"Do you know him?" Eiji slightly shook Yukio's arm.

"Eiji, find a way to get his contact details. Please..." His eyes were still fixed on the same man.

Without any second thought, Eiji let go, "Wait for me here."

Yukito was looking around trying to see the person that was about to pick him up. He had been away from home for one month due to a convention about the new technology in veterinary sciences. Before going back to their house, he decided to have a quick meeting with another Veterinarian with whom he planned to set up a clinic with. Right now he was working in an animal hospital but he wanted to have more personal and in-depth experiences in his profession. He could use such liberty for his researches as well.

"Uhhg!" Yukito held his shoulder and grimaced in pain. When he looked up, he saw a tall, big blonde man looking at him with an apologetic face. Although he was a man, too, Yukito couldn't refute the fact that his eyes were blessed with such handsomeness. For a moment, he racked his brain if he had ever seen this man in a magazine or in a TV show.

"I'm so sorry! I was being careless. I was looking for my pen. I'm really sorry." The man was so adamant in explaining that the annoyance that he felt quickly vanished.

"It's okay." He took a hind step intending to leave when he stepped on something and fell backwards. Faster than his brain could process what was about to happen, his shoulders were already grabbed and he was steadily set on his feet again by two big hands.

"Thank you." He bent down and picked up the object that he stepped on. He looked at the silver pen and saw a name engraved in exquisite fonts. He subconsciously read it, "Eiji Kanno."

"That's me." Eiji warmly smiled at him. "And that's the pen I was looking for."

"Oh." Yukito immediately handed the pen to him.

"Thank you." Eiji smiled again and Yukito cursed inside. "Yeah, I know you're exceptionally handsome and might be a child of a Greek god but can you just stop smiling? I'm a man and I don't need to be turned into a woman!"

"This cannot be."

Yukito got confused when the other party held the back of his neck and looked at him embarrassingly.

"Is there something wrong?"

"I... I'm really not good at owing people a favor nor... uhm, not settling a debt of any kind. So please let me make it up to you for today's disturbance."

He looked at the man who was so tall and looked like a model but now talking to him like a little boy. "Oh... That."

"Please... I know I'm being selfish but I really wouldn't be at peace if I just let it be."

Yukito studied the man's face and thought that there was no danger in accepting, "I'm about to meet a friend now then I need to go home and see my parents." The look of disappointment and sadness were all crystal clear on the man's eyes. "His green eyes are so beautiful. He could make hundreds of women fall for them without trying."

"But if tomorrow's okay, we can settle your debt and gratitude. It's just that, I need to visit a zoo tomorrow. If you're fine with it, you can come with me. You can treat me to lunch, too." Yukito smiled as he added.

Eiji was high up in the clouds and there were trumpets and fireworks in his head. He needed to use so much self-restraint just as not to grin so much and scare the young man in front of him.

"Yes, that would be perfect. I have nothing going on tomorrow."

"Okay. Your phone?" Yukito put out his hand.

Understanding the gesture, Eiji immediately placed his phone on Yukito's hand. He looked as the other party typed in and recorded a set of contact details then dialed the number. The phone in his pocket rang and Yukito dropped the call.

"I'll let you know tomorrow morning when and where to meet. It might be around 8AM but I can't be sure yet."

Eiji couldn't be any happier at this moment. Even if Yukito said that they would meet at 3AM, he wouldn't object at all. "Sure, no problem."

Right then, Yukito's phone rang again.

"Hello? - Yes. - Oh, okay. - No need, I'll come to you. I don't have a heavy baggage. - Okay." He raised his head to look at Eiji. "Well, I have to go now. See you again tomorrow."

"Yes, see you." He nodded and when Yukito was finally out of his sight, he walked towards Yukio who was hiding in a corner and seriously watching the whole scene.

"Mission accomplished." The tips of Eiji's lips almost reached his ears and the joy in it reached his eyes.

"Please don't smile like that, it's creepy." Yukio glared at him and walked ahead dragging his luggage with him. Eiji took large strides to catch up with him and grabbed his luggage.

They walked in silence, both minds were too preoccupied with the same man but with different thoughts.

Morning came and just minutes before 7AM, there was a message notification on Eiji's phone.

[Is 8:30 okay with you? I'm sorry I woke up late and I had to cook breakfast for my parents first.]

Eiji's eyes lit up. Yukio who was having breakfast with him and sitting in front of him looked up. "Is that him?"

Eiji nodded with a smile and sent a reply. [Yes, no problem. I just woke up, too.]

[Please wear comfortable clothes, we might be walking a lot today.]

[Okay.] Eiji was ecstatic, even if he would be wearing leather all throughout, he would still walk the whole day without complaining.

A minute after, he received the name of the zoo. Eiji was familiar with it and when he put his phone down, he noticed that Yukio was absentmindedly eating his food.

"Is there something that I need to know?"

Yukio shook his head.

"Wrong question. What is bothering you?"

Yukio lifted his head to look at Eiji. There were several thoughts swimming in his head.

First, his heart almost exploded when he saw his brother again. He needed every ounce of his self-control to stop himself from running towards him and hugging him tightly. How he really, really wished he could do that! He wanted to go home with him. He wanted to see their mom and dad, to know how they were. It had only been months since his death, were they coping up? Were they living well?

Second, he was totally confused. Being reborn, he knew about the ABO secondary genders. But suddenly he saw Yukito. His brother existed in the same place and time that he was reborn in but he couldn't remember anything about the ABO when he was alive.

Third, should he hide all of these things from Eiji? Should he tell him about his past life and that, the Yukio that Eiji cared so much was truly dead? Would Eiji still stay with him if he knew that he was already another person?

"Yukio." Eiji was tapping the table with his finger trying to catch other's attention.

"Eiji... That man... He's special to me." He saw the questioning look on his brother's face so he quickly added. "Can you trust me one more time and wait for me to tell you everything about him?"

He knew that if Eiji moved to know everything about Yukito, he would also find out about the twin brother who died and more, then things would most probably become so complicated.

"Okay, but just answer this. Has he done anything bad to you before?"

"No." He shook his head and looked down. "Would it be too much if I ask you to protect him as you protect me?"

"These days, you seem to have been having more requests than you have ever done in the past years." Eiji smiled.

Yukio thought that the former was complaining so he immediately retracted his words, "I'm sorry. No, there's really no need for you to do that. Please forget it. I'm sorry I thought too much."

Eiji reached out and ruffled his hair again, "Silly. When you were not asking anything from me or making me do anything for you, I was very frustrated. You had everything that you needed and I didn't know what you could possibly need from me. That was my hardest struggle, you know?"

"Am I not being a burden to you these days?" His voice was low because in his heart, there was a certain fear created by things that he couldn't speak of.

The other party faintly laughed then looked at Yukio again with firm sincerity. "You have no idea how great I feel these days. To be able to protect you, to give the things that you need, to obey your wants... Really, Yukio, ask more. Let me do more for you." Then he stuffed a piece of bread into his mouth and shrugged. "Life is so boring when you are just quite and passive."

"But I'm not the one you should be doing all these things for. I was not the Yukio who helped you either. Will you hate me if you find this out?" Yukio, still trapped in his internal battles, looked down and answered in a very low voice again. "Okay..."

Eiji was already at the entrance of the zoo at 8:15. He watched as families started to enter and the excited faces of children made him smile. The first time he visited a zoo was when Yukio ran out of their school because his parents didn't come during his piano performance. That time, both parents promised to come and for the nth time, none of them showed up. He ran out with Yukio and just followed wherever the latter went. They both ended up visiting a big and well-maintained zoo and went home with smiles on their faces.

"Hi."

Eiji turned to see a very refreshing face. Yukito was wearing a white hooded windbreaker jacket, a pair of jeans, and a pair of sneakers. The young man was smiling at him showing off his perfectly lined white teeth. He looked like he was just a university student.

"Hi. You're early."

"Not as early as you." Yukito really couldn't help but admire this man's beauty. Wearing a brown trench coat and a pair of loafers, he carried it more elegantly than some celebrities. "Let's go."

They went in another entrance. Eiji wondered but just followed silently. He saw Yukito hand an ID and they were immediately ushered in. They were led to a building that was separated from the tourist attractions in the zoo and were immediately approached by some staff wearing uniforms.

"Dr. Yamamoto, we are so glad to have you today. Thank you so much for coming." The oldest man in the group snappily bowed towards Yukito followed by his people.

Eiji was astounded. "Doctor??" He disbelievingly looked at the young man beside him who had already bowed back and gave a very professional but warm smile.

"Thank you for inviting me as well, Dr. Maseda. I'm sorry my visit was delayed for a week. I visited some research centers in Tokyo after the convention."

"No, no, just having you here is already an honor for us, Dr. Yamamoto. Despite the young age, nobody in our field could deny your exceptional skills and mind-opening researches. Your presence will be a great help for us." All other four staff that welcomed them happily nodded at their leader's remarks.

Yukito's face reddened in the midst of the flattering words showered on him while Eiji couldn't make sense out of all the mixed feelings brewing inside of him. This young man that he mistook for an inexperienced university student was actually a Veterinarian and a renowned and highly respected specialist at that. "What else is there about you? I want to know everything."

"Thank you for the kind words." Eiji jolted when he felt a hand touching his arm. "I hope you don't mind me bringing my friend along with me. I assure you he is of no conflict in interest."

"No, of course not!" The team's leader turned to face Eiji amiably and bowed to him as well. "Welcome, Sir. I'm Dr. Maseda and this is my research team."

Eiji bowed back to greet the group in front of them and smiled, "Thank you. I'm Eiji Kanno, Dr. Yamamoto's friend. I'll do my best not to be a hindrance to your activities today." He looked back at Yukito and felt so glad that the latter was smiling at him.

They really didn't walk much but Yukito was 'in the zone' with his work, quite focused and expertly checking the confined animals that were sick. He conducted tests with the research team and most of the time, Eiji was left outside the glass watching the whole team's movements.

Actually, he was thoroughly engrossed with the youngest one. It was like the person transformed. With furrowed brows, steady hands, tightly pressed lips when observing and confident words when speaking, his level of professionalism was truly mesmerizing.

Even by just looking, one could also tell that he was so gentle and compassionate with the animals. Eiji saw him several times whispering and comforting an animal before taking a blood sample or doing whatever they needed to do. When a frightened chimpanzee ran away and threw small rocks at them, the young doctor didn't hide but just smiled and gently persuaded the monkey to approach them with his arms stretched out. He looked like he was coaxing a toddler but it actually worked. The monkey clung to him the whole time he was being treated by the team.

When at first, Eiji thought Yukito was beautiful, now he swore he was looking at a gigantic diamond.

An hour before lunch break, Yukito came out of the third quarantine room ahead of the team and approached Eiji.

"Are you okay? If you're bored, you can go out and look around. The zoo has really good attractions."

Eiji shook his head and looked at the man in front of him. "No, I want to watch you work."

Yukito felt his blood rushed up to his head and his face heating up with the way Eiji was looking at him. He avoided the other man's eyes and pretended to pat some dusts off the gray suit that was handed for him to use when he was working inside the facility.

"Don't mistake me for a specimen, okay?" It was a very lame joke but he couldn't think of anything else to say. He was a man, yes, but a totally inexperienced man in the arena of affection. If stared by a totally handsome man, how else could he react? Aside from feeling so inferior to this man, the attention also flattered him.

"Mm." Eiji noticed the young man's red face and tone of embarrassment so he decided not to say more lest it would make the other one more uncomfortable.

Still avoiding his gaze, Yukito spoke again. "I need to go with them in the research room. We just need to discuss some things then my part here for today's done."

"Okay."

Without looking at him again, Yukito left and turned to enter another room where the rest of the team entered ahead of him.

After working, Yukito changed back to his own clothes and went to the restaurant on the other side of the zoo. He was so fascinated to see that Eiji ordered so much and more fascinated to find out that they could both actually finish everything and still ordered more.

Eiji, on the other hand, thought, "Hmn, so he also eats a lot. I must earn more to support this kind of appetite on top of mine."

"Do you live here?"

"In a way, yes. But I'm really from Tokyo. I have a house here but most of the time, I only come for business matters." True enough, when he purchased the property, he also bought a house not far from it knowing that it would be a special project of Yukio and he needed to put a lot of attention to it.

"Oh. I hope I haven't taken your time from work."

"It's all right. My boss is quite considerate." He casually dismissed the idea with a smile and continued eating.

"That's good." Yukito smiled and felt that it really wasn't that hard to talk with this man.

"Have you liked animals since you were young?"

"Yes. But my brother liked them more."

"Is he a Veterinarian, too?"

"No, he was a Biologist."

"Was? Did he change careers?" Eiji saw Yukito's hand froze in the air before reaching out for the vegetables in front of him and he panicked. "I'm sorry. I might have said something--"

Yukito regained his composure and answered in a low voice, "He passed away. Months ago. He had Atrial Septal Defect and it led to Eisenmenger Syndrome."

Right at this moment, Eiji wanted to hit his own head upon hearing the overwhelming sorrow in Yukito's voice. He shouldn't have asked. He didn't know any of those medical terms but he sensed the gravity of the disease. "I'm so sorry..."

"It's okay." He put his chopsticks down and looked out the window where some animals could be seen from the outside. "He was sickly but he never cried even when he was in pain. He even forced himself to continue his studies. He said he didn't want his brain to go to waste since his heart was already a trash. Just like that, he often made jokes and always smiled. But each time he saw a suffering or sick animal, he cried and would sometimes have nightmares about them." 

He looked down so the man in front of him couldn't see the overwhelming pain that he was suppressing inside and was trying to live with.

"He asked you to become a Veterinarian?"

"No, he never liked asking people to do something for him. But I wanted to make him happy. I became a Veterinarian because of him. He was the happiest every time I was able to treat an animal and help it live normally again. Since he can't come to where I worked, I always took photos and videos of my patients and showed them to him."

He was about to get his phone to show the photos and videos to the man in front of him when he suddenly realized it wasn't good at all. They were still considered just a little bit over being strangers and he was already pouring his heart out. Maybe it was because when Yukio's health started to plummet, he already repressed all his emotions and was determined to show only his strength to his family, especially to his brother. And now, the comfortable presence of this man gradually tore down the wall that he held to support himself emotionally, letting his weaknesses slip out.

Eiji noticed the drastic change of expressions and was afraid he would change his mind. He wanted to see the photos and videos, too. He wanted to take a peek on Yukito's life before they met.

"Can I please see them?"

Yukito hesitated for a while but still took the phone and handed it to him. He played the first file that was opened.

"Right here is our friend Tyke. He's a very ferociousssss pitbull that will kill you with his wet kisses! Unfortunately, our friend here had swallowed an apple and the apple stayed inside his tummy." The Yukito in the video moved closer to the dog that was also looking at the video. He showed the bulge in the dog's stomach. The rest of the videos showed the whole operation process of removing the tumor and clearly showed the skillfulness of the doctor conducting the operation.

Eiji couldn't peel his eyes off the small screen. When the waiter came, he ordered a number of desserts and two cups of coffee without asking Yukito and looking at the waiter. He remained engrossed with the video. This man, that he just met yesterday, had really impressed him beyond words in so many times today.

He just finished the second video when Yukito stopped him from opening another one. One video was more than 30 minutes long after all and the owner ended up eating all the desserts by himself. Not that he was complaining though. Desserts were his favorite things in the world.

"Maybe we should go now?"

Eiji looked at him and was obviously hesitant to stop watching. Yukito laughed inside and was amused at this big man who appeared so mature but actually a bit childish.

"You can watch the others next time."

"Next time?" Eiji's heart turned into beating drums. Next time! Did it mean they'd meet again??

"Yes, next time. No more videos for today, okay?" His eyes turned into crescent moons with a smile that couldn't be more charming.

"When are we going to meet again?" Eiji regretted it as soon as it slipped his lips. He knew he sounded foolishly clingy but the first response he got was a chuckle from the other side. He watched Yukito laughed and in his enchanted mind, he helplessly thought. "Shit. It has to be him."

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Author's Notes:

Yukio: What's with that? You look so tough and ragged but you fell in love at first sight? Just as easy as that?

Eiji: At least I'm not masochistic enough to keep on loving someone who had given me a trauma.

Yukio: ...(-_-)