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It is a blessing in disguise that Semi’s bike was stolen. Don’t get him wrong, he got one hell of a scolding from his mum and he’s pretty sure his sister was recording the whole thing with a shit-eating grin behind her phone but if he wasn’t forced to take the bus to school, he never would’ve met Shirabu Kenjirou.
The morning is cold and remnants of last night’s snow sticks on his shoes as he crunches his way to the bus stop. It’s six in the morning and the only person standing there is a boy with caramel hair, earphones in, staring into the distance.
Semi takes one look at the uniform and thinks, Prick.
He doesn’t usually judge a book by its cover but he’s cold and miserable and his bike was stolen because he forgot to lock it and his feet feel like they’ve been sucked by an ice monster so forgive him for the foul mood when he sees someone from a pretentious private school that likes to look down upon public school students just because they can’t afford crumpets and oysters, or whatever the fuck the rich eat.
…
Semi realises where his train of thought has gone down so he takes a moment to simply breathe before he approaches the stop.
The guy is shorter than him by a few centimetres and he glances up when Semi stands next to him. The bottom half of his face is buried in a striped, blue scarf that matches his uniform blazer but the top half is clear as day when he gives Semi a once-over. Then he looks away as if Semi isn’t worth his time.
Whatever. Semi isn’t in the mood to talk anyway. He huddles further into the hoodie beneath his school jacket. The bus comes a few minutes later and they get on in silence. The seats are mostly empty and Semi picks one near the back of the bus. The rival school kid chooses to sit somewhere in the middle and then moves two rows back.
Weirdo.
Semi doesn’t pay much attention again, choosing to play Candy Crush until his stop and to his immense surprise, private school guy also gets off there. Semi is sure that his school isn’t anywhere near that stop so he watches him carefully as they step off the bus. He keeps watching from the corner of his eyes as the guy walks off in the opposite direction, not sparing Semi another glance.
Huh, he thinks and that’s the beginning of that.
~
Semi’s parents won’t buy him a new bike, which- Fair. It was his fault in the first place so it makes sense that he’d have to use his allowance on it, even if his mild addiction to Candy Crush means his money well is usually dry. He starts with deleting the game.
The next step is working out how long exactly it will take for him to be able to afford a new bike and the calculation comes down to…graduation, by which point he might as well try to buy a car.
Tendou points it out on the way to the bus stop after school and Semi groans. “I know! I don’t want to take the bus. I have to get up at five if I want to make it to practice on time.”
“Can’t you borrow Nanami’s bike and have her take the bus instead?” Yamagata suggests. “Her school is closer to your house, right?
“I asked her and she told me to suffer.”
Tendou chokes on his laughter.
Semi would protest more if he hasn’t caught sight of the kid from this morning, standing at the same bus stop Semi is heading towards. This time though, there are more students from Semi’s school around him, making him look even more out of place in a blue-grey blazer among kids wearing navy, military-styled uniforms. His earphones are in again and he’s gotten rid of his scarf. It takes Semi only a moment to confirm his suspicion from this morning: the guy is cute, even from a distance.
“That one,” Yamagata says, following Semi’s line of sight. “I could never figure out why he comes to this stop when there’s one up the street that’s closer to his school.”
“He’s always there?” Semi asks.
Tendou hums in affirmation. “Maybe you can ask him why, Semisemi.”
Semi scrunches his nose. “I don’t care why he’s there.”
“Well, you’re going to be sharing the same bus as him for the foreseeable future because that’s your bus he’s getting onto, isn’t it?”
“Shit.”
Semi sprints off towards where the bus has already arrived, letting a horde of high school students on, Tendou and Yamagata’s laughter following him. When he makes it onto the bus, the seats are all taken so he’s left to stand, along with a few other students. He spies private school boy among the sea of navy, the only person standing alone where others converse with their friends as the bus takes off. He’s staring out the window so Semi doesn’t expect him to suddenly turn and hold Semi’s eyes like he’s issuing a challenge of some sort.
Semi frowns and removes his gaze.
As the bus travels, more and more students get off than passengers who get on. Semi allows the freed seats to be taken by girls and juniors as he slowly starts to shuffle towards the back with the flow of people who move to get off through the back doors and those who get on the front.
Unintentionally, it brings him to where private school guy has found himself a seat and Semi awkwardly stands. If he moves away now, it’d seem like he’s trying to avoid him. If he stays, it’s a bit creepy since he’s been caught staring before. There’s still a good ten minute of the ride left before their stop.
Semi decides to dig around his bag for earphones and pops them into his ears. Throughout the shuffle, the guy has been looking at him and he eyes the other end of Semi’s earphones where it’s not even plugged into anything. It just hangs loosely. When the guy looks up, Semi raises an eyebrow to say, Yeah?
Now it’s the guy’s turn to frown and go back to gazing out the window.
A few minutes later, Semi gets a seat at the very back row and he beelines for it like his life depends on it. When he’s finally seated between two first years, he finds that for some reason, his heart is racing.
~
True to Tendou’s words, private school guy is always there. He gets on the same bus stop and gets off the same bus stop and he never says a word. Every morning, Semi stands a few feet from him, waits in silence until the bus arrives and then stares at the back of his head throughout the journey. Every evening, Semi would rush on and often he won’t get a seat until ten minutes into the ride and he makes sure his eyes are strictly in the opposite direction to wherever the dude is.
He’s not sure why he does it but he feels like he needs to.
They don’t talk, nor do they acknowledge the other’s existence. If Semi thinks about it for too long, he starts getting real uncomfortable and runs the risk of making an even bigger idiot out of himself. So he’s happy to pretend he doesn’t share the ride with someone who has, more or less, piqued his intrigue and he doesn’t think about whether that’s good or bad.
That is, until one morning.
Semi gets on first, scans his bus card and makes his trek to his usual spot in the back. Behind him, the machine beeps, loudly letting the entire bus know that there’s not enough credit in the guy’s IC card. Semi watches him fumble to take out his wallet and talk to the bus driver about topping up. It becomes very apparent that something is wrong when his credit card declines for the third time and the guy looks like he’s about ready to be swallowed up by the earth.
Semi moves on instinct, wallet already in hand. “How much do you need?”
Which is a stupid question to ask because he knows how much. They ride the same route!
The driver lets him pay, slightly annoyed that this has probably put him behind schedule. He takes off before they could even get to the seats so Semi swings himself into the closest row and the guy takes the seat across the aisle.
“Thanks,” he mumbles, face red as a beet.
“No worries,” Semi replies.
He has a ton of thoughts lined up like, I thought you’re rich, and Sorry, I didn’t mean to embarrass you or anything.
What he actually says is, “I’m Semi, third year.”
The guy blinks. Then he says slowly, “I’m Shirabu, second year.”
Semi flashes him a grin and he sees the moment Shirabu’s eyes go wide and face deepen in colour. Then he ducks his head, gaze turning to the window.
His concluding thought is, Cute.
~
The next morning, Shirabu actually looks at Semi when he approaches the stop. He wordlessly sticks out a small paper bag that Semi eyes for a moment too long. He takes it slowly. Peering inside shows him two buns, still warm in his hands.
“It’s for the bus yesterday,” Shirabu says, shoving his hand into the blazer pocket, suddenly finding the other side of the road very interesting. “Mum made them. I hope it’s okay.”
“Of course. You didn’t even have to do this. It was only two hundred yen.”
Shirabu mumbles, “I don’t like being in debt.”
Semi takes in the faint blush across his cheeks and the tiniest hint of a pout. This is probably the most impulsive thing he’s ever done but before he knows it, he’s blurting, “If you wanted to pay me back, your number would have sufficed.”
Shirabu blinks at him then total and utter silence follows for three heartbeats. Semi counts each beat that reverberates through his chest, each beat where Shirabu’s face becomes redder and redder and the cold morning is suddenly feeling like a sweltering summer day as Semi regrets being born.
He clears his throat awkward in an attempt to salvage the situation. “I’m joking.”
Shirabu goes back to glaring at the house across the road. “That’s not the kind of thing you joke about with a stranger.”
“Well, you’re not a complete stranger anymore. We’ve been taking the same bus for, what? Three weeks? Whatever. Thanks for the buns.”
The arrival of the bus saves Semi from a ramble that would further expose him as an idiot.
What the fuck were you thinking? he asks as he steps onto the bus.
I wasn’t, he answers himself as he takes his usual place at the back of the bus. At least, not with my brain.
He tries not to notice that Shirabu places an extra row of seats between them that morning.
~
Shirabu doesn’t give him any more buns but the buns that he got were the best he’s ever had. The dough was fluffier than clouds and the rich flavour of the meat melts in his mouth. Two was not enough but he can’t exactly ask for more. He needs to do something deserving of buns but since that day, Shirabu hasn’t needed to top up his IC card.
So he plots a plan.
It’s not the best plan but it is one.
“I don’t understand,” Tendou says on the walk to the bus stop. “You’re giving him food because he gave you food because you helped him out.”
“Aren’t you over-complicating things?” Yamagata adds. “Just ask him out.”
If only they knew. Semi hasn’t told them anything or alluded to anything of the sort. All he’s said was that he wanted more meat buns and these two suddenly leapt to the conclusion that this is some weird courting ritual. No. That is not what’s happening.
“Yeah, are you sure you want to give him those?” Tendou asks, squinting at the plastic container in Semi’s hand. “Takoyaki doesn’t really scream romance.”
“I don’t want romance! I want buns.”
Both Yamagata and Tendou burst into laughter and drape themselves over Semi, jostling the six octopus balls that he bought from a vendor that they always pass on the way to the bus stop. Semi hears the wrongness of the words as soon as he says it.
“You guys are the worst,” he hisses.
In the distance he sees the bus approaching the stop where the usual crowd of students gather.
He’s immediately released by his friends, only for Tendou to tell him, “Go get your buns, Semisemi!”
Yamagata is still dying from laughter and Semi glares at them both before he leaves the two of them who live within walking distance of their school.
The bus driver gives him a look when she sees the food in his hand and Semi profusely promises that he won’t be eating it on the bus before he purposefully slips between people to get to that one person who’s managed to get himself a seat.
“Here you go,” Semi says, holding out the container.
Shirabu looks at it the way Semi must’ve looked at the paper bag a few days ago. “Why,” he says simply, more a statement than a question.
“They’re really good.”
Shirabu still doesn’t take the container. “You don’t owe me anything.”
Semi rolls his eyes. “It’s called caring for people. Just take it. I bought some for all my friends so I thought I might as well buy some for you too.” Lies. “Unless you don’t like it.”
Shirabu frowns and gingerly takes it. “I eat takoyaki. Thanks.”
Semi smiles triumphantly.
~
The meat buns don’t come. The reality of his plan’s failure hits him two days later when he finally accepts that yeah, it’s not happening. Shirabu notices his sulk when they share a seat, which is a thing that’s been happening for the past two days. Semi would like to say he initiated it but really, it’s Shirabu who followed Semi to the back the next morning and neither said a word for the first ten minutes. Semi is, however, going to take credit for being the one to initiate conversation that day.
“Are you okay?” Shirabu asks.
Semi’s stomach answers with a growl before he can even open his mouth. He laughs it off. “Yeah. Just woke up through my alarm so I didn’t have time for breakfast.”
“So you’re going to play drums on an empty stomach?”
He shrugs. “I can do that.”
Shirabu sighs. He unzips his bag and sticks an arm in, blindly feeling around before pulling out an apple. “Here.”
“I can’t take your lunch. Besides, it’s fine. I can buy myself something at the konbini near my school.”
“I have a bento for lunch. I don’t like apples anyway.”
To be honest, Semi doesn’t either. But it’s slowly getting awkward to refute so he takes it. “Thanks. I’ll eat it when we get off.”
It’s not a meat bun but it does satiate his hunger as he nibbles on it on the walk to school.
~
Semi stops trying to steal food from Shirabu, which he probably shouldn’t have done in the first place.
The looming presence of winter begins to tighten its icy grip as snow thickens on the streets and it keeps snowing throughout the day. Shirabu has started to wear fluffy earmuffs and thick mittens, wrapping his scarf up to his eyes. It’s not until one particularly cold morning that Semi figures out why exactly he goes to school so early. Shirabu has put on a thick, grey-blue puffer jacket emblazoned with characters on the back.
“You play basketball?”
Shirabu nods inside his scarf. Semi did not make him out to be athletic. Shirabu seems too pretty and delicate for it but clearly he doesn’t mind kicking things.
“Holy shit, you have to play in the cold so early.”
Shirabu’s voice comes out muffled. “I like the cold. It’s not that bad once I’m warmed up.”
“Says the one wearing sixteen layers.”
“Not everyone’s heart of ice protects them from the cold, Semi-san,” Shirabu retorts with a pointed look up and down.
It’s true that Semi’s only addition to the uniform is a finger-less glove but he doesn’t mind it so much. He’d sweat buckets as soon as he starts drumming away and having to carry around layers he’d shed is too much of a burden.
Semi waves it off. “What position do you play?”
“Small forward, usually.”
Semi pretends to understand it. He was half-expecting to be told that basketball doesn’t have positions.
“Do you play anything other than drums?” Shirabu asks.
“Guitar. I used to be vocalist but our senpai who started the band graduated so I’ve been filling in drums this year.”
Shirabu nods and with only his eyes visible, it’s difficult to say whether he’s impressed or if he thinks Semi’s a show-off. “Do you perform anywhere?” he asks.
“We’ve been in school festivals for a couple of years but that’s it. I’m the only one who seriously considers a career in music.” Another set of impulsive words shoves its way into Semi’s mind and this time, he thinks about it before he decides to say it. “I’ve got some covers recorded if you want to listen?”
The original thought was actually; Do you want to come see us perform?
That would’ve been way too intense. They only started talking properly a couple of weeks ago.
“Sure,” Shirabu says.
On the bus ride, Semi gives him his phone and Shirabu plus his own earphones in. If Semi spends the entire time trying to nervously scope out his expression then no one has to know.
Shirabu doesn’t give much of a reaction except a few nods as Semi flicks through the few songs he’s recorded over the three years. He’s not sure if that’s a good or a bad thing.
“Is this you singing?” Shirabu asks when he plays a Fall Out Boy cover the band recorded last year.
“Yeah.”
“Wow,” he says quietly.
That’s definitely a good thing. Right?
“Do you plan to study music in university?”
“Nah, my parents want me to do something that will get me a stable job and do music on the side, which is honestly fine with me. They have a point. Plus, if I’m gonna get graded on music, it won’t be fun anymore.”
“I guess it’s the same as basketball for me. I like playing. I don’t want to have to keep winning to make a living.”
“So what will you study then?”
“Medicine.”
“Whoa.” That seems to fit Shirabu far more than a basketball but still, Semi wants to see Shirabu on the field.
He would ask more questions has the bus not arrived at their stop.
It snows that afternoon. More people seem to decide to take the bus and all the seats are already filled so Semi and Shirabu end up standing, as they often do. The place is packed. The floor is squeaky and wet with melted snow and the thick coats everyone wears doesn’t do much for their space situation. To top it all off, the bus is taking thing slow.
Shirabu stands in front of him, closer than they’ve ever needed to before, and honestly, Semi is just surprised it’s taken so long for them to end up like this. One of Shirabu’s foot is between Semi’s.
“Tight squeeze today,” Semi says, just to make things a little less awkward.
Shirabu’s face is contorted in annoyance. He’s lost his scarf and earmuffs but the tip of his nose is still red from the cold. “I should’ve waited for the next bus,” he mutters. “At least there’d be less students around. The ones from your school are so loud and pushy.”
“I’ve been meaning to ask, actually. How come you come to our bus stop?”
“The other stop is in another zone so it costs more.”
“It’s just twenty yen more, right?”
Shirabu gives a look. “That’s eight hundred yen each month and even more for the year.”
Semi tries to phrase this in a sensitive way. “You go to Yuuei Academy. Isn’t it a rich school?”
Shirabu rolls his eyes so hard that Semi knows he’s fucked up. “Not everyone who goes to a private school is rich. Scholarships exist.”
As Semi tries to salvage the situation, the bus slows to a stop so he grabs on tighter to the pole to balance himself. He’s only just opened his mouth to apologise when a departing passenger bumps into Shirabu and all Semi sees is a panicked face before he crashes into him heavily. On instinct Semi grabs hold of him, trying not to fall onto the girl in the seat behind them. He fumbles to right them both on the slippery floor, amidst other passengers who are getting off or moving further along the bus and Shirabu reaches for a straphanger to pull himself off, trying to put some distance between them as he glares at moving people with flushed cheeks.
“Sorry,” he mumbles.
Semi spots a larger, unoccupied spot near the back so he takes Shirabu’s mittened hand and leads them there, away from the busiest part. “Much better.”
It’s not until Shirabu wriggles his hand that Semi even realises that he’s been holding on and he immediately lets go, pretending he meant to all along. “So um, you must be really smart to get into Yuuei on scholarship, and you’re aiming to do med.”
“Probably,” Shirabu replies, peering out the window. “I’m lucky that Mum can help with a lot of my studies.”
This effectively turns the conversation back to safe territory as they talk about university and future careers. Even so, it’s a long ride home.
~
Semi is forced to reconsider Yamagata’s advice: Just ask him out.
Now that he’s no longer in it for meat buns, he starts to think about what he is in for. Company to ease boredom? To talk about true crime shows, which they discover that they’re both into? To judge people together? Or does Semi stick around because he wants something more?
It’s a pretty quick conclusion; yes. He wants something more. Shirabu is cute and blunt and smart and errs slightly on the antisocial side of the spectrum and it’s fucking adorable when strangers get too close to him and he inches towards Semi.
But they go to different schools and are in different years. Would it work?
That’s what he’s thinking about the next morning when he walks to the bus stop, holding an umbrella to shield from the snow. Shirabu waits with his hands over his head, looking downright miserable.
And yet it makes Semi’s heart skip.
He holds half his umbrella over Shirabu. “Forgot your umbrella?”
“I opened too hard and it broke,” he grumbles.
Shirabu’s hair is already damp and his puffy coat is littered with patches of wet spots.
“You’re going to get sick,” Semi tells him.
“It’s fine. The bus will be here soon.”
The sniffling on the ride home is not reassuring.
Sure enough, Shirabu isn’t at the stop the next day, which is a Friday. So over the weekend, Semi worries his mind off. He doesn’t have Shirabu’s number, though he probably should have it by now. They’ve been friends long enough that it won’t be weird asking for it.
He tries searching on Facebook and there are a lot more Shirabus than he thought, none of them the one he wants to find. He eventually gives up.
Seeing him again on Monday morning is like warm milo on a cold day. Semi resists the urge to wrap himself around him. Instead, he smirks.
“You got sick, didn’t you?”
“Shut up.”
Semi laughs and ruffles his hair. He pretends that the faint tint of pink on Shirabu’s cheek is from the cold.
“I don’t even share the bus with you but I just know that watching you two would be like pulling teeth,” Yamagata says. “He says he eats takoyaki, not that he likes it.”
“He’s been sick. He needs to eat what he can.”
Tendou coughs, “Mother hen.”
Semi ignores it and bids his friends goodbye, yet another box of takoyaki in his hands.
When Semi gives it to him, Shirabu looks at the same way he did last time, but even more confused. “Why,” he says again.
“Relax, I’m not pitying you or anything. I just wanted to.”
Shirabu stares at it for a while.
The ride back is quieter than usual. Shirabu is more reserved and Semi worries that maybe he actually hates takoyaki. Then his more rational side argues that he probably has other things going on in his life. He doesn’t seem to be in a mood to talk so Semi stays quiet too. Unlike their silences earlier, this one is more comfortable.
Perhaps it’s too comfortable. What happens when Semi graduates and he doesn’t have to take this bus anymore? What if they lose touch? It’s only been two months since they started riding together but those two months have been so good that Semi hasn’t even thought about buying himself a new bike. He’s looked forward to their trips to and from school so much that his sister has judged him more than usual.
She called him ‘a pining mess’ and he couldn’t even deny it because she’s right.
Maybe he really should ask Shirabu out.
“Semi-san,” Shirabu says, pulling him out of his thoughts. “Do you have any plans for this Valentine’s Day?”
Shirabu isn’t looking at him, which could mean any number of things. It doesn’t necessarily mean he’s asking Semi out, but he suddenly finds himself having difficulty swallowing anyway.
“Um, no,” he manages. “Have you ever seen a lone chopstick on the street that some jerk didn’t put in the bin right?”
Shirabu frowns up at him. “…I guess?”
“That’s me. Absolutely single.”
The frown deepens. “Why couldn’t you just say that?”
He’s nervous, okay? He shrugs. “I was thinking of chopsticks. Anyway, why?”
Shirabu shakes his head. “No, I just overheard those girls over there talking about asking you out.”
Semi follows the subtle tip of the head in the direction of three girls in his school’s uniform. One of them is a shade of red so bright it could put a tomato to shame and the other two are glaring daggers at Shirabu, who looks far too smug.
Ohhh, boy.
Semi shoots an awkward smile.
Thankfully their stop comes first and Semi gets the hell out of there. Stepping into the cold air frees him from the bus he hasn’t realised is so small and stuffy.
“Sorry, I know that was petty,” Shirabu says as soon as they’re outside. He stares down at their feet, making him appear smaller than he really is. “I didn’t want them asking you out first because I want to.”
“Huh?”
Shirabu peers up from between his bangs. He swallows before he repeats, “I wanted to ask you out. You’ll say yes, right?”
Semi’s immediate response would be to say yes because he’s so whipped that he’ll probably say yes to anything Shirabu asks, murder included. But he takes a moment to comprehend the question, and the assumption of his answer and he thinks to himself, Eita, you obvious fuck.
“Yes,” he says. “Of course I’ll say yes. You didn’t have to worry about those girls, Shirabu.”
“I wasn’t worried. I just wanted to save her from having her heart broken.”
It sounds very much like an excuse but Semi knows better than to point it out. He just grins. “Well, if we’re going out on Valentine’s Day then you gotta give me your number so we can organise it.”
Shirabu pulls out a piece of paper from his coat pocket and gives it to Semi. On it is a number already written out in scratchy blue ink and a name; Shirabu Kenjirou.
“Call me so I get your number too,” Shirabu orders.
Semi salutes. “You’re going to get so sick of me that you’ll kick me off the bus.”
Shirabu smiles a little bit as he starts to turn around. “See you, Semi-san.”
“See you tomorrow, Kenjirou!”
Semi happily crunches through the leftover snow as he thanks the asshole who stole his bike.