Chapter Text
Ryota saw a sparkling world before him through a glass window. Long, white, princess style wedding dresses with delicate lace and satin ribbons glittered under the shop’s spotlight.
“Ryo-chan?” His mother called for him.
“Mama! Mama! I want to design a pretty dress like those ones!” Ryota ran up to his mother excitedly, holding his little sketchbook tightly to his chest so he wouldn’t drop it, and pointed at the wedding dresses he saw.
“Oh, you’d like to design a wedding dress? That seems very like you, Ryo-chan,” his mother sounded happy.
“Will you wear it if I design one for you, mama?” Ryota asked innocently.
Mama Sakuraba giggled as she knelt down in front of Ryota and patted him on the head. “I’m sorry, Ryo-chan, but mama has already worn a dress like that when I married your papa before you were born.”
“Oh…” Ryota’s face fell a little.
His mother smiled fondly as she patted him softly on the head. “Don’t worry, Ryo-chan, I’m sure you’ll be able to design the most beautiful wedding dress for the one person you’re destined to meet with someday. So don’t give up hope, okay?”
Ryota immediately brightened up. “Mm! I’ll do my best to design the most beautiful dress, Mama!”
….
“Thank you for coming today, we look forward to seeing you again for your next appointment.” Eto Koki, wedding dressmaker and boutique owner, waved as the couple exited the wedding boutique, Blue Lace.
As Koki was cleaning up the table where he had snacks and tea set up for the clients, he heard the sound of soft footsteps coming down the stairs.
“Kou, are you finished with the morning appointment?” Sakuraba Ryota, Blue Lace’s dress designer, came down from the second floor of the boutique. In his hands he was holding his usual favorite sketchbook.
“Yes, they’ll be back for the initial fitting during their next appointment, so we can get started on making the dress,” Koki told Ryota. “The bride-to-be really loves the dress you designed for her, Ryo.” Koki chuckled as he remembered the bride’s reaction when he showed her Ryota’s final dress design. “She almost squealed with delight inside the boutique.”
Ryota’s cheeks tinged with pink. “I see, I’m glad…”
“It would have been nice if you sat down with us to hear the compliments on your design,” Koki mentioned.
Ryota sighed internally. “I know, but…I get nervous. I’m not expecting the clients to approve of my designs on the first draft, but I worry they might not give their honest critique if I’m sitting right in front of them.”
Ryota frowned slightly as he remembered sitting down in front of his very first client. Although he did his very best to be as polite and welcoming as Koki, the client was nervous and only answered his questions vaguely when he asked what she would like for the design details. Koki reassured Ryota that it wasn’t his fault and it’s natural for a future bride to be nervous about her wedding. The future bride loved her dress in the end so everything worked out smoothly, but Ryota couldn’t help but feel a piece of bitter guilt in his stomach after.
Koki smiled and placed a gentle hand on Ryota’s shoulder. “I understand, Ryo. I won’t force you to sit in front of the clients unless you feel ready too.”
Ryota felt bad for leaving all the client meetings to Koki, but at the same time he was relieved that Koki never forced him to work in situations that Ryota would feel uncomfortable or awkward.
Ryota shook his head out of his daydream and noticed the tea cups and snack plates on the table. “I’ll finish cleaning up for you, Kou.”
“Are you sure, Ryo? Weren’t you going out to sketch somewhere?” Koki asked. Whenever Ryota came down with his sketchbook, Koki knew that Ryota was heading out to his favorite quiet places to sketch new designs.
“It won’t take me long to clean up and we don’t have any afternoon appointments today,” Ryota said. “Besides, don’t you need to help Ken fix his suit that he’s going to wear tomorrow night to the dinner party that Mamoru invited him to?”
Koki chuckled. “That’s right, Ken was really excited to go on a date with Mamoru since they’ve both been very busy with work.”
“Seriously, what kind of idiot gets so excited about a date that he accidentally rips a hole in his suit jacket,” Ryota judged.
Ryota was really shocked when Kensuke first told them that he started dating a man three years older than him who was a local pianist that played at the bar near the dance studio Kensuke works at. When Kensuke mentioned Mamoru moved in with him at his apartment because Mamoru didn’t actually have a place to stay, Ryota needed to make sure he didn’t need to call the police since he was very wary how easily Kensuke let his new boyfriend move in with him. After a round of questions that seemed more like an interrogation and hearing a few of Mamoru’s original songs on the piano, along with some coaxing from Koki, Ryota eventually gave his approval.
Of course that was a year ago, and now Mamoru had built a better reputation for himself that he was now performing in concert halls and even weddings thanks to Koki’s connections through their clients compared to where he first started in a random street bar. The dinner party that Mamoru invited Kensuke to was for celebrating his first ever CD release, which he sent the first copies to Kensuke, Ryota, and Koki.
After cleaning up the dishes and letting Koki know that he was heading out for his walk, Ryota heading out with his sketchbook and pencils kept securely in his favorite pink quilted flower patterned bag that Koki had made and gifted to him on his birthday. Even though the end of summer was near, the sun still felt a bit too warm for Ryota’s liking, but he still wanted to go to one of his favorite places to sketch.
Down the street and around the corner from the wedding boutique, there was an uphill path that led to a small park at the very end by a large fountain. It was usually occupied by locals in the neighborhood, but sometimes Ryota got lucky and found the park completely empty and he could sketch in peace. The trees also bloomed beautifully in the spring, and there was one tree in particular that bloomed sakura flowers.
As Ryota sat down on one of the park benches that was clean enough and shaded from the sun, he took a deep breath.
“This was where I met Kou,” Ryota spoke to himself.
~
Ryota was sitting down on the edge of the fountain, deeply focused on his rough sketch of a dress design. He stared at it for a few seconds before scribbling a big X over it.
“No good, I’m not satisfied with this one either!” Ryota grumbled as he was about to flip to a new page to start over, but a voice suddenly spoke to him.
“That’s a really beautiful design.”
“Huh?” Ryota suddenly looked up and saw a man with shoulder length blond hair that shone in the sunlight and cool gray eyes. He was dressed in a simple white button down collar shirt with a dark blue cardigan hung loosely around his shoulders and beige colored pants. The man appeared to be staring at Ryota’s sketchbook-or more specifically the crossed out design on the paper.
Ryota quickly shut his sketchbook to hide his design. “I don’t appreciate people staring without permission,” Ryota retorted instinctively.
The man leaned back to give Ryota space and looked apologetic. “Oh, I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to stare too closely. It’s just-I’ve never seen such a beautiful wedding dress design before.”
“Huh? You could tell what I was drawing?” Ryota was surprised.
The blond chuckled. “Of course. My mother has done similar kinds of sketches for the dresses our family makes at our wedding boutique.”
“Your family runs a wedding boutique? Which one?” Ryota was suddenly interested.
“Oh, it’s not well-known or anything since my grandmother started it, but down the hill and around the corner from here there’s a small wedding boutique known as Blue Lace,” the blond mentioned.
“Blue Lace.” Ryota recognized the name. While it was true that the boutique wasn’t anything flashy or elaborate compared to others that Ryota saw before, it was the one that Ryota passed by the most. “I-I know that wedding boutique! The wedding dresses I see in the window display always look so beautiful and elegant!”
The blond seemed to light up happily after hearing Ryota’s words. “Is that so? I’m really glad to hear you’ve seen our boutique. Ah, where are my manners, I’m Eto Koki.”
“Sakuraba Ryota.” Ryota couldn’t help but wonder, “Do you also design wedding dresses?”
The smile on Koki’s face seemed to fall slightly. “Unfortunately I’m not good at designing wedding dresses on paper. I know how to sew and make dresses since I was taught by my mother and grandmother, but drawing was a struggle for me.”
“Oh…”
Koki couldn’t help but glance at Ryota’s sketchbook. “Do you mind if I look at your sketch again?”
After hearing that Koki’s family runs the wedding boutique that Ryota often passed by but never had the courage to step inside, Ryota didn’t have any feeling to refuse.
“They’re not very good, but you can look at them I suppose. It’s not like I can make dresses myself,” Ryota said as he handed over his sketchbook.
Koki held the sketchbook and quietly flipped through each page delicately as if he was holding lace.
“Amazing, these designs are really beautiful even in rough stages, especially the details on the ribbons and ruffles,” Koki complimented and Ryota felt his cheeks warm up.
“T-Thanks…” Ryota felt slightly embarrassed, but he felt more happy inside. “I’ve never shown these sketches to anyone before, not even my childhood friend.”
“I’m a bit envious you can design so beautifully,” Koki admitted and Ryota noticed a glimpse of sadness in Koki’s eyes for a moment. “If I was able to design wedding dresses, I would be able to take over my family’s wedding boutique.”
“You’re not going to inherit it?” Ryota couldn’t help but ask. “Ah-sorry, that was a bit rude for me to ask.”
Koki wasn’t upset. “While I can make dresses, I’d have to find a designer, but…it’s a bit difficult since I have a particular vision.”
“A vision?”
“It sounds a bit childish, but I want every bride that wears a dress made at Blue Lace to feel like they’ve magically transformed into a princess in their own fairytale story,” Koki admitted.
Ryota felt something weird inside his chest. What Koki told him certainly sounded childish, especially for an adult living in the real world, but it didn’t sound bad to Ryota.
Ryota remembered when he was a child and saw the princess style wedding dress in the shop window for the first time. He wondered if Koki had seen the same sparkling world that he had.
“Oh, I’m sorry for rambling,” Koki apologized as he handed Ryota his sketchbook back.
The words fell out of Ryota’s mouth before he could think about them. “Um-do you think if we worked together, I could help you design the fairytale princess dresses for your boutique?”
Koki stared at Ryota surprised, which quickly turned into excitement.
“I’d gladly accept you as my wedding dress designer, Ryota,” Koki said as he held out his hand.
“Ryo is fine, Koki,” Ryota said as he took Koki’s hand, which felt warm under his touch.
Koki smiled like an angel. “Please call me Kou, Ryo.”
~
“Ryooo? Hey! Earth to Ryooo~!” Kensuke snapped Ryota out of his reminiscing.
“Wah! Ken!” Ryota jumped.
“You okay? I saw you sitting here staring at a blank page of your sketchbook for a while,” Kensuke said.
Ryota sighed as he made no progress sketching, and he certainly didn’t want to tell Kensuke that he was remembering the first time he met Koki.
“Nevermind me, what are you doing here?” Ryota asked.
“I’m on my way to pick up my suit from Kou’s boutique!” Kensuke answered.
“Ahh, the suit you accidentally ripped because you were running around like a fool,” Ryota said in a monotone voice.
“Hey, Ryo! I couldn’t help it! This is the first time Mamoru invited me out to dinner! Usually I’m the one who has to invite him!” Kensuke defended.
“Yes, yes. Don’t rip it again after Kou fixes the hole, and make sure Mamoru doesn’t rip or spill anything on his suit either. Kou doesn’t have time to make an emergency suit delivery trip,” Ryota advised.
“Don’t worry, I’ll keep some safety pins in my pocket like you taught me and the stain remover Kou gave me!” Kensuke said. “It’s too bad you and Kou can’t come.”
“I don’t like crowds with strangers or having drinks in front of other people,” Ryota said as he walked back to the boutique with Kensuke. “Besides, I need to help Kou start making the wedding dress for our client.”
“Oh, so your design finally got approved, congrats!” Kensuke praised.
“Thanks, I can’t wait to see Kou work his magic making the dress into a reality with his beautiful hands,” Ryota said with admiration.
“Ahh, here we go, Ryo’s sparkly talk about Kou-sama.” Kensuke laughed.
The two of them walked back to Blue Lace with Kensuke having to listen to Ryota describe every detail of Koki’s dressmaking skills. When they arrived back inside the boutique, they noticed Koki was speaking with a familiar face holding a suit.
“Kou! Oh, Mamoru! I’m surprised you’re here too!” Kensuke got ridiculously happy to see his boyfriend.
“Ken-kun! Also, hello Ryo-kun!” Mamoru greeted them.
Ryota couldn’t hide his displeased scowl. “Don’t tell me you ripped a hole in your suit jacket too, Mamoru.”
“H-How did you know, Ryo-kun! Are you telepathic?” Mamoru was shocked.
“You and Ken share the same brain cell!” Ryota stated.
“Don’t worry, Mamoru, it’s not a huge tear, so I can get it finished quickly since I’m done with Ken’s,” Koki reassured Mamoru.
“Thank you, Kou-kun!” Mamoru was grateful.
“We should charge you two double for Kou’s suit repair service,” Ryota said.
“I’m sorry! We’ll treat you to tea and snacks next time!” Mamoru offered.
“Then I’ll give you a list of what we want,” Ryota said.
“A list…?”
“Uwaah, I bet Ryo’s going to ask for the most expensive tea and snacks, Mamoru,” Kensuke whispered.
“Ah, goodbye my next paycheck,” Mamoru said.
After Koki finished repairing their suits, he invited Mamoru and Kensuke to dinner at his and Ryota’s shared apartment, but Mamoru and Kensuke politely turned down the offer since they already made plans to play a new game at their apartment and to “give Ryota and Koki space to themselves” even though it’s always been the two of them at their apartment.
Although they were living together, they weren’t dating like Mamoru and Kensuke. Ryota originally planned to look for an apartment himself near the wedding boutique, but Koki offered to let Ryota move into the apartment he lived in since there was a lot of space. Ryota remembered how his jaw dropped when he saw it was one of those fancy luxury apartments. It made sense when Koki mentioned to Ryota that his father was the president of a bank company. Koki certainly didn’t have that impression when he first met Koki at the park.
“I’m home,” Ryota said out of habit even though he and Koki got back to their apartment at the same time.
“Welcome home, Ryo,” Koki said like always with a gentle smile. “Also, I’m home.”
“Welcome home, Kou.” It was a simple phrase, but it was one that Ryota always looked forward to saying and made him feel happy inside.
“I’ll get started on dinner, so feel free to relax and take a bath first, Ryo,” Koki said.
“Sure. Let me know if you need any help, Kou.”
As Ryota soaked himself in the sakura scented bath, he let his mind finally relax from work mode and let his true feelings slip out.
“Ahhh, I can’t believe Kou was so cute today,” Ryota mumbled to himself. “That smile is truly of an angel.”