Chapter Text
“I got a new secretary,” Akashi said one evening, when they were both on their way to Furihata’s apartment from work.
“Oh, what happened to Gohoji-san?” Furihata asked, while sipping his matcha strawberry frappe, careful not to make a mess in Akashi’s very expensive car.
Akashi didn’t answer for a while, choosing to focus on the road. Once he was done with the U-turn, he spoke again, “He retired.”
Furihata blinked, “Gohoji-san is old?”
Akashi snorted.
“I- I mean, I know he is old, but I don’t know he is that old, like in the retirement age,” Furihata explained, blushing a little.
Akashi only glanced at him in amusement.
Furihata groaned, “Stop looking at me like that, I’m about to compliment you here.”
Okay, so Furihata said a lot of silly things, and every time he did that, Akashi would give him that look. The kind of look that people gave when they saw a child doing child-related things. And Furihata was not a child, so sometimes he found it annoying, but since Akashi was super handsome while doing that, Furihata could never stay mad for long.
Akashi focused on the road again, his smile turning softer, “I’m sorry, though it’s probably going to happen again.” Furihata pouted at this, “So what are you going to say? I’m very ready to receive your compliments now.”
Furihata sipped his drink once more, “The fact that I couldn’t tell Gohoji-san is that old is probably due to how happy he looked all the time. Minimal wrinkles, almost no stress lines? That could only mean you treat him well, boss,” he said playfully, referring to Gohoji’s nickname for Akashi. That was how close they both were. The few times Furihata managed to meet Akashi’s secretary, the man was always smiling. Furihata knew Gohoji had been working in Akashi’s company for the longest time, previously helping Akashi’s father. To make an employee stay that long, the Akashis must be doing something right, “Good job, Seijuurou.” He added with a proud grin, reaching out to Akashi and lightly patting his shoulder.
Akashi’s eyes widened, while his hands gripped the steering wheel tightly. “Thank you,” he mumbled, his ear turned slightly pink.
Furihata chuckled, light and fond, before he pulled his hand back. It didn’t manage to go very far though, because Akashi caught it, and entwined their fingers together.
Furihata smiled to himself. These little gestures never failed to make him giddy. It was a little embarrassing. He was already in his thirties for god’s sake.
“Do you maybe want to move to my company? I can treat you especially well there.” Akashi teased.
“Since when do you need an iOS Developer?”
“Since now? I mean, I could make it an available position easily,” Akashi shrugged.
Furihata finished his matcha, slurping it all in one go, before he frowned, “Unfortunately, I’m not really a fan of uh.. nepotism.”
It was silent for a moment before Akashi laughed. Furihata smirked inwardly. He was getting pretty good at that. At making Akashi laugh.
“Fair enough,” Akashi nodded, before he tightened his hold on Furihata, “I’m so glad we reunited when you were single, Kouki.”
Though it seemed that Akashi was also getting pretty good at flirting at the same time.
Furihata cleared his throat, while his cheeks started to redden, “Anyway, tell me about your new secretary.” He changed the topic quickly.
Akashi hummed, untangling their hands. As capable as he was as a driver, Akashi couldn’t really drive with one hand for a long period of time. Furihata mourned the loss of contact, just a little.
“His name is Nijimura. He is only a year older than us.” He cleared his throat, “He used to be my captain back in middle school.”
“Oh..” Furihata was not really sure what to do with this information, “Is it.. nepotism? No offense.” He asked jokingly. Obviously, there was nothing wrong with recruiting a capable friend, but since they were talking about that topic just a moment ago, why not milk the joke a little more?
Akashi chuckled, “No, of course not. As it turned out, Nijimura-san has been working with one of our subsidiaries for a pretty long time, which was actually news to me. The CEO of the company, who is a good friend of mine, recommended him since I told him I need someone who already has plenty of experience. He seemed to be a perfect fit, so here we are.” He paused, “I asked him if he is okay with working under me, who is technically his junior, and he said he only wants to make some money.”
Furihata snorted.
“He also added that this is nothing new, referring to the time I was his captain in my second year.” Akashi finished with a smile.
Furihata glanced at Akashi, who surprisingly looked.. fond, when he talked about Nijimura. It should be heartwarming but instead, Furihata felt uneasy. It was really odd.
He shook his head slightly to get rid of this clearly nonsensical thing, and responded, “He seems fun. I hope I can meet him soon.”
Akashi looked a little nervous, suddenly, “I hope you never meet.”
Furihata went still. What?
What does it mean?
Before Furihata could ask for clarification, Akashi changed the topic, “We almost arrived, do you want me to drop you off or do you want me to park the car?”
Furihata, easily distracted as he was, completely forgot everything that he was about to say, “O- oh.” He paused, starting to blush, “Please p- park the car.”
It was established early in their relationship, when they first started going home together, that if they went to Furihata’s apartment, Akashi would give him two choices. If Furihata wanted to be left alone, Akashi would drop him off, but if he wanted Akashi to stay the night, Akashi would park the car. And when Akashi did stay, some sexual activities would definitely occur.
(Obviously, if they decided to go to Akashi’s apartment, there would be no question. Akashi would never let him go unless he was thoroughly marked. This guy was a different beast altogether when they did it in his home).
In short, it really was a question if Furihata wanted them to fuck or not.
And Furihata wanted Akashi to park the car, maybe around ninety percent of the time.
It caught Furihata by surprise how sexual their relationship turned out to be. Furihata thought his horny days were over, now that he was older, but apparently not? All thanks to Akashi, of course.
When Akashi first approached him, he was being very cautious. Furihata did say he was not interested to be a fuck buddy like Akashi suggested after their one-night stand. Akashi convinced him that he had fallen in love with him and wanted to have a real, genuine relationship with him and wouldn’t even touch him unless he gave permission, wanting to prove how serious he was about him.
Furihata conceded after their first date.
Because how could he not, when Akashi was this hot and attractive? They had dinner at Akashi’s apartment, and when Akashi offered to take him home, Furihata refused.
Furihata told Akashi that he loved him too after Akashi came inside him for the third time that night. At that point, he didn’t even care if Akashi rejected him. Maybe Akashi was playing with him, and now that he surrendered, Akashi wanted to stop. Furihata was okay with that. It was good to be wanted by the Akashi Seijuurou, however baffling and brief it was. The important part was to tell Akashi that he fell in love around the same time as him, but knew a one-night stand was not a serious business, and it was stupid to fall in love on such an occasion.
Akashi’s response was to kiss him deeply and tell him, ‘If that’s the case, then I must be the dumbest person alive because I’m down this bad after only having sex with you one time.’
After that, the rest was history.
“It’s cute that this thing still makes you blush, when I’ve been inside you probably more than fifty times at this point,” Akashi smirked.
Furihata choked on air.
Another baffling thing about this guy was, he apparently didn’t have any filter when talking about physical intimacy. Furihata didn’t know if he could ever get used to that.
Also, fifty times? They had only been dating for like, two months? That meant sixty days, give or take. And they didn’t have sex every day.
Damn. That was insanity. What the hell happened to the good old Furihata, whose life was only about coding? He was utterly and completely gone.
Furihata fuck with that though.
Usually, when Akashi started to say weird things like this, Furihata would pinch his arm, a sign to stop embarrassing him (it never worked). But since Akashi was currently driving, Furihata would do no such thing for safety reasons. Instead, he settled with a weak, “Shut up!” while blushing even harder.
It was always nice to be able to leave early, Furihata thought to himself, on his way to Akashi’s office. It had been pretty chill at work these days, so he didn’t need to work long hours. At times like these, Furihata would be the one who came to Akashi, so they could go home together from there. Thankfully, their offices were close to each other, only about ten minutes on foot.
Once Furihata arrived at the lobby, he sat down on one of the sofas and waited. Akashi would come down soon.
“Hey, have you seen Akashi-san’s new secretary?”
“Of course! Nijimura-san, right?”
Furihata perked up at the mention of that name. Behind him, also sitting on the sofa, were two female employees. Furihata was not sure what they were doing here, honestly. Maybe waiting for their ride home?
“Yes, he is pretty hot.”
A squeal, then, “Agreed.”
Furihata blinked. Wow okay. What a statement.
“They look good together, don’t you think? Akashi-san and Nijimura-san?”
“Well, yes. But Akashi-san already has a boyfriend.”
Furihata lowered his head. He felt a sting that he couldn’t quite explain. He didn’t know if he should listen any further.
But somehow he couldn’t stop.
“.. Honestly, they don’t match. Personal opinion, of course.”
Furihata stopped breathing.
“Also agreed. His boyfriend looks a little too.. boyish? I’m not sure how to explain it. It’s the way he dressed, I think.”
“Yes, especially with those thick glasses, he looks like a nerd.”
Furihata started to get dizzy. That was brutal.
A laugh, then, “He is also clumsy, right? The way he dropped his drink that one time.”
Yeah. He did that, didn’t he? It was early days, and Furihata was still nervous about the whole thing. He dropped his matcha when he heard someone near him talking a little too loudly. He panicked and was about to scoop the liquid with his bare hands before a really sweet cleaning lady came to his aid. He offered to mop the floor himself but she, of course, refused.
It didn’t stop there. Akashi arrived and came up to him when he was still panicking, and it drew even more attention to him because, what business did a guy who clearly didn’t belong here have with the CEO?
It was so embarrassing, Furihata thought Akashi would break up with him on the spot.
What happened next was Akashi calming him down, thanking the cleaning lady, and just leaving while holding his hand. Akashi didn’t look bothered in the slightest. They went to Akashi’s apartment, had dinner, and made sweet love until morning.
That was indeed quite an experience.
“In any case, I think Akashi-san is more of a vivid color, like, really bold, while his boyfriend gives off.. pastel? Kind of looks out of place when they’re together. Do you get what I mean?”
“Of course! And Nijimura-san is also giving that vivid color, bold aura! That’s why they look better together.”
Furihata felt like his heart was getting stabbed, multiple times, with multiple blades. These words hurt.
Was that really how people see them? They didn’t-
They didn’t look good together?
All this time, Furihata was embarrassing Akashi? With the way he dressed and carried himself..
Did Furihata unconsciously bring Akashi down?
He felt awful, suddenly.
“Ah, our drinks just arrived. Let’s go, Hana-chan!”
Furihata turned his head to see the two female employees walk up to their Uber Eats driver to take their deliveries before one of them came back to the sofa. It seemed that she left her belongings there.
Furihata should have turned his head back when she got closer, but he was a second too late. Her eyes widened when they accidentally made eye contact.
Shit.
She screamed in shock like she had just seen a ghost. And all eyes were instantly on them.
Furihata immediately stood up and reached out slowly to calm her down, “Ma’am-”
It backfired.
Because the woman took a step back and fell on her ass. Her friend came to her aid a moment later, and once she saw him, she screamed too.
Just wonderful.
“I need you to leave, Sir.” A security guard was suddenly on him, grabbing his arm and dragging him forcefully.
Furihata didn’t even have the chance to explain himself. He was absolutely shell-shocked.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Akashi appeared in front of him and the security guard, all of a sudden, his tone ice-cold. He looked pissed.
Not at him though. Furihata knew at least this much.
The security guard bowed at Akashi, “This creep is bothering the ladies, Sir. But don’t worry, everything is under control.”
Akashi’s eyes widened.
Not only was Furihata a nerd, he was also a creep, apparently.
He lowered his head, trying not to cry. He felt so embarrassed.
“My boyfriend’s not a creep.” Akashi said, clearly trying to stay calm, “Release him.”
Furihata could feel the security guard freeze beside him before releasing him instantly, “I’m so sorry, Sir.”
“I’m not the one you should be apologizing to.”
Furihata lifted his head to look at the security guard, only to find him already bowing deeply at him, “I’m so sorry, Sir.”
“It’s- it’s okay,” Furihata said, a little nervous himself.
The security guard then left them soon after, and Akashi came closer, “Are you okay, Kouki? You’re not hurt, are you?” He asked, worried.
Well, Furihata was hurt. On the inside. But he wasn’t going to tell Akashi that, obviously.
“.. No, not hurt.”
Akashi sighed in relief. He turned around to address the two women.
“You two, explain yourself. What’s with all the screaming?” He asked sternly.
“I-”
“We-”
The two glanced at each other, looking conflicted.
Akashi looked at their name tags and clicked his tongue, annoyed, “Matsumoto-san, Hamada-san, I’m not a very patient man.”
The two women hunched their shoulders, starting to tremble. They looked absolutely frightened.
Furihata knew that feeling well. After all, he experienced the same thing fifteen years ago.
“There was a cockroach,” Furihata said, out of nowhere.
Akashi looked at him, confused. “A cockroach?”
“Yes.” Furihata nodded, “It was big- bigger than average! It scared us.. right?” He addressed the two women, silently telling them to agree.
The two women blinked like they didn’t expect this turn of events before they nodded enthusiastically, playing along, “Yes!”
“There was a cockroach bigger than average here?” Akashi repeated.
“Yes-”
“This needs immediate attention. Let me contact the building management team-”
“No!” Furihata backtracked, holding Akashi’s hand, which was about to reach for his phone. There was no way Furihata would let another person get scolded by Akashi because of his bullshit, “I mean, not here.. inside. But outside! It flew away now, obviously. But when it suddenly appeared, stuck on the window, it was really scary, almost.. apocalyptic?” He really needed to shut his mouth now because all three of his companions started to look at him like he had grown another head, “Anyways! Look at the time! Let’s go home! Matsumoto-san, Hamada-san, if you’ll excuse us!” He nodded to the women slightly before dragging Akashi away from them and into the parking lot.
“Are you still thinking about the cockroach?” Akashi asked, amused.
“Huh?” Furihata blinked, suddenly alert. He’d been spacing out while looking out the window, “Uh.. no.” He answered sheepishly.
They were currently on their way to Furihata’s apartment, as usual, but Furihata had been distracted, naturally.
Well, after what Matsumoto and Hamada said about him and Akashi and Nijimura, how could he not?
“What are you thinking about then? You’ve been really quiet ever since we got into the car.” Akashi observed, a hint of worry seeping through.
Furihata hummed, “I feel like.. I need to fix something.”
And that was pretty much what Furihata could come up with, at the moment. If he’d been embarrassing Akashi all this time, he needed to be fixed, so to speak. He needed to change something in himself in order to be more worthy, more deserving of Akashi.
He needed to up his game so he didn’t lose to.. Nijimura.
“Something..? Like an error?”
“.. Yeah,”
Furihata knew what Akashi meant was more of a system error, since Furihata worked in tech, but Furihata as a person had an error too, at this time, so that answer wasn’t entirely a lie, he supposed.
Akashi just nodded and didn’t speak again until, “We’re close. Do you want me to-”
“Please drop me off today,” Furihata cut him off, his smile tight.
Akashi’s face fell slightly, just like every time he didn’t get to spend more time with Furihata, and while Furihata ached seeing it, he really wanted to be alone tonight.
Akashi nodded again in understanding, smiling too.
When they finally arrived, Akashi kissed him as soon as he unbuckled his seatbelt.
“I love you,” Akashi murmured against his lips.
It was comforting to know that they were still okay.
For now, at least.
And while there was fear that this might end as soon as Akashi started to have the same thought as Matsumoto and Hamada, Furihata wouldn’t let it stop him from cherishing the present.
“I love you too, very much!” Furihata responded cheerfully.
“Not as much as I love you.” Akashi retorted, half joking.
Furihata chuckled. This guy really never changed.
Once Furihata got out of the car and waved at Akashi until the car was no longer in sight, he clenched his fists in determination.
He wouldn’t lose.
Or so, he thought.
Because as soon as he saw what Nijimura looked like after searching for him on the internet, he started to waver, thinking that he might.