Work Text:
HOSHINA: [soothing] Welcome to Hoshina Soshiro’s Hoshi Night Nippon. Today we have with us a guest who seems to be recurrin’ a lot these days.
NARUMI: I basically work here for free at this point.
HOSHINA: Who knows? Our loyal listeners might find this program renamed ta Hoshina and Narumi Night soon. Okay, it’s 9 p.m. now, clear skies outside with a chance of rain. From the studio we can see those clouds gatherin’. We’ll be keepin’ ya company all the way until midnight, for the next three hours, that is—unless Narumin needs ta leave, after which it’ll just be me—
NARUMI: [casually] Don’t think so. I’ll be free all the way, so you folks will be blessed with my presence. So will Sou.
[pause]
NARUMI: What the hell’s that expression supposed to mean?
[pause. Tapping sounds from a phone, likely Narumi’s.]
NARUMI: [grouchy] Hey! I see all those messages coming in, you listeners. Okay, I’ve changed my mind, I quit, I’m not doing this. You lot. [sighs] Well, Hoshina, what have you been up to? When you’re not doing this, that is.
HOSHINA: Well, I’ve been playin’ this game that’s goin’ around right now, Kaiju Slayers. I’m not a huge gamer, I know you are—
NARUMI: OH! [rifling through bag]
HOSHINA: So ya do recognize it. Just to give the listeners a quick summary, Kaiju Slayers follows the main character, you, as ya try ta climb the ranks of the Defense Force. There’s some story elements, but it’s mostly an MMORPG. Oh, Narumin has already taken out his Switch—
NARUMI: [furious tapping noises, tinny gunshots] Yeah, look at that. What level are you at right now? Let me guess, somewhere in the sixties. I’m eighty-two.
HOSHINA: [teasing] A hundred and one.
NARUMI: You—urgh—[huffing]. Yes, for the gamers out there, Kaiju Slayers has blown up recently. Picking up where Sou left off, it’s an MMORPG that’s received acclaim for its setting, combat mechanics, design, soundtrack; you name it, they got it. It’s got guilds called “divisions”, and within each division there’s a captain, a vice-captain, and other roles you can take on. Otherwise, you can choose to be an ordinary soldier, and join your division to fight randomly appearing kaiju whenever they spawn in various parts of the map. Personal review: very beginner-friendly, top-tier visuals, super engaging, I spent half a day hooked to it when I first got it.
HOSHINA: Narumin was spamming me about it. Drop your ID, won’t ya?
NARUMI: [distracted] Hang on, I need to take this kill. [tinny slashing noises, gunfire] Ah, done. That one was easy. Sou, did you know, the Third Div keeps entering the Tokyo area to steal my kills. What the hell’s up with that?
HOSHINA: [contemplative] Do they?
NARUMI: Yeah, it’s so frustrating. Like, the kaiju will appear, and it’s like they teleport there or something. The Third’s captain has a specialty for firing from incredibly far away, and the Vice is faster than me. And I have one of the highest speeds in the whole server! I am out for the Third Div Vice-Captain’s blood, actually—they stole my miniature-sized kaiju-slaying record! Holy sh—mackles, when I find you, when I catch you—
HOSHINA: Hmm. So you’re First Div?
NARUMI: Yes. The d—the captain of the First Div, as a matter of fact. So I am absolutely not letting this slide.
HOSHINA: [teasing] Good luck with that. Maybe I can help ya. Drop your ID, go on. Later, of course.
NARUMI: Yeah, yeah.
HOSHINA: For all the folks at home, feel free to share yer experience with Kaiju Slayers with us. Is it worth the hype? Review outta five? For now, we’re gettin’ a little sidetracked, so here’s Half Asleep by Lamp.
The song plays, and Narumi takes off his headphones, exhales. Across from him, Hoshina does the same, then eyes Narumi’s Switch. Narumi is in the middle of a level, and he hates how compelling Hoshina’s gaze is. He grumbles and pauses his game to give Hoshina his ID. Hoshina examines his profile for a long time.
“001.gladio1us,” he says. “So that is you.”
“Were you stalking me or something?” Narumi exclaims.
“Wouldn’t you like to know.”
“So you were! C’mon, fair trade, how about yours?”
“That’s a secret,” Hoshina says. His eyes crinkle at the corners. He’s plotting something for sure.
“Surely it’s not that big of a secret,” Narumi prods.
“Nah, you’ll figure it out soon.”
“At least tell me the Division.”
Hoshina presses his lips together and furrows his brows. Damn him, he even looks cute when his face is scrunched up, a sliver of his deep purple eyes exposed, his curved, expressive eyebrows, one more raised than the other, his pink, downturned lips.
It’s just casual observing. The way one scans the street. You know, that way. Yeah. But it’s true, objectively, that Hoshina is adorable and beautiful. The listeners all say that when they watch his interviews. It’s not just him! It’s a fact!
Narumi’s heart gallops and it’s so loud he presses his hands over his chest, as if the troublesome beating can be silenced, which makes Hoshina think he has chest pains. They spend a minute distracted by that, Narumi coming up with more and more absurd reasons why he was clutching his chest like he wanted to tear his heart out and eat it. Hoshina’s throwing him off course again, dammit.
“Aren’t you going to tell me what Div you’re in?”
“No can do,” Hoshina concludes. “It’s more fun that way.”
Narumi’s strange affection and goodwill evaporate.
“What’s more fun?” he asks. Narumi’s going to have to spend hours stalking Kaiju Slayers’ profiles to find him. What’s with the secrecy?
“You’ll find out soon,” Hoshina says in lieu of a reply. “I’m not First Div, though.”
That disappoints him. Before Narumi can press Hoshina further, he puts on the headphones again and mouths: song ending, three, two, one. Narumi scrambles to get his headphones on.
“And that was Half Asleep by Lamp…”
It’s one a.m. when they’re done packing up. A windy drizzle enshrouds the city. The streets steam, and Narumi can barely make out the path forward. The uninterrupted rainfall crashes on pavement like a tide on the shore, wipes out all other sound. He shivers and rubs his neck, but no warmth’s to be found there either. He and Hoshina share Hoshina’s umbrella. Only one of them was responsible enough to remember bringing it. Beside him, Hoshina ambles, unfazed, close enough that the umbrella covers them both.
Hoshina runs cold, but nothing’s chillier than Narumi right now. He tries to be subtle about sidling closer. Not invasively. He’s just cold. His stomach flips at the proximity, and he leans away. His face feels hot. He’s twenty-five, for god’s sake, not a flustered teenager. The rain patters on the umbrella and forms a luminescent droplet curtain around them, leaving them dry, unscathed.
No, there’s a patch of water on Hoshina’s shoulder—he leaned the umbrella away from himself, more over Narumi. Is he not focusing or what?
Clouds block the moon and stars, and all is dark. Nothing is watching them, not even streetlights. Narumi’s teeth clatter, and he tries to hold it in, but his arms and legs tremble like tiny earthquakes.
Hoshina turns to him, and slips of light catch on his expression, eyes open, lips parted.
Narumin, he mouths, or Narumi thinks he says.
He might be delirious from the cold. The world moves in slow motion as Hoshina’s hand rises in front of him.
Your shoulder’s wet, you fool.
The rain thickens into a torrent, so loud Narumi doesn’t know if he’s talking or not. His teeth clack together.
Hoshina’s smiling now, as he always does when he’s plotting. When he knows something. It’s different, warmer, when he laughs.
He hovers a jacketed arm over Narumi’s back, and Narumi, before his brain cells catch up to him, pulls it around his shoulders. By the time he realises what he’s done, they’ve walked a fair distance, and he likes the warmth more than he should. Hoshina grins and traces circles on Narumi’s shoulder with his thumb. You’re burning, he mouths.
Whatever. At least Hoshina isn’t wet anymore, with how close they’re walking.
Hoshina hums. Trapped in the frigid, howling wind, the only things Narumi’s ears can pick up are his crystalline notes, sweet as melted candy from the dollar store. They walk the rest of the way to Narumi’s one-room apartment with Hoshina’s arm around his back.
The next morning, Narumi flops out of bed feeling like he’s on fire, and exhausts enough tissue packs to make a pathetic mound of mucus and tissue.
cant come in tonight, he texts Hoshina. Sick
no problem, Hoshina replies. rest well <3
He likes how Hoshina says it like that. They’ve been friends for years, ever since Hoshina bought a coffee where he worked as a bartender and they argued for an entire afternoon and then Hoshina said, “Your voice is rich, expressive, light on the ears,” or whatever it was, “come work at my radio station.” Narumi stopped smelling like coffee soon after that, which Hoshina said he kinda missed, because being the workaholic he is, he loves coffee. He may or may not be Narumi’s best friend, because there aren’t that many people who like Narumi that much. Hoshina says it’s because he’s very “himself”, which is great. Despite the many quarrels, big or small, Hoshina’s always the first to ask him what’s up if he looks gloomy, the first to partake in his silly tangents and match his wavelength—which is why their radio convos tend to spiral and the listeners comment that they should be a podcast instead—and the first, always, to lend a hand when he’s down. He understands pride well, and his help tends to include teasing to cushion it. But times like this, when he’s direct, Narumi finds he doesn’t mind.
He pulls himself out of bed, mustering enough strength to overcome his every painful movement, and takes some medicine, then crashes on the couch. When he comes to, it’s afternoon and he feels somewhat better, so he boots up Kaiju Slayers. He trolls some of his recruits and fights players who want to become the next Captain—trounces them, by the way. Just as he’s about to land the decisive strike on his lagging sparring partner, the neutralization alarm rings, and an announcement flashes in the server chat.
FORTITUDE 7.8 KAIJU SPOTTED IN HARAJUKU. FORTITUDE 7.8 KAIJU SPOTTED IN HARAJUKU.
Now here’s an opportunity. The thrill of a competition shatters his stupor.
He checks the Third Division’s online status. The Captain is offline, but that despicable Vice-Captain is already moving towards the site. He wastes no time in assembling his Division and climbs into the helicopter cockpit himself, turning the speed up full throttle. If this were real life, someone would have fallen out of the helicopter by now. As soon as his foot glimpses the border of the designated kaiju zone, he leaps from the helicopter and propels himself using game physics towards the hulking, ugly kaiju.
This one looks as if the collective fear of acne had a solid form. Bulbous lumps coat its body, which burst when scratched and splatter viscous goo all over the residential blocks. Behind it, the Vice-Captain, a black blur, leaps from building to building, trying to dodge the kaiju’s electrical attacks.
Narumi equips his bayonet and swings towards the kaiju, reading its signals. It’s about to lunge left, so he flings himself right and raises his blade, before electricity explodes in his face and his screen wobbles like he took critical damage. That can’t be right, nothing’s here. Not the kaiju. The screen tinges red, and his character shudders all over. His status: health draining, and afflicted with electricity.
Shit, it’s an inorganic threat.
He forces his character up again. Holy shit, everything’s down. He’s got tears all over his body, and the electricity status effect is frying his nerves. He won’t be able to use the RT-0001 lens. He takes too long to stand, his cooldown extended by his injuries, and the kaiju knocks him down again. No, no, no, not here. Where’s the Vice-Captain now? Isn’t he here? Shit, he doesn’t want to ask for help, but if he dies that would be even more embarrassing. He’s the No. 1 player, the title holder for most of the leaderboards—damn the Third Division for the few leaderboards they stole—and he has not died since he became Captain. Only others in the kaiju zone will see his message, anyway.
001.gladio1us [1st Division Captain]: HELP
hsn_ssr [3rd Division Vice-Captain]: where?
collapsed gondam store, he mashes. Perhaps he made the Vice-Captain out to be too nasty. In fact, the Vice-Captain may not even recognise they have a rivalry. It’s only Narumi setting a record and fuming a few days later when it’s wiped out, and he’s never talked to the Vice-Captain. He’d caught them lurking on the First Division player catalogue before, though. Otherwise, the Vice-Captain is a kind, helpful soul. A kind soul who is taking a long damn time to get here.
Looks like he’ll have to handle it on his own for a while longer. It’s nothing he can’t do. He’s resilient, okay? Game or reality, sometimes things just don’t work out, and you gotta keep going, prove all the haters wrong, impress them with your overwhelming skill. Narumi pulls out a medkit from the depths of his inventory and heals himself until he can stand. His fucking calves need to stop bleeding. The ground trembles under the kaiju’s stomping. He’s fortunate to have all this rubble.
He brushes the debris aside and stands in the sunlight. The kaiju brandishes its rows of sharklike teeth—hey, that’s just like one of Hoshina’s interns—and roars at him. He’s in no state to carry his bayonet, but he drags it anyway, and watches more muscle tears bloom on his chest and limbs. Poor guy, this character’s going through it. He promises he’ll take care of himself, but after this battle, just this one. The blade scrapes the ground behind him. He lifts it, and when he does his screen blurs, but he aims the barrel still. His hands shake. He can do this.
His sweaty hands slip on the button, and he accidentally unequips his bayonet. Fuck. in real life, he’s sitting straight as if someone poured freezing water all over him. Hoshina would marvel at his posture, because he’s always pointing out Narumi’s prawn back at the studio. When did battling this single kaiju develop into so much stress? The kaiju’s shadow looms over him, and its noxious breath brushes his skin, re-afflicting him with electricity status—not that it’ll stop the kaiju from eating him. Goddamnit!
He will not turn away and crawl, even if he dies as pathetically as a worm. He keeps his character’s vision trained on the kaiju’s unhinging jaw.
Blades whoosh through the air, flying closer and closer.
The kaiju’s head doubles back, hit by whiplash, and a slicing salvo slashes the lumpy body into a thousand flying bits. It’s raining guts, and the sky’s all clear now. The Third Division Vice-Captain hops down beside him, and damn, he didn’t realise they were there.
Nice work, he says, and grudgingly adds, Thanks.
hsn_ssr [3rd Division Vice-Captain]: you weren’t too bad yourself :)
Bullshit. He did nothing. He grouches. A familiar helplessness slinks over him at the false praise.
hsn_ssr [3rd Division Vice-Captain]: why don’t we do some joint training? Since your division’s mostly online, same for mine
hsn_ssr [3rd Division Vice-Captain]: you’re gonna need it to beat my mini-sized kaiju record
Seriously—!
001.gladio1us [1st Division Captain]: so u ARE doing that on purpose
001.gladio1us [1st Division Captain]: just u wait im telling u. im getting it back
hsn_ssr [3rd Division Vice-Captain]: or what?
001.gladio1us [1st Division Captain]: or uh
001.gladio1us [1st Division Captain]: u fail all ur stamina checks and fall off the setagaya obstacle course
001.gladio1us [1st Division Captain]: which means ur unable to farm mats
001.gladio1us [1st Division Captain]: yes u should stop farming for a bit!
001.gladio1us [1st Division Captain]: go take a break!! gaming for too long isnt healthy yknow
hsn_ssr [3rd Division Vice-Captain]: gladiolus, you’ve been online for seven hours
The nickname dumbfounds him, but it’s cute.
001.gladio1us [1st Division Captain]: i dont have a short nickname for you.
hsn_ssr [3rd Division Vice-Captain]: :) take care of yourself, go get some water
001.gladio1us [1st Division Captain]: ok
He puts down the console for the first time in hours. His body aches from lying in the same position too long, and he yawns. He feels stiff, a dried, dead, crispy seaweed. Cool water courses through his mouth and throat like a great wellspring of life. Even his fever clears a little. Now that he’s up, he ought to check his temperature.
He measures it: 38.6. Maybe that’s why he messed up, yeah, too frenzied to read the kaiju report. The Vice-Captain needs to wait a little longer, because he’s going to take his medicine.
When Narumi returns to his console, he’s greeted by a string of messages:
hsn_ssr [3rd Division Vice-Captain]: that’s good
hsn_ssr [3rd Division Vice-Captain]: actually we can’t do the joint training, my work is starting soon
hsn_ssr [3rd Division Vice-Captain]: but rest well. <3
hsn_ssr [3rd Division Vice-Captain]: you’re interesting, i like ya
hsn_ssr [3rd Division Vice-Captain]: don’t die before you beat my record
Plain as day, that’s a challenge. Something about those messages feels familiar, but he can’t quite put his finger on it. He feels better now, so he spends some time farming the mini-sized kaiju to get some practice. The Vice-Captain, true to their word, is offline. Eventually, he yawns enough times that he puts down the console and lies loose-limbed on his couch, in inertia, before Hoshina texts him.
sou (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻: how ya feeling
better, he texts back, and adds a thumbs-up. Still can’t beat the third div vc’s record tho
sou (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻: LMAO
sou (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻: you can do it
sou (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻: after you’ve beaten him so many times, he’s probably taken a shine to you
how do u know theyre a he huh, he types, and shouldnt it be the other way around?? why would they like me more?
He knows by instinct that Hoshina is smiling his pink, close-lipped, asymmetrical, goofy grin behind that screen, the one with the snaggletooth. The expression is so vivid in his mind that it burns him. That guy is always hiding secrets from him. Never anything important, because Hoshina knows where to draw the line—but just look at him! Isn’t he always plotting something? Damn Narumi for thinking his devious face is—ugh—handsome. Beautiful.
Not this again. He’s in deep. He should not be thinking about this right now.
gut feeling ;), Hoshina replies. gotta prep for HNN, rest well, see u
Narumi flips on the sofa and buries his face in a pillow. It’s soft and smells of cypress. A lot of his things smell like cypress lately. Come to think of it, he’s been unconsciously buying cypress-scented products since Hoshina lent him his sweater. Narumi wore it for longer than he needed to, and the cypress fragrance must have hypnotized him.
His face heats up. This pesky fever.
It’s an accident when he finds out. He and Hoshina finished their lunch together and returned to the studio. They’re starting a podcast for real this time, and so Narumi has a job that he needs to record episodes for and sit down at a desk for. It instills in him an unfamiliar sense of responsibility. He gets distracted in no time and leans into Hoshina’s side half-asleep, while between them both the only responsible person continues typing on his laptop. It’s a warm, dreamy bath, but he hauls himself up when Hoshina forces them both to stop for a water break—which is the reason Hoshina will live till ninety and Narumi’s bones will break at sixty. When he returns to the studio, he catches Hoshina on his laptop, farming Kaiju Slayers. That’s not a surprise, and Narumi seizes the chance to tiptoe up to him and peer over his shoulder. He can be quiet when he wants to! It’s true!
Hoshina, with exaggerated slowness, places the console on the table and turns to Narumi. “Narumin,” he greets, “see somethin’ ya like?”
“You’re the Vice-Captain,” he says.
“Sure I am,” Hoshina replies.
“What the hell! Why didn’t you tell me? Wait—all those times—” he sputters. “All those—assists! And the messages—! Didn’t they look like—?”
Hoshina’s bright eyes curve. He reaches out a hand to cup Narumi’s shoulder. “Like?”
“Don’t make me say it, you fool,” Narumi warns.
“No, no, I want to hear it.”
Hoshina’s snaggletooth pokes out. His hand slides up Narumi’s neck, leaving burning trails, and rests tender on his cheek. Narumi’s on fire. He doesn’t know how he’s still standing. Hey, he can’t get more embarrassing than this, which is great! And in front of the person who loves to fluster him the most.
“Like you’re—flirting with me or something, dammit!”
Hoshina murmurs under his breath and stands up.
“Hey, you know people can misinterpret that kind of thing! Like me, y’know? You’re like, not bad and all, really, really stunning—I mean, what the fuck, why did I say that—like average, I guess, or a bit better than average, but you don’t get to play with me like that—” Narumi’s rambling. He’s kinda pissed, but it’s funny when he thinks about it. Quite cute, too.
Hoshina’s face is so close he can see the guy’s perfect eyelashes and the slope of his eyes and nose. Hoshina grabs his hands. “There wasn’t any playin’,” he admits. “I’m awkward. My apologies ‘bout that. Is this okay?”
The air between their mouths is thick as honey, hot with shared breath. Narumi nods.
Hoshina’s lips are soft, and he tastes like breath mints tinged with coffee. He kisses with a steady pressure just like him, never showy but never pulling away. Narumi’s glad he has a few centimetres on Hoshina, because his arms wrap around Narumi’s back and Narumi holds his waist to steady him, which he’s not complaining about. He doesn’t know who pulled away first, but he’d be surprised if it were him. Hoshina grins at him. Narumi cannot drag his eyes from those pink lips. All at once he’s aware of how chapped his own lips are.
“You like me,” Narumi confirms. Saying it floors him.
“Sure I do,” Hoshina says, like he always does, like it’s a certainty, like his entire presence is a certainty Narumi can count on. Narumi’s infuriating best friend stands bathed in the afternoon light shattering on his face, cozy in his cypress-scented sweater, and waits for him. Narumi can’t muster words, so he kisses Hoshina again, and this time gets that candy laugh tinkling through his fingertips, down to his toes.
“I’m gonna hazard a guess and say that’s a yes,” Hoshina says.
“Fuck you,” Narumi says halfheartedly instead of the obvious answer. When Hoshina’s eyes darken, he hates how he can tell what Hoshina wants to say. “You’re not making that joke,” he says. “I know you won’t, you’re too cultured for that.”
Hoshina sits down and closes Kaiju Slayers. His player character was dying over and over for the past few minutes while he was busy kissing Narumi. “We’ve got a show ta make,” he says. “Name ideas?”
“Just call it that one thing you always say at the beginning of all the Hoshi Night sessions,” Narumi suggests.
“What, Hoshina and Narumi Night?”
“I dunno, it’s a bit on the nose. A mouthful too. But not bad.”
“Okay, that’s that.” Hoshina types into his computer. Narumi badly wants this to be over so he can convince Hoshina to kiss him again, but when Hoshina’s focused, there’s no snapping him out of it. Work is work, after all.
When they’re done, it’s midnight, and Narumi realises he’s forgotten his umbrella again. This time, he doesn’t have to shuffle closer, nor does Hoshina need to get wet to keep Narumi dry. Their entwined arms over each other’s backs huddle them close enough to be one body. Hoshina kisses him at the door to his apartment, and he has no experience with this kind of thing, but he could swear it’s one hell of a warm night.