It was a Sunday when Taiga got a text from his manager.
It wasn’t that interesting, he gets texts from his manager all the time. TV appearances, studio recordings, rehearsal time changes, and whatnot. Most of the texts were mostly about work and his schedule for the next few days, and this is how the text started at first. Taiga sighs and reads it, but what was at the end of the text that intrigued him.
Kyomoto-san, I noticed that you hadn’t been yourself lately. One of the producers for an upcoming reality TV dating show had reached out to me hoping that you could audition for it. I’ve attached a file that describes the premise of the show, as well as the complete list of the crew working on it. Please let me know if you are interested so I can contact the casting director to meet with you.
*
“A reality TV dating show?” Taiga asks his manager the next day, scoffing at the silly premise.
Taiga had spent the night before reading the file his manager sent. The show, titled “We Got Married!”, was about 2 celebrities pretending to be a couple, living together for 1 month and completing challenges together weekly. Taiga thought it was corny.
His manager shrugged, “One of the producers reached out to me, and the premise looked interesting. I thought you’d be interested.”
Taiga sighs, has he been this obvious?
His manager pats him on the back, “You don’t have to agree to it, I just thought I’d ask. You haven’t been the same since you and Maika-san broke up, you know.”
In truth, Taiga hasn’t been the same in a long, long time. His music has been lacklustre and the songs he’d been writing had been mediocre at best, but no one seemed to notice until very recently when he and his girlfriend broke up.
“I’ll think about it,” Taiga tells his manager. He appreciates that he worries but really, a reality TV dating show? Taiga doesn’t know how to feel about it but takes a mental note.
Taiga is an artist, one of Japan’s biggest. He’s been singing since he was 5 and was discovered at the age of 12, after a video of him singing one of his original songs went viral. By his early 20s, he had released 5 critically acclaimed albums and had performed in the country’s biggest stadiums. Now at the age of 28, he is known to be one of Japan’s greatest singers/songwriters.
But despite his career success, his love life had been the exact opposite. He’s had several relationships before, but they always end up failing. His most recent relationship with a fellow singer, Maika, had been going steady. He thought he had been a good boyfriend, a great boyfriend even, tabloids were saying that they were going to get married soon, but one day, Maika called it quits. Taiga asked her why, and she said that she was sick of being second in his life and that she felt like he never really truly loved him. They dated for a year before she broke things off.
What’s worse is that she went on Instagram Live and blasted him, telling the entire world about how he was in the relationship. It got so bad that Taiga had to stop appearing in music shows for a while, but thankfully the buzz around him died down pretty quickly and he was able to go back to work normally.
Since then, he’d been closed off. His previous relationship had traumatised him so much that he had shut himself out. It had been showing in his recent releases and performances, even though he thought he’d been hiding it pretty well.
Taiga basically drowns himself in work these days, and on days he isn’t recording or writing new songs, he is home watching anime or playing games. He’d become a glorified hikikomori.
*
He sighs again, after recording the 5th take of a song he’s been working on.
“Maybe we should call it a day, Kyomoto-san. You seem tired and it’s getting late.” His producer says.
“I’m sorry,” Taiga says as he steps out of the booth, “I’m usually not like this.”
“It’s okay, Kyomoto-san. We all have those days. Go home and rest for today.”
On the car ride home, he texts one of his closest friends if he wanted to come over and have a few drinks, he needed it. Jesse replied almost immediately.
Of course!!!
*
Jesse’s loud voice and laugh fill Taiga’s empty apartment with light almost instantaneously, and with a few cans of beer and glasses of wine, Taiga felt better already.
Jesse was one of the friends that were there with him when his “scandal” was happening. He and Juri were his main support systems, he’d always run to them whenever something in his life went wrong or when he just needed company, and tonight, he really, really needed the company.
“Thank you for being here, by the way,” Taiga says, feeling a little sappy after a few drinks.
Jesse hugs him, “It’s nothing, Taiga. Y’know I’m always here for you,” he says, placing a kiss on Taiga’s forehead. If Taiga was sober it would send him into a laughing fit and push Jesse away, but tonight he was feeling a little lonely, so he allowed himself to be held and coddled for a bit.
He and Jesse catch up on a few things, about work and life. Jesse’s a music producer, so they mostly work with each other and can relate to a lot of the industry’s problems, but they’ve also been friends for years, so it felt easy to tell Jesse anything.
“I’ve been considering something lately,” Taiga says, taking a sip of the drink Jesse made him. He’s not sure what it was but it was delicious and he’s had 5 of them tonight, “I think you’d like it.”
Jesse perks up, “Do tell.”
“My manager told me about this reality TV dating show called We Got Married. It’s about 2 people pretending to be married and living together for a month while completing weekly challenges together. He said,” Taiga sits up and pushes his glasses, pretending to be his manager, “‘I think you’d be interested, Kyomoto-kun.’ I mean, how crazy is that.”
Jesse laughs loudly at the thought of Taiga being in a reality TV show, much less a dating one.
“So? Are you auditioning?” Jesse asks after his laughing fit.
“Me?” Taiga says, pointing at himself.
Jesse nudges him, “yes you! Who else?”
Taiga thinks for a moment. It has been a few days since his manager told him about the show, and he hasn’t given it much thought, until now.
“I don’t know.”
Jesse puts an arm around Taiga, “Look, last year has been hard for you, with the whole scandal thing. You deserve to do something fun and exciting, and this seems like the perfect opportunity! I mean, how hard could it be? Plus, you might end up dating the person you get partnered up with! Maybe you can move on from…you-know-who.”
“You’re right, and you know what,” Taiga chugs his drink and grabs his phone. “I’ll tell my manager I want to audition.” He opens his contacts and looks for his manager.
“That’s the spirit! Go Taiga!” Jesse cheers on.
*
“Kyomoto-san, I just want to make sure I understood, you want to audition for the reality show?” His manager asked him the next day.
Taiga nodded, removing his sunglasses, “Yes. I’m sorry I sent that text last night, I should’ve waited till today to tell you.”
Maybe drinking with Jesse till dawn in his house wasn’t the best idea. He’d forgotten that he had sent that text to his manager and that he had a recording session the next day, so he shows up to the studio hungover. He’s never drinking again.
“I’ll contact the casting director then. I’ll tell you the details when they reply.”
Taiga doesn’t know what he’s gotten himself into.
*
A few days later, his manager texts him the details for the interview and audition process for We Got Married!
And then the next thing he knew, he was being interviewed by the producers of the show in a tiny room.
The audition process didn’t feel like an actual audition. He’s done past acting projects, and they were nothing like it. The producers asked him questions about living with another person for a month (has no issues with it), if he had a preference for men or women (Taiga says it doesn’t matter. He’s fine with both), being intimate with a potential stranger (Taiga had a hard time with this one, but he said as long as the other person is okay with it, he’ll be fine.)
Then, 3 days later, he was contacted by his manager that he was chosen to be the first participant for the pilot season of the show.
“They said that there was a meeting tomorrow to discuss how the show is going to work and such, everyone will be there. Producers and crew.” His manager only said.
They told him that his work schedule would be adjusted so that he’ll spend more time at home, which concerned him at first, but he was assured that his actual work wouldn’t be affected. During the meeting, he noticed that the person he was going to fake marry isn’t there.
“We’re going to reveal your partner on the day you move into the house with them, Kyomoto-san. It’s to preserve the authenticity of the show. They had this meeting yesterday, so rest assured they’re fully aware of the rules.” One of the producers said.
The rules discussed were fairly simple. Cameras were placed everywhere (excluding the bathroom) in the house they’re staying, turned on remotely every 7 AM and off every 12 MN. They were given a set budget of 500,000 ¥ for their groceries and other necessities for the next month, so spending their own money is strictly prohibited, groceries were provided for the first week. Intimacy isn’t required but encouraged, but for the most part, producers hoped they would get along for one month, though sex was strictly prohibited. Challenges were given weekly, if they fail to do the challenge, their budget is cut.
After Taiga was given the rundown of the show, he was told that they would start filming in 2 weeks.
He texts his friends about the meeting and how he’s suddenly not so sure about this thing anymore.
Juri texts him back complaining about how Taiga never told him but cheered him on nonetheless. Jesse only sent a funny-looking sticker with the words ‘I love you’. He has weird friends but he’s grateful for them.
He mentally prepares himself for his “married life.”
Taiga spent the next 2 weeks packing all the things he needed for the next month. Necessities like clothes and toiletries weren’t hard to pack since he didn’t have a lot of clothes to begin with, but what was hard was packing his equipment for recording and making music.
He had a whole home studio in his apartment where he would spend most of his days, mixing and writing songs. Of course, he can’t bring his entire set up so he decided on a keyboard, an acoustic guitar, an amp, and a mic. They could be hooked up to his laptop so he wouldn’t have a hard time setting it all up in the house he’s going to live in.
He moved into the house 2 weeks later, a modest 2 LDK home that has enough space for 2 people to live in. He was the first one to arrive since the house was still empty when he got there, with no obvious signs that someone was there before him.
He explores the house and the rooms. It was a very pretty home and he couldn’t help but go ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’ at everything he saw. A decently sized kitchen with all the appliances he could think of with some he doesn’t recognize and a big living room with a huge TV that has sliding doors leading out to a decently sized backyard. Upstairs he finds the bathroom with a huge tub and shower, and the guest room that has been transformed into a home office, with a decently sized desk and another TV and couch set.
“I’ll put my equipment here later so it won’t be in the way of the bedroom,” He says to no one in particular.
He finds the main bedroom and the end of the hallway, with a big window overlooking the street below them. The closet was a walk-in, it was so huge it could be another room.
“This is better than my own house!” he laughs. Can he move in here for real after the show?
He starts unpacking his equipment first so that they’re out of the way since he wanted to be considerate to the other person he was going to live with for the next month. In the middle of setting up his mic stand, he hears the front door open and a voice saying “sorry for the intrusion.”
Taiga hurries down to greet his pretend partner for the next month but he was not prepared for who it was at all.
Matsumura Hokuto stands in front of him, in all his glory. Taiga felt his heart almost leap out of his chest, the ground below him falling apart, his knees giving out.
Hokuto is one of Japan’s esteemed actors, a prodigy of some sort. He’s been in films since he was a teenager. He’s also Taiga’s ex.
Taiga stands there, not knowing what to do, but remembers that there were cameras everywhere. He quickly recovers and bows,
“Hokuto, it’s you.”
Hokuto, for a second, looked just as surprised as Taiga, but he recovered faster than Taiga did. As expected of a top actor.
“Ah, what’s with the cold greeting, Kyomoto? I thought we were supposed to be married!” Hokuto exclaims. Taiga can’t tell if he’s acting or genuine.
Hokuto hugs him tight, as if afraid he wasn’t real. Despite everything they’ve been through in the past, he still missed Hokuto. Taiga reciprocates the hug.
Taiga and Hokuto dated when they were still making names for themselves and carving out a place in the industry. No one knew about their relationship except for their closest friends. To the public eye, they were close friends, but in secret, they held each other and kissed in the shadows. They were happy until Taiga started gaining traction. He was the one who broke things off with Hokuto, afraid they would get found out.
To everyone, they were old friends who drifted apart as time went on, but it was so much more than that. Taiga hadn’t talked to Hokuto since they broke up, almost 5 years ago, when he was 22 and Hokuto was 21.
Taiga lets go of Hokuto,
“Let me show you around,” he holds the other man’s hand and leads him around the house.
*
“I’m sorry I started unpacking before you arrived, I should’ve waited,” Taiga says, as they walk into the home office.
“It’s okay,” Hokuto says as he walks into the room, “this house is better than my own house. Can I live here permanently after all of this is done?”
Taiga laughs, “That’s what I said! They went all out, huh? You haven’t even seen the main bedroom yet, come on.”
Taiga shows him the main bedroom and Hokuto immediately dives into bed, “I could fall asleep here right now, I’m exhausted.”
Taiga sits on the bed, “did you come from a shoot before you got here?”
Hokuto nods against the fluffy white pillows, “yeah, been up since 4 in the morning,” He turns over, “I’m exhausted.”
“The tour isn’t even over! You haven’t seen the closet yet, come!” Taiga says, grabbing Hokuto’s arm and pulling him up.
“Ahh…can we continue the tour tomorrow? Please…” Hokuto says, feigning exhaustion, dragging the last word out.
“Hokuto, don’t be difficult, come on!” Taiga tries pulling him again, to no avail.
“Come and cuddle with me, the closet isn’t going anywhere! I can look at it tomorrow.” Hokuto pleads.
This makes Taiga blush, but he still tries to pull the other man up. Eventually, he gives up and plops on the bed next to Hokuto.
“I win,” Hokuto whispers as he wraps his arm around Taiga’s waist. Taiga lets him. This is all pretend, anyway.
They stayed like that for a few minutes, Hokuto’s eyes were closed, and his breathing was even.
“Are you asleep?” Taiga whispers
“No, just resting my eyes.”
Taiga snorts, “You’re sleeping”
“I’m not.”
“Yes, you are!”
Hokuto opens one eye, “See, I’m not asleep. Now shush.”
Taiga lightly flicks Hokuto’s forehead, “why are you shushing me when you’re not sleeping then?”
They bicker like this and giggle for a few more minutes until their peace is disturbed and the doorbell rings.
*
They head downstairs and find a small white envelope on the floor that says Challenge 1.
Taiga picks it up, “This is how we’re receiving challenges?”
He opens the letter carefully as Hokuto looks over his shoulder. Hokuto reads the letter aloud.
“Help each other unpack and decorate the house however you like. Seems easy enough.”
They head upstairs to unpack and start with Taiga’s things.
Taiga pulls out a few shirts and Hokuto finds one that made him laugh out loud, “I haven’t seen this one since high school!”
They spend the next hour like that, Hokuto judging Taiga’s fashion sense, mostly old shirts he hasn’t gotten rid of since he was 17.
Some of the shirts Taiga had sent Hokuto in peels of laughter, he holds up one of Taiga’s old Yu-Gi-Oh shirts,
“Do you seriously wear this?” Hokuto says while laughing,
Taiga snatches the shirt back from Hokuto, “Yes, I do!”
After putting away Taiga’s things, they move on to Hokuto’s things.
Taiga gets revenge by laughing at Hokuto’s odd fashion choices. Cropped jackets, shirts that don’t make sense, jumpers with holes in them.
“They’re trendy. At least I don’t wear shirts that are 10 years old!”
Taiga pushes him and Hokuto pretends to be hurt,
“Ow…” Hokuto moans in pain, rubbing his shoulder.
Taiga tackles Hokuto and tries to pin him down, but Hokuto was a little taller and a little stronger than him, so he flips them over. Hokuto is now above Taiga, then starts tickling Taiga.
“Stop! Stop!” Taiga says in between laughter, trying to push the other man away.
“Not until you say I win,” Hokuto says.
“Okay! You win.”
Hokuto finally stops and they stare at each other for what feels like an eternity, breathless and disheveled. Taiga wanted to reach out and pull Hokuto into a kiss, and he almost does, but Hokuto stands and says, “I should get dinner started.”
*
“It’s nothing fancy, so don’t get your hopes up,” Hokuto says as he plates the pasta dish he made.
Taiga eyes the food excitedly. He’s hopeless in the kitchen so most of his meals were frozen or takeout, and he hasn’t eaten Hokuto’s cooking in so long.
Taiga takes the plate from Hokuto, “I’m sure it’ll be good. I haven’t tasted your food in so long,” he says, not hiding the excitement he feels.
Taiga thanks him for the food and shoves a spoonful of pasta in his mouth. Taiga looks at Hokuto with wide eyes.
“Good?” Hokuto asks.
Taiga only nods as he shoves another forkful in his mouth.
Hokuto laughs, “I’m glad you like it.”
They eat dinner and converse. Taiga asks about Hokuto and what he’s been working on these days,
“I’ve been watching that show you’re in! It’s really good.” Taiga says genuinely. He’s always loved watching Hokuto act. He’s great at what he does and deserves the recognition he gets, Taiga believes that wholeheartedly.
Hokuto smiles at Taiga, “Thank you, Kyomoto. It means a lot,” He says in a soft voice. Taiga’s heart skips a beat.
They talk a little bit more, and eventually, exhaustion hits Taiga.
*
He finishes showering and getting ready for bed past 12, and suddenly Taiga doesn’t know how to act. The entire day, they acted like they were a genuine couple but in Taiga’s mind, it wasn’t real, now that they don’t have an audience to entertain, he feels like they should go back to being strangers.
Taiga sits on the edge of the bed and waits for Hokuto to finish, trying to think of what to say.
“I just realized that there’s only one bed. I can sleep on the couch downstairs if you want,” Hokuto says from behind him, still damp from the shower.
Hokuto now feels a little colder, Taiga thinks. Of course, why did I think he’d stay the same? He was faking it and I was too.
“No, you take the bed. I’ll sleep on the couch,” Taiga says. He makes his way out of the bedroom when Hokuto stops him.
“I don’t want you sleeping on the couch, Kyomoto.”
“I don’t want you sleeping there either,” Taiga argues.
Hokuto stands his ground and has no plans of letting Taiga sleep on the couch, and Taiga feels the same.
“Fine, we’ll share the bed.”
*
Taiga wakes up feeling refreshed and energized, ready to tackle another day on reality TV. It took him 5 seconds until he realized that the person he was fake married to wasn’t in bed with him. Where’s his pretend husband?
Taiga makes his way downstairs and finds Hokuto in the kitchen with a gray headband and glasses on, a loose shirt, and gray sweatpants. Taiga isn’t strong enough for this.
“Morning princess, sleep okay?” Hokuto says as he cooks eggs.
Taiga nods sleepily, “Good morning, and don’t call me princess.”
Hokuto laughs, “How do you like your eggs in the morning?”
“Over-easy, please.”
“Yes sir,” Hokuto salutes, and Taiga giggles.
They discuss their schedule over breakfast and how they were going to equally divide the chores.
“I’ll do meal prep every week since I won’t be able to cook breakfast and lunch every day for us, and since I mostly go home at around 7 PM, I can cook dinner. Is that okay?” Hokuto suggests.
“More than okay. I’ll do the dishes and clean around the house. I work odd hours and sometimes I don’t leave at all, so I can keep the house tidy while you’re away. It’s the least I can do.”
Hokuto smiles at him, “Thank you, then. How about laundry?”
Taiga thinks for a bit, “Maybe one of us can do it weekly? We have a washer and dryer in the house so it’s convenient.”
“Okay, weekly it is. I’ll do the laundry for this week. Should we go shopping today, then?”
As if on cue, the doorbell rings, and a letter is slipped into their door’s mail slot.
Hokuto sighs, “Another challenge? We’re only in the first week!” He picks it up and reads the letter:
Please vlog your adventures together using the camera inside the desk drawer in the bedroom. We wish you a happy marriage!
*
They head into town at around 10 AM, going to different shops looking for things they can decorate their house with, and it all feels very real. People are probably looking at them thinking that they’re a newlywed couple shopping for their brand-new house.
They buy a few blankets for their bed and cushions for their couch. Hokuto buys a small shelf where he can put his books and a desk lamp.
“I’ll have the desk in the bedroom and you can have the office,” Hokuto says to Taiga while browsing the curtain aisle.
“Are you sure? We can share the space, you know.”
Hokuto shakes his head, “I’m sure. I know the bedroom is too small for you to record your songs. You just have to promise me one thing,” He leans closer to Taiga.
“Anything.”
“You have to let me hear your songs,” Hokuto whispers as if telling a secret.
Taiga laughs, “As long as you don’t leak them to the press, you have yourself a deal.”
They shook hands, Hokuto’s hand was a little bigger than his.
They walk around Tokyo for a bit more when Taiga spots a Pokemon store from afar. He grabs Hokuto’s wrist and practically drags him in the direction of the store.
It’s been a while since Taiga went to an actual Pokemon store since he does his shopping mostly online. He walks around the store and spots an Umbreon plush.
“It kinda looks like you, Hokuto,” Taiga says, holding the plush next to Hokuto’s face.
Hokuto films himself with the camera, “Does it?” He asks while looking at the viewfinder.
Taiga leans into Hokuto and checks the viewfinder too, “Yeah. If you were a Pokemon, you’d be Umbreon.”
Taiga picks up an Espeon plush and holds it next to his face, “You’re Umbreon, I’m Espeon.”
Hokuto laughs, “I don’t get it, but I trust your choices,” He takes the plushies from Taiga, “We’ll pay for these and go home. I’m getting hungry.”
*
After decorating and unpacking the rest of their things, they eat lunch. Sandwiches made by Hokuto and cold barley tea, also from Hokuto.
“Ah, tea from Shizuoka is the best,” Taiga says after drinking his 3rd glass.
“I knew you didn’t drink coffee so I stocked up on tea before I came here,” Hokuto says, taking a sip.
Their house feels more like theirs now. The house is littered with little things they’ve brought from their own homes like Taiga’s framed Yu-Gi-Oh! card collection and the shelf Hokuto bought had books he’s read and is reading. The Espeon and Umbreon plushies sit on the living room couch, Umbreon on the right where Hokuto usually sits, and Espeon on the left.
Hokuto bought a small magnetic whiteboard he stuck on the fridge so he can write the menu for that week for when he does meal preps, and Taiga bought a small hanging whiteboard he put above the washer and dryer so that they could write the name of whose turn it is to do laundry.
Taiga looks around their house, “Doesn’t feel…a little bigger now?”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know how to explain it, but our house has gotten bigger somehow,” Taiga chuckles at his ridiculous statement, “Ah, I’m not making sense. Nevermind.”
Hokuto looks around the house and inhales deeply, “I get it. It does feel bigger, doesn’t it?”
Taiga smiles at Hokuto and nods.
Their home is finally becoming theirs. Taiga could get used to this.
Sleeping next to Hokuto was awkward for the first few days, but by night 5, Taiga was waking up with his and Hokuto’s limbs tangled together. They both accepted that this was their life from now on.
On night 6, they argue about who gets to be the little spoon.
“I’m shorter than you, so it makes sense I’m the little spoon,” Taiga argues, turning his back to Hokuto, expecting to be cuddled.
Hokuto grabs his shoulder and pulls him, making them face each other, “you’re 5 centimetres shorter than me, Kyomoto. We’re practically the same height, so your argument is invalid.”
Taiga turns his back again, not wanting to argue any further. A few seconds later, Hokuto wraps his arm around Taiga’s waist, then presses his torso against Taiga’s back.
Taiga smiles, “I win.”
Hokuto buries his face in Taiga’s hair,
“You always do.”
*
They settle into a comfortable routine by the end of week one. Hokuto would prepare meals the night before for his and Taiga’s lunch. Most days they wake up and have breakfast together. Taiga starts showing up to the studio with homemade lunch, and people ask him if he’s gotten a new girlfriend.
“Something like that,” He says because he wasn’t allowed to reveal anything until the first episode airs on Sunday.
Sunday came around and the first episode of We Got Married! was premiered.
Everyone watched the episode and cheered when the couple was revealed, but it was just another day in Taiga and Hokuto’s home. They weren’t allowed to watch the episodes while they were living together, but by the number of texts and calls Taiga was getting from his colleagues and friends, the episode was a hit.
On the 3rd day of the second week, the second challenge arrives.
Surprise the other person.
Coincidentally, Taiga was the one who saw it because Hokuto was at a shoot somewhere, and would be gone for the next 2 days.
“What? Surprise Hokuto?” Taiga says out loud. He doesn’t know what to do. So he calls for help.
“You should surprise him with a steak dinner, then!” Juri says through the phone.
“I don’t know how to cook,” Taiga says. He was getting stressed. Hokuto comes back in a day and he still doesn’t know what to do for him.
“Which is why you should do it. He knows you can’t cook, so it’s more thoughtful that you put in the effort to do it,” Juri pauses for a second before he continues, “Even if it ends up a disaster, the fact that you put in the effort is a surprise itself.”
“Oi, you’re supposed to help me, not bully me,” Taiga says faking hurt, Juri laughs.
So Taiga spends the entire day preparing a steak dinner. He goes grocery shopping and even buys flowers. He buys 3 different cookbooks and cooks to the best of his ability. By 9 PM, he was done.
Hokuto was supposed to arrive home that night from his shoot. But it got darker, and the food was getting cold. Hokuto still wasn’t home.
Taiga was disappointed, to say the least. But he had to constantly remember he was in front of cameras, so he made sure that he didn’t look as sad and dejected as he feels while he wrapped the steaks in cling wrap, and went to bed.
The bed felt cold that night.
*
The next day, he wakes up earlier than usual. He heads to the kitchen for tea and maybe eat the steak before it goes bad when he finds Hokuto asleep on the couch.
Hokuto snores in his sleep, not loud enough to be annoying but you can hear him when you’re near. Taiga sits next to the couch and watches Hokuto sleep. Hokuto had freckles that littered his face like stars, and a little mole above his lip that Taiga loves so much. He moves a piece of hair that fell and tucks it behind Hokuto’s ear. The other man stirs but he doesn’t wake, and at that moment, Taiga had an idea.
Hokuto wakes up 2 hours later and sees Taiga sitting on the floor with his back to Hokuto, doing something on the coffee table.
“What are you doing?” Hokuto asks sleepily, his eyes adjusting to the sunlight. He grabs his glasses on the side table to see better. Taiga was…folding something?
“Ah! You’re awake!” Taiga starts panicking, cleaning up the mess he made on the table, “Don’t get up yet and close your eyes!”
Hokuto does what he was told, closing his eyes and not getting up from his spot.
“Okay, now open,” Taiga whispers.
Hokuto opens his eyes and sees Taiga kneeling, holding up an origami of a paper ring.
“Matsumura Hokuto, will you marry me?” Taiga asks in the most serious voice, but his hair was all over the place, and he still had his glasses on.
Hokuto sat up, stunned. He didn’t know what to do with Taiga on the floor looking so serious, holding up a paper ring.
“...Yes,” Hokuto finally answers, dropping to the floor and hugging Taiga, knocking them both off, with Hokuto landing on top of Taiga.
“Were you surprised?” Taiga asked
Hokuto laughs. “Surprised is one thing,” He says, looking down on Taiga with the fondest look.
Taiga wanted to kiss Hokuto so badly but quickly pushed the thought away. “Get off me so I can put this ring on you,” He said as he kicked Hokuto lightly.
Hokuto finds the entire thing a little corny but extremely sweet. He sat there with his hand out as Taiga put the ring on, careful not to tear it.
Hokuto puts his hand up to the sun to get a better look, “beautiful ring, Kyomoto. I bet it’s worth a fortune,” He smiled.
“It is. It’s worth more than our house, you know.”
“I’ll be careful not to lose it then.”
Challenge 2 is a success!
*
Taiga tells Hokuto about the 2nd challenge during breakfast.
“I made a whole steak dinner and everything, but you didn’t show up. I feel stood up,” Taiga pouts. He did genuinely feel disappointed that Hokuto wasn’t able to enjoy the dinner Taiga painstakingly prepared but after the whole fake proposal thing, he was in better spirits.
“Oh, so you proposed to me for the challenge then?” Hokuto asked with an unreadable expression.
“It was either that or a day-old steak. You choose, Matsumura,” Taiga jokes.
Hokuto laughs, “The fake proposal was cute, I’ll give you that.” He looks at the ring again, twirling it around with his thumb.
“I know we’re supposed to be married, but neither of us proposed, so I took it upon myself to do it.”
Hokuto lightly pinches Taiga’s cheek. “You’re so cute. I’m glad you’re my fake husband.” He stands up and rummages through the fridge, “I can eat this for lunch–”
Hokuto inspects the steak, “Kyomoto, this steak. I think it’s…undercooked.”
Taiga takes the wrapped steak from Hokuto, “what? But I did everything according to the recipe!” He chucks the steak in the bin and sits on the couch disgruntled.
Hokuto sits beside him and puts his arm around Taiga’s shoulders to comfort him.
Taiga leans into Hokuto’s touch, allowing himself to be coddled and babied. It’s nice to be taken care of once in a while.
“What do you want for lunch, hm?” Hokuto asked, kissing the top of his head.
“Tomato egg drop soup, please.”
Hokuto laughs, “you’re so predictable. Got it, boss.”
*
3rd week rolls around without either Taiga or Hokuto noticing. The days go by so quickly, Taiga thinks, but he tries not to dwell on that thought too much.
Hokuto’s been out of the house more often than Taiga is but still tries to make time for him. Hokuto makes the effort of making breakfast every morning, as well as making lunch before he’s gone for the day. Taiga doesn’t know what he did to deserve this.
The 3rd challenge arrived on a Thursday when both of them were home.
Bake a cake
“They need to be more creative with these challenges,” Hokuto scoffs.
Taiga takes the letter from Hokuto and flips it over. Nothing. He sniffs it and looks at it under the sun. Still nothing.
“That’s it? That’s the whole challenge?” Taiga says. He’s so convinced there’s more to the challenge but the paper only had that written on it.
“Ah, well, let’s just be grateful that’s the only thing we had to do. How hard can baking a cake be?”
Hokuto soon regrets his words, because, it is in fact, difficult to bake a cake.
They tried to bake a cake using a premix recipe you buy in groceries and it only took them 20 minutes to do the whole thing. They were expecting the TV to say ‘Challenge 3 is a success!’ like it usually does when they complete a challenge, but there was nothing.
“So we should bake a cake from scratch, then?” Hokuto says to the air, presumably the producers who were sending them these challenges.
“Do you know how to bake a cake?” Taiga asks Hokuto.
Hokuto shakes his head, “no, and I’ve never baked before.”
“But you’re good at cooking. How is that different?” Taiga asks.
“Very different. With cooking, it’s much more personalized,” Hokuto thinks for a second, “baking requires you to follow a recipe word for word.”
Taiga stands up and picks out a recipe book, “good thing I bought this, then.”
*
They spend the next hour and a half trying to bake a cake. They argue and bicker but in the end, they make a chocolate cake that’s delicious albeit a little wonky and imperfect.
Challenge 3 is a success!
The TV flashes. Taiga and Hokuto eat cake and watch movies the entire night.
“Can I show you something?” Taiga says halfway through a movie he stopped paying attention to, looking at Hokuto with wide eyes.
Hokuto puts the plate he was holding down on the coffee table and looks at Taiga, “anything.”
Taiga stands up and disappears, and then shows up again with his guitar.
“I’ve been working on this song, you see,” Taiga says as he sits on the floor, crossing his legs and positioning his guitar in the right place.
“I haven’t shown it to anyone and I want you to hear it first. Is that okay?”
“More than okay,” Hokuto assures Taiga. It’s past midnight now, so cameras have been turned off. Hokuto turns the TV off, too. He looks at Taiga intently while sitting on the couch.
Summer all over
Blame it on timing
Weakening August water
Loose-eyed in morning
Sunlight covered over
Wading in sight of fire
And we’re finally aligning
More than maybe I can choose
Taiga sings accompanied by soft guitar plucks. He finishes and sighs, “I don’t have the full thing written yet, but that’s what I have so far.”
Hokuto sits there, speechless. Taiga didn’t know what to do.
“Is it bad?” Taiga asks after a while. Hokuto realizes he hasn’t said anything and shakes his head.
“No! No, it’s just,” Hokuto pauses. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Is that a good thing?” Taiga asks, looking at Hokuto. He doesn’t know why he wants Hokuto to like the song so much, but something deep down in him wants Hokuto’s approval.
“Good? This is amazing! I mean, I know you’re talented but,” He grabs Taiga’s shoulders and shakes him, “you’re a genius, Kyomoto!”
Taiga laughs. He’s elated.
“You have to let me hear the whole thing when it’s done. Promise me.”
Hokuto holds his pinky up and leans in close.
Taiga interlocks his with Hokuto’s.
“It’s a promise.”