S C A N D A L

Chapter Thirty-Five

Before eventually telling Kurou of what his stepmother did, there was a feast in the Matsumoto Main House upon his arrival. To his surprise, Azumi invited his mother and her fiancé which was something that Kurou didn't tell him since he would like it to be a surprise.

Seeing how happy and glowing his mother was despite the hardship in the pregnancy, Shiro couldn't bring it in his heart to tell her either. He knew she was going to be upset and might demand to speak to his father. Until now, Shiro wasn't certain if Naoki was involved and he was still hoping that he wasn't.

As promised, Shichiro did find a way to keep Azumi and the others entertained so he could sneak out with Kurou. His husband was excited to show him his childhood bedroom, which didn't appear as if it was meant to be a bedroom for teenagers.

Shiro always thought that Kurou had a fascination with both Japanese and Scandinavian styles since he favored natural materials. He also opted for cotton bedding over polyester or silk and would prefer a wood bed frame over a tufted or laminated one.

The neutral color palette popped with rare colors was rare and the indoor plants were well-maintained as a living décor, rather than heavily dyed/painted elements that were often seen in other designs.

Nevertheless, it was the large eight-grid toy car display stand made of acrylic storage that caught Shiro's attention. Kurou didn't lie about collecting toy cars and he had seen rows after rows of it, some of which were vintage and collector's editions.

Even his vanity dresser was filled with model toy cars in different sizes and Shiro momentarily forgot his worries and only wanted to be a child again. Kurou watched Shiro marvel from one toy to another and couldn't help but smile. He even sat in front of the dresser to get a better view of the smaller ones besides the bed lamp. Kurou didn't only collect cars, there were boat and aircraft displays too and they looked so real judging by the carefully crafted intricate details of each toy.

Walking up behind his husband, Kurou leaned down and kissed his neck. This reminded Shiro of the problem he was currently facing. Sighing, he gazed at Kurou's handsome face in the mirror.

Leaning over his shoulders, Kurou opened his eyes, caught Shiro looking, and grinned. "Did you like my toys?"

"Yes. There's a lot of them."

"Did you find it weird?"

"No. I find it cute."

"Really?"

"Really."

Kurou was like a kid as he smiled wickedly and pulled him by the hand. "I don't think we'll be bothered tonight..." playfully, he picked him up and carried him to the bed and they both stumbled with a laugh.

Shiro hit him on the chest but snuggled comfortably against him anyway. "Before anything else...I must tell you something."

Kurou eyes regarded him with softness and attention. "I'm all ears. What's bothering my little Shiro?" he touched his cheek with a finger.

Rising a bit and resting his chin on his chest, Shiro puffed his cheeks which Kurou found adorable. He pressed a finger on it as if expecting it to burst like a blow fish. He laughed when Shiro glared.

"I'm sorry," Kurou apologized but Shiro knew this was insincere and hit him again.

"Be serious!"

"Okay, I am serious. Tell me..."

Shiro drew a long and deep breath, closing his eyes, he let go of the words without missing a beat. Kurou did listen attentively. At first, Shiro's voice was shaking and he could see that his whole body was trembling too. Emotions surged deep within him and Kurou could tell that he was not only frustrated, he was also hurt and very upset.