The dark grey couch in the SixTONES dressing room is full of stuff when Hokuto steps into the room. A track jacket, a camera bag, a bath towel, a pair of socks (hopefully clean), and a freaking Pokemon toy. It's the same Mew plushie that Taiga carried around the country during the tour. Wonder what Taiga has against keeping his belongings in his bag. The said bag is currently lying on the floor beside the couch, sad and empty.
Hokuto simply pushes the whole pile aside to the other end of the couch so he won't crush anything when he flops down with a book, determined to actually make some progress with it now that he has a whole hour before his next appointment.
He opens the book at the bookmark and immerses himself into the story.
He only gets about ten minutes of peaceful silence before the door of the dressing room opens and Taiga himself appears at the doorstep. He is wearing joggers and a t-shirt and carrying a water bottle, but he looks fresh and nice instead of sweaty and red, so he hasn't been dancing.
"I didn't know you had anything planned at the office today," Taiga says blankly.
"The interviews were moved here for schedule reasons."
Taiga hums and walks further into the room, looking somehow hesitant. Hokuto raises his brows in question.
"I was hoping to take a nap," Taiga admits, waving his hand towards the couch. Hokuto understands the wish very well even though he rarely needs such afternoon naps. But he also really doesn't want to move.
"What's stopping you?" he asks, just for the hell of it.
Taiga tilts his head as if Hokuto just offered him some valuable insight on an interesting topic.
"Nothing," he says slowly. First, he gently lifts his camera bag from the couch to the table. Then he simply lies down to the couch, ignoring his clothes that get all grumbled at his feet, and easily laying his head on Hokuto's thigh.
"The couch is too short," Taiga mumbles, as if that's much of an explanation. He closes his eyes, sighs deep, and seems to fall asleep almost immediately.
Hokuto stares at the open page in front of him, but he doesn't even see the words, his thoughts too occupied with the warm weight of Taiga's head in his lap. Since when has Taiga seeked this kind of proximity from anyone, let alone from him? Sure, he's always ready to accept Juri or Jesse's endearments, but he rarely initiates them himself.
Hokuto's eyes linger on Taiga's face; the closed lids and long lashes, the calm expression, the slightly separated lips.
The book. He was supposed to be reading.
Hokuto returns to the beginning of the row he was marking with his fingertip, and manages to read a whole page with only a couple glances to the side before Taiga hums in his sleep and turns to his side, curling up but keeping his head in Hokuto's thigh. A tuft of hair falls to his face, and Hokuto's fingers itch to brush the hair back behind Taiga's ear. He can't, of course. Taiga would wake up and it would just be weird.
Also, his hand is starting to get tired from holding the book, and he really wants to rest it. Too bad the only place to lay his hand is on Taiga. If it was Juri, Hokuto wouldn't hesitate for a second. That weirdo has zero sense of personal space; he wouldn't mind.
But, he reminds himself again, Taiga really doesn't seem to mind it at all when any of the others touch him. Also, at the moment he is quite literally sleeping on Hokuto's lap, so maybe he won't mind, either.
Hokuto carefully lowers his hand so it rests on Taiga's shoulder and upper arm. Taiga doesn't wake up, which is a relief. But there is also a frustrating sense of disappointment that Hokuto promptly ignores. He can daydream all he wants whenever Taiga is out of sight, but he'd better keep his head cool now.
He still has half an hour left for reading. He returns to his book. If he idly strokes Taiga's arm with his thumb as he reads, surely that can be considered a coincidence. He simply isn't thinking about it. Not for one moment.
The clock ticks ahead. Hokuto reads the next page, then reads the same page again when he realizes he's merely been moving his eyes along the rows without actually concentrating on the meaning of the words.
To his annoyance, his leg is also starting to feel feeling numb with how carefully he's not moving at all. He wiggles his toes in an attempt to get rid of the feeling, but it won't go away. He tries to put up with it to prolong the moment, but in the end he has to do something about it.
"Hey," he murmurs, trying to be nice and gentle about it. "You should wake up. My leg is falling asleep too."
Taiga yawns, but doesn't move.
"Not yet," he murmurs, sleep-groggy.
Hokuto sighs. "Come on, Sleeping Beauty, or I'll kiss you awake."
He sincerely doesn't know why he said so. As a joke, of course, but somehow the joke seems to kick back when Taiga chuckles aloud, not even opening his eyes.
"Go for it, then."
Hokuto swallows, speechless.
The thing is, he wants to. Which Taiga cannot know.
Taiga rolls to his back. At his foot some of his clothes fall to the floor. Hokuto instinctively lifts his hand, but then the only place to put it down again would be on Taiga's chest.
Taiga doesn't say anything, just takes Hokuto's wrist and pulls Hokuto's hand back down. He looks up at Hokuto, eyes contemplative. Expectant?
Taiga is warm and calm, and as beautiful as ever, despite having just woken up. Hokuto wants to kiss him so badly.
Hokuto takes a deep breath and leans down before he can chicken out. Taiga inhales quietly and closes his eyes again.
The angle is weird, but Taiga's lips are even softer than they look. He moves them firmly against Hokuto's, and easily opens his mouth when Hokuto tentatively strokes his lower lip with his tongue. At the same time Taiga lifts his free hand and reaches up until he finds Hokuto's neck, tangling his fingers into Hokuto's hair. Hokuto whimpers into the kiss and squeezes the fabric of Taiga's t-shirt in his hand, dizzy with how good it feels.
A cheerful alarm tone rings in Taiga's pocket and startles them apart. Hokuto pulls back, staring at Taiga with wide eyes. For a moment Taiga answers his gaze, out of breath, before he jumps on his feet.
"I've gotta go," he says quickly and grabs the water bottle again. The he stops in the middle of the room, looking back at Hokuto. "Will you still be around after four?"
"The last interview is scheduled to end fifteen past at latest," Hokuto says, feeling unreal. He kissed Taiga, and here they are, talking like nothing happened.
"Dinner after work, then?"
Oh.
"Alright. I'll see you here?"
"Deal," Taiga says, a tentative smile tugging at his lips. Then he's gone again, as suddenly as he appeared earlier. Hokuto stares at the door, dumbfounded, heart racing, and lips still tingling with the heat of the kiss.
He's having a date? With Taiga?
* * * * * *
At the corridor Taiga presses his both hands against his mouth and stifles a scream, because what just happened? He can hardly believe he did what he did and said what he said and honestly it all was probably the boldest thing he ever did on his life, but-
He bites his lower lip, though even that can't stop the stupid grin that wants to spread on his face.
He's having a date. With Hokuto.