Glancing in the hallway mirror, Shintaro picked a white dog hair off the lapel of his tuxedo jacket, and another from his sleeve; souvenirs from hugging Shelly goodnight before leaving home.
Behind him, Juri grunted in frustration. Shintaro looked up and followed Juri's fight with his bow tie through the mirror. The deep red bow tie was a visible spot of color with Juri's black tuxedo and white shirt. A smile tugged at the corner of Shintaro's mouth. He was glad Juri had followed his instructions to wear something fancy for their Christmas dinner despite his notorious indifference towards any piece of clothing that wasn't a white t-shirt. Juri always looked good when he wore a basic suit, but the tuxedo brought a whole new level of class to the outfit. He had also combed his long hair back into a neat little bun that gave Shintaro conflicting feelings.
On one hand the bun looked so good, Shintaro wanted to just look at Juri, admiring his sharp features and the shiny silkiness of his hair. On the other hand though, the mere sight of the bun made him want to pull the hair tie off and watch the loose hair fall on Juri's face, to tangle his fingers into Juri's hair, and to find out if Juri liked to have his hair gently tugged. And if he did, what he would look like. Maybe he'd close his eyes and tilt his head in compliance with the tug. Maybe he would lean against Shintaro, and ask for more.
Juri pulled the bow tie open again with an annoyed huff.
Shintaro swallowed. Clenching his hands, he turned around with a smile that hopefully reflected kindness and sympathy rather than weirdly lustful daydreams.
"Need help?"
"I know how to do this!" Juri insisted, but he let his hands fall to his sides and turned towards Shintaro.
"I know you do," Shintaro hummed as he stepped in front of Juri and took the loose ends of the bow tie in his hands. He folded then over a couple times and shook his head. "I can't tie it like this. Turn around."
Shintaro reached his arms around Juri's shoulders as if hugging him from behind, picking up the ends of the bow tie again. Juri gasped, probably out of surprise. Shintaro narrowed his eyes in concentration, careful to only stare at his fingers when he twisted and turned the bow tie. But even though he wasn't looking into Juri's eyes, he could tell that Juri was looking at him through the mirror, not at the bow tie.
"There," Shintaro said when a pretty bow finally decorated Juri's neck.
"Thanks," Juri mumbled and turned his back to Shintaro, quickly grabbing his dress shoes from the hall cupboard and sitting on a bench to put them on.
Standing by Juri's side in the elevator and crossing the underground parking hall shoulder to shoulder, Shintaro fiddled with his car keys. He couldn't explain how he knew it, but somehow he was sure something was bothering Juri. He had been quiet ever since Shintaro arrived at his door, but even as they sat in the car and Shintaro started the motor, Juri mostly stared into the space ahead, gnawing on his lower lip.
The silence grew louder every minute as Shintaro contemplated whether he should ask Juri about it or let him be. But just when he decided to ask, Juri awkwardly cleared his throat.
"Are you... Are you sure you wanted to spend the Christmas eve with me?"
Shintaro frowned. Juri wasn't making the remotest sense. "I...what?"
Still not quite looking at him, Juri squirmed in his seat. "You heard me."
Shintaro hit the blinker on and steered them to another lane. It wasn't a long drive and they were almost there. He hesitated, weighing in his mind the chances of the conversation turning uncomfortable anytime soon.
"Yes, I'm sure," he finally said in a deliberately light tone. "Who do you think I'd like to spend the Christmas with? My girlfriend?"
"You're gay," Juri said dryly.
Shintaro opened his eyes as wide as he could and gasped loudly. "Oh dear! How come I simply forgot!"
"Ha ha," Juri scoffed, but there was reluctant amusement on his face. "You know that's not what I meant."
"Well, I am sure. I didn't just invite you because I didn't have another date," Shintaro said firmly, steered the car into a parking garage and started looking for a vacant parking space. "I invited you because I want to be with you tonight.
"Yeah?" Juri said softly. He looked down at his hands again, but this time he was trying and failing to stifle a proper smile. Was Juri even aware of how easy it was to read him?
Shintaro found an empty space and switched off the car - and found out he couldn't quite rip his eyes off Juri's face now that he wasn't driving anymore.
There was a loose strand of hair hanging at Juri's temple. Not accidentally by any means - ever since he started growing his hair, he had been careful to leave that one strand free whenever he tied up the rest. It had brought Shintaro to the brink of madness many times, directing his line of gaze to Juri’s high cheek bones, to his jaw line, to the lips that so often spread wide in a toothy grin whenever they spent time together.
Neither of them was getting out of the car.
Shintaro glanced around in the parking hall. There were several cars parked, but he didn’t see any people around. He opened his mouth but closed it again, realising he didn't know what to say.
He looked at Juri again. Juri peered back at him from under his brow, looking like he was about to say something as well, but also didn’t know how to start. Shintaro’s heartbeat picked up as the gentle silence grew heavier, somehow more meaningful.
His eyes landed on Juri’s slightly parted lips. Juri’s eyes widened, gaze flickering up and down Shintaro's face. Shintaro couldn’t take it anymore. He had to do something.
He raised a hand and pushed the loose strand of hair behind Juri’s ear, fingertips lightly brushing against the shell of the ear and the soft skin under the earlobe. Juri inhaled sharply, and Shintaro quickly pulled his hand away.
“Sorry. Just. You look good,” he murmured, flashing a miserably lame smile. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to molest you.”
He felt ridiculous about his hasty addition. Juri had never been bothered by his gayness for one moment, having gracefully accepted it from the moment Shintaro told him years ago.
“Oh.” Juri blinked several times, his expression falling and shoulders sagging. He looked away, out of the window. The silence in the car turned devastating, unbearable. Juri’s cheeks were an endearing shade of red, but his deflated appearance looked almost like…disappointment?
This time Shintaro’s heart skipped a whole beat, as hope arose despite everything.
“Wait, you…you wanted me to-”
Juri let out a nervous, self-deprecating chuckle. “Never mind about it. I’m just being silly.“
“Can I kiss you?” The words came out suddenly, before Shintaro could properly consider them. Apparently speechless, Juri just stared at him and nodded.
Shintaro didn’t stop to wait for any insecurities or common sense to hit in. Juri had given him permission, so he wasn't going to dawdle about it. Instead, he wrapped one hand behind Juri’s neck and pressed their lips together, pulling Juri as close to him as he could over their seats and kissing him deeply, heatedly, like he had dreadfully long wanted to.
Juri met his movements with equal eagerness, raising his own hand to Shintaro’s shoulder to keep them together even more firmly. He opened his mouth when Shintaro dragged his tongue along his lower lip, and Shintaro's lower belly tingled with excitement when he moved on to nibble on Juri's neck. Juri responded beautifully, tilting his head back, easily allowing Shintaro more room to find all the sensitive spots along his jawline before he suddenly stiffened.
“Shintaro, wait- I,” Juri groaned, panting and grabbing the back of Shintaro’s head to keep him close yet still. “We gotta stop.”
“Yeah,” Shintaro breathed and slumped back to his seat, cheeks burning. He was hard already, his pants uncomfortably tight at the crotch, and a quick glance at Juri’s lap revealed a similar condition. The sight made an impatient heat pool into Shintaro’s belly, and he barked a shaky laugh.
“Gotta call the restaurant and ask them to keep our booking,” he said. “I need a minute before we go.”
Juri’s cheeks were red too, but he grinned. “Me too. And I want several minutes of your time once we go home. Preferably the whole night.”