~~~~~~~~~
Just a little song for these two~
~~~~~~~~~~
"SHIN!!!!!"
"..."
Shin's jaw drops.
He could not mistake that figure for anyone else.
Shin slowly lowers the phone from his ear, dropping the call. Without even looking, he returned the phone to the servant who was behind him. The servant raised a curious gaze at the young master and tilted their head. "You're not using it anymore, young master?"
"No...Thank you for your assistance..." Shin replies as he stared at the closing figure.
Shin completely walks out the gate and runs towards the familiar arrival.
What is he doing here!? Don't tell me...
"Shin!!" Haruto calls out again.
Shin couldn't say anything while running, he barely had any breath. Shin slows down, exhaustion almost taking over, but...
"Oh Shin, thank goodness you're okay!" Before Shin knew it, he was suddenly engulfed into a tight hug. Shin swallows nervously, a bit flushed. He could hear Haruto's heavy and tired breaths right next to his ear. After a while, they pull away from each other.
"You look so haggard..." Shin says quietly and moves a piece of hair away from Haruto's sweating face.
"I...was...worried." Haruto panted and Shin lets him take the breather he needed, remaining quiet. He shouldn't say anything, Haruto would try and reply to him no matter what and he needed to breathe.
After a while of silence, Haruto relaxed, but his wavering strength did not go unnoticed by Shin.
"You can lean your weight against me. I'm not that fragile." Shin said, noticing Haruto's unstable stance. Shin knew that this man was running for hours non-stop if he was able to get here at this time of the afternoon. Haruto shakes his head. "Aren't...you tired after running too?"
"You...You're like this and you're still trying to look after me?" Shin sighs, frowning with slightly puffed cheeks. "So unfair..."
"But Shin-"
Shin pulls Haruto towards him, letting the man slump on his shoulder. Shin rubs Haruto's back. "There, there. Rest now."
"..."
Shin couldn't see it, but Haruto was burning red. Haruto was about to pull away, but Shin's grip on Haruto's back was secure. This was Shin's iron grip! Haruto could not move at all. There was an internal struggle of pushing the tired Shin away gently or just let Shin hold him.
"Young master, who is this person?" A servant caught up to them.
"Please prepare a room for him."
"S-Shin!?" Haruto calls. The servant nods and leaves.
"We'll talk later, just focus on resting for now." Shin says firmly, leaving no room for the taller to fight back. Haruto sighs in defeat and smiles against Shin's shoulder. He hums a happy tune and wraps his arms around Shin.
"Y-You...let go." Shin whispers. "I can't help you like this."
"Just for a little while...Can't move."
"Now you can't move!?"
"Oh I'm so tired, I can barely lift a finger!" Haruto sang distressingly. "Your alarm clock needs recharging, so stay still for him, hm?"
Shin grip on Haruto's back strengthens.
Haruto grins. "So soft and lovely-"
"Shut up and focus on your damn recharge." Shin could feel his ears burn. "Now let go so I can move you to the house."
Haruto reluctantly lets go and Shin guides him to the traditional home carefully. Haruto looked like he could fall on his feet any second, so Shin held him tightly, gathering all the strength he could muster to support Haruto.
"Shin dear, what happened?" His grandmother was standing by the gate, concerned.
"Grandmother..."
"Good afternoon ma'am." Haruto greets with a weak smile, bowing his head. "My name is Suzuki Haruto, I'm Shin's classmate."
"Oh, hello there. You look so exhausted dear, please come inside." The grandmother beckons for the two to quickly come inside and they do so. The three are guided by a servant and arrive at Haruto's prepared room, and let Haruto take a seat on pillow seating on the floor.
"Are you okay?" Shin asks.
"Thanks to you and everyone here." Haruto smiles.
"Why do you look so exhausted dear?" Shin's grandmother asks, sitting down besides Haruto.
"Because he ran all the way from the train station to here." Shin says while lightly chopping Haruto's head. Haruto lets out a small laugh, it never hurts. Shin never made it hurt.
"You did such a thing?!" Shin's grandmother was astonished and Haruto nods vigorously. "So you've been running for...almost three hours!?"
"I...think?" Haruto wasn't really sure, he didn't care how long he ran. He just asked the nearest officer nearby that time, and once the officer answered his question about the Nakamura residence, the officer almost mistook Haruto for a professional runner.
"Oh dear...Please focus on resting for now. I'll leave to give you two some privacy." Shin's grandmother leaves the room. Shin looks at Haruto for answers, but he could already kind of guess how and why Haruto ended up here.
"Shin, I'm sorry for suddenly coming like this unannounced. I thought something happened to you and I got really worried." Haruto apologized, bowing his head.
Shin frowns, "I'm sorry. My phone broke and I tried to call you, but something always came up."
"It's not your fault, Shin. It's mine for overthinking. I'm glad nothing serious happened though."
"..." Shin places his hand on top of Haruto's hand. "Thank you..."
"Shin..." Haruto smiles. "You don't have to thank me."
Shin may not know how to put his appreciation into exact words, but the fact that Haruto came all the way here meant a lot to him. The ache in his heart long gone after laying his eyes upon him from the distance. But how will everything turn out next? Shin held onto Haruto's hand tighter, a little anxious.
He opened his mouth, then closed.
After a while, he hesitantly asked. "Do you even have enough money to get back?"
"..." Haruto was silent, but looked like he had a brilliant idea. His eyes sparkled as he smiled widely at Shin.
"No running."
"..." Haruto looks away.
"I'll lend you some money."
"I can't do that! The ticket is expensive Shin!"
Wait, come to think of it...
"Haruto, what about your parents?" Shin worriedly asks.
"Actually...They kind of me kicked me out." Haruto answers, scratching the back of his head. Shin's mouth hangs slightly open and tilts his head, looking for a deeper explanation. Haruto smiles sheepishly. "When I told them I was worried about you, my mom and dad literally pushed me out the door."
"...What?"
"Oh! They told me to call them when I get here."
"..."
Haruto pulls out his phone from his pocket and taps on his mother's contact. After a few seconds, Haruto's mother answered the call. "Haruto, did you get there safely? Is Shin-kun okay? He's not hurt is he!?"
She sounded so panicked. Shin looks at Haruto with a questioning look and whispers, "She sounds like she's known me for years before I was born!"
How did that come to be!?
Haruto sweats. "Um...well..."
"Haruto!"
"He's fine mom!"
"Oh thank goodness! Is it alright if I talk to him?"
Shin looks back and forth from Haruto and to his phone.
"Is it...okay?" Haruto asks.
"...S-Sure..." Shin takes the phone and spoke. "Good afternoon Suzuki-san-"
"Oh Shin-kun! Hello there! How are you?"
"Good ma'am-"
"There's no need for you to refer to me so formally!"
"But-"
"Just call me-"
"Mom, I'm sorry, but you're overwhelming." Haruto quickly interjected.
"Oh, I'm sorry Shin-kun."
"It's okay ma'am..."
"Shin-kun, I want to tell you something."
"What is it?"
"Haruto loves to talk about you a lot-"
"M-Mom!"
"Shin-kun, please visit soon! We have a room prepared for you-"
"You have a what!?" Haruto almost screams.
"Just kidding! But soon! Your dad's cleaning it out right now-Oh, he's calling for me! I'll call you guys later! Good bye! It was nice talking to Shin-kun! We hope to meet you soon personally!"
*Click*
"....."
Even his parents are just as intense as him.
Shin quietly returns his phone to the flustered Haruto.
"Do they know?" Shin asks, a little red.
"I'm not sure, but...I think they do." Haruto sighs. "They may have already suspected it."
Shin chuckles and lightly chops Haruto's head. "You blabber too much."
Haruto pouts. "I was just telling them about you like a friend."
Shin raises a brow.
"But the important thing is, they really like you Shin!"
"..."
"I'm glad they do, I was worried."
"..."
"I guess I missed you so much that I talked to them about you a lot! Haha!"
"..."
"I'm sorry Shin, I'll try-"
"Haruto." Shin cuts Haruto off, grabbing Haruto's sleeve and tugging it.
"Shin?"
"I missed you."
Shin was met with silence, however he felt strong arms wrap around him. It was the simple reply he needed to feel. Shin nuzzles into Haruto, hiding his red-stained face on the man's shoulder. It wasn't a mystery that their hearts were beating loudly, Shin feared it would jump out.
"It was so quiet..." Shin whispers.
"I'm here now." Haruto whispers back. "I'll talk until you can't bear it anymore."
"...Can I ask for something selfish?"
"Shin, ask me anything." Haruto said immediately.
"S-Sta...Stay with me...for the summer..."
Haruto smirks. "Only for the summer?"
"...You...know what I mean."
"How much time should I stay with you? From morning till night?"
"Haruto-"
"How close should I stay?" Haruto whispered to Shin's ear. "Like this? Until the night, right?"
Shin pushes Haruto away and pulls out his wallet threateningly. "You want a ticket?"
"Shin, I won't tease you anymore! I'll stay! I'll stay!" Haruto cried, shaking his head. "Don't send me away! I don't want that ticket!"
Shin huffs and rests his cheek on Haruto's shoulder. They look at each other and blink.
"...Hahaha!"
"Hahaha!"
"I'm glad you're here." Shin smiles.
"Glad to be here with you." Haruto smiles back, petting Shin's hair. Haruto hears Shin make a satisfied noise and completely leans his weight to Haruto. After a while, he heard soft snores. Oh yeah, nap time. Haruto chuckles and despite his aching legs, he prepared a futon from the closet for Shin and laid him carefully on it.
"Sleep well, Shin."
~~~~~~~~~~~
HELLO EVERYONE!!
Friend-san back at it again-
Just imagining an alarm clock with Haruto's hair with arms and legs is lowkey terrifying. Imagine if this little thing just came running at you in unbelievable speed lol. I swear if I suddenly get a nightmare of this, I'm going to cry and laugh.
Also to the readers who literally started a stage play for grandma's phone battery:
Haruto: Im so proud
He's crying.
Anyways!
Thank you so much for waiting for the new chapter! I'm grateful to everyone's support, views, votes and comments! It's so fun and interesting to read everyone's inputs and reactions, and to know that all of you guys are enjoying it! It motivates me to do more and improve my writing! Once again, Thank you everyone!
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, I'll see you in the next one!