Work Text:
Ramuda grinned as he watched the older struggle while opening the front door to his own apartment. "This will be great, Doppo!! We have our favourite food," he pointed at the bag in his hand, containing omurice from Doppo's favourite shop in Shinjuku, "and a movie of your choice! I am also wearing that underwear you so love! The black one, with the frills and lace!"
Doppo dropped his key at that, successfully stopping his pathetic attempt at opening the door. Why did Ramuda have to speak of their sex-life? In the middle of the hall? He slammed his forehead against the wood and whimpered, in the softest tone of voice: "Ramuda, I appreciate it. But I'd appreciate it more if all my neighbours wouldn't know about it."
There wasn't even any energy left in Doppo to sound annoyed at this point. Not like he enjoyed being annoyed at his boyfriend in first place but it has been a long week for him and of course, it was his luck that his birthday fell on a workday. A workday he had to work overtime too Besides that, all his efforts seemed useless today. None of his coworkers remembered his birthday and Doppo forgot the muffins that he should have brought to work. Maybe if his coworkers would have seen the muffins they would have remembered? It was his fault, wasn't it? After all, it was selfish to expect people to celebrate his pathetic excuse of existence.
"Doop~poo, the food is getting cold! Can you please open the door already? Or lemme, lemme! I can do it, too!"
A soft sound of agreement left Doppo and that was enough of a confirmation for Ramuda to take over, gently pushing Doppo aside. Ramuda picked up the key from the floor and without much fanfare, opened the front door and left it open for Doppo to follow. The younger was almost always the complete opposite in energy compared to Doppo, who was usually slow in his movements. Slow and sluggish, as if merely existing was exhausting enough. But Ramuda never blamed him for it. Despite his fake existence, Ramuda could emphasise with it.
"Maybe you should give me a set of keys. I seem to open doors faster than you do," he giggled sweetly and walked further into the flat with a jump to his step — only to be interrupted by the sound of singing getting louder and louder the further he went inside.
The singing led Ramuda to the dining room where he watched Hifumi back out of the kitchen, using his foot to push the door open from behind him. A gorgeous layered cake in one hand and a bottle of champagne in the other.
"What are you doing here?!" Hifumi's ten-carat smile dropped the moment his eyes met Ramuda's instead of his childhood friend's, that he was clearly expecting.
Hifumi wasn't wearing his usual suit but his outfit was far from casual. A leopard print shirt – the first three buttons undone – and tight black dress pants. It made Ramuda feel like a child all of a sudden and not even in a cute, quirky kind of way. Like a child in the way that made him feel small in his over-sized clothes, infantilised and helpless. Ramuda was suddenly very aware of how he looked and the more he looked at the other, the more he wished that he could be sexy too, just like Hifumi – but that wasn't part of his design. He was made for a different demographic. For the girls that loved cute, obedient idols that followed the rules. Not for women that wanted to be wooed by someone who looked like they could buy them a life.
"Hifumi?! What are you doing here?!" Doppo finally arrived, shocked horror on his face the moment he realised they weren't alone and the voice he heard from down the corridor wasn't just his imagination. "I thought you'd be at work tonight? Didn't you say that?! Did I misread your message? Ramuda, I am so sorry, I am so sorry – I didn't know!"
Hifumi looked between the couple, drawing his brows together in pity. That Look said it all before any words could and a sudden desire to hide away overcame Doppo. He didn't want to deal with this. He wasn't ready. How does one explain their relationship with the enemy? With an enemy like Ramuda of all people? It would be much easier to explain why he'd fuck with someone like Iruma but not for a young man that seemed inclined to play boy-pretend.
Meanwhile, Hifumi was still left somewhat perplexed. What a weird situation. Hifumi was very certain Doppo was lying when he said he was meeting up with someone after work. Lying for Hifumi's sake. To not upset him. To make him stop asking about his relationship status and stop him from complaining about how Doppo should get a new job because getting daily overtime just wasn't “healthy”. "Dearest Doppo, it was a lie! I wanted to surprise you! You know, like I do every year?"
"Ah-ahaha! You sound like Gentaro! But yanno, Gentaro lies muu~uch better than you do! If he ever gets a second chance I am sure he'll wipe the floor with you!" Ramuda pointed at Hifumi, sticking his tongue out at him. It was childish, a low blow truly and he could feel Doppo's disappointing glare drilling holes into his back. His boyfriend wouldn't be on his side in this. As far as Ramuda was aware, Doppo probably didn't even tell Hifumi about him did, he? Otherwise, Doppo could've just said 'Hifumi I wanna spend the evening with my cute boyfriend so please, please go find something else to do, okaaay?' and not stutter and apologise like he feels sorry for Ramuda's entire existence that just so happened to breathe next to him.
But the blonde had the audacity to just laugh at it. His slender, manicured hands placed the cake and bottle on the dinner table before turning back to the pair, resting his hand on a sharp hip as he peered down at Ramuda.
"Oh? Is that so? Like, would Yume-lame’o even be up for a rematch? Isn't he like a century old? I wouldn't wanna break his bones!"
Hifumi was radiating such casual confidence in his stance and words through and through. This was his lair after all. The designer and the host held eye contact for a moment. Silence between them. It was killing Doppo.
It truly felt like it was killing him.
"Haha funny that! I guess you are right, oopsie. Don’t tell him!” How embarrassing. With a quick look over to Doppo, Ramuda could confirm that he felt the same. In an act of mercy for the man he loved (loved? Was it love? Or was it nothing but a good fuck?) the designer decided to run.
“Well, I gotta run to the bathroom real quick!" With a giggle and a wave, Ramuda excused himself before placing the almost forgotten omurice on the table next to the cake. He almost started sprinting.
What a lame excuse.
Ramuda heard how the friends started talking but he couldn't listen to it. He didn't want to listen to it. Ramuda wanted to lock himself in that very bathroom and just die there. The embarrassment. The shame. The hurt of being pushed away.
What was he thinking? That he could date cute, dorky Doppo when he was roommates and best friends with someone like Hifumi? Ramuda thought that Hifumi was truly a little stupid and maybe somewhat ignorant but he was always open about his feelings, which made him seem so much more confident in everything he did. He stood for his friendship and for his feelings and Ramuda wished Doppo could learn from that.
Ramuda had no concept of what “true” love meant. What it meant to be "truly" in love. So was he in the right to seek for it? To blame others for his own shortcomings?
All these thoughts and feelings overwhelmed Ramuda as he entered the bathroom and leaned against the door. Stupid tears started running down his cheeks and he let them. All of this was stupid.
He should stop kidding himself and focus back on what Ichijiku wanted from him. But what did she want from him? Ramuda couldn't tell. She never planned with him. She only ever told him what to do – and Ramuda followed her every word. For a moment he wondered if that was how Doppo felt at his work. Both of them were corporate slaves tied to a place they can’t escape from.
Thinking about Doppo ended up making his chest feel so tight it was uncomfortable. So he decided to not think about the other anymore and to leave this party earlier than planned. Taking a deep breath, Ramuda walked over to the window.
The first thing Ramuda was greeted with was the bustling of the city as he opened the window quietly. What a comforting sound, he thought sitting down on the windowsill, looking out and into the sea of street lights. It was beautiful sure, but nothing like his Shibuya. Nothing like the nightlife he was used to seeing. He really should be heading home.
Standing up, his legs felt shaky but it wasn't from the fear of falling down. No. It was simply the human part of him reacting to a dangerous situation, which, in reality, Ramuda couldn’t even begin to grasp.
With that, Ramuda jumped onto the fire escape ladder. A loud thud echoed through the neighbourhood as his feet connected with the metal ladder and made it raddle in place against the apartment building. Waiting for the noise to subside, he looked around to make sure he didn't catch the attention of any paranoid neighbors that wouldn't hesitant to report him for trespassing.
While making his way down the flimsy ladder, Ramuda decided to leave a message for Doppo.
Ramuda 💕 : sowwy doppo !! i decided to run cuz i didnt wanna ruin ur evening with ur bestest friend pls save me a piece of that cake !!
Ramuda 💕: next time I'll invite u over to my place 😘
If anything came from this evening, Ramuda realised that he knew very well how to lie to people he liked. But it was alright.
If Doppo belonged to his friend tonight, then Ramuda belonged to the city.