fic: this is home everywhere
Title: This is home everywhere.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 890
Notes: Happy (late) birthday, saturnial!! ♥♥
Summary: Akira's kind of like the epitome of how one man can change the world.
Nobuta calls Akira the day before he graduates to tell him she can’t make it - her father’s in the hospital because of a bad back and though it’s not serious, really, he’s improving, the nurses think, probably, anyways, she thinks it would be better for her to stay anyways.
“Understandable!” Akira says, immediately starting to fret. “Ah! Tell your father I hope he gets better! A man’s back could mean his life! No problem, Nobuta, Shuuji will faithfully tape it for you, don’t worry, I’ll make him do it. Kusano Akira promises to make it the best graduation ever for you and your father, ne.”
“Thank you,” Nobuta replies, with a quiet sound that Akira recognizes as a giggle. “Thank you, Akira.”
Akira grins, glad that he could make Nobuta happy. “No problem, Nobuta!”
“Akira,” Nobuta says, quite suddenly. “Ne, Akira. Sometimes, I think the whole world would be a better place if everyone had Akira’s heart.”
“Maa,” Akira replies, and Nobuta can’t see him, but Akira’s got on the gentle smile he only reserves for Shuuji and Nobuta. “Nobuta can have Akira’s heart! So can Shuuji-kun and Koji-kun and Shuuji-kun’s papa and Nobuta’s papa and the tofu man and Akira’s papa too! It’s not the world, but it’s a lot!”
The reply comes almost immediately - “It is a lot, Akira, it is. Thank you.”
- - -
Akira’s father gives him three years - “Three years to have fun or screw up or whatever the hell you want to do.”
It’s more than Akira expected, so he doesn’t argue.
“Let’s go on a trip, Shuuji, okay,” he breathes into his best friend’s ear. “A trip, so take some time off work. Let’s go with Nobuta, ne.”
“Why -” Shuuji begins crossly, but he gets a good look at Akira’s face and he sighs. “Fine, fine, I’ll see what I can do.”
“Happy,” Akira mutters, “happy happy happy.”
“Are you,” Shuuji says absently, this time turning to breathe over Akira’s closed eyes, blowing his tears off track. “That’s good.”
- - -
Akira likes it best in Hawaii. Understandable, considering who he is. He spends every single one of the three days they’re there at the beach, or buying stupid souvenirs to give people.
On the third day, Shuuji and Nobuta practically have to drag him out of bed and to the airport, Shuuji frantically packing all of Akira’s stupid souvenirs, like the dancing girl thing that you put in your car and Nobuta attempting to dress Akira without actually taking anything off.
“Don’t want to gooooooooo,” Akira whines. “Can’t we stay here forever?”
“I - have - work - in - two - days,” Shuuji enunciates angrily, giving up trying to figure out if Akira’s assorted wrappers are souvenirs or just junk, and focuses on helping Nobuta drag Akira out of bed. “If you make us late for our flight, I’m never speaking to you again.”
“That’s terrible, Shuuji-kun,” comes the sulky reply. “I wasn’t serious. Right, Nobuta, you could tell I wasn’t serious, right.”
“We’re very late, Akira,” is all Nobuta says, sighing.
- - -
When Akira’s twenty seven, he’s formally inducted as the (unwilling) new president of his father’s, now his, company. He also attends three weddings, one of which is his best friends’.
He’s the best man, of course. And the ring-bearer and the guy who gets to make a speech at the end and the guy who’s funding their honeymoon (though the last one was more by choice rather than necessity). Nobuta wants to make him the maid of honor as well, but it takes a long-suffering talking to from Shuuji before she decides on Mariko. “Akira would look silly in a dress,” Shuuji had said, “and Akira - please don’t get any weird ideas.”
When the day finally comes, Akira pats the ring in his pocket and lets himself, for just one, delusional second, believe that it’s going to be his wedding, then writes the idea off as ridiculous.
The ceremony is beautiful, of course, and Nobuta is beautiful, as always. Shuuji looks nervous, which is really funny because Shuuji’s usually the composed one. Instead, it’s Nobuta who slips her hand calmly into Shuuji’s, guiding his slightly shaking hands to fit the ring on her finger.
Just before they leave, Nobuta lets Akira hug her, lets him hold her like he’s always wanted to hold her.
“Congratulations,” Akira says to the both of them after he crushes Shuuji in a bone-breaking hug. “Have fun in Hawaii!”
- - -
When’s Akira’s thirty two, he becomes a father. In a sense. Kind of, maybe. Basically. More or less.
He coos at the baby, who is the sweetest, most beautiful, most perfect thing Akira has ever had the fortune of seeing, and Akira loves her already and is already planning on buying her everything Shuuji won’t and taking her everywhere she will ever want to go.
“I’m going to spoil you so much,” he tells her gleefully, feeling like a father when she slaps at his hand feebly before curling her tiny fingers around his. “Ne, Nobuta, Shuuji, what are you going to name her?”
“Akira,” Shuuji starts. “Uh, Akira, we were thinking -”
“Akira,” Nobuta cuts in, ever calm and serene, and Akira can’t help thinking that motherhood suits Nobuta an awful lot, “Akira, we were hoping you could name her.”
Rating: PG
Word Count: 890
Notes: Happy (late) birthday, saturnial!! ♥♥
Summary: Akira's kind of like the epitome of how one man can change the world.
Nobuta calls Akira the day before he graduates to tell him she can’t make it - her father’s in the hospital because of a bad back and though it’s not serious, really, he’s improving, the nurses think, probably, anyways, she thinks it would be better for her to stay anyways.
“Understandable!” Akira says, immediately starting to fret. “Ah! Tell your father I hope he gets better! A man’s back could mean his life! No problem, Nobuta, Shuuji will faithfully tape it for you, don’t worry, I’ll make him do it. Kusano Akira promises to make it the best graduation ever for you and your father, ne.”
“Thank you,” Nobuta replies, with a quiet sound that Akira recognizes as a giggle. “Thank you, Akira.”
Akira grins, glad that he could make Nobuta happy. “No problem, Nobuta!”
“Akira,” Nobuta says, quite suddenly. “Ne, Akira. Sometimes, I think the whole world would be a better place if everyone had Akira’s heart.”
“Maa,” Akira replies, and Nobuta can’t see him, but Akira’s got on the gentle smile he only reserves for Shuuji and Nobuta. “Nobuta can have Akira’s heart! So can Shuuji-kun and Koji-kun and Shuuji-kun’s papa and Nobuta’s papa and the tofu man and Akira’s papa too! It’s not the world, but it’s a lot!”
The reply comes almost immediately - “It is a lot, Akira, it is. Thank you.”
- - -
Akira’s father gives him three years - “Three years to have fun or screw up or whatever the hell you want to do.”
It’s more than Akira expected, so he doesn’t argue.
“Let’s go on a trip, Shuuji, okay,” he breathes into his best friend’s ear. “A trip, so take some time off work. Let’s go with Nobuta, ne.”
“Why -” Shuuji begins crossly, but he gets a good look at Akira’s face and he sighs. “Fine, fine, I’ll see what I can do.”
“Happy,” Akira mutters, “happy happy happy.”
“Are you,” Shuuji says absently, this time turning to breathe over Akira’s closed eyes, blowing his tears off track. “That’s good.”
- - -
Akira likes it best in Hawaii. Understandable, considering who he is. He spends every single one of the three days they’re there at the beach, or buying stupid souvenirs to give people.
On the third day, Shuuji and Nobuta practically have to drag him out of bed and to the airport, Shuuji frantically packing all of Akira’s stupid souvenirs, like the dancing girl thing that you put in your car and Nobuta attempting to dress Akira without actually taking anything off.
“Don’t want to gooooooooo,” Akira whines. “Can’t we stay here forever?”
“I - have - work - in - two - days,” Shuuji enunciates angrily, giving up trying to figure out if Akira’s assorted wrappers are souvenirs or just junk, and focuses on helping Nobuta drag Akira out of bed. “If you make us late for our flight, I’m never speaking to you again.”
“That’s terrible, Shuuji-kun,” comes the sulky reply. “I wasn’t serious. Right, Nobuta, you could tell I wasn’t serious, right.”
“We’re very late, Akira,” is all Nobuta says, sighing.
- - -
When Akira’s twenty seven, he’s formally inducted as the (unwilling) new president of his father’s, now his, company. He also attends three weddings, one of which is his best friends’.
He’s the best man, of course. And the ring-bearer and the guy who gets to make a speech at the end and the guy who’s funding their honeymoon (though the last one was more by choice rather than necessity). Nobuta wants to make him the maid of honor as well, but it takes a long-suffering talking to from Shuuji before she decides on Mariko. “Akira would look silly in a dress,” Shuuji had said, “and Akira - please don’t get any weird ideas.”
When the day finally comes, Akira pats the ring in his pocket and lets himself, for just one, delusional second, believe that it’s going to be his wedding, then writes the idea off as ridiculous.
The ceremony is beautiful, of course, and Nobuta is beautiful, as always. Shuuji looks nervous, which is really funny because Shuuji’s usually the composed one. Instead, it’s Nobuta who slips her hand calmly into Shuuji’s, guiding his slightly shaking hands to fit the ring on her finger.
Just before they leave, Nobuta lets Akira hug her, lets him hold her like he’s always wanted to hold her.
“Congratulations,” Akira says to the both of them after he crushes Shuuji in a bone-breaking hug. “Have fun in Hawaii!”
- - -
When’s Akira’s thirty two, he becomes a father. In a sense. Kind of, maybe. Basically. More or less.
He coos at the baby, who is the sweetest, most beautiful, most perfect thing Akira has ever had the fortune of seeing, and Akira loves her already and is already planning on buying her everything Shuuji won’t and taking her everywhere she will ever want to go.
“I’m going to spoil you so much,” he tells her gleefully, feeling like a father when she slaps at his hand feebly before curling her tiny fingers around his. “Ne, Nobuta, Shuuji, what are you going to name her?”
“Akira,” Shuuji starts. “Uh, Akira, we were thinking -”
“Akira,” Nobuta cuts in, ever calm and serene, and Akira can’t help thinking that motherhood suits Nobuta an awful lot, “Akira, we were hoping you could name her.”