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Atsushi had to literally drag En over the doorstep of his own house.
They came home from an exhausting fight against a Treadmill Monster that seemed to have a special aversion towards En. Once they had defeated the monster they found out that it was actually a boy from 2nd grade who had perfect P.E. grades but apparently couldn’t swim which got him an F and he therefore hated water.
But whatever its reason, the monster had relentlessly chased En around until he could barely stand anymore. Atsushi was actually surprised they even made it as far as to his home.
En's mother opened the door to Atsushi's ringing when En couldn't even get his keys out anymore. Her eyes widened and she worriedly glanced at Atsushi as soon as she saw the state En was in, but he waved her off quickly. “I'm sorry, he just couldn't take his nap today so he ended up kind of falling asleep on the way home.” He had prepared himself for this conversation.
But unfortunately En's mother didn't seem convinced. “What's this?” she asked, pointing at a nastily darkening bruise on En's arm. Atsushi had not prepared for this .
His brain ran a mile an hour trying to come up with a believable excuse. In the end he stammered, “Well, he was so tired that he ran into a doorframe….”
En's mother's look of concern suddenly turned into a happy smile. “Oh, don't worry, Atsushi-kun. I'm just teasing you. I know my son well enough. I can imagine what happened.” Atsushi let out a sigh of relief. “Now let's get you inside, I'm sure he's getting heavy.”
Atsushi agreed that her son was indeed providing less and less support in holding himself up and together they heaved him towards his bedroom and onto his futon. With a faint blush on his cheeks he offered to change En into his pyjamas.
The smile on En's mother's face made him feel slightly uncomfortable.
When he was done, Atsushi searched for her to say goodbye but before he even had the chance to open his mouth, she chirped, “Say, Atsushi-kun, why don't you stay over tonight? It's gotten plenty late and I'd feel bad sending you out when it's already this dark. It’s the weekend anyway.”
Atsushi tried to protest but, again, he was interrupted before he could even start. “You see, I made enough food for three, but now En is sleeping already and my husband just called that he'd have to work overtime today. So now I not only have too much food but I'm also lonely.”
Atsushi opened and closed his mouth until he finally gave in and dejectedly agreed, “Alright, but I'll need to call my parents.”
En's mother had pouted just a moment ago but her lips quickly pulled into a wide grin. “Actually, I've already done that for you. Now come, let's eat. I’ll lay the guest futon out after dinner.”
With a last reluctant sigh, Atsushi sat down at the dinner table.
All throughout the admittedly delicious meal, En’s mother kept chatting away; about gossip from her workplace, about the weather, about her family including her husband and En. Whenever he deemed it polite, Atsushi replied or simply nodded, but for most of the time she was just talking to herself.
Sometimes, Atsushi wondered how En had ended up being as lazy as he was now with a mother as energetic as his. She smiled at him and said, “He puts in enough effort whenever he gets passionate about something.” It took Atsushi a moment to realise he had said his earlier thought out loud.
In what felt like a montage of flashbacks, Atsushi recalled several times when En had become untypically active about the weirdest matters. He remembered the Binanshi Contests, the cake En had baked for his birthday, their Christmas party and how he had saved him from the Kotatsu Monster, even when he had been under its spell. The last one made his cheeks feel hot but with a chuckle he finally agreed, “Yes, he sure does.”
En’s mother continued, “It’s good that he has friends like you who keep him active. I’m really glad you’re there for him.”
She kept her eyes locked on Atsushi in a way that made him squirm in his chair. It felt like she was very much aware of the fact that what Atsushi felt for her son was more than just friendship. As soon as he was done eating, he excused himself to, as he said, see if En was okay and to get the guest futon out. He hurriedly came back to clear the table of his dishes. As he scurried towards En’s room he could hear En’s mother laugh and call behind him, “Take good care of him, Atsushi-kun.”
Atsushi would probably never understand what was going on in that woman's head. He was incredibly happy that En was more straight about his thoughts.
Quietly, Atsushi entered En’s bedroom and sure enough his friend was still sleeping soundly. He smiled to himself as he watched his En breathing peacefully and slowly. He really deserved this rest after today’s fight.
On tiptoes Atsushi made his way over to En’s closet where he knew the spare futon was being stored. He’d stayed over enough times to take it out even in the darkness of the room. Silently he spread it out next to En’s and went back to get the bedding and his pyjamas as well. He had also stayed over often enough that the guest futon had basically turned into his futon and he kept spare clothes over at all times.
Once he was lying next to En, Atsushi tried hard to sleep but he just couldn’t. He was wide awake and the knowing look on his friend’s mother's face kept showing up in front of his inner eye. His cheeks felt hot again.
He rolled onto his side, like he always did at home when his humongous crush on his best friend left him feeling embarrassed. But instead of facing his bleak wall at home he was suddenly left looking right at the source of his troubles.
Even in the darkness Atsushi could see En’s long eyelashes. He could see how his lips parted slightly as he exhaled. Atsushi had lost count of how many times he had imagined kissing those lips but more than anything he didn’t want to ruin their friendship.
A strand of sandy hair fell into En’s face. With his heart thumping Atsushi reached out his hand to brush it aside when En’s eyes fluttered open. Atsushi froze, his hand hovering in the space between them.
“Atsushi?” En’s voice was just as slurred as Atsushi would’ve expected. “What time is it?”
“I’m sorry, En-chan, did I wake you up? It’s fine, you can sleep more.” And just because he didn't know what else to say he added, “Good work today, En-chan.”
En blinked twice, before he replied, “Yeah, thanks.”
And then he grabbed Atsushi’s hand to pull him to his chest and gently pressed their lips together.
While Atsushi tried to process what had just happened En let go of his hand and was fast asleep again just a second later.
That night, Atsushi didn’t get any sleep.
Atsushi woke up—or rather he stopped trying to fall asleep—early the next morning. His thoughts were still full of the kiss of the previous night. His head felt like it was spinning and he kept wondering just how he should face En when he'd wake up.
The boy next to him stirred awake. “Good morning,” En mumbled and blinked his eyes open. “Wait, Atsushi? Why’re you here?”
Atsushi’s heart was racing but En's question threw him off. Was he still half asleep? “Eh? En-chan, I stayed over last night after getting you home, don't you remember?”
En rubbed his eyes sleepily. Atsushi's heart skipped a beat.
“The last thing I remember is you ringing the doorbell here... “ En said and stretched. Then he groaned, “Ugh, my whole body hurts.”
Immediately, Atsushi forget all about his embarrassment. “Ah, are you okay? The monster did get you pretty bad.”
He took a breath to undoubtedly voice more worries but En quickly put his hand over his mouth—or as quickly as he could in his sleepy state without having to sit up. “I'm okay, Atsushi, I just feel sore.”
Atsushi let out a relieved breath against En's hand before he retrieved it. En finally did sit up and with a faint grin he noted, “Did you even change me into my pyjamas last night?”
Atsushi’s cheeks immediately darkened. He sputtered, “We see each other almost naked basically every day. This isn't anything to be embarrassed about.”
“I think the only one who's embarrassed here is you, Atsushi,” En chuckled but Atsushi thought that he could see a faint blush rising on his face as well. It was probably just wishful thinking.
“At least now you're back to your usual self,” En said. Atsushi pulled his eyebrows together in a confused frown so En added, “You seemed a little out of it since earlier.”
Atsushi huffed but it didn't sound very amused. For a moment he hesitated. “I'm fine, really,” he said. “It's just… You really don't remember anything from last night, do you?”
“Did I do or say anything weird? Anything I should remember?” En asked. He sounded honestly concerned.
Atsushi gulped and put on his best fake smile. He doubted its efficiency but gladly En didn't comment on it. “No, don't worry.”
They were silent for a moment; silence had never felt this awkward between them so Atsushi was glad when he remembered, “Oh right, your mum asked me to get you earlier. Breakfast's ready.”
En watched him for a few seconds, maybe waiting for a subtle movement or sound that would give away what was troubling Atsushi. In the end, En just groaned and pushed himself off his futon. When he stretched, Atsushi's eyes lingered on a sliver of skin that showed above En's hips.
He quickly looked away.
During breakfast Atsushi felt like En's mother kept glancing between them but she didn't say anything out of the ordinary. Atsushi still couldn't look her in the eyes. They spent the time after that playing video games before Atsushi excused himself to have lunch at home.
En told him goodbye at the front door and Atsushi had to really fight to urge to give him a goodbye kiss.
The next day was Monday and they were back at school.
Atsushi tried his very best to not act out of the ordinary but the kiss was still on his mind whenever he had time to let his thoughts wander.
He knew he was acting weird—sneaking glances at En's lips and and lots of blushing as a result—but he was hoping his friend wouldn't notice.
Of course En did.
As usual they spent their lunch break in the Defence Club room with their friends. Atsushi was fidgeting around in his chair, trying not to act suspiciously and only making it worse in the progress.
Lost in another memory-slash-daydream, Atsushi didn't notice when En walked around the table to cross the distance between them. When En leaned closer Atsushi jumped but immediately after he closed his eyes.
“Looks like you have a fever, Atsushi,” En said. Atsushi's eyes snapped open. With his face flushing even more, he realised that he had subconsciously expected a kiss.
Of course none had come.
En still looked at him with concern.
“I'm fine,” Atsushi reassured, much like he had the day before.
Suddenly, Yumoto let out a cheerful shriek and with a start Atsushi remembered that he and En weren't alone.
He discreetly scanned the room for the other club members. Ryuu and Io were on their phones as usual. They didn't even look up when En sat back down in his chair. Yumoto was loudly cuddling Wombat, digging his fingertips through his pink fur and hugging him tight. For a second he looked up at Atsushi and smiled before he went back to assaulting their mascot. Even if Yumoto had seen his little slip-up he probably wouldn't have thought anything weird of it, Atsushi concluded for his own good.
En kept watching him for a few seconds but when Atsushi smiled at him—he tried to look as natural as possible—he lay his head down on the table and closed his eyes to nap for a few minutes before the break would be over.
To Atsushi's surprise the rest of the week went by rather smoothly. There were no more situations in which his awkward subconscious could make an appearance.
That was, until Friday. Yumoto had left the club early to help out at Kurotama, Ryuu had said something about a date—no one believed him but they didn't say anything—and with Ryuu gone Io didn't stay much longer either.
That left En and Atsushi as the last ones left in the club room. When they decided that club time was over, En headed out first to go to the toilet while Atsushi locked up. Atsushi decided to meet his friend halfway, so he crossed the school building on his own.
Just as he turned a corner, he ran directly into something solid.
“Oh,” the solid thing said and when Atsushi brought up his hand to push himself back, he felt muscles beneath his palms.
“Atsushi? You okay?”
Atsushi wouldn't have needed to hear the voice to know who he ran into—especially not with his luck recently.
Atsushi's cheeks flamed up with every second his hands were splayed on En's chest. He took three deep breaths but the scent that wafted into his nose didn't help him calm down at all.
Finally, En grabbed Atsushi's shoulders and brought some distance between them, but only just far enough so they could look each other in the eyes. En's face was only a few inches away from his own, so Atsushi closed his eyes instinctively.
They flew open just a second later when Atsushi realised what he had just done. Again.
His cheeks felt even hotter than before. Flustered, he stepped back and started walking down the hall.
“Sorry about that, En-chan. I'm okay,” he said when En caught up to him. “Let's get going so we can relax in the hot bath soon.”
Atsushi didn't give En any chance to reply.
In the changing room of Kurotama Atsushi made very sure to accidentally end up with a locker on the opposite side as En. He just didn't trust himself to not stare blatantly. And he was not at all ready for his body's possible reactions.
On the weekend, Atsushi visited En as usual. It had now been a whole week since The Incident and Atsushi was not the tiniest bit calmer about it. In fact, he was getting more and more nervous around En.
Atsushi felt like he did a good job keeping calm during lunch at En’s, even with his mother glancing curiously between the two of them. He ate his food at a reasonable pace, laughed and nodded at the right cues during their conversations and only thought about En and his hands and his mouth and his strong arms for a little over half of the time. Or maybe more like 70%. But it wasn’t all the time and that was a great achievement, considering the object of his attention was sitting right next to him.
Soon after they finished their meal they went over to En’s room. Atsushi sat down on the floor while En elegantly flopped down on his futon.
En let out a long sigh that quickly turned into a yawn. Atsushi was already prepared to prevent him from taking a nap, but before he could say anything, En started rummaging around under his pillow. The position he was in really didn’t look comfortable and Atsushi almost admired him for his resolve to move as little as possible.
Soon, En seemed to actually start feeling uncomfortable himself because he rolled off his pillow and stuck his arm in from the side. Atsushi was oddly reminded of a documentary about cattle he had seen the other day in which a veterinarian had performed a rectal palpation on a pregnant cow.
He was pulled out of his thoughts by a triumphant “Hah!” from En. With a big smile on his face, the boy pulled a hand-sized, black device out from under the pillow and held it up.
“Really, En-chan? Why was that even under there?” Atsushi asked.
En turned on the Playstation Vita he had just dug up and smiled sloppily. “I fell asleep playing last night. And I knew you’d be coming today anyway, so it’s okay, right?” he asked and turned it around to show a game menu. “I’m stuck on this one. Wanna help me?”
Atsushi shook his head in disbelief, but he took the console anyway. His fingers flew over the buttons in a practiced manner and soon the character on-screen was forced into a boss fight.
“This one?” Atsushi asked without looking up. En simply nodded which he only caught out of the corner of his eye.
Atsushi was a few rounds into the battle—and it did seem to be a pretty tough one—when En suddenly leaned over his shoulder to get a look at the screen, too.
“So, how’s it going?”
Atsushi sputtered something unintelligible for a few moments—too distracted by the proximity—before GAME OVER flashed on the screen in big, red letters. He had forgotten to evade the boss’s attacks.
“Ah, that sucks.”
Now that the game wasn’t keeping his mind busy anymore, Atsushi could feel En’s breath on his neck. He gulped heavily and decided that he needed to calm down before En would catch his mood.
He put the console down next to him and quickly said, “I’ll try again, En-chan, but I need to go to the bathroom first.”
En made a questioning sound but he leaned back enough to let Atsushi stand up. Atsushi was in a hurry to put some distance between them; and slipped with his socks on the floor and fell right back into En’s arms.
With a yelp they landed flat on the futon. While they were falling, En had protectively wrapped his arms around Atsushi's chest to prevent him from hurting himself.
Atsushi had closed his eyes during the fall and slowly opened them again once they were safely cushioned. He got a perfect view of En's chest inside his shirt—his head was pressed against En's collarbone so he could see right into En's cleavage.
Atsushi had seen En's chest countless times before—in the bath, at school when they changed into their P.E. clothes, during sleepovers—but this was an entirely new perspective.
“Atsushi, are you okay?” En asked. His breath tickled Atsushi's neck and Atsushi shuddered.
“Atsushi?” En asked again. This time, Atsushi snapped out of his thoughts and pulled back quickly.
“I'm fine, I'm fine,” he lied for the umpteenth time in the past week and excused himself again to finally calm down in the bathroom.
The bathroom mirror proved to him what he was already suspecting; his cheeks were still flushed and he looked like a mess all over.
Atsushi splashed his face with cold water and spent a few minutes just breathing deeply before he went back to En's bedroom. His heart was already picking up speed again. He didn't know how to face En anymore.
Hesitantly, Atsushi opened the door to En's room. As soon as the door was open enough that he could see the futon, Atsushi chuckled.
En was sprawled on the mattress on his side and breathed evenly, the game lying forgotten next to him. He had fallen asleep already.
Atsushi closed the door again and decided that now was a great time to go home and think about his feelings and how to interact with En from now on.
Somehow, Atsushi survived the week until Friday by mostly interacting with his classmates or the other Defence Club members instead of En. He knew he wasn't being fair but he didn't know any other way without giving himself away.
On Friday morning, Atsushi rang the bell to the Yufuin residence. En's mother opened the door for him.
This wasn't anything unusual as En often needed more time to prepare for school by the time Atsushi arrived—sometimes he was still asleep even. Even though the atmosphere was still awkward, Atsushi sat down in the kitchen with En's mother. She prepared a tea for him and together they waited for En to get ready.
They were sitting together quietly and the silence was soon getting heavier than the awkwardness.
Just as Atsushi was about to break it, En's mother asked, “Atsushi-kun, did you and En have a fight?”
Atsushi's eyes widened in honest surprise. “A fight? No, I don't think so.”
“Hmm,” En's mother hummed. She added, “He's been coming home pretty upset the past few days. When I asked him what was wrong he didn't say anything. Are you sure nothing happened between you guys?”
Atsushi knew he was blushing and that it was a dead giveaway that obviously something had happened. Still, he waited for En's mother to raise her eyebrows impatiently before he said, “There may have been something that I didn't know how to deal with so I've been kind of avoiding him a little. I didn't want to hurt him, though.”
Atsushi carefully watched as En's mother nodded slowly. She took a sip from her tea. Atsushi mirrored her.
After a while—then they could hear En rummage around in the bathroom—she finally said, “So, you've done it now, huh?” She sighed quietly and muttered to herself, “They grow up so fast these days.”
Atsushi waited for her to elaborate but she didn't say anything else. “Uhm, did what exactly?”
En's mother chuckled. “I really didn't think I'd ever have this kind of conversation with you, Atsushi-kun, but okay. You asked for it.”
Somehow, Atsushi's heart sped up and his cheeks felt hot as she continued, “I know you're teenagers, so I won't tell you not to do it at all. I've been a youngster once, too. Well, of course I'm still young.” She giggled but Atsushi didn't join her, so she finished, “I don't want any details, just promise me to be safe, okay?”
Atsushi had a strong feeling that he knew what this conversation was about but he felt his stomach turning at the thought of it. So, just to make sure, he asked, “Be safe doing what?”
En's mother blinked once, twice before she burst out laughing. Atsushi startled so hard, he hit his knee on the underside of the table. He cursed quietly but stopped instantly when En's mother said, “Sex, Atsushi-kun. I'm talking about sex. Really, it's your own fault for making this awkward.”
Atsushi made unintelligible sounds for a few seconds before he finally blurted out, “We're not even together yet!”
Immediately, the whole room was silent. En's mother blinked several times again. Then, she smiled. “Oh, well that's unfortunate. I really thought you were.” After a short pause she added, “But saying not yet means you want to be together with him, right? That's great, I support you.”
Atsushi whined audibly and hid his flushed face behind his hands. “Why are you being so calm about this? You won't get grandchildren, if we would get together. He's an only child and all.”
En's mother gently patted Atsushi's head and said, “So you're already thinking about a future with him, huh? But honestly, what does a possible grandchild matter when my son is clearly the happiest when he's with you?”
Atsushi’s whole body felt hotter in an instant. Just hiding behind his hands didn't feel sufficient enough anymore, so instead he rested his head on the table surface.
“You're basically a family member already, anyway,” she added and stroked Atsushi's hair once more. “I know something is bothering you, so talk to him.”
“Talk to whom?”
Atsushi jumped at En's voice coming from the hallway. Without another look at En's mother, he got out of the chair and picked up his school bag. “Took you long enough, En-chan!” he said and headed straight to the front door.
“Good morning to you too, Atsushi,” En said but he didn't pry into their conversation any further.
They arrived at school two minutes before the final bell rang and Atsushi felt like his cheeks didn't cool down to their normal temperature the whole day.
On Sunday, Atsushi's resolve crumbled.
It was a pretty hot day so when he had picked up En earlier that day they had decided to just relax at the Kinugawas’ pool.
When they changed into their swimming trunks in Atsushi’s room he made very sure to face the other direction and to take especially long so he wouldn’t accidentally see En half naked. Not that his unclothed torso did any good on Atsushi patience either way.
On their way down, En pointed out a round bruise on Atsushi’s knee but Atsushi waved it off with pink cheeks. It reminded him all too well of his conversation with En's mother.
Only a few minutes later their bodies were soaking in the cool water of the pool. Atsushi had gotten out an air bed but it was already lying forgotten because the cold water just felt too good. Atsushi took a few strokes along the pool edge but he stopped short when En literally floated past him.
En’s eyes were closed so Atsushi could stare at him without worrying. En was floating on his back, his limbs stretched out from his body and his face in complete bliss.
Atsushi gulped.
He tried to swim a few more laps but his mind kept traveling to En and his carelessness in the pool. Atsushi actually was worried that En would manage to fall asleep in the water and drown.
The next time he looked at him, En was already staring back.
Atsushi did a double-take, but En’s eyes were still fixed on him. He felt like squirming under the gaze but his muscles wouldn’t move at all. Instead he stopped swimming and just stood in the pool, looking back at En.
En waited a few more moments before he turned over from his back and closed the distance between them with two elegant strokes. He stopped right in front of Atsushi and stood as well.
They quietly looked at each other before En finally asked, “Hey, Atsushi, are you really okay? You’ve been acting weird recently.”
Atsushi’s breath hitched. Of course En would’ve noticed. It would’ve been weirder if he hadn’t but Atsushi still wasn’t ready to have this conversation. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, En-chan. I’m fine.”
Atsushi knew he was awful at lying and he knew En would be able to see right through him. He still put on a smile.
En again just watched him for a little while until he reached out his hand. Atsushi’s heart beat faster and then En’s fingers were on his chin, preventing him from looking away.
“Look me in the eyes, Atsushi, and tell me you’re really okay,” En said. Atsushi felt like crying under En’s serious gaze.
It took Atsushi a moment to notice just how close they were. The water splashed around their waists and he could feel En’s tiniest movements through it. Their chests were mere inches apart. He could feel the heat radiating from En’s body as a contrast to the cold water.
Without thinking, Atsushi’s eyes traveled down to En’s lips, before he closed them completely.
A moment later, En’s hand and his whole presence were gone. Atsushi snapped his eyes open, seeing that En took a whole step or two away from him. Heat rose to his cheeks. It only got worse when En said, “You know, Atsushi, if you keep doing this one day someone is going take advantage of you and kiss you.”
Atsushi blushed even more and quickly ducked his head under the water. To hide from En and to cool down.
Even from below the surface Atsushi could see that En didn’t move a single muscle. He almost felt offended but his own body quickly reminded him that he would have to go up again very soon. It didn’t take long until he ran out of oxygen and surfaced, his face redder than it was before.
En waited for Atsushi to even out his breathing again, before he pleaded, “Atsushi, please talk to me.”
Atsushi felt like En’s worried eyes were going to crush him so eventually he gave in and sighed. He didn’t dare look at En when he finally said, “Do you remember the Treadmill Monster from two weeks ago?” Out of the corner of his eyes Atsushi could see En nod. “I brought you home that night and stayed over, didn’t I? Well, when I lay down on the futon next to you, you…” He trailed off and took a deep breath. “You kissed me and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it ever since then.”
Atsushi glanced up at En and felt actually relieved to see that the other boy was blushing now, too. En covered his face with his hand and said, “Shit, I’m sorry, Atsushi. I promise, I won’t do it again.”
Atsushi mumbled a reply. He waited for En to react but the look on his face showed Atsushi that he hadn’t understood him. Louder this time, he repeated, “But I want you to do it again, En-chan! That’s why, for the past two weeks, I couldn’t stop myself from expecting it and making a real fool of myself.”
Atsushi’s face felt hotter than ever before. He wanted to dive below the water again but before he had the chance to move En grabbed his arms.
“Do you really mean it?” En asked and Atsushi was so perplexed that all he could do was nod. En went on, “So I can do it again right now? I can kiss you, Atsushi?” Atsushi just nodded again. The air felt like it was simmering.
En’s hands hesitantly moved from Atsushi’s arms to his face to cup his jaw. Atsushi could feel them shake slightly but he knew that his own hands were just the same. Slowly, En leaned closer.
For the umpteenth time in the past two weeks, Atsushi closed his eyes slowly and finally, finally , he could feel En’s lips press against his own.
The sensation was just that, simple pressure of lips against lips but even this made Atsushi’s head spin from happiness. When En pulled back they both let out a long, shuddering breath. En’s hands moved from Atsushi’s jaw and slid down his arms until they came to a rest on his hips. The gentle touch raised goosebumps on Atsushi’s skin. He chuckled.
“You know, if i had known this I would’ve told you two weeks ago.” En slightly raised an eyebrow and Atsushi looked him deep in eyes. Before he could stop himself, Atsushi said, “I really like you, En-chan. I’ve liked you for such a long time now I can’t believe this is happening.”
En suddenly pulled Atsushi close to him and hugged him tightly. Their naked, wet chests rubbed against each other, forcing a gasp from Atsushi’s lips. He would probably regret the sound later but at the moment he was too distracted by En saying, “Me too, Atsushi. I love you so much.”
Atsushi squeezed En’s torso back. They stayed like that, breathing in each other’s scent and warmth until Atsushi couldn’t hold it in anymore. He kissed En again. This time, their lips moved together tentatively, getting used to each other and the feeling of this new intimacy. They didn’t rush, though, because they had all the time in the world and they would surely explore everything they could together and at their own pace.
Later, when they were dry again and back in their casual clothes, they were lying on Atsushi’s bed. They were facing each other, En’s arm resting on Atsushi’s waist and Atsushi’s fingers absentmindedly tracing circles over En’s collarbone.
En was almost drifting off to sleep when suddenly Atsushi remembered something. His cheeks and ears flushed slightly as he whispered, “By the way, En-chan, your mother thought we’re already, you know, sleeping together.”
“Oh,” said En and that was the only reaction before he kissed Atsushi again. “I'm still for sticking to our own pace.”