Chapter Text
Teru broke up with his boyfriend last week.
Apparently while Kou had assumed his brother was out swapping spit with the guy, he was actually giving him some angry speech about how he never wants to see him ever again. At least, that’s what Kou’s gonna let himself assume. He’d simply told him with a slight frown that they’re “no longer seeing each other,” which, to anyone else, might make it seem like they’d had an uneventful breakup on mutual terms – but Teru’s always been more than a little hush-hush about his romantic escapades, so his willingness to divulge that much information means that something undoubtedly much more dramatic went down.
Another hint validating his own interpretation of the events is the task that Teru has requested Kou to help him with today.
Even if he’s not great at it, Kou prefers to drive in his own car than be in the passenger seat of someone else’s. Teru’s is one of those outwardly unassuming cars that, once you’re inside of it, you feel like you’re mucking the place up simply by existing on the leather seats. Maybe he’s earned enough money from his internship by now to pay for it on his own, but nepo baby knows nepo baby, and Kou’s more than certain their father had a hand to play in his possession of the vehicle, which is exactly why he doesn’t feel all insecure just sitting in it. If anything, he’s slightly put off by how overly gaudy it is (he can’t wait to be allowed to drive his trusty Kia Soul again). Sitting in the passenger seat of the obscenely expensive car, Kou spares the occasional glance to his brother.
The request threw him off, to say the least. Teru, helpless as he may be in certain areas of life, has quite the disinclination towards asking for help, especially if that help involves anything pointing towards emotions; he’s by all means a Minamoto man. Yet while Kou was visiting his siblings at their shared studio apartment (though Tiara’s more of a permanent guest than an actual resident) to cook them food the other day, Teru had sprung the idea of Kou assisting him in retrieving his items from his now-ex-boyfriend’s place, and beamed in pure delight when he agreed. There wasn’t a hint of negativity in his expression back then, but now it’s impossible to ignore the slight apprehension behind his eyes.
Kou’s big brother hasn’t been in a whole lot of relationships despite his popularity back in high school. According to him there was the occasional surface-level crush here and there, with rare flings that hardly lasted any longer than two weeks. Kou may not have dated more people than Teru, but he certainly has his brother beat when it comes to time spent invested emotionally in a relationship. It’s impossible to understand how things could’ve happened like that, no matter how much Teru claims to believe that it makes perfect sense.
This guy, the one Kou’s never even met, has been his longest relationship by far – that is to say, it only lasted a little over two and a half months, but that’s a pretty big deal for Teru – and undoubtedly his most emotionally significant. He’d been disappointed enough about his past breakups, sure, but none of them really meant anything to him. But he’s dated this guy for just a few months less than Kou “dated” Nene back in high school (more on that later). Surely he’s feeling something more intensely about it. It might be out of their norm, but Kou would never turn Teru down if he needed a shoulder to cry on – not after the amount of times the favor has been extended to him.
Teru sticks his tongue out goofily when he catches Kou staring at him. It’ll probably be some time before he’s gonna cry on anyone’s shoulder.
“He’s not here,” He says as he shifts the car into park. An amusing little ‘beep beep’ emits from the vehicle when Teru clicks the lock button on his keys. “His roommate is supposed to let us in.”
Kou raises an eyebrow when the two enter the elevator. “Okay…?”
“I’m just letting you know,” He clearly sensed the unspoken ‘why should I care?’ and smiles knowingly at his brother. “I wouldn’t want you thinking I’d date someone so immature.”
Kou snorts. “Is that so? Now I’m more inclined to believe that this ‘roommate’ is your scandalously young boyfriend.” His joke is rewarded with a rough shove to his shoulder as they exit and walk down the hallway.
“Absolutely not. He’s probably your age.”
He shrugs. “You’re not even three years older than me.”
“You’re still a baby!”
“I’m pushing twenty.”
Teru shoves his shoulder again. “No you’re not. As far as I’m concerned, you’re still in middle school.” He approaches a door at the end of the hall and raps on it.
“Sophomore in college.”
“Kindergartener.”
“Tiara’s not even in kindergarten anymore.”
He gasps. “Don’t say things like that!”
“What? It’s true!”
“Noooo…” He shakes Kou’s shoulders with a pained whine. “She’s a baby! You’re a baby!” He crosses his arms with a pout before knocking on the door a couple more times.
Kou rolls his eyes fondly. “Aoi-senpai was right, maybe overbearing older brothers are annoying.” His joke doesn’t receive the intended response, with Teru tensing up slightly instead of playing along. Dang it. That was rude, wasn’t it? He’s never liked jabs about his brotherhood, after all… “Hey, you know I don’t actually mean that. I think it’s sweet that you still fawn over us,” He lightly digs Teru’s shoulder, eliciting a startled chuckle from the man.
“Oh, I know that. Don’t worry, it’s just...” He shakes his head with a hand pushed through his hair. “Nevermind. That guy says a lot of idiotic things, doesn’t he~?”
Kou shrugs. “He usually has decent advice. I’d go as far to say he’s second only to you…” He narrows his eyes at the still-closed door. “Is this roommate guy hard of hearing or something?”
Teru scoffs. “No, he’s just stubborn,” He knocks on the door significantly harder and leans against it to call inside. “Hey, let us in! That guy told you I’d be here to get my stuff,” He continues to knock incessantly, only stopping once whoever is behind the door does a rhythmic knock in response. Notably, the door remains shut, eliciting another frustrated exhale from Teru. “I’m not playing this game with you today. Let me in.”
Kou can faintly hear the mystery roommate blow a raspberry and stifles a giggle. Teru seems genuinely frustrated; he probably shouldn’t piss him off any more, even if that betrayed look he’s always making whenever Kou doesn’t side with him is undeniably hilarious.
“You know full well I have no problem kicking the door down if need be. Let me in so your roommates don’t have to foot a bill for property damage.”
Kou lets out a low whistle. “Jeez, Teru-nii… You’re not playing around!”
Teru looks over his shoulder and blinks a couple times in embarrassment. “I-I, um…”
“Wait!” A familiar voice calls from the other end of the door, and suddenly the mail slot is flipped open, revealing a pair of wide eyes – rather, one wide eye and another covered by a mess of curly pink hair. Wait, is that…?
“M-Mitsuba!?” Kou exclaims, nudging Teru out of the way to peer through the small opening. “You’re roommates with my brother's ex!?”
The door is finally swung open to reveal exactly who he suspected, albeit considerably more disheveled than he’d seen him the last few times. His hair isn’t in its usual updo, and he’s wearing a set of pajamas that are way too large and way too masculine-looking to possibly belong to him.
“You’re brothers with my roommate’s ex!?”
“Kou?” Teru places a hand on his shoulder and leans over to whisper in his ear. “You know this guy?”
Kou nods enthusiastically. “Yeah! He’s the one who joined senpai’s band with me. We went out for dinner the other day.”
Teru doesn’t return the smile and instead looks between the two with narrowed eyes. “You…?” Then they shoot open. “You’re going out with him?”
“Huh!?”
Instead of defending himself, Mitsuba makes the bizarre choice to yank Kou towards him by the sleeve and sling an arm around his shoulders. “Yeah, we’re dating. Got a problem with it, loverboy? Mad your brother can keep a decent man and you can’t?”
Mitsuba’s evil snickering earns a bewildered stare from Kou. Not that he didn’t immediately catch on to what he was really getting at – that he’s bitter on behalf of his roommate and is trying to piss Teru off in retaliation – but the behavior is shockingly similar to some… less amusing encounters involving someone using Kou to tease Teru. If it was under any other circumstances or had to do with literally anyone but Teru, Kou would be laughing right now, but…
“You just aren’t mature enough, Kou.”
It’s a stupid thing to be thinking of right now. Things have changed in pretty obvious ways since then.
“No need to bother yourself with all these unnecessary thoughts.”
“Oh you!” Kou punctuates each word with harsh pats (bordering on punches) to Mitsuba’s back, catching him off guard and making him retract his arm. “We’re just acquaintances, nii-chan!” He’s trying his hardest to not sound like a scared little kid, not like he was back then, but there’s clearly some kind of giveaway to his thoughts in his inflection that makes Teru’s lip twitch and his expression soften slightly.
He should’ve gone along with Mitsuba’s teasing. It’d have saved him the guilt of reminding Teru of his guilt. But should Kou feel guilty about that? His brother was pretty clearly in the wrong back then, but…
…but he knows that. He’s known it all too well for years.
If things couldn’t be better, now Mitsuba’s looking between the two brothers with narrowed eyes like they just grew second heads, and Kou is reminded that he’s here on a mission – a mission that is decidedly not about unpacking lingering deep-seated sibling tension, nor is it about giving his new acquaintance a spectacle of them avoiding doing just that.
Teru seemingly notices the eyes on them, because he stops looking at Kou with a mixture of guilt and pity and finally directs the party inside the apartment. The plan of action is for Teru to collect his belongings from Mr. Mysterious Ex’s bedroom while Kou keeps an eye out for anything that might be his in the main area of the apartment, meaning he doesn’t actually want him to help anymore but can’t/doesn’t want to send him home.
Well, at least Mitsuba’s here, and he too seems to be a little relieved to see another familiar face.
“So,” Kou leans over the back of the couch and absently gazes at the cartoon Mitsuba has on. “Were you around when they broke up?”
“Of course not,” Mitsuba sinks all the way into the couch cushions and cranes his neck to meet Kou’s eye. “Your stinky brother refuses to come over when I’m here.”
…Stinky? “I take it you two don’t get along?”
“I’ll say it again: of course not,” He turns down the volume on the TV, thankfully not turning it off – Kou’s goo-goo ga-ga brain remaining satisfied by the amount of stimulation – and patting the spot next to him on the couch. “I think he resents the fact he can’t do anything with Air-senpai when I’m around. He’d walk in the door with a smile on his face and immediately get all mopey when he’d see me,” He pokes Kou’s cheek when he sits down beside him, “I guess it must be a Minamoto thing to only think about doing perverted stuff!”
Kou is certain the frown he pulls is so deep it’s falling off his face. “Don’t say that about my brother.”
Mitsuba shrugs. “I don’t actually know if that’s the case, but it’d make a hell of a lot of sense! And it’d explain why that weirdo never let him call him his actual name,” He punctuates his sentence by pointing at Kou with raised eyebrows.
“...He didn’t?” He sighs. Of course it’s another nothing-relationship. Teru isn’t gonna be in emotional turmoil over this, it really is just another fling. And it’s not that Kou’s necessarily manifesting for Teru to feel that kind of turmoil, but… the guy needs to find a real partner and fast. He can only watch him survive off overpriced takeout and paying Tiara an allowance so she’ll help with chores for so long.
“Nope,” Mitsuba throws his arms around the back of the couch as he continues to slouch into it – a surprisingly masculine pose for him to strike. Kou might’ve blushed at how his arm is sort of slung behind his shoulders, if only the guy had the masculine looks to boot (Maybe. Who knows? Kou hasn’t a clue what his type in men is. Maybe it’s not his looks – maybe instead he’d be blushing if Mitsuba hadn’t already proven to have a terrible personality). “What's he the president of, by the way? Or is that a weird roleplay thing?”
“Oh,” Kou snorts, “They must’ve known each other in high school – Nii-chan was the president of the student council.”
He pouts. “That’s lame”
“That’s cool.”
“Would you be saying it’s cool if it was anyone other than your brother?”
“No.”
“Then it’s super lame.”
“What are we watching?” Kou changes the subject and reaches over Mitsuba to turn the volume back up on the TV.
“Spongebob.”
Occasionally Teru asks for Kou’s assistance in carrying large boxes, and even though it’s not that often, it makes absolutely no sense why he has any hefty items to carry out of an apartment he never even lived in. Even more peculiar, he also fails to properly explain what’s inside of the boxes when asked.
Every now and then Mitsuba offers his assistance, which is immediately shut down before he can even try to start causing him mild inconvenience. It’s in this moment that Kou wishes, prays that he could’ve gone back in time to be a bug on the apartment wall to see how they developed such a dynamic. The last time he’s ever seen Teru tolerate someone this poorly was when Kou would bring Amane around the house, which wasn’t that long ago, but it’s certainly been longer than that since it was ever this amusing to watch.
Mitsuba catches wind of Kou’s amusement at some point and starts playing it up, finding new ways to bother his brother and looking over his shoulder to see if he finds it funny. And eventually, Kou’s not sure when, but he stops pretending to be unmoved out of respect for his big brother and lets himself laugh at Mitsuba’s antics. Luckily, Teru doesn’t seem too betrayed or offended, simply directing his annoyance to the pink-haired goofball and trying to contain his frustration through copious amounts of eye-rolling.
“Who are you texting?” They’re sitting beside each other on barstools at the kitchen island, and at some point Kou’s gaze falls upon Mitsuba’s phone screen.
Mitsuba glances at him without turning his head or stopping his thumbs’ high speed dance across the keyboard. “Who do you think?”
His nose wrinkles. “I don’t know anyone in your circle, how am I supposed to know?”
“Psh. Like I have a circle.” Mitsuba makes that pathetic remark like it’s the most obvious thing in the world and that Kou’s an idiot for assuming he has more than two friends. When Kou doesn’t immediately connect the dots on who he could possibly be referring to, he lets out an exaggerated sigh and tilts his screen so Kou can see the contact name ‘tsukasa 💕💖💞’ followed by an entire screen filled with green message bubbles, none of which received replies.
“Wow,” He says with raised eyebrows, “He’s not a big texter, is he?”
Mitsuba narrows his eyes at his screen and flips the phone over onto the counter. “Oh, he is. When Amane-kun’s texting him while we’re on dates.”
“Damn.”
“I know!”
“No, I mean like, damn, I didn’t take him for someone who’d take you on dates in the first place.”
Right, so here’s the thing:
Kou loves nothing more than to make people happy. He takes so much pride in it that he’s convinced it’s why God put him on this planet in the first place. That being said, sometimes in order to make someone happy, it’s necessary to rub salt in their wounds so they can be made aware enough of their existence to ask for help patching them up.
So no, he doesn’t like the way Mitsuba’s lip quivers at his jab, but he’s certainly not going to apologize for it.
“Are you gonna try and get me to break up with my boyfriend every time we hang out or something? Because that’s really weird.”
…Right.
So here’s the other thing:
Kou has no idea what he’s talking about 90% of the time and it’s possible that his philosophy isn’t fool-proof.
“Right,” Mitsuba laughs humorlessly at Kou’s stupor and turns to completely face him. “It’s been pretty hard to get a good read on you, but now I’m sure you’re just some loser who’s so bad at getting a partner that you go after people in failing relationships to pick up the most vulnerable one. I’m gonna give you one last chance to hop off before I stop trying to be friends with you.”
He blinks a few times in complete confusion. There’s no easy way to describe the feeling of someone reading you like a book, only for them to be reading some poor translation of the story and losing half the meaning. “I promise you that’s not what’s happening here. I’m not going after a guy in a Call of Duty shirt.”
“This isn’t mine!”
“I’m just worried for you,” He finds himself a tad too far in Mitsuba’s personal space, causing him to lean away in alarm. “I’ve known that guy since middle school. He’s seriously the worst. I have no idea how he managed to woo someone, or how he even came to the conclusion he should ever date anyone.”
Mitsuba crosses his arms with a petulant frown. “Even if I can agree he sucks sometimes, you’re still talking about my boyfriend.”
“What do you like about him?”
“I–!” Mitsuba grits his teeth as his cheeks turn an angry shade of red. Either he’s mad at Kou, or he’s mad that he’s failing to come up with an explanation and prove his love for someone totally unlovable. He shoves Kou by the shoulder to get him out of his bubble. “He’s helped me a lot. I’d be nothing without him.”
“Well that’s dramatic. You’d still be a person if you weren't with him.”
“I’ve said this a few times now, but you really don’t know anything if you truly believe that.” His words are nonsensical, but he’s looking at Kou with more conviction than he’s ever seen him sport.
“Whatever,” Kou hops off the barstool and absently motions towards Mitsuba’s phone as he walks away to check on his brother. “I think your boyfriend just texted you back.”
“R-really!?” Mitsuba scrambles to open his phone excitedly and immediately frowns when he’s met with zero notifications.
“Made you look.”
“What do you mean you guys are breaking up!?” Nene cries, dropping her mop in pure anguish. It was to be expected from her – she’s always had a flair for the dramatic, and she’s been the number one supporter of their relationship for the last few months.
Kou doesn’t look away from the mirror, continuing to wipe circles in it but strategically avoiding eye-contact with his reflection. “I haven’t brought it up yet…”
“But why!?” She stresses. “You two are so cute together…! You’re really not gonna stay together at least for the school sleepover?” Nene tries to meet his gaze in the mirror with a sly smirk, but his eyes remain fixed on the bright green rag in his hand. “They say it’s a pretty romantic time… Who knows how it’ll go for you two! Maybe it’ll fix whatever relationship problems you’re having!”
But they weren’t having any relationship problems. Not as far as he’s aware, anyway. None that they could ever solve on their own.
“It’s too late for that,” Kou makes the mistake of glancing up to meet his friend’s eye, and curses himself inwardly when tears start welling up.
Nene immediately notices the shift in his demeanor and pressed her hands to the back of his shoulders. “Kou-kun… Did something happen?” Her brows knit together in concern when a shaky breath escapes his lips instead of an explanation. “Do I need to beat him up for you?” Her joking offer earns a wet laugh out of him, which inadvertently causes the tears to spill over.
“I-it…” He chokes on his words, hating how pathetic and cracked his already-pubescent voice sounds amplified by the tears. “It’s not Amane’s fault. He didn’t do anything…”
Nene tilts her head away to allow Kou room to lean on her shoulder, then slings her arms around him and continues to make eye contact through the mirror. “So why do you need to break up with him so badly?”
“He’s just terrible for him!” Kou exclaims while mixing pasta. “I’m not the only one who notices, right? There’s no way that guy is able to meet his needs.”
“Oh, of course,” Shijima, one of Nene’s roommates, agrees. “And that’s where you come in to save the day.”
“Exactly!” He immediately catches himself and glares at her over his shoulder. “No.”
“I don’t know, Kou-kun. That’s what it’s sounding like…” Nene smiles sympathetically. “I’m concerned about them too, but are you sure you don’t maybe have a little crush on Mitsuba-kun?”
Kou whips around and points a wooden spoon across the kitchen at the group of girls in frustration. “I don’t! Would you three stop it with that!”
Aoi’s eyes widen. “I didn’t accuse you of anything.”
“You were thinking it.”
She makes a humming sound. “It’s true~,” She admits, resting her cheek in her hand with a sickeningly coy smile.
Maybe that day packing up Teru’s belongings flipped a switch within him – rather, it turned the dimmer switch to maximum brightness after already having been on. Whatever the proper metaphor may be, all Kou knows is he’s been more than a little invested in his new acquaintance’s awful relationship. And contrary to popular belief, it’s not because he wants to swoop in and take him for himself. Seriously, since when is it ridiculous for a guy to worry about someone who’s clearly being neglected? They’ve only had a few band practices since the first one, and every single one serves to prove Kou right in being concerned.
He strains the spaghetti in the sink and allows the steam to cloud his vision.
It just doesn’t make sense. They’re so visibly wrong for each other, yet everyone in the room acts like they’re such a cute couple. Even Nene, who claims to be looking out for Mitsuba just as much as Kou is, ‘ooh’s and ‘ahh’s with sparkling eyes and folded hands whenever the two snuggle up together like it’s the sweetest thing she’s ever seen.
Then again, she reacted the exact same way to him and Amane all the way back then, so maybe she’s just good at deluding herself.
Either way, no one ever gives him the time of day when he tries to gossip. And Kou’s not one for gossip, either! But is it so terrible that he’s trying to make sure he isn’t crazy for thinking something’s wrong when he watches Tsukasa casually break the poor guy’s heart over and over again without a single thought to what he’s doing?
Kou never cared much for Tsukasa in the first place, but now that he knows he’s such a terrible partner, he can’t help but actively dislike him.
“Leave it alone,” Amane told him after rehearsal a couple days back. “I’ve tried to say something, but I think their whole thing just works for them.”
What a load of bullshit.
Is Amane stupid? He never was before. Unless he’s somehow gone from the number-one sought out lab partner in school to someone with actual rocks for brains, there’s no way he genuinely believes that his brother’s behavior is fine.
Kou’s starting to believe he is crazy! Nobody in their right mind would see this mess and think they’re witnessing the pinnacle of love, yet clearly everyone in his circle has lost it! He’d give anything to get input from Teru, but he doesn’t like either party enough to care.
…Then something occurs to him.
He glances up from the saucepan and gazes at Aoi for a moment. “Hey, Akane-senpai, is your boyfriend coming to our practice today?”
“Akane-kun? Oh, he’s not my boyfriend,” She makes such an exaggerated effort not to react when Nene jabs her side that she ends up giving herself away. “But yes, I think so.”
Perfect. Absolutely perfect. Nothing gets by that guy. The second Kou asks for advice, he’s gonna sit there and observe the odd couple for the night. If anyone knows what love should look like, it’s him.
Kou doesn’t waste any time tracking down his second-favorite senpai (third-favorite if Teru counts) when he arrives to the rehearsal, not offering him a single moment to breathe before dumping every little thought he’s been having in the last few days like a madman. Once everything is explained, Akane just stares at him for a few moments, then darts his eyes around the room in confusion, then lets out a small chuckle.
“Um…” He runs a hand through his hair. “Wait, you’re telling me the pres finally broke up with that guy?”
Kou’s mouth presses into a fine line. “That doesn’t seem like the most relevant part of the situation.”
Akane stuffs his hands in the pocket of his hoodie with a shrug. “Sounds like the most relevant part to me. It doesn’t even sound like those two are dating.”
“But they are! Mitsuba seems totally in love with him, but Tsukasa just doesn’t care!”
“Whatever that is, it isn’t love,” Akane points out with enough authority behind his tone that Kou almost feels tempted to open a notebook and sit at the nearest desk to take notes. “He’s probably just attached to the guy and thinks he’s in love.”
Kou purses his lips in consideration, not totally buying the explanation. “Uh huh, and what makes you think that? There’s no way you’ve seen them together enough to come to that conclusion.”
“Hey, you asked for my opinion!” He doesn’t exactly snap at him, but frustration seeps into his voice. “Besides, it takes one to know one. Me and Ao-chan took nearly two decades to figure that one out.”
“Huh? Aren’t you two…?”
He smiles knowingly. “We love each other.” Akane seemingly gets a kick out of the way Kou’s confused expression only deepens at his vague words. “We’re together, but not romantically. We’re just–”
“Ew!” Kou butts in with an arm covering his suddenly-blushing face. “Don’t tell me it’s like that!”
“Wh–!?” Akane shakes Kou by the collar wildly and gears up to slap him, before he realizes something (probably that Teru will somehow find out he hit him and absolutely rock his shit over it) and lowers his hand with a disgruntled look. “Never say that again! Me and Ao-chan simply love each other in a different way, it’s nothing like what you’re imagining,” Then he mutters, “Nothing like your brother and his thing with his stupid prettyboy ex- ‘boyfriend’” in a hushed tone seemingly in an attempt to hide it from Kou’s ears, but his comment unfortunately falls upon them anyway, earning a disgusted snarl from the man.
“Stop…” He drags his hands down his face. “So… what? Are you saying they love each other like you and Akane-senpai? Because that seems even less accurate.”
“Oh, absolutely not. No one could ever compare to us,” He flips the little tufts of hair in the back of his hair and Kou nearly fails to hold back an eyeroll. “First of all, this Tsukasa guy seems totally disengaged. It’s all one-sided on your guy’s part.”
“That’s exactly what I’m…!” He trails off when his interruption is rewarded with a sharp glare.
“–But it’s not romantic love, or even affectionate love. He just loves getting attention from him specifically. That’s where it’s comparable to me and Ao-chan. I thrived off attention from her so intensely that I thought I was in love with her for the longest time,” He explains, adjusting his clearly-just-for-show glasses. “But sometimes you simply get attached to people that you’re not at all supposed to be an item with. I think your guy doesn’t realize the difference.”
Kou doesn’t have the time nor the energy to pick apart what Akane’s words mean – because frankly, it’s like he’s speaking in a foreign language – but what he can gather is that he was pretty much right about the whole thing, and this guy is just getting picky over his wording. Who cares if they’re not actually in love? Isn’t that worse?
“So… Clearly their relationship sucks, right?”
“For sure. I don’t get how that’s your business, though.”
Kou opens his mouth to retort, but a set of pale hands are suddenly clinging onto Kou’s shoulder, the owner they belong to leaning into his space inquisitively. “Who’s relationship sucks?” Kou swats the hands that belong to none other than Tsukasa, which are immediately raised, but he makes no effort to see himself out of Kou’s personal space.
“Yours and–”
“Ah! Tsukasa!” Thankfully, the little burden is pulled away and he’s no longer creepily breathing down Kou’s neck, but upon further inspection, it’s because Mitsuba held onto his arm and dragged him away to cling to him like a lost child. “I missed you!”
His eyes widen. “Missed me? Didn’t we go to that party together the other night?”
He holds tighter and presses his cheek to Tsukasa’s shoulder with a pout. Kou’s never been greeted with a more obnoxious sight. “Yeah, but we haven’t talked since then! I was starting to get anxious…”
“Oh. Sorry.” He doesn’t sound sorry.
“It’s okay.” He doesn’t sound okay. Mitsuba nuzzles his boyfriend closer and peeks up at the other pair of men through his eyelashes. “Hi, Minamoto-kun. Hi…” He mumbles something in gibberish as if Akane’s supposed to believe he actually remembered his name. “Do you have any stuff today?”
Akane shakes his head. “No, sorry. Yamabuki’s having friends over and he forgot to get more of his own.”
“Boo.”
“Yeah.”
There’s a painfully noticeable lull in conversation almost immediately, the four awkwardly lingering, just waiting for someone to say something. Tsukasa doesn’t seem to find it awkward, but he’s the first person to do something other than stare. Without any warning, he wiggles free of Mitsuba’s hold and abruptly walks away to go mingle with other people. Mitsuba watches him walk away with pursed lips, then makes eye contact with Kou.
“...You have sauce on your face,” He proclaims.
Kou takes a moment to process his words, then feverishly wipes his face with his arm. “Oops! I made spaghetti for the girls before practice.”
“Does that include me?” Akane asks, leaning into the conversation with an interested expression.
“Are you one of the girls?”
“If I need to be.”
“There’s probably enough left over for, like, a single scoop.”
“That’s good enough for me.” Akane says with finality as he walks towards the door connecting the garage and the rest of the house.
Mitsuba watches Akane leave with a frown, which can only mean one thing. “Have you eaten? I could see if he’s willing to share,” Kou asks with a hopeful smile. Mitsuba focuses on removing his jacket and hanging it up on a hook.
“I’m good…” He says, smoothing out the fabric and making sure his T-shirt is in order. He’s got it layered over a black form-fitting long sleeved shirt, which is still more clothing than to be expected when fall has barely begun and the sun is still baking Kou’s skin to a deep tan, but certainly less than Mitsuba’s usual oversized sweaters and cardigans.
Notably, his left hand is visible, and it looks like he’d gotten into one heck of a fist fight at some point before coming here. He can’t tell if they’re recent or not from this angle, but the amount of scars littering the hand and the way his fingers aren’t quite straight is really making Kou begin to wonder. He’s not going to say anything, though. Really, that’d just be downright–
“What’s with your hand?” He blurts out.
–disrespectful.
Mitsuba looks at him exactly how he probably deserves to be looked at: like he should get his mouth stitched closed, but his face immediately softens when he sees the guilt set into Kou’s own expression. “...Nothing. Got into an accident when I was younger.”
“Ouch,” Kou says with raised brows, trying to get a better look at the appendage but being blocked by a now-self-conscious Mitsuba. “What happened?”
Apparently Mitsuba’s willingness to divulge that small piece of information wasn’t an invitation to continue asking invasive questions, because he bites his lip when Kou speaks. Before he can make any more uncomfortable remarks, Kou jumps back in and shakes his head. “Nevermind, sorry, that’s probably too much to ask at a band rehearsal.”
Mitsuba’s eyes flick up in mild disbelief, then he smiles shyly in relief. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll tell you at some point…” He nudges his arm with his elbow. “You’re gonna have to earn more friendship points first, though.”
“Is this a video game or some–”
Before they can start an endless tangent conversation about video games and friend points, they’re interrupted by a highly concerning shriek from the other side of the garage. It’s instinct the way he immediately rushes over to find the source of the noise, only for it to be Nene practically vibrating in excitement.
“You have to be joking! That’s amazing, Tsukasa-kun!” She presses her palms to her cheeks, face pink enough for one to assume she’d just been on a mile run, when really she’s just over excited about ...
…What exactly is she excited about?
Whatever it is, the joy is infectious, because Amane seems just as thrilled. “We got the call the other day,” He says with a grin, clearly making a conscious effort not to wave his arms wildly. “It’s why we had to leave rehearsal so suddenly.”
“You’re involved too?” Nene asks with stars in her eyes.
He nods proudly, about to explain his role in whatever situation is unfolding before Tsukasa slings an arm around him with twice the amount of pride for his brother. “He’s gonna be my producer and writer! Isn’t that amazing?” He rocks his twin back and forth in glee, “Amane did most of the hard stuff, really. His part in it all is way cooler.”
“No way.” Amane presses his palm to Tsukasa’s face. “You’re the one who impressed them enough to get a record deal!”
Kou flinches at the loud choking sound from directly behind him. Mitsuba clutches onto his shoulder to steady himself, then leans over it with a shocked look. “You got a what!?” He exclaims.
Tsukasa nods with the same smile as he always seems to have plastered on his face, but something in his eyes makes it seem… genuine? Weird. He didn’t know the guy had it in him to feel actual emotions.
Mitsuba roughly shoves Kou out of the way to fawn over his boyfriend, practically circling him as he alternates between rambling with slightly-slurred speech and excitedly clutching onto various parts of his body with a death grip to simply make sounds.
Everyone’s busy singing their praises (which is fair – it’s undoubtedly pretty cool, and unfortunately deserved for someone as talented as him) while Kou is the only one to think about the situation for more than a single minute.
“So what does that mean for this?” He points at the floor of the garage. He won’t lie and say he hasn’t been having fun within the last couple weeks of practicing with the band, but the idea of them having to break up or at the very least reorganize themselves isn’t exactly heartbreaking. He might have to find a new pastime, sure, but that shouldn’t be a problem.
It seems no one feels the same, because just as quickly as the mood of the garage was uplifted, it crashes down with all the grace of an airplane.
Nene in particular awaits Tsukasa’s response in horror, and nearly passes out when he finally says “I guess I won’t have time for it.”
“W-what!? But you’re the backbone of the band!” She exclaims, clutching onto the arm that Mitsuba isn’t already practically dangling from. “You can make time for it, can’t you? We don’t have to practice all the time…”
“Hmmm… No, I don’t think that will work. I won’t be in town more often than once every few months.”
It’s Mitsuba’s turn to have his world come crashing down. “Every few months!? What about us? Am I coming with you?”
“Are you?” He tilts his head.
“I-I don’t know! Would you let me!?”
Amane cuts in before Tsukasa can answer. “We only have space in the new place for the two of us,” He says carefully. “Even if we did, we’re not actually making a lot from this deal… We wouldn’t be able to support you if you didn’t pay us back.”
Mitsuba chokes on the beginnings of a few sentences. “B-but…? Tsukasa! You…!” He motions wildly with his arms, but the wide-eyed twin doesn’t seem to speak whatever sign language he’s using. “What should I do!?”
Tsukasa thinks for a moment before shrugging, deciding upon a solution with an eerie indifference to it all. “I guess you should break up with me like you’ve been saying you’re gonna.”
A hush falls over the garage.
The girls (plus Akane) sitting on the couch have averted their eyes from the situation, not-so-inconspicuously opting to gossip about the situation unfolding before them in a shared group text. He, Nene and Amane spend the silence looking from both of them to each other, all anxious to see what comes next. And Mitsuba…
Well, Mitsuba looks absolutely petrified.
“L-like I’ve been…? What…?” He swallows heavily, visibly forcing his head at an awkward angle to appear as if he’s handling the situation gracefully. “Who told you that…? I-I–?” He feverishly rubs his eyes before any shameful liquids can pour out. “I didn’t…”
Tsukasa blinks a couple of times before smiling. “It’s okay, I know you’ve been wanting to. This is as good an opportunity as any to get it overwith.” He reaches out his hand as if expecting Mitsuba to shake it. “That was fun, right?”
Mitsuba stares at his hand in astonishment then slowly looks up at him, his face morphing from shock to heartbreak before landing cleanly on outrage.
“Fun?” He swats his hand away. “What do you mean, ‘fun’?”
“I mean it was fun!” He leans back on his heels with a grin. “Dating’s not something I’ve ever thought to try before.” He tilts his head and completely ignores the angry tears forming in the boy’s eyes. “You’ve never tried it before either, right Mitsuba? We both got to try something new!”
“Tsukasa–” Amane attempts to cut in.
“But I probably won’t do that sort of thing again,” He continues. “It wasn’t really for me, even if it was pretty interesting. What about you, Mitsuba?”
Maybe Mitsuba didn’t notice the presence of seven gazes falling upon him, or maybe he just didn’t care what anyone would think when he dashed out of the garage seemingly without a moment to lose. And maybe the same thing is true for Kou, because before his mind can fully comprehend what he’s doing, he’s already out of the garage to track down his new friend.