They had wanted the same thing, he'd said. Emi had assumed it was warmth and safety but it had been...

Him.

Emi swallowed hard, almost uncertain that he'd heard him correctly. The racing in his chest assured him that he'd heard Eiji just fine. That was all it took to get him going, it seemed. He was supposed to be keeping up those bits of distance between them that kept them comfortable friends. That was how this worked out, he knew that. What he didn't know was how he was supposed to do that when he felt close to bursting.

"Eiji..."

He'd never considered himself someone that could be missed, but here they were. The remains of his ramen were set aside.

Moving on the impulse his entire body was yearning for, Emi turned and carefully wrapped his arms around Eiji's middle in a loose circle to draw him in. Maybe this was too much. Maybe it wasn't enough. His arms had been ajin-less for too long, and Emi didn't know what else to do with this feeling.

That was one hell of a way to start being honest.