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He had overheard it by coincidence.
Liguang was not one to eavesdrop in on others’ conversations if it did not pertain to him (or at least, if it was not important to him). He was a busy man, he had things to do with his life…but he swore that it was completely coincidental. He’d just come back to HAMA House after taking care of some business, and was eager to spend some time with his rabbits (and, although he would never admit it, his roommate).
Just as he was nearing his room, he overheard some voices, and as he turned the corner, the source came into view–Momiji and Yukikaze. The two cousins seemed relatively serious as they discussed something, and Liguang turned his heel to head back downstairs–he wasn’t so tactless as to intrude upon their conversation, especially if it was perhaps a personal family matter.
“But you like her, right?”
–What?
Swiftly turning around, Liguang paused. That was Momiji’s voice, which meant…Yukikaze liked someone? No, perhaps Liguang heard wrong. Besides, even if he did hear right, this was taken completely out of context. It wasn’t his business anyway–
“Well, I do…but…” Yukikaze replied. There was a waver in his voice–it was unusual for the man to sound so uncertain. If anything, this only confirmed Liguang’s suspicions. “I don’t know if I’m good for her. I’d like to seriously tackle my job as ward mayor, as well as my career, so right now, I don’t know if I can…”
Momiji frowned, crossing her arms before she nodded, “That’s true. This isn’t something you can casually back out of either, so it’s best to give it some thought. Although I’d like her to join the family, I think…I think I trust whatever decision you’ll make, Yuki-nii.”
“Mm…thank you.”
What was that? Seriously, what was that??
By the time Momiji had left and Yukikaze had returned back into his and Liguang’s shared room, Liguang was still left standing around in the hall. He could hardly process what he just heard. Yukikaze had someone he liked, and from the looks of it, he was hesitating to ask her out…or propose to her? Were those two already dating? What did Momiji mean by “joining the family”?
Then again, it wasn’t weird if Yukikaze was considering marriage. He was already 25 years old, and while Liguang considered that to be still too early to be getting married…it was plausible. Yukikaze was no child, and Liguang was well aware that he had his own life outside of what Liguang knew of him. It wasn’t like they were anything more than friends.
Were they even friends? They had friendly interactions, yes, and Yukikaze did refer to him as his “little brother”, yes, but to be fair, Yukikaze called everyone his little brother. Liguang was not special. Aside from that, he also happened to hate being called Yukikaze’s little brother too, so it wasn’t anything to brag about.
Still, it felt a little too cold to say they were simply coworkers. Perhaps they were more than coworkers, but less than friends. That didn’t sound quite right either…but more importantly, why was he thinking about this so much? The prospect of Yukikaze getting married or getting a girlfriend without informing him–it pissed him off for some reason. Was he angry? He couldn’t tell. He had no reason to be. This feeling was familiar, but it certainly wasn’t sheer anger.
It made his stomach churn, his heart drop. He decided that he didn’t like it.
But there was no use in mulling over hypotheticals. At the end of the day, it truly wasn’t his business. Yukikaze could do whatever he wanted with his life as long as it didn’t affect him and their work.
…Then again, if Yukikaze came out and said that he had gotten a lover, wouldn’t that affect his fanbase? His fans might not want to visit Hama anymore. It was possible. As he thought, Yukikaze shouldn’t get a lover. Liguang nodded to himself–if Yukikaze ever sought his guidance on this matter, he would honestly tell him to hold off on it. It was simply for the best. That was his completely unbiased opinion.
“Liguang?”
“You should not get married.”
Yukikaze stared blankly as Liguang had processed his own words. Was he stupid? Why did he just blurt it out? Now it was going to be obvious that he was eavesdropping. Way to go, Lu Liguang! Before Liguang could hope to possibly recover from this, Yukikaze let out a chuckle.
“...Not planning on getting married any time soon, thank you.” Yukikaze calmly stated. There was a twinkle of amusement in his eyes, the beginnings of another laugh.
Liguang found his eyes landing on the gentle curve of his roommate’s lips, and he averted his gaze, the strange feeling returning once again. He crossed his arms, a small huff leaving his lips, “...Sorry. Something was on my mind.” He decided that it was best to not elaborate in the case that he further dug his own grave.
“I can tell–it’s unusual for you to blurt out things like that.” Yukikaze hummed, noticing Liguang’s hesitation in continuing the discussion. “I was thinking that it was strange that you weren’t back yet, but to think you were just standing outside the hall…it saves me some time. I was planning on heading downstairs for dinner. If you haven’t had anything to eat yet, would you like to join me?”
Truthfully, no. Liguang did not want to join Yukikaze for dinner. The man himself was the source of Liguang’s current issues, so what would possess him to want to spend more time with him? Was seeing his face constantly in their room and hearing about his love life not enough?
But rejecting his offer would be suspicious, so of course Liguang agreed.
As much as he hated his current predicament, it was undeniable that Yukikaze’s shumai was delicious.
“I’m glad you could join me for dinner, Liguang. It’s been a while since we were able to eat together.” Yukikaze said, “I hope it’s not a bother though. I know you look forward to seeing your rabbits after work, so maybe I’m interrupting…”
“--It’s fine. I can’t fully enjoy spending my time with them if I’m hungry, and it just so happens that you make delicious shumai, so it works out for me. I should be thanking you instead for taking care of my rabbits when I’m gone, and for making me dinner.” Liguang replied.
Now that he thought about it, Yukikaze did do a lot for him on a daily basis. It had been a while since they’d begun living together, and Liguang found that perhaps he’d already gotten used to Yukikaze’s presence in his life. Surely, the addition of a girlfriend would decrease the time they spent together though.
Before he could stop himself, Liguang spoke up once more, “Have you ever thought about getting yourself a partner, Kamina?”
Liguang had never seen Yukikaze choke before, but he supposed there was a first time for everything.
“Uhm–” The skater cleared his throat, downing a cup of water as he attempted to formulate a response. “What? No…?” The question had caught him off guard–he could dismiss Liguang’s question about marriage as a silly incident, but this could hardly be considered an accident. What was up with the guy today?
Liguang appeared to be unsatisfied with the response, his eyebrows knitting as he frowned. “I see.”
Yukikaze looked confused if anything, and Liguang supposed he couldn’t blame him. The question was random at best, and it was probably odd coming from Liguang of all people. It wasn’t like him to be so nosy, but at the same time, he found himself acting on his emotions before he could think to do otherwise.
“You’re starting to sound like my relatives.” Yukikaze joked, in what Liguang guessed was an attempt to lighten things up, “But as of this moment, I have no particular need to find a partner, although I would be lying if I said there wasn’t anyone I was interested in. I guess it wouldn’t be so bad to talk about it, since you seem so curious.”
Yukikaze had admitted to having someone he liked. The sentence lingered in his mind like a stain he could not scrub away. He could no longer bring himself to ignore the pang in his heart, nor the curiosity that ate at him. He wanted to know who Yukikaze liked, even if it would hurt him (but why? There was no reason for him to feel hurt, so why?).
“Would it be appropriate for me to ask who it is?”
“I don’t think I would be able to answer you, I’m afraid.” Finishing off his plate, Yukikaze stood up to wash his dishes, “But you are well acquainted with them, if that helps.” It did not help at all. Glancing back, Yukikaze held his hand out as he offered to clean Liguang’s dishes as well.
“I don’t think I can even list 5 women that we are mutually acquainted with.” Liguang bluntly replied, handing Yukikaze his plate. Although they worked together, Liguang knew little of the women in Yukikaze’s personal life, much less one that the skater had become so fond of that he was considering asking out.
For a second, he considered asking Sojun to scope things out, but that was a ridiculous, fleeting thought. Aside from the fact that this was in no way necessary or appropriate, he also respected Yukikaze’s privacy. If the man really did not want to tell him, then Liguang would not force him to. With that said, it was rather frustrating for the answer to be implied like this.
If Yukikaze truly did not want to speak about this, Liguang would rather he not continue the conversation to begin with. “If you are giving me hints, I would appreciate you coming up with some that I could better narrow down.”
Drying off his hands, Yukikaze simply smiled once more, gesturing upstairs, “We can continue this conversation up in our room. But I have to say, you’re a lot more eager than I thought you’d be. It makes me happy to know that you take that much interest in me.”
As they walked up the stairs and made their way to their room, Liguang curtly responded, “I have as much curiosity in you as I do in others. We are coworkers, so it isn’t unusual for me to want to get to know you on a more personal level.” Which was totally an excuse to be nosy about Yukikaze’s love life, but whatever.
“Coworkers?” Yukikaze closed the door behind them, “That’s just like you to say…but it’s a shame. I actually considered us friends.” His expression was gentle, as if saying that it couldn’t be helped, but clearly he didn’t look to be let down at all. Regardless of what Liguang stated their relationship to be, Yukikaze would surely insist otherwise anyway.
As expected of the guy that pushed his “older brother” status onto everyone that breathed in HAMA House, Liguang mused.
But he paused as he mulled over Yukikaze’s words. Somehow, he wasn’t surprised to hear Yukikaze refer to them as friends. It made his heart feel a little lighter, it made the jealousy in his heart feel a little more justified. Jealous, he was so unbearably jealous. Why had he only realized it now?
Yukikaze’s expression remained cool, even amidst Liguang’s silence. He inhaled softly, “Our friendship aside, I do have a question for you.” He didn’t wait for Liguang to respond as he continued, “Did you happen to be listening in on Momiji and my conversation?”
Well, shit. The cat was out of the bag.
Liguang wasn’t so quick to accept nor deny the allegations, “What makes you think that?”
“You gave it away yourself. You told me that you couldn’t list 5 women we were mutually acquainted with…but I don’t recall ever telling you that the person I was interested in was a woman?” It was true that Yukikaze had specifically been vague regarding who he was referring to, that Liguang had only just realized. “Considering I found you lingering in the hall after Momiji left, and then you started talking strangely…I just thought that maybe you had overheard our conversation and misunderstood something.”
Yukikaze was definitely getting a kick out of this. He looked so…amused, as if this was the funniest thing he’d ever seen, and that pissed Liguang off. Here he was, seething in jealousy over the thought of Yukikaze wanting someone (and Yukikaze could truly have anyone if he set his mind to it, Liguang knew it), and the man himself thought it was funny.
“At this point, it would be foolish to try to hide it.” Liguang muttered, “Yes, I did overhear you two speaking–it wasn’t on purpose, but it did raise…questions for me. I had assumed that you were having trouble perhaps asking a certain person to become your partner, or in the worst case scenario, for her hand in marriage.”
“Worst case scenario? Is it really so bad for me to get married?”
“Yes.”
Liguang looked at him as if it were the most obvious statement in the world, likely not realizing how utterly gay this was coming off as.
If Yukikaze had any less control over his own body, he would have laughed. However, Liguang did look to be rather upset at the moment, so perhaps it would be best to save that for later. Sitting down on his bed, he patted the space beside him.
“You might want to sit for this one.” He reached out to tug on Liguang's sleeve, as if to pull him down. Much to his delight, Liguang obliged, taking a seat beside him. The young man looked tense, if he was ready to have his world shattered–Yukikaze had never seen him with such an expression. It was endearing, and yet he felt guilty for enjoying seeing the usually composed Liguang make such a face.
“You don’t have to look so tense–I have no intention of playing games and hiding her identity from you.” Yukikaze folded his hands in his lap, “Very honestly, “she” is a rabbit.”
…What, now?
“Kamina…what did you just say?”
“I said, “she” is a rabbit.” Yukikaze explained, “Ever since I began taking care of your rabbits, I’ve been tempted to adopt one of my own, but taking care of your rabbits when you aren’t around and caring for my own rabbits are two entirely different matters. I wasn’t sure I could handle the responsibility, considering I also had my own work and career to balance, so I was second guessing myself.”
He continued, “Momiji really wanted me to adopt this one specific rabbit–a small white one–since we were looking at them together at a pet shop last week, and I really do value her opinion, but…as I thought, perhaps it may be a little too much for me at the moment. I think I’m happy caring for your rabbits enough as is.”
So that was it. It all made sense now, it all checked out. But if that was the case, then Liguang could certainly see why Yukikaze looked so utterly amused by his plight–he must’ve seemed like an idiot, getting worked up over nothing. Liguang could feel heat rushing to his cheeks over the embarrassing misunderstanding.
Running his hand through his hair, he let out a long, deep sigh, “That does make sense. In regards to your decision about adopting the rabbit, it was correct. If you believe you cannot afford to care for one right now, then you should trust yourself rather than risk it, but…” He was just beating around the bush at this point. “...I apologize for the misunderstanding. I’ve bothered you quite a bit today.”
“No, not at all.” Laughing softly, Yukikaze gave Liguang a thumbs up, “As I said, I really do appreciate that you care. It makes me feel as if you do consider me a friend, after all.” He sighed, his shoulders relaxing as if to say that this conversation was over.
However, Liguang was not so quick to let things slide.
“We’re not done here, Kamina, I still have one more question for you. If the “person” you and Chief were talking about was a rabbit, then were you lying to me when you said there was someone you were actually interested in?”
“Oh, uh.”
Yukikaze’s cheeks flushed red. It was the reddest Liguang had ever seen him–much redder than when he finished practicing for their performances or when he’d just gotten out of the ice. The color was vivid against his pale skin, his white hair. Reaching out, Liguang brushed the back of his hand against Yukikaze’s cheek, feeling heat flush against his knuckles.
“...I wasn’t lying.” Yukikaze quietly said, “Would you rather I was lying?”
Liguang took a moment to stare at his roommate’s face, the way his eyes landed on Liguang himself before averting away, the flush of his cheeks to the tremble of his lips. Liguang’s mind had been a mess up until this moment, but even he could probably guess who Yukikaze liked based on his reaction.
“Yes, actually.” Running his thumb along his beloved’s jawline, Liguang found himself closing the distance between them. They’d never been this close before–Liguang had never gotten the chance to hold Yukikaze so closely, nor did he ever have the chance to touch him so intimately. Yukikaze’s cheeks, his hands…his body was warm. Every part of him.
Every part, including his lips, of course.
“I would rather you tell me that you loved no one, unless that person was me.” Liguang sighed against Yukikaze’s lips. This wasn’t a pure kiss in the slightest–it was filled with not only yearning, but pettiness, jealousy, greed. Liguang had been oblivious towards his own feelings about his roommate, and yet now, those feelings came crashing into him, a floodgate having been opened.
Yukikaze’s gentleness was addicting. Despite everything, he seemed to accept Liguang’s kisses, his emotions in stride. The older had always enjoyed spoiling Liguang, so was it so wrong for him to take advantage of it this once?
“--It’s you.” Between breaths, between kisses, Yukikaze responded. “It’s always been you.”
Always. Somehow, the word made Liguang feel warm inside. Yes, always. There was no one else Yukikaze loved in such a way, no one else but Liguang. A smile tugged at his lips, and Liguang’s kisses came to a slow halt as he pulled back to admire the person he’d come to grow so fond of as of late.
“I’m guessing you’ll reconsider not getting yourself a partner then? Kamina.”
“I think that you’ve guessed right.”