"We should live together," Hikaru said, almost offhandedly and with the same nonchalance as he'd accepted defeat a few minutes earlier.

It took Akira a moment to find a single, solitary word.

"What?"

"Well, it's late and we keep doing this and we could afford a place and..."

Hikaru trailed off but Akira knew the rest. Things sometimes got a little heated between them that had nothing to do with Go. Or at least, mostly nothing.

They could probably use a little more privacy.

A lot more. And Hikaru was absolutely correct. They could afford it and nobody would think twice if it was the two of them. There might be a few hurdles, but they wouldn't be insurmountable.

Now Akira just needed to confirm that Hikaru had actually managed a good idea. The expectant look on Hikaru's face was almost comedic.

"We should live together," Akira said softly. "We'd probably both need to work on our domestic skills, but the rest shouldn't be too difficult."

He had a few more things to say, but before he could, Hikaru had pounced. But it was late and Akira had no complaints. Neither had appointments the next day and...

...Hikaru had other good ideas.