[Log] Atobe and Sanada coffee date

[crosswithyou]

Who: Atobe Keigo & Sanada Genichirou
What: Atobe and Sanada go out for coffee, are extremely awkward, plan a date(???), confirm they are meeting on Wednesday 10 times, and go for a spin in the Atobemobile.
When: Last Sunday(?)
Where: Coffee shop by the Atobe corporate office.
Rating: PG

By the time he was meeting up with Sanada, Atobe had already had a cup of coffee (or two) just to force himself out of bed. It had been an embarrassingly long time since he had arrived back in Japan, but adjusting to a new sleep schedule was for the birds. It didn’t help that Tachibana Kippei had enlisted himself to help Atobe unpack everything and it had ended in drinking copious amounts of brandy until the wee hours of the morning. He would be forced to be on a normal schedule, again, when he began work in October, so he might as well enjoy an iota of freedom, now.

Sanada was punctual to a fault, so Atobe deliberately told him a time late enough that he was certain he could beat him there. The coffee shop was a tiny hole in the wall place that happened to be located directly beside the Atobe corporate office in Tokyo. The two buildings were hilariously disperate in size and structure, the coffee shop appearing almost as though it was from another time. Atobe lingered just below the large, golden letters that displayed his surname on the side of the building and waited for Sanada to arrive.

Having an illogical need to impress Atobe without actually making it look like he was trying to impress Atobe, Sanada opted to wear one of the beautiful and traditional kimonos that his family owned. He paired it with an Hermes hat and his Louis Vuitton messenger bag he had proudly picked up in Paris and was still loving. He hoped Yukimura and Yanagi would also be pleased that he was using some of the things he’d got on their trips abroad, too. Though Yukimura would probably still complain about the lack of colour.

Double checking he had the right exit to get to the meeting spot, Sanada climbed up the stairs and strode toward the building. It was hard to miss with how over the top the letters were. Not at all surprising but he was a bit surprised to see Atobe already waiting below his name. He had expected to be kept waiting so Atobe could make some ridiculous entrance. Like repelling off the roof or something. “Atobe,” He said in greeting as he got closer.

It took a moment, Atobe was briefly stunned by the sight of Sanada, but he quickly recovered and responded simply, “Sanada.” Of all the people he had expected to look forward to seeing after returning to Japan, Sanada Genichirou was not high on that list. However, now that they were face to face there was a brief flash of joy to see him. Even in what had to be an ancient family heirloom of a kimono and what was definitely either Yukimura or Yanagi’s doing with the bag and hat. Normally, he might accuse Sanada of being dressed by Yukimura, but he felt the teasing could wait until the next cup of coffee.

Atobe motioned to the small bakery and coffee shop to indicate where they were going. “My father is a regular at this shop - buys them out of macaroons on Fridays to share with the office staff.” He started walking, knowing that Sanada would fall in step.

Sanada turned to look at the coffee shop expecting there to be some catch to make it popular with the Atobes but it looked like a normal little cafe that would blend into any quiet neighbourhood. Though on this street, surrounded by highrise towers of glistening windows it was so out of place it was almost comical. “Is it just convenience or is it actually good?” Sanada asked. Though seeing as Atobe had requested to meet here and he didn’t think the blond was the type to sneak in work on a Sunday morning, he suspected it had to worth the special trip to it.

“Well, I quite like it. I guess we’ll see if it meets your tastes.” Atobe shrugged one shoulder, aware of how odd the two of them would look walking into the store together. Atobe in his Lucky jeans and a Killers t-shirt, Sanada in… well, he did look surprisingly well put together, anyway. As expected, the elderly owner of the shop was the one behind the counter, her face brightening to a huge grin the moment she saw Keigo. She had watched him grow up, after all.

“Keigo-kun!” She exclaimed, motioning them in. “Good morning. Your usual?” She was already going about making it whether Keigo wanted the coffee or not.

“Yes, thank you. And we’ll be looking at the bakery items, as well.”

“Keigo-kun?” Sanada said in a quietly to Atobe once he was sure the elderly lady was busy with the coffee pot and not listening to them. Atobe really must be a regular here if he was on first name basis with the owner.

Spotting the bakery goods, he wandered closer to get a better look at them and decide if getting three would make him look like a glutton.

Atobe wandered with him to the baked goods knowing that he was not going to get out of here with less than four. “I’ve known her my whole life - she was friends with my grandfather.” Even after his passing, the Atobe family had stayed in touch with the owners of the bakery - it was impossible to miss them being so close to the corporate office, anyway. He leaned his head a bit closer to Sanada. “Fair warning, the chocolate croissants are dangerously delicious.”

Sanada nodded thinking that made sense. He was friends with Tezuka because their grandfathers were friends after all. At the mention of the chocolate croissants he bent down to take a look at them before standing and leaning in close to Atobe’s, “Do you think I should embrace danger and get two?”

Atobe flashed a signature wild grin in return. “You would be remiss to pass up the opportunity.” As he said this, his name was called for his coffee - a three shot latte. He picked it up, cradling it in his hands as he continued to look through the baked goods. They had the chocolate and mango mousse today… he wasn’t sure he could walk away from that, either. This is why he gained a bit of weight when he moved to Europe.

Sanada watched Atobe get some overly caffeinated coffee atrocity and hoped they had a decent selection of teas here. At least the baked goods seemed delicious. He was having a hard time narrowing down his selection. “I think I’ll get two of those croissants and the cinnamon bun,” Sanada said, though his eyes kept drifting down to the apple danish. But unless Atobe got at least three he didn’t think he could get a fourth without being teased about it and he hated giving Atobe more things to tease him about.

“Your self control is astonishing,” Atobe commented as he motioned to the chocolate croissants. “I think I’ll also get two of those, that mango and chocolate mousse, and… hm.” Unknowingly, he settled on the very thing that Sanada was also looking at getting. “The apple danish. It looks amazing. Though, so does the cherry danish. They do make these decisions so complicated.”

“We could each get a danish and share them,” Sanada said, eager to get a fourth pastry now that he knew Atobe was also having troubles limiting his own selection.

“Oh, now you’re talking.” Atobe put in their orders for baked goods which the bakery worker started plating for them. She didn’t even comment on the four chocolate croissants which Atobe appreciated. Atobe started taking their plates to a table that was near the windows for a bit of natural light and set down his coffee. “Are you getting a drink?”

“Of course,” Sanada said. He just had no time to look at the menu with Atobe all but shoving them toward the baked goods the second they were in the door. After a quick look over the drink options he opted for a hot matcha au lait and put in the order before heading to the table Atobe had picked out with the last of the baked goods. It certainly looked like they were about to sit down with at least two other friends with that many items crowding the table.

Atobe sat in one of the chairs, crossing his legs and surveying his bounty. He opted to start with the mousse, it was the item that wouldn’t last as long on the table. As expected, it was incredible - the chocolate wasn’t overly sweet and the mango was tart. He closed his eyes, just quietly appreciating the taste.

Sanada let out a light snort at how quickly Atobe had dug into the food and shook his head slightly at Atobe’s reaction. “I’ll leave you alone with your dessert. I’m getting my drink,” Sanada said as he was called over to get his matcha. He accepted it with a polite thank you before returning to the table and sitting down. Hopefully Atobe was finished with whatever moment he was sharing with his food.

Atobe chuckled. Same old Sanada. Now that he had his first taste, he sat back comfortably and waited for Sanada to get settled again. “It was a beautiful moment, thanks for waiting.” His eyes wandered briefly out the window to watch passersby, none of which were dressed quite like Sanada. “So, how are you?”

“You’re strange,” Sanada said as he took off his hat and bag and settled them on the chair next to his. He usually just blamed Atobe’s strangeness on spending too much time in overseas or having more money than sense so he tried not to hold Atobe’s oddness against him. “And I’ve been good. I think I might be less busy now that classes are starting again somehow.” His summer had been far too short and way too busy but he wouldn’t have changed a thing about it.

“Ha! That’s an odd thing.” Atobe had never been less busy when classes were going, that was when he was managing his time in fifteen minute increments and praying to the gods for more hours in the day. But, then again, it sounded as though Sanada had been a bit of a world traveler, as of late. “But I suppose you have done some traveling, have you not?”

“I spent most of the summer travelling around Japan for workshops and competitions and then did one in New York when the Open was going on,” Sanada said. He eyed the goods in front of him and picked up one of the chocolate croissants to try first. “Not nearly as exciting as your travels, I’m sure.”

“Ah, yes, the exciting Heathrow airport,” Atobe drawled, sipping his coffee. Of course he had been fortunate to see much of the world in his lifetime, but if he never saw even one brick of Heathrow airport again, it would be too soon. “Were you traveling for kendo? I’d be interested to attend a match of yours, if you have one coming up.”

“I’m sure you saw more than the airport,” Sanada said shaking his head slightly at Atobe being weird again. Nobody cared about airports, it was the places outside of them that was the exciting part. “Yes. I usually turn down overseas workshop invitations but the timing for the New York one worked in my favour. And no more matches until the start of November.” Sanada loved kendo but he was thankful he could just focus on classes and his own skills for a while without holding larger workshops or being tested on his skills.

Atobe nodded along with that. “Well, would you mind if I attended a practice? I haven’t seen your craft in some time.” Atobe himself had taken up fencing at a young age. Though the two disciplines were quite different, he held respect for the Japanese art. He was also not nearly on the same level as Sanada who could compete on the international level or grew up with his grandfather to guide him every step of the way.

Sanada considered the request and didn’t see the harm in it but he did teach a range of different classes. He couldn’t help the smirk that started taking over his face as he nodded. “Sure. I can sign you up for the kiddy class. You’ll fit right in.”

Atobe laughed boisterously, the sort of laugh that he had been told wasn’t acceptable in Japan because it was “horse laughing.” Oh well, he looked the part of the white guy enough he should be able to get away with it. “I wasn’t planning on learning, I wished to see you practice or compete. Though, I’m not going to be much taller than the students in the kiddy class.”

Sanada couldn’t help but chuckle along with Atobe, his laugh was sort of loud but it was hard not to join in. “You’re not that short… And if you don’t want to try, any of the classes would work. If there’s no sparring that class, I can always do a demonstration anyway.” There were normally some higher ranked members hanging around for private practice that would be more than happy to go a few rounds with him or he could get a family member to spar with him.

“I don’t see why not,” Atobe said agreeably. “You speak so highly of it, after all. And I do think we possess the same taste in at least some things.” Maybe not bags, though he did appreciate that Sanada had opted for something without the Louis Vuitton print on it. But certainly they had their eye on the same rival once upon a time, among other things. Tango. Fencing. Chocolate croissants. What have you.

He was going to ask what things they shared the same taste in when Sanada realized he had swiftly polished off one croissant and was already halfway through the second one. “I’ll admit, this cafe was a good choice.” It was reasonably priced, a cozy and welcoming atmosphere, and fairly quiet on a Sunday morning since it was in a fairly business orientated district. “You could do with embracing more of your Japanese heritage though,” Sanada teased. He knew his friends were always trying to get him to embrace more of a modern style so it was only fair he turned the tables every now and then. Especially when anyone taking a quick glance their way would think they had very few things in common based on their clothes alone.

It wasn’t that Atobe had deliberately eschewed embracing his Japanese heritage, but it did come with some downsides. His father was his Japanese parent and with his father came expectations, demands, and the family business. With his mother, he got Christmas, horseback riding, and roast beef dinner. It wasn’t a fair comparison, really. “Perhaps you should take me to a festival and lend me a proper kimono. I’ll even catch goldfish that you can take home and name Seiichi, or whatever pleases you.”

Sanada eyed Atobe suspiciously for a moment. He was being far too agreeable to a comment that should have led to some snarky comment or teasing Sanada for embracing hsi Japanese heritage too much. But if Atobe wanted to dress up and catch goldfish, who as he to say no? Not that he would name the goldfish after Yukimura. Maybe if it was a parrot or a sea turtle or something else that lived a long time he’d consider it. “There’s a weekend festival in two weeks… and if you catch a fish I’m naming it King.” It was both a joke about it being a kingyo and Atobe’s stupid nickname from their tennis days.

Oh. Atobe didn’t respond immediately. He hadn’t expected such an earnest answer to what was borderline snark and… well, actually that sounded rather nice. It had been too long since he had been to a proper festival and who better to go with than Sanada? Especially this very pleasant side of Sanada who was making terrible puns. Choking down his pride, he said, “It’s a date.”

Sanada nodded and then did a double take. Date?! Maybe it was because his friends seemed to have developed a far too personal interest in his private life as late but he suddenly was suspicious of the word date. “A date date or a friend date?” He asked eyeing the blond man.

Atobe looked incredulously at Sanada, taken so off-balance by the question that he just sputtered something in response. Wherever his composure had gone, he suspected it had gone there to die. “I… didn’t mean a…” He cleared his throat and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. “Sanada. Are you asking me on a date?”

“W-what?!” Sanada stuttered at the tables being so swiftly turned back on him like that. “You asked first.” He didn’t see how this was being blamed on him when the whole idea had been Atobe’s.

“No,” Atobe said sternly, “You are the one that brought up the date date or a friend date thing.”

“You called it a date. I was asking for clarification.” And now Sanada wished he had kept his mouth shut or at least had remained silent and just filled it with pastries. This was more awkward than telling Yukimura he wasn’t going to play tennis after high school.

Now that he had a couple minutes to let the thought simmer in his mind, Atobe asked, “well, would you like it to be a date date? I hadn’t really thought about it that way, but I also hadn’t thought you’d even want that.” In fact, this whole conversation was so against anything that Atobe was expecting that he was considering exiting the restaurant and coming back in just to reset the room.

Sanada stared at Atobe as if he was some pod person speaking in tongues. That would have made more sense than the actual Atobe sitting there and saying what he was saying. “Why would I want that?” He was sure Atobe was a fine enough person to date and he probably had a line of people waiting to do so but Sanada had never once thought of dating him himself. He just wanted to go to coffee with Atobe, listen to him brag about his amazing, talk about how amazing kendo was and fulfill whatever odd friendship obligation they had between them. “Do you want it to be a date?” Was this a date right now?

Confronted with that, Atobe swiftly replied, “No.” Right? Right. If there was ever anyone he had ever wanted to date, it was certainly not Sanada and it was certainly not why they had agreed to coffee… but then again, it was Sanada who asked him to coffee. “Wait. Was this a date?”

“Good,” Sanada said at getting an answer. And he was certainly not disappointed by the negative. It’s not like he wanted it to be a date. But he couldn’t even enjoy the answer because Atobe was now questioning his intentions. “And no. This is coffee.” He may have called it a coffee date when telling his friends about it but that was just what people did to describe going out to coffee with a friend. It wasn’t a date date.

“Okay. Now that we’ve straightened that out. We’re going on a date to the festival, not to be confused with a date date.” Atobe sat back and took a sip of his coffee, forcing his heart to settle from its agitated pace. This was not how he had expected his morning to go.

“Oh, Keigo-kun,” the nice old lady who owned the coffee shop said sweetly as she came to pick up the plates they were done with. “You should have told me this young man was your boyfriend. You know, my husband and I were about your age when we married.”

Atobe unceremoniously gagged on his coffee and tried to hide it behind a napkin. “...Oh?” He managed.

Feeling better now that things were resolved, Sanada picked up his drink and tried to relax back in his seat. He gave the little old lady a smile that quickly fell as her words sunk in. Boyfriend?! His head whipped around to Atobe to see if he would object but there was no help coming from that quarter. Did that mean he didn’t want to be rude to the little old lady that was like some extended family member to him? Did he want Sanada to be his boyfriend? Did he expect Sanada to step up and clarify the situation instead? “We… It’s not…. He’s not…” Sanada sputtered out. It was not his smoothest objection but he never expected anyone to think that he and Atobe were dating.

The old lady waved a hand to Sanada, covering her mouth as she giggled like a young girl. “Oh, it’s quite alright. You don’t have to be shy around me. How about a treat for you lovebirds to share on me?” She didn’t wait to get a response, shuffling back behind the counter with an eager sparkle in her eyes.

“I…” Atobe sat with his mouth hanging open, feeling like his jaw must certainly be nearly touching the table. He slowly turned to look back at Sanada and cleared his throat once more. This time, a bit of heat rose to his cheeks and burned up his neck. This was not the face he wanted to be showing Sanada right now. Surely he would never hear the end of it.

“Lovebirds?” Sanada questioned, his voice embarrassingly cracking in the middle of it. How did the elderly lady put that word with the two of them. He was feeling as dumbfounded as Atobe looked in the moment and if he could put words together he would definitely have teased Atobe about it. But right now he was thinking a hasty retreat would be the better option. “How… what…” Nope. Words to even question what had just happened were not forthcoming.

Nope. The only obvious option at this point was to abort. “Bathroom,” Atobe explained in English as he stood to get away from the table, even if only for the briefest moment. In his haste, however, he tipped the table and spilled a bit of Sanada’s (thankfully lukewarm) tea down that beautiful kimono. The lizard part of his brain took over and he snatched up a napkin to remedy the situation, not even pausing before stuffing the napkin between Sanada’s legs to wipe up the mess. “So sorry,” he muttered, also in English now on auto-pilot.

Sanada was confused for a moment before he realized that Atobe had spoken in English, probably some weird holdover from spending too much time abroad. He was mostly just envious that Atobe had thought to run away to the bathroom before he could. That envy lasted all of three seconds before he found himself covered in his drink and Atobe’s hands. “W-what?!” He got out. He grabbed some more napkins and brought his own hands down to try and clean up. He tried to bat Atobe’s hands out of the way because all that touching and rubbing was bound to make the situation even more awkward if he didn’t get Atobe away before his body got over the shock and took notice of the attention. “St-stop. I got it,” He sputtered out.

Atobe retracted his hand with the napkin and froze, looking at Sanada. Yep. This was worse. Before he could make that promised dash to the bathroom, the nice lady running the store returned with her treat - a beautiful parfait that had two spoons to share, fresh fruit, mousse, creme - it looked amazing. She looked mirthful, again, “Can’t wait to get home? My husband and I were like that, too, when we were your age… oh, young love.” She left the parfait on the table and Atobe holding the napkin impotently staring at her retreat.

Sanada froze as the lady returned and then felt a part of himself die from embarrassment at her words. It was definitely time to run away and never return to this cafe no matter how good their pastries were. But she’d just brought them a specially made treat. And it looked delicious… “I’m going to clean up,” Sanada said actually managing to get the words out. He stood up quickly without thinking and bumped into Atobe. His arms automatically went out to grab the other man to make sure he wouldn’t stumble or worse, hit the table again and send more things flying.

Atobe stood still with Sanada’s hands on him, startled. This gave way to embarrassment. And finally, that embarrassment gave way to humor. He laughed boisterously, again, covering his eyes with his hand as he laughed. This… was just perfect. Typical. Somehow with Sanada it was just never as easy as just going out to coffee. But, on the other hand… He looked back up to Sanada and patted his shoulder once. “Yes, you do that, old friend. But don’t expect me to leave any parfait for you.”

Atobe laughing was the last thing Sanada had expected to hear and it pulled him back from the panic he was feeling. And it was practically second nature to respond to Atobe’s teasing with annoyance. “If you do, I’m dumping your coffee on your head,” Sanada threatened. It was only fair since the reason he had to leave was because Atobe had dumped his matcha on him. And that parfait was a gift for them to share. It would be beyond rude if Atobe ate it all before he even got one bite. Sanada gave Atobe a spin so he was facing his own chair and nudged him in that direction before scooping up his bag and retreating to the bathroom to try and salvage what he could of his kimono.

Atobe followed the push to sit back down, a smile now plastered on his face. As soon as Sanada disappeared into the restroom, he ran his fingers through his hair to resettle it and let out a slow breath. He would deserve it if Sanada dumped the coffee on him, it would only be fair. He did hope that the tea would come out of the kimono easily - if not, he would, of course, offer to have it cleaned professionally for Sanada. He eyed the parfait, but despite his teasing, he didn’t so much as pick up the spoon while Sanada was gone.

Sanada frowned down at the giant wet patch at the front of his kimono. There wasn’t anything he could do about it other than give it time to dry but he thought it should dry cleanly. If not, his family had a cleaner they trusted to take care of all of their traditional clothes. Giving his outfit one last look and sighing again at the awkward dark patch of colour on the front, he turned and left the bathroom. It was still tempting to just head to the door and run away but his hat was at the table and he really wasn’t that rude. So he went to the counter to order a hot tea. And as he carried it back over to the table, surprised that the parfait hadn’t been touched at all. “Not hungry?” He asked as he set his tea down on the table. He double checked the chair was clean before sitting down and making himself comfortable again.

“No, we were told to split it, weren’t we?” Atobe tilted his head to Sanada and picked up one of the spoons. “I wouldn’t be so rude to our elderly host.” That said, now that they were both here, there was nothing stopping Atobe from digging in. He took the first bite of the parfait, savoring the fresh fruit on top - muddled strawberries and a bit of fresh mango. Delicious. “And, I’d hate to ruin my chances for that festival date. If you can bear to look at me, still, that is.”

Sanada rolled his eyes at Atobe being dramatic as usual. “I can look at you just fine. I’m more concerned with you throwing kakigori at me at the festival,” Sanada said. He picked up his spoon and took a bite of the parfait and let out a pleased hum at the flavours before going back for a second bite.

Atobe chuckled. “That was one time,” he said. “It’s not like I make a habit of throwing things on people.” He was much more relaxed, now. The parfait was delicious, Sanada seemed to feel comfortable joking around, again, they might live through this coffee date, yet. “I actually haven’t been to a festival in a long time. The last time was probably with Yuushi, or something. I think he was spying on some of our classmates going on a date, or something like that.” He shook his head.

“It could be a new habit,” Sanada said in justification for be wary of Atobe and drinks now. He figured the parfait was safe if only because it was so good and Atobe was going to devour it all before he could throw it at someone. “And why would Oshtari want to spy on people?” That was as weird a bit as throwing food items at people. As always, he was glad he went to Rikkai and not some other school.

If Sanada didn’t eat faster, Atobe really was going to eat the whole parfait by himself.

“He’s a romantic,” Atobe explained with a shrug. He didn’t bother to try to understand Yuushi any more than he suspected Yuushi tried to understand him. Though, if he were to get word of any of this disaster, Atobe was never going to hear the end of it. With that thought came a realization. “I assume you’re not going to tell anyone about this disaster.”

Sanada scrunched his face at just the thought of Yanagi or Yukimura finding out about this. “Why would I tell anyone?” He didn’t even have to ask if Atobe was going to tell anyone. They’d both be idiots if they willingly shared this story. Scoffing at just the idea of sitting down and trying to put this coffee date into words, Sanada batted Atobe’s spoon out of the way with his own to take a large bite of the parfait.

Atobe wielded the spoon at Sanada like a sword. “Is this my first kendo lesson?” He knocked Sanada’s spoon the next time it came for the glass.

“It’s your first sharing lesson apparently,” Sanada said and nudged Atobe’s spoon out of the way to steal a bit more of the parfait. Spoiled rich brats apparently didn’t know how to properly split a dessert.

“Sharing isn’t taking such large bites, you oaf.” Atobe reached out to slide the dish closer to himself, just slightly out of Sanada’s reach and took a bite.

“It is when the person you’re sharing it with takes like ten bites for every one I get to eat,” Sanada said and reached across the table to try and tug the parfait back toward himself.

“One of your bites is easily ten of my bites.” Atobe tried to hold the glass with the tips of his fingers, though it was beginning to slip with Sanada pulling on it. The last thing he wanted was for it to go flying and spill all over Sanada, but now it was the principle of the matter.

“Then I don’t know why you’re complaining if we’re eating the same amount,” Sanada said grumpily. He wanted to tug the parfait to him but he also didn’t want to see it go flying across the room. “We’re going to spill this.” And then neither of them would get to enjoy it.

“Then we should let go together so it doesn’t,” Atobe suggested, not releasing the parfait, as though negotiating a delicate hostage situation.

“On the count of three?” Sanada asked not letting go yet either.

So be it. “One,” Atobe counted aloud.

Sanada joined in on the counting. “Two…. Three.” He carefully released the parfait not wanting it to go flying. He figured if Atobe greedily held on, it would end up flying towards him but he didn’t want to risk getting covered with more things.

Atobe released the parfait on their count, as well. The dish wobbled, but didn’t topple or go flying. As usual, they were weirdly coordinated when they worked together. It was just that working together hardly came naturally to the pair. With the dish settled, Atobe lifted his spoon once more and took a bite, watching Sanada as he did it.

“I never realized you had such a sweet tooth,” Sanada said as he watched Atobe eat more of the parfait. While Atobe’s spoon was out of the dish, he quickly grabbed a bite for himself so they wouldn’t end up sword fighting with their spoons again.

“A bit,” Atobe confessed. He had a fondness for comfort foods just in general, his favorite being roast beef dinner with yorkshire pudding, and this parfait was no different. The bitterness of the coffee being offset by the sugary parfait was ideal. “I didn’t see you hesitate in snarfing down those croissants.”

“I was hungry,” Sanada said a bit defensively. He normally didn’t have much of a sweet tooth but he had been hungry and everything had smelled and looked so good. This type of cafe wouldn’t be his first choice when it came to food but he certainly wasn’t finding it a hardship to eat here.

Atobe held up his hands in surrender. “I am not one to judge. They are delicious, aren’t they?” He reached over to push the parfait closer to Sanada. “Why don’t you have the last bite? I do believe I owe you one for the mess.”

Sanada smiled at the parfait being pushed towards him and didn’t hesitate to dig in. “Thank you. And the baked good surpassed my expectations.” Which was saying a lot considering Bunta was always around feeding them all treats. Sanada often found them a bit sweet or rich for his tastes but they had also given him a certain expectation for baked goods.

“Well, then. If we survive the embarrassment, I’d be glad to meet here for coffee another time.” It was right next to where Atobe’s office was going to be starting in a couple weeks - he was going to have to overcome the embarrassment of looking into the shopkeeper's eyes sooner or later, so he might as well bring Sanada along on that journey.

“She really will think I’m your boyfriend then,” Sanada said. He wondered if that’s what Atobe wanted people to think even though he denied the festival being a date date.

“It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world,” Atobe commented. “It got us a free parfait. Imagine what we would get if we got ‘married.’” The mental image that summoned was wild - he could only imagine Sanada in his traditional wedding kimono with Atobe wearing a nice suit - they would look as mismatched as they did now. He almost had to physically shake the ridiculous image from his head.

“I am not marrying you for free food,” Sanada said hastily before Atobe could actually whip out his phone and start planning it. He didn’t care how good the food was. Marrying Atobe, even in pretend, could not be worth it. Though letting the little old lady think what she wanted when they came in for a coffee and getting a free treat every now and then was a tolerable idea.

“You know that Forbes has named me Japan’s most eligible bachelor,” Atobe said, motioning to Sanada with the spoon. “You wouldn’t be marrying me just for free food, think of the mansion and fortune.” In reality, it was what had prevented Atobe from dating anyone seriously - anyone who was in his tax bracket would appear too much like a marriage prospect to his father and anyone who wasn’t could realistically be using him for said fortune.

Sanada rolled his eyes at that made sure Atobe saw it. “I don’t need your mansions or fortune. If I married you, it would be because I liked the way you looked and your personality.” And anyone who wanted to marry Atobe for any other reason deserved a punch in the face as far as Sanada was concerned.

“Oh. Well, I know you don’t like my personality, but I still have a shot with my looks,” Atobe joked. He rested his elbows akimbo on the table and cradled his face in his palms. He wasn’t entirely sure he was Sanada’s type, however. Nothing about him screamed perfect Japanese spouse.

Sanada’s first thought was that Atobe was fishing for compliments like usual but the tone of the conversation seemed a bit off for that and Sanada found his tongue tied a bit on what to say. He reached for his tea and acted as if he was taking a calm sip as he looked over Atobe. He was certainly conventionally attractive especially since Forbes and idiotic masses of fangirls seemed to think so. But Sanada had never looked at Atobe and wondered if he was attractive to him. He tried doing it now and it just made him feel a bit weird. “Your personality isn’t that abhorrent,” Sanada said finally. There. That was perfectly neutral and an expected answer.

“Ha!” Atobe settled back in his chair, accepting that was probably the best he could have hoped for from Sanada. “Such an honor to not be completely repulsive.” He took a drink of his coffee, but at this point he was squeezing blood from the stone - there was hardly even a small sip left. Perhaps that was their queue to leave this goat rodeo.

“As if you don’t know your own worth,” Sanada said. He’d never known Atobe to be the type to suffer from low self-esteem. “And it’s not like I’m going to hang around with someone who I hate.” There, that was as close as Sanada would get to giving the idiot an ego boost. Not that he was sure why Atobe needed one from him if magazines were shouting their praise from the rooftops.

Atobe raised an eyebrow, the “ah~n?” slipping out of him before he could stop it. “You’re too kind, Sanada.” He hadn’t been worried that he needed to prove himself to someone he had known so long, but once more Sanada’s earnesty took him by surprise. Had he just forgotten what it was like to be face to face with him or had they both changed just enough in the past few years that maybe they weren’t quite so incompatible, anymore?

“You know,” Atobe said glancing down to his empty glass. “I wouldn’t mind so terribly if it was a date date to the festival. For what it’s worth.”

And suddenly they were back in time and Sanada was freaking out over date dates. But now it felt like if he freaked out about it he’d be hurting Atobe’s feelings and for some reason he didn’t really want to do that. At least not about this. He fiddled with his tea mug and drank the last of it to buy some time as he thought about to say to that. Surely a friend date and a date date wasn’t so different…A date date had a few expectations but the thought of holding Atobe’s hand or telling him his yukata suited him didn’t make him immediately want to commit seppuku. “I guess… well… a date date wouldn’t be so bad…” He said to his mug instead of looking at Atobe. He hoped he wasn’t blushing.

By some stroke of utter madness, Atobe found himself simply continuing along these lines. “I’ll even return to my Japanese heritage for you.” He could do better than just wearing traditional garb - with a bit of strategically applied makeup, he could downplay his foreign features. There wasn’t much he could do about the hair and eyes, of course, without changing their color.

He didn’t really know how they got here, but he was settled with the thought now that it had come to be.

“I thought you already agreed to let me dress you up in a yukata,” Sanada said. He didn’t know how much more traditional Atobe could get than that. Though he’d have to take a look at the family collection and see if there was one that would suit Atobe’s paler colouring. He wouldn’t want to go too dark and make him look like a vampire or something.

“So I did.” Atobe resigned himself to this strange fate. He could always blame the jetlag if this crashed and burned furiously. “Do you suppose you’ll have something suited to me?”

Sanada would have to dig around in the chests to find one that would fit properly but he had no doubt that there was one that would work for Atobe. “Of course. Maybe blue to match your eyes. Or green.” Definitely not black or even grey. Those colours were way too neutral and he knew Atobe enjoyed a certain amount of peacocking.

“Blue has always suited me,” Atobe agreed. Though green would also bring out the vibrant shade of his eyes, though blondes tended to look a bit sickly when dressed in green. Perhaps if it was a darker green. “Or a regal purple, if you have such a thing.”

“I’ll just pull out a few I think you might like and you can pick your favourite,” Sanada said. He would make sure to include the most garish one he could find just so he could see Atobe’s face scrunch up on it. Though if Atobe picked it the joke would certainly be on him since he’d be the one forced to look at it all night. Still, the risk was worth the chance to watch rant on about atrocious garment choices.

“Then you must have quite the collection to choose from.” Coming from the man who used to carry around four cellphones, this didn’t really mean much. Atobe chuckled in private amusement. “And what will you be wearing? Are we to be coordinated?”

Sanada’s first reaction at Atobe asking if they were going to be coordinated was to say that he wasn’t going for some cheesy pair look like a couple but then he remembered that they did say this was going to be a date date. He felt heat rising to his cheeks as he thought about wearing something that matched with Atobe’s because they were on a date date and not just a friend date. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt. We wouldn’t want to clash,” He hastily tacked on the last part not wanting to look too eager in matching Atobe.

Was Sanada… blushing? Atobe worked his way through the mental gymnastics needed to process that information alone. This encounter had led to more confusion than anything, but it seemed they continued to steadily march to the same conclusion. “No, certainly not. We have to consider the pictures.” Because that’s what people did on dates, right? Took pictures together?

“We’re taking pictures?” Is that what people did on dates? Sanada felt like he should ask Yanagi for information but that would require telling him why he needed that information and he wasn’t about to do that.

“It’s not like I’m planning pictures,” Atobe stuttered out. “But isn’t that normal to take some pictures for posterity?” Then again, Sanada didn’t exactly strike him as the sort that used instagram. He could only imagine trying to teach him about hashtags.

“Isn’t asking about pictures planning pictures?” Sanada asked suddenly confused. Maybe Atobe had spent too much time overseas and he’d forgotten how to communicate properly in Japanese. He did switch to English randomly earlier.

Atobe wondered to himself how much of this conversation could have been avoided if he hadn’t been living abroad for three years and wasn’t struggling to remember how Japanese worked. It was his first language, but damn if that was evident from this conversation. There was just no other logical assumption about how this had gone off the rails so completely. “It’s being prepared for anything.”

“So you are planning for pictures?” Sanada asked just to make sure they were on the same page. Or at least possibly in the same book.

Atobe had said he was making himself prepared for anything, so… “...Yes?”

Sanada thought that was a bit formal for what he thought of as a casual date date to the festival but he guessed a couple photos was fine. “It’s just going to be with like your iphone, right?” If he stepped out into his garden with Atobe to see a whole crew of photography people he was shoving Atobe into the pond and going back inside.

Okay. Now this was just silly. “Yes, any photos that may or may not happen will be on my iphone.” For emphasis, Atobe removed his phone from his pocket and set it on the table. His case was a simple black case intended to protect against drops and not really meant to provide decoration. On the lockscreen was a picture of his dog, Duke, with whom he was still separated for a couple weeks for quarantine.

Sanada nodded thinking that seemed reasonable and then looked at the photo on his lock screen. “Your dog is still alive?” He was sure Atobe had had the dog for about forever by now.

“Huh?” Atobe looked down at the phone and shook his head. “No, Beat left us a few years back. I only adopted Duke last year.” He was on the one hand surprised Sanada remembered, but on the other hand not really because once he got to talk about dogs, he didn’t stop. “This picture belies his size - he is a sheltie. He’s actually in quarantine in customs right now. There’s a mandatory 30 day waiting period before they return animals to your care. I sent him ahead of me so he won’t be there for much longer, but Duke comes with me nearly everywhere so this has been an adjustment.”

“Oh… well Duke looks to be a good dog,” Sanada said not sure what was appropriate to say to someone whose dog had died several years back. “It must be hard being away from him though. I’m sure he’s just as eager to get back to you.” He’d never had a pet growing up so he couldn’t really say but dogs were simple and loyal creatures so it seemed like the right thing to say.

“It is,” Atobe admitted. “I do understand why some people find the company of an animal a necessary comfort to get through anxiety or depression. The love of a dog is beautifully unconditional.” His eyes stayed on the phone screen for a long moment before he looked back up to Sanada. “I feel like you’d get on well with dogs. You’re a bit like one - loyal and gentle-hearted.”

Sanada was surprised at Atobe’s kind words as the other man rarely had something that nice to say about him. He wasn’t at all sure what to say to that so opted for a silent nod and to focus on the other parts instead. “I’ve never had a pet before. Of course I wanted one growing up.” Didn’t every boy want a dog to play with? “If you won me a fish, it would be my first pet.” And he’d be forced to spend hours researching how to keep the thing alive. But it could be worth it he supposed for the quiet company.

“Well, then I must win you King.” It was hard to imagine having made it to adulthood without ever enjoying the company of an animal in your home, not to mention learning the responsibility of caring for another creature. Then again, Sanada had basically had a class of kindergarteners in his care at Rikkai, so somehow Atobe felt he probably learned those skills on the tennis team.

“Do you think you can? Your skills are probably rusty,” Sanada teased. Teasing was much safer ground for him.

“Be prepared to be in awe of my fishing skills,” Atobe replied, flashing a wild grin.

Sanada snorted at that and then let out a proper laugh. “I knew you hadn’t changed that much,” Sanada said. It was amazing they made it this long in their coffee date before Atobe boasted about his prowess in something or that he should be in awe. “But if you catch me King, I promise to be suitably awed.” At least he’d be awed with King if not necessarily Atobe’s skills.

Of course he hadn’t changed much. The staff at his parent’s home still said things like, “well, Keigo will be Keigo” and they weren’t wrong. Still, it was nice to hear Sanada’s laugh. It took him back to a different time. “Perhaps I’ll brush up on my technique between now and then.”

“For the best. You wouldn’t want all of the little kids there to best you,” Sanada said still smiling. He was looking forward to watching Atobe crouch down surrounded by a bunch of kids all competing to catch little goldfish. Maybe he’d use Atobe’s fancy phone to film it for him.

Atobe shrugged his shoulders theatrically. “We all live long enough to be bested by the next generation.” In fact, he was almost positive that he could be outdone by the average ten year old at festival games, but that was half the fun, right?

“Don’t give up quite so easily, Atobe. You’re not that old yet. Besides, what happened to being awed?” Sanada asked. It wasn’t fun teasing Atobe about getting bested by small kids when he was so zen about it happening.

“Who said you wouldn’t still be awed?” He laughed. “You might just find yourself equally in awe of the ten year olds.”

“I thought you were supposed to be in awe of the person you’re on a date with.” Sanada was sure he wasn’t that clueless about dating that he couldn’t get at least that part right. Maybe Atobe was just as bad at dating as he was. That was both comforting and horrifying to think about.

Atobe gave that due consideration. “Are you going to awe me, then?”

“I’ll awe you with my obi tying skills,” Sanada said easily.

Atobe had no doubt. He had learned how to properly put on a kimono, of course, but this brought a new question to his mind. “Will you be dressing me, then?” He had imagined more Sanada would be picking his outfit, but the way Sanada said it made him wonder now if they were imagining two different things.

“Do you know how to dress yourself?” Sanada asked. He wasn’t even teasing. It was a genuine question since most people around his age had trouble getting a yukata on right he just assumed Atobe would, too.

Of all the weird rich kid assumptions Atobe had heard in his years… “Of course I can dress myself,” he replied indignantly, not even realizing the intended nuance of specifically referring to the proper way to dress oneself in a yukata.

Sanada frowned. He didn’t think the question was that offensive. “Fine. Then I’ll find something else to awe you with.” It would take a bit of thinking but he was sure he could come up with something at the festival that he could excel at.

Was the skill of dressing oneself something that anyone over the age of two could be in awe of? Atobe had to be missing something because this wasn’t adding up for him. “I’ll be waiting with bated breath,” he said wryly, wondering what Sanada could possibly mean if getting dressed was on the list of possible skills.

“As you should,” Sanada said infusing his voice with as much haughtiness as he imagined Atobe used on a day to day basis. “You’ll have never had a date that left you so in awe as I will.”

Well that wasn’t going to be much of a hurdle to leap since Atobe didn’t have dates to speak of, but now he felt it necessary to show Sanada up. Somehow. “Ha! And you can expect no less in return.” He casually ran his fingers through the flips of his hair just shy of an honest to goodness toss of his hair. “You’ll be left astonished.”

Not having much of anything to compare this date with, Sanada didn’t think the bar was very high. But somehow he thought the only way he’d be astonished is if they both made it through the date in one piece. Not that he could say that so instead he went with the much more neutral, “Good. I look forward to it.”

“Good, me too,” Atobe responded automatically. Though, a part of him was so sincerely curious (and confused) that he was looking forward to it. Probably.

The natural lull in their conversation gave him a moment to reacquaint himself with their surroundings. He had tuned out the bakery around them, though it was still a fairly quiet morning and they practically had the place to themselves, but the nice old lady behind the counter was watching them with a dreamy smile. Probably imagining her husband in her youth, again. Whatever it was she saw happening at this table, it was most assuredly not.

Sanada followed Atobe’s gaze to the elderly lady and frowned. “Do you think she wants us to order more things?” He didn’t think it was polite to loiter but with the cafe being so quiet he didn’t see the harm in it. Besides, Atobe was a regular, that should get them some leniency with loitering.

No. No Atobe didn’t think that at all. “No, but we probably should get a move on. I’d hate to be a bother.” He motioned back to the baked goods on display at the front of the shop. “Would you like something for the road? Perhaps something to take back to the little ones?”

“That’s a good idea. Maybe some of those danishes.” They had fruit in them so they were technically healthy, right? He’d be getting a couple more chocolate croissants for himself though. “Are you going to get anything?” He asked as he slid his hat back on.

Atobe stood, checking that he had everything. “Oh, certainly. I can’t just leave those chocolate croissants here. And now that you’ve said danish, perhaps a cheese danish.” He went to investigate the food more closely - there were also some sort of puff pastry and spinach pinwheels that looked delicious. “Maybe some of these,” he added, pointing to them.

“You want to buy them all, don’t you?” Sanada asked in amusement as he watched Atobe consider all of the options and think all of them were worth buying. It was sort of cute. If, that was, he would ever even consider using that word in association with Atobe. Which he wasn’t. He was still having trouble wrapping his mind around the date date.

Yes, Atobe thought. “Variety is the spice of life,” he said, moving on to look at what appeared to be some sort of turnover that he also wasn't sure he could walk away from. He had to remind himself that he would be here again regularly and that if he didn't get it now, he could have it another day. “But I suppose I ought leave some for other patrons.”

Sanada shrugged. “Early bird gets the worm.” If other customers got here too late to beat Atobe from buying out the stock that was their problem. But before he would let Atobe do that, he flagged down a worker to make sure his own selection of decisions and croissants were safely boxed away from Atobe.

Atobe himself didn’t go as overboard as his initial enthusiasm may have suggested, but he did think that he would probably be visited over the next few days by old friends that wished to see him now that he was back in town and it really wouldn’t hurt to be prepared to host them for tea. His purchases in hand, he made his way to the door, holding it for Sanada before exiting.

Once outside, he said, “This was lovely.” Mostly. “Thanks for meeting me for coffee.”

Sanada nodded his thanks as he stepped through the open door and then adjusted his hat to better block out the sun. And perhaps to give him something to fidget with. That sounded more like someone would say on a date date, not a coffee date. And this wasn’t supposed to be a date date, right? “It was nice,” He said neutrally not sure if Atobe was expecting something more.

Atobe put his sunglasses on, grateful to not look Sanada in the eyes for a moment, and asked, “So you’ll text me or call me with details for the festival as to where and when to meet?”

“Of course.” Sanada wasn’t one to back out of plans. Even if those plans left him completely confused and baffled about how he had ended up agreeing to them. “Are you still interested in kendo?” He didn’t know if Atobe would want to come by and watch before the festival.

“Yes,” Atobe nodded. He had nearly forgotten they had discussed that at all in the chaos of the past year, or however long they had been at this coffee shop. He suspected no more than an hour. “Just let me know when and where to be. My schedule is fairly open until October.”

“How did you manage that?” Sanada asked feeling a little envious. His schedule would require cross-checking to make sure he was free if it wasn’t so uniform in its business each week.

“Graduated last month and don't begin my position at the company until October.” Atobe had planned his schedule cognizant of what it would take to move halfway across the world. Normally, his schedule was so packed that he hardly knew what to do with himself now that he had time.

“Oh, I didn’t know. We should hold a party. Unless you’ve already had a party… then congratulations,” Sanada said. He really had fallen out of touch with what Atobe was doing. He’d mentioned work but he thought that was just on top of school like most of his other friends. But if he’d finished school, it seemed traditional to have a celebration of some sort about it. And even if he had one in England that wasn’t the same as having one here.

“You don't have to convince me to have a party,” Atobe replied with a chuckle. He had his infamous Halloween party planned and it was also nearly his birthday which would also require some elaborate to do. “But, thank you. I'm glad to be done with it. Though I may go back for my masters, eventually.”

“That’s right. I forgot who I was talking to for a moment. So you’re going to rent out the Tokyo Dome and throw a massive celebration concert? Make us all chant your name as you’re lowered down from the rafters?” Sanada teased. This was at least comfortable footing.

“Yokohama Arena, I think,” Atobe said thoughtfully. “Would you come to watch me perform?” He had never had any designs on becoming a famous rock star, or anything like that, but he did enjoy karaoke. Renting out Yokohama arena for a private karaoke event was the exact type of crazy that was up his alley and for a fleeting moment, he considered it half-seriously.

Sanada rolled his eyes but at least Yokohama Arena would be easier to get to from his house so he guessed it was an improvement. “I thought you’d get all these famous bands you knew to perform for you.” Sanada guessed he could watch Atobe sing but it seemed a weird way to celebrate your own graduation. But maybe that was just Atobe’s idea of a karaoke party with friends.

“Oh, I wasn’t even thinking of it that way.” Atobe checked the time on his phone - not that he had anywhere to be, it was a habit that was left over from a time when he had to schedule his life in 15 minute increments or nothing got done. But he did want to put in his phone this time to come watch Sanada do his kendo. “So, when are you going to show me the ways of the sword?”

“Wednesday would probably work best. I have a novice class and then a high level one,” Sanada said. He thought that if Atobe wanted to he could try to follow along with the easier class and then get to see him show off some proper moves as he sparred with the students in the high level class. Only if Atobe had the time though. Since despite saying he had a lot of it, he did seem rather distracted by keeping track of it. Or maybe he was waiting for a message from someone? He doubted Atobe was as free as he said anyway.

“Wednesday, got it.” Atobe made note and slipped his phone back in his pocket. He wasn't used to these large blocks of time with nothing scheduled - his calendar was so bare he had checked a couple times that he hadn't accidentally removed it from his phone. “Send me a text with where and when and I'll be there.”

“It will be at my place at our dojo,” Sanada said. He was sure Atobe had to have been by his home before but he’d text him a google map location later if he hadn’t or if he didn’t remember it.

“Perfect.” Atobe was certain he had been there before, but it had been quite some time. Who knew how things may have changed? “So, then, I'll see you Wednesday?”

“Wednesday,” Sanada confirmed. It almost sounded like Atobe either wanted to meet before then or Wednesday wasn’t as convenient as he said with how he was confirming the day again but Sanada figured it might just be another weird culture thing that Atobe had picked up when living abroad. “Thank you again for introducing me to the cafe.” He would have to mention it to Bunta.

“It has been my pleasure.” He took one more good look at Sanada in his traditional garb with his fancy hat and designer bag and couldn't help but smile despite himself. The more things changed, the more they stayed the same. “See you soon.”

“Of course. On Wednesday,” Sanada said. And he wasn’t sure if he said it again to tease Atobe a little for questioning the day or if just in case it was a thing in England to constantly say the next time you were meeting. He then paused for a moment before realising that it was likely that Atobe was waiting for him to leave first and took a step back. It wasn’t like Atobe was going to be taking a train, too. There was no reason for them to head off in the same direction.

There was a long, awkward pause while Atobe tried to decide if and how he should respond to this. Should he offer Sanada a ride home? Should he mention it was Wednesday again? “Yes, have a nice day,” he settled on, finally, and stepped to the curb to his car. The beautiful new Jaguar F-type had been a graduation present to himself.

Sanada was just about to turn away and head to the subway entrance when he noticed the sleek looking car Atobe was heading to. He honestly didn’t know much about cars but even he could tell that thing cost a pretty penny. “Nice car,” He said and took a step closer to it. It didn’t seem the most practical car for Tokyo but it definitely made an impression.

Well, since he mentioned it… “Can I give you a ride home?” Atobe grinned, opening the door invitingly for Sanada to see the beautiful black leather interior.

“Really? It’s a little out of the way…” Sanada said though the way he moved in close to see inside probably betrayed how eager he was to sit inside of it.

Atobe held the door for him, motioning him inside. “It’d be my pleasure. It only just made it to Japan this week so I haven’t really had the time to take it out for a joy ride since I bought it.” A trip out to Kanagawa sounded quite pleasant, in fact… and he could refresh his memory as to where the Sanada family house was located for Wednesday.

“Then who am I to deny you a nice ride out to Kanagawa,” Sanada said as he quickly got into the car. He may not be a huge car lover but even he wasn’t foolish enough to pass up a ride in this. Thankfully it was more comfortable than it looked and he could even stretch out his legs well enough. He peered around taking in all of the fancy features of the car and couldn’t even begin to figure out how much it probably cost. And then to get it specially imported… The car really was as ridiculous and pretentious as its owner. But he sort of liked it.

Little did Sanada know it was more ridiculous than that. It was a custom F-Type that Atobe had personally visited the Jaguar factory to tour and decide on the features he wanted in the car. He had also been able to test drive a few pre-built vehicles while he was there. Everything down to the stitching on the steering wheel was to the specifications he chose.

Atobe also got in the car and managed to mask fairly well (he thought) that he was still adjusting to the keyless ignition. It started up like a dream with a beautiful hum of the engine. The car had four exhaust modes - quiet, normal, sport, and track - and while it ran with a purr on quiet, the track or sport mode gave that satisfying, thunderous roar of the engine when it revved.

But maybe he could show Sanada that when he wasn't just going for a casual drive to his house. Checking his mirrors, he pulled away from the curb onto the road. The car attracted plenty of attention from pedestrians they passed.

“Is there no key?” Sanada asked a bit confused on how the car started. He was also trying to subtly double check that his seat belt was fastened properly. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Atobe’s driving. It’s just that he didn’t have enough experience with it to know if he should trust it or not. And he knew how wreckless other drivers could be.

“No, it has a keyless ignition as well as remote start.” Atobe was a surprisingly cautious and present driver. It came from learning how to drive on race cars from a tender age. However, the moment they had a stretch of open road, he would absolutely drive as fast as safety allowed. Speed felt like nothing in this car, though. It rode so smoothly that there was no difference between 80 or 160 kmph.

“Huh,” Sanada said a bit perplexed by it but finding the idea interesting. He looked out the window just in time to see someone on the sidewalk pull out their phone to take a picture of the car. It seemed Atobe liked his vehicles to attract just as much attention as he did. Definitely ridiculous. “It seems to be a popular car.”

“You don't see a car like this often in Tokyo,” he reasoned. And at least people were taking pictures for the right reasons. Once when he was visiting his family's second home in Kyoto, he had encountered a strange little coupe that was painted glittery purple with a swirl of light purple and hints of green down the sides. He had the sense to not paint his car like that.

“Or Japan. Was it difficult to bring it over?” Sanada asked. Though it seemed like it was more hassle for Atobe to bring his dog over than a fancy rich boy car.

“No, it was delivered from the factory by freight.” It wasn't uncommon for cars to be shipped overseas so there was a well established procedure for it. As though reading Sanada’s mind, he added, “It was much more difficult to bring my dog home with me, the poor thing.”

“You could always bring Duke to the festival if he handles crowds well,” Sanada suggested. He didn’t know if Atobe would have his dog back by then but he thought that if he did, Atobe wouldn’t be rushing to be apart from him too much. He may never had had a pet but he knew how attached people got to them.

“He is well acclimated to crowds, yes. It was an uphill battle to get him there, though. They are herding animals by nature.” He could only imagine what it would have been like to have Duke as a puppy at a festival. He would have made kids cry trying to herd them like sheep. “That would be nice. Then you could meet him, as well.”

“Will he try to herd my niece and little nephew?” Sanada asked with a smile. That would be cute to see. He’d even make sure to get a video to show his brother later if it happened.

“Oh, absolutely. He’s very gentle, of course, he’s good with children.” Atobe chuckled at the mental image, but he was also imagining these children to look something like just smaller versions of Sanada, but perhaps one with pigtails. He briefly considered putting pigtails on Sanada himself and felt his lips twitching in amusement. “I’d like to meet them.”

“They’ll probably be around on Wednesday. But I’ll make sure they’re home before the festival so they can meet Duke. They can keep him busy while we get you ready,” Sanada said. He knew his niece and nephew would love the chance to play with a dog, especially a big dog like Duke who was hopefully as friendly as Atobe said. He knew his sister-in-law wouldn’t mind them wearing themselves out chasing after, or being chased after by a dog instead of having to do it herself.

“That would certainly be appreciated. I can only imagine he is energized after being in quarantine for so long.” It would also be good to continue to socialize him now that his surroundings would be so vastly different. Atobe knew he had some interesting do parenting ahead of himself. “How old are the kids?”

“About six and four. I’m always reminding myself to look down so I don’t step on them,” Sanada said. He tried to frown about always having to watch out for them running about or playing with toys in the most random of spots but his lips twitched trying to smile. He might get angry at them or wish they were quiet but mostly they were cute kids and he was a sucker for them.

Atobe caught the soft expression on Sanada’s face out of the corner of his eye and smiled, keeping his eyes on the road. “You like kids?”

Sanada gave a noncommittal shrug. He wasn’t sure if he liked all kids but he enjoyed teaching the younger classes at kendo and he definitely liked his niece and little nephew. “Depends on the kids.” He’d met some little hellions he was more than happy to leave behind.

Atobe raised an eyebrow and briefly glanced at him. “What about your own kids?” He knew he would need to have a child one day or adopt a successor or what have you, but he wondered if Sanada, being the second child, felt similarly.

“It’s a bit early to worry about that,” Sanada said. He would like to have a job, his own place, and of course, someone to have children with. Considering he was currently zero for three of those things he hadn’t given much thought to if or when he’d have his own kids. There was certainly pressure from his family considering how virile his brother was proving to be. “How about you?”

“I think one,” Atobe concluded. “And if that one doesn't prove to be a disaster, perhaps more.” He, too, did not have a person in mind to be the other parent of this future child. He wouldn't be totally against being a single dad if it came to it just to never hear about his responsibility to the Atobe name ever again.

"I think siblings closer together in age are better. So don't wait too long to decide on the second." Sanada spoke from experience. He and his brother loved each other but they were never playmates or close growing up. He was closer to his older nephew in that way and his older nephew was in ways closer to him than his own siblings. But his little nephew and niece were always playing and getting into mischief together and Sanada always felt a bit of envy that he didn't get that with his brother.

That was probably true, but Atobe was an only child. He had a close childhood friend who was an approximation of a sibling, but it was different with flesh and blood. “When I'm ready to have kids, I will heed your warning.” Atobe imagined this day to be a ways off yet.

"Having two is still a good idea. That way you don't end up with a spoiled brat…"It took all of Sanada’s willpower to not add 'like you’ to the end of that. But he thought the smirk he shot at Atobe implied it.

Atobe didn't miss the pointed remark. “Having more does present its own challenges.” Namely, Atobe had hardly enjoyed a relationship with his father and if more children were added to the mix, what little time invested by his father would vanish. “I would rather be spoiled than neglected.”

Sanada was about to say something about kids being good at making themselves known or being hard to neglect when he registered the I instead of Atobe talking about his potential future kids. Oh… “Neglected?” He asked. That didn’t sound fun. His family may not have been the most conventional growing up but he never wanted for attention.

“Some parents have different priorities than others,” Atobe explained with a shrug. He had never wanted for love and affection from his mother who supported him unconditionally, but his father acted like he saw him as an investment. And that was precisely why he sometimes did things like buy himself a quarter million dollar car.

Even Sanada could tell that by some parents, Atobe meant his own. An that was probably a conversation that would take longer than a car ride if Atobe wanted to talk about it all. “Well mine will certainly be on raising my kids right. I’m sure yours will be, too,” Sanada said. Best to look to the future instead of the past.

Sanada’s earnest tone brought a smile to Atobe’s lips. “Indeed,” he said, watching the landscape pass by through the windshield. “But I imagine you consider that some time off in the future?” Atobe was certainly not planning on kids this decade, at least not in his current situation. The dog was enough.

"Of course." Sanada may love his brother but he didn't want to start a family the way he did. He wanted things done in the traditional manner and feel secure in his ability to care for his family. "I have other priorities right now."

“Such as kendo?” Atobe asked curiously. “School?” He could only imagine that Sanada had a long-term life plan that involved getting his degree, buying a home, getting married, having 1.5 children and so on, but on the other hand it was hard to imagine him fitting into any mold so perfectly. For all he seemed to wish to be a round peg, he was often a square peg in a round hole. Atobe liked that about him.

“Exactly. I’m aiming for the National Police Agency,” Sanada said. He wished the Imperial Guard still existed since the title sounded amazing but the branch within the National Police Agency dedicated to the protection of the imperial family and properties was just as impressive. Watching the annual police kendo tournaments were one of the highlights of his year.

Well, that made perfect sense, Atobe probably could have figured that out without asking. “Following in your grandfather’s footsteps, yes? Do you know what position you would ultimately like to hold?”

“I’d like to be good enough to protect the imperial family,” Sanada said. It would take a lot of determination, skill, and smarts to accomplish but he felt that he was capable enough to succeed in all of the criteria. He supposed working anywhere in the National Police Agency would be an honour and amazing but he had his heart set on working for the Emperor or his family.

There was something poetic about someone once known as the emperor aiming to guard the Emperor. “You certainly don't do things in halves.”

“As if there’s a point to doing something if you’re just going to put in half the effort,” Sanada said. He doubted that Atobe was just going to accept what was given to him and not work at expanding the Atobe brand even more.

“Certainly not.” Atobe was not the sort to be complacent in his own work.

“I’m sure you’re already plotting corporate takeovers now that you’re done school.” Or whatever it is the Atobe company did. Sanada wasn’t completely sure of everything Atobe’s family owned and did. He just saw their name pop up on things from time to time and figured it had to be Keigo’s family.

Atobe laughed. “I'm not out to conquer the free world, if that's what you're imagining.” His father had overseen some mergers in his time, of course, but it was hardly the only thing he did all day. “No, I think my first objective is to bring some Western ideals to our business structure. More paid time off, shorter work days, no expectation to drink with coworkers off the clock…” He also wanted to build a gym in the office, build an atrium in the office, and allow pets to come to work, but one step at a time.

“Do that and the free world may just give themselves to you. No conquering needed,” Sanada said. He thought that Atobe would quite the struggle to actually get Japanese managers and employees to take advantage of all of those new freedoms he was giving them but Sanada couldn’t deny that if it worked it would make the Atobe companies much more appealing to all the top talent.

“Ha!” Atobe shook his head as if to dismiss the image that sprung to mind. “It is all for the sake of creating more productive, healthier employees who feel loyal to the company because the company has shown them loyalty in return.”

“It’s okay to admit it. You just want a crowd of people chanting your name adoringly again,” Sanada teased.

“It certainly wouldn't hurt, would it, Emperor?” Atobe shot back with a grin.

Sanada snorted at that. He might have had that as a nickname when he played tennis but at least he didn’t go around telling people he was the king and people should be awed by him. But still… “I guess there is something nice about people cheering for you. Though I prefer it for kendo now.”

Atobe nodded in agreement. It had been fun to play the part of the king for a bit. “And even I'll cheer for you if it's kendo.” Though he had cheered on Sanada in tennis, as well, when they played for Team Japan together.

“Thank you. But I’m not sure the cheering is as exciting as tennis,” Sanada said. Though he supposed both sports had their quiet moments. So maybe they weren’t that different after all. And he had no doubt that Atobe could sneak in a full well trained cheering squad if he set his mind to it. “Did you give up on all sports?” It wasn’t quite the same to cheer for someone signing a contract in an office.

Give up? “No, certainly not. I still play tennis, and I fence. Horseback ride.” Atobe thought about it - beyond those things he would go to the gym and lift at odd hours of the night and Duke kept him honest on going on a jog, or at least a walk, every day. He had admittedly slipped a little without Duke begging him to go.

“Any of those competitively?” It was good to know Atobe still enjoyed tennis and other sporty hobbies but it would make for awkward returned cheering if it was just Atobe going against a friend for practice instead of some sort of competition.

“I was playing tennis in adult tournaments and leagues in Britain.” He did it in his free time, what laughably small amount of that he had, and had seen a fair amount of success in doing so. Nothing on the professional level that Sanada had been watching, lately, but there were still some highly competitive and fun men’s open events he had enjoyed. “I will probably do so next summer, here, as well.”

Sanada was impressed that Atobe had been playing in smaller local tournaments while blazing through school. He hadn’t heard about them but then, Sanada’s tennis was more Japan focused these days and more specifically his friends from Rikkai. But he had enough enthusiasm in him to spare some for Atobe. “If you do, let me know and I’ll come and watch.” He’d make sure that Atobe had one proper friend cheering for him in the stands.

“Ha! Like I could stop you if you put your mind to it. It isn't as exciting as Yukimura or Kirihara in the US Open but Men’s Open Singles events are still high level tennis. And it would be lovely to have you there.” It hadn't really occurred to him to invite friends to his matches, but Atobe thought it would be more fun that way.

“Good tennis is good tennis. I don’t care what level it’s at,” Sanada said. As long as the opponents were enough to at least challenge Atobe’s skill than he didn’t care if they weren’t playing at some fancy open.

Sanada had a point. As long as the matchup was exciting, who cares what the level is? Atobe chuckled to himself, lost momentarily in his own thoughts. “Look at us getting along.”

“Nobody would believe it,” Sanada said. At least they wouldn’t if it was several years ago. But clearly people grew up and changed. Or maybe absence just made Atobe seem less annoying. He supposed time would tell if they’d matured or if Sanada was just in a mellow mood because it’d been so long since he’d had to spend time with Atobe.

Atobe turned down what he was almost certain was the familiar street where Sanada lived. He hardly realized how long they had been in the car with the easy conversation and pleasant company. “I don't think anyone would believe I remembered where you live, either.” He slowed down, motioning over the wheel. “You will have to remind me which house it is exactly.”

“I admit that I’m impressed you got us this far. And it’s up another block. There’s a small kendo sign on the gate,” Sanada explained. The neighbourhood he was in was still mostly made up of large older houses surrounded by impressive walls but a few had been torn down to make way for apartments or several newer homes. Sanada wasn’t completely sure how he felt about that but it would certainly give his niece and nephew more chances to find play friends in the area.

Atobe kept an eye on the side of the road for the sign Sanada described, slowing to a stop and pulling over when they arrived at the home. “Here you are.” The morning had gone on longer than expected, but Atobe was glad for it nevertheless. “Enjoy your day. Don't forget your pastries.”

As if Sanada would forget such deliciousness inside of Atobe’s ridiculous, but admittedly cool, car. He made a show out of grabbing them as he slid out of the car and then looked back in at Atobe. “Thank you for the ride. And drive safe.” Even if Atobe was apparently a decent driver with him in the vehicle he wasn’t sure Atobe would be nearly as cautious without him there to judge him.

“I shall.” Atobe remained parked there until he was sure Sanada was safely back inside. Then, only then, he cranked the music and set a new course to find open road to enjoy.

Comments

[ever_yanagi]

Yanagi ships it.

[crosswithyou]

God help Sanada if when Renji finds out about all this.

[ever_yanagi]

He will try to be best/worst wingman.