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“For the record,” Harumi says as they step into line to get their tickets, “you owe me for this.”
Akihiko shoots him back an apologetic look. “I know, I’m sorry. I’ll make it up to you. But you have no idea how hard it is to say no to those two.”
“We could’ve just not pitched.”
“That’s rude.”
“They deserve it.”
The look Akihiko gives him is much more disapproving this time. “Harumi, they’re my friends. Yeah, they’re a bit of a pain sometimes, but I’m not gonna stand them up on purpose. They’re good guys.”
“Sure.”
Akihiko pays for their tickets by way of apology, though that hadn’t been what Harumi meant by owing him, and they duck through the turnstiles into the amusement park.
For their double date. Akihiko really needs to stop being such a pushover, because it keeps getting him (and Harumi by extension) into awkward and easily avoidable situations.
But, he guesses that if Akihiko had more of a spine for telling people to get lost, Harumi wouldn’t know him at all. He certainly wouldn’t have the kind of intimate knowledge of him that being his fake boyfriend allows.
(Harumi still doesn’t know what’s going to happen to that, when this is over. When the jig is up and they shake hands over the elaborate scheme that they pulled. They were strangers before, and now they sleep in each other’s beds. What are they going to be to each other afterwards?)
Ono and Furuta are waiting for them by the gift shop, sitting on a bench outside and watching something on Furuta’s phone. That is, until he seems to sense a disturbance in the force, and looks up directly at the two of them. For having such a soft, wholesome looking face, Furuta has quite the evil eye. Harumi refuses to feel kinship with him.
“There you two are!” Furuta drags Ono to his feet by the wrist. “We were starting to think you weren’t gonna show.”
Akihiko laughs, just a touch nervously. “Well, here we are.”
“We were waiting on you to go in the gift shop!” Ono says. “They’ve got cute headbands in there and shit.”
The twitch of Akihiko’s eye conveys his apprehension at this Couples ActivityTM.
“I’m finding you bunny ears,” Harumi says.
Akihiko glares, face flushing. “No you aren’t.”
“I definitely am.”
Akihiko sighs as if he’s the most put-upon person in the world. “I wish you’d never met my sister.”
Harumi can’t help leering a bit at that. “Well tough shit, bunny–” seemingly on reflex, Akihiko’s foot shoots out to kick him in the shin– “she loves me. She’ll like me more than you, before long.”
“That’s not difficult–”
“Sorry,” Ono interrupts, and both Harumi and Akihiko whip around to face him. In all honesty, Harumi may have distracted Akihiko from his discomfort a little too well, because he almost forgot they had an audience himself. “What did you call him?”
Akihiko pales, eyes dating between Harumi and Ono and Furuta. Harumi watches the horror of those two calling him that nickname incessantly dawn on his face.
“Mmm,” Harumi hums, “nothing,” he says mildly. “Come on Aki, let’s go look at some stuff.” Without waiting for a further response, Harumi takes Akihiko by the arm and pulls him into the gift shop.
Harumi hears Ono squawk indignantly, and the sound of him and Furuta following.
Once they’re somewhat alone in the gift shop aisles, Akihiko lowers his voice to ask, “What was that for?”
Harumi keeps himself busy perusing the keychains. “What was what for?”
“Why not just tell them?”
Harumi shrugs. “Didn’t feel like it.”
Akihiko is giving him that look again, the what the hell is Harumi’s deal look. By now, Harumi is well used to it, and doesn’t meet it. Akihiko lets the matter drop.
The truth is, Harumi isn’t sure what his own deal is, on this one. Why in the moment, suddenly, he didn’t want Akihiko’s friends to know the story behind that. To start calling him that nickname, too. Maybe to spare Akihiko that level of embarrassment, to keep that private thing between his family that not even Harumi is supposed to know about between them. Even if Harumi is an asshole, he’s not completely heartless. He has no interest in humiliating Akihiko.
(That’s not all of it. Deep down, Harumi knows that. A possessive streak would be perfectly natural for a real boyfriend. But not a fake one. He’ll cross that bridge when he gets to it, if he has to.)
Once they’ve found suitable animal ears to wear– bunny for Akihiko, as promised, and cat ears for Harumi that he is not as embarrassed by as Akihiko was clearly hoping– and have taken enough selfies in the shop’s mirror to sate Harumi, they find Ono and Furuta again. The two of them are wearing matching frog headbands.
“Okay, where are we going first?” Ono asks.
They spend the next hour or so going from attraction to attraction, from the rollercoasters (which Ono screams himself hoarse on, much to Furuta’s vocal delight), to the teacup rides (Harumi spins his and Akihiko’s around as fast as possible just to be an ass), to the ferris wheel (Ono and Furuta shake the cage when they’re at the top, despite Akihiko’s loud distress).
Deciding where to get food from ends up being a near ten minute argument, which Harumi mostly stays out of, preferring to watch Akihiko, Ono and Furuta bicker amongst themselves. These are the kinds of things that remind Harumi that these people have known Akihiko for much longer than he has. The argument is never really heated or vicious; in itself it comes from comfort and familiarity, the ability to butt heads without fear of repercussions. It’s similar to how Akihiko and Kazuki argue. Harumi rarely feels lacking for how he was raised, jealous of people who had siblings (or close friends), but at times like this… well.
“Okay, that settles it, then,” Akihiko says, making Harumi realise he hasn’t been paying attention for the past few minutes. “Makoto and I will go get crepes, you two stay here.”
“Aw c’mon!” Ono protests. “Why us?”
Akihiko levels both him and Harumi with a flat stare. “Because I trust you two the least with money.”
“Wh– me?” Harumi asks.
“Yes, you, rich boy,” Akihiko replies.
“I’m not rich–”
“Compared to me, yeah, you are–”
“Can we go?” Furuta interrupts, making them both startle.
Harumi leans close to Akihiko’s ear to whisper, “You’re really leaving me with him?” at the same time as Ono says, “So I’m just stuck with this guy, then?”
Akihiko laughs, and plants a kiss on Harumi’s cheek, which would be fine consolation if he looked sorry at all, which he doesn’t. “We won’t be long.”
“I thought this was supposed to be a date– and they’re gone.” Ono huffs, and leans against the wall.
Harumi takes out his phone. For a few minutes, they stand in silence.
“So you’re really in it for the long haul, huh?” Ono suddenly says, apropos of nothing.
“...what do you mean by that?” Harumi makes no effort to hide his apprehension.
“No offence, but Ma-chan and I had kinda expected you two to break up by now.” Harumi feels that like a gut punch, for a lot of confusing reasons.
“You didn’t think I was serious,” Harumi all-but snaps.
“Not that, necessarily,” Ono replies, seemingly undeterred. “Just figured you were too different. We, uh,” and at least he has the sense to look sheepish, “we have a bad habit of speculating about that kinda thing. Hold-over from highschool; it was all gossip and shit back then. But, I guess after the party maybe we should’ve known better.”
“Or you just shouldn’t have made assumptions like that in the first place,” Harumi bites back.
Ono sighs. “Yeah, that, too. But you know, I’m actually really glad you two are together.”
This takes Harumi slightly aback. “Really.”
“Yeah, man,” Ono pushes a hand through his hair. “Akihiko seems like such a social butterfly, and he is, but like– he’s lonely, y’know? He’s always struggled keeping people close, even since high school.”
Harumi hadn’t expected this from Ono, at all. He himself had picked up on these things, but Ono hadn’t struck him as someone who was perceptive like this. Maybe Harumi hadn’t given him enough credit.
“And, like, I was kinda sceptical when he introduced you to us, ‘cause I’d heard you were kind of an asshole–” nevermind, credit retracted– “but I also know all that shit’s just rumours. You’re really good for him. He seems like he’s comin’ out of his shell, more than I’ve even seen before, and I’ve known him for years. I’m glad to see him settle down with someone good. He deserves that, y’know?”
“...yeah.” Harumi is honestly a bit speechless. He wasn’t expecting anything like this. “You’re a good friend, Ono.”
“Damn right I am!” Ono declares. “I’m his best friend!”
“I thought Yamamoto was his best friend.”
Ono’s jaw drops in great offence. “Uh, fuckin’ rude, I was his friend first.”
Harumi smirks. “That’s not what he told me.”
“That little shit! After all these years, ungrateful.”
Harumi can’t help laughing, and Ono smiles too. Maybe he can get along with these guys, after all.
It’s then that Akihiko and Furuta return, crepes in hand.
“Aki!” Ono says loudly, even as Furuta puts a crepe in his hand. “I’m your best friend, right?”
Akihiko, in the midst of passing a chocolate crepe to Harumi, pauses in confusion. “Ryouhei’s my best friend.”
Harumi laughs in victory as Ono groans dramatically. “I told you,” he says.
Ono drapes himself over Furuta’s shoulders mournfully. “Nobody here cares about me, Ma-chan.”
Furuta gives his head a consolatory pat. “Deserved,” he says lightly.
“Oi! You’re supposed to be on my side here.”
“I never agreed to that.”
“This is bullying–”
“Um,” Akihiko cuts in, seeming to know from experience that this will continue indefinitely if left alone, “should we go check out the games when we’re done?”
“Yes.” Ono, now over his lament, takes a large bite of his crepe. “I need to beat Kurose in some of those.”
“Oh, so is this part two of my hazing from the party?” Harumi asks.
Ono shrugs. “Yeah it is.”
“Alright, then. Just don’t be a sore loser when I smoke you.”
“We’ll see about that, pinkie pie!” Ono yells, and promptly has crepe shoved in his mouth by Furuta to silence him.
In the end, it’s Furuta who smokes them both, beating them handily in both the shooting, throwing and scooping-items-out-of-water games.
“What the hell!” Ono nearly screeches as Furuta yet again knocks down the row of clown figures before Ono has even managed half of them, tossing one of the weighted balls idly in his hand. “Stop making me look bad! Why are you so good at these!?”
Furuta shrugs. “Skill issue.”
“Alright, that’s it, let’s go again, I swear to God I’m gonna get you this time–”
“Please,” the stall attendant cuts in, “just take the high-score plushie. We need to let other people play this game.”
Furuta takes the plushie, and unsurprisingly hands it to Ono. “Got you a present,” he says.
Ono, unsurprisingly, lords this over Harumi despite the fact that he didn’t even win it himself.
“Yeah, but your boyfriend didn’t win you anything, did he?” Ono crows, carrying the cat plushie in both arms.
“That’s a good point,” Harumi says, turning to Akihiko, “why haven’t you won me anything?”
“Wh– I’m not a part of this,” Akihiko replies.
“Sure you are.” Harumi lightly kicks at his ankle. “Win me something already.”
“Shouldn’t you be winning me something? Since you’re the one competing?”
Harumi shrugs. “Nah. C’mon, do your boyfriend duty and win me a prize, bunny.”
Akihiko glares at him, but then his eyes land on something past him. “You know what? Fine. I will.”
With that, Akihiko sets off with purpose towards a game stall they haven’t visited yet, and for good reason: it’s one of the ones where you hit a hammer into a pad and try to ring the bell based on the strength of your swing. Even Harumi isn’t competitive enough to try that one: he knows he has about the athleticism of a frail house cat. But Akihiko is already paying the attendant, picking up the hammer, and eyeing the meter with great concentration.
“Oh, shit,” Ono says, jogging to catch up with him. “Get it, Aki!”
“Bet you he won’t even get halfway up,” Furuta says.
“Seconded,” Harumi adds, because he has to.
“You’re both just haters,” Ono says over his shoulder. “You got this man!”
Akihiko swings the hammer over his shoulder, shifts his stance, and takes a deep, slow breath. Then with all his might, he swings.
The hammer hits the pad with a crash, the meter going up and up, chiming all the way, until it hits the bell, ringing out a sound that echoes through the space.
“Fuck yeah!” Ono shouts. “I knew he could do it! That’s our ace!”
Akihiko, true to form, rubs the back of his neck sheepishly, but can’t seem to help the pleased smile on his face.
Furuta whistles. “Damn. Didn’t think he had it in him.”
“Same,” Harumi agrees.
Akihiko splutters in surprise. “You were the one who told me to win you something!”
“First of all, I was clearly joking, and secondly that doesn’t mean I thought you could actually do it.”
Akihiko takes his prize, a pikachu plush, and approaches Harumi with it. “Maybe I shouldn’t give this to you, if you’re going to be so mean to me.”
“You won it for me, though,” Harumi shoots back.
“Yeah, but I’m reconsidering whether you deserve it.”
Harumi leans in to him, because he can. “If I kiss you better will you give it to me?”
Akihiko flushes. But nods. Harumi smiles, and kisses him softly.
“Okay, thank you, lovebirds,” Ono yells, making them break apart. “Can we go now?”
“You’re just jealous,” Harumi shoots back.
Harumi should have predicted that would make Ono pull Furuta in for a showy and overly sloppy kiss.
When the day is over, the sun low in the sky as Ono declares Harumi has officially passed his hazing and Furuta says something quietly to Akihiko that makes him go bright red, when they part ways and Harumi and Akihiko walk back to his apartment arm in arm, Harumi feels glad that he came. Akihiko always says that this arrangement has done more for him than it has for Harumi, but when it comes to things like this he doesn’t know how wrong he is. He doesn’t know that this kind of thing never happened to Harumi before he came along.
When they both pile into Harumi’s bed that night, Harumi’s back against the wall with Akihiko’s head tucked under his chin, he feels cold with the knowledge that this isn’t forever, and the slow crawl from winter into spring means his time is running out.
[Bonus:]
“So,” Furuta says after they’ve placed their order and are waiting for their food, “still going strong, huh?”
Akihiko sighs, disappointed but not at all surprised. “So this is why you invited us out? To analyse us? Is Satoru giving Harumi a hard time right now, too?”
“Well, yeah,” Furuta replies easily. “Isn’t that why anyone does a double date?”
“Normal people do them for fun.”
“This is fun.”
“Makoto.”
He laughs. “Seriously, though. I didn’t expect you two to actually work–”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Akihiko flatly retorts.
“–but you do. Satoru was worried because of what we’d heard about Kurose– you know how he is– but you guys are actually good together.”
Akihiko wants to argue on principle, but, well, that had been his main worry when they started this. This, this absurd fake relationship that has somehow become so much more than the sum of its parts. And now his friends are complimenting him on it. God, Ono is absolutely going to kill him when Akihiko tells them the truth.
“...I didn’t expect it, either,” Akihiko finds himself saying. “I’d heard things too, but he’s really not like that at all.” Furuta raises an eyebrow. “Or, well– maybe he’s a little like that, but it’s only because people overstep his boundaries more than they should and he doesn’t have a problem letting them know that. That’s not his fault. He’s… he’s a good guy, y’know?”
“Yeah, yeah, I get it,” Furuta lightly pushes his shoulder. “You can stop now. Being in a relationship makes you stupidly sappy.”
Akihiko chuckles. “Not like I can be worse than Satoru was when you two first got together. If anything, this is payback.”
Makoto’s smile is small, but fond. “Hm. True.”
They stand in silence for a moment.
“...really, though,” Furuta says lowly. “I’m happy for you.”
Akihiko can’t help the warmth that blooms in his chest at that, or the smile on his face. “Thanks.”