Shower

Disoriented and mad at himself for not hearing his alarm, Shohei pulled at his creased clothes, bringing them into some semblance of form. He really shouldn’t have taken that nap at all, but he had always been afraid of causing an accident, so… Sigh. Maybe he should go home now, take a shower and change his clothes. The idea of working another day without having changed made his skin itch.

Just then, the lab door opened and Kyourin walked in.

“Good morning,” he said.

“Good morning… I’m sorry, I must have been more exhausted than I realised.”

“Don’t worry about it. I can’t even begin to count how many times I fell asleep on that sofa. It’s the nature of the job.”

“Mhm. What time is it?”

“It’s only 9AM. Do you want a coffee?”

Shohei shook his head. He stretched again as he stood up, only to make a pained noise as he moved his left arm. The muscles were… sore. Had he slept on it? Shohei squeezed his forearm to find it hurt. Pulling back his sleeve, he found nothing, only a reddish area, which he had likely laid on.

“What’s the matter?”

“Ah, nothing. I must’ve slept in a funny position. I should probably go home and change. Take a shower.”

“You can do that at my place, if you like. I have some rooms in the lab.”

Shohei stared at Kyourin for a moment, his words sinking in.

“If you’re not uncomfortable with it,” Kyourin added.

“Ah, I, no. I should be the one asking that.”

“I offered.”

“Okay.”

Shohei followed Kyourin through the hallways, into a part of the building he hadn’t visited before. An inconspicuous door led into what looked like a hotel suite living room, taking Shohei so suddenly out of the lab context and into someone’s home, he was stunned. Kyourin had clearly lived in the place for a while, as the whole room was a coordinated chaos, stacked high with books, hardware, paper upon paper.

“I’ll get something for you to change into. You’re about my height. The bathroom is through there.”

He was gone and Shohei stood there, lost. This was someone else’s life and he had just casually stepped into it. It felt off. But he wanted so desperately to know more about Kyourin, he willed himself to step through the uncomfortable feelings and walked into the bathroom. Here, at least, it felt familiar, the layout, everything so standard. It still felt strange to undress, but once he turned on the water, the feeling was washed away together with the tension.

He looked at his arm again. Under the hot water, the red spot on his left arm stood out against the pale skin surrounding it. It started to itch. Shohei frowned. Had he mistakenly dipped his sleeve in some chemical last night? The skin grew more and more irritated. Shohei quickly finished his shower, then turned the water to cold and let it run over his arm, the coolness calming the itch.

When he emerged from the bathroom, a stack of clothes was laid out, similar in style to his own. It felt weird to be wearing something that wasn’t his own, but it was only temporary, he told himself. The smell was different too… clinical, but still there was this weird sweetness. Mhm.

Shohei emerged into the living room to the smell of coffee. Kyourin sat at the table, holding up a cup when he saw Shohei, smiling at him. It was so domestic, Shohei’s heart made treacherous movements. He sat down next to Kyourin, gratefully taking the brew. Kyourin looked at him intently.

“You should call me Eisaku. I have a feeling we’ll be working together for a long time.”

Shohei hesitated. Not because he minded talking casually, but it felt like one of the last barriers he kept up. Kyourin sensed his hesitation.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to.”

“No, I… It’s fine,” Shohei said. “I’m just not used to people offering… ah, never mind.”

Kyourin put his cup down and looked at Shohei with a question in his eyes. Shohei sighed.

“Look, I’ll be frank. We’ve only known each other for like two months, and you are my boss. I don’t want to overstep,” Shohei said.

It was awkward, but he wanted to explain himself. He owed Kyourin as much. And Kyourin… laughed. It was strange to see him laugh.

“Don’t worry. You’re good.”

“Well, then I’ll accept it if you call me by my first name too.”

“With pleasure, Shohei.”

Just then, Shohei felt his arm act up again and jolted. Kyourin frowned, which turned into concern when Shohei drew back the shirt sleeve. His skin was an angry red.

“What happened?” Kyourin asked.

“I don’t know. I might be allergic to something, but I don’t know what it could be…”

“Wait a moment, I should have a med kit with something that’ll help.”

“Thank you.”

Shohei blew air at the patch so he wouldn’t scratch it. He’d had some similar allergic reactions before, but he couldn’t remember touching anything recently. Kyourin reappeared and sat down, holding out his hand. Shohei hesitated a moment, then put out his arm. When Kyourin touched him, a wave of goosebumps traveled over Shohei’s skin. He looked on as Kyourin’s fingers traveled over his limb, carefully rubbing the cream on the irritated skin. Then he was done, but he didn’t let Shohei’s arm go just yet.

“Eisaku?” Shohei asked, speaking Kyourin’s first name for the first time.

“Feeling better?”

“Yeah, it stopped itch—”

Shohei was cut off by Kyourin pulling him forward. And then his arms were around him and he was buried in his chest. The shock of it was enough to make him freeze.

“Shohei, I’m sorry. I invited you over with an ulterior motive. I’ve grown… fond of you. I shouldn’t even tell you, but I’m such a bad liar, I would’ve given myself away soon anyway.”

When Shohei didn’t move, Kyourin drew back… but Shohei’s fingers held on to his shirt to keep him close. His head was overheating, cheeks red.

“Shohei?”

“Give me a minute to sort my head out.”

Kyourin chuckled. “Alright. Take as much time as you want.”

He reached for the med kit again, producing a bandage, which he carefully wrapped around Shohei’s forearm. Shohei watched his hands working, thoughts racing, the pros and cons once again warring for dominance. But in the end, he realised, he had already decided.

“Why?” he asked.

“I don’t think there’s much reason for those feelings,” Kyourin replied. “I’d be able to make a list of objective truths, but they wouldn’t explain it. It’s just there.”

Shohei nodded. That made sense. He was the same, in a way. Finally, he looked up. Kyourin had become even more handsome, now that he allowed himself to perceive him properly.

“Me too,” he admitted. “I started thinking of you a while ago.”

Kyourin closed the distance between them to kiss him.