Chapter Text
Die held his breath as he squeezed his way out of the jam-packed train and into the chaos of the morning rush hour. He bumps into a few people along the way, and though he wants to apologize, he simply doesn’t have the time. He’s already running late for work, and if he doesn’t hurry, he may be called in again for another chat with his supervisor. Something he doesn’t want to deal with after an already stressful morning on the phone.
Tapping his card at the gate, Die speed-walks out of Akasaka station and onto the busy sidewalk where he slips into the flow of commuters walking in the same direction, blending into the stream of muted greys, browns and blacks. The air is thick with the heat and humidity of early summer and he heaves a weary sigh, recalling the unfruitful conversation he had with a potential babysitter this morning. He had contacted her upon a colleague’s recommendation, and she had been very kind and sincere to him during the call, but when discussion turned to her hours and rates, he was hardly surprised when she understandably turned him down. The in-between years – when the children were too old for daycare but too young to be home alone – were the trickiest, he had been told, and he’s starting to understand why. Die had spoken to at least five different babysitters at this point with little success, and with two weeks left before summer vacation begins, he is at a loss for what to do if he can’t find someone to look after his girls on time for the longest school vacation of the year.
Lost in his thoughts, Die does not look up when he turns the corner that would take him to his office. And before he knew it—
He walks straight into the person in front of him, tumbling to the ground as the other’s papers fly into disarray out of its folder and onto the busy sidewalk. While some passerby’s whisper in shock, some in annoyance, most simply continue walking quietly around them, forming a circle around Die and the unfortunate stranger as they made their way towards their respective destinations.
Disoriented and sore from the collision, he gradually pushes himself upright with his elbows. When his vision refocuses, he sees morning commuters rush by around him, the man he collided with on the ground in front of him, and papers scattered all around him – papers that were clearly not his. His face blanches, embarrassed and mortified.
“Oh my goodness I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry!” he rambles, scrambling to his to knees to help collect the other’s documents from the ground. The sheets were covered in music notes and scribbled poetry. Did he just crash into a musician? “This is so embarrassing, I’m so sorry I didn’t see you…!”
“Me too…ugh…” the stranger grunts softly, his voice muddled as he gets up from the ground, “It’s been a long night, I’m sorry I wasn’t looki—Die?”
Die’s head jerks up, startled at the use of his nickname. Hardly anybody called him ‘Die’ anymore, except for maybe his close family and friends. To his surprise, he was greeted with a familiar face, one he has not seen in many, many years.
“Kaoru?” he whispers, eyes wide.
The other man breaks into a smile. “Oh, good! You remember,” he chuckles, lifting his wide-brimmed hat to fix the unruly dark hair underneath, “If you hadn’t that would’ve been awkward.”
Die lets out an incredulous laugh behind his hand, at this point too shocked to be flustered. Of all the people he could’ve walked into it was Kaoru. It’s been a while since Die has checked what Kaoru's been up to, and years since he’s met him in person. Who would’ve thought that this was how they’d be reacquainted.
“H-How have you been? What have you been up to?” Die asks him, trying not to fumble as he hands over the papers he collected from the ground.
Kaoru accepts them gratefully, standing up and brushing the back of his trousers. “Producing…wait, sorry-” he turns to the side and lets out a yawn so huge Die couldn’t help but giggle at the sight, “Yeah, producing, mostly. I pulled an all-nighter at the studio last night- morning. I’m sorry I didn’t see you coming, I’m clearly more tired than I thought.”
“No, it’s alright, I’m sorry too! I had a lot on my mind, so—oh shit,” Die whispers, his eyes darting to his watch, “Oh shitshitshit,” he mutters under his breath at the time.
Kaoru peeks at Die’s watch and blinks up at him, “Running late?”
Die sighs and nods, eyebrows pinched, “Yeah, I have to get going. I’ve been late more often than not lately. My boss isn’t exactly happy with me,” he says dismally.
“I see. I shouldn’t keep you then,” Kaoru says as Die checks his belongings one last time, “It’s good to see you again. We should catch up sometime. Do you have my contact?”
“O-oh…I’m not sure if I—here,” Die takes out his phone and lets Kaoru scan his contact. Kaoru’s thumb runs over his phone screen and soon enough, his contact pops up in Die’s notifications, along with a message displaying his phone number. Kaoru puts his phone away and smiles in thanks.
“Thank you. I’m sorry I can’t stay and chat,” Die apologizes and tucks his hair behind his ear, “Lunch, maybe?”
“Sure,” Kaoru agrees, waving at Die, “Go! I’ll message you!”
Die grinned wide and waved goodbye, before he turned around and continued his sprint to work. And even though he does end up late (and gets called in by his boss, as expected), Die couldn’t find it in him to mind by the time he reaches his desk. Be it by fate, or by happy accident, he was in touch with an old friend again. And that was enough to make him feel better about his day.
Smiling, he opens Line and adds Kaoru back, returning his message with his own number.
“I’m home!” Die calls out when he enters his apartment, just shy of seven.
“Welcome back!” comes the returning calls. By the time he puts down his work bag, he hears his daughters’ padded footsteps patter out to greet him.
“Yay! You’re back! Now we can eat!” his youngest daughter yells cheerfully, hugging his left leg as she pulls him towards the kitchen, where her older sister was quietly taking out the labelled containers from the fridge.
“Mina-chan, please lower your voice. You remember what happened last time, don’t you?” Die chides her gently, recalling the time the Yamada’s had knocked on their door one evening, apparently concerned that his children were starving because of Mina’s overenthusiastic yelling. It had been awkward conversation for everyone and the last thing he wants is a repeat experience.
“Oh yeah, sorry,” Mina says softly, letting go of her father’s leg with a pout.
Die grins lopsidedly and pats her head. “It’s okay baby. I know you don’t mean to. Now, what would you like to have?”
At this, Mina perks up and bounces lightly on her feet, “Can we have curry?”
Die grins as he ties his hair up, “Sounds good to me,” he answers, before turning to his eldest daughter, “Rie-chan, would you like curry too?”
Rie looks up at her father and nods. “Sure dad,” she answers softly, “Do you need any help?”
Die shakes his head, taking out the plates from the overhead cupboard, “No need baby, thank you. Just wash your hands before you eat. Take your sister with you.”
Nodding, Rie calls out to Mina and takes her hand, leading them to the bathroom sink as Die heats up the rice and scoops out curry from the container.
When dinner was ready and the girls take their first bite, Die asks them about their day, smiling as Mina tells him about a new friend she made during recess, and Rie about the new relay record her class set today against the other classes in her year. While he knew of parents who would find this a chore, Die finds it a much-needed reprieve from his daily grind, from overbearing clients to demands for his time that never seem to cease from the people he least wanted them from.
Later that evening, when he tucks them into bed, Die notices their open closet looking tidier than usual, when it had been a haphazard mess a just a few days before, when Die had made plans to clean it up.
He frowns at the sight, and suspects that it must be Rie’s doing. Recently, Die began to notice parts of the house getting tidied without his prior knowledge. The girls’ clean laundry would be folded and put away in their respective drawers, instead of remaining in the basket that Die got around to during the weekend; the floors would feel swept and free from dust, even though Die swore he felt grime collecting on his feet from walking on it just the day before; and his study – where he usually dumped the things he has no immediate energy to deal with – would be tidied for him, his envelopes and papers and various other belongings stacked in neat piles at the side of his desk, instead of lying in a disorganized pile on the ground.
While he is warmed to see that Rie wants to help, he will need to find the time to talk to her about what she can and cannot do. The last thing he wants is to have her injure herself doing things that are beyond her young age.
Just as he is about to switch off their bedside lamp, Die’s phone chimes and buzzes in his pocket. He takes it out and sees a Line message on the screen.
<Kaoru> Wanna grab lunch this Saturday?
Die pauses and blinks in surprise. He did not expect Kaoru to contact him so soon.
“Is something wrong?” Rie whispers, chin tucked under her blanket and eyes blearily closing despite her attempts to keep them open. Her sister was already fast asleep. Die smiles and shakes his head.
“No, it’s nothing,” he answers, putting his phone back in his pocket, “Just a friend. Now go to sleep. It’s another early day tomorrow.”
Rie yawns and nods, finally giving in to sleepiness, “Okay…good…night...”
“Goodnight, baby,” he whispers back, flicking off the bedside lamp and tiptoeing out of the room.
Moving to lie on the couch, Die takes out his phone and contemplates Kaoru’s suggestion. Lunch. Saturday. He doesn’t want to change the date, as weekends are practically the only free time he has left, and he thinks that it’s probably the same for Kaoru. But at the same time, he had the children’s meals to consider. As much as he trusts Rie and Mina to take care of themselves while he is briefly out, he is not about to have them microwave their own lunch unsupervised.
Unlocking his phone, he types out a reply.
<Die> Hi! Saturday is fine. Can it be a late lunch though, like 13.00?
<Die> I just have some things to sort out and I’m afraid I might run late :(
<Kaoru> Sure :D Saturday at 13.00 then
<Kaoru> I have a place in mind
<Kaoru> Will send you the location but
<Kaoru> If you have any other suggestions let me know too
Die grins and sends a Kaoru a sticker, head falling onto the couch pillow with a sigh. Aside from his colleagues and his immediate family, Die could honestly not remember the last time he had met up with anyone else besides Shinya and Totchi. It’s a nice change of pace, something different to look forward to at the end of the week. A happy accident indeed, he thinks to himself.
Getting up from the couch, he quickly adds the appointment to his calendar and goes to bed, head feeling lighter than it had in weeks.
It was two in the morning, another late evening for Kaoru and Kyo as they work to refine the song arrangement before their next meeting with the executive producer. The building was mostly quiet at this point, with the only real noise coming from Kaoru’s whirring workstation, and from Kyo, tapping away on his iPad beside him.
Kaoru is usually capable of staying focused when he wants to, his concentration almost impenetrable when he is determined to finish something. However, tonight, he finds himself distracted as he tries for the umpteenth time to find the ramen shop he wanted to recommend to Die. Sure, he can’t remember its name for the life of him, nor the street it was on, but this is why Google’s autocorrect function exists, and right now it’s being absolutely useless in finding the place he’s looking for from his typo-ridden guesses.
“What are you doing?” Kaoru heard from his right.
He lifts his head up to see Kyo looking at him from where he is splayed out on the studio’s couch.
Kaoru sighs, feeling a little sheepish. “Not working, unfortunately.”
“Yeah, I figured. I couldn’t hear the keyboard or the mouse for a while now,” Kyo teases, though thankfully he does not seem annoyed. “Looking for something?”
“Yeah, I am,” Kaoru answers, “I’m trying to find this ramen shop, but I keep getting the name wrong and it’s not helping.”
“Huh…” Kyo mutters. He jots down a couple or more lines on his iPad. “Where?”
Kaoru closes his eyes and furrows his brows in thought. “Mmm…Ikebukuro, I think. It’s the one we went to a few weeks ago. With the really good broth. And super generous with the pork belly.”
“Oh, that place!” Kyo says, “Yeah I remember. I forgot the name too, but I remember where it was. I’ll send it to you when I find it.”
Kaoru sighs, relieved, “Thanks. I’ve spent way too much time finding it at this point.”
Kyo raises an eyebrow at this, “Should’ve asked me sooner then. Why were you looking for it?” he asks, smirking, “Meeting up with someone?”
Kaoru pointedly turns back to the file he was working on, uninterested in following Kyo’s very obvious line of questioning, “I am, but not in the way you think. I’m meeting up with an old friend. Just want a decent place for a late lunch.”
“Do I know them?” Kyo continues.
“No. He’s a friend from university,” he says succinctly.
Kyo’s smirk grows slightly wider. “How did you two meet?”
“We met at a band battle,” Kaoru replies matter-of-factly, “Played in the same band together up until graduation. I haven’t seen him in years.”
“Oh…” Kyo tilts his head curiously, “Well, then, how did you get in contact again?”
Before he could stop himself, Kaoru makes a face. And, of course, Kyo immediately catches it. The scoundrel.
“Oh, what’s this? What’s with the face?!” he teases, snapping his iPad shut with a flick of his wrist.
Kaoru groans loudly at this, rubbing both hands on his face, “It’s nothing—,”
“‘Nothing’ my ass, you liar!” he cackles as he gets up from the couch and drags a wheeled chair out from beside Kaoru to sit next to him, “There is a story behind this, I can tell.”
Kaoru rolls his eyes and looks at him wearily. If he decides not to tell him, he will have to put up with Kyo’s underhanded attempts to tease the information out of him for the rest of the evening, because Kyo is nothing if not persistent. Also, not answering him will only mislead his overactive imagination even more, and who knows what he will try to conspire with Takumi in his misguided attempts to help Kaoru jumpstart his love life again.
So he recounts the events that transpired after he left the studio that morning up until the night before, when he messaged Die about meeting up for lunch on Saturday. When Kaoru reaches the end of his story, he sees Kyo looking at him thoughtfully, a playful glint in his eye. He has not said anything yet, but boy was he dying to.
“Kaoru…” he purses his lips and tries not to laugh. Kaoru rolls his eyes, and nods for him to continue, “Do you know what a ‘meet cute’ is?”
“A what?” Kaoru asks, frowning.
“A ‘meet cute’! You don’t know what that is?”
“English is not my first language.”
“A ‘meet cute’. It’s a noun,” Kyo explains, sounding more invested in this than Kaoru could ever be, “It’s when two people who will form a future romantic couple meet, often under unusual, humorous, or "cute" circumstances. That literally just happened to you!”
Kaoru pauses, contemplating his words, before it finally dawns on him and—he can’t believe what he’s hearing. “I can’t believe what I’m hearing.”
“With enough imagination, I’m sure you can,” Kyo calmly suggests.
“Well then maybe I won’t,” Kaoru pinches the bridge of his nose, suddenly very tired, “Look, Kyo, I appreciate your continuous concern for my love life, but Die is just a friend, so please…”
“Die, huh? What an odd name, is that really his name?”
“It’s his nickname. Now stop making it weird, alright? There’s literally nothing going on,” Kaoru says with an air of finality.
Kyo sighs defeatedly, going quiet at Kaoru’s answer. “Okay. If you insist,” he concedes, “Do tell me how it goes, yeah? He seems like an interesting guy.”
Kaoru pretends to think about it before he turns his attention back to the song on the screen, which had stayed open and neglected throughout the whole exchange, “I might. If I remember to. Now leave me alone, this song isn’t gonna rearrange itself.”
Kyo laughs at Kaoru’s blunt end to their conversation, but he lets it slide, punching Kaoru lightly on the arm before he heads back to the couch beside him, continuing to work on his unfinished lyrics.
Relieved, Kaoru puts his headphones on and gets back to work, determinedly brushing aside any remaining thoughts on ramen shops and ‘meet cute’s and whatever other delusions Kyo has about his meet up with his friend.