Epilogue 2

Epilogue: Katenai Aite Chapter 2 (NSFW)

February 13, 2023suzurantranslations

The sheets he had just laid down this morning for Chihiro were damp with sweat. The squeaking of the bed springs settled down and only their rough breathing could be heard. Mukai languidly laid on top of the limp Chihiro. He was still deep inside him.

Chihiro opened his eyes slightly. His eyes were blurred, still lingering in the memory of the pleasure he just felt. Overflowing with love, Mukai gently wiped his wet eyelashes with his fingertips.

“Sorry, am I heavy?” He didn’t want to separate from Chihiro yet.

Unable to distribute his weight properly, he continued to lay on top and whispered the question in Chihiro’s ear. Chihiro gave a small shake of his head. His wet hair was sticking to his sweaty forehead.

“You’re a bit heavy, but I’ll forgive you.” Chihiro let out a giggle and patted him on the back.

Mukai kissed him lightly, first on the lips, and then his cheeks and forehead. Chihiro looked at him directly. He urged Mukai with his eyes, and this time, Mukai gave him a proper kiss.

“━━Shinya?”

“Sorry.”

Kissing made him want to start again. He was still inside Chihiro, and noticing the change, Chihiro blinked in surprise. Mukai was embarrassed, feeling like he’d gone back to being a teenager who just learned to have sex, but he wanted it.

“I want to do it again. Can we?”

At his frank question, Chihiro’s ears turned red.

“Wait just a little bit.”

“Okay.”

There were still small spasms inside. Mukai knew that if they were to continue before they stopped, it would be hard on Chihiro. And that was exactly where he was different from his teenage self; he could endure it.

“You’re amazing, Shinya.” Chihiro said in an embarrassed tone as he brushed aside his damp hair.

“It’s ‘cause we haven’t been able to meet up.” Mukai took Chihiro’s hand and pressed a kiss to his fingertips.

They talked every day, but ten days had passed since they saw each other face to face. As working adults, it was normal that there would be times when they couldn’t meet for almost a month, but they had just started dating, and furthermore, Chihiro was the man he’d had a one-sided crush on this whole time.

As Mukai licked Chihiro’s wet lips, Chihiro poked out his tongue and reciprocated. Naturally, he had gotten skilled at kissing. It was a bit pointless to think of the girls Chihiro had been with in the past, but he still felt jealous, and his kisses became more persistent.

“Can I?”

“Mhm.”

He kissed his fingertips and cheek and was gradually getting hard again. He briefly separated from Chihiro, replaced the used condom with a new one, and pressed down on him once more.

“I can match my summer vacation with yours, so do you want to go on a trip somewhere?”

Doing it a second time, they could take it much slower. He liked it like this too; talking comfortably while sharing in each other’s pleasure.

“Mmn, sounds good. Where should we go?”

“A client told me about an auberge in Yamanashi.”

As Chihiro became more pliant and loose, Mukai entered carefully. Chihiro’s hips lifted slightly, adjusting the angle. A moan leaked out and his eyebrows scrunched in discomfort. Precisely because of his delicate face, his reactions were all the more irresistible.

“It seems like it’s run by someone who came back from overseas and then worked as a sous chef at a restaurant in Ginza.” Chihiro seemed close to drifting away into a trance again, so Mukai distracted him with conversation.

“Aah, I hear, about that kind of stuff… a lot….recently.” As he started a slow rhythm, Chihiro also started panting. “Once you’re well-known in Tokyo, the customers will flock to you. But, isn’t it expensive?”

“Depends on the wine.”

“Uwah, scary.”

While laughing, Chihiro searched for his hands and intertwined them. From finger to finger, they caressed each other, kissed each other.

“━━ngh, …. mn” Chihiro’s breathing sped up gradually and his eyes lost focus.

“Chihiro,” Mukai could feel small spasms beginning inside.

“Ah…, uuh”

When he groped Chihiro’s hardened length, he squeezed his eyes shut. His eyebrows scrunched in pain, his partly opened wet lips, everything about him was seductive. Above all, Mukai was in a daze from the pleasure of the tight hot pressure around him.

“Chihiro━━, Chihiro” He suddenly doubted whether this was all real and not just happening in his dreams. He had done this so many times in his mind, and because of that, he became anxious and called his name. “Chihiro”

“━━love you, …, Shinya” Chihiro’s lips moved and he heard a hoarse voice in his ear.

Chihiro had never said anything like this in his daydreams. Because it would be so absurd, his excitement would immediately fade. Despite this, the real Chihiro truly did whisper it in his small, hoarse voice.

“I love you.”

It was unbelievable. But it was real.

The happiness that surged up in him entwined with his pleasure, and he grabbed Chihiro’s hand tightly. Chihiro opened his eyes faintly. Tears were gathering on his long eyelashes.

“I love you, too.”

“Mn.”

He smiled and was drawn into the rhythm. Little by little, he learned his partner’s habits and preferences, and right when Chihiro was begging for a kiss, his body reacted on its own.

“Are you close?”

“Mhm——, almost…Ah…”

Chihiro’s body convulsed, and he closed his eyes tightly again. With no more time to tease him, Mukai devotedly followed along.

♥♡♥♡

While listening to the sound of Chihiro using the shower, Mukai opened the fridge. They had work tomorrow, so it was about time for him to drop Chihiro off at his home. But he was bound to be thirsty. He placed a bottle of carbonated mineral water and a glass on a tray and cut up a lemon to add to the tray. Mukai was careful to never run out of Chihiro’s favorite Italian-produced lightly carbonated water. He found it enjoyable to pay careful attention to all these small details.

A month had passed since he and Chihiro had become unexpected lovers, but because they were both busy with work, this was only the third day that they had been able to slowly spend time together.

Today they had gone on a drive to a restaurant with a beautiful view and savored their meal from evening to night. Thanks to his work, Mukai had no problem finding the best restaurants.

The location at the top of the mountain was beyond comparison, and they were able to enjoy a panorama-like view of the evening sky changing colors moment by moment, like a gradient.

Whenever they were on a date, he was extra careful about smoothly ending the date without having to worry about other people’s gaze, and so he had reserved a private room today as well. Chihiro was surprised and had asked why, but he ended up finding an excuse about how the private rooms at this restaurant were almost never available.

Their meal was a Chinese course, and since he was driving, he ordered himself tea, while he recommended the wine to Chihiro. Despite apologizing for being the only one that could drink the wine, Chihiro enjoyed the gourmet food at his leisure. That was another part of Chihiro that Mukai loved so much.

A lover he could pamper was the best.

“Shinya, can I use this towel?” Chihiro’s voice sounded from the bathroom.

“Ah, yeah use that one.”

The towel he had placed down for Chihiro to use was from a shop he really liked. Furthermore, he had secretly gotten Chihiro’s initials embroidered on it. Not even aware that the towel was bought for his personal use, Chihiro commented on the pleasant feel of the towel as he came out of the bathroom, drying his hair with it.

“It’s already so late?”

“I’ll drive you home.”

“Thank you, as always.” As Mukai poured some carbonated water into the glass on the tray, Chihiro thanked him for both driving him and the water. Chihiro squeezed a little bit of lemon and drank the water with gusto.

“I’ll go get changed then.” Chihiro, in just his underwear, disappeared into the room.

Mukai casually glanced at his phone that he had placed on the counter and noticed that he had a new message. It seemed like a call from a restaurant, and upon closer inspection, it was from a friend that was a regular customer at the gay bar.

“What’s up?”

“It’s about Isaki…” While he texted back and forth, Chihiro had finished getting ready and came out of the room. “It seems he drank too much and passed out.”

It was fun to drink at a bar where you can let loose, but when you’re depressed, it can go either way. In the end, you have to depend on others and end up causing trouble for them.

“Ah, if that’s the case, I can take the train. You’re gonna go pick him up, right?”

“It’s fine, it’s on the way. I’ll drop you off and then pick him up on the way back.” He wasn’t really bothered by having to drive, and plus, he wanted to spend more time together with Chihiro. Even so, the fact that Isaki, who was a strong drinker, passed out meant that something had happened, and it was quite bad.

Sure enough, after dropping Chihiro off and heading towards the bar, Isaki, sleeping in the box-seat, looked battered. Dragging him into the car took quite the effort, and even after they arrived at his place, he was impossible to wake up. Mukai had to half-drag him all the way to his place.

“Get a hold of yourself, idiot.”

“Mn? Hmmm?”

“Here, open up.”

At times like this, finger-print recognition was really useful. Mukai grabbed his hand to open the doors to the entrance of the building and his front door, and somehow, he managed to carry Isaki to his room.

“You want some water?”

“Uhh….I feel sick…might puke..”

“Hold on!”

Familiar with his place, while Isaki was rolling around on the bed, Mukai ran to get some water and towels.

“Do you still feel like throwing up?” He first spread out a towel near Isaki’s head and wrapped a big bowl in a plastic bag, ready to be used if he vomited. “Here, drink water.”

“Ughh….” Isaki sat up, staggering a little, took the water bottle and placed the bowl on his lap.

“Are you alright?”

“Ahh, …ah…what, oh it’s you, Shinya?” He took a gulp of water and blinked.

“What do you mean what?” He could tell that Isaki had confused him for someone else for a moment and was disappointed. “You upset it’s me?”

He didn’t need to ask to know who Isaki had confused him with.

“Sorry, did I pass out?”

“I came to Kimura-san’s to pick you up. You don’t remember anything at all?”

“Ooh, that’s right, I went to Kimura-san’s to drink.” Isaki held his forehead and looked down.

The sheets on his bed were a mess and his pillow had fallen on the floor. There were other things fallen on the floor, and the unventilated bedroom was rich with the aftermath of sex. He could guess why Isaki was in such a miserable mood. The man who hastily came to fuck him and then run on home had a family.

“You…”

“Hm?”

He wanted to say that it was precisely because he was dating a married man, but something like that, Isaki himself knew it all too well.

“Make sure you properly apologize later. Misu-san and Hara-san, you caused quite a lot of trouble over there.”

“Uwah, for real?? I don’t remember anything.”

Isaki desperately drank the water in big gulps and then wiped his mouth. There were red marks on his neck. It seems that he had talked about breaking it off many times, but ultimately, it always ended up with Isaki smiling in a self-deprecating manner and saying that it was because their bodies were compatible.

“Aah ah~” Isaki handed the water bottle back to Mukai and flopped back down onto the bed.

“You feeling okay now?”

“Mhm. Sorry.”

“Just lock up after me, okay?”

Isaki agreed in a lively voice and said he’d be all good after sleeping it off. As Mukai was headed towards the guest parking lot, his phone started ringing. It was Chihiro.

“Thanks for today. Is Isaki-san alright?”

“He was drunk and I just dropped him off.”

“Thanks for your hard work.”

“Chihiro as well.”

“Not that I did anything. Today was super fun. Thank you for the meal. Next time I’ll treat you, okay?”

Chihiro was worrying about the restaurant bill, but since Mukai had made the reservation without asking, it was his treat. Chihiro’s ‘next time’ made him extremely happy though.

After exchanging goodbyes and saying goodnight, he put his phone in his pocket and got into his car. Turning on the engine, Mukai took a deep breath. Just a little while ago, Chihiro was sitting in the seat next to him. He didn’t know how long he would be together with him.

Backing out of the parking lot slowly, Mukai looked up at the top floor of the apartment building. He wasn’t sure which window was Isaki’s, but remembering that stagnant atmosphere of his bedroom made him feel lonely.

If Chihiro left him, he would probably also fall into ruin the same way. He had wanted to criticize Isaki for dating a married man, but he was the same. Straight men will inevitably choose women. That was the way of the world.