Work Text:
When Choro came into the bar, Totty was sitting at a table by a window, deeply immersed in his phone. Choro jingled his keys in his pocket as he walked through the bar, feeling very out of place and getting the tingly feeling he always got on the back of his neck when it seemed people were looking at him. He approached the table and remarked with a nervous laugh, “Hey, couldn’t we have met somewhere a little less…”
“What, cool?” Totty said without looking up from his phone. He held up a finger as he finished his text, then, brushing his hair out of his eyes, locked the phone and looked up at Choro with a cutesy smile. The smile evaporated as soon as he saw what Choro was wearing. “Oh my god, you’re wearing overalls,” he hissed, as if Choro didn’t know.
Choro looked down at the overalls, tapping one heel on the floor and hooking his thumbs in the shoulder straps. “Oh! Yeah. I bought ‘em at a thrift store.”
“Let me rephrase. You’re wearing overalls at a cool, downtown bar, on Saturday night, in public, with me,” Totty said through gritted teeth. Choro just shrugged sheepishly. Totty waved his hands. “Will you sit down instead of hovering weirdly, please?”
“Oh,” Choro laughed, blushing, and took the seat across from Totty. Totty looked at the overalls as if they had personally insulted him. “What?” Choro said, a little annoyed now. “You own overalls, Totty.”
“Yes, but that’s not how you wear them, Choro,” Totty snapped, nose crinkling up. “If you’re going to do a nineties thing, you should commit more. And don’t wear a button up shirt underneath like it’s your fifth birthday— or if you’re going to, please, please don’t button it up like that and for the love of god roll up the fucking sleeves. You’re in a bar, not an accountant’s office. And roll up the pant legs a little, Jesus!”
Choro rolled his eyes and folded up the sleeves of his shirt, but could feel himself smiling. He’d missed Totty rolling his eyes at him and giving him fashion advice in a barbed tone of voice. “Surely you didn’t invite me to meet you here to yell at me for dressing myself.”
“Maybe I did. Maybe I did!” Totty exclaimed, laughing. “Come and live with me, so I can dress you every day, please!”
Choro only laughed in response. A waiter came by and gave them drinks. When the waiter was gone, Choro picked up his drink and asked, “Did you order this for me?”
“Yes,” Totty answered.
“That’s sweet,” Choro said.
“Yes. I thought you liked girly drinks,” Totty replied, taking a long drink of his beer.
“Oh no, I meant, that’s sweet as in,” Choro chuckled, “That’s kind of you.” He did like girly drinks, though. He sipped his drink and stirred the pink slush around with his straw. Totty looked different somehow. Choro wondered if he’d gained a little weight maybe, his face looked softer and rounder. His makeup seemed more obvious, even though Totty still didn’t wear much, not like Kara. Choro envied him and his winged eyeliner sometimes. Choro wished he could be pretty, too. He leaned his elbows on the table. “So. What’s this about? What’s so urgent?”
“I’ll tell you once I’m buzzed,” Totty answered. He took another long drink.
Choro snorted. “Hey, hey, slow down,” he said. “That doesn’t have to be now!”
Totty ignored him, asking, “So! What’s going on with you? Fappin’ it up in the big city?”
Choro could feel his face color. “I am not fapping it up. I don’t see why masturbating is acknowledged as my thing. I have a thing, I have actual hobbies. We all masturbate. Everyone masturbates! Just because Oso walked in on me that one time doesn’t mean I inherently masturbate more.” When Totty just looked at him over his beer, clearly holding in laughter, Choro added, “Okay! How often do you masturbate? How many days out of the week on average? I bet it’s the same. I bet it’s the fucking same.”
Totty shrugged, took a drink. “Probably every other day or so. Depends on the week. I’d say like three to five times a week or so.”
Choro winced. “Oh.”
Totty snickered. “What, do you masturbate like ten times a day or something?”
“No, my dick would fall off, oh my god.”
“But that’s the only thing stopping you, right?” Totty laughed.
“Fuck you!” Choro exclaimed, but he was laughing too. “No, no, I masturbate once a day, sometimes twice, twice or three times a day on the weekends, so.” he sighed, putting his hands on his cheeks and pulling them down a little. “Maybe I am fapping it up.” That made Totty laugh so hard Choro thought he might spill his drink. Choro smiled. He had forgotten how nice it was to make his brothers laugh, even if it was sort of at his own expense. Totty’s face was red and he slapped one hand on his knee and Choro had never felt like such a good big brother. “Fuck you, Todomatsu.”
“Oh my god, you are Chorofappyski!”
“Shut the fuck up.”
Totty’s laughter trickled down. “Whew, oh my god. I needed that.” He wiped under his eyes and let out a breath, still chortling. “Fuck. Oh my god.” He finished off his beer, then remarked, “Seriously though, your orgasms will be better if you tone it down a little, Fappymatsu.”
“I know that. Don’t you think I know that,” Choro muttered, sipping his girly drink and rolling his eyes.
Totty looked across the table at Choro. He sounded annoyed, but Totty could tell he was smiling. Totty knew Choro well enough to know he had more of a sense of humor about himself than he chose to let on. “I’m just saying,” Totty added coolly. “You’ll come a lot harder if you just let little Fappymatsu rest every once in a while.”
“He rests! He gets plenty of rest,” Choro insisted. Totty just shrugged up his shoulders, which he knew would piss Choro off a little. Choro laughed a short, annoyed laugh and rolled his eyes. He took a sip of his drink. Totty looked at those stupid ugly overalls again and sighed internally. What a dweeb. He couldn’t fucking believe Choro was wearing those in this cool bar. Totty was going to have to pick a new second favorite straight bar. Choro put down his drink and crossed his arms, putting his elbows on the table. His watch glinted in the bluish lights of the bar. It wasn’t his idol merch watch, Totty realized. Weird. “So, what are you doing with all of your spare time that you apparently aren’t using to jerk off?”
“Well, I’m working a lot. Still at the coffee shop. Going to mixers, meeting people.”
“Anyone special?” Choro asked, resting his chin in his hand and smiling a little, a soft small smile that reminded Totty of their mom. Totty hesitated, and Choro added, “What?”
“Hmm?”
“Oh, you looked at me weird.”
“Oh,” Totty laughed and shook his head. “No, you just looked a lot like mom when you did that smile.”
Choro just grinned and shrugged up his shoulders, then sipped his drink and said, “Hey, answer my question, though.”
Totty hesitated. This was the moment he was waiting for, the whole reason why he’d arranged to meet up with Choro in the first place. He cleared his throat, tucked his hands nervously between his knees. “Uh. Well, yes. There is someone, actually. Nothing serious, just talking.”
Choro gave him a big, excited, open-mouthed smile and nodded. “Oh my god! Awesome, Totty!” He folded his hands together in front of his chin. “What’s she like? Is she cute? Where did you meet her? What’s her name?”
“Actually, she is…” Totty hesitated, adrenaline bursting in his chest. He took a deep breath, then said, shrugging up his shoulders, “she’s not a she, she’s a dude, actually, I’m not straight, I’m seeing a man. I’m pansexual.”
Choro’s eyes widened, and for a moment he didn’t say anything. Totty winced and held up his hands, then crossed his arms. Choro blinked, looked down at the table, and then, strangely, he started to laugh, quietly at first, and then louder, putting his forehead in his hand.
Totty stared, horrified. “Hey, what the fuck,” he said, and his voice shook.
“Sorry, sorry, it’s just,” Choro shook his head, cupping his hands around his cheeks, face flushing. “Me too, Totty, I’m bi, and, I just, I dunno, it’s funny because we’ve never had anything in common before.”
Surprised, Totty just looked at him for a moment, then shook his head. “Wait, wait, wait. No way, you’re bi?”
“Yes,” Choro said, grinning a big nerdy grin and leaning forward in his seat. “Actually,” he breathed, “I’ve never said it out loud, but yes.”
“But you’re so…” Boring. “I dunno!”
“This is wild, how funny,” Choro said, still laughing a little.
“How long have you known?” they asked at the same time, in perfect unison. They both laughed.
“I’ve known for, like, a little under a month,” Totty answered.
“Oh,” Choro said, and almost cringed.
“What?”
He made a hissing sound through his teeth and then mumbled, “I’ve known for like… two and a half years.”
“Two and a half years?! Choro!” Totty nearly scolded, and Choro shrugged up his slumpy shoulders sheepishly, looking up at the ceiling. “And you’re just now saying it out loud? Why didn’t you tell any of us? We’re your brothers!” Totty hesitated, realizing he was speaking in the plural even though it was just him and Choro. “I’m your brother.”
“I… didn’t know how to deal with it, so I just… didn’t,” Choro admitted, fiddling with the top button on his shirt. “I thought you guys would laugh at me, or think I was just being gross or sexually… weird or… I dunno.”
“No, no! I never would have thought that, in fact if you would have told me I might have…” Totty motioned to his head, “I dunno! It might have clicked sooner.”
“Sorry,” Choro said, slouching a little.
“No, no, don’t apologize, I mean, please don’t,” Totty said. Choro just sipped his drink, face thoroughly red. “And I don’t think the others are gonna think that you’re being gross either, it’s not gross, Choro. You’re Chorofappyski and everything, but nobody thinks you’re gross.”
Choro just reddened more and nodded, then said, changing the subject hurriedly, “Anyway, does anyone else know? About you.”
Totty hesitated. Choro wasn’t going to like the answer to this, he knew that. “Um…” he blew out a short sigh. “Don’t be mad. Kara knows.”
“Kara knows? Shittymatsu got to know before me? Come on, Totty, you can’t be fucking serious,” Choro groaned, leaning back in his chair.
“I said don’t be mad!”
“I didn’t agree to not be mad!” Choro retorted, holding up his hands. “Come on.”
“I just— I didn’t know about you, and I was at Chibita’s stand—“
“So Chibita knows too! Fucking great! He’s not even related to us, Totty!”
“Don’t throw a fit, Choro! I was at Chibita’s cart and I was drunk and it was a really bad day and…” Totty sighed and put his forehead in his hand. “And I didn’t know about you, I didn’t know you were queer, how could I, and I kinda have my suspicions about Kara, so.” He shrugged. “Fucking sue me.”
“You have suspicions about Kara,” Choro said, and it wasn’t a question. Totty just nodded. Choro stirred his drink with his straw and leaned forward, whispering, “Me fucking too.”
“Let’s table that discussion for now,” Totty laughed. “I’m sorry I told Shittymatsu before you.”
“It’s fine, except that it’s not, and I’m deeply hurt, but it is fine,” Choro grumbled. He sipped his drink, then pointed to Totty. “You need to tell me about this man. And then you need to introduce me to all of his friends. And tell them all that I am so fucking available, and very cute, and very desperate for action.”
Totty laughed and so did Choro. They spent the rest of the night talking about Atsushi and the way he looked in his reading glasses, boys they had liked in school, and their suspicions about Kara. They sat at the bar for a while longer and then walked to the park, where they sat by the fountain and got out all the gushing over male celebrities that they had been holding in for twenty years. It was a pretty good night all around, in Totty’s opinion, and he couldn’t help but think that Choro was right— they finally had something in common.