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Despite the fact that the Earth Defence Club was a literal ‘do-nothing-club’, usually, the club room was alive with people doing specifically something. The sound of chatter (or bickering, in the case of the first years) usually rang through the small space, often accompanied by the chewing of snacks.
However, today was dead quiet and the only sound was coming from the old kettle by the wall, bubbling away. Nanao couldn’t say he particularly liked the quiet but he could appreciate a moment of reprieve. With the first years were away on a school excursion and Ryouma at home dealing with family matters, Nanao was left alone with Kyotaro. Not that he minded that too much. He liked spending time with the other man, after all.
Although lately, Kyotaro had been very withdrawn. It was strange. They had all noticed it a few days ago but Kyotaro had insisted he was fine and just tired. Nanao had tried to dismiss it as requested (‘Kyotaro does know himself best’) and set himself to tormenting the others but he could always feel Kyotaro’s eyes on him. Even now, as they sat there in the eerie silence, Nanao felt something was wrong.
“Perhaps we should have gone straight to the bathhouse,” Kyotaro said suddenly, slicing through Nanao’s thoughts.
“What did you say?” The blonde raised an eyebrow and glanced over from where he was with the tea. Kyotaro moved from his usual hunched over position and looked back at Nanao. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“We should have skipped coming here. No one’s around. It’s just us. We could have gone straight to the bathhouse and taken the snacks with us. Would have saved us a walk up the stairs.” There was a pause before Nanao gave an airy laugh.
“My, my. So eager to see me naked, neh, Kyotaro-kun?” Nanao smiled at Kyotaro before he settled the tray on the table. He passed Kyotaro his cup before taking his own, smiling behind the faint trail of steam. “Or is there another reason why you’re in such a hurry today?”
“No reason. Just thought that we could have saved time. We could have left and rested in the tub for longer.”
“Tempting. Though if we did that, I would have had to miss out on this nice tea I brought in.” Nanao chuckled. “And I’d have to do so much work afterwards. Ryouma-kun isn’t coming along to stop you from drowning, Kyotaro-kun. You know I’m not as nice as him.”
“I know how nice you aren’t, Nanao-san.”
“You’re no bundle of flowers either, Kyotaro-kun. You’re an awful grouch for someone who gets so much beauty sleep.”
The younger man frowned and leaned his head back on the table. Nanao shook his head but a smirk still played on the corners of his lips. The teasing was all in good fun, after all. Nanao felt he could be intentionally meaner to Kyotaro which was a nice change of pace from Ryouma and Ichiro, whom he could torment without even trying. Kyotaro didn’t care really what was said. He had a unique understanding of him, unlike any of the other members.
The two of them settled in comfortable silence this time. Nanao sipped his hot drink and closed his eyes, letting the warm drink and Kyotaro’s calming aura wash over his body and wash away his earlier unease. Maybe Kyotaro was right. An early hot bath would be nice. They could probably get out early if they went now and maybe grab some dinner together afterwards. That’d be nice. It had been a while since they had some alone time together. Kyotaro didn’t care what he ate and usually left it to Nanao to decide. Sushi seemed good in this weather.
However, before he could even pitch his idea, Kyotaro suddenly stood up. Nanao’s eyes opened with the creak of the floorboards and he watched the younger man saunter up to him. Before Nanao could ask him what he was doing, Kyotaro dropped to his knees in front of Nanao. Nanao gave a small laugh as Kyotaro slumped forward, wrapping his arms around Nanao’s waist and burying his face into Nanao’s stomach.
“Well now… what brought this on, Kyotaro-kun?” Nanao put his drink down and ran his fingers lightly up Kyotaro’s spine. “Are you so tired that you can’t walk further to try find a pillow?”
“Sleepy...”
“And here I thought you wanted to head to the bath. I was going to tell you we could go after my drink.”
“Ah… Well… Good. Carry me then.”
“Nice try. Not going to happen.” Nanao tangled his fingers through the lilac curls and chuckled. “I’m perfectly fine here.”
“So am I. I’m always fine as long as I’m with you.”
“Wow, that was remarkably romantic of you. Probably the most romantic thing I’ve heard after two months of dating.”
“Ahh… right. We’re dating. I forgot.”
“Not going to lie, I forget that we are sometimes too. Perhaps I’ve become scatterbrained because I’m with you. The other day I called poor Ryouma-kun ‘Kyotaro’ twice. You guys don’t even look or act the same.”
“We’re in the same year. Close enough.” Kyotaro buried his face further into the man’s lap. Nanao debated on moving so Kyotaro could be more comfortable but he figured there was no point. Kyotaro really could fall asleep anywhere.
“Maybe we forgot because we’ve been spending a lot of time with the others lately.”
“I noticed.”
“Did you? Wow. You are paying attention more these days,” Nanao laughed, looking down at the man. Kyotaro gave a small yawn and looked up at Nanao with such sweet, endearing eyes. “You’re cute, Kyotaro-kun,” He patted the man’s head gently. “Very cute. I’d say that you’re giving the little ones a run for their money now.”
Kyotaro gave a small huff and nuzzled his face against Nanao’s stomach a little more, making the man laugh.
“You keep bringing them up.”
“Of course. They are my kids... and so are you, you know? My sleepy baby.” Kyotaro squeezed Nanao tighter for that in revenge and Nanao laughed. Usually, Kyotaro didn’t give him the satisfaction of a comical expression coming from one of his jokes so he had to rely on the others to get his fix of sadism. He had to admit, it was fun to get his boyfriend to react like this.
“I’m going to sleep.”
“You’re only proving my point, Kyotaro-kun.” Nanao looked down at him and couldn’t help but let a warm smile creep onto his face. “You’re so cold when I bring up the others during our time together. Don’t tell me you’re envious of the little ones and Ryouma-kun.”
“No… I’m not envious… You’re just noisy when you bring them up. You give me no time to rest.” Kyotaro’s eyes were hidden under his mop of hair but Nanao could practically hear the emotion drip out of the man’s usually tired voice. Nanao looked down in shock, suddenly feeling guilt hit him for what could possibly be the second time in his life.
“… You are envious.”
“I’m not envious. I guess I’m jealous if you want to insist on definitions… Maybe that’s why I’m so tired. Stressing about this sort of thing is exhausting.”
“You’re jealous of our friends… of having my attention?” Kyotaro didn’t respond. Nanao’s playful expression faltered a little. So… this was the reason why Kyotaro had been quiet lately. Nanao had just thought that he was just tired and wanted to sleep, which was why he had been diverting his attention to everyone else in the club. Had he been neglecting Kyotaro? Was Kyotaro actually worried about how interested he was in him?
Nanao’s hands went to Kyotaro’s face. He cupped the man’s cheeks and tilted him up, forcing Kyotaro to look up at him. Nanao was still smiling but it was clear he was taking things very, very seriously.
“You asked me out, right?”
“Mmm…”
“And I said ‘yes’, right?”
“I think so?”
“I did. Do you know why I agreed to go out with you? And why I asked you to be my boyfriend at all?” Nanao could feel Kyotaro shake his head. Nanao sighed softly and leaned over, kissing the man gently on the lips. “It’s because I really like you. I… love you, Kyotaro. I fell in love with you, not the others. They’re dear to me, but you’re number one. You’re not going to lose me. So don’t fret, alright?”
“Mmm…” Kyotaro let a lazy smile come over his face. He hugged Nanao. “If that’s all then… I’m going to sleep better now.”
“I wasn’t aware you were sleeping poorly before.” Nanao squeezed him back. “If you want more of my attention, let me know. But make sure you know what you’re getting into. I really don’t know if you can handle what I have to offer.”
“Mmm… Sounds exhausting. I’ll have to think about that later…” Nanao’s eyes lit up.
He didn’t say ’no’.
Kyotaro slowly stood up. With surprising strength, he pulled Nanao up to his feet, bringing the man up against him. He kissed Nanao on the forehead.
“You really are very cute, Kyotaro-kun.”
“… Maybe we should skip the baths and go straight home. Skip to the bedroom.”
“Usually I’d be delighted by such a request from my boyfriend but you’re not falling asleep on me, Kyotaro-kun. Not after that confession,” Nanao laughed, even though his face was as red as Kyotaro’s. “Let’s go to the baths and go out to eat. We’ll spend all night together one way or another. Then maybe I’ll see if I can sleep over.” Nanao squeezed his hand. “How does that sound?”
Kyotaro smiled and let Nanao walk him out the door.
“Yeah… just you and me… Sounds nice…”