Work Text:
"Eita,"
It is with the utmost dread that Semi realizes that he recognizes this tone of Ushijima's voice. He looks up from his guitar, looking up at Ushijima with helplessness. Oh no, he thinks. He knows very well what's about to happen. He knows because this is Ushijima's everyone else is busy and you're a lazy bastard so you're being graciously been assigned to this task, good luck, tone.
"Nope," Semi declares, gently putting his guitar to the side. "Absolutely not, Wakatoshi. I'm done."
"Eita." Ushijima tries again faintly.
"No." Semi says with finality, sternly looking at Ushijima, with a look saying I can't deal with this shit right now, ask someone else. Unfortunately for him, Ushijima's far too accustomed to this look and looks less than fazed, with a neutral expression as always plastered on his face, because he knows that Semi will give in eventually. He hates Ushijima.
"Eita." Ushijima says one final time, his tone harsh.
Semi closes his eyes, biting his lip, before looking at Ushijima again. "What?" He asks, because he definitely is not weak when it comes to Ushijima or anything. Maybe he's just a damn good guy who wants to help out his friends and doesn't want to stress them out with burden he could've taken instead. He's a pretty nice guy after all.
Half of him already knows what to expect. And if that guess is right, he just wants to kill himself than do that God damn it. He has way too much pride than to walk in there again, especially after the utter humiliation he faced there. No way in hell is Ushijima sending him there. He complained to Ushijima for a proper hour about why he will never go in there ever again, so if he still makes him go, he will refuse. Simple as that.
"I need you to go sketch some peonies from the flower shop beside us." Ushijima says, coming closer to him. Semi can see the twinkle in his eye now and frankly put, it's terrifying. He's suddenly second-guessing introducing Ushijima to Tendou right now, because the redhead seems to have rubbed off on Ushijima by the looks of it. He didn't think their friendship(?) (relationship? Truthfully he doesn't know what it is at this point) would land him into a situation like this.
And of course Ushijima would make him go to the one place he doesn't want to ever set foot in again after last time. "Why?" He asks rather hesitantly, even though he already knows the answer to it. If it were anyone other than Ushijima who told him this, he would probably throw a fit instead.
"We got an appointment and the person who wants to get the tattoo done isn't sure of what exactly they want except that it should be a peony." Ushijima explains. That's not the explanation he wanted and Ushijima knows it. He wants to know why he's being forced to go there and relive all the humiliation once again.
Semi scowls. "Can't Tsutomu go instead? His boyfriend works there." He grits, because it's true. Usually it was Goshiki who went to the flower shop instead (before he was forced to two weeks). He doesn't really know the story of how Kawanishi and Goshiki met exactly, but Kawanishi has come a few times to get a few tattoo's and sometimes he brings Goshiki lunch. Semi's pretty sure it's far from platonic.
"Kawanishi-senpai is not my boyfriend, Semi-senpai!" Goshiki yells from one of the booths. Liar, Semi thinks. Even if they aren't dating, whatever it is between them isn't platonic. Especially with the longing looks Kawanishi gives Goshiki and the lingering touches between them. Not to mention Goshiki's red face whenever Kawanishi asks him to tattoo him.
Semi rolls his eyes. "Yeah yeah, whatever," He mumbles, not convinced with Goshiki's argument but he doesn't exactly have the energy to argue right now either - he needs to save that for later. "Why me?" He asks, although he knows the answer. But Ushijima knows why he doesn't want to go there too. Why does Ushijima hate him? Or better yet, why does the universe hate him? He shudders thinking back to his first encounter with him at the flower shop.
(Semi makes his way to the flower shop with his sketchbook and pencils in hand. He's not exactly opposed to coming here, but he's not exactly happy either. He'd rather be playing his guitar instead, because it is his break after all. He doesn't get paid nearly enough for this shit, he thinks. He opens the door of the flower shop, the bell at the top of the door ringing to notify his entry. He awkwardly makes his way in, looking at the flowers and plants around him as he passes. There's a dozen plants there and Semi wonders how hard it must be to manage all of them.
He makes his way to the front counter, where instead of Kawanishi, stands a copper haired boy, just a few centimeters shorter than Semi himself, looking at him with a bored expression.
"Uh hello," Semi greets, unsure of what he should be saying in this situation. "I'm looking for Kawanishi." He opts to say instead, but yeah, he technically is looking for Kawanishi since he's the only person here he knows and he's kind of intimidated by the guy in front of him because of the way the other seems to be studying him - not that he'll ever confess that out loud.
The copper haired boy raises an eyebrow. "He isn't working today," he informs, a neutral expression plastered on his face. "Whatever you need him for, I'm sure I can insist you with it instead."
Semi nods in understanding. Yeah, shit, this guy works at the flower shop too. Semi kind of feels like an idiot. "Um yeah so, I'm from the tattoo place next to here and I need to sketch some dandelions, if that's alright with you." He explains, showing his sketchbook to the other.
The boy looks at the sketchbook, then back at his face, not looking the slightest bit fazed. Eventually he nods. "Follow me." He says. Semi nods, feeling a bit out of place with the sketchbook in his hand. but follows him nonetheless. Shirabu leads him towards the dandelions. "You can take the stool there," He says, pointing at the stool in the corner. "Just tell me when you're done."
Semi nods, and the shorter male disappears into some other room.
Semi sits down on the stool, opening his sketchbook and putting it on his lap. He takes out his pencils from his pocket and starts sketching.
A couple minutes into sketching, the bell rings and Semi ignores it, too busy zoned out trying to get the flowers right. Sketching is harder than it should be, Semi thinks. He blames his aching neck instead.
"You sure you're a tattoo artist? Because the shading looks off to me." He hears the copper haired boy from behind him. This startles Semi and he immediately flinches, before looking over his shoulder.
Semi glares at him. "Well I'm getting to it."
"Doesn't seem like it."
"Excuse me?" He asks, thoroughly aggravated by the shorter male by this point.
The boy walks away, not even bothering to answer him and Semi gapes at him. Meanwhile his brain conjures up a million different insults for the copper haired bastard.
When he's finally done with the few sketches he was told to do, he gets up, still too pissed at the other boy so he doesn't put the stool back in its place - because he's petty like that. He makes his way back to the counter and the boy looks at him unimpressed. Semi tries to ignore the gnawing temptation to strangle him. "
I'm done" He tells him, trying not to sound passive-aggressive.
"Great," The boy says, his voice placid. "Thanks for being worse company than that bowl cut brat."
Semi scowls at him. Was he calling Goshiki that? He almost punches him. "What's your problem?"
"Being overworked and underpaid." The boy replies walking away again.
When Semi returns to the tattoo parlor, he's in a worse mood than he was when he left, muttering strings of curses such as "that absolutely uncute bitch" and "that uneven banged bastard is so annoying".
"Are you talking about, Shirabu-senpai?" Goshiki asks, looking at him concerned.
"I don't give a fuck about who he is!" Semi yells in frustration. "I hate him!"
Tendou laughs in the background)
"Because you're free." Ushijima says and Semi seriously is debating about which way it would be better to end his misery. He's starting to think that maybe he's a terrible person without realizing it. He looks at Ushijima pleadingly, who doesn't seem the slightest bit bothered or worried on how he's going to crack Semi. Semi then looks around towards everyone else in the room, none of them giving him any importance. Damn it.
Semi sighs. Oh the things he does for his friends. "Fucking fine," He groans. There's no other way he'd have managed to make it out alive anyway. But is being alive really worth it if his dignity and pride are lost? He won't know until he finds out - the thought makes him want to die more. "Where's the fucking sketchbook?"
"SemiSemi, a ray of sunshine as always I see," Tendou comments cheerfully, as he paints his nails in the corner of the room. "Keep it up!" He yells, smiling at Semi pleasantly and never before has Semi been so unsure of a smile. Suddenly the thought that Tendou might have had something to do with Ushijima making him go next door hits him and his eye twitches in anger.
"Shut up, Satori" He sneers. He doesn't doubt that Tendou might be involved. Actually it's really likely that Tendou's the one who planned all of this, because his two visits to the flower shop combined have brought Tendou so much amusement, that I doubt Tendou will ever be satisfied with anything less. Dammit.
(A week later Ushijima makes him go to the flower shop again and Semi wants to slam his head on a wall.
When he enters the flower shop, Shirabu (or that's what Goshiki told him his name was anyway), is on a ladder sorting flowers. He looks over his shoulder at the sound of the door opening. His expression turning into a frown upon spotting Semi.
"You again." He states mildly, but he Semi can still hear the passive-aggressiveness from him.
"Yup." Semi replies, trying not to show his own irritation show. "I need to sketch some hydrangeas."
Shirabu gets down from the ladder. "Follow me."
He follows Shirabu to the hydrangeas, sitting down on the same stool once again.
"You just erased that for the tenth time."
"Gee thanks for pointing out the obvious, I hadn't noticed."
"Anytime."
Once again, when Semi returns to the tattoo parlor, he wants to scream, but instead he mutters curses towards the copper haired boy next door. Goshiki looks at him concerned. )
"What's gotten into your ass today?" Yamagata asks, narrowing his eyes at him as he eats his bento. Semi wants to to scream in frustration. Not only was this morning terrible but Ushijima's making it even worse. He hates his life.
"Or what hasn't." Tendou whispers, bursting into laughter.
"Shush it, Satori." Semi glares. "And to answer your question, I broke my favorite mug in the morning." It's true. In the morning when he was trying to make his morning coffee, he accidentally dropped his coffee mug because he almost fell over a pot. That's how sleep deprived he is.
"Oh my God," Oohira groans. "That's what got you so pissy?" He asks, looking like what Semi would say is a debatable synonym of flabbergasted. Truthfully Oohira should be more sympathetic towards him, after all, it was his favorite mug.
"Reon!" Semi yells in protest. "It was my limited edition Naruto mug!" He had gotten it from a convention he went with Tendou too. There was only one left and Semi and Tendou rock-paper-scissored over it. Semi had won so therefore he took it, but Tendou always used it whenever he was over at Semi's apartment.
In the background, Tendou gasps. "No!"
"Yes!" He yells back in misery. It was one expensive mug.
"That was my favorite too!" Tendou cries. "How could this happen?"
"I don't know!"
"We're having a funeral at your place, Eita!"
"Roger!"
-
Upon hearing his tragic story and how valuable his mug was, Ushijima lets him off the hook (but only once) and Tendou goes instead. Semi sighs in relief, going back to fixing the strings of his guitar. Even if only for a day his life has been spared, at least it's been spared. He's in no mood to go see Shirabu and ruin his mood. He's already had a terrible day, he doesn't need that bastard to add the cherry on top, no thank you.
Semi wonders how Kawanishi deals with Shirabu. Kawanishi's a nice guy and from what he's heard from Goshiki, Shirabu's his best friend. Semi ponders over what crime Kawanishi committed in his past life to be friends with Shirabu.
When Tendou returns, all hell breaks loose.
"SemiSemi!" Tendou yells cheerily as he enters and instantly Semi frowns. He knows this tone too. He knows it far too well. It's the tone Tendou uses when he's got some blackmail worthy information. Semi gulps, awaiting for the worst. "Your boyfriend was asking about you."
Goshiki chokes on the water he was trying to drink.
Semi blinks at Tendou, astonished. "My what?!" He asks.
"Oh you know, Shirabu-kun." He smirks.
Semi's limited edition Naruto mug isn't the only thing that has a funeral today.
Ushijima might have let him off the hook once, but then he starts torturing him twice as much after that, sending him to the flower shop every chance he gets. Semi starts reflecting back on his entire life to right his wrongs, because he's not sure oh much of Shirabu he can take. He's going insane. In a bad way.
"These flowers are dying."
"Oh I didn't know you started working here."
"The petals you drew look weird."
"Where?"
"Over there."
"No they don't."
"Yes they do, I'm not blind."
"Uh huh, I'm sure, Sherlock."
"Are these flowers real?"
"Yes."
"They don't look real though."
"Sucks to be visually impaired."
"The shading is off."
"Oh so you're an art critic now?"
Six weeks into meeting Shirabu and every time he sees him Semi gets even more infuriating than it should be humanly possible. It doesn't help that his friends seem to get some sort of kick out of watching him suffer (at least Goshiki doesn't). What puts the cherry on top is that Ushijima seems content on making his life a living hell. He's half tempted to fuck his pride and ask Ushijima for forgiveness for the time he ate his pudding and never told him about it. How did he find out about it?
He bets Tendou told him. The thought makes his eye twitch and makes him roll his sleeve up to properly punch Tendou in the gut and maybe even kick his balls, but then he tries to calm down with the thought that if he does that he'll probably suffer more and he's a decent human being. He is. He really is. Tendou is his friend no matter how annoying he is. He just needs to calm down.
But just the thought of Shirabu makes him want to go on a killing rampage starting with Shirabu himself, because that brat seriously needs to learn his place and shut the fuck up, because that pretty little mouth of his is way too sharp for his own good.
Maybe he should start doing yoga to contain his rather violent thoughts about the boy working at the flower shop. Maybe. Does Kawanishi do that to stop himself from killing Shirabu? Does he have urges to murder him or is it just Semi? Is Semi okay?
He probably needs a therapist - and though Yamagata has offered many times, he doesn't think he'd be of much help if he's being honest.
Oh how he hates his life.
He's sitting outside on a bench with his guitar playing a random melody he remembers playing a while ago. Playing his guitar reliefs his stress thankfully. It's his lunch break but his bento is long forgotten. He can eat later, right now he needs to make sure he's in the right headspace that he doesn't fuck up a client's tattoo and ruin their reputation. Yeah, no pressure.
He starts humming along to the song, when suddenly he feels someone sit down next to him. Semi stops playing, opening his eyes and turning his head. He blinks when he sees who it is.
It's Shirabu.
Semi's mind goes blank.
"I didn't know you played guitar." Shirabu muses, opening his bento, not looking at Semi.
Semi puts his guitar to the side, deciding that he should probably eat before he dies of starvation. Semi hums in response to Shirabu. "I'm a man of many talents," He mumbles, as he places his bento on his lap.
Shirabu hums.
They sit in silence, eating their food. Semi finds the silence weird. But what he finds even weirder is the fact that Shirabu's sitting down right next to him, with barely any space between them. But what's even weirder than that (he knows, shocker) is how he doesn't seem to mind Shirabu's company for once. That's a first. He finds himself shocked at his own thought process.
It's probably because he's not saying anything, he thinks to himself.
And then just as he thinks that, Shirabu speaks up. "You play guitar often?" He asks conversely.
Semi nods. "Yeah, it's good for relieving stress. At least for me." He explains, not even knowing why he's giving away this information to the guy he was thinking about murdering fifteen minutes ago. But oh well, he guesses a lot of things can change in fifteen minutes.
"How long have you been playing for?" Shirabu asks, taking a lot more interest in the subject than people usually do. Huh?
"Since middle school." He answers, before they both fall in silence once again. Semi finds it rather awkward, so he decides to break it. "How's business?" He asks.
"Fine I guess," Shirabu replies, before turning silent again. Semi hums. But then he speaks up again. "Taichi's been a bit sick for the past few weeks. Like he got better in the middle, but then I told him not to come in case he get's more sick," Shirabu explains and it surprises Semi that he's telling him this that. Semi can hear the concern in his voice - so maybe he isn't an emotionless bastard after all. "So it's been a bit hard since the owner is travelling too and hiring new people on such short notice is a pain." He continues.
Semi hums in understanding. He finally gets Shirabu's comment of being overworked and underpaid.
"I might not know much about flowers, but uh if you want I could help you," Semi finds himself offering without actually thinking about it.
Shirabu looks at him surprised and Semi doesn't blame him - he had been making an extensive murder plan just the other day about the same guy he just offered to help. Funny how life works.
"Um I- thank you, Semi-san." Shirabu asks, the shock very much evident in his voice.
Semi smiles. "Anytime."
"Uh, I should get going," Shirabu says, getting up quickly, biting his bottom lip. "In case someone comes and stuff and you know."
"Sure."
"Bye, Semi-san."
"Bye, Shirabu."
Semi finds himself at the flower shop during his lunch break for the third time that week to help Shirabu. Ever since they talked outside the tattoo parlor, the tension between them has eased and though a string of insults are still thrown around and they bicker all the time, it doesn't irritate Semi like it used to. He finds himself smiling more than usual because of it.
He and Shirabu usually just talk about work, but Semi feels a bit closer to him now. He finds himself wanting to be in his company more often and he's pretty sure his colleagues have noticed him trying to find excuses to visit the flower shop.
("Wakatoshi, are there any sketches I gotta do?"
"No you're free, Eita."
"Aw look at that frown, SemiSemi, you missing your boyfriend?"
"Shut the fuck, Satori.")
Semi waters the plants for Shirabu, as goes to finish some flower crowns for a little girl's birthday. It's peaceful here at the flower shop realizes. Though the constant banter at the tattoo parlor is great, this comfortable silence is something he needs too.
"Hey Shirabu, my lunch break's over, so I'm going." He calls out, leaning against the front desk.
Shirabu walks over to the counter with a placid expression on his face. "Okay." Semi nods, before turning on his heel turning towards the door. He's about to open the front door, when Shirabu calls out his name. "Semi-san!"
Semi instantly turns around, raising an eyebrow. "Yeah?"
Shirabu bites his bottom lip, looking deep in thought like he's weighing his options. Before he sighs, apparently finalizing his answer. "Come here," He says. Confused yet intrigued, Semi does as he's asked, walking back to the counter. Shirabu takes out a dark red flower crown. "Here you go," He says, handing it to him.
"Weren't the flower crowns you were making pink?" Semi asks, a bit confused as to why this one is red, though he's touched at the sentiment.
Shirabu's cheeks turn into a pretty pink color, as he looks away. "If you don't want it, it's fine."
"No, no, I do," He reassures, taking the flower crown from Shirabu. He looks at the crown in awe. It looks like it was really hard to make. "What flowers are these?"
"Red carnations."
-
Semi returns to the tattoo parlor with the flower crown on his head - it's adorable. When he enters the parlor, the first two people he sees are Kawanishi and Goshiki at the main desk, talking. Semi remembers that Kawanishi had an appointment for today. Ah.
Upon his arrival, they both turn to him, both looking surprised. "You guys like my flower crown?" He asks, gleefully.
Goshiki starts blurting out random praises, at which Semi smiles. Meanwhile Kawanishi looks a little amused. "Who made it for you?" He asks.
"Shirabu. Why?"
The look of surprise and amusement on Kawanishi's face confuses Semi. He decides to ignore it.
A few days later, Ushijima sends Semi on yet again another trip to the flower shop to sketch out more flowers. At this point Semi is questioning he's the only one being assigned to this duty. But realistically he doesn't mind now, so it's fine. Instead he's sort of glad that he's going there. Spending more time with Shirabu sounds fun even if they stay in silence most of the time.
He goes there and Shirabu greets him like he usually does but Semi's starting to realize he sounds much happier now - he can see a twitch of his mouth whenever he enters, and frankly he's proud of himself.
Semi doesn't have to ask Shirabu for where the flowers are now, because he's spent way too much time here and remembers where all the flowers now. He takes a seat on the stool and starts sketching.
Fifteen minutes into his sketching process and he sees Shirabu from the corner of his eye outside from the window.
Suddenly he forgets everything and stares the copper haired boy. The sunlight hits Shirabu's face and Shirabu looks absolutely stunning under it. He looks like he's glowing and all Semi can do is stare, biting down on his smile, as his stomach starts doing a flip. Shirabu lightly brushes at his bangs and Semi finds it endearing as hell.
Cute, he thinks.
His brain short circuits and he realizes suddenly what he's feeling. Oh shit. He suddenly realizes why he constantly finds excuses to meet with Shirabu - it's not to help Shirabu (maybe it was initially), because he's way too selfish for that. It's because he actually likes him way more than he ever admitted to himself.
There really is a thin line between hate and love.
Just as he realizes that, he shuts his sketchbook and instantly getting up, deciding that he should leave before he does something really, really stupid. He practically sprints towards the exit, instantly getting out.
Shirabu who's outside looks at him puzzled when he looks at Semi's frantic face. "Everything okay?" He asks.
No, he thinks. I think I might be (in love) infatuated with you. "Yeah, yeah. I just have to go, Tsutomu said he needs me for something," He lies through his teeth. "So I'll catch you later, Shirabu!"
"Alright, Semi-san." Says Shirabu still sounding very confused.
Semi knows he's fucked.
-
When Semi returns to the tattoo parlor, he opens his sketchbook to salvage some of the sketches he made before he got distracted. When he opens it though, the flowers are completely forgotten and instead there's a rough sketch of Shirabu's face instead.
Semi screams.
Semi walks into the flower shop that he's grown far too accustomed to due to the past few weeks. It's crazy how life works. By now he's realized his motives for coming back here are everything but professional and it all connects back to the uneven banged bastard that works there instead. He had spent ten minutes prior in the bathroom to check his facial expressions so that when he talks to Shirabu, he doesn't look like he likes him more than a friend, because if Shirabu figures that out, he's fucked. More than he already is.
Semi blames his bad life choices and terrible judgement calls for how his life has ended up making him come to this. Never in his entire life has he ever been this desperate. Or not that he recalls any event in which he was. Hopefully that's the case.
The ash blonde tries to hide his smile as he enters the flower shop, feeling ecstatic. It's easier than you'd think accepting feelings for the guy you wanted dead not so long ago. Love and hate may be polar opposites, but they're closer than one might think. It's been an interesting experience experiencing them both in such a short span of time for the same person.
He's excited to spend time with Shirabu today. Yet only this time at the front counter it's not Shirabu. It's Kawanishi. Semi's heart drops in sadness.
So with that, Semi's smile turns into a frown rather quickly.
"Semi-san," Kawanishi greets, sounding pleasantly happy upon his entry. "What brings you here?" He asks, but the way he phrases it, Semi thinks he already knows. Semi gulps, praying to whatever god that's listening that Kawanishi keeps his mouth shut for both their sakes.
"Uh work," He says - it's an obvious lie. He doesn't have his sketchbook with him nor did Ushijima tell him to come here. It's his lunch break and he's pretty sure Kawanishi knows it too. "Where's Shirabu by the way." He finds himself asking before he can stop himself, because as far as he can see, Shirabu is nowhere in sight. He tries his best to hide his disappointment.
"He took a day off." Kawanishi says, before raising an eyebrow, looking at him amused, "Why?" Oh and Semi can tell that this bastard knows. He should probably kill him right now and get rid of the body by throwing it at the nearby lake just to make sure his secret doesn't get out.
"Oh, just wondering," Semi shrugs, pretending like he just didn't have the perfect plan to kill Kawanishi. "Uh anyway, I'll get going." He says, turning on his heel, since the person he came for isn't here, so there's no point in staying here and wasting his lunch break.
"Didn't you come here for work, Semi-san?" Kawanishi asks teasingly.
Dammit.
"Um, I just remembered that a customer's scheduled to come right now," He lies, even though he's already been caught. "Thank you for your time, Kawanishi, Bye!"
He hates his life.
On one night, Semi's forced to stay until 9 PM because of a few extra clients. At times Semi hates his jobs, but staying late for clients isn't the real why. It's usually because of other things, but tonight the problem is that it unexpectedly started raining and though he has an umbrella in case of emergencies like these, walking through the cold rain isn't what he wanted to be doing today.
When he's done with work, Ushijima lets him leave. He puts on his jacket, over his T-shirt, grabbing his umbrella. As soon as he's at the door, he uses his side to open the door, while using his hands to open the umbrella as soon as he gets out. He looks around, watching as cars drive by, when he sees Shirabu standing in front of the flower shop staring at the sky anxiously, biting his bottom lip.
"Shirabu!" He calls out, hoping he can hear him over the rain and cars passing. Shirabu turns to look at him, waving lightly. His cheeks a pretty shade of pink. "It's really late, what are you doing here?"
"I uh, had to do some work." Shirabu replies softly, his mouth covered by a scarf. He looks like a kitten and Semi melts at his cuteness.
Semi nods in understanding. "You should be careful. Especially these days." He says, before he unexpectedly sneezes.
"Are you okay?" Shirabu asks him concerned. Concern is another thing he's noticed in Shirabu. He's rarely concerned for others, but he's noticed he's started feeling that way towards him more. He doesn't know if he's proud that he's able to get such emotions out of Shirabu or not.
"I'd feel much better if you let me walk you home." Semi says, chuckling lowly. He says it rather jokingly, but he's still very much serious.
Shirabu raises an eyebrow. "Are you implying I'm incapable of protecting myself?"
Semi shakes his head. "On the contrary," He says. "I know you well enough to know you can pack a punch, but on this rainy night it seems between you and I, only I have an umbrella...although it's entirely up to you if you want to accept my services or not in the end."
Shirabu stares at him with an unconvinced expression and Semi stays silent, staring back, as the sound of raindrops falling is the only thing that can be heard. Eventually Shirabu sighs giving on. "Only if you take me to get some hot chocolate first, Semi-san."
Semi smiles. "Sure."
-
As they walk to some coffee shop, Shirabu stays rather close to Semi and Semi pretends like his heart isn't pounding. Shirabu's body heat is enough to make him forget about the rain and he smiles at he walks with him.
He forgets about everyone else and just thinks, I just want it to be you and I forever.
He doesn't shake the thought away like he would have weeks ago.
The next day, Semi's just finished tattooing a regular customer, when he finds Shirabu at the front desk. He doesn't even think of waving the client off, too entranced by Shirabu's presence there. He's pretty sure this is the first time Shirabu's come here.
"SemiSemi! Look who showed up!" Tendou says with a knowing grin. Semi ignores him, still staring at Shirabu, who refuses to meet his eyes.
Semi removes his gloves. "Shirabu, hey." He greets, unsure of why Shirabu's here in the first place. It's not that he minds Shirabu being here - he doesn't, he's actually happy he's here to see him (he hopes), he's just scared that his colleagues will harass him to death.
"Semi-san," Shirabu greets. Shirabu who is usually quiet and snarky, looks almost shy as he looks up at Semi, the bridge of his nose "I- uh, made you a bento." He says, stuffing the bento in Semi's hands, looking away immediately. There's a rose on top of it. Semi's heart flutters.
Semi blinks at him in surprise. "What for?"
"To thank you for the hot chocolate yesterday and uh...everything." He says shyly, looking at the ground instead of him.
"No no, you didn't have to," Semi insists.
"I wanted to." Shirabu admits.
"No but seriously-"
"Oh my God," Shirabu groans, finally looking back at Semi with a scowl on his face which startles him. "You're such a dumbass, Semi-san." He says, as he grabs the front of his shirt pulling him down and Semi's eyes widen. Before Semi can react, Shirabu presses their lips together.
Semi doesn't react because it's barely even a peck - just a press of their lips, before Shirabu pulls away. Seeing no reaction from him, Shirabu turns around red faced and embarrassed, running to the exit.
Semi goes blank.
"Eita, holy shit, go after him!" Yamagata shouts.
"Semi-senpai!" Goshiki shouts.
"SemiSemi, what the hell?!"
It takes him a whole minute to process what just happened - Shirabu just kissed him. It's mutual.
IT'S MUTUAL.
Semi instantly runs out the door, ignoring his friends shouts because he gets it dammit. He sprints to the flower shop, not giving a shit about the people who stare at him. When he enters the flower shop, Shirabu has his head cupped in his hands.
"Wait, have you been flirting with me this entire time?" He yells, out of breath.
Shirabu looks up, looking...scared? "You finally noticed?" He whimpers.
Kawanishi who's on a ladder speaks up. "He gave you a flower crown of red carnations, Semi-san." Semi looks in his direction in confusion. What?
"Taichi, shut up!" Shirabu hisses. Apparently Semi's definitely missing something and if Kawanishi doesn't tell him he'll be in the dark for probably together.
"Those means love and affection, Semi-san." Kawanishi tells him.
Semi blinks and Shirabu looks like he's about to die of embarrassment.
"Well damn Shirabu, I didn't know learning flower language was mandatory, you should've told me." He finds himself retorting before he can stop himself, because seriously how did Shirabu think he'd get that?
"Shut up." Shirabu sneers.
"What about the time you insulted me when we first met?" He asks, suddenly intrigued as to if Shirabu actually hated him at some point.
"I was...trying to um flirt." Shirabu admits.
"Oh my God," Semi breathes out. Shirabu cups his face into his hands again. "Holy shit, I have to take you on a date but I don't have any spare clothes to change into." Semi curses.
"Wait what?" Shirabu questions, looking at him confused.
"Well when a person likes you back, they usually take you on a date, Shirabu."
"You like me back?" Shirabu asks sounding astonished.
"I mean yeah obviously." Semi says.
"And we're going on a date right now?"
"Yeah."
"Um okay." Shirabu says dumbfounded, still staring at him like he's some sort of dream. Semi wants to kiss him really badly. But there's no way he's breaking his "end of date kiss" policy. "I'm paying." Shirabu clarifies.
"No way." Semi scoffs.
"You paid for the hot chocolate last night." Shirabu reasons.
"I don't care." Semi huffs, crossing his arms.
"Oh my gosh," Kawanishi sighs, grabbing Shirabu by the shirt, pulling him towards Semi, before also grabbing Semi's shirt. "Just get lost, you two," Kawanishi says, pushing them out the door. Semi blinks in bewilderment."Also give up, he won't let you pay." He whispers into Semi's ear.
"Dammit"