All right then, I'll come pick you up from the station, read the latest message on his phone, and Tatsuya smiled to himself before replying. The train should be arriving here soon, he sent back, then added, See you in about hour and a half!

It was time to go home, and Allan was waiting. Tatsuya had worked alone today and couldn't wait to go back to his partner after spending most of the day in a meeting with a bunch of businessmen at least twice his age. It had at least been interesting enough, even without Allan there with him. PR meetings were unfortunately nowhere near as entertaining as gunpla workshops, but it made no difference in the end since it was still all related to gunpla. Tatsuya had been told he was doing a good job, and he didn't doubt it.

He took a glance at the station clock; the train would arrive in about four minutes according to the schedule, and he walked to the closest bench to sit down while waiting. He was a little tired and contemplated on taking a nap on the train. Well, it wasn't like he had anything better to do unless he wanted to buy a light novel or something. He knew there was a stand selling magazines and such nearby, but walking there was too much effort, and the train would be here soon enough.

Just a few more minutes. Tatsuya stretched his arms and leaned back on his seat. He felt a little strange, sitting there wearing a suit like a salaryman, but dressing smart had been required today. Besides, Allan had told him in the morning that he looked handsome, and he wasn't about to turn down a chance to get random compliments from his partner.

He caught a boy and a girl with their parents from the corner of his eye and turned to look in their direction when he realized the boy had a gunpla box with him and the happiest smile ever on his face. That... Seeing that was one of the best things he could ask for, and it made him feel content. It was just another kid happy about a new toy, but since it was gunpla Tatsuya couldn't help but smile.

He then noticed someone had discarded a soft-cover book on another bench behind him, and he reached out and picked it up for no reason. The text on it seemed to be in English, but he didn't have time to take a look at the title though as the train arrived right then, half a minute ahead of the schedule.

A few minutes later he was seated comfortably, the train was moving, and his options were either taking a nap or taking out his phone and doing something with it - or reading this random book he had picked up. He held it up to look at it, terribly amused by the title. Guide to a Better Relationship and Marriage, it read. What was this, a self-help guidebook? The author had a western name, and looking at the back cover and the first few pages also showed him it was indeed an English-language book, not that it bothered him. He was more curious about what something like this was doing in a train station in Japan. Perhaps a foreigner had left it there? Or just someone who could read English.

"Chapter one," he stated quietly to himself. "Communication."

He idly scanned the pages that had generic explanation and analysis on how married couples should communicate. "Not being able to have conversations about things concerning daily life" seemed to be very common problem according to the guide. Well, he certainly didn't have that problem with Allan. He could talk to Allan about pretty much anything, after all.

Wait, why was he thinking about Allan here, anyway? Well, if it was a relationship he wanted to try to apply anything on, it involved Allan. He grinned and skipped few pages, only to come across a list of possibly problematic conversation subjects. Discussing money? No, he definitely didn't have that problem with Allan either, though he couldn't remember if they ever actually talked about money. He lowered the book and tried to think. They both had an income, and he certainly had never had any problems with money considering his background. But why did he let Allan buy him lunch, then? Well, if this was an important subject, maybe he'd have to ask his partner about it. ...And try to pay for Allan's lunch once in a while.

"Different values," he read on. There was a list of things, everything from views on life to household chores and raising children, plus something about cultural differences. He frowned a little, trying to analyze the text. He wasn't so sure if cultural differences were a problem, seeing Allan had lived in Japan for long enough to understand at least basics of Japanese culture - and in return, Tatsuya tried his best to understand any minor foreign habits Allan might have had. The chores part, though? Tatsuya had to admit he was rather useless when it came to anything even as simple as doing laundry, but Allan had him covered. Maybe he needed to take a little more active role? This book seemed to be telling him that.

At least they were never going to have trouble with the "raising children" part, he thought to himself as he glanced to the side only to realize that the family of four from earlier was sitting just a couple of rows from him. The girl was looking at a story book with her mother, and the boy was enjoying himself studying the gunpla manual with the help of his father. It was an Overflag kit, he noted, catching the picture on the side of the box.

Gunpla? Tatsuya tapped his chin a little, thoughtful. It had been merely a few days ago when he had had a friendly argument with Allan about painting a few model kits. He almost laughed aloud, admitting to himself that maybe he and Allan sometimes had a little different views on their "children" after all. Allan was the better builder, and Tatsuya liked listening to his views on building, but that didn't mean they always agreed on color schemes or such. They still had respect for each other's opinion, so all was well.

Next chapter in the book was about time management. He skimmed through the pages, mostly looking at the section titles. According to this, it was important that couples arranged time for each other. He and Allan definitely didn't have a problem with this seeing they spent most of their time together... Or wait, what did this thing say about couples who work together? It made a point about free time, and he made a mental note to drag Allan somewhere to spend time on a day off. It was not that they didn't spend much of their free time together anyway, but...

Why was he letting this stupid guidebook get to him this much? This was so ridiculous, but he read on anyway, mostly ignoring the stuff about having same kind of interests. If he and Allan didn't have that, then they wouldn't even have met in the first place. Keeping in touch with his partner's life and interests was definitely not a problem.

There was something on the next chapter that made him stop and just smile. Mutual goals? Had they not already reached some of them? What came next didn't matter right now, when they were both content with the current situation. They both had a positive look into the future as well. A positive outlook... With how much Allan smiled, there was no way he didn't have that. It made Tatsuya happy, knowing that he wasn't alone.

"Seeing you smile makes me happy," Allan had once said. Or was it more like, whispered into his ear while holding him in his arms? Tatsuya didn't really care right now. If this book was a guide to a better relationship, at least they were doing something right. This whatever stuff about keeping up admiration and love didn't feel like a problem either.

The last chapter of the book was about sex, and he smirked a little, idly browsing the chapter. It recommended talking about things once again. He made a note to himself again and started making plans on asking Allan about what he liked in sex. In the end, did they ever really talk about that? It just felt like they knew what the other liked and didn't have to talk about it, but according to the stupid guide, it was important to actually know what one's partner likes. He had to wonder if there was anything he should have told Allan. There was nothing he could think of right now that Allan probably didn't know already, but...

On the other hand, they were definitely going to have a conversation about this. He absolutely had to know if Allan had some interesting fetish like dressing up as a Gundam character... Or roleplay, perhaps? Considering how naturally Allan played along with the whole Meijin thing, Tatsuya had to admit this would not have come as a surprise to him at all. Or what if Allan was into bondage? He suddenly wished Allan was into that then realized this communication thing worked both ways, and all he had to do was ask. And didn't this chapter here say that trying new things was recommended? Besides, Allan had definitely liked light bondage in the past... Wait, which one of them was into bondage here, now? Tatsuya grinned at himself and swore in his mind that they would try something like that at some point. Bondage was all about trust, after all. At least he knew for certain that if he ever wanted to try something, Allan was all for it.

The book also warned about losing intimacy and even lack of sex, but they didn't have that problem. No, they certainly didn't, even though reading thing like this made him paranoid. Maybe they needed to touch each other more? If there was a problem it was probably from his part, with him being Japanese and not very casual about touching people. Allan didn't have that problem, always kissing him on the forehead in the morning, petting his hair and whispering something embarrassingly cute. All right, no problems with intimacy, he decided. He'd just have learn to show some occasional affection as well.

The chapter went on about cuddling after sex being a sign of a healthy and happy relationship, and he simply closed the book and put it down. If that's what it took, then they were indeed a happy couple. After all, there was no place better than sleeping in Allan's arms.

He tossed the book in his bag - it would surely amuse Allan if he showed it to him later - and checked the time from his phone. Taking a nap didn't sound too bad after all, though he regrettably didn't have his favorite headrest available since he was traveling alone. He set the alarm to wake him up before the train reached his stop and took a comfortable position in his seat. It only took him a minute or two to fall asleep.

Some time later the phone beeped, and Tatsuya awoke from his light slumber. It wasn't the alarm yet; that wouldn't go off until five minutes from now, the clock told him. Instead, there was a message from Allan. Stuck in traffic, will be at least five to ten minutes late. Sorry! The message read. Tatsuya smiled and wrote a reply. That's fine. I'll wait at the main entrance.

He disabled the alarm and studied the upcoming work schedule for a bit. There was a meeting tomorrow morning, and he remembered that there had been some documents he was supposed to take a look at. Well, that could wait until he got home since he didn't feel like checking them right now. Besides, he'd have to check if Allan had read said documents already. He would read them in any case, but if there was something important in them, Allan would surely point it out.

A few minutes later there was an announcement for the train arriving to the next station, and he put the phone away and picked up his bag. Almost home... Except he'd have to wait around for a bit for his ride to arrive. Well, what difference was a few minutes, anyway? Allan had not sent any other messages, so the situation was apparently still the same.

He got off the train once it stopped and considered his options. Getting a drink from the vending machine and just sitting around close to the main entrance sounded good enough, and he did just that then idly browsed the net on his phone while waiting. There was a magazine stand nearby, and it reminded him of the book in his bag. That gave him another idea, and he looked up a bookstore's website. A little bit of searching around to see if there were any English-language books on the subject around, and...

"The Art of Kinbaku," he read. This one, especially judging by the summary, sounded exactly what he wanted, and he smirked a bit as he bought the book. The choice of language was simply to make it easier to read for Allan. Having to explain kanji to him in the middle of trying something would just make things too complicated. He then closed the browser and loaded up one of the work documents, figuring that it didn't hurt to glance through something while waiting.

A few minutes must have passed, but Tatsuya was barely paying any attention to his surroundings until he heard a familiar voice call his name from somewhere behind him. He lowered the phone and turned to see Allan standing a few meters away from him. "Did you have to wait for long?" The man asked, and Tatsuya shook his head.

"Not really," he replied as he stood up. He had a random need to reach out to touch his partner somehow, but he held himself back, knowing that that kind of action in a public would confuse even Allan. "The phone kept me company for a couple of minutes," he added with a smile and stuffed the phone in his pocket while picking up his bag.

Allan smiled. "Good! It's pretty bad traffic out there, so we might want to take a longer route to get around it. But I guess you don't mind?" He nodded his head towards the doors. "The car's right outside." He headed out of the train station and towards the car, and Tatsuya followed him.

"How was the meeting?" Allan inquired as they were getting seated, and Tatsuya just shrugged as a reply. Allan laughed a bit at that. "Not particularly interesting, then?"

"Not really; we were just going through some old event plans," Tatsuya told him. "I'm sure your day was more interesting."

"Only if you think doing laundry, grocery shopping and replying a bunch of emails is interesting," Allan said with the usual smile on his face. "I was actually supposed to call-" He continued, but Tatsuya suddenly leaned closer and pressed a kiss on his lips to shut him up. That made the other man stare at him in silence for a moment. "...Tatsuya?" There was a hint of bewilderment in Allan's voice, but at the same time, the way he called his lover's name was soft and affectionate.

"I missed you," Tatsuya said quietly, feeling slightly embarrassed. He almost looked away, but Allan was smiling at him gently, and he sighed in relief. For a moment he had feared that a random action like that would make his partner feel awkward, but in the end their relationship really was on the level where they simply felt comfortable around each other and a sign of affection like a sudden kiss was completely acceptable.

Allan raised a hand and his fingers brushed Tatsuya's chin lightly. "That's an awfully cute thing to say," he mostly whispered, caressing his partner's face a little. "But what brought on this all of a sudden?" He then asked with a warm smile on his face. "You don't usually..."

"Nothing," Tatsuya quickly lied, settling back to his seat. "It's nothing."

"Right, right," Allan agreed. He turned to face the steering wheel. "You don't have to talk about it if-"

"I'm..." Tatsuya started then took a deep breath and glanced at the other man. He had no reason to be embarrassed here, and besides, didn't Allan know everything about him anyway? There was no point resorting to the old-fashioned, 'it's nothing' when Allan could tell something was up. "It's just... a long story," he mumbled. "I'll tell you later."

Allan smiled at him. "Okay then." He shook his head a little. "Seriously though, Tatsuya. First you go all cutesy on me and then this?"

"I'll show you cute," Tatsuya hissed at his partner, earning a slightly surprised look from him. He quickly dug the phone out from his pocket, pushed his hair from his face with his free hand and tapped the phone a little bit. Allan followed his every move, curious. "So," Tatsuya said, now with a slight smirk on his face. "Ever thought of trying the Japanese style bondage? See, I just bought this." He held the phone up for Allan to see.

The partially dumbfounded, partially confused, and very much amused look on his partner's face was so worth it.

Author's notes:

This went to places, like my fics usually do. I start them as something and then they end up going that way. Blaming LH for that.

Allan totally is into cosplay or something though, what with playing along so eagerly with the Meijin stuff.

- Elmina (June 2014)