The performance by special guests were held outside. They had converted of their Fifa-sized soccer fields into a concert hall. An outdoor concert tent was set up after 4 hard days of work.
By the time Sato reached the performance area, the whole place was already jammed pack with people. There was barely any space to walk through to get to the front. To make matters worse, his favourite band, The Sirens, had almost finished their song.
Sato had basically missed the whole performance and from where he stood, he wasn't able to see the singer in person.
"Man.." Sato sighed. He sat on the concrete pavements, tired from running across campus.
After 5 minutes of resting on the ground, Sato stood up. There wasn't much of a point for Sato to be around here anymore. His favourite band had finished their one piece and the next singer had started. Although he was regretful for missing out on it, the things that he had done in that time were not.
Sato dusted his pants off when he felt a light tap on his shoulder. Not knowing who it was, Sato turned around to get a shock. "Gray? How come you're here?"
Before Sato could get another word in, Gray took him by the hand and promptly left the venue.
"Where are you taking me?" Sato was slightly worried seeing how Gray acted. He didn't have his usual calm demeanour, but instead, he looked hectic and serious.
After walking into the building that was next to the soccer field, Gray brought Gray into a lecture theatre. It was empty as expected, stuffy from the lack of air conditioning. The door was closed and Gray finally let go of the young man.
"Take off your shirt." Gray said straightforwardly.
"What?"
"I said take off your shirt." He repeated.
"I.." Sato listened to Gray reluctantly. Pulling his dryfit shirt over his head, Sato exposed his lighter skin to Gray. Although Sato has been eating better, he was definitely still skinny and a bit of his rib cage can be seen up close.
Gray walked up wordlessly as he reached out his hand towards Sato body. The young man did not move, rather he didn't dare. When Gray was serious, he was very scary to be around.
Gray clasped his hand onto Sato's waist. Pressing gently using his thumb, Sato squirmed from the soreness on his stomach. As expected, Sato knew that he couldn't hide his injury from his boyfriend. From day one, Gray had already emphasised that he didn't want him to get hurt. He had even hired bodyguards to protect him from any kind of mortal danger.
Now, seeing that Sato was kicked in the stomach, of course Gray would be furious.
"I.. I'm sorry..I.."
"Don't talk." Gray interrupted. He took out a tube from his pocket, squeezing out a transparent gel. Rubbing it against both of his hands, Gray moved over to Sato's stomach.
When it came in contact with Sato's skin, a slight shiver ran through Sato's body. The gel felt cold when it came in contact with Sato's body. As Gray rubbed over Sato's injured area, the pain started to subside more and more. Not before long, the pain had basically went away.
"I'm sorry.." Sato mumbled under his breath. He knew that he was in the wrong this time. If he had not impulsively went ahead and accepted Motori's challenge, he wouldn't have made Gray this angry.
Ahead of Sato's apology, Gray pulled the half naked boy into his embrace. He tightened his hold on him as he spoke to Sato. "Feel my heart. Can you hear it beating?"
Badump, Badump, Badump. Gray's heart was racing, just like how he had described. From this, it made it more evident that Gray was extremely worried for Sato. It also made Sato emotional and tears started to form by his eyes.
Gray could feel the minute trembles FROM Sato's body and knew what was coming. He pulled Sato away from him as he looked at Sato in the eye. Gray raised his arm and wiped away Sato's tears off his face. "There's no need to cry, silly boy."
"I really am sorry.. I won't do it again." Sato repeated himself. With each word that Gray says, Sato couldn't control his emotions more and more. The tears continued to roll down his face.
At this point, Gray realised his mistake. He had released too much of his aura onto Sato. Typically, he would only set free it when he was with people that angered him. Now, when using it on someone he cared about, he had basically hurt Sato emotionally.
"No, no I'm the one that should be apologising. There's no need for you to say sorry." Gray quickly hugged Sato again as he tried his best to sooth his lover. The General was deeply regretful for his impulsiveness.
Planting a kiss on Sato's forehead, Gray allowed Sato to lean in on him. They eventually sat on the ground. Sato laid in Gray's embrace, his eyes were red from all the crying. Like a loving parent, Gray ran through Sato's hair tenderly.
They stayed this way for a good ten minutes. It was just them, alone in a hundred seater lecture room. With only an accent lighting on their back wall, the two boys remained still.
That day, both Sato and Gray learnt an important lesson. And that was that, the most vulnerable aspect in life was love in its purest form. Nothing came close in second. Nothing.
This was another one of those chapters that I enjoyed writing. I hope everyone enjoys it as much as I did. You can count this as a Valentines Day special from me to the readers :)
Do love and cherish those around you. Be it with your wife or with your girlfriend. Or maybe just with your parents or your pets. Because as I said in this chapter, Love is fragile.