[Fic] Challenge #2 - Baggage
Title: Baggage
Author: analine
Pairing: TutixNagayan
Warnings: None, worksafe.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1,238
Summary: Why exactly did it end up being a bag anyway?
Notes: So Dria's challenge gave me a good excuse to speculate on just how they decided to collaborate on a bag this time. ^_^ (Also, I find it very strange that somehow this fic is almost exactly the same length as my last one. It's only one word off. @_@) Anyway. This is pretty fluffy, and probably appropriate for Valentine's Day too, so... I really hope you enjoy it! (Comments are always greatly appreciated. ^_^)
“But why a bag?”
“I like bags,” Takashi offered calmly. He took a sip from his coffee and then looked up, because the other man was staring at him. “What?”
“I know you like bags,” Tuti agreed with a slight frown of confusion. “But you like scarves too, and I really have a great idea for something I think would work. You could at least hear me out, you know.”
Takashi watched the other man grin at him from across the table. They were both excited about the prospect of working on another design together, which made Takashi feel a little selfish for being so stubborn, but... He shook his head. He really had made up his mind. And in the end, this was his area of expertise, so Tuti had to listen to him, even if Takashi never told him the real reason why he had his mind so set on this.
“I’ve made scarves before,” Takashi said matter-of-factly. “I want this to be special.”
“Takashi.”
And Tuti was giving him that look, the one that said he knew he was up to something.
“What?” Takashi asked cautiously.
“Why won’t you tell me why you want to make this bag so badly?”
“I did tell you. I want it to be special.”
Tuti lowered his eyes. “You’ve made bags before too.”
“But not bags like this.”
“True.”
Takashi sighed, and shifted in his chair. He wasn’t sure why, but there was a part of him that just didn’t want to admit exactly what he was thinking right now. He finished his drink in several large sips, and then fixed Tuti with a smile.
“Let’s go. We can talk about it later.”
Tuti raised his eyes suspiciously, but followed Takashi out of the coffee shop and into the cool late-November air without questioning him further.
Several minutes later though…
“See, with weather like this,” Tuti started.
“I already have a scarf, Tuti. And so do you.”
“How did you know what I was going to say?”
Takashi grinned. “Because I know you.”
They stopped walking just outside the entrance to the subway.
“And I know you,” Tuti told him with a wink.
“Yeah? So?”
“So you won’t tell me why you want to make a bag right now, but that’s okay. I’ll find out eventually anyway.”
“And what makes you think that?”
Tuti smiled smugly. “Because you can’t keep anything from me for longer than a few days.”
“That’s what you think,” Takashi told him, though he couldn’t help but smile back.
**
“Mou… Tuti… I told you I’m tired.”
And he was tired, but also… Takashi sighed, and stared into his empty wine glass. He was most definitely, probably, slightly… drunk. And it was mostly for this reason that he really wished Tuti would just drop this. He had no idea why they were still arguing about this scarf-versus-bag thing anyway. He’d made up his mind weeks ago, and was sure that Tuti knew he wasn’t going to change it any time soon.
“I’m just asking you to let me show you the design I came up with, okay?”
And then suddenly Tuti was pressed against him on the small couch, and his warmth against Takashi’s side was enough to cause the remaining willpower to drain from his body in an instant.
He admitted his resignation with a long sigh. “Fine, show me.”
Tuti grinned, and reached down into the bag he’d brought with him, rummaging around for a moment before he produced a sheet of paper, which he promptly dropped into Takashi’s lap.
Takashi squinted at the sketch for a moment before picking the paper up to get a better look.
“It’s great. I really like it,” he told Tuti honestly, and then closed his eyes, because his head felt heavy all the sudden. “But I want to make a bag,” he finished.
“Why?”
“Just because.”
“Because why?”
“Because I want to.”
“So…?”
“So I said I want to make a bag, and I’m going to make a bag! Okay?”
Tuti looked hurt for a second, before a wide grin spread across his face.
“You’re drunk,” he told Takashi with a laugh.
Takashi rolled his eyes. “So?”
“So that means you’re going to tell me the truth.”
And before he realized what was happening, Takashi found himself squirming a little, as Tuti leaned in even closer. The warmth of the other man’s breath against his neck seemed to have made every hair on his body stand on end.
“I’m not telling you anything…” Takashi protested weakly.
Tuti smiled, as he traced a long finger down the side of Takashi’s face. “Tell me…”
“No.”
Tuti’s finger strayed dangerously close to Takashi’s lips for a moment before focusing on his left earlobe for several seconds.
“Please?” Tuti asked softly. “Tell me?”
Takashi was silent as he tried as hard as he could to keep his body still.
After a moment this plan seemed to work, and Tuti stopped teasing him, though Takashi wasn’t sure if the wounded look on Tuti’s face right now was any better for his state of mind. He sighed.
“I don’t know if I want to tell you…” Takashi told him honestly. “You might…”
“I might what?”
“…think it’s dumb.”
“Is it dumb?”
“No.” Takashi laughed nervously. “Well, maybe a little…”
“Takashi, just tell me. Why does it have to be a bag?”
“Ah… That’s…” Takashi hesitated.
“Come on…”
“Because I miss you,” Takashi mumbled.
“What?”
“I miss you,” he told Tuti a little more audibly.
And then what felt like all the remaining blood in his body rushed to his face, as Takashi convinced himself to say the rest of what he was thinking as quickly as possible.
“I thought if there was something I could keep with me, something that would make me think of you…” He paused. “And a scarf just doesn’t feel right. It doesn’t feel special enough. I want something I can have with me all the time, you know? A bag would be something I could hold on my lap on the train, and keep next to me in rehearsal… And if we design it together… It would be really special. To me.” Takashi frowned a little. “But I didn’t want to have to say that. I wanted you to know. I didn’t want to have to tell you.”
Tuti stared at him for a long moment, and honestly Takashi couldn’t tell what the other man was thinking until a familiar bright smile began to spread across his face.
“I miss you too,” Tuti told him quietly. “All the time.”
Takashi could feel his face flush immediately. “Not all the time,” he said quickly. “Most of the time you’re here with me, so…”
Tuti just grinned, even wider than before. “And I did know. Well, I sort of knew. I had a feeling.”
“Liar…” But Takashi was smiling now too.
“You’re always complaining about how all your bags aren’t quite perfect.”
“I am not.”
“And who could possibly make a perfect bag, if not us, right?”
Takashi laughed at this. “You think?”
“Or maybe I just wanted to hear you say something sappy for once,” Tuti told him, grinning.
“Well, you got what you wanted then.”
“And so did you.”
Takashi grinned. “So it’s decided then?”
“Sure. I think you’ve convinced me.”
“A bag.” Takashi nodded decisively.
“A bag,” Tuti agreed.
And that was that.
***
Author: analine
Pairing: TutixNagayan
Warnings: None, worksafe.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1,238
Summary: Why exactly did it end up being a bag anyway?
Notes: So Dria's challenge gave me a good excuse to speculate on just how they decided to collaborate on a bag this time. ^_^ (Also, I find it very strange that somehow this fic is almost exactly the same length as my last one. It's only one word off. @_@) Anyway. This is pretty fluffy, and probably appropriate for Valentine's Day too, so... I really hope you enjoy it! (Comments are always greatly appreciated. ^_^)
“But why a bag?”
“I like bags,” Takashi offered calmly. He took a sip from his coffee and then looked up, because the other man was staring at him. “What?”
“I know you like bags,” Tuti agreed with a slight frown of confusion. “But you like scarves too, and I really have a great idea for something I think would work. You could at least hear me out, you know.”
Takashi watched the other man grin at him from across the table. They were both excited about the prospect of working on another design together, which made Takashi feel a little selfish for being so stubborn, but... He shook his head. He really had made up his mind. And in the end, this was his area of expertise, so Tuti had to listen to him, even if Takashi never told him the real reason why he had his mind so set on this.
“I’ve made scarves before,” Takashi said matter-of-factly. “I want this to be special.”
“Takashi.”
And Tuti was giving him that look, the one that said he knew he was up to something.
“What?” Takashi asked cautiously.
“Why won’t you tell me why you want to make this bag so badly?”
“I did tell you. I want it to be special.”
Tuti lowered his eyes. “You’ve made bags before too.”
“But not bags like this.”
“True.”
Takashi sighed, and shifted in his chair. He wasn’t sure why, but there was a part of him that just didn’t want to admit exactly what he was thinking right now. He finished his drink in several large sips, and then fixed Tuti with a smile.
“Let’s go. We can talk about it later.”
Tuti raised his eyes suspiciously, but followed Takashi out of the coffee shop and into the cool late-November air without questioning him further.
Several minutes later though…
“See, with weather like this,” Tuti started.
“I already have a scarf, Tuti. And so do you.”
“How did you know what I was going to say?”
Takashi grinned. “Because I know you.”
They stopped walking just outside the entrance to the subway.
“And I know you,” Tuti told him with a wink.
“Yeah? So?”
“So you won’t tell me why you want to make a bag right now, but that’s okay. I’ll find out eventually anyway.”
“And what makes you think that?”
Tuti smiled smugly. “Because you can’t keep anything from me for longer than a few days.”
“That’s what you think,” Takashi told him, though he couldn’t help but smile back.
**
“Mou… Tuti… I told you I’m tired.”
And he was tired, but also… Takashi sighed, and stared into his empty wine glass. He was most definitely, probably, slightly… drunk. And it was mostly for this reason that he really wished Tuti would just drop this. He had no idea why they were still arguing about this scarf-versus-bag thing anyway. He’d made up his mind weeks ago, and was sure that Tuti knew he wasn’t going to change it any time soon.
“I’m just asking you to let me show you the design I came up with, okay?”
And then suddenly Tuti was pressed against him on the small couch, and his warmth against Takashi’s side was enough to cause the remaining willpower to drain from his body in an instant.
He admitted his resignation with a long sigh. “Fine, show me.”
Tuti grinned, and reached down into the bag he’d brought with him, rummaging around for a moment before he produced a sheet of paper, which he promptly dropped into Takashi’s lap.
Takashi squinted at the sketch for a moment before picking the paper up to get a better look.
“It’s great. I really like it,” he told Tuti honestly, and then closed his eyes, because his head felt heavy all the sudden. “But I want to make a bag,” he finished.
“Why?”
“Just because.”
“Because why?”
“Because I want to.”
“So…?”
“So I said I want to make a bag, and I’m going to make a bag! Okay?”
Tuti looked hurt for a second, before a wide grin spread across his face.
“You’re drunk,” he told Takashi with a laugh.
Takashi rolled his eyes. “So?”
“So that means you’re going to tell me the truth.”
And before he realized what was happening, Takashi found himself squirming a little, as Tuti leaned in even closer. The warmth of the other man’s breath against his neck seemed to have made every hair on his body stand on end.
“I’m not telling you anything…” Takashi protested weakly.
Tuti smiled, as he traced a long finger down the side of Takashi’s face. “Tell me…”
“No.”
Tuti’s finger strayed dangerously close to Takashi’s lips for a moment before focusing on his left earlobe for several seconds.
“Please?” Tuti asked softly. “Tell me?”
Takashi was silent as he tried as hard as he could to keep his body still.
After a moment this plan seemed to work, and Tuti stopped teasing him, though Takashi wasn’t sure if the wounded look on Tuti’s face right now was any better for his state of mind. He sighed.
“I don’t know if I want to tell you…” Takashi told him honestly. “You might…”
“I might what?”
“…think it’s dumb.”
“Is it dumb?”
“No.” Takashi laughed nervously. “Well, maybe a little…”
“Takashi, just tell me. Why does it have to be a bag?”
“Ah… That’s…” Takashi hesitated.
“Come on…”
“Because I miss you,” Takashi mumbled.
“What?”
“I miss you,” he told Tuti a little more audibly.
And then what felt like all the remaining blood in his body rushed to his face, as Takashi convinced himself to say the rest of what he was thinking as quickly as possible.
“I thought if there was something I could keep with me, something that would make me think of you…” He paused. “And a scarf just doesn’t feel right. It doesn’t feel special enough. I want something I can have with me all the time, you know? A bag would be something I could hold on my lap on the train, and keep next to me in rehearsal… And if we design it together… It would be really special. To me.” Takashi frowned a little. “But I didn’t want to have to say that. I wanted you to know. I didn’t want to have to tell you.”
Tuti stared at him for a long moment, and honestly Takashi couldn’t tell what the other man was thinking until a familiar bright smile began to spread across his face.
“I miss you too,” Tuti told him quietly. “All the time.”
Takashi could feel his face flush immediately. “Not all the time,” he said quickly. “Most of the time you’re here with me, so…”
Tuti just grinned, even wider than before. “And I did know. Well, I sort of knew. I had a feeling.”
“Liar…” But Takashi was smiling now too.
“You’re always complaining about how all your bags aren’t quite perfect.”
“I am not.”
“And who could possibly make a perfect bag, if not us, right?”
Takashi laughed at this. “You think?”
“Or maybe I just wanted to hear you say something sappy for once,” Tuti told him, grinning.
“Well, you got what you wanted then.”
“And so did you.”
Takashi grinned. “So it’s decided then?”
“Sure. I think you’ve convinced me.”
“A bag.” Takashi nodded decisively.
“A bag,” Tuti agreed.
And that was that.
***