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Yuki trails slightly behind Momo as they make their way out of their shared dressing room.
He was exhausted after a long day of back-to-back interviews and filming, ending it with a guest appearance on Idolish7’s Lovely Night With You. Objectively it was a regular schedule for him, all things considered, but Yuki was a complainer— he was tired and had hardly seen Momo at all this week and now that he was able to see Momo for more than a few moments before falling asleep, Momo was giving most of his attention to their cute juniors instead of him.
Even now, with the day done and them heading down the hall to pile into the car that he’s sure Okarin’s got ready for them, Momo still isn’t looking at him. A few bouncing steps ahead and humming a new song Yuki’s been playing around with, a miserable part of him thinks about scrapping the entire song as revenge for Momo’s lack of doting.
Yuki’s whole body droops, like he just isn’t strong enough to keep up any longer.
It’s then that Yuki sees that Momo’s laces are undone.
“Honey,” Yuki calls out after forcing himself more upright.
Momo’s attention is captured immediately, pausing mid-pace to glance back over his shoulder, causing the corners of Yuki’s mouth to twitch.
“Huh? What’s up, darling?” His eyes are bright as he draws out the last word, head tilted in genuine curiosity.
Yuki’s movements slow until they reach a complete stop, finger awkwardly hovering between them after the aborted attempt at directing his attention. When he doesn’t respond, Momo frowns slightly, fully turning around to face Yuki. Momo going to grab his hand snaps Yuki out of his daze.
“Don’t move,” he says suddenly— a bit too short, but Momo obeys without hesitation.
And then, without any warning, Yuki kneels on the floor.
Even though Momo watched Yuki the entire time, he didn’t respond until he felt Yuki’s hand pulling at his ankle. The sound it rips from him is an almost cartoonish squeak, hands flying around Yuki’s head before he tries to fully pull away. Yuki keeps his grip firm, using the fact that Momo raised his leg in recoil to his advantage and guiding his foot to rest on his knee for easier access.
“Stay put.” This time it’s softer, though Yuki can’t bring himself to look up.
“Uh, uh, Yuki- what are you doing?” Momo whispers harshly, arm slamming into the wall as he braces himself.
Yuki doesn’t answer for a moment, thumb slipping under the hem of Momo’s pants to stroke at the skin there.
“Your shoe,” an untrained ear would think he sounds bored rather than embarrassed, “It’s untied.”
Another comical noise is wrenched from Momo, mouth moving as if he were speaking but nothing able to come out as he stares down at his partner. His free hand was uselessly flittering about the space above Yuki, moving to tug at his own hair, like he’d be able to use the sting to convince himself that this wasn’t a dream, or maybe to simply keep his hands to himself, unwilling to sully Yuki any further with what little control he has. The flush that was climbing up the back of his neck and starting to overtake his cheeks was aggressive, as if something more intimate were taking place between them.
Yuki didn’t really understand it.
His ear strains to hear the squeak of shoes coming down the hall as he works to fully undo the old knot in Momo’s laces. He can recognize Yamato’s grumbling anywhere, but he doesn’t care enough to try and decipher what exactly that grumbling was about, especially with the loud thwap from a force only Mitsuki could deliver. Momo didn’t even flinch, Yuki could feel his gaze still burning into him.
There is nothing special about tying shoes. People might have a preference for how they do it, but there is nothing more to it. Still, Yuki does it carefully, opting for the bunny ear method because it only seems fitting for someone as cute as Momo. The job is done neat, tight enough that it won’t come undone within the hour, and loose enough that Momo could easily slip his shoes off once they are back home.
Yuki admires his handiwork for a few seconds before delicately lowering Momo’s foot down.
“There, all done,” he announces playfully, finally looking back at Momo, who’s no longer looking at him in favor of staring at his shoe like he’s never seen it before.
It makes Yuki huff out a laugh before he struggles to push himself off the floor. He groans as he stands back up, rubbing at his back for comedic effect rather than necessary soothing. The noise rips Momo’s attention from his shoe, coming at Yuki like a whirlwind.
“Aw geez, you could have just told Momo-chan!” Momo tries to joke, but his voice cracks as he starts to fuss— straightening out Yuki’s clothes and brushing the dirt off his pants. “My darling should never lower himself for anyone, he’s too-”
“Momo,” Yuki cuts him off, though he was happy to finally have Momo’s full attention on him.
His partner laughs nervously, face red as the nails on the hand that comes up for him to hide behind.
“Seriously, you don’t have to do stuff like that for me-”
“Momo,” he interrupts again, pleased when Momo allows him to guide his hand away from his face. Not that Yuki could directly look at him, focus settled somewhere just over and past his shoulder.
“I did it,” Yuki starts, struggling to find words that make sense “I did it because, the other night…”
Yuki truly doesn’t understand why it is such a big deal. It’s not like tying a shoe was some grand gesture— but Yuki remembers watching some random series with Momo last week. He remembers the way Momo squealed when the lead dropped to his knees to tie his love interest's shoes, remembers the close up shots and slow-mo and romantic music. Remembers how Momo gripped the pillow to his chest and thrashed around the entire scene. Remembers the pillow hitting him hard in the face when he informed his partner that he didn’t get it, that he thought it was a little stupid. Remembers how Momo started lecturing him about the scene, the action, the meaning of it all, and how it was fully in one ear and out the other, too busy thinking about how absolutely in love he was. And then he remembers reaching for the remote to hit the pause button before crawling over to shut Momo up.
“That drama series. You said it was romantic. When we watched,” Yuki can feel the heat on the back of his neck, the blood rushing to the tips of his ears. “I figured that you’d like it.”
Yuki didn’t get it that night, and he doesn’t get it now.
How lame— getting so worked up over tying his partner’s shoe when he doesn’t even understand it in the slightest. Not getting it won’t stop his inability to express his love so blatantly from almost killing him. Momo must think he’s a loser, for how much of a mess he must look like right now, and for even remembering something so nothing in the first place and thinking it would matter to him. The last thing Yuki ever wants is for Momo to think that he’s lame-
His back against the wall genuinely surprises him. So do the pair of hands on his face. But nothing more than Momo’s lips on his.
Down the hall, Yuki can hear Nagi’s accented English loudly exclaiming “Oh My G-”, cut off by the sound of two separate hands slapping over his mouth. The trio is scrambling away, and in any other situation, Yuki would have laughed at the apparent struggle to drag away the younger idol.
But nothing is more important than his partner, pressed up against him desperately, kissing all over his face.
“Yuuuukkkkkiiiiiii,” Momo whines, wobbly voice creating a perfect visual of Momo’s eyes filled with tears in his mind.
He can’t even respond before he feels the familiar press of one of Momo’s fangs at his lip, and he obliges with a satisfied hum, wrapping his arms around Momo without care.
The significance of tying a partner’s shoe is lost on Yuki, but he doesn’t need to figure it out to make Momo happy.
Or get rewarded. But mostly make Momo happy. Making out is just an extremely welcome outcome.
Though it may be a dangerous one as well, because Yuki can feel the exact moment the air around them shifts, the slippery slope that they are about to be on if they don’t stop—
Okarin is shouting at them before he even fully rounds the corner.
(In the car, Okarin continues his exasperated fuming.
“You two drive me fucking crazy— how hard is it to wait until you get home?”
“Sorry,” Yuki sighs, not sounding sorry at all “My honey’s shoelace came undone.”
Despite the comment or tone not even being very flirty at all, it still sends Momo into an overloaded fit, tossing himself around the backseat until he snuggles up to Yuki with puckered lips. Yuki makes an obnoxious show of debating if he should give Momo what he wants, and once he decides to give in, the car jerks harshly.
Okarin stares at them through the rearview mirror with a tight smile.
“I have no qualms with crashing this car.”)