Kiss Me (Like You Wanna Be Loved)

Chapter Twenty Seven: Firsts and Lasts

On a rainy day in early January, Koutarou comes home soaking wet. Of course he forgot his umbrella, even though Keiji reminded him (twice) this morning. He walks down the hallway and into the living room, either ignoring or oblivious to the fact that he's leaving a trail of rainwater in his wake.

"Hey, hey! Whatcha doin?" he asks, when he sees Keiji on his laptop at the table.

"Looking at apartment listings," he replies coolly. Koutarou freezes, eyes flashing wide with worry, and it makes Keiji want to laugh-but more than that, it makes Keiji want to hug him and pet his hair and run his thumb over the crease between his eyebrows to wipe that expression off his face.

"Our lease is up soon, and a one bedroom would be cheaper," he explains magnanimously instead of prolonging Koutarou's suffering. "I found a nice option in the complex across the street."

"You still wanna live with me?" Koutarou asks with a soft little smile.

Keiji makes a vague sound of affirmation, because he still has trouble casually baring his raw feelings, and confessing I never want to live without you is something he'll have to work his way up to. There are other ways of saying it without actually saying it.

"It doesn't allow pets, but perhaps we can look for that in the next one."

Koutarou beams, and Keiji knows he understood what he meant.

"It smells really good in here!" Koutarou says, inhaling deeply. "Are we having dinner early?"

"Not exactly." Keiji glances toward the kitchen where tonight's meal is simmering in a slow cooker. "It won't be ready for a few more hours," he explains as he closes the laptop and gets up, walking over to where Koutarou is standing. "But there is something I'd like to do in the meantime."

"Oya? What's that?" he asks, reaching out for Keiji.

Keiji keeps his distance, folds his arms over his chest. "I'll tell you when you're no longer dripping water all over our apartment."

"Keiiijiii! I don't mean to! I forgot my umbrella!"

"Yes, I noticed. Come on, you need to dry off." He holds out his hand. "I'm not going to take care of you if you get sick."

They both know this is a lie, but Koutarou places his hand in Keiji's and allows himself to be led down the hall anyways. When they get to the bathroom, Keiji gives him a little push inside.

"Take off your clothes."

"You know, if you wanna get me naked you could just ask," Koutarou says, wagging his eyebrows.

"I am asking." Keiji rolls his eyes as he grabs a towel from the linen closet.

"Oh. Heh. I guess you are," Koutarou muses as he pulls off his shirt and starts unbuttoning his jeans. He gives Keiji a sheepish smile. "That sounded smoother in my head."

"Hmm," Keiji says, trying not to look too amused as he leans against the wall and watches Koutarou undress.

Keiji doesn't think he'll ever tire of this sight. He keeps expecting familiarity to dampen his desire for the other man, but so far the opposite has proved true. He knows Koutarou's body almost as well as he knows his own, and yet every time Keiji sees him like this he's nearly overcome with attraction and arousal. It's a good thing Koutarou likes physical affection as much as he does, because if Keiji had to hold back from touching him all the time he might just die.

When Koutarou is stripped down to his boxers, Keiji passes him the towel and hangs his wet clothes over the shower rod.

"So," Koutarou says as he dries off. "You gonna tell me what you have planned now?"