Chapter Text
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It’s half past three in the afternoon.
Shu’s nursing a can of ridiculously expensive carbonated flavored water, counting down the minutes to 4PM. He glances at the airport boarding screen and sees Flight 9701’s status flash: ON TIME. He’s been seeing that phrase ever since he arrived in the airport lounge, and he doesn’t know if the weight forming in the pit of his stomach is made of lead or butterflies.
He doesn’t think he was this nervous when he met Vox and Ike for the first time. That was a fun experience in itself, getting to hang out with them in real time. They clicked, just like he expected they would. The only thing that would have made that experience better was if Luca and Mysta were there too.
Shu sneaks another peek at his phone screen. 3:35 PM.
He takes another sip from his drink and unlocks his phone, opening their Discord group chat. Mysta and Vox’s flight is due to arrive late at 9PM. Ike’s even later at midnight. They’ve all expressed their excitement at finally gathering together as five.
Shu scrolls up to the last message Luca sent. It reads ‘ Should be there by 4! I’m going to sleep the entire flight thru LOL’ followed by a shitton of twitch emotes that shouldn’t make sense together, but just do because it’s Luca. Underneath it is Shu’s concise reply: ‘ I’ll be at the lounge! ’.
Another gulp of the water, another glance at the time. 3:40 PM.
He exits the conversation thread, and opens his private DMs with Luca. The last update is a blurry selfie Luca took before boarding his plane, a charming grin on his face and his right hand up in a peace sign. He looks as bright as always.
Shu doesn’t have to scroll up to check their previous messages. He already has it memorized. He’s read it countless times while he was on his flight.
It’s one thing to meet up with the entirety of Luxiem, and he’s no doubt elated about the fact. But it’s another thing to meet up with Luca for the first time. See him in the flesh. Have the opportunity to talk with him, hear him, actually be able to touch him.
He wonders how they’ll greet each other. Will they get along the same way they do online? He knows they probably will. It’s just the nerves putting unnecessary thoughts in his head.
Shu takes a deep breath, and buries his face in his hands. Why is he even agonizing about this? It’s just Luca.
It’s just Luca.
It’s just some Australian dude he spends hours talking with, just someone who inspires him to be more positive and be a better person with each passing day. A literal zoomer. Actual sunshine. A puppy dog who has him wrapped around his finger.
Someone he trusts with his entire being.
A best friend.
His boyfriend.
His boyfriend.
Shu’s actually meeting his boyfriend for the very first time. His anticipation feels so intense, he really can’t sit still.
It’s a recent development. They only put a label to their relationship barely a week ago. There wasn’t any grand confession. Both of them just knew . They were three hours into another conversation about everything and nothing at the same time, and Luca being Luca just went on another tangent. Shu followed suit and fifteen minutes later, they were boyfriends. It was so anticlimactic, they laughed about it afterwards and then went on to discuss deep sea creatures.
They hadn’t told anybody else. The novelty that came with it being something that was only exclusive to themselves hadn’t worn out yet. Luca was adamant they keep it that way for a while, and Shu was honestly on the same page. With the kind of lives they lead, having a secret like this made it feel special.
A loud chime from the lounge speakers derails Shu’s train of thought.
It’s an announcement of flight updates. Shu checks the airport boarding screen again and feels his chest tighten. Flight 9701’s status has been updated to ARRIVED. Like clockwork, his phone rings with a new message notification. He opens it immediately and can’t help the smile that pulls at the corner of his lips.
It reads ‘ Just landed! See you soon Shubert! ’. He doesn’t bother replying, his fingers are already shaking.
Shu pockets his phone, and finishes his drink. He angles himself to face the entrance of the airport lounge, sitting upright so Luca won’t have to comment about his poor posture. He consciously brushes at his hair with his fingers, hoping he doesn’t look as rattled as he feels.
It’s just Luca.
He repeats it to himself, a mantra to keep himself calm. He’s so excited, he can feel himself almost bursting at the seams. He’s startled when his phone starts ringing, and he scrambles to pick it up.
“Shuuuu!” Luca exclaims, “I just got out of immigration! I’m on my way to the lounge now. Where are you?”
Hearing his voice feels like a breath of fresh air. Shu chuckles and replies, “I’m seated near the entrance. You can’t miss me.”
Luca doesn’t miss a beat. “I already did miss you though!”
Shu’s heart stutters, but he forces out a laugh anyway. “Actually smooth Luca Kaneshiro? Real?”
“Very real! No clickbait!” Luca says, and Shu can hear the smile in his warm voice.
There’s a moment of silence where all Shu can hear is Luca breathing into his phone as he walks, and it all comes to a grinding stop with a sharp exhale.
That’s when Shu sees him by the lounge entrance.
He sees Luca stop in his tracks when they make eye contact, his mouth slack and his eyes wide with recognition. Shu surmises he must look the same.
It feels like time stops for a moment, and then Shu watches as the beginnings of a smile form on Luca’s face. He blinks once, twice, and suddenly Luca’s running at him, haphazardly dragging his luggage across the floor as he rushes towards Shu.
Shu stands up to brace himself for impact, but he almost topples over anyway when 85 kilograms of Aussie barrels into him. He feels Luca wrap his arms around him and bends down to bury his face in his neck. Tentatively, Shu does the same, encircling his arms around Luca’s waist. He squeezes, and Luca squeezes back.
Up until that moment, it felt as if everything was on mute. Gradually, the sounds of the airport and their breathing filter back. Shu feels more than hears Luca take a deep breath. His proximity makes it so he feels the loud thumping of Luca’s heart in his ribcage too. He knows his own is matching the rapid beating.
It’s overwhelming, and it makes Shu pull away to stare at Luca in the flesh.
“Hi Luca,” he breathes out. He takes in everything, from the look of awe in Luca’s purple eyes, his windswept hair, that infuriating lopsided smile. Heck, he can smell Luca, a mixture of airplane AC and an undertone of something floral. It ticks Shu a bit that he has to crane his head upwards just to meet Luca’s eyes, but realizing their size difference in real life also makes something burn in his belly.
Luca seems out of it, just staring at Shu like he hung all the stars in the sky. Shu’s flattered but starts to feel self-conscious. He gathers a bit of courage and surges forward so he can plant a kiss on Luca’s cheek.
“How was your flight?” Shu tries again.
Luca blinks, then raises a hand to touch the area where Shu just kissed. “Holy fuck,” he mutters under his breath. “Did you just-?”
Shu can’t help but laugh. “Did I just? Did I just what, Luca?”
A pretty flush spreads across Luca’s face, all the way to the tips of his ears. The sight is incredibly endearing. Shu untangles the both of them from each other and leads his bumbling boyfriend to sit down next to him.
“The flight was okay,” Luca starts, looking sheepish, “I slept the whole time like I said.”
“That’s great,” Shu says softly. “Proud of you,” he adds, watching Luca’s eyes sparkle at his reply. For all his nerves being all over the place just a few moments ago, Shu feels pretty calm now. Or maybe numb is a better word. He feels Luca take his hand and intertwine it with his, and he’s left wondering why he even worried in the first place.
“I want to return the favor,” Luca says after a while. “I can, right?” He looks more sure of himself now, more reminiscent of the confident man Shu has gotten to know over the months. While he finds a flustered Luca endearing, an assertive Luca has him weak in the knees.
Wordlessly, Shu tilts his face and presents his boyfriend with his cheek. He feels Luca’s lips on it not a second later, and he feels blood rush to his face. Look at him exchanging innocent kisses with his boyfriend in a public place! Shu’s sisters would be so proud of him. Uki would be proud of him. That’s another tick off his rice purity test score.
When he glances at Luca next, it’s hard to speak again. It’s so surreal to have him so close. Shu squeezes their hands together just because he can.
It’s Luca who breaks the silence again. “I’m so happy right now, Shu.” He says it so sincerely that Shu can feel his insides physically melt.
“Me too,” he admits out loud. “I’m so happy I don’t know what to do with myself.”
Luca offers him a bashful smile. “It’s just me,” he says.
Shu laughs again. “It’s because it is you that I’m like this right now.”
“It goes both ways, you know! I can’t believe you’re so pretty. Like I knew you were gorgeous, but it hits different in person,” Luca mumbles petulantly. “And you kissed me! That was unfair. You literally stunlocked me within seconds of seeing each other for the first time.”
“What kind of mafia boss gets caught off guard with a mere kiss?” Shu teases.
Luca huffs. “This one does!” He gestures to himself animatedly. “You’re taking advantage of the fact that I’m head over heels for you!”
The admission brings an ever bigger smile to Shu’s face. “If it’s any consolation, I froze when I first saw you too. Can’t believe you’re this handsome, walking around in public. For free. Sheesh.”
Inevitably, Luca latches onto that last word and jokingly does the hand sign and bites his lip. “Sheesh!” he parrots, and the both of them collapse in a fit of giggles.
Shu glances at his phone then, sees 4:15 PM blink back at him. He stands up and tugs Luca to his feet, coaxing him to grab his luggage so they can leave the lounge.
“We have a couple of hours alone until the rest of the guys arrive,” he says, giving Luca a certain look. “I’m determined to make the most of it.”
Luca nods, squeezing his hand in reassurance. “Lead the way then.”
And so, Shu does.
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