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Walking through his university, Baji found it weird to see so many stands with students selling yellow flowers. He wondered what the occasion was, but didn’t pay much attention to it.
At least, not until he heard some girls talking about it, rather loudly—he recognized them from a couple of his classes.
“How romantic,” one of them said, yearning in her voice. “Do you think your boyfriend will give you some this year?”
The other blushed. “Maybe… I was thinking of buying a few for him as well. We’re getting serious, you know?”
Baji approached them, curious. “Hey,” he caught their attention. “What’s up with all the flowers?”
The two girls exchanged glances and giggled. “Don’t you know, Baji-kun? If you give your partner yellow flowers on the 21st of March, it means you hope to be together for a long time.”
“Isn’t it beautiful? I wish I had someone to do things like these with, too.”
Baji stared at the bouquets, all lovely and well cared for, and immediately, Chifuyu came to his mind.
The thought of his boyfriend, pretty as he was, holding those yellow flowers against himself, cheeks flushed, that precious smile he adored so much brightening up his day; it killed him in the best way. He wanted to see it. He needed to, now that the thought had imbedded itself in his mind.
“How much?” He asked, impulsively, without caring about ending up penniless because of it.
His two classmates looked at him slyly. “Are you going to buy flowers for your girl? That’s cute.”
It was kind of embarrassing, admitting the softer sides of himself. But for Chifuyu, there was nothing he wouldn’t do, whether that be buying flowers or baking his favourite cookies for Valentine’s Day. Because those cheesy gestures made Chifuyu happy, made him feel loved, and oh, that’s all Baji could ever care about.
He shook his head and stepped closer to the stand. “For my boy.”
Butterflies exploded in his guts the moment he said it out loud. My boy.
The two girls looked surprised at his rebuke, but didn’t make a fuss about it, either.
“Didn’t see that coming,” one of them blurted. “But I hope all goes well for both of you. I'm sure he'll like the flowers.”
A smile formed on Baji's lips. He didn't even bite back that dumb, besotted smile, as he would've done years ago. He nodded, grateful for the sentiment. "I hope so, too."
“He’s lucky to have you, Baji-kun.”
Baji snorted, a bit mockingly, amusement lacing his tone. “No way,” he denied. “I’m the lucky one.”
He bought the bouquet without hesitation. It was beautiful. He couldn’t wait.
I want to see you, Chifuyu.
But Chifuyu was working and would be until the pet store closed. Baji knew he should drive home and spend the rest of the afternoon studying, but—
But I want to see him.
And Baji wasn't known for his patience. He tied up the flowers to his bike, careful not to mess them up and get Chifuyu’s gift ruined, and headed towards the pet store.
Reaching his destination, he felt a bit reticent to go in with the flowers in hand. He knew Kazutora would make fun of him for it—the bastard—but, in the end, Baji bought them for his boyfriend. And Chifuyu would love them and gush about it afterwards, and that’s all that mattered to him.
Entering the store, he only saw Kazutora lazing around behind the counter.
“Tora! You know where Chifuyu is?” He asked, not even bothering with a proper greeting.
Kazutora stared at him, startled, until his gaze fell into the bouquet, and amusement shined through. “You bought him flowers?”
Baji blushed and shrugged, avoiding that impish stare. “It’s the 21st of March.” Was all he said, his eyes roaming the whole place, seeking out the owner of his heart (as corny as that sounded).
His best friend laughed at him. “He’s in the back room, handling some documents.”
Baji started striding across the store before Kazutora even finished his sentence.
“Good luck, Romeo!”
“Shut your mouth, dumbass.” He answered as he passed by, using all his willpower not to punch him.
And, behind the door, there he was: with his recently dyed, silky black hair—in that same hairstyle Baji was responsible for—and his eyebrows furrowed, glaring at the papers scattered before him.
“Fuyu,” Baji called him, his boyfriend's name rolling out of his tongue in a soft, sweet whisper.
Chifuyu lifted his head after hearing his voice, shocked. “Baji-san? What are you doing here?”
He smirked. “You don’t look too happy to see me.”
They walked up to each other like magnets in orbit, erasing the distance between them, incapable of bearing with it.
“You know I am,” his boyfriend answered, smiling. Baji swallowed the urge to kiss him, to bask in that smile and keep it for himself, tucking it away in a corner of his heart. “I was surprised, that’s all.”
Chifuyu lifted his arms and circled them around Baji's neck, leaning on him. Baji hugged him back immediately, embracing him by the waist, adoring how it felt under his hands, thin as it was. He pressed their foreheads together, staring for a few seconds, entranced, a word away from giving his boyfriend the world if he so asked.
“Today, at university, something caught my eye,” he whispered, not wanting to break the intimacy building up around them.
“Yeah?” His boyfriend played along, a grin fighting to surface.
Leaning away, he brought the flowers to the front.
“Happy 21st of March, my love.”
Chifuyu gaped, amazed, gaze switching up between the flowers and Baji. His beautiful aquamarine eyes shone with admiration, overflowing with affection.
“Baji-san…” He muttered as he took the bouquet in his hands, enthralled.
Baji could only find delight in his boyfriend’s rosy cheeks, his heart beating loudly, wanting to engrave the image in his brain.
Chifuyu looked lovely while holding flowers. Sparkling, enchanting, and, above all, happy.
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? The only line from a poem he ever memorized, Chifuyu reciting it for a week straight during their high school days. Baji didn’t remember the rest, but that one sentence echoed in his mind, resonated with Chifuyu's smile. Radiant and warm; like the cats they took care of, Baji couldn’t help but long to find shelter in it for the rest of his days.
“You know what it means, right?”
Baji almost scoffed at the question. “A couple of classmates told me about it. And the stands were there, and I just… ‘Cuz you like these types of stuff, and I like making you happy.” He explained himself, clumsy with his words as he’d always been, noticing his ears burn.
Chifuyu took a moment to leave the bouquet on the table, before grabbing him by the shoulders and kissing him. It was a slow, tender kiss, full of devotion, with a tint of helplessness, here I am, at your mercy; here you are, I love you.
“I love you.” It flew from his mouth when they broke the kiss, unintentional but true.
Upon hearing the confession, Chifuyu giggled. It wasn’t the first time they had said those words to each other, but he couldn’t help the happiness that overcame him every time he heard them coming from Baji.
“Truth is,” he stopped for a second, getting away from Baji, bringing something out from beneath the table, “today, I also bought you yellow flowers.”
Baji stared at the bouquet in Chifuyu’s hands, different from his, but only slightly. Taking it, marvelling at it, Baji brought it close to his chest.
“I love you, too, Baji-san. More than you can imagine.”
Happiness is intoxicating. As if your heart is about to explode, it makes you lose your senses. It's overwhelming, to love someone to such an extent.
Baji wouldn’t change it for the world.
“I want to spend my life with you.” Baji confessed, words stumbling to come out of his throat.
The gasp Chifuyu let out made him tighten his grip, pulling him closer.
“Baji-san…!”
Baji smiled, head over heels for the sunlit boy before him. “I’m not lying. Stay with me, Chifuyu. Forever.”
Don’t ever leave me alone.
If it was Chifuyu, then Baji wanted to be selfish for once. He wanted his warmth, smiles, love, devotion; all of it, he wanted for himself and no one else.
Look at what you’ve done to me.
“Of course,” Chifuyu declared back, burying his hands in Baji’s black strands. “I will follow you until the end of the world, Baji-san. Always, even if death do us part.”
Burrowing himself into Chifuyu’s neck, Baji left a kiss over his pulse, light and devoted. Wanting to melt together, never to part, even when death befell them.
“Soon,” he declared, clinging onto his boyfriend, the idea forming in his mind. “Once I graduate, I’ll ask you to marry me. Until then, please,” he pleaded, his voice on the verge of breaking. “Wait for me, and stay.”
Chifuyu’s hands trembled, and Baji was left breathless when he felt him nod. Saying yes, with vigour, eyes tearful.
“You’ve just decided that, haven’t you?” He asked, almost incredulous, but not quite, because it was Baji, after all, wasn’t he? Even if it was said in the heat of the moment, Chifuyu knew he would follow through.
“Yes,” he admitted with a tremulous chuckle.
“Idiot,” it was said with such gentleness, an insult had never sounded sweeter. “I’ll wait for you. But make sure to ask me, okay?” Chifuyu rested his cheek against his head and whispered: “It’s a promise, now.”
Baji took a glimpse at the yellow flowers resting on the table, and lifted his head to kiss Chifuyu on the lips once more.
I want to spend my life with you. I want our time together to be endless. I want you to be the person I wake up with in the morning, and the one I go to bed with at night.
“Count on it.”