Chapter Text
It was around 11:00 pm on a Saturday and Zaki just got finished with his nightly skincare routine and was lying in bed, reading manga in the dark, like normal. His sister Hikaru was in her room filming another “get ready with me” tiktok before going out with her friends. The whole night had been incredibly normal until his phone buzzed, he grabbed his phone and shook it until the screen turned back on to display his lockscreen. It was a text from Tamon (not unusual), it was a little late, but weirder was that it was just an attachment. He opened the notification and the white light of the Messages app lit up his face. He took a quick look at the picture Tamon sent and was about to close their messages before doing a double take as a blush crept across his face.
The picture was a mirror selfie of Tamon, pulling up his T-shirt with his teeth to reveal his abs. He was wearing a loose pair of sweatpants, and no hat, revealing his messy green hair.
“What the fuck?”
Zaki sat in silence for about a minute just staring at the picture, trying to decide whether he or Tamon went insane. He zoomed in, making sure that he was seeing what he thought he was (and definitely not for any other reason), and not some optical illusion that caused him to see his friend's naked torso. He was still unsure if he was hallucinating, he needed a second pair of eyes. He did feel a little guilty, if it was real, the picture was only meant for him to see, and now he’s dragging someone else into it, but he had to make sure that this wasn’t just a weird reflection or something.
“Hikaru!”
…
“Hik-”
She bursts through the door in flawless makeup, but she must have been deciding on an outfit when Zaki called, because she’s still in her sleep shirt and shorts.
“I’m already running behind Kaoru, what is it?”
“Am I hallucinating?” He holds up his phone showing the message, looking slightly panicked.
“Woah…” she says, more than slightly taken aback, “Isn’t he the shy one who throws up all the time?”
Zaki nods quickly
“Seems kinda out of character,” She looks closer and examines the picture, “He must be really down bad. I know you only have experience with romance manga, but I have experience with real guys, so I can explain.”
She dropped down on the floor and made herself comfortable (without asking Zaki, of course), like she had forgotten all sense of urgency for getting ready on time, in favor of “boy talk”.
“Wow, thanks for not being so condescending.” Zaki says, sarcasm dripping off his words.
“So first off, look at his sweatpants,” she zooms into the picture and draws a circle around them to accentuate her point. “Guy’s don’t just wear loose sweatpants to relax, they only pretend that they do for photos, and see how they’re perfectly clean, those aren’t for lounging. He’s trying to look hot.” Hikaru says, with a smug “know-it-all” look on her face.
“Oh god,” Zaki quickly stands up and turns around to the door, “This is so awkward, I’ll just pretend this never happened-” Hikaru grabs him and pulls him back down.
“I’m not done yet! You see his hair?”
“I mean ya? I can see it.” Zaki was starting to question her expertise.
“No, I mean how messy it is, I’ve only seen him once without his hat or headphones on, and his hair wasn’t that messy.”
“I have no clue what you're trying to say.” He says, flatly.
“Lots of girls like bed-head, they think it’s attractive, he probably thought you’d think the same.”
I mean I guess it is kinda cute , Zaki thought, but he couldn’t let her know that.
“Now look at his pose, remind you of anything…or anyone?”
Zaki thinks about it for a second and realizes what he recognizes it from. “It’s the same pose as that one thirst-trap Gojo figure!”
“Exactly! He’s playing into your interests, this whole picture screams “I want you to think I’m hot”, this was no accident,” she confidently assures Zaki.
She would have been completely right…if this wasn’t our wholesome, family friendly, king: Tamon.