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Satoru woke slowly. The sunlight pouring in from the window forced him to a state of alertness. The smell of peppermint immediately filled his nose. It was nice; not what he usually went for in terms of shampoo, but it seemed to fit Yuuji.
Yuuji.
The man that was still sleeping in his arms.
The man that, for some reason, wanted him. Chose him.
He didn’t want to admit it to himself, at least not at first; but Yuuji had enthralled him from the moment they had first met.
Yuuji’s energy was contagious. He was warm, open, and was just so good-natured. Everything Satoru was not.
He wasn’t surprised when students and staff alike began to flock toward him. In his classroom, his students would constantly recommend their friends to go see Itadori-sensei, the new school counselor. In the teacher’s lounge, everyone would talk about how he’s so approachable and a good role model for the students.
Satoru had been working at the school for three years and still didn’t know as many people as Yuuji did after being there for only six months. Not that he really cared about making friends.
Still, Yuuji was different. Maybe it was how he laughed at Satoru’’s inappropriate jokes during staff meetings, or how he was the only person that didn’t treat Satoru like he was a nuisance. Yuuji genuinely seemed interested in what he had to say.
It also helped that Yuuji was funny as fuck. He didn’t anticipate that. Anytime they had a conversation, he found himself laughing hysterically. If humor was the way to a man’s heart, then Yuuji had him; mind, body, and soul. There was something oddly refreshing about meeting someone that had the same brand of humor as you. Someone that was quick to call you out on your bullshit. The more time he spent with Yuuji, the more he found himself wanting.
He knew it was a hopeless wish. Yuuji could literally have anyone in this school, and there was no way if given the choice, he would willingly pick him. Satoru heard what people said about him, and he’d long since stopped caring. it was a small town and he didn’t try to hide his family drama. That didn’t mean Yuuji wouldn’t care. No one wanted to be tied to his reputation, no matter the number of zeroes he could write on a check.
Satoru did what he did best, he made light of the situation. Hid his feelings behind cheap shots and smart-ass remarks. It wasn’t until one chilly night they were both on football duty. Football duty is by far the most boring duty, but the company was nice so he didn’t try to get out of it. Yuuji stayed by his side the entire night. They were talking about everything and nothing. Funny stories about their students to Yuuji’s less than satisfying roommate situation. To his surprise, Yuuji asked him to get a drink.
One night of drinks turned into a weekly thing, and soon they were spending their lunches together. It wasn’t long after they went out for dinner and Yuuji stood outside his porch looking like sin in his tight shirt, bathed in the moonlight.
The next thing Satoru knew Yuuji’s lips were on his.
He wasn’t sure who moved first, but neither of them made to stop it. Satoru knew it was hopeless as soon as he felt those soft lips on his. It was as if a dam had broken inside of him, and he was now lost to the current, so he held on tight to Yuuji like he was his lifeline.
That was 3 months ago.
It was still hard for him to believe sometimes that Yuuji wanted him.
Yuuji chose that moment to join the world of the living. His eyes slowly fluttering open.
Those beautiful eyes focused on him, the emotion he found in those honey-hued eyes caused him to blush as he stared into them. People often complimented him on his eyes, but they didn’t hold a candle to the love he found in Yuuji’s.
“Good morning,” he whispered to his lover.
“Morning,” Yuuji’s smile was soft, open.
“How long have you been awake?”
“Not long.”
Yuuji yawned, “We should go back to sleep, it’s Saturday.”
“Hm, nope. We don’t have time to sleep. We have plans.”
“Plans?”
“Plans,” Satoru confirmed.
“How long have we had these plans exactly?”
Satoru pretended to think, knowing he had just thought of them a minute ago, “Oh, forever. I’m hurt you don’t remember.”
Yuuji looked him in the eyes, “Sure.”
His response forced a smile on his face. Yuuji saw right through him. It used to scare him to have someone that could see through the facade. Someone that was able to see him. Now, he was just glad to have someone that didn’t leave after seeing everything.
Not that it wasn’t a fear of his. Anytime they fought, or when Yuuji declined sex, or just wanted to be alone. He always thought it was over because that’s what he was accustomed to. People using him, not caring, and he usually didn’t mind.
It all changed with Yuuji.
“C’mon, you need to get dressed.” As loathe as he was to leave his warm bed and leave Yuuji, he stood up.
“Where exactly are we going?”
“Can’t tell, it’s a surprise.”
“How can I get ready if I don’t know what to wear? Actually, I only have my clothes from last night.”
Satoru raked his eyes up and down Yuuji’s body in bed. The man was clad in nothing but black boxers, hair an unruly mess, and sleep lines on his face, “ I think the way you look now is perfect.”
“You need to get your eyes checked, I told you not to wear sunglasses all the time. It’s not natural.”
He smiled as he turned away, voice low, “Oh, Yuuji. If only you could see yourself through my eyes.”
Knowing the man didn’t hear him, he started going through his closet. In the back, he found exactly what he was looking for. Grabbing the overnight bag he started to open drawers and stuff the bag with what he needed.
Turning, he found Yuuji still in bed. The younger man was scrolling on his phone,
Satoru frowned.
“Yuuji,” he whined, “why haven’t you moved?”
“I’m coming, I’m coming.”
Satoru smirked, “No, that won’t be happening until much later in the evening. I appreciate your eagerness, though.”
The look he was given was nothing less than perfect. His face may have been unamused, but Satoru could see the light pink kissing his cheeks.
“I still don’t know what to wear.”
“I told you, what you’re wearing now is perfect.”
“Somehow, I doubt that.”
“Fine, what you wore yesterday will work. I promise.”
Walking out of the room, he left to continue gathering supplies for this last-minute surprise he’d planned.
Twenty minutes later found the two of them on the road. Satoru’s convertible was perfect for the warm weather. Plus, he knew Yuuji loved it when he left the top down.
It wasn’t long until they pulled up to their destination.
“The beach?! You could have told me! I don’t have any swim shorts.”
He shook his head, smirking at his lover.
“Oh, ye of little faith. I brought everything we need,” he tapped the overnight bag he had brought, “c’mon let’s get changed.”
After they were both in their swimwear, they started looking for a place to eat. Satoru found an açaí bowl place for them to do a grab-and-go.
“The beach, huh?” Yuuji asked him as they sat on a towel eating their breakfast, “I didn’t think you’d be a big beach person.”
“You’d be surprised, I love the beach.”
“Me too,” Yuuji smiled into the sun.
Satoru knew this. Of course, he did. It was why he picked the beach, he had overheard Yuuji talking to one of the other school counselors about wanting to go to the beach now that the weather was warming up some.
Satoru was people watching, it seemed many people were out to enjoy the warm weather. There was a little kid trying and failing to build a sandcastle; he knew Yuuji would get a kick out of that. He turned, lips prepped to speak, and found himself unable to form a sound.
Yuuji was staring at him, a lazy smile decorating his face. Satoru could only gape at Yuuji’s eyes. The sun reflecting off them enhancing the gold specks hidden in his whiskey hues. Yuuji’s eyes were, without a doubt, his favorite thing about the man.
Yuuji never looked at him the way everyone else did; as if he were a spoiled brat or a constant annoyance. No; Yuuji looked at him as if he were a god. As if the sun and moon were his to command. He was a selfish man, so he couldn’t deny the thrill he felt whenever those eyes were on him.
“Beautiful,” he found himself saying, the kid and sandcastle long forgotten.
Yuuji chuckled, pink dusting his cheeks as he ducked his head. “Stop, you’re embarrassing me.”
“It’s a fact. You and those eyes.”
“What? My eyes are just plain brown. They have nothing on yours.”
Satoru rolled said eyes. He was used to hearing that. He had been told his entire life his eyes were special. He remembered the stares, but mostly he remembered the rude comments.
Good thing he’s handsome and smart because his attitude is terrible.
Too bad the personality doesn’t match the eyes.
After a while he grew to resent his eyes; it was why he decided to keep them covered with sunglasses most of the time.
“I’m serious, Satoru. Your eyes are beautiful.”
“I know,” he sighed, “they’re the first thing people notice about me, and they tend to be the only thing they like about me after they meet me.”
Yuuji looked contemplative for a moment before speaking, “It wasn’t like that for me. Don’t get me wrong, I noticed them; but the first thing I noticed about you was your smile. You were laughing at a joke you made and your smile was brilliant and so full of joy.
Satoru found himself unable to speak, yet again. Not that it mattered Yuuji, it seemed, wasn’t finished.
“I guess your eyes were maybe the third or fourth thing I noticed.” He watched as Yuuji casually shrugged as if he hadn’t just thrown Satoru’s world for a spin with the confession.”
“Huh. You are something, Yuuji.”
Yuuji smiled at the compliment.
“Are you done eating?”
Satoru glanced down at his half-eaten bowl before nodding, “You want to surf?”
“Surf? The water is probably freezing.”
“Oh, Yuuji. Are you afraid of a little cold? Besides, look, no one is in there now. We’d have the ocean to ourselves.”
“Yeah, because we would be the only ones dumb enough to be in the cold.”
Satoru leaned in close to Yuuju until his lips were hovering slightly over the man’s neck. His familiar scent comforting him. He pressed a chaste kiss in the crook of his neck, before trailing kisses up his face and to his ear.
He smirked when he felt Yuuji shiver. “I can think of some ways to keep you warm in the ocean.”
He bit his lip, watching as Yuuji contemplated.
“This is such a bad idea,” Yuuji resigned, “we’re probably going to catch a cold.”
“I never get sick. But, if you do, I’ll nurse you back to health.”
Satoru stood up, then turned reaching his hand out to Yuuji’s.
“You’re ridiculous,” Yuuji said, accepting his hand nonetheless.
Satoru threw his head back and smiled. Was it a bad idea to go swimming in the ocean? Probably. Did he care? Not at all.
It was hard to care about anything outside of the feeling of Yuuji’s hand in his.