Chapter 10 : Moving to The Next Step

The last lecture of the day finished earlier than usual because the professor had been called by the head department. His students were more than happy to end the class because the professor was really dull. Rio put his notes and text book into his bag, and soon followed the bunch of loud students out of the room. He was about to exit the building when a pair of hands grabbed his shoulder from behind.

"Ri-o-cha-n~"

"Kaname." Rio slapped his cousin's hands away. "What do you want?"

Kaname grinned. He knew Rio was still annoyed by the last weekend's event. That day, the two of them had ended up having tea with the twins and Hamaji-the girl was banned from kitchen by Ao. Rio had scowled all the time, even though he had not shown it openly. Hah! As if Kaname would have not noticed that twitching eyebrow every ten second! After all, they were cousin who had grown up together.

"Wanna grab dinner together?" asked Kaname, "Do you know there's a new okonomiyaki restaurant just down the street?"

Rio rolled his eyes. "I'm going home now."

"Hmph, no fun, Rio-chan. You really need to get laid."

Again, with the conversation? Rio tried to hold back a growl. He had a sudden urge to kick Kaname out of his sight, but Kaname kept pestering him until they separated at campus gate. Rio sighed, feeling content with the uneventful journey back home. Since the Inukawa twins had moved, somehow his days were not that peaceful anymore. No, correction: his days were disaster.

Inukawa Sousuke had snapped all his nerves by boldly showing affection to Shino. Inukawa Ao-Rio did not even want to mention the man's name-was an arrogant bastard whose smirk always made him annoyed. He never felt this irritated before. He could still tolerate other people's arrogance but Ao was at another whole level. He would not leave Rio alone. Like during last weekend's afternoon tea, Ao had been sitting next to him and talking about how Rio should have more life-thanks to Kaname and his loudmouth, now everybody had known Rio had not dated for a while.

"Hello there."

Great, not only Rio found himself thinking about Ao's arrogance but he also heard the man's annoying voice. He tried to distract himself by looking at a supermarket advertisement.

"Oi."

Rio sure he was sleepwalking. How on earth he could hear Ao's voice so close to him?

"Rio-chan."

The blonde looked over his shoulder and saw Ao was standing in front of convenience store only few steps away from him. Great, it had not been a dream at all. The dark blue-haired man wore a black jeans with jacket. He waved at Rio, smirking. Rio growled under his breath. That smirking face...

"I thought you were wearing earphones," said Ao, "Or...perhaps you were thinking of your girlfriend?"

Rio stared again at Ao's smirking face. That kind of smirk was really making him annoyed. The quirk of his upper lip combined with a small dimple always presented when Ao was teasing him. Sometimes he showed a line of his white teeth with prominent fangs when he chuckled. 'Wait, why the hell am I thinking about his facial features?'

"Oi," Ao called, "Rio."

Finally, Rio snapped, "Don't call me like th-"

The blonde's sentence was cut by a tip of finger touching his cheek. Rio gasped and froze instantly when he realized it was Ao's index finger. The man was practically poking his finger onto Rio's cheek.

"Daydreaming? You were thinking about someone you like, eh?" Ao smirked, his finger did not stop poking.

Rio was speechless. Words were flying away from his mind. He quickly slapped Ao's finger then turned his head to another direction.

With last quick glance, Rio continued to walk passing rows of stores and apartments. He did not pay any attention to Ao who somehow had ended up walking beside him. Ao asked him about classes, but Rio only replied with faster walking pace. Instead of backing off, the taller man did not stop talking. Rio swore Ao was the reincarnation of the devil itself.

"Aren't you going inside?" Ao's voice cut through the air.

Rio was startled. They were standing between his and Ao's house. Ao's body silhouette looked firmer under street light. Rio had never noticed how wide Ao's shoulders were. Rio shook his head lightly. He would not get distracted by Ao's appearance-in the end, Ao was still an arrogant man.

Ao smirked once again when Rio walked inside his house without any word.

.

Weekend came quickly. Too quickly. Shino really wanted to scream. He woke up this morning with a funny feeling on his stomach. He took a deep breath before starting his morning in usual routine. He joined his family for breakfast. Himeko was preparing french toast when the boys came downstairs. Akimitsu was reading his morning newspaper as always. Rio sat down at a dining chair and sipped his black coffee. Murasame entered the dining area a while later, perching at Shino's shoulder.

"Any plan, boys?" Akimitsu asked.

"Library," answered Rio swiftly.

"Nothing," the other boy shrugged.

Himeko, who had just put a plate of french toast on the table frowned. "Oh, come on, Rio! Library! Really? On Saturday?"

"You make it as if I was going to commit a sin." Rio sighed.

"It is!" Himeko threw a glare at his son, "When I was around your age, I went dating! Every week! With different boy!"

"You did not need to study that hard, Mom."

"Nonsense! I was a top student at my class, and I was committee for university festival every year." Himeko's slender fingers ran into her wavy blond hair. "Listen to me, Rio. In your youth, yes, you need to study and work really hard but you also must enjoy your life! Dating, partying, getting drunk, having hangover, or any other fun activities!" she continued while counting with her fingers.

Shino glanced at his dad, asking, "Why did you marry her, Dad?"

"Believe me, I have no idea up until now," replied Akimitsu behind his newspaper.

After giving her eldest son a short lecture about the importance of having fun, Himeko turned her attention to Shino. "So, Shino, what is your plan?"

"Like I said, Mom," Shino replied, "Nothing."

And the boys were forced to listen to their mother's short lecture about how doing nothing would make their life really boring.

Rio left for library around an hour later and Akimitsu began working at his home office. Himeko, again, tried to tell Shino to go outside but the boy did nothing at all. He laid on the couch, rolling into his side. He watched Murasame playing with stuffed toy. Feeling bored, Shino stared at his phone screen. Yesterday, he had sent Sousuke an e-mail to confirm his modelling job immediately after his shocking conversation with Shinobu. Much of his own surprise, Shino had said yes. Actually, it had been Shinobu who encouraged Shino to do so.

Sousuke had not mentioned what time Shino should come to his house. Anytime is fine, Sousuke said in the e-mail. Now, Shino was contemplating whether to go now or later in the afternoon. Gosh, why did he sound like a girl anticipating her first date?! It was all Shinobu's fault! Shino shot up and began pacing in his living room. His hands absentmindedly ran into his purplish locks.

"Aaaah, that's it! Whatever!" Shino screamed on top of his lungs and stormed out of the house, leaving Himeko and Akimitsu jumped in surprise.

Seconds later, Shino found himself stood in front of the Inukawa's house. He rang the bell, ready to face Sousuke. As he had expected, Sousuke opened the gate. The man could not hide his beaming expression when he looked at Shino. "Please, come in," said Sousuke, "Would you like some tea and cake?"

At the word 'cake', Shino felt his mouth watering. He knew Sousuke's cake was very sweet and delicious. It melted inside his mouth, giving a lingering texture of finest whipped cream. "Sure, I'll ha-" Wait, he was not here for a mere slice of cake. He was here to... To what? He did not even know the answer. Sure, yesterday Shinobu had told him that he was in love with Sousuke... But, to think about it again, was it true? Was he really in love with Sousuke? More importantly, did Sousuke like him too?

"Shino, are you alright? You're spacing out," said Sousuke as they entered the entrance area, "Are you-"

A clumsy yank on his collar startled the dark-haired man. He was forced to bent over, his feet almost got tripped in proccess. A soft surface touched his lips. Sousuke's eyes went wide instantly. Shino was...kissing him. It was an awkward, innocent kiss. A peck, no more than that, but Sousuke was in a pure bliss. When theirs lips were apart, he sneaked his hands around Shino's thin waist.

They looked at each other. Shino had already had his face covered in crimson. He looked down at his toes when Sousuke embraced him. The older man took Shino's chin and the boy finally looked up.

"I...," Shino stuttered, "I...uhm..."

Sousuke smiled gently, kissing Shino's forehead. "Thank you."

Shino looked bewildered. "Uh, what?"

The man did not reply. Instead, he took Shino's hand and led him into his studio. Shino followed him in confusion. He had kissed Sousuke, and Sousuke had said thank you. And...and... Shino was in daze when Sousuke slid the door closed. Shino turned back and watched how Sousuke were staring at him. Those eyes were gentler than usual. Shino swore he could clearly hear his own heart beats.

"Shino," said Sousuke as he cupped the boy's cheeks, "I know we should wait but... I'll be gentle so it won't hurt that much."

The boy had no idea what Sousuke was talking about. He allowed Sousuke pulled his body so they were sitting on the wooden floor. Sousuke's hands were still on his waist, hugging him even tighter. Slowly, Sousuke made a move to Shino's small hips. Shino was about to protest when Sousuke put his fingers on his inner thigh, but the man kissed him in mouth. Hard.

.

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tbc