The bell chimed above the door, signalling the arrival of a customer. "Come back in an hour!" Ukai called from behind the counter. The cigarette hung loosely from his lips as he paged through the volleyball magazine in his lap. "We're closed for lunch!"
"I know." The cigarette was plucked from his lips. Looking up startled, he found the Karasuno teacher smiling down at him. "How many times do I have to tell you that these things could kill you?"
Grinning like an idiot, Ukai took the cigarette back and reluctantly put it out. "Maybe you should remind me again." A smirk pulled at the corner of his lips.
Takeda leaned forward, and Ukai leaned his face up to meet him halfway. "Maybe you should get a breath mint," Takeda whispered against his lips to pull away, and placed a container on the counter. "How about some lunch?"
Ukai groaned, leaning back in his seat. He guessed he deserved that. He'd promised Takeda that he'd stop smoking, or at least try to. He was able to hold off at home, but at work he got bored and before he realized it, he was smoking. "What'd you make?" He asked as Takeda took a seat beside him.
Shrugging, Takeda opened the wrapped container. "A little bit of everything."
"My favorites?" He asked hopefully, and Takeda smiled softly.
They fell into comfortable silence as they ate, broken only by casual conversation. Takeda had taken it upon himself to join Ukai at lunch everyday. It had first started with them talking about the volleyball team and what they could do to help them get better. Ukai had been surprised that, even with his lack of volleyball knowledge, Takeda's little ideas were actually very beneficial during practice.
Now that they were dating, it'd just become a habit for the two. "Hey," Takeda said, breaking Ukai from his thoughts. "I have a surprise for you."
Ukai looked around, but he didn't see anything out of the ordinary. The only thing Takeda had brought were the bentos. "Where is it?"
"Home," Takeda smiled at him, "you'll see it after practice."
Raising an eyebrow, Ukai watched Takeda curiously, but the teacher didn't give up anything. In fact, he was avoiding Ukai's eyes, focusing on his lunch. "No hints?"
A grin broke out on the teacher's face. "No hints."
Noticing time was running out before Takeda had to leave, Ukai wished the teacher could just stay. It'd definitely be less boring with the other around. "Will I see you at practice?"
Takeda packed up the bentos. "No," he said, busying himself with his little chore, "I have to get your surprise ready."
The smirk on the teacher's face had Ukai's stomach doing flips. He was quite excited for whatever Takeda had planned. "Yeah?" He asked, grinning when Takeda nodded. "Can I at least get a kiss goodbye?"
He may have rolled his eyes, but Ukai noticed the smile never left the teacher's face. He leaned down and placed a chaste kiss to his lips. "I'll see you tonight."
Ukai couldn't wait. The hours crawled by at a snail's pace, but eventually he was able to get home. "I'm back!" He called, slipping off his shoes at the door. "Hello?"
"In here, Keishin!"
He followed the voice to the other room, a smile stretching across his face. "Where's the… surprise…?" His smile faltered as he looked at Takeda sitting on the couch. A furball of a cat sat on his lap. "What's that?"
Takeda held up the kitten. "The surprise!"
"That's… the surprise?" Ukai would be lying if he said he wasn't expecting something… more…
"Isn't he cute?" Takeda rubbed his nose against the dark gray fur. "His name's Storm."
"Storm?" Ukai laughed, shaking his head. Fur color aside, that thing didn't look like a storm of any kind. He watched it attempt to walk and fall over. "Well, I guess he is cute."
"Just be lucky I didn't go for the black one." Takeda laughed when Ukai frowned.
He'd told the teacher at some point that whenever he saw black cats of any sort, he always thought of Nekoma. To have a black cat every single day in his apartment would have been hell. "For that, I thank you." He laughed, sitting down beside Takeda. He took the kitten from him. "You are adorable," he said as the little guy crawled up his arm, perching on his shoulder.
"Looks like I have competition," Takeda laughed.
"Bet you're regretting bringing him home now." Ukai grinned at him, carefully picking up Storm and placing him on the couch. The kitten stumbled his way over to Takeda.
"I don't think so." Takeda gently ran his hand over the soft fur. "He's like our son."
Ukai felt his face warm at the thought. "Yeah…" He smiled gently at the two. "I guess you're right."
