Chapter Text
“So, six days?”
“Six days.”
Hajime threw up his hands. “Good luck with that one, Oikawa.”
Tooru stood immediately, meaning to catch his friend on his way out the door. “Wait! Please, I’m not asking much of you.”
“Oh, you know, just to pretend I’m madly in love with you to feed into your weird, insane sibling rivalry.” Hajime shrugged. “No big deal.”
Tooru snorted. “The first part wouldn’t be too far off from the truth.”
He only realized it absolutely wasn’t the time to be self centered when Hajime only took this as his cue to leave Tooru’s room.
“You’ve met my sister!” Tooru protested. “She would hold this against me for the rest of her life. I wouldn’t be surprised if this whole wedding was fabricated by her just to get the satisfaction of being right.”
“You say this like it’s a bad thing.” Hajime grabbed his phone, laid on the kitchen counter. “Someone has to control that ego of yours.”
“Iwaizumi.”
Tooru was pleased with the way that his friend stopped in his steps at his name, instead of a nickname he’d refuse to let up with unless the situation called for it, and Tooru really, really needed things to go his way.
“Please? I’m asking you as your friend. I know you don’t have anything going on.”
“So I see this is going well.”
Both Hajime and Tooru turned to the new voice. “Hey, Suga,” Tooru greeted, rubbing his forehead with his palm.
“What, did you discuss this with him before, too?” Hajime asked.
“He was the one who proposed it, actually, so if you’re going to blame anyone here-”
“Blame Oikawa,” Sugawara cut in, stepping in front of Tooru, effectively cutting him off, and taking a seat at their couch. “I offered to go with him, actually, but he argued that you’d be better for believability, I think was the word he used?”
Tooru shot a glare at his roommate. “I hate you.”
“It’s payback for you breaking the microwave,” Sugawara said simply, focused on something on the phone in his lap.
Tooru focused his attention back on Hajime. He was the goal here, not getting back at his roommate, though that was now added to his list of priorities. “Please, just do this favor for me?”
“It’s a free wedding invitation, I’d personally take it,” Sugawara hummed.
“Yes, thank you!” Tooru could practically see Hajime’s thought process through the way his lips pursed slightly and he ran his thumb on the smooth side of his black phone case. Good. He was considering it. “Besides, you know how much my family already loves you.” Truly, sometimes it seemed like Hajime was part of the family, and Tooru was the invited friend.
Silence descended upon the room before Hajime let out a long exhale, his tone practically screaming that he already thought this was a bad idea as he said, “When do we leave?”
-
“Hey.Hey.”
Tooru’s response was muffled by the pillow he pressed to his face because the world could wait right now.
“Iwaizumi’s outside.” As much as he loved him, no one, even Hajime, was enough to get him up right now. Another pause. “I made coffee.”
Those certainly seemed to be the magic words. Sugawara laughed at the way the mention of it made Tooru’s eyes flutter open, pushing himself up to take in the morning, gaining consciousness.
“How early is it?” Sugawara handed him a warm mug.
Tooru brought the drink under his nose, curling up his legs to lean against the headboard of his bed, cupping the mug with his hands to savor the warmth it provided.
“Only nine,” his roommate answered, giving Tooru a pat on the head, using the opportunity to ruffle up his hair before standing. “Actually get up, will you?”
He took a sip of his coffee, closing his eyes, content to stay there for the remainder of the morning, before it hit him. Shit. Hajime’s outside. He had a flight, a wedding, and a fake boyfriend to catch. Tooru reached out to his right, fumbling for his glasses on the surface of the table. He always felt much more awake with them in hand.
Beside them, his phone beeped.
Iwaizumi (8:40) okay, im here
Iwaizumi (8:42) are you not awake???
Iwaizumi (8:49) can you at least tell suga to let me in
Iwaizumi (8:53) oikawa.
Iwaizumi (8:55) shittykawa.
Iwaizumi (8:55) TOORU.
Tooru swore under his breath once again, kicking away his blankets to scramble his way out of his room.
“Did you not let Iwaizumi in?” he asked his roommate.
“He’s your friend,” Sugawara countered, mixing his breakfast with his spoon idly before adding, “Wait, sorry, boyfriend.”
Tooru sighed and opened the door.
Hajime was slumped against his suitcase, leaning against the wall adjacent to their door in the apartment hallway. His arms were crossed, legs splayed in front of him, head tilted forward and how the hell was he sleeping. Tooru almost laughed, but Hajime already finding a way to fall asleep in an apartment complex hallway meant that he was severely lacking in sleep.
Tooru stepped into the hallway, propping the door open with his foot, too lazy to get his keys. He gave Hajime a small poke in the shoulder.
“Wake up, sleepyhead,” he whispered, greeted back with a sleepy half-awake grumble. “One of us has to be awake to drag the other through the airport, and it’s not going to be me. You can sleep on the plane.”
Airports were never Tooru’s favorite place, but in his line of work, it was nearly impossible to avoid aircraft travel. The early morning hassle of tired parents and children just trying to get to their gates on time and seemingly half asleep workers was familiar to him. The only difference was Hajime. He was used to taking flights with the entire team, not just one other person, and it had certainly been a while since the two were ever alone on a trip together.
As they were waiting to board their flight, Tooru snuck a glance at his friend. Hajime seemed more tired than he had realized; the way he kept rubbing his eyes with the back of his arm one of his main tells.
“Are you sure you went to bed at a good hour last night?” Tooru whispered, dragging his suitcase behind him. “I told you it was going to be a long day of travel.”
“I’m fine,” Hajime sighed, though it wasn’t a direct answer to Tooru’s question. Being “fine” didn’t equate to well rested, a fact he was all too familiar with himself. “Worry about yourself.”
“Rude,” Tooru huffed. “Is it really so much of me to want to make sure my boyfriend is okay?”
Hajime stiffened at Tooru’s words, who was instantly filled with the feeling that he’d done something wrong. He’d tried to make his tone as joking as possible, but he still understood that the rules were that they would act like they were dating in front of the rest of his family, and nothing more.
But Hajime responded the next second, his usual jab of a comeback putting Tooru at ease. “No, I didn’t think you had the heart to care about other people.”
“Ah, yes, because I am my own one true love.” Tooru tapped his fingers on the handle of his suitcase, the pair taking a step forward as the line in front of them processed.
“You sure act like it.” Hajime smirked. “I don’t forget that one time you asked yourself to be your own Valentine.”
“I spent good time on that card, alright!” Tooru laughed at the memory. “What, you’d rather I’d have asked you?”
“Not if you wanted to get rejected.”
Tooru gaped at him, about to mutter a witty comeback, before they were called up to the counter by the airport employee.
Hajime held their tickets, directing Tooru through the aisles of the plane, muttering to himself about how it wasn’t this row, no, not that one, not the next one, until he stopped and turned, extending an arm towards Tooru, who quirked an eyebrow.
“Go ahead.”
Tooru laughed. “You want me to take the window seat? That’s funny.” He even added a pat to Hajime’s shoulder.
“I don’t want you to take the window seat, you’re taking the window seat,” Hajime repeated, putting his own hand on Tooru’s back.
“Are we forgetting the good five centimeters I have on you?” Tooru cocked his head. “These long legs need space to stretch, Iwa-chan.”
“Hello, gentlemen?”
The pair’s attention was turned to a short flight attendant who stood in the aisle behind them. She looked over Tooru’s shoulder and then back to meet his eyes, then Hajime’s.
“Oh, I’m so sorry! He was just taking his seat,” Tooru said sweetly, taking his chance to give Hajime a light push into the row.
“I think it’s unfair how fate likes to favor you,” Hajime said, but complied, already reaching for the seatbelt. “I really would’ve liked the extra leg space.”
“Oh, hush, I know you’ll be asleep for most of the flight, anyways.” Tooru stood, only to raise his and Hajime’s suitcases above his head and into the compartment, pushing aside a bright pink purse, supposedly from the woman sitting in front of their row.
On cue, Hajime pulled out a black cloth sleeping mask from his pocket.
Tooru laughed. “Such an old man. I’m afraid my family won’t believe I’ve fallen for someone like you.”
“I’m afraid your family won’t believe someone like you could be taking home someone like me,” Hajime countered, though there was less passion in his voice, and Tooru suspected that Hajime simply wanted silence.
It would be another twenty minutes before the plane even left the gate, and another ten before it went from taxi to take off.
Aircraft travel was something he was used to, of course, but the sensation of the plane ascending high above the familiar ground below him still rattled him and made his stomach twist. His hand gripped the seat tightly, and if he squeezed his eyes tight enough he wouldn’t have to focus on anything but his breathing and that yes, he was in a safe and secure aircraft, and would be touching down at his destination before he knew it.
Tooru startled when a hand poked his side.
Hajime tilted his head toward the seat directly in front of him, to the small screen now powered on, catalog of various blockbuster movie posters displayed, all for his viewing. But there was one that immediately caught his eye. He turned to Hajime, but he had already put on the eye mask and slumped into his chair. Tooru smiled. Of course Hajime would remember to queue up his favorite movie, and not even have the decency to be awake to receive Tooru’s thanks.
As the opening title screen flashed, Tooru felt himself settle into his seat, grounding himself for the flight ahead. He would be in this same seat, miles and miles above the ground for the foreseeable future, it would be best for him to get used to it now. Besides, it would do him good to touch up on his English.
Early in, a flight attendant passed by, asking Tooru if he wanted a drink or any complimentary snacks. He nudged Hajime awake, who was seemingly ready to curse at him until he lifted the cloth and saw the smiling flight attendant.
Hajime accepted the cup of water gratefully, but seemed at a loss for where he wanted to put it once he’d taken a sip. Tooru wordlessly held out his hand, earbuds already back in, the movie unpaused. Hajime handed over the cup, to which Tooru put next to his on the seat’s tray.
More time passed, Tooru’s arms crossed, slouched slightly in his chair, before he felt a soft pressure on his shoulder. He tensed, but the slight turn of his head and he was met with a fully asleep Hajime. He scoffed, almost wishing he had some sort of permanent marker and a camera to capture the moment, but he didn’t want to disturb his sleep again. Tooru let his shoulder drop slightly before hesitantly, tilting his head to his right, letting his cheek rest against the top of Hajime’s head. If he was going to use Tooru’s body as a pillow, why not return the favor?
It had been nearly a decade since he was last able to sleep on an airplane, but something about the mixture of Hajime’s shoulder pressed against Tooru’s own and the familiarity of the movie playing in front of him made his eyelids flutter and the sound around him begin to fade.
Of course, that was all only right before a baby two rows behind began wailing.
Tooru frowned. If only he had Hajime’s persistence and ability to stay sleeping through less than ideal situations. He was often the one that was insistent on being awake when he needed to, but if there was an opportunity to nap, well, Tooru would just have to wake him up afterwards.
He closed his eyes, reminiscing on all the times Hajime liked to nap through recess, smiling at the memories. Tooru would’ve settled with reading a book, or maybe looking around wherever he was for easy entertainment in his surroundings, and there was a large part of him that always just wanted to shake Hajime awake and make the most of the time they could spend together.
But there was a certain way that Hajime slept. It was one of the few times throughout the day Tooru could actually see his expression soften, his breathing come easy, so peaceful and relaxed, oblivious and careless to whatever was around him.
And, while he couldn’t exactly see him from where they were positioned, Tooru could see a clear picture of what the outside eye would see looking in on the two, but he wouldn’t trade it for the world. The way their chests expanded and contracted side by side from one another as they breathed, a comforting and consistent enough presence that, even though he knew he wouldn’t be getting a wink of sleep, Tooru found himself pausing the movie and closing his eyes.
Eventually, the pilot’s voice came over the speakers within the cabin, announcing their descent, thanking all the passengers for their patience through the turbulence, though Tooru hadn’t felt a thing.
“How long has this been a thing,” Hajime whispered, startling him. Tooru assumed he meant how long had it been since Hajime’s head had been resting on his shoulder, but he made no attempt to move away.
“I’m not sure. I think it was when the engines started failing.” It was a poor attempt of a joke, but Tooru felt like Hajime deserved some sort of a comeback.
The same flight attendant came around and collected their cups, giving Tooru and Hajime one last look before winking at Tooru and continuing down the aisle.
“Was that her way of flirting with me?” Tooru whispered. “I’m very clearly taken, here.”
“Your shoulder is,” Hajime said. “The rest of you is free property.”
“I’d like to think there’s some sort of price on perfection,” Tooru hummed back as the conversation came to a close.
Neither spoke for the remainder of the plane’s descent, until the city became very visible and close below them, the lights creating paths across the ground, stark against the night sky. Tooru was leaning over Hajime to catch it, one of the few things he enjoyed about the flight experience.
“If you wanted the window seat so much you could’ve just said so in the beginning,” Hajime said, pushing at Tooru’s arms.
“Well, I really don’t. I just live to inconvenience you.”
“Good, so it’s mutual.” Hajime swatted at Tooru’s arm one last time before he finally backed off to make sure he had everything in his possession.
The aircraft landed as smoothly as possible, which was still to say loud and and shaky, and Tooru found himself squeezing his eyes shut and gripping his seat once more. But once the plane slowed into a taxi, a sense of relief washed over him. They had landed, made it through the whole bitch of a flight, and the vacation had officially started.
Well, vacation for him. Tooru was sure Hajime would enjoy the next five days to some extent, but they were mostly here for him and his family.
As soon as the plane came to a stop, Hajime and Tooru both immediately stood, stretching their arms as high as they could go. Tooru sighed in relief. He hadn’t expected to spend the whole flight seated in the same position, but he hadn’t wanted to disturb Hajime, so he paid the price accordingly.
Tooru stepped into the aisle of the plane, reaching for their suitcases in the now unlocked overhead compartments. Hajime wiped his face with a hand. “Please don’t tell me we have to meet your family tonight.”
“Don’t worry, we don’t,” Tooru grunted, setting down Hajime’s suitcase. “There’s a possibility we might run into some local guests, but I don’t think anyone else has been invited this early.” He laughed. “My parents and sister are probably going to be out late tonight, and I assume you just want to get to sleep.”
“In a real bed, preferably.”
“I don’t understand how you can just sleep the entire flight and still feel tired enough to get a full night’s sleep.”
“I think it’s because I’m used to getting an actual full night’s sleep every night,” Hajime shot back, tone playful.
Tooru frowned. “Well, you obviously didn’t last night. You fell asleep outside of me and Suga’s apartment this morning.”
“The floor was comfortable,” Hajime said with a shrug, dismissing Tooru’s concern as he always did. He decided not to push it. If it was something truly pressing, Hajime would start acting strange in other areas besides talk of his sleeping habits, and Tooru was quite the expert in picking up on the signs.
-
“This is. Wow.”
The hotel in front of them was most likely the tallest Tooru had ever seen, glittering in design, standing out starkly from the rest of the buildings on the block. From what he could see inside the glass doors, their living arrangements would probably be nicer than they were back home, and Tooru wasn’t one to complain.
“Welcome to America,” Hajime grumbled after thanking and paying the driver, rolling his suitcase next to Tooru’s.
The doors slid open for them automatically, bossa nova music playing softly from speakers within the hotel lobby. Tooru gaped at the literal mini fountain to his left, a curling couch laid behind it, a man lounging on his phone on it.
“Hello, how can I help you two tonight?” the receptionist recited from behind the marble counter, though her eyes were trained on the laptop in front of her, out of sight from Hajime and Tooru.
“We’re checking in as part of a group- Oikawa?” Tooru answered, pulling out his phone, getting his sister’s number at the ready. On the invitation it said that nearly everything at the hotel could be covered by just telling the staff that they were a part of the party, names coming after.
“Oikawa Kokomi?” Tooru nodded. “And what are your names?”
The receptionist’s eyes widened as Tooru answered her. “Are you her-”
“Brother,” he finished. “He’s my plus one,” he added awkwardly, waving a hand to Hajime, who nodded to the receptionist before providing his own name. She smiled at Hajime before turning back to her laptop, typing in something before turning back to the pair in front of her.
“Alright, your room is number 514, here are your keys.” She slid two blue cards over the counter, Hajime and Tooru picking their respective ones. “Please call the reception desk if you have any questions, wifi password is in the binder on your bed, breakfast starts at-”
“Bed?” Hajime repeated.
The receptionist blinked, frozen. “Yes, there will be a binder on your bed, including important safety information regarding your stay here that I highly recommend you go over-”
“No, no, bed as in singular bed?”
Tooru put his head in his hands.
“I’m sorry, sir, if you have a problem regarding your room arrangements, you’re going to have to bring it up to the party leader before we can do anything about it.”
“Leave it to Kokomi,” Tooru sighed as the pair walked away from the desk and into the hallway. “I knew she’d try to pull something like this.” Even though, logically, Tooru rationed, it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary for two people who were dating to share beds if they had been dating for over two months, which was the lie being fed to his family.
Hajime stepped forward to press the elevator button, getting to it before Tooru could. “Hey!” he protested. “You know how much I like the elevator buttons.”
“You seem to like pushing my buttons a lot, shouldn’t you be satisfied already?”
Tooru stuck out his tongue. “You say it like you’re completely innocent as well.”
The elevator let out a chime before the doors opened and Hajime and Tooru stepped aside to let an old couple pass before stepping in themselves. Tooru took the opportunity to immediately jump to press the button for floor five, feeling a sense of pride that he had beaten Hajime to it, even though the person in question seemed more fixated on the mirrors that lined the walls of the elevator.
Once the doors closed and the elevator began moving, Tooru took the time to speak. “Okay, so we’re not going to see my actual family until tomorrow, probably,” he reiterated, “but we don’t know who we might run into, so just pretend you like me more than normal, alright?”
“We’re literally going to be walking from this elevator to our room,” Hajime countered, “I think we’ll be okay.”
“Aren’t you hungry?” Tooru asked. “For dinner, I mean.”
The doors in front of them opened, Hajime taking charge. “I’ll force you to grab something for the both of us, obviously.”
“So mean,” Tooru huffed, following his companion down the hallway, watching the golden number plates on the walls beside the doors of the rooms, counting up until they rounded the corner and Tooru was faced with 514.
Hajime swiped the keycard, a small light blinking green before the door unlocked and he pushed it open. Tooru let out a low whistle when he walked inside. There was a whole living room-reminiscent area greeting them as they walked in, not unfamiliar to what Tooru had with Sugawara back home. Beyond that was a closed door to the bathroom, and the fated single bed.
“Not even a king?” Tooru said.
Hajime snorted. “Not everything’s exactly fit for you, you know.”
“I guess you’re right, everything needs flaws, here and there.” Tooru slipped off his shoes before gloriously faceplanting right into the bed, smiling at the way the covers puffed up around him.
“I can take the couch.”
Tooru laughed. “It’s okay, not everything has to be sarcasm with you all the time.” When Hajime didn’t say anything, Tooru sat up and turned to face him. “Wait, you’re kidding, right?”
While it had never been explicitly in the same bed, there wasn’t childhood best friends without sleepovers and sleepovers without the, while pretend, sleep.
“Shower,” Hajime only mumbled back, leaving his suitcase and heading straight to the bathroom, closing the door behind him.
Tooru huffed and fell back onto the bed, calling back, “Don’t be too long,” only just before he could hear the shower turn on and plumbing get to work. He took the time to unpack, looking out over the window overlooking the street.
Eventually, he shot a quick text to Sugawara, letting him know that they had landed and arrived at their hotel smoothly, before taking Hajime’s place in the bathroom.
When he left, he found Hajime sitting on the bed, flipping through the aforementioned binder. “Are you hungry for dinner? There’s room service,” he said without giving Tooru a second glance.
“Is there now?” Tooru took a seat on the side of the bed next to him, overlooking the pages in the binder.
“It seems like it’s mostly breakfast, though.”
“What’s wrong with a little breakfast food for dinner?” Tooru grabbed the binder from Hajime’s lap, scanning through the menu on his own. “I could really go for some pancakes right now.”
Hajime sighed. “I’ll call.”
Sugawara (21:23): did you meet up with your sister yet??
(21:27): no, thank god
(21:27): that’s tomorrow
Sugawara (21:28): tell her hi for me
(21:28): uve never met before tho
Sugawara (21:29): bring her back over here, then
(21:29): and still have to fake a relationship with iwa? hah.
Tooru set down his phone. He dug through his suitcase until he found his journal, grabbing the pen packed beside it. He crossed his legs and got to work.
“I didn’t know you still journaled,” Hajime said once he hung up.
“I don’t,” Tooru said, focused on the page in front of him. “I just bring it around to look cool, obviously.” It wasn’t a complete lie. Oftentimes he had to force himself to sit and write, or else nothing would get done, and part of it was just the appeal of looking like a mysterious stranger with important, poignant thoughts worth capturing.
But his entries were far from it, and he wasn’t sure how acceptable it was to have, essentially, a diary as an adult. Hajime walked around to the other side of the bed, taking a seat. Tooru shifted himself to hide what he was writing from his point of view. Hajime scoffed in response.
“I’m writing a top secret report, Iwa-chan, it’s not for public consumption,” he said, tapping his pen on the paper. What was the word he was looking for? Oh, right, tangible.
Soon, the distant noise of the local news filled the room, Hajime setting the remote down on the bedside table. Tooru welcomed it, a nice sort of background noise for him to work against. As close as they were with one another, it was nearly impossible for him and Hajime to spend a whole day together and keep up a conversation the whole time. Lucky for both of them, they were both masters in the art of enjoying one another’s company, in silent bonding. It probably stemmed from times of being separated from each other in the classroom for being a nuisance to the instruction, or maybe being bound to get on one another’s nerves was a recipe for disaster if one of them didn’t shut up here and there.
In no time at all, there was a loud knock on their door. Hajime wordlessly stood, thanking the employee, carrying in the tray of pancakes, grabbing the syrup and utensils.
“C’mon. You’re not eating on our bed.”
Tooru sighed but complied, closing his journal and setting the pen on the bedside table, next to his and Hajime’s phones. He couldn’t help but notice how stiff the word our had come from Hajime. It made Tooru consider the possibility of he himself offering to take the couch, if sharing truly was uncomfortable for Hajime.
There was a pair of loveseats facing one another, a small round wooden table sat between them, laid next to where the door was. Hajime set down the tray, stepping back to open the minibar.
“Pass me a soda, will you?” Tooru asked, taking a seat and enjoying the scent wafting from the food.
“This late at night, after not sleeping at all?” The minibar door closed, Hajime setting down two water bottles. “Besides, everything in here but the water is overpriced.”
“Aren’t we on vacation?” Tooru shot back, but he complied and uncapped one of the water bottles.
“You’re on vacation,” Hajime said, grabbing a fork and knife and sliding the rest of the plastic utensils to Tooru. “I’m simply the travel buddy you had to bring along.”
“You can at least pretend to be my boyfriend around my family,” Tooru mumbled before taking the first bite. “How’s Makki and Mattsun?” he asked after swallowing. Nothing special, but it beat airport food or simply skipping the meal altogether.
“Fine,” Hajime said with a mouthful of food. “They want to move out of their current apartment building, though.”
“Really? We’d be happy to have them.”
Hajime raised an eyebrow. “You and Sugawara couldn’t fit anyone else even if you tried.”
“Mmf,” Tooru swallowed, “in the same building, obviously. Can’t be sharing a bed with anyone else, now can I?” He shot Hajime a wink, who only turned back to his food and hid his face behind the water bottle.
They were both exhausted, and the other could tell. It was a strange thing, how spending the entire day sitting on a plane could make one so strained for rest, but Tooru’s body yelled at him to spend time contemplating it tomorrow instead. Once he was done with his meal, he simply gathered his clothes from his suitcase and closed the bathroom door behind him. Hajime followed suit as soon as he was done.
Once Hajime was changed, though, things felt awkwardly silent between the two of them.
Tooru was the one to break it, as always. “Look, if you’re really that uncomfortable with it I can just take the couch-”
“No, no, I know you didn’t sleep on the plane today.” Still, Hajime sat at the foot of the bed.
“Well, I know that you slept through the day in the same seated position. Taking the couch couldn’t be good for your posture.” Hajime stayed silent, seemingly focused on a spot on the carpeted floor in front of him. Tooru sighed. “Look, we can just share it, it’s fine. I don’t bite, you know.”
“I’m more worried about the kicking.” Hajime waved his hand, and Tooru swore he saw the beginnings of a smile on his face. “You know, the whole incident with the water bottle-”
“Oh, that was one time!” Tooru laughed. “Besides, if I kick, I know you’re just going to kick me right back.”
“It’s what you deserve.”
He frowned at Hajime’s jab, but grabbed the covers of the bed and lifted, settling himself under, taking the left side of the bed. Tooru grabbed his phone from the table, scrolling through his notifications idly, before he noticed Hajime joining him, nearly falling off the edge. “Are you tired enough?” he asked, because he certainly was, but it would feel better coming from Hajime.
“Yes.” Hajime turned the lamp on his side off, nearly plunging the entire room in darkness. Tooru gave Sugawara one last response to the picture he’d sent with Tooru’s ice cream, i swear if its not there when i get back, before doing the same, eyes taking a moment to adjust to the sudden darkness.
Hajime turned his back towards Tooru instantly, without a word.
“Not even a good night?” Tooru said into the silence, laying on his back and staring at the ceiling. He heard the distant sound of footsteps outside their room, mixed with muffled voices.
“I’m not your mom,” was Hajime’s response. “She can kiss you goodnight tomorrow.”
Tooru huffed and turned, facing his back to Hajime. Fine. He could be cold, too. Though the bed certainly had enough space for both of them, it seemed that they were putting as much distance between the two of them as physically possible. Tooru shifted the pillow under his head.
“Stop.”
Tooru frowned. “What exactly am I doing?”
“Making noise.”
“Well, so are you.”
“You started it!”
“My sleeping schedule doesn’t care who started it, only about whatever gets in its way.”
“Oh, you know what-”
Tooru kicked back his leg. A loud thump followed. “Shit.”
He turned and propped himself up with his arm, leaning as far as he could to look over the edge of the bed.
“This isn’t funny.”
“Not at all,” Tooru followed with a sputtered laugh, enjoying the sight of Hajime, quite literally so far away from him that all it had taken to push him over the edge was a gentle nudge. Though, in all honesty, what Tooru was going for had not been a gentle nudge.
“This is more comfortable, anyways.”
Tooru shook his head. “Come on. Like I said, I don’t bite-”
“-but you do kick.”
“I won’t.” A feeling akin to light frustration washed over Tooru. He turned away from Hajime, wrapping himself up in the blanket as he had been before. “You don’t have to be so damn stubborn all the time,” he huffed.
He heard Hajime take his place back on the bed again. What he’d expected was something like, “Only if you do,” or, “Look who’s talking?” Not, a real, genuine; “Sorry.”
“It’s okay,” Tooru mumbled. It really was, he was often as stubborn and persistent with Hajime as Hajime was with him. “Not your fault.”
A moment of silence passed between them, Hajime still sitting at the edge of the bed.
“But really, you don’t have to lay at the very edge of the bed like I’m something worth avoiding.”
And here, instead of a, “Because you are,” Hajime simply slid back into bed, and while they were still far from touching, Tooru could tell something inside him seemed to relax. In turn, he let the tension in his shoulders loosen, to let the distant noises of the city guide him to sleep.
-
Tooru’s eyes fluttered open. He almost jumped at the realization that there was a whole human arm on his chest, but heard Hajime’s snores, and was reminded of where exactly he was, and that no, it wasn’t an axe murderer.
In his sleep, Hajime had turned towards Tooru, his hand laying on Tooru’s chest. Somehow, Tooru had ended up on his back, an awfully uncomfortable position to fall back asleep in who knew how early in the morning. Slowly, trying not to disturb Hajime, he turned to his right, to fully face him.
There was barely any light in the room, but Tooru could make out Hajime’s face, and his memory filled in the rest for him. He almost took the opportunity to enjoy this silent version of him, a version that wasn’t constantly there to tease him, a softer, more vulnerable version. But Tooru knew Hajime would hate him for that. And, his body felt like it was going to give out if he didn’t fall back asleep right then and there.
So, regretting the decision as soon as it was done, he turned away from Hajime, pulling up the blanket high above his shoulders, letting Hajime’s hand drop to the pillow. He closed his eyes and let his body do the rest.