Work Text:
“He’s running pretty late, isn’t he.”
Hinata stilled his tapping fingers against the counter. “What? No, it’s just a few minutes. That could hardly be considered late.”
“It’s 6:48.”
“Yes, it’s somewhere around that, I’m sure. I don’t have a clock in here.” What Hinata did have was a fully made dinner that was ready to be eaten by three people, but if he stopped looking at it, maybe it would go cold slower.
Yuuta rolled his eyes, waving his phone. “You own a magical device that can always tell you what time it is. It is 6:48. Dinner was supposed to be at 6:30.”
“Oh, was it?” Hinata laughed airly. His fingers started tapping again. 18 minutes past the agreed upon meeting time wasn’t that bad. And a good, patient, guy like Hinata had no trouble supporting his boyfriend’s occupation, however sporadic it was. Said supportiveness also extended into feeding white lies to his brother.
“Maybe I said 6:45 by mistake? I just can’t remember!” Hinata said. “But Tsukasa-kun is a very punctual guy, you know.”
Yuuta leveled a look at him.
Hinata smiled.
“Let’s just turn the TV on while we wait. Which won’t be a long wait, by the way. It’ll be a brief wait. Barely a wait at all.”
“The food’s gonna go cold,” Yuuta remarked as Hinata got the remote and turned the TV on. “And my impression of him will get worse too.”
“Yuuta-kub, be nice. Aren’t you the one always telling me I gotta live for myself and get a life? You can’t go chasing off my boyfriend because he’s maybe a little late to our introduction dinner that I potentially gave the wrong time for, so it really wouldn’t be his fault anyways.”
Not that Hinata could blame his brother. If the roles were reversed and Yuuta’s beau was late by even one minute, Hinata would be shaking Yuuta by the shoulders telling him he deserved so much better. The audacity to neglect planning properly! To fail to give the all too important introductory showdown the significance it deserved!
But Yuuta didn’t know Tsukasa, and he certainly didn’t know his job. Hinata did have a sinking feeling in his chest about the holdup though, so he flipped the channel to the news just in time to wince as he saw a car get thrown at his boyfriend.
Late. Tsukasa was going to be so very late.
“Is that downtown?” Hinata observed, already knowing very well the answer to that. “You know, Tsukasa-kun’s office is close by there. Maybe it’s not his fault he’s late. Who could get through a traffic build up like that?”
“Poor planning is his own fault. Downtown is always getting robbed or blown up.” Yuuta crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. “If he really works in that area then it’s a miracle he hasn't been robbed or blown up. And speaking of robbing, you said he’s rich right?”
Hinata nodded. He didn’t care to hide that, and he knew there would be no point anyways considering the second Tsukasa walked in, he’d be reeking of the bourgeoisie.
“He’s from a big rich family. Big as in generational, not size. He’s an only child. He’s really smart and stuff though, like masters degree and PhD smart. Couldn’t tell you what they’re in specifically, but I’ve seen the fancy papers before, all framed up on the wall and everything.”
Yuuta looked less than impressed. He actually looked more irritated than anything, which made Hinata bite his lip because he was really banking on the ‘look how well off I will be if I manage to bag this’ angle.
“You would think a doctor would be able to tell time. Now he’s 20 minutes late, isn’t that nice?” Yuuta mused. “I can really tell how much he cares to meet me, the brother of his boyfriend. Twin brother, in fact, which I believe holds even more weight. Interesting.”
Hinata stuck his tongue out at him. Of course Yuuta, who for all their formative years wanted the world to forget they were twins, would lean over it like a crutch now as if he were one feeble breeze away from keeling over. Hinata didn’t know where he got these dramatics from, because it certainly wasn’t him .
But as Hinata watched Tsukasa, suited up in classic superhero spandex fashion, take another car to the face that launched him into a stoplight, Hinata relented that maybe he needed to remind his boyfriend where his current priorities should be.
“You know what, Yuuta-kun, you just sit right there a second. I’m gonna go call- no, um. I gotta go pee.” Hinata nodded, affirming his own words. “Yes, pee. Now. So, you wait. And I will… be right back.”
Yuuta stared holes right through him, and gave an amused smile. “Uh huh. Okay, sure, Aniki. Go pee then, no need to be nervous about it. You’ve been doing it for the past 24 years of your life.”
Hinata resisted the immature urge to stick his tongue out at him and skedaddled over to the bathroom instead. His dinky apartment only had one bathroom, but it was attached to his bedroom so there was a good distance between him and Yuuta while he closed the bathroom door and pulled out his phone.
He called Tsukasa, swearing to take off one of the countless heart emojis from his contact name if he got sent to voicemail.
Dialing… dialing… dialing… and then a beep of the call going through.
“Ah, hello! This is Tsukasa Suou, thank you for calling.” He sounded breathless, and Hinata distantly heard a car alarm going off. “I am unfortunately engaged with something right now, may I ask your—” An awful crunching sound cut him off, which Hinata deeply hoped was not his nose breaking. “Your name? And I will call you back as soon as I am able to.”
“Honey," Hinata sighed. “Did your suit’s Caller ID break again?”
“Oh, Hinata-kun. Hi darling.” Tsukasa’s tone flipped on a dime, his smile oozing through his voice. “Yes, it did. I thought it would be more resistant to the um, battering, but it appears to need more upgrades. I’ll fix it this weekend, hopefully.”
Hinata tapped his fingers against his phone case, finding little comfort in the cracked plastic that needed to be replaced. “Do you know what time it is?”
“Well, the internal clock broke too, but don’t worry! I know dinner with your brother is at 6:30. I bought those chocolates you told me he likes, the spicy ones. And I have been mentally preparing for the past month, as you have advised. You gave a rather long list of topics not to bring up, but I have it memorized and thus I promise to deliver an outstanding first impression to your brother.”
Hinata loved Tsukasa, he really, truly did, but he could not stop the pained groan from escaping his mouth.
“Tsukasa-kun,” he said. “You are very, very, very late.”
“What?! No, but I left work on time! Darling, I— Hold on—” A minor explosion interrupted Tsukasa, and after a few more booms and the sharp crackling of flames, he resumed speaking. “I swear on my honor I was out the door on time, even a few minutes early. I haven’t been fighting that long, have I? What time is it?”
“It’s enough time that Yuuta-kun is, decidedly, not impressed with you. Or fond. Or even likely to approve of you by the end of the night,” Hinata said. “Listen, dear, honey, darling, sweetie. Yuuta-kun is going to kill you. He is going to pull you limb by limb and scrutinize you under the world’s largest microscope and make fun of every single thing you say. This is inevitable, because you are just so very late.”
“Hinata-kun—”
“And I am warning you,” Hinata continued, pinching his nose as if Tsukasa could see his exasperation. “If you are not here in the next five minutes, then you won’t need to worry about Yuuta-kun. You are going to have to worry about me killing you. Not Yuuta-kun, not whatever villain of the week you’re fighting right now. Me. Me . Do you understand?”
“Yes, dear. Of course. I will be there right away, I promise.”
“Good!” Hinata cheered. “I’ll see you then. Love you lots!”
“I love you too. Goodbye, Hinata-kun.”
Hinata ended the call with a satisfied grin. Yes, this dinner would go well. He could possibly salvage it into a barely passing C- grade.
He exited the bathroom, quickly turned around to flush the toilet despite understanding Yuuta knew he hadn’t used it but he stubbornly refused to let go of the bit.
Yuuta raised his eyebrows at him as Hinata walked back in, rubbing his hands on his pants as if they were still a bit damp.
“You look cheery. Are you happy you didn’t fall in? Or that your lame boyfriend will be here within the next hour?”
“It just puts a smile on my face to use my ‘whispering cherry blossom’ hand soap,” Hinata said.
He had set the table earlier — before Yuuta had arrived, he’d done a lot of cleaning to his already tidy apartment since he knew the level of scrutiny it’d be under — but that was just plates. Armed with the confirmation that Tsukasa was going to be there within five minutes or else, he brought the food in from the kitchen and set it out in the middle of the table. But he wasn’t entirely trusting of Tsukasa’s time management, so he left the pots’ lids on to keep whatever warmth was still present inside going.
Hinata avoided his brother’s piercing gaze by watching the TV. Sure enough, the fight had ended in the time it took from Hinata to hang up the phone to walk back into the kitchen. He tapped his fingers on the wooden tabletop, watching the news report on the total damage caused. He wondered whether Tsukasa would make another donation to the Downtown Restoration Fund.
It really was getting blown up all the time.
After a precious two minutes of ignoring Yuuta’s growing discontentment, the sound of keys jiggling in the door’s lock broke the heavy silence. Hinata shot up to his feet, nearly sending his chair over, but couldn’t take another step before Yuuta stopped him.
“He has a key?” He asked. “You gave him a key before I could meet him? Aniki, you gave him a—”
“Okay, can you shut up?” Hinata huffed. “If he didn’t have a key you’d still be saying something. I bet you’ve been sitting on this one all week, fantasizing of the gotcha moment you’d have. Yuuta-kun, this is why you’ll get wrinkles before me.”
Yuuta scowled. “What does getting wrinkles have to do with anything?”
“Negativity is bad for the skin,” Hinata said simply. “And you are the number one hater as selected by Forbes.”
The door opened and Tsukasa stepped through, offering them a polite smile behind a bouquet of flowers. And a box of chocolates. While wearing a suit that probably cost two years worth of rent.
Hinata had only seen such horrifyingly cheesy sights in American rom-coms where the guy does a grand gesture to ask the girl out to prom. He could do nothing but stare, cheeks heating up, as Tsukasa took self-confident steps to the table and set the chocolates down as his humble offering.
“I deeply apologize for being late. The traffic on the way here was quite horrendous, I thought it would never move,” Tsukasa said, then motioned towards the chocolates. “Those are for you, Yuuta-kun. Hinata-kun mentioned you were a fan of spice, so I hope you will enjoy these. They are spiced chocolates, not terribly sweet at all and deliver a nice kick.”
Yuuta’s eyes glanced at the chocolates, contemplating, but snapped back to Tsukasa. “You didn’t introduce yourself.”
Tsukasa blinked. “Ah, I didn’t. I apologize again! I am Tsukasa Suou, Hinata-kun’s boyfriend.”
“So, you introduce your name before saying you’re Aniki’s boyfriend. Do you think you’re that important?”
“Yuuta-kun, stop it!” Hinata jumped in. “Such a little nitpicker, this is why we can’t go to movies anymore because you just tear everything to shreds when it can’t meet your impossible standards.” He turned to Tsukasa with a grin meant to impose a deep warning not to rise to his brother’s stupid taunts. They would never get to eat dinner if they argued all night. “Tsukasa-kun, thank you for bringing flowers. You are very sweet, as always!”
“Of course. I saw them on my way out of the office and their beauty simply reminded me too much of you to pass them by,” Tsukasa said, sincerity dripping off his every word like a suffocating goo.
Hinata had done his best to build up a tolerance for Tsukasa’s tendency to say every mushy, feely thing that came to his mind. But the tension in his apartment had been simmering before he got there, and now it felt like he was thrown in an oven to burn alive.
A shrill laugh tore itself from his lips. “Hahaha! Awesome! Coolio, Tsukasa-kun.”
Yuuta had more respect for an ant on the sidewalk than he did Tsukasa, but even he looked away in shame at Hinata’s fumbling.
Hinata swallowed, squeezing the plastic wrap of the bouquet. “Right, so, anyways. Tsukasa-kun, why don’t you come help me get a vase for this?”
He ushered Tsukasa out of the dining room to the little privacy the kitchen provided. And for all that Hinata knew Yuuta would harass them both this evening, as they stepped away Yuuta did grab the remote and turn the TV volume up a few bars to cover their talking.
“Okay, so—” Hinata whispered, then frowned at Tsukasa. “What are you doing?”
Tsukasa peeked his head out from the cabinet he opened, tilting his head at Hinata. “I’m getting a vase…?”
“A vase… That’s not important right now!” Hinata hissed. “What I really want to know is what are you wearing? We spent hours picking out a casual outfit for you, so why are you in a suit? Hours, Tsukasa-kun. Hours!” He pinched the rich gray wool sleeve with an exaggerated tug. “Do you see what I’m wearing? Yuuta-kun? And you show up in a suit!”
“My casual outfit was, um.” Tsukasa glanced at the dining room then back at Hinata. “It was… misplaced during work. It was all very sudden. I’m sorry, dear. I didn’t have anything else besides what I wore to work. My, um, other work. Regular work.”
“It’s a miracle no one knows who you are, you know what right? Goodness,” Hinata huffed. He pushed him aside and grabbed the vase himself to fill with water. “A suit. A suit. This is fine. It’ll be a good dinner. At least your nose is fixed by now.”
Tsukasa winced, hand going up to cover his nose self-consciously. “Ah, you heard that? Yes, it’s fine now. It’s become a daily occurrence at this point. The day it isn’t broken in some way or another, I’ll propose.”
Hinata pointedly ignored his words while heat prickled all over his skin. Maybe he should open a window. Get rid of this pesky heat and also give himself a potential escape route should plates start being thrown around.
He shoved the vase into Tsukasa’s hands. “Just put the flowers in there! I’ll go make room on the dining table!”
It wasn’t like he really needed to make space on the table; dinner was stir fry and rice in their respective pan and pot leaving the rest of the table open, so Hinata only shifted them apart and placed the vase in the center. Yuuta, ever so helpful, watched as Hinata did this then offered a shrug as if to say That looks about right.
“Here’s the flowers,” Tsukasa said, placing the vase down in the space Hinata had made. “Dinner smells amazing. Did you help cook, Yuuta-kun?”
“No, but that’s because Aniki wouldn’t let me in the kitchen. I’m just as good at cooking as him, but he’s all stuck up that guests aren’t allowed to cook.” Yuuta scoffed. “ Guests. As if I’m a guest. Hey, idiot, I’m your brother. Or did you forget?”
“I invited you over for dinner. It wouldn’t be fair to make you cook. Besides, you make everything too spicy. Tsukasa-kun and I work so well together because we have a similar palette. One that doesn’t require scorching your taste buds just to feel something inside your cold, barren heart.”
“Babies, the both of you. Whatever.” Yuuta waved his hand in defeat. “So, how was work, Tsukasa-kun? Make a million dollars? Write essays about mitochondria?”
Tsukasa smiled warily, and Hinata watched the refutation on the tip of his tongue be forcibly swallowed down.
Hinata beamed at him.
“Well, work was good,” Tsukasa said simply. “Thank you for asking. How was your day?”
“Great. Until I had to wait a half hour to have dinner. I’m starving, Aniki, can we start?”
Hinata lifted the lids off the pots, satisfied with the burst of steam that came out. Good, still hot.
“Help yourself! It’s made with an abundance of love, and sweat, and tears, and--”
“Not enough spice,” Yuuta finished and spooned a generous serving onto his plate anyways. Hinata matched his amount, and Tsukasa also served himself well.
“We’re all big eaters here, y’know. I made a lot so both of you dig in to your heart’s content! Not that I would mind the leftovers one bit.” Hinata talked around a mouthful of rice, but Yuuta never cared and Tsukasa gave up scolding him twenty dates ago. “Ah, no, actually you all really need to eat your share. The microwave is still broken at work and I think if I keep showing up with my pathetic sandwiches and whine enough about how desperately hungry I am for my home cooked meals that require heating, Midori-kun will get the funds for a new one faster.”
“They still haven’t replaced it?” Tsukasa questioned with a frown. “It’s been at least a week. Dear, you deserve to have nice lunches. I know you were quite insistent about it before, but the offer is still on the table for me to gift the station a microwave for you.”
Yuuta raised an eyebrow at Hinata, almost seeming to want to accept it on his behalf before Hinata cut in. “They’ll get it fixed within the month, probably. Hopefully.” He grimaced. “Maybe two months. But that’s fine! I don’t need a fancy microwave, and you’ll probably get one that talks back to you and that’s way too weird to be around.”
“You know,” Yuuta said in the tone of voice that pretended to be casual but loomed with an impending lecture. Strangely, Hinata had never heard him use this tone of voice for anyone else but him. “Maybe this is just a sign that your job sucks, and that you should quit and find something else. They can’t even get a new microwave, the pay sucks, and oh, hm, what’s that last thing I always say? The bit about buses always exploding? Being thrown about like impromptu weapons? Hm?”
“If it was really that dangerous a job then it’d pay a lot more, don’t you think? The fact that I get pennies just means it’s super mundane.”
“That’s not what it means at all. It means it sucks and you’re an idiot for driving around a stupid old bus all day that’s going to inevitably blow up with you in it.”
“Ah, geez, you’re in such a mood,” Hinata grumbled, stuffing more rice in his mouth. It wasn’t even close to the first time Yuuta nagged about Hinata’s choice of occupation, and it would certainly not be the last for as long as the bus station itself was not obliterated into nothing. All this huffing and puffing when Yuuta was the one that said he had to stop driving the taxi cab because he got robbed one too many times.
One was too many for Yuuta. Thank goodness he never found out about the other eight times, or Hinata feared his license would mysteriously be torn to shreds.
Yuuta scowled at him and opened his mouth to retort, but Hinata spoke first, leveling his cheesiest grin at Tsukasa and twirling a piece of hair around his finger.
“Tsukasa-kun, this is where you defend my honor, honey. I’ve been so affronted by my brother’s cruel remarks, so please refute them on my behalf now and I’ll give you five hundred kisses later.”
Hinata always took great joy in putting Tsukasa on the spot with his teasing, and he eagerly awaited the blush that would start on Tsukasa’s cheeks and spread to the tips of his ears as it so cutely did. While Tsukasa offered him the same nervous grin that usually accompanied his red cheeks after some shameless flirting, he didn’t look smitten or enamored or spellbound at all. He looked… nervous.
Well, it was Yuuta he was up against. Couldn’t blame the guy for acting like a sheep thrown to the wolves.
“Actually, I.” Tsukasa paused and cleared his throat. “I agree with Yuuta-kun.”
“You what?” Hinata squawked, a grain of rice shooting out of his mouth across the table. “No- no you’re just confused! You don’t understand what he’s saying, so let’s not- hey. Hey.” He pulled himself up straight in his chair and pulled his lips into the bright smile he gave to his passengers as they boarded. “Let’s all just eat our food and talk about that, yeah? It’s delicious. I am really such a great cook and I want to hear you guys say it.”
Yuuta delivered a sharp kick under the table directly into his shin. “Shut up, Aniki. Go on, Tsukasa-kun.”
Tsukasa squinted at Hinata’s chipper smile then shifted his gaze over to Yuuta. “Well, I agree that the buses are quite like a magnet for mayhem. Hinata-kun has many skills that would be suitable to less perilous occupations, and I’d like to see him work somewhere that is safer than bus driving. I’ve only recently gotten him to stop substituting for the downtown route whenever they need someone.”
“The fact that they still have a downtown route is ridiculous. They should stop any public transport from going there at this point. It has to be a major insurance liability or something, but we’ll never see the day the Downtown Restoration Fund is depleted with all these idiots filling it back up.” Yuuta tapped his chin in thought. “So, that was your doing? Hm.”
Tsukasa’s eyes widened and he paled as if he were going to the chopping block. Hinata had put downtown on the ‘topics to avoid at our wonderful and pleasant dinner with my brother’ list, and now by trying to gain an inch, Tsukasa would be set back a mile. Hinata had no clue how Yuuta could even know Tsukasa was one of the top ten contributors to the fund, but he had little doubt for his brother’s snooping ability when he put his mind to it.
“Getting Aniki to stop the downtown route, well I may have misjudged you,” Yuuta finished. Hinata watched relief roll down Tsukasa as he gave Yuuta a shaky smile. “Perhaps I’d even give my brother’s hand away if you were to get him to quit driving that rusted old hunk of junk at all.”
Tsukasa had been spared from Yuuta’s attacks for now since he actually had no idea about Tsukasa’s donor status, but Hinata could stand no more of this. Even if it provided his brother and boyfriend a united front to agree upon, this was the worst possible outcome of it.
“You leave Miku out of this! She’s sleek, and beautiful, and full of more love and care than either of you will ever be.”
“Miku popped two tires last month, dear,” Tsukasa said. “She’s not exactly…gleaming.”
Said the man who couldn’t fix the Caller ID in his stupid super suit.
Yuuta pinched his nose at the mention of the bus’s name. “I still cannot believe that not only did you give that vehicular deathtrap a name, but the name you gave it is Miku. You’re ruining her memory.”
“It’s what she would have wanted. Miku would have loved the bus and you just don’t understand her. I am honoring her wishes, and you hate me for it.” Hinata pouted and moved his vegetables around on his plate with his chopsticks.
“Excuse me, but I thought Miku came from the singer. You two are speaking in past tense, so is Miku in reference to something else?” Tsukasa asked, with a frown that pulled his eyebrows down. He was far too kissable when he was thinking hard about something, and that’s why Hinata only allowed himself very rare lunch dates at Tsukasa’s office where he was always puzzling his way through one problem or another.
“Oh my god, he doesn’t know? That’s hilarious.”
“No, of course he knows. He just, um.” Hinata bit his lip. “Okay, he doesn’t know.”
Yuuta turned to Tsukasa with evil glee lighting up his face. “Miku was Aniki’s cat growing up. She was great, the perfect cat, and Aniki has decided to keep her memory alive by naming the bus after her.”
Tsukasa let out a little gasp and his frown deepened. He reached across the table and set his hand on Hinata’s. “I’m so sorry about your loss. I’m sure she was a very good cat, a sweet kitty. She must have been truly special for you to have named the bus after her.”
“Yes, she was the perfect cat, but enough about the bus!” Hinata pulled his hand away with his exclamation. He needed to get them away from this topic before they really started putting together a plan to suspend his license. His mind fell short of topics to switch to that Yuuta wouldn’t shoot down, but he did have one idea. During his time driving, he’d never gotten into an accident or caused any pedestrians bodily harm, but now he was metaphorically grabbing Tsukasa and sitting him all nice and pretty in front of the bus.
“You know, we should be talking about Tsukasa-kun and I’s relationship. I’ll start! For our first date, we went to this super fancy restaurant, right? Like super fancy, I mean I thought they weren’t going to let me in when I showed up all underdressed, but Tsukasa came to see what the fuss was and harassed those poor service workers to let me through.”
“I hardly harassed them,” Tsukasa scoffed, not so fondly remembering the hosts at the restaurant. “I reminded them that I booked a private booth anyways, and that I was more than happy to take my time and money elsewhere that evening.”
Yuuta nodded. “So, you rich person harassed them. Same difference.”
“Exactly, Yuuta-kun. Anyways, we sit down and I’m reading this menu that is definitely, completely written in French. I don’t understand a single thing on it, and it’s our first date and how embarrassing would it be to admit that I don’t know French? So, I very cutely do this,” Hinata said and leaned forward with his chin resting on the palm of his head. “And I go, ‘Oh, Tsukasa-kun must order for me! That’s one of the rules of first dates. Why am I even holding a menu right now? Take it from me and choose my dinner!’”
“That didn’t work.” Yuuta flicked his gaze between the both of them. Tsukasa was very interested in the window next to the table, perhaps now he was thinking about the benefits of opening it and throwing himself out like Hinata had earlier. “It did?”
“Of course it did. I’m a real charmer, and I have a +2 to acts of flirting. He’s all embarrassed that he violated this sacred custom of first dates and he blushes just like he is now.” Hinata motioned to Tsukasa. “And he says he’ll order for me.”
The true intent behind Hinata telling this story must dawn on Tsukasa, because his blush quickly faded away as he paled.
“Hinata-kun—”
“He loves to be a show-off, and the waiter comes over and Tsukasa-kun orders in perfect French. And I’ll admit, it was rather dashing even if I didn’t understand anything he said. Tsukasa-kun, give him an example.”
“Mon Dieu, do you really need to tell this story? What about our other dates? The picnic date? I liked that one.”
Yuuta narrowed his eyes at Tsukasa. “You’re hiding something, aren’t you? A man that doesn’t let his partner speak is a red flag. Aniki, continue.”
Hinata nodded emphatically. “Tsukasa-kun, let me finish. The food comes out, the waiter begrudgingly places this expensive rich person meal in front of this non-tuxedo wearing riffraff, and I take a single look and know Tsukasa-kun is the one. He had gotten me something even my poor self could recognize, a classic, homey, French dish. The exquisite shrimp scampi.”
He beamed with an innocent smile while he let the silence hang in the air. Tsukasa really found the window interesting while his skin paled to a sickly white. Yuuta took a second to process, but just as Hinata expected, he launched himself straight out of his chair and slammed his chopsticks on the table.
“You ordered him shrimp?!”
“I didn’t know he was allergic! I had no idea!” Tsukasa scrambled to defend himself. He was easily, easily, the strongest in the room — Hinata found the super strength endearing most of the time, except when Tsukasa sneezed he had a habit of crushing anything in his hands — but he cowered like Yuuta had a gun to his head.
“You just didn’t bother to ask if he had any allergies or restrictions before ordering for him? Or before choosing a restaurant? What’s the point in higher education if you’re one of the prime idiots it turns out?”
“Of course I asked about restrictions before picking a restaurant. Hinata-kun didn’t say there was anything. And I saw him eating from a bag of shrimp chips on a route before, so I assumed he had a taste for shrimp.”
Hinata gawked at Tsukasa. The audacity to not let himself be thrown under the bus and get Hinata out of trouble like a decent man. It had to be minus two boyfriend points for that. He might even take the key back.
“Tsukasa-kun! Why, I never!”
Yuuta’s head, and ever growing rage, snapped to Hinata. “Oh, you definitely would. You’re such an idiot. You have a brain to think and do things, a perfectly capable frontal lobe to make decisions that won’t kill you. Y’know, you actually will end up in a hospital one of these days.” His scowl deepened. “Don’t tell me you ended your first date in a hospital and didn’t tell me.”
“It certainly did not,” Tsukasa assured him. “If something like that had happened, I would not have left Hinata-kun’s side until his family was there with him.”
“Oh good, if the shrimp you ordered killed him, at least you would’ve shown up to the funeral.”
“You’re making a huge fuss out of nothing. I’m not even deathly allergic, it’s like a baby allergy. You just get freaked out over anything, and you definitely were making things up that one time when you said my lips got puffy like a fish. As if that happens.”
“That did happen, Hinata-kun. Not right after you ate the scampi, but when we were leaving the restaurant, I did notice—”
“You still ate the scampi?”
“Tsukasa-kun ordered it, do you know how rude it would have been to reject his humble offering? And see, he remembered I like shrimp. I could never reject that and break his poor heart.”
Yuuta continued to excessively remind him all about the WebMD articles he’s read that explained how allergies develop in severity the more you’re exposed to the source. When Yuuta talked about it, Hinata had an easy time waving him off with platitudes that the internet lies and you have to go to a doctor for any of that stuff to be true. Hinata made no room for Tsukasa to have an opinion either — a PhD was a piece of paper, not a medical residency.
The conversation turned to what Hinata assumed were more traditional meet the family topics, at least as traditional as it could get for them. Interrogations from Yuuta about Tsukasa’s childhood which morphed into a genuine curiosity about the vacations he’s been on and in which countries, and then a fit of laughter lasting five minutes when he learned about Tsukasa’s treasured horse he grew up riding. Hinata decided it was worth the risk of bringing up the bus again to say that he would love to name his next one after Tsukasa’s horse if he wanted, to which Tsukasa responded with such a warm, eye-crinkling smile that made Hinata stuff his cheeks full of vegetables so he wouldn’t have to respond.
When their plates were clear and their stomachs full, and after avoiding at least three more conversational land mines, Hinata gathered up everyone’s plates in a neat stack. Tsukasa reached to grab the now empty stir fry pan, but Yuuta snatched it first.
Hinata raised an eyebrow at him, knowing Yuuta wasn’t the most fond of washing the dishes. His brother met his eyes, and something passed between them that only 24 years together could translate.
“Tsukasa-kun, we got this, why don’t you go do something to entertain yourself?” Hinata suggested. Tsukasa furrowed his brows, eyes glancing over the remaining dishes.
“I am fully competent at using a sponge. It would be rude not to help.”
Hinata wasn’t sure whether to attribute his implication flying over Tsukasa’s head as due to his chivalrous nature, his stubbornness, or his astounding denseness at times. Yuuta rolled his eyes as he walked to the kitchen, but Hinata felt good nature behind it rather than true irritation.
“Honey,” Hinata chided. “Yuuta-kun and I want to chat. Alone. So, really, just go do something. I know you probably want to shower after such a long day at work, right?”
Tsukasa’s eyes widened in understanding and he nodded. “Oh, I see. Then I shall make myself sparse. A shower does sound nice, but I think it’d be rude to have one while company is over--”
“Goodness gracious, just go.” Hinata perilously held the stack of plates in one hand so he could give Tsukasa’s shoulder a gentle shove. “Shoo!”
“Ah, yes! I’m going now, I understand.” Tsukasa held his hands up and went to Hinata’s bedroom, shutting the door.
A comfortable silence settled over the kitchen as Hinata entered, placing the plates next to the sink. The rice pot sat on the drying rack, and Yuuta was currently working on scrubbing sticky sauce from the pan. Yuuta’s mind must have been brewing in thoughts, because he preferred leaving dishes to soak for “five minutes” (five hours).
Hinata grabbed a sponge for himself and started on the plates, opting to let the silence hang in the air between them. He told Tsukasa that they wanted to talk, but conversations of this nature were less in the words exchanged, and more in the energy of their actions.
Yuuta worked efficiently, scrubbing with precise strokes where the sauce had clumped up, which translated into I’m thinking, I’m processing. He had moved to the side, off center to the sink, when Hinata came in, giving him space to also work on his dishes. I’m not on edge. I’m not irritated. You’re welcome here.
Hinata enjoyed washing dishes, as much as one could enjoy it anyways. Like most things he did, he preferred moving fast and getting work done with plenty of elbow grease. But now, his hand moved slowly with the sponge. Passive, considering.
I want to know your thoughts, he asked.
I’m thinking, Yuuta responded by scrubbing harder for a brief moment. Hinata watched him scrunch his nose out of the corner of his eye. I’m really thinking.
Hinata waited then, finishing one plate and leaning past Yuuta to set it on the drying rack. He had little memories of the time before his mom passed, but he assumed he possessed little restraint. They were so young, he must have been bouncing off the walls and running up and down the stairs causing a ruckus.
After she passed, he doesn’t remember struggling to slow down, to tamper his energy. He never felt like it was putting a lid on something and forcing himself to sit still, at least, not when it came to Yuuta. He remembered washing dishes with him in the months after, scrubbing slowly due to his child’s level of coordination, but also to match Yuuta’s pace. Physically, sure, but more importantly to stay on the same wavelength like they were now.
So, he continued at a snail’s pace, feeling content to give Yuuta his breathing room and ready to accept whatever he had to offer. The pan was free of grime, but Yuuta continued to rub the sponge over it, sudsing it up and rinsing it off just to scrub again. Restless.
I have something to say. To ask. I don’t know how though.
Hinata bumped his hip against Yuuta’s. Just ask. I’m here and I’ll answer.
Yuuta put the sponge down and rinsed off the soap. He placed it next to the sink and grabbed a dish towel to start drying it. Still restless, but a step forward.
“The key,” he started, then bit the inside of his cheek. He squinted at the pan as he wiped water droplets from it, as if he was questioning the cast iron instead of his brother. “Did he ask or did you offer?”
Hinata hummed, stacking the second plate on top of the first, then began working on the last one. “I think I started it. I joked about it once, pretty early on, but you know how I am. A joke and the truth is a… thin line for me sometimes. He gave me a key to his place about a week after, but he never pushed me or anything for mine. Made it very clear he was happy with whatever made me happy. Still, it took me a few months.”
Yuuta finished drying in silence. The only sound passing between them was the metallic ding as he set the pan down and worked on Hinata’s washed plates. Hinata finished the last one and set it in Yuuta’s hands just as he finished the others. When there was nothing else left to occupy his hands, Yuuta let out a long exhale and looked out the window above the sink.
“He’s good for you.”
“He is.” The confirmation rolled off Hinata’s tongue easily. He usually twisted and crumbled when it came to admitting some truth about himself, but this just felt as true as the sky was blue and the grass was green.
“You’re happy.” Not a question, a statement. Hinata responded anyway.
“I am.”
Yuuta nodded, finally turning to look at him. His green eyes burned into Hinata, vibrant and passionate, full of so much feeling that Hinata wondered how anyone struggled to understand his brother. Hinata knew his own eyes were different, their meaning wavering at times like a pool of water disturbed with ripples, but whatever Yuuta saw must have satisfied him. He sighed and stepped away from the sink, dislodging himself for the seriousness of their conversation and back to business as usual.
“Okay, cool. Dinner was nice. I guess that’s one thing I can admit I miss about living together.” He narrowed his eyes. “Don’t even bother asking me to move back in, it’s not happening. But we should do dinners more often, maybe. And I guess that means Tsukasa-kun has to be there.”
“Yeah, guess so.” Hinata’s chest warmed at Yuuta’s stamp of approval for Tsukasa. “We can pick out fancy restaurants to go to and have him foot the bill. He never cares about spending money anyways, but he’ll be especially happy to do so for the chance to get to know you better.”
“I have always wanted to try one of those rooftop places. I’ve only seen them in movies, so I doubt they’re even real, but if they are then he could get us in,” Yuuta said. He made his way to the door, bending down to slip his shoes on. “Well, I know I should say bye or something, but I’m all social’d out for the night and I won’t be able to stand his overly polite goodbye if I stay.”
“Yeah, I get it. Text me when you’re home, alright?” Hinata lingered by the door, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.
Yuuta watched him for a moment, then rolled his eyes. He pulled Hinata into a hug. “It was a good dinner, Aniki. And it’s not bad to show yourself. To me or to him.”
Hinata’s tongue felt flat in his mouth, unable to coax the right words out, his heart seemingly out of honesty for the night. He squeezed Yuuta tight instead and gave him a little shake.
“Alright! Off you go,” he said, opening the door. “Get home safe, don’t let the trains bite you on the way home. Buses are much more docile creatures compared to them.”
Yuuta huffed as he left, offering one last wave goodbye before he turned down the hallway and out of Hinata’s sight.
The shower was still running when Hinata entered his room, so he flopped right down onto the bed. He buried his face into Tsukasa’s pillow and took a deep breath as the post-dinner exhaustion sunk into him.
Hinata was undoubtedly an extrovert; he loved people. He enjoyed driving the taxi so much because of the wide variety of people he met throughout the city, and he loved the bus for giving him a stable route and regulars. He kept track of his passengers, chatted with them about the updates in their lives, asked one about his granddaughter’s first day of pre-school, and another about her first date after her divorce.
He didn’t come home and curl up in bed drained from his days. He’d be bouncing through his apartment, cooking dinner, getting some cleaning done, and then pulling out his yoga mat to stretch his weary, overworked back that sat in the driver’s seat all day. If Tsukasa were around, then he’d be talking his ear off as he’d try to get him to dance in the kitchen with him to some dated pop music.
Yuuta wasn’t the common denominator to his weariness either — Hinata always hung off Yuuta like a leech for attention, which only increased in intensity when his brother moved out two years ago.
Deep in his thoughts, Hinata must have missed the sound of the shower turning off. He heard the bathroom door creak open and a moment later a weight dipped the bed beside him.
“Did Yuuta-kun leave?” Tsukasa asked. He ran his hand over Hinata’s back in small circles, drawing a long sigh out of Hinata.
“Yup, he did.” Hinata turned his head so he wouldn’t be completely muffled by the pillow. “Don’t worry, he didn’t say you were rude or anything for showering.”
“Still, I would have liked to say goodbye. I understand, though.” He ran his hand up to Hinata’s shoulders and made a small humming noise. “Your chat went alright then?”
Hinata huffed out a small laugh, keeping his eyes on the bed, feeling too heavy to meet Tsukasa’s. “I mean, it did. Good talk and everything, you’re not on the chopping block. But am I really giving the impression that it didn’t go poorly? Like I’m here licking my wounds?”
“Do you think you are?”
“Do you think I’m not?”
The bed shifted, and Hinata saw out of the corner of his eye Tsukasa bringing his legs up to properly sit on the bed. He set both his hands on Hinata’s shoulders and began to massage him, not quite digging at the knots like a proper masseuse would. Tsukasa had wonderful control of his strength, but at times he seemed to hold Hinata so reverently it made his stomach flip with something that wasn’t quite discomfort, but distinctly foreign and unplaceable.
“I think,” Tsuksa said. “That you’ve been stressing about this for weeks ever since we planned it. I think, no matter what happened, you’d still be tired afterwards. It’s normal, it’s actually pretty common to deflate like this. You see it happen all the time with students after exam season, but that’s not the point.
“I think you and Yuuta-kun had a good talk. I’m assuming it was about me, but whatever it was you discussed, you were satisfied, no, happy with it. I can feel that here.” He squeezed Hinata’s shoulders gently. “If it went badly, you’d be carrying all that tension here, no matter the amount of yoga you do to stretch it out, it stays there. It’s not an exact science, but it’s something tangible about you that I take inventory of. And right now, you’re no more tense than usual. You’re not curled up in a ball, hunching your shoulders. You’ve just laid down on the bed to relax, right?”
Hinata turned that over in his mind, sifting through the words and letting them settle on him. He tapped his fingers against the comforter, hung up on Tsukasa’s question. Relaxation, true R&R, wasn’t his strong suit, and definitely not something he ever did without having to think and intentionally force himself to do. After a few more seconds of considering, he slipped his eyes closed.
“I think you’re right,” he spoke quietly. “I’m… relaxing.”
“That’s good, Hinata. And I’m glad I have won Yuuta-kun’s favor, for now at least. You know my casual social experience is lackluster, but I feel as though as far as get-together dinners go, that despite the arguments passed around, it wasn’t sourly out of tune with your typical interactions with him.”
“The fact that you call it ‘casual social experience’ is really what we need to work on, but it’s too endearing for me to really scold you about it.”
“I’m glad you find my verbiage endearing,” Tsukasa said, true delight curling off his words that infected Hinata, his lips raising in a smile.
“Tsukasa-kun’s always endearing. It’s very frustrating to know I should be annoyed at the objectively annoying things you do, but instead be enamored.”
You’re good for me.
Hinata’s smile deepened, and Tsukasa’s hands slowed to a stop, resting warmly on his shoulders.
“Why’d you stop?”
“Apologies, I got distracted,” Tsukasa said, but his hands remained poised and unmoving. “You’re beautiful. I love your smile.”
Hinata pushed down the initial tug to turn his face away, hide in the pillows and laugh the comments off. That used to be comfortable for him, his normal, but somewhere along the way with Tsukasa it became easier to see beyond that instinct. To meet Tsukasa’s words not quite head on, but at least give them the chance to shine on him.
He opened his eyes and twisted his head to Tsukasa, keeping his smile warm and true, exposing his inner feelings because why should he bury this down? The words would come out in their own time, but if Tsukasa were so good at reading him already, then why not let it be written on his face?
I’m happy.
They’d already exchanged ‘I love you’s’, but the act of admitting he cared for Tsukasa and loved him was so much easier than offering his feelings. So much easier than giving Tsukasa that raw part of himself that pulled like the tides in response to him.
Tsukasa met him with a kiss, and just like that, Hinata knew he was understood in all the ways that truly mattered.