Disclaimer: I'm just a geeky fangirl. I own nothing.
The Long Way Home: Chapter 10
It was amazing how time stood still when Ueno was conflicted or distraught, but flew past him when he had virtually no huge worries to speak of for the moment.
After the incidents that Ueno simply titled Monday night, the rest of the week passed quickly. Before he knew it, he was working his final day of the week. The shift was late, but Ueno didn't mind. He didn't have work or school for the next two days, so he figured he could wait to relax and unwind until then.
It was only six in the evening, and Ueno still had hours to burn, but he was cheerful regardless. He had settled into the routine- or lack of- quite nicely. He was able to carry out most of the requested tasks quickly, and still had time to study between errands, which was nice since he wouldn't have time to do his homework after his shift was over.
That was good; Ueno had other things to take care of after work these days. He'd gone home to sleep the night before, but every other night had been spent in Aki's apartment.
Although he'd spent a portion of each night battling Aki's bedtime temper, he was happy with the development. Aki was a complete angel when awake and well rested. He was considerate, sweet, and pretty mellow himself most of the time. In addition, now that he was beginning to come out of his shell, Ueno was learning exactly what made Aki so special. However, when Aki was overly tired and trying to fall asleep or on the cusp of dozing and deep sleep, he was the complete opposite. He was grumpy, and took a decent amount of time to get comfortable, until eventually Ueno, fearing sea sickness, arranged Aki close to him.
Ueno wasn't sure why they didn't just start out that way; it would make things easier. It calmed Aki immediately, and they both usually drifted into slumber shortly after. With a past like Aki's, it seemed odd that he welcomed contact so wholeheartedly, but Aki wasn't a standard guy, anyway.
Either way, it was a small price to pay in order to be able to wake up next to the lighter haired man. It was hard for Ueno to watch someone so sleek and unflappable become clumsy and feeble minded, falling out of bed, running into walls and doors or tripping over his own feet. Ueno hoped that nothing bad ever befell Aki while he was trying to sleep; he'd be completely inept at protecting himself. He'd imagine Aki trying to evacuate during a fire or something similar and wince. It would be a miracle if he actually woke up in time to save himself.
After three nights of lying with Aki in his arms, curled protectively in his sleep around the other man's body, Ueno felt unbalanced returning to his apartment to sleep the night before. It had been unsettling to sleep alone, but it was he who had insisted on it, despite Aki's disappointment when he'd announced he was going home. He did, after all, have his own domicile. All it had taken was three nights for him to realize that sleeping alone was no fun, three nights for his body to recognize that the soft form pressed against him was preferable and that in its absence, something was wrong.
Ueno wasn't alone in that feeling. Aki informed him in his very quiet, silky voice during their break in school earlier that afternoon that Ueno should go home and pack a bag before he went to work. Ueno did as instructed, neither wanting nor needing to argue. The requested bag had already been stowed away in Aki's bedroom during his quick visit to the apartment before he had started work for the day and Aki's father had picked him up for a family outing.
There was a small, nagging sensation that sat just underneath his skin as he loaded several full watering cans onto a cart and then rode the elevator to the tenth floor. The source was easily identified, and as he set about watering the plants that sat in the unoccupied penthouse apartment and in each floor's lounge, he acknowledged just what was causing his unease.
Balance was still lacking. He had learned to be content with the information Aki was willing to vocalize. That wasn't the problem. In fact, over the last four days, he felt that they were steadily becoming more in sync with one another. Truth be told, even after recent events, they didn't know much about one another, but that was fast being remedied. Ueno teased Aki frequently, they had started sleeping next to one another, contact was becoming more common between them, and they were even content enough to be able to sit in comfortable silence together. All that in a span of four days wasn't bad at all.
But it had been almost a week since their last kiss, which had been in Ueno's apartment that Saturday previous, and even that had been their first kiss since meeting. It wasn't as if Ueno wasn't satisfied with less, but they were dating, and Ueno couldn't think of a single couple who didn't partake in that activity. Besides, kissing was all kinds of fun, and Ueno liked to enjoy himself.
He hadn't made the effort, but then again, neither had Aki. Ueno's mind had been too busy juggling other thoughts and concerns to even consider making that type of move again. He almost felt guilty for assuming that since Aki was obviously the more experienced of the two, that he would be the one to initiate it.
That was a dumb assumption, as Aki hadn't. Ueno was learning that Aki was sweetly affectionate, both in the vocal and physical sense, and welcomed contact without argument, which was why he was baffled that the fairer hadn't taken a larger step against more amorous acts of intimacy. Ueno wasn't talking about sex, really; just a peck, at the very least.
Even so, Ueno wasn't dissatisfied. In fact, things were looking up. He hadn't woken up to any uncomfortable and embarrassing hardness since he'd started sharing Aki's bed. It confused Ueno; he'd figured the situation would become worse, but Ueno awoke every morning flaccid and elated. Perhaps it was because he was consistently satisfied in a deeper sense.
Ueno's thoughts shifted elsewhere, to earlier in the afternoon during their break together. Aki mentioned to him that he was planning on going out with his father late that afternoon, to visit with family. He hadn't mentioned exactly who he was going to see, but Ueno did remember his father mentioning a visit to his sister that weekend during that awkward situation Monday night. Regardless of who he was visiting, Aki had mentioned the trip with a certain amount of turmoil lacing his words. Ueno hadn't asked questions and only clucked in sympathy, as he didn't know if Aki would answer, and also because they both still had classes and he didn't want to make the rest of the day uncomfortable. He was learning when to simply let a subject drop.
He'd rushed home and quickly packed enough supplies and clothing to cover the weekend, just in case his stay was extended. He wasn't being presumptuous; it was just entirely likely that Aki would ask him to stay longer than one night. He'd hauled his bag all the way to work, and ran up to Aki's apartment to say hello and drop it off before work. Aki also hadn't mentioned his trip during Ueno's visit and his face reflected his happiness as he'd led Ueno into his bedroom to put his bag away, but his tone had been pensive. Ueno suspected it was a result of his impending outing with his father.
Now, hours later, Ueno wondered how Aki was doing, with whatever it was he was doing. He busied himself running back and forth between stations and departments, determined to help the evening progress as quickly as possible into night. The sooner that happened, the sooner he'd be off and he was more than ready to rest after such a busy week. He'd been informed by Aki that he should be back later that night and been given a spare key, just in case he wasn't back by the time Ueno finished for the night.
That had been weird, accepting the key. Ueno had protested that he'd just hang out at work until Aki returned or go home until he was contacted. Aki, however, had been insistent that he take it and with a small smile, he'd slipped the heavy piece of metal that would grant him entry into Ueno's palm before bracing his hands against Ueno's back and shoving him out of the apartment, stating he'd be late for work. Hopefully he didn't have to use it.
The night's approach had been slow, despite Ueno's efforts to remain busy. He'd even managed to finish all of his homework, and still had too much free time on his hands that night. But finally, Ueno looked at the clock and noted that he had roughly an hour left before he was finished.
His earpiece beeped quietly and startled from his thoughts, Ueno pushed the button to activate it.
"Yes?"
"The boss wants to talk to you. He's in his office."
"Alright. Thanks." Ueno pressed the button again to disconnect. Ueno was relieved that he didn't have to wait on Aki alone in his apartment, but he hadn't realized they would be back so soon.
He also had no idea why his boss would want to speak with him unless there was a problem, so with a bit of uncertainty, he abandoned his task of dusting things that didn't need dusting and stepped behind the check- in desk and down the hallway that lead to his destination.
He knocked quietly, and was immediately rewarded with an order to enter. Opening the door, he first noticed Aki slumped in one of the large office chairs and massaging his temples, Satou-san standing over him worriedly.
"Good evening, Ueno."
"Good evening, sir. Is something the matter?"
"Not at all." Satou-san began busily opening drawers, failing to locate whatever he was looking for and slamming each shut. Ueno had never seen him in casual wear before, but he appeared even younger in his jeans and pullover windbreaker. "Have a seat for a moment."
Ueno sat in the only other available chair, which was next to Aki's. "Can I help you find something?"
"I was just looking for the first aid kit I keep in here. I want to take Aki's temperature." Satou-san gave up, and instead resumed his previous position, which was towering over his son. He set his fingers lightly against Aki's forehead, only to have them immediately brushed away roughly.
"Dad, I said I'm fine. Stop fussing over me, please." Aki sighed irritably as his father took a seat behind his desk.
Ueno forgot to use caution. He immediately stood and took Satou-san's place. "Are you sick, Aki? You seemed fine earlier." Without thinking, he pressed the back of his hand gently against Aki's forehead. "Did you eat anything tonight?"
Satou-san propped his elbows on the desktop, resting his chin on his clasped hands. He quietly watched with a raised brow as Ueno, satisfied that Aki had no temperature, removed his fingers from Aki's face and rose to his full height, crossing his arms.
"It's just a headache, Ueno. I'll be fine after I get settled upstairs." Aki answered calmly.
"And yes, he's eaten, though very little. I had to practically force what he did eat down his throat."
Ueno jumped as Satou-san's voice registered. Was it possible to temporarily forget that his boyfriend's father- his boss- was in the room? He sat back down, just a little mortified at what he'd done.
"If you're sure you'll be fine, go on upstairs. I need to talk to Ueno for a moment. Call me if you need anything."
Aki shot out of his chair, and he exited like a guilty man released from prison early. "Goodnight, dad." Before he could receive a reply, he shut the door behind him, and Ueno was able to clearly hear the rapidly receding footfalls.
Satou-san stared at the slammed door for a moment, but returned his gaze to Ueno in short order. "How was your first week?"
"Good, sir."
"Excellent. The reason I called for you is in regards to your schedule next week."
Ueno heaved a relieved sigh. "Is there a problem?"
Satou-san shook his head. "I wanted to make some changes is all. I completely forgot that next week will be a busy one. I'll need you here Monday through Thursday, and the shifts will be a little longer. I'll need you to stay until at least eleven. Will you be able to handle that? I don't want this to interfere with your studies."
"Of course." Ueno nodded immediately. "But I was scheduled for Friday, too. Do you not need me then anymore?"
"You'll be off Friday. I forgot to mention this to you earlier in the week, but Friday is the fifth anniversary of the hotel's opening. This is the first time I've done something like this, but I've sent invitations to everyone who has contributed to its opening and success, both financially and otherwise, as well as some family. I'll be offering them a free stay for the week. You've done a great job for your first week, from what I've heard. We'll need your help next week more than ever. I'm expecting a lot of random chaos."
"Thank you." Ueno replied humbly. "I'd love to help any way I can."
"No, thank you." Satou-san scribbled some notes on a piece of stationary embossed with the hotel's logo, and handed the slip of paper to Ueno, who pocketed it. These will be your new hours next week."
Ueno prepared to stand.
"Wait, son. I do have one more question." Satou-san leaned forward in his chair and his expression turned decidedly agonized, as if he didn't like what he was about to ask, but he was going to go ahead and do it anyway. Ueno immediately felt his stomach begin to turn. He didn't know the man well, so he wasn't yet experienced in reading his expressions or moods, but he had a feeling the face he was making now couldn't be good. Satou-san had transitioned from cheerful to something unidentifiable in a matter of seconds.
Ueno shot him a nervous glance. "Yes, sir?" He spoke very carefully.
"I was surprised when I found out that you knew my son. I'm glad that he's associating himself with people with a good heads on their shoulders, but I need to know something, Ueno. How close are you to Aki?"
Ueno realized he probably looked pretty idiotic. He blinked confusedly, even though it was an extremely simple question, and equally simple to answer.
"I've heard that after work you've gone upstairs and haven't left a few nights this week. Have you been staying with him overnight?"
Ueno gulped, and he hoped it wasn't audible. "Sir?"
Satou-san's expression didn't change, although he was no longer looking at Ueno. He stared downward as he tapped his fingers rapidly and loudly against his desktop.
"What type of relationship do you have with my son?"