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sukacheri · 9 months ago

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ARIMA Chapter 4 [AO3 or Keep Reading below]

Early November, First Year

Tsukasa flicked his eyes up and down between his phone and the cramped alleyway in front of him. The downtown area had grown more familiar to him over the past few months from going on excursions with his classmates, but the particular side street he searched for continued to be out of reach.

The map on his phone provided little assistance, pointing him in a direction he had no recollection of going before when visiting this destination. Mitsuru’s text on the matter provided a similar lack of help. Tsukasa’s fondness for Mitsuru came from the other boy’s ability to talk to others like everyone was a friend he’d known for years, which helped soothe the gaps of Tsukasa’s social awkwardness when dealing with his peers.

But he could not say he was entirely grateful for the arrow emojis Mitsuru sent that looked more like a hex than directions.

“Well, at least it’s a great day out to be lost,” Hinata chirped. He stood with his hands on his hips, enthusiasm shining off him as if they weren’t five side streets deep into the concrete jungle. “Supposed to be colder when it ticks into November, but here we are on what could pass for a nice spring day.”

“I told you, we aren’t lost. I know where we’re going,” Tsukasa said. He looked up from his phone again, using his finger to mimic the arrows, hoping that would help make sense of it.

It didn’t.

“If we weren’t lost, I think we’d be there by now. Hey, we could always give up and go somewhere else. It’s really great out! We could find somewhere with outdoor seating and just bask in it.”

Tsukasa gripped his phone tighter with a huff. He switched back to the map app, then quickly became overwhelmed by all the location names scrunched together on the screen. Sensing more of an impending headache from that over the alternative, he opened his texts with Mitsuru again.

“It’s warm out, I’ll admit to that. But those are dark clouds rolling in, so I’d like to try and find this place before it starts raining.” And because once he set his mind to something, it was next to impossible to divert from that course of action.

“Some rain won’t hurt,” Hinata laughed, glee oozing from his tone. Since they had left the school and got to walk through a surprisingly warm day, Hinata had been thriving like a newly sprouted plant poking its head out of the dirt for the first time.

“It’ll be good rain, I think. The type of rain that makes you sigh and remember that’s what rain is all about, y’know?”

“Would you prefer to go on a date with the rain?” Tsukasa started walking again without confirming it was the right way on his phone. He would find the place on his own, his sense of direction couldn’t be that terrible.

“I think the rain would have better luck finding this place than you. Would you just let me help already? I’ve been perfectly polite making small talk about the weather to cover up the fact we’re lost, but now I’ve really talked the rain up. Maybe it is charming enough to steal my maiden heart. And it doesn’t subscribe to pride as its selected deadly sin.”

“A little pride never hurt anyone.” Tsukasa glanced down an alley — completely foreign, but the bookstore did look intriguing, so he’d have to remember it for another time — and continued walking. “You should have more of it, honestly. For things other than boasting about how many marshmallows you can fit in your mouth.”

“I have lots of pride, and I am genuinely proud of being the puffy bunny record holder for my class. You should do it in yours too, though it’d be no contest. Just look at these adorable cheeks!” Hinata bounced forward with a grin to pinch Tsukasa’s cheek. Tsukasa fought against turning his head away, begrudgingly staying still as his cheeks heated up under the touch.

“You’d win for sure,” Hinata said. “And when we pit our classes against each other, you’d beat me into the dust too. Don’t you like winning?”

“Not silly, inconsequential things,” Tsukasa grumbled, leaning his head against Hinata’s hand with a pout. He’d normally never dare to be so brazen in public, but the cramped buildings around them felt much like a canopy of trees concealing them.

“Right, just the super serious things like following directions on a map. You know you won’t lose boyfriend points for not doing it on your own, right?”

“It’s about the principle of it. I selected the place, so I should be capable of leading us there.”

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say. Anyways, I’m hungry, so…” Hinata trailed off, and then with a quick movement he snatched Tsukasa’s phone from his hands with reflexes like a cat snagging a bird from the sky.

“Excuse me?!” Tsukasa tried to grab it back, but Hinata easily kept it from reach with all the skills of an older brother.

“Let’s see here… Oh, good. You didn’t change the password. 28-07 is just that important to you, huh?”

Tsukasa’s face burned as he tried to snatch his phone back to no avail. “Hinata-kun!”

“What? I think it’s fittingly romantic for someone like you. I’d squeeze your face again, but you look like you’re gonna have a stroke.”

“I do not!” Tsukasa groaned, but his heart hammered in his chest as a realization cut through him.

Tsukasa had watched Hinata a few weeks ago play with his phone and try to unlock it with all his random password guesses. Hinata truly made a showing of pressing numbers at random with no concern, hitting the point where he had to wait 1 minute, then 5 minutes, then 10 minutes between guesses.

Even though Tsukasa was nervous about the impending lockdown of his phone, he had let Hinata try one last time after Hinata gave him a very convincing pout. And with his final guess, 28-07, Hinata was in.

But at the time Tsukasa felt reasonably assured that it was a random guess. Hinata had given no indication he knew the significance of the numbers, and Tsukasa couldn’t fathom why he wouldn’t have said anything except… Well, now that he thought about it, he could.

“Did you really not say anything just so you could tease me about it later? Do you experience significant joy over acquiring ammunition to use against me?”

Hinata gave him a lopsided smirk. “I only put this much effort in for you.”

Tsukasa’s chest squeezed, but he kept his voice flat in reply. “I’m so flattered.”

“But really, it’s as good a date as any to use. I’m surprised your phone background isn’t of fireworks since you’re so sentimental, but a stock photo of a mountain is nice too, I guess. Very you.”

Tsukasa drew his lips into a line. His background had been fireworks for quite some time.

“Ha! So, I just missed seeing that then?”

“Tenma-kun sent me instructions on how to find the cafe, but they are completely indecipherable to me,” Tsukasa said, wanting to quickly change the topic before they could delve more into it.

Hinata dropped his teasing and took a look at Mituru’s text, humming and nodding his head as he read it.

“Mitsuru-kun expected too much of you to be fluent in emojis, but lucky for you, I am quite well versed.”

Tsukasa refrained from rolling his eyes and let Hinata handle the navigation. Admittedly, Tsukasa had floundered around for an embarrassing amount of time trying to find their way, and it only stung his pride more when Hinata managed to walk them directly on target without so much of a step out of line.

The cafe looked the same as much as it did different. That is, the outside was as nondescript as last time he visited with his classmates, but stepping inside he immediately noticed the differences he had heard and read about.

The second floor of the building was renovated and open now, hosting private rooms one could book for any number of reasons. The advertising for them was primarily focused on appealing to local students, promoting a fun yet studious atmosphere where one could get work done while in a study group with friends.

To Tsukasa, it was the perfect thing he and Hinata needed right now. Anywhere with sweets served would be a hit with both of them, and Tsukasa could personally certify the quality of the ones offered at the cafe.

But not many places offered such distinct privacy, and when Tsukasa caught wind of the new additions, he booked a study room for the first available date he and Hinata were free. Privacy was a difficult thing to come by when you engaged in a secret relationship. There had only been one place outside of school they could meet in private, but…

Tsukasa’s eyes slid to Hinata, smiling at the hostess with his signature friendly grin while she checked them in.

The cafe would have to do.

The hostess led them up the stairs, welcoming them into their room. Instead of an overhead light, there were string lights and lamps to provide a cozier atmosphere. Floating shelves lined the walls, old books stacked on them with a variety of potted plants acting as bookends to keep them lined up. A charmingly scruffed up wooden table occupied most of the room, and Tsukasa took a seat at it, setting his backpack down in the chair next to him.

“This is a lot less study-study than I imagined,” Hinata said, taking a seat while still looking around the room and taking in every detail.

“I told you the rooms looked nice online, and when I last visited, the downstairs area was plenty modern as well.”

“Right, the last time you visited and ordered everything off the menu.”

Tsukasa stiffened in his seat. For all Yuuta complained about his brother, it appeared he had no qualms sharing the feats of his classmates with him.

“It wasn’t like I ordered everything for myself,” Tsukasa argued. “I shared those sweets with everyone, and I had only ordered everything in the first place just so I could try a bite of each one.”

Hinata reached for the tablet on the table — the ordering device, the hostess had explained when she dropped them off — and started scrolling through the options.

“At least now you know everything that’s good here then. Care to enlighten me? What should I avoid? There’s a wasabi cake here, want that?”

“Absolutely not.” Tsukasa shuddered, his tongue recoiling as if the spiced taste had been placed on his tongue. “And truthfully, I only found the coconut parfait to be lacking, but I’ve never chosen coconut as my first pick for anything.”

“Yeah, I can live without that too. Oh, here’s that curry Yuuta-kun got. I remember him complaining so much about it when he got home. He was all like ‘curry should be spicy! Who cares about a sweet curry?! Aniki, your types are ruining the food industry!’ as if I have any control over anything!”

Tsukasa nodded, recalling how put out Yuuta had looked when one of the only things on the menu he had any interest in ended up being too sweet for his liking. Hinata’s retelling of his brother’s anguish did bring an amused smile to Tsukasa’s lips, but he was sure he could listen to Hinata explain how paint dried and be thoroughly engaged too.

“I have an idea,” Tsukasa said.

Hinata continued swiping through the menu, but gave a hum of acknowledgement.

Tsukasa’s fingers tapped against the table and he pulled his hands into his lap to try to stop them from fiddling.

Being with Hinata, Tsukasa had learned the difference between anxiety from eagerness — a fluttery, nervous pressure that electrified his skin like it did now — and anxiety from dread.

Dread like rolling off wet socks, like dark hallways, like a single source of dripping that sounded louder than a downpour. Dread like blank faces, broken smiles, shrill laughter just to fill the silence.

Tsukasa swallowed and unclenched his hands beneath the table.

His eagerness, yes, that was what flitted through him on an unusually warm Autumn day like this one.

He admired Hinata in the cozy, atmospheric lighting of the string lights, basking him in delicate shadows. His orange hair fell down softly, framing and highlighting his face and his narrowed eyebrows as he scanned the menu. His pink barrettes had shifted slightly since the start of day — Tsukasa suspected some hijinks at lunchtime may have occurred since there had been a loud, suspiciously Tomoya pitched scream from the 1-A classroom around then.

Warm lighting always suited Hinata well. Tsukasa remembered festival lights and fireworks flowering across the night sky, and he remembered the first time his lips had touched another’s and—

And Hinata’s lips against his now from where he had sat up from his chair and leaned across the table to reach him. Tsukasa’s eyes widened and his heart thundered in his chest, but before he could process further, Hinata pulled away, soft laughter ghosting Tsukasa’s lips as he did so.

“Sorry, you always look really cute when you blush. And you had gone all quiet out of nowhere, so I looked up, and you were all out of focus, so…” Hinata trailed off, playing with a piece of his hair between his fingers as he averted his eyes. “So, um— right! What was your idea?”

“Idea?” Tsukasa asked, sounding more breathless than he should be. He cleared his throat and blinked a few times, trying to quell the roaring in his ears. “Yes, my idea.”

He paused. What was it again? He tried to recall, but the lingering feeling of Hinata’s lips sat at the forefront of his brain, refusing to leave its spot occupying all mental capacity. Goodness, their last kiss had been on Halloween over a week ago. His neck felt hot and he itched to tug at his tie, but he kept still. He tried again to think about what he had intended to say, so he reluctantly tore his eyes away from following the motion of Hinata toying with his hair, and upon seeing the ordering screen recollection struck him.

“I was going to inquire if it would be alright with you if I selected your order.” Tsukasa’s lips still buzzed, and he tried very hard not to think about the remnant of nectarine flavored chapstick that he could taste. “Since I have knowledge of most of the food offered here, and I am quite aware of your personal tastes and aversions, I thought it would be invigorating to test myself and see how well I perform.”

“Oh, my knight in shining armor!” Hinata quickly shoved the tablet across the table. “Yup, yup, by all means, go ahead.”

Tsukasa took a deep breath and willed his fingers to stop trembling with aftershocks as he navigated through the menus. He made a show of flipping through the options, putting thought into his choices, but he already knew what he would get. From the first time he visited with his classmates and tried out all the different flavors, in the back of his mind was a voice affirming or denying if the taste would suit Hinata’s palette. Though he hadn’t been consciously thinking about it then, once Tsukasa had booked the reservation, he looked up the menu again and already made his choices.

He input his selections, as well as ordering a pot of tea since the atmosphere all but demanded they have one. Hinata had taken his phone out, looking quite endearingly focused on it, yet unaware that his tongue stuck out while typing so aggressively.

“Is Hinata-kun concerned that Yuuta-kun isn’t responding to his messages right now?”

Hinata’s head shot up like it had been snapped up by a string. “What do you know? What is he doing? Yuuta-kun would never ignore me for so long, so I’m getting worried!”

Tsukasa was fairly certain that Yuuta would, in fact, neglect to respond to his brother for what must have been a mere hour of time, but he’d rather not let Hinata worry.

“I overheard that he and Sengoku-kun had plans to go to the arcade. I believe that nuisance Tori also invited himself along.”

“The arcade, huh? It must be so noisy, and that’s why he can’t hear his notifications. Even though he always has his phone on silent.” Hinata frowned, typing another message into his phone.

“Perhaps he is too engrossed in a game to pay attention to his phone?” Tsukasa offered. He hesitated for a moment before placing his hand on Hinata’s to stall his typing. “Yuuta-kun can become quite focused when he wants to, you two are quite similar in that regard.”

Hinata scrunched his nose for a second then sighed, setting his phone down and linking his fingers with Tsukasa’s. “Alright, I’m sure he’s having fun. And I’m sure you must be excited to prove what a good boyfriend you are. You’ve given yourself two tests for a single date.”

“Finding the way here was not a test, I told you it was about the principle of the matter. I decided on the place, and I’ve even been at this establishment before, so it was my responsibility to direct us there.”

“Okay, and what’s the explanation for you ordering for me?”

“Well,” Tsukasa said. “That is, admittedly, indeed a test for myself.”

Hinata laughed, a tease primed on his lips, but a knock on the door cut him off before he could speak. Tsukasa pulled his hand away with a jolt, his breath freezing in his throat as his eyes darted to the still closed door a moment before it opened.

The waiter entered and set a pot of tea down on the table, assured them their food order was coming right up, then stepped back out just as quickly.

Tsukasa swallowed, pouting at the steam rising out of the nozzle while he tried to reign in the nervous beating of his heart. At least they knock here, but what if they hadn’t? What if it had been a few minutes earlier while they were kissing? Tsukasa was fairly certain the average cafe employee wouldn’t care enough to do anything, but what if someone did? He had never been barred from an establishment before, nor did he have any plans to find out what that felt like.

Hinata sat completely unphased, or at least he was giving an incredible impression of nonchalance. He grabbed a cup for himself and was about to lift the teapot to pour it until he glanced at Tsukasa with a raised eyebrow.

“Does your boyfriend exam say that you have to pour my tea? Or can I do that myself?”

Tsukasa knew it was a tease. That was what Hinata did, he teased. But Hinata also loved to deal in blurred lines and hazy interpretations, while Tsukasa preferred clean-cut and distinct agreements.

So, Tsukasa frowned, knowing he had been a bit much today. Despite how Hinata played up being the overbearing brother, Tsukasa knew it may feel smothering to be on the receiving end of that sort of treatment for once.

“Hinata-kun, you are completely allowed to do whatever it is that you want. I hope you do not feel as though I am not letting you do things, it was not my intention to put that pressure on you. I enjoy treating you, I really, genuinely enjoy it, but I understand if you were to feel confined by any amount of your autonomy being taken away.”

“Huh?” Hinata tilted his head, clearly taken aback by Tsukasa’s words. “My autonomy? What a considerate guy you are, Tsukasa-kun, but I really don’t feel like that at all. You sure say some serious things sometimes, and you’re always so cutely determined when you do. But, y’know, I’m just picking fun.”

He nudged the tea pot handle towards Tsukasa, offering him an amused smile. “Why don’t you pour it for me? And whatever else you have on your bucket list for dates, I’ll sit pretty and let you fulfill them all.”

“I hardly have a bucket list,” Tsukasa refuted, but he did pour Hinata’s tea with a pleased hum. “I simply want to treat you with chivalry.”

Which wasn’t false, but Tsukasa strived to treat everyone he met with respect and kindness, so as to fit the image of a proper knight.

For Hinata though, it wasn’t about fitting into that ideal of what should be expected of him. In the beginning, yes, Tsukasa acted his role according to what was familiar, but as the months had gone by, Tsukasa grew to learn more about Hinata. Or rather, he learned how little he knew.

Growing closer was like pulling teeth. Tsukasa would dare to take an inch, and Hinata would run away a mile. Tsukasa would remain still, waiting for Hinata to meet him halfway, but Hinata would linger on the edge of the horizon. He was a vague and blurry shape, one Tsukasa itched to dig his hands into and hold preciously still, so that he could dissect all his angles and dimensions. So that he could gain an ounce of understanding.

And Tsukasa had seen glimpses, times where the blurriness came into focus, times where Hinata sat at just the right angle that the light shone on him and refracted a clear image into Tsukasa’s eyes. But those were impressions, mere peeks through the correct lens

Those were the times where Hinata would make off-handed comments about part time jobs he had little enthusiasm for, ones where his smile held more frustrated acceptance than his typical joy to try new things. Times where Hinata had gotten sunburnt on his face, but had waved it off as burning no more than his first few attempts at cooking on his own at too young an age. Times where Tsukasa spoke about conversations with his parents about their wishes for his bright future, and Hinata had smiled and wished him the same, but a certain melancholy had seemed to fill his emerald eyes.

Then there was that time.

That time where rain worked in reverse. Where rain blew fog away and exposed what cloaked itself in the haze. Where rain had left a single terrified image of Hinata, as if cut out from a film reel and frozen on the still of his terror. An image that was raw and exposed, with no pretenses or false lenses to hide behind. An image that had burned itself into Tsukasa’s memory as a searing, aching brand.

While it was the most Tsukasa had seen at once, it was still only a single truth, a single pavilion facet of the whole beautiful jewel. A beauty Tsukasa couldn’t hold, couldn’t discern, couldn’t gleam anything from, even when looking into a scrying glass.

He didn’t understand Hinata. Not the way he wanted to be able to understand him.

Without ever fully knowing the other boy, Tsukasa didn’t know how to support him, how to help him. Every line he tried to cross, Hinata shut down with lapses in communication, with changing the subject, with exaggerated laughter.

A stalemate.

Tsukasa shook himself out of his thoughts, taking a sip of tea and attempting to let the soothing, comfortably warm liquid settle his mind.

He would act like he was unbothered, no, more than that, he would be at ease with the situation. He would accept his place, and that was that. He didn’t know how Hinata swept everything away so easily, but the least Tsukasa could do was to continue meeting him halfway.

“How were your classes today?” he asked to chip at the silence that had fallen over them.

“The usual, though I didn’t get in trouble today so that’s nice.” Hinata grinned, pleased with himself. Tsukasa pursed his lips, somewhat doubtful that ‘the usual’ and ‘didn’t get in trouble’ coexisted.

“I thought I heard screaming during lunchtime. Or would you consider that as part of the norm for Class 1-A?”

Hinata raised his mug up to cover his face as he glanced off to the side with a shifty expression. “Ah, did you hear such a thing? Surely it wasn’t from our room. And especially not my fault. Perhaps, if there was such a scream, I would have had nothing to do with it.”

“I’m sure,” Tsukasa said flatly.

“I’m being completely honest right now, y’know.” Hinata tapped his fingers against the side of his mug. “That Midori-kun, he may not look it, but he can really cause trouble. He gives me a headache every day, you gotta watch out for him.”

“I’ll keep it in mind, but won’t you tell me what actually happened? I am rather curious, and I did tell you that information about Yuuta-kun.”

Hinata squinted at him over the top of his mug, considering his words with the same level of scrutiny that Tsukasa had seen his family’s business associates do during meetings.

“You got me there,” Hinata relented with a big sigh. “I really didn’t do anything today though! But, basically, there was this huge spider, I mean like this big.” He held his hand up and drew a circle on his palm.

Tsukasa imagined it, all eight legs of disgustingly hairy glory, and couldn’t stop a shudder passing through him.

Hinata continued without missing a beat. “So it’s super big and right by my desk. I saw it, but it wasn’t hurting anyone, so I didn’t say anything. And maybe I had waved Tomo-kun over to show him something on my phone, and he comes over and sees that spider and flips.”

“That is diabolical,” Tsukasa muttered and gripped his mug tighter. Yes, spiders were good and necessary, but, oh, he could live without ever seeing another bug in his life again.

“It’s not like I planted the spider there! Although, after classes were over later, I did go up to Tomo-kun like ‘oh, hey, there’s a spider on your shoulder’. Man, you should have seen his face. If he can apply those levels of expression to the drama club, he’ll definitely be an up and coming star.”

Tsukasa shook his head, leveling a sharp glare at Hinata. “Absolutely despicable. If you ever do that to me… Just please do not do that to me. I would act unsightly.”

Hinata grinned mischievously, leaning forward with a sinister glint in his eye. “You’re really making me want to do it, Tsukasa-kun. It’s like you’ve set a giant red button in front of me and are saying I’m not allowed to push it.”

“Well, you’re not, so don’t. I am not a violent person, but I fear I would react physically should you claim there was a bug on me. And if it were to be false, I believe in my adrenaline induced haze, I may potentially smack you out of grief.”

“Don’t threaten me with a good time.”

“Correction, I believe I may hit you right now for all of these rubbish words coming out of your mouth. I would hate to be banned from this establishment for violence, but some things cannot be avoided.”

Before any such disturbances could take place, their orders were ready from the kitchen. The waiter placed the dishes down with care, and Tsukasa bit his lip to contain his nervous smile as he observed Hinata’s reaction.

On a sleek white plate sat a perfectly circular panna cotta, covered in a vibrant yellow passion fruit sauce. Two mint leaves stuck out the top next to a ripe, scarlet strawberry. The taste had been spectacular from what he remembered, and he couldn’t forget how the warm colors had reminded him of Hinata.

“I know you don’t normally go for desserts like this, but I would like you to trust me on this and give it a try.” Tsukasa hoped he didn’t sound too excited, but he had been looking forward to this moment all day, keeping him distracted from his classes in a way he prayed was not noticeable.

Hinata eyed the dessert with a scrutinizing gaze and tapped the side of it with the flat base of his spoon, observing the delicate wobble.

“Interesting choice, Tsukasa-kun. My first pick isn’t often something of a gelatinous nature.” He spoke with an exaggerated, grandeur tone. Tsukasa was sure if there were a monocle on hand, Hinata would be grabbing it to supplement his character. “There were other flavor options, right? May this humble man inquire as to why you selected the passion fruit one?”

Tsukasa sat up straighter, though he found embarrassingly little need to alter the usual cadence of his voice to match Hinata’s acting. “Indeed, there are various options available. Especially right now, there are a multitude of Autumnal flavors being promoted as specials. However, I made note of your enthusiasm on the way here for the warm temperature we had today to narrow my choices down to a tropical taste.”

Hinata rubbed his chin, nodding and deeply considering the words, though the corners of his lips kept twitching as he fought back his smile.

“I see, I see. But my question remains unanswered.”

Tsukasa blinked. “Does it?”

“Yes, it does. I recall seeing a few tropical fruit options. Mango, dragon fruit, acai. And Tsukasa-kun chose passion fruit specifically.”

The true explanation sat on the tip of his tongue, the one about how the sunny color palette simply reminded Tsukasa of his boyfriend.

However, Tsukasa did not often find himself in prime striking position to deliver a blow that would make Hinata lose their little game first. Hinata’s shoulders had gone rigid with how hard he worked to contain his laughter, so Tsukasa gave his most charming idol smile and prepared a wonderful pageant answer of a response.

“Why, that’s an easy answer. It really should be obvious. Passion fruit is passionate, and I am exceedingly passionate about Hinata-kun.”

The playful mood of the room snapped like a rubber band, and Tsukasa took great pride in the color blooming across Hinata’s cheeks like rich red roses. Hinata attempted to cover his embarrassment up with an awkward mixture between a laugh and a cough which produced more of a discordant choking noise.

Seeing Hinata like this, Tsukasa could understand why he loved to push other’s buttons so much. This was going to be the highlight of Tsukasa’s week, and he was half-tempted to take his phone out and snap a picture.

“Now, now, Hinata-kun. Don’t spill your tea.”

“I am not spilling my tea!” Hinata set his cup down in a frantic motion, causing a few drops to slip out the side onto his hand.

“Hm.” Tsukasa observed and took a peaceful sip of his own tea.

Hinata groaned and buried his head in his hands, his hair fanning out around him like a drooping orange flower. “How did the roles get reversed like this? Tsukasa-kun is too cruel. I can’t be half as cute as you when I blush. The fluffiest kitten in the world with the biggest, most emptiest eyes couldn’t compare to you.”

“I fully disagree. You’re adorable right now. I wish it were easier to get you like this.”

“You’re a tyrant,” Hinata grumbled into his arms. “I’m staying here. I won’t enable your bad behavior.”

“You’re awfully pouty for someone who takes the utmost glee in doing the same thing to me.” Which, truly, was astounding to Tsukasa. Hinata was the one that loved to rile Tsukasa up then trap his flustered face between his hands and smile like a cat that got the cream.

Hinata, true to his word, made no movement as he slouched over the table. Tsukasa debated reaching out to play with his hair — it was overwhelmingly tempting to draw his finger down where the roots were visible — but decided against it. Best not to tempt his fate too much, it could be what toed Tsukasa over the line and made Hinata run.

“Well, if you’re moping then I am going to eat mine.” Tsukasa picked up his fork and turned the plate around, admiring the dessert. “A strawberry cheesecake with a delicate strawberry drizzle on top, and some whipped cream. I had the parfait variant last time and was thoroughly satisfied, so I thought I would try this to see how it tastes at its base.”

“Thanks for the narration.”

“You’re welcome,” Tsukasa said sincerely. He must have sapped out all of Hinata’s mischievous nature, because he continued on with a bright, innocent grin for his audience.

“I am now using my fork to cut a piece of it. The texture is soft and creamy, I give it high marks. I am dipping it into the whipped cream.” He paused, taking a bite and humming with approval. He waited until he was finished chewing to resume. “The crust has a fantastic crunch that isn’t too hard. The strawberry flavor is bright compared to the richness of the cheesecake, while the whipped cream gives it all a dip of sweetness.”

Hinata lifted his head enough to peek out and squint at him. “You think you’re so funny.”

Tsukasa cut off another piece of cheesecake and took his time chewing it, letting Hinata’s exasperation build like a kettle heating up. “I don’t believe I know what you’re talking about. That was another excellent bite, by the way. Even better than the first.”

“Oh, whatever!” Hinata snapped. He finally dragged himself up and huffed out a sigh — Tsukasa wondered if he also looked as ruffled as a kitten in Hinata’s eyes whenever he got this sullen.

“Will you also provide a narration? I’d like to know your thoughts.” Tsukasa let out a little laugh and tried to ease back the loftiness of his voice. “Genuinely, Hinata-kun. I picked it out, so please tell me your honest opinion.”

“I’ll give you an opinion alright.” Hinata cleared his throat and shook out his shoulders. “Okay. Visually it’s— Hold on. Should I be talking all snotty? What’s my character?”

“No character, just you.”

“Really? I can do all sorts of characters. Been working on my Australian accent.”

“Just you, Hinata-kun. Your opinion.”

“Alright, alright. Just me then.” Hinata shrugged then peered closer at the dessert.

“Visually it’s very nice. It does make me feel like I’m at the beach about to dip my toes into the water, so you’ve earned points for that. Now, let’s do a test here.” He picked up his spoon and lightly tapped it against the side of the panna cotta, observing the slight wobble. “Oh, wow. Yeah, that’s good. It took me ages to learn how to get the perfect wobble for stuff like this.”

“I couldn’t even imagine baking something more complex than a cake. When Knights had to make sweets for Halloween…” Tsukasa shuddered. What a disaster that had been. “But please, continue.”

Hinata delicately dipped his spoon down and carved out the perfect scoop in it. “Good consistency, firm but smooth. Now for the real test.”

Tsukasa waited with bated breath as Hinata ate. He hoped he chose something appealing to Hinata’s taste, more than that, he hoped he made the perfect selection. He hoped Hinata would be so moved that whenever he saw passion fruit in the future, the first thing to come to mind would be the memory of this time spent together.

Tsukasa leaned forward so much he was making an acute angle with the table, but Hinata was taking his sweet time contemplating the flavor. The anticipation would kill Tsukasa.

“Is it to your liking?” He asked, trying and failing to keep the nervousness out of his voice.

Hinata gave a low exhale, his shoulders easing down to a peaceful state as he smiled at Tsukasa like there was no other reason to smile in the world but him.

“It’s perfect.”

---

[Tsukasa]:

7:12 PM

Did you make it back home alright?

[Tsukasa]:

17:12 PM

I wish I could have walked you back home,

[Hinata]:

7:19 PM

yup yup im good! the rain caught me about halfway home, but i told you it would be good rain! it was super refreshing~

[Tsukasa]:

7:19 PM

It did complement the warmth of the day, and I concede that this could very well have been a day plucked out of spring. I had quite the discussion with my chauffeur to get him to allow me to walk myself home, and I’m glad I did. The drizzles were nice. Peaceful

[Hinata]:

7:20 PM

i told you so ╮( ˘ ､ ˘ )╭ i had a blast stomping through puddles. you should try it sometime! get those expensive shoes ruined!

[Tsukasa]:

7:20 PM

I will unfortunately pass. Please refrain from jumping into too many puddles or you may need to replace your shoes. Also please be sure to warm yourself up adequately. Perhaps pulling out a kotatsu wouldn’t be such a bad idea

[Hinata]:

7:36 PM

ill be fine!

[Hinata]:

7:36 PM

the cafe was really good, we’re definitely going back right? i had a lot of fun on our precious date (´ ε ` )♡

[Tsukasa]:

7:37 PM

I was hoping you’d suggest that :-) I shall view their availability and compare with our schedules and plan our next visit.

[Hinata]:

7:37 PM

looking forward to it!!!! o(≧▽≦)o