Disclaimer: I don't own Junjou Romantica nor am I affiliated with it.

Sometimes

Sometimes, Nowaki reads to Hiroki. On days like this when they're both at home and they've already had breakfast together and made love (with some cuddling afterwards), they will relax and Nowaki will ask Hiroki if he can read to him.

Hiroki, who is lying on the bed with the crook of his elbow thrown over his closed eyes to block the afternoon sun, says "Sure." He manages to give the answer in a nonchalant tone and he's relieved when he realizes that the shirt sleeve on his face covers the majority of his blush.

"What should I read, Hiro-san?" Nowaki asks inquisitively as he repeatedly ducks and then stands again as he scans the different books on the bookshelf. He keeps his hands behind his back almost respectfully until a certain book grabs his interest. He then places one finger at the top of the spine, carefully tilts the book towards him, and gently shimmies it out, making sure that the rest of the books around it don't fall in the process. He'll read the description, and if he doesn't think that Hiro-san is in the mood for it and it doesn't sound particularly good to Nowaki either, he makes sure to put it back into its place with utmost care.

Hiroki keeps his eyes closed and sighs "Anything, Nowaki," trying to sound exasperated even though he had been looking forward to one of these moments for a couple of weeks now.

Nowaki hems and haws over the bookshelf some more at Hiroki's response, looking fervently for a book that they'll both enjoy, before finally making a choice. He briefly summarizes the contents aloud and turns back to Hiroki, gauging his reaction and ready to put the book back if he doesn't approve. Hiroki continues to lie in place as he says "That's fine, Nowaki," in the same pseudo-exasperated voice. Nowaki grins, cradling the book against his chest with both hands as he walks back over to the bed. Hiroki removed his arm from its position on his face, opened his eyes, sat up, and moved over to allow Nowaki room in the bed.

"Should I start from the beginning, Hiro-san? Or is there some place else I should start?" questions Nowaki, flipping through the book a bit to accommodate his lover either way. "The beginning is fine, or whatever you want," Hiroki answers languidly, watching Nowaki's strong hands gently thumb through the pages. He softly drops his head on Nowaki's shoulder, leaning on it slightly. Although it was a small gesture, it was one that they both recognized as one of intimacy, as Hiroki tended to do it most often during times like this. "The beginning it is then," Nowaki smiled softly. He then cleared his throat gently and began.

While Nowaki reads through the chapters, Hiroki alternates between following along and listening with his eyes closed. Nowaki would notice that when Hiroki had his eyes open, he would stare at Nowaki's eyes, or his lips, or his hands, before quickly turning red and averting his eyes back the text. Whenever this happened, Nowaki would reach out for Hiroki as silent way of telling him that it was okay, and that he shouldn't be embarrassed. The result was often Nowaki's free hand running through Hiroki's hair, or rubbing his leg, or holding his hand.

Nowaki read until he felt that Hiroki's head was heavy on his shoulder and that a noticeable sound of breathing had filled the room. As usual, the warm afternoon light, Nowaki's deep, soothing voice, and the exhaustion from the week had put Hiroki to sleep. This happened from time to time and although it meant that reading session was over, Nowaki still enjoyed it because it meant that he could not only watch Hiroki sleep, but also that he could actually sleep next to him, a feat which was hard to achieve with their schedules. Nowaki smiled warmly to himself, closed the book, and placed it on the nightstand as gently as he could so that he wouldn't wake Hiroki. He drew up the covers around them both and held Hiroki to his chest as tightly as he could without waking him up, all while hoping that they would be able to enjoy themselves tomorrow just as much as they had enjoyed themselves today.


A/N: Sorry for not writing for so long! I didn't have any ideas for a while but one day I thought of this and now I've gotten around to writing it! I hope that you enjoyed it ^^!