Work Text:
Seriously…
Paolo groaned to himself as he got off the bus, squinting at the sun peeking through the trees. The company thought that it’d be a good idea to have a collective camping trip during the holidays, and he wasn’t the least bit excited. Not everyone who came along was particularly the social type and their jobs as cubicle workers didn’t bring much opportunity for meaningful relationships to flourish in the first place. Including the fact that he had to miss out on his fiancée’s plan to spend time home on her free day, Paolo was especially irritated when he saw his manager laughing gleefully as he took several shots of his wife posing in front of the bus.
“Dammit… No wifi,” someone groaned from behind him. Paolo recognized the mumbling, messy haired gentleman as Tatsuo, his coworker who took obscenely long bathroom breaks to play games on his phone. He’d tried to talk to him once when he was passing him in the hallway but decided against it when he saw the scowl on his face and his fingers violently mashing against his phone. Paolo was surprised when he saw him sitting on the bus that morning; the trip was only meant for employees who the manager deemed the hardest working after all. Tatsuo huffed and looked around for a bit before his eyes fell on Paolo.
“Hey.”
Paolo was caught off guard by the unexpected encounter. “Sorry?”
“Do you think you could spot me some data? Mine’s all out and I need to text my boyfriend to let him know I’m alive,” said Tatsuo. Paolo took a moment to process his words before quickly nodding.
“Oh, uh, sure,” Paolo turned on his mobile hotspot as Tatsuo mumbled a small thanks, typing in the password before switching over to, presumably, text his partner. Paolo was still bemused at the fact that Tatsuo managed to find someone despite his overall antisocial nature. He watched as the man shuffled in his spot for a while before he sighed again, flashing Paolo an apologetic look.
“Sorry, my messages aren’t getting through. Is it okay if I call him instead?”
“Oh, no worries,” Paolo chuckled, trying to stay cool, “Use as much as you want, I have a lot.”
Tatsuo hummed. “Really? What plan do you have?”
“Unlimited,” said Paolo.
“Damn, that sounds nice,” Tatsuo heaved dramatically. “My boyfriend would never let me get something like that. He says that it’s “wasteful” if it’s just for one person and that I’d only ever use it to play games or watch videos. Which I mean, is fair enough,” he laughed to himself. Seeing Tatsuo so talkative and smiley gave Paolo whiplash. Was this really the same person that always hid in the bathroom and never talked to anyone?
“I’m sorry if this is rude to ask but…” Paolo started, too curious for his own good, “how long have you two been together?”
Tatsuo was about to press the call button when Paolo asked, a bit taken aback by the sudden question. He thought to himself for a second. “Hmm, I’d say about…” Tatsuo counted on his fingers, his brow furrowing, “maybe three years now? I’m not actually sure.”
Three years? Paolo was surprised to just learn about this. After all, during their February company cruise trip, everyone was invited to bring their significant other. He didn’t recall Tatsuo coming with anyone that time. Tatsuo seemed to notice the quizzical look on Paolo’s face. He smiled awkwardly at him as he wrung his hands.
“You must be thinking about the cruise, huh?” Tatsuo asked.
Paolo looked away in embarrassment, not expecting to be read so easily. “I don’t mean to come off as judgey but I couldn’t help thinking about it.” He brought his hand up to scratch at his mouth and chin, feeling bad for assuming. “Sorry.”
Tatsuo laughed, “No, no. It’s okay. People assume I’m single a lot. Especially then.” Tatsuo sighed as his smile morphed into something sadder. “Isamu actually wanted to go because he’d never been on a cruise before but I got kind of scared, I guess.” Paolo followed Tatsuo’s gaze wander to everyone else in the group as they warmed up to each other, laughing and chatting about. Tatsuo watched them with a solemn look.
“Why?” Paolo asked.
Tatsuo looked at Paolo and gave him a sad smile.
“Why do you think?”
Paolo, slow as ever, finally pieced things together as his eyes widened in disbelief. Tatsuo laughed again but it seemed to be more of pity than amusement. “Yeah, exactly.”
Paolo couldn’t believe how heartbreaking that must’ve been, to not be able to celebrate Valentine’s Day with your partner. Especially at such a rare event like a cruise trip. Tatsuo continued as Paolo wallowed in the now depressing atmosphere of their conversation, “We got into a fight that night, after telling him that I didn’t want him to come. He thought that I felt ashamed of him but really, I felt more ashamed of myself. It would’ve been the first time I’d been out to the company. Or anyone else, really.”
Paolo felt terrible for thinking that Tatsuo was cold-hearted and dismissive. He understood now that he just acted the way he was to protect himself and his partner. It pained him to think that Tatsuo couldn’t spend the trip with Isamu because he didn’t feel safe expressing his true self. Hesitantly, Paolo placed a hand on Tatsuo’s shoulder and squeezed it in sympathy; the man looked at him with an unreadable expression. He’d apologize but what for? It’d just come across as condescending and he didn’t want that. Instead, he asked, “Why don’t you give Isamu a call then?”
“What?”
Paolo just grinned at him, “Why don’t you tell Isamu that you’ll be heading home soon?”
Tatsuo was even more baffled. “What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“I’m saying we bail on this trip and head home to spend the day with our partners. It sounds much better than staying here, don’t you think?” Paolo lightly nudged Tatsuo’s side as he started to walk towards the manager. Sputtering in confusion, Tatsuo rushed to follow Paolo.
“What about the others? Shouldn’t we tell them?”
Paolo scoffed, “Who cares about them? We got people who care more about us at home. So why should they matter?”
At that, Tatsuo stopped in his tracks. He stared at Paolo in a mix of surprise and inspiration, making Paolo’s grin fall into something more natural, more kind. Warmly, he offered his hand to Tatsuo.
“So, are you in or out?” He asked.
After a quiet moment of consideration and hesitancy, Tatsuo shook his hand in return, a small but growing bond forming between the palms of their hands. He smiled at Paolo, his eyes creasing in delight.
“I’m in.”