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Shibayama is 15 when he first sees Kuguri. It’s during his first high school volleyball game, where his knees lock up and his anxiety is through the roof. Shibayama doesn’t remember him much from that first game, only remembering the fact that Kuguri and the rest of the team had targeted him to the point where he was near tears. He’s over it now, though, since it’s all a part of the game.
Shibayama is 17 when they meet again. This time, however, it’s during a training camp and he is no longer the scared first-year that he was when they first met. Kuguri didn’t change much—he’s still mostly stoic and rarely talks to anyone.
Yet, Shibayama somehow managed to have a full-length conversation with him.
Neither of the two are much conversation starters, so when they’re the only upperclassmen in their small practice group, things don’t go very well. Shibayama is nervous around all of them and Kuguri seems like he can care less about what they’re doing. Inuoka gives Shibayama a concerned and sympathetic glance, but other than that, there’s not much that he can do to help. Shibayama sighs and looks back at the first years.
He somehow manages to get through their first training block, and when their first break is called, the first-years scurry back to their groups so it’s now Shibayama and Kuguri alone.
Shibayama can feel his heart beating out of his chest. He’s never been good at starting conversations, and he didn’t even know if Kuguri would want to talk. He doubts it, but he decides that it’s better than sitting in awkward silence for the next 5 minutes.
“What do you want to do after high school?” Shibayama asks. Kuguri continues to drink his water and Shibayama’s gut sinks. Scratch that, this is way more awkward.
Kuguri puts his water down and coughs before saying, “I’m not sure. Maybe something with animals.” Shibayama is shocked at first—how could someone so cold like animals that much??—but then looks away and gives a small nod.
“Are you going to quit volleyball after high school?”
Kuguri shrugs. “Probably. What about you?” Shibayama thinks about it for a second. It’s not the first time he’s been asked, but no matter how many times he’s asked, it doesn’t get any easier to think about.
“I think I’m going to continue volleyball after high school,” Shibayama says in a near whisper, like it’s a secret just between him, Kuguri, and the bench that they sit at. It’s the first time he’s ever told anyone about what he truly wanted after high school. Kuguri gives a little nod as he continues to stare at the wall across from them. Not once during this entire interaction, have they looked at each other, or even at the other’s general area.
“I think you’ll be good in college,” Kuguri says. Before Shibayama can say anything to that, Nohebi’s coach motions for Kuguri to come and talk to him. He gets up without any acknowledgment to Shibayama, leaving him alone with the other’s words echoing in his head.
~ ~ ~
College was not easy, nor was it fun. Well, there were some fun parts, but for Shibayama, it was mostly drowning in schoolwork, dying during practice, and then wanting to kill himself during work. It’s not that he doesn’t like where he works, but sometimes (most of the time), the customers are rude and bitchy and all Shibayama wants to do is throw their drinks in their ungrateful faces.
But he can’t do that, so instead, he forces a smile and tells them to have a good day.
Shibayama poured the milk into the cup, swirling it at the top. He looked at his poor attempt at a flower and shrugged, closing the lid on top of it and putting it onto the counter.
"One medium chai latte," he called out, scanning the cafe for the customer. The cafe was pretty packed, seeing that it was 7 am on a Monday. A guy walked up to the counter, and before Shibayama could process anything, the guy took the latte from the counter and walked away. Shibayama watched the familiar tuff of dusty blond hair disappear into the crowd of customers. Where had he seen it before...? Shibayama just shrugged it off and began working again.
Once the crowd had disappeared and Imai arrived for her shift, Shibayama thanked her and said goodbye to the rest of his co-workers. He hung his apron up on his hook with fun stickers (thanks to Imai for wanting to give everything more "happiness") and grabbed his bag from his locker.
Outside was warm and bright, and Shibayama would've enjoyed it if he had gotten more than four hours of sleep. He had spent most of his night trying to finish his essay that he had almost forgotten about work the next day. Luckily, Inuoka had woken him up before he was late.
Speaking of Inuoka, Shibayama's phone buzzed as he received a message from him.
inuoka: hey do you think you could pick up some milk pls
inuoka: we ran out and whiskers is angry
shibayama: i'm sorry who is whiskers
inuoka: the cat
shibayama: ???
inuoka: *sent a photo*
inuoka: the stray you found last night???
shibayama: when did i find a stray cat???
Shibayama stared at his phone in confusion. There was no way he would've forgotten about bringing home a stray cat... right?
inuoka: you brought her last night when you came back from the library i'm pretty sure
inuoka: idk i woke up this morning and saw her sleeping on the carpet so i assumed
shibayama: i never brought home a cat...
shibayama: i'm pretty sure i would've remembered that
inuoka: oh
inuoka: maybe she followed you home then
inuoka: or smth idk
shibayama: yea it was probably that
shibayama: wait how do you know if the cat's a stray?
inuoka: i mean i kinda assumed
inuoka: she doesn't have a collar or anything so she probably is a stray
inuoka: so can you grab some milk? cuz i've got a class in like 10 minutes-
shibayama: yea i'll grab some
inuoka: thank you soldier
shibayama: np ^u^ b
Shibayama sighed as he walked into the small convenience store. How hadn't he noticed a cat following him? Well, it had been close to three am and he was tired as hell. And he had been in a rush this morning, so that would explain why he wouldn't have seen it yet.
He walked out of the store with a small carton of milk and pondered if he should get actual cat food. That seemed a lot better than just milk.
And that's how he ended up at the pet store that sits across from the cafe, staring at the dozens of brands and flavors of cat food.
'This is so much more complicated than dog food,' Shibayama thought. 'With Runa, we just gave her whatever and she'd eat it.'
Shibayama tried to ask Inuoka about it, but he just sent a shrugging emoji. He also tried to ask Fukunaga, knowing he had a cat, but he never replied.
There weren't a lot of people around, but he did see a worker down the aisle who was putting cat toys onto the shelf.
'Should I ask him? Hm... but he seems busy.' Shibayama turned away and continued to think about what the difference was between each brand.
"Do you need help looking for something?" a voice asked, startling Shibayama. He turned around to see a guy who was a head taller than him, with wild dirty blond hair. Had he seen him before...?
"Oh! Uh, I have a stray cat that followed me home last night and I'm uh not really sure what to get..." Shibayama's eyes drifted down to the guy's nametag. 'Kuguri'.
Oh.
OH.
OH!
Panic filled Shibayama's head as Kuguri asked, "Do you know how old the cat is?"
"Ummmm it looks really small so probably a pretty young kitten? She seems really thin too, probably hasn't been eating enough." He gave a little nod and looked at the shelf for a quick second before grabbing one and handing it to Shibayama.
"This one should be good. Let me know if you need anything else, Shibayama," Kuguri said as he walked away.
'He remembers me??'
Shibayama walked home in a daze after buying the food and leaving as fast as he could. When he got back to his dorm, Inuoka was already gone and the cat--Shibayama refused to call her "Whiskers" and would rather give her a proper name--was laying on his bed.
"I bet you're hungry," Shibayama said, opening one of the small cans of food. The cat sat up at the sound of the can opening and jumped down to stand next to Shibayama. He placed the can in front of her and she looked at him before scarfing down the food. Shibayama smiled as he put the milk in his fridge, then walked over to his desk to study.
Yet, no matter how much he tried to focus on the words in front of him, his mind kept drifting back to Kuguri.
It was embarrassing to admit it, but Shibayama might've had a small crush on him during their third year. But it had been a year since then, and it's not like Shibayama's talked to him much. Except for now. And that one time at camp.
But that was still only twice, and it wasn't like Shibayama would see him again. Except he worked at a pet shop and Shibayama had a cat now and of course, the pet shop was right across from where he worked.
He groaned, letting his head fall onto the desk. The cat ran to his feet and rubbed against his legs. Shibayama scratched the cat behind her ears while checking the time on his phone.
'I still have a few hours until my class starts... maybe I could bring her to the pet shop and see what I need to do. Wait, are we even keeping her?'
shibayama: hey
shibayama: are we keeping the cat
inuoka: i mean we could i guess
inuoka: i think the dorms allow pets and we're not usually both gone during the day
inuoka: but it's rlly up to you
shibayama: cool
shibayama: well can we find her a better name bc i refuse to call her whiskers
inuoka: ugh fine
inuoka: what about mittens
shibayama: that's worse omg
inuoka: ugh fine you come up with smth then
shibayama: uh
shibayama: what about willow?
inuoka: oooo sounds cool
inuoka: if you have time can you run by the store and grab some eggs, i think we're almost out and i'd rather not go through the day without breakfast
inuoka: if not i'll grab some after my class
shibayama: i got it, my next class isn't for a few hours
inuoka: alright thanks
shibayama: no problem
Shibayama tried to not think about who would be at the pet shop but instead tried to think about what the cat, Willow, would need. She could probably sleep with either him or Inuoka-
A small ding from his phone broke him from his thoughts.
inuoka: ok so apparently the dorms don't allow pets
inuoka: and i kinda doubt we could hide a cat
shibayama: dang it
shibayama: well tbh i kinda doubted we could take care of her as broke college students-
inuoka: yea...
inuoka: well i guess you could bring her to the pet shop and see what they can do
shibayama: *sent an image*
shibayama: a parting photo :(
shibayama: i can either go rn or after you get back if you wanna say goodbye
inuoka: if i did that i think i would get more attached so i'd go rn
shibayama: alr
shibayama: *sent an image*
shibayama: one more pic :(
inuoka: stop you're gonna make me cry during this lecture T^T
shibayama: willow says goodbye :(
Was Shibayama bummed out? Yes. Was he also a little relieved? Also yes. There were fewer things to worry about now, and also fewer things he would need to buy. He picked up Willow, then headed to the door.
Shibayama walked into the pet shop for the second time that day, but this time, he held Willow in his arms. He saw Kuguri in the front this time, and before he could awkwardly walk away, Kuguri met his eyes. Kuguri looked at the cat and lightly smiled as Shibayama walked towards him.
"Hi again," Shibayama said. 'Wow, that wasn't awkward at all, Shibayama.'
"Is this the cat you were talking about?" Kuguri asked, motioning to Willow. "What's her name?"
"Willow."
Kuguri smiled. "That's a cute name. So, what brings you back so soon?"
"Well, turns out our dorms don't allow pets and I didn't know where else to bring her..." Kuguri nodded, Shibayama still playing with Willow who was now on the counter in between them.
"Oh. We technically can't take strays until they've been to the vet, but since you can't keep her, I can take her there instead," Kuguri said.
"Really? Are you sure it's not too much of a hassle?"
Kuguri shook his head. He put his hand down to let Willow sniff it. Once Willow had gotten a little comfortable with Kuguri, she began to rub her face against his hand, purring.
"Seems like she likes you," Shibayama said with a small smile.
"Animals tend to like me." The two stood there for a few moments, the only sounds being Willow's purring. Shibayama looked up to see Kuguri softly smiling at Willow. It was weird to think that when he first met him, he thought Kuguri was some scary guy. But after seeing this, there was no image in his mind that could make Kuguri seem that scary again.
The bell at the front door rang and the two looked up to see who had walked in.
"Oh, it's just you Hirugami. Here, I'll be right back, I need to go get my stuff." Kuguri left the three of them as he headed to the back to grab his things. Shibayama gave a small wave to Hirugami.
"Hey, a friend of Kuguri's?" he asked after waving back.
"Uh, not really, just bringing a cat I found the other day."
"Ohh, I see." Kuguri came out from the back with his bag on his shoulder. He took Willow into his hands and said, "I'm heading out now, bye Hirugami, bye Shibayama. See you guys later." Kuguri walked out, leaving Shibayama and Hirugami standing awkwardly in the shop.
"Um... well I'm going to head out now. Bye, have a good day." Hirugami waved to Shibayama as he walked out the door and began to walk back to his dorm. As he walked up the stairs, his phone buzzed.
fukunaga: wait did you get a cat??
shibayama: well i apparently brought home a stray last night but our dorms don't allow pets so i had to bring her to a pet shop
fukunaga: aw man :(
fukunaga: that kind of stinks
shibayama: yea :/ it was fun while it lasted tho
By the time Shibayama got back to his dorm, Inuoka was already there.
"Oh hey, you took quite a while. I thought you got lost or something," Inuoka said, letting out a small chuckle. "Did you get eggs?"
"Shit, I forgot about that. I'll grab some after my class. I guess I just got caught up with Willow and Kuguri-"
Inuoka perked up. "The guy from Nohebi?" Inuoka asked with a teasing tone. Shibayama had almost forgotten that Inuoka knew about that.
"Yeah, turns out he works at the pet shop." Inuoka gave him a knowing look while Shibayama just rolled his eyes and threw a pillow at him.
Inuoka grabbed the pillow and held it in his lap as he said, "Awww look at you finally talking to your boo~"
"Shut up, it's not like I like him anymore anyways. It's been over a year."
"Mhmm sure."
"I'm serious!"
Yet as Shibayama laid in bed that night, he couldn't get Kuguri out of his thoughts. He thought about how he had been so sweet and gentle to Willow and thought about how he somehow remembered his name even after not seeing him for over a year. And if his mind began to wonder about how his hands would feel intertwined in his own, no one needed to know.
~ ~ ~
Shibayama didn't work until noon on Saturdays, yet he found himself at the cafe almost two hours early with Inuoka. The two figured they could study a bit before Shibayama had to work.
"Ugh, I'm so glad we don't have a game today," Inuoka said as he took another sip of his coffee. "I have so much work to do." Shibayama nodded in agreement as he glanced at the clock. 11:55.
"Alright, I should probably wrap up. you gonna stay here a bit?" Shibayama asked.
"Yeah, I've got nothing else to do till 12:45." Shibayama gave a small hum as he began to collect his things. He walked to the back of the counter, where he shoved his backpack into a little corner and grabbed his apron from its hook. He waved goodbye to Kazemi and Akizora, who walked out with their friend, Kiani. Shibayama had been working here for a while, so he picked up on which customers were just friends of his co-workers. Sometimes, Inuoka would come by during his shift and would stay until it was over, but more often than not, he'd leave his shift alone.
Sometimes Shibayama wished he had a significant other like Imai and Kazemi. They seemed so happy, especially considering they'd been in their relationships since high school. Shibayama didn't have much experience dating, only having a girlfriend in junior high for two weeks before she dumped him. He liked a few people once he got to high school, but they never liked him back.
As he heard the door ring, Shibayama took his spot in front of the register and smiled.
"Hello! Welcome-" he stopped once he got a good look at who had just walked in.
"Hey Kuguri," he said, trying to ignore Inuoka's smug look from his corner. "What can I get for you today?"
"One medium chai latte please." Shibayama took a good look at Kuguri after he wrote his order on the cup. He was wearing black jeans with a dark green polo that had "Uozumi Pet Shop" embroidered in the corner. Kuguri always looked good in green.
"Alright, that'll be $4.12, and I'll get that out for you soon." Shibayama turned away once Kuguri paid and began to make his drink. He caught Inuoka's eyes, who raised his eyebrows repeatedly and Shibayama wanted to strangle him.
"I took Willow to the vet yesterday," Kuguri said. "She got all of her shots and stuff. Just thought you'd like to know."
"That's nice. I'm sure she'll get adopted by a lovely family." Shibayama smiled as he handed Kuguri his drink. He mumbled a small "Thank you" and left before Shibayama could say anything else.
"He seemed jittery there at the end," Inuoka said, leaning on the counter.
Shibayama shrugged and said, "He was probably in a rush to get to work or something."
"Orrrr it had something to do with you~" Inuoka teased. Shibayama shoved him away.
"Shut up," he muttered, but there was no bite to his statement.
~ ~ ~
Shibayama believed himself to be a strong man. But seeing Kuguri smiling as he played with the dogs in the store made his knees weak and his brain melt.
Despite him not having Willow anymore, Shibayama found himself coming to the pet store. Contrary to what Inuoka believed, he was here to get a gift for Tobio, his family's cat at home, not to see a certain worker.
Shibayama ducked into the nearest aisle and prayed that Kuguri hadn't seen him. Fortunately, he had walked into the cat aisle so he wouldn't have to awkwardly wander around the store. He grabbed a toy that he thought Tobio would like--he hadn't met Tobio since his parents had gotten him while Shibayama was at college--and walked to the register, where Hirugami was standing.
"Hey, Shibayama right?" he asked as he scanned the item.
"Yeah, I'm uh, buying a toy for my parent's cat back at home. I'm kind of surprised you remember my name," Shibayama said, muttering the last part.
"Yeah, Kuguri's been talk-" Hirugami was cut off by an elbow digging into his side. "Ow!"
Shibayama bit back a laugh as Hirugami and Kuguri glared at each other for a second. Hirugami mouthed something with a smirk and Kuguri just rolled his eyes.
"Hey Kuguri," Shibayama said with a small wave. He had already gotten his things, but it wouldn't hurt to stay a few minutes longer... "How's Willow been? Has she gotten adopted yet?"
Hirugami raised an eyebrow. "You didn't tell him?"
"I was going to, but I haven't talked to him since." Shibayama looked between the two in confusion.
"Tell me what?" Before Kuguri could reply, Hirugami spoke up.
"Kuguri ended up adopting Willow. I guess he just has a soft spot for cats with dark hair," he said with a smirk. Kuguri lightly jabbed him in the side again, but Hirugami didn't react as much this time, only letting out a small laugh.
"Aw, that's sweet. Well, I should probably head out now, my roommate's waiting for me so we can leave. I'll see you two later, and happy holidays!" Shibayama said. He grabbed his bag and waved goodbye.
"You took an awfully long time," Inuoka said once Shibayama rejoined him in the cafe. "Got caught up with someone?"
"Ugh shut up," Shibayama said. He took a sip of his now cold tea and glanced over at the pet shop.
"You didn't deny it."
"Apparently, Kuguri adopted Willow." Inuoka perked up.
"Wait really? Didn't peg him as a pet person." Shibayama stared at Inuoka for a moment.
"He works at a pet shop."
"Well I know, but like, I didn't think he'd have pets. But... now you have an excuse to hang out! You should ask to see Willow when we get back," Inuoka exclaimed.
"What? No! Besides, why would I even want to hang out with him, it's not like I like him." Inuoka rolled his eyes.
"Sure you don't. Anyways, let's go, the next train leaves in 20 minutes."
~ ~ ~
Shibayama told himself that he would not step foot into the pet shop again. Even with Inuoka's constant pestering, he told himself that he wouldn't return and he wouldn't make a fool out of himself in front of Kuguri.
Unfortunately, Shibayama wouldn't have to go into the pet shop to embarrass himself. The Nekoma "first-years" (none of them were first-years anymore) had decided to do a group hangout at a bowling alley. Then, Lev invited Yaku, and Inuoka decided to invite essentially the rest of the team from their first year, including Kuroo, who ended up inviting a bunch of people from Fukurodani and Nohebi. He tried to get Karasuno there too, but the few people he tried to invite were all busy. He wanted to do some captain meet-up with their teams, but of course, they decided to make it some sort of competition.
When Shibayama saw Kuguri walk through the door, he wanted to crawl into a hole and die. He figured that Kuguri would be there, but Shibayama had tried to ignore that possibility. Each bowling lane could only hold 6 people, so they had to grab a lot of lanes. Since they decided they did not want to completely overtake the bowling area, some people decided to go to the arcade side or just find something else to do and switch with others later.
Shibayama was going to join them, but Inuoka and Kuroo ended up dragging him to play. Their lane included the three of them, plus Daishou, Bokuto, and Kuguri. The rest of the alumni were scattered through three other lanes. 'Just my luck...' Kuguri gave a small wave to Shibayama before sitting down to put his bowling shoes on. Inuoka gave the latter a knowing look, but Shibayama ignored him and decided to be interested in his former captain's bickering.
"Oh please, I'm going to beat both of your asses," Daishou said with a smirk.
"Yeah right, I bet you've never even bowled before. I can't wait to see you fall on your face," Kuroo sneered. Bokuto shouted from behind him, but neither looked in his direction.
The first round was painfully embarrassing for the former captains. Daishou and Kuroo managed to get the ball into the gutter on both turns. Bokuto laughed at them and then proceeded to somehow get the ball into a different lane.
Inuoka was surprisingly good at bowling--he had mentioned a few times that he came here with his girlfriend and their mutual friend group a few times--and when he got a strike on his first turn, everyone cheered.
It was Kuguri's turn next, and Shibayama wondered if he had ever been bowling before. He then realized the answer was no because it was obvious that he had no clue what he was doing. Shibayama didn't know whether to laugh or cringe. Kuguri, however, didn't seem bothered, as he just walked back to his seat while Daishou teased him.
Shibayama's turn was right after. He was decent at bowling, having gone a few times with his family, but he definitely wasn't as good as Inuoka. He had gotten seven pins down his first turn, which honestly could've gone a lot worse. He could've fallen on his butt and made a total fool of himself.
After the first game, which Kuroo surprisingly won, Shibayama decided to grab some food and drinks. Shibayama stood by the register as he waited for the food. Once it was ready, he thanked the worker and grabbed the tray of food, leaving the drinks to grab on a second trip. He turned around and almost dropped the entire thing after seeing Kuguri standing right in front of him.
“Oh! I didn't see you there," Shibayama said, hoping his voice sounded steadier to Kuguri than it sounded in his head.
"Here, let me take that." Shibayama let him grab the tray and turned back around to grab the drinks. The two walked back to the aisle, where Bokuto was already screaming. They sat down behind the bowlers, deciding to watch the chaos as opposed to being in it.
"Did your cat enjoy the toy?" Kuguri asked, breaking the awkward silence between the two of them.
"Mhm! He ended up playing with it the entire time I was there. How's Willow been?"
"She's been doing good. I tried to introduce her to my snake yesterday, but neither seemed interested in meeting the other," he replied.
"You have a snake?"
"Yeah, his name's Marshmallow. I let my younger cousin name him." Kuguri pulled out his phone to show him a photo. "He's a year old now."
"Aww, he looks cute," Shibayama said, taking a closer look. "His eyes are a really cool shade of red."
"You could come over and meet him one day, I think he'd like you." Shibayama's brain started to short-circuit and he could feel his face turning red. "You could also see Willow," he added quickly. "Only if you want to."
"Yeah, that would um be cool! I guess," Shibayama said, stumbling over his words.
"Here," Kuguri said as he handed Shibayama his phone. It was open to a blank contact, so Shibayama put in his information and gave it back. "Figured it'd be easier to communicate like this rather than just when we run into each other."
Shibayama let out an awkward laugh and nodded. Before he could try to say anything, the little group in front of them erupted into cheers and shouts. The two turned their heads to see Bokuto cheering and the other two captains looking in pure confusion.
"How the FUCK did he win? He was just contemplating if he could fit an entire bowling ball in his mouth!" Kuroo yelled.
“Alright, well we need to head out," Yaku said as he dragged Lev away.
"Us too. I've got an 8 am class tomorrow and Yuuki's working an early shift," Inuoka said as he began to collect his things.
"I guess that's my cue to leave," Shibayama said, getting up from his chair. Kuguri followed. "Are you taking the train back too?"
He nodded. "I'll probably take the later one though, I don't work until noon tomorrow so I have some time to spare."
"Alright, well I'll text you whenever then. Have a good rest of your night." Shibayama waved goodbye while he walked away to join Inuoka, who was smirking at the two from afar.
"Hello, lover boy~" Inuoka teased. Shibayama knocked his shoulder as the two walked out of the bowling alley. "Did you finally get his number?"
"Yes, I did- shut up and stop looking at me like that!" Shibayama shoved Inuoka again, but the latter just continued to laugh.
"This is really funny to watch you know, I just can't wait for you to finally get your shit together and-“ Shibayama just rolled his eyes as he sped up.
“Hey, stop walking so fast!” Inuoka shouted as he tried to catch up with Shibayama. “Anyways, you should definitely let me tag along one day. I miss that darn cat!”
“Willow.”
“Right! Anyways, let’s get onto the train before it leaves us,” Inuoka said, laughing a little as the two boarded the train.
~ ~ ~
It was 10 am on a Saturday, and while Shibayama should be studying before going to work, he found himself in front of Kuguri’s apartment. Kuguri had texted him the night before, sending him photos of Willow and suggesting that Shibayama could come over to see her again, and well, who could say no to Willow? His phone buzzed, probably with ridiculous texts from Inuoka (who should be studying too but was probably goofing off at the cafe).
Shibayama took a deep breath in and knocked on the door. Almost immediately, the door swung open and he was greeted with a slightly disheveled Kuguri.
“Ah, Shibayama, come in. Sorry, I lost track of time,” he said, letting Shibayama walk in. On his shoulders sat Marshmallow, who seemed less interested in Shibayama and more on finding the most uncomfortable ways to sit on Kuguri.
Shibayama took his shoes off and once he made it into the living room area, he immediately found Willow, who was playing on a cat tree. When she noticed Shibayama, she immediately ran up to him, purring as she rubbed her cheek against his leg. He bent down and scratched the back of her ear with a smile on his face.
“Hey Willow,” he said in a soft voice. Kuguri sat down on the couch, Marshmallow still on his shoulders.
“There’s some cat toys in the basket if you want to play with her for a bit,” he said, pointing to the small basket that was overflowing with small toys. Shibayama went over to grab one, a stick with feathers at the end, and watched as Willow instantly focused on him.
“Oh, so you like this toy, huh?” He moved the toy to the right and her eyes followed.
Kuguri watched the two play as Marshmallow slithered around his shoulders, letting out a small ssss . He turned his attention to the snake who looked at him with bright red eyes. He felt the cushion of the couch dip and he looked past Marshmallow’s head and saw Shibayama’s face, fascinated with the snake.
“So, this is Marshmallow I presume?” he said with a little chuckle. As if on cue, Marshmallow slowly moved from Kuguri to Shibayama’s arms. Shibayama jumped a little at the sudden movement, then held his breath while Marshmallow continued to wrap around his arms. Willow, however, seemingly jealous by the attention given to the snake, let out a small meow , wrapping her tail around Shibayama’s leg. Kuguri let out a laugh.
“It seems like they’re both fighting for your attention,” he said as he scooped up Willow into his arms.
The only attention I want is yours, though. Shibayama turned slightly red at his own thoughts and shook his head, hoping Kuguri was too focused on Willow to notice.
Eventually, Kuguri put Willow down and washed his hands before grabbing Marshmallow and returning her back to her tank. When he returned from his room, Shibayama stood up, eyes focused on his phone.
“Imai’s asking me to come in a bit early, so I’m gonna have to leave now. It was really great seeing you guys though!” he said with a smile. Kuguri nodded and walked him to the door. Shibayama waved a small bye as he walked out, but before Kuguri could close the door, he found himself blurting out “Would you like to come over again next week?” Shibayama turned around and gave a shy smile before replying.
“I’d love to.”
~ ~ ~
“Dude. You’ve been going over every week for like a month now, when are you just gonna suck it up and admit you like him??” Inuoka asked as Shibayama got ready to go over to Kuguri’s again. Shibayama shrugged.
“I just like seeing Willow and Marshmallow. That’s it.”
“Liar.” Inuoka glared at him as he messed with his hair. “Neither of them care how your hair looks.” Shibayama just rolled his eyes as he said, “It’s not like he likes me anyways. He just knows I like seeing his pets.”
Inuoka loudly groaned. “You guys have literally been texting like non-stop, he visits you like everytime you work and I swear he’s always making like stupid googly eyes at you! Can you just get it together already, you guys are actually making me sick, I swear.” Shibayama just flipped him off as he left their room.
He couldn’t get Inuoka’s words out of his head. He’s gotta just be pulling his leg, right? Kuguri knew that Shibayama enjoyed seeing the animals, that’s it. That’s gotta be it.
Shibayama knocked on the familiar door as a small “coming!” was heard from the other side of the door. The door opened to reveal Kuguri, still in his pjs, who instantly straighted when he saw who was at the door this early in the morning. “Oh, Shibayama! Sorry, I forgot you were coming,” he said sheepishly.
“Sorry, I probably should’ve waited until you replied. It’s fine, I can come back some other time-”
“No, it’s fine, no worries. Sorry, was just up finishing a project really late last night. Come on in,” he said, holding the door open for him. Shibayama walked in, instantly greeted by Willow who came and rubbed her cheek on his leg.
“Hi Willow,” he said, bending down and scratching behind her ear, the same he did every time he visited. He’s gotten used to these meetings now. Shibayama takes a seat on the couch next to Kuguri as Willow jumps up to seat herself between the two. He almost hated how domestic it felt. Almost.
“Did you want to watch something?” Kuguri asked, remote in hand. Shibayama shrugged. “We can continue the documentary we were watching last time if you’d like.”
The two sat as they watched an animal documentary. Willow also seemed to be enjoying the show, as she went to sit in Kuguri’s lap and was now lightly snoring. Only a few minutes passed before he felt weight on his shoulder. Not wanting to move, Shibayama cautiously moved his eyes to see Kuguri’s head leaning on his shoulder. His face turned bright red.
Holyshitholyshitholyshit. Shibayama couldn’t stop himself from staring. Kuguri looked so peaceful as he slept, and he didn’t dare move in fear of disturbing him.
So, for what seemed like hours, Shibayama was stuck in that position. He tried to focus on the documentary, but it was hard when Kuguri was right there -He felt Kuguri stir as he held his breath. When he felt the weight slowly lift up, he knew he was in trouble, but he didn’t dare look over.
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to fall asleep like that-” Kuguri started, moving away and causing Willow to wake up and jump off his lap.
“It’s okay, I promise. I didn’t mind,” he said as he finally go the courage to look at Kuguri. His hair was a mess and his face was now bright red, and if earlier didn’t kill him already, this for sure did.
The two stared at each other for a few moments before Shibayama sucked in a breath and blurted out,
“I really like you.”
Shibayama brought his hands up to cover his mouth. Holy shit why did I just say that?? What is wrong with me??? His heart was now thumping out of his chest while Kuguri stared at him, his face somehow redder than before.
Before Shibayama could say anything even more stupid, Kuguri leaned forward and buried his head into the crook of Shibayama’s neck. Shibayama, too shocked to do anything now, just stared at the wall as he heard Kuguri mumble, “I like you too, Shibayama.”
Shibayama let out a relieved sigh as he leaned his head on top of Kuguri. The two sat there in silence as they smiled to themselves. Slowly, Kuguri brought his hand and intertwined it with Shibayama’s. Willow jumped up onto the couch and walked over them, finding a comfortable spot between their legs as she once again laid down.
“You know, I’m really glad you weren’t only coming over here for Willow,” Kuguri said after a few moments. Shibayama just laughed as he held Kuguri’s hand tighter and used the other to pet Willow.