Work Text:
Sunday, July 2, 2017
I stood outside the door to Professor Ito's apartment, eyes closed as I gathered the courage to ring the doorbell. The apartment was in a new complex, but it wasn't particularly fancy, at least from what I could tell by looking around as I made my way to the third floor. The place was clean and quiet, but it didn't have an air of luxury or anything like that. Rather, it seemed like a slightly better than average building, probably one where maintenance got done on a regular basis and there weren't any crazy neighbors having arguments at three in the morning.
In other words, it was completely different from what I expected. In fact, I'd been so confused upon reaching the building that I'd checked the address three times before going inside. But now that I was standing in front of the door, staring at a piece of junk mail that was addressed to Ito Keita, I couldn't deny it anymore.
I reached out and pressed the doorbell. There was some noise from inside, the steady thump of feet against the floor, and the door opened a crack. Professor Ito peered out at me, a smile lighting his face after a moment. "Oh, Kasahara-kun, I was wondering when you'd show up! Here, come in."
I wasn't used to seeing him in casual clothing, especially not jeans and a graphic t-shirt, and I felt embarrassed about wearing my uniform. "R, right... excuse me..."
He stepped back, pulling open the door, and I stepped into the entranceway, trying not to look around too obviously as I bent to untie my shoes. The inside of the apartment was clean and organized, with well-matched furniture that held an array of both decorative and useful objects. The carpet and walls were light, neutral colors, and the furniture was light as well, natural wood for the shelves and tables I could see, and the nearby couch was white with accent pillows in several shades of blue. As I straightened up, I caught a hint of a delicious smell, and my stomach betrayed me with a small rumble.
Professor Ito giggled. "Ah, well, you'll have to wait just a little longer, Kasahara-kun, I think Kazuki is finishing up in the kitchen." He motioned toward the dining table. "Why don't you relax for a minute, and I'll go check on him?"
"Oh, sure... sorry I'm so early..."
"No, not at all, you're only fifteen minutes early, it's not a problem!" Professor Ito waved off my apology and disappeared around a corner, leaving me no choice but to settle down at the dining table as instructed. The places were already set with elegant white china, surrounded by gleaming silverware that I suspected was real silver.
Ugh, do people actually use more than one fork when eating? I fidgeted in my seat. And why would you put the plates on the table ahead of time? Don't you just have to come gather them up so you can serve the food?
So that was it. Even though the apartment building wasn't all that fancy and the apartment itself didn't seem very big, the contents were special. Even I could tell that the carvings on the chair backs had been done by hand instead of produced by a machine. Same for the embroidery on the cloth napkins and the table runner.
This is totally out of my league. I never even saw a cloth napkin until I got adopted and my new family took me out to eat at an actual sit-down restaurant.
I twisted around in my chair to peer over my shoulder; there was an opening in the wall behind me, so I could see into the small kitchen. Professor Ito was standing in an out of the way place near the wall while Mr. Suzubishi did something at the stove, his back to me. The scent of dinner was almost overwhelming, roasted vegetables and chicken and other smells that blended together into unidentified deliciousness. My stomach protested again, and I turned back toward the table.
A moment later, Professor Ito reappeared to collect the plates, and I stood too. "I can help."
He shook his head. "No, you're our guest, you don't have to do anything. Oh, but do you want to take off your jacket? It's a little warm in here because of the oven..."
"Oh, yeah, I'll do that." I shrugged off my uniform jacket, intending to hang it over the back of the chair, but that seemed like the wrong thing to do with such expensive furniture. Professor Ito reached out to take the jacket from me, and he hurried back to the kitchen.
I sat back down with a sigh. I wasn't used to people doing stuff for me, and especially not a teacher. Both at the orphanage and with my adoptive family, I'd been expected to do my share of chores and to take care of basic things like serving myself and others at mealtimes. Just sitting and waiting for food felt uncomfortable and weird. I folded my hands in my lap, trying to keep still. Fortunately, it wasn't a long wait, and Professor Ito reappeared, followed by Mr. Suzubishi.
"Welcome to our little home, Kasahara-kun," Mr. Suzubishi greeted me, settling a loaded plate on the table. It was piled with roasted chicken, crispy oven-baked potatoes, a variety of vegetables that looked to have been sauteed with garlic, all artfully arranged on the pure white plate.
"Wow," I couldn't help being impressed. "Did you two cook all of this?"
Professor Ito laughed, settling down with his own plate. "Not me, I can't cook at all, unless heating up a microwave dinner counts. Kazuki does all the cooking around here."
"What, really?" I couldn't help staring at Mr. Suzubishi; it didn't fit the mental image I had of him at all. To me, he was a serious and stern man, maybe a bit cold, and definitely intimidating. Absolutely not the kind of person I'd imagine slaving away in a hot kitchen or...
Or wearing a ridiculous apron with a cute blue teddy bear print. My cheeks colored.
"Agh, Kazuki, you forgot to take off your apron!"
"Oops, I guess I did. Excuse me." He walked back to the kitchen, hands behind his back to untie the long blue ribbon. Professor Ito sat down with a heavy sigh.
"Geez, Kazuki, you're so embarrassing." Despite his words, he was smiling. Somehow that was more embarrassing to me than seeing Mr. Suzubishi in a cute apron. I mean, I'd caught them kissing outside the cafeteria so obviously they were a real couple, but it didn't feel real to me during the week when I saw Professor Ito in class. He wasn't all that different than the other teachers, working hard to impart knowledge and answer questions, though his style wasn't the same as everyone else's. The professor was more forgiving and smiled a lot more than most of the other teachers. Hell, he didn't really complain even if I cut class twice in a row...
Once Mr. Suzubishi returned, settling into the seat directly across from me, it was time to eat. My eyes darted from him to Professor Ito as I waited for someone to begin eating, watching carefully to see which fork I should use. Except no one started eating. I pulled my lip into my mouth nervously, wondering what was going on. Did they want to say a prayer or something? I didn't really mind that sort of thing, but why wasn't anyone moving?
A few moments later, Mr. Suzubishi finally picked a fork up from the table, pointing it at Professor Ito. "Keita, I expect Kasahara-kun to be a little hesitant, but you should know which fork to use for dinner by now." His tone was light, teasing, and when I glanced up, I saw a smile on his lips.
Professor Ito turned bright red. "K, Kazuki! Don't point that out in front of Kasahara-kun! I'm just a little nervous so I couldn't remember, that's all!"
That little exchange was enough to lighten the mood, and I picked up my fork as well - the same one that Mr. Suzubishi had selected, of course - and dug in. For a while, the only sound was that of silverware clinking against china, peppered with a few comments about the excellent food. Honestly, I was pretty surprised that someone so, well, rich was actually good at cooking. My adoptive parents hadn't cooked for themselves often aside from snacks, and had used a meal delivery service. Someone like Mr. Suzubishi who was exponentially more wealthy seemed like the kind of guy who would have a private chef, not the type who would cook for his boyfriend.
My cheeks colored a little as I considered it. Maybe he'd learned because he wanted to spend more time doing things with Professor Ito? The professor was just a regular guy, so he probably wasn't comfortable with rich person stuff. It was pretty considerate for Mr. Suzubishi to adjust his lifestyle to fit something that was more like what the professor thought of as normal.
"Well, Kasahara-kun," Mr. Suzubishi set down his fork and looked directly at me, "how are things going for you recently? It looks like the situation at the school has calmed down already."
I unconsciously straightened up in my chair. "Yes, everything is back to normal. Honestly, I'm glad that the students have already seemed to forget all about it. I'm sure it was affecting everyone."
"You're one of the students too," he pointed out.
"Y, yeah... I guess that's true."
"But I hear you don't attend class on a regular basis."
"Kazuki, don't say things like that!" I was surprised when Professor Ito came to my defense; he was usually the one nagging me to show up in class more often. "Kasahara-kun has been working very hard, it's only natural that he'd be too tired for class some days. He's even started running with the track club, and everything at the school is running smoothly."
"I know that, but it's important to maintain the appearance of a normal student. Skipping class too often is only going to draw more attention. After all, I made sure to attend class every day."
Professor Ito actually rolled his eyes. "Kazuki, you should be ashamed of yourself, you were taking regular classes with me even though you could have breezed through all ultimate. You weren't spending hours on homework or working hard to learn everything. And let me remind you that you were in the craft club, not running track for hours every day."
I fidgeted in my seat, uncomfortable in the tense atmosphere. It reminded me a little too much of the arguments that my adoptive parents would have, only their fights would turn into screaming matches about money. "U, um, I do realize that I could be trying a little harder..."
Which was true, though I kind of agreed with Professor Ito - I was still adjusting to making a real effort at the director's job and participating with the track club. I wasn't ready to increase my participation in class on top of all that. Despite that, I felt the familiar prickle at the back of my neck, the cold realization that the people around me were about to explode, and that I was trapped there as an unfortunate witness.
There were several seconds of silence, and I slumped a little in my chair, trying to disappear. Mr. Suzubishi let out a heavy sigh, and I braced myself for his snappy retort.
"You're right, Keita." His tone was soft and apologetic. "I'm sorry, Kasahara-kun, I didn't even consider the physical demands of the track club and the related competitions."
I looked up, eyes wide with shock. Did he just say 'I'm sorry' to me? "Huh?"
But he really was smiling, and his expression was sincere as he continued, "Keita's right, it's hard to handle learning, athletics, and an adult's job. Honestly, you're doing better than I expected." He paused for a few moments, then added, "You've really grown over these past few months. I'm proud of you."
I ducked my head again, face growing hot. "I didn't really do anything..."
"Of course you did!" Professor Ito sounded shocked by my denial. "You worked hard with Asahina-kun to keep the school open, and you've decided to keep the job of director for now. With all that, plus the track club too, it would be unreasonable for you to increase your class participation right away. You're already pushing yourself harder than before, so it makes sense to add new things in slowly, doesn't it?"
I nodded slowly, wanting to give the appearance of agreement, even though deep down I didn't believe it. "Well, a lot of it was thanks to Yuki's help... I didn't do it all myself."
"I don't see Asahina-kun running around the track," he pointed out, smiling.
The corners of my lips quirked up into a tiny grin as a thought hit me. "I bet he would if there was a donut on a string in front of him, though."
Mr. Suzubishi sighed. "I'd probably run for a donut, to be honest..."
"No donuts, Kazuki! You ate too much junk on your last trip to America. If anyone here's getting a donut, it's Kasahara-kun, he's an athlete." Professor Ito glanced at my plate. "Oh, you're already done with your chicken, do you want me to get you some more? Protein is important for your body."
"Heh, Keita, you really sound like a teacher..."
The professor pouted. "I don't just sound like a teacher, I am a teacher."
Now that the threat of an argument had passed, the atmosphere had shifted to a different type of uncomfortable: the feeling that I was intruding on the closeness of a long-term couple. I pushed back my chair and stood, taking my plate. "Thank you for offering, Professor Ito, but I'll go serve myself a bit more. Does anyone else want more of anything while I'm up?"
"No, we're fine," Professor Ito responded cheerfully. "I served us each just enough to meet our goals for today. Feel free to eat as much as you like, Kasahara-kun."
I retreated to the kitchen, grateful for the excuse to flee the table as more semi-romantic banter was exchanged. It was better than the sense of an impending explosion, but far more embarrassing, and I took some extra time to calm myself before returning to the table. Once I was back, the conversation turned to me and my plans for the immediate future, and I found myself talking about training for upcoming track competitions and my thoughts on trying to implement Brother's ideas for the school.
"See, that's exactly why I picked Nao-kun as my successor," Mr. Suzubishi declared, pointing his empty fork at me. "He wasn't weighed down by stupid ideas about profits and corporate nonsense, he simply cared about the students and was always thinking about how to include more young people. The school needs to be expanded, I've been saying that for years."
It was weird to hear Brother being praised by someone I didn't really know, but of course he'd been part of the Suzubishi family for years. Still, I couldn't ignore the little twinge of jealousy that stung my heart, though I tried to push it aside as I replied. "Yes, I completely agree. If we start slow by focusing on students who are more academically inclined rather than athletes who require a lot of extra expense, that will do a lot to increase enrollments. Of course, I don't want to exclude a whole set of talented people for very long, so I have to find a way to accommodate the athletic students too. There has to be more we can do within the budget that's been allowed. I don't really want to cut back on anything we already have, but there has to be a way to use the funds more efficiently."
Both adults were nodding vigorously. "Yes, exactly. The school is, unfortunately, thought of as just another company, but the advantage to that is that every company has budget inefficiencies." Mr. Suzubishi sighed, resting his chin on his hand. "The thing is, the board isn't willing to spend the time necessary to review the budget in detail, so it's going to fall to you. And then they'll claim that you're biased, or have no understanding of 'real business,' and all sorts of other nonsense."
"Then I'll just have to learn more so they can't say those sorts of things about me."
"Ugh, if only that would work. Nao-kun had an incredible understanding of the inner workings of the school and the budgets, and the board still gave him a hard time because he was young. It's going to be even harder for you." He sighed again.
"Well, wasn't it the same for you?" I asked.
Mr. Suzubishi straightened up in his chair, looking uncomfortable. "Uh, well..."
"Kazuki's a member of the Suzubishi family, after all," Professor Ito cut in. "So the board had to show a little more respect. Right, Kazuki?"
"Yes, exactly. Because I've been learning about business and management since I was just a kid. Anyway," he pushed back his chair and stood, "why don't I clean up over here, and you two can go relax in the living room? It won't take long to put the leftovers away and wash the dishes."
He didn't wait for a reply before gathering up the dishes and disappearing into the kitchen. As I watched him go, I couldn't help feeling that he was running away.
"Come on, Kasahara-kun," Professor Ito got up too, motioning toward the living space. "Kazuki won't let anyone get in the way of his domestic duties, so it's useless to try."
"Okay," I agreed, casting one last glance toward the kitchen before following the professor across the open space into the living area. I waited for him to sit down on the larger couch first, then settled in on the smaller loveseat. The two couches were placed at a right angle to each other with a shared end table between, and Professor Ito and I were both seated near the table. He leaned over his armrest toward me, pointing out a small pile of rental movies.
"We weren't sure what you'd want to watch, Kasahara-kun, so we got a few different things. You can pick any one that you like."
My eyes swept over the titles; they were all recent action movies from America, stuff like Star Wars and superhero films. I didn't really feel like paying attention to subtitles while dealing with the awkward situation of hanging out with a couple of adults I didn't know well. But the titles were in Japanese so maybe they were dubbed? I picked up the stack and looked through it, finding that about half were in English, and half dubbed, so I picked the most interesting one of the dub bunch. "Um, I guess this one will be fine. I haven't seen it yet."
"Captain America?" Professor Ito took the offered case from my hand. "Yeah, I've been wanting to see this one! I don't think Kazuki's seen it yet either... he sees lot of movies on international flights."
"Mr. Suzubishi can watch movies in English?" I shouldn't have been so surprised since I knew that he did a lot of work in America, but I was still impressed.
"Yeah, Kazuki's fluent in English, he can watch or read anything he wants." Professor Ito made a bit of a face. "I have a lot of catching up to do, I guess..."
His mournful expression made me smile a little, and I found my nervousness easing a little bit. The professor wasn't the problem, for lack of a better word; I already knew him, at least on a superficial level, from class and the few times he'd attempted to pull me out of my shell. Mr. Suzubishi, on the other hand, was a mystery to me, and honestly kind of intimidating.
This is my opportunity to ask a couple of things I've been wondering about...
"Um, Professor Ito, can I make a bit of an observation?"
"Eh?" He actually tilted his head. "Sure, Kasahara-kun, go right ahead. You don't have to be shy."
"Well," I looked down at my hands pressed together in my lap, "I was just wondering how you and Mr. Suzubishi got so, um, close. I mean, I know you went to BL School together, so it's not unusual that you'd be friends..." Man, that sounded awful, didn't it? My face got warm as I realized just how insulting the question might seem.
But Professor Ito just laughed. "We really are a mismatched couple, aren't we?"
"Uh, no, that's not what I meant," I tried to backtrack, but he just shook his head.
"No, it's okay, I think so too. Actually, if I think about it too much, it seems like a weird dream or something." The professor slouched back against the couch cushions, stretching his legs out in front of him. "We're childhood friends, me and Kazuki. When I was a little kid, I went to stay with my grandparents out in the country, and Kazuki's grandfather had a summer home nearby. I found him reading under a tree one day, and I bugged him to play with me until he had no choice but to give in. I didn't know anything about status or stuff like that back then, so it was easy to be friends."
Professor Ito's tone grew soft, his expression almost sad as he remembered the past. "Well, of course we couldn't stay together for long. Kazuki had a lot of important things to learn, and I was just an ordinary kid. But he promised me we could go to school together someday."
I nodded, understanding. Of course someone who was in line to inherit an entire company group would be sent to the best private schools, while a regular kid would have to go to public school. That cost alone was enough of a burden on families, or in my case, the orphanage that had to provide for the needs of dozens of school-age children. Except an intact family probably couldn't get any sort of help or discounts like the orphanage, and ended up absorbing the entire cost. "So the promise was fulfilled when you got into BL School?"
He nodded. "Yeah, that's exactly it. Childhood friends meeting again at school, I guess it's kind of romantic, isn't it?"
"Oh," I glanced up, suddenly realizing something, "it's kind of like me and Yuki. We were childhood friends too. I never thought I'd meet him by chance again, especially because of a school."
The professor looked at me sharply, and my chest tightened. What? What was it? Maybe he didn't know that Yuki was my childhood friend? I didn't expect anyone to know that, but it wasn't all that surprising. I was saved from the awkward moment and the unreasonable pounding of my own heart by Mr. Suzubishi's reappearance.
"Did you guys pick a movie yet?"
"Yeah!" Professor Ito held up the case he was holding. "We want to see the dubbed version, Kazuki, don't be difficult and set it to subtitled, okay?"
Mr. Suzubishi took the case and popped it open. "But how are you going to get better at English, Keita? Listening to real conversations is really one of the best things you can do."
"Ugh, Kazuki, nothing in a superhero movie is going to be a real conversation." Professor Ito was nearly pouting, his tone petulant. "I really doubt I'm going to need to know how to tell anyone my devious plan to take over the world in English."
"Alright, alright, we can watch the dub this time." He popped the disc in and sat down on the couch near Professor Ito, leaving a space between them. "Okay, here we go. Kasahara-kun, tell me if the volume needs to be adjusted for you, you're sitting at an angle to the TV."
"Right, I'll do that."
The movie began, and while it held my interest for the first fifteen minutes or so, my mind began to wander after that, unable to put aside the feeling of unease and worry at hanging out with a teacher and a corporate crown prince. I glanced over at the two of them. They were staring at the TV, but not in a relaxed way at all. Rather, they both looked kind of stiff, especially Mr. Suzubishi, who had his hands folded tightly in his lap. A moment later, his head moved slightly to the right and down, then came back up again.
What was he looking at? I leaned forward a bit. There was a small wicker basket on the floor in front of the couch, and though I wasn't really sure, it looked like there was a pair of ankle-high socks on top of a bunch of colorful balls. Except the socks had pointed sticks poking out of the top edge, and if I squinted, I could see that the thread of the edge was wrapped around them somehow.
It took about a minute to figure out what I was seeing. Someone's knitting socks. Haruno-san, the director of the orphanage, was fond of knitting and had even taught classes to the kids who wanted to learn. I'd been way more interested in going outside to play, but Brother had enjoyed the lessons and helping the other kids who were having trouble. My eyes went back to the two adults on the couch, wondering who was making the socks, just in time to catch Mr. Suzubishi casting another wistful glance at the basket on the floor.
Wow, he cooks and cleans and even knits? I never expected that from the guy who's going to run the Suzubishi megacorp one day.
Even worse, his hands were all fidgety in his lap, like he didn't know what to do with himself without his project. Despite that, whenever he wasn't peeking at the half-finished sock, Mr. Suzubishi stared straight ahead at the TV screen, almost blankly. Professor Ito was doing the same, sitting up too straight on the couch, feet planted firmly on the floor, hands in his lap, knee keeping a safe distance from Mr. Suzubishi's knee. Had the space between them grown wider?
Oh god, they're acting all awkward because I'm here. My cheeks colored, but no one was looking at me, too intent on pretending to be engrossed in the movie. Maybe they'll chill out in a while?
The minutes ticked by, and nothing changed, except for the uncomfortable prickle at the back of my neck. I reached up to rub at my tingling skin and wasn't surprised when my fingers came away damp. Things couldn't go on like this. I leaned forward to snatch the remote from the coffee table and paused the movie.
Professor Ito looked confused. "Kasahara-kun, what's wrong? Oh, did you need to use the bathroom? It's just down the hall."
"Or do you want a snack?" Mr. Suzubishi stood up. "I can make some popcorn."
"No, please sit down." I heaved a massive sigh. "I just... I can't deal with this stiff atmosphere anymore. I can't even pay attention to the movie because you guys are so awkward."
"Awkward? We're just watching the movie," Professor Ito protested.
"No, you're sitting there like you're waiting to be punished for being late to class or something. I expected this to be an awkward visit, but it's crossed over into uncomfortable and unnatural, to be honest. You guys don't have to do anything differently from how you'd normally do it. Like all that space between you, or trying not to look at each other. Or knitting a sock." I gestured toward the basket. "I thought the whole point of this was so that we could get to know each other better. But I feel like I'm only seeing the face you show to visitors."
Silence.
Shit, I went too far. Good job, Tomo.
Professor Ito was the first one to speak. "Um, well..."
A moment later, Mr. Suzubishi laughed quietly. "I guess we looked pretty unnatural sitting like that." He leaned over to grab his knitting from the basket, slouching back into the couch cushions as he settled the yarn and unfinished sock in his lap. "Then I won't hesitate to finish up my socks."
The professor shifted over a little to press his shoulder against Mr. Suzubishi's arm. His expression relaxed into a fond smile, and he let out a contented sigh. "Ahh, thank goodness, I didn't know if I could sit in that position for the entire movie." His cheeks darkened a bit as he glanced in my direction. "Sorry, Kasahara-kun, I hope this isn't making you uncomfortable..."
I shook my head. "No, of course not. It looks natural. Before, you looked so tense that I thought one of us might have an anxiety attack before the movie ended. Probably me."
Professor Ito let out a sound that was halfway between a laugh and a giggle. "I don't know, I think Kazuki would explode if he went more than an hour without yarn in his hands."
"That's not true, Keita, I can sleep for a solid eight hours without yarn."
"Okay, fine, I meant sitting and relaxing without yarn, then."
"Um," I cut in, "since we're being more open with each other, can I ask something? I'm kind of surprised that you knit, Mr. Suzubishi. Was that something you learned on one of your business trips, maybe?"
"Oh god, Kasahara-kun, don't get Kazuki started on knitting," Professor Ito groaned.
But Mr. Suzubishi was leaning forward, eyes shining and a smile on his face as he replied, "I do enjoy knitting to pass the time on international flights or during conference calls, but I've been crafting since I was a child. My mother was a knitting instructor - well, she still is, when she has the time, but these days she's pretty busy with supporting my father and taking care of company business. And when she has time off, she likes to enjoy crafting or baking, since those are the comfortable family activities she grew up with too."
I nodded, understanding a little. "So you enjoy doing the same sorts of things that you grew up with, Mr. Suzubishi? Though it's hard to understand how cooking and cleaning could be fun..."
"I wouldn't say they're fun, exactly. More like relaxing." He began to work on the sock in his hands, though surprisingly, he didn't have to look at his project as he spoke. "My time at work can be very mentally exhausting, and there's something comforting about doing light physical work that doesn't require a lot of thought. And it's pretty rewarding to end up with a useful product at the end." The loops on the needle ran out, and he glanced down for a few moments to reposition the free needle in his hand. "And to be honest, I like doing things to make Keita's life easier. He's still adjusting to a new schedule and new job, so it makes me happy to take care of things around here."
"Kazuki, that's so embarrassing," Professor Ito mumbled, turning red. "Don't make me the reason for your weird rich person hobbies."
Mr. Suzubishi laughed. "There's a lot of people who enjoy knitting and cooking, Keita. It's important for me to feel like I can give a real gift of my own time and effort. Yes, my family has a lot of money and I have access to much of it, but that money was really earned by my grandfather and grown by my father. I haven't done much yet. It's not mine to give, though of course I'll help friends in need or get them the occasional fun thing that they would feel guilty spending money on. I'd much rather give something I made with my own hands. It's a tangible expression of care. I suppose you could say my time is more valuable than money, so the worth of something like this," he held up the sock, "is much more than some cash or a storebought gift."
"I think that's the same for everyone who makes things by hand, Kazuki." Professor Ito squished the toe of the sock. "No way would I be able to sell something like this after making it. You'd have to pry it out of my cold, dead hands."
"Yeah, that's exactly how I feel. So when I give something like this as a gift, I hope the level of care and sincerity comes across."
"I'm sure it does," I said. "That looks really complicated. I can't imagine the amount of work that goes into making something like that by hand."
"It's really not that long," he countered, "but that's because I have a lot of experience. In fact, that may be part of why I like knitting and other yarn crafts so much. It's rewarding to see immediate results from my efforts. A lot of times with company work, it can take ages to get anything through all the red tape. I'm sure you know how that is, Kasahara-kun."
"Yeah, seriously. I hope the Suzubishi Group is less difficult than the school board."
"Ha, not really. Sometimes I feel like I'm trying to control a daycare, not lead a meeting. That's just what happens when you get a bunch of people together in one place. Everyone has their own ideas and opinions, and it can be nearly impossible to get them aligned in the same direction. However," he glanced down at his knitting, "the yarn always does what I tell it. If something gets screwed up, it's my own fault."
There was a short silence, and I found myself speaking to fill the void. "Maybe that's kind of similar to why I liked to run so much in middle school. I didn't have a lot of choice about everything that went on in my life back then, but I could at least control how much I trained and stuff like that..."
After that, there was a longer silence, my response hanging awkwardly in the air between us. Ugh, you went too far again... don't just babble because you're nervous...
Professor Ito suddenly stopped fidgeting and sat straight up. "Oh! I know! Kazuki, you forgot Kasahara-kun's birthday present last week! You should give it to him now!"
His eyes widened a little. "That's right, I completely forgot. Now, where did I put it...?" The sock in progress was quickly set aside, and he leaned forward to dig around in the large basket. "Did I put it back in here, Keita?"
"I think so." The professor leaned closer, watching as the contents of the basket were emptied onto the floor. "Wait, Kazuki, don't just dump everything out! Look, it's right here!" He bent to pick up a small drawstring bag from the floor. It was made with the same fabric as the apron Mr. Suzubishi had been wearing earlier, and I suddenly realized that he had made them both.
Geez, this guy is a high-powered executive but he knits, sews, cooks, and cleans? That's... kinda scary.
"Oh, there it is!" Mr. Suzubishi took the bag from the professor, then got up and stepped across the room, plopping onto the couch beside me. It was a bit of a tight fit, and I resisted the urge to move away and give him more space. "Here you go, Kasahara-kun. Happy belated birthday."
I accepted the bag, hesitating before opening it up. "Just the bag is really nice..."
"I thought you'd like it, since it's similar to the bear plushes that were left in the director's office. I heard from Keita that one of them made an appearance during the Bell One competition."
"But it got turned into a panda!" Professor Ito grinned. "It was pretty cute."
"The voice was terrible, though," I groaned, remembering the crappy free app I'd used as the base for the program I'd slapped together. "But I guess the bear itself was cute."
"Of course it's cute, I made it."
"What, you made that too?!" I couldn't believe it. There were at least ten more bears in that box, each one exactly the same as the others. "They're so perfect, I thought they were from a store..."
"Kasahara-kun, you're going to give Kazuki a big head if you keep talking like that. Hurry up and open your present, I want to see your reaction!"
"Yes, Professor Ito," I responded instantly to his scolding, and undid the string on the bag. I reached in, fingers coming into contact with something soft and squishy; obviously something made of yarn, since it had been hidden in the knitting basket. The mystery object turned out to be a pair of socks, knitted in a soft blue yarn and with some sort of pattern near the top edge. "Hmm, they're kind of textured here," I rubbed my finger over the fabric. "I bet they're really warm, too. Thank you very much, Mr. Suzubishi, they're very nice, I'll enjoy wearing them once the weather gets colder."
He reached out and took one of the socks from me, tilting it under the light. "It's not just any pattern, Kasahara-kun, look. It's a picture."
"What, really?" I stared down at the other sock, holding it close to my face. "It's something round, I think? Wait a minute... is that a teddy bear's face?"
"Oh my god, Kazuki, are you serious?" Professor Ito leaned over the armrest to peer at the sock I was holding. "You didn't tell me you were knitting Kuma-chan into Kasahara-kun's socks! Isn't that kind of embarrassing?"
"Ah, no, it's not embarrassing," I said, though I was blushing a little. "They'll be covered up by my pants, actually, so... um... it'll be my little secret, I guess?"
Mr. Suzubishi was definitely enjoying my discomfort, grinning as he handed back the other sock. "Well, Kuma-chan is the representative of the director, so you'll have to keep them hidden. But you'll always know that you have a cute bear on your side whenever you wear these."
"R, right... thank you, really," I mumbled.
Professor Ito let out a huge sigh. "You really are embarrassing, Kazuki."
After that, we went back to watching the movie, the professor and Mr. Suzubishi leaning comfortably against each other as I pretended not to notice. To be honest, they weren't all that different from Yuki's parents, who were always laughing and smiling at each other, lost in their own little world. In other words, they were a normal, happy couple with their own unique quirks.
In that case, I'm not gonna hold back either.
I dug a lollipop out of my pocket and unwrapped it. I thought the crinkle of the plastic would be disguised by the movie audio, but of course there was a lull in the action at that exact moment.
"Kasahara-kun?" Mr. Suzubishi glanced at me.
I held up the lollipop with a sheepish smile. Professor Ito laughed. "Wow, Kasahara-kun, you really do always have candy, don't you? I guess it's your trademark."
"Well, I guess that's one way to look at it," I agreed, popping it into my mouth.
Mr. Suzubishi seemed less pleased. "Kasahara-kun, that's not good for your teeth."
Professor Ito nudged him with his elbow. "Shh, Kazuki, you're not his mom."
I couldn't disguise a little snort of amusement, so I tried to cover it by motioning toward the screen. "Um, is it okay if we keep watching the movie? It's getting pretty interesting..."
"Yeah, let's do that!" Professor Ito aimed the remote at the screen, turning up the volume to drown any potential protest from Mr. Suzubishi. That made me laugh too.
They're pretty ridiculous. I guess it's kind of cute in a way. I settled back into the couch, moving the lollipop around in my mouth. Yeah. I could get used to this...
~ end ~