While Onodera's big eyes inspected their surroundings, Takano was driving the car, trying to keep his concentration on the city traffic. As they stopped in front of a shop which seemed to be small, Onodera became nervous despite the welcoming atmosphere. Through the big windows next to the small door stood a woman, looking as if she was expecting the two.
Takano had already gotten out of the car and tried to help Onodera out, noticing that he was uncomfortable. The brunette accepted the hand reaching out to him and tried to keep close to Takano, making sure to walk behind him as they approached the building. The woman was already holding the door open and the two entered. Takano greeted the woman as if they had known each other for years, Onodera still trying to hide behind the taller man.
"Long time no see, Takano." she welcomed.
"Indeed. Thank you for your help."
"No problem. I am confused as to why you chose to visit my little shop instead of those big shops, which barely have a good taste in clothes." the woman stated, half jokingly.
Takano pulled Onodera away from behind him to push him towards the clothes in front of them. "My friend here is a little shy and new to cities and crowds of people. I didn't want to do that to him." he explained, keeping his sight on Onodera the entire time.
"That's unexpected from someone like you. Well, for such a reason I'm glad to have to close my store earlier." the woman giggled in disbelief.
Ignoring the sarcastic comment, the tall raven haired man stared down at the smaller male, waiting for him to choose.
Was it really okay just to go ahead and pick what he liked? Onodera became even more nervous. He didn't want to pick wrongly. He looked back to Takano who had became impatient and decided to just help him out. Onodera was surprised when Takano suddenly stormed forward and looked through the clothes, his look repeatedly trailing back on him. With a few of clothes in his hands and on his arms, Takano showed them to the him.
"Do you like any of these?"
"Uhm… I think I like the last one."
"Alright, hold it then."
The same process went on for around an hour until Onodera had his arms filled with clothes.
"Good. Now try them all on." Takano ordered, a plain expression on his face.
"W-what!?"
"I'll wait for you to finish in front of the dressing room. Take your time."
Takano shoved him over to a cabinet with a curtain, handed him some clothing, and sat down on a couch placed perfectly in front of the dressing room, leaving the clothes next to him.
"What do you mean you'll wait?"
A sigh left the taller ones lips. "I want to see the clothes on you, of course."
Onodera's cheeks lit up and he was not sure what to do but gave Takano his victory, went into the dressing room and changed into the new clothing. He stepped out when he was done, his cheeks blushing as he met Takano's piercing eyes. For a few seconds he kept his gaze on the smaller male until he seemed dissatisfied with something.
"Honestly, it looks terrible on you." he commented, his tone staying neutral.
"E-eh?" the harsh opinion on the clothing sent a dagger through Onodera's heart. "D-did I do it wrong?"
"So, you still wanna have it?"
"What?"
"I only said what I think. If you like it and the way it looks on you, you can still have it."
"Ah… I-I'm fine. If Takano thinks that, I don't want it." he replied to his own surprise. Takano didn't said anything, only blankly looked at the other until he took more clothing and gave it to him.
"When you're done, give me that one, I'll put it away for you."
"Okay… thank you."
As soon as most the clothes were sorted out and Onodera was starting to feel tired, Takano decided to make it quick and let him pick out what he wanted. Both of them were tired and the owner was probably also looking forward to leaving the shop.
They gathered everything together and went over to the counter to purchase the items. As the clothes were packed into two big bags professionally by the woman, Onodera got a better look at her features.
Blond curly hair reaching to her shoulders with blue eyes. In general, she gave off a kind vibe and seemed to be working in the little shop for some time now. Yet she also seemed to be acquainted with Takano. They talked like they knew one another pretty well. That thought alone made Onodera feel worried for some reason. She was good looking and seemed to have a fitting humor to Takano's, so it wouldn't be hard to believe that they're good friends.
"Ritsu. Hey, Ritsu."
"Huh?"
"I told you to take the bags and go to the car. It's open so just put those in the trunk." Takano explained.
"Ah… o-okay..."
"...You know what, just lay them on the back seat. Sit down and wait for me." Takano changed his mind, knowing Onodera probably didn't even know what a trunk was. He petted the smaller man's head before he turned back to the woman to pay.
"You really hold that boy precious, huh." she commented as soon as Onodera left and the door was closed.
"What are you talking about?"
"Oh come on. Even a blind person could see how fixed you are on him. You look happy as well."
"I'm only taking care of him. That's all."
"Yeah, sure." she replies as she takes the money out of Takano's hand. A wide smiles grows on her face. "Don't lose your temper too fast, alright? He seems innocent."
"Wait-"
"Here's your change. Now hurry to your new lover." the other interrupted with a wide smile.
Takano ignored her comment and went to Onodera, who was waiting patiently in the car. Sitting down and leaning back in the seat, he felt a sudden hunger rush into him. But really, he was not in the mood to buy groceries now or cook anything. Debating what he should do now, he got an idea. First he would have to ask his seat neighbour, who was staring with expectation in his eyes.
"Say, how about we eat some fast food from a resturant near by?"
"Fast food?"
"Oh, yeah… wanna try it then?"
"I-I'm not sure…"
"Don't worry, it's good."
For a short moment, Onodera thought about it and then accepted, putting all his trust into Takano's words. To be honest, all he wanted was to just get out of this place and go back to Takano's small and comfortable home, but he would never admit it to Takano because it might give the taller man unnecessary stress.
The two arrived at a small restaurant with a big glowing M on a pole next to the building.
Takano was already exiting the car as he asked Onodera to do the same. Inside of the restaurant was mostly full and a little too loud for Onodera's liking. Onodera started to feel uncomfortable and moved closer to Takano in an attempt to hide. The taller man smiled at his shyness in public and was even looking forward to waiting in the line ahead of them.
As soon as he found the menu hanging next to the counter, Takano pushed Onodera towards it and said he could take his time to decide. He leaned over the smaller man as he waited.
"W-what did you pick?" the brunette asked, clearly nervous.
"Here, just a regular burger set." he replied and pointed on the menu.
"I'll have the same then…"
"Really? You can have anything you want."
"I'd like to have the same thing that Takano-san wants."
"Fine, let's go order our food."
"Wait, what!?" before Onodera could protest, he was already pushed into a long queue. It was crowded and his heart began to beat like crazy. The only thing keeping him from a heart attack was the other holding his arm, allowing him to hide a bit.
It took a while until the two were able to order their food. Each of them having a different experience. While Takano was enjoying the silence, Onodera wished to get out and leaned more into Takano's side with each moment that passed.
After they finally ordered, Onodera was astonished by how naturally the other was ordering. He wouldn't even survive talking to some stranger!
"Takano-san really is amazing…" he whispered as soon as the cashier left to get the food they ordered.
With a smile on his face, Takano's arm lifted up a little, his small movement sending a shiver through the brunette.
Until now, all Onodera could hear was the hollow sound of voices ringing through his ears, making him sick. But suddenly, all he heard was his heartbeat and the other man's breath, the many unknown voices becoming vanishing.
As soon as the cashier came back with a bag, Takano let go, the place his hand touched left an aching feeling for the touch to return. The bag ended up in Onodera's care and Takano paid. Both left the restaurant and entered the car, the bag of food stayed on the backseat.
"Is the smell bothering you?"
"Huh? Oh, no. It actually smells pretty good."
"That…" Takano swallowed down a chuckle. "I meant that your hunger isn't too much that the smell becomes unbearable. I'm glad you like it though."
"Ah…" he was embarrassed to no end. At least the other enjoyed himself.
Leaning to the car window, Onodera watched the lights of the city flash by and lost himself in thoughts of the day's events. It was now night and the lights seemed to dance through the dark. He did feel uncomfortable at many times, he had so many questions and at first he did not want to go into the city. But in the end, he couldn't help but think spending the day with Takano like this was quite fun.
Finally, the two of them arrived and entered the house. Onodera took a deep breath, feeling relieved being back in a familiar setting. For the first time, he noticed how much he came to like this small house.
Takano placed the bag on the table and got the burgers out, placing them on the table. "Go ahead and eat" he offered as he let himself fall into a chair, taking a burger to eat.
Onodera did not hesitate much and sat down close to Takano, grabbing a burger as well. Curious about the taste, he took one big bite. The other was watching, waiting for a reaction.
"Uwah! This is really good!" green eyes sparkled and he greedily took another bite.
Relieved that Onodera liked it, Takano leaned back and ate with him.
While Takano finished cleaning the garbage left behind, Onodera felt the silence was unbearable. Both of them had been mostly quiet since they entered the car. He wished they could have a conversation, but about what…?
"Hey, Ritsu, we should get your clothes sorted in and then go to be-"
"U-uhm Takano-san!" Onodera interrupted.
"Hm?"
"I- uh, that… that woman from the store..." he began.
"What about her?"
"Y-you two seemed to know each other pretty well." not sure himself what he was going for, he was ready to back out of his plan again and accept the situation.
"Yeah…" clearly uncomfortable with the comment, Takano avoided eye contact and scratched the back of his head. "you could say we knew each other in college."
"Eh? Really? Were you good friends?"
"Not quite… she's more of an acquaintance than anything else."
"I see."
Takano's answer surprisingly made him happy and relieved. "So only an acquaintance…"
Takano walked out of the house and got the clothes out of the car. At first Onodera wondered where he would put them, but then Takano removed all of his own clothes from the closet and took a blanket out from under the bed. Beneath it were two drawers and he pulled them out. The inside held a lot of medicine, bandages, old books and other small things.
"Didn't expected this, huh?"
"Why didn't you use them for your clothes before?"
"I had enough space so I just thought of them as unnecessary and put all the things that I rarely need in there. For now, I need to put these in the closet. Do me a favor and sort out the clothes." Takano explained.
"Sort them out…?"
Takano sighed and stood up to show him. After Onodera understood, both started with their jobs.
An hour passed until the taller man had finished, then put the clothes into the two drawers, one for Takano, the other for Onodera, leaving out long sweatpants only for himself and shorts with a shirt for Onodera. Looking at the clock, a shock came over the raven haired man.
"Already 10pm…"
"Ritsu, we should go to bed soon."
"We should… you've worked hard today."
"It was hard for you too. You're not used to being in public."
"It wasn't that bad. You've had it much worse…"
"I'm fine. Unlike you, I've dealt with this for six years now."
Onodera felt bad to be looked down upon like he was weak. He was indeed tired but in the end Takano also had work. It would only be logical for him to be more worn out than the brunette.
"Takano-san, please change first. I want you to lay down quick."
"I'll take a shower as well so you go fi-"
"Takano-san!" for the first time, Onodera raised his voice without shying back. The last thing he'd want is for Takano spoil him like a child.
For a short second, he looked back at the brunette who was staring back with a determined look. Without another complaint, he took his clothes and went into the bathroom to get ready. A relieved sigh left Onodera. For the time being, he looked around the house to find something to help, with no success.
"For now I'll have to be as little of a bother as possible!" he thought and already grabbed his clothes.
Takano finally came back out of the bathroom after a few minutes, his hair dripping wet, the only thing he wore were long, thin sweatpants. A deep blush spread all across Onodera's face and he looked away. "I'll be taking the bathroom now."
Just now noticing the brunette standing next to him, Takano smiled and petted him on the head before walking to the bed. "Ah, before I forget, just put your current clothes into the basket. I'll wash them when I have time." the raven haired mentioned, letting himself fall on the bed, before Onodera closed the bathroom door.
Quickly changed, Onodera walked out of the bathroom, feeling a little cooled off with the short new clothing. Takano was already deep asleep, showing him that it was good he went first.
Onodera tried to lay down next to him as quietly as possible and gradually fell asleep to the peaceful sound of Takano's light breathing beside him, feeling arms wrap around him as he slipped into darkness.
Hello! And here it is as promised!
I actually really enjoyed this chapter also, but not as much as others. I just didn't knew how to quite write it. But thanks to my great editor immapiggeh it turned out way better and I like it way more now~
Please chek out my editor's Tumblr:
Thank you again for reading and I'd love to see reviews! Till the next chapter!