitedly. And then he hops into his car and starts the engine. He then rolls down the window and waves at me. "I'll pick you up at ten, okay?"

"Yeah, okay"

And then he speeds away, to his house that is not far away from my house. I don't know what makes me do this, but I stare at his car until it is out of sight. After that, I walk back into the house.

I go straight to the kitchen, finding the table still full with plates, chicken bones and empty cans. I sigh. Well, maybe I should've made him helping me cleaning all of these mess too…

I give Ayu her night rotion of milk and then I start to clean the table. What surprises me a little is that I actually hum while cleaning it. I realize that my mood has gone considerably much brighter than in the beginning of the evening.

His company is not too bad. He can make me forget about my problems for a while. And talking to him is quite fun too.

I smile a little to myself.

Next time, I will come over to his house.

~owari^^~