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Playing spin the bottle wouldn’t have been such a crazy idea if it wasn’t Kohaku who had suggested it.
They were at a small after-after party to celebrate wrapping an eight episode mini-series featuring one member of Alkaloid or Crazy:B respectively, and to showcase their interpersonal, day-to-day interactions given the ties between the groups and their similar debut dates. The after party had been a chill hangout with some of the staff, mostly for the staff, and then they had gathered at Niki’s apartment for a more personal celebration, just the eight of them.
It comes up in conversation when they’re talking about party games. Niki doesn’t even remember how they got on the topic. They’re gathered in his living room around the coffee table, Tatsumi and Mayoi on the couch, Rinne and HiMERU in the two arm chairs on opposite sides of the room, and everyone remaining on the floor. The consequences of being young, apparently, even though Niki is the host and older than everyone but Rinne.
“I think we should go with mahjong,” Rinne suggests, because of course he does.
“You just want to gamble,” Niki accuses. Is it an accusation if it’s just true?
Mayoi seconds him. “I don’t think that’s appropriate for a group as young as ours.”
“Aw, quit being a party pooper!” But Rinne cackles.
“We’re not doing mahjong,” Aira says, and the decision is made. Not only will the rest of Alkaloid back him up, but he also has Kohaku on his side, and since neither Niki or HiMERU seem enthused, it’s seven to one.
“We could do cards?” Tatsumi suggests with a light chuckle.
“Rinne-kun’s gonna find a way to gamble on that, too. Like, he’ll make us play poker or 500, and I can’t guarantee he won’t cheat and swindle everyone.”
“Niki-kyun.” Rinne stalks over to him. “Has anyone told you not to reveal trade secrets?” He squeezes Niki’s cheeks and pulls.
“Ow, ouch! Rinne-kun!” Niki whines and bats his hands away. “Go back to your seat and act your age, geezer.”
“Yowch!” He cries in mock protest. “Is that any way to treat your elders?”
“Nii-san, stop bullying Shiina-san.”
“How about monopoly?” Tatsumi suggests, ignoring the commotion.
“Ah, that’s a good idea, but we don’t have board games and stuff,” Niki laments.
He doesn’t seem too put off by it. “I guess we’ll have to make our own fun.”
“How do we do that?” Aira asks.
“Ooh, I’d read ‘bout this online.” Kohaku pipes up, and as soon as spoke the word “internet”, they all really should’ve known. “There’s truth or dare, spin the bottle, or seven minutes in—”
“Not that one,” Rinne scolds, and rather than in his characteristic joking manner, his voice is firm.
“I-I don’t think any of those are appropriate either…” Mayoi says with a blush, looking off so as not to meet anyone’s eyes.
“What’s ’spin the bottle’?” Hiiro asks, and his obliviousness would be quite cute if Niki doesn’t know where this conversation is inevitably heading.
Kohaku clears his throat with the overconfidence of a 22-year-old unit leader after he’s had a beer and a mahjong winning streak. “Basically, ya sit in a circle, n’ then somebody spins the bottle. Whoever it lands on, they gotta kiss, or something. Or not. Can use whatever rules ya want.”
“Yeah, we might have to do something else.” Niki says.
“Wait!” Aira interrupts with a shout. He faces Kohaku. “What if, instead of kissing or whatever, you have someone else, like, make the two people do something?”
“Puttin’ in a truth or dare aspect,” he muses in response. “I like it!”
“How does this work?” Hiiro asks again.
“Okay, here’s what I was thinking.” Aira starts. “Someone starts, maybe Kohakucchi, and they pick someone to spin the bottle. That person spins it, it’ll land on someone else, and then Kohakucchi will give them something to do. Then, after it’s done, the person who spun the bottle becomes the original person, and the person the bottle landed on gets to spin it.”
“Oh, I see.” Hiiro must be the only one who does, because a quick glance around the room reveals blank and confused looks at best. “Person A is the task-giver, Person B is the bottle spinner, and Person C is whoever the bottle picks. Then, after it’s done, Person B gets to give the task, Person C is the bottle spinner, and then it repeats.”
“Exactly!”
Niki is glad the youngsters are excited, at least. “What kind of ‘tasks’ are we supposed to do?”
Aira shrugs. “I don’t know. Anything within reason.”
“If you can’t think of anything, just send me some L$.”
“Do not listen to Amagi,” HiMERU says. “The senior Amagi, that is.”
“So, ‘re ya guys in?” Kohaku asks expectantly.
And how could anyone deny such a face? “Yeah.” As soon as he says it, a belated feeling of dread takes ahold of his heart. But surely this group can’t be that extreme with the dares they come up with, can they?
They decide, like in the example Aira came up with, that Kohaku will start as the first dare giver, darer, whatever. They get an almost empty wine bottle from the fridge—that Rinne happily finishes—and wipe off the condensation before placing it on the wooden coffee table.
“‘Kay, I’ll spin it to pick the first person.” The first victim, pops into Niki’s mind.
At this point, everyone is gathered around the coffee table, paired on each side. First, still on the couch, are Tatsumi and Mayoi, then Rinne and Hiiro, Aira and Kohaku, and finally HiMERU and Niki.
Seeing the siblings sitting on the floor, side by side, makes the resemblance between them staggeringly uncanny. They favor the same side, both leaning slightly to the left, angling just so they’re not facing exactly forward. It’s something Niki’s never noticed, but after a moment it causes him to giggle.
Rinne raises an eyebrow at him but doesn’t say anything, settling for a quick smile instead.
Kohaku spins the bottle with startling speed. When he lets go, Niki is almost worried it’ll fly off the table, but it stays in place, spinning slower and slower until the neck points to Hiiro.
Rinne pats him on the back, in encouragement perhaps.
“It picked me. Should I spin it?”
“Yeah, go for it, Hiiro-han.”
Hiiro doesn’t cause Niki the fright Kohaku did, the bottle much more calm in its rotations, before it stops on HiMERU.
“Before I go, can I set a rule?” Kohaku asks.
Aira seems to be the most knowledgeable about the game, so he’s the one who responds. “Sure. Within reason.”
“‘Kay. Ya can only tell the truth when playin’.”
Niki looks at Rinne, who looks like he’s about to burst into laughter. To his shock, it’s HiMERU who raises an objection. “Is that necessary?”
Kohaku shrugs. “Ya never know what kinda tasks ya might get, so I wanted ta put it out in the open.”
“We can compromise, maybe?” Hiiro suggests. “If HiMERU-san has an issue, then how about you only have to tell the truth if the task specifies it.”
“Deal,” Kohaku says. “Hiiro-han, I want ya to ask HiMERU-han a question about himself. HiMERU-han, tell the truth.”
Niki’s mouth drops. He didn’t realize Kohaku was this cutthroat, or that he was targeting HiMERU all along!
Beside him, HiMERU freezes. He’s about to turn and ask him what’s wrong when Hiiro asks his question. That didn’t take any time at all!
“Is Nii-san mean to you?”
“Hey, I’m not mean to anyone!” Rinne interjects. He is easily ignored.
HiMERU clears his throat, his shoulders having relaxed. “Amagi isn’t ‘mean’ to HiMERU. He may be a bother, and he sometimes goes out of his way to irritate HiMERU—”
“Hey!”
“—But Amagi doesn’t do anything consequential with ill-intent. Therefore, HiMERU wouldn’t say he’s mean at all.”
Hiiro smiles. “That’s a relief. I hope he isn’t causing too much trouble for everyone.”
Aw. When did Hiiro grow out of his ‘idolizing my older brother’ phase? Niki wants to pat him on the head.
Rinne frowns, but he can tell it’s an act. Plus, that’s the closest he’s going to get to HiMERU actually saying nice things about him, so he should take it!
“It’s HiMERU’s turn to spin,” HiMERU announces, very stately. His mannerisms, unfazed and serene, vaguely evoke the image of the Buddha, which is probably an odd thought to have about his unit member. Doubly so when it lands on Tatsumi, given his background. For whatever reason, Rinne laughs a few times before poorly covering it up with coughs. Weird.
“Let’s see,” Hiiro says after a moment. “Say something nice about Tatsumi-senpai.”
“HiMERU can do that,” He says flatly. “Kazehaya Tatsumi, you are a good singer.”
“Low hanging fruit, Merumeru,” Rinne teases. “Tell him something from the heart.”
HiMERU says nothing, and Hiiro glances between him and his target, so to speak. “Maybe come up with something he hasn’t heard before?”
Tatsumi looks satisfied enough, but something glints in his eye that suggests he’s more than curious to hear what HiMERU has to say.
There’s a measured silence for a few seconds, then HiMERU sighs. “Your eyes are the color of lavender melon, and your hair is quite minty. HiMERU supposes that would make a nice salad.”
Rinne bursts into laughter. Aira pulls out his phone and types furiously for about five seconds before stowing it away. Tatsumi chuckles. “Thank you, HiMERU. That sounds very kind.”
But Niki is distracted. He slings an arm over HiMERU’s shoulder with a little more force than he intends due to his excitement. “Hey, what’s a lavender melon? I’ve never tried that before. Is it sweet, or maybe kinda herby, since it’d go with mint? You gotta show me later, HiMERU-kun!”
He grunts an affirmative, and Niki is very much looking forward to the after-after-after party now.
“My turn? I’m curious what HiMERU-san will ask of us.” Tatsumi spins the wine bottle, and it only makes one slow, full revolution before stopping on Mayoi. He smiles gently. “Just my luck, Mayoi-san.”
Mayoi mutters something hard to catch, shrinking back into the couch, almost using Tatsumi’s figure to hide himself, it would seem.
Noticing this, Niki whispers to HiMERU, “Be nice.”
“HiMERU is plenty nice,” he whispers back. Then, out loud, “It would be amusing to see Kazehaya and Ayase hold hands for the duration of this game, unless otherwise necessary,” he announces.
“Eh—?” Mayoi gasps. Tatsumi is rather cool about it, patting his back to comfort him.
“It’s not so bad if it’s you and me.”
Mayoi shakes his head vigorously. “Someone like me should not be allowed to—”
“It’s okay, Mayoi-san. See?” He takes Mayoi’s hand in his and puts it in his lap. “It’s alright.”
Mayoi falls silent. Niki doesn’t know if he’s too embarrassed to protest or if Tatsumi was just too convincing, but his ears redden, and regardless it feels like everyone else is intruding, viewing something they shouldn’t be privy too.
Wordlessly, Mayoi spins the bottle, his eyes tracking the neck until it finally points to Aira.
Tatsumi hums in contemplation, and after a few seconds he seems to have come up with an idea. “Aira-san. Would you like to give our dearest Mayoi-san a hug?”
Aira lets out the beginning of a squeal that he expertly hides with a grin. “Mayo-san, do you like hugs?”
“I-I,” He can’t seem to get his words out. He looks a bit like a dog that was just drenched with a bucket of water, whale-eyed and not quite knowing what to do in the moment.
“C’mere,” Aira says gently, and Mayoi carefully plods over to his side of the table. He lowers himself onto his knees, folding his hands in his lap, and it almost looks like he’s about to ask for forgiveness. Instead, Aira wraps his arms around Mayoi and squeezes a tiny yelp out of him, squishing their faces together. Mayoi has his eyes pinched shut, Aira wears a toothy grin, and it isn’t unreasonable to think that everyone else in the room might die from cuteness overload.
Aira giggles after a while. “It looks like Mayo-san is still my favorite person to hug.”
“Is that… so?” He replies. There’s a hint of shock in his tone, though it’s easy to miss with how quiet his voice is.
“Yep! Hiiro-kun always squirms around, and Tattsun-senpai is just a li~ttle bit too tall. No offense.”
“None taken.” He has a soft smile on his face.
“Mayo-san is like the baby-bear’s porridge that Goldilocks steals in that story. I guess that makes me Goldilocks? Not that I steal anything!”
“Ya stole our hearts, Love-han.” Kohaku jokes.
“Ah, stop it!” Aira replies, and only then does he let go of Mayoi to swat at Kohaku’s arm, who dodges. They devolve into a pile of giggles, playfully smacking each other while rolling around on the floor. It’s less roughhousing and more friendly-fun-housing, although that doesn’t roll off the tongue quite as well.
“Aira,” Hiiro calls after it’s gone on for about a minute. “We should get back to the game soon. Everyone’s waiting.”
Aira sits up in a hurry, clearing his bangs out of his face and retaking his spot at the table. “Haha, sorry.” He’s a little out of breath.
“No worries. It’s always good to have someone school that little rapscallion. Doesn’t listen to us, that’s for sure,” Rinne says, earning a scowl from Kohaku. Niki eyes him with curiosity. He’ll have to ask later, but what kind of scallion is that?
Rinne looks back and winks.
By the time Niki refocuses his attention on the table, the bottle is pointing at him. Me? He mouthes, pointing to himself.
“Yep, you, Shiina-senpai.” He looks at Mayoi expectantly, who has repositioned himself on the couch, closer to the table than before.
He thinks for a moment. “Let Shiina-san smell you.”
“—What?! Why?!”
Niki almost springs up. “Thank you Mayo-chan! You’re the best!”
“H-hold on a second!” Aira cuts in. “What’s all this about?”
Oh, right. Yeah, without context, that’s probably a little weird.
“I’m sorry! A lowlife like me shouldn’t have even thought of something like that! I apologize profusely!” Mayoi shrinks back. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Tatsumi’s thumb stroking his hand.
Aira falters. “No, it’s not that, it’s just kinda an odd request, y’know?”
“Sorry, Shiratori-kun, you’re right.” Niki laughs awkwardly. “Mayo-chan’s smell is sort of intoxicating to me, so as compensation I promised to make him a free drink inspired by him. I think he wanted to extend that offer to you as well.”
“Wait, really?!” Aira beams, a complete 180 from his initial reaction. “That’s so cool! You’d, uh, do that for me, too?”
“Of course! It’s the least I can do in exchange for letting me smell you.”
Aira squeals. “Please do!”
So without any more preamble he gets up and circles the table, seating himself between Aira and Hiiro at the corner. First, he lifts Aira’s wrist to his nose and takes a deep breath. The scent is light but pleasant, a little sweet. It’s easy to picture Aira sitting in a small, homey bakery, daydreaming while he’s supposed to be doing schoolwork. It gives him a good jumping-off point of what to use as a basis.
“I’m gonna get your neck next, if you don’t mind.” Niki says. He’s had the displeasure of being karate chopped over the head once when he was curious where Rinne had been that day and snuck up on him, and he’s since learned his lesson.
“That’s—no p-problem!” Aira says, so he goes ahead and brushes his hair to the side, exposing his neck. Niki feels him shiver, although his apartment should be pretty toasty. He closes his eyes when he takes in the smell, aiming to strengthen his imagination.
He gets a stronger impression of the depth of Aira’s scent, slightly nutty but not overwhelmingly so. The nuttiness—on the fresher side, closer to pistachios or almonds than hazelnuts or pecans—is the base for the dessert-like sweetness that is the focal point. He doesn’t detect any spiciness or contradiction in his scent, so he dismisses cinnamon or nutmeg.
Then Niki has an epiphany. Maybe it isn’t that the particular sweetness is unique to the sweetening agent, but is indicative of a harmony present throughout the entire dessert, and then it clicks.
Profiteroles. The reason he can’t quite ascertain the type of sweetener is because it’s hidden inside a choux pastry casing! An almond base, a custard filling, a profiterole shell to top it off, and the intricate details for him to figure out later. It’s a perfect start.
He pulls back. “Done!”
“That was pretty fast, actually,” Aira says.
“You smell so nice, I guess I got inspired!” He laughs loudly.
“I don’t know if I should be flattered or weirded out,” Aira mumbles.
“Perhaps it is healthy to feel a bit of both,” HiMERU replies.
As Niki gets up to go back to his seat, he notices Rinne is wearing a scowl. What’s his problem? “Just so you know, I’m not giving you anything for free, Rinne-kun. Even if I smell you all the time.”
Rinne looks at him, and then just as quickly breaks eye contact, resting his elbow on the table and covering his mouth with his hand.
Niki observes him as his mind wanders. His scent isn’t overstated, sometimes bright, sometimes spicy, depending on the day or what he’s been up to. If he’s been out gambling, he’ll come back with traces of smoke on him, the bitter kind that makes Niki scrunch his nose when he walks by. He usually uses a lemony soap, and his shampoo is some vaguely-sweet aloe variation, although Niki likes it best when Rinne showers at his place and uses his soaps. Probably because he has better taste in soap than Rinne does.
“Niki-han?”
He startled out of his thoughts at the call of his name. “My bad! Is it my turn to spin?”
“Yep!” Aira says excitedly.
“Guess I gotta go for it.” He isn’t exactly sure how he should be handling the wine bottle—he’s used to the opening and recorking, not spinning—but despite his worries he manages to spin it without any trouble.
It goes for a while, and he looks up to see Rinne oddly focused on it. Actually, he’s glaring, as if the bottle is offensive to him, personally, which is a bit presumptuous and self-centered, if you ask Niki. The wine bottle is innocent, it’s people that have the capacity for evil. Maybe not these people, though, so there’s really no reason for him to be doing all of that.
Niki doesn’t know whether he’s relieved or disappointed when it lands on Rinne. When he sneaks a glance at him, he finds Rinne smirking back at him, and for whatever reason he gets the urge to look away.
At that moment, he sees Kohaku gripping Aira’s shirt. Wordlessly, he’s able to beckon Aira closer and whispers something obstructed by his hand, and a chill runs up Niki’s spine. He recalls that weird moment with HiMERU earlier. Obviously, Kohaku is going to take this moment to target him and Rinne, no matter what. He should’ve known the moment Kohaku proposed the idea in the first place.
But it seems like his fate is sealed when Aira spins around to face Kohaku and conceals a scream with his palm, a muted, high-pitched squee resounding around the room. The two boys wriggle around in place for a few seconds before redirecting their attention at Niki and Rinne: their targets.
Aira clears his throat. “So far, this game has been very friendly and tame. So, w-I propose that the two of you kiss.”
He takes it back. Kohaku is pure, unadulterated evil.
“We can’t kiss,” Rinne says nonchalantly. His eyes meet Niki’s, and it’s as though time slows.
His response had been almost immediate, a fact Niki is simultaneously grateful for and conflicted about. He said we can’t kiss like it’s a fact, and objectively, professionally, it is. Nothing about what he said indicated his preference on the matter, but isn’t that telling in and of itself? Rinne is nothing if not outspoken and perhaps the most honest liar he’s ever encountered.
But he has to agree wholeheartedly. They can’t kiss. No matter how much he wants them to live up to their name and do something truly crazy, be it unethical or unprofessional or whatever, he doesn’t want to force it.
And at least they’re on the same page. That’s what Rinne’s eyes tell him.
“We’re not even married yet.”
Niki gapes, time restarts. He takes it back. Rinne is out of his goddamn mind.
Hiiro nods sagely. “Nii-san is right. He can’t kiss anyone before marriage, even if it is Shiina-san.”
Now hold on a moment. “What’s that supposed to mean?” He has to physically back away from the table. Is anyone in this room remotely sane?
“Hm?” He tilts his head. “You’re older than me, so I assumed you’d know. Very well. When two people love each oth—”
Aira claps a hand over Hiiro’s mouth. “What he means is, if any two people were close enough to kiss before marriage or whatever, it’d be you two! Obviously!”
What’s so obvious about that? That’s like saying a pinch of salt is obviously the most important ingredient in a honey latte! He glances at Rinne, expecting him to look as shocked as he feels, but his eyes are focused and his lips are pursed and Niki realizes he’s plotting. He naively hopes he’s thought up an appropriate solution, but with the way his last assumption went, his well of hope is running on empty.
“Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!” Aira and Kohaku chant, giggling and falling over themselves with laughter. Niki could not be less amused himself. This is more mortifying, having all these eyes on him, with the expectation he’s going to kiss his unitmate, and more terrifying, having to come to terms with the possibility of Rinne kissing him, or worse, him kissing Rinne, and all that might entail.
“We could,” Rinne says after a good, long while. He suddenly hopes the apartment self immolates and burns everyone in here with him.
“I’m sorry?” Niki almost wants to rip his hair out.
“Get married.”
The chanting stops. Niki feels like his head is about to explode.
Suddenly, Rinne is in front of him—how did he get there?—and then he gets down on one knee, and this time Niki really doesn’t think he’ll make it out alive.
“Will you do me the honor of making me the happiest man alive, staying by my side for the rest of our lives, in sickness and in health, till death do us part, and marry me?”
What. What? Is this real? “Are you serious?” He asks, weaker than he intends. If this is a joke, it’s a cruel one, and if it isn’t… He doesn’t know what to say.
“Of course,” Rinne says softly.
“You really want to stay with me for the rest of your life?”
“I do.”
His heart clenches. “Why?”
Rinne stands up, bringing Niki with him, and pulls them away from the watchful eyes of the table. He leans forward, his mouth at Niki’s ear, his breath hot against his cheek. “I’ll tell you when it’s just the two of us. But until then, just know you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, Niki.”
He has a funny way of showing it, then. Tricking Niki, stealing his food, showing up unannounced and crashing at his apartment, stealing his keys—scratch that, stealing his money, gambling it all away, begging for more. His list of grievances goes on and on, and yet, does Niki even care? He falls for his tricks, he makes extra portions, he looks the other way when Rinne gets up to his shenanigans because in the end, Rinne will always return to him. Isn’t that what it’s all about? So to hear it out loud, all of the little specks of hope he’s collected over the years now standing before him, looking awfully like the person he’s in love with, it tastes like something he’s only dreamed of, something he thought wasn’t made for him to have.
Rinne cups his face with his hands, his thumb stroking Niki’s cheek. “Why are you crying?” Rinne looks so concerned, he feels sick. “It’s okay, Niki. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”
Is that what this is? The way his heart palpitates, like he’s being chased by a tiger? No, that’s not quite right. “I’m relieved,” Niki admits, and he feels the tear fall down his cheek. “I thought you just wanted to stick around because I’m convenient.”
“No, not at all,” Rinne says. “You’re considerate, and you go out of your way for the people you care about. You’re passionate and I like that, that’s why I’m always hanging around, watching you in action. Falling in love with you is the easiest thing I’ve ever done. I’m so lucky~” His tone is hushed and tender, like he wants Niki, and Niki alone, to hear him.
“You mean that?” He could break down into sobs right there, but something in his brain holds back, drying his eyes and widening his smile.
“Yeah.” Rinne wipes the lone tear away. “But I guess I’ve been doing a piss poor job of showin’ you, since you don’t seem to believe me. Gotta try harder, hm?”
“Maybe.” Niki feels a small laugh overtake him. “But I believe you.”
“Really?”
“…I do.”
Rinne’s face lights up. “I’m glad. So?”
“So?” Niki parrots, confused.
“Wanna get married sometime?”
He has the urge to hit Rinne at how casually he asks, but at the same time the return to form puts him at ease. “If you asked it like that earlier, I probably would’ve said yes, no complaints.”
“…You definitely would’ve hit me.”
“Yeah. Probably.” Niki grins. “Let’s get married, Rinne-kun.”
It doesn’t take anything more for Rinne to pull him in close. His lips are soft, almost furtive when they touch Niki’s, so he responds the way he knows Rinne wants him, giving him everything he has. He wraps his arms around his neck, perhaps meaning to trap him in his embrace forever. He kisses like he’s been starving, as if Rinne’s a delectable meal that’s been sitting in front of him for years, taunting him, daring him to approach.
He hugs him tighter, pulling him closer, kisses him with fervor, and this time it’s Niki who’s daring Rinne to take it further. One of the hands on his face moves to his waist, and he feels Rinne’s tongue breach his mouth—and then it stops. It takes him a few seconds, blinking some of the bleariness out of his eyes, to register Tatsumi standing next to Rinne.
“That’s quite enough,” He says. His expression is nearly blank, but there’s the whisper of a smile on his lips. “Shall we rejoin the others and continue the game?”
Right. The game. Niki has to question whether the game is worth continuing if he was really enjoying what he and Rinne were doing instead, and then he realizes that everyone just watched them make out. He tries not to think about it, but he heats up and his skin flushes regardless. Still, they re-situate themselves, HiMERU having vacated his seat at some point, so Niki and Rinne end up sitting next to one another. Whether that’s to their benefit or not is yet to be seen.
“Love-han never said kiss on the lips, by the way. Don’cha guys, like, stage kiss all the time?” Kohaku pouts. Serves him right.
“Oukawa, this is your fault,” HiMERU says sternly. He actually sounds quite emotional, although whether positively or negatively Niki isn’t sure, and he doesn’t really want to find out. “Think about what you’ve done.”
“Yeah, think about it, Kohaku-chan.” Rinne’s tone is mocking, and he can’t see his face, but he’s probably wearing some irritating, smarmy grin to match. He promptly turns his head and captures Niki’s lips in a quick kiss, surprising a small sound from his throat.
“Oh, ew, shoot,” comes the response.
“Careful, that’s my future wife you’re talkin’ about.”
“That’s enough, Rinne-kun.” It’d be fine if Kohaku was the only one suffering, but Niki actually has some shame, and if this continues on much longer he’ll have wasted away into ashes from how hot he burns with embarrassment.
“Yes, baby.”
Niki kicks Rinne, hard. Or at least, that’s what he’d like to do, but his motor functions have frozen up and he can do nothing but gawk.
“‘Kay ew, that’s actually disgustin’.”
“Amagi, spin the godforsaken bottle.” It’s the closest HiMERU’s been to snapping his entire life, probably. Niki would like to push those buttons more, coax a bigger reaction out of him, but fate has put them on the same side today, and he wants nothing more than for Rinne to stop talking.
Rinne does a mock salute and follows the directive, and the bottle eventually lands on his brother.
Kohaku heaves a heavy sigh then whips his head in his direction. “Couldja ask your gross boyfriend ta shut his trap, Niki-han?”
“My gross fiancé, actually,” Niki corrects.
Rinne coos at him. “Aw. We’re really fiancés, ay?”
“Did you miss the gross part?” He groans. “Cause I kinda agree with him on that.”
He singsongs, “But you lo~ve me—”
“Rinne-kun, shut up.”
Dutifully, he closes his mouth. Kohaku melts onto the table in relief.
The quiet allows Niki to think for a moment. All this talk about marriage is making his head feel fuzzy. A nice ceremony, dressed in white, Rinne behaving himself for once, it’s like a dream. Would he wear a veil? Would Rinne take it off of him? They’d definitely put HiMERU and Kohaku in the front row, or maybe have them as groomsmen! They might complain now, but Niki thinks—hopes—that they’re happy for them. He briefly imagines the younger Amagi as the flower girl, or maybe the ring bearer? What a good, cute kid he is. He deserves something nice, too.
He decides, “Go give Hiiro-kun a hug, and then spin him around in a circle like a good older brother would.”
Rinne starts to grumble.
“And no talking!” He crosses his arms defiantly.
The rest of the night passes in a blur. Everyone collectively uses their turns with Niki to get him to smell them for the future, entirely hypothetical, “Crazy:B × ALKALOID Café Cinnamon collab,” although it seems kind of narcissistic to pitch that to his boss. Still, it’s valuable data for his own personal use, as he now has a full roster of new items to try and the perfect guinea pigs to test on one by one.
Tatsumi manages to get paired with Mayoi four separate times, which seems fishy but Niki didn’t exactly graduate high school. Each successive time it happens, Mayoi seems to get a little taller, like he’s a tree and Tatsumi is his nourishment. Eventually, Mayoi is told to sit in his lap, and he shrinks to the size of a seedling. Kind of bite-sized.
It’s Aira’s fault, mostly. Kohaku acts as his henchman, or perhaps his puppeteer, because he’s often seen whispering things in his ear, often to an elated response. So he should really not be surprised when Rinne makes Hiiro kiss him (“we don’t call him Kanojo-kun for nothin’,” apparently), but after a clumsy, blushing attempt at a kiss (Hiiro misses and gets his cheek instead, but it counts!) leaves Aira comatose, the game abruptly ends.
Later that week, a rumor that HiMERU enjoys mint salad sprouts up online.