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For an old run-down building, these apartments actually cost more that it should have been, but it would be so much better to stay here than to commute from his parents house, Sho could not be happier with his choice.
The first hours of his stay, while he was barely finished his first trip upstairs with the box, he already met his next-door apartments neighbor.
"Aiba from 203, nice to meet you!" Blinding smile greeted him as this guy Aiba was about to leave his apartment when Sho struggled with his box. It was impossible not to smile back even if his box was dangerously swaying as Aiba mindlessly tried to shake hand with him.
Aiba stayed longer, fretting merrily and helping him with the second of round of the boxes, and not until Sho politely asked him whether he was supposed to be somewhere, he remembered he had to go to campus, excused himself and then left without fail to invite Sho for a drink in the next day.
Third and fourth round of boxes went up to his apartment with much more struggle. Sho probably should have listened to his mother's advice of using moving service but he could really use the money for a new set printer he needed more, so a little sacrifice perhaps was the best answer.
Fifth round of boxes, and Sho had already regretted the fact that he had what apparently too many books because he couldn't remember any his other stuff that could be so heavy. On the last flight of stairs before the second floor, oh, that last steps were always the hardest, Sho felt someone was walking behind him. He would have stepped aside to give way but with his boxes it seemed impossible to do so without risking of breaking his neck from falling.
When he finally reached his door and set the box to open the door, Sho looked around and saw this man waiting for him to clear the path for him to go through. Scruffy was not actually the word Sho would pick to describe him, but with his canvas bag slung and his worn out sweater, he could not pick any other word.
"You're the new 201?" the man asked without looking up from his DS.
"Uh, yes," Sho replied and he knew he was staring because he just can't help staring and he didn't know why. "I'm sorry to block the way, I'm just going to make sure that this box…"
"It's okay, take your time," the DS man said still not looking up from his DS.
"Ah, if you can just wait, let me get this inside," Sho decided to stop staring, ask question later and shoved the heavy box inside his entryway.
This man waited until Sho stood back up and holding the door, ready to start a conversation or at least thanking him for waiting.
"I'll see you around," he said rather curtly before heading to the door across Aiba's apartment, opening the door and getting inside apartment 204.
Sho was left standing beside his door just wondering what just happened, when he heard a muffled "Oh-chan, I'm home!" from inside that apartment. He frowned few more seconds before slapping himself back to work.
There were two more rounds of boxes to go and Sho just wanted to finish everything as soon as possible. He was tired, desperate for a glass of cold beer and obviously a shower as he realized that he had spent the whole afternoon dealing with the boxes. At least he had everything inside safely and he could start to unpack several boxes at night instead of waiting until the next day.
So there he was, catching his breath loudly, partially leaning on the doorframe, reaching for the handle to close the door, when the door in front of Sho’s opened.
A man dressed in black leather jacket and what he could see as fancy jeans and simple white shirt, holding an umbrella stood still on his way out of his apartment. Nice jacket, Sho thought initially, and then the man looked up and his brown eyes met his.
Time stopped.
Or Sho liked to think so, when he reminisced this moment in the future, and then everything started to move again.
"Oh, hello," the man mumbled while bowing a little. Sho bowed back in response and when he straightened up, the man had already closed his door and heading to the stairs, leaving him trailing his gaze to his back as the man sauntered away.
Next thing Sho realized was his rapid heartbeat, the thought of “ah, this feeling,” crossed his mind and he pressed his right hand to his beating chest and sighed softly.
Time stopped again.
Or Sho insisted on thinking so, when on the top of the stairs, the man turned back to see Sho still on the same spot few seconds before and flashed, again what Sho thought as one of the most powerful, shy smile.
Sho blinked twice and—he thanked himself later when he had time to reassess the moment—smiled back.
The man then went down the stairs while Sho, still standing on his door frame, still holding his door handle, still pressing his hand to his chest, still smiling, and emitting another soft sigh, this time with more feeling.
His eyes darted to the side of the door in front of him, the door from which the gorgeous man, oh, now he started using proper adjective, he thought, emerged. An iron plate next to the door has "Matsumoto" written on them.
Oh, hello Matsumoto.
Sho stood there for almost a minute before he realized he really needed that shower, or a glass of beer, whichever he could get first, and closed his door.