Chapter 24 – The Joy of a Private Hotel Room

~o~

After driving for about 20 minutes, nobody seemed to be interested in each other's doings, so Toudou pulled out his phone and typed out a message.

Maki-chan jerked awake from his thoughts as Toudou thrust the phone under his nose.

'I found out some interesting stuff.'

Maki-chan looked at him. Toudou yanked his phone back and typed more.

'About what we talked about this morning. I figured out how it works.'

Maki-chan took the phone and wrote: 'Well, that was certainly fast.'

'Yep. Now I know what we did wrong.'

Maki-chan didn't answer that, so Toudou continued writing. 'I want to try again tonight.'

This time Maki-chan took the phone. 'We'll be in Paris around two.'

'I don't care,' Toudou answered. 'Let's sleep in the car so we'll be perky when we get to the hotel.'

Maki-chan let out a short laugh. 'We might not get a room to ourselves.'

Damn, that was true! Toudou hadn't considered that possibility. He bit his lip, typing out: 'Let's try anyway. To get one, I mean.'

"Alright," Maki-chan said out loud, indicating that the texting was over. Tadokoro on his other side was already glancing at them questioningly. But Toudou was content. He had gotten his answer. He tucked his phone back to his bag and leaned against his seat, planning to catch a few hours of sleep.

"It's almost two in the morning, so do you think we could share out rooms without any extra ruckus?" Kinjou asked when they were close enough to their hotel that it was time to think about the sleeping arrangements.

The situation worked in Toudou's favour since everyone else was too tired to actually ask for a certain room or roommates. So he vigorously announced that he wanted a private room for himself and Maki-chan.

Kinjou looked at him behind his glasses for a moment as if to ask if Toudou was seriously daring to demand something at this ungodly hour. Toudou held his gaze as firmly as he could (since Kinjou was a bit scary) and Sohoku's captain turned his eyes to Maki-chan, maybe searching for help. Luckily Maki-chan maintained his calm exterior, although Toudou would have hoped for some sort of support from him. In the end, Kinjou sighed. "If that's okay with the others."

Arakita muttered something about a pampered candy-ass but that remained as the only protest.

And that was why, when the hotel room's door clicked behind them, they were alone. The room wasn't much to talk about. It was shabby and very small. A double bed in the middle of the room left only narrow spaces around it and right below the window there was a busy, noisy street. On top of it, the room smelled like old tobacco.

Maki-chan dragged his bag next to the bed, dropping it before sitting down on the mattress and wiping hair out of his eyes. "You probably understand what kind of impression demanding a private room gave to the others?"

"Mhm, maybe," Toudou said. "I don't actually care that much. They could always assume that we just don't want to sleep in the same room as Manami or some other idiot."

"Since there are only five hours left of tonight, I don't think that's probable."

Toudou circled to his side of the bed. "Does that bother you?"

Maki-chan shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, Kinjou and Tadokorocchi have probably already figured out what's going on, but the younger ones don't need to know everything yet."

"Come on, I'm sure they don't realize," Toudou assured him. Manami had promised to keep his mouth shut and everything. "Let's just forget about the others and take advantage of this room."

Maki-chan smiled sheepishly. "It feels a bit dumb with so many arrangements."

"Isn't that a good thing? We're not diving in headfirst and only half-prepared." Like they had done in the morning.

"I guess so."

"Or… are you too tired?" Toudou asked tentatively.

"Nah, I'm not. But I was thinking about taking a shower."

"Shall we go together?"

He received a lift of eyebrows. "A little while ago you were about to pull a Naruko out of the mere thought."

"Pull a Naruko?"

"Crap your pants."

Toudou almost asked, but decided against it at the last second. Talking about a teammate's bowel movements probably wasn't the best way to get in the mood. "Well, I've changed my mind about it." He had seen Maki-chan naked so many times and touched almost every spot of his body, so separate showers just sounded like affectation.

At least until they saw what kind of a box their shower was. Yes, the hotel was below par on other levels too but surely they could have squeezed a slightly bigger stall in the bathroom.

"How do gaijin shower in that closet?" Toudou asked while pushing his pants down. He didn't mind that he would have to stand side by side with Maki-chan but there was a serious risk of hitting your elbow on the wall.

"Maybe it's more spacious than it looks."

Well, it wasn't. Toudou had to lean on Maki-chan in order to close the door – not that he complained – and when Maki-chan turned the shower on, they had no room to escape the splash of cold water. Toudou might have let out a shriek that under some circumstances could have sounded girly.

Maki-chan looked at him, surprise and amusement mixing on his face, as he pointed the shower head into the corner, away from them.

"Fuck, that's cold!" Toudou protested. His skin was immediately infested with goosebumps and he felt like if Maki-chan hadn't seen his junk, he would have whirled around quickly. But because he had, Toudou only glued his torso against his partner's back in the hope of getting warmer. Maki-chan jumped and almost leaped forward.

"You are cold too!"

"Sorry. I'll warm up in a minute." Toudou wrapped his arms around Maki-chan's waist, hugging him tightly. Warmth gradually spread into him, and he buried his face into the green hair, inhaling the scent. His nether regions interpreted naked hugging as a permission to steal the majority of his body's blood supply, and soon he could feel the first familiar sparkle in his groin.

Maki-chan let him continue his cuddling, holding his fingers under the shower. "Takes quite a long time. For the water to get warm, I mean."

"Have you noticed that in the local showers the water pressure is so fierce that it almost rips your hair off?"

Maki-chan chuckled and peeked at him over his shoulder. "Yeah, I have. The other option is that there's no pressure at all and the water just drips out because of the gravity."

"I know! That's interesting. Do French people have equally bad showers in their homes or are they a specialty of hotels and camping areas?" The shower in this hotel was of the first kind. From a close distance it almost hurt.

After several minutes of shivering and waiting, the water had warmed up enough for them to wet their skins. By then, Toudou was already having a full hard-on and washing up had begun to feel like a secondary task. But he was feeling worn-out from the drive and the action they were about to jump into was something in which cleanliness was very important, so he just contained himself.

Nevertheless, Maki-chan glanced at him, looking somewhat amused, as if to ask if his little Toudou never rested.

'Hey, I'm 17,' Toudou answered equally silently. 'There would be something wrong with me if it didn't work. The bigger question is how you don't have a boner yet.' Not that Maki-chan had any problems on that area but Toudou had taken a note (alongside Maki-chan, as it seemed) that his dick just was damn quick and seized every opportunity like it was their last, whereas Maki-chan was more collected, more sparing.

Wait a second, was he comparing the functionality of their dicks? Suppose he was.

Oh well, it was two in the morning. That was his excuse.

To distract his body he picked up his shower gel bottle and squeezed a generous blob onto Maki-chan's back. Maki-chan froze for a second before relaxing again and Toudou began to spread the slippery substance over his skin.

"I'm going to smell like you," Maki-chan pointed out.

"I think we already smell like each other", Toudou said, continuing his ministrations. He soaped up Maki-chan's back before sneaking his hands around his sides and onto his lower stomach while listening to changes in his rhythm of breath. Maki-chan leaned partly against him, allowing him to slide his hands lower onto his partner's groin and circle teasingly his awaking dick. Toudou leaned over Maki-chan's shoulder so that he could reach his lips. Unfortunately the cramped stall wasn't a place for romance to bloom, so after a short smooch and cuddle session they ended up washing themselves and moving back into the bedroom.

"So what have you learned?" Maki-chan asked, sitting on the bed to dry his hair. Toudou only wiped himself quickly and dived between the sheets naked. Why get dressed when they were going to remove their clothes soon anyway?

Oh right, he hadn't told Maki-chan yet. "We've done everything wrong!" he squeaked.

Maki-chan's hands stopped. "Everything?"

"Well, not everything, but… I mean, this morning. No wonder it didn't work." He coughed and tried to sound affirmative and educated. "We need lubrication."

Maki-chan nodded. "Hmm, okay. Sounds about right."

"Then we have to start slowly... with fingers."

"You mean like stretching?"

"Yes."

"Where did you learn it so quickly?"

Toudou avoided his gaze. "Um, from Hayato."

Maki-chan was quiet. It was only for a short while but it felt like an eternity before Maki-chan spoke again. "Did you ask him directly?"

"Sort of. I didn't say that I need it for… us or anything, but…"

"You think he didn't realize it?" Maki-chan didn't sound upset which made Toudou feel a bit better.

"Hayato is not going to tell anyone," he promised. "He's not that kind of guy."

Maki-chan sighed, resuming drying his hair. "Whatever. Half of the lot knows anyway."

Toudou wasn't so sure about that. Manami knew, and now perhaps Shinkai, and Maki-chan had mentioned Sohoku's third-years, and it had looked like a few wheels had turned in Onoda's head during their sightseeing tour in Annecy...

Agh, who cared? If half of their troop knew, they took it very calmly. Toudou decided it was time to get back to business. It was well past two in the morning and he had had a hard-on for half an hour now, nonstop.

"What I'm wondering is, why this is not taught in schools," he said. "It would save the students from a lot of trouble."

"Would you seriously want to listen to some teacher talking about using lube in butt sex?"

"If it were a young teacher lady, why not?" Their health education teacher just happened to be like Toudou assumed Mr. Pierre was as a teacher. During their sex ed lessons Mr. Hashimoto had just shoved an old VHS cassette into an even older VCR player and told the students to watch it while he himself had sipped tea and stared out of the window. On the video, a nurse that looked half-mummified had coughed embarrassing word from her lips and shown some reduced line art images. In order to avoid dying from embarrassment, the students had begun to joke about the video and imitate the speaker, and in the end they hadn't got that much out of it. The things Toudou knew he had learned from his friends and online.

"But we have a problem," Maki-chan remarked. "We have no lube."

That Toudou had understood too and he couldn't really have asked Mr. Pierre to stop by a pharmacy. He had deduced that any substance that removed friction should work, and he always carried a bottle of lotion with him on holidays. He voiced his thoughts and Maki-chan nodded after a bit of thinking.

"I suppose we could try it out."

"It's scented, but I guess that makes no difference." Toudou leaned over the bed's edge to rummage through his bag for the lotion. He had lavished it on his skin during the trip and there wasn't much left but it should be enough for one experiment.

He froze when a warm hand landed on his naked buttock. "And you're still sure you want to be on the receiving end?" Maki-chan checked.

"Yes, I'm sure. That's how we agreed to do it."

"But do you actually want it?"

Toudou found what he was looking for and hauled himself back up on the bed. "Maki-chan, as long as I do it with you, I don't care which way we do it."

His partner was quiet for a couple of seconds. "Well, that was cheesy."

"It was, wasn't it? But please stop worrying about me." Toudou cupped Maki-chan's face and leaned closer so that he could brush his lips with his own. "I want this. That's all you need to think about."

"What if..." Maki-chan dropped his gaze. "What if it fails again? What if I... totally suck?"

Ah, the pressure to perform. Maki-chan wasn't supposed to suffer from it, but Toudou could understand him very well. It appeared exactly when it wanted to.

"You won't suck," he promised.

"How do you know?"

"Because you're Maki-chan and you haven't sucked thus far. Except for my dick."

Maki-chan offered him a small smile, but Toudou could see nervousness still lurking behind his eyes. He leaned forward again, kissing his partner in a way that he hoped felt encouraging. Maki-chan responded to his gesture by opening his lips and letting his tongue slid inside while his hand inched up Toudou's naked thigh, caressing it slightly and making him shiver. Toudou grabbed the hem of Maki-chan's shirt (why had he put his clothes on again?) allowing his hand to dive underneath. His fingers caught a warm, still a bit damp skin, and he trailed them upwards along Maki-chan's abdomen.

They lay down on the bed, and Toudou helped Maki-chan get rid of his clothes. At some point during their smooching and groping he noticed that he had ended up on top again. His lips were touring around Maki-chan's neck and collarbones, although he was careful not to suck too hard and leave marks, and his lower body was grinding against his partner in the most shameful way. Maki-chan's hands were travelling along his sides, ending up squeezing his ass and even pulling it towards himself.

Toudou could feel the sweat of frustration occupy his skin. It would have been so easy to just slip between the white thighs and find that hot, tight hole his lower body was screaming for, but no, he had promised. He had decided that Maki-chan didn't have to be in a role he didn't feel comfortable in. So he rolled off of his partner, onto his back, and placed the lotion bottle in Maki-chan's hand.

"I think you need to prepare me now."

"Yeah... alright."

"Do you find it gross?" Toudou asked.

"No. I wouldn't be doing this if I did."

Toudou nodded, huffing. Maki-chan coated his middle finger with lotion and placed it between Toudou's buttock. Toudou tried to concentrate on keeping his muscles unstrained, as Maki-chan rubbed back and forth with his finger before slowly pushing it in.

Hmm, compared to this morning things were proceeding quite smoothly. First of all, something did get in, and secondly, it didn't even hurt. It was weird though, different to what he had imagined.

Maki-chan glanced at him through his bangs. "How does it feel?"

"Weird. Not bad. Carry on."

Maki-chan continued and Toudou kept a close account on sensations. Maybe it was leaning towards pleasant, but it was still quite far from sparkling pleasure. If the same procedure had been done at a doctor's appointment (like to Izumida's grandfather) it would have probably felt uncomfortable, but now the intimacy of the situation made it exciting.

The excitement only grew when Maki-chan leaned over his groin, lips nibbling his half-mast. Which turned from half to full in the blink of an eye.

Maki-chan lifted his chin to look at Toudou. "I'm not sure if I should be flattered or call the Guinness World Record jury."

Toudou snorted. "It's just because of you. And perhaps a bit because my veins are in such good condition."

Maki-chan hmm'd, resuming running his lips along Toudou's length. Toudou basked in the feelings for a moment but he had to put a stop to it, because Maki-chan was the World Champion of blowjobs and Toudou could have come from the mere thought of feeling those lips around him again. Damn, why did he have to be so sensitive? He really hoped his stamina would grow soon.

Maki-chan left his erection and pushed another finger inside him. It felt tight and a bit unpleasant, but since they went in fairly easily, they had to still be on the right track. Thank heavens for Shinkai and his expertise. Toudou tried to stay relaxed and find something to grab on in the new feelings. He could make out something; thin flashes of pleasure here and there, especially close to the entrance and somewhere deeper in the front. Yet it still sounded weird that he could come from the fingers touch only, the feeling was that mild. But dicks were thicker and would create more friction.

"Wanna try it properly?" he suggested, driven by his thought.

Maki-chan looked at him carefully. "If you're certain. Which way you want to do it?"

"Face to face," Toudou said immediately. He wanted to see Maki-chan's face, the pleasure on it, and let his long hair hang around his head like drapes while they were doing it.

"You want a condom?"

"Nah, we can leave that out." They hadn't used protection in the morning after realising it was unnecessary. It would probably feel better without.

He wondered if his heart should have been beating a bit harder. Maybe. It was pounding slightly faster than normal but not up to nervousness. He wasn't nervous, not this time. He had a strong belief in both of them.

Maki-chan took the lotion, squeezing a fair amount on his dick. Then he inched closer, grabbing Toudou's hip with his other hand, and Toudou could feel him position himself. A slick head pressed against him. It reminded him of their attempt in the morning but at the same time it felt somehow... righter. More sensible. He had a feeling that this was how it was supposed to be done.

Maki-chan remembered the morning too, because he used too much force in the beginning, breaking through Toudou's barrier with a swift thrust. They both let out a surprised yelp when the head slipped in just like that. Toudou's surprise changed into a sharp gasp when a pinching, stretching pain shot through his nerves. His muscles had loosened up but they seemed to have reached their limit. It felt like stretching a tissue that was not meant to be stretched.

He didn't need to say it out loud. Maki-chan had already noticed it and was holding himself back. As Toudou grunted, gritting his teeth and digging his nails into his arms, he was about to pull out, but Toudou stopped him.

"Hold on. Wait for... me to get used to it."

Maki-chan didn't look convinced. "Does it hurt badly?"

"No, it doesn't... if you don't move. Just wait for a moment." Cramps came as short, sharp waves, clearly trying to push the intruder out, but Toudou fought them and tried to concentrate on the calm phases in between. Maki-chan lowered himself onto his elbows and pressed their lips together, stealing Toudou's attention. And it worked. When Toudou only concentrated on how his partner's tongue was gliding along his lower lip and poked playfully his own, he forgot that his muscles were straining like on a steep climb. And as he forgot it, they actually gave in.

Maki-chan swallowed his muffled groan as he could feel the stretching pressure inch deeper inside. Aargh, fuck! If he felt this stuffed, how tight it was for Maki-chan?

"Mhm, damn, you feel good, Jinpachi," Maki-chan suddenly said, hiding his face in Toudou's neck as if he was embarrassed of his words.

Oh? Okay then. So apparently he wasn't squeezing too much even if he felt like it. Maki-chan didn't stop but pulled a bit out only to push in deeper. Toudou tried to accommodate but his instincts told him to push back. His fingers were grabbing Maki-chan's arms so much his joints hurt.

"You don't have to hang in there for me," Maki-chan continued. "If you want to stop, just tell me."

"I don't... I don't want to," Toudou muttered into Maki-chan's hair. And he really didn't, because fuck, they were already way into it and he wouldn't leave this country as a virgin even if it was the last thing he did and he would totally go and demand that Arakita finished it, if Maki-chan couldn't...

Okay, maybe not. He wanted his first (and perhaps his last too) to be Maki-chan, but Maki-chan was sometimes too understanding. Toudou already knew that he wasn't hurting as much as Maki-chan had hurt during his first time. In fact, the movement had diluted into mild discomfort, one that he could handle until the end. It didn't resemble entering through Heaven's gates, but maybe that was normal for the first time.

While floating in his thoughts, Toudou managed to relax enough and soon Maki-chan was moving inside him without barriers, long, deep, slow thrusts that made Toudou whimper even if he wasn't sure what the nature of the feelings was. He liked the intimacy at least; how Maki-chan was so close, hot skin against another, the smell of clean hair mixed with the first drops of sweat, facial muscles tightening and relaxing, as Maki-chan held himself back, wet sounds where their bodies connected, the creaking of the bed underneath them. Toudou placed his hands on Maki-chan's ass to pull him closer, and simultaneously forced him deeper. It felt uncomfortable for a minute but then he managed to let go of the control and the thrust became easier.

He was actually pretty good at this! First proper attempt and he mastered it immediately, taking his partner inside him like a porn actor. What a shame that he couldn't brag about it to his teammates.

The head of his dick brushed against his stomach with every thrust, creating some nice friction. Maybe he should touch himself to get in the mood better. But would Maki-chan think of it as insulting?

Then something new and intriguing flashed inside him, making his dick jump, and he fumbled down his body with an instinct. His fingers wrapped around his length, rubbing lightly. Maki-chan wouldn't mind, he was sure. Besides, he looked like he was not going to last long. His pale skin had turned pink and his thrusts had become erratic and he was letting out strained sounds that Toudou had never heard before and a couple of times he even breathed out Toudou's name and...

"Jinpachi, I'm sorry, I can't... go on for long, this is too much..."

Toudou had no chance to answer as his partner began to move faster, grapping his hips tightly and slammed into him so hard that he yelped in surprise. He had about half a second to find his rear muscles and make them go limp, before the thrusts became fast and hard.

"I'm sorry... I hope..." Maki-chan spoke between his thrusts. "I hope you're not hurting... fuck, ha-aah, I can't..."

"Don't worry, just let go," Toudou promised. His hand synced up with the thrusts, pumping the aching length and the pleasure flamed in his groin, growing and pulsing, but he... would have needed... just a little bit longer.

Maki-chan dug his fingers into Toudou's skin, jerking against him. A suppressed moan escaped his throat. Toudou could feel his climax inside him as a weird, wet warmth, but above all he could see it on his face, as his eyes squeezed shut, his mouth opened and closed, air surged in and out of flared nostrils... and he almost came right there and then, except not quite.

Maki-chan dropped on top of him, not with his full weight as he caught himself on his elbows, and Toudou rubbed his back while waiting for his after-tremors to pass. When he had caught his breath enough to understand something about his surroundings, he pressed his lips on Toudou's neck.

"Sorry, I missed your timing, Maki-chan, next time I'll−"

"Shh, don't worry, Jinpachi." Maki-chan propped himself up onto his arms, backing off so that he slipped out of Toudou, and was immediately crawling down his body. He was pressing light kisses all over his skin but his final destination was clear. Toudou hissed when hot, heavy breath hit his erection. Maki-chan took the head between his lips and lifted his dick up using only his mouth. The same mouth Toudou had already promised him the World Championship for.

This time Maki-chan went straight into business, skipping any teasing, since Toudou was already past the halfway and teasing would have made him extremely frustrated. His back arched as Maki-chan took him deep into his throat, surrounding his every centimeter with hot, squeezing wetness. Toudou could also feel two fingers pushing inside him and beginning to move in the rhythm of his partner's mouth. His muscles wrapped around them, seeking for more friction, and Maki-chan changed the angle, rubbing the front of his passage.

"Aah, god, I can't..." Toudou grabbed Maki-chan's hair. "I can't take this... I'm... gonna... come... like..."

Maki-chan hummed approvingly around him. His tongue was doing some interesting twirls on the underside of his dick, and Toudou's breath caught in his throat when a hot burst set off from his groin, forcing him to close his eyes, open his mouth to a silent scream and grasp the blanket instead of Maki-chan's hair so that he wouldn't hurt him.

Maki-chan swallowed it all. He always did. Toudou had no complaints. After all, it was freaking hot. A perfect ending to a perfect performance.

He slumped on the mattress, jerking as a strong shudder went through him when Maki-chan touched the oversensitive head. Realizing, Maki-chan backed off, giving him a moment to gather himself.

"Shit, you're good", Toudou muttered. "You're fucking good. Do your teammates know that you're such a pro at giving head? You could earn yourself some extra respect if you told them."

Maki-chan let out a sound between laugh and sneer. "I think I can live without it."

"You do know that you don't have to swallow?" Toudou checked. He wouldn't mind if Maki-chan finished him off with his hand or spit out the results. It really wasn't that good, if not gross either.

"I know. I'm doing it because I want to. Your expression makes it worth it every time."

Toudou answered with a smile. "Well, I'm not telling you to stop." He straightened his legs and stretched. His hips felt unexpectedly stiff, but he had kept them in a weird angle for a long while. Maki-chan crawled up the bed to lie next to him, tucking his face into his neck and lowering his hand on his chest.

"You're not hurting, are you?"

Toudou patted him on the shoulder. "No, I'm not. Everything's fine." He understood why it was possible for that action to hurt like a bitch if it was done incorrectly. Since he wasn't hurting, he could only come to the conclusion that they had done it right. Heh. Happy smiley. And he wasn't a virgin anymore! Success! Another smiley. Luckily Maki-chan wasn't looking at him, because he was probably grinning like a maniac.

They lay there for a few minutes, just enjoying each other's company, but then Toudou's bladder announced that it wasn't time to go to bed just yet. "I need to go to the bathroom," he said, sitting up and climbing to his feet.

After only two or three steps he realized that something was leaking out of him.

"Argh, Maki-chan, your delivery is coming back!" He leaped into the bathroom where he tried to collect the spunk on toilet paper but the leak showed no signs of ending. Seriously, just how much of that stuff did Maki-chan produce? Litres?

"Using a condom seems to have its benefits," he said when his boyfriend appeared in the doorstep, watching his agony with clear amusement. "Fuck, thank god, we didn't do this in the morning. I would have watched the stage with a wet spot in my pants." Toudou dropped the papers in the toilet, deciding it was time to take another shower.

"It is a bit impractical. I can wear a condom next time if you want."

"It fine in the evening. If we sometimes want to do it in the daytime and we need to go somewhere after it, a condom would be quite useful." Toudou shrugged, stepping into the stall. Maki-chan followed him.

They showered quickly and returned to the bed, Toudou with a batch of toilet paper because the stuff was still dripping out of him. Every time he thought it had ended, another wet surge forced him to stuff paper between his buttocks. Really sexy. Why wasn't this told anywhere? Why hadn't Shinkai told him? Thankfully Maki-chan was one of those people who didn't mind such mess.

"You know what?" his partner said after checking his phone. "It's already past three."

"Yippee. Well, we'll sleep on the plane."

"What if we tried to sleep for the rest of the night?"

"Fine by me."

Maki-chan turned off the nightstand light and darkness dawned in the room. It wasn't complete, thanks to the street lights shining through thin curtains, and Toudou turned towards his boyfriend, trying to find his eyes as his hand climbed to rest on his chest. He could make out Maki-chan's lashes that blinked while he stared at the ceiling.

"What are you thinking about?"

Maki-chan shrugged. "I'm thinking that I would have wished to perform better than that."

"Why? What was wrong with it?"

"I wasn't able to wait for you."

"Isn't that normal for the first time?" Toudou asked. "That much I can remember from our awkward sex ed lessons."

"I guess so."

"Hey, you finished it in a very acceptable way. If you had just turned your back on me and gone to sleep, I might have gotten a bit upset," a smile broke through Toudou's voice and he knew that Maki-chan could hear it too. "Besides, wouldn't it be boring if the first time was perfect? It would be like winning your first race; what you should practise after that for?"

"Like, for the Tour?"

"Alright, so maybe it wasn't the best simile out there but you probably got my point. I think it's way more interesting to practise and reach the top together."

Maki-chan accepted his explanation. He lifted his arm to rest it across his forehead, closing his eyes. "Tomorrow is the last day of the Tour."

"I know. The time has gone so fast but on the other hand it feels like we've been in France for a month."

"I think after this I'll need another holiday. A real holiday."

"Do you think... we could spend it together?" Toudou asked. "I mean if I came to your house or you could visit our ryokan..."

Maki-chan nodded. "It's possible. My brother is coming over soon, but he will only stay for half a week or so."

"Your brother that lives in Britain?"

"Yep, Ren. Maybe after that I could come and visit you? If that's okay with your parents."

Toudou couldn't hide the excitement in his voice. He hugged Maki-chan for what he could while lying down. "Of course it's okay!" Mom could maybe even free him from the gardening if he told her that his friend was coming over.

"Good, let's talk about it later. Now we should sleep or we'll be too tired in tomorrow's finale."

"Yeah." Toudou adjusted his position and closed his eyes. He suspected that his lips were still frozen in a smile when sleep finally came and claimed him.