Chapter Text
The vending machine rattled as a second bottle of green tea fell into the retrieval compartment. Uenoyama flipped up the lid and reached in to grab it. As he returned to their studio room, he caught the tail end of a conversation between Mafuyu and Kaji.
“Speaking of which, why doesn’t Haruki-san wear a ring?”
“About that…”
Kaji launched into a dramatic reenactment, calling Haruki a “lonely married woman” — or something. Uenoyama’s mind had latched onto Mafuyu’s interest in rings; he did his best to keep it casual as he handed over the bottle of green tea.
“...is what I said. So in the end, he didn’t get one.” As if it made perfect sense.
“I think I understand.” Mafuyu’s eyes grew big and round. His fascinated expression led Ue to think that Mafuyu might be considering whether they should get rings, too.
Uenoyama’s brain took the idea and ran with it — processing as fast as it could. The blank stare on his face might have given him away if Mafuyu had not already picked his guitar back up. He made a mental note to text Kaji about where he’d gotten his later that day.
Practice went on as usual, and when Mafuyu and Uenoyama got home that night, Ue made sure Mafuyu was in the kitchen, far away from any potential spoilers, before sending Kaji a message.
Uenoyama Ritsuka 19:04
Oi
Where’d you get your ring?
Kaji Akihiko 19:04
Oh? Is our Uecchi thinking about commitment?? What a devoted boyfriend you are
Uenoyama Ritsuka 19:05
Just answer the question!!
Kaji Akihiko 19:05
Ginza Fashions. It was nice and cheap
Uenoyama Ritsuka 19:05
Ugh, right. Never mind
Kaji Akihiko 19:06
Just start in Ginza, you’ll figure it out
Ue put his phone down and sighed. He should have known Kaji’s budget for himself would be minuscule. Thankfully, Ue didn’t regularly travel between Tokyo and Osaka, nor pay for two apartments, so his budget for a ring set was quite a bit higher.
Mafuyu walked out of the kitchen carrying two plates of curry and rice and set them at the table.
They ate in relative quiet, but as they finished dinner, Ue spoke up. “Thanks, Mafuyu. You’re the best.” He shot him a grin as he picked up their plates for clean-up duty. “What do you wanna watch tonight?”
They ran through their usual options and settled on one of their old favorites. Uenoyama was trying not to act differently, but he found himself more affectionate than usual: his hand on Mafuyu’s knee as they sat on the couch together, leaning into him, and even playing with his hair. Not that Mafuyu minded at all. He had no idea what had caused Ue to be particularly affectionate this evening, but he was happy to soak it in all the same.
As the credits rolled, Mafuyu was at risk of falling asleep on Uenoyama’s shoulder, Kedama’s head resting in his lap.
“Hey, go take a bath before you pass out,” Ue said, ruffling his hair.
Mafuyu grunted an affirmative and slowly pulled himself up off the couch. Ue watched him go, his face soft. He took the opportunity to browse for rings online.
His heart was beating faster than normal and he realized just how excited the prospect of matching rings made him. “Married in spirit,” just like Haruki had said about him and Kaji. So, was he… proposing?
The bathroom door opened far sooner than Uenoyama expected it to. He jumped and quickly locked his phone.
“Bath’s free,” Mafuyu mumbled as he stepped out.
“Just a shower?” Ue commented as casually as he could.
“Too sleepy.”
“You should at least dry your hair. You’ll catch a cold going to bed with it wet.”
Mafuyu grumbled. He was so childish when he was sleepy, but Uenoyama found it endearing. He stood up and pulled Mafuyu back into the bathroom.
“Alright, fine, I’ll do it for you. But just tonight.” In reality, they both knew it would happen again, as it had many times over the last five years since moving in together.
Mafuyu let himself be sat down on the shower stool, still in his towel, and smiled groggily as Ue plugged in the hair dryer and set it to max power.
Time seemed to slow in these small moments of their life together. As Ue stood there, finger-combing Mafuyu’s soft red hair to ensure it dried evenly, a sense of comfort and certainty bloomed from his heart, seeped through his body and settled into his bones.
Mafuyu caught his small, tender smile in the mirror and sighed as he leaned into Ue’s touch.
~
A few days later, Uenoyama was on his way to practice with syh when it dawned on him that he should probably tell Hiiragi about his plans. The cocky bastard would throw a fit if he found out some other way. And, if he was being honest, Hiiragi would probably be useful in choosing the rings anyway.
He walked through the door to see Hiiragi and Shizusumi unloading their stuff; he figured he should say something before they started getting too into the swing of things.
“Hey, Hiiragi. Do you have plans after practice today?” Ue sat his own stuff down and started to unzip his guitar case.
Both Hiiragi and Shizu froze in their respective tasks. Hiiragi squinted at him.
“Why do you ask?”
“Just answer the question, moron.”
Hiiragi huffed. “No, I don’t.”
“Cool, come with me to Ginza then.”
“What the hell for?”
Ue sighed. He supposed he couldn’t dance around it forever. “Fine. I want to buy matching rings for Mafuyu’s Christmas present.”
Shizu raised his eyebrows and Hiiragi fought a losing battle to contain his giggles. Ue knew this would be a frustrating experience, but Hiiragi’s flashy, fashionable side would come in handy when picking both a store and a set. He had to put up with it.
He sighed again and pinched the bridge of his nose, waiting for Hiiragi to get a hold of himself — resisting the urge to walk dramatically out the door.
“Hiiragi, I think he’s being serious,” Shizu said.
Hiiragi took a deep breath and cleared his throat. “Wait, really?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
The heater hummed in the quiet that followed. It seemed Hiiragi didn’t have an answer for once. He screwed up his face for a second and said, “Okay, fine. But at least buy me dinner for the assist.” He folded his arms across his chest and flipped his hair.
“Yeah, whatever, man. Just don’t tell ‘im.”
“Obviously!”
Shizu watched them quietly, noting just how similar they still were, even after all these years.
Practice went on and wrapped up without further issue, and Hiiragi grumbled as he and Ue made to leave together. Shizu ruffled his hair and promised to see him at home.
Stepping out of the station, the bustling streets of Ginza met them with a gust of car exhausts, squeaky brakes, and the buzz of a thousand passing conversations. Ue always found the high-end shopping district a bit overwhelming, but Hiiragi seemed to thrive in it.
“Well, do you know what kind of rings you want? Or are we going in blind?”
“Something black.”
“Black? I guess that does seem fitting for both you and Mafuyu. You might need something custom made though — black isn’t exactly on trend right now.”
Hiiragi led him through various jewelry stores in search of the right set — or the right custom jeweler, if their search failed. After the fourth store didn’t meet Hiiragi’s absurdly high expectations, Uenoyama was trailing behind his excited form, haggard and slumped as he dragged his feet.
“Hiiragi…” Ue complained, pulling his hand down his face and grumbling under his breath.
“You’re the one who asked for my help, Ritsuka. What? You can’t handle a little shopping trip?”
A vein in Uenoyama’s temple pulsed as he ground his teeth together. Hiiragi knew just how to push his buttons and had only gotten better at it as the years went on.
It’s worth it, just let it go. It’s fine, Ue thought. He sighed, straightened his back, and marched forward while ignoring the smug, satisfied grin on Hiiragi’s face.
The next store they chose focused mostly on custom work. Hiiragi led the charge to the nearest sales rep.
“Do you have any ring sets in black?”
Ue caught up with him at the counter and shot him a look for being too casual. “If you don’t mind, please.”
The sales rep didn’t miss a beat. “While we don’t have any jewelry lines featuring black metals, you could certainly have something anodized.”
Uenoyama stared at her blankly. “Um, what does that mean?”
“It’s an electrochemical process that can change the color of some metals. Titanium, for instance.”
“That would be perfect! Let’s look at what they have, Ritsuka.” Hiiragi pulled Ue by the arm toward the men’s rings.
The sales rep followed them from behind the counter and directed them to their selection of men’s titanium rings.
Hiiragi stared at them critically, rubbing his chin absent-mindedly. Uenoyama squatted down to get a closer look.
Mafuyu liked jewelry but wasn’t anywhere nearly as flashy as Hiiragi or Kaji — black was the biggest factor, but Ue wasn’t positive of much else. He only wore jewelry for photo shoots and generally let Mafuyu pick it for him.
Hiiragi pointed out a few options for the sales rep to bring out. Ue definitely didn’t want Hiiragi to have bragging rights that he “chose the rings,” so he quickly pointed to one that had caught his eye — a simple band with three small diamonds set in the middle. Pretty, but not flashy.
As expected, Hiiragi had chosen intricate designs with stones covering every possible square centimeter.
Ue methodically examined all of the options on the table and ruled them out one by one. After all, he had to like the ring, too, since it was going to be a matched set.
Eventually, it was down to the one from him and one of Hiiragi’s — also a simple band, but a line of diamonds around the whole thing.
He stared at the rings lying on the cushion and took a slow, steady breath. This was it. It was time to take the plunge.
“This one,” he said, pointing to the one with the three small diamonds.
The sales rep smiled and took the rings. “Beautiful. The last step is sizing. If you’ll each give me your left hand, I’ll take your sizes.”
Hiiragi snorted as he broke into obnoxious laughter that bounced around the confines of the store, drawing the eyes of other customers and staff.
Ue, to his credit, gave a simple, “It’s not him,” as he started to offer his hand toward her. His tone carried a hint of disgust at the thought. He really wondered how Shizu put up with that guy.
“My apologies for the mistake. Do you know your partner’s ring size, then?”
Uenoyama froze in place, his hand halfway across the counter. He looked up at her, his eyes wide and mouth slightly ajar as it dawned on him that, while confident, he was entirely unprepared.
The sales rep blinked at him. Sighing, she started the process of sizing and worked down from too-large to find the right fit. “Well, if you don’t know, we can begin the order with just your size and you can come back or call when you have the other. Twenty-one,” she said, pulling the sizer off his finger — it resisted just enough over his knuckle that he knew it wouldn’t fall off on its own. She pulled out a form from behind the counter and started to write — Ue assumed it was for the anodizing process.
“Thank you very much. I’ll make sure I get that to you quickly.”
She placed the form to the side and handed him her business card. “If you need to bring in a ring for sizing, that might be easiest. We still need the deposit to process the order, though.”
Realizing he’d lost track of Hiiragi, Uenoyama looked around and met Hiiragi’s snickering face, eyes crinkled and tears gathering at the corners as he tried not to make yet another scene.
“You’re telling me that you dragged me out shopping and you didn’t even know Mafuyu’s ring size?!” He bent over, arms crossed clutching his sides, and fell into another fit of laughter. “So much for that unwavering confidence of yours!”
Ue stared at him, deadpan, before pivoting on his heel to head to the register. Hiiragi’s laughter faded behind him as he pulled himself together.
With the order placed and his bank account far smaller, Ue led the way out of the store and back toward Ginza Station. He was relieved to be done with the day, but subtly figuring out Mafuyu’s ring size was going to be tricky.
Hiiragi’s high voice cut through Ue’s thoughts. “What if we threw a party after?”
“Huh?”
“You know, like an engagement party disguised as a Christmas party! Shizu and I will host!” He grinned. He was never one to miss an opportunity for a social event.
“I… guess? Couldn’t it just be a Christmas party?” Uenoyama could barely keep up with Hiiragi’s socialite tendencies.
Hiiragi pouted at him and said, “You’re no fun, Ritsuka. Let’s celebrate! We can include Mafuyu’s mom and your sister, too. Who’s the guy he did that orchestral version of his first song with? Maybe him, too.”
“Doesn’t he live abroad?” It slipped out of Ue’s mouth before he could realize he was engaging with the idea at all.
“Dunno. I’ll leave getting a video message from him to you, though.”
“Huh?” And suddenly Uenoyama’s already full plate was now overflowing.
“Oh, and could you give me your sister’s Line ID so I can involve her in planning?”
“What? Yayoi just had a baby, don’t bother her!” Uenoyama’s head felt like it was about to crack open from all of Hiiragi’s enthusiasm and the surrounding noise.
“Nah nah, I bet she’ll be thrilled. I’ll just invite her to help plan, she doesn’t have to!”
Uenoyama rolled his eyes and sent Hiiragi her Line ID. He hoped he didn’t regret that in the future.
Hiiragi babbled about party planning the entire trip back to their apartment building save for polite quiet on the train. Ue found himself wishing he did not live in the same building as this maniac.
“Okay, shut up now, please. We’re almost home.”
Hiiragi gasped and instantly clamped his mouth shut with a giggle. He smacked Ue on the back and flashed him a grin before heading upstairs.
Ue sighed, relieved to be free of the boundless energy that was Hiiragi and heading home to the quiet comfort of Mafuyu. He unlocked the door, kicked off his shoes, and collapsed on the couch.
“I’m home,” he announced into the cushions.
Mafuyu poked his head out from the kitchen. “Welcome back! Have you eaten?”
Ue shook his head and grunted, relying on Mafuyu to accurately interpret his exhaustion as a no. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he remembered he owed Hiiragi dinner. Oh well.
Mafuyu gave a small smile and finished warming up dinner — the last of the curry and rice from a few days ago.
He ruffled Ue’s hair as he set their bowls at the table, but didn’t say anything. Practice with syh usually wiped him out like this, and Mafuyu was happy to let him decompress from the overwhelming experience that was Hiiragi.
Their evening was quiet, and Ue hoped Mafuyu hadn’t noticed his anxiety or how much he was staring at his hands. If his ring finger was a 21, Mafuyu’s was definitely smaller, right?
As they sat on the couch after dinner, Uenoyama tried to discreetly compare them. He “casually” held his hand and focused on how his fingers felt between his own, sneaking peeks at them when he thought Mafuyu wasn’t looking. They were longer and slimmer, but he didn’t feel confident enough guessing a size just from that information alone.
Mafuyu had, in fact, noticed that Uenoyama was fidgety — maybe something was bothering him? Whatever it was, he would get to saying it eventually.
The evening seemed to last twice as long as normal as Ue fretted over this dilemma of size. But when Mafuyu got up to take a bath, Ue found his opportunity.
As the bathroom door shut, his eyes wandered over to Mafuyu’s room; the door was open.
Ue was off the couch and carefully rummaging through Mafuyu’s pile of jewelry before he could think it through. He knew Mafuyu wore rings, but he was pretty sure none of them went on his left ring finger.
What had he worn recently? Which would be the best approximation? He should have asked that sales rep more questions, because now that he was facing the decision, he was floundering.
How much jewelry did this man own? Rings, bracelets, earrings, ear cuffs, watches — was that a choker? He didn’t remember seeing that on him ever. His immediate thought was to blame Hiiragi.
There, the black one — it went on his middle finger and he remembered seeing it on both hands before. Hopefully that was good enough.
He heard the distinct sound of Mafuyu getting out of the bath and quickly pocketed the ring without another thought. He slipped out of the room as quietly as he could and tried to look nonchalant on the couch as Mafuyu stepped out. He’d spent way more time rifling through his jewelry than he probably should have.
But Mafuyu went about his evening routine with not even a hint of suspicion.
~
The next day, Uenoyama made an excuse to run an errand without Mafuyu tagging along. Something about dropping off paperwork — Mafuyu didn’t usually handle that sort of thing.
The bell above the door clinked as Ue entered the jewelry shop. The same woman he’d worked with the day before was across the room, and she waved him down.
“I was able to get a ring he wears on his middle finger. Is that close enough?” He retrieved the ring from his pocket and offered it to her.
“We can make an estimated guess from it. He can always have it resized once he tries it on.”
Ue’s body visibly relaxed with that knowledge. It didn’t have to be his exact size right away.
She dropped the ring onto the sizing tool — a long, pointed instrument with notches and numbers all along it. “So, when are you proposing?”
If Uenoyama had been drinking something, it may have come out his nose just then. As it was, he nearly choked on his own tongue trying to answer the question.
He covered his cough with his hand and said, “Um, Christmas Eve.”
“How lovely. Do you have a restaurant reservation yet?”
“No, I haven’t decided where.”
“Ah, well, I wish you luck. Don’t take too long or everything will fill up!” She pulled the ring off the tool and handed it back to him. “That is a twenty-one as well, but since he wears it on his middle finger, we’ll go down to a nineteen.”
“Thank you so much for your help.” Ue bowed slightly to express just how grateful he was for her understanding.
As he left, he reflected on the idea of “proposing.” That was technically what he was going to do, but… hearing it said out loud was a whole different level than knowing that’s what buying rings meant. But forever was exactly what he wanted, and he knew it in his bones. Best get used to the word “propose.”
He browsed for formal restaurant options while riding the train home. Should he ask Hiiragi about this, too? Nah. He could do this himself — or rather, he and Mafuyu could decide together.
When he walked in the door to their apartment, Kedama trotted up to run circles around his feet. He reached down to scoop him up. “I’m home!”
When he didn’t hear a response from Mafuyu, he thought he might have a chance to slip the ring he stole back into the mess on the dresser. He stepped as lightly as he could, careful not to nudge the door or anything else, and gently set it near the pile of Mafuyu’s other rings. As he turned around and walked back out, Mafuyu was standing outside the bathroom, his head tilted to the side in confusion.
Ue was not proud of the shout that escaped him. He jumped and nearly dropped Kedama, whom he’d forgotten he was still holding.
“Shit, Mafuyu, you scared the hell outta me!” He put a hand to his chest and took a deep breath to calm his racing heartbeat.
“What were you doing anyway?” Mafuyu’s tone wasn’t suspicious so much as genuinely curious.
“Um…” Ue swallowed and felt himself start to sweat. “Looking for Kedama!”
“Oh, alright then. How was your errand?” He rubbed Kedama on the head as he passed him to head for the couch. Ue followed him, grateful he hadn’t just massively blown his cover.
He set Kedama on the couch, who then instantly bolted for the spot Ue was about to sit in, next to Mafuyu, and rolled over on his back. Ue sighed and sat on the far end.
“So…I’ve been thinking.” He cleared his throat. “Where do you want to have dinner on Christmas Eve?”
Mafuyu whipped his head up from Kedama’s belly rubs and gave him that classic sparkling expression Ue knew so well.
“I was looking at one of these. What do you think?” Ue pulled up the options on his phone and sent them to Mafuyu. Wouldn’t be wise to hand over his phone right now when Hiiragi could text him something that would spoil the surprise at any moment.
“They’re both so formal. We’ll have to wear our suits,” Mafuyu noted.
“Yeah. Is that okay? I thought it might be nice to do something, uh… special. I guess.”
“Yes! That sounds so fun!” Mafuyu beamed at him and Ue’s heart skipped a beat. All the hassle was going to be worth it.