Archive of Our Own

Somehow it started with Jiro Yamada. 

“Nii-san is the beest, ya know-?” 

The middle Yamada brother had said this after shoving another fill of sashimi in his mouth, a chunk falling splat onto the table, just milimetres from where Doppo was resting his elbow. The salaryman winced at the show, but Jiro seemed unbothered by it and took another bite eagerly. Doppo was in awe honestly - he would simply wish to die if someone took notice of even  a piece of spinach stuck in his teeth. 

Their situation, in general, was bizarre. 

On most nights, Doppo never had to worry about dinner, always coming home to Hifumi’s cooking, one thing that he could look forward to at the end of a shitty day. The formal dinners with coworkers, of which happened on occasions, were always in dingy bars and made Doppo’s head pound more than anything as another person would make it seem like they wanted to be on friendly terms with a pathetic loser like him- only so that he could do a load of their paperwork for them the next day. 

This restaurant, however, was far from dingy: a comfortable atmosphere with lighting that didn’t look a murky yellow. Doppo was seated in a booth across from his guest, who was busy shovelling food into his mouth like he was storing for the winter. 

It was a chance encounter, really. 

Doppo was only given two hours of overtime for the day and during his transit, he ran into Jiro, who was wrapping up an errand for his brother. Somehow or another, the younger convinced him to offer him dinner. Doppo sure didn’t know what drove the conversation to this, but he did know that his wallet cried upon the place of suggestion. Even more so, when Jiro ordered extra in a parcel for his two brothers. Though unfortunately that was endearing so Doppo let it be and sighed at the bill as he tapped his fingers against the box that he planned to put in the fridge for Hifumi when his roommate got back from work. 

Doppo wasn’t sure if he could call Jiro a friend. They fought together before, and the other seemed to regard him in a friendly manner after their misunderstanding and original disagreement. In fact, he doesn’t even dare bring up the topic because honestly who would want to be friends with a miserable low life like him. However, if friends cost as much as the receipt for their meal, then he might as well enjoy his limited supply. 

Regardless, towards the end of the meal (mostly comprised of huge silence and subsequent anxiety), Jiro had randomly decided to pipe up, another praise for the leader of BUSTER BROS!!!, and it would’ve been rude for Doppo not to respond. 

“ Y-yeah-? ” Great, he choked up so bad that it would’ve just been better for him if he instead choked on a piece of the fish and died. 

Not like he would’ve had anything to say on the matter, however. It took little to nothing for the topic of Ichiro Yamada to appear in a conversation with either of his little siblings. If Doppo had to count, he had already heard how amazing Ichiro was 80 times within this night alone. 

“ He is-! He took me and Saburo to that new arcade that opened up last week, and he won the mega prize at the crane machine!” Jiro had finished eating and was moving his hands rapidly as he spoke. Doppo pulled his elbows back, lest Jiro would make human contact with a lowly bug like him. 

“I guess that’s impressive…?” Doppo numbly said and if Jiro heard the tone of  ‘ why exactly is this relevant? ’, then he made no sign of it while he cheered, “And Nii-san got it all for me too!!” 

Doppo didn’t even have to think about another half-assed response before Jiro continued on, “Not to mention that I absolutely crushed it in Acoustic Arcadia-! Absolutely kicked Saburo’s pathetic ass! Hahahahaha-!” Jeez, now he was getting loud. 

Doppo was ready to turn away from this pretty self-centered conversation when Jiro’s eyes focused back on him like he finally realised his presence- like that roach that you suddenly spot on the floor. 

“It’s really cool… maybe you should go, I could totally show you where it is-!” Doppo simply blinked as Jiro prattled on again. “ Not that I wanna just play arcade games all night or anything… ” 

The teenager looked forlorn and Doppo couldn’t even process the conversation beyond that. An invitation…? For someone like him? To an arcade? For someone like him?? 

Forget the eyestrain he had when he squinted at his work computer (Hifumi told him to get glasses. He refused. A deadbeat like him with the types of frames the host would suggest would just be more horrifying to the eyes), if Doppo went to an arcade, he’d simply go blind. Not to mention, he’d be a decade older than most of the people there, he’d be such a waste of spa-

“Shit-!” 

Jiro’s outburst had pulled Doppo down that train of thought and instead made Doppo knock a fork right off the table with a yelp at how loud the exclamation was. If only when Doppo quickly crawled down on the floor to retrieve the utensil that he just let Mother Earth sink him back into the ground. 

“I forgot I had a math test tomorrow… Nii-san’s going to kill me if I’m any later than this-!” Oh. 

Well, that was an easier solution. Though some part of Doppo felt sad at the statement (The deluded one, for sure). 

“Ah-! ” Jiro leaned forward in his seat a bit before grabbing one of the napkins off the table and reaching into his jacket pocket with his free hand. Doppo had thought it was to wipe away the takoyaki stain on his face, but he should’ve known better than to think that Jiro Yamada would use napkins for their intended use. 

Pulling out a pen, Jiro scribbled (quite literally, Doppo was barely able to decipher what was an ‘e’ or what was a ‘w’.) four lines, and shoved it in Doppo’s face, “The address! I memorised it after Nii-san told me-!” But probably not your math formulas, right? 

“We should go next Tuesday! Saburo’s such a sore loser, it’d be better playing against a toddler. N-not that you’re a toddler or anything, ya know?! But you should be better than him, at least, right-?” Doppo opened his mouth slightly, faltering at the barrage of questions. Another invitation. And there’s a day. 

“I gotta go though! For real!” Jiro leapt from the table and turned to wave bye- or at least, that’s what Doppo thought- before the words that tumbled out of the middle Yamada was, “ And you don’t mind paying right-? Thanks!” 

Forget crying, his wallet was going to go through the five stages of grief and disintegrate. 

===

Then it continued with Hifumi Izanami. 

Or he had himself to blame- because after that dinner, exhaustion had crept so deep into his bones that after shoving Hifumi’s packed meal into the fridge, Doppo passed out right then and there in the middle of the hallways. He doesn't even think he untied his shoes. 

Which is why it was so unnerving to receive the ray of sunshine’s voice: frantic yelling and pointing, with bleary eyes at ‘ God knows what time it was ’ in the morning. 

“ Doppppppppppoooooooooooooooo-chiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnn—! ” That long whine spiked his blood pressure and he saw blond hair bouncing and metal blur as his childhood friend rapidly shook his hands in front of Doppo’s face. 

“You didn’t tell me you had a date with one of your coworkers on Tuesday!!!”

Well now Doppo was sure that he was still delirious from exhaustion- because date??? Where on this earth would he find someone that was willing to date him-?

Hifumi was shaking around a paper, and with his squinty eyes, he could barely make it out in the barely sunlit room. ( How did he get here? He’s sure he didn’t move an inch from the border between the kitchen and living room before he collapsed.) The paper seemed to have the same scrawls he saw Jiro place on the napkin last night. 

Did he really stick the napkin in the fridge-?!

“ Eh-?! ” Doppo blinked rapidly, regaining his vision, to take a better look at his childhood friend’s face. Amber eyes searched over Doppo’s face, frantic for certain, but other than the average overexcitement over a wrong conclusion Hifumi had jumped to, there was a note of fear that made Doppo feel like his heart was being squeezed, and he couldn’t fault his poor blood pressure for it. 

After all these years, he knew Hifumi (yet fails to know why exactly the host was distressed over such a conclusion), so he wants to stop his friend’s thought process. He wants to ease him. Instead, he blurts out- 

“ Is that brain of yours as dizzy as the champagne you serve-?! Where in that dense head of yours did that even come from?” 

How easing. 

Before Doppo could even finish musing how to throw himself into the nearest river to drown out whatever hurt expression came out of Hifumi, he heard the bed creak as Hifumi fidgeted. Pursing his lips, Hifumi simply let out an “ Oh. ” 

Right then and there, Doppo attempted to get up, a string of apologies on his tongue. However, his elbow crumpled and he only fell into Hifumi’s arms, the host immediately putting them out to steady him. 

“Whoa, whoa-! Doppochin, calm down, I’m not mad!!” He’s not? Doppo craned his neck to see Hifumi staring at him, any sense of fear completely vanished, only concern for Doppo present as he tried to calm his roommate down. Doppo dimly wondered if what he first saw was then a sleep-addled delusion. 

Tired, he slumped further into Hifumi’s arms at the realisation that the host was indeed not angry with him. Hifumi let out an airy laugh that was so synonymous to his personality that Doppo felt relief in his presence, as he always seemed to do, in all his exhaustion throughout his whole life. (And if he was simply just comfy in the warmth that Hifumi provided, that fact would simply go with him to the grave). 

Right then, Doppo  could simply sink and fall asle-

“Though…” And there went his tranquillity. 

As much as he loved Hifumi, the lilt of curiosity in his friend’s voice indicated a sense of trouble that Doppo would have to deal with later. 

“What was that note then? It had a date and address, the whole works-! I was scared that Doppochin hit it off with somebody else-!” Hifumi’s tone had hitched into a somber one and Doppo squinted in confusion. Scared? Why would Hifumi be scared? Doppo can’t think of any other reason other than fear for the other person forced to spend time with a nutjob like him. 

Regardless, Doppo opened his mouth to speak, his mind jolted a bit from simply listening to HIfumi (that man seemed to charge him like a phone battery). Doppo only hoped that what came out wasn’t an unintelligible garble. 

“It’s literally nothing. I ran into Jiro- that second Yamada brother- and he wanted me to take him to an arcade and watch him play… or something.” Doppo wasn’t sure what Jiro expected him to do there… wasting space and being an eyesore. 

“Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh-? So you’re just chaperoning a kid?!” 

Hifumi’s response- it was hard to tell if it was an exaggerated bewilderment or not- was still enough to knock Doppo out of Hifumi’s hold and onto the mattress. Although plush and logistically more comfortable than Hifumi’s knee , Doppo bemoaned the fact anyways. 

“ Hahahahahaha-! ” Hifumi flopped backwards on the bed, with his feet narrowly missing clocking Doppo in the shoulders and- 

Why exactly was he wearing his dress shoes on the bed?! 

Hifumi Izanami was a weirdo, Doppo concluded as he pushed at Hifumi’s shoes meekly. 

“It’s…not… that funny…Knock it off Hifumi.” He kept swatting at his friend’s feet, “Besides, get your shoes off my bed-!” His attempts to nudge Hifumi were in vain, however, and the latter had not moved from the bed. 

“Hah, but it is-! Doppochin, invite me~! Invite me! I wanna come along too!!! Pretty please ~” Hifumi had launched his body both upright and pouted, clasping his hands together in a pleading motion. Although Doppo found it a little endearing ( Not cute…It wasn’t cute… ), he kept his face blank and stated simply: 

“Absolutely not.” 

“ Whaaat?! Why not ?!” 

“ You would literally be more of a headache to chaperone than the kid.” 

“Wah-! How mean Doppochin-!” HIfumi fell back down again, his head hitting the headboard of the bed. Doppo’s head hit the pillow he managed to scope out and he faceplanted into it before responding, his face pressed into the pillow cover, “Shut it, it’s not going to be that fun either. I’ve never been to an arcade, they’re flashy and popular… and I’m miserable and lonely… What if Yamada expects me to play a game with him and I lose immediately… then he’s going to be miserable just because of me… Aaaaaah… I’ll just ruin his day with my being pathetic- ack-!” 

“ No, no-! ” Doppo’s depressing monologue was cut off by Hifumi smacking him in the back, effectively launching all breath out of his lungs. 

“Doppochin’s so cool-!” Doppo turned his head to yell at Hifumi for almost rearranging his lungs, yet he stopped when he realised Hifumi had crawled over to the other side of the bed, where Doppo was laying and bent down to be level with the salaryman. His expression was serious, not a common sight for the gigolo, as he spoke in a lower voice, “ You know that right~? Doppochin could do anyyyyyy~thiiing~ if he put his mind to it!” Doppo’s face burned, but his attempts of burying his face back into the pillow was blocked by Hifumi’s hand grabbing his chin in place so Doppo could really do nothing but make eye contact. Hifumi inched his face closer, and Doppo thought he finished his statement, but he heard a whisper, even softer, against the shell of his ear, “ And that’s why I love him~” 

Damn Hifumi and his ability to say embarrassing things like that out loud! 

Doppo was sure that steam came out of his ears as he cursed Hifumi’s directness. Though he supposed that was to be expected from a host. However, there was a part of Doppo that really wanted to believe Hifumi’s words, he always wanted to. 

Speaking of eye contact, Hifumi had drawn back and searched Doppo’s face intently- as if he was searching for his emotions in the maze of blue-green eyes. Eventually, Hifumi broke out into a smile that was so soft that Doppo couldn’t help but want to return it. 

That is- before Hifumi jumped up and left him nosediving right into the bed. 

“Oh-! If you need more practice, then we should go together~ This weekend!” 

“ Huh. ” 

Doppo’s arms were still splayed out on the mattress before he propped himself by the elbows- this time successfully- to stare at Hifumi in bewilderment. 

“This one’s the new one that came out, right~? One of the kittens told me about it some time earlier this week. If that’s it, then we could totally have a date this Saturday so you could practice~! … Or something like that .” 

“Wh…” Doppo could barely comprehend such a statement. The off days that he did get were the days that he just went to sleep . Why would he want to spend it in a dark building with flashy lights and an ungodly amount of miscellaneous game noises and yelling children (and seldom adults). 

“ Yaaay~!” Hifumi seemed to go right back into hyper mode, ignoring Doppo’s confusion ( When wasn’t he hyper and when hasn’t he completely sidelined and ignored Doppo’s input? )

“I get to take Doppochin out on a date~! Don’t worry about it, Hifumin’s got it all under control-! You just remember the date, m’kay ♥️~” Doppo’s brain whirled at the rapid fire statements coming out of the host’s mouth. And why does this man keep on casually spitting out the word ‘date’, looking as cheerful as that?! 

That being said, in Doppo’s memory of Hifumi’s schedule:  it was Hifumi’s day off, so he did have the whole day to plan things out… though speaking of days off–

“ Hihhh—! I forgot about work-! Hifumi, what time is it?!” In his hurry to stand up, Doppo’s limbs only got tangled in the sheets and he twisted himself into a pretzel. 

Luckily, Hifumi was quick to unwrap the blanket burrito while the host calmly stated: 

“Oh, it’s 7:15.”

Which did not help at all, actually. 

“ Eh-?! W-Why didn’t my alarm go off?!” That bald-headed boss was going to give him a migraine- Doppo was already late. 

“Oh, I turned it off.” Hifumi stated this plainly as if he didn’t understand the mental agony his roommate was going through. 

“W H Y .” 

“Becaaaause you looked cute in your sleep, so I was rewarding you with some extra rest~ You really needed it, you know? I found you passed out on the floor last night.” 

“Then why didn’t you tell me when I woke up-?!” 

“Becauseeeeee I was so interested in that noteeeee, Hifumin just forgot! Oopsies~ Don’t be mad, Doppochin!!” Hifumi had stuck out his tongue slightly and Doppo wanted to wring his neck. 

“Y-you.” Whether he faltered out of rage or out of embarrassment when he saw Hifumi’s face, so innocent, despite his misdoings (a face that was unfortunately undeniably cute, How Doppo could fall for the puppy eyes at this age, he couldn't fathom), was unknown to Doppo.  Doppo scoffed at the reasoning. ‘ You look cute when you’re asleep ’... 

He lunged for Hifumi  but the latter, who was already standing off the bed, made an abrupt run for it out the door. Doppo grabbed his makeshift weapon: his pillow and threw it at his airhead of a childhood friend. Only in vain, however, because it hit the door as Hifumi closed it behind him. The pillow fell onto the floor as a dishevelled lump, which Doppo was right now. 

Although Hifumi undid his tie and put it god knows where (Hifumi preferred that Doppo had an organised closet and arranged drawers and often put things in a place he deemed neat. Doppo, instead, really just found things easily if he could just grab them and go .) and took off Doppo's socks and shoes, Doppo was still left in his office shirt and slacks, of which were really wrinkled. Usually, Hifumi would’ve had that ironed by now too… Ugh . 

Doppo could mentally count the minutes turned into hours of overtime his baldie boss would stack on top of him, not even counting the paperwork his coworkers would mercilessly pile onto Doppo. But it would be fine, since it was the last day of the week and he could just sleep it off. But… that would mean it was Friday . 

And Saturday is… 

“HIFUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNN—!” 

===

And then it ended up with Doppo Kannonzaka. 

At the entrance of the trendiest and indeed very busy arcade. 

“ Wooooooooow~! ” With a blonde-haired idiot by his side. 

“This place is so neat, don’tcha think Doppochin~?” Hifumi put two hands behind his head and whistled. The place didn’t look too bad from the outside. It was a pretty clean establishment with a neon sign and sleek metal doors with black-tinted windows. But Doppo could only guess what horrors went on inside when he noticed who all were the customers going inside: teenagers. 

“ Uu… we’re going to be the oldest people in the building, they’re going to wonder why two ancient crones are going to a kid’s zone. H-Hifumi- what if we get arrested .” Doppo wished that he was exaggerating about the possibility of being arrested, but he had been interrogated for going out to the grocery store, so he could only assume he’d look even more suspicious in such a setting. 

“Don’t worry Doppochin~! Video games are popular to all ages~ I saw a nice elderly woman playing one of those new gacha games the other day~” Doppo wasn’t sure how true that statement was but it was clear Hifumi had no uneasiness. It was hard to try and follow suit but his anxiety could lessen a little just by the tone of Hifumi’s voice. That’s just the kind of person the host was- a calming presence. 

“I already got the tickets by the way–!” Hifumi reached into his jacket pocket (Hifumi had worn his rose jacket and suit… it made Doppo feel so underdressed because he had only chosen to wear a simple hoodie and sweatpants… but he couldn’t find the energy in him to dress that nice, he came home on Friday at 11PM… and he could only sleep his exhaustion away till 11AM to get ready for 2PM) and pulled out two tickets. He ran over to the attendant standing outside the door and Doppo hurried to catch up with his friend lest he be left behind and thought to be a loitering weirdo. 

The attendant was nice… enough. 

The only problem was that they talked way too much and HIfumi kept the conversation going. Doppo was getting antsy waiting for his ‘date’ to acknowledge him that he started digging his sneaker (again, couldn’t be bothered so he simply shoved the laces inside the shoes and he felt the tips press against the edges of his feet) into the concrete. Finally, Hifumi did decide to show him mercy. 

“ Ah-! I need to let my darling ♥️ in, don’t I~?” 

Or maybe not. 

Doppo made an audible yelp as his foot hit the pavement harder than he intended and his toes bent inwards within his shoes. 

Seriously. What gives this man the shamelessness. 

“You don’t own the establishment, how are you going to let me in?” 

“Through the door, silly~!” 

Doppo wanted to smack him with that same door. 

Hifumi then reached for the door and held it open, making a grand hand gesture for Doppo to go through. Doppo quickly glanced at the attendant to notice their full attention on them and his ears felt hot. In fact, Hifumi was so loud that even the people in line for tickets were staring. Doppo could only wish the door would smack him into a coma.

“ Hifumi–! ” He hissed as he quickened his gait and almost sprinted to the door. Hifumi only gave him a flashy smile and Doppo faltered into a mild scowl. Nevertheless, he took the bold step into the arcade and prepared his eyes for the collateral damage towards his retinas. 

In all honesty… it wasn’t that bad . 

The artificial lighting did not delve them into a pitch blackness as he imagined. The machines were lined up neatly along pathways that were lit along the ground and the screens weren’t as contrasting as his work computer was during the late hours at his job.

“ Ooh~ There’s a lot to do-! I wonder what we should start with, hmm~?” Hifumi had appeared back besides him, and Doppo would be lying if he said he wasn’t eased a little by his friend’s presence. 

“Like I know.” Doppo muttered, though something had caught Hifumi’s eye and he gasped, clutching onto Doppo’s arm and yanking him like a rag doll. 

“Doppochin, there’s a photo booth~! We should totes go over there~” 

“Like hell I would-!” Doppo barked back before Hifumi huffed and let go of the arm held hostage, it falling limp against Doppo’s side, “ Why not?!” 

“It’s… embarrassing. ” Doppo flexed his arm and winced. It really did hurt when Hifumi tugged on him, as used to it as the salaryman was. “Besides, weren’t we here for training or something?” To be honest, Doppo failed to see any reason for coming here but he’ll use the half-assed one if it got him out of something as childish as a photobooth. 

“Huh-? Doppochin, wasn’t this a date though~?” Hifumi had winked as he said it, only laughing when Doppo glared at him, “Haha~ We could do some training though if you want. Do ya know what that Yamada kiddy likes-?” 

Ah, well— Doppo couldn’t say that he knew much about Jiro’s likes, other than the food. And at the most, he could validate, Jiro’s taste was whatever was most expensive. He did talk about a love for soccer during the dinner, however, as well as- 

“ Guitar ? I think…he plays a lot.” 

“That’s not really an arcade game though, is it silly~?” Hifumi chirped and Doppo felt heat flash into his face before he mumbled out, “Sorry, sorry, sorry.” 

“Ah! Don’t apologise Doppochin-! I’m sure we can find something guitar-related? Maybe-?” Hifumi had put a hand on his chin and begun to think (something he rarely did, Doppo felt). His eyebrows were scrunched together. It was a detail that Doppo had found cute ever since he noticed it in the latter half of their elementary years. 

“Just forget i- huh ?” Doppo shook his head, but in doing so, he saw a set of guitars. Turning his head back to face them, he saw that they were connected to a machine with a headboard reading ‘ Acoustic Arcadia ’. 

So there really is a guitar game… Doppo wasn’t sure whether to applaud his sheer luck or be appalled with how out of touch the two were with modern entertainment. 

Now that he thought about it– Acoustic Arcadia was the name of the game that Jiro mentioned that night, wasn’t it? Doppo found that it slipped his mind and he grimaced that as much of a human load of trash he was, he couldn’t seem to store such simple information. 

“ Woooooow~ Good find, Doppochin~ You’re already close to being an arcade expert, totes-!” Hifumi, unlike him, bounced on his heels and Doppo winced. 

“I doubt that…” Now taking note of the machine, Doppo decided to make a beeline for it- might as well- before they got labelled as some weirdo loiterers, “Just c’mere.” 

Doppo reached out and grabbed Hifumi’s hand and linked their fingertips together. Whenever Doppo grabbed Hifumi’s hands, it wasn’t nearly as forceful as when Hifumi would grab his. A gentle tug was all he needed for Hifumi to follow heel. In that regard, Hifumi was just an energetic golden retriever (and Doppo tried really hard not to picture Hifumi with dog ears, looking at him with that puppy face).

Thinking about it, Hifumi was the complete opposite of  him- always so eager and ready to listen to anyone. Compared to Doppo- who always refused to go, to leave and go be miserable on his lonesome. 

By the time he reached the game (and the brink of his existential crisis), Hifumi had let go of Doppo’s hand and put his own all over the machine, turning the replica guitars over in his hands. Doppo’s fingers curled around the lack of warmth and he blinked at the newfound emptiness in the space around his hand. 

“ Ooh, these guitars have buttons~ ” 

Doppo was pulled out of his stupor by Hifumi, who was pressing the aforementioned buttons one by one on the… console …? 

“No strings though-! But that should be simple enough, right Doppochin~?” 

“Don’t do that, you’re going to break it.” Doppo only reprimanded the host before attempting to pick up the guitar. He made a small noise of surprise when met with the weight. It was at least a filing cabinet’s worth and Doppo had arms with the integrity of limp spaghetti. 

“ Ehhh~? Doppochin’s having trouble lifting just that~? You were never good in gym though, I suppose~” Hifumi teased and Doppo gripped the guitar tighter, lifting it up more to mimic an actual guitarist.

It was nothing… he’s had mountains of paperwork that weigh more than this. He was just going to have severe muscle pain the next morning.

“I got it. Just start the game Hifumi.” He grumbled. 

“ Okaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyy~ ” 

Hifumi pulled out a card from his jacket pocket. Doppo didn’t notice it before but the attendant must’ve given it to Hifumi when Doppo was busy staring at the floor. Hifumi slid the card in the slot in the front of the machine and a massive blast of noise startled Doppo into loosening his grip on the guitar and banging it into his knees. …Add that to the list of injuries that were going to bite him in the ass tomorrow morning. He struggled to lift the guitar up to its initial position: barely above his hips as he read the screen as it changed from its introductory screen. 

The rules were simple enough. As certain notes appeared on the screen, you had to press the corresponding button on the guitar. The doing- was not as simple, however, the amount of notes flying had panicked Doppo and sent his fingers flying into each other as he pressed buttons in the wrong succession. 

By the time the first song ends, his ring finger cramped as it was crossed over his middle. The scores flashed and when it came to the scoreboard, there was no doubt that Doppo lost but- 

“ A combo of 5-? Seriously, Doppochin?! Hahahahahaha~!” 

Hifumi had hunched his face over Doppo’s shoulder but before Doppo could call him out for being too close, he had been bent over in laughter. Doppo looked at Hifumi’s side of the screen and for someone who just looked like he was just randomly pressing buttons, Hifumi had ended up with a combo of 373. ( There were 475 notes… and Doppo only could do 5 in a row.)

“Shut up-! Why would you put it on special mode anyways?!” Hifumi wasn’t laughing anymore but the smile on his face was huge.

“Oh, I don’t really knowwwww~ Because it seemed cool~?” 

Doppo was going to strangle him. 

“ Though … I’m really no good if I play like this… There would be no competition and I’d be an utter disappointment hahaha …” Hifumi’s smile had vanished but Doppo’s tangent continued. 

“ What good am I really…? I can’t do a simple game like this? I don’t think I have any worth at all. I really just am a waste of space- useless garb-” 

“ Doppo. ” 

Hifumi had grabbed Doppo’s shoulders and was facing him directly. It was hard to focus but Doppo could lock his eyes on amber eyes, staring into his own.

“You are not worthless. The Doppochin that I know is able to do anything-! You just have to put your mind to it and I know you can .” 

Ah. 

Doppo’s world came back into clarity and he could see Hifumi’s face, his eyebrows drawn tight together as he scanned Doppo’s face. He was sincere in every word and it dragged Doppo out of his endless spiral within his mind. 

…Well, if Hifumi enough faith in him then–

“ Hifumi . Swipe again.” 

Doppo set his mouth in a thin line as he hoisted the guitar again, this time carrying it up to his chest. He could do it.  

…

He thinks. 

“Yaaaaay~” Hifumi reached over and swiped the card again, tucking it back in his jacket pocket and picking up his own guitar. 

“Should I switch it off special mode-?” Hifumi titled his head towards Doppo, whose eyes remained fixated on the screen before him. 

“Keep it.”

“Huh! Okay theeen~” 

After the encouragement, Doppo found it easier to press the buttons. After all, it was similar to memorising the layout of a keyboard as he’d have to type while looking over jumbles of medical jargon on a stack of papers off to the side of the computer. 

Soon enough, the music from the game became a distant noise for Doppo and he could only hear the faint pressing of the buttons and his fingers tapping against the arm of the guitar. He only felt himself blink again when the notes stopped, and after a brief moment, words flashed on the screen: ‘ Perfect Combo-! ’. 

He had rapidly blinked then, to bring the world back into complete focus, before Hifumi’s voice rang out in his ears. 

“Wah, I think I did worse that time, booo! Special really is something, huhhh~?” Doppo had turned his head and Hifumi had placed the guitar back in its stand, flexing his hands while cracking his fingers. “How’d you do, Doppochin?”

“ Aah… ” Doppo still felt as if he was in a daze and his brain was melting. Though when he saw Hifumi’s face, the latter a little confused, eyebrows quirked upwards, he could only break out into a smile.

“I did it.” He said simply and in truth - he was very happy over a score in an arcade game- he was insanely happy over a score in an arcade game he was only going to play a few times in his life . 

Hifumi had stared at him for some time, seemingly stunned, though Doppo wasn’t sure why, before– 

“Oh- you got a perfect-combo– ah?! ” 

Doppo wasn’t sure why he did it. But he hugged Hifumi. 

Maybe it was because the host’s words still rang in his ears: ‘ The Doppochin I know can do anything-! ’ Or maybe it was because of the utter sincerity of those words that Doppo felt them penetrate his walls of shitty self-hatred and disbelief of his own value. 

It was always like that, huh? 

Hifumi was always there to encourage him in anything. And Doppo was so grateful for the presence of his childhood friend- as annoying as it was sometimes. 

“I did it.” Doppo repeated again in the crook of Hifumi’s neck and before he could panic at the silence that occurred after the statement, trying to find a way to unlatch himself with another string of apologies, a voice whispered above the shell of his ear. 

“ I knew you could. ” 

And Doppo felt impossibly warm. 

“Excuse me-? Can we play now, misters?” 

Before dread splashed onto him like a bucket of ice water. 

Doppo turned his head to see a young girl, holding the hand of a much smaller boy. They were gazing up at them and making glances towards the game– the one that Doppo and Hifumi were standing directly in the way of– noting that they wanted to play. Doppo didn’t even want to know how long they were staring. He was just glad he didn’t have to do the talking. 

“Of course-! Of course-! We were just finished~ You guys can for sure have a go-!” Hifumi had pulled himself away from Doppo, who had his eyes wholly trained in the floor. What he was able to notice, however, was the red tinge spread across Hifumi’s face, from ear to ear. It was weird to say it, but those kinds of things made Doppo feel better; to know that Hifumi could get embarrassed too. Not to mention that flustered Hifumi was cute (not to mention the fact that it was the quietest Hifumi so it was even cuter). 

Hifumi had interrupted Doppo’s train of thought by grabbing his hand and whisking him away from Acoustic Arcadia. Now they were aimlessly wandering around, Hifumi being unusually quiet, which while that was something that Doppo mentioned was good, it was also incredibly unnerving. 

Doppo would’ve said something but his foot had knocked into the base of a machine as they were rushing and he only let out a grunt as he stopped and disconnected from Hifumi. 

“Huh? You okay Doppochin?” Hifumi had stopped to call out for Doppo but the injury wasn’t anything as major as when Doppo somehow managed to roll his ankles while trying to get on his train at the subway. 

“Just fine- ah. ” 

It wasn’t as much in his line of sight as Acoustic Arcadia was, but it still caught Doppo’s eye. He stood before a glass box of plushies- and tucked in the very righthand corner of the front pane- was a yellow and white penguin with a wool-knit beanie snug on its head. Its beak was pushing up against the glass, smushed and pathetic looking. Looking at the squished face, Doppo found it oddly adorable. 

“Ooh~ a crane machine-! Did you want something, Doppochin-?” 

Hifumi had crept up on him before he could quickly tear his eyes off of the object of his attention. Doppo prayed that Hifumi didn’t notice it, at least, for the sake of his dignity. 

“That penguin in the corner? It’s kinda deflated a little… but that’s cute! ” Of course Hifumi noticed. 

Hifumi pressed his face up against the glass, like a child eyeing the display at a candy store. It oddly reminded Doppo of the plushie itself. 

Hifumi had removed his face from the glass looking at Doppo with earnest eyes, “ Do you want it? ” 

“No.” 

Hifumi’s enthusiasm was met with a flat lie. It was cute, Doppo could admit, but if he knew anything about arcades, it was that these crane machines were a capitalistic ploy hidden underneath the guise of cute stuffed animals with big round eyes full of synthetic glitter. 

“ Huh? You really looked like you wanted it…” Hifumi was whining, despite it ot even being on his own behalf. Doppo cursed inwardly because he didn’t even realise he had been staring at the plushie that long and that hard for it to look that way. 

“It’s fine, besides there’s a good chance I won’t even get it.” 

“Is that all? Then no worries! Hifumin’s got you~ ♥ ️ '' Hifumi had pumped his fist in the air, his face beaming with a determination that made Doppo raise his eyebrow. He was never sure whether to feel dread or amusement in these moments because when Hifumi Izanami comes up with an idea, one with as much steadfast determination as he had now, there’s so many ways that this could go. 

“I told you, you don’t need to-” Before Doppo could finish that sentence, Hifumi had grabbed the card from his pocket and swiped it in the slot just before the controls , making Doppo let out an “ Ugh .”

“How hard can it be~? I’ll get it easy peasyyy~ ☆ '' Doppo could only sigh because he could tell this would be the absolute opposite of easy peasy. 

In all honesty, Doppo wouldn’t have been able to tell how close Hifumi was the first swipe– or the 24 swipes following the first one– the reason being that he was too intensely fixated on the faces Hifumi made while aiming and subsequently losing. 

Hifumi would stick out his tongue in frustration, draw his eyebrows in together, and blow air out of the side of his mouth; all from the moment he put his hand on the joystick to when the hook ultimately missed its target. Yet at the end– he would look back towards Doppo, assure the salaryman that he would get in the next go (he did not) and Doppo would hum in acknowledgement. Hifumi’s eyes sparked up then, his face absolutely brightening, to the point that even Doppo was convinced to stretch a tired smile over his own face before Hifumi swiped again, doomed for failure. 

It’s not like Doppo didn’t know all of Hifujmi’s expressions. He’s had a little over two decades to map them all out completely. Yet. There were still things that he didn’t understand about his childhood friend. One of those things just happened to be why the host even bothered going to such lengths for someone like Doppo. Another was how Hifumi could do all these things for Doppo and still smile so sincerely at him, like Doppo meant the world to him (And deep down in Doppo’s heart, he really hoped that it was true). There were many things that Doppo Kannonzaka could not discern about Hifumi Izanami (mostly concerning himself, in fact) and it drove him insane. 

Doppo was pulled out of his musing by a tingling sensation that went through his legs as he realised that he was standing there for a duration of at least 20-30 minutes.  He was certain that he had to break the cycle or they would be stuck there the whole day. 

“Hifumi… how many times did you swipe already?” Doppo had to shuffle around from one leg to another, a desperate attempt to awaken the limbs that had fallen asleep. Hifumi’s head snapped up from where he pressed the button. The claw- coming close to that yellow penguin- dropped. Yet when it was lifted up, it lost the grip on the prize and the metal claws clanged together, the noisy clacking being the only thing left behind. Hifumi looked upwards, scratching his cheek as he thought, “Uh… only like…43?”

“43??? How many swipes do we have on that thing?”
“The basic pass gets you about 50.”

“ 50?! Then we’re about to run out, you idiot-! ” 

Hifumi had only pouted as he whined, “ Heeeeey , nobody told me it was going to be like thiiiiis .” 

“ I did . ” Doppo hissed through his teeth. 

He half-expected Hifumi to retort something as he shuffled away  from the machine, but he should’ve known better than to underestimate Hifumi’s sheer persistence (and stupidity). 

“ Alright!” Hifumi slapped both hands on the sides of his face and turned to Doppo with unwavering energy rekindled in his eyes, “I just need some really good motivation~” 

“Huh.”
“Doppochin should give me a prize for winning the grand prize for him!” It wasn’t even worth trying to argue with him, so Doppo just let out a “M’kay” which was enough for Hifumi to eagerly slam his fist o the console, making Doppo wince (He knew that console was probably worth 6 months of his salary, he would not want to pay compensation for any damage). 

“ Then it’s settled~ If I get it, Doppochin has to give me a kiss~ ♥️ ” 

And then all the air was sucked out of Doppo’s lungs. A… what . 

“I never agreed to that-!” Doppo’s words fell on deaf ears as Hifumi went back into concentration mode.

Doppo’s internal screaming was loud enough that he couldn’t hear the mechanical whirring of the claw or the breath that Hifumi let out when the penguin did not fall out of the grip of the hook. By the time Doppo had realised that Hifumi even swiped again, a congratulatory jingle and a faint plop was heard in the door below the glass. Hifumi already had his hand reaching through the door pulling out… 

The very penguin plushie that Hifumi had been working to the bone, almost an hour to get. (Doppo would love to estimate that this was the most effort that Hifumi had put into anything, including their high school finals). 

“ Hehehe~ I got iiiiit~” 

Hifumi had shook the penguin from side to side, his hands squishing the plushie ever so slightly that the indentations made in it during its imprisonment in the machine, slowly diminished from existence. 

Doppo was still having a hard time distinguishing the reality of this.  

In addition to the odd adorability of Hifumi holding a stuffed animal with a face gleeful as his was– absolutely beaming with almost as much power as the sun itself, Doppo’s heart stuttered a little at the sheer notion that the host would go through all that trouble for something that he inferred (...correctly) that Doppo had wanted . The sincerity and thoughtfulness screamed out Hifumi and Doppo inwardly sighed in affection. 

“You should name him Puffles.” 

And then outwardly sighed in exasperation. 

“I’m. not. Naming. Him. Puffles.” 

Doppo had yanked the penguin out of Hifumi’s grasp and clutched it close to his chest. Hifumi clicked his tongue- and for a moment, Doppo thought it was because of the rejection of his suggestion. However– 

“I believe you owe me, Doppochin~ ” 

“ Haah -?” Doppo hoped he meant it as jokingly as the lilt in his voice suggested and that Hifumi wasn’t serious. 

“You promised me a kiss, didn’t you?” Hifumi’s frown had the audacity to look serious and his eyebrows furrowed. Doppo’s own eyebrows were about to shoot into his hairline. 

“I didn’t promise you anything, you decided that yourself.” 

“What… aww… . I worked really hard to get that plushie for you, you know? I deserve some compensation right? Though… that face you made when you got it was priceless~ ” 

Aaah… Doppo earnestly wanted this man to shut his mouth. 

Doppo’s ears chafed due to the intense burning and he couldn’t think of a good response. (Un)fortunately, his impulse already gave him one. 

“ Fine . ” 

“ What-?! ” Despite it being his own proposition, Hifumi had squeaked out an exclamation and his cheeks dusted as rose as the detailings on his jackets. Doppo could only revel that this was the second time in one afternoon that he got to see Hifumi flustered. However, he said nothing as he leaned forward and—

Pressed Puffles against Hifumi’s face.

“ Huh ?” Hifumi’s eyes were closed when Doppo came close but shot open, pupils widened, though not in the expectation of what he had anticipated. The beak of the plushie pressed against his mouth for another brief second before Doppo pulled it away just as fast. Doppo took the moment of Hifumi’s confusion to press Puffles (Doppo didn’t really have anything else to name it, so he did take Hifumi’s situation but that wasn’t something he was ready to admit to the man) to his chest, turning on his heel and fleeing. 

The delay, for Hifumi’s credit, was only about 45 seconds. He blinked and trailed after Doppo, the ‘ Doppochiiiii, waiiiiit uuuuuuuuppppp–!’ lingering as he made his way through the array of machines. Some customers stopped to stare before quickly going back to their screens. 

The path before Doppo was blurry, as he was briskly walking, yet an array of coloured lights had caught his attention, allowing him to slow down to gain an earful of distorted EDM. The pause in his gait was enough for Hifumi to catch up and clap him on the shoulder. 

“ Heeeey – Doppochin that was so mean-! Why did you do th- ah- ?” Hifumi was caught mid whine by the bright flashing and Doppo should’ve guessed Hifumi was akin to a moth- attracted to bright light with a rather dim brain. 

“Oh, heyyy - I hear that song all the time in the club! I wanna see where it’s coming frooom.” Hifumi seemed to forget any grievance had with Doppo as he grabbed his friend’s arm and strolled him to the salary worker’s worst nightmare. 

As they had approached the new game, it became more clear that it was a dance machine . It was setted with two platforms with coloured tiles for the players to step on, according to the screen. It was much like Acoustic Arcadia, simply much louder… and much more physical . 

Therefore: Annoying. 

“ Dance mania-! Sounds like fun~ We should totally play Doppochin!” Hifumi trilled and Doppo grumbled back, “Absolutely not.” 

“Whaaat?! Why not? We have 5 more plays left!” 

“You go play it, I’m going to tear a ligament on that thing.” Hifumi puffed out his cheeks in response. 

“But you’re not that bad at dancing…?” Hifumi looked upwards in thought before continuing, “I mean, remember that night we went out for drinks and you got so drunk that yo- mph?! ” 

Doppo quickly shoved his hand over the host’s mouth before he could relay that embarrassing moment in an egregious loud voice. 

“ Hifuuumiiin, just go play already-! ” 

Doppo  could feel Hifumi laugh against his palm as the noise vibrated against his skin. 

“But I don’t want you to miss out on the fun~” 

When Doppo removed his hand, Hifumi’s mouth contorted into a frown and Doppo’s heart suddenly panged at how sincere the notion despite the unseriousness that Hifumi always sported. However, Doppo bruised it off as he pushed Hifumi towards the machine, “I’ll have fun watching you, just go.” 

“ Really?! ” Hifumi lit up like a lightbulb that had gone out for a brief moment during a power outage at Doppo’s office during a thunderstorm. He practically bounced towards the machine and Doppo could only stare as he went along. 

☆☆☆

After swiping the card, there was even more of a barrage of noise and Doppo could only lightly grind his teeth together. The arrangement of the machine seemed to be placed with various machines with varying levels of volume and it messed with Doppo’s head.  A booming voice announced the title(like he couldn’t have just read it) making his head pound. The music continued and Doppo could feel his heartbeat drumming in his ears. It was so loud… his head hurt… it was hard to swallow… 

Doppo tried to fixate his attention on Hifumi, closing one eye at the blaring of music. It was interesting to see Hifumi so absorbed in the game at least. Hifumi’s eyes were wholly trained on the screen in front of him and his feet were completely on point with the flashy movements prompted by the human shadow on screen (which Doppo could guarantee that if he tried, he would’ve twisted his ankle). 

Doppo found watching this to be as entertaining as when he was playing the crane machine, but his throat felt dry as he kept on trying to drone out the oncoming noise. It only got worse when he noticed a young woman crouching near Hifumi, asking to play on the machine beside the host. Doppo didn’t have to worry about Hifumi being panicked by her, the rose jacket had as much effect as the host jacket he wore, as he wore it to the club on occasions but his stomach churned at the sight anyways. 

Hifumi stopped and smiled, even offering to swipe off of their own card and swiped twice to play again . Doppo thinks that he saw Hifumi play twice already, meaning they only had one play left, but his head felt so numb he wasn’t quite sure. 

Now that there was another person alongside Hifumi, smiling and laughing with him , Doppo felt too sick to even keep his concentration on the game. His hands felt sweaty and he could barely cling onto Puffles. His throat hurt and now that he couldn’t focus on Hifumi, he was so much more aware of it and it was killing him. 

The music resounded in his eardrums and it was very much like the tracks that played at Hifumi’s club… and Doppo hated it.

As much as he loved Hifumi, the man’s job was a headache at the very best and a migraine at its best to endure. After some nights at work, Doppo would go to the club to see Hifumi, in hopes it would make his shitty day any better. He always ended up at a table, with several drunks littered across it, waiting for Hifumi to even look at him. Once. But of course, him being the number one host– so in-demand–meant that Doppo would only ever Hifumi’s back as women clung onto his arms, screaming and giggling. Hifumi would then flash his teeth at them and offer an arm to lead them to their table as their nails dug into the fabric of his jacket. 

It made Doppo flare up with a nauseous feeling only 4 drinks in and something drummed in his veins, making him sick. Those nights always ended with Doppo crouched against the wall of the alleyway directly behind the back door of the club– waiting for Hifumi to come and lay his jacket over his friend’s shoulders (despite the fact that the host would need it for a few stray women along the way home). Hifumi was always there then: to walk Doppo back home as his world spun, not due to being inebriated but due to that strange feeling welling up in his heart. 

Henceforth, the situation currently felt really familiar to Doppo. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to drain out the sounds of the woman at the dance machine, saying something to Hifumi. It made the host laugh– whether it was simply a polite one or not Doppo was scared to know. However, the only other noises were miscellaneous conversation and the various plinks and buzzing of arcade machines around him; sounds that grinded against his sensors. Doppo clutched at his shoulders but Hifumi wasn’t there to throw the jacket over them so Doppo could touch his fingers against the fabric and be at ease. 

Too much… Too loud… Can’t stay…. Need out .

All noises turned white and Doppo’s fingers felt numb as he desperately twisted them into the thin fabric of his hoodie. He felt something drop from him and his heart plummeted but he couldn’t tell what it was. He swore he felt his heart in his throat and it hurt . He felt something wet squeeze out the corners of his eyes and shook his head.

Too much… Too loud… Can’t stay…. Need out .

Doppo couldn’t even register the pressure of his feet against the ground on the floor– a floor that was moving– or rather, Doppo was moving at an erratic pace. He didn’t know where he was going until pale fingers, stark white from how hard he squeezed them, pressed against a door, the sign writing out ‘Men’s Room’. 

Doppo couldn’t feel his knees hit the tiled floor as his body crumpled to the ground. He compressed himself: his knees parallel to his chest as his back felt the wall of the bathroom, cold through his hoodie. He could see the section of stalls just before him. 

He could hear his shallow breaths more clearly here, it being quieter, the music not fully muted but a faint distortion. He felt the air conditioning especially cool on his cheeks, where the remnants of a few stray tears remained. He furiously  scrubbed them with the sleeve of his hoodie. 

Doppo made a strangled noise in the back of his throat as he gripped his hair and tugged on it, hard . He tugged his feet as close as they could possibly get to his body and he tapped them against the tiles. He kept blowing out air, trying to get out. Get out of the entrapping fear taking hold of his body – because the last thing he wanted to do was bother Hifumi. 

He had told Hifumi he could handle these things now and he’d be damned if he let that man worry about something so stupid as his feelings. He grit his teeth together and tried to think of things that calmed him down. But the host in question was the only thing he could think of. 

He could only think of the weird mixture of roses and champagne that Hifumi would always smell like when he came back from work and sneaked into Doppo’s bed, wrapping his arms around his roommate whom Hifumi thought was asleep. He could only think of the scent of Hifumi’s shampoo and the random assortment of facial treatments the host brought back home, due to hearing about their popularity off of some network,  and cluttered the bathroom cabinet with (so much so that Doppo had to squint his sleep-laden eyes, knocking over at least 20 bottles out of the cabinet before finally finding his shaving cream) as Doppo buried his face into Hifumi’s neck when he was certain his friend was asleep. 

Visualising these scents was far harder and in vain, however, because the only thing Doppo could smell was the present stench of a dirty mop…

Other than scent, there was feel. And Doppo could only think of the jacket that Hifumi wore. Doppo treated it like the plague sometimes, doing anything to avoid it, because he knew that Hifumi needed it more than him and Hifumi meant the world to him, much more than his idiotic fears. 

But whenever Hifumi, out of his own free will, put the jacket over Doppo’s shoulders, a warmth spread across Doppo and he clutched the sleeves closer to him. It felt like Hifumi was latching onto him and Doppo breathed it in, being comforted by his presence even when Hifumi physically let go of him. 

On some days, Hifumi left the jacket at home when he would spend time with Jakurai (though it was rare in itself that he wouldn’t drag Doppo with him or that Doppo would tag along to make sure Hifumi didn’t do anything to upset the doctor). When those days coincided with Doppo’s off days, the salary worker would prefer to stay in and be lazy at home instead. So when he came upon the jacket while sorting through the laundry, he would silently slip it on and finally fold it, putting it away when he was finished. It was miraculous that Hifumi never caught him then because Doppo decided that he would die before ever admitting this to him. 

Still thinking of the jacket, Doppo tiredly envisioned the comforting presence, letting out a small noise of surprise when he felt the familiar warmth come to him, encompassing his body. The surprise was heightened by the fact that Doppo felt something drop onto his shoulder and hands he knew so well wrapping around his arms to place oh so familiar fabric over him. Doppo was going to cry as he saw a glimpse of dress shoes appear in front of his own feet and he looked upwards to see concerned amber eyes in his immediate field of view. 

☆☆☆
“ Hey, Doppochin. Look at me .”

Doppo’s eyes shook and did his hands as he made eye contact with his childhood friend and his heart was about to burst at how Hifumi had rarely looked as solemn as he did right now. The man had tried to wear a flashy suit at a funeral, yet he looked more sorrowful as he stared at Doppo, waiting for his friend to focus on his face. 

“Hey, it’s alright. I’m here .” Hifumi had stretched his hand, most likely for Doppo to hold, but in the relief of seeing such a familiar and comforting being that he loved so much , Doppo could only let out a sob and launch himself into Hifumi. 

“ H-Hiiiifuuumiiiiiiii- ”  Doppo wailed as he buried his nose into Hifumi’s shoulder. He felt like a child and he would hate himself even more but Hifumi didn’t seem to hold any grievances and the man only wound his arms tight around Doppo, securing the jacket he put over his friend’s shoulders. It was then, in between sniffles, that Hifumi broke the silence with an astounding: 

“I’m sorry.” 

“ H-Huh? ” Doppo’s voice cracked but he still found it in him to ask because couldn’t even comprehend what Hifumi had done wrong. He couldn’t fathom why Hifumi sounded so gravely sorry, why he was sad and not knowing made Doppo feel a lump in his throat. 

“I dragged you to a place that hurt you, didn’t I?” Hifumi’s tone was abysmally sorrowful and Doppo raised his head from the host’s shoulders to see that Hifumi’s eyes were misty and the image was so wrong . Doppo would be damned if he let a tear of Hifumi’s fall to the ground. 

“It’s fine!” He exclaimed, hitting his hands lightly on Hifumi’s shoulders. Hifumi looked the least bit convinced so Doppo feverishly continued, “It’s my own fault… I couldn’t even handle a little bit of noise. Don’t worry about it.” 

Hifumi only frowned, “But I should’ve known it would be too loud for you. You didn’t want to go in the first place and I pushed you. Right?” Hifumi was not looking at Doppo but the wall behind him and his gaze was distant. Doppo couldn’t believe a word he said, though it held some truth, he wouldn’t accept it as one. 

“I didn’t… at first. But I had fun. That guitar game was fun and the plushie you got me was cu–” Doppo was rambling but he was halted by a realisation. At the time, he couldn't grasp what he had dropped but it was surely the penguin that Hifumi had gifted him… after spending so long at that machine… “Oh god, I dropped Puffles. Hifumi, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sor-” 

“I put it in the jacket pocket. I found it on the floor and grabbed it.” Hifumi assured almost immediately once Doppo’s hands started shaking again. Doppo paused before frantically patting the jacket down. He found Puffles and turned the plushie over, squeezing it in between his hands. When Doppo meant to put it in between his legs as a new security blanket he realised, belatedly, that he was sitting in Hifumi’s lap. 

His face heated up; yet Hifumi made no move to remove Doppo or made any acknowledgement of their position. Doppo simply stilled with the penguin resting on his knees. He peeked at Hifumi from behind the penguin letting out an “Ah.” 

Doppo didn’t understand why but the reaction made Hifumi’s nose go red and the man looked off to the side, a thin smile formed. “You did name it Puffles. I didn’t know you liked it that much.” 

“I do. Because you got it for me.” 

It was the only reply that Doppo could think of and it tumbled out before his brain could filter it out. The redness in Hifumi’s face had managed to spread across his cheeks as he exclaimed, “ Eh?! Really? I should get you more then. But I only have 1 swipe left… and that game’s kinda hard.” 

Hifumi’s face darkened as he stared at the floor, “And you don’t like it here… I don’t want to hurt you again.” 

“You didn’t.” It came out harsher than Doppo intended but he really couldn’t stand Hifumi looking so sullen over this, blaming himself like that. “I was going to go anyway with Jiro. You didn’t drag me anywhere I wasn’t going to go. You said you wanted to help me get familiar with the arcade, right? Now I know how to play and won’t look stupid in front of him.” 

Hifumi blinked but then his eyes softened, “ Doppochin… ” 

Doppo felt his knees lock and as comfortable as he was with Hifumi, his joints would reign hell on him if he stayed in this position for too long, however, he couldn’t disentangle himself before Hifumi spoke again. 

“I really am selfish, huh? ” 

Doppo could only stare at him as the host continued on. 

“I did tell you that’s why we were going, didn’t I-? Honestly, I just couldn’t stand the thought of you having fun somewhere without me? Isn’t that just pathetic, Doppochin? ” 

Hifumi’s eyes had glazed over and his fingers dug into Doppo’s shoulder blade. Doppo simply couldn’t agree with him. Not when a similar pit grew deep in his stomach whenever he saw Hifumi enjoying himself with anyone else. He was ready to refute when– 

“Plus, I just really wanted to go on a date with Doppo~” 

Doppo’s head snapped up and rammed into Hifumi’s chin who let out nothing but a little “Oofies” while Doppo groaned in pain. He rubbed his wrist against his head as he lifted it up to stare at Hifumi’s face. Despite the tone of the previous statement, Hifumi’s face was deadly serious, and Doppo felt his face burn more than the pain at the top of it. Hifumi wasn’t done, however. 

“I didn’t even consider how you felt about it though. I always push you around, don’t I? I’ll stop. If  Doppochin doesn’t want to then I’ll-” 

“ It’s fine if I’m with you .” 

“Huh?” Hifumi stopped mid-rant as Doppo stared him down as he said it. 

“I don’t really mind where we go. You could drag me to the mountains again for all I care. But if Hifumin’s with me… then I’ll be alright.” 

The silence that followed struck fear right through Doppo’s mind even moreso when he saw that Hifumi’s mouth was agape once Doppo made his statement. He was about to backpedal hard until he saw Hifumi blink and then slowly grin wide, smile spreading from ear to ear. His cheeks were still red and he laughed softly at his words and Doppo’s nerves calmed at the notion that he somehow said the right thing. Hifumi then opened his mouth to respond: 

“ I love you too, Doppochin. ” 

And then Doppo whacked him upside the head with Puffles. 

===

Somehow it started with Jiro Yamada. 

Then it continued with Hifumi Izanami. 

It ended up with Doppo Kannonzaka. 

The line of progression was bizarre, but so was most of his life since he decided to pick up his hypnosis microphone. 

Doppo could say with absolute certainty though that through any line of events, the one thing that would remain constant was Hifumi’s hand grasping Doppo’s own as they walked together. 

Currently, they had left the bathroom and kept on walking until they had reached near the entrance of the arcade: where they had started (more or less). They had one swipe left but Hifumi had insisted that they didn’t have to use it unless Doppo wanted to– and Doppo was fresh out of ideas on what to use it for. 

“I thought this would for sure be a really romantic date, you know? Honest-!” 

“Hifumi. The most romantic moment we had was in a bathroom.” 

“So it was romantic?!” Doppo flicked him in the forehead. 

Walking along, they found themselves heading closer to the exit. Doppo would’ve sighed in relief, but instead he stopped in his tracks, making HIfumi stumble once the host realised that they weren’t moving. 

“Hifumi, I want to go there.” 

“Huh? Where?” Hifumi scanned the direction that Doppo was facing, wondering what made him stop so suddenly like that and the host’s eyes landed on…

“ The photobooth??? But you said you would never go in there.” It was true that Doppo had said that but Hifumi wanted to and that was enough of a reason for Doppo to want to do it for him, especially after all the things Hifumi did for him. 

“Just get in.” Doppo nudged Hifumi in the hip and Hifumi let out an ‘Okaaaayyyy’ and the sheer happiness in the way that Hifumi bounced over there was worth the embarrassment that came when when two little boys on a machine nearby stared at them as they approached the photo booth. 

Doppo was ready to just get in the booth and out as quickly as possible, but his nose collided with Hifumi’s hand as the host had held it out. “Wait, wait wait! I’m not ready-!” 

Before Doppo could even question what he even needed to be ready for, he wore a dress suit , Hifumi reached into his jacket still set on Doppo’s shoulders (Doppo did offer to give it back to Hifumi in case they ran into another woman but Hifumi had muttered something unintelligible about Doppo looking cute in the jacket and Doppo gave up and let it sit there). Hifumi pulled out a hair comb and Doppo wondered how many things he stuffed into that thing. Hifumi swiftly combed over his hair as he defended himself, “You can’t take a photo looking like this! Do you want me to fix your hair, Doppochin?” 

“What’s wrong with my-” Doppo frowned but before he could say anymore, Hifumi cupped Doppo’s face in his hands and combed through his hair. Doppo himself  barely combed his hair, he ust threaded his fingers through it while he was doing paperwork. 

“Perfect!” Hifumi had pocketed the comb back into the jacket and Doppo still wanted to ask what was wrong with his hair before, but Hifumi had grabbed his hand and dragged him into the booth. The slot was inside the booth and Hifumi swiped the card, for the last time it was worth, and the wide screen showed the two of them sitting in the booth. 

Hifumi looked fine before, Doppo honestly couldn’t tell the difference. Doppo’s own hair… was alright… he supposed. Doppo was more concerned about his face. His eyebags were permanently stained on his face, but he had forgotten he cried earlier and the tear tracks were faintly noticeable. He was going to graze his fingers against them but Hifumi cut him to the chase and grabbed his cheek, stretching it, “You gotta smile during the photo, Doppochin~” 

“ Ow … Hifumi, stop, I know how to smile…” 

“Then smile silly-!” Hifumi had let go of his cheek and put an arm around Doppo’s shoulder. Before he pressed the button to take the picture, he whispered in Doppo’s ear, “Thinking about it, taking  the photo at the end is much better~ That’s because it shows how much we had! I’m going to keep this one in my wallet.” Doppo blinked as Hifumi pressed the button. The photo wasn’t immediate then, thank god, but a 15 second timer displayed on the screen. 

Doppo took the time to think about the date as a whole. It was so stupid and he wanted to go to sleep when they got home. Despite that, he thinks of being with Hifumi and he forgets about being miserable. 

Because this was Hifumi: who encouraged him to do his best because the host believed in him. Hifumi, who tried so hard to do anything for him, without ever being discouraged. Hifumi, who was always able to calm him down no matter how far Doppo goes down his mental spiral. 

Doppo could very much say that Hifumi was like a puzzle piece that he couldn’t be complete without, ever since they met 20 years ago, and knowing that Hifumi felt the same as he did, wrapping his arm tighter around Doppo, pressing their bodies closer together… 

Doppo felt insanely happy. 

Even looking at Hifumi’s confused face, as the man looked at the screen before  turning towards Doppo, was endearing. Doppo hadn’t even realised that he was staring until– 

“Doppochin, you’re supposed to look at the camera not me- mph?! ” 

And if Doppo kissed Hifumi right there in the photo booth… 

It was because he owed him for Puffles.