Fukuda and Suzuki hadn't had a sleepover in about thirty years.
But there Suzuki was, in his house, on his bed, with a laptop in his lap and the TV turned to the learning channel. This would have been normal had they been kids. Back then they'd had a bad habit of just showing up at each other's houses just expecting to sleepover…which they always did. They always slept over when the other wanted to have one. Pretty much every weekend was spent at the other's house. They had tried to switch off as often as they could, well Suzuki tried to anyway, in the interest of fairness and also Suzuki's dad wanting peace and quiet all the time. They had been going back and forth for a while but then that stopped when Suzuki's parents were killed and Suzuki and him ended up living together…and then for a time their lives became one endless sleepover.
But then they had stopped.
They had been living together all throughout university in that apartment in Tokyo…that tiny apartment. It wasn't there anymore, the whole building had been turned into better apartments, but he could still picture it clearly in his mind. Their tiny kitchen, that one room that they ate in, slept in, watched TV in, and occasionally brought company home in. Those were…not THE days…but those were days…days which neither of them were eager to relive. Suzuki had said, at the end of university, that he had no desire to ever live with anybody ever again and that he was going to take a walk around the world…and then he did just that and he found him own home and then…well the rest was history.
But now they were reliving history, apparently.
"Hello Fukuda, I still get the left side of the bed, right?" asked Suzuki. He asked this like it was normal. He asked like him sitting cross legged in Fukuda's bed was the most normal thing in the world…and for a while it had been…but they were grown men now and…and this was just…Fukuda had to think. Suzuki was acting strange…well he was always strange…but now he was being very strange. He was sitting there, and in just his pants and undershirt…and Suzuki normally slept fully dressed even when they were kids…and this was just…
Something had gone wrong.
He can't even go away for a night without something going wrong…but that didn't matter. He was going to handle this. He was the only one who could handle this. He had been handling this, and there had been a lot of 'this' over the years, since they had been in school together and he could handle this again. Whatever this was. Suzuki…seemed…his aura felt a little off…and he was…well he wasn't close to an explosion but his aura did feel just…off…
Which could have meant anything from he'd been thinking about entropy and the slow death of the universe again or a whole lot of people had just died.
"What?" asked Fukuda. Suzuki had said…he needed to listen to what he said too, not just the way his aura looked, because he did give things away with his words too.
"The left side, is it still mine? Or do you want it? I only had the left side, before, because that was the side facing the wall and I could get out of bed on my own without having to climb over you. This bed is much bigger and there's access on either side. So which side is mine?" asked Suzuki. He wasn't angry, which was good, but he was just…something was bothering him. The way his aura moved…the way he asked instead of just declaring which side was his…something was definitely off right now…well aside from the obvious….
"You can have the left side. I wish I had known that you'd be coming over. I wouldn't have been out so late…or at all." said Fukuda. Well hadn't he just picked the worst possible time to enjoy the Osaka nightlife? Well that was in the past. Now he just had to figure out what he was going to do now….besides have a spontaneous, middle aged, sleepover.
"It's fine. I had no idea that I would even be coming here at all." said Suzuki. Fukuda nodded and then sat beside him on the bed. Well time for a talk, then, to get to the bottom of all of this. If he hadn't known that he would have ended up here then something big must have happened, Suzuki liked to plan all of his moves in advance, but…well nothing was on fire or blown up so it must not have been so bad…but things were never 'so bad' until they were when it came to Suzuki.
"You're still dressed." Said Suzuki. He motioned to Fukuda's going out clothes. Fukuda hoped that his next question wasn't why he was dressed like that in the first place. Suzuki…did not need to know where he went at night. He had never approved of Fukuda wasting his money at 'those sorts of places' even back when they had been young. He had been fussier than Fukuda's own mother…though Suzuki telling her in the middle of dinner where Fukuda spent his time and money might have contributed to the heart attack that ended up killing her.
Because, really, nobody wanted to know that about their son…or anyone in their life.
"I just got home." Said Fukuda. He didn't offer up any additional information because, well, there were certain conversations that were best left in the past.
"I know but I remember that around this hour you're usually out of your day clothes." Said Suzuki. Right, he didn't like it when things were out of the ordinary…well he was the one who had been out of the ordinary first. He was the one who had shown up there in the middle of the night and now he was going to sit there and try to puzzle out Fukuda…he tried not to smile. That was just…ridiculous. God, he had always been so fucking ridiculous….
And he was still so, incredibly, fucking, ridiculous.
"Well you're pretty undressed right now. I remember that you never got out of your day clothes." Said Fukuda. Suzuki had always liked to sleep fully dressed. It started with sleeping in his school uniform back when they were in middle school in an effort at being more efficient and it ended in Masami having to forcibly undress him, sometimes, because if he had it his way he would have slept in his fully suit. He still did that thing, last Masami had said, where he slept on his back with his hands folded. He did that so he didn't wrinkle his clothes…his mom had always complained about how he was going to ruin his uniform like that…and now here he was in just an undershirt and pants…this was….well Fukuda would make the best of this…whatever 'this' was.
"It's a habit I've gotten into as of late. The buttons of my shirt would always get caught in Shigeko's hair and she didn't like that." Said Suzuki
"Well that makes sense." Said Fukuda. The buttons of his shirt had gotten caught in Masami's hair too…but Fukuda said nothing. Now was not the time to bring up Masami…well there was no time to bring up Masami…and also there was no time, there would never be any time, to tell Suzuki that Masami had told him that she had missed resting her head on a man's chest and not having to get her hair out of the buttons of his shirt…well she had said that and several other things…things that he would never say to Suzuki. Things that it would have been suicidal to say to Suzuki.
"It does. She…well she always makes sense. At least I try to understand her." said Suzuki. He seemed like he would have said more when his phone vibrated. He picked it up and…smiled? Well with his aura. Suzuki never had much expression to him…but his aura was most definitely smiling. He was just…well that must have been Shigeko then. Maybe they had made up…if they had even fought. Fukuda had no idea. He just knew that Suzuki was there and that he had taken to calling his Daughter by her given name.
"So, what's Shigeko got to say?" asked Fukuda. He leaned back and kicked off his socks. He had might as well be comfortable. Suzuki was back buried into his phone….and that had to be Shigeko. Who else would be texting him at this hour? Who else even had his private number? Well Hatori…but Suzuki was with him, not Hatori, and if that child wanted to spend time with Suzuki then…well there was no way in hell that he could handle it. Being friends, proper friends, with Suzuki was a lot of work. Fukuda had done that work, and done it well, for the past thirty years but then out of the blue some kid decides that he's going to-
Calm down, Tadashi.
Hatori was going to get his eventually. He had lied to Suzuki and there were very few things that Suzuki hated more in this world than lying. He always needed to know what was happening and he needed to be able to plan his moves in advance accordingly. Without the right information he would end up planning the wrong moves and then everything would end up going wrong…so, yeah, robbing Suzuki of the truth never went well. Hatori would get his when Suzuki figured out he lied to him…or Suzuki never figured it out and Hatori ended up getting to the weirder side of friendship with Suzuki Touichirou….
A side which they had, hopefully, left behind decades ago.
"About what?" asked Suzuki not taking his eyes off of his phone.
"What she's texting you about, I mean." Said Fukuda
"What? Oh, no, this isn't Shigeko. This is…someone else." Said Suzuki
"Hatori again? You know if you want me to tell him to get lost I can-" said Fukuda
"No, not him either. Just…someone else." Said Suzuki. There was something to his aura when he said that…and he had a tone too…and this was…he knew what this was. This was…something that they both should have left behind years ago…for obvious reasons. The very gold, very obvious ring in Suzuki's finger. How could he just…well he had done it before and….and Fukuda did not want to have to rehome any other babies!
"Is it that Sakata woman?" asked Fukuda. Suzuki was not one of the great stoics of the world. Sure his face was as bored as ever but his aura told the whole story. He…was going to do this again. Cheat on Masami. Create a whole new person and then abandon it. Sleep with a woman who was not his wife….and Fukuda was not being hypocritical. Masami had stepped away from her relationship because Suzuki had been neglectful towards her. Suzuki was stepping out….well she was long gone…but still. He was still going to sleep with this woman when he knew full well that he was married…well Masami had been gone for some time now…but still….
She did not deserve this!
"Yes…and tell me what this means." Said Suzuki. He passed him the phone like he had had been passing him his note binder. God, that end of the day ritual. They'd get to one of their houses, or their fort, record another one of their Claw meetings, and then Suzuki would present him with his binder of notes that had been passed to him in those rare times when a girl would return his feelings. He had them timestamped, literally he stamped the time on them, and asked Fukuda to decipher that they meant.
Some things never changed.
"She said….I'm in bed by eleven but I don't go to sleep until midnight…and this is in reply to you asking if she was tired…" said Fukuda. This was….well he knew what this was. She was flirting with him. A woman was flirting with Suzuki Toucihirou. Fukuda….did not understand women. He had never been able to understand women, what they saw in Suzuki, but he didn't have to understand this. He just had to figure out what he was supposed to tell Suzuki about this.
He couldn't tell Suzuki that this woman was flirting with him.
Because then he would…well they already had one of his illegitimate children in the world and they did not need two. Suzuki…he was married, too, and married men…well Masami had been married but she'd had a good reason to do what she did. She had loved him and he had loved her and Suzuki had been terrible to her anyway so…well that had been different. Masami was off running for her life and hiding, he imagined, and Suzuki was here flirting with women, desperate and probably deeply disturbed women, all night like it was nothing and-
Calm down, Tadashi.
"Because it took her a moment to answer…well thirty seven seconds…and when she takes more than thirsty seconds to answer then she'll most likely take longer than a minute and I just…don't like it when she takes more than a minute because I worry that she's done talking to me but doesn't know how to say so." Said Suzuki. Well now he was just…it was always strange when he was this open….and he was open. He was being very open with his feelings and…that wasn't good. That wasn't good when it was about a woman…and Fukuda did not want to have to rehome any other little esper babies…and he just…part of him was happy that Suzuki was moving on and part of him wanted to take Suzuki and shake him and ask him what he thought that he was doing betraying Masami like this…and just….
This was a very complicated situation…and Fukuda knew that he had to tread lightly here.
"Well that's…why are you talking to her in the first place? I mean if she doesn't want to join then you can just force her to-" said Fukuda. He wanted to just walk up to this woman tell her the same thing that they told everyone. You join or you die. He had no idea what Suzuki even saw in her. She, well he didn't know her personally, but he could still tell that she wasn't anything special. She was just a woman. She had led a very unremarkable life up to this point. She had worked as a shady accountant for shady people and now she was leading her own group of shady people. What did Suzuki see in her? Besides her powers. Maybe it was the powers that attracted him to her. Maybe that was what he saw in her and not Masami. He had never messaged Masami like that. He had left her alone for weeks and sometimes months at a time and she just….she just had to be all alone with the kids. It had been hard for her. Suzuki…well it had been hard for Masami and he hadn't even put any effort in talking to her...or being there for her…or even….Fukuda had no clue how he felt about that….because Masami deserved to be happy but also…also he loved her and if she had been happy then they never would have found each other…
"I don't want to force her to join…I want her to join of her own volition." Said Suzuki. He played with his hands when he said that…and Fukuda hadn't seen him do that in years and…and that was not a good sign at all.
"So that's why you're been texting her…for a while now." Said Fukuda as he scrolled up. Suzuki had been taking to her about…her garden…her cats…meals she had made…this was a lot about her. Maybe he was information gathering again? Fukuda…he knew better. This wasn't just information gathering. This was him being…well he was…Suzuki was interested in this woman…
"Yes. I want her to join Claw…and nothing more." Said Suzuki. He was lying to himself, Fukuda could tell, and that was…well this whole thing was bad. He…was going to deal with this. He was going to deal with this just like he had dealt with anything and everything that Suzuki could throw at him. At least it wasn't going to be a dull night…well it had been a pleasant night…but at least it wouldn't be dull. Yeah…you always had to accentuate the positive…or something. He didn't know. He just had to….to deal with this.
"Right. You know…if she doesn't want to join and you don't want to force her then maybe we should move along. I mean she clearly doesn't want to join and-" said Fukuda
"I know that she doesn't but…maybe I can change her mind…I mean it would be easier if I knew what she meant by…well some of the things that she said. Wrote." Said Suzuki
"She just…well she seems to enjoy talking to you but maybe….can I be honest here?" asked Fukuda
"Aren't you always?" asked Suzuki. Fukuda bit his tongue. He wasn't going to tell Suzuki…well all that there was to tell him….even though it would have just made some things easier but…well he wasn't going to think like this. He was still out of it. He had been out enjoying Osaka…and maybe he should have been attached to Suzuki as usual so this couldn't have been left to happen and…well if Suzuki knew he would throw Fukuda in a hole to rot…but at least then his life would have been his own….
"I am…but I need to speak freely right now." Said Fukuda. He was going to speak freely…but not too freely. He wasn't going to tell Suzuki exactly what he thought. He wasn't going to tell Suzuki that he needed to get his head back in the game and that he needed to stop talking to women in general because, well, the world did not need any more of his children in it. Sho was such a good boy, he was so much of Masami, but his other children might end up inheriting whatever was wrong with him…and also the world had Shigeko in it and that was more than enough of Suzuki and whatever was wrong with him.
"You may." Said Suzuki. Fukuda took a breath and decided what he was going to say. Suzuki wasn't the only one who could plan his moves in advance.
"I think that maybe you're interested in this woman in a way that goes beyond work and, yeah, I know that I'm overstepping but I know you. I know what you can be like. You're talking to this woman and you're over thinking thing with her and-" said Fukuda. There was a flare of his aura but…a surprised one. Not an angry one…and that was….good. He was doing well…well as well as he could do.
"I…am not. I am not interested in Shiori…in Sakata." Said Suzuki. Fukuda rolled his eyes, well he wanted to, so he kept the eye rolling within his own mind. If he closed his eyes he could have seen the two of them back in his room. Suzuki would have been there insisting that he had no interest whatsoever in whatever girl who had caught his heart that week. God. This was…he could have laughed. He could have laughed and if they had been anyone else, if they had been any other two people having themselves a middle aged sleepover complete with agonizing over girls.
"Are you sure? Because I know you and you never take this kind of interest in anyone unless you're interested in them. Her." said Fukuda
"I…have no idea how I feel about her. May I speak freely?" asked Suzuki. That was…this was rare. Suzuki…the last time Suzuki had asked to speak freely he'd taken a rung from his pocket and asked if he had chosen something worthy of Masami. That had been…no. The last time had been when Sho had been born and Suzuki had been hiding in Fukuda's apartment because he had looked over the curtain despite being told by everyone in the room not to. No, wait, the last time had been when he first found Shigeko…and he had been apprehensive about taking her in…he had been planning on giving her to one of the Divisions…but Fukuda had convinced him that raising her in an actual family would have been better….
It was always a big thing when Suzuki Touichirou asked to speak freely….hell, it was always a big thing when he asked permission to do anything at all.
"Could I stop you?" asked Fukuda. He tried to make light of it, to bring Suzuki back down to normal. He was not in the mood to hear something heavy like he was planning on divorcing Masami and marrying this Shiori woman…even though that would have been great for Masami…no. He was not going to entertain thoughts of what could have been and what he wanted there to be. Masami was…she was gone and…and even if Suzuki was well and truly over here it wasn't like they could be together. No, there was no story that he could spin that would keep Suzuki's suspicions away…and also he had other things to deal with right now than his lack of love life…and the lack of the woman he loved in his life.
"No, you couldn't so I will. I…have no idea how I feel about her. She is…someone who fascinates me and I would enjoy…speaking to her…but I know that I…you aren't married. You wouldn't understand." Said Suzuki. Fukuda understood fully well. Suzuki was attracted to this woman and he didn't have the decency to either honor his marriage or release Masami from their marriage…not that they had anywhere to send the divorce papers but…well if she weren't married to him and he was too busy with someone else then she could come back into his life….and Sho's…and he was going to stop before he got into the latest episode of the life of Fukuda Tadashi as it should have been.
"I can try. So, what, you're into her?" said Fukuda. There was some…tenseness…there that he knew that Suzuki wouldn't pick up on. As long as he kept it out of his aura then he was going to be alright. Suzuki knew auras, not tones and body language.
"I just said that I didn't know. I'm married to Masami….she's gone but I'm married to her…and I can't…do that to her." said Suzuki. That was…well at least now he was acting like a husband…and Fukuda had no idea how to feel about that…but this change of heart did not erase baby Mukai or Micha from the world…and he just…he felt so bad for Masami but also good because Suzuki was getting over her and…and he just…this wasn't about how he felt. He had a part to play in all of this. The part of the eternally loyal best friend and right hand man. That was who he was and he just…had to get back into the act. So that was what he did.
"That's good. I mean if you realize that-" said Fukuda
"But I haven't done anything with Shoiri but I'm guilty and also…not guilty…and my house is full of snakes-" said Suzuki. Fukuda felt his aura pull in. That was…he knew that Suzuki did try his hand at being metaphorical sometimes but….Fukuda was going to stay calm. Somebody might have betrayed him again….someone who wasn't him. Someone might have revealed themselves to be a double agent again or…or something. Fukuda…he needed to get to the bottom of this before…well before he found himself rotting in a hole. He knew that if what had happened ever came out he would find himself in a hole, he would be free of Suzuki though, and he would also be on his way to death so…so maybe he could stay with Suzuki for a little while longer.
"Wait…what about snakes? Are you trying to be metaphorical or-" said Fukuda trying his best to keep his aura calm. Maybe Suzuki would blame the sweating on the heat…or something. He didn't care what he blamed it on just so long as he didn't get suspicious…because the last thing that Fukuda needed was Suzuki getting suspicious.
"No, I meant that literally. My house is full of snakes because my son brought them into the house for some reason. That's why I'm here. Shigeko told me that I had to leave so here I am." Said Suzuki. Fukuda blinked. That was…well he would talk to Sho about bringing snakes into the house later but…Shigeko…she had kicked him out of the house. He imagined her as the picture of the angry housewife with a rolling pin in her hand and her foot tapping….and that was just…less ridiculous than what had actually happened. He assumed that there was no rolling pin involved but…she had kicked her own father out of the house….
"Wait…she kicked you out of the house? And you let her? Touichirou…she's eleven." Said Fukuda. He knew that he was reaching with the use of his given name but…but that was nonsense. Ridiculous nonsense. That was…she was eleven years old. She was his child, not his spouse, and she couldn't just kick him out of the house for the night…though this would be good for Sho…but still. This was just…insane…but that was par for the course when dealing with Suzuki Touichirou. You either got used to the insanity or went insane yourself.
"I know what age she is." Said Suzuki
"Then why did you let her kick you out of the house?" asked Fukuda with a sigh that he knew Suzuki wouldn't know what to make of. Shigeko…had way too much power. She had been so small and cute and sweet and now…well now she was a small, cute, sweet little tyrant. She had the power to throw her own father out of the house…power that Suzuki gave her. If Masami had been around then none of this would have happened…but she had done what she'd had to do. She'd had a very difficult choice to make and she'd made it. She had made it with the trust and hope that Fukuda would do right by her kids…and he had royally fucked that whole thing up…and there was no salvaging it…and he was sort of glad that she was gone. At least if she was gone then she wouldn't be able to see what had become of her only daughter.
"Because…because she was going to deal with her brother and…well she stopped me from dealing with him. She stopped me physically and…well I mean metaphysically and…and I am, in some ways, proud of her…and in some ways I am angry with her…but she has every right to be angry with me. I mean I've been carrying on with Sakata…well not on with her but I've been thinking about it and…and I should not be so unfaithful to Shigeko-" said Suzuki
"That's a weird word to use, unfaithful, when talking about your daughter. That's really more of a word that you would use when talking about your wife." Said Fukuda
"Oh…well I used it because it fit. She is, in many ways, fulfilling the same role as her mother. Well without the sexual component, obviously, because she is my Daughter…well not genetically but the thought of being with her in that way makes me want to kill myself-" said Suzuki
"As it should." Said Fukuda before he could stop himself. Suzuki was capable of a lot of terrible things…but not all the terrible things. There were some things, thank God, that were even too terrible for him.
"I know it should and it does. I just….I would never put anyone above her and I shouldn't act like this because I am putting Shiori above her…well not yet but I am in danger of it and…and I cannot treat her that way. I love her." said Suzuki. Fukuda had never wanted to hit him more in that moment than he had at any other moment in their friendship…if it would even be called that. He wanted to hit Suzuki hard enough to knock some sense into him. Where was this when he was with Masami? Where was this caring person, this person who was capable of caring for another person, when Masami had been fading away into a ghost? What, now he decided to be a good husband? To his own daughter? No, not even his own daughter. He had a daughter that he never saw, that he didn't even acknowledge, and he didn't treat his own son much better. Shigeko was the person that he cared for this much and…'
And Fukuda needed to calm down.
Shigeko was…Shigeko. Suzuki couldn't help feeling the way he did about her. She was him, in miniature, a reflection of all that he was. That was what children were, really, tiny mirrors of who their parents were. Shigeko had the same thing wrong with her that Suzuki did…and he did have something wrong with him. Fukuda had known for years, since the day that they'd met, that something was off about Suzuki.
"Yeah….and you're right. It wouldn't be smart at all to bring another woman into her life like this. She shouldn't have kicked you out of the house, you're right about that, but you know how she is. She's very possessive of you I've noticed, she's always been a daddy's girl, and maybe she can subtly pick up on the fact that you may be developing feelings for another woman…a woman who isn't her mother." Said Fukuda. He was lying through his teeth but that was normal for the two of them. He lied to keep Suzuki from doing something stupid and Suzuki was grateful that he was lied to. That was just how it went between them….and how it would always be.
"You…you're right. She has a sense for these things and…you're right. That's…I've been terrible to her lately." Said Suzuki. Good. He was listening. His phone was vibrating beside him and he wasn't picking it up. Good, good, very good. Now maybe they could move past the agonizing over girls part of the sleepover and get to the part where they ate garbage, played videogames, and occasionally did stupid things like try and give themselves radiation poisoning by sitting on the microwave.
"Yeah, well, now you can do better and-" said Fukuda
"I just wish I knew what was wrong…well not wrong but…I used to be so focused. I used to be able to see my goals and I used to be able to achieve them but for the past four years now I've just been….I don't know. I don't like it." Said Suzuki. He'd gone off the deep end after Masami left. Having that baby just cinched it but…well he'd been able to hold it together for a year or so but…yeah. Suzuki had been a mess and clinging to Shigeko had only made it worse…they really brought out the worst in each other…and Fukuda…for once he had no idea how to fix it.
"You're doing fine. It's normal for anyone to have setbacks, even you." Said Fukuda. There. Reassuring. He wanted Suzuki to keep calm…but he also wanted him to fail. He wanted this whole insane…thing…to fail already. It was amazing that they had even made it this far. World domination…every day it looked more and more like Suzuki could actually do it.
"This…doesn't feel like a setback. It feels like I'm losing my way. I mean….I used to know exactly who I was and now…now it feels like things are in flux and…and it feels like I don't even know myself sometimes. I mean I'm finding myself attracted to women who are not my wife and I'm neglecting my duties to Claw…and to my children…and I just…I feel like I'm losing my way…in a way." said Suzuki
"Touichirou….having feelings for a woman isn't losing your way. You're a man, it's normal to look at women, and even married men…well you're barely even married. I mean I know that it's been a while for you since you were even with a woman…and I know that you get kind of weird if it's been a while for you…sorry to speak so freely but-" said Fukuda. He was doing his best but he was getting into uncharted waters here. He had built Suzuki back up after rejection, he had helped him mentally prepare for coming rejection, but he had never told Suzuki…well any of this. But he had to do what he had to do. This was the life that he had made for himself and now all he could do was live it.
"No, you're right…you know me. It has been a long time…long enough that Minegishi is starting to look good to me." Said Suzuki. Fukuda couldn't contain his shock. Minegishi Toshiki? The one that they worked with? Shigeko's bitchy best friend? Them? That person? Suzuki…was losing his mind. That was the only explanation. He had been dancing on the edge of the abyss for a while, now, and he had finally fallen in head first.
"What the hell, Touichirou?! Them of all people? Have you seen them? Or interacted with them in any way?" asked Fukuda. This was just…he knew Suzuki. He knew the sorts of women he liked. Feminine types with hair he could run his fingers through, legs from here until next week, and a chest of some kind. Minegishi looked more like a guy than anything…which was probably why they were dating a blind man. Suzuki wasn't blind though…or deaf….or impaired in any way. To have gone from Masami to that…well now he felt insulted on Masami's behalf since she couldn't have been there to be insulted herself.
"They have a beauty to them. The shape of their face, the dip in their waist when you can see it…and I have no idea why they wear men's clothing. They really do look pretty…despite the short purple hair and lack of eyebrows." Said Suzuki. He noticed the strangest things about women. Minegishi was just…he saw nothing that could be considered attractive about them….damn. It really had been a while for Suzuki hadn't it?
"They're really not much to look at…damn. It has been a while for you. I mean I know you and I know what you like and they do not have it." Said Fukuda
"Well I have no idea if they do since they wear men's clothing for some reason…but they aren't terribly unattractive. They're intelligent and they're good with Shigeko….and I don't understand why they don't want to be a woman so there's a level of fascination there." said Suzuki
"They're also flat as a board and a complete bitch." Said Fukuda. Minegishi…he had no idea what anyone would have seen in them. They had nothing going on. They didn't have good looks or a good personality. They were just this bitchy flat chested short haired person who was hell bent on being the bitchiest person who had ever lived.
"That too…but I can overlook that…I mean I could overlook that. I won't be overlooking anything because I won't be pursuing them or anyone else." Said Suzuki
"Yeah…and also I'm pretty sure that they're Shimazaki's girlfriend." Said Fukuda. He was mostly sure that Suzuki wasn't going to try anything…but he wasn't well if Minegishi was starting to look good to him. They were not his type at all…he had no idea what man would consider them to be his type…and Suzuki…well he was a very predictable man and when he started to act unpredictably…well then was when it was time to run.
"That would make sense. Them being with him I mean. He's a powerful esper and he's very fit, too, I mean more than you would think based on how he dresses….so of course Minegishi would want to be with him…not that I would ever have tried anything with Minegishi. I'm married and also….well it doesn't seem like the most intelligent move, taking employees to bed with me, so I won't ever be doing any of that." Said Suzuki. Fukuda was going to ignore the return of not entirely straight Touichirou. It was best to just not acknowledge him when he entered the conversation. Last time Fukuda had acknowledged him…well he didn't want to relive that night.
"Yeah that'd be smart…but seriously. It's been a while for you and maybe you just need…well maybe you should come out with me one of these days." Said Fukuda. He did not want to bring Suzuki with him on one of these nights…but that was better than him getting all weird because he hadn't been with anyone in a while. If Minegishi of all people was starting to look good to him then, yes, it had been way too long…and if Suzuki was getting over Masami then…then as much as he should not have been cheating on her it was still good that he was getting over her…then she could stop running or hiding or…whatever she was doing.
"Tadashi…you aren't wasting your money at pinsaros again are you? Because you really don't need to. I don't know why a woman would say no to you. You're intelligent, good company, you've probably gotten better at kissing since-" said Suzuki. Nope, nope, not talking about that. They were not talking about that because he knew what it meant when Suzuki starting talking about that. Talking about that would lead to trying that…and Fukuda was not in the mood to try anything….and he had never been in the mood…and some day he would sit Suzuki down and tell him that he wasn't as straight as he thought he was and if anyone was responsible for Sho being the way he was it was Suzuki. These things did have a genetic component after all and Suzuki….well he had told Fukuda on many occasions that if he had by some stroke of fate been born a woman they would have been married years ago…amongst other things…and the things that had happened….things which were difficult to write off as the result of being weird, horny teenagers with poor boundaries and little supervision….yeah. Fukuda was not going down that road again.
"So, how your Minecraft world going? You know I've been having a lot of trouble, actually, in mine and I would love your help." Said Fukuda. He knew that he was blatantly changing the subject…but it needed changing. It needed changing before Suzuki got any weird ideas in his head…or he went off on his rant about pinsaros and the like being total wastes of time and money…and they weren't. They were good if you didn't have the time or mental energy to meet a woman the normal way…and if, in Suzuki's case, you couldn't be trusted to meet a woman on your own and had a lot of pent up frustration that came out in weird ways. No, Fukuda was not in the mood for any of that….
He was sort of in the mood for videogames.
He was sort of in the mood to bring this middle aged sleepover away from the agonizing over girls portion of the night and over to the videogames, junk food, and heading down to the video rental place…if there were even any of those left…God. It had been so long….about thirty years…
It had been about thirty years but…it felt like yesterday….