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Ashiwara-san is sitting alone in the grass, pulling out dandelions and blowing their fluff into the air. He looks tired and like he's lost a little weight, if the way his sweater hangs off his shoulders is any indication. They haven't spoken in a month, and Kouji is tempted to keep walking, to maintain his mantra of I don't care, but Ashiwara-san looks as miserable as Kouji feels, and suddenly he's on the grass, flopping down next to him.
"Saeki-kun," Ashiwara-san says, and his voice is soft, but devoid of anything resembling emotion. Kouji doesn't say anything; instead, he grabs the nearest dandelion and watches as the white stems dance on the breeze. They sit there in silence for a while, and while it's not comfortable, it's not entirely uncomfortable either.
He wants to ask what went wrong, but every time he thinks he has enough courage to ask, Ashiwara-san looks about ready to talk, and he stays quiet. Finally, just as the sun is setting, Kouji breaks the silence. "What happened?"
"I don't know," Ashiwara-san replies, and he sounds so sad that Kouji has to fight the instinct to wrap his arm around Ashiwara-san's shoulders and pull him close.
"Ah," he says, because he can't really think of anything else to say. It's not like he can apologize for something when he's not sure what he did, so he sits there and stares at the darkening sky. "So, you and Ogata-sensei." It hurts a little to say it, because he never suspected anything, but there it was, plain as day.
"What?" Ashiwara-san sounds confused. "There's nothing between me and Ogata-san."
Kouji frowns. "But," he says, "I saw you. He had his hand on your lower back." And the thought still makes him angry, so he tries to clear the image from his head. This is the first time in a while that he and Ashiwara-san have talked, and, even if he feels hurt and betrayed, he still loves Ashiwara-san and really doesn't want to part on bad terms.
But he's looking at Ashiwara-san, who is frowning. "Oh," he says, as though he's figured everything out. "I was spacing out and running into things because I was trying to figure out why you were mad at me."
"Why I was mad at you?" Kouji repeats, and Ashiwara-san nods. "I wasn't mad at you, Ashiwara-san."
"Yes, you were," he insists. "You were acting weird and secretive and you had blown me off about dinner." He looks so serious and earnest, all at once, and Kouji has to stifle the urge to break out into hysterical laughter. Something must show on his face, because Ashiwara-san's palm is cupping his cheek; his hand is cold against Kouji's skin, and the only thing he can think of is that this is the first time in a month that Ashiwara-san has touched him.
Slowly, he covers Ashiwara-san's hand with his own. "I want to live together," he says quietly, and Ashiwara-san's eyes widen. "I wasn't blowing you off; I just didn't want to give it away before I asked."
"Oh," Ashiwara-san breathes, and Ashiwara-san is now in his personal space, close enough that the tips of their noses brush with every exhale of breath. "Do you still want to?"
Kouji nods, and leans forward to capture Ashiwara-san's lips in a gentle kiss. He can feel Ashiwara-san's lips pressing against his, and the knot that had formed in Kouji's stomach when he saw Ashiwara-san and Ogata-san unravels.
The quiet night air is shattered by the shriek of children's laughter, and they pull away. Ashiwara-san is smiling, and Kouji can feel the beginnings of a grin tugging at his lips. Stars are starting to dot the sky, breaking the expanse of dark blue with little specks of white. Ashiwara-san lowers his hand from Kouji's face, and the breeze is cold against the warm skin.
"Shall we get dinner, Saeki-kun?" Ashiwara-san asks, and Kouji nods, following Ashiwara-san's lead and rising to his feet. He's brushing the grass from the back of his slacks when Ashiwara-san speaks. "Shall we look at apartments on our next free day?" Ashiwara-san suddenly looks shy. "I mean, if you wanted to."
Kouji smiles. "Yeah," he says. "That sounds good."