Chapter Text
Inumaki walks out of his room, stopping in the living room, which is now looking rather barren. Do you guys know where the tape went?
“Oh yeah! It’s right here.” Yuji tosses it over and Inumaki catches it. “Just your room is left, right?” Inumaki nods and Yuji picks up another stack of boxes, leaving through the open apartment door.
Tape now in hand, Inumaki goes back into his room and folds up each of the boxes on the floor before taping them closed. It’s not that far of a drive, but Inumaki wants to make sure nothing gets lost along the way. He uncaps the marker next to him, labelling each of them with their contents.
There’s still some furniture left, but Maki promised to take care of selling them for him. For now, he just needs to get his belongings into Yuji’s car. Just as he’s capping the marker again, Maki walks in.
“We’ve gotten everything else in. You ready to start on this stuff?” Inumaki nods, moving the boxes into three stacks of two each. Just as they’re about to grab them, Yuji joins them. Instead of reaching for one of the stacks, he just sits down on the floor with Inumaki.
It’s then that Inumaki notices he’s started crying. “I’m really gonna miss you.” He manages to say between sobs. Inumaki’s going to reassure him but Maki beats him to it, smacking the back of his head.
“You dumbass. He’s not going to be any further away than he already was.” Maki lectures in a somewhat harsh tone. He can tell that she’s just trying not to get teary-eyed herself, her eyes already a little wet.
Inumaki beams at them and pulls Maki down into a group hug. She scoffs a little but Inumaki can see her smiling as well. Yuji continues to cry for another moment or two before he wipes his eyes and returns the hug.
They stay like that for a little while before Maki starts to complain about them being on a schedule. At that, they finally break apart and get back to the task at hand, each of them picking up one of the stacks of boxes.
One short trip to the car later, all of Inumaki’s personal belongings are now stuffed into Yuji’s car, barely leaving enough room for the three of them. Inumaki hands Maki the keys before climbing in, and then they’re off.
It’s been an eventful 2 years since he and Yuta started dating. For one, the two of them and Maki graduated last month, each of them getting their bachelor’s; Yuta’s in anatomy, Inumaki’s in psychology, and Maki’s in engineering.
Speaking of Maki, she did eventually get the number of that girl in her engineering class, though it took her until the class was almost over. Turns out, her name is Kugisaki Nobara and she really liked Maki’s straightforwardness about wanting to date her. They’ve been together ever since.
Maki wasn’t the only one who found love, though, since just last year Megumi and Yuji finally started going out. Apparently, Megumi had been trying to flirt with Yuji the entire time but Yuji had no idea. He only found out while they were arguing, since Megumi accidentally blurted out something about how he’d been hitting on Yuji for almost a year at that point.
It took another week or so for Megumi to get over the embarrassment and talk to Yuji, who pretty much asked him out on the spot. Inumaki can still remember how Yuta complained to him about Megumi “being all moody” before they made up. Meanwhile, Yuji was absolutely devastated that Megumi wouldn’t talk to him but all he got from Inumaki and Maki was a lot of ‘I told you so’s.
Inumaki’s really going to miss seeing Maki, Megumi, Yuji and Nobara so often but they’ve promised that they’ll still arrange trips together whenever they all happen to be available. Inumaki watches through the window as they get closer to their destination, his apartment and college far behind now.
Maki and Yuji had put him in the back, seeing as he’s the smallest out of the trio. He rolled his eyes at this, but even for him it’s quite uncomfortable with all the boxes next to him, pushing him against the door. It’ll be worth it when they finally get there, though.
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It takes about a half hour of driving, but eventually Inumaki can see the building just ahead of them. Yuji manages to find a place to park on the street that’s not too far from the entrance. The three of them get out, each grabbing as many boxes as they can manage before starting for the doors.
One short elevator ride later, the three of them arrive in front of a door, unremarkable besides three metal numbers and a peephole. Inumaki shuffles the boxes around a bit in his arms and tries the door handle. It’s unlocked, so he nudges the door open with his foot before stepping inside.
They each set down their respective boxes before Yuji calls out, “Anyone home?”
There’s a muffled response from one of the other rooms before Yuta, Megumi and Nobara appear from behind a wall. They quickly hurry over to help move the boxes, Nobara first setting down some tools she had in her hands.
“I was wondering if you guys were gonna show.” She says as she takes the boxes Maki was carrying. “We were just trying to figure out how to assemble the desk chair, but we can help bring stuff up from the car.”
“Thanks, that’d be great.” As Inumaki signs, Yuta interprets them aloud for Nobara. She’s the only one in the group who doesn’t know JSL, but she’s been learning some with Maki recently. For now, live interpretation works pretty well, especially for Yuta, who makes an effort to sign and speak simultaneously whenever he’s with Inumaki—which is pretty often now.
Megumi, Yuta and Nobara slip their shoes back on and the group heads back down to Yuji’s car. It takes a few trips, but eventually they’re all lying on the floor catching their breath with all of Inumaki’s things set down around the apartment floor.
Inumaki has officially moved into his and Yuta’s new apartment.
Yuta had already moved his stuff over the week before, with Megumi’s help. Ever since, he’s been slowly unpacking his things and assembling new furniture as it arrives, though he’s had to call Nobara more than a few times when the instructions were too confusing. According to Yuta, Megumi had actually started crying a little when they finished emptying out Megumi’s car. Megumi denies this of course.
It takes a good few minutes, but everyone starts to get up and help move the boxes to their proper locations. Inumaki’s carrying a couple with his clothes as he enters his and Yuta’s bedroom. He takes in the sight of their queen-size mattress—which they’re waiting on the bed frame for, desk, closet, and the pieces of what he assumes is the desk chair.
Seeing it all suddenly makes this feel a lot more real; Inumaki’s going to spend most of his time with Yuta now. They’re going to go to sleep together, wake up together, eat together, and hang out together. All without leaving their home. The giddy feeling that rises up suddenly makes Inumaki feel like he’s back in his second year of college, wondering if he’d ever get to have a future with Yuta.
Now that it’s actually happening, he can hardly believe it. He’s brought back to reality by Yuta resting a hand on his shoulder, a couple boxes in his other arm. “You ok?”
Inumaki nods before setting his boxes down on the mattress. Yeah, this all just feels a little surreal. When we had first met, I never would’ve believed this would happen. Yuta sets down the boxes he was carrying as well.
“I know what you mean. I’ve been trying to remind myself that this isn’t a dream.” Yuta agrees, chuckling. Inumaki can’t resist the sudden urge to kiss him, so he does just that. Yuta makes a surprised sound but then kisses him back. It’s only a short and sweet one, though, since they do have company and things to do.
When they pull away, Yuta’s gently holding on to Inumaki’s waist. I love you. Inumaki signs.
“I love you too.”
“Do you guys really need to do that in front of me?” Megumi gripes, suddenly appearing in the doorway with the last of the boxes from Inumaki’s bedroom. “I’d say to get a room, but you have a whole apartment and it seems like it’s still not enough.”
Yuta grabs a pen from his pocket and chucks it at him. “It’s your fault we met in the first place. Don’t act like you’re completely uninvolved, Mr. I Forgot I Locked My Door.”