いとしいこと

Previous   TOC "Want to go out?" Nagano made the suggestion during their shared day off as they sat down to eat a late breakfast—or maybe an early lunch—around 11 a.m. The night before, knowing they didn’t have to work the next day, they’d stayed up until dawn. Nishizaki didn’t mind; he’d wanted it, enjoyed it. But now, a dull heaviness lingered around his lower back. Even so, it wasn’t as though he couldn’t go out. What struck him most was that Nagano—usually uninterested and reluctant to leave the apartment—had initiated an outing. That in itself was rare and precious. “Sure, but where are we going? Shopping?” Nishizaki asked. Nagano, nibbling on his toast, paused mid-bite as though considering something. “It’s a secret,” he finally said. The elementary-school-style response was enough to irritate Nishizaki. “What does that even mean? If you don’t tell me, I’m not going,” he threatened. “That would be a problem,” Nagano replied, his expression suddenly serious. It was baffl...

Previous   TOC   Next “You really do stink of sweat,” Tatsuya Nishizaki muttered after Masayuki Nagano apologized a hundred times. That was the first thing Nishizaki said. Nagano couldn’t argue with the statement—he’d just spent an hour running outside, drenched in sweat, and even now, beads of it trickled down his forehead and armpits. Still, he had finally unraveled the tangled mess of emotions inside him, and now that he had embraced Nishizaki, he didn’t want to let go. But being told he stank for the second time made him hesitate. Reluctantly, Nagano began to loosen his hold, caught between wanting to stay like this and knowing he needed to shower. He thought about heading to the bathroom but found himself unwilling to step away. His right hand moved instinctively, gripping the hem of Nishizaki’s sweatshirt, which he used as loungewear. “You should take a shower,” Nishizaki said flatly. “That’s the plan,” Nagano replied, yet he made no move, nor did his hand release its gr...