Celebrations Chapter Ten

Outings

Sport coat draped over one arm, Yokozawa slipped out of his bedroom and into the hall to head to the bathroom. On the way, he peeked into the living room. Kirishima sat on the edge of the couch, deep in quiet conversation with Hiyori.

Hiyori's overnight bag sat on the ground at her feet. She held her new bear clasped to her chest with one arm. The hand of her other was making nervous twists with a strand of her hair. Yokozawa watched Kirishima reach out and gently pull Hiyori's twirling fingers into his own. His voice was low, but even so, Yokozawa could hear the soothing tones of it.

He turned away from the tender scene, uneasy.

It's not like Hiyori to be anxious about going to her grandparents.

Pushing into the bathroom, he turned on the light. This was just one more troubling development in his day: after the light teasing when Kirishima had first joined him and Hiyori at the mall, on the way home, both father and daughter had fallen into strangely serious moods.

Standing before the mirror over the sink, Yokozawa rubbed his hand over his jaw, and tilted his head, making sure that mirror agreed with his fingers once again and that he didn't need to shave. He scowled at his reflection. Seeing the frown that met him in the mirror only deepened it.

While it had never particularly bothered him before, what he was about to do tonight, for the first time, left his stomach in an uncomfortable knot. The dress shirt and tie he wore suddenly felt unbearably constricting. Long fingers loosened the tie and then ran through his thick hair, tousling it into some semblance of order.

It's not as if I'm doing anything wrong, really.

His reflection cocked a dark brow at him, challenging otherwise. Oh? Then why are you feeling so conflicted.

Yokozawa dropped his gaze with a sigh. He turned away from the mirror and made his way back to the door.

Last night and for most of today he'd wanted to run away from Kirishima and all the man stirred in him. Now, he wished both he and Hiyori were staying tonight. He wanted nothing more than to remain here, tucked into the evening with his…

Family…?

The word scorched his mind and he dropped it instantly.

Just as Yokozawa's hand gripped the doorknob, his ears caught the muffled sounds of Kirishima greeting his parents. Heat filled his cheeks at how foolishly he'd just been thinking.

Now, that's family… Real family. Not this strange thing I'm doing here with Zen and his daughter.

Yokozawa closed his eyes against the tightness that suddenly gripped his chest. He pressed his forehead to the smooth wood and allowed it to rest there while he waited for Kirishima's mother and father to leave with their granddaughter.

He started when a light tap sounded on the other side of the door.

"Onii-chan…?" Hiyori's voice was soft and unusually hesitant.

Yokozawa pulled away and stepped a few feet back before indicating he'd heard her. "Ummm."

"I'm so sorry to disturb you. I know that you're getting ready to go out…" Embarrassment weighted Hiyori's words. "But I wanted to say goodbye before I left with Grandma and Grandpa."

The ache in Yokozawa's heart increased. He was seized with the urge to open the door, to go out, and give Hiyori a proper goodbye, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Instead, he remained silent.

"Night, Onii-chan," Hiyori sighed at last, hearing her grandmother call out to her. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Yokozawa silently cursed himself as he listened to the patter of dainty feet scamper away down the hall.

Ten minutes later he emerged into the front room.

Yokozawa shrugged into his coat before bending slightly to sweep a hand across the front of his trousers, worried that he'd already managed to wrinkle them in the minutes he'd spent sitting on the closed lid of the toilet, hiding.

"You're looking very dapper tonight."

Gray eyes shifted over to where Kirishima had resumed his position on the sofa. The editor was dressed for a night at home, wearing a pair of grey, cotton sleep pants and a white t-shirt that hugged the tight contours of his torso.

Yokozawa replied with a dismissive snort.

"No, really, Yokozawa. Formal business meeting, is it?"

A furrow creased Yokozawa's brow at the question. He studied Kirishima a moment, but both the tone of his lover's voice and his expression were light. "Something like that." He stepped into the kitchen and Kirishima rose from the couch and followed.

"My parents said to tell you 'hello.' They were sorry not to see you tonight."

Yokozawa stopped in his trek to the stove. It still amazed him how easily Zen's parents had accepted him after their first awkward introduction.

"This is Yokoza; please consider him part of my family. He's living with Hiyo and me now. "

"Yes, well, I was getting ready to go. I'll try to be here when they bring Hiyori back tomorrow to properly greet them."

A curious expression flitted over Kirishima's face when he said this, but it disappeared too quickly for Yokozawa to decipher it. Deciding it was likely nothing, he stepped over to the range. "Your dinner's in there. Are you going to eat right away? Or should I leave the oven on low?"

Kirishima leaned against the counter. "I'm not really hungry, but are you sure you want to leave me alone with the oven on?"

"Good point." Yokozawa snorted and reached over to turn the knob to off. Feeling oddly uncomfortable, he turned to the side rather than meet Kirishima's gaze. His eyes fell on Sorata's food bowl, sitting still three quarters full. "Looks like you're not the only one who isn't hungry tonight."

It wasn't like Sorata to not finish a meal. "Have you seen Sora-chan by the way?"

Yokozawa lifted his eyes at last only to find Kirishima staring at him intently. Kirishima offered a light shrug and a smile.

"He wasn't too happy to see Hiyori's overnight bag come out. Last I saw, he was sulking on her bed." He moved over and wrapped lean arms around Yokozawa from behind. "I thought once you left, I might go join him."

"You miss Hiyori that much already?"

The arms that had been loosely circling Yokozawa's waist slipped away. Kirishima stepped over to the fridge and cracked the door. "You're so oblivious sometimes, Takafumi." He peered inside a moment before withdrawing a beer. "I was talking about missing you."

With a light huff of exasperation, Kirishima closed the fridge door and made his way out into the living room. He plopped himself back down on the couch and picked the remote up off the low coffee table.

Cheeks heating at his lover's irked confession, Yokozawa followed him out. He stood next to the couch, arms crossed over his chest looking down on Kirishima with disapproval.

"Sulking doesn't become you any more than it does Sorata."

Kirishima pulled his eyes away from the newly flickering flat screen and gave Yokozawa a wink. "No, but it did get you to linger."

Yokozawa glanced over at the clock and grimaced. "Damn you!"

He was going to be late now and that wasn't going to be helpful at all. He started over to the door grumbling to himself as Kirishima chuckled lowly behind him. He'd just about reached the entry when Kirishima called out.

"Ah, Takafumi, don't forget your case."

The words made Yokozawa stiffen. Of course he didn't need his workbag, but he'd told Zen it was business and it would look strange if he didn't take it. He growled and strode over to where it sat next to his laptop on the dining table. He'd gotten into his computer right away once they'd gotten home to ensure Kirishima had been truthful about not messing with anything and found that seemed to be true.

So far, anyways.

Yokozawa grabbed his case, and began making his way back to the front door. "Thanks," he grumbled, his insides twisting now at his increased deception.

He was surprised just shy of the entry by a large hand on his shoulder.

Dizzied, as he was spun around, Yokozawa began to protest, but this was cut off by the hot mouth crashing against his own. The fingers not holding the handle of his case pressed against Kirishima's chest, trying to push him off. But Kirishima's hand on his shoulder slipped to the back of his neck, holding him tightly and Kirishima's lips were adamant.

He was breathless by the time his lover released him. But not before Kirishima leaned in and whispered into his ear. "I hope your meeting doesn't go too long Takafumi. Regardless, know I'll be waiting here to welcome you home."

This breathy growl left Yokozawa without any words of his own. Heat flooded his whole body and a heavy pulse of want throbbed his cock. But then just as suddenly as he'd been kissed, he felt himself turned roughly back around and, before he knew it, a firm hand on his low back had ushered him out.

The door to the apartment clicked softly shut behind him.

It had been a long time since Yokozawa had felt so dislocated.

What the hell is going on here?

Once Yokozawa was out the door, Kirishima turned around and leaned back against it. His own breathing was slightly ragged. He waited there until he was sure Yokozawa had headed off down the hall before returning to the couch.

After running a hand through his shaggy bangs, he sat down. He opened his beer and picked up the remote, channel surfing for a number of minutes as he sipped at his drink. Not too long had passed, however, before Kirishima set his beer down and clicked off the TV.

His eyes shifted over to where Yokozawa's computer still sat on the kitchen table.

When Yokozawa had given him his password, he'd fully intended to use the opportunity for some pranking. Nothing malicious, just some fun. After all, when was an opportunity to mess with his lover like that going to present itself again?

Opening Yokozawa's e-mail, however, to first send Henmi the needed file had brought all Kirishima's possible mischief to an abrupt halt. He hadn't intended to snoop, but at the top of Yokozawa's inbox was a boldfaced subject line from the BL editor, Aikawa Eri.

Kirishima knew Yokozawa and Aikawa had been friendly in the past, but from what he'd heard, they had always been more drinking buddies than anything romantic. At least that was what he'd thought until he saw the headline:

Reminder: My Parents Tonight and Apartment Viewing

Though he hated himself for doing it, Kirishima hadn't been able to resist clicking on the message. All the air had been sucked from his lungs when he read the correspondence. Aikawa had listed the name of a restaurant where she'd made a reservation for her and Yokozawa to dine with her parents. There was also a note confirming an appointment with a realtor to see a new apartment with Yokozawa, set a week from the coming Monday.

While he'd known that Yokozawa was still settling in with him and Hiyori, he'd thought for the most part that the younger man had been happy. Seeing Aikawa's e-mail, however, he'd realized that perhaps he'd been gravely wrong in his assumption.

Kirishima folded his long-fingered hands together and steepled them under his chin. Yokozawa's depth of commitment was one of the things that had attracted himin the first place and so he had a hard time believing that the man that he loved would step out on him. But if this was the case, he wondered, then why hadn't Yokozawa been forthcoming about his outing that evening? And while he had held back from asking outright, he had also left Yokozawa with several opportunities for disclosure.

Rising from the couch, Kirishima headed back to his bedroom. He had the address of the restaurant memorized.

He had thought he could play it cool, sit back, and wait to see what happened, but now he knew that this was impossible.

In his room he slipped out of his sleep pants and into jeans before pulling a fresh shirt from his closet. As he dressed, Kirishima realized he'd carried out his own deception that evening.

He wasn't about to just sit around waiting; he had to go see for himself what it was he was truly up against.

Ah, beautiful drama. That's what you get for snooping Kirishima.

Thanks everyone for the comments, they make my day! Hope you enjoyed this chapter and thanks for reading.