{oneshot} it's a dog's world (part two) ; massuda

[kyjr]

Massu looked up from his book the moment the front door opened and Nakamaru walked in. Massu only twitched a little when Takako bounded into the room from wherever she had been hiding, yipping excitedly at Nakamaru.

“Do you have plans for dinner?” Nakamaru asked, flopping down onto the couch with Takako in his arms. He smiled when Massu shook his head. “Good. You’re going to have dinner with me and Ueda tonight.” Massu’s mouth fell open, and he started to shake his head. Nakamaru laughed again, and he held Takako out towards Massu. “Either you go out to the restaurant tonight, or I’ll let her loose in your room while you’re sleeping.”

“You’re a terrible friend,” Massu muttered, but had gave in to the thought of having dinner with Ueda.

“I’m a great friend,” Nakamaru replied with a grin. “Go shower and get changed; were leaving in a couple of hours.”

Massu wasn’t entirely sure what kind of clothes he was meant to choose. He had showered and was now standing in his room, his wardrobe open, staring into it blankly with a towel wrapped around his waist. Should he wear a suit? Would that be too formal? Or what about just a simple shirt and jeans? Maybe that wasn’t formal enough.

He should probably keep the flashy colours to a minimum, though.

Massu sighed. Nakamaru was in the shower now, so he couldn’t ask him.

He ended up choosing a nice blue button-down shirt - the buttons were tiny but were also in the shape of bluebirds - and his best jeans. Massu looked at himself in the mirror, nodding to himself. Yes, this would do.

Massu stood nervously near the front door. He had been waiting on Nakamaru for over twenty minutes now and he was beginning to get irritated. It was really rude to keep someone waiting. After another ten minutes of waiting, Nakamaru finally emerged.

“Go ahead without me,” Nakamaru said with a smile. “I forgot I had to make a phone call; I’ll meet you at the restaurant.”

“I can wait,” Massu replied quickly. He wasn’t ready to be alone with Ueda yet, so he would wait for Nakamaru.

“It’s okay. I have to call the cafe manager about a problem with the registers,” Nakamaru said quietly. “I’m not sure how long the call will take, and we’re already late.”

Massu stared. He didn’t remember there being anything wrong with the registers at work. Nakamaru was up to something, only he had no idea what it was.

“But I don’t want--”

“Shh, I’m on the phone,” Nakamaru hissed, the receiver already pressed to his ear.

“But you only just--” Nakamaru just waved him away as the person on the other end answered, turning around and blocking his other ear. Massu glared at his back. “Hate you,” he whispered, walking to the door.

He didn’t want to do this alone. He didn’t want to face Ueda.

The restaurant that Nakamaru had made the reservation at was nice. It was an Italian place, and the smell of garlic and pasta sauces was ripe in the air. There were families and couples sitting at sturdy tables, platters of food in front of them as they spoke and ate the night away. It was rather cheerful, all lit up brightly from crystal chandeliers hanging high on the ceiling, the marble floor shining brilliantly.

Massu was awed by the beauty of the restaurant, and he slowly walked up to the maitre’d. He was nervous, and swore to get Nakamaru back for this.

“Can I help you, sir?”

“Uh. I’m supposed to meet someone here,” Massu said, as his eyes moved to scan through the crowded restaurant.

“Name of the party?”

“Nakamaru,” Massu replied quietly. He was hoping that the reservations had been lost, and that Ueda never showed up. Then he could go back home, throttle Nakamaru for setting this entire thing up and then go hide out in his room for the remainder of the night.

“This way, sir.”

Only slightly reluctant, Massu followed after the Maitre’d. His eyes were on his feet as he moved through the restaurant. Massu looked up when someone nearby cleared their throat, and he found himself staring at Ueda.

Massu’s breath caught in his throat. Ueda looked as beautiful as ever, his eyes shining as he looked up at Massu, the hint of a smile on his face. He wore a large white shirt, French words scrawled over it in pretty cursive writing. His hair was swept away from his face, styled messily but absolutely perfectly and Massu felt even more nervous, if that were at all possible.

“Hey,” Ueda said, and Massu nodded.

“Hi.” Massu slipped into the chair across from Ueda, his palms sweating and his stomach turning.

“How are you?” Ueda asked, and it was only then that Massu realised that there were only two places set on the table.

Nakamaru had set them up. “I’m-- I’m fine...” he said, making a mental note to smother Nakamaru in his sleep with his pillow.

“You look upset,” Ueda said, and Massu snapped out of his thoughts. “Everything okay?”

He would get revenge on Nakamaru later, when he had the time to think clearly. “No. Just...” Massu wanted to tell Ueda that he wasn’t ready to be alone with him yet, but when he looked up. He was taken aback by the worry that laced Ueda’s normally stoic features.

Massu’s stomach turned and his heart beat quicker. He rubbed the palms of his hands against his pants once more, more of a nervous habit than them actually being sweaty. How could Nakamaru set him up like this, they were supposed to be friends.

“Massu?” Ueda said, and Massu jumped when he heard his name called.

“Sorry. I’m sorry,” Massu breathed, eyes darting around the room. “I’m okay, just. Nakamaru said it would be the three of us.”

“So did I,” Ueda replied, and then laughed when Massu stared at him. “He said he was going to meet me here with you in tow.”

“He’s sneakier than I would have thought,” Massu muttered.

Ueda laughed. “Oh well. We’re both here now,” he said, and gestured to the menu in front of Massu. “We might as well order.”

Massu’s hands were practically shaking as he nodded and took the menu, glaring down at it but barely taking anything in. Ueda carefully placed a hand on the top of the menu, and Massu looked up, startled. “Yes?”

“Are you trying to burn a hole through it?” Ueda asked, smiling a little.

“Oh, sorry--”

Ueda just laughed again, waving the waiter over. “Stop apologising for everything.”

“Sorry--”

Ueda gave him a long look, that smile still on his face, and cocked his head. “You’re cute.”

Massu wasn’t quite sure what to say to that, and stared wide-eyed at the man across from him, who had turned to the waiter and was ordering. “What did you want, Massu?”

“Oh, uuh-- I’ll just-- I don’t know...”

“He’ll have the same as me,” Ueda said, handing the waiter their menus and smiling up at him. “Thank you.”

“What are you having?” Massu asked, in a sudden flash of panic. What if he had ordered something inedible; what if he were allergic to it; what if--

“Pasta.”

Oh. That was relatively safe.

Ueda was looking at him again, those soft eyes staring into his own. Massu loved Ueda’s eyes. They were just so dark and beautiful, and Massu found himself breathless again.

“Breathe,” Ueda murmured.

“When is this food getting here?” Massu said, a little too loudly to try to cover up the fact that he had been staring. Ueda chuckled, and placed a bread roll onto Massu’s plate.

“Have this while we wait.”

Massu stared down at the bread roll that had been put onto his plate. He busied himself with tearing it apart, so he would not be expected to talk with Ueda anymore than necessary. It was rude, after all, to talk with food in your mouth.

Ueda didn’t seem to want to make small talk either, and it eased Massu’s worries just a bit. He knew now that he wasn’t the only one uncomfortable when they were in each others presence. Massu took a breath, and quickly glanced up. He watched Ueda from the fringe of his bangs.

His heart began to flutter in his chest, when Ueda smiled. Massu wasn’t sure why Ueda was smiling, but he loved the way it looked. How carefree, and at ease he looked. He wondered what it would be like, to be the reason Ueda smiled all the time. To be the reason Ueda smiled whenever he thought about something.

“How long have you and Nakamaru been living together?” Ueda asked, and the sudden sound of his voice caused Massu to jump slightly. Ueda just laughed, while Massu’s face turned crimson. “You’re quite jumpy. Are you alright?”

“Sorry,” Massu breathed, feeling the rapid beats of his heart against his ribcage.

“Didn’t I tell you to stop apologizing for everything?” Ueda asked with a frown. Massu’s heart sank and he immediately missed the smile.

“I don’t mean to,” Massu replied, he had gone back to tearing what was left of the bread to pieces. “I’m just nervous, I guess.”

“You shouldn’t be so nervous,” Ueda said quietly. “I don’t bite.”

Massu fought down the apology that was threatening to fall from his lips. Ueda’s eyes were dancing mischievously, just waiting for Massu to say something, but then the waiter was back with their food, setting the bowls down in front of them with a flourish. As the man filled their glasses, Ueda watched Massu, whose eyes were firmly on the mangled bread roll.

“Are you going to eat?” Ueda asked, and Massu realised belatedly that the waiter had left, and Ueda was waiting for him.

“Oh-- yes,” Massu stuttered, grabbing a fork - why were there about ten next to his plate, anyway? - and it was then that he realised his pasta was green. He stared. “Ueda, our pasta is off.”

Ueda laughed loudly, quickly covering his mouth with the back of his hand. “Oh my god-- no, it’s just-- oh my god,” Ueda breathed, doubling over and in danger of falling face-first into his pasta. His green pasta.

Massu blinked. “What?” he asked cluelessly.

Once Ueda had stopped laughing at him - and once the people around them had stopped staring - he caught his breath and looked over at him, his eyes shining with mirth. “It’s pesto pasta. It’s supposed to be green.”

Massu didn’t find that terribly funny, and just nodded as Ueda shook his head with a smile on his face. Really, Ueda should just smile forever.

Ueda stopped dead.

Massu may have said that out loud.

Shit.

But Ueda just bit his lip, fighting down another smile, focusing on the food in front of him. Massu followed suit, letting out the breath that he didn’t know he had been holding as he speared a few pieces of pasta onto his fork, sure he was bright red.

“Tastes nice,” Massu murmured.

“Told you so.”

Massu laughed quietly, feeling a lot lighter than before. “Yes you did.”

They ate their meal with smiles on their faces, and Massu was pleased that Ueda kept the conversation going. He liked Ueda’s voice. Massu looked up at Ueda whenever the older man looked down at his bowl. He had lost count of just how long he stared at Ueda, but he couldn’t stop though.

Massu had to fight with himself, just to look away from Ueda. He hadn’t been caught staring yet, but each time he looked at the other man, his gaze seemed to linger longer and longer. He knew he should look away, to stare down at his own food. He was going to get caught, and had no idea how Ueda would react to being stared at.

Then Ueda snapped his head up, and stared straight at Massu. His heart stopped in his chest, his breath stuck in his throat. “Why do you keep staring at me?” Ueda asked, his voice was quiet. His eyes dark and shining.

“I’m sorry,” Massu muttered, and looked down at his bowl.

“What did I say about that?” Ueda asked. “You’ve been staring at me a lot tonight, haven’t you,” he said, and Massu finally looks back up. “I could feel your eyes on me this entire time. I just didn’t say anything.”

Massu sputtered and flailed his arms a little. He could feel his face burning, he knew he should have stopped staring. Now Ueda knew he had stared at him through all of dinner, but Massu couldn’t figure out if Ueda was angry about it or not. Ueda seemed to be making a joke out of it.

“Massu?” Ueda questioned. “Do you want to get out of here? Maybe walk me home?”

Massu nodded, not trusting his voice to speak. His hands were shaking again, and he stuffed them into his pockets when he stood. Ueda smiled widely, biting his lip a little, following Massu with a cheeky look in his eyes.

Massu paid.

The night was chilly when they stepped out, both of them shivering and drawing their coats tighter around their bodies. Massu paused, waiting for Ueda to catch up. “Which way?” he asked, wondering if Ueda could see how red his cheeks were.

“Right.”

They walked together, side-by-side, down the street, trying to avoid the other people on the sidewalk. “So, Massu,” Ueda started, looking up at him. “How’s the puppy?”

“Horrible,” Massu said on instinct, and Ueda laughed. “She is! She tears into everything, and poops everywhere - normally in my closet - but Nakamaru thinks the sun shines out of her so I can’t say anything to him.”

“So you like her, then?”

Massu sighed. “Maybe just the tiniest bit.” Ueda nodded knowingly. “She grows on you.”

“Of course. She’s a dog,” Ueda said, “They all do. It’s a dog thing.”

“Evil beings.”

Ueda hit him as he laughed.

“Ow! I think it’ll leave a bruise,” Massu said with a whine. He rubbed the spot where Ueda had hit. He feigned a hurt expression and promptly burst out laughing when Ueda’s eyes widened.

“I am so sorry,” Ueda began with a frown. “I didn’t mean to hit you that hard.”

“You didn’t. I was joking,” Massu said and grinned.

“You’re terrible,” Ueda replied with a huff.

Massu chuckled quietly. They continued to walk in silence. Massu’s heart fluttered each time their hands brushed. He wanted to reach out and take Ueda’s hand in his own, feel the warmth that Ueda was radiating. Ueda’s hands were small; Massu liked to imagine they would fit nicely with his own.

“This is where I live,” Ueda said suddenly and smiled. Massu stopped walking and stared in awe at the large house behind Ueda. “You look shocked.”

“It’s a huge house,” Massu murmured.

“It isn’t really that big,” Ueda muttered, while shoving his hands into his coat pocket in search of his keys.

“I’ll walk you to the door,”

Ueda grinned and Massu’s heart fluttered once more. Massu would be willing to do anything if Ueda kept smiling at him.

They were standing on the doorstep, Ueda’s fingers playing with the edges of his keys as he bit his lip a little, keeping back a smile. “Now it feels like a real date, huh?”

Massu nodded, watching Ueda’s fingers run over the ridges of the keys, one after the other. “A little.”

Ueda looked up at him, his brown eyes shining, and suddenly Massu felt all those nerves melt away. He no longer paid attention to the house behind them, or the night air blowing gently at their hair, or the sounds of cars driving past them; all he knew was Ueda, and those eyes.

There was this overwhelming feeling rushing through him; he needed to kiss Ueda now.

Massu leant down, placing the lightest of kisses onto Ueda’s lips, barely registering Ueda’s sharp intake of breath as he pulled away.

“Oh,” Ueda murmured, but those nerves were back, and Massu was panicking.

“I-- I’m so sorry-- I didn’t mean-- I-- Good night,” Massu stuttered, mentally berating himself as he turned his back and started down Ueda’s driveway. Oh, you idiot.

He was stopped by a hand on his arm. “Takahisa, you’re an idiot,” Ueda said, smiling.

“What?”

Ueda kept smiling, his hand tightened against Massu’s arm. “I said you’re an idiot.”

Massu sputtered, unable to figure out how to respond. His face was burning, and Massu kept looking everywhere but at Ueda. Ueda laughed softly. When Massu glanced at him, Ueda was leaning towards him. Before he could react, Ueda’s soft lips were pressed against his.

Massu gasped when Ueda pulled away, his lips tingled. They stared at each other, and Massu felt his heart beating quickly.

“I like you,” Massu said quickly, at the same time Ueda told him not to apologize.

Ueda just laughed, his hand moved down Massu’s arm until he had grabbed his hand. Massu watched quietly, as Ueda entwined their fingers. “I like you too.”

“Do you want to come inside for coffee, and maybe some ice cream?” Ueda asked, he was looking at his feet. If Massu looked close enough, he could have sworn Ueda was blushing.

“I... What?”

Ueda started to pull Massu towards the door of the house again. Massu resisted as much as he could, but Ueda was stronger than he looked and successfully got Massu to the front door.

He didn’t let go of Massu’s arm as he unlocked the door, and Massu felt a shiver run up his spine as Ueda turned to wink at him before leading him through the door. “I’m sorry about the mess,” Ueda laughed, rushing forward and kicking a stray shoe out of the way. “It’s just-- hard to kind of keep up with-- Oh!” Ueda leapt at a pile of magazines on the coffee table - Massu briefly caught a glimpse of half-naked men - and flushed a deep red. “You... didn’t see that, did you?”

“Not at all,” Massu lied, and Ueda nodded briskly before throwing them into another room.

“...Good.”

They stood there awhile, looking about awkwardly, before Ueda clapped his hands together and startled Massu. “Coffee!” he said, marching into another room. Massu supposed he should follow. “Ah! Dogs!”

“Wh--” Massu didn’t have time to react before there were five very large, very happy dogs bounding up to him, their noses pressed to his jeans immediately, their tails wagging non-stop. “U..eda...” he murmured, staring down at them.

“I’m so sorry-- I forgot I left them in that room-- Are you okay?” Ueda asked, trying to pull the dogs away.

“They’re so big,” he muttered and shrank back.

“Yeah. They’re uh,” Ueda started, as he kept pulling the dogs away from Massu. “They’re golden retrievers. Large breed of dogs, one of them anyway.” Ueda gasped as he finally managed to get all five of the dogs into a separate room.

Massu looked at Ueda and then back towards the closed door. Massu really did not like dogs, of any size. He never knew when one was going to lunge at him and try to bite him. Dogs had sharp teeth, and filthy mouths. Massu was convinced he would get some type of disease if he were bitten. Ueda knew of his fear, and Massu found it sweet that he had attempted to hide the animals from view.

“Are you alright?” Ueda asked, as he touched Massu’s hand.

“Yes. Yes, I’m fine.” Massu smiled, albeit a little awkwardly. “Can I just-- There’s another one!”

Another dog - this one a little smaller but definitely fluffier - had skidded around the corner, ears flapping and it’s tongue lolling out of it’s mouth. “Oh no,” Ueda muttered, as the dog slid to a stop and leapt up at Massu. “No, Patto--”

Massu stood still as Ueda tried to get the dog down. “It’s okay,” Massu murmured just as Ueda calmed the dog. She was staring up at him, her big brown eyes shining with so much happiness that Massu couldn’t help but lean down a little, extending a hand out.

The dog - Patto - blinked, cocking her head to the side as she watched him. She looked rather harmless, Massu had to admit. She was rather pretty, with her light brown and white face, and her little floppy ears. Ueda was watching him too, his arms still around Patto just in case.

Massu flinched a little when Patto’s tongue moved across the underside of his hand. He stayed still when Patto continued licking his hand, her tail wagging rapidly. He slowly moved his hand up to rest on top of Patto’s head, her ears twitched and Massu smiled.

“It’s okay if you let her go,” he murmurs, lightly scratching the top of Patto’s head.

Ueda moved his arms, and Patto was free to move on her own. She didn’t. Patto made no move to lunge at Massu, or to jump on him. She sat there, tail thumping against the floor.

“You’re actually petting her,” Ueda said, slightly awed at Massu’s actions. “And here I thought you disliked all dogs.”

“She’s not so bad,” Massu said quietly, he could feel how hot his face was at the moment. He kept petting Patto and ignored Ueda’s laugh.

“You know,” Ueda started, and Massu jumped at how close they were to each other. “Not all dogs are bad. It just depends on their owner.”

Massu frowned. “It’s not that I think they’re bad. I just don’t like my things being torn apart.”

“You said yourself, that dogs usually bite you whenever you’re near them,” Ueda said and pet Patto on the back.

“I think she’s different though-- can we drop this?” Massu asked, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. Ueda smiled knowingly, but let it go.

“Oh, coffee,” he said, once again moving to the kitchen. “Hopefully no more dogs appear.”

“Do you--”

“I don’t have more dogs,” he said distractedly, pouring water into the kettle and bustling around the kitchen collecting mugs and spoons. “Sugar?”

“...Yes?”

Ueda turned and gave him a confused look before smiling widely. “No-- that’s so cute-- I meant... do you take sugar in your coffee?”

Massu wished the ground would swallow him. His face was burning, and he quickly attempted to mumble a response. “Oh-- uh-- yeah-- t-two, thanks.”

Ueda bit his lip, trying not to smile. “So cute,” he whispered to himself, but Massu caught it, and flushed even deeper. “Any milk?”

“N-no.” It would be really nice of the earth to start swallowing him now, he thought, staring down at the tiles on the floor as if they could break apart. He heard Ueda laugh, and looked up.

“The ice cream is in the freezer, could you get it for me?” he asked. Massu nodded, heading over to where Ueda gestured towards. “You could hold it to your face if you want, it might cool it down.”

“Shut up!”

Massu grumbled quietly as he pulled the carton of ice cream out of the freezer. He could hear Ueda as he continued to laugh. Despite the situation, Massu still liked hearing Ueda laugh. He just wasn’t entirely pleased, that he was the reason Ueda was laughing.

Massu looked down at the carton in his hand; did Ueda expect to eat straight from it? “Um. Ueda?”

“Yeah. What’s up?” Ueda called from the other room.

“How are we going to eat the ice cream?” Massu asked while he walked into the other room with Ueda.

Ueda paused what he was doing, which was flipping through channels on the television, and looked from Massu to the carton in his hands. Massu blinked a couple of times.

“With... spoons?”

“I know that, but I meant,” Massu said, holding the ice cream out towards Ueda. “Are we going to eat it from the carton?”

“Yes?”

“That’s so unsanitary though,” Massu flailed a bit. “The germs from our spoons will be put back into the carton and--”

“Calm down, Massu. Breathe,” Ueda spoke quietly, before he brushed past Massu and walked into the kitchen. “We can use bowls! I know I have some clean ones somewhere.”

“Sorry,” Massu said when Ueda walked back carrying two bowls and spoons with him.

Ueda smiled and held out a bowl. Massu took it and followed Ueda to the couch where they both sat down. “We best hurry up and drink our coffee before it gets cold. I don’t know about you, but I’m not fond of cold coffee.”

Ueda curled up nicely on the couch, tucking his feet up under him and, looking entirely too cozy with his coffee between both hands, blew at the steam rising from the cup, watching it dance. Massu perched on the couch next to him, still unsure about sitting so close, but Ueda looked up with those brown eyes of his and smiled, he settled back a little, making sure not to spill his ice cream on the couch.

They sat there in silence, sipping carefully at their coffee as Patto curled around their feet, looking up at them with pleading eyes. “You can’t have any,” Ueda reminded her, but she just pricked her ears up hopefully, turning her head to look at Massu.

“Sorry. Boss has spoken,” he said, and her tail thumped against the floor as she wagged it.

Just as Massu was about to eat a spoonful of ice cream, though, Patto leapt up onto the couch, her front paws on Massu’s stomach and her tail in Ueda’s face. Massu jumped, dropping the ice cream onto his shirt, and moved as fast as he could away from the dog. Ueda was trying to wrangle her off the couch with his coffee cup in one hand, finally managing to push her off.

“I am so sorry,” he said, standing and placing his cup down, “Are you okay? You’re not hurt are you?”

Massu stared down at the mess on his shirt; the ice cream was melting quickly and soaking through the thin fabric of his shirt. “I’m not hurt, but...” he gestured towards his shirt and Ueda gasped.

“You need to get that off and put in the wash right now or else it will stain.” Ueda sounded frantic; when Massu looked up he was practically face to face with him. “I dropped ice cream on one of my favorite shirts and didn’t put it in the wash right away, and now I can’t wear it because it’s ruined. The stain is forever embedded in the fabric.”

“But I don’t have anything else to wear and it would be strange to sit around your house without a shirt,” Massu muttered, even though he was already pulling the shirt up and over his head. Massu hated stains on his clothes, especially ones that were hard to get back out.

“I have stuff in my closet that you can wear,” Ueda murmured, unable to turn away from Massu.

“Really? Thank you, it’d be such a help--” Massu paused, watching Ueda, whose eyes were roaming over Massu’s chest. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Ueda said distractedly, biting his lip and sighing a little. “I uh-- need to get you that shirt-- right--”

He turned, shaking his head as he walked away, leaving Massu standing there, feeling kind of unnerved as Patto almost smiled up at him. Like this was her plan all along. Massu glared.

There was a sudden crash and Massu started, quickly running to see what the noise was. Ueda had fallen over, mumbling to himself as he picked himself off the ground. Massu took hold of his arm, and Ueda looked up, sighing a little.

“Still shirtless, are you?” he asked.

“You’ve... got the shirt I’m meant to wear,” he said, as he helped Ueda up.

Ueda gulped. “Ah... right. Do you... have to put this on?” he mumbled, but Massu heard and flushed a deep red.

“Your house is pretty cold,” Massu said while looking away from Ueda. “So the shirt would be rather nice.” Ueda hid his sigh and handed the shirt over. Massu pulled it on quickly and smiled shyly at Ueda. “It’s getting pretty late. I should probably get going.”

“I’ll uh. Wash your shirt and return it to you next time we meet,” Ueda replied quietly. “You know, you could stay longer, if you want. You can sleep here too if you needed to, I don’t mind.”

Massu blinked and stared at Ueda, his heart raced at the possible implications of Ueda’s statement. “Nakamaru would probably freak out if I didn’t come home tonight.”

“That’s true,” Ueda murmured. “I didn’t mean anything weird by what I said, just that you’re welcome to sleep on my couch if you wanted to stay.”

“M-Maybe next time?” Massu offered, and Ueda’s face lit up in a smile.

“Good,” he said, leading Massu to the door, “Because we need to have a proper date.”

Oh, right. “Yeah...” Massu said softly, really only thinking about the way Ueda’s hair curled about his face, and the way Ueda’s eyes were glinting with something sweet. He needed to kiss him again.

So he did, leaning over and lightly pressing his lips to Ueda’s. Ueda sighed, kissing him back, his arms looping around Massu’s neck and pulling him closer. Massu’s hands found their way to Ueda’s hips, drawing him in, his body flush with Massu’s own neatly. Ueda pulled away first, resting his forehead against Massu’s.

“You should leave,” Ueda said, “Or else that shirt might not stay on you for much longer.”

Massu laughed, placing a tiny kiss to Ueda’s cheek. “Good night.”

“Good night,” Ueda almost whispered, pressing his hands against Massu’s chest. “I’ll call you?”

“Please do,” Massu replied, opening the door. He had to stop as Ueda’s arms wrapped around him from behind, hugging him tightly. “What’re you doing?”

“Hugging you,” Ueda mumbled into his back.

“Yeah, I know, but--”

“You looked like you’d be nice to hug,” Ueda said.

“...You need to let me go--”

“Yes, right, sorry,” Ueda muttered, stumbling away and taking a deep breath. “Goodnight, Massu.”

Massu was about to step out of the doorway but paused again, peering back to look at Ueda. Patto had come to the door to see what was happening, sitting at Ueda’s feet as he scratched behind her ears. “Ueda?”

“...Yeah?”

“...Thank you.”

“For what?” Ueda asked, confused. Patto wagged her tail at him.

Massu bent down, giving Patto one final pat before standing up and looking Ueda in the eye. “For changing me. For changing... my colour.”

Ueda smiled. “Anytime.”

Massu kissed him again.

END.