[Omake] Sumie and Rito 5

June 26th, U.C. 0167, 5:47 PM

Although Hayate didn’t want to appear too eager, he found himself at the meeting point early. This was going to be his fourth date with Shou, though, to him, they hadn’t felt like dates. There had been no candlelight dinners, nighttime ferris wheel rides, or any other activity Hayate associated with romance. Instead, they had just grabbed a casual dinner or hung out at an arcade.

To an outside observer, they just looked like two friends, which was kind of the point. Homophobia was on the decline, but it wasn’t dead. They would be protected from harassment by the Free Meido in Akihabara, but that wouldn’t do much good if they were spotted by the wrong person. Both had friends and family members they would prefer not know. They also worried that their academic careers might be jeopardized. University professors were less likely to be homophobic than the general public, but it would only take one well-placed advisor to sideline them. The two were not yet aware that their career trajectories had already been set by HIMITSU.

“Hey,” Shou called out to Hayate. “Been waiting long?”

“Just got here.” Hayate smiled. “De, nani’s the plan?”

“Wanna take a walk down by the river? It’s a bit out of the way, but I know a good ramen place.”

“Ii yo.” Hayate hesitated before answering. That was near where he had always met up with Wataru, but he couldn’t let that ruin the river bank for him forever.

“You know,” Shou said, “I’m glad Rito-san introduced us. I was nervous at first, but I’ve been having a lot of fun.”

“Me too.”

“To be honest, I didn’t think you’d be my type. You’re nothing like my exes.”

“Ah. Rito-san did say they were all jerks.”

“I wouldn’t put it that way. OK, yeah, ichi of them was, but the rest were just… overbearing. I think they just bought into the seme/uke idea too much. They expected me to act submissive all the time. Demo it’s different with you. You’re so relaxed about everything. You always ask for my opinion, and you even let me plan today. My exes would just drag me along wherever they wanted to go.”

Hayate gently scratched his cheek with one finger. “A lot of that might just be due to my inexperience. I don’t really know what to do on dates, so you’ve been a big help.”

“Maybe, but I think Rito-san is just a good judge of character. She knew I would get something out of our dating, and I think she intended the same for you. So I’m curious, naze do you think Rito-san introduced me to you?”

“This is going to sound silly, but I think it’s because you’re someone I could fall in love with. I’m pretty self-centered, and my previous crushes were purely physical attractions. I didn’t think I could actually care for someone else.”

It had taken Hayate a long time—and many therapy sessions—to realize that about himself. He had liked Wataru as a friend, and he wanted to have sex with him, but he had never loved him. His sexual fantasies had been all about dominating Wataru, knocking him down a peg. They had all been adolescent power fantasies.

“It’s embarrassing, isn’t it?” Shou blushed. “She knew our types better than we did.”

“Un.” Hayate suspected he was blushing as much as Shou was, and he instinctively reached his hand towards Shou’s, but stopped. No matter how much he wanted to hold hands, he couldn’t bring himself to do it in public.

⁂

June 27th, U.C. 0167, 5:40 AM

Shou fumbled for his phone to check the time in the early morning light. He had forgotten to set an alarm and was worried that he had slept too long. Activating the phone, he saw a message from Ito.

How’d it go last night?

After pondering for a couple minutes how to respond, Shou raised the phone above the bed to snap a picture of himself with the sleeping Hayate next to him. Double checking to make sure he wasn’t sending it to the wrong person, he sent it to Rito. Her reply came seconds later.

OMG! When’s the wedding?

You first. Shou replied.

⁂

4:32 PM

“I had my first time last night,” Hayate said. He was reclining on the sofa in Sumie’s office, a large grin on his face.

Sumie, of course, already knew this, but she didn’t let it show. “How was it?”

“It was awkward at first, but very fulfilling. I owe Rito-san for setting us up, and I owe you too. I don’t think I’d be mature enough to handle it without all the help you’ve given me.”

“I am glad you see it that way. Would it be fair to say that your life has been much better since you met us? Do you trust us to make decisions in your best interest?”

“Without a doubt.”

“Then it has come time to talk about your mirai. Change your major to aerospace engineering. You will be happier.”

“But I want to study all of physics. I want to understand the universe.”

“You are free to ignore my suggestion, but I believe you will find that your life can unravel just as quickly as it improved. On the other hand, if you do what I say, doors will continue to open for you.”

“Sou ka.” Hayte scowled. “Sumie-sensei, when you said your services are funded by the government, exactly which branch do you get your okane from?”

“I believe you already know the answer to that. You’re a smart young man, after all.”

“HIMITSU,” Hayate whispered, his blood turning cold. He’d had his suspicions ever since encountering Aina in the waiting room, but he’d chosen to believe that she had come to get advice from Sumie. “Nani do they need an aerospace engineer for?”

“To build rockets, and maybe a couple space stations. The end goal is migration to the stars, but realistically, I don’t think we’ll get much further than the moon in your lifetime.”

“That doesn’t sound like espionage.”

“What I am about to say stays between us. If you repeat it to anyone, I will not be able to mamoru you. HIMITSU is only an intelligence agency out of necessity. The Naichou centralized all intelligence operations and then collapsed. HIMITSU started as a labor union for meido, and it took over government functions as a way to mamoru the gains it had made. As it acquires more political power for itself, it also assumes the responsibility for setting policy.”

“Demo, the goshujin are still setting policy, and HIMITSU is reinforcing their power.”

“That is how it appears, but it is the opposite in reality. Every meido serving every goshujin is a member of HIMITSU.”

“Are you saying that the meido that once protected the goshujin are now knives at their throats?”

“Sonotouri. As a group, the goshujin still command too much power to get rid of, but we can use that same power against them.”

“I attacked Aina-sama thinking she was part of the mondai. If I had succeeded…”

“You could not have succeeded,” Sumie reassured him, “and you could not have known. Now that you do, will you cooperate with us?”

“Hai,” Hayate said. “I don’t really have a choice, do I?”

⁂

July 23rd, U.C. 0167, 9:40 PM

Hayate had just turned out the lights in the living room and was about to head to sleep when he heard a knock at the door. Cautiously, he crept towards the door and looked through the peephole.

“Wataru,” he exclaimed, opening the door. “Nani are you doing here?”

“Yo,” Wataru greeted him, a cocky smile on his face. “I just got back and I need a place to sleep. Can I crash with you? It’ll just be one night.”

“Sure, I guess,” Hayate said, still in shock at suddenly seeing Wataru. “Nani about your parents’ place?”

“We didn’t part on the best of terms,” Wataru said. “They were against me becoming a labor pilot.”

“Sou ka. You still could have called ahead.”

“My bad,” Wataru apologized.

“Hayate,” Hayate’s mother said, cracking the door to her bedroom open, “is something the matter?”

“Iie,” Hayate assured her. “You remember Wataru, right? He needs a place to stay for the night.”

“Of course I remember Wataru,” his mother said. “Ohisashiburi, dear. Help yourself to a bath, just don’t make too much noise, OK?”

⁂

10:30 PM

Hayate had laid out a futon for Wataru. Normally, he would have offered his bed to Wataru, but he didn’t feel like he wanted to be friends with him again. But when Wataru returned from the bath, wearing Hayate’s clothes, he ignored the futon and sat down next to Hayate on the bed.

“Thanks man, I appreciate it.” Wataru said. “I am sorry for dropping by unannounced, but it’s weird being back in the city, and I needed to see a familiar face.”

“I don’t think I’m really that familiar a face,” Hayate said. “I’ve changed a lot. I’ve matured.”

“Obviously. I did some growing of my own, you know. That’s how I could tell you weren’t happy to see me. Were you going to sneak your boyfriend in tonight or something? Sorry if I ruined your plans.”

“It’s nothing like that.” Hayate turned away from Wataru. He was unsure whether Wataru had guessed his orientation or if he had been making a homophobic joke. “I learned a lot about you after you left, especially how you treated your girlfriends.”

“It was shitty of me. I know it’s not a good excuse, but I was a frustrated kid who didn’t know how to handle relationships. I’m not like that anymore. I’m considerate of others now.”

“You say that, but you dropped by unannounced.”

“I… didn’t really have a choice. I was ordered back to the city for medical checkups, and I didn’t have anywhere else to stay. I spent all day looking for a place so I wouldn’t put you out. But I’m not lying. Being free from the city, experiencing new things, it allowed me to vent the frustration that had been building inside me. I got to experience new things, and I got a taste of my own medicine from a woman I was seeing for a while.”

“If you’re sincere, I’ll help you apologize to the onna you hurt.”

“I’d appreciate that, but I don’t think they want to hear from me. They’ve moved on, and I shouldn’t be the creepy ex trying to claw his way back into their lives. But if you want, I’ll apologize to you.”

“OK.” Hayate had never heard a serious apology from Wataru, and he wondered if Wataru was even capable of it.

“I’m sorry I hid my behavior from you, and I’m sorry I flaunted my girlfriends in front of you every chance I got. I just wanted to be normal, you know? When I noticed the way you were looking at me, it made me feel excited, and I was uncomfortable with that.”

“So you’re saying it’s my fault?”

“No, I was the one in denial. I tried so desperately to like girls, but I could never relate to them. I never felt about them the way I feel about you.” As he spoke, he shifted nervously, causing his hand to brush against Hayate’s. When Hayate didn’t move his hand away, Wataru said, “Hey, are you seeing anyone right now?”

“I am.” Hayate gulped.

“Damn,” Wataru whispered. “I was a fool not to grab you when I had the chance. You’re everything I want in a partner, Hayate.”

“I, uh.” Hayate wasn’t sure how to respond to the sudden turn. Old emotions were rushing back into him, along with old fantasies of pushing Wataru down in this very bed.

“You don’t have to say anything.” Wataru leaned close to Hayate. “I can see you still feel the same as you did back then. Just for tonight… No one will know…”

For the first time, Hayate truly understood what Sumie had been trying to tell him about sex and love being different things. He didn’t love Wataru—he never really had—but he had yearned for him for so many years. Finally fulfilling that desire would be doubtlessly satisfying, perhaps more so than sex with Shou. Alone in a room with nothing and no one to stop them, they could do it just because they were horny. Of course, if Shou found out, their relationship would be ruined, but that was part of the thrill. For the first time, Hayate could make a decision that had such a huge impact on his life without anyone telling him what to do.

Overcome by desire, Hayate leaned in to kiss Wataru, but was surprised when Wataru pushed him down onto the bed and pulled off his shorts. This had not been part of Hayate’s fantasies. He had always been the one to push Wataru down, and he wasn’t prepared when Wataru flipped him onto his stomach.

“Matte,” Hayte said, “I’ve never had anyone inside me before.”

“You’re a top?” Wataru scoffed.

“I don’t think about it in those terms.” Sure, he had always been the one to penetrate Shou, but he had never thought that made him dominant or superior. In sex, they had always been equals. “I’m willing to give it a try, but there are also other things we can do.”

Taking advantage of Wataru’s hesitation, Hayate reached for Wataru’s shorts. Wataru slapped his hand away, shocking Hayate back to his senses.

“You’re not really gay, are you?” Hayate asked.

“Shut up. I control my body, not the other way around. Just give me a second.”

“Naze are you doing this? It’s not like I’m going to kick you out on the street if you don’t sleep with me.”

Realizing that he no longer had any chance of seducing Hayate, Wataru pushed him away and turned towards the wall. He did his best to keep his emotions under control, but it wasn’t enough, and he was soon crying uncontrollably.

“They’re going to kill me, and it’s all your fault,” Wataru said a few minutes later.

“Nani? Dare’s going to kill you?”

“I don’t know for sure.” Wataru wiped the tears from his eyes, “I suspect it’s the Soviets. They know you’re working for HIMITSU, and they ordered me to turn you into a double-agent.”

“Fuck.”

“This happened because you betrayed everything we stood for! How could you work for the Federation?”

“It’s not like I wanted to. It just kinda happened. Sounds like you went through something similar.”

“Then… Then we can still make this work. Just come with me tomorrow morning and pretend I seduced you. I’ll get to live, and you’ll get to betray the Federation. What do you say?”