Secret Sweetness

‘What’s that you’ve got?’ Hinata asks, when he sees the shiny flash of a wrapper before Komaeda puts his hand in his pocket. ‘That’s not food, is it?’ He lowers his voice halfway through speaking – they’re alone in the Grape House lounge, but the word food is the sort of thing that travels.

‘You got me,’ Komaeda says, with a little laugh, and he pulls the packet back out. It’s a chocolate bar – half a chocolate bar at this point, but it could be a seven-course dinner the way that Hinata looks at it. ‘I had this in my pocket when we came in here. Even though I hardly even like chocolate.’

Hinata can already feel himself salivating. ‘If you don’t even like it ...’

‘It’s still food,’ Komaeda says, holding the chocolate bar more tightly, as if Hinata might snatch it. ‘I can’t just give it to you for free.’

Of course Komaeda wants something. It’s only half a chocolate bar; it’s not like it will make a difference to their survival. Hinata should give it up.

But maybe he’s curious, too, about what Komaeda will ask of him.

‘What do you want?’

Komaeda breaks off a piece of chocolate, and for a moment he seems as if he might just hand it to Hinata. Instead, though, he opens his mouth, and he bites down lightly on the chocolate, holding it between his teeth.

Hinata feels himself go hot in a sudden rush.

There’s no-one else around. Just the two of them, and Komaeda holding the chocolate between his teeth, and Hinata can already taste it. He should walk away, but he can’t leave that behind.

Komaeda puts the rest of the chocolate back in his pocket. He lifts his eyebrows at Hinata.

Hinata shouldn’t even be considering this. But he leans forward, opening his mouth so that he can take the chocolate from Komaeda with his teeth –

Only Komaeda is playing with him after all, because he pulls the chocolate further back in his mouth. Hinata has only barely tasted it, and right now that sweetness is enough to drive everything else out his mind. So Hinata sticks his tongue in Komaeda’s mouth, and he tries to steal the chocolate back.

The heat of their mouths is enough that the chocolate begins to melt. Hinata wonders if he’s gone crazy, licking into Komaeda’s mouth just to get as much of it as he can. It’s not as if Komaeda is really trying to prevent him from getting the chocolate; if he were he would just pull away –

No. Komaeda is just using this as an excuse. To have Hinata kiss him. And Hinata is allowing it.

With their mouths mashed together, surely Komaeda can tell how flushed Hinata is. He must be able to feel it.

Eventually, the chocolate has all melted and been licked away. Hinata steps back, still breathing heavily, and feels suddenly that without Komaeda there to support him, his legs might give out. Maybe Komaeda sees him sway, because he puts his hands under Hinata’s forearms to hold him there.

‘You know if you use that much energy,’ Komaeda says, ‘it will defeat the purpose.’

‘Shut up,’ Hinata says.

Komaeda takes the chocolate back out his pocket, and he breaks off another piece. This one he offers Hinata by hand; Hinata takes it, and then, because he’s gone crazy, he lifts it to his mouth and holds it between his teeth.

Are they feeding each other, or are they just making out? If Hinata gets a hard on because of this, that’s definitely going to be a waste of energy. And yet Hinata cannot bring himself to break the rules of their game.

If he can live a little longer, even if it’s on Komaeda’s terms ... that’s still better than letting the opportunity slip by.

That’s what Hinata tells himself. The chocolate is sweet, and the packet isn’t empty yet.