Hey guys! Back here with the second chapter. I swear they are driving me nuts, I want to involve more characters into this and someone left a review which gave me a pretty good idea… Jealous Sōsuke huh? He's such a tough guy on the outside but he was so shy when approaching Makoto… Leaves one wondering what'll happen… Hope you enjoy! Hugs!
Chapter 2: Playing with Fire
"Tachibana-san, I-I was wondering if you wanted to grab something to eat today…"
A terrible silence stood in the way of those last words Sōsuke let off…
He didn't hear a response quickly, his hand slightly trembled and his face was about to distort and lose his cool but he covered every emotion because he didn't like ANYONE seeing him like that, not even his best friend Rin who was beside him. Just as he's putting his phone down in shame, totally embarrassed by the act, someone screams at the phone.
"Moshiii Moshiiii" A child's voice was heard and Yamazaki quickly took the phone to his ear.
Makoto: "Ren! Yamete!" He heard Makoto scold his little brother. His gaze changed completely at the set of words:
Makoto: "Sorry about that Yamazaki-kun, little brothers are so mischievous! Anyways, I'd love grab a bite! What did you have in mind?"
His heart started pounding faster and harder. After that silence earlier he thought he lost it all and he was now thinking of something to say.
Sōsuke: "Good! Ehtooo…" He nervously replied and looked at Rin desperately seeking an answer. Rin was laughing at Sōsuke who was in a pinch. The redhead went to his friend's ear and whispered "Shrimp!" Immediately after that, Sōsuke replied:
Sōsuke: "There's a new place in town, they got all kinds of shrimp. Do you like shrimp?"
Makoto: "Do I!? It's my favorite! I'll call you for lunch time Yamazaki-kun. Got to run! See you later!
Sōsuke: "See you later then Tachibana-san!"
He put down the phone and he sighed in relief.
"So, Makoto's got you on the ropes ah? That's so like you Sōsuke" Rin started teasing again
"Hahaha, urusai Rin! I just want to apologize for yesterday, it's the least I can do"
"I understand why you're so taken in, Sōsuke, Makoto is a charming guy but…"
"But?" Sōsuke lifted his eyebrows, his face already back to his normal serious expression.
"You're playing with fire" Rin left the jokes aside and stared at his friend.
"What do you mean?" Yamazaki replied in a somewhat worried face.
"Well, for one you'd have to deal with Makoto's best friend, Haru" He didn't even finish the sentence correctly when the taller one interrupted.
"I already know that…" Sōsuke became irritated at the sound of that name but hid it from Rin and instead he shared a joke with him.
"Hahaha, I'll have you take care of that then, since you're so taken into the guy" The big man gave a hearty laugh. Rin blushed to what he said.
"Hey, he's just my swimming rival, that's it." He couldn't hide the blush from his friend.
Sōsuke and Rin were very close, they shared most of the stuff but they knew where to draw the line. For example now, he knew Rin liked Haru, and he couldn't stand that fact but he was friend enough to accept it. He never talked badly of Haru with Rin, not a word about the holding him back stuff or what happened in the tournament relay. He just disliked him… because from his point of view, Nanase was an asshole.
"Rin…" Yamazaki stared at his friend.
"Huh?" The redhead turned to meet Sōsuke's gaze.
"Arigatou…" He smiled at Rin in gratitude.
"Tch, don't get all soft on me, can't have you all alone right? I don't see why you can't have your shot at Makoto, after all… you've always been alone. It's the first time I see you like this"
Yamazaki looks down, a sad expression could be seen on him. Rin knew a lot about his friend, how he had trouble making friends due to his personality, how he was always alone in school. All this mattered to Rin, he didn't want Sōsuke feeling lonely and sad again.
"Right!" He livened up a little and smiled at Rin again with a humble smile.
-Lunch Time!
As planned, Makoto called Sōsuke and they met at the new restaurant for lunch. Yamazaki was the first one to arrive, he was giving Makoto directions on how to get to the new place. He was a bit nervous but he had his cool, he was just going to pay back Tachibana-san's kindness. Or so he thought…
"Yamazaki-kun!" The cute, tall man's voice was heard from the other end of the street. He waved in a happy face.
Sōsuke saw Makoto and he got in a good mood.
"Yush! Can't screw this up!" Sōsuke gave himself a little pat on the cheeks and waved back at Tachibana. Yamazaki shows his friend to the place and they both enter. The place had a fresh aroma and seafood drawings in every wall. The theme of the place was very joyful to the eyes; many pictures of sea animals were on display too.
"It smells really good in here! Makes my stomach growl hahaha" Makoto joked while sharing a closed eyes smile with Sōsuke.
"I'm glad then" Sōsuke replied.
The waitress leads them to a table with beautiful mosaic tiles.
"Ahh look Yamazaki-kun, the table has cute drawings" Sōsuke looked at where Makoto was pointing and put up a gentle smile, not being surprised or anything, it just wasn't his style to be worked up at every little thing.
"I think they did a nice job with it" He replied in a calm but happy manner.
"Ok boys, what will you have?" The waitress asked.
"Ano… Sumimasen, I'm new to this place and I-" Makoto didn't know what to order but he was quickly saved by Sōsuke.
"He'll have the same thing as me" Sōsuke smiled at the handsome man in front of him, it was as if he was trying to let Makoto know he could trust him.
"We'll each have an order of garlic shrimp, with butter please" Yamazaki added.
Tachibana could only smile, he was happy that he got to spend some time with a new friend. Not that they weren't friends before but they didn't know each other or didn't have the time to get along well. To this time, Makoto never saw Sōsuke with other eyes, he really liked Haru but the guy could never decide between Rin and Makoto… Besides, Haruka had more chemistry with Rin, even Makoto noticed that, but no one knew Haru better than Tachibana himself. That's why he had his hopes up… But Haru never gave a clear response, it was kind of selfish trying to have them both at his mercy. Little did Nanase know that it was all going to change...Suddenly, Yamazaki-kun takes him to eat lunch, one of the most handsome and cute guys he's ever met was actually taking him out to eat. Makoto was somewhat confused on what to think, he told himself he liked Haru but the more time he passed with Yamazaki the stranger he felt. Was he falling in love with some guy he knew in the past and just got to know him a while back? That couldn't be… he denied it to the last moment, but he wasn't paying attention to something. It passed quite a while since he'd lost himself in thought and Yamazaki-kun was firmly staring into his eyes, with a smile.
"Tachibana-san, did you go to space or something?" The man started to laugh quietly in place, making fun of Makoto.
Tachibana saw this and blushed a bit, but he never took his eyes out of Sōsuke's laughing face. That's where he knew… he liked Sōsuke… a lot. That sincere look on his face, those droopy eyes that looked that they were going to fall out but that was just how they were shaped. He realized he liked Sōsuke's physical attributes but he also liked how he was a kind person on the inside, even though he didn't show it.
"Hahaha Gomen! Yamazaki-kun, I have a lot of stuff going on so I just spaced out!" Said the humble man in an embarrassed tone.
"Iee… don't worry about that, I'm still surprised you remembered me the other day Tachibana-san" Said Sōsuke changing the subject to ease Makoto's embarrassment.
"Hahaha, I should say the same thing about you Yamazaki-kun! I'm honored, really" He leaned a bit to the front and nodded with his head to show his gratitude in a humble way.
"You know… out of everyone in the group, you were the one I remembered the most, maybe it's just coincidence haha" Sōsuke lowered his gaze a bit, not trying to show it but he was a little embarrassed thinking on what would Makoto say about his earlier statement.
"Really? Why is that?" Our green eyed beauty was now silent, awaiting an answer to his question.
"I think it was because out of everyone you were the most caring one, and I can see you still are" Makoto always analyzed everyone carefully, but that didn't mean Sōsuke wasn't watching from the sidelines what Tachibana was doing.
"Haha, you haven't changed a bit Tachibana-san!" He puts his elbow on the table and drives his chin to his hand, changing to a different position. Makoto blushed a bit, the guy knew at least that much about Makoto yet… the green eyed angel didn't know anything about Sōsuke and that made him feel bad in some way. Before he could say anything else the waitress came back with their food.
"Oh, food's here Tachibana-san, hope you're hungry!" Sōsuke grinned.
The waitress served their platter and got them some drinks. She also put different sauces to dip the shrimp in. They had marinara, tartar sauce and even ranch dressing. The boys widened their gazes and smiled at each other
"Itadakimasu!" Both men started eating. Makoto was delighted with the food, shrimp was his favorite after all. At first he was scared because Sōsuke ordered for him but the taste of what he ordered was just amazing.
"Yamazaki-kun, this is so tasty!" Makoto sounded happy.
"I know right!?" He added joyfully while grabbing a bite from the shrimp.
"I just wanted to thank you Tachibana-san, and to say I'm sorry for what happened at the party. If you hadn't stopped me then I would have done something stupid" He held his hair and scratched his head a bit, the man was blissfully amazed and shy at Makoto.
"Iee Yamazaki-kun, I only did what I thought it was correct, I didn't want anyone getting hurt, including you…" Makoto gave a shy and flushed look at Sōsuke. He quickly took a bite so the muscular man in front of him wouldn't notice that much. They were both a little shy and red but they enjoyed their food and company to the fullest. Even Makoto, who was a little down from what happened, completely livened up. He was slowly drawing that beautiful smile Sōsuke had into his heart…
On another note, and perhaps to the GREATEST of coincidences, Nagisa and Rei were passing by the new place. They were eager to get to Rei-chan's place so they could cook up some trouble. Even though a little clumsy, Nagisa always took a good glimpse of his surroundings and he managed to see Makoto through the glass of the new restaurant. He immediately turned Rei and said:
"Mite Mite! (Look Look!) It's Mako-chan and… huh? Sou-kun?" The blond male was astonished by the sight in front of him. He was always the chatty type, everyone on the group was always up to date with the rumors because of Nagisa's gossiping skills. If anyone knew the latest buzz, it was Nagisa. He stared at Mako-chan, not believing his eyes.
Rei was also startled since they always saw Makoto with Haruka. He fixed his glasses and looked at his blond companion.
"Should we tell Haruka-senpai?" He asked his chatty boyfriend.
"Wait a moment Rei-chan…" Nagisa took a closer look, he saw Makoto's smile. He knew about the problems Haruka, Rin and Makoto shared. And he also knew Makoto was the one being hurt the most, because of his incredible heart.
"You know Rei… it's been a while since I've seen Mako-chan smile like that…"
"What do you mean?" Rei tilted his head in confusion.
"Nothing! Let's just go, you're in big trouble Rei-chan!"
"Ehh!? Why?"
Before Rei could have any chance to retaliate, he got pulled away by Nagisa. They vanished from that place in an instant, it was as if not even Nagisa wanted to interrupt them…
Back at the restaurant the boys were finished with their food and were ready to go. They got up and went to the waitress, she told them the amount they needed to pay and Makoto was ready to give Sōsuke half of that. He took the money out but he felt Sōsuke's hand blocking him.
"It's fine Tachibana-san, my treat!" Makoto looked at Yamazaki with a serious face.
"Fine, I'll let you get this one! But next time I won't let you take even a single yen out!" The tall boy said, blushing a bit but making it sound like a joke. Sōsuke's face flushed a bit, not because of the paying thing but… did his ears lie to him? Makoto had just said "next time". He smirked at Makoto.
"Hahahah, wakata wakata Tachibana-san" Sōsuke's chest was pounding really fast. For the first time he wasn't feeling alone, not that he was alone with Rin, but he was his best friend. He never had someone for himself, someone to laugh at other silly things or someone who really cared for him. He fell for Makoto Tachibana and couldn't deny it. He couldn't wait for this "next time"
They go out of the restaurant and stand in front of it, quite an awkward scene, no one was talking but Yamazaki quickly broke the silence.
"So… What will you do now Tachibana?"
"I'll just head back to my house, my little brothers are probably making everyone crazy in there"
"Well… I can't vouch for them, one of them already got me!" A little embarrassment was shown when the remembered the little incident with the phone call.
"Ahh, I'm sorry about that hahaha" They both shared a very peculiar look, it was like they started to get the idea of feeling something for each other. You know when someone likes you, and it feels even better when they like you back. They both had this feeling but neither of them made a move. It was kind of hard to say goodbye since Makoto's house and Samezuka's dorms where on different directions.
"Well Yamazaki…" He put his hand in his head, trying to look for words but had no luck with it.
"Thank you for accompanying me today Tachibana. I'll look forward to what you said earlier!" He gave that smile… that manly smile that made Makoto blush a bit, staring bluntly at him.
"Of course! Next time I'll show you to a good place" They were still standing in front of the restaurant, neither of them had taken a step away from each other. Makoto enjoyed the company as much as Yamazaki enjoyed his'. Just as they're taking the first step, multiple drops of water fall on the boys' heads.
"Huh? Rain?" Makoto said curiously, wondering why the rain came. When they entered the restaurant the sky was clear but now it had a grayish color. The little droplets quickly turned into a wild shower and the boys were starting to get soaked. Yamazaki had a dark blue sweater, a teal shirt and some black jeans with his usual red sneakers. Makoto had an orange and green sweater, a white shirt with a cute whale on it and some brownish jeans. He started looking at Sōsuke's shirt stick to his body from the water it had in it, making his chest pop out and show his amazing toned pectorals. Makoto lost it for a second but quickly added:
"Umm… Yamazaki, we should go inside" Tachibana added given that Sōsuke wasn't moving at all.
The boy was looking towards the pouring sky and didn't say anything back quickly but he responded to Makoto's statement.
"I love the rain" He looked back at Makoto with his face soaked to the bone, he held a smile at him. The emerald eyed giant stared at him too, he wasn't bothered by the rain either, he just didn't want Sōsuke or himself to catch a cold.
"My house is nearby Yamazaki-kun, we can stop by there since Samezuka is like a 20 minute walk from here" Makoto didn't want Sōsuke to go for a twenty minute walk to his dorm when his house was nearby.
Sōsuke nodded with his head and they sprinted towards Makoto's house. Upon getting there, they sat at the porch to rest up from that little sprint.
*Pant,Pant*
"Whew, that was good exercise huh Yamazaki-kun?" Makoto was on the floor of his porch, taking his shoes out because they were soaked. Sōsuke nodded in agreement with him, he was a little out of breath too.
Makoto stood up again and went to the door.
"Tadaimaaaaa! Okaasan, Otoousan" He called at his family but didn't get a response which was very odd. They would usually welcome him and his little brothers would jump at him. He entered the house and found a note.
"Makoto, please tidy up the kitchen, your brothers and your dad are with me grocery shopping, take care honey! I hope you had a great time with your old friend!
Love, Mom
He read the letter and smiled. He quickly went back to Sōsuke who was sitting in the floor of the porch, legs and arms crossed trying to warm himself.
"I'm so sorry Yamazaki-kun. I'll get you some dry clothes" He let Sōsuke inside to the living room, he was awfully quiet. Makoto went to his room and took out a shirt and some shorts as well as a towel for him to dry up.
"Here you go Yamazaki-kun! I think they'll fit you nicely" He gave Sōsuke a white shirt with some black short pants along with the towel. To Makoto's surprise, Sōsuke started taking his shirt off in front of him, as if he wasn't bothered by it. I mean… they're part of a swimming team for pete's sake, they're used to seeing each other shirtless but it's not the same! He was taking his clothes off in front of Makoto IN HIS HOUSE WITH NO ONE IN IT but those two. Makoto's throat was getting dry from the nervousness of seeing that man reveal his wet chest. He took his wet sweater and shirt off and threw them on the floor making a loud "Splat" sound. He was shirtless, his jeans were soaked and you could see his generous bulge and the elastic of his underwear pop up near his V shaped muscles. Makoto was losing it, his face was red as he was watching Sōsuke carefully… He tried to make it seem like he was just standing there waiting but on the inside he was squealing for that body. He finally put on the shirt Makoto gave him, now he had a dry shirt and a wet pack of jeans that stuck to his parts. Sōsuke played his cards well, he used his body to shake Makoto's willpower. I mean, this man could make even the manliest man doubt his sexuality hahahah. Nevertheless, he started taking his wet black jeans out… Makoto flinched, his heartbeat got stronger and louder. He made it seem like a normal thing since his everyday swimming club activities included getting naked lots of times. He had a very nice blue underwear, to Makoto's luck or disgrace, it was dry so he didn't take it off. Makoto could take a glimpse of everything, from his amazing body to his even more amazing bulge that stood in between Sōsuke's legs. He put on the shorts Tachibana gave him and smiled.
"Arigatou, Makoto-san Iee… I-I mean Tachibana-san!" He suddenly got ashamed of calling his friend by his first name. Makoto was so nervous but he quickly regained his sanity back, I mean, this is Makoto we're talking about here, if there's someone with patience is this guy here.
"Don't worry… Sōsuke-kun!" He called Yamazaki by his first name too so he wouldn't feel bad. They looked at each other again, that goddamn look that could be interpreted in so many ways but they knew what it was.
"Sumimasen, I have to tidy up the kitchen Sōsuke-kun. I'll be right back okay?" Makoto went to the kitchen and started washing some leftovers, he still had his clothes all wet, he was going to wash everything and then change up. Before he finished the dishes, he heard Sōsuke steps towards the kitchen.
"Can I help?" Those teal colored eyes didn't lie… The handsome man made his appearance beside Makoto and asked if he could wash the dishes for him.
"You should go get changed Makoto-san, I'm already dry so it's fine" Dry? DRY? Makoto thought about what Sōsuke said and looked at himself all wet up, even in parts he shouldn't talk about.
"I can't let you do my chores!"
"Try me" He smiled at that handsome man, grabbing the dishes he had on his hand and putting them back on the sink,
"Please…" Sōsuke said with an assuring smile. Makoto couldn't just say no to that face.
"Haha, you're something else Sōsuke-kun" He went to his room to change but while he's looking for the clothes to put on, he had an idea… he wanted to make Sōsuke feel the same thing he felt when he took his clothes off. This was a fun way to tease Yamazaki and at the same time Makoto would make sure Sōsuke likes him back. He smiled with a mischievous look in his eyes. He went to the kitchen only to see Sōsuke be almost done with the dishes.
"Thank you Sōsuke-kun" When Sōsuke turned around to say it was no problem, Makoto took off his shirt. Sōsuke was mesmerized, that toned chest and that V-shaped entrance took him by surprise. Makoto kept talking to him like nothing was happening.
"Today was fun huh?" He started taking his pants off now.
"S-Sure w-was" Sōsuke stumbled up a bit on his words, he was the one blushing now.
Makoto turned on his back and stretched his back muscles while putting his pants. His black underwear made Sōsuke a bit shaky.
"Ahh it feels nice to be in dry clothes again" He smiled at Sōsuke teasingly.
Yamazaki was still a little bit stirred from watching Makoto take off his clothes, even though it was really fast for him. He got a little bit steamy on the inside but didn't want Makoto finding out. Even if he liked Makoto's physical attributes he was still happy with Makoto's gentle way of being. He'd wish he could do something else instead of trying to win Makoto using his body.
"Sōsuke-kun, are you thirsty?" He poured some water in a glass.
"Yeah, a bit" He gulped down the water Makoto gave him and left about half of the glass.
"I'm good, thank you Makoto-san" He put the glass down and Makoto took it. He drank the remaining water while looking at Sōsuke. The teal eyed giant widened his gaze… Makoto was drinking from the same angle he did earlier.
"Is something wrong?" Tachibana curiously asked, not knowing what Sōsuke's face was for.
"Nandemonai!" He flushed a bit and that's when he knew what he wanted.
He stood up from the chair and armed up with confidence.
"Makoto, I like you… a lot" He looked at Makoto, his face redder than before. Makoto was left speechless.
"Sōsuke-kun… I-" Before he could say anything back, his nose and Yamazaki's were touching, lips almost touching but Sōsuke stopped before stealing the kiss. Makoto didn't move back… he looked at Sōsuke and they shared that same look from before. He could feel Yamazaki's warmth, he could feel his nervousness, his heart beating out of control. Makoto knew then that what he was feeling for Sōsuke, Sōsuke was feeling it as well.
"You have beautiful eyes, Sōsuke" Makoto slowly drove his lips towards Yamazaki's and they sealed a kiss for the first time. Their eyes closed and transported into a world of feelings. Makoto took his hand and placed it in Yamazaki's cheek, getting a feel of how smooth it was. Sōsuke caressed Makoto's olive colored hair with his fingertips while those lips asked for more. It was a cute first kiss, but just as their lips were going to separate, Makoto's tongue presses against Yamazaki's mouth, demanding entrance and Sōsuke didn't deny it. Even though it was a hotter kiss, they were so kindly embraced with each other, as if everything they needed was to be with each other, to be loved… Their bodies were steaming out and Sōsuke grabbed Makoto by the waist and leaned him on a wall, both men being smashed into each other, when suddenly…
*Doorbell*
Yamazaki reacted immediately, getting his body away from Makoto.
"I-I'm sorry… I don't know what came over me Makoto…" He was apologizing for his behavior, which was partly Makoto's fault for giving him a sweeter kiss haha…
Makoto smiled in nervousness.
"Don't worry Sōsuke… I-I really like you too… Sit down at the table, my parents are here" Makoto quickly went to the door and a greeted his parents, also helping them with the groceries.
"Ahh so you're Yamazaki-kun!? Makoto told us about you, we didn't know you were friends a long time ago!" Makoto's mother greeted Sōsuke and they quickly sat down, the Tachibana family was very kind. The mother took out the food they had bought and took some more out of the fridge. They started setting up the table and Sōsuke quickly stood up and looked at Makoto with nervous eyes, not knowing what to do in the situation.
"It's alright" Makoto said in a low tone to calm Sōsuke down.
But as he was calming down a small figure entered the door. Ocean blue eyes and a face that could kill you if it had a weapon.
"Oh it's you Haru-chan!" Makoto's mother was happy to see him. Makoto immediately looked at Haru who was looking in surprise at Sōsuke.
"Haru-chan!" Makoto was nervous now, Haru was probably going to ask him about Sōsuke and boy… did he had a story.
Sōsuke had his serious stare at Haruka, he felt his blood boil for a moment. He stood beside Makoto like a guard dog, protecting his dear one. Nanase and Sōsuke exchanged looks, and the tension was brought up.
Before anyone could say something, Makoto's mother took a chance.
"Why don't you both join us for dinner!?" She really had no idea what was happening.
Nanase takes a chair and sits down in a somewhat aggressive manner and says:
"I'd love to…"
I bet you guys are hating doorbells as much as I am right now haha. Hope you like it! This chapter was unusually long but I just wanted to make a very solid base for these two 3 Leave a review and tell me how you liked it! Once again thanks for reviewing my work, it helps me focus on the concept knowing you guys liked it!
Hugs!