LDR Ch 44

“You asked what I wanted to do. I’m going to do that.”

At his attitude, Leo finally burst out laughing and lightly bit Harrison’s shoulder.

“Say you won’t do it.”

This time, Harrison responded by kissing Leo deeply.

“I’m going to do it.”

When did he ever bend to his will on everything? At this completely different attitude, Leo climbed on top of Harrison, cupping his cheeks to hold him still.

“Say something else.”

Along with those words, he gave his lips a short peck. Harrison obediently looked up at Leo and answered.

“After I get the tattoo, I’m going to move, too.”

“To where?”

“Monaco or Switzerland.”

At the even tone of his voice, Leo peered into Harrison’s face. It was true that many drivers lived in Monaco, but there were a couple who lived in Switzerland too, so it wasn’t a particularly unusual choice. In fact, the idea of him moving at all was what felt unfamiliar.

“But too many drivers live in Monaco, and if I move to any other country besides Switzerland, Nora will kill me.”

Nora had always said that one of them, preferably both, had to live in Switzerland. It was less of an issue now since they had both lived in England from the start, but if he were to move to any country other than Switzerland, she would, as Harrison said, definitely throw a fit.

“Why are you planning to move?”

At Leo’s question, Harrison met his eyes for a moment before answering calmly.

“It’s just, it’s about time.”

It’s just, it’s about time. Nothing more needed to be added to that sentence that explained nothing at all. Leo lowered his head, gently rubbing the tips of their noses together, and asked slowly, his gaze lowered.

“Should I go to Monza?”

As he mentioned the location of the Italian Grand Prix to be held this week, the movement of Harrison’s lips filled his downcast gaze.

“Do you want to come?”

At that question, Leo lightly pressed their lips together.

“I don’t know.”

The answer came out with a breath, and a voice flowed from between their pressed lips.

“Don’t come just yet.”

The vibration that traveled through their lips was ticklish.

“Okay.”

Before he knew it, Harrison’s hand was traveling up Leo’s waist.

“Let’s go to work together tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

At his reply, that hand gently kneaded the nape of Leo’s neck, while his lips lightly bit his chin.

“I’ll match my leaving time with yours, too.”

Leo tilted his face a little more and nodded.

“Okay.”

Along with the mumbled voice between their lips, Leo also moved his hand to gently stroke Harrison’s eyebrow.

“And I’ll drive.”

At the voice that followed, Leo lowered his body to kiss the line of his neck and asked.

“Do I have to park?”

Whether it was a driver’s fate or something else, it was true that Harrison was not good at parking, so he felt a ticklish laugh from the neck his lips were pressed against.

“Maybe?”

At that answer, Leo laughed as well and lowered his body further. And further down, to a place that would make their touching bodies pant.

Italian Grand Prix
Monza Circuit

He did not go to Monza. Instead, he came to Switzerland. At the news that Leo was coming, Nora, who was originally at her boarding school, even came back, and they enjoyed a reunion that, while it had been a while, wasn’t actually that long ago. And the rest of the family, except for Leo, watched Harrison’s race on television. Leo did not watch it directly, only checking the lap-by-lap progress and the results.

Harrison had finished second, but he had been leading in first place when a problem occurred that pushed him back, so it didn’t seem likely he would be in a good mood. On top of that, Nate had retired from the race completely, so it was easy to predict that the team’s atmosphere would not be good either.

Even Nora came to Leo and said she wasn’t sure if she should contact Harry to congratulate him or to console him.

After finishing the day like that, Leo was sleeping in his own room in Switzerland for the first time in a very long time when he felt someone burrowing into his arms and hugged the body in his sleep. Then, he suddenly woke up.

“Harry?”

Why is he here right now?

“I’m really, really sleepy right now.”

Without pushing Harrison away, Leo first checked the time. The clock, indicating the dead of night, made it seem like he was still dreaming.

“You came straight here?”

“Yeah.”

The voice that answered was full of drowsiness, befitting his words about being so sleepy. It made sense. Looking at the time, it was clear he had come straight here after finishing his post-race interviews and briefings. Although Monza and Switzerland were right next to each other, that was the case for the villa; to get to the main house, he would have had to travel further.

“Don’t you have to go somewhere tomorrow?”

Though that tomorrow had already become today, he knew Harrison had a sponsor event. That made Harrison’s sudden appearance all the more unfamiliar.

“Yeah.”

But in contrast to Leo’s bewilderment, Harrison merely rested his head around Leo’s collarbone and nodded.

“Are the kids all here?”

“Yeah.”

When he answered reflexively, Harrison this time just nodded his head.

“Why didn’t you tell me beforehand, no, who opened the door for you?”

How he had even gotten in was a mystery. He could come and go freely at the villa since he had a key, but the house was different. How did he get in without waking Leo?

“I told Johan. I asked him to let me in.”

It was moving beyond mere surprise into the realm of strangeness. He didn’t tell me but he told Dad?

“Why didn’t you call me?”

“I thought you’d be sleeping.”

“And Dad?”

“Johan is usually up late anyway.”

That was true, but since when were they that close? If one were to quibble, Harrison was closer to Caleb and Elizabeth’s biological father than he was to Johan. At least he had seen that man continuously while growing up, whereas Johan and Harrison had only seen each other a few times a year, both then and now. But lately, they seemed close for some reason.

But before Leo could say anything to Harrison, whether it was an interrogation or a question, Harrison burrowed deeper into his arms.

“Let me sleep.”

“You’re doing things you don’t normally do.”

Even so, Leo patted him, stroking his head.

“What time do you have to leave?”

“Evening.”

The breath that mumbled and tickled around his neckline was warm and soft.

“They’re coming to pick me up.”

With those words, his breathing gradually quieted. And listening to the sound of his breath, Leo too, fell asleep again. Peacefully, smoothly, and ordinarily.

Leo looked back and forth between Johan and Harrison with a suspicious gaze. It wasn’t that their relationship had ever been awkward or uncomfortable, they just didn’t see each other often. But they weren’t close either, so why did they seem so comfortable with each other? However, before Leo could observe anything further, Nora, who was coming down from her room and entering the kitchen, spotted Harrison and ran in.

“Harry!”

At her welcome, Harrison, though still disheveled, hugged Nora and replied.

“Hi.”

The fatigue from yesterday was unconcealed in his voice, but it still held a familiar warmth.

“You have to go to school, right? I’ll take you.”

At his following words, Nora lifted her head from within Harrison’s embrace and immediately asked with sparkling eyes.

“Really?”

“Yeah. Thinking about it, I don’t think I’ve ever taken you.”

Leo had already heard this as soon as he woke up. Although his younger siblings all attended boarding schools, in the case of Elizabeth and Caleb, who were nearby, he had occasionally taken on the task of taking them to school or bringing them home on weekends or during breaks. In contrast, it had been difficult for him to do so for Nora.

Harrison had said it suddenly bothered him, which left Leo with a strange feeling. It felt as if he was trying to do everything he hadn’t been able to do before leaving. It might even make her feel more betrayed later on.

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

But seeing Nora so happy, there was no room to interject with a ‘don’t do it.’

“Can I tell my friends? That you’re coming?”

“Do they know me?”

“Because I’ve told them about you all the time!”

“Okay.”

With those words, Nora became busy, seemingly contacting someone on her phone. At the same time, Nora pulled on Harrison’s arm.

“Then let’s go quickly, Harry, okay?”

At her words, Harrison got up, fumbling to gather the car keys and breakfast for Nora to eat. Leo followed them out and said.

“Take her straight to school. Don’t get sidetracked. No matter what she says, alright?”

“Alright.”

At that, Nora, still holding Harrison’s arm, looked at Leo with a prim expression. Seeing her rebellious eyes, Leo looked at Johan, but Johan just sipped his tea and nodded benevolently.

“And don’t you dare let her take the wheel, not even for a second, even if she says she wants to drive!”

“Okay.”

Even so, Harrison had always been weak when it came to Nora, so he wasn’t reassured. He held Nora back as well and earnestly urged her to go straight to school before seeing them off. For some reason, it was all very hectic.

“Dad, you’re too soft on the kids.”

he said, returning to the dining table. Johan shook his head and smiled.

“After going through you, Nora is just cute.”

Leo wanted to argue, but he couldn’t. Compared to him, Nora was. That was even true when comparing her to Caleb or Elizabeth. For starters, the three of them, including Leo, all had experience with light running away from home, but Nora always told them where she was going and was easy to contact.

“Anyway.”

Sighing, Leo was about to drink his own tea when he felt a gaze on him and turned his head.

“What?”

At his question, Johan suddenly looked at Leo’s hand. He lowered his gaze to see what it was, but there was nothing different, other than the fact that he was holding a cup in his hand.

“Just wondering if you’re doing well these days.”

“Why are you asking that now?”

Leo had been at this house since the weekend. So why ask how he was doing only now? But before Leo could press him, Johan started talking about various other things as if to distract him, and Leo got swept up in it and saw Johan off to work.

When he came back, the silence felt unfamiliar. Although Finn and Adam were still sleeping upstairs. Like that, with an awkward and strange feeling, Leo waited for Harrison.

Since Nora’s boarding school was some distance away, Harrison didn’t return until before lunch. He played with Adam and Finn, who were similarly surprised to see him, and then had lunch. After that, the time for Harrison to leave was already approaching, and Leo watched him with a somewhat subtle expression.

And Harrison, as if he had naturally sensed it, approached Leo, who was leaning against the doorframe of the room.

“Huh?”

Then, at the act of him immediately cupping Leo’s cheeks and giving him a short kiss, a strange sound escaped on its own. At that, Harrison smiled and pulled away from Leo again.

“I’m leaving now.”

At those words, this time it was Leo who pulled Harrison in for a short kiss. And their meeting gazes sparkled. The irises, shining in the sunlight, turned a transparent, light brown. Leo shifted his gaze slightly, slowly scanning his face.

“Did you bring the piercing?”

he asked, gently stroking that eyebrow. Harrison kissed him once more and replied.

“Yeah.”

Leo closed his eyes and, while gently rubbing their lips together, said.

“Bring it here. I’ll put it in for you.”

When he slowly lifted his eyelids, Harrison was still in front of him. He watched him, wondering why he wasn’t looking through his bag, but Harrison simply put his hand in his coat pocket and took out a small box.

So, just like that, Leo took Harrison and sat him on the bed. Looking at Harrison, who was calmly accepting his touch, he felt a tickle in his chest, a coldness in the pit of his stomach, a sense of simple peace, and a clamor in his head, all at once.

Leo quietly stroked Harrison’s eyebrow. Since the vacation, a piercing had not once been in this eyebrow. Neither of them had mentioned it. Leo couldn’t say for sure why he had mentioned the piercing now.

Nevertheless, Leo, finally, put the piercing back in his eyebrow. Then he said quietly.

“You have to do it by yourself from now on.”

Harrison’s eyelids, which had been quietly entrusting his face to Leo as if he were entrusting his everything, without a hint of doubt, lifted just as quietly.

Instead of meeting those eyes, Leo just looked at the piercing he had put in. The metal, hit by the light coming through the window, faintly glittered. Leo couldn’t tell which version of Harrison he was more familiar with. Whether it was this eyebrow in its simple, unadorned state, or its current state with a certain contradiction.

And he was curious. A piercing hole is fundamentally a wound that has not fully healed. So how will you handle this wound? Wounds eventually heal. Will you let this phenomenon remain as a trace, or will you, in the end, maintain this wound even on your own?

“They say it’s not good to change it this often.”

Along with those words, he gently pressed their lips together again, and a calm answer came from between them.

“Okay.”

And then the sound was swallowed again.

“It’s not a big deal once you actually try it.”

Their lips met again.

“Okay.”

Their breaths mingled.

“Do you think you can take it out by yourself?”

Their lips gently rubbed against each other between the kisses, which were not deep, but just casual exchanges.

“Not yet, no.”

At the ticklish sensation, like he was shaking his head, Leo focused on the feeling rather than the words.

“Singapore is next, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Come before you go. I’ll take it out for you.”

“Okay.”

“Can’t you give me an answer other than ‘okay’?”

At Leo’s words that followed, he could feel Harrison smiling. Only then did he gently pull his lips away. The still-transparently sparkling eyes, no different from before, did not hide the direction of their gaze.

“Thank you.”

It was, truly, an everyday phrase. So Leo responded in kind.

“Go now. For real this time.”

With those words, he stood up first, and Harrison followed. Leo saw Harrison off, trying not to look at his face, trying to look at his face. He couldn’t tell which side had won.

“See you at home.”

And at Harrison’s voice as he opened the front door, Leo replied.

“Yeah. See you at home.”

The echo was familiar, and for some reason, his insides were in turmoil.

“And Leo.”

At the voice of Harrison, who had turned back suddenly as he was about to leave through the open door, Leo just looked at him. His face was placid, but it seemed as if there was a tension he couldn’t quite hide.

“I have something to tell you after the Japanese Grand Prix.”

The Japanese Grand Prix was the one after next. Japan was after the next Grand Prix in Singapore, so he probably wouldn’t come back to England in between. But his words didn’t feel natural. It wasn’t as if they wouldn’t be in contact in between, but the tone that specified it was something that had to be said face-to-face.

“I’ll come straight back, so can you free up some time?”

Leo did not give any answer. And the longer that time stretched on, the more Harrison’s gaze faintly wavered. Then, just as his lips were about to say something, Leo finally answered.

“Okay.”

The answer that had to be given someday.

Japanese Grand Prix
Suzuka Circuit

Nevertheless, nothing much was different during that period. It was ordinary and natural, as always. And Leo, for some reason, made an effort. But it wasn’t in a bad way. Rather, it was in a direction that was a little awkward, a little uncomfortable, and yet, a little heart-fluttering—a strange direction to be feeling at this point.

During that time, Leo was constantly conscious of the time difference. He tried to be alone at times when Harrison might call, and he waited for the call. And so, Leo, familiarly on a video call with Harrison, propped his phone up on the dining table and brewed tea.

Harrison had arrived in Japan a few days ago after the Singapore Grand Prix was over. When it was around dinnertime in Japan, it was around the time to go to work in London where Leo was, so they would often leave the video call on and eat together. Doing so sometimes made him feel nostalgic. They used to do this often when they were in university.

“Doesn’t this remind you of our university days?”

As he said the thought that came to his mind and returned to his seat, Harrison on the screen nodded and smiled.

[Yeah. We did this often back then, too.]

In truth, though, it didn’t feel the same as it did back then. Now, it felt as if they had just started dating. Trying to match their schedules, watching each other’s expressions to figure out their moods, and choosing their words not because they didn’t want to fight, but simply because they wanted to look good to each other.

That’s why it was strange, too. Because in reality, they had never been like that even in the early days of their relationship. Back then, everything was just a given. Leo knew the industry Harrison was in well, he naturally knew when to contact him, when they could meet and when they couldn’t, and it was a given what they should talk about.

“Do you remember that time you asked me to show you me showering?”

[Ah, which of the many times?]

When Leo burst out laughing at that, Harrison on the other side of the screen laughed as well and continued.

[I still can’t forget that.]

“More than seeing it in person?”

[Does that include touching?]

“You’re really…”

Shaking his head with a smile, Leo managed to compose his expression again and drank his tea. Then, he glanced at the clock; it was already time for work.

[You have to go now?]

At Harrison’s question, who had noticed his glance, Leo shook his head.

“I can stay until you finish eating.”