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It had been exactly 4:23 pm when he’d sent the text to Yuriy. His memory was that sharp.
Now, Kai may have taken a brief (but pointed) glance towards his phone screen where the display resembled the messaging app a bit too much, while recalling this event, but that was a detail he deemed insignificant and consequently chose to ignore.
He had been getting bored out of his mind that Thursday at Kyouju ‘s house. Kyouju and Hiromi ‘s YouTube channel had recently hit 1 million subscribers and Takao being Takao had had exuberantly declared that this called for a celebration. Of course, Hiromi had objected saying an announcement on social media would be enough but some yelling, drama and emotional blackmail later she had finally given in. Later when Kyouju narrated the whole incident line by line which he had oh-so- pensively named “inception of invitation”, Kai had arrived at the clever conclusion that Hiromi was losing her touch. Needless to say he had been invited and needless to say, he hadn’t wanted to come. But with spirited entreaties from Takao who had assured him that it was going to be an “intimate get-together” consisting only their “closest circle of friends” with nothing much except “a few cans of beer and some sushi maybe”, Kai had punched the logical part of himself aside and decided to believe Takao this one time.
Really, he should have known better.
He didn’t quite remember when Romero was included in their closest circle of friends, but he had been present there. So were the dozen other people Kai had had never met in his life.
“So, how do you know Takao?”, he had heard Max asking one of those strangers.
“I’ve got no idea, man. I met him on the street and he said he was throwing a party. So who am I to deny free food?”
And people called him the traitor. Tch.
Yuriy had politely refused when he’d asked him to accompany him in the celebration. He’d reasoned that his presence wouldn’t be appropriate in the “intimate get-together”, ensuring Kai that he would have “loved to come” had it been a more “inclusive affair”. Kai knew those were just excuses. Yuriy just didn’t want to go.
He had been watching Romero1 standing under the huge glittery banner that spelled the YouTube channel’s name “THE TECH SAVVY” in big bold letters, chatting amicably with Judy. Thank the stars that Max’s dad had had been too busy to attend, or the blond man would have surely gone home with a shiner that day. Kyouju had been trying to come up with decent jokes to entertain the guests and failing epically, (He’d asked “Who’s the fastest in this room?” causing Takao and Daichi to yell “Dragoon” and “me” respectively at the top of their voices, only for Kyouju to holler, “No! Its light, the electromagnetic wave! Hahahahaha!) while Hitoshi and Hiromi were serving the drinks. Kai had eyed the drinks being served at a distance, and noted with slight disapproval that the beer promised had been replaced with Pepsi.
After the 7th pat on the back and a cheerful “So nice to see you, Kai!”, he had realized that people liked him quite a lot. Though what he’d ever done to make that happen, he couldn’t, for the life of him, fathom.
He had found himself wondering what Yuriy would have been doing. Their relationship was going well and his actual closest circle of friends all knew about them. He wouldn’t have admitted it out loud, but he had been really missing Yuriy. He had pulled out his phone from his pocket and unlocked it. Kai had briefly wondered if he should call Yuriy, but that would have meant drawing unwanted attention towards himself, and that was the last thing he wanted. So he had settled for a text. He had typed a quick greeting and hadn’t really gotten the opportunity to read what he’d written when he pressed send because at that very moment Hitoshi had made his presence known and shoved a glass of Pepsi his way. Kai had pocketed his phone and since he’d felt no buzz to signal a notification, he had assumed that Yuriy was probably busy.
Another hour had passed before Takao had been finally convinced that they had celebrated enough. Everyone had been handed a t-shirt with “THE TECH SAVVY” written in glittery, bold letters as a return gift. Kai hadn’t been able to stop a grimace at its sight.
On returning home, he had found Yuriy, who had obviously invited himself in with the spare key, resting on the sofa and watching television. Yuriy had asked about the celebration but Kai had had more entertaining things on his mind. So, after a lengthy make-out session which had left both of them quite breathless, Kai had walked into his kitchen to get a glass of water. Yuriy had opted to follow him. And that’s when he had decided to drop the bomb.
“Oh, that text you sent me today?”
“Yeah?”, Kai had said as he brought the glass of water to his lips.
“Julia read that”, Yuriy had replied with a wolfish grin. “Hadn’t really expected a dirty text from you while you were at your get-together.”
Needless to say, that memorable Thursday, Yuriy had been a witness to the greatest coughing fit Kai Hiwatari had ever suffered in his whole life.
It was Saturday and they were sat at the table in Kai’s kitchen. Yuriy couldn’t recall when they’d come to the mutual agreement that they would have breakfast together at Kai’s place on the weekends like they did. He settled it as one of the many quirks of their relationship.
Kai sat opposite to him, taking small sips of his coffee every now and then. The perpetual frown that had been present on his face since Thursday evening, still proudly making itself known.
“Breviceps fuscus”, Yuriy started and Kai glanced up from his coffee mug.
“What?”
“Breviceps fuscus”, Yuriy repeated, his gaze fixed on his phone’s screen as he read, “also known as black rain frog and Tsitsikama rain frog, is a species of Frog in the family Brevicipitidae. It is endemic to South Africa. The species is only found on the southern slopes of the Cape Fold Belt from Swellendam to the Outeniqua Mountain, at elevations of up to over 1,000 m. It is a burrowing species inhabiting fynbos and forest fringes and does not require the presence of open water. They prefer to dwell near dislodged sand piles due to their burrowing behaviour.”
The frown deepened. “And why am I being told all of this?”
“Breviceps fuscus have a round body with short limbs and toes. They grow to about 1.6–2.0 inches in snout–vent length. Their skin has no warts, but pronounced widely spaced lumps or small tubercles and pitting are present. Colouration is typically dark brown or nearly black, with a slightly lighter abdomen and no pigmented patterns.”
“Yura what-?”
“But perhaps the most distinctive feature of this diminutive amphibian is its face’s uncanny resemblance, in almost every case, to that of a human frown,” Yuriy finished, lifting his eyes from the phone’s screen, and pointedly stared at him with his piercing blue eyes.
Kai stared back at his boyfriend with his mouth hanging open.
Yuriy turned his phone screen towards Kai to show him the picture of the organism in question. “With that perpetual frown of yours, I was wondering if I was just dating a bigger, prettier variety of the same species.”
The frown opposite intensified so much that it couldn’t possibly be healthy for Kai’s facial muscles.
“And that’s why folks, you should never date a drama queen!” Boris said in an exaggeratedly theatrical voice later that day.
Yuriy sighed tiredly. “Borya……. you’re not helping.”
“My job is to say the harsh truth everyone shies away from; not helping and shit. I’m not your agony aunt or something.”
“Kai’s not that dramatic. Just a tiny bit.”
“Mhmm, sure.”
Yuriy rolled his eyes. “Stop sounding like that. Kai’s important to me and if something’s bothering him then it’s my problem as well.”
“Yeah yeah, don’t I know that already? In any case, I don’t see why he’s bothered so much. It was just a dumb text.”
“He’s really angry.”
“At you or himself?”
“Well, both. He’s angrier at Julia though. And for some reason he’s angry at Hitoshi as well.”
Boris whistled. “Quite the list you got there. Well, he’s obviously got issues; so what? Let him mop around for a few days more and when all that frowning distorts that pretty face, he’ll come around himself.”
“Can I please expect something useful from you?” Yuriy asked in an irritated voice.
There was a pause in which Boris tried to think of any advice that could satisfy the redhead.
“I don’t like seeing him like this. I want to see him smile again,” Yuriy said softly after some time, sounding so despondent that Boris sincerely felt sad for him.
“Honestly, in moments like these, the best thing to do is communicate with your partner”, Boris said, sounding strangely professional. “But you blew your chances at that by calling him a frog.”
Yuriy closed his eyes and massaged his temple. “Yeah, I know that wasn’t appropriate. But his behavior was really frustrating me and I couldn’t help myself.” He hesitated for a while before he continued in a voice which sounded so unlike his, “Do you think this is because he doesn’t want anyone to know about us? Because…….…. maybe this relationship doesn’t mean that much to him, as much as it does to me?”
“Nonsense,” Boris replied immediately. “If he wanted this to be a secret then he wouldn’t have told Kinomiya and his buddies about it. And the kid really likes you a lot Yura, its fucking obvious.” He started chewing on his lower lip when a sudden thought hit him. “Wait a minute…. What if this isn’t about the text at all? What if we’re not looking at the bigger picture?”
Yuriy straightened up. “If not that, then what? He’s been this way since Thursday after I told him about Julia reading his text. And from what I know from Max, nothing momentous happened at the get-together. Just some unknown guests, food and drinks, some lame jokes by Manabu followed by a long monologue on the photoelectric effect.”
“Hmmm…. Food…. drinks…jokes and monologues…. What could have gotten me that upset if I were a dramatic, gay Japanese? Guest…. jokes…. food and drinks……” He repeated them a good few times while Yuriy waited for him to come up with something that he must have overlooked.
“You say he’s been continuously frowning and is even quieter than usual, right?”
“Yes”, Yuriy replied with anticipation now that his friend finally seemed to be getting somewhere.
After some time, Boris finally spoke up in a voice as if making a great revelation, “You know what, Yura? I think he’s fucking constipated.”
“We need to talk”, Yuriy said to Kai on Sunday during breakfast at his place. After yesterday’s rather redundant conversation with Boris he had decided to put the only worthwhile piece of advice to use: communicating with Kai.
Easier said than done.
Kai continued munching on his toast and (no prizes for guessing) frowning, without showing any sign of acknowledgment. Yuriy felt a bit foolish, just sitting there with the empty cereal bowl in front of him. He cleared his throat and then said again in a voice which he thought left no room for arguments, “Kai, we need to talk.”
“If it’s anything about how you think I look like a frog, then don’t bother”, Kai replied in a low voice without sparing him a glance.
Yuriy clenched his jaw. “Just, why on earth are you acting this way?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“This!” Yuriy yelled, standing up from his chair and pointing a finger at Kai’s face. “This is exactly what I mean! You’ve been frowning since Thursday and we haven’t even had a decent conversation since then! And all of this over such a petty matter!”
Kai glared at him and slapped his hand away from his face. “It’s not petty.”
Yuriy glared back at Kai for a moment but then closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Losing his calm wouldn’t work in his favour in any way in this situation. He had to approach the matter cautiously. He sat down on his chair again, crossed his arms in front of his chest and stared neutrally at him. Kai avoided his gaze. The ticking of the clock was the only sound in the kitchen.
After sometime, Kai stood up from his chair and collected his plate and Yuriy’s bowl and carried them to the sink.
“Is this about us?”
Kai turned around to face Yuriy, noticing that the redhead looked sad. “What are you trying to say?” he asked.
“I didn’t realize that you wanted our relationship to be a secret. You never mentioned it before. So you had me questioning how much this actually means to you. How much I mean to you.”
Kai stared at Yuriy unblinking for an extended period. “Okay, wait”, he said at length. “What the hell are you talking about? And how the hell did to come to the conclusion that I wanted this to be a secret?” he asked incredulously.
Yuriy sighed. “Don’t make this any more difficult than it already is, Kai.”
“I’m the one making it difficult?! You’re the one who talked about this with Boris, and he decides to text me and make fun of me! You’re the one jumping to conclusions! You’re the one making this difficult!”
Yuriy stood up from his chair again. “Maybe, I wouldn’t have to jump to conclusions if you actually talked to me about it! But nooooo, all to wanna do is frown, frown and frown.” He came closer to the shorter man and placed his palms on his shoulder. “I don’t like seeing you this way, Kai. I understand that you didn’t mean to text that and it turned out to be what it was because of typos and autocorrect, but is it such a big deal really? You only sent it to me, and we’re actually dating. It’s not like you sent it to your grandfather.”
Kai shot him a disgusted look at that. Yuriy continued, “Even if Julia –”
“Don’t bring her up”, Kai interrupted. “She’s an unmannered person who has no sense of privacy whatsoever.”
Yuriy had half a mind to defend her but decided against it. Now wasn’t the time. He was a man on a mission: get to the root of this inane predicament. “Yes, I agree. What Julia did was absolutely wrong. But even if she knows, it changes nothing between us, does it? We’re not a secret, right?”
Kai placed his hand on Yuriy’s cheek and looked him straight in the eye. “No Yuriy, we are not. We never were. All of this is serious and I’d rather let the whole world know that Yuriy Ivanov is my boyfriend.”
The smile that Yuriy gave him, quickened his pulse. He realized that they hadn’t ever shared a chaste kiss since that Thursday, and that made him want to grab and kiss Yuriy at the very moment. But then again, they were supposed to be having an argument-kinda thing right now? Didn’t seem the appropriate thing to do.
“I don’t care if Julia or anyone else for that matter knows about us. It’s just the way she came to know about it that bothers me.”
Yuriy raised an eyebrow. “What difference does it make?”
“It does! In this case, she came to know about us by something which wasn’t supposed to happen at all.” Kai sighed deeply. “I can’t help but feel……. cheated.”
God, all of this drama is going to be the end of me, thought Yuriy and silently wondered what he could reply to that. One wrong word and he’d be back to square one.
“Uh…. there’s no need to feel cheated. What’s done is done and…… we should try to move on”, he answered lamely, and mentally cringed at this own advice.
“It’s not that easy.”
“Yes, but feeling bad about it for days and frowning isn’t going to help, is it?”
“No….”
Yuriy smiled. “There. Let it go already.”
“But Julia-”
“I’ll ask Julia to apologise to you for what she did,” Yuriy said as a final attempt to close the deal. Getting Julia to apologize would be another hard battle, but he was nothing if not tenacious.
Kai thought about it for some time but then finally nodded. Yuriy, sensing triumph, asked with barely hidden eagerness, “So……. It’s cool?”
“Yeah, I guess”, Kai replied with a huff. Slowly, but surely the frown on his face dissolved some, and Yuriy, despite himself wanted to leap in the air in joy.
“Good”, he said instead and enveloped the younger man in a tight hug. “I missed you.”
Kai gave a muffled response as his face was tightly pressed against Yuriy’s shoulder. To be honest, he’d missed Yuriy’s touch just as much, if not more. He put some distance between them, only to grab Yuriy by his collar, pulling him down and pressed his lips against his. He sighed happily into the kiss as Yuriy’s arms wrapped themselves around his waist.
“And sorry for calling you a frog the other day”, Yuriy told him once they’d broken apart.
Kai shrugged. “You calling me a frog wouldn’t actually make me a frog. And I must admit I found the frog quite cute. Besides,” he drawled, a smirk making its way on his face, “I’ve been kissed by a princess enough number of times to be a prince by now2.”
Yuriy smirked as well. “Are you calling me a princess then?”
“Yes Yura, I’m calling you a princess. What’s that anime series Charlotte’s obsessed with3? Oh yeah! You are my ‘Snow White with the Red Hair’ and I’m your handsome prince,” Kai replied with a wink.
Yuriy snorted. “Yep, he’s back.”
“Sure am, now come on Snow white. Give your prince another kiss.”
“You’re unbelievable” Yuriy said with an amused glare but was only too happy to kiss the Japanese again. Kai, however, broke the kiss in between and murmured, “By the way, I expect that apology from Julia by tomorrow”, and then went back to kissing him. Yuriy, however, suddenly felt a lot less relieved than before.
“Shit.”