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Samatoki nervously tugged at his tie, grumbling as he loosened it a little bit. Tug by tug, the tie was about to come undone- it seemed he’d gone and done it, when he realized he’d messed with it enough for it to look rather messy. He spewed a string of quiet curses, bringing both hands up to try and undo it completely and just discard it- after all, he didn’t know how to tie a tie, and there was no way he was calling Juto over to his house so he would show him how to do it again. Begrudgingly, he tossed the garment under the table- he’d pick it up later. Right now, he had to concentrate and calm down.
It was probably weird for him to be sitting in his own house, dressed formally, and with a table for three set- if anyone had seen him, they might have assumed the yakuza boss had a meeting with some important people, with some friends in high places. It wouldn’t be a theory without base, seeing how Samatoki, usually dressed in skull-themed button up shirts with the first few buttons undone was now donning a neatly pressed white button up shirt and black dress pants, and had been sporting a tie just a few seconds ago- not to mention his uncharacteristically nervous demeanor could be taken as a dead giveaway of some important- maybe even dangerous- guests.
He wasn’t the image of a man waiting to have dinner with his little sister, but hey, Aohitsugi Samatoki was a man of betraying appearances, because he was dressed as well as he could and nervously tapping his foot as he waited. He had a justification, though; he was certainly not nervous just because his little sister would be visiting after a while of not seeing her, of course not, he loved the little brat to pieces and her presence was always welcome- but it was who she’d be arriving with that had him biting at his nails as he glanced at the clock.
His darling little sister, the light of his life, the one driving factor of his whole existence, his biggest treasure, was bringing over her significant other to dine with him. It was every big brother’s biggest stress: to watch their little sibling march into the world of love, knowing very well the path ahead could bring a paradise as easily as it could bring a warzone. If he had to ask for one wish, right now he’d wish that his little sis hadn’t inherited the same luck he had in relationships, and that the dinner would be over without a hitch. And, of course, that he would never have to hear her crying over heartbreak, because holy shit, he’d be obligated to kill the motherfucker who dared make the youngest Aohitsugi cry.
The digital clock in the other side of the room read 5:46pm, and he grunted loudly, banging his head into the table, making the already set silverware and empty dishes jump. She said she would arrive at five thirty- so where the fuck was she? The suspense was killing him. He just wanted to meet the boy who had somehow managed to snatch away the objectively sweetest girl in Japan’s heart, maybe subtly threaten him a bit in good ole big brother fashion, and enjoy the exquisite pasta he had whipped up with Rio’s help- but of course, she had to be sixteen whole minutes late. If she took more, he couldn’t trust himself not to undo the first three buttons of his dress shirt out of stress.
Ding-dong.
Samatoki’s ears perched up at the doorbell’s ringing. He felt his heart speed up, so much so he could feel his pulse behind his eyes, as he shot to the door in record speed. Usually, he’d look at the security camera to make sure whoever was at the door was trustworthy, then talk through the intercom, and all that ridiculous yakuza security measures to make sure he wasn’t opening the door to say, a cop (minus Juto, who was probably the only cop who prowled around his house without him minding); but today, all cautions went out the window. He nearly swung the door open, before remembering there was a good chance he’d whack both kids on the head if he was too fast, so he opened it slowly, impatience building in him.
He could see his little sister- her long white hair twisted into a braid that rested on her shoulder, still wearing her high school uniform, and wearing what seemed to be a little lip gloss and blush (but maybe that was natural? He didn’t know how to tell makeup blush and real blush apart), and she was bouncing up and down, seemingly as anxious as he was. Time felt like it was going in slow motion- he kept opening the door like a normal person, but in his head, it was a countdown, a slow-motion reveal of his little sister’s boyfriend.
He could see someone holding his sister’s hand- skin slightly tanner than hers (but seeing as he and his sis were so pale, that was really not a shock), and his patience ran thin, finally opening the door whole in one fluid motion once he was sure he wouldn’t be knocking out anyone. He looked at his darling sister, and then, in her hand, she held another’s hand- she held another girl’s hand. For a second, he looked around, wondering where the hell was her boyfriend, before it hit him like a sack of bricks- she’d never explicitly said she’d be bringing a boy.
“Sama!” she cheered, tackling him into a hug. He grunted in surprise as the short white-haired teen nearly took him down, quickly returning the hug, and patting her head. “It’s been so long!”
“It’s been too long, kiddo.” he chuckled, setting her down. It really had been too long, seeing as he tried to avoid being too obviously close to his sister because, you know, yakuza and whatnot. “How’s everything been?”
“Amazing!” the younger Aohitsugi beamed, and Samatoki swore her smile could light all of Yokohama- and when he glanced at the other girl, who still held his sister’s hand, he understood she probably agreed, judging by the way her lips curled up as she stared at the other girl’s thousand watt smile. “I- well, y’know, school’s been ok, and we’re getting vacations next week, and- Oh! Yeah, this is… The person I wanted you to meet…”
“Wait, let’s step inside. I ain’t having you two stand here in the cold for more time.” he said, stepping aside to let the two girls in. His sister nodded, tugging her girlfriend by the hand and into the house- both of them seemed a little anxious, and Samatoki couldn’t help but wonder if he was the cause of it. Of course, they’d be nervous presenting themselves as a couple for the first time- but… He couldn’t help but shake the feeling his sister was waiting for something to go weird, for him to say something, and the thought that she’d expect for him to be anything but happy for her was almost soul-crushing. Quickly, he shut the door, and set out to serve dinner, and hopefully, show his little sister that he’d never be anything other than supportive.
Once in the table, he asked for his sister to speak up again- introductions, how they met- and she began to speak, words falling from her mouth like a machine gun. He had to be impressed: she’d for sure be a deadly rapper, judging by the speed at which she listed her girlfriend’s whole name and then turned to her to tell her his own name. Samatoki nodded along, making noises of acknowledgement between mouthfuls of pasta; turns out his sister was dating an exchange student who didn’t fluently speak japanese, which explained why the girl had been silent for most of the meal.
“And- and, um, we met in the middle of last year in the school fair! We’re both in the same year but in different classes, but she got lost in the fair so she asked me to help her around, and… Well, y’know, I’m pretty good at English so I began to help her around and hang out, even after school…” the youngest Aohitsugi was full of words, as if her narration couldn’t convey exactly the magic of her story. Samatoki hadn’t been expecting to ever see her eyes so full of emotion, her cheeks red as she clutched her girlfriend’s hand underneath the table (he couldn’t see but come on, it was plain obvious)- she was… So happy.
“Ah? And for how long have you two been dating?” he asked. His sister had calmed down, for sure, perhaps due to how… Oddly normal the situation was being. It seemed like the textbook version of a calm meeting of an older brother and his little sibling’s partner- except that, unlike in textbooks, it wasn’t a plain older brother meeting his sister’s boyfriend, it was a hot-tempered yakuza boss who was the leader of the local hypnosis mic division, meeting her sister’s girlfriend who didn’t speak much of the language.
“Two months.” a new voice piped up, and Samatoki turned his eyes to the foreigner. She didn’t have much of an accent when she spoke, but her intonnation was clearly doubtful- she looked at his sister for reassurance, and the white haired girl nodded, as if to say you said it correctly!
“Two months? That’s a good amount of time.” said Samatoki, nodding. The second it was out of his mouth, he realized how antinatural and odd his comment had sounded, but he didn’t have any other idea at how to reply to the previous statement. “I mean- er, you know, two months is a long time. You two must be a good fit.”
“Thank you very much.” she said, and he could hear his sister repress a giggle at her girlfriend’s formal tone, before whispering something in her ear. Samatoki raised an eyebrow as he watched the girl’s expression shift to an embarrassed one, before repeating herself. “I mean- thanks. Sorry for the formality.”
“‘Tis ok. Language’s fucking hard, anyways.” he shrugged. “As long as I understand what you’re trying to say, it’s all ok.”
“See? I told you you where worrying too much!” his sister said, poking her girlfriend in the cheek. “Samatoki is a really cool dude! I told you, he’d like you!”
“Oi, I’m on the table, don’t start getting flirty with me here.” said Samatoki, waving his hand in front of his sister’s face. It wasn’t flirting right now, sure, but he knew enough that if he didn’t stop them, chances were they’d end up both batting their lashes at each other instead of eating the wonderful, delicious meal he’d prepared (with Rio, whom he’d made sure used normal people ingredients). “The food will get cold.”
His words seemed to make both teens freeze and go red, immediately returning to their plates. Now it was his turn to chuckle; he’d forgotten how easily young people got flustered when someone older called them out. Still, he was glad for many reasons: for one, his sister had completely shed her anxieties and was acting as usual, and two, it seemed everyone was enjoying the pasta, which was great, because he’d shed blood and tears trying to stop Rio from tossing rats in there and had managed to convince the veteran to god please I bought chicken we can use chicken for the pasta for the love of god no rats my little sister’s gonna eat this.
For a second, he lifted his eyes off his plate to look at his sister once again- to his little ray of sunshine, his life’s biggest inspiration. He couldn’t quite explain the brotherly warmth that spread through his chest when he did: neither of them had ever had a normal family, and honestly, they probably never would, but… In moments like this, it was their little bubble of normalcy, where everything was good and calm, and he loved it.
His eyes shifted, and he caught the foreign girl’s gaze, also settled at his sister. If it had been anyone else, he’d probably have threatened to rip their eyes out for staring at her for too long, but… Even he could recognize the tenderness and affection that his sister’s girlfriend held in her gaze. She suddenly seemed to notice he was observing, making direct eye contact with him, and they both seemed to speak with their gazes, as if the barrier of spoken words wasn’t even there.
You better take care of her, he said with his eyes.
I will, she seemed to say back.
And Samatoki took a deep breath, and returned to eating his meal with a smile, wondering if he’d remember to pick up the tie underneath the table tomorrow or if he’d leave it there to find randomly during spring cleaning.