Chapter 6: Chapter 6

When night came and it was time to sleep, Aoi gave Yanagi his brother's pyjamas for his sleepwear. Their size was almost identical after all.

In the bathroom, Yanagi entered the bathroom and breathed a sigh of relief.

They spent the day doing homework and playing games. He learned many new things about Aoi today and got to see him smile and laugh all day.

Ahh…he wouldn't even mind if he died today.

It felt like a dream.

His heart and mind were so full of Aoi that they were about to burst. It reminded him once again how lucky he was to have fallen in love with Aoi.

Just seeing him, being with him, made him feel like he was floating.

Once he finished, he changed into the clothes Aoi gave him. He glanced at the mirror and frowned seeing himself.

Could someone so scrawny and gloomy be worthy of Aoi?

Did he really deserve Aoi and the happiness he gave him?

Aoi gave him so much and accepted everything about him, but what had he given back or done in return?

Absolutely nothing…

He was being completely spoiled by Aoi…

Aoi looked up from his desk when the door opened to see a depressed Yanagi walking in.

Aoi, "…"

Just what could happen to someone who entered the bath in a good mood caused them to finish their bath depressed??

Aoi decided to not think about it too much and take a bath as well. Since it was Yanagi, he probably got depressed by his own thoughts or something.

He should ask about it after his bath.

Being left by himself again, Yanagi couldn't help but take a look around after drying his hair. He kept in mind not to touch anything and only used his eyes to take everything in.

It was then on Aoi's desk, he found a photo of Aoi and his family at the sea and another photo of him with his brother when he was still little on a picnic.

Aoi took after their mother while his brother took after their father. They all had black hair and brilliant smile. One could see at a glance how harmonious their relationship was.

In the other photo, Aoi seemed to be around 5 or 6 years old. He was wearing a rattan hat that was too big for him, possibly belonging to his mother. He was laughing happily under the sun with his brother squeezing him from behind.

Yanagi almost died from the cuteness.

He quickly grabbed his phone and took pictures of the photos.

"What are you doing?"

Yanagi jumped from the shock, almost throwing his phone away. He turned to Aoi at the door.

"This–I, um…" he became too ashamed to explain. "Something came over me. I-I-I'll delete it right away!"

"It's fine," Aoi walked to Yanagi and put out his hand with his palm up.

Yanagi unhesitantly gave him his phone without any question.

Aoi looked at the picture before swiping to the next. After 5 earlier pictures passed, the sixth picture was still him.

And the seventh, the eighth, the ninth.

When he checked directly into Yanagi's gallery, even the first picture on his phone was still him.

All of them were taken candidly but none of them was bad. Rather, he never saw himself looking so good in a photo.

Was this how Yanagi see him?

Every picture looked like he was glowing.

"How can you only have my photos here? Is this a new phone?"

Yanagi nodded, "Mn…I threw away my old one and got a new one for high school."

"Without transferring your old data?"

"I…I wanted to cut off all ties with everyone and started anew," Yanagi scratched his neck awkwardly.

"Good riddance then," Aoi didn't think it was excessive or ridiculous.

"I-if you want me to delete them, I will…" Yanagi guiltily said. "Don't be mad…"

"I'm not mad," Aoi returned to the camera. "Still, rather than taking my photos sneakily and feeling bad about it, you should just tell me."

He shifted his position and raised the phone to take a swift picture. Looking at the result, he laughed at Yanagi's blank expression and returned the phone to Yanagi.

"That way I can smile for you," Aoi chuckled.

Yanagi could hear the sound of his own heart loudly thumping against his chest. His hand clutched his phone until his knuckles turned white, containing the sheer emotion Aoi was stirring inside him.

"I love you…"

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Hearing the sudden declaration, Aoi stilled in place.

Realizing he said it out loud, Yanagi hurriedly covered his mouth and ran away to the futon.

Because of that, he missed the blush washing over Aoi who turned off the light to hide it.

It was difficult to tell who was more surprised by the slip of the tongue.

As Aoi climbed up his bed, Yanagi remembered that he just went out of bath.

"A-Aoi…it's not good sleeping with your hair wet…" he hesitantly reminded.

"I already dried it halfway, don't worry," Aoi tucked himself in. "I usually let it dry as I sleep like this."

"Eh? Won't you get a headache in the morning?" Yanagi was surprised.

"Hmm…not really? Maybe because I'm used to it," Aoi turned towards Yanagi. "I also don't get sick even after playing in the rain. It's like I built an immunity towards it."

"You're so tough…" Yanagi said in awe.

"Pft! Which part? I'm just lazy," Aoi laughed. "Go to sleep, it's already late. Good night, Yanagi."

Yanagi lay down and faced Aoi, "Good night, Aoi."

Aoi looked at Yanagi's silhouette for a while and closed his eyes.

Yanagi listened to the ticking of the clock and Aoi's breathing that gradually evened. Even after closing his eyes for more than two hours, he couldn't sleep.

How could he, when Aoi was right next to him?

Grabbing his phone, he saw that it was already long past midnight.

It would've been great if the day could last forever.

He silently sat up and shifted closer to the bed. Aoi was sound asleep, not tossing and turning at all. It made him wonder whether he was dreaming or not.

If he kept eating carrots, would his eyes be good enough to see in the dark? He wanted to see Aoi's sleeping face.

"Aoi," Yanagi slowly rested his head on the edge of the bed, "I promise…I promise I will fix myself."

He reached out his hand only to touch the corner of Aoi's pillow, not willing to disturb his sleep.

"I will be someone you can be proud of. I will be someone you can lean on. I will be someone you can rely on," Yanagi solemnly vowed as closed his eyes. "I promise I will make you happy. For as long as you let me."

"…"

In the darkness, Aoi's ears were tinted in red.

The next morning, Aoi woke up and found Yanagi wasn't inside. His futon was already neatly folded with the pillow placed above it.

Remembering Yanagi's words last night, his chest felt warm.

He got up from his bed and walked to the desk. Slipped behind his family picture was a small black cube camera.

Stopping the recording, he turned it off and took out the memory card.

The door was knocked and Yanagi slowly entered wearing an apron, "Aoi, are you awake?"

Aoi turned to him, "Mn. Did you help mom cook breakfast?"

"I got up early, so I thought might as well," Yanagi scratched his neck sheepishly. He then noticed the camera on Aoi's desk and halted, "Aoi, that…?"

Aoi put the memory card into its case and give it to Yanagi, "Evidence."

"E-e-evidence…?" Yanagi couldn't understand.

"That you're a good person," Aoi squeezed Yanagi's fingers close. "And I'm not the kind of person you think I am."

Yanagi, "…"

Aoi yawned and walked away, "Come on. Let's have breakfast."

Yanagi stared at the memory card in his hand for a long while. His fist clenched and he went to put it inside Aoi's desk drawer along with his camera before catching up with Aoi to the dining room.

At breakfast, he met Aoi's father. Because last night he came home late, he could only introduce himself now.

Quite the opposite of Aoi's mother, Aoi's father's impression was very stern and disciplined. He looked younger than his actual age though some of his hair was indeed greying.

Still, he was as nice as Aoi's mother though just relatively quieter.

When Aoi and his mother left to wash the dishes, he spoke after a short moment of silence.

"Yanagi-kun, I'll be troubling you to look after Aoi," he looked at Yanagi in forewarning. "Aoi can be a little…demanding to the people he likes."

Yanagi glanced at Aoi at the sink and replied with a fond smile, "Then, I hope he demands impossible things from me."

Aoi's father looked between the two of them.

It seemed like he didn't need to worry about anything.

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