Chapter Text
Rikiya sat sprawled in front of Morning Glory's entrance, lightly scowling at the Sun for being so strong. Even though the roof of the Orphanage was pretty effective in shielding his face from the Sun, it didn't do much for his legs which were covered with his social trousers. If he could change from those pants to some shorts, he wouldn't be suffering from the heat like he is now but, unfortunately, he needed to wear those for his “work”. Sure, he wasn't active right now, but he needed to be ready in case Nakahara needed him to do something. He also needed to be all set for patrol down Downtown Ryukyu later once Mikio came back.
“Man, it's really hot…” Rikiya complained to himself, wiping the sweat that gathered over his brows and upper lip. His button-up felt way more constricting than usual, even though the fabric was made to be airier than the regular ones. The viper on his back was slowly getting more and more drenched and Rikiya was beginning to get irritated. Why was today so hot? Of course, he was pretty accustomed to the tropical climate, but this was something else. Rikiya theorized that maybe a heatwave had come over, or something along the lines of that, but he wasn’t completely sure.
Before he could further dwell himself thinking about how awful the heat was, he felt a cool vapor reach his cheek. Flinching lightly from the slight change in temperature, Rikiya turned to look where the cold feeling was coming from and was greeted by Kiryu, the man offering what appeared to be a lemon popsicle to him. Eyeing the item, Rikiya looked up at him, as if asking if he could really take it. Now that he thinks about it, a popsicle would be just the thing to cool him down a bit.
“The weather forecast said today would be hotter than usual, so Haruka decided it would be great to buy some of these for the kids,” He explained. “We bought an extra box so we have more than seconds for everybody to eat.”
Kiryu was still with his arm extended to him with the popsicle, so Rikiya took that explanation as some sort of permission and nabbed the treat from his hands, slightly too eager. The mainlander formed a small smirk and hummed at the others' reaction, making Rikiya feel slightly embarrassed.
“U-uh… Sorry, Aniki. Thank you very much!” Rikiya said, slightly hushed as he pushed the popsicle against the inside of the top of the packaging, ripping it open. Kiryu sighed as he sat by his side on the small staircase, ripping open the package of his own popsicle, which Rikiya hadn't even seen was in his grip. Apparently, the other’s popsicle was Watermelon flavored. 'Well, that's unfair!' Rikiya thought, glancing over at the other’s treat. Watermelon was one of his favorite flavors which, in his opinion, won against lemon easily, but then again, Kiryu didn't know that. ‘Beggars can’t be choosers’ he thought, even though he wasn’t begging.
“I don't know why you're apologizing but you're welcome.” the ex-yakuza said, not wasting time and sinking his teeth into the popsicle in his hands. Rikiya weighed in his mind if he should bite his own popsicle, but he didn't want to devour the sweet too soon, so he decided to suckle on it instead. Bringing the popsicle to his lips, he felt the brush of the raspy and cold texture over them, making him visibly melt against the feeling. His body basically drooped against the stair-step behind him as he enjoyed the acid, but sweet taste of the lemon dessert.
After mouthing on it for a while, Rikiya pulled the treat away from his mouth and released a long, content sigh. The icy cold temperature of the popsicle somewhat refreshed him, making a shiver run down his spine because of the small temperature shock between his body's almost fever-like state and the ice. It was delightful.
“I've lived here my entire life. I don't think there has been a day that was hot like this !” Rikiya said. “It must be at least, what, 30 C°?”
“It sure feels like it,” Kiryu responded after swallowing the top bit of his popsicle. “I'm thinking of organizing an afternoon at the beach so the kids can refresh themselves when they get back from school.”
“Sounds awesome! What are you thinking of doing, some volley? Beach baseball? Oh! Maybe Marco-Polo in the water?!” Rikiya suggested excitedly.
“They would like that. Though I think Marco-Polo at the sea would be kind of dangerous.” he reasoned, Rikiya humming in agreement as he thought about it more carefully. They sat there for a little while, brainstorming ideas regarding what they could do for the kids.
As Rikiya talked to the other, he couldn't help but get lost in him a couple of times. Their talk consisted of nothing but throwing ideas around, however, Kiryu's voice was so deep and calming that it dragged him into a whole other dimension. That voice, along with those sharp, warm eyes? He was sure he was gone. Maybe he had been so for a while now.
Since the day he got beat by the Kiryu, he started losing himself in him. At first, he regarded his feelings as admiration and respect, but as the months passed by, they started developing into something that was much more than that. He found himself getting lost more and more frequently in the large sea that was that man.
It was a big and open body of water, clear to the point everything was exposed for him to see and, even so, its secrets were well hidden in spots where mankind doesn't even know exist, nor know the creatures that lurk beneath it. Truly beautiful, honest — dangerous, and mysterious. Rikiya wanted to reach deep inside that sea and drown in it.
But Rikiya isn't — as much as his first encounter with Kiryu begs to differ — stupid. He can read people pretty well, he thinks, and even if the caretaker was pretty stoic 99.99% of the time, he could tell that his feelings weren't really reciprocated. Maybe he is a nuisance to him, for all he knows — Kiryu had already explicitly said he doesn't want to be called "Aniki" in front of the children, but did he listen? Of course not.
I mean, how could he, really? The guy was a big motherloving tank. A legend that still lived up to the name. If Rikiya was able to show appreciation and respect to him without gushing about it (which he was prone to doing. Constantly), calling him "Aniki" made the most sense. It was a safe enough title that didn't give him and his feelings away, which was always a plus. If his feelings were to suddenly be known, Kiryu would probably ditch him — he doesn't want that to happen, not in a million years. He had to take what he could get and, for now, this relationship was good enough. If he got to stand close to Kiryu, he was happy.
As long as he didn't get greedy with his own feelings, this rhythm should work fine.
Because that never, ever happens...
...Right?
“—kiya? Are you okay?” Kiryu asked him. Fortunately for himself, Rikiya was able to catch the question. Shaking his head a little to put him back in focus, he smiled. Hopefully, it would come out honest and reassuring, instead of what it actually was: forced and slightly panicked.
“Sorry, Aniki. Daydreaming is all.” He explained, going for another lick on his popsicle to distract himself from his self-awareness. It was technically true but, judging by the more prominent crease over the bridge of his nose, Kiryu wasn't really convinced with that answer. Regardless, he decided not to pry.
‘Thank God! ’ Rikiya thought, finally surrendering to his gluttony and chomping off the top of his popsicle. Unfortunately, the ice was harder than he thought, so he had to further sink in his teeth and the cold spread over them and his gums and — Jesus Christ, everything was suddenly too cold—
Big. Mistake.
“AAaah!” Rikiya wined, the sound coming out slightly muffled because of the culprit of his pain currently sitting on his tongue. He cupped his hand under his chin as if to not drool out the popsicle piece and instinctively closed his mouth to pass his tongue over the sensitive teeth which didn’t do anything but worsen his torture, since his tongue was terrifically cold now. As he moaned in pain and irritation, Kiryu made a noise that Rikiya had never heard from him — almost like a snort — so he turned to face the other. Kiryu wasn't looking at him, and from his nose-up, his expression hadn't really changed, however, he was covering his mouth with his unoccupied hand and the quirk of a smirk was clearly visible through the gaps between his fingers.
For a moment, Rikiya forgot the entire meaning of the word “Aniki” and shoved the man's shoulder, mumbling an indignant “MmhnMm!” noise, his mouth still closed as he ate and worked through the unfair sensitivity of his teeth. Kiryu released a couple of chuckles this time, infecting Rikiya with a giggling crisis, which made Kiryu laugh louder, earning more indignant “Mmmn!”s from Rikiya, who was still giggling. Finally swallowing the dessert in his mouth, Rikiya sighed through his nose in somewhat faux frustration.
“A-Aniki, S-s— goddammit— stop!” He stuttered through the giggles, earning another snort from Kiryu who, thankfully, managed to stifle his chuckles. Mostly. They sat there, finishing their popsicles and smiling to themselves as they looked at the waves crashing in comfortable silence. Unconsciously, Rikiya kept glancing at the soon-to-be-finished watermelon popsicle. He felt bad for not appreciating his pretty good lemon one, but he really wanted to have a watermelon flavored treat.
“Uhm… Why do you keep looking at my popsicle, Rikiya?” Kiryu asked. It was bad enough that he was busted glancing at him, but the worst part is how that question sounded like a very unholy innuendo. Rikiya felt blood rush to his face as he thought about some things that were also pretty unholy.
‘Get your mind out of the gutter! It was a genuine question! He's staring at you, just answer the freaking question!’ Rikiya reprimanded himself mentally. He reasoned he might as well be honest since the other answer he had wasn't really in his favor.
“Ah, it's just that watermelon is my favorite flavor. Not that I don't like the lemon one, this is great! But I guess I'm kind of craving it right now…” He justified, looking off to the side, not making eye contact. “Sorry, Aniki.”
“Rikiya, stop apologizing,” Kiryu said. “If you wanted another flavor, I could've switched it for you. Would you like me to grab one for you now?” he offered.
“N-no, you don't need to, I'll feel bad if you give me another one. Leave those extras for the kids.” Rikiya said. Kiryu looked like he wanted to protest, but Rikiya didn't let him. He still wanted a watermelon popsicle, but maybe that was the favorite flavor of one of the kids. Maybe it was Kiryu's own favorite and that's why he grabbed one in the first place. He should leave it for him and the others.
Kiryu seemed to be running something in his head for a while. Rikiya was going to ask what was wrong but was interrupted by the other moving the popsicle he had close to his face, offering. It had the top already off by half, exposing the wooden stick in the middle. There were also some parts that were bitten on one side but it still looked pretty appealing. To Rikiya, anyway.
“Aniki…” he went for a refusal, but Kiryu was not having it.
“You were eyeing it like you hadn't eaten in days. I insist.” The ex-yakuza said. Rikiya still didn't like the feeling that he somehow pressured the other to offer him his popsicle, but despite that, when Kiryu was set on something, it was impossible to change his mind, so he might as well.
“Thank you, Aniki,” Rikiya said. More eagerly than he'd like to admit, he held the exposed top of the stick and tilted it so the middle was horizontal to his mouth, and took a bite. Retracting his lips from the treat a bit, he savored the watermelon flavor. It was so, so sweet, Rikiya thought he'd get instant cavities. The taste didn't seem industrialized at all, making the watermelon that much more prominent. Maybe Kiryu had gotten those from a shop that had it homemade? Regardless, he was swimming in the feeling. He'd have to ask what shop this was from so he could hoard some popsicles for himself.
Having somewhat satiated his craving, he emitted a small moan of satisfaction before swallowing. Somehow, as he delighted himself with that bite, he had kept his eyes closed. Opening them slowly, he was faced with Kiryu. The man was as stony as you could possibly be but the tips of his ears were burning an angry red, and that's when Rikiya realized the position they were in:
Rikiya was hunched over slightly so he could bend down to bite the popsicle. Instead of grabbing the treat and handing it back over to Kiryu when he finished — like a normal person would — he just tilted the tip of the wooden stick while the other man held the opposite end, making them inch slightly closer together. The fact that this position was somewhat intimate — Almost couple-like — for their dynamic, plus Rikiya becoming suddenly way too aware that Kiryu's mouth was once where he bit made him get flushed as well. They stared at each other for a solid five seconds before Kiryu turned his head away from him, making Rikiya snap out of his trance. He released the top of the popsicle's stick and scooted a few centimeters away from the other.
‘Of course, I had to mess this up somehow, right?’ Rikiya thought bitterly, the leftover taste turning sour in his mouth. After what felt like an eternity of awkward quiet stretching between them, Kiryu cleared his throat and opened his mouth to say something. It took a while like he was assessing what to say to him. ‘He is probably going to ask me to leave,’ was the first thing to cross his mind. The logical part of his brain was screaming at him, saying that wasn't something Kiryu would do — he isn't like that — but his emotions were screaming louder, leaving him with an uncomfortable pressure on his chest.
"U-um… Would you maybe like to come over to play with the kids too after your patrol?"
‘Huh?! ’ was his mental reaction, and it must've shown on his face because Kiryu became apprehensive really quickly, mumbling something along the lines of “It's okay if you can't…” to him. Well, he didn't expect that to happen at all. Not like he was going to complain, the other way this could've gone was much, much worse.
“W-well, probably, I guess?” Was his answer. “I'll talk to Oyaji to see if he'll let me leave patrol earlier today,”
“You really don't need to if you can't. I don't want to interfere in the Ryudo family's business,”
“It's alright, Aniki. Nothing really happens over here, anyway. I want to spend time with the kids!”
‘And you’ he thought but didn't say. “I bet Mikio would love to come as well—” Rikiya caught himself. “Erm— if you don't mind him coming too?”
“Of course I don't mind. Izumi and Mame would be very happy to see him,” Kiryu answered with a small smile. “I think I already know what I'm going to do for them, so it would be great if you could come,” he stated, the flush on the tips of his ears returning briefly. “And, um… Mikio, too.”
“Once I talk to Oyaji, I'll text you the time I'll be able to come over,” Rikiya answered. Kiryu went to say something like “alright” but got interrupted by a loud call coming from the outside of the Orphanage's entrance.
“Oyaji!” Mikio waved from the fence's entryway. Rikiya stood up and walked over to him, his subordinate meeting him halfway. “I've already finished patrolling, sir! Nothing was seen out of the ordinary.”
“Perfect. Let’s head back to the office, I have some things to take care of before I get to my patrol.”
“Hai!” Mikio said, with a slight bow of his head. Twisting his body so he could look behind him, Rikiya waved quickly to the caretaker. “Be seeing you soon, Aniki!” he said. And with that, he turned back. The wave Kiryu gave in return went unnoticed as he walked outside Morning Glory’s bounds and into the dirt road with Mikio in tow. The familiar walk towards the monorail station was quiet, neither Rikiya nor his subordinate speaking while they handed security their tickets and got inside the transport. Finding an empty set of seats, they got themselves comfortable for the ride of about ten minutes to Downtown Ryukyu.
Five minutes into their trip, Rikiya noticed that Mikio seemed slightly… off. Looking over at him, he noticed how his knee kept bouncing repeatedly and his eyes kept shifting to different places quickly without focusing on any of them. ‘Anxious’ Rikiya concluded, a wave of worry washing over him. Gingerly, Rikiya settled his hand over Mikio’s shoulder, making the latter’s wandering gaze get focused and settled on him. “Oi, are you alright?” Rikiya asked genuinely.
“A-ah… I’m fine, Aniki,” The subordinate answered sheepishly, his eyes not meeting the others.
“Mikio,” Rikiya called sternly, making Mikio snap his eyes back on him. “Your leg has been bouncing for a while and your eyes are trailing everywhere, but they’re not looking at anything... Even though I’m your boss, I’m your friend too, yeah?”
“Aniki…”
“You can trust me. What’s going through your head?”
Mikio scratched the back of his neck and released a small, quiet chuckle. “You know, I was just wondering…”
“Yeah?”
“When are you confessing to Kiryu-aniki?”
“Ah, well— wait, WHAT?! ” Rikiya exclaimed. His hand shot out to fist Mikio’s purple shirt, the spiel of “I’m your friend too” quickly forgotten. “The hell do you mean ‘When are you confessing’, eh?! ” Mikio paled as he tried to think of something to say before the other fist went for his face.
“A-Aniki, please! Let me, uh— hear me out for a bit!” he went with, tapping the hand clenching his shirt. Rikiya narrowed his gaze on him but — to Mikio’s relief — slowly uncurled his hand from the fabric, setting it over the armrest. Mikio exhaled the air he was holding, blood rushing back to his face as he gathered some courage to tell his boss what he wanted to:
“L-look, when I went back to Morning Glory to report to you, I saw you and Kiryu-aniki talking, so I decided to wait for you guys to finish before I butted in. The whole ice-cream thing that happened between you two? I saw everything and — If I’m completely honest — it was painful to watch!”
It was now Rikiya’s turn to pale. His eyes widened at Mikio’s words, but he didn’t say anything — He didn’t know what to say, really.
“I mean, I have noticed how you look at Kiryu-aniki for a while now, but I never said anything, thinking maybe I was just reading into things too much, but that moment basically confirmed it to me. Aniki... this is not a one-way thing — You can trust me too, you know?”
“Mikio…” was all Rikiya managed.
“I know what you’re thinking. ‘It’s better this way’, right? But trust me, it isn’t. The feeling is just going to eat you inside until you do something stupid, or worse: until it’s too late...” Mikio said, his face turning sour in a matter of seconds before the expression was smothered over just as quickly. The advice was so weirdly sincere, it made Rikiya wonder what happened in Mikio’s past, but instead of asking, something told him it wasn’t the best moment to, so he kept quiet.
“That’s what I mean. So, I’ll ask again: When are you confessing to Kiryu-aniki?”
The air that Rikiya exhaled from his nose almost burned his airways from how hot it was, and not only from the weather but also from pure frustration. He really wanted to take Mikio’s advice to heart, to maybe take some action, but in reality, he couldn’t. He knew his feelings were unrequited, so what was the point? To dismantle their newfound companionship and make things awkward? As much as he wanted Kiryu in a non-platonic way, he knew he couldn’t have him like that, so he should just appreciate what he has now and be happy instead of risking it all and losing Kiryu forever.
“Mikio, I…” he began, breathing in deeply to steady himself a bit. “I can’t. I appreciate your advice, I really do but… I just can’t.”
“He doesn’t like me that way” and “I don’t want to lose what I have with him” went unsaid as he justified his actions. Mikio seemed like he was about to say something else, but the monorail’s speakers announcing their arrival interrupted him.
“Alright, we should get to the office,” Rikiya said, standing up to go outside.
Like the walk out from Morning Glory, the stroll to the Ryudo family office was equally silent, however this time, the air was thick with tension that exuded from Rikiya still thinking over Mikio’s words. He knew Mikio was right. The feeling was already eating him up inside: Hiding your true feelings from somebody you care so much about has proven to be much more taxing than he initially thought, but what was he supposed to do? Play this game of “He loves me, He loves me not” knowing the number of petals was even?
His thoughts were basically running around in circles at this point and this pattern was starting to get dangerous. He needed to distract himself with something, even if only for a few minutes.
“Um… Mikio? Since you overheard me and Aniki talking, you know he’s planning something for the kids, yeah?” Rikiya went with.
“Huh? Oh, yeah…” Mikio responded.
“Are you going? I came over to the office to grab my swimming trunks and some other things actually,”
“Yeah. I think so, yeah!” Mikio responded with unusual excitement, but Rikiya didn’t think much about it and just brushed it off.
“Nice. I will be occupied with patrol, so please go back to Morning Glory to help Aniki with preparations.”
“Hai!” Mikio answered, and with that, they finally arrived in front of the family office. Sliding the doors open, Mikio entered first, making a beeline straight to the hideout to organize his own things for the afternoon at the beach, Rikiya following closely behind.