Chapter Text
Hayama wiped his sweaty hands on his jeans, trying to calm his racing heart. “Come on, Kotaro, you can do this; it’s not that hard,” he told himself. “This isn’t something that you haven’t done a million times.”
No matter how many times he tried to convince himself that it wasn’t that big of a deal, he couldn’t. He stood in front of the door to his normal hair salon, trying to steady his breathing. He didn’t want his stylist to ask him what was wrong, because he knew that he wouldn’t be able to give a truthful answer.
After one last breath, he swung the door open and traipsed in.
“Ko-chan!” his stylist greeted him with the smile he always did.
“Hey, Reo-nee!” he grinned back, hoping that he was able to hold back the flush on his face enough.
“I’m so happy to see you!” The other man's eyes sparkled and Hayama’s heart skipped a beat. He really wasn’t sure how he was going to handle his haircut today, but... he had to.
Hayama had been coming to this salon for nearly two years, every month, on the third Friday. He liked to have his hair kept short, and Mibuchi always did exactly what he wanted, no matter if he changed it up or not. He also would’ve liked to have Mibuchi dye his hair, possibly, but Mibuchi had told him that his natural blond color was beautiful, and he’d decided that he’d probably never change it after that.
“Hey, it’s always good to see you, too, Reo-nee,” Hayama said. “Of course, I wouldn’t trust anyone else with my hair, after all.”
“Of course not! I am the best,” Mibuchi flipped some of his hair over his shoulder.
Hayama was a little jealous of Mibuchi’s hair and how beautiful and long it was, but at the same time he was pretty sure he’d never be able to handle long hair like that. Mibuchi’s hair was black and silky, and Hayama wanted to run his fingers through it every time he saw it.
“What are you thinking today, Ko-chan?” Mibuchi asked, leading Hayama back to the chair.
“Well, um... just the regular, I guess, I mean... I’m not doing anything special this month anyway, so...”
“Oh? No hot dates or anything?” Mibuchi winked at him.
“As if,” Hayama rolled his eyes. “I don’t go out that much, you know that.”
“Which I don’t understand, because an attractive young man like you should get out there, Ko-chan! You could pick up any lady you wanted!”
Hayama snorted. He’d known Mibuchi for almost two years and Mibuchi still somehow assumed he was straight. He was kind of playing a game to see how long it would take him, but at the same time, he did just want to tell him that he was into men. Mibuchi was so very open about his own sexuality, wearing rainbow earrings more often than not, and he’d occasionally wear a rainbow headband. It was very endearing to Hayama.
“Yeah, well. I don’t really want a lady friend,” Hayama shrugged, making eye contact with Mibuchi in the mirror.
Mibuchi gasped. “Ko-chan, how could you say that?! Any young lady would be so enamored with you as soon as she laid eyes on you! And you would refuse her?!”
“I mean, probably.”
‘God, Reo-nee, how dense can you fucking GET?! I like men, in particular, YOU and I've been trying to tell you that for the past like three visits but I swear you’re like a brick wall,’ Hayama thought to himself.
“How rude, Ko-chan! You should at least give a nice lady any chance!”
“You saying that to me is just as pointless as it would be for me to say that to you,” Hayama rolled his eyes, trying to get the goddamn point across.
“I would never deny a young lady a date! I’m shocked and offended that you would even think that, Ko-chan!”
“Oh, so you’d string a girl along?”
“I never said that,” Mibuchi scoffed. “I mean, do you think any girl is going to look at me and say, ‘Oh, I'm sure he’s into girls.’ I highly doubt that. But if she wanted me to take her out to lunch or something, it’s hardly my place to say no. I am a gentleman, I'll have you know.”
“I’m sure you are,” Hayama sighed, shrugging. He was pretty sure at this point he’d have to beat it over Mibuchi’s head that he liked men with a fucking stick. He wasn’t sure even that would work, though.
Mibuchi got out the clippers and started on Hayama’s haircut, leaving the two of them to their own thoughts. Usually Mibuchi was rather chatty, spilling all of the gossip of his coworkers and other people around him, but today he was quiet.
Hayama was used to Mibuchi’s prattling, so having him be so quiet was a bit unnerving. “Hey, Reo-nee?” he asked tentatively.
Mibuchi hummed, grabbing the spray bottle to dampen Hayama’s hair.
“Are you okay?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” Mibuchi asked, raising an eyebrow. “I’m always happy to work on your hair, Ko-chan.”
“You just seem... I dunno, was it something I said just now? You seemed fine when I walked in.”
“Well... I suppose I could use some advice, Ko-chan...”
“Oh? You’re asking me for advice? After all the stories I’ve told you?” Hayama chuckled. He didn’t have a very good track record of doing smart things. He’d once accidentally set his eyebrows on fire, he’d nearly burned his apartment down, he’d done many very stupid things.
“I think you’re probably the best person to ask, Ko-chan. I mean...” Mibuchi sighed, making eye contact for a moment in the mirror.
Hayama had always loved how their eyes were nearly the same color. Mibuchi’s were just a little more green and Hayama’s more gray. But they both had blue-green eyes and a part of Hayama wanted to believe that it was a sign that they were soulmates. He doubted that Mibuchi would agree, but...
“Have you ever liked anyone, Ko-chan?” Mibuchi asked.
Hayama blinked rapidly. “What?” he somehow squeaked out.
Mibuchi chuckled lightly. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
“Okay, yeah, of course I've liked someone, but where’d that come from all of a sudden?”
“I just... I think I like this guy and I'm pretty sure he only likes women and I’m...” Mibuchi sighed. “I kind of hate that, you know?”
“Who is he? Have you told him? Did he reject you? I swear I’ll murder him!” Hayama seethed, his blood already boiling. If anyone had dared to break Mibuchi’s heart, he’d kill the guy himself.
“No, no, nothing like that,” Mibuchi waved his hands, putting the scissors down to set his palms on Hayama’s shoulders. Even through the plastic covering, Hayama could feel the warmth of his hands and it set him at ease. “He doesn’t even know. He’s a good friend, though, and I don’t want to ruin our friendship by making it awkward for him. I don’t want him to think that I'm only his friend because I like him. I think I like him because he’s my friend, honestly.”
The smile on Mibuchi’s face was simultaneously the cutest thing Hayama had ever seen and it also broke his heart in half. He wanted to be the one who made Mibuchi smile like that. But... if he already liked someone, he doubted that was going to be him ever again.
“Well... If he refuses to still be your friend even after that, then he’s a shitty friend to begin with,” Hayama sighed. “At least, in my opinion. I think that feelings don’t change anything about a friendship. I mean, they can, of course, but if your feelings make the guy feel weird, then maybe he likes you back.”
Mibuchi chuckled. “You’re rambling, Ko-chan.”
“Sorry,” Hayama bit his lip. “I didn’t mean to.”
“No, it was very cute. But I still don’t really get what you’re trying to say.”
Hayama sighed. Now was as good a time as any, he supposed, to finally get his feelings off his chest. “I guess... What if I told you that I like you, Reo-nee? What would you do then?”
Mibuchi’s whole body froze, and he slowly looked Hayama in the eyes through the mirror. “Ko-chan?”
“Would my feelings for you make you uncomfortable? Would that make us unable to be friends anymore?” He bit his lip, maintaining eye contact. He wasn’t going to take back his statement, even if Mibuchi told him to.
“Don’t play with me like that, Ko-chan,” Mibuchi laughed awkwardly, gently pushing Hayama’s head. “But I guess I get what you’re saying now. Of course, if you actually did have feelings for me, I wouldn’t object.”
“Then why won’t you just accept how I feel now? Because I promise you, I've liked you for a long while. Why do you think I keep coming back here when I could go anywhere else?” Hayama tried not to let his emotions get out of control, but he would rather have Mibuchi full-out reject him rather than waffle around like whatever he was doing right now.
“I thought you were going out with someone though,” Mibuchi said quietly.
Hayama blinked. He most definitely was not and he hadn’t ever told Mibuchi that he had a partner, so why would he even think that? “I’m not? Where did you even get that crazy thought?”
“I saw you... a few days ago with someone.”
“Oh? Who?”
Mibuchi looked down and opened and closed his scissors in a helpless gesture. “A redhead. He was very handsome, a little shorter than you. I saw you leaving a café together, and you had your arm around his shoulder, so I just assumed...”
Hayama could barely hold in his laugh. “You thought I was going out with him? God no, Reo-nee. He and I are good friends, and we have brunches together sometimes. He is definitely not my type at all.”
“Oh? Then what is your type, Ko-chan? Some big busty girl?”
Hayama sighed. “Even after all this time, you still somehow think I'm straight, huh? I think you really need to have your gaydar fixed, Reo-nee.”
Mibuchi raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me, my gaydar is fine.”
“It really is not, if you think I like women. I really don’t. My type is definitely not women.”
“Oh, really?” Mibuchi seemed actually surprised by this. “Huh. Maybe I do need to get my gaydar fine-tuned, then. I mean... I was kind of hoping that you were into men, but I just kind of thought it was my ‘please be gay’-dar going off.”
“Does that mean something, Reo-nee? Have you fallen for my dashing good looks and you really just hoped that I liked men?” Hayama smirked.
“I will shave you bald, Ko-chan, don’t even think that I won’t,” Mibuchi held up the clippers threateningly.
“But you won’t, right?” Hayama blinked at him.
“You’re right, because I’m done with your hair,” Mibuchi said, taking the cover off of him with a flourish. “Now get out of my chair so I can get to my next client.”
“How rude! You’re kicking me out without even letting me okay the haircut you gave me?!” Hayama pretended he was offended, but really, he trusted Mibuchi. He knew that Mibuchi would give him what he wanted and it would always look good.
“Yes, yes, now pay me and begone,” Mibuchi shooed Hayama away jokingly.
...
Hayama left a sizable tip, as he always did, and it made Mibuchi’s heart warm. Had he really been truthful? Did he really like Mibuchi like Mibuchi liked him? Hayama had always been a bit of an enigma to Mibuchi, if he was honest.
He was a kind soul, and he was always smiling and laughing, but the serious look on his face when he’d told Mibuchi that he liked him sent Mibuchi’s heart into overdrive. He’d never seen his Ko-chan like that before, and he wanted to see what other sides of Hayama he didn’t know.
He’d put his phone number on the back of Hayama’s receipt, in hopes that the other would actually call him. He could, of course, find Hayama’s number from the system, but he wasn’t a creep and he wasn’t going to do that. He was going to let Hayama come to him if his feelings were real.
Perhaps Mibuchi had been burned one too many times and in some way he was trying to test Hayama’s real feelings, but... he hoped that Hayama wouldn’t hold that against him.
After he got home that night, his phone pinged with a message, and he truly hoped that it was Hayama getting in touch with him.
Unknown Number: Hey, hope Reo-nee didn’t give me a bogus number, but hey it’s Kotaro.
Mibuchi: Ko-chan!!! I’m shocked and offended that you would even have the thought that I'd give you a bogus number.
Ko-chan: Well, I mean, after what happened today, I just kinda... thought that maybe I came on to strong for you? I didn’t mean to...
Mibuchi: It’s okay, I really didn’t mean to react that way. But... if you want to take me out on a date, I woudln’t be opposed, you know.
Ko-chan: !!!!!! Really?!?!?! I’d definitely love to take you out! Are you free tomorrow? I know this great place we can go to tomorrow evening!!!
Mibuchi chuckled to himself. Really, Hayama was too cute for his own good sometimes. He was really like a puppy and it was the most adorable thing.
Mibuchi: I am free tomorrow evening, yes, but I have an early shift tomorrow, so I must get to bed. Just message me the details of the date later tomorrow, okay?
Ko-chan: Okay!!! Um.... maybe I could pick you up after work, actually? And we could go get dinner and then I can show you this really cool place?
Mibuchi: I would like to go home and shower first after I get off work, though. I do want to look my best for you, Ko-chan!
Ko-chan: Reo-nee, you always look good. But if you want to shower first, that’s fine, I guess. Meet me for dinner, though?
Mibuchi: Of course. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Good night.
Ko-chan: Sweet dreams, Reo-nee!
Mibuchi smiled at his phone and placed it on his bedside table to charge. He hadn’t really been on a date in a long time, and he was very much looking forward to this one with Hayama, just to see how it went. Though... it was Hayama. He was pretty sure it would be something that involved a lot of energy.