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When Torao suggests to go and visit a new place that was recommended to him on the upcoming Saturday evening, Touma is more than merry and ready to join – though, Minami unexpectedly foils that plan.
"I'm sorry, but Inumaru-san and I have a prior engagement."
Touma turns his head towards Minami in light speed. Do they..?
If he wasn't so upset about forgetting such an engagement with Minami he'd find himself chuckling at the almost identical pouts that formed on both Torao's and Haruka's faces.
“Ara, ara, no need to be in a huff now.”, Minami continues to smile, “there is always next week, right?”
“Hmm..”, Torao draws out the tone, eyes narrowed, “Well, I guess if you two wanna have some alone time, Haruka and I are not needed. Haruka?”
“Torao and I can have fun by ourselves.”, Haruka agrees and pokes his tongue out that them.
Touma is torn between feeling happy about their jealousy and the need to not make them feel left out but as it is, he can't even remember when and where and especially what he agreed to do with Minami on Saturday evening.
“Uh, Mina?”, he utters after Torao and Haruka have left the room and Minami nestles a palm against his own cheek.
“Don't tell me you forgot, Inumaru-san?”
“I-I'm sorry!”, Touma sputters hastily, “I really.. I..”
“Fufu.”, Minami chuckles and gives him an even wider smile, “I was just teasing you.”
Touma gives him a confused look, cheeks flushed from agitation and Minami's expression softens.
“I apologize. I just decided this by myself a moment ago – we actually haven't planned anything. But if you don't mind I would like to make a request.”
“S-Sure. What is it?"
Minami brushes a strand of hair behind his ear and lowers his gaze. If Touma didn't know any better he'd think that Minami is acting shy.
* * *
Touma is about to cut the plastic package open when the doorbell rings and it startles him to a point he almost drops the scissors he is holding. Which wouldn't have made any difference since he drops them right away to hurry to answer the door.
“I suppose I'm a little early.”, Minami says as Touma opens up to him wearing an apron.
“Don't worry, I'm almost done.”, Touma answers with a smile and makes way, “Come in.”
Minami carefully sets his bag down onto the floor, and follows Touma into the kitchen after taking off his shoes and outerwear. There are multiple used pots, cooking utensils, the leftovers of green onions, a bottle of soy sauce, the smell of warm meat and several other spices Minami is unable to identify right on the spot.
Next to the stove he discovers a piece of paper that seemingly has a ton of handwritten notes on it and Touma's phone is leaning against a box right behind it, a paused video on display. Minami is only able to see the image of a pot before Touma literally blocks his view and hurriedly pushes the phone into the pocket of his pants, crumpling the piece of paper.
“Sorry about the mess in here, I didn't have the time to put anything away yet.”, Touma is flustered and Minami folds his hands behind his back, smiling.
Touma's dedication to get this right even though it's his first time doing it makes Minami incredibly happy. It only takes him a few quiet steps until he stands right next to Touma.
“I only need to drain the noodles and then-”
“Inumaru-san.”
Touma turns his head towards Minami and freezes in place when Minami's hands reach out to cup his cheeks. Touma is sure his brain shut down for a moment because one second Minami's face fill his vision and in the next he feels their lips touch. He immediately closes his eyes to enjoy the sensation of it and his skin heats up as Minami pulls back slightly to give him a peck right afterwards.
“Thank you very much, I really appreciate your efforts.”, Minami whispers when he finally breaks their contact.
“Of course..”, Touma replies absentmindedly, his mind hazy.
Minami chuckles.
“I'm going to leave you alone now and unpack my things so keep doing your best in the meantime.”
Touma briefly shakes his head to get rid of his daze like a dog trying to dry itself off.
“Unpack?”
A sly smile widens Minami's lips and his eyes narrow with amusement.
“Our job starts tomorrow afternoon so I thought I'd use the chance and stay the night. Do you have any objections to that? If so, I will leave after we had dinner of course.”
“Ah, no, none? That's okay with me, I mean- sure?”, Touma almost knots his tongue talking so fast and he gulps after Minami has left the kitchen.
One thing Touma is sure of is that Minami will never stop to surprise him.
And he continues to do so when Touma carefully places a ramen bowl in front of Minami before he sits down on the opposite side of the table to place the second one in front of himself.
“Thank you for the meal.”, Minami says politely and folds his hands.
Touma mimics him but unlike Minami, he stays still after taking the chopsticks into his hand. He is way too nervous to eat, the anticipation to hear Minami's opinion on his cooking almost ripping him apart.
The world slows down when Minami casts his gaze downwards, his slender fingers brushing his hair behind his ear again, though there is almost nothing there to put in place and Touma guesses that, more than actually needed, the movement has become sort of a habit of Minami's.
Touma loves Minami's hair, it's soft to the touch. It sometimes tickles his neck when they hug but he loves the smell of it. What's that product Minami uses again? He asked him once but somehow he forgot the name. All he remembers is the discreet and pleasant scent of it – a little flowery and sweet but there's also a kind of spice to it. It suits Minami like nothing else.
The sound of Minami placing his chopsticks onto the table rips Touma out of his thoughts and he notices that Minami is looking at him intensely.
“I taste-tested it but is it bad after all? Is it too bland? Wait, I can get you some-”, Touma says and intends to stand up but Minami quickly reaches across the table to grasp his wrist and hold him off.
“Inumaru-san,”, he says softly, “don't worry. I like everything exactly the way it is.”
Touma pauses. For some reason, for some really weird reason, he gets the feeling that Minami isn't solely talking about the soup. Maybe it's due to the way Minami looks at him, maybe it's the unusual tightness of his grip, maybe the way he has said it. Whatever it is, he only manages to nod before he relaxes into his chair again.
“Since you granted my request to cook ramen for me, I will grant your request as well.”, Minami lets go of his wrist and picks the chopsticks back up.
“I don't remember requesting anything, though?”, Touma replies confused and quirks a brow.
“You wanted me to make a food report before, right?”, Minami explains and tilts his head, “I didn't get the chance to do it on the radio broadcast, so I will do it now.. A report on Inumaru-san's homemade ramen.”
“Hah?! But that was months ago? And..”, Touma's voice trails off as Minami's expression falters and his eyebrows draw together, “...uh, please, go on.”
Minami briefly closes his eyes and clears his throat.
“The broth is rich in flavor, the pork meat is sliced evenly and the noodles have the perfect softness. As far as I can tell the vegetables are fresh and the egg is boiled perfectly. It was served hot and nicely arranged. I can't find any flaw with it – the cook obviously put a lot of love into it. Hundred points.”
After a short silence, Touma's face breaks into a bright smile and Minami feels his heart squeezed. That reaction is even better than he expected.
“Thanks, Mina!”, Touma grins happily, “Glad you like it!”
Having Minami's approval, Touma is finally able to eat his own share. Minami even asks for seconds and he can't help but wonder again how Minami is able to eat so much while maintaining such a slender body.
After they're done, Touma postpones doing the dishes to the next day and flops down onto the couch to wait for Minami who went to change into more comfortable clothes. He turns the TV on and checks his phone for messages until Minami returns, wearing sweatpants and a plain T-Shirt.
“An interesting movie?”, Minami asks as he sits down next to Touma and glances at the screen.
“Ah, I didn't really pay attention. Let's see..”
“No need to look it up, Inumaru-san. I know that movie,”, Minami says and shoots him a smile, “because I star in it.”
Touma's mouth gapes open before his face lights up like a child's and Minami can practically see his imaginary tail wagging.
“In that case, let's watch it? You only missed about 10 minutes of it.”
Minami is able to relax into the couch for about a second before Touma calls out to him.
“Mina.”
He looks over at Touma and he curls his toes at the sight. Touma has outstretched his arms, his face flushed and irresistible puppy eyes are aimed at him. Minami hopes that Touma will never become aware of how powerful they actually are.
Minami bites his bottom lip fleetingly and he feels his heart thump against the inside of his chest a bit faster and harder than before.
“May I?”
“I wouldn't have asked you if I didn't want it.”, Touma answers bashfully.
“But, you didn't ask anything at all.”, Minami chuckles and crawls in-between Touma's legs to cautiously rest his body onto his, nestling his head against Touma's chest and right underneath his chin.
“So nit-picky..”, Touma huffs, obviously a bit embarrassed and hauls the blanket that's draped on the backrest to cover them both with it.
They watch the movie in silence until Minami feels Touma nuzzle the top of his head and suddenly, his senses grow sharp. Every sensation got amplified, like someone turning the volume of a radio up to it's full capacity.
The pressure of Touma's fingertips against his waist feels intense even though it's actually almost non-existent, the heat of his body crawls through his shirt and right onto and underneath Minami's own skin. The sound of Touma's shallow breathing, usually not noticeable being drowned out by the noises coming from the TV makes Minami's heart race.
It's as if he has guessed his thoughts, Touma removes a palm from Minami's waist and places it on the back of his head to pet him repeatedly. Since Minami knows the movie inside out, he closes his eyes and enjoys the intimacy instead – something he wouldn't have been able to just a while back.
He wouldn't have been able to let someone invade his core. Being vulnerable is scary. Trusting someone is scary; the risk of getting hurt is just too big of a burden for Minami. At least, it used to be like that.
Touma somehow managed to slip in through a crack, a tiny little crack in Minami's armor made of teasing and emotional distance. Wiggled his way in and so far, he cherished Minami's heart, made him feel safe being loved and made him feel safe loving someone.
They haven't been dating for long and it should be obvious by now but it's still scary, it's still nerve-wrecking and there's still that spark of fear deep inside him, gnawing at him, that Touma might betray his trust. He just can't shake that thought off entirely. But Minami feels that he's walking that road now, facing ahead – and he wants to give himself to Touma in every possible way, he's afraid of it as much as he desires it. For Touma to see who he really is and still want to be with him.
Minami sighing and briefly rubbing his cheek against his chest drags Touma's attention away from the screen.
He knows that Minami only sighs like that when his thoughts are spiraling. It's strange, Touma thinks, why does he know? He's been in a few relationships before and he always tries to be attentive towards other people but he never got to know any of his previous partners to the extent of knowing what they were going through just by hearing them sigh a certain way.
Well, Minami is certainly different. Always has been, always will be. With Minami, everything feels different – yet so much better. It's as if Touma is in love for the very first time, claiming a seat in that cliché of an emotional roller coaster. A single one of Minami's looks and the hair on his nape will stand up, a single innocent touch makes his nerves spark, a simple kiss and his head is up in the clouds. He loves Minami so much and sometimes he doesn't know where to put his love because he fears that Minami might feel smothered if he approaches him too eagerly.
Like a snake feeling threatened, Minami might rebuild his walls even higher than before, might return to that defensive stance Touma put so much effort into pushing down as gently and carefully as possible. It fills him with so much happiness that Minami allows him close by now, both physically and emotionally, allows him advance trust and he definitely doesn't want to disappoint him especially when Minami is being so brave.
Touma squeezes Minami with his entire body and places a kiss on the top of his head.
“Inumaru-san.”
Ah, shit. Did he overdo it after all?
Minami squirms in order to prop the weight of his torso onto his forearms and looks straight at Touma.
“You are not paying attention to the movie at all, am I right?”
Touma bites his lip and much to his dismay, a veil of sadness covers Minami's face.
“Sorry, Mina. I was thinking.”, Touma eventually replies and idly plays with the tips of Minami's hair.
“Something important?”
The question carries both subtle hurt and an insecurity Minami is most likely not even aware of, but Touma is and he doesn't like it at all.
“Yes.”, he says softly and caresses Minami's cheek, “I was thinking about you.”
Minami is speechless and if the situation wasn't as delicate as it is, Touma would fondly chuckle at his expression. A faint tint of pink darkens Minami's skin and he finally manages to find words to say.
“What is there to think about? I'm right here with you, Inumaru-san.”
It's a pout, sweet and oddly honest, so lovely Touma almost throws his rational mind out of the window.
“Yeah.”, Touma whispers with a soft smile and leans forward to make the tips of their noses touch, “And I'm so happy you're here with me.”
There it is again, the flicker of regret and doubt that always seems to pass through Minami's mind like a lighting bolt, stifling the light in his eyes for a split second whenever Touma provides him with any warmth that might leave Minami with severe burns someday.
Though, the darkness vanishes as fast as it came and instead, Minami gulps before he closes the distance between their lips. Against the expectation of Touma's own fears, Minami relaxes noticeably into the tight embrace that follows another kiss.
Later on, Minami even seeks the very same warmth that has the potential to hurt him greatly by snuggling up close to Touma face to face when they move to the bed for the night. He lets Touma hold his hand, kiss his knuckles lovingly, and for the first time in a long, long while Minami feels nothing but bliss being shrouded in the warmth of another person.