Cherries

Chapter 3

Hajime's eyes fluttered open, the sun hitting his light brown irises. Squinting, he looked at the clock. It read 12:46pm. It was almost as if he woke up immediately, his feet shuffled across his room, and he ended up in his bathroom. He turned on the light and looked in the mirror like he usually does every morning when he wakes up. "Man, It's going to be a miracle if I can make it on time." He muttered to himself. He quickly undressed himself and hopped in the shower. 

Unfortunately, it wasn't as long as he wanted it to be, seeing as he feared of being late. He wrapped his towel around his waist, letting his feet sink into the bathroom mat he had placed in front of his counter. Luckily, he was smart and set out clothes ahead of time on top of his washer. He grabbed his black boxer briefs and slid them up to his waist, making sure they fit comfortably. Once done, he put on his shirt, a forest green button up with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, paired with his black jeans and matching black shoes.

After examining himself over and over again, and making sure he had everything, he decided he looked presentable enough for his date. Checking his phone as he left the bathroom, the time was 1:28pm. Feeling his heart start racing once again, he grabbed his keys and rushed to his car.

It usually takes Hajime around 30 minutes to make it to The Yorks. Of course, today of all days, the traffic decided to be horrible. There was a huge car accident on the highway that Hajime usually took to work which caused him to have to take the backroads, which was a lot of neighborhoods and small stop lights. Luckily only a few of the stop lights turned red, making Hajime feel more at ease. On the other hand, he was still going to be later than he had wanted, and he hoped Fuyuhiko wasn't already there waiting on him.

Finally, he made it. He pulled into the ever-busy parking lot and parked his car in the back. He checked his phone, and the time said 2:07pm. Hajime sighed in relief and allowed himself to relax. He got out of his car and closed the door before walking around the building to see Fuyuhiko sitting on the bench that was placed right next to the front doors. The bench was all metal, the backrest being a wired flower pattern. Fuyuhiko was sitting with his right ankle resting on his left knee and leaning against the bench, on the phone with someone.

Fuyuhiko noticed Hajime walking up to him rather slowly.

"I'll call you back Peko. See ya," he ended shortly, hanging up his phone. "Heh, looks like we're both early, aren't we?" He asked, giving a slight smile to Hajime, tucking his phone in his pocket. Hajime smiled back nervously as he sat down next to Fuyuhiko, his legs glued together as he rested his hands on his knees.

"It seems we are," Hajime giggled.

They sat in an awkward silence for a minute before Fuyuhiko got up slowly, turned to Hajime, and held out his hand. "C'mon, I told you I would take you somewhere beautiful," he urged, looking Hajime in the eye.

Hajime hesitantly took his hand, and was lead to a smaller looking car that was a very shiny grey. The inside was clean, the grey color from the outside was carried into the interior of the car with black as the accent. It had leather seats, a really complex setup of the A/C adjusters, and a touch screen where you could stream music and have a GPS.

The car ride took around 40 minutes. Fuyuhiko had parked his car on a path that lead into the woods. "The woods?" Hajime thought aloud, stepping out of his side of the car. Fuyuhiko made his way around to Hajime and started walking down the path.

"You'll see." Fuyuhiko replies vaguely, turning around to face Hajime, "You comin'?" The questioned jerked Hajime into action and jog towards the shorter man.

"Sorry, I'm just..... why the woods?" Hajime probed a little more sternly than before, but Fuyuhiko didn't respond with anything but a small smile.

As they were walking they came upon a very neatly placed red checkered blanket with a cute little black basket sitting upon it. Entangled in the leaves were some christmas lights that shone a very bright white. The sun was going down, causing the sky to turn a mixture of red, orange, and yellow.

Fuyuhiko turned to Hajime and gestured toward the blanket, "Shall we?" Hajime sat down on the right side of the blanket, his legs were crossed and he leaned back onto one elbow, by the basket. He looked up to the sky.

"You did this... for me?"

Fuyuhiko did a little chuckle and joined Hajime on the blanket. He sat upright, opening the basket and pulling out two cans of soda, two plates, and everything you needed to build yourself the perfect sandwich. "Of course, you wouldn't think it, but I'm very minimalistic when it comes to dates. I know this isn't much, so I hope you like it." He explained, arranging the ham, turkey, and chicken next to the mayonnaise, mustard, and the bread.

Hajime had a shocked look on his face as Fuyuhiko pulled out all the food. "I..." he paused, "can't tell you how long I've been living off of instant noodles, so this is absolutely wonderful." He responded as he started building his sandwich. Hajime looked over to Fuyuhiko as he was putting mustard on his bread. "Ew! You like mustard?" He fake gagged, causing Fuyuhiko to start smiling.

Once they were done putting together and eating their sandwiches, the day had turned to night. The area they were in was far from the city which allowed more stars to come into view. Fuyuhiko moved the basket into the grass and laid down, his right hand resting on his chest while his left lay still on the blanket. Hajime joined him shortly after, both of his hands laying on the blanket.

They laid there in silence, enjoying each other's company before Hajime turned to Fuyuhiko, causing him to turn his head. "This is going to sound weird.. but.. I really like your smell." Hajime stated, causing Fuyuhiko to lightly smack his face chuckling.

"Y'know that's not the first time I've heard that. I always get told I smell like some kind of fruit."

Hajime put his hand on Fuyuhiko's cheek, "You definitely smell like cherries," he affirmed, closing his eyes slowly and leaning in.

As if it were a movie, Fuyuhiko's phone started ringing loudly, causing both of them to jump in shock. Hajime sat up and lifted his knees to his chest, wrapping his arms around them, his face red. Fuyuhiko stood up almost instantly, looking at his caller ID.

"No name. It's my job, I need to take this," he muttered in annoyance, walking a little way from their picnic. Hajime could still see him though, and could tell that he was angry due to the gestures he was making. Eventually, Fuyuhiko hung up his phone and walked back to the blanket, his face conveyed anger and guilt. "Listen, that was my boss, he needs me to go in immediately. I'm sorry to cut this short, but I will take you home," he insisted, sounding genuine.

Hajime nodded his head as he stood up, folding the blanket and heading to the car quietly.