Archive of Our Own

Being the heir to a multi million dollar conglomerate wasn’t always easy. Nor was it very hard for that matter. Satoru huffed out a long sigh as he listened to the droning of the man at the head of the long long table. He was being dragged to a meeting that he didn’t have any interest or say in. It was a total blow. He glanced over towards the other end of the table.

There sat Utahime, a young woman a little older than he was. He watched how she nodded along to her mother. The woman was whispering in her ear and she kept rapt attention to her, occasionally whispering back. After a moment she noticed Satoru’s staring and glanced at him. They made eye contact. Staring at one another, it could seem like fate. Satoru’s crystalline blue eyes meeting her deep rich brown. The two of them were fated. Bound to one another through the goodwill of their families. It was a perfect pairing. Utahime’s family brought bright new ideas and creative ways to utilize the Gojo family fortune. It was only fate that the families birthed a boy and a girl so that a true blood alliance could be formed.

Of course, the two of them had other plans. Satoru grinned an evil grin and stuck his tongue out at Utahime. Like a switch was flipped, her face turned sour and her eye twitched as she glared daggers at Satoru. She hated when he did that. If looks could kill, Satoru would be little more than pieces of dust where he sat. Noticing the commotion, Satoru’s mother reached and pulled on his ear painfully. She growled at him to listen and he could talk with his fiance later. 

After the adults disbanded to talk about business, Satoru snuck through the crowd. He nodded and said hello to those who noticed him, but he was really trying to get away from everyone. Finding an empty balcony overlooking the city was lucky, especially since the weather had started to warm and it was a nice night out. He glanced out at the skyline and sat in wait, knowing that soon Utahime would find him. They danced this dance every time the two were forced to join the business meetings. Their relationship was odd. Bound to one another, engaged at 16 and having their entire lives planned out for them. They felt like dolls or pets that you’d dress up and make pretend with. It felt suffocating and hot. 

“There you are, idiot. Why didn’t you come get me? My mother is going to have a fit.” Utahime’s voice rang out from behind him as she closed the balcony door. She huffed and walked towards him, the heels she was wearing clicking quietly as she stepped.

“If I had to come get you, who knows what they would have made us do. Do you WANT another christmas card floating around?” Satoru grinned as he looked over to her. A vein in her forehead was already threatening to pop and he hadn’t even tried to kiss her yet. Tonight might be a fun night indeed. 

She grumbled and huffed at him but leaned against the railing. She glanced out towards the city and sighed a great big sigh. Glancing towards Satoru for a moment, she asked, “Do you think that other people our age have to deal with this stuff? Maybe some of them are out right now dating or going out and kissing people they barely know.”

The idea felt foreign to Satoru. His entire life was spent being raised to be perfect. To take over the family business when it was time for his parents to retire. Being the only son meant that there was never any wiggle room or question about what he would do with his life. He was taught manners and money and that one day he would have a suitable woman. That she would save herself for him and he would save himself for her. Utahime was his woman. The two had only ever kissed one another. Nothing crazy of course, what they have done could barely even count as a peck. It only happened when it was required, during christmas when Satoru bought her new ballet flats for her true calling or when she surprised him with a beautifully made blue watch, the same color as his eyes. Their families had stared expectantly at them and they knew if they didn’t share at least a small symbol of affection there’d be talk and intervention. It was better this way. At least, that’s what Satoru always told himself. 

Noticing that he was taking too long to answer,  he hummed. “Maybe-” he glanced around to see if anyone was watching before slipping on his favorite sunglasses, even though it was night. His parents hated the things, and kept destroying every pair they found. “-Maybe they have to deal with their families but I don’t think it’s like our families. I mean- What are people our age fighting about? What their jobs are going to be? We don’t have to deal with that shit.” 

Utahime hummed. “Maybe,” there was something still on her mind, but what it was she didn’t say. The wind blew her bangs around and her attention switched from the conversation to management of her hair, wanting to keep it presentable. She grumbled as she took the time to painstakingly fix each strand of hair and she sighed in relief as the wind relented and died down to the occasional breeze.

Seeing an opportunity, Satoru grinned another cheshire grin and reached behind her to ruffle her hair. He was ruthless, making sure no hair was left unfuzzed. He laughed as the strands reacted accordingly and frizzed out. By the time he was done, she looked as if she was about to be struck by lightning. The scene that laid in front of him was downright poetic.

She was frozen in shock, her eyes wide and thoughtless as she stared at him. Her hair that was usually painfully neat splayed out in a hundred different directions. A heat rose to her face as true anger overwhelmed her and her forehead vein (now on full display) was popping out now. A champagne bottle popping from inside the building seemed to snap her out of her stupor and Satoru’s punishment was swift and unrelenting. 

ヾ(●ε●)ノ

He was still nursing his poor nose from Utahime’s surprisingly strong right hook when his phone buzzed. Satoru blinked at it for a moment, surprised that she would text him so soon after the business meeting and their ‘lovers quarrel’. He huffed and glanced out the window, the sunlight streaming through the curtains and highlighting the paperwork he had yet to do. Deciding this was a welcome and more importantly, approved, distraction, he picked up his phone and dialed his fiance without even checking her text.

“You are the worst,” was the first thing he heard when the phone finally connected. 

“You know you love your dear, dear, fiance.” Satoru grinned at the angry silence on the other end before adding, “What’s up?”
“I want to go out and my mother won’t let me go without you. She says I might tempt people if I’m not with my ‘betrothed’.” Utahime’s voice raised a few pitches as she imitated her mother’s whiny tone. The two were frequently at the mercy of several magazines and petty news sources, having paparazzi follow them and publicly wonder if there was trouble in paradise if the two weren’t seen having fun out and about. 

Satoru groaned and slid off his bed, landing in a heap on the floor. He huffed as he thought about going out for the rest of the day. It might be nice to get out of his father’s eyes for a few hours. Recent people rising to power left him feeling antsy and taking it out on Satoru. They sat in silence and watched the stocks rise and fall, watching news and grumbling to him. In the end, he decided he didn’t need another business lesson. “Sure, what time are we staying until?”

“I dunno. Late though. It’s stuffy in my house and I want to see the stars.” Utahime answered as her voice got farther away. She was probably getting ready now. “I’ll get my driver to take me to your house and we’ll get a ride from there, okay?”

Satoru was barely able to answer before the phone clicked as she hung up. He shrugged and got to work. He pulled on a sky blue polo shirt. It was a few shades lighter than his eyes and worked quite nicely with his hair. He put on white pants and nodded at his choice, pulling on white shoes to match. Digging out his nice blue watch and silver chain finished his outfit and he hooked his sunglasses on his collar for when he stepped out of the house. Satoru shook himself around and pulled on his clothes until they looked exactly right, messy but not sloppy. He messed with his hair until it layed how he liked it and with that he was done. 

Utahime was talking with his mother as he stepped down the stairs. He hid his sunglasses in his pocket as he smiled at his mother and told her not to wait up for them. She nodded approvingly at the two of them together and saw them off. The young fiances joined hands and sat into the car that his mother paid for and they drove off. 

The moment they were out of sight, Utahime slapped him out of the way and without skipping a beat Satoru put his glasses on. They sat in the quiet hum of the car for a few minutes before Satoru asked, “Where are we going?”

“The strip mall. I want something new to wear for summer. The college kids are back for summer and I want to at least fit in a little bit. You can’t do that in business casual.”

She wasn’t wrong. As they drove past the streets, more and more of the people touring the neighborhoods were their age. They were in small groups of a few or more people, laughing and joking amongst each other. They carried bags and fun colorful drinks. It looked like a lot of fun. They didn’t care about how they talked to one another or how they looked if they were to be photographed. 

Once they got to the mall and were dropped off, Utahime busied them both by pulling Satoru to the nearest outlet store. Satoru didn’t really care about what outfits Utahime was talking about at first. It took her several tries and a swift kick to the shin for him to glance over and tell her about what he thought. He hummed and told her that she’d be better off with the blue version. It worked better with her raven hair and matched several pairs of shoes he knew she had in some closet back home. After several more agonizing minutes of this, Utahime finally took pity on him and they searched for the boba place that everyone was getting their drinks from. They ended up not being able to find it, much to Satoru’s dismay. They instead found an ice cream place that allowed for Satoru to get a brown sugar milkshake. He grinned at the sickeningly sweet taste. It was music to his taste buds as they walked around the mall.

Now that Satoru was in a much better mood after getting his fix of sugar, he was able to give Utahime more input on her choices of clothing, and even picking out a few things for himself. His black card flashed in the low light of the stores as he paid for their things and pulled the bags off the tables. Of course, people couldn't help but notice them after a while. It started off small at first. A phone pointing their way for a moment or a badly positioned selfie was commonplace. Satoru rolled his eyes and put an arm around Utahime’s shoulders. Now that those pictures were being posted, there was probably some silly news outlet with nothing better to do on their way. They should at least look somewhat loving as they continued to tour the mall. 

After an hour or two, the sun was casting a warm glow on the buildings, and Satoru was tired of carrying both his and Utahime’s bags. They called themselves a new car and Satoru was happy to dump all the bags into the trunk. They’d sort who’s was who’s later. While passing by a park, Utahime gasped and pointed towards the fairy lights that were set up between the trees. Her eyes lit up at the pretty glow that the small lights gave off, casting a fairytale filter with the cool deep blues of the sky that was rapidly darkening. 

Without really thinking about it, Satoru poked at his driver and told him to pull over and to not wait up. He listened dutifully and drove their bags of shopping home, leaving the two to be able to walk the park and surrounding nice neighborhood. It was another nice night, maybe it wouldn’t be cold again until fall and winter arrived again in the later part of the year. Utahime led the two of them, walking underneath the branches of the great big trees. The leaves above their heads rustled in a constant quiet background noise. It was a welcome sound that made the silence between them comforting. As much as Utahime was a pain, the two knew practically everything about one another. It made it easy for Satoru to be close to her. He hated trying to make new friends. It seemed like he was never quite aware of what was too much to talk about. He frequently was described as pushy, arrogant, and an asshole, even though he only spoke what came to his mind. It wasn’t his fault he was always in poor company! So the solution was simple. Utahime was going to be his only friend forever and ever and he’d never have to deal with the other boring people in their high societies. 

The night was uneventful as they passed through the park but Satoru’s attention was caught by a faint music from down one of the side streets. “Let’s check that out,” he urged as he took Utahime’s hand and dragged her down the road. 

They quickly came upon a big white house. The sight was like nothing Satoru had seen before. There were a bunch of multi-colored lights inside the house. People were pouring out onto the lawn and surrounding sidewalks, many of them holding red solo cups and talking loudly. The music was coming from inside the house, and he could see people dancing in the windows. It was a fullblown party, and everyone looked like they were having the time of their lives. Seeing people his age act so carefree was unnerving. It spurred something inside him and he started to walk towards the front lawn. 

“What are we doing, Satoru?!” Utahime hissed as she was still being dragged along. She dug her heels into the ground, effectively stopping the both of them. 

Satoru turned and blinked at her. “Don’t you wanna see the party, ‘Hime?” He turned back to look at the house and how fun it looked. “This will be like. The only time in our entire lives that we’ll be able to see something like this. Aren’t you at least a little bit curious?”

She grumbled and muttered and wiped at her forehead for a few moments, but Satoru let her think her way through it. It was a perk of knowing her so well. He saw the way she peered at the people milling about, kissing and dancing and talking and he knew she wanted to see it just as badly as he did. He just had to wait her out without pissing her off and they’d be at the center of the party in no time!

In the end, Satoru’s hypothesis proved true so they found themselves in the middle of this giant party. With some talk to the big guys standing at the door, Satoru found out it was an open invitation and they were allowed in as long as they didn’t break anything. It made him grin and they walked in to see a living room repurposed into a dance floor, the TV flashing bright colors and blasting loud music as the drunken kids danced to the rhythm. 

The two wandered to the kitchen, Satoru grinning when he saw the bowl of punch. He poured himself a hefty glass and turned to Utahime. “Want some?” 

“No. I can’t believe you’re going to drink!” She hissed, she was incredibly nervous that they didn’t know what was in it. She wondered how many sips until Satoru blacked out. 

He laughed and poked her cheek. “Come on!! Here-” He rummaged in the cooler that his fiance didn’t seem to notice and pulled out a hard lemonade. “-just enough to make you likeable!”

Her eye twitched and she snatched the drink out of his hand, growling at him that she’d tell his mother where the two of them were if he didn’t stop. She popped open the can tab and drank a quarter of the drink before looking back around. After a moment she asked, “What now?”

He shrugged but the question was swiftly answered for them as some dudebro walked up to them and started to make conversation. Satoru grinned at the nature of the man. He didn’t look at the heir like he was someone to be respected or taken advantage of. He pointed and asked if his eyes were actually that blue and if he dyed his hair. Satoru got to laugh and tell him it was all in his genes and he was alllll natural, which made Utahime glare and roll her eyes. 

Whether it was a stroke of fate, a set of chain reactions, or sheer dumb luck, Satoru found himself sitting on the floor in a circle full of a bunch of random people. Utahime sat beside him, clutching her can close to her chest. He was on his second cup, and the room was already spinning. He figured that he definitely wouldn’t regret this as he ate a piece of that sweet sweet liquor fruit and refocused onto the conversation in front of him. A boy and a girl left the closet, their clothes askew and the girl’s lipstick smudged. The two sported goofy grins, and the boy quickly excused himself to the bathroom. 

A girl with brown shoulder length hair clapped her hands and got the attention of the group. “Who’s next?” She called. An unlit cigarette rested between her lips. She stood behind a man with raven hair, all pulled back into a bun, only a piece of bangs falling out from the hairstyle. Satoru stared at him for a moment, trying to figure out whether or not the bangs were good or bad. He squinted, trying to get a good read on him even as the room twirled. He thinks the man has purple eyes, a unique color. Maybe not as bright as his own but surprising nonetheless. His thinking gets interrupted by a hard jab in his side.

He turns to retaliate when Utahime gets his attention by pointing down in the middle of the circle. The bottle landed on him. Oh Shit. He sobered up and gave a flippant laugh, pushing his glasses down onto his face so the group didn’t see how messed up he was. With a little too much bravado for someone who was supposed to be only tipsy, he reached forward and spun the bottle, waiting with bated breath to see who his partner would be. To be completely and utterly honest, he didn’t really know exactly how to play the game. He had a few ideas from the state of the people that came out but he didn’t exactly have any practice. 

After too long, the bottle came to a stop, pointing directly towards the guy with the bangs. Double Shit. He hadn’t seen two people of the same gender go in before. Was that allowed? The group went quiet for just a moment before the girl with the cigarette laughed out loud and clapped the man's, Bangs he decides, back. Utahime laughed too and together the two girls pulled the boys towards the closet. Just before he was shoved in, he hears Utahime say, “Don’t make an ass of yourself!”

He blinked in the dark for just a moment, stunned. How was it that he found himself here? After a second he sputtered out, “Hi- I’m Satoru- I like your bang-” of course, immediately after he slapped his forehead and muttered, “stupid- stupid thing to say.”

A soft exhale was heard in front of him. Was that a laugh? Maybe what he said was so stupid it was laugh worthy. Satoru doesn’t know how he’s going to live past this. Before he could spiral too far down the rabbit hole, a voice interrupted his thoughts by saying, “I’m Geto. It’s nice to meet you.” 

The man’s voice was velvet smooth. He had a beautiful timbre that really resonated with Satoru’s drunk ears. Distantly, he realizes he should have used his family name, but tonight isn’t about his family. It’s about Satoru. He shakes his head to refocus again and smiles. “It’s nice to meet you too!! So- like- What are we gonna do now?” He hopes he doesn’t sound wasted.

Bangs- No- Geto laughs a breathy laugh again. “Well- there’s a few things that we could do,” Geto murmurs and he shuffles around. In the cramped confines of the closet, Geto only manages to move closer to Satoru. The two were basically on top of one another at this point, or this is how it seemed to poor, poor Satoru. 

Helplessly, Satoru asks, “Like… what..?”

Geto’s smile could clearly be heard in his voice as he asked, “Have you ever played seven minutes in heaven before?”

Hearing Geto’s voice sound so happy made Satoru grin in turn. He laughed and admitted, “Well- maybe I’ve never been to a party like this before..”

The resulting silence made Satoru’s face heat. He laughed a little bit and tried to justify himself by explaining, “Well- You know! I’m like suuuper cool though- Like- I’m a great kisser!”

He heard another quiet laugh, Geto’s breath smelt vaguely like alcohol as he shifted again. “Why don’t we test that theory?” 

If Satoru wasn’t red already (he was), he must be red all the way down his neck. He gulped, and after a moment nodded. And then he realized that Geto couldn’t see him nod. “Yes! Yes we should. Clearly I’d win but you know! No hard feelings, Righ–?”

He was silenced by the press of Geto’s lips on his. He was sure that was the fastest he’s ever been silenced in his whole life. The other man’s lips were soft but sure, taking control of the kiss. And maybe Satoru was a liar about his kissing ability, okay? You can’t just tell the man you’re about to spend seven minutes with that you have a fiance that hates you and all other men for that matter! So what if he’s only ever pecked her? Geto gently opens Satoru’s lips for him and suddenly he realizes what he’s been missing this entire time. 

Geto’s mouth tasted like potent alcohol. Satoru could get drunk on the feeling. Geto shifted again, the closet seemingly getting smaller as Satoru shifted with him and ended up underneath the near stranger. They broke the kiss for a moment to pant against one another. Maybe Satoru didn’t know what he was doing, but Geto certainly did. Satoru couldn’t help his laugh, “Best two out of three?”

The quip made Geto’s lips smile against his skin. The feeling made Satoru positively giddy. In what felt like years but was probably only a few seconds., Geto broke the silence again with, “How about this..?”

Suddenly, his lips were on Satoru’s jaw. Before Satoru could ask what he was doing, he moved. Suguru started with featherlight kisses down his jaw and across his neck before stopping at his adam’s apple. Satoru gulped and Geto chuckled before licking his skin there, sucking little nothings into his neck. Oh. Satoru turned to putty underneath Geto’s masterful hands. He held on for dear life as the man kissed his way back up to mouth at Satoru’s earlobe. He yelped, drawing another chuckle from Geto.

After a moment, Satoru couldn’t take it anymore and pulled Geto back up by his collar to mash their lips together. He simply couldn’t express his need for the man in any other way. The kiss quickly devolved with Satoru's drunk and sloppy state, but it was just as it needed to be for him.

All too soon, the doors to the closet were wrenched open and the two were met with cheering. Light flooded in and it was like a bucket of cold water as the two tumbled out of the confined space. Satoru landed face first onto the plush carpet of the bedroom and he was glad for it because that meant that nobody could see the rate at which his entire world just imploded in front of his very eyes. If it was his choice, he’d probably stay there forever, but Utahime had other plans for him. 

She pulled him up by his collar and grinned an evil, evil grin at him. Satoru was sure he’d have to kill her in order to even try to begin living this experience down. He was a strawberry red the entire way across his face, he was sure. Judging by the heat on his ears and down his neck, he was sure it expanded even farther and he looked positively stupid. The girl who had the cigarette appeared in his eyesight and grinned at him too. She wolf whistled and clapped Geto on his back.

Geto looked positively wrecked. Just as much as Satoru did, he guessed. His skin was flushed across his face and his eyes were hungry as they stared at Satoru. Oh. They were staring at each other. Everything and nothing was said between them as Satoru realized his glasses were still on the floor where he was laying. Geto was dealing with the full brunt of Satoru’s stare. Deep purple met endless blue and they stayed like that for an impossibly long time, maybe even forever. That was, until Utahime and Geto’s friend pulled them both up and away from one another. 

As soon as he was outside, he gulped in air like every breath might be his last. Satoru would swear that it sobered him right up. (It didn’t). He held onto the railing of the porch and huffed out before standing straight. When he did, he noticed that it wasn’t just Utahime with him, but the girl and Geto too. Suddenly, all the air he had been collecting was expelled again and he let out a breathy laugh.

“What’s goin on guys?” Satoru’s voice sounded odd to everyone, especially himself. Was it the alcohol or the fact that he has just learned several new things about himself? The alcohol. Definitely the alcohol.

The question made Geto laugh. He motioned his hand towards the girl. This time her cigarette was actually lit. The bitter smell drifted in the breeze and hung aroun the group lightly. “This is Ieiri Shoko. It’s her family home. It’s her party.”

She nodded and put her hand out to Satoru. “You can call me Shoko,” she supplied, “I met with Utahime inside while you two were.. Busy.”

Satoru laughed and chirped, “Yes! I see! Do you get along with Utahime well? That’s a surprise!” 

Utahime poorly aimed a slap and missed by a hair, causing him to taunt her once more. They bickered back and forth until Utahime got tired of the argument and pointed to a hill at the end of the yard. She asked, “Is that yours too? Can we see the stars from there?” 

Her voice was soft when she talked to Shoko, not in the submissive way like it was when she was with her family, but in the way she talked to small children who watched her dance and cute animals. It wasn’t often anyone got to hear that side of her and Satoru logged that information for later to ask her about it.

Shoko smiled and nodded. “Yeah! Let’s go look at the stars!”

The group moved towards the backyard, taking their sweet time. Utahime did the proper thing and asked Shoko about her family and her home and what they were celebrating. Satoru, on the other hand, was busy memorizing the planes of Geto’s face. He had handed his silly glasses over at some point to the man and he put them on without another question. He looked just too good in them. It was probably illegal to look that good. Satoru should probably contact someone about that. 

When they made it to the hill, the group laid down and took in the night sky. It was a cloudless night and the stars were on clear display. The full moon was out as well, providing a beautiful blue glow that coated the scenery. It turned Satoru’s hair into starlight and his eyes into galaxies as he smiled upwards. His grin was lopsided and he laughed at nothing in particular. He usually didn’t make friends. They feared his name and his family but these people didn’t. They didn’t know who he was or who his father was and it made him absolutely giddy. He could taunt Utahime and they wouldn’t gasp in horror, instead Shoko would roll her eyes and mumble something mean about his big head. 

It was a peaceful night, there was barely-there wind that ruffled Satoru’s hair and he smiled at the clouds that floated feather-light in the sky. The four of them made quiet conversation, one topic flowing into the next and the quiet silence that graced them never being uncomfortable. It was a better time than Satoru ever remembered having in his whole life. Better than all his birthday parties turned business meetings or anniversaries with Utahime. It made him feel giddy that maybe he too, could have a life free from corporate gossip and money.

ヾ(●ε●)ノ

On his way from one confrence to the next, Satoru felt tired. His limbs felt like lead and  it was as if he was walking through molasses. His father woke him up before the sun kissed the sky and he could feel the consequences as the day bled into the afternoon. His suit was just a little too tight, it made him look professional and almost unreal. Like he was some doll that was dressed however it’s creator wanted. 

He scowled as sweat beaded at his brow. His hair was pulled away from his forehead. His mother spent the morning wrestling with his hair, gelling it, combing it, and gelling it again. It gave Satoru a headache and he hated the way the sun shone directly into his eyes. His glasses were nowhere to be seen, his mother had seen them in his pocket and smashed them with her overly huge sized coffee cup. 

In fact, he could feel the beginnings of a headache from behind his eyes. It started out as a simple pusling sensation but he knew it’d soon bloom into a full on, head pounding, episode. He mourned the loss of the things he’d planned to do tonight (nothing) and sighed as he continued his treacherous journey to the next conference. 

As he walked, he noticed that people kept walking past him with drinks in their hand. It took several people walking by him to notice, but once he heard the word “boba”, he was all in.

His vision sharpened on the nearest girl who had a pretty purple drink in her hand. He approached her and gave her his most charming smile. He asked her, “Where’d you get your drink?” He hoped she couldn’t hear the desperation in his voice as he glanced down at the drink again. 

Apparently, he didn’t need to worry as she smiled brightly and pointed behind her. “It’s from a cute coffee shop from around the corner! It’s called BitterSweet!” 

He nodded his thank you and continued on, speed walking down the crowded street and turning to the left. There was his salvation. It sat inbetween two much taller buildings, and he wondered if that was why he didn’t see it before. It was a quaint thing, colored in yellows and purples. The small chairs outside of it were filled with patrons enjoying their drinks, each a little different than the others. When he approached the door, he smelt the delicious smell of sugar and coffee and chocolate all melting together to create pure nirvana. 

He stepped in and took a look around, his headache momentarily forgotten. Plants covered the shelves inside the store. They were well maintained and happy. There was art on the walls that brought a homey-relaxed vibe to the place. Some of the art was handmade, clearly created with love. Other pictures were of the different seasonal drinks and other promotional posters. The place was very nice, business-wise. He could tell that he’d be willing to spend extra time and money to be able to take in the atmosphere if he were to drink a coffee everyday. Maybe Satoru could bring up the conversation of plants and art to their business partners. Maybe people would like it.

A twinge of pain in his skull, this one much sharper than the last, reminded him of his mission in the first place and he walked deeper into the store to the front desk. It was empty for a moment before a flash of black hair caught his eye. No- It couldn’t be- 

It was.

The man from the party, no- Geto. He emerged from the back with his head down, pulling the ties on his purple apron tight around his front. His waist was outlined a little too nice against his broad shoulders that way and Satoru wondered if he needed to report him for indecency. His hair was tied back again, this time all the way into a neat bun, well- neat except for his bang piece hanging out again. 

When Geto looked up to Satoru, the change of his face was immediate. His eyes widened and a small flush of his cheeks happened faster than Satoru could blink. Satoru was glad the man even recognized him. They both stared at eachother in this silent game of chicken. Eventually, Satoru couldn’t handle the silence anymore and asked, “What’s the sweetest most caffeinated thing on the menu?” His voice was a little too loud, especially to his own ears, and he was a little too cheerful sounding; like he’d just won the lottery or saw the person he’d been absently daydreaming about for the past few days. Something crazy like that.

“What?” Geto’s voice was so caught off guard for a moment Satoru worried that he actually didn’t recognize him. He blinked again and again, trying to figure out the context of his question, “What are you doing?”

Now it was Satoru’s turn to blink at Geto. He glanced around at the coffee shop, making sure it was actually a place to buy coffee. After his inspection resulted in the answer that yes, this place does infact sell coffee, he looked to the man behind the counter. He gave a small laugh and asked, “Well- I’d like to buy a coffee. That’s… I can do that here, right?”

“Oh. Oh!” Suguru glanced back at the cutsie- hand drawn menu behind his head as if, he too, was just now realizing he was in a coffee shop. “Right. What did you want..?”

Satoru laughed, probably a little too hard for the situation. He clutched his stomach and curled over, resting his head on the counter as he giggled and wheezed. It wasn’t really that funny but by god, he was tired and his head hurt. He could feel it now, resting behind his eyes and traveling up his hairline. When he straighteneed finally, he saw Geto staring at him with unbridled concern. His brows were knit together adorably and he looked like he was a moment away from calling an ambulance, or the police, or both. 

“Are you…? Okay..?” Geto’s voice sounded hesitant, like it would if he were talking to a rabid animal. 

“Well- I’m great! I just have a migraine coming on! And I only slept five hours the past two days! Sooooooo other than that I’m peachy! I need the sweetest and most caffeinated thing you have!” Satoru’s voice shook as he leaned on the counter and clumsily fished his wallet out of his pocket, slapping his black card down on the table. Geto’s eyes widened at it. Oh right. He didn’t know who Satoru was.

If he was surprised, the barista didn’t show any other indication but he took it and paid for whatever drink he decided. He gave Satoru back his card and pointed at a small booth in the corner, sitting in the shade of a big leafy plant Satoru didn’t know the name of. “Go sit over there. I’ll bring it to you.”

Satoru obeyed easily, sitting himself down and dropping his head down on the table rather harshly. A loud thunk resonated from it but he barely felt the impact over everything else. His eyes hurt. Everything was too bright and he lost his glasses to his evil mother and man he was tired-

“Here. If you die of a heart attack it isn’t my fault.” Geto’s voice was heaven sent and Satoru blinked up at him. A pretty purple drink sat on the table next to his head, a purple a few shades lighter than Geto’s eyes.

Then, Satoru’s eyes landed on something else that Geto was holding. A pair of sunglasses. They were square shaped and turtleshell colored along the edges. Upon noticing where Satoru’s gaze was, the barista looked away and held them out. “For your eyes… yknow. Cuz headache.” His tone was unsure and he didn’t make eye contact with Satoru even when the young heir carefully took them. Like if he moved any faster this dream would shatter. 

He slipped the glasses on and sighed a big breath of relief at the respite his eyes were given. Of course the exhaustion still stung them, and his head still pounded but this was the right step. He then focused on his drink, popping a straw in it and taking a sip. He hummed happily at the flavor, many people didn’t make the drinks sweet enough. There was usually a bitter undercurrent that he tasted. This drink had none however, and Satoru grinned so hard his face hurt at the man.

“You’re a lifesaver, Geto!!” He gave the man a thumbs up and winked at him for extra good measure. He hoped that Geto understood how grateful he was. Satoru wasn’t great at showing that.

“I’m glad you're happy. I tipped myself one hundred percent.” Suguru’s smile grew into something more mischievous as he glanced away again.

Satoru, of course, didn't care and nodded. He chirped, “That’s how much you deserve for this. It’s great!!”

At that moment, Satoru realized there was in fact, somewhere he was supposed to be and shot up from his seat. He gasped, “The confrence! Shit- see you later, Geto!” 

Only when he was sitting in the conference, sunglasses hidden safely away, did he realize he didn’t have any tangible way to see Geto later. Shit. He was going to have to work on this whole friend thing. 

ヾ(●ε●)ノ

Satoru hated black tie attire. He hated being shoved in stuffy suits and getting strangled by ties. He pulled on his white button down and huffed as his mother shoved a sky blue pocket square into his breastpocket. 

“When you see her, you are to give these to her,” Mother reminded him. She held a bouquet with red and white roses alike. There were other flowers and green leaves that Satoru didn’t care to name. It was clearly expensive and if it were any other girl, Satoru would have had her swooning.

Of course, he knew better and knew that Utahime was probably going to hurt him for his kind and loving gesture. The woman was sick and twisted, even when satoru played nice!! Here he was, going to her dance recital and cheering her on from the crowd. Just like a good fiance would. Sure, he didn’t have to go. Her parent’s didn’t even really approve. But Satoru knew that this was important to her so he decided that he would go to every one of her recitals. It was just for him to be a good friend for Utahime. He knew he wasn’t a very good friend to have so this was his way of showing her he cared. At least on some level. Once he was out of the shadow of his parents, he donned his borrowed turtleshell sunglasses and grinned at himself. Of course, he packed an extra pair of his classic sunglasses just in case of emergencies. 

When he arrived, he found a chair with his name reserved in the front row. It was the only seat that had something on it and Satoru frowned a little when he realized that Utahime’s parents weren’t there. Of course, they usually didn’t come. They were business driven and they deemed it more important to watch their stocks and make phone calls. Utahime tried to be nonchalant about it but he knew that it hurt her feelings whenever they didn’t show. Dancing wasn’t something that they thought was very lucrative. Utahime absolutely adored dancing and did many different forms and genres.

Today was something more contemporary. She wore a tight bodysuit and some kind of flowing skirt. It was seethrough but slightly pink. She had white tights on underneath and it matched with a white bow in her hair, the ribbons flowing down past her thighs. She was beautiful in it, even someone like Satoru could see that.

The music that played was soft and airy. Some kind of piano with whistling high notes laced overtop. A woman’s voice played overtop, probably Utahime’s. She liked singing too but dancing was always a priority. Her voice was high and melodic, creating a melody to the music. 

Her body was in tune with the music perfectly. Every time the music played a note that pitched higher, she raised her leg in tune with the song. Her feet were pointed and it made the lines of her figure long and graceful. She smiled when she found herself in her element. She played with her hair and swung her arms in time with the piano. Attached to the ends of her sleeves were long ribbons the same texture as the skirt and they flew behind her as she twirled and jumped. 

At the end of her dance, she did some floor work. She crouched on the ground and rolled to her back. She threw her legs into the air and kicked out, rolling herself back over to sit and swing her arms. She grinned as she looked out into the crowd. She saw how many people were there for her. It wasn’t just Satoru. She ran an account that showcased her love of dance and many of her performances were on it. Quite a lot of people followed her and supported her journey. Many of them were here tonight. They all supported her in a way Satoru couldn’t. They loved her for what she made them feel. Her dancing was special like that. None of the people behind him cheering her on were here because they had to be. They were here because they wanted to be. They took time out of their busy lives to appreciate the art that Utahime needed to express to the world. 

When her dance ended, the crowd gave her a standing ovation. Flowers were thrown on stage and she waved and laughed as the crowd cheered for her. Her eyes shone with tears as she waved at people she recognized. Even when her eyes met Satoru's, she kept a happy grin on her face, waving at him and rolling her eyes. He smiled and saluted her, laughing when she purposefully turned to give the other side of the crowd attention. 

She left the stage not long after and Satoru knew that he needed to wait where he was so that she could find him after she was done talking to people. He waited patiently with his flowers in his hand and his eyes off in space under his sunglasses. Satoru heard the excited chatter all around him, the girls that complimented her and the men that laughed and nodded to everything that she said. He smiled when he heard her excited voice chatter back, telling them about her outfit and song and dance. 

When she finally decided to grace her poor, poor, fiance with her attention, she wasn’t alone. He blinked from behind his sunglasses. Two familiar faces were behind Utahime, Geto and his female friend. What was it? Shoko! Geto and Shoko trailed behind her as they approached him. Satoru couldn’t help but grin at the two. What a fun surprise! He stood up and waved, cheering, “Hey guys!”

Utahime rolled her eyes and smiled, calling out, “Resident idiot, everyone.”

When Satoru stood, he handed Utahime her flowers and he pulled off his, Geto’s, sunglasses. He extended his hand out to the man with the glasses in hand. “Thank you for the loan! I probably wouldnt’ve survived without them.”

Geto accepted the glasses but a confused look graced his face. It was as if he suddenly realized something. His eyebrows quirked and he smiled a little as he asked, “How did you know I was coming?”
This question made Utahime and Shoko blink. They glanced at one another and then to each of the boys. Shoko spoke first. “What do you mean you didn’t know he was going to be here?” 

Geto stared at his friend. “Was I supposed to?”
Now it was Utahime’s turn to grill Satoru. “You two didn’t get eachother’s numbers?”

Satoru grinned a lopsided grin as he shook his head. He asked in a dopey voice, “You two did?”

Their combined answer was immediate. 

“Yes!”

“Yes.”

Satoru was going to have to grill Utahime all about how she had gotten a pretty girl’s number later. Now, however, he was more preoccupied by smiling dumbly. So what if he wore Geto’s glasses? That wasn’t any reason for him to feel guilty! Even if he didn’t know the guy was going to be here! Maybe Satoru had a killer psychic ability. Or dumb luck. 

Suddenly his phone was being taken out of his pocket. He watched helplessly as it was passed to Shoko and as Geto’s phone was passed to Utahime. They both typed furiously before nodding and giving the boys back their phones. Utahime smiled, “There! Now you two don’t have to be useless anymore.”

They looked at eachother in confusion as the girls laughed and talked in some sort of foreign girl language. They were going a hundred miles a minute, and it seemed to Satou that maybe they had been in contact since the party. 

Geto and Satoru glanced at one another, a dopey smile greeting his face as he saw the sunglasses pushing the man’s long hair out of his face. He shuffled around the girls and moved closer to Geto, searching for some conversation topic. He eventually settled on asking, “Do you watch stuff like this a lot?”

The man smiled, his eyes softening and closing as he shook his head. He laughed, “Ah- no I don’t. This is my first time watching a dance. It was good, though.”

Satoru nodded at his words. He looked at what Geto wore, a little underdressed for the code of the opera house. Of course, Satoru was overdresed. He felt a little self conscious as he realized it, pulling on the sleeves of his suit as he said, “It was! Utahime does them all the time. By now I could probably do my own dance! I’d do it way better too!”

He should have expected the slap, he really should have. He just thought that Utahime wouldn’t be so evil as to hit him from behind. Trust was a fickle thing and he shouldn’t have placed his trust in Utahime to not abuse him. 

Late that night, Satoru squinted at his phone screen. An empty message thread was staring back at him and he sighed as he tried to figure out the best thing to say to Geto. He glanced at the contact name. Suguru. He glanced around his dark room, as if he was making sure he was in fact, alone before whispering the name to himself. He wanted to see how it felt to say it, the consonants rolling off his tongue in the silence of the room. Satoru felt heat rise to his face as he smiled. Suguru Geto. Satoru Gojo. Name twins. How fun is that?

Once he sent the message, he threw his phone. If he couldn’t see the reply, it wouldn’t hurt him! Simple!

I like your name, Suguru. I’d like to know more about you.

ヾ(●ε●)ノ

Satoru must have saved entire orphanages of children in a past life. He must have been some unearthly hero that caused the entire world to be better. There was no other explanation. Here he was, shopping in a cutesy farmer’s market with Suguru, the two of them wandering the isles together. 

Suguru was wearing a comfy looking brown sweater, something probably a little too warm for this weather but flattering anyway. He had a nice tan pair of shorts that ended at his knees. A wallet chain hung from his pocket and he wore nice black shoes, the same as his hair. His hair. It looked so soft in the sun. It was shiny and clean and laid nicely down his back. Satoru noticed that the boy even had black nail polish. It was unfairly hot. All of him was. He was reminded, for what must be the hundredth time, that this was clearly illegal activity and he needed to contact the authorities about this siren call that was happening before him. 

The first thing he asked when he saw Suguru was about his name. “Is that okay? Is it okay if I call you Suguru?”

Suguru blinked at him, a small smile gracing his features again as he looked at Satoru. He raised a brow and nodded, telling him, “If you want to, you can. It’s okay.”

This made Satoru’s boyish features absolutely light up. He grinned and nodded. “Okay! Okay!! Thank you, Su~gu~ruuu..!!”

This made the boy flush a little, heat rising to his cheeks as he laughed and scolded, “not like that!”

They wandered the isles, picking up the handcrafted leather bags and admiring the jewelry stands. Satoru pulled Suguru aside to look at the shop that sold handcrafted plugs. He pointed at the sage green ones. “Look!!”

Suguru picked up the crystal earring. He inspected it and felt the weight of the jewelry in his hands. It was a fine piece. Smooth and a pretty deep green. When he looked at the price tag, he cringed and set the plugs down. He told Satoru, “I probably don't need another pair. They’re nice, though.” He then turned and pointed at something else for Satoru to get distracted by. 

Of course, Satoru turned and slammed entirely too much money down on the table behind them and picked up the plugs, along with a pretty purple and gold pair that he thought matched Suguru’s eyes nicely. He slipped them into his pocket and grinned at the thought of buying things for Suguru. The coffee shop he worked at certainly didn’t allow for splurging at the capacity that Satoru knew he deserved. 

Then, like the sneaky sneak he was, he continued to ask Suguru about the things he liked. He asked about his favorite food, soba, favorite color, gold and green, and his hobbies, martial arts. This allowed Satoru to swipe (pay for and hide away) a golden pocket watch, a green coin purse, another set of earrings that he thought was pretty, and a really nice dinner set that contained a ramen bowl, soup spoon, and engraved chopsticks. Of course, It was getting hard to hide his treasures so he had to buy himself a very nice sky blue puffer jacket. He bought a bag to hold it and began to stuff his treasures in the bag, feeling like a mastermind genius.

The two of them came to an end of the vendor’s stalls and they saw a little trail. It was a footcarved path that delved into a wooded part of the park that the farmer’s market was in. Satoru eyed Suguru, wondering if they could continue their day. Satoru was learning a lot from the other, they clearly lived different lives and it was so eye opening to hear about how he lived and the job he had and the things that he appreciated in day to day life. Satoru didn’t want to go back home. He’d have to deal with his mother and her rules and her questions. He didn’t want to go back to his birdcage. He was now finding out that it was no place to live, no matter how comfy the bars were. A panic started to grip his chest as he thought about saying goodbye to Suguru and leaving. Going back home and sitting in his room to wait until he was wanted again.

Just as the panic began to overwhelm him, Suguru’s voice cut through his thoughts. “It would be a waste to come all the way out here and not see where this leads, right?”

He glanced over to the boy. His hair was down today, swirling with the soft breeze. His full bangs were out and framed his straight nose wonderfully, highlighting the violet in his eyes. Suguru held a little self-conscious smile, looking down towards the trail instead of at Satoru.

Satoru grinned. He couldn’t believe he was so lucky. Of course, he had to fuck with Suguru. He hummed and put a hand to his chin and thought and weighed the idea before letting out a great big sigh. He reveled in the way that Suguru’s attention was focused on him. After a beat of silence, he chirped, “Okay! Race you!”

He broke into a small jog to get ahead of Suguru on the trail, laughing trailing behind him when he heard Suguru’s confused exclamation followed by the sound of him running behind him. He only continued this game for a few more steps before skidding to a stop and preparing for Suguru to run into him. His intuition proved right when he heard Suguru curse again followed by him plowing into the back of Satoru.

“Idiot!” He chastised, smacking Satoru upside the head. 

Satoru pouted at him as he rubbed the back of his head, huffing. He silently wondered if Utahime had taught him that one. They came to a truce and continued on the trail much quieter than before. It was green and beautiful the entire way up. Satoru excitedly pointed at the butterflies that lived in the small flower patches on each side of the trail and Suguru got to listen to him.

When they reached the end of the trail, a quaint scene awaited them. A small bench sitting in green grass overlooking a lake sat in front of them. The scenery made Satoru grin and he called for Suguru to follow him as he made himself comfy on the seat of the wooden bench. 

The feeling of their shoulders brushing against eachother as Suguru sat down made him feel at ease. Like all was right in the world and this was exactly where he needed to be. They sat in a comfortable silence for who knows how long, watching the fish and birds in the lake. It was sunset now, the oranges and pinks blending together to create a masterpiece in the sky. It lit Satoru’s hair up like fire as he smiled out to the world. 

Before he could stop himself, Satoru reached his hand into his bag and pulled out his bag of goodies. He grinned a sly grin and held it out to Suguru. “Look. I found these.”

Suguru’s eyes widened and he laughed. The sound was like honey and Satoru found himself smiling too. “You’re silly. Thank you, Satoru.” His voice was filled with mirth as he took it and looked through it, his eyes widening as he saw all that was inside. “Satoru I- I can’t repay you.” 

This made the young heir laugh. He shook his head and chirped, “No! That’s okay. I don’t need you to repay me. I bought it because I wanted to.”

Suguru’s face looked unguarded. Surprised and shocked that Satoru would do such a thing. It made something soft bloom in his heart. After a moment, Suguru too pulled something out from his pocket. “Here.”

Satoru was about to deny it when he realized it wasn’t money. It was a small bag and he perked up in curiosity as he accepted it. “Whatcha got?” He asked as he tore into it.

He dug past the tissue paper and pulled out a Digimon Tamagotchi. A Digimon Tamagotchi. He’d never seen anything like it and in a stupor, he asked, “is this- is it real??”

Suguru laughed again and answered, “I hope so. I paid for the real thing. Using your tip from BitterSweet.”

This made Satoru lose it. He clutched his stomach and laughed a true laugh from his chest. He doubled over, clutching the small toy and giggled and coughed. He then turned to Suguru and jumped him. 

The two landed in the grass and Satoru grinned, “Thank you!!” He couldn’t help himself anymore and leaned forward, pressing his lips to Suguru’s. The boy under him let out a surprised noise before he understood. After he got his bearings, he pressed into Satoru as well. The two moved languidly against one another. This kiss wasn’t like the unsure and sloppy kiss they shared at the party. It was slow and exploratory. Satoru was learning what felt good and what felt really good when Suguru swiped his tongue across the other’s bottom lip. Satoru allowed him entry and gasped at the feeling of Suguru’s tongue exploring his mouth. Satoru grew bold and he let his hands wander, one slipping into Suguru’s hair and the other clutching his waist. The dark haired boy appreciated this and let it be known as he whined into Satoru’s mouth. The two parted to pant against one another before delving back, whatever visible barrier keeping the two away broken in one movement.

After being kissed silly, the two laid on the grass, watching the purples and blues of the moon rising. It was quiet again, the birds sleeping. Satoru felt on top of the world. He couldn’t wipe the stupid grin off his face and he turned to Suguru. The other eyed him warily, like he knew Satoru was going to ask something stupid. Satoru paid him no mind and asked, “Suguru? Does this mean we’re dating now?” 

That was unexpected and it made Suguru laugh, a beautiful sound in the quiet of dusk. “Sure, Satoru. We’re dating now. Boyfriends.”

“Great! Boyfriends! I’m so lucky!! Just one thing, though.”

“What?”

“We’re going to have to tell my fiance.”

“WHAT?!”