deciphered

shower thoughts II

Just like promised, Oikawa made you breakfast. You sat on the one of two barstools he had against the other side of the granite countertop, resting your elbows down as you watched him chop up vegetables on a wooden cutting board with the handle of the chef's knife firmly placed in his grip. He smiled up at you while his hands were quick with the knife, effortlessly chopping up green onions with ease.

The coffee he made you earlier sat still on the counter with its steam rising above in the small cappuccino cup. You picked it up and placed the edge of the cup in between your lips, taking a small sip. It was surprisingly overindulgent for a dark roast, but Oikawa said he always preferred his coffee extra sweetened anyways. He said the meal he was cooking you was one of his favorites to eat while he was younger, mentioning it was the only thing he would eat for days when there wasn't any money in his pockets.

Freshly showered and sitting comfortable in one of Oikawa's white t-shirts and gray sweatpants, you locked your fingers together and rested your chin on top of them. Although the fast-paced lifestyle Oikawa lived through street racing was enticing, you couldn't help but also fall for the simple, mundane activities he did too. It made him seem normal, the same imaginative escapism that he always dreamed of.

Perhaps that was the reason why he was attracted to you; the simple and comforting affection you provided for him left Oikawa wanting something he'd never thought he'd ever want in his life—something he never thought he'd ever need in his life.

"Tooru? Can I ask you something?" You questioned as he stirred a pot of miso soup, throwing in the green onions and tofu he cut up earlier into it.

He turned his head around and cocked his eyebrow, mixing the soup with a spoon. "What is it?"

"Why'd you leave Osaka?"

Oikawa hesitated at first, turning his head away from you to focus on preparing the rest of the breakfast. He cracked some eggs into a bowl, mixed them quickly and placed his hands on the counter, leaning over the frying pan heating up on the gas stove. He pondered on your question, trying to find the right words to say to you.

"You said you were there for six years." You continued, watching him stare at the backsplash. Both of his hands balled into a fist before he slowly turned around, staring at you with a somber expression on his face.

"I was actually in Osaka for longer than that. I was born and raised there." Oikawa turned back around and waved his hand over the pan, checking the temperature before placing the eggs on the hot surface. "I remember Hajime telling me your mother is from Osaka as well. Have you ever lived there?"

"No, but I used to visit some of my mother's family from time to time during the summer. I lived in Shizuoka my whole life, until I turned seventeen and moved to Tokyo." You looked down at the coffee in your hands and pushed the spoon from one side to another.

"Funny. When I was seventeen, I dropped out of school." Oikawa nonchalantly mentioned, facing the stove to stir the eggs in the frying pan. Out of sight, he smiled shamelessly to himself.

"Tooru, that's not funny," you sarcastically replied with a chuckle or two letting out.

"I was actually an excellent student, too." He flipped the eggs over on the pan with a sizzle echoing after it touched the hot surface. "Year three, top of class six."

"Then why would you ever drop out?" You took another sip of the overly-sweetened coffee and cocked your left eyebrow up. "You were in a higher class than I was."

He stared at his right arm, pointing his index finger at his tattoo as he traced up to his neck.

"In my last year of high school, I was initiated into this local yakuza clan that was growing in numbers, called the Kitagawa."