[One-shot] Panorama
Title: Panorama.
Character(s): Inoobu.
Genre: AU, romance, fluff.
Rating: PG.
Disclaimer: Nope.
Summary: Yabu is a photographer. Inoo works at a camera shop. Their paths cross and Yabu falls in love.
A/N: Prompt. An x'mas/new year fic for gigglepantz ♥
Yabu strolled down the busy streets of Tokyo, clad in a black rimmed glasses and baseball cap covering half his face, wearing a simple t-shirt with a light jacket rather than his usual suits. He whistled casually as he made his way through the sea of people, mostly businessmen, towards a particular shop by the junction. Reaching his destination, he opened the door to the camera shop, the sounds of bells ringing in his ears.
He rummaged through his bag, taking out his Nikon D3X, as he walked towards the counter. "Masuda-san, I was trying out the lens you recommended last week but it seems like-” Yabu stopped in middle of his sentence when he raised his head not to be met with Masuda's face, but rather an unfamiliar, younger one. He studied the boy's features, taking in the pale skin against the jet black hair, rounded eyes staring back at him, red lips forming into a smile.
"Masuda-san isn't in today. He had to deal with some personal things. I'll be assisting you instead. How may I help you, sir?"
Yabu blinked, eyes still focusing on the boy in front of him, thinking of how photogenic he'd be. He squinted as he tried to read the name on the badge: Inoo Kei.
Inoo shifted uncomfortably, clearing his throat, immediately snapping Yabu out of his reverie. "Uhm, sir?"
"Ah, sorry about that."
Giving a small smile, Inoo shook his head politely, a sign to say that it was okay. "How may I help you?" he repeated again.
"Well, last week Masuda-san recommended me this lens." Yabu passed the item, along with his camera, towards Inoo. "I tried it but it doesn't seem to work. The pictures come out blurry and unrefined."
"Hm, let me see," Inoo mumbled as he examined the object. While he was doing that, Yabu was checking him out from under his cap, observing whatever he could see of Inoo from behind the counter.
"I know what the problem is. He gave you the wrong size," Inoo chuckled. "I'm guessing your main objective is scenery?"
"Yeah," Yabu answered. "And sometimes figures too." He watched as Inoo nodded, disappearing into the back of the shop before coming back with a new lens in hand.
Inoo substituted the two lenses and gave it back to Yabu. "Check it out. That should be better."
Taking his camera from Inoo's hands, he stepped out of the shop, focusing on scene in front of him. After taking a snap, he went back in, inspecting the picture on the little screen and smiled at Inoo. "It's perfect."
"Good," Inoo said, returning the gesture. "If you want to take pictures of people, just change it to the standard lens."
"I know that." Yabu grinned, causing Inoo to blush slightly.
"Okay, since you already paid for the previous lens, you wouldn't need to pay full price for this one but it's more expensive so you'll need to chip in a little bit more money."
"How much?"
"¥ 24, 800. You can pay installments if you'd like-”
"No, it's fine." Yabu took out his wallet from his back pocket, handing Inoo a credit card. He smiled in amusement when he saw the shocked look the other boy wore. "Is there something wrong?"
"N-no." Inoo took the platinum card, swiping it across the slot and pressed a few buttons. Yabu played around with his camera, changing the lens, and focused it on Inoo.
Too immersed in his work, Inoo hadn't realised that Yabu took a picture of him until he heard a click, instantly shooting his head up to see the thin man smirking.
"Did you...just take a picture of me?"
"Yup~" Yabu replied nonchalantly.
"W-why?" Inoo asked a little freaked out, handing the man a small piece of paper to sign.
Yabu shrugged, scribbling his name, keeping one part of the paper while Inoo kept the other. "My instincts told me to."
"B-but, you can't just do that! It's a violation against my privacy!" Inoo huffed and since there were no other customers in the shop, he figured he could hold the man back for a while.
"Would you still want to claim your privacy if I told you who I was?"
"W-what?"
Yabu withdrew his business card and gave it to Inoo. He heard the boy gasp and smirked inwardly.
"You're Yabu Kota, the current famous and youngest photographer." Inoo's eyes somewhat widened.
"That's who I am." Yabu took off his cap and leaned over the counter, looking up at Inoo who was still gaping like a goldfish, cheeks tinted red.
This was going to be interesting.
For the next few days, Yabu visited the shop to get his camera fixed, buy more products, even get his pictures washed because he was too busy to do it himself.
But those reasons were replaced with the simple need to meet Inoo Kei.
"You're here. Again?" Inoo asked, exasperation in his voice. "Don't you have somewhere else to go? Something else to do?"
Yabu grinned. "Oh don't act like you don't want me here, Inoo-chan. I know you wait for my arrival everyday."
"Don't call me Inoo-chan. You don't know me well enough," Inoo repeated the same thing he has been saying every since Yabu started to call him with that title. "And I do not wait for you."
"It's been a month, Inoo-chan~ I think of you as a close friend now so I deserve to call you by that," Yabu insisted, knowing that he was irritating Inoo all over again. "Why do you look longingly at the door before I come in then? Don't think I haven't noticed. You also smile every time I enter."
"Well you're just a mere customer to me, Yabu-kun. And it's my job to smile, you idiot." Inoo ground his teeth in frustration, not wanting to burst out and cause a racket. "Now what do you want? As you can see, I'm busy and I have other customers to attend to."
Yabu looked around the shop, noticing a few tourists and a young couple looking over the items. He turned back to Inoo, wearing a smug face. "I think Masuda-san has got everything under control."
Inoo closed his eyes, taking in a sharp breath, trying to calm his nerves. "What do you want from me? What do I need to do so that you'll leave me alone?"
"Go out with me," was Yabu's simple answer.
Opening his eyes in shock, Inoo blinked a few times. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me." Yabu straightened himself up from his position of leaning by the counter. "Come on a date with me."
"What?"
Yabu sighed. "Do I need to spell it out for you? I said, go out-”
"I heard what you said! I mean, are you serious?" Inoo didn't need Yabu to say the answer out loud as he met with his eyes, seeing nothing but pure sincerity in those dark brown orbs.
"Of course I am." Yabu reached out across the counter to twiddle with Inoo's hair. "I like you, Inoo-chan~ So will you, please, go out with me?"
Being frozen on the spot, his mouth agape, Inoo could only nod in agreement, making Yabu smile in victory.
"This is your idea of a date?" Inoo grumbled as he settled back into the sit of the bus, leaning his head against the hard cushion.
"What's wrong with it? Haven't you travelled on a date before?" Yabu made himself comfortable beside Inoo.
"I have but not this far! We travelled for two hours and fifteen minutes from Tokyo to Kyoto by the Shinkansen and then to Kashihara-jingu-mae Station for fifty minutes by the Kintetsu Line and another thirty minutes to Shimoichiguchi Station by the Kintetsu Yoshino Line and now we're in this damned bus for another hour to reach the damned destination," Inoo raged everything in one breath, tired.
"...You counted all the hours?" Yabu questioned, a little incredulous, only to shut up when Inoo turned to him, glaring. If looks could kill, Yabu thought, I'd be dead by now.
For the first half hour of the ride, both of them were silent, the sound of tyres against gravels and a boy playing some sort of game filling the quietness between them. Yabu looked to his right to see Inoo's eyes closed shut though he knew the boy wasn't asleep.
"Inoo-chan?"
"Hm?" Inoo grumbled.
"I'm sorry."
Sighing, Inoo slowly lifted his eyelids, turning his head to face Yabu. Yabu could see the exhaustion in Inoo's eyes, the black bags making him look frail.
"Don't worry about it. I shouldn't have been so mad. I just...haven't rested in a while. And you didn't have to go all extreme, y'know. I would have been fine with a simple picnic date or something."
"I know, I guess I just wanted to impress you."
"Not everyone has to be impressed with money, Yabu-kun." Inoo smiled.
"Gotcha." Yabu nodded. "Why do you still call me Yabu-kun, by the way? I'm fine if you called me Kota."
A tint of red flushed Inoo's cheeks lightly, and he suddenly felt tense. "I-um, I think I'll stick with Yabu-kun for now."
"Okay." Yabu slumped, a little disappointed. "Inoo-chan, I've always wondered," he spoke, wanting to keep up the conversation.
"What is it?"
"Why do you always look so worn out? Who are you? What do you do for a living besides working at that camera shop?"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, one question at a time." Inoo chuckled. "Shouldn't you have asked those before you brought me along this trip?"
"I guess...but I kind of act according to my feelings."
"I noticed." Inoo smiled, a hint of amusement glimmering in his eyes. "Well, to answer your questions, I'm Inoo Kei. I work part time at that shop and the reason I'm always looking like a zombie is because I'm also a student at Meiji University."
That sparked Yabu's interest. "Oh really? What do you study? Photography?"
Inoo shook his head. "No, I study architecture. I wanted to take the photography course but I figured only the talented could do it. I'm not good enough and architecture gives me more choice in future. For now, photography is just a hobby."
"I see," Yabu hummed, understanding.
"It must be easy for you though, right? Already famous at a mere age of twenty. I've seen your work too. They're...pretty amazing, I must say."
Getting a compliment from Inoo, Yabu suddenly felt his spirits being lifted. "You think so?"
"Mhmm."
"It's not as easy as you think. I've worked hard ever since I was small, trained by my mother who loved the world of pictures. She was an expert, took the most beautiful photos I've ever seen but sadly, she didn't make it into the career because people looked down on her gender."
"Ugh, how I hate sexism." Inoo repulsed.
"I know, right? It's horrible."
"So you took over for your mom?"
"Yup! And I don't regret it one bit because I found myself falling in love with photography too. Guess it's in my blood." Yabu laughed.
Inoo watched as Yabu's eyes reduced into slits, his skin wrinkling at the edges. "You know, Yabu-kun?"
"Hm, what?"
"You're not so bad after all."
Yabu's laughter slowly died down, his lips still curving upwards in a gentle smile. "I'm glad you think so."
Inoo was about to say something back when he suddenly jerked forward, an indication that the bus had stopped. He looked out the window but couldn't see anything as everything was blanketed by the darkness of the night.
"Looks like we're here." Yabu stood up, taking his bag along with Inoo's from the top compartment. He ignored Inoo's low protest when he took the boy's hand, pulling him out of the vehicle.
As they stepped off the bus, Inoo gasped, finally seeing prettiness of the site that was surrounded by low orange lights.
Yabu smiled in satisfaction. "Inoo Kei, welcome to Tenkawa-Jinja."
"I'm actually glad that you talked to my boss about giving me a few days leave, even if you just wanted to take me out on a date and went overboard," Inoo said as he held tight onto Yabu's hand, stepping over a large buttress root. "I haven't felt this relaxed in ages."
Yabu grinned. "Good. Oh, this is the place."
Inoo looked around, taking in the scenery. He breathed in a large amount of air, grabbing a towel and water from inside his bag. Even though it was still quite chilly, it didn't stop Inoo from sweating profusely because he just wasn't the type to go through hard labour. Toweling his forehead, he drank the bottle clean, not missing one drop as Yabu shook his head, amused.
"So you brought me here so that you could take pictures as well?" Inoo wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
"Yeah, I kind of had no free days so I had to bring you along," Yabu answered truthfully, feeling sheepish. "I hope you don't mind. Please don't get mad at me." He took a protective stance, knowing Inoo hated manipulators. Inoo's answer surprised him though.
"It's okay. I'm lucky to get to see Yabu Kota in action." Inoo giggled. "And if I'm fortunate enough, I might get to learn a few things."
Yabu resisted the urge to pull Inoo into a hug and keep him locked in his arms because he didn't want the boy to think he was a freak. Instead, he settled with his trademark smile.
"Hey, can I roam around a bit?" Inoo asked for Yabu's permission.
"Sure, but don't wander off too far. It's a big forest~ And there are scary creatures."
Inoo rolled his eyes. "Shut up, I'm not ten."
Yabu laughed as Inoo walked away, leaves crunching under his feet. He lifted his camera that was hanging around his neck to his eyes, snapping the scenery of the forest. The bit of light that crawled through trees made everything all the more stunning.
At some parts, rare, colourful birds perched on trees, their feathers bright against the green. Yabu took a few shots of those, moving on to the wild mushrooms and other specimens that grew on the trunks.
The clicking of his camera stopped when he heard Inoo's scream of Oh my God, causing him to quickly rush towards where the boy was situated. His breathing came in heavy pants, leaning against a large tree when he spotted Inoo, crouched down and in one piece, cooing at something.
"The hell, Inoo? You scared me back there!"
"Sorry," he apoligised. "I just couldn't contain my excitement."
"What are you looking at anyway?"
Inoo gestured his hand for Yabu to squat next to him. The photographer complied, eyes widening when he saw the sight in front of him. Inside a small hole under the tree were two baby rabbits, snuggling up against their mother as a protection against the cold. The mother obviously shifted, curving her body even more, wanting to keep her babies warm.
"That's so cute," Yabu whispered, smiling fondly. He raised his camera, making sure that the flash was turned off, before taking a picture of that moment.
They spent their days exploring the area and meeting wonderful, friendly people.
And not once in those days did they ever feel unhappy.
"Hey wait, before we leave, I want to get a chance to pray at the shrine first."
Yabu nodded, trailing behind Inoo. They clasped their hands together, closing their eyes as they prayed to their God. When they were done, they bowed slightly.
The duo was about to head towards the bus when the sound of music filled the air. Averting their heads, they saw a concert being held, a crowd gathering around the artists.
"I wonder what's..."
"Inoo-chan, we need to go."
"Relax, Yabu-kun. The bus leaves in thirty minutes, we still have a lot of time. Can we go watch for a while? Please?" Inoo pouted his lips.
Not being able to stand the pleading eyes, Yabu sighed, giving in. "Fine, fine. Not too long, okay? We might miss our ride back home."
Inoo beamed gleefully, tugging Yabu towards the crowd, their hands fitting perfectly together. He didn't know that his action sent Yabu's heart fluttering, a million butterflies bursting in his stomach.
As they blended in the sea of people, clapping their hands along the rhythm of the music, Yabu heard Inoo asking an old lady:
"What is the concert for?"
The old lady raised her eyebrows in surprise. "You don't know? You come here and you don't know?"
Inoo shook his head, embarrassed.
"These artists come here regularly to perform for Benzaiten, the goddess of music and fine arts. It is dedicated to her spirit."
"Oh, I see."
Yabu could see the interest shining in Inoo's eyes as he smiled at the performers. He whipped out his camera from his bag, taking snapshots of the concert. Feeling a poke to his side, he looked at Inoo who was staring back at him with a big, goofy smile splayed across his face and before the younger boy could protest, the shutter to his camera clicked.
"Hey! I wasn't ready! Delete that!" Inoo demanded as he reached for Yabu's camera.
"No, I like it." Yabu smirked as he stretched out his long arms high above his head, giving Inoo no chance of retrieving it.
Inoo growled, his good mood totally ruined as he stalked off towards the bus, not caring about the concert anymore. Yabu followed close behind him.
"Aw, c'mon, Inoo-chan, don't be mad," Yabu begged as they took their seats.
"I'm not talking to you."
"But you are right now."
"No I'm not."
"Yes you are."
"No. I'm. Not."
"Yes. You. Are."
"God damnit, Yabu!" Inoo yelled, only to humiliate himself when all eyes shifted to him. He slumped back into his seat dejected, exhaling loudly. "Fine, keep the photo if you want but never, ever publish it to one of your shows or I will haunt you down and made you wish you never lived."
Despite his girly features, Yabu knew that when Inoo was angry, he meant every word he said and that scared him. "I promise."
Satisfied, Inoo sunk into his sit, letting his eyes close as he ignored Yabu for the rest of the ride.
The Shinkansen zoomed rapidly, causing Inoo's sleeping head to fall onto Yabu's shoulder. It was their last ride before they parted their ways in Tokyo. Yabu had truly enjoyed his time with Inoo during the days they spent together, and was a little disheartened at the fact that he won't be able to be with him as much.
Kissing Inoo's head carefully, Yabu whispered, "I don't like you anymore. You throw tantrums, want everything to go your way and you're selfish sometimes.
...I think I'm in love with you. No, I know I'm in love with you. I just wished that you could love me back."
"Morning!"
"Good morn-Oh! Yabu-kun! You came, I haven't seen you in weeks." Masuda approached Yabu, embracing the lanky man in a warm hug.
"Yeah, well I've been busy with the new gallery and all." Yabu returned the gesture, patting the older man on the back.
"How did it go? Your gallery?" Masuda asked, a smile on his face.
"It went well. They really liked the photos I took over at Tenkawa. I can't get full credits though, the place itself was beautiful."
"Modest as ever I see," Masuda teased.
Yabu laughed. "Just being honest, Masuda-san."
As they continued to chat, Inoo came stumbling out of the back room, carrying stacks of boxes. He almost fell when he regained his balance again, putting it on one corner of the shop. Collapsing to the floor, he wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, resting against the boxes. He really wasn't cut out for hard labour. Noticing two pairs of eyes staring at him, Inoo immediately stood up, recognising that a pair belonged to Yabu.
"Hey, Inoo-chan," Yabu started out slowly.
"H-hey," Inoo stammered.
"I'll leave you two alone," Masuda said as he walked towards the back room.
"How have you been? Sorry I haven't contacted you in a while. Been busy sorting out my latest gallery."
"I'm g-good." Inoo felt even more nervous as Yabu came closer. Then, realisation suddenly hit him. "Hold up, new gallery? You didn't include that picture of me, did you?" he inquired, pulling at Yabu's collar, all nervousness suddenly dissipated.
Yabu chuckled, unlatching Inoo's grip on him. "No, I didn't. I promised, right? Yabu Kota always keeps his promises." He grinned when Inoo rolled his eyes. "Besides, I keep it in a special place," Yabu took out his wallet, "right here." He flapped it open, showing the picture of Inoo, in black and white, that he shot.
Inoo stared back at his face, surprising Yabu by smiling.
"Wait, you're not going to argue with me? You're not going to try and rip the picture apart?"
"Nope~"
"Why?"
"Because I heard you when we were in the Shinkansen."
A blush crept up Yabu's cheeks and Inoo resisted the urge to laugh. He could see that the older boy was shocked. "How?" he squeaked.
"I wasn't really asleep, Kota. I was just napping," Inoo explained as he took something from one of the boxes, keeping it behind his back. Casually, he walked up to Yabu, standing close in front of him.
"I-uhm, I-it wasn’t really-”
"Shut up," Inoo commanded. "To be honest, I love you too, Kota."
"Wait, did you just call me-”
Yabu wasn't allowed to finish his sentence when Inoo tip-toed, closing the distance between them. He was pulled closer by the waist and threw one of his arms around Yabu's neck while the other hung in the air, a Polaroid in hand.
A white light flashed throughout the room, capturing the picture perfect moment.
fin.
I did some research about the Tenkawa area. Tbh, I don't know if you can enter the forest but there are shrines and the goddess thing is true. The journey that Inoo mentioned apparently takes you to Tenkawa village? But I think it can be used to go to Tenkawa-Jinja as well :x
Anyway, I hope you liked it, Sanju! Hope you had a Merry Christmas
Character(s): Inoobu.
Genre: AU, romance, fluff.
Rating: PG.
Disclaimer: Nope.
Summary: Yabu is a photographer. Inoo works at a camera shop. Their paths cross and Yabu falls in love.
A/N: Prompt. An x'mas/new year fic for gigglepantz ♥
Yabu strolled down the busy streets of Tokyo, clad in a black rimmed glasses and baseball cap covering half his face, wearing a simple t-shirt with a light jacket rather than his usual suits. He whistled casually as he made his way through the sea of people, mostly businessmen, towards a particular shop by the junction. Reaching his destination, he opened the door to the camera shop, the sounds of bells ringing in his ears.
He rummaged through his bag, taking out his Nikon D3X, as he walked towards the counter. "Masuda-san, I was trying out the lens you recommended last week but it seems like-” Yabu stopped in middle of his sentence when he raised his head not to be met with Masuda's face, but rather an unfamiliar, younger one. He studied the boy's features, taking in the pale skin against the jet black hair, rounded eyes staring back at him, red lips forming into a smile.
"Masuda-san isn't in today. He had to deal with some personal things. I'll be assisting you instead. How may I help you, sir?"
Yabu blinked, eyes still focusing on the boy in front of him, thinking of how photogenic he'd be. He squinted as he tried to read the name on the badge: Inoo Kei.
Inoo shifted uncomfortably, clearing his throat, immediately snapping Yabu out of his reverie. "Uhm, sir?"
"Ah, sorry about that."
Giving a small smile, Inoo shook his head politely, a sign to say that it was okay. "How may I help you?" he repeated again.
"Well, last week Masuda-san recommended me this lens." Yabu passed the item, along with his camera, towards Inoo. "I tried it but it doesn't seem to work. The pictures come out blurry and unrefined."
"Hm, let me see," Inoo mumbled as he examined the object. While he was doing that, Yabu was checking him out from under his cap, observing whatever he could see of Inoo from behind the counter.
"I know what the problem is. He gave you the wrong size," Inoo chuckled. "I'm guessing your main objective is scenery?"
"Yeah," Yabu answered. "And sometimes figures too." He watched as Inoo nodded, disappearing into the back of the shop before coming back with a new lens in hand.
Inoo substituted the two lenses and gave it back to Yabu. "Check it out. That should be better."
Taking his camera from Inoo's hands, he stepped out of the shop, focusing on scene in front of him. After taking a snap, he went back in, inspecting the picture on the little screen and smiled at Inoo. "It's perfect."
"Good," Inoo said, returning the gesture. "If you want to take pictures of people, just change it to the standard lens."
"I know that." Yabu grinned, causing Inoo to blush slightly.
"Okay, since you already paid for the previous lens, you wouldn't need to pay full price for this one but it's more expensive so you'll need to chip in a little bit more money."
"How much?"
"¥ 24, 800. You can pay installments if you'd like-”
"No, it's fine." Yabu took out his wallet from his back pocket, handing Inoo a credit card. He smiled in amusement when he saw the shocked look the other boy wore. "Is there something wrong?"
"N-no." Inoo took the platinum card, swiping it across the slot and pressed a few buttons. Yabu played around with his camera, changing the lens, and focused it on Inoo.
Too immersed in his work, Inoo hadn't realised that Yabu took a picture of him until he heard a click, instantly shooting his head up to see the thin man smirking.
"Did you...just take a picture of me?"
"Yup~" Yabu replied nonchalantly.
"W-why?" Inoo asked a little freaked out, handing the man a small piece of paper to sign.
Yabu shrugged, scribbling his name, keeping one part of the paper while Inoo kept the other. "My instincts told me to."
"B-but, you can't just do that! It's a violation against my privacy!" Inoo huffed and since there were no other customers in the shop, he figured he could hold the man back for a while.
"Would you still want to claim your privacy if I told you who I was?"
"W-what?"
Yabu withdrew his business card and gave it to Inoo. He heard the boy gasp and smirked inwardly.
"You're Yabu Kota, the current famous and youngest photographer." Inoo's eyes somewhat widened.
"That's who I am." Yabu took off his cap and leaned over the counter, looking up at Inoo who was still gaping like a goldfish, cheeks tinted red.
This was going to be interesting.
For the next few days, Yabu visited the shop to get his camera fixed, buy more products, even get his pictures washed because he was too busy to do it himself.
But those reasons were replaced with the simple need to meet Inoo Kei.
"You're here. Again?" Inoo asked, exasperation in his voice. "Don't you have somewhere else to go? Something else to do?"
Yabu grinned. "Oh don't act like you don't want me here, Inoo-chan. I know you wait for my arrival everyday."
"Don't call me Inoo-chan. You don't know me well enough," Inoo repeated the same thing he has been saying every since Yabu started to call him with that title. "And I do not wait for you."
"It's been a month, Inoo-chan~ I think of you as a close friend now so I deserve to call you by that," Yabu insisted, knowing that he was irritating Inoo all over again. "Why do you look longingly at the door before I come in then? Don't think I haven't noticed. You also smile every time I enter."
"Well you're just a mere customer to me, Yabu-kun. And it's my job to smile, you idiot." Inoo ground his teeth in frustration, not wanting to burst out and cause a racket. "Now what do you want? As you can see, I'm busy and I have other customers to attend to."
Yabu looked around the shop, noticing a few tourists and a young couple looking over the items. He turned back to Inoo, wearing a smug face. "I think Masuda-san has got everything under control."
Inoo closed his eyes, taking in a sharp breath, trying to calm his nerves. "What do you want from me? What do I need to do so that you'll leave me alone?"
"Go out with me," was Yabu's simple answer.
Opening his eyes in shock, Inoo blinked a few times. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me." Yabu straightened himself up from his position of leaning by the counter. "Come on a date with me."
"What?"
Yabu sighed. "Do I need to spell it out for you? I said, go out-”
"I heard what you said! I mean, are you serious?" Inoo didn't need Yabu to say the answer out loud as he met with his eyes, seeing nothing but pure sincerity in those dark brown orbs.
"Of course I am." Yabu reached out across the counter to twiddle with Inoo's hair. "I like you, Inoo-chan~ So will you, please, go out with me?"
Being frozen on the spot, his mouth agape, Inoo could only nod in agreement, making Yabu smile in victory.
"This is your idea of a date?" Inoo grumbled as he settled back into the sit of the bus, leaning his head against the hard cushion.
"What's wrong with it? Haven't you travelled on a date before?" Yabu made himself comfortable beside Inoo.
"I have but not this far! We travelled for two hours and fifteen minutes from Tokyo to Kyoto by the Shinkansen and then to Kashihara-jingu-mae Station for fifty minutes by the Kintetsu Line and another thirty minutes to Shimoichiguchi Station by the Kintetsu Yoshino Line and now we're in this damned bus for another hour to reach the damned destination," Inoo raged everything in one breath, tired.
"...You counted all the hours?" Yabu questioned, a little incredulous, only to shut up when Inoo turned to him, glaring. If looks could kill, Yabu thought, I'd be dead by now.
For the first half hour of the ride, both of them were silent, the sound of tyres against gravels and a boy playing some sort of game filling the quietness between them. Yabu looked to his right to see Inoo's eyes closed shut though he knew the boy wasn't asleep.
"Inoo-chan?"
"Hm?" Inoo grumbled.
"I'm sorry."
Sighing, Inoo slowly lifted his eyelids, turning his head to face Yabu. Yabu could see the exhaustion in Inoo's eyes, the black bags making him look frail.
"Don't worry about it. I shouldn't have been so mad. I just...haven't rested in a while. And you didn't have to go all extreme, y'know. I would have been fine with a simple picnic date or something."
"I know, I guess I just wanted to impress you."
"Not everyone has to be impressed with money, Yabu-kun." Inoo smiled.
"Gotcha." Yabu nodded. "Why do you still call me Yabu-kun, by the way? I'm fine if you called me Kota."
A tint of red flushed Inoo's cheeks lightly, and he suddenly felt tense. "I-um, I think I'll stick with Yabu-kun for now."
"Okay." Yabu slumped, a little disappointed. "Inoo-chan, I've always wondered," he spoke, wanting to keep up the conversation.
"What is it?"
"Why do you always look so worn out? Who are you? What do you do for a living besides working at that camera shop?"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, one question at a time." Inoo chuckled. "Shouldn't you have asked those before you brought me along this trip?"
"I guess...but I kind of act according to my feelings."
"I noticed." Inoo smiled, a hint of amusement glimmering in his eyes. "Well, to answer your questions, I'm Inoo Kei. I work part time at that shop and the reason I'm always looking like a zombie is because I'm also a student at Meiji University."
That sparked Yabu's interest. "Oh really? What do you study? Photography?"
Inoo shook his head. "No, I study architecture. I wanted to take the photography course but I figured only the talented could do it. I'm not good enough and architecture gives me more choice in future. For now, photography is just a hobby."
"I see," Yabu hummed, understanding.
"It must be easy for you though, right? Already famous at a mere age of twenty. I've seen your work too. They're...pretty amazing, I must say."
Getting a compliment from Inoo, Yabu suddenly felt his spirits being lifted. "You think so?"
"Mhmm."
"It's not as easy as you think. I've worked hard ever since I was small, trained by my mother who loved the world of pictures. She was an expert, took the most beautiful photos I've ever seen but sadly, she didn't make it into the career because people looked down on her gender."
"Ugh, how I hate sexism." Inoo repulsed.
"I know, right? It's horrible."
"So you took over for your mom?"
"Yup! And I don't regret it one bit because I found myself falling in love with photography too. Guess it's in my blood." Yabu laughed.
Inoo watched as Yabu's eyes reduced into slits, his skin wrinkling at the edges. "You know, Yabu-kun?"
"Hm, what?"
"You're not so bad after all."
Yabu's laughter slowly died down, his lips still curving upwards in a gentle smile. "I'm glad you think so."
Inoo was about to say something back when he suddenly jerked forward, an indication that the bus had stopped. He looked out the window but couldn't see anything as everything was blanketed by the darkness of the night.
"Looks like we're here." Yabu stood up, taking his bag along with Inoo's from the top compartment. He ignored Inoo's low protest when he took the boy's hand, pulling him out of the vehicle.
As they stepped off the bus, Inoo gasped, finally seeing prettiness of the site that was surrounded by low orange lights.
Yabu smiled in satisfaction. "Inoo Kei, welcome to Tenkawa-Jinja."
"I'm actually glad that you talked to my boss about giving me a few days leave, even if you just wanted to take me out on a date and went overboard," Inoo said as he held tight onto Yabu's hand, stepping over a large buttress root. "I haven't felt this relaxed in ages."
Yabu grinned. "Good. Oh, this is the place."
Inoo looked around, taking in the scenery. He breathed in a large amount of air, grabbing a towel and water from inside his bag. Even though it was still quite chilly, it didn't stop Inoo from sweating profusely because he just wasn't the type to go through hard labour. Toweling his forehead, he drank the bottle clean, not missing one drop as Yabu shook his head, amused.
"So you brought me here so that you could take pictures as well?" Inoo wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
"Yeah, I kind of had no free days so I had to bring you along," Yabu answered truthfully, feeling sheepish. "I hope you don't mind. Please don't get mad at me." He took a protective stance, knowing Inoo hated manipulators. Inoo's answer surprised him though.
"It's okay. I'm lucky to get to see Yabu Kota in action." Inoo giggled. "And if I'm fortunate enough, I might get to learn a few things."
Yabu resisted the urge to pull Inoo into a hug and keep him locked in his arms because he didn't want the boy to think he was a freak. Instead, he settled with his trademark smile.
"Hey, can I roam around a bit?" Inoo asked for Yabu's permission.
"Sure, but don't wander off too far. It's a big forest~ And there are scary creatures."
Inoo rolled his eyes. "Shut up, I'm not ten."
Yabu laughed as Inoo walked away, leaves crunching under his feet. He lifted his camera that was hanging around his neck to his eyes, snapping the scenery of the forest. The bit of light that crawled through trees made everything all the more stunning.
At some parts, rare, colourful birds perched on trees, their feathers bright against the green. Yabu took a few shots of those, moving on to the wild mushrooms and other specimens that grew on the trunks.
The clicking of his camera stopped when he heard Inoo's scream of Oh my God, causing him to quickly rush towards where the boy was situated. His breathing came in heavy pants, leaning against a large tree when he spotted Inoo, crouched down and in one piece, cooing at something.
"The hell, Inoo? You scared me back there!"
"Sorry," he apoligised. "I just couldn't contain my excitement."
"What are you looking at anyway?"
Inoo gestured his hand for Yabu to squat next to him. The photographer complied, eyes widening when he saw the sight in front of him. Inside a small hole under the tree were two baby rabbits, snuggling up against their mother as a protection against the cold. The mother obviously shifted, curving her body even more, wanting to keep her babies warm.
"That's so cute," Yabu whispered, smiling fondly. He raised his camera, making sure that the flash was turned off, before taking a picture of that moment.
They spent their days exploring the area and meeting wonderful, friendly people.
And not once in those days did they ever feel unhappy.
"Hey wait, before we leave, I want to get a chance to pray at the shrine first."
Yabu nodded, trailing behind Inoo. They clasped their hands together, closing their eyes as they prayed to their God. When they were done, they bowed slightly.
The duo was about to head towards the bus when the sound of music filled the air. Averting their heads, they saw a concert being held, a crowd gathering around the artists.
"I wonder what's..."
"Inoo-chan, we need to go."
"Relax, Yabu-kun. The bus leaves in thirty minutes, we still have a lot of time. Can we go watch for a while? Please?" Inoo pouted his lips.
Not being able to stand the pleading eyes, Yabu sighed, giving in. "Fine, fine. Not too long, okay? We might miss our ride back home."
Inoo beamed gleefully, tugging Yabu towards the crowd, their hands fitting perfectly together. He didn't know that his action sent Yabu's heart fluttering, a million butterflies bursting in his stomach.
As they blended in the sea of people, clapping their hands along the rhythm of the music, Yabu heard Inoo asking an old lady:
"What is the concert for?"
The old lady raised her eyebrows in surprise. "You don't know? You come here and you don't know?"
Inoo shook his head, embarrassed.
"These artists come here regularly to perform for Benzaiten, the goddess of music and fine arts. It is dedicated to her spirit."
"Oh, I see."
Yabu could see the interest shining in Inoo's eyes as he smiled at the performers. He whipped out his camera from his bag, taking snapshots of the concert. Feeling a poke to his side, he looked at Inoo who was staring back at him with a big, goofy smile splayed across his face and before the younger boy could protest, the shutter to his camera clicked.
"Hey! I wasn't ready! Delete that!" Inoo demanded as he reached for Yabu's camera.
"No, I like it." Yabu smirked as he stretched out his long arms high above his head, giving Inoo no chance of retrieving it.
Inoo growled, his good mood totally ruined as he stalked off towards the bus, not caring about the concert anymore. Yabu followed close behind him.
"Aw, c'mon, Inoo-chan, don't be mad," Yabu begged as they took their seats.
"I'm not talking to you."
"But you are right now."
"No I'm not."
"Yes you are."
"No. I'm. Not."
"Yes. You. Are."
"God damnit, Yabu!" Inoo yelled, only to humiliate himself when all eyes shifted to him. He slumped back into his seat dejected, exhaling loudly. "Fine, keep the photo if you want but never, ever publish it to one of your shows or I will haunt you down and made you wish you never lived."
Despite his girly features, Yabu knew that when Inoo was angry, he meant every word he said and that scared him. "I promise."
Satisfied, Inoo sunk into his sit, letting his eyes close as he ignored Yabu for the rest of the ride.
The Shinkansen zoomed rapidly, causing Inoo's sleeping head to fall onto Yabu's shoulder. It was their last ride before they parted their ways in Tokyo. Yabu had truly enjoyed his time with Inoo during the days they spent together, and was a little disheartened at the fact that he won't be able to be with him as much.
Kissing Inoo's head carefully, Yabu whispered, "I don't like you anymore. You throw tantrums, want everything to go your way and you're selfish sometimes.
...I think I'm in love with you. No, I know I'm in love with you. I just wished that you could love me back."
"Morning!"
"Good morn-Oh! Yabu-kun! You came, I haven't seen you in weeks." Masuda approached Yabu, embracing the lanky man in a warm hug.
"Yeah, well I've been busy with the new gallery and all." Yabu returned the gesture, patting the older man on the back.
"How did it go? Your gallery?" Masuda asked, a smile on his face.
"It went well. They really liked the photos I took over at Tenkawa. I can't get full credits though, the place itself was beautiful."
"Modest as ever I see," Masuda teased.
Yabu laughed. "Just being honest, Masuda-san."
As they continued to chat, Inoo came stumbling out of the back room, carrying stacks of boxes. He almost fell when he regained his balance again, putting it on one corner of the shop. Collapsing to the floor, he wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, resting against the boxes. He really wasn't cut out for hard labour. Noticing two pairs of eyes staring at him, Inoo immediately stood up, recognising that a pair belonged to Yabu.
"Hey, Inoo-chan," Yabu started out slowly.
"H-hey," Inoo stammered.
"I'll leave you two alone," Masuda said as he walked towards the back room.
"How have you been? Sorry I haven't contacted you in a while. Been busy sorting out my latest gallery."
"I'm g-good." Inoo felt even more nervous as Yabu came closer. Then, realisation suddenly hit him. "Hold up, new gallery? You didn't include that picture of me, did you?" he inquired, pulling at Yabu's collar, all nervousness suddenly dissipated.
Yabu chuckled, unlatching Inoo's grip on him. "No, I didn't. I promised, right? Yabu Kota always keeps his promises." He grinned when Inoo rolled his eyes. "Besides, I keep it in a special place," Yabu took out his wallet, "right here." He flapped it open, showing the picture of Inoo, in black and white, that he shot.
Inoo stared back at his face, surprising Yabu by smiling.
"Wait, you're not going to argue with me? You're not going to try and rip the picture apart?"
"Nope~"
"Why?"
"Because I heard you when we were in the Shinkansen."
A blush crept up Yabu's cheeks and Inoo resisted the urge to laugh. He could see that the older boy was shocked. "How?" he squeaked.
"I wasn't really asleep, Kota. I was just napping," Inoo explained as he took something from one of the boxes, keeping it behind his back. Casually, he walked up to Yabu, standing close in front of him.
"I-uhm, I-it wasn’t really-”
"Shut up," Inoo commanded. "To be honest, I love you too, Kota."
"Wait, did you just call me-”
Yabu wasn't allowed to finish his sentence when Inoo tip-toed, closing the distance between them. He was pulled closer by the waist and threw one of his arms around Yabu's neck while the other hung in the air, a Polaroid in hand.
A white light flashed throughout the room, capturing the picture perfect moment.
fin.
I did some research about the Tenkawa area. Tbh, I don't know if you can enter the forest but there are shrines and the goddess thing is true. The journey that Inoo mentioned apparently takes you to Tenkawa village? But I think it can be used to go to Tenkawa-Jinja as well :x
Anyway, I hope you liked it, Sanju! Hope you had a Merry Christmas