Secret

Continuation

they lay there in each other's arms, Kenzo could feel the weight of what he had just done settling on him. He had crossed a line, both as a professor and as a man, and he wasn't sure if he could take it back.

Aoki, on the other hand, was riddled with regret. He had lost control, letting his emotions get the best of him. He was worried about what this would mean for their relationship, both professional and personal.

The silence was almost palpable as they lay there, lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Kenzo spoke up, his voice soft and apologetic.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I shouldn't have let things go so far. It was unprofessional of me, and it wasn't fair to you."

Aoki nodded, his eyes downcast. "I understand," he said. "But I can't help the way I feel."

Kenzo leaned over and kissed him gently on the forehead. "I know," he said. "But we have to figure out what to do now. We can't just pretend like this never happened."

Aoki nodded again, his voice trembling slightly. "What do we do?" he asked.

Kenzo took a deep breath, trying to gather his thoughts. "First of all, we need to set some boundaries," he said. "We can't let this spill over into our professional lives. That's not fair to either of us."

Aoki nodded, his eyes still downcast.

"Secondly, we need to figure out what this means for our personal lives," Kenzo continued. "I don't know about you, but I'm not sure I'm ready for a full-blown relationship right now."

Aoki looked up at him, surprise and disappointment flashing across his face. "What are you saying?" he asked. "You don't want to be with me?"

Kenzo shook his head. "That's not what I'm saying at all," he said. "What I'm saying is that I don't know if I'm ready to get involved in such a complicated situation. I value my job and my reputation, and I don't want to jeopardize either of those things."

Aoki's shoulders sagged, and he turned away from Kenzo. "I understand," he said quietly.

Aoki rolled over and stared at the ceiling, his thoughts running in circles. He was torn between wanting to be with Kenzo and knowing that it was probably a bad idea.

He heard Kenzo start to speak, but he wasn't ready to hear what he had to say. He closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep, and listened as Kenzo's voice faded into the distance.

The next day, Aoki woke early and went for a run. The morning air was cool and crisp, and the exercise helped clear his head. He returned to his bunk, feeling a sense of clarity that he hadn't felt the night before.

He knew that he had to talk to Kenzo, to tell him how he felt. He wouldn't be able to keep it bottled up forever, and he didn't want to live with the regret of not trying.

When Kenzo came in that morning, Aoki was already sitting at his desk, waiting for him.

"We need to talk," he said, his voice firm.

Kenzo nodded, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "I know," he said. "I've been thinking about it all night."

Aoki took a deep breath, steeling himself for what was to come. "I don't care about the job, or the rules," he said. "I care about you. I care about what we have. And I'm willing to take the risk, to do whatever it takes to be with you."

Kenzo's face softened, and he reached out to take Aoki's hand. "I care about you too," he said. "And I'm willing to take the risk as well. But we need to be careful. We need to keep it secret, at least for now."

Aoki nodded, feeling a sense of relief wash over him. They both knew that it wasn't going to be easy, but they were willing to try. And for Aoki, that was enough.

As the days turned into weeks, and the weeks turned into months, they spent every moment they could together. They kept their relationship a secret, but it didn't matter. They had each other, and that was all they needed.

To be continued

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