So hey guys, so sorry for the extremely late update. This was actually supposed to be written quite some time ago, and there was always this little buzzing in the back of my brain that said "You need to update!" And then the giant blaring of the front and sides of my brain that said "DO YOUR HOMEWORK. DO YOU WANT TO FAIL?" So, had to side with that. Haha. Alright, enough of my excuses. Onto the story. :D The sun started to peak its head from underneath the blanket of land and buildings that it hid behind, enveloping the land in an orange-tinted light that started to cover said buildings and sink into them as well.
A raven-black haired man was lying in his bed, sleeping soundly as the light crept through his window, causing everything that was of a dull, dark color begin to brighten into warm pastels as it made its way through the room. The heat that radiated from the warm colors began to affect the sleeping man, his eyelids twitching through not fully opening. It was not until he felt the light begin to shine down onto his face that the lids lifted slowly, his irises meeting with the light and illuminating those navy blue beauties. His pupil shrank at the contact, causing him to groan softly in pain while he rolled over to look down at his cell phone that sat on his pillow. He saw that the time was half past 8'o clock, his mind deciding that this was a good time for him to wake up as he felt the drowsiness begin to sink out of his body.
'Aquarium…' His mind said, the word echoing as though it were some kind of mantra he was making sure to follow. He slipped out of bed, trudging to the living room as his eyes scanned around for the item he was looking for. His eyes met the coffee table, where a large black bag sat. "Ah-ha!" He said to himself, picking it up and taking out a small computer. After opening the screen and turning it on, he stood back up to make his way to the kitchen. His hands reached up to grab the small handle, opening the door to pull out a small container that read 'Instant coffee' before making his way back to the computer and opening up the internet.
As he began to type in the words, he smiled excitedly to himself at the thought of the person he was going to be spending the day with.
Hiroki sat on his couch, staring at the cell phone on the coffee table. He hadn't realized how anxious he was to get the call from this man, especially over something so little as going to the aquarium.
'Since when have I ever been so excited to do anything?' He thought, putting a hand to his chin as he allowed his mind to go through the archives of memory in his brain. The only thing he could think of was when Akihiko had invited him to one of those fancy parties as his "date", even though in reality he just didn't want to go by himself and being around someone the whole party made it a little easier on him since people were always prone to approaching him alone.
'Well, he only did that because Takahiro was too busy with his girlfriend.' He said with a sigh, remembering that he was merely a second choice. He was brought out of his thoughts at the sound of the phone ringing on the table. His reflexes worked faster than his brain, causing him to lunge for the phone and nearly break something in the process as he grabbed it quickly and flipped it open. "Hello?"
"Hiroki? I assumed you would have been sleeping by now." Nowaki said, sounding confused as to why Hiroki was up so early.
"Ah, I-I-I jus thought getting up early would be the best choice today!" Hiroki lied, then his mind processed that Nowaki had indeed called him to him without honorifics. "Who said you couldn't say '-san' at the end?"
Nowaki gulped, realizing that it was indeed impolite. "I'm sorry, I apologize. It's just…calling you Hiroki-san is terribly long, and I feel as though it makes me feel more and more distanced from you. Today, we're just going out as friends, right?"
Hiroki heard that last part, his cheeks burning red with response. Of course, it wasn't as though he hadn't ever had friends before but he hardly ever actually went somewhere with them. There was never a time he could remember going anywhere with Miyagi, and the last time he had been with Akihiko it wasn't even really a friendly thing. Yet, hearing those words come from Nowaki made him so happy he didn't even know what to do with himself. Even so, his silence was starting to seem prolonged which in turn caused Nowaki to become concerned.
"Hiro-san?" He asked.
Hiroki replied quickly, trying to ignore the butterflies that were making their home in his stomach. "Oh, I'm fine!" He said, laughing sheepishly as though to reinforce the idea.
"Well, that's good." Nowaki said with a big smile. "I just wanted to let you know that the aquarium opens in two hours, and if we meet up about thirty minutes after it's opened we can still beat the crowd. Then afterwards, we could possibly go around town for a bit, if you wouldn't mind."
Hiroki hadn't expected this, since he assumed Nowaki would leave him after the Aquarium. Even so, the idea of being with him a little longer was extremely appealing. "…I don't."
"I shall see you soon then, Hiro-san." Nowaki said, now proud of this new nickname he had given Hiroki and even happier that Hiroki didn't mind it in the least. With that, he hung up the phone.
Hiroki stood in front of the aquarium, blushing fiercely as he thought about how embarrassed he was to have arrived 15 minutes earlier than they had planned. 'It's all because I went and got all excited!' He practically berated himself for doing so, now standing alone in front of the giant building. He felt the need to check his watch every few minutes as the time left for their meeting decreased, making him feel more and more nervous to be with him.
"Hiro-san!" He heard the voice call out to him, choosing not to look as to hide his excitement. As much as he tried to ignore it, it was much too hard once the pair of large arms wrapped around him and held him close.
Hiroki couldn't help but feel even more embarrassed, especially at the amount of people that saw this display and now stared at him questioningly. "Jeez, you moron! Don't go hugging me in public!" He scolded, pushing Nowaki away and turning away from him as to not see the disheartened look that he knew Nowaki had been giving him as of right now.
"Okay." Was all Nowaki replied, his tone changing from the excited one that he had called Hiroki's name in.
Hiroki detected this change, now feeling even worse for pushing him away. He then turned around to grab Nowaki's hand, holding it tightly while Nowaki stared at him with widened eyes. "What-"
"We have to go in there, don't we? And I don't want you separating from me, so don't let go of my hand." Hiroki said, now red to his ears as his head was turned away from Nowaki yet his eyes made their way to his face. The smile he had seemed to outshine the sun, causing the happiness to well back up inside of Hiroki.
"Okay!" Nowaki replied again, back to his extremely cheerful self.
Hiroki held Nowaki's hand a he pointed at the different colors of fish that floated through the tank. He couldn't help but smile at the sight, even though he wasn't sure if he was so happy because he was finally at the aquarium, or if it was because of the man he was currently holding hands with.
"Aren't they beautiful, Hiro-san?" Nowaki asked, pointing to the Moorish Idols that swam leisurely through the water in big groups.
At the sight, Hiroki's eyes widened a bit as he hadn't noticed those fish before. The patterns of blacks, yellows and oranges were extremely appealing to him as he could only nod in response to Nowaki's question.
While Hiroki was entranced by the fish, Nowaki pulled out the small map in his pocket and began to look for different attractions to go see. "Hiro-san, they have a whole floor dedicated to fish that practically live at the bottom of the ocean. That sounds interesting, do you want to go see?"
Hiroki gave a small noise to confirm, allowing Nowaki to take him by the hand and drag him around. 'He's got such large hands…I never really noticed until now.' Hiroki thought, staring at Nowaki's hand in a daze. 'They're really warm too.'
As the two of them walked around the dark floor, Nowaki looked at the people around while Hiroki continued to watch the fish in amazement. In the dark, it was terribly difficult to see anything, yet there was one person that stood out to him. A man with silvery-blonde hair stood next to another man, the man's hair being as dark as Nowaki's since he couldn't make out the color yet he could see the glasses he wore in the dim light. He felt as though he was familiar with the man, though he couldn't put a finger on it.
'Do I know him? No, he's not that familiar…Where have I seen him before?' As he continued to think, he heard Hiroki's voice calling to him.
"Nowaki!" He said, now angry that he had to call him a third time.
"Ah, Yes! I'm sorry Hiro-san, I was too busy thinking." Nowaki apologized, giving a sheepish smile while he still thought. It was a thought that wouldn't leave him alone, especially since he was sure he knew who it was. His mind flashed back to the bookshelf in his office, one book in particular. One titled 'World Nostalgia'
'Usami Akihiko. That's the man who-' He cut his own thoughts short as he looked back at the man, he was as sure as he could be that it was the same man that currently held Hiroki's heart.
"Nowaki, what are you looking at?" Hiroki asked, turning around only to have Nowaki turn his attention back to him and, before Hiroki had a complete idea as to what was going on, Nowaki already had his lips pressed to Hiroki's. Hiroki stared wide-eyed, confused by this contact before closing them, trying to stop all of the thoughts running through his mind at one time.
Nowaki opened one eye too glance at Akihiko, who was walking by and looking at some of the fish they had been looking at only to notice the couple kissing and squinting slightly to get a better look before his expression immediately went to surprised as he recognized his childhood friend. He then looked up at Nowaki who was looking back.
Hiroki pushed Nowaki away, gasping for air before glaring at Nowaki fiercely. "What do you think you're doing?" Hiroki asked, trying not to raise his voice.
"Hiroki?" He heard the voice of his childhood friend call out to him, causing him to turn around and see Akihiko's confused expression.
"Wait, this isn't what it looks like." Hiroki started to explain.
"It's fine, I understand Hiroki." Akihiko said, turning around to go meet with Takahiro who had been calling him for a few moments now.
"Wait!" Hiroki said, now chasing after Akihiko as he didn't bother to look back at Nowaki.
I'm stopping it here, as A) My laptop is dying and I don't have a charger for it. And B) I think it's a good spot to stop. I do hope you guys like this chapter though! :D