His second year in college had finally ended and both he and Teff were able to go into their vacation.
He had adjusted into life inside of Ritsu’s house completely. It wasn’t even difficult for him. It was like returning home. Ever since he had moved out of the hotel and entered this apartment building, things were different.
Hotels always have this smell to them. But, with this apartment filled with Ritsu, it just flooded with the smell of home. It might be strange, but countries smell different.
Kei lounged on the sofa (still completely flooding with pillows) and scrolled down his phone. He didn’t have any groups or clubs to get to, no circle of friends, and no hobbies he was remotely interested in returning to. So there wasn’t a lot of things to do during vacation.
“You’ve seriously got to get out once in a while, Kei. This is like the fourth day since vacation started and you have not even left the house.” Ritsu complained as he mixed the salad with olive oil. “What did you do before I came in here?
“Get dragged around by Teff until I was bloated like a pig.” Kei replied blandly, face mushed against a pillow and his free hand wrapped around a fluffy stuffed bear.
Ritsu sighed and rubbed his temples, “Do you really have no other friends here other than Teff?” he rummaged around the drawers and took out two white plates and two pairs of spoon and forks.
“Oh, yeah. I do love going outside and socializing with people and frolicking around in flower fields as we make friendship bracelets for each other and talk about how we will be together forever.” that was all said in just one breath.
“Your newfound sarcasm can kill someone.” Ritsu grimaced as he prepared the table. “Just get over here. I made salad and opened some canned meat loaf.”
“What a weird combination of food to eat.” Mumbled Kei as he got off of the couch and stalked his way to the dining table with quiet footsteps.
“You’re always complaining about how Teff forces you to eat fastfood all the time. Here is some nice homemade food and you’re still complaining.” Ritsu stabbed a lettuce leaf with his fork, silently cursing Kei for how he refused to let the two of them use chopsticks.
“By homemade food you mean unevenly chopped vegetables drowning in vegetable oil and some meat loaf that could be human meat for all we know?” Kei stared at the loaf distastefully.
“What am I, your wife? You don’t even cook!” The engineer groaned and gripped his hair in frustration.
“If we were married I should be the wife since I’m always rig- ow!” Kei flinched and placed a hand on his cheek.
“What?” immediately, Ritsu was at full attention. He stood up from his spot to move closer to his childhood friend. “What hurts?”
Frowning, Kei took out a piece of sharp bone out of his mouth and stared. “This is a bone, Ritsu. A bone in canned meat loaf.” Although his words were a tad bit slurred due to the pain stinging his cheek. “I taste blood… ow.”
“Let me see.” Ritsu held his face gently and urged him to open his mouth. “I can’t really see clearly, move into the light.” He pulled Kei’s face closer until they were but a hair’s breath away.
Suddenly, the door to their shared apartment opened up and in came Teff. “Hey guys, since I had nothing better to do I made you guys some lunch a-“ he froze at the sight that came before him. “What… am I interrupting something?”
Kei’s head was tilted up, Ritsu’s hands urging his mouth to open wide, his tongue glistening with saliva. The bespectacled engineer was too close to the college student, eyes focused on his lips.
“Yeah, it’s definitely bleeding.” Ritsu let go and spared Teff a glance, “Hey, Teff. Nice of you to enter without permission.”
“Hey, Kei gave me a spare key, alright?” he grumpily stomped over and dropped the plastic filled with food on the dining table. “What do you mean ‘bleeding’?”
“Kei’s inner cheek accidentally got stabbed with a bone from canned meat loaf.”
Teff had this blank ‘are you serious’ stare on. “A bone from canned meat loaf? What are you feeding him!” he opened his plastic and placed on the table his lasagna. “Eat this!”
“I don’t wanna eat anymore.” Said Kei, seemingly adding an ‘h’ for every time he pronounced the letter A with how he was holding his cheek so tenderly.
“Oh, come on, Kei. You’ve gotta eat at least the salad.” Ritsu dumped a spoonful of vegetables onto his plate.
“You’ve got to let him fatten up once in a while, Asian dude. He needs more calories!” Teff took a big slice of his lasagna and buried the vegetables underneath it.
“That’s not healthy at all!” Ritsu waved his arms flabbergasted with the inhumane amount of cheese flooding out of the pasta. “And Kei is lactose intolerant!”
“What? No he isn’t! He ate cheesy fries with me before!” yelled Teff.
“Yes he is!”
“Guys…” said Kei in a low voice, trying to be noticed.
“He can’t eat cheese, milk, and other dairy products. You know why? Because he is lactose intolerant. It will hurt his stomach. So take your lasagna of death!” Ritsu shoved the Tupperware filled with the pasta against Teff’s chest.
“At least I know how to cook. You just let Kei get himself stabbed with a bone. Why is there even a bone inside of canned meat loaf in the first place!?”
“I don’t know, it’s canned food alright? They’re supposed to be cheap and unhealthy.”
“He could’ve CHOKED on that bone.”
“Choked- on that tiny thing!?’
“It might’ve even stabbed his throat!”
“Well, it didn’t, alright so why don’t you calm your rainbow butt down.”
“Is that an INSULT to my sexuality!?”
“With how you keep on waving that pride bracelet around I thought you would consider it as a compliment.”
Kei stared at the two of them, his ears starting to hurt with how they were screaming at each other like two tigers fighting over a piece of meat. He sighed and stood up from his chair, not surprised that they didn’t even notice him leaving his spot at the dining table.
If they weren’t going to feed him then he will feed himself. He took his bag (the one that always has his meds inside of one of the pockets), took the keys to the apartment, and left.
“Thank you for coming. Please visit again!” said the waiter.
Kei nodded and went to the park where he could sit on a bench and eat his takeout. It was just regular fish and chips.
He could just imagine the two of them panicking over his disappearance right now. He turned off his phone because he knew that they were going to make it explode with the amount of messages they would send him. He didn’t want any of their arguments right now.
The teen stared at his food and poked it with his fork. Every time that the two of them saw each other they would always start fighting. Kei thought that they had gotten along, but it seemed that that wasn’t the case anymore.
“I want to publish books when I’m older.” Whispered Freya a she played with his hair, still short since he hadn’t grown it out yet.
“You should. I’ve read your work… they’re not bad.” Kei replied.
“But, I know that being an author won’t really get you anywhere in this world unless your work is like…super great. Being an author won’t be able to support me when I grow up.”
“Who cares about that? If you love being a writer than you should pursue that dream.”
“Maybe…”
Now that he thought about it, Freya can’t ever have that dream accomplished anymore.
He was brought out of his daydreaming when a hand was waving in front of his face.
“Hey, it really is Kei.” Mused one guy.
“Yeah.” Replied another.
“Ryou?! Taki!?” Kei felt his heart jump out of his chest at his two childhood friends, both of them grinning brightly.
Ryou smirked and leaned back, a large hand coming to rest on his hip. He was a tanned guy, hair styled and as handsome enough to become an idol. “Why so harsh?” he was still as tall as he remembered. Even taller than Ritsu.
A younger version of Ryou, but still as handsome as ever, laughed as he tiptoed to make himself even taller. “You’re too short, Freya.”
“I’m not short, you’re just freakishly tall!” she tried to tiptoe, but with her 5’1 height it didn’t really do much.
“Too cute!”
Taki rubbed the back of his neck and then shrugged, “He’s so happy to see us that he’s speechless.” He was the same height as him. They both had the same last name, but they had no idea how they were related. He was rather fit. Not enough that he was considered buff, but enough to make him look attractive. It’s obvious to see that he didn’t stop working out.
“W-w-w-w-what are you doing!?” squeaked a flushed Taki, his hands not knowing what to do. He was locked in a hug by Freya.
“You’re just so tiny and adorable!” Freya let go of him, her eyes apologetic, “I’m so sorry if this bothered you but I really wanted to hug you!” seventh grade and 12 year old Freya loomed over him, a great 2 and a half inch difference in their heights.
“What are you guys doing here?” Kei finally got back his will to form a proper string of words.
“I’m studying to be a doctor, remember? I’m here at a hospital for vacation.” Ryou added.
“I’m visiting Ritsu. He’s in the engineering company that I want to get accepted to.” Taki replied.
“Oh…” was Kei’s brilliant answer.
A few awkward moments passed by until Taki said, “So… what are you doing now?”
“I’m… I’m eating.” He forgot about that. He returned to his fish and chips and shoved a piece into his mouth.
“Ritsu mentioned that you guys were living together. How’s that going?” Ryou took the opportunity to sit beside him.
“Good.”
“That’s… uh, good.”
And there comes another wave of silence.
“Well, I’m going to go visit the hospital. I’m not supposed to be there by tomorrow, but it wouldn’t hurt to take a peak. See ya guys!” Ryou skipped out of there in a flash.
“You’re so stupid, Kei. You can’t even get this right?” laughed a young Ryou. “Move, let me show you how it’s done.” He pushed Kei away and sat down on the computer taking control of the game character.
Kei gave him a stare. He didn’t say a word about how he felt a frustrating tinge of annoyance and anger.
And then there were two.
“So… uh… I don’t know where Ritsu’s apartment is. Is it alright if you take me there?” asked Taki, seemingly uncomfortable.
“Okay.” Kei finished up his food and threw the plastic inside of a nearby trashcan.
It seemed like his past was catching up to him one way or another. Can’t he just run away from his home country and leave everything behind like a normal person.
A/N: 635Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqQfuomqLmO
Can you believe it's been 13 months since I had actually uploaded a chapter? Please don't hate me.635Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIFXDVoxC2N
635Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIYcz5A4yn8
