Work Text:
Abe Ryohei’s day starts like any other: wake up in the morning, go to the preschool he works at, teach kids the fundamentals of knowledge (aka reading, writing, and math), and then finally, go home. Abe’s life was basically like this every day. He loves what he does. He gets to teach kids skills that’ll help them in the long run. For him, that’s the most important thing anyone can do for another person. But if he was being honest, it can get monotonous sometimes.
Again, he loves his job, but sometimes he wishes the moms of his students would leave him alone whenever they ask too many questions. “Sensei, you’re so young and handsome! Do you have a girlfriend? Or perhaps a fiance?” they would ask him in sickly sweet voices, and he’d laugh and shake his head no. “Why not? You’re not getting any younger, you know! I have a niece who…” and they’d go on and on about a girl they knew, trying every trick in the book to convince Abe to just give them a chance, and every time without fail, Abe would gently turn down the offer, tell them that it’s sweet of them that they worry but he isn’t really looking for a relationship right now, and send them away.
It’s not that he doesn’t want a relationship, he does want someone. Someone to share his struggles with and celebrate his successes, someone who would break his monotonous daily routine. It was a nice thought to have, but as for most things in Abe’s life, it remains only as a thought, nothing more, nothing less. He would love to put himself out there, to actually try, but he’s bi, and he lives in a fairly small town outside of Tokyo. He’s glad that the country is becoming more and more open to LGBTQ folks, with new shows releasing every week it seems, but it was still hard for regular people like him to look for a partner, let alone people of the same sexuality.
He didn’t desire anyone anyway. He often doesn’t go to mixers and he rarely meets new people, so he’s relied on pure chance. That one day he’ll meet the one at a cafe somewhere, heck, maybe even walk through his door.
And that’s exactly what happened.
-
The school day has ended. Just like any other day, he watches the kids wave him goodbye and their moms thanking him for looking after their little one for the day. His job was fulfilling, he loves seeing the kids enthusiastically telling their parents what they drew during art class that day, or a new math problem they solved. One by one, his students went home, until a single one remained in his classroom. This wasn’t uncommon, sometimes parents run late because they were busy doing something else, but it was strange because this student in particular was picked up by her mom usually on time.
It was a little girl named Haruka. She didn’t seem fazed when all her classmates had gone home except for her.
“Haruka, did your mom say anything about running late today?” Abe asked her, kneeling down to her level so he could look at her properly.
“My mama said uncle Ryota is picking me up today!” Haruka said, giddy and excited.
“Is that so? Can you tell me about him so I know who to look out for when he arrives? Or better yet,” Abe grabs scrap paper from one of the shelves and a box of crayons, “Can you draw him for me?”
Haruka draws a tall man dressed in a stylish red suit, behind him, a tall building and a fancy black car. The man seemed to be holding a book, later corrected by Haruka as a magazine.
Haruka’s uncle was apparently a food stylist for a magazine. Haruka didn’t know what that meant, but her uncle said that he “cooks food all day in a big kitchen and takes pictures and puts it in a magazine.”
“I want to be like him when I grow up. He’s very cool, sensei! You’ll like him!” Haruka said. She seems excited that her teacher and her uncle are meeting.
This keeps Haruka entertained for an hour. She talks about her uncle more, about how cool he is and how he always cooks yummy food when he visits or his pretty clothes and how he always buys her things when he’s around. Abe sits and listens.
Abe thinks a man like this is rare, maybe even impossible. He’s come to the conclusion that Haruka definitely puts her uncle on a pedestal, or her uncle’s lying to her.
This goes on for a few more minutes until he hears a soft knock at his classroom door. Abe looks up and finds a tall, incredibly attractive man. He wore a dress shirt, a few top buttons loose, and sleek black pants. The shirt was a little tight on the man, showing off his toned body. Abe was speechless.
“Uncle!” Haruka exclaimed. Abe came back to his senses. Haruka wasn’t exaggerating in her drawing.
She runs to him and he picks her up effortlessly, laughing.
“Haruka! I’m so sorry I’m late. Work took longer than I thought it would.” The man sounded genuinely apologetic.
“It’s okay! Sensei and I were just talking about you. I even drew you! I told him all about your job!” Haruka holds up the drawing she made.
The man looked at Abe and was surprised to see him there. He puts Haruka down and walks to him.
“Sensei, thank you for looking after Haruka. I’m sorry it took me this long to pick her up.” He bows down deeply in apology.
“No, no. She wasn’t a bother at all, in fact she was so excited to tell me about you. It was a delight spending time with her while waiting.” Abe reassures the man.
The man stands and smiles at him. This man is drop-dead gorgeous, Abe thinks. He should be on the front page of every magazine there is.
“I’m Abe Ryohei, by the way. Haruka’s teacher.”
“Miyadate Ryota. Here,” he takes out a business card and a pen from his pocket, he flips it and writes something on the back and then gives it to him. It says:
Miyadate Ryota
Food stylist/Pro Chef
+8198-xxx-xxx
[email protected]
Haruka was 100% telling the truth.
“I wrote my personal number on the back too. I’ll be staying with my sister for a few days to help out. She just got promoted, and it’s taking up her time. Please call me if there are any emergencies.” Miyadate says.
“Of course! Are you filling in for her in PTA meetings as well?” Abe asks.
“Well, for the time being, I’ll be my sister’s proxy. So yes, until everything settles down for her, I’ll be attending all school activities and picking Haruka up from school.” Miyadate replies.
Haruka tugs on her uncle’s pants, letting him know that she’s ready to go home.
“I better get this little one home. It was nice meeting you, Abe sensei.” Miyadate says.
Abe walks them out the building and sees a sleek black Mercedes parked outside the school gate. Abe watches them walk to the car and before Miyadate goes in, he looks back and tips his head in goodbye.
“Bye-bye, sensei!” Haruka’s voice echoes across the empty lot. Abe watches the car drive off. He didn’t realize he was smiling until the car was out of view.
-
As soon as Abe was home, he messaged Sakuma, a close friend of his, about what happened.
2 seconds later, Sakuma was calling him.
Abe picks it up and is immediately greeted with, “is he cute? How tall is he? Is he even gay, Abe-chan? You know how horrible it is to have crushes on straight people! What did he smell like?”
“Hello to you too, Sakuma,” Abe supplies as a greeting. “And to answer your questions, yes, very, I intend to find that out myself, like expensive perfume.”
“So what’s your game plan, Abe-chan? I can help you! Meme and I will go there and stay at your apartment, and we’ll devise a plan! Like old times.” Sakuma smiles
Abe met Sakuma in college, even though they went to completely different universities. Sakuma was looking for a roommate and Abe’s campus happened to be near his complex. They’re two completely different people, but they’re somehow each other’s closest friend. Meguro (Meme as lovingly called by Sakuma) is Sakuma’s partner. All 3 of them would hang out when they were still students.
Abe thinks that sharing an apartment with Sakuma and Meguro would be a nightmare. “Maybe we don’t do that, Sakuma. I love you but…we moved to different places for different reasons.” He gently turns down the offer.
“Y’know I’m just kidding! I’m too busy here anyway. Anyway, your plan? Do you have anything in mind?” Sakuma says.
“I don’t know yet. And I don’t even know if he’s straight or not. I don’t want to jump to any conclusions.”
“Yup! Top priority right now is finding out if he even likes guys or not. Operation ‘Get Abe Laid’ is in motion! Yay!” Sakuma says in a loud voice.
And in the distance, he hears a familiar voice: “Abe’s getting laid?” Meguro, of course.
“Can you both stop it? I don’t want my best friends talking about my sex life like this. And I can hear you, Meguro!”
Sakuma giggles. “Just let me know how it goes, okay? I’m happy for you, Abe-chan. Promise me you’ll call. Love you, bye!” He hangs up before Abe gets to speak.
-
Miyadate picks up Haruka everyday from school and without fail, he makes sure to talk to Abe before they leave. By the end of the week, Abe was calling him ‘Date-san.’ as per his request.
“Miyadate-san sounds too formal. That’s what colleagues call me, and you’re not my colleague. You’re my friend.” Miyadate, or Date, says.
Date would often stay a bit longer to talk to Abe and for Haruka to play at the school playground. This was the way Abe found out that Haruka’s mom was promoted at the hospital she worked at from an assistant nurse to a senior nurse. The transition was hectic and she often had to stay at the hospital for longer hours. Date worked at a food magazine as a food stylist in Tokyo.
“Isn’t the commute too long? This place is a few hours away from Tokyo, wouldn’t that affect your work too?” Abe asks
“It definitely affects my work, but when my sister called and asked me to look after Haruka, I couldn’t say no. Haruka loves her grandparents but they live miles away, and my sister wouldn’t allow Haruka to live that far away from her. Plus, I love that little girl too much. So I asked my boss if I could come to work a little later for a while.” Date explains.
“They were against it at first, but after explaining my situation, they allowed me to work shorter hours at the office and take the rest of my work home. It made me busier but seeing Haruka so happy I’m with her makes all of it worth it.” He looks at his niece with so much love. Abe’s heart skips a beat
The more Abe gets to know Date, the harder he falls. He knows this isn’t good, falling for a man he just met, but Date felt different. He’s never met anyone like him before.
A few days later, Haruka hands him a homemade bento during lunch.
“What’s this?” Abe asks the girl
“Uncle Ryota and I made it! You should be eating proper meals, Sensei!” Haruka exclaims.
He forgets that kids have excellent observational skills sometimes, and Abe is guilty of having plain onigiri he buys from the nearest convenience store for lunch. He can’t cook to save his life, so his meals were usually microwavable food. What he didn’t expect was Date making him homemade lunch.
The bento was wrapped in a red furoshiki with a floral pattern. He carefully unravels the cloth and finds a sticky note on top of the bento. It says:
Haruka insisted we make you lunch, she was adamant on making sure you eat properly.
That kid worries too much. I didn’t know what you liked, so I put things I feel you would enjoy.
I hope you don’t mind, Abe sensei.
Enjoy x
Ryota
Inside was a beautifully arranged bento. A sumeshi dish with salmon, egg, and cucumber, stir-fried eggplant and bell peppers, and pieces of smashed fingerling potatoes.
This was the first time in a while someone has cooked for him. The first bite of the meal he was given was so good, he almost cried in front of the whole class. He finished the meal, leaving no leftovers.
“I hope I didn’t impose on you Abe sensei. The lunch was Haruka’s idea, she said the only thing she’s seen you eat was a ‘sad onigiri from 7/11’. Her words, not mine.” Date says once he arrives at school to pick up Haruka.
“Oh no! Not at all. I was surprised once she gave me the bento. If anything, I don’t want you wasting good food on me. The ingredients you used looked expensive, I feel guilty taking such a thing from you” Abe says honestly as he hands back the bento box.
“I work at a food magazine, and we often have an overflow of leftover ingredients from recipe testing and meal prepping all day, so don’t worry about that. It’s not wasting food if I’m feeding someone. And I enjoy cooking, plus,” Date gently reaches out to grab his arm “Haruka’s right. You’re way too skinny. Do you not know how to cook, sensei?”
This made Abe blush, the comment or the fact that Date is holding him, he’s not sure.
“I hate to admit this, but I never learned how to cook. My parents were always busy so they never taught me, and school was always my top priority so I never had a chance to teach myself.”
“Do you mind if I make you lunch, Abe sensei? Maybe just every other day, I’ll text you the recipes I use so you can try and make them on your own too.” Date says sincerely.
This took Abe by surprise. He’s never had anyone offer him to cook food before, and the fact that Date offered to make him lunch despite his busy schedule filled him with so much joy.
“Of course! If it isn’t too much trouble.” Abe beamed.
Date stared at him with an unreadable face for a few seconds before speaking again, “Great! I’ll send you the recipe of the food I made today. It was nice talking to you today, sensei. I’ll see you again tomorrow.”
And once again, he watches the sleek black car drive off. He waves goodbye to Haruka, who pops her head out the window to yell, “bye-bye sensei! See you tomorrow!”
-
Surely enough, a text from Date came in at around 9 PM, It was webpages to recipes of the food he had for lunch. Another text follows a second later.
‘Here are the recipes for the food Haruka and I made. Turns out they’re one of my own! I don’t even remember making these. Let me know if you make them x’
Abe took a screenshot of the text and sent it to Sakuma. ‘Sakkun, what do you think this means??? Answer ASAP, pls.’
Sakuma’s reply came quickly, ‘OMG!??!?!? he’s totally flirting w u abe-chan!!! and the x mark??? that’s a KISS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!’
Abe texts back: ‘He also made me lunch today, with a hand written note.’ He sends, attached with an image of the note that was stuck on his lunch
Sakuma replies 2 minutes later: ‘just checked in with the council, aka meme, moon, tiara, and cocoa. after much deliberation, the council’s decision is unanimous, he’s flirting w u, abe-sama. meme comments; “he put his first name and a kiss mark, he wants to get down and dirty with you.” tiara comments; “woof woof!” ’
Abe’s thankful he has friends as great as Sakuma and Meguro, but he still has reservations. For one, he still isn’t sure if Date even likes guys, and if he does, would he even be interested in Abe? Date seems larger than life, with a career so much bigger than his. He suddenly feels insecure.
His phone dings again, snapping him out of his thoughts. A text from Sakuma. It reads: ‘oi, i can feel you thinking from here. what’s up abe-chan?’
Abe replies: ‘I’m just not sure about this, Sakkun. He just seems…like I don’t deserve him. And I don’t think he’d be interested in me. I mean look at him! And then look at me’
‘abe-chan, i wish u can see the way we see u. u are AMAZING, stop doubting urself! meme agrees too. this date guy would be STUPID not to be interested in you. actually, if he breaks ur heart, i will personally go there and beat the absolute crap out of him. and i’ll bring meme too!’
Abe loves his friends so much. ‘Thank you, Sakkun but don’t do that. I’ll let you know again if anything happens. Love you both! And I miss the dogs.’ he texts back.
Talking to Sakuma made Abe feel better. He’s determined to see this through. Operation ‘Get Abe Laid’ is in session.
-
For the next few days, Haruka hands him a bento box with the same red floral furoshiki, and every time he opens the bento, he is blown away. Date goes above and beyond in the bento boxes he gives Abe, each with a different variation of ingredients. Haruka seems to be knowledgeable on the ingredients her uncle uses too, detailing the vegetables and meat they used in making the bento box.
And every night without fail, Date sends him links of recipes he used to make bento. Often his own recipes or his colleagues’, he’d tell Abe fond memories of the work he’d done for each meal, telling stories of how the meal was made, from recipe testing to publishing.
Abe tried making some of the meals for himself but something would always go wrong.
“I don’t understand what I’m doing wrong. I followed the recipes you sent but something always goes wrong in the middle.” Abe confesses to Date one day.
Haruka seems to have overheard this, “you should come to our house, sensei! Uncle’s a really good teacher, he can teach you how to cook! He teaches me how to cook all the time!” she excitedly suggests.
“Haruka, I’m sure Abe sensei is busy. We don’t want to inconvenience him, do we?” Date says to his niece, who begins to pout.
“But….but…” Haruka tries her best to convince her uncle.
“No but’s.” Date says to his niece. “Sorry about that, Abe sensei. She seems to really like you. I’d love to help you any time, though. We’ll take our leave now.” Date says to Abe.
“I’d love to come over today, actually. It’s a Friday and I’m not busy. I mean, if it’s okay with you, Date-san.” Abe says in one breath.
Haruka’s mood was immediately switched, “Really? You’ll come? Uncle did you hear? Sensei said he’ll come!” She tugs at her uncle.
“Are you sure? You don’t have to do this for Haruka, Abe sensei. I really don’t want to inconvenience you.” Date sincerely says.
“You’re not inconveniencing me,” Abe places a hand on Date’s shoulder to reassure him, “And I want to learn too. Right, Haruka?” He turns to the little girl clinging on Date’s leg.
Haruka nods, “right!”
“Well then, I won’t go easy on you.” Date jokes.
“I don’t expect you to.” Abe says.
-
Once they arrive at the Miyadate household, Haruka bolts straight to the kitchen, eagerly waiting for Date and Abe.
And then suddenly, a rainbow budgie lands on Date’s head.
“We’re home, Rainbow Rose.” Date says to the bird. Abe looks at him in confusion and fondness.
“Ah, I forgot to introduce you to her. Rainbow Rose, this is Abe sensei. Abe sensei, this is Rainbow Rose, my rainbow budgie. I couldn’t leave her alone in my apartment so I brought her with me.” Date says. “Haruka, can you put Rainbow in her cage so I can prepare the kitchen?”
“On it!” Haruka says from the kitchen, “Rainbow, come!”
Rainbow Rose flies from Date’s head to Haruka’s finger. She places the bird in a cage in the living room. “She’s well-trained.” Haruka beams.
Abe can’t help but giggle. “I wasn’t expecting to see a budgie.”
“My building doesn’t allow cats or dogs, plus birds are way easier to take care of.” Date makes his way to the kitchen. He rolls up his sleeves and puts on a brown apron. “Let’s get started.”
“Date-san, tonight you’re the teacher, and I am the student. Please call me Abe from now on, Date sensei.” Abe says in a joking manner, bowing deeply. Haruka giggles and bows with him.
“Teach us, sensei.” Haruka plays along. She and Abe giggle under their breaths.
“Okay you two, stop fooling around. Tonight, we’re making hamburger steak.”
-
Date is an excellent teacher, explaining both to Abe and Haruka the step-by-step process of making hamburger steak.
Abe discovers a different side of Date. He seems to shine while he cooks. He’s in his element, joking around with Haruka and cooking. Haruka seems to like it whenever her uncle says ‘party time.’
Abe sneaks a bite of the hamburger steak while Date’s back is turned.
“This is amazing, Date-san! You should host a cooking show.” Abe says, taking another bite of the steak
“You flatter me too much, Abe-san. And put the fork down, we haven’t even finished yet!” Date replies
“I’m serious! You’re amazing at this. You need to go to the head office and demand a primetime cooking show. I’ll be the taste tester.” Abe puts the fork down and looks at Date.
Date seems to be delighted at this comment, his cheeks slightly pink. He laughs and says “I’ll do it first thing in the morning.”
They continue to cook in comfortable silence, Abe sneaking a bite every time Date’s back is turned, when they suddenly hear the front door open.
“Mama!” Haruka yells, she runs straight to the door.
“Haruka! I’m home.” the woman, Haruka’s mom, says. She hugs Haruka tightly.
“Masumi, you’re home early.” Date says. Abe has met her multiple times in the past, but he never really had a proper conversation with her before.
“Nii-chan, I’m home. They let me go home early today.”
“Good evening, Miyadate-san.” Abe bows in greeting.
“Abe sensei! It’s a surprise to see you here. Call me Masumi, please. I’m sick of hearing ‘Miyadate-san’ all day.” Masumi jokes. “You guys are making dinner?”
“Yeah! Uncle’s teaching sensei how to cook, so that makes uncle the sensei…and sensei is just…Abe-chan!” Haruka giggles
“Oi Haruka! That’s rude, you know. Sorry about my kid, sensei.” Masumi says.
Abe only chuckles. “It’s okay, truly. I’ll give you an exemption today, Haruka. Since I’m in your house.”
“Yay! I love Abe-chan sensei!” Haruka runs to Abe and hugs his leg.
“I guess that works too.” Abe says to Date and grins.
They eat and talk about work. Masumi complains about her long hours at the hospital and tells all kinds of stories about the different people she meets.
“It’s tiring work, but I love it. Every time I see a patient’s smile, it fills me up with joy. Gives me motivation to get up every morning. It sucks I have to be away from this little one though,” She reaches out to Haruka and ruffles her hair. Haruka smiles at her mom, her cheeks filled with hamburger steak.
They continue on for an hour or so, each telling stories about work and their lives. Haruka even dominated the conversation at some point, talking about magical anime horse girls. Abe thinks she and Sakuma will get along pretty well.
After dinner, Haruka goes for her bath.
“I’ll go take care of Haruka, nii-chan. You stay here and entertain our guest.” Masumi says as she carries Haruka to the bath. “Me and this missy will go play!” Haruka cheers at her mom’s comment.
“I should head home, it’s getting late.” Abe says.
“I’ll drive you,” Date starts.
“It’s okay. I’ll go get a cab, I don’t want to keep you–”
“I insist. Let me drive you.” Date cuts him off
“Let my brother drive you, Abe sensei.” Masumi suddenly appears seemingly out of thin air. “I can handle things here. I won’t wait for you, nii-chan, stay safe!” She winks at her brother.
-
They drive to Abe’s home in silence. He’s grown close to Date over the course of a few weeks, but something seems to be different now.
When they finally arrive at Abe’s building, they sit in the car for a minute without speaking.
“Do you want to come up for a drink, Date-san?” Abe finally breaks the silence.
“I’d love to.”
The elevator ride up is quiet too.
They enter Abe’s apartment, “I apologize for the mess, I wasn’t really expecting guests today.” He quickly tidies up the living room space filled up with school works and books.
“It’s okay, I don’t mind.”
“Please, sit. Coffee?.” Abe’s never felt this nervous before.
“I’ll have one, thank you.” Date sits on the couch and inspects the books on the table, “American history?”
“Ah, it’s one of my hobbies. I like studying in my spare time. Keeps me busy. I can name all 50 US states, it’s my party trick.” Abe turns on the coffee maker.
Date further inspects Abe’s apartment, and sees the certificates hung on the wall. “You have a master’s degree? And a weather forecast license? You’re amazing, Abe-san.”
Abe blushes, “I took it a few years ago. I was thinking of becoming a weather forecaster but I wanted to teach.” He walks over to the couch with 2 cups of coffee in hand.
“It was a stressful time. I was studying non-stop. At some point I lost hope, but I persevered. My friends were a big help at the time.” Abe hands Date the cup and sits down beside him. He smiles at the memory. It was Meguro and Sakuma who helped him through that.
“You’re amazing,” Date turns to look at Abe, to really look at him.
Date places his coffee down and sits closer to Abe, “Abe-san, I know we’ve only known each other for a few weeks,” he places his hand on top of Abe’s, “But I really like you. You’re such a kind-hearted person, and I really enjoy spending time with you. I’m sorry if this is too direct, you can turn me down if you don’t feel the same.”
Abe is stunned, his thoughts were all over the place. He didn’t even realize he was staring blankly until Date said, “I’ll take your silence as rejection.”
“Wait! I’m not rejecting you.” Abe says finally. “I…I have liked you since you walked through my classroom.”
It was Date’s turn to be stunned. “Really?” He asks in disbelief.
“Yes! The moment you stepped in.” Abe says seriously.
Date then starts laughing, “We’re both idiots, aren’t we?”
“I don’t understand. Why’re you laughing?”
“I’ve liked you since the beginning too. I didn’t even know if you were into guys. But you started to reciprocate my flirting, so I took my chance tonight to ask you out.” Date chuckles.
Abe laughs with him. They’re both idiots.
“So the lunch…” Abe starts
“That was my idea. Haruka told me about the 7/11 onigiri and I suggested that we make you lunch together.”
“And the recipes…”
“I was trying to impress you! But you didn’t seem to be impressed.”
Abe laughs again. He really likes this man.
“I was very impressed. And I still am,” Abe turns to look at Date and holds both his hands “You’re amazing, Date-san. Really.”
Date blushes hard and hugs Abe. “Ah, I really like you, Abe-chan sensei.”
He hugs Date back. They stay like that for a few minutes until they let go. “Can I kiss you?” Abe asks in a quiet voice.
“You don’t have to ask.”
They kiss softly, Abe tastes the coffee on Date's mouth.
It was perfect.