Kiss Me (Like You Wanna Be Loved)

Chapter Twelve: Physical Education

On Saturday, after Bokuto's morning volleyball practice, they go on their weekly grocery shopping trip together as usual. But the routine changes once they get home. As soon as Keiji places the last item in the pantry, Bokuto grabs his elbow and spins him around, backing him up against the counter.

"Hey," he says with a sly smile. "Can I kiss you?"

"You don't have to ask every time."

"I don't?"

Keiji shakes his head. "As long as we're alone in the apartment, you can do whatever you want to me."

"Jesus," Bokuto says, closing his eyes. "When you say things like that, are you trying to kill me?"

Keiji bites his lip to suppress a smile, feeling a thrill at his reaction. Bokuto is just so expressive, so responsive. It stirs something inside of Keiji, awakens the part of him that wants to push and play and tease.

"I'm not saying I'll be receptive every time," he clarifies. "If you don't want to get rejected, I would strongly advise against interrupting me when I'm studying."

He brings his hands up to rest on Bokuto's hips and pulls him a little closer. Bokuto mirrors the action, hands settling easily on Keiji's waist, and Keiji relaxes into the contact. "But I like the way you touch me," he admits. "So when you want to, you can. If I'm not in the mood or if you do something I don't like, I will tell you in no uncertain terms. And I'll expect you to do the same-if I try to initiate something and you aren't interested, I want you to tell me no."

"Yeah, sure," Bokuto says. "I mean, that won't happen, but sure."

Keiji smirks. "You're saying that anytime I want you, I can have you?" he asks, and he feels Bokuto shiver slightly under his fingertips. The atmosphere in the room changes; the air between them suddenly charged.

Bokuto swallows and give a little nod. "Sure seems that way."

Keiji licks his lips, tilts his face up. "Then, kiss me."

Bokuto is leaning in before Keiji even finishes his request.

It starts off soft and slow, but things heat up quickly because this is clearly leading somewhere. Not that they really planned for that, but they both seem to be thinking the same thing.

After kissing in the kitchen for a few minutes, Bokuto asks, "Do you wanna go to my room?"

And Keiji swallows and nods. "Yes." Then he follows Bokuto down the hall.

The last time he was here, he didn't exactly spend much time looking around, so it's a little like he's seeing Bokuto's room for the first time. Bokuto must realize what he's doing, because he pauses in the doorway and lets Keiji look, taking in the volleyball posters and jerseys pinned to the wall, the queen-size bed that Keiji has never seen properly made in all the times he's glimpsed it from the hall, the pictures of friends taped up above the very messy desk (no wonder Bokuto does all his homework at their dining table).

Perhaps most interesting, though, is the tall bookcase in one corner. It's more filled with trophies and medals than with books, but there's a full shelf dedicated to manga, and another shelf filled with haphazardly stacked novels-a few of which Keiji recognizes as some of his own favorites. Huh. Bokuto probably owns more books than Keiji, whose tight budget has him mostly borrowing from the library.

He turns back to look curiously at Bokuto, this man who keeps surprising him in so many little ways, and he wonders how many more mysteries are left for him to discover. A lot, he hopes.

Bokuto steps forward to kiss him again. He gently cups Keiji's face with both hands and walks him backwards to the bed. They may be moving at a slower pace today, but a lack of urgency does not mean a lack of tension. The energy between them is building, thrumming in the air as they kiss and touch, both of them deeply aware that this is just the warm-up.