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“Tell me again why we’re doing this?” Hajime asks as he drops flowers on the ground in frustration, even though he knows exactly why and Tooru knows that he knows.
Tooru’s younger sister, Kumiko, loves flower crowns. She doesn’t quite have the fine motor function to make her own and so Hajime and Tooru have to learn how. Tooru had found a step by step image detailing how to make them the day before, but after many failed attempts on Hajime’s part, he’d switched to videos on youtube.
“Because you love me and I love Kumiko,” Tooru responds easily. He’s not nearly as frustrated as Hajime, but his flower crowns are at least turning out decent.
“Debatable,” he mutters as he picks up the flowers and starts over, even though neither point is. Tooru’s got a big family, five siblings and Hajime honestly doesn’t even know how many aunts and uncles and cousins, but he’s closest with Kumiko even though she’s the youngest and he’s second oldest.
Tooru hums because he knows that Hajime doesn’t mean it. Had anyone else doubted what he said, he'd have made a scene. (Once, he got in an actual physical fight which left him with a split lip and a worried boyfriend, but he doesn't regret it one bit.)
"Why do we both have to learn how?" Hajime asks, definitely not whining or pouting because he just can't get it no matter how long he tries.
"You can give up if you want," Tooru responds, leaning against him and reaching over to help.
Hajime holds his failure of a flower crown away from Tooru. "I'm not just gonna give up."
Tooru laughs at Hajime's rare childish side. A side that has very clearly come to be as a direct result of Tooru's influence. "Let me help you," he offers, trying to keep his amusement out of his voice and failing. "We can give it to Kumiko together."
Hajime makes an attempt to stop pouting as he hands the clump of flowers to Tooru, who wordlessly takes them from him. Tooru wishes he could add more of a variety, but he's limited to the flowers in the park they took Kumiko to. He finally ties it all together and holds it up.
"Done! I told you we could do it Hajime!"
"It's a bit lopsided," he responds, but he's smiling and happier than Tooru has seen him in a while. Tooru sticks his tongue out at him, even if he's right.
They decide to wait for Kumiko to be done playing with whichever new friends she made this time; clearly she took after Tooru in that way, always ready to try and befriend whoever she meets.
"Tooru, Tooru, look!" Kumiko yells as she runs back to them.
"Be careful!" Tooru calls back, just before Kumiko trips and falls on her face. Hajime tenses, ready for her to break out in tears, but Tooru knows better. She just gets right back up and keeps running towards them with a big smile on her face.
"I made you and Iwa-chan flower crowns!" She holds up a… good attempt at two flower crowns before placing one on Tooru's head and the other on Hajime's. "You're so pretty now!"
"I love them!" Tooru exclaims. "We made one for you too."
Kumiko gasps. "Really?"
Tooru nods, reaching behind himself for the flower crown. "Just for you."
Her smile falls when she sees it and Tooru panics. He thought she'd like it. Maybe it was too lopsided.
"Yours looks so much prettier!"
Oh, she feels bad about that.
"It's because it was made for a queen," Hajime responds quickly, saving Tooru from having to come up with something. "Yours has to be prettier."
And Hajime says he's not good with kids.
"If I'm a queen, what does that make you two?"
"Your loyal knights, of course. And we are humbled that someone as important as you would take the time to make us both crowns of any sort. It took two of us to make you that one crown."
Kumiko listens to Hajime with her eyes wide open and shining, all of her positivity and energy from earlier returning. "I'm gonna go tell Aki that I'm a queen!"
Tooru starts to call out to her to be careful, but he merely sighs as she falls once more while running away. "That's why we were doing that."
Hajime leans against him. "I suppose it was worth it. I did get to spend the whole day with you after all."
Tooru smiles at the way Hajime refuses to admit that he cares about Kumiko despite spending over a day trying to learn how to make a flower crown for her. "I love you," he says, not intentionally. It just slips out, but he wouldn't have stopped himself anyway.
Hajime's not looking at him, but Tooru knows that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Hajime can be shy sometimes. "I love you, too."