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pepero day is a korean holiday. neither of them are korean and they’re in the lobby of a hotel in nagoya, yet riku drops a box of pepero in yushi’s lap.
“you don’t want it?” yushi asks, looking up at where riku is standing over him, assuming riku has given it to him because he’s just come across the snack somehow.
“happy pepero day,” riku answers instead, smiling proudly over his gift. there’s a sort of barely restrained excitement in his voice, like he’s waiting for something, waiting for yushi to take it, to say something back.
yushi picks up the box, looking at it front and back even though he’s seen it many times before. It’s just a thin cardboard package, a little beat up from being tucked in riku’s bag all day, but familiar enough. he’s not really sure what he’s looking for. “where did you even get this?”
pepero is sold in japan, but it’s a rare choice compared to the pocky covering the shelves in every convenience store. someone must have given it to him or something.
riku shrugs, sliding into the seat next to him on the couch, close enough so their shoulders touch. “just forgot i had it.”
yushi doesn’t know how much he believes that, but he doesn’t ask any further questions. just clears his throat, finally managing a soft, “thanks.”
riku’s grin widens, playful now, eyes bright. “you know what that means, right?” he nudges yushi’s side, a soft noise coming involuntarily in reaction.
yushi lifts a brow, wary, but his lips twitch at the corners as he senses something in riku’s tone. “i get to have dessert before dinner?”
“pepero game,” riku declares, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world, like there’s some unbreakable law attached to this box of chocolate sticks that he’s just now decided to enforce.
yushi’s cheeks flush immediately, the color creeping up faster than he can stop it. he knows riku is probably joking—he’s got that glint in his eye, the one that means he’s saying things trying to get a reaction. he’s probably bored and trying to entertain himself. but even knowing that, yushi still feels the words catch in his throat, the hint of an image flickering in his mind, too close, too real.
he laughs along despite it, but he doesn’t meet riku’s gaze. “i’m not doing that here,” he says, still watching the box, glancing around the hotel lobby as if someone might overhear. there’s barely anyone around, but that isn’t the point.
the game isn’t even inherently that intimate, it’s something school children will play, yet the thought of his lips coming within close range of riku’s in this very public place seems like too much.
riku just laughs, a low, soft sound that makes yushi’s embarrassment worse. “why not?” he teases, leaning back against the couch, one arm stretched out along the backrest in a way that brings him a little closer, like he’s closing in on a dare.
yushi shrugs. he tilts his head just slightly away from riku’s, hoping the air is a little cooler that way. right now he just wants to take a breath that doesn’t smell like riku’s cologne. “you’d take half. i don’t want to share.”
“half of one stick? i gave you the whole box.” riku pouts and yushi can see it now that he’s regained the bravery to look in his direction.
“exactly,” yushi says, quickly, leaning forward to tuck the box away into his bag, deep enough that he doesn’t have to look at it, doesn’t have to look at riku. he shoves it deep like it might put some distance between them, hide the thought of what it’d feel like to have riku leaning close, lips brushing his over the biscuit between them.
—
the box stays in its rightful place in yushi’s bag until they’re on the sinkansen to osaka later on in the evening. it’s presence has been on his mind since the moment he put it in there, but there’s really been no reason to take it out again until now.
the train hums beneath them, a steady rhythm that seems to ease its way into yushi’s bones. riku is next to him, close enough that yushi can feel the warmth radiating from his shoulder, that slight lean of familiarity as riku dozes off lightly, head tilted back against the headrest. they’ve been chatting quietly on and off, but the motion of the train has seemed to make everyone sleepy. they’re sat in the last row of a half-full car and even ryo and sakuya’s chattering from the seat in front of them stopped about ten minutes ago.
the sight of riku like this makes something tight curl in yushi’s chest, something warm and unsteady. he tries not to look for too long when it starts to feel like that.
yushi shifts, careful not to disturb riku, reaching into his bag to pull out the box of pepero to snack on. the sound and movement must have done just that anyway, because he barely gets three bites in before he can feel eyes on him.
“want some?” yushi asks, lifting the box slightly.
riku’s eyes crinkle with a smile. “thought you weren’t sharing,” he says, voice low and warm, still tinged with sleep.
yushi shrugs. “i figured i’d pay my tax,” he says as he pulls a stick from the box. before he can second-guess himself, yushi slips a stick between his teeth, holding it out towards riku when he turns his head. it’s a lame and he’s very well aware of that, but he finds himself doing it anyway. his heart picking up just a little as he watches riku’s expression shift—something flickers in his eyes, a quiet surprise, followed by something more, something that makes yushi’s pulse skip. he can see the way color immediately starts to dust over riku’s cheeks as he shifts back an inch, but he seems to just be trying to take in the proposal here.
riku doesn’t say anything, just leans forward slowly, his eyes not leaving yushi’s, and there’s a new kind of tension settling between them now, something tentative but charged with something that’s pushing them towards each other. once riku’s teeth close over the chocolate covered end of the stick, the whole world seems to become muted, drowned out except for what’s between them.
their lips are close enough that yushi can feel riku’s breath, warm against his skin, and it’s ridiculous, how his heart races from something as simple as this. they both bite down at the same time, the crunch of the stick filling the silence, and then they’re closer, close enough that yushi can see the faint flecks of color in riku’s eyes, the way his gaze has softened, a little hesitant, but unwavering. yushi doesn’t know if it’s nerves or something else, but he feels it, the warmth crawling up his neck, settling under his skin as he as the space between them grows tighter with every bite.
neither of them moves to pull back. they just sit there, suspended, breath mingling, and yushi’s mind goes strangely blank, a faint buzzing in his chest as he realizes what’s happening. he doesn’t know who closes the gap, if it’s him or riku, but suddenly their lips meet, soft and tentative.
it’s barely a kiss—just a brush of lips, but it sends a shiver down yushi’s spine, a warmth unfurling low in his stomach. it only lasts for a second before it breaks, but neither of them pull away. a few seconds tick by, both of them frozen for a moment before they lean in just that little bit more, the touch growing, sinking into the softness and the warmth, like something they were waiting to find.
there’s a beat where they don’t move again, and it’s such a juvenile exchange, holding that nervousness of a first kiss in life. yushi tilts his head to adjust the angle, their lips slotting together properly. a sigh escapes somewhere between them and yushi lets himself sink into the quiet, into the way riku’s mouth fits against his, hesitant but wanting. it’s not urgent, but slow, like they’re savoring this.
he feels riku’s hand hovers beside his, fingers brushing lightly over his own. yushi lifts his pinky to cover riku’s, some attempt to hold him in place.
it doesn’t last for too long, just a few moments of tentatively moving their mouths together, allowing themselves to soak in the feeling of being connected like this. when they finally pull back, there’s a beat of silence, and yushi can feel his heartbeat in his ears.
they both immediately look away from each other, heads turning almost in synchronicity to face the their laps. heat flushes through yushi’s cheeks as he wipes the spit from his lower lip with the back of his hand. he clears his throat, staring at the now-empty box in his hands. “i win” he mutters, voice low, but there’s a hint of something light in it.
riku chuckles, a low, soft sound that fills the space between them, his fingers still brushing against yushi’s hand, like he’s not quite ready to pull away. “congratulations.” there’s a smile in his tone and it makes yushi’s heart do a sort of familiar little flip in his chest. “we’ll see about next time.”
they fall into a comfortable silence after that, each of them lost in their own thoughts, but neither one pulling away, letting their hands rest together on the seat, fingers barely touching. they’ll be in osaka soon and yushi really hopes they sell pepero there.