JE-united surprise fic for arashianelf Part 7/17
Back to Chapter 3 - Part 2
CHAPTER 4
- - + SAKURAI SHO + - -
It's pure coincidence that Sho was there when Ninomiya collapsed in the "Leaf-Letter" after classes. He came here after Sakamoto's lecture because he was frustrated not to be able to catch Ninomiya, who left early, for a talk and his only plan was to go and lament a bit in front of his roommate Aiba and then search for a new book to buy. Sho honestly didn't expect he would actually meet Ninomiya there.
He happens to be nearby when some strange noises can be heard from the English book section and it's a shock to see the familiar young man crouching on the floor in pain, in between two rows of book shelves. Sho runs to Ninomiya, kneeling down in front of him and tries to help him, not really knowing what happened to the other and how he can help. Ninomiya says something about his back and that it will be fine but he doesn't look fine at all, and Sho is deeply worried about him. He offers to call an ambulance, causing a shocked look on the other man's face and changes his offer to bring him along to his place where he could rest for a while.
It's unbelievable that this resting for a while finally turns out into Ninomiya sitting on Sho's bed just about twenty minutes later, Sho with some crème in his hands and asking the other to undress.
He can totally get why Ninomiya blushes and feels unease, it's indeed a bit embarrassing, but Sho only has good intentions for the young man and sincerely wants to help him. When Ninomiya finally lies on his stomach on top of Sho's bed, his back naked and Sho's hands covered in crème, ready to apply it onto the hurting spot, Sho freezes as he discovers a reddish spot on Ninomiya's spine between his shoulder blades.
He leans a little closer, his heart starting to race and he takes a closer look at the spot that seemed to be a birthmark but that's not what makes him hesitate. It's more about the form of the birthmark. It's round, not very big, and the red parts find each other in a fainting pattern, something looking very familiar to Sho, even if it cannot be recognized at the first glance. He quickly turns his hand, watching at his left wrist which shows a very similar spot. Too similar to be a coincidence. His heart skips a beat. He thinks about his last dream, the one in which he showed dream Ninomiya the tattoo on his wrist, imitating the pattern of a camellia and begged the young servant to get one for himself too, as a proof of their love.
And there it is. The proof of their love.
It must be the counterpart of his own sign; of the remains of the tattoo, he dreamed about, something that he - or a version of him - once engraved to his body to remind him that no matter what will happen to them, he would love this one man forever and ever. The pattern is fainted, distant, but still there and this is what erases Sho's last little doubts of him being stupid to believe in his own dreams as if they are leading reality, maybe imagining things just because he fell for this guy at first sight in the lecture hall. The very same pattern, decorating not only his own wrist but also Ninomiya's back, is the proof of love between them and the proof that it isn't all just a dream, and that it is in a twisted way real
"It's just a birthmark," Ninomiya says, sounding embarrassed when Sho realizes that he's been staring at the young man's back maybe for a little too long.
His voice calls Sho back to reality and he quickly continues what he wanted to do, letting his fingers find their way onto Ninomiya's back, following his description of the spot where it is hurting the most, a spot a bit right of the birthmark. Sho doesn't see any wound or scar or anything that might explain the cause of pain and he wonders what triggered it when he starts spreading the cold crème on the soft skin. Ninomiya cringes a little for a second from the cold sensation but the more Sho spreads the crème on the young man's back, the more the other relaxes and it doesn't take long before Ninomiya falls asleep. A smile curls up Sho's lips, he finds it very cute that despite the fact that the other doesn't seem to fully trust him yet and seems to feel more or less uncomfortable in his presence, he is now baring his back at him, allowing him to take care of him. He even seems to trust him enough to allow his mind to slip away into the world of dreams.
Sho continues to massage the other's back, wanting to make sure that he makes the pain disappear as good as he can as well as not wanting to stop touching the other. It feels so good, his hands hovering over him, his fingertips touching that soft skin. It feels familiar, as if Sho did this many times already, just like in his dreams. It makes him feel addicted. He cannot take off his hands from that man...
Suddenly, the ringing of a cell phone pulls Sho out of his almost trance-like state, making him cringe and pull back his hands. He doesn't know this ring tone so it's surely not his phone, and at first he cannot comprehend the origin of the sound. When he finally realizes, that it must be Ninomiya's cell phone, which seemed to be stuffed into the shirt of the young man, which now lies at the edge of his bed, Sho gets a tissue to clean his hands before reaching out to mute it, in order not to wake up the young student.
On the screen, there is written "Mom" and Sho supposes that it might be better to let Ninomiya's family know where their son is, in case they are waiting and worrying for him. He quickly presses the green button to accept the call, pressing the cell phone to his ear.
"Kazu? Where are you?! I'm waiting for you with dinner ready, can't you at least text me when you're coming home late?" Sho hears the voice of a woman, sounding a bit annoyed.
"Ah, I'm sorry, Ninomiya-san, this is Sakurai speaking," he quickly says to clarify that Ninomiya didn't hear her small rant.
"Sakurai?" the woman repeats, wondering. "Are you a university friend of my son?"
"Kind of," Sho answers. "In fact, your son had a sudden attack of back pain. I took care of him and brought him to my place to rest."
"Eh? Is he doing OK?! He's not, right? That's why he doesn't pick up the call for himself?" the woman almost freaks out, and Sho searches for the right words to calm her down again.
"No, no, I'm sorry, that's not what I meant! He's already feeling better, it's just, he fell asleep and I didn't want him to wake up, so I picked up instead."
"Ah... OK. Well, can he move? Shall I come pick him up?"
Sho lets his look wander back to Ninomiya, looking at the young man's peacefully sleeping figure. He doesn't want to wake him up. He doesn't want to let him go. He...
"I think it might be best to let him sleep. He can stay overnight at my place, it's no problem," Sho decides on his own, the words leaving his lips even before he can properly think about them. "I'll tell him to call you, first thing when he wakes up."
"Eh?"
"Don't worry about him, Ninomiya-san, I'll take proper care of him. It was nice to talk to you-"
"Sakurai-san, wait-"
"Please, he's in good hands. Good bye," and with this, Sho ends the phone call.
He stares at the phone in his hands, looks at Ninomiya, then back at the phone. He gulps, trying to calm down his racing heartbeat. Did he really just... he did. He looks at Ninomiya again and he doesn't regret it. Quickly, Sho mutes Ninomiya's cell phone and places it with the screen facing down on top of his desk. For now, the matter is settled.
Sho returns to focus on Ninomiya's back, and lets his eyes wander again to the small birthmark decorating his spine. He reaches out his hand and touches it, slightly, with a tender smile on his face. This is it. This is his chance to prove to the other that they belong together. It will be Sho's final trump.
The crème on Ninomiya's back already dried up and his skin starts feeling cold, so the young man pulls his blanket over the student, carefully, not to wake him up. Ninomiya frowns and lets a little sigh escape from his lips but he doesn't wake up. Finally, Sho allows himself to lie down on his bed too, on top of the blanket. He rests his head on his arm and turns to face the young man lying next to him, their faces just a few centimetres apart from each other. He takes in the vision of that beautiful, slim face, the cute nose, those incredibly wonderful lips and all those adorable moles spread over the young man's face. Sho reaches out to touch them, one by one, drawing a map on the soft skin. He brushes his hand over Ninomiya's cheek. He feels his heart bumping like crazy in his chest. He leans forward, just a little bit, and places a small kiss on Ninomiya's forehead.
When Ninomiya wakes up after about two hours, it's already dark outside. The young man is surprised to find Sho lying next to him and Sho is highly amused about his reaction before they start a conversation. His feelings are riding a roller coaster when he finds out that Ninomiya actually broke up with his girlfriend, but then adds that this would not mean that he wants to become Sho's boyfriend instead - as the young assistant professor suggested. Well, considering the situation, it would be too early and too fast of a progress and Sho is totally ready to give Ninomiya the time he needs to get used to the image of being Sho's soulmate, and hopefully eventually to fall in love with him again.
Since it's quite late already, Sho reports to Ninomiya that he told his mother on the phone that he could stay over and since the young student seems to be pretty tired, he gladly accepts the offer and some nightwear the other lends him. The shirt is slightly too big and the sweatpants are a little too long but Sho finds it utterly cute and has a hard time hiding his smirk while Ninomiya fights a serious blush as he finds the other staring at him.
They return to bed, and if Ninomiya is embarrassed to find Sho lying next to him again, he doesn't bother to hide it. However, when Sho tells him that there's a couch in the living room that he can prepare for him, the student surprisingly declines, saying that he's OK with the situation. They talk a bit about Sakamoto's lecture and Ninomiya excitedly starts telling Sho about his project plans for the seminar, curious about the assistant professor's opinion. However, even if they are talking about something university related, it feels more like a talk between friends than between a student and his mentor. In the end, Sho pushes his hands underneath Ninomiya's shirt, insisting on massaging his back for another few minutes just to make sure that the other would not wake up with another back pain in the morning. After getting convinced, blushing nicely of course, Ninomiya allows Sho to touch him and falls asleep again soon after, causing the other to chuckle softly.
Sho doesn't find it so easy to find some sleep, his rapid heartbeat is still keeping him awake and he just cannot get enough of the sight of Ninomiya's sleeping face in the half dark room, lit only by a small lamp on his bedside table. He still can't believe that this is happening right now. Sure, Ninomiya told him that they are just friends, for the time being, but still, he's lying here, on his bed. Sho is allowed to touch Ninomiya's skin and despite being embarrassed, the young student didn't turn away. The warmth of Sho's hand and the warmth of Ninomiya's back mixing pleasantly. It feels so familiar, so right.
Eventually, the pleasant feeling lulls Sho into his sleep too but it's just as if he slips from one world into the other, not changing the fact that he's linked to Ninomiya by touch.
- + -
When Sho opens his eyes a second later, he finds himself and Kazu in almost the same position, lying next to each other, facing each other, his hand on the younger's lower back. The material they are lying on feels harder than the soft bed in his room and he can hear the singing of birds from outside. They are lying on a futon and Sho is dressed in a sleeping kimono while Kazu seems to lie beside him, his back only covered with a light haori.
Sho lets his hand wander up a little bit, until his fingers reach the edges of some bandages wrapped around his lover's back. His heart starts racing and he quickly sits up, pulling the haori away to take a closer look. Just when Sho sees the full image of his lover laying on his stomach, half dressed and some small red stains leaking through the white bandages, he remembers what happened.
He brushes his hand over his face, sighing relieved. It's not an injury, at least nothing serious. His lover exposed himself to the pain voluntarily; he did it for Sho's and his own sake. Sho doesn't dare to touch the respective spot, knowing how much it must be hurting right now. He endured the same pain, even if it was on another part of his body. He knows that Kazu will need a bit of time to recover, especially with a wound on his back. The young servant has refused to let his wrist be tattooed, too scared that the obvious spot will reveal his and Sho's secret and so Sho has of course accepted the young man's request to let another part of his body get decorated.
Kazu doesn't move at all, just his back seems to rise and lower in a low, steady rhythm. He must still be knocked out from the anaesthetic drug that he received once the pain became too much to bear. Sho remembers the past night clearly, remembers how his lover's hand that he has been holding clenched his, in order to find an outlet for the pain and in order to make sure he wasn’t alone. Of course, Sho has been with him when the tattoo artist he called from another town visited the mansion and accepted their request and he has been with Kazu from beginning to the end of the painful tattooing session, which they had to hold at night in order not to attract anyone's attention.
Of course, Sho knows that their relationship is forbidden. He is destined to marry a fine woman, a princess from another clan, in the future, in order to connect two different countries in a peaceful alliance and in order to provide future heirs to the Sakurai house. Nobody will allow him to love a man, especially not his servant, someone from low status and without any properties and reputation. But for Sho, all those merits don't count and in his eyes, his lover is of high intellectual standard and his properties are not only his smartness but also his loyalty, his loving and caring self, the most beautiful smile in the world, and all the love he gives to Sho.
Sho reaches out his hand again, to caress Kazu's cheek slightly, brushing back a few strands of hair. The young man takes a deeper breath and frowns in his sleep, moves a little... is he going to wake up?
"Shota...," the young servant whispers voicelessly, moving his hand as if he is searching for Sho's.
"I'm here, Kazu," the young lord whispers, reaching for his lover's hand to slightly squeeze it. "How do you feel?"
The other finally opens his eyes again; he still seems to be so tired. "I feel a bit dizzy... and my back hurts...," he cringes.
"Yeah, of course it hurts," Sho lets out a soft chuckle. "It's a very sensible spot that you chose for your tattoo."
"We couldn't risk-," the young man starts but Sho cuts him, enforcing the grip of his hand a little.
"I know. I know, and it was very brave from you to choose this. I'm very proud of you," he smiles genuinely. The two men look at each other for a while before Sho breaks the silence between them again. "Do you regret it?" he asks.
Kazu shakes his head as best as he can in his still lying position. "No!" he says immediately. "No, of course not. It's our proof of love, right? I'd never regret it."
Sho smiles happily. "I'm relieved then. Thank you for doing this for me."
He leans down to brush his lips against his lover’s, just slightly first, before he allows the kiss to grow into something passionate. They switch position, Kazu sits up, swaying a bit until Sho catches him and they sit there, arm in arm, the young servant melting into the embrace of his lord, not moving too much in order not to cause more pain in his back, but eager to be close to him, as close as possible. Sho cups his lover's face, pressing their mouthes together again and again. They part their lips, allowing their tongues to join the dance of caress and they have to pull themselves together not to break out into moaning. When they break their kiss, Sho puts his forehead against Kazu's, their eyes are still closed and they are smiling, happily, feeling each other's breath, each other's closeness.
When Kazu opens his eyes again, he suddenly realizes that it's not night any longer. He gets nervous, looking around. "Wait... what's the time?"
"Maybe two hours from lunch time," Sho answers casually. "Why?"
"And I am still in your room?!" his lover slightly panics. "Oh God, what if anyone sees us?"
Sho waves his hand. "Don't worry, I told everyone that you have to clean my room and that they shouldn't disturb you. I didn't know when you'll wake up again."
Kazu chuckles. "I won't be able to clean your room like this..."
Sho chuckles too. "I know, don't worry, I'll do it myself."
"You're a really uncommon lord, Shota," the servant says with a soft look in his eyes.
"I know," the young lord smirks. "But that's what you love about me, right?"
Kazu tilts his head, pretending to think about it for a second. "Hm... among other things."
The other man happily places a kiss on top of his head before he pulls him into an embrace, avoiding the still hurtful back. "Today is such a wonderful day," Sho whispers. "Now we both have a sign on our body that shows that we belong to each other. It's like we got married, somehow, isn't it?"
His partner blushes nicely, obviously embarrassed but he cannot deny the smile on his face. "It is... I like that thought."
"And the tattoo is forever," the other continues. "No ring will ever be able to compete with it."
There is a sad tone swinging along in his voice but he wants to forget about the dark events in the future, he wants to live now and he wants to make the best out of the situation. No matter what will happen, nothing will be able to separate him and Kazu.
"Shota?" the young servant finally asks, sounding a bit insecure. He draws back from their hug, to face his lover properly. "Is there something you want to tell me?"
"What?" Sho looks at him, puzzled.
"You seem a bit lost in thoughts. Are you worried about something?"
"Kazu...," the young lord starts. He knows that he has to tell the other sooner or later. It's inevitable. He sighs and reaches for his lover's hands to hold them in his. "To be honest, I fear it will be quite soon... That I'll have to get married."
Kazu squeezes Sho's hands, biting his lower lip. He always does this when he feels unpleasant but has to pull himself together, and that's what he does, very often, for Sho's sake. "Well, we knew this day would come. But we promised to stay together. We won't lose each other. Nothing will change...," he says, trying to hide the bitterness in his words.
"Nothing but that I'll have to share a bed with a woman instead of you, the one I love," Sho says. He is not so successful in hiding his bitterness.
"Maybe... you don't have to?" the young servant asks innocently, lifting his eyebrows. "As it's tradition in your family, the husband and wife will have separated bedrooms anyway, everyone their own kingdom, is the saying, isn't it?" Now there is a little hope blooming in Kazu's voice.
Sho smiles bitterly. "Yeah, thankfully, this will make it easy for us to continue meeting in secret," he says, squeezing his lover's hands again. "But it will be suspicious if my wife won't get pregnant."
"True... well, I guess, you'll have to lie down next to her, at least once, so that she can bear you a baby," Kazu whispers.
Of course, he doesn't like the thought of sharing the body of his beloved, not even once. To be honest, the thought alone makes him feel sick, jealous, he can feel the stab in his heart and he wants to take Sho's hands and elope with his lover immediately, but he knows that it's not possible. And it will be necessary that the young lord sets a child into this world, or he will lose his reputation.
"Will you ever be able to like a child that's mine and another woman's?" Sho then asks in a worried voice after a few seconds of silence and Kazu is surprised that his partner worries about something like that.
"It will be yours. Of course I will be able to love it," he says as if it's the most normal in the world.
Sho smiles. "I want us to play together. My child has many things to learn from you."
"Sure," his lover answers.
"And now... I don't want to think about this any longer. Let's not talk about it, OK?"
Kazu nods. "OK... So what do you want to talk about?"
"First thing, let's get your bandages changed," the other man suggests. "I don't want your wound to get infected. You have to take good care of it until it's healed, alright?"
The young servant blushes and his heart skips a beat. He's sure that he's the only servant in the world who gets his dirty bandages changed by his lord and he is endlessly proud about that fact. "I will."
"Turn around, my dear," Sho says and Kazu does as he is told.
Sho searches for the beginning of the fabric to roll it from his servant's body, slowly. As soon as the bandage is removed, he carefully pulls away the soft handkerchief, which is covering the tattoo's wound, drenched in medical crème and a bit of blood. He takes a close look at it, seeing the dark ink, forming the pattern of a camellia, engraved in the swollen and still slightly bleeding skin of his lover. It looks good, no infection, it already starts heeling. Sho feels the urge to kiss it, but he knows it will hurt Kazu and so he doesn't. Instead, he leans forward and kisses his neck, lovingly.
"Kazu? Kiss me," Sho whispers and makes the other turn his head a little so that their lips will be able to meet.
"It won't be the last time, will it?" the young servant whispers.
"It won't, of course not. I'll kiss you every day, until my life ends," Sho promises and Kazu smiles because he just knows that it's the truth.
"I'm happy then."
- + -
Again, when Sho wakes up, he hears the voices of the birds outside, but not so clear, not so close and there is the noise of traffic outside, the faraway chime from a tram way. He arrives in reality.
Then there's the noise of breathing and even if Sho's eyes are still closed, he knows exactly what it means. He is still there. He is still sleeping in his bed, peacefully. Is this really no longer a dream? Sho almost doesn't dare to open his eyes, fearing that he might be gone.
A tiny moan finally makes him snap his eyes open and he looks directly into Ninomiya's face, who must still be dreaming. Sho's heart races and he hopes with everything he has that the young man is dreaming something similar to what he dreamed of just a bit ago. Something connected to their former lives. He wants the young student to remember. At least, one day... Maybe without the sad vibe of the couple's future. He can remember and he can still feel the pain they had to go through because of this, because of the restrains that society back then burdened onto their shoulders. Class difference, having an affair in the dark and never be able to openly show their love to each other... it's been hard.
But this time, it should be much easier. Fate was good to them. They are both born in the same time again, even into the same place again. They are born into a society in which classes don't matter that much any longer. And they are born into a society where homosexually might not be openly displayed, but at least it is silently accepted and gaining more and more respect with passing time. Not that it matters to Sho. It never has. He loves who he loves and he won't let anybody push him from his path.
Now the only thing left is to convince Ninomiya about the same. Sho knows that he cannot force the other to fall in love with him and that's not what he wants. He wants the other to fall for him, naturally, just like it happened in the past. He wants to be his friend, his confident and eventually his lover.
Sho's stomach grumbles a little and he already fears of waking up the sleeping beauty lying next to him. He quickly glances backwards at the alarm clock standing on his bedside table, showing quite an early hour. University won't start too early today and there is still time left to take a proper breakfast. The young assistant professor hopes that he will be able to prepare something that his guest might like.
He turns to Ninomiya, wondering if he should wake him but in the end, he decides to let him sleep a bit longer. Sho goes into the bathroom to get ready and changes into other clothes. When he returns to his room and finds Ninomiya still sleeping like an angel, he scribbles a note that tells the young student that he should come to the kitchen when he wakes up. Sho puts the note onto the blanket so that Ninomiya won't miss it once he opens his eyes and then, after looking at him for a few seconds, he quickly bends down and places the hint of another kiss onto the young man's lips.
"Sorry for not keeping my promise, I just can't resist you," Sho whispers smiling before he makes his way into the kitchen.
- + -
"Oh wow, something good happened again?" Aiba asks under yawning when he enters the kitchen the next morning, overwhelmed by the pleasant smell of fresh coffee and breakfast.
"Hm?" Sho turns around, the frying pan in one hand and the spatula in the other.
Aiba pulls his chair and takes place on his usual seat at the already set table, grinning at his roommate. "You're humming some cheerful song again."
It's just then, when Sho realizes that indeed he is doing so. He chuckles and then smiles to himself.
"Maybe," he says, focusing on breakfast again. Seems that this is his habit when he's in good mood. When he's in love. "Coffee? And you want some fried egg and toast too?"
"Sure, thanks," the other man answers while reaching for the morning newspaper, which is already lying in the middle of the table.
Sho lowers the heat for the frying pan to avoid burning its content and turns to the cupboard, putting out three mugs. He fills one of it and places it in front of his roommate, earning a grateful nod before the other returns to page 5 of the newspaper. Just a second later, he lowers the paper again, taking a closer look at the table in front of him. He counts the plates. One, two, three. He frowns and tilts his head and just when he is about to part his lips to ask his friend a question, the kitchen door opens again and an unknown guy enters the room, messy black bed hair, dressed in Sho's pajamas and with a cell phone in his hand at which he is looking, frowning.
"Sakurai-san," the young man asks, holding his cell phone at him. "What the hell did you tell my mom? She called me like a thousand times while I was sleeping?!"
Sho whirls around, two more filled coffee mugs in his hands, checking the cell phone screen. He feels only just a tiny little bit guilty. "I just told her you'd stay here and that I'll take care of you since she was worried about your back."
"That's all?" the black haired guy asks, arching his eyebrows.
"That's all," Sho nods.
Ninomiya makes a thinking noise and tilts his head while focusing on his cell phone again. "Did she say something else maybe?"
"No? We didn't talk for long," Sho replies while placing the mugs on the table and pulling back a chair, signalling the young man to take his place. "Call her afterwards, now it's breakfast."
"You can cook?!" the other man asks critically.
"Hey!" the assistant professor darts his finger at his guest but the black haired man ignors him, turning to Aiba.
"Is it edible? I have a sensitive stomach," he asks and Aiba isn't sure if he's serious or joking.
"Sit down now, Ninomiya and try it. I made it with lots of love," Sho says in a strict voice, pointing at the chair he prepared for the other.
"Alright, alright," the other grins. "And thanks for letting me stay,"
Sho flashes him a charming smile. "Always a pleasure."
"What the...," Aiba finally voices out after watching the conversation between the two men without interrupting.
Sho looks at him, as if he just notices his present now and the young man next to him turns to Aiba too.
"Ah, sorry Aiba, I didn't introduce you," Sho says. "This is Ninomiya. Ninomiya-kun, my roommate and friend Aiba, I’ve told you about him."
The young man nods politely in Aiba's direction. "Nice to meet you, Aiba-san."
Sho's roommate frowns, looking at the other guy. "Wait, Ninomiya, you say?"
"Yes..."
"That Ninomiya?!" Aiba finally explodes.
Ninomiya looks at him, quite surprised by the suddenly loud voice and Sho giggles, the young student looks almost scared. "Uhm... I think, it's not like I'm famous, is it?"
"Ah, sorry, it's just, I told him about you and...," Sho starts while he turns to the kitchen counter getting a basket filled with toast and the frying pan with the fried eggs.
"And I didn't think you'd convince him to spend a night with you so fast, OMG," his roommate concludes his sentence.
"Eh?! Spend a night with him?" Ninomiya asks a little confused.
Sho blushes, putting down the basket quickly and waves his hands in denial. "Aiba, it's not what you think now..."
"Wait, what does he think?" the young student turns to Sho, frowning at him.
"What I do think? Well, Sho-kun here has a crush on you -," Aiba starts, grinning while pointing at his roommate. "I don't think it'a a secret crush, so don't look at me like this now - and now," he turns back to Ninomiya, leaning a bit forward, giving him a smirk. "I find you in our kitchen in the morning... dressed in Sho-kun's pajamas. What do you think, I'm thinking when seeing such thing?"
"Eh?!" Ninomiya blushed deeply and Sho couldn't help but grin at his cute reaction. "No! It's nothing like that! I just... slept in his bed."
"Yeah, sure," Aiba lifts his eyebrows, exchanging a smirk with Sho who divides the eggs onto the three plates on the table and then sits down.
"Really! Nothing happened!" Ninomiya exclaims.
"Nothing?" Aiba asks again, this time at Sho.
Sho takes a sip from his coffee, shaking his head slightly. "Unfortunately..."
"Hey!" Ninomiya turns to Sho, giving him a serious look. "Of course not, after all, we said no kisses anymore; we're just friends for the time being!"
"You kissed?!" Aiba clasps his hands in front of his lips, widening his eyes. "And nothing else happened when you slept in his bed? Oh my... I pity you, Sho-kun."
"Thanks," Sho nods appreciating.
"You're not an easy lay, are you?" Aiba notes, looking at Ninomiya again.
"I don't want him to be an easy lay, so it's totally fine for me!" Sho explains then, finally trying to calm down his friend's tension.
"Well, if you say so," the latter ends the topic and reaches for a slice of toast.
"I'm sorry for this awkward conversation, Ninomiya-kun!" Sho says, watching the young student who also reaches for some toast and tries to keep himself busy in order not to blush even more.
"Oh well...," Ninomiya tries to sound casual. "I think I should get used to awkward if it comes to you."
While Aiba bursts into laughter, patting Ninomiya's shoulder and agreeing to his statement, Sho decides not to take this as a bad comment. He smiles and drinks another sip of coffee. His soulmate is such a damned cutie, it's impossible to get mad at him.
Chapter 4 - Part 2
CHAPTER 4
- - + SAKURAI SHO + - -
It's pure coincidence that Sho was there when Ninomiya collapsed in the "Leaf-Letter" after classes. He came here after Sakamoto's lecture because he was frustrated not to be able to catch Ninomiya, who left early, for a talk and his only plan was to go and lament a bit in front of his roommate Aiba and then search for a new book to buy. Sho honestly didn't expect he would actually meet Ninomiya there.
He happens to be nearby when some strange noises can be heard from the English book section and it's a shock to see the familiar young man crouching on the floor in pain, in between two rows of book shelves. Sho runs to Ninomiya, kneeling down in front of him and tries to help him, not really knowing what happened to the other and how he can help. Ninomiya says something about his back and that it will be fine but he doesn't look fine at all, and Sho is deeply worried about him. He offers to call an ambulance, causing a shocked look on the other man's face and changes his offer to bring him along to his place where he could rest for a while.
It's unbelievable that this resting for a while finally turns out into Ninomiya sitting on Sho's bed just about twenty minutes later, Sho with some crème in his hands and asking the other to undress.
He can totally get why Ninomiya blushes and feels unease, it's indeed a bit embarrassing, but Sho only has good intentions for the young man and sincerely wants to help him. When Ninomiya finally lies on his stomach on top of Sho's bed, his back naked and Sho's hands covered in crème, ready to apply it onto the hurting spot, Sho freezes as he discovers a reddish spot on Ninomiya's spine between his shoulder blades.
He leans a little closer, his heart starting to race and he takes a closer look at the spot that seemed to be a birthmark but that's not what makes him hesitate. It's more about the form of the birthmark. It's round, not very big, and the red parts find each other in a fainting pattern, something looking very familiar to Sho, even if it cannot be recognized at the first glance. He quickly turns his hand, watching at his left wrist which shows a very similar spot. Too similar to be a coincidence. His heart skips a beat. He thinks about his last dream, the one in which he showed dream Ninomiya the tattoo on his wrist, imitating the pattern of a camellia and begged the young servant to get one for himself too, as a proof of their love.
And there it is. The proof of their love.
It must be the counterpart of his own sign; of the remains of the tattoo, he dreamed about, something that he - or a version of him - once engraved to his body to remind him that no matter what will happen to them, he would love this one man forever and ever. The pattern is fainted, distant, but still there and this is what erases Sho's last little doubts of him being stupid to believe in his own dreams as if they are leading reality, maybe imagining things just because he fell for this guy at first sight in the lecture hall. The very same pattern, decorating not only his own wrist but also Ninomiya's back, is the proof of love between them and the proof that it isn't all just a dream, and that it is in a twisted way real
"It's just a birthmark," Ninomiya says, sounding embarrassed when Sho realizes that he's been staring at the young man's back maybe for a little too long.
His voice calls Sho back to reality and he quickly continues what he wanted to do, letting his fingers find their way onto Ninomiya's back, following his description of the spot where it is hurting the most, a spot a bit right of the birthmark. Sho doesn't see any wound or scar or anything that might explain the cause of pain and he wonders what triggered it when he starts spreading the cold crème on the soft skin. Ninomiya cringes a little for a second from the cold sensation but the more Sho spreads the crème on the young man's back, the more the other relaxes and it doesn't take long before Ninomiya falls asleep. A smile curls up Sho's lips, he finds it very cute that despite the fact that the other doesn't seem to fully trust him yet and seems to feel more or less uncomfortable in his presence, he is now baring his back at him, allowing him to take care of him. He even seems to trust him enough to allow his mind to slip away into the world of dreams.
Sho continues to massage the other's back, wanting to make sure that he makes the pain disappear as good as he can as well as not wanting to stop touching the other. It feels so good, his hands hovering over him, his fingertips touching that soft skin. It feels familiar, as if Sho did this many times already, just like in his dreams. It makes him feel addicted. He cannot take off his hands from that man...
Suddenly, the ringing of a cell phone pulls Sho out of his almost trance-like state, making him cringe and pull back his hands. He doesn't know this ring tone so it's surely not his phone, and at first he cannot comprehend the origin of the sound. When he finally realizes, that it must be Ninomiya's cell phone, which seemed to be stuffed into the shirt of the young man, which now lies at the edge of his bed, Sho gets a tissue to clean his hands before reaching out to mute it, in order not to wake up the young student.
On the screen, there is written "Mom" and Sho supposes that it might be better to let Ninomiya's family know where their son is, in case they are waiting and worrying for him. He quickly presses the green button to accept the call, pressing the cell phone to his ear.
"Kazu? Where are you?! I'm waiting for you with dinner ready, can't you at least text me when you're coming home late?" Sho hears the voice of a woman, sounding a bit annoyed.
"Ah, I'm sorry, Ninomiya-san, this is Sakurai speaking," he quickly says to clarify that Ninomiya didn't hear her small rant.
"Sakurai?" the woman repeats, wondering. "Are you a university friend of my son?"
"Kind of," Sho answers. "In fact, your son had a sudden attack of back pain. I took care of him and brought him to my place to rest."
"Eh? Is he doing OK?! He's not, right? That's why he doesn't pick up the call for himself?" the woman almost freaks out, and Sho searches for the right words to calm her down again.
"No, no, I'm sorry, that's not what I meant! He's already feeling better, it's just, he fell asleep and I didn't want him to wake up, so I picked up instead."
"Ah... OK. Well, can he move? Shall I come pick him up?"
Sho lets his look wander back to Ninomiya, looking at the young man's peacefully sleeping figure. He doesn't want to wake him up. He doesn't want to let him go. He...
"I think it might be best to let him sleep. He can stay overnight at my place, it's no problem," Sho decides on his own, the words leaving his lips even before he can properly think about them. "I'll tell him to call you, first thing when he wakes up."
"Eh?"
"Don't worry about him, Ninomiya-san, I'll take proper care of him. It was nice to talk to you-"
"Sakurai-san, wait-"
"Please, he's in good hands. Good bye," and with this, Sho ends the phone call.
He stares at the phone in his hands, looks at Ninomiya, then back at the phone. He gulps, trying to calm down his racing heartbeat. Did he really just... he did. He looks at Ninomiya again and he doesn't regret it. Quickly, Sho mutes Ninomiya's cell phone and places it with the screen facing down on top of his desk. For now, the matter is settled.
Sho returns to focus on Ninomiya's back, and lets his eyes wander again to the small birthmark decorating his spine. He reaches out his hand and touches it, slightly, with a tender smile on his face. This is it. This is his chance to prove to the other that they belong together. It will be Sho's final trump.
The crème on Ninomiya's back already dried up and his skin starts feeling cold, so the young man pulls his blanket over the student, carefully, not to wake him up. Ninomiya frowns and lets a little sigh escape from his lips but he doesn't wake up. Finally, Sho allows himself to lie down on his bed too, on top of the blanket. He rests his head on his arm and turns to face the young man lying next to him, their faces just a few centimetres apart from each other. He takes in the vision of that beautiful, slim face, the cute nose, those incredibly wonderful lips and all those adorable moles spread over the young man's face. Sho reaches out to touch them, one by one, drawing a map on the soft skin. He brushes his hand over Ninomiya's cheek. He feels his heart bumping like crazy in his chest. He leans forward, just a little bit, and places a small kiss on Ninomiya's forehead.
When Ninomiya wakes up after about two hours, it's already dark outside. The young man is surprised to find Sho lying next to him and Sho is highly amused about his reaction before they start a conversation. His feelings are riding a roller coaster when he finds out that Ninomiya actually broke up with his girlfriend, but then adds that this would not mean that he wants to become Sho's boyfriend instead - as the young assistant professor suggested. Well, considering the situation, it would be too early and too fast of a progress and Sho is totally ready to give Ninomiya the time he needs to get used to the image of being Sho's soulmate, and hopefully eventually to fall in love with him again.
Since it's quite late already, Sho reports to Ninomiya that he told his mother on the phone that he could stay over and since the young student seems to be pretty tired, he gladly accepts the offer and some nightwear the other lends him. The shirt is slightly too big and the sweatpants are a little too long but Sho finds it utterly cute and has a hard time hiding his smirk while Ninomiya fights a serious blush as he finds the other staring at him.
They return to bed, and if Ninomiya is embarrassed to find Sho lying next to him again, he doesn't bother to hide it. However, when Sho tells him that there's a couch in the living room that he can prepare for him, the student surprisingly declines, saying that he's OK with the situation. They talk a bit about Sakamoto's lecture and Ninomiya excitedly starts telling Sho about his project plans for the seminar, curious about the assistant professor's opinion. However, even if they are talking about something university related, it feels more like a talk between friends than between a student and his mentor. In the end, Sho pushes his hands underneath Ninomiya's shirt, insisting on massaging his back for another few minutes just to make sure that the other would not wake up with another back pain in the morning. After getting convinced, blushing nicely of course, Ninomiya allows Sho to touch him and falls asleep again soon after, causing the other to chuckle softly.
Sho doesn't find it so easy to find some sleep, his rapid heartbeat is still keeping him awake and he just cannot get enough of the sight of Ninomiya's sleeping face in the half dark room, lit only by a small lamp on his bedside table. He still can't believe that this is happening right now. Sure, Ninomiya told him that they are just friends, for the time being, but still, he's lying here, on his bed. Sho is allowed to touch Ninomiya's skin and despite being embarrassed, the young student didn't turn away. The warmth of Sho's hand and the warmth of Ninomiya's back mixing pleasantly. It feels so familiar, so right.
Eventually, the pleasant feeling lulls Sho into his sleep too but it's just as if he slips from one world into the other, not changing the fact that he's linked to Ninomiya by touch.
- + -
When Sho opens his eyes a second later, he finds himself and Kazu in almost the same position, lying next to each other, facing each other, his hand on the younger's lower back. The material they are lying on feels harder than the soft bed in his room and he can hear the singing of birds from outside. They are lying on a futon and Sho is dressed in a sleeping kimono while Kazu seems to lie beside him, his back only covered with a light haori.
Sho lets his hand wander up a little bit, until his fingers reach the edges of some bandages wrapped around his lover's back. His heart starts racing and he quickly sits up, pulling the haori away to take a closer look. Just when Sho sees the full image of his lover laying on his stomach, half dressed and some small red stains leaking through the white bandages, he remembers what happened.
He brushes his hand over his face, sighing relieved. It's not an injury, at least nothing serious. His lover exposed himself to the pain voluntarily; he did it for Sho's and his own sake. Sho doesn't dare to touch the respective spot, knowing how much it must be hurting right now. He endured the same pain, even if it was on another part of his body. He knows that Kazu will need a bit of time to recover, especially with a wound on his back. The young servant has refused to let his wrist be tattooed, too scared that the obvious spot will reveal his and Sho's secret and so Sho has of course accepted the young man's request to let another part of his body get decorated.
Kazu doesn't move at all, just his back seems to rise and lower in a low, steady rhythm. He must still be knocked out from the anaesthetic drug that he received once the pain became too much to bear. Sho remembers the past night clearly, remembers how his lover's hand that he has been holding clenched his, in order to find an outlet for the pain and in order to make sure he wasn’t alone. Of course, Sho has been with him when the tattoo artist he called from another town visited the mansion and accepted their request and he has been with Kazu from beginning to the end of the painful tattooing session, which they had to hold at night in order not to attract anyone's attention.
Of course, Sho knows that their relationship is forbidden. He is destined to marry a fine woman, a princess from another clan, in the future, in order to connect two different countries in a peaceful alliance and in order to provide future heirs to the Sakurai house. Nobody will allow him to love a man, especially not his servant, someone from low status and without any properties and reputation. But for Sho, all those merits don't count and in his eyes, his lover is of high intellectual standard and his properties are not only his smartness but also his loyalty, his loving and caring self, the most beautiful smile in the world, and all the love he gives to Sho.
Sho reaches out his hand again, to caress Kazu's cheek slightly, brushing back a few strands of hair. The young man takes a deeper breath and frowns in his sleep, moves a little... is he going to wake up?
"Shota...," the young servant whispers voicelessly, moving his hand as if he is searching for Sho's.
"I'm here, Kazu," the young lord whispers, reaching for his lover's hand to slightly squeeze it. "How do you feel?"
The other finally opens his eyes again; he still seems to be so tired. "I feel a bit dizzy... and my back hurts...," he cringes.
"Yeah, of course it hurts," Sho lets out a soft chuckle. "It's a very sensible spot that you chose for your tattoo."
"We couldn't risk-," the young man starts but Sho cuts him, enforcing the grip of his hand a little.
"I know. I know, and it was very brave from you to choose this. I'm very proud of you," he smiles genuinely. The two men look at each other for a while before Sho breaks the silence between them again. "Do you regret it?" he asks.
Kazu shakes his head as best as he can in his still lying position. "No!" he says immediately. "No, of course not. It's our proof of love, right? I'd never regret it."
Sho smiles happily. "I'm relieved then. Thank you for doing this for me."
He leans down to brush his lips against his lover’s, just slightly first, before he allows the kiss to grow into something passionate. They switch position, Kazu sits up, swaying a bit until Sho catches him and they sit there, arm in arm, the young servant melting into the embrace of his lord, not moving too much in order not to cause more pain in his back, but eager to be close to him, as close as possible. Sho cups his lover's face, pressing their mouthes together again and again. They part their lips, allowing their tongues to join the dance of caress and they have to pull themselves together not to break out into moaning. When they break their kiss, Sho puts his forehead against Kazu's, their eyes are still closed and they are smiling, happily, feeling each other's breath, each other's closeness.
When Kazu opens his eyes again, he suddenly realizes that it's not night any longer. He gets nervous, looking around. "Wait... what's the time?"
"Maybe two hours from lunch time," Sho answers casually. "Why?"
"And I am still in your room?!" his lover slightly panics. "Oh God, what if anyone sees us?"
Sho waves his hand. "Don't worry, I told everyone that you have to clean my room and that they shouldn't disturb you. I didn't know when you'll wake up again."
Kazu chuckles. "I won't be able to clean your room like this..."
Sho chuckles too. "I know, don't worry, I'll do it myself."
"You're a really uncommon lord, Shota," the servant says with a soft look in his eyes.
"I know," the young lord smirks. "But that's what you love about me, right?"
Kazu tilts his head, pretending to think about it for a second. "Hm... among other things."
The other man happily places a kiss on top of his head before he pulls him into an embrace, avoiding the still hurtful back. "Today is such a wonderful day," Sho whispers. "Now we both have a sign on our body that shows that we belong to each other. It's like we got married, somehow, isn't it?"
His partner blushes nicely, obviously embarrassed but he cannot deny the smile on his face. "It is... I like that thought."
"And the tattoo is forever," the other continues. "No ring will ever be able to compete with it."
There is a sad tone swinging along in his voice but he wants to forget about the dark events in the future, he wants to live now and he wants to make the best out of the situation. No matter what will happen, nothing will be able to separate him and Kazu.
"Shota?" the young servant finally asks, sounding a bit insecure. He draws back from their hug, to face his lover properly. "Is there something you want to tell me?"
"What?" Sho looks at him, puzzled.
"You seem a bit lost in thoughts. Are you worried about something?"
"Kazu...," the young lord starts. He knows that he has to tell the other sooner or later. It's inevitable. He sighs and reaches for his lover's hands to hold them in his. "To be honest, I fear it will be quite soon... That I'll have to get married."
Kazu squeezes Sho's hands, biting his lower lip. He always does this when he feels unpleasant but has to pull himself together, and that's what he does, very often, for Sho's sake. "Well, we knew this day would come. But we promised to stay together. We won't lose each other. Nothing will change...," he says, trying to hide the bitterness in his words.
"Nothing but that I'll have to share a bed with a woman instead of you, the one I love," Sho says. He is not so successful in hiding his bitterness.
"Maybe... you don't have to?" the young servant asks innocently, lifting his eyebrows. "As it's tradition in your family, the husband and wife will have separated bedrooms anyway, everyone their own kingdom, is the saying, isn't it?" Now there is a little hope blooming in Kazu's voice.
Sho smiles bitterly. "Yeah, thankfully, this will make it easy for us to continue meeting in secret," he says, squeezing his lover's hands again. "But it will be suspicious if my wife won't get pregnant."
"True... well, I guess, you'll have to lie down next to her, at least once, so that she can bear you a baby," Kazu whispers.
Of course, he doesn't like the thought of sharing the body of his beloved, not even once. To be honest, the thought alone makes him feel sick, jealous, he can feel the stab in his heart and he wants to take Sho's hands and elope with his lover immediately, but he knows that it's not possible. And it will be necessary that the young lord sets a child into this world, or he will lose his reputation.
"Will you ever be able to like a child that's mine and another woman's?" Sho then asks in a worried voice after a few seconds of silence and Kazu is surprised that his partner worries about something like that.
"It will be yours. Of course I will be able to love it," he says as if it's the most normal in the world.
Sho smiles. "I want us to play together. My child has many things to learn from you."
"Sure," his lover answers.
"And now... I don't want to think about this any longer. Let's not talk about it, OK?"
Kazu nods. "OK... So what do you want to talk about?"
"First thing, let's get your bandages changed," the other man suggests. "I don't want your wound to get infected. You have to take good care of it until it's healed, alright?"
The young servant blushes and his heart skips a beat. He's sure that he's the only servant in the world who gets his dirty bandages changed by his lord and he is endlessly proud about that fact. "I will."
"Turn around, my dear," Sho says and Kazu does as he is told.
Sho searches for the beginning of the fabric to roll it from his servant's body, slowly. As soon as the bandage is removed, he carefully pulls away the soft handkerchief, which is covering the tattoo's wound, drenched in medical crème and a bit of blood. He takes a close look at it, seeing the dark ink, forming the pattern of a camellia, engraved in the swollen and still slightly bleeding skin of his lover. It looks good, no infection, it already starts heeling. Sho feels the urge to kiss it, but he knows it will hurt Kazu and so he doesn't. Instead, he leans forward and kisses his neck, lovingly.
"Kazu? Kiss me," Sho whispers and makes the other turn his head a little so that their lips will be able to meet.
"It won't be the last time, will it?" the young servant whispers.
"It won't, of course not. I'll kiss you every day, until my life ends," Sho promises and Kazu smiles because he just knows that it's the truth.
"I'm happy then."
- + -
Again, when Sho wakes up, he hears the voices of the birds outside, but not so clear, not so close and there is the noise of traffic outside, the faraway chime from a tram way. He arrives in reality.
Then there's the noise of breathing and even if Sho's eyes are still closed, he knows exactly what it means. He is still there. He is still sleeping in his bed, peacefully. Is this really no longer a dream? Sho almost doesn't dare to open his eyes, fearing that he might be gone.
A tiny moan finally makes him snap his eyes open and he looks directly into Ninomiya's face, who must still be dreaming. Sho's heart races and he hopes with everything he has that the young man is dreaming something similar to what he dreamed of just a bit ago. Something connected to their former lives. He wants the young student to remember. At least, one day... Maybe without the sad vibe of the couple's future. He can remember and he can still feel the pain they had to go through because of this, because of the restrains that society back then burdened onto their shoulders. Class difference, having an affair in the dark and never be able to openly show their love to each other... it's been hard.
But this time, it should be much easier. Fate was good to them. They are both born in the same time again, even into the same place again. They are born into a society in which classes don't matter that much any longer. And they are born into a society where homosexually might not be openly displayed, but at least it is silently accepted and gaining more and more respect with passing time. Not that it matters to Sho. It never has. He loves who he loves and he won't let anybody push him from his path.
Now the only thing left is to convince Ninomiya about the same. Sho knows that he cannot force the other to fall in love with him and that's not what he wants. He wants the other to fall for him, naturally, just like it happened in the past. He wants to be his friend, his confident and eventually his lover.
Sho's stomach grumbles a little and he already fears of waking up the sleeping beauty lying next to him. He quickly glances backwards at the alarm clock standing on his bedside table, showing quite an early hour. University won't start too early today and there is still time left to take a proper breakfast. The young assistant professor hopes that he will be able to prepare something that his guest might like.
He turns to Ninomiya, wondering if he should wake him but in the end, he decides to let him sleep a bit longer. Sho goes into the bathroom to get ready and changes into other clothes. When he returns to his room and finds Ninomiya still sleeping like an angel, he scribbles a note that tells the young student that he should come to the kitchen when he wakes up. Sho puts the note onto the blanket so that Ninomiya won't miss it once he opens his eyes and then, after looking at him for a few seconds, he quickly bends down and places the hint of another kiss onto the young man's lips.
"Sorry for not keeping my promise, I just can't resist you," Sho whispers smiling before he makes his way into the kitchen.
- + -
"Oh wow, something good happened again?" Aiba asks under yawning when he enters the kitchen the next morning, overwhelmed by the pleasant smell of fresh coffee and breakfast.
"Hm?" Sho turns around, the frying pan in one hand and the spatula in the other.
Aiba pulls his chair and takes place on his usual seat at the already set table, grinning at his roommate. "You're humming some cheerful song again."
It's just then, when Sho realizes that indeed he is doing so. He chuckles and then smiles to himself.
"Maybe," he says, focusing on breakfast again. Seems that this is his habit when he's in good mood. When he's in love. "Coffee? And you want some fried egg and toast too?"
"Sure, thanks," the other man answers while reaching for the morning newspaper, which is already lying in the middle of the table.
Sho lowers the heat for the frying pan to avoid burning its content and turns to the cupboard, putting out three mugs. He fills one of it and places it in front of his roommate, earning a grateful nod before the other returns to page 5 of the newspaper. Just a second later, he lowers the paper again, taking a closer look at the table in front of him. He counts the plates. One, two, three. He frowns and tilts his head and just when he is about to part his lips to ask his friend a question, the kitchen door opens again and an unknown guy enters the room, messy black bed hair, dressed in Sho's pajamas and with a cell phone in his hand at which he is looking, frowning.
"Sakurai-san," the young man asks, holding his cell phone at him. "What the hell did you tell my mom? She called me like a thousand times while I was sleeping?!"
Sho whirls around, two more filled coffee mugs in his hands, checking the cell phone screen. He feels only just a tiny little bit guilty. "I just told her you'd stay here and that I'll take care of you since she was worried about your back."
"That's all?" the black haired guy asks, arching his eyebrows.
"That's all," Sho nods.
Ninomiya makes a thinking noise and tilts his head while focusing on his cell phone again. "Did she say something else maybe?"
"No? We didn't talk for long," Sho replies while placing the mugs on the table and pulling back a chair, signalling the young man to take his place. "Call her afterwards, now it's breakfast."
"You can cook?!" the other man asks critically.
"Hey!" the assistant professor darts his finger at his guest but the black haired man ignors him, turning to Aiba.
"Is it edible? I have a sensitive stomach," he asks and Aiba isn't sure if he's serious or joking.
"Sit down now, Ninomiya and try it. I made it with lots of love," Sho says in a strict voice, pointing at the chair he prepared for the other.
"Alright, alright," the other grins. "And thanks for letting me stay,"
Sho flashes him a charming smile. "Always a pleasure."
"What the...," Aiba finally voices out after watching the conversation between the two men without interrupting.
Sho looks at him, as if he just notices his present now and the young man next to him turns to Aiba too.
"Ah, sorry Aiba, I didn't introduce you," Sho says. "This is Ninomiya. Ninomiya-kun, my roommate and friend Aiba, I’ve told you about him."
The young man nods politely in Aiba's direction. "Nice to meet you, Aiba-san."
Sho's roommate frowns, looking at the other guy. "Wait, Ninomiya, you say?"
"Yes..."
"That Ninomiya?!" Aiba finally explodes.
Ninomiya looks at him, quite surprised by the suddenly loud voice and Sho giggles, the young student looks almost scared. "Uhm... I think, it's not like I'm famous, is it?"
"Ah, sorry, it's just, I told him about you and...," Sho starts while he turns to the kitchen counter getting a basket filled with toast and the frying pan with the fried eggs.
"And I didn't think you'd convince him to spend a night with you so fast, OMG," his roommate concludes his sentence.
"Eh?! Spend a night with him?" Ninomiya asks a little confused.
Sho blushes, putting down the basket quickly and waves his hands in denial. "Aiba, it's not what you think now..."
"Wait, what does he think?" the young student turns to Sho, frowning at him.
"What I do think? Well, Sho-kun here has a crush on you -," Aiba starts, grinning while pointing at his roommate. "I don't think it'a a secret crush, so don't look at me like this now - and now," he turns back to Ninomiya, leaning a bit forward, giving him a smirk. "I find you in our kitchen in the morning... dressed in Sho-kun's pajamas. What do you think, I'm thinking when seeing such thing?"
"Eh?!" Ninomiya blushed deeply and Sho couldn't help but grin at his cute reaction. "No! It's nothing like that! I just... slept in his bed."
"Yeah, sure," Aiba lifts his eyebrows, exchanging a smirk with Sho who divides the eggs onto the three plates on the table and then sits down.
"Really! Nothing happened!" Ninomiya exclaims.
"Nothing?" Aiba asks again, this time at Sho.
Sho takes a sip from his coffee, shaking his head slightly. "Unfortunately..."
"Hey!" Ninomiya turns to Sho, giving him a serious look. "Of course not, after all, we said no kisses anymore; we're just friends for the time being!"
"You kissed?!" Aiba clasps his hands in front of his lips, widening his eyes. "And nothing else happened when you slept in his bed? Oh my... I pity you, Sho-kun."
"Thanks," Sho nods appreciating.
"You're not an easy lay, are you?" Aiba notes, looking at Ninomiya again.
"I don't want him to be an easy lay, so it's totally fine for me!" Sho explains then, finally trying to calm down his friend's tension.
"Well, if you say so," the latter ends the topic and reaches for a slice of toast.
"I'm sorry for this awkward conversation, Ninomiya-kun!" Sho says, watching the young student who also reaches for some toast and tries to keep himself busy in order not to blush even more.
"Oh well...," Ninomiya tries to sound casual. "I think I should get used to awkward if it comes to you."
While Aiba bursts into laughter, patting Ninomiya's shoulder and agreeing to his statement, Sho decides not to take this as a bad comment. He smiles and drinks another sip of coffee. His soulmate is such a damned cutie, it's impossible to get mad at him.
Chapter 4 - Part 2