Afternoon Confessions (Part 17)
Sprout
Summary:The following day after his search for Sakurai, Aiba woke up on Sakurai's bed... he doesn't remember falling asleep on his bed last night...
Aiba had wanted to help Sakurai clean up the whole apartment after dinner, but the host kept on insisting that he should rest instead. He hadn’t noticed at all how tired he suddenly became after all the things that happened that night. Without realizing it, he dozed off on the couch with Kazu who was already fast asleep…
His eyes flew open. He didn’t remember falling asleep last night, but he sure had a good night’s sleep. The blankets kept him really warm, the pillow felt right underneath his head, and the bed felt like heaven. A bed… Wait… Aiba doesn’t remember going home last night. After leaving his family vacation home last night, he went to search for Sakurai to apologize, found him in his home, was greeted by a messy Sakurai, made dinner… Ah, that’s right. He sat on the couch after dinner and maybe that was when he fell asleep. But how did he end up on Sakurai’s bed? He felt a blush creep on his cheeks as he imagined Sakurai carrying him to his room. Aiba had to admit that he put on a lot of weight since his vacation began so Sakurai must have had a hard time carrying him on his back.
That aside, Aiba yawned as he turned to his right side and grinned widely as soon as he saw his son’s adorable sleeping face. Kazu obviously looked nothing like him, but if Aiba looked at him from another angle, maybe--
“Nnnn… Masaki…”
Aiba froze. He knew for sure that the he just hear obviously wasn’t from his son and neither did it come from himself. Gulping, he lifted his head a little and saw Sakurai fast asleep, completely on top of the white blanket. Panicked, Aiba looked underneath the blanket to see if he was too, but he was still wearing his clothes from last night.
“Mmmnnn…” Sakurai moaned once again and turned to his left side.
He really shouldn’t stare at Sakurai’s well-defined body, but from the corner of his eyes he saw Sakurai jr. twitch.
Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God... Those were the only words that kept replaying in his head like a broken record. No! Don’t look!
“Nnghh…”
His eyes immediately closed when Sakurai stirred once again and jerked awake. Before his eyes closed, however, he saw Sakurai smirk.
Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God...
“Oh, man. I stripped again,” Sakurai whined after a minute of silence. Then the bed sunk as Sakurai scrambled out of bed followed by soft mumbles about how he should control his stripping while asleep habit especially when there’s a guest. It suddenly became quiet except for the soft sounds of bare feet moving across the wooden floor and came to a stop beside him.
Aiba could feel his heart racing as fast as the speed of light as he imagined Sakurai standing stark beside him. Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God...
“You’re beautiful as always, Masaki,” Sakurai whispered so close to Aiba’s ear and seconds later he felt Sakurai’s soft, warm lips on his.
Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God... Now really isn’t the best time to open his eyes because Sakurai decided to linger on for a few more seconds before pulling away with a content sigh.
“I’m really glad you searched for me… Seeing you -- no, being with you -- always makes my life better. Thank you for showing up in my life...”
Aiba gasped internally. He never would have thought that Sakurai saw him that way. If he knew before, of course he would try harder for Sakurai after seeing how miserable the man is. Now that he’s aware of his situation and the current confession, Aiba was determined to try harder… but wouldn’t it be suspicious if he acted upon it after this? Sakurai would definitely find out that he was awake the whole entire time and Aiba already felt guilty enough from glancing at Sakurai’s bare body earlier… He immediately pushed the image of Sakurai’s bare body away from his thoughts when it threatened to come back. Not now! His body must have jerked a little bit, but it was a good thing the blanket is on his body unlike Sakurai who was sleeping on top of it-- Not now!
“Thank you,” Sakurai mumbled once again and placed a brief kiss on Aiba’s forehead. “Ah crap, gotta use the bathroom.”
He heard the sound of Sakurai’s feet scrambling around the room as he fussed over something Aiba couldn’t comprehend. It went out for three minutes until he heard a door open and close.
By then, Aiba’s eyes flew open, aware that Sakurai was no longer in the room. He stared at the ceiling for a while with a blank mind. All of this was too overwhelming. Of course he’s ecstatic that the man consider his presence as the sun within the darkness, but he realized that this is the first time his life had been significant to someone else other than his own family. What if he messes up and makes Sakurai’s life turn upside down somehow? He couldn’t bear to think about the consequences, knowing that if he makes a mistake it’ll follow him throughout the rest of his life. Not only will it affect him and Sakurai, but also Kazu. After all, it was the man who helped him with Kazu. Aiba sighed. This was no time to think about things like this. Instead, he should support and help Sakurai with whatever situation he’s in.
“You’ll help, too, Kazu?” Aiba grinned as he turned to face his son once again. Kazu was still fast asleep, but he kept babbling softly. He couldn’t help but play with Kazu’s tiny hands and feet, the most adorable parts of his body besides his face. Grinning, he took the sign of Kazu unconsciously holding onto his finger as a yes.
After breakfast -- which was cooked by Aiba because Sakurai kept burning the bacon -- they decided on cleaning up the apartment. They started with the piles of clothes and random stuffs lying everywhere in the apartment. It was definitely hard labor because they had to drag bags of the clothes to the laundry room, and sorting out the things Sakurai needed or no longer needed took a lot longer than expected. Afterwards, they swept, cleaned, and polished the floor until it was pristine that Aiba could see Kazu’s reflection on the wooden flooring…
They finally finished once the digital clock announced that it’s 12PM. Both men dumped their exhausted bodies on either side of the couch with Kazu lying down comfortably in between them.
“I’m sorry for dragging you through this,” Sakurai finally spoke up after they caught up with their breathing. “If I knew you were coming at all last night, I would have done it myself.”
“No, it’s alright. Besides, I really do owe you a lot.”
“Hmm? What do you mean?”
“Well, you helped me with Kazu, even got me a three-month vacation, and…” Aiba paused. He knows that there’s something else, but he couldn’t remember… until this morning’s event flashed in his mind and it decided to stay there when Sakurai’s bare body came into view.
“Aiba-san? What’s wrong? Your cheeks are turning red.”
Aiba snapped back into reality when a fully clothed Sakurai waved his hand across his face. “Ah… haha… sorry,” he laughed, looking at anywhere else but Sakurai because if he looked at Sakurai, he might end up looking like a human tomato.
“Was there something else?”
“Huh? What?”
“You didn’t continue your earlier statement…”
Since he’s even blushing at the moment, he could feel his cheeks burn hotter as if he was having a fever. He knows now what he wanted to say, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it. “Uh… and for being so kind to me?” He said, although it sounded more like a question because he raised his voice at the end.
Sakurai chuckled lightly and let out a long sigh. “No, Aiba-san. I owe you a lot.”
If he hadn’t heard what Sakurai had said earlier this morning, he would ask why. But he didn’t and remained silent.
“Really, I do,” Sakurai continued. “Thank you for helping me, especially with the mess. To be honest, I wouldn’t have cleaned up if it weren’t for you. My apartment would have stayed as a mess just like myself…” Sakurai trailed off and it became an awkward silence, but thanks to Kazu who babbled every now and then as if he was trying his best not to make it silent. On the other hand, Aiba really wanted to know what Sakurai meant, but he didn’t want to pry on Sakurai’s life. He decided to wait for Sakurai to tell him about it when the time comes, if Sakurai plans to, that is.
“Um… I have a confession to make.”
Aiba’s heart skipped a beat. Did Sakurai decide to tell him about his story?
“... I stole another kiss from you this morning.”
“...”
“I’m sorry. I made you angry, didn’t I?”
“...”
“I-I’ll go outside for a bit and--”
Aiba found himself pulling Sakurai back down. Of course, why would he expect Sakurai to tell him his story when Aiba barely talked about himself.
“A-Aiba-san…”
“I’m not mad,” he simply stated and avoided eye contact with Sakurai. If he looked at him now, he’ll become flustered and the words won’t come out right. He decided, a minute ago, to finally come out with his feelings. He couldn’t deny it anymore because if he doesn’t tell Sakurai sooner, it may only seem like he’s pushing Sakurai and he might never get those unexpected kisses ever again.
“I don’t dislike you and…” His cheeks were burning and he wondered if this was normal.
“I... “ His heart was beating rapidly and he wondered if this was normal too.
“It’s okay, Aiba-san, you can tell me.”
Aiba closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath before letting it out as a loud sigh. “IlikeitwhenyoukissmebecauseitfeelsgoodandIreallyreallylikeyoualot.” Oh God, he sounded like a middle schooler just now.
“W-what?” Sakurai stuttered and moved closer as he placed Kazu on his lap. “You’re going too fast, Aiba-san.”
Aiba let out a sharp sigh before opening his mouth again. “Ilikeyoualot!”
“Eh?”
For the last time, Aiba inhaled and exhaled. This wasn’t turning out right. When he played it in his head, he was talking normal and more slow, but it came out so fast just like how his heart was at the moment. “I SAID I LIKE YOU A LOT!” Aiba exclaimed, but this time it was loud and clear that it startled Kazu. There, he said it. He said it loud for all to hear -- well, just for Sakurai’s ears, really. “I don’t mind it when you kiss me, or hold my hand, or pull me for a hug, or steal kisses from me, or kiss my forehead--” Aiba stopped there. He realized, in horror, what he had just said. Slowly and very cautiously, he turned his head towards Sakurai and saw how shocked Sakurai looked. Actually, if Aiba looked closer he could see that Sakurai was blushing.
“You saw me ?” Sakurai squeaked, causing his voice to crack as if he was going through his prepubescent years.
Aiba nodded his head and then the image of Sakurai’s body flashed in his mind again.
The slight red tinge on Sakurai’s face darkened. “See, I have this habit of mines that’s been happening recently where I strip in my sleep and I seriously don’t know how it happens and I always wake up cold in the morning and…” Sakurai kept rambling on and on without stopping and Aiba wondered if Sakurai was breathing at all. He never expected, at all, that Sakurai would be embarrassed about his bad habit. “...it’s so indecent of me and how could this happen when I have you and Kazu here as a guest and it’s really wrong and I should really get it checked up and--”
“Sho-san!”
The rambling man came to an abrupt stop and Aiba couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s alright, I didn’t stare at you.” I only saw it briefly, he continued in his thoughts and was glad that only he could hear it.
“I’m sorry…” Sakurai laughed nervously. “I didn’t want to seem like a ert…”
To be honest, the word ert never crossed his mind. He only thought of how good-looking and built Sakurai’s body was. Oh, crap. He’s the ert, not Sakurai.
“And about your confession--”
Aiba didn’t have time to react at all when Sakurai held his hand and craned his neck so he could place a kiss on his lips.
“I’m glad I know your feelings now, Masaki.”
“...” He just sat there and stared at the TV. Where his thoughts had gone, he had no idea where.
Sakurai tightened the grip on his hand. “I’ll protect you and Kazu.”
Once again, without warning, Sakurai leaned in for another kiss. He shifted his body a little because he was still holding onto Kazu. And without realizing it himself, Aiba’s eyes closed and he felt his lips dance along with Sakurai’s lips.
TBC
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