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Shirabu was tired of sharing his boyfriend with the world.
Yes, he understood that Semi was a “walking thirst trap” (as quoted from Twitter), but that didn’t mean Shirabu wanted to share Semi. Unfortunately, Shirabu couldn’t prevent his boyfriend’s wonderful rise to popularity in the musical field. Not that he was complaining, of course. So yes, Shirabu only got Semi to himself in the dead of night or rise of the morning, but those were the consequences of dating an idol.
Today, however, was special. Special in the sense that Semi had zero schedules today and Shirabu had a day away from the hospital. There would be no album recordings or emergency rooms in sight for the next 24 hours. Only a day stuck in bed with the man Shirabu had been in love with for more than five long years.
Shirabu awoke at 7:30 AM to an alarm blasting in his ear.
He cringed away from the noise and shoved a pillow over his copper-toned hair to restore his sleep. Then the pillow disappeared, and he reluctantly squinted his eyes open. Semi’s handsome face appeared above his, a smile on his graceful lips. His eyes shone a million shades of amber and coffee, and the morning light bounced off his blond hair.
“Good morning, love.” Semi nuzzled into Shirabu’s ear and whispered softly. “It’s time to wake up.”
Shirabu shut his eyes and turned away. “ No, it’s fucking 7:30 in the morning. It’s time to sleep in.” He felt Semi’s arms gently slide under his body and lift his slightly smaller frame upright.
Semi kissed the curve of his ear. “I’ll make breakfast, and you can help me film a video today, hm?” Shirabu’s eyes snapped open. Semi had started his YouTube channel not long after he’d left his old band, Cristal, but Shirabu only made brief appearances now and then. If Semi was asking Shirabu to film something, it must be important.
Groggily, he leaned onto Semi’s chest and looked up at his face. Semi was always attractive, but Shirabu found moments like these even more so. They were moments locked away from the world, moments that could only be captured by the two of them. Semi wasn’t attractive because he was hot (though that was true as well). Semi was attractive because he loved Shirabu. Loved him like he was the best thing in the world. Loved him like writing songs about him would never satisfy. Loved him like the world could disappear and no one else would matter.
“I love you,” Shirabu whispered. Loving Semi would never be enough.
Semi spread copper bangs and left a kiss on Shirabu’s bare forehead. “I love you, too. But we need to get out of bed if we’re going to film anything.”
Shirabu let himself be dragged out of their bedroom and into their closet. Then he picked out an outfit while Semi walked to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. Shirabu normally didn’t care too much about his appearance, especially on days off, but he needed to at least be presentable in front of the camera. Finally satisfied, he headed towards the kitchen in one of Semi’s old tour t-shirts and a pair of black jeans.
The smell of waffles hit Shirabu’s nose as soon as he stepped foot in the kitchen. Semi wasn’t the best chef, but Shirabu could tell he’d put extra care into the food today. Along the counter was a whipped cream dispenser, fruit slices, and maple syrup to decorate with. One of Semi’s softer playlists echoed from a bluetooth speaker.
Shirabu peered over Semi’s shoulder as he poured the last scoop of batter into the waffle maker. “You’re being very fancy today,” he said, a tease on the tip of his tongue. “Am I forgetting a holiday or something?”
Semi just hummed contently. “Our days off always call for a celebration,” he said, flipping the waffle and letting it cook on the other side.
Shirabu creased his brows. Something was definitely different. Even on their past days off together, Semi never did things like this. Whatever the reason might be though, Shirabu let it slide. For now, he’d just indulge.
He sat at their round table just as Semi turned off the waffle maker. Semi joined him, and they said their brief “itadakimasu”. Shirabu watched Semi pour syrup between each layer of his four waffles before drenching the stack in whipped cream and fresh fruit. He laughed, simply plating two waffles and a pile of berries for himself.
“So,” Shirabu said between bites, “what are we filming?”
“The boyfriend tag.”
Shirabu choked on a strawberry. “Th–the what?”
“We’re filming the boyfriend tag.”
“Yes, I heard you the first time, Eita. But why?” Shirabu swallowed the berry lodged in his throat. “I thought we’d film a vlog or something.”
Semi looked down sheepishly at his plate. “I just thought it’d be fun,” he said. “My fans don’t know you that well, and this might change that.”
Shirabu cocked his head. “We both know I prefer to stay out of the public eye for a reason.”
Semi nodded. It’d been just over a year since their pictures were leaked all over Twitter, ultimately resulting in Semi coming out and leaving the K-pop industry. Initially, that day had been damaging, but things had calmed down since then. Semi’s solo singing career had blossomed under a new Japanese label, and he even had a collaboration with Minjae, a former bandmate, releasing soon.
“I just wanted my fans to learn a bit about the man I love so much.” Semi reached for Shirabu’s hand across the table, and Shirabu felt his heart flutter within his chest. Dammit, he couldn’t say no to that.
Shirabu sighed. “Fine,” he relented. “But only because you’ll be asking the questions.”
Semi grinned brighter than the sun, and Shirabu was glad he’d said yes.
Shirabu knew setting up the camera would be quick. Filming, however, would not be.
Semi was completely set up within 10 minutes. The white light was on, the tripod stood tall, and the camera was fully charged.
“Are you ready?” he asked Shirabu. They sat on the carpeted floor of their living room, and Semi was buzzing with excitement. Shirabu nodded his head, and Semi hit start.
“Hi, guys!” Semi flashed a dazzling smile towards the camera and wrapped an arm around Shirabu. “Guess who’s filming with me today?”
Shirabu wasn’t the most comfortable being recorded, but he managed to put on an expression he hoped didn’t portray murderer. “It’s Kenji-chan,” he said, addressing himself by the name many of Eita’s fans knew him by.
“Kenjirou is here!” Semi rested his head on Shirabu’s shoulder, and Shirabu could already envision the comments that would flow in later. He was glad that, in reality, they were alone.
Shirabu listened as Semi described the video, and he only gave an occasional nod or hum in between sentences. All Semi would be doing, as he explained, was ask Shirabu a question about himself to see how well Shirabu knew him. Piece of cake; Shirabu had harder tasks at his residency.
“Okay, let’s start!” Semi brought out his phone with the questions on the screen. “Question number one, what was my first impression of you?”
Shirabu snorted as he thought back to his first year of high school.
1.
If the sheer size of Shiratorizawa’s gym hadn’t already impressed Shirabu, the height of the players definitely did. Everyone was massive, all nearing 180 centimeters or more. Ushijima stood out among the players, and Shirabu’s excitement sped up at the sight of the powerful ace. He’d earned that scholarship just so he could play with Ushijima, and the time was finally here.
The new first years–Shirabu included–briefly introduced themselves. Then the captain paired the newbies up with an older teammate to test their skills. Shirabu’s partner ended up being another setter. Quickly, though, Shirabu discovered that his partner had a fiery ego like his own.
“I’m Semi Eita,” the setter introduced himself. “Don’t bother trying too hard because I’ll become the starting setter soon enough.”
Cocky much? Shirabu thought. They started passing a volleyball, trying to make it to 50 tosses before the coach would let them rest. 15 tosses in, and the pair was silent. But near the 20th one, Shirabu’s nerves were thinning. So far, he’d been doing his best to make a decent first impression, but he couldn’t stay silent anymore.
“Semi-san, your tosses aren’t straight,” he blurted just as Semi’s hands rose above his head. The ball fell sharply between his eyes, and Semi reached towards his now-bleeding nose. He removed his hand, and Shirabu watched a red drop splatter on the gym floor.
“What the–” Semi’s shout was cut off by their captain, who rushed over to see the commotion. Eventually, Tendou took Semi to the nurse’s office, but Semi turned around one last time before exiting the gym. “Shirabu,” he said, malice coating his voice, “I hate you.”
Back in the present, Shirabu answered the question. “Eita absolutely despised me,” he said, a laugh bubbling into the air. “So I went out of my way everyday just to spite him.”
Semi jokingly shoved Shirabu away. “You jerk, you hated me too!”
“I did not,” Shirabu countered. “I liked you from the start.” He thought again. “ Near the start.”
They both just giggled themselves silly, and Semi drew Shirabu close once again. “Okay, next question. What is my favorite hair color?”
“One that you’ve tried?” Shirabu looked at Semi now, who was sporting his usual ash blond locks with dark roots just starting to show. He thought back to the last few times they’d made a trip to the hair salon.
2.
Shirabu had never known there could be so many shades of purple. Pastel, violet, plum–there were more he couldn’t even dream of. He flipped through a booklet of colors with Semi, something the stylist had given them to look over. Shirabu wasn’t the one dying his hair–he wasn’t that crazy. But he enjoyed picking out a color with Semi.
Eventually, Semi came to a decision and told the stylist. Even though Shirabu was there to assist in color-picking, he never got to hear the final decision until it was revealed. Semi was like that, always wanting to surprise him. He’d never picked a bad color at least. Or else Shirabu threatened to kick him out of bed.
Five hours later, and a familiar breathtaking sensation overwhelmed Shirabu. He finally came back to pick Semi up from the salon, and he was stunned with what he saw.
Semi flaunted a style similar to what he had in high school, only with different colors. From his roots branched a lilac purple, slowly lightening until the tips of his hair became blond. It looked as stupid as it had in high school, but as always, Semi made it look gorgeous.
“Wow…” Shirabu turned Semi around. “I can’t believe you went back in time five years.”
Semi snorted and enveloped him in a hug. “You know you love it.”
Shirabu pulled away to look Semi in the eyes. New strands of purple fell across his long lashes, and Shirabu pressed a kiss in between them. “I do. Now let’s go home.”
Blond was always a color that made Semi look beautiful, but Shirabu knew how much they’d both liked the purple-blond combination. It just barely beat cotton candy pink.
“You really loved that last purple-blond dye you did,” Shirabu said, back in front of the camera.
Semi nodded. “Do you know why?” he asked. “Because the colors reminded me of Shiratorizawa.”
Shirabu smiled at that. Then he listened to Semi ask the next question.
“Who said ‘I love you’ first?”
Easy. Just thinking back to the day made butterflies surge into Shirabu’s stomach like hearing it for the first time.
3.
Lights blazed. Music soared. Fans cheered. Cristal’s first concert in Tokyo had just begun. Anxiously, Shirabu stood among the crowd at the foot of the stage, watching Eita dance through the shimmering white lights. But Shirabu’s admiration ran deeper than those of the fangirls’ surrounding him.
“That’s my friend! I know him!” Shirabu’s concentration on the stage faltered, and he turned to locate the shrill speaker. Then his nerves from the concert completely dissolved when he attached a face to the voice.
“Cut it out, Tendou,” Shirabu shouted over the noise. Tendou stood to his right covered in Eita t-shirts, signs, lanyards, and more merchandise, wildly pointing at the stage. “Eita isn’t going to give you a crap second of his time.”
Tendou just continued to wave his arms and bounce around in an attempt to gain Eita’s attention. On the first jump, Eita didn’t miss a beat, didn’t even glance into the crowd. On the second jump, Eita’s eyes skimmed the fans, and Tendou’s red hair reflected the lights. On the third jump, Tendou’s shouts began again.
“Oi! Eita! Eita-kun! Eitaaaaa!”
Eita smiled softly, and Shirabu’s breath caught in his throat when he realized where it was directed. It wasn’t towards the squealing fans or Tendou’s waving limbs. No, Eita locked eyes with Shirabu amidst the glowing white lights, the dazzling purple signs, and the bejeweled fan merchandise. Slowly, Eita raised his arms, stopping to curl the tips of his fingers into his head; he made a heart with his arms.
Shirabu’s heart picked up speed as he processed the situation. Surely none of Eita’s fans found this out of the ordinary. Surely they all thought this was simply a part of the concert. But Eita’s gaze didn’t waver as he spoke three words that filled Shirabu’s core with nothing but warmth.
“I love you!”
Shirabu hid his face on Semi’s shoulder back in their living room. “You said it first, you big, stupid sap,” he whispered, the camera forgotten from his mind for a moment as he pressed a quick kiss to Semi’s neck.
Semi laughed in his way that always brightened Shirabu’s world just a tad. “You’ve gotten every question correct, Kenji!” he said, and Shirabu could hear his smile. “Alright, moving on. What is my biggest pet peeve of yours?”
Pet peeve, huh? At first, both Shirabu and Semi had found the other entirely too annoying that everything about the other was considered a pet peeve. But now? Shirabu thought hard, and a memory surfaced.
4.
The couple had decided to have an impromptu meeting with Goshiki when they’d run into him at the store. Now, the trio sat at a round table inside a cafe, and everyone’s drinks sat in front of them.
“So, Tsutomu,” Semi asked between sips, “how’s life in the professional league?”
Goshiki’s eyes lit up. “Playing with Kiryu is so cool and–!” He droned on and on. Shirabu only half listened, knowing that the young man could talk forever.
About halfway through Goshiki’s story, Shirabu’s tea became a hint sour, as if someone had dumped a packet of salt into his usually sugarless tea. It wasn’t an unbearable taste, however, so he kept drinking.
“The libero made this impossible save–!” Goshiki recalled a recent practice match with such excitement that Shirabu’s world went numb. Now his tea seemed to be cooling down, like it had ice cubes in it or the cubes were melting. But that couldn’t be right. He always drank tea piping hot. Then Semi nudged his leg under the table.
Shirabu looked up in surprise and saw his boyfriend raising an eyebrow as if to scold him for not paying attention. Embarrassed, he took another gulp.
“I swung so hard I thought my arm would fall off–” Another sip to compensate for Shirabu’s ears that were about to fall off. Another sip to distract himself from dying of boredom. Another sip to prevent himself from falling asleep right there at the table.
Suddenly, he reached the bottom of the glass and choked on air as he sipped from an empty straw. Wait, straw? For the first time, Shirabu looked down. And he didn’t see a cup of tea.
“Um, Kenjirou,” Semi said, all attention diverted away from Goshiki now. “You’re drinking my–”
“Lemonade,” Shirabu finished in surprise. “I’m drinking your lemonade.” So that was why Semi had given him a funny look earlier. “Oh, I–uh, sorry–?”
Semi just chuckled, and Goshiki along with him. The two fell over the table laughing, but Shirabu just crossed his arms in defiance.
“Oh, screw you two,” he said. “Why didn’t anybody tell me?”
The giggles halted, but Semi still clutched his stomach. “I tried, but you just kept drinking and I didn’t want to stop you.”
Shirabu shrunk into his chair. “Whatever, Eita.”
“...steal your drinks,” Shirabu mumbled quietly, his mind bringing him back to Semi on their living room floor.
“What was that, love?” Semi smirked. “I couldn’t quite hear you.”
“I always steal your drinks,” Shirabu said, louder this time.
Another heavenly laugh escaped Semi’s lips, and the blond collapsed, shaking, onto Shirabu’s shoulder. He turned to the recording tape. “Kenjirou here always takes my stuff,” he said, a smile blooming on the tips of his mouth. “But he makes up for it by being cute.”
“I am not cute,” Shirabu countered.
“Uh-huh, sure. And I’m not hot. Your loss.” Semi shrugged before reading another question. “Okay, how about my favorite thing about you?”
“Just one thing?” Shirabu lay his head down on Semi’s shoulder. “But everything about me is awesome.” Semi laughed again, but the room quieted as Shirabu slipped into thought.
His eyes spotted the couch a few feet away, and Shirabu found the answer on the tip of his tongue. The couch was a common cuddle spot for the couple; they curled up there at least once a day and always right before bed. One moment stuck out in particular, though.
5.
“Your eyes are so pretty.” Semi’s voice broke the comfortable peace of the silent room. He and Shirabu lay entwined together as usual, the soft evening light bouncing off of silver and gold hair in metallic hues. Shirabu’s head rested against Semi’s warm chest, listening to the calming rhythm within it. “Your eyes are beautiful, Kenjirou.”
Shirabu looked up into his lover’s face, the pulse of his heart pounding in his ears. Even after all their time together, Shirabu still didn’t know how to react to compliments without a snide remark. So he wordlessly settled back down. He knew Semi knew he was blushing though.
Semi continued talking into the dim room. “I think you have the prettiest eyes I’ve ever seen,” he said. “They give your true emotions away even if your mouth is frowning. And they sparkle when you’re truly excited about something. I love the way they shine when they see me perform.”
Shirabu hummed under his breath, and he kept listening.
“When I first met you, it felt like a secret to see you be happy. But now I’ve never seen you smile so much, and I’m glad to be the cause. Your eyes crinkle a bit when you smile, and it’s something I never would’ve imagined back in high school.” Semi paused to turn Shirabu’s face towards his, and his fingers left warm traces on Shirabu’s chin.
“I think your eyes are my favorite thing about you.” Semi spoke quietly into the midnight air, and Shirabu met him halfway for a soft kiss to the lips.
+1
“You like my eyes a lot,” Shirabu said, in that same room days, weeks, months after the memory he was recalling. “You gave me a whole speech about them.”
Semi nuzzled his chin gently into the crown of Shirabu’s head. “Correct once again, Kenji. But you loved that speech.”
“Just shut up and ask the next question.” Shirabu looked towards Semi’s phone, but he was surprised to find the screen black and turned off. Then he felt Semi shifting away to grab something from behind him.
Subconsciously, Shirabu was aware of the blinking red light of the camera that was still in front of them, but all the air was sucked from his lungs as he saw what Semi was reaching for. It was a red box. A small red velvet box that fit snugly in his palm.
Shirabu’s eyes widened as he realized why today had been “special”; why Semi had asked him to film a video.
“Eita, what is that?” He nervously pointed at the box that was most definitely the perfect size for a ring. “What are you–?” He couldn’t finish the question before Semi took hold of his hand with the one that wasn’t holding the box.
“Kenjirou.” Semi’s voice was dead steady, but Shirabu could feel his nervous pulse racing through the veins in his hand. “I love you more than my life. You’re the most important person in the world to me.”
Semi took a deep breath, and now it was Shirabu’s turn to get nervous. “Five long years went by before either of us took the first step towards dating each other, so I’m going to take this first step towards something bigger before another five years pass by.”
He flipped the box open and, sure enough, tucked gently inside it was a simple gold ring adorned with delicate diamonds. The jewels wrapped around the circumference of the shimmering metal band and shone beautifully in the white light.
“Kenjirou.” Shirabu’s attention drew away from the ring and back to his lover’s face. “Will you marry me?”
Shirabu’s world turned upside down. Left was right, up was down. But Semi was still Eita. And Shirabu wanted nothing more than to spend an eternity with him.
“Yes,” he cried. “Yes, yes, yes!” Shirabu threw his arms over Semi’s shoulders, and he could hardly focus on Semi slipping the ring onto his finger.
Then Semi drew closer and closer until he caught Shirabu’s lips in his own. Their arms tangled together, and they tumbled onto the ground in their embrace. In fact, the men fell so close to the tripod that the camera almost toppled over.
The camera. Shirabu didn’t want to pull away, but he did.
“Eita, what the heck?” he said when they were sitting upright again. Both of them couldn’t keep the grins from spreading across their faces, and Shirabu was positive his voice had no bite.
“Well, I know you were getting tired of sharing me with my fans…” Semi started, and Shirabu’s jaw dropped. He’d never said anything about that, but it must have been obvious if Semi had picked up on it. “Now you never have to worry about that,” Semi continued before pressing a soft kiss to Shirabu’s cheek. “I’m all yours.”
Smiling, Shirabu held his left hand to the camera. “You hear that, everybody? Semi Eita is officially OFF LIMITS!”
Together, the two men slammed the stop button on the camera and fell onto the carpeted floor in a fit of giggles.
“I love you, you know that?” Shirabu said after they’d calmed down. Semi just rolled towards him with a cheesy grin.
“I love you, too,” Semi replied. Then he kissed every remaining word from Shirabu’s lips.
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Got some exciting news to share 👀 Check it out in my latest video!
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