Kanae had a big smile on his face as he shopped.

He wanted to see Yuichi again as soon as he could.

The doorbell rang, Kanae announced that he was coming and headed towards the door. It was half past seven. Yuichi was a little later than Kanae expected, so everything was already prepared.

“Come in.”

He opened the door and in front of him a bright red thing jumped in. For an instant, he panicked.

“This is the first time that I’ve come over since we started dating, so I thought that I’d get you something. But it was really hard to think of something for you. I figured you probably didn’t want alcohol. And you don’t eat sweet things. I didn’t want to overdo it with a big present or anything, so I got you these.”

Kanae was speechless. Yuichi was handing him a massive bundle of red roses.

“They’re pretty, aren’t they? You can put them in a vase or something.”

“…oh, yeah.”

Every year, there were lots of guys who would give him flowers for his birthday. He felt bad to just throw them away, so he would decorate his room with them even though he didn’t really want to. Flowers required some care, so he wasn’t happy to have to deal with them. He wished they had gotten him something edible instead.

But to get flowers from the person he loved made him so very happy.

He couldn’t find the words to say thank you.

“You don’t like them?” At Kanae’s silence, Yuichi became a little uneasy. Kanae shook his head. The reality was he was so happy, he almost felt like he was going to cry. But he couldn’t cry here. He didn’t know what might happen if Yuichi found out that Kanae actually liked him.

Kanae clung to the bunch of roses and then looked at Yuichi, ecstatic.

“Thank you! They’re wonderful! I’ll put them in a vase now! Thank you so much!”

“…damn you.” Yuichi took off his shoes and came in. He ran his hand through his hair.

“You’re so cute. Come on, let go of the roses and give me a cuddle.” He stretched out his arms and in that moment, Kanae dropped the roses on the floor and fell into Yuichi’s embrace.

“Dinner is ready.”

“Yep, I know. I smelt something delicious a moment ago. You smell delicious too. Give me a welcome home kiss.”

“Welcome home? This isn’t your home.”

“Don’t be stupid,” Yuichi snorted. “Wherever you are is my home.”

“…Yuichi, you say such cringe-worthy things! Is this how you deceive your women too?”

“I don’t deceive them. I only tell them the truth. I don’t lie. Do I?”

Kanae realized that he might be right. But there were cons to being too truthful, and that’s what always got him into trouble.

“…welcome home.”

He said it, although he couldn’t quite believe it. It was all new to him. The first time he had had a boyfriend, the first time he had had sex with a guy, and then the first time he had someone he was really close to.