Warnings: Mild Slash (Finn Bálor/Hideo Itami), Mild Profanity, Fluff. (a continuation of the tale started in Xmas Carols: Chapter 22 O Christmas Tree)
The next morning Finn wakes up to find Hideo still curled in his arms, unlike last night though, he's tense, coiled like he's poised for action.
"You're awake?" Hideo's voice is emotionless, distantly cool, and Finn squeezes him tightly. He wants soft sleepy Hideo back, but it seems that he's too awake to be snuggled, and Finn mourns that fact.
"Aye... But its Sunday, ain't nothing stopping us from having a lie-in." Finn presses a kiss to the back of Hideo's head, hoping for the tension to seep from him, but if anything, it increases. Hideo pulls away from him, getting out of bed, and leaving Finn's room without a backward glance. It's not how he'd hoped Sunday morning would go, but in all honesty, it was probably always the way it was going to go down. He'd taken Hideo to bed without his consent, and rather than explain the whys and hows of the situation, they both seem to be ignoring each other. The rest of the day, the rest of the week, Hideo isn't really around, and Finn stalls for some way to try and bridge the gap between them.
Thursday comes, and Finn's not sure what the plan will be. Hideo's not been subtle in his avoiding Finn, spending his time hidden in his room, and as much as Finn wants to bang on the door and demand a conversation, he'd crossed the line in taking Hideo to bed in the first place. It might be better to wait and see if there'll be some move towards reconciliation on Hideo's part first. Yet, it seems like Hideo is going to leave things as they are. So, Finn resigns himself to watching TV alone, when there's the sound of Hideo's bedroom door opening.
"Finn?" There's a tentative edge to his voice, and Finn doesn't look over at him, doesn't want to come across as too desperate, too needy.
"Ah?" What is it? It's a mean tactic, but the one syllable should be enough to act as an answer. Hideo takes a deep breath, and the only sound is that of the door to his room closing once more. Finn closes his eyes, mentally berating himself.
"Are we..." There's a heavy pause as Hideo sits on the couch by him, staring at the crappy US TV show Finn's been gazing at without watching.
"You wanna?" Finn knows what the rest of Hideo's question was going to be, and whilst there's a big part of him that'd like to go and watch a movie, there's a far larger part that wants to talk about last weekend. He wants to ease the tension from between them. Hideo stands suddenly, and Finn turns to watch him fill the kettle, putting it on to boil whilst he fills the teapot with leaves.
"Not tonight." He mutters, coming back over to sit on his end of the couch. There's a pensive set to his shoulders, and Finn smiles over at him.
"Wanna watch something online?" The connector cable is still plugged into the back of the TV, and fetching one of the two laptops in the apartment would be easy enough.
"No... I..." Hideo sighs, and moves closer to Finn, the kettle finishes boiling, and Finn goes to pour the hot water into the pot, bringing it, and two cups back over to the table.
"Wanna stare at ridiculous shit neither one of us understands?" Finn grins over at him, flicking to a Mexican soap opera. Hideo laughs, and doesn't move away when Finn sits close enough for their thighs to be pressed together, instead, his arm drapes over the back of the couch, his fingers brushing Finn's shoulder.
"You any plans for today?" It's possibly not a great idea to ask on the day of the trip, but Finn had come to the conclusion that asking any sooner would give Hideo too much time to think of a valid excuse to get out of coming on this expedition to the zoo. Since their evening spent being bewildered by Mexican soaps, things have been better. The strange tension between them hasn't really gone, but it's morphed into something else, something that feels like the day before a thunderstorm.
"Ah?" Why? You're wearing a face I don't trust. Hideo looks at him, and Finn grins, flopping down to sit by him on the couch.
"There are plans..." Finn picks up his cup of tea, and resists the urge to snuggle up. He's almost certain that he has no idea if Hideo would or wouldn't like being snuggled. They've yet to discuss last weekend, yet to talk about anything of substance, and it's frustrating. Leaving conversations until almost too late is a habit Finn thinks he's going to have to get out of when it comes to his roommate. They need to talk about what happened a week ago, and he should have mentioned this trip to the zoo sooner.
"Plans?" There's a sceptical edge to Hideo's voice, and Finn smiles brightly at him, busying himself with drinking his tea. "What are these plans?" Before Finn can answer there's a sharp knock on the door. Hideo glances back at it, and then to Finn. "Your plans?" Finn shrugs rather than answers, but he supposes it's more than likely the instigator of the zoo based plans. He wouldn't put it past Kevin to show up to make sure that there was no way Hideo or Finn could weasel out of his zoo expedition.
"You gonna get the door?" Finn smiles as sweetly as he can manage, and Hideo huffs an irritated sigh as he gets to his feet, his hand mussing Finn's hair on his way past. It's a casual little gesture, and not one that should send shivery sparks of electricity down Finn's spine, but it does, and he can't say he minds overly.
"G'morning Itami-san." The familiarly accented drawl of Kevin comes to Finn, and he can picture the slightly uncomfortable expression that'll be flitting over Hideo's face.
"Good morning, Kevin?" Hideo sounds hesitant, and Finn turns to watch Kevin toe off his sneakers as he comes into the little apartment, taking a seat on the end of the couch closest to the armchair.
"So we're all meeting here. Any coffee, or another cup at least?" Hideo sets another cup down on the table, and pours a cup of tea for Kevin. "You didn't tell him, did you?" There's accusation on Kevin's face, and Hideo turns to look at Finn, his eyes narrowed as a sheepish smiles spreads over Finn's lips.
"Ha... Uh... No-" The rest of what Finn was going to say is interrupted by another knock, and he bounces to his feet, letting Sami, and Adrian in. "Morning lads." Adrian nods at Finn's greeting and Sami pulls him into a hug.
"There's tea? I'm dying for a cuppa." Adrian's already seated himself down in what was Finn's spot, and Hideo's gone to fetch another two cups. "This real tea? I'd kill for some Tetley right now... This American stuff, it's just not the same." Finn nods in agreement with Adrian's lamenting on American tea. Sami takes the other spot on the couch, leaving Finn with the armchair.
"It is green tea... You will like it." Hideo pours Adrian a cup, then one for Sami. With three extra people in the apartment, there's only one seat left, and Finn's already taken it. There's a brief moment of hesitation before Hideo perches on the arm of the chair. Finn manages to hide a smirk behind his teacup, but the slightly amused glance from Sami suggests it wasn't hidden quite fast enough.
"Right... So, the Zoo Enthusiast is driving, and we're all leaving after this tea." Sami places a map down on the table, spreading it wide.
"The Zoo?" Hideo glances down at Finn, and Finn smiles hopefully back at him. Hideo shakes his head, seemingly understanding that this is what the plans were. "Hmm... Are there panda?"
"Uh... No." Sami mutters, he and Kevin crowded around the map, as Adrian helps himself to more tea.
"Tiger?" Hideo sets his cup down on the table getting a refill from Adrian, and taking the now empty spot on the couch where Kevin had been sitting, the map apparently requiring him to be up close and personal with it.
"No tigers... No pandas... But there are monkeys, and frogs..." Kevin glances up, and Hideo snorts dismissively.
"It is not a good zoo if there are no tigers." He takes a drink of his tea, ignoring the mildly putout expression on Kevin's face. Kevin's' love of zoos is odd, but kind of endearing.
"Any elephants?" Finn asks hopefully, and Hideo laughs, shaking his head, having clearly sneaked a peek at the map.
"There's spiders?" Sami offers, and at this, Adrian pales.
"I'm not going anywhere near any spiders, man." He mutters, and Finn glances at him. "What? They freak me out... Too many legs."
"They taste delicious." Hideo smirks, and Adrian turns to him in disgust. "I'm told at least... They're..." There's a pause as he fishes for the right word, looking to Finn for aide.
"A delicacy?" Finn offers.
"Ah." Thank you, that's the word I wanted. Hideo smiles at him in gratitude. "In Thailand, they cook them in oil... Many spider as big as your head on sticks." Hideo smirks, and Adrian looks like he might throw up.
"I don't think the zoo people would appreciate us eating the exhibits." Sami mutters, and Kevin nods, his attention still caught by the map.
"Cheetahs! They have cheetahs." He says triumphantly, taking up his cup of tea, and drinking from it. "So we ready, gentlemen?" He stands, gathering the empty teacups, and depositing them in the sink. Sami and Adrian stand, going back over to the door to out their shoes back on. It's just then that it occurs to Finn that they'd not been asked to take them off in the first place. It'd been an automatic reaction to entering the apartment he and Hideo share, clearly something remembered from their time in Japan.
"You know... If you object on a moral level, you can probably get out of this." Finn leans closer to Hideo, almost whispering in his ear. An odd little look flits over Hideo's face, and something that looks like a shiver passes through him.
"Ah." He stands, and for the first time in all the time Finn's known Hideo, he's not sure on the meaning of that little syllable.
Once at the zoo, it seems that Kevin and Hideo have bonded far more than anyone was expecting. Very quickly, it became apparent that they were intent on getting as close to as many animals as possible, and where they could they were going to hold as many different things as they were allowed.
"Who'd have thought this would be how we finally got him to talk to us." Sami mutters, walking along beside Finn, sipping at a soda, his eyes trained on the backs of Kevin and Hideo, their heads bent together, slowly planning where to go next, and which animals to attempt to cross off they I've held one of those list.
"Next time Kevin suggests going to the zoo, I'll not even bother arguing about it." Finn shakes his head, as their intrepid leaders pause at a junction, consulting the map, and the sign by the path. "Where we going next?" Finn thinks he might be standing a little too close to Hideo, but no one seems to be paying attention, Sami and Adrian are lost in a conversation about which one of them looks better in Sami's hat, and Kevin is fixated on the sign.
"Insects or birds." Hideo snags the soda in Finn's hands, taking a sip. "Why is it so sweet?" He looks deeply distressed, and Finn shrugs at his question.
"Lord knows... It's not even that sweet up in Canada." Kevin glances over at them, and Finn feels slightly self-conscious over the fact there's barely any space between his chest, and Hideo's back, but Kevin doesn't seem inclined to comment. "My vote is for bugs. Watching Adrian freak out will be hilarious." He smirks, and Adrian comes over at the sound of his name.
"No. No bugs, I'm not going anywhere near anything with more legs than a dog." He sounds indignant, and Sami's hat is on his head making him look oddly like he should be standing in a field by a tractor, or at least talking about going down the pit.
"It looks better on Sami." Finn snags the hat from Adrian's head, and sets it on his own. "Though I'm sure I look fabulous." Hideo laughs at him, and turns his attention back to the map in his hands.
"You're all no good thieves." Sami mutters, snagging the hat from Finn's head. "I'm good with bugs. Gentlemen?" His gaze is fixated on Finn and Hideo, a wry twist on his lips. "Your opinion?"
"Insects." Hideo nods, folding the map up, and Sami laughs.
"Well, bugs it is. Let's go." He starts walking away, and Finn stares at his back.
"Doesn't my opinion count?" It's a pitiful little complaint, and it draws laughter from everyone but Hideo.
"It did not." Hideo shrugs, catching up to Sami, and stealing his hat. If Finn's honest, he thinks it suits Hideo best, but he's biased. Hideo turns to Finn with a grin, ducking out from Sami's attempts are retrieving his hat. "If you agree, four-one, if not three-two. Democracy doesn't always work." Hideo laughs, and starts running, Sami hot on his heels screaming about his hat.
"And there's no way you were gonna disagree with Hideo, Bálor. A - you've got it bad, B - you're not subtle, and C - he knows all about it." Kevin laughs, and starts ambling towards the insect house.
"Sometimes, I hate these arseholes." Adrian mumbles, and Finn looks over at him. "What? We're friends, but they're still arseholes." He shrugs, and Finn rubs his eyes, trailing along behind, wondering if he should try and be a little more subtle in his attraction to Hideo.
The zoo takes all day, and traumatises Adrian to the extent that Hideo, of all people, volunteered to buy him a drink at the little Irish pub he and Finn frequent on Thursday nights. The tarantula incident, that truly traumatised Adrian, might have been Finn's fault, but there's no way he's admitting that, and there's no way he's even a little bit sorry for it. The look on Adrian's face when that massive beastie had started walking along his head had been worth the sharp little kick Adrian had given his shin, and more than worth the sound of Hideo choking on laughter.
"We need to go to Animal Kingdom next time. They'll have even bigger spiders... And probably tigers too." Kevin says once he's finished his first pint. Sami nods beside him, whilst Adrian pales significantly, taking a long draught of his pint.
"Do not worry. You can have Mickey help you. Mice stick together." Hideo smirks, setting his empty pint glass down, and Adrian looks torn between laughing and being offended.
"I'm not getting called up on a mouse gimmick... I better not be... The only way I'd do it is if it was Danger Mouse." Adrian sinks his pint, and Finn follows suit, tapping Sami shoulder.
"We'll get the next on in." Finn smiles slightly, and Sami stands finishing his pint as he follows Finn to the bar.
"So... Hideo, huh?" Sami smirks at Finn, getting a dismissive snort back. "C'mon... Kevin's right, isn't he?" The smirk on Sami's face takes a gleeful, childlike turn, and Finn sighs nodding. "Ha! I knew it!" He crows, and Finn scowls at him.
"I hate you, both of you... All of you." Finn mutters, ordering five more pints from the bartender.
"I like this pub though... It's very European." Sami smiles, and Finn nods. The little pub that he and Hideo visit on Thursdays is incredibly European, or at least incredibly Irish.
"Stop changing the subject." Finn scowls, and Sami laughs at him.
"What? You have a crush, Hideo isn't blind, and neither are we, big deal." Sami shrugs, and eyes the peanuts on the wall behind the bar. "You want some nuts?"
"I've no idea if that's a thinly-veiled joke or a serious question." Finn grumbles, the smile on Sami's face doesn't offer any clarification, and to be honest, him buying a bag doesn't help either. When they get back to their table by the fire, Adrian has taken Finn's seat beside Hideo, Kevin on his other side, all three of them crowded around Adrian's phone avidly watching something on it.
"The fuck are you watching?" Sami hovers behind them, trying to see the little screen.
"Sounds like Danger Mouse..." Finn sets the pints of beer he's carrying down, taking a long drink from his own.
"These two had never even heard of it, man. Classic British telly! I had to share..." Adrian grabs his pint, and throws an arm around Hideo's shoulders. "I'm coming over with my box-set next weekend. We'll get you up to speed, my man." He laughs, his accent thickening in his own excitement. There's an unexpectedly happy smile on Hideo's face, and he takes a long drink from his pint.
"This is a general invitation, right?" Sami takes a seat beside Kevin, sipping at his pint slowly. "I'm sure I can find some classic Canadian kid's shows..." Sami takes another sip, and Kevin nods.
"Yes! I'll find something in French, with no fucking subtitles so you can all suffer." He chuckles, and Finn shakes his head, he's tempted to look out something in Gaelic, but that'd be mean to everyone involved.
"Urutoraman." Hideo smiles over at him, and Finn raises an eyebrow. "If this is to be how we spend next Saturday. I will provide Urutoraman."
"Ultra-man? Evil." Finn laughs, tapping Hideo's shin under the table lightly. He can see the ridiculousness of that show going down horrifically well, especially with Adrian.
"Ah." They'll love it, and you know they will. Hideo takes another drink, and Finn taps his shin once more, getting a little tap to his ankle from Hideo in return.
"So we have another date planned for next weekend? Good." Kevin grins, and his arm joins Adrian's over Hideo's shoulders. "This English shit is way easier to learn when you have to use it, my friend."
"Ah." Hideo nods vaguely, and Kevin taps his glass against Hideo's. "Kanpai?"
"Kanpai." Finn knocks his glass against Hideo's too, and drains his pint, watching Hideo follow suit. Kevin shakes his head, and takes his arm back from around Hideo, sipping at his pint more sedately.
Over the course of the rest of the night, Finn and Hideo accidentally get into a drinking competition. The others of their group were surprisingly mature, one or two pints more was all they had, whilst Finn and Hideo sink several. It wasn't what Finn had expected out of the night, but he's not sure it's a bad thing. The little pub is close enough to where everyone stays to walk back, and the nervously protective hovering of Adrian is sweet. He's clearly been designated as being on watch, and it'll ensure Finn and Hideo get home okay if nothing else. The best thing about drunk Hideo, Finn has decided, is that he's very willing to be all but cuddled; he's quite content to stumble along with Finn's arm around his shoulders, and his own arm about Finn's waist under the pretext of stability. Finn's not stupid, he knows Hideo's nowhere near as drunk as he's making out, but then again he's not either. It's all a show for their friends, and whilst he knows Hideo would argue that the other three men are Finn's friends and not his, all five of them are each other's friends now. There's not much Hideo can do about that, because there's plenty of evidence to confirm they're his friends too. From the fact that they'd all just spent all day together, to the plans for next Saturday, to the fact that somehow Sami's hat has been re-stolen and is once more on Hideo's head. These are the actions of friends, and Hideo's going to have to just deal with that.
When they get back to the apartment, Adrian had hung about looking nervous. Finn could hear him mentally panicking that one or both of them would somehow die in the night, but Hideo had explicitly promised that he would confirm that they were both still alive in the morning. There was a little bit of Finn that was mildly putout that he wasn't trusted to give the confirmation of continued life text, but he supposes that if he had to choose between himself and Hideo for accurate information, he'd pick Hideo too. At Hideo's promise, Adrian had left them with a slightly drunken hug, and a loudly cheerful goodnight.
Hideo goes straight to the bathroom, the door closing behind him, and Finn perches on the back of the couch. Today was fun, but it was a distraction. What happened a week ago needs to be talked about, they can't keep avoiding it forever. Hideo leaves the bathroom, heading towards his bedroom door.
"Hideo..." Now that Finn has his attention, he's not sure what to do with it. He knows he needs to bring up last weekend, he needs to get the air cleared between them, but the how of that clearing is daunting. Hideo stares at him, a lazy little smile on his lips. "We should... I mean... We need to..."
"Ah?" The smile on Hideo's lips morphs into a smirk, and Finn can feel a frown on his face. "Finn... Come here." Hideo beckons him closer, his hand flapping in that odd way Asian people use to encourage people to come to them. Finn steps closer, so close he can smell the beer, underneath the scent of toothpaste, clinging to Hideo's breath. "Tomorrow we will talk. Tonight..." The smirk falls from Hideo's lips, and he leans closer still, his nose brushing Finn's. "Tonight, we will sleep." He smirks once more, and tries to turn away to go to bed, but Finn's faster, his hands catching Hideo's shoulders, holding him in place.
"You're a fucking tease." Finn mutters before kissing him. There's a brief moment of hesitation on Hideo's part, but it's quickly overcome, and his hands are in Finn's hair, tugging lightly, his nails scratching at Finn's scalp. When he breaks the kiss there's something soft in his eyes, something warm, and a smile on his lips that makes Finn want to kiss him again, but he steps away determinedly.
"Oyasumi, Finn." Just before Hideo can close his door, Finn steps forward, and brushes a quick peck of a kiss to his lips.
"G'night... I'm holding you to talking to me tomorrow, even if it takes all day, we're talking." Hideo nods vaguely, and Finn frowns at him, wanting, needing an answer in the affirmative.
"Ah." Okay, okay, but not now. Now, I'm tired. Hideo's lips brush Finn's cheek, and the sound of his door closing is almost as soft as that kiss had been.
Many thanks for the lovely and glorious reviews: Jack the Sinister Jack the Just, Ms. nogimmicksneeded, AshJovillette, littleone1389 Brokenspell77, and Chang-Tong.
I now know that I stand not alone on this ship (raft/dingy/plank of wood), but still if you liked it, if you ship it, and if you'd like more, please review!