Work Text:
Takashi’s day at work had been, let’s say, difficult.
He worked as a consultant designer for a few local clothing stores, which basically meant it was a coin toss whether he’d actually design something himself or have the owner breathing down his neck, commanding every stitch.
Today he had lost that coin toss, currently in his studio with a client he’d never met but who thought of himself as an absolute expert in designing clothes (he was, unfortunately, not). Takashi had been so stressed and busy these past few days that he’d completely forgotten about his and Ken’s 1 year anniversary.
Which would make Ken’s special dinner all the more surprising, the ingredients they bought at a recent farmers market carefully prepared and placed. He wished he could do something about the endless trials of customer service, he could see the dark circles forming under his boyfriends eyes, and knew he had to make their anniversary meaningful. Takashi got home in about an hour and Ken had already cleaned the whole apartment, prepped their dinner, bought him his favorite flowers, and put on his nicest clothes.
The clock ticked forward as Ken placed and lit candles around the room, finished cooking the karubidon, put the flowers in a vase on the table, and checked himself one last time in the mirror. His light hair was half-up, half loose around his shoulders in a messy bun, wearing a white button-up shirt and carefully ironed black pants. He adjusted the patterned tie around his neck, before he heard the key click in the lock—Takashi was home.
“Hey I’m.. home..?” he stopped for a second, speechless from Ken’s surprise efforts.
“Happy anniversary!!” Ken pulled him into a hug and heard Takashi’s bag drop to the floor to hug him back. Ken rubbed his back and shoulders, knowing they’d be sore from leaning over his workbench all day, “I know you’ve been really stressed recently so I wanted to surprise you after work, so did it work?”
“Y-yeah I completely forgot,” Ken pulled away to cup his face and leaned back in for a kiss. Takashi whispered “thank you sweetie-“ before their lips met in a short, gentle kiss.
Takashi’s voice was low, “I can’t believe it’s been a year already.”
“Well, here’s to many more. Cmon, let’s eat.”
———
Pleasantly full, Ken stood up to clean their dishes, then started a song on their record player. He could tell Takashi, still sitting at the table, perked up at just the first few notes before turning to look at him with a smile on his face. Ken walked over to him, hand outstretched in a silent invitation to be his dance partner. Takashi accepted, taking his hand and placing the other on Ken’s broad shoulder. Ken’s large hand was warm on his waist as they began to slowly sway in time with the music, Takashi’s face nuzzled against Ken’s chest.
Takashi asked, “I actually used to take dance lessons, wanna learn how to waltz?” Ken smiled and nodded.
First, he demonstrated the basic step pattern by himself, then told Ken to try it. The tall, intimidating man looked adorable while trying to be graceful and Takashi couldn’t help smiling.
Once he was sure Ken wouldn’t step on his toes, they took each others hand, waist, and shoulder, and began to waltz (properly this time). Takashi guided them, stepping forward as Ken stepped back, before moving to the side, then back to repeat the pattern. Ken’s eyebrows were furrowed in concentration but was clearly enjoying himself, happy to live in this moment the rest of his life.
Takashi suddenly kissed Ken’s neck, making him lose his concentration, and knock Takashi’s legs out, landing them both, thankfully, on the couch. Ken had grabbed Takashi in the fall and held him close to his chest, cheek resting on his chest and legs intertwined as they laughed it off, Ken muttering embarrassed apologies between waves of giggles. He ran his fingers through his boyfriends hair and rubbed his back and shoulders, before slipping his hand under his shirt and lightly scratching his back with his short nails.
Ken moved his boyfriend around a bit in order to take off his tie, then both their shirts—they were just gonna fall asleep on the couch tonight, too much effort to walk all the way to their room. Ken’s hands now ran freely all over Takashi’s back, the gentle sensations lulling them both to sleep.
“I have one more surprise for you tomorrow, okay? Happy anniversary, Takashi. I love you.”
The answer was mumbled into his chest, “I love you more.”
And for once, Ken let him win.
———
Ken woke up first, back fused to the leather couch and holding his softly snoring boyfriend on his chest. The sun lightly shone through the window and warmed them, shirts cast aside from last night. Ken checked the time on his phone, 11:13am—the dog shelter adoption fair was open by now!! Takashi had no idea about his surprise and he was so excited to see his reaction.
On cue, the smaller man inhaled deeply and his eyes fluttered open, cheek still pressed into his boyfriends chest, “Hi. Watching me sleep, creep?”
“Maybe.. you look so cute, just wanted to admire you for a bit,” he pressed a kiss into the crown of his head, “You ready for my surprise?”
Takashi fully woke up at that, excitedly nodding his head, “Now? Can we now?”
“Mhm, but it’s probably a good idea to put our clothes back on first,” he glanced at their shirts strewn on the floor.
Reluctantly, Takashi stood up, then Ken. They walked to their bedroom together and pulled t-shirts on, then changed into more casual pants than the slacks they currently wore. Ken shrugged on a white cardigan to guard against the cold early-spring air, while Takashi put on a sweatshirt (which was really Ken’s, but he stole his clothes often enough he barely even noticed anymore).
The two walked to the bathroom together, brushing their hair and teeth and exchanging kisses at every chance they got. While Takashi continued messing with his hair, trying to get it sufficiently spiky, Ken started his stretching routine. Large, muscular arms stretched over his head, thick thighs flexed as he raised his knees to his chest. Takashi stole glances over at him, the show distracting him from his task. He was so lucky.
———
The walk to the park was chilly, but Ken’s arm around Takashi’s waist warmed him up. Ken almost made him wear a blindfold, but knew he’d be too clumsy, and what fun would a new dog be if he was in a full body cast? What a sad idea, a new puppy running around the room and you’re locked inside a person-sized cage. No, no he had to protect Takashi at all costs, getting paper-mache’d for months on end was simply not an option.
While Ken was lost on this (irrational) train of thought, Takashi was lost in his own, wondering what the surprise could be. Flyers and signs for the adoption fair were plastered everywhere but he couldn’t be bothered to read them, not when he was this excited for Ken’s secret!!
“Hey, why didn’t we take your bike? This walk is kinda long,”
“You’ll see, okay? We’re almost there,”
Takashi hung his head in exaggerated despair and pain, “I cant.. walk.. another step,”
“Do you need me to carry you, princess?” he asked, a hint of sarcasm in his voice at the pet name.
All he got was a slow, painful nod in response, so he scooped his boyfriend into his arms, Takashi’s arms wrapped around Ken’s torso and his legs supported by Ken’s arms. His answer was a muffled thank you, muttered into his broad shoulder.
A few more minutes of walking later, Ken tapped Takashi’s back before putting him back on the ground. He saw a huge sign above the park entrance that read “Dog Shelter Adoption Fair!” Holy shit!
“Holy shit!” Takashi exclaimed, “The surprise is we get to look at dogs!? That’s so cool!”
He was forever oblivious, “The surprise is that we get to adopt a dog, sweetie,”
“Really??! Cmon cmon let’s go!!” he dragged Ken further into the park with little success (he was all muscle and moving him without his permission was about as useful as trying to push a cruise ship with your bare hands).
Thankfully, he grabbed Takashi’s hand, and the two started walking around to look at the different tables and caged off areas in the grass, full of bounding puppies. The area closest to them was full of black and brown Dachshunds, tiny legs working furiously to play with each other and catching matching mini balls.
Further away, brown, black, and, white terrier mixes of all different sizes and coat types bounced around, leaning forward onto their paws before jumping back, running around in circles and doing the whole thing again. Tiny white dogs with little legs and wildly shaking tails laid next to big black dogs with calm, narrow tails, cuddling in the sunlight.
Near the back of the park was the real money shot: a couple greyhounds bounced and ran around with each other, catching colorful balls and chewing on rawhide sticks. Takashi had always loved greyhounds and Ken knew this, dragging him over immediately before he’d even noticed they were there.
At the edge of the fence, Takashi’s eyes went wide and he clapped a hand over his mouth. One of the dogs, a small little gray puppy with a white belly and a purple scarf around his neck, probably the runt of the litter, walked over to Takashi and looked at him curiously, cocking its head. He held out his hand to it, letting the skittish guy sniff it over the fence. Once satisfied he could trust him, he pushed his head into his hand, asking to scratch his ears. Who would Takashi be to deny this sweet angel? Ken watched the whole thing with a smile on his face, thinking it was probably the cutest thing he’d ever seen in his life.
Eventually, the little guy rolled over onto his back, spurring Takashi to ask the attendant if he could step in the pen. Once allowed, he sat down in the grass and rubbed the dog’s belly, his tiny leg shaking with excitement. He looked back at Ken, who had his arms crossed over his chest, “We have to get him. I’ve never been more serious about anything in my life,” giving him a stern look that only made Ken smile more.
“Of course, baby. Does he have a name?”
Takashi turned over the tag on his collar, “Miyu, you’re such a good boy, Miyu!” He wiggled on the floor and wagged his tail. He turned his attention back to the attendant, “We will take the boy! Miyu, our new son!!” She chuckled and started to help them through the adoption process. Ken and Mitsuya positively beamed at each other.
———
After everything was said and done, and Miyu was leashed and paid for, Takashi gave Ken a bear hug, the hardest he could muster (which wasn’t much to the much larger man, but he appreciated the effort).
“Thank you thank you thank you for today, sweetie, I love you, you’re the best ever,” Takashi said into his chest, not ready to leave the hug yet. Miyu sniffed at his shoes and around the two of them, ready to explore more of the city.
“Anything for you, Takashi,” he pressed a kiss to the top of his head and squeezed harder before pulling away to start the walk home. Now able to look him in the eyes, he said quietly, “I love you more than anything.” Takashi jumped on his tiptoes to kiss Ken’s cheek, making him blush.
Stepping out of the park, Takashi held the leash in his right hand and Ken’s hand in his left, a little family on their way to start an adventure.
———
Now outside their apartment, Ken picked up Miyu and held him inside his sweater, “I’m not 100% sure our landlord’s policy on pets… so for now he can just be our little secret, okay?” Takashi nodded, “I can ask her about it later!” he replied. They discretely walked into the building, then their apartment: mission successful!
“Hold on, he doesn’t have any food or anything, does he?” Takashi asked.
“Okay, one last surprise,” Ken teased as he placed Miyu on the floor, then walked to their linen closet. He pulled out a white and purple bed, two bowls for water and food, and a bag of dog food, placing them on the floor with a triumphant look on his face.
“You’re amazing,” Takashi said, walking over for another big hug and kiss.
“You ready to train the hell out of this dog?”
Miyu barked happily, tiny tail wagging at maximum speeds. Their family got just a little bit bigger today.