I Do (6/12)
Title: I Do
Author: thanku4urlove
Pairing: Takaki/Chinen
Rating: PG
Warnings: None!
Genre: Romance
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Summary: When Chinen Yuri's father proposed to him the idea of an arranged marriage between Chinen himself and the son of a large hotel owner, Takaki Yuya, Chinen didn't think it would be too bad, really. It would benefit his father's company, and he would be able to get to know Takaki Yuya, someone he had been harboring a shallow crush on. Things didn't go at all how Chinen expected them to.
A/N: If anyone is confused by the I Do/ I Don't/ I Don't Care thing, please check out the Author's Note for chapter one! I'm so so so sorry this is so late!!!!!
Previous Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5
"Your house caught on fire? Ryutaro..." Chinen wasn't sure how to react to this news. "Could I stop by and visit you at least?" He really wanted to see his friend, dance recital or not.
"Sure. That would be great, actually. I need to talk to you."
"Awesome. I'll be there soon." Hanging up, Chinen barely had time to slip his phone into his pocket before Takaki asked,
"What was that? Is everything okay?"
"I think so." Honestly, Chinen wasn't exactly sure. Ryutaro didn't seem in any sort of danger though, so he just shrugged. Then he raised his voice, addressing the group.
"Could someone take me to the hospital?"
"Why? Are you okay?" Hikaru asked. His serious tone was unexpected, and Chinen realized that asking a question like that out of the blue was not the best idea.
"Yes, yes, I'm fine, but my friend is there and I want to go visit him." Chinen amended.
"Ryu?" Yamada asked, worry already etched on to his face. Chinen nodded.
"He's okay. There was a fire in his house."
The longer Chinen spoke, the worse what he was saying sounded. Now all of his friends were concerned.
"He really is okay, I just haven't seen him in a while and I was going to see him today anyway, so..." Clapping his hands together awkwardly, Chinen gave them all an apologetic look. "Don't worry."
"I'll take you, if you're alright with riding the motorcycle." Takaki offered. Chinen really wasn't alright with riding the motorcycle, but he did want to get there quickly, and the opportunity for an excuse to wrap his arms around Takaki's torso wasn't something he could easily pass up.
"Sure."
After goodbyes, Takaki led the way through the parking lot. There the bike was, in all of its black and shiny, intimidating glory. Takaki slung his leg over it, handing his helmet to Chinen.
"Climb on."
Trying not to let his reluctance show, Chinen put on the helmet and did just that. Takaki reached back, arranging Chinen's arms around his midsection. He was nice and warm and rather comfortable. Chinen made a mental note to snuggle up to Takaki at the next opportunity he had.
"Whatever you do, don't let go."
There was no danger of that happening, and Chinen told Takaki so, the man smiling at him before making the vehicle roar to life. The sound alone made Chinen grip Takaki tighter, and as soon as they were moving all of the reasons that Chinen had given to himself to agree with this insane idea had completely dissipated.
There was a reason he hadn't even tried learning how to drive yet--cars scared him too much. So to be on the back of a motorcycle, zipping through traffic... Chinen just put his head on Takaki's back and closed his eyes.
By the time Takaki came to a stop, Chinen had wound his arms around him so tightly that his fingertips were on his elbows. Takaki cut off the engine and reached around, popping the helmet off Chinen's head.
"We're here. You can let go now."
Chinen wasn't sure he was capable. But as soon as he did, Takaki wheezed in a breath.
"D'you think, next time..." He took another deep breath, rubbing his stomach "You could let me breathe while I'm driving?"
Chinen got off the bike, crouching to his knees. "That was so scary..." He groaned. "I thought we were going to die."
"You don't trust me?"
"I don't even like regular bicycles. I'm fine with walking everywhere, which is saying something considering how short my legs are." Chinen gestured to himself. "I have no idea how you feel safe going everywhere on that thing."
"Well, if anything had happened, at least we were on the way to the hospital." Takaki said with a chuckle. Giving him a glance that conveyed he was not amused, Chinen led the way into the hospital.
"We would like to visit Morimoto Ryutaro please." Chinen told the receptionist. After giving them a smile and asking them to please sign in, she gave them his room number and pointed down a hallway.
"Thank you very much."
They headed down, neither of them speaking. Takaki's movements had gotten a bit stiff.
"What, nervous?" Chinen asked. The older man just shrugged. They reached their destination, Takaki pushing the door open.
Ryutaro was sitting up I'm the hospital bed, beaming when he saw them. He wasn't alone however; Keito was in a chair pulled up to him, one of his hands held by Ryutaro's own.
"...Keito?" Takaki asked, mirroring Chinen's confusion. "What're you doing here?"
Keito got up, hastily greeting them before answering Takaki's question. "My, um... Well..."
"His boyfriend is in the hospital, that's what." Ryutaro answered, obviously amused by how flustered the directness of the statement made Keito.
"You're dating Keito?" Chinen was flabbergasted. That was why Keito said he'd heard of Chinen before. "Since when?"
"Uh..." Ryutaro scratched his head, thinking. "Around the time you and Takaki got married, I think."
"And you didn't tell me?" Chinen all but screeched, hurrying over to whack him.
"I told Yamada, but you seemed like you had more serious stuff going on than this! Stop hitting me!"
Chinen complied, pulling his friend into a hug instead. Ryutaro laughed at the change of emotion, hugging back tightly.
"I was going to tell you today, I promise, but then..."
"Yeah, what happened exactly?" Chinen hopped on to the bed, Keito taking his seat, Takaki sitting in a chair against the wall. "The house caught on fire?"
"Well," Ryutaro sat up a little straighter. "Shintaro had Juri over--"
"Oh, are they dating yet?" Last Chinen heard of that story, Tanaka Juri was head over heels and Shintaro had just found out about it.
"Yup." Ryutaro grinned a bit.
"And how scared of you is he?"
"Not as scared as I would like, but scared enough." That made Chinen laugh, and Ryutaro continued his story.
"They were in the kitchen, making... Hell, I don't even know what they were making, but it required both the stove and the microwave..."
Chinen already dreaded where this story was going.
"Shintaro was heating up something, but he used a metal bowl because... Because I don't know, I guess he's an idiot, and the microwave exploded. Metal parts literally went everywhere, and some of them were on fire, which ended up knocking over a bottle of oil and spilling it all over the floor..."
Chinen was incredulous. "How does someone even mess up cooking that badly?"
Ryutaro shrugged. "I shepherded them out first and Juri called the fire department. Then I went in and got my parents from upstairs--the fire had spread out of the kitchen at that point, and with the fire alarm going off I figured Nastune would get the hint and get out of the house, but my Dad has set the alarm off so many times with his cooking that she figured it was a false alarm, so after a minute or two I went in to get her too."
It was admirable, really, how much Ryutaro played the hero for his family. "Is everyone alright?" Chinen asked.
"Yeah. No burns or anything. I'm just in here because I was exposed to the smoke the longest so they're checking my lungs for... Something. I don't know. The kitchen is a black shell though, so we have to stay somewhere else while it gets renovated."
"Wow, that sucks." The whole situation was quite bizarre, and having to live somewhere else in the middle of the school year was going to be difficult.
"Yeah. The worst part is, since Juri lives next door and he and Shintaro are such close friends," Ryutaro made exaggerated quotation marks in the air with his fingers "he's staying over there. In Juri's room." Ryutaro sighed. "Since he didn't want to tell Mom and Dad yet, I can't protest without outing him."
"Just threaten to remove his brain with a turkey baster again, it'll be fine." Chinen responded, patting Ryutaro's arm sympathetically.
"I guess. My parents and Natsue are staying with my aunt, and I think I have to stay with them because they're definitely not letting me go to Keito's." Ryutaro's face suggested that his aunt's place was a last resort even to a park bench, and for a moment he felt bad for his friend before realizing,
"Hey, you could stay at my house!"
"He can?" Takaki asked.
"I can?" Ryutaro echoed.
"Sure!" Chinen exclaimed.
"But there's only one room, and I know the couch isn't free." Ryutaro protested, sending a glance Takaki's way. Chinen waved a hand.
"I have a big bed, we'll figure something out. If that's okay with you." Chinen turned quickly to Keito. He didn't want to seem any sort of threatening, but Keito just nodded.
"If Ryutaro wants to, it's fine with me."
Chinen turned to Ryutaro. "So?"
"I don't want to intrude..."
"I'm not leaving you with your aunt that only eats old fish. C'mon."
Ryutaro smiled at him. "Fine. Thanks Chii."
Chinen beamed, excited that he could both be helpful and spend more time with his friend. Keito pulled a phone from his pocket and handed it to Ryutaro, who smiled slightly and said a quiet thanks. Chinen was still a bit baffled. How did these two end up together?
He didn't want to ask, in fear of embarrassing them, walking over to where Takaki was sitting as Ryutaro dialed his mother's phone number.
"This is kind of weird." He whispered.
Takaki nodded. "Yuto mentioned Keito's boyfriend a few times that week Keito stepped in for Yabu, and he would get all blushy, but I never would have guessed that it was your terrifying friend."
"My what?" Chinen kept his surprised tone as hushed as possible. When Takaki refused to repeat what he had said, he giggled. "Are scared of Ryu?"
"Can he really suck someone's brain out with a turkey baster?" Takaki asked back, voice small. Chinen suppressed his laughter rather unsuccessfully, holding his hand over his mouth. Before he could respond, however, Ryutaro called his name.
"Hey, Chinen?"
"Yes?" Chinen asked, turning back to him.
"My mom said it was a good idea. She's going to swing by and pick me up, then head down to your house."
Chinen nodded. That sounded good. Then, Takaki stood, hooking Chinen's index finger with his own and saying,
"We should go, clean up or something."
Chinen looked from his husband's hand to his face, eyebrows raised.
"What?" Takaki asked.
"Nothing." The physical contact was weird, but Chinen wasn't at all complaining, just confused. He pulled himself away to wave goodbye to both Keito and Ryutaro, and they exited the hospital.
It had been falling dark on the way there, and now it was pretty black outside, making the prospect of getting on the back of motorcycle even more terrifying. But he couldn't really go home any other way, sighing in resignation as he took the helmet and hopped on the back.
"Remember, I need to be able to breathe." Takaki chastised. "At least try not to squeeze."
"No promises." Chinen said. And it was a good thing too, because if he had made one, he wouldn't have kept it.
Tidying up didn't take too long, and once Ryutaro showed up Takaki disappeared, saying something about setting his own bed up. He would be sleeping in Chinen's room, on a blow up mattress on the floor, while Ryutaro slept on the couch. Chinen had figured that would be better for everyone, Keito included, than to have Ryutaro sharing his bed.
"The couch is pretty comfortable." Chinen admitted, handing Ryutaro some blankets. "Takaki has been sleeping on it for as long as we've been here, and he's never complained."
"Did you kick him out of the bedroom, or what?" Ryutaro asked, smile on his face. Chinen shook his head.
"No; we had no idea what the house was like until we got here after the wedding, and once we found out there was only one bed and bedroom, Takaki said he would just sleep on the couch and stormed out. I didn't even have time to offer to sleep somewhere else. I would have even been alright with sharing, but--"
"You would be fine with sharing a bed with someone you didn't know?" Ryutaro asked, surprised.
"I was going to have to get to know him anyway, so why not?"
Ryutaro's eyebrows were still raised, so Chinen sighed.
"And yes, I liked him, okay?"
Ryutaro laughed. "Do you still like him? Or did that go away?"
Chinen thought for a moment. "I do, but it's sort of different now that I know him, you know? He used to be this unreachable pretty boy, but actually... He's kind of stupid. But he does little nice things for me, and is really good at cheering me up. I've grown to like him a lot."
That made Ryutaro chuckle, Chinen exclaiming,
"He's afraid of you!"
"Good." Ryutaro responded.
"He thinks you're going to suck his brain out."
"I will, if I have to."
Chinen threw his friend a look. "Come on, Ryu."
"What?" Ryutaro asked back. "You're a brother to me, Chinen. It's the same as with Shin and Juri, except I trust Juri. Sort of."
Chinen just shook his head. It was nice that Ryutaro cared for him, even though he was pretty sure he had it all under control. Ryutaro stretched out on the couch, throwing a blanket over his legs. He was tired, understandably exhausted by the events of the day, so Chinen held back all the questions about Keito that he wanted to ask and bid him goodnight.
He turned lights off as he made his way to his bedroom, making it pitch black as he entered his room. He didn't know where Takaki was laying down, so he just decided to walk in and hope for the best. There was a small groan in response to one of his footfalls and he jumped up.
"Did I step on you?" Chinen asked, making a wide arc in a different direction to get to his bed.
"Yeah, kinda."
Chinen turned on a lamp, giving Takaki his best apologetic expression. "I'm so, so sorry. I didn't know where you put your bed, so..."
Takaki shrugged off his explanation, rubbing his fingers with his other hand.
"It's okay. I don't really need these that much anyway."
Glad that Takaki wasn't mad or very seriously hurt, Chinen got in bed.
"Is it alright? Ryu staying here and you sleeping on the floor? I didn't really ask you." He had been so caught up in trying his hardest to help his friend out that he'd never asked Takaki how he felt about the whole ordeal.
Takaki was quiet for a few moments.
"I'm fine with sleeping on the floor." He said. "And as long as we don't actually own a turkey baster, I think I'm fine with Ryutaro, too."
Chinen looked down at Takaki with a laugh. Takaki was already looking up at him, lying on his side, curled up and under a blanket, looking rather adorable in Chinen's opinion.
"Why're you afraid of him?" Chinen had to ask. He couldn't think of anything Ryutaro could have done already to make Takaki scared of him at all.
"Because he's tall, sort of broad shouldered, and doesn't like me." Takaki answered without skipping a beat.
"And how do you know that?" He knew that Ryutaro wasn't Takaki's biggest fan, but how did Takaki know?
"Besides the glare he gave me earlier?" Ryutaro had glared at him? Chinen sighed, and Takaki continued.
"Think about it. He's your best friend, and I, using Hikaru's words, am an asshole. Wouldn't that make him want to hit me, or something?"
Oh. Chinen thought about how he would complain, at the beginning of the marriage, about how Takaki was never home, and would ignore him. Takaki's reasoning did make sense.
But that was a while ago. Chinen turned the lamp off, dousing the room in darkness, and he squirmed until he found a comfortable position, closing his eyes.
"I don't think you're an asshole. I like you. I like you fine."
"Well, thanks." Takaki responded. Chinen could hear a smile in the words, making him smile back.
"Mmhm."
Takaki didn't say anything else, Chinen letting his mind wander over the events of the day. The recital had gone well, Inoo confessed to Daiki, and Ryutaro was dating Keito. Overall, a rather excellent turn of events. Somewhere throughout his musings, dreams mixed with reality, and he was asleep.
Other Chapters:
I Don't | I Don't Care