The Tale of a Century \\ SoraMafu

>> Twenty Two <<

"Don't stay up too late, Mafu-kun, we have school tomorrow."

"I know."

Mafu was sitting on Soraru's lap on the edge of the bed. Soraru's arms were wrapped around him from behind to keep him from falling. All the lights in the room were off with the moon as the only source thst gave a ghostly glow. "I wouldn't want you to get too tired tomorrow," Soraru whispered into Mafu's ear.

"What about you?"

"I'm okay, but you have to put in more effort than me in school."

Mafu didn't give an answer to that.

"Are you really okay with school?" Soraru asked again.

Mafu leaned back onto Soraru more. "I'm sure I can catch up," he replied.

"I do, too. You're smart."

There was silence when both didn't know what to say next.

"... Does this mean you're not mad at me anymore?" Soraru asked.

"No, I'm not mad."

Soraru breathed a sigh of relief. "Anyway, we should go to bed. Come on, Mafu-kun," he said.

Mafu climbed off him and rolled over to make room for Soraru to make it to his side of the bed. Soraru crawled to the other side, and pulled the blanket up over both of them. "Goodnight Mafu," Soraru said, then added, "... I love you."

"I love you, too, Soraru-san," Mafu replied.

Although it's what Soraru wanted, for some reason, it hurt knowing he didn't mean it in a way other than brotherly love.

|*|*|

Soraru finished tying the knot in the cloth for Mafu's bento. He pushed it slid it across the table, so it was near the edge, where Mafu wouldn't miss it. Back when Soraru first found out that he would be getting a foster younger brother, he had asked his mom to teach him how to make a bento. It was time to learn that skill anyway, so that time was as good as any.

Soraru heard the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs, and Mafu lumbered in, rubbing his eyes, still half asleep. His bedhead had caused a part of his bangs to stick the side and a few tufts of hair that were out of place. Smiling a little, Soraru slung his bag over his shoulder and patted Mafu's head. "Good morning, Mafu-kun," he said. "Your bento is on the table."

The morning exchange and responsibilities were going to become routine eventually. Mafu mumbled something incoherent and sat down at the table. Soraru got ready to leave. "Bye Mafu-kun," he called from the foyer. "I'll see you later."

He heard Mafu's farewell, and exited the house. A thought floated around his hand, and as he walked, he wondered how he was going to spend the rest of his life with this boy holding back.

--

Double publish today because we hit 1K reads!!!

I opened the app, and I saw the 1K, which I did not expect. We were only at around 950 reads this morning anyway.

I want to thank all of my readers for sticking around for this story. Thank you so so much for reading and enjoying what I write!

See you in the next chapter!