Current mood:

contemplative

[fic] Ookiku Furikabutte: The Road Ahead (First Step)
Rating: PG-13 (plus NSFW comics)
Characters/Pairings: Abe, Mihashi, Izumi/Mizutani
Disclaimer: Oofuri is the brainchild of Asa Higuchi.
Continuity: Brand New Endings
Notes: The immediate sequel to Been Here Once Before, which is turning out longer than planned. This part was greatly improved by comic pages from explodinguterus and kiwimangoodness. ILU guys. :')




"New friend?" Satou-san asks with barely contained curiosity when Abe drags Mihashi into the excessive heat of her family restaurant. He rolls his eyes as she gives Mihashi a searching look. "Well, he looks nice enough. As long as he doesn't break things..."

"Yeah, yeah," Abe dismisses, pulling Mihashi in the corner booth. Her perpetually disparaging comments about his frequentations would deserve a harsher response, but he's learned not to go against her. Satou-san treats her customers like the family she doesn't have: staying in her good graces is the price of cheap and plentiful food, a warm place to study in winter, and an atmosphere that isn't unlike what home used to be. "Curry rice, please. Quickly, we don't have much time."

"Break things?" Mihashi asks, fretfully looking around for fragile, priceless artefacts.

"Mizutani broke some plates ages ago," Abe explains, rolling his eyes. "She made him show a proof that he had personal insurance before letting him in again."

"That boy is a danger to himself and others," Satou-san interrupts, setting two cups of green tea in front of them. "It's good that you're meeting new people, Takaya-kun." She gives Mihashi a wide, motherly smile as Abe grits his teeth, considering the pros and cons of setting fire to the table to ensure that he'll never want to come back here again. It's too late, though.

"Mizutani-kun?" The real question is written in Mihashi's eyes, obvious as black marker on cotton, so Abe doesn't wait for him to ask it.

"I see Izumi every now and then," he explains. "He's still tight with Mizutani and Hamada, so..." He trails off. This minefield requires careful navigation, and he's not sure how to explain why he kept in touch with Izumi, of all people. There are too many events here that he'd rather Mihashi didn't hear about (and some that Mizutani doesn't need to know, either).

Thankfully, Mihashi doesn't ask further. "I'd like to see them," he says instead, and immediately corrects himself. "If it's not too much trouble."

Of course, looking at the sequence of events since Mihashi left Nishiura, it would look like the three of them sided with Abe against Mihashi. Which is not even remotely true. Izumi is loyal but quietly disapproving, and the other twojust got swept along for the ride. More things that Abe has no desire to explain; at least not yet.

"They'll definitely want to meet up with you," he assures, and can't help a smile at the hope that spreads on Mihashi's face. "I'll set it up. Now... how is this going to work? I can't exactly walk on the team."

"Coach says it's okay," Mihashi says with the smallest of winces. "He and Yoshida-san are busy for now, but you can meet up with them next week to discuss everything."

Abe's heart skips a beat. It's only been an hour since everything changed, but that's more than enough time to start second-guessing his decision. He's already wondered why Mihashi suddenly decided to ask him back, if it was nothing more than an impractical whim. If things are already in place for him to walk back into Mihashi's life...

He wants to ask about everything. How long Mihashi has been thinking about doing this, why he sounds like getting his coach to agree was a struggle, the extent of Tajima's involvement, who he's kept in touch with and who are the main people in his life now. But Mihashi has a train heading back to Gunma in a little over an hour, and Abe can't follow him yet. There will be time for questions later – right now, it's more important to sit here and bask in the familiarity of Mihashi's furtive glances to his surroundings.

Satou-san is quick as usual, and brings up two plates laden with sauce that brings drool to Abe's mouth. The woman might be a pain to deal with on occasion, but she's an exceptional cook; coming from her, even something as simple as curry rice tastes like a rare luxury.

Yet they don't move, sit in front of their plate in awkward silence. After a moment Abe glances at Mihashi and finds him glancing back, obviously unsure of what to do. It takes Abe a second to get it, and he sighs softly. The time is long gone since every difficulty could be overcome by holding hands. It isn't so easy, now, and things can't go back to how they were before. Rebuilding old habits – only the good ones – will take time and effort.

The first step is easy enough.

"Looks delicious," he says, and Mihashi nods fervently, looking back at his plate.

"Well don't just look at it," Satou-san yells at them from behind her counter. "It will get cold!"

They glance at each other again, somewhere between amused and embarrassed. Our little secret. And share a quick, awkward smile before diving into their plates.

---

Abe comes back to his flat an hour after leaving, having acquired good food, Satou-san's preliminary approval of his 'new friend', Mihashi's new phone number and the promise of an appointment with the team manager next week.

Suddenly all the chores he's been putting off seem like a breeze. Nevertheless, all he does is open the window and grab his phone before falling on his freshly made bed. A gust of wind rushes through the alley and into his flat, making the top sheets of a paper pile flutter across the room.

A grin spreads on his face, so wide it's almost painful. It's early afternoon on a weekday, his absence from class has probably kick-started the countdown to his expulsion from university, he's laying on his bed in his small, dark, messy apartment with a million things to do, and he feels so good it's stupid.

He dials without looking: his fingers know the number better than his mind does.

"What?" Izumi sounds somewhat out of breath when he picks up, and unusually harsh.

"Is this a bad time?" Abe asks, despite knowing the answer already.

"Yes." The word is laden with meaning that he doesn't need subtitles to understand. If you're about to commit suicide, please hold. If not, call back later. Or better yet: don't.

A real friend, Abe has learned, is someone who'll take your calls even in the middle of sex. Which doesn't mean they have to be happy about it. "I'll be quick," he promises. "I'm coming over tomorrow evening."

There's a moment of silence on the other side.

"Er, tomorrow is..." Izumi sounds a little contrite.

A little further from the speaker, Mizutani doesn't have such qualms. "What? Tomorrow? He can't come tomorrow. Hasn't he spoiled enough-"

"I know what tomorrow is," Abe interrupts. "I'll bring some chips. And tell your boyfriend his voice carries. See you."

He's about to hang up when Izumi calls his name, sounding somewhere between concerned and bewildered.

"What?"

"Understand that I'm not judging you," Izumi says, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "But are you on hard drugs right now? You sound almost happy."

It's so little, such an insignificant joke, and still it makes Abe laughs – probably, at this point, anything would make him laugh, and their complete bewilderment at his behavior only adds to the mirth.

"Only dopamine," he says, knowing that they can hear his grin. "See you tomorrow."

He hangs up with the certainty that their mood is thoroughly ruined, and can't bring himself to feel the smallest shred of guilt for it.

---

~*~*~




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