Chapter 4: First Touch

TW: Language. 

Akihiko stood there for a while after Yuki left, his mind racing with all the possibilities of what could be happening to him. He thought about his own struggles, and how self-absorbed he has been the last few months because of it. 

You've seen him leaving the counseling office multiple times, and you haven't even thought to ask him what's wrong.

He sighed at his own selfishness, thinking about his diminishing relationship with Nomi, how he's missed track practice every week, his decision to steal, his choice in "jobs", amongst other things. He finally headed back to class, late. 

That afternoon due to his tardiness he was required to stay even later after school, cleaning as punishment. He groaned in frustration as he wiped smudges from the windows. Suddenly, Nomi appeared at his side, rag in hand. 

"Need help?" She said, reaching up and wiping away a few smudges of her own. 

"Oh, Nomi." Akihiko replied, "I had something I needed to say to you." 

"R-r-really?" She stammered, looking at him with big expectant eyes. Her long hair cascaded down her shoulders, she had loosely curled it today with a ribbon tied neatly on top. 

"Yes I'm...." He paused, "Sorry." He said in a whisper. 

"Huh?" She said, "Sorry?" Her face looked disappointed, she turned away from him and continued to help clean the windows. 

"Yes, for not being as nice to you recently. I can tell you mean well, it just hasn't been the same in my house since...well you know." He said in as many words as he could muster at the time. 

"Aki..." She said softly, "You don't need to apologize to me. We've known each other for years, I know I can say ditzy things sometimes that cause you offense...like the other day in the cafeteria." She paused, "But I know that deep down, you mean well too." She sighed when she was done speaking, a tinge of sadness in her words. 

"I think because of what happened between you and Issei, it's been hard for me to take sides." He admitted to her. 

She avoided his gaze and continued cleaning the window, "Yes...what happened with Issei." She said. 

For a while they cleaned in silence, he finished early enough with her help and managed to reach Kanada on time. 

He still ran the entire way, just in case. 

When he arrived out of breath his sister ran up to him happily, "Aki!!!!" She exclaimed, "I had the best day at school, look!" She pulled out something handmade, it looked like crystals of many shapes and colors, "We made rock candy!!!!" She took out a piece and crunched it between her teeth, holding out one to him. He took it and popped it in his mouth, it had little flavor but seeing his sister so happy made him smile anyways. 

That day, she held his hand on the way home. He felt a sense of responsibility swell inside him he didn't know how to explain. 

When they arrived, the house was thankfully empty. A wave of relief came over him as he raced around the kitchen, picking up various things and trying to clean hastily. Kota nipped at his heels playfully as he ran around the kitchen. He threw him what little scraps were in the fridge to distract him while he continued on his cleaning rampage. 

"Ummm...Aki?" Kanada said, "Why are you cleaning so much?" She expectedly grabbed the broom and started to sweep. 

"Today my friend is coming over." 

"Issei?" Kanada questioned

"No..." He admitted, "Someone new." 

"You made a new friend Aki! I'm so happy for you!" She exclaimed; her arms full of cans from the living room. 

Akihiko heard his phone ding, he pulled it from his pocket, Yuki had sent him a friend request on Line. His heart thumped unexpectedly. 

What was that. 

He accepted it and a few moments later a message popped up,

今すぐ来てもいいですか

"Can I come now?"

Akihiko swallowed nervously, he looked around the house and deemed it was as good as it was going to get. He went to reply but his mind kept going blank. 

Come on, just send him the address. 

After a few moments he responded with only his address, saving his contact info. He paced nervously in the kitchen, they lived in a rather small home and it lacked a "womans touch" since his mother died. He wasn't the best at cleaning and he felt secondhand embarrassment from the state of their home. His stomach dropped when he heard an expected knocks on the door, 

Oh fuck, he's here. 

Akihiko practically raced to the door; he stood there composing himself on the other side for a few seconds before slowly opening it. Yuki stood there, a large bag in his hands. "I brought supplies." He said, a small smile on his face. He still looked so tired; his soft features harshened by the dark circles under his eyes. 

He opened the door to him and Kota immediately ran up, letting out one small bark before sniffing excitedly at his heels while he took his shoes off, placing them by the front door. 

"T-thank you for inviting me." He said quietly. 

"Thank you for coming." Akihiko replied, this made him smile, this time, genuinely. 

"Oh, hello." Yuki said, waving to Kanada. 

She grinned, still holding her bag of rock candy and ran up to the both of them. "Hi! I'm Kanada, Akis younger sister." 

"Shimada, Yuki Shimada." He replied. 

"You're a really pretty boy." She said suddenly, his face went a deep crimson and even Akihiko could sense his own cheeks become warm.

"Thank you..." He said under his breath.

"O-oh sorry let me get that please." Akihiko said, he laughed nervously and took the bag from his hands.

Wow, this is way heavier than I expected it to be.

He walked up and set the bag on the counter before turning back to him, "What did you bring, this is a lot more than I expected."

"Oh, ehehe..." He chuckled nervously, "I wasn't sure if we would mess up, I certainly brought extra just in case."

"I can see that." Akihiko unloaded countless vegetables and several packages of meat. Yuki had even purchased drinks, and he set various sodas onto the table. "This is truly too much..." Akihiko said, his face still a little flushed. 

"Please, don't worry about it." Yuki said, "It's no trouble at all." 

"How much did this cost? Please let me try to give you something." He pleaded, reaching into his pockets for what little yen he could spare. 

"N-no, that's not necessary I assure you." Yuki stammered. 

"Do you have a job or something?" 

"Well, not exactly..." He paused, "It's my parents." 

Oh fuck, he's rich. 

Akihiko felt even further embarrassed by the state of his house, "I don't have much to cook with, only a few pans..." He admitted. 

"That's okay" Yuki said confidently, "Please we're only doing some basics tonight." 

Akihiko smiled, setting a few pots and pans onto the stove. 

"You're learning to cook!?!" Kanada said, her head peeking around the corner of the kitchen. 

"Yes, Yuki is going to teach me." He said, watching her face light up again. 

"Oh please, please can I stay and learn too?" She begged, giving him big puppy eyes and sticking her lip out. 

Akihiko looked at Yuki, putting his hand behind his head nervously again, "W-well, how's about taking on another student?" 

He laughed softly and nodded his head, "Please, the more the merrier." 

She squealed in joy and raced into the kitchen, studying the various ingredients displayed on the counter. 

"Ohmygosh. MELON SODA!" She picked up the can happily, "I love melon soda. Is..is this for us?" She asked, looking to the older kids for answers. 

Yuki just nodded and smiled, "Have whatever you like."

She squealed happily again and cracked open the can, sipping at it. 

She hovered behind them examining the ingredients again, "We're learning to make bento!?" Excitement in her voice caused an eruption of smiles through the kitchen. Yuki caught Akihikos gaze and blushed as they started to set up the kitchen in preparation to cook. He measured out the rice meticulously, adding it to their humble rice cooker after several washes. He showed them both how to cut a few of the easier shapes into the assorted cold vegetables, demonstrating different arrangements and simple methods for packing them. They moved to the stove and his calculated motions while searing the meat impressed Akihiko, he finally spoke after many moments of silence watching and learning, 

"I don't cook meat much." He admitted, "I never know when it's done...." 

"There's truly not much to know, once you've done it once you'll know how to gauge it going forward." He said, that astute tone in his voice again. He continued their conversation while flipping the meat in between words, even further proving his superiority in Aki's eyes. 

"So, who taught you all this?" He asked him, watching his deft hands while simultaneously trying to determine how he knew the meat was done. 

"Myself..." He said softly under his breath. 

"Really? How?" 

"Well...my parents aren't home much." He spoke quietly, concentrating on the meat. It was just starting to change color, and he began adding different ingredients to deglaze the pan, shaking it to rotate some of the larger chunks. 

Oh yeah...rich. 

"They work a lot then?"

"You could definitely say that." Yuki said with a hint of sadness. 

He turned to grab the soy sauce in an attempt to put it away, 

"Oh here, let me-" At the same time Akihiko reached forward and for a split moment their fingertips met, he felt that familiar thump in his chest, but this time it was more than once. 

Thump Thump Thump Thump 

"I-I'm so sorry." He said, ripping his hand back. The boys face was crimson once more, Akihiko turned away, mortally embarrassed himself. 

"Aw, it was kind of sweet." Kanada said, her innocence brought smiles to their faces once more and they laughed through the rest of the lesson. 

After they had finished preparing their separate bentos, they sat at the table together enjoying them with casual conversation and he finally put the first bite in his mouth, ready for disappointment. 

I..I can taste it. And it tastes....good.

Kanada munched on hers happily, still sipping at her treasured soda. Akihiko looked over at Yuki with a smile plastered on his face, he couldn't compose himself and he ate the entire thing quicker than he anticipated. 

Yuki just laughed quietly, taking small, sophisticated bites of his own while he watched him with a curious look.

"Do you always eat like this?" 

"Oh never." Kanada interrupted, "He hardly eats at all." 

Akihiko shot her a look with his eyes widened, 

"What? It's true!" She said, taking another bite. 

Yuki just laughed again, before he let out a quiet cough under his breath for a few moments. 

"Are you alright?" Akihiko said, offering him a drink.

"No I'm fine." He said after catching his breath, "Truly." He set his chopsticks down after only finishing half his meal. 

Suddenly Akihiko heard the door open and his stomach dropped, he'd lost track of time having fun with Yuki and Kanada and he didn't realize it was well past the time his father would have been home. 

Fuck.

Kanada looked down at her bento and remained silent while he walked up to the kitchen, 

"H-hello." Yuki said politely. 

"And who are you?" His father said, walking to the fridge and putting his daily dose of booze onto the bottom shelf. 

"I'm Shimada, Yuki Shimada." 

"And why are you in my house?" He said in a gruff tone, Yuki quickly stood up. 

"O-oh I'm sorry I've overstayed my welcome I should really go. Please, keep everything that's left and practice." He smiled at Akihiko and gave him a shy wave before passing their beast of a father in the hallway. 

When Akihiko heard the door close he stood up from his seat angrily, 

"Why do you always have to treat everyone like that?" 

"Like what?" His father said angrily, clutching his first can of the night. 

"Like shit." He cursed at him, this caused his face to contort in anger. 

"Watch your mouth, this is my house and I can do as I please." He reminded them. 

He walked up to the table and picked up Yukis half eaten bento, helping himself. "Since neither of my children bothered to make me one." He huffed, going to his favorite chair. When the TV came on they knew it was time to retreat, they cleaned up the kitchen in silence and headed off to bed together. 

When Akihiko got in his bed he felt obligated to text Yuki and apologize for his fathers behavior, he pulled out his phone and his fingers hovered over his Line contact. He sighed, pulling up a message and staring at his screen for several moments. He typed out and erased several messages before settling on, 

ごめんなさい

"I'm sorry."

He waited what felt like hours for the expected ping of his phone and his stomach lurched when it finally came. He opened it see his reply, 

謝らないで

"Please, don't apologize."

Another ping came through almost immediately, 

楽しかったです

"I had fun."

Akihiko closed his phone, that rhythmic thumping haunted him almost as much as his nightmares that night.