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“Tsuge,” Adachi said slowly, “I have a question.”
“Yes?”
Adachi coughed. “Well, your new romance novel…that is, I mean…”
The romance novelist took a sip of his tea as he waited, patiently, for Adachi to collect his thoughts. Considering the matter did not seem to involve a handsome blond twentysomething, Tsuge looked unruffled, placid even.
Quite a contrast to his best friend, who was red-faced, wide-eyed, and fanning himself despite the cool, still air of Tsuge’s apartment.
Udon rubbed her head on the office worker’s leg, possibly for comfort, and that seemed to jolt Adachi out of the spiraling inferno that was his anxiety-riddled brain.
“That is…your romance novel is about…two men.”
“That’s correct.”
“Why?”
Tsuge adjusted his glasses. “I believe it is only proper,” he said primly, “as I, myself, am dating someone of the same gender, it is the least I can do for people like myself to feel a sense of normalcy in their relationships. I trust that I am qualified to contribute to the literature.”
He was using his “cool sensei” voice. The last time Tsuge used that voice on Adachi was when he was trying to hide the fact that he, too, was a virgin.
Adachi wanted to strangle him.
“But your characters…”
“What about them?”
“A tall, handsome man,” Adachi continued dubiously, “with a strong work ethic, charisma beyond compare, and a smile that crinkles his eyes like…” He glanced at his own hardbound, autographed copy of The Magic in the Office, “...like…like ‘each line on his face betrayed the magnitude of his delight.’”
Tsuge blinked. “Yes.”
“And his love interest is a dorky loser with horrible fashion sense and no sexual experience whatsoever.” Adachi tried not to sound insulted. He really did.
“I’m flattered you read my novel–”
“I always read your novels! But, this time–” He shook his head. “Don’t you think there’s something… interesting about your two protagonists? Kurosaki and Akahoshi?”
Tsuge blinked. “Interesting how?”
“Just think about it! Don’t you think there’s something weird about them?”
Tsuge sat quietly for a moment, taking occasional sips of his tea. This time, it was Adachi’s turn to wait for his friend to collect his thoughts. Udon jumped on Adachi’s lap and purred, rubbing her soft ears against his leg.
Adachi pet her head while watching the play of expressions on Tsuge’s face. His brow was furrowed in deep thought, mouth set in a hard line. His eyes were trained to the ceiling, possibly rethinking the paragraphs he wrote for his novel.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of careful consideration, the romance novelist set his teacup on the coffee table. He looked at his best friend, who was looking back at him expectantly.
“...No.”
To his credit, his best friend really did sound puzzled, like he couldn’t understand Adachi’s point. That didn’t stop Adachi from wanting to kill him, though.
Adachi exhaled. “Okay,” he said. “That’s–okay. Tsuge, can I be perfectly frank with you for a moment?”
Tsuge nodded gratefully. “Please.”
Adachi gently set Udon on the rug.
He took a deep breath. There was no easy way to say this, especially to the guy he’s known since college. The same guy he spent hours playing video games and eating junk food with, who heroically checked the strange-looking rash on Adachi’s butt cheek in junior year. (Long story short, Adachi’s anxiety about it being skin cancer or something forced him to ask his best friend to basically look at his ass. Tsuge observed that the rash was shaped exactly like Kyushu Island before calling an ambulance.)
Just be nice about it, he told himself encouragingly. Be calm, be cool…
He pointed a finger at Tsuge. “You wrote fanfiction about me and Kurosawa!” he yelled accusingly.
Tsuge’s eyes bulged. “I did not!” he yelped.
“Did too!”
“Did not!”
“Did too!”
“Did not!”
“Did not,” Adachi agreed.
“Did too!” Tsuge yelled without thinking.
Adachi grinned victoriously. “HA!”
He leaped to his feet, scaring the Nyan Nyan Delights out of Udon. The poor kitty scampered away from the scary humans and hid under the desk.
The romance novelist scowled. “You tricked me, that doesn’t count!”
“Come off it, Tsuge! You seriously don’t see the glaring similarities?”
“First of all,” Tsuge said coldly, “the majority of Japanese adults are office workers. Have you been to a subway on Mondays to Fridays? Everyone is in office attire!”
“Kurosaki is good at cooking,” Adachi countered, “and he likes to read manga, and he won the inter-high for baseball in high school.”
“Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coinciden–”
“Akahoshi constantly has a bedhead, eats convenience store food everyday, and, oh yeah, HE’S A THIRTY-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN!”
Silence.
“...Akahoshi never had the ability to read minds,” Tsuge said feebly.
Adachi glared at him until Tsuge raised his hands in surrender.
“I’m sorry, Adachi,” he said sincerely. He genuinely looked contrite, which decreased Adachi’s ire somewhat. “I promise you, I didn’t realize…”
“I know,” Adachi said with a sigh.
They were quiet again for a moment.
“It’s not entirely your fault, I guess,” Adachi ventured. “Writers can’t help but write what they know, right?”
Tsuge looked thoroughly ashamed of himself. “I didn’t mean to, I swear.”
“It’s okay, Tsuge.” Adachi smiled. “For what it’s worth, it’s a really good book. You’re a true master of romance.”
“Do you consider it to be a total violation of your privacy?”
Adachi shook his head. “I just wish their names weren’t so similar to ours.” He blushed. “And, I really like how you captured the romantic scenes between the two characters. It’s sweet. Like, you can really feel like they care about each other.”
“That’s good.”
“And I guess a lot of it didn’t actually happen yet, so it’s not like it’s completely true to life.”
“Kurosawa hasn’t taught you how to cook yet? Or took you to Okinawa for your five-year anniversary?”
“We haven’t had a five-year anniversary yet. And the last time he tried to teach me how to cook, I almost burned his apartment down.”
“Oh. Sorry to hear that.”
“Another thing…you wrote three vaguely-implied sex scenes.”
“Correct. At the end of Chapter Nine, Chapter Fourteen, and in the epilogue.”
Adachi crossed his arms. “Why does Kurosawa top in all three of those sex scenes?”
“Kurosaki,” Tsuge corrected him, “and as the sex scenes were only implied and no actual penetration whatsoever was described, I did not explicitly state who topped.”
“Oh, then I guess Akahoshi’s butt hurt for no particular reason in Chapter Ten and Chapter Fifteen?”
Tsuge coughed. “Uh, are you saying you want to–I mean, you want Akahoshi to top?”
“Kurosawa and I switch,” Adachi blurted out.
Tsuge winced. “Oh. Oh, wow.”
“...I mean, I do prefer to bottom, but that’s only because I’m lazy. And also because bottoming is fun. But Kurosawa is really good at riding, because his thighs are made of iron or something, so we had a lot of fun when he–”
Tsuge put his head in his hands and groaned. “This conversation is still happening. Why is this conversation happening?”
“Hey, you’re the one who wrote fanfiction about your friends. How would you feel if I write about you and Minato?”
“I said I was sorry!”
“Just think of this as constructive criticism.”
“I absolutely despise you.”
Adachi laughed. “I’m really looking forward to your next book, Tsuge.”
—
Kurosaki gazed at Akahoshi adoringly. “You’re beautiful.”
Kurosaki always knew his boyfriend possessed the subtle, quiet beauty, but in the dim lights of Okinawa’s shores, he looked ethereal. His eyes shone bright, lips quirked in that shy smile he loved so much.
Akahoshi laughed. “I’m just wearing a T-shirt and swim shorts.”
The sound of his gentle laughter made Kurosaki’s knees buckle.
How could he possibly resist?
He took a few steps forward, erasing the distance between them. The water lapped gently at their feet. He held his lover close and buried his face in his neck. “I can’t believe it’s been five years,” he whispered. “Please stay with me forever.”
Akahoshi returned his sweet embrace. “I will.”
—
“What are you reading?”
Adachi quickly closed the book. He looked at his boyfriend, who was smiling at him fondly, eyes soft.
He suddenly remembered how Tsuge described Kurosaki’s gaze as “adoring” in his book and couldn’t help but agree. It warmed his heart that others could also see how much Kurosawa loved him.
“Um, nothing,” Adachi said, “just Tsuge’s new book.”
“Cool.” Kurosawa sat next to him on their bed, and Adachi scooted a bit to give him room. He immediately put an arm around Adachi, who let out a contented sigh and snuggled closer.
He buried his face in Kurosawa’s chest and inhaled deeply. The scent of his boyfriend always calmed him down and made him feel safe.
He pressed a soft kiss on Kurosawa’s cheek. Kurosawa carded his fingers through his Adachi’s hair and hummed. “Is it good?”
Adachi blushed. “It’s…interesting.”
Kurosawa raised his eyebrows. “Kiyoshi?”
“Well…I discovered something about it today. Um, please don’t get mad at Tsuge,” he added quickly. “But it’s about…us.”
Kurosawa's hand did not stop caressing him, which he figured was a good sign. “Us? You mean, you and me?”
“Yeah…I mean, he accidentally based the main characters on us.”
“Hmm. Are you bothered by it?”
“Not really."
Kurosawa kissed him. “Then neither am I.”
"At first, I freaked out," Adachi confessed, "but it's a really nice book. And I think it's neat seeing our relationship from someone else's perspective. Apparently, we're really sappy."
"Art imitating life," Kurosawa chuckled. "I can't wait to read it."
Adachi smiled.
“Yuichi?”
“Mm?”
“How do you feel about going to Okinawa for our five-year anniversary?”
Kurosawa gazed at him so lovingly, Adachi felt the breath leave his lungs.
For a moment, he felt like he could almost read Kurosawa’s mind again, just by staring deep into his eyes. He still wants to be with me, even in five years.
His boyfriend pressed a kiss to his temple and held him close. “As long as you’re with me, Kiyoshi,” he said softly, “I’ll be happy wherever we go.”