Work Text:
Ryoma winced a bit as he traded his running shoes for apartment slippers. The extra round of laps and stair sprints made everything ache and buzz.
The apartment was dark, save for the pool of light from under Kaito’s room at the end of the hallway. The clattering of keystrokes from within ceased.
“It’s just me.” Ryoma called out, flipping on the lightswitch.
A rough brushstroke of purple hair peaked from behind the door.
“You’re home late. Something happen at practice?”
“Collective punishment.” He replied, shuffling his way over to the fridge.
“What? Why? Did the goalie get mouthy again?” Kaito frowned. “I wouldn’t blame him, everything I’ve heard so far about your new coach is that he’s a major douche canoe.”
“Can’t say I feel like talking about it right now, Momota.” He sighed. He winced once more as he pulled on the handle, blinking at the contents within.
“Whatcha looking for?” Kaito hovered his head above Ryoma’s, trying to match his perspective.
“Ginger tea.”
“Oh! They’re up here!” He smiled, reaching up to grab a bottle. “Sorry, I was rearranging stuff after I got back from the grocery store. Guess I forgot to put those back down.”
But instead of a usual witty retort, Ryoma only muttered a neutral thank-you, silently unscrewing the cap as he made his way to the living room. Kaito nabbed an apple for himself before following him to the couch. While he could tell right away that there was more than just soreness at play, Kaito knew better to keep prodding. Ryoma cycled through channels before settling on some kind of variety show, but his glazed expression made it obvious it wasn’t for the sake of actual interest.
“How’s the writing been going?”
“Pretty good! Only problem is that not many places are interested in science fiction submissions right now. Isekai is…still, uh the money making genre right now for publishers. But, there’s still a few smaller, niche places looking for submissions, so I might give those a try.”
Ryoma nodded, still looking a bit lost in his own thoughts. He slid over the remote to Kaito right as a commercial break started up.
“I’m going to bed. Just send me your half of the rent when you get a chance.”
“Wait, hold on, it’s the 1st already?” Kaito paled a bit, fumbling for his phone.
“Yesterday was the 30th. Unless I missed some kind of world wide memo.” He hopped down from the couch. “Look, if you need me to help cover–”
“No, I’ll get my share to you, it’s no problem.” He quickly reassured with a smile. “This whole roommate thing is a partnership, I don’t wanna drag you or anybody else down. I’ll call my one agent buddy, see who’s looking for short fiction. Easy.”
At around 6 in the morning, Ryoma felt something tap his shoulder.
“Hey, so, update. Called my one buddy, found a place to submit stuff to. I’ve even got a first draft ready to go, I just need…a super small bit of help with something.”
Ryoma squinted against the beam of light pouring in through the doorway. It wasn’t uncommon for him to sometimes act as Kaito’s ‘assistant’ when he needed extra help pinning down sensory details: things like supporting a handstand to reenact altered gravity, going on grueling hikes to simulate different levels of exhaustion, and so on. However, the last ‘little bit of help’ Ryoma was involved with ended up going rather poorly.
“If it involves rope again, you’re out of luck.”
For Ryoma, at least.
It was an ‘interrogation scene’, with Kaito trying to get into the headspace of his dashing main hero while tied up to a chair in the middle of the living room. Ryoma, after making sure he had tightened the knots to Kaito’s preference so he could ‘realistically struggle’, made the mistake of answering a knock at their front door.
“No rope, I promise!” He held a hand over his heart. “Besides, that one lady moved out and the cops didn’t need to come back after we explained everything. This’ll be easy. Like, you’ll barely have to do anything. You’ll get some free food out of the deal, too.”
Ryoma rolled over to check the time. He rubbed his eyes, with a resigned sigh.
“Give me twenty minutes. At least.”
“Deal!” With a final wink and thumbs up Kaito closed the door behind him. Ryoma plopped a pillow over his face.
So much for a day off.
After groggily shoveling breakfast into his mouth, Ryoma’s first ‘task’ was to stand in front of a mirror.
“That’s it?”
“Pretty much! Just stand right there while I take some notes.”
“Seems odd to me, but you do what you gotta, I guess.” With a small shrug he stood in the center, watching in the reflection as Kaito scribbled something down on a small notepad. He tucked the pen away in the spiral for a moment.
“Alright, is it ok if I pose you a bit? Like, putting my hands on your shoulder, that kind of thing?”
“Knock yourself out.”
With that, Kaito stood behind his heels, placing a gentle hand atop each shoulder. Kaito frowned at the reflection.
“Nah.” He shook his head.
“What’s wrong?”
“Not what I’m looking for. Lemme try something.”
He bent down to close the distance between them, resting his chin atop Ryoma’s head and shifting his arms to lazily cross against his chest.
“There we go, that’s a hell of a lot better!” Kaito beamed at the mirror. “Kinda weird to talk with like…the top of your skull right there, though. I’m not hurting you, am I?”
“I’m fine.” Despite his outward calmness, Ryoma quietly fretted over Kaito possibly picking up on a sudden change in his skin temperature. He wasn’t used to close contact like this. But he didn’t want to admit that he didn’t necessarily mind it. Before he had much time to really dwell on it, Kaito stood upright again, quickly writing down some more for the notepad.
“Am I free to go shower now?”
“Oh, totally, dude. Go for it. We’ve got a full day ahead.” He smiled before giving a parting hair ruffle.
Right as he was rinsing some shampoo runoff out of his eye, there was a knock and a squeak of door hinges.
“Yo, real quick, I have a shirt for you to try on once you’re out, I’m just gonna leave it by the sink.”
After drying off his feet to ensure he wouldn’t slip, Ryoma inspected the folded shirt. He furrowed a brow once he recognized it. It was a t-shirt that Kaito had gotten from a planetarium during his last visit to the States, cheesy space pun and all. As expected, it swallowed him like a parachute. At least it was still warm from the dyer. But instead of immediately reaching for the notepad, Kaito just sort of stared at him when he shuffled into the living room, which just left Ryoma all the more confused.
Is…this not what he was expecting me to look like?
“You mind telling me what kind of story you’re trying to write? If it’s a comedy, I can’t say this is my type of humor.”
“Oh,” That seemed to break him out of whatever trance he was in, and the pen resumed its dance across the paper. “It’s supposed to be one of those soft, fluffy romance type stories. The theme is couples where there’s a height difference. Not my usual genre, but whatever helps to pay the bills, right?”
Now it all seemed to click, although Ryoma privately debated whether having that knowledge made this whole thing more or less awkward.
“And that’s…popular?”
“Absolutely!” He beamed. “These guys have a bunch of niche anthologies, and they do pretty well for being a much smaller player in the publishing scene.”
Ryoma let out a small sigh, running a hand through his still damp hair.
“Can’t say I fully understand, but if that’s what people want to pay for.” He glanced up. “Can I take this off now?”
“I think you look pretty sharp, but if you wanna swap out, go for it.” He chuckled. “And be sure to dress comfy, we’ve got a lot of walking ahead of us. If we power through it, we should be done before sundown!”
The first stop on the ‘itinerary’, much to Ryoma’s surprise, was a cat cafe. A rather popular one at that. One of the employees gave them a polite smile as she flipped the sign to ‘open’.
“You normally need a reservation to get in this early. And they tend to book up pretty quickly” Ryoma remarked as he held the door open.
“Oh, I know, I made sure we got one. I read that one of the best times to interact with cats is earlier in the morning. That’s part of the reason I was up so late, actually. Lots of planning and research in between getting that first draft done. I’ve actually got a whole itinerary set for today.”
“You’re saying you’ve been awake since I got home from soccer practice last night?” Ryoma frowned.
“I’ve survived all-nighters plenty of time before, don’t worry.” He waved a reassuring hand. “When I’m doing my sci-fi stuff, nothing gives me more of a jolt of inspiration than just laying flat out on the balcony at the big ol’ panorama of the night sky. I’ll just grab a coffee on the cafe side before the cats, it’ll be all good.”
While Ryoma gave him a look of skepticism, it was quickly drawn away by the sounds of jingling bells and meowing.
“Go on ahead and get a head start.” He smiled. “Let me down something and then be right over. We’ve got the whole hour.”
As Ryoma settled into his seat, a few of the resident cats happily rubbed against his ankles and accepted pets and chin scratches. Kaito, recharged by caffeine, sat beside him soon after. With pen in hand, he began to look studiously between Ryoma, then over at the cats, and then back again.
“You look like you have a question, Momota.”
“I thought the point of these places was to be totally covered in cats once you sit down, but you’ve only got a few over here. I guess I’m more used to dogs. You think they’re afraid of me?”
“Cats tend to do their own thing. If they want to be social, they’ll be social. Some more than others. If you want to be covered in cats, you can use one of these.” He handed over a small gashapon capsule filled with kibble-sized treats.
“What’s this?”
“They have a repurposed capsule machine in the corner. Just open it.”
The moment Kaito popped open the plastic, a fluffy battalion encircled him, each of them eager for a share of the treasure in his hand.
“Whoa there, guys, one at a time.” He laughed, pouring out some of the tiny rounds into an open hand. “Each of you’ll get one, I promise.”
“I can help, hold on.” Ryoma’s fingertips brushed against Kaito’s palm as he picked up a small stock of treats. Once each of them had gotten their share, Ryoma took advantage of some additional pets for the willing newcomers. A wide-eyed Russian Blue, one of Ryoma’s personal favorites, purred loudly as it settled into his lap.
“Oh, wow. I don’t think I’ve seen that kind before.” Kaito awed, scribbling away again.
“They’re not a super common breed. For some reason I’ve always been drawn to ‘em. ”
“Oh, I was talking about your smile! I don’t think I’ve seen you like that since I’ve known you. The cat is pretty cute too, though!”
Ryoma felt his skin temperature spike again. Thankfully, one of the attendants approached, giving him an out from directly responding.
“Your hour is up. Thank you for visiting, gentlemen.”
After using a complimentary lint roller to pick up any lingering cat hair, they were back on foot, twisting and turning through alleys and back streets to their next destination.
“Do you mind if I hold your hand for a little bit?”
Ryoma nodded, offering up his hand. Compared to the last few times he played ‘assistant’, being a pretend datemate was a breeze. Kaito smiled as he intertwined their fingers. But, as he reached for his notepad from his pocket, it quickly dawned on him how notetaking would be impossible without letting Ryoma’s hand go. With an internal shrug, he left it be.
Ryoma’s palms were rugged, probably from lifting weights, Kaito thought. It was a nice, manly, hand that was rather pleasant to hold, he concluded with a grin.
The sound of bustling crowds met them as their path rejoined the main road. It was a modest shopping plaza that was mostly populated by clothing stores, but the crowning jewel seemed to be a humble crepe shop, with an extravagant line snaking in front of it.
“Checking off all of the shoujo manga cliches, huh.” Ryoma hummed.
“Hey, those tropes are helping to pay rent.” He chuckled. “Besides, haven’t you always wanted to get one of the crazy ones with like…a whole tiramisu inside, but didn’t have a partner to help eat it?”
“Can’t say it’s on my bucket list, but if it’ll help with your whole research thing, I’ll bite.”
After a small wait on a nearby bench, Ryoma was handed a very generously stuffed crepe with a healthy amount of whipped cream on top. He glanced up with a perked brow.
“You sure you don’t want the first bite?”
“Nah, you first. I’ve got some stuff I’ve gotta jot down.”
With a small shrug, Ryoma took just a small scoop of the filing with the included spoon. Since he was sharing, it didn’t feel right to just bite into it right away. It was some kind of a-la-mode apple pie type flavor, with the cold vanilla dancing with the warm cinnamon. Ryoma let out a small, content hum.
“Sounds like it’s got the Ryoma seal of approval, huh?” Kaito smiled. “Mind if I try some?”
Ryoma nodded, expecting to just hand him the spoon, but Kaito instead leaned against his shoulder, leaning dangerously close in order to snag a bite.
“Oh wow,” He grinned, clicking his pen open again. “I get why these are all the rage with people now.”
“I’ll take it you’ve never had one before?”
Kaito shook his head. “Always wanted to, especially to the one that was down the road from school back in the day. Never could get any of the guys in the writers club to go with me. They thought getting crepes was more of a thing girls did, unless you were on a date.”
“I probably would have gone with you back then, if you had asked.”
“On a date, you mean?” Kaito blinked. There was the faintest tinge of pink on his cheeks, along with a small dab of whipped cream.
“I meant the crepe place.” Ryoma reached over with a small napkin to wipe it away. “And I think out of all the other candidates in our class, I’d probably be the least fun to date. Was always too much of a workaholic.”
“What? Are you kidding? I’m having an awesome time with you, dude! I’m learning all kinds of stuff about cats, and how awesome crepes are, and a whole bunch of other stuff to make this story really kick ass!”
He took another bite before offering it back to Ryoma, who gave the smallest of head shakes.
“You can have the rest.”
“You sure?” He blinked before something seemed to have dawned on him. “Oh. Wait, that’s right, I forgot. You’ve got a soccer match soon, right? If I get this submitted on time, I should be able to go watch–”
Kaito stopped. It was like a rerun of last night on the couch, but this time Ryoma didn’t have the refuge of staring at the TV screen. Eyes that seemed to be drifting off into space, but by no means in a pleasant way. For some reason, Kaito felt compelled to put his hand atop his, but just as he was about to make contact, Ryoma slid off the bench.
“What was next on your whole research list?”
The next few blocks were swathed in awkward silence before something caught Kaito’s eye.
“...detour.”
“Detour?” Ryoma furrowed a brow, looking around for any kind of literal construction signs posted along the sidewalk. But instead of a verbal response, Kaito promptly snapped up his hand and rushed down to the crosswalk. While his training as an athlete kept him from getting tired after a sudden sprint, his soreness from the night prior quickly resurfaced. He winced as Kaito’s steps finally slowed in front of a bustling gaming center.
“You mind telling me where the fire is, Momota?”
“Dude, look, look, look–” Kaito eagerly pointed to one of the crane games. “Look at the size of that Chococat plush in there!”
Behind the glass panel was a rather hefty looking plush, about the size of Ryoma’s head.
“Do the people in your story go to an arcade?” He glanced up with a bit of confusion.
“They do now!” He chuckled, digging into his wallet for some change. “Besides, I know how rare it is to see this guy as an arcade prize. He’s one of your favorites, right?”
Before Ryoma could open his mouth to protest Kaito spending any more money on him than he already had, Kaito dropped in a coin. The machine let out a small, cheery tune.
“What’s the plot for this thing you’re writing?” He watched as Kaito slowly inched the trio of claws in position, with careful button taps.
“Unless you’d prefer to just keep it to yourself, of course.”
The claw descended and clamped down on the plushy prize, only to have it slip out and plop back down to earth.
“It’s about these two people who went to high school together.” Kaito replied, plunking in another coin. “They meet up in a bar after the main character’s friends flake on him.”
A very small smile worked its way across Ryoma’s face.
“Taking a page from real life, huh?”
When Ryoma had been selected for the city soccer team, there was supposed to be a welcome wagon type party at one of the local izakayas, but Ryoma was the last one to get the memo that it was rescheduled. A lone, but still smiling Kaito had been sitting in the corner, also waiting for a party that would never come. For some reason, that night ended with a hungover Kaito snoring on the floor of Ryoma’s apartment, and the rest was history.
“Hey, they say to write what you know.” He chuckled. The plush once again escaped from the claw’s clutches. Another coin was deposited, this time with a bit more determination.
“I’d offer to help, but I can’t see the full scope of the field. I’m stuck looking head on.”
“Then, how about we…” Kaito wrapped his arms around Ryoma’s waist, lifting him up to chest height. “...change your perspective?”
Ryoma let out a sharp grunt of surprise, steeling himself as to not accidentally send a sudden kick into one of Kaito’s vital regions.
“Go for it, Ryoma! I got your back, literally!” As if to drive the point home, Kaito gave him a small squeeze. Ryoma felt his pulse quicken. Despite being a novelist by trade, he had forgotten how strong Kaito’s arms were. He struggled a bit to reach down to the button controls, but it was far easier to position the claws than it would have been down on the ground. This time, with a little bit of finesse, Ryoma was just barely able to swing the fluffy prize over the acrylic barrier and down the chute.
“See? I knew you could do it!” He cheered with a hearty laugh, vibrating against the smaller man’s back. After a dizzying spin and final hug, he was returned back to earth. There was a light feeling in Ryoma’s heart as he carefully scooped the wide eye cat mascot out from the machine.
“Not too shabby for a–” He stopped. Kaito was scribbling frantically in his notepad. A much more sobering sensation overtook him.
Don’t forget what we’re doing this for.
His eye caught sight of several people staring and whispering just a few yards behind Kaito’s back. Once their eyes met his, they quickly scurried away.
“Not too shabby for a what now?” Kaito glanced down at him with a slight head tilt. Ryoma realized as he held up his head to look up at him just how much of a physical disparity there was between them.
“What I’m saying is that this team needs a serious image change on top of everything else. Scouts and sponsors want a strong and uniform men’s team. You understand?”
“Never mind, it’s nothing.” Ryoma replied. Kaito responded with a doubtful look, frown steeped with concern.
“You wanna go someplace quieter for a little bit?”
The local park was mostly barren. The salarymen that often walked the brick pathways during their brief lunch breaks had long since departed. While Kaito and Ryoma held hands once more, it was a simple palm-to-palm. The shuffle of footsteps and the hum of distant passing cars were some of the only sounds to fill the air.
“Do you think you have enough material for your story?” Ryoma at last broke the silence.
“Oh, totally. I’ve got this final draft in the bag!” He tried to offer up one of his signature smiles, but Ryoma’s eyes seemed distant once again. Kaito felt his heart sink as Ryoma slowly withdrew his hand.
Right as Kaito parted his lips to speak, a heavy drop of rain splattered against his shoulder. Then another. In what felt like an instant, they were caught in a sudden downpour.
“Shit–” Kaito clawed off his jacket and stretched it over his head to act as an impromptu umbrella for the both of them. The Chococat plush bounced around with vacant eyes as they ran, its head sticking out from Kaito’s party zipped backpack. The pair quickly found shelter under a bus stop. A laminated sheet of official looking paper apologized that the route was temporarily moved to another stop on the other end of the park.
“C’mere.” Kaito beckoned Ryoma over, pulling him into his lap. “You’ve gotta be freezing.”
While Ryoma initially hesitated, the warmth that emanated from Kaito’s body eventually drew him close against his chest. Kaito drew the damp jacket over them like a blanket. For a moment, there was just the pattering of rain against the metal slab of roofing above them.
“Did…I do or say something wrong, Ryoma?”
“What?” His eyebrows softly furrowed.
“If I did, tell me so I can fix it or apologize. I don’t ever wanna be the reason you’re upset. Something’s been eating at you, I can tell.”
“It’s not you, Momota.” He sighed. “And it’s not something I think you’d be able to fix. Or anybody.”
“Does it have something to do with the soccer team?”
Another, much heavier sigh escaped his lips. It wasn’t right to try and keep it all locked away to himself.
“...I might get cut from the team, Kaito. Benched, if I’m lucky.”
“Wait, hold up, why the hell would they even think about doing that? You’ve never broken any rules, on or off the field. You’re one of the highest scoring players they’ve got!”
The staccato of rain against metal filled the silence.
“New coach has big dreams of monetizing the team and expansion. Said my ‘image’ was a distraction to the rest of the team. I stick out too much.”
“That’s total bullshit–” Kaito fumed, shielding his arms around him. “Did you tell him to fuck off? Is that why you got a collective punishment or whatever last night?”
“Not in as eloquent terms, but basically. Not exactly my coolest response.”
“Still. He had it coming.” Kaito relaxed a bit, but could still sense some lingering pain. “...but it still got under your skin, didn’t it?”
He slowly nodded.
“Hey. Look at me for a second.”
Ryoma slowly turned his head, with Kaito gently placing a warm palm against his cheek.
“You’re one of the most hard-working and dependable people I know. That…that one night where I got stood up, I know I was smiling and joking around, but it cut deep to be left behind like that. I don’t think I can name anybody else who’d be willing to sit down next to somebody they barely talked to in high school, and make him feel at home. And then take that same sloshed, loud, singing mess on the last train with him to let him sleep off six pints back at his place.”
Ryoma smiled softly at that.
“And so what if your ‘image’ or whatever the hell is different from everybody else? I think that’s part of what makes you so awesome!” He offered out his notepad. “And I’ve got proof, too.”
He turned it over in his hand for a moment before flipping through some of the pages. At first, it started out relatively normal:
‘Cat cafes allow walk-ins, but A-kun would probably get a reservation. Remember to reserve a morning slot for tomorrow.’
‘B-kun is about two heads shorter than A-kun. Based on test with Ryoma, A-kun can rest his chin easily on B-kun’s head.’
But then, there was a shift:
‘Ryoma is the perfect size to lean against. Super sturdy and supportive.’
‘Looks very good with larger shirt’
‘Eyes are super soft and gentle when he’s petting cats. Can tell they trust him.’
‘Gotta collect the different smiles, the one from cats and eating crepes have subtle differences.’
‘Update: smile from winning the crane game together is super bright, might be favorite.
‘Holding him up in arms feels like when a puzzle piece fits together.’’
“Guess you could say I…kinda forgot I was supposed to be writing a light novel.” Kaito laughed, with a bit of a bashful blush. “Guess I realized that today has to end at some point, right? I didn’t want to forget anything, as selfish as that–”
It only took half a second for Ryoma to close the gap between them. It was a brief spark of lips making contact. Kaito placed a gentle hand behind his head, reassuring him that retreating away wasn’t necessary. There was a final, longer kiss shared before Ryoma pulled away, cheeks flushed and heart full.
“...today doesn’t have to end, if you don’t want it to.”
At around 6 in the morning, Ryoma felt a familiar pair of arms wrap around him. His first practice with the new team was in a few hours. It was almost comical how quickly he was picked up by a rival team, the only downside was it was a slightly longer train commute from the apartment.
“Final draft just got submitted.” Kaito murmured. “Editors say pre-orders look good for this third volume. Which reminds me…” He nuzzled the back of his neck. “I got a call from my agent buddy. Said the one romance story is selling well. Like…really, really well.”
“They want to commission you for a sequel I’m guessing?” Ryoma stretched before rolling to rest his head against Kaito’s chest.
“That depends. You feel like helping with part two?”
Ryoma nodded, holding him close.
“Always.”