Chance Encounters

"Are you sure?" Dave asked, noticing that the only place Raiden would sleep would be on the couch. He was flattered by the offer, but it didn't seem right. Then again, Raiden was doing his best to make up for his actions. After a few moments he smiled and nodded his head in thanks, gathering his things and heading to the welcoming bed.

"Of course I am sure. You are my guest, your comfort is most important." Ronin smiled at him for a moment, bowing his head. He stood up to help Dave pick his stuff, though Dave took it before he could, leaving Raiden to be standing for seemingly no reason. He cleared his throat awkwardly, before walking to the door.

For a moment, he stood there, before he cleared his throat. "Sleep well. I will make breakfast in the morning for you." He smiled for a moment, bowing his head and pulling away.

Dave smiled after him, easing into bed with a content sigh. Slowly, he started to warm up to the idea of Raiden. The true test was how he would act after this little hiccup in their evening. Would Raiden be brash and impatient? Or would he manage to win Dave over? Only tomorrow woule tell.

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Raiden hadn't been home for long, and that was pretty obvious. Sweating like a pig, he had stripped his shirt off and sat in a pair of shorts on his couch, with a bag of peas (just for this occasion) on his right eye. Damn, that man's punch was fucking harsh. He was sitting there, groaning a bit with his head tilted back -- when there came a knock at the door.

But he wasn't expecting anyone. Had the guy come over somehow to try and get him back for trying to accost him in the gym? It's not even like Raiden managed to land much of a blow on him. He grumbled softly to himself for a moment before standing up, keeping the frozen peas on his eye as he went and grabbed the door -- to see Dave on the other side.

Since the kiss, Raiden had made sure to be nothing more than a good friend; he didn't push Dave, he just talked with him, hung out, often made lunch and dinner for the two of them. He had extracted the names of the people who had hurt Dave from him a few days ago, which was how he ended up with the black eye today.

"Ah! Dave! Hello! I was not expecting you today! I…apologize, did I forget we were supposed to meet up?"

"Uhhhh no I just wanted to check in on you. I usually find you here if you aren't at the gym. Never mind that, what happened to you?!" he said, hurrying inside and lifting the bag of peas gingerly to reveal the black eye underneath.

"Yikes Raiden, who did this to you?" Dave asked, grimacing slightly, "DId you get mugged or something?"

Ah shit. Raiden should have known he wouldn't get off that easily. He was always the type to try and be modest about what he does -- and in this case, modesty was definitely the best policy, because Dave was sure to get angry at him for what he did. But he was hoping to wait out the black eye, maybe even work some of his make up magic on it before he saw Dave again.

"Me? I'm fine!" he reacted, trying to keep the peas on it but unable to stop Dave from taking a peek. "No, I…might have gone after someone I should not have and bit more than I can chew." He cleared his throat, turning his back on Dave and moving back to the couch; even if Dave didn't pursue the topic any further, he knew he had to finish it. He couldn't keep it from Dave. "I might have…tried to go after Ronin."

Upon hearing the confession, Dave's face paled a bit. Out of all the things Raiden could have said, this was nowhere near the top of the list.

"You did what?" he said, sighing as he moved to inspect his friend's eye further. While he was upset that Raiden got himself beaten up picking a fight with Ronin, part of him was touched that he would go out of his way to do this for him. But he doubted Raiden knew about what Ronin did.

"Why would you do something like that?" he asked, looking his friend in the eye.

Time for the explanation. He gave a small sigh, still slightly embarrassed it had happened; his cheeks practically turned as red as his hair before Raiden began to speak. "Well, I was in the gym earlier. I was working out, trying to get a bit…stronger, y'know? And he came in, and I just knew it was him. I'd seen his picture around."

Raiden hesitated for a moment, lowering the bag of peas so he could look his new friend in the eye as best he could. "And I just…couldn't help myself. I got angry, knowing this guy had hurt you. Sure, I didn't know the specifics, but I didn't need to. You're…" He could feel his throat close up for a moment at the prospect of facing the facts head on. "You mean a lot to me, more than I thought. So when I saw him, I just…got mad. Went over and confronted him about hurting you. Tried to hit him, but it was like hitting solid stone. And he didn't look angry, he just looked amused that this small dude was trying to take him on. So I just…kept talking about how he was a horrible person and how dare he hurt you so bad…and I guess I hurt a sore spot, because he just…punched me. He looked sorry when I hit the floor, but he also just kinda…ran off."

Raiden gave a small sigh as he finished the story, slouching a bit in the couch. "So…I guess no, I can't keep my feelings out of our friendship. I am going to want to do it again for anyone else that hurts you. I would still confront him again now, knowing how it ended up. I just…I've never really cared about someone else like I do you." His voice was getting lower and lower, upset at himself; he couldn't even keep a friend. This was a new low.

When Raiden finished his story, Dave pulled him in close for a hug, a content smile on his face. Just hearing those words come out of Raiden, especially after telling him that he cared about him that much, seemed to wash away any doubt he had of his friend's sincerity. To be honest, Dave wanted to solidify a strong friendship before moving into more intimate things with Raiden, but the truth was, this small act proved that there was someone who DID care for him that much. Raiden wouldn't use him, or break his heart.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that. Ronin probably feels guilty about what he did to both of us. We just need to give him time." he said, pulling away so Raiden could see his red cheeks.

"I.....I'm sorry for how I treated you before. You deserved a chance that I wasn't willing to give. But now.....I want to give you that chance." he continued, his brown innocent eyes shining with that spark of hope he thought had long since died.

The last thing Raiden was expecting after the story was a hug. He blinked, albeit a bit painfully, as Dave tugged him in, before dropping the frozen peas to the side in favor of that warm hug, his arms lacing around Dave and holding him tight. Ever since it happened, he knew he couldn't separate his feelings enough -- and he knew that if Dave knew, he would surely break their friendship. But here he was, holding him in a compassionate hug that Raiden couldn't remember the last time he had a hug like that. It was all he could do to keep himself from burying his face into Dave's shoulder and crying.

When Dave pulled away just enough for Raiden to see those cheeks, and for their eyes to meet as Dave spoke -- Raiden shook his head at the apology, though he let Dave finish what he was saying before jumping in. "Please…do not apologize for that," he murmured. "I think…getting to know you as a friend has made me like you all the more. And besides, I understand completely why you did the things you did before, and I see no reason for you to apologize." He leaned in and pressed his forehead against Dave's, their breath mingling together. "I…am sorry for trying to rush things. But I thank you for giving me this chance now." With that, he closed the gap and pressed his lips against Dave's -- not deepening it, but giving him a nice, chaste kiss, like one would give at the end of a first date.