In The Middle

Afternoons, Coffee and Three Pining Hearts!

"I'm sorry, can you- I don't think I got that. Can-Can you say it again for me?"

Worry pinched at the couples face before him yet Shouta could hardly focus. Hardly decipher the reason for it when he let his gaze flick away from the couple across from him as his hands squeezed at the mug between them. He knew the single floor home like the back of his hand. The mess of towels in the linen closet by the bathroom down the short hallway that led to a singular bedroom. The carpet was being lifted up in the corner by the window due to the few cats that wandered through the home.

He knew the wallpaper was being shredded along the window with claw marks from said cats jumping up to the small window. The kitchen was neatly, meticulously scrubbed each morning with items in their rightful places in the small space. The cluttered living room with its games, books, and fandom merchandise purchased over the years whether in support of someone or in a game one liked. A messy yet neat area that he had memorized for years given the countless times he'd been over. A comforting space.

Years spent sitting in this very living room in the recliner while the carpet was dealt with spill after spill. Stain from the red wine spilled on it twice. Incidents that had led to the original carpet being ripped up then replaced begrudgingly by Hizashi. He knew the cabinet holding the coffee and mugs squeaked like no other. Knew the leather couch folded out into a pull-out bed for guests to sleep on. He knew the master bedroom was a wide area with a small, attached bathroom with the barest necessities within.

The smaller bathroom holding a shower and bathtub combination, a sink with a small counter, and a toilet. The mirror that held the medicines and other self-care items within. The bedroom with its dresser and flat screen on it at the foot of the king-sized bed and the small closet in the room. The wild array of colors from green to blue within the home that had always been given flattering accent colors. A bright home that didn't need sound to scream with that lived in feeling. A space where anyone could breathe out.

He'd been over to Hizashi and Oboro's home many, many times in his life from the time they found the small house. It had been an absolute mess that Oboro had voiced his worries about not being worth it. A dump heap that the blonde had insisted they could flip into their space. And they had; the blonde had gutted then helped pay for workers to renovate the home to get it to the pristine state it was in. Personal touches, personal recommendations between the both and input from others made it what it was.

He'd spent nights in the recliner or on the pull-out bed after late nights drinking with the two men. With Nemuri and Tenya if they managed to bring him along. He'd spent afternoons off of work in a gaming tournament with the dark-haired woman and the couple. He'd found himself at their front door countless times after those nights out at the tail end of a date or when his date from his apps never showed up. He'd come over if he was having a rough night where sleep simply wasn't possible for him.

And without fail, each time he was welcomed with open arms by the couple who would always fuss over him until he was far too exhausted to keep his head up. Until he was melting into the couch with the fussing worry and nagging washing over him only to continue the next day. All things that left him warm in the moment. Left him feeling cared for. And aching the next night when he was on his own. He was used to pining. He was used to wanting something he couldn't have. Longing for it so damn bad it hurt.

Became a physical ache that brought tears to his eyes. Kept him awake longing, wishing, pleading for the world to give him something to make it through. To give him what he wanted. To this day, he'd never figured out who it was that had lit that flame in him; Hizashi or Oboro. He had tried over and over to find the trigger for that pining. Had tried to find the source of that longing. The pinpoint where his feelings had crested past friendship to wanting something more from the blonde and blue-haired man.