"You could at least try to not look like you're being castrated," Shinobu teased as he looked up from his shopping list. Hiroki was slumped over the handlebar of his shopping cart, pouting as he folded his own shopping list into an origami cat head.
"I hate shopping. It's so boring," Hiroki complained. "And stop teasing me! Miyagi's idiocy is rubbing off on you!"
Shinobu scowled.
"Don't compare me to that dumbass," Shinobu huffed. Hiroki glanced at Shinobu and grinned slightly. He propped his arm up on the handlebar and rested his chin in his hand.
"He's lucky to have you around. I bet he'd starve to death without you around to kick his ass into gear."
Shinobu's eyes softened.
"He would," he said gently.
"So? Has he officially proposed to you yet?"
Hiroki knew he had ventured into dangerous territory when Shinobu's face fell and he glanced at his bare left hand.
"Sorry, Shinobu," Hiroki said hastily. "I thought… I didn't mean-"
"It's fine," Shinobu said. He led Hiroki down the canned foods aisle to the bread aisle, where they parked their carts and begun comparing loaves of bread. Hiroki snuck a peek at Shinobu. He had an impassive look on his face, but he was unknowingly comparing two loaves of the exact same bread.
"Shinobu, I'm really sorry," Hiroki apologized. Shinobu looked up, staring blankly at the wall of bread in front of him.
"He hasn't even talked about it since we were still living in Japan. At first I thought he had just forgotten about it because he's so stupid… but now I don't know. I can't help but to think that he doesn't want to or something. Maybe he thinks I'm… too young."
Hiroki blinked. Ever since giving birth, Shinobu had developed a motherly, mature atmosphere. Hiroki had almost forgotten that Shinobu was still only nineteen.
"But… that's never been a problem though, has it?"
Shinobu averted his eyes.
"I'm afraid," he said softly. "He's just been a little off since… since you know, the stillbirth."
"I never noticed it," Hiroki murmured.
"He changes when he's behind doors. I mean, he likes to tease me still and all that, but when we have a serious conversation… he has almost this… regretful atmosphere, you know?"
"Regretful…" Hiroki echoed. Shinobu shrugged.
"I dunno I'm sure I'm just seeing things. Both me and Miyagi have been pretty out of it lately," Shinobu said with a sigh.
"It's understandable," Hiroki said solemnly.
They continued their shopping in silence, only talking when they needed to ask a question concerning prices. When they finished, Shinobu drove them home in his minivan, stopping to grab some fast food.
"Bye, Kamijou. Thanks for coming out with me today," Shinobu said as he shifted the car into 'park' in front of Hiroki's house. He turned to smile at his companion.
"Meh. The only good thing about today is this," Hiroki said, holding up his Subway bag. Shinobu laughed, and Hiroki slid out of the car and went to the backseat to retrieve his grocery bags. He bumped the car door shut with his hip. Shinobu rolled down the window.
"I'll have Miyagi bring Fuyumi over," he said with a grin. Hiroki nodded.
"Sounds good. Thanks," he said. He turned to head up into his house, listening to Shinobu back out of his driveway. As he walked up the small footpath to the porch of the house, he spotted a crate next to the door. His eyes immediately lit up, and he jogged the rest of the way up to the house. Hiroki glanced down at the box when he got to the door.
Hiroki Kusama
Only one person in the entire world sent him packages labeled with 'Kusama'.
"Yee!" Hiroki squealed, balancing the groceries in one arm and throwing the door open. He dashed into the kitchen and practically tossed the groceries onto the grocery table. He went back outside and grabbed the crate, dragging it inside and falling to his knees right in the entrance hall. Excitedly tearing the box open, he smiled as he brushed aside the few Styrofoam peanuts that sat at the top of the contents.
Hamlet
Frankenstein
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Hobbit
Hiroki beamed down at the brand new hardcover Japanese books that sat at the top. He removed them, revealing another layer of four books. After the third layer of books, he got to a bunch of smaller, more colorful books, several of them packed into boxes that contained series.
The Berenstain Bears
Percy Jackson and the Olympians
The Magic Tree House
Harry Potter
The Chronicles of Narnia
Mother Goose's Nursery Rhymes
Hiroki smiled gently at the nursery rhymes, hauling out the large book. He leafed through it, his eyes rapidly taking in the stimulating pictures within its pages. He was tempted to call Nowkai, but he reminded himself that it was around one in the morning in Japan. He sighed and gathered the books back into the box. With some struggle, he dragged the heavy box into the living room, then down the hall towards the spiral staircase that led to the library. He hauled the box up the stairs, pausing every few steps to catch his breath.
He sighed in complete bliss as he finally got to the top, his face glowing in the sunlight that exploded into the library in an array of brilliant whites and yellows. It shone onto the bookshelves, where there were already around two hundred books sitting on the wooden surface. Fuyumi's bookshelf was about half full with books that interested any child from three to eighteen. Hiroki's bookshelves weren't nearly as full, but there were plenty of books to last Hiroki until the next time Nowaki sent him his weekly boxful of books.
Humming cheerfully, Hiroki went back and forth from the bookshelves to the box in the center of the room, filling the shelves with hours upon hours of stories to read. He reached up to place the final book, smiling as he patted the binding affectionately. He was just about to choose a book to read when his cell phone started to vibrate in his pocket. He dug it out and flipped it open.
"Hello?"
"Hiro-san…"
Hiroki rolled his eyes and pinched his nose.
"Nowaki, I thought I told you that you needed to sleep," he scolded, meandering towards the window, where there was a white loveseat, an end table, and a reading lamp. He flopped down onto the loveseat and lounged on it, resting his head against a light blue throw pillow.
"I had a nightmare."
Hiroki frowned.
"You're lying, Nowaki. Don't lie to me."
There was a long pause.
"I wanted to hear your voice."
His eyes softening, Hiroki sighed and rolled his head towards the window, squinting against the bright sunlight.
"Did you get any sleep at all?" he asked.
"…No. Hiro-san, I want to see your face so bad. Please, just until I fall asleep."
Hiroki was silent for a long time, thinking. Then, with a slight huff, he hauled himself to his feet and walked towards the staircase.
"Alright, fine. But just until you go to sleep! And you have to actually try to sleep, okay?" Hiroki said firmly.
"Okay."
"Go get your laptop, I'll be online in a second."
Hiroki hung up the phone and went downstairs to his bedroom, where he picked up his laptop and brought it to the bed. He lied down on his side and set the laptop up in front of him. He logged into the video chat program, and a split second later, Nowaki was calling him. Hiroki accepted the call and Nowaki's face appeared on the screen, one eye partially covered by the pillow he was lying on. He smiled gently at Hiroki.
"Hiro-san… you're so beautiful."
Hiroki blushed and averted his eyes.
"You just saw me earlier today, idiot."
"You get more and more beautiful with every minute."
Hiroki glowered at his idiot fiancé, but the look of peace on Nowaki's face broke his irritated look and instead brought out a little smile. He watched as Nowaki snuggled into his pillow.
"Starting to feel tired already?" Hiroki asked quietly.
"…No… I just feel a lot more relaxed," Nowaki answered softly. He gazed at Hiroki. "I miss you."
Hiroki shyly stroked a lock of his hair out of his face, his lips upturning slightly.
"Um… I got your books today."
"You did? That's good. Do you like this week's selection?"
"I love it."
They sat in comfortable silence, staring at each other with unrestrained adoration.
"Hiro-san, I love you," Nowaki murmured after a long time. Hiroki remained silent, watching as Nowaki's eyes very slowly went out of focus and began to close. He continued to whisper against his pillow, his voice slowing down. "…Love you… I love… you… Hiro…san… love…"
Nowaki's words trailed off with a sigh as his eyes shut completely. His lips parted and his breathing deepened. When Hiroki was sure he was asleep, he let out the breath he had been holding.
"I love you too, Nowaki," Hiroki whispered. "I love you so, so much. Goodnight, baby."
He slowly closed the laptop, severing the connection.
The light that painted the inside of Nowaki's eyelids suddenly went dark, and he peeled his eyes open to reveal the black screen with the words USER HAS DISCONNECTED across it. Tears that had gathered behind Nowaki's shut eyelids finally began to flow. He was relieved that Hiroki hadn't seen him like this- he had hardly been able to pretend to fall asleep in time to hide the fact that he had been so close to crying. He let out a little whimper and shook as the tears slid down the side of his nose and dripped onto his pillow.
"Hiro-san…"
