Chapter Text
After finally getting through a long day of shooting, Uramichi moved to wait in the stage wing with only two things on his mind: getting home and having a beer. Though, he felt a slight pang of unfamiliar loneliness, having gotten used to your presence after spending the weekend together. So maybe that was three things. The brief thought of you coming over again tonight crossed his mind, but no plans were made and you both had work tomorrow—had he changed and gotten that clingy already?
Pulling him out of his thoughts, Usahara began grating on his nerves, “Uramichi, do you want to—”
“No.”
“I didn’t even get to finish my question.”
Usahara turned to Kumatani instead and continued, as if prompted by your conversation over the weekend, “Hey, Kumatani! I heard we’ll have a Christmas party at Uramichi’s again!”
Uramichi tried to interject, “When and who said that?”
“Not like we have anything else to do! We’ll all spend Christmas alone anyway, so might as well!” Usahara continued, ignoring Uramichi’s protests. Kumatani simply walked away and ignored the whining.
Too tired to fight back, Uramichi left backstage and headed towards his green room. Oddly enough, he remembers a similar conversation happening the year before, and he also remembers winning that horrifying, adult-sized suit with the baguette. Held back by a weird sense of responsibility, he couldn’t bring himself to get rid of it and kept it for longer than he should have. It was the first thing you threw out when you started regularly coming over his apartment, and he couldn’t be more thankful that you saved him from its torment. He entered his green room and sat down at the vanity, listlessly staring back at his reflection. Maybe he should text you. Taking out his phone, he cleared the annoying spam notifications he had received throughout the day and noticed a text from you that was sent earlier that afternoon.
14:08
Hey! Hope the shoot today is going well (❁´◡`❁)
I heard about a new bakery that opened up in Shibuya and I’m thinking of stopping by after work. Since it’s near the studio, do you want to join me?
Were you psychic? How could you have known that he was already thinking of you?
17:12
Sure. Do you want to meet in front of the studio?
After checking the time and deciding to wrap up, you had saved your work on the computer and packed up for the day, momentarily pausing to reply to your coworkers’ goodbyes on your way out. Sitting on the train towards Shibuya, you heard a ping from your phone, bringing a soft smile to your face as you read the message, and typed out a reply.
17:14
That works for me. Give me like 20 minutes? I’m actually on the train right now.
17:15
Okay, I’ll be ready.
While Uramichi was in the middle of getting changed and pulling on his shirt, his door flew open. “Uramichi!”
“Have you never heard of knocking? Or privacy? Idiot rabbit.”
“Bunny! I’m a bunny! Anyway, Kumatani and I are—”
“No.”
“But I didn’t even—”
“No. I have plans. Go away.”
“What plans would you even have? Going to the gym?”
Uramichi didn’t bother giving him a proper response, shooting Usahara a sharp glare, as he pulled on his hoodie.
“So, I’m right?”
“You can think whatever you like,” Uramichi deadpanned and adjusted his beanie. “Now, if you would be so kind as to let me leave and close up my green room, that would be great.” Not knowing how to respond, Usahara did as he was told and returned to Kumatani in the lounge, while Uramichi continued adorning his scarf and coat. With his backpack finally settled on his shoulders, Uramichi exited his green room and locked up.
“So, Uramichi isn’t joining us, and he was acting really weird. He said he has plans, but what kind of plans would a gorilla like him even have?” Usahara griped to Kumatani.
“I can still hear you, you know. This is an open space, and you’re speaking quite loudly.” Uramichi stopped behind Usahara momentarily, emanating a threatening aura, before resuming his journey to the front doors.
“Weird, he didn’t hit me.” Usahara remarked, scared out of his mind, and let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding.
Curiosity was always Usahara’s downfall. Unable to help himself, he dragged Kumatani on a mission to follow Uramichi and find out what his mysterious plans were. Hiding just out of view behind the bushes in front of the studio, Usahara and Kumatani kept their eyes on Uramichi–who didn’t seem to be doing anything besides checking his phone and finishing off a cigarette, nothing interesting or abnormal.
“For someone who’s physically active and generally healthy, that’s a pretty nasty habit to have.” You gently scolded him as you made your way over and swatted away the fumes surrounding him.
Seeing you approach Uramichi, Usahara turned to Kumatani and whispered, “Who is that? I didn’t know Uramichi even had friends besides us, and I don’t even know if we count.”
“Usahara, shut up or you’re going to get yourself caught.” Kumatani warned him, while accidentally making direct eye contact with you from across the bush. A brief flash of recognition crossed your face, but you turned your attention back to Uramichi as he responded to your comment.
“Yeah, I know. Helps take the edge off though, you know?” Uramichi shrugged and put out his cigarette in the proper disposal container.
“Hmm,” you folded your arms across your chest and half-glared at him, “Okay, but there are healthier ways of handling that.” Not wanting to scold him too much, you reached over and adjusted his scarf, “We can talk about that another time though. We have other priorities right now.”
“Like baked goods?”
“Exactly, like baked goods!” Leaning closer to his ear, you whispered and discreetly sent a smirk to the two idiots trying to hide, “And also your two co-workers who are tailing you.”
“My what?”
“Don’t look now, but those two irritants you talk about regularly? They’re hiding behind the bush trying to snoop.”
Uramichi sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, “This is all because Usahara wanted me to join them for drinks and I told him I had plans, but then didn’t provide any details about said plans.”
“Did you want to join them?”
“Hell no.”
Chuckling and letting go of his scarf, you tugged on his hand to pull him towards the main street, “Well, it’s his fault if he doesn’t pay attention to you enough to know about your personal life, then. Kumatani is fun to drink with, though. I’m happy that you have at least one sensible friend.”
“Yeah, I don’t know exactly how sensible he is, but he’s less of a handful, that’s for sure.”
As you two walked away, Usahara grabbed Kumatani and lamented about how he couldn’t hear anything that was said, “It’s like he’s leaving us, bro! Kumatani! What are we going to do? What if he finds a better friend group? What if he doesn’t want to hang out with us anymore? Plus, who was that? I think they noticed us. Did you see that smirk?”
“Well, I don’t think he particularly wanted to hang out with us in the first place,” Kumatani reminded him while trying to remove Usahara’s grip from his shoulders. “Just give him his space. He’s a grown adult, remember?”
“Kumatani!” Usahara whined and followed Kumatani down the street towards Nekota’s bar.
The door chimed as you and Uramichi entered the bakery, while an employee turned to welcome you two. You and Uramichi returned the employee's greeting and stepped closer to the display cases. The freshly baked goods culminated into a sweet, comforting aroma that wrapped around you and reminded you of the small pleasures in life.
“I don’t like sweet things all that much, so you can just pick out whatever you like.” Uramichi reminded you while scanning the case for something savory.
You pointed at the selection of buns, “How about a curry bun or something then?”
“Oh, you’re right—that would be good.”
“Great, I’ll pick out a few things too. Maybe you can taste some of the less sweet ones.”
“Sure, I guess I can make an exception this time.”
Turning around, away from the display cases, you looked at him in surprise. His face was decorated with one of his rare smiles, eyes softened with a newly acquired fondness. You felt a distinct happiness bubble up within you, something that has become a more frequent occurrence as of late. You could get used to this.
You returned his smile and thanked him before focusing your attention on the worker behind the case, ready to place your order.
Uramichi unlocked the door to his apartment, letting you in first, and handed you the bag of treats after you had taken your shoes off so that he could focus on removing his. Once the bag was settled on the kitchen counter, you busied yourself with removing your coat and beanie, shedding yourself of the markers signifying the wintry outdoors that contrasted with his warm apartment. You nudged open the slightly ajar bathroom door with your hip and moved to wash your hands before touching anything else. As you dried your hands, Uramichi joined you with a teasing smile, “Ever the clean freak, are we?”
“Hey, if you get sick, I’m not taking care of you.”
“Duly noted.”
“Now,” you returned to the bag on the counter. “It is time for some well-deserved relaxation.”
“Oh, but weren’t we relaxing this past weekend?”
“That was weekend relaxation. This is Monday relaxation. They’re different.”
“Are they really?” Uramichi questioned as he also dried his hands and followed you out of the bathroom.
“Yes, of course, now grab some plates and utensils before I change my mind, leave, and take everything with me.”
“Alright, alright,” Uramichi conceded as he took out the tableware and laid them out on the table in his living room, already preparing the kotatsu to your liking. “Oh, but did you want to take a shower first? Did you bring a change of clothes or anything with you? Do you need anything?”
“Oh, well, since this was kind of unplanned…” you laughed awkwardly and pushed your hair back—a nervous habit. “I didn’t bring anything because I wasn’t expecting to come over here when I left my apartment in the morning. I do feel a little grimy, though.”
“That’s fine, you have your spare toothbrush here anyway. I’ll get you a change of clothes and a towel, one moment.”
Before you could say anything else, Uramichi disappeared into his room and returned with a fluffy white towel, a pair of navy joggers, and a bright blue shirt with the show’s logo on it.
“Why… do you have this?” You held the shirt up, bringing it closer and examining it, then raised an eyebrow at him.
“The studio made too many of them and forced it on us. What? You don’t like it? Not your color? Are you questioning my hospitality?”
“No, I’m questioning your sanity,” you deadpanned, “but I guess it’s better that it’s just the logo and not, like, Kotori-san or something.”
Letting out a genuine laugh for once, Uramichi took the obnoxious shirt from your hands and swapped it with one of his cozy black long sleeve shirts, “Don’t worry, I won’t subject you to that. Are these okay? I’ll leave them on my bed for you to change into after you shower. I have some unworn underwear too that I'll lay out, if you’d like. Now go bathe.”
"Sure, those will be fine. Thanks."
Shaking your head at his antics and letting out a laugh, you got up and moved to the bathroom, closing the door behind you. After undressing and setting your clothes to a far corner, you adjusted the shower's temperature to your liking, letting the water wash over you. You briefly considered the domesticity of using his bathroom, of sharing his shampoo and conditioner, of sharing the same personal space. You could get used to this. Trying not to make him wait for too long, you wrapped up your quick shower, enveloped yourself in the towel, and scurried to his bedroom with your previously-worn clothes.
After depositing your dirty clothes on the floor and sitting on his bed in your towel, you fell deep into thought. Although you had been together for the greater part of a year by now, it did little to quell the reticence and insecurities within you. While he didn’t seem to share the same hesitations when changing amongst the studio crew, the atmosphere here was difficult—where the tension could sometimes be palpable. You had been in this room many times, even slept in the same bed as him, but beyond that something held you two back. Was it a fear? Grown out of a need to hide your vulnerabilities? The chokehold that your anxieties held over you slowly loosened as time progressed, but something else entirely made that wall daunting—made it impossible to scale. Getting up from his bed, you removed the towel and slowly slid the underwear and his joggers on, appreciating the warmth from the inner fleece lining. Though, something in the corner of the room caught your eye, stopping you. You moved over to it, bending down to pick up a familiar box. This… I’m pretty sure this is the box of snacks I had given to each cast member last year after our collaboration ended. Shaking it lightly, you realized that it’s empty. That’s weird. Most of these were sweets. Did he... actually eat them?
“Are you okay in there?” Uramichi’s voice and a knock on the door brought you out of your thoughts.
“Yeah! Sorry,” you quickly put the box back, pulled his black shirt over your head, and haphazardly folded your discarded clothes before opening the door, “I was just being slow.”
He gave you a questioning glance, but didn’t press further, “Okay. Well, I brewed the tea and put in that movie I borrowed from Kumatani again.”
“The weird salmon one?” You moved to the kitchen counter to procure the goods and carried the contents of the treat bag to the table: curry buns, a slice of strawberry shortcake, a slice of cheesecake, and a matcha swiss roll.
“Man-Eating Salmon vs Bunny on a Moped,” he clarified in a monotone voice, contrasting with the strangely action-packed cover of the DVD case.
“Yeah, exactly, the weird salmon one.”
“Okay, fine, the weird salmon one.”
You resumed your task of arranging the cakes and buns while Uramichi excused himself to also bathe. Carefully, you placed the snacks on separate plates with their respective knives for serving, and set aside two plates with forks for the both of you. Before closing the bathroom door, Uramichi stood, leaning against the door frame, and briefly appreciated this moment of domesticity that he never imagined he would allow himself to experience. One that he assumed would be lost to a never ending cycle of self-sabotage that continuously pushed him further and further down his spiral of negativity. Slightly his head to momentarily rid himself of those thoughts, he closed the door and made quick work of his shower.
Soon enough, he settled next to you on the floor in front of his couch, using it as a backrest, and adjusted the kotatsu blanket over his legs. You smiled at him and beckoned him closer with your index finger. He gave you a curious look, but complied anyway. Resting your palm at the base of his jaw and gently caressing his cheek, you leaned in and gave him a sweet kiss, then rested your forehead against his shoulder. Letting out a breath, tickling his skin, you placed a chaste kiss against his collarbone, “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Nothing specific. I’m just grateful. Plus, now, you smell good.”
While rolling his eyes, he wrapped his arm around your shoulders and helped reposition you against his side, with your head still nuzzled into the curve of his neck, “Okay.” Taking the fork on the table in front of you, he broke off a piece of the strawberry shortcake and brought it to your lips, “Cake?”
You opened your mouth and happily accepted his offering, reaching for your teacup and taking a sip of the delicate green tea you had picked up while on a recent business trip to Kyoto. An action sequence in the movie caught your attention, reminding you of its presence, “Why is the bunny on a moped?”
“I don’t know.”
“And the salmon? Why does it eat people?”
“Something about radioactive water? I think it’s supposed to be another kaijū thing.”
“I mean, it’s not a great movie, but it’s still entertaining at least.”
“Yeah, I can see why Kumatani likes it. There’s a sequel that came out too.”
“Wait, you’re telling me they got the budget to make another one?”
“Not everything makes sense in this world.”
“You got that right. Make sure to borrow that one too.”
"Okay."