A/N: This piece has been sitting in my laptop for at least two years maybe and I thought you know what, let's wrap it up. Funnily enough, this was inspired by an account someone once told me and I thought it was stupidly cute.
"Honda."
His heart quickened in his chest and he stopped to turn around, a small shy smile rising on his lips when he catches sight of a head of messy blonde spikes emerging from the parting elevator doors. Lowering his hunched shoulders, Kiku gave the man a polite nod of acknowledgement. "Bakker-san."
The evident frown on Abel's face had lessened but Kiku's eyes were quick enough to catch the slight twitch of those furrowed brows. "It's Abel, Honda. A-bel," the man could not help but correct him as he made his way over to him in a succession of quick precise steps.
Kiku simply chuckled. "Yes, yes. And it's Kiku, Bakker-san. Ki-ku."
Abel, upon being in one of those rare times where he lays out his real emotions to those who are close to him, looked a little uncomfortable – embarrassed perhaps? Or was that just the light making him look a little flushed than usual? – and the Dutchman cleared his throat before he stated rather primly that such an address was a little too casual, especially taking in the fact that they were business colleagues who worked in the same overseas branch. When Kiku was trying his best to still his facial muscles, Abel's lips twitched and the creases on his forehead seemed to increase a little, a thing he always did when he was in suspicion.
"Are you laughing?"
"No, nothing of the sort," Kiku said quickly and he turned on his heel to unlock the door of their shared apartment. Stepping in, he toes his shoes off and made his way to the kitchen. "What shall we have for dinner Bakker-san? How about some chi-"
"Honda."
Blinking at the sudden graveness to the tone of Abel's voice, he turned around with a surprised look on his face. "Bakke..?" He stopped when he realised how Abel was staring directly at him from across the room. His lips were pursed into a downward curve. For a moment there, Abel actually looked a little uncertain.
Oh, what brought about this sudden change in demeanour?
Kiku was torn between stepping forward into Abel's personal space to tend to him or to simply lean against the counter and watch him. Whichever decision he made, there was no changing the fact that there was something Abel wanted to say to him.
Although…
Kiku's calculative eyes took in the way the man was staring ever so resolutely at him but there was a hint of uncanny hesitance in those blue eyes. Whatever could be on his mind? Kiku made a noise which indicated that Abel had succeeded in winning his attention and the man seemed to look a little surprised at this. Kiku quirked his brow, signalling him to continue.
Seeing how there was no way he could weasel out of the situation he had brought upon himself, Abel took a deep breath before he reached behind him, rummaging through his briefcase, before he finally produced a toothbrush. It was brand new and still neatly sealed in its brightly coloured box.
Kiku stared at it for a moment, nonplussed.
Abel shuffled his feet. He glanced at Kiku awkwardly, his blue eyes scrutinising his expression for any changes and when there wasn't, his frown deepened. The toothbrush wavered a little in his grasp as Kiku continued to gaze at it.
"It is…a toothbrush," Kiku finally said.
"It is."
"A rather expensive one," he pointed out.
Abel grunted in agreement.
There was a moment of silence before Kiku squared his shoulders and levelled his gaze with Abel's. "Please return it, Bakker-san."
Abel shook his head. "I don't want to," he declared.
Kiku wavered. "Is…is that so…"
"Yes."
"Alright. Then…why did you buy it?"
"For nice teeth," mumbled Abel as he shifted his weight to one leg.
Ah. Fair enough. He couldn't really argue with that. Kiku snorted softly at this, amused with Abel's all of a sudden moment of strangeness, and he opened the refrigerator. "That's good," he hummed, bending over to look into the fridge. He scanned the contents, trying to write up an improvised recipe in his head. "I'm glad to see how–"
"Your teeth, that is."
Kiku bumped his head against one of the shelves.
"Huh?"
"Your teeth," Abel repeated, a little firmly this time.
Taking a few steps out of the fridge, Kiku turned and stared at Abel in bewilderment. "Um," he began slowly after a long pause transpired between them, clearly indicating Abel's disinterest in explaining himself. "Just now...um. Well. Sorry, I think I must have misheard you. I mean, surely there must be some sort of –"
Abel's eyebrows pinched together into a line. "There is no mistake. Here." He brandished the toothbrush towards Kiku stiffly, nudging it through the air as if it was a weapon. "It's yours." Seeing how Kiku wasn't responding much, Abel grabbed his hand and he placed the box on his palm, forcefully closing Kiku's fingers around it.
After giving a slow nod on part of the belated response which had been sent to his sluggish brain, Kiku drew the toothbrush close and pressed it to his chest. "Eh. Ah." His fingers tightened around the box. It felt much like an alien object at that moment then. He looked up into Abel's face, trying to decipher the assertive look in his eyes. "I don't-"
"It's been one hundred days."
Kiku was still at a loss. "Ha?"
Abel clicked his tongue at this and he looks away, his hand reaching up to scratch the hair above the nape of his neck in agitation. "That Korean dick-" He stopped to clear his throat, noticing the way Kiku's brows rose in question. "That cousin of yours. Your cousin. He told me about it so this is your present. I hope it's useful for you."
At the mention of Yong Soo, Kiku dropped his gaze to the toothbrush. Why, of all people for Abel to talk to…this was definitely a surprise.
"…so I have bad teeth all this time?" Kiku mumbled out from the corner of his mouth, a little ashamed for not having noticed earlier. He pursed his lips, in the wild hope that hiding his teeth would banish this new fact which has been brought to light.
Abel blinked. "What?"
"Um, I'm sorry," Kiku gave him a quick bow. "I mean, if it bothers you too much, I'll make an appointment to the dentist tomorrow morning."
"What? No."
"No?"
"No."
"Um."
"No, no, that's not it. Tch, damn it Honda!" Abel burst out, looking rather scandalised and frustrated at the same time. "We've been together for one hundred days now and I thought about what your cousin said. So I bought this toothbrush because I think it's an item well spent on since it would be extremely useful to you." At Kiku's delirious look, he continued on. "Brushing your teeth is simple and important. A necessary daily activity. So from now on, when you brush your teeth you will think about me and only me, got it?" By the time he finished explaining himself, Abel's chest was heaving and his blue eyes were wild. Kiku thought it looked very much like the time when he had lost his patience when he tried to 'advise' Antonio on how to focus on his work rather than flirt with Lovino from IT. Putting that aside however…
Kiku felt his cheeks warm at this sudden confession and he clutched the box tightly as if to reassure himself that this was not some sort of dream, that it was not a practical joke of sorts and that his legs were definitely becoming cold from the air emitting from the fridge behind him. He took a step back and bumped into the fridge, the back of his calves connecting against the bottom shelf. He could hear a few cans of beer roll out and land on the floor with a few dull thuds – just like how his heart had plummeted to the pit of his stomach and churned alongside the mess that was his emotions.
"Oi, careful. You're knocking all the beer over. That's imported shit you know," Abel said, frowning.
"I…" Kiku dropped his gaze to the box once more. He was floundered. "Um, that is, well, maybe…" He licked his lips and tried to gather himself. "I should make that appointment?"
"For god's sake, Honda."
In a moment of frustration, Abel took a step forward, grabbed his face and kissed him.
Oh.
Kiku tightened his grip around the box, his heart quick-stepping and his stomach flip-flopping.
Oh.
Abel ended the kiss with a slow, tantalising lick across the seams of his lips before he pulled back and just stared at himwith those ridiculously blue eyes. Waiting.
Oh.
Kiku reached up, his hand shaky, and he touched the firm lines of Abel's mouth.
Oh.
Oh this was very real. This was very, very real. Oh dear.
In less than a second, Kiku felt that strange, familiar warmth erupt through his chest and his throat tightened as words failed him then. Not trusting himself to speak, he simply tightened his fingers around the small carton in his grasp and watched the way Abel's lips quivered slightly under his fingers.
Abel, on the other hand, seemed to realise his action (or rather the repercussions of it) and he drew his head back, disconnecting the touch of Kiku's warm fingertips from his lips, in order to turn his attention to a particularly interesting spot on the floor instead. Slowly, his hand came up to cart through the soft spikes of his blond hair – something he always did in a moment of rattled self-confidence. He exhaled heavily but said nothing after that.
Kiku swallowed back the lump in his throat before he wetted his own lips, his brain wracking for something – anything, really – to say back to Abel. In his silent fit of mental distress however, the only thing which had managed to bloom into his mind was –
"It's Kiku, Abel-san. Ki-ku."
"…"
Abel raised his gaze from the floor and he stared at him in bewilderment as if he had grown a second head. Kiku simply pursed his lips together, as a feeble way to save his dwindling sense of male pride.
They stared at each other, eyes searching and both very well aware that something has shifted in the air.
Kiku licked his lips, hesitating. He tried to speak but the weight of his words – I think I've fallen really in love with you – laid heavy on his tongue.
"Kiku," Abel suddenly said after a moment of maddening silence.
Kiku stared at him, astonished because surely he has not called me by my given name?
"I…I'm sorry?" he croaked.
There was a slight frown on Abel's face and under the fluorescent light of their apartment, the scar above his brow seemed to appear more prominent than before. "Kiku," Abel repeated and the way he said his name – with purpose yet tinged with a certain unmistakable softness – did not fail to send a jolt of something down Kiku's spine.
"Abel-san," Kiku then responded, slowly, experimentally.
"Kiku."
"Abel."
Abel looked at him in expectancy and Kiku loosened his grip around the toothbrush. Boldly taking a step forward, Kiku placed himself directly in front of Abel before he reached up and touched the side of his face. They stood there, absorbing the comfortable silence around them whilst taking time to just look at each other and allow the sound of their names – so surreal, so welcomed – to resonate in their hearts.
Kiku wasn't sure how long they stood there but Abel was the first to break the spell which had been cast upon them. He looked stunned for a moment, almost as if he had just come to and realised the ridiculously short distance between their faces. In no less than a few seconds, a faint blush of embarrassment crept up his face and Abel cleared his throat.
Kiku couldn't fight the small smile on his face.
Abel pursed his lips into a firm line. "Just use it, Kiku," he finally mumbled and Kiku could hear the way he had purposely stretched his name in order to savour it. "It's expensive shit so you'd better not keep it in the box."
Kiku chuckled. "Of course."
Abel grunted but the relax in his brows told Kiku that he was happy. "So. What's for dinner?"
"Ah," Kiku glanced behind him and saw that he had forgotten to buy this week's grocery on his way home. "Um. Is instant is okay, Abel-san?"
"You forgot?" smirked Abel and Kiku bowed his head, cheeks flushed with colour. Chuckling, Abel swooped down and pressed a chaste kiss to Kiku's brow as he hummed, "Yeah, sure why not."