Seven Days /// Wednesday: What it takes
When Kazuya left the house the next morning, he was surprised to find Jin standing in front of their gate, waiting.
The night before had been rather strange. Kazuya didn’t really want to admit it, but the urge to see Jin had been huge and he had felt slightly embarrassed about it.
He hadn’t been able to tell Jin what it had been that had set him into that mood and he didn’t think he would be able to bring it up that soon, but sooner or later, Jin would find out.
The question was, if he would still care then.
They had spent a long time down there at the riverside, and hadn’t talked that much, actually. Their hands had been lying close all the while, their fingertips in touch. Kazuya didn’t know if it had any meaning, but he wanted to believe it had.
Jin would open up to him, eventually; Kazuya was convinced he’d make him.
After it had gotten really cold - it was only spring and the nights weren’t as warm yet - Jin had suggested going back and at a street cross they had parted without a word. Jin had thrown him a look, had nodded, but he hadn’t said anything.
But apparently, he was serious about going through the week with Kazuya.
“Morning”, Kazuya said in a cheerful voice.
Jin turned and gave him a calm look. “You’re late.”
“I didn’t know you were waiting.”
Only lifting a brow to that, Jin walked ahead. “Are you feeling better this morning?”
“Who said I wasn’t feeling well”, Kazuya wanted to know, catching up.
Jin snorted. “You want to tell me that sentimental behaviour last night was normal?”
Kazuya laughed slightly and flung his bag over his shoulder, burying his other hand in his pocket. “I am sorry.”
“That’s not how I meant it, though”, Jin answered.
“It didn’t bother you?”
“It would bother me less, if I knew what it was about.”
Kazuya looked at the ground. “It wouldn’t, I think.”
The older one threw him a curious look. “Well, it can’t be helped then, if you don’t want to let me know.”
Biting his lip, Kazuya didn’t look up. He didn’t answer and that was answer enough for Jin. He smiled slightly to himself, as they came closer to the school. Other people were passing them and gave them interested looks.
It was still strange, after all; that Kazuya had asked him out like that. They all thought of them as a couple and even though Jin knew he should feel uncomfortable with that, he didn’t really.
It would be over on Sunday, however and then things would go back to normal; everyone would forget about it and only sometimes, they would bring it up, as if it was one of the funniest stories.
They walked through the gate and into the school. Kazuya didn’t look at Jin, as he walked to his locker to change his shoes. When he was done, he was surprised to see Jin waiting for him once again.
“What is this about”, he wanted to know. “Why are you suddenly that attentive towards me?”
Jin shrugged a shoulder. “You were complaining all the time I wasn’t, weren’t you?”
“It didn’t bother you before, though.”
“You wanted me to stick to the rules, so don’t complain”, the dark brunette only muttered.
Kazuya smiled behind his back and followed Jin. He walked up the stairs a step behind Jin and tried to ignore all the glances he got from most of the girls. He knew they all followed them with glances and curious looks, so when they reached the right room, he caught up to Jin, gripped his sleeve and made him turn with a questioning look.
Kazuya leaned in and for a moment, Jin’s heart skipped a beat as the younger boy’s face came close to his.
“Thanks”, Kazuya said quietly into his ear and drew back again.
Jin couldn’t help the puzzled look in his face; he almost even blushed, but then he noticed that almost everyone in the classroom was staring at them.
“You really are a cheeky brat, aren’t you?”
Kazuya grinned at him. “I try my best.”
He couldn’t stop the laugh that escaped Jin’s lips. His attention turned to the people approaching them then and he tilted his head, as they stopped right next to Kazuya.
“Morning, Kame-chan”, Koki greeted him cheerfully and patted his shoulder.
Ueda gave him a gentle smile and nodded to Jin. “Good Morning.”
“Come on in, I need to show you that hilarious scene in the manga I just bought!” Koki tagged Kazuya’s arm. “It’s that chicken and the beaver and they are fighting…”
Ueda smiled at them, as they walked in. “He’s been talking about that all the way to school”, he explained, then he gave a polite nod to Jin, before he followed.
Jin watched them for a moment, saw Kazuya looking at the pictures in the manga and laughing loudly, tilting his head back and clapping his hands in amusement.
He couldn’t stop himself from the smile that tugged at the corners of his lips and walked back to the stairs to go up to his own class room. On his way, he pulled out his mobile, staring at the display for a while, before he started to type letters in.
Kazuya threw a look back and as he noticed Jin had left, he tried to ignore the strange feeling in his chest and concentrated on Koki’s words again. Suddenly, his mobile vibrated in his pocket and he quickly checked it, just as the teacher came in and everyone fell silent.
As the third lesson for the day was over, Kazuya hesitated a bit, but then he grabbed his lunch box and made his way out of the class room.
“Where are you going”, Ueda wanted to know.
“Ah, well…”
“He’s meeting with his boyfriend”, Koki teased immediately and Kazuya blushed, as everyone turned to him then.
He didn’t say a word and made his way out.
So, well, his plan of meeting Jin secretly hadn’t worked out. Everyone knew he’d go to see him and it somehow gave Kazuya an uncomfortable feeling. He didn’t know about his classmates relationships, after all, and he’d prefer them not watching his, too.
But he was dealing with Akanishi Jin, and that meant he had to endure being watched closely.
As he reached the roof top, Jin turned to him and leaned against the fence behind him then. “I thought you wouldn’t show up.”
Kazuya lifted an eyebrow. “How could I have resisted that lovely invitation?” he opened his cell phone and read the message: “Lunch break. Roof top. Don’t bring your dumb friends. Irresistible”, he commented.
Jin laughed slightly. “What’s wrong with that?”
Kazuya shrugged. “Oh, I don’t know. Apart from the orders and the fact that you called my friends dumb?”
“Seriously, chicken and beaver…” Jin walked over and sat down, stretching then with a satisfied sigh. “Well, you’re here, after all.”
Kazuya joined him and opened his lunch box, throwing Jin a look. “Don’t you want to eat?”
“I didn’t bring anything.”
Kazuya looked confused. “But why? I mean…”
“I never bring anything, because usually the girl I date for the week would make my bento”, Jin cleared up.
Blinking, Kazuya tilted his head. “Honestly?”
“Luxury, isn’t it?”
“Quite some”, Kazuya agreed. Then he frowned at his own lunch box. “I’d be willing to share.”
“It’s the least you could do”, the older one said and smiled, before he laid his head back and closed his eyes. Then he threw Kazuya another look and nudged his shoulder with his own. Kazuya lifted his head and gave him an asking look, as if he wanted to know what was wrong.
He didn’t expect Jin to lie down, though, putting his head to Kazuya’s lap. Jin crossed his hands over his stomach and sighed in comfort.
“You can feed me.”
“What the…?” Kazuya stared at him in disbelief.
“What?”
“You’re not serious, are you?”
Jin laughed slightly. “It’s unexpectedly warm today and I feel a bit tired. I mean, I spent a long night out in the cold…”
Kazuya bit his lip to hold back a grin. “Shut up.”
“You owe me something, don’t you think so?”
“The hell”, the light brunette answered. “I definitely won’t feed you.”
Jin pouted at him. “What? You didn’t make me a bento, so that’s the least you could do.”
“You just said the least I could do would be sharing.”
For a moment, the older one thought about that. “It’s much more uncomplicated if…” He was silenced, when Kazuya stuffed a fried shrimp to his mouth.
“And you call me a brat, seriously…”, Kazuya mumbled under his breath.
Jin grinned, as he chewed. “But see. I get what I want, after all.”
“Don’t speak with your mouth full”, the younger one lectured him and ate one himself.
Swallowing, Jin kept grinning and then said: “They are really good.”
“My mom will appreciate it, when I’ll tell her.”
“You really are lucky with your parents, aren’t you?”
Kazuya’s hand stopped for a moment as he picked up the fried carrots and he quickly looked away from Jin. “I guess so.”
“I mean they run a restaurant, so they have to be good at cooking; like, really good.”
The younger one just nodded.
“And your mom makes something like this for school”, Jin pointed at the lunch box in Kazuya’s hand. “Mine wouldn’t be able to make something like that for Christmas.”
Kazuya laughed. “What?”
“Her attempts in making something special end up with some bought instant noodles, mostly.”
“That’s not bad.”
“But this is definitely better”, Jin pointed out and smiled happily, as Kazuya fed him the carrots. “You see, this whole dating story is just for my own good. That way, I make sure I’ll always get something healthy and fresh to eat at school.”
Kazuya raised a brow.
“Seriously, I’d end up growing fat, because my mom would send me off with only sweets and cakes from the convenience store.”
Stuffing another friend shrimp to Jin’s mouth, Kazuya shook his head. “What a lame excuse. You could have lovely, fresh made food from the same girl, instead of from different ones every week.”
“That would get boring, wouldn’t it”, Jin countered. “At some point, I wouldn’t find something new in that anymore.”
Kazuya kept silent at that for a while. “So, you change your girlfriend every week, because you’re afraid of habituation?”
Thinking about that, Jin shifted, made himself more comfortable and looked at the sky, frowning. “I don’t want to stay with someone, because I get used to be with them.”
“You really think you’d find real love through this?”
Jin turned his eyes to Kazuya’s face over him and shrugged slightly. “What’s the point in staying with someone I don’t love?”
Kazuya returned the look for a moment, then he closed the empty lunch box carefully. “Tell me something about Aya.”
“Huh?”
He nodded, to make Jin see he was serious. “The girl you dated two weeks ago. She’s in my class. Tell me something about her.”
Jin frowned, and shrugged a shoulder then. “She lives at the west end of the town, hangs around with Misato a lot and her dad is working in the paper factory in…”
“Jin”, Kazuya interrupted.
“What?”
“Those are things I know myself, and I never really talked to her.”
“What are you trying to pull?”
Kazuya sighed. “You honestly want to tell me you look for someone you can love, but you only give them one week, seven short days, to make you fall in love? It seems it’s not even enough time for you to get to know the person you’re dating.”
Jin closed his eyes and shrugged his shoulder again, as if he wanted to say he didn’t care. “I think I would notice straight away if that person was worth it.”
“Yeah, and for some girls you lie awake Monday night, wondering if you’d really break up on Sunday.” Kazuya tilted his head back to look up, as well. “That’s what you told me. In the end, you always break up, however.”
“Of course there are some suiting more than others. But in the end, they just all aren’t the right one.”
Kazuya didn’t answer to that. He kept staring at the sky and thought about it for a while. “What does the right one have to do for you to recognize it”, he asked then.
In that moment, the bell rang and Kazuya turned his head to the door that lead to the stair case. He wanted to wait, hear Jin’s answer, but at the same time, he wanted to take this as an opportunity to run from it and never find out what Jin actually was looking for.
He didn’t get an answer, in either way, since as he looked down at Jin, the older one still had his eyes closed and as it seemed, had fallen asleep.
Kazuya let go of a trembling breath, then he smiled slightly and dared running his hand through Jin’s hair.
He was an idiot for thinking the way he did. There was nothing he would ever accomplish with what he did and Kazuya knew somewhere, deep inside of his mind, Jin had already grasped that, as well.
It was just a comfortable excuse to go on.
Somehow, Kazuya felt pity for him. To think he would find love in the mere time of a week was just foolish and childish.
It happened, Kazuya thought. Those rare occasions, where one would fall in love at first sight- it happened. But it happened when fate wanted it to happen, and not if one tried to force it.
And then, the other party had to feel the same.
Kazuya looked at Jin’s sleeping face, gently traced his finger down his temple and along his jaw line.
“It takes two”, he murmured. “It’s not enough if only one is in love; it has to hit the other one just as hard.”
Jin didn’t move in his sleep, and Kazuya kept watching him.
He decided that they could probably skip classes; he didn’t want to wake Jin up, after all. And for a while, for just a bit, he wanted to stay, as well, and pretend that they were both feeling the same; that it had hit not just one of them.
Kazuya just knew that truth too well.
Jin wondered how exactly he had ended up where he was at the moment. He was surrounded by strange people, all of them what he’d call either nerds, weirdos or dumbasses.
Even so, he had ended up with them at a field a bit outside of town, where they had kind of put up a soccer field.
When he had woken up after lunch break, Kazuya had asked him to come with him after school was over, so, regarding the younger one that he had let him sleep instead of scolding him for skipping classes, he had agreed.
Now, Jin regretted it.
Those two from Kazuya’s class were there and as Kazuya had told him, the slim and apparently awfully jumpy one was Ueda’s best friend, Nakamaru. He had initiated the whole thing, as it seemed and was all excited about them having “a fun time together”, as he called it the whole time.
Jin truthfully wanted to smack his head, but he assumed he couldn’t do that to a completely alien boy he didn’t know.
“Calm down”, Kazuya said at his side, as they watched them marking the goal at one side of the field. “They are all really nice.”
Jin observed them with keen eyes. There were five other boys that had introduced themselves earlier and they were debating about something. “Are they all your friends?”
Kazuya tilted his head slightly. “I don’t know the five guys over there that well. They are friends from Nakamaru’s school.”
They finished up and then Nakamaru waved over to them. “Come on, guys, we’re having a quick team briefing!”
Jin palmed his face and made a painful noise. “Just, why?”
Kazuya laughed, as he patted the older boy’s back and tugged him along. “You said you’d like soccer, didn’t you?”
“I did, but…”
“Well, Jin, you can’t possibly play soccer all on your own.”
“Thanks, I know that”, Jin said dryly and followed Kazuya over to the other boys.
“It’ll be fun, you’ll see.” Kazuya briefly touched his shoulder and Jin frowned, because it somehow felt familiar how Kazuya ran his hand along it.
“Okay, so, Akanishi-kun”, Nakamaru said then. “What position are you good at?”
Jin shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t care; I play well on all positions.”
“I see, I see”, the other boy said, as if he was making up any tactic with that. “Tatsuya, you’ll stay behind for defence, and Kame, you join him there.”
Both of them just nodded and Nakamaru looked at Koki, frowned, the he looked back at Jin. “We’re going to make the offence together, Koki is our keeper.”
Agreeing on that, they parted to get to their positions and Jin somehow felt strangely lost, as he had to leave Kazuya’s side. They were his friends, after all, not Jin’s.
The younger one mustered a smile for him, however, and Jin returned one of his indifferent smirks.
As the game started, Jin found out pretty quickly that Nakamaru probably was jumpy and somehow looked cowardly, but he turned out to be quite a good soccer player. He surprised himself with being able to play so well together with someone he didn’t know and in a way, it really gave him a good feeling.
At half time, he jogged over to the side of the field, where his bag was and pulled out a bottle of water. As the others gathered around him and discussed their methods and tactics, Jin found himself joining in pretty quickly.
He took another sip from his water and threw a look at Kazuya. The brunette hair was messed up and Kazuya had attempted to tie it together, but it was not yet long enough to get all of the strands in. They were loosely falling into his face, and Jin couldn’t help thinking he looked pretty.
“You play well for a baseball kid”, Jin commented then.
Kazuya laughed slightly. “That’s how I became friends with Tegoshi. He helped me out in soccer; I helped him out when it came to baseball.”
Jin nodded. “I see. Sounds fair.” He then tilted his head. “Didn’t you bring anything to drink?”
A bit flustered, Kazuya looked around for his bag. “Ah, no, I somehow…”
Jin understood and shoved his bottle into the younger boy’s hand. “Here.”
“No, Jin, it’s okay, you…”
“You shared your lunch with me today, so we’re even”, Jin insisted and Kazuya smiled, before he drank.
He gave the bottle back then and nodded his head, murmuring his thanks, before he turned to Koki, as he asked something.
Jin watched Kazuya for a moment, then he looked at the bottle, and it somehow set off a strange feeling in him, as he brought it up to his lips again.
It was childish to think of it in that way; to think of it as an indirect kiss, but somehow Jin did, though, and he couldn’t say where that excited feeling came from.
It wasn’t anything special, after all.
They got back onto the field after a while then and played, until the sky became dusk and they were all exhausted.
Dirty, sweaty, but happy over their win, they gathered to eat together in Kazuya’s family’s restaurant afterwards.
“Where did you learn to play like that, Akanishi-kun?” Nakamaru seemed completely excited over Jin’s skills.
“I’ve been in the soccer club, and just…” He shrugged a shoulder. “I used play a lot.”
“You’re really good.”
Kazuya looked at Jin, while he prepared the Okonomiyaki with Ueda and Koki, and as he saw him smiling shyly, he felt strangely touched. It was an expression that seemed rather rare on Jin.
“Thanks, same goes for you”, Jin answered honestly.
Nakamaru tilted his head and smiled. “Tat-chan said you were my age, two years above them.” Jin nodded in confirmation. “How come you’re friends with Kame then?”
Ueda and Koki immediately fell silent to that question and stared at Kazuya. Nakamaru didn’t really seem to notice.
“We’re dating”, Jin answered calmly.
Nakamaru stared for a moment, before he looked at Kazuya, looked back at Jin. “Oh.”
Ueda and Koki exchanged a look, then they quickly picked up the conversation from before again, talking about how to make the Okonomiyaki best.
Kazuya didn’t dare looking up at Nakamaru, so he threw a look at Jin who was sitting across from him. He would not have thought that Jin would admit to that in front of others. In a way, they still weren’t really dating, since Kazuya had asked him out with the purpose of lecturing Jin, and Jin had made clear that Kazuya wasn’t what he was looking for.
But still, it pumped up Kazuya’s pulse that Jin had admitted to date him in such a carefree way.
“Ah, Kame”, Ueda said then and with that the awkward mood was somehow broken. “I wanted to show you this.”
Kazuya turned his eyes from Jin to his friend and the ripped piece of paper he held in his hand. “What’s that?”
“I saw it in the newspapers, when I came home and thought you’d be interested in it.” Ueda looked over the table at Nakamaru and Jin. “He has that huge something in his room that projects an image of the rotating earth to his ceiling.”
Nakamaru looked stunned. “Woah, that’s cool.”
“He’s really interested in the stars and all that.”
Jin looked at Kazuya, as he read the article on the paper Ueda had given him. “That’s amazing”, the younger one said and Jin could see pure excitement written over his face.
“I thought you’d like that.”
“Thanks; I would have missed it, if you hadn’t brought this”, Kazuya said and beamed at Ueda.
“You’re welcome.” Ueda smiled gently; happy, he could have done something good for a friend.
They enjoyed the rest of the meal together, talking loudly and laughing a lot.
It was already late in the evening, when Nakamaru and Ueda decided they would have to leave and Koki pulled along.
Jin wondered why he didn’t leave with them, but somehow he felt he should stay and leave later. As if he should stay with Kazuya longer than the others.
Kazuya started to tidy up their table, when the boys had left and wordlessly, Jin helped him. They brought the dirty plates to the wash up in the kitchen and when Jin came back to get the rest, he saw the piece of paper lying at the table where Kazuya had been sitting.
He picked it up and read the article.
“It’s tomorrow night”, Kazuya said from behind him. “A meteor shower.”
Jin nodded at that. “Do you want to see it?”
Kazuya laughed, as he took what was left on the table. “I’d hate myself if I missed it. It’s a rare chance.”
“Let’s go and watch it tomorrow night then.”
For a moment, Kazuya could only stare at him. “Are you serious?”
Jin smirked. “Did I ever lie to you, Kazuya?”
Finding back to his self, the younger one snorted. “You are so full of lies.”
“I am not”, Jin protested and ignored the look from Kazuya he got for that. “So, will you go with me or won’t you?”
“If you honestly want to watch it, too, we can go together”, Kazuya gave in and turned to go back to the kitchen.
Jin looked at the article again, then he followed the brunette. He wanted to say something, but Kazuya’s mother beat him to it, as she turned from one of the shelves at the other end of the room.
“Kazuya, if Jin-kun is going to stay tonight, take the futon from the guest room.”
Jin stared at her first, then at Kazuya, who shrugged a shoulder. “If he is, I will”, he answered in a loud voice, so she would hear him.
He walked out again then, and Jin followed him.
“I won’t stay tonight.”
Kazuya laughed slightly. “I didn’t think you would.”
“Why does your mom think so, then?”
“Because she’s my mom and only used to Tegoshi out of my friends; and he stayed over a lot when we still lived at our old place.”
They left the restaurant and in front of the door, Kazuya buried his hands in the pockets of his trousers. “Shall I walk you home?”
Jin smiled slightly. “It’s okay.”
“I see”, Kazuya said with a nod. “Well, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then.”
“I’ll pick you up.”
For a moment, it kept silent between them and Kazuya looked down at his feet, Jin looked around flustered, then he made a step towards Kazuya, but didn’t dare going any further than that. It already felt so close to Jin.
“You were right.”
Kazuya looked up, his eyes asking.
Jin seemed uncomfortable, nervous, but he managed to smile. “It was fun today.”
Kazuya loosened up, the tension in his posture faded and a genuine smile formed in his face. “I am happy to hear that.”
Jin pressed his lips together, looked at him for a moment; then he turned quickly, letting go of his breath. “Good night, Kazuya.”
“Good night, Jin.”
He didn’t turn, as he walked down the street. The sky was clear, just as it had been all day and Jin wondered if that was a good sign.
Strangely, he hoped it was.
-----------------------------------
Thanks so very much for reading :D
The night before had been rather strange. Kazuya didn’t really want to admit it, but the urge to see Jin had been huge and he had felt slightly embarrassed about it.
He hadn’t been able to tell Jin what it had been that had set him into that mood and he didn’t think he would be able to bring it up that soon, but sooner or later, Jin would find out.
The question was, if he would still care then.
They had spent a long time down there at the riverside, and hadn’t talked that much, actually. Their hands had been lying close all the while, their fingertips in touch. Kazuya didn’t know if it had any meaning, but he wanted to believe it had.
Jin would open up to him, eventually; Kazuya was convinced he’d make him.
After it had gotten really cold - it was only spring and the nights weren’t as warm yet - Jin had suggested going back and at a street cross they had parted without a word. Jin had thrown him a look, had nodded, but he hadn’t said anything.
But apparently, he was serious about going through the week with Kazuya.
“Morning”, Kazuya said in a cheerful voice.
Jin turned and gave him a calm look. “You’re late.”
“I didn’t know you were waiting.”
Only lifting a brow to that, Jin walked ahead. “Are you feeling better this morning?”
“Who said I wasn’t feeling well”, Kazuya wanted to know, catching up.
Jin snorted. “You want to tell me that sentimental behaviour last night was normal?”
Kazuya laughed slightly and flung his bag over his shoulder, burying his other hand in his pocket. “I am sorry.”
“That’s not how I meant it, though”, Jin answered.
“It didn’t bother you?”
“It would bother me less, if I knew what it was about.”
Kazuya looked at the ground. “It wouldn’t, I think.”
The older one threw him a curious look. “Well, it can’t be helped then, if you don’t want to let me know.”
Biting his lip, Kazuya didn’t look up. He didn’t answer and that was answer enough for Jin. He smiled slightly to himself, as they came closer to the school. Other people were passing them and gave them interested looks.
It was still strange, after all; that Kazuya had asked him out like that. They all thought of them as a couple and even though Jin knew he should feel uncomfortable with that, he didn’t really.
It would be over on Sunday, however and then things would go back to normal; everyone would forget about it and only sometimes, they would bring it up, as if it was one of the funniest stories.
They walked through the gate and into the school. Kazuya didn’t look at Jin, as he walked to his locker to change his shoes. When he was done, he was surprised to see Jin waiting for him once again.
“What is this about”, he wanted to know. “Why are you suddenly that attentive towards me?”
Jin shrugged a shoulder. “You were complaining all the time I wasn’t, weren’t you?”
“It didn’t bother you before, though.”
“You wanted me to stick to the rules, so don’t complain”, the dark brunette only muttered.
Kazuya smiled behind his back and followed Jin. He walked up the stairs a step behind Jin and tried to ignore all the glances he got from most of the girls. He knew they all followed them with glances and curious looks, so when they reached the right room, he caught up to Jin, gripped his sleeve and made him turn with a questioning look.
Kazuya leaned in and for a moment, Jin’s heart skipped a beat as the younger boy’s face came close to his.
“Thanks”, Kazuya said quietly into his ear and drew back again.
Jin couldn’t help the puzzled look in his face; he almost even blushed, but then he noticed that almost everyone in the classroom was staring at them.
“You really are a cheeky brat, aren’t you?”
Kazuya grinned at him. “I try my best.”
He couldn’t stop the laugh that escaped Jin’s lips. His attention turned to the people approaching them then and he tilted his head, as they stopped right next to Kazuya.
“Morning, Kame-chan”, Koki greeted him cheerfully and patted his shoulder.
Ueda gave him a gentle smile and nodded to Jin. “Good Morning.”
“Come on in, I need to show you that hilarious scene in the manga I just bought!” Koki tagged Kazuya’s arm. “It’s that chicken and the beaver and they are fighting…”
Ueda smiled at them, as they walked in. “He’s been talking about that all the way to school”, he explained, then he gave a polite nod to Jin, before he followed.
Jin watched them for a moment, saw Kazuya looking at the pictures in the manga and laughing loudly, tilting his head back and clapping his hands in amusement.
He couldn’t stop himself from the smile that tugged at the corners of his lips and walked back to the stairs to go up to his own class room. On his way, he pulled out his mobile, staring at the display for a while, before he started to type letters in.
Kazuya threw a look back and as he noticed Jin had left, he tried to ignore the strange feeling in his chest and concentrated on Koki’s words again. Suddenly, his mobile vibrated in his pocket and he quickly checked it, just as the teacher came in and everyone fell silent.
As the third lesson for the day was over, Kazuya hesitated a bit, but then he grabbed his lunch box and made his way out of the class room.
“Where are you going”, Ueda wanted to know.
“Ah, well…”
“He’s meeting with his boyfriend”, Koki teased immediately and Kazuya blushed, as everyone turned to him then.
He didn’t say a word and made his way out.
So, well, his plan of meeting Jin secretly hadn’t worked out. Everyone knew he’d go to see him and it somehow gave Kazuya an uncomfortable feeling. He didn’t know about his classmates relationships, after all, and he’d prefer them not watching his, too.
But he was dealing with Akanishi Jin, and that meant he had to endure being watched closely.
As he reached the roof top, Jin turned to him and leaned against the fence behind him then. “I thought you wouldn’t show up.”
Kazuya lifted an eyebrow. “How could I have resisted that lovely invitation?” he opened his cell phone and read the message: “Lunch break. Roof top. Don’t bring your dumb friends. Irresistible”, he commented.
Jin laughed slightly. “What’s wrong with that?”
Kazuya shrugged. “Oh, I don’t know. Apart from the orders and the fact that you called my friends dumb?”
“Seriously, chicken and beaver…” Jin walked over and sat down, stretching then with a satisfied sigh. “Well, you’re here, after all.”
Kazuya joined him and opened his lunch box, throwing Jin a look. “Don’t you want to eat?”
“I didn’t bring anything.”
Kazuya looked confused. “But why? I mean…”
“I never bring anything, because usually the girl I date for the week would make my bento”, Jin cleared up.
Blinking, Kazuya tilted his head. “Honestly?”
“Luxury, isn’t it?”
“Quite some”, Kazuya agreed. Then he frowned at his own lunch box. “I’d be willing to share.”
“It’s the least you could do”, the older one said and smiled, before he laid his head back and closed his eyes. Then he threw Kazuya another look and nudged his shoulder with his own. Kazuya lifted his head and gave him an asking look, as if he wanted to know what was wrong.
He didn’t expect Jin to lie down, though, putting his head to Kazuya’s lap. Jin crossed his hands over his stomach and sighed in comfort.
“You can feed me.”
“What the…?” Kazuya stared at him in disbelief.
“What?”
“You’re not serious, are you?”
Jin laughed slightly. “It’s unexpectedly warm today and I feel a bit tired. I mean, I spent a long night out in the cold…”
Kazuya bit his lip to hold back a grin. “Shut up.”
“You owe me something, don’t you think so?”
“The hell”, the light brunette answered. “I definitely won’t feed you.”
Jin pouted at him. “What? You didn’t make me a bento, so that’s the least you could do.”
“You just said the least I could do would be sharing.”
For a moment, the older one thought about that. “It’s much more uncomplicated if…” He was silenced, when Kazuya stuffed a fried shrimp to his mouth.
“And you call me a brat, seriously…”, Kazuya mumbled under his breath.
Jin grinned, as he chewed. “But see. I get what I want, after all.”
“Don’t speak with your mouth full”, the younger one lectured him and ate one himself.
Swallowing, Jin kept grinning and then said: “They are really good.”
“My mom will appreciate it, when I’ll tell her.”
“You really are lucky with your parents, aren’t you?”
Kazuya’s hand stopped for a moment as he picked up the fried carrots and he quickly looked away from Jin. “I guess so.”
“I mean they run a restaurant, so they have to be good at cooking; like, really good.”
The younger one just nodded.
“And your mom makes something like this for school”, Jin pointed at the lunch box in Kazuya’s hand. “Mine wouldn’t be able to make something like that for Christmas.”
Kazuya laughed. “What?”
“Her attempts in making something special end up with some bought instant noodles, mostly.”
“That’s not bad.”
“But this is definitely better”, Jin pointed out and smiled happily, as Kazuya fed him the carrots. “You see, this whole dating story is just for my own good. That way, I make sure I’ll always get something healthy and fresh to eat at school.”
Kazuya raised a brow.
“Seriously, I’d end up growing fat, because my mom would send me off with only sweets and cakes from the convenience store.”
Stuffing another friend shrimp to Jin’s mouth, Kazuya shook his head. “What a lame excuse. You could have lovely, fresh made food from the same girl, instead of from different ones every week.”
“That would get boring, wouldn’t it”, Jin countered. “At some point, I wouldn’t find something new in that anymore.”
Kazuya kept silent at that for a while. “So, you change your girlfriend every week, because you’re afraid of habituation?”
Thinking about that, Jin shifted, made himself more comfortable and looked at the sky, frowning. “I don’t want to stay with someone, because I get used to be with them.”
“You really think you’d find real love through this?”
Jin turned his eyes to Kazuya’s face over him and shrugged slightly. “What’s the point in staying with someone I don’t love?”
Kazuya returned the look for a moment, then he closed the empty lunch box carefully. “Tell me something about Aya.”
“Huh?”
He nodded, to make Jin see he was serious. “The girl you dated two weeks ago. She’s in my class. Tell me something about her.”
Jin frowned, and shrugged a shoulder then. “She lives at the west end of the town, hangs around with Misato a lot and her dad is working in the paper factory in…”
“Jin”, Kazuya interrupted.
“What?”
“Those are things I know myself, and I never really talked to her.”
“What are you trying to pull?”
Kazuya sighed. “You honestly want to tell me you look for someone you can love, but you only give them one week, seven short days, to make you fall in love? It seems it’s not even enough time for you to get to know the person you’re dating.”
Jin closed his eyes and shrugged his shoulder again, as if he wanted to say he didn’t care. “I think I would notice straight away if that person was worth it.”
“Yeah, and for some girls you lie awake Monday night, wondering if you’d really break up on Sunday.” Kazuya tilted his head back to look up, as well. “That’s what you told me. In the end, you always break up, however.”
“Of course there are some suiting more than others. But in the end, they just all aren’t the right one.”
Kazuya didn’t answer to that. He kept staring at the sky and thought about it for a while. “What does the right one have to do for you to recognize it”, he asked then.
In that moment, the bell rang and Kazuya turned his head to the door that lead to the stair case. He wanted to wait, hear Jin’s answer, but at the same time, he wanted to take this as an opportunity to run from it and never find out what Jin actually was looking for.
He didn’t get an answer, in either way, since as he looked down at Jin, the older one still had his eyes closed and as it seemed, had fallen asleep.
Kazuya let go of a trembling breath, then he smiled slightly and dared running his hand through Jin’s hair.
He was an idiot for thinking the way he did. There was nothing he would ever accomplish with what he did and Kazuya knew somewhere, deep inside of his mind, Jin had already grasped that, as well.
It was just a comfortable excuse to go on.
Somehow, Kazuya felt pity for him. To think he would find love in the mere time of a week was just foolish and childish.
It happened, Kazuya thought. Those rare occasions, where one would fall in love at first sight- it happened. But it happened when fate wanted it to happen, and not if one tried to force it.
And then, the other party had to feel the same.
Kazuya looked at Jin’s sleeping face, gently traced his finger down his temple and along his jaw line.
“It takes two”, he murmured. “It’s not enough if only one is in love; it has to hit the other one just as hard.”
Jin didn’t move in his sleep, and Kazuya kept watching him.
He decided that they could probably skip classes; he didn’t want to wake Jin up, after all. And for a while, for just a bit, he wanted to stay, as well, and pretend that they were both feeling the same; that it had hit not just one of them.
Kazuya just knew that truth too well.
Jin wondered how exactly he had ended up where he was at the moment. He was surrounded by strange people, all of them what he’d call either nerds, weirdos or dumbasses.
Even so, he had ended up with them at a field a bit outside of town, where they had kind of put up a soccer field.
When he had woken up after lunch break, Kazuya had asked him to come with him after school was over, so, regarding the younger one that he had let him sleep instead of scolding him for skipping classes, he had agreed.
Now, Jin regretted it.
Those two from Kazuya’s class were there and as Kazuya had told him, the slim and apparently awfully jumpy one was Ueda’s best friend, Nakamaru. He had initiated the whole thing, as it seemed and was all excited about them having “a fun time together”, as he called it the whole time.
Jin truthfully wanted to smack his head, but he assumed he couldn’t do that to a completely alien boy he didn’t know.
“Calm down”, Kazuya said at his side, as they watched them marking the goal at one side of the field. “They are all really nice.”
Jin observed them with keen eyes. There were five other boys that had introduced themselves earlier and they were debating about something. “Are they all your friends?”
Kazuya tilted his head slightly. “I don’t know the five guys over there that well. They are friends from Nakamaru’s school.”
They finished up and then Nakamaru waved over to them. “Come on, guys, we’re having a quick team briefing!”
Jin palmed his face and made a painful noise. “Just, why?”
Kazuya laughed, as he patted the older boy’s back and tugged him along. “You said you’d like soccer, didn’t you?”
“I did, but…”
“Well, Jin, you can’t possibly play soccer all on your own.”
“Thanks, I know that”, Jin said dryly and followed Kazuya over to the other boys.
“It’ll be fun, you’ll see.” Kazuya briefly touched his shoulder and Jin frowned, because it somehow felt familiar how Kazuya ran his hand along it.
“Okay, so, Akanishi-kun”, Nakamaru said then. “What position are you good at?”
Jin shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t care; I play well on all positions.”
“I see, I see”, the other boy said, as if he was making up any tactic with that. “Tatsuya, you’ll stay behind for defence, and Kame, you join him there.”
Both of them just nodded and Nakamaru looked at Koki, frowned, the he looked back at Jin. “We’re going to make the offence together, Koki is our keeper.”
Agreeing on that, they parted to get to their positions and Jin somehow felt strangely lost, as he had to leave Kazuya’s side. They were his friends, after all, not Jin’s.
The younger one mustered a smile for him, however, and Jin returned one of his indifferent smirks.
As the game started, Jin found out pretty quickly that Nakamaru probably was jumpy and somehow looked cowardly, but he turned out to be quite a good soccer player. He surprised himself with being able to play so well together with someone he didn’t know and in a way, it really gave him a good feeling.
At half time, he jogged over to the side of the field, where his bag was and pulled out a bottle of water. As the others gathered around him and discussed their methods and tactics, Jin found himself joining in pretty quickly.
He took another sip from his water and threw a look at Kazuya. The brunette hair was messed up and Kazuya had attempted to tie it together, but it was not yet long enough to get all of the strands in. They were loosely falling into his face, and Jin couldn’t help thinking he looked pretty.
“You play well for a baseball kid”, Jin commented then.
Kazuya laughed slightly. “That’s how I became friends with Tegoshi. He helped me out in soccer; I helped him out when it came to baseball.”
Jin nodded. “I see. Sounds fair.” He then tilted his head. “Didn’t you bring anything to drink?”
A bit flustered, Kazuya looked around for his bag. “Ah, no, I somehow…”
Jin understood and shoved his bottle into the younger boy’s hand. “Here.”
“No, Jin, it’s okay, you…”
“You shared your lunch with me today, so we’re even”, Jin insisted and Kazuya smiled, before he drank.
He gave the bottle back then and nodded his head, murmuring his thanks, before he turned to Koki, as he asked something.
Jin watched Kazuya for a moment, then he looked at the bottle, and it somehow set off a strange feeling in him, as he brought it up to his lips again.
It was childish to think of it in that way; to think of it as an indirect kiss, but somehow Jin did, though, and he couldn’t say where that excited feeling came from.
It wasn’t anything special, after all.
They got back onto the field after a while then and played, until the sky became dusk and they were all exhausted.
Dirty, sweaty, but happy over their win, they gathered to eat together in Kazuya’s family’s restaurant afterwards.
“Where did you learn to play like that, Akanishi-kun?” Nakamaru seemed completely excited over Jin’s skills.
“I’ve been in the soccer club, and just…” He shrugged a shoulder. “I used play a lot.”
“You’re really good.”
Kazuya looked at Jin, while he prepared the Okonomiyaki with Ueda and Koki, and as he saw him smiling shyly, he felt strangely touched. It was an expression that seemed rather rare on Jin.
“Thanks, same goes for you”, Jin answered honestly.
Nakamaru tilted his head and smiled. “Tat-chan said you were my age, two years above them.” Jin nodded in confirmation. “How come you’re friends with Kame then?”
Ueda and Koki immediately fell silent to that question and stared at Kazuya. Nakamaru didn’t really seem to notice.
“We’re dating”, Jin answered calmly.
Nakamaru stared for a moment, before he looked at Kazuya, looked back at Jin. “Oh.”
Ueda and Koki exchanged a look, then they quickly picked up the conversation from before again, talking about how to make the Okonomiyaki best.
Kazuya didn’t dare looking up at Nakamaru, so he threw a look at Jin who was sitting across from him. He would not have thought that Jin would admit to that in front of others. In a way, they still weren’t really dating, since Kazuya had asked him out with the purpose of lecturing Jin, and Jin had made clear that Kazuya wasn’t what he was looking for.
But still, it pumped up Kazuya’s pulse that Jin had admitted to date him in such a carefree way.
“Ah, Kame”, Ueda said then and with that the awkward mood was somehow broken. “I wanted to show you this.”
Kazuya turned his eyes from Jin to his friend and the ripped piece of paper he held in his hand. “What’s that?”
“I saw it in the newspapers, when I came home and thought you’d be interested in it.” Ueda looked over the table at Nakamaru and Jin. “He has that huge something in his room that projects an image of the rotating earth to his ceiling.”
Nakamaru looked stunned. “Woah, that’s cool.”
“He’s really interested in the stars and all that.”
Jin looked at Kazuya, as he read the article on the paper Ueda had given him. “That’s amazing”, the younger one said and Jin could see pure excitement written over his face.
“I thought you’d like that.”
“Thanks; I would have missed it, if you hadn’t brought this”, Kazuya said and beamed at Ueda.
“You’re welcome.” Ueda smiled gently; happy, he could have done something good for a friend.
They enjoyed the rest of the meal together, talking loudly and laughing a lot.
It was already late in the evening, when Nakamaru and Ueda decided they would have to leave and Koki pulled along.
Jin wondered why he didn’t leave with them, but somehow he felt he should stay and leave later. As if he should stay with Kazuya longer than the others.
Kazuya started to tidy up their table, when the boys had left and wordlessly, Jin helped him. They brought the dirty plates to the wash up in the kitchen and when Jin came back to get the rest, he saw the piece of paper lying at the table where Kazuya had been sitting.
He picked it up and read the article.
“It’s tomorrow night”, Kazuya said from behind him. “A meteor shower.”
Jin nodded at that. “Do you want to see it?”
Kazuya laughed, as he took what was left on the table. “I’d hate myself if I missed it. It’s a rare chance.”
“Let’s go and watch it tomorrow night then.”
For a moment, Kazuya could only stare at him. “Are you serious?”
Jin smirked. “Did I ever lie to you, Kazuya?”
Finding back to his self, the younger one snorted. “You are so full of lies.”
“I am not”, Jin protested and ignored the look from Kazuya he got for that. “So, will you go with me or won’t you?”
“If you honestly want to watch it, too, we can go together”, Kazuya gave in and turned to go back to the kitchen.
Jin looked at the article again, then he followed the brunette. He wanted to say something, but Kazuya’s mother beat him to it, as she turned from one of the shelves at the other end of the room.
“Kazuya, if Jin-kun is going to stay tonight, take the futon from the guest room.”
Jin stared at her first, then at Kazuya, who shrugged a shoulder. “If he is, I will”, he answered in a loud voice, so she would hear him.
He walked out again then, and Jin followed him.
“I won’t stay tonight.”
Kazuya laughed slightly. “I didn’t think you would.”
“Why does your mom think so, then?”
“Because she’s my mom and only used to Tegoshi out of my friends; and he stayed over a lot when we still lived at our old place.”
They left the restaurant and in front of the door, Kazuya buried his hands in the pockets of his trousers. “Shall I walk you home?”
Jin smiled slightly. “It’s okay.”
“I see”, Kazuya said with a nod. “Well, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then.”
“I’ll pick you up.”
For a moment, it kept silent between them and Kazuya looked down at his feet, Jin looked around flustered, then he made a step towards Kazuya, but didn’t dare going any further than that. It already felt so close to Jin.
“You were right.”
Kazuya looked up, his eyes asking.
Jin seemed uncomfortable, nervous, but he managed to smile. “It was fun today.”
Kazuya loosened up, the tension in his posture faded and a genuine smile formed in his face. “I am happy to hear that.”
Jin pressed his lips together, looked at him for a moment; then he turned quickly, letting go of his breath. “Good night, Kazuya.”
“Good night, Jin.”
He didn’t turn, as he walked down the street. The sky was clear, just as it had been all day and Jin wondered if that was a good sign.
Strangely, he hoped it was.
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Thanks so very much for reading :D