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"Listen, Samatoki, I'm not asking you to be their best friend. I'm just asking that they get to know you a little too, alright? I know you'd want me to do the same with Nemu, if it were possible. I just want them to know that they're important too. I think you putting in that effort will help them feel more comfortable."
That's what Ichiro had told Samatoki, two days prior. Their argument of sorts had come about as a result of Jiro talking about how it was uneasy to have Samatoki in the house all of a sudden. They both knew that Jiro didn't mean it as an insult, or anything negative, but Ichiro had started to overthink it and decided he wanted Samatoki to be better friends with both of his brothers.
Samatoki had spent a couple hours with Jiro the day immediately after. He'd attended one of his soccer games, took him to dinner, and then bought him dessert in Nagoya after. It had been a busy couple of hours, and they didn't get back to the Yamada home in Ikebukuro until close to 10pm. No one minded, though, and Jiro was overjoyed to recite the events to his big brother. Samatoki had lingered in the doorway to hear Jiro sing his praises, then stayed long enough to give Ichiro a kiss goodnight before returning home himself.
He'd proceeded to stay at home for another day, hands tied with work. He'd put a lot of thought into what Ichiro had requested of him, though, especially in terms of Nemu.
When they were younger, he had a good amount of trust for Ichiro simply because he got along with Nemu so easily. Even though that trust was shattered with the Chuoku situation, Samatoki was happy that both Ichiro and Nemu got along so well. He never had the closest relationship with Jiro and Saburo when they were younger, and often attributed it to their living situation. Being in the orphanage was tough on them, and their relationship with Ichiro wasn't stellar either. He can remember Jiro often standing in front of Saburo to protect him, and neither of them saying much to Samatoki himself.
Standing outside his home, he takes a long drag of his cigarette. He'd admired the work Ichiro had done to better his relationship with them, and thought the way the three functioned nowadays was adorable. Even though Jiro and Saburo hadn't been too fond of him, he still had an appreciation for their close relationship.
He had been racking his brain late into the evening to try to decide what he wanted to do for Saburo. Truthfully, he had expected that the kid would need time to warm up and approach him, almost like Samatoki were trying to pet some sort of stray cat. He knew Saburo didn't get along with people most often, didn't have friends at school, and spent most of his time at home anyways. Samatoki sighed. When did kids get so complicated?
He'd come to a decision late at night, and turned up at their home the following afternoon.
Samatoki knocked on their door at around 11am, putting out the last of his cigarette underneath his foot. Jiro pulled the door open a few moments later.
Typically, whenever Jiro answered the door, Samatoki would be answered with a confused expression and a scoff from the middle brother. This time, though, Jiro smiled, immediately stepping out of the way for Samatoki to come in. "Hey!" He greets, voice bubbly. "Aniki didn't tell me you were on the way. You surprisin' him? He's at work." He asks, letting the door fall shut behind Samatoki.
Jiro was still in his comfortable house clothes, and considering the state of the living room, Samatoki assumed that Jiro had been there all morning. On the weekends, Ichiro tended to be the only one who insisted on working, leaving Jiro and Saburo home to rest. "Came to pick up your other brother, actually." He answers, taking his shoes off at the door as to enter their home. "I guess I'm still a surprise." He adds, shrugging. He hadn't exactly prepared Saburo for his arrival, but hoped that he wouldn't mind. "Mind gettin' him for me?"
Looking curious, Jiro nods and gives a thumbs-up. He looks proud, turning and racing up the stairs. He almost trips on the way, but makes it up regardless.
Samatoki waits in their main room, moving over to sit on one of their couches. He's been in Ichiro's house aplenty of times before, but sitting here without Ichiro present still feels... awkward, like he doesn't quite belong. He can see their things tossed across the place, can smell Ichiro and Jiro's cologne in the air, mixed with the warm aroma of fried rice. There's a basket that holds their blankets on the floor, slightly askew with the blankets in it in disarray. A blue blanket has been pulled out and draped across the couch, and a yellow one is hanging off of the armrest. The red one is messily folded within it, and beneath it, there's a black one, folded to perfection. Samatoki's never seen the black one before, and somewhat assumes it's for a guest.
Jiro comes tumbling back down the stairs a few minutes later, leaping over the end of the couch to sit back down in his previous place. "He's gonna be down in a minute. He wanted to get dressed first." He tells Samatoki, grabbing the tv remote to un-pause what he'd been watching. Samatoki looks over to acknowledge that Jiro had been watching some sort of animated soccer show, and notes that it looks more like something Ichiro would've shown him.
Deciding to oblige Jiro's interests, Samatoki presses forward. "Whatcha watchin'?" He asks, leaning forward a little more to gaze at the screen properly. "Some kinda anime?"
"Ooh, yeah!" Jiro answers with excitement lacing his tone, sitting up to turn it up a little. "It's this anime Aniki suggested me to watch. It's called Blue Lock, it's a sports anime. I just started it a couple hours ago, but it's actually pretty good. Saburo and I were up early, so we played some mario kart before he headed back up to his room. Figured I'd watch some until he got back." He sort of rambles on, and it takes a great deal of Samatoki's strength to keep up. "But now you're takin' him somewhere, so I might finish this today."
"Mm." Samatoki hums in acknowledgment, not quite sure how else to respond to Jiro's barrage of information. "Let me know how well ya like it." He says after a pause, looking over to the stairs as Saburo comes down them.
The littlest of the three brothers stops on the last step, giving Samatoki a peculiar glare. If looks could kill, Samatoki would certainly be injured. Saburo doesn't quite look opposed to the yakuza's presence, but doesn't openly welcome it either, just gazing at him with a great deal of uncertainty. "Jiro said you came here for me?" He asks, taking his phone out to check it and then pocketting it again. "What do you want?"
"Figured you'd wanna go check out a game store in Yokohama with me." Samatoki offers, almost like throwing a bone to a dog. "I'm payin, so don't bother checking your wallet." He adds, standing and heading towards the door to put his shoes back on. As he shuffles one of his boots on, he looks over his shoulder at Saburo again. "Unless you're not interested."
Saburo grits his teeth, eyebrows knitting in frustration. It's difficult to turn down such an open opportunity, but to do it with Samatoki...?!
He makes a noise somewhat similar to an annoyed growl, then turns his attention to Jiro, almost accusing him. Jiro is already looking back at Saburo, the anime paused once more. Jiro, remarkably patient, doesn't look bothered by the circumstance. He waves his hand to Saburo, a vague gesture. Go, go.
Saburo's face relaxes, having warranted his brother's comfort. He exhales sharply through his nose, walking over to the door to put his shoes on in tandem with Samatoki. The yakuza grins a little to himself, feeling successful.
Once their shoes are on, he opens the door to let Saburo walk out. "I'll have 'em back in a couple hours." He tells Jiro, who just nods without taking his eyes away from the screen. Samatoki ducks out the door, letting it fall shut behind him. Saburo is already walking over to Samatoki's car, having seen it plenty of times to know who it belongs to.
Samatoki walks to join him, unlocking the car and getting into the driver's seat. Saburo quickly takes shotgun, instinct kicking in from being the youngest, claiming shotgun quick as can be. He gives Samatoki another skeptical look, multicolored eyes glaring at him despite the car already being shifted into drive.
"There's a cord there, you can play whatever music you want." Samatoki tells him, starting to drive towards their destination. Respectively, Saburo takes the cord and plugs it into his phone, starting to search around for music to play. Samatoki continues talking, "You eat yet?"
Saburo starts playing some kind of classical music that Samatoki doesn't immediately recognize. "Not yet." He murmurs, looking up through the windshield. Samatoki is a surprisingly safe driver, though probably would be driving a little more recklessly if he didn't have his boyfriend's baby brother in the car. He's still not quite sure what Samatoki is attempting, assumes the trip has to be something serious if it's just the two of them, though. He shuffles back into his seat and looks over at Samatoki again, eyes more curious than oppressive, now.
"We're headed to Yokohama, but it's gonna take us a few." Samatoki throws his turn signal on and merges, "Look up some food places 'n tell me which sounds best."
"I get to choose?" Saburo echoes, switching tabs on his phone. He's used to surrendering the choice to Ichiro, or having it taken by Jiro. It's a rarity that he gets to choose the place to eat, and it tends to happen most around his birthday. He immediately pulls up the map function, scrolling to find the best places to eat in Yokohama. He quickly types, not wanting Samatoki to rescind the decision. "There's a place called Red Lobster Shinhonmokuten.." He suggests, looking up from his screen. "Can we go there?"
Laughing a little, Samatoki glances from the road to the little Yamada. "Yeah, you get to choose. I've been to that place, it's pretty damn good. I'll take ya." He agrees, and can feel Saburo's tangible excitement.
The rest of the drive is Saburo telling Samatoki about board games, music, and occasionally complaining about Jiro. Samatoki picks up a few things, but most go through him since his focus is more on the road. He hears that the song they were listening to was a piece called Interstellar, and while Saburo kind of likes the composer, it isn't his favorite work since he feels it's a little too calm for a car ride. He explains that he prefers the composer's other work called 'Time', but also says that it's a little slow and depressing. Then, he goes on to talk about his favorite Beethoven work, and even Vivaldi's works, about how he likes 'The Four Seasons'. He ends his musical ramble with a short mention of Holst, specifically a work of his called 'Mars.'
He starts talking about board games after that, talking about a variety of strategy games, card games, and how he wishes Ichiro and Jiro were bigger on board games. He mentions his talent with playing chess, and says he's unbeatable at it in his house. In fact, he says that Ichiro and Jiro don't even come close.
By the time Saburo is about finished talking about his interests, they've arrived at the restaurant in Yokohama. Samatoki parks the car and gets out in tandem with Saburo, following him to the door. "Y'know, you could play chess with Jyuto. You remember him?" He asks, pulling the door open and letting Saburo in before him. He follows, giving a nod to the host. He's recognized fairly easily in Yokohama, and doesn't have to engage in tons of interactions to get what he needs.
"Jyuto Iruma, the cop in your group." Saburo confirms, nodding. "Is he any good at chess?" His voice holds a curious tone, beginning to follow Samatoki, who follows the host in front of them. "Didn't strike me as the type."
"He is." Samatoki confirms, sitting down at their table. The waitress brings them both menus, and brings Samatoki a drink ahead of time. "Think you'd enjoy it. He's actually pretty damn smart. I suck at chess, only found out 'cause he challenged me. Bet me he'd win, too. Bastard took 1000 yen from me that night."
Saburo laughs at Samatoki's loss, opening the menu to review the menu. "You were that confident?" He asks, tone mocking. As his laughter dies down, he starts to look at the menu properly. He looks a little mortified with the prices, looking at Samatoki over the large menu. "Um.."
"Yeah. Shouldn't have been that damn confident." He chuckles, setting the menu down decisively. Catching Saburo's expression, he raises an eyebrow. "What, cost? Get whatever you want. I'm buyin'."
The rest of their lunch goes smoothly. They both get a handful of dishes together, and decide to share them, for the most part. Saburo gets a pasta dish that he insists Samatoki can't touch, and Samatoki obliges his wishes. He then buys dessert for Saburo, saying that money isn't an issue. It isn't, not for someone like Samatoki. He's had to tell the same thing to Ichiro before, but Ichiro is always a lot more hesitant to accept Samatoki's generosity. Saburo is happy to take advantage of the offer, stuffing himself on food and then dessert right after each other. He hardly utters a word of thanks, but Samatoki knows that his gesture is appreciated.
If it wasn't appreciated, Samatoki is sure he'd be hearing Saburo's complaints and mockery back to back. They don't talk much over the meal, just Samatoki telling him about Jyuto's chess skills and Rio's willingness to try all sorts of games. They leave it at that, happy to enjoy their meals in relative silence. Samatoki actually rather enjoys it; he doesn't typically like to talk a ton during meals, but Ichiro always downs his food in two seconds and starts yapping about one thing or another. While Samatoki loves hearing his boyfriend talk, he also appreciates the calm serenity of the meal here.
Saburo equally enjoys it, for similar reasons. Meals shared in the Yamada family are always a little chaotic in one way or another, with Saburo and Jiro fighting, Ichiro talking about anime, and no one able to agree on what or where they want to eat. They finish their meal a little while later, and Samatoki quickly covers the bill so they can leave.
Their next stop is a variety of game stores around Yokohama. Saburo gets one thing from each of the three, ranging from strategy games to small card games. At the last one, he gets a fancy yellow dice set, and it's quickly pocketed after Samatoki has paid for it. On their trips, Samatoki discovers that Saburo actually doesn't like to talk a ton. He figures that Saburo is just taking advantage of the free things he's getting, and even then, Samatoki can't complain, at least he's gotten Saburo out with him.
The ride home is actually a pleasant one. Saburo plays more classical music, but doesn't really identify it. He hums along with it, rolling his dice around in his hand. He looks up through the windshield periodically to identify where they were at in their journey, but mostly just enjoys his things.
Getting back to Ikebukuro and getting out of the car, Saburo points to a cafe close to the Yamada household. "Can we go there?"
Samatoki looks up, letting his car door close. "Yeah." He answers, watching as Saburo starts to walk towards it. He follows, his long legs getting him further in a shorter amount of time. They enter the cafe, and sit down across from each other. If not for their varying appearances, they could almost be mistaken for brothers.
"Do you actually plan on dating Ichi-nii? Or do you just plan on leaving again?" Saburo asks after they've sat for a moment, eyes locked onto Samatoki's face. Saburo has a look of power about him, believing he's pushed Samatoki into a corner of sorts.
Samatoki, unfazed, simply sighs and sits back. "Y'know that your brother and I partin' back then was out of our control." He says, then pauses, not sure how to follow that up. "I didn't want what happened back then. I hated losin' your brother." He explains, trying to avoid saying Ichiro's name. He's discussed the circumstance time and time again, but it still brings a feeling of grief. "I'm tryin' to do everythin' I can to avoid it happening again."
He hopes that the answer is sufficient enough for Saburo to understand. He's certain he doesn't need to dumb it down for him, but he does, knowing that Saburo was too young to understand what had actually played out back then. Even if he was older and smarter now, the emotions and understanding from when he was young doesn't change. Samatoki knows that well. He watches Saburo's expression, watching the confusion shift to understanding, then to mild frustration.
"I didn't like seeing Ichi-nii so upset. You hurt him."
"I know."
Saburo looks up at Samatoki properly, eyes wide. He stops, mouth slightly agape, not having expected Samatoki's quick response. He stammers a little, having lost what to say next.
"I know I hurt him, I know that." Samatoki repeats, annoyed. "I got no plans on doin' it again. In fact, if I do, I'll let ya beat me in chess."
Saburo's surprise immediately shifts to amusement. "Chess isn't enough. You should rap battle me, and I'll win. I won't need your pity loss. It's not enough to beat you in chess when I already know you suck at it." His tone holds that mocking tone that it usually does when he talks to Samatoki, or just about any adult, for that matter.
Scoffing, Samatoki laughs. "You're as nice as ever, huh? Fine. I'll battle ya if it happens again."
"Deal!" Saburo exclaims, sitting back and crossing his arms. He laughs, after, worries dispelled. His face relaxes, and he loosens up. He insists after a few moments that they buy their drinks, and even grab one for Jiro. He asks Samatoki for a latte, and gets Jiro a hot chocolate.
As they take the cafe drinks back to the Yamada household, Saburo tries his latte. His eyes widen a little with the rush of caffeine, having been something he'd typically avoid. Samatoki laughs at the look on his face, and tells Saburo not to tell Jiro or Ichiro that he'd gotten him a latte. They swear on it, and head inside minutes after.
Samatoki spends the rest of the day at the Yamada house- watching anime with Jiro, playing a card game with Saburo, cleaning up the kitchen before Ichiro gets home, then cooking dinner with Ichiro. He tells Ichiro about what he'd been up to, tells him about Saburo and their lunch and the anime Jiro had been watching earlier. The younger two Yamadas are sitting in the main room, Saburo playing animal crossing on their switch while Jiro watches some soccer game. Samatoki earns a kiss for his efforts, and a promise from Ichiro that he's proud, and happy with the outcome.
Saburo and Samatoki have to play off the fact that Saburo couldn't sleep until late that night.
Lucky for them, Jiro is the only one who catches on. He agrees to help keep their promise.