Archive of Our Own

Harua should have expected for his day to go as horrible as possible when he woke up to the sun hitting his face and the clock telling him he overslept for more than an hour.

Before the half-asleepines people tend to have right after waking up can even kick in, Harua's feet are already in his fluffy bunny slippers, running towards his bathroom.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," he whispers under his breath, trying to push out the very little toothpaste that's left in the tube. "Not today!"

Why is Harua so stressed on a Sunday morning you may ask? Well, the answer is simple - one of his regular customers, the super rich ones who always give him a tip so big he allows himself to buy the fancier brand of ice cream instead of the regular store-brand one, ordered a cake for today.

Harua had made many cakes for them before, but he knew this one's especially important for them. It's a cake for theirs son's first birthday, which, in parents' eyes at least, is always a big thing.

He had the whole morning planned out - wake up, wash himself up and have some breakfast, chop up the fruit and decorate the cake, leave the house right at the time he knew traffic was good and deliver the cake, safely, calmly.

Now all that's left from the plan is the work, not the relaxed peace he wanted to do it at.

Still in his old worn out pajamas, which consist of  hot pink shorts, covered with chocolate glazed donuts and a tank top with the words 'gaslighting is not real, you're just crazy' on it, he sprints into his kitchen, swinging open the fridge so fast that one of the juice bottles that was in the door falls over and spills on the floor.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Harua yells out as if there was anyone to hear him, lowering down and quickly picking up the bottle to stop the mess from spreading even more. With few wipes he manages to clean the floor, as there wasn't much juice in the box to begin with.

When Harua stands up to continue what he was doing before, he decides to take a moment, breathe in and try to not make any mistakes again.

He takes out strawberries, blueberries and even some raspberries, putting it down on the counter.

He starts cutting them one by one, precisely into an aesthetically pleasing shape. He was always, since the beginning of his cake business, very good at cutting the fruit and decorating, making his business to grow rapidly, gaining new orders every day, but today's different. His hands are shaky, making him waste many strawberries because he doesn't view them as good enough.

When he's somehow pleased with the fruit, he takes the icy baby blue coated cake out of the fridge, ready for him to start decorating.

He quickly checks the clock. "I still have thirty minutes... common, you can do this Harua," he encourages himself while putting on his gloves, then slowly placing the first strawberry, so carefully as if it was a diamond.

The design customers chose for this cake is very simple, something Harua has done like a million times already. Evenly distributed fruits, topped with whipped cream and a lettering of the customer's choice.

When placing the last blueberry, Harua's heart immediately feels a little lighter, hoping he can finish the cake in time.

For his luck, the coffee he had with his best friend Taki yesterday made him unable to sleep well, resulting him to prepare the icing for the lettering beforehand, all that's left to do is to wrote it.

Harua quickly pulls out his phone, rechecking the order details to make sure he remembers the text correctly. 'Yuma' is everything that's requested, making Harua let out a relieved sigh.

With the swirly handwriting he officially finishes the cake, only twenty minutes behind his planned schedule. He throws all the other ingredients back into the fridge (yes, even the knife he cut the fruit with, he truly was in a rush), grabs his car keys and sprint-walks out of his apartment still in his pajamas, making sure the cake's safe.

As he parks his car in the closest parking lot to where the customers live, he takes the cake out, making sure everything's fine while already walking towards the house. And that was his mistake.

Due to not paying enough attention, he bumps into a stranger, forcing not only him, but mainly the cake to fall on the ground.

"No!" Harua exclaims loudly, instinctively reaching out his hands to catch the cake that's already on the ground. "No, no, no, poor Yu-chan! Well, there goes my ice cream," he sighs sadly, trying to pick up the box as carefully as he can.

The person he bumped into clears their throat, reminding him they're still here. When Harua looks up to see who's the mysterious cake-ruinerer, his breath gets caught and his heart drops.

In front of him is standing Hirota Riki, or Maki as everyone calls him, the heart throb from the high school he went to himself.

"Harua-ssi?" recognition meets Maki's eyes and Harua just swallows empty.

Out of all the people he didn't want to see again from his high school, Maki was always the top of his list. Well, sort of.

With the unexplainable charm, and the stunning visuals, Maki was someone who owned everyone hearts, declining love confessions almost every day. Not only girls fell for him, in fact, Harua knows that Maki was many guys' gay awakening. He himself, unfortunately, included.

It wasn't that Maki got him into a crazy crush obsession, the whole thing lasted as long as the time it takes to bake a cake (yes, Harua will always find ways to include cakes and baking in general references to everyday conversation, bear with it) and more than a crush it felt like a soft flush over the 'perfection' of Maki.

Harua hated the way his teeth looked perfectly straight, revealing themselves every time Maki put on that breath-taking smile of his. 

He hated how even with messy hair Maki managed to look like from a hair product ad.

He hated the way his clothes always fit him so perfectly, as if they were screaming 'hey, I work out' for everyone to hear.

But mostly he hated how he didn't hate those things at all. 

His solution? Ignore him, forget him, never see him again.

Mission: failed.

Maybe I should just pretend I don't know him and run away, Harua thinks to himself but seeing Maki's face slowly light up, smile suggesting the two of them used to be good friends, which they definitely weren't, smile growing on his lips, he knows it's too late now. He's doomed.

"It is you!" Maki says happily as id he couldn't believe it. "It's been so long! How have you been?" the question leaves Maki's lips more out of a habit.

"Maki," Harua calls out his name with much less enthusiasm. "Currently?" he establishes on Maki's question, looking down at the smashed cake. "It's really fucking bad, thanks for asking," his voice comes out as sarcastic as Harua wanted to, causing a soft glimpse of a smirk appear on the corner of his lips.

Maki's smile drops, seeing just how bad the cake looks. "Damn, I'm so sorry dude- please, tell me that your family or friends can reschedule or maybe do the party without a cake...? I'll pay you for a new one later," his tone sound genuinely sorry, making Harua taken aback a bit.

"For your woe, this cake is for a customer of mine, and it's supposed to be delivered... well, now."

Maki's eyes widen. "Oh-"

A phone beeping interrupts them. Harua, hearing his Gangnam style ringtone he set like five years ago, thinking it was an amazing idea, makes a mental note to change it to avoid awkwardness similar to the one between him and Maki now.

"Can you... will you..." Harua isn't sure how to ask Maki to hold the cake without sounding like a complete loser, fortunately, Maki grabs the box with no hesitation, making Harua's hands empty.

"I'll try to make it quick," he murmurs towards Maki.

"You're good," Maki gives him a soft smile, which resolves in Harua's heart skipping a beat.

"Hello?" he tries to play it off by taking the call.

"Mr. Shigeta? Hello, this is Mrs. Nakakita," a feminine voice says and Harua swallows nervously.

They're already calling to tell me to fuck off, aren't they? Harua immediately thinks of the worse situation, as his overthinking self always does.

"H-hello?" he answers with shaky voice.

"I know this is very selfish of us, but my husband got into an incident and we need to postpone the party for Yu-chan..."

"An... accident?" Harua repeats, not believing his own ears.

"Just a small one, don't worry, but... do you think it would be possible to deliver the three hours later than we originally agreed on?"

Harua's at lost of words. This must be a miracle, he thinks to himself, nodding quickly as if Mrs. Nakakita could actually see him.

"Yes, of course, that's fine," he says, a smile growing on his lips which he doesn't bother hiding, even with Maki in front of him.

"You're amazing! Thank you so, so much, we'll make sure to tip you well, honey!"

"No worries," Harua adds nonchalantly as if this 'accident' thing just didn't save his ass, ending the call so that Mrs. Nakakita can't say nothing more.

He lets out a relived sigh. 

Okay. I can fix the cake, if I leave quickly.

He looks at Maki to take back the cake, but when he sees his puzzled expression, suddenly he feels like he owes him an explanation. 

This isn't just because I wanna see him for few moments more, he convinces himself.

"The customer just called, asking if it's possible to deliver the cake three hours later," Harua explains his excitement and Maki just nodds.

That was all Harua expected. With that, he takes the cake, jumps back into his car and quickly drives back home to fix everything.

So he gets shocked more than you'd expect when Maki says: "Let me help you then."

Harua blinks three times, wondering if he heard him right. "W- what?"

"It's my fault the cake's ruined. Might as well help you fix it. It's the least I could do," Maki explains calmly, not pointing out Harua's staring in the slightest.

"I- you really don't have to, I can-"

"Please," Maki interrupts his stuttering.  

Harua knows that if he wants to fix the cake in time, he needs to go now. 

And with not enough time, also come poor decisions. A help wouldn't kill me, Harua reasons to himself.

In the end, he just nods. "Fine. But we need to be quick."

Maki's smile grows once again. "I'll be as fast as Flash," he says, following Harua who's already walking towards his car.

"Who?" Harua asks with his pure knowledge of superheros - he can name like 150 different types of cakes but believes that batman and spiderman are from the same universe.

"It's a- You know what? Never mind," Maki gets a little embarrassed for making the reference, but seeing Harua who low key doesn't give a fuck about it calms him down again.

He sits down in the passage's seat, not bothering to ask whether he can or not.

"Okay," Harua starts the car, slowly driving away from the parking spot. "First, we'll stop by the supermarket to buy some fresh fruit," he says the plan to Maki, who frowns in confusion.

"Can't you just reuse these? They just fell from their original placement, it's not like they're not eatable anymore.

Harua gives Maki a quick death glare before looking back at the road. He knows his perfectionism sometimes reaches the level of being 'way too much', but he really doesn't feel like arguing right now.

"You agreed to help me fix the cake, and we're doing it in my way, fine?" Harua's tone of voice comes out more annoyed than he intended it to, making him feel a little bad.

"Right. Sorry," Maki apologizes, sadness in his voice making Harua feel truly bad.

"It's not like I waste them. I eat them for breakfast. And lunch. And dinner," Harua tries to make him feel a little better again.

  "So you really need things to be perfect, huh?"

"I guess," is all Harua can come up with. "It's the way I always did my cake business."

"Cake business," Maki repeats, staring at the cake box in his hands. "So this is what you did right after high school?"

"Hmh," Harua hums. "I've always loved baking them. Cakes, I mean. It felt like the obvious answer."

"That's so cool," Maki says excitedly, in a way that makes Harua believe he truly thinks this job is amazing.

"Cool? What are you doing? If it's lawyer or something and you're calling my job cool, you're stepping out of this car, right here, right now."

That makes Maki laugh, the sweet sound hitting Harua's ears, making his chest feel warmer than he'd like to admit.

"Don't worry, I'm a package deliver."

"Really?" Harua can't believe him. "You're so smart," he says before he can even think.

"Thanks, but... it might sound weird but I really enjoy this job. Seeing people's eyes light up when they get the package they waited for for so long or hearing how grateful older people are when I carry their heavy packages right to where they need them to be is... weirdly fulfilling."

Harua never thought of that job like this. It's not something he'd chose to do, but he finds himself genuinely happy for Maki.

"Seems like you're the cool one then," Harua teases and Maki's cheeks get flushed.

Silence grows in the car for the first time since they got in, giving Harua enough time to think about the situation he's currently in.

He's in his car, on his way to fix a cake that was supposed to be already delivered, with Maki, the guy who made him realize that maybe the fact his favorite color has always been pink and growing up he begged his parents to play with barbies instead of cars mean more than he thought they do.

And to think that Maki, who's dressed in an elegant looking dark green sweater, shirt popping up from underneath and light blue barel jeans that tie the whole look together, while he's freezing his ass off in the pajamas makes him feel embarrassed.

"Love the tank top, by the way," Maki comments as if he was reading Harua's mind all along.

"It's my pajamas, okay? Today's just..."

"Hard?" Maki guesses.

"You could say it like that."

When arriving at the supermarket, Harua makes sure to park as close to the entrance as possible.

"So," he turns to face Maki. "You'll grab the blueberries, just make sure to grab the Kimchi's brand. There are still some raspberries left in the fridge so I'll take just strawberries. Understand?"

This feels like a mission, Maki thinks as he answers: "Yes, sir." 

Harua just shakes his head and rolls his eyes, stepping out, Maki following him quick after.

"Hi, Molly!" Harua greets one of the employees, who waves at him back with a smile on her face.

"You go here often?" Maki asks.

"Every day, basically. I like my materials fresh."

Maki hums in an answer, too busy looking for the fruit section.

"Right here," Harua points at it as if he was able to tell Maki was struggling.

They both grab what they agreed on, sprinting towards the cash registers to pay.

"Another cake?" Molly asks while scanning the fruit.

"You know me," Harua shrugs his shoulders with a smile that looks forced.

"And who's this cute boy you brought with you?" her curiosity doesn't stop.

Harua and Maki flush at the same time, meeting each others faces, trying to find an explanation.

"Well, he's-"

"An assistant. For today," Maki answers before Harua can.

Molly raises an eyebrow, looking like she wants to ask more but seeing the rush the boys are in, she decides to let it be.

"You're all good," she says instead after Harua pays, watching the two rush out of the store.

"Now," Harua starts the car as soon as they get in, not even taking one breath in before, "my apartment looks appropriate for someone who had a busy week and definitely wasn't expecting anyone to come over, so I don't wanna hear any negative things about it."

Maki, who himself is one big of a mess, chuckles. "Don't worry, I won't."

"Warned you," is everything Harua says before unlocking the front door and letting Maki walk in. 

The whole thing definitely is a mess. Things are everywhere you look, from the watermelon lip gloss left on the armchair, random pennies, jewelry, stickers laying in every corner to different bags spread out across the living room when Harua wasn't able to choose which one matches his outfit better. The only clean, spotless place is, of course, the kitchen, perfectly showing Harua's personality and preferences.

Maki, as if Harua's mess was just a second home to him, walks in, confidently, not a single question leaving his mouth. Harua's impressed, he respects Maki for being so mindful. 

"The kitchen's right there," he points to it and Maki walks in, putting the cake on the counter.

"I think the fridge and stove might gave it away, but thanks for clarifying," Maki teases him with a smirk that makes Harua roll his eyes.

"Lets put the cake into the fridge while we cut the fruit," Harua points at the fridge with his chin, waiting for Maki to do what he said. "While you're at it, take out the raspberries also, please."

"You got it," Maki swing opens the fridge, putting the cake in. As he reaches for the berries, chuckle escapes from his mouth.

"What?" Harua doesn't understand.

Without saying anything, Maki takes out a knife from the fridge, the knife Harua accidentally showed in it in the morning rush.

Harua can feel his cheeks getting hot, pouting at Maki who's still chuckling. "I was in a rush, okay? Quit it, delivery boy."

"Delivery boy? Should I take that as a compliment or offense?"

"Just a nickname. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Okay then, cake boy," Maki puts on a flirting smirk, making Harua's heart skip a beat.

"Out of context that could sound really weird, you know?"

Maki suddenly leans closer, making Harua wonder about his next move. "Let's keep it to ourselves then, shall we?"

If Harua's cheeks weren't red before, now they definitely are. He pushes Maki away. "Quit the flirting."

"Chill, I was just joking," Maki laughs it off. Except this wasn't a joke to Harua and he hates how fast his heart is racing right now.

"Let's just start. You'll wash the fruit we just bought and I'll prepare the raspberries," Harua looks away, in the excuse of trying to find a cutting board, while in reality he's just trying to hide his flushing.

"At it," Maki doesn't waste a second and does as Harua says.

Cutting the fruit goes better than Harua expected. Unlike his morning self, every strawberry he cut was perfect, and he found out that Maki is strangely good at precisely cutting blueberries.   

"You must have done this before," Harua says when seeing the precision Maki puts into each cut.

"This is my first time, I swear," Maki tries to hold in his laugh.

"How come you're so good at this?"

"I have an amazing teacher," Maki smirks.

Here he goes with the flirting again, Harua thinks to himself.

"I only showed you once."

"Yes, and it was captivating."

"Quit it, wont 'ya?" 

Maki shakes his head, finishing the last blueberry. "Should I take the cake out?" he points at the fridge and Harua nods.

They carefully get rid of the toppings, leaving a blank canvas to paint on as Harua likes to say.

"What do I do now?" Maki asks, wondering how he could help.

"Watch me being captivating," Harua plays into Maki's flirt, making a smile immediately grow on his lips.

"Gladly," Maki sits down on the chair that gives him a perfect side view of Harua, showing he takes his task seriously.

Harua knows there's not enough time to argue with him, so he just starts decorating, ignoring Maki's gaze.

As Harua finished the cake for the second time today, a sigh of relief leaves his mouth.

"Now, let's make sure we'll deliver it safely."

"I'll protect the cake as if it was my own child," Maki says standing up, completely serious.

Harua laughs. "Child? You're being over dramatic again."

"Nothing's too dramatic when it comes to cakes."

"Arguable. I'll respect it," Harua responds simply, preparing a new box for the cake as the last one got sticky from icing and fruit.

"Ready to go?" Maki asks so casually, as if the two of them owned this cake business together and this was an every day thing for them. As if the two of them didn't meet for the first time in five years today.

"Yeah," Harua hides his thoughts while walking out of the apartment, followed by Maki who instinctively grabbed the cake, instead of letting Harua carry it.

The car ride is quiet, not like the one to the supermarket at all. There's only one joke that Maki made, something about raspberries, but Harua didn't really listen, lost in thoughts.

They arrive at the same parking lot like Harua parked in this morning, wordlessly walking towards Mr. and Mrs. Nakakita's house.

As always, the one to open the door is Mrs. Nakakita, her hair curled into perfect curls, her lips the perfect shade of red. She looks at the cake, covers her mouth while saying how beautiful it is, taking Harua into a small, polite hug and paying him with an extra big tip. All of it became something like a ritual to Harua. He usually enjoys it. But the fear of what's about to come weights his chest so much that any thought of happiness doesn't cross his mind, not even his favorite cookie dough ice cream could make him happy right now.

As the two of them leave, walking towards Harua's car, the tension could be cut into pieces.

"So... I guess this is it," Harua finally adresses what he was trying to ignore for a while.

"Yeah... I guess," Maki says in a tone that mimics Harua's perfectly.

"See you around," Harua says awkwardly.

"Yeah. Bye," Maki waves a little before turning around and walking away.

But... something in Harua doesn't want to let Maki go. Something in him wants for today to never end, for another cake being ruined so that he would have an excuse to be with him longer.

And something in him tells him that Maki might feel the same.

And so he does the one thing that feels like straight out of a romance k-drama.

"Wait!" he yells, making Maki turn around immediately. So quickly in fact it seems like Maki was waiting for him to stop him.

"Wanna... come over today?" Harua asks shyly, all the fear of rejection going away once he sees the bright smile on Maki's lips.

"Thought you never ask," he runs up back to Harua, his shyness matching Harua's.

The car ride is quiet again, but not in the way it was before. No. Now it feels exciting, not knowing what's about to come.

From time to time the two exchange quick glances, followed by getting red in their cheeks, making everything so painfully obvious, yet still managing to not see each other's flush.

 Harua unlocks the door, quickly closes it after Maki gets in and for a moment they just stare into each other's eyes. One would say the moon today is too beautiful to not look at it but Harua feels like he'd only look at it if it was trough the reflection in Maki's eyes. 

And before Harua could make his heart calm again, Maki moves closer to him, slowly, giving him enough time to move away. But Harua stays, his body heating up every second it's not touching Maki's.

"Can I..." Maki's eyes lower from Harua's eyes down to his lips, breathing heavily. Harua just nods, softly closing his eyes, making himself vulnerable to Maki.

Maki's lips meet his like a soft wave hitting you in the sea. There's no rush to it. It's not fast or hungry'like, but Harua loves every second of it. Harua's hands hols Maki's waist, pulling him a bit closer, the only thought in Harua's head being that he wants to take Maki's sweater off to feel his skin better.

Maki angles his head to deepen the kiss, trying to make Harua as comfortable as possible. His hands go under Harua's tank top, the cold fingers tickling Harua's hot stomach.

Maki pulls out. "Harua, do you have a fever?" his tone is full of worries.

"Of course not. Now shut up and kiss me more," Harua tries to order but Maki stops him before their lips can meet again.

"Let's check first. I'm worried about you."

Even though Harua is displeased with the lack of Maki's touch, he can't help himself but feel happy seeing Maki worried as if what they have is something real.

"Where do you have a thermometer?" Maki asks, his hand sliding into Harua's.

"Bathroom," Harua answers simply, dragging him there.

"39.4... Harua, that's high," Maki reads the number one he measures Harua, a wrinkle forming on his forehead.

"It's okay. I'm feeling good," Harua tries to brush it off, ignoring his headache.

Maki keeps staring at the number, staying silent for a moment too long, making Harua nervous.

So he'll just leave? Right now? He can't help but wonder.

Then finally, Maki looks up with a soft smile. "If this is going to happen between us... I want you to feel good, Harua. I want you to enjoy it as much as I will."

Harua’s breathing gets caught. "But I'm enjoying it, trust me, I-"

"Harua," Maki interrupts him. "Let me take care of you, hmh?" the question sounds more like a statement, and takes Harua aback so much he just silently nods, letting Maki drag him into his own bed.

"I'll be right here, okay?" Maki says as he tucks Harua under the blanket and suddenly the fear of Maki leaving fills Harua once again.

Before he can leave, his hand grabs Maki's wrist, making him turn around quickly.

"I don't want you to leave," Harua says with so much honesty it feels just like a dream.

Maki lowers to be on the same eye level as Harua, a soft grin meeting his lips. "I just wanted to make you some tea, Harua. I'm here, don't worry."

Harua feels like his fever is getting even worse with each Maki's word that's so full of affection, it makes chest feel warmer and warmer.

"I don't want a tea."

Maki's smile grows, admiring Harua's cuteness. "Okay then. Let me in," he points to the bed and Harua imminently moves to the side, making space for him.

Before getting in, Maki takes off his sweater, reviling the white shirt underneath. 

He crawls under the blanket, so close to Harua they can feel each other's warmth.

A moment of silence where they stare into each others eyes passes, interrupted by Harua speaking again. "You know..." he starts shyly, "the best way to regulate one's temperature is by skin to skin contact..."

"Are you implying you want to hug me?" Maki says boldly, leaving Harua's cheeks flushed as he softly nods.

"I like that idea," Maki says as he spreads his arm out, making space for Harua.

Harua, who didn't expect Maki to agree so easily, stares at him blankly, trying to figure out whether this is just a joke. But Maki is patient, still smiling softly at Harua, giving him as much time as he needs. 

And so, Harua softly lays his head down on Maki's chest, hugging his body with his arms, closing his eyes to fully enjoy the contact.

"Can I tell you something?" Maki asks suddenly, his voice sounding as sweet as honey in Harua's ears.

"Hmh."

"I- I actually had a crush on you in high school."

That makes Harua's eyes open up once again. "You what?"

"I know you didn't like me at all back then but I just thought you were so pretty... and smart... talented... the way you danced always left me speechless... anytime I saw you laughing with Taki I desperately wanted to be the one who makes you laugh instead." Confession after confession leaves Maki's mouth making Harua shocked even more.

Dancing? Someone actually paid attention to me?

"You're joking..."

"I'm truly not."

"Maki..."

"Yeah?"

"You were literally my gay awakening."

Now it's Maki who's left speechless. "What?!"

"Yeah."

"Why did you act so cold towards me then?"

"I was an edgy teenager who just found out he likes boys. And I thought there's like zero chance you'd like boys, too, so..."

Maki sighs. "Oh, Harua..."

Something about the way Maki says his name makes Harua's heart skip a beat. But for the first time today, he isn't mad at himself for it doing so. Right now he believes that maybe everything could have a good ending.

"Hey, Maki."

"Yes?" he answers while drawing circles on Harua's back.

"What are we?" Harua asks the feared question.

"What do you want us to be?" Maki avoids answering.

Harua decides that there's no more time for shy dodging of the feelings he has. "Boyfriends," he says truthfully.

"Then that's good," Maki says, his tone happy. "I want us to be boyfriends, too."