[Fic] Zinnia
Characters: Naoto, Tetsuya, Naoki, Makidai, Kenchi
Pairing: Tetsuya/Naoto, implied Kenchi/Tetsuya
Rating: G
A/N: Written based off this sorry excuse for a prompt. (I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel here, don't mind me. Edit: it appears that the list isn't working. It's something that classifies the astrological signs during a breakup. Virgos apparently act like everything is normal, while Aquariuses are the ones that dumped them.) Zinnias are a type of daisy. According to this, magenta ones signify "lasting affection", while yellow means "daily remembrance".
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How had he been taken in by that man? The sweet words, gentle smiles, romantic gestures?
“It was fun while it lasted, but I suppose we should call it a day.”
Alone in his room, Naoto buried his face into his pillow.
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The moment he stepped into the studio that day, conversations ceased as all eyes turned towards him.
News travels fast doesn’t it?
“Good morning.” Just act normal. Yes, that’s it.
Surprisingly, it was Makidai who approached him just as he was setting his bag down.
“Naoto…” The unspoken “are you feeling alright?” was left hanging between them.
Smile. That’s it. Just smile.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m ok.”
Was he trying to convince the others, or was he trying to convince himself?
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That evening had started out so normally, meeting up after they were done with work for a nice meal and drinks.
He had been all smiles, telling his lover all about his day, how he had made everyone in the studio laugh with another of his many impressions. Tetsuya had smiled along, sipping his beer.
Naoto eventually voiced out something that had been bothering him the whole night.
“Is there something wrong? You seem awfully quiet today.”
Tetsuya had exhaled loudly and set down his mug.
“Naoto.”
Why did his name sound so strange on Tetsuya’s tongue?
Naoto cocked his head questioningly at the other.
“There’s something I have to clear up with you.”
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Naoki had come over to his place unannounced.
Sweaty and dishevelled, he greeted him at the door. Ignoring his protests, the taller man had pushed past him only to see a messy apartment, a half-filled trash bag sitting in the middle of the living room floor.
“You know, you should call before you pay anyone a visit,” he declared huffily at Naoki’s back, wiping his brow in an attempt to seem more presentable.
Wordlessly, Naoki picked up the first item he saw in the trash bag.
It was a framed photo of Tetsuya and Naoto at DisneySea, making faces at the camera.
He barely stopped to think, striding over to snatch the frame from his guest’s hands, before throwing it back into the bag.
“You caught me at an inconvenient time. I was just doing some housekeeping. You know, clearing out the trash.”
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“Thing is, about us. It was fun while it lasted, but I suppose we should call it a day.”
It was as if the bottom of Naoto’s stomach had disappeared.
“You’re… joking. Right?”
“No.”
“May… may I ask why?”
Silence stretched out between the two men.
“Was all this just a game to you? These two years?” Naoto’s voice came out as a croak.
Seeing the first tears fall, Tetsuya had given him a small, sad smile.
“I’m afraid so.”
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Pointedly ignoring Naoki’s gaze, he bunched up the neck of the trash bag, throwing the whole thing unceremoniously beside a half-empty bookshelf.
“Take a seat; I’ll get you something to drink. Would tea be alright?” Without waiting for an answer, Naoto headed for the kitchen.
Footsteps followed behind him.
“Naoto-san, you’re not ‘ok’.”
“Hmm?” Naoto busied himself by rummaging through the cupboard for the tea bags. He could not risk looking at that earnest face. He wasn’t sure how he’d react to concern, be it affected or not.
People fake emotions all the time in this society anyway, didn’t they?
He was the same as the rest, wasn’t he? That Tetsuya…
Ah. He did it again.
Stop it. Stop thinking of him.
“Naoto-san?” Naoki’s voice was tinged with alarm as the tears ran down Naoto’s face.
Stop it stop it STOP IT.
He felt a large hand on his shoulder firmly turning him away from the cupboard, before he was enveloped into a tight hug.
He buried his face into Naoki’s shirt, shoulders shaking with semi-controlled sobs.
“I’m really not prepared to receive guests at the moment, damn it all.”
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Kenchi found Tetsuya in the changing room staring at his phone.
“I really shouldn’t be saying this, but I told you so.”
A wan smile crossed Tetsuya’s face as he set his phone down beside him, the screen still displaying a photo of Naoto and himself.
He had insisted that they take that picture for fun, if not to remember their first date by.
“I know.”
The taller man settled down on a chair opposite the other.
“Just humour me, alright? Why did you end it?”
Tetsuya raised his eyes to meet Kenchi’s.
“He was nothing like you.”