LDR Ch 43

And the answer was just as simple.

“Yeah. You sleep well, too.”

As if on cue, Harrison and Leo turned their backs to each other. Leo, having walked straight into his room, stood still for a moment and covered his face with his hands. The sound of his heart pounded loudly.

Before they knew it, the last day at the villa had arrived. A little while ago, Adam and Finn had cried for a long time, not wanting to say goodbye. After barely managing to soothe them and sending Nora off with the driver, Harrison and Leo, completely drained, sat blankly on the sofa.

“Why did you have to go and cut their nails?”

Before sending the kids off, Harrison had wanted to do something more for them, so he had even cut their nails. But at that, Adam and Finn, as if realizing it was truly time to part, finally burst into tears. Nora was sulky, too.

“That’s not the fundamental problem. It’s because they’re all like you.”

Leo looked at Harrison at the sudden shift of blame, but Harrison, still looking half-dead, continued.

“Starting with you, then Cal, Lizzie, Nora, and now Adam and Finn.”

“Why does it start with me?”

“You’ve always been a crybaby.”

“Even so, I’ve never run around the entire house crying because a flower petal was supposed to be an even number but was an odd number.”

But Elizabeth had done that. Besides that, there were many other anecdotes about his younger siblings that he could laugh and tease them about now, but at the time had made him want to disappear somewhere. At least Leo had never done that. Probably.

“When you said Victoria put a GPS tracker on you and that you were going to live at our house, even when Victoria came to get you, you said no, you weren’t going,”

Leo clamped his hand over Harrison’s mouth. While holding it there, Leo tried to recall a similar story about Harrison, but no matter how hard he thought, there were none. Harrison had always been simple, even back then; just letting him ride in a shopping cart would keep him happy for hours. It was actually a chore to get him to stop.

As he just stared at Harrison, pressing his hand firmly over his mouth, he saw that Harrison’s eyes were stealthily smiling. Then, the moment their eyes met, those eyes suddenly hardened. The casual, playful atmosphere froze in an instant. Now, there was no one else here. In the villa where they were left all alone, without the younger siblings who had provided a reason for self-control, this close to each other.

Before his mind could even register it, his hand lowered, and their lips met. How long had it been? With no room for any other thought to intrude, they pulled each other closer and invaded. As their hot tongues intertwined and they sucked, an explicit sound echoed in the space that held only the two of them.

Leo helped Harrison’s hand as it slipped under his back, pulling off his T-shirt, then immediately moved his own hand to unbuckle Harrison’s pants. When he touched the already half-erect penis, it instantly hardened.

“Did you, did you bring any?”

The voice was clearly asking about condoms and gel. Leo shook his head, grabbing Harrison’s hips and pulling him closer.

“Did you?”

To Leo’s question, mingled with ragged breaths, Harrison also shook his head. It was a villa they used with their family, so of course there wouldn’t be such items, which meant they should have brought them. But given the circumstances, neither of them had thought to pack any.

“Then…”

Following Harrison’s lead, Leo leaned back and lay down on the sofa. As they kissed, tongues plunging deeper, Harrison’s hand reached for the buckle on his pants. Leo slipped a hand into Harrison’s still-buckled pants, inside his underwear, and cupped the hot, hard flesh in his palm. It had been a while, but it was something they had been doing consistently for years now. And yet, his heart pounded with the same urgency and desperation as if it were the very first time.

“Have I ever told you how much I love your hands?”

Harrison’s voice emerged as he softly stroked Leo’s penis and kissed his neck. Leo answered, breathing heavily.

“Probably.”

Leo held Harrison’s penis in one hand, stroking it, while his other hand gripped the back of Harrison’s head and pulled him close again. Though the gesture was a bit rough, Harrison kissed him back even more explicitly, exploring the inside of his mouth.

It’s just hands. Really, it was just their hands. They had done so much more than this, so many times. But now, Harrison and Leo, merely layered on top of each other on the sofa, with nothing but their lips and hands touching, were devouring one another without a shred of composure, as if they had gone back to being nineteen, when they had first started dating.

His hand grew increasingly slick. Since his own was no different, his hips moved on their own. At that, Harrison’s hand pressed down on Leo’s waist. Yet, the hand stroking his penis held a subtle coercion that was, for some reason, even more arousing.

Only the sounds of rough breathing, of their now-slick hands moving, and the occasional soft smack of a kiss echoed through the villa. Amidst the rapidly rising excitement, the penis in his hand began to twitch.

He pressed his thumb firmly against the tip of the penis, and as if it were some kind of signal, Harrison lightly bit Leo’s lower lip.

“Ah…”

At the languid, yet somewhat urgent moan that escaped, their hands became faster, more explicit. When Leo turned his head, short of breath, Harrison’s lips met his again, and when Harrison pulled his lips away, Leo sought them out once more.

Their breathing grew rougher in the lack of air, and before long, they came.

Leo responded to Harrison, who was still on top of him, now kissing him lightly instead of the deep kisses from before, catching his breath between each peck.

“Nngh…”

When the lips began to tickle the corner of his eye, he let out a sound of complaint. Their lips met again. As they kissed slowly, gently, he finally became aware of just how sticky both their hands were.

As Leo gently pulled his head back, Harrison looked down at him. Lying beneath him, Leo simply blinked, then wiped his hand on Harrison’s still-on T-shirt. In response, Harrison wiped his own hand on the same shirt and then took it off.

And as they pressed their bodies closer than before and kissed, he felt his penis growing hard again.

“This is uncomfortable.”

Even though they had taken off their shirts, both still had their pants on. When he complained that the sticky underwear was uncomfortable, Harrison nodded, got off the sofa first, and then extended a hand to Leo.

“Let’s go up.”

Leo took his hand. Then, they walked without a word. Opened the door without a word, met each other’s gaze without a word, kissed without a word, and took off their remaining clothes without a word.

Their gazes remained locked the entire time they came together again. Without any words, their eyes confessed endlessly. There was no need to decipher what kind of confession it was. It would be a mixture of every kind. And yet, he also knew what the final confession would be.

“Am I heavy?”

he asked, lying layered on top of Harrison’s body after another round of lovemaking. Harrison, beneath him, stroked Leo’s hair and replied.

“You could never be heavy.”

He laughed at the ridiculous statement, and he could feel Harrison laughing beneath him. Still, when he moved off Harrison’s body to lie beside him, he felt Harrison’s gaze on him. Rather than holding some kind of language like before, it was a somewhat vacant stare, so Leo stared back at Harrison just as vacantly. Then, Harrison suddenly spoke.

“Leo, can I take a picture of you?”

“Now?”

“Yeah.”

At that, Leo stared intently at Harrison.

“No.”

“Why?”

“The person who develops it will see.”

He must have meant taking it with a film camera, which would mean someone else would see the photo. They would keep it a secret, of course, but still.

“I’ll do it myself.”

Even at Harrison’s words, Leo just blinked and stared at him without a word, so Harrison’s voice continued.

“I can do black and white. Grandpa taught me quite strictly.”

He had just said it for the sake of it; he didn’t really care if someone else developed the film, but Leo deliberately kept staring at Harrison a little longer without a word.

“Alright.”

As soon as he spoke, Harrison got out of bed and placed a light kiss on the side of Leo’s head.

“Wait just a moment.”

Lying still in the room after Harrison had left as promised, Leo suddenly had a thought. Harrison had taken a lot of pictures of him, like a stalker, but this was the first time he was taking one with a heads-up. How should I pose? Of course, Leo had his picture taken plenty of times back in his driver days, but that was a long time ago. After he quit, there had been no reason to have his picture taken. Still, since this was the first time Harrison was openly saying he was going to take a picture, he felt like he should do something.

Leo decided he couldn’t be photographed completely naked, so he first pulled the blanket up, but then thought that wanting to take a picture of him now probably didn’t mean wanting a picture of him completely covered by a blanket. So he lowered it to his chest. Should I lower it more? He lowered it a little more. After rustling around in deliberation, he just propped his head up with his arm and stared at the doorway. Before long, Harrison came back in.

Harrison, who had come in wearing a roughly thrown-on robe and holding a camera, burst out laughing the moment he saw Leo and doubled over.

“What? You said you were going to take a picture.”

As Leo couldn’t hold back his laughter either, Harrison, who was squatting by the door, buried his face in his hands as if he were crying, then finally straightened up and approached the bed.

“I didn’t expect you to be so cute.”

“You’re the one who said you were going to take a picture.”

When he gave Harrison, who was now sitting on the edge of the bed, a light push with his foot, Harrison gently shook Leo’s ankle. Ever since they were very young, when Harrison wanted to wake Leo up, he would gently shake his ankle rather than touch his shoulder or shake his upper body like others did. The familiar affection tickled him, and as he pulled his ankle from Harrison’s hand, Harrison suddenly pressed the camera shutter.

Click.

“How on earth did you take pictures of me in secret all this time?”

The shutter sound wasn’t loud, but it wasn’t completely silent either. It was amazing to him now how he hadn’t noticed while Harrison was taking so many pictures.

“That’s why there are only a few taken at home.”

So that explained the paparazzi-style angles. Then, the shutter clicked again. Lying down, Leo looked at Harrison and asked.

“What do you do during photoshoots? I feel like it would be embarrassing.”

Now, since it was Harrison taking the picture, Leo didn’t feel anything, but Harrison’s case was different. Leo knew what a studio atmosphere was like from having videos and photos taken during his driver days. Being surrounded by so many people, you couldn’t help but feel a certain degree of awkwardness.

“It is embarrassing. But what can you do? You just have to do as you’re told.”

Another shutter click followed his nonchalant voice, and then Harrison placed the camera on the nightstand beside the bed. As Leo reached out his arm, Harrison intertwined their fingers, gave him his arm as a pillow, and lay down beside him again.

“What time were we supposed to leave again?”

he asked, looking at the clock on the nightstand. Leo, looking at the clock alongside him, answered.

“Seven o’clock.”

It was time for Leo and Harrison to go back to England. They had about two hours left. As he lay there, resting his head on Harrison’s arm, it felt as if the quiet atmosphere was slowly pulling him back to reality.

“Leo.”

At the voice that suddenly came, he looked at Harrison. Harrison was lightly stroking his hair.

“Don’t come to the races for a while.”

The piercing above his eyebrow caught the light and faintly glittered, and the tattoo on his chest was visible through the disheveled robe.

“I’ll come to you.”

At the words that followed, Leo didn’t give any reply. Instead, he just looked at Harrison. Then, he gently pressed his lips to Harrison’s.

The vacation was over, and the season resumed. Even though the race was held in Europe, Leo did not go to see it, and Harrison, true to his word, returned to Leo’s side.

At the Belgian Grand Prix, the first after the break, the performance of the rival team’s car, which had been teetering on the edge, seemed to have finally flipped. Their two drivers finished first and second, while Harrison barely managed fifth, and Nate finished seventh. And Leo and Harrison spent time with both of their families gathered together for the first time in a long while.

At the Dutch Grand Prix, held the very next week, the rival team’s drivers again took first and second, though in a different order than last time. Harrison just barely made it onto the podium, and Nate finished fourth. And Harrison, lying next to Leo, gently kissed his bare shoulder.

The peacefulness was strange, and for some reason, even a little embarrassing. Was the anxiety and restlessness of the past something that would just fade away if he stayed away from the races for a bit? The natural sense of stability that had begun during the vacation showed no signs of diminishing afterward.

“Leo, is there anything you want to do if we break up?”

Leo gazed steadily at Harrison, who had said those words. Everything was fine and safe, but still, Harrison and Leo had been having these kinds of conversations frequently lately. So Leo considered the hypothetical, which was no longer so difficult.

“I want to wake up on time and sleep on time. Like other people.”

It was a very basic wish, uttered because Leo’s sleep schedule was also affected by Harrison’s time zones. Harrison gently brushed Leo’s hair back.

“I’ll move to London, and I’ll travel, too. Not for work, not to meet someone, just to rest.”

Now that hand was gently kneading the shell of Leo’s ear. Leo leaned his head against the hand and continued slowly.

“And sleep with the kids every single day.”

Until now, Leo had been following Harrison around, so the dogs mostly slept at his parents’ house, but if Leo settled in one place, they could live a more stable life.

“What about you?”

Leo asked, turning to Harrison. He raised a finger and poked the tattoo etched on Harrison’s chest as he continued.

“But if you break up with me and marry someone else right away, I’m not just saying this, I’ll seriously kill you.”

Despite the threatening tone, so different from the languid mood of a moment ago, Harrison nodded with the same casual attitude as before.

“It’s strange, isn’t it?”

At Harrison’s subsequent words, Leo replied vaguely.

“No, well, it’s not for me to say anything, and if Renzo is happy, I should congratulate him, but still, it’s a bit much, right?”

There was no way Harrison didn’t know who Leo was thinking of. Lorenzo, who had dated his ex-girlfriend for a long time, about fourteen years since high school, had started a new relationship not long after they broke up, and then, not long after that, gotten engaged. He had told them just a little while ago. He said they had been dating for three months now? In truth, it wasn’t uncommon for people to break up with a long-term partner and quickly marry someone new. Especially after retirement.

“You’ve met her before?”

But since the person in question was Lorenzo’s younger sister’s friend—and Harrison’s ex-girlfriend, Martina’s, friend—he asked. Harrison nodded.

“Yeah. A couple of times? She wasn’t just a friend of Tina’s, she was her best friend. I don’t know if that’s still the case, but it was back then.”

“A friend’s younger sister is off-limits, but a younger sister’s friend is okay, I guess.”

All the times Lorenzo had milked Harrison’s past relationship with his sister, which had ended years ago, were now rendered meaningless. He was in no position to criticize others.

“I know, right?”

But when Harrison agreed beside him, Leo instinctively shot him a cold glare, and Harrison avoided his gaze.

“So, what do you want to do?”

But instead of continuing to scold him, Leo changed the subject, and a thoughtful expression settled on Harrison’s face.

“I’m going to get another tattoo.”

At the words that followed, Leo propped himself up slightly to look at Harrison. It was a completely unexpected thing to say.

“What are you going to get?”

At Leo’s question, Harrison answered while looking straight at him.

“A lion. The one you told me never to get. That one.”

In response, Leo’s voice was filled with reflexive disbelief.

“What?”

He knew exactly what he was talking about, of course. After deciding to get a tattoo, Harrison had asked Leo to draw him a lion. Leo’s drawing skills had always been consistently awful, but he drew it since he was asked. Only then did Harrison reveal his insane ambition to get a tattoo of it.

Naturally, Leo had been vehemently opposed, and in the end, they had compromised: he would get a lion, but the design would be done by a professional. Despite that, Harrison had continued to show a lingering attachment to the drawing that was questionable as to whether it was a lion, a cat, or even an animal at all, and Leo had repeatedly warned him to never even think about getting it tattooed.

“Once we break up, I don’t have to listen to you.”

In contrast to Leo, who was in a state of shock, Harrison’s demeanor was so placid that Leo somehow felt his own energy drain away.

“You’re really cold-hearted.”

Though Leo called him cold-hearted, Harrison was in fact gently stroking Leo’s shoulder. Leo just looked at Harrison and asked.

“But do you still have that thing?”

“Yeah.”

Unbelievable. But it wasn’t surprising, as this wasn’t the first or second time for something like this.

“If you want to get technical about it, I have the copyright to that, you know.”

“Are you going to sue me?”

Even though he was being nonchalant, there was something irritating about every single thing he said. Leo hit his shoulder with a pillow—thwack—and asked with mock seriousness.

“You’re kidding, right?”

At that, Harrison laughed and pulled Leo into a sudden embrace, trapping him in his arms.