[team two] untitled
The beginning to the next single dad!au chapter. I hope it's not full of typos/mistakes...
Hokuto, Mone, Shintaro, Chiyo | G | ~1,200 words
Grabbing his things, Hokuto prepared to go out for lunch during the filming break. There was free catering on the set but he felt like eating something different that day; he knew there was a nice Italian place just around the corner…
While walking there, Hokuto answered Mone’s messages she’d sent while he had been filming. After closing their conversation, his eyes automatically fell on his and Shintaro’s now quiet Line chat down on the list and he felt a faint pang of guilt. Lately it happened every time Hokuto opened the app. His last short answer there was like an inculpatory, constant reminder of his inadequacy.
Hokuto closed the app and hurried his steps.
A delicious pasta portion lifted his mood a bit. That, and all the memes in the group chat with Fuma and Mone. Hokuto was just finishing the food when his phone suddenly rang with an unknown number. Before answering, he thought in passing how there was only one call he was really expecting at the moment.
But it couldn’t be...
“Hello?”
-
“They called me earlier. The agency I applied to,” Hokuto told Mone over dinner later that day, grinning widely.
“What? Really?” Mone looked excited on his behalf, too. She put down her chopsticks and happily clapped her hands. “That’s amazing news! And? Are you meeting them?”
Hokuto nodded. “On Friday.”
“They’ll take you, I’m sure of that,” Mone said immediately. “The meeting is often only a formality.”
“Aah, don’t say that!” Hokuto pressed hands on his cheeks, equally thrilled and frightened. He had applied to the bigger agency in hopes of getting more and bigger roles, as he felt he was ready for that, but he’d never expected to get a call-back so quickly. Now his next big step was much closer, which only meant it’d be that much more regrettable if he didn’t succeed. But truth be told, it soothed him that Mone seemed so confident about the matter.
“You’ll do great,” she told him, smiling warmly. Hokuto tried his best to believe her.
They ate in silence for a moment before Mone spoke up again. “In other news… How’s it going with the hot father?”
“Uh...” was all Hokuto managed.
Mone gave him a pointed look. ”So you haven’t talked with him?”
”No… Not yet.” He added when he saw Mone’s expression. ”I…” I’ve been busy and tired, and have tried to find the right words and the right time, is what he wanted to say, but he knew they were just excuses. Truth was that the mere idea of talking about this with Shintaro was scary; he didn’t know what he’d say and how. What if he had misinterpreted the situation and was now overthinking it like so many times before? What if bringing it up with Shintaro would put him off? He wouldn’t want to lose Shintaro’s friendship over this.
Mone clearly waited for Hokuto to continue somehow, but he didn’t know how. He poked his rice in silence, shrugging in the end.
“I can’t force you of course,” Mone said eventually. “And I know it’s hard, but it’s very often worth a try.”
“I know,” Hokuto sighed.
“How’s it with you guys now? Have you met lately?”
“No... Not since the babysitting. We’ve messaged a couple of times but it’s been pretty quiet. I bet he’s also busy.”
Mone gave him the look again. “Sounds to me like you’re avoiding him.”
Hokuto couldn’t contradict that, so he just pouted. He knew she was right, and that he should just take her advice on everything. It didn’t make it any easier for him, though.
“Can we talk about something else?”
Mone pursed her lips, looking a bit discontent, but did comply with his wish.
-
Hokuto knew his "plan" of avoiding Shintaro was lousy and most likely short-lived, but the actual shortness of it still surprised him.
It was a Tuesday evening and Hokuto was returning from work, already dreaming of a bath and some good drama episode to rewind. He crossed the road in front of the station and took a right to a smaller street.
Hokuto noticed them approaching already from a distance, from a smaller street on his left. A pair of an adult and a child. They could’ve been anyone, but the closer they got, the more sure he was. He recognized Shintaro’s sporty style and Chiyo’s pigtails.
His heart speeding up embarrassingly much, Hokuto considered his options. He could turn around and take a detour home, or speed up so he could slip past them unnoticed, or just stop there and loiter by the building until they were farther. He weighted all this while walking forward like on autopilot, approaching the crossroads where their streets met. His feet took him to the crossing, and he stopped at the red light, glancing at Shintaro and Chiyo who just started crossing the intersecting street.
As they walked closer, Shintaro lifted his gaze and finally noticed Hokuto. His first look of surprise quickly changed into a genuine smile, making Hokuto’s stomach twist in delight and regret. He knew Shintaro would stop and wait for him, and sure enough, once they’d gotten over the street, Shintaro stopped Chiyo and pointed Hokuto to her. Upon seeing him, the little girl also broke into a smile and started bouncing up and down, waving at Hokuto happily.
Hokuto chuckled and waved back, wondering how he thought he could ever distance himself from the family for good.
The light turned green.
“Hi,” Hokuto greeted when he walked to the pair.
“Evening!” Shintaro smiled. “It’s been a while. Coming from work?”
“Yeah,” Hokuto just said curtly. He was already preparing some half-assed excuse for why he had been so quiet on LINE lately, but Shintaro didn’t touch the subject.
“We’re just coming from the nearby bathhouse,” Shintaro told him instead. “Chiyo likes it so we try to go once a week, right?”
Chiyo nodded emphatically. “And I get a soda or ice cream afterwards.”
“That sounds nice,” Hokuto said, smiling at her.
“Since you’re here now,” Shintaro mused and patted his daughter on the shoulder, “didn’t you have something you wanted to ask Hokuto, Chiyo?”
“Oh, what’s that?” Hokuto prompted, since he noticed the girl looked a bit shy suddenly, leaning against Shintaro’s leg and avoiding his eyes.
“There’s a sports day on Friday,” Chiyo said in a small voice. “Do you want to come and watch?”
“At her daycare, that is,” Shintaro specified, stroking Chiyo’s hair. “When they were told they could invite family and friends to watch, she immediately wanted to ask you.”
“Aw, really?” Hokuto felt his heart melting yet again because of Chiyo. “What time is it?”
“It starts around nine and goes until one-ish. You can come whenever, if you’re just free. I’ll also be there, helping with setting up and stuff.”
Shintaro’s smile was ever so warm, and Hokuto thought he saw some anticipation on his face, too. It was an easy decision, really, and Hokuto was suddenly very glad he had fixed the agency meeting for the afternoon on Friday.
“I’m free, so I’ll be there,” he said, smiling, looking from Chiyo to Shintaro.
“Great! Heard that, Chiyo?” Shintaro was beaming. “I’ll text you the address and other details.”
“Thanks. See you then.”
“See you!”
tokyoskater, you're up!
Hokuto, Mone, Shintaro, Chiyo | G | ~1,200 words
Grabbing his things, Hokuto prepared to go out for lunch during the filming break. There was free catering on the set but he felt like eating something different that day; he knew there was a nice Italian place just around the corner…
While walking there, Hokuto answered Mone’s messages she’d sent while he had been filming. After closing their conversation, his eyes automatically fell on his and Shintaro’s now quiet Line chat down on the list and he felt a faint pang of guilt. Lately it happened every time Hokuto opened the app. His last short answer there was like an inculpatory, constant reminder of his inadequacy.
Hokuto closed the app and hurried his steps.
A delicious pasta portion lifted his mood a bit. That, and all the memes in the group chat with Fuma and Mone. Hokuto was just finishing the food when his phone suddenly rang with an unknown number. Before answering, he thought in passing how there was only one call he was really expecting at the moment.
But it couldn’t be...
“Hello?”
-
“They called me earlier. The agency I applied to,” Hokuto told Mone over dinner later that day, grinning widely.
“What? Really?” Mone looked excited on his behalf, too. She put down her chopsticks and happily clapped her hands. “That’s amazing news! And? Are you meeting them?”
Hokuto nodded. “On Friday.”
“They’ll take you, I’m sure of that,” Mone said immediately. “The meeting is often only a formality.”
“Aah, don’t say that!” Hokuto pressed hands on his cheeks, equally thrilled and frightened. He had applied to the bigger agency in hopes of getting more and bigger roles, as he felt he was ready for that, but he’d never expected to get a call-back so quickly. Now his next big step was much closer, which only meant it’d be that much more regrettable if he didn’t succeed. But truth be told, it soothed him that Mone seemed so confident about the matter.
“You’ll do great,” she told him, smiling warmly. Hokuto tried his best to believe her.
They ate in silence for a moment before Mone spoke up again. “In other news… How’s it going with the hot father?”
“Uh...” was all Hokuto managed.
Mone gave him a pointed look. ”So you haven’t talked with him?”
”No… Not yet.” He added when he saw Mone’s expression. ”I…” I’ve been busy and tired, and have tried to find the right words and the right time, is what he wanted to say, but he knew they were just excuses. Truth was that the mere idea of talking about this with Shintaro was scary; he didn’t know what he’d say and how. What if he had misinterpreted the situation and was now overthinking it like so many times before? What if bringing it up with Shintaro would put him off? He wouldn’t want to lose Shintaro’s friendship over this.
Mone clearly waited for Hokuto to continue somehow, but he didn’t know how. He poked his rice in silence, shrugging in the end.
“I can’t force you of course,” Mone said eventually. “And I know it’s hard, but it’s very often worth a try.”
“I know,” Hokuto sighed.
“How’s it with you guys now? Have you met lately?”
“No... Not since the babysitting. We’ve messaged a couple of times but it’s been pretty quiet. I bet he’s also busy.”
Mone gave him the look again. “Sounds to me like you’re avoiding him.”
Hokuto couldn’t contradict that, so he just pouted. He knew she was right, and that he should just take her advice on everything. It didn’t make it any easier for him, though.
“Can we talk about something else?”
Mone pursed her lips, looking a bit discontent, but did comply with his wish.
-
Hokuto knew his "plan" of avoiding Shintaro was lousy and most likely short-lived, but the actual shortness of it still surprised him.
It was a Tuesday evening and Hokuto was returning from work, already dreaming of a bath and some good drama episode to rewind. He crossed the road in front of the station and took a right to a smaller street.
Hokuto noticed them approaching already from a distance, from a smaller street on his left. A pair of an adult and a child. They could’ve been anyone, but the closer they got, the more sure he was. He recognized Shintaro’s sporty style and Chiyo’s pigtails.
His heart speeding up embarrassingly much, Hokuto considered his options. He could turn around and take a detour home, or speed up so he could slip past them unnoticed, or just stop there and loiter by the building until they were farther. He weighted all this while walking forward like on autopilot, approaching the crossroads where their streets met. His feet took him to the crossing, and he stopped at the red light, glancing at Shintaro and Chiyo who just started crossing the intersecting street.
As they walked closer, Shintaro lifted his gaze and finally noticed Hokuto. His first look of surprise quickly changed into a genuine smile, making Hokuto’s stomach twist in delight and regret. He knew Shintaro would stop and wait for him, and sure enough, once they’d gotten over the street, Shintaro stopped Chiyo and pointed Hokuto to her. Upon seeing him, the little girl also broke into a smile and started bouncing up and down, waving at Hokuto happily.
Hokuto chuckled and waved back, wondering how he thought he could ever distance himself from the family for good.
The light turned green.
“Hi,” Hokuto greeted when he walked to the pair.
“Evening!” Shintaro smiled. “It’s been a while. Coming from work?”
“Yeah,” Hokuto just said curtly. He was already preparing some half-assed excuse for why he had been so quiet on LINE lately, but Shintaro didn’t touch the subject.
“We’re just coming from the nearby bathhouse,” Shintaro told him instead. “Chiyo likes it so we try to go once a week, right?”
Chiyo nodded emphatically. “And I get a soda or ice cream afterwards.”
“That sounds nice,” Hokuto said, smiling at her.
“Since you’re here now,” Shintaro mused and patted his daughter on the shoulder, “didn’t you have something you wanted to ask Hokuto, Chiyo?”
“Oh, what’s that?” Hokuto prompted, since he noticed the girl looked a bit shy suddenly, leaning against Shintaro’s leg and avoiding his eyes.
“There’s a sports day on Friday,” Chiyo said in a small voice. “Do you want to come and watch?”
“At her daycare, that is,” Shintaro specified, stroking Chiyo’s hair. “When they were told they could invite family and friends to watch, she immediately wanted to ask you.”
“Aw, really?” Hokuto felt his heart melting yet again because of Chiyo. “What time is it?”
“It starts around nine and goes until one-ish. You can come whenever, if you’re just free. I’ll also be there, helping with setting up and stuff.”
Shintaro’s smile was ever so warm, and Hokuto thought he saw some anticipation on his face, too. It was an easy decision, really, and Hokuto was suddenly very glad he had fixed the agency meeting for the afternoon on Friday.
“I’m free, so I’ll be there,” he said, smiling, looking from Chiyo to Shintaro.
“Great! Heard that, Chiyo?” Shintaro was beaming. “I’ll text you the address and other details.”
“Thanks. See you then.”
“See you!”
tokyoskater, you're up!