Work Text:
Keigo sat in his cluttered living room on the floor. He was unboxing all his stuff from moving. Brown boxes of all sizes surrounded him, and his phone was thrown somewhere as he waited for his friend, Rumi, to come and help him.
He looked around as a black box caught his eye. It was a medium size; he grabbed it and placed it on his lap, nearly dropping it from the weight. He opened it up slowly, careful not to tear the cardboard in case he needed it to hold more things, and he stared down, confused.
That was when it hit him. He hesitantly pulled out a black hoodie with a flame design on it. Keigo's mouth formed a thin line as he placed it beside him and continued looking through the box. There were many things that had little significance to them, like a dusty black book, a chipped guitar pick, and an old school version of Super Mario Bros. 2 years—almost two years since these items were seen by their owner.
Finally, at the very bottom of the box lay a tiny paperback sketchbook and silver rings.
He steadily reached into the box when a click on the front door caused him to jump as it swung open.
"Wassup bitch!"
A tall, dark skinned woman with long white hair came walking in holding a bag with the KFC logo on it.
"Rumi! Heyyy," he said nervously, shoveling the belongings back into the box and placing it behind him.
She knocked the door closed and placed the food on the counter in the kitchen. "What'cha got there??"
He pushed himself off the ground and smiled. "Nothin'… Soo, what'd you get??"
"Come and see, I'm not your waiter!"
…
The two were both lying on the floor with an empty food box next to them and a half drunken soda beside each of them.
"Stomach ache," grumbled Keigo, his blonde hair splayed in all different directions.
"Ditto."
The blonde reluctantly sat up, his head starting to spin as soon as he did as he looked around. The once crowded living area was almost now ridded of the hoard of boxes, with only two large boxes left and the same black box.
"How about we unpack that one?" the woman said, pointing at the black box.
Keigo instantly looked at her, waving his hands around. "Maybe we shouldn't; it's late! You have work tomorrow, so, bye!"
Rumi was now sitting up, her eyes squinted and her head tilting. She had her thinking face as she looked between him and the box before getting up slowly.
"Mmm, you're right. Lemme head out."
She pulled Keigo up to his feet and started to put her shoes on.
"Oh! And you owe me for the food."
And with that, she left, leaving the key Keigo let her borrow on the just assembled coffee table.
He sighed, locking the door and grabbing his phone off the ground. His new apartment was slightly larger than his original one; its bathroom had more space, and it had a balcony in the back. His room was bland, with only his bed, a nightstand, and his box of clothes on the closet floor.
He sat on the edge of his bed and unlocked his phone, opening the contacts app. He scrolled, passing the first half of the numbers, until he stopped. He stared down as he clicked on a number, instantly opening up the messages.
The blonde's eyes started to prickle at the corners, then he powered his phone off, turned the light off, and laid in the middle of the bed.
...
"Where is it? Where the heck is it?!"
A blonde girl was sitting on the hood of a black Infiniti car, kicking her feet and giggling at the person yelling.
"Oi! Shut your ass up, Blondie," a low voice grumbled.
The girl rolled her eyes and said, "Ooo, you said a bad word, Touya-kun! Maybe that's why you can't find your hoodie~"
Touya ignored her as he slammed the trunk, which he already regretted doing from the loud bang it made. It caused the car to shake, earning a yelp from the girl.
"Get in, Toga."
The girl, Toga, dusted off her striped black and pink knit sweater and her black skirt before hurrying into the passenger seat.
Touya started up the car and turned up a radio station that was softly playing some rock band. As he started to drive, Toga rolled down her window, causing Touya's dark black hair to blow in the wind.
"ROLLTHATSHITUPPPP!" He tried yelling over the wind as Toga turned the music up louder.
Touya glanced at Toga with annoyance before a small smile formed on his face. Her head was hanging out the window, a wide grin plastered on her face. Toga was like Touya's little sister, except she felt closer than his blood siblings could ever be. She shared the same weird, and maybe even weirder, interests as him and always gave him advice, even if she was 9 years younger than him, her being 17.
He was on his way to drop her off at her "brother's" house, who wasn't technically her brother but rather her legal guardian at the time. She should, at her age, be trusted to be alone at home, but she was banned from being alone after the incident.
They pulled up to the house as she reached over into the backseat to grab her mini backpack, making sure to hit Touya before she left. Touya groaned before flipping her off.
"Text me when you get inside, okay?" Touya yelled.
Toga stuck out her tongue, "Whateverrrr!"
He watched as she ran off to the door, and he started to pull away when his phone lit up.
i'm in now leave btc><
He looked back at the house and saw Toga peeking out the window, waving.
Fuck you too ^^
...
Keigo's eyes slowly fluttered open, yawning. He rolled over and nearly fell over the bed as he grabbed his phone, checking the time.
10:38 am
He blinked before sitting up and stretching. He placed his feet on the ground, and shock ran through them as he realized how cold the floor was.
"SHIT!" He exclaimed, jumping back and scrambling for his slippers.
He scanned the floor when he finally realized he had left them by the front door.
"Shit…"
…
By the time he reached his slippers, he was already used to the temperature. He sat on his tiny couch, his attention once again drawn to the box. He fidgeted with the end of his shirt, tossing the fabric between his fingers before snatching it off the floor. Looking for what was on his mind the most.
He held the sketchbook delicately in his hands, slowly flipping the cover. The first page was decorated with splashes of watercolor and doodles over it in ink. Some of the small doodles were his own; others belonged to another person, another being that was filled with creativity and ideas. He flipped another page, and he broke down. Tears streamed down his face as he stared at the familiar strokes of a pencil that was able to draw out precise and smooth lines. He stared back at himself with different views and expressions. Somehow they all held the same resemblance; you could tell they were all made by the same talented being that could be called an artist.
He closed the book and sat it aside, leaving the room and coming back with his phone. He started to type, but before he hit send, he read it back to himself.
hey touya
.
…
The black-haired man sat in a room full of familiar faces. They all met at his house to just chill. Toga, her "brother" Jin, Shuichi, and Tenko were all either laughing or yelling over the stupid Uno game they were playing.
"WHATTHEACTUALFUCK!!" Tenko screeched, his black mop of hair falling over his face.
Touya winced at the sudden outburst as Shuichi shook his head, trying to calm Tenko down after everyone stacked a Draw Four on him. It was now Touya's turn, and as soon as he was about to place his card down, his phone vibrated. Its screen lit up, and everyone looked at the phone that was sitting in the middle of the circle.
"Hey, move your nosy asses!"
All their heads blocked his view but began to move. A soft "Oh god" was muttered from Tenko.
He pushed Tenko's head away with a growl and snatched his phone. He turned it up, and his face dropped along with his heart.
hey touya.
He started to get up, opened his phone, and placed it to his ear, walking out of the room.
"Awww, why can't we know?" came from Jin.
He closed his bedroom door and waited as he waited for the other line to pick up. On the third ring, a sound of something dropping could be heard.
"Hello?"
"H-Hey!"
Touya started to regret even calling; he started to bite on the tip of his thumb as he spoke.
"What do you want, Takami?"
Silence sounded from the other line before a chuckle broke the silence.
"Back to last names, huh? Well… I- your stuff accidentally mixed in with mine."
Touya frowned.
"Oh."
"Yah… I mean, if you want to pick it up, I could drop-"
"Mhm, that's cool. You can just drop it off!"
"Yeah, for sure…"
"Cool."
His eyes widened, and he hung up.
He placed his head in his hands before taking a step out of his room and back into the room of animals. Toga looked up from her last card and grinned.
"Soooo, Touya~, fill us in on your little ex!"
The muscle in his jaw twitched, but he pushed it down, "Shut up."
Toga frowned before slapping down her final card.
"I WON BITCHES!!"
Tenko bent his cards as Jin started to cheer on Toga, and Shuichi just shrugged.
"Great! Now you guys can get out!" Touya grimaced.
Tenko narrowed his eyes before waving him off. "Your place is boring anyway, plus ain't no one wanna be here when you and your little boy toy have se-"
Shuichi slapped his hand over the man's mouth as Touya's eye twitched and his fist clenched.
Jin started to chuckle and placed a hand on Touya's shoulder. "Listen-"
"You too, Jin. Have fun, be safe, bye!"
Jin shrugged but followed the two guys before him out the door with Toga at his side, sending death glares at Touya. As they made their way out, he slammed the door and locked it.
…
Touya sat on his couch, watching the time. Almost 30 minutes passed since Keigo said he would bring his stuff to him. The man shouldn't get confused about where he lived since he hadn't moved, but then a soft knock came from the door.
Touya jumped up. He looked around his living room and snatched the bowl of soba that Toga decided she didn't want to finish and placed it in the fridge. He rushed to the door and ran a hand through his hair. He unlocked the door and turned the door knob. In the doorway stood a blonde man who was shorter than Touya. He was wearing a black crewneck with jeans; his hair was messy, but not in a bad way. Keigo had a nervous smile on his face; his cheeks were lightly dusted pink. That's when Touya's snarky and standoffish personality kicked in.
"Took you awhile." He said, crossing his arms.
Keigo's smile faltered before he shrugged; that fake ass smile was still plastered on his face. "Y'know me."
Silence washed over them, causing Touya to start to chew on the end of his hair. Keigo tilted his head slightly. Touya stopped chewing before mumbling out:
"You can come inside."
Keigo studied Touya for a moment longer as Touya resisted the urge to bite his nails. All the habits his father "trained" out of him started to creep up.
"M'kay."
Touya stepped to the side, letting the blonde in and closing the door behind them. Touya watched as Keigo looked around the room, his eyes falling on the Uno Cards lying on the floor. Touya was gonna kill those assholes when he saw them.
"So…uhm-"
Touya blinked. "Oh…you can take a seat."
Keigo smiled softly as he sat down, setting the box on the coffee table.
"I looked through it a little just-…if I knew it was yours-"
"It's whatever, Kei."
…
Keigo's heart was racing, and his face started to get hot as he had to look up at Touya now that he was sitting down. His black hair was new to him; he was used to the snowy white hair that complimented his icy blue eyes. He also saw that he had more piercings; he still had his usual triple nostril and snake bite piercings,but now he also had a septum and dimples piercings.
Touya's hand started to tug lightly on the hair by the nape of his neck.
"Why don't you sit down too?" Keigo smiled softly.
He watched as Touya looked at the seat reluctantly but didn't say anything; instead, he just compiled and placed the box on his lap. He opened it and looked down.
"This is where it was," he muttered to himself.
He pulled out the black hoodie and folded it neatly, placing it on his lap.
Touya continued to rummage through the items when he stopped and pulled out the sketchbook. He flipped through the pages and frowned. He shook his head slightly before handing it to Keigo.
"Huh?"
Touya looked at the book, then the blonde.
"Keep it."
"You sure? I mean, you worked hard…"
Touya shrugged.
"You'd prolly cherish it more than me."
"…Thanks…"
Keigo watched Touya's face as he stared absently at the door, his teeth lightly biting his tongue to give away that he was thinking. The black haired man hadn't blinked in a while until all of a sudden he looked at Keigo. His eyes are starting to blink, but sluggishly.
"I should head back; you're probably tired," Keigo said softly, starting to get up.
Touya reached out and loosely grabbed onto his wrist. Keigo's eyes widened as he looked down.
"Thanks, Kei."
He smiled, "No problem, hotstuff."
Touya's hand jerked slightly at the nickname. Keigo wanted to run, but he saw a flash of fear in Touya's eyes. He grabbed the sketchbook and started to head out. He knew that the best thing to do in situations like this was to let Touya think things out on his own at his own pace.
"Text me."
Keigo paused and raised an eyebrow, turning to look at him.
Touya looked away, then back at the blonde again.
"Just to make sure you don't die..."
Keigo rolled his eyes. "Hm. Yah, will do. See you around sometime, Touya."
"Yeah…cool, bye."
…
Once again, Touya found himself alone in his now cold apartment. His eyes trained on his phone, his leg bouncing slightly. His phone lit up, and he grabbed it, looking at the notification before putting it back down, realizing it was just his sister texting the family group chat. He set it back down, resting his head on the arm of the couch and closing his eyes.
He felt a buzz and bolted up, looking at his phone.
Js made it back
cool
•..
.•.
..•
Touya watched intently as the message bubbles went up, disappeared, appeared, and then finally stopped.
cool
[seen 7:43 pm]
His mouth opened, then closed again. He tossed his phone on the couch as he got up and went to his room. He took off his shirt and tossed it on the floor before falling face first into his bed. Touya started to feel a migraine coming in and made a soft groan that was muffled by his sheets.
"I'm fucked."