Page 32 of The Arrival
“That is true, but there will be time for us.” Haruka feels sure of it, somehow. They will make a way, because their connection is too strong to be denied. Too profound to cast aside or neglect. Eventually, they will come together again like magnets. Like two comets soaring on the same trajectory and fated to collide.
“We’ll see,” Nino says, his gaze affectionate. He lifts a hand to cup and hold Haruka’s face. “I’m just saying there may not be a lot of free time for experimentation like we’ve had for the past two years.”
Nino’s palm against his face makes Haruka’s heart pulse. He closes his eyes, leaning into the sanctuary of it. “Hm, I suppose I’ll have fewer opportunities to whisk you away to my rain-soaked garden of enchanted pseudo-mind sex.”
“Are you making fun of me right now?”
Haruka laughs. “No. I just find it… strange. Did it happen this time?”
“No. But I was yelling at you, so I was a little distracted.”
“Another time, then.”
Nino surprises him when he slips his knee in between Haruka’s legs to part them. He climbs over his leg, settling himself in the gap of Haruka’s thighs and at his groin. Compliant, Haruka lifts both of his knees, setting his feet flat against the bed to cradle him.
His mate bends down so that their noses are touching once more. “You’re being a smartass.”
“I am not.” The thrill and closeness of Nino buzzes across the length of his body. He caresses his hands down Nino’s sides, following the delicious line of his hips to the plush curve of his ass. Opening and releasing his nature this way… It stirs him. It makes him insatiable, and already, he wants Nino again. Or to be had this time.
Something. Anything.
He’s considering. Building his nerve to express as much. But Nino’s voice interrupts his thoughts. “Do you want to read me?”
Blinking, Haruka slides his hands up, placing his palms at the small of Nino’s back. “Yes, always. If you’re comfortable?”
“I want you to,” he says. “It’s important.” Nino rests their foreheads together and Haruka closes his eyes. Immediately, the wall he usually senses in his mate’s mind is lifted, and his own consciousness flows inside—like a guest stepping into a cozy and welcoming space.
Nino’s mind feels different than usual. He is always contented at the forefront—however, Haruka knows that his mate’s troubles typically reside deeper. Dark, muddy corners of doubt or insecurity. Inadequacy and fear, particularly surrounding the topic of becoming a father. Of expanding their family together.
When Haruka searches now, though, those corners aren’t quite as murky. Not completely cleared but not stress-inducing either. It is difficult for him to describe, but everything feels… lighter? More confident?
Haruka opens his eyes, his heart skipping a beat. “You’re ready.”
“Yes.” Nino grins, his expression ironically childlike in its sincerity. “I am. I… I know I can do this.Wecan do this. We’ll be okay.”
“We will be much more than okay.” Haruka lifts his head from the pillow, pushing into Nino’s mouth and wanting him more than he’s ever wanted anything. The relief within him wells up, making his throat tighten in a sudden and unexpected rush of emotion.
They kiss, passionately. Lovingly and soft. But a moment later, Nino breaks the affection to stare into Haruka’s face. He uses his thumb to wipe the wetness from the corner of Haruka’s eyes. “Tesoro, don’t cry. If you cry, I’ll cry, and it’ll just be a big mess.”
Haruka reaches up to wipe his own face. “I’m sorry. But… you wereverystressed about this, and I worried that I had put pressure on you to do this when—”
“No. You never pressured me. Not once. I want this with you, I was just… scared. Overthinking? I’m still nervous, but I think that’s natural. Talking to G earlier today really helped. And then sitting with my father a little while ago… He apologized to me, Haru.”
“Domenico did?”
Nino nods. “He’s never done anything like that—shown vulnerability with me. He’s always very kind when we sit and talk, but it always feels like I’m talking to a nice stranger. Obviously, I’ve known him all my life, but he’s more like this abstract figure to me—father by title but nothing more. Nothing deeper or meaningful. But he apologized to me today for being so absent in my life. He said that he wants to learn how to be a better support to me, and he wants to tell me stories about Mom, and for me to call him with updates about the baby… It was a good conversation.”
When Haruka exhales, it’s as if a heavy weight has dissolved and floated from its resting place atop his chest. Disintegrated and vanished into the atmosphere. “I’m so glad. When the baby is old enough, we should bring them here to meet him.”
Grinning, Nino flops onto his back beside Haruka. The movement is playful, but the opposite of what Haruka wants at this moment. “Speaking of,” Nino says, gazing up at the high-beamed ceiling, “should we start talking about names?”
Haruka turns his head against the pillow to view his mate. “Do you already have something in mind?”
“Yeah, I was thinking… if it’s a girl, I’d like to name her after my mother or yours—two ferocious women, right? What do you think?”
“Well, in my clan, we typically do not give children the exact name of any of their ancestors. We would need to alter the name, slightly, to pay homage.”
Nino’s face is flat. “Really? Why?”
