Eiji was lying on his bed, looking at the ceiling. He had his headphones on and was listening to some music. He had arrived from college a couple of hours ago, prepared dinner and took a shower. His head was terribly heavy with many worried thoughts and he just wanted to try to forget them for a while.
Two weeks had passed by already and he still didn't talk to him about moving out and leaving his job. Things had being so hetic and Oishi was working later hours to compensate the week he was absent due to his cold. Sometimes they didn't even see each other, since Shuichirou was leaving very early and returning home almost midnight.
Eiji was worried with his health, so he would always prepare extra nutritious food for him and pack his obento with a lot of fruit and vegetables.
"How's he taking care of himself when I'm gone?" he took a deep breath and put one arm in front of his eyes. "I couldn't even teach him more dishes like I wanted to."
"Eiji-kun?" Oishi called him while removing his shoes after entering home. He was terribly tired and glad he was able to leave work at a decent hour. "Eiji-kun?"
When he arrived at his room, Shuichirou smiled. He got close to him and caressed his hair.
"Oishi-san!" he sat down quickly, removing the head phones. "You're home!"
"Sorry, did I scare you? I called you twice, but you didn't listen. I still forget you use those sometimes." He looked at the headphones on his hands.
"No, it's okay." He smiled at him. "I'm glad you're home early. Dinner is ready. I prepared grilled shrimp with vegetables and rice."
"Ah, it sounds good." He touched his neck. "I'm beat. I will eat and go straight to bed. I'm taking the 7 a.m shift again tomorrow."
"Go take a shower, I will set the table ready for you."
"Thank you, Eiji-kun." He said, messing his hair a little before leaving his room.
There was a small blush on Eiji's face and he grinned happily for Oishi being home.
It took him a while to return, already bathed and with one of his pajamas.
"How was work today?"
"Busy." He answered, after sitting down and Eiji putting the food in front of him, before sitting across from him. "And I will be even busier from now on." He started to eat and smiled. It tasted so good!
"What do you mean?" it took him a while to be able to respond.
"I volunteer to attend some children from a shelter in the city. They are coming to the hospital on some Saturdays of the month for a while."
"Really?! That's awesome, Oishi-san!"
"Isn't it? Those places are always so crowded and busy, I was happy when our hospital established the partnership." He smiled. "It's good to be able to help."
Eiji looked at him while he returned to eat. Was it possible for someone to be even more wonderful, he thought to himself, with a silly smile on his face.
"Ah, Eiji-kun. I wanted to ask you something." He stopped eating again and it interrupted Eiji's thoughts of admiration.
"Yes?"
"What did you think of Tezuka?" he asked with a small smile and Kikumaru noticed he was a little shy.
"Ah… he seemed like a good person." He showed a nervous smile. "He was worried about you, right?"
"Yes. But I was actually surprised when he showed up."
"He told me you knew each other for a long time."
"Yes." The green eyes looked at him, analyzing his expression and reuniting some courage. "You know, he's the one I'm dating."
Eiji's heart stopped for a second and the blue eyes were unable to blink.
"Dating? With…him?" he was finally able to ask after a while. "You mean… he's your boyfriend?"
Oishi blushed and chuckled.
"Well, I don't know about that, we're too old for such a title." He looked at him gently. "But, since you met each other, I was wondering if he could come to visit from time to time. Is that okay with you?"
Why he had such a sweet expression talking about that guy?! Kikumaru could hear his blood rushing inside his veins.
"Of…of course."
"I hope it isn't a shock for you."
"Not at all." He was making a huge effort to act normal even though his hands were trembling. "But I thought... you liked women. After all, you and Kono-san..."
"I just think...gender isn't important to like someone. I like people as they are."
Shuichirou smiled and continued to eat.
"So why did you have to like HIM of all people?!" Eiji lowered his head for a moment, trying to breathe normally. His heart was hurting. So Oishi had shared such things with him because he was… his… his…. He was not able to complete the sentence on his mind. Eiji felt nauseated and could feel a bad taste on his mouth. He couldn't stay on that house anymore. He really needed to leave.
"Oishi-san…"
"Yes?"
"I need to talk to you about something as well." Eiji looked at him.
"What is it?" he was worried with his serious expression.
"I need to move out."
"What?" the green eyes were wide in surprise. "What do you mean?"
"A friend of mine from college has an open space on her apartment and she invited me to live there. It has a good location and it's closer to school, so…"
"A girl? Is that… your girlfriend by any chance?" he asked, remembering the conversation he had with Haruka and Takumi.
"What?!" his face had the same tone of his head. "Not at all! She's just a friend!"
"I understand." Oishi's gentle voice made him look at him surprise. "You want to have your private space, right? Living with an old man like me must be boring."
"It's not it!" he was extremely sincere. "All this time I spent with Oishi-san, I really loved it! Every second of it!"
"I don't want to leave! I don't want to be apart from you!" he completed on on his mind.
"I will miss you a lot, Eiji-kun." He smiled but the green eyes were sad. "When are you moving out?"
"Before summer vacations." He said, quietly.
"I see. It's so sudden. But, at least, we're still going to see each other because of the food, right?"
"I will also need to quit my job." His heart broke when he said the words.
"Why?"
"The owner of the izakaiya I'm going to work on summer offer me some more hours, so I think it would be the best I could concentrate on it." He made a reverence, not being able to face Oishi after the lie he just told. "I'm really sorry for the hassle."
It seemed like time had frozen still before he felt Shuichirou's gentle hand on his hair.
"It's okay." He smiled. "You should do what's best for you. You have to walk your own steps. I think I should have kept this in mind. You're never supposed to be here forever anyway."
"Oishi-san…" he looked at him surprised with his gentleness.
"Thank you for telling me. You should go to sleep now, I will mind the dishes."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. You worked hard today on this delicious food. It's okay."
Eiji stood up and stayed at the door of his room for a while, watching Shuichirou silently retrieving the dishes and going to the kitchen with a sad look on his face.
