I Don't Care (3/12)
Author: ryosukekoibito
Pairing: Hikabu, with some side Takachii, and other side pairings to come!
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Romance
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Summary: Hikaru had a great life. He had two great jobs, fun and caring friends, and an amazing boyfriend that he loved more than anything in the world. Life was good, but it would be perfect if Takaki would just stop calling during his make out sessions with Kota.
A/N: So! This fic is part of a project my sister
thanku4urlove and I have been working on. It ties in with two other multi-chaps: I Do, and I Don’t. If you’d like to get some other perspectives on the same series of events, please check her stories out! I Do is from Chinen’s POV, and I Don’t is from Takaki’s.Previous Chapters: 1 | 2
"Alright, now you guys really have to leave." Takaki announced as the tiny young man's eyes swept over all of them, stopping when they shared a look.
"Hikaru...?" Suddenly it all fell into place. No wonder this guy's situation had reminded him so much of Takaki's.
"You're the guy from my ramen stand with the asshole husband!" The words fell from his mouth unthought through. He whipped his head around, lost for the moment in his epiphany as he pointed at Takaki, the older man looking stunned. "You're the asshole husband?" Takaki frowned.
"I'm...what?" He looked affronted, but his reaction was overridden by Daiki's mildly surprised
"Do you two know each other too?"
"Too?" Takaki asked, his voice weak, looking stunned as Chinen and Daiki waived at each other in a friendly manner. Kota took the opportunity to wave as well, leaning forward and saying
"I've met him as well, but I didn't know he was Chinen. You are much too cute for this idiot, just so you know." As he settled back into the cushions Hikaru slung an arm over his shoulders, pulling him a little bit closer and letting his hand dip just inside the edge of his boyfriend's shirt collar, his palm resting on the smooth skin of his chest, Kota's pulse hot beneath his fingertips. At once Kota's own hand settled on his thigh, his fingers lazily tracing circles and unnamable shapes, their movement relaxing and affectionate. Hikaru kind of tuned out the conversation up until Chinen turned to his husband, saying
"Takaki, this is the band?" Hikaru sent a surprised glance over at Takaki. The way the older man had talked had made it sound as if Chinen knew nothing of his life. Hikaru had to ask
"He knows about us?" Takaki grumbled, obviously not wanting to discuss it, and so they all turned their attentions back to Chinen, filling him in on their positions in the band and repeating their names for good measure. When Hikaru's turn to introduce himself properly to Chinen came, he couldn't help but pointedly tack on afterwards
"And, Takaki, I met Chinen when he stopped by the ramen stand for dinner, and to complain about this dumb husband he has that never talks to him." He honestly hated Takaki's refusal to talk to his husband. There could be no progress in their relationship in any manner if there was no communication. And there obviously wasn't. Or at least there wasn't enough. But Takaki just ignored him, and he pursed his lips in frustration at the older man's childish behavior. Kota picked up on his mood and traced comforting circles on his thigh with his palm, just the way Hikaru liked it, doing it through everyone's instrument introductions. Daiki took a turn as well, explaining to the group that he knew Chinen from his dance studio, claiming that they were both friends with a third dancer-Ryosuke.
At the mention of Yamada Ryosuke Hikaru and Inoo shared a look. Hikaru had never met Yamada, but he'd heard plenty about the young man, mostly through Inoo's jealous whining. Inoo was ridiculously in love with Daiki, and while he didn't seem to be willing to confess his feelings, he was very able to complain about Daiki hanging out with his other friends, especially if those other friends were young, single, and-according once again to Inoo-hot. Inoo narrowed his eyes a bit at the mention of the other guy, but he didn't comment. There was some polite small talk for a while, Hikaru turning his attention to Chinen.
"We practiced in your garage, I hope you don't mind." He said, realizing that having this many unfamiliar people in one's home-even if some of them weren't so unfamiliar-could be stressful. But Chinen just shrugged.
"Of course not. You guys can come over whenever you like."
"That's good, because we need a new place to practice." He said, feeling embarrassed a bit. Yuto explained.
"My basement is under construction." Chinen looked over at the lanky drummer, nodding; his eyebrows raised a bit as he took in the information.
"Oh, is that where Takaki has been going every day?" Hikaru sent an indignant glance over to where Inoo had dragged Takaki away from the conversation and into the kitchen. Takaki was leaving every day for hours on end? He was so obviously avoiding his husband that it made Hikaru cringe in embarrassment for Chinen. Yabu too seemed a bit angry about this discovery, a frown pursing his lips, and Hikaru knew that his boyfriend was also wondering once again how this idiot had managed to get married before they had. Daiki, oblivious to their thoughts, shook his head and answered Chinen's question.
"Not every day, but he's been at all of our houses, too. Apparently he told you that what, he doesn't eat breakfast? He would come whining to me and begging me to cook him stuff.” Chinen folded his arms, pouting and grumbling out
"I've been making him breakfast every morning anyway. He could have eaten here." Next to him, Yabu let out a laugh at that discovery, saying
"Takaki is a little dumb." It was at this moment that Inoo and Takaki decided to rejoin the conversation, and Inoo flounced over, a mischievous smile on his face as he asked teasingly
"Are we talking about Takaki being dumb? I have plenty of stories." Hikaru couldn't help but smile as a slightly panicked look graced Takaki's face, and he pointed at Inoo, trying to sound intimidating as he said
"I will kick you out of this house. Physically." Inoo ran around the coffee table to use Chinen as a shield from their lead singer, and his actions elicited more laughter from the group, Chinen chiming in, and Hikaru was glad to see that the new husband was already fitting in. Everything would just be better if everyone could all get along. Inoo and Chinen sprawled out on the floor next to Daiki, and Yabu squished even closer to Hikaru than he had before to make room for Takaki on the couch, their sides now pressed flush up against one another, and Hikaru let his hand travel just a little bit farther inside his boyfriend's shirt, Kota glancing over at him knowingly and giggling a bit in a way that let Hikaru know that he didn't mind the touch. As they were doing this, Chinen asked not unkindly
"So, Daiki, if you're not in the band then why are you here?" At the question a silence settled over the room, and Hikaru realized-as it seemed many of them did at that moment-that while Daiki was a welcome and common presence at their rehearsals, he wasn't actually necessary for anything. Daiki just shrugged, responding lightheartedly
"Because I'm their only fan. I didn't know I needed a reason."
"You don't." Hikaru let the words slip from his lips at once. He would never want Daiki to feel unwelcome. His immediate assurance had pulled the group's attention over to him, and Inoo's eyes swept over himself and Yabu, a weird expression on his face, and the pretty keyboardist said
"Guys, leave at least a little room for Jesus." Hikaru blinked, completely disregarding Inoo's comment on their public affection. They should be used to it by now. Yabu just sent their friend a confused glance and tentatively removed his hand from where it had rested on Hikaru's knee. They were saved from any awkward comments or further protests to their open display of affection by the sound of the door bell. At the noise they all perked up, Hikaru's stomach growling in anticipation.
"Food!" Yuto darted off of the couch, leaping over the three guys lying on the floor to get to the door, startling the poor delivery man as he slurred out a quick thanks and snatched their food into his lanky arms, the boxes stacked high. Takaki paid and the food was passed out, everyone digging into their meals. Chinen stayed in the living room with them, flopping down on the floor by Daiki with the food Takaki had ordered for him. The conversation quickly turned to Chinen and Takaki's relationship, much to Hikaru's surprise. He had figured it would be a sore topic, but Chinen readily confirmed to the band that he did have feelings for Takaki, once Takaki had left the room.
The meal was reaching its end when Hikaru's phone suddenly went off, and he wriggled around, unfolding himself from around Yabu to pull the device out of his pants pocket. Once he had managed that task he put the phone to his ear with a light hearted
"Hello?"
"Hello. Is this Yaotome Hikaru?" An unfamiliar voice asked from the other side. He sat up a little straighter. This sounded like a work call.
"Yes, that's me."
"I'm calling from Amnesia Night Club. We've had a last minute cancelation and I was wondering if you were available." Hikaru could barely believe his ears. Amnesia Night Club was a pretty high end place. They'd only been there one other time, and he'd honestly rather given up on any thought of them going back. He tried to keep his voice level and professional as he responded.
"Yes, we are available..."
"This Friday?" The man on the other end asked. Hikaru nearly fist pumped in excitement.
"This Friday? Yes." He found himself grinning as they finished the formalities, breaking out into a huge smile as soon as he got off the phone. The other band members were all looking at him expectantly as he slipped his device back into his pocket, and Inoo asked
"Where are we playing?"
"Amnesia." He told them, and Yuto let out a whoop of excitement. Yabu placed a sloppy kiss on his cheek, making Hikaru blush just a bit, a huge grin on his boyfriend's face.
"Chinen should come." Daiki announced. Hikaru thought this was a fantastic idea, nodding enthusiastically with the rest of the band. He wanted to try and include Chinen. The little guy was a part of their group for life now, and he wanted to get to know him. Yabu however, voiced an important question, pointing at Chinen with his chopsticks and saying
"You are legal, right?" Chinen pouted a bit, responding with a jokingly hurt
"Just because I'm short..." There was some laughter, and Hikaru was pleased to see Chinen already teasing them. He wanted him to feel comfortable, despite the awkward relationship-or seemingly lack thereof-he had with Takaki. A smile broke out on Chinen's face, and he dropped the act, honestly answering Yabu's question with a light "Yes, yes I am."
"Awesome." Yabu was grinning, and Hikaru resisted the urge to fondly brush his bangs away from his eyes. "We'll just tell them you're with us." And just like that it was decided that Chinen was coming. Hikaru glanced over at Takaki to try and determine how the singer felt about the decision, but his older friend's expression was blank.
The next day was Yabu's first day of university for the semester, and Hikaru woke up early to pack his boyfriend a lunch and write his name on all of his school supplies. He was in the middle of writing their contact information on the inside cover of a history textbook when Yabu emerged from their bedroom, dressed but obviously still not completely awake. He leaned in for a kiss, pecking Hikaru on the lips before looking down at what he was doing.
"I'm not five you know Hikaru." Hikaru finished writing his cell phone number in the book and capped his permanent marker before responding.
"But I didn't do this last time and you went through three psychology textbooks. So I'm taking precautions." He stood, trying to appease his obviously still slightly grumpy boyfriend with a tender kiss on the forehead, having to raise himself up just slightly onto his tiptoes to reach. Yabu got himself a cup of coffee and breakfast as Hikaru packed his bag for him, and once Yabu had shoved food down his throat Hikaru saw him off with a strong hug and a long kiss. He knew it was silly to miss Yabu; his boyfriend was going to be back that evening, happy and healthy. But as he stood on their doorstep in his pajama bottoms and nothing else he couldn't help but call after him, yelling down the street at Yabu's retreating back
"Kota!" I love you. The words resounded in his chest, and despite never actually saying them he knew Yabu understood his feelings when the lanky older man blew him a kiss, grinning widely. Hikaru was blushing in embarrassment, but he felt a bit better, and he waved before going inside. He fed himself breakfast, and then pulled out a folder of all of the band's songs, scattering the pages across the surface of the kitchen table, trying to compose a set list for their gig on Friday. Chinen was coming, and he wanted Takaki's marriage to work out. It couldn't hurt to try and pick songs that showed off the singer's smooth voice. With that in mind, he got to work.
He worked on this throughout most of the day, stopping at around four o'clock to prepare for his actual job in the evening and make Yabu dinner so that it would be waiting for him when he got home. He speculated about Kota's experiences of the day throughout all of the preparations for work, and even as he got his ramen stand to his usual spot and was setting up he couldn't help but wonder how school had been, and when his boyfriend would get home. It wasn't that he was worried. It was just that he didn't like being forced to be apart. As if on cue he got a text from Yabubun-his boyfriend changed his nickname in Hikaru's cell phone at his own whim, and it had been Yabubun for a while now. He opened up the message. It was a picture Kota had taken of himself, obviously at home, grinning like an idiot with his dinner, and underneath the photo were the words
Yum!! Come home soon! Love you! Hikaru knew a smile was growing on his own face, and he felt refreshed, putting on a big smile and working hard, his determination to sell lots of ramen renewed. He was charismatic and silly and playful with the customers all night, his energy high. He was like this all through the night, and he got home late, expecting for Kota to already be asleep. But when he pushed through the front door his boyfriend called out to him softly.
"Welcome home." Hikaru slipped off his shoes, going into the kitchen to see Yabu sitting up waiting for him, a meal-saran wrapped to keep it warm-at Hikaru's usual spot. When they saw each other Yabu pouted childishly. "You're late! I asked you to come home soon."
"It's fine." Hikaru brushed off the complaint, sitting down and reaching out to take Yabu's hand across the table. "I'm home now." He let his thumb rub gently across the bumps and angles of his boyfriend's fingers, and he unwrapped his meal, thanking Yabu for the food and digging in. As he ate Yabu told him all about his first day back at school, giving his first impressions of his classmates and his teachers. Hikaru loved listening to his boyfriend talk, liked hearing the thoughtfulness in his voice as he tried to come up with the most appropriate words to get his opinions across. But it was already early morning, and once Hikaru had finished eating they curled up in bed, both exhausted from their long day, and they were asleep within moments of their heads hitting the pillow.
The next day went by in a whirlwind of paper, Hikaru finalizing the set list to their gig on Friday and Yabu tackling his school assignments. They both spent their day around the kitchen table, sheet music getting mixed up with worksheets, cups of tea balanced precariously on textbooks. And in this fashion the next few days flew by, until they found themselves slinging their guitars over their shoulders, locking up the apartment behind them as they left for the gig. They took the train, getting there before everyone else, although Yuto texted them, assuring them that he was on his way with the rest of the instruments.
It wasn't until they arrived at the place that Hikaru began to feel anxious. This was an important performance, everything needed to go smoothly. He felt an overcritical, perfection seeking pattern of anxious worry creeping up on him, and he grabbed Yabu's hand, giving it a squeeze. Understanding at once, his boyfriend squeezed back, murmuring
"This is just for fun. It's not something we need to put pressure on. All we can do is try to enjoy ourselves, right Hika?" Hikaru nodded, just as Yuto and Inoo burst through the door to their provided backstage room, instruments in hand. He took a deep breath. Yabu was right. He leaned in, nuzzling his boyfriend's cheek before gently placing a kiss there, and he murmured
"Thanks, Kota." Yabu grinned, ducking his head a bit in embarrassment, and with that they went to help Inoo and Yuto with their much more complicated instruments.
It became apparent during their warm up however, that he wasn't the only one that was anxious. Takaki was a bundle of nerves backstage, his temper on edge, voice not nearly as strong as it usually was. As it needed to be. Hikaru had mixed feelings about Takaki's obvious nervousness. On one had it was a sign that the older man actually cared about his husband and wanted to impress him. On the other it wouldn't be impressive or beneficial in any way if Takaki sounded like a dying chicken.
Luckily, their lead singer pulled himself together during the performance, and Hikaru managed to lose himself in the cheering of the crowd and the beat falling from his fingertips as they flitted across the strings of his bass. They only performed five songs, but it was an amazingly uplifting experience, adrenaline coursing through his veins as they took a final bow and exited the stage. This was why he performed. He loved being able to do this. To feel like this, surrounded by people he loved. No one seemed to notice his overly affectionate train of thought, all of them chattering and hugging each other as they began to put their instruments away.
Hikaru had temporarily forgotten that Chinen had come to watch their performance, reminded suddenly when he glanced up from storing his bass in its case to see the petite man talking with his husband, the both of them smiling widely, and Hikaru nodded a bit to himself in satisfaction. Perhaps after this they could start down the road to being proper life partners. Kota took notice of the scene as well, and leaned into his side a bit, saying quietly
"That's nice, isn't it?"
"Yeah. I'm glad to see them being so friendly." Hikaru agreed. His attention was quickly stolen by a stranger banging discordantly on the drums, the uneven rhythm trying on his ears and making him whisk his head around. It was a tiny muscular guy, and Yuto had him practically enfolded in his much larger body, standing behind him and obviously attempting to show him how to use the instrument, a slightly dazed look on his face, his eyes positively sparkling as he gazed down at his unnamed companion. Daiki and Inoo attempted to dance to the unintelligible banging, twirling around the room, still stupidly happy and not quite down off of the rush of performance.
Hikaru was going to get involved in the mix when he felt a finger on his chin, and he turned to look at Yabu, his boyfriend not giving him a chance to do much of anything before crashing their lips together. On instinct Hikaru leaned into the kiss, his arms wrapping around Yabu's tiny waist, drawing the taller man just a little closer, feeling his chest rise and fall with every breath. He felt as if his whole body was hypersensitive, every touch from Kota electrifying, and he forced himself to take the initiative to pull away after a few moments. He instead leaned their foreheads together, his breathing labored. They couldn't be like this here. They were still out with their friends.
"Kota." The word came out in a sigh, and Yabu honest to god chuckled, knowing how aroused he had managed to get Hikaru in a mere matter of moments, and also knowing that Hikaru was too polite to just ditch their friends and head straight back home. But then he took Hikaru's hand, acting for once like the older of the two and gently stroking Hikaru's hair.
"Sorry." He sounded genuinely apologetic, and Hikaru stood up straight, taking a deep breath and smiling, adjusting their twined fingers so that they fit just so, and glancing back out into the room. Luckily no one seemed to have noticed their quick little make out session, Daiki taking Chinen and the short stranger guy and leaving with a wave and a hug from Inoo. Yuto meanwhile had collapsed, sprawled out on the floor by his drum set, one hand clutching tightly to his phone, the device pressed to his chest, his eyes closed. Curious, he and Yabu made their way over to their precious drummer, Yabu taking the initiative and asking
"What's up?" The others too began gathering around Yuto's body on the floor, as he announced
"I'm falling in love." Hikaru didn't see anything for Yuto to be falling in love with, asking in mock concern
"Right now?" But Yuto barely acknowledged his question, saying
"Did you see him? I haven't seen him since I was eight, or nine, or something, and now..." Hikaru was completely confused. Luckily, so was everyone else.
"Who are we talking about?" Inoo asked, looking bewildered. Yuto finally opened his eyes, announcing as if they were all idiots
"Yamada! We were friends when we were kids, next door neighbors, and then he moved away. I can't believe he remembered me. He grew up so much, he's..." Oh. Suddenly everything made sense. That guy that had left with Daiki and Chinen was the infamous Yamada Ryosuke that Inoo would whine about. The dancer that was friends with Daiki and Chinen. They must have dragged him along with them. Yuto was looking as if he'd just seen a unicorn, a not-entirely-there look in his eyes, a smile plastered on his face. But Takaki just cocked a hip, folding his arms over his chest and saying
"I wouldn't get too excited, Daiki is driving him home." There was a running half-serious joke amongst them that Daiki was a dangerous driver, and Hikaru didn't really feel that it was a point of concern, but Yuto pulled himself sharply to a sitting position and began tapping out a message on his phone, undoubtedly to Yamada. Figuring there had been enough fooling around; Hikaru got everyone cleaning up their instruments and any other disturbances to the room.
They packed up everything into Yuto's vehicle, and then the group returned to the club, Yabu and Yuto dragging the rest of them out onto the dance floor, and Hikaru found himself laughing and dancing to the deafening club music with the rest of the band, the five of them behaving unbelievably dorky, having an amazingly good time. At one point however, they lost Inoo, and once they had recovered their pretty keyboardist he was giggling, swaying slightly and obviously tipsy, and it was at about that time that they decided to call it a night. They exited the club; half deaf from the loud music, but Hikaru sidled up to Takaki, their lead singer glancing over at him, a smile on his lips.
"How did Chinen like us?" Hikaru found himself asking. Takaki paused, obviously considering the question.
"He said we were really great." He glanced down at his shoes, kicking at the ground a bit and admitting “He said he liked my voice." Yabu, who had been lagging behind with Inoo and Yuto, caught up to them, cooing and bumping Takaki's shoulder, a big grin on his face. They reached where the ones with vehicles had all parked, Hikaru and Yabu helping Yuto get Inoo into the passenger seat of his family's van, buckling him in and wishing them a safe trip home, as Takaki bid them all a good night and took off on his motorcycle.
Once Yuto too had driven off Hikaru and Yabu struck out into the night, heading for the train station.
"I'm tired. Let's go home and get in bed." Yabu announced, and they did just that, curling up all wrapped around each other, their legs a tangled mass under the sheets, chests pressed together, noses buried in necks.
Corresponding Chapters:
I Do | I Don't
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