"One," Kochi murmurs as he collects Taiga's jacket, beanie, and plastic mug from the ground and piles them up in front of their tent. In the darkness of the camping area he can see some dim lights flashing through the fabric, so Taiga is probably watching One Piece before going to sleep. No sound can be heard from the inside though, so he must have his earphones on.
Just the fact that he knows things like this makes Kochi smile fondly. Ever since they debuted and started to get their own hotel rooms, the occasions when he's shared a room with Taiga have grown far and apart. That's why it was so sweet back in the afternoon when they started putting up the tents, the way everyone just drifted to the usual rooming pairs without specifically discussing it. Like they've all missed this small piece of routine.
"Two," he thinks to himself as he peeks into the next tent and confiscates Juri's phone. No, he doesn't need a phone in the tent at all. Yes, the phone will be safe with Kochi, yes, someone will awaken him in the morning, and just go to sleep, you know you need it.
The someone to awaken Juri will be Hokuto, of course. Not only because he's sharing a tent with Juri like he always has, but also because he has more experience with that particular sport than anyone else in the group.
"Three," Kochi says in a low voice after promising Hokuto to make sure that the fire is completely put out, the cool box is properly closed, and the van doors are locked. At least Hokuto has the sense to look sheepish when he withdraws into their tent. Maybe he has just remembered it's not Kochi's first time camping.
Of course, one night won't be enough for Hokuto to learn that he doesn't always need to be in control of everything. But it will probably do him some good still, having to figure out how to execute his impeccable morning routines in an outdoor setting. With some wicked curiosity, Kochi has to admit he's eager to see how it will turn out. He loves Hokuto like a brother, but geez how badly the guy needs some healthy chaos in his life.
As if there wasn’t enough chaos where the SixTONES members are involved. And talking about chaotic good-
"Four," he sighs as he stops by Shintaro who is still up and about, cheerfully fiddling with the fishing gear at the side doors of their van.
"What?" Shintaro looks up, sincerely confused by the non-greeting.
"It means: Go to sleep. That can wait until morning."
"But we can start earlier if I arrange it all now," Shintaro points out, practically vibrating with anticipation for the next day's video shooting at the seashore.
Kochi raises one brow. "As if we'll get Juri out of the tent before six. I'd like to see you try."
Shintaro gingerly admits Kochi is right, and abandons the fishing gear for the night. He wishes Kochi good night and leaves for his tent. Kochi takes the van key from his pocket and presses the remote control to lock the doors.
"Five," Kochi whispers when he finds Jesse at the wash basin near the campsite bathrooms. Jesse hums a greeting through his toothbrush as Kochi joins him.
"It was a nice day," Jesse says when he's finished with brushing his teeth and washing his face.
"It was," Kochi agrees and rinses his mouth. "I'm glad we came up with this idea."
They walk back to the tents in a comfortable silence, side by side so that their fingers sometimes brush against the backs of each other's palms.
Everyone else is in their tents already, and the camping area is quiet. The fireplace is black and cool in the middle of the three tents.
Kochi crouches to pick up the one last lantern that's still switched on. When he stands up, Jesse reaches over to take his wrist and pull him closer so they're standing chest to chest.
"Can I have my good night's kiss now?" he asks, smiling at Kochi and looking so good in his wind-tousled hair and mud-stained outdoor clothes that Kochi feels his heart swell in his chest. He loves Jesse every single day and in every possible attire, but this is still special. Who would have thought that seeing Jesse in rubber boots and a windbreaker jacket would be enough to make him get all hot and bothered? Everyone always praises Kochi for being the most sensible of them all. If only they knew.
"Sure you can," Kochi says and stands up to his toes in order to press a kiss on Jesse's lips. Jesse wraps his arms around Kochi's waist and pulls him even closer, and for a moment they both simply enjoy the intimacy caused by the physical closeness as well as the intentionally synchronized deep breathing. It's been a long day, and Kochi would love to curl up to Jesse's side tonight. It's a slightly bittersweet thought, as it would be perfectly easy to kick either Taiga or Shintaro out of their respective tents to share with the other so Kochi and Jesse could have a tent of their own.
Then again, Jesse tends to mumble all kinds of nonsense aloud in his sleep and Kochi really, really likes to sleep in silence, especially when he's not at home. Taiga always sleeps like the dead, silent and unmoving, which is exactly why Kochi liked to room with him all those years, and why he wants to do so tonight, too.
"Alright, I better go to check up on Taiga," Kochi murmurs against Jesse's lips when he leans in to kiss him again after a while. "He's got zero percent common sense with that One Piece project of his. Good night, Jesse."
"See you in the morning," Jesse says, and the longing in his voice is obvious enough that Kochi chuckles and gives him another quick kiss before gently pushing Jesse towards the tent where Shintaro still has the torch on.
Juri and Hokuto's tent is already dark and silent when Kochi walks past. Good.
At the door of his own tent Kochi checks the lid of the cooling box, picks up the pile of Taiga's clothes, and pulls open the zipper of the door. There are colorful animation characters jumping on the screen of Taiga's phone just as expected, and he greets Kochi with a low hum that merely shows him acknowledging that Kochi has arrived.
Kochi doesn't bother mentioning the clothes to Taiga, and simply drops the pile at the foot end of Taiga's sleeping pad. He'll find the them in the morning and probably not even realize he wasn't the one to leave them there.
"Sleep time," he announces in a low sing-song voice.
"I've got four minutes left of this episode," Taiga murmurs, which is fine. It will take that long for Kochi to change into his sleepwear anyway.
True to his words, after a few minutes Taiga puts his phone away and closes his eyes.
"Good night," he says, falling asleep right away. A skill that Kochi has always envied him for.
"Six," Kochi says quietly as he switches off the lantern he brought along and crawls into his own sleeping bag. He feels pleasantly accomplished, now that all six of them are in their beds.
When closing his eyes, Kochi smiles at himself. He's always liked to keep his work and private life separate, and camping has always been something distinctly private for him. But now that he listens to Taiga's slow breathing behind him, and hears the distant murmur from Jesse and Shintaro's tent that soon falls silent, he realizes that there is a certain charm in going camping together with friends.