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The wind caresses softly against his exposed skin as if a cool breeze that constantly blows over his body beneath the blaring summer sun. Along with the wind, comes refreshing air with which he breathes. Compared to the busy and hustling atmosphere in Shibuya, the air here is so much better, it feels clean and fresh. Perhaps because it's about 8 in the morning, but there is no way Shibuya could ever compare to this town.
The new scenery around him also supposedly helps to clear up his mind. They are currently passing a large, stretching paddy field, and it almost looks like there's no end to it. People have been up from the moment the sun starts to sheepishly peek into the Earth to work. There is so much green and so many squares filled with stalks of paddy. Added with the soft hum of the motorcycle engine he's riding, things should be calming.
Unfortunately, that is not the case. His heart is beating fast. His mind is running all sorts of thoughts. He couldn't focus on the ride. He's a nervous wreck. He tries his best to regulate his breathing to avoid the worst thing possible: the person driving the vehicle feeling his intense heartbeats due to the lack of distance between them. He doesn't want him to know how his heart is going haywire right now, no matter how futile his effort is.
"Are you enjoying this, Ryuji?"
Too bad for him, a sudden question from the driver snaps him out of his desperate effort to calm his nerves.
"H-huh? Oh, yeah! I like it!" he answers in a splutter of words, internally cursing the circumstances and himself.
The driving teen turns his head to look at his brown eyes for a little while and flash a bright, wide smile before returning his focus back to the streets. It's super effective against him that Ryuji could've sworn his heart didn't only go crazy this time, but also skipped a few beats altogether. He's sure the heat in his face shows how red he is now. His hug on the other boy's body tightens. He's such a mess.
"Is there something bothering your mind?"
Dammit, another sudden question, "Wh-what?"
"You... I feel like you're nervous, is there something wrong?"
"N-n-n-n-n-no!" he lies and fails, "Nothing's wrong!"
"You can't lie to me, 'Yuji," says the boy. A bit of teasing tone comes from his last word, prompting the blond to raise an eyebrow before taking in a deep, defeated sigh.
Dammit, of course he would know.
"N-no... it's just that, I've never ridden a motorcycle before and," he gulps and his next sentence comes in a lower volume, "I've never been this close with you in public before..."
His last word seems to trail off in a semblance of coherence. This is so awkward, and he hates it. Why does he have to be this nervous? Why does a simple morning motorcycle ride turn him into such a mess? Why does he also feel quite happy doing this? So happy, in fact, that it's about to overwhelm him? He feels the heat from his face is climbing onto his ears.
It also doesn't help that a little pause comes between his words and the reply to it. It might not mean a lot, but that little space of silence makes him feel even more like a mess. This is relaxing, yet he couldn't quite feel the calmness. All he feels is just a nerve-wracking happiness and... a few other feelings he couldn't describe. All of that feels amplified tenfold before the other boy finally lets out a little chuckle and talks, "To be honest, I'm also nervous."
Huh?
Wait, what?
"Wait, what?" Ryuji asks, uttering his thought out loud, “The hell you mean by that, Akira?!”
"This is Inaba, my hometown," Akira starts, unbothered by the passenger's sudden nervous outburst, "A-and... to have you here for a whole two weeks of summer makes me so happy I almost hugged the life out of Mona when I heard the news. That’s why I'm kind of nervous now.”
"B-but you sound calm this whole ride!" Ryuji refutes with all his might. He somehow feels even more like a mess now that he knows Akira's able to keep a calm façade, “Besides, the others are also here!”
"Well, the others will understand. I-It’s also not like they’ve woken up already,” the teen tries his best to sound cool and composed, but his true feelings start to get to him, “Besides, I have to be calm. We don't want to fall of the motorcycle now, do we?”
Oh.
"Oh...," a short reply comes from the blond. It's concise, but packed with emotions, "Oh, yeah... r-right."
Another pause sits between them, but now it's more like a silence. A knowing silence in which they both realize how they both are like a jumble of untangled strings right now. They both are nervous and in an awkward state, trying their best to stay calm in each other's presence and on this motorcycle. Ryuji still feels like a total shipwreck, but now that he knows Akira shares the same sentiment, he feels a bit better. Only a bit. There is still something that he wants– no, there is something that he needs to do before truly feeling better about this whole thing.
Suddenly, Akira feels something climbing up from his stomach, up to his chest. He feels a sudden wave of shock hitting him.
"R-Ryuji?! What are you doing?!" whispers Akira, trying his best to not shout in the early morning.
The curly-haired teen almost yelps, but couldn't. Perhaps it's his reflex as an ex-thief coming in, maybe it's the thought of falling off the motorcycle that stops him from losing focus. Whatever it is, he's grateful for it, but by the gods up there, he almost jumped out of his seat when Ryuji's hand suddenly climbs up to his chest and stops just above his heart.
"You're crazy nervous, man," claims Ryuji as if he didn't just do something that shouldn't be done on the road.
"Of course I am! You're hugging me from behind like this in public!"
"But why?"
"H-huh?!” Akira stammers uncontrollably, spitting out the only appropriate response to Ryuji's sudden question. His mask has been torn off by the blond's innocuous intention, and now his true form of being the other nervous wreck in this ride has been revealed completely.
"Well, y'know...," the blond places his head on Akira's back, "Um... why you're nervous when you asked for this in, uh, in the first place."
Now it's his turn to regulate his breathing. Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out, there is nothing to worry about. Focus on the streets, safety first, boyfriend second. Calm down and they'll arrive in one piece. Panic and he'll be ashamed for the rest of his life with the possibility of suffering some wounds. Everything's fine, everything's okay. His mind gradually starts to clear up a bit and Ryuji's question also begins to register. What was it again, why did he do this in the first place?
That's a good question, he has to admit.
"I...," Akira starts again, still trying his best to stay calm and collected. He's lucky this is not a big road, otherwise he might've stopped by a shop to calm down, any shop, "I just wanted to take you out on a ride."
"What?"
"Y-you know...," oh, now the pink is on Akira's face, "How couples do a motorcycle ride? And the other hugs the driver from behind? The one usually shown in movies? I... I've actually been wanting to do that with you."
"O-oh...," another short, emotion-packed response comes from Ryuji after a short pause.
"Since I'm back in Inaba, that is...," the black-haired teen continues, "Remember how I said I got my license a few months back?”
“Yeah,” the blond answers, silently trying to guess where this conversation's going to go.
A deep breath precedes the curly-haired teen's next string of words, “W-well… I, uh, I… did that f-for this. For you.”
Fuck.
“Oh, I-I see…”
There is no more response coming from the blond. At least, no verbal response, since the driver feels the hug from behind tightens. He could also feel the intense heartbeat on his back. He's sure his boyfriend must be as red as tomato now with his face buried on his back. That looks so cute on his mind, but he still has to drive and his mind is still not completely calm yet. Nonetheless, it makes him very happy that he just wants to stop and hug the blond so tight in front of everyone. Akira takes a deep breath, trying his best to manage his emotions.
"Thanks, 'Kira."
It might come out muffled, but the thanked one hears it loud and clear. He can't help but to have a proud smile on his face upon hearing that.
"No problem, 'Yuji."