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Nine
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2021-07-11 14:15:04Aki-chan and I were playing with her building blocks when Hiro-san arrived a little over an hour later. Once he came, he was the one playing most of her games with her. I settled for just sitting back and watching, occasionally joining in. It was all so peaceful that I found myself promising to keep my Sundays as free as possible even after moving out.
Since breakfast was late, Aki-chan wasn’t exactly hungry at lunch time. I did not want to delay it though because Hiro-san had not had even breakfast. So, eventually, all three of us ended up in the kitchen. Hiro-san was carrying Aki-chan and the both of them were following me around the kitchen, lending a hand whenever they could and keeping up a conversation about the most trivial things.
… I owed my brother thanks for letting her stay here with me, although it would have been better had he and Kaori-nee been here as well.
“She slept?” Hiro-san asked when I returned to the living room after leaving Aki-chan in bed.
“Yes. No matter how late she sleeps in the morning, as soon as she has lunch, she just has to sleep.” I sighed and sat down on the couch beside him, picking my laptop up from the coffee table where I had left it last night after working. “I have to send a few emails. You don’t mind, do you?”
“Nah. Do what you have to.” He said and turned his attention to his phone. “Hikaru texted me. I had mentioned that I would be coming over after you had called. Apparently, he’s bored.” He showed me his phone. Hikaru-nii had sent him a selfie from the wedding hall and he looked ready to go sink into the corner and sleep. I laughed.
“Too bad.”
“This is what family life is like.” Hiro-san shrugged. “Hey, Kakeru.”
“Hm?” I had turned back to my laptop. Strangely enough, the only thing that stood out in my peripheral vision just then was Hiro-san’s peculiarly coloured hair.
“Tell me the truth. Do you have a woman in your life?”
“Hah? I already told you I don't. Why are you all asking me this again today?”
He shrugged. “You suddenly want to move out and live independently so…”
“Hikaru-nii told you to find out, didn't he? What? Is having a woman the only reason that I could possibly have for moving out?” I shook my head. “I mean, look at you. You live alone too.”
“I do have women over.” He said casually. “It’s not the reason for my living alone but I do have my share of fun. I’m not big on relationships and such but that doesn’t mean that I am not popular.”
… Okay then. “I am not interested in all that. Anyway, I don’t have a woman in my life. And I don’t have one-night-stands. Not interested either.”
“Yeah. You’re the type that gets attached.” He leaned back against the couch, slumping in and getting comfortable. “Just like your brother. Really, at this point, I don’t know what he would do without them and I can not even picture him without them now either.” He tilted his head towards me. “And you know who else is there in that picture?”
“Did my brother task you with convincing me to stay too?” I asked dryly.
“No. I’m just saying. I mean, I understand your sentiments. I’m fully in support of your decision too.”
“That makes one person in favour.” I rolled my eyes.
“What? It’s not like you’ll be going anywhere far.” He shrugged.
… “Can I task you with convincing my brother?”
He laughed. “He’ll never give in. He’ll let you go but he won’t be happy about it. It’s okay. It’ll just take some getting used to. Besides, I’m pretty sure he respects you for taking such a decision. Our Kake-chan has really grown up.”
“I think I’m the one who will need to get used to it the most.” I sighed. “Aki-chan has spoilt me rotten with her presence.”
He gave me a side-long glance. “Are you already feeling lonely, Kake-chan?”
I… “Wouldn’t you?”
He hummed after thinking about it. “Probably.”
After that, we fell silent for a while. Hiro-san was on his phone while I was taking care of my immediate work. There wasn’t much and I was done in an hour’s time. In between the nearly two hours that we had before Aki-chan finally woke up and trudged over to find us, Hikaru-nii had called to inform that they had started back, Hiro-san and I had talked a bit more about work and the house that I was going to move into and then, we watched a bit of television.
Aki-chan climbed onto my lap immediately after she had woken up and grumbled about wanting chocolates because she had apparently dreamt of them. She was always a little clingy immediately after waking up.
We had all settled too comfortably into this careless Sunday. It felt good.
Once she had brightened up, Aki-chan was right back to dictating games and getting us to play with her. She even taught us a few games that she had learnt from her friend Emi-chan at the daycare. It was so easy to lose track of time when there was a child around. I could already feel my days getting longer starting the first day at my own place.
I was in the middle of getting my hair tied up in the front by Aki-chan, who just wouldn’t get off my case unless I let her do it, when my phone rang. She didn’t even let me turn to look at who was calling. Hiro-san laughed at my helplessness and embarrassment before picking up my phone and standing up. “It’s Hikaru. I’ll take this.”
“Ah. Thank you.” I nodded for which I got reprimanded by my ‘hairdresser’ again. I turned my full attention to Aki-chan and stayed still while she struggled to get my hair to stay in the scrunchie that she had found on Kaori-nee’s dresser. She was still chatting away to glory and so, Hiro-san stepped away to answer the call.
My hair wasn’t even that long…
“Mm. It’s done!" Aki-chan finally nodded and stepped back to get a good look at what she had accomplished. She grinned after that. “You look pretty, Kake-jii!”
Ugh. I don’t know if ‘pretty’ is a compliment considering that I’m a guy though, Aki-chan. “Can I take it off now? You did what you wanted to.” I reached up to unite my hair but she pounced on my arms before I could do anything about it.
“No! Don’t touch! I want to show Hiro-jii too!”
But it’s embarrassing! “Aki-chan, please just-”
“No.” She shook her head. “Hiro-jii has to approve.”
“Why do I need his approval?” Wait till you grow up, you little pipsqueak.
“Hiro-jii, look!” Aki-chan caught my face and made me look at him forcefully when I refused to comply. Why had I even agreed to this in the first place?! “Pretty, right?”
“No. Not-”
“Kakeru.”
I fell silent, swallowing my protest. He did not look ready to tease me like I had expected him to be. Instead, he looked at me rather gravely. Aki-chan looked between us in confusion at the sudden stale air.
This... wasn’t right.
Hiro-san looked at Aki-chan once, his features revealing a rather complex state of mind. Then, he crouched before me. I was sitting on the floor so that act brought him to eye-level. There was a heavy pause before he spoke again. “It’s about the call just now…”
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“Where’s Hiro?” Hikaru-nii’s voice came from behind me as I was attending to the egg that I was frying. I turned to the doorway to find my brother leaning against the doorframe, his hands folded over his chest. He had been sleeping when I had gone to check on him earlier. So, I had started preparations for breakfast while trying to think of the various possible scenarios I would have to make my through once he woke up. “Not here… now.” I responded rather cautiously. “He hadn’t stayed?” He frowned. “I thought I had told him that he could.” “You… remember all that?” I had hoped that we could ease into this conversation but this being brought up right off the bat made me a little anxious. “I was a lot more sober by the time you had gotten home. I don’t remember sending
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“You’re still not done?” I asked as I sat on the floor next to Hiro-san at the coffee table after my bath. “Maybe… one hour more?” “That’s okay.” I leaned against his arm. “I’ll wait.” “If you’re sleepy, please go to sleep.” “I can’t sleep properly without you, Hiro-san.” A lie… Maybe. “What is with that?” He laughed and patted my head. “Then, you can wait.” I nodded. I was planning on waiting anyway. I had left my phone on the coffee table next to his laptop. When I began looking around, I saw that the notification light was blinking. I reached out to take it. “Had someone called?” “No. I think you had a message though.” Hiro-san replied. “I did not check.” It definitel was a message and it had surprised me enough to make me sit straight up on reading it. “It’s from Hikaru-nii.” “Hikaru?” Hiro-san stopped what he was doing and looked at my phone as I opened the message. There were just two words on the
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I was the first one to wake up the next morning. However, I could not even bring myself to move from the position that I was in. For one, Hiro-san was still holding on to me closely. Secondly, my back hurt a bit. Moreover, I did not exactly want to move. The clock on the bedside table revealed that it was a little past 10:00 am. I had managed to somehow apply for leave on my phone last night before falling asleep. Considering that I had been wide awake before it, it was incredible how much that sex had taken out of me- actually, taken out of Hiro-san and I. Once was far from enough for the both of us and by the time we settled into each other’s arms after that, we barely had enough energy left to move. I looked up at his sleeping face. It was no wonder that he was so popular. Anyone would want to see a face like that as soon as they woke up. Ah… Now I wanted to kiss him. It was past 10:00 am anyway. He had slept enough. I moved his arm
Home Forty-Eight
He held my gaze and slowly smiled. “You seem sure enough about this.” Sliding one hand down my right arm, he grasped my hand. “Let’s go back to bed though.” Saying that much and indulging in a soft kiss, he led me back to the bedroom. He came to a stop next to the bed, turned to face me and took both my hands in his. I gave him a questioning look. “You don’t have to treat me like one of your women.” “What? This?” He raised our hands to ask. “It’s not that I am trying to be really gentle or anything. It’s… Despite all my experience and how eager I am now,” he placed my hands on his chest and smiled sheepishly. “I feel like such a boy.” His heart was pounding against my palms. I let go of his hands and wrapped my arms around his neck. “When was the last time that you dated someone for real?” “Towards the beginning of college. Why are you asking me that now?” I shrugged. “Because I wanted to know.” Then I kissed him. “Because this is… amu
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I opened my eyes fast because it was still too dark for me to see anything. I was breathing heavily and my eyes felt moist. There was a throbbing heaviness in my chest and my entire body felt numb. I had had a dream and it was painful enough to jolt me awake, almost crying, but I couldn’t even remember what it was about. It was rare for me to dream in the first place and, hence, a dream that was capable of leaving me in a wreck like that was even rarer. It made me close my eyes and try to recollect it again but all I could remember were the emotions and that I was not alone. Maybe… it was a good thing that I couldn’t remember it. I turned on my side and picked my phone up from the bedside table. The time was 01:57 am. I had barely just fallen asleep at 12:30 am too… I turned back and looked at Hiro-san. I was still lying on his arm but he had turned onto his back, his other arm lying over his stomach. He hadn't been awoken by my movement
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On unlocking the door, Hiro-san let me in first. He followed me in after locking the door and proceeded straight to the kitchen. "I'll get you something warm to drink. Go change or freshen up if you want to.” I could at least change into something warmer. “Mm. I’ll… be out on the balcony after that.” “Kakeru, it’s cold out on the balcony too.” He said apprehensively. “I’ll take a blanket with me.” I said and went into the bedroom. He had offered no further protest, so I changed into warmer home-wear, wrapped a blanket around me and headed out onto the balcony. It was a little cold but I felt a lot better after changing and wrapping myself up like that. With my back to the wall, I sat on the floor and brought my knees up to my chest, covering myself up with the blanket and looking out at the night. My eyelids felt heavy. It was probably because of all that crying from earlier. “Why are you sitting on the floor?” Hiro-san asked on findin
Home Forty-Five
What seemed like an entire lifetime to me was probably just an hour or so on the clock. That was all the time it took for Hiro-san to get there. I had already seen that shocked look on his face two times before. It was easier for me to offer up a smile the third time. Nevertheless, he was by my side in an instant- his eyebrows scrunched up in a way that told me that I was the only one finding this pattern of meeting strangely amusing. “Kakeru, what are you doing out here?” He crouched before me and took my face in his palms. The worry I saw on his face just then- I wished that I was seeing it on my brother’s. “Meeting out in the hallway like this is really becoming our thing, isn’t it?” I chuckled. “It shouldn’t be though. What happened?” He looked me up and down. “Where are your shoes?” He found them soon after asking, then looked at me seriously. “Hikaru?” I looked towards the door. “I don’t think he’ll want to see you now.” “Huh?” “
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Did I have to actually say it out anymore? It seemed to me as though he had already figured it out. I could not bring myself to admit it. Confronted like that, I could not bring myself to deny it either.I had thought that it would be easier to tell my brother about us. I had not told him till then because he was still mourning Kaori-nee and I was trying to be considerate. I had thought that he would understand.“Kakeru, answer me.”What for? And, then what?“Kakeru!”“We’re dating.” I finally said it.“What?” He lowered his voice, his eyes pinning me to every word that I spoke.“I-I said that we’re dating.” I spoke deliberately and clearly. “Hiro-san is my lover.”He stared at me, then nodded. “Lover.”I swallowed nervously. “Yes.”“Since when?”“Almost two months now.”
