Work Text:
You started eating my favorite candy
You buy a pack in every store you're in
Stocking up on strawberry mentos
So when you kiss me it'll taste like them
Daichi padded through the apartment, his feet thudding softly against the hardwood floor. Amber light streamed through the windows, bathing the room in a soft golden glow. It was peaceful, the feeling that he was the only thing in the apartment that was moving. It reminded him why he felt at home there.
He made his way to the kitchen to get his day started with some breakfast. Being a bit of a sugar fiend, he forced himself to eat a healthy breakfast every morning so he wouldn’t feel so bad when he broke and ate a ton of candy.
As if to remind him of just how true this was there was an empty wrapper from a tube of strawberry mentos. He didn’t remember eating a whole roll (14 individual mentos!) but it checked out for his sweet tooth and eating habits. He sighed, threw the wrapper away, and set about making himself a salad for breakfast. Yes, a salad. He needed something without too much sugar.
Daichi checked his phone to see the time, and couldn’t help but grin at his lock screen. It was a picture of him and his boyfriend, Sugawara Koushi, at their favorite restaurant. It had been their second date, and he’d already felt more at home with Koushi than he had with any of his exes.
He remembered what he was doing on his phone and read the time off the screen. 8:30. He was running a bit early, so he slipped his laptop into his bag to work while he waited. He made his way out the door and set off down the street.
He was on his way to meet his boyfriend at the park a few blocks from their apartment. Koushi had early morning classes on Mondays, so they always met up at the park with some snacks and coffee to boost his spirits.
Daichi stopped at the little cafe that was on his way to the park. He got an iced caramel latte for himself and a cold brew for Koushi. He wasn’t as into sugar as Daichi was. In fact, he was quite the opposite.
Ironically, this was one of Daichi’s favorite things about him. They loved to tease each other and jokingly argue over who was right. Kou was also so cute when he had sugar. His nose would always wrinkle, as if he was surprised by the flavor. It was adorable.
Daichi sat in the park and worked on his school work. He was also in university, but he had the sense to avoid the early classes. He sipped idly at his coffee while he worked, occasionally looking up to people-watch.
Koushi got to the park at around 9:15. Daichi waved him over, putting away his laptop. As Koushi got closer to him he thought he saw a slight wrinkle in his nose, but he wasn’t sure. He stood up to kiss Koushi (they didn’t get a chance in the morning, and he didn’t want to wait until he’d already started drinking his cold brew; it was too bitter for Daichi) and was surprised by a sweet taste. He pulled back a moment later, looking at Koushi quizzically.
“Was that..?” he started, trailing off as Kou smiled.
“Strawberry mentos? Yeah, I was eating some on the way over.” He paused, raising an eyebrow. “What, you're not happy I’m suffering through sweets for you?”
Daichi couldn’t contain his wide smile. “You’re so sappy,” he teased.
“You know you love it,” Kou said, just as teasingly. Daichi responded by kissing him again.
I've been searching for someone like you my whole life
So I pick up black licorice from еvery candy aisle
Even though I hatе the taste of it
I know that when I kiss you it'll make you smile
Koushi, the man of habit he was, started keeping a roll of strawberry mentos on him at all times. Daichi, of course, never got tired of this. If anything, he fell a little more in love every time he noticed. It was the little things, the tiny attention to detail.
Daichi, not to be outdone, started to look for something to do for Koushi that would have the same effect. The corner store he normally went to didn’t have any of his favorite candies, so Daichi started venturing out of his normal routine in search of somewhere that did. He went to a different store every Monday before meeting up with Kou at the park.
In the meantime, he started looking for any little thing he could do. One Sunday he surprised Koushi with his favorite food, super spicy mapo tofu, when he was cramming for an exam the next day. He started bringing sandwiches with him to the park on Mondays. He even bought Koushi’s favorite movie so they could watch it anytime he wanted to. Koushi always seemed touched or excited by these acts, but Daichi still wanted to do something for him that would be as regular and as sweet as what Kou continued doing for him.
Then one day his search ended. There was a cute little mom and pop store across the street from the cafe that he entered as a last ditch effort. He went to it a few weeks into his search and it was exactly what he had been looking for. The third aisle had several kinds of candy, many of which were not carried by corner stores Daichi had looked in. About halfway down the aisle he found what he was looking for; black licorice. He didn’t know what Koushi enjoyed about these, but if he could suffer through the sweetness of strawberry mentos for Daichi then Daichi could handle black licorice.
This monday it was Kou’s turn to be surprised. “Dai, did you get black licorice?”
Daichi tried for a shit eating grin, but it probably just looked elated. “I might have.”
Koushi laughed, then spun Daichi around and kissed him again. “I love you, you know that?”
Daichi rested his forehead against Koushi’s. “How could I not?”
You're deliberately kind
You make efforts to share your time
You're not afraid of your feelings
And you're not afraid of mine
I never knew love could be soft
I never knew love could be light
Now I'm so helplessly sugar high
On you
Daichi was head over heels for Sugawara Koushi. He’d known he was going to fall hard even when they had just started dating, but he’d never expected anything like this. They had been dating for two years now, and it was the happiest Daichi had ever been. He woke up every day with a smile on his face.
He was so gone.
Kou always surprised him with acts of kindness or little things to help him through his day. They weren’t even big things (well, sometimes they were, but most of the time it was small things), but Daichi had never been in a relationship where someone cared enough to notice or act on these small details. He still wasn’t used to being treated with that much care or given that much attention, but he wanted to be. He never wanted to stop feeling the way he did when he saw Kou.
Oh you're so sweet that my teeth are gonna fall out
I'll get cavities in every single one
Taking weekly trips to my dentist
But I know that it's worth it because
When I tasted strawberry mentos
I knew you were the one