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Akiyama wasn't a responsible man. If anything, he’d probably spent more time sleeping than working since the opening of Sky Finance. So when he was perched at his desk actually trying to do the paperwork he needed for the new branch, he couldn't help but begin to doze off.
He really wanted to try and repay Hana for all she had done for him. The day she had quit, so to speak, was one of the worst days of his life. It made him realise how important she was. Both to the business and to him. Really, Sky Finance wouldn't be where it was today without her. But even so, there he was, trying his best not to pass out atop the mass of paperwork on his desk.
Akiyama was a sleepy man by nature, so sometimes he believed that the only way to happiness was by taking a good nap.
Unfortunately for Akiyama, he was suddenly snapped out of his half-asleep state by a grating voice.
“Chief! You’ve barely even touched these! And you're leaving for Osaka in three days!” Hana reprimanded, snatching the disgustingly tall pile of papers off his desk.
“Huh…?” He sat up dazed, watching as Hana migrated back to her desk with the paperwork. At least it was off his hands now. Maybe being lazy did pay off.
“I told you, you wouldn't be able to finish all these, but ‘ohhh Hana-chan, these are important! I promise I'll do them! blablabla…’” She muttered to herself angrily, scribbling across the paperwork with vigour.
Well, he did say that, yeah. But you know… at least he tried? Still. He needed to do something. He did promise he’d try and get better business practices ever since they’d bought the new branch. And he didn't really want to manage his business all alone again. Especially not now.
“Well… What if I went out and did collections?” Akiyama offered with a smile.
“Are you actually going to do them though?” Hana stared up at him deadpan. “You're two days late.”
“Yeah, well better late than never, right?” Akiyama said, standing up from his chair with a yawn. He stretched, grunting as he felt a few of his joints crack. He’d been sitting, well, sleeping, at his desk for a while.
Hana’s voice suddenly caught his attention again. “Please, Chief." She said, her voice laced with what could only be described as desperation. And it certainly did a good job at making him feel guilty.
Akiyama scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. “... I’ll try my best, okay?” He said with a gentle smile as he made his way to the exit. He’d locate every last person for her. Well, he hoped he’d be able to anyway. Sometimes the wind took him places he didn't want to go, and it was usually never his fault. At least, that's what he liked to tell himself.
“Well, I’m off. See you!” He waved, and Hana quickly returned the gesture before returning her attention back to the paperwork. Akiyama closed the door behind him.
It was a sunny day, he noted, taking his first steps out the office and down the stairs. It’d been pretty sunny as of late, a sign summer was finally coming to Kamurocho.
Akiyama had conflicting feelings about summer. The office was pretty stuffy by default, so when summer came around, it was hell. Their aircon had been broken for years, even before Akiyama had bought the office. So when the time came, Akiyama and Hana would often fight over fan dibs. And yeah, he could get another fan. But honestly, he didn't really care enough to do so. He'd be leaving for Osaka soon, and the aircon there probably worked! And besides, they usually found a workaround anyway, said workaround being Hana leaving the office in rage.
Actually, maybe he did need another fan.
“That’ll be 6500¥, would you like a receipt?"
The obnoxious ‘don-don-don donki!’ that would always echo down Nakamichi Street had been engraved into Akiyama’s head for years now. He faintly remembered his homeless days, strolling through Kamurocho aimlessly, the theme ringing in his ears every time he meandered through Nakamichi Street. And yet, that awful jingle managed to coerce him into the store today.
“No thanks.” Akiyama smiled at the cashier, taking his comically large giant yellow bag and fresh pack of Seven Stars off the counter.
This fan was definitely overkill. He was unsure if he’d even be able to find a locker big enough to hold it. But it was a worthwhile purchase, in his opinion. Its sheer size meant it could potentially be shared between both him and Hana when the time came.
His previous dilemma came back to him though. Seriously, where would he store this thing? He was still due to do collections after all. Maybe going to Don Quijote first was a bad idea. Fortunately, Akiyama didn't have to think for long, an idea popping into his head.
“Sure.” Tanimura said, looking down at the heavy bag in Akiyama’s hands. “I’m sure Zhao wouldn't mind you keeping it here.”
“Thank you.” Akiyama sighed gratefully, placing the Don Quijote brand plastic bag down with a loud thud and giving Tanimura a quick hug. Earlier, he’d checked the coin lockers, just in case, but to no avail. No locker was big enough to accommodate his ginormous purchase.
Once Akiyama had backed away, he noticed Tanimura's gaze begin to constantly shift between him and the bag.
“... What did you buy?” Tanimura asked. Right. He hadn't actually told him what was in the bag.
“Ah, just another fan. The AC unit back at the office doesn't work, and the fan we owned before was too small to share, so it was about time I bought a new one.” He explained.
“Could you not just get it repaired? Like, you have all that money, and you chose to stay with no AC?” Tanimura questioned, a little dumbfounded.
Truthfully, Akiyama just hadn't thought of that. Going into the office for the first time all those years ago, his only goal was to make money, so the broken aircon was the least of his worries. Truly, buying a fan was just a simple solution to a minor problem for him. But if Akiyama told him that he hadn't thought of that, Tanimura would probably start to question his intelligence. So he lied,
“... I just thought it was a hassle.” Akiyama said, scratching the back of his neck. “I have better things to spend it on anyway, like…” Akiyama paused. He wasn't sure why he said that. Tanimura knew just as well as he did that his spending habits were awful.
Fortunately, he did have a valid excuse this time, “Oooh yeah! That new location I'm opening. Did I tell you about that?”
“No, I don't think so?” Tanimura said, a little taken aback. “Is it going to be in Kamurocho, or somewhere else?”
“It’ll be in Sotenbori! I’m going there pretty soon for the opening actually… like, in three days.” Akiyama stated, not thinking much of it. “And I'll be there for a month or so, since there's a lot I have to sort out there.”
Tanimura gave him a blank stare. “Shun, that's six hours away.” He deadpanned. “You didn't think to tell me sooner?” Tanimura said, frustration seeping into his voice.
A giant pang of guilt suddenly hit him. Oh. Maybe he was stupid.
Lately, him and Tanimura hadn't actually seen each other as much as they used to. With Akiyama spending more time focusing on the new location and Tanimura getting promoted, they rarely had time to meet up. But right now they did have time (at least, Tanimura did), so Akiyama wanted to try and make it up to him.
“I’m sorry. It's just that so much has been going on with the branch, I completely forgot to tell you.” Akiyama said softly, approaching Tanimura and bringing him into a much longer embrace. However, it wasn't reciprocated.
Still, Akiyama only brought Tanimura closer, letting one of his hands slide up the small of his back and rest behind his head.
Eventually, Tanimura came around, slowly sliding his hands up Akiyama's back and burying his head into the crook of his neck. And if it weren't for the 3 old timers staring directly at them from the tables, he’d say this moment was pretty intimate.
“We can go back to my place, if you want. You're done for the day, right?” He asked. He could do collections another time. Surely Hana would understand.
Tanimura only nodded as he pulled himself away from Akiyama’s shoulder.
“Alright, let's go.”
“Is a month really necessary?” Tanimura asked.
“Probably not, but you can never be too sure.” Akiyama said, holding the giant bag at his side.
“I guess.” Tanimura replied blankly.
“Sorry.” Akiyama mumbled. “Wasn't even fully my choice anyway…” He sighed. “Hana-chan was the one who wanted me to stay for a month. I could probably do all the work in way less time.”
They soon made it to his apartment, Akiyama pawing at his keys desperately with one hand. His pockets were filled with so much crap it made it very hard to navigate the items he actually wanted.
Luckily, he managed to pull them out of his pocket fairly quickly, unlocking the door to let himself and Tanimura in.
Stepping into the hallway, Akiyama placed the bag down and turned on the light
“You know,” Akiyama stepped out of his shoes. “The time’ll go by quicker than you think, I promise. A month isn't as long as you think it is.” He reassured Tanimura, walking up to him and picking at his tie.
Akiyama gave him a smile as he slid the tie off from around his neck, letting it fall on the ground.
“I just didn’t think you’d be this sad about it.” He teased, removing Tanimura’s outdoor jacket and letting it slide down to the floor, accompanying his tie.
Akiyama let out a soft grunt as Tanimura quickly brought him against the wall, the space between them almost closing.
“You’d be sad too.” Tanimura said.
“I would.”
Akiyama felt Tanimura press his lips against his, the kiss between them tender. Akiyama really wished he could take Tanimura with him. They could've explored the city together. Visit all the bars, try all the food, go to all the hotels…
The kiss began to gain a possessiveness to it, Akiyama quickly bringing his tongue into Tanimura's mouth, coaxing a moan out of him.
Akiyama moved his hands under Tanimura's shirt, and he felt Tanimura pull away from the kiss, his breathing shallow.
“I don't want to…”
“Hm?”
“I just want… to stay with you.” Tanimura whispered, moving away further. He seemed to have changed his mind.
Akiyama gave him an understanding nod. “We can do that too.” He said, moving his hands out from under Tanimura’s shirt and making his way to the living room.
At the living room, Akiyama beelined straight for the futon, letting out an exasperated sigh as he fell on top of it. He stayed put for a while, lying on his face until Tanimura decided to join him.
He repositioned himself, giving Tanimura the space to lie beside him. But instead, Tanimura sprawled himself on top of Akiyama, letting his head rest on Akiyama’s chest.
Akiyama felt content, enjoying the warmth of Tanimura’s body against his.
“Tired?” Akiyama asked.
“A little.” Tanimura murmured into his chest.
Akiyama hummed, wrapping his arms around Tanimura. He lifted his head off the futon and gently kissed the top of Tanimura's head, moving one of his hands up to rest against it.
He liked moments like these, because Akiyama knew he would've been pushed away if he did this at the beginning of their relationship. He was proud of how far he'd come.
Akiyama reminisced a trip they took to Earth Angel when they were only friends, Tanimura telling Akiyama about his aspirations. He mentioned something about a wife and kids, potentially. So when they got together, it was clear Tanimura felt guilty. It seemed as if he had no intention of ever fully letting him in. He remembering the way Tanimura would make sure no one was around before they touched, the way Tanimura would scowl when he was given words of affirmation, the way Tanimura would quickly shove Akiyama away anytime he got too close,
The way Tanimura stumbled over his words the first time he said 'i love you'.
Akiyama flinched as the intimate silence between them was suddenly cut through by the sound of his phone ringing. He rummaged through his pocket and pulled out his phone with hesitation.
Hana.
Akiyama swallowed.
“Who's calling?” Tanimura asked, lifting his head to look over at Akiyama’s phone.
“Hana-chan. I was supposed to be doing collections.” He sighed shakily, flipping his phone open and preparing for the worst.
“CHIEF!!! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU??? YOU ONLY HAD TWO COLLECTIONS TO DO AND YOU’RE STILL NOT BACK AT THE OFFICE!!!"
He’d already made a detour to his apartment, so there was no point in lying or making excuses.
“I haven't done them... Can I do them tomorrow? Something urgent came up and I had to go home…” He wasn't technically lying.
A scoff could be heard from the other end before the yelling resumed.
“Like hell it did!!! Get back to the office NOW!!!”
“Hana-chan!" He whined.
Hana sighed. "Chief, you need to stop making promises you cant keep!"
"Well, I don't really remember promising those collections..." Akiyama said, scratching his head.
"Yes, but you said you'd 'try your best'! Whatever, that's besides the point though, because what you DID promise to me was getting better business practices. And step one to actually getting better business practices would be ACTUALLY DOING YOUR JOB, CHIEF!!!"
"Okay okay! I'm sorry... I'll do the collections tomorrow, okay?" He said.
“FINE! But you better actually do them.” She scolded before hanging up.
Akiyama let out a loud sigh of relief once the line went silent, quickly snapping his phone shut and leaving it on the floor.
A small laugh erupted from Tanimura once the call ended. “She still talks to you like that?” Tanimura asked.
“Yeah. But it's helped me stay working all these years, so I can't complain too much.” He said, wrapping his arms around Tanimura again. "Wait, does anyone at the force still yell at you like that?" Akiyama asked.
"Mm.. Not as much. They have more respect for me now, so they just let me do whatever i want, to be honest.." Tanimura said.
"Lucky." Akiyama sighed.
"You already do whatever you want anyway." Tanimura chuckled, lifting himself up so he could look down at Akiyama. "You gave up on your collections just so you could spend time with me."
"Well, it's easier to do what you want when nobody complains about it..." Akiyama said, his face beginning to flush slightly red.
"True. But it's not like you ever get reprimanded for it." Tanimura said, leaning down a little closer to him.
"That is not true. Sometimes I get kicked out of the office when the weather is bad..." Akiyama argued, much less flustered than he was a few seconds ago.
"... How?" Tanimura fully sat up, genuinely confused.
"Ah, well, Hana-chan takes the office keys from me and locks me out."
"You don't have spares?"
"She takes them too."
Tanimura went silent for a few seconds, silence turning into snorts until he eventually burst out laughing.
"Hey! Don't laugh at me. If you were in my shoes, you'd see how hard it is."
"If I were in your shoes i'd actually be working."
"You and I both know that isn't true."
"Okay, but i'd definitely do a better job than you."
"You'd just gamble all my money away."
"Hey. Don't go there. I haven't had enough time to play Mahjong anyway..." Tanimura sighed sadly, more exaggerated than anything as he laid himself on top of Akiyama again.
Akiyama slowly moved his hands behind Tanimuras back and turned over, Tanimura burying his face further into Akiyama's chest in response to the new position.
Silence filled the room again.
Akiyama hoped he'd be able to return to him sooner.