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The sound of a pair of footsteps coming back from the kitchen offers relief to Hiromi. Until then, he’s only been sitting in silence in the tiny dining room that is basically a square table and three chairs fitted underneath the narrow stairwell, just at the side of the TV set and the couch. Oka-san’s apartment fits the small category, but it’s long enough to have separate doors for the kitchen, the laundry room and the bathroom, and high enough to have a second floor that is filled with a futon and some of those foldable, stackable cloth boxes with a plastic in front. All this, he should note, he only found out because Oka-san insisted on giving him a tour.
And now here he comes, all smiles as always, as he juts his thumb over his shoulder to indicate the room from which he came. He’s still dressed in the blue overalls he wears to the store, though the gloves have since come off. “Pizza’s in the oven. Sorry that’s all I can offer.”
“No, it’s quite all right!” To prove it, Hiromi actually sits up straighter—or even straighter than he’s already rigid form—and waves his hands urgently. Speaking on formally to the older man, he insists, “Really, please don’t mind me. In fact,” for all his good manners, though, he can’t help but dip his head shyly and rub his nape, “I should be apologizing for imposing on you.”
“You? Imposing on me?” Oka-san scoffs and bats the thought off the air. Really, he can be too nice, Hiromi thinks. “Come on, it’s the least I can do! I had no hope of getting home on my bike because of this weather, so I really thought I was gonna spend the night in the shop.” He gestures to Hiromi. “Then you came along like Prince Charming!” Prince Charming! Him?!
Hiromi must have choked on his spit before he laughs out loud suddenly, heat creeping higher and higher to his cheeks and his ears. Oka-san makes it sound as if he’d come at the nick of time, but really, Hiromi had timed his arrival when he knew that Reki and Langa would have already left. Thanks to the rainy weather, he thought his appearance would be a welcome surprise and it was . But because he took his time, pretty much everywhere has started to flood.
And now he’s stuck here in Oka-san’s apartment, bothering him with his presence. So much for being Prince Charming. “Wish I could have come a little sooner, though,” Hiromi mumbles for whatever it’s worth.
Oka-san snorts, waving his hand again as he turns his back to Hiromi on his way to the mini-fridge standing just next to the couch. He probably placed it there so he could grab a beer any time he wants while he’s watching TV. “Is Coke fine with you?”
“Coke—!” Hiromi’s pitchy voice catches on his throat when he sits up straighter again, and he coughs, clearing it. “Coke’s just fine! Thank you, Oka-san.”
“Hm? I could have sworn I have one more Coke in here…” That’s his host mumbling to himself, crouched in front of the fridge that is presently under his scrutiny.
Hiromi counts a few seconds before he lets his eyes wander again towards the framed photos flanking the TV screen. These were the same things he’d been looking at while Oka-san was putting the pizza in the oven.
But it’s only just now that he finds a picture that causes his heart to skip. It’s smaller than the other frames so it’s pushed somewhere to the front, and in it, he’s pretty sure that’s a younger Oka-san laughing next to a blond woman who must have spent some time in the tanning bed before that picture was taken. Hiromi can’t see it too clearly where he’s sitting, but he thinks that there’s a pink smudge on one of Oka-san’s cheeks. The same pink on the tanned woman’s lips.
“Ah! There you are.” Finally, Oka-san pushes the door shut, marching back to the table. “Hm? Something catch your eye?”
Hiromi utters a startled sound when he whirls at Oka-san, then back at the pictures. He’s still looking at that one with the tanned woman but when he points his finger, he says instead, “There’s a lot of familiar faces there.”
“Oh yeah,” Oka-san laughs, taking the seat next to him as he sets a cold can of Coke in front of him. For himself, he settles with an A&W rootbeer which he pops right then and there. “My heydays at ‘S’ before my injury. You know, before you and Reki became friends, I really wondered if I made the right decision bringing him to this community. But,” he angles his can towards the pictures, “I thought he would love it as much as I did, and he did.”
“Do you still keep in touch?” Hiromi asks, eyes still lingering on the tanned blondie.
“Some of them, yeah,” Oka-san answers. “Most of them still hang around Crazy Rock so we see each other when I go with Reki and Langa for deliveries and such. The others have since moved on with their lives, but we still send each other New Year cards and stuff. Yuri even sends me birthday cards every year all the way from Fukuoka.”
“Yuri?” Finally, Hiromi glances at him. He thinks he knows who this Yuri is.
Oka-san tells him his right when he points his can towards the smallest picture at the front. “See that woman over there? With the blonde hair and tanned skin? That’s Yuri.”
“Is she your…”
Oka-san takes the time to refresh himself with his rootbeer before he answers, “My ex? Yeah. She was my first girlfriend. My first everything—first love, first kiss.” First kiss.
Well, he shouldn’t be all that surprised. He and Oka-san are more than five years apart, so obviously the older man would have more experiences than him. Hiromi, on the other hand…well, he’s had one unrequited love story so far. And now, one raging crush for a guy who’s more than five years older than him.
Still, Hiromi’s mind is hung up on that, and he can’t help it. At twenty-something, shouldn’t he already have his own first kiss? Shouldn’t he already know what it feels like? If it’s explosive like fireworks, or soft like flowers. Or like the high of a long jump at Crazy Rock or colorful and sweet like the flower arrangements he makes. He’s pretty sure JOE and Cherry are both smooching behind their backs…and hell, even Reki and Langa are going to beat him at this rate! Imagine that .
A sound in the kitchen goes ding! That would be the oven, for sure.
“Pizza’s ready,” Oka-san grunts, pushing himself up to his feet. Hiromi knows that the injury that stopped him from skating at Crazy Rock was a permanent one on his back, so even when Oka-san just brushes it off, it’s little moments like this that tell Hiromi he’s still having problems with it. “Be right back—”
“No, Oka-san, please allow me to—” The chair groans as Hiromi pushes it back and practically flies up to his feet, already stepping forward before he can even find his balance. A startled noise marks the impact between him and Oka-san who’s suddenly falling backwards, flailing—
Shit!
“Oka-san!” Alarm ripples out of Hiromi’s chest as he lashes his arms around the falling man, making sure to secure his grip around Oka-san’s buttocks and the back of his head. Oka-san clutches his shirt in surprise, but Hiromi only notices it when he spins them around so that he lands on the floor instead.
A quiet, “Oof!” escapes Oka-san when he lands in front of Hiromi. His own back is smarting a little, and he’s pretty sure it’ll bruise before the night ends.
But Oka-san being safely on top of him is more than enough to soothe Hiromi from the pain. “Higa-san, you okay?” Oka-san gasps, trying to lift Hiromi’s heavy shoulders to little success as he searches him side to side, like he was trying to see behind him. His movements don’t appear hampered.
This makes Hiromi chuckle and smile, even as he winces, “Donʼt worry about me, Oka-san. I’m a little stronger than I look. What’s important is that you’re okay. Right?” He coughs.
Oka-san blinks at him in astonishment, then laughs and smiles brightly. “I can’t believe you saved me again. You really are my Prince Charming, huh?” He—he’s what—who now?
Hiromi doesn’t get to find out for sure—at least not before Oka-san slides his hands around Hiromi’s nape, and lowers himself to kiss him on his lips. At twenty-something-years old, this is Hiromi’s first ever kiss.
And it’s absolutely everything he imagined it to be—and more.