Work Text:
A rainy Sunday afternoon was the perfect time to rewind in their small apartment.
Shu lay splayed on the sofa, his Nintendo Switch resting on his stomach while the bright, lively music of Mario Kart played on the TV. The familiar purple of Uki’s hair could be seen just over the edge of the armrests, gently nodding along to the beat as he hummed unconsciously, working on some work project that just came up while sitting at the kitchen table.
Shu let out a little sigh. Annoyance bubbled in his chest, not directed towards his busy boyfriend who has a bustling music career, but still— Uki had promised to play Mario Kart with him today! It was after two weeks of work and streaming for both of them, too— who knows when will be the next time they both have time?
Still, Shu prides himself on being a good boyfriend. So he waits. He glances at the TV and tries to pick out an interesting map. They did buy the new expansion not too long ago, so Shu spent some time racing through Paris, then Rome, Madrid, Tokyo, and back to Paris.
He hoisted himself up to look at Uki again. From the parts of the laptop screen that weren’t blocked by the back of Uki’s head, he wasn’t in a Zoom meeting anymore, which is good; and he was scrolling through a document, making corrections occasionally while sipping tea.
“Uki?”
“Yes?” Came the response. Shu turned around and sat up on the sofa, slumping over the back. He could see the pot of tea simmering on the stove, and some oranges a coworker of Uki’s gifted them for the Lunar New Year. They sat in a stack on a red ceramic plate, with small red stickers printed with Mandarin characters on them.
“I kinda want to eat some oranges,” was what he let slip before randomly remembering this TikTok trend that had been pretty popular lately. The premise was someone asking their partner to bring them an orange and to test if they peel it for you before giving it to you. Apparently, if they do peel it for you, they’ve passed the test.
Considering both of them working online (relatively), Uki must also know about the trend…… right? But Shu was chronically online to the point that he was probably online for the entirety of his awakeness.
He couldn’t see Uki’s expression, but the little “hmph” that was more like a laugh quickly confirmed his thoughts.
“Where’s the hidden camera?” It was only a few moments before Uki leaned languidly on the back of the sofa, an orange in hand and a smirk on his face. “Miss me that much? Didn’t know you were the type to test a relationship— with an orange, out of everything.”
“I didn’t mean to!” Shu retorted, tugging on Uki’s hoodie sleeve and taking the orange. “It looked tasty, okay? I can peel it myself.”
Uki snatched the orange back. “You’re lucky I don’t have new nails done now,” he declared, “I’m going to make it up to you for not playing Mario Kart with you. So I’ll peel this orange.”
“You’re going to make it up to me by actually playing— you promised! Smash next time, and Mario Kart today!”
Uki’s nails dug into the skin of the orange, and the sweet, citrusy smell started to fill the air. “A peeled orange, delivered right to your mouth. I’m such an amazing boyfriend—”
“Come here,” Shu says as he grabs Uki’s waist and pulls him forward, sending him toppling over and falling onto the sofa, hovering above Shu close enough that he could smell the tea in his breath.
He would apologize, but Uki was still smirking. The orange was still in his hand, nearly pressing against the fabric of the sofa cover.
“Want me so bad, hmm?” Uki whispered, violet locks of hair drooping down and framing his face, purposefully blowing a kiss at Shu.
Shu ignored his implication smoothly and turned his head. “Nope. I want that orange more. If you’re not peeling it, I’ll do it.”
“Hey, hey, who said I wasn’t going to peel it for you?” Uki swiftly sat up on the sofa and finally started to properly peel the orange. “You’d better tell all your followers of my good deed. Hopefully repel some of those thirsty fans, too.”
Shu opened his mouth to retort, but the sweet taste of oranges stopped him from talking.
Fine. He could admit that according to the orange peel theory, Uki was a perfectly sweet, considerate boyfriend. (He could already confirm that without the theory, but he isn’t going to admit that out of the blue— )
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On Wednesday night, Uki sat at the kitchen table, his chin resting on his palm as he stared intently at his boyfriend.
It was rare for Shu to do his work outside his room. Understandable, since he streams and needs a complicated computer setup, but today Shu was on his laptop as he typed away. Uki presumes he’s replying to Slack messages, from the way his brows furrowed from concentration and mild annoyance.
Shu always was undeniably hot when he focused. Sometimes, Uki could be lucky enough to be the object of focus, but tonight doesn’t seem like one of the times— even after Uki poked Shu in the cheek, he only squirmed and went right back to work.
Of course, the objective route of action was to not disturb Shu’s work anymore, but Uki didn’t feel like being logical. He glanced at the pile of oranges on their ceramic plate. Exactly two of them were left. Sure, Shu was working, but he wasn’t streaming and they had only leftovers from yesterday as dinner.
“Babe?”
“Hmm?” Shu replied, still half-absorbed in the glow of his laptop screen, one hand absentmindedly moving to hold Uki’s hand on the table.
“I want to eat an orange,” Uki said as he stifled a laugh.
Shu looked up to stare Uki in the eye, confused until seemingly reminded of something. His cheeks quickly start to turn pink as he drops Uki’s hand and reaches for the plate of oranges. He hesitates and dug two of his fingers into the orange skin, peeling it.
He’s too cute, and Uki wants to kiss him. So he does, leaning in to kiss Shu on the cheek while taking the half-peeled orange from his hands.
Shu makes a little flustered noise in the back of his throat. “I-I haven’t finished peeling it yet.”
“I can take care of the rest,” Uki assured, purposely lowering his voice to sound sultry. “I know you love me, anyway.”
Shu laughs breathlessly. “So you’d think I didn’t if I refused to peel it for you?”
“No, but I would get pouty and whine until you make it up to me,” Uki said, placing a piece of the peeled orange into his mouth. “Not going to lie, the whole test is pretty stupid. You can’t test whether someone thinks to do something for you or not. It makes more sense to test whether they’re willing to if you asked.”
“Yeah, like I don’t even remember to feed myself sometimes. Let alone to peel an orange for someone.”
“Good thing you’re with me now,” Uki finds himself shaking his head at Shu’s past habits. “Plus, you could also not love someone even if you peel the orange for them.”
Uki meant that as a flitting comment, nothing more than a general thought about the TikTok trend, but Shu suddenly looked at him with a new seriousness. It almost takes Uki’s breath away.
“You know what I feel about you, right?”
“Well, why don’t you say it then?” It was probably sly of him to push— he knew better than anyone that Shu had trouble expressing love too directly— but was it that unfair to want to hear the three words? Especially since Shu seems to only tolerate Uki’s antics, rarely ever initiating anything romantic……
Shu squeezes his eyes shut but doesn’t sigh like he usually does when Uki wants him to say something romantic. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” Uki squeezes his hand. “I don’t doubt it. It’s just nice to hear you say it.”
“I’ll try to say it more often.” There’s a hint of guilt in Shu’s expression. Uki wants to hug him, so he gets up from his chair and walks over to Shu, who also stands up and embraces Uki with a big hug.
After they part, Uki smiles and taps Shu on the nose. “Don’t worry about it, okay? I probably do more than enough flirting for the both of us.”
Shu’s eyes seem to shine in the dim kitchen light. “I love you,” he says again, then clears his throat. “Now let’s finish these oranges. I kinda crave that citrus now, you know?”
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Shu Yamino
@shuyamino
uki violeta is the best most considerate boyfriend ever
3:27 PM · Mar 10, 2024 · 250.2K Views
(top reply): shu if you’re held hostage reply 1
Uki_Violeta <3
@uki_violeta
shu yamino just said he loves me
(picture: shu stuffing his face with oranges)
11:46 PM · Mar 13, 2024 · 267.4K Views