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It’s been a little while now since Akihiko moved into his new apartment, and Haruki has come to the realisation that he’s never actually been there before. Their relationship is still very much new and fresh, and there’s a lot of adjustments they’ve had to do and will continue to do before things feel the way they should. But, of course, that doesn’t mean Haruki can’t visit Akihiko’s apartment in the meantime.
Akihiko seems… a little apprehensive about it, Haruki notices. At first, it doesn’t make sense to him, but then Akihiko blurts out that he really wants Haruki to approve of the place he’s chosen for himself. That sort of mindset doesn’t make sense to Haruki—it’s Akihiko’s apartment, after all, why should Haruki’s opinion matter? His argument that it would be great if they could take turns staying at the other’s place every now and then seems to have worked, thankfully, and Akihiko has agreed to let Haruki visit.
How kind of him.
“I can come pick you up,” Akihiko says. “I’m about to head home from work now.”
Haruki removes his phone from by his ear to look at the time, and then he presses his phone between his ear and shoulder again. “Okay. I’m bringing dinner as well. We can make it into a little moving in-party.”
Akihiko makes a noise, impossible to interpret over the phone. “You don’t have to go through the trouble. We could order pizza or something.”
“It’s fine! I got off work a long time ago and don’t have anything better to do, anyway. Don’t worry about it.”
“Fine,” Akihiko replies with what sounds like a sigh. Haruki smiles triumphantly to himself. “I’ll be outside your building in twenty minutes.”
“See you soon,” Haruki sing-songs, mostly because he loves teasing Akihiko and because he’s in a good mood. Maybe that rumoured honeymoon phase really is a thing, after all.
They hang up, and Haruki finishes cooking. It’s really nothing special, just a noodle stir-fry with wok vegetables and chicken. He figures he should at least bring something since he’s a guest; it doesn’t matter that they’re dating, Haruki thinks his figurative guest name-tag will stick to his chest for a little bit.
Akihiko’s estimate turns out to be scarily accurate. Haruki half-jogs down the stairs from his apartment, finding his boyfriend on his motorcycle parked right outside. He walks up to Akihiko who hands him a helmet, but before Haruki puts on his, he reaches up to remove Akihiko’s, pulling him close for a kiss.
“What was that for?” Akihiko asks, and Haruki smiles, shaking his head.
“What, I can’t kiss you just because I want to?”
Akihiko clears his throat, and casts his gaze to the side. “I didn’t say that, it was just unexpected.”
“You’ll get used to it,” Haruki replies as he puts his helmet on and hops up behind Akihiko on the motorcycle.
“I hope I don’t.”
“Why’s that?”
Akihiko laughs a little, and the sound makes Haruki’s heart sing. “Because then I’d take it for granted, and I don’t want that.”
Haruki is used to it taking a while for Akihiko to get to his apartment from where Akihiko used to live with his ex, but he barely has time to register the fact that they’re almost flying down the streets of Machida before Akihiko slows down and parks outside of an apartment complex. Haruki takes the helmet off and surveys his surroundings, mostly looking up at the building they’ve ended up outside. It’s rather inconspicuous, but it looks nice, and it’s in an area that doesn’t suffer as much traffic noise as Haruki’s building does.
Coming inside Akihiko’s apartment, Haruki takes the liberty of getting familiar with it. It’s very spacious and has a large panorama window in the kitchen/living room that boasts a very nice view. It’s a modest place, but Haruki knows not to expect anything less from Akihiko. He’d never been inside the apartment Akihiko shared with his ex, but Haruki at least knows that half of it was a basement and that Akihiko never got the chance to see festival fireworks from said apartment—not to mention even hear them since the place was sound-proof.
Haruki stands by the big window, looking out over the parking lot and skyscrapers towering in the distance. “This must be a big change from your old place, huh?”
“It really is,” comes Akihiko’s voice behind him. Haruki smiles to himself when he feels Akihiko’s arms wrap around his middle. “Might not be the nicest apartment, but it’s within my budget for now, and it’s fitting for my musical needs.”
“How come?”
“It’s sound-proof,” Akihiko replies, and Haruki can’t help but laugh. Sometimes he feels like Akihiko can read his mind; sometimes it’s scary, now it’s just funny.
“Oh. Is that the reason you picked it?”
When Akihiko’s response doesn’t come as immediately as Haruki expects it to, Haruki turns around to face Akihiko instead, and he’s met by what has to be the most adorable he’s ever seen Akihiko, with a blush starting to colour his cheeks, a slight crease between his eyebrows, and his lips formed into a little pout. Haruki can count the amount of times he’s seen Akihiko embarrassed on five fingers, including now, and he can’t help find it really cute.
“What is it?” he prompts, unable to hide the laughter in his voice that bubbles up in his throat.
“Don’t laugh,” Akihiko mutters. “You… um. Do you remember that time we stayed really late at the studio and ended up walking all the way back to your apartment?”
Haruki blinks, a little confused. “Of course I remember. What about it?”
He still remembers it as if it was just recently and not half a year ago: how he and Akihiko had talked about everything between heaven and Earth while walking from the studio back to Haruki’s apartment. He remembers how disgusted he’d been by Akihiko catching a white-tailed skimmer, the view of the city changing as night shifted into early morning, and how he had laughed so much that his cheeks and stomach had hurt.
“Well, I… think it was when I realised I had to change things in my life. Living with you and hanging out with you that night was the happiest I’d ever been, and I was reminded of it when the real estate agent showed me this place. It reminded me of how I couldn’t see or hear fireworks in Ugetsu’s basement, but at your place… it was visible and audible. And I wanted that for myself here, too.”
He doesn’t immediately realise it, but when Akihiko’s embarrassment visibly grows as the shade of pink in his cheeks darkens, Haruki realises he’s practically dropped his jaw at the sappiest thing he’s ever heard Akihiko say besides that time he confessed his feelings and asked Haruki out. Haruki feels like his heart grows three sizes, and a smile splits his face as the urge to hold Akihiko’s face in his hands prompts Haruki to follow through with his childish desire.
“What’re you doing?” Akihiko asks in a low, clearly mortified voice. Haruki shakes his head, still smiling so widely he knows his cheeks will hurt again.
“You’re so cute I couldn’t help myself.” For effect, he squishes Akihiko’s cheeks, distorting his face into a hilarious grimace that makes Haruki laugh, earning him a glare in response.
“I’m not cute.”
“I think you are.” Haruki lets go of Akihiko’s face and moves in closer to press a soft kiss to Akihiko’s lips. “Since it’s so rare for me to see you bashful, I can’t help but wanting to see more of it.”
Akihiko snorts. “I think it’s still easier for me to make you embarrassed than the other way around, though.”
“Maybe so,” Haruki says, his smile wiped out and replaced with a scowl similar to the one Akihiko had just a moment ago. “I’ll treasure the rare moments I get while you can get used to seeing me reduced to a mess merely because of your existence.”
“Should I take that as a good or a bad thing?”
Haruki lightly flicks Akihiko on the forehead, biting back a smile. “Take it as you wish. Let’s have dinner? I’m starving, and the food might start to get cold soon.”
Akihiko interlaces his fingers with Haruki’s, lifting Haruki’s hand to his lips and pressing a gentle kiss to it. Haruki just feels his face going beet red within a heartbeat, and it’s obvious Akihiko sees it, too, as he laughs.
“Sure,” Akihiko says, and Haruki silently plots his revenge—this won’t have been the last time he’s seen Akihiko blush, he’ll make sure of it.