"A dinner date?" Hikaru looked skeptical. "When?"
Shima turned the heat up on the stove and proceeded to liberally sprinkle the potatoes with pepper. "Next week on Sunday. You don't have class then." He looked up to see his young lover biting his lip. "If you don't want to go…"
"No! I mean, yes! I…I'll go with you!" Hikaru blushed, betraying the nervous high school student hidden in a working college student's body. "It'll, um…it'll be fun!"
Shima turned his attention back towards dinner. "I wouldn't call a dinner date with Amamiya and Ms. Morikawa 'fun' but it will certainly be interesting."
Hikaru opened the cupboard and reached up for the dinner dishes. "Um…sir?"
"I told you not to call me that." Shima said, a little more sharply than he had intended. "We're really lovers now, not student and teacher pretending. Call me 'Shima'."
Hikaru blushed. "Yes sir…Shima." He set the dishes on the table and went for the chopsticks.
Dinner was a quiet affair with little conversation other than the usual questions about work and grades. One of Shima's students had parents going through a divorce. Hikaru's history teacher was a tough grader, the usual.
Hikaru did the dishes while Shima graded papers. Shima knew perfectly well that something was going on in his boyfriend's mind but decided to let Hikaru bring it up on his own. It was better that way, less confrontational.
It was later that night, when Hikaru was possessively holding him that his former student opened up.
"Shima?"
Shima opened an eye and pulled away a little. "Yes?"
Hikaru blushed a little. "Mr. Amamiya and Ms. Morikawa. They're engaged right?"
Shima gave a small smile. "They're getting married in the spring, yes." He saw Hikaru relax and chuckled.
"You're laughing at me!" Hikaru protested, pulling his former teacher closer to him.
"Yes, I am laughing at you." Shima kissed him. "Amamiya and Ms. Morikawa are engaged. This is just a dinner between friends. Don't worry."
Hikaru buried his head in the pillow. "I'm not worried!" He protested.
"Uh-huh."
"I'm not!" Hikaru suddenly sat up and crawled on top of Shima. Kissing his lips he ran a hand through his hair. "I'd never loose you to anyone."
"Ah. Worried and possessive. That's not a healthy combination you know."
"Shimaaaaaaaaaa." Hikaru kept kissing him and eventually, Shima surrendered to his boyfriend.
The week passed quickly and Sunday afternoon found Hikaru worrying about what one wore to a 'dinner between friends'. Mr. Amamiya was a teacher like Shima, a real grown up. It was unlikely he and Ms. Morikawa would appreciate Hikaru showing up at their apartment in jeans and sneakers. Then again, Mr. Amamiya was notoriously casual, even among his students. Would he expect a college student to show up wearing a tie?
"Just wear what you'd normally wear." Shima said, looking at the clock. Easy for him to say, he wasn't trying to impress his boyfriend's ex.
"What is it I normally wear?" Hikaru asked, hoping for at least a bit of direction as to what to wear. Shima sighed, crossed the bedroom and looked in the closet.
"The black slacks are fine. The blue sweater goes with them. You don't have to worry about a tie."
"I don't?"
Shima sighed again. "We're just going to their apartment, not some fancy restaurant. Calm down." He was dressed in gray slacks and a dress shirt with a sweater vest.
"I am calm!" It was first time Hikaru had ever snapped at his lover. Shima arched an eyebrow but said nothing.
Hikaru spent the entire train ride wishing he could skip the dinner. By the time they got to the apartment complex, he felt queasy. Shima noticed and stopped at the outdoor staircase.
"Hikaru?"
"Yes sir…Shima?" Hikaru lifted his head and immediately felt Shima's lips press against his own.
"You're fine. Just relax." Shima smiled, reaching up to cup Hikaru's chin. "Ms. Morikawa is too smart a woman to let Amamiya try anything. Furthermore, I'm not stupid enough to give you up."
"Shima…" Hikaru whispered, gazing lovingly into his boyfriend's eyes and appreciating the affection he found in them.
The moment was ruined by Amamiya. "Oi! Are you two thinking of coming up, or would you rather keep making out down there?" He called out from the apartment balcony. Hikaru could see him smirking.
"Guess we better get moving…" Shima turned and headed up the stairs.
"What did you ever see in him?" Hikaru grumbled, following the smaller brunette.
"Be polite." Shima ordered, when they reached the top of the stairs. "Amamiya! You should know better than to spy on people."
"And you should know better than to keep other people waiting." Amamiya opened his arms and enveloped Shima in a bear hug, much to Hikaru's exasperation. Honestly, they saw each other every day at school…his thoughts were interrupted by Amamiya letting go of Shima and swinging his arm across Hikaru's shoulders. "Hey, you! You were keeping this guy busy, weren't you? Not that that's hard…he does tend to get sidetracked easily." He winked. "C'mon and I'll tell you about the time he and I ditched Japanese Literature to make out behind the gym." He started moving toward the apartment.
Hikaru glanced over his shoulder to see that Shima had turned a bright red. "You ditched Japanese Literature?" He asked incredulously, finding it hard to believe that the teacher who put so much emphasis on his student's academic accomplishments would ever have cut class.
Shima looked suitably embarrassed. "Amamiya, don't tell him that."
"So what should I tell him?" The taller man gave a perverted grin that made the other two blush. "Nah, it's too early to tell him things like that. After dinner then." He kicked open the apartment door and pulled his guests in after him.
Ms. Morikawa was setting the table when the three men barged in. She straightened up and bowed to her guests. "Hello!" Her bright, cheerful tone of welcoming contrasted well with her formal manners.
Shima and Hikaru slipped their shoes off and bowed. "Thank you for inviting us." Shima smiled.
"I feel like I should bow too." Amamiya muttered. "Enough with the politeness already!"
"We can't all be as barbaric as you." Ms. Morikawa scolded. Her fiancée blew her a kiss in response and she blushed. "Pervert, you're embarrassing me in front of our guests."
"Just wait until you hear what our guests were…"
"He is a pervert too, isn't he?" Shima interrupted. Ms. Morikawa laughed and invited him into the kitchen to help finish preparing dinner.
Amamiya folded his arms and huffed in indignation. "My fiancée and my ex have teamed up against me." Hikaru made some affirming noise, not knowing what else to say. "Eh, it's alright. You and I can team up against Shima after dinner. I'd like to know if he's learned anything since…"
Hikaru tried (unsuccessfully) not to imagine too much. "Did Ms. Morikawa pick out the china? It's a lovely pattern."
Amamiya stared at him for a minute before removing his arm and sitting down on the cushion. "So, on a serious topic, how are you and he doing?"
Hikaru thought he rather preferred the story about ditching Japanese Literature. "We're doing okay. He…he's busy grading papers and stuff and I have class so we don't have a lot of free time."
"Make time." Amamiya interrupted.
"Excuse me?"
"Make time." The teacher repeated. "If you neglect the relationship it'll fall apart. You need to make time. Not just for sex, but actual quality couple togetherness stuff." He looked away. "Shima's too precious for you to just let him slip away."
Hikaru was saved from having to respond by Ms. Morikawa. "Dinner's ready! Who likes sushi?" She waved a dish in front of them, letting both men salivate over the tender, fleshy, red meat that was wrapped in leafy green seaweed.
Shima followed her into the room, holding a large bowl of rice. He had a small, relaxed smile on his face that indicated he was having a good time. Hikaru took an extra moment to notice how frail his boyfriend looked. He'd regained the weight he lost during their separation following graduation, but no one would ever accuse Shima of being a heavyweight. That he looked like an adolescent girl, with his light brown curls framing his face, reinforced the idea.
Dinner passed without incident and soon the two couples found themselves situated in the living room, Amamiya drinking a beer, everyone else having coffee.
"Soooo." Amamiya drawled. "How goes college?"
Hikaru gave a polite smile. "I've decided on my major!"
"Oh?"
"Yeah, history." Shima smiled and cupped Hikaru's hand in his. "I've always been interested in it, and my college has a really good program."
Amamiya swallowed a mouthful of rice. "That's good!" Ms. Morikawa also voiced her approval.
"Ah!" Amamiya pointed his chopsticks at Hikaru. "What are you going to do with a history degree?"
"Eto…I haven't gotten that far yet." The college student blushed, feeling like a fool. What did someone do with a history degree anyway? Why hadn't he given any thought to his career beforehand?
Ms. Morikawa came to his rescue. "Tch. Don't rush him! How long did it take you to figure out what you wanted to do?"
"Amamiya? He picked it out of a hat." Shima said dryly.
"Really?" She seemed surprised.
"Yes. He wrote down all the majors on scraps of paper and stuck them in a hat. Actually, he drew 'Woman's Studies' first, but he cheated and drew again."
"You hear how they abuse me, Hikaru?" Amamiya loudly protested. "I enjoy studying women, and men, I just didn't see how I could make a career out of it." His fiancé smacked his arm lightly. "Ow!"
Hikaru tried hard to ignore the 'and men" comment. "Ms. Morikawa, this is good."
She beamed. "Thank you! At least someone knows how to act at the dinner table." She threw a heated glare at Amamiya.
Shima chuckled. "You two are good for each other." He squeezed Hikaru's hand under the table in an uncharacteristic display of affection.
Dinner ended shortly thereafter and the four spent an hour sipping coffee while Amamiya embarrassed everyone with stories of what went on behind the gym during Japanese Literature. Hikaru turned red again.
Finally, the clock struck twelve and Shima announced that it was time to go. Goodbye's were said and plans to do this again were made. He got a hug from Ms. Morikawa, who thanked him for civilizing her soon to be husband. The men all shook hands.
As he was following his older lover out the door of the apartment, Hikaru glanced back at Amamiya. The teacher gave a rouge smirk and mouthed: 'Remember what I told you.'. Hikaru bowed and hurried after Shima. The ride back to the apartment was silent, peppered with small talk.
It wasn't until later, when they were both lying in bed that the real conversation started.
"Would you ever go back to him?"
Shima put his book down on the bedside table and turned to look at Hikaru. "No. He's got his life and I've got mine. He's got his fiancée and I've got my boyfriend. That's how it should be." Said boyfriend wrapped him in a possessive bearhug and pulled him close. "You're squishing me…"
"You're too skinny." Hikaru murmured. "Need to eat more."
"I've gained weight from all the food you bring home from the bakery." Shima scolded. "The cakes are good but they are unhealthy!"
"Shima?"
"Hm?"
"Could we…could we maybe go out more often?" Hikaru asked hesitantly. "We haven't really been hanging out much."
Shima wriggled out of his grasp and settled his head down on the pillow. "I suppose we could 'hang out' a little more…"
"Wohoo!"
"…If you keep your grades up." Always the teacher.
Hikaru licked his lips and kissed his lover. "I can do that. I love you."
Shima smiled. "Love you too."
Finite.
Author's notes- Yeah, you all know Shima wears the pants in that relationship. 'Passion' does not belong to me. Please review.