A short story with Nao Arasaka by Alex
☆彡.。.:*・☆彡.。.:*・☆彡.。.:*・☆彡.。.:*・☆彡.。.:*・☆彡.。.:*・☆彡.。.:*
☆彡.。.:*・☆彡.。.:*・☆彡.。.:*・☆彡.。.:*・☆彡.。.:*・☆彡.。.:*・☆彡.。.:*
A long day of work begins, as always… Studies tire me a lot… Sometimes, I just want to put everything on hold and take refuge in what feels like the most comforting place in the world for me. Being surrounded by captivating smells of different tea flavours, the pleasant and reassuring feeling of warmth in the cabin and moreover, the simple presence of Nao by my side. For anyone else it might be nothing but for me, it is what I need most right now.
After several hours of intense stress at college, I hurry to finally go where I am supposed to meet Nao. It is 5 past 7PM, the walk to the store is a little long and I can’t wait any longer to see him. Get me there, quick ! I need to forget everything, even for just a moment.
It is several minutes after 8PM when I finally push the door of the store open with eagerness to rush inside as fast as I can. Without any surprises, the store is empty as it is already past closing time. I let myself sink in the lemony smell of tea, relaxing as I deeply inhale this sweet perfume. Behind the counter I am facing, I notice Nao. His gaze is directly on me because my entrance was not the most discreet… Out of breath, with my bag in my hands, I stop for a moment and stare at him. He gently smiles at me, amused by my not so quiet entrance but also happy that I am finally here. I slowly walk near the counter, closer to him, while he does not tear his gaze away from me. As I barely reach him, he quickly stretches his hand to take my bag :
“Give it to me, I will put it in the backroom.”
“Thanks, I am exhausted with all my classes…”
He comes back from the backroom with a worried look crossing his eyes for a moment before replying :
“In that case you should go rest instead of tiring yourself more by coming here.”
“No ! I’m here and I will help you, as we planned !”
“I know what you’re going to say but let me stop you right here, it doesn’t tire me or bother me at all, quite the contrary !”
I go around the counter as I say this, to join him and place a finger on his lips as I continue :
“Please, just trust me… If I’m here it’s because I want to and I’m able to. And… I really want to be here more than anywhere else right now.”
Convinced, he boops my nose with an irresistible smile on his face. This little display of affection makes me lose my composure for a moment. I desperately want to hold him in my arms and never let go. But I need to pull myself together and put my feelings aside, I am here to help him after all. Nao is already near the backroom’s door, cutting me out of my thoughts as he speaks :
I simply nod and follow him to the storage room to pick up some tea boxes.
It is past 10:30PM. It has been two hours since we started organising the new tea boxes on the shelves of the store as we tell each other about how our day went. The place is not the biggest but it still is quite successful in this neighbourhood which makes me really happy. I know that Nao loves tea and cares a lot about his store, therefore seeing him succeed in something that he loves is really important for me.
While he is putting away the last boxes, I sit down on the ground resting my back against the store’s front door. I find myself staring at him, his profile facing me, he is slightly frowning like he always does when he is working on something. He is so beautiful, it is hardly human at this point ! He gets down from the little stool he was on while organising the boxes and comes next to me. Once he is seated, he lets out a long sigh and closes his eyes for a moment.
“I see I’m not the only tired one…”
“Yeah… I mean… I didn’t get my usual amount of sleep last night.”
He rests his head against the door and turns it to face me, a provocative look on his face. Pretending to be shocked, I reply :
“Are you implying that you’re tired because of me ?”
“Well… You did make me watch two horror movies one after the other, so…yes a little.”
“I must be dreaming ! No one forced you to watch it with me !”
“You’re kidding ! You looked so scared to watch it alone that I took pity on you ! And I was right since you stayed glued to me the whole time…”
With burning cheeks, I quickly turn my head to avoid his gaze. It is true that I was scared to watch these movies alone so I naturally looked for comfort from him. I also admit that I slightly took the opportunity to initiate physical interactions with him. Slightly yes… But he doesn’t need to know that.
Frustrated by the turn this conversation took, I change the subject :
“Anyways, we’re done for today right ? Can we go home now ?”
He giggles while standing up. This laugh could save the entire world… I see him reaching his hand out to me to help me get up :
“Come here, I have something to show you before we go.”
I take his hand and quickly follow him. He leads me into the backroom again where we go through a door I have never seen before. A pleasant breeze hits my face, making me realise that we are now outside.
I almost don’t feel Nao’s hand getting further away from mine being too busy detailing the place around me.
We are on what seems like a little balcony or maybe more like the rooftop of a building that has been prepared as a cosy place. There are several flowers decorating the place, along with lightly sparkling garlands hanging from the open roof offering a subdued light making the place very peaceful. The sweet melody of Sparks by Coldplay is pleasantly escaping from the speaker at the far left of the balcony. I close my eyes for a moment, inhaling the fresh air of this summer night, enjoying the tenderness the song wraps me in.
After a couple of seconds, I open my eyes because of a little laugh escaping from Nao as he watched me during my moment of relaxation.
I stare at him, feeling a little lost, but I don’t have the time to question myself more as I feel his hand slips into mine again to take me with him. The warmth of his palm against my cold one has the instant effect of making my cheeks blush. If the place was brighter, I am sure he could see my blushing face…
I let myself be taken to a far corner of the balcony where there is a hammock. We don’t waste anymore time to settle on it, me with my legs crossed and him letting his legs hang on the side of the hammock. As we try to stay stable on it, we don’t have any choice but to be close to one another, making our shoulders brush together. It doesn’t really disturb us because we have been roommates for a long time now and even if our relationship is kind of ambiguous, we are friends before anything else. Even if I know that, I still shiver most of the time when there is any kind of physical touch between the two of us.
I suppose these kinds of reactions are inevitable when you are attracted to someone…
I am pulled away from my dreaming state by what I see in front of me. No sound comes out of my mouth, I am blown away.
A full view of the balcony filled with verdure and small colourful lights. Red, blue, yellow, green, purple, pink… there are tons of it ! It still gives the place a subdued and intimate atmosphere. But what makes this place even more mesmerising is all of the stars right above us. All the place seems to be immersed in the dark sky making us feel wrapped inside a blanket of stars. A moment surreal and seemingly out of time.
My gaze falls on Nao and I see that a shy expression has settled on his face, as if he is waiting for something. And, as I am about to tell him what I think, he speaks first :
His shy and uncertain expression does not leave his face. I even feel like he is a little worried that something might bother me. I rush my answer to erase all his doubts :
“You’re joking ? Like is an understatement for such an incredible place !”
His features finally relaxe and his face goes back to its usual gentleness as a soft smile creeps on his lips. Curious about the place, I ask him :
“Since when does this place exist ? Why have I never seen it before ?”
“I furnished it myself not too long ago.”
“Nao ! You did all of this by yourself ? You could’ve asked me for help !”
“You already help me enough as it is…”
“And yet I wish I could do more !” I answer him, a determined look on my face.
The black-haired boy giggles, eyes closed before looking back at the stars.
“I come up here often to talk with the stars. When I’m here I feel like I can focus the most and I can feel all the energy they are sending. It makes me understand them better.”
The little breeze of this summer night caresses his face making some strands of his dark hair flutter. I can’t stop myself from contemplating him. I am facing his profile, he seems serene, at ease. The place itself is already very reassuring and comforting but seeing him, relaxed, makes this moment even more soothing to me.
Every bit of stress I could have felt until now all disappeared thanks to him. Thanks to his simple presence, and this comforting aura constantly emanating from Nao.
“And what are the stars telling you tonight…?” I dare to ask him, even if he doesn’t always share his conversations with the stars.
I don’t know if he will answer me, and to be honest I don’t dwell on it, I don’t want to force him. Nao has the right to have his private world, like I have mine.
We share almost everything together but there are probably some exceptions for him as there are for me too. For instance, I have never told him about my true feelings for him…
In the meantime, I lose myself contemplating the stars surrounding us. There are thousands of them. I think that I could stay stargazing all night. The melody keeps the balcony in a sort of soft cocoon when suddenly Nao’s voice pierces through it :
“I don’t think that I can actually tell you what they’re saying… But they seem soothed yet also bewitched. I find them quite different tonight.”
Even if my curiosity keeps growing, I don’t answer. I’d rather let him speak to not rush him or attack him with all of my questions. Instead, I let myself follow my desire to get closer to him. I move a little and slide my right side along his left one to let my head rest on his shoulder keeping my eyes locked to the starry sky.
Nao moves his dangling legs up to let them rest on the hammock, the same as me. His sudden move makes me lose my balance a little so I remove my head from his shoulder to stabilise myself again. But I don’t have any time to regain my balance as I feel his arm engulfing me against his chest. His back is resting against the brick wall right behind the hammock and mine is resting against his body, his head is lightly resting on top of mine.
My heartbeat increases because of our closeness and I feel all of myself getting hotter by his body close to mine. I dare not move, afraid of breaking this moment between us.
While I’m losing all of my composure and trying not to make it obvious, he keeps talking :
“It’s been some time now since they’ve been constantly telling me that something will last forever. What’s funny is that they always express it when you’re around, or when I spend a lot of time by your side.”
I am frozen, I am drinking his words not daring to meet his gaze. I’d rather let myself focus on the stars in front of me to give me any sense of control over the situation and my emotions.
“I don’t know if it’s a coincidence or if they’re trying to tell me something but what’s sure is that…” he stops and tightens his grip around my shoulders making me shiver from head to toes. “I will stay by your side forever.”
The only thing we can hear after this confession is the sound of lyrics from the song that keeps on filling the place.
But I promise you this, I’ll always look out for you.
I dare a small look toward him as I lean my head backward to see him right above me.
My heart is yours, it’s you that I hold on to.
The lyrics take on a whole different meaning in my mind while I’m losing myself in Nao’s eyes but even more in my feelings for him.
And I know, I was wrong, but I won’t let you down.
He tenderly smiles at me, still keeping me close in his arms. I gently smile back to him, feeling my stomach erupting with butterflies and warmness.
Sometimes, words are not necessary to express what you are feeling. And I think that right now, our eyes speak for us.
Nao lets his face softly slide against mine as he whispers to me : “Look” pointing at the starry sky. I follow the direction and discover little sparkling lights crossing the sky quickly.
“Oh ? These are shooting stars, right ? I had never seen one before ! “ I tell him, dazed. “But… is it normal to see this much at once ?”
I feel two slender arms sliding around my waist to back hug me. Nao lets his chin rest on my shoulder while nestling his head in my neck. His hair caresses my right cheek while he whispers in my ear :
I blush. This pleasant closeness, his comforting voice, the sight given to us by the shooting stars and the melody accentuating the beauty of the moment… all of it overwhelms me but makes me so delighted at the same time. I rest my hands on his and intertwine our fingers together above my stomach to show him that I enjoy this kind of affection between us. We stare at the scenery in front of us in silence, relishing this sweet moment together.
After a few minutes spent observing the meteor shower, I break the silence that settled between us :
“Glad you like it. I didn’t put all this effort in vain…”
I feel his lips stretch into a teasing smile against my cheek. Confused, I turn my head in his direction.
“You did all of this for me ?”
“Who else could I have done it for ?”
Without hesitation, I completely turn to face him, disturbing the stability of our hammock which surprises Nao who opens his eyes widely for a second. I don’t pay attention to his reaction. I finally wrap my arms around his waist to hold him close against me, stabilising him from his unsteadiness at the same time.
I deeply breathe his familiar scent while tightening my grip around him as much as I can. Even if I can’t see his face, I can picture his confused look following my sudden outburst of affection. It may be nothing for him, or for anyone else, but for me it means a lot. Nothing will ever be enough to make him understand my gratitude but I still need to tell him :
I hear him sighing softly against my shoulder making me realise that a tender smile has appeared on his face. Then, he hugs me back not without forgetting to plant a gentle kiss on my shoulder.
I feel his lips moving up, brushing against my skin as I feel another kiss, ever so tender, on my neck. Goosebumps spread all over my body as I hold my breath. His lips never stop their move as they go up against my left cheek lightly pecking it, making me close my eyes in anticipation. I feel him smile against my burning cheek and move to the other side of my face planting a soft peck on the right cheek as well. I feel all of my body heating up from shyness but also eagerness. I want more. He tenderly places his forehead against mine, and I feel his breath on my lips only centimetres apart from his. He gently whispers :
He slowly moves forward until his lips brush mine and finally end up in a soft kiss lasting for only a few seconds. I open my eyes to look at him, and see him smiling at me. Not wanting this moment to end, I sneak my arms around his neck and pull him back into a deep and loving kiss. I feel his hands grabbing both sides of my face as he responds to my kiss with the same passion. We are pouring all of our feelings for each other in this embrace.
We pull away just a little, both out of breath, staring at each other. For a moment we remain at a loss for words, just savouring this magical moment. As I was going to speak, I feel Nao brushing his nose against mine before planting a delicate kiss on my lips. All of my face suddenly gets hotter as I furiously blush. Suddenly feeling shy again, I nuzzle my face against his chest while he hugs me tightly.
With rosy cheeks, I softly murmur :
“I could stay here, with you, all night… if only time could stop for a while.”
He giggles against me, placing a sweet kiss on my temple before answering :
“I hope so because it’s my turn to keep you awake all night…”
