Beauty: Not Just Skin Deep

Miku was really wishing he hadn't put away his camera now... but that would probably seem pretty weird. Kanon's body was beautifully toned. He looked firm and soft all at the same time, not to mention warm as well. The temptation to reach out and poke his stomach was high, but again, he didn't want to make things awkward. It was probably bad enough that he was shamelessly staring at him and not feeling the least bit guilty about it. Hell, he damn near missed the part where Kanon offered to try his clothing on, the sound of his voice brought him back to the real world though. He whistled softly at Kanon's large collection...

"Damn Kanon. No wonder you were so offended when you moved here. Your closet is packed! My sexpot filled closet weeps in shame." Miku was laughing as he shifted through all the different clothing. He arched an eyebrow at Kanon at the slight height comment, "Hey now, I'm fun sized. Or as my mom so lovingly puts it, travel size. She loves to joke about packing me in a large suit case when we travel... Maybe you could come over and meet them sometime?"

The teen went back to his bag and dug out his own clothes, "I always pack my street clothes, so no worries about getting me in your pants~" He stuck his tongue out playfully and started unbuttoning his blazer and shirt. That uniform sucked, it looked good, but it never could beat the comfort of his own clothing. A quick tug and his softly toned torso was covered and then the stiff slacks were gone and off. He wasn't really worried about changing in front of Kanon, he was a guy and it was no worse than gym class. With his pants on, he shifted all of his smaller items over to his current pants, then gave himself a pat down. "And I'm good! We really should go out sometime, don't give me any funny looks. I don't care what people think, neither should you." Maybe he could con Kanon into coming to his house after school more often, if Kanon lived alone then he probably wasn't getting the benefit of home cooking.

"Fun sized sounds...interesting. And I'm sure your sexpot closet is plenty good." Kanon grabbed some of his new clothes that had been bought shortly before moving. He had yet to get to try them on. Miku was smart about his clothes though. He brought his own. Still Kanon snapped his fingers at Miku not being in his clothes.

"And here I was thinking I'd get lucky." The playful grin on his face told him it was all in good fun. There was no way he could take Miku to bed with the way he was now. It was just something he couldn't shake his mind free of. When you grow up with the same mentality being droned into you...it's hard to change.

"Well all I need is my hat and I'm good." Kanon moved over to his closet and pulled out a knit cap that matched his clothes and slipped it on, hiding not only his hair but some of his forehead. It helped that his bangs covered it too. Looking at himself in the mirror, the teen rolled his head in frustration but said nothing.

"Ready to go. Where would you like to go? My treat." Kanon couldn't tell Miku about him having plenty of money so he simply didn't tell him where the money was coming from. He felt like lying to Miku was the worst thing he could do...even if he technically was.

While Kanon grabbed his hat and finished, he folded his uniform and pushed it into his bag. This gave him the chance to grab his smaller point and shoot without Kanon noticing. Kanon wanted good pictures, well... he was gonna get them. The thing he noticed about his friend, was that he wasn't super pleased about his face. That was the shitty part about being a teenager though, he was certain it would clear up with time and less stress. With the right angling though, he could get some really artistic shots of his new friend.

"You look good~" He commented upon seeing Kanon roll his head, "I'm just gonna leave my bag here, uhm... if you're wanting food, there's a relaly great little sushi place I frequent often. It's small, but the owner's are sweet and the food is amazing. Actually the whole area is pretty awesome, tons of little stores to explore. Come on!" Miku was excited to share one of his favorite places with him, he wanted Kanon to know him just as much as he wanted to learn more about Kanon.

It wasn't a long walk to his favorite sushi place. The moment he walked in, the old woman and her grandson smiled brightly at them, "Haru-san~ It's good to see you! I see you brought a friend? What can I get you boys?" Miku walked to the table the old woman's grandson was setting up, "Hey Shizo-chu, long time no talk!" Shizu was pretty average looking, but still fairly attractive in his own way.

"Oh you know how it is Mi-chii... I have so many men to woo and hearts to break~ I'm still waiting to win you over with my food!" Miku chuckled and shook his head, Shizo laughed with him and motioned his head to Kanon, "It's this guy isn't it? He stole you from me! Ah well... Lucky lucky~ What can I get you two to drink?"

"Sweet tea with two lemons for me~" Miku sat down, looking at the menu as he waited for Kanon to decide what he wanted.

Kanon allowed himself to be taken to one of Miku's favorite places and found that the people really were sweet. The teen that Miku's was talking to seemed to be interested in men and wasn't afraid to say it. Now why couldn't he do that? Oh yeah...it wasn't 'proper'. He blushed at the guy thinking he'd stolen Miku away. Ha...if only that were possible.

"I'll have some iced tea too, no sugar, with a lemon slice. Thank you." Kanon couldn't decide what he wanted. The only thing that stuck out at him was the soft shell crab rolls.

"Do you by chance like guys too? I-I was just wondering. You don't have to answer. It was rude of me to ask." Blushing softly Kanon looked down at the menu. Why couldn't he just be polite? Why did everything come out rude?

"Will you pick my food? I don't know what to get. The only thing that looks good is the soft shell crab rolls...or at least they sound good."

Miku almost choked on his tea. Granted, he was openly flirting with Shizu... he really should have expected it. "Well... yes. But to be completely honest, I don't really see genders, I love what I love. Guy, girl, it doesn't really matter." He smiled at Kanon, and figured it was only fair to return the question. But first he'd get their food ordered, "Soft shell crab rolls are usually in the mix I get. How about we just get a double order of my special and go from there? You'll love it!" The old woman was already jotting this down and told them it would be ready shortly. She was always eager to please her customers.

Now that that was out of the way, Miku could get back to his own question. "What about you?" If Kanon liked guys too... well it could lead into something awesome. Not that he would instantly be all, 'Hey~ You like guys, I like guys... wanna go?' No, he liked his relationships to be a bit more than that. If he wanted to try being with Kanon he knew he was gonna have to try really hard to get him to see past himself. It was still a bit early for all of that kind of thinking though.

Kanon nodded to getting two of Miku's normal special. He wanted to see what all his friend liked. When the question was sent back to him, he blushed a deep color. He had told himself he wasn't going to lie to Miku...

"Y-yeah. But no one knows. I don't really advertise and since when I used to date, I dated girls, my dad never questioned it. It's not something he'd be comfortable with...truth be told...I'm still trying to be okeh with it. You can't help what you want right? I like both but if given the option..." The teen sipped his tea while trying to calm down. How could Miku get him so flustered?

"Anyone else and I would've said no in a heartbeat...but it doesn't feel right lying to you. Maybe it's better that way. At least there's one person in the world I can't lie to cause it certainly isn't me."

"Thanks Kanon. That really does mean quite a bit." He felt special now. Not that he didn't already feel that way, Kanon was already nice to him. Goes to show what a little honest would get a person...

"Your secret is safe with me, so long as you return the favor~" While he wasn't trying to hide per-say, a lot of people didn't know and were always quick to judge. "Here you two blossoming love birds go~ Enjoy!" Shizu sat two plates full of sushi down and winked at them before scampering off.

Kanon smiled at Miku and nodded. There was no way he was going to spoil his possible love and not mention definite friendship with the blonde by spilling the beans. Shizu was a very chipper person. While he didn't really seem to have a reason to be, he was an average looking guy of average height and average weight, he seemed to be happy.

"It still amazes me that people can find happiness even if they aren't model worthy. Not that it's bad I just...I didn't think anyone could be like that. Mmm...I was right about the crab rolls. They are really good." Kanon nearly purred when he tasted the sushi. Lunch seemed to be going perfect...until that bitch from lunch showed up, and in one of his concert T-shirts! What kind of fanbase had he drawn in?

"Hey Miku~ Oh...you're hanging out with him? In public?" Kanon felt his hand clench at her words. He couldn't blame her for what she thought since often found himself wondering just that. Still, it hurt and he hated it.

Miku smiled, "Sometimes the simplest things just work. It makes life seem easy... I'm glad you're liking everything!" He was so happy that Kanon was enjoying himself and coming further out of his shell.

Until Ren walk in.

When he heard her voice, he visably cringed. But then she finished and he was pissed, "Yes Ren. In public, ya know it's kinda one of the things that friends do?" He wouldn't hide his friendship with Kanon. It wasn't fair to Kanon with the way everyone was treating him, "You may as well get use to it, he's not going anywhere."

Kanon smiled at Miku and then glared at Ren. "I may not be one of the 'superior' people but I'm beginning to realize that I don't really care too much to be a part of it. It seems very few of you have enough brains or heart to really do anything other then look pretty. I think I'll take my ugliness over your airhead heartless beauty any day. Now if you will excuse us, Miku and I were having a nice lunch till you walked in. See you later harpy." With that the teen ignored her and simply ate another piece of sushi. He was going to pay her a special visit once he was released from his curse...and god did he hope he would be. Maybe that would be a good time to tell Miku that he was Eiichi...it would seem like as good a time as any.

Miku could feel his chest swell with pride and happiness. Kanon was starting to understand things, it was awesome. Ren however did not seem so pleased, "Oh so now you have a voice? Jeez, you hang out with one of so now you think you can judge all of us? Hah! Please, you're hardly worth anyones time. You know where to find me when you come to your senses~" Kanon wouldn't phase her, she wouldn't let him. No, she would have the final offend word and then she would leave gracefully. Miku would be hers, she just had to do something about Kanon first...

Kanon rolled his eyes. Oh yeah, she'd be getting a special visit from Eiichi. "I really don't like her. So, what's your favorite piece of sushi?" Their lunch remained uninterrupted after that. Things had been getting better and better with Miku. Not just with Miku either but other students in the school. There was even a girl in music class that had asked Kanon for help when she found out he could play the piano. All he had at the apartment was his keyboard but at his dad's apartment in downtown Tokyo there was a beautiful grand piano. Oh how he missed it. He couldn't believe how being nice could make such a difference. Kanon's perception of beauty was slowly changing as well. The teen was finally breaking away from his father's ways. It was refreshing to say the least.

Today though had Kanon nervous as hell. He was going to go to Miku's house for the first time and meet his family. How was he supposed to act around adults? He barely could interact with kids his own age. When he was famous he never had this problem because no one but his record label people and band people were around him. No one ever really talked to him. So he dressed in his best clothes which to no surprise still ended up being Sexpot Revenge. He left to go to Miku's address after trying to look his best, which failed, and managed to get there without incident. When he knocked on the door a woman with dark brown hair speckled with a few grays answered.

"Uh, h-hello. Is Miku-I mean, Akiharu, here?" God he was nervous. He really needed to calm down!

The woman tilted her head at fist then smiled, it dawned on her who this was, "Ah! You must be Shinya. I've heard so much about you, come on in. Haru is in his room, hold on dear-- Akiharu! Your friend is here~" The woman shifted her weight and crossed her arms with mock impatience, she gave her son a playful look as he jumped the last few stair.

"Haru--"

"I know Mom~ I love you!" He smiled brightly at her and all she did was sigh and shake her head, "Well at least your friend has a good head on his shoulders, you could take a lesson or two from him!" She ruffled his hair as he whined and tried to bat her hand away, "I'm working on dinner now, your father will be running a little late today. I'll call you down when it's ready~" With that she hurried off to the kitchen. Miku just sighed and shook his head, "Sorry, my mom is very fun loving and loves nothing more than to get me flustered... She's sweet though. Come on, I'll show you my room and something I've been working on!" He took his hand and drug him upstairs, his room was at the very end of the hallway, and he liked it just like that. He felt like he had the most privacy that way.

"Welcome to my den~" Miku opened the door for Kanon and allowed him to step in. The room itself was fairly decent in size, it was big enough to comfortably fit his full size bed and a large corner desk. A variety of posters and other objects decorated his walls and desk, Miku was proud of his room and work space. But he was really excited to give Kanon the photo album he'd been working on. "So... do you remember forever ago when you sorta-- well not really, posed an challenge of sorts for taking good pictures of you? Well... I finished that. Here~" Miku handed him the album, it was filled with pictures of all sorts of angles and shots of him. Some showed his face, some didn't. But all of them were clean and crisp, and easily showcased his transformation over the last few months. "So... what do you think?"

Miku's mother thought he had a good head on his shoulders? When did that happen? The way his friend interacted with his mother made him long for the one he'd lost. It wasn't her fault though...she had had a weak heart and it failed her one day. Still, he put on a smile and allowed Miku to drag him upstairs to his room. It was odd to be in his room. He liked it; it spoke of everything Miku was, although he did notice that there were no Eiichi posters on the wall. It made Kanon a little sad to know that of all the people he attracted, Miku hadn't been one of them.

"I do remember that...you've been taking pictures of me?" It intrigued him to know that Miku was just that ninja to be able to take so many pictures, good ones at that, without his knowing. Kanon's smile got bigger as he progressed through the pictures.

"Wow...I officially bow to your awesomeness. This is amazing. How'd get pictures like this? And see if I didn't know any better I'd think you had a crush on me~" The teen stuck out his tongue playfully as he went back to looking at the pictures. It was mind boggling that the blond had done all of that for him. He truly did look good through the lenses of Miku's camera.

Those photos spoke for themselves. He did feel something for Kanon, it made him freeze up a bit when even Kanon mentioned it. It was never easy telling someone you liked them though. It was even harder when they played things like that off as a joke...

"Thank you... It was really easy for me actually. I'd see you doing something and just snap a quick photo, you're really inspiring for me." Yep. He had a crush on him alright, a big one that wasn't hard to see at that. Miku preferred spending all of his time with Kanon and the other kids who weren't the socially popular group. They were real friends, more so than the preppies could ever dream of being.

"With your permission, I'd like to use these in my portfolio I'm submitting next month... It'll help me tremendously with getting into the college I'm wanting to get into. If not it's okay, they are technically your pictures after all, since I never asked."

Kanon blushed at Miku's comment about being inspiring to him. It was better then being told his album went platinum. Miku's was from the heart. He knew Kanon for who he was...and not just his music. "You can absolutely use them. You're amazing, even if I don't like how I look, you make me look good...beautiful. Why would I ever deny you the chance to show that kind of talent off? I couldn't deny you anything Miku. Thank you. For showing me that it's not just skin deep." The teen hugged his friend that he had come to love. If only he could show Miku the real him...if only.

"I-uh, actually have something for you too. I didn't bring my guitar but do you by chance have one here?" Kanon had finished his song. The one that he had played a bit of for Miku. It spoke all the things he couldn't. It was very unlike the Eiichi that the world knew...but this song was real and from the heart and Miku had been it's inspiration.

Miku happily accepted and returned that hug, hold his friend close and in more than a friendly way, "No... Thank you. You've really helped open my eyes more too." He smiled as he pulled away. Kanon was beautiful, he didn't see or care about his 'flaws'.

Kanon had something for him? But he needed a guitar... He wondered if they still had that one in the study... "One second, we used to, but I haven't scene it in a while." He stood and left the room to go to the study. The guitar was missing from it's usual spot but thankfully had just been moved to the closet. He pulled the white and black guitar from it's case and went back to his room.

"Will this work? It's been a while since anyone has played it, so it may be out of tune..." The blonde handed him the guitar and decided to sit next to him this time rather than in his computer chair. He enjoyed the way the sound from Kanon playing vibrated through him, and the closer he was the stronger that was.

Kanon held Miku a bit longer then needed. God he hoped this didn't blow up in his face. The teen left and returned with a slightly neglected guitar. It was alright if it was out of tune, Kanon could probably tune a guitar in his sleep with how much he played. Once the instrument made the right noise when stroked, the taller student took the pick and started to play the tune he had for Miku before. Only this time the melody had lyrics.

"One, in a crowd.
Unable to see beyond the cover
Refusing to see the truth

Days slipped by,
praying for a time
that would not come
then you walked in
and the world stood still
nothing would ever be the same.

you were standing there staring at me
seeing the layers underneath
cold and confident to the world
but saw the fear that griped my soul
how could it be that you broke through?
who would've seen that I would fall,
for you

I was hypnotized
by the light I saw in you
Kindness, selfless, beautiful
patient to the end.
I was difficult but you never let me go
you gave me a second chance

you were standing there staring at me
seeing the layers underneath
cold and confident to the world
but saw the fear that griped my soul
how could it be that you broke through?
who would've seen that I would fall,
for you

The curse was a gift in disguise
it must have known what I was missing
I never knew that I was waiting
until you walked into my life

you were standing there staring at me
seeing the layers underneath
cold and confident to the world
but saw the fear that griped my soul
how could it be that you broke through?
who would've seen that I would fall,
for you

for you...for you"

Kanon finished on a soft note, holding his breath for what would come after. He really didn't want to lose Miku but if he had been reading the signals right then Miku liked him. Then again there wasn't much he had right when he met Miku so maybe he was off...why was his stomach always in knots around him!?

Those lyrics were beautiful, they were more than just words, they were feelings. He didn't want to seem selfish, but he couldn't help but to feel those lyrics were for and about him. It made chills run through him and a smile grow on his lips. He needed o tell him, and soon. Even if it ended badly...

"Beautiful... I can never replace the feeling that runs through me when you play guitar." Miku took a leap of faith and grabbed his now free hand... "I like you... a lot. I know that you said you were still trying to accept that part of you... but I had to let you know before well... I exploded from all the need to tell you..." Miku wasn't going to let go of his hand until Kanon pulled away, there was always that small chance that Kanon felt the same.

Kanon's face broke out into an amazing smile. Miku felt the same! Shifting slightly the teen leaned in and kissed Miku lightly. That spark he felt was so...wonderful. It had never felt like that with any of the girls. Not once. "I like you too...you inspired the song. I didn't really know how to tell you and then all those words just kind of spilled out on paper." Kanon couldn't believe how lucky he'd gotten. Here he was, cursed to be ugly and yet...Miku saw him. Saw through him. And what amazed Kanon most was that what Miku said he saw beautiful.

"You have no idea how happy I am right now...never thought it was possible to be high off of happy." The teen laughed a little and leaned in to kiss Miku again. He could see already that was going to be hard not to want to do.

"Would you be willing to go out with me?"

Now Miku was high on happiness. Not only had Kanon kissed him once, but twice, and asked him out! It was a very happy day for him indeed. Miku smiled brightly and hugged him, nodding his head against Kanon's shoulder, "I would like that very much." Miku pulled back and kissed him again. His kisses were addicting, he'd been with both boys and girls before this, but nothing compared to Kanon. Whatever caused Kanon to move here and enroll in their school, he was grateful for... If not, he wouldn't have been this happy.

"I'm just... amazed. I thought it would be so hard to tell you, but it just fell right out and perfectly into place. I feel stupid style lucky right now, you have no idea."

"Boys~ Dinner's ready!" Ugh terrible timing...

Kanon couldn't stop smiling, even after they were called to dinner. "Shinya dear why are you smiling so much?" Could he tell them? Wouldn't it be awkward if he told them 'I'm smiling like an idiot because I asked your son out and he said yes.' Instead Kanon looked over at Miku and grinned.

"I finished a song I've been working on and played it for Miku. He really liked it. Your son doesn't lie about what he thinks is good or bad so I kind of can't stop smiling. I'm sorry if it's weird...I'm just really happy right now. Miku's the first person to hear the song." The blond's mother smiled and nodded. She could understand that. When dinner was over Kanon helped clear away the table and asked if Miku could come stay the night at his place that weekend. Thankfully, the woman didn't mind. Now all he had to do was ask Miku...

"Hey Miku? H-how do you feel about coming to stay the night with me this weekend? I could even attempt to cook for you if you like. I make no promises though since I've never actually cooked before."

Miku figured maybe his mom had already caught on without them telling. She knew that he did in fact like both guys and girls, and she didn't have any issues. But he understood why Kanon wouldn't want to make it too widely known.

As dinner wrapped up, Miku was asked to take out the trash while Kanon helped clean up the table. When he'd come back, he met with Kanon in the living room and was going to offer a round of video games, "Ya know, I like your idea much better than mine~ I'll just have to pack a bag... I could teach you some recipes if you'd like?" Miku liked the idea of spending a weekend alone with Kanon... It was a nice idea indeed.

"That sounds great. We may have to go shopping for groceries since I don't know what all I have." Kanon was estatic that Miku was up for it. He couldn't hold back the happy glow he had. The teen waited for Miku to pack a bag before they headed out. It wasn't until they were halfway home that he hooked his pinkie with Miku's. It was a small step but it was as close to holding his hand in public as could get at the moment. Smiling a little as they moved. He was really trying. Truely he was.

"So what do you want to do tonight?"

Miku found it oddly sweet when Kanon linked his pinky with his own, he knew what something like this meant to the other. He truly was proud of how well Kanon was coming out of his shell. How slowly but surely, his fathers influences were leaving him and for once Kanon was becoming his own person with his own beliefs. He loved it.

"We can always wait until tomorrow morning to go shopping, no big deal." The teen swung their hands a bit as they walked. It was the dead of night and nobody was out, it was perfect in his opinion. Kanon was comfortable, no one was there to judge... He wanted to just go ahead and take his hand the rest of the way...

Gently Miku rolled his hand around and slipped his fingers between Kanon's squeezing his hand softly as he smiled, showing him that he was okay with this... He knew Kanon would probably be a little leery, but they were alone now... what could it honestly hurt for now?

"Anything you want is fine, so long as I get to keep this." He lifted their joint hands to show what he was talking about. Miku was simple to please, it was something he hoped Kanon would notice quickly.