[牛天 | UshiTen]: Our Flowers

Part 9: [i smother you]

- Do you want to wait for the bus? But it might take a while. We'll have to wait.

Their house was the very last one in a small, but posh village, situated on the western coast of Okinawa, not 30 miles away from the sea. Their in-laws chose the location together, but they themselves chose the house – after browsing through online real estate websites, they just fell in love with the house, and the possibilities it presented. The photos showed a picturesque two-storey house, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, but small enough to not be too expensive. It looked perfect for people who wouldn't want to entertain guests, nor relatives, but still loved their independence and could work in peace, separately, and still together. It had a garage, and an excellent cellar, and it was secluded and quiet. It seemed that the only minus was their neighbor.

Yet, just like anything in life, it needed maintenance, and that had been postponed more often than not, as both Wakatoshi and Tendō had been too busy. So busy that their marriage somehow almost reverted back to mere friendship, and although they both still loved and looked forward to being together, things weren't as smooth as they had been at the start.

So, this month of sick leave for Ushijima fell into Satori's lap like a blessing from the sky. He was far too glad to put his job on hold, and go back home, to take care of his husband. And it had been nice – they were free to do whatever, and the free time meant also quality time for cuddling and catching up on each's stories, but still... Satori felt that his husband was drifting away, and just when he feared that Wakatoshi was acting cold, the giant would surprise him with kisses and petting that made his head spin, and his rocked his world. And on the other hand, Wakatoshi felt that his husband was overcompensating, pouring lavish amounts of affection, and care and pet names on him – and those made him feel uncomfortable, they were binding, making his feel obliged to match every step of the way, and he hated it. He hated to feel as if he was in debt – a debt of love, affection, care that he had to be returning all the time.

So, no matter how much he wanted to express his devotion to his beloved Satori, all these games of giving and receiving was making him feel exhausted; it was forcing him to close off, to shut down, and pull away from Tendō's bubbly life. And he hated this the most.

- If it's OK with you, I'd like to walk.

Satori looked him up and down, his face looked worried.

- Eh, I'm OK with it... but what about your leg? Please, I—

- I'll be fine. – Ushijima cut him off, sulking. – I need exercise. I need to go back to training, and soon. I will need to be back to the team's regular practice as soon as possible.

Tendō pouted.

- Well, that's all nice and dandy, but it's not what the doctors said! – he mumbled, not too happy about this decision of, what he knew to be, inhuman exertion and Spartan training.

Ushijima looked into his face for a moment, but did not comment. And Tendō could only sigh; there was no arguing with that stubborn moron when he was in such a mood.

So they walked to the market, slowly. It would usually take no more than 20 minutes to take there, but Satori was establishing a slower pace quite on purpose, truly worried about the pressure and load on those poor tendons and sinews, now successfully pretending that he admired other people's houses and gardens.

Wakatoshi was frowning. He knew his lover well. Satori never cared about what houses looked like. This was an excuse.

But he decided that the day was fine, and quiet, and that the road was lonely and free of passers-by.