Haru’s Love (A Stepbrothers BL Harem) - Chapter 42

“You okay, Haru?” It was Mason who was asking me that question. Damn, but I guess every one of my brothers noticed me feeling down.

I smiled at him since I didn’t want him to worry about me. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

He nodded. “That’s good.” He signaled for me to come to him. I did, wondering what he wanted.

He asked, “Are you cold?”

“Just a little,” I said. “Is it going to snow again?”

Mason placed his box, which contained his kimonos, on top of mine in my arms and then turned me around. With my back to him, he wrapped his arms around me and rested his chin on the top of my head.

“It’s cold,” he said. “Let’s stay like this for a little bit, until Higa-san brings around the car.”

“Is that where he is?” I asked. “Bringing around the car?”

“Mm-hmm.”

We both were quiet for moment, and then I asked, “Were you worried about me?”

“Mm-hmm,” he responded.

“Thanks,” I said and then chuckled. “I’m being spoiled, aren’t I?”

Mason said, “You know, sometimes I wonder why you chose Aiden. Why you fell in love with him. What is it about him that you like so much? Mind telling me why?”

I turned slightly to look at him. Why was he curious suddenly?

I shrugged. “It’s hard to explain. I guess because he’s kind and caring.”

Mason chuckled. “Noah is kind and caring, in his own rough way. Same as me, right? I’m kind and caring.”

I nodded. “Yeah, I agree. But then, the other thing is I spent a lot of time with Aiden, so…”

How did one even explain how one felt toward another person? Love and attraction were complicated things, after all. Fuck, even I didn’t understand my own feelings sometimes. Why indeed did I fall in love with Aiden? Why did I want to be with him so badly? Why was it that every time he showed me affection and told me he loved me, it made me felt like I was in heaven?

Yep, love was a complicated thing.

“So?” Mason moved his face down until we were cheek to cheek. “If you were to spend time with either me or Noah, wouldn’t you have fallen for us just the same?”

The warmth of his breath caressing my skin and his closeness stirred something warm within me, and my heart started racing.

What was Mason going on about? What the hell was this new electrical spark charging between us? What the hell was this new feeling stirring up inside me? Shit! What the fuck?

I tensed and quickly moved out of Mason’s arms. Feeling flustered, I said, “Sorry.”

Mason ran his fingers through his hair as he said, “Did I make you uncomfortable, Haru?”

I shook my head, obviously lying.

“Never mind,” he said.

The others came out of the shop then, and Higa-san turned up with the van. I eagerly followed Isaac to sit at the back and placed our packages of kimonos on the seat between us, so no one would be able to sit there.

“That was fun,” Isaac said. “Right, Haru?”

I nodded, just going along with him.

The others entered the coach, and Higa-san took us back to the hotel. For the rest of the afternoon, I ended up spending time in the hot spring pool alone, which was nice. I had to feign tiredness, telling everyone I was exhausted and feeling feverish so I wanted to have a little afternoon nap. So, they all left me to it and headed out to the main building of the hotel where there was an assortment of facilities they could use to kill time, like the indoor leisure pool on the fifth floor and the lounge and gaming room where one could surf the internet and play online games to their hearts’ content. There was even a manga café where one could enjoy a quiet time reading their favorite manga.

As for myself, I enjoyed my time here, too, just soaking in the hot spring pool, and when I had enough of that, I got out, donned a yukata, and lay on the futon. Surprisingly enough, I fell right to sleep.

When I woke up, I saw Aiden sitting there, watching me.

“Did I wake you?” he asked.

I shook my head.

Aiden moved over to me and pulled me into his arms. “Sorry.”

“What for?”

“I worried you, didn’t I? With Patricia,” he said.

I swallowed hard and mustered up the nerve to ask, “What is she to you, Aiden?”

“There’s no need for you to worry. She’s just a friend… No, not even that, just a stranger now. We haven’t been in touch or anything for years. She left me cold, and I have never thought about her at all.”

Was he trying to convince me that Patricia meant nothing to him?

“And now?” I asked. “After seeing her again?”

God, I was cunning, wasn’t I?

“Like I said, she means nothing to me,” he said. “You’re the only one for me, Haru.”

Even though he said that, why wasn’t I feeling happy about it? Was there still doubt in my mind or something? Shit, I didn’t know. This thing was confusing as hell. And the way Noah and Mason had behaved toward me earlier only added to that confusion. What the hell was going on in my life? What was wrong with Noah and Mason?

I changed the topic and said, “Is everyone back yet?”

Aiden shook his head.

I thought for a moment and then said, “Aiden? Would it be all right if you swapped rooms?”

Aiden frowned. “Swapped rooms?”

I nodded. “It’s just that I can’t think straight and seeing your face is making it harder.”

Aiden was silent for a moment, and then he said darkly, “I didn’t know it’d come to this.”

I said quickly, “I’m sorry, Aiden. It’s only for tonight.”

“It’s all right, Haru, I’ll do anything to make you happy,” he said. “I guess I’ll have to swap with Isaac.”

I nodded. “Thanks.”

He leaned close to me and kissed me on the cheek. “Don’t mention it. But when this is over, I’ll be taking my reward, got it?”

I felt my face heating up, knowing what type of reward he was talking about. I nodded, and he smiled.

It was after another delicious hearty dinner when Aiden announced that he was swapping rooms with Isaac. Of course, Isaac, naturally, laughed his head off.

“Bro, you got kicked out of your room? Serves you right for neglecting Haru.” He came over to me and hugged me as he patted my head. “Don’t worry, little bro, I’ll look after you. I’ll protect you from all those mean bastards.” He not only pointed at Aiden, but Connor, Noah, Mason, and Reo as well.

Noah said, “Be careful who you’re pointing at, you brat.”

Isaac ignored Noah’s dark glare and said, “Come on, Haru. Let’s leave them and go have an awesome time in our room, just the two of us.”

“You better not do anything weird to Haru, Isaac,” Aiden warned.

Isaac turned to poke his tongue at everyone. “I can do whatever I want with Haru, thank you very much.” He was grinning happily, which made me nervous. Of course, I had no choice but to follow him out of the living room, since he had his hand tight around my wrist.

Once the door slid shut behind us, Isaac went over and rolled around on the futon. “This is so nice,” he said, laughing. Suddenly, he sat up. “That’s right. Wait here, Haru.” Just like a whirlwind, he was gone again.

What is he up to now?

He reappeared a few moments later with his bag. Now that I looked at it, it was the same one he had been carrying after we had left that kimono shop back in town.

Once he shut the door again, he said, “Let’s play dress-up, Haru.”

“What?” I asked, flabbergasted. “No way. No way I’m playing dress-up.”

Isaac waved my protest aside. “It’ll be fun because look at what I’ve bought.”

He pulled out a pair of kimonos, not the male version but the female ones.

Holy shit! You have got to be kidding me!

“No, Isaac, no,” I repeated desperately as I shook my head.

He chuckled, his eyes twinkling. “It’s a twin set. One red and one blue. The red one is yours, and mine is the blue. Tada!” He brought out and displayed the blue one for me to see.

I must admit the pair of kimonos looked beautiful, and they’d look amazing on girls, but there was no way I was going to wear them.

In a flash, Isaac tackled me and pinned me down on the floor. Then he tickled me, which made me laugh involuntarily. He had always done that to me when we played around, and he knew all my sensitive spots.

“I’m gonna keep going if you don’t submit, Haru. Wear the kimono or bear this harassment until morning.” His voice became softer, begging almost. “Please, it’ll only be for like five minutes. I just want to take photos of you wearing this. Please?”

He was still tickling me, and because I knew he wouldn’t stop until I agreed, I ended up nodding my head since I knew I couldn’t last much longer.

“Okay. Okay, I agree. I’ll wear the kimono.”

“Yes!” He pumped his fist in the air.

I hadn’t even managed to calm down from the sensation of being tickled when he started stripping me down to my underwear. Naked, and with just a pair of undies on, he ordered me to stand so that he could put the kimono on for me. Since I wanted to get this over and done with, I obediently did his bidding.

I was surprised Isaac knew exactly how to put on a woman’s kimono. Obviously, this wasn’t one of those very extravagant ones with the obi and the long tail, but still…

“You’re actually good at putting this on,” I said.

“Well, yeah, I spent hours reading instructions and watching videos on the internet on how to put one on before we came, after all.” He chuckled. “I had planned to buy a few while we’re here.”

I smiled. As expected of Isaac. He took wearing women’s clothing very seriously.

“Done!” he said.

Wow! I was stunned. It apparently looked nice on me, with the bright-red color and the flower pattern on the fabric.

Isaac nodded his head in approval as he looked me over from head to toe. “It’s perfect on you, Haru. Man, you really look like a woman now. No! More than just a woman.” He snapped his thumb and finger. “A Shrine Maiden, as expected. Damn, but you’re beautiful.” He cocked his head to one side. “But we can make it even better.”

“What now?” I asked.

He chuckled and then rushed over to his bag. He said, “Sit down, Haru. I can’t put this on you properly if you’re standing.”

I reluctantly sat and when Isaac moved toward me, he presented me with a tube of lipstick.

“No way!”

“Oh, yes way, my bro,” he said. “Your skin is already smooth and pale. Just need to apply this super, duper red lipstick and tidy up your hair and we’re all set to go.”

“I’m not wearing any lipstick, Isaac,” I said firmly, working on moving away.

Isaac caught my wrist. “Please, just for five minutes.” He gave me the puppy dog eyes.

Shit. Why was it that Isaac was so good at convincing me to do weird stuff?

“Oh man!” I muttered under my breath.

“Yes!” Isaac did another fist pump in the air.

I found myself sitting there as Isaac very carefully applied lipstick on me. He said, “Man, you have absolutely no hair on your face, and your skin is even softer and smoother than a girl’s.” He laughed. “No wonder Aiden couldn’t get enough of you.”

I meant to say “Stop talking nonsense,” but only managed to mutter out something weird since I wasn’t allowed to move my lips until the lipstick application was done.

And when it was done, I sighed in relief.

Next, Isaac brushed my hair until the strands were soft and smooth on top of my head, with the fringe covering my forehead.

When he moved back, he uttered, “Holy fuck. I think I’m gonna have a heart attack from just the sight alone. Are you for real, Haru?”

He looked flustered for a moment and then said, “Shit! I’ve got to show everyone this.”

I widened my eyes in shock. “No way! No! Don’t you dare, Isaac.”

No matter how much I tried to stop him, however, Isaac wasn’t listening. He was already heading to the door. I scrambled up and ran after him. I caught him by his arm and worked my ass off in pulling him back.

“Isaac, don’t! Please! Don’t!” I begged.

“But this is like a miracle,” Isaac said. “It needs to be shared.”

How the fuck was me wearing a woman’s kimono something like a miracle that needed to be shared?

Isaac got the door open, and I felt my stomach fluttering sickly, knowing this was going to be the worst sort of embarrassment ever if the others were to see me like this.