Dandelions | Yuki Ishikawa

Comfort

Why does it feel like I'm in heaven? Am I dead? Did I miss something? How did I di- Something moved. Alright, maybe I'm not dead. I opened my eyes and I was greeted by a bare chest. What the fuck? I quickly looked up and found Yuki sleeping. How did he-.. wasn't he-.. Shit. Did something happen? I looked under the blanket, I'm still fully dressed. Yuki, on the other hand, was just wearing his underwear. Hmmm... Oh, yeah, his clothes were covered in flour, still... how did he end up on my bed?

I slowly scooted to my side of the bed and basically fell on the floor as I tried to stand up. I quickly looked up to see if he saw that... nope, still sleeping. I made my way to the kitchen to get some water and think... How did he end up sleeping next to me? What did I do last night...? We had tea and I think I fell asleep on the couch. So, I guess he carried me to my bed... then what?

....

Then it clicked... the only reason he'd sleep there is if I asked him... Did I really ask him? My thoughts were interrupted by his voice..

"Good morning"

I looked up from my glass of water to see him walking to the kitchen, yawning and still just in his underwear. I quickly looked away.

"Morning" I replied, "Do you want coffee or anything?" I asked.

"I'm alright, I need to head out as soon as possible though"

"Oh, I see" he's leaving already? It's only 9am...

"Need to prepare for practice this week" he explained.

"Alright, did you check if your clothes are dry?"

"Was just about to check on it"

Yuki was ready to leave in less than an hour, no breakfast since he was in a rush. He's... different from yesterday, he's a bit distant. I wonder if I did or say something.

We were at my door, he just finished putting his shoes on and he just stood there. I just stood there, still in my pyjamas. He smiled, but not his usual bright smile. I just smiled back.

"It's great seeing you, Mio" he said.

"Likewise, have a safe trip back"

He opened the door and my heart just sank. Well, I guess that's that, time to go back to my boring daily routine. I sighed and was about to turn around when I felt his hand on mines. I looked at him and he was looking down at his shoes, finding it a tad bit interesting.

"I had fun yesterday" he started, "I was also wondering if you're free next month... visit Tokyo for a weekend or so"

"huh?"

He looked at me sincerely as I stood there dumbfounded.

"You work remotely right?" he asked.

"Yeah, for now at least"

"I was wondering if you'd like to stay in Tokyo for a while. Just so you're not always by yourself"

"As much as I would love to, I'll have to find an apartment there etc. or maybe Yuji could let me stay"

"You could uhmm... stay with me. I have an extra room"

I looked at him, trying to see if he was serious or not. He looked genuine, no deceit in his eyes. He's asking me to move in with him for a few days?

"I guess, I could do that.. for how long?"

"Hmm... How about for a few months?"

"A few months?"

"Yeah, let's say... March through May? We leave for VNL mid May..."

"That's a little long.. I can't just leave my apartment for months and besides.. what am I going to do there? You have practices and other volleyball related things.. I could stay for a couple of weeks.."