Little Kazu - Kazu's 'Parents'
Satoshi rang the doorbell and waited for the people inside to open the door. He was impatient, feeling excited to meet Kazu. Just a week ago, Kazu came over to his house and they had decided it didn't matter if Kazu didn't remember him. They could still make new memories together.
And, today, they will be spending time together for the first time. Satoshi had asked Kazu out to watch a movie. He was busy at work so he didn't have time to meet Kazu during the weekday. He had only seen the other man when he came over to Masaki's restaurant for lunch. And, as Kazu was working, there wasn't much that they could do together.
"Hi, Kazu,"
Satoshi immediately said when he heard the door creaking open. However, to his disappointment, it wasn't Kazu who stood in front of him. It was Masaki.
"Kazu is inside, getting ready," said Masaki.
"Oh…" said Satoshi. Will he take a long time to get ready, Satoshi wondered. Perhaps not. "I will wait for him here. Are you going anywhere, Aiba-chan?"
Noticing the way Masaki dressed, Satoshi assumed the man would be going out. Perhaps he will have a date with Sho today.
"Yes," answered Masaki. "We will join you and Kazu today,"
“What?”
“You heard me,” said Masaki. His expression remained the same. “I said, I will join you and Kazu today. We will watch the movie with you and Kazu,”
Satoshi frowned as he stared at Masaki. He tried to read Masaki’s facial expression, checking to make sure Masaki was joking. Why would he follow Satoshi and Kazu? It’s absurd!
“This is not a double-date,”
“I know,” answered Masaki nonchalantly. “If it’s a double-date, Sho-chan will come with me,”
Satoshi tilted his head. This was getting more confusing. If it wasn’t Sho who will come with them, who was it, then?
“Hey, guys,” said a familiar voice. “Is everyone ready for the movie?”
Satoshi turned around, feeling stupid that he didn’t think of Jun as the other person who will join them. And, now, he understood why they wanted to join him and Kazu.
“So, how was your date with Kazu?”
Satoshi glared at Sho who asked him the stupid question. The two of them were in the pantry, sipping coffee before they began their work. It was only eight in the morning but his friend already annoyed him. From the smile that adorned his face, Satoshi was certain that Sho was aware of what happened during the date.
It had been two days since his date with Kazu. The date was ruined by Jun and Masaki. He could barely do anything with Kazu since those two kept bothering them. Urgh!
His plan was simple. They will go to the movie theatre by train, holding hands on the way there. On the train, Kazu will put his head on Satoshi’s chest. Maybe they will fall asleep and end up missing their stop. But, they are early. So, there will be enough time to watch the movie, share the drink and popcorn. Sometimes, they will grab the popcorn at the same time and when it happens, they will look at each other with a fond smile. Once the movie ends, they will go eating and perhaps, strolling in the park together. They can ride a tandem bike together. Finally, before they parted way, they will be sharing their first kiss under the moonlight. Awh, wouldn’t that be the best date ever? Cliche but sweet.
But, with Jun and Masaki tagging along, Satoshi couldn’t do any of those things he imagined with Kazu. Damn! Instead of taking a train, Jun drove them to the movie theatre. At least, he allowed Satoshi to sit with Nino at the back. But, when he tried to hold hands with Kazu, Masaki eyed him suspiciously. He didn’t say anything but it’s clear he wanted Satoshi to take his hands off Kazu. Of course, Satoshi ignored him. It would be a different story if Kazu was uncomfortable with the touch. But, the former pixie seemed to be okay with it. So, Masaki or Jun had no say.
At the theatre, they couldn’t get four seats in a row. Jun shamelessly took Kazu to sit with him, leaving Satoshi with Masaki. And, right after they finished the movie, they went home straight away. Urgh, those two were so stupid! Why couldn’t they let him enjoy the date with Kazu?
“Whose idea was it?” He asked.
“Whose idea was what?” Sho asked him back.
Satoshi rolled his eyes. Sho sometimes loved to annoy him like this, pretending not to understand what he was talking about. Stupid Sho enjoyed seeing him being grumpy like this.
He remained silent but he continued to glare at Sho who only chuckled to see him in a bad mood.
“They are just protecting Kazu,” Sho finally said, earning a frown from Satoshi. What did he mean by that? What did the two idiots want to protect Kazu from? Satoshi? But, why? Satoshi won’t ever hurt his Little Kazu!
“This does not make any sense,” retorted Satoshi. “They know me. I’ve been their friends for a while. Well, I may not be the best person but they should know I’m not a bad person. I will not hurt Little Kazu,”
Sho sighed as a response. Seemed like he didn’t want to have this conversation with Satoshi. But, he had no choice but to do it.
“Okay,” Sho began. “Remember how Masaki and I were friends before we start dating?”
Satoshi nodded. He was confused. Why would Sho talk about his relationship? It had nothing to do with what Jun and Masaki did to Satoshi.
“And, do you remember how Masaki’s parents treat me nicely before I date Masaki but at the beginning of our relationship, they were worried and even though it wasn’t obvious, they started to treat me differently?”
“Yeah… but…”
Of course, Satoshi remembered it. It was weird. Sho was always Masaki’s parents’ favourite person. But, when Masaki and Sho started dating, they were different. Yes, they were still nice to Sho but it wasn’t the same as before. Turned out, they were afraid that Sho would break Masaki’s heart. Deep in their hearts, they knew Sho won’t do it but it did nothing to comfort them. Some people would let it be but not Sho. He talked about it with Masaki’s parents and in the end, he successfully convinced them he would rather die than hurt Masaki. How he did it, Satoshi had no idea. But, the most important thing was Masaki’s parents accepted Sho as Masaki’s partner and believed he would make Masaki happy.
“So, do you see what is happening right now?” Asked Sho. Satoshi stared at him, pondering the question. The answer was at the back of his mind but it didn’t make sense. Did Masaki and Jun treat him like this for the same reason as Masaki’s parents?
“They are not his parents,” said Satoshi, pointing out the obvious.
“No, they aren’t,” agreed Sho. “But, in this situation, as someone close to Kazu, they think it’s their duty to protect Kazu from getting hurt,”
“Even though they already know me?”
“Especially because they know you,” stated Sho. “Do you remember what you did to Kazu when you met him again? You try to kiss him,”
Satoshi didn’t say anything. He was still trying to make sense of this. In his opinion, Masaki and Jun were overreacting. Admittedly, Satoshi scared Kazu on their first meeting because of the kiss. But, he had a reason for doing so. He thought Kazu remembered him and he wanted the former pixie to know about his feelings. But, now that he knew Kazu had no recollection about their previous encounter, he was ready to take it slow with his little Kazu. Masaki and Jun won’t have to worry. Satoshi wouldn’t force Kazu to do something inappropriate. He would wait until Kazu was ready. After all, they were still trying to get to know each other and make new memories.
“They did that… you know… bothering your date with Kazu…” Sho continued. “It could be because of Kazu,”
This got Satoshi’s attention, trying to understand what Sho was trying to convey. Was Kazu uncomfortable to be with him? It didn’t feel that way when they were in the car.
“What do you mean?” Satoshi immediately asked. “Kazu didn’t want to be alone with me? He was alone with me when we talked about what happened back then. He was okay at that time,”
“Because nothing was established between the two of you at that time,”
Satoshi frowned, urging Sho to continue.
“Okay,” Sho sighed. “You two went out for a movie as a couple. Seems like Kazu knows what couples usually do during their date and he was… hmm… anxious, I guess… He didn’t know what to expect. Urgh, I don’t know. You have to talk with him about this. But, Masaki and Jun seemed to know that he was worried about the date even though he didn’t say anything. That’s why Jun suggested they should go with you guys and Kazu relaxed a bit after that. I guess, he still needs time. Maybe it’s still early for you guys to spend time alone,”
“So, Aiba-chan and Jun will still chaperone us if we go out on another date?”
“I guess so,” said Sho. “Just think of them as Kazu’s parents’ okay?”
Satoshi simply rolled his eyes. But, he knew Sho was right. He had to be patient and pretty sure, Kazu would be comfortable being alone with him after this.
A/N: Happy New Year! My writings weren't consistent in 2021. A lot of things happened and I can't promise if I will still write in 2022 but I hope I will.
Sorry if this is crappy. I wasn't planning to write continuation for pixie Kazu. But, the idea was there so I just wrote it. Sorry for the lack of Ohmiya. There will be more of them in the next part (But I don't when I will write it).