(Wind Breaker) The Green Rose's Thorns

Part 54

"Aoi! Quit eatin' everything before we even get it to the grill!," Kaji snapped at his underclassman. They were scattered around the inn's large deck, granted permission to use their grills for the nightly barbeque. Aoi, having some experience in food service, had been roped into helping with prep work. He kept eating up half the ingredients though, getting thrown out of the proverbial kitchen toward the opposite side of the deck. He sat with his legs between the railing, leaning his face into the slats and waiting very impatiently for the food to finish cooking.

"You don't do that at work, do you?," Nirei sounded like he was genuinely worried for both Pothos' and Ougi's pantries with that question.

"I don't. You've been to both, you know that," Aoi pouted, going to lay back on the wooden porch but hitting something else on the way down. Ending up in a somewhat more proper sitting position, back supported by something unexpectedly present behind him.

"Don't get all cuddly with me too," Sakura blurted out, lurching back at the sudden contact. Aoi's head smacked against the ground hard, a string of curses spewing out of his mouth as he clutched his now throbbing skull.

"Are you okay?," Nirei leaned over him with a worried look in his eye. He shrank back when Aoi glared back up, right at Sakura's red face with murderous intent in his eyes.

"What the hell was that for?!," Aoi freed himself from the porch railing with astonishing ease and speed, squaring up to Sakura while Nirei tried to put himself between them both.

"Wow. I've heard that some people get irritable when they're hungry. I guess it's true then?," Suo popped up beside the trio with possibly the worst comment. Sakura squealed out a sputtering list of excuses, while Aoi turned on him with nearly equal veracity. The latter was easily and swiftly placated with a skewer of meat and veggies extended in front of his face, snapping it up and devouring the contents in one big bite.

"That doesn't really help you beat the allegations," Nirei slipped back into his after-panic snarkiness. He got a hard flick from Aoi, before the boy sped off toward the grills. The others joined him there, all laughing and enjoying the carefully charred food. There was an array of drinks provided as well, Umemiya only stopping to eat his fill once everyone else had. It was a fun, peaceful evening that carried them all the way til sunset. Once everything was cleaned up, and they all had time for their stomachs to settle, everyone headed inside. Splitting between their rooms, digging through their personal belongings. Preparing for something Aoi had nearly forgotten entirely about until he was faced with it up front.

Bath time. Specifically, a public bath. His least favorite option, for a multitude of reasons. He knelt down over his bag and just stared blankly at it, unmoving as he went through all the mental gymnastics to either find a way out of it or brace himself for the incoming onslaught of information he desperately did not need or want.

"Oh, Aoi. It might kinda suck to wait but can you hold off til things clear out?," Kiryu came to his rescue, though he may not have been fully aware of it. Sakura, sharing some of Aoi's sentiment but being forced along anyway, wasn't letting him off that easily though.

"Huh?! Why ain't he gotta go with all of you! What gives?! Special treatment again?!," Sakura was nearly in full tantrum mode. Nirei half-heartedly tried to calm him down, well worn out from the day's events.

"There are other guests here still, so we don't wanna cause any extra concerns. Aoi's got tattoos, and that might scare some of the guests," Kiryu explained matter of factly. Sakura went quiet with that, grinding his teeth and grumbling to himself while Suo teased him from the opposite side of the room. The others filtered out eventually, Kiryu having a small exchange with Suo who stayed behind as well. Shooting a glance at Aoi, who now sat near the middle of the room scrolling mindlessly on his phone.

"Did what Sakura said bother you that much?," Suo slid the door closed and joined Aoi there on the floor. Wrapping him up from behind and leaning over his shoulder, only half-interested in whatever was on the screen.

"Hm," Aoi was lost in thought for a moment. Suo wondered very briefly if the boy had already gotten used to his new clinginess, one quick glance at his pink-tinted cheeks dashing that concern away.

"I mean, he's not wrong. I do get a lot of special treatment, and that's gonna start to bug people eventually," his voice was somewhat bitter as he acknowledged the fact. Suo felt a pang of guilt, partially responsible for setting certain rules and guidelines. All for Aoi's sake, but really he had never checked with him on how he felt before deciding those things. Aoi closed his phone down and leaned back into Suo's embrace, a small smile forming as he simply enjoyed the other's company.

"You don't mind it?," Suo asked what on the surface was a simple question, though it had a double meaning. One he wasn't sure the other would pick up on, but it meant everything to him in that moment.

"Hm? It gets a little frustrating sometimes, but no. Not really," Aoi answered earnestly, though he wasn't completely sure of the intended meaning. He chose something safe, riding the line between what he thought might have been the real intent. He felt Suo's arms tense up, then relax as he let out a slow breath.

His words hit home, and while one worry was washed away a whole new one took root. One that made Suo's heart race in his throat, calling back to certain things that happened just hours before. Things he pushed and openly longed for, when they had far less privacy. Now the two of them were alone, with at least a small chunk of time to themselves in what could be considered a private chamber.

While his thoughts fought an impossible war over each other, Suo's hands started their sneaky snake-like trailing over Aoi's form. He kissed the boy's shoulder, then his neck. Moving with agonizingly slow and careful precision. Receiving little resistance, if anything Aoi leaned openly into it. His head angled somewhat to the side, giving Suo complete access to the flesh there between jaw and shoulder. It was intoxicating, the saltiness of the sea still clinging to his warm skin and the little strained gasps he let out. The varied texture of his clothes, and the soft smooth skin underneath. Suo forced himself to hold back as much as he could, pumping the breaks just as quickly as he had mashed the gas pedal moments before. Struggling to catch his breath as he held his lover close.