Kuzuhina Week Day 1!
Are you guys as excited as I am? Anyway, here's my contribution.
Day 1 Drabble: Sight - Freckles
Rating: Clean
Word Count: 1683
Hajime had never thought much about freckles before. They were interesting, in a way - little dots of pigmentation caused by genetics or the sun - but he had never really considered them attractive. To be fair, he wouldn't consider them unattractive, either. They just were.
Maybe it was because Hajime didn't really know anyone with freckles, and therefore hadn't seen many of them. Maybe he would have had a greater appreciation for them if he had been exposed to them more. Whatever the reason, Hajime hadn't considered freckles much at all.
So he wasn't really sure why he was so fascinated by Fuyuhiko's freckles.
He had noticed them when they first met, of course. Fuyuhiko had an adorable smattering of freckles over his cheeks and nose. Hajime had idly acknowledged how cute they looked (not out loud, he didn't want to die), but he hadn't really thought about them past that.
As time went on, however, he found himself thinking about Fuyuhiko's freckles more frequently. During breakfast at the restaurant, he would often catch himself staring at the blonde's face, admiring his cute dusting of freckles. When they spent time in the sun, he would idly wonder if Fuyuhiko's freckles would get darker.
The first time they had gotten a free day, someone had suggested going to the beach, and Hajime's thoughts had immediately gone to Fuyuhiko. He had never seen the yakuza heir without a shirt, and he couldn't help wondering if he had more freckles hidden beneath his clothes. He was horrified by his own curiosity, however, and quickly pushed those thoughts away.
It ended up being a moot point, anyway, because Fuyuhiko hadn't gone to the beach with them. Hajime wasn't sure why he felt so disappointed.
After several weeks on the island, though, Fuyuhiko finally began to come out of his shell. He spent more time with the other students, and especially with Hajime. It actually felt like they were becoming pretty close, and that thought made Hajime feel warm and happy.
The next time someone suggested a beach day, Fuyuhiko finally agreed to join the group. Hajime couldn't help getting excited, both about spending the day with his friend, and about the opportunity to see if he had more freckles.
…That’s a weird thing to think, Hajime realized, wincing.
Knowing that didn't make him any less curious about Fuyuhiko's body, however. He felt ashamed by how excited he was to see the blonde in a swimsuit.
Hajime was one of the first people on the beach that day, helping to set up towels and beach umbrellas. The others went running into the water as soon as they were done, but Hajime stayed on shore, anxiously looking up whenever someone new joined the group.
“Fuyuhiko is on his way,” Chiaki told him, sitting beside him on the beach towel.
The brunette looked at her in dismay, cheeks flushed. “Oh, uh… Okay. Why would you-”
Chiaki cut him off with a giggle. “You're not as subtle as you think, Hajime.”
Hajime furrowed his brow, but before he could say anything, he was distracted by two new people walking onto the beach. He vaguely registered how stunning Peko looked in her black bikini, but his attention was quickly commanded by the diminutive blonde at her side.
Fuyuhiko was wearing a pair of white swim trunks, leaving him bare from the waist up. He was lean, toned but not muscular, thin but not scrawny. Hajime couldn't help but stare, eyes tracing every detail. As he got closer, Hajime finally spotted what he was looking for.
Freckles. Fuyuhiko's shoulders were dusted with cute, brown freckles, matching the ones on his face. The freckles continued down his chest and arms, but they got more sparse as they went. Just a few dotted the skin right above and below his swim trunks, but it was enough to make Hajime's imagination run wild.
A soft laugh beside him drew Hajime's attention and he looked down to see Chiaki watching him with an amused smile. “You should just tell him how you feel.”
“Y-Yeah,” Hajime mumbled awkwardly. He didn't know how to explain to her that he actually had no idea what he was feeling, he just knew that it was centered around those damn freckles.
He turned his attention back to Fuyuhiko and was startled when their eyes met. The blonde held his gaze for a moment before blushing and looking away, leaving Hajime more confused than ever.
Setting his complicated emotions aside, Hajime decided to try to enjoy the beach with his friends. He spent the next hour or so playing in the water with the others, trying to forget about Fuyuhiko's pretty freckled skin.
…Pretty?
Hajime eventually made his way back up the beach to sit on one of the towels again. He gazed out at the others still running around, a fond smile on his face. Inevitably, though, his eyes sought out Fuyuhiko, curious about what he was up to.
The yakuza heir was lingering near the surf, but not actually going in. In fact, Hajime was fairly certain that Fuyuhiko hadn't gone more than waist-deep into the water all day. He was beginning to wonder if the other boy even knew how to swim.
Before he could think too much about it, however, Fuyuhiko turned and caught his eye again. Both of them blushed, but this time neither of them glanced away.
After a moment, the blonde began marching up the beach towards Hajime, who tried very hard not to panic. Fuyuhiko sat down on the towel beside him and gazed out at the ocean. For a few minutes, neither of them said anything.
“Hey, you bastard,” Fuyuhiko finally spoke, voice surprisingly soft compared to his words. “What's your problem? Why do you keep staring at me?”
Hajime's face felt impossibly hot. He had been staring pretty openly at Fuyuhiko all day, though, so he couldn't exactly deny it. Still, what was he supposed to say to that? Sorry, it's because you have freckles.
Apparently he was taking too long to answer, because Fuyuhiko turned to glare at him. “Well? What's your fuckin' issue?”
The brunette tried desperately to think of something to say, some innocent explanation for why he had been clearly ogling the other boy, but all his brain could come up with was, “...Your freckles are cute.”
Fuyuhiko's eyes widened and his cheeks flushed. Silence stretched out between them as they both tried to figure out if Hajime had actually just said something that stupid.
The taller boy frantically tried to come up with some other response that could save the situation, but his brain wouldn't cooperate. “S-Sorry, that's weird to say, I guess, but that's why I was staring… Actually, I think about your freckles a lot…” Hajime cringed, seriously considering drowning himself in the sea.
Red-faced, Fuyuhiko watched him flounder for a while, clearly not sure what to make of the awkward confession. His expression morphed into a glare. “...What the hell are you saying? You better not be making fun of me-”
“I'm not!” Hajime cut him off. As embarrassing as the situation was, he didn't want Fuyuhiko to think that he meant something negative. “I love your freckles!”
Fuyuhiko's eyes got impossibly wide. “You what?!”
Hajime couldn't cringe any harder if he tried, but there was no going back now. Fuck it. “I think your freckles are really cute. I, um, was hoping you'd be here today so I could see if you had more of them.”
The blonde crossed his arms self-consciously. “What the fuck?! Are you some kinda pervert?!”
“No!” Hajime exclaimed, blushing darker. This was going phenomenally badly. He looked away, running a hand through his wet hair in frustration. “Look, I'm sorry for staring. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I'll stop.”
“...I didn't say I wanted you to stop.”
Hajime whipped around to look at Fuyuhiko in surprise. The blonde looked absolutely mortified, but he was slowly uncrossing his arms, exposing his freckled chest to the other boy once more.
“Uh… what?” Hajime asked eloquently.
Fuyuhiko wouldn't meet his gaze, but he didn't back down. “You don't… You don't have to stop staring. Just… Be a little less obvious about it, dumbass.”
Hajime felt more confused than ever. “...Less obvious?”
The yakuza heir glared up at him. “Yeah, you're super fuckin’ obvious. Anyone who sees you is gonna notice you eye-fucking me.”
“Eye-fucking?!” Hajime yelped, much too loudly.
“Shut the fuck up!” Fuyuhiko hissed, glancing over at their friends. “You staring is one thing, but I don't need these other bastards joining in.”
Hajime was really lost now. Fuyuhiko was fine with him staring as long as no one else noticed? What did that mean? “...So… You're okay with me looking at your freckles?”
Fuyuhiko gave an exasperated groan. “Oh my god, here-” He suddenly moved forward and crashed his mouth into Hajime's.
The kiss was brief and not exactly romantic, but it was enough to make everything click. “...Oh.”
The blonde glared at him, cheeks bright red. “Dumbass.”
As startled as he was by the sudden kiss, he was even more startled by the realization it brought on. Fuyuhiko liked him. And, more to the point, he liked Fuyuhiko. He really liked Fuyuhiko.
He looked at the yakuza heir in a whole new light, suddenly very aware of why he had become so enamored with his freckles. “...I think you're really cute.”
Fuyuhiko looked like he wanted to punch him. “Will you quit saying dumb shit?!” He glanced at the others again briefly before grabbing Hajime's hand and climbing to his feet. “Come on, clearly we have some shit we need to talk about in private.”
Hajime's eyebrows raised, but he compliantly got up and followed Fuyuhiko away from the beach. He couldn't help noticing the smattering of freckles that trailed down the blonde's back, but this time he didn't feel ashamed for staring.
If he was right about where this conversation was going, he was going to have a lot more opportunities to see all of Fuyuhiko's freckles.
(I realize this actually has a lot in common with that drabble I wrote a long time ago about Fuyuhiko's mole. Whoops.)
