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Langa and Reki recently moved into a new, peaceful, white picket fence neighbourhood after their wedding. Reki worked a 9 to 6 full time job in a big company as a manager and Langa was content to be a househusband.
The thing was, the first few weeks, Langa didn't even have any input during these evening gatherings.
The gatherings took place alternately at each other's houses, what was supposed to be just a quick impromptu chit chats among the neighbourhood house-spouses turned into regular meetings.
Yeah, Langa stayed engaged in these conversations, but never did he have any stories from his side. He was mostly there to make the conversations flow a little more, adding in quips and nods.
But 'lo and behold, when he did have inputs this time, suddenly they weren't good enough.
"You mean to tell me," Kojiro slowly said, his eyebrows a bit pinched, "I said Kaoru called me a lice-eating dumb gorilla for wasting my time folding socks instead of stashing them in the drawers, you're hurt because Reki called you… baby?"
Across from Kojiro, Langa nodded solemnly.
"Hmm," Langa sighed as he curled in around himself, leaning against his garden chair fully, "You don't understand. I woke up late to run his tea this morning, so he was like, "Aww, is my baby tired?" then kissed my head and went to work. That was a bit disheartening."
Kojiro blankly stared at Langa, "You're right, I don't understand."
"Uhh," Oka started. He was sitting next to Kojiro and had been blinking rapidly after Langa's statement. Clearing his throat, he asked, "Which part made it disheartening, by the way?"
Langa sighed deeper. The young blue-haired newlywed had his head tilted upwards slightly to the sky, apparent gloom surrounding his whole aura.
One would think someone ate all the crackers from the charcuterie boards in front of them.
"Well, Reki called me baby. He never called me that. It's always Honey Boo, or Light of My Life, or Spicy Sweetheart. Never just baby. See?"
For a long moment, all they could hear was the breeze blowing softly all around them.
There was a singular squawk from a crow perched on the electric cable, as everyone in the circle processed the information.
"No, I do not see." Ainosuke stated, breaking the silence. Langa spied Oka mouthing Spicy Sweetheart to himself multiple times. "In fact, I'm so unseeing right now, call me Matt Murdock," continued Ainosuke, closing his eyes shut.
Kojiro snorted from his seat.
"Don't be mean," Karin reached over to hit Ainosuke on his chest.
She threw a sympathetic look towards Langa and the latter shrugged.
Karin then scoffed, pouting a little as she said, "Anyway, Hiromi has a new habit now. He wouldn't stop eating chips on our bed. The crumbly, cheesy, spicy ones. It's atrocious."
"Oh! Reki does that too."
"Right? Disgusting. The munching drives me insane."
"Yeah, Reki eats quite loud and messy like a kid. It gets all over."
"Exactly! And now, I go to sleep and wake up to find crumbs poking between my buttcrack!"
Langa frowned and quietened down.
"...What?" Karin asked him.
"Um, it's just that Reki wipes and cleans after he eats. Then he would spray Dettol on our sheets. To keep it fresh, you know?"
The crow on the cable squawked again. Ainosuke looked at the disbelieving looks around the table and wheezed. Kojiro kicked him to stop while also cackling himself.
They moved on from topic to topic.
Ainosuke recalled the time he passionately defended his stance on not mixing colours with whites while his boyfriend Tadashi did not really mind about the technicalities, since if a shirt was wrecked, then they could easily buy more.
"It was pretty hot of him to say that, not gonna lie. Financial stability is hella sexy."
Langa silently agreed as he thought of the one wash cycle he ruined from mixing and Reki saying the same. It was in fact pretty hot.
However, they did not end up buying new shirts, because Reki knew how to tie dye and made the 'ruined' shirts look even better. He could not wear them to his office though, so he shared them with Langa. Coincidentally, Langa was wearing one of them now.
At one point, Kojiro prompted at Oka who was enjoying the conversations, munching on a cracker paired with cheese and jam.
"Oka, you've been too quiet. What's latest? You and Hana still have that jealous issue?"
Oka nodded.
A slight grin was on his face as he scratched his cheek, "Ah… like I said, we think it's the pregnancy hormones? She doesn't get jealous mindlessly, but it can be a bit much. Yesterday she was mad because I paid too much attention to Miya, when apparently I should've been in bed with her, rubbing her stomach."
"Miya? Your son Miya?"
"Yeah, she caught herself fast, though. But sometimes she gets jealous again. I think it's absolutely funny but she gets so embarrassed afterwards." Oka explained with a chuckle.
"Hmm, Kaoru gets jealous pretty easily, too. Didn't even need pregnancy hormones."
"Yes, God, tell me about it. Hiromi was like that back then. He mellowed after we got married, but before? Sulks all the time."
"Same. Tadashi has a thing where he'd click his tongue if I talk about someone else too much. What is it with working spouses and their possessiveness?"
Then, Oka turned to Langa and asked, "What about Reki, Langa? Does he get jealous easily?"
"Ha? Oh, not at all."
"He's chill, huh?" Kojiro hummed.
Langa squirmed in his seat and looked everywhere but at them. The crow on the cable was no longer there. The clouds were moving too fast, Langa thought.
Look, a very interesting piece of grass. Green and stuff.
Ainosuke squinted suspiciously, "And you, Langa? Do you get jealous easily?"
Dammit.
Grimacing, Langa managed a succint, "Ah…"
"You do!" Ainosuke exclaimed as the others laughed. They were all fondly looking at Langa, "Fuck, you're hilarious. Anyone else get the feeling Reki should be in that chair instead of Langa?"
Langa pouted.
///
That night, thankfully tomorrow being the weekend, it gave Langa full reign to grumble to Reki about it.
"I thought I did well in complaining," Langa said as Reki leaned further into Langa's side. His head rested slightly on Langa's right shoulder.
They were both cuddled on the bed eating Chinese take out for dinner.
Reki placed their usual big towel under their food, because knowing himself- being the messier one out of the two, there would be some spillage. The TV in front of them had a low volume Tony Hawk video playing.
Once everything was settled on top of the towel, Reki took the shrimps from the fried rice and began peeling the skin. Some of the rice got scattered.
"Mhm, how can I help?"
"I don't know, to be honest," Langa sighed. He opened his mouth when Reki reached up to put the peeled shrimp to his lips. He then scooped some rice and fed Reki a spoonful. Langa wondered out loud, "You can try calling me a gorilla like Kaoru did to Kojiro?"
Reki scrunched his face, extremely uncomfortable.
"Try?"
Reki refused to budge.
"Please?"
"...Gorilla."
Langa immediately looked absolutely stricken.
Shit.
Reki scrambled to pull Langa into a side hug, kissing the latter's neck rapidly, uncaring about his greasy lips from the fried rice, "No, no, no, keeper of my heart. Not you. Never you. Beautiful love, everlasting sweetheart, I'm sorry."
Then, after a few moments, his husband breathed out.
"Well, that was dreadful."
Reki nodded, "Never again."
///
"Maybe I can try being more jealous? Possessive?" Reki suggested as they were getting ready to sleep.
Langa shook his head, "No, that's my thing. I like being jealous, it gets you all red and flustered."
"A-ah, I see," Reki stuttered out, a blush rising to his cheeks.
///
Langa was stirring elbow pasta on the stove. It was currently 2 AM, but Reki knew Langa's stomach did not care since it sang the tune of his people late at night, ever so excited at the prospect of food regardless of time.
This round it was macaroni and cheese.
While Langa was waiting for the pasta to be al dente, Reki slid behind his husband.
All ruffled hair, sleepy, and smelled of home.
"Come back to bed," Reki mumbled into Langa's bare back, trying very hard not to be embarrassed upon seeing the long lines of scratches he left behind from their earlier activity.
His arms enveloped Langa's waist.
"'m hungry." Langa grunted.
The street lights right outside flickered a little making the kitchen space dimmer at times.
Reki noticed Langa did not turn on the big lights, instead only the two small bulbs on the walls of the stove area. Preventing any bright light to leak into the bedroom where they were sleeping.
After a round of stirring, Langa spoke, "I think it's because we're at our honeymoon phase."
"Huh?"
"So there's nothing to really complain about? Because of the honeymoon phase. All rainbows and flowers."
Reki snickered, "Love of my life, we're highschool sweethearts. Dated each other for nine years, and lived together for four. If there was a honeymoon phase, it'd be long gone, don't you think?"
Reki reached around to kiss Langa on the lips, and the latter received it happily, humming as he deepened the kiss.
Then gasped.
"What? What happened?"
"I think we're at our old couple phase."
Reki giggled at that. He tightened his arms around Langa's waist and swayed their bodies a little, murmuring a random melody.
God, he loved his husband so much.
///
In the next meeting, Langa showed up with a determined look on his face.
He made up his mind last night.
If he couldn't gossip about Reki properly, then he would instead brag about Reki until kingdom come. The others could suck it.