Page 2 of Patience
He could do this one thing for Eli.
Eli trusted Haruka to keep him safe. That thought alone was enough to put a bounce in his step as they walked out to the open-air hot spring.
Eli whipped off his towel and jumped into the spring.
Haruka didn’t mean to do it. He might have even been able to stop himself if he hadn’t seen a young, blond foreigner take note of Eli the second he entered the water.
“Nope.” He was moving before he even realized it.
“Hey!” Eli yelped as he was plucked out of the water and bundled back into his towel.
Eli proceeded to complain loudly as he was dragged back through the shower room and stuffed unceremoniously into his clothes. His protests quieted significantly as Haruka force-marched him down the hallway to their room, but they were no less vicious.
The boy had a mouth on him.
Eli—mostly—allowed Haruka to manhandle him up until they reached their room, but once Haruka had the door open, he dug in his heels.
“I wasn’t done yet!”
Haruka stripped Eli, swept him off his feet, and carried him through the main living area. He opened the door leading to their private garden and deposited Eli into the steaming water of the rock-lined pool they had all to themselves. “Here. Now you can finish.”
“You don’t get to lock me away whenever you feel like it,” Eli said grouchily.
“Unless I talk to you about it.” Haruka reminded him. “This is me talking about it. And I’m not locking you up. I’m just not letting you be naked in public. There’s a difference.”
Eli narrowed his eyes but kept quiet, waiting for Haruka to continue.
“You might be magically comfortable getting naked in front of people now, but I’m not ready to be charged with manslaughter.”
Eli made a littlehmphsound, crossed his arms, and turned his back on Haruka.
“Would you like it if people were looking at me?”
Haruka felt the energy shift around Eli. It was subtle, but he could tell he’d made his point. Eli wouldn’t admit to it, but Haruka had read jealousy and possession in his boyfriend’s thoughts too many times to believe otherwise.
“Fine,” Eli said, then turned around and rested his back against a smooth, large rock. “But I’m not doing that thing you like tonight.”
Chapter2
Haruka
Eli had kept his word and didn’t do the thing Haruka liked. In fact, he didn’t do any of the things Haruka liked that evening. He wouldn’t even let Haruka touch him the entire time they were in the hot spring.
He did, however, consent to cuddles when they went to bed.
It was a start.
Haruka’s evening was not going as planned. At this point, he’d fully expected to be balls-deep inside Eli while the boy was flushed, pink, and writhing underneath him.
But he wasn’t bending on this. Eli was his. No one else got to see him naked. That belonged only to Haruka.
Eli would understand. Haruka simply needed to be patient.
* * *
The next morning was more promising. Eli seemed to have forgotten about the public bath incident when he woke up. His mind was sleepy but happy as he lay wrapped around Haruka.
Haruka sent a wordless good morning to Eli and filled it with as much love as he could, hoping it would be enough to smooth over any lingering resentment from last night.
