Ñ

“Yeah, and I also figured my shit out before you so you’re not the one to talk.” Gabi stuck his tongue out at Sebas, hoping that the other man would see. He was aware that it was so fast but he also knew he could tell that Luca was different than ass his other boyfriends. “Do you really think I’d trust myself with kids right now? You won’t even trust me being around peanut butter probably.” The younger man pointed out with a small shrug. “You know that I always am.”

Sebas stiffened, realizing he hadn’t kept his friend up to date with his own relationship life. He slipped one hand from the wheel to rub his neck nervously, thinking about how much trouble he got in for not speaking about things at the proper time. “Yeah, about that...” he started, reminiscing the last time he’d used those words. “I might actually... have figured it out?” he trailed off, waiting for the other’s reaction.

Daichi frowned a little briefly as he rested his cheek against the side of Sebas’ head, wondering why he’d be worried. He conceded, let Sebas have this–not that he had any complaints about this other than maybe wishing his winter coat were less restricting. Perhaps there had been a slight miscommunication when he’d used the word ‘bed’ without actually intending to imply anything sexual, but he hadn’t thought that they’d be doing any of that right now anyway, so he was a little confused by what Sebas meant by ‘I won’t do anything.’ He left it alone; it wasn’t important since it seemed like they were on the same page anyway.

He couldn’t help but laugh, burying his own face in Sebas’ shoulder as far as this position allowed him to. “Please, don’t need to think about you cuddle with coach.” He tightened his own arms around Sebas’ shoulders in response to the squeeze of his waist. He wished they didn’t have to drive; that they could magically be transported home and remain like this–comfortable, warm, happy. His skin was warm when Sebas touched his face and he even leaned his cheek in to the touch against his jaw. He didn’t cease smiling, his eyes appearing narrower, full of fondness and mirth at having Sebas here with him. “I’m okay. I have you,” he said, drawing his arms back just enough that he was able to place his hands on either side of Sebas’ jaw. “It was okay on flight because is mostly Japanese, but only here in airport people get really, like, scary.” He couldn’t help but go in for another quick peck, having missed his partner way too much this time around. “Maybe go home now? I probably smell bad,” he said with a chuckle.

Sebas chuckled along with Daichi as the image of their coach being bear-hugged crossed his mind. “Don’t worry, no need to be jealous, as if you’d ever have competition.” he joked, fondness etched into his features. His eyes drank in how his boyfriend radiated happiness and content, leaning into his touches and grinning wider than he’d seen in a while. Even if he’d tried to hide it, it had been obvious something hadn’t been quite right with Dai. Looking at him now, however, Sebas saw none of that clouded gaze that had been present for the past weeks, and it felt as if a weight he hadn’t known he’d been carrying had been lifted off his shoulders. His Dai was back, in more ways than one.

As the cheesy words registered, Sebas couldn’t help but laugh. “Wow, cariño, that is the corniest line you’ve ever said to me. How many rom-coms did they play on your flight?” he teased, but the blush still sat high on his cheeks, and the affection shone through his eyes. This was new, as Dai rarely spoke about them so candidly, and the significance of the words didn’t escape Sebas, who turned his head to press a loving kiss to the palm of the younger’s hand. 

“I’m very sure of him, Sebas. God, I love him so much I feel like bursting with it.” Gabi replies softly because he knew that it was ridiculously fast but he really knew what he wanted. And that was Luca. “I met him in November, we got together last December. He asked me to move in not long after. I usually stay over at his apartment to take care of our baby kitties but I still have my apartment. I haven’t formally moved in.”

Daichi immediately melted, felt every muscle in his being relax for the first time since boarding the flight. He didn’t notice when his eyes slid shut as he just let himself embrace the comfort of coming home like he’d never known it before. When he felt Sebas sigh against his lips, his own twitched up into a smile. This alone made every minute of the past fourteen hours in commute and in waiting seem worthwhile.

He parted his lips once his boyfriend pulled away, but before he could make any other sounds of protest, he let out a squeak as he was suddenly being maneuvered out of his seat, prompting a light laugh to bubble out of him as he flung his arms out to hold on to something for leverage–this ended up being Sebas’ shoulders. The tone of Sebas’ voice, however, caused the newfound playful mood take a backseat for a moment, replaced by a longing look in Daichi’s eyes as he allowed his boyfriend to have this. “I miss you too,” he said and planted a quick peck on those lips that had emitted that husky sound. “But maybe, we go home sooner so we can do this on bed?” he suggested. He brought a hand up to adoringly run his fingers through the soft curls of Sebas’ hair, not actually making any move to get out of his lap yet. “Sorry you had to wake up early to meet me.” It wasn’t that early, but he knew full well how much Sebas enjoyed sleeping in, so he’d felt guilty about asking him to come pick him up.

After he had him right where he wanted him, Sebas buried his face against the juncture of Dai’s neck, breathing in deeply. “I know, I know, don’t worry.” He reassured the other against his skin, as he had no further intentions beyond basking in the closeness, the contact. They’d been apart for much longer lengths of time than this, but this time, the deprivation felt more severe. “I won’t do anything, just let me have this for a while.” he bargained, burrowing further against him as his partner’s fingers drew shivers down his spine with every pass down his scalp. 

The sudden action took Daichi by surprise; he thought they’d just exchange one good embrace and then head out to wherever Sebas had parked his car, but instead he now had an arm around him–though he wasn’t complaining. It felt comforting and was welcome at the moment, put him more at ease as they rolled his suitcases out. “Aw, I miss Coffee. She didn’t forget who I am?” he asked, mostly as a joke, his face now a lot happier looking at the mention of his cat. “I hope she behave good. They both were meowing a lot at each other when you went to Euros. It was little noisy.”

He kept close despite having the opportunity to walk ahead and create some distance between them. A big part of him wanted to reach over and take Sebas’ hand, but that could wait until they were in the car, as could the kiss that he hoped he was going to get once they were alone. He usually loved being in Japan more than being here, but this was the first time he’d wanted to go back so badly. It must have had something to do with the man walking beside him right now, who’d only been there as a friend up until this point. Daichi realized that this was his first time being away since the two of them had gotten together. He also, somewhat belatedly, realized that they’d passed their one month anniversary while he was in South Korea at competition. It was to be expected, seeing how focused he had been at the time, but he felt a little bad about that and wondered if Sebas had hoped that he would’ve brought it up at some point. He waited until he was seated in the passenger’s seat, with both suitcases packed away in the back, and Sebas had gotten in on his own side. Then he reached over to rest his hand on top of Sebas’ and sought out his eyes. There was a certain spark in his own eyes as he leaned closer, not enough to cover the distance between them but hopefully enough to send his message across.

Sebas huffed out a laugh, the tension in his shoulders lessening slightly as he could practically hear the concert Dai spoke about, having been the unlucky audience of it for a couple days now. “Oh, tell me about it, the symphony hasn’t stopped all weekend. And no, judging by the crescendos in meows whenever you skated, I suspect she hasn’t forgotten you.” he affirmed, steering them towards the parking lot. He tried to keep their conversation light and meaningless, telling him about their cats’ shenanigans and his own doings during his time away, hoping to soothe his partner’s mind as they made their way to the parking lot. 

Any time someone mentioned Luca to Gabi, he would end up taking all the time just to talk about his boyfriend. If heart-eyes could happen in real life, that’s exactly what he would look like right now. “He is. He will be the person I’m going to marry, I’m sure of it. Luca told me he would want to marry me too.” The Spaniard said softly, a fond expression on his face. “I don’t know how I even managed to grab his attention. I’m still in shock every time I wake up and he’s right beside me.”

“It’s your job because Sandra told you to and she’s kill you if anything happened to me.” Gabi pointed out though there was a small smile on his face at that. Sebas and his family was Gabi’s true family. “Luca is an audiologist. He’s also very handsome. And smart. And so very patient, I could cry.” And just like that. Gabi was slowly getting back to himself. “He’s not like the other boyfriends I’ve had. He doesn’t think I’m too much. Tells me I’ll never be too much.”

Gabi held onto Sebas tightly and kept close, not at all caring that he was basically clinging to the other man even though it’s been a while since they had even been this close. He rest his forehead on the cool window when they got in the car, staring out the window until Sebas spoke up. “Nah, it’s okay. Just brings up very bad memories being there. I’m normally okay when I visit because Luca is there and I’m not in a hospital room.” He explained, turning on his seat to face the other Spaniard. “Thanks for picking me up, Sebas.”

Daichi’s heart skipped a beat and he was immediately filled with a pleasant warmth upon reading the text with the heartful emojis. He picked up his pace, still lugging behind an oversized suitcase and a smaller carry-on one, also eager to see his boyfriend as soon as possible. It didn’t take long to spot him, and Dai immediately made a beeline for him. He wanted to get out of here, and he wanted to shower, and he wanted to sleep, but more than anything, upon hearing the first words leave Sebas’ mouth, he wanted to…

His hand let go of the joint suitcase handles and he went in for an embrace, craving the closeness after having been apart for almost two weeks now. His arms went around Sebas’ midsection and he pressed his face into the shoulder that felt way more comfortable than the travel pillow that had left his neck feeling stiff. From having picked up his pace further at the very last moment, the momentum seemed to dislodge Sebas’ steady upright balance for a brief moment. Daichi squeezed him, as though for affirmation that he was actually there. “Flight okay, but right now people are very, like… you know.” He pulled back a little to make a hand gesture, as though it would help him find the words he was seeking. His hand then came up to remove the mask from his face, scrunching it up to fit into his coat pocket. “I’m tired. Thank you for coming here for me.” He normally avoided shows of affection in public spaces, but at the moment he didn’t particularly care. 

Sebas felt the air leave his lungs as Dai nearly bowled him over, pushing him to take a couple steps back to regain his balance. He didn’t waste time to wrap strong arms around the other, shoving his surprise about the pda for another time and instead focusing on providing the Japanese the comfort he clearly needed. They swayed a bit, Sebas closing his eyes and breathing in, the recycled airplane air filling his nostrils as he inhaled against the other’s hair, but under that the familiar honey shampoo still clung to the strands, and Sebas smiled. His boy was back.