~FREAKISH!(Japanese Version) chapter 31: Winter Song
Title: ~ FREAKISH! (Japanese Version) Chapter 31: Winter Song
Author: fishie (seungjea
Theme: 042. Song
Rating: R, AU
Pairing: Shou X Saga
Band[s]: Alice Nine
Disclaimer: I own them, they live in my closet. Really …
Credits: destined_ramin for beta!
Summary: “Here’s my advice, find a girl to fuck on Christmas Eve, or if you’d prefer guys, find someone your age to fuck, I bet your cuteness will make some guys go crazy but believe me, they’ll think twice to go for it with a jailbait like you.”
Notes: HEY! i'm still alive here!! ^^ I hope you guys still remember me ... >.<
Sakito entered the apartment; he kicked off his shoes and switched the lights on. Winter had started for a couple of days now and the weather was getting colder by the day.
He was about to put his coat on the hanger when he noticed a new hole was forming on the inside of his coat. It was a pretty old coat, he recalled, he’d had the army style coat since he first entered university, but still, he was hoping it would last for another winter … He hated to have another unplanned expense, knowing how Ruka and he have been working hard to make ends meet.
Sighing, Sakito hooked his coat at the hanger and went in. Ruka was out for work, he took a night shift at a video store this week, unlike Sakito, Ruka seemed to change between jobs quickly. Being an apprentice director at some production houses, Ruka’s schedule was not predictable, so it was quite hard for him to keep a steady part time job.
Sakito was just closing the rice cooker and switched it on when he heard Ruka entering their apartment.
“Okaeri!”
“Tadaima!” Sakito replied with a small smile.
“Saki-chan! Are you in the kitchen?”
“This place is not that big, Ruka-kun”, Sakito grinned at Ruka’s impatience, “I’m making onion chicken!”
“That sounds good”, Ruka gave him a kiss, “Look what I got for you!” he handed Sakito a large box, about twice the size of a shoe box with purple ribbon tied around it.
“What’s this? My birthday is six months ago, remember?” Sakito joked.
“Just call it an early Christmas gift from me”, Ruka grinned, “You’ll like it!”
“Ruka …” Sakito was about to protest, Ruka should have known better than to spoil him with unnecessary gifts like this. Winter meant cooler temperature and that they’d need to use the heater, while the electricity bill is bound to be higher at the end of the month, experience taught Sakito, “The bills …” he started.
Ruka cut Sakito’s protest with a kiss, “Why can’t you just say thanks and take it? Stop being such a woman”, he laughed at Sakito’s attempt to scowl him.
“Well thank you but I hope you’ll consider our monetary fund the next time you decided to buy me something”, Sakito finally agreeing, he untie the ribbon and opened the box.
Inside was a pure white parka, faux fur adorning the hood, with white zipper and silver buttons. Sakito sighed and ran his hand through the soft fabric.
“I saw your coat, and I thought that you needed a new one”, Ruka explained.
“But this is …” Sakito gasped, he’d seen the coat on one of the posh boutique in Shinjuku weeks ago, and the price was definitely not cheap.
“Don’t worry, Saki-chan, I’ve decided we can cut off the electricity bill this month”, Ruka replied casually, “I’m sure we can think of something to keep us warm at night”, he winked suggestively “…and that
means you get to wear your new jacket more, isn’t that nice?”
Sakito sighed in defeat. As much as he loved the jacket and knew Ruka just wanted to give him something special for Christmas, something he truly needed, but that meant they would have to cut off many things this month. It wouldn’t be easy…
“… This is the part where you’re supposed to hug me and say thank you, ne?” the older man grinned wider.
“You’re such a dork”, Sakito sighed, but he gave up and let Ruka embrace him.
**
“So … where were you last weekend?” Saga asked his cousin as they walked out of their school yard.
“Radiohead at Saitama Super Arena, remember?” Hiroto replied, kicking the gravels on his feet, “You should’ve come, it was great! What did you do last weekend anyway?”
Saga rolled his eyes, “Just something not very interesting.”
“In-laws?”
Saga gave a sigh.
FLASHBACK
“… Okaa-san, I am perfectly okay and either my baby or I need any ancient medicated chicken soup …!”
“This is good for you and your baby!”
“But it tastes like shit!” Yui snapped.
“Watch your mouth Yui, I’m your mother!”
How did a simple pregnancy turn out to be like this? Saga wondered. Ever since Yui and Akira announced that they would have a baby, Shou’s mother seemed to act in the wrong way.
At a first glance, she seemed like a worried mother, even after her first grandson from Shou's oldest brother a couple months ago. The pressure might be overwhelming since Yui was her only daughter, and it might look natural that the mother wanted to make sure that her only daughter survived her pregnancy well … But for the people who knew her better, it was nothing close to that. And even Saga could see that.
They were invited to plan for the baby shower, Yui and his husband were going to have the small party by next weekend, it was just a small party with some friends and family, but of course Shou’s mother would come and had to make things her way.
“… Okaa-san, I don’t want to invite sixty people, this is just a small baby shower and I don’t care what people might think!” came Yui’s annoyed tone from the bedroom.
“You know well how this will affect the company! Why can’t you think less selfishly? Your pregnancy is a good way to promote the baby section at our new branch …!”
More arguments were heard from the room next door, Saga sighed as he heard the unwanted quarrel. He looked at the pile of baby magazines and some baby books on the table. He didn’t know what was worst: being ignored, or being the centre of attention.
“Hey”, Shou plopped himself on the sofa next to Saga.
“Hey”, Saga replied.
“Wanna get out of this place and get lunch?” Shou asked.
Before Saga could say anything, they heard some scolding from the baby room, where Shou’s mother was talking with Yui.
“Will this happen to us one day?” Saga rolled his eyes.
“Not in the near future I’m sure”, Shou pulled Saga off the sofa, “I’m going Yui-chan!” he shouted to his sister, “See you around!”
END OF FLASHBACK
“It was really good, ne?” Saga asked glumly, they were waiting at the train station.
“On second thought, the show wasn’t that good anyway, you can always buy the DVD”, Hiroto said back. Somewhere on the background, a violinist was playing some Christmas songs.
“Hey show me the pics you took with your phone last weekend”, Saga told his cousin.
“They’re all blurry and unfocussed”, Hiroto replied, but he gave Saga his phone anyway, “Hey I think it’s Chibiko from my class. Wait here while I talk to her, ne?” Hiroto didn’t wait for Saga’s answer as he fled to meet the group of girls surrounding the violinist.
Saga flipped the phone on and checked the pictures. His cousin was right, most of the pictures taken from the concert were blurry and dark and the ones that didn’t look that blurry were Hiroto’s own pictures. Hiroto took about twenty-three pictures at the gig, as Saga finished scrolling over them, and he kept pressing the next button to see more of his cousin’s pictures.
There were some dorky poses his cousin took with his own phone and some pictures of things Hiroto might have thought interesting. Hiroto was just a kid at heart no matter what, Saga thought, he might be sixteen but most of the time he was just a kid too busy with his toys and his own mind …
But Saga’s smile froze as he saw the next picture.
It was Hiroto and Tora.
Together.
And the white background of the picture was definitely a … bed.
The next picture was Tora, sleeping on the same bed. Thankfully, Tora was wearing a black t-shirt and no evidence of sex was visible.
But what could be expected from a head shot picture taken by a cell phone?
When Saga looked up from the phone screen, Hiroto was grinning in front of him.
“I’ve told you the pics were blurred!” he chirped happily, a donut in his hand.
“Please tell me you’re not sleeping with Tora”, was the first thing Saga said to his cousin.
“What? Of course not!” Hiroto quickly answered, “Give me back my phone!”
Saga handed the orange piece of plastic to his cousin, “Quit the crap, I saw it on your phone.”
Hiroto pouted, “You shouldn’t look at my things without asking me first!”
“Pon …” Saga moaned out loud, “We’re not starting this again!”
“Why?”
“You are not supposed to sleep with him!” Hiroto kept unfazed at Saga’s comment, “Because he’s older, he’s a player and … he has a boyfriend …!”
“Two”.
“Do you seriously want to be his third?”
“Well it’s a good start …”
Saga smacked his cousin’s head, “You’re not seeing him anymore, and if I catch you with him I’ll …. I’ll … I’ll… I’m telling your mom!” Saga wasn’t sure if the threat would stop Hiroto and hoped it wouldn’t sound so weak, but Hiroto stopped grinning.
Maybe it was a good threat.
“Come on let’s go, the train is here …” Saga pulled his cousin.
**
Hiroto sighed for the tenth time that evening. Why does Saga always think of him as a little kid? He was sixteen, he knew things and he always made sure to be out of trouble …
Saga was not always like this, there were times when they had more fun together.
It had to be the wedding … he thought. It would be the only logical reason for Saga’s big change.
He eyed the soccer team playing on the indoor field and smiled to himself. Tora was playing down there with his friends, who Hiroto didn’t bother to care. Well not for now though …
Tora was a good player, Hiroto noted, he was scoring for the second time of the evening. He looked so cool despite looking all sweaty and dirty from the game. But it only added Tora’s sexiness in his eyes. How could someone be so cool and tempting at the same time?
Hiroto played with the hem of his jacket and smiled as Tora’s eyes met his. The older man only gave a small smirk before continuing his victory lap with his friends on the field.
The game was finished, and soon, Tora’s friends went to the change room, but Tora, knowing Hiroto was waiting for him at the bench, went to greet him.
“What’s up?” he sat next to Hiroto.
“You did well…”, Hiroto said.
“Of course!”
“…for an older guy!” Hiroto added jokingly.
“I can take you up for a challenge anytime!” Tora said back
“Is that a challenge?”
Tora’s grin widened at the comment.
“What’s your plan for Christmas?” Hiroto suddenly asked.
“Why’d you wanna know?”
“Are you gonna be with Uruha? Or Aoi? Or … perhaps none of them?” Hiroto looked smug.
“Cut the crap and tell me what’s the little devil in your mind got”, Tora cut Hiroto.
“Isn’t Christmas eve supposed to be spent with a lover?”
It was no secret in Tokyo, and for high school students it seemed like a trend to confess one’s undying love and had sex for the first time on Christmas Eve.
“I got my own lover … two, in facts”, Tora said back.
“I got a proposition for you”, Hiroto said seriously
“And what would that be?” Tora pretended to look interested.
“Spend the night with me.”
“Why would I want to do that?” A small smile played on Tora’s lips.
“Be my first.”
Hiroto was confident enough to say it, but he was taken aback when Tora laughed.
“Forget it kid, I’m not going to risk anything for you.”
“Nani?”
“You’re a minor”, Tora replied.
“I’m a high school student!”
“But still, you’re only sixteen, don’t get your hopes high”, Tora said casually, “You can come back when you’re twenty!”
“Nani?!”
“Here’s my advice, find a girl to fuck on Christmas Eve, or if you’d prefer guys, find someone your age to fuck, I bet your cuteness will make some guys go crazy but believe me, they’ll think twice to go for it with a jailbait like you.”
Hiroto couldn’t believe his ears, “Tora!” he could feel his face heating up at Tora’s comment.
But the older man only waved at him and walked towards the locker room, his rich laughter still echoing in Hiroto’s ears.
For the first time in his life, Ogata Hiroto was rejected.
**
“Go fetch, boy!” Saga threw the ball and Chiko ran to get it. The park was quiet in that windy afternoon, only a couple sitting under the tree and no children playing, probably since it was getting colder.
“Hey, careful there!” Shou hugged the blond from the back, “You’re gonna hurt someone!”
Saga giggled, “Nah, no one’s here”, he leaned back against his husband.
Shou put his arms around Saga’s waist, “I haven’t seen Hiroto lately, are you two fighting?”
“He was just upset over something I said to him”, Saga answered, “Nothing big.”
Shou put his hands inside the pockets of Saga’s jacket as he kept hugging Saga from behind.
“What’s it about?” Shou kissed Saga’s neck.
“Hey that tickles!” Saga squirmed on Shou’s arms, “I just told him to get his grubby hands off Tora; the kid has no idea what he’s doing.”
“Tora won’t touch him, he’s not interested in high school boys”, Shou said back, “But I’ll tell Tora. Does that make you feel better?”
Saga smiled, “I’m not his mother.”
“But you frowned when you thought about him”, Shou gave Saga’s forehead another kiss, “And I don’t like it when you frown.”
Saga’s smile widened.
“Hey, where’s Chiko?”
Shou let go of Saga and pulled the younger man to the direction where Chiko was last seen, “Let’s check.”
They found Chiko playing with some kids on the other part of the park and Saga had to put his dog on a leash to bring him back home. They walked home despite the wind and when they got to the entrance of their apartment, both of them were freezing cold.
“I’ll make some hot chocolate while you brush Chiko!” Saga hung his jacket as the door was slammed shut.
“Why don’t you clean up the dog and I make hot chocolate?” Shou said back
“You always forgot to put the sugar in”, Saga replied, “So you clean Chiko and I’ll make some hot drink!”
Shou ushered the dog to the balcony, where he cleaned the dog. He could hear Saga making hot chocolate in the kitchen and answering the phone.
After cleaning the dog, Shou went back into the apartment. Chiko was too eager to jump on the sofa and ran fast into the apartment.
“Hey, careful there, Chiko-kun! You’ll … ” but too late, the dog slipped before Shou finished and landed on the carpet ungracefully, “See? I’ve told you so!”
The black dog whimpered and stood up, a bit slower than usual but it didn’t stop him from wagging his tail as he tried to get Saga’s attention, ignoring the slight limp on his hind leg.
“What is it boy? Was Shou being rough on you?” Saga patted the dog’s head, oblivious to Chiko’s limp.
“He’s been slipping a lot lately, you might wanna bring him to the vet to check”, Shou sat on the sofa, “He’s not that young anymore, ne?”
Saga brought two mugs of hot chocolate to the white sofa, he gave one to Shou, “I’ll make an appointment later, but he looks okay, probably just a small bruise.”
“Do dogs get bruised?” Shou questioned.
“I don’t know! I’ve never seen Chiko get bruised!”
“What are these?” Shou took some piece of paper from the pile of paper on the coffee table, “Are these your university application?”
“Hai, I just got them a couple of days ago but I’m not so sure what to do …” Saga sipped his hot chocolate.
“English?”
Saga shrugged, “I think it’s a good major.”
Their conversation was cut as the phone rang.
“I’ll get it”, Saga said and reached for the phone.
Shou stopped Chiko before the dog licked his mug, the dog gave a puppy face at him but Shou scowled, “Your mommy there is not gonna be happy if he finds out you’re drinking chocolate!”
He sat back and waited for Saga, he couldn’t hear what he was saying but it must be his aunt, Hiroto’s mother, who was calling as Saga called the caller oba-chan.
“I can’t believe this”, Saga said as he hung up the phone.
“What?”
“Pon’s running away from home.”
Shou looked surprised at the sentence.
“Hiroto?”
“Yeah.”
“…”
They stayed quiet with lots of questions in their minds for a long minute before they agreed on one name.
“Tora.”
“I’ll give him a call”, Shou initiated.
TBC
Author: fishie (seungjea
Theme: 042. Song
Rating: R, AU
Pairing: Shou X Saga
Band[s]: Alice Nine
Disclaimer: I own them, they live in my closet. Really …
Credits: destined_ramin for beta!
Summary: “Here’s my advice, find a girl to fuck on Christmas Eve, or if you’d prefer guys, find someone your age to fuck, I bet your cuteness will make some guys go crazy but believe me, they’ll think twice to go for it with a jailbait like you.”
Notes: HEY! i'm still alive here!! ^^ I hope you guys still remember me ... >.<
Sakito entered the apartment; he kicked off his shoes and switched the lights on. Winter had started for a couple of days now and the weather was getting colder by the day.
He was about to put his coat on the hanger when he noticed a new hole was forming on the inside of his coat. It was a pretty old coat, he recalled, he’d had the army style coat since he first entered university, but still, he was hoping it would last for another winter … He hated to have another unplanned expense, knowing how Ruka and he have been working hard to make ends meet.
Sighing, Sakito hooked his coat at the hanger and went in. Ruka was out for work, he took a night shift at a video store this week, unlike Sakito, Ruka seemed to change between jobs quickly. Being an apprentice director at some production houses, Ruka’s schedule was not predictable, so it was quite hard for him to keep a steady part time job.
Sakito was just closing the rice cooker and switched it on when he heard Ruka entering their apartment.
“Okaeri!”
“Tadaima!” Sakito replied with a small smile.
“Saki-chan! Are you in the kitchen?”
“This place is not that big, Ruka-kun”, Sakito grinned at Ruka’s impatience, “I’m making onion chicken!”
“That sounds good”, Ruka gave him a kiss, “Look what I got for you!” he handed Sakito a large box, about twice the size of a shoe box with purple ribbon tied around it.
“What’s this? My birthday is six months ago, remember?” Sakito joked.
“Just call it an early Christmas gift from me”, Ruka grinned, “You’ll like it!”
“Ruka …” Sakito was about to protest, Ruka should have known better than to spoil him with unnecessary gifts like this. Winter meant cooler temperature and that they’d need to use the heater, while the electricity bill is bound to be higher at the end of the month, experience taught Sakito, “The bills …” he started.
Ruka cut Sakito’s protest with a kiss, “Why can’t you just say thanks and take it? Stop being such a woman”, he laughed at Sakito’s attempt to scowl him.
“Well thank you but I hope you’ll consider our monetary fund the next time you decided to buy me something”, Sakito finally agreeing, he untie the ribbon and opened the box.
Inside was a pure white parka, faux fur adorning the hood, with white zipper and silver buttons. Sakito sighed and ran his hand through the soft fabric.
“I saw your coat, and I thought that you needed a new one”, Ruka explained.
“But this is …” Sakito gasped, he’d seen the coat on one of the posh boutique in Shinjuku weeks ago, and the price was definitely not cheap.
“Don’t worry, Saki-chan, I’ve decided we can cut off the electricity bill this month”, Ruka replied casually, “I’m sure we can think of something to keep us warm at night”, he winked suggestively “…and that
means you get to wear your new jacket more, isn’t that nice?”
Sakito sighed in defeat. As much as he loved the jacket and knew Ruka just wanted to give him something special for Christmas, something he truly needed, but that meant they would have to cut off many things this month. It wouldn’t be easy…
“… This is the part where you’re supposed to hug me and say thank you, ne?” the older man grinned wider.
“You’re such a dork”, Sakito sighed, but he gave up and let Ruka embrace him.
**
“So … where were you last weekend?” Saga asked his cousin as they walked out of their school yard.
“Radiohead at Saitama Super Arena, remember?” Hiroto replied, kicking the gravels on his feet, “You should’ve come, it was great! What did you do last weekend anyway?”
Saga rolled his eyes, “Just something not very interesting.”
“In-laws?”
Saga gave a sigh.
FLASHBACK
“… Okaa-san, I am perfectly okay and either my baby or I need any ancient medicated chicken soup …!”
“This is good for you and your baby!”
“But it tastes like shit!” Yui snapped.
“Watch your mouth Yui, I’m your mother!”
How did a simple pregnancy turn out to be like this? Saga wondered. Ever since Yui and Akira announced that they would have a baby, Shou’s mother seemed to act in the wrong way.
At a first glance, she seemed like a worried mother, even after her first grandson from Shou's oldest brother a couple months ago. The pressure might be overwhelming since Yui was her only daughter, and it might look natural that the mother wanted to make sure that her only daughter survived her pregnancy well … But for the people who knew her better, it was nothing close to that. And even Saga could see that.
They were invited to plan for the baby shower, Yui and his husband were going to have the small party by next weekend, it was just a small party with some friends and family, but of course Shou’s mother would come and had to make things her way.
“… Okaa-san, I don’t want to invite sixty people, this is just a small baby shower and I don’t care what people might think!” came Yui’s annoyed tone from the bedroom.
“You know well how this will affect the company! Why can’t you think less selfishly? Your pregnancy is a good way to promote the baby section at our new branch …!”
More arguments were heard from the room next door, Saga sighed as he heard the unwanted quarrel. He looked at the pile of baby magazines and some baby books on the table. He didn’t know what was worst: being ignored, or being the centre of attention.
“Hey”, Shou plopped himself on the sofa next to Saga.
“Hey”, Saga replied.
“Wanna get out of this place and get lunch?” Shou asked.
Before Saga could say anything, they heard some scolding from the baby room, where Shou’s mother was talking with Yui.
“Will this happen to us one day?” Saga rolled his eyes.
“Not in the near future I’m sure”, Shou pulled Saga off the sofa, “I’m going Yui-chan!” he shouted to his sister, “See you around!”
END OF FLASHBACK
“It was really good, ne?” Saga asked glumly, they were waiting at the train station.
“On second thought, the show wasn’t that good anyway, you can always buy the DVD”, Hiroto said back. Somewhere on the background, a violinist was playing some Christmas songs.
“Hey show me the pics you took with your phone last weekend”, Saga told his cousin.
“They’re all blurry and unfocussed”, Hiroto replied, but he gave Saga his phone anyway, “Hey I think it’s Chibiko from my class. Wait here while I talk to her, ne?” Hiroto didn’t wait for Saga’s answer as he fled to meet the group of girls surrounding the violinist.
Saga flipped the phone on and checked the pictures. His cousin was right, most of the pictures taken from the concert were blurry and dark and the ones that didn’t look that blurry were Hiroto’s own pictures. Hiroto took about twenty-three pictures at the gig, as Saga finished scrolling over them, and he kept pressing the next button to see more of his cousin’s pictures.
There were some dorky poses his cousin took with his own phone and some pictures of things Hiroto might have thought interesting. Hiroto was just a kid at heart no matter what, Saga thought, he might be sixteen but most of the time he was just a kid too busy with his toys and his own mind …
But Saga’s smile froze as he saw the next picture.
It was Hiroto and Tora.
Together.
And the white background of the picture was definitely a … bed.
The next picture was Tora, sleeping on the same bed. Thankfully, Tora was wearing a black t-shirt and no evidence of sex was visible.
But what could be expected from a head shot picture taken by a cell phone?
When Saga looked up from the phone screen, Hiroto was grinning in front of him.
“I’ve told you the pics were blurred!” he chirped happily, a donut in his hand.
“Please tell me you’re not sleeping with Tora”, was the first thing Saga said to his cousin.
“What? Of course not!” Hiroto quickly answered, “Give me back my phone!”
Saga handed the orange piece of plastic to his cousin, “Quit the crap, I saw it on your phone.”
Hiroto pouted, “You shouldn’t look at my things without asking me first!”
“Pon …” Saga moaned out loud, “We’re not starting this again!”
“Why?”
“You are not supposed to sleep with him!” Hiroto kept unfazed at Saga’s comment, “Because he’s older, he’s a player and … he has a boyfriend …!”
“Two”.
“Do you seriously want to be his third?”
“Well it’s a good start …”
Saga smacked his cousin’s head, “You’re not seeing him anymore, and if I catch you with him I’ll …. I’ll … I’ll… I’m telling your mom!” Saga wasn’t sure if the threat would stop Hiroto and hoped it wouldn’t sound so weak, but Hiroto stopped grinning.
Maybe it was a good threat.
“Come on let’s go, the train is here …” Saga pulled his cousin.
**
Hiroto sighed for the tenth time that evening. Why does Saga always think of him as a little kid? He was sixteen, he knew things and he always made sure to be out of trouble …
Saga was not always like this, there were times when they had more fun together.
It had to be the wedding … he thought. It would be the only logical reason for Saga’s big change.
He eyed the soccer team playing on the indoor field and smiled to himself. Tora was playing down there with his friends, who Hiroto didn’t bother to care. Well not for now though …
Tora was a good player, Hiroto noted, he was scoring for the second time of the evening. He looked so cool despite looking all sweaty and dirty from the game. But it only added Tora’s sexiness in his eyes. How could someone be so cool and tempting at the same time?
Hiroto played with the hem of his jacket and smiled as Tora’s eyes met his. The older man only gave a small smirk before continuing his victory lap with his friends on the field.
The game was finished, and soon, Tora’s friends went to the change room, but Tora, knowing Hiroto was waiting for him at the bench, went to greet him.
“What’s up?” he sat next to Hiroto.
“You did well…”, Hiroto said.
“Of course!”
“…for an older guy!” Hiroto added jokingly.
“I can take you up for a challenge anytime!” Tora said back
“Is that a challenge?”
Tora’s grin widened at the comment.
“What’s your plan for Christmas?” Hiroto suddenly asked.
“Why’d you wanna know?”
“Are you gonna be with Uruha? Or Aoi? Or … perhaps none of them?” Hiroto looked smug.
“Cut the crap and tell me what’s the little devil in your mind got”, Tora cut Hiroto.
“Isn’t Christmas eve supposed to be spent with a lover?”
It was no secret in Tokyo, and for high school students it seemed like a trend to confess one’s undying love and had sex for the first time on Christmas Eve.
“I got my own lover … two, in facts”, Tora said back.
“I got a proposition for you”, Hiroto said seriously
“And what would that be?” Tora pretended to look interested.
“Spend the night with me.”
“Why would I want to do that?” A small smile played on Tora’s lips.
“Be my first.”
Hiroto was confident enough to say it, but he was taken aback when Tora laughed.
“Forget it kid, I’m not going to risk anything for you.”
“Nani?”
“You’re a minor”, Tora replied.
“I’m a high school student!”
“But still, you’re only sixteen, don’t get your hopes high”, Tora said casually, “You can come back when you’re twenty!”
“Nani?!”
“Here’s my advice, find a girl to fuck on Christmas Eve, or if you’d prefer guys, find someone your age to fuck, I bet your cuteness will make some guys go crazy but believe me, they’ll think twice to go for it with a jailbait like you.”
Hiroto couldn’t believe his ears, “Tora!” he could feel his face heating up at Tora’s comment.
But the older man only waved at him and walked towards the locker room, his rich laughter still echoing in Hiroto’s ears.
For the first time in his life, Ogata Hiroto was rejected.
**
“Go fetch, boy!” Saga threw the ball and Chiko ran to get it. The park was quiet in that windy afternoon, only a couple sitting under the tree and no children playing, probably since it was getting colder.
“Hey, careful there!” Shou hugged the blond from the back, “You’re gonna hurt someone!”
Saga giggled, “Nah, no one’s here”, he leaned back against his husband.
Shou put his arms around Saga’s waist, “I haven’t seen Hiroto lately, are you two fighting?”
“He was just upset over something I said to him”, Saga answered, “Nothing big.”
Shou put his hands inside the pockets of Saga’s jacket as he kept hugging Saga from behind.
“What’s it about?” Shou kissed Saga’s neck.
“Hey that tickles!” Saga squirmed on Shou’s arms, “I just told him to get his grubby hands off Tora; the kid has no idea what he’s doing.”
“Tora won’t touch him, he’s not interested in high school boys”, Shou said back, “But I’ll tell Tora. Does that make you feel better?”
Saga smiled, “I’m not his mother.”
“But you frowned when you thought about him”, Shou gave Saga’s forehead another kiss, “And I don’t like it when you frown.”
Saga’s smile widened.
“Hey, where’s Chiko?”
Shou let go of Saga and pulled the younger man to the direction where Chiko was last seen, “Let’s check.”
They found Chiko playing with some kids on the other part of the park and Saga had to put his dog on a leash to bring him back home. They walked home despite the wind and when they got to the entrance of their apartment, both of them were freezing cold.
“I’ll make some hot chocolate while you brush Chiko!” Saga hung his jacket as the door was slammed shut.
“Why don’t you clean up the dog and I make hot chocolate?” Shou said back
“You always forgot to put the sugar in”, Saga replied, “So you clean Chiko and I’ll make some hot drink!”
Shou ushered the dog to the balcony, where he cleaned the dog. He could hear Saga making hot chocolate in the kitchen and answering the phone.
After cleaning the dog, Shou went back into the apartment. Chiko was too eager to jump on the sofa and ran fast into the apartment.
“Hey, careful there, Chiko-kun! You’ll … ” but too late, the dog slipped before Shou finished and landed on the carpet ungracefully, “See? I’ve told you so!”
The black dog whimpered and stood up, a bit slower than usual but it didn’t stop him from wagging his tail as he tried to get Saga’s attention, ignoring the slight limp on his hind leg.
“What is it boy? Was Shou being rough on you?” Saga patted the dog’s head, oblivious to Chiko’s limp.
“He’s been slipping a lot lately, you might wanna bring him to the vet to check”, Shou sat on the sofa, “He’s not that young anymore, ne?”
Saga brought two mugs of hot chocolate to the white sofa, he gave one to Shou, “I’ll make an appointment later, but he looks okay, probably just a small bruise.”
“Do dogs get bruised?” Shou questioned.
“I don’t know! I’ve never seen Chiko get bruised!”
“What are these?” Shou took some piece of paper from the pile of paper on the coffee table, “Are these your university application?”
“Hai, I just got them a couple of days ago but I’m not so sure what to do …” Saga sipped his hot chocolate.
“English?”
Saga shrugged, “I think it’s a good major.”
Their conversation was cut as the phone rang.
“I’ll get it”, Saga said and reached for the phone.
Shou stopped Chiko before the dog licked his mug, the dog gave a puppy face at him but Shou scowled, “Your mommy there is not gonna be happy if he finds out you’re drinking chocolate!”
He sat back and waited for Saga, he couldn’t hear what he was saying but it must be his aunt, Hiroto’s mother, who was calling as Saga called the caller oba-chan.
“I can’t believe this”, Saga said as he hung up the phone.
“What?”
“Pon’s running away from home.”
Shou looked surprised at the sentence.
“Hiroto?”
“Yeah.”
“…”
They stayed quiet with lots of questions in their minds for a long minute before they agreed on one name.
“Tora.”
“I’ll give him a call”, Shou initiated.
TBC