Hajime had always imagined that when it was two men in a relationship, waiting for your significant other wouldn't be a whole thing. But boy, had all the years together with Tooru shot that theory to shreds. Contrary to popular belief, he did not just stumble out of the bed looking like he did but he had a whole process.
Not that Hajime was complaining about having a good-looking husband, but if Tooru knew how much time he needed, why couldn't he start getting ready earlier?
Over the years of waiting in the same corner of their couch, Hajime had come up with a time measurement system. The "clock" started ticking when Tooru turned the shower on and Hajime opened a can of beer. The drink constituted the hour hand because it usually kept Hajime company as long as the whole process of Tooru getting ready took. It also served as an aperitif.
The shower itself lasted approximately the same as it took Hajime to browse through the local paper of the day. On their rare dates, they made an effort to talk about something else than Mio, work, chores, work, or Mio. The paper provided him some current topics for the dinner table. Today, it seemed the renovation of the station near them was going to take longer than estimated, and the local team had lost a home match last night and was now out of the semi-finals. Well, maybe it would be better to stick with the comics tonight.
After shower came the moisturizing and pre-dryer hair products. At this point, Hajime took off the jacket because he's starting to get overheated. He folded it neatly on the armrest. One might ask why he always put it on so early, but Hajime supposed it was out of some kind of hope. One of these nights they would be out the door before there were sweat stains in his armpits. After some consideration, he also loosened the tie. There was no need to be uncomfortable prematurely.
When the hairdryer hummed alive, he took another sip of the beer and dug out his phone. Makki had accepted his help request on Candy Crush. Hajime made a mental note of bracing himself for the ridicule at work tomorrow. After a few levels of the game, before he got stuck again, he watched the volleyball video Mattsun had tagged him in. It was one of their old high school games from ages ago. God only knew which deep pits of home videos he had dug it from.
"Does he have an archive or something..."
The dryer died down which cued Hajime to vocally remind Tooru about the time. He had noticed it was the perfect moment for that. Next Tooru would brush his teeth and his mouth would be occupied so he wasn't able to nag back at him.
"We're gonna lose our table if you…don't…hurry…" The last words were a mere whisper when Hajime suddenly lost the track of his thought.
He had happened to glance up from his phone, and the bathroom door was ajar. Not much but enough for Hajime to catch a glimpse of the naked backside of Tooru. The long neck, bumps of the shoulder plates, the line of the spine that eventually disappears between the plump buttocks, the little dimples above them. The pale skin was dotted with droplets of water that twinkled in the bright fluorescent light. Age, stress, and the everyday roller coaster of the family life had updated both of their bodies - little love handles, thinner hair, and bags under their eyes - but Tooru without clothes still had the same effect on him that it did when they were 16.
Tooru bent down to spit toothpaste to the sink, and Hajime's mouth went dry at the sight that opened up in front of him. Suddenly, the table reservation lost its importance.
"Are you checking me out, mister?"
Hajime flinched at the sudden interruption of his peeping show and quickly he averted his eyes. Tooru was looking at him via the bathroom mirror, grinning knowingly. The lewd smirk was somewhat diluted, however, by a trickle of toothpaste foam dripping down out of the corner of his mouth.
"Do ya like what you see?"
Hajime cleared his throat and made a point of adjusting his collar. His face was burning up. "Just hurry up, will ya?"
Stark naked and still dripping wet from the shower, Tooru pranced over to Hajime on the couch. That stupid toothpasty smirk plastered on his face the whole way. Hajime tried really hard to avoid paying attention to the slight sway of the hips and what hung and dangled directly at this eye level. Really hard.
"Suddenly I'm not that hungry anymore," Tooru purred and nimbly climbed on Hajime's lap. His weight settled there heavy and warm. "Well, not for food, at least."
"You're gonna get the suit all wet."
Tooru cocked his head and pursed his lips as if pondering this particular conundrum. "We could always just take it off?" Fingers reached to undo the buttons of Hajime's shirt. "We'll leave the tie, though." He twisted the tie once around his hand and tugged Hajime closer while leaning in for a kiss. The minty fresh toothpaste mixed with the aftertaste of Hajime's beer.
Soon the kiss deepened, and the very naked groin started to grind against his clothed crotch. Hajime's hands found their way to grab Tooru's hips automatically to coax and guide them to move just so. With an obscure smack, Tooru released Hajime's mouth. His lips and cheeks had a nice pink shade, eyes were gleaming.
"Takeout?"
A nibble here, a squeeze there. Stirrings all around.
"Takeout."
Tooru bounced off Hajime's lap to lead them to the bedroom when Hajime's phone came to life on the coffee table. They both jumped at the deep vibration. 'Makki' blinked in the screen, and Hajime suppressed a groan.
"Oh, this better be important," he muttered and accepted the call. "What?"
Quickly his annoyed frown deepened into a worried one, and he glanced at Tooru who was silently watching him from the bedroom door.
"Is she okay?" Tooru mouthed 'what is it?' but Hajime waved him dismissingly. "Ah, I see. Ye-yeah, I hear her from the background. Hold on a second." He heaved himself up from the couch and handed the phone Tooru who balanced it between his shoulder and ear. Awkwardly he wiggled on his bathrobe at the same time. Hajime went to the kitchen to pick himself a new, ice cold drink.
"Hello? Oh, hi sweetie. Are you having fun at uncle Makki's? What have you been doing?" Patiently he listened to her no doubt thorough report on their night and signed Hajime to get him a beer, too. "Oh, he did? Be sure to thank him for that, okay? Good. Shouldn't you be in bed by now?"
The beer can opened with a hiss, and Hajime slurped the excess foam before it could make a mess. Stuck on the fridge door with magnets was a collection of Mio's drawings and paintings from the kindergarten. It was springtime so they all featured cherry blossoms. A wall of pink. Buried under the abundance of art was the flyer menu of their favorite pizzeria. It was one of those hole-in-the-wall types of places. The owner seemed to always be grumpy, and the location was near impossible to find. They had discovered it by accident six months after they had moved to the city when they had taken a wrong train. But the food was to die for, delivery was fast, and they always snuck a little trinket for Mio in the delivery bag.
While Hajime started to put together a list of foods he listened to Tooru on the phone.
"You have to show it to me when you come home tomorrow. Can you count how many nights that is? Yes, one, good girl. I'll come and get you in the morning, but first, you have to go to bed. I know you're not, but why don't you give it a try." Tooru came to the kitchen and pointed on the menu what he wanted. He mouthed 'extra anchovies' off the phone, and Hajime made a face.
"Have you brushed your teeth, already? Good. Do you have Haru-chan with you? Okay. Now, pick a book and ask uncle Makki to read it to you. No, just one." Tooru rolled his eyes through the litany of complaints and reasons why just one bedtime story was in no way sufficient. "Fine, two if they're both short but no more. Okay, good. Good night, sweetie. I'll see ya tomorrow. Do you want to wish Daddy good night, too? Okay."
Tooru placed the phone against Hajime's ear.
"Good night, daddy."
"Good night, pup, sweet dreams."
A bright giggle broke out on the other end. "Daddy, I'm not a puppy!"
"You're not?"
"No!"
"Well, that explains…Good thing you told me." Hajime handed Tooru his beer. "But go to bed now, and we'll see you tomorrow. Good night, don't let the bed bugs bite."
"What's a beg bud?"
"It's 'bed bugs", and don't worry about them, it's just a saying. Wish Haru-chan good night, too. Bye, bye."
"Bye, bye, daddy! Don't let the beg buds come!"
The line disconnected but Mio's bright giggle still rang in his ears.
"Well, that was a bit of a mood killer." Hajime unbuttoned the rest of this shirt and unbuckled his belt. "How about we get some food and call it a night?"
Tooru arched his eyebrow at him. "How about you think again, mister? Our kid-free nights can be counted with one hand, and I did not just make myself pretty so we can go to sleep."
"But we lost our reservation already, and after being a responsible parent just now I'm exhausted."
"I recall you were wide awake not long ago." He grabbed Hajime's tie again and tugged him closer. Now both of their mouths tasted like beer. "How about you go slip into something more naked, and I will arouse you again?"
