Chapter Text
“Well, it was lovely to meet you, Akito-san.” Natsuomi sipped his coffee as Akito, Toya, and the two other Aoyagi brothers sat in the eldest’s living room, talking. It was Akito and Toya’s second-to-last day, and Shuji’s last day in Vienna. The four of them had gotten together as a sort of send-off for one another.
Akito wasn’t going to lie; the place was nice. It had a bit more colour than what he had seen of Toya’s place while still being classy. It wasn’t cold, it felt lived in. It was better than any place Toya’s parents had touched, and he wouldn’t mind staying there if he and his partner ever decided to return to Vienna.
“Oh, crap, Toya, I almost forgot,” Shuji started digging through his bag, turning everyone’s attention towards him, “You still like video games, right?”
“Yes,” Toya nodded, “In fact, Akito and I participated in a gaming competition in an arcade with some friends a year ago. We came in second place.”
“Yeah, you should’ve seen Toya obliterating everyone when it came to Puyo Puyo.” Akito chuckled, remembering the competition fondly. It was the first and so far, only non-music-related competition the two had competed in together, and honestly, Akito wouldn’t be opposed to participating in more.
“Hah, yeah, he’s always been weirdly good at that game.” Shuji finally pulled something out of his bag. “Anyway, here’s something I’ve been working on with a few friends. We just finished the Japanese port, and I managed to burn it onto this DVD last night. I was hoping you could give it a go and see what you think of it.”
“Oh?” Toya took the DVD case from his middle brother, examining the crude drawings and haphazardly written explanation on the back, “Thank you, Shuji-niisan. I’ll try it when we get back to Japan.”
“Cool. Again, please tell me what you think of it. I’d love to hear your thoughts on it.”
“I will. Thank you.”
“Since we seem to be exchanging gifts,” Natsuomi got up from his seat on the couch, “I have one for you, Akito-san.”
“Me?” Akito’s eyes widened. So many things that had happened to him unexpectedly this week, to the point where he shouldn’t be so surprised.
“Here. It’s from the tearoom we visited last week.” Natsuomi placed a gift bag in front of Akito. Inside was a bottle of pinkish clear liquid. Curious, Akito took it out of the bag to get a closer look.
“It’s a bottle of the rose-flavoured syrup they use to make the rose cheesecakes during spring. I found out that they sell bottles of the syrup during the summer and decided to buy one for you as a way to thank you for coming to my wedding and for looking after Toya for me.”
“Wow, you seriously bought this for me?” Akito was honestly flabbergasted at the gift “Thank you.”
“No problem. Please, use it to make cheesecakes to share with your sister.”
“Akito’s not a fan of sharing things with his sister.” Toya pointed out.
“SSHH Toya, you don’t have to tell him that!” Akito nudged his partner playfully.
“Why not? It’s the truth, isn’t it?”
“Well, whatever you decide to do with it, I hope you enjoy your gift, Akito-san.” Natsuomi nodded, holding back a laugh at his brother’s interaction with his brother.
“I’m sure I will. Again, thanks, but you really didn’t have to do this for me.” Akito responded.
“As I’ve said before, it’s for taking care of Toya…up until now and into the future as well.”
It was pretty late when Akito arrived home. It was late enough that he was pretty sure the rest of his family was sleeping, so he was sure he’d be able to slip in without waking anybody up. He used his keys to unlock the door and gently pushed it open, trying his best not to make any sound as he closed it behind him. He took off his shoes to avoid his footsteps being heard, then shuffled into the living room, dragging his bag behind him. All he needed to do was get up the stairs and into his bedroom without-
Before he could finish that thought, he heard someone shuffling…someone that wasn’t him. He froze in place, ready to fight whoever was coming down the stairs.
“Oh, lil bro!” Mizuki greeted him from halfway down the stairs, “Did you just get home?”
“Oh, Akiyama, it’s just you.” Akito let out a sigh that was a mix of relief and anger.
“Yep! I was just grabbing some snacks for Ena and myself while we work.”
“Cool, want me to show you to the kitchen? I actually have something I wanna put in the cupboard before I forget.”
“I already know my way around here, but if you insist.”
Akito nodded. It was dark, but he had gotten up early on enough winter mornings to know his way around in the dark. He still turned the light on once they reached the kitchen, mostly so he could find an empty spot in the cupboard for his syrup. However, in his sleep-deprived state, he had completely forgotten about something that would be revealed once the lights were on.
“Whoa, little bro- Who’d you get into a fight with on your trip?” Mizuki pointed out Akito’s black eye when he turned on the light, “Please tell me it was Toya-kun’s dad. That would be awesome.”
“Relax, as much as I wanted to fight the old man, I never got the chance,” Akito huffed as he leaned down to look for an open spot in the cabinet. “Besides, it was actually a bouquet that did this to me. Have you ever heard about that Western wedding tradition? The one where they throw the bouquet…”
“And whoever catches it gets married next? Yeah, I know that one. I totally think it would be a good idea for me and Ena’s wedding. So, lemme guess, you tried to catch the bouquet but with your face.”
“I wasn’t even trying to catch it in the first place.”
“Suure, we all know how much you wanna marry Toya-kun.”
“Yeah, that reminds me, I gotta text him as soon as I get into bed.”
“What? Did you guys start dating while you were over there or something?”
“…”
“Oh. My. God. You guys totally did, didn’t you?”
“Shut up, you’re gonna wake my parents up.”
“Hehe, alright, I’ll keep quiet…for now,” Mizuki picked up their snacks. “Well, I’ll be off, lil bro. See ya in the morning.”
“Goodnight.” Akito nodded as he walked up the stairs and immediately dove into his room. Exhausted, he flopped down onto his bed and pulled out his phone. The brightness of the screen hurt his tired eyes, but he could still make out that he had a message from Toya.
“We’re home safe. I trust you are, too?”
With a tired smile on his face, Akito texted back, “Yeah, just got into bed. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.” Toya messaged back, presumably before falling asleep himself.
Akito rolled over slightly to plug his phone in to charge it. However, when he tried to reach for his charger, he realised that it wasn’t there. He grunted in exhaustion. He did not want to get out of bed, but he was going to need his phone in the morning. So, he reluctantly got out of bed and stormed into Ena’s room.
“Ena!” He whispered-shouted as he flung her door open. Ena was working at her desk while Mizuki was sitting on her bed.
“Jeez, can’t you knock?” Ena sighed angrily at her brother, “I know you just got home from vacation, but Mom and Dad are still sleeping.”
“Don’t care. Now, where’s my charger?”
“Ugh, here! Now get out of my room!” Ena shoved Akito’s charger into his hand before shoving him slightly and closing the door in his face.
Akito stormed back into his room, plugging his phone in just as he received a message from Ena.
“I almost forgot. Welcome home or whatever.”
Damn, if there was one thing Akito became aware of during his stay with them, it was that they were nothing like his own family.
Still, he was glad he had met them.