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Love was about compromises.
Sometimes those compromises took the form of driving half an hour to what was surely going to be the most gimmicky creampuff Kento had ever consumed in his life. Still, Satoru had been eagerly talking about this cream puff store for weeks now, and it was so very rare for the two of them to have time off at the same time.
Therefore, Kento found himself in the driver’s seat as he drove himself and Satoru to try these so-called Totoro cream puffs. Kento had dismissed any requests from the managers to drive them. He wanted this moment alone with Satoru. Besides, Satoru wouldn’t be able to relax the way he was now if there was someone else in the car with them. Their fingers were laced together over the gearshift as Kento half-listened to Satoru go over the various flavors.
“The seasonal flavour is presently Strawberries and Cream Cheese, but they have seven different ones throughout the year, so we might have to squeeze in more trips somehow. The Banana Caramel one sounds so good.” Satoru explained as he stretched and placed his feet on the dashboard.
Kento shook his head but didn’t otherwise chide Satoru. He’d learned to choose his battles over the years. Besides, Satoru would be the one to come out unscathed if they were in a car accident right now. He chuckled a little bit at Satoru’s insistence that they go visit the shop together again, even in spite of their overwhelming schedules.
It’d be so much easier for Satoru to pop over to the city on his own as opposed to waiting for both of their schedules to clear enough for them to drive over together. The thought reminded Kento of a conversation that he once had with Gojo. They were still in school together then, and Kento had been steadily growing bitter over the divide between his and Gojo’s techniques.
“Why do you waste the manager’s time by making them drive you around when you could just teleport yourself there in a fraction of the time?” Kento had wound up confronting Satoru one evening when his upperclassmen had just returned from a mission.
Satoru had barely managed to take his shoes off as he stepped into the building. Presumably, Satoru had a single-minded focus on returning to his bed to sleep. Kento could still remember the tight expression that Satoru wore as he gazed up at him. It was the first time Satoru had ever directed a fake smile towards him. The sight of it caused Kento’s self-righteous indignation to burn even hotter.
“If I don’t have a guarantee that the vicinity is clear of people, I might just burst right through someone, Nanamin.” Satoru mimed himself cleaving through someone, a la a Chestburster from Alien. “Then the managers have even more of a mess to clean up. Saves everyone a dry cleaning bill in this instance.” His tone was humorous, but Satoru’s smile didn’t reach his eyes.
Kento thinks that was the first time that he ever got a glimpse at how exhausted the elders kept Satoru.
“Yoooo, Nanamin. Are you even listening to me right now? Everyone is always going on about how attentive and patient you are, and yet you’re not even listening to your boyfriend. Are you seriously ignoring me on our date? I want a do-over now.” The sound of Satoru complaining was a familiar record by now.
Still, Kento lifted Satoru’s hand to press a kiss to the back of it in a silent apology.
“Sorry, I found myself reminiscing about the past. What were you saying?” Kento offered as he turned his attention back to the road once more.
“What were you reminiscing about? Were you thinking about us? I was quite the handsome upperclassman. I don’t blame you for thinking fondly of our time together.” Satoru was like a dog with a bone when it came to teasing him.
“I was thinking about how consistently bad your jokes have always been,” Kento said bluntly as he tried to hide his smile.
“Hey! My students think I’m hilarious. I have the first-years rolling on the floor with my jokes.” Satoru huffed with indignation.
Kento couldn’t help but wonder if this was a situation of laughing at versus laughing with someone. He couldn’t dwell on that for too long as a loud noise left both him and Satoru on high alert. It took Kento a moment to realize that the tire pressure light had come on, and he deftly pulled the car off to the side of the road. There was very little investigation required as Kento saw the culprit as soon as he stepped out of the car. Presumably, the loud noise was a tire rupturing, as one of their tires lay nearly flat.
A quick inspection of the trunk revealed no spare. Kento sighed as he closed the trunk once more. Satoru had stepped out of the car at this point. It didn’t exactly require Six Eyes to discern what was happening.
“Want me to pop back to the school for a tire? I can be here and back before you can finish saying ‘Satoru, you’re so handsome and funny’.” Satoru offered as he grinned at Kento.
It’s funny how the simplest moments can remind you of things that you’d longed to forget.
“Can’t we just leave everything up to him alone at this point?” Kento had been half out of his mind with grief when he said those words to Suguru. His frustration with his own limitations and the inadequacies of sorcerer society had reached its zenith. He wasn’t thinking of anything but his own grief when he spoke. The only thing Kento was grateful for regarding that day was that Satoru hadn’t been around to hear him speak.
The sentiment wasn’t new. Satoru likely heard those words in some form throughout his life. The dual-wielder of Limitless and Six Eyes. The strongest sorcerer in their lifetime. These titles were isolating. They kept Satoru from forming bonds with those around him. Kento had heard from Shoko about what Satoru had been like when his classmates first met him. The two of them likely would have fought more if Satoru had remained the self-absorbed, arrogant youth that Shoko and Suguru had met then.
“Hold on for a second.” Kento wound up saying as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. He dialed Ijichi’s number from memory alone.
“It’s Nanami. Can you bring a spare tire to Expressway Route 3? We’re a few minutes north of Meguro Sky Garden. I’ll stand by the car so we are easy to spot. Thank you.” The conversation was fortunately brief. There was a reason Ijichi was Kento’s favorite manager to work with. His former underclassmen knew not to ask too many questions, especially when Satoru was involved.
“It’ll take Ijichi at least fifteen minutes to get over here. I could have popped there and back by then.” Satoru lowered his sunglasses as if he could somehow better understand his motivations that way.
“You shouldn’t have to do everything yourself. Besides, this will extend the time we spend together. I assumed you would have been pleased.” Kento explained as he walked over to stand beside Satoru.
“If I ever complain about spending time with you, assume that the RCT has stopped working and that I’ve truly gone brain dead.” Satoru was quick to quip, but he wore an expression on his face that Kento was otherwise unable to identify.
Satoru laced their fingers together once more, and Kento couldn’t say that he minded the winter chill that lingered around him. They were standing on the side of the car that was away from the expressway. It’s the only justification Kento had for why he let Satoru lean in to kiss him without pushing the other man away. Satoru smiled at him unabashedly as a sharp breeze blew past them.
No, Kento couldn’t say that he minded at all.