Work Text:
NOV. 15, 2021
Yuzuru enters the yakiniku restaurant covered head to toe in black; black jacket, black mask, black hoodie draped over his head and black backpack. His glasses are black too, a model he carried with him through 2019 forward and he's pretty sure with this get-up, he'd either succeed at not being recognized or be totally mistaken for a suspicious character. This worry seems to go unfounded anyway as he makes his way through the entrance dining area, groups littered across the tables and minding their own business.
He finds the hallway leading into the back, where he'd been told by Hagino held some guy waiting for him; he made sure to tell him he wasn't interested in meeting fans, even if as a favor between friends but the swimmer was strangely insistent, unable to give out any information on who exactly was requesting an audience while determined to get him on his way even through call.
He’s lucky he’d been craving yakiniku lately– still, going out while a pandemic’s still raging outside isn’t the wisest idea when his health was a priority and Japanese Nationals were a month and a half away. He could be at the ice rink right now, polishing his new short program or hopefully making progress with his quadruple axel…
Oh well. Yakiniku is a worthy reason to get out, anyways. He deserved a treat now and then.
Walking through the hallway, he spots the door at the end of the passage, recalling it was the one to the right he was supposed to enter. Part of him was nervous, if he had to be honest; he’s never quite made a habit of meeting with friends, especially during the skating season… Scratch that- he had no idea who was waiting behind that door and though he trusted Hagino not to leave him in a room with any random fan looking to live out their fantasies through a date with their favorite athlete, he didn’t quite know what to expect nor how to brace himself for what was to come. He could only hope whoever it was was harmless… not that he couldn’t fight back, if it came down to it. Taking a rain check briefly flashed through his mind as his socked feet brought him closer to the door, but doing so would only prolong what was to come, given Hagino’s persistence.
He’s standing before the sliding door just as he wraps up his thoughts. He takes a deep breath and checks the time on his phone: 7 PM, just when he was asked to arrive. It was only polite he maintained punctuality and he’s glad he skipped out on his afternoon nap to make it here on time. He silently hopes the other appreciates that effort and grasps at the handle of the sliding door, squinting as the orange light from the room hits his eyes, brighter than he’d expected– he looks down at the bench before him, empty- until his sight lands on the seat across from it, the silhouette occupying surprisingly more than half the supposed bench space.
Once his eyes adjust, the silhouette becomes clearer and slowly, he realizes… It's Shohei Ohtani, a hand halfway through delivering a piece of cooked meat into his slightly open mouth, now gaping as his just-as-wide eyes look up at Yuzuru, still standing at the doorway.
The cooked meat drops from Shohei’s chopsticks and as if an alarm sounded in his head, Shohei’s mouth closes and he gets up from his seat at a record pace, bowing before Yuzuru could even comprehend the gravity of the situation and just who he was asked to meet.
He registers the back of a head of dark brown hair enter his vision and his ears stop ringing just in time to hear Shohei’s words, “Good afternoon, Hanyu-kun! Thank you for complying with my request to meet with you today.”
He rises from his formerly-bowing position and meets his eyes, Yuzuru briefly noting how far up he had to crane his neck back if only to maintain eye contact. “I hope you had a safe trip,” Shohei says and when he spots a blur of movement in his lower peripheral, he looks down to see a tanned hand stretched out before him, awaiting what he assumes is a handshake. Yuzuru lifts his own hand to meet his, instinct coursing through his veins while his mind struggles to keep up and as he raises his head again to peer at the other’s face, he finds Shohei smiling down at him, gaze warm enough he feels a heat rush through his skin reaching all the way down to his toes.
When Shohei turns back to return to his seat, Yuzuru belatedly realizes his hand was just in the other’s and spares a second to regret not paying more attention to the feeling beyond the leftover warmth that enveloped almost all the surface of his skin. His eyes follow where Shohei had gone and sees his (warm, big) hand gesturing to the seat across from him, Shohei speaking again in that soft and gentle way he had, just earlier. “Please, take a seat.”
Yuzuru complies although his feet now feel like bricks. He observes Shohei’s attire and feels severely underdressed, noting how he’s garbed in a grey suit and black pinstripe necktie, his hair styled so his face was unobstructed and showing off just how incredibly handsome he was. It doesn’t slip past him how the coat strains around his shoulders, now notably wider than the last time he’d seen them in person.
Once seated, Yuzuru feels the need to explain himself: “I apologize; had I known you’d be coming in full attire, I’d have dressed better for the occasion-” he feels a little silly now, realizing the somewhat professional air of the restaurant as he walked the halls on his way to their private room and Shohei raises his hands up, waving just fast enough to not pass off as nonchalance.
“I understand, Hanyu-kun. You were worried about being spotted by the media. I don’t mind at all- in fact, I’m just glad I get to see you again after so long.”
He feels the telltale signs of a blush when his cheeks heat up at his final remark. Shohei is smiling again and in the back of his mind, he thinks Shohei’s gaze hadn’t let up at all since the moment he noticed they were droopier than usual compared to when he’d watch his interviews online.
Maybe he’s just tired?
“To tell you the truth, I actually just came from a Press Conference in Tokyo before our meeting.”
Oh, he’s just tired.
Wait- Tokyo?
“Ohtani-san, we’re in Iwate..?” Yuzuru questions, recalling the 2-hour Shinkansen ride from Tokyo to Sendai that he’d often take. Sendai’s on the way to Iwate, so that would make it at least an hour longer.
“I rushed here right after.”
“But– your suit; you hadn’t stopped by your home first to change before our meeting?” His head tips slightly as he asks. Not that Yuzuru minded. Not at all.
Shohei raises his hand from their position on the table, moving to scratch at the back of his head abashedly as he turns away. “I… wanted to look good for you.”
His heart skips. His lips form a pout around his words, “You would’ve looked good in anything. With shoulders like that, you make everything look runway-ready. Whereas I look like I showed up to see you wearing whatever I’d found in my closet…” the stretchy fabric of his training UA rubs against his skin from under his jacket. He figured it was alright to go out wearing it when he hadn’t even broken a sweat in the 30 minutes he spent on the ice before leaving, but now, he's not so sure.
Shohei’s eyes crinkle and his voice is the sound of reassurance when he tells him not to worry, “With a figure like that, you look good in anything, too.”
Yuzuru's mind blanks, memories flashing back to that first moment Shohei told him in person that he believed they were born in the Hanyu Generation. Last time, he hadn’t been quite as brave, unable to meet his eyes.
This time, Shohei's the picture of gentle confidence. He looks sure in every move he makes and beyond that stint earlier as he announced his intention in dressing up, not once did he pause to find the words to say, unlike last time, when introducing himself.
He swallows. His tummy is alight with butterflies. Excitement or a sense of impending danger, he wasn’t quite sure. All he knows is that Shohei’s changed.
He can’t stop his smile and giggle from forcing his eyelids shut and through his breaths, he manages a small thank you, Shohei imitating him with a chuckle of his own. He points out that Yuzuru hasn’t taken off his mask in the time they’d spent briefly chatting, and the skater moves to take it off after responding an affirmative “Ah, you’re right,”
He pulls the elastic from behind his ears, fingers delicate as he removes the fabric sitting atop his nose from under his glasses and he looks up to meet Shohei’s gaze once more, Shohei carefully watching him. He smiles and teases the other; “Better?”
“Infinitely better.” Shohei’s eyes droop slightly more as he says it, and Yuzuru can’t stop the wide smile from appearing on his lips, hands still holding his mask as he instinctively covers his face in shyness.
“You weren’t this direct before!” Yuzuru exclaims, voice somewhat muffled through the mask and skin but Shohei catches it loud and clear. “It’s like winning a Japan Series, moving to America and having an MVP-worthy season changed you. What are they teaching you in America that you couldn’t learn here?” Shohei surprises himself by laughing at Yuzuru’s disbelief and the statements that followed it. “You keep up with my seasons?”
“Don’t change the subject!” Yuzuru exclaims again, although it’s hard to read it as anything but embarrassment when his exposed ears are flashing red. Shohei is pleased at the sight, a large he’s cute occupying his mind.
“If you really wanna know, I’ll tell you in a bit, okay? I was planning to tell you, anyway,” Shohei reaches forward to wrap his fingers around Yuzuru’s (soft) hands, coaxing them down as he bends forward and low to peer up at Yuzuru’s face, still too shy to look forward.
He’s pretty like this, pink-faced and pouty.
“Why don’t we eat a little and chat some more before then?” Yuzuru finally meets his eyes where they peek from under his eyelashes and Shohei feels his adoration crawl back tenfold onto his face, where it resided the moment Yuzuru entered and never left since.
Yuzuru looks ahead at the hands engulfing his own and he takes a deep inhale, eyes closing as he goes. Once the air has escaped his lungs, he moves to sit back straight, arms moving passively along without shaking Shohei’s hands off.
Shohei takes it as his cue to back off– Yuzuru notices absently, somewhat disappointed that he didn’t treasure it enough, again.
Yuzuru turns to his right, where he’d deposited his bag the moment he settled on his bench and takes out his pink cat mask cover from inside, opening it and storing the mask into the sleeve then back into the bag itself. As he’s zipping it up, he hears a low chuckle from Shohei before him, muttering a “so cute,” and Yuzuru can’t resist huffing in an attempt to break the smile threatening to lay on his expression once more. Upon hearing him puff, Shohei chuckles louder this time and Yuzuru makes it a point to ignore him for his heart’s sake.
Yuzuru hears him turn the yakiniku grill on and as he’s sitting back in his seat properly, Shohei asks. “By the way, your glasses… I’ve seen you wearing them through the airport before; are they prescription?”
In a show of reprisal, Yuzuru repeats Shohei’s earlier remark, saying “You keep up with my media appearances?” and Shohei, caught red-handed, turns a shade of pink as Yuzuru laughs. “They used to be. Since I got LASIK earlier this year, though, I’ve had no need for it. So I popped out the prescription lenses and put in the fake ones. These used to be fashion glasses before I repurposed them.”
“I see… They suit you.”
“You think so?” Yuzuru smiles, heat rising to his cheeks again. Shohei smiles back, gazing up at him as his face is pointed down to the meat currently cooking on the stove and casually notes, “You’re prettier with your face unobstructed, though.”
Yuzuru is grateful he put off taking a sip of the glass of water to his right on the table because he sputters, left stuttering for words as Shohei smirks at him as if he didn’t just prove himself capable of ruining his life with a few words.
He can’t help the whine that builds and escapes his throat, a pout forming on his lips again as he looks at Shohei with his eyebrows scrunched up, face probably red given how hot he feels. Shohei’s smirk turns back into a smile, little and gentle. Yuzuru thinks not to dignify him with a response definitely not because he can’t properly think of any, but to spare Shohei his crush-instigated wrath full of ranted compliments about how handsome he looks with his hair swept back, too.
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Once they’ve both been served an ample amount of yakiniku, Yuzuru and Shohei having shared both a few moments of silence save for the sound of their chewing and pleased groans of "Delicious,” Shohei puts down his chopsticks to look at Yuzuru from across his bench, stuffing his mouth happily with the grilled meat. "Good?" he asks, Yuzuru looking up momentarily to meet his stare and politely answer: "So worth the missed practice."
Shohei grins at that, huffing a laugh at the note of his missed practice. He'd feel guiltier if he wasn't feeling fulfilled just watching Yuzuru enjoying the food. “My family and I would come here often when I was a kid. We would spend hours just talking about our days here, when we were still all in the same country most of the time.” Yuzuru widens his eyes at that, swallowing his food to question, “Is it alright that you’ve brought me here? I don’t want to intrude in on what might be a special family spot for you…”
When Yuzuru trails off, Shohei shakes his head, grin persisting. “I wanted to invite you here. To share a good memory with you…” Shohei gestures a hand at the food, “and to share a good meal with you, here, too.”
Yuzuru blushes, looking away as a smile emerges on his face. Shohei watches, endeared by his reaction as he shyly mutters a “Thank you…” shoveling down a small piece of meat right after. As Yuzuru chews, Shohei notices a spot of sauce gone wayward on Yuzuru’s lower lip, reaching over to wipe it off his skin, his eyes meeting Yuzuru’s as his thumb makes contact with his lips. He noticeably goes silent, waiting as the spot on his mouth has been cleaned up and Shohei resettles on his seat, his own expression as tame as he can keep it what with his heartbeat rapidly increasing.
Yuzuru coughs, silently mumbling, “Please tell me you won’t lick it off your finger-” and Shohei smirks, a laugh building in his belly as he goes and does exactly that.
Yuzuru groans once more in embarrassment, Shohei chortling in laughter as he has his fun. Yuzuru turns away, a blush spreading over his cheeks again, pleasing Shohei enough to widen his grin impossibly wider, the happiness electrifying him all the way to his fingertips. Shohei wipes the thumb on a napkin, reaching back over quickly to turn Yuzuru’s chin to make him face him, smiling over Yuzuru’s innocent and yet shy expression, their eyes glazed over.
“Can we talk, now?” Shohei asks for permission, sight going half-lidded as Yuzuru nods slowly up at him, in a slight daze. He lets go at the approval, turning off the stove between them.
“I’ve been waiting to meet you like this long before we last met, actually.” Shohei remarks, gaze kept on the grill as he fiddles with the buttons just to have something to keep his hands busy. “You asked why I seemed so much more confident now than before…” He looks up to meet Yuzuru’s eyes, Yuzuru obediently listening, his gaze present as his lips are slightly parted, Shohei notes absently.
“You’re right. You listed my achievements and they played a part. I felt confident with my performance this season and felt myself finally worthy of your attention, of your friendship… and more, if that is what you want, as well.”
“So… this could be a date?” Yuzuru asks, face blank.
“I’d like it to be, yes,” Shohei answers, feeling shy under Yuzuru’s abrupt scrutiny.
“So… this is a date.” Yuzuru says, tone awkward as if asking for more confirmation, one Shohei is happy to give. “Yes, this is a date.”
A grin suddenly breaks out over Yuzuru’s face, features becoming sweet- so, so sweet, sweeter than those yuzu oranges he has sometimes that remind him of home– and he releases a tension-filled sigh, shoulders relaxing as he says “Good. I want to date you."
Shohei, before even processing Yuzuru’s oh-so-lovely features, is hit with a metaphorical truck, mouth gaping as he stutters. “That… Should be my line…”
“I’ve been waiting for you forever. Granted, our schedules never really match,” to that, Yuzuru adds a giggle that sounds like bells in the wind, “but I’ve wanted to meet you like this for a while, too, ever since Big Sports in 2016. You look very good in suits. Please wear them more often.” Yuzuru bows playfully, smile wide on his lips as his eyes close, crow’s feet on full display.
Shohei’s mouth goes dry, gulping on air as he processes Yuzuru’s words, letting out a slightly out-of-breath “Of course…” and Yuzuru reaches a hand over to lay his palm over Shohei's limp, open one. Shohei makes eye contact, head lolling slightly on its side as a question lights up in his eyes and Yuzuru answers, as if he read his mind. “I was distracted each time you touched me. Like this, I can properly feel you…” as Yuzuru's facial expression turns shy as he realizes just what he announced, Shohei feels his heart explode as he takes proper initiative and loops their fingers together, Yuzuru looking up and staring at their entangled hands.
“I’ve wanted this for a long time, too. Long before Big Sports, even,” Shohei adds, a lackadaisical quirk of his lips accompanying it as Yuzuru giggles.
“Okay, Mr. I’ll-wait-until-I’m-personally-satisfied-to-approach-my-crush,” Yuzuru retorts, squeezing their looped hands. Shohei happily stares at Yuzuru’s silly simper, turning the stove back on as Yuzuru points with his chopsticks to do so, ready to place more meat over top the grill as Yuzuru takes one of his own cooked yakiniku slices and lifts it to his lips, waiting for Shohei to take a bite.