No Surprises (6/15)
Author: ryosukekoibito
Pairing: Okajima, with some side Ariyama, Chiitaro, Takachii, Hikabu, and Inoo/Saya
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Genre: Romance
Disclaimer: I don't own anyone from J&A.
Summary: Yuto's life has been planned out from the moment he was born, decisions most of the world got to make all predetermined by his parents. Now as an adult he has to decide if he's going to continue along the path they've lain out for him, or if he's going to abandon it all, risking leaving his family behind in the process.
Previous Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5
As they talked and the night got later, Chinen and Takaki ended up sprawled out on the couch fast asleep. Yuto meanwhile, got into a conversation with Inoo. They'd met a few times previously but it had just been polite greetings in formal settings, and Yuto didn't know much at all about the older man aside from basic facts about his family that had circulated when his engagement to Saya had been announced. It was nice to talk to Inoo, and Yuto was surprised to learn that-although he'd never heard of or met Inoo until he'd married Chinen's sister-Inoo had apparently met Hikaru and Yabu in middle school, the three getting along quite well. They had been friends for years, as was shown in the comfortable way Inoo navigated the Yabu family household, leading Yuto to the kitchen for some substantial food and continue their conversation when he heard Yuto's stomach growl, assuring him that it would be fine, and besides, they didn't want to wake the two sleeping on the couch.
The conversation had fallen into a bit of a lull, Inoo having finished an amusing story about his bad mouthed little sister, Yuto chuckling as he finished his last bite of rice, setting his chopsticks down. He was about to continue with the theme of sibling stories and tell Inoo about how one time Raiya had somehow managed to wreck his bicycle into a lake when his family were on vacation in Spain when his phone went off in his pocket. He pulled it out, surprised that he was getting a message, anxious that it was his mother or father commenting on his behavior earlier in the evening. He was relieved and pleased to see that it was not his parents. It was Keito, the other man having sent him a good night message and a picture of himself lying in his bed, his eyes barely open, a small smile on his handsome face. Yuto couldn't help but smile, and he saved the picture to the growing collection he had in his phone.
"Who’s that?" Inoo asked, leaning in to look at Yuto's screen. Yuto showed him the photograph.
"This is Keito." He said, typing back a good night to his friend and sending it before slipping his phone back into his pocket. "He's...well...I met him by chance in a music store, and after a second lucky encounter we got to talking, and exchanged numbers. He's really sweet, and sincere, and..." Yuto trailed off, debating whether he should talk to Inoo about Keito or not. He wanted to get some advice about his situation, wanted to tell someone about his still growing feelings for his phone friend, but he wasn't sure if Inoo would understand. Inoo had gone through with an arranged marriage after all. But Inoo was looking at him seriously, more seriously than he had all evening, and Yuto decided to go for it.
"The thing is...the thing is, I've got a bit of a crush. Well, more than a bit. I like him a lot, but I've got this fiancé that I've never even met, and I don't want to marry them, but the situation with my parents is really bad, and if I don't then I'm afraid I'll be cut off from the family. But I love my family, and I don't want to disappoint them. It's just that-"
"That you want to be happy." Inoo muttered, cutting Yuto off. Yuto blinked at him in surprise.
"Yeah." There was a silence, Inoo seemingly sizing him up, his eyes trailing over Yuto's face.
"Yuto-kun...can I tell you something?" Inoo asked, and his tone was tentative, the light playfulness that had been there all evening gone, his lips pursed nervously. Yuto had known this was a sensitive topic when he'd confessed his feelings about Keito, but he hadn't expected a reaction like this. He wasn't sure what to expect. Still, he nodded. There was a moment of silence, Inoo chewing at his bottom lip, his pretty hands folding in front of him on the kitchen counter, before he finally said, his voice quivering slightly "Yuto-kun, I'm gay." Yuto definitely hadn't been expecting that.
"I've known since I was a little kid, but I never told anyone...you're the first to know, actually, so if you could keep it to yourself...?" Yuto nodded. Inoo looked at him gratefully, before continuing. "I was afraid of what people would say. Of what my parents would think. So I lied; I've always been good at lying." Inoo smiled, but it was twisted, no happiness in his eyes. "But, just like you, my parents arranged for me to be married, introducing me to Saya-chan. I liked her fine, so I said that I was fine with it. I went through with the marriage, because I wanted to make my parents happy. I would be okay, I thought. I'd never really been in love anyway, so it wasn't like I was missing anything." He sighed.
"As I said, I did like Saya-I still do, she's smart, and kind, and she's been very accepting of me, and understanding of our situation-but I didn't, I don't love her. I'm not remotely attracted to her. Despite my lack of feelings, I still married her. I was a coward. Now I'm stuck married to someone who I can never give the love she deserves. It's been hard on her, hard on the both of us, because of my lack of interest in my wife. She's still trying to be understanding, but she doesn't know why I don't want to kiss her, or hold her. She doesn't know that no matter what she does, she's not going to win me over, and the more time passes the more strained our relationship gets." As he spoke, Inoo's voice began to quiver, his eyes pooling with tears, and he blinked, looking away from Yuto, as a tear escaped and ran down his cheek. He took a deep shuddering breath, before saying seriously
"It's not worth meeting your parents' expectations, Yuto-kun. Especially not if you love someone else. You deserve to be happy, and so does the person you marry." Yuto was stunned by Inoo's confession, frozen for a moment as he processed everything Inoo had told him. Inoo himself was trying to fight back his tears, and Yuto reached out, rubbing small circles on the older man's back, the way Yamada did for him when he was upset. He was searching for words of comfort, not sure what to say, but wanting to do something to help, when a familiar voice said
"Inoo-chan! This is where you two went! We've been looking for you." Yuto glanced up, surprised. It was Hikaru and Yabu. They had changed out of their formal clothes and into sleepwear, Hikaru's arm wound around Yabu's thin waist, smiles on both of their faces. Yuto glanced over at Inoo, worried about him still, but when he turned to his companion he found Inoo smiling over at his friends, and his voice had adopted its usual light, teasing nature, any indication that he was in distress eradicated, and the whiplash was jarring. Yuto just stared rather numbly as Inoo asked teasingly
"Did you miss me?" Yabu smiled, chuckling, and he asked
"You're staying the night, right Inoo-chan?" Inoo nodded, getting to his feet, his eyes shining with affection, and as Yuto watched their interaction, watched the way Inoo's eyes lit up when Yabu would reciprocate and play along with his flirting it struck him, and he felt a nauseous pitying sympathy spread throughout his body as he realized Inoo was in love with Yabu.
"What about you, Yuto? I can have the staff prepare you a room." Hikaru offered, but Yuto shook his head, standing too.
"I should probably be going, thank you for everything." He couldn't help but watch Inoo, his understanding of the older man completely changed after their conversation, and he felt terribly sad as he bid them all a good night, the three of them waving him off at the door. He vowed to himself, as he rode back home, that he wouldn't let what had happened to Inoo happen to him. He was going to strive toward his own happiness. He had to. And it was with that thought in mind that when the following Friday, during their nightly phone call when Keito asked if they could get together, his response was an enthusiastic yes.
Yuto woke the next morning with an excited buzzing in his chest. He was meeting Keito at the same cafe they'd gone to the last time they had seen each other, getting coffee and brunch. Yuto had promised to take Keito out window shopping, and show him all of his favorite stores. It was just a casual get together, but it was the first time he was seeing the other man in a while, and they had never done something like this before. He wanted Keito to have a good time. He showered quickly, browsing through his clothes for much too long before settling on chuck taylors, skinny jeans, and a yellow plaid shirt over top of a white tank top. After going through his camera collection and selecting the perfect lens for the occasion, he went out.
He got there right on time, turning the last corner and looking up to see Keito already standing outside of the cafe, waiting for him. The other man was in jeans as well, and a black v-neck t-shirt, the collar dipping so low that it was almost risqué, showing a large portion of his pale chest. He looked really attractive Yuto admitted to himself, a small blush creeping up his cheeks. His companion hadn't seen him yet, and he stopped for a moment, raising his camera and taking a few pictures, preserving the way Keito looked in that moment before he called out to the older man, startling him and making him jump, before he broke out into a smile, waving back as Yuto closed the distance separating them.
"Have you been waiting long?" Yuto asked, Keito's smile growing bigger as he shook his head.
"You're right on time." Keito said quietly, pulling open the door to the cafe and gesturing for Yuto to go ahead. Yuto smiled, swooning a little and going in, the two getting seats in a secluded corner of the cafe and ordering coffees and pancakes. After the waiter had left, Keito turned to Yuto, admitting "I've come here a few times since you took me here. I like it." Yuto found himself smiling again.
"It's great isn't it? This is my favorite coffee shop. It's so...quaint." Keito nodded in agreement, saying
"It reminds me a bit of a place in England I would go to sometimes." Yuto leaned forward enthusiastically, folding his hands on the tabletop in front of him, nodding for Keito to elaborate, and the other man did, telling Yuto about England. He had gone to school most of his life there, and had transferred Universities when he had moved back to Japan. Yuto found himself entranced by Keito when he talked. He always loved hearing the older man's voice when they spoke on the phone at night, but actually seeing him, seeing the hand gestures he used and the facial expressions he made when he spoke was ten times better. Yuto didn't notice that he had been staring until Keito blushed, asking
"Is there something on my face?" It was Yuto's turn to blush, and he realized just how far he'd been leaning in, just how long he'd been staring, and he sat back in his chair, fiddling with his camera. He was saved from having to stutter out an explanation, as at that moment their waiter arrived with their food and drinks, to his relief. He dug into his plate, smiling as the taste of the pancakes hit his tongue. He was hungry; he hadn't realized just how hungry, too focused on Keito to notice his own needs. But now that he was it was blatantly obvious, and he cleared his plate in minutes, Keito watching him, a mild amusement on his features as he ate at a slower pace. Yuto didn't set his fork down until he was finished, and he realized, suddenly embarrassed, that he may not have been displaying his best manners, but Keito just smiled at him, swallowing the bite in his mouth and asking
"Was it good?"
"So good." Yuto dragged the words out for emphasis, scrunching his face up for dramatic effect, and Keito giggled, taking another bite of his own pancakes. Yuto raised his camera, focusing the image and capturing the moment just as Keito stuffed a large chunk of pancake into his mouth, his cheeks puffed out, full. Yuto chuckled at the photograph, Keito blinking in surprise, his eyes wide. He swallowed, saying
"I've got to look ridiculous."
"You're cute!" Yuto leaned across the table, showing Keito the image. "See?" Keito smiled.
"My cheeks are huge. I look like a chipmunk."
"I told you you were cute." Yuto declared.
"I don’t think I can get them any bigger." Keito said playfully. His voice was so quiet Yuto hadn't been sure he'd been meant to hear the words, but he smiled, raising his camera as he said
"Try!" Keito seemed rather embarrassed, a blush spreading across his cheeks, but he cut off about half of what was left on his plate, stacking the pancakes up on his fork.
"Are you sure?" He asked, looking over at Yuto tentatively, but Yuto just nodded, snapping pictures as Keito shoveled the huge stack of pancakes into his mouth. His eyes were wide, and his lips were pursed shut, barely closed, his cheeks taught with the food. He looked hilarious, and Yuto found himself laughing, kicking his feet and clapping, tears nearly coming to his eyes. His reaction seemed to put Keito at ease, and the older man giggled, his shoulders shaking as he chewed his huge mouthful, his hands coming up to cover his face. Once Yuto got himself under control he skirted around the table, scooting into the booth next to Keito and exclaiming
"You have to see these pictures! You look great." He leaned into Keito's side, trying to ignore just how amazing the older man smelled, and he held out the camera so that Keito could see the screen on the back, showing him the images. Keito giggled, commenting on the ridiculous expressions he had made, his cheeks slightly pink from embarrassment. He quickly finished his pancakes, the two finally standing, paying for their meals and exiting the cafe. Yuto found that any nervousness he'd felt about taking Keito around had completely vanished, and he told Keito enthusiastically about the places he was going to be taking him as they started off on the way to their first destination.
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