Vol. 2: Aiden to Haru - Chapter 27

Aiden

Despite the fact that he hadn’t yet had his fill of Haru, Aiden mustered enough willpower to move out of bed. They had a lot to do before their departure at midnight tonight, after all.

Haru was just pulling on his pajama shirt when Aiden took one glance at him and instantly lost his self-control. He leaned down and claimed the boy’s lips, kissing him deeply and passionately. He even plunged in his tongue for good measure. It was only when Haru pushed him back in annoyance that Aiden reluctantly let go.

“I swear if you keep kissing me like that, I’ll faint one day,” Haru said. “Do you really need to squeeze me so tight when we kiss?”

Aiden chuckled. “Do you dislike it?”

Haru blushed and shook his head. “No, not really.”

Aiden grinned. “Then one more.” Before Haru could even protest, he claimed the boy’s lips, and when he was done and shifted back, Haru was breathless and dazed, again.

Aiden stroked the backs of his fingers against Haru’s cheeks as he said, “The look on your face is so erotic. It makes it hard for me to leave you alone.”

Haru wiped his mouth, which was coated with Aiden’s moisture. He said, “You’ve already tired me out, and the day hasn’t even begun yet. What more do you want?”

Aiden laughed. “What happened to your stamina?”

Haru pulled a face at him. “I’m still burned out from studying and the exams, and whoever said I have an endless source of stamina like you? You damn Superman!”

“You’re right,” Aiden said. “You’re still burned out.”

“I’m hungry,” Haru said.

Aiden ruffled the boy’s hair as he said, “Then I’ll prepare breakfast.” And after stealing another kiss from Haru, he left the room.

It didn’t take him long to get breakfast ready, and by then the rest of the brothers had risen from their night slumbers.

“Smells good,” Isaac said as he came into the kitchen, still wearing his pajamas and his honey-blond hair a bed-style mess. “I’m starving.”

“You’re always starving,” Reo said from behind, tousling the boy’s hair, messing it up even more.

Mason, already dressed and well-groomed like Reo, said, “Good morning, everyone.”

“Morning,” Aiden replied brightly as he finished panfrying the last of the bacon.

Isaac gave his big brother a suspicious look and then said, “You sound awfully cheerful, bro. You must have had morning sex with Haru.”

Aiden didn’t care to deny it and chuckled.

“Well, I guess it has been a month. I mean Haru literally banned you from touching him due to the exam period, after all.” He sighed as he sat down. “At least you have Haru and he has you. Us? We have to depend on porn to jerk off our pent-up frustration.”

“Isaac, you’re annoying so early in the morning,” Noah said from the door. The man, also still in his pajamas, yawned as he came into the room and took a seat, along with everyone else. “Why do you always talk about sex before or during mealtime? If you’re so desperate for a girlfriend, just get yourself one, for God’s sake.”

Isaac muttered quietly to himself, “That’s not the point, and who said I want a girlfriend?”

None of the brothers heard him, of course.

When Haru turned up, now dressed in a sweater and jeans and his hair wet from the recent shower, everyone was already digging in. For breakfast, there was a selection of scrambled eggs, toast, bacon, and sausage, along with some side salads.

Haru came to sit on the chair beside Aiden, and then dug right in as well. There wasn’t a lot of chatting, as everyone was in a hurry. Once the meal was over, Isaac rushed off to shower, followed by Mason, who disappeared into his room to pack. Reo and Haru did the dishes while Aiden spent the morning packing and then in the afternoon going through and checking the apartment to ensure everything was good before their departure.

It was around six that evening when Peter and Tina turned up, with Tina insistently ringing the doorbell. Haru let them in, and before the boy could escape, Tina threw her arms around him and hugged him tight. “I’m so going to miss you.”

Haru said, “We’re only going to be away for like three weeks.”

“But it’s going to feel like forever with you not around at the office every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon,” she said. “I will have nothing to look forward to during the week. My world will be so dull. I will have nothing to live for.”

Peter cleared his throat and said teasingly, “What about your husband? I’m sure this husband of yours is sad to hear that his existence doesn’t count in your life.”

Tina finally let Haru go and turned to her husband. “You know I’m only making jokes, right?”

Peter chuckled. “Of course, darling.”

Tina harrumphed and then came into the apartment, with Haru and Peter trailing along behind her.

“Aiden is in the kitchen,” Haru said. “Making dinner. Are you guys joining us?”

“Why not?” Peter jumped at the offer.

“Everyone is busy, I see,” Tina said at the kitchen door a few moments later, which drew Aiden’s attention from his cooking.

The man smiled brightly. “Hey. Didn’t know you two were coming,” he said.

“The wife wanted to stop by,” Peter said. “Damn, that smells good. Pasta?”

Aiden nodded. “Using the last of what we have left.”

“Cleaning up the fridge and pantry,” Tina said. “Good idea. You don’t want to come back and find out the place smells of rotten stuff.”

Aiden nodded.

Reo, who was helping Aiden with the cooking, asked, “You two are joining us, right?”

Peter said, “Damn right we are. Aiden makes some of the best pasta.” He whispered to Reo, “Better than Tina.”

“Oy! I heard that,” Tina said. “And I know I suck at cooking.”

Everyone laughed.

When dinner was cooked and Aiden made his usual calling of “Dinner’s ready,” Noah, Mason, and Isaac turned up.

“I’m starving,” Isaac said. “Oh, hello Tina, Peter. Didn’t know you guys were here.”

“That’s because you always have your headphones on when you’re in your room,” Noah said. “One of these days when you’re alone, you’ll have an intruder in the apartment, and you won’t even notice it.”

Isaac pulled a face. “Stop saying such scary things.”

Everyone settled around the dinner table, with Peter and Tina squeezing in between Mason and Isaac. Meanwhile, Aiden pulled Haru to sit beside him. Then everyone started digging right in. Aiden’s pasta, naturally, was a hit, and dinner was a success.

“Thanks for dinner,” Tina said an hour later. “We’ll leave you guys to finish packing. Have fun in Japan, and don’t forget to post photos on social media.” And then she and Peter were gone.

By eight that evening, the brothers gathered in the hallway, making one final check to ensure they hadn’t forgotten anything, like their itineraries and passports. Their luggage, of course, was with them and ready to go.

Then Connor, Noah’s best buddy, turned up, carrying a backpack. Once Noah let him in, the man greeted cheerfully, “Are we ready for an awesome vacation?”

“Yeah!” Isaac responded immediately. “Definitely. Japan! We’re coming, baby!”

Connor came over and ruffled Isaac’s hair and then pinched his cheek. “You’re lively as usual.”

Isaac rubbed his sore cheek when he managed to remove Connor’s unmerciful hand from his face. “And you’re as mean as usual, you orc.”

Connor cocked his head to one side. “I’m an orc, now, am I?”

“Yeah, you are,” Isaac said.

“How so?”

“Your behavior,” Isaac said. “Listen here, Connor, we’re going on a trip together, so you better be nice to me.”

Connor laughed. “What are you going on about?” He wrapped one arm around Isaac’s neck while rumpling the boy’s hair with his other hand. “I’m always nice to you.”

Isaac started choking. He smacked Connor’s forearm to make the man let him go. “Stop it! Stop it!” the boy shrieked out. “It hurts. It hurts.”

When Connor finally decided to let him go, Isaac ran off to hide behind Haru. “Don’t ever let that man near me. Haru, protect me from the orc.”

Haru said, “You’re old enough to protect yourself.”

Isaac gave Haru a dismayed expression. “You’re abandoning your bro, Haru?”

Noah said, “That’s enough fooling around, Isaac.” He turned to Connor. “You’ve got everything, right?”

Connor nodded. “Yep. All set to go.”

There was a lot of hustle and bustle as everyone headed out the door fifteen minutes later when the taxis arrived. Once Aiden did one final check of the apartment, they were on their way to the airport.

It was half past eleven when they boarded the plane, and despite the late hour, everyone was alert. Aiden ushered Haru to his seat, which was by the window on the right, and then he took his own next to the aisle. Sitting behind them were Reo and Mason, and along the same row in the middle were Noah, Connor, and Isaac.

“You’re in the middle?” Isaac asked Connor, his eyes wide.

Connor raised a brow. “Yeah? And?”

“I thought you were on the other side,” the boy said.

Connor showed Isaac his ticket, which clearly indicated that his seat was in the middle.

Isaac muttered something unpleasant under his breath as he proceeded to settle down.

Aiden, being the big brother and having the habit of watching over his brothers since they had been young, witnessed the amusing scene. Of course, he wasn’t going to breathe a damn word at the fact that Connor had requested Aiden, who had been responsible for booking the flights, to reserve a seat next to Isaac if it was possible. Naturally, Aiden hadn’t thought much about that, until now. Perhaps, just perhaps, Connor liked Isaac, which would explain the silly teasing.

“Oy! Haru, you wanna swap seats?” Isaac’s voice came from across the rows.

Noah said, “Settle down, Isaac; you can’t swap.”

Isaac reluctantly slumped back in his seat. He turned to Connor. “If you disturb me during my sleep, I swear I’m going to bite you.”

Connor chuckled. “What are you? A pup?”

Once he noted that Isaac finally settled down, Aiden turned to Haru and asked, “Comfortable?”

Haru nodded. “As comfortable as can be. It’s economy so the space isn’t great.” He leaned forward and browsed through the monitor screen, which was attached to the back of the seat in front of him. “At least there are a ton of movies to go through. Good for killing time.”

Aiden nodded in agreement.

Once the plane took off and a light meal was served, it wasn’t long before the cabin light was dimmed, and most passengers cuddled up in their small, compact area to have a little snooze. Aiden felt, oddly enough, content even in such an uncomfortable space since he had Haru, who was sound asleep, in his arms, his face snuggled securely against Aiden’s chest. Now and again, he’d kiss the boy on the forehead, the cheek, or the lips, while he watched a movie.

Meanwhile, both Reo and Mason were also asleep, and the same went for Noah. Connor, of course, was watching the half-sleep Isaac shifting about in his seat as he unsuccessfully worked on searching for a comfortable position. He finally settled on leaning against Connor, his head resting on Connor’s shoulder, which made the man chuckle in amusement.

“Should I bite you instead?” the man asked teasingly. “Since you’re the one invading my space.”

Isaac muttered under his breath, “Shut up.”