Work Text:
Takemichi could be a bit oblivious sometimes.
He liked to think that he was great at understanding other people’s emotions, or at least, that he always tried to. However, according to his friends, he wasn’t as good as he thought he was, especially when it came to his own feelings.
The first time he heard that he felt scandalized, —him, not being in touch with his emotions? Impossible— he truly believed they were severely mistaken.
Except, he soon realized that it was true. Takemichi was, for lack of a better word, dense, and this was something everyone who knew him agreed on; it wasn’t exactly a big deal, though. He was aware of everything he had to be aware of.
Until he realized he was vastly wrong and blind, that is.
Takemichi was in Naoto’s apartment, as usual, expecting yet another night of hangout. They were used to spending quite a lot of time together, ever since they were young.
You see, Takemichi dated Naoto’s sister, Hinata, back when they were teenagers. It didn’t take longer than a couple of months before they realized they were better off as friends rather than as a couple. They continued to hang out from time to time, and that’s how Takemichi met Naoto, Hinata’s little brother, barely a year younger than both of them.
The two quickly became friends, strangely enough, despite being complete opposites. Takemichi would joke around with Naoto more often than not, while Naoto always seemed bothered by his actions.
The first time that they hung out without Hinata was rather unprompted, yet he recalled it with fondness. It was summer and the three of them were supposed to go out to get ice cream, but when he arrived at their meeting place, only Naoto was waiting for him. He explained that his sister had some sort of emergency —a friend of hers breaking up with her boyfriend— and that she wouldn’t be able to make it.
Naoto asked him back then if it was okay if they hung out nevertheless, and Takemichi’s heart fluttered slightly. He agreed immediately, reassuring him that nothing could make him happier, as he liked spending time with him just as much as he did with Hinata, and Naoto accepted his words with a small nod and smile.
And thus, they got even closer, as they began seeing each other almost every day after that, going home together, playing video games, or even studying, sometimes. They soon discovered that they liked being around each other’s presence, even if nothing was said aloud between them.
Takemichi enjoyed the unique feeling of warmth, of closeness, that he felt whenever they were together, yet he would never admit it out loud. Not even to himself. He wasn’t sure why exactly it felt like this but it made his stomach flip in all sorts of ways; he couldn’t really explain it, but he didn't feel threatened by that fact, so he never wondered what it meant.
As the years passed, they became so accustomed to being together that neither knew what to do without the other’s constant presence. Well, rather, Takemichi didn’t know what he would do without Naoto; he spent most of his time in his apartment, instead of his own —mostly because it was a lot bigger and cleaner than his—, and he even went as far as staying there when Naoto was working, too.
On those occasions, though, Takemichi would make dinner for both of them to make sure that Naoto ate properly. He knew from experience how hard he worked, how often he skipped meals or forgot to eat, not to mention the many sleepless nights he must have suffered during his job. The least he could do is try taking care of him, and Takemichi found a certain kind of comfort within the thought of helping him in whatever he could.
Whenever Naoto was free, he insisted on returning the favor by cooking Takemichi dinner, too. It wasn’t often, though, as he usually worked late into the night. He appreciated it deeply either way.
It was nice, to say the least. Takemichi found himself constantly looking forward to seeing Naoto once again, even if he didn’t say so, anticipating to hear more about everything and anything, because Naoto always seemed to have something interesting to talk about.
Takemichi loved it.
And that was probably one of the reasons why he was utterly surprised when he heard the news.
“What do you mean you have a date today?” Takemichi questioned dumbfoundedly as he plopped down on Naoto’s couch.
“Exactly what it sounds like,” Naoto shrugged, disappearing into his bedroom. “Hinata prepared a blind date with some guy she knows, all of this was her idea.”
“Why?” He asked incredulously before he could help himself. A weird feeling settled on his chest as he tried to imagine his friend dating someone, it had him confused and slightly worried. He didn’t know how to deal with the way his heart thumped at the thought of Naoto not having enough time to hang out with him between his work and his possibly soon-to-be boyfriend.
In his defense, he was shocked; Naoto never talked about dating, nor possible partners, and Takemichi was pretty sure he spent most of his free time with him. Why would he suddenly be so interested in dating?
“Because she thinks I’ve been single for way too long, pining after an idiot that barely manages to remember where he lives,” Naoto sighed as he emerged from the room with clothes in hand. “I’m going to take a shower, and then I’ll be out.” With that he disappeared once again, leaving Takemichi staring after him in disbelief.
Not only was Naoto going on a date, but he was crushing over someone else too? Takemichi was speechless.
He didn’t understand why he had never mentioned it to him. Not that he could be much help, but they were friends, right? He should’ve told him sooner or later. It felt like his heart was constricting as he sat there alone in Naoto’s living room.
When the bathroom door opened a few moments later, taking away his thoughts completely, Takemichi blinked a few times before getting up.
“Good luck with your date. I will— go home,” he mumbled awkwardly as Naoto looked up at him from where he stood. “Forgot to water my plants.”
There was a slight tilt of Naoto’s lips, almost imperceptible, yet his gaze lingered on him for a few seconds longer than necessary. There was no doubt that his friend saw through his lame excuse, but whatever. He left Naoto’s apartment anyway, closing the door quietly behind himself.
His stomach lurched uncomfortably as he made his way back to his own place, trying his best not to think about why his face felt hot. His hands were clammy and he fiddled with the sleeves of his sweatshirt as he walked, trying to calm himself down.
Taking a deep breath, he entered his small apartment, sighing loudly once he closed the door behind him. Takemichi didn't think twice before calling his best friend, Chifuyu, hoping for some kind of advice.
“Hey, what’s up?” Chifuyu said after picking up the phone.
“Naoto went on a date,” Takemichi blurted, the words tumbling past his mouth before he could stop them. He cringed, biting his lip hard to try to contain the urge to yell at himself. “I don’t know why it’s bothering me so damn much, but I feel like a mess.”
Chifuyu suddenly snorted from the other end of the line, and Takemichi felt somewhat insulted.
“Fuyu, don’t laugh at me!” He whined, flopping onto his bed dramatically. “It’s not funny!”
“Sorry,” Chifuyu uttered, laughing again. “I just can’t believe all it took for you to notice your feelings for Naoto was him going on a date with someone else.”
“What,” Takemichi spluttered, sitting upright.“What do you mean by my feelings for Naoto?”
“Come on, Michi,” Chifuyu scoffed, obviously teasing. “You've always been hopelessly in love with him. I mean, you two literally go out on dates all the time, probably even more than Kazutora and I do.”
Takemichi groaned loudly, “That’s different, we don’t go out on dates! Kazutora is your boyfriend and we are just… hanging out as friends.”
“Sure,” Chifuyu hummed disbelievingly. “But are you going to ignore the fact that you are sickeningly domestic? The number of times I’ve caught you guys cuddling during movie nights— it’s ridiculous.”
Takemichi flushed red immediately, he was shaking his head frantically, denying the idea. “But friends can do that too!”
“And what about you going out of your way just to make sure he's eating properly? Or all the times you let him sleep on your lap while you pet his hair?” Chifuyu pressed further, and Takemichi stayed silent. “Michi, you two are basically living together at this point.”
“I spend plenty of time in my apartment,” He mumbled weakly, not even sure if he wanted to keep having that conversation anymore.
“You don’t,” The other deadpanned. “You get off work and you go straight to his place, and you even have your own key! Are you really going to ignore how you go grocery shopping together when you have free time?”
“Yeah, but—”
“Wait, I’m not finished,” Chifuyu cut him off before he could finish his sentence. “I know that you can’t possibly know this, but when you talk about him you have this look in your eyes that I’ve never seen when you talk about other people, Michi. He makes you happy, doesn’t he? You want to see him happy every day, and I know you care about him a lot.” He paused, before adding quietly, “I don’t understand why you keep trying to deny it so badly.”
The silence hung heavy between them, Takemichi feeling his chest tighten painfully. It couldn’t be that, he wasn’t that oblivious over hir own feelings, right?
Yes, he was. Apparently.
Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to reply with a small, “And what if I do love him like that?” His voice trembled as much as his hands, and he hated it. “There’s nothing I can do now. He likes someone else.”
“Michi,” Chifuyu sighed softly from the other end of the line. “I think you should tell him.”
“He’s literally on a date right now, why would he care about my feelings?” Takemichi mumbled bitterly, feeling tears well up in his eyes.
“Because,” Chifuyu started, sounding exasperated. “It’s Naoto, and he adores you more than anything else.”
With those words, Takemichi fell apart in a mess of sobs helplessly.
Those words sounded ideal, just like a dream, yet he couldn't bring himself to believe them. How would someone like Naoto ever love him back?
“You’re saying that just to make me feel better, Fuyu!” He sobbed into the phone, barely able to form words through the tears streaming down his face.
“I’m not!” Chifuyu chuckled lightly, “You can ask anyone , and they are going to tell you the exact same thing I’m saying. He has loved you for a long time, Michi. Please, trust me on this one.”
Taking a sharp inhale, Takemichi wiped away the tears falling from his cheeks, attempting to regain his composure. “Alright…” He sniffled, taking another deep breath before continuing, “What do I do now?”
“Just give yourself some time to sort out your feelings, and try talking with him.” Chifuyu instructed gently, “I’m sure that everything is going to be alright… but if it isn’t, I’m sure Kazutora and I can beat him up or something.”
“Yeah. Yeah,” Takemichi took another deep breath before letting out a shaky laugh, “Thank you, for everything, Fuyu.”
“No problem. I’ll see you later, okay?”
Takemichi stared at the phone for a few moments after hanging up, then placed it on the bed beside him. His chest felt tight as he attempted to get himself under control. A small sigh left his lips, and he rubbed at his eyes tiredly. The silence that surrounded him didn't help much either; instead just being reminded of all the things that he was feeling.
He knew that eventually, he would have to face all the feelings that he had discovered, yet it wasn’t the time; instead, he closed his eyes and begged for sleep to come quickly so that he could avoid it all, he would have time to think about that in the morning —or whenever—, after all.
Takemichi was probably in his nth dream of the night already when his phone rang, startling him. He grabbed it with his eyes still closed, simultaneously cursing himself for not silencing it and wondering who the hell wanted to bother him while he was sleeping.
“Takemichi,” He heard as soon as he answered the call. It took a moment for Takemichi to realize that Naoto was actually speaking on the other line, and the voice he was using sent chills down his spine despite how tired he felt.
“Naoto, what’s up? Is everything alright?”
“Were you sleeping?” There was a soft laugh coming from the other end, and his heart squeezed on his chest. “Your voice sounds hoarse.”
“Yeah, I was,” Takemichi admitted, sitting up in bed and rubbing his eyes. The lights were still turned off, but he could feel the exhaustion creeping over him in waves. “What do you need?”
“I just wanted to check up on you,” Naoto replied, voice so gentle Takemichi couldn’t help smiling at the sound of it. “You were acting kinda off earlier.”
Takemichi let out an uneasy chuckle. “I’m alright, I was a little bit tired, that’s all,” he sighed, and kept talking before Naoto could say anything else. “Weren’t you supposed to be on a date right now?”
The question made Naoto pause, and Takemichi held his breath in anticipation of the answer. Several seconds of silence passed until the other boy spoke again.
“Yeah, uh…”Naoto trailed off for a moment before clearing his throat. “It didn’t go very well.”
“Oh,” Takemichi murmured. He was disappointed in himself for feeling relieved to hear that the date went bad. “What happened?”
“Nothing,” Naoto assured him, letting out a soft sigh. “Honestly, we didn't have much to talk about, it was kind of awkward... and I ended up telling him I wasn't interested at all, since I have someone else in mind.”
“Mhm,” Takemichi hummed in response, unsure of what else to say. Knowing that the person he liked already liked someone else made his heart ache, but he had to be a good friend to Naoto so he’d keep his feelings to himself. “Do you wanna come to my apartment? We could watch a movie, or whatever.”
“Yeah,” Naoto breathed out. “I’ll be there in a few minutes, I’m already on my way.”
“Okay,” Takemichi said softly. “See you in a bit.”
He hung up the call and tossed his phone onto the bed beside him, running his hands through his hair and trying to ignore the growing feeling at the pit of his stomach. He needed to pull himself together; he wouldn’t be able to help Naoto if he got distracted by his own emotions.
A few minutes later, the doorbell rang, snapping him out of his reverie. He stood up from his bed, smoothing out his shirt before walking towards the door, and as he opened it, Naoto was standing on the other side.
The sight of the other man made Takemichi’s heart skip a beat, causing his cheeks to heat up slightly. How could he have been so damn blind for so long?
“Hey,” Naoto smiled softly, and Takemichi found himself returning it without thinking. His gaze dropped to Naoto’s lips, lingering for a second before they snapped back to his eyes.
“Come inside,” Takemichi opened the door wider, giving Naoto enough room to walk into his apartment. He closed the door behind them and locked it as Naoto took in the apartment.
“Did you come here directly after your date ended?” Takemichi asked as he took notice of his clothes. Naoto looked great in whatever he wore, yet something seemed different in this outfit tonight. He was looking dangerously beautiful and Takemichi had a hard time fighting the urge to stare at him shamelessly.
“Uh, yeah,” Naoto nodded, and Takemichi suddenly realized how close the two of them were standing. “I was actually coming here before I called you, I realized halfway through that I should probably check if you were home.”
Takemichi chuckled lightly and he shook his head, sitting down on his couch as he did so. Naoto followed suit and sat in the same spot, staring intently at Takemichi. “So,” he began, breaking the silence between them. “You wanna talk about your date?”
Naoto shrugged as he leaned against the armrest of the couch. “Not particularly,” he said honestly, although Takemichi could tell there was something on his mind. “I just went there to please Hina, the other guy didn’t look like he wanted to be there either, to begin with.”
“Did you enjoy your meal, at least?” Takemichi questioned and saw the corner of Naoto’s mouth twitch upwards ever so slightly. He felt a bit proud of himself for that.
“It wasn’t half bad,” Naoto agreed. “Though, I must say, your cooking is ten times better than what I ate today.”
“Really? That’s a compliment.” Takemichi chuckled once more, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. Naoto hummed quietly, smiling gently.
They fell silent after that, and the comfortable silence enveloped them. A comfortable, relaxed silence that neither one felt too compelled to fill, which left both men content.
“Something is bothering you,” Naoto spoke suddenly, and Takemichi’s eyebrows shot up at the statement.
“What do you mean?” He asked hesitantly, unsure if he wanted to hear the answer or not.
“I can see it in your eyes, Michi,” Naoto stated simply, turning his body towards Takemichi.
Takemichi blinked a couple of times, taking a moment to process what Naoto just said. What exactly had prompted him to be so observant of his attitude?
“Would you like to tell me what it is, then?” The other pressed as he didn’t answer, there was nothing accusatory, merely curiosity, yet Takemichi felt uneasy all the same. “If you don't want to talk about it, we don’t have to.”
“No,” Takemichi waved his hand in front of himself dismissively. “It's nothing too serious, anyway.” Naoto gave him an unimpressed look that told him otherwise, but thankfully he decided not to question the issue further.
After another pause, Takemichi cleared his throat and continued speaking. “I guess… I recently realized something important, and I’m still trying to wrap my mind around what it means.”
“And what is it?” Naoto prodded again, shifting slightly closer to Takemichi. He couldn’t help but feel slightly self-conscious under the scrutiny of his friend.
He paused again, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, exhaling slowly as if preparing himself for what was about to happen next. When he finally gathered his courage to open his eyes, however, he only found Naoto watching him attentively. His expression was soft and gentle, encouraging Takemichi to continue.
Taking another deep breath, Takemichi continued, feeling his face heating up once more due to embarrassment.
“Well,” he started quietly, looking anywhere but Naoto’s eyes because he wasn’t sure where he should start. There was no easy way to put it. No easy way to word the words properly. He hesitated once more, and he noticed Naoto moving forward a bit, their shoulders brushing ever so slightly. Taking a steadying breath, he continued. “Naoto.”
The name rolled off his tongue so easily, he almost regretted letting out the name aloud. Almost.
“Yeah?” Came Naoto’s reply, soft and slow, barely audible. Takemichi turned his attention to him, meeting Naoto’s eyes. The way he looked at Takemichi caused his insides to turn to mush and he swore his heart would burst from his chest if he stayed in this position any longer.
“I love you,” he blurted out suddenly, unable to hold back anymore. As soon as he said those words, though, they seemed to hang in the air between them. It felt unreal and surreal. But as soon as he said those words, it felt right. Like he’d always been meant to say those three little words. Like they’d been waiting patiently for him for years to say them.
Naoto’s face remained impassive as he processed the information. He let his eyes wander over Takemichi’s face for a few seconds, and then he opened his lips ever so slightly. The sight of Naoto’s pink lips made his heart skip a beat.
“Hinata told me this would work, I didn’t expect her to be right,” he replied simply, before reaching up to cup one of Takemichi’s cheeks with one of his hands. He smiled fondly and muttered, “I love you too.” Then he moved in closer. Slowly, carefully. And Takemichi met him halfway.
Their lips brushed softly together, barely even moving. It felt like fireworks exploded within Takemichi’s stomach. He brought his hand up to tangle into Naoto’s hair and he pulled him closer, deepening the kiss.
Naoto laughed, a low rumbling sound that sent vibrations through Takemichi’s spine. It didn’t take long for them to get lost in each other, wrapped up in each other’s embrace. Their chests moved up and down slowly, matching each other's breaths until they eventually pulled away enough to rest their foreheads against each other, breathing each other’s air.
“So you knew all this time?” Takemichi whispered against Naoto’s lips. Naoto closed his eyes, humming in affirmation.
Naoto smiled again, just as warm and comforting as his laugh had been. He leaned up to press a tender kiss to the tip of Takemichi’s nose and whispered back, “Not really, but I suspected it.”
Takemichi smiled back, feeling giddy and lightheaded all at once. They were still holding onto each other tightly, unwilling to leave the comfortable warmth of being in the other’s arms. He buried his face further into Naoto’s shoulder and mumbled out a small, “I’m sorry it took me so long to notice it.”
The chuckle that came from Naoto was breathless and filled with affection. He pressed a quick kiss against the top of Takemichi’s head, before sighing fondly. “Don’t apologize, Michi, it’s nobody’s fault. We’re just idiots.”
Takemichi laughed, pressing his cheek further into Naoto’s chest. “I guess we are,” he agreed.
They spent the night holding each other close and talking in hushed whispers, never parting despite the hour. It was hard to stay awake, not when you were both smiling so much and kissing every few minutes. After a while, they fell asleep on the couch, tangled up in each other’s arms; but not before formalizing their love officially.
Takemichi may have ended up discovering that he was a lot more oblivious than he initially thought he was, yet all of it was worth it, as long as he had Naoto by his side.