Chapter Text
By some twist of fate, Kunigami and Chigiri ended up as roommates in one of the rooms upstairs of a ramen house owned by the Nanases in Tokyo.
Or rather, it belonged to Nanase Nijirou's grandmother.
Kunigami's grandpa was friends with Nanase's grandmother back when they were teenagers in Kagoshima (which also became a belief of Nijirou why it should be normalized for a guy and a girl to just be friends instead of automatically leaning towards romantic tendencies). When Kunigami's ojii-chan relocated to Akita when he became of age, and when Nanase's obaa-chan did the same but in Ibaraki, they still communicated through letters. Until now, the elders were close and communicated. Each of their spouses became friends with the other too. Hence, when Kunigami's ojii-san asked his friend if he could have his grandson lodge in one of the rooms on the second floor of the ramen house, Nanase's grandma agreed. Kunigami's family were to pay for the lodging at the ramen house, as the ramen house was walking distance from school, compared to Kunigami's school in Akita. In return, Rensuke had to help at the ramen house every evening.
At first, Kunigami complained why he had to go to a high school in Tokyo when he could still enter a decent one in Akita. Ojii-san said one sentence: It's closer to the universities in Tokyo. So, Kunigami could not do anything but obey. He may look intimidating with his buff features, but he was an obedient child and was very chill.
How come Chigiri became a roommate at the ramen house too? Well, Chigiri's obaa-chan was also friends with Nanase's obaa-chan and Kunigami's ojii-chan. The two women were as close as sisters when they were young, and they still took that kind of friendship until their old age. Hence, Chigiri was also enrolled in the same high school as Kunigami. And like Kunigami's ojii-chan, Chigiri's obaa-chan wanted her grandson to be close to the elite universities in Tokyo. Like Rensuke, he was also tasked to help around the ramen shop.
The three young men were not that familiar with each other despite the fact that their grandparents were close. The grandparents often told stories of their youth, with pictures to boot, so Nijirou, Hyoma, and Rensuke saw photos of each other during times when their grandparents exchanged letters, though the letters did not often come with photos. The young men were interested with the stories of their grandparents' youth, but they barely put into mind the stories of the grandchildren.
The first meeting between the three was kinda funny. Nanase was an incoming third year in junior high when he was tasked to attend to Kunigami (an incoming freshman in high school) and lead him to his room. At that time, Kunigami had no qualms. The ramen house looked like a traditional Japanese house, but the amenities were very modern. The room, however, only had futons, so it would mean that he would have to study on a low table while crossing his legs into a pretzel.
However, a few days after, Nanase was confused when he met Chigiri for the first time. Chigiri kinda looked different in the photos. That, or Nanase did not really have a good memory when it came to faces (hence also the reason why he did not recognize Kunigami immediately earlier too). He was hesitant to address him as "nii-chan" or "nee-chan" for how pretty the other looked with his lustrous long hair, so being the polite young man that he was, he erred on the side of caution and addressed Chigiri in the formal honorific. Chigiri consoled the younger Nanase and told him to address him as Hyoma-niichan instead. Then Nanase took Chigiri to his room. At that time, Kunigami was watching some episodes of "One Piece" when the two arrived. Kunigami blushed and shot a glance at Nanase , asking him why he had to room in with a girl. Kunigami, too, was not keen on the photos their grandparents exchanged, hence, he did not recognize Chigiri at all. Or, Chigiri was a bit cute when he was younger, but puberty hit him hard and made him masculinely pretty and femininely handsome at the same time. Nanase laughed and explained that the newcomer is also a guy. When Nanase left, Chigiri commented about the episode that Kunigami was currently watching, so to break the ice, Kunigami invited Chigiri to watch with him.
That episode of "One Piece" became the start of their friendship. But early on, Kunigami learned that Chigiri's favorite anime is "Attack On Titan."
That evening, Nanase tasked Chigiri to help in washing the dishes while he and Kunigami helped out in taking orders, serving guests, and taking out dishes. Obaa-chan was behind the counter taking payments and monitoring her staff, her grandson, and the new roommates.
It was ten at night when Obaa-chan called it a day, so the three youngsters helped out in taking out the trash. After closing the store, Nanase lit up a smile at the two older guys.
"Hey, it's still vacation," Nanase said to the two roommates. "Why don't we buy some ice cream?"
"Ice cream? In the middle of spring?" Chigiri asked.
"Hai, Hyoma-niichan," Nanase said. "It still tastes great, ya know."
"I'm all for ice cream," Kunigami said. "The warm noodles and the ambiance of the ramen shop made me sweat."
"Ah, now that you mention it, the kitchen was very warm too," Chigiri said. "Despite the season, I was also sweating buckets while washing dishes. So, ice cream it is."
The three walked to a nearby kombini where they bought some popsicles. The three of them talked about themselves. The two older guys learned that Nanase was originally from Ibaraki, but his obaa-chan wanted him to help her at the shop, so she had him attend junior high a bike ride away. That explained why he still had his country accent. Years ago, Obaa-chan came all the way from Ibaraki to Tokyo to work as a secretary in an office, all the while also sending money back home to her farmer husband and their growing family. Finally, her first son came to Tokyo for university, and the two of them stayed together. Years later, after the death of her husband, and the rest of her children all grown and with jobs, Obaa-chan still did not come home to Ibaraki. Despite her sons and daughters being self-sufficient, she still sent them money, loving them too much. Eventually, the first son, Nanase's uncle, helped finance the ramen shop for his mother. The uncle gave the rights of the shop to his okaa-san and helped out everyday. But because he has a family in Tokyo, he lived separately. To finance also for the shop's operations, part of the uncle's plan was for the second floor to be used as a living space for rent, with three bedrooms. At first, Obaa-chan lived upstairs in one of the rooms, but because she had a hard time taking the flight of stairs, her son had extended the shop a bit so she had her own living quarters near the kitchen. So, all three rooms were for rent. By the time the younger Nanase came to Tokyo, he came upon the three-bedroom second floor. He took the last room, but his parents paid for his rent and had him work part-time downstairs.
Nanase said that at first, two roommates were fine, but eventually, one of the roommates moved out because the other one was too noisy while memorizing his lecture notes in law school. So the uncle had to refashion these rooms to be soundproof (including the last one Nanase was occupying). The roommate who studied law had to move out during the renovation and stayed elsewhere. When Chigiri knew that the room was soundproof, he smiled impishly.
"So, if I belt out rock songs, no one will hear me?"
"Ah, ya can sing, Hyoma-niichan, but not shout," Nanase begged. "It's soundproof, but not as good as those in hotels, of course."
"But can Hyoma and I just live in separate rooms? The room next to mine is vacant, isn't it?" Kunigami asked.
"Ah, but Oji-chan said that two people per room will make good money," Nanase explained. "I had ta wait fer more people to look into the other room. I'll be forced ta have a roommate soon."
"Will you accept a roommate, then?" Kunigami asked.
"Hai. Can't be helped," Nanase said as he shrugged.
"The room is still spacious despite having two people in it," Kunigami said before licking his popsicle. "And this is me saying as someone with a larger physique."
"Well, I don't mind having a roommate, you know?" Chigiri remarked before eyeing his handsome roommate. "Besides, if the weather is too cold, I can just snuggle close to Rensuke."
"Uh... what?" Kunigami asked, blushing again.
Chigiri batted his eyelashes beautifully at him and smiled prettily. Kunigami shyly told him to stop it because he was embarrassed, but all he got were laughter from the other young guys.
"Ya like him, Hyoma-niichan?" Nanase asked as he addressed Chigiri while pointing his popsicle at Kunigami.
"Who wouldn't?" Chigiri answered the youngest. "He's good-looking."
"Do you believe in love at first sight?" Kunigami asked casually, hiding the thumping of his heart.
"Oh yes, I do!" Chigiri boldly replied to his roommate. "Guess you can say I am quite audacious for showing my emotions, don't you think?"
"Stop that," Kunigami scoffed. "Stop teasing me."
"Okay, will do," Chigiri said before batting his eyelashes prettily at him again.
And so, from that night, Chigiri stopped showing overt affection towards Kunigami. For him, it was Kunigami's subtle way of putting a boundary between the two of them, and he respected that.
****
As they lay down to sleep on their separate futons, Chigiri smiled as he greeted him good night.
"Shall I turn off the lampshade now?" he asked Kunigami. "The night light by the door should be enough."
Kunigami noted the casual tone Chigiri talked to him. After telling the other to stop teasing him, Chigiri did. Kunigami was thankful mainly because he was already feeling so embarrassed to be showered with that kind of sweet affection from a pretty man, but of course, he still wanted them to be on friendly terms.
But who knows? He could slowly return that affection. After all, Chigiri seemed really nice too.
"Ah, hai."
Chigiri stretched out his arm and turned off the light. After both adjusted to the darkness, Kunigami did not hear anything more from Chigiri.
"Good night, Hyoma-chan," Kunigami said in what seems like almost a whisper.
But Chigiri did not answer. Kunigami tried to make out the image of his roommate in the dark, until his eyes were able to accommodate the darkness. Chigiri was already snuggled comfortably on his futon, his blanket around him. Kunigami felt his cheeks warming up as he remembered how Chigiri smiled and batted his eyelashes earlier.
He, too, had fallen at first sight at Chigiri when Nanase brought the newcomer to the room. He just did not want to admit it because he was afraid his heart would explode.
Just step by step, Rensuke, he told himself.
He looked at his pretty roommate, thanking his ojii-san that he was "forced" to stay in the ramen house. If not, he would not have met Chigiri.
--tbc--