As Days Go By... - Part 2
Hikaru went through the day in a daze, he had managed to nearly drop three ramen bowls and almost tripped walking into the kitchen at least five times during the first hour he was there.
“Hey hey hey, stop being so distracted… “
“Gomen…” Hikaru bowed as he felt a lecture coming.
“Alright, let’s hear it then.”
“W-What?”
“What did you and Okamoto-kun do when you left here, and tell me the truth, I know when you’re lying…” The lady gave him a stern look.
“We…. Nothing! I took him back to his place and that was it.” Hikaru ended quickly
“Ahem…”
“We… ended up at my place together… but nothing happened!”
“And….?”
“And nothing… that was it…..”
“And….?”
“And…. We…. Maybe sorta kinda have a date later tonight…” It seemed every time Hikaru had managed the courage to look his boss in the face, her eyes drew the truth out of him.
“Awe.. how cute… I suppose you want a bit of tonight off then?” She said as she turned back to the stove.
“Please?”
“Fine….” She sighed
“How do you do that….?”
“Hm?”
“The whole… making me tell you things…. Look…”
“Its not that hard really….” She smirked as the boy turned around and looked confused.
“Not really all that hard…” he muttered
“Oh and Yaotome-kun, I expect to hear details about it ne?” She winked before wiping the sweat from her brow and throwing the towel into the sink.
“Details she wants….” Hikaru muttered as he walked out of the kitchen. He mumbled to himself as he carried a tray of three ramen bowls to the table near the corner. He sensed that someone was in the very corner table and he turned to ask what they would like to order… but as he did… he froze. Sitting there in the corner….
“Keito…” He gasped. It seemed the boy didn’t hear him.
Keito had taken to sitting quietly in the corner, staring intently at the menu as he scoured its contents for something that piqued his interest.
‘He’s so cute….’ Hikaru thought as he stared at the boy. The sun from the nearby window streamed in behind him and gave the younger boy the appearance of a blinding angel.
“Ke-Keito…” Hikaru repeated, this time a bit more strongly.
“Ah! Yaotome-kun!” The boy smiled as he pointed proudly to his selection in the menu.
“Good choice!” Hikaru smiled a but as he did he worried that he may have sounded a little too enthusiastic…..
“Gyahhhh….” Hikaru sighed as he braced himself against the door of the refrigerator.
“Oh? Is Okamoto-Kun here for lunch?” The lady asked, not taking her eyes off the boiling broth on the stove. She reached for spices without a second thought and threw them in with precision, smelling the vapors, she nodded to herself and turned to look at her youngest employee.
Hikaru nodded.
“Well then, I think its your lunch time…” She smiled as she reached over to a nearby table and pulled out a small bento. It was their restaurant’s famous bento lunch and Hikaru’s favorite. He had managed to treat himself to it once when he had the extra money, but never again since then.
“I-I can’t afford it this month…” Hikaru sighed
“Hikaru?” The lady questioned sternly.
“Hm?”
“It IS your LUNCHTIME.” She said again as she held the bento out to him. On top lay a check for the bento with the word “Paid” Stamped on top of it. As his eyes caught ahold of the words, he looked up again and the lady smiled before shoving the Bento into his arms. She gave him a light pat on his head and turned him around, pushing him out into the resturant.
“A-Ano… Keito?” Hikaru approached nervously
“Yaotome-kun?” The boy asked innocently
“C-Could I.. uh… that is to say if there’s no one sitting here…..” The older boy fumbled with his words a bit, unsure of how to ask such a simple question. Keito however, seemed to understand and smiled a he watched the adorable boy in a waiter’s apron try to ask permission to sit with him. He thought the way Hikaru fidgeted with his apron strings was adorable, the way his eyes shifted up and down between him and the floor was so cute.
“Jya… Yaotome-kun?”
“H-Hm?”
“I think I feel…… a little lonely….. would you like to join me for lunch?” Keito smiled as he knew the response before it came. Eagerly the other boy nodded and sat down, his shoulders slumped as he felt relief slip through his body.
“Yaotom-“ Keito started
“Hikaru… just Hikaru is fine….”
“Hikaru…kun….. would you like to have some of my noodles with me? I had a big breakfast this morning and I don't think I can finish this….. I was just going to skip lunch, but when I got the invite to come here for lunch…..” Keito nodded to the bowl and to the card sitting on the table. It had the lady’s neat handwritting on it, offering a free meal for, as she put it, “being such a nice young volunteer”.
“I knew she had to be behind this….” Hikaru grumbled.
“Hm? What was that Hikaru-kun?”
“HM!? Uh! Nothing!” Quickly, he shuffled his hands across the table, grabbing his chopsticks and digging into the bento.
Somehow, with food, everything seemed to go easier, maybe it was because half of the time one of them had their mouth stuffed full, or maybe it was just easier to bond over something they had in common.maybe..
The whole time they were eating, Hikaru couldn’t help but find himself staring at the boy, still he wondered how on earth there was anyone like him. When he spoke it always contained so much joy, so much enthusiasm, and it displayed so much courage. Keito was so…
“Perfect…” Hikaru sighed love-strickenly
“Hm? I’m sorry what was that?” Keito blinked blankly as he stopped his story, his eyes pleading for Hikaru to repeat what he had just said.
“N-Nothing… just…. random thought….” Hikaru smiled.
“Oh? Tell me about it… I want to know about you too Hikaru!” Keito clapped his hands together.
“Uh….” And that was just about all that Hikaru remembered….. for the next hour, he had rambled on and on about the smallest most insignificant facts of his life, and yet through all this, Keito listened, smiled, and even laughed with him.
‘I think I’ve found my soulmate!’ Hikaru thought as he watched the younger boy take a sip of water to calm his nerves down. He had broken into a particularly bad fit of laughs as he listened to Hikaru’s last tale, which involved a spatula flying through the air, bouncing off the wall, and him, losing one eyebrow for about a month until he grew back.
“Ohh is that why your hair is always longer on one side, just incase you need to cover another one up eh?” Keito giggled.
“Ha ha ha.” Hikaru laughed nervously. He had never really felt like this before, he had seen love, watched love, and they just made it look so easy…. But now that it had come to him. He was a mess.
“Oi oi, Hika-Chan… I’m closing the restaurant early today, so you may go home now… I think I can handle it…” The lady suddenly appeared. He looked at her questioning why she had called him by such a familiar name.
“Ohh.. Hika-Chan….” Keito nodded understandingly. Then Hikaru knew… and he gave her a small glare for influencing Keito. She smiled and laughed as she gave him a hearty pat on the back and ushered them out.
With the two of them out and about the two had nothing to do… Keito had an hour left for his lunch break from the daycare, and Hikaru apparently didn't have to work today. He and Keito had resolved to sit at the small park and wait out the time. It only then struck Hikaru that this was such a new feeling for him. For quite the while now, he had always been on the other side of the window, staring out at Keito, but this time…. He was here…the place where he had always imagined..
“Ne ne… Hika-chan… I’m tired….” Keito sighed as he plopped down on ground, resting his back on a tree.
“I… suppose I am too…..working in the morning… you know…”
For a brief moment, Hikaru wondered what he would do… would he awkwardly sit apart? Would he lean on Keito…? Fortunately for him, as he sat down next to the boy and leaned against the tree, the problem was resolved for him. The minute his legs were firmly down on the ground, Keito slid sideways with a sigh and lay down with his head resting on the older boy’s legs.
“Hika-Chan… What do you think about?”
“Huh?”
“On nice days like this, when everything is so quiet… what do you think about?”
“I don't know…. I haven’t had much time to myself… always work, or some problem to think about….” He shrugged
“You have to think about something….you want to know what I think when I’m out here?” Keito asked, his eyes still closed.
“Hm?” Unconsciously, Hikaru had let his hand drift to the angelic boy’s head and he was gently and lovingly brushing away the stray hairs that covered his face.
“I think…. About how peaceful it is…. And how still and quiet it is….the beauty of nature…I think about the stars…. And if the children are with me, I think about the happiness in their smiles when they run around and chase each other.” Keito smiled contently as he snuggled himself against Hikaru’s legs.
“That’s beautiful Keito….” The older boy sighed as Keito’s words seemed to pluck at a chord within him.
“I also…….” Keito started
“Hm?”
“I also… used to think about the beautiful boy that worked in the nearby shop who I used to see through that window….and I’d wonder what it would be like if he and I could be here…. And talk….” Keito pointed a finger to the restaurant.
Suddenly Hikaru realized just what the boy was talking about, and his hand that had been so lovingly brushing the young boy’s hair stopped. He looked down to see Keito’s eyes open with a flutter as he sat up.
“I don’t have to wonder anymore…” He said as he leaned in and their lips met. It was the sweetest and most tender moment either of them had ever felt. The air wisped around them, embracing them in a cocoon of silken winds and the earth seemed to stand still as if all were hinging on the wondrous union between the two.
“Ooooh! Keito Nii-Chan has a boyfriend!” A voice rang out and their kiss ended abruptly as the two boys blushed.
“Ne ne! Keito Nii-Chan, who’s that?” one of the kids asked, tugging on Keito’s shirt. Hikaru watched and smiled as Keito with that gentle smile knelt down and pointed up at him,
“This is Hikaru Nii-Chan…” He explained
“Is he Keito Nii-Chan’s boyfriend?” The boy asked.
For a moment, Keito looked up at Hikaru and they both blushed profusely before he turned back to the boy and nodded.
“But Keito Nii-Chan’s my boyfriend!” A little girl cried out in the back.
“Awe… it’s okay Harumi-Chan…. Keito Nii-Chan will always be here for you… you know that….” Keito walked over to the little girl and hugged her.
“Keito’s my… boyfriend…” Hikaru giggled to himself as the very thought seemed to awaken bubbles of joy within him. He wanted to jump to sing, to laugh, everything all at once.
The kids tugged away at his shirt and they ended up playing a small game of hide and seek, naturally Keito and Hikaru lost, but the kids happily played to their heart’s content.
“Hika-Chan…. Are you hungry? It’s almost dinner time….” Keito asked as the kids began to pick up their toys.
“Uh… no… not really….” Hikaru sighed as he helped a little boy collect all the small marbles he had been playing with.
“Well… then for our… dinner tonight… what do you want to do?” The other boy asked.
Just then Hikaru felt a tug on his shirt and he looked down to see little Harumi looking up at him. He knelt down as she shyly twiddled with her little dress and with the softest of voices whispered:
“Take care of Keito Nii-Chan okay? I love him so don’t break him! He looks very happy to be with you!” She smiled before turning away and skipping off with the other kids as they began to make their way into the daycare building.
“What’d she say?” Keito asked as he walked up next to Hikaru
“Nothing….” The older boy played cool and turned to look at the small tree they had been sitting under.
“As for dinner tonight…. What do you say…. We just get to know each other a little more?” Hikaru gave Keito a playful tug, just as the kids did. When he had the younger boy’s attention, he gestured to the tree and Keito nodded understanding. Together they walked over to the small place and found themselves on the ground, leaning against each other, Keito’s head rested on Hikaru’s shoulders, and Hikaru’s head lay gently upon Keito’s. They stared up at the night sky together as the stars twinkled with a gentle beauty. As the night went on, the cold air nipped at their noses as Keito began to shiver a little.
“Here…” Hikaru put his arms around him and brought him closer.
“Thanks….” Keito smiled back at him as he gave himself over to the older boy’s arms, and the warmth that surged through his body with every touch.
The night didn’t seem so cold anymore, and every time he looked at Hikaru, he felt himself grow more and more nervous. He understood what he felt now…. And it boiled inside him until he could stand it no more.
“I love you!” Hikaru and Keito said simultaneously, both squeezed shut their eyes, expecting the other to react, but after a brief moment, nothing happened and the two stared at each other.
“I love you…” They repeated again as their lips met once again and the moon rose behind them, bathing the couple in the glow of its gentle embrace……
(>'_')><('_'<) (>'_')><('_'<) (>'_')><('_'<) (>'_')><('_'<) (>'_')><('_'<) (>'_')><('_'<)
Uwa! Sorry it's so short! I’m still not good at all this so….. don’t hurt me! Please let me know what you think!
~Emmie
“Hey hey hey, stop being so distracted… “
“Gomen…” Hikaru bowed as he felt a lecture coming.
“Alright, let’s hear it then.”
“W-What?”
“What did you and Okamoto-kun do when you left here, and tell me the truth, I know when you’re lying…” The lady gave him a stern look.
“We…. Nothing! I took him back to his place and that was it.” Hikaru ended quickly
“Ahem…”
“We… ended up at my place together… but nothing happened!”
“And….?”
“And nothing… that was it…..”
“And….?”
“And…. We…. Maybe sorta kinda have a date later tonight…” It seemed every time Hikaru had managed the courage to look his boss in the face, her eyes drew the truth out of him.
“Awe.. how cute… I suppose you want a bit of tonight off then?” She said as she turned back to the stove.
“Please?”
“Fine….” She sighed
“How do you do that….?”
“Hm?”
“The whole… making me tell you things…. Look…”
“Its not that hard really….” She smirked as the boy turned around and looked confused.
“Not really all that hard…” he muttered
“Oh and Yaotome-kun, I expect to hear details about it ne?” She winked before wiping the sweat from her brow and throwing the towel into the sink.
“Details she wants….” Hikaru muttered as he walked out of the kitchen. He mumbled to himself as he carried a tray of three ramen bowls to the table near the corner. He sensed that someone was in the very corner table and he turned to ask what they would like to order… but as he did… he froze. Sitting there in the corner….
“Keito…” He gasped. It seemed the boy didn’t hear him.
Keito had taken to sitting quietly in the corner, staring intently at the menu as he scoured its contents for something that piqued his interest.
‘He’s so cute….’ Hikaru thought as he stared at the boy. The sun from the nearby window streamed in behind him and gave the younger boy the appearance of a blinding angel.
“Ke-Keito…” Hikaru repeated, this time a bit more strongly.
“Ah! Yaotome-kun!” The boy smiled as he pointed proudly to his selection in the menu.
“Good choice!” Hikaru smiled a but as he did he worried that he may have sounded a little too enthusiastic…..
“Gyahhhh….” Hikaru sighed as he braced himself against the door of the refrigerator.
“Oh? Is Okamoto-Kun here for lunch?” The lady asked, not taking her eyes off the boiling broth on the stove. She reached for spices without a second thought and threw them in with precision, smelling the vapors, she nodded to herself and turned to look at her youngest employee.
Hikaru nodded.
“Well then, I think its your lunch time…” She smiled as she reached over to a nearby table and pulled out a small bento. It was their restaurant’s famous bento lunch and Hikaru’s favorite. He had managed to treat himself to it once when he had the extra money, but never again since then.
“I-I can’t afford it this month…” Hikaru sighed
“Hikaru?” The lady questioned sternly.
“Hm?”
“It IS your LUNCHTIME.” She said again as she held the bento out to him. On top lay a check for the bento with the word “Paid” Stamped on top of it. As his eyes caught ahold of the words, he looked up again and the lady smiled before shoving the Bento into his arms. She gave him a light pat on his head and turned him around, pushing him out into the resturant.
“A-Ano… Keito?” Hikaru approached nervously
“Yaotome-kun?” The boy asked innocently
“C-Could I.. uh… that is to say if there’s no one sitting here…..” The older boy fumbled with his words a bit, unsure of how to ask such a simple question. Keito however, seemed to understand and smiled a he watched the adorable boy in a waiter’s apron try to ask permission to sit with him. He thought the way Hikaru fidgeted with his apron strings was adorable, the way his eyes shifted up and down between him and the floor was so cute.
“Jya… Yaotome-kun?”
“H-Hm?”
“I think I feel…… a little lonely….. would you like to join me for lunch?” Keito smiled as he knew the response before it came. Eagerly the other boy nodded and sat down, his shoulders slumped as he felt relief slip through his body.
“Yaotom-“ Keito started
“Hikaru… just Hikaru is fine….”
“Hikaru…kun….. would you like to have some of my noodles with me? I had a big breakfast this morning and I don't think I can finish this….. I was just going to skip lunch, but when I got the invite to come here for lunch…..” Keito nodded to the bowl and to the card sitting on the table. It had the lady’s neat handwritting on it, offering a free meal for, as she put it, “being such a nice young volunteer”.
“I knew she had to be behind this….” Hikaru grumbled.
“Hm? What was that Hikaru-kun?”
“HM!? Uh! Nothing!” Quickly, he shuffled his hands across the table, grabbing his chopsticks and digging into the bento.
Somehow, with food, everything seemed to go easier, maybe it was because half of the time one of them had their mouth stuffed full, or maybe it was just easier to bond over something they had in common.maybe..
The whole time they were eating, Hikaru couldn’t help but find himself staring at the boy, still he wondered how on earth there was anyone like him. When he spoke it always contained so much joy, so much enthusiasm, and it displayed so much courage. Keito was so…
“Perfect…” Hikaru sighed love-strickenly
“Hm? I’m sorry what was that?” Keito blinked blankly as he stopped his story, his eyes pleading for Hikaru to repeat what he had just said.
“N-Nothing… just…. random thought….” Hikaru smiled.
“Oh? Tell me about it… I want to know about you too Hikaru!” Keito clapped his hands together.
“Uh….” And that was just about all that Hikaru remembered….. for the next hour, he had rambled on and on about the smallest most insignificant facts of his life, and yet through all this, Keito listened, smiled, and even laughed with him.
‘I think I’ve found my soulmate!’ Hikaru thought as he watched the younger boy take a sip of water to calm his nerves down. He had broken into a particularly bad fit of laughs as he listened to Hikaru’s last tale, which involved a spatula flying through the air, bouncing off the wall, and him, losing one eyebrow for about a month until he grew back.
“Ohh is that why your hair is always longer on one side, just incase you need to cover another one up eh?” Keito giggled.
“Ha ha ha.” Hikaru laughed nervously. He had never really felt like this before, he had seen love, watched love, and they just made it look so easy…. But now that it had come to him. He was a mess.
“Oi oi, Hika-Chan… I’m closing the restaurant early today, so you may go home now… I think I can handle it…” The lady suddenly appeared. He looked at her questioning why she had called him by such a familiar name.
“Ohh.. Hika-Chan….” Keito nodded understandingly. Then Hikaru knew… and he gave her a small glare for influencing Keito. She smiled and laughed as she gave him a hearty pat on the back and ushered them out.
With the two of them out and about the two had nothing to do… Keito had an hour left for his lunch break from the daycare, and Hikaru apparently didn't have to work today. He and Keito had resolved to sit at the small park and wait out the time. It only then struck Hikaru that this was such a new feeling for him. For quite the while now, he had always been on the other side of the window, staring out at Keito, but this time…. He was here…the place where he had always imagined..
“Ne ne… Hika-chan… I’m tired….” Keito sighed as he plopped down on ground, resting his back on a tree.
“I… suppose I am too…..working in the morning… you know…”
For a brief moment, Hikaru wondered what he would do… would he awkwardly sit apart? Would he lean on Keito…? Fortunately for him, as he sat down next to the boy and leaned against the tree, the problem was resolved for him. The minute his legs were firmly down on the ground, Keito slid sideways with a sigh and lay down with his head resting on the older boy’s legs.
“Hika-Chan… What do you think about?”
“Huh?”
“On nice days like this, when everything is so quiet… what do you think about?”
“I don't know…. I haven’t had much time to myself… always work, or some problem to think about….” He shrugged
“You have to think about something….you want to know what I think when I’m out here?” Keito asked, his eyes still closed.
“Hm?” Unconsciously, Hikaru had let his hand drift to the angelic boy’s head and he was gently and lovingly brushing away the stray hairs that covered his face.
“I think…. About how peaceful it is…. And how still and quiet it is….the beauty of nature…I think about the stars…. And if the children are with me, I think about the happiness in their smiles when they run around and chase each other.” Keito smiled contently as he snuggled himself against Hikaru’s legs.
“That’s beautiful Keito….” The older boy sighed as Keito’s words seemed to pluck at a chord within him.
“I also…….” Keito started
“Hm?”
“I also… used to think about the beautiful boy that worked in the nearby shop who I used to see through that window….and I’d wonder what it would be like if he and I could be here…. And talk….” Keito pointed a finger to the restaurant.
Suddenly Hikaru realized just what the boy was talking about, and his hand that had been so lovingly brushing the young boy’s hair stopped. He looked down to see Keito’s eyes open with a flutter as he sat up.
“I don’t have to wonder anymore…” He said as he leaned in and their lips met. It was the sweetest and most tender moment either of them had ever felt. The air wisped around them, embracing them in a cocoon of silken winds and the earth seemed to stand still as if all were hinging on the wondrous union between the two.
“Ooooh! Keito Nii-Chan has a boyfriend!” A voice rang out and their kiss ended abruptly as the two boys blushed.
“Ne ne! Keito Nii-Chan, who’s that?” one of the kids asked, tugging on Keito’s shirt. Hikaru watched and smiled as Keito with that gentle smile knelt down and pointed up at him,
“This is Hikaru Nii-Chan…” He explained
“Is he Keito Nii-Chan’s boyfriend?” The boy asked.
For a moment, Keito looked up at Hikaru and they both blushed profusely before he turned back to the boy and nodded.
“But Keito Nii-Chan’s my boyfriend!” A little girl cried out in the back.
“Awe… it’s okay Harumi-Chan…. Keito Nii-Chan will always be here for you… you know that….” Keito walked over to the little girl and hugged her.
“Keito’s my… boyfriend…” Hikaru giggled to himself as the very thought seemed to awaken bubbles of joy within him. He wanted to jump to sing, to laugh, everything all at once.
The kids tugged away at his shirt and they ended up playing a small game of hide and seek, naturally Keito and Hikaru lost, but the kids happily played to their heart’s content.
“Hika-Chan…. Are you hungry? It’s almost dinner time….” Keito asked as the kids began to pick up their toys.
“Uh… no… not really….” Hikaru sighed as he helped a little boy collect all the small marbles he had been playing with.
“Well… then for our… dinner tonight… what do you want to do?” The other boy asked.
Just then Hikaru felt a tug on his shirt and he looked down to see little Harumi looking up at him. He knelt down as she shyly twiddled with her little dress and with the softest of voices whispered:
“Take care of Keito Nii-Chan okay? I love him so don’t break him! He looks very happy to be with you!” She smiled before turning away and skipping off with the other kids as they began to make their way into the daycare building.
“What’d she say?” Keito asked as he walked up next to Hikaru
“Nothing….” The older boy played cool and turned to look at the small tree they had been sitting under.
“As for dinner tonight…. What do you say…. We just get to know each other a little more?” Hikaru gave Keito a playful tug, just as the kids did. When he had the younger boy’s attention, he gestured to the tree and Keito nodded understanding. Together they walked over to the small place and found themselves on the ground, leaning against each other, Keito’s head rested on Hikaru’s shoulders, and Hikaru’s head lay gently upon Keito’s. They stared up at the night sky together as the stars twinkled with a gentle beauty. As the night went on, the cold air nipped at their noses as Keito began to shiver a little.
“Here…” Hikaru put his arms around him and brought him closer.
“Thanks….” Keito smiled back at him as he gave himself over to the older boy’s arms, and the warmth that surged through his body with every touch.
The night didn’t seem so cold anymore, and every time he looked at Hikaru, he felt himself grow more and more nervous. He understood what he felt now…. And it boiled inside him until he could stand it no more.
“I love you!” Hikaru and Keito said simultaneously, both squeezed shut their eyes, expecting the other to react, but after a brief moment, nothing happened and the two stared at each other.
“I love you…” They repeated again as their lips met once again and the moon rose behind them, bathing the couple in the glow of its gentle embrace……
(>'_')><('_'<) (>'_')><('_'<) (>'_')><('_'<) (>'_')><('_'<) (>'_')><('_'<) (>'_')><('_'<)
Uwa! Sorry it's so short! I’m still not good at all this so….. don’t hurt me! Please let me know what you think!
~Emmie