Keito loathed parties. He always had. The unneeded and mostly false gossip, the entirely faux personas created by guests, the food with a day old taste to it. Now, he had never been quite sociable in the first place, and his status as an aristocrat made that difficult. The parties only added to his stress.

"Now did you hear? That Kyary girl isn't even his real sister!"

"What? No!"

"Yes, yes, it's true, I heard it from a maid at her okiya. Turns out, she was bought from a slum in Tokyo, and the okiya she was sent to adopted her. You know that cruel okaasan, well her brother is the owner of that electric company!"

"My goodness!"

The nearby hearsay of two geisha was the final straw for Keito one night. His fingers drew up to massage the screaming headache in his temples, and he quickly excused himself. The party of the night was one for the birthday of a family friend, one that Keito didn't particularly like, and being a group of aristocrats, the house was extravagantly large, something reserved for only those who had the money to afford it. Keito glanced absentmindedly at the murals and paintings that hung from the walls and the detailed lining on the tatami mats below him, as the only thing on his mind was the balcony. He may not have liked the birthday man, but if there was one thing that Keito was jealous of, it was the red painted balcony that lined the interior garden. Keito's excuse for coming over as a child had been only to sit on the walkway, his tiny legs dangling through the wooden, crimson baluster as he stared at the bed of various plants, insects, and small ponds.

That night, the baron leaned his jacketed arms on the railing, his scowling face softening at the cool wind blowing against his cheeks, forcing the smell of nature and freshly cut grass to his nose. The blaring noise of the party continued to ring annoyingly in his ears. Suddenly though, the sound of one of the many screen doors behind him slid open, and Keito turned his head to see a servant exiting a room about fifteen meters away. The young man bowed to whoever was behind the screen, slid the door to close it with a small tap, and instantly turned around to lean against the railing, similar to what Keito was doing. The servant pulled a small cigarette and a pack of matches from his obi, the rusting metal color of his kimono blending in with the night around him. Keito watched intently as the young man lit a match, his sharp and gentle features illuminating against the fire. After lighting the cigarette, the servant took a long huff, his tense shoulders visibly relaxing at the thought of finally being alone and relieved of his duties for a short time. He didn't expect a baron to call over to him.

"Hello," was all Keito's deep voice could think of to say, a tiny smile on his lips.

The servant froze, his neck turning mechanically to look at Keito, his eyes wide and bright like a cat's. His fingers still pinched the cigarette, but he didn't dare to move.

"It's ok, you can still smoke."

At Keito's words, the servant slouched on the railing in relief, a long drag from his smoke following. Keito couldn't help but think this boy was... cute. The young baron's stride was heavy and proud, despite himself being very withdrawn. The servant froze once more as Keito reached him, his eyes traveling to watch the baron's every move. Keito stood tall, with his back straight, next to the servant.

"I'm going to talk to you as if you weren't below me, and you're going to talk to me as if I weren't above you. Understood?" Keito tilted his head expectantly.

"Yes... Keito-san," the servant nearly whispered.

"Oh, so you know my name?"

The servant nodded slowly, everything but awkward air had vanished.

"So, then, may I know your name?" Keito tried to be social, but his voice sounded condescending and uncomfortable, and he hated that.

"My name is Hirano Tadao," the servant mumbled.

"Tadao-san... that's a nice name."

"Thank you."

The crickets and bees suddenly became louder than the voices of the party, as if the world was trying to emphasize the clumsy conversation. Keito refused to give up, something he rarely did.

"How old are you?"

"I'm eighteen," Tadao said quietly, another huff from his smoke. "What about you?"

Keito took this as a major sign of success, and the wide grin that grew upon his face almost terrified Tadao. The baron gripped at the railing in satisfaction, his head turned slightly as he tried to hide his obvious joy.

"I'm twenty."

"Ah."

Keito's bout of success ended shortly after the uninterested noise of "ah" came from Tadao. The minutes passed along in silence as the two men gazed out into the garden, both pairs of eyes happening to be glued to the black and white koi fish that swam in a pond below them. By the time Tadao's eyes had dragged along to watching a small family of birds fly from bush to bush, he had finished his cigarette (which he crushed in his already coal coated and dusty hands), and Keito had spent a good five minutes just gazing at Tadao. There was something about the servant next to him that was almost too captivating, and instead of being horrified, he was merely amazed. Keito had grown up knowing that he was never going to love a woman, but he had never experienced an interaction that could turn into something more. At least... he hoped it might.

"So, uhm... when I went to Canada a few years back, nobody could pronounce my name correctly. After a while, I was called Kris," Keito spoke calmly, desperate to make conversation with the man beside him.

As it was not a Japanese word, of course Tadao furrowed his eyebrows in confusion over the foreign name. "Ku... ri... su... Kurisu?"

Keito chuckled happily. "Almost, yeah."

Tadao scoffed. "That's a stupid name. Why couldn't they just call you Keito? Who cares if it's hard for them to pronounce, it's still your name."

"That's what I tried to reason!" Keito gasped out, a small giggle emitting from Tadao. "I guess I just decided to give in rather than fight." Keito took the time then to realize that Tadao had laughed because of him. He had caused this man to laugh! Not only had Keito been teased by his siblings for having no sense of good humor, but after a few years, he began to believe it himself. Making Tadao laugh though, well, that had put him in a good mood for the rest of the night, to say the least. "When I went over to China... they called me Yifan."

Tadao hit his forehead into the palms of his hands defeatedly. "At least Kurisu makes some sense, whatever you just said doesn't even start with the right sound!"

The two men spent the next ten minutes laughing hysterically and ranting quickly over languages, something that Keito know much about and Tadao knew next to nothing of. Keito decided, after looking at Tadao for so long, that he loved his lips the most. The way they curled up thinly when he smiled was beautiful to Keito. He understood completely though that this infatuation was happening almost too fast, but he couldn't help it. Something about the young man beside him was captivating. His cool and velvety voice giggling easily over Keito's every cheesy joke, his eyes that looked up excitedly every time Keito spoke, everything about him made Keito feel, for once, happy. It was rare that he ever smiled sincerely, and even if he just stayed an acquaintance, Keito didn't want the source of his joy to disappear.

"Wait, so I have a question," Keito began.

"Go ahead," Tadao raised his eyebrows, his elbow leaning against the balcony.

"Do you work for somebody?"

Tadao shook his head. "No, I'm a servant but I go wherever there's work."

And just as Keito was about to make an offer that he was sure Tadao wouldn't refuse, and one that would make himself ecstatic, the white screen door behind them slid open harshly, Suzume sitting with a tiny grin to her pouty lips on the tatami mats before them.

"Tadao-kun, the mistress needs you to deliver some rice cakes around to the guests," Suzume informed, a sad look to her face. "I'm sorry to interrupt whatever was happening." With that, the door slid shut, and Keito turned back to see Tadao already trotting quickly down that pathway.

"Tadao-san, wait!" Keito called out as he tried to lighten his hurried steps.

Tadao looked plain frightened and stressed to the bone when he twisted back around. "What? I have to go! The mistress won't pay me if I don't work."

"Just go to the shrines about a block down in two days, ok?"

Tadao nervously sighed. "I can't, I have work."

Keito frowned. "What about in three days?"

Tadao sped over, his hands resting on Keito's shoulders. "In a week, ok, next saturday. That is the only time I can go."

"Saturday? That's too far!" 

Tadao bit his lip. "Then I cannot meet you at all. I only have next saturday, my first day off in a month, and I cannot cancel for any jobs."

"I'll be in Osaka by then though..." Keito's eyebrows creased in disappointment.

The screen door slid open again, and Suzume stuck her face out, her cheeks in a sympathetic frown. "Tadao-kun! They're looking for you."

"I'm going to the kitchen now!" Tadao called out, his feet carrying him away after the door slammed shut.

Tadao was already turning a corner down the long balcony pathway when Keito finally shouted, "Ok, next saturday, by the shrine!"

He waited in silence, petrified that Tadao didn't hear him. The young servant suddenly leaned around the corner, his lips in a grin as he gave a thumbs up, before sprinting away. Keito leaned his back against the balcony, his arms crossed, as he already imagined the plans that would have to be drastically changed so he could return to Kyoto.