Eye to Eye

#2 For Safety

"It's okay, I can do the dishes later. You already took over the cooking part."

"Fine..."

You feigned defeat, but stood up to hand Kohaku the dirty dishes anyway. There was no way you could sit around uselessly while he let you stay at his house for free. Granted, he did invite you and not the other way around, but you still felt obligated to give back some of that kindness.

The water in the sink gradually turned into a mushy brown mass and you almost didn't notice you were already finished with the task until Kohaku started talking again.

"Uh, so... about where you'll be sleeping."

Was it really that late already? You faintly remember turning on the lights when the sun dissapeared behind the horizon and a small glance at your phone informed you that it was indeed creeping closer to your usual bedtime.

"I didn't really expect to have someone sleep over so you can take the bed, I'll be on the couch."

He continued, seemingly antsy over something. You knew him to act that way when he didn't really mean what he said. The couch you sat on earlier was way too small for an adult to sleep on comfortably and both of you knew that. You also knew that Kohaku couldn't possibly ask for the bed himself, not as a host and not as a man.

"Absolutely not, you'll end up sore and that'll influence your performance tomorrow. I can afford to be a little sore now that most things are taken care of."

At this, Kohaku let his gaze drop to the floor.

"If you don't get enough sleep you'll pass out at work again..."

He didn't have to continue his statement, you remember the lecture he gave you that led to this situation in the first place. Him worrying over you would cause more problems than just a few sore muscles.

"We kind of both need the bed then, huh? We should just use it together."

A giggle should have marked this as an obvious joke, but Kohakus silence that followed made your heart drop. He considered it. And now you did, too. His gaze was still turned away from you, but you could tell that it was less out of worry and more out of embarrassment, the same cause for the red creeping up your own face.

"I... I mean... for safety reasons?"

He joked back at you, eliciting a laugh from both sides. Both of you ignored the voices of reason screaming in your heads, begging you to find another solution, but it was already settled. You would be sleeping in the same bed as your idol talent, a person you look up to, a friend. Somehow it made you more nervous than it should, you were just two adults hiding from the scary world outside together. Yet, it felt so intimate just casually sharing a living space despite the reason for your stay.

A shared smile set the both of you in motion again after standing awkwardly in the kitchen. Leading you into his bedroom, you found your suitcase laying neatly at the foot of the bed. You opened it to grab your pajamas and toothbrush, then quickly closed it again realizing that your underwear was inconveniently stashed on top of the pile. How embarrassing.

"Uhm... where do I change?"

You tried to divert the attention from it but you could tell by the way Kohaku was avoiding eye contact that he very much saw everything there was to see. Both of you just kept shattering walls of privacy and you didn't know if you could take any more of it in one day.

"You can use the bathroom, it has a lock. I'll be here and be quick. Just let me grab my toothbrush first."

Before you could respond, he was already out the door, toothbrush in hand, gesturing you into the small room. You obliged, not feeling confident enough to tease him about being flustered even though you would have loved to see his nose scrunch up in embarrassment. The door locked behind you in a swift motion. For the first time today, you were alone.