Work Text:
“Are you free next Saturday?”
Tenn looks up from his book, glancing towards TRIGGER’s kitchen where Gaku is preparing soba for the both of them. He takes a moment to mentally go through his work schedule.
“I should only have a solo job that morning.”
“Great! Let’s go out once you’re finished,” Gaku suggests as he approaches Tenn, two steaming bowls of soba in his hands. “Ryu said he has a shoot that day, so it’ll just be the two of us.”
Tenn thanks him as he takes his bowl, gently blowing to cool it down. “I don’t mind, but don’t you also have a job next Saturday?”
“Nope, I’m completely free,” Gaku says as he takes a seat on the adjacent sofa, careful to prevent any spills from his own bowl of soba.
Huh, maybe Tenn mixed up their schedules. He typically makes an effort to keep track of Gaku and Ryu’s solo jobs in case they need to plan around each other’s schedules.
“All right. Did you have somewhere in mind? And don’t say we’re going to get soba,” Tenn deadpans as he lifts his chopsticks to start eating.
Gaku makes an indignant face. “I wasn’t going to! Jeez, how can you say that when you’re clearly enjoying the soba I just made for you?”
Tenn doesn’t bother responding, instead choosing to occupy himself with his meal. It’s true that the soba Gaku makes is delicious, but Tenn would rather not fuel his soba obsession any further.
Gaku rolls his eyes but refrains from commenting on Tenn’s lack of response. He instead watches the center eat with a fond smile, pleased that the other is enjoying his cooking.
“I got tickets to the musical you mentioned. You said you wanted to go, right?”
Tenn blinks at that. He recalls he offhandedly mentioned it in the midst of insignificant small talk. A warmth blooms in his chest, touched that Gaku remembered such a minute detail.
“... Okay, let’s go then,” Tenn agrees, and Gaku's face brightens with so much joy that Tenn can’t help but hastily take another bite of soba, hoping to distract himself from the warmth that continues to spread through him.
He's late. Tenn feels himself growing impatient as he checks the time on his phone for the eighth time since he arrived. That was fifty minutes ago.
They were supposed to meet up at a nearby park before walking to the musical, both as a way to spend more time together and as a way to ensure that their disguises are sufficient enough to not get immediately recognized. As much of an idiot Gaku is, he's not usually one to be this late, especially when it comes to their dates. Feeling a tinge of worry, Tenn opts to send him a text.
Tenn: Where are you?
He decides to distract himself by taking in his surroundings. From the park bench, he can see a group of children playing on the swings, two of which seem to be siblings judging by their similar appearances. One of them stays rooted to the ground behind the swings, propelling the younger to go higher with each push.
Tenn feels a pang of nostalgia as he’s reminded of Riku. During the few times Riku was allowed outside, they would go to the playground together; though, their playtime would often get cut short by Riku’s asthma flaring up again.
The sound of his phone’s notification snaps Tenn out of his thoughts. Ten minutes passed since he sent his text. Tenn opens up Gaku’s message, hoping the other has a good excuse for making him wait an entire hour.
Gaku: I’m on location taking a break now. Need something?
Tenn furrows his eyebrows before typing away at his phone, ignoring Gaku’s question.
Tenn: I thought you said you were completely free today.
Gaku: No, I have a shoot. I thought you memorized our schedules.
Tenn: I did, and I also remember you correcting me, saying you were free when I asked if you had a job.
Gaku is typing but then seems to delete his message before typing again. Noticing it may take Gaku a moment to respond, Tenn puts his phone down with a sigh, feeling a headache begin to form. He hears his text notification go off again.
Gaku: Are you talking about when I asked if you were free to go to the musical?
Tenn: When else would I be talking about?
Gaku: When I asked you three days ago, I asked if you were free next Saturday.
Tenn: Today is Saturday.
Gaku: No, not today. The date is next Saturday. Well, this Saturday now technically.
What. Tenn’s eye twitches in frustration. Realizing the conversation is getting nowhere, Tenn opts to call Gaku.
“Today is Saturday. Have you lost your mind?” Tenn asks, not expecting an actual answer.
“I know today is Saturday! That’s why I’m specifically saying that the date is this Saturday!” Gaku says, raising his voice.
“Today is this Saturday!”
“No, it isn’t! Today is today! This Saturday refers to this coming Saturday!”
“Well, when you asked me three days ago, you said it was next Saturday!”
“Yeah, because back then, it was next Saturday, but now that today is Saturday, the date is this Saturday!”
Okay, this is just getting ridiculous at this point.
“What difference does it make?” Tenn asks, tone exasperated.
“A big difference! It’s why you got the date wrong in the first place!”
“I did not get the date wrong!”
“Yes, you did! Going back to when I first asked if you were free, I said next Saturday. Next Saturday implies the Saturday next week, which is after this week, so now that today is Saturday, the date is this Saturday now!”
“No, next Saturday means the next Saturday to come up, which is today!”
“I would have said this Saturday if I meant today!”
“That doesn’t even make any sense!”
“Yes, it does!”
“No, it doesn’t!”
“You know what? This is the same thing with you and your ‘weak,’ ‘medium,’ and ‘strong’ AC settings!”
“Don’t compare the way I refer to the AC settings to this! At least no one gets confused by what I’m saying! Besides, everyone else says it this way!”
“No, only you, Nanase, and Kujo say it like that!”
“Aya says it that way too!”
“Yeah, and you and Kujo probably influenced her to say it wrong!”
“You’re the one who calls adding more hot water to the bath ‘firing up the tub!’”
“Yotsuba does too!”
“…”
“…”
“… Pfft—“
They both burst out laughing at the same time. Tenn tries to stifle his laughter, but the infectious sound of Gaku laughing alongside him effectively neutralizes his attempts.
“You… You’re so…” Tenn doesn’t even know where he’s going with his sentence, too preoccupied with catching his breath.
“This is so stupid!” Gaku somehow manages to make out in the midst of his laughter.
Tenn wipes a tear from the corner of his eye, his laughter gradually dying down. “I can’t believe we just had an argument over something so inane.”
“Ryu would be so disappointed in us,” Gaku jokes, perfectly aware that their unit mate wouldn’t actually be disappointed but would definitely give the two of them his tired older brother look.
“We shouldn’t bother him over something like this. Especially since I’m the one in the right,” Tenn says, smug.
Gaku groans. “Let’s not do this again.”
Tenn lets out a smaller laugh in response.
Gaku sighs. “I’m so glad I returned to the green room. The staff would have looked at me as if I were crazy.”
“I’m relieved that none of these kids noticed me laughing. That would have been embarrassing.”
“You’re at the park we were supposed to meet at, right?”
Tenn hums in confirmation.
Gaku falls silent. Confused by the lack of sound, Tenn pulls his phone away from his ear to make sure he didn’t accidentally hang up. After a moment, he hears Gaku’s voice again.
“… Sorry Tenn, I guess I should have just given you the actual date.”
Not expecting a genuine apology, Tenn feels the need to reassure Gaku. “It’s not your fault, just a ludicrous misunderstanding. Besides, we didn’t actually miss the musical. The tickets are still for next Saturday after all.”
“… Are you just messing with me now?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Tenn feigns ignorance, barely concealing his amusement.
Gaku lets out a fond chuckle. “I still feel bad you wasted your free afternoon though.”
“Well, it just so happens that I have the entire day off next Saturday, so you’ll just have to make it up to me by spoiling me the entire day.”
“I can’t tell if I want to yell at you or kiss you.”
“Preferably the latter when you get home, thanks.”
Gaku hums. “We’ll see. I have to go now. See you tonight.”
“Right. Good luck with your shoot.”
“Thanks,” Gaku says, and just when Tenn thinks he’s going to hang up, he adds, “I love you.”
“… I love you too,” Tenn says before quickly hanging up as he feels a rush of embarrassment.
If he makes a last-minute decision to pick up soba from Yamamura’s, he can blame it on not having eaten anything earlier from waiting for Gaku. Although, he supposes it’s worth it to see Gaku’s face light up when he returns. And if he absolutely melts when Gaku kisses him as promised, well, that’s only for the two of them to know.