Hajime no Insho
sho nijuroku.
Takanori had honestly never had a more perfect Christmas. The band had gathered in his small apartment, and he’d been snuggled close to Akira the entire night, and he’d finally been able to understand the way Yuu and Kouyou had always looked at each other, because it seemed that he and Akira had an incredibly difficult time keeping their eyes off each other and their attention focused on their friends. And he would never tease Kouyou for always wanting to be near Yuu again, either, because he’d kept his hand folded into Akira’s the entire night, and he’d been able to grin and completely understand the pull that two people could feel toward each other.
Kouyou had brought along his precious sake, and they’d toasted to the band and Yutaka had toasted to the relationships that had formed, and for a moment, Takanori was sure that the drummer had a relationship of his own, because no single man ever smiled the way Yutaka had when he’d spoken softly about love. And Takanori had toasted to his boyfriend, and he’d grinned and gifted Akira with a kiss when the blond had quietly mentioned that he still blushed whenever he was referred to as such.
And Yuu and Kouyou had quietly toasted to each other, in what had almost seemed to be a private moment, and they’d kissed and Akira had gently pulled Takanori into a kiss, and Takanori couldn’t have imagined a more perfect moment. He couldn’t imagine anything that could top his heart fluttering wildly in his chest as Akira handed him his first gift of the night, and he couldn’t imagine having a better time with anyone else but the four men that his life had centered itself around.
And as they laughed and joked and talked, he thought about the kind of life that he would have had if he hadn’t left Kanagawa and come to Tokyo, if he’d stayed in high school and pursued the career that his parents had wanted him to. He could imagine that he would have been miserable career-wise, and he could imagine that he might have hated his social life, as well, because he never would have met any of the people that he knew now. And he might have gone through a few girlfriends before finding the right one, and he might have proposed by now, or they might have even gotten married.
His parents would have ended up being proud of him and happy for him, and they might have bought him a new house, and he might not have ended up in a dingy apartment.
But he would never have been as happy as he was now, being in love with Akira and being in a band with Yuu and Kouyou and Yutaka and the man that he loved, finally experiencing doses of success that were increasing marginally each time. He never would have had this life in Tokyo; he never would have been signed to a major label, never would have found his home in music, never would have found a life in being a writer and a singer. And so now, he didn’t regret leaving for Tokyo. He could almost thank his parents for kicking him out. Granted, they hadn’t offered a smidgen of support in the years he’d been gone, but he’d never cared.
And as he watched his closest friends laugh and joke and talk about the good times and give each other presents, he realized that he might never care, and he was perfectly fine with that. He had a love that made his heart warm, and he had friends that made him feel the happiest he’d ever felt, and he had a life that they’d helped him build, and there was nothing that he could think of that he’d ever change.
Takanori was more at home now than he’d ever been.
Kouyou had brought along his precious sake, and they’d toasted to the band and Yutaka had toasted to the relationships that had formed, and for a moment, Takanori was sure that the drummer had a relationship of his own, because no single man ever smiled the way Yutaka had when he’d spoken softly about love. And Takanori had toasted to his boyfriend, and he’d grinned and gifted Akira with a kiss when the blond had quietly mentioned that he still blushed whenever he was referred to as such.
And Yuu and Kouyou had quietly toasted to each other, in what had almost seemed to be a private moment, and they’d kissed and Akira had gently pulled Takanori into a kiss, and Takanori couldn’t have imagined a more perfect moment. He couldn’t imagine anything that could top his heart fluttering wildly in his chest as Akira handed him his first gift of the night, and he couldn’t imagine having a better time with anyone else but the four men that his life had centered itself around.
And as they laughed and joked and talked, he thought about the kind of life that he would have had if he hadn’t left Kanagawa and come to Tokyo, if he’d stayed in high school and pursued the career that his parents had wanted him to. He could imagine that he would have been miserable career-wise, and he could imagine that he might have hated his social life, as well, because he never would have met any of the people that he knew now. And he might have gone through a few girlfriends before finding the right one, and he might have proposed by now, or they might have even gotten married.
His parents would have ended up being proud of him and happy for him, and they might have bought him a new house, and he might not have ended up in a dingy apartment.
But he would never have been as happy as he was now, being in love with Akira and being in a band with Yuu and Kouyou and Yutaka and the man that he loved, finally experiencing doses of success that were increasing marginally each time. He never would have had this life in Tokyo; he never would have been signed to a major label, never would have found his home in music, never would have found a life in being a writer and a singer. And so now, he didn’t regret leaving for Tokyo. He could almost thank his parents for kicking him out. Granted, they hadn’t offered a smidgen of support in the years he’d been gone, but he’d never cared.
And as he watched his closest friends laugh and joke and talk about the good times and give each other presents, he realized that he might never care, and he was perfectly fine with that. He had a love that made his heart warm, and he had friends that made him feel the happiest he’d ever felt, and he had a life that they’d helped him build, and there was nothing that he could think of that he’d ever change.
Takanori was more at home now than he’d ever been.