anakiddwrites

Hajime just wanted to bring a treat to his dear Bishojo-senpai, and thanks to that he finds out they are watching his hard work for longer than he realized.

Enstars Rarepair Week 2024
Day 5 - Secret Relationship
 

“ ♪ ~ ♪ ~ ♪”

Hajime hopped out of the bed early on Saturday for a long shower in preparation for that special day, enjoying the warm water embracing his body while thinking back on the message he had received three days ago. It was simply a hotel room photo with a date and time, but the sender’s contact was more than enough to make Hajime’s heart skip a beat.

After all, once carving himself in Bishojo-senpai life against all odds like a stubborn hare, there was no way he would take any invitation for granted.

A special occasion that deserved his soft body lotion, extra time drying and brushing hair and applying light makeup with the gloss gifted from Ideia-sama themself… Hajime smiled to the mirror, blushing just from imagining how they would enjoy the familiar flavor. Good thing his roommates were already out for their own businesses, otherwise it would be hard to hide the silent enthusiasm and glowing aura surrounding him as he dressed up in the cutest outfit he could put together after spending the last three days deciding it.

Pink for a change but within his style, an adorable short-sleeved shirt letting a peek of tummy out and unbuttoned collar, like a formal piece with a playful twist. Blue shorts completed the look, along with an oversized pink beret with a huge ribbon that Hajime wasn’t sure about wearing until the last second. He decided to go for it, considering the rest of the outfit was tame enough and it wouldn’t be too much. Kirarai Dearu style could be a hundred times bolder, after all… and as much as he was meeting Ideia-sama alone, their taste guided the virtual singer choices as well.

“Praising my choices or scolding me… I’m fine either way, as long as Ideia-sama is honest with me… ~ ♪ ehe… ~”

It was so obviously a date in the works, even though he should not use that word. Well, idols shouldn’t be playing around on dates in any case, but Hajime’s situation was… unique, for lack of a better term.

But that didn’t stop him from smiling ear to ear while leaving his room and heading towards the mostly empty ES basement parking lot, where a lone black car waited for him in the darkest corner. His small platform heels echoed in the silence as he closed the distance with the vehicle and opened the back door without a sign of surprise or hesitation, following a familiar procedure.

“Good morning, Kira-san.”

He greeted the driver with a smile, sitting obedient on the luxurious white leather, aware he would get just a nod for an answer before the car started moving and smoothly left the building towards their destination. A hotel somewhere, whenever Ideia-sama had chosen this time. Hajime knew better than to ask about such details and he genuinely didn’t mind either, just happy to meet his beloved senpai after a while.

They didn’t forget about me.

Resting against the seat and looking out of the window with a timid smile, he was starting to indulge in the comforting thoughts when something outside caught his attention and rewinded his mind to a moment of the past, almost forgotten in space in time, but still deeply treasured.

“A-ah! That place…” He jolted against the glass with sparkly eyes, recognizing the panda sign on the sidewalk. After a moment of self-deliberation, he took a deep breath and turned to the driver’s direction with a bold decision. 

“K-Kira-san, do you think we can stop for a moment there…?”

Hajime never asked a single thing during those rides, not even a bottle of water, even though the car was always equipped with luxuries to satisfy even the most demanding guests. So naturally there was an intrigued aura in the look Kira sent back to him through the sunglasses that Hajime could see in the driver’s mirror. 

“S-sorry for the bother… it just…” He looked away, his cheeks growing red as he tried to explain himself. “That bakery… I did a job there once, during my first year… I dressed as a panda mascot to promote the shop… ehe… ~ it was one of my first jobs at school… p-probably sounds silly, but… s-since it’s on the way…”

Twiddling his fingers, Hajime smiled and pushed through the hesitation of his heart, his voice seeping with genuine fondness.

“... i-is it bad to get a cake for Ideia-sama?”

His answer was the car parking in front of the bakery and a surprisingly rare slight smile from Kira. But Hajime had no time to think about it too much, overjoyed with the approval for his humble plans.

“I’ll wait.”

Hajime bowed in gratitude, hopping off the car wearing a simple mask for extra safety and praying the strawberry cheesecake with blueberry sauce was still part of the menu… and fate was being extra kind to him that sunny Saturday morning, so not even ten minutes later he had the cute cake box on his lap, along with the brightest smile on.

“I hope they like it…” Hajime mused to himself, his legs bouncing a bit in anxiety and trying his hardest to not be taken over by a wave of irrational self-doubt. His relationship with Ideia was still permeated with dancing around and testing murky waters, but hopefully a simple gesture like a surprise cake wouldn’t make things awkward or diminish him in their eyes.

“It’s going to be ok.”

The fact that Kira still had the mysterious smile on and talked more than one sentence was very intriguing to Hajime, but he chose to just smile back and take it as permission to keep going. After all, Kira knew Ideia longer than anyone and was part of Kirarai Dearu, so… he would not allow anything to ruin the date they planned themselves because of the silly whims of a rookie bunny.

“... t-thank you, Kira-san.”

Silence reigned for the rest of the ride, Hajime having no interest in looking out of the window anymore and just gazing fondly at the cake in his hands.

In no time they arrived at the destination, as expected the fanciest room of a five star hotel. Hopefully someday Hajime would get used to it without feeling hyper-aware and anxious, but not today. However, he just had to remember who was waiting on the other side of the door to power through his rooted fears.

Once I look at them again, it’ll be alright. 

“G-good morning!!! Thanks for having me… ~ ♪”

Hajime announced himself with a bright smile as soon as he stepped inside, happy to meet the tall figure of his beloved senpai standing with their back turned to him in the middle of the room. He didn’t mind that, his heart pounding with the divine sight of their long red hair falling on a flawless high ponytail.

“You arrived earlier than expected… ~ ♪ Did Kira-kun disrespect the speed limit?” They teased lighty while fixing their earring, turning to the junior with a nonchalant expression despite being totally aware that Hajime and Kira were right on time.

“N-no..!! Not at all… Kira-san drove safely as usual… ~ ♪” Hajime was fast to clear the assumption earnestly regardless of intentions, nodding back at Kira with a grateful smile. The bodyguard looked unfazed as always, just nodding in return while holding the doorknob to take his leave.

But then, something unprecedented happened and he smiled slightly again behind his sunglasses.

“Then, excuse me. Have a good day.”

Without further explanation Kira closed the door, leaving Hajime and Ideia blinking in confusion and wondering if their imagination was playing a prank on them.

“... what was that… well, anyways.” Ideia sighed, leaving that aside and walking towards Hajime with a soft smile and calm steps, gently holding his chin with two fingers. “What do you have here, Hajime-kun?”

“Ah… a-ah, I… I just…!!” Hajime needed a moment to process the question, shivering with the brush of the long nails on his skin, the velvet voice in his ears and the familiar dazzling perfume surrounding him. “It’s j-just a small thing…!!!”

Red as a tomato and feeling a thousand butterflies twirling in his stomach, Hajime handed them the cute wrapped box without looking into their eyes. It was confusing but absolutely adorable, so Ideia didn’t mind and rewarded him a light chuckle, holding the item.

“A gift for me? ~ What a gentleman you are, Hajime-kun ♪ What could it be… oh-”

As soon as their golden eyes met the panda icon and name engraved on the wrapping paper, Ideia fell silent, staring at it and holding it tight with both hands.

“I just… w-we passed by this store on the way and I remembered the job I did there… s-some years ago, before we met, so…” Staring at the red carpet of the floor and smiling timidly, Hajime hushed to explain himself without realizing his senpai’s reaction yet. “I k-know it’s silly, but… I wanted to bring one of their cakes… and it’s really good, so..! Ah…”

He finally gathered courage to look up, meeting their stern expression and feeling the floor vanishing under him in doubt and sudden fear.

“... i-is it.. n-no good…? Ideia-sama…?” He whispered in shame, clenching fists and mentally already preparing a billion apologies and ways to make up for the blunder before any critique actually came his way. 

“... ah…? A-ah! N-no, don’t be foolish, Hajime!” They hurried to say, snapping back to reality and seeing that pale face of his instead of the adorable bunny smile. “It’s nothing like this, there’s nothing wrong with cake…! Nothing to worry about …!”

However, as they rushed to sit on the armchair and take some control of themselves back again by moving around, they couldn’t stop their cheeks from burning red as their hair.

“Nothing… really?” Hajime tilted his head, purple eyes gazing deeply at their reactions, body language and expressions. Thankfully they didn’t seem angry, but… something was in the air for sure. And since they didn’t reply, Hajime moved closer, brushing his hair behind ear and testing the waters with his sweetest voice tone.

“... Kira-san also.. smiled when I suggested it on the way here. He rarely does, so… I couldn’t help but notice it, sorry…”

“.... of course you did… of course he did…” After a few moments of silence, Ideia sighed, tapping their nails slightly on the box and now understanding what was behind the event of Kira’s unexpected smile. 

The cake’s sight had caught them completely off guard, so a reaction in front of Hajime was unavoidable and they knew the gracious yet stubborn rabbit would not let this slide until getting an acceptable explanation. That’s why it’s always easier behind a screen and virtual model… It's like they still haven't gotten any better since that day almost three years ago, when they were staring from a distance at that same silly panda logo.

To be fair, it was all Kira’s fault for bringing that treat to their home office completely unprompted three years ago.

 

“Cake?”

Ideia stared at the cute panda box in their hands with raised eyebrows, still waiting for an explanation. Kira just handed them a pamphlet in response, where a young blue-haired boy with demure purple eyes and wearing a sailor male uniform offered a soft smile, opening arms to the viewer.

“It’s from a sale promoted with this idol in a panda costume.”

Ideia’s expression softened the tiniest bit for a split second, before they smirked and dropped the pamphlet aside with some disdain. 

“Hajime Shino? Never heard about.” They scoffed, looking up at Kira from their chair again and crossing legs, inquisitive. “Idols do not concern me, you know that.”

“He’s just a student, apparently.” Kira answered calmly, resting hands in his pockets. “I just thought you would like the cake… and he’s cute, isn’t he?”

“Hunf. A cute male idol…? As a part of Kirarai Dearu, I expect Kira-kun to have standards.” Ideia sighed with a sprinkle of disdain, unwrapping the box slowly and allowing the aroma of the strawberry cheesecake with blueberry out in the room and staring at the smiling panda on top. 

“Hm. The cake does look good, at least. ♪”

Good enough to provide them a proper break from work, enjoying the taste and occasionally finding themselves looking again at the boy printed on that pamphlet with such an inviting smile despite the cheap paper… and the idol label hovering over his head.

“Hajime Shino, hm…?” 

 

“…. and the next day I knew everything about you, Ra*bits and Yumenosaki.. not only that, later I asked Kira to drive me to that shop.” Ideia played with the strawberry cheesecake with blueberry, avoiding the big purple eyes staring at them in person now. 

“... It was the first time I left the house in… god knows how long.”

They tried to sound nonchalant and shrug it off, but couldn’t control the growing red cheeks reminiscing about those days and unsure about Hajime’s reaction. His silence wasn’t helping the expectations, but he needed a minute to process the surprising confession too.

“... did I… d-did I sell you cake..?” He finally parsed a question to ask, his voice in awe and flustered face actually bringing some relief to Ideia.

“... I was wearing a mask, sunglasses and a short wig, but…” They rushed fingers through their ponytail, tilting their head a little to the side. “After some preparation, I was able to leave the car and get in line. Your adorableness really seeped through that panda costume. Impressive.”

Hajime didn’t have to know they needed almost an hour to drag themselves out of the car and were on the edge for the whole five minutes that purchase lasted, unable to exchange any words with him at the time and exhausted for the rest of the day. On his side, Hajime could only stare at them absolutely bewildered, too busy parsing his own feelings to think about any other implications.

“I-Ideia-sama… left the house… to see me…?” He whispered in a borderline dreaming state, mostly talking to himself aloud than directly asking them.

“I was…! Intrigued.. !” They almost gasped, looking back at him with wide golden eyes and face burning red, their attempts of remaining composed going down the drain. “An idol doing such jobs… and a male unit cute concept. I had to investigate what Yumenosaki was up to, s-specially because your manners while wearing the panda costume drove customers like birds to breadcrumbs. So I had to check for myself.”

“Hmhm.. ♪ I-it seems so…. ~” Hajime nodded, brushing his hair behind his ear and almost unable to contain his infatuation. “I was just an inexperienced student back then… but I did my best with my whole heart… It was a really good job… ~”

He sighed softly, gazing at the marzipan panda on top of Ideia’s cake with grateful nostalgia. The thoughts and emotions running through his mind and heart were bringing him to the verge of tears, but he chose to express the core that really mattered to him in the end.

“I’m really happy to know I was able to reach you…!”

Along with the brightest smile reserved only for Ideia to witness, and that melted their heart every time in return.

“...... ah… well… if you say it like that… ” They finally smiled lightly, crossing arms and gracefully accepting defeat to Hajime Shino’s cuteness once again. “That also means I had my eyes on for a long time before we first contacted, right ~ doesn’t that qualify as stalking, I wonder ~?”

“I’d rather see it as a fateful meeting… ~ ♪” Hajime tilted his head, humming the words in his sweetest tone while locking eyes with them. “And finding out you’ve been supporting me for so long is nothing less than a blessing. Ehe ~ ♪ I’m so lucky…”

He stepped closer, opening arms and letting Ideia take his hand to guide him to their lap with a light chuckle. Focusing on questionable circumstances with a fairytale lens was just the expected reaction from Hajime, after all. Especially now, when he was perfectly nestled on his beloved senpai’s legs with their full attention and surrounded by their warmth and perfume.

“By the way, that’s a cute beret ~ buuuut now I wanna see your hair better too.” Ideia patted his head, casually taking his hat off and gently brushing fingers on the big ribbon. “I like it when Hajime-kun makes bolder cute fashion choices too ~ ♪”

Hajime's cheeks turned fully red and his eyes lighted up with the praise, watching them wearing the beret instead in awe and silent adoration. He knew it would suit them perfectly as well, but he kept any comment to himself and just focused on burning the adorable sight deep in his mind forever.

With luck, their scent and hair strands would permeate that beret like a goddess’ blessing.

“Ehehe… thank you… T-that reminds me… I still have the panda-theme outfit I custom made for this promo with Ra*bits… you remember it too, right? Do you wanna see it sometime?” He asked playfully, pleased for finally getting the closeness he yearned for weeks. 

“I do remember it… I haven’t had the chance to see it properly though, so that’s a tempting offer ~ ♪ maybe prepare it for next time?” They winked, twirling his soft hair and caressing his adorably blushed round cheeks. “And bring a cake for yourself next time too… ~ even though I don’t mind sharing mine ~ now say ãããhhh… ~ ♥”

They sliced a mouthful of cake with the fork, offering it to Hajime’s lips despite his surprise with the gesture, unsure of how to react for a split second.

“.... I-I just thought of bringing you a treat… but… ããããhhh ~ ♥”

With the promise of a “next time” soothing his heart, he also had no ways to resist Ideia’s pampering any further and happily munched on the soft cake.

“Now that’s a good boy ~ ♪ My good boy… ~ ♥”

The successor talk could have been dropped by now, but having Hajime at their reach to hold his chin and wipe cake crumbs from his lips with a sweet and slow kiss was a more than satisfactory outcome. There had been enough talk of the past for the day, so reminding him to focus on the present moment was just the natural thing to do, after waiting patiently for that Saturday themselves as well.

And everything because Kira-kun decided to bring them a treat and a pamphlet on a whim, poking their walled virtual singer world with a glimpse of genuine kindness awaiting outside.

At the shop far from the hotel, Kira calmly enjoyed his panda cake with a rare smile on, reminiscing the first day in ages when he drove Ideia in person instead of taking a laptop with him… it may be still unclear for him what power Hajime Shino yields and probably the boy himself doesn’t fully realize it, but he’ll be forever thankful for his existence, just like Ideia.