Chapter Text
She sat staring at the name in her phone contacts, finger hovering over the call button. A month ago, two weeks ago even, there had been no hesitation. Today… today she switched the screen off and tossed the phone onto her bed.
She first met Hideyoshi ten months ago.
After being inseparable all through their university years, graduation and full time jobs had meant Hanako and her friends had begun to drift apart, rarely talking and even more rarely meeting up in person. After over a year of this, Hanako took things into her own hands: they would all meet at least once a month, she informed everyone. Whether it was as formal as a meal, or as casual as getting coffee, they’d all make time.
And they did. Oh, not everyone, of course. People got married and their spouses didn’t fit in, or they moved, or got new jobs with weird hours. But most of them. Picnics, meals, drinks, everyone who thought it was important enough made the time when they could.
The night of the billiards bar get together, the hum of chatter overlaying the clack of the resin balls and the classic rock playing over the speakers, Toshiie brought Hideyoshi along. Ears slightly too big, hair a little too shaggy, Hanako thought, taking him in with a glance from across the room. Well dressed, though slightly eclectic – his loosened tie had a loud, bright pattern that inspired memories of your grandmother’s sofa, and paired with a collared shirt (top buttons undone, revealing a peek of collarbone) in a similarly bright colour, he stood out from the more staid suits of the men he arrived with.
A new addition to the group wasn’t a strange occurrence; Hanako’s friends had the habit of picking up strays since elementary school, but their previous additions had always taken their time getting comfortable, carefully easing into the interpersonal dynamic of a long time group of friends. Hideyoshi slid right in without hesitation, making the rounds and introducing himself, chatting a little with everyone. Hanako nursed her own drink in the corner, people watching after a long day, but eventually he made his way to her table, straddling the seat across from her. His eyes, when they met hers, were a soft brown, like a warm, sweet toffee pudding.
“I haven’t introduced myself yet,” he said, and there was something about the way he held himself, how he looked at her as he talked, as if she were the most fascinating person in the room, or maybe even the only other person in the room. He made her feel important, and it didn’t feel like something he did on purpose, just from one intense glance. “I’m Hideyoshi.”
“Hanako,” she replied, holding out her hand across the table, and he took it in his, the perfect handshake, neither too tight nor too loose.
“So how do you know that big lug over there?” He nodded his head at where Toshiie was tossing back a tequila shot, a couple of empty shotglasses already spread across the bar in front of him.
“Childhood friends,” Hanako said, shaking her head slightly as Toshiie raised a triumphant fist, a slice of lime clenched between his teeth. “My dad found him making trouble and just sort of adopted him.”
“He’s a good guy,” Hideyoshi said, a small smile on his face. Hanako couldn’t help but wonder if that was his version of resting bitch face – resting friendly face. “You two dating?”
Hanako huffed out a laugh. “God, no. He’s like my brother. That would be so weird.”
“Ah, then I might have a chance.” With that, he stood up, winking at her wide-eyed surprise.
Hideyoshi left with the server’s number at the end of the night. He didn’t even ask for it. The server just gave it to him.
He integrated seamlessly with her group of friends; it was only a short time until it felt like he’d been there forever. And the phone numbers, well… Hanako was convinced he had a collection of them, thousands of digits, contact information he always accepted with a smile or a wink. Whether or not he used them, she couldn’t say – he never brought anyone along to any get togethers, or at least, not anyone he was romantically involved in. He did bring a motley collection of young men along, though, a collection of people who appeared to have nothing in common with each other except for, as her grandmother might say, a shared belief that Hideyoshi was the bee’s knees. Proof that his charisma was clearly not limited to women.
She noticed, and she noticed herself noticing, that at every get together, Hideyoshi made a point to chat with everyone there. He always made time for everyone, bouncing from group to group, and she found herself looking forward to her turn every time. The way he made her feel - important, listened to - was almost addictive. It felt nice.
She first saw Hideyoshi with his shirt off eight months ago.
Toshiie had somehow managed to organize a weekend at the seaside with everyone, an act similar in difficulty to herding cats – an organizational nightmare between jobs and spouses and kids, but he made it happen. He’d found a large cabin on the seaside with a dozen rooms, somehow, more than enough space for everyone, and since it was a ways from the beach, the cost was affordable when split between everyone. Hanako has managed to snag a room at the back of the house, second floor, overlooking a somewhat neglected garden – wildflowers had gone to seed in the beds, and the grass hadn’t been mown for probably a month, but it was a charming view under the bright sun.
“I’ll catch up – I forgot my sunglasses in my bag.” Hanako waved everyone down the path, kicking off her shoes in the entryway and running back into her room to grab them. Of course, she’d managed to pack one of the most necessary accessories under the most amount of clothing, and she muttered profanities to herself as she dug around in her suitcase. Finally emerging triumphant, she found Toshiie waiting outside the cabin the group had rented as she pulled the door closed behind her, his arms crossed and his usual frown on his face.
“You’d get lost otherwise,” he said gruffly. Hanako stuck her tongue out at him in lieu of a response – he wasn’t entirely without precedent.
They walked in comfortable silence for a few minutes, and Hanako took the time to enjoy the view – the midsummer street written in shades of brown, from the bark of the trees lining the road to the grass struggling to retain any hints of green as it baked under the hot summer sun. The cool breeze off the ocean that was so pleasant on Hanako’s face wasn’t doing much to help the plants weather the season.
“So,” Toshiie said, pausing in what he probably thought was a significant way.
“So what?” Hanako replied, turning her face towards him and arcing her brows over her sunglasses. Ever since they were kids, Toshiie’d had the habit of starting a conversation with “so” and then blustering off, taking forever to get to the point (he’d once managed to say it five times before he told Hanako he was asking her best friend out); she wasn’t going to hold her breath while waiting for him to get it out. Besides, it was too hot to get worked up about anything.
“So… what do you think about Hideyoshi?”
Hanako tilted her sunglasses down to look up at Toshiie, peering at his face. His ears, she noticed, had gone a little red, and he was frowning even more ferociously than usual. Hanako shrugged. “He’s nice. Literally everyone likes him. And he didn’t even complain when he got stuck with the room beside the bathroom so he’s basically a saint.”
“Ah.” They walked on in silence for another minute, slowing to a crawl as the road tilted upwards on its way over a hill. “Is that all?”
“What do you mean, is that all? What else should there be?” Hanako asked. If her words were short, she could blame it on the hill and the heat, and not on denying the existence of the pleasant hum that went through her whenever she became the focus of Hideyoshi’s singular attention.
“Nothing, I guess,” Toshiie muttered, and by unspoken agreement, they let the subject die down, content to save their breath for the walk.
They reached the crest of the hill not long after. The water was situated in such a way that it seemed to appear in view without warning, nothing visible except older houses and trees bracketing either side of the still, empty road and a clear sky in front, until suddenly the sparkling blue expanse appeared, stretching into the horizon, waves tumbling onto the sandy shore. The soft susurration of the water mingled with the cries of the seabirds circling overhead and the chatter of beachgoers, too far at this distance to make out words.
The rest of the group could be seen setting up down at the beach, small human sized specks shuffling about the sand. A boardwalk lined in cobbled stones threaded along the edge of the beach like a ribbon, looking old fashioned when set against the power poles and the wires strung between them. The beach was set slightly down from the boardwalk, small sets of stairs set at random intervals allowing beach access. No railings lined the edges, but the distance to fall was relatively trivial – barely taller than Hanako herself was. Their friends had chosen a spot close to a set of stairs, but far enough past the piles of driftwood that had stacked up against the raised edges of the boardwalk. Hanako raised a hand in greeting as she and Toshiie got closer.
In the two months she’d known him, she’d assumed Hideyoshi was slender – he looked it, in those bright narrow suits, the slim lines clinging to his body. Hideyoshi had none of the bulk of Toshiie (her childhood friend, of course, looked like he bench-pressed cars for fun, no matter what he was wearing), and Hanako had assumed he was a runner, or maybe a swimmer. But as she and Toshiie got closer, she couldn’t help but stare as they walked along the boardwalk towards the set of stairs closest to their friends, Toshiie standing protectively between Hanako and the road. Half clothed, it was impossible not to notice that Hideyoshi was ripped. The flex of his biceps as he stabbed the pole for the volleyball net into the sand entranced her. The ripple of his honest-to-goodness six pack as he stretched his arms up to hang the net on top of the pole fascinated her, beckoning the eye to follow the edges of his iliac furrow to where it disappeared into his shorts. The flex of his shoulders distracted her as she missed the stair with her foot and tumbled down the short flight of steps and into the sand, rolling to a stop not far from Hideyoshi’s (well muscled, naturally) calves.
“How do you even manage that?” Toshiie’s incredulous voice came from somewhere above her, his wide violet eyes peering down at them from the boardwalk. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Hanako replied, forcing her voice into a higher, cheerful pitch as she braced her hands against the sand to push herself up. Her face felt like she’d been sitting too close to the fire, almost painfully warm from the heat of her humiliation. She’d been so busy ogling her friend that she had managed to prove herself a clumsy idiot. Way to impress.
“Here.” A large hand was held in front of her face, and she traced it up a (corded, muscular) arm to Hideyoshi, whose warm toffee pudding eyes were creased in concern, not amusement, much to Hanako’s relief.
“Thanks,” she replied, taking it in hers (and marveling at how calloused it was for someone she thought worked an office job), and standing. Or rather, attempting to stand – the moment she placed her weight on one ankle, a jolt of pain shot through her and she flinched, collapsing forward before she could balance herself on the not-sore leg. Hideyoshi caught her against him, saving her from another fall, and her heart thumped hard at the feeling of the body she had just been admiring enough to make her lose her footing pressed up against her.
“Careful,” he said, smiling down at her and winking, “or I might think you’re doing that on purpose.”
Hanako blushed as she realized that she’d wrapped her arms around him as she fell, her hands clinging to a hard back and noticing, even through the hot blaze of humiliation, how soft his skin was. “Sorry. I think I twisted my ankle.”
“Can you walk?” he asked, his face transforming immediately from flirtation to concern.
“I don’t think so.” She gingerly placed her foot down and flinched, hissing through her teeth. “It’s pretty tender – I don’t think I can put any weight on it.”
“Guess there’s no help for it,” Hideyoshi said. He bent slightly and placed his free arm beneath her knees, the other left where it had been supporting her back, and he lifted her effortlessly, as if she weighed nothing instead of the definite something she actual did. Hanako squeaked a little in shock, throwing her arms around his neck, and Hideyoshi carried her up the stairs where Toshiie had been waiting, poised to run back to the cabin for their vehicle.
“Is she actually hurt, or are you just being you?” Toshiie frowned at Hideyoshi, a thunderous expression that no few men had cowered before, but Hideyoshi just laughed.
“I think I twisted my ankle,” Hanako said, cutting off anything Hideyoshi might have said in reply and shooting Toshiie a look, doing her best to communicate the order of “don’t be an ass” with her eyes. A hint he took with a soft tch and roll of his eyes, but he still went and fetched the car.