Chapter 124: Much-needed pill
Haruki looked like he was done with the conversation and Hiroshi beside him could sense it. He touched the back of Haruki’s hand and as though seeking a support to lean on, Haruki gripped his hand in his. Hiroshi gently interlocked their fingers showing his unwavering support.
The lady glanced down before looking up at Hiroshi. Her gaze seemed like she had seen classified information that could destroy nations.
Her smile brightened and although Hiroshi felt the need to release Haruki’s grip to protect the man’s reputation, Haruki’s grip only tightened when he showed signs of letting go.
"I wanted to invite you to our class reunion," she turned to Haruki, still stealing glances at the doctor.
"Tsubaki! Wow, it’s been a while," Aki stepped towards them calling out to the lady with a bright smile lifting the corners of his lips every sign of his earlier drunkenness was significantly suppressed.
"I am shocked you recognised me immediately," the lady said, moving her gaze to Aki as her smile broadened significantly.
"What a pleasant surprise."
Haruki snapped to reality. Aki should feel like he did towards one of those who had watched on the side as they got bullied. Their bullies might have been different but both of them shared the same painful experience.
They cried from the pain, they consoled each other, and supported each other. They were the only ones different in the crowd yet Aki had moved on. He was smiling broadly, so happy you could almost literally see the sparkles in his eyes.
He was shaken like a weak blade of grass in the storm even with the power he had backing him. His name alone was respected and feared and yet meeting someone from his last caused him to tremble.
Hate. Rage. That was what he felt towards himself. Haruki was comparing himself with Aki, who had his father, brother, and friends he could be vulnerable with. The feeling was so overwhelming, he could not spare himself a space for consideration.
With every second that passed with Aki jovially conversing with the lady, Haruki felt the hatred he felt for him grow. The realisation that at the end of the day, everything was just a façade and the walls around his heart still stood strong yet he was burning with.
Except for his tight grip on the doctor’s hand, there was nothing that gave away his feelings. He smirked when the lady met his gaze and asked him for his contact before refusing.
Aki offered his contact instead saying he would pass on any useful information to Haruki. Aki also accepted her invitation to the class reunion.
"Please persuade Haruki to come too. All of us miss him so much." She left only after confirming Aki’s agreement to try to persuade Haruki.
Miss him? Haruki slightly tilted his head while maintaining an indifferent expression.
Her smile didn’t waver for a second before she left with the man she came in with. Still stuck in that same spot, Haruki turned to Aki giving him a subtle questioning look.
Aki smiled and shrugged before walking to the door. When the doctor tried to pull his hand from his grip, he glanced down at their interlocked fingers before giving the doctor the freedom he wanted.
He pushed back the questions of when and why they had locked fingers together as he followed the doctor of the establishment.
"I had fun today, could we do this often?" Aki asked smiling broadly.
"Sure," Haruki didn’t hesitate to respond with a nod.
"About Tsunami . . . Never mind, see you later." Leaving those words, Aki walked to his car where a designated driver prepared by the restaurant was waiting for him.
Haruki exhaled tiredly leaning against the window of the car on the drive back home. Hiroshi who was driving glanced at Haruki before moving his gaze back ahead. So many words at the tip of his tongue but he knew better than to ask them.
He could sense that Haruki hated the woman. He was not sure if it was enough for him to want the woman dead but he was certain that Haruki wished for her death.
It had to do with when Haruki was in college. He was certain Haruki had very bad experiences and the woman was involved with it. She could not be his first love before it was pure dislike without any trace of familiarity between them.
Haruki was silent throughout the journey and Hiroshi gave him the peace he wanted. When they arrived at the main house, Haruki quietly walked up the stairs into the house while Hiroshi went to park his car himself.
He used the few minutes during his walk to Haruki’s room to think things through. He could not ask but he could be an emotional support to Haruki. Haruki might not expose his need for this but he felt the need to do it anyway.
Haruki was in the large shower cubicle blurred out by steam. He pulled off his clothes calmly as he prepared himself for whatever Haruki’s reaction to his intrusion would be and what his ideal response should be.
He opened the glass door letting some steam escape the room before stepping in. Haruki pushed his hair away from his face and moved away from the wide shower head towards the intruder.
Hiroshi simply spread his hands towards Haruki inviting him on his own. He could see the vulnerability the man was trying to hide but he waited.
Haruki met his gaze and he nodded in encouragement. Haruki hesitated but something was inviting about the brown eyes that could not be hidden in the steamy bathroom. For the first time, he felt a very intense need for the man to hold him, to press him down, to show his presence unwavering.
So he walked to the man to trigger the process. Hiroshi hugged him tightly as soon as they touched without patiently waiting for Haruki to hug first. It was a light hug at first but Haruki’s hands wrapped around the doctor’s slender waist.
Both of them naked, one wet and hot and the other dry and warm held onto each other so tightly. It was just a hug but to Haruki, it was like a much-needed pill to ease his heartache.
If he thought deeper, he would have concluded this was the reason Aki had healed while his wounds were festering, with a support so physical so obvious, it would be impossible not to heal.
Hiroshi didn’t remember how long the hug had lasted but he could remember feeling Haruki relax notably into his hug halfway. He felt the man’s breathing and heartbeat calm significantly. He held onto the man carefully his heart filled with so much joy.
He knew at that moment, it was not right to ask Haruki what had happened but the fact that he could give Haruki the support he needed. The support he couldn’t give his mother as an innocent child who didn’t understand the weight of life.
That feeling of being important to Haruki caused his heart to race. Finally, they parted and Haruki simply walked back to the shower and applied some shampoo to his hair. Before he could begin washing, Hiroshi walked to him and covered his hands with his.
He kissed Haruki’s wet neck before pulling his hand away from Haruki’s hair and began rubbing through the lathered soft hair. His fingers gently applied pressure where necessary and massaged the man’s head. When Haruki was done bathing, he stepped out of the bathroom.
He was done drying his hair when the doctor walked out of the shower cubicle. He picked the hair dryer from the cabinet and began drying his hair after drying his naked body.
Haruki now dressed in a pair of pyjamas leaned his back against the doorframe watching the doctor dry his hair with a towel wrapped around his waist. Watching the man’s clean muscles flex under the neat skin, Haruki wanted so badly to leave his imprint on every inch of the man’s skin.
A tattoo would be done by someone else not by him, he wanted something done by his hands. Something that would last long enough before putting a new one on that skin. He wanted to stain the man’s skin, to mark him as his property.
Hiroshi could feel the man’s heated gaze. Everything that happened earlier felt platonic, full of undefiled companionship but right now, he knew what Haruki wanted but Haruki wasn’t making the first move. He turned the hair dryer off and placed it back in its drawer.
Seeing that Haruki was about to leave, he stretched his hand and pulled the man back. He lost this round, he was not backing out nor did he want to give Haruki the chance to escape. They both missed each other and this game has lasted for too long. He was the desperate one, he was willing to acknowledge it.
His arm locked Haruki against his body and the other lifted Haruki’s head to meet his lips. Their lips crashed into each other soft, warm and sweet, wet when Haruki parted his lips in an exhale.