Ensemble Stars! © Happy Elements K.K
Cover art is not mine, I just happened to mix some pictures by myself~ ww
One-shot.
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Hidaka Hokuto — Akehoshi Subaru
One Summer Day
One summer day, it was approximately 35°C. The wind was blowing low, crickets sounded like everywhere. Television was showing a drama play. A typical summer day.
Then silence fell.
"Na, Hokke…" a grunted voice came from somewhere beside the sliding door facing a yard. "Aren't we going anywhere…?"
The other being within the same room tilted his head. A bowl of lemon kaki gori* stood upright just before his lips. He shoved a spoon of it into his own mouth. "Shall we?"
The grunting lad rolled over his own body, approaching the other one he called 'Hokke'. "Yes, Hokke! It's overheated here and why don't we go somewhere, having some fun?"
Hokke—his real name, Hidaka Hokuto—shook head. "No, Akehoshi. Obaa-chan will be back this evening and I don't feel like going anywhere."
The two of them only wore a pair of plain shirt and basketball shorts. No doubt, the weather made them did so. Their fan spun weakly. They started having some kind of sweats-fall all across their temple.
"Hokke, it's reaaally hot here," Akehoshi Subaru faked a cry, clutching Hokuto's arm. Hokuto didn't move nor speak. He continued watching the drama play while enjoying his lemon kaki gori. And now, he added a bowl of konpeitō* for his summer day snack.
Subaru then took out his own cell phone due to his boredom. He scrolled for nearly two minutes, and screamed, "Hokke, Hokke! Look! There, Ukki and his seaweed senpai!"
Hokuto jerked his head towards Subaru's phone display and saw a picture of his classmate, Yuuki Makoto, and one of their senpai at school, whom he known as Sena Izumi. "What's with them, Akehoshi?"
"There!" Subaru pointed at the picture's background. It seemed like the two of them were in a pool, or some kind of water park. "They're in a water park! How cute," Subaru giggled. "In this kind overheated day, water park is all we need, isn't it?" he grinned at Hokuto, slightly hoping.
"Well…" Hokuto nodded but continue watching his television.
Subaru groaned and rolled over again. This time, he nudged Hokuto's back on purpose, looking for attention. He did so for a long time, more than twenty minutes. Hokuto seemed like he didn't notice but continue on his delightful summer noon.
"I thought you're going to ask me for a date…" Subaru started to speak again, pursing his lips.
For the first time this day, Hokuto giggled. "No, Akehoshi, I asked whether you want to come here when obaa-chan's away, I don't really like to be home alone anyway. And you agreed, I didn't say anything about a date," he patted the bright orange head. "Now, I'm really lazy to go out…" and he stretched his arms while chewing his kaki gori.
"Uwoooh, Sari's on a date too!" Subaru pursed his lips more, looking at a picture in his phone's display, showing a picture of Isara Mao and Sakuma Ritsu, their fellow 2-grade. A pair of happy face looked at them with delight beyond their sunglasses. "They went to… a beach."
Hokuto tilted his head again. Right, their fellow Trickstar's members are on a date with their own companion. The two of them are really left behind.
"Hee! Ukki and seaweed senpai went to a water park, Sari and that Sakuma-senpai's little brother went to a beach!" Subaru pulled Hokuto's arms in persuasion. "Na, Hokke, why don't we—!"
Subaru suddenly felt a heart-stopping moment. He could feel the coldness of iced lemon on his lips, along with one sweep of a familiar tongue. His own tongue froze, sourness and cold filled his mouth—their lips actually met. The familiar other tongue was pulled away, and he saw Hokuto's narrow grin.
"Feeling cold now, Akehoshi? Staying for a day in my house and not having a day out there is pretty boring, isn't it?" Hokuto glanced.
Subaru whimpered, feeling his own lips. "Actually, I'm getting warmer rather than cooler now…" and his cheeks flushed red.
"Want some cold, then?" Hokuto stood up and left his living room turned left to the hallway of his house.
Subaru sat down and grumbled. What's with Hokke, anyway? He's so lazy to go and hang out with him, even in this overheated summer day. He always envied Ukki and Sari to share (or show off) pictures with their 'companion' somewhere. Seemed really fun to go and explore a new place with someone special. Yet, his someone special always stayed at home and refused his attempt to ask him out.
Hokuto is somewhat an old-fashioned lad, Subaru knew it. He rolled over his back again.
The dark-haired lad showed up ten minutes later, quickly running to his sun-bathed yard. Subaru peered his eyes on him, but he ignored Subaru's full-of-curiousity stare. Hokuto threw something that looked like an enormous colorful float like Subaru once seen in a beach, used by children who couldn't swim. Subaru leaned on his wrist, looking out, somehow fascinated.
His Hokuto was still struggling with that enormous float. Sweats down his temple and neck, but he didn't do anything about them. He kept doing his job with the float, therefore he grabbed a gas pump from his garage, then started to fill the float's perimeter with air he just pushed in.
Subaru only watched. He wasn't really furious that time, he always liked watching his hard-working team leader, his perfectionist boyfriend. Subaru didn't blink, though he had no idea what on earth Hokuto is doing, working on that children float.
And minutes later, he understood.
"Obaa-chan bought this when I was 4," Hokuto ran and approached the orange-haired one, "She couldn't really look after me if we go to a beach, or a pool. So there it is."
A colorful, childish colored round shaped pool-float. Its size was enough to bear 4 adults inside it. Subaru gaped at the sight of the slightly pretty float. His wild mind imagined a cute little naked Hokuto playing inside it with some water gun. Without he realized it, his cheeks flushed red again—this time even worse.
"I'll get the hose and ice blocks then…" Hokuto moved inside his house again, and back with two buckets of ice blocks, a plastic bag, and a long hose from his garden. He took another minute to set up their childish 'pool' before he took off his shirt and jumped into the fresh, relaxing cool water. "Come in, then."
"Uwaah, Hokke!" Subaru finally back into his sense, quickly took off his shirt and ran—then splashed water everywhere. The base of their pool was really cozy and airy, only that they couldn't really enjoy it because of the ice blocks all over the base. Hokuto covered his own face with his palm before he hit the orange head with a rubber duck.
"Idiot," he grunted.
"Teehee," Subaru emitted a wide grin, then took the rubber duck. "I have no idea how could Hokke play with this stuff…"
"I used to play with them, okay?" Hokuto looked away. He then took the plastic bag and spilled the contains inside their pool. Loads of colorful plastic balls glided down, along with some mini water gun. "Have some fun, shall we?"
"That's what I want to hear, Hokke," Subaru took one of the gun before they started spurting water towards each other's face.
The world was getting hotter, yet they couldn't feel it any longer. Even after the ice melted, the water remained fresh and cool. Tired with the gun battle, Subaru grabbed his phone where he dropped it earlier on the grass, going to take some pictures without Hokuto's knowing. He sent it to the rest of his Trickstar team—Makoto and Mao. They promised they wouldn't laugh, yet they embarrassed Hokuto the following morning when they met for a vocal practice.
Hokuto could only smack his idiot Akehoshi's head.
But Subaru didn't mind. He knew now, Hokuto could be funny in his own way. Not so many people had a date on child float, had they?
owari!
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kaki gori*: a Japanese shaved ice dessert flavored with syrup and a sweetener, often condensed milk. Popular flavor include strawberry, cherry, lemon, green tea, etc.
konpeitō*: a Japanese sugar candy. They are often colored but unflavored.
( Wikipedia . org )
Because Hokke simply loves sweet~ wwww. Kindly leave your footprints in review box, reader-san?