Chapter Text
Aiba carefully pours the hot milk into a tall glass and sighs contently when the pot content fills the glass perfectly, as measured. He goes back around the kitchen to set the pot away and going back to dining table taking a small plate from the rack and clutching a package of chocolate chip cookies. Taking his time setting up as well as letting the milk cool down a bit, he then arranges three nicely browned and thick cookies on his plate.
He rubs his hands in excitement and takes a moment to ready himself, before breaking a cookie into two. He quickly dunks the huge chunk he’s holding into the milk and takes a large bite.
The cookie melts perfectly against his tongue. And the bitter chocolate, Aiba hums, gives an additional layer of chocolate. Ohno had said that they might not taste as fresh as the usual homemade chocolate cookies regardless the excellent packing—but they are truly delicious. He recommended to first wrapping the cookies in moist paper towel before putting them in the microwave for a few long seconds so they’d be chewy again with gooey melted the chocolate chips.
He just pops the last chunk of his first cookie when the front door lock clicks, followed by the soft “I’m home” and Jun dragging himself, still in his coat, into the room.
Jun shrugs off his coat and throws it along with his suit jacket carelessly to the back of the couch. He goes straight to the fridge and takes out his special water tumbler before slumping into the seat next to Aiba.
“Welcome home,” Aiba finally replies. His hand reaches out make sure Jun’s tumbler is safe and that Jun’s elbow is not going to bump into his milk glass. “New case?”
Jun groans as he straightens up. And Aiba can’t help but smile as he watches Jun nod before gulping down half of the content of his tumbler. Putting down the tumbler with a bit more force than necessary on the table, Jun sighs and slumps to the table once again, clutching his tumbler. “A bad one.”
Aiba finishes his milk, and leans down slightly as he slides the plate toward Jun. “Cookies?”
Jun glares at him before giving one of the cookies a petulant poke. “No.”
Aiba just smiles knowingly at the familiar sight. He waits for a few long seconds before shifting to take the tumbler from Jun’s tight grip. “Let me refill that water for you then.”
He takes his time in the kitchen, considering pouring Jun a glass of milk but quickly deciding against it. Setting his milk glass on the sink, he gets another glass before filling Jun’s tumbler again and pouring himself a glass. He then opens the fridge just to get a glance at the stack of Jun’s breakfast Tupperware boxes while double checking his own plan for tomorrow; he remembers they have frozen rice so if Jun wants something quick tonight he can probably whip something up.
And when he feels he fiddled around enough at the kitchen, he returns to his chair. It’s only when he slides the tumbler back toward Jun he saw that one of the cookies on the plate is gone.
Jun is now slumped further, half of the side of his body just on the table, his eyes still staring menacingly on the plate like the remaining cookie can go off any second. He is pouting when he meets Aiba’s amused smile. His voice is hoarse and dark when he huffs, “It’s good.”
“It is. The dark chocolate chips are delicious, right?”
Jun only grunts in reply.
“If you want, I can whip out something real quick?” Aiba’s hand reaches out to softly brush Jun’s bang away from his forehead and frowns when finds Jun is a bit warm.
He’s expecting another curt ‘No’ but Jun only smiles as he shakes his head this time. “I’m just going to steal this last cookie from you.”
“It’s yours then,” Aiba says with a chuckle. He gives Jun’s tense shoulder a rub and leans down to kiss the top of Jun’s head—now that he’s home Aiba can head to bed without worrying about him.
Jun nods but aside from poking the cookie again he makes no other movement. And Aiba is about to stand up when Jun grabs him by the wrist and stops him. Chuckling, he steps forward and lets Jun half-hug him in an awkward angle.
Jun sighs, eyes closing, his grip tightened a bit, and mumbles, “Thanks for waiting me up.”
Aiba only hums as he smiles. I want to wait up. For you. And they stay wrapped close to each other for a little while.
*
Aiba pulls out his phone and frowns at the long groceries list Jun gave him last week. There are just too many shoyu brands on display and now that he’s standing in the middle of an aisle of shoyu shelves, it doesn’t make things easier. He makes sure his cart parked safely on the corner and begins his search.
That was almost fifteen minutes ago, and Aiba now had two bottles secured in his cart and is clutching other two bottles of what Jun called regular shoyu as he crouches low and tries to read the descriptions of the bottom row of shoyu bottles.
“You’re still on this aisle?”
Aiba looks up to find Ohno with his shopping basket, and grimaces. “Oh-chan, I can’t find the last one.”
“Do you want some help?” Ohno sets his basket next to Aiba’s cart. “I’m finished with my fish list now.”
“I’m almost sure they don’t have it here,” Aiba says as he straightens up. It’s getting ridiculous; Ohno usually spends more than half an hour on the fish section, which means Aiba had spent the same amount of time only to get all the shoyu from Jun’s list. He sets the bottles he’s holding on to his cart and sighs. “Okay, I give up. Jun would have to go buy it himself when his case is over. And I haven’t even gotten to the organic sections.”
Ohno offers with an amused voice. “We can go there next.”
“Yeah. Let’s not be here all night,” Aiba says as he gives Ohno his basket and starts pushing his cart away from the aisle.
Ohno only laughs softly this time, following Aiba toward the produce section at the back. They navigate their way slowly, with Aiba stopping at the tissue aisle to get two large packs and Ohno quickly puts three chocolate bars into his basket from the candy racks.
They get distracted by the late night discount prices and end up with few salad packages—they’ll last for at least the rest of the week. He snatches a pack of mini baguette slices—perfect for breakfast tomorrow, and when he sees Ohno is staring at it longingly, Aiba grabs another pack for him. They split up when they finally get to produce section, Ohno murmuring something about mushrooms and Aiba steeling himself to go to the organic vegetables shelves. Everything is so expensive here—he sighs, but he remembers the ones from Jun’s list and takes his time glancing through the labels before putting his best pick on his cart.
Few minutes later they meet back at the cash register area, Ohno with only a large plastic and Aiba still trying to put the rest of his groceries into his third tote bag. Ohno grins amusedly as he waits for Aiba to finish. The drive home is rather quiet except for Ohno humming a random song under his breath.
It still startles Aiba a little bit when on the next red light Ohno says, “Good haul tonight.”
The light turns green. Aiba chuckles as he drives away. “I might’ve gone overboard, I know. But I am not taking any chances.”
Comfortable silence falls again for a few long minutes before Ohno asks: “Is everything okay with Matsujun?”
“Busy as usual. He caught a new case yesterday,” Aiba says. “It’s been a long while since I heard him telling me it was a bad case.”
“Bad meaning a gruesome one?”
“Yeah,” Aiba says with a sigh. He makes the last turn to their apartment complex before he continues with a shrug. “You know how he got carried away with cases sometimes, and I think I’m used to that. But the last time he said he caught a bad case, it was intense.”
Ohno only hums softly in response.
Aiba sets the car to park and turns to Ohno with a small smile. “Anyway, this time I’m not going to let him worn to a frazzle. I’m stocking our fridge with everything.”
“You practically bought everything just now. You got this, Aiba-chan.” Ohno nods with a chuckle. They get off the car and collect their respective groceries bags at the trunk, and Ohno says again. “I can send down some more cookies for you two this weekend. Will that help?”
Two of his tote bag slug on his shoulder, Aiba lights up at the offer. “In addition to our weekly cake? Yes, please. We’d love that.”
“They would be for Matsujun though, not for you.” Ohno’s easy smile fades and he now stares at Aiba through narrowed eyes and with a pout. “I’ll make sure to put them in small cute plastic bags so you can’t steal them.”
Aiba laughs at the cute warning. “He’d love that. I can easily slid them into his bag like last time.”
“Good,” Ohno says with a satisfied nod. He takes the smallest bag out of Aiba’s grip before turning away to walk to their apartment building.
Aiba smiles as he locks the car. Juggling his groceries bags, his heart warm now, he follows Ohno inside.
*
Aiba wakes up slowly to his alarm ringing. Rolling to his other side, he tries to find the end of his blanket with his cold toes only to find the sight of Jun buried under both their blankets.
He stretches lazily as he shivers and moves closer to the Jun’s blanket mound to find warmth.
So Jun did get home last night, Aiba sighs. Jun must have gone to bed very late. And he shouldn’t bother Jun because Jun will need all the rest he can get, but it was a cold morning and Aiba can’t help to give Jun’s legs a soft petulant kick.
When Jun only grunts in his sleep, Aiba chuckles sleepily and considers it even. Shuffling out the bedroom—it’s considerably colder in the kitchen—he goes straight to the stove to boil some water and sighs at the new heat source. Fiddling with the coffee machine only takes a short minute and then he stands there for a long minute and thinks about breakfast.
Toasted mini baguette.
Toasted mini baguette sounds good, with a thick layer of butter for him and with the fresh yuzu jam he found at the supermarket yesterday for Jun.
Sipping his coffee, Aiba checks his phone and tries to remember his schedule for the day. He realizes he has no appointment for early morning slots. It’s awfully tempting to just call Sho now and say he’ll be coming in a bit late so he can wait for Jun to wake up and have breakfast together.
After finishing getting ready for the day, Aiba returns to the kitchen to fill his travel coffee mug. And after quickly checking the vegetable rack and feeling proud of how everything is there for them this week, he takes a glance of the clock on the wall.
Jun should be up in half an hour, and Aiba needs to go soon.
One last thing before he goes, he thinks. He takes out Jun’s coffee mug and puts it on the counter—so it would be there when Jun is getting his coffee. And, while he’s at it, he takes out two small plates—those are for the toasts—and sets them next to the mug. He sets the baguette plastic and yuzu jam jar next to the plates, so now everything lines up for Jun.
A glance to the clock tells him that he needs to go now so Aiba grabs his travel mug and heads for the door.
Right by his car, he sets his travel mug on the roof of the car and digs into his bag to find his keys. Only to come up with nothing. Trying again, and there’s still nothing—even if Aiba has already had everything out and every pocket searched.
He must have left them somewhere up in their apartment. Sighing, he puts everything back into his bag and in a quick decision decides to leave his coffee mug at the roof of his car—if someone wants coffee then it’s their lucky day.
The moment the elevator opens, Aiba sprints to their door, breathlessly rushing to take off his shoes before striding inside not bothering with the slippers.
He almost runs into Jun as he skids into the living room.
Still soft and sleepy to react more than a surprised gasp, Jun blinks at him. “You’re not on your way yet?”
Aiba just walks past him and goes straight to the bathroom. He rummages his trousers from yesterday, and then all the pockets of his shirt. No keys here.
“Is there something wrong?” Jun says from the door.
“I can’t find my keys.” Aiba gives him a quick apologetic smile, before slightly bumping into Jun and striding to the kitchen. He doubts the keys are in the shopping bag from yesterday but he has to check.
“Car keys?” Jun now watches him, perching on their dining table, half dazed, not entirely focused, clutching his coffee mug like a lifeline.
Aiba only nods distractedly and goes to the coffee table, starting to flip the scattered papers on the table—he knows most of them are Jun’s and he should never mess with Jun’s document, but he must find his keys, he must find them now. He tries to move the documents as carefully as he could but a few loose papers slides off into the floor. He is about to apologize to Jun directly when he sees one of his keys peeking out from in between the pages of his old Shounen Jump Weekly.
“Yes!”
Aiba turns to see Jun is still watching him from the dining table. He waves the keys proudly before he remembers what he’s done just a few seconds ago. “Ah, I got your papers all over the place. I should—“
“It’s okay,” Jun says with a sleepy smile. He sets down his mug and walks toward the couch. “I’ll get them later.”
With one last apologetic look at the mess he made at the table, Aiba heads back to the entryway. He quickly puts on his shoes and buttons his coat again, gathering his bag that he carelessly ditched when he got in and patting his pocket to make sure he has the car keys now. He turns to see Jun is behind him watching him getting ready.
He’s running terribly late but Jun’s awake at this time in the morning and Aiba wants to say so many things—like he misses Jun, so much. He ends up saying, “There’s yuzu jam. You’ll like it. And just put away the bento boxes if you don’t need them today. Also, the baguette is fresh and—”
Jun stops his rambling by stepping forward, wrapping his hand around Aiba’s shoulder, and pulling him into an embrace.
Aiba sighs into it and holds tight.
“Thank you,” Jun softly says against Aiba’s hair. He then leans away a little bit, one hand framing Aiba’s jaw, and kisses him sweet. “Have a good day, Masaki”
Aiba holds him there just to have more kisses and enjoy their closeness longer. But, he really needs to go soon.
“Drive safe. I’ll try to be home for dinner tonight,” Jun says before weakly pushing Aiba away to get him going.
Aiba’s hands reluctantly letting go of his hold, he has heard those words many times. Most the time Jun cannot make it; even so he always takes Jun's promises to heart; he knows Jun is trying his best, and he will always be waiting for Jun.
He sneaks in one last peck on Jun’s lips and smiles when he sees Jun smiling softly at him. “I’ll see you later.”
*
Aiba sets his bag on the bottom of the living room desk, making sure that he puts his car keys properly into the front pocket this time. There’s no need for unnecessary fuss to happen again tomorrow morning, he tells himself with a sigh.
After turning up the heater, he heads to the kitchen for a glass of water while trying to think of tonight’s dinner. Jun has texted him saying that he’s going to be late again tonight, so a quick fix of yakisoba sounds like a good choice—and since Jun is not here, Aiba can use the usual noodles and not tampering with Jun’s gluten free stash.
He starts with some cabbage leaves, wanting extra bit of crunchy and deciding to add another leaf. It will take too much time to do julienne strips for the carrot so Aiba only slices them thinly—it’d be fine as long as they cook right later. He only uses one mushroom, slicing them ultra thin, before lastly chopping the quarter of an onion leftover from last night and two green onions.
Now that the vegetables are lined up on one side of his cutting board, Aiba turns to the fridge to get the meat and the noodles. And when he’s done, he puts a pan ready on the stove and sets to mix the sauce. And since it’s only for himself, Aiba lessens on sugar and adds a bit Worcestershire.
He turns the stove on, adding some oil, and is just about to start when his phone rings. A moment of stillness: Aiba stands there with pan, blinking out of his sole concentration, looking around to see everything is set up and that his phone on the far corner of the kitchen counter is lit up.
It’s Jun’s ringtone.
It might be difficult but Aiba is not going to delay dinner further—he’s starving. But he knows that Jun must have used his precious break time to make the call. Still holding the pan, he takes his phone, placing it in front of him in the counter and hitting the speaker option.
“Jun, I’m just about to cook dinner,” Aiba says in greeting. He heard the sound of Jun’s chuckles from the other end of the line and smiles as he says a proper greeting. “Good evening.”
This time Jun laughs and Aiba’s attention goes back to the pan. Now that it’s perfectly on medium high heat, he should start this soon. “Have you had dinner?”
“I have,” Jun sighs on the line, sounded like he has a long story of how annoying things went on his day. “What you’re having?”
“Yakisoba,” Aiba answers. He sets the meat strips on the pan and steps away to get saibashi from the corner rack. “The usual yakisoba.”
Jun laughs again—and the sound of it brought a smile to Aiba’s face; Jun is probably somewhere private, taking his break properly so he can have this talk with Aiba. “My gluten free soba stash is still intact then?”
Aiba smiles; he just knows that Jun will definitely bring that up. “Yup. They’re safe, don’t worry.”
Jun says nothing after and since the meat has turned brown, Aiba adds the slices onion and carrot into the pan. And when Jun still stays silent—most probably distracted by thoughts about his case—Aiba asks. “Are you staying back at the office tonight?”
“I hope not,” Jun says with a sigh. “We still have a few videos we need to review tonight, but I’m hoping to go home even if it’s late, even if tomorrow is another early morning.” Only for a few hours sleep at home where it’s most comfortable, Jun doesn’t say, but Aiba hears it on his tone nonetheless. Jun adds in a softer voice. “You don’t need to wait up, okay.”
“Mhmm.”
“Is that an ‘Mhmm’ like okay or an ‘Mhmm’ for the yakisoba?” Jun asks, slight amusement in his voice.
“Both,” Aiba says with a chuckle. He adds the cabbage and stirs everything once again before leaving it to cook. “I’m using one of your shoyu from your list for the sauce. I wonder how this will come out.”
“Which one? Oh, does that mean you went grocery shopping?”
“I used the one which said koikuchi, the new one on your list. It smells good so I think why not. And yes, I went yesterday with Oh-chan. We have fully stocked fridge now,” Aiba says proudly. He adds the green onion and mushroom next. “Although I still couldn’t find one out of your list.”
Jun laughs. “That’s okay. I’d probably need to go to that specialty shop down at Aoyama.” His voice changes a bit, almost like he is pouting as he continues. “We had some subpar bento tonight, and I had to use up all my miso condiment for everyone's. The way they prepared the chicken katsu is unforgivable.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” As he seasons the meat and vegetables with black pepper and stirs the pan again, Aiba thinks he hears a distant sound of wind and remembers. “Are you outside?”
“No. I’m commandeering one of the vacant meeting rooms,” Jun says, quickly reassuring Aiba.
“Good,” Aiba says, relief in his mind. He doesn’t like the idea Jun being out there in the cold only to call him. He says nothing, his eyes fixed on how everything is already tender on the pan. He needs to move quickly now, and he lets Jun know: “I need to wash the noodles now.”
Jun just hums and continues. “I was tempted to go up though. Really, the only place out of those busybodies ear is either up there or in the basement bathroom. But it’s too cold to be out there, and everyone is on food comma they won’t notice I’m gone for a while.”
They will, Aiba smiles as he tries to focus on separating the noodles with his hand. The pan makes a sizzling sound when he adds the noodles. He lowers the heat a bit and washes his hands. Now that he’s done the most complicated work, he can give most of his attention to Jun.
“I just hate that everyone gets such weird look on their faces when I call you in the office.”
That’s because they don’t know the real you, Aiba wants to say. But he only hums. The noodles already look ready so he finally adds the sauce mix. “I’m just glad you’re not out there in the cold right now.”
Jun is silent for a long moment, the sound of his breathing even, and Aiba keeps on stirring the pan, wanting the nice char to be equally all over. In his mind, he can almost see Jun’s soft shy smile on the other side of the line, torn between wanting to stay on line for little longer but running out of topics to talk about with Aiba that don't touch his case.
Aiba takes pity on him, moving quickly as he shakes the pan one last time and plates his dinner. “Do you remember Fuwa-chan?”
“The dog?” Jun asks after another short silence.
“Yeah, the cute one Sho-chan likes so much.” Aiba smiles, remembering fondly how Jun got to know Fuwa-chan one late night last month. He puts down the dirty pan in the sink and takes his plate to the dining table. Moving his phone and setting it in front of him, Aiba takes a seat and claps his hand softly.
The first mouthful is heavenly and he hears Jun asks: “Did something happen to her?”
“No, nothing bad happened, except—” Aiba takes another mouthful and quickly chewing before he swallows. “—she failed another adoption plan.”
“Is she okay?”
Aiba coughs as he holds down his laugh, trying his best to make sure he’s not choking as he swallows. When he’s sure that he’s going to be fine, he says. “Jun, she’s a dog. And she’s safe with us. Of course she’s okay.”
“I trust you since you probably could tell if she’s sad or something. I just hope she’s okay.”
Aiba laughs, wishing Jun were sitting in front of him now so he could tell Jun directly how cute he could be sometimes. “I can assure you, she’s doing well. But Sho-chan, not so much.”
When Jun only hums in response, Aiba takes another mouthful and he continues. “He’s fallen more and more with Fuwa-chan. I think he’s going to finally cave in adopting her soon.”
“Shouldn't that be good news? At least for Fuwa-chan?”
“I’m all about Sho-chan taking her home. But he’s been dragging on this for months now. I don’t know what his concerns are but I know he loves her from our first meet.”
A few moment pause before Jun says, “If his concern is about legality, I suppose there has to be someone in this office that could provide legal help shall Sho-kun need to officially adopt Fuwa-chan.”
“You’re joking,” Aiba says with a laugh, and after another long silence from Jun, he says again. “You’re not joking?”
“Well, I don’t know for sure, but the civil law downstairs have handled some of the most strange litigations. I’m quite sure they can do something about dog legality. I can ask around if that’s what you think Sho-kun needs.”
“She’s just a stray dog we found in Okinawa. I’m sure Sho-chan will not need any legal help.
“Well, you’ll never know. Just in case.”
Jun sounds so serious and earnest and Aiba cannot help but laugh at this silliness of this conversation. Sometimes Jun can have the weirdest idea, and to have one of this moment in their phone conversation tonight, when Jun specifically made time to talk to him gives Aiba warm flutters in his stomach that has nothing to do with the yakisoba.
He hears Jun chuckles softly on the other side. “You’re laughing now.”
“I am,” Aiba says, laughter still in his voice.
“Good. You’d been quiet all night,” Jun says, and Aiba is almost sure he is smiling over the line.
He likes the idea of Jun having a moment for himself now, knowing it’s probably going to be another long difficult night for Jun. He looks down and stares at his empty plate with a smile. He had a good meal for dinner, with a lovely company who makes him laugh after a long day even only through a phone call. “Thank you.”
“And thank you,” Jun replies. “I have to go soon. Don’t wait up, okay.”
“Mhmm.”
“Masaki.”
Aiba hums in reply. I always want to wait up. For you, he wants to say.
But Jun knows, and places an emphasis this time. “There’s no need to wait. I’m going to be finished up very late.”
“I won’t then,” Aiba says as he rolls his eyes. And if he’s already making plans to do something for them tomorrow, Jun doesn't need to know now. “You take care.”
“I will,” Jun says with a smile on his voice. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Aiba can’t find his voice to reply more than a “Good night” and a nod. He can’t afford to clue Jun into the plan that has just formed on his mind.
He stares at his phone in front of him as it lights up for a few seconds, indicating Jun has ended the call. The plan is now fully formed on his mind. He picks up his phone to immediately check his schedule app for tomorrow’s early appointment. Grinning when he finds out he has none, this time he doesn’t resist the temptation.
He sends a message to Sho, letting him know that he will be coming in a bit late tomorrow. This way, not only he can wait for Jun to wake up and have breakfast together, he also can drive Jun to work.
*
Aiba wakes up wrapped in smothering warmth and with Jun heavily draped against his back. Squinting sleepily and wiggling out of Jun’s hold, he reaches out for his phone—it’s still 15 minutes before his set time—and turns the alarm off.
So Jun did get home last night.
Slowly and leisurely, Aiba tries to plan their morning. With Sho’s approval last night, he has an additional two hour before he needs to show up for work this morning. And with Jun’s usual schedule he will have almost an hour before Jun has to wake up and have his coffee.
He shifts to turn around, trying to keep Jun close and undisturbed and his sleepy mind finally catches up on one important detail.
Jun has come to bed naked.
And now he has a naked Jun in his hold, Aiba wants nothing but stay in their bed for as long as they can manage. He begins to scatter soft kisses around Jun’s neck, enjoying the low hums he’s getting. He wraps his legs around Jun’s so now they are entwined close and warm, his hand caressing down all the smooth skin he can reach.
“Don’t just tease,” Jun murmurs sleepily, his hand gripping tightly on Aiba’s sleep shirt.
“You are naked,” Aiba whispers against Jun’s jaw, his hand down across Jun’s smooth back, smiling as Jun arches on his touch and presses them even closer. “How can I not tease?”
It is Jun who pulls Aiba into a soft kiss, taking his time in their stolen morning moments, using Aiba to pull him out of his sleepy reverie. And Aiba only wants more. He always wants more with Jun, but he asks first. “Okay?”
“Mhmm,” Jun hums as he nuzzles Aiba’s hair. “We’re not going to be late for work, right?”
Aiba smiles, delighting in the Jun’s complete trust and consent. “We’re not. I’ll make sure of it.”
Jun hums again, and his hand reaches down to grip Aiba’s wrist before bringing them over his lips for a dirty lick. His eyes flutter open beautifully, now searching Aiba’s eyes for Aiba’s permission.
“Yes.”
Still a bit uncoordinated, Jun licks Aiba fingers wet, his eyes closing again in anticipation and his hips grinding forward impatiently. Aiba’s breath catches and he swallows hard when he realizes what Jun wants him to do.
He brings his wet hand down to find Jun’s hard cock, leaning for a kiss when Jun groans his pleasure of being touch against his lips. He tightens his hold around Jun, only leaning away once to catch his breath before kissing Jun breathless again. He feels Jun’s grip on his arm, painful and desperate, and moves his hand faster, and faster. They are going to get their bed dirty and for once Aiba doesn’t care.
Jun comes with a low keen and his mouth against Aiba’s shoulder. Aiba gives him slow strokes to help him riding his orgasm thoroughly before he stops and keeps his hold on Jun with his own hard on painfully asking for attention.
When Jun finally leans back and meets his eyes, Aiba cannot resist kissing him again for a long second.
“What do you want, Masaki?”
Aiba knows what he wants, and for Jun to look at him, his lips red and swollen because of him, with a beautiful and soft smile, like he will grant anything Aiba asks right.
Aiba takes a good hold of Jun’s hair, tugged, not holding back in showing Jun what he wants. They have to shift under the blanket but Jun quickly slides down as Aiba helps him get settled between his legs. And the next thing, Aiba grunts loudly when he feels Jun pulls down his sweatpants and going straight to licking the head of Aiba’s cock.
Jun doesn’t wait for anything else. He takes Aiba into his mouth and begins moving with a fast pace. His hands are touching Aiba everywhere he can reach, rubbing the inside of Aiba’s thigh, sliding against Aiba’s stomach, urging Aiba to take more and more as he gives himself in.
Aiba wants to warn Jun that’s he’s close, he’s so close. He wants to prolong this dizzying pleasure. But Jun gives a few hard sucks and he can’t do anything but tightening his grip on Jun’s hair, his hips moving on its own, and comes with a groan. Jun is so good to him, so good, he stays unmoving and letting Aiba uses his mouth before finally coming down with a sigh.
And the first thing Aiba does when he finds his wit again is to reach down and drag Jun up to hold him. They both are still breathless but Jun’s head is now on the crook of his neck and Aiba can rub Jun’s sweaty back and calm him.
Jun asks, his voice slightly hoarse and soft. “We’re really not going to be late for work, right?”
Aiba laughs breathlessly, his body loose and satisfied. A quick glance at the alarm clock tells him that they still have another 10 minutes before Jun needs to get ready—and he tells Jun just that. “I’ll make cheese omelets to go with your coffee.”
“Good.” Jun snuggles closer. “That’s the answer I want to hear.”
Aiba smiles, dropping a soft kiss on top of Jun’s head and sighing at contentment he feels, all in one lazy morning.
*
Aiba steps out of their floor elevator and rushes to the apartment, swinging his groceries bag excitedly. He’s been craving for some greasy shougayaki since lunchtime and now with some fresh potatoes he’s going to have a feast for dinner.
He notices that the living room is on, but he doesn’t let himself hope much until he sees Jun sitting by their dining table. “You’re home,” he says in greeting, before his smile turns into a slight frown when he catches Jun’s concentrated frown.
The table is now completely covered with papers, Jun’s kind of papers with case notes and some of his hideous scribble. All the chairs are lined up in a formation Aiba cannot understand. Even the tissue holder is now lying dangerously on top of Jun’s bag on the chair next to him.
“Welcome back,” Jun says, looking up from his reading and smiling distractedly at Aiba. He adds with a small pout. “I still have a lot of reading to do.”
But you’re home, that’s what matters, Aiba wants to say. He takes off his coat and sets his bags down quickly. He steps into Jun’s space, enjoying that now he towers over Jun who has no choice but to look up before leaning down and kissing Jun, sighing as Jun’s arm going around his waist for a hold. He takes his sweet time, taking everything Jun is willing to give him before they have to part.
He doesn’t step away and lets Jun’s hold keep him close. He knows what Jun’s answer will be but Aiba still asks, just to make sure. “You want to use the kitchen?”
“No. Not tonight,” Jun sighs, his eyes still closed, and Aiba wishes they can have this longer.
But Jun needs to finish his work, and he needs to get dinner ready soon. He quickly makes some dishes adjustment on his mind before he says, “Shougayaki and salad, okay?”
Jun’s smile blooms beautifully, and Aiba has to lean down and kiss him again, savoring their precious short moments a little longer. Jun whispers a soft ‘thank you’ against his lips but Aiba has his answer already. He gives Jun one last peck before stepping away and heading to the kitchen.
As he washes his hands, Aiba reconsiders his dinner plan. Potato salad, while initially sounds like a good plan, might not be what Jun wants tonight. They have rice so all he needs is to make do with his salad promise.
Aiba sets his fresh potatoes away, giving it a small wave, silently promising them that he will return to them later. He stares at the vegetable rack and grins on the sight of the spinach he bought a few days ago. Spinach gomaae it is. And he can start with salad first since it’d be better to do shougayaki last.
He sets the water in a pot to boil and next to it a pan on low heat. He needs to toast the sesame seeds first, he remembers. He readies their suribachi and lines up the sauces neatly as he waits for them of the seeds to pop. Glancing at Jun who’s already engrossed in his reading again, Aiba tries to grind the seeds with as little sound as possible, keeping his pace steady. He finishes adding all the sauces and a tablespoon of sugar; it’s going to be a little too sweet for him but Jun likes his spinach gomaae sweet.
Draining and running the boiled spinach under cool water makes the sink covered with wet splashes—something to be dealt with later, Aiba thinks as he sets the blanched spinach on the cutting board. He strains the spinach one last time before cutting and dumping them into suribachi. He uses the pestle to toss everything together; delighted to see they’re all coming together as planned. He serves them in two small bowls, carefully making sure it is divided equally, and places the bowls onto the kitchen counter.
Jun turns at the clink of the bowls; his glare cold before his eyes meet Aiba’s and his serious expression slowly melts into a dazed look.
“Sorry.” Aiba smiles at him. “Another 20 minutes and everything will be ready.”
Jun blinks tiredly and nods. He takes a glance on his wristwatch, calculating quickly, before sighing and returning to his papers.
Aiba wipes the cutting board and sets a new pan. After lining up the sauce again in front of a small bowl, he begins to grate the onion, garlic, and ginger. He adds the sauces and sets the bowl aside, blinking a lone tear from the onion and moves to season the meat. From there, Aiba moves with familiar ease, having done this countless times: flipping the meat when it’s browned, moving the ones on the side so they all will be cooked evenly, and when the heavenly smell roast wafts through the kitchen—he can see Jun perks up from the corner of his eye—he pours the sauce and sighs in satisfaction to see everything coated perfectly.
Aiba brings their plates to the coffee table—quickly setting his magazines and few of Jun’s books aside. He makes two more trips to get everything ready, before Jun joins him.
“You made gomaae,” Jun says as he stares at the dishes, licking his lips before he turns to Aiba with a wide smile.
“I did.” Aiba sets both their rice bowls down and grins proudly at the feast he has set up. He turns to see that Jun is at the kitchen washing his hands and asks, “Beer?”
Aiba nods, noticing that’s the one thing he’s forgotten. Jun goes to sit next to him, his back against the foot of the couch, his feet stretched under the table, and he thanks Jun softly, accepting the cold can. “You’re not having one?”
Jun sighs and turns to give one glare at the messy dining table. “Unfortunately not. I need to get those done tonight.”
Aiba raises his can in a toast, nodding his salute. “Here’s to you finishing them smoothly then.”
Jun smiles, raising his water glass and clinking it with Aiba’s beer can. He turns to see the dishes on the table, eyes shining with excitement. “Everything looks amazing, Masaki.”
They say their prayers quietly, and Aiba watches Jun as he gives his first bite on the shougayaki and hums his praise with his mouth full. “It also tastes amazing.”
Aiba nods, and they falls into a comfortable silence. Aiba congratulates himself silently—he’s done well this time, the gomaae is perfectly tossed and the shougayaki falls in perfect sweetness balance, not too sweet for him but sweet enough for Jun.
Jun hums his praise once in a while, and when he’s already had finished half of his rice bowl, he finally says. “I miss this, I miss your dishes.” A short pause. “And I can’t believe I’m saying this but I miss your Chinese food.”
“You’re welcome,” Aiba laughs, before he adds. “You’re still doing the dishes though.”
“What?” Jun chuckles as he gives Aiba one of his cute pouts. “I thought I could got away with it.”
“Nope,” Aiba says with a laugh. “I have an episode to catch up tonight. Wouldn’t want Nino to spoil it for me tomorrow.”
Jun sets his rice bowl to slowly finish his gomaae. “Still with that zombie series?”
“Yeah, it’s getting really good after the Sheriff died. He’s coming over this weekend so I think we’re going to finish another season by the end of the month,” Aiba says as he sets his empty bowl. That was a good dinner, he sighs. Watching Jun eat the food he prepared with delight also sets him at ease, warm comfortable end of his day.
“Masaki,” Jun says, his hand reaching out to touch Aiba’s arm, him scooting closer.
Startled out of his short musing, Aiba turns to Jun. “Mhmm?”
“I need to go to Shizuoka. Maybe for a few days.”
Aiba smiles at the serious look on Jun’s face, like he’s been considering carefully when he needs to bring this up to Aiba, like it pains him to tell Aiba this since they are having dinner and tries to set their work aside for a short moment. So that’s why he’s home early tonight. So that’s why he deliberately took work home and be with Aiba even in mostly distracted with work. Aiba is immensely grateful for the consideration; he understands.
He leans forward to give Jun a quick reassuring peck on the cheek—it’s okay, he tries to say. “When are you leaving?”
“First thing tomorrow morning,” Jun says with an apologetic grimace, looking away to stare at the empty bowl in front of them.
Aiba can see that Jun is trying hard to not apologize, knowing Aiba wouldn't want Jun to do so after all. And he makes a decision. “Let me drive you to the station.”
“Masaki. That’s not—” Jun tries to say. That’s not why he’s here.
And Aiba knows. Jun has nothing to worry about because Aiba knows. “Let me anyway. What time is your Shinkansen?”
Jun gives him a long stubborn stare before he sighs in defeat. “6.22.”
Aiba nods, calculating that he would need to wake up a bit earlier than usual. No big deal. “I’ll make extra lunch onigiri for you.”
Jun rolls his eyes as he huffs with the cute embarrassment, like he always does when Aiba is doing something nice for him. “Great. Now I really can’t get away from doing the dishes.”
Aiba burst into laughter and Jun’s pout slowly turns into a smile. It’s okay, he knows, Jun knows; we’re okay.
*
Aiba takes the TV remote and sits at one end of the couch, satisfied with how all his snack for tonight is ready within his reach.
“I still can’t believe you can do this while snacking.” Nino says from the other end of the couch, still clutching his DS, his eyes glued to his small screen.
Aiba sets their beer can next to the edamame bowl. “We’re watching two episodes tonight, right? I might get hungry and I’m not going to get up and go to the kitchen since you’re going to be mad again like that one time I asked to pause for like two minutes to just go to the bathroom.”
Nino perks up, and after a few complicated clicks he turns off his DS and sets it aside at the coffee table. “Ah, let me go first then.”
Aiba only rolls his eyes and laughs as Nino quickly makes his way to the bathroom. He begins to load up their DVD and stays at the menu page.
“Is Jun-kun going to be home late tonight?” Nino asks when he returns to his end of the couch.
“He’s been in Shizuoka for a few days now.”
“Oh,” Nino says with a concerned frown. “Did he catch a bad one this time?”
“A very bad one, I think. He’s been completely distracted this week.”
“Mhmm, is it a gruesome murder? Or is it a serial killing? Is he talking to the suspects? Or defending one?” Nino says with his eyes glazed in excitement. He always does whenever Aiba makes a passing mention about Jun’s case. “I’m going to need more details, Aiba-chan.”
“You watched too many crime shows,” Aiba says with a laugh. “You know I don’t know about details, Nino. I never ask.”
Nino sighs as he reaches to get his beer. “Well, Jun-kun is always stingy with details anyway.”
Aiba clicks on the preview of the episode they are going to watch tonight. “Those details are not for the weak hearted, or civilians like us after all.”
“We’re definitely not weak. We are binging bloody and grisly zombie shows as we snack on French fries soaked in bloody and grisly ketchup. We are very strong.”
Aiba laughs as he throws the remote to Nino’s lap. He picks up his plate of fries, dipping few strings onto the puddle of ketchup and takes a bite. Humming with contentment, knowing that he has some ketchup on the corner of his lips, he turns to Nino with a threatening growl. “Ready when you are.”
Nino swats him on the arm with a laugh, and picks up the remote to get them started.
Later than night, Aiba stands in front of the sink and takes sight of the dark living room. It was as warm as usual because Jun is not here to up the AC and with Nino’s coming over Aiba has been lowering the temperature.
One glance to his phone shows no new message for Jun, and he decides he can prepare rice for tomorrow. He is considering to just head to bed when he hears front door lock clicks, shortly followed by the endearing soft “I’m home”. Jun strolls into the room and stops by the middle of the living room. The first thing he does is to sigh and say: “Masaki! It’s very late at night.”
He only smiles at the grumpy greeting, relief coursing through him now that Jun’s home and at the same time worrying for Jun because he looks like he hasn’t slept for days. Jun forgetting that it’s the weekend is also a clear sign that it has taken his all to return home tonight.
Aiba goes around the counter and gives Jun a loose welcome hug, before turning him around and pushing him toward the bathroom. “Go shower and change. I’ll heat up the chicken soup leftover for you.”
He’s already seated and waiting when Jun returns with his hair damp and dressed in his long-sleeve shirt and comfortable sweatpants. At the sight of a steaming chicken soup and a brown toast, Jun eyes light up. He quickly takes a seat, aiming one grateful look at Masaki, and goes straight taking a large spoonful.
Aiba leans forward, his chin on hand, and watches Jun devour the soup. He doesn’t ask detail but he wants to ask. “How was the trip?”
“I had the most delicious unagi-don.”
Chuckling, Aiba smiles when Jun’s eyes meet him. “Good.”
They stay silent for a while, and Aiba lets Jun finish the bowl, and is about to offer if Jun wants something else when Jun speaks. “I’m starting to see that 0.1%, but everything is still blurry at this point.”
Aiba nods at the soft admission. It’s already more than he expects Jun to share. Jun seems to return to thoughts again, and Aiba doesn’t want Jun to think about work anymore. They should go to bed. “Do you want something else?”
Jun blinks out of his thought, realizing Aiba’s effort to take his mind off work, at least for tonight. “No. Thank you,” he says, smiling softly now.
“Okay,” Aiba says, giving Jun just a bit more time to catch up before they head to sleep.
As he hugs Jun close in bed later, trying to ground him and stop him from thinking about his case, Aiba closes his eyes. Tomorrow. Do it tomorrow, and just let go for tonight. He keeps Jun close, coaxing him to sleep and willing him to just let go for now.
*
Aiba closes the apartment door behind him and is welcomed with wonderful scent, of shoyu, the expensive one Jun loves, and something citrusy.
“I’m home,” he says softly as he steps into the living room. Jun, in his cute apron and sleeves rolled up, only looks up briefly to meet Aiba’s eyes with his dazed concentrated look before returning his attention to whatever he’s doing in the kitchen.
Ah, Aiba chuckles. No ‘welcome home’, which means it’s Jun thinking cooking tonight. He then takes his time with setting away his bag, deciding he should just shower now since from the look of it Jun is going to take his time. He returns to the living room and finds Jun still busy puttering in the kitchen.
It smells heavenly in the apartment, though.
Aiba brings his newest Shounen Jump Weekly Nino brought the other day to the dining table, taking a seat, and begins reading as he waits for Jun. Going straight to the one series he’s been waiting, he frowns at the opening panels. How did this end in the last month edition again? He’s been too busy to keep up, although he’s sure that the last time— Ah, it was just at the bottom of the third inning, Aiba nods silently as he finally remembers. The white team is on defense against the home team. He goes pages after pages in excitement—it seems they will get to the end of the game on edition. He truly hopes so. He doesn’t know if he can wait through another cliffhanger chapter ending like last month.
He lets out a frustrated groan when he finally reaches the last page of the edition and indeed it’s another cliffhanger again this time. Why can’t they just end the damn game, it’s been dragged on for too long.
He sets the magazine with a huff to the side of the table. He could only wait till the next month instalment after all, Aiba tells himself with a sigh.
And a nabe is set in front of him.
Aiba looks up and sees Jun standing next to him, opening the lid of the nabe and revealing a mouth-watering assortment of vegetables and chicken chunks.
“Mizutaki Chicken Nabe,” Jun announces, but before Aiba can reply, he swiftly turns to the kitchen and gets a full tray of small plates and bowls. He takes a plate and sprinkles the strips of shiso leaves on top of the nabe. And sets two small bowls both on his and Aiba’s side. “With a special homemade ponzu.”
Aiba reaches out to touch Jun’s chest, beaming as Jun takes hold of his wrist and keeps his hand there. “Thank you. This looks delicious.”
Jun nods, still with dazed concentrated look of his but now with a faint trace of a smile.
He lets Jun go so Jun can take his seat. Jun is still mostly silent throughout dinner and only responding to Aiba’s praises with curt nods and hums. Aiba fondly watches Jun constantly murmuring something under his breath as he picks on his food: about waterfall, and how it’s going to be double water falling onto the ground; more like there’s too many water involved and what does it have to do with a nickname and a clean and precise stab to the heart.
The loud thump of Jun’s bowl hitting the table and how he stands up suddenly and sends his chair sliding dangerously behind him startles Aiba. “Jun?”
Jun ignores him completely, his hands reaching up to plug his ears, and his eyes fluttering close.
Aiba chuckles knowingly, setting down his chopsticks, leaning back against his chair with amusement, and waits. And when Jun lets out his weird giggles, he knows Jun’s done with his dinner and will need to go soon.
Still, it takes a few more minutes before Jun is out of his trance. He begins to take off his apron carelessly and unroll his shirtsleeves. He rushes to his bag and grabbing his coat before it occurs to him that Aiba is still seated watching him with a grin. Stopping abruptly, Jun turns and meets Aiba’s eyes with confused blinks. “Masaki, I need to—”
Aiba only nods with a smile. “Take care.”
Jun seems like he wants to say something else but he only steps closer to Aiba and leans down for a deep long kiss. Surprised, Aiba grabs hold onto Jun’s back, giving everything Jun wants to take before they have to part.
Jun is gone in the next minute, leaving Aiba still dizzy with delight by the table and their unfinished nabe. Aiba picks up the ladle to serve him another bowl, thinking that maybe he can call Nino over so they don’t waste Jun’s cooking and do another episode binge. Jun is going to stay busy for a while longer.
*
Aiba doesn’t like where this is going but he has no choice and is running out of excuses, especially since Sho has decided to hover around him to make sure he completed these annoying reports before the end of his shift.
“All you need is to just fill all the blanks, chronologically,” Sho patiently tells him from across their office for the umpteenth times.
“There’s just too many of them, Sho-chan,” Aiba says with a stubborn pout. All he wants is to be finished with the day; he hasn’t done their weekly grocery and he knows Jun is coming home tonight. “Can we just do next week?”
“No.” Sho smiles as he takes his own report folders and starts leaving the room to get to the front desk. “The deadline is Monday. And since you’re taking tomorrow off now that Matsujun’s done with his very bad case, they need to be done now.”
Aiba sighs. Sho’s right, and he has been kind by allowing Aiba to take tomorrow off on a short notice but it doesn’t make the work easier. He steels himself for some word processor headache to come and opens the first file. “Fine. Chronological, you said? Fine.”
An hour later, Aiba is halfway done when he sees Sho appearing at the door on the corner of his eye. He doesn't look up; complaining to Sho again will only take this longer than it already takes. “I’m doing it Sho-chan. I’m doing it as fast as I can.”
“You have guest,” Sho says.
“What? I don’t have any more session today.” Aiba groans, shaking his head to clear his reports muddled brain. “Just tell them to come again Monday, Sho-chan.”
“I don’t think I can make it on Monday though.”
Aiba swivels quickly on his chair, his eyes wide when he finds Jun standing beside Sho by the door, still in his long khaki coat, with tired eyes but a bright smile.
“What are you doing here?”
“To pick you up. And also to meet Fuwa-chan,” Jun says, before he points his finger at Sho. “Sho-kun just told me that you’re not going anywhere until you finished some reports?”
Aiba rolls his eyes at Sho’s smug smile. “I’m doing it, okay,” he tells Sho with a scowl. And he smiles as he meets Jun’s eyes, “I’ll be right with you after this.”
Now with the best motivation, Aiba takes no heed to what Sho says to Jun next—something about trying out a new blend of coffee and that Fuwa-chan is somewhere around the front desk—and goes straight back to deal with the reports.
It takes a bit quicker than he expected so Aiba does one last check of his work. Sho will probably need to do more edits but Aiba is quite sure he gets most of everything in order. Closing down his station, Aiba grabs his coat and bag, making sure he’s ready to go and turning off his desk lamp.
He finds Jun in the reception area, sitting with Sho with their coffee, and smiles to see the sight of Fuwa-chan pressing herself onto Sho’s legs while sniffing Jun’s outstretched hand suspiciously.
“I’m done!” he announces to the room, prompting Sho and Jun to turn and Fuwa-chan to run toward him.
“Thanks, Aiba-chan,” Sho says with a smile. “Now you’re free for the weekend.”
Jun on the other hand stares at him and Fuwa-chan who’s now happily giving Aiba friendly licks with an impressive pout. “Just how did you do that? She doesn’t even want to look at me in the eyes.”
“Mhmm.” Aiba scrunches his face toward Fuwa-chan. “Natural talent I guess? Right, Fuwa-chan?” At her soft reply bark, Sho laughs while Jun rolls his eyes. He looks up and smiles at Jun. “Shall we, then?”
Jun nods before he turns to bow at Sho to thank him for the coffee and for allowing him to wait up for Aiba.
Aiba drives through the afternoon traffic with Jun dozing lightly next to him. At the supermarket, he lets Jun lead to get on with next week meal plan, only insisting that they buy more fancy fruits now since Jun’s going to pay for the groceries this time.
They huddle through the apartment entryway with their groceries bag before going for change and shedding the day grime off and meeting in the kitchen.
Later that night when Aiba helps Jun with the frying karaage as Jun deals with the potato salad, he bumps his shoulder lightly on Jun, startling him a bit from his concentration, but this time there’s no more cold and dazed eyes, only clear and bright warmth reflecting back to him.
“I miss this,” Aiba says.
Jun laughs at the admission, letting out his carefree laugh, one of Aiba’s favorite sounds, like he has no more worries in the world. He smiles at Aiba. “I miss you, too.”
Aiba wants to lean forward to give Jun a kiss but they are in front of a hot stove and Jun is holding a knife, so he settles for another shoulder bump. Everything is right again. They’re both home now. They both have the night, the weekend, for themselves now. They’re okay.
*