JE-united surprise fic for yoru_no_hikaru
Gift fic for yoru_no_hikaru
Title: P.S. Shut Up
Pairing: Kento/Fuma
Rating: PG
Warnings: Kissing, Fuma might say a word or two
Summary: After yet another failed first date, Fuma is just about ready to completely write off the entire male population. Against his better judgement, he decides to listen to his friend Shori when he says that his friend Nakajima Kento is unlike anyone else Fuma has met before.
Notes: I've never written Sexy Zone before, so I can't vouch for the characterization, but I'm hoping the attempt at humor will make up for it. I hope you enjoy it yoru_no_hikaru! <33
Sou sent a cheerful farewell and a cute smile to the exiting customers, Fuma sighing internally as the coffee shop door closed. He had been dreading this moment--the two of them being alone--since their shift together started. He knew Sou had some questions, and he wasn't excited to answer them. His fears were confirmed when his young coworker turned to him, smiling.
"So?"
"So what?" Fuma grumbled back. Sou bounded over to him.
"Come on, you know! How was your date?"
"What date?" Fuma knew exactly what Sou was talking about, hoping his obvious dodging of the question would indicate that he didn't want to talk about it. Sou, however, wasn't having any of it.
"That date you had this weekend, with that guy--the guy I think looks like a vampire, but you said he has a cute smile or something."
"Well," Fuma said, closing the cash register a little harder than he needed to. "You're welcome to put a stake in his chest, because at the end of the night, I ended up punching him in the face."
Sou wasn't as surprised as Fuma had expected him to be.
"Why? What did he do?"
"He... All he wanted was to get into my pants." Fuma said with a sigh. This had been happening to him too often recently, and he couldn't figure out why. "He didn't pay attention to a word I said, and he kept putting his hand on my thigh in the restaurant. He probably doesn't even remember my name."
Sou patted his shoulder sympathetically. "He's bound to remember you though, and if it makes you feel better I think that 'Hot Guy that Punched Me' is a cooler name than 'Kikuchi Fuma' anyway."
"Want me to change your name to 'Got Punched by Hot Guy'?"
Sou laughed at the threat, but he took a step back.
"I'm sorry Fuma, that sucks."
Fuma just nodded. "I should have expected it, I guess."
"Yes, yes, men are dumb." Sou said before Fuma could launch into his 'men are pigs and I give up' speech again. "Want to come over after work? I know there's ice cream in the fridge at home. Bring that bloody zombie game you like."
Fuma had to smile a little at that. Despite how much--or little--he showed it, he really was grateful for Sou's friendship.
"That would be great, thanks."
The front door chimed, signaling the entrance of more customers. It was three young men, three young men, but only one of them someone Fuma knew, Sato Shori smiling and giving him a wave. He and Shori had become friends a few years back thanks to their mothers, who were both part of the same club--a book club, or tea, or flower arranging; Fuma honestly could not remember which--bonding over music one day when Fuma had gone over to the Sato residence to pick his mother up and the woman was chatting too much to leave. The two with him Fuma had never seen before, someone with a nice face that Fuma guessed to be around his age on one side and an incredibly tall boy on the other. The tall one had a baby face though, making Fuma think he was actually substantially younger.
"Welcome!" Sou said happily. "What can we do for you?"
They ordered a few drinks and a few pastries, and after a bit of sitting and talking Shori called Fuma over.
"Hey." Fuma said, before remembering that he was at work. "Do you need anything?"
Shori shook his head."No, I just wanted to introduce you to my friends."
"Oh, okay." He hadn't expected that, smiling hesitantly at the strangers.
"Marius, Kento, this is my friend Kikuchi Fuma. Fuma, this is Marius Yo--" the tall one smiled and waved "--and Nakajima Kento."
"It is nothing but lovely to make your acquaintance." Nakajima Kento said, smiling, the gracious tone in his voice making Fuma simply stare at him.
"I think the two of you have met before; Fuma, Kento is that childhood friend of mine that I've talked about a few times."
Fuma gave a slow nod. He did remember Shori mentioning someone that he'd been friends with since birth, but he had the feeling that if he and this Nakajima Kento had actually met face to face, he would remember it. Apparently, Kento had the same opinion.
"How blessed I am, to have already graced unknowingly upon your life. Though I do not think we have spoken--I would remember a face that puts a bed of roses to shame."
Fuma was just about done with the uncomfortable flattery coming from this guy's mouth. He was cute, sure, but it wasn't worth it. A slightly disbelieving look in Shori's direction revealed apologetic second-hand embarrassment, Shori glancing hesitantly between himself and his friend.
"You really don't need to say that." Fuma finally told Kento.
"But it's true."
"But you don't need--"
"I wanted to."
Anger flared inside Fuma now; there was a sore spot from the experience he'd had the night before, and he could tell that Kento was not listening to him.
"I am aware that I am an employee and you are a customer, but do not think for a second that customer service puts any change on my tolerance policy for assholes. I am not in the mood to deal with--"
"He's not an asshole." The one named Marius interrupted, stopping the rant that Fuma had felt himself slipping into. He was actually a little thankful for that, collecting himself.
"I don't care what he is. Now, I can help you with the bill when you're finished, and until then please enjoy your food and your drinks."
Nakajima Kento actually looked apologetic, and Fuma found himself appreciating the remorse, though he appreciated even more that it wasn't vocalized. Once they were done Shori's two friends hung back as Shori approached the register to pay.
"Is that guy always like that?" Fuma had to ask.
"I'm sorry." Shori responded. "He's flirtatious, and sometimes he can come on too strong. He does sincerely apologize."
"Good."
"He also sincerely thinks you're cute."
Fuma had to sigh, especially when Sou giggled.
"Did he tell you to say that? I think he's cute too, but that doesn't make me want to talk to him ever again. I'm not something he can just compliment, and expect me to--"
"He wasn't doing that." Shori said quickly. "I promise. He just wanted to compliment you."
"Sure he did."
"Maybe he wanted to make you smile. You are grumpy today."
"I'm grumpy every day."
That made Shori grin. "That's true. Talk to you later."
"Yeah. Bye."
Fuma watched Nakajima Kento's retreating back as the three of them left the coffee shop, looking away with a cough as Kento glanced back at him.
A few days later, out of the blue Shori called him.
"Okay Fuma, don't kill me, but... I gave Nakajima Kento your phone number."
"What?" Fuma asked. "Who?"
"Remember?" Shori asked. He sounded a little nervous over the phone, making Fuma apprehensive. "That guy you met the other day?"
"Wait." Fuma sat up quickly. "Your friend? The guy that said the rose-face thing? You gave my phone number to the guy that wants to smell my face?"
"Okay, it was either that or your home address." Shori defended.
"You should have given him my address!" Fuma insisted. "Then I could have called the cops for trespassing."
"I know." Shori deadpanned. "I'm trying not to get him arrested."
Fuma didn't answer, hoping Shori could just hear him frowning.
"Come on. He really does like you, Fuma. He isn't just saying dumb stuff."
"He is saying dumb stuff." Fuma countered. "He's saying really dumb stuff. Don't tell me that flower comparison wasn't dumb."
"...okay. But really, he wants to talk to you, and take you on a date. He's interested in you."
"No he's not. He doesn't even know me. He just likes that I look like a garden, or something. He was throwing out lines that I bet he says to everyone."
Shori laughed. "He's not like everybody else, I promise."
"He's acting like it."
"Fuma, trust me. If Kento is anything, it's one of a kind."
Shifts at the coffee house were a lot less fun when he and Sou didn’t have work at the same time, Fuma tapping his fingers on the counter and sighing. The day had been incredibly slow as well, resulting in a great deal of boredom, and a great deal of sitting around. He was rearranging the muffin case for the third time when the front door chimed. He looked up with his customer-service smile, then instantly regretted it.
Nakajima Kento beamed back at him. Fuma was already slightly annoyed-Nakajima Kento had been on his mind all weekend, Fuma expecting a text or phone call thanks to what Shori had done-but neither had happened, much to his surprise. He was tempted to pull out the shop’s “We have the right to refuse service to anyone” sign but decided against it, crossing his arms over his chest as Kento made his way up to the counter.
“How can I help you?” He tried to keep his tone neutral. It appeared to work, because all the happened was that Kento ordered coffee and a muffin and walked away to sit down.
“Thank you.” Kento said when Fuma placed his completed order on the table in front of him. “What’s your favorite thing on the menu?”
It was a random question, and Fuma wasn’t about to divulge the truth-the most sugary drink they had, with extra caramel sauce and whipped cream-instead giving a more societally appropriate answer.
“The double chocolate chip cookie.”
“Oh, I’m surprised. That’s very sweet.” Kento said, nodding thoughtfully. “Just like your ass.”
The statement was said so naturally and passively that Fuma could barely believe it had even happened, mouth gaping open for a moment. The small, playful smile on Kento’s face was completely shot down as he looked over and saw the murder in Fuma’s eyes.
“I’m sorry!” He exclaimed instantly, putting his hands defensively up by his chest. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
Fuma seriously considered getting out the service refusal sign now, not caring whether or not Kento even paid for his coffee and muffin, as long as he left.
“It was out of line, and you’re at work, and ‘sexy’ would have been a better word, and-”
“Do yourself a favor. Shut up.”
Kento obeyed so fast that Fuma wouldn’t have been surprised if he hurt his jaw, walking back to the counter.
“No, wait, please.”
He wasn’t sure why he turned around but he did, crossing his arms and pursing his lips.
“I didn’t mean to make you angry. Let’s talk about cookies, or something.”
“Why?”
“Um…” That wasn’t the response Kento had expected, Fuma could tell. “Because I’m surprised. You don’t seem like you like sugar. You look like you drink black coffee.”
Fuma made a face. “Black coffee is horrible.” He said, and Kento laughed a little.
“It really is. And you like chocolate then?”
It was turning into a genuine conversation, much to Fuma’s surprise, and he nodded, walking back over to the table. They talked until Kento’s muffin was gone, Kento standing and saying he was ready to pay.
“So, um…” Kento suddenly avoided his eyes, making Fuma frown. “Shori gave me your number; would it be okay to text you?”
He hadn’t expected Kento to ask permission, especially with such a hesitant, unsure tone of voice.
“No.”
Kento opened his mouth, then seemed to think better of it, just dipping his head and nodding again. Fuma felt bad, watching him leave, unsure of why he had answered so harshly.
He hadn’t actually wanted to say no, and it scared him. It annoyed him. It made him feel stupid. He didn’t want Kento’s attention. He didn’t want to want Kento’s attention. Kento was the same as everyone else. He had to be.
“I saw him at school today.” Sou reported. He was lying on Fuma’s bed, supposed to be doing homework. Fuma was on the floor, his phone in his hand.
“Him who?” They had been talking about Nakajima Kento before, but Fuma was more than sure that his overdramatic pursuer was not of high school age.
“That super tall guy that’s friends with your friend Shori. I did a chemistry project with him once.”
“What was his name?” Fuma asked. He couldn’t remember, and wasn’t sure if he should feel bad about it or not.
“Marius Yo. He’s half German; that’s why he’s so tall.”
Fuma nodded, the game he was playing interrupted by a text notification popping up on his cell phone screen. It was from an unfamiliar number, and he groaned when he saw the message preview.
Hey, this is Nakajima Kento. I know you told me not…
He opened the message, the rest of it not making him feel any better.
I know you told me not to text you, but I have something I want to ask and Shori said it would be okay.
Fuma was sure he knew what the question was going to be, throwing his phone up on the bed. It landed in the middle of Sou’s notebook, right where he intended it, saying
“Could you deal with this, please?”
Sou looked at the phone, eyebrows raised. “Is this your man?” he asked. Fuma made a face.
“It’s Nakajima Kento. He’s going to ask me out.”
Sou nodded in agreement, picking up the phone. Fuma laid down on the floor, closing his eyes, listening to the text tone, followed by the silence of Sou replying, hoping that Kento was being rejected, and Fuma wouldn’t have to see him again, wouldn’t have to feel that slight desire for his attention, wouldn’t have to hear those ridiculous compliments that Fuma couldn’t believe someone had the courage to actually say in public.
“Oops.” Sou muttered to himself, making Fuma get to his feet, jumping on Sou’s back and laying on top of him to see the phone screen.
“What did you do?” He asked. All he could see was a message from Nakajima Kento, containing a time, date, and place.
“You… You might just have a date tomorrow.”
“…what?”
Sou gave him a sheepish grin, hanging the phone back.
“What? Why? What happened?” Fuma asked, scrolling through the messages. “Why?”
Sou shrugged, looking a lot less apologetic than Fuma thought he should.
“I don’t know! He’s weirdly charming.”
“I hate you.”
Sou reached over, flicking him in the forehead, and Fuma felt strangely betrayed.
"I trusted you."
"It's just a date!" Sou argued, wriggling under Fuma's body as he tried to grab the phone. "Now you can reject him in person! Much better for your reputation."
Fuma had to roll his eyes at that, finally snatching the phone and scrolling up to where the conversation began.
"I tried." Sou defended. "I tried to be your usually grumbly self, but he turned it around on me. I don't know what happened."
Fuma gave him a doubtful glance, but upon scrolling through the texts, he saw that Sou was telling the truth. He was being prickly, calling Kento stupid, and it actually took Fuma a moment to find the turning point of the conversation. Sou had tried to decline the note, sending ‘no’ just as Kento sent the text ‘And you wouldn’t want to decline, would you?’ Kento had responded with excitement, then the details on when and where to meet.
“I’m not going.” Fuma declared. “No way.”
“That is a little rude, you know.” Sou chastised.
“I’m not the one that agreed to the date!” Fuma argued. “You go to this… Italian restaurant with him. I won’t.”
The date was in three days, at a restaurant relatively close to Fuma’s work. It was just lunch, which honestly was the least threatening of the meal date options-without the time inconvenience of breakfast and the implications of dinner-but still Fuma didn’t trust it.
He kept his phone away from himself, because every time he looked at it he saw Kento’s last message. He was trying to just forget about the date, because simply standing Kento up did make him feel bad. The days passed quickly, Fuma not setting an alarm the day of and hoping that he would sleep in past noon. Instead he slept only until nine, with plenty of time to get ready and go to the restaurant. It pissed him off a little, and not having even the excuse of work angered him a little more. He just paced around his bedroom, his phone lying on his bed. When it buzzed he snapped it up immediately, but it was just Sou.
From: Pipsqueak
Have fun on your date!!!
I’m not going! Fuma sent back, tossing his phone back down.
Fuma walked over to his closet, figuring that since he was awake, he might as well get dressed. He had to change three times before he was satisfied, brushing his teeth and styling his hair. Once he was finished he saw it was a few minutes past noon, and he let out a breath. He was officially late, meaning that he had missed it, and that Kento had gone home, hopefully getting the message.
It felt dumb now, to be so dressed up and just sitting around his house, so Fuma slipped his shoes on and walked outside.
He wasn’t walking in any particular direction, cursing out loud when he found himself across the street from the Italian restaurant.
Kento was visible through the window, still sitting there despite Fuma being over ten minutes late. A waiter walked over, Kento smiling politely and shaking his head. Cursing again, Fuma frowned and shoved the door open.
“Hi.” He walked up to Kento’s table, sitting in the empty chair. “I’m late. Sorry.”
Kento glanced up at him, not saying anything as he looked down at his menu, but Fuma could see a smile, a smile almost too big for his face. A waiter took their orders, and Fuma sat there, silence setting in just long enough for Fuma to begin regretting his decision when Kento spoke up.
“So… How’s your day been?”
“Uh… Fine.” Despite no longer having a menu to look at, Kento was still avoiding looking at him. “All I’ve really done is sleep.”
Kento laughed a little, nodding. “That was a silly question, wasn’t it. Do you like working?”
“Well I like my job. Or, I like working with Sou. We’ve always been neighbors, so we’ve kind of always been friends.”
“Oh, that’s nice.” Kento was smiling a little. “That’s what my friendship with Shori is like. He’s lucky I put up with him.” Kento glanced up to see Fuma raising an eyebrow at him, and he laughed a little. Fuma hadn’t since seen his laugh so up close, and he resisted the urge to smile. “Or, really, I’m lucky he puts up with me."
Their food was brought soon thereafter, giving Kento something else to look at to avoid Fuma’s eyes. It was weird, and Fuma didn’t like it. After about half of his pasta was gone he couldn’t take it anymore, putting his fork down and interrupting what felt like hundredth question Kento was asking him about himself.
“Why won’t you look at me?”
“What?” Kento asked back. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, you won’t look at me.” Fuma repeated. “It’s weird. I don’t like it.”
“…you don’t like it?” Kento asked back, glancing up at him. Fuma didn’t want to give Kento the opportunity to turn this around on him, saying instead
“Just… Why? What’s going on?”
“I… Well… Don’t get mad.”
“No promises.” Fuma answered immediately. Kento’s nervousness increased tenfold, his words coming out in a rush.
“I asked Shori about you, and he told me a little about how you’ve… Your relationships I guess, in the past, and-”
“You won’t look me in the eye because of perceived emotional baggage?” Fuma asked, unamused. Kento shook his head quickly.
“No, I wanted to show you that I’m interested in you.”
“Well, I-” It took Fuma a moment to realize what Kento actually meant, that he was trying to be genuine. “Is that why you’re asking me a million questions?”
“I-”
“Because it’s useless if you’re just trying to make an impression.”
“No!” Kento said quickly. “No. Really; I’m interested.”
“Well, it’s hard to tell that if you never look at me.”
“Sorry.” Kento gave him a hesitant smile. Fuma raised an eyebrow in response, and his smile grew.
“Now that I can look at your exquisitely beautiful-”
Thankfully, Fuma’s glare was enough to make Kento stop talking, giggling instead. The little sound was surprisingly pleasant, but Fuma didn’t let his expression change.
The date, much to his disgruntlement actually went well after that. They did talk, and though that meant Kento threw out more of his ridiculously cheesy lines, some of them were so silly that they made Fuma laugh. He tried not to laugh though, not wanting to encourage the behavior being put forth, but sometimes he couldn’t help it, snorting into his drink or plate of spaghetti.
“So… Am I allowed to text you now?” Kento asked, wiping his mouth and putting his napkin next to his empty plate.
“I might unblock you.” Fuma responded, not wanting to say something as cheesy as “sure”. Kento caught his lie pretty quickly though.
“But… I wouldn’t have been able to text you if you’d had me blocked.”
“Fine. Okay. You can text me."
"Thank you." Kento said, chuckling at him.
"So how was it?"
Fuma sighed, rolling on his back on the floor. About three hours after lunch had ended Shori called him, asking over and over how the date was. After fifteen minutes of stalling, Fuma figured it was finally time to give his friend what he wanted.
"I... It was fine." Fuma finally said. "It was weird at first, because he wouldn't even look at me."
"...he did what?"
"No, didn't." Fuma corrected. "Apparently you told him my sob story of a dating life, and he took that to mean that I didn't want to be looked at. He also wanted to show some sort of interest in me, so he asked me a ton of questions. He nearly asked me what color my underwear was."
"Sorry about that." Shori sounded unsure of apologizing, Fuma sighing a little.
"No, it was okay. It was actually kind of sweet, until he said something stupid."
"What did he say?"
"I don't know. I stopped him at 'exquisitely beautiful'."
Shori laughed, Fuma laughing too.
"The cheesy lines are painful, and I have no idea how he stands saying them, but I don't know. It might be weirder, now, if he didn't say them. They're like... His thing."
"Kento the cheesy line guy?"
"Yeah."
"You probably shouldn't call him 'cheesy line guy' to his face."
"...I probably will."
Shori laughed again. "You had fun though? You had a good time?"
"A free meal is always a good time." Fuma answered. Shori sighed.
"Fuma..."
"Fine. Yes, I had a good time. I would agree to a second date if he asked. Don't you dare read too into that. And if you tell him any of this, I will kill you."
The silence on the other end of the line was extremely concerning, Fuma sitting up fast.
"What the hell did you do?"
"I didn't tell him!"
"The way your voice just went up six octaves has me thinking the opposite."
"I didn't!" Shori squeaked. "I... You did."
"Wha--"
"Hi." It was not Shori's voice that spoke, despite the matching nervousness. "I... I'm glad you had a good time."
"Shori, what the fuck?" It was Kento talking to him, and evidentially Kento heard everything he said. Fuma's face felt about red enough for him to commit harakiri, and he nearly hung up in favor of storming over to Shori's and punching his face in. But he liked Shori too much to do that and he knew it, just sitting there.
"You might be on speaker." Shori answered, voice hesitant. "Sorry."
"Now, you sound angry, and I respect that, but there's this movie out right now about--well, there's also a guy in it that's angry, and maybe you might want to go with me to see it?"
"...what?" Fuma could barely believe his ears. He couldn't tell if Kento was incredibly brave or incredibly stupid.
"We could just go to the mall, if you want to so that." Kento amended quickly. "We don't have to see a movie. The food court has great smoothies, and--"
"No. No. You, shut up. And you can't text me. Screw you both."
Fuma hung up, tossing his phone on to his bed with a growl. He spent the weekend fuming and complaining to Sou over paragraph long text messages, who stuck to insisting that Kento wanting to know how the date went was actually kind of cute, which really only angered him a little more. By the time Monday rolled around he had nothing else to complain about but still wanted to, picking apart the exchange.
"And why would anyone want to go to the mall on a date?" Fuma stopped his sweeping to lean against the broom. "It's just dumb. There's nothing there but teenage girls, clothing stores, and..." Kento had mentioned smoothies. "I don't know, the food court."
"Girls, food, and clothes all sound like things guys usually like to have on dates." Sou answered thoughtfully. "Well, except maybe the clothing part."
The glare Fuma gave him made him giggle.
"Come on Fuma. I'm sorry. I don't know why he wants to go to the mall with you. Maybe he wants to buy you some clothes. Maybe he hates your fashion sense."
Somehow, Fuma doubted it. "All he's ever seen me in is this apron." He said, plucking at the piece of fabric on his front. Sou frowned.
"You wore your apron on the date? Really?"
Fuma glared again, and Sou laughed again, the sweeping resuming.
"He didn't really look at me during the date, anyway."
That actually made Sou a little concerned. "What? Why?"
"Trying to prove that he's not dating me because of my physical appearance, or something. It was stupid. We're not even dating! We've been on a date. One. Singular."
"That's kind of nice though." Sou told him. "Especially considering, you know, how your other relationships have gone."
"Yeah, that's what he said too. He says the cheesiest things though, Sou. You wouldn't believe it. I don't understand how he takes himself seriously."
"Maybe he doesn't."
"I know I don't. I think I would just laugh if he tried to kiss me. He's like..." Fuma remembered back to the first thing Kento had said to him, the thing about the bed of roses. "It's as though he works in a host club, but he's so bad that he doesn't even get paid."
Sou burst into giggles as Fuma resumed his sweeping, stopping again when his young coworker asked a question.
"So, do you like him? You talk about him a lot, you know."
"I..." Unwilling to give it much thought, Fuma turned his attention back to cleaning the floor. "I don't know."
"Ah!" Sou placed a dramatic hand over his chest, tilting his head back. "The reluctant heart!"
"That's it!" Fuma exclaimed, pointing. "That's what he sounds like!"
"Wait, really?"
When Fuma nodded, Sou came around the counter to stand in front of him, bending to one knee.
"Oh Kikuchi Fuma, with the beautiful face that I will never look upon, and the petal-soft hands that I will never hold, and some sort of Shakespeare reference... Will you do me the honor of turning me down yet again?"
Fuma had to lean on the broom for support as he laughed at Sou's impersonation, his coworker grinning proudly.
"That was pretty good, though you are missing the weirdly genuine sincerity." He said, helping Sou to his feet.
"Maybe next time then." Sou responded, just as a voice behind them spoke up.
"Oh, I didn't realize that the two of you were involved."
It was none other than Nakajima Kento himself. Sou just giggled as Fuma shook his head.
"What? No. No! He's like... Twelve."
"Hey!" Sou protested, giving him a shove on the shoulder before rushing behind the counter. "And what can I get you today sir?"
"Two double chocolate chip cookies and a salted caramel and toffee hot chocolate with extra whip cream."
Sou looked a little concerned, and Fuma understood why. This was the most disgustingly sugar-filled order they'd had in a good while.
"And to go, please."
Kento wasn't staying, and Fuma watched him wait for his order until Kento turned to look over at him, glancing back and focusing solely on sweeping the already-clean floor.
When Kento's order was finished, instead of walking out the door, he sat at a table, pulling out a sharpie and writing quickly on the to-go box his cookies were in.
"If the order is to go, then you're supposed to leave." Fuma said, Kento standing up, giving him a small smile, and hurrying out the door. It took them both a moment to notice that he had completely left what he had ordered on the table, Fuma grabbing the box and the drink and rushing out after him.
"Wait! Wait. You forgot your things." He said, coming to a stop in front of him. Kento shook his head, a mock innocent expression on his face.
"Those aren't mine."
"What?"
"They don't have my name on them."
Fuma looked, and sure enough, his name was written on the cup by Sou, and the box had a bit of a message.
To Fuma:
Asking Shori to call you was overstepping, but I am glad you had a good time. If you would still say yes to that second date, I have two movie tickets for this weekend.
He had signed it with a little heart, Fuma giving him an exasperated look.
"Is this bribery?" He asked, opening the cookie box.
"What, buying you what you said was your favorite menu item, and then your actual favorite menu item?" Kento had much too big of a smile on his face, Fuma genuinely surprised that he remembered. "Maybe. Is it working?"
Fuma took a bite, the double chocolate cookie tasting a little like forgiveness. "Maybe. Text me the details."
Kento beamed, saying goodbye, Fuma walking back into the shop. Sou had his chin on his hands, resting his elbows on the counter and grinning.
"What?" Fuma asked as he began to giggle. "Shut up. Don't look at me like that."
Despite the complaints he had made, their second date was at the mall. Fuma couldn’t help but let his misgivings show though.
“So… What are we supposed to do here?” He asked.
“Well, what do you usually do at the mall?” Kento asked back. Fuma just stared at him.
“You don’t… You don’t come here often, do you?” Kento was about to laugh, making Fuma frown.
“Why would I go to the mall?” He asked Kento, who finally let out a little giggle.
“Do you own any clothes?”
“Of course I do.”
“Well, I want a few new clothes. And a hat. Maybe you could help me pick things out? You might even see something you like. Oh, come on. It’ll be fun.” Kento reached over, tugging on his wrist a little to pull Fuma into walking. As soon as he took a step Kento let go, but Fuma could still feel where Kento’s fingers had touched his arm. Why they were here was weird to him. They were just supposed to walk around together? Talk? Shop? It would be boring, but Kento’s presence had him feeling hyperaware, looking over every once and a while to see the young man glancing around at stores and people, a small smile on his face. While his expression was carefree, the rest of his body was obviously not, back very straight, arms still.
“Are you okay?” Fuma decided to ask him.
“What do you mean? I’m fine.”
“You’re acting weird.”
Kento suddenly looked guilty, giving him an apologetic smile as he took a deep breath out.
“Sorry. I’m just nervous.”
“About buying a hat?”
“About walking around with you. I don’t know.” He looked nearly bashful, which completely blew Fuma’s mind. He could say the cheesiest things without a hint of embarrassment, but somehow struggled with his next sentence. “You get nervous around people when you like them.”
Fuma checked internally for a moment, but there was no knot in his stomach, no shaky hands or weak knees. He felt fine. Kento’s face was a cute shade of pink, and Fuma couldn’t help but smile at him. Thankfully, he didn’t notice, staring a little ahead of them.
“Oh, look.” his voice was hushed, trying subtly to point.
“At what?”
“Those shoes.”
Fuma saw what Kento was talking about as soon as the type of clothing was said-there was a woman walking in their direction, wearing what Fuma could only guess was a horrendously ugly hybrid of leopard print high heels and tennis shoes.
“Are you sure you don’t want to shop for a new pair of shoes?” Fuma asked, and Kento giggled. That was how the searching for ugly outfits began. They had nearly an hour before their movie began, and all of it was spent in the first clothing store they came across. Fuma pulled a neon zebra print shirt off the rack, telling Kento it suited him, but Kento just retaliated by wordlessly handing Fuma a bejeweled kitten t-shirt in his size. They competed to find the worst clothing item in the entire store, Fuma in the middle of trying to get Kento into the crop top he found that looked like a glorified piece of ruffled candy corn when he noticed the time.
"Don't we have a movie to get to?" He asked, putting his phone back in his pocket. Kento froze, asking for the time, blanching when Fuma told him.
"We... We're a little late." He said.
"How late?"
"Only... Fifteen minutes?" Kento answered hesitantly. Fuma grabbed him by the arm, pulling him out of the clothing store. "Are we going? Are we going to be able to make it?"
"You bought tickets, didn't you?" Fuma asked back, letting Kento go. "I'm sure the beginning of the movie wasn't that important."
While they were able to get in, the first fifteen minutes of the movie did end up to be crucial to the plot. The film left the two of them with a lot of unanswered questions, Fuma feeling as though they had missed the point entirely.
"Well, at least we got in." Kento said with a laugh. "The action was cool, even though we didn't know why it was happening."
Fuma nodded. They had gotten ice cream after the movie ended, Kento insisting on walking him home. It was dark out, the streetlights doing just enough, and now that both of their cones had been eaten, Fuma kept expecting Kento to try to hold his hand. He was nervous again, making him anticipate something, but they stopped at Fuma's front door without incident.
"I'm not going to ask Shori to call you again, so I guess I'll ask... Did you have a good time today?"
"Do I need to make you a report card?" Fuma asked back. Kento shook his head, laughing a little.
"Honestly though yes, I did. Thank you."
"Kikuchi Fuma..." Kento took a small step forward, Fuma leaning back a little in response, his back making contact with his front door behind him. "Can I kiss you?"
"No."
The answer was out of his mouth before he had time to even consider the question, the automatic response to the feeling the question had given him--an excited, tensing twist in his stomach, a fluttering in his chest. He was nervous.
Kento was already beginning to draw back, his expression tentative and a little confused, Fuma realizing that he hadn't wanted to say no. He wanted to be kissed.
Before he had time to be scared by the realization he leaned forward, closing his eyes as he did, afraid to see Kento's reaction. He met Kento's lips with more force than he expected, the other surprised and still against him. The lack of reaction made him draw back, knowing he was being off putting and confusing, an apology already set on his tongue.
"I'm s--"
Kento only looked at him for a moment, his face incredibly close, before leaning back into him, pressing close to him with the same force that Fuma had, cutting him off. The apology was completely forgotten as Kento began genuinely kissing him, his arms wrapping loosely around Fuma's neck. The nervousness began to fade as Fuma's hands found Kento's hips, the contact comforting and exciting at the same time, leaving only one thought in his mind.
Damn, this man can kiss.
From: CAN'T BE TRUSTED
You need to text me
To: CAN'T BE TRUSTED
no.
Fuma was trying to frown at his phone, at the texts Shori--Shori and his new contact name--was sending him, but it had been over half an hour since Kento had walked him home, the majority of that time having been spent kissing at his front door, and now Fuma felt stupid and floaty, and he couldn't stop grinning. He tried to be annoyed by it, hoping that would make the smiling go away, but he genuinely couldn't.
From: CAN'T BE TRUSTED
Come on, why
To: CAN'T BE TRUSTED
because last time we talked after a date, my privacy was violated.
He could almost hear his friend sighing in the gap before he responded.
From: CAN'T BE TRUSTED
Kento isn't even here so I can't have him listen okay
From: CAN'T BE TRUSTED
I tried to ask him what happened and he didn't say anything
From: CAN'T BE TRUSTED
He just wouldn't stop smiling so something happened
Fuma had to grin a little at that.
To: CAN'T BE TRUSTED
you promise you're not going to tell him?
From: CAN'T BE TRUSTED
Promise
To: CAN'T BE TRUSTED
i don't believe you.
Then Shori called him.
"I kissed him, okay? I kissed him."
"That's why he was smiling like an idiot. Are you smiling like an idiot? Because you sound like you are."
"No."
"Whatever." There was a pause, Shori asking "So... Do you like him?"
Saying anything but 'no' was embarrassing, but Shori was not amused by his answer.
"Fuma, you kissed him."
"So?"
"You told me you think he's cute."
"So what if I think he's cute? I think Sou's cute, I think you're cute--"
"I don't think you're cute."
"I don't think you're very nice."
Shori laughed. "Okay, but you don't go to the movies with Sou."
"Yes I do."
"...come on. Admit it."
"No!" Fuma floundered for some other evidence for denial. "He asked if he could kiss me, and it made me feel all weird."
"It made you feel nervous, you idiot. Because you like him."
"No, and you can shut your entire face."
That had Shori bursting into giggles, Fuma wishing his friend was actually here so he could glare at him.
"I told you he was different though, didn't I? From all the other guys you've dated."
"He's definitely weirder." Fuma allotted. There was an unamused silence. "I haven't gone in a second date with anyone in a while, so that's good, I guess."
"Do you think that could turn into something else? A title, maybe?"
Fuma sighed when he realized what Shori was getting at.
"His boyfriend? I don't know, that's..."
"It's not like an engagement, or anything. And heavens knows you don't have a problem breaking up with people. Come on, Fuma. If you like him, then give him a chance. I have to go but I'll talk to you later, okay?"
Fuma let out a long groan after Shori hung up, rolling and pressing his face into his pillow. He did a lot of groaning and rolling over the rest of the weekend, the action seeming to be the perfect response to everything. It was definitely appropriate when he got a text from his manager Tuesday afternoon, asking to help with the evening shift and locking up. He didn't have a reason to refuse so he agreed, strapping on his apron to find Sou already there.
"You're not supposed to be working today." Fuma remarked, surprised.
"Neither are you." Sou responded. "I was asked if I could fill in for Tamamori, so it was me and Nikaido here, but then he had some emergency and had to leave."
"Great." Fuma said, taking his apron off the hook and tying it behind his back. Honestly, the two of them weren't really needed, with only three people coming in before closing time. Fuma was sweeping the floor, Sou about to turn the lights off, when the bell signaling the opening of the front door chimed.
It was a painfully familiar scene, with Shori, Kento, and Marius striding through the door together.
"Marius!" Sou said happily, Marius waving back. Fuma met Kento's eyes, the same nervous feeling coming back to him, but this time it was annoying--he didn't like having it, not with everyone there--making him snap.
"We're closing. You can't buy anything."
"I did already put away the pastries." Sou added apologetically.
"We're not here for pastries." Shori said, bumping Kento with his elbow.
"We're here for something swe--"
"Don't." Shori said quickly, cutting Kento off.
"Sorry. Actually, Fuma, I wanted to talk to you."
Fuma suddenly wished he had the opportunity to brush his hair, and that he wasn't in his work apron.
"About what?"
"I... Well..." Kento looked as nervous as he felt, stepping closer. "I was completely taken by you as soon as I saw you, and thankfully you were patient with me," that made Fuma raise an eyebrow "and at the end of our second date, when you kissed me, I realized that kissing you was something I wanted to do for a long time, so... Will you be my boyfriend?"
Fuma was completely floored, and not because of the question asked, because of he and Shori's conversation, it hadn't been too hard to guess where this was going, but because of how it had been asked.
"Yes, I guess, but... Did you have to ask it like that?"
"Wait, yes?" Kento asked after a moment of surprised silence. "You said yes?"
"Don't make me say it again." Fuma answered, unable to keep from grinning as Kento began to beam. His--well, his boyfriend, now, he supposed--rushed close and pulled him in for a hug, his body happy and warm. Everyone around them was smiling, making Fuma's face turn pink.
"Honestly though, it was almost like you were asking to marry me. You didn't have to say so much."
"Oh, no." Kento said with a laugh, waving a hand. "When we get engaged, I'm--"
Fuma's eyes went wide, pressing his lips to Kento's, shutting him up as quickly as he knew how. Fuma could hear Sou giggling, Kento made a small surprised sound against his mouth, his eyes questioning as he pulled back.
"Do not talk about us getting married." Fuma said, Kento nodding and laughing, pressing his face into Fuma's neck.
"He made Kento stop talking." Marius said, his voice hushed in astonishment. "I didn't know it was possible to make Kento stop talking."
"Hey!" Kento protested, the rest of them laughing. Shori just nodded, grinning and crossing his arms.
"I knew they were perfect for each other."
Title: P.S. Shut Up
Pairing: Kento/Fuma
Rating: PG
Warnings: Kissing, Fuma might say a word or two
Summary: After yet another failed first date, Fuma is just about ready to completely write off the entire male population. Against his better judgement, he decides to listen to his friend Shori when he says that his friend Nakajima Kento is unlike anyone else Fuma has met before.
Notes: I've never written Sexy Zone before, so I can't vouch for the characterization, but I'm hoping the attempt at humor will make up for it. I hope you enjoy it yoru_no_hikaru! <33
Sou sent a cheerful farewell and a cute smile to the exiting customers, Fuma sighing internally as the coffee shop door closed. He had been dreading this moment--the two of them being alone--since their shift together started. He knew Sou had some questions, and he wasn't excited to answer them. His fears were confirmed when his young coworker turned to him, smiling.
"So?"
"So what?" Fuma grumbled back. Sou bounded over to him.
"Come on, you know! How was your date?"
"What date?" Fuma knew exactly what Sou was talking about, hoping his obvious dodging of the question would indicate that he didn't want to talk about it. Sou, however, wasn't having any of it.
"That date you had this weekend, with that guy--the guy I think looks like a vampire, but you said he has a cute smile or something."
"Well," Fuma said, closing the cash register a little harder than he needed to. "You're welcome to put a stake in his chest, because at the end of the night, I ended up punching him in the face."
Sou wasn't as surprised as Fuma had expected him to be.
"Why? What did he do?"
"He... All he wanted was to get into my pants." Fuma said with a sigh. This had been happening to him too often recently, and he couldn't figure out why. "He didn't pay attention to a word I said, and he kept putting his hand on my thigh in the restaurant. He probably doesn't even remember my name."
Sou patted his shoulder sympathetically. "He's bound to remember you though, and if it makes you feel better I think that 'Hot Guy that Punched Me' is a cooler name than 'Kikuchi Fuma' anyway."
"Want me to change your name to 'Got Punched by Hot Guy'?"
Sou laughed at the threat, but he took a step back.
"I'm sorry Fuma, that sucks."
Fuma just nodded. "I should have expected it, I guess."
"Yes, yes, men are dumb." Sou said before Fuma could launch into his 'men are pigs and I give up' speech again. "Want to come over after work? I know there's ice cream in the fridge at home. Bring that bloody zombie game you like."
Fuma had to smile a little at that. Despite how much--or little--he showed it, he really was grateful for Sou's friendship.
"That would be great, thanks."
The front door chimed, signaling the entrance of more customers. It was three young men, three young men, but only one of them someone Fuma knew, Sato Shori smiling and giving him a wave. He and Shori had become friends a few years back thanks to their mothers, who were both part of the same club--a book club, or tea, or flower arranging; Fuma honestly could not remember which--bonding over music one day when Fuma had gone over to the Sato residence to pick his mother up and the woman was chatting too much to leave. The two with him Fuma had never seen before, someone with a nice face that Fuma guessed to be around his age on one side and an incredibly tall boy on the other. The tall one had a baby face though, making Fuma think he was actually substantially younger.
"Welcome!" Sou said happily. "What can we do for you?"
They ordered a few drinks and a few pastries, and after a bit of sitting and talking Shori called Fuma over.
"Hey." Fuma said, before remembering that he was at work. "Do you need anything?"
Shori shook his head."No, I just wanted to introduce you to my friends."
"Oh, okay." He hadn't expected that, smiling hesitantly at the strangers.
"Marius, Kento, this is my friend Kikuchi Fuma. Fuma, this is Marius Yo--" the tall one smiled and waved "--and Nakajima Kento."
"It is nothing but lovely to make your acquaintance." Nakajima Kento said, smiling, the gracious tone in his voice making Fuma simply stare at him.
"I think the two of you have met before; Fuma, Kento is that childhood friend of mine that I've talked about a few times."
Fuma gave a slow nod. He did remember Shori mentioning someone that he'd been friends with since birth, but he had the feeling that if he and this Nakajima Kento had actually met face to face, he would remember it. Apparently, Kento had the same opinion.
"How blessed I am, to have already graced unknowingly upon your life. Though I do not think we have spoken--I would remember a face that puts a bed of roses to shame."
Fuma was just about done with the uncomfortable flattery coming from this guy's mouth. He was cute, sure, but it wasn't worth it. A slightly disbelieving look in Shori's direction revealed apologetic second-hand embarrassment, Shori glancing hesitantly between himself and his friend.
"You really don't need to say that." Fuma finally told Kento.
"But it's true."
"But you don't need--"
"I wanted to."
Anger flared inside Fuma now; there was a sore spot from the experience he'd had the night before, and he could tell that Kento was not listening to him.
"I am aware that I am an employee and you are a customer, but do not think for a second that customer service puts any change on my tolerance policy for assholes. I am not in the mood to deal with--"
"He's not an asshole." The one named Marius interrupted, stopping the rant that Fuma had felt himself slipping into. He was actually a little thankful for that, collecting himself.
"I don't care what he is. Now, I can help you with the bill when you're finished, and until then please enjoy your food and your drinks."
Nakajima Kento actually looked apologetic, and Fuma found himself appreciating the remorse, though he appreciated even more that it wasn't vocalized. Once they were done Shori's two friends hung back as Shori approached the register to pay.
"Is that guy always like that?" Fuma had to ask.
"I'm sorry." Shori responded. "He's flirtatious, and sometimes he can come on too strong. He does sincerely apologize."
"Good."
"He also sincerely thinks you're cute."
Fuma had to sigh, especially when Sou giggled.
"Did he tell you to say that? I think he's cute too, but that doesn't make me want to talk to him ever again. I'm not something he can just compliment, and expect me to--"
"He wasn't doing that." Shori said quickly. "I promise. He just wanted to compliment you."
"Sure he did."
"Maybe he wanted to make you smile. You are grumpy today."
"I'm grumpy every day."
That made Shori grin. "That's true. Talk to you later."
"Yeah. Bye."
Fuma watched Nakajima Kento's retreating back as the three of them left the coffee shop, looking away with a cough as Kento glanced back at him.
A few days later, out of the blue Shori called him.
"Okay Fuma, don't kill me, but... I gave Nakajima Kento your phone number."
"What?" Fuma asked. "Who?"
"Remember?" Shori asked. He sounded a little nervous over the phone, making Fuma apprehensive. "That guy you met the other day?"
"Wait." Fuma sat up quickly. "Your friend? The guy that said the rose-face thing? You gave my phone number to the guy that wants to smell my face?"
"Okay, it was either that or your home address." Shori defended.
"You should have given him my address!" Fuma insisted. "Then I could have called the cops for trespassing."
"I know." Shori deadpanned. "I'm trying not to get him arrested."
Fuma didn't answer, hoping Shori could just hear him frowning.
"Come on. He really does like you, Fuma. He isn't just saying dumb stuff."
"He is saying dumb stuff." Fuma countered. "He's saying really dumb stuff. Don't tell me that flower comparison wasn't dumb."
"...okay. But really, he wants to talk to you, and take you on a date. He's interested in you."
"No he's not. He doesn't even know me. He just likes that I look like a garden, or something. He was throwing out lines that I bet he says to everyone."
Shori laughed. "He's not like everybody else, I promise."
"He's acting like it."
"Fuma, trust me. If Kento is anything, it's one of a kind."
Shifts at the coffee house were a lot less fun when he and Sou didn’t have work at the same time, Fuma tapping his fingers on the counter and sighing. The day had been incredibly slow as well, resulting in a great deal of boredom, and a great deal of sitting around. He was rearranging the muffin case for the third time when the front door chimed. He looked up with his customer-service smile, then instantly regretted it.
Nakajima Kento beamed back at him. Fuma was already slightly annoyed-Nakajima Kento had been on his mind all weekend, Fuma expecting a text or phone call thanks to what Shori had done-but neither had happened, much to his surprise. He was tempted to pull out the shop’s “We have the right to refuse service to anyone” sign but decided against it, crossing his arms over his chest as Kento made his way up to the counter.
“How can I help you?” He tried to keep his tone neutral. It appeared to work, because all the happened was that Kento ordered coffee and a muffin and walked away to sit down.
“Thank you.” Kento said when Fuma placed his completed order on the table in front of him. “What’s your favorite thing on the menu?”
It was a random question, and Fuma wasn’t about to divulge the truth-the most sugary drink they had, with extra caramel sauce and whipped cream-instead giving a more societally appropriate answer.
“The double chocolate chip cookie.”
“Oh, I’m surprised. That’s very sweet.” Kento said, nodding thoughtfully. “Just like your ass.”
The statement was said so naturally and passively that Fuma could barely believe it had even happened, mouth gaping open for a moment. The small, playful smile on Kento’s face was completely shot down as he looked over and saw the murder in Fuma’s eyes.
“I’m sorry!” He exclaimed instantly, putting his hands defensively up by his chest. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
Fuma seriously considered getting out the service refusal sign now, not caring whether or not Kento even paid for his coffee and muffin, as long as he left.
“It was out of line, and you’re at work, and ‘sexy’ would have been a better word, and-”
“Do yourself a favor. Shut up.”
Kento obeyed so fast that Fuma wouldn’t have been surprised if he hurt his jaw, walking back to the counter.
“No, wait, please.”
He wasn’t sure why he turned around but he did, crossing his arms and pursing his lips.
“I didn’t mean to make you angry. Let’s talk about cookies, or something.”
“Why?”
“Um…” That wasn’t the response Kento had expected, Fuma could tell. “Because I’m surprised. You don’t seem like you like sugar. You look like you drink black coffee.”
Fuma made a face. “Black coffee is horrible.” He said, and Kento laughed a little.
“It really is. And you like chocolate then?”
It was turning into a genuine conversation, much to Fuma’s surprise, and he nodded, walking back over to the table. They talked until Kento’s muffin was gone, Kento standing and saying he was ready to pay.
“So, um…” Kento suddenly avoided his eyes, making Fuma frown. “Shori gave me your number; would it be okay to text you?”
He hadn’t expected Kento to ask permission, especially with such a hesitant, unsure tone of voice.
“No.”
Kento opened his mouth, then seemed to think better of it, just dipping his head and nodding again. Fuma felt bad, watching him leave, unsure of why he had answered so harshly.
He hadn’t actually wanted to say no, and it scared him. It annoyed him. It made him feel stupid. He didn’t want Kento’s attention. He didn’t want to want Kento’s attention. Kento was the same as everyone else. He had to be.
“I saw him at school today.” Sou reported. He was lying on Fuma’s bed, supposed to be doing homework. Fuma was on the floor, his phone in his hand.
“Him who?” They had been talking about Nakajima Kento before, but Fuma was more than sure that his overdramatic pursuer was not of high school age.
“That super tall guy that’s friends with your friend Shori. I did a chemistry project with him once.”
“What was his name?” Fuma asked. He couldn’t remember, and wasn’t sure if he should feel bad about it or not.
“Marius Yo. He’s half German; that’s why he’s so tall.”
Fuma nodded, the game he was playing interrupted by a text notification popping up on his cell phone screen. It was from an unfamiliar number, and he groaned when he saw the message preview.
Hey, this is Nakajima Kento. I know you told me not…
He opened the message, the rest of it not making him feel any better.
I know you told me not to text you, but I have something I want to ask and Shori said it would be okay.
Fuma was sure he knew what the question was going to be, throwing his phone up on the bed. It landed in the middle of Sou’s notebook, right where he intended it, saying
“Could you deal with this, please?”
Sou looked at the phone, eyebrows raised. “Is this your man?” he asked. Fuma made a face.
“It’s Nakajima Kento. He’s going to ask me out.”
Sou nodded in agreement, picking up the phone. Fuma laid down on the floor, closing his eyes, listening to the text tone, followed by the silence of Sou replying, hoping that Kento was being rejected, and Fuma wouldn’t have to see him again, wouldn’t have to feel that slight desire for his attention, wouldn’t have to hear those ridiculous compliments that Fuma couldn’t believe someone had the courage to actually say in public.
“Oops.” Sou muttered to himself, making Fuma get to his feet, jumping on Sou’s back and laying on top of him to see the phone screen.
“What did you do?” He asked. All he could see was a message from Nakajima Kento, containing a time, date, and place.
“You… You might just have a date tomorrow.”
“…what?”
Sou gave him a sheepish grin, hanging the phone back.
“What? Why? What happened?” Fuma asked, scrolling through the messages. “Why?”
Sou shrugged, looking a lot less apologetic than Fuma thought he should.
“I don’t know! He’s weirdly charming.”
“I hate you.”
Sou reached over, flicking him in the forehead, and Fuma felt strangely betrayed.
"I trusted you."
"It's just a date!" Sou argued, wriggling under Fuma's body as he tried to grab the phone. "Now you can reject him in person! Much better for your reputation."
Fuma had to roll his eyes at that, finally snatching the phone and scrolling up to where the conversation began.
"I tried." Sou defended. "I tried to be your usually grumbly self, but he turned it around on me. I don't know what happened."
Fuma gave him a doubtful glance, but upon scrolling through the texts, he saw that Sou was telling the truth. He was being prickly, calling Kento stupid, and it actually took Fuma a moment to find the turning point of the conversation. Sou had tried to decline the note, sending ‘no’ just as Kento sent the text ‘And you wouldn’t want to decline, would you?’ Kento had responded with excitement, then the details on when and where to meet.
“I’m not going.” Fuma declared. “No way.”
“That is a little rude, you know.” Sou chastised.
“I’m not the one that agreed to the date!” Fuma argued. “You go to this… Italian restaurant with him. I won’t.”
The date was in three days, at a restaurant relatively close to Fuma’s work. It was just lunch, which honestly was the least threatening of the meal date options-without the time inconvenience of breakfast and the implications of dinner-but still Fuma didn’t trust it.
He kept his phone away from himself, because every time he looked at it he saw Kento’s last message. He was trying to just forget about the date, because simply standing Kento up did make him feel bad. The days passed quickly, Fuma not setting an alarm the day of and hoping that he would sleep in past noon. Instead he slept only until nine, with plenty of time to get ready and go to the restaurant. It pissed him off a little, and not having even the excuse of work angered him a little more. He just paced around his bedroom, his phone lying on his bed. When it buzzed he snapped it up immediately, but it was just Sou.
From: Pipsqueak
Have fun on your date!!!
I’m not going! Fuma sent back, tossing his phone back down.
Fuma walked over to his closet, figuring that since he was awake, he might as well get dressed. He had to change three times before he was satisfied, brushing his teeth and styling his hair. Once he was finished he saw it was a few minutes past noon, and he let out a breath. He was officially late, meaning that he had missed it, and that Kento had gone home, hopefully getting the message.
It felt dumb now, to be so dressed up and just sitting around his house, so Fuma slipped his shoes on and walked outside.
He wasn’t walking in any particular direction, cursing out loud when he found himself across the street from the Italian restaurant.
Kento was visible through the window, still sitting there despite Fuma being over ten minutes late. A waiter walked over, Kento smiling politely and shaking his head. Cursing again, Fuma frowned and shoved the door open.
“Hi.” He walked up to Kento’s table, sitting in the empty chair. “I’m late. Sorry.”
Kento glanced up at him, not saying anything as he looked down at his menu, but Fuma could see a smile, a smile almost too big for his face. A waiter took their orders, and Fuma sat there, silence setting in just long enough for Fuma to begin regretting his decision when Kento spoke up.
“So… How’s your day been?”
“Uh… Fine.” Despite no longer having a menu to look at, Kento was still avoiding looking at him. “All I’ve really done is sleep.”
Kento laughed a little, nodding. “That was a silly question, wasn’t it. Do you like working?”
“Well I like my job. Or, I like working with Sou. We’ve always been neighbors, so we’ve kind of always been friends.”
“Oh, that’s nice.” Kento was smiling a little. “That’s what my friendship with Shori is like. He’s lucky I put up with him.” Kento glanced up to see Fuma raising an eyebrow at him, and he laughed a little. Fuma hadn’t since seen his laugh so up close, and he resisted the urge to smile. “Or, really, I’m lucky he puts up with me."
Their food was brought soon thereafter, giving Kento something else to look at to avoid Fuma’s eyes. It was weird, and Fuma didn’t like it. After about half of his pasta was gone he couldn’t take it anymore, putting his fork down and interrupting what felt like hundredth question Kento was asking him about himself.
“Why won’t you look at me?”
“What?” Kento asked back. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, you won’t look at me.” Fuma repeated. “It’s weird. I don’t like it.”
“…you don’t like it?” Kento asked back, glancing up at him. Fuma didn’t want to give Kento the opportunity to turn this around on him, saying instead
“Just… Why? What’s going on?”
“I… Well… Don’t get mad.”
“No promises.” Fuma answered immediately. Kento’s nervousness increased tenfold, his words coming out in a rush.
“I asked Shori about you, and he told me a little about how you’ve… Your relationships I guess, in the past, and-”
“You won’t look me in the eye because of perceived emotional baggage?” Fuma asked, unamused. Kento shook his head quickly.
“No, I wanted to show you that I’m interested in you.”
“Well, I-” It took Fuma a moment to realize what Kento actually meant, that he was trying to be genuine. “Is that why you’re asking me a million questions?”
“I-”
“Because it’s useless if you’re just trying to make an impression.”
“No!” Kento said quickly. “No. Really; I’m interested.”
“Well, it’s hard to tell that if you never look at me.”
“Sorry.” Kento gave him a hesitant smile. Fuma raised an eyebrow in response, and his smile grew.
“Now that I can look at your exquisitely beautiful-”
Thankfully, Fuma’s glare was enough to make Kento stop talking, giggling instead. The little sound was surprisingly pleasant, but Fuma didn’t let his expression change.
The date, much to his disgruntlement actually went well after that. They did talk, and though that meant Kento threw out more of his ridiculously cheesy lines, some of them were so silly that they made Fuma laugh. He tried not to laugh though, not wanting to encourage the behavior being put forth, but sometimes he couldn’t help it, snorting into his drink or plate of spaghetti.
“So… Am I allowed to text you now?” Kento asked, wiping his mouth and putting his napkin next to his empty plate.
“I might unblock you.” Fuma responded, not wanting to say something as cheesy as “sure”. Kento caught his lie pretty quickly though.
“But… I wouldn’t have been able to text you if you’d had me blocked.”
“Fine. Okay. You can text me."
"Thank you." Kento said, chuckling at him.
"So how was it?"
Fuma sighed, rolling on his back on the floor. About three hours after lunch had ended Shori called him, asking over and over how the date was. After fifteen minutes of stalling, Fuma figured it was finally time to give his friend what he wanted.
"I... It was fine." Fuma finally said. "It was weird at first, because he wouldn't even look at me."
"...he did what?"
"No, didn't." Fuma corrected. "Apparently you told him my sob story of a dating life, and he took that to mean that I didn't want to be looked at. He also wanted to show some sort of interest in me, so he asked me a ton of questions. He nearly asked me what color my underwear was."
"Sorry about that." Shori sounded unsure of apologizing, Fuma sighing a little.
"No, it was okay. It was actually kind of sweet, until he said something stupid."
"What did he say?"
"I don't know. I stopped him at 'exquisitely beautiful'."
Shori laughed, Fuma laughing too.
"The cheesy lines are painful, and I have no idea how he stands saying them, but I don't know. It might be weirder, now, if he didn't say them. They're like... His thing."
"Kento the cheesy line guy?"
"Yeah."
"You probably shouldn't call him 'cheesy line guy' to his face."
"...I probably will."
Shori laughed again. "You had fun though? You had a good time?"
"A free meal is always a good time." Fuma answered. Shori sighed.
"Fuma..."
"Fine. Yes, I had a good time. I would agree to a second date if he asked. Don't you dare read too into that. And if you tell him any of this, I will kill you."
The silence on the other end of the line was extremely concerning, Fuma sitting up fast.
"What the hell did you do?"
"I didn't tell him!"
"The way your voice just went up six octaves has me thinking the opposite."
"I didn't!" Shori squeaked. "I... You did."
"Wha--"
"Hi." It was not Shori's voice that spoke, despite the matching nervousness. "I... I'm glad you had a good time."
"Shori, what the fuck?" It was Kento talking to him, and evidentially Kento heard everything he said. Fuma's face felt about red enough for him to commit harakiri, and he nearly hung up in favor of storming over to Shori's and punching his face in. But he liked Shori too much to do that and he knew it, just sitting there.
"You might be on speaker." Shori answered, voice hesitant. "Sorry."
"Now, you sound angry, and I respect that, but there's this movie out right now about--well, there's also a guy in it that's angry, and maybe you might want to go with me to see it?"
"...what?" Fuma could barely believe his ears. He couldn't tell if Kento was incredibly brave or incredibly stupid.
"We could just go to the mall, if you want to so that." Kento amended quickly. "We don't have to see a movie. The food court has great smoothies, and--"
"No. No. You, shut up. And you can't text me. Screw you both."
Fuma hung up, tossing his phone on to his bed with a growl. He spent the weekend fuming and complaining to Sou over paragraph long text messages, who stuck to insisting that Kento wanting to know how the date went was actually kind of cute, which really only angered him a little more. By the time Monday rolled around he had nothing else to complain about but still wanted to, picking apart the exchange.
"And why would anyone want to go to the mall on a date?" Fuma stopped his sweeping to lean against the broom. "It's just dumb. There's nothing there but teenage girls, clothing stores, and..." Kento had mentioned smoothies. "I don't know, the food court."
"Girls, food, and clothes all sound like things guys usually like to have on dates." Sou answered thoughtfully. "Well, except maybe the clothing part."
The glare Fuma gave him made him giggle.
"Come on Fuma. I'm sorry. I don't know why he wants to go to the mall with you. Maybe he wants to buy you some clothes. Maybe he hates your fashion sense."
Somehow, Fuma doubted it. "All he's ever seen me in is this apron." He said, plucking at the piece of fabric on his front. Sou frowned.
"You wore your apron on the date? Really?"
Fuma glared again, and Sou laughed again, the sweeping resuming.
"He didn't really look at me during the date, anyway."
That actually made Sou a little concerned. "What? Why?"
"Trying to prove that he's not dating me because of my physical appearance, or something. It was stupid. We're not even dating! We've been on a date. One. Singular."
"That's kind of nice though." Sou told him. "Especially considering, you know, how your other relationships have gone."
"Yeah, that's what he said too. He says the cheesiest things though, Sou. You wouldn't believe it. I don't understand how he takes himself seriously."
"Maybe he doesn't."
"I know I don't. I think I would just laugh if he tried to kiss me. He's like..." Fuma remembered back to the first thing Kento had said to him, the thing about the bed of roses. "It's as though he works in a host club, but he's so bad that he doesn't even get paid."
Sou burst into giggles as Fuma resumed his sweeping, stopping again when his young coworker asked a question.
"So, do you like him? You talk about him a lot, you know."
"I..." Unwilling to give it much thought, Fuma turned his attention back to cleaning the floor. "I don't know."
"Ah!" Sou placed a dramatic hand over his chest, tilting his head back. "The reluctant heart!"
"That's it!" Fuma exclaimed, pointing. "That's what he sounds like!"
"Wait, really?"
When Fuma nodded, Sou came around the counter to stand in front of him, bending to one knee.
"Oh Kikuchi Fuma, with the beautiful face that I will never look upon, and the petal-soft hands that I will never hold, and some sort of Shakespeare reference... Will you do me the honor of turning me down yet again?"
Fuma had to lean on the broom for support as he laughed at Sou's impersonation, his coworker grinning proudly.
"That was pretty good, though you are missing the weirdly genuine sincerity." He said, helping Sou to his feet.
"Maybe next time then." Sou responded, just as a voice behind them spoke up.
"Oh, I didn't realize that the two of you were involved."
It was none other than Nakajima Kento himself. Sou just giggled as Fuma shook his head.
"What? No. No! He's like... Twelve."
"Hey!" Sou protested, giving him a shove on the shoulder before rushing behind the counter. "And what can I get you today sir?"
"Two double chocolate chip cookies and a salted caramel and toffee hot chocolate with extra whip cream."
Sou looked a little concerned, and Fuma understood why. This was the most disgustingly sugar-filled order they'd had in a good while.
"And to go, please."
Kento wasn't staying, and Fuma watched him wait for his order until Kento turned to look over at him, glancing back and focusing solely on sweeping the already-clean floor.
When Kento's order was finished, instead of walking out the door, he sat at a table, pulling out a sharpie and writing quickly on the to-go box his cookies were in.
"If the order is to go, then you're supposed to leave." Fuma said, Kento standing up, giving him a small smile, and hurrying out the door. It took them both a moment to notice that he had completely left what he had ordered on the table, Fuma grabbing the box and the drink and rushing out after him.
"Wait! Wait. You forgot your things." He said, coming to a stop in front of him. Kento shook his head, a mock innocent expression on his face.
"Those aren't mine."
"What?"
"They don't have my name on them."
Fuma looked, and sure enough, his name was written on the cup by Sou, and the box had a bit of a message.
To Fuma:
Asking Shori to call you was overstepping, but I am glad you had a good time. If you would still say yes to that second date, I have two movie tickets for this weekend.
He had signed it with a little heart, Fuma giving him an exasperated look.
"Is this bribery?" He asked, opening the cookie box.
"What, buying you what you said was your favorite menu item, and then your actual favorite menu item?" Kento had much too big of a smile on his face, Fuma genuinely surprised that he remembered. "Maybe. Is it working?"
Fuma took a bite, the double chocolate cookie tasting a little like forgiveness. "Maybe. Text me the details."
Kento beamed, saying goodbye, Fuma walking back into the shop. Sou had his chin on his hands, resting his elbows on the counter and grinning.
"What?" Fuma asked as he began to giggle. "Shut up. Don't look at me like that."
Despite the complaints he had made, their second date was at the mall. Fuma couldn’t help but let his misgivings show though.
“So… What are we supposed to do here?” He asked.
“Well, what do you usually do at the mall?” Kento asked back. Fuma just stared at him.
“You don’t… You don’t come here often, do you?” Kento was about to laugh, making Fuma frown.
“Why would I go to the mall?” He asked Kento, who finally let out a little giggle.
“Do you own any clothes?”
“Of course I do.”
“Well, I want a few new clothes. And a hat. Maybe you could help me pick things out? You might even see something you like. Oh, come on. It’ll be fun.” Kento reached over, tugging on his wrist a little to pull Fuma into walking. As soon as he took a step Kento let go, but Fuma could still feel where Kento’s fingers had touched his arm. Why they were here was weird to him. They were just supposed to walk around together? Talk? Shop? It would be boring, but Kento’s presence had him feeling hyperaware, looking over every once and a while to see the young man glancing around at stores and people, a small smile on his face. While his expression was carefree, the rest of his body was obviously not, back very straight, arms still.
“Are you okay?” Fuma decided to ask him.
“What do you mean? I’m fine.”
“You’re acting weird.”
Kento suddenly looked guilty, giving him an apologetic smile as he took a deep breath out.
“Sorry. I’m just nervous.”
“About buying a hat?”
“About walking around with you. I don’t know.” He looked nearly bashful, which completely blew Fuma’s mind. He could say the cheesiest things without a hint of embarrassment, but somehow struggled with his next sentence. “You get nervous around people when you like them.”
Fuma checked internally for a moment, but there was no knot in his stomach, no shaky hands or weak knees. He felt fine. Kento’s face was a cute shade of pink, and Fuma couldn’t help but smile at him. Thankfully, he didn’t notice, staring a little ahead of them.
“Oh, look.” his voice was hushed, trying subtly to point.
“At what?”
“Those shoes.”
Fuma saw what Kento was talking about as soon as the type of clothing was said-there was a woman walking in their direction, wearing what Fuma could only guess was a horrendously ugly hybrid of leopard print high heels and tennis shoes.
“Are you sure you don’t want to shop for a new pair of shoes?” Fuma asked, and Kento giggled. That was how the searching for ugly outfits began. They had nearly an hour before their movie began, and all of it was spent in the first clothing store they came across. Fuma pulled a neon zebra print shirt off the rack, telling Kento it suited him, but Kento just retaliated by wordlessly handing Fuma a bejeweled kitten t-shirt in his size. They competed to find the worst clothing item in the entire store, Fuma in the middle of trying to get Kento into the crop top he found that looked like a glorified piece of ruffled candy corn when he noticed the time.
"Don't we have a movie to get to?" He asked, putting his phone back in his pocket. Kento froze, asking for the time, blanching when Fuma told him.
"We... We're a little late." He said.
"How late?"
"Only... Fifteen minutes?" Kento answered hesitantly. Fuma grabbed him by the arm, pulling him out of the clothing store. "Are we going? Are we going to be able to make it?"
"You bought tickets, didn't you?" Fuma asked back, letting Kento go. "I'm sure the beginning of the movie wasn't that important."
While they were able to get in, the first fifteen minutes of the movie did end up to be crucial to the plot. The film left the two of them with a lot of unanswered questions, Fuma feeling as though they had missed the point entirely.
"Well, at least we got in." Kento said with a laugh. "The action was cool, even though we didn't know why it was happening."
Fuma nodded. They had gotten ice cream after the movie ended, Kento insisting on walking him home. It was dark out, the streetlights doing just enough, and now that both of their cones had been eaten, Fuma kept expecting Kento to try to hold his hand. He was nervous again, making him anticipate something, but they stopped at Fuma's front door without incident.
"I'm not going to ask Shori to call you again, so I guess I'll ask... Did you have a good time today?"
"Do I need to make you a report card?" Fuma asked back. Kento shook his head, laughing a little.
"Honestly though yes, I did. Thank you."
"Kikuchi Fuma..." Kento took a small step forward, Fuma leaning back a little in response, his back making contact with his front door behind him. "Can I kiss you?"
"No."
The answer was out of his mouth before he had time to even consider the question, the automatic response to the feeling the question had given him--an excited, tensing twist in his stomach, a fluttering in his chest. He was nervous.
Kento was already beginning to draw back, his expression tentative and a little confused, Fuma realizing that he hadn't wanted to say no. He wanted to be kissed.
Before he had time to be scared by the realization he leaned forward, closing his eyes as he did, afraid to see Kento's reaction. He met Kento's lips with more force than he expected, the other surprised and still against him. The lack of reaction made him draw back, knowing he was being off putting and confusing, an apology already set on his tongue.
"I'm s--"
Kento only looked at him for a moment, his face incredibly close, before leaning back into him, pressing close to him with the same force that Fuma had, cutting him off. The apology was completely forgotten as Kento began genuinely kissing him, his arms wrapping loosely around Fuma's neck. The nervousness began to fade as Fuma's hands found Kento's hips, the contact comforting and exciting at the same time, leaving only one thought in his mind.
Damn, this man can kiss.
From: CAN'T BE TRUSTED
You need to text me
To: CAN'T BE TRUSTED
no.
Fuma was trying to frown at his phone, at the texts Shori--Shori and his new contact name--was sending him, but it had been over half an hour since Kento had walked him home, the majority of that time having been spent kissing at his front door, and now Fuma felt stupid and floaty, and he couldn't stop grinning. He tried to be annoyed by it, hoping that would make the smiling go away, but he genuinely couldn't.
From: CAN'T BE TRUSTED
Come on, why
To: CAN'T BE TRUSTED
because last time we talked after a date, my privacy was violated.
He could almost hear his friend sighing in the gap before he responded.
From: CAN'T BE TRUSTED
Kento isn't even here so I can't have him listen okay
From: CAN'T BE TRUSTED
I tried to ask him what happened and he didn't say anything
From: CAN'T BE TRUSTED
He just wouldn't stop smiling so something happened
Fuma had to grin a little at that.
To: CAN'T BE TRUSTED
you promise you're not going to tell him?
From: CAN'T BE TRUSTED
Promise
To: CAN'T BE TRUSTED
i don't believe you.
Then Shori called him.
"I kissed him, okay? I kissed him."
"That's why he was smiling like an idiot. Are you smiling like an idiot? Because you sound like you are."
"No."
"Whatever." There was a pause, Shori asking "So... Do you like him?"
Saying anything but 'no' was embarrassing, but Shori was not amused by his answer.
"Fuma, you kissed him."
"So?"
"You told me you think he's cute."
"So what if I think he's cute? I think Sou's cute, I think you're cute--"
"I don't think you're cute."
"I don't think you're very nice."
Shori laughed. "Okay, but you don't go to the movies with Sou."
"Yes I do."
"...come on. Admit it."
"No!" Fuma floundered for some other evidence for denial. "He asked if he could kiss me, and it made me feel all weird."
"It made you feel nervous, you idiot. Because you like him."
"No, and you can shut your entire face."
That had Shori bursting into giggles, Fuma wishing his friend was actually here so he could glare at him.
"I told you he was different though, didn't I? From all the other guys you've dated."
"He's definitely weirder." Fuma allotted. There was an unamused silence. "I haven't gone in a second date with anyone in a while, so that's good, I guess."
"Do you think that could turn into something else? A title, maybe?"
Fuma sighed when he realized what Shori was getting at.
"His boyfriend? I don't know, that's..."
"It's not like an engagement, or anything. And heavens knows you don't have a problem breaking up with people. Come on, Fuma. If you like him, then give him a chance. I have to go but I'll talk to you later, okay?"
Fuma let out a long groan after Shori hung up, rolling and pressing his face into his pillow. He did a lot of groaning and rolling over the rest of the weekend, the action seeming to be the perfect response to everything. It was definitely appropriate when he got a text from his manager Tuesday afternoon, asking to help with the evening shift and locking up. He didn't have a reason to refuse so he agreed, strapping on his apron to find Sou already there.
"You're not supposed to be working today." Fuma remarked, surprised.
"Neither are you." Sou responded. "I was asked if I could fill in for Tamamori, so it was me and Nikaido here, but then he had some emergency and had to leave."
"Great." Fuma said, taking his apron off the hook and tying it behind his back. Honestly, the two of them weren't really needed, with only three people coming in before closing time. Fuma was sweeping the floor, Sou about to turn the lights off, when the bell signaling the opening of the front door chimed.
It was a painfully familiar scene, with Shori, Kento, and Marius striding through the door together.
"Marius!" Sou said happily, Marius waving back. Fuma met Kento's eyes, the same nervous feeling coming back to him, but this time it was annoying--he didn't like having it, not with everyone there--making him snap.
"We're closing. You can't buy anything."
"I did already put away the pastries." Sou added apologetically.
"We're not here for pastries." Shori said, bumping Kento with his elbow.
"We're here for something swe--"
"Don't." Shori said quickly, cutting Kento off.
"Sorry. Actually, Fuma, I wanted to talk to you."
Fuma suddenly wished he had the opportunity to brush his hair, and that he wasn't in his work apron.
"About what?"
"I... Well..." Kento looked as nervous as he felt, stepping closer. "I was completely taken by you as soon as I saw you, and thankfully you were patient with me," that made Fuma raise an eyebrow "and at the end of our second date, when you kissed me, I realized that kissing you was something I wanted to do for a long time, so... Will you be my boyfriend?"
Fuma was completely floored, and not because of the question asked, because of he and Shori's conversation, it hadn't been too hard to guess where this was going, but because of how it had been asked.
"Yes, I guess, but... Did you have to ask it like that?"
"Wait, yes?" Kento asked after a moment of surprised silence. "You said yes?"
"Don't make me say it again." Fuma answered, unable to keep from grinning as Kento began to beam. His--well, his boyfriend, now, he supposed--rushed close and pulled him in for a hug, his body happy and warm. Everyone around them was smiling, making Fuma's face turn pink.
"Honestly though, it was almost like you were asking to marry me. You didn't have to say so much."
"Oh, no." Kento said with a laugh, waving a hand. "When we get engaged, I'm--"
Fuma's eyes went wide, pressing his lips to Kento's, shutting him up as quickly as he knew how. Fuma could hear Sou giggling, Kento made a small surprised sound against his mouth, his eyes questioning as he pulled back.
"Do not talk about us getting married." Fuma said, Kento nodding and laughing, pressing his face into Fuma's neck.
"He made Kento stop talking." Marius said, his voice hushed in astonishment. "I didn't know it was possible to make Kento stop talking."
"Hey!" Kento protested, the rest of them laughing. Shori just nodded, grinning and crossing his arms.
"I knew they were perfect for each other."