Don't Fall

Ichiro wouldn't say he was one to be scared of heights. Even if he was before, he had gotten used to it after all the flying he had done when fighting monsters.

This, however, was very different. He should have thought things through a little better before getting up on his roof to help a hurt cat get off, but it was too late to think of that now. He had slipped just a little after grabbing the cat, and now was pretty hanging off his own roof, only being held by one arm and one leg barely holding onto the roof. One wrong movement and he could fall off, hurting both of them. (The cat getting its nails a little too deep into his skin was certainly not helping with his desperation.)

And then he heard the doorbell ringing, remembering him that Taishi was supposed to come over to his place. "Taishi! Over here!" He called out.

Taishi rushed over to where he was. He didn't look pleased with what he saw. "How the hell did you get like this!?"

"Just help me out before I fall!" Ichiro tried to adjust the cat in his arm, but the movement made him slide just a bit, almost falling.

“Don’t look down.” Taishi held out his arms underneath him. "Just get off. I'll catch you."

Ichiro took a deep breath, tightly shutting his eyes before letting go. He screamed as he fell. However, Taishi did catch him in his arms. The cat immediately jumped off his arms, despite its injury, and ran off.

"Aw, I don't think it liked me."

"What the hell were you doing!?" Taishi put him down, not even seeming to care about the way he was carrying him previously.

"The cat was hurt and stuck on my roof. What else was I gonna do?"

"You could have broken a leg! What would I do if you got hurt!?" He grabbed Ichiro's shoulders and shook them.

Ichiro raised an eyebrow at him. It was natural for Taishi to care about him. But he looked far too worried. Too desperate. He didn't look angry, but rather scared. Ichiro could feel the way his arms trembled.

He let go of him and blushed, turning his back to him while adjusting his glasses. "I-I mean… You'd worry everyone else too."

"You're acting weird." Ichiro pointed out but then smiled. "Thank you, though. It's thanks to you that I didn't get hurt."

Taishi freezed, and for a moment Ichiro worried he might have said something wrong. But when he stepped closer to see his face, he saw how it had turned completely red.

Taishi sighed. "Let's just forget about this and get inside." He turned around and headed back to the front door, not even looking back at Ichiro as he did so.

Ichiro didn't question him, but couldn't help but wonder what was going on. He had been noticing Taishi acting weird for a while now. It wasn't just worrying about him. It was also Taishi staring at him when he thought he wasn't noticing.

Ichiro had a feeling there was something he wasn't telling him. It wasn't like he was lying to him, but… He just had a gut feeling. But he wouldn't force Taishi to tell him that, whatever it was.

He would tell him one day. Or that was what Ichiro believed, at least.