CH5.1: Patchwork (PA)

It had been two months since Yuto and Nagisa began going out with each other. Things were slowly warming up between them. When Yuto returned home, he would be greeted with a hug and a peck on the forehead. Instead of brushing it off, Yuto just accepted it and played shy in front of him.

Very slowly, he was becoming familiar with receiving affection, specifically Nagisa's. He still wasn't familiar with giving out affection but Nagisa was extra patient with that. Yuto rarely erupted at him since they started going out. He just rephrased and put emphasis on things he wanted Nagisa to do properly. That was all it took for Nagisa to know he had tamed the demon in Yuto's icy heart.

He hadn't had the time to celebrate Yuto's good grade yet. Yuto had been staying up past midnight to complete his assignments and he was exhausted. Nagisa couldn't wait up for him but when he woke up every morning, Yuto would be a little cuddle bug in his arms, nuzzled against his chest and dead asleep. He thought it was cute that Yuto still wanted to sleep in his room despite going to bed so late at night.

He felt guilty and almost useless that Yuto still had to do almost everything around the house and study despite functioning on 2 hours of sleep. Yuto's 19th birthday was approaching. The only reason Nagisa used to remember it was because his mother would remind him and deliver a rather hefty parcel for Yuto on his birthday.

Apart from that, Nagisa had never really done much to celebrate Yuto's birthday before. He held the sleepy boy in his arms preciously as he thought to himself. 'Perhaps this year, I should up my game. I'm his boyfriend right? I should stop acting like he doesn't matter to me,'.

Nagisa knew that Yuto was fond of desserts. Why not try baking a cake for Yuto? Well...firstly, he was incompetent in the kitchen. Secondly, the last thing he cooked in the oven were cookies and they were barely recognisable.

Some would say his batch of cookies were the distant cousins of the lumps of coal in his family's fireplace. Third of all, he would need someone to help him but he couldn't get Yuto to help out with making his own birthday cake. That would ruin the surprise. He remembered that bake sale they had earlier in the year and that one of the teachers, Aoi, was an avid baker. 'I should probably ask her for help tomorrow at school.'

.

.

.

Rumours of Shinji Nagisa going out with a guy—not just any guy; a guy 16 years younger than him, spread amongst the staff. "Ehh?! He's going out with a guy!?"One of the female teachers gasped, squeezing Futaba Aoi's hand disappointed. You see, Aoi had an unhealthy crush on Nagisa since he started working in the school. When she heard about his divorce, she thought she finally had a chance. But now he was going out with a guy? A guy?? Her dreams were dropkicked and thrown into the dumpster.

"Takaba-san!!"She whined at a male teacher. The male teacher, known as Takaba Akuma, was the teacher who noticed Nagisa making a move on Yuto in the classroom. "Are you sure it's true?". "Futaba-chan, I already told you. I saw him with his lover in his classroom. You can't possibly ignore it,". Aoi was disappointed with herself; she could have kicked herself. "However, if you're still interested, I can help you,"Takaba smirked evilly and laid back in his seat.

Aoi perked up and listened intently. "That kid he's dating, he's quite sensitive, he's got a temper. Most importantly, he's a kid. You're better than a kid, right?". Aoi nodded and Takaba crossed his arms. "And if I'm not mistaken, Shinji-san is still attracted to women. He's probably just playing with the kid's feelings to fill the void in his heart since divorce,".

Aoi huffed and pushed her hair back, not really convinced. "How's that information going to help me?". Takaba looked her in the eye. "You just need to get him drunk. Make him realise his real feelings. All men are truthful when they're drunk". Aoi still wasn't satisfied. "What about the kid?". Takaba arched an eyebrow and laughed cruelly to himself. "Don't worry, I'll take care of him,".

.

.

.

Nagisa approached Aoi right before school ended. "Futaba-chan!"He smiled and ran towards her. Aoi tried to hide her satisfaction and she just ducked her head. "Hello, Shinji-kun. How may I help you?". Nagisa scratched his head, his eyes shifting nervously. "You see, it's going to be my boyfriend's birthday soon. I wanted to learn how to bake a cake for him as a surprise,".

Her smile stiffened but she didn't back down an offer to go along with the plan she had made with Nakuma. "Right then, come over to my place after school. I'll teach you the basics,"She shot him the sweetest smile she could manage. "Thank you! I'll have to call him first to tell him that I'll be home late,"He grinned and Aoi shook her head.

"Don't do that, he's probably busy. Takaba-san said he's passing by your house today to go to the swim centre. I'll get him to inform your boyfriend for you,"She chuckled. Deep down inside, she was overjoyed. Everything was falling into place. All she had to do was get him to not call his partner.

Nagisa thought for a bit and then he slid his phone back into his pocket. "Yeah, he's been nagging me about calling him too much. Thanks again, Futaba-chan. Thank Takaba-kun for me,"He smiled and darted away to his next class. Aoi couldn't wait for the clock to strike 4pm. She couldn't wait for Shinji Nagisa, the man she had been chasing down, to enter her apartment. She couldn't wait to make Nagisa hers. She told Takaba everything that happened and the man smirked in satisfaction. "See? Easy right? Shinji-san's such a pushover sometimes. I'll handle the kid. Now's your time to shine Futaba-chan,".

That evening, Yuto was thinking about what to make for dinner. He didn't know that Nagisa would return home late. Just as he was about to open the fridge, there was a knock at the door. He opened it reluctantly and was greeted by the sight of another man. "Oh my, I'm looking at the lover of Shinji Nagisa right? You look so young~~"Takaba cooed and bent down. Yuto huffed and scowled at him.

"Your point?". Takaba smirked at him and towered over him at the doorstep. "Shinji-san sent me to tell you that he's coming home late. He might be staying over at his girlfriend's house,". Yuto froze when he heard that.

'What? Nagi..was dating a woman?'.

"I don't believe you,"Yuto growled as he glared at Nakuma.

"He's always been interested in women. He's staying over at his girlfriend's home today. You won't be seeing him,". Takaba took out his phone and flipped out the messages he curated with Aoi.

There was a video of Nagisa baking with her of course. The caption was "Nana and I with our weekly baking session,". Yuto's head began to hurt.

'Nana?? Nana?? She even has a nickname for him??'.

The more he watched the video, Nagisa looked so happy and natural with her, it was like he was always there with her. "I'm sorry to inform you of all this Kirishima-kun. But Shinji-san had always told me that he could never be that interested in a kid who can barely satisfy him,".

He walked away, with a satisfied smile, knowing very well that he had shattered Yuto's fragile heart into pieces. Yuto slammed the door shut. Why did he feel his head buzzing? His hands shook as he tried to guide himself to the kitchen to cook but he couldn't even concentrate. The whole world was spinning.

Yuto pulled off his apron and slumped miserably in Nagisa's room. He felt tears pricking his eyes and his heart hurting. So what? All of that, the date, the kisses? He was just playing with his feelings? He grabbed Nagisa's shirt on the bed and rubbed his face into it. The calming scent soothed him and engulfed him entirely. He wanted to believe it was all a lie.

But then again, if Nagisa didn't call him to say he'd be home late, he must've been hiding something from him. He just laid in bed, in the dark room, and cried to himself while he held the shirt of the man he loved miserably. After a while he got up and left the house in the pouring rain. He decided that he didn't want to be at home that night.

____________________________

"I already said I don't want to drink! I need to get home to my Kirishima-kun safely!".

"One fucking drink won't kill you! Why does he matter so much to you?!".

Aoi gritted her teeth angrily. "If you love him so much, just get out of here!". Nagisa was surprised to be yelled at like that. Aoi approached him and held him by the shoulders. "I'm sorry for yelling at you, Shinji-kun. I never meant to do something like that,".

Nagisa shrugged and before he could reply, he noticed her leaning into his face. She leaned in to kiss him on the lips but Nagisa covered his mouth and pushed her away gently. "Aoi. I'm taken. Don't even try,". His tone was cold and he called the female teacher by her first name without any honourifics.

"Why did it have to be him Shinji-kun?! Why?!"She screamed at him. "I've had a crush on you for so long and now when I finally get the opportunity to ask you out, you deny me the right to do so!! Why?!!!". Nagisa frowned at her and crossed his arms. "Are you deaf? I already told you. I'm taken,". Aoi was upset that Nagisa rejected her advances and lashed out.

"So what? Being taken by a child with no family and attitude problems makes you happy?!"She screamed and became dead silent from the fierce glare in Nagisa's eyes. "Why do all of those things matter?"He asked her softly. Then he raised his voice and slammed the table roughly. "Why do all of those things matter about Kirishima-kun??!"He thundered at her.

Aoi was dead silent because she knew she had tread on the wrong path. "I don't care if you say anything bad about me. But if you say anything bad about my Kirishima-kun, you're dead to me,". He put his coat on and paid no attention to Aoi's apologising. "Thank you very much for teaching me how to bake. But next time, I will not need your assistance,"He grunted, holding his box of cake and slammed the door behind him.

The rain pelted down very hard that night. He didn't think too much but he was worried that Yuto would be lonely at home. Just as he approached his car in the parking lot, Asahina called him. "Excuse my informality, but Nagisa, you're a total idiot,". Nagisa was surprised and felt his lips tremble. "What—why?". That was when Asahina lost his patience.

"What stupid fool leaves a poor innocent kid crying in the rain after breaking his heart?!"He shouted in anger. "Kei, calm down..."The teaching assistant whispered but Asahina was furious. "How do you want me to calm down when this bastard broke Yuto-kun's heart and he's playing dumb?! He's back by the fucking lake now for round two!".

'He's back by the lake...'. Nagisa felt something ping in him. 'Did Takaba-kun feed him some malicious lie about Aoi and I?'. He held the phone to his ear and sighed. "I'm sorry, Asahina-kun. I'm on my way,". Nagisa sped all the way to the opening on the entrance of the park. He saw Yuto sitting there, letting the rain soak him as he sat by the lake.

He sighed and saw Asahina coming down the pathway with a bright red umbrella. Nagisa allowed himself to get engulfed by the rain as he approached Yuto. He could hear him sobbing. "I came to get you, my Yuto!"Nagisa called out from afar and Yuto instantly backed away after seeing his face.

He was about to scarper in the opposite direction but Nagisa hugged him tightly and stopped him in his tracks. "Yuto, please don't do this again. You've made me worried sick about you. Explain what you've heard from that man to me when we get home. Okay?"He asked and Yuto was silent.

But eventually, he hugged the life out of Nagisa while he sobbed in his chest. Asahina prodded the umbrella he had brought along to Nagisa, who hugged Yuto's wet body and smiled at Asahina, shaking his head. "I'm taking him home. There's no need. Thank you for always looking out for Yuto,".

.

.

.

Nagisa dumped Yuto on the sofa once they arrived home. He turned the heater on and stripped off the top layer of his clothes. Yuto just blushed beneath him and looked away. Nagisa grabbed his chin before he leaned down and kissed him. "Yuto, what nonsense did you hear from him?"He asked seriously as he pulled away from the kiss.

He loosened the boy's wet hoodie and pulled it off his body, discarding it onto the floor. "He told me that you were with your 'girlfriend'. Then he said that you were still heads over heels with women. He said that you told him that you were never interested in a kid like me from the start,". Nagisa growled under his breath but he diverted his attention to his precious Yuto. "A female teacher was teaching me how to bake. I wanted to learn how to bake in time for your birthday so I couldn't tell you,".

He cupped Yuto's face tenderly and pecked his lips. "She and I are nothing more than acquaintances,". Then he told him about the video and said that Aoi had a little camera robot who followed her around and that it filmed the part where they were laughing over how he forgot to add an ingredient to the cake.

"Didn't she call you Nana?"Yuto grumbled and Nagisa looked at him, confused. "Yuto, I only have one nickname in this world and it's Nagi,". Yuto blushed and hid his face as Nagisa slowly pulled off his shirt. "About my attraction to women, yes, I'm attracted to both genders, I will admit it. However, I'm only interested in one person and that person is Kirishima Yuto,"He smiled and hugged Yuto, cradling him as if he were some precious doll.

He pulled Yuto's sweatpants down his hips, letting them fall to the ground as Yuto trembled in his arms. "N-Nagi.."He whined and Nagisa hushed him. "I'm your lover, Yuto. There's nothing wrong with being naked around me,".

Yuto hid his face in Nagisa's chest. "B-But still..."He trailed off and the man chuckled as he realised why Yuto was so flustered. "Oh yeah. You've never been naked in front of anyone before,". Nagisa smiled at Yuto, his expression soft. Yuto was dangerously adorable to him. He carried Yuto to his bed and laid him down.

"Tonight, I'm repairing the damage those lies did to you,". Nagisa leaned over to Yuto's neck and licked the most visible part of it before he bit down hard and sucked. Yuto moaned quietly and clung onto Nagisa's back as he was being marked. A hickey formed on Yuto's neck and Nagisa planted more on his neck. "I'm claiming you in more obvious ways. I'll make it crystal clear to the world that you're taken by me and that no one else is allowed to make a move on you,".

Nagisa pulled away and slipped off his glasses. He noticed Yuto's face had gotten redder and smirked. "Ah, I forgot how much my face made you blush." He had so much love for Yuto. It only made him want to dominate him even more. He leaned in and kissed Yuto roughly, pinning him to the bed. Yuto wanted to succumb under the care of Nagisa's wings. He wanted this man to claim all of him. His heart, his soul, his lips and body. All of him. He wanted his man to leave his marks everywhere.

So that no one would ever get tempted to snatch him away from the man he adored so much ever again. Nagisa trailed down and kissed his stomach gently, seductively licking down his navel, stopping at his hips. "Yuto, can I?"He purred into the boy's red ears as he stroked his thighs seductively.

"I-I'm all yours, Nagi,"He moaned and Nagisa licked his ear playfully. "Of course you are. But do I have permission to touch you here?"The man whispered and Yuto curled up, blushing even more. "Why would you n-need my permission for something like t-that?".

Nagisa was touching him in such a private region. "Your consent matters to me. I'll only touch you if you want it,". He stroked the bottom of Yuto's thigh gently as his other hand caressed the boy's chest. "Well Yuto?"He smirked and felt the boy cling onto him, moaning sweetly in his ears. "Y-you may touch me there Nagi...but..."He whined and looked him in the eyes, his green eyes trembling.

"Please be gentle with me....". Nagisa blushed and slipped his hand in between the boy's legs. 'Oh fuck, this kid is unbelievably innocent. But he's so cute that he ends up hitting all my weak points,'. Yuto felt the man's hand in between his legs and instinctively shut his legs tightly and looked away, his face flushed.

Nagisa chuckled to himself and petted Yuto's arm tenderly. "There, there Yuto. Relax your legs and open them a little for me. You don't have to be embarrassed, I just want you to feel good,"Nagisa smiled and Yuto glanced at the man's warm smile. 'At the end of the day, I can never say no to this man. He makes my heart race and his voice is so full of love, I just want to do all I can to please him,'.

Nagisa's hand no longer felt like a fish caught in a net and he reached over to pet his head. "There's a good boy. Don't worry, I still have a lot to teach you before I'll make any advances,". Yuto cocked his head and suddenly sat up. He remembered that Asahina told him to ask "that perverted man he lived with" whatever he didn't understand.

"Nagi, how do I get hard and feel good?".

Nagisa was stunned. He could hear a gong being sounded. And his soul detaching itself. 'Sometimes, I think that this kid is too innocent for an old man like me,". Nagisa scratched his head nervously and pecked Yuto's cheek. "We'll save that for another day okay? It's a little too high levelled for you at the moment. We'll take it one thing at a time,". Yuto then held his hand and looked at him with twinkling eyes. 

"What about sex?".

Nagisa jumped out of his skin when he heard that coming out of Yuto's mouth. He felt like he was being attacked twice. "Ahhhh!!! Absolutely not now!! You're still so stupidly innocent!!" Nagisa shouted, absolutely panicked. He looked down and felt bad for wanting to do such naughty things with someone as inexperienced as Yuto.

Yuto propped himself up on Nagisa's lap and put his arms around his neck, a small smile on his face. "Thank you for teaching me,". Nagisa groaned and hugged him tightly as he gazed at the marks he gave the boy on his neck and chest, guilt spreading across his face after realising that he went overboard.

"Yuto, I'm sorry that you're dating such a perverted old man,"He apologised and Yuto gave him a look of surprise. "Is that something to be sorry for?". Nagisa's eyes widened and he turned to look at Yuto's flustered face. "You accepted me for who I was when I came to live here. Even my shouting at you. Shouldn't I be able to do the same with you?"Yuto asked quietly and Nagisa grinned to himself on the inside as he felt his lips moving to meet Yuto's.

'But more times than once, his innocence is the reason I love him so much,".

___________________________

A small black velvet box was presented to Yuto the next day during dinner. "It's much too early but consider it your birthday present,". Yuto ducked his head as thanks and opened it to reveal a ring cushioned in velvet. "I don't want to marry young, old dog,". Nagisa shook his head and slipped the ring out of its holder.

"It's not a wedding ring. They're promise rings,". Nagisa's right hand emerged from his pocket to reveal an almost identical ring on his ring finger. He took hold of Yuto's right hand and kissed the back of it sweetly. "I want you to be mine, and for the world to know that you're taken,". Yuto looked away as he felt his face heating up.

"God old dog...with the marks on my neck and this ring, the aliens in space are going to know too," He grumbled and Nagisa slipped the ring through Yuto's slender finger before pecking him on the cheek. "I just have so much love for you, I can't help but be a possessive man when it comes to you,".

The rose gold rings had their own names engraved in bold letters but their partner's names engraved in cursive at the bottom of the rings. Yuto subtly admired the beauty of the ring as Nagisa chuckled to himself. "Nagi, what's the use of a promise ring? Do I have to keep it on?"He mumbled as he looked at the amount of detail in the ring.

Nagisa nodded and hugged him tightly from behind, rocking him back and forth. "It's more than just metal around your finger, it's the promise of unconditional and eternal love".

_φ(･ω･ Author's Note

Promise rings are such a sweet concept. What do you think about this chapter? Voting is very much appreciated! Thank you for reading this chapter of A Heart To Heal! ♡