Chapter Text
About a week after everyone had been cast in their roles for Together with Maman they were given their costumes to try on. With his usual bored expression, Kumatani donned the plush, brown suit of Kumao. An assistant helped him zip the thing up from the back since there was no way he’d be able to do it himself with his mitten hands.
“Thank you,” he said to the assistant with a bow of his head.
“Oh, no problem,” the assistant replied. “I’ll leave the rest to you. I’ve got to go do the same for Usahara-san.”
The assistant waved before ducking out of the room, leaving Kumatani alone with the beady-eyed bear head he still needed to put on. He took the bulbous thing in two hands and shoved it over his own head.
It was immediately warm, but not oppressively so. He imagined it would be a different story under the set lights, but nothing he couldn’t handle. If Kumatani had nothing else, he had stamina.
Behind him, he heard the door open again. He turned to see the person there through the mesh of his mask. It took him a moment to make them out thanks to the new point of view, but he quickly realized that it is Daga Iketeru - Iketeru-oniisan. They’ve spoken a few times since auditions, but nothing at length. Kumatani saw Iketeru as a bit of an airhead, but not in any way that bothered him. He couldn’t see there being any issues with them getting along for the duration of the series, which was how he preferred things.
“Oh!” Iketeru said, surprise lacing his voice. “I’m sorry. I was looking for the toilet. Must have made a wrong turn somewhere…”
His voice trailed off and Kumatani couldn’t decide if Iketeru was mentally retracing his steps or if his mind had simply wandered off without him.
“I can show you…” Kumatani said as he went to pull the bear's head off.
Except that the head didn’t budge.
“Ah…” he said.
“Is it stuck?” Iketeru asked. He was suddenly much closer, violet-grey eyes peering closely.
Kumatani pulled harder, but the head remained in place.
“It was my first time wearing it,” Kumatani explained. “The opening must be just a bit too small…”
“Let me give it a try,” Iketeru said.
Before Kumatani could reply, Iketeru had reached forward and firmly grasped the bear’s head in both hands. With a force stronger than Kumatani would have expected from someone with Iketeru’s leaner frame, he yanked at the head.
Kumatani felt a rough tug at his neck and the back of his head, but then his head was free from the costume. Except that, along with the freedom, came the sense of being knocked off his axis. The strength of Iketeru’s pull sent them both falling - Iketeru backward, Kumatani forwards.
They both landed on the floor with a heavy thump. Iketeru lost his grip on the bear’s head, letting it skitter across the floor.
But Kumatani’s focus wasn’t on the costume anymore. It was on Iketeru’s lips which were now a scant inch or so away from his own. They were puckered up in a surprised “o” shape, which struck Kumatani as incredibly cute. His heart did a weird flip at the thought. The sensation sent him scrambling back and off of Iketeru’s body.
“I’m very sorry,” he said, bowing.
Across from him, Iketeru sat up and laughed. “Don’t worry about it,” he replied. “It was my fault in the first place.”
They both stood, Iketeru dusting off his pleated white slacks. Somehow his costume still looked pristine.
“Well, let me show you where the toilet is anyway,” Kumatani said.
“I’d appreciate it,” Iketeru said with a smile. “It’s Kumatani, right?”
“Yeah. That’s right.”
“Then thank you, Kumatani-san.”