Oneshot 14

Angst

Normal AU
Modern AU
FTM Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu

CW - Arguments between an established couple. Mention of homophobic parents and implications of hate crimes.

4488 Words

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"Oh my gosh! That went so much better than I expected!"

As the front door opened two pairs of feet walked inside. One continued to walk into the apartment while the other stayed behind closing the door behind them both and flicking the light switch on. The one that stayed behind hung his coat on the rack by the door then slid off his shoes. An unimpressed expression stained his youthful face.

"I was so nervous I felt like I couldn't even move on stage. And when it was finished I almost cried at the applause." The voice boomed through the walls. Even if he was in a separate room, the blonde could hear his voice from the entrance.
He made his way to the same room as his partner: an open-concept room connecting the kitchen, dining room, and lounge. There he saw his lover: taking off his vest and setting it on the armrest of the sofa.

Kuzuryu made his way to a certain cabinet

"When the engine didn't work the first time I felt like a dumbass..." The taller male walked behind him and wrapped his arms around his small waist. "If you didn't see the unscrewed bolt it definitely wouldn't be as much as a success." He pressed a kiss to Kuzuryu's neck and his eyes glided to what the other picked up.

"Wine? You don't drink-"

"Thought it fit the occasion."

"Well yeah, I guess.."

Souda was pushed aside as the other also grabbed two glasses. He didn't notice the upset expression plastered on his lover's face.

Kuzuryu poured the wine in two glasses; one having more than the other which the other assumed was for him until the blonde began to down the larger glass.
"Is something wrong?" the mechanic asked while lifting his own glass and looking down at the red wine; seeing a bit of his own reflection. His hair was slicked back and newly dyed for the occasion. Instead of the colored contacts he wore daily, he traded them for black glasses. "What do you mean?" the blonde asked as he poured a second halfway full glass. "I mean that you haven't said anything all night unless you've been spoken to-" "I don't have to speak if I don't want to Kazuichi. I'm not a talkative person." "Well yea, but still. I mean- If you didn't want to come then you didn't have to." "Excuse me-"

His eyes shot up to the sound of Kuzuryu putting his glass on the table. "Tonight was the night you showed off years of work Kazuichi." "But-" "Just because you practically begged me to come doesn't mean I wasn't going to be there in the first place. This was your night. I wouldn't miss it for the world." Souda smiled at that, and took a small sip from his own drink. "How did you... like it..?" "How did I like..."

"The event. I didn't really see you most of it.."

"It was alright."

"So what's wrong?" From the years they've been together, the mechanic grew to know his partner's language. What he said didn't exactly replicate what he meant. He never used 'Alright' unless things weren't alright. "Don't worry about it." "Now I am going to worry about it. Did something happen? Who said something to you?"
The other didn't answer, but instead went to pour his third glass. "Fuyuhiko." Before he could lift the glass, Souda slid it over to himself and away from the blonde. That's when he really paid attention to his expression. He was upset. Very upset. It wasn't anger or rage, more of a confused or disappointed expression. But why-?

"What happened to you most of the night?"

"What do you mean"

"I mean, as soon as we arrived you left me. Ran off. You didn't ask about me. You didn't come looking for me. I didn't see you again the whole night until your speech, and fuck.. that damn speech..."

Souda didn't realize that he left him the whole night until the speech. Kuzuryu kept to himself, so he didn't know it really bothered him. He should have known better than that.

He moved from his spot and wrapped his arms around the smaller's waist and placed his head in the crook of his neck. "I'm sorry Hiko... I guess I just got caught up into the investors and other conversations. I won't leave you alone on another thing like that again." Kuzuryu didn't say anything, but instead stretched his arm over to reach his glass and drunk from it.

"What else?" Souda mumbled as he buried his head in his boyfriend's shoulder. "I know you're mad over something else, just say it. Please." The blonde's words played through his head. The emphasis on 'that damn speech' caught his mind. "Was it the speech? Did you not lik-" "The speech was lovely Kaz. You said it yourself, it took months to write and perfect." That was true. "Thank you, but you're still upset over it..." The blonde didn't respond immediately. Seconds which felt like hours passed before.

"It took months to write... you said how you spent hours on it at night and you spent all your money on it. You even mentioned the people that helped you get through it. Even down to your darkest time or the many times you were close to giving up..."

"What about it?"

"What about it..??"

Souda could hear the sudden anger and annoyance erupting from his partner's voice. "Kazuichi where the fuck was I mentioned? Huh? You said everyone fucking else except your boyfriend of 8 years?"

"So you're mad that I didn't mention you? Well that's kind of selfish."

Part of Souda understood what he meant. Kuzuryu happened to be the main one to care about him during the creation of the engine. He use to stay up the whole night just to keep him company. But the other side of him was upset. Why would he be upset that he didn't mention him in a speech-?

"Wh- You think that is selfish? Go over your damn speech again Kazuichi. That's fucked up-! I think I deserve a little bit of recognition!" "Why do you need it? I thought I was doing you a favor with this whole 'mysterious' get-up you have!" "That's your excuse?!"
Souda put down his wine glass. He took a deep breath before speaking again. "What's wrong with me not mentioning you? Honestly." "You mentioned you mom. Your siblings. Your friends. Your old teachers. Your fucking pets. But not your goddamn boyfriend?! Not the person who's been there with you for 8 fucking years of your life??" "You're acting as if I cannot thank you here! It's not that I don't appreciate you just because I don't make it public knowledge!"

Kuzuryu groaned and marched over to the couch before flopping down onto it. It was silent from then on. A frown fell to his face. The mechanic let a sigh escape his lips and walked over to his lounging boyfriend. "Look.. I'm sorry Hiko. I should have mentioned you, you're right. It was fucked up..." He didn't receive an answer. His hand went over to shake the blonde, but instead his wrist was grabbed and he was pulled onto the couch. Kuzuryu's head now resting on his chest. The room filled with silence for some time.

"Why didn't you mention me?"

"What?"

"What was the reason..?"

Souda didn't answer this, but instead he attempted to hold the other closer to his chest but he was interrupted by being pushed away. "Kazuichi." "Can we not talk about this.." "No. Why didn't you mention me?" "Why are you being like this?" "Why are you trying to change the topic?" "Because I don't want to talk about this Fuyuhiko. You always do this.." The mechanic stood up from the couch. "What are you talking about?" "You. You always make me talk about things I don't want to and then it leads into a huge argument. Why can't you just leave it alone?" "Maybe because if it was up to you we'd never talk about anything because you never want to."

"Fuyuhiko you know exactly why I didn't mention you."

The room fell silent after that. The mechanic walked back over to the counter and downed the rest of his glass. After a minute—which felt like an eternity—passed, Kuzuryu spoke.

"Because you aren't out yet. That's why you didn't mention me."

The topic wasn't new. Ever since highschool, their long-term relationship has been a secret. It of course wasn't easy to hide, especially when they decided to move in with eachother and when the blonde himself came out as gay. But every time someone they knew brought up them being anything more than close friends it was always taken as a joke. Because in their eyes, Kazuichi Souda was a straight man.

Unbelievable.

Completely unbelievable.

"I'm sorry. I don't want to force you to come out. But don't you think that it's been long enough? More than long enough."

Souda re-opened the bottle of wine and poured himself another glass. "You 'don't want to force me' but it definitely sounds like it..." He mumbled in earshot of the blonde while placing the bottle back on the counter.

"It's been 8 years Kazuichi."

"I know."

"So why is it taking you this long to come out with it?"

"Why are you acting like you don't know anything Fuyuhiko?! I've told you over and over again every time we have this conversation. The reason didn't change. It's never going to..!"

Silence filled the room once more. This time a lot longer than their other pauses. He heard the other get up from the couch, but walk pass him. Souda rolled his eyes at this. How was he going to walk away from an argument he started?

Kazuichi refused to come out because he cared too much about others opinions.

That's the real unsugarcoated reason.

The reason Kazuichi kept telling himself was that being a straight man in Japan got him farther in life. He wasn't wrong, but deep down he really didn't care about how far he'd get in life. There were a surprising number of times Kazuichi has thought about coming out and if that affected his career, he'd think about something like drug dealing. Because that way people wouldn't even care about who he sleeps with or whatever is in his pants. But he did care about his friends thinking of him differently despite a few of them coming out themselves. And his family was a thing as well.

His mother wasn't in his life as much as he wanted her to be. She had other children she prioritized more than him so he figured that if he did come out to her she would either not pay attention to him or hopefully accept him. He didn't see her being against it being that apparently one of his stepsisters was a lesbian.
His father on the other hand was in his life way more than he wanted him to be. His first and only warning not to say anything about his sexuality to him was at an awards ceremony in his 2nd year of Hope's Peak. The speaker slipped up and said Fuyuhiko's old name instead of his actual name. He never addressed him as Fuyuhiko again.

Fuyuhiko knew that.

The rest of the wine in his new glass was downed before he placed it in the sink and went in the same direction Fuyuhiko walked in.

"You can't just do that. You can't say you wanna talk about something but don't fucking speak." Kazuichi found himself in their shared bedroom, which really just looked like Fuyuhiko's room. In order to keep up the whole 'roommates' charade, they made one of the two bedrooms in their apartment look like Fuyuhiko's room and the other look like Kazuichi's. They preferred sleeping in the one that looked more like Fuyuhiko's since he had his own bathroom.

"Kaz what do you want me to say? Do you want me to suddenly understand you being a coward over your shitty ass dad you've been planning on cutting contact off with for years now disowning you because you like men? Because if that's what you want me to say then that's as close as you're getting to it." "Are you... Are you actually serious right now?" "Yes. Yes I am. Because what the fuck is he going to do other than that? If anything, him disowning you should be an even more of a reason to come out to him since you hate him so much."

As fucked up as it sounded, that was very true. At least his father wouldn't try and get back in contact with him if he was the one to cut the ties. But friends and family weren't the only opinions he really cared about.

"It's not the same reason. Not right now. Is it?"

Kazuichi gave no response. Fuyuhiko wasn't anywhere to be seen, but the mechanic knew he was in the closet. It stayed silent for the hundredth time that night until the blonde exited the closet only to go into the bathroom. He was only in a towel when he walked by, which almost distracted Kazuichi from the argument they were having. Almost.

"What do you mean?"

"Now you're acting like you don't know what I'm talking about? As if we didn't just come from what we came from? As if hundreds of older rich men weren't there that probably have conservative views? You should think harder."

"..."

"Honestly from a business perspective it's kinda smart, but wouldn't it be better to work with someone that actually believes you should be alive right now? Just a guess."

"You cannot fucking speak with your line of work. These people aren't the ones actually trying to kill me. That's pretty hypocritical of you."

"That's different."

"How so?"

"You know exactly how that's different. Don't play dumb."

The faint noise of the shower turning on and the water hitting the floor along with the smaller's body filled the room as background noise, causing the other to have to speak louder.

"No. You can explain to me how it's different. Or you can explain to me how your situation is better."

"I never said that at all."

"Never said you did. But you can still explain it."

Kazuichi had gotten tired of having to yell in order to speak with his boyfriend, as a result he'd stood up from the bed and walked into the bathroom where he was. Steam mostly blocked his vision, but as soon as that exited the bathroom he could see the other though the shower door. It was glass however all Kazuichi could see was a blur that only showed that he was in there.

"So what is it?"

"My identity doesn't affect my work like it'll affect yours."

"So you don't want me to continue with the engine project?"

"I never said that. I think you should work with someone who actually cares about you."

"That's sweet and all but you're still wrong."

"How am I wrong about that?"

"It's not why I haven't actually came out. Well it's partially why I didn't say anything at the event tonight, but it's not the reason. And besides, even if I was open about it, it's nothing to announce. It's my personal life. Why would I mention that in the first place?"

"Oh I don't know. Maybe to give your boyfriend credit for being there for you for years along with your friends. That seems like a reason to bring it up."

Dramatic sigh

"I. Am. Sorry. Okay? I should've at least mentioned you. I feel bad. What else am I suppose to do?"
After not getting a response for a short while, Kazuichi exited the bathroom and began to change himself. He didn't even hear the sound of the water cutting off and Fuyuhiko leaving the shower with some shorts and an old t-shirt on.

He did hear his phone going off like crazy though.

"Who's texting you?"

"That's not a texting notification sound."

Before Kazuichi could finish putting on his pants and grab his phone, Fuyuhiko did instead. He'd be lying to himself if he said he wasn't nervous at all, but that went away when he saw Fuyuhiko actually.
"That launch really did go well for you."

The mechanic was confused. He finished putting on the rest of his night clothes and looked over at whatever his boyfriend was looking at.

It was an article reposted on social media about the engine he created. How it was the start of a new future for the industry. People were boasting about it, promoting it, and sharing it around. Other investors who weren't even at the launch party were trying to get in contact with him to try and get it under their company's name. This was really good for him.

"Holy shit- that's a lot of reads..."

"That's all you gotta say? Really?"

Fuyuhiko started scrolling through some of the replies—mostly those who had tagged Kazuichi—and started laughing to himself. "Not only do they like your engine, but some of these people think you're attractive."
"And what's so funny about that?? Am I not attractive to you?" "You are. Just looks like I might have to fight some people for you." Kazuichi laughed at that himself. He backed up away from Fuyuhiko and his phone and looked out towards the window in his own thoughts. This was it. His big break. After years of working on this it was finally being recognized. After highschool he honestly didn't see himself getting that far with his idea. Maybe becoming some well known mechanic at a car garage was the biggest thing he'll do. Having to have his boyfriend take care of him all his life since he would be making enough to support them both. That he wouldn't be doing what he really wanted to. But this—this was different.
This changed that.

His smile widened on his face and he turned back to Fuyuhiko expecting to still see a smile on his face. Fuyuhiko's expression wasn't exact, but Kazuichi knew he was upset.

"Wait what happened? Did they say something weird about me?"

Fuyuhiko didn't answer. He just kept reading whatever it was.

"Hey you can stop reading that. It doesn't matter what they say, alright? We don't even know them."

"I didn't know they were taking pictures when we came in."

"What are you talking about? Of course they did, they kinda had to. Like a first look type of thing. What, did my hair look off or something-? Gosh that's embarrassing.."

Kazuichi tried taking the phone from Fuyuhiko, but the grip the blonde had on it was too tight so he is only option was to look over his shoulder to see what changed his mood. It wasn't about him.

'What abt his plus 1?? who is that?'

'probs a friend or sum. she's cute tho'

'someone who doesn't wanna be there lol.'

'nah it definitely does. y'all know how rich ppl bring sw or temporary partners to big events like that. probably getting paid to be there and the after party.'

'nah bc what if this is that dude's partner?? foul asf. logging off'

'then that should b me!!'

'nah i agree w @______ . he never said he had a gf. definitely a hookup.'

'y waste urself on sum hoe tho?? he's like.. gonna b rich. he can get a better long time female.'

He stopped reading

"Hey.. you really shouldn't worry about that. They don't even know you."

Kazuichi took the phone with a bit more force and turned off his phone completely. That gave Fuyuhiko time to escape from the room and back into the kitchen.

"Hiko are you serious? It's online. It's not even real."

Kazuichi found Fuyuhiko back in the kitchen finishing off the rest of the wine he had opened earlier that night. "Come on now Hiko.. you don't even have social media. They can't even say that to your face. You really shouldn't care about some assholes who are probably younger than your sister." He was ignored as the bottle was finished off and put into the trash can. "I don't care about it. You should either. People on the internet are gonna say something about anything. Even if I did address to as my partner, people would have something to say about it."

"Then say it."

"What do you- Are you serious? We're back on that?"

"Yea we never really left from it. Tell them that I am your boyfriend."

"It's not