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Suzuki walked out of the bedroom to find Sugiki already sitting at the dining table, eyes glued to his laptop and holding a cup of coffee in his free hand before 7:30 A.M. Despite how energetic he comes across, Suzuki is not at all a morning person, unlike the man in front of him who goes on morning runs five times a week.
"Whatcha doin'?" He greeted with a yawn.
"Checking emails."
"Cool, sounds fun. Did you have breakfast yet?" He made his way to the kitchen counter and poured some coffee into his own mug, then dragged his feet toward the fridge for some milk. "No, I was waiting for you to wake up. I can go to the convenience store now if you'd like."
"Nah, it's fine, we need to clean out the fridge a bit anyway." Seeing that the toast they kept in the bread bin was nearing its due date in a few days, Suzuki settled for sandwiches instead of something too time-consuming. It may not be much, but mornings like these are something they both value due to their schedules rarely matching up to have other meals together.
After sharing some silence between them – one waiting for the toaster and the other continuing with his task – Sugiki sat up straighter and started reading his screen more intently. "Huh, this is interesting."
“What is?”
“They’re inviting me to do lectures over in Germany.” With his hands carrying two plates of breakfast, Suzuki sat down to the right of Sugiki and replied, “Well, that’s a good opportunity, you should take it.”
Sugiki tilted his head to one side, “hm, but it’s a week after the Dutch Open, which means I’ll have to stay there for three weeks in total.” Had this been them when they first got back together, three weeks would’ve been nothing compared to the amount of time they spent away from each other a few summers ago. But now they’ve grown accustomed to one another, and more unwilling to separate. “Aw, I didn’t know you were so attached to me,” Suzuki teased by poking his partner’s cheek, who responded by pushing the hand away, “that’s not it.”
“Then there’s no reason not to go.”
“Do you want me out of the house that badly?” Sugiki smirked as he turned toward the other man. Wide-eyed, Suzuki gaped in astonishment before trying to defend himself, “What- no! You know that’s not what I meant-”
Sugiki lightly patted Suzuki’s hand as if to soothe him, though the cheeky smile on his face was more aggravating than anything. “Yes, yes, I was only messing with you. I’ll accept, if you insist.” They may have aged a few years, but purposefully annoying Suzuki for some cheap laughs will never get old.
-
The two men stood at the door, one with two suitcases by his sides and one checking said suitcases just in case, “Are you sure you have everything?” Sugiki sighed and dropped his shoulders, “This is the third time you’ve asked me since yesterday.”
“Sorry, big brother instincts.” Growing up with only younger siblings, Suzuki had made it a habit to ask that question knowing that the answer was often ‘no’ despite how confident they were a few minutes ago. “But I’m not a child,” Sugiki furrowed his eyebrows and slightly frowned. ‘ Well, you are sometimes,’ was what Suzuki wanted to reply with, but he knew better than to bicker with Sugiki when he’s about to leave. “Shit, you’ll have to go now or you’ll be late, the traffic right now is terrible too.” Suzuki glanced at the clock on the wall and blurted out.
“Aw, can I at least have my goodbye kiss before I go?” Sugiki pouted and left Suzuki utterly dumbfounded as he wondered how the man he first saw dancing on the TV, who seemed so above it all, could be so stubborn and even childish when they’re alone. “I was going to, but now that you’re asking for it…” his mumbling faded away as Sugiki’s hands rested on his shoulders and his face drew closer. Suzuki began by giving him a simple kiss on the mouth, but in realizing that he won’t be able to touch or even dance with Sugiki at all for the next few weeks, he slipped his tongue in, this time with a certain sense of urgency.
They clung onto each other, Sugiki’s arms wrapped around the blond’s neck and Suzuki’s hands feeling Sugiki’s back muscles. The longer it went on, the harder it was to let go. For these two, who have danced together ever since they met, it was strange to have to adjust to a state of being where they won’t feel that connection for a few days, let alone a few weeks. Alas, time was ticking and Sugiki had somewhere to be, so they loosened their grips on each other no matter how much they wanted it to continue. Suzuki, with his hands just above Sugiki’s hips, looked intently at all the details in his face trying to memorize it the best he could, and sighed, “Have a safe trip, call me when you get there.”
Sugiki smiled back; he loved the little hint of worry in Suzuki’s voice that he let himself show, it was better than all the times he pretended to be the opposite. He quickly kissed him again, since that was all that time allowed them, said, “I will”, then towed his luggage with him to the elevator.
-
Sugiki was sitting in a cafe in the afternoon when he got a text from Suzuki asking if he wanted to make a phone call. The two have worked out a schedule within a few days where they could both call each other during their waking hours. He would’ve preferred a video call, but hearing Suzuki’s voice was enough for the time being. Suzuki, who was in bed at almost midnight, scrolled through the pictures Sugiki sent in the last few days and said, “can you stop sending me your travel pictures?” as soon as the call got through. It’s a strange sentence to open with, but Sugiki gave a reply regardless. “And hello to you, too. Why, you don’t like them?”
“No, I do like them, which is exactly why you should stop sending them. It’s making me jealous.” Sugiki laughed at the explanation; Suzuki, who’s competing in most of the major international competitions this year, is jealous of Sugiki on a business trip? “Then we should come here sometime, just the two of us.” He tried inviting Suzuki as he stirred his coffee.
“You mean it?” A smile crept up Suzuki’s mouth as he tried to fight it off by biting his lower lip. It’s been a while since they took a trip together that wasn’t for work. “Yeah, I’ve been here a couple of times, I can show you around.” If there was enough time, Sugiki would travel the world with him. Maybe when they’re old and gray, when they’ve long retired and dance politics no longer mean a thing to them anymore, they can dance together in whatever country they set their foot in. Sugiki, a love-struck fool smiling to himself in a cafe, started talking about what he did during the past two weeks with all the people he’s met and the places he visited (or revisited). Suzuki’s comment came as an interruption as Sugiki gushed about a memory he had in mind at the moment, “Sounds like you’re having fun.”
Sugiki might not be the best at understanding expressions and tones of voices, but this much he can still manage. Suzuki is rather transparent with his emotions, after all, “I guess so, but I like it better back home.” He wasn’t lying; fourteen days of socializing and teaching was wearing him out, and Suzuki wasn’t with him so he could recharge at the end of the day, either. Surely, he must feel the same way , Sugiki thought. “Me too,” sighed Suzuki as he gave away the perfect opportunity to tease him again. Sugiki quickly followed up with a playful grin, “Do you miss me?”
“Psh, no, ‘cause I finally got the house to myself.” Suzuki lied as a reflex reaction. It was partly true, the house stayed quite neat for some time without Sugiki’s bad habit of leaving things around and not putting them back, but it started to feel weird having everything too tidy after some time. “It doesn’t hurt to be honest every once in a while, darling,” Sugiki had already anticipated a response like this and added the ‘darling’ at the end as a test, but was surprised that Suzuki wasn’t averse to it like he usually would’ve been; maybe the distance really was getting to him. “...Yeah, I know, I do miss you. A lot.” Suzuki’s reply came as a smaller, quieter voice through the phone, as if he didn’t want other people to hear. “I’ll be back next week,” Sugiki said in a reassuring tone.
“Mhmm. Looking forward to that,” nodded Suzuki even though the man on the other line couldn’t see it. Before they had the chance to talk some more, Sugiki told him that he had someone to meet up with later in the evening and that he should get ready for it soon. Suzuki unwillingly bid his goodbye, but remembering that Sugiki would be back in his arms next week at this time improved his mood a little.
-
When Sugiki entered the house past 1 A.M. and saw Suzuki napping in the fetal position on the sofa, he couldn’t help but smile at the fact that his partner is still adorable even when he doesn’t intend to be. He bent down to sit on his knees next to Suzuki and reached out his hand to pinch his lips in an attempt to wake him in the most annoying way possible. Suzuki wrinkled his nose as he felt the irritation on his face, and slapped Sugiki’s hand away when it finally got too much and groaned, “fuck off!” before opening his eyes to see who interrupted his sleep. “Oh, it’s you. When did you get here?” he said with a sudden change of mood.
“I just came in.” Sugiki’s earlier smirk turned into a genuine look at his lover as Suzuki sat upright on the couch, his moves ever so graceful that they still resembled some sort of dance even when his fatigue was showing. Suzuki looked down at Sugiki on the floor, taking his hand then holding it, “You should’ve called me, Saichi-san could’ve driven you home.”
The other man averted his eyes and formed his mouth into a forceful smile that looked more like a frown than anything, “... No, it’s fine, I didn’t want to trouble him at this time of night.” Though it would be nice to have someone Sugiki knew drive him home, the thought of seeing Saichi-san before Suzuki after arriving at the airport was quite unpleasant, to say the least, so he insisted on saving Saichi-san some gas money. Sugiki rose and sat on the couch together with Suzuki and pressed his cheek against the backrest; it was too long of a flight and he would’ve been lying to say that he wasn’t exhausted. Suzuki, keeping his eyes on him, extended his arm to trace the contour of Sugiki’s ear with the back of his finger, just to see what reaction he would have. With his fingertips stopping at Sugiki’s earlobe, he whispered, “I feel like I haven't seen your face in a long while.”
“You could see my face if we did video calls but somebody refuses to get a proper phone.” Sugiki raised his eyebrows at ‘somebody’, causing Suzuki to roll his eyes; looks like today was yet another day that Sugiki made fun of his flip phone. He clicked his tongue in retaliation, “Tsk, shut up. It’s still a proper phone if it works.” His phone makes calls and sends texts and takes pictures, what other functions does it need? Sugiki let out a snort uncontrollably, “sure.” One of these days, he would have to get Suzuki a new phone, though. Setting the issue of Suzuki’s phone aside for now, Sugiki got up as he said, “By the way, do you have food in the fridge? I’m kind of hungry.” The airplane meals were alright for once, but he was missing some home-cooked food after three weeks of eating out.
“Yeah, actually, I accidentally made an extra portion of dinner last night.” Suzuki’s voice trailed off at the end, realizing that he unknowingly made enough dinner for two almost as if his subconscious knew before him that Sugiki was coming home later tonight. Sugiki looked back from the fridge with a raised brow, “That sounds awfully convenient.” The other man scratched the back of his neck as he watched Sugiki take the leftovers and set it on the counter, then murmured, “... I got used to cooking for two, so…”
After Suzuki put the bowl into the microwave and set it for two minutes, Sugiki went over to him and hugged Suzuki from behind, surprising him. He had thought that he knew Sugiki’s warmth well enough, given that they had danced together almost every single day, but only now did he understand just how long they’ve been apart. Suzuki, who was getting goosebumps from the sensation spreading throughout his body, held onto Sugiki’s arms as the two watched the plate spin in the microwave for a few moments.
A while later, Sugiki asked, “Is this my sweater you’re wearing?” when he noticed that what Suzuki had on didn’t fit his usual style. “... So what if I am?” Suzuki blushed and realized that he forgot to take it off before he fell asleep; good thing that he can’t see my face , he thought. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, wearing the sweater at home made him feel a little better about Sugiki’s three-week absence. Instead of teasing him again, Sugiki only replied, “Nothing, I was just gonna say that you look cute in it,” lightly pecked Suzuki’s shoulder, then rested his chin on the crook of his neck.
They never liked saying ‘I love you’ to one another much; not directly to each other, at least. It was still a little embarrassing for a man like Suzuki to articulate those feelings to another man without his face turning red (though Sugiki didn’t have much of a problem with it). Besides, there wasn’t really a need for that when they’re constantly professing their love through touch alone. Sugiki gently turned Suzuki’s head to the right so that they could face each other, and perhaps it was Suzuki’s half-lidded eyes or the soft, yellow light emanating from the microwave, but either way, it made him look all the more beautiful. Not wanting to share this sight with anyone, Sugiki held him closer by the waist and without the need to ask for it, Suzuki tilted his head at an angle for their lips to meet.
With Suzuki’s fingers intertwined in his partner’s now slightly longer hair, the kiss was slow, rhythmic, and calming, like every cell in their bodies was letting out a sigh of relief. There was no need to rush; the moment belonged to them and them alone. When the two of them pulled away for some air, foreheads still pressed together, Sugiki breathed just barely above earshot, “I’m home.”
Hearing this, Suzuki’s mouth formed into a wide grin without a second thought and chuckled quietly, “Welcome back,” as they connected their lips once more and kissed until they were caught off guard by the microwave timer.