Title: Are We Boyfriends?
Author: hostilecrayon
Pairing: AkiHika
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Hikaru no Go was created by Hotta and Obata and is distributed by Viz, Shogakuen and Shonen Jump.
Notes: The plot bunnies are just biting like crazy lately. Someone suggested I should write a sequel to
Are We Friends? So… here it is. It’s silly and terrible because I’m sleep deprived. You’ve so been warned.
Are We Boyfriends?
Hikaru finished his friendly tutoring session with Akari. It was the only time he had to spend with her anymore - they were both quite busy and over the years had grown apart, no longer having much in common outside their shared history and Go. Thus, it also doubled as a sort of catching up session, and the day in question was no different.
“Oh! Mitani finally asked me out! It’s been a few weeks now - I almost forgot that you didn’t know.” Akari was positively beaming, and Shindou returned the smile.
“That’s great! Are you guys casually dating or is he your boyfriend now?”
“He’s definitely my boyfriend,” she replied with a shy grin. Her phone chimed then and her eyes lit up when she looked at the display.
Hikaru was about to tease her about it, but just then his own phone went off and he set to answering Touya’s Are you finished with Akari yet?
When they were both unoccupied again, Hikaru asked, “He’s good to you, right? Because I’d kill him if he wasn’t.” Akari giggled, blushing a little, and nodded. “What kinds of things do you guys do/ I mean, he takes you on dates and stuff like a proper boyfriend, right?” Hikaru wasn’t exactly sure what a ‘proper’ boyfriend did, but he was at least sure there were dates involved.
“He can be really sweet when he wants to be. That message was from him. He wanted to know if I was free yet.”
Hikaru looked down at his own phone for a moment. “…That’s something a boyfriend does?”
Akari laughed. “Yes, that’s something a boyfriend does. I swear you’re clueless sometimes, Hikaru.”
Hikaru hesitated, just staring at his phone for a minute. “What other sorts of things do boyfriends do?”
She rolled her eyes, but indulged him anyway. “Well, generally we try to spend a lot of time together…”
“Uh-huh.”
“…we meet up places to do things like eat or have fun…”
“Right.”
“…sometimes we talk about things that are important to us…”
“Okay.”
“…and we might argue a little, but we always make up.”
“Oh yeah?” Hikaru was staring at his phone like it contained the answer to the meaning of life.
“Yeah, it’s a lot of things, really.”
“Aren’t those all things that friends do though?”
“Well, yeah, but relationships don’t work if you’re not friends, too!”
“Well,” Hikaru huffed, “What’s the difference then?”
“Boyfriends are closer than friends, and there are some, um, benefits.”
“Benefits?” Hikaru asked quizzically.
Akari pinked and just shook her head. “That’s private,” she mumbled. Then she left, and Hikaru was left to ponder what ‘benefits’ were.
He didn’t ponder it for very long though, because his phone pointedly reminded him that Touya was waiting for him, and he’d better hurry up or the miso will get cold.
They were in the middle of their third game at Touya’s apartment when the raven-haired boy let out a familiar exasperated sigh. “I hope this isn’t going to become a regular thing with you, Shindou. We’ll never manage to play a decent game if this goes on much longer.”
With a feeling of déjà vu, Hikaru flushed. “I’m sorry. I guess I’ve just had a lot on my mind lately.”
“Well, you may as well tell me what you’re thinking. This game is completely worthless.” Touya started to clear away the stones with a frustrated look on his face.
“Uh… I was talking to Akari and um…” Hikaru paused, staring down at the board. “Well, and she said some stuff and uh… and then I thought, but, I didn’t really know… and Waya said something not that long ago, too, but he’s a jerk anyway and…”
“Shindou.” The nonsensical words stopped, but the other boy didn’t look up. If anything, he got redder. “Are you going to tell me what you’re talking about or am I seriously going to have to try to figure it out from your gibberish?”
Hikaru tried another tact. “Would you say our friendship has… ‘benefits’?”
Touya made a face at that, having no idea what that had to do with anything, but he took a deep breath and tried to answer the question. “Of course it does. We both advance as players by playing together, and we motivate each other, so yes, there are benefits to our friendship. Why?”
“Oh.”
“What do you mean, oh? Did you have a point, or do random questions like this always throw your game off so badly?”
“Well, I mean, she did say… and I guess that would mean… but I…”
Akira thought he might break something. “Spit it out already.”
Shindou glanced up and quickly averted his eyes again. “…Are we boyfriends?” he mumbled.
It was Touya’s turn to sputter. “Are we- I- boyfriends- what?”
“Akari said boyfriends are friends with benefits,” he muttered defensively, his face trying to spontaneously combust.
If it was at all possible, Akira managed to surpass Shindou in redness. “That’s not what she meant!”
Hikaru looked up, his eyes narrowing. “But you said-”
“She meant intimate benefits, you idiot!”
“…You mean like kissing and stuff?”
Touya’s sighs were reaching explosive levels. “Yes, Shindou, I mean like kissing and stuff.”
“But we do all the other stuff she said boyfriends do…”
“It’s not the same thing,” Akira said matter of factly.
“So people aren’t boyfriends if they don’t kiss?”
“Yes. No. I mean… I think it’s more complicated than that.”
“But… people are definitely boyfriends if they do kiss?”
“…I think you’re oversimplifying thing here.”
Hikaru stole a glance at Touya out of the corner of his eye. “But I-”
“Shindou?”
“Well, we do spend most of our free time together.”
“…Yes.”
“And when we aren’t together, we send each other messages all the time.”
“We do.”
“We meet up a lot to eat or play Go, which we both find enjoyable.”
“…And?”
“And we’re closer than any of our other friends.”
Akira swallowed hard. “…Are you going somewhere with this?”
“I think… I think maybe…” Shindou was finally looking at Touya, but he was moving, too, and Akira’s throat was suddenly too dry to say anything.
Cool fingers slid into Touya’s hair. Shindou’s eyes were locked onto his now, and he found he couldn’t look away. Warm breath ruffled his bangs with how close their faces were, and Shindou’s breath smelled like miso. He wondered if he tasted like it, too.
“I want…” Hikaru said, almost as if it were a question. When Touya didn’t object, he slowly closed the gap between them and pressed their lips together.
It was such a simple gesture, but the sensation spread through Akira like wildfire. Moments went by with them pressed together like that, and as Hikaru was about to pull away, Akira dared to swipe his tongue across the lips pressed to his and tasted the salty soup just like he thought he would.
“So,” Hikaru said, barely pulling away enough to speak properly, “want to?”
“Be boyfriends?” Akira breathed, not really willing to be separated so soon.
“Yeah.”
“Yes.”
“Are you sure?”
Akira growled low in his throat. “Yes. Now hurry up and kiss me again or I’ll have to do it myself.”
“I just want to make sure- mmph!”