fifth kiss - flashback
You were the biggest nerd in playing soccer I've ever seen so far.
I was sixteen and I remember you once showing up at the local soccer place when Kouyou and me were doing some extra training for the game at the weekend ahead.
"Hey! Would you two mind me joining..?"
You were small.
Smaller than me and smaller than Kouyou - which was not so much of a hard task, since Kouyou had always have such long legs.
"Sure, why not", Kouyou answered for me, "I'm Kouyou, this is Akira~"
"My name's Takanori. Nice to meet you."
We played the whole afternoon long and laughed a lot.
We came to teach you playing soccer because you didn't know anything.
"Why in the world did you want to join in?", Kouyou laughed after a while when you, again, fell over your own feet.
"Because I'm new to this neighborhood and you seemed like nice guys~", you answered, also laughing.
I was still speechless. Besides laughing I didn't say anything the whole afternoon.
"We're the nicest guys in town, so you're lucky!", Kouyou, again, answered and patted my shoulder, grinning widely. "But you gotta be careful about this bastard, he's the gayest dude you'll ever see."
I furrowed my brows and hit his shoulder; he squirmed - very manly - and jumped a foot away.
"Ouch! That hurt!"
"I know. That was the sense of it, Mr. I-squeal-like-a-girl."
Kouyou frowned the ducky pout of his and rubbed his hurting shoulder.
"I don't mind that~ I didn't think here'd be anybody gay besides me at all.", you laughed, softly, and I stared at you in surprise; so did Kouyou.
"What? You're gay?"
"Nothing wrong 'bout that, is it?"
Kouyou slowly nodded and I started to smile.
It had been back then when I, slowly, bit by bit, fell in love with you.
We went to school together in the morning and back home together in the afternoon, since you were living only two blocks away from my place. We went out partying on the weekends and we slept over at each other's place a lot of times.
But nothing ever happened.
We were happy about the way things were.
"A-Aki.. what are you doing..?"
You looked at me, shaking a bit, and making me shiver slightly in response.
Yeah, what was I doing right here..?
You had to leave tomorrow. Your father had taken a job in another prefecture, far away. We wouldn't see each other anymore - yet, not as often as we were used to.
I was drunk - hell knows I was - but my thoughts were clear when I, again, lent in to kiss your lips in this dirty bathroom, the party to say goodbye to you and the noises of all of your friends still in the background.
I cannot tell how happy I was to feel you giving in, moving closer, your hands tugging my shirt.
I pulled you close, embraced you.
And it was then when I realized that I didn't want you to go.
You sighed when you slowly pulled away and opened your eyes, panting.
"I'm glad you're the first one to kiss me...", you whispered as you buried your head on my neck.
"The very first..?"
"I guess, kissing my Mum when I was a child doesn't count.. so, yes."
You chuckled.
We ended up at your place - your parents had been out to their friends' place as well to say goodbye.
We were impatient to rip each other's clothes off, to feel skin, to kiss, to touch.
But when it came to serious things we became calm again.
I took you slowly, carefully. I knew it must have been your first time and I wanted you to enjoy it.
We made love several times that night. I remember you always panting my name and the words "I'm yours" ever so softly. And, God, I wanted you to be mine. I didn't want you to go, I wanted this night to last forever although I knew there was no use in hoping.
Your bags were packed, we had stumbled over them when we reached for your room.
You snuggled up to me, laid your head on my chest and I embraced you gently, stroked my fingers through your black hair.
"Aki..?"
"Yes?"
"I'm sorry..."
I turned my head because your voice was shaky and looked at you. I saw tears welling up in your sad eyes and it broke my heart. "Don't cry.. onegai..."
"I don't want to go.. I want to stay here.. with you.. with Kouyou and Yune.."
"You know you have to go, baby... But you know I'll visit you during the summer holidays.."
You started to cry.
I remember us watching the sunrise because we both didn't want to sleep.
I waved goodbye when the car drove off.
I stood there an hour longer, on the middle of the street, and looked in the direction the car had gone...
"For fuck's sake!", I sweared and looked angry at that tiny guy that had just run into me. The ice cream he had been eating before was now 'decorating' my new shirt's chest.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!", he said and handed me a tissue, throwing the ice cream cup into a nearby bin.
It was his voice that smashed me right in the face.
Of course, it must have been becoming darker, lower, over the years. But I knew it. I knew that tone, I knew that way of speaking, the way you gestured while still apologizing.
"Matsumoto Takanori.", I said.
"Wh..what..?", you said and looked questioning.
"You dyed your hair blonde..."
I seemed to take you a moment to realize. "A-Akira..?"
I threw the tissue into the bin and nodded slowly.
"Oh God...", he whispered and stared at me, motionless, because he surely didn't believe this either.
I held my arms open and finally he moved, throwing himself against me, hugging me.
"This must be fate...", he said and closed his eyes, making me roll my eyes.
"Oh come on, stop being so cheesy...", I murmured but smiled.
"You're still a burden~"
"Aki..?"
A hand on the bassist's shoulder woke him softly.
"Mh..?", he said, still unconscious, but slightly opened his eyes to meet his lover's.
"You were moaning and rolling around.. I thought you had a nightmare.."
Reita rubbed his left eye and let his head fall back into the pillow again, pulling the other close.
"Everything okay..?", Ruki asked and kissed his cheek, cuddled up to the other.
"Yeah.. just a.. 'weird' dream..."
It obviously didn't take long for the vocal to fall back into sleep because allready after a few minutes he could hear his monotonous, slow breathing and it made him fall back into dreaming as well.
"What do you do in Tokyo then..?"
"I moved here a few days ago. Taking some singing lessons and all, working~ What about you?"
"Moved here some time ago. Kouyou and I moved here some time ago. We're trying to make up a band, Yune's there too, but we're still missing a vocal and a second guitarist."
...
We needed a while to get close again.
A few meetings, having some band sessions, and some nights you spent over at Kouyou's and my flat. You didn't stay over the night though.
"Time to go now~ Last subway over to my place soon.", you said and stood up, moving to the hallway to put shoes and jacket on again. I followed you and watched you, Kouyou still in the livingroom and watching TV.
"See you tomorrow.", you said, smiling, and hugged me.
I held you close, "Yeah..", and finally dared to kiss your ear and your sleeve.
You chuckled. "Since when did you want to do that?"
"Since you ran into me~", I replied and we both laughed.
Moving to your tiptoes, you finally kissed me.
Your lips were as soft as I had remembered them and I felt my knees tremble under their taste.
"See you tomorrow~", you repeated and slipped out of the door, leaving me breathless and awkwardly happy.
