words | akaashi keiji

vacations.

"Your worst battle is between what you know and what you feel!"
Alex Haditaghi

While Mei did not regret her kiss with Akaashi, she still found herself feeling guilty when she saw Hyodo the very next day, with him even attempting to give her a kiss of his own.

She gave him awkward smiles, otherwise trying to avoid spending too much time in the same room as him.

Mei had reached a decision weeks before: she needed to break things off with Hyodo for good. No more break and no more hope. The kiss with Akaashi only further proved it was the correct decision.

It wracked her with intense guilt as she thought of her decision, but she woke up nearly every day feeling guilty, so she ultimately decided that it couldn't get worse.

Sure, it was horrible that she had developed feelings for someone while still with Hyodo, but it would have been more horrible for her to continue leading him on when she realized that the feelings she developed for Akaashi were not going away.

So, after the kiss, she finally set a plan into motion. She was prepared to sit Hyodo down at the dining table and confess.

She knew she couldn't afford to live in the same apartment by herself– unless she put out a search for a roommate, which she didn't want to do at twenty-six years old. So she began searching for smaller apartments, or at least she put thought into picking up a temporary side job. But then again, her and Hyodo still had a little over a month left on their lease, so she couldn't figure out how to handle that.

Mei had really put thought into all of the possibilities, but when Hyodo arrived home with another innocent smile on his face, she faultered for even just the slightest moment.

"Babe, you'll never believe what I got for us." He spoke excitedly, dropping his things at the table near the door before greeting Mei with a kiss to the head. "I'm telling you ahead of time so that you'll make your Saturday available, okay?"

Mei only nodded in response, still halfway shocked by the sudden affection.

"This weekend, we'll be staying at the Kawaguchiko onsen and hotel right by Mount Fuji!"

• • •

Now, it was bright and early on Saturday morning, and Mei found herself in the passenger seat of Hyodo's van, where she would be for the next three hours.

It was a miracle that she had awoken at 7 AM in the first place, so it came as an even bigger shock when she didn't sleep in the car, even if Hyodo's driving was smooth and the car was completely silent.

Mei couldn't get back to sleep because the situation in its entirety made her anxious. She was unsure if it was only her who could feel the awkward tension in the car, or if Hyodo had become weirdly good at ignoring social cues.

She sat with her back to him for most of the trip, her legs bent against the car door so that she could stare out the window in thought– also so Hyodo could assume that she had fallen asleep.

It couldn't have gotten much worse. Mei was finally prepared to have a difficult but needed talk with the man beside her, only to end up on a weekend long getaway with him.

She had to wonder if the sick twist of fate was somehow the result of her kiss with Akaashi, but still, she couldn't regret it.

"Why aren't you sleeping?" Hyodo whispered suddenly, making Mei jump slightly and turn her eyes away from the window. "I have multiple things planned for us once we get there, so you should catch up on sleep on the way. You even went to sleep late because you were putting off packing."