Warnings: Mild Slash (Finn Bálor/Hideo Itami), Mild Profanity, Fluff. (a continuation of the tale started in Xmas Carols: Chapter 22 O Christmas Tree)
The mistletoe incident at Christmas hasn't been brought up; in fact, everything has carried on much as it had been before, a friendship born of a mutual missing of home, and a mild distaste for the majority of American food, a friendship born of working together, of living together, but nothing more than friendship. Hideo spends time with his books, and his studies, and Finn sticks with trying to work out how to bring the kissing up, because he'd liked the kissing, and Hideo had seemed to like the kissing, which means there's no reason there can't be more of it.
They have slow stilted conversations, the many ahs soothing in their familiarity, the pauses for words to be translated back and forth in Hideo's head making it easier for Finn to make sure what he says is reasonable, and direct. The slower pace is beneficial for him almost more than it is for Hideo, it makes him consider his words in a way that talking to other native English speakers doesn't, makes him make sure his words are important enough to bother saying them. He doesn't want to waste Hideo's time and effort with needless words, so he's careful with them, almost as careful as Hideo himself.
Earlier in the week, there'd been a general invitation issued to go watch some movie, and whilst Finn isn't overly interested, he remembers a conversation with Hideo about this particular film, so he'd accepted on the expectation that Hideo would be coming too. He only he might be wrong in that expectation, because when he gets back to their room, Hideo looks settled for the night, surrounded by books, and a half finished sushi platter.
"You coming with us?" Finn asks, and Hideo glances up from the book he's studying today. On his face is an expression of confusion whilst he tries to work out where he's being invited. "We're going to the cinema, remember?" Finn clarifies, and Hideo shakes his head, going back to reading, marking something in the book with the pencil in his hand. Finn stares at him for a few seconds and sits on the couch by him. "Hey?" He nudges Hideo's shoulder.
"Ah?" What do you want? I'm busy. Translating the many and varied ahs most questions and comments get isn't difficult, second nature to Finn really having spent so long in Japan. It's not rude to respond with nothing more than ah, it's efficient, and he has to admit, he enjoys being able to understand those one syllable answers quite so well.
"We're going to see that movie you wanted to watch... You sure you don't want to come? You change your mind about wanting to see it?" He considers taking the book from Hideo, trying to persuade him more ardently, but there's another shake of his head, and Finn frowns to himself, mildly put out. Going to see a film, even with friends, is kind of like a date, and there's been very little in the way of romantic involvement since those couple of kisses back at Christmas. He'd quite like a date, or even just some time spent together somewhere that isn't the Training Centre or this room.
"I will wait for..." There's a pause whilst the right word is summoned, and Finn waits for it, knowing enough to know to be patient whilst Hideo trawls through the ever-growing bank of words he knows, but doesn't use often enough to recall right away. "Subtitles." The word is finally found, and Finn winces, feeling like an idiot. Watching a movie is all well and good, and it would be fun to have Hideo come with him, but it wouldn't be any fun for Hideo. It'd be more like a lesson, or an exercise in masochism. His English is getting better, but good enough to follow and understand everything going on in a movie it is not.
"Ah." Finn says slowly, and Hideo turns to him with a smirk, clearly understanding what Finn's own ah meant. That little ah meant I'm sorry. I forgot. I'd translate for you, but that wouldn't be any fun for either of us.
"Hmm... Ah." He smiles, and Finn sighs. He should have known really, and now Hideo is laughing at him without laughing, wearing a smirk on his face, giving him nothing but that overly amused ah.
"Well, I'll stay put then." He settles more comfortably down. It'd be fun hanging out with the boys, but it'd be better to sit almost cuddling Hideo as he studies. He might even work up the courage to slip his arm around Hideo's shoulders, and mess up his hair. Hideo shakes his head, a tense look on his face as his fingers tighten around the book in his hands.
"Go. Have fun... Tell me if it is worth to watch when you get back." He turns back to his book, and Finn takes it from him gently, setting it on the cushion between them.
"Worth watching. You wanted a gerund not the infinitive form of the verb." Finn grins at the confused look on Hideo's face. "What? I figured I should learn some stuff so I can help you out. I mean, we're together plenty, so you can talk to me more, and if it's just us it doesn't matter if you screw up, right?" He smiles, and Hideo glances away.
"Ah." It still matters to me, and there's already a mistake, the thought is nice, but I'll practice until you don't have to point out my fuck ups. Finn catches his chin and turns Hideo's face back to him. "Thank you for the correction. I will try to remember." He mutters, looking putout at being denied looking away.
"Pff... It's not a correction, it's me showing off." Finn laughs, and Hideo looks unconvinced. "I'll bring you back some pancakes." He stands, and gives up resisting the urge to kiss Hideo, brushing his lips over his forehead. "Chocolate chip, right?"
"Ah..." Finn isn't sure on the translation of that comment, because it was distracted, and content. It might just have been an agreeing noise, because Hideo doesn't look much like he's paying any attention to anything, sitting with a little smile on his face.
The movie turns out to be okay, probably not worth waiting for, and he's kind of glad he'd not dragged Hideo out to watch it. As they were leaving, he'd stood looking at the other movies playing, trying to find one in Japanese. He's decided he wants something of a date, and he's decided he wants it to be a movie. He's unlikely to find a theatre that plays English movies with Japanese subtitles, but there's a chance he'll find a Japanese one with English subtitles. The others had questioned what he was doing, and he'd explained, rather awkwardly, what he was looking for, and then had to explain that Korean and Japanese were very different, and Chinese was even more different still. The staff in the cinema hadn't been overly helpful, but one girl had given him a web address for some little independent cinema that might play the sort of movie he's looking for. She'd clearly been giving him the eye, and he'd flirted with her enough to make her blush, but not enough to give her any ideas. He doesn't need random cinema employees getting ideas, not when he's trying to give them to Hideo.
-_-zzz I'm sleeping - No pancakes! - Roomie-San
The text comes just after they've filed out of IHOP, and Finn had already bought more chocolate chip pancakes than he knows what to do with. He supposes Hideo can have them for breakfast or something. He has to admit, he's kind of proud that Hideo had used the gerund for sleeping, but it's a silly thing to be proud of.
He tiptoes as quietly into their room as he can, and glances around, noticing the neat stack of books on the coffee table, the door to the little room Hideo sleeps in is closed. He supposes that he'd gone to bed a while ago, and Finn is kind of disappointed, feeling a little sorry for Hideo. It has to be boring for him being in a country where he can't speak or read the language well enough to do most normal things. Not having Japanese hadn't bothered Finn all that much, he'd had the rest of the gaijin to keep him company, but here Hideo is the gaijin, and there's not really anyone he's going to be able to converse in his native language with. Finn has a little Japanese, a few words and phrases, enough to get by on his tours, but nowhere near enough to claim fluency, but even the little he had is slipping through lack of use. He thinks, as he sets the pancake box down on the counter, that he should make more of an effort. Around the little room, there are labels on things in English to help Hideo remember what they're called, and Finn thinks that tomorrow he's going to ask Hideo to add the Japanese to them. If Hideo is going to make an effort, Finn is too.
"So, do you want to come see a movie with me?" Finn asks a few days later, Hideo glances up at him, a tightly unimpressed look on his face, and another language book in his hands.
"Ah?" We've had this conversation; English movies do not come with Japanese subtitles. It'd be too much hassle. Finn sits down beside Hideo, and takes the book from his hands.
"I found this cinema that plays Japanese films once a week. I thought we could go." Finn smiles, and a tentative little smile flits over Hideo's lips, and Finn can feel something hopeful budding in his chest.
"Ah." Sounds good. Hideo reaches for the book Finn took from him, and pauses. "When?"
"Uh... Thursday." Finn fishes out his phone and checks the date in his calendar. He'd been hoping Hideo would agree, and had marked it down as something they could do regularly, something that he could evolve into dates if given enough time.
"Thursday... I see." Hideo nods, and Finn smiles at him handing the book back to him.
"So it's a date?" Finn smiles, and Hideo nods, a slight quirk of a smile on his lips.
"Ah." Yes.
Thursday comes, and Finn tries to resist the urge to dress himself up overly nice. He tries, but he does wear something nicer than usual. Hideo looks a little nicer than usual too, but Finn isn't sure if that's because he thinks, like Finn, this is a date. Either way they head out together, Finn trying to keep the conversation light and simple, and Hideo trying to get information from Finn about the movie. In the theatre, Finn settles into the seat beside Hideo, and he looks more than pleased when the title screen shows nothing but Japanese. There's no English translation offered for the studios involved in making this movie, but Finn doesn't care, what he cares about is the smile on Hideo's lips. The rest of the movie has subtitles, but Finn finds himself ignoring them in favour of watching the pictures. He kind of wishes he'd found a movie that wasn't an anime, but it's Japanese, and Hideo seems happy enough with that. Halfway through the movie, there's a soft touch to his hand, Hideo's fingers brushing over his. Finn lets them entwine, and the rest of the film he ignores in favour of staring down at the tangle of fingers on his thigh. He'd wanted it to be like a date, and holding hands in the dark is about as date like as you can get. Once the film's finished, Hideo takes his hand back, and stands.
"Let's go. I will buy you dinner." He smiles, and Finn follows him out of the little theatre, down the street to a dark little hole in the wall. Inside there's lots of dark wood panelling, and old men drinking pints, there's a TV behind the bar, showing horseracing, the bar tender a ruddy faced old man, wiping a pint glass with a rag.
"That's fucking John McCririck... I thought that arsehole was fired." Finn mutters, and the old man behind the bar laughs.
"Aye, he wis." He nods, and Finn approaches the bar. It feels strangely like one of the many pubs back home, a little slice of the drudgery of Ireland transplanted into the bright lights of Florida. "But the arsehole ges good commentary, an' well, it's an old race, ain't no one placing bets fir money. If yer right, ya get a round free. So, I remember you fella." The old man turns to Hideo, and grins. "Take the table o'er by the fire, an' I'll bring yer order o'er te ye."
"What horses are racing?" Hideo's says very deliberately and the old man laughs.
"A bettin' man?" He puts a racing list down, and Hideo makes his choice, handing Finn the pen. "Hmm, if ye win lads, I'll gie ye this on eh hoose." The man laughs, and Hideo nods once, moving over to the table by the fire, Finn following along behind him. A middle-aged woman comes over with two pints, and Finn takes a drink. Good proper ale, none of that watered down cat-piss he's been used to for far too long, and it's glorious, even Hideo seems impressed, taking a good long draught of rich dark ale.
"This is okay?" He asks, and Finn grins at him. Okay isn't the word, it's incredible; it's a little sliver of home away from home. The old man comes over before Finn can answer, and sets down two bowls of stew.
"Beef and Guinness?" Finn asks, and the man laughs nodding, the middle-aged woman sets a plate of thick homemade looking bread down in the middle of the table, and a little plate with a slab of butter on it.
"Tea an' a proper choccy biscuit fir afters too... A penguin, no less. Yer pal was very precise in his requirements." The old man wanders off, and Hideo smiles awkwardly.
"You have mentioned missing them." He says, and Finn taps his ankle with his foot, getting Hideo's attention easily enough.
"Thanks... This... Arigatō" Finn smirks at Hideo who simply rolls his eyes, and smiles back.
"If you start to spe..." He trails off, his eyes narrowed as he reformats the sentence in his mind. "If you start speaking Japanese, I will expect you to keep going." He smiles, and Finn grins back at him, not sure if he's proud of the gerund, or amused by the thinly veiled threat.
"Aye... Well, I know a little. You know... I mean, if you think it'd help, I can try speaking Japanese more, and you can help me make it better." He think that'll be a deal that'll satisfy Finn's desire to help Hideo without offending Hideo's fragile English confidence. If there's a chance to correct Finn, he'll take Finn's advice more willingly. They can be embarrassed together, and that should make it much easier for both of them.
"Ah." I see what you're doing, and I appreciate it. I'll be a nice teacher, now eat your damn food. Hideo smiles at him, and Finn takes a bite of the stew, savouring it. It tastes like a much better version of his mother's cooking. How Hideo found this place he isn't sure, but now that it's found, they're coming back. They'll go watch Japanese films in the theatre, and then come and eat the food of the gods in this little pub, and their Thursdays will be perfect date nights.
I'm not going to lie, this is just for me... The more I watch of these two together, the more I fall in love with them and their being utterly adorable. They're ridiculously cute together... And ridiculously awesome in the ring... *^-^*
I don't know if I stand alone on this ship (raft/dingy/plank of wood), but if you liked it, if you ship it, if you'd like more, please review!