Work Text:
When Natsuki finally drags himself from his in apartment laboratory, it's a quarter past 11 a.m. He's been up since 5, rising even before the sun, after four hours of sleep. If he had it his way, he wouldn't have slept at all. He's reviewing some of the work of his JCC employed peers; and while he doesn't specifically have a deadline, the task has taken up all his attention. He finds it unfathomably irritating that they, somehow, managed to graduate from the same program, and yet the work he's seeing from his supposed "colleagues" is so mediocre. Where professors would send back a students essay, circled and underlined with red ink, Natsuki mails his coworkers the disassembled pieces of their month long inventions in cardboard boxes. Tinkering away at all hours of the day, attempting to remedy mistakes, because he is a nice guy after all, before deciding that they're better off not existing at all.
Point is, he's been busy. Clearly. His switch to, temporarily, working from home was done so in an attempt to spend more time with his boyfriend; continue to build a life together so that Mafuyu, nearing the age of being a legal adult at this point, might choose to live with them here in Tokyo. So, what that means, in the face of his newly found fixation (which only serves to make him hate his coworkers even more), is that Natsuki sleeps at night. In their bed. His snoring rock of a boyfriend curled into his side. Leg and arm thrown over his waist, from where he himself lays on his back, gripping his shirt so hard that all his sleep tops have a permanent outward fold at the center. That also means that the engineer takes breaks now. Like, actual breaks. Not the "breaks" he took in college, where he'd "rest his eyes" and suddenly fall asleep standing at his desk for half an hour.
He's massaging a knot out of the back of his neck and walking towards the back of the couch. He's just about to ask Shin if he wants to take a late breakfast, when he's distracted by the sound of music. This soft little jingling song, upbeat, and repetitive. He thinks at first that his boyfriend is watching something on his phone. Maybe some silly little cartoon, if the music was anything to go by (which wasn't exactly out of the ordinary, as Shin was always on the lookout for new shows for his baby sister to watch).
Curious, he leans over the back of their dark leather couch, prodding at the edges of the clairvoyants space. He knows that his shitty esper probably, definitely, already knows he's there, but he seems so enraptured by whatever is in front of him that he doesn't even acknowledge him.
When he looks down, he realizes that Shin isn't watching anything on his phone. In fact, he doesn't have his phone in hand at all. Instead, he's holding his Nintendo switch (that Mafuyu of all people bought him for his birthday). The joy cons are a bright blue and gold-ish yellow, where Natsukis are purple and orange, and his fingers are hovering over the thumb grips; clad in cute little, cat shaped, grip caps. He takes a peak at the screen, watching for a few seconds as he picks up what seems to be a little avatar of himself. Carrying the mini version over to a beach with a bonfire.
"What's that?"
He hums casually, bending himself further over the back of the couch. His boyfriend doesn't even have to look at him for Natsuki to see the way his face lights up. The blonde leans back, the junction between his neck and shoulder slotting perfectly against the others jawline. The dark haired engineer tries not to be too obvious, but he can't help the way he melts, inhaling the pleasant scent of tea tree oil wafting from his boyfriends hair.
"It's Tomodachi Life!"
Shin chirps, with the enthusiasm of someone much younger than he actually is. Natsuki hums in response. He's seen the name floating around a bit on his Twitter timeline, although he was never actually really one for Nintendo games.
"Mafuyu told me to get it! It's like a little life simulator, where you can make little versions of people or characters, and then build them a place to live on an island."
The blonde further explains without any prompting. He pans the camera around his island as he speaks. Buildings and houses packed tightly together, roads paved with gray stone, interrupted by small park areas. It's tiny and relatively sparse but it's clear that Shin had Tokyo in mind when he was making it. Natsuki's lips quirk a bit at that. Oh his Shin was such a city boy at heart.
"Look,"
He continues, opening a little tab which reads "residents." He starts flipping through characters as he speaks,
"I haven't added too many people yet. I added Mafuyu first, obviously, he would have thrown a fit if I didn't,"
The character on the screen is short with a flat expression, dressed in a black sweater and green cargo pants. He laughs because it's honestly a spitting image of his brother.
"Then I added me and you,"
Natsuki has to do a double take for a moment, because the mini version of his boyfriend is honestly a dead ringer for the man himself. His cute little smile, dimples, aegyo sal, hell he even managed to give himself his nose piercing. The only difference was that the mini version of himself had his hair in a low ponytail, although, that didn't really matter, since Shin did wear his hair in that style often. It was just that currently he had it down. The mini Shin even dressed the same, wearing a red and white varsity jacket with a tiger on the front and back.
When the other switched to the mini version of himself, he had to suppress the urge to role his eyes. He had the exact same face as his brother, the only real difference being the placement of their moles. His mini version was wearing a black tracksuit, which was honestly extremely similar to the Adidas one he wore in real life. He pointedly ignored the way his boyfriend leaned back further, sending a crooked, mirthful, smirk his way.
"Isn't he cute?"
He teased, eyes narrowing as he fought back against a giggle.
"That's one word for him."
The engineer responded, voice deceptively even; refusing to entertain the other. In response, the blonde looked back down at the screen. A distinct fondness marring his features as he stared down at the game, as if these little creations were something he cared about deeply.
"You and Mafuyu even have the same personality. I didn't even do that on purpose."
He noted, causing Natsuki's eyes to flicker down to the bottom of the little info card on the screen. Decorated purple, reading the words, "personality; ambitious: maverick." He wasn't sure what exactly that meant, but it seemed to melt something in his boyfriends heart, which was undeniably adorable in his opinion.
He continued to show off the rest of his creations after that,
"Then there's Heisuke, Lu, Toramaru, Akira, Amane, All Might and Todoroki from MHA, and Chihiro from Kagurabachi."
This time, he can't bite down his urge to tease the other. Natsuki has always been a fan of things like manga and video games, but when it came to their shelf housing their shared collection; the majority of the space was taken up by Shin. Box sets, nendroids, full figures, he was dedicated to his love for the medium and he knew MHA and Kagurabachi were in his top 5 favorites (alongside Yona of the Dawn, Ajin, and Mob Psycho 100 if he remembered correctly).
"Wow, you added All Might before adding one Taro Sakamoto?"
He asked, tone dipping into a faux admonishment; just because he wanted to see the other squirm. He got a clicked tongue thrown his way in response, although he didn't miss the way that the faintest dusting of blush began to creep into the tip of his boyfriends ears.
"I was gonna add him…eventually. Look, I named my island after him! He can wait."
To further punctuate his point, he switched over to the little tab titled "island info" showing that the name he chose was "Sakamoto's Store". This got a full chuckle out of him, this time around, because of course Shin would name it that. He was probably the most dedicated person to his job that Natsuki had ever met.
The blonde only pouted, finally exiting out of the menus. When he got a full scope of his island again, he noticed a yellow thought bubble from one of the houses, the inside displaying a tangle of black, squiggly, lines. The pair both focused back on the screen at that, Natsuki curious as to what exactly it meant.
"Are you gonna add Hakuri too? To keep Chihiro company?"
Natsuki asked casually, although it was also an attempt to see his boyfriend squirm. His boyfriend was old, the thought earned him a hard glare from the man in question, so he'd never really been immersed in online fan culture. Not in the way that Natsuki or Mafuyu were, at the very least. Which was surprising considering his "otaku" tendencies. When he first started reading Kagurabachi, however, he had became fascinated over the dynamic between the main character Chihiro, a sword smith attempting to atone for his fathers mistakes, and Hakuri, a sorcerer with a fondness for Chihiro as "his samurai." Shin had mentioned it offhandedly, or as offhandedly as he could muster with his obvious embarrassment, that he thought the two would make a good couple.
"So you ship them?"
Natsuki had asked, half hearted, mostly as a joke, because while he was aware of those aspects of "fandoms" he didn't really participate in them.
"What does that mean?"
Were the words he'd gotten in response. When he'd explained the concept to his boyfriend, he'd seen his eyes light up in a way that was honestly so endearing he thought that he might collapse right then and there. Cardiac arrest as a result of Shin's genuine glee at the concept that other people also liked the idea that these characters were queer. And they were talking about it. A lot.
After a while, it became a sort of inside joke. Although they acted nothing like the pair, it was easy to compare the couples; the joy of Shin seeing a queer couple in his favorite shonen for the first time, next to the joy of Shin being in his first relationship with a boy. Chihiro now reminded him of Natsuki, by association, which meant that Shin himself was Hakuri. So, when the engineer says,
"Is Hakuri going to keep Chihiro company?"
What Shin feels is the same as if he'd said,
"Are you going to keep me company?"
"Of course I am, I can't separate them."
He gets in response, attention divided by the little Heisuke on the screen. He's apparently hungry and when his boyfriend feeds him a plate of hyper realistic chili prawns he celebrates with another little jingle. Then that's the end of the interaction.
Natsuki pulls a face a bit at that, because he's an asshole above all else. No matter how much his angel of a boyfriend has mellowed him out. He tilts back a little, cocking his head to the side.
"So what, that's it? You just feed these little creatures that look like our friends all day? That's pretty boring."
He shrugs, curling a hand over Shin's right shoulder. He likes to touch the other when he knows he's being cantankerous. Skin on skin contact so he can feel the way he riles his lover up. It's his favorite vice. He never got into smoking cigarettes or drinking in any real way, so this fills that part of his life that everyone else fills in those ways. Sometimes when he really gets him mad, he'll pin Seba down, strong thighs barricading his waist. He likes to feel Shin's irritation in the dip of his arched back, smiling with all his teeth at the way his boyfriend clutches the front of his shirt.
"Fuck off. At least it's better than whatever that game you like is, Umamame?"
"It's Umamusume, old ass."
Natsuki scoffs and rolls his eyes. Although his fingers still flutter along where his boyfriends oversized shirt leaves his skin bare to the rest of the room.
"Uma-whatever. It's just gambling, you creep. All you play are gacha games."
He argues back, eyes flickering momentarily to where the mini Heisuke begins to walk out of his house.
"That is not true."
He defends himself mindlessly. The urge to argue with Shin is instinctual.
"I…also play Persona."
"3 or 5?"
He shrugs one shoulder, turning the options over in his head. He likes 5 the most.
"2."
Comes his response, sly smile playing his lips, because he's an asshole, and just because his boyfriend doesn't play as many JRPGs as him, doesn't mean he knows nothing. He gets a shove to his shoulder in response, Shin turning his body to him as an incredulous laugh escapes him.
"Eugh, God you're such an ass! Why do I even date you?"
He tries to sound exaggeratedly disgusted around his smile, using the leverage from where he shoved at Natsuki to push away from him. The taller man simply throws his arms over his boyfriends shoulders. Lanky frame curling over the back of the couch even more, pulling the blonde into his space. He rubs the bottom half of his face into his neck, chapped lips brushing against warm skin.
"You wouldn't know what to do without me, shitty esper."
Natsuki taunts in response.
Before their banter can continue, however, the switch makes a slight "ding" sound, grabbing both of their attention. When they look down, in bright yellow lettering, the words,
"What's up with Heisuke?"
flash at them from on the screen. Shin presses A to continue and a cut scene starts playing. The scene features the mini version of himself, staring off at some butterflies as they swarm around a potted flower plant. He looks over at the viewer and the camera cuts back to the mini Heisuke. His eyes comically wide, the background turning pink, as a romantic song begins playing.
"I've never noticed before,"
The robotic voice sounds from the speakers, the music growing louder,
"But Shin is so beautiful. What is this feeling?"
Two options show up at the bottom of the screen. The one on the right has a portrait of the mini Shin above it, the words,
"It must be love!"
Ribboned across the bottom of the screen. The real Shin snorts, obviously taken aback and amused by this, but Natsuki? Well, Natsuki…
"What the fuck?"
He gapes, grip dropping from around the blondes shoulders. He presses the palms of his hands to the cushions of the couch, trapping the other between his outstretched arms. He leans forward, confusion evident on this face.
"What? Shin, why the fuck did he do that?"
His boyfriend has to slap a hand over his mouth to combat the force in which his laughter explodes from his body. He snorts a bit, eyes crinkling in the corners, as the engineer looks between the screen, to his boyfriend, back to the screen again; all as if the game had personally attacked him.
"They-They just do that sometimes! I can't control it."
Shin tries to explain as clearly as possible, huffs of air falling from his lips periodically in amusement. Natsuki is aghast, eyebrows furrowed as he locks eyes with the gleeful man. It's irrational, extremely so, his mind tries to tell him. He knows how video games work, he's not a fool. He could probably code one in 2 months time, tops, if he really wanted to. However, something about the jovial little caricature of his boyfriends best friend, staring love dazed and reluctantly yearning, with his beady little eyes at the screen? It specifically just…upsets him deeply. It…it makes him feel-
"Why would he even do that? We're together."
He asks the question as if Shin had just presented him with something mindbogglingly illogical. Like he'd just said in casual conversation,
"Oh yeah, 2 + 2 is 5."
and then Natsuki had googled it, just to prove a point, and google had taken his boyfriends side. As if the world as he knew it had suddenly been turned on its head for no reason. The blonde has the audacity to laugh even harder, head thrown back, tears leaking from the corners of his eyes,
"That's not how the game works! I couldn't automatically make us date, I just have to make our mii's interact until they, hopefully, fall for each other."
He explains in between humorous deep breaths, wiping at his watering eyes with the palm of his hand. Natsuki doesn't have time to think before he speaks, oddly enough, as he scoffs again. Rolling his eyes in such a wide sweep they sting a bit at the back of his sockets.
"Of course we'll fall for each other. What are you talking about."
He grumbles out the second part of his words as an inarguable statement instead of a question. For what it's worth, the other does melt a bit at that. Shoulders softly slumping, ever so slightly, a crease at the corner of his mouth from where his smile tugs at his lips. Genuine and loving. He leans forward, however, unable to pass up on any opportunity to tease Natsuki back.
"You're jealous."
He concludes, grin widening at the alarms he can physically hear start blaring in the others head. His brain already on defense before it could even begin to process that that was exactly what was happening here. The dark haired man curls his lips into a thin line. He straightens his spine, taking a step back, before crossing his arms. He runs his bottom row of teeth along his top lip, catching on where the dry sky frays at the edges.
"I am not."
He concludes, voice carefully even. Shin hops up, deciding it's his turn to invade the others space. He settles the palms of his hands against the edge of the back of the couch. Leaning forward, curled knuckles facing the opposite direction from Seba. Despite his stubbornness, the standing man takes a step forward. Upper half of his body leaning back a bit, eager to keep up his image of incredulousness, while also standing close enough to catch the other if he falls.
The clairvoyant notices, obviously, licking his lips as he glances down to where the others feet shuffle forward minutely.
"You are crazy about me."
"Stop."
"I mean, just utterly obsessed."
"Oh my god."
The blonde has pushed himself up now, angling his face to look at the other from underneath long pale lashes. His head is tilted slightly to the side, dimples out in full force like sunlight. Although Natsuki had been attempting to look everywhere but at the other, chin tilted up towards the ceiling, he can't help but steal glances. It's a battle of wits, with himself, as he clenches his eyes shut for long pauses. Ignoring the way Shin sings his name, delighting in the various words spewing from his brain,
"God, he's so pretty." "So pretty." "Pretty." "No." "Stop that." "So pretty." "My pretty boyfriend." "Mine." "Mine." "Oh my god, get it together."
When he finally chances a look at the other again, he can't hold himself back. He's pushed one of his curtain bangs loosely behind his ear. His face, flushed slightly from the onslaught of Natsuki's affections, bags under his eyes, and a bit of crusted drool at the corner of his lips (because he'd just woken up an hour ago), is the most beautiful thing he's ever seen. Pretty, content, comfortable in the apartment they share, and real. Not like the mini video game Shin and definitely not like the stupid, ugly, annoying, little miniature version of that moronic sniper-
A laugh is startled out of Shin at the others irritation. Natsuki leans forward, wrapping him in his arms in response. The blonde throws his own arms over the others shoulders, pushing himself up on his powerful knees and calves as much as he can. The engineer is peppering kisses all over his face, purposely avoiding his lips, because he's petty like that.
"You better tell that little shit it's all in his head."
He demands, pressing his cheek into Shins. Like if he presses hard enough they'll become one. The other simply presses back with just as much force, love rippling through them, starting from where they connect.
"Of course. After we eat our late breakfast."
He agrees, reminding Natsuki why he left his lab in the first place. To have a real breakfast, with his real boyfriend, in their real shared home. God, he couldn't be happier.