pslplz | Futureverse

Yukimura is out for the evening doing a television appearance, which means it's a perfect time to drop in on his favorite former kouhai. It's not that Marui avoids Yukimura (he's a close friend, in fact), it's just good sense not to make a surprise appearance when he and Akaya are home together. As passionate as both of them are, there's ten different ways that could go incredibly wrong. No thanks!

He blows a bubble of his favorite gum (green apple) to pass the time while the lift hauls him up to the penthouse floor. Strung from two fingers over one shoulder is a plastic bag with two of the boxed meals he picked up after practice. The third one is already gone, enjoyed at the restaurant with another old friend from their Rikkai days.

The lift chimes and opens to the fancy lobby of the penthouse suite. Marui steps out and leans casually against the frame of the entry, giving it a few raps and calling out afterwards.

"Hey, open up! You don't want your food getting cold."

So the clothes were still in a pile on the bed. Big fucking whoop. They're not even dirty. Akaya just hasn't had the time to push them into a dresser. Never mind that they've been there for a week, getting wrinkled as he punts the pile back and forth from his chair to the bed. He doesn't wear anything that needs to be ironed, right? With Yukimura, you have to pick your battles, because there can be a lot of them. Akaya likes the challenge, but sometimes he just wants him to shut the hell up and fuck him already. Akaya can be quite persuasive in that department, but as he's learned since they moved in together - it can wear thin when the petty arguments come up again and again.

So, surprisingly enough, he's actually putting those clothes away when he hears a rap on the door, followed by a familiar voice.

"Senpai?"

He leaves the drawer half open and makes his way to the door, which he swings open, wide. His gaze drops to the food, then back to Marui's face. He grins.

"You're my fucking hero."

"Aren't I?" Marui agrees with an easy grin, and slips past Akaya to head towards the kitchen. Yeah, he figured these two weren't feeding themselves right.

"Jackal came up with a new beef dish. It's amazing-- you've gotta try it!"

He sets the bag down on the counter and lifts the top box out, offering it out to Akaya. The beef is covered in a spicy sauce with just a hint of sweetness for balance, served with rice and vegetables. The other box he slides into the fridge without a word; that's for Yukimura when he finally gets in late that night.

It's evident from the surroundings that this isn't a solo pad anymore; it's not to Yukimura's usual standards of neat and tidy. Marui kind of likes it this way. It's homier, lived-in. It must be driving Yukimura crazy.

“Damn, that smells good,” Akaya says as he takes the box from Marui and lifts the lid off to take a whiff. He doesn’t remark on the box that disappears into the fridge. Maybe by the time Yukimura comes home, they can have a ceasefire. With food this good, how could you not? Akaya plucks a piece of beef out with his fingers and pops it into his mouth. He hums his approval.

“What’s he up to? He should’ve come with!” The more the merrier, why not? They started out with the three of them, back at Rikkai. Akaya has good memories of those days. Of course, being treated by his senpai played a big part of that, but Akaya genuinely liked them both. Even if he was a little full of himself at the time to really appreciate the attention.

It really does smell good, almost enough to make Marui's stomach forget it's already had a bowl. Jackal's father made good ramen, but Marui is glad that their friend has decided to offer a more expansive menu for his own budding business. He slides into one of the barstools at the island.

"You know he would have, if he didn't have the shop to close. He says hi-- and to enjoy the meal. You'd better. It's on him again." Marui's eyes twinkle with amusement.

Just like old times, right?

“Ha. All right. Maybe we’ll grab him up after his shift one of these days and hit a bar or two,” Akaya says. He might even buy him a drink. Back in their schooldays, he might have let Jackal and Marui treat him quite regularly (the perks of being the kouhai) but he’s grown up a little bit since then.

He takes out a fork and really digs in, stuffing his face with a mouthful.

“So? What’s new with you, senpai?”

"Yeah. He'd like that." So would Marui. The three of them don't hang out nearly as often anymore now that they've all graduated. Life and all that. Each of them had aspirations of their own: Jackal's restaurant, Akaya's music career, his own professional tennis path. All three demanded considerable time and energy, and that made it hard to coordinate. And Marui had never really been that skilled with planning and organizing. He was great at rallying people up for a spontaneous trip out, but once you threw competing schedules into the mix, it just took all of the buzz out of it.

"We're gearing up for the season. Practice is brutal right now, but I've got a new trick in the works to surprise Sanada with. He's mine next time we have a match."

Edited 2021-07-25 18:09 (UTC)

Futureverse

[flashback] Dinner Delivery

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