A/N: Dear all, please enjoy: Chapter 4.

Chapter 4: Stolen kisses

xxx Souichi xxx

It was still barely light when Souichi felt Morinaga stir beside him, the sheets rustling as he got out of bed. Keeping his eyes tightly shut, Souichi's senses were nonetheless acutely attuned to the man's every movement.

Soft footsteps rounded the bed and came to a stop in front of him. Lying on his side, Souichi continued his pretense even as his pulse began to accelerate. There was a slight creak as Morinaga bent down and kissed his forehead. His breath fanned lightly against Souichi's skin.

It was a long moment, torturous in its secretive affection. Once again, Souichi felt Morinaga's lips press against him. There was the barest of sighs and then the man was gone. The door to the nursery shut quietly.

As wakeful as he had been the entire night, Souichi let his eyes open again. Faint sounds could now be heard from the nursery; the soft cries of their child, the soft cooing of Morinaga as he coaxed her awake. Souichi lay alone in the bed, the walls a gulf between him and the person whom he had pushed away with his own hands. Drawing the quilt over his face, Souichi burrowed back into the sheets. Morinaga's kiss was imprinted into his skin.

It was only a full hour later that Souichi himself got out of bed and went to take a shower. He took a longer time than usual, procrastinating the moment when they would have to meet.

Finally, after he had exhausted every daily routine and there were no longer any excuses to stay upstairs, Souichi headed towards the kitchen. The smell of coffee was already in the air. He stopped for a moment, uncharacteristically hesitant.

Morinaga's back was to him as he heated up some food at the microwave. As Souichi stepped into the cozy cavern, he turned. "Good morning, Sempai."

"…Un, morning." Startled that the man had greeted him first, Souichi entered the kitchen and sat down at the dining table warily. Morinaga's greeting had been cordial, his smile as warm as ever. Unknowingly, a weight on Souichi's chest lifted. Thank Kami that things had not become weird. After all, they were adults living together—there were bound to be some quarrels and conflict. However, his mind shied away from their sleepless night and the words that had been exchanged between them.

As he sat waiting for breakfast, Souichi glanced randomly around. Something felt out of place and for a moment, he could not pinpoint it. His attention went back to the dining table. It was a gleaming expanse of bleached wood, currently devoid of cutlery. That was strange—setting the table was usually the first thing that Morinaga did before cooking breakfast. A little trepidation went through him. Quietly, Souichi stood up and went to the cutlery drawers.

"Ah, I forgot to take the bowls out! Gomen, ne, Sempai." Morinaga sounded flustered. Setting down the last of the food on the table, he hurried over to Souichi. "Let me do it—"

"Idiot, I can still do something as simple as this! Go and do something else, like prepare the coffee!" Morinaga's proximity made Souichi's pulse run. Without thinking, he turned to smack the man's hands away.

"Ahh, gomen!" Before Souichi's fist could connect, Morinaga had already jumped back, his hands lifted. "I won't do it if you don't like it, Sempai." Swiftly, the man walked away. There was a clatter as Morinaga took two cups from the cabinet.

Souichi glared at the offending utensils and Morinaga's back alternately. What the hell, what did those words mean? And what was with that exaggerated reaction, leaping away as though Souichi had bitten him? A little pissed now, he extracted two sets of cutlery from the cupboards and set them noisily on the dining table. Folding his arms, he waited impatiently for Morinaga to come over. He was damn well going to ask him to explain his actions!

As the younger man finished preparing the coffee and returned to the table, Souichi turned on him, scalding words already on his tongue. At that moment, however, his stomach gave a loud growl, reminding him that it had been empty for almost sixteen hours.

"Ah, yes; you didn't have dinner yesterday, Sempai..." Morinaga's voice trailed off. There was an awkward pause as both men looked towards the abundant spread of food. "…Please, go ahead and eat."

The opportunity to question the man passed. Souichi cursed his uncooperative stomach but his gaze was already attracted to the food. Miso cod, stir- fried vegetables, and chahan—they were really all of his favourite dishes. Souichi's uneasiness increased. This was the meal that he had rejected out of infuriation… Throwing another glance at Morinaga, Souichi slowly began to eat.

The first mouthful shocked him with its pleasing flavour. Forgetting to act stoic, Souichi began eating at a faster speed, his chopsticks moving steadily to take the food. The sweet, tangy flavour of the cod was especially appetizing. Morinaga was really rather good at cooking.

In his haste to fill his stomach, it was only a while later that Souichi noticed that Morinaga was moving much slower, eating mostly the rice and leaving the dishes alone. Embarrassed by his appetite, Souichi pushed his favourite cod towards the man. "Hey, eat more. Why are you just spooning the rice?"

Morinaga only shook his head, a small smile of refusal curling his lips. Before Souichi could protest, he had scooped up the remaining fish and placed it into Souichi's bowl. "I'm not that hungry, Sempai. Although these are just leftovers, please eat more, ne." The man put aside his cutlery and picked up his coffee "Gonchisou sama".

"…All right." The conversation dwindled off again. Souichi frowned down at the glistening piece of fish in his bowl. Normally, Morinaga would have vacuumed anything that Souichi offered him. What the hell was with this—this distant attitude? Morinaga was definitely not his usual self! His appetite gone, Souichi set his chopsticks down decisively. "Morinaga, are you still thinking about yest—"

"—About breakfast in future—"

Both of them trailed into silence. As he sat across from Morinaga, witness to the sorrow sliding subtly across the man's face, Souichi could not stand it any longer. Standing up so abruptly that his chair fell backwards, he stalked out of the kitchen. There was a clatter behind him but he did not turn back.

Damnit, damnit—the man had said that he was all right! He had said that he would give Souichi more time! So, what was with this—this guilt feast that had masqueraded as breakfast?! Incensed, he wrung open the door to the nursery.

Emi was in a in high spirits when he entered the nursery. Gazing at the pink- faced, cherubic being gurgling up at him, Souichi took a deep breath, trying to harness his anger. Her Papa was pissing him off but his little girl should not have to endure his frustration.

Slightly calmed, he scooped Emi carefully into his arms. Her warm weight soothed him. Souichi cuddled her for a quiet moment, smiling when her hand bumped against his chin. "Good morning, baby girl."

Having the alone- time with his child soothed him considerably. In the nursery where sunlight shone in warm yellow hues, Souichi focused on Emi's warm weight. Her hair tickled his chin as he cradled her against him. It still seemed so incredible that Emi had been in his womb just two months ago. Yet, here she was, a little pixie currently tasting his hair in her curious mouth. Chuckling, Souichi kissed her head. "Come on, let's get you changed and then Daddy has to go to work, okay?"

Morinaga was already at the genkan when Souichi went downstairs with Emi, a hesitant look on his face as they approached him. Neither of them mentioned about breakfast. Wordlessly, Souichi handed Emi to him, who smiled as she recognized her Papa.

There was no mistaking the distance between them now. The man, who always liked to stick to Souichi like glue, stepped back the moment Emi was secured in his arms. "…Have a good day, Sempai."

"…Un." Turning away swiftly, Souichi slid into his shoes and grabbed his backpack. This was good; such an impersonal exchange of greetings was infinitely preferable. He did not need Morinaga's sappiness, those smothering feelings that the man threw at him regardless of whether he wanted it or not! With unnecessary force, Souichi jerked the door open.

"Sempai, please wait!"

Morinaga's voice was unexpectedly close. Against his own wishes, Souichi paused, midway out of the apartment. That baka had stopped putting on a cold front, huh. Fine, then he would go along with it; see what kind of explanation Morinaga would give for his attitude—Souichi turned back, slowly. Despite his ire, the memory of that morning's kiss made his heart pound. Morinaga was coming ever closer…As the man came within touching distance, Souichi's eyes slid closed of their own accord, as though in anticipation of...

"…Sempai, here—you forgot your wallet..."

His leather purse lay facedown in Morinaga's outstretched palm. The man was biting his lip, brows furrowed, eyes shuttered. He made no move to touch Souichi. In the cool, sunlit genkan, the two men faced each other in frozen silence.

Souichi broke the stalemate first. Snatching up his wallet, he jerked backward when his fingers brushed against Morinaga's. He had mistaken Morinaga's intentions. Instead of his kouhai, Souichi had been the one acting like a love- sick idiot, waiting for Morinaga to send him off with his customary ki—

"Sempai—!"

Almost stumbling in his blind haste to get away, Souichi exited their house. The shame, the shame that was coursing through him now—the gate slammed with a resounding clang but Souichi was already far away, his legs eating up the pavement. He did not see Morinaga standing in front of their apartment, contrasting expressions of disbelief and joy warring in his green eyes.

"Damnit!"

The pipette tip broke, spilling the reagent on to the table. Some students looked at Souichi in sympathy as he cursed and reached for the towels. Unheeding of their stares, the long- haired man finished cleaning up and sank back into his seat. Damnit, this was the third mistake in as many hours! He would have to repeat the procedure.

"Ah, erm—I'll just get out of your way, Tatsumi- san…" Another graduate student hastily skittered away when Souichi stalked towards the autoclave machine and slammed a basket of equipment into the chamber. The black aura hanging around 'the intimidating exchange student' was so palpable that it was almost visible.

The door to the laboratory swung open and a familiar voice could be heard giving greetings to the other students. However, Souichi did not give a damn about the person. His mind was already preoccupied with too many vexing things, the least not being a certain Morinaga Tetsuhiro…

"Tatsumi- san, konnichiwa! Woah—what's with the scary face?! Something went wrong with the serial dilution?" Yuki Manami suddenly materialized by Souichi's side, her effervescence a complete contrast to his sullenness.

"…Yuki- san." Souichi gave a stiff nod of greeting before turning back to his work. The entire rack of test- tubes, which he had been working on for the past few hours, went into the bin. Beside him, Manami gasped.

"…Hmm, it seems like there's still a ways to go! But it shouldn't be a problem for you, Tatsumi- san." Although it was clear that the experiment had not gone well, Manami kept her tone neutral but she continued to look concerned. "Hey, are you sure that you are feeling all right? I've never seen you look so angry before! Did somebody piss you off?"

"…Nobody." Irritably, Souichi started to clear his workstation. He was not pissed! And he was definitely not thinking about a certain, black- haired idiot! Grabbing the bottle of sanitizer, he pumped the nozzle energetically. Ethanol sprayed in every direction.

"Hey! Be careful with that! Jeez, Tatsumi- san!" Retreating from the ethanol attack, Manami folded her arms and glared at him. "Urghh, since you're waiting for the equipment, why don't we just go for lunch? Come on!" In nimble moves, Manami had snatched the bottle away from Souichi and began to drag him out.

"O-oi! Yuki- san! I'm not done here—"

"Come on, you have to eat, anyway, right? Let's take a breather, man!" Grinning and stubbornly ignoring his protests, the incorrigible lady hooked her arm around his as they exited the laboratory. "Let's eat tonkatsu! They have a special deal for that at the cafeteria today!"

"No—wait!"

He had not wanted to eat lunch, so what the hell was he doing now?

Glaring at the back view of Yuki Manami as she skipped ahead of him to find a seat, Souichi sighed. The woman had forced him to line up with her at the tonkatsu shop and now, he was balancing two sets of piping- hot tonkatsu in his tray as he trailed behind her like a docile puppy. Damnit, she was like the female version of Isogai!

"Hoho, we got a seat! This is awesome!" The lively girl honed into a recently- vacated table near the entrance of the cafeteria and beckoned to Souichi. "You are so slow, Tatsumi- san!"

The plates jumped as Souichi set the tray smartly on the table. He was not in the mood to eat, much less with somebody else! "You can have both the shares. See you lat—"

"Hey! Is this the way to treat a lady? Come on! Besides, I'll bet that you will be starving not an hour later!" Without waiting for Souichi's response, Manami removed the tray and pulled him into the seat. "Itadakimasu!"

"…" Giving up when Manami continued eating without giving a hoot about the death- glare aimed at her, Souichi slowly picked up his chopsticks and the bowl of rice. Kami, what had he done to deserve two Isogais in his life? His brow ticked in irritation and he completely did not sense the vibration of his cell phone in his pockets.

"Great, you seem in better spirits now! Hehe, I knew the tonkatsu would do the trick." Manami bit off a piece of the fried pork. "You had a quarrel with your wife?"

The question, so unexpected and so close to the truth, struck Souichi hard. His wife…was Morinaga still upset? Outwardly calm, Souichi continued to chew the food. The pork tasted like sandpaper in his mouth.

"Ah, well, if you don't want to answer that then I won't pry. But I'm always here if you need a listening ear, yea?" A sympathetic smile now replaced the mischievous one that had just been dangling from Manami's lips.

Feeling more than a little awkward, Souichi could only nod his head in acknowledgement. He was not used to such candor from others, especially with regards to his private affairs. The only person who had gotten close to him other than his family members was…

Through the cafeteria doors, Souichi caught a glimpse of a familiar- looking figure. The man was tall, with the same mop of blue- black hair—the lunch crowd swam into the cafeteria and the person disappeared from view. Before he knew it, Souichi had stood up, his knees hitting hard against the cushion of the seat. Why was Morinaga here?

"Why did you suddenly stand up, Tatsumi- san?"

"…It's nothing. Sorry about that." He sat down slowly again but Souichi's mind was no longer on his food. No matter how he looked around the bustling café, the person did not reappear. Damnit, he must only have imagined seeing Morinaga just now. The baka could not possibly be here when it was still working hours! Urgh, was he going crazy, thinking about him?

"Are you still going to eat the pork? Don't mind if I helped myself to it, ne!" Taking advantage of his distraction, Manami stabbed a large piece of tonkatsu from Souichi's plate and started munching, her expression one of bliss. "Mhmm, delicious!"

Deciding to put the matter from his mind, Souichi finally turned back to his eating partner. Manami's eyes were closed, enjoying the fried meat with obvious pleasure. The exaggerated show of delight finally made him smile. Noticing some crumbs on her cheeks, Souichi picked up a napkin and passed it to her. "Don't choke on the meat, Yuki- san. There're some crumbs on your face."

"Oh, there are? Thanks!" Taking the napkin, Manami wiped the oil and crumbs from her mouth, frowning when she gave him a look- over as well. "Hey, there's a grain of rice on your chin, too, Well, let me take it off!" Leaning close to him, the woman plucked off the white grain. "There! Wait, let me check if there're other pieces of food; you seemed so distracted just now that I wouldn't be surprised if I found a whole bowl of rice in that long hair of yours!"

"Wh—Yuki- san, there's no need to do this—"

"No, don't move, Souichi!" Like a mother admonishing her son, Manami grabbed Souichi's chin, stopping him from moving away. "Ah hah! There is some more rice in your hair! Here, and here! See, I told you so!"

Discomfited by her closeness, Souichi fidgeted. Only one person had ever touched his face so intimately—without warning, Souichi blushed, his skin remembering the touch of a certain man. Trying to free himself, he jerked his face to the side at the same time that Manami leaned in closer. His lips brushed accidentally against the woman's cheeks.

There was a loud thump against the glass walls of their table. A figure stood outside of the cafeteria, his hands white against the glass. Dressed in a navy suit and tie, Morinaga was looking into their booth, his corporate attire entirely out of place in the university.

As Souichi sat frozen in place, still entangled with his colleague, Morinaga's shocked look slowly vanished, to be replaced by an expressionless mask. He did not wave, or smile. Even as the three of them remained unmoving, surreally fixed in their positions, tears began flowing out from Morinaga's eyes.

He was crying; Morinaga was crying—finally mobilized, Souichi scrambled up, pushing Manami away mindlessly. His chest was burning, hot, intense. He had to get to Morinaga—

Bursting out of the canteen, Souichi pushed past several students, uncaring even when they shouted at him. Swiftly, he rounded the corner and ended up at the other side of the building where Morinaga had been. However, his man was nowhere to be seen. Taking the steps three at a time, Souichi ran down the stairs leading away from the cafeteria. He looked around frantically. Where was he? The wide expanse of the compound had never seemed so daunting.

The baka had misunderstood. He had definitely misunderstood. Again, the images assailed Souichi's mind. Morinaga's crying figure, Morinaga's fingertips pressed white against the glass—worry and fear crashed through him and it took a tremendous effort not to dash out of the university and go after him. Trembling, Souichi whipped out his cell. If he could just reach Morinaga—

There was an unread message in his inbox. The time had been dated just twenty minutes ago and it was from... Already guessing at the content of the message, Souichi opened the mail with a sick premonition.

Good afternoon, Sempai, how was your day? I hope that your work is coming along smoothly…

I'm sorry for acting so willfully this morning. Even when I told myself to think more of you, to not rush you into things that you are not prepared for, I still could not stop being self- centered, which caused you to be hurt…

Sempai, could we meet for lunch this afternoon? Actually, I'm already at Todai now. I know that I'm being inconsiderate again but I really, really want to see you. I can't stand the fact that we are like this now!

Please call me when you see this message. Forgive me, and I love you, always.

To be continued.