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Yabu takes a Duke Cannon off of a shelf in the Men’s section and studies its guidance on the back of its tube. It is a new brand that has just introduced in Japan’s market for a few days, and he has heard the reviews and endless customers’ gratification to it, leaving him feel kind of curious about how good it actually is. He then hurriedly walks after Inoo, who is apparently pushing the trolley half full with stuff along the tissue section, and shows the tube to the younger guy.
“Kei, let’s try this.” He suggests.
“Another shaving foam?” Inoo, with his eyebrows knitted, tilts up his head and looks at his lover in the eye. “Your last one is not yet up, this isn’t necessarily needed.”
“Come on, it’s Duke Cannon—an international brand! Who knows we can look more handsome after shaving with it. Our fans would be pleased, no?”
“That’s bull crap, Kou-chan.” Inoo rolls his eyes and starts pushing his trolley again, only glancing for a moment at a-turning-gloomy Yabu who’s following him from behind. “You’re always buying something unnecessary. Let’s look for other more important stuff, okay? You’re running out of toilet tissues, body soap, toothpaste, deodorant, and your fridge is literally empty. How can you live without any of those things, seriously?”
“I skip most of the rituals.”
“Eww, that’s gross.”
“Hey, I’m a guy, nobody cares.”
“You’re an idol, damn it, everybody cares.” Inoo stops walking. He rests his right arm on the handle of the trolley and turns his body so that he’s facing the older guy. He tilts his head to one side adorably. “Idols aren’t just about look, Kou-chan. And I’m a guy too.” He turns to the shelf next to him and picks a toilet tissue out of it. “Hikaru is a guy too, but just look at him, he’s always make sure of his own hygiene.”
“Then go date Hikaru instead of me.”
Hearing that, the smaller male frowns.
“What are you talking about?”
Yabu is about to argue more but immediately shuts his mouth up when he sees a woman in knee-length pale purple chiffon dress, holding the hand of her seemingly seven years old boy, stops walking right behind Inoo’s back. The boy is staring at Yabu so innocently yet curiously with his wide eyes, and the woman, who is much shorter than Inoo, hurriedly takes a toilet tissue off of the shelf before walking pass them, her face pale as if she just saw a ghost. She seems to notice the two of them but says nothing. Better if she keeps silent, Yabu notes himself.
Inoo stares at her and her son as they disappear behind Yabu’s back. He then averts his brown orbs to the particular tall guy standing some feet away from him. The raven sighs as he sees Yabu pouting so childishly before turning on his heels and walking away, putting the shaving foam back into its shelf. When the older goes back to him, Inoo pushes the trolley back towards other section.
Sometimes, Inoo questions himself about his love for their group’s leader. He surely loves Yabu, he always does, but sometimes he wonders why he loves him in the first place. Yabu is childish and pampered and demanding, sometimes annoying as well, and not even close to his type of a lover. Yet here he is, shopping for groceries to fulfil whatever needed in Yabu’s apartment for Yabu’s sake alone. He doesn’t have an obligation to do so, because they’re not living together and all, but if it weren’t him who initiate the grocery shopping, it would take a decade until Yabu went by himself.
They once broke up for a couple of months and Yabu went out with a girl, but the girl wasn’t really a good girl and Yabu was such a mess when he crawled back to Inoo’s arms. Last year, the first time Inoo checked Yabu’s apartment after months of separation, he found his room in disarray that he’s got to clean and tidy up just literally everything. What would Yabu be without him around, Inoo wonders. Sometimes, it just takes a moment for Inoo to get himself think that they’re just stuck with each other, perhaps forever.
When they’re passing through vegetables section, Yabu walks so close behind Inoo’s back that Inoo can feel the older’s warmth radiates, in contrast with the shelf cooler in front of him that emits a cold sensation. They look around the veggie shelf—broccoli, cauliflowers, collard greens, spinach, mustard, sprouts, celery, asparagus, potatoes, soybeans, alfalfa, carrots, tomatoes, and other vegetables that look fresh—and talk and make a joke about their orderly arrangement and laugh in unison, looking exactly more like two lovers rather than a couple of bandmate. Inoo randomly picks up a sweet potato and shows it to Yabu, and the older lifts one of his eyebrows in response.
“What do you plan to cook?” Yabu asks.
“Don’t know. What do you think is best?” Inoo tilts up his head a little so that he can see his lover’s face behind his shoulder. “What about kare? We can buy some Vermounts. But I had eaten my mom’s kare yesterday, so—uh, or should we make some homemade pasta? Or do you have some rice at home?”
“I say let’s just order some Pizza. Or ramen. Or anything fast. You don’t have to cook and trouble yourself for me, Kei-chan.”
Yabu indeed doesn’t want Inoo to make himself troubled because of him. He thinks he alone is troublesome enough for Inoo to take care of. He almost always makes Inoo’s hand full, though unwittingly. Thus, he knows that Inoo doesn’t have the obligation to do so, because though Inoo has the key to his apartment and can access his place anytime he want, they still don’t live under the same roof.
“I’m not staying over at your place just to eat some deliveries.” Inoo rolls his eyes, putting the sweet potato back to its place, and walks on. “You really need to concern more about your own nutrition intake, Kou-chan. Even with your new built muscles, you’re still too skinny for your own good.”
Yabu bites his lower lip, but is amazed with Inoo’s sincere concern towards him.
Still following the younger from behind, Yabu stays silent. He stares at Inoo’s side profile from behind as the younger suggesting grilled fish for dinner because it’s easy to make. They stop along the fish and meat section and Inoo is observing every dead fishes saved in the glass freezer. Inoo always looks overwhelmingly cute while observing something, and Yabu never fails to notice this kind of thing. He notices the way Inoo pouts his lips so slightly and his eyes wide in interest, and also the way the younger puts a finger on his chin as he talks with the section staff.
“Thank you,” Oblivious with Yabu’s silent stare to him, Inoo smiles widely and bows as he receives a 227 grams of salmon fillet wrapped in pliofilm and styrofoam from the fish and meat staff. He puts it in the trolley before pushing back. They then walk to another section in the supermarket. “Now, let’s look for some soyu. You don’t have soyu either, do you, Kou-chan?”
“Un.” Yabu hums in amazement. When they stop in front of the sauces section, Yabu stands right behind Inoo, and rests his chin on the raven’s shoulder. “Nee, Kei-chan,”
“Hmm?” Inoo takes a glance at Yabu’s face which looks so close to his at the moment, only to check the older’s expression. After that, he turns back to the shelf in front of him, picks a bottle of Yamasa, and reads its information. “Are you tired?”
“Why won’t you just move in with me?”
Surprised, Inoo averts his widened eyes back to Yabu. This is not the first time he hears such proposal, but it never fails to make his heart skip a beat.
“If you’re this concerned about me, then let’s live together. That way you can take care of me whenever, whatever you like. You don’t have to go and forth to my place and fuss yourself like this anymore either.” Yabu blurts out. Inoo feels the vibration in the older’s throat against his left shoulder, and somehow it worsens the erratic beat of his heart. “The two of us are now 24, that means we’re close to a quarter century old. We’re adults, and your mother knows me well enough—she has known about our relationship for years—so you don’t really need to ask for her approval, do you. What still makes you doubt about living with me?”
Blinking his eyelids rapidly, Inoo takes some glances to his right, inspecting if anyone hears what Yabu has just uttered to him. Luckily, there’s no one in this section but the two of them. And Yabu is actually right. If he just moved in with him, then he wouldn’t have to spend his energy to go around between Tokyo and Saitama and back again to Tokyo every single day. By living with Yabu, he wouldn’t have to worry about the older’s necessity and everything else that he always frets about.
Yet again, he still can’t decide whether living together with Yabu is a good decision or not, and this does not have anything to do with his family nor their opinion about whatever the two is having.Thus, living together means they're diving deeper into their relationship. A part of his heart is still disagreeing to such suggestion, in addition to Yabu’s self traits and all other aspects. Inoo might still feel afraid of getting hurt, or maybe not, he just doesn’t understand himself. Maybe, he just needs to find some more confidence before deciding to move in to his lover’s apartment.
The taller male stands up straight again, and Inoo, with his face all flushed and rosy, stares at him. Their stares are connected and no one of the two dares to break such intense contact. Inoo, eyes widen innocently, feels sorry for Yabu for his own unspoken cowardice. But he really can’t do anything about it.
“Kou, I’m sorry...”
There is a pause between the two of them which feels very awkward. Yabu is the first to break this awkwardness, by throwing his gaze away and laughing about it, sticking his tongue out, his eyes narrowed into two thick lines, his right hand scratching the back of his head which actually isn’t feeling itchy. The older of the two can always forgive Inoo so easily. Because even if Inoo is turning down his requests, Yabu can still find an adorable side out of him.
“It’s alright.” He says sincerely.
But still, even after he convinced him that way, apparently, Inoo keeps on thinking about his doubtful refusal to the older's proposal until they finish purchasing all the groceries in the cashier. The younger is keeping himself silent all the time, which is so unlike him, and for some reason concentrating his gaze to the floor that suddenly looks very interesting. Yabu, slightly regretting his babbles before, can only take some glances down to his lover without saying anything.
“Kei, let’s go home.” Yabu conveys him, taking all the grocery bags in Inoo’s hand and brings them with his own.
The silence feels more uncomfortable when they’re about to walk out of the automatic door to the supermarket, and this time, Inoo can’t take it anymore. All of a sudden, the raven grabs the sleeve of Yabu’s light blue T-shirt and tugs it gently towards himself. Albeit the pull is not powerful enough, it’s still made Yabu turns his attention to him, though questioningly.
“If I—” Inoo tilts up his head, his determined eyes find their way back to Yabu’s. “—If I suddenly changed my mind, would you still accept me?”
This time, it is Yabu whose heart skips a beat. He feels a pleasant warmth growing in his chest as he stares at his lover’s pretty, lovely face. He can’t help a wide grin of relief from creeping itself onto his ever so gorgeous visage as he takes Inoo’s hand, which is still hanging on his T-shirt’s sleeve, and holds it tight in place, entwining their fingers tight together.
“Of course,” Yabu steals a peck on Inoo’s lips so lovingly. “I am the one who invites you.” He says at last, before leading themselves out of the supermarket, hands linked with each other's.
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