Letting out a sigh, Kaname placed the receiver back in its place. "The repair shop is busy at the moment because they're going to close early, but they said they can come early tomorrow morning to look at your car, Jouji-san," Kaname said to a man sitting on the couch who was flipping through a magazine with a concerned look on his face.
"Ah, is that so?" Mr. Jouji heaved a resigned breath. "Well, what else can we do, right? It's my fault for not checking the engine before going in the first place."
Kaname chuckled. "Yeah, it's already such a feat for you to be able to reach here." He went to the kitchen and came back with a pitcher of barley tea and refilled Mr. Jouji's empty glass.
"I know, right." Mr. Jouji laughed good-naturedly. "Even though this means I have to reschedule my plan for going toward the lake tomorrow," Mr. Jouji mused.
Kaname thought for a moment. "If you don't mind a pick-up, we can lend you ours for half a day. We only use it for grocery shopping, anyway."
"What? Really? Won't it be too much trouble for you?"
"Not at all. I'm sure my partner won't mind either. Speaking of which, I think that's him. Excuse me for a moment, Jouji-san."
Kaname placed the pitcher down on the table and walked out through the front door. He was right. The sound of the car engine he heard indeed belonged to their pick-up. His brows creased in a mild frown when he saw the car didn't immediately enter the yard but stopped in front of the gate for a moment. He opened the gate for him and realized that Naoki wasn't driving. It was Hideta, the son of the supermarket's owner, Mr. Ubukata. Even though he didn't hide his surprise, Kaname still signaled for Hideta to drive the car in. Once the car was parked, Hideta climbed out and greeted Kaname with a big smile.
"Tokui-san, I'm delivering your groceries," said the young man cheerfully.
Kaname raised an eyebrow. Naoki had climbed out of the car. He stood beside Kaname and patted Kaname's upper arm. "I bought a lot, so Hideta-kun helped me load everything onto the car, then he offered to drive me home. I also want to give him the bread pudding I promised Meiko-san the other day."
Kaname glanced at his boyfriend but didn't say anything else. He could sense something was off, but because he didn't see anything odd in either of their faces, he nodded. He told Naoki to go in while he joined Hideta to unload the pick-up. Vaguely, he heard Naoki greet Mr. Jouji as he walked in.
Once their grocery was unloaded and piled near the kitchen, Naoki handed over a box to Hideta, smiling. "Thank you for helping me today, Hideta-kun. This is for your mother. I thought to bring it later to the festival, but since you're here, I think it's better if you bring it with you."
"It's nothing, Kikugawa-san. You're our regular customer, so it's really nothing. Anyway, thank you for this pudding. I'll give it to my mom later."
"Send our thanks to your old man, too," said Kaname, which was replied with a nod and a wave from the young man. Hideta had brought his bicycle, so he went back on it. Once his figure disappeared on the corner ahead, Kaname placed his hand on Naoki's head and gently caressed Naoki's brown hair. "Get some rest. I'll take care of the rest."
"Oh, you. It's not like shopping requires so much energy," Naoki joked, mocking a pout.
"If you don't listen, then let's forget going to the festival later," Kaname threatened, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
Naoki pouted, for real this time, but then his expression changed slightly. He raised his head to look at Kaname with a pleading look in his eyes. "Then, accompany me for a while?"
"Naoki-kun?" Kaname couldn't help but feel a bit worried, but Naoki shook his head. Kaname pinched Naoki's nose lightly. He peeked to the living room. It seemed that Mr. Jouji had returned to his room upstairs, so Kaname followed Naoki to their living quarter at the back building.
The fire at the stove was still on, but Kaname threw in a few pieces of wood to make it a bit warmer. Meanwhile, Naoki went to the bathroom to change into comfortable sweatpants and a sweater for sleeping. When the fire was stoked and the temperature in the room was warm enough, Kaname patted his hands. He stood up and turned to see Naoki already lying on the bed, the blanket pulled up to his waist.
Naoki had asthma, and it tended to relapse when the weather was cold. He had to take a lot of rest than usual, or he would suffer from repeated relapses. Kaname lie down beside him, his chest to Naoki's back. His big hand ran down Naoki's back, smoothing up and down a couple of times before wrapping his arms around this beloved person. He leaned down, pressing a kiss on top of Naoki's head. A small smile tugged on his lips when Naoki shifted closer, burying his face into Kaname's chest.
Slowly, he felt Naoki's breathing become slow and steady. He pulled away just slightly, enough so he could look at Naoki's sleeping face. He had known Naoki for a long time, long enough for him to be able to tell when something was bothering his boyfriend's mind. But Kaname had never pushed Naoki to tell him. Naoki sometimes loved to overthink things. Anyway, there was something that he needed to tell Naoki, but seeing him like this, he didn't have the heart to add to whatever it was his boyfriend was thinking about.
Kaname let out a sigh silently, resting his head back on the pillow, and hugged Naoki back a little tightly.
*****