Masked Faces and Feelings

Akio and Miyo brought the boxes of products out to the living room.

"Took you long enough." Kenta yawned.

Miyo let out an awkward breath. "S-Sorry. I couldn't remember where I had put them."

"It's fine. What should be work on first?" Shinichi asked.

Miyo started looking through one of the boxes. "Well we have face masks, body scrubs, lotions, oils, and bath salts."

Kenta groaned. "That sounds like a lot."

Akio opened the other box. "There's more stuff here."

Miyo glanced over. "Oh, those are the diffusers you put the oil in."

Akio took the diffusers out. "You don't put the oil on your body?"

"That's not how these oils work." Shinichi chimed in. "These are supposed to encourage relaxation."

Akio hummed in response as he started setting up the diffuser. 

Shinichi looked over the products. "We'll have to test the body scrubs and bath salts another time."

"What? Why?" Kenta leaned in.

"You use these when you bathe and wash yourself. We can't really do that here."

"Why not?" Akio smirked. "I certainly wouldn't mind."

Shinichi met his smirk. "Then are you suggesting we all bathe at your place?"

Kenta's head snapped towards Shinichi as he hissed. "What are you doing?" 

"It really should be at your place since I'm already familiar with it." Akio plugged in the diffuser and set it on the table.

Shinichi and Kenta both froze. Familiar with it?

"Ah, so you're the one that helped Miyo that one day?" Shinichi tried to play it cool, but his voice came out more flustered than he would've liked.

"That would be me." Akio turned to Miyo with a smile. "Right?"

Miyo who was busy organizing the products finally looked up. "Huh? Oh. Y-Yeah. Akio's the one that carried you."

Shinichi steadied his voice. "You also went inside my house?"

Akio titled his head. "How else do you think you got inside?"

Kenta let out an awkward chuckle, though the tension in his jaw was visible. "Man, Shinichi's place is such a mess. Did you see anything weird lying around?"

Miyo shook her head. "It wasn't messy at all."

Anything weird? Akio's eyes lingered on Kenta. Wait...?

Shinichi noticed the way Akio's eyes focused on Kenta. He quickly tried to shift the focus. "So, we should start with the face masks, right?"

Miyo put a few drops of oil in the diffuser. "W-We can while the diffuser is going for more of a spa experience."

Akio picked up a sheet face mask. "This one's for brightening. Definitely what Shinichi needs with the sour looks he gives at me."

Shinichi let his face relax. "I'm not giving you any looks."

Kenta examined a wash off face mask. "Why's this one different?"

"That one you wash off your face instead of it being a sheet you can pull off." Miyo beamed. "I actually prefer those."

"Sounds interesting. I'll try this one." Kenta opened the wash off mask.

"I'll try one with you."

Akio grabbed another sheet mask. "Guess that leaves Shinichi and I testing the sheet masks."

"Before we start," Miyo grabbed flower headbands from the boxes. "They also gave us some cute headbands. Use them so your hair is out of the way."

The guys looked at the headbands, none of them that enthused about the design but put on the headbands nonetheless.

Kenta scooped a handful of the wash off mask onto his hand and clumsily attempted to apply it to his face, most of it landing on his clothes. 

Akio snickered. "First time?"

Kenta tried to wipe the mess. "Was it that obvious?"

Miyo carefully spread her mask over her face but missed a small spot on her cheek. Shinichi, sitting beside her, leaned in close and applied some more on her cheek. "You missed a spot."

"T-Thanks." Miyo was thankful her mask was already on as she could feel her cheeks warm from the touch.

Akio watched with a smirk before quickly turning to Kenta. "Looks like you need the same treatment."

"Huh?"

Before Kenta could react further, Akio mimicked Shinichi and plastered Kenta's face in a more dramatic way.

"Hey-" Kenta muffled before his mouth was soon covered with the mask.

Akio then leaned closer to tenderly smooth out the mask to make it even, which earned a sharp glare from Shinichi that didn't escape his notice. 

Once Kenta's face was neatly masked, Akio quickly placed his own sheet mask on, and Shinichi soon followed.

Kenta looked around and couldn't hold his laughter. "Maybe it's because I don't do this sort of thing, but you all look ridiculous."

Even behind the masks, the other three blankly stared at Kenta, who by far looked the most ridiculous with the mess he made all over himself.

"Kenta you shouldn't laugh or move too much. It'll ruin the mask." Shinichi whispered, trying not to move his mouth.

"What? Really?" Kenta quickly held his laugh back.

The four of them spent a tranquil twenty minutes, taking in the calming lavender scent drifting through the air as the masks nourished and hydrated their skin, leaving them all feeling refreshed.

Once the timer went off, Kenta and Miyo went to the bathroom to wash the mask off, while Shinichi and Akio were left in the living room.

I should ask him, but where do I even start without giving anything away? Shinichi peeled off his mask. "I should say thank you for taking me home that night. I also appreciate you helping Miyo out, not just then but today too."

Akio peeled his own mask off. "Woah. These masks must be magic for you to be talking to me like this."

"I'm being serious." Shinichi opened one of the lotions. "Anyway, what's your relationship with Miyo?"

"We're just friends." A smirk teased his lips. "At least for now."

"For now?"

"Relationships can develop unexpectedly, don't you think?" Akio's gaze met Shinichi's, sharp and unyielding. "Sometimes we miss what's right in front of us."

Something about the way Akio stared at him made his stomach twist. He knows. A nervous laugh slipped out before he could stop it. "I guess..."

Akio's gaze didn't falter. Maybe this will help him start looking Miyo's way. 

-

Kenta sighed as he dried his face. Might as well try. "Say, Sanada-san, is Akio bothering you?"

"Bothering me?"

"Well he showed up suddenly, so I was wondering if you didn't actually like him around...?"

Miyo grabbed a towel to dry her face. "I used to think he was a bother but now... he's around so much that I've grown used to him."

"I see." He rubbed the back of his neck. This is so awkward to ask. Shinichi you owe me. "Uhh... Do you happen to like him?"

"Huh?" Her fingers tightened around the towel as a faint blush colored her cheeks. "T-That's not-"

"Uhh, forget I asked. I'm sorry, that was so rude of me." Kenta quickly exited the bathroom. Talking to women is hard...

-

The four of them spent the rest of the evening testing the lotions and discussing what to include in the report.

After a while, Kenta let out a massive yawn. "Not sure how much longer I can stay awake."

Shinichi looked at the time. "It is quite late. We should really get going."

"Oh, hang on." Miyo quickly went to the kitchen before soon returning with two small bags. "These are some of the leftovers from earlier. It's not a lot, but since you seemed to enjoy it, I thought you might like them." She handed a bag to Shinichi and Kenta, her fingers brushing against Shinichi's as she did. 

Shinichi's smile reached his eyes. "Thanks Miyo. You're always so considerate."

She couldn't hold his gaze for long. "I'm happy you liked everything. Thanks again for coming and for your help with the report."

"Our pleasure. It was kinda fun." Kenta added.

Shinichi grabbed body scrubs and bath salts. "I'll also test these and report back to you."

Miyo walked Shinichi and Kenta out. "S-Sounds good. Thank you again."

After Miyo closed the door behind them, she turned to Akio who was now raiding her fridge. "So, why are you still here?"

"You know, I've been wondering since earlier. Why's there so much beer in your fridge?"

"Why do you notice things like that?"

Akio tilted his head. "It's not like it's hidden." He stared at her, waiting for an answer.

Miyo hesitated, cheeks warming. "I used to want to be prepared for, you know, being invited out.."

"Please don't tell me you secretly build your alcohol tolerance up."

"No." She said a bit too quickly. "At least not anymore..."

Akio let out a small laugh. "I guess that explains how you out drank Shinichi. How about we go drinking some time?"

"Us go drinking?"

"Yeah. Show me the results of your efforts."

"You're making fun now." Miyo sighed. "You've seen all the worst sides of me now. My letters, my messy room, and now my sad drinking habits."

"Not the worst. I have to watch you try to flirt with Shinichi, remember?"

"I'm not that bad, am I?"

"Well, considering your version of flirting is making eye contact for a couple seconds, I have to say it's not the best."

"Then what would you do?"

Without thinking, Akio closed the space between them, his hand pressing lightly against the wall beside her head.

The sudden closeness made Miyo's heart skip a beat. She didn't know where to look or what to do. "What are you-"

Before Miyo could finish, Akio gently lifted her chin, guiding her gaze to meet his. "I would do something like this."

Miyo's heart pounded in her ears, her thoughts racing as she found herself unable to break eye contact.

Then, just as quickly, Akio stepped back, the space between them returning as if nothing happened. "But what I would do wouldn't make sense for you to do."

Miyo's eyes lowered as she tried to hide the warmth in her face. "Y-You could've said that..."

Yeah, I could've. Why did I do that? Akio's voice softened. "Sorry. I crossed a line."

"N-No. It's okay." She didn't look up, her fingers fidgeting with her sleeves. "It was unexpected, that's all."

"I'll be more careful from-"

"I-It's really okay."

"You know you can be honest with me."

Miyo absentmindedly met his gaze before quickly looking away. "Y-You should probably get going. It's late."

She's stuttering with me too now... Akio hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't find the right words. "I know I probably don't have the right to say this but today was nice. You even called me by my name for the first time. It seemed like you finally let yourself be comfortable around me. I hope I didn't ruin that..."

Miyo's fingers stilled. She wanted to say something. Anything. But the words failed her. Why can't I say anything?