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“An end-of-the-year party?” Uramichi warily asked in response to Mr. Derekida’s invitation.
“Yes! Tomorrow night! Everyone’s required to come! I won't take no for an answer!” Mr. Derekida waved his rolled-up script around and turned to walk away, emphasizing his lack of interest in Uramichi’s potential protests.
Uramichi resigned himself to his fate and begrudgingly accepted the invitation as Mr. Derekida exited, having already mentally prepared himself for this year’s event after last year’s fiasco with the awful life-size doll. Thankfully, he hadn’t actually forgotten about the party this year — he was too scarred from the past. Before the next group of kids were due to come in, he decided to text you a reminder about the party, including a “You really don’t have to come if you don’t want to” for good measure. Pocketing his phone, he stepped out into the corridor, aiming to use the restroom during this short break in between shows.
You waited in front of the venue for Uramichi, not wanting to enter without your sole reason for being there in the first place, and checked the time on your phone— 6:45pm , 15 minutes early. Leaning against a nearby railing, the December chill settled around you, attempting to infiltrate the charcoal wool coat you wore, doing its best to serve as your armor on this snowy night. Though it was largely successful at keeping you warm, there was still the innate need to tuck in your chin, to retreat into your warm black turtleneck, as if you had actually just been a turtle this entire time.
Before long, Uramichi’s silhouette appeared in your peripheral and his voice drew you out of your burrowing, “Sorry about making you wait. Have you been here long?”
“No, it’s only been a few minutes since I got here, actually,” you reassured him and nodded towards the entrance, “But we’re both always obscenely early to, like, everything anyway. Let’s head inside, yeah? It’s cold out here.”
“Well, maybe if you had also worn a hat and a scarf, you wouldn’t be in this situation.”
“Hey, I styled my hair for a reason. I’m not letting it get ruined and go to waste.”
“Fine, fine,” Uramichi conceded and guided you to the door, where you both dropped off your outerwear at the coat check after entering the seemingly upscale venue.
As you headed towards the ballroom where the part was set to be held, you let your gaze settle on Uramichi's outfit for the night — a simple navy suit with a black tie, fitting him surprisingly well for someone who's usual business attire is a slew of absurd costumes.
He turned to you, feeling the odd sensation of being watched, "What is it?"
"Nothing, I'm just appreciating the view."
"Yeah, it's a nice building."
"That's not—"
"I know, I know," he laughed while covering his mouth, "Thank you. You look good too."
You strutted forward on your "runway" in the corridor, stopped in place, and spun around dramatically, making sure not to hit or block anyone else, showing off your look for the night: all-black with a velvet, burgundy blazer serving as a pop of color. Tapered dress pants, turtleneck shirt, crew socks, oxford shoes, and a matching leather belt to pull it all together.
"Thank you," you smiled at him as he walked towards you, then snaked your arm around his and headed into the ballroom together.
Under his breath, he muttered a "we're in public" and punctuated it with a sigh, before he once again felt stares in him. Except, this time, it was more than one set of eyes.
"Uramichi?"
"Hey, who's that?"
"Uramichi? You're NOT a 40-year-old virgin?"
"Nice to see you again," Kumatani approached you and offered a glass of champagne.
"Thank you, Kumatani," you accepted and clinked your glass with his, "how have you been?"
"Wait, Kumatani, you know each other?" Usahara stood, dumbfounded, gaze shifting between you, Uramichi, and Kumatani, not knowing who to settle on.
"Yeah! Kumatani lends us his DVDs sometimes," you offered and turned back to Kumatani, "by the way, the new salmon movie was hilariously bad — we watched it last night. I can't wait for the next one."
"Can someone please fill me in here?" Usahara was desperate, pleading for a crumb of context.
"Nice to meet you, my name is Utano Tadano," she stepped forward and offered a slight bow.
"Ah, yes, I've seen you on the show! It's so good to finally meet you in person," you reciprocated, bowing in return.
"And this is Tobikichi Usahara, the annoying bunny," Uramichi sighed, relenting to Usahara's pleading face.
"I'd like the 'annoying bunny' to be a little more polite and introduce himself, thank you," you folded your arms across your chest, taking care not to spill your champagne, and raised your eyebrow in anticipation.
"Oh! Right," Usahara bowed deeply, frazzled, "my name is Tobikichi Usahara! I'm 29 years old, and I'm the bunny mascot, Usao-kun! I went to school at Nippon Sport Science University and was Uramichi's roommate briefly! My birthday is March 3rd! I'm 6'—"
"Pfft, that's enough, I was just wondering if you'd actually do it," you struggled to contain your laughter and sent him an apologetic glance, "I'm sorry, Uramichi has already told me so much about you, and I've seen you on the show too of course."
"Wait, Uramichi told you about me? What did he say?" Usahara panicked, staring at Uramichi, who had taken that moment to exchange new champagne glasses for the both of you.
"Nothing too bad, don't worry, nice to meet you," you bowed slightly and accepted your refill from Uramichi.
"Anyway," Utano stepped in and took a hold of your attention, while Uramichi tried to fend off Usahara, "You seem familiar. Have we met before? How did you two meet?"
"We probably have met before, actually, because my company collaborated with Together with Maman before."
"Wait, really?"
"Yeah, I work with the Toyota Research Institute location here as a roboticist — I was transferred from the office in Massachussetts — and we have an initiative to encourage children to enter STEM. So, we partnered with the show briefly as a test run to incorporate some STEM-related aspects into the show. I met with Uramichi fairly frequently, and I met the full cast once or twice."
"Oh right! I remember seeing you meet with Mr. Derekida too."
"Yeah, I had to talk to him quite a lot since he's the director," you grimaced at the memories, "unfortunately."
"What made you come to Japan?"
"Hmm," you rubbed your chin, mulling it over even though you had been asked this same question so frequently that you lost count, "curiosity? I had gotten a little fed up with many things in America and searched for opportunities to relocate — which led to me moving here about two years ago."
"And how do you like it here?"
"It's okay, there are problems here too, as with anywhere of course, but just different problems."
"Are you planning on moving back?"
You glanced at Uramichi, then back to Utano, "Not right now, but who knows what the future holds."
"You found a reason to stick around?" She smiled, also glancing at Uramichi.
"Something like that," you smiled back, "Anyway, let's save Usahara from Uramichi."
"Or we could let him suffer."
"Oh, we have plenty of time for that later, don't worry."
You two rejoined the rest of the group, where Iketeru had also made an appearance after having been saved by Kumatani from the clutches of alcohol enthusiasts. After providing introductions, your socialization was cut short by a microphone blaring on stage. Feedback.
A voice finally made its way through the speakers, "Thank you everyone for coming to our annual get-together!"
Your little group rolled their eyes.
"We want to thank you all for your hard work and success this past year!"
Another set of eye rolls.
"Now, let's start our game of annual BINGO!"
Uramichi shuddered, suffering flashbacks from last year's BINGO. You sidled up against him, hopefully providing some comfort and reassurance.
"Next, we have another shiitake mushroom growing kit this year! Let's see… B52!"
You looked down at your board and, lo and behold, BINGO.
"Ah, I have BINGO!" You raised your board in the air and went up to receive the prize.
"Thank you for joining us. It's always nice to collaborate with other companies," Mr. Derekida greeted you while handing you the prize.
"And thank you for your hospitality and allowing me to participate in the party!"
You returned to Uramichi's side and whispered, "This will go nice next to your shiso plant."
"Huh? My plant?"
"Yeah, we can set this up at your place! I know how much you love this stuff."
"But you won it."
"Yeah, but am I ever going to actually use it? Plus, I'm at your place more frequently nowadays anyway."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, of course, it's just a mushroom kit," you rubbed his shoulder for extra assurance and turned your attention back to the game.
"O42!"
"Ah, Uramichi," you pointed at his board, "you have BINGO!"
The prize was… an Uramichi plushie.
"I don't want that."
"What if I said I want it?"
"Why would you…"
"It's you," you looked up at him, a certain soft twinkle in your eyes that still makes his heart skip a beat even after all this time, "Plus, it's pretty cute."
Uramichi sighed and relented, "Okay fine—"
It was there.
The mini plush Uramichi was already in his hands, staring up at him with its little beady eyes.
Hanbee had already appeared beside you two, bestowing Uramichi with a miniature version of himself, before Uramichi could make a move.
Taking the plush version of him, you handed him the mushroom growing kit, swapping your spoils of BINGO war.
"I will treasure him," you commented, determined.
"That's a little much."
"It's okay, anything for you."
He was caught off guard by your response. It was so subtle, so automatic. An ingrained sense of devotion. Blankly staring at you, mushroom kit in hand, he felt a renewed sense of his own devotion. One might even call it a clichéd moment of falling in love all over again.
He hummed in response, reaching behind your ear in imitation of fixing your hair, staring at you with a cemented adoration in his gaze, savoring this rare moment of feeling whole.
"Are you okay?" You turned towards him at the sudden touch, eyebrows creased in concern.
"Yeah," he let his hand slide down to your nape, thumb gently rubbing against the side of your neck, "Very much so."
"Okay," you turned back to the stage and muttered to him, "but let me know if we need to leave."
The subtlety in your concern melted his heart. Not "if you need to leave", but rather "if we need to leave". That you two had become a team. That he had overheard you say he was your reasoning for continuing to stay. That you thought he was worth it.
"Yeah, of course," he drew his hand away from your neck, lest anyone be privy to your precious moment, and also turned his attention back to the stage, small smile settled on his face.
After the remaining prizes and awards had been presented and after you two had bid your farewells, you found yourselves on the subway back to his apartment. Head nestled against his shoulder, you closed your eyes, recharging from the festivities.
"Tired?"
"Mmm," you hummed affirmatively in lieu of a vocal response.
"Almost home, don't worry."
"Mhmm."
"Try not to fall asleep before we get there."
"Mhmm."
He sighed and leaned closer to you, positioning himself to accommodate you, taking advantage of the semi-private environment in the less crowded night train.
As the stops came and went, so did you. Fighting to stay awake, you blearily looked up at Uramichi from your position on his shoulder, then you squinted at the upcoming stops.
"Only two more?"
"Yeah, you should wake up, regain your senses," he helped you sit up and adjust your clothes as the stop neared.
"Thank you, you make a comfy pillow."
"I'm glad."
"You shall resume your pillow duties when we get home."
"Of course, my liege."
His joke surprised you, drawing a louder than necessary laugh from you. Covering your mouth and trying to silence yourself, you buried your face into his shoulder once again, your own body shaking in suppressed amusement.
The train came to a stop and he stood up, holding his hand out towards you, "Let's go, your highness."
"Oh shut up," you held his hand and quit stifling your joy, no longer needing to be considerate to the other late night riders, letting out your laughter.
The cool breeze hit your cheeks, leaving you with a peace you hadn't experienced in too long. A deep-seeded exhaustion being cleansed by these simple moments of happiness. These little joys that the world had granted you. Out of the corner of your eye, you noticed Uramichi's own contentment. His own peace seeping into your body through your joined hands. You pulled him closer, buried both your hands in your coat pocket, kissed his cheek.
You giddily climbed the stairs to his apartment, stumbling inside, locking the door, too tired to rearrange the shoes neatly, but not too tired to wash up and help each other unwind for the night.
He laid in his bed against the wall, lifting the covers as a silent invitation. You nestled in. Surrounded yourself with warmth. A simple "I love you" escaped your lips. An "I love you too" responded to your declaration, wrapped around it — entwined like your legs beneath the comforter.
"Were you serious that you decided to stay in Japan for longer because of me?"
"Uramichi, when do I ever lie?"
"When you say you don't want seconds."
"Oh shush," you wrapped your arms around him tighter, "that's not real lying! I'm being polite."
"You can ask for seconds," he kissed the top of your head.
Another kiss to your cheek.
"Or thirds."
A lingering kiss to your neck.
"Or fourths."
An open-mouthed kiss to your throat.
"Or fifths."
"Okay, I get it," you whispered, breathy, running your fingers through his hair.
"Good," he kissed your lips gently, "I'm happy you're here. Rather, I've been happy since you came into my life."
“How cheesy.”
“I thought you were sleepy,” he redirected, tucking your head under his chin.
“Alright alright,” you snuggled closer, appreciating the coziness on this cold December night. "Good night, Uramichi."
"Good night."
Ah yes, this was definitely sticking around for.