takabu
Title: The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return
Author: hotfruits
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Takaki/Yabu
Word Count: 5975
Disclaimer: Nope
Summary: AU. Takaki's life has been the same for awhile now, revolving around his family and his work at the hospital. Will a kindergarten teacher by the name of Yabu Kota change things around?
Written for crazy_otaku911.
and thank you to littlemelonblue for beta'ing this.
Bundling up his blue scrubs into a ball, Takaki tossed them into his locker and shut the door, locking his stuff inside. Yawning, he stretched his arms over his head as he walked out of the nurse’s locker room, the door swinging shut behind him. He began to make his way down the empty hallway, but a “Yuuyan!” made him stop, turning around.
When he saw the little girl running at him, Takaki kneeled on the ground and scooped her into his arms, careful to not hold her too tight. “Mirai, what are you doing out of bed, you should be resting?”
Mirai grinned, her two front teeth missing, “I wanted to say hi before you left. I’m having my surgery today, did you know?” she asked, peering at him with a questioning face.
“I do, and I’m sorry I can’t be there,” Takaki frowned and patted her bald head, feeling a shooting pain hit his heart. “Nurse Haruma will be there though, and he’s bringing Takeru-kun with him.” The pain ebbed away when he saw Mirai’s big smile again, her hands clasped in front of her face as she jumped up and down.
“Takeru-kun?! I love him, his hair is so big, like a lion!” Mirai snickered, holding her arms out to illustrate her point. Takaki laughed and pulled Mirai in for another hug, silently praying to whoever was listening to get this girl through her surgery.
“I have to go,” Takaki said regrettably as he pulled away, not standing up yet though. “You be a good girl for Haruma and Takeru-kun,” he wanted to add ‘be a brave girl as well,’ but he knew that if anyone could face this surgery, it was Mirai.
“I will!” Mirai held up her hand in a little peace sign, smiling widely when Takaki returned the gesture. She then rushed down the hall and back towards the children’s wing, no doubt trying to get there before they noticed she was gone.
Takaki stood up with a sigh, running a hand over his tired face. He really did wish he could be here for Mirai, but he had another commitment today that he just couldn’t break. Haruma and Takeru would be with her though, and he was positive the latter of the two would bring her a present of some sort, probably a cute stuffed animal.
Resuming his journey out of the hospital, Takaki pulled his coat tighter around himself as he exited the building. It was only seven in the morning, and the sun hadn’t quite risen yet, so it was still chilly outside as he made his way home. Thankfully, their apartment building was less than a mile away, so within thirty minutes he was home, quietly shutting the door behind him.
Dropping his coat and keys onto the loveseat, Takaki made his way into the kitchen, grabbing a carton of eggs from the fridge, a bag of rice from the cupboard and three bowls from the shelf. He began to make breakfast for the three other people in the apartment, scooping the cooked rice into a bowl and adding an egg on top, mixing it all together with a pair of chopsticks. He placed each bowl at the small round table in their kitchen, before calling out, “Haruma! Takeru! Yui! Breakfast, come eat!”
A door opened and closed, and Haruma and Takeru came stumbling out of the bedroom, their hair sticking up in multiple directions and their clothes a rumpled mess. Takaki rolled his eyes, watching the two sit down at the table and begin eating.
“Seriously, where would you two be without me?” Takaki asked rhetorically, ignoring the sleepy glare Takeru shot him over his shoulder. Leaving the kitchen, Takaki walked down the hallway and entered his bedroom, smiling when he saw Yui still asleep.
Going over to her side of the bed, Takaki kneeled to the floor and gently began to shake her awake, saying in a soft voice, “Yui, come get some breakfast.”
“Don’t wanna,” she mumbled, burying her face further into the pillow. Takaki chuckled, his hand drifting towards her side, his fingers causing her to shiver. “No tickling,” she growled, peeking up from the pillow with a heated glare. “I hate tickling!”
“Then get up lazy bones, today is a big day, remember?” Seeing the realization dawn on her face, Yui quickly got out of bed and rushed towards the closet, throwing her clothes to the floor, along with a pair of black flats. Quickly, she got dressed and rushed out of the room, and Takaki could hear the bathroom door slamming shut.
“Girls,” Takaki laughed and made his way back to the kitchen, where only Takeru was still eating. “Is Haruma already getting ready?” Takaki asked, sitting down at the table. “His shift at the hospital isn’t for another few hours.”
“No, he’s going back to bed,” Takeru replied, yawning. “I was going to join him, but then I remembered that little girl has her surgery today. It’s to remove the tumor from her brain, right?” Takeru asked, scooping more food into his mouth.
Takaki nodded, “Yeah, she got really excited when I told her you would be there.” Takeru smiled at this, finishing the last bit of his rice. “She’s so in love with you, it’s adorable.”
“If she was ten years older, who knows,” Takeru laughed as he got up, placing his dish in the sink next to Haruma’s. “I’m gonna run by the store real quick to get her something. Do you we need anything here?”
“If you could grab some milk and energy bars, that’d be great,” Takaki responded, “I’m going to be so exhausted today.”
“That’s right, it’s-” Takeru was interrupted though by Yui flying into the room, her hair brushed and pulled back into a neat ponytail. She sat down at the table and quickly shoved her food down, nearly choking on a clump of rice.
“Slow down.” Takaki patted Yui’s back, signaling to Takeru to get a class of water. “We still have an hour.”
“No we don’t.” Yui looked up at him, pouting. “My friend Reina said to get there early. You remember Reina, right?”
“Um...” Takaki looked over at Takeru, who just shrugged and placed a glass of water in front of Yui. “She’s the one with the mole on her cheek, right?”
“No.” Yui rolled her eyes, setting her chopsticks down. “That’s Natsumi, Reina is my best friend and she’s really tan, remember?”
“That’s right.” Takaki nodded, picturing the girls now. Yui chugged down the glass of water and then got up, looking at Takaki expectantly. Getting the message loud and clear, Takaki stood up as well and the two waved to Takeru before they left the apartment, Takaki locking the door behind him. The sun was out now, and so their walk down the street wasn’t too bad, the two of them holding hands. Yui drabbled on about how excited she was to see her friends, and Takaki listened with an ear, his thoughts still concerned for Mirai and her surgery. The doctors were positive she’d be alright though, and Takaki knew that without the surgery, her chances at growing were much dimmer.
“We’re here!” Yui squealed, and Takaki found himself being dragged up the stone path and into the brightly lit building. Rushing down the hall, Yui looked at all the room numbers before finding 1-D, and throwing it open with an ecstatic grin.
“Reina!” she immediately shouted and rushed towards her friend, enveloping her in a big hug. Takaki couldn’t help but smile at the two of them, that is, until a handsome man with high cheek bones and black hair stood in front of him.
“Hello.” The man bowed, and Takaki followed suit. “I’m Yabu Kota,” he said, standing up fully again.
“Takaki Yuya,” Takaki introduced himself, and then pointed across the room. “And that’s my daughter Yui, with the ponytail.”
“She looks just like you,” Yabu commented, glancing back and forth between the two. His eyes stopped at Takaki. “Well, it was nice to meet you Takaki-kun. Don’t worry about Yui, I know the first day at school can be a bit worrisome for parents.” Yabu gave him a smile, gesturing over his shoulder to the mother-hens in the back of the class. “But Yui is in safe hands here, and we’ll all be having a lot of fun learning.”
“Thank you.” Takaki smiled back and gave Yui a little wave, but she was too busy giggling with Reina. Leaving the classroom, Takaki walked back down the hallway until he exited the school, taking off his coat as he walked back home.
“So tired.” Takaki yawned as he soon as he was in the apartment, toeing off his shoes by the door. He then made his way into the bedroom, flopping down onto the soft mattress with a groan.
Grabbing Yui’s princess pillow, Takaki set his alarm clock so that he wouldn’t miss picking Yui up from school, before shutting his eyes and falling asleep.
Only a few hours later though, Takaki was roused from sleep by his cell phone ringing. He picked it up off the nightstand and looked at the caller ID, seeing Takeru’s name. He answered it with a sleepy hello, but after a few minutes of hearing Takeru’s muffled cries, he quickly got up and ran out of the apartment, almost forgetting his shoes along the way.
He rushed down the streets as he ran to the hospital, dodging past old ladies with their grocery bags and college students on the way to school. When he reached the hospital, he made his way into the OR waiting room, seeing Haruma in a pair of scrubs, talking to Mirai’s parents, her mother crying and her father holding her close.
“Oh,” Haruma looked over at him and gestured for him to come over, “This is Takaki Yuya, he took care of Mirai during his night shifts.” Haruma gave him a sad stare, and Takaki could feel his heart plummeting to the bottom of his stomach as he turned towards Mirai’s parents and said, “I’m so sorry for your loss.”
***
An hour late, Takaki entered Yui’s classroom with bloodshot eyes, sniffling as he struggled not to cry. Yabu saw him and ushered him back out of the room, his face concerned as he laid a hand on Takaki’s shoulder.
“I’m so sorry,” Yabu immediately said, giving his shoulder a squeeze. “When you called during lunch, I was just,” he paused, “As a teacher, I couldn’t ever imagine losing one of my students. Her parents must be devastated.”
Takaki nodded, using his sleeve to wipe away his tears. “They are. It’s just awful, the surgery was going great and Mirai was finally going to have a normal life, when she just suddenly went into cardiac arrest.”
Yabu frowned, looking like he wanted to say something important, but instead said, “If a situation ever comes up at the hospital, just call me and I’ll stay after with Yui until you can come get there.”
“Thank you, really.” Takaki resisted the urge to hug Yabu and re-entered the classroom, telling Yui it was time to leave. He held his daughter’s hand a little tighter on the walk home that day, trying to push back the thoughts of what he’d do if he ever lost her.
“Daddy, what’s wrong?” Yui asked that night as she climbed into bed, grabbing her princess pillow and laying her head down on it. “You’re sad.”
Takaki sighed, laying down next to Yui and pulling her into a hug. “Remember that girl Mirai, from the hospital?”
“Yeah.” Yui nodded, snuggling close. “She has cancer in her brain.”
“That’s right.” Takaki choked up, unable to stop the tears again. “Well, the doctors were going to remove the cancer from her brain, but her heart stopped before they could.”
“Does that mean she’s dead?” Yui asked, not fully understanding the situation.
“Yes, it does. That’s why daddy is sad,” he sniffled, holding Yui closer, kissing the top of her head.
“I liked Mirai,” Yui replied, her tone sad and confused. “She helped me tie my shoes. Why did she have to die?”
“I don’t know,” Takaki answered, “Sometimes, people die and we don’t really understand why they do. We can only accept it and hope that they rest in peace.”
“Okay.” Yui closed her eyes and sighed, burying her face into her princess pillow. “Goodnight daddy,” she said, her voice muffled.
“Goodnight.” Takaki closed his eyes as well, thankful that the hospital gave him the night off so he could be here with Yui right now.
***
Takaki tried to avoid being late in picking up Yui after school, but sometimes, it couldn’t be helped. He still felt bad though, especially since that meant Yabu had to stay later as well.
Today he was nearly two hours late, still in his scrubs as he entered the classroom. “I’m sorry,” Takaki immediately apologized when he saw Yabu, “Our hospital is a bit short staffed right now, and we had a little girl come in with some serious burns.”
“That’s horrible,” Yabu gasped, “Oh God, will she be alright?”
Takaki shrugged, running a hand through his frizzy hair. “I don’t know, the surgeons were still operating on her when I left. It didn’t sound good though.” Not wanting to talk about work anymore, Takaki changed the subject and asked, “How was Yui? She didn’t give you any problems, right?”
Yabu shook his head. “No, she understands that daddy’s job is very important and something he can’t walk away from.” Yabu glanced over at Yui, who was busily coloring a picture, her tongue poking out from between her lips. “There was something I wanted to ask you though.”
“Of course.” Takaki grabbed one of the chairs from a student’s desk and sat down, eyes connected with Yabu’s. “What’s up?”
“Well, today in class, I asked the students to draw a picture of their family.” Yabu began explaining. “Most kids drew themselves, their parents, siblings and animals. A few kids drew themselves with their grandparents and then, there was Yui.” Yabu handed Takaki the picture she drew, which only consisted of him and her, holding hands and riding a unicorn.
“I don’t see the problem?” Takaki questioned, not sure where Yabu was heading with this.
“The kids saw Yui’s picture, and they kept asking her why she didn’t draw her Mom, and Yui told everyone she didn’t have one. The kids began teasing her though, until I made them stop.” Yabu frowned. “I was just wondering, and I know it’s none of my business, but where is Yui’s Mom?”
“No, it’s alright, everyone asks the question sooner or later.” Takaki glanced over his shoulder, making sure that Yui was still coloring. “I’ve never really told Yui about her mom,” he admitted, looking back at Yabu and seeing his disapproving frown. “It’s just too hard.”
“For her, or for you?” Yabu questioned, his brows pulled together.
“For her,” Takaki answered, shaking his head with a sigh. “When Rubi got pregnant, she was mad as hell. I was already done with my degree, but Rubi was just getting ready to transfer to med-school.” Takaki could see Yabu’s expression changing, his frown turning into a sympathetic stare as he realized where the story was going. “After she gave birth to Yui, Rubi left for med-school and I haven’t seen her since. She didn’t want to be a mom and I knew I couldn’t force her, that wouldn’t have been fair to either of them.”
“She just left, like that?” Yabu’s eyes widened, his tone disbelieving.
“Pretty much.” Takaki shrugged, folding his arms across his chest. “Rubi’s parents were really helpful though,” Takaki added, smiling a little.
“My family lives in Osaka, and I already had a job at the hospital here, so I couldn’t move. Rubi’s parents watched Yui for me when I had shifts, and occasionally, helped me make ends meet so Yui and I wouldn’t be evicted from our apartment, or go hungry.”
“Has it always been just the two of you, then?” Yabu glanced over at Yui, who seemed to be putting the final touches on her artwork.
“At first, but then I met Haruma, a nurse who worked in the children’s wing with me. He heard about my situation from another nurse and asked if I was interested in a room mate, since he was still living at home but desperate to get out,” Takaki paused, chuckling a bit at this. “So, Haruma moved in, brought his boyfriend Takeru with him, and it’s been the four of us ever since.”
“Wow,” Yabu said as he leaned back into his seat, staring at Takaki with admiration. He opened his mouth to say something else, but was interrupted by Yui running up to them, a shy smile on her face.
“Daddy.” She smiled up at him with big eyes, her artwork hidden behind her back. “You look tired, can we eat out tonight?”
Takaki hummed under his breath, giving Yui a calculating stare. Although she was his daughter, Takaki knew when the little girl had something devious planned in her mind, but then again, eating out did sound really good. He was too tired to cook right now, plus he had to go back to the hospital later that night. Nodding his consent, he smiled when Yui squealed, but that smile dropped when she asked, “Can Yabu-kun join us?”
“Oh, I don’t-” the two adults began saying at the same time, looking at each other awkwardly. “I’m sure Yabu-kun wants to go home and rest.” Takaki patted Yui’s head. “Maybe some other time.”
Yui frowned, but nodded. “Alright, some other time.” She handed Takaki her pink backpack and grabbed his hand, ready to go home, but not before handing Yabu the piece of paper behind her back.
“For you, Yabu-kun, see you on Monday!” She smiled and gave Yabu a little wave, before dragging Takaki out of the classroom and down the hall, exiting the building. The sun was beginning to set, and Takaki let out an involuntary shiver as they began walking towards their favorite restaurant.
“What was that you gave Yabu-kun?” Takaki asked Yui, holding the door open for her when they arrived at the restaurant. The two sat down at a table booth, Yui on one side and Takaki on the other.
“Nothing,” Yui said, grabbing a couple packets of sugar and opening them, creating little sugar piles. “Just a picture.”
“Okay.” Takaki watched in amusement as Yui measured out the sugar piles, leaning down close to them so she could see every grain. “Why did you want Yabu-kun to have dinner with us?”
“Cause I like him, he’s nice.” Yui used her pinky to push some sugar into another pile, smiling in triumph when both came out even. “Plus,” Yui added, looking away from her sugar piles and towards Takaki, “I think Yabu-kun has a crush on you.”
Takaki coughed, choking on air as he waved his hands in front of his face. Their waiter came by and placed two glasses of water on the table, and Takaki grabbed his and chugged half of it down, before placing it back on the table. “Do you even know what that means, Yui?” he said, his voice now hoarse.
Yui rolled her eyes. “Of course, Uncle Haruma and Uncle Takeru have crushes on each other. They always look at each other with big eyes and smile at each other a lot. Yabu-kun does that with you, daddy, and you sometimes do it back with him.”
“Do not.” Takaki frowned. “Now, I don’t want you to mention this thought to anyone else, especially Yabu-kun, you hear?”
“But daddy-”
“No buts young lady!” Takaki said in his sternest voice, letting Yui know he was completely serious.
“Okay.” Yui sighed, resting her cheek against the table and playing with her sugar piles, letting Takaki order for the two of them. Once their food came, the two ate quietly, Yui still sore that she got scolded, and Takaki feeling way too tired all of a sudden. He really wished he didn’t have to work tonight, but he promised nurse Ishihara that he’d be back to help her with the burned girl, who was no doubt out of surgery by now. It was selfish of him to think this, but seeing people burnt just made Takaki very uncomfortable, but he knew he couldn’t show that feeling on his face, especially in front of a little girl.
The two finished their meal, Takaki placing the appropriate amount of money on the table before leaving, giving a tired Yui a piggy-back ride home. He smiled when her arms draped around his neck, her face burying into his shoulder and little yawns escaping her worked mouth. It seemed that tonight, she would have to be put to bed early, which actually worked out great for Takaki because then he could read a story before bed, instead of having Haruma or Takeru do it.
When they reached the house though, Yui was fast asleep, quietly snoring. Haruma ‘awe’d’ at the sight and Takeru helped him put Yui to bed, getting her out of her uniform and into some pajamas, tucking her into bed. Takaki kissed her forehead and then whispered, “I love you,” before leaving the bedroom, Takeru following behind him.
“Hey Yuuyan,” Takeru said as they walked into the living room, sitting down on the loveseat next to Haruma. “Since there’s no school tomorrow and I have the day off, how about I take Yui out, that way you can just crash when you get home.”
Takaki looked over at Takeru, smiling at him gratefully. “Dude, that would be awesome. Ishihara and I are in charge of a burn victim tonight, so I definitely won’t be able to catch a nap in the nurse’s locker room or anything.”
“That poor girl.” Haruma shook his head sadly. “I just got back from the hospital an hour ago, the girl is wrapped up like a mummy. They had to amputate her fingers too, the damage was just,” Haruma leaned against Takeru, who put an arm around him, “Poor girl.”
Takaki swallowed down his nerves, and got up. “Well, I’m off, see you guys tomorrow!” he said, putting on his coat and shoes, shoving his keys into his pocket. The two waved him off, Haruma wishing him luck as he closed the door behind him.
Shivering again, Takaki began his walk to the hospital, mentally preparing himself for what he was about to see.
When he got there, Ishihara was already waiting for him. The two walked down the hallways and into the burn unit, where Ishihara led him to room 215. “The girl is in here,” Ishihara said, “We’ll have to put on some gloves and face masks inside, since her room needs to be as sterile as possible.”
“Of course.” Takaki nodded, holding the door open for Ishihara. They were inside a sectioned off part of the room, and the two began putting on new scrubs, before covering their face with masks and putting gloves on their hands. Checking themselves once more, Ishihara deemed them safe and the two went inside the main room.
Takaki’s heart clenched as he saw the little girl, no more than Yui’s height and weight. She was covered head to toe in bandages, but along the area where her finger should be, were bloody spots instead.
‘This is going to be a long night,’ Takaki said to himself, and began checking her vitals, while Ishihara prepared some new bandages for the girl.
***
Takaki stumbled out of the hospital that morning, shielding his eyes from the sun. Even though it was only seven, the sun was out, bright and early. Groaning, Takaki started his walk home, his body aching with each step and his urge to cry more and more.
He loved his job, but sometimes, it was just so hard. Little girls with brain tumors dying on the operating table, little girls burnt nearly beyond recognition. During the night, he and Ishihara had to change her bandages, and seeing all that damaged flesh just made him sick to his stomach. He actually had to excuse himself and step outside for a moment, taking deep, opened breaths.
Ishihara came out and got him after a few minutes, pulling him into a tight hug as she reminded him why he did this job; He did it for the children, who were broken (and sometimes unfixable), doing his best to ease their pain and give them, and their parents, hope that things would be okay.
As he was walking home, Takaki heard a familiar voice call his name from behind. Turning around, he smiled when he saw Yabu running towards him, meeting him halfway on the sidewalk.
“Hey, what’s up?” Takaki asked, stifling his yawn behind his hand. “Sorry, I just ended my shift.”
“I know.” Yabu nodded, his hands in his coat pockets. “Um, listen, about the other night.”
“Oh, sorry about Yui.” Takaki chuckled, gesturing for Yabu to walk with him. “She really adores you.”
“I can tell.” Yabu looked away, and Takaki wondered why he looked so nervous. “But I was wondering, um, if you would want to grab dinner sometime,” Yabu cleared his throat, “With me,” he added.
“How about we get breakfast instead?” Takaki asked, and Yabu snapped his eyes back towards him, eyebrows raised. “I’ll even cook, I make some pretty good waffles.”
“Alright.” Yabu grinned, a blush darkening his cheeks, and Takaki was reminded of what Yui said the other night, about smiles and crushes. She was just being silly though, there’s no way Yabu had a crush on him. The guy probably wasn’t even gay, but then again, Takaki wasn’t really gay either, he just sort of liked whoever he liked.
Sneaking a peek over at Yabu, Takaki couldn’t deny that the guy was pretty handsome, especially when he wasn’t wearing a buttoned-down collar shirt and black slacks. Right now, Yabu had on a pair of skinny jeans, which hugged every inch of his slim body, and a checkered coat, that also showed off his tiny frame.
“You’re really thin, you know that?” Takaki mentioned as they arrived at his apartment, “I’m going to make you eat like, ten waffles,” he said as they both took off their shoes, before entering the kitchen, Yabu following behind him.
“I think Takeru already left with Yui, and Haruma’s still probably passed out.” Takaki began grabbing the necessary ingredients to make waffles, laying everything out on the counter. “So, Yabu, tell me about yourself.”
“Like what?” Yabu asked, leaning against the fridge and watching Takaki cook.
“You know, your general life story.” Takaki grabbed his mixing bowl and cracked open a few eggs, stirring them together with his whisk.
“Well, my name is Yabu Kota, I was born in Kanagawa prefecture and I have an older brother and an older sister. I grew up pretty normally, did alright in school, was on the soccer club. In my first year of college though, I decided that I wanted to be a star.”
“Seriously?” Takaki turned towards him, shaking his head in amusement. “How did that work out?”
“It went well, I already knew how to play the guitar, so I just had to find some other musicians. That’s when I met Shoon, Taiyou and Hikaru. Shoon was our drummer, Taiyou was our other guitarist and Hikaru was on the bass.”
“Lead singer?” Takaki plugged in his waffle iron, letting it heat up.
Yabu blushed, again, and said in a small voice, “Me.”
Takaki smiled. “You’ll have to play for me sometime, and sing!” Yabu sighed, but reluctantly agreed, continuing on with his story.
“The band and I played a couple of shows. Y3 was our name, by the way.” Yabu grabbed one of the magnets off the fridge and began to fiddle with it. “After awhile though, we all realized this is where we weren’t meant to be. Taiyou got a degree in business, Shoon is a lawyer, I became a teacher and Hikaru went to America to learn English.”
“That’s weird.” Takaki poured the waffle batter into the waffle iron, closing it shut. “I mean, you guys all sound so different, and yet the music kept you together. Are you still in touch with these friends?”
“Shoon and I still hang out,” Yabu answered, “Hikaru and I exchange emails every once in awhile, but none of us have really kept up with Taiyou. He just never seemed interested in being friends outside of the band.”
“I’m sorry, that’s got to be tough,” Takaki said as he opened the waffle iron, taking the now done waffle and throwing it onto a plate. “There’s fruit, whip cream, chocolate sauce, syrup, whatever you want, in the fridge.”
“Thanks.” Yabu opened the fridge and grabbed some strawberries and whip cream, adding them to his waffle before sitting down at the table. Takaki watched as he took a bite, his eyes falling shut as he moaned. “Oh my God,” he said, mouth still full, “These are amazing!”
“I know.” Takaki winked, and began making a waffle for himself.
After breakfast, the two just sat at the table, making idle chat and getting to know each other. Takaki found himself really liking the older male; his interesting humor, his giggly laugh, the way he smiled that made his eyes get really small. Yabu was kind, sweet, caring, and maybe just a little sadistic, if judging by the pranks he used to pull on his friends. Yabu was all kinds of amazing, and Takaki realized that Yui was right.
Well, half right, at least.
He was totally crushing on Yabu, which was obviously very inappropriate because Yabu was his daughter’s teacher, but he couldn’t help it. As long as he didn’t pursue Yabu and try to get the other to like him back, it would be alright.
Takaki was able to live with this thought floating through his head whenever he saw Yabu, whether that was in the classroom when he showed up late, or outside of the classroom, going out to meals or going shopping together. Takaki really enjoyed being friends with Yabu, who now gave him the permission to call him ‘Kota,’ as long as he got to call Takaki ‘Yuuyan.’ He’s never really had a friend outside of the hospital, because when after working all night and taking care of Yui, Takaki spends his free time asleep, unless he gets called back in to work.
Things were going really well with Yabu, but at the same time, being around the guy made his heart feel like it was being squished inside his chest. There were just so many times he wanted to brush Yabu’s bangs out of his face, grab his hand when the other blew on them because they were too cold, to kiss him, just because. It was getting harder and harder to ignore these feelings, but what could he do, really? If he were to date Yabu, he’d have to transfer Yui out of his class, and his daughter adored the scrawny man, plus all of her friends were in that class. He couldn’t disrupt her life like that, just for his own selfish needs.
He was a dad first, before anything else.
Hearing the doorbell rang, Takaki was stirred from his thoughts when Yui ran to the door and opened it, screaming, “Yabu-kun!” and launching herself at him, hugging him around the knees.
“Hey Yui.” Yabu patted her head. “I have a surprise for you.”
“What?” Yui asked, looking up at Yabu with a big grin, her two front teeth missing and reminding Takaki of Mirai.
“Well, remember how I told the class I used to be in a band,” Yabu said as he shut the door behind him, leading Yui into the living room. “Well, I told your dad too, and he asked me to perform sometime, so...” Yabu set a guitar case on the ground, and Yui squealed when he pulled out an acoustic guitar, its surface gleaming under the light. “How would you like a performance?”
“Yes!” Yui shouted and plopped herself down in front of Yabu, bouncing in place when he held the guitar in his hands and began playing, gently plucking the strings.
Takaki gasped when Yabu began singing, his heart speeding up. The man’s voice was…perfection, is all he could come up with, losing himself in the song and the way Yabu carried himself as he performed for them. He really was a star, or at least, he had the quality to be one.
The song came to an end, and Yui began clapping enthusiastically. “That was amazing Yabu-kun!”
“Yeah.” Takaki got up and made his way over to the two. “Yui, can you go to your room for a second, I want to ask Yabu-kun something.”
Yui nodded, surprising Takaki when she got up without a fight and left the room. As soon as he heard the bedroom door close, Takaki turned his attention to Yabu, who had set his guitar back down and stood up, looking at Takaki in concern.
“What’s-”
Takaki grabbed Yabu by the shirt and brought their lips together, tangling his other hand in Yabu’s hair, deepening the kiss when Yabu gasped into his mouth. Just as quickly as it started though, it ended, the two staring into each other’s eyes as they panted.
“I’m sorry, I couldn’t take it anymore,” Takaki admitted, moving his hand from Yabu’s hair to his cheek. “You’re just so amazing, in like, every way possible. I want you so much but I know I can’t have you.”
“What makes you think that?” Yabu asked, glancing down at Takaki’s lips, absent-mindedly licking his own.
“Well, you probably don’t like me in that way, and even if you did, us being in a relationship would have a negative effect on Yui, and I can’t do that to her.”
At this, Yabu laughed, pulling Takaki back in for a kiss. It was Takaki’s turn to be surprised this time, sighing into the heated kiss and closing his eyes. He only opened them back up when Yabu broke the kiss and their hold on each other, bending down to fish something out of his guitar case. Grabbing a folded up piece of paper, Yabu grinned and handed it to Takaki.
When he unfolded it, he smiled, seeing the familiar picture. It was a copy of the one Yui had drawn of them, riding the unicorn together. There was an addition to the picture though, a skinny stick-figure with black hair, his arms wrapped around Takaki’s waist.
“So that’s what she gave you,” Takaki said to himself, shaking his head. “That girl, I swear.”
“I think she wants us to be together,” Yabu said. “And, I want us to be together too. We can make this work Yuuyan, I know we can.”
“Listen to Yabu-kun!” The two jumped around and saw Yui peeking out from behind the corner. “I told you he had a crush on you daddy, and that you had one back.” She then ran over to Takaki and threw her arms around his legs. “Please daddy, I want you to be happy like how Uncle Haruma and Uncle Takeru are. Pretty please?” She looked up at him with her lip pushed out, her brows pulled together as he batted her eyes.
Sometimes, Takaki could say no to that puppy dog pout, but this time was not one of those times, and so he picked up his daughter and hugged her, his heart going all doki doki when Yabu joined in.
“This is going to be awesome!” Yui squealed, and Takaki couldn’t agree more.
Author: hotfruits
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Takaki/Yabu
Word Count: 5975
Disclaimer: Nope
Summary: AU. Takaki's life has been the same for awhile now, revolving around his family and his work at the hospital. Will a kindergarten teacher by the name of Yabu Kota change things around?
Written for crazy_otaku911.
and thank you to littlemelonblue for beta'ing this.
Bundling up his blue scrubs into a ball, Takaki tossed them into his locker and shut the door, locking his stuff inside. Yawning, he stretched his arms over his head as he walked out of the nurse’s locker room, the door swinging shut behind him. He began to make his way down the empty hallway, but a “Yuuyan!” made him stop, turning around.
When he saw the little girl running at him, Takaki kneeled on the ground and scooped her into his arms, careful to not hold her too tight. “Mirai, what are you doing out of bed, you should be resting?”
Mirai grinned, her two front teeth missing, “I wanted to say hi before you left. I’m having my surgery today, did you know?” she asked, peering at him with a questioning face.
“I do, and I’m sorry I can’t be there,” Takaki frowned and patted her bald head, feeling a shooting pain hit his heart. “Nurse Haruma will be there though, and he’s bringing Takeru-kun with him.” The pain ebbed away when he saw Mirai’s big smile again, her hands clasped in front of her face as she jumped up and down.
“Takeru-kun?! I love him, his hair is so big, like a lion!” Mirai snickered, holding her arms out to illustrate her point. Takaki laughed and pulled Mirai in for another hug, silently praying to whoever was listening to get this girl through her surgery.
“I have to go,” Takaki said regrettably as he pulled away, not standing up yet though. “You be a good girl for Haruma and Takeru-kun,” he wanted to add ‘be a brave girl as well,’ but he knew that if anyone could face this surgery, it was Mirai.
“I will!” Mirai held up her hand in a little peace sign, smiling widely when Takaki returned the gesture. She then rushed down the hall and back towards the children’s wing, no doubt trying to get there before they noticed she was gone.
Takaki stood up with a sigh, running a hand over his tired face. He really did wish he could be here for Mirai, but he had another commitment today that he just couldn’t break. Haruma and Takeru would be with her though, and he was positive the latter of the two would bring her a present of some sort, probably a cute stuffed animal.
Resuming his journey out of the hospital, Takaki pulled his coat tighter around himself as he exited the building. It was only seven in the morning, and the sun hadn’t quite risen yet, so it was still chilly outside as he made his way home. Thankfully, their apartment building was less than a mile away, so within thirty minutes he was home, quietly shutting the door behind him.
Dropping his coat and keys onto the loveseat, Takaki made his way into the kitchen, grabbing a carton of eggs from the fridge, a bag of rice from the cupboard and three bowls from the shelf. He began to make breakfast for the three other people in the apartment, scooping the cooked rice into a bowl and adding an egg on top, mixing it all together with a pair of chopsticks. He placed each bowl at the small round table in their kitchen, before calling out, “Haruma! Takeru! Yui! Breakfast, come eat!”
A door opened and closed, and Haruma and Takeru came stumbling out of the bedroom, their hair sticking up in multiple directions and their clothes a rumpled mess. Takaki rolled his eyes, watching the two sit down at the table and begin eating.
“Seriously, where would you two be without me?” Takaki asked rhetorically, ignoring the sleepy glare Takeru shot him over his shoulder. Leaving the kitchen, Takaki walked down the hallway and entered his bedroom, smiling when he saw Yui still asleep.
Going over to her side of the bed, Takaki kneeled to the floor and gently began to shake her awake, saying in a soft voice, “Yui, come get some breakfast.”
“Don’t wanna,” she mumbled, burying her face further into the pillow. Takaki chuckled, his hand drifting towards her side, his fingers causing her to shiver. “No tickling,” she growled, peeking up from the pillow with a heated glare. “I hate tickling!”
“Then get up lazy bones, today is a big day, remember?” Seeing the realization dawn on her face, Yui quickly got out of bed and rushed towards the closet, throwing her clothes to the floor, along with a pair of black flats. Quickly, she got dressed and rushed out of the room, and Takaki could hear the bathroom door slamming shut.
“Girls,” Takaki laughed and made his way back to the kitchen, where only Takeru was still eating. “Is Haruma already getting ready?” Takaki asked, sitting down at the table. “His shift at the hospital isn’t for another few hours.”
“No, he’s going back to bed,” Takeru replied, yawning. “I was going to join him, but then I remembered that little girl has her surgery today. It’s to remove the tumor from her brain, right?” Takeru asked, scooping more food into his mouth.
Takaki nodded, “Yeah, she got really excited when I told her you would be there.” Takeru smiled at this, finishing the last bit of his rice. “She’s so in love with you, it’s adorable.”
“If she was ten years older, who knows,” Takeru laughed as he got up, placing his dish in the sink next to Haruma’s. “I’m gonna run by the store real quick to get her something. Do you we need anything here?”
“If you could grab some milk and energy bars, that’d be great,” Takaki responded, “I’m going to be so exhausted today.”
“That’s right, it’s-” Takeru was interrupted though by Yui flying into the room, her hair brushed and pulled back into a neat ponytail. She sat down at the table and quickly shoved her food down, nearly choking on a clump of rice.
“Slow down.” Takaki patted Yui’s back, signaling to Takeru to get a class of water. “We still have an hour.”
“No we don’t.” Yui looked up at him, pouting. “My friend Reina said to get there early. You remember Reina, right?”
“Um...” Takaki looked over at Takeru, who just shrugged and placed a glass of water in front of Yui. “She’s the one with the mole on her cheek, right?”
“No.” Yui rolled her eyes, setting her chopsticks down. “That’s Natsumi, Reina is my best friend and she’s really tan, remember?”
“That’s right.” Takaki nodded, picturing the girls now. Yui chugged down the glass of water and then got up, looking at Takaki expectantly. Getting the message loud and clear, Takaki stood up as well and the two waved to Takeru before they left the apartment, Takaki locking the door behind him. The sun was out now, and so their walk down the street wasn’t too bad, the two of them holding hands. Yui drabbled on about how excited she was to see her friends, and Takaki listened with an ear, his thoughts still concerned for Mirai and her surgery. The doctors were positive she’d be alright though, and Takaki knew that without the surgery, her chances at growing were much dimmer.
“We’re here!” Yui squealed, and Takaki found himself being dragged up the stone path and into the brightly lit building. Rushing down the hall, Yui looked at all the room numbers before finding 1-D, and throwing it open with an ecstatic grin.
“Reina!” she immediately shouted and rushed towards her friend, enveloping her in a big hug. Takaki couldn’t help but smile at the two of them, that is, until a handsome man with high cheek bones and black hair stood in front of him.
“Hello.” The man bowed, and Takaki followed suit. “I’m Yabu Kota,” he said, standing up fully again.
“Takaki Yuya,” Takaki introduced himself, and then pointed across the room. “And that’s my daughter Yui, with the ponytail.”
“She looks just like you,” Yabu commented, glancing back and forth between the two. His eyes stopped at Takaki. “Well, it was nice to meet you Takaki-kun. Don’t worry about Yui, I know the first day at school can be a bit worrisome for parents.” Yabu gave him a smile, gesturing over his shoulder to the mother-hens in the back of the class. “But Yui is in safe hands here, and we’ll all be having a lot of fun learning.”
“Thank you.” Takaki smiled back and gave Yui a little wave, but she was too busy giggling with Reina. Leaving the classroom, Takaki walked back down the hallway until he exited the school, taking off his coat as he walked back home.
“So tired.” Takaki yawned as he soon as he was in the apartment, toeing off his shoes by the door. He then made his way into the bedroom, flopping down onto the soft mattress with a groan.
Grabbing Yui’s princess pillow, Takaki set his alarm clock so that he wouldn’t miss picking Yui up from school, before shutting his eyes and falling asleep.
Only a few hours later though, Takaki was roused from sleep by his cell phone ringing. He picked it up off the nightstand and looked at the caller ID, seeing Takeru’s name. He answered it with a sleepy hello, but after a few minutes of hearing Takeru’s muffled cries, he quickly got up and ran out of the apartment, almost forgetting his shoes along the way.
He rushed down the streets as he ran to the hospital, dodging past old ladies with their grocery bags and college students on the way to school. When he reached the hospital, he made his way into the OR waiting room, seeing Haruma in a pair of scrubs, talking to Mirai’s parents, her mother crying and her father holding her close.
“Oh,” Haruma looked over at him and gestured for him to come over, “This is Takaki Yuya, he took care of Mirai during his night shifts.” Haruma gave him a sad stare, and Takaki could feel his heart plummeting to the bottom of his stomach as he turned towards Mirai’s parents and said, “I’m so sorry for your loss.”
***
An hour late, Takaki entered Yui’s classroom with bloodshot eyes, sniffling as he struggled not to cry. Yabu saw him and ushered him back out of the room, his face concerned as he laid a hand on Takaki’s shoulder.
“I’m so sorry,” Yabu immediately said, giving his shoulder a squeeze. “When you called during lunch, I was just,” he paused, “As a teacher, I couldn’t ever imagine losing one of my students. Her parents must be devastated.”
Takaki nodded, using his sleeve to wipe away his tears. “They are. It’s just awful, the surgery was going great and Mirai was finally going to have a normal life, when she just suddenly went into cardiac arrest.”
Yabu frowned, looking like he wanted to say something important, but instead said, “If a situation ever comes up at the hospital, just call me and I’ll stay after with Yui until you can come get there.”
“Thank you, really.” Takaki resisted the urge to hug Yabu and re-entered the classroom, telling Yui it was time to leave. He held his daughter’s hand a little tighter on the walk home that day, trying to push back the thoughts of what he’d do if he ever lost her.
“Daddy, what’s wrong?” Yui asked that night as she climbed into bed, grabbing her princess pillow and laying her head down on it. “You’re sad.”
Takaki sighed, laying down next to Yui and pulling her into a hug. “Remember that girl Mirai, from the hospital?”
“Yeah.” Yui nodded, snuggling close. “She has cancer in her brain.”
“That’s right.” Takaki choked up, unable to stop the tears again. “Well, the doctors were going to remove the cancer from her brain, but her heart stopped before they could.”
“Does that mean she’s dead?” Yui asked, not fully understanding the situation.
“Yes, it does. That’s why daddy is sad,” he sniffled, holding Yui closer, kissing the top of her head.
“I liked Mirai,” Yui replied, her tone sad and confused. “She helped me tie my shoes. Why did she have to die?”
“I don’t know,” Takaki answered, “Sometimes, people die and we don’t really understand why they do. We can only accept it and hope that they rest in peace.”
“Okay.” Yui closed her eyes and sighed, burying her face into her princess pillow. “Goodnight daddy,” she said, her voice muffled.
“Goodnight.” Takaki closed his eyes as well, thankful that the hospital gave him the night off so he could be here with Yui right now.
***
Takaki tried to avoid being late in picking up Yui after school, but sometimes, it couldn’t be helped. He still felt bad though, especially since that meant Yabu had to stay later as well.
Today he was nearly two hours late, still in his scrubs as he entered the classroom. “I’m sorry,” Takaki immediately apologized when he saw Yabu, “Our hospital is a bit short staffed right now, and we had a little girl come in with some serious burns.”
“That’s horrible,” Yabu gasped, “Oh God, will she be alright?”
Takaki shrugged, running a hand through his frizzy hair. “I don’t know, the surgeons were still operating on her when I left. It didn’t sound good though.” Not wanting to talk about work anymore, Takaki changed the subject and asked, “How was Yui? She didn’t give you any problems, right?”
Yabu shook his head. “No, she understands that daddy’s job is very important and something he can’t walk away from.” Yabu glanced over at Yui, who was busily coloring a picture, her tongue poking out from between her lips. “There was something I wanted to ask you though.”
“Of course.” Takaki grabbed one of the chairs from a student’s desk and sat down, eyes connected with Yabu’s. “What’s up?”
“Well, today in class, I asked the students to draw a picture of their family.” Yabu began explaining. “Most kids drew themselves, their parents, siblings and animals. A few kids drew themselves with their grandparents and then, there was Yui.” Yabu handed Takaki the picture she drew, which only consisted of him and her, holding hands and riding a unicorn.
“I don’t see the problem?” Takaki questioned, not sure where Yabu was heading with this.
“The kids saw Yui’s picture, and they kept asking her why she didn’t draw her Mom, and Yui told everyone she didn’t have one. The kids began teasing her though, until I made them stop.” Yabu frowned. “I was just wondering, and I know it’s none of my business, but where is Yui’s Mom?”
“No, it’s alright, everyone asks the question sooner or later.” Takaki glanced over his shoulder, making sure that Yui was still coloring. “I’ve never really told Yui about her mom,” he admitted, looking back at Yabu and seeing his disapproving frown. “It’s just too hard.”
“For her, or for you?” Yabu questioned, his brows pulled together.
“For her,” Takaki answered, shaking his head with a sigh. “When Rubi got pregnant, she was mad as hell. I was already done with my degree, but Rubi was just getting ready to transfer to med-school.” Takaki could see Yabu’s expression changing, his frown turning into a sympathetic stare as he realized where the story was going. “After she gave birth to Yui, Rubi left for med-school and I haven’t seen her since. She didn’t want to be a mom and I knew I couldn’t force her, that wouldn’t have been fair to either of them.”
“She just left, like that?” Yabu’s eyes widened, his tone disbelieving.
“Pretty much.” Takaki shrugged, folding his arms across his chest. “Rubi’s parents were really helpful though,” Takaki added, smiling a little.
“My family lives in Osaka, and I already had a job at the hospital here, so I couldn’t move. Rubi’s parents watched Yui for me when I had shifts, and occasionally, helped me make ends meet so Yui and I wouldn’t be evicted from our apartment, or go hungry.”
“Has it always been just the two of you, then?” Yabu glanced over at Yui, who seemed to be putting the final touches on her artwork.
“At first, but then I met Haruma, a nurse who worked in the children’s wing with me. He heard about my situation from another nurse and asked if I was interested in a room mate, since he was still living at home but desperate to get out,” Takaki paused, chuckling a bit at this. “So, Haruma moved in, brought his boyfriend Takeru with him, and it’s been the four of us ever since.”
“Wow,” Yabu said as he leaned back into his seat, staring at Takaki with admiration. He opened his mouth to say something else, but was interrupted by Yui running up to them, a shy smile on her face.
“Daddy.” She smiled up at him with big eyes, her artwork hidden behind her back. “You look tired, can we eat out tonight?”
Takaki hummed under his breath, giving Yui a calculating stare. Although she was his daughter, Takaki knew when the little girl had something devious planned in her mind, but then again, eating out did sound really good. He was too tired to cook right now, plus he had to go back to the hospital later that night. Nodding his consent, he smiled when Yui squealed, but that smile dropped when she asked, “Can Yabu-kun join us?”
“Oh, I don’t-” the two adults began saying at the same time, looking at each other awkwardly. “I’m sure Yabu-kun wants to go home and rest.” Takaki patted Yui’s head. “Maybe some other time.”
Yui frowned, but nodded. “Alright, some other time.” She handed Takaki her pink backpack and grabbed his hand, ready to go home, but not before handing Yabu the piece of paper behind her back.
“For you, Yabu-kun, see you on Monday!” She smiled and gave Yabu a little wave, before dragging Takaki out of the classroom and down the hall, exiting the building. The sun was beginning to set, and Takaki let out an involuntary shiver as they began walking towards their favorite restaurant.
“What was that you gave Yabu-kun?” Takaki asked Yui, holding the door open for her when they arrived at the restaurant. The two sat down at a table booth, Yui on one side and Takaki on the other.
“Nothing,” Yui said, grabbing a couple packets of sugar and opening them, creating little sugar piles. “Just a picture.”
“Okay.” Takaki watched in amusement as Yui measured out the sugar piles, leaning down close to them so she could see every grain. “Why did you want Yabu-kun to have dinner with us?”
“Cause I like him, he’s nice.” Yui used her pinky to push some sugar into another pile, smiling in triumph when both came out even. “Plus,” Yui added, looking away from her sugar piles and towards Takaki, “I think Yabu-kun has a crush on you.”
Takaki coughed, choking on air as he waved his hands in front of his face. Their waiter came by and placed two glasses of water on the table, and Takaki grabbed his and chugged half of it down, before placing it back on the table. “Do you even know what that means, Yui?” he said, his voice now hoarse.
Yui rolled her eyes. “Of course, Uncle Haruma and Uncle Takeru have crushes on each other. They always look at each other with big eyes and smile at each other a lot. Yabu-kun does that with you, daddy, and you sometimes do it back with him.”
“Do not.” Takaki frowned. “Now, I don’t want you to mention this thought to anyone else, especially Yabu-kun, you hear?”
“But daddy-”
“No buts young lady!” Takaki said in his sternest voice, letting Yui know he was completely serious.
“Okay.” Yui sighed, resting her cheek against the table and playing with her sugar piles, letting Takaki order for the two of them. Once their food came, the two ate quietly, Yui still sore that she got scolded, and Takaki feeling way too tired all of a sudden. He really wished he didn’t have to work tonight, but he promised nurse Ishihara that he’d be back to help her with the burned girl, who was no doubt out of surgery by now. It was selfish of him to think this, but seeing people burnt just made Takaki very uncomfortable, but he knew he couldn’t show that feeling on his face, especially in front of a little girl.
The two finished their meal, Takaki placing the appropriate amount of money on the table before leaving, giving a tired Yui a piggy-back ride home. He smiled when her arms draped around his neck, her face burying into his shoulder and little yawns escaping her worked mouth. It seemed that tonight, she would have to be put to bed early, which actually worked out great for Takaki because then he could read a story before bed, instead of having Haruma or Takeru do it.
When they reached the house though, Yui was fast asleep, quietly snoring. Haruma ‘awe’d’ at the sight and Takeru helped him put Yui to bed, getting her out of her uniform and into some pajamas, tucking her into bed. Takaki kissed her forehead and then whispered, “I love you,” before leaving the bedroom, Takeru following behind him.
“Hey Yuuyan,” Takeru said as they walked into the living room, sitting down on the loveseat next to Haruma. “Since there’s no school tomorrow and I have the day off, how about I take Yui out, that way you can just crash when you get home.”
Takaki looked over at Takeru, smiling at him gratefully. “Dude, that would be awesome. Ishihara and I are in charge of a burn victim tonight, so I definitely won’t be able to catch a nap in the nurse’s locker room or anything.”
“That poor girl.” Haruma shook his head sadly. “I just got back from the hospital an hour ago, the girl is wrapped up like a mummy. They had to amputate her fingers too, the damage was just,” Haruma leaned against Takeru, who put an arm around him, “Poor girl.”
Takaki swallowed down his nerves, and got up. “Well, I’m off, see you guys tomorrow!” he said, putting on his coat and shoes, shoving his keys into his pocket. The two waved him off, Haruma wishing him luck as he closed the door behind him.
Shivering again, Takaki began his walk to the hospital, mentally preparing himself for what he was about to see.
When he got there, Ishihara was already waiting for him. The two walked down the hallways and into the burn unit, where Ishihara led him to room 215. “The girl is in here,” Ishihara said, “We’ll have to put on some gloves and face masks inside, since her room needs to be as sterile as possible.”
“Of course.” Takaki nodded, holding the door open for Ishihara. They were inside a sectioned off part of the room, and the two began putting on new scrubs, before covering their face with masks and putting gloves on their hands. Checking themselves once more, Ishihara deemed them safe and the two went inside the main room.
Takaki’s heart clenched as he saw the little girl, no more than Yui’s height and weight. She was covered head to toe in bandages, but along the area where her finger should be, were bloody spots instead.
‘This is going to be a long night,’ Takaki said to himself, and began checking her vitals, while Ishihara prepared some new bandages for the girl.
***
Takaki stumbled out of the hospital that morning, shielding his eyes from the sun. Even though it was only seven, the sun was out, bright and early. Groaning, Takaki started his walk home, his body aching with each step and his urge to cry more and more.
He loved his job, but sometimes, it was just so hard. Little girls with brain tumors dying on the operating table, little girls burnt nearly beyond recognition. During the night, he and Ishihara had to change her bandages, and seeing all that damaged flesh just made him sick to his stomach. He actually had to excuse himself and step outside for a moment, taking deep, opened breaths.
Ishihara came out and got him after a few minutes, pulling him into a tight hug as she reminded him why he did this job; He did it for the children, who were broken (and sometimes unfixable), doing his best to ease their pain and give them, and their parents, hope that things would be okay.
As he was walking home, Takaki heard a familiar voice call his name from behind. Turning around, he smiled when he saw Yabu running towards him, meeting him halfway on the sidewalk.
“Hey, what’s up?” Takaki asked, stifling his yawn behind his hand. “Sorry, I just ended my shift.”
“I know.” Yabu nodded, his hands in his coat pockets. “Um, listen, about the other night.”
“Oh, sorry about Yui.” Takaki chuckled, gesturing for Yabu to walk with him. “She really adores you.”
“I can tell.” Yabu looked away, and Takaki wondered why he looked so nervous. “But I was wondering, um, if you would want to grab dinner sometime,” Yabu cleared his throat, “With me,” he added.
“How about we get breakfast instead?” Takaki asked, and Yabu snapped his eyes back towards him, eyebrows raised. “I’ll even cook, I make some pretty good waffles.”
“Alright.” Yabu grinned, a blush darkening his cheeks, and Takaki was reminded of what Yui said the other night, about smiles and crushes. She was just being silly though, there’s no way Yabu had a crush on him. The guy probably wasn’t even gay, but then again, Takaki wasn’t really gay either, he just sort of liked whoever he liked.
Sneaking a peek over at Yabu, Takaki couldn’t deny that the guy was pretty handsome, especially when he wasn’t wearing a buttoned-down collar shirt and black slacks. Right now, Yabu had on a pair of skinny jeans, which hugged every inch of his slim body, and a checkered coat, that also showed off his tiny frame.
“You’re really thin, you know that?” Takaki mentioned as they arrived at his apartment, “I’m going to make you eat like, ten waffles,” he said as they both took off their shoes, before entering the kitchen, Yabu following behind him.
“I think Takeru already left with Yui, and Haruma’s still probably passed out.” Takaki began grabbing the necessary ingredients to make waffles, laying everything out on the counter. “So, Yabu, tell me about yourself.”
“Like what?” Yabu asked, leaning against the fridge and watching Takaki cook.
“You know, your general life story.” Takaki grabbed his mixing bowl and cracked open a few eggs, stirring them together with his whisk.
“Well, my name is Yabu Kota, I was born in Kanagawa prefecture and I have an older brother and an older sister. I grew up pretty normally, did alright in school, was on the soccer club. In my first year of college though, I decided that I wanted to be a star.”
“Seriously?” Takaki turned towards him, shaking his head in amusement. “How did that work out?”
“It went well, I already knew how to play the guitar, so I just had to find some other musicians. That’s when I met Shoon, Taiyou and Hikaru. Shoon was our drummer, Taiyou was our other guitarist and Hikaru was on the bass.”
“Lead singer?” Takaki plugged in his waffle iron, letting it heat up.
Yabu blushed, again, and said in a small voice, “Me.”
Takaki smiled. “You’ll have to play for me sometime, and sing!” Yabu sighed, but reluctantly agreed, continuing on with his story.
“The band and I played a couple of shows. Y3 was our name, by the way.” Yabu grabbed one of the magnets off the fridge and began to fiddle with it. “After awhile though, we all realized this is where we weren’t meant to be. Taiyou got a degree in business, Shoon is a lawyer, I became a teacher and Hikaru went to America to learn English.”
“That’s weird.” Takaki poured the waffle batter into the waffle iron, closing it shut. “I mean, you guys all sound so different, and yet the music kept you together. Are you still in touch with these friends?”
“Shoon and I still hang out,” Yabu answered, “Hikaru and I exchange emails every once in awhile, but none of us have really kept up with Taiyou. He just never seemed interested in being friends outside of the band.”
“I’m sorry, that’s got to be tough,” Takaki said as he opened the waffle iron, taking the now done waffle and throwing it onto a plate. “There’s fruit, whip cream, chocolate sauce, syrup, whatever you want, in the fridge.”
“Thanks.” Yabu opened the fridge and grabbed some strawberries and whip cream, adding them to his waffle before sitting down at the table. Takaki watched as he took a bite, his eyes falling shut as he moaned. “Oh my God,” he said, mouth still full, “These are amazing!”
“I know.” Takaki winked, and began making a waffle for himself.
After breakfast, the two just sat at the table, making idle chat and getting to know each other. Takaki found himself really liking the older male; his interesting humor, his giggly laugh, the way he smiled that made his eyes get really small. Yabu was kind, sweet, caring, and maybe just a little sadistic, if judging by the pranks he used to pull on his friends. Yabu was all kinds of amazing, and Takaki realized that Yui was right.
Well, half right, at least.
He was totally crushing on Yabu, which was obviously very inappropriate because Yabu was his daughter’s teacher, but he couldn’t help it. As long as he didn’t pursue Yabu and try to get the other to like him back, it would be alright.
Takaki was able to live with this thought floating through his head whenever he saw Yabu, whether that was in the classroom when he showed up late, or outside of the classroom, going out to meals or going shopping together. Takaki really enjoyed being friends with Yabu, who now gave him the permission to call him ‘Kota,’ as long as he got to call Takaki ‘Yuuyan.’ He’s never really had a friend outside of the hospital, because when after working all night and taking care of Yui, Takaki spends his free time asleep, unless he gets called back in to work.
Things were going really well with Yabu, but at the same time, being around the guy made his heart feel like it was being squished inside his chest. There were just so many times he wanted to brush Yabu’s bangs out of his face, grab his hand when the other blew on them because they were too cold, to kiss him, just because. It was getting harder and harder to ignore these feelings, but what could he do, really? If he were to date Yabu, he’d have to transfer Yui out of his class, and his daughter adored the scrawny man, plus all of her friends were in that class. He couldn’t disrupt her life like that, just for his own selfish needs.
He was a dad first, before anything else.
Hearing the doorbell rang, Takaki was stirred from his thoughts when Yui ran to the door and opened it, screaming, “Yabu-kun!” and launching herself at him, hugging him around the knees.
“Hey Yui.” Yabu patted her head. “I have a surprise for you.”
“What?” Yui asked, looking up at Yabu with a big grin, her two front teeth missing and reminding Takaki of Mirai.
“Well, remember how I told the class I used to be in a band,” Yabu said as he shut the door behind him, leading Yui into the living room. “Well, I told your dad too, and he asked me to perform sometime, so...” Yabu set a guitar case on the ground, and Yui squealed when he pulled out an acoustic guitar, its surface gleaming under the light. “How would you like a performance?”
“Yes!” Yui shouted and plopped herself down in front of Yabu, bouncing in place when he held the guitar in his hands and began playing, gently plucking the strings.
Takaki gasped when Yabu began singing, his heart speeding up. The man’s voice was…perfection, is all he could come up with, losing himself in the song and the way Yabu carried himself as he performed for them. He really was a star, or at least, he had the quality to be one.
The song came to an end, and Yui began clapping enthusiastically. “That was amazing Yabu-kun!”
“Yeah.” Takaki got up and made his way over to the two. “Yui, can you go to your room for a second, I want to ask Yabu-kun something.”
Yui nodded, surprising Takaki when she got up without a fight and left the room. As soon as he heard the bedroom door close, Takaki turned his attention to Yabu, who had set his guitar back down and stood up, looking at Takaki in concern.
“What’s-”
Takaki grabbed Yabu by the shirt and brought their lips together, tangling his other hand in Yabu’s hair, deepening the kiss when Yabu gasped into his mouth. Just as quickly as it started though, it ended, the two staring into each other’s eyes as they panted.
“I’m sorry, I couldn’t take it anymore,” Takaki admitted, moving his hand from Yabu’s hair to his cheek. “You’re just so amazing, in like, every way possible. I want you so much but I know I can’t have you.”
“What makes you think that?” Yabu asked, glancing down at Takaki’s lips, absent-mindedly licking his own.
“Well, you probably don’t like me in that way, and even if you did, us being in a relationship would have a negative effect on Yui, and I can’t do that to her.”
At this, Yabu laughed, pulling Takaki back in for a kiss. It was Takaki’s turn to be surprised this time, sighing into the heated kiss and closing his eyes. He only opened them back up when Yabu broke the kiss and their hold on each other, bending down to fish something out of his guitar case. Grabbing a folded up piece of paper, Yabu grinned and handed it to Takaki.
When he unfolded it, he smiled, seeing the familiar picture. It was a copy of the one Yui had drawn of them, riding the unicorn together. There was an addition to the picture though, a skinny stick-figure with black hair, his arms wrapped around Takaki’s waist.
“So that’s what she gave you,” Takaki said to himself, shaking his head. “That girl, I swear.”
“I think she wants us to be together,” Yabu said. “And, I want us to be together too. We can make this work Yuuyan, I know we can.”
“Listen to Yabu-kun!” The two jumped around and saw Yui peeking out from behind the corner. “I told you he had a crush on you daddy, and that you had one back.” She then ran over to Takaki and threw her arms around his legs. “Please daddy, I want you to be happy like how Uncle Haruma and Uncle Takeru are. Pretty please?” She looked up at him with her lip pushed out, her brows pulled together as he batted her eyes.
Sometimes, Takaki could say no to that puppy dog pout, but this time was not one of those times, and so he picked up his daughter and hugged her, his heart going all doki doki when Yabu joined in.
“This is going to be awesome!” Yui squealed, and Takaki couldn’t agree more.