22 Lights in a bus

There are some differences between friends, friends with benefits, and lovers. Apparently, Hiroto does not know about them. The level of intimacy that Hiroto and Aki had made Aki think about all the romance comedies he had watched online and cringed when he saw the two main characters refuse to accept their feelings when they were clearly in love. Now that he was in that position, he realised it can be very unclear how the other person feels.

"Message me when you get home." The words Hiroto says are so sweet and genuine and so misleading, Aki simply nods and accepts the kiss to his cheek before closing the door behind him. He had just passed a few people in the corridor of Hiroto's dorm and he has to say that was the most embarrassing thing for him.

The walk of shame felt so unreal, something he hadn't experienced before. And Hiroto was so calm about it all, waking up beside Aki and brushing his hair aside, planting a kiss to his lips before pulling away and making a joke about morning breath. It felt so domestic when Hiroto suggested they get breakfast from outside and washed Aki's back for him in the shower. What was Aki supposed to think about all of this?

Shaking his head, Aki climbs the bus and hurries into a corner as people fill in. The bus was always busy around this time and Aki had tried to leave earlier, but then Hiroto started peppering his lips with kisses and they got distracted. A few people brush against Aki and he ends up facing the window, holding his breath as a lady with too much perfume stands by him.

People on the bus were a little too inconsiderate towards people like Aki, who couldn't handle scents well. It was a lot busier than usual and Aki finds himself getting pushed against the window, his hands coming up to stop him from getting squeezed in. It's a little difficult to breath with how much is going on and then—

And then a hand grabs Aki's waist.

At first, Aki assumes it was a mistake, maybe the person was falling down and used Aki for support. That happens quite often. But then the other hand grabs him too and they start slowly sliding down his body, making him feel more uncomfortable by the second.

"I knew it," he hears someone whisper into his ear, a voice that isn't familiar but the tone reminds Aki of someone. "You stayed over at his place, didn't you? That older guy you hang out with."

Aki doesn't know who this is or why they were acting so aggressive with him, but a thought does come to mind.

"You," Aki whispers back, his voice shaking as his fingers tremble against the window. "You're the one who's been following me, aren't you?"

A chuckle in response and then the grip gets tight on his legs. "I'm glad to know you noticed me, I knew you had done that on purpose."

"Done what?" Aki asks, lowering his hands to attempt to take the strangers hands off.

"You know," the stranger answers, leaning closer so that his breath was fanning against Aki's cheeks. "You stayed over at that person's house to make me jealous."

Aki raises his eyebrow and freezes where he was. What was this person talking about? He didn't even know who he was and yet this guy was saying that Aki had done things to make him jealous.

"I didn't do that to make you jealous, I didn't do that for you at all," Aki huffs out, his grip on the unknown hands on his body tightening, with his nails digging into his skin. "If anything I did that to get away from you, because I was scared of you."

What Aki expects is for the guy to either be surprised or try to back away. But instead, he rubs his nose against Aki's neck and chuckles. "Oh but that's exactly what I wanted. You, to be scared of me and know your place."

Aki glances up to see who this person was in the reflection of the window, but then the doors open.

-

Aki wants to tell Levi what had happened, rant to him and ask him for help. But then as he enters the bar, his hands clutching tightly on his bag and his feet practically dragging him in, he catches sight of Levi leaning over the counter and places a kiss on Toshiro's cheek. It's a bit surprising, Levi didn't like public displays of affection and yet here he was, looking all shy and flustered over a single peck.

"Aki!" Levi calls out enthusiastically, a smile on his face. "Come here."

He takes slow steps to the counter, eyeing Toshiro, who barely even spares a glance his way. "Hey, Levi."

Just by hearing the tone of his voice, Levi squints at him suspiciously. Using an excuse, Levi tells Toshio to leave before grabbing a seat to sit opposite Aki. "Hey, what happened? You sound troubled."

Was telling Levi a good thing? He was already swamped with things to do, relationships to make. Telling Levi would only increase the burden Aki has been putting on his shoulders for the past few weeks. Aki shakes his head and smiles. He didn't want to worry anyone.

"I'm fine! Just a little tired." Levi doesn't believe him and instead tries to ask him again, but then Aki's phone starts ringing.

"Hey," Haruki says over the phone. "Is Levi around you?"

Aki glances up at Levi, who raises an eyebrow at him. "Yeah, he's right here."

Haruki lets out a sigh of relief. "Great, can you pass the phone to him?"

He hands the phone over to Levi and watches as his face immediately drops and he tries passing the phone back. But Aki leans back and raises his arms. He didn't want to annoy Haruki and neither did he want to cause Levi any trouble, but this wasn't his business. For whatever reason Levi refused to talk to Haruki, Aki didn't want to be involved.

"Who's he talking to?" Toshiro asks from behind Aki, surprising him.

"My brother," Aki replies, glancing over to the door through which Levi had disappeared through. "Anyways, what are you doing here? You never used to be seen here so often."

Toshiro takes the seat beside him with a big smile. He looks so happy, Aki wonders when he last saw him this happy. "Levi, you know he's really cute?"

Aki chuckles and nods. "Yeah, Levi is pretty cute."

"Exactly! We exchanged numbers not long ago and have been meeting up. I took him to this restaurant I liked quite a lot just the day before," Toshiro explains, his excitement making Aki smile. "Honestly, I just really like him."

"You think he likes you too?" Aki asks.

Toshiro's smile wavers, but he still nods. "I'm pretty sure he does. We've been on so many dates now, if he hasn't fallen for me yet then that would be more surprising."

Aki feels happy for Toshiro, although he was a bit of a weird one, he was still nice and was clearly taking good care of Levi. And Levi, Aki was happy to see him reaching out for a new relationship, a new start. But then the door to the storage opens and Levi exits, his face red and eyes teary. He passes the phone back to Aki and ignores what Toshiro says to him, instead focusing on restocking his ingredients. The crestfallen look on Toshiro's face and the pain in Levi's makes Aki frown. He was happy for them, but there was something stopping it.