Chapter Text
The grin on Satoru’s face faded as soon as he stepped into his home.
With Mochi inside his bag, he knew he had to figure out how to sneak him inside without his mother’s knowledge. Luckily, she wasn’t home that night, but she would be soon, and it forced him to hide the pup until he figured out an excuse for the day she finally caught him, totally sure that she would. But for now, he’d do anything he could to keep Mochi safe.
That’s how he had to ask the servants to help him hide the pup in his wing of the house. To an extent, it was a relief that his mother rarely came to his bedroom to see him, preferring to call him over to her office or at the dinner table. It would help him manage to keep Mochi a secret for around two whole weeks, right before the end of the summer vacations, when Kaede happened to hear a bark after coming home from one of her business trips.
The woman thought it had been her imagination, but after a third woof, she just had to go upstairs and find the source of the irksome noise by herself.
“Satoru? What the hell is this?”
His mother’s voice startled him, almost making him jump from his spot on the floor as he played with Mochi. Her piercing eyes glared at the little pup, not believing her eyes.
“Mom, I can explain—”
“Are you going to explain how you sneaked a dog into our house, foolishly thinking I was never going to find out?”
“No! I—”
“For how long has this filthy animal been here? How much did you think you could keep this secret from me?”
“Don’t call him filthy. He’s clean! I bathed him! I took him to the vet and he’s—”
The frown in Kaede’s brows relaxed, her face now acquiring that cold, impassive expression that always made her son shiver because he couldn’t never guess what she was thinking.
“I won’t repeat myself, Satoru. No pets are allowed in this house. Now be a good kid and take him out of the house, because I don’t want to see that…that thing here ever again.”
“No! He’s not a thing!” The boy protested as he snatched the pup up from the floor. “He’s a dog, and I want to keep him. He has nowhere else to go!”
“Then take it to a shelter, but I told you I don’t want it here. You’re too young and irresponsible, and a dog is filthy, noisy and destroys everything. If you don’t get rid of it, I will.”
“I told you I won’t do that. If he leaves, then so will I. Don’t take him away, or I’ll leave, mother; you know I will.”
“Satoru, take him out and don’t make me punish you.”
“You don’t need to punish me further, mother. Being here by myself most of the time is enough.” As he spoke, Satoru reconsidered his words and decided it was better to try and play the pity card on his mother. Maybe, just maybe, a glimpse of compassion could spurt out of her and finally approve Mochi’s stay. “Look, he could keep me company when you’re not here. I’m always alone, and he’s my friend. I’ve been responsible; I’ve taken care of him. The servants are keeping it all clean, and I bathe him. He can be a little noisy, but he’s a good boy, right, Mochi? You’ll behave because you’re a good boy; yes, you are.”
“Mochi?”
Satoru smiled briefly, catching the way his mother’s expression relaxed a bit when she raised an eyebrow. It meant nothing, though; she was still weighing the chances of sending the pup away.
“Yeah. That’s how Uta—that's how I named him.”
“Uta? What do you mean?”
He cleared his throat. He almost let it slip.
“I mean,” he had to stop: Mochi had licked his mouth. Kaede grimaced. “I thought he was a girl, and I had named him Uta, but he’s a boy, so I called him Mochi.”
Thoughtful and dead serious, Kaede crossed her arms over her chest. After all, she still had a heart—a hidden, tiny one—and her son was right when he told her that he was alone most of the time. But it didn’t mean she liked the pup’s presence in her pristine house. Actually, she hated dogs and every animal that could cause harm to her precious and expensive belongings.
“What do you say?” The boy whispered, almost pleading. “Please, let me keep him. He’ll be a good boy.”
His mother sighed, majesty radiating from her stance once again. She finally answered after a long and tense silence. She thought she could concede at least on this with her son, sure that he would finally grow bored of the little white furred beast and get rid of it before she could blink again.
“Fine.” She replied, her tone terse and arms crossed. “But I don’t want him to be near our furniture, Satoru. Keep him out of my way as much as possible when I’m around, and teach him manners. One slip and I’ll send it to a shelter. Is that clear?”
Innocent blue eyes shone with excitement, happy to keep Mochi with him. His mother didn’t smile, but at least she wasn’t angry, and this sole fact was already a win. She was about to leave, stopping under the threshold before closing the door.
“Where did you get him from?” She asked, curious.
“He was alone in a park, and I took him.”
“What’s the breed?”
Satoru raised the dog in the air to take a better look at his features.
“I’m not sure, but it looks like a Hokkaido dog.”
“Oh.” The woman breathed, somehow interested. “He’ll be quick to learn, then. Fine. You know what to do. See you at dinner, Satoru.”
Happier than ever, the boy kissed his dog until Mochi had enough and bit his nose playfully. He had to tell his friends about this, but there was someone who had to know it first, before anyone else. As he rolled on his bed with Mochi barking and jumping on him like a little white ball, he thought of getting ready after dinner to go and visit that someone.
It had been a whole week since he had last seen Utahime, so going to her place to catch her by surprise while slipping into her bedroom would be, in his opinion, one of the best ideas he had had yet.
As soon as his mother went off to bed—or her office in the worst case—he was quick to leave, candies in his pockets, a bag hanging from his shoulder, and Mochi in his jacket. He did his best to avoid the house driver who was outside, sneaking and slithering from being seen by him. Once successful, he took a cab that drove him all the way to Sanya from Denenchofu. It was a lengthy 50-minute ride and during his time in the cab, around 9 p.m., he could glance at the city through the vehicle’s window. The streets came alive with lights that echoed the stars above, the avenues being arteries of the rhythm in the night concert of the metropolis.
He was impatient to get to her, but he couldn’t rush the cab driver, having to wait until he spotted the park where he saw Mochi for the first time, asking the man to leave him right there. The pup was safe and sound—and asleep in his jacket; all he had to do was walk around the street until he finally saw Utahime’s bedroom window to start climbing the walls to get there. Second floor, that was it. He could jump on the first-floor balcony and then step on the stairs with the bindweed to finally hop on her window.
Easy peasy, he thought. And it was, almost. He was an expert climber by nature; it even gave him some space to fling the window open and take Mochi out of his jacket using only one hand while gripping the frame tightly, never expecting the high-pitched scream she let out when she saw the white-furred ball sneaking in her bedroom, fists on her mouth, unable to catch Mochi when he fell on her room’s floor, while Satoru, victim of her sudden shriek, fell on the first-floor balcony too with a loud thud.
He was glad that the bag he carried had somewhat cushioned his fall, making it less boisterous, so the owners of the apartment didn’t come to look for the source of the noise.
Or at least not for now.
“Oh, my goodness!” Utahime gasped, taking the pup in her hands as soon as she reacted, running to the window to make sure she wasn’t dreaming or having a nightmare. “Gojo??” She was totally astounded when she saw the wriggling, white-haired figure on the floor below. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah. Just fine.” He was trying to whisper loudly. Someone had turned on the lights inside the first floor, not giving him time to recover from the fall but rushing him instead to climb to the second floor as fast as he could. His back hurt, but he managed to get to the girl’s bedroom, sneaking in with no effort, except for the throbbing pain of his butt. “Shit. This hurts like hell.”
“What are you doing here?” She queried, unaware of her cheek being licked by the naughty pup. The boy stretched out so as to relieve his pain, his feet finally stepping on her floor, with the girl’s eyes following his motions.
“I wanted to bring some good news, but—ah!” The boy winced, prey to the vanishing pain. He bent to ease it, staring at her as she closed the window again. “I had forgotten you’re a scaredy cat. I should have done it better, less flashy, but I wanted to give you a surprise.”
“You’re—oh!” The girl’s scowl was swiftly replaced by a gasp. She left Mochi on her bed, running to Satoru to check on his cheek; something had cut his skin when he fell, leaving a short, thin thread of blood below his right eye. “You got hurt. Come on, sit. I’ll help you with that.”
Overlooking for a while the shock of his unexpected visit and unacceptable methods of crawling into her room, Utahime searched for some band-aids in her drawers, a cotton pad and a bottle of alcohol, going back to sit next to him to clean his cut. He sat still, hissing as the wet cotton touched his skin. The sting was quickly soothed by her fingers, as warm and soft as her soul, her fingertips kissing his wound tenderly.
He stared at her cherry lips and breathed in her scent. Satoru felt nervous, absolutely agog, his body burning on fire, thinking she could hear his heart racing, wanting desperately to stop an irremediable blush on his cheeks, but it was impossible when her sweet features were so close to his as she attended him. He reddened at his own thoughts, the unfathomable explanation of this discovery turning into a warm feeling in his gut. He had never understood what the hell other people talked about when they spoke of how their crushes made them feel…
But now… He felt like he finally got it. He was just too focused on her lips to linger much on his own reasoning.
She felt shy and nervous too, a cute pink shadow blooming across her cheeks as she cleaned him and put the band-aid on his cut because, up close, Gojo was so fucking perfect, the mesmerizing blue of his eyes drawing her in like some sort of spell. She wanted to kiss him too. They were so close, feeling each other’s breathings with an invisible bubble shielding them, swallowing hard, thirsty lips that itched to be touched…
But her hands dropped from his face, and he thought he had no right to screw it all up, his own insecurities playing against him as his brain reminded him that she was aware of how he used to be, his fuckboy reputation very well known, making him think that she wouldn’t want anything to do with someone like him. This was the first time Gojo Satoru felt the treacherous turmoil of self-consciousness and inner fears streaming in his heart, and it didn’t feel good or comfortable at all.
To an extent, he hated not knowing what was happening with him and his own sentiments.
The bubble broke. He didn’t want to ruin their friendship; he didn’t want to rush a thing because, quite honestly, he would feel like he might die if she ever rejected him. So it was better to leave things as they were. Before he could blink, his cut was already covered in that cute band-aid that smelled like her: a subtle whisper of blooming flowers that carried the essence of a sun-kissed garden. Warm. Enchanting.
“Thanks,” he breathed, her tiny smile acting like a healing balm to his silly, pounding heart.
“I—” She cleared her throat, standing on her feet to put her stuff back in the drawer and dispose of the used cotton pad. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“I guess your mom isn’t home, right? You wouldn’t be this calm if she was.”
“She isn’t. It’s been…” Utahime shook her head before saying something she could regret. Sitting on her bed again, her eyes and hands went back to Mochi. “Gojo, you can’t come here like this. It’s late. What if my mom was here?”
“But hey, she isn’t. And we wanted to give you a surprise. Mochi wanted to see his mommy, right, Mochi?” Satoru moved the pup’s head as if he were nodding.
Utahime smiled, rolling her eyes. “Don’t be weird! That’s nonsense. I’m not his mom, and he knows nothing. He’s a baby.”
“Oh, trust me. He knows more than you think. And you’re his mommy, and I’m his daddy because we’re raising him. If he could speak, he’d tell you just the same.”
She smiled, a flush invading her shiny eyes and her movements as she used the pup as a distraction from thinking too much of the boy sitting on her bed.
“I missed him.”
She wasn’t lying, actually. And she was excited to have them here, not just for Mochi but for Satoru. However, there wasn’t any chance for her to let him know that.
“Yeah. He missed you too. Look how happy he is now.”
Mochi played with one of her plushies when Gojo dropped the bag he was carrying in front of her.
“What’s this?” She inquired. Now, the bag had fallen victim to Mochi’s teeth, trying to pull it out of her lap.
“All your Disney things. I promised I would keep them for you, and it’s time for them to go back to their owner. They’ll be safe in this bag. I just hope nothing broke when I fell.”
A smile creeped onto her lips, brightening her whole face. Her fingers slid the zip open until she could see everything her friends had given her the day they went all to Disneyland, fresh memories spreading in her mind like eddying swirls of light. Satoru smiled too, enamored of the way she appreciated even the tiniest details in life as if they were big presents. She was so different from the girls he was used to—so genuine, pure, kind-hearted, always willing to see the best in people’s hearts, no matter how ugly they were inside.
He wanted to take her hands in his and kiss them. Looking around, Satoru realized she didn’t belong to this place, to the rundown apartment and room she lived in, the poverty of her home contrasting with the beauty of her face and soul.
“Thank you.” Her voice took him out of his thoughts after a while, and he blinked. Mochi was still playing with whatever he had in his mouth, and Satoru was having it hard to stop staring at the girl in front of him while Utahime kept her souvenirs in the bag as she talked. “What news did you want to tell me?”
“Oh. Yeah. My mom… Well, she let me keep Mochi as long as he doesn’t bother her.”
“For real?” Excitement filled her eyes when she spoke. He nodded. “He’s got a home now. Gojo, thank you so much for this. When I rescued him... I didn’t know what was going to happen as he grew bigger. But now… I’m glad to know that he’s safe with you.”
“No need to thank me, Uta. We knew he couldn’t end up in a shelter, didn’t we?” Satoru’s smile was cheeky, and his eyes so shiny they made her bite her lip, with the same tiny blush pooling in her face. “I’ll take care of him. I’m his daddy now. And we’re gonna come and visit mommy every week, right, Mochi?”
“What? No,” Utahime gasped, somewhat alarmed by her friend’s intentions. He frowned.
“Why not?”
“Because…” The girl sighed as she sat in front of him on the edge of the bed. “Listen, you can’t do this. You can’t barge in anytime you want because I don’t want to get in trouble. What if my mom was here and—”
“But she isn’t.”
“But what if? She can’t see a boy here. She would… What I mean is, you need to warn me before you plan on coming here so we can go somewhere else, okay?”
Satoru snorted, patting Mochi’s head.
“Hey, it’s not like I’ll tell your mom I’m here. Besides, I can’t be the first boy you’ve brung home. I mean—”
“I’ve brought no one home, Gojo. And you should be more respectful because I’d never do that.”
“I’m not being rude. I’m just saying that maybe you brought a guy before. Like…a boyfriend or something. I can’t be the first guy to have come to your house.”
“Shut up!” There was an honest embarrassment in her wild blush, a breathless yell that almost made him laugh. She looked really cute. “Watch your words, Gojo. I’ve never brought a boy here because I’ve never had a boyfriend, so you better shut up and stop making assumptions.”
His face changed from one of slight amusement to one of evident shock. What had started as a trick question ended up taking him aback.
“You've gotta be kidding me…”
Scowling, Utahime groaned. “I have no reason to be kidding. Why is it so weird to never have had a boyfriend?” She got up from her bed, trying to hide the swirling emotions showing across the pink tint on her cheeks.
“Because…” He cleared his throat, still processing. “Because you’re pretty and every girl your age has had at least one boyfriend...”
“Well, I’m not like the girls you’re used to, and I have no interest in such things.” She crossed her arms as she spoke, her voice filled with a hint of annoyance and shyness. A part of her brain still lingered on the word pretty coming out of his mouth. “You better stay away from my house, Gojo. I won’t open the window for you next time.”
He chuckled, taking his hands behind his head to lay on her bed. “I can do whatever I want.”
“Oh? Why so?”
Smirking, Satoru answered. “Because I am Gojo Satoru, and nobody has ever said no to me... Well, except you. And maybe Suguru and Shoko. Alright, they had told me no before, but that's another story. You’re different.”
“Why am I different?” Utahime asked, lifting an eyebrow. It was so bold of him to be all sprawled out on her bed as if it were his.
“Because…” He was thoughtful for a little while, his gaze getting lost in the way her eyelids fluttered when she blinked. "I don't know, okay?" He snapped, almost exasperated. With her, he felt like he could never find the right words, even when he was known as a chatterbox.
"You… don't know why I'm different?"
"Yes. I don't know. The other girls I know are just so…” He blew a raspberry like a little kid would do, making her laugh. "But you're different, and I like it. And that's all that matters."
This confession was making Utahime feel things she didn't quite know, his presence having a way of making her heart flutter, and the fact was as amusing as it was scary, so she'd rather change the topic of their conversation instead of taking it further and taking thoughts out of him she wasn't sure she could deal with.
None of them noticed that Mochi had taken Utahime’s pillow as his own to take a nap.
"Summer vacations are almost over. Are you done with your assignments?”
“Ah, my Hime.” Satoru sighed, putting his hands under his head. “Have you always been a worrier? There’s still a whole week to enjoy before school, and that’s all you can think of.”
“I like school. Do you ever study?”
“No need to.” He was sticking his tongue out, making Utahime roll her eyes. “I’m smart, top of my class. All I need to do is take a brief look at my books, and that’s it. All the information gets stuck in my head.”
“So you’re not smart. You’re just a machine.”
“I am smart, with a prodigious memory span indeed. A child prodigy.”
“If you were a child prodigy, you'd already be in college and not a high school freshman.”
“Hey, I don’t wanna live with the pressures of an adult being so young! I may be a gifted child, but I feel great where I am now, with all my friends and all I’m learning. And it doesn’t make me less intelligent. Just cunning enough to live one day at a time.”
Tching, Utahime grunted.
“You’re so full of yourself it makes you look like an idiot.” The girl frowned, holding a Stitch plush toy as her fingers played absentmindedly with the long ears.
“Hey! I can’t be modest. That would be fake as fuck of me.”
“Tch! Gojo, do you know what the word humble means? To be a gifted child, there’s still a lot of things you’re clueless about in life and whatnot.”
“Of course. But what does that have to do with me?”
“Well, you need to learn the meaning of that word by heart and try to put it into practice. You can’t go around just being arrogant all the time.”
“I’m not arrogant. I just have nothing to do beyond the confines of my own enlightenment.”
His cocky demeanor and boastful comment made her kick his calf in retaliation, quickly leading him to rub the aching spot.
"Yes, you are. You just don’t notice it. Everybody sees the mote in somebody else’s eye but not the beam in one’s own.”
“Ah, c’mon. Don’t be a buzzkill, Hime. Are you gonna keep scolding me for real? Hey! Mochi is asleep." His sudden change of topic startled her. Little did she know it was one of his signature getaways when the issue was getting too much to handle. “Should I stay the night here too?”
“Wait what?” Utahime seemed startled, processing the potential consequences of doing what he suggested. “You can’t—”
“You’re here alone, right? Mochi and I could keep you company for tonight.”
“No!” The girl yelled, and her voice started dying in a whisper as she kept talking. “You can’t do that, Gojo. That’s insane.”
“Why? I’d be the first guy to sleep in your bedroom, right? It’s not like we’re gonna fuck or somethi—”
“Shut it!” Utahime impulsively reached out, placing her hand over Satoru’s mouth. His eyes widened in surprise, his words muffled beneath her touch. Both of them held their breath, aware of the shift in the atmosphere as the girl was the victim of a sudden surge of shyness. The implication of his words was too heavy to let go, and her motions did no less. A rosy hue pooled on her cheeks, her fingers still lingering on his lips. The realization of her bold move washed over her, and she withdrew her hand as quickly as she had placed it. Averting her gaze, Utahime’s eyes fixed on Mochi as the pup still slept on her pillow.
Although momentarily stunned, Satoru couldn’t help but notice the change in Utahime’s demeanor. Silence fell over them, filled with a swirling tension. Not that they haven’t touched before, but this unbidden act was utterly different from any other approach they had ever had. The girl’s bashful expression spoke volumes, and a subtle smile tugged at the corners of Satoru’s lips.
Still, the boy’s eyes—typically confident and assertive—now betrayed a subtle vulnerability. Hesitancy was not in his dictionary, yet he found himself grappling with emotions he was not accustomed to, thrust into the unfamiliar territory of timidity under the quickened beating of his heart.
"Uh, sorry about that," Utahime stammered, her voice coming out as a soft murmur.
Satoru chuckled, a warm and understanding sound. "No need to apologize. It was... unexpected, but not unwelcome. Actually, I’m the one who should apologize."
Distracting her gaze with whatever she could find, the girl kept talking.
“It’s okay. But you can’t stay here, Gojo. I think you should leave; my mom can come anytime now.”
“But,” the boy straightened up in bed, reaching out to her to take her wrist. “I don’t wanna leave you alone.”
“This is not the first time I’ve stayed home alone, so I can reassure you I’ll be okay.”
Letting go of her hand, Satoru took a sticky note and a pencil from her worn-out dresser, writing something down. Before she could see what it was, he glued it to her forehead, melting away any lingering tension as she frowned, back to their regular dynamic.
“Don’t do that!” She didn’t hesitate to remove the piece of paper from her face.
“That’s my house’s phone number. Please don’t hesitate to call if you need me to come, okay?” His warm smile didn’t fade the glare she threw at him, but it only made him chuckle. “Gosh, you’re so cute. Anyway, our son and I gotta get going.” Satoru took the puppy from the pillow and kept it in his jacket the same way he did on his way to Utahime’s home, walking to the window to go out.
“Um…” Her voice stopped him from crossing the window’s frame.
“Yes?”
“I think you should use the door. It’s safer that way.”
“Oh, the princess is worried about me!” Satoru’s mouth shone with a cheeky smile. “Don’t worry, Uta. I won’t let people’s gossip besmirch your reputation.”
He was still smiling when he crossed the frame. But Gojo Satoru could never forget the way Utahime’s neighbors badmouthed her mother and let him know everything she did the first day his feet stepped on Sanya. Every word, every poisonous dart remained glued to his brains, wondering if they talked the same way about Iori Setsuko’s daughter. However, it was something he wasn’t going to tell her.
He wouldn’t let anyone denigrate Utahime anyhow.
“Be careful, please.” The girl told him, earning another big smile from his lips.
“I will.”
He took a moment to climb down, sharing an instant of their voiceless vow beneath the moonlit threshold. The street whispered its secrets, the summer night howling in approval, as Satoru and Utahime shared a last glance, a subtle shift in the air hinting at the untold feelings that lingered between them.
“Thanks for the phone number.” She said, rubbing Mochi’s head before they left.
“Anytime. You’ll call, right?”
She nodded. It was all he needed to be at ease tonight.
“See you later, Your Highness.”
Her insides were aflutter, like a kaleidoscope of butterflies taking flight at the first touch of spring, a nervous energy bubbling up within as she looked at him reaching the ground, with Mochi safe and sound in his chest. He waved goodbye as soon as he was downstairs, and she flaked out on the bed, staring at the ceiling while the ghost of his lips tickled at her fingers as if tracing the contours of a secret—the magnetic connection engraved on her memory like a sensory symphony, each touch playing a note in the melody of their hidden words.
As for Satoru, the warmth of her fingertips would imprint the texture of the moment on his lips and his memory for the rest of his life.
Tonight, he would fall asleep like a baby.
Suguru had to put his hand over Shoko’s mouth to muffle her cries. He kept pushing, aggressively replacing his fingers with a heated kiss that sent her mind spiraling. When she reached her peak in a choked scream, her nails dug on his tanned skin, leaving bloodied half moons across his back that would take long to fade. His breathing got huskier, every exhale sending warm, thin gusts of air through her neck that made her shiver in pleasure. Her short, brown hair cascaded over the white pillow, flowing relentlessly along with his forceful rams, the ones she loved when he was about to climax too.
Shoko loved that he didn’t treat her like a fragile doll but a real woman, one that could feel, laugh, cry and be free. Suguru loved that she could take on that darker nature of his, the one that only she knew, the one that flooded through his lips and made her moan with ecstasy, swallowing his frenzied sighs and ragged whimpers when he reached his glorious end. He pulled out, spilling his seed on her tummy as she helped him with her hand until it leaked the last drops of white love. Suguru laughed and kissed her again—this time more tender—and lay on her after cleaning her with the sheets, and she received him in her embrace.
“You okay?” He asked a while later, their breathing already steady.
“Mh-mm. Why do you ask?” Shoko’s voice sounded lively in his ears.
“I thought I overdid it today.”
Her laugh chirped like the bells in a Christmas song, and he smiled, raising his head to look at her and talk properly.
“I liked it.”
Devoid of the truculence displayed minutes ago while being inside her, Suguru took his time to appreciate his girl’s features with light kisses: First, it was her lips, plump and pink, somewhat swollen by the clashing of teeth and tongues from their agitation. The taste of nicotine he always found in them was one of his favorites. Second, it was her nose—pointy, a little bit bigger than others yet perfect for her harmonic and beautiful countenance. Third, her eyes—soft and brown, adorned with long lashes and a mole underneath her right eye—those that always made him smile; and her thick, long eyelashes that he could barely find frowning.
He loved her so, so much.
When he was done with his kisses, Shoko decided that it was her turn.
Turning him around to make him lie on his back, she chuckled, straddling him and resting her hands on his naked, sweaty chest. She lifted one of her indexes and it traveled to his cheeks, admiring their sharpness and the lines that defined his jaw. His smile, friendly yet mischievous, was one of the things she loved the most about him—the serenity he exuded, his wisdom and calmness like a soothing lullaby, a stark contrast to the underlying intensity that always took her over the edge during their intimacy. His eyes—small, brown and slanted—carried a dormant snake within, a hidden fierceness that only surfaced when provoked.
This secret side of him was the thing she loved the most.
“You look so cute after sex.” She giggled, leaning down to press a gentle kiss on his forehead, savoring the salty taste on his skin. His hand reached out to her breasts, caressing them tenderly.
“Cute? How cute?”
“I don’t know. Like a kitty?”
Suguru chortled, trembling along with her from the waves of his own laugh as his other hand traveled to her face, caressing her lips.
“Didn’t you say that I looked like the bad guy?”
“For others, yeah. For me, you’re a kitty that turns into a lion when we fuck.”
Suguru hissed, biting his lower lip. “Is that a compliment?”
“Haha! Maybe. I’m not sure yet.”
Suguru laughed, straightening up to reach her lips and envelope them in a sweet kiss that made her shudder. Before they could spring into action again, a voice called them from outside of his room, suddenly breaking their kiss.
“Suguru! We’re home. Dinner is served!”
“Oh, fuck!” He rushed to put his clothes on as fast as he could, with Shoko following suit at the sound of his mother’s voice.
“I thought they weren’t home.” Shoko whispered, the rustling of their rushed dressing matching their voices. As soon as Suguru was done, he pecked her cheek, prompting and helping her to finish quickly.
“I thought so. Maybe they just got back. Come on, we gotta go down, baby.”
“I couldn’t even shower!” Her hushed complaint made him chuckle.
“We can do that later. I promise.”
Once done—their clothes hand-ironed and heads hand-combed—they got out of Suguru’s bedroom, hoping that his parents didn’t hear their love sounds and everything that came after that. Fujiko, as the kind and goodhearted woman she was, greeted Shoko with a smile, as warm as the cozy aroma of the meal that waited for her on the kotatsu. She was glad that her boyfriend’s parents were always so affectionate to her, welcoming her with a fondness she could never find at her own home, a striking contrast to her memories of her own father’s stern expressions.
It seemed as if Suguru’s family embodied a different kind of parenthood, one she had never witnessed before meeting them for the first time—one filled with understanding, tenderness, and an open embrace of their son’s life and choices.
She never wondered why Gojo liked spending more time here in the Geto State than in his own home, for she always knew it: Suguru’s home was filled with all what her and her friend’s home lacked.
She loved being here, too. Especially when Daddy didn’t get home and its walls got too big and its rooms too empty for her alone.
“I hope you’ll enjoy the meal I made, Shoko-chan. It’s always a pleasure to have you here.” Fujiko’s eyes narrowed within a smile, sparkling with kindness. The girl, sitting next to Suguru, bit her lip as she bowed in her seat.
“Thank you so much for having me over, Geto-san.” Shoko had her first bite of a delicious tonkatsu, followed by a sip of miso soup. “This is really tasty.”
Indulging in the mouth-watering teishoku , their conversation got livelier as long as the four of them kept sitting around the kotatsu. Haruhiro’s takes were always so easygoing, and he undoubtedly had a sense of humor that Suguru didn’t inherit at all, pulling out a joke of the most unthinkable situations and making everyone laugh. The only person she knew that could match him was Satoru himself, with Suguru ending up embarrassed most of the time. Every meal with the Geto family felt like a refuge from the rigidity of her own household, even the moments where an uncomfortable topic made its way between them, like the one that was about to unfold as soon as Fujiko cleared her throat.
“Kids, this is something I would like not to talk about so openly, but are you two... You know, taking precautions?”
Okay, they didn’t need to do math to know what she meant.
Suguru facepalmed. Shoko bit her lip, looking aside as if it could hide her face from the embarrassment.
“Mom, there’s no need to—"
“Oh, yes, yes. There’s a need to. Son, we respect you and love you, and we know that you are that age . But being your parents means that we have to be responsible and talk about things that can be concerning. Because you don’t want us to be grandparents this early, right?” Haruhiro had his last bite after speaking. Suguru squeezed his eyes shut.
“Dad, no! Not this, please…”
“Dad yes. My boy, we absolutely respect your and Shoko’s relationship. Your mother and I just want to make sure that you both are taking the appropriate precautions to avoid... You know, future inconveniences.”
“Besides, Shoko is still a child. I can’t imagine her pregnant with a baby. Think of what her father would say or do if that happens!”
“Mom! Please, can you two stop this? It’s not nice at all! Look at Shoko." The raven-haired boy pointed at his girlfriend, her face reddened and her eyes stinging with tears of flusteredness. “I bet she won’t want to come here ever again!”
Suguru’s frustration with his parents’ invasive conversation was beyond all he could expect today, seeking a way to diffuse the tension and protect his girlfriend from further embarrassment.
“Dad, mom, can we not talk about this now?” He pleaded, his eyes shifting between his parents and Shoko.
“I’m sorry if we’re being meddlesome; it’s just that when we got home and heard all the bustle upstairs, we started worrying about—”
“Oh, God!” Shoko exhaled, her hands on her face. “Geto-san, I promise you we’re being careful and responsible. There’s nothing to worry about. Please, trust me.”
“Suguru, Shoko,” his father responded, with an austere but well-meaning expression. “We don’t mean to lecture you. It’s natural for parents to worry about their children’s well-being, and all we want is to make sure both of you are making wise choices. It’s not good to be young and inexperienced and ruin your life with something you can’t really deal with yet. Is that clear?”
Suguru sighed, squeezing his girlfriend’s hand under the kotatsu to reassure her, seizing that his parents’ intentions were rooted in concern, and not in some parental whim to meddle in their relationship. However, he couldn’t shake the feeling that they had crossed a line. Seeing Shoko as flustered as she was, he knew that this had been too much, considering that she never got abashed easily.
Truth was that, beyond feeling ashamed, she wanted to laugh, too.
“Look, we appreciate your concern. But this is something we handle on our own. We might be young, but we’re not kids. I don’t wanna make this more uncomfortable for Shoko.”
His mother and father softened their expression. Mrs. Geto was the first to apologize.
“Ah, my boy, we didn’t mean to offend any of you. We were just worried, and maybe we didn’t know how to express it the right way. Shoko, dear, don’t let this keep you away from this home. We enjoy your company and we know you make our son happy. That’s enough for us to want you here. Can you forgive us?”
Shoko nodded, giggling, as her blush faded slowly and Suguru put an arm around her shoulders in a gesture of silent support.
“It’s alright, Geto-san. No need to worry about it.”
“Let’s just enjoy the day, okay? We don’t want this to ruin our time together.” Suguru mumbled, hoping that they could move soon from the awkward exchange. The atmosphere lightened, leaving the tension behind as some of them finished their meals and Fujiko left the dishes for the youngsters to wash them. But before that, Haruhiro took his son outside, showing him something that made Suguru blink three times in a row.
A black Kawasaki model ZZR 1100 was waiting for him in the walkway of the front garden, its metallic coating shining beautifully under the remnants of the daylight. Mr. Geto put the keys on his son’s hand with a big smile painting his lips.
“What is this, dad?”
Mr. Geto patted his son’s back in a tender gesture. “Your present. You deserve it for being the good son you are.” Open-mouthed, Suguru tried to turn it down, but his father refused instantly. “Don’t. Don’t say it. I saw you learning how to drive your uncle’s the other day while we were visiting your grandma, and you’ll disappoint me if you don’t accept it, my boy. See, I couldn’t give you a good, proper childhood. I always struggled with money and failed as a provider for you and your mother, but now that we live better than we could ever imagine, it isn’t wrong to spoil my child with something from time to time, is it?”
“Umm…”
“Okay, don’t answer that.” Haruhiro let out a throaty laugh. “You don’t need to deny yourself a single thing anymore, my boy. These days are now only a reminder that we should never look down on others and keep being humble, but my family deserves the best. And you never let me give you a thing unless it’s necessary, so let me be a bad dad on this and accept it, okay? Go everywhere. Take your girl on dates and go with Satoru-kun anywhere you want. I just want you to be careful. That’s my only wish.”
“Dad… This is…”
Speechless, Suguru gave his father a warm hug, one that they didn’t share often, expressing a mutual understanding that went beyond words.
“Enjoy your bike. I saw it and thought: my son’s gonna look great on it.” Mr. Geto winked at the boy, opening a world of possibilities before his son, his playful tone revealing that he saw this child as more than just his little boy. Suguru’s eyes gleamed with anticipation, taking a while to enjoy his vehicle, going for a ride in the backyard and around the neighborhood within the lapse of ten minutes, while Shoko went upstairs to take a quick shower.
As his parents let go of their concerns and allowed him to navigate the complexities of his young love while instilling an unquenchable trust in him, Suguru took his girlfriend’s hand as soon as she was ready outside, his heart swelling with gratitude. He revved the engine and she got on, no fear in sight for the road ahead and her designated driver. The youngsters rode off into the evening, saying goodbye to his parents as they watched them go with a mixture of pride and nostalgia. More than a present, the bike was a tool for freedom, a symbol of trust and independence, of the path that he was about to take as he got into adulthood, slowly leaving behind the traces of adolescence.
In the quiet moments of the ride, Suguru glanced at Shoko, relishing in the warmth of her arms wrapped around him. The girl knew that this was going to be one of the moments her heart would cherish dearest, when their teen years became a distant echo in their minds, and their winkles decorated their faces, marking the lines of an experienced lifetime.
The ride came to an end two blocks before getting to the Ieiri household, a sad reminder of their forbidden relationship that made Shoko hold on longer to her boyfriend’s hug when she got off the bike on the sidewalk.
“I wish you could stay with me tonight.” She said between his arms, getting a sniff of his scent.
“Hey, someday we won’t have to hide from your dad anymore. Someday I’ll marry you and all of this would be only a bad memory. We just have to wait.”
Smiling, she stood on her tiptoes to leave a chaste kiss on his lips, not without biting on them tenderly. Her tongue tasted now like peppermint, the flavor of his toothpaste. It brought a grin to his face, thinking of a future where they could share it often.
“You always know how to lighten me up, don’t you?”
“It feels weird when I have to do that. You’re always the one on duty.”
“Am I?”
“I’m the boring one.” They chuckled in unison, and he spoke again. “What will you tell your dad about today? He will ask you where have you been, for sure.”
“No biggie. I told him I’d hang out with Utahime-senpai.”
“You’re my bad girl.” He chuckled, with a kiss on her forehead. “Will she back you up?”
“Of course. Don’t you trust her?”
"Well." Suguru seemed thoughtful for a while, his hand on his chin. “She likes Satoru, and I can’t understand why a smart girl like her would like someone like him. It makes her lowkey unreliable.”
Shoko muffled a cackle with her hand, keeping the quietness of the street. “Don’t be so mean to them.”
“You know I’m just kidding. Hey, sorry about my parents’ thing back there. Sometimes they’re just…”
“Don’t mention it. I know they just meant good for us. No need to apologize. It was kinda fun, though.”
“Kinda fun,” He mimicked her, rolling his eyes. “Embarrassing, you mean.”
The giggling kiss they shared after his words was a happy one, yet it carried the nostalgia that came with the lovers separation.
“Gotta go.” She let go of his hands after kissing him again—a memento of her presence in his mind and heart.
Suguru stayed there until he lost sight of her, two blocks ahead behind the gates of the Ieiri estate.
Someday.
Someday he would look into Dr. Ieiri’s eyes and ask for his daughter’s hand. Someday they wouldn’t have to hide anymore, leaving behind the shadows of secrecy. He headed back home, his new bike humming behind him and a smile on his face, hopeful, with the conviction that this someday he believed in was somewhere on the horizon.