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Kojiro stretched his arms above his head once they were off the plane, a tired smile on his lips as he took in the scenery around him. Sure, it was just the airport, but it was exciting.
He’d never grown up with the kind of money to travel a lot. The only big trip he’d done was Italy, staying there for school for two years. Which was certainly a big trip, but since he lived there for so long, and was there to actually study, it only felt like a vacation for a very brief moment before he was moving into his new place and in school so quickly after.
As soon as he got back to Japan, he got right to work with what he wanted to do. He knew he wouldn’t have a restaurant open immediately, but he knew he had a lot of work to do to get where he wanted to. He took up a job as soon as he could, working as much as he could to help wrack up cash while he looked for locations so he could have a place of his own someday. It was a lot of work, and on top of that, he still went to ‘S’ at least once a week, as well as woke early every morning just to be able to hit the gym and keep on top of his workout schedule. He was wiped out.
But hard work pays off; he was able to find a surprisingly affordable building for Sia la Luce –the name was a recent adoption and he fell in love with it–that also had a small floor above it that could work as an apartment. It would make commuting easy and he could be around to take care of any emergencies. It was like a dream, how perfect everything had turned out. In that fateful summer, things were slowly starting to piece together. Happy belated birthday, he supposed.
The farthest he’d gotten with progress was moving into the living space on the second floor, setting up only a couch, his bed, a clunky television set, and a refrigerator that only held four items. He didn’t even get a chance to look at coffee tables before Kaoru showed up.
“Hey, glad you’re here,” Kojiro greeted, barely looking up from his laptop. “You’re good at this interior design shit, help me find cheap furniture you can stand to look at whenever you decide to barge in so I don’t have to listen to you complain-”
“Do you have a suitcase?”
Kojiro stopped and raised an eyebrow, finally prying his eyes away from the blue haze of his screen. “I just moved.”
“Kojiro,” Kaoru warned, seemingly not having the patience to deal with him at the moment.
“Yeah, Kaoru, I still have my suitcase. It’s a little beat up, though. I think it will be fine if I need it.”
“Okay, take off work next month.”
Kojiro was silent, blinking at Kaoru as he waited for elaboration, but nothing came. Kaoru simply double-checked that the door was shut tight behind him before going immediately to Kojiro’s refrigerator.
“Help yourself,” Kojiro quipped, rolling his eyes before pushing himself off the couch. “Hang on, are you gonna tell me what you’re doing next month or- hey , that’s my dinner!”
Kaoru looked at him with a mouth full of spaghetti noodles from tupperware that he’d grabbed, a blank expression as he hip-checked the door shut. Kojiro took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. He supposed he could do takeout.
“We’re going to Paris,” Kaoru finally, suddenly answered before he scooped up another bite of the cold pasta.
“What?” Kojiro blinked. And then again, “ What? Why?”
Kaoru shrugged a little, but Kojiro could tell it wasn’t some kind of shrug response by the way his cheekbones colored pink slightly. He was embarrassed. Kaoru always tended to get embarrassed for anything sentimental–that will happen when you put so many walls up. Emotions become harder to process and express without feeling some kind of shame or guilt.
“Think of it as a celebration,” he answered. “You’ve been working so hard, I thought you needed a break. This is a very big milestone, you deserve some kind of reward.”
Kojiro didn’t know what to say at that moment. He felt his heart pound against his chest and then all fell quiet. Kaoru had funny ways of showing he cared about people usually, being very closed off–and rightfully so with everything he’d been through. So when he made any kind of grand gesture, Kojiro was always filled with this overwhelming love that he could barely describe and process. He could feel the stupid smile tugging at his lips, and he knew it was obvious by the embarrassed way Kaoru turned his head away.
“Kaoru-”
“And don’t worry about the costs. I’m covering it.”
“Huh? No, you don’t-”
“Ah!” Kaoru stopped him, turning his head back and holding a finger up. “It’s my treat. You need to focus on saving up for your restaurant. You don’t want Sia la Luce to go bankrupt before it even opens.”
Kojiro just couldn’t bring himself to say no.
So, a month later, and here they were, with Kojiro basking in the airport like it was one of the seven wonders. He’d been to Europe before, he’s been in a European airport. Maybe it was because it was Paris.
Why on earth did Kaoru choose Paris?
Infamously known as the city of love, one of the most romantic tourist spots–and here they were, a trip for two. Kaoru had also already made it clear that the hotel room he booked had a view of the Eiffel Tower, as well as only one bed. Given, it was a king and they’d shared beds plenty of times growing up. Don’t be immature about it, if anything, this will keep you from taking some French bimbo back with you, Kaoru had reprimanded. Not that Kojiro had planned on bringing someone back to a shared hotel room, regardless of how many beds they had.
“Kojiro,” a stern voice snapped him out of his thoughts. The taller man turned to meet Kaoru’s exhausted, unimpressed gaze. “ I’m hungry , I said,” he offered after a beat of Kojiro staring with nothing to offer. “Let’s keep moving so we can get settled in and get something to eat.”
“We can stop somewhere quick on the way,” Kojiro offered with a light shrug, but Kaoru openly scoffed at that, to which Kojiro raised an eyebrow.
“Don’t be ridiculous, we’re in Paris, we are not going to get cheap food. I want to treat you to a nice dinner.” There was a bright blush that accompanied his words, but Kaoru had started walking so swiftly that Kojiro didn’t have time to catch it. But he knew. And he smiled.
-
Dinner was nice. Shockingly nice. Not in a way where Kojiro didn’t expect Kaoru to be kind to him–he was literally paying for this whole trip and taking him out to eat, obviously, he was well taken care of. It was nice in a way where Kaoru changed before they left, and made Kojiro do the same. It was nice in a way where they dined outside at sunset, and the waiter was patient with Kaoru’s broken French while he tried to order something for Kojiro (and then proceeded to get frustrated and let his friend take over since he was conversational in the language). It was nice in the way that his stomach flipped when Kaoru looked up from his plate to offer a smile towards the end of the dinner, and the way the setting sun illuminated the side of his face made the whole ordeal feel too nice . It felt like they should be holding hands next as they paid and left, walking back to the hotel.
Kaoru’s steps slowed, and Kojiro had to stop walking when he realized he’d lost his traveling companion for a moment. He turned around and found his friends scowling down at the bracelet on his wrist. Carla, Kaoru called it– her, was his new AI program. He’d been working it into his calligraphy as part of his gig–which was becoming big enough to be a full-time job soon–but he’d also been perfecting and incorporating her into his everyday life. She kept records of his calls and messages, found directions and reviews, kept his calendars, and other basic functions that a smartphone might be able to do. Like Siri? Kojiro had made the mistake of asking, which earned him a smack to the back of the head. Because, no, she was not like Siri. Kaoru was working on incorporating her into his work, his home, and even his board. She would be nearly sentient at this rate.
But she wasn’t perfect yet, as evident by the frown Kaoru was directing towards her.
“Did your robot girlfriend finally break up with you?” Kojiro teased.
“Her battery is dead,” Kaoru responded, electing to ignore Kojiro’s comment. “I don’t know if I’ll have service on my phone for directions and I can’t remember the way back…”
Kojiro shook his head slightly, smiling gently. “Don’t you worry your pretty little head. Hang on.”
Not too far off, a group of girls right around their age were chatting in French, meaning they were hopefully locals. Kojiro jogged over for a moment, abandoning Kaoru only a few feet away as he used his knowledge of the language to his advantage to ask for directions. Of course, Kojiro was flirty and charming by nature, so directions turned into a slight conversation, the girls musing about how impressive his accent was, and his arms. Kaoru may not have been able to understand much, but he didn’t need to know French to know what a wink from Kojiro meant.
Kojiro didn’t realize the damage he’d done, or that he’d done any damage at all. To him, it didn’t mean a thing. He did it with most people his age (or older if he knew his audience right) because he found that people liked to be flattered, and he would take any attention he could get as long as they knew he was never looking for anything serious. It isn’t like he was proclaiming his undying love to them, he was just charming. And he wasn’t committed to anyone, he couldn’t bring himself to be. So there was no one to let down. He thought.
After getting his directions–and a phone number slipped into his hand quickly–he returned to Kaoru. “Alright, I think I know where we are headed now,” he said with a grin, offering his arm to the other. But Kaoru just stared at him for a moment, glancing between his arm and his face before scoffing and walking ahead. In an instant, Kojiro’s good mood was killed. “Slow down, wait-” he called as he scrambled after the other. “Woah, hey, drama queen, you don’t know the way. Why are you so pissy all of the sudden?”
Kaoru took a deep breath as he came to a stop, turning his head sharply to look at Kojiro. He wanted to scream at him, scream about how this trip was for the two of them, not some random girl with perky tits he picked up on the street because he couldn't keep it in his pants for one week, one day. Can’t he just focus on the person who came with him? God, why was Kaoru throwing his feelings into this trip? He’s going to just get his heart broken again.
That’s not Kojiro’s fault, though. And Kaoru did tell him this trip was a celebration for his accomplishment. It would be unfair of him to lash out when he clearly had no malicious intentions. Kojiro was just… friendly . Kaoru wouldn’t let his jealousy get the better of him. Not entirely.
He released the breath he was holding, finally, and locked eyes sternly with Kojiro. “I have one rule for the trip, Kojiro. I am not sharing a hotel room with a third person. Please do not make me third wheel on this trip.”
And God bless this stupid man, because the concern and disappointment on Kojiro’s face bled away as he laughed gently, leaning down just slightly so that if they got any closer their noses might bump.
“I could never ditch you when you’re treating me like royalty, dummy. I’m just being your knight in shining armor right now so you can get into a comfortable bed. Would you prefer to wander the streets of Paris for an hour finding our way back?” When Kaoru failed to come up with a good response, Kojiro smirked. “Mhm. That’s what I thought. Now let’s go.”
And fuck it, Kojiro decided he might as well hold Kaoru’s hand at this point.
-
The sun had gone down fully by the time Kaoru was in the shower, which was the second they stepped into the hotel room. He barely got his coat off before deciding he couldn’t wait any longer to get ready for bed.
Kojiro decided to take that time to get settled in. He was a morning showerer since he woke up so early it just made it easier on himself. Kaoru showered at night because he hated mornings and his stupidly long skincare and haircare routine must tucker him out (Kaoru would hit him if he said that out loud). So, he changed into comfortable clothing, chose his side of the bed by setting up his phone charger and leaving his suitcase close by, and then began to familiarize himself with the room.
There was a coffee maker under the tv set, which he knew would come in handy for the early mornings where it might be difficult to get his friend out of bed (even though Kaoru was picky with his coffee and would probably want something from the café downstairs). There was a closet space that they could fit jackets and shoes in, their suitcases as well once they were fully settled. The bedding also didn’t feel like the cheapest fabric either, and Kojiro had to try and push back that thought in his head about the price of this place because he knew it would bother him if he dwelled on it too long.
He was most excited about the view he was promised, and it certainly wasn’t one that disappointed. They had a small balcony with an even smaller table, two chairs positioned on either side. In the purple of twilight, Kojiro could see a handful of stars, mostly drowned out by the golden lights of the city, and a stunning view of the Eiffel. He took a seat in one of the chairs, gazing over the world below him and thinking it would be nice to have breakfast here one morning, just him and Kaoru.
Kojiro couldn’t help but smile to himself a little at how content he suddenly realized he felt. It was just the two of them and the entirety of Paris. Something about it felt so special. It was special. It was sweet and thoughtful, and god it was borderline romantic. That thought alone made Kojiro’s stomach flip and he realized he should seize this opportunity. If he didn’t, he was almost certain his fifteen-year-old self would come back and kick him in the balls for it. Since the moment he knew he’d fallen for this boy–when Kaoru fell while they were first learning to skate, and Kojiro rushed to his side with worry, but Kaoru simply turned onto his back and laughed with joy before putting a hand on Kojiro’s cheek, thumbing gently at his worried expression and calling him an idiot–he’s kept dead quiet and waited, watched as Kaoru grew, as Kaoru got his head broken, as Kaoru shut himself away. Maybe this was the week the waiting would finally be over.
“Don’t stay up too late,” a voice chided gently behind him, and Kojiro turned to find Kaoru in his sleepwear, hair damp and eyes heavy. And his smile only grew warmer, looking at him like this. Because how many people got to see him like this? The Sakurayashiki Kaoru, his glasses sliding down his nose, his hair sitting on his shoulders as it dried, a relaxed and tired look on his face. Kojiro was truly a blessed man.
“Has it already been three hours, princess?” he teased, earning him the middle finger. He chuckled, then nodded towards the free chair. “Come sit with me for a bit,” he offered.
But Kaoru suddenly seemed to stiffen, something about the offer sending a shockwave of anxiety. He schooled himself quickly, but Kojiro hadn’t missed it. Kaoru’s walls were still up, but he didn’t realize sitting out and enjoying the night would require him to climb over one.
“I’m tired, Kojiro, we can do this another night,” he decided on answering, turning away and heading for the bed. He got his bracelet set up on it’s charger and then tucked himself under the blankets. Kojiro heard him murmur something to the bracelet about a lullaby before a soft melody drifted, just barely noticeable from where Kojiro sat alone.
Another night. Sure.
-
“Stop- Kojiro, stop! Wait!” And the princess latched tighter onto Kojiro’s arm, balancing on one foot as he pried his shoe off to shake out a pebble.
Part of Kojiro wondered if he did that on purpose because now that he had Kaoru dangling off of his arm, his head arched delicately in a way that his hair framed his face just right, the blonde local who’d been batting her eyelashes at Kojiro from across the street had picked up her pace and looked down apologetically.
Kojiro huffed lightly, but he remembered he had promised Kaoru he was getting his attention. He wasn’t going to flirt with anyone on this trip. Hell, he didn’t need to. All those other times, flirting with women was to grasp at any attention, any physical attraction he could get, just for a little while so that he could feel something. But now, he had just that from the one person he wanted, and no one around them knew him well enough to pick up on the hopefulness in his eyes when Kaoru shifted just a bit too close.
“Okay,” Kaoru finally said, standing up straight and tapping his foot, now back where it belonged in its shoe, on the ground twice. There was this look on his face that Kojiro could only pin as satisfaction, and he knew for certain it wasn’t just about the pebble in his shoe. “Well, don’t just stand there, ape, let’s get moving. We’re supposed to be sightseeing.”
Kojiro wanted nothing more than to wipe that shit-eating grin off his face.
They walked for hours, stopping at everything between small shops and big landmarks. They only had to stop to ask for directions or suggestions a few times, but Kaoru made sure to steer Kojiro away from dragging the conversation on too long, and no phone numbers were acquired (but someone did blow him a kiss–what Kojiro didn’t know was that Karou turned over his shoulder and shot her a dirty look as they were walking away).
One older couple recommended taking a walk through the Champs-Élysées, and the two agreed it would be worth seeing the shops and theatres, and Kaoru wanted pictures of the Arc de Triomphe. It was peaceful, chatting occasionally as they listened to the ambiance of the people and the traffic. Kojiro couldn’t help but notice the amount of couples they passed that were holding hands, it almost felt like a tease. Kaoru was right there , all Kojiro had to do was reach down and take his hand. It would be the easiest thing in the world to slip his hand into Kaoru’s. He could come up with an excuse if he needed to, what was the harm? But all he could bring himself to do was have his hand brushing gently against the smaller beside him. Neither of them made a move to grasp onto each other, and it stayed like that for the rest of their walk and any cab they hopped in.
Until it got late.
-
“One more thing, I promise!”
“Kojiro, we have been walking all day, why didn’t we just go right to the hotel?”
“It’s a quick walk from here, it won’t take long!”
“Kojiro, it’s so late we have all week for-”
“Okay, open.”
They were stopped now, Kojiro standing behind and slightly to the side of Kaoru, moving his hands from in front of his eyes. Kaoru only sighed as he was cut off, blinking his eyes gently. And then he had to tip his head back to look up at the glitter of the Eiffel Tower. All complaints died on his lips as he looked up, a sparkle in his eye that made Kojiro’s breath catch in his throat. Because while Kaoru stared in wonder at the sight before him, Kojiro couldn’t tear his eyes away from the sight next to him.
“Wow,” Kaoru breathed, a relaxed smile dancing on the corner of his lips.
“Yeah…” Kojiro agreed, for a completely different reason. “Beautiful.”
Kaoru’s smile grew and suddenly he was turning to see Kojiro’s reaction, and they were nose to nose, eyes instantly meeting each other, both wide and frozen and warm – Kojiro should kiss him, he was close enough. It was right there, it was the perfect time.
“Thank you,” Kaoru said, and then he was out of reach again. “This was… stunning, Koji…” His heart pounded so loud, Kaoru had to have heard it. It was a nickname from their childhood, but sometimes, when he was extra lucky, Kaoru would use it again. But it was usually when he had to prove a point. “So I hope you enjoy dinner there. I have reservations for us two nights from now.” Yeah, there it was.
Wait.
Oh.
Kojiro barely had time to react, because Kaoru’s walls went up strong and he tucked himself into his scarf to hide the pink blossoming on his face as he forced a yawn. “Okay, I’m tired. We’re going back to the hotel now. My feet hurt, too, so hurry so I can sit down.”
That’s fine, Kojiro thought. He couldn’t be more ecstatic at that moment.
A pair of older locals passed them. One of them placed their arm on the other’s shoulder, pointing to Kojiro and Kaoru and whispering fondly about how in love they looked.
-
The view was incredible. So incredible that Kaoru had to reach over and push Kojiro’s jaw closed.
“Are you trying to catch flies?”
“Holy shit ,” Kojiro simply responded, still staring from where they stood as they waited to be seated. Kaoru cleared his throat and Kojiro straightened his posture, glancing apologetically at the other before going right back to where he was before.
Kaoru laughed softly, only rolling his eyes a little bit. It was endearing, how excited Kojiro was. He was constantly watching the other try to impress everyone around him. He wanted an outstanding restaurant, he went above and beyond talking to everyone around him to make them feel important, he worked out for personal benefits but it certainly was pleasing to the eye for those around him. Kaoru felt like it was rare to see someone impress Kojiro. Not that he wasn’t easily impressed, but no one tried to go above and beyond. The girls who flirted with him didn’t try, they just got what they wanted because Kojiro shows off instead.
It felt like a reward that Kaoru was the one to get him to smile like that, to see that twinkle in his eye. He turned his head towards the window as well, hoping to blame the setting sun on the rouge of his cheeks.
Soon enough they were escorted to a table, one with a single rose in the middle of the table. That wasn’t requested at all, so Kaoru assumed it was just normal for every table, though when he glanced around, it seemed like not every table had one. No matter, it was a nice centerpiece.
Kojiro had barely stopped staring out the window, especially not now, since they were right against the window and he could see even more of the city below them. Kaoru waited, resting his chin in his hand as he watched every shift in his expression, every dart of his eye. Occasionally, Kojiro would even point something out to Kaoru, looking at him quickly to make sure he knew what he was talking about. Kaoru kept nodding with a smile. He continued that until Kaoru had to grab his attention once the waitress came to get them drinks–Kojiro hadn’t noticed at all, too wrapped up in his sightseeing, and Kaoru still needed his help with the menu.
They ordered their wine and then turned to each other. And Kojiro was staring again. Just not at Paris.
“Thank you,” he said finally, after ages. “This is… incredible.”
“Please, we’ve barely gotten through dinner-”
“No, I love it already. Truly.”
Kaoru’s heart thumped in his chest. He had to quickly swallow the lump in his throat, ducking his head with a scoff, trying to mask his smile. He was so good at keeping his composure usually. Why, on this trip, had he slipped up so often?
“Well, don’t be too harsh of a critic on the food, Mr. Restaurant Owner,” he decided to tease lightly. That earned the cockiest grin from Kojiro, so Kaoru kicked him under the table before he could say anything else.
The rest of the night went easy. The food was good, they kept up the conversation with little bickering–they were content with each other’s company. Kojiro did all of the translating, thankfully, and the waitress was very patient with him since he still wasn’t perfect at French. It was an easy night.
They were finishing up their last glasses of wine, having paid already, when the waitress approached with a small plate of dessert and two spoons. Kojiro blinked, looking at Kaoru who shrugged and then turned to the girl to let her know they hadn’t ordered anything. She smiled and said something to Kojiro in French that made his cheeks go red, which wasn’t an easy feat. He looked quickly to Kaoru, and when he saw the puzzled look on his face, he realized his friend had no idea what she had said.
So he put on a big, genuine, toothy smile that made everyone’s stomach do a flip and spoke back to her. Kaoru didn’t understand it aside from a generous amount of ‘thank you’s, but whatever it was, the waitress had the brightest look and bright red ears, adding one more flustered remark before leaving the two.
Kaoru felt a pit in his stomach. So he was flirting. Of course he was. Maybe everything went directly over Kojiro’s head. That promise meant nothing, apparently. He thought he could get away with it just because Kaoru couldn’t understand French as well? What was wrong with him? The look he was giving Kojiro could’ve been deadly, but the other just hadn’t seemed to pick that up yet, because all he did was shrug and smile sheepishly.
“Free dessert,” was the only cheery explanation Kaoru got. He huffed, picking up one of the spoons and helping himself. If Kojiro could woo his way into free food, Kaoru would eat as much as he damn pleased.
-
They had ended up fitting their suitcases into the closet, moving them out of the way. The toothbrushes were set up in the bathroom–well, Kojiro’s was out on the counter, Kaoru’s was in a travel case along with skincare products, which he’d taken out and begun his long routine. Kojiro had situated himself for the night, scrolling through notifications as he laid in bed, easing himself to sleep.
It had taken him a bit, but he realized he’d done something wrong about halfway out the restaurant. They finished desert before excusing themselves, Kaoru leading the way with intention. It was dark out at that point, and the wind was chilly, though not terrible. Still, Kojiro thought it might be nice, since Kaoru got cold easily, to wrap his arm around the other. But Kaoru dodged his arm quickly, shooting Kojiro a glare before speeding up.
“Sorry?” Kojiro scoffed a bit before speeding up to fall back into step next to Kaoru. “What happened? You got quiet.”
“I’m fine,” Kaoru bit out, wrapping his arms around himself.
“Kaoru-”
“It’s fine , Kojiro, I’m– just stop.”
So he’d dropped it. They walked back to the hotel in silence, and in Kaoru fashion, he went right to the shower. So Kojiro replayed the night in his head. He thought it was going so well, he even got Kaoru to laugh a few times. Hell, he’d felt like the luckiest man on the face of the planet tonight. He felt so treasured, and the view was gorgeous and the food was great.
He noticed the lights get dimmer and he watched Kaoru climb into bed on his side, muttering to Carla. The gentle lullaby picked up, and Kojiro didn’t even try to say goodnight. Neither did Kaoru. Neither of them could sleep yet, their minds were racing.
Kojiro’s mind was far beyond racing, it was on a bullet train at this point. He kept replaying everything, snagging every little detail of the night that he could. Was Kaoru mad that he stole a bite of his dinner? No, he’s not that petty. Maybe Kojiro had made a joke that had gone too far. He wouldn’t be that surprised if he said something he wasn’t supposed to. But usually, Kaoru would point those things out to him. He wasn’t quiet about small things. It was big, internal dilemmas that he bottled up.
Maybe it was the food. Kojiro thought it was good, but maybe something didn’t settle right with him and he caught a bug, which would be really unfortunate. Kojiro had decidedly enjoyed the food for the evening. Especially the dessert. The girl was really kind to bring it over to–
Oh.
That had to be it. The waitress. Kojiro was sure that Kaoru had no idea what she said, but now he feels stupid for brushing it off. He hadn’t even thought to translate or come up with some kind of an explanation. He knew his friend tended to overthink, and while he really wasn’t sure what could’ve upset him about the situation, he was sure it was about the lack of communication.
Kaoru already hated that he didn’t understand most of what was said around him, he felt bad he couldn’t pick up the language as fast, and he hated feeling behind. Kojiro caught him every time–when he would scrunch up his nose in frustration when he couldn’t remember how to say something and knew he’d have to ask for assistance, the disappointed look in his eyes when he messed up a pronunciation, the lost look on his face when waiters or tour guides would say something to him and none of the words sounded familiar enough to put into a sentence. Kojiro wanted to kick himself.
“Hey,” he whispered, turning onto his side facing Kaoru. The other man had his back to Kojiro, and he simply sighed to acknowledge that he’d heard him, though it sounded reluctant. “I’m sorry.”
A pause. Then, “You should be.”
Now Kojiro was a little lost, but it was his fault, he reminded himself. “I know, I didn’t mean to leave you lost like that.”
Kaoru shuffled a bit, then turned fully so he and Kojiro were face to face. Despite the massive bed size, they still managed to lay fairly close to each other. There was a big enough gap in between that Kojiro only had to slightly reach his arm out, partially bent, before he made contact with the other, but it was close enough.
“You broke your promise,” he finally said, voice quiet.
“What?”
“You…” Kaoru let out an exhausted sigh. “I had one rule, remember?” Kojiro only slow blinked at him, so Kaoru reminded him, “ No flirting .”
“What?”
“Yes, I know, you ape, it’s so difficult to remember-”
“You thought I was flirting with her?” Kojiro half scoffed, half laughed.
Kaoru’s jaw was tight as he stared at Kojiro as if he were the dumbest man on the planet. He waited now, as Kojiro got out his little fit of giggles.
“I wasn’t flirting, dummy,” Kojiro breathed out, his head melting against the pillow a bit.
“Then why were both of you blushing at each other like you had some dumb high school romance?”
Kojiro shut his mouth at that point, which may have looked suspicious to Kaoru, but he knew that his friend’s reaction would probably only get worse when he told him the reality of the situation. But he’d paused too long, and Kaoru was already jumping back in, propping himself up on his elbow as he spat his words down at the other.
“Great, you’re a shit liar, Kojiro, y’know that? You can’t come up with a single excuse? I wanted to spend this trip with you , not you plus some random fucking girl! Can you go a week without having sex? Is that so hard for you, you dumb, dopey, giant ape-”
“She thought we were a couple, Kaoru.”
The room was suddenly dead quiet. Kojiro could hear Kaoru swallowing down the rest of the words he’d been planning at throwing out, followed by the loud click click click of every gear in his overworked brain turning on overtime to figure out what the hell he just said.
“Bullshit.”
“She assumed it was some kind of romantic getaway considering the reservations that were made and the fact that we were very clearly not locals. She said she hoped it added to a lovely, romantic evening .”
Kaoru blinked at Kojiro for a moment as if he was deciding whether or not to believe him, but then he dissolved into gentle laughter, letting his arm collapse under him so he hit the pillow again.
“And what did you say?”
Kojiro smiled sheepishly. “Thank you?”
“You didn’t deny it? ”
“I figured you’d appreciate the free food!”
“Well, yeah , but-”
“And she’s probably never going to see us again. What’s the big deal?”
The big deal? The big deal was that, while Kaoru probably implied in his mistranslation making the reservations, he never intended to make it romantic. Not because he didn’t want that, but because he was still terrified. After having his heart toyed with for so long by someone he’d admired so much, he didn’t feel like giving it away yet. This was the closest he was getting, but he was so stupid to think a trip to the city of love would cure his fear of intimacy.
His walls were still up and strong. They were the only thing between him and Kojiro, who had shifted so close that they were only inches apart. When did they get like that? Kaoru could feel his breath catch in his throat as he realized they’d just been laying there in silence, and Kojiro was just watching him. Not in an intimidating, cruel way. Not in a way where he was looking for a goal, looking for what he could get out of Kaoru. He was… admiring him. His warm eyes, ever so kind, scanned his face, taking in every detail, memorizing every imperfection, and finding a reason why it was perfect. Starting from his forehead, to his neat eyebrows, to his now wide eyes, to the tip of his pink nose and across each of his rosy cheeks, down to his slightly parted lips, inching ever so closer-
Kaoru blinked quickly, taking in a quick breath and turning over. How stupid of him. Why was he letting himself get so close when he knew everything would come crumbling down around him again? Fate has never been kind before, why would she change now?
“Goodnight, Kojiro,” he murmured gently.
Kojiro is left stunned, not quite sure if he really was that close to kissing Kaoru or if he’d gotten too hopeful in his own head. He supposed all he could do now was sleep on it. Whatever happened, it was clear Kaoru wasn’t looking to reciprocate anything.
“G’night… Kaoru.”
It wasn’t their time. Not yet.
-
“On the house,” she said with a grin. “We hope it adds to a lovely, romantic evening. This seems to be a very special trip for you two.”
Kojiro looked quickly to Kaoru, and when he saw the puzzled look on his face, he realized his friend had no idea what she had said.
So he put on a big, genuine, toothy smile that made everyone’s stomach do a flip and spoke back to her.
“Thank you so much. It means a lot. This has been a very special trip, thank you. You just made my night.”
“You deserve it. It’s obvious how important you are to each other.”
“Yeah… he is really important to me.”