[Pippa] Show Don't Tell
Show Don't Tell
PG ; Yara/Yamaryo ; not AU!!
It's sort of like a date only nobody's actually dating. Happy birthday, senpaaaaaaiii♡ I hope this gives you warm fuzzy feelings.
~
Ryota was buzzing. It was like some external force of happiness had got loose and burrowed inside him, wriggling under his skin and teasing his nerve endings with an electric hum that started off somewhere in his chest and fizzled out to the ends of his fingers, to his feet, to his nose, everywhere. He was so full of… he didn't know what. Energy, happiness, nervousness, life, and it bubbled up and spilled over until he couldn't help but move, run, race down the evening streets toward the dance studio where they were due to meet, giddy laughter threatening to burst out of him. He pulled up short to tap in the door entry code, short of breath, and darted inside as soon as the door slid open.
Yara was just packing up when Ryota burst in, locking up the cupboard with the sound system controls and checking the room for any left-behind items from the day's work. His eyes widened with momentary surprise as he turned, but as Ryota bounced in Yara relaxed, and grinned. "Hey," he said, turning back to finish locking up. "I'll just be a minute. How've you been?"
"Good!" Ryota said, looking across the room to the large mirrors and adjusting his bangs and shirt collar while he waited. "Good, I've been fine. Ne, Yaracchi," he bounced on the balls of his feet. "Are you sure this is okay? You have time to hang out tonight?"
Yara turned back, bundle of keys in his hand as he stepped away from the cupboard. "Sure," he said, picking up his bag and slinging it over his shoulder. "Did you want to go anywhere in particular?"
"Mm, not really?" Ryota grinned, hopeful. "I was counting on Yaracchi to have the best suggestions."
Yara laughed. "What a surprise. Okay, let's get out of here first."
"Whatever you decide~♥"
As Yara handed the keys back to the reception staff and signed out, Ryota went to wait by the doors. Through the tinted glass, he watched as people wandered down the street, most choosing to walk on the side in the shadow of the office buildings opposite. The setting sun was shining straight in his eyes, a warm disc still hovering just on the edge of visibility from which Ryota refused to turn, letting it warm him through the panels on the door. Tonight was going to be good, he knew. Nothing could be allowed to spoil it.
"Standing there like that makes your hair look orange," Yara commented as he approached, and as he reached up to press the buzzer that would allow them outside he offered Ryota a casual grin. "C'mon then, let's go."
All the way back to Yara's part of town Ryota felt the urge to grin tugging at his mouth, and his face ached from the effort of keeping under control. The slightest thing threatened to set him off, so he stared fixedly at the poster displayed on the inside of the train, schooling his expression into one of cool neutrality.
"What's up with you today," Yara asked, elbowing him in the ribs. "You look weird like that."
Ryota cracked, finally grinning again. "Nothing, really. I'm just in a good mood." He ran his fingers over his decorated iPhone case, looking down at the sparkles rather than turning to look at Yara beside him. "It's been a while since we got to hang out like this, right? Just the two of us, I mean."
"That's right, huh." Yara sounded thoughtful. "There's been a lot going on lately, hasn't there."
"So, I'm happy to finally have this chance," Ryota said, aiming for a casual tone of voice. From the look on Yara's face he could tell he failed.
"I see," Yara said, lips quirking like he was trying to smother a grin. "Are you hungry? We can grab something to eat first and then figure out what to do after."
"Yes!" Ryota's eyes lit up. "Can we have Thai? Or…" He found himself faltering, suddenly unable to remember which. "Taiwanese…?" Yara was laughing at him already. "No, let's… Let's go somewhere that does chicken."
"Lots of places serve chicken," Yara said evenly, a wary edge creeping into his voice. "What did you have in mind?"
"Hmm… Does KFC serve wings?"
Yara spluttered with sudden embarrassed laughter, shoving at Ryota's shoulder. There was no real force behind it but Ryota went with the motion anyway, tilting to the side and raising his arm to fend off Yara's attack as he tried to mess up Ryota's hair. "Brat," Yara laughed. "We'll go for Korean instead."
The train announcement called their stop, and Ryota got to his feet to grab his bag from the overhead rack. "Fine by me!"
All through the meal Ryota hovered on the edge of speaking, torn between blurting out the words that were bottled up inside him and simply treasuring the moment. The kimchi gave him a coughing fit and Yara laughed at him as he spluttered, one warm hand ineffectually patting his back as Ryota reached for the water and tried to remember not to inhale his food. It didn't matter, though, none of it: the food and their conversation made an hour quickly disappear, and by the time they went to pay and stepped outside the night had truly fallen and the warm glow of lights from the shop fronts spilled out onto their faces as they walked down the street.
"You want to do something else?" Yara asked, tugging at the collar of his leather jacket.
"Arcades!" Ryota blurted out, the first thing his eyes landed on as he scanned the street for inspiration. "Or…" Wait, was that too childish? No matter; Yara was already crossing the street and stepping under the awning, greeting the doorman by name before looking back over his shoulder with his eyebrows raised as he waited for Ryota to catch up. Not too childish, then. Ryota jogged over with a grin, ducking his head in a nodded acknowledgement to the doorman as he and Yara entered.
The bright lights and blaring music pushed Ryota's mood up further until he could barely think, a permanent grin stuck on his face as they squabbled over who got to use the red gun, as Yara left him in the dust on the racers, as Ryota proved surprisingly adept at steering the mechanical claw and as he tucked the stuffed toy seal under his arm Ryota felt in a daze, as though he couldn't deal with any more, too full up with happiness. Never, he thought as they left the arcade and wandered down the street over toward the park, he could never do anything that might spoil moments like this.
"It's a nice night, huh," Yara said, hands in his pockets as they moved between the patches of orange streetlight thrown down onto the pavement. "A good night to be out."
With you, Ryota mentally added, then compulsively turned to face the other man. "Yaracchi, I…!" He saw Yara's eyes widen with surprise at the outburst, and the flash of courage burned out in half a heartbeat. "Let's do something else," he finished, lamely. "I don't wanna go home just yet."
"Sure." Yara nodded, holding Ryota's gaze a second longer than was necessary, as though trying to figure something out. "What's the time? If it's getting late, there's always karaoke…"
"Sounds good!" Ryota would have agreed to anything right then, he knew, and he couldn't bring himself to care. "Then, let's go~"
Once the alcohol started flowing Ryota began to lose track of things rather more quickly than he would have liked. He had wondered if it might not be a little weird with just the two of them, but then Yara picked what might possibly have been the worst song in the entire catalogue and everything suddenly shifted to a whole different level of odd and Ryota was too busy laughing to feel awkward. Buoyed by happiness and lifted further by the empty beer glasses that quickly cluttered the table, Ryota leaned against Yara and was rewarded by the warmth of Yara's arm wrapping around his shoulders.
"Hey, Yaracchi…" he said, the rest of his words nudging at his lips from the inside of his mouth as he glanced across to where Yara drained the last of the beer from his glass. The world seemed to spin a little more vigorously than before and it was only after he said "yes" that Ryota even realised Yara had asked a question. He blinked. "No, wait, what?"
"More drink," Yara said, with a look that definitely bordered on amusement. "Unless you've had enough?"
Ryota looked at the few inches of beer left in his own glass, then at the clock on the wall, piecing together the pros and cons of staying even later. More Yara and a hangover versus no hangover and less Yara.
"…Nope," he decided, determined. "Another drink is good. But," he had a sudden thought, "not alcoholic. That's okay, right?"
Yara nodded. "Same here."
"Good," Ryota said, lolling against the back of the seat as Yara went to place the order. This buzz was fine, but he didn't want to risk forgetting anything. Not when it had been so long since they'd last been able to spend time together.
"You really mean that?" Yara asked as he sat back down, and Ryota opened his eyes again, frowning in confusion. "About not wanting to forget. Is this really so memorable?"
"Oh." That had been said out loud, had it. "It, it. It's." It's always worth remembering when it's Yaracchi, but the words wouldn't come out properly and Ryota felt himself begin to get his tongue tied up in a stammer, face heating up.
Yara let it drop. "Your turn to pick a song, by the way."
Despite his good mood, Ryota's energy levels gradually began to sink and finally he could keep his eyes open no longer. The volume of the music slowly lowered as Yara aimed the remote at the sound system, but Ryota scarcely noticed as he gradually tilted sideways, head resting on Yara's shoulder.
"Ryo~ta~" Yara's voice was gentle in his ears, and Ryota made an involuntary sleepy noise as he was nudged back to wakefulness. "C'mon, you," Yara said, looking nearly as sleepy as Ryota felt. "We can't sleep here. Time to go home."
"Nnh," Ryota croaked out, squinting at the flashing default screen of the karaoke TV as he looked around. Had he been asleep long?
It was way past the last train, and most places were shut up for the night. They walked along the streets, past the closed-down restaurants and the occasional cluster of people hanging around random late-night food stalls. The cooler air woke Ryota up a little and he felt more of a bounce enter his step as he grinned at nothing.
"It's been a good night," he said, turning to see Yara watching him with tired amusement. "I've had fun."
"I'm glad," Yara said as they turned down the road leading to Ryota's family home. He didn't say anything else, and for a moment Ryota faltered, glancing across to see Yara looking at him with a thoughtful expression. When their eyes met, Yara gave a small smile, rubbing at his eyes with one hand. "Just sleepy," he said, trudging up to the front door of the Yamamoto home. "I had fun this evening with you, too."
Ryota hesitated as he pulled his keys from his bag. "Um," he said. "D'you want to crash at mine? It's a fair way back to yours, and…" He scrunched the small keyring plushie in one hand. "My parents won't mind, so…"
Yara practically sagged with relief, and he nodded. "If that's okay," he said.
"Of course," Ryota replied, turning to fumble with the lock and let them both in. The hallway was dark and Ryota narrowly avoided stumbling as he removed his shoes and stepped inside, suddenly more nervous than he had any real reason to be. "Just through here," he whispered as Yara shut the door behind them, and he led them both through into Ryota's cramped bedroom, and flicked the light on.
"…Ah." Ryota grimaced. "I don't have a spare futon in here," he said. "I forgot about that."
"That's okay," Yara said, shrugging his jacket off and draping it over the end of Ryota's western-style bed. He glanced up, grin exaggeratedly wolfish. "I like Ryota, so I don't mind sharing your bed~"
"That's…!" Ryota panicked, trying to find a decent excuse. "Isn't that…?"
"Relax." Yara's voice was neutral and sleepy once more, the act dropped in an instant. "It's not a problem."
"Ah, okay," Ryota said. "If you're sure."
"Nnh," Yara groaned, kicking off his jeans and rolling under the covers before Ryota had a chance to say or do anything else. "Sleepy~" he said, voice muffled by the pillow. "Ryota, hurry up…"
Ryota scrambled to follow suit, flicking off the light and trying very hard not to do any kind of thinking whatsoever. Yara's body radiated warmth, only inches away, and as Ryota slid into bed he made certain not to accidentally touch him lest he get burned. "Okay," he said, suddenly too awake as he lay on his back staring at the black emptiness of the night-time ceiling.
"It wasn't a joke, though." Yara's voice was still half-muffled, and Ryota wasn't certain he'd heard properly.
"What wasn't?"
"'I like Ryota, so I don't mind sharing your bed'," Yara repeated. There was the soft sound of movement against the sheets, and suddenly Yara's voice was clearer as though he had stopped lying with his face shoved into the pillow. "You've been dancing around saying something all evening, haven't you," he said. "It's okay, you know."
Ryota's throat suddenly felt too tight for words to come out. "R-really?"
A sigh, and further sounds of movement. Ryota registered Yara's position a half-second before his hand was on Ryota's skin, lightly touching the line of his jaw for guidance as their lips brushed. "Do you believe me?" Yara asked, voice low in Ryota's ear.
"…" He couldn't trust himself to speak or even to move, until Yara tensed and began to pull away, closing off. With a sudden thrill of fear, Ryota reached up to grab Yara's wrist, pulling him back and lifting his head off the pillow until their lips met again, warm and soft. A breathy noise rose up inside Ryota's throat and he pulled back, trying to calm the stampede in his heart as it galloped against his ribcage. "This is just because we were drinking, right," he said, wincing at how his voice sounded rough even to his own ears. "You don't actually mean it."
Yara sighed again, and crashed back down onto the pillow to Ryota's right. "Suit yourself," he said, shifting around as he got comfortable. "I guess tomorrow's okay, too. G'night~"
"G-good night," Ryota echoed, bewildered. As his mind spun, the prone form beside him began to breathe more deeply, already unconscious. Ryota reached up to rub one hand over his face. Really? Really. He sighed, and tried to get to sleep.
The morning found Ryota not incredibly well-rested, and Yara still an immovable lump wedged between Ryota and the wall. Ryota's mother poked her head in shortly before midday, and as she caught sight of Yara and met her son's eyes her eyebrows raised but she returned moments later with two steaming cups of coffee and a sympathetic expression.
"G'morning," Yara croaked at her, and Ryota glanced over in surprise; he hadn't realised Yara had woken up. "Sorry for intruding."
"Don't be silly," she said with an indulgent smile. "You're always welcome here, Yara-kun." She paused, hand on the door. "I'm just going off to work, so I'll let you boys wake up now."
"See you later, mom." Ryota shuffled out of bed long enough to grab the coffees and bring them back, waiting for Yara to sit up before handing his over and crawling back under the covers. For a groggy moment they both sat up, each hunched over their respective mug, slowly inhaling their way to alertness.
"You've not got work today, have you?" Ryota asked, once he felt properly able to speak.
"Nn," Yara shook his head before taking a sip of his coffee. He rubbed at his eyes. "Thankfully."
"That's good." Ryota didn't know what he should say, if anything. Questions oozed through the molasses in his skull, going nowhere very quickly. He slurped his drink.
"D'you remember last night?" Yara asked, and Ryota tried not to spill coffee over himself.
"…Yes," he replied. "Do you?"
"Of course."
Ryota risked looking up then, and saw Yara watching him with a sharp, fully-awake expression.
"Oh," he said. "G-good, then." The questions in his head sparked into life all at once, and Ryota struggled to understand. "Wait, does that mean…?"
Yara raised his eyes heavenwards before crawling to the end of the bed and over toward the door, coffee mug in one hand as he tugged his baggy jeans back on with the other. "Keep up, Ryota," he said.
When Yara didn't immediately return Ryota reluctantly left the warmth of his bed and headed to the bathroom to brush the cotton-wool feeling from his mouth before venturing out into the rest of the house. Yara was in the kitchen, leaning against the work surface and drinking another mug of coffee, damp tendrils of hair sticking to his freshly-washed face. "You look like you didn't sleep that good," Yara said as Ryota approached and put his empty mug in the sink. "Did I keep you awake?"
"…Sort of," Ryota confessed, with a wince. "Not like… No, you didn't snore or kick me or anything like that," he said. "Just, just." He felt himself getting nervous again; this was worse than being on stage. "Just, when you said…"
"Was I wrong?" Yara asked, sincere concern flickering across his face. "If I misunderstood you…"
"No! No, I just…" Ryota floundered, then gave up. He moved closer, tilting his face toward Yara's and pressing a hesitant kiss to Yara's cheek. It was about as much bravery as he could manage, and he moved back, uncertain. There was a thunk as Yara put his own mug down on the work surface and reached out, pulling Ryota back once more and tilting Ryota's chin with two bent fingers, angling his face for another kiss. The space between them hummed with energy and Ryota ached to step forward, to lean into Yara, but he held back, murmuring into their kiss as Yara's tongue lazily swiped across his lips.
Yara seemed less patient. He straightened up and stepped forward, narrowing the gap between their bodies to nothing, one hand running down Ryota's back while the other cupped his face, fingers curling into the hair just behind Ryota's ear. Ryota found himself arching into the touch, pressing himself against Yara automatically as their tongues brushed and sent shivers racing along his nerve endings. This, this was… Ryota pulled back, fighting to remember to breathe.
"I'm not good at words," Yara said, glancing to the side, tongue darting out to wet his lips as he took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. "But you seemed to be struggling, too, so..."
"You could have said-- done something earlier," Ryota said, desperately trying to repress a pout.
"Your struggling fail is cute, though." Yara grinned. "But you understand now, right?"
Ryota nodded, then paused, lips twitching with amusement. "...Show me again?"
~
PG ; Yara/Yamaryo ; not AU!!
It's sort of like a date only nobody's actually dating. Happy birthday, senpaaaaaaiii♡ I hope this gives you warm fuzzy feelings.
~
Ryota was buzzing. It was like some external force of happiness had got loose and burrowed inside him, wriggling under his skin and teasing his nerve endings with an electric hum that started off somewhere in his chest and fizzled out to the ends of his fingers, to his feet, to his nose, everywhere. He was so full of… he didn't know what. Energy, happiness, nervousness, life, and it bubbled up and spilled over until he couldn't help but move, run, race down the evening streets toward the dance studio where they were due to meet, giddy laughter threatening to burst out of him. He pulled up short to tap in the door entry code, short of breath, and darted inside as soon as the door slid open.
Yara was just packing up when Ryota burst in, locking up the cupboard with the sound system controls and checking the room for any left-behind items from the day's work. His eyes widened with momentary surprise as he turned, but as Ryota bounced in Yara relaxed, and grinned. "Hey," he said, turning back to finish locking up. "I'll just be a minute. How've you been?"
"Good!" Ryota said, looking across the room to the large mirrors and adjusting his bangs and shirt collar while he waited. "Good, I've been fine. Ne, Yaracchi," he bounced on the balls of his feet. "Are you sure this is okay? You have time to hang out tonight?"
Yara turned back, bundle of keys in his hand as he stepped away from the cupboard. "Sure," he said, picking up his bag and slinging it over his shoulder. "Did you want to go anywhere in particular?"
"Mm, not really?" Ryota grinned, hopeful. "I was counting on Yaracchi to have the best suggestions."
Yara laughed. "What a surprise. Okay, let's get out of here first."
"Whatever you decide~♥"
As Yara handed the keys back to the reception staff and signed out, Ryota went to wait by the doors. Through the tinted glass, he watched as people wandered down the street, most choosing to walk on the side in the shadow of the office buildings opposite. The setting sun was shining straight in his eyes, a warm disc still hovering just on the edge of visibility from which Ryota refused to turn, letting it warm him through the panels on the door. Tonight was going to be good, he knew. Nothing could be allowed to spoil it.
"Standing there like that makes your hair look orange," Yara commented as he approached, and as he reached up to press the buzzer that would allow them outside he offered Ryota a casual grin. "C'mon then, let's go."
All the way back to Yara's part of town Ryota felt the urge to grin tugging at his mouth, and his face ached from the effort of keeping under control. The slightest thing threatened to set him off, so he stared fixedly at the poster displayed on the inside of the train, schooling his expression into one of cool neutrality.
"What's up with you today," Yara asked, elbowing him in the ribs. "You look weird like that."
Ryota cracked, finally grinning again. "Nothing, really. I'm just in a good mood." He ran his fingers over his decorated iPhone case, looking down at the sparkles rather than turning to look at Yara beside him. "It's been a while since we got to hang out like this, right? Just the two of us, I mean."
"That's right, huh." Yara sounded thoughtful. "There's been a lot going on lately, hasn't there."
"So, I'm happy to finally have this chance," Ryota said, aiming for a casual tone of voice. From the look on Yara's face he could tell he failed.
"I see," Yara said, lips quirking like he was trying to smother a grin. "Are you hungry? We can grab something to eat first and then figure out what to do after."
"Yes!" Ryota's eyes lit up. "Can we have Thai? Or…" He found himself faltering, suddenly unable to remember which. "Taiwanese…?" Yara was laughing at him already. "No, let's… Let's go somewhere that does chicken."
"Lots of places serve chicken," Yara said evenly, a wary edge creeping into his voice. "What did you have in mind?"
"Hmm… Does KFC serve wings?"
Yara spluttered with sudden embarrassed laughter, shoving at Ryota's shoulder. There was no real force behind it but Ryota went with the motion anyway, tilting to the side and raising his arm to fend off Yara's attack as he tried to mess up Ryota's hair. "Brat," Yara laughed. "We'll go for Korean instead."
The train announcement called their stop, and Ryota got to his feet to grab his bag from the overhead rack. "Fine by me!"
All through the meal Ryota hovered on the edge of speaking, torn between blurting out the words that were bottled up inside him and simply treasuring the moment. The kimchi gave him a coughing fit and Yara laughed at him as he spluttered, one warm hand ineffectually patting his back as Ryota reached for the water and tried to remember not to inhale his food. It didn't matter, though, none of it: the food and their conversation made an hour quickly disappear, and by the time they went to pay and stepped outside the night had truly fallen and the warm glow of lights from the shop fronts spilled out onto their faces as they walked down the street.
"You want to do something else?" Yara asked, tugging at the collar of his leather jacket.
"Arcades!" Ryota blurted out, the first thing his eyes landed on as he scanned the street for inspiration. "Or…" Wait, was that too childish? No matter; Yara was already crossing the street and stepping under the awning, greeting the doorman by name before looking back over his shoulder with his eyebrows raised as he waited for Ryota to catch up. Not too childish, then. Ryota jogged over with a grin, ducking his head in a nodded acknowledgement to the doorman as he and Yara entered.
The bright lights and blaring music pushed Ryota's mood up further until he could barely think, a permanent grin stuck on his face as they squabbled over who got to use the red gun, as Yara left him in the dust on the racers, as Ryota proved surprisingly adept at steering the mechanical claw and as he tucked the stuffed toy seal under his arm Ryota felt in a daze, as though he couldn't deal with any more, too full up with happiness. Never, he thought as they left the arcade and wandered down the street over toward the park, he could never do anything that might spoil moments like this.
"It's a nice night, huh," Yara said, hands in his pockets as they moved between the patches of orange streetlight thrown down onto the pavement. "A good night to be out."
With you, Ryota mentally added, then compulsively turned to face the other man. "Yaracchi, I…!" He saw Yara's eyes widen with surprise at the outburst, and the flash of courage burned out in half a heartbeat. "Let's do something else," he finished, lamely. "I don't wanna go home just yet."
"Sure." Yara nodded, holding Ryota's gaze a second longer than was necessary, as though trying to figure something out. "What's the time? If it's getting late, there's always karaoke…"
"Sounds good!" Ryota would have agreed to anything right then, he knew, and he couldn't bring himself to care. "Then, let's go~"
Once the alcohol started flowing Ryota began to lose track of things rather more quickly than he would have liked. He had wondered if it might not be a little weird with just the two of them, but then Yara picked what might possibly have been the worst song in the entire catalogue and everything suddenly shifted to a whole different level of odd and Ryota was too busy laughing to feel awkward. Buoyed by happiness and lifted further by the empty beer glasses that quickly cluttered the table, Ryota leaned against Yara and was rewarded by the warmth of Yara's arm wrapping around his shoulders.
"Hey, Yaracchi…" he said, the rest of his words nudging at his lips from the inside of his mouth as he glanced across to where Yara drained the last of the beer from his glass. The world seemed to spin a little more vigorously than before and it was only after he said "yes" that Ryota even realised Yara had asked a question. He blinked. "No, wait, what?"
"More drink," Yara said, with a look that definitely bordered on amusement. "Unless you've had enough?"
Ryota looked at the few inches of beer left in his own glass, then at the clock on the wall, piecing together the pros and cons of staying even later. More Yara and a hangover versus no hangover and less Yara.
"…Nope," he decided, determined. "Another drink is good. But," he had a sudden thought, "not alcoholic. That's okay, right?"
Yara nodded. "Same here."
"Good," Ryota said, lolling against the back of the seat as Yara went to place the order. This buzz was fine, but he didn't want to risk forgetting anything. Not when it had been so long since they'd last been able to spend time together.
"You really mean that?" Yara asked as he sat back down, and Ryota opened his eyes again, frowning in confusion. "About not wanting to forget. Is this really so memorable?"
"Oh." That had been said out loud, had it. "It, it. It's." It's always worth remembering when it's Yaracchi, but the words wouldn't come out properly and Ryota felt himself begin to get his tongue tied up in a stammer, face heating up.
Yara let it drop. "Your turn to pick a song, by the way."
Despite his good mood, Ryota's energy levels gradually began to sink and finally he could keep his eyes open no longer. The volume of the music slowly lowered as Yara aimed the remote at the sound system, but Ryota scarcely noticed as he gradually tilted sideways, head resting on Yara's shoulder.
"Ryo~ta~" Yara's voice was gentle in his ears, and Ryota made an involuntary sleepy noise as he was nudged back to wakefulness. "C'mon, you," Yara said, looking nearly as sleepy as Ryota felt. "We can't sleep here. Time to go home."
"Nnh," Ryota croaked out, squinting at the flashing default screen of the karaoke TV as he looked around. Had he been asleep long?
It was way past the last train, and most places were shut up for the night. They walked along the streets, past the closed-down restaurants and the occasional cluster of people hanging around random late-night food stalls. The cooler air woke Ryota up a little and he felt more of a bounce enter his step as he grinned at nothing.
"It's been a good night," he said, turning to see Yara watching him with tired amusement. "I've had fun."
"I'm glad," Yara said as they turned down the road leading to Ryota's family home. He didn't say anything else, and for a moment Ryota faltered, glancing across to see Yara looking at him with a thoughtful expression. When their eyes met, Yara gave a small smile, rubbing at his eyes with one hand. "Just sleepy," he said, trudging up to the front door of the Yamamoto home. "I had fun this evening with you, too."
Ryota hesitated as he pulled his keys from his bag. "Um," he said. "D'you want to crash at mine? It's a fair way back to yours, and…" He scrunched the small keyring plushie in one hand. "My parents won't mind, so…"
Yara practically sagged with relief, and he nodded. "If that's okay," he said.
"Of course," Ryota replied, turning to fumble with the lock and let them both in. The hallway was dark and Ryota narrowly avoided stumbling as he removed his shoes and stepped inside, suddenly more nervous than he had any real reason to be. "Just through here," he whispered as Yara shut the door behind them, and he led them both through into Ryota's cramped bedroom, and flicked the light on.
"…Ah." Ryota grimaced. "I don't have a spare futon in here," he said. "I forgot about that."
"That's okay," Yara said, shrugging his jacket off and draping it over the end of Ryota's western-style bed. He glanced up, grin exaggeratedly wolfish. "I like Ryota, so I don't mind sharing your bed~"
"That's…!" Ryota panicked, trying to find a decent excuse. "Isn't that…?"
"Relax." Yara's voice was neutral and sleepy once more, the act dropped in an instant. "It's not a problem."
"Ah, okay," Ryota said. "If you're sure."
"Nnh," Yara groaned, kicking off his jeans and rolling under the covers before Ryota had a chance to say or do anything else. "Sleepy~" he said, voice muffled by the pillow. "Ryota, hurry up…"
Ryota scrambled to follow suit, flicking off the light and trying very hard not to do any kind of thinking whatsoever. Yara's body radiated warmth, only inches away, and as Ryota slid into bed he made certain not to accidentally touch him lest he get burned. "Okay," he said, suddenly too awake as he lay on his back staring at the black emptiness of the night-time ceiling.
"It wasn't a joke, though." Yara's voice was still half-muffled, and Ryota wasn't certain he'd heard properly.
"What wasn't?"
"'I like Ryota, so I don't mind sharing your bed'," Yara repeated. There was the soft sound of movement against the sheets, and suddenly Yara's voice was clearer as though he had stopped lying with his face shoved into the pillow. "You've been dancing around saying something all evening, haven't you," he said. "It's okay, you know."
Ryota's throat suddenly felt too tight for words to come out. "R-really?"
A sigh, and further sounds of movement. Ryota registered Yara's position a half-second before his hand was on Ryota's skin, lightly touching the line of his jaw for guidance as their lips brushed. "Do you believe me?" Yara asked, voice low in Ryota's ear.
"…" He couldn't trust himself to speak or even to move, until Yara tensed and began to pull away, closing off. With a sudden thrill of fear, Ryota reached up to grab Yara's wrist, pulling him back and lifting his head off the pillow until their lips met again, warm and soft. A breathy noise rose up inside Ryota's throat and he pulled back, trying to calm the stampede in his heart as it galloped against his ribcage. "This is just because we were drinking, right," he said, wincing at how his voice sounded rough even to his own ears. "You don't actually mean it."
Yara sighed again, and crashed back down onto the pillow to Ryota's right. "Suit yourself," he said, shifting around as he got comfortable. "I guess tomorrow's okay, too. G'night~"
"G-good night," Ryota echoed, bewildered. As his mind spun, the prone form beside him began to breathe more deeply, already unconscious. Ryota reached up to rub one hand over his face. Really? Really. He sighed, and tried to get to sleep.
The morning found Ryota not incredibly well-rested, and Yara still an immovable lump wedged between Ryota and the wall. Ryota's mother poked her head in shortly before midday, and as she caught sight of Yara and met her son's eyes her eyebrows raised but she returned moments later with two steaming cups of coffee and a sympathetic expression.
"G'morning," Yara croaked at her, and Ryota glanced over in surprise; he hadn't realised Yara had woken up. "Sorry for intruding."
"Don't be silly," she said with an indulgent smile. "You're always welcome here, Yara-kun." She paused, hand on the door. "I'm just going off to work, so I'll let you boys wake up now."
"See you later, mom." Ryota shuffled out of bed long enough to grab the coffees and bring them back, waiting for Yara to sit up before handing his over and crawling back under the covers. For a groggy moment they both sat up, each hunched over their respective mug, slowly inhaling their way to alertness.
"You've not got work today, have you?" Ryota asked, once he felt properly able to speak.
"Nn," Yara shook his head before taking a sip of his coffee. He rubbed at his eyes. "Thankfully."
"That's good." Ryota didn't know what he should say, if anything. Questions oozed through the molasses in his skull, going nowhere very quickly. He slurped his drink.
"D'you remember last night?" Yara asked, and Ryota tried not to spill coffee over himself.
"…Yes," he replied. "Do you?"
"Of course."
Ryota risked looking up then, and saw Yara watching him with a sharp, fully-awake expression.
"Oh," he said. "G-good, then." The questions in his head sparked into life all at once, and Ryota struggled to understand. "Wait, does that mean…?"
Yara raised his eyes heavenwards before crawling to the end of the bed and over toward the door, coffee mug in one hand as he tugged his baggy jeans back on with the other. "Keep up, Ryota," he said.
When Yara didn't immediately return Ryota reluctantly left the warmth of his bed and headed to the bathroom to brush the cotton-wool feeling from his mouth before venturing out into the rest of the house. Yara was in the kitchen, leaning against the work surface and drinking another mug of coffee, damp tendrils of hair sticking to his freshly-washed face. "You look like you didn't sleep that good," Yara said as Ryota approached and put his empty mug in the sink. "Did I keep you awake?"
"…Sort of," Ryota confessed, with a wince. "Not like… No, you didn't snore or kick me or anything like that," he said. "Just, just." He felt himself getting nervous again; this was worse than being on stage. "Just, when you said…"
"Was I wrong?" Yara asked, sincere concern flickering across his face. "If I misunderstood you…"
"No! No, I just…" Ryota floundered, then gave up. He moved closer, tilting his face toward Yara's and pressing a hesitant kiss to Yara's cheek. It was about as much bravery as he could manage, and he moved back, uncertain. There was a thunk as Yara put his own mug down on the work surface and reached out, pulling Ryota back once more and tilting Ryota's chin with two bent fingers, angling his face for another kiss. The space between them hummed with energy and Ryota ached to step forward, to lean into Yara, but he held back, murmuring into their kiss as Yara's tongue lazily swiped across his lips.
Yara seemed less patient. He straightened up and stepped forward, narrowing the gap between their bodies to nothing, one hand running down Ryota's back while the other cupped his face, fingers curling into the hair just behind Ryota's ear. Ryota found himself arching into the touch, pressing himself against Yara automatically as their tongues brushed and sent shivers racing along his nerve endings. This, this was… Ryota pulled back, fighting to remember to breathe.
"I'm not good at words," Yara said, glancing to the side, tongue darting out to wet his lips as he took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. "But you seemed to be struggling, too, so..."
"You could have said-- done something earlier," Ryota said, desperately trying to repress a pout.
"Your struggling fail is cute, though." Yara grinned. "But you understand now, right?"
Ryota nodded, then paused, lips twitching with amusement. "...Show me again?"
~