Page 1 of Patience
Chapter1
Haruka
Haruka was in his own personal hell.
It was his second trip home with Eli. He wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting, but it
certainly hadn’t been torture.
Eli loved so many things about Japanese culture, and Haruka wanted to indulge him in any way he could, so when he’d asked if they could visit an onsen—or hot spring—it had been a no-brainer. He had his assistant make all the necessary arrangements so they could visit Kusatsu the next day.
It was a premier onsen town with countless things to do. Eli would love every single one, and Haruka would love watching Eli’s childlike joy while he experienced them.
Their suite was first class in every way—it even had its own private bath with water piped in from the resort’s natural hot spring.
Haruka had assumed Eli would be more comfortable bathing in privacy.
He’d been wrong.
Eli had barely glanced at their suite before dragging Haruka down to the communal baths. He hadn’t realized his boyfriend’s intent until he’d begun stripping down—in Haruka’s defense, he’d honestly thought Eli only wanted to check out the facilities.
Sure,it was trueEli had grown less timid in public, but he still couldn’t tolerate being touched by anyone other than Haruka. So, what in the ever-loving fuck was happening right now?
“Eli!” Haruka jumped to shield the boy from view just as he started to pull down his boxers.
Eli laughed. “Come on, Haruka. It’s just a bunch of grandpas here. Nobody is going to look.”
Had Haruka stepped into an alternate dimension? After meeting two gods last fall, he’d thought there was very little the universe could throw at him that would surprise him.
Apparently, he’d been wrong.
“You should see your face right now.” Eli patted Haruka’s cheek. “If phones were allowed in here, I’d take a picture.”
“. . .”
Eli wrapped a towel around himself and headed toward the shower area. “You should get changed too if you’re coming.”
Was this what going insane felt like?
Haruka changed out of his clothes and into his own towel in record time. He supported Eli’s personal autonomy—mostly—but he’d be damned if Eli was going to be naked around strangers without Haruka.
When he reached the shower area, Eli was merrily scrubbing away, seemingly without a care in the world. They were alone in the room, but Haruka was still on edge. If someone came in the room and so much as looked at Eli, he wasn’t entirely certain he’d be able to stop himself from punching them.
“I don’t think this is the best idea, Eli,” Haruka said after coming up with—and discarding—several other sentences like,what the fuck is happening right now?orwhere the fuck did your body modesty go, and can it come back now, please?
“Are you kidding me? If you think I’m going to spend my first trip to an onsen hiding in our suite, you can forget it. Besides, it’s going to be super steamy out there, no one is going to see anything.” Eli finished showering and wrapped his towel back around him. It didn’t escape Haruka’s notice that the towel was pulled up all the way to the boy’s armpits, and that he was clutching it like it was about to be ripped off him.
Haruka relaxed a little. Eli was still Eli.
Haruka was going to be a supportive boyfriend.
“What changed?” That didn’t mean he couldn’t ask questions.
“Well, I mean, we’re in Japan, right? Benzaiten-sama said we’d be safe from Helios here . . . and I just figured I wouldn’t be catnip for perverts anymore, you know. Plus, you’re here, so I know I’ll be okay.” Eli gave him the sunshine smile Haruka lived for. It was Haruka’s biggest weakness.
He could deal with this. He could deal with Eli in a towel. It wasn’t like he was going to whip it off and jump into the spring.
He was a supportive boyfriend.
