The Cat and the Crow

Sundays Are Hard

Tetsuro awoke with start. He wasn't sure what woke him, but his heart was racing a mile a minute. Outside, the sky was just beginning to change from dark to grey; the sun would be up soon. He checked the time on his bedside clock: 5:16am. Most importantly, Kei was still asleep beside him. So why...?

He eased himself up, making sure not to wake Kei, and looked out the window. It was Sunday, which meant time would not be on his side. Again. Before they'd fallen asleep, Kei had told him that his train didn't leave until 10pm, which meant they had all day, and much of the evening to spend together. But still...

He watched the sun rise, and listened to Kei breathing. It was going to be a beautiful day, so he decided that they'd have to spend some of it outside. He loved the idea of not going anywhere, which is what Kei preferred. But on a pretty day like today? Well, even if it rained, he'd still try to get his love out of the house.

Since he was awake for the day, he reached for his phone. The little green light was flashing, which meant he had messages to read. Swiping his lockscreen, he tapped on the most recent one.

[HOPE YOUR BIRTHDAY WAS THE BEST ONE EVER!]

[Very much so. Thank you]

Tetsuro waited. It wasn't long before Bokuto replied with a video attachment. He waited for it to download, and then tapped it once it was ready to view.

"Happy birthday, Tetsuro." Kei said in the video.

Bokuto had captured the moment perfectly, showing both himself and Kei behind him. He could see his face flush, not to mention the way he'd stiffened with shock. Then, of course, his eyes had gone wide, and it looked like he was happy, confused, and surprised all at once. 'Bamboozled' was the perfect word for what he looked like. As soon as he started turning, the video went off-kilter, and then ended.

[I HAVE NEVER SEEN A MORE PERFECT MOMENT]

[What do you mean?]

[IF I HAD TO PUT IT INTO WORDS, YOU LOOKED LIKE YOUR MOST FAVORITE PERSON IN THE ENTIRE WORLD WAS FINALLY HOME, AND NOTHING ELSE MATTERED]

[That's... amazingly accurate]

[WHY SO SURPRISED?]

[Your serious moments are always surprising]

[YEAH, WELL, YOU'RE MY BEST FRIEND, AND I REALLY DO LIKE SEEING YOU HAPPY]

[You act as if I'm only happy sometimes]

[YOU KNOW WHAT I MEANT, DORKWAD]

[I do, and I am. Very much so.]

[KEEP HIM]

[You say that as if I hadn't already made up my mind about him]

[KEEP HIM]

[I'll definitely try]

[DO, OR DO NOT. THERE IS NO TRY]

[LOL! Yeah, thanks, Yoda.]

He ended the chat and realized he was smiling. Bokuto had helped him feel a little better, and that meant a lot to him. Especially knowing that things between his best friend and boyfriend could have gone so much worse.

Deciding to get a move on the day, he got out of bed, made sure he hadn't woken Kei, and pulled on a sweatshirt and sweatpants. Then, he adjusted the blankets so that Kei wouldn't get cold, leaned down and kissed him on the temple. "I love you," he whispered, and then left the room. He had at least a few hours before Kei would even stir; he was a deep sleeper.

Knowing there wasn't much he could do without making too much noise, Tetsuro settled for making hot tea and toast, sliced up an apple, and grabbed his phone. He opened the door to the porch, and settled in at the picnic table. Scrolling through his social media accounts, he read and replied to posts, reblogged memes, and posted a few new pictures.