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Seeing movies late at the cinema came with some good and some bad. On the plus side, they were able to catch a show in 3D to enhance the experience. On the downside, they had to walk the distance home. Trains were not running, taxis were even more expensive past midnight, and that left the open road. The problem now was that Daichi needed his license before he could venture out on that road. Once that was settled, they would not have to walk under a cold winter sky in the middle of the night. Daichi sighed with defeat. His feet were hurting, but it was hard to be upset when they had a nice view of the ocean beside them.
“Did you know this bridge was built in 1989? By the same people that built the rainbow, too.” The look on Hibiki’s face was indescribable, and Daichi forced back a laugh. There had been nothing but silence, and hearing Daichi spout trivia was not only unlike him, but the fact it was correct was giving Hibiki chills.
“That’s right…” Daichi pulled up his phone, “-my phone is just as smart as you!” and held it up in front of Hibiki’s face. That earned him a chuckle from his best friend, and upped the morale.
They continued walking in a steady rhythm to get home in time. Their parents would have killed them had they not kept each other company on their way back. Daichi stopped at the sight of a small row of round tables aligned neatly behind a fence. There was something akin to a hut at the very end of them which implied it must be an outdoor restaurant or cafe. It was not the looks of it that was confusing. The real question he asked himself was what it was doing on a bridge.
“Hey, man, you’re good with law and stuff. Are they allowed to keep a restaurant on a bridge? Wouldn’t that be… I dunno, obstructing a path?” Hibiki looked uninterested.
“It’s a small bridge.”
“Yeah, but I’ve never seen this before. Is it legal?” Judging by the sign that said they had to close down, it most likely was not. Hibiki shrugged again, still uninterested, and janked at the small, wooden gate that was held up by the fence to see if he could enter. It would have been easy to jump the fence, even if it was not unlocked. The door was pushed open with a gliding motion, and bumped lightly against the back of the fence in the process. Daichi looked up at Hibiki, a warm smile present on his lips.
“Let’s rest up here for a bit. We’ve got a nice seaside view, too!” Hibiki took a step back as if to distance himself from the place. He was wondering whether this could be considered trespassing. The gate was not locked, and there was no sign that told them not to enter, but the absence of such a sign was not the equivalent of permission.
“I dunno…” Whenever Daichi failed to hear Hibiki explicitly say ‘no’, that was his cue to lead his best friend’s uncertainty to a definitive ‘yes’. He walked in and extended a hand to Hibiki while the other was folded over his abdomen as he made a polite bow.
“Good da- er, very late evening, to you, sir! How may I serve you?” Hibiki placed one hand at his hip and shifted his weight from one leg to the other, scanning Daichi up and down curiously.
“What are you supposed to be?”
“Dude, think for a second.”
“A butler?” Daichi straightened his back to stare Hibiki straight in the face with half-lidded eyes and a look that was bursting with apathy.
“Yes. I’m a butler. Working in a restaurant. Because that’s what butlers do. Work in restaurants. I’m a waiter, stupid!” Daichi ran up to one of the chairs, stepped on top, and placed his foot on the polished tables to hold his arms spread wide. There were no people around, so he was free to make as big of a scene as he wanted without coming across as strange.
“Today’s special is katsudon! Is there anything you’d like to ask the chef before we bring you your order?” The overly zealous performance had Hibiki shake his head, but he still walked inside to take a seat at the table across from Daichi.
“Yes.” He grinned, and pointed his finger at Daichi’s shoe before drawing a line up to his face. “Does the chef make all his waiters stand on top of tables, or is it just you?”
“No, the chef does it, too.” Daichi placed one hand at his hip while he held the other cupped over his lips. “Plot twist, I’m also the chef.” Hibiki pretended to look shocked.
“So, you’re the waiter, the chef, the manager, and the janitor? You must be exhausted from overwork.”
“Hibiki, I know we’re pretending but,” His arms were spread wide again as he turned and presented Hibiki with the empty void of nothingness that was this restaurant. He could pretend to be four people, but there was no way Hibiki could practice enough imagination to become twenty. “-do I look like I have anything to be busy with?” Hibiki could not hold back the amusement in his voice to deliver a serious reply. Daichi suddenly unzipped his shoulder bag and pulled out a handful of different snacks.
“Tadah! I live to serve! You’re welcome.” He came to regret dropping the goods from such a height, because it more than likely cracked some of the snacks in half. The table made a dull noise as he pulled his weight off it and threw himself down against his own chair.
“You weren’t kidding,” They were going to stuff their faces with unhealthy snacks past 12am because they skipped dinner. If only their parents knew. “You’re like a walking vending machine.”
“Dude, the movie was three hours. Don’t you know me better by now? Dig in already!” Hibiki was allowed to pick anything from the wide selection of snacks that Daichi brought along with him. He ended up picking a yellow pack of small chocolate cookies with a colorful print on them. For curiosity’s sake, he decided to keep the conversation going.
“Does the waiter know how much the chocolate chip cookies cost?”
“400 yen.” Hibiki already opened the pack, so there was no going back, even if Daichi did not demand he pay him.
“Your prices are outrageous.”
“Go start your own restaurant if you don’t like my prices.” Hibiki crushed his cookie into smaller parts and threw one at Daichi, which managed to hit him straight in the forehead by sheer chance. Daichi would have followed his friend’s childish antics had he not been far too hungry to waste food, and a terrible shot to boot.
“I know there's only one of you, but man, you’re as exhausting as twenty people sometimes.”
Sitting outside past midnight was not the best idea, but it was soothing. There were barely any cars around in this district, and the people that were outside were nowhere near the bridge. Neon signs from shops that were only open during the night lit up the surrounding area, illuminating a path for them to easier find their way back home.
“Hm… Too bad the restaurant's closing down. It has a very nice view of the ocean.” Hibiki mused, and kept his eyes fixed on the waves.
“I guess we get to enjoy it one last time before they pull it apart, huh?” Daichi threw his arm around the head of his chair and leaned back to stare at the open sea. Moonlight reflected in the dark, rippling water, and coated the city in a cold glow. They were too far away from the main street to hear the buzzing of nightlife; the busy streets of adults having fun. In this small slice of silence, they found a resting place free from turmoil. They would have left already, had it not been too peaceful to give it up. The change in the weather happened so gradually that they did not notice it until it was already pouring.
“Oh… snow.”
“Yeah… I’m kinda surprised. Normally, it’s never cold enough to see something so-” His attention abruptly shifted from the cool color of the deep, black ocean to the dark blue of Hibiki’s eyes. There was a warm and familiar smile on Hibiki’s lips that right about made his heart melt. Snowflakes fell lightly against his curly locks, making a sharp contrast only for a brief moment before they faded.
“Daichi?” Hibiki snapped his fingers in front of Daichi to get his attention, and Daichi blinked at the sound, unaware Hibiki had been staring at him for a while.
“Something so…” Daichi looked down, and felt his breathing pick up a little. He pulled the back of his fingers up over his lips to mumble silently. “...so pretty.” It was lucky that Hibiki thought he was talking about the snow.
“I agree. So, do you want to remember the moment?”
“What do you mean?” Hibiki pulled up his phone, and a small shutter noise was heard through the gust of wind plowing through the area.
“It doesn’t snow that often. We had no snow three years prior. Why not take lots of pictures?” Daichi felt a little ashamed, and pulled his scarf up to cover his face.
“You sure? I might ruin the shot if you want to catch snow.” Hibiki got up, and walked around the table to take a seat next to Daichi. He almost bumped him off his seat.
“Take a picture with me.” Feeling Hibiki’s arm wrap around his back made him tense, and knowing he was pressing their cheeks together made his face heat up. The sound of shutters broke through the awkward silence, and Hibiki pulled his finger over the screen to slide and display the photo he took. Daichi grimaced and chuckled at the poor lighting.
“Hibiki, you can’t even see the snow!”
“Shhh, stop it, you’re scaring the snow.” Another sound came from Hibiki’s phone, one more picture was taken to capture the smile on Daichi’s face that formed so effortlessly. Daichi reached out to yank that dumb device straight out of his best friend’s hands.
“Stop taking unflattering pictures of me!” Hibiki leaned against Daichi’s arms- so much he felt himself collapse onto his chest. Two arms wrapped around Hibiki’s abdomen to keep him from falling off the chair that was far too small to fit the both of them.
“Um, Hibiki…” Daichi fidgeted a little, hands rubbing softly against the fabric of Hibiki’s jacket. “Not that it... matters much. I know you have your own plans, but do you want to…” He was about to take back every word, because he could not ask something like this of Hibiki. Hibiki had his own plans, his own family, and asking him to do this was pushing it. Hibiki was special to him, but that was why he did not want to wear him out. If it was possible to have too much of a good thing, this was probably it. Daichi forced himself to set boundaries, because he could not afford to lose this friendship by slipping up and suggesting something stupid. It was not right to expect Hibiki to follow him around everywhere. It was not right to pull him in for hugs he did not want, and it was definitely not alright to tell him he loved him.
Yet, when Hibiki placed his hands over his, squeezed him tightly, and turned his head to nuzzle closer, the question kind of slipped out without any added effort.
“Do you want to spend new years together?”
Hibiki smiled, took his hands in his, and that was all he had to do for Daichi to know they would be together when the clock struck twelve on December 31st.
Daichi made a mental note not to wear gloves next time.