“Phew… That was a feast.”
“My stomach is so full!”
“Ah, it was absolutely delicious.”
As we finish our enjoyable meal together, both our mouths and stomachs, as well as our hearts, are satisfied.
“Should I clean up?”
“No, I’ll do it.”
“Huh? Yuta-san, aren’t you tired from driving?”
“If you say that, then I guess Ippei is tired from preparing the meal, right?”
I thought our conversation would remain at an impasse without yielding to each other about who should do it, but you, who can predict ahead, made a cute suggestion to me.
“Well, then, shall we do it together?”
“That’s true; it’ll be faster that way.”
“Yes! Let’s tidy up together then.”
We both rise to Ippei’s suggestion and start carrying the dishes to the sink. Standing side by side in the kitchen, we begin to tidy up after the meal.
“I’ll wash, so, Ippei, could you dry the dishes?”
“Alright, I’ll dry the dishes, so…”
Our hands meet in midair, reaching out to the cloth hanging from the shelf. And in that moment of contact, we both instinctively pulled our hands back.
“S-Sorry.”
“You don’t need to apologize.”
“Y-Yeah, you’re right?”
“It just caught me off guard, though…”
“I-I felt it too…”
Both our cheeks blush slightly, and I find myself unable to meet Ippei’s gaze, instead running my fingers through my hair. But we can’t let this halt our progress with the cleaning.
“…Let’s just finish tidying up.”
“Y-Yes, let’s get it done.”
It’s a forbidden love, yet this innocence and bittersweetness. Your various gestures and expressions always manage to captivate my heart. Even though I know I shouldn’t let myself be swayed, I can’t help but think it’s okay to be captivated by this feeling of love.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“All right, we’re done.”
“Pa’r vfolclafis ojrafg ktfc kf vb la abufatfg!”
You efficiently dry the dishes I’ve washed and put them back in their place. Your smile as you ask me, “Was this supposed to go here?” while tidying up is endearing to me.
“Rbk atja kf’gf vbcf klat atf mifjceq, rtjii kf ajxf j rtbkfg jcv gfijz?”
“Tfjt, atja rbecvr ubbv!… Yt!”
“Lw? Qtja’r kgbcu, Pqqfl?”
“R-Rbatlcu! Pa’r cbatlcu, gfjiis.”
Mbg rbwf gfjrbc, sbe rffw ecrfaaifv ys ws reuufralbc. P alia ws tfjv, kbcvfglcu lo P rjlv rbwfatlcu kgbcu. Dea ilaaif vlv P gfjilhf atja P kbeiv cffv ab yf wbgf qfgmfqalnf, j gfjilhjalbc atja kbeiv mbwf j ilaaif ijafg.
***
“I think this should fit you.”
“Huh, it’s surprising! It might actually fit perfectly.”
Before taking a shower, I pull out the loungewear I had stashed in the closet and hand it over to Ippei. I thought it would be more comfortable to spend time in casual clothes rather than dressed up.
“But why do you have clothes that seem to fit me perfectly when we have a height difference?”
“Well, if you don’t mind, actually, that clothing used to belong to Ryo.”
“Huh…”
It’s something I couldn’t bring myself to discard, so I kept it.
This loungewear was left behind by Ryo when he came to visit, saying he would come back again. It’s a small memento that I could never wear.
“I-I can’t wear something so important!”
“For me, Ryo is just as important as you are. And if you wear this, I’m sure Ryo would be happy too.”
“Y-Yuta-san…”
“We’re the same height, and our body types are similar… haha! Who would’ve thought someone would come along who could wear this? But remember this: I won’t talk about Ryo to anyone unless they’re someone I truly care about. And I’ll never let anyone touch it.”
“…!”
“Only Ippei can touch it. No, I want Ippei to touch it. It’s my selfish request.”
Ryo is no longer in this world.
But right now, in front of me, there’s Ippei, whom I love. Even if it’s a forbidden love, that’s a separate matter.
I want the person I love to know everything about me and everything else. Wanting them to accept me might be selfish. But I don’t want to hide anything from you, and I’ve decided not to.
“I understand. If Yuta-san wants it, may I borrow Ryo-san’s clothes?”
“Yeah, sorry for being selfish.”
“No! …Rather, thank you for telling me. I’m happy to hear Yuta-san’s true feelings.”
“Hehe, I’m glad you accepted it.”
This request from me might have felt heavy for you. Still, you smiled when you heard my reasons and accepted the clothing from my hand.
“Ippei, thank you.”
“No, I’ll cherish it, okay?”
“Feel free to wear it anytime you come here.”
“Yeah, got it.”
You use polite language at crucial moments. At that moment, you were even cuter than usual. And you stopping my feelings meant a lot to me; I was truly happy.
“Well then, shall we take a shower? Ippei, you go first?”
“Huh, um, are you sure?”
“Yeah, take your time and relax?”
“Well then, shall we take a shower? Ippei, you go first?”
“Huh, um, are you sure?”
“Yeah, take your time and relax?”
“Then…I’ll take you up on your offer and borrow it, okay?”
Ippei carefully held Ryo’s clothing and headed towards the changing room.
***
“Ahh! It feels refreshing!”
As I sat in the living room, sipping on white wine and messing around with my phone, Ippei, fresh out of the shower, came over to me, drying his hair with a towel as he was presenting an adorable sight.
“Hehe! It really does fit perfectly, doesn’t it?”
“Yes! It’s surprising how perfectly it fits, considering Ryo-san and I have the same height and body type!”
“It suits you, Ippei.”
“Hehe, do you really think so? Um, and…”
“Hm? And?”
“No, it’s nothing! Forget it!”
Your usually neatly styled short hair, despite being flat, shines beautifully, and you, wearing Ryo’s loungewear, look cool and cute. But why did you blush so much? What were you trying to tell me?
“There must be something.”
“Y-Yuta-san, you’re teasing me.”
“Huh? Why would you say that?”
“Well, because… I said it was nothing…”
While drying your hair with the towel, you sit beside me, emitting the same scent as me, and throw such words at me. Huh? The same scent…?
“…Do you dislike my scent?”
“…! Y-Yuta-san!”
“Hehe! Hit the nail on the head, huh?”
“M-More…! I-I really love your scent, Yuta-san’s fragrance… And being surrounded by it today makes me so happy… Ahh! I-I can’t take it anymore!”
Even though you usually talk properly, there’s something about you that’s not straightforward. But the truth is, your actions keep tickling my heart over and over again.
“If you don’t dislike it, then I’m glad.”
“Ryo-san’s clothes also smell like Yuta-san, and today everything is with Yuta-san… Do you understand? My feelings?”
“Yeah, I get it. I like Ippei’s scent too, so I can understand exactly how you feel. If the roles were reversed, I’d probably feel the same as you.”
“…You said it so casually.”
“You made me say it, idiot.”
Being enveloped by the person you love. It’s not just about the body, but also about their scent, gestures, warmth, and breath when they touch you—everything that comes from the person you love is what true happiness is about. Since meeting you, I’ve felt this deeply.
“Well, I’m going in too.”
“I’ll wait here, okay?”
“Yeah, but don’t go home alone, alright?”
“Haha! What are you saying? I won’t go home! Come on, hurry up, and join me.”
“Yeah, got it.”
Just being by your side makes me happy. But this happiness might end when the day changes, and I have no idea when the next opportunity will come. Maybe that’s why I ended up saying these words.
Because I still want you to be by my side…
Because deep down, I wish for this space and time to continue from now on…
