Written for Avaricious, who wanted ego fluff. And yes, the names have been blatantly lifted from another source.

Theory of Relativity

Hiroki looked at his watch again. 9:23 pm. He wondered if the battery in his watch was dying, because the last time he had looked at it, it had said 9:21pm, and there was no way it had only been two minutes between glances.

"What're ye checking yer watch for, Kamijou? We just got here!" Ebihara said loudly, already quite drunk. Hiroki shrugged, hoping the others would just ignore Ebihara.

Maybe they would have, if any of them had drunk half as much as Ebihara had. But Hanamura giggled and Amagi rolled his eyes. "That girl of yours again?"

"What do you mean, 'again'?" Hiroki growled. He couldn't figure out how they knew he was dating anybody in the first place; he had certainly never talked about Nowaki to them. ... Maybe.

Amagi took another swig of his beer before saying, "She's got you so whipped. You never come drinking with us anymore."

Hiroki snorted at that. "Never" apparently didn't include the once-a-month get-togethers they had. And it wasn't Nowaki's fault. Hiroki just happened to be busy, between his part-time job and the thesis he was writing and the few hours he got to spend with-- "...I'm here now, aren't I?"

"Yeah, just until you know you have to be back to welcome her with open arms. Oh, mistress, how may I serve you!" Amagi accentuated his statement with a flick of his wrist and some stupid sound-effect that was supposed to mimic the crack of a whip. Hiroki felt his ears start burning, and he had to cull the urge to strangle Amagi. Surely nobody would notice one missing jackass.

"Still, I'm impressed you two have been together this long," Hanamura interrupted tactfully. She was sitting demurely, filling up glasses whenever they went empty. Probably her good upbringing. Hell, she even managed to sit in seiza for the many hours they would be in this bar, drinking and catching up.

Hiroki frowned at her statement. "This long? What do you mean?"

"Well, you started dating at the end of your bachelors, right? So it's been three years now. I think that's a record for you, Kamijou-kun."

Three years. Shit. Had it really been that long? Not that it was a problem, but three years was a long time to be with one person. Longer than he'd ever expected to be with anybody whose name wasn't Usami Akihiko.

"That's right, before her you were sleeping around left and right," Ebihara added brightly, eagerly drinking the beer Hanamura had served him.

"Wh-what? No I wa--"

"Yeah yeah. We saw your little black book. You sure got around," Amagi nudged Hiroki in the side, winking. Hiroki shoved him back with maybe a little too much force: Amagi yelped and curled over his stomach. Hiroki honestly didn't care.

"I did not 'get around'," Hiroki protested. Well, maybe a little. ... Fine, a lot. But he didn't tell anybody! It was discreet, and quiet, and... shit, had they really seen his address book? He hoped none of them had realized the names all belonged to men. He quickly glanced at his watch again: 9:27pm. His watch was definitely slow.

Hanamura refilled Hiroki's glass, which wasn't even half-empty yet. "Are we ever going to meet this girl? We are your friends, after all."

"Yeah, my friends who harass me and won't leave me alone," Hiroki grumbled.

".... Yes, like I said, we're your friends."

".... Anyway, no. You'll just scare her off. Or try to steal her." His eyes slid over to Hanamura, imagining how quickly she'd take to Nowaki.

Hanamura smirked. "Nobody's going to steal your girlfriend, Kamijou-kun."

"Pff, speak for yourself. If she can keep the insatiable Kamijou Hiroki satisfied she must be great. I'd tap it."

Deciding Amagi must really not care for his life, Hiroki elbowed him in the gut again. "Screw you guys. I'm leaving."

Hanamura looked disappointed and Ebihara tried to grab Hiroki, but Hiroki managed to escape both the guilt and the clingy hands. He didn't even throw any money onto the table to pay for his drinks, because if they wanted to humiliate him they might as well pay for the experience.

The clock at the subway station read 9:34. Were all the clocks in Japan malfunctioning?

He didn't realize until the third stop that the train was going in the wrong direction. But now it was already -- Hiroki checked his watch again -- 9:53pm, and that meant he wouldn't get home until at least 10:40 even if he did get off and take the next train back.

The fourth and the fifth stop passed.

At 10:24pm, Hiroki slid the key into the lock. Pulled it out again. Put it back in. He almost turned it once too, but changed his mind at the last second and decided to stand in front of the door like an idiot instead.

He gave his watch another glance -- 10:33pm, suddenly his watch was going fast -- and decided he had better places to be. So he pulled the key out again and shoved it into his pocket, mad at himself for having even come. Wishing he'd drunk a bit more at the bar.

Before he could even think of turning around and leaving, the door opened.

"Hiro-san?"

Fuck. He felt himself flush, opting to stare at the ground instead of Nowaki's face. Why was Nowaki even awake? Or home, for that matter. He'd said he'd be working late. Working late meant not having time for Hiroki, which meant Hiroki had time to go out and have drinks with uni buddies who talked too much.

"Hi," he said stupidly. Hi? At this time of night?

Nowaki didn't say anything, and Hiroki thought his tongue might have twisted itself into a knot. What was he supposed to say? Hi, I'm desperate and pathetic, let me in because I missed you. Or maybe, Hi, we've been together for three fucking years, I can't believe you still tolerate me.

If Hiroki checked his watch again, he was almost certain it would be stopped completely. Why the hell was Nowaki just staring at him?

"Hiro-san?"

"What?" Hiroki crossed his arms and tried to look impatient, or at least not like he was ready to melt into the floor.

"I'm glad you came. I missed you."

"Idiot. You saw me yesterday."

"I know. But I always miss you when you aren't here." Nowaki was smiling as he said it, and Hiroki thought it wasn't fair that Nowaki had not a single shred of pride in him and could say that cheesy crap with a straight face.

Still, it was as good of an excuse as any to lightly punch Nowaki on the shoulder and walk past him into the small apartment. Nowaki had apparently been watching a movie or something. A towel was thrown over the futon, and Hiroki noticed for the first time that Nowaki's hair was damp -- he must have just showered.

The moment the door closed behind them, Nowaki pulled Hiroki into an embrace; Hiroki decided not to protest, since he HAD interrupted what was probably one of Nowaki's few quiet evenings to himself. "Hiro-san must be a mind-reader."

"Wh-why do you say that?" Hiroki mumbled, carefully trying to maneuver toward the futon without tripping them. He had three years of practice at it.

"Because I was just thinking how much I wanted to see you, and there you were!" Nowaki declared, nuzzling Hiroki's neck and making it harder to stay balanced.

"Idiot. You're always thinking that." The futon was just a step away, and Hiroki shrugged out of Nowaki's arms so he could get changed for the night. Fuck, he hadn't even asked if he could stay. But after three years, he was kind of sure of what Nowaki's answer would be anyway.

"Haha, that's true. I think of Hiro-san at work, and at school, and at home, and in the bath, and--"

Just to shut him up -- and for no other reason than that! -- Hiroki pulled Nowaki into a kiss.

And that was all. Nowaki smiled at him again, letting Hiroki get changed in peace. They climbed into the futon together, and while Nowaki watched his movie Hiroki fell asleep against his warmth, noticing just before he closed his eyes that his watch had righted itself to normal speeds again.

-

C&C appreciated