Archive of Our Own

It all started with Hirose getting real close.

A daydream was ripped away from Nakamura’s mind as the other boy suddenly appeared in front of his school desk, leaning down with curiosity.

“Hey, Nakamura!”

Nakamura was so caught off guard with sudden surprise that with a jump and wide eyes, he hit his knee on the bottom of his desk, yelling a small ‘eek!’

“H-hey! Hirose!”

Now that they were friends… he wondered if anything would change between them. Hirose had said he already considered them friends… before Nakamura’s request.

It was both a relief and a curse.

That meant even as friends, Nakamura was still a second option wasn’t he?

But…

His mind drifted towards that day at the aquarium.

“… so I was wondering if that would be okay?” Hirose finished off his sentence with a smile. Expectant eyes illuminated Nakamura as if particles of the light purposefully reflected against Hirose’s pretty, shiny face full of life.

“H-huh?” Nakamura snapped out of it, understanding he totally missed what Hirose just said to him. Idiot.

Hirose smiled at him, warmth in his gaze. “I asked if you’d let me stay over.”

But Nakamura was disconnecting from reality with each second that passed.

His brain short-circuited in that moment. It paused, it strained against his skull and its cables snapped, causing a power outage in his head.

Nakamura’s eyes couldn’t be wider. Like plates, face red, he batted his eyelashes in exclamation. Huuuuuh ?!

“O-oh ?!” Is this what friends did? “What for?” He asked. Hirose might have already stated the reason, but Nakamura didn’t pay attention at all. Now, he was all ears.

“My parents are out of town with my sister and… kinda embarrassing, but I forgot my house keys so, I have to wait until tomorrow when they get here…” he explained.

Hirose seemed guilty, as if asking this big request weighed him down. “It’s just for one night, I’ll get out of your hair by the morning… consider it?” He stuck his tongue out playfully.

Nakamura blinked.

“O-o oh? What about Oomori or … Take—“ he paused, remembering Hirose wanting some space from his friend. But what about his other friend? Or the other one, he had plenty?

Not that Nakamura was deranged: he would accept for sure.

Curiosity did gnaw at him, though.

Hirose laughed. “Yeah, Oomori does live blocks away but he’s already got family over. Takeuchi… i can’t spend more than the school hours with him or else I’d rip my hair out. As for Mukai… I didn’t think about asking … we aren’t so close.” He seems to think to himself.

Nakamura nodded.

Hirose… considered him close. At least closer than Mukai.

Closer… to spend an entire day with him…

An entire night !!

Holy moly !!

It was something !!

He imagined a scene of a podium, him being taller on it than Mukai, stomping him down in triumph. Yeah, victory was sweet.

“Yeah— yeah you can come over.” Nakamura decided, even if on the inside, his heart was exploding into little bombs. Burning. Hot with anticipation. Nerves going up and down his hands in excitement.

Finally, after all this time…

A real sleepover with Hirose !

“Sweet! Thank you so much Nakamura! We’ll walk together after school then !” He giggled. Nakamura wanted to say yeah. He wanted to scream to Hirose that they could walk together every day if he wanted to. For the rest of their lives.

Forever !!

But he retained himself.

Instead, he said “wait, if no one had accepted, where would you have slept?”

Concern etched Nakamura’s face.

Hirose seemed thoughtful.

“I dunno. Outside?”

“Alright everybody open your science notebooks…” teacher Otogiri walked into the scene with a boring expression and his usual khaki pants with that red tie. He gave the students a page number from the textbook, starting class.

Nakamura didn’t think it was fair Hirose just slept on the streets, but he ignored the comment for the time being: Hirose would stay at his place ! In his room ! Together !

For an entire night !!

Nakamura’s head was about to explode from blushing so hard !!

“… Nakamura?”

“Sensei, I don’t think Nakamura looks very well…”

“Hm? Yeah, thinking about it he does look a little red…”

“Must be the summer heat.”

…

Nakamura gulped.

It’s the second time he walked with Hirose alone… no, third: since the aquarium.

To be honest, that day at the aquarium has been swimming around his mind ever since. The blue lights reflecting off Hirose’s pretty face… his warm smile… his huge eyes that shone with the white reflects of the water. It was perfect. So calm… he wishes they could live it again sometime.

Now he was here, alongside Hirose, bike on hand as they walked together. Nakamura’s house is further away, but Hirose doesn’t have a bike, so they’ll both be walking.

“Hmm, isn’t it nice out here?” Hirose sighs. Nakamura looked at him.

“What do you mean?”

It’s easier to talk together now that they are officially considered friends. Nakamura has talked to Hirose a few times now, so he seems to be stuttering less.

Still, he has given up on looking ‘cool’ or pretending he is somebody he isn’t. Hirose said it: ‘honesty is the best policy’. Even so, trying to be the confident character from a BL manga when he clearly wasn’t didn’t do any good to him. Nakamura was just trying to keep his calm, instead of acting differently. That must be enough, right ?

“This side of the city, I mean your neighborhood” Hirose said “I like the green grass and the river, it’s peaceful. Me and my sister used to come over here when we were small to play since there aren’t a lot of cars. Our parents said it was safe.”

Nakamura nodded. “Yeah, there isn’t traffic over here.”

Hirose glanced at him with a grin “I like that.”

Man, how lucky is Nakamura. Having Hirose all to himself like this, walking together to spend a night… a real sleepover… it seems almost ridiculous. A few weeks ago he wouldn’t have thought this was possible at all.

And he was freaking out, of course he was freaking out!

Was his room clean? Did his sister leave a mess in the bathroom again? What if she’s just got a bra lying around? What about his BL mangas— are they in place? Oh boy, he hadn’t thought about the possibility of Hirose finding them… or his figurines ! Were his parents home today? They were going to meet Hirose if they were… his parents… meeting Hirose !

Holy shit !

“… and… are you okay, Nakamura?” Hirose asked with innocence. The black haired teenager had accidentally screeched out loud. Nakamura brought a hand to cover his mouth.

“y-y-yeah it’s just… we’re here.”

The distraction of his house was enough to pull Hirose’s attention. He blinked and looked forward.

Nakamura’s house was a normal, medium sized house. It was more modern than traditional, had two floors and three bedrooms, one for him, one for his sister and one for his parents. He had three bathrooms too, two upstairs and one downstairs. A living room… kitchen and dining room. They were a family, after all.

He wouldn’t call it impressive or anything.

Still, after Hirose said “Thank you for having me” and wondered in ( leaving his shoes and backpack on the front door) his eyes were looking everywhere in wonder. Curiosity could be a safer word for it. He observed every family picture on the wall, several in which Nakamura was too embarrassed to be in, saying “ah— don’t look at that— it’s a bad picture!”

Hirose replied with “haha, you get embarrassed too? I also don’t like my face in family pictures, my mom picks the worst ones to print out…”

It was calm and nice, Nakamura stumbling around his head trying to think on what to do. He should probably offer Hirose something to drink… that’s what people did when they had people over, right?

At least, that’s what Nakamura knew.

He’s never had a friend over.

Friend.

Him and Hirose were finally friends.

Nakamura felt his ears blushing.

“Y-you want a glass of water?”

Hirose looked up from closely observing a singular picture. Nakamura chewed on his bottom lip. He wondered which one he was looking at.

“Yeah!”

They made their way to the kitchen, Nakamura offering him a cup of cold water. At least, that’s what he knew they did in movies. His sister often has friends over, and they are always eating or drinking beverages downstairs while chatting.

Hirose giggled. “Sweet!” He rested the glass on the kitchen counter “you’ve got a nice home Nakamura!”

“Oh, you think so?”

“Yeah! Your family pictures are silly too. I saw one of when you were little— you’ve got an octopus drawing in hand. You really like them huh?”

Nakamura blushed from head to toe, blinking rapidly in embarrassment. He stuttered. “O-oh y-yeah I do…”

Hirose hummed. “That’s neat.”

A small silence spread between them both. Nakamura got the hint that right here was where he was supposed to say something to keep the conversation going. Sadly, he didn’t know how to do that.

“… they are cool. To me. Octopuses.” Nakamura mumbled.

Hirose smiled “yeah, I figured. You shouldn’t hide that away, I find them cool too. Is it a special interest?”

“Oh? Um— yeah I guess. I… study them and stuff. Sometimes!” He protected himself, not wanting to look like a total nerd. “Icchan makes it easier, so I know a lot about them… have to.”

Hirose’s head turned to the side like a puppy who just heard a strange noise. He lifts his left brow. “Icchan?”

Nakamura’s heart started to speed up. What would Hirose— no! He already said he thinks octopuses are cool… but what if he meant from a distance? Or maybe only on TV? Inside the aquarium… not in your bedroom! No, it was too late now. Hirose was here anyways.

“M-my pet octopus.”

Hirose’s mouth gaped slowly. He seemed baffled, but very; very intrigued. His brown eyes shone with glee. “You have a pet octopus? Like actually?”

“Y-y-y yeah”

“Is he here?”

Nakamura nodded. He then looked to the side, realizing what this meant. Hirose wanted to see Icchan, who was inside his bedroom. They were going into Nakamura’s bedroom together. Alone.

Thinking about it, his sister might be upstairs in her room too. Nakamura prays that she doesn’t bother them as long as Hirose is here: she can be so annoying.

“Is your sister here?” Hirose coincidentally asked as they made their way up the stairs. The brown haired boy had remembered that detail, that Nakamura had a sister, as they walked up to the second floor.

“Yeah I think. She’s probably in her room watching something. She’s got nomophobia.” He snickered.

Hirose went silent for a second behind him, then asked “what is nomophobia?”

Great, Nakamura looked like a geek again.

“Oh,” he turned his head to look at Hirose, a step away from joining him fully on the second floor “having a phone addiction… she’s always on it.”

Hirose laughed. “Haha! My mom might have that too!”

Nakamura pretended nerves weren’t eating him alive as he slowly turned his room handle, trying to look into it first and make sure there wasn’t a mess. “Oh yeah? Why?” He mumbles as he observes. He’s a very neat guy, so technically no, there isn’t a mess at all. He lets out a ‘phew’ of relief.

“Cuz she’s on her phone all the time. She insists it’s because she’s working but it’s not true! She’s watching cat videos on it…”

Nakamura fully opened his bedroom door, turning on the lights. Everything seemed to be in place, except somehow, his Loveable Lunches collection wasn’t on top of his desk. Good luck ? Where did he leave it? 

At least Hirose wouldn’t see it. 

“Oh!” Hirose smiled as he followed Nakamura inside “sweet!”

Nakamura had noticed that too. Hirose had a liking for words like ‘awesome’ or ‘sweet’ and said them daily. It was very funny.

“Ha… Icchan is there” Nakamura awkwardly pointed at his pet octopus Icchan. He’s calmly put on top of a rock decoration that Nakamura bought recently, chilling in his corner. Nakamura makes sure Icchan has absolutely everything and takes care of his pet as if his life depended on him.

Contrary to Nakamura, Icchan’s life did quite literally depend on him. To be fed and to have the tank cleaned often is important to keep Icchan alive and in good health. He’s always dreamed of a pet octopus. Now; he’s dedicated.

“Woah!” Hirose trotted towards Icchan’s tank, crouching down to be face to face with his awesome tentacles and bright orange head. “Awesome!”

Almost as if Icchan could hear him, he notably paid attention to Hirose, waving his tentacles in his direction. Hirose’s attention was fully on Icchan and vice versa. Nakamura felt more relaxed at the mention of his beloved pet.

Something he found comfort in, and a topic he can talk about without lacking knowledge.

“Yeah, and he’s very smart. Did you know octopuses have three hearts?” Nakamura asked. Hirose made a slight ‘wow’ sound, but didn’t take his eyes off Icchan. Nakamura felt pride. Yes; his pet is indeed, wonderful. “It’s- it’s wonderful. His brain is also doughnut shaped… but Icchan in particular is very good. He eats all his food and never tries to escape. It’s as if he knows this tank is his safe space” he smiles.

Nakamura got notably closer as he ranted, ending up behind Hirose, who was crouched down.

Hirose then let out a small ‘huh!’ and decided that it was time to suddenly stand up, hair ending up right below Nakamura.

It took him by surprise.

‘H-hah’

Hirose’s hair looked so… soft… and gentle so up close. It already did before, but here… Nakamura could almost smell his shampoo. His hair waved but didn’t curl. Hair types and a color like his are only seen in foreigners. It’s really, really cute.

A flashback of Mr. Niou sternly telling on him about ‘sniffing other classmates without their permission’ came to mind. Nakamura scolded and retained himself, ignoring the strong urge to smell Hirose’s obviously delicate and fluffy hair.

“I didn’t know all that!” Hirose turned to him “it’s amazing that you know all of it, it’s crazy…”

Or, maybe Hirose just realized how close Nakamura is right now. How close they were.

Nakamura didn’t say a thing, a cold sweat killing his face in demonstration of how nervous he felt. He was blushing, hard. Oh, he was.

Hirose’s eyes were so close, big and brown. Wow. So lively.

Their silence could be cut with a knife.

A loud thumping of steps followed by a  ‘boom!’ demolished the strange moment, making them both turn towards the door.

“Okuto, you left your manga outside again—“

A pause.

For one side, Nakamura was glad the moment was interrupted. Any longer and it would have been troublesome. It would have been obvious, painfully so, that he liked Hirose.

If it had lasted any longer… maybe Hirose would have pushed him away…

Maybe Hirose would have said something awkward to ease the tension.

Nakamura is glad he’ll never know.

On the contrary, his sister waving his BL Loveable Lunches volume 4 special edition manga around and then throwing it at him, landing in front of them both with the portrait of Makunouchi and Taku kissing on full display by their feet, was a thousand times more humiliating than anything he’s ever faced.

And, he’s faced a lot.

“Oh…” but Kana didn’t stop there, lowering her eyes the second she saw Hirose at the scene. “Finally bringing boys over?” she cooed, then slammed the door shut just like that.

Wow, Nakamura wanted to be swallowed up by the floor itself.

He nervously blinked, stuttered and said “I- Ignore Kana she’s very annoying…” while simultaneously trying his best to kick the manga under his bed, shoving it with a foot.

But, Nakamura being Nakamura, he tended to always make a fool of himself. The manga didn’t go under his bed, but instead, thumped loudly against one of the bed’s legs, drawing all of the attention towards it.

Okay, now he was officially ending it.

“I-I-I-I it’s nothing!” He stuttered, feeling totally doomed. Hirose was only looking at him, then back at the manga, then back at the door.

All that, just before cracking a laugh. “Pff- hahaha, what was that just now?” He giggles. “It’s okay Nakamura, don’t feel ashamed.”

“Ah…”

The laugh drew them back to a conversation where both of them ended up sitting on the side of Nakamura’s bed as they spoke.

“You know, last time you also said you didn’t read those types of manga. You remember? In the hallway…”

Nakamura came to the realization that Hirose remembered more than he gave him credit for. A resilient mind too… he was so strong.

“Y-yeah, well… I was too embarrassed to admit it.”

“Still are~” Hirose teased.

He was lightly twirling his socked feet in Nakamura’s floor, calmly. Nakamura observed. It almost seemed domestic.

He curled into himself in acknowledgement.

“It’s alright, there are things I hide from my friends too. You like BL’s huh?”

“N-n-n- no! Yes- I mean… no but— yeah I guess it’s just for the plot! The plot is really good! That’s what draws me in…”

Liar, he’s a total liar. Lovable Lunches has a terrible plot. It’s all about food ! The best thing about it is Makunouchi and Taku’s romance. Not the plot.

Still, it seemed as if he couldn’t let himself demolish all his walls down just yet.

“… I see,” Hirose nods. “I can’t relate, I actually do like romance stuff for the romance.” 

That took Nakamura off guard. “Oh? Y-you read BL?”

Hirose found his stuttering amusing “haha, no, not that… but romance manga in general. I like it…” he mumbled.

In a sense, he seemed a little shy.

“Yeah, weird for a guy, I know” Hirose laughed, looking slightly hunched over, as if guilty “Takeuchi and Mukai like action stuff with blood in it. I mean it’s alright, but it’s not my type of film.” 

Nakamura nodded. He understood.

“It’s more for girls to like the mushy stuff, but I mean… if I wanted to see chaos I would look at the news. Media is better to escape from reality into something nice, in my opinion…” 

Yeah, yeah. Nakamura felt the exact same way. He never understood zombie movies or horror shows. He never got the hype on guns and soldier movies. What’s all that stress for? Maybe… him and Hirose… could be more similar than he thought. 

“— I dunno!” Hirose sighed “I find it refreshing.” 

“… so romance movies is something ‘nice to escape from reality’ ?” Nakamura whispered. Hirose might be a romantic after all.

“I-um…”

Nakamura’s eyes widened at his reaction to the question. Funnily enough, Hirose seemed flustered by it.

Nakamura had never seen Hirose flustered before.

A slight rosey color in the cheeks crawled up Hirose’s face. It was so…

“I mean- I don’t know— I- yeah…”

It was so cute !!

Nakamura wanted to keep it going, also taking advantage of the fact that his Loveable Lunches volume 4 special edition had been forgotten in the conversation.

“What about it do you like?” He pried.

Hirose’s eyes refused to look at him, this time. He stared at Icchan’s enclosure as if that would save him some embarrassment.

“I don’t know it’s just… sweet I guess. Nice. It’s all good and… I like happy endings.”

Nakamura hummed, interested.

“Yeah, I think so too…”

“You do?” Hirose looked up.

The black haired teenager tried his best to swallow his pride ( and have the balls ) to get up from the bed and actually pick up Loveable Lunches volume 4 special edition.

Like a robot, as he did. But he did it nevertheless. Nerves chewed him up horribly. He sat back down on the edge, next to Hirose.

“This is… a romance manga. I mean— obviously.” He cleared his throat.

Hirose was looking at him attentively.

Nakamura gulped. He explained “i… I l l mean the plot is good too but— it’s… I- i- I- I don’t know it’s really good.”

Hirose hummed.

Nakamura giggled to himself with embarrassment. Geez.

Hirose turned to him with curiosity. “What’s so silly?”

“Ha— no, nothing. You’re right… I guess i… yeah, I-i do read it for the romance”

It was easier to open up to Hirose, knowing that they shared a common interest.

Hirose smirked. “I knew it”

Nakamura shrieked.

Of course.

And a side of him… felt guilty for it. Nakamura scratched his nape.

“I notice… you probably don’t like dishonest people. Sorry, I don’t mean to lie. I’m just…”

“I know that too— don’t worry about it”

Hirose was so gentle.

“You mentioned that you got called weird before, for sharing your interests. I get it.” He comforted. Nakamura looked at him with big eyes. Sweet. Hirose was so sweet.

“Y-yeah.”

And he understood him.

“I don’t mind. In fact I think they give you a lot of personality.”

Nakamura let out a breath he didn’t realize he had been holding. He felt strange. Comfortable.

“Oh hey!” Hirose got up so suddenly. He brought the attention to the other side of the room, towards Icchan’s tank once again. Hirose pointed. “Can I pet him?”

Huuuuh ???!!

He wanted to pet Icchan ?!

“Y-y-y you want to pet Icchan ?”

Hirose looked curious. “Is it possible?”

Nakamura took it into consideration.

On one side, it could potentially make Icchan angry, or maybe hurt him if Hirose is too forward. Nakamura has done it before, but it was with plenty of caution.

On the other hand…

Hirose’s hopeful eyes were drawing him in…

“If not it’s fine! I’m just curious, since I’ve never seen a pet octopus before!” He grinned.

“N-no ! You can, pet him, that is. Just— you should let him come to you first, so you don’t startle him…”

Hirose nodded. “Ohhh!”

He looked at Icchan with excitement. “Icchan I hope you like me!”

Nakamura and Icchan were very similar. They say that pets resemble their owners, and in this case it might be 95% true. The black haired teenager is sure of it. Icchan would love Hirose. No questioning it!

Nakamura blinked.

Hirose was looking at him expectantly once again… with his hand out ?

“Huh?” Nakamura asked.

“Can you show me how?”

Oh- oh yeah he was dead. So dead. Hirose was waiting for Nakamura to actually grab his arm and guide it inside the tank? His stomach churned.

“Y-y-y-ye yes !”

Nakamura got up the bed so suddenly, stiffly making his way to Icchan’s tank. He grabbed both sides of the top of it and lifted it up, removing it completely and setting the lid aside. Hirose marveled at the view of the water from above.

Nakamura gulped and went for it, touching Hirose’s expectant hand… it felt almost like a dream. Carefully, he guided it on top of the tank.

“It’s gonna be cold…” he breathed.

“… I don’t mind !”

It seemed as if his excitement was greater than his fear.

Slowly, making its way down with concentration, together they went. Nakamura made sure to guide Hirose’s hand in front of Icchan, but not too far nor too close, giving his pet the opportunity to choose.

He smirked internally, boosting his own ego. Nakamura such a good octopus caretaker.

“Wo-woah !” Hirose gasped. Nakamura looked into the tank.

Icchan was reaching out !!

He might be Nakamura’s pet, but it got him excited nonetheless. He gaped as well, watching as Icchan took Hirose’s finger and wrapped around it with a tentacle.

It was … incredible!

“Haha- it tickles!” Hirose giggled “it feels so funny!”

Nakamura observed the scene.

His two favorite beings together… all in one.

Hirose and Icchan.

It was the best.

It felt like eating a cold icecream on a hot summer day. Refreshing, sweet… gentle.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah !!”

Both boys softened at the moment, goofily giggling as Icchan twirled and played around Hirose’s fingers. “It’s funny” Hirose said “I can feel him sticking his tentacles on me !”

Nakamura nodded “the suction cups, yeah.”

“Ohh! Suction cups…” Hirose cooed as he looked into the top of the tank. Icchan seemed to really like him.

“… wanna know a cool fact?” Nakamura mumbled.

He didn’t know if it would scare Hirose off, since the kids in elementary did find his octopus fun facts bizarre, but the boy already said he didn’t mind. It didn’t hurt to try did it?

“Yea what is it?”

Hirose listened closely without breaking eye contact with Icchan.

“Octopuses have a central brain, but each arm can think on its own.” he whispered “I think it’s pretty insane.”

“Wow…” Hirose matches his voice, whispering as well. “Crazy.”

They both watch, entranced by the animal before them. There is a reason they were Nakamura’s favorite.

Their eyes gleam against the light of the tank.

Again, they are interrupted.

This time, when steps approach the outside, both of them slowly turned waiting for the door to open.

And just as expected, Kana opened the door. Slowly this time. Nakamura sighed: his sister really had something with shoving his door open.

“Hey, dinner. Mom and dad are here.”

Oh, oh no !

“We- we’ll be right there!”

Ah! One thing Nakamura absolutely hated imagining was eating at home with Hirose. It was easily one of his top three worst fantasies: what if Hirose didn’t like his mom’s cooking? Or if his family embarrassed him horribly? What if… Nakamura accidentally burped or something ? Really loudly too…

What if…

“Ah- hey, Nakamura…” Hirose said. Nakamura turned to him with question. He batted his eyelashes.

Hirose seemed to be struggling with something.

“Huh?”

“Haha… it’s Icchan…” he explained in between a strained laugh “he won’t let me go…”

Nakamura blinked.

He looked into the tank. It seemed as if Icchan had grabbed Hirose as his own. He refused to let him go.

“Oh!”

Okay Icchan, this is cute and all, but Hirose isn’t yours.

Nakamura was playfully jealous. Icchan had gotten to hold onto Hirose’s hand for so long!

Nakamura made his way close to Hirose, hands diving into cold water and with a shiver, trying his best to delicately stick every suction cup off Hirose’s skin individually. It was tough work.

Nakamura waved his arms in between Hirose’s own, trying his best to not hurt Icchan nor the brown haired boy.

Hirose payed close attention as well, separating his fingers so that Icchan would have a harder time attaching himself once more.

After a few minutes, it was successful.

“Ha!” Hirose said with triumph. Nakamura also smiled. “We did it.”

He tried not to pay attention to the image of his and Hirose’s arms tangled.

“Yeah, and look! It’s just like cooking class…” Hirose laughed, showing Nakamura his arm. It was covered in tiny red spots all over.

To be honest; the black haired boy was concerned.

“Ah— sorry. Does it hurt?” He asks. “Are your hands cold?”

Hirose waved him off “not at all! Come on, your parents are waiting downstairs right?”

Nakamura had never had a friend meet his parents before. Thinking about it… wait— it was Hirose meeting his parents! This is a huge step— oh my!

“Y-yeah, we should go.”

Rushing down the stairs, his parents were already sitting at the table with his sister, quickly noticing when their son arrived.

“Hey Okuto, have a nice day at school ?” His father asks.

Nakamura nods at him, and both parents quickly notice Hirose’s presence entering the area. They look at each other in surprise, but try their best to mask it.

Nakamura guesses he owes them an explanation. He thought Kana might have already given one.

“M-mom, dad, this is my friend Hirose” he introduces.

Nakamura’s chest feels warm on the inside. He gets to call Hirose his friend. Life is wonderful.

“Hirose! Hirose…?” His dad asks.

“Hirose Aiki!” The boy himself responds, giving a bow of respect. Nakamura’s mom smiles lightheartedly, saying “sit down, both of you. The food is gonna get cold.”

Nakamura looks at Hirose’s face. He feels slightly embarrassed, but nothing too bad. Hirose sends him a side glance. It’s brief but comforting. A reminder that he’s at peace, too.

“Thank you for the food!”

Another thing Nakamura notices about Hirose, is that he’s way louder and optimistic than his entire family alone. Nakamura is just like his parents. Simple, reserved but kind hearted. He does what’s right but stays to himself. His sister; even if brash, is the same.

Hirose though, he says thank you with his entire heart and has no shame asking for more food or speaking with Nakamura’s parents.

“You saw Okuto’s room?” Nakamura’s mom asks. The boy doesn’t like the question. It makes him seem like a sore loser who never has anybody over (which is true).

“Ah yeah!” Hirose pauses to chew and swallow a piece of food, then said excitedly “I saw Icchan! He’s so cute— oh! I touched him too!”

Nakamura looked down at his plate.

It had been adorable.

Hirose and Icchan together.

He would have never thought…

“Huh? Funny. Okuto never lets anyone touch Icchan” Kana cut in, casually. As if she did nothing wrong, she continues to eat her salad in silence.

Nakamura blushes.

“W-w whatever! It’s because you’re too harsh. Hirose is careful.”

“Huh? It’s not true, I’m nice too!” Kana replies.

Nakamura raises a brow. Not true at all.

Hirose looks at them both and cracks up. “Hahaha!”

Even Nakamura’s parents seem surprised by the scene before them.

“Mom, tell Okuto I’m nice too.” Kana grumbled in between bites. Nakamura’s eye twitched when his mom defended her saying “Okuto, be kind to your little sister. You’re the oldest. Maybe you can teach her how to handle Icchan too.”

Nakamura sighs. He aggressively stabs his fork into a piece of chicken.

“You wish” he breathes “not even I touch Icchan. He doesn’t like being handled too much.”

His parents both hum. “Well, you’re the expert, honey.”

“Is the octopus your only pet?” Hirose asks to the table.

Nakamura lets his parents answer. They seemed charmed by Hirose.

Might be because it’s the first person that comes over from their son’s side.

“Yes, we used to also have a fish but nothing too big. You?”

Hirose smiles “a cat. It’s my sister’s cat, really. I’ve always wanted a dog, though!”

“Oh! I see. Yeah I get it, when I was younger …”

Nakamura acts as if he isn’t also paying attention. Every new fact that Hirose drops about himself, he memorizes. Hirose wants a dog.

A dog… Hirose wanted a dog…

That means a yard…

A house?

Together …

In Nakamura’s mind, him and Hirose could grow old together and they could have as many puppies as Hirose wanted to.

Brown, black, golden, white, beige puppies.

So many everywhere ! And octopuses… and puppies with octopus costumes… it would be like heaven on earth. Maybe Hirose in an octopus costume.

Or … no… a puppy suits him better.

Oh— what was he thinking ?

“… so, it’s nice seeing Okuto bring someone home, you know? “ his dad comments. He seemed to have said something else while Nakamura daydreamed, but he only got to hear the last half of it.

At this, Hirose curiously turned to him again. He looked at Nakamura differently—like he’d realized something..

His gaze was softer? Pensive?

It lingered for longer than usual.

Nakamura didn’t know what to make of it.

Looking down at his plate again, he noticed he was done eating. Hirose was too. A small thoughtful silence seemed to be spreading between the two.

“Yeah…” Hirose said quietly.

Nakamura’s mom got up from the table. “Great! Thank you so much for having dinner with us, Hirose-kun” she said sweetly.

Hirose blinked with a slight blush, getting up and bowing at them both in respect. “The honor is mine. Thank you for the food!”

The boy picked up his plate and glass of water, trying to clean up.

Kana interrupted though, grabbing the plate from Hirose’s hands and telling them to go upstairs. That they could handle the rest.

Nakamura was caught by surprise.

Then he looked at his parents from his peripheral vision and scowled.

Of course he is free of his dish cleaning duties! His parents are so happy he’s got a friend over that they are dismissing him in exchange for quality time with Hirose!

Not that Nakamura is mad about that, in fact; he’s enchanted. In that case, Hirose should lose his keys more often. Actually, he should stay locked out every day.

“C-come on, let’s go !” Nakamura insists. His family is so embarrassing sometimes, but he’s glad it wasn’t as painful as his head made it to be. It could have been worse, honestly.

Kana didn’t tease him too much either. Nakamura thinks though, she might bother them later on. “Yeah!” Hirose enthusiastically cheers.

But… they’ll definitely be talking about Nakamura and Hirose when they’re all alone in the kitchen.

Both boys made their way up once more, this time, Nakamura feeling more at ease. Entering his room, he checked the time on the clock. It was almost seven pm already.  Time went by fast.

The reality of spending the night with Hirose sank in more and more. His stomach churned.

“A-a-a about the sleepover, do you need anything? A toothbrush? Something else ?”

Right.

Hirose was looking around his room again, watching how the curtains swayed with the summer breeze. Daylight was beginning to fade and the colors in the sky were mixing from a baby blue to a tangerine.

The boy thought for some time, looking back at Nakamura.

“Yes! I did want to take a shower… usually do after school. If you don’t mind…”

He excused himself. Nakamura guessed it was to ask permission to use his bathroom. He nodded.

“Y-yeah! I’ll show you. Follow me— out—“ he pointed to the hallway.

Hirose followed suit.

“This bathroom is technically all mine, since it’s beside my room and my parents have their own. Kana has all her stuff in the downstairs one. She says she prefers to have one all to herself instead of sharing. Sibling stuff…” Nakamura started rambling about his sister’s snarky habits as he presents Hirose his bathroom.

It was simple, with a blue carpet adorning the center. It had a nice sink with plenty of cabinets underneath ( where he didn’t store much. Simple guy) and the shower to the side.

His home’s shower didn’t have a curtain, but rather a small wall and a glass door. A part of the inside with a bench to the side.

“Y-you can use anything in here, it’s fine.”

“Thank you!” Hirose gave him one of those warm, closed eye smiles that left Nakamura’s heart melting.

“M-mhm!”

Hirose was going to use his stuff! Shampoo… body wash…

Would he smell like him now? No, surely not after a single shower. What if?

“Do you have conditioner, Nakamura?” Hirose asked.

“O-oh?”

The brown haired boy giggled, twirling one of his hair strands on a finger. “It’s fine if you don’t. It’s just, my hair type…”

Yeah. Nakamura knew. Hirose’s hair was wavy, soft—never quite curly.

“Yeah, do have— It’s the light orange bottle. The blue one is shampoo.” He points.

“Sweet!”

“If-if you need anything else…” Nakamura offers. He would get out of here and leave Hirose to his own, even if he gets anxiety from the other side of the room.

Hirose using his stuff…

It’s so domestic. Another fantasy coming true.

“Actually, yeah— do you have any clothes to lend me?” Hirose said, wearing the most innocent face in the world.

‘Clothes to lend me…’

‘Clothes to lend me…’

‘Clothes…’

Nakamura’s face exploded, red.

“Y— yeah hold on!” He squawked.

The boy rushed out of the bathroom and ran inside his room, slamming his door.

Hirose wanted to wear his clothes.

Okay, not really. But close enough. Nakamura opened his closet with shaky hands. Clothes … clothes …

He has to give Hirose something to sleep in… definitely not this one, he thinks as he pulls out an old pikachu pijama from when he was in middle school. He has to throw that one out. Embarrassing.

He browses his drawers for a while, and settles on the most basic one he can find. One his mom bought him recently. The shirt was all white with a plaid grey pocket, plaid grey shorts to match. He considered them comfortable enough to lay the whole day with.

Yeah, this has to do.

Nakamura approached the bathroom once again. The water wasn’t running yet, so he guessed Hirose hadn’t gotten inside just yet. Wait… what about underwear?

His face risked blushing once more.

He doubted Hirose had any.

Well… if he asks… Nakamura will … uhhh

No, he would jump out the window before lending his crush a pair of underwear !

But then— Hirose— no, it’s fine.

Nakamura, with all his strength, opened the bathroom door trying not to think much about it.

“I’ve got this…” he looked up from the soft clothes on his hands, only to meet face to face with Hirose’s… naked back ?!

H-he had taken off his shirt!

Well, of course! He was going to take a shower!

Nakamura was sure his nose started to bleed.

He panicked, what seemed to be the thousandth time this day.

“Oh! Thanks Nakamura!” Hirose grinned.

Like an angel.

He nodded once stiffly, keeping his eyes glued on the floor and leaving the pijamas on top of the toilet seat. “H-h-h-h ha-ha-ha have a nice bath!!” He cried. Nakamura rushed out of there and didn’t look back.

Hirose only waved and closed the bathroom door with a click.

The door to his room was slammed.

When he heard the water start to run, Nakamura let out a deep breath of panic and relief all at once. Woah. Woah. He- he needed help. Psychological help. He never thought in a million years to see a fragment of Hirose’s naked body like that. His back… the slightly tanned skin, the blush on his shoulders.

Nakamura gained something else to dream about. It wasn’t helping his case, not at all.

Still, he had taken a shower that same morning ( since Kana cries on him for hogging the hot water at night) and his body was still clean, so he’d just change for the night and use the bathroom downstairs to not disturb Hirose…

Hirose’s… naked back.

Nakamura slaps his train of thought with a frustrated ‘aughhhh !! ‘

Dark blue pijamas adorned his body as he went to the bathroom downstairs, if only to pee. Kana was there too, washing her face, white soap all over it as she did. She insisted the girls in her school were getting a lot into ‘skincare’ and that she wanted to give it a shot.

Nakamura argued that she didn’t have any pimples anyways.

Kana said it was better to be safe than sorry.

“Can I piss for a second?” Nakamura asked. Normally he’s shy and polite, but with his sister he lets formalities drop.

She raises a brow. “Your bathroom ?” She asks.

Nakamura shakes his head.

“Hirose is showering…”

Kana hums.

“So…” she begins, bringing her hairbrush out “Hirose huh?”

Nakamura jumps at the name.

“Y-yeah what about him?”

Kana only raises a brow.

“Oh nothing… only that I saw that name scribbled somewhere in your school notebooks. Several, to be honest.”

“D-don’t snoop around! So what? We’re friends.”

Kana started brushing her black hair. Contrary to Hirose’s pretty honey-brown, his family had silky black.

“Stupid brother, it’s the first boy you bring over…”

“He needed to stay tonight! ”

“And you… you know…”

Nakamura raised a brow. “I what?”

Kana side eyed him.

She then looked forward at herself.

“Nothing.”

Her brother narrowed his eyes at her. She definitely had something else to say.

But the mare possibility of it being ‘and you like boys’ made him move on from the conversation with a “whatever, just let me pee please? I’ll be quick.”

Nakamura knows his sister possibly knows he’s gay, if the leaving his BL manga around the house wasn’t a big sign, but she has never confronted him about it and he hasn’t either. It must be some avoidance thing. The Nakamura family is an expert at avoiding, apparently.

Kana got out, Nakamura did the deed and then skittered out as well, leaving with a ‘goodnight’ and walking upstairs nervously.

The water was still running, but it could be at any time that Hirose comes out of the bath.

They’ve talked all day which has been surprisingly calm, but night feels different to a person like Nakamura. Serene, true.

He’s scared to blurt out secrets he isn’t ready to reveal. Hirose is an adorable sleeper too. That time in the gym room when they were side by side, his face had the most soothing expression Nakamura had ever seen.

Nakamura wonders about himself. Was he a charming sleeper? Probably not as dainty as Hirose. No one could be…

Looking around his room he makes sure everything is in place before Hirose comes back. He gets up and uselessly starts ranging things around the room in a brief anxiety-clean. Mangas are perfectly put, there isn’t dust on top of his desk, everything seems alright …

Is he missing something?

Beds. Wait— where is Hirose supposed to sleep?

The wicked side of Nakamura would dream of somehow snuggling under the same cover, reading comics and giggling together as they cuddled, of course.

But this side, the realistic one, has to choose a bed for Hirose as his host.

With him would be the dream, but Nakamura realizes if Hirose were to snuggle next to him wearing his pijamas, he could potentially pass out. It wasn’t a good choice.

Nakamura rushed out of his room and knocked on his parent’s.

“Come in!” Mom spoke.

Despite her speaking, his father was the one closest to the door. He laid on the bed as he watched a small tv in the room.

“Yes, son?”

“Hi— I need a futon for my friend Hirose. Are they in Kana’s room?” He asked. His dad paused and thought for a moment.

“Hmm…” he went “let me check here…”.

He got up from the bed and as he searched in one of the bigger closets, his mom appeared. It seemed she was in the bathroom.

“Okuto!” She smiled.

“He needs a futon for his friend” dad explained.

His mom lit up “right! There must be one here somewhere…”

After a successful find, he placed the futon on his room’s floor with a thump.

They had a staring competition.

Nakamura then pulled out some soft covers and made it as comfortable as he could. Hirose deserved a good sleep, even if it wasn’t on a proper bed.

A lot of traditional people still used futons in Japan anyways, even if Nakamura’s more ‘modern’ house had a bed. Maybe Hirose uses a futon at home, who knows.

He… sort of wants to ask.

The thought swims away as he stares at the futon beside his bed. They’ll be so close… him and Hirose…

It’s his first sleepover too.

Nakamura is very happy about it… but still …

He approaches his bed and face plants into it, lying face down and collapsing. Internally, he felt like screaming.

He’s so lucky… he’s been real lucky today… if he was good enough, could the universes force grant him good luck the entire night too? Because he needed it.

A lot.

Nakamura kept grumbling into his sheets in exasperation. What was he supposed to do?

He was weak. Worse, he was in love. In love with someone who—

“Haha, what are you up to?”

Bad timing. Nakamura got surprised by Hirose’s voice. Lying down, he turned his head to the side to see him.

His heart froze.

Hirose walked in the door with a smile on his face and moist hair. His strands weren’t completely drenched, but you could tell he had tried his best to dry the most he could with the towel.

Drops still slipped from his hair, tracing down his neck.

As if that wasn’t enough torture for Nakamura, something worse, he had totally forgotten how much of a size difference him and Hirose had.

His pijama shorts were going past Hirose’s knees, and the shirt was baggy on him.

It was… great.

Which was the problem.

Nakamura sat up as fast as humanly possible. He squawked.

“Oh, you changed clothes too!” Hirose acknowledged. Nakamura nodded, but he didn’t reply. His mouth seemed to be sown tight after seeing the world’s most delicious dessert and not being able to have it.

So unfair, but he was grateful. So grateful.

Hirose glanced down at the futon at his feet. He ran a hand through moist hair as he grinned. “Oh! Thanks for making my futon as well. It’s been a long time since I last slept on one” he smiled.

Nakamura spoke before his brain caught up. “Yeah?” Even if he still felt disconnected.

“Yeah! I did back in my childhood home, but now my room’s got an actual bed like yours” he explained. Hirose walked over and sat in front of Nakamura, on top of his futon. “I mean, I like futons. They’re comfortable to sleep on and they remind me of summer somehow…”

Nakamura’s bed wasn’t too tall, so the height distance between them wasn’t too much.

“Yeah same. M-me and my sister used to do ‘camping’ in the living room, using futons as made-up sleeping bags…’ Nakamura eased into the moment.

“Haha! Funny!” Hirose laughed“I totally get it! I used to play pretend a lot as well…”

Nakamura needed to distract himself quick with something. Anything to get his mind off the literal snack sitting in front of him. He thought about Hirose, and about boys in general. Nakamura himself wasn’t very into video games or anything, but he did have a console.

“I-I’ve got a Nintendo switch, if you wanna play” he offered when the conversation died out.

They were barely getting comfortable talking, but maybe with time, it would flow easier.

Hirose’s eyes lit up with the mention of the console. “For real?” He exclaimed “I love video games!”

“M-mhm!”

Nakamura always kept his switch in the drawer by his headboard since he sometimes played before sleeping after a long day of studying. It calmed his nerves.

With ease, he passed it to Hirose.

“You can play if you want,” he said “I’ve got stuff like Zelda and Minecraft in it. Stuff like Super Mario too…”

“Do you have Mario Kart?” Hirose asked. Nakamura hummed. “Yeah I do, you can play it too.”

Hirose shook his head and scoffed.

“Why? When we can play together.”

Nakamura blushed. “T-that too!”

Hirose grinned “come on! You can  have one control and I the other. It will be fun!”

The nervous boy nodded.

Truth to be told, the only time he had played Nintendo with another person was his sister when they were 12. Now even if she asks, he refuses. One time she almost broke it, so ever since, he doesn’t let her touch it.

Hirose looked up at Nakamura.

Nakamura looked down at Hirose.

Hirose grinned and stood up… climbing into Nakamura’s bed.

The surprise was too much, Nakamura only backed up to his side of the wall.

“W-w-w-what are you doing?”

Hirose raised a brow “sitting next to you so we can play together. If not, we can’t see the screen.”

“Right!”

In a sense, another of his fantasies was being fulfilled. Half, at least. Sitting side by side with Hirose in his bed… occasionally touching shoulders as they moved the controls with excitement.

Hirose was winning by a lot of rounds, but Nakamura wasn’t too bad either, getting a few himself. They started counting the rounds until they got to 20 to see who got there first. Hirose seemed to win first place often.

“You’re good at video games…” Nakamura grumbled as a player threw a banana peel at him and made his kart stumble, only to find out that it was Hirose himself who did that.

The other laughed “I play often. I have a cousin with a Nintendo who sometimes lends it to me. Also! I have a Play Station. You should come over sometime to try it out!” Hirose’s tongue sticked out as he talked, then focusing on a tight turn.

Nakamura’s ears heated up and his fingers on the controller faltered. Hirose was inviting him over!

“R-really? I’ve never played before…”

Just like that, Hirose’s cart did the final turn and ended up crossing the finish line, the screen showing the score as the game ended once again.

Hirose’s got 16 wins. Nakamura’s got 10.

Hirose faced him as they waited for the next one to load.

“Crazy. Then you should totally come over. You’ve gotta play at least once!”

“I-I will…” he said a little too quickly. Hirose giggled at it.

The next round started.

“You’re always real funny Nakamura. You answer things so quickly— it cracks me up” he said. When he laughed like that, his shoulders brushed Nakamura’s.

Both made sure to press the button for advancing before the countdown was over. That way their carts would advance the second it started.

“O-oh ?!” Nakamura tried not to let it get to him. His devotion to Hirose was showing! He had to be more careful… but it was true.

When Hirose demanded anything, he was quick to do it, just like—

“Oh speaking of, I did see, you cut your bangs didn’t you?”

Got him.

“Ah— yeah— yeah I did. A little” Nakamura unconsciously turned a thumb stick, his character getting a mystery cube.

It spun and spun on the screen. What would he get?

Hirose’s character was still advancing, but a side glance made Nakamura realize Hirose was staring at his face.

Close…

So close.

Hirose only hummed, but his eyes weren’t paying attention to the screen any longer.

At that moment, Nakamura’s character crossed the finish line first for the 11th time. Relief came over him as it did. He was not as bad as he thought he’d be.

“Yeah. Your eyes are clearer.”

Nakamura then saw something beautiful. It was already dark out, so the blue glow from Icchan’s tank cast a luminous glow on Hirose’s face that made him look ethereal.

“A… are they?”

Maybe it was his imagination, but the moment was perfect. Hirose smelled like soap and sea salt. They were so close Nakamura was glad he had brushed his teeth for a long time beforehand… just in case his nervous breath was hitting Hirose’s luminous face.

Anxiety clawed at his stomach like a wild cat.

“Definitely”

They breathed the same air for a moment.

Then Hirose smiled to himself and turned back to the screen.

Nakamura blinked. What was that?

He ignored that feeling he had, the urge to do something reckless. It was dumb of course, they were barely even friends. Still…

Both of them clicked ‘go’ on the screen.

The silence stretched. Nakamura grabbed at the first thing that came to mind.

“So, what kind of romance do you like?” Nakamura asked.

Hirose got caught off guard, his controller almost slipping from his hands as he cried a small “w-what?!”

Nakamura glanced at him briefly. He got embarrassed that easily, huh? But he couldn’t be blamed. Nakamura got really embarrassed about it too. Still, if they were both romance nerds, then it was okay, wasn’t it?

“Like… you know…” great. Now he was the one embarrassed.

“I-l know what you mean” Hirose said, moving his cart around. The game was getting a bit repetitive. Hirose’s hands moved almost automatically over the controller as he thought, focusing on the question.

“I guess… I like when the two characters get close first, as friends… and then build up to romance— it’s cute”

Nakamura pretended his heart didn’t race at that statement.

Because that’s exactly how Nakamura had imagined them.

Friends.

And then… more ?

“Really?”

“Yeah… what about you?”

Nakamura’s character bumped against the side of the road, three other carts getting past his. Hirose’s was still in front though.

“M—me?” Nakamura nervously bit his lip. He didn’t think about the question being returned.

“Yeah, I mean you asked, so what about you? It’s only BL’s right? What kind do you like?”

Any other guy would have freaked out if they had a sleepover and their host read boys love stories, definitely. But Hirose… he’s just too nice. Too genuine.

“Mostly— yeah, um, but it’s embarrassing…” he whispered.

“Why? It’s just romance right?” Hirose asked innocently.

“Yeah.”

Then Hirose elbowed him on the arm, causing Nakamura to press a different side of the control and sending his character flying about. “Unless it’s something naughty” he snickered with a tease.

Nakamura flushed “no-no-no-no no !!” He denied “it’s just romance. Nothing like that!” he insisted.

Hirose didn’t say anything to that, only making a face of ‘really?’.

“I’m not like that…” Nakamura said “and— that time at the library— it was an accident.”

“What time?”

Hirose won this round too: his character crossing the finish line before anyone else’s. Per usual. Nakamura found he didn’t mind losing as much when Hirose was the one winning.

“That time where you said hi at the library. I was actually… looking for Lovable Lunches but tried to deny it by picking up another manga to show you…”

Hirose seemed to remember, gasping with an “ah yeah! I do remember that… so it was an accident.”

“Yeah! No, I wasn’t reading that! I promise.”

Hirose laughed at his panic. “Hahaha— don’t worry, I believe you. All this time you were denying you read Lovable Lunches, I can’t believe it. What is that manga about anyways?”

Nakamura scratched his cheek nervously, both of them leaving the controllers on the side, game forgotten.

“It’s embarrassing. Makunouchi is the main character along with Taku. It’s just a BL about two chefs in love… except they fight. The plot’s strange to tell but once you read it it’s very good, and it makes sense.”

Hirose listened closely to the story “oh, is that so?”

“Yeah. My favorite character is Makunouchi. He’s very cool and does everything so effortlessly… I would like to be like him… since I’m so awkward…” he mumbled the last part with shame. It wasn’t like him to admit these sorts of things to anyone, but it was night time and in the confines of his room he felt too comfortable to not.

Especially with only one person to listen to him—Hirose.

Nakamura wouldn’t mind him being the one to know.

“I know what you mean, but it’s not true. At least in my opinion…”

Nakamura was the one paying attention now. The only light around them was the soft blue glow from Icchan’s enclosure, Nintendo being forgotten.

“I think you’re pretty cool, Nakamura.”

Hirose commented softly. His voice was low and tranquil. Nakamura watched as Hirose started to sit up, legs touching the floor as he sat on the edge of the bed, back facing Nakamura.

He paused, glancing back over his shoulder, “thank you for letting me stay over. I had a really good time.”

A whisper into the night. Kindness.

“Y— yeah no problem…” Nakamura replied with the same tone. He watched as Hirose got up and laid down in his futon, pulling the covers up to his chin. The only visible features of his face were above his nose, where his half-lidded eyes glimmered faintly in the dark.

“Goodnight, Nakamura.”

“M-mm… goodnight.”

He watched Hirose’s eyes drift shut. He took a long, soft breath into the covers and settled in.

Nakamura was the only one watching him now. The light rise and fall of Hirose’s chest as he dozed off.

A beat.

Nakamura… was very happy.

This was, by far, the best day of his life.