Chapter Text
"Niki-kunnn…" Hiyori whined, dragging out the younger idol's name and throwing her arms over Niki's shoulders, dramatically draping herself over his body. Niki seemed mostly unbothered, just tilting his head back to look at Hiyori with a raised brow. Both of her dormmates were out right now, which meant no one would scold the eccentric idol.
"Hiyori-kun, you're going to topple us both! Tell me what you want before I fall over, 'kay~?" The gray-haired man replied cheerily, steadying himself and tapping the taller man's cheek playfully. Hiyori just giggled, wrapping his arms under Niki's shoulders and swaying lightly– to anyone else, this might be irritating, but the chef almost enjoyed Hiyori's antics, finding them easier to deal with than Rinne's. They’d known each other since they were children, if you counted being separated for several years, so Niki had grown pretty tolerant.
"I need to go to a social event for my country club, you see? And Nagisa-kun doesn't want to attend as my plus one, so I thought I'd invite you! You're better behaved than Rinne-senpai, and, well– you know!"
"But Hiyori-kun, I really don't know the first thing about high society… if you're sure though, who am I to turn you down? Nahaha~ ☆ I accept, then!" It took barely a moment of debate for Niki to accept, to which Hiyori leaned forwards excitedly and knocked them both over in the process. Yelping loudly, Niki flailed and found himself underneath a hysterically giggling Hiyori, whose body shook with silent laughter at their predicament before she pushed herself up, offering a hand which the other took gratefully.
"O~kay! So, do you have a suit, Niki-kun? One that isn't specific to Crazy:B? We can hardly have you looking like a walking advertisement, after all, wouldn't you say?" Hiyori began to let his thoughts wander, looking around as though to find a segue for their conversation. Niki only stared at his companion before raising a brow thoughtfully. "I don't, no… we're about the same size, huh Hiyori-kun? Could I-"
"No way am I letting you near my clothes, Niki-kun! What if you ruin them? I'll get you fitted for a brand-new suit of your own, alright? Come with me– I'll take you right now, won't that be some fine weather?" Grabbing hold of Niki's hand, Hiyori didn't hesitate to drag him towards the car, shooing him into the passenger's seat before settling in and almost immediately beginning to drive.
It only took a few minutes of pop music-filled driving to reach their destination, where Hiyori stepped out and gestured grandly to reveal a small tailor's shop. This place seemed a cut beneath the fancy establishments a Tomoe would normally be found at, so Niki cast the second-born a wary glance– but to no avail, as she had already started towards the door and seemed unaware that he hadn't followed.
"Hey, Hiyori-kun! Don't leave me in the dust like that, 'kay? You rich folks really are…"
"Ahh? Were you speaking, Niki-kun? Hurry, hurry, the seamstress can take your measurements now!" Shoving him towards the fitting room the second they entered the building, Hiyori hushed Niki without a moment’s hesitation and shut the door unceremoniously behind them. “Here we go! Let’s get you all measured up, alright? It should be ready by the time we need it later today, right Miss Seamstress?”
“H- hold on, Hiyori-kun, today? You really didn’t give me any time to prepare…?” Grimacing as he was ushered into the center of the room onto a small pedestal, Niki stood there obediently as a woman dodged around him with a tape measure and a notepad, writing down his measurements. Hiyori only tilted his head innocently, raising a brow.
“Prepare? You don’t know how to prepare though, do you? It’s not like you’ve ever been to one of these, after all, so you’ll be spending today with the wonderful Hiyori Tomoe while I help you get ready under my guidance!” Making a sweeping gesture with her arms, the elder idol only grinned and laughed while Niki resisted the urge to back out of these plans. It made him happy to see Hiyori this way– really, it did. But the menacing attitude with which she tended to be happy was… unsettling, to say the least, as it always appeared to have ulterior motives of some kind. Was he going to be used as a scapegoat of some sort? No- of course Hiyori wouldn’t do that to him, right? They were friends after all–
“Niki-kunnn… you zoned out, really? Come now, you can’t be so spacey at dinner tonight!”
“Dinner?”
“Of course! Did you think I was just bringing you along to play nice with high society? Naturally, I know you’re not that kind of person. Food is your main motivator, right? And I’m willing to bet you haven’t eaten kaiseki before!”
A pause. This was a game changer. Niki couldn’t abandon these plans now, not with food on the table– literally and figuratively. Sighing and rubbing the back of his neck only to be met with a soft slap on his calf from the seamstress for moving, the chef took a moment before nodding stiffly and looking around the room.
“Okay… I guess I have no choice but to do as you say then, Hiyori-kun!” He replied simply, grimacing slightly. It wasn’t because he didn’t trust Hiyori, but rather that the other could be… incredibly eager at times, maybe to the point of getting carried away. But that didn’t matter– not if Niki had the chance to eat high society food, that is.
“What wonderful weather ♪ I knew you’d agree easily! So, after we get you fitted, we’ll go shopping for some simple accessories and shoes, yes?” Hiyori said (not asked– said) and rocked forwards on the balls of his feet. Niki just laughed and shrugged, resisting the urge to wave dismissively lest he get scolded by the seamstress who was finishing up his measurements.
The elder just chatted idly to himself about the things he’d do with Niki, focusing moreso on his plans than anything else as he strolled over to the other idol and held up a hand to stop the seamstress from finishing her measurements. She took Niki’s face into her hands, turning the other idol’s head slightly from side to side and examining it before releasing it and beaming, gesturing to the seamstress once more.
“You’re very pretty, Niki-kun! Fortunately, you won’t need much makeup.” Hiyori stated simply, clapping slightly before giving two thumbs-up. Niki just laughed lightly as the seamstress resumed her prior activities, finishing up in a matter of minutes. She spoke in a hushed tone to Hiyori, who nodded and waved dismissively like he couldn’t care less about what she was saying.
“Yes, yes! I know! But you’ll have his jacket ready by tonight, won’t you?”
A nod.
“Perfect! Niki-kun, Niki-kun, let’s go shopping for those accessories I mentioned!” Excitedly, Hiyori took hold of Niki’s hand and tugged him out of the room, out of the shop entirely, bringing him to the car without a moment’s hesitation. Life seemed non-stop for Hiyori, Niki noticed, but he stayed silent and sat obediently in the passenger’s seat while waiting for the other’s instruction. This would be a long day, no doubt, but Niki was willing to ride it out– for now.