Chapter Text
Niragi watched the sleeping figure next to him and felt a stupidly warm and fuzzy feeling in his chest. Was this the cheesy shit all those songs talked about?
Chishiya’s hair was in a lazy bun, most of it sticking everywhere at this point. He was buried in half a dozen pillows and twisted in a way that could not have been comfortable, but then again, he was always weird.
Niragi smiled to himself and quietly slipped out of the bed, being careful not to wake the blond. He pulled on a shirt and made his way to the kitchen.
They had met in the hospital last year. After the Tokyo meteor disaster, they’d both been clinically dead for a full minute and woken up in the same hospital room. There was an immediate connection between them that they couldn’t explain. It felt like they knew each other from somewhere, but couldn’t for the life of them figure out where.
Chishiya seemed more interested in finding out. At first, Niragi just wanted to be left alone. He was never very good at small talk or making friends and nearly dying wasn’t going to change that. He was in a lot of pain and the drugs they were giving him at the hospital just weren’t doing enough.
Chishiya persisted though, asking questions and telling him about his life. Nobody came to visit him either and Niragi guessed he was just lonely and bored.
Slowly, Niragi started answering. They told him he would have to stay in the hospital for at least a month and if he had to lie still and quiet for that long, he would actually go crazy.
So, they got to talking. To his surprise, Niragi noticed they seemed to have quite a bit in common. They had very different backgrounds, but their personalities seemed to match. They both preferred to keep to themselves, they were smart and had a similar sense of humor.
Most of all, they both needed to always be right, so they spent a lot of time arguing about whatever. At first, it was witty and sarcastic, but as time went on, the banter turned more friendly and playful.
After about a week, Chishiya was allowed to get out of bed and walk around for a bit. Niragi was secretly jealous, itching to get out already, until Chishiya came back with a chessboard and a deck of cards, asking if he was up for playing for a bit.
Something about the cards unnerved him, so they played chess instead. It was rare for Niragi to find an opponent that actually challenged him, but Chishiya did. They both won some and lost some, impressed by the other’s strategy.
By the time Chishiya was told he could leave the hospital, Niragi was sad to lose his company. He would still have to stay for at least another couple of weeks as his burns and various other injuries healed and now he would be all alone.
“You know, we could hang out sometime, when you get out of here. If you want,” Chishiya said. Niragi was stirred from his thoughts and turned to look at him. He blinked, thinking about it for a moment.
“Yeah, sure,” he finally said. Chishiya smiled and reached out his hand. Niragi just stared at it for a moment, confused.
“Phone,” Chishiya said.
“Oh, right,” Niragi stammered, took it from the nightstand and handed it to the blond, who quickly tapped in his number and handed it back.
“Shuntaro?” Niragi asked, squinting at the screen. After so long, he’d had to take out his contacts and didn’t have his glasses with him. They had used last names until then, it just seeming more natural.
Chishiya winked at him. “Call me,” he said as he lifted his bag over his shoulder and walked out.
When Niragi was discharged and got home, he dropped his bag on the floor and slumped down on his couch. It was strange being back after so long. He didn’t know what he should do. He still had another two weeks off work to make sure he was fully healed and he was already bored out of his mind.
So, he called Chishiya and soon, he showed up at his door. Apparently he had nothing to do either. Might as well be bored together.
It didn’t take long for their budding friendship to turn into something else. Chishiya had told him he was gay pretty early on when Niragi had asked something about girls. Chishiya was apparently very comfortable with it and had always known it. The knowledge had sent a spark of interest through Niragi at the time, but he had ignored it. Deep down, he knew he wasn’t exactly straight, but it wasn’t something he wanted others to know or had really even accepted himself.
It turned out narrowly escaping death did wonders for self-acceptance and soon, their game nights turned into something more intimate.
For a while, it was just casual and fun. Their attempts at watching a movie always ended up in making out on the couch, movie long forgotten. Chishiya was into some weird stuff in the bedroom, but Niragi wasn’t going to complain.
He also quickly found out Chishiya was an amazing cook. Niragi pretty much lived off frozen pizzas and takeout until the blond questioned how he was still alive and insisted on making something for him. When Niragi got his first taste of his cooking, he damn near asked the man to marry him.
Chishiya spent more and more time at his place but they didn’t really talk about it. Months passed and Chishiya hardly even went home anymore, but still they danced around the subject, until finally Niragi couldn’t take it anymore and asked him straight up what they were.
“What would you like us to be?” Chishiya asked instead.
Niragi sighed. Once again, he couldn’t get a straight answer. Chishiya was affectionate and cuddly like a cat, but just as aloof and hard to read.
“Don’t make me say it,” Niragi said. It was fucking embarrassing and cliché.
Chishiya shrugged. “You asked.”
Niragi bit his lip. It was true, but did the guy always have to be right?
“I just… I like, you know. Spending time with you.”
Chishiya only blinked at him.
“And I’d like to… keep spending time with you. If you want.”
A smirk spread on Chishiya’s lips.
“Are you asking me to be your boyfriend?”
Niragi’s face immediately heated up and Chishiya only looked more amused.
“Well, I mean. I guess?”
Chishiya let out a laugh. “You’re so cute when you get all hot and bothered,” he said and closed the space between them. He got on his tiptoes and kissed Niragi, short and sweet.
“Yes,” Chishiya finally said and placed another peck on his lips.
Today, he’d decided he would try and surprise Chishiya with breakfast in bed. He was hopeless in the kitchen but he had watched Chishiya carefully and thought he might be able to work something out.
He shuffled around the room, careful not to make too much noise. He had eggs, flour, bacon and cabbage and figured he could try those pancakes Chishiya liked. How hard could it be?
Very hard, as it turned out. In just a matter of minutes, his kitchen was a mess and the batter just wouldn’t mix. In the end, he decided it would just have to do and threw it all in the pan.
He hadn’t noticed how much noise he was making until Chishiya appeared in the doorway, wearing one of his shirts. It was way too big on him, but the blond seemed to like it, so Niragi had told him he could just keep it.
“Oh shit, you weren’t supposed to wake up,” Niragi groaned and nearly knocked the carton of eggs off the counter.
“What, ever?” Chishiya joked.
“I wanted to surprise you,” Niragi explained as he tried to scrape the sorry excuse for breakfast off the pan.
“Oh, you did,” Chishiya said as he walked over, peeking over his shoulder curiously. “I didn’t know you could turn on the stove."
Niragi knew he was joking, but he still felt stupid. Why did he think he could do this?
“Oh come on, I’m sure it’s good,” Chishiya said as he fetched plates from the cabinet and brought them to him.
“Sit,” Niragi encouraged as he plated the food and brought it to the counter in front of the other before turning to the fridge to find some juice.
Finally, he sat down across Chishiya and looked at him expectantly.
“Well, try it.”
Chishiya gave him a fond smile and dug in, carefully chewing the first bite. Niragi watched his face and immediately knew he’d fucked up.
“You hate it,” he said, feeling defeated.
Chishiya didn’t say anything until he swallowed the food and looked at him.
“I don’t hate it,” he said. “I love that you wanted to do this for me.”
“But,” Niragi said, knowing it was coming.
“It’s just sort of – salty,” Chishiya said slowly, then saw Niragi’s face and rushed to add, “But it’s good! Really, you did well.”
Niragi got up and turned back to the stove, taking out another pan and slapping it down a little harder than necessary. He couldn’t even make a simple breakfast without messing it up.
“I’m starting over,” he said stubbornly.
He heard Chishiya get up and soon, felt arms wrap around his waist from behind.
“Honestly, it’s fine. Learning to use the right amount of seasoning takes time,” Chishiya said and placed a gentle kiss on his shoulder blade. “You did great, Suguru. You don’t have to start over.”
“But I want to,” Niragi said through gritted teeth. He knew Chishiya would eat anything he tried to make, but he wanted it to be perfect. He still had some half done batter left, so he just poured it in the pan and didn’t touch the salt shaker this time.
“Need help?”
“No, I got it.”
They stayed like that for a moment, Chishiya simply hugging him and watching him work in silence.
"What do you think?" Niragi finally asked when he flipped the pancake.
“I think I’m in love with you,” Chishiya mumbled against his skin.
Niragi froze, his entire body going stiff. Chishiya waited. Niragi’s heart was beating out of his chest and his mind was racing a thousand miles a minute. He’d felt it for a long time now, but didn’t quite know how to put it into words. Apparently, Chishiya did.
The thought scared him, but he knew it shouldn’t. They’d practically lived together for months now. It’s not like this would change anything.
Finally, Niragi drew in a breath, put down the spatula and turned around in Chishiya’s arms, leaning his forehead against his.
“Shun,” he whispered, and after another beat, “Me too.”
A wide smile spread on Chishiya’s face and another wave of that dumb warm feeling washed over him. Goddamn, he was so screwed. But then Chishiya pulled him down for a searing kiss and he forgot about anything else.
When Chishiya finally pulled away, his eyes shifted over Niragi’s shoulder to the stove.
“Your pancakes are burning.”