Sorry for the super late update, but hey! I got it done by Valentine's day~ Hope you guys like it.
Sprawled across his bed, Eijun was sound asleep. His whole body was relaxed and his breathing even as he snoozed away. But he was jolted awake when a bloodcurdling scream reached his ears. He stumbled out of his bed and sprinted to the room right next door.
He flicked the light on before rushing over to Koushuu's bedside. He sat down on the bed and wrapped his arms around the smaller one into an embrace. In a gentle voice he whispered, "Shh..it's okay..Don't worry. I'm here." To comfort him, he rubbed soothing circles on his back. Both of Koushuu's hands grip tightly on his shirt and trembled as he choked out loud sobs. All Eijun could do was keep rubbing his back and add some pats in between.
After enough time had passed and Eijun could tell Koushuu had calmed down, he asked, "Was it the dream again?" With his small face still buried in his shirt, he nods slowly confirming Eijun's presumption.
"Did you want to sleep in my room for tonight?" Koushuu hesitated to answer.
Eijun tried to reassure him. "It's okay to tell me." Koushuu lifts his head away from Eijun's shirt and rubs some tears away with his balled up fists. He sniffles before nodding his head. Eijun warmly smiled. He scooped him up into his arms and carried him to his room. He set him down gently on to one side and tucked him in under the thick blanket. Eijun moved over to lie down on the other side and tuck himself in as well. After about 15 minutes, Eijun could tell Koushuu was sound asleep by the calm even rhythm of his breathing.
Eijun looks toward the clock on his nightstand and it is illuminating the current time, 3:12am. He tries to prompt himself to get some rest, but his thoughts keep him awake. He thinks about Koushuu's dream, or more correctly, his nightmare. It didn't happen often, but when it did, it always broke Eijun's heart seeing a child have to go through that. The dream consisted of a house being engulfed by intense flames. Everything around him had burst into fire where it just resembles a blazing inferno. In the distance, his parents are standing next to each other smiling fondly at him as they fade into the flames.
Eijun tried to find any helpful coping methods with Koushuu. He always tries his best to soothe the child's stress. Even with all the effort, Eijun tends to doubt his parenting skills. He wonders how two people would handle this type of situation. He doubts himself, but there is one thing he would never question or regret, which is adopting Koushuu.
Eijun eventually sleeps. He wakes up in the morning, but he sees he is running late starting the new day. He rushes out of bed and also gently shakes his son to get him ready as well.
As Kazuya and Takuma were standing close to the entrance of the preschool, they both looked toward the same direction hoping to catch sight of Eijun and Koushuu. Kazuya was beginning to wonder if it was the start of some new morning routine with them.
They still had not entered since they wanted to let the other two to catch up.
A minute went by.
Then two.
There was still no sign of them.
"Where's Koushuu and his dad?" Takuma asked looking up toward his father for answers. Of course he didn't have one for him. He was also baffled wondering where the other pair was. Seeing as they still had not shown up, Kazuya presented his own explanation. "They're probably just running a little late." With the weather getting chillier, he didn't want them to have to stand out in the cold longer than they should and risk themselves getting sick. "C'mon, let's get inside." With a frown on his face, Takuma was till staring towards the direction hoping to catch sight of them. Kazuya tugged on his son's tiny hand a couple of times to grab his attention. The little boy's focus was still preoccupied for a few seconds longer until he finally turned his head toward the entrance of the preschool.
Walking through the doors, Takuma was the first to notice the unfamiliar presence in the classroom. "Dad look, there's a funny man sleeping over there." Takuma pointed toward the person sitting behind the teacher's desk. Said person was indeed snoozing away. He had his arms crossed and his head tilted resting on his shoulder. It seemed as if he had dozed off while waiting for someone. Kazuya could see he was also wearing a blue apron, the same kind Kominato would wear. He assumed the raven haired male worked at the preschool center as well, but he had never seen him before until today. So to feel safer, he wanted to at least know the current location of where the more familiar teacher was. Kazuya walked over to the desk to grab the other's attention. He snapped his fingers in front of the man's face multiple times. Each snap was sharp and loud. It seemed to have worked because the imaginary snot bubble popped and blue eyes fluttered open. The raven haired man woke up disoriented. Wasting no time, he asked, "Where's Kominato-sensei at?" He squinted at Kazuya trying to register the question directed toward him. He yawned before mumbling something incoherently, "..he's out..books..frm..car..." Kazuya's eyes furrowed together being given such broken words. "What? Can you please speak clearer?" He demanded as politely as he could. Instead of the person replying back, he started to doze off again ignoring the person in front of him. Kazuya looked annoyed. One eye started to twitch. He didn't have time to have this person ignore him like he didn't exist. He wanted to know where the teacher was at. But soon, the pink haired teacher pushed past through the door with a box full of illustration books for children. Walking in, he analyzed the scene before him.
The look of annoyance on Miyuki's face turned into relief when they made eye contact (well as much eye contact one could get through with eyes hidden behind bangs). Haruichi looked over to see what had caused his annoyance in the first place. His hidden eyes landed onto the raven haired male. "Ah! Furuya, you're not supposed to be asleep on the job." Haruichi reprimanded the raven haired man. He set down the box of books and stepped toward him to make the man stand up. Kazuya noticed he looked a lot taller than when he was seated in the chair.
With a hand on the taller man's shoulder, Haruichi introduced him to the two, "This is Furuya Satoru. I've known him from a different preschool center. Because of some circumstances, he decided to transfer here. He may not seem like it, but he's actually really good working with children!" His face turned crimson trying to put Furuya into a positive light to convince Miyuki. "He just enjoys sleeping a little too much.." Haruichi felt that might have discredited his previous sentiment but what was the point in trying to hide the already obvious.
There was still a hint of skepticism in the back of Kazuya's mind. But he knew Kominato-sensei was a trustworthy person though, so this allowed him to be able to push the doubt out of his mind. "Alright, if you say so."
He looked down at his watch before stating, "I might have spent a little too long here. I've got to get going now."
He waved goodbye to Takuma and the others right before rushing out the door.
Haruichi's phone rang out with a jingle letting him know he received a message. It was from Eijun.
[We'll be running a bit late this morning.]
Haruchi sent back something letting Eijun know he got his message.
After he slipped the phone back into his pocket, he looked over to see Takuma playing with some other children that had been dropped off. He seemed to be having fun but then Haruichi could detect there was a hint of loneliness from the child. He guessed it was most likely because Koushuu wasn't here yet. He was surprised and glad they took a liking to each other so quickly but he never thought Takuma would be affected quite this much because of his friend's absence. He just hoped Eijun and Koushuu would arrive soon.
Kazuya had arrived at the office and proceeded to get settled into his space. He sat down when suddenly; he felt a vibration in his back pocket. It only went off once indicating it was a text message from his phone. He takes out the device and looks down at the screen.
1 New Message
From Sawamura
[about u guys coming over. when are you free?]
Casual texting, huh?
Kazuya was about to type a reply back until another message immediately popped up.
From Sawamura
[is this weekend okay?]
Kazuya smirked as he sent his reply.
From Miyuki
[Sure, those are when my days off land on anyways.]
Eijun lifted a single eyebrow looking down at the new message. Formal texts? It seems like it'd be his nature.
From Sawamura
[great sounds like a plan!]
From Miyuki
[I will be bringing some ingredients but make sure these items are present.]
In the next text, it was a list of the food items. Looking through the list, Eijun tried to create a mental note to remind himself to drop by the store to retrieve the ingredients assigned to him before the weekend arrived.
He then sent his reply back.
From Sawamura
[okay! we'll see you then]
Seeing as that last text was an indication of the end of their conversation, Kazuya slipped his phone back into his pocket. He realized a floating question had escaped him. He debated whether he should have asked why they were late this morning. Since he had missed the chance, he went on to just allow the thought to settle in the back of his mind. Sawamura may or may not bring it up. But it probably wasn't important if it had not come up. Resting his chin on the palm of his hand, he couldn't help but look forward to the weekend. His eyes widened slightly. Was he actually looking forward to it this much? Besides work and parenting, nothing or no one else had really caught his attention in a while. He usually found himself buried in his work analyzing data. On rare instances, he would almost miss the time in leaving to go pick up his son.
When he actually took some time to think about it, he realized how silly it was how quickly he developed a crush on his new acquaintance. For now, he would happily admire his looks and actually get to know the father of his son's friend.
He found out he didn't enjoy having to mingle with other parents. The conversations usually felt menial and he ended up wanting to bang his head on a wall repeatedly in the middle of each one. Meaningless talks just always got on his nerves. With Sawamura though, it was different. Kazuya felt like he didn't need to put up barriers to keep conversations at a distance. He genuinely enjoyed talking with this person. Wrapping his thoughts up, he looked toward a computer screen and continued his work.
With the arrival of the weekend, Kazuya and Takuma were making their way towards the café. He took out a piece of paper with the address written down. He searches the area and spots the café from a distance. Above the building was the name, "Eats and Treats Café."
Kazuya and Takuma cross the street and make it to the front of the shop.
A bell jingles as they pass through the door. They look around noticing there's quite an abundance of customers for such a tiny place. Then they heard Eijun shout. "You guys made it! Here, have a seat." He directed them over to a table. They settle into their seats as Eijun brings over a plate of sweets. "I have an assortment you guys can try out." Presented on the plate were intricately designed cupcakes. He set down two ceramic plates; one for each of them with a cupcake lying on top. The frosting lay smoothly untouched, decorated with edible pearls sprinkled on top. In Kazuya's mind, it looked too perfect to eat. He almost wanted to take a picture. Of course he wouldn't admit the thought occurred. "Go ahead, dig in." Eijun smiled widely prompting the two. Kazuya and Takuma each picked up their cupcake and took a bite. Both their eyes widened with delight. There was a soft sponginess to the texture and the icing's sweetness wasn't overpowering like most sweets were to Kazuya.
Takuma set down his cupcake and placed his hands on his cheeks as he swayed his head side to side. "It's so yummy! It's so yummy!" He sang out joyfully.
Eijun walked behind the counter and came back with two drinks.
"Here's some milk for you Takuma and…oh- Sorry Miyuki, I never asked what kind of coffee you drink."
"I'm usually not too picky about my coffee. What did you bring?"
"It's a French Roast." With two fingers, Kazuya tapped the table in front of him. "That's perfect, thank you." Eijun smiled before setting down the cup on the spot he tapped. Noticing a customer in front of the cash register, Eijun excused himself. "I'll be right back." He turned around to walk behind the counter. While drinking his coffee, Kazuya let his eyes wander to Eijun's backside but his gaze moved further down to his butt. He smirked behind his coffee cup.
Eijun soon came back to their table. He took one glance at Miyuki's face and he burst into sheer laughter. Kazuya raised an eyebrow baffled for a second for the sudden outburst until he realized why. Eijun was having difficulty forming words. He pointed at Kazuya and in broken chortles he spoke, "You're glasses,..are…fogged..UP."
The other rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up." He said as he started to take off his glasses to wipe away the fog on his shirt. Eijun was able to calm himself down so now he was just chuckling as he wiped a tear away. He abruptly stopped mid-wipe though. His lips shut tightly and eyes widened looking at the now glasses-less Miyuki. He never noticed such facial features on the man. What caught him the most off guard was the rich amber eyes usually hidden behind the dark plastic frames. The shape of his eyes seemed to have a distinct sharpness to the ends as well.
Kazuya slipped his glasses back on. "So you manage the café all by yourself?" Eijun was snapped out of the strange trance he was in. "Hm? Oh, yeah. It's difficult but the customers who frequent the place and enjoy everything I make really make it worth it."
"Why not hire an extra hand?"
"Ah, it's not as easy as you think. I want to be able to give them a good salary too. Maybe in the future. I'm fine by myself for now!"
Takuma was looking around for a blonde mop of hair, but he didn't spot anything. Curiously, he asked, "Where's Koushuu?"
Eijun half-smiled in his direction. "Sorry Takuma, he's just napping upstairs. Maybe you guys can see each other another time?" Takuma looked dejected.
Thinking now would be a good time to ask, Kazuya questioned, "Do you want the first lesson tomorrow?"
Eijun had a befuddled look on his face until he asked, "Is tomorrow also your day off?"
"Yup."
"I think that'd be great then!" He grinned excitedly. "I close the cafe earlier on Sundays anyways."
Kazuya stood up out of his chair. "Okay. We'll be going home then. Tomorrow we'll be seeing you guys again anyways."
As they were walking out, Eijun shouts, "I look forward to tomorrow!"
The next day, Kazuya and Takuma, ingredients in hand, get there when the café just closes. The bell jingles with their arrival. Kazuya spots Eijun wiping down the tables. "Need any help?" He smiles as he rolls up his sleeves. Eijun returned it with a smirk. "Sure." He tosses him an extra wash cloth.
Takuma pinpoints where Koushuu is at. He's in a booth coloring. He grins as he rushes over to join him.
After tidying up the place, they walk to a small hallway next to the kitchen of the café and stand in front of a door.
Eijun unlocks the door to the stairs leading up to the second story. They walk in and Eijun closes the door behind them. They all leave their shoes by the entrance and soon the children bolt up the flight of stairs.
To keep them preoccupied, Eijun plays a movie for the children in the living room.
The other two walk into the kitchen. Kazuya is the one to speak first. "All right, we'll be starting off with a simple dish. Beef stew." Eijun's face goes blank wondering if he heard wrong. He stared at the man and blinked a few times in disbelief. He wanted to confirm with the other, "Isn't that a bit complicated for a first lesson?" Kazuya snickered at the whole reaction. "Of course not, I'll be showing you an easier way to go about it. You brought the ingredients I told you to bring, right?"
"I did." He walks over to the fridge, opens it and picks them out from one of the drawers.
Do you have a cutting board? "Right here!" He waved it in the air before handing it to him. They prep themselves by slipping on the aprons. Once Eijun had tied the back of his apron, in a determined stance he shouted, "Okay, I'm ready!" Kazuya couldn't help but think how cute his enthusiasm was. He was prepared to see him go into some sort of Sentai ranger pose.
"Do you handle knives?" Eijun thinks about it. "Mm, not very often. When it comes to baking, I use a specific knife so it doesn't shred tender cakes."
"I'll cut these for now then and you can peel those." He hands him the bag filled with some potatoes he brought over. Eijun sits in a chair begins to peel them. Kazuya sets down the cutting board on the other side of the table. He decides to stand instead and begins to cut the first set of vegetables. Neither says anything while busying themselves with their tasks. Minutes go by until Eijun takes the opportunity to become more familiar with the man by asking him a simple general question.
"So, how did you learn to cook so well?" Kazuya halted his actions in the midst of cutting the vegetables. The knife in his hand stood still in the air. Eijun became aware of the sudden absence of the sound of the blade tapping against the board. He glanced up to see the other's expression. There was a mild bitter look that happened to appear on his face. Eijun seemed perturbed about the silence emanating from the other. Was it something wrong he said? He believed the question was harmless, then again, he didn't know much about the man. Eijun unknowingly held his breath and went rigid. The tension in the air was faint but still present. It was soon broken though when Kazuya started to answer in regard to his question. "My old man was usually too busy with his work when I was younger, so I guess I just ended up learning how to cook myself." The sound of the blade hitting the cutting board resumed again.
"And what about your mom?"
Is what Eijun wanted to ask, but he somehow managed to prevent himself from pressing on. Sometimes he would just let his mouth run off. When he was in high school, he would frequently be called a loud mouth idiot and usually end up blurting whatever was on his mind, but in this instance, he felt asking such a question would be like setting off a landmine. Once in a while, he did use his perceptiveness according to the situation.
If this was the sort of reaction he received from asking about one parent, he felt prying about the other would present itself with a negatively heavier response.
"If you're wondering what happened to my mother, she died when I was much younger."
Eiijun flinched at the statement. He was inwardly questioning. How did he know? Can he read my mind?
As if also knowing exactly what Eijun was thinking, Kazuya remarked "Bakamura, you're just really obvious right now."
Feeling as though he should apologize for being caught, he confessed "Sorry..I guess I just didn't want to-HEY!" His head whipped toward the bespectacled man. He angrily lifted himself up from out of his chair. Kazuya grinned anticipating what was bound to come next. "Did you just call me Bakamura!?" Eijun was fuming with cheeks tinted red. Teasing the man was just too hilarious to him that he burst out into laughter. Kazuya was cradling his gut while Eijun's clenched hands were at his sides. He was mentally shaking a fist at the snickering tanuki-bastard. That's right, Miyuki was now a tanuki-bastard to him.
Kazuya began trying to catch his breath after laughing so hard. The laughter turned into small chuckles and soon they started to die down, enough for him to continue the conversation from before. He exhaled before going on. "Seriously though," Eijun's previous anger began to dissipate when he heard him speak again. "You don't have to act like you're stepping on glass when it comes to talking about my mom. It happened a long time ago." Eijun stood standing for a few seconds until he slowly sat back down in his chair after listening to the assertion. His hands curled into fists as they rested in his lap. He didn't know what to say next. He was looking down feeling embarrassed that he was read like an open book.
Kazuya cast his eyes toward the suddenly mute brunet. He felt some guilt wash over him realizing it was most likely (definitely) his fault. It isn't like the other man knew about his family's past situation. Just, every time he thought about his father, it left some bitterness within him.
Eijun heard him walking closer to his side.
"Here." Eijun looked up toward Kazuya then his eyes landed on the board held in his hands. The chopped vegetables lay neatly in a line. He led him to the boiling broth on the stove top and instructed him to pour them in. Eijun did as he was told and let them fall in. Kazuya took the rest of the potatoes Eijun peeled and did a quick rinse under the sink. He chopped them into large chunks and tossed them into the pot as well.
"Now add this."
"And this and stir,"
"Just a pinch is fine with this."
Eijun kept following every command directed at him. After throwing in various spices, he soon found himself placing the lid on top of the pot.
"Now we just have to wait for an hour."
Eijun asked skeptically, "Is that it, really?"
"Wasn't too bad, huh?"
Eijun beamed looking at the pot feeling a sense of accomplishment.
It dawned on Eijun. Was this Miyuki's way of fixing the tension in the air that was present not too long ago? Taking a glance at the other who was now wiping down a part of the counter top, he wondered if it was okay for him to think that it was true. Eijun could feel a small smile tugging on his face.
An hour passes, meaning the stew should be ready. They call the kids over for dinner. They pour the stew into four bowls and set down some juice into the cups on the table.
Eijun holds his breath in nervousness. The kids take a sip from each of their bowl. Their eyes grew larger as the taste spreads in their mouth. Takuma's eyes are filled with stars while there are imaginary flowers radiating off of Koushuu as he eats more from his bowl.
Eijun exhales in relief with the breath he was holding. He asks the boys, "So, you guys really like it?"
"Mhmm, it's so good!" Takuma cheers as he dips his spoon in again. Koushuu nods his head happily with a small smile. Eijun realizes he hadn't had a taste himself yet. He picks up his utensil and puts a spoonful in his mouth. Eijun's face looks astonished. With the spoon still in his mouth, he turns his face to Miyuki and fat glistening tears begin rolling down his cheeks. "Miyuki, this is so good. THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH."
Kazuya sweat drops. Overcome with gratitude, Eijun grabs Miyuki's hand and holds it between his hands. Kazuya flushed being caught off guard, not expecting such an action. With stars glittering in his eyes, Eijun pleads, "Please teach me more Sensei!"
"Alright, alright, don't worry; there'll be more dishes in the future."
"And you don't have to call me Sensei. It's weird, especially if we're both probably around the same age." Eijun seemed baffled. "Wait, how old are you Miyuki?"
"I'm Twenty-Five." Eijun's face looked stunned and his grip on Miyuki's hand went slack."
"Tw-Twenty-Five!? I thought you were way older. That's only a year older than me."
"I did say I married young, didn't I? Why? You don't think I look old, do you?" Not actually worried about how old he looked, he just wanted to mess with Eijun a bit.
"No, no, far from it." He said as he waved both of his hands in front of his chest. "I just-..I guess you just have a very mature air about you." He tried explaining.
"I'll just take that as a compliment then, thanks." Eijun grinned as he dipped his spoon back into his bowl again.
After dinner, Eijun accompanies Kazuya and Takuma down the stairs to the door that leads straight outside instead of the inside of the café.
"You sure you guys can't stay longer?"
"Yeah, I have work tomorrow."
"Oh right, of course! We'll be seeing each other tomorrow anyways, right?"
"If you guys aren't late like the other day."
"We won't be, I promise." He proclaimed as he used his finger to make an x-shape over his heart. They left the door and got to the sidewalk. Eijun yelled as he waved, "Be safe!"
They returned the wave as they made their way back home.
Thanks for reading! I didn't get to make art for this chapter ;n; but next one will have some I promise~ I know some people said they wanted this story to be long, and I do too, but I don't know how my skills can live up to that. If you guys ever have suggestions of stuff you want to see in this story, I'll be happy to listen~
And Happy Valentine's Day!
