13. Saving Himself

8.1K 397 12
                                    

After leaving the restaurant, Yukito turned to look at Eiji, "Well, the debt and gratitude had been settled."

Eiji internally panicked. It distinctly sounded like parting words. "Actually..."

Yukito saw the man touched his nape and looked at him apprehensively. "Is something wrong?"

"Just today, I found out that you're a Veterinarian. And..." He didn't know if he should proceed with this before getting Yukio's consent.

"Hmm?" He urged the other party to continue.

"I'm actually here because of a project. It's an animal sanctuary..." He wasn't even finished yet and he could already see Yukito's eyes widened in excitement. "Well... It's not yet finished. So, I'm wondering if... uhm, would it be okay if you see it and you know, share your --" He then retracted his thoughts. "I know your services are always paid so I'm willing to pay for your hours in consultation this time. It's just that, some additional ideas and opinions from a Veterinarian's point of view would be very helpful."

Yukito listened as Eiji rummaged through words and he laughed inside. This man, really, quite amusing. "I would love to go." When he smiled, he saw the other one eased up and grinned happily. "So easy to coax."

He was taken aback when Eiji led him to a parked Bentley Bentayga. He was a man but he wasn't so fond of luxury things like cars. Their family could be considered just a middle class and they all exercised frugality in spending their money. Aside from that, he had been saving all his hard-earned money for his brother's dream.

On their way to the sanctuary, Eiji spoke, "Thank you for agreeing to come. These days, I have been racking my brain to come up with ideas on how to proceed with the project and if there are things that I have overlooked."

"My brother dreamed of putting up a big animal sanctuary. All these years that I have worked, I saved all of my money for that." He turned to look at Eiji with grateful eyes. "So it's actually my pleasure to come with you now. Thank you."

Eiji's grip on the steering wheel tightened as he felt his heart skipped a beat. "Mm."

His response was just a notch above being silent but in his mind, he had already embraced the person beside him and asked him what he could do to ease the pain that was smeared all over those spoken words. Eiji was at loss, how could he heal the wound left by losing someone in death? How can he pull this person out of grief?

Just as he ran out of anything to say, he remembered that he had some snacks at the back. He actually bought it for Yukio during his previous visit here but he forgot to take it with him when he went back to Tokyo. If he remembered it right, it would still be two months before the expiration date. 

"Do you want some snacks? There are some at the back." Remembering how Yukito enjoyed eating, he offered.

Yukito's mood suddenly soared high and his eyes evidently lit up. "Can I really have them?" The anticipation was so clear in his voice.

Eiji smiled, his heart was turned into beating drums again in seeing the other's happy face. He reached out at the back and took a big bag of sweets then placed the bag on Yukito's lap.

Yukito didn't even try to hide his excitement. Since childhood, loving sweets was his constant crime. He immediately opened the bag and saw packs of hakata torimon, ikinari dango, castella and saga nishiki.

 He immediately opened the bag and saw packs of hakata torimon, ikinari dango, castella and saga nishiki

Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The Brave Sacrifice (Omegaverse)Where stories live. Discover now