Work Text:
“Look, Hiromi, it’s so funny!” Takaba showed him his phone laughing. It was a goofy edit of an AI made character, Tung Tung Tung Sahur.
They were at home, it was late evening, but Higuruma stayed up late to finish his work. He was a lawyer after all; he has a case to finish as soon as possible. But his husband, Takaba on the other hand was a comedian. He didn’t have to work on papers, he didn’t have to read the laws many times to make sure everything is perfect and he didn’t have to stay up nearly all night for it. Even when Hiromi offered him to sleep, he denied; he wanted to spend some time with him, even when he doesn’t have work to do. So instead of being bored he watched some funny videos on TikTok.
Hiromi looked confused at the edit and looked at him annoyed.
“Takaba, I know you’re bored, but please don’t bother me now. Just for an hour! I promise I will finish this quickly!”
“What? You don’t find this funny?”
“No.”
The answer was followed by a long silence. Takaba was upset; he really wanted to cheer him up with it.
“But…”
“Stop! I don’t want to hear anything from you! If you can’t stay quiet, I’ll go to the kitchen to get this shit done!”
“Okay, I won’t speak!”
“Thank you!” he said sarcastically and turned back to his desk. Takaba lied down on the bed, tugged himself in and turned away from Higuruma. He hated it when the lawyer was serious. He promised himself, that he will punish him tomorrow by not saying anything to him. Yeah, it will be a good revenge!
Next day, he woke up early like usual, dressed up and went for his usual morning run. Hiromi was still sleeping, but after Takaba left his alarm rang like every day. He woke up tired, rubbing his eyes and cursing the universe, because he had another day to work. He wasn’t a morning person, unlike Takaba.
Meanwhile the comedian finished his jogging session and went back home.
“Morning!” Hiromi said as he was sitting at the table, reading a newspaper and drinking his coffee. Takaba just nodded and went straight into the bathroom to shower. Higuruma was confused; when he drinks coffee in the morning Takaba usually scolds him, that it’s unhealthy and he should wait two hours after waking up to have a cup of coffee. But he didn’t say anything, he even ignored him!
Takaba washed his face and his hair, tied up a towel around his waist and went to their bedroom. When he walked out of the bathroom Hiromi looked at his body, enjoying the view. He finished his coffee and went to their room as well.
“How did you sleep?” he asked him as he hugged him from behind. Takaba was now dressed up in his usual suit as well, ready to leave for work. He didn’t answer though, he was busy doing his hair in front of the mirror.
“What’s wrong?” Hiromi asked confused. The comedian was always cheerful, happy and chatty in the mornings, but why is he quiet now?
Takaba ignored him, grabbed his bag and left for work, leaving the heartbroken Hiromi alone. Hiromi was confused, sad and desperate for an answer. Did he do something? Or say something?
Then it hit him. Yeah, last night, Takaba was joking around and he shut him up harshly. He buried his face into his hands and cursed himself. He was rude to him; he probably hurt his feelings with his comment. He could have said something nicer than what he did yesterday.
Unfortunately, he had to leave as well, even though he wanted to sleep and think about Takaba all day. At his office he constantly checked his phone, waiting for a message from him. He usually text him something sweet or funny around midday, but today, he did nothing. Hiromi felt his chest tighten at the realization, that he was really angry with him. During the day he couldn’t focus on anything, he even messed up a whole pile of some important paper that he had to redo. He was frustrated at himself but did it anyway.
After this horrible day he walked to the metro station tired. He prepared himself for the talk between them; he knew that he has to apologise for his behaviour. Takaba always put Hiromi first, ignoring his preferences sometimes, but when Takaba just wanted to make him laugh he pushed him away. He didn’t deserve this.
When he walked at the busy street he spotted a gift shop near the station. It was clearly for tourist, selling keychains, magnets, plushies, and other useless stuff. He suddenly saw a familiar character as a plushie. And of course, it was that damn, stupid Tung Tung Tung Sahur. He rubbed his temple and sighed. He was too old to understand why are these brainrot character too popular, especially among young children. Such a waist of time and money for those shitty items…
But then he remembered; Takaba would be so happy if he bought it for him. He looked at the price; it wasn’t even that expensive. He quickly bought it, along with a bouquet of tulips and hurried to the station with the presents. He was excided to see Takaba’s reaction. What would he say? Will he forgive him?
The way back to their flat felt too long. As he arrived at his stop he jumped up and left the metro immediately. He wanted to go home fast, but of course, everything around him slowed down; an old woman walking in front of him, occupying the whole pavement, the long red lights making him wait for minutes to cross the zebra…
Eventually, he arrived home. As soon as he stepped in, he saw Takaba sitting on the couch, watching a comedy show.
“Hi!” he greeted him, but the younger man didn’t answer again.
“Takaba…please, talk to me!” he said as he sat down next to him. Takaba just looked at him and turned back to the TV. Hiromi sighed, stood up from the sofa and kneeled down. He placed his head on Takaba’s lap and hugged his waist.
“I’m really sorry for what I did to you yesterday! I was rude and I hurt you for no reason. Please, forgive me!”
He grabbed the plushie and the bouquet from his bag and handed them to him. He looked up with big, puppy eyes, which was unusual from him, considering the fact, that he always had a serious look on his face.
When Takaba saw the presents, his heart melted. He picked up the plushie and he examined it carefully.
“Do you know why I showed you this character yesterday?”
“Because it was funny?” Higuruma said, not sure that this was the right answer.
“It reminded me of you!”
“What?” Hiromi raised his head from his lap and straightened his back confused.
“You two look alike!” Takaba giggled as he patted Hiromi’s head.
“And care to explain why I look like a wooden bat?”
“You have that hammer thingy at the court, you know? Just like he has his bat!” he said as he mimicked the judge hitting the table at a court.
“Okay, I see your vision.” he rolled his eyes playfully. “But what’s your answer? Can you forgive me?”
“I already did!” he said as he hugged him hard. “Thank you for the presents, I’ll bring Sahur with me tomorrow to work!”
Higuruma smiled and kissed him before they stood up to have dinner together.