Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Thanks. Have a good day.” Kei sighed and dropped her smile as the customer took their coffee and left. Her face was starting to hurt from all the smiling she was doing and she was only an hour into her shift. “Man this sucks.”

Stretching her arms high above her head she spotted her coworker and friend sliding up to her side. “Oi,” he whispered to her. “Your prince just walked in and you don’t look too appealing.”

Kei narrowed her eyes and nudged him in the gut. “Shut up Akira. Don’t call him my prince.”

Akira laughed and rubbed the sore spot she had hit. “You’re the one who said he looked princely, stupid. Should I step back and let you take his order?”

“Tch go do your job!”

Kei pushed a laughing Akira towards the register and tried to focus on making the next order. Of course this didn’t stop her from peeking at the new customer that had walked in. Her prince , as Akira had called him, was a rather tall and rather fine looking young man. Black hair sat neatly on his head, bangs sweeping across his forehead, teal eyes looking sharp from under droopy lids, and his resting face gave off an intimidating air. Kei felt her heart skip a beat each time she happened to encounter him and this time was no different. There was no doubt she found him attractive and always let her eyes linger a little too long. There were few, she guessed, that wouldn’t find him physically appealing.

He was looking especially good today in a dark pair of jeans, a grey t-shirt that fitted his chest well and sat loose at his waist, and a pair of black and red sneakers. The boy knew how to dress though of course she also loved the times when he would come in, running late she guessed, in a tank and sweats. His muscled arms would be on display and would always get her thinking about what a hug from him would feel like…

Stop it! Kei chided herself. Focus on work and not on him.

Luckily she had gotten out of her thoughts just as Akira handed her the cup for his order. Yamazaki-san was written on the cup, the only name she knew him by, along with his usual order of black coffee with an obscene amount of sugar. She always cringed thinking about what it must taste like. But if he always ordered it, it must have some appeal though she couldn’t guess what. He walked over to the pickup counter and leaned against it letting out a big yawn. Kei smiled to herself finding it cute.

“How’s your morning?” she asked after a moment.

Yamazaki-san shrugged and glanced to her. “Okay I guess. Yours?”

She gave a shrug back. “Work is work.” He nodded and let out another yawn. “You seem really tired this morning.”

“That’s what the coffee and sugar is for,” he answered and nodded towards her busy hands making his order. “Damn morning classes.”

Kei smiled and finished up his order. Placing the lid on it and handing it over she said, “I put in a little more sugar to give it an extra boost. I hope that gets you through your morning classes.”

“Thanks.” Yamazaki-san grabbed the cup, dug around his pockets, and threw a couple bills into the tip jar. “Later.”

“Thank you. Have a good day!”

Letting out a sigh Kei leaned against the counter. Most of their interactions went the same way each time. They had minimal chitchat asking about weather, classes, or if they had seen the latest movies. Yamazaki-san never gave much of an answer but it was enough for Kei to be satisfied with. They had moved from silent encounters to actually have friendly conversations and he usually gave a tip before leaving.

“God.” Kei turned to face Akira’s disgusted tone. “You look and sound like some shoujo manga girl.”

A blush began to creep across her cheeks. “D-do not.”

Akira placed his hands at his cheeks and put on a sickening smile. “Oh Yamazaki-san! My prince, I love you forever, and ever, and ever. Chu~!”

The blush deepened on her cheeks as she watched him make kissing noises and sway back and forth. “You idiot!”

The two of them pushed and pulled at each other until Akira wrapped her up in a headlock and ruffled her hair. “I didn’t know you and he were on talking terms! Why am I just seeing this now? You little minx, working your charm on him slowly. Wearing the man down till he falls head over…”

Kei pushed at Akira’s arm around her head trying to escape. When he trailed off she was able to release herself and readied for a counter attack on him. However, she paused when she saw him just standing there staring past her. Following his gaze she found what had distracted him. The playful manner drained from them as they watched the figure outside the café’s front window. Kei turned away after a moment and tried to busy herself with cleaning up her station.

“Oi isn’t that Eiji? I’ve seen him around here the past few weeks.” Akira looked to Kei with question and confusion. “I thought you broke up with him?”

Slowly she brought her gaze up to her friend, guilt and bashfulness mixing in her expression. “Well…I did but then I didn’t…”

Akira raised a brow at her. “Ha?! What do you mean you did but didn’t?”

“Uhm…well see…that is…” Akira took Kei’s face with one hand and squished her cheeks together. “Ouch! Akira tha hrts!”

“Spill it Nagi.”

She pulled his hand away from her face and rubbed her jaw. “I did break up with him a month ago but we were still kinda hanging out as friends. He seemed fine with it all but then he kissed me one time when we were hanging out and I didn’t really say no…so…we kinda started dating again?”

Akira flicked her in the forehead. “Fool!”

“Ouch!” She slapped him on the arm but with no great affect.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “How could you date him again? Do you remember the talk we had? How he is not good for you?”

“Yes,” she answered like a child being scolded by a parent.

Kei and Eiji had been going out for less than four months when she realized it was not working. He was needy to the point it felt like she was a caretaker rather than a girlfriend. He would close her out and not talk about something that was bothering him and then complain that she wasn’t being supportive. Eiji had strange bouts of jealousy and meanness that began to make Kei feel uncomfortable. She had frequently talked to Akira about these things and he had expressed his own concerns from the position of a close friend.

She had made the decision to break things off and had gone through with it. However, Eiji had not gotten the hint. And now this is where they were at. Akira let out another long sigh while rubbing the back of his neck.

“So,” he began, “why has he been standing outside the café these past few weeks? Is he stalking you?”

“No,” she responded meekly. “He’s been talking about moving in together and I never answered him. I’ve been leaving out the back of the café so I don’t run into him. When he asks me where I was I say we just missed each other.”

Akira gave her a “are you kidding me” look. “You’re avoiding him.”

Kei thought for a moment before smiling and shrugging. “I guess.”

He placed his hand up to his forehead and sighed again. “Look I know you don’t have a fight me vibe but you need to fake it till you do cause this is ridiculous.”

“I’m not confrontational Akira,” Kei whined.

“Something needs to happen Kei. Either you take care of it or I call the cops on his creepy ass.”

“No. God please don’t do that. It will make things worse.” She glanced over her shoulder to where Eiji stood outside. “I’ll deal with it…”

“Do you want me there with you?”

Kei sighed and shook her head. “No. I can do it.” I hope.

Chapter Text

Eiji we are over.

I don’t want to see you anymore.

Please don’t come around the café.

All these thoughts were swirling through Kei’s head over the week as she tried to figure it out. The fact that Eiji was always just outside was not assisting her in making a decision on how to go about this. She had stopped going out the back and had faced him but that too had not been helpful. He had smiled at her so kindly, told her thanks for working so hard, and walked her home. Eiji had even cooked her dinner before she had her shift at Yuri’s bar.

Maybe we could take it slow. Really get to know each other a little better. If I gave it another chance…

No! No she couldn’t do that. Kei could hear Akira calling her a fool and feel him flicking her forehead. She had ended it with Eiji for a reason and she had to remember that even while he was acting sweet towards her. Her mind was such a mess with these thoughts that she did not realize that she was over pouring sugar into the cup in her hand.

“Oi.” The deep voice shook her out of her mind and jolted her back to the present.

Yamazaki-san was leaning against the pickup counter watching her drown the black coffee in more sugar than he usually asked for. Kei snapped too and put the sugar and cup down. “Ah sorry! Sorry I wasn’t paying attention. I’ll start over. Sorry it will be just a little longer.”

He raised a brow at her but made no complaint. “Did you not get enough sleep or something? You don’t usually space out like that.”

“Ah…I just--.” She glanced out the window once more and spotted Eiji talking on his phone. “I just have a lot on my mind right now.”

Yamazaki-san followed her gaze and nodded to the figure outside. “You know him?”

“What?”

“That guy out there. Do you know him?”

It took her a second to register his question. “N-no. Why? No I don’t know him.”

“Hu.” He shrugged and crossed his arms over his chest. “You’ve been looking at him so I thought he was a friend or something.”

“Well he’s not.” The second the words left her mouth Kei wished she could pull them back. They came out with more bite then she intended. “Sorry I messed up your order. Here.”

She held out his cup and watched him hesitate to take it for a moment. Finally he took it, left a tip, and walked out. As the door closed behind him, Kei’s shoulders drooped while her heart sank a bit. She hadn’t meant to be short with him and hoped that he didn’t take her attitude personally.

“Well that was sad to watch,” commented Akira as he took an order from another customer. Handing her the cup for the order he added, “I think you upset your prince.”

Kei snatched the cup and tried to ignore the comment.

“It’s been a week Kei,” Akira said despite being ignored. “Eiji is still out there. I thought you were taking care of this.”

“I am. Just leave it alone Akira.” Sending a glare his way, he held up his hands in defeat.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Ah Kei.” Eiji stood from where he sat. “Good work today.”

You would know since you stood out here for hours. “Thanks.”

She tensed as he gave her a hug and took her hand in his. “I’ll walk you home. I can make you dinner again before you leave for Yuri’s.”

Her heart thudded in her chest as she tried to pick the right words and the right time to voice what she needed. As they walked Eiji took control of the conversation. He talked about work, his parents bothering him about a family event, how she was invited to said event, and places he was looking into for them to move in together. Kei knew the longer she stayed quiet the worse it would get but every time she tried to open her mouth the words would lodge in her throat.

Finally they began to approach her apartment building. This was it. This was her time to do it. It had to be now before they got to her door and he invited himself in. Kei took a couple deep breaths to try and calm her squirming heart. Just as they were about to reach the door to the lobby she stopped and untwined her hand from his. Eiji turned back and looked at her with question.

“Eiji…I’m not moving in with you. I like where I am.”

He blinked at her a couple times. “Okay Kei. I mean we can always look at the apartments here. Or we can keep your room and just buy a larger bed.”

She closed her eyes and ran a hand through her hair. “No Eiji. That’s not what I meant. I don’t want to live with you. We’re not a couple anymore. We broke up a month ago.”

Something in his expression shifted as a tense smile came to his lips. “You broke it off Kei. But I don’t think we are ready to breakup. I don’t accept that we are done.”

Don’t back down. Stay strong. Fake the fight me vibe. “Well I’m sorry you feel that way but I do not want to get back together. Please stop coming by the café.”

There. She had done it. She had said it and it was done. Feeling victory starting to fill her Kei walked past a stunned Eiji and headed for the door. However, she did not get far before a forceful grip encased her wrist and turned her back around. Eiji’s jaw was clenched as he took steps towards her. Panic began to bubble in the pit of her stomach while her mind ran wild with what to do to get free and make a run for it.

“That’s what you have to say? After our time together this is how you end it?” His voice held a poisonous tone to it with each word.

Kei’s flight sense kicked into overdrive as she tried to tug out of his grip. “Please let go. You’re hurting me.”

“Good! It is only fair with how you have hurt me Kei.”

I should have asked Akira to be here. Crap! Help. Please. Anyone…

“Oi.” That voice. That blessed, deep, familiar voice. “Is there a problem here?”

Kei directed her wide gaze to the owner of the voice. Yamazaki-san came walking towards them from the parking lot of the building. A gym bag was slung over his shoulder and those marvelous arms were on full display with the tank he was wearing. Kei felt her heart give a painful leap as relief washed over her at the sight of him. A prince and a savior.

Eiji looked the other man over before slowly releasing Kei’s wrist. “I’m leaving. We’ll talk later Kei.”

His back was turned and he was walking away. Kei wanted to drop to the floor with comfort. She began to thank every god she could think of for sending Yamazaki-san her way at that moment. Said man walked up to her side but kept his eyes on Eiji walking away.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes. Thank you for helping me.”

His cool gaze shifted to her. There was a glint of annoyance in his teal eyes as he looked down at her. “Do you live here?”

Kei shrank away from his gaze. “Yes. I’m on the fourth floor.”

Giving a curt nod he placed a hand to her shoulder and spun her around. “We should get inside before he decides to come back.”

Placing his hand between her shoulder blades he half guided and half pushed her through the doors, into the lobby, and into the elevator. The two were silent as they waited for the elevator to arrive. Kei glanced up to her savior feeling the tension roll off him. Was he still upset at her about that morning in the café? She didn’t really apologize for being short with him, it could be done now of course. Just as she was about to attempt to form the words the elevator dinged and the doors opened.

Kei moved to the back of the elevator while Yamazaki-san pushed the button for the fourth floor. He tucked both hands into the pockets of his pants, pressing no other button. So he lived on the fourth floor? She didn’t even know they lived in the same building let alone the same floor. How had she missed that? As she stood there she watched his back wondering if this was the right time to voice her apology and thanks. Why did she always have trouble with this? Why couldn’t she have more confidence to do things like this?

“I thought you said you didn’t know him.”

His voice was so low it made her question if he had spoken at all. Yamazaki-san turned his head slightly and watched her for a moment out of the corner of his eye. All Kei could do was drop her gaze and try to hide as best she could. He, in turn, huffed out a sigh and turned back to the doors. After what seemed forever the elevator stopped on their floor. Kei moved past him and stepped out first. She listened carefully to his footsteps behind her until they stopped. Turning she saw him pull out his keys and unlock his own door. He was only three doors down from her and yet she had never seen him around the building till now.

“Thank you for helping me,” she voiced before he walked into his apartment. “And sorry about this morning…and I don’t mean the coffee.”

Yamazaki-san gave her a nod and walked into the apartment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yamazaki-san, the only name she knew him by, was written on the door tag. Kei stood nervously before his door and took a deep breath. Raising her fist she knocked on the door. After waiting only a few minutes he answered.

“Hello,” he said leaning against the doorframe.

“Can I ask you a weird favor?” she blurted.

An amused gleam sat in his eyes while the corners of his lips turned up slightly. “Sure.”

“Can you help me break up with someone?”

Chapter Text

She could have asked Akira to help her with this but he probably would punch Eiji out and cause a scene. This was going to be done quietly and quickly. And those were things Akira was not capable of. Plus he would have an ‘I told you so’ air about him that would make him insufferably annoying for who knows how long. No, it had to be this person. He was the one to help her. That was why she knocked on his door.

“Can you help me breakup with someone?”

His blinked looking astonished at her request. “Excuse me?” He detached from the doorframe and stood tall and straight before her. “You want me to what?”

Before Kei could explain herself, a voice from inside his apartment caused her to pause. “Sou~! Are you coming back? I’m getting bored.”

Kei looked past him and found another pair of sneakers next to Yamazaki-san’s in the entrance. “Oh sorry! I didn’t mean to bother you when you had company. I’ll go…”

Kei bowed and turned to leave when she heard the door close. Looking back, he stood out in the hall leaning his back against his now closed door. Yamazaki-san crossed his arms over his chest and tilted his head slightly as he waited for her to continue.

“Are you going to tell me what this is about?” he asked after a dragged out moment.

“Uhm…” Kei glanced between him and his closed door. Is it okay? That person sounded impatient. Should he be ignoring them to talk to me? “Can you help me—“

“Breakup with someone,” he finished. “I heard. So what is going on? Is this about that guy?” Her heart did a happy flip at the concern in his voice. “Is he bothering you?”

She waved her hands and shook her head. “No ,no, no. I haven’t seen him since that day but it is about him. I’m going to make this breakup final and make sure he understands. It would just be kind of comforting to have someone there with me. And you helped me the other day so I thought…”

Giving him a hopeful smile she placed her hands in front of her palm to palm. Yamazaki-san watched her for a moment before shifting his gaze in thought. Please say yes! I can’t do this alone. Seeming to hear her silent prayer he relaxed his arms at his side and nodded.

“So when is this going down?”

Yes! “Thank you!” Kei gave a bow. “Thank you. Thank you Yamazaki-san!”

A light bonk touched the crown of her head from his fist. “Straighten up. You can’t tell me the details if you’re bowing like that.”

“Yes!” She sprang back up with a wide and relieved smile. “Sorry. Uhm I was planning to meet with him on Monday.”

He nodded and shoved his hands into the pockets of his pants. “Okay. Where?”

“At the café.” Yamazaki-san remained silent and frowned. “Is…is that not good?”

“Hmm,” he hummed. “Well if you want all your coworkers to see it go down. If things go badly and they all see it…”

Kei could feel all the blood leave her face. How had she not thought about that? Akira would be there and so would Nao. Nao was a gossip so if the breakup did go badly she would spread it like cherry blossom petals fling through the wind. Her panic was put on pause as Yamazaki-san dug out his phone and began to type something out.

“There is a restaurant a few blocks away.” He squinted at his phone while he looked over the location. “It is far enough away from the café and here that you won’t run into people you know.”

“Okay that’s a good idea.”

“I can drive us there or we can walk.” He tucked his phone away and rubbed the back of his neck. “Whatever you are comfortable with.”

She nodded and huffed out a content sigh. “Thank you.”

He nodded and shifted his weight. “So what do you want me to do exactly?”

“Eh? O-oh nothing really.” Kei scratched her cheek feeling embarrassed. “You scared Eiji off the other day. I would feel more comfortable with you just sitting next to me while I talk to him. That’s all.”

“I see.” He nodded as if to confirm the idea. “Got it.”

“Thank you again Yamazaki-san!”

His gaze shifted away from her and…was that a blush she was seeing? Kei tilted her head to catch his gaze. He glanced to her quickly before looking away again. Oh so cute! What had brought this on? Yamazaki-san cleared his throat before facing her.

“Since we are doing this and you already know my name…can I know yours?”

Oh. Be still my heart! He is too much right now. Kei felt her own cheeks beginning to flush with heat. How could someone who usually looked so intimidating look and sound so bashful and adorable? “Well uhm I actually only know your last name. It’s always on your cup at the café and your door tag.”

“Ah.” He held out a hand as he gave her a smile that she would remember for days. “I’m Yamazaki Sousuke. Nice to meet you.”

She slowly reached out her own hand and took his. “Nagi Kei. Nice to meet you too.”

They stood there for a moment, hand in hand, and awkward smiles. Finally Kei gave him one last thanks and they let go. Agreeing on a time to meet Monday they said good day and turned towards their own apartments. As Kei made her way back to her room she heard Yamazaki-san open his door and the other voice drift out.

“Oh it is so nice to meet you too,” the voice said with a joking tone. “Never seen you be so shy like that.”

“Shut it,” growled Yamazaki-san.

Kei glanced over her shoulder and just caught sight of messy red hair and a sharp grin. So that was who he had left waiting while the two of them had talked. They seemed close. Kei smiled as she stopped at her door. Yamazaki-san sounded embarrassed as he told off his guest who continued to poke fun and laugh.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yuri’s bar/club was in full swing by the time she started her shift. The usual patrons gave her smiles and greetings as she made her way behind the bar. One particular patron came dancing up and took a seat. His cotton candy pink hair bounced as he moved and fell into a pair of flirtatious eyes. A Cheshire grin spread across his lips as he leaned on the counter and caught her eye.

“Kei-chan! You look lovely as ever,” he crooned.

With a roll of her eyes and a smile Kei began to make his usually cocktail. “Good evening Kisumi. You look just as energetic as the last time I saw you.”

He chuckled and swiveled in his chair. “How are you? Anything new?”

“You mean anything new since I saw you last night?” She placed her hands at her waist and thought. “No, nothing.”

Kisumi shrugged as she slid his drink towards him. “You never know. A lot could happen in such little time.”

Kei laughed. “I don’t know how you go out almost every night and to the same bar nonetheless.”

“What can I say?” He turned in his chair to look out at the dance floor. “I have my reasons,” he shot her a wink and devilish smile over his shoulder.

She leaned her elbow on the bar and rested her chin in her palm. “And here I thought you only had eyes for Akira.”

“Kyaaa~!” Kisumi turned back to face her. He placed both hands to his cheeks and swayed. “Aki-kun is my true love! Just you wait Kei-chan. He will be my boyfriend.”

“That poor boy.”

“Oi,” he pouted. “You said you’d help me win him over!”

She shrugged. “I’ve tried. I drop hint about you all the time at work.”

“Hey, hey how about you give me his number.” He bounced in his seat excitedly and reached for her hands. “Please Kei-chan? Just say I swiped your phone and stole his number.”

“Well…I don’t see how it could hurt.”

Kisumi wasted no time in taking out his phone and handing it to her. Kei typed in Akira’s number into the contacts. Before handing the phone back she sent a text of her own to Akira as a heads up. Sliding the phone back over she watched as Kisumi lit up with excitement and joy. It must be so lovely to be that excited over someone.

“Thank you Kei-chan! Ah! But wait…” The lovey expression flipped into one of concern. “If Aki-kun and I get together you’ll become the old hag and third wheel.”

“Gee thanks,” she deadpanned.

He snapped his fingers as a light went off over his head. “I know! I have a friend I can set you up with. He is quite handsome, can be broody at times, has a temper, and can cuss like none other. But he is pretty built and a total cuddle bear. He’d be perfect for you!”

Kei smiled and waved her hands as if to push the idea away. “Thanks for the offer Kisumi but I’m not interested right now.” I need to handle things with Eiji first.

“Eh?!” He rested his chin in his palm and sipped at his drink. “But you two would be so cute together.”

“Maybe another time.”

“Hmmm. Do you have a special someone right now Kei-chan?”

“No.”

He straightened up and took her hands in his. “Then why not meet my friend? He could become that special person for you!”

She gave his hands a squeeze and smiled. “I appreciate what you’re trying to do but…I’m still trying to get out of a relationship that ended a month ago.”

“Eh?” He pulled on her hands and practically dragged her half way across the counter. “Eiji-kun?! I thought that was long done! Kei-chan why didn’t you tell me anything?”

With a shrug she sighed. “I’m dealing with it Kisumi. On Monday actually.”

He smiled with relief. “Well good luck!”

“Thanks. Anyway you should go have fun.”

“Roger that!” He gave her a salute and a smile before dancing away with drink in hand.

Kei smiled and greeted her new customers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Monday had come up quickly as did their meeting time. The two of them walked out of their doors at the same time and locked up. From there Kei was so focused on playing out what was going to happen in her mind that getting in Yamazaki-san’s car and driving to the restaurant was a blur. It was only when the engine turned off and they were parked on the street did she realize it was actually happening. Her heart climbed into her throat as they walked through the door and his voice was right at her ear.

“Ready Nagi-san?”

Looking over to him she felt her heart slowly recede back into her chest. His eyes were full of reassurance and a warmth that made it seem like this was possible to do. Kei took a deep breath and nodded.

“Ready.”

Yamazaki-san smiled. “Good. Find a table and I’ll be there in a moment.”

Kei nodded and did as he asked. Once she was seated she began fiddling with the sleeve of her sweater. This was all going to work out and before she knew it she would be back at her apartment finally without this worry hanging over her. She was glad Yamazaki-san was with her right now. If she had come alone she probably would have fled and just pretended nothing had ever happened. Nothing would get solved that way of course but that was Kei, more flight than fight.

Fake the fight me vibe, said Akira’s voice in her head. Is that what she was doing now? A smile came to her lips as she pictured her friend. She would have to make sure and tell him things went well and that it was taken care of. Kisumi too. He would want to know that she was okay and maybe that offer of meeting that friend of his was still on the table.

As she smiled to herself a figure came and sat on the other side of the table from her. “Where did you go? You said you’d be back in…Eiji…”

The man sat across from her with a stern expression. He narrowed his eyes at her. “You sound surprised. Were you expecting someone else?”

“N-no I…well yes actually.” Her heart had begun to pick up its pace with every beat. Where had Yamazaki-san gone? He said he would be right back but he wasn’t. Had he ditched her and decided this wasn’t worth it after all?

“Oh?” Eiji crossed his arms over his chest. “You asked me to meet you here and you’re expecting someone else. That’s rather rude.”

Kei glanced around nervously. “I’m not trying to be rude. But there was this other person…”

“Sorry I wandered off.” Yamazaki-san came walking over and sat in the seat on Kei’s left. “I thought I saw a friend of mine from school.”

Eiji looked between Kei and the other man. His eyes finally landed on the man and watched carefully as he placed his arm across the back of Kei’s chair. The man leaned close to her with his hand resting on her shoulder. Kei didn’t move away or ask him to stop. She didn’t look uncomfortable in any way like Eiji knew she should have with some stranger touching her.

“What is this? What is going on?”

“Uhm,” she began meekly. “See Eiji…the thing is…”

“What?” he bit. “What is the thing Kei?” He snorted and shook his head. “You never were the articulate type. Always hesitant. Hurry up and spit it out!”

God does he have to talk like that? I’m trying here! Her hands that had been laid out in her lap curled into tight fists.

“Kei.”

Shifting in her seat she looked over at the man sitting to her left. Yamazaki-san had used her first name, without honorifics, and in the most affectionate tone she had ever heard. That was rather unexpected to say the least. He looked at her for a moment while his thumb ran back and forth from the curve of her neck across to her shoulder. The warm trail he was leaving spread a relaxing numbness through her.

“It’s all right. Tell him.”

Without looking away from Yamazaki-san she addressed Eiji. “We aren’t together anymore.”

“Ha?” Eiji leaned forward in his seat. “Are you talking to me now?”

Kei turned back to him and looked him dead in the eye. Fight was starting to bubble inside her now. “We are not together Eiji. I ended it a month ago and you ignored it. Now I’ll say it again loud and clear. We are done. I don’t want to be friends, I don’t want you to come to the café, and I don’t want to see you at my apartment.”

He sat there stunned for a moment before collecting himself. “We’re done hu? Well you’re going to be sorry Kei. When you realize you made a mistake don’t come running back to me.”

“I won’t,” she scoffed. “Don’t worry about that.”

Eiji’s jaw clenched at her backtalk. “Oh yeah? We will see. See how well you get along without me making dinners for you. You’re going to get lonely.”

“She won’t.” His voice rumbled with authority that sent a shiver down her back. Yamazaki-san glared across the table at Eiji.

“Think Kei can find someone better than me?”

“She already has.” His hand clamped down on her shoulder as he pulled her closer to his side.

Eiji laughed mockingly. “What you?! Please. Why would Kei go for you? Who the hell even are you? You a friend of hers? She couldn’t even do this alone.”

As Eiji continued to rattle off questions and insults, Kei felt secure with Yamazaki-san’s arm around her shoulders. His hand on her shoulder and his warm side pressed against hers blocked Eiji’s words from touching her. If she had come alone…if she had come alone…but she hadn’t. He was here protecting her, helping her, giving her strength. He was her prince. He was the stranger she asked to help her. He was the customer she had occasional chats with in the café. He was taking her chin between his thumb and index finger. He was turning her face towards him and he was kissing her…

Wait…WHAT?!

Chapter Text

Eh? What? What is going on right now?

Yamazaki-san’s lips were on hers. Her chin was held securely by his thumb and index finger keeping her in place for an instant. His hand on her shoulder gave it a light squeeze as the other hand slid from her chin to cup her jaw. Warm lips pressed against hers for a lingering moment before pulling away and coming back to meet. Kei let her eyes close as the warmth spread into her mind and body.

He tilted his head and gave more pressure to the exchange. Kei could hear his deep breaths so much more clearly each time he touched his lips to hers. Her right hand gripped onto the sleeve of his jacket. Feeling the material under her fingers assured her that this was reality and not just some vivid dream. The sensation of being in a dream and reality came to an end as Yamazaki-san pulled away slowly but remained close to her.

Kei opened her eyes and met his gaze. Pink sat under his eyes which sparked in the din light of the restaurant. Yamazaki-san shifted to look at the speechless man across from them. He cleared his throat before speaking. “Get it now Eiji-san? Like she said, stay away from her and the café.”

With that he untangled from her, took her hand, and pulled her to her feet. The two of them weaved their way through tables and customers as they headed for the door. Yamazaki-san kept a hold of her hand as they left a stunned Eiji behind. Once inside the vehicle a new atmosphere settled around them, a quiet and unsure atmosphere that made Kei keep her gaze on anything but him.

What happened!? I’ve never seen that side of him before. Granted I don’t really know him but still. Finally she looked at the man driving the car out of the corner of her eye. He was gripping the wheel pretty tightly as he moved them through the busy streets. He kissed me. Why? Was it to shut Eiji up? He kissed me…

“Sorry.” The sudden sound of his voice made her jump.

“E-eh? For what Yamazaki-san?” Kei nervously ran her fingers through her hair. Did he see her watching him?

“I couldn’t sit there and listen to him talk to you like that.” Ah his looks were not the only princely thing about him. “Something had to be done.”

Kei nodded and fiddled with the sleeves of her sweater once more. “Thank you.”

The rest of the drive the two of them were silent. Yamazaki-san pulled his car into the garage and turned off the engine. As they walked to the elevator Kei let her thoughts flood her mind. He had kissed her so easily and defended her. Things would definitely change between them now, or so she guessed. Knowing her things would become awkward because that was the type of person she was. Anytime she saw him her heart already jackhammered in her chest but now she would picture the kiss and would become a fumbling mess. Kei was frankly surprised that she was coming off as calm as they walked off the elevator together.

Yamazaki-san followed behind her till they both stopped at her door. Kei fished out her keys but did not open her door right away. What now? Would they shake hands and say ‘see you around’? What if he kissed her again? No ,no, no. He wouldn’t do that. She could kiss him though…how would he react? Would it be worth the try?

“Nagi-san.”

“Yes!” Ah so much for keeping calm. A small smile turned up the corner of his lips.

“Have a good night.”

Kei nodded and returned the smile. “You too. Thanks again Yamazaki-san. You were a big help tonight.”

He gave a nod before turning on his heel and heading back down the hall to his door. Kei unlocked her door and stepped inside. Closing the door she leaned heavily against it and let out a long breath. This was bad. There was no way she could ever face him again. She would only embarrass herself further and probably make him uncomfortable.

“Man this sucks,” she huffed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The doorbell let out an ominous sound. Kei stared at the door from her couch wondering if she should pretend she wasn’t home. Ding dong.

Crap. What if it’s Yamazaki-san?

As slowly and quietly as she could, Kei got off the couch and made her way to the door. Peeking through the peephole of the door she found a welcomed face on the other side. Letting out a sigh of relief she unlocked the door and opened it.

“Oh Aki! Thank goodness. I thought it was someone else. Listen I have some stuff to tell you.”

“Before we get to that…” Akira set a stern gaze on her. “You have some explaining to do Kei.”

Before she could ask what he meant, Akira pinched the top of her ear and entered the apartment. After kicking off his shoes he dragged her into the living room with her complaining the whole way.

“That hurts, that hurts, that hurts!” Finally he released her and crossed his arms over his chest. Kei stomped and rubbed her ear. “Geez Aki! You bully!”

Ignoring her, he pulled out his phone and opened his messages. Turning the screen towards her he demanded, “Explain! Why did I get a message from this pink haired cotton ball?”

“Eh?”

Kei took his phone and looked at the screen a little more closely. There was a text message from an unsaved number.

From: Unknown

Hiya! My name is Kisumi Shigino, I am lots of fun, love 2 party, and am super romantic! Also really good at basketball. I got your number from Kei-chan and would like to ask you on a date

<3 ;)

Under the message was a picture of Kisumi posing with a peace sign and a wide welcoming smile. Kei smiled and handed the phone back. “That’s Kisumi. I’ve told you about him before. He really is a sweetheart and funny.”

Akira looked down at his phone and studied the picture. “I see.”

“He really likes you. I think you’d get along well,” she said with hope in her tone. “It couldn’t hurt to meet him right?”

“Hmm,” he hummed. “I guess. He is kinda cute.”

“Right?” she smiled. Yay!

Akira tucked his phone away and plopped down on the couch. “I’ll consider it. Now what did you want to tell me?”

Kei plopped down next to him and crossed her legs under her. “I did it Aki. I ended things with Eiji last night and he won’t be around anymore.”

His eyes widened. “Eh? For real?! You did it?”

“Yup,” she nodded proudly.

“Nice!” Akira threw his arms around Kei and pulled her into a hug. “Good job Kei! I am so proud of you!” He pet her head and smiled widely. “Good girl!”

Kei laughed and took in his praise. “Thank you.”

Akira turned on the couch to face her more. “You did this all on your own? Whoa, you got so cool.”

“Well actually,” she admitted a little bashfully. “I didn’t. I asked Yamazaki-san for help.”

His brow stitched together as he took in what she had said. “Yamazaki-san? How does he fit in this?”

“He ran into me and Eiji the other day out front of the building.”

“Eh?!”

“He lives here and on the same floor as me.”

Akira grabbed her by the shoulders with brows raised. “Yamazaki-san lives here?”

“Yes.”

“He lives on the same floor as you?”

“Yes.”

“Man you’re keeping secrets from me!” He released her and flopped back against the couch.

Kei waved her hands and shook her head. “I’m not! I didn’t even know he lived here till that day.”

“Man,” Akira sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Who would have thought he was so close this whole time? And so?” He sat back up and focused on her. “What happened with him?”

She shifted and turned her gaze to her lap. “Well he gave me courage to face Eiji. He sat with me while we talked. He told Eiji off and then…he kissed me.”

“Ha? What was that last part?”

“H-he kissed me.”

Akira leaned forward to try and catch her eye. “Eiji did?”

She shook her head feeling a blush crawling over her skin. “Not Eiji. Yamazaki-san.”

Glancing up, she watched his reaction. Akira sat there staring at her as if he had mentally shut down. While he began to reboot, processing the information, his expression shifted several times. His eyes widened then narrowed, his mouth opened and closed several times, and his brows scrunched together every once in a while.

“Yamazaki-san kissed you,” he said slowly. Kei nodded. “On the cheek?” he asked pointing to his cheek. She shook her head. He pointed to his forehead. “Here?” She shook her head and pointed to her lips. “Eh. Eh?!”

“Shhh!” Kei grabbed a pillow and hit him with it. “You’re so loud!”

“W-wait a second he kissed you on the lips! That bastard. I’ll kill him.”

Akira got up from the couch and turned to leave. Kei grabbed the hem of his shirt and yanked him back down to the couch. “What are you saying?!”

Akira struggled against her as Kei flopped on top of him to keep him put. “He took advantage of the situation! He used your weakness to make a move!”

“Ha?! What the hell are you talking about?” She pushed Akira down by the shoulders and towered over him. “He was just playing a part. He didn’t take advantage of anything.”

He blinked up at her and tilted his head. “Playing a part?”

“Yes,” she said with exhaustion. “He told Eiji that I had moved on and that he was my new boyfriend. Eiji didn’t believe it so Yamazaki-san made it seem real. That’s all.”

“Oh.”

Kei rolled her eyes and galumphed back into the cushions. “Geez.”

Akira remained squished against the couch and slapped her thigh. “You should have said that from the start!”

“Shut up,” she said kicking his side.

“Oi,” he said after a silence. “I offered to go with you to talk with Eiji. Why did you ask Yamazaki-san instead?”

“Well that is—“ she trailed off.

“Ah whatever.” He sat up and straightened himself out. “It got done and it is over. That’s what counts.” Grabbing her arm he tugged her so that she leaned against his chest. Resting his chin against her head he sighed. “And you got to kiss your prince.”

Kei smiled as she remembered the warmth of his lips and the way his face looked when he pulled away. “Yeah I did.”

“Though,” he hummed thoughtfully. “He isn’t much of a prince. After all he kissed you and you’re still a toad.”

“Oi!” Kei hit and elbowed Akira who only laughed. “You’re the toad here!”

“Hmm does that make Kisumi-kun my prince?”

“Yes. So hurry up and kiss him so you can become more of a gentleman.”

“Yes, yes,” he laughed.

Chapter Text

“Shion-senpai,” called out Kei.

“Yes?” he replied from where he was fixing the food display.

Removing her apron, Kei came around the counter. “I’m done for today.”

“Alright.” He straightened up and smiled at her. “Thanks for your hard work. Have a good weekend.” Just as she was about to disappear through the back to the break room he called out. “Oh Kei-chan, if you see Nao-chan back there goofing around, tell her to get her ass out here.”

Giving him a salute she said, “Yes sir!” Sure enough as she entered the break room to get her things, Nao was sitting in a chair giggling at her phone. Kei shook her head and began to grab her coat. “Oi Nao you should get out there. Shion-senpai is waiting.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Nao waved her hand and continued to watch her phone.

“What are you looking at anyway?” Kei leaned over the other girl’s shoulder to see the screen. “Cat memes?”

Nao nodded and pulled the next picture up. A kitten smiling in its sleep filled her screen with a captions saying: I farted. Between her fit of laughter Nao said, “Yamazaki-san showed me this site. We were talking about memes and said this was a good site.”

Kei straightened up at the mention of the man’s name. “Yamazaki…san?”

“Yeah.” Nao wiped tears from her eyes as she put her phone away. “You know him. He is one of our regulars.”

“Not so regular lately. I haven’t seen him at all this week.” A week. It has been a week since he…

Kei touched a finger to her lips, cheeks going hot, recalling the kiss he had left. She had thought she might see him around the apartment, now knowing that he lived there, but there was no sign of him. That was just a thought of course and she didn’t expect anything of it. After all they had lived on the same floor without knowing it for so long. However, she had been sure he would still come to the café but there had been no sign of him there either.

“What do you mean?” Nao pulled her apron over her head and adjusted it. “He was here yesterday. That’s when he told me about this site.”

“Yesterday?” What the hell? “When?”

Nao tapped her chin and thought. “Hmm I think it was right around noon. You had just gone on break. He’s been coming right after you leave for your break.”

“I see.”

He never used to come in the afternoon. He has morning classes and that was why he always came to get coffee in the morning. Did his schedule change?

The sinking of her heart and the twisting in her gut did not help with these thoughts. Kei couldn’t understand it. Yamazaki-san had been so kind to her and didn’t seem to have any problems with her that night after meeting Eiji. Had she done something wrong? He was the one who kissed her, she hadn’t forced it, so he couldn’t be upset about that. Right?

He doesn’t want to see me…

Shaking her head, Kei gathered her things and headed for the door. She was jumping to conclusions. Maybe his morning classes had been canceled. Maybe he was late to class and couldn’t come get coffee in the morning. Maybe he just wasn’t into coffee anymore. There were plenty reasons why but her mind kept coming back to he doesn’t want to see me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To Aki: I think he’s avoiding me T____T

From Aki: I would avoid you too but then who would I blame for breaking stuff at work?

Kei frowned at her phone as she opened the gate and walked up to the front door of her childhood home. Sometimes she didn’t know why she was still friends with Akira. As she unlocked the door she quickly typed out her response.

To Aki: I’m going to tell Kisumi all your embarrassing drunk stories. See if he’ll date you after hearing about the goukon last fall.

She only had to wait a second before a series of panicked responses came in.

From Aki: 0__0

You wouldn’t…

Kei…KEI!

I was joking! Tell me what’s going on? Who is avoiding you?

KEI

PLEASE

DON’T

KEEEEEEI

Snorting she shut the front door behind her and began to kick off her shoes. Tucking her phone away, deciding to let Akira panic a little for all the teasing and name calling he did, she called out into the house.

“I’m home!” No response. Great. Getting avoided at home too. “Hey! I said I’m home!”

“Shut up!” The grumbling voice called out from the living room and was shortly followed by the owner. “I heard you the first time. Geez so noisy.”

Kei watched as her twin came walking down the hall to where she stood at the entrance way. It always felt like looking in a strange mirror seeing her brother after not being home for a while. Though he was taller than her and their build was different, everything else was the same. They both had their mother’s dark eyes, their father’s brown hair, someone’s nose, and some other relative’s easy going smile. Seeing her expressions, quirks, and movements mimicked always gave her a comforting reassurance that she wasn’t the only one in the world who was the way she was. Daichi came to a stop in front of her yawning and rubbing the back of his head.

“Is that any way to speak to your older sister?” she asked placing her hands at her hips.

Daichi narrowed sleepy eyes at her. “Huh? Older?” He poked her forehead and leaned down to be on eyelevel. “What arrogance is this? You are hardly a few minutes older than me. Are you that eager to become an old hag?”

Kei scowled before reaching out and flicking him in the forehead. This spurred the twins to pinch, poke, and hit each other until one admitted defeat. Kei eventually got Daichi in some kind of headlock while he pinched her nose and cheek with as much pressure as he could. The two only let go when a tired voice called out to them.

“Dai-kun.”

He released Kei and pushed out of her hold. “I’ll be there in a second grandma.”

Kei tugged on the sleeve of his shirt and whispered, “How is she?”

Daichi sighed and looked towards the back of the house. “This week is better. She fell earlier this month out in the garden.”

“What?!” Kei’s eyes went wide as her mouth dropped open. Why was she only hearing of this now? “Daichi you should have told me! What if…”

“Is that Kei-chan I hear?” came the woman’s voice. Kei paused in scolding her twin and looked towards where the voice had come from.

“Yes it’s me,” she called back. Moving past her brother she narrowed her eyes at him. “We will talk about this later.”

“Yeah sure,” he said giving her a shove.

Kei walked out of the kitchen’s sliding door and out to the garden. The older woman sat in her sunning chair, a wide brim hat sitting over her grey hair, and a small table with a glass on it to her right. Walking around the chair, Kei knelt in front of the woman and was met with a loving smile. Kei returned the smile as the realization of how much she missed this woman hit her like a wave. Chika-san, or grandmother as she and Daichi had come to call her, had been a big part of their lives when their mother had remarried. Chika-san came to live with them along with her son, Hansuke-san, and had helped raise the twins.

Kei had not been and still was not fond of her step-father but she was eternally grateful for the woman she sat in front of now. Chika-san reached out and placed a loving hand to Kei’s cheek. Kei did not miss the sight of the bandage on the back of the woman’s aged hand or the slight bruising on her other elbow. She gently placed her own hand over the one touching her cheek.

“Hello grandma,” she greeted warmly.

“Hello Kei-chan.” The woman moved her hand to cup the young girl’s jaw. “My you’ve gotten prettier from the last time I saw you.”

“Looks like the same hag to me.” Daichi sat sprawled out on the grass on the other side of his sister. Kei turned and narrowed her eyes at him which earned her having him stick out his tongue.

“Dai-kun,” scolded Chika-san. She hit his foot with the fan that was tucked into the side of her chair. “Honestly. That is no way to speak to your sister. Besides, you’re insulting yourself as well. You and Kei-chan are identical twins after all.”

“Ha!” Kei stuck her tongue out at Daichi.

“Hey grandma,” he whined. “Why are you taking her side?”

The woman chuckled and rubbed the foot she had previously hit. “Just to see that adorable pout that you used to do as a child.”

The two laughed as Daichi grumbled. Together the three sat out in the sun laughing, sharing stories, and enjoying each other’s company. This continued as they moved inside to have dinner and cleaned up afterwards. After everything was cleaned up, Daichi went to his room to take a call from a classmate while Kei helped Chika-san to her room. Once Chika-san was in bed, Kei knelt down by her beside and lowered her head.

“Sorry.” Remorsefully. “I am really sorry.”

“For what dear?”

Kei lifted her head and felt tears sting the edges of her eyes. “For not being here when you fell. For not being around here more often.”

Chika-san patted her on the head. “Don’t you worry about that Kei-chan. You’re busy with work and other things.”

“I know but I…” She squeezed her eyes tight to push the tears back. “I should have been here.”

“Kei-chan.” Chika-san forced the girl to look at her. “You come when you can come. That is all we ask. We love seeing you when you have time. Don’t you worry about a clumsy old lady falling. Okay?”

Kei nodded but it did not stop the hammering against her ribs. “Okay.”

Chika-san petted the girl’s hair. “And also I know my son is a stubborn man and can be difficult to get along with. However, Hansuke is not a bad man. He cares for you very much. Maybe coming around when he is home would be nice.”

When hell freezes over. “I’ll try.”

With that she gave her grandmother a kiss goodnight and left the room. Kei dragged her feet up the stairs and padded her way down to her brother’s room. Daichi was still on the phone, looking ready to throw the object out his window, and motioned for her to come in. Kei closed his door behind her before grabbing one of his manga and flopping on his bed. She lay on her stomach as she began to flip through the pages.

“No all of us should have our parts done by Friday,” argued her brother as he rubbed his forehead. “The presentation is coming up and we need to be done. No more extensions. Yeah. Okay. Bye.”

She watched him toss his phone onto his pillow. Daichi let out an aggravated huff before resting his head on her back. “Group project?”

“Yes and they are all idiots.” His head lifted with her back as she laughed. “Speaking of idiots, he was here this morning. You just missed him.”

Kei’s smile dropped as did her interest in the manga. The book dropped from her fingers as she twisted a bit to see her brother. “Good. I don’t want to see him.”

Daichi sat up so he could see her better. “He left some money for you. Said to tell you to put it towards rent, or cell phone bills, or groceries.”

Shaking her head she answered, “You use it for books or something. I don’t want it.”

He sighed as he stood and moved to his desk. Grabbing the envelop of money he walked back to the bed. “Hansuke-san said it is yours. He already gave me some for books and things. Take it Kei.”

She sat up abruptly and looked at her brother sharply. “He was the one who told me to never come asking for money.”

“You’re not asking for it dummy. He is giving it.” He pushed the envelope towards her. “Take it.”

“No.”

“Damn.” He passed a hand through his hair and looked to her thoughtfully. “You know you and Hansuke-san might get along better than you think. You’re both stubborn.”

Kei mimicked Daichi’s pout and picked at his quilt. “You always liked Hansuke-san.”

“No not always. I started liking him when I realized he really loved mom.” With a sigh he leaned back against his pillows. Regarding his sister he added, “Of course I also never opposed him like you did.”

Kei rolled her eyes. Opposed him, is that what it was called? So she didn’t study as hard as he had wanted her to in high school. So she hadn’t joined clubs like Daichi had and like Hansuke-san suggested. So she decided she didn’t want to go to college and would rather work instead. So she decided she wanted to move out and not live at home when she got her jobs. That had been a fun conversation…

If you move out Kei-chan it will be hard to stay on your feet.

Why not live at home and work at my company for a year or two?

A bar and coffee shop job will not allow you to live!

If you leave don’t come back expecting support or ask for money.

She had cried herself to sleep that night and left the next morning. Her mother had been upset at both her daughter and husband for the fight. How could they act that way towards each other when they were supposed to be family? Kei had retorted that Hansuke-san was not her father and would never be her family. That really tore a hole in her mother’s heart as well as Hansuke-san’s, though she had not been aware of that. Thus resulting in Kei’s less frequent visits home and little contact with her mother.

The shrill sound of Daichi’s phone going off snapped Kei out of her thoughts. She dragged her hand across her eyes and eliminated the brim of tears that had gathered in her eyes. Daichi reached for his phone, cursing under his breath, expecting more messages from his group.

“Hu? Akira?”

Kei looked over to him with confusion. “What does he want?”

“Is your sister dead?” Daichi read the text out loud. “Why won’t she answer her phone?!”

“Oopse.” Kei dug her phone out of her pocket and found more forgotten panicked texts…and ten missed calls. “My bad.”

From Akira:

KEI!!!

NAGI KEI! How can you be so cruel?! It was a joke. I would never avoid you! You’re my bff and set me up with this cotton candy haired angel! PLEASE

DON’T TELL HIM ANYTHING… I’d be so embarrassed (;////;)

“What did you do to him?” Daichi leaned over her shoulder and read the texts.

With a huff Kei pulled up her contacts and clicked on Akira’s number. Turning the speaker on, she and Daichi waited as the phone rang. It only took a couple of rings before Akira answered in a shrill call of her name.

“KEEEEEEEEIIIIIIIIIIIIII!”

Kei winced and held the phone a little further away. “Sorry Akira. I forgot—“

“You didn’t tell him anything did you?! Have you contacted Kisumi-kun? I haven’t even gone on one date! Please Kei!” he said in one breath.

“Akira I haven’t done anything. It was an empty threat.” Daichi gave her a disapproving look and shook his head at her. “I got tired of you teasing me especially when this is bothering me.”

A long breath of utter relief came from the other end of the line. She could picture Akira dropping to the floor dramatically. “Thank God! Man Kei you can be so sweet and then turn around and be so mean!”

“Dude if you don’t know that by now,” Daichi pipped up, “it makes me wonder how you survived high school with her.”

“Dai-kun?!”

Her twin snatched her phone out of her hand. “Hey man! Long time no see hu? How have you been?”

“Dai-kun! Hey bro! I missed you! Everything is good. How is school!?”

Kei watched with annoyance as her brother dominated the conversation. Listening to all the “bro” and “man” talk was starting to grate on her nerves. And these nerves were already frayed by other events of the day, including not being told about their grandmother’s fall (she had not forgotten). Yanking her phone back from Daichi she cut into their conversation.

“I should have let you panic more. I’m hanging up.”

“No!” came the rushed reply. “Kei~! I’m sorry. What were you trying to tell me? Who is avoiding you?”

Kei hesitated for a moment. She hadn’t told Daichi about Yamazaki-san. She had barely told him when she began dating Eiji. Preparing herself for tons of questions, she took a breath and answered. “Yamazaki-san. I haven’t seen him for a week. I thought he stopped coming to the café but he has been coming on my breaks.”

“Yamazaki-san?” came her brother’s voice. “Who?”

“Kei’s prince,” Akira answered before Kei could say anything. “Long story short he surprise kissed her last week to get rid of Eiji. And now he is avoiding her?”

Daichi opened his mouth to ask more but Kei stopped him. “We’ll talk about it all in a second Dai. And yes Aki, I think he is avoiding me. Nao said he has been coming when I’ve just gone on break. That can’t be coincidence right?”

“Hmm. But why would he avoid you? He is the one who kissed you. Not the other way around.”

“Right?” She sighed and dragged a hand through her hair. “I mean I was thinking I’d avoid him because I would make everything awkward but I still wanted to see him.”

“You have avoidance issues,” Akira said with a deadpan tone.

“Maybe he is feeling guilty.” Kei turned her eyes to her twin. He shrugged. “Maybe that is why he doesn’t want to see you.”

Kei dropped her eyes back to her phone where Akira sat quiet. “B-but…guilty? Why?”

“Maybe he has a significant other already,” Daichi reasoned. “He could feel bad about kissing someone else when he is already dating someone.”

How did I not think of that?! Oh God… “Of course,” she whispered. “Of course someone like Yamazaki-san would have a significant other. Ugh I asked him to do this when he…was it that red head guy I saw at his apartment?”

“Kei.” Akira’s voice had a consoling tone. “You don’t know if he is dating anyone. And if he is, he made the choice to help you and kiss you. You did nothing wrong.”

Daichi nodded and placed a hand to her back. “Agreed. If he is ignoring you then he is not worth your time.”

A smile came to her lips. Thank God for these two, as annoying as they could be. Feeling a small weight being lifted off, Kei relaxed a bit and listened to the back and forth of her brother and their friend. As she sat on Daichi’s bed thinking it over, Kei resolved herself to let go of the notion of Yamazaki-san. There was never going to be a strong relationship between the two of them as they were just customer and barista. He was her prince, her stranger to admire from a distance, and now that distance would grow.

Still, she thought, it hurts a little.

Chapter Text

Kei set her phone to the side and tucked her legs under her. Daichi yawned and stretched his arms over his head. They had talked with Akira for a good couple of hours and had finally just hung up.

“So why didn’t you tell me about gran falling?”

Daichi sighed and dropped his arms to his lap. “Come on Kei. I’m tired. Do we have to do this now?”

“Yes.” She scooted closer to him and prodded his leg. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Because you were busy with work and stuff.” He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against his pillows.

Kei rolled her eyes. “That’s a stupid reason. You still could have texted me or called. Shion-senpai or Yuri would have understood if I asked to take off of work. You should have told me Dai.”

“I had it handled!” He sat up and fixed his gaze on her shocked expression. “I’m not a helpless child Kei, like you seem to think.”

“Dai…I don’t…I never-“

“I had it handled,” he repeated. “I was home from class when it happened. I took care of gran. She didn’t even need to go to the hospital.”

Kei watched her brother. His shoulders were set in a tense fashion, arms still crossed over his chest, and his hands curled into tight fists. Daichi’s brow was scrunched and made him look more like their mother when she was trying to figure out which twin was lying. Everything had seemed fine when she got home but there had been a tension sitting between them, unseen, the second she walked through the door.

“I didn’t see why I should bother you with what goes on here,” he mumbled and glanced to her. “You haven’t been home in a month so I figured you wouldn’t care.”

The sound of her heart snapping filled her head. Her brother’s words sank deep inside her and buried themselves. Kei blinked a couple of times trying to get her mind to function. “I…I’m sorry I haven’t been around. I’m going to be better about that, about coming home and seeing you.”

“You mean when mom or Hansuke-san are on business trips like now?”

“Dai that’s not what I meant.” She meant to have a biting tone but it came out more weak than argumentative.

As she opened her mouth to speak he stopped her with his own words. “I’m tired Kei. Can we talk tomorrow?”

Kei sat there for a moment longer not wanting to leave but understanding that Daichi needed some time. With a nod she stood and grabbed her phone. She didn’t mean for things to be like this. She didn’t mean for her brother, her twin, one of her favorite people to be upset at her. Saying a quiet goodnight Kei opened the door and stepped into the hall. A tug at the hem of her shirt made her stop.

Daichi turned her around and pulled her into a hug. “I’m glad you’re home Kei.”

Returning the hug she gave him a squeeze. “Me too.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The rest of the weekend went smoothly. Kei spent all her time with Daichi and Chika-san sharing stories, talked of work and school, and laughing together. At the end of the weekend Daichi made plans to stay at Kei’s apartment for a couple days saying it was closer to the campus and they would be able to spend more time together. After saying goodbye to Chika-san and knowing their mother would be back from her trip shortly, the twins made their way to the station and got on the train.

Monday morning Kei walked with Daichi to the campus. Daichi rubbed his stomach and groaned. “Man you suck at cooking Kei.”

“Yeah, yeah,” she shrugged as they walked through campus.

Kei looked around at the buildings, greenery, and overall loveliness of the school. Seeing it now and hearing her brother’s experiences she kind of regretted not going. Looking around at the bustling students she tried to picture herself rushing to classes, books in hand, making friends, maybe even living in the dorms. Maybe she would have even met someone, and not Eiji, and would be in a loving relationship. Maybe…

“Ah God I think I’m dying.” Daichi’s groan brought her out of her thoughts. He grabbed his stomach and winced. “I’m cooking tonight. No more death food from you.”

Kei rolled her eyes. He was majoring in medicine but he could have gone into acting with that performance. “Whatever you say. One of us had to be good at cooking and you’re the one who was always in the kitchen with mom.”

“Ah yes,” he said relaxing and smiling wide. “I am the best cook in the family. I’ll make some girl swoon for me one of these days with those skills.”

“She’ll be very lucky,” she laughed.

Daichi smiled and sighed. “Ah so what about you? You snagged anyone?” Kei shook her head. “Oh right! You never told me about this Yamazaki-san.”

Kei hesitated at the name. She had promised him they would talk about it and it hadn’t come up again over the weekend. They still had a ways to walk to his class so there would be time to discuss it. Slowly Kei told her brother about her prince and how the surprise kiss had come about. She didn’t have to go into too much detail about her infatuation with her neighbor. Daichi knew that Kei tended to develop quick lived crushes on handsome or kindly strangers but knew nothing would come of them. However, Yamazaki-san was different since she saw him nearly every day at the café.

“And then he kissed me and told Eiji off,” she finished with a shrug. “I haven’t seen him since then.”

Daichi nodded to himself. “I see. And then you heard how he was coming in when you were gone?”

She nodded. “Like you said he probably has someone and feels guilty about what happened.”

“Even so…he could have mentioned he was seeing someone. And he didn’t have to go as far as kiss you like that.”

“Yeah.”

Kei lowered her gaze and watched her shoes crunch the dry leaves littering the sidewalk. Whatever was going on with Yamazaki-san was done and no longer her concern really. If he continued to come in during her breaks then they wouldn’t have to see each other. She doubted she would see him around the apartment either so it really worked out for the best. They would move on and forget that night and the request she had made. Though I don’t want to forget completely.

“Oh.” Daichi paused causing Kei to stop beside him. “It’s Makoto, he’s that friend I told you about earlier.” Raising his arm Daichi gave a big wave and called out. “Oi Makoto!”

Kei followed his gaze and felt herself go pale. Standing a little ways down the sidewalk was Yamazaki-san. A heart racing smile broke his usual intimidating air and seared into her mind along with the laugh he let out. His attention caught at the sound of Daichi’s voice and his gaze shifted over to them. Her heart tap danced in her chest as their eyes met. His eyes widened slightly as he recognized her and his gaze lingered. The young man next to him, Makoto, was standing very close with a lingering smile.

He waved back with his own call of, “Dai-kun! Good morning!”

Kei watched as Yamazaki-san brought his gaze away from her and instead looked back at Makoto. He looked at the other with a furrowed brow and a deep frown which shifted into something that looked like remorse. Ah that must be who he is dating. Sorry. As quickly as she could, Kei hid herself behind Daichi and clung to his backpack.

“Eh?” He turned and looked at her over his shoulder. Brows pulled together, he tried to shake her off. “Oi Kei what the hell are you doing?”

“That’s him,” she whispered in response. “That’s Yamazaki-san.”

Daichi turned back and looked over the dark haired man standing with Makoto. “Him?” Kei nodded and practically buried her face in his backpack. “Well go talk to him. Ask him why he is avoiding you. Set this straight.”

“No! I can’t do that.”

“Oi Kei.” Daichi tried to swing around to get her to let go. “Get off me weirdo! Stop acting like a kid. You look ridiculous!”

Kei let go of her brother and abruptly turned away. “Sorry Dai! I’m going home. Have a good day at school!”

“Hey! Kei!”

With her brother calling after her, Makoto tilting his head in curiosity, and Yamazaki-san watching her intently, Kei took off in a run. She didn’t dare turn back around or think of stopping till she reached her apartment. Once in her apartment she flung herself face first on the couch and groaned into the cushions. The way he looked at Makoto after seeing her burned behind her closed eyes and twisted her gut.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dancing on the blades you set my heart on fire! Don’t stop us now. The moment of truth, we were born to make history…

Kei grabbed her phone and placed it between her shoulder and ear. “Yes? Daichi?”

“Hey,” came her brother’s voice. “I’m on my way back. I’m getting some things at the convenient store. Need anything?”

“Hmm no. Thanks though. I’m starting the rice.” She dumped the washed rice into the cooker as she spoke.

He groaned. “I thought I told you I’m cooking?”

Kei rolled her eyes. “I can at least do rice thank you very much.”

“We’ll find out.”

The line went silent for a long moment making Kei wonder if he had hung up. “Hello? Daichi?”

“You know…I walked to class with Makoto and Yamazaki.”

Kei paused in her actions. “Oh?”

“Mm. I don’t know what you see in Yamazaki. He is a broody bastard.” She could picture Daichi scrunching up his nose as he spoke. “Hardly even spoke to me and found out we have class together. He sat next to me and still hardly said a word. Oh I got a picture of him, here.”

Kei’s phone beeped at the incoming text. Taking her phone away from her ear and shoulder she put the conversation on speaker. As Daichi continued to explain his experience with Yamazaki-san Kei pulled up the photo he had sent her. Yamazaki-san sat to the left of her brother, where he had taken his stalker shot, scowling towards the front of the lecture hall. His chin was resting in his left palm while his right hand held a pen scribbling notes on the paper in front of him.

She hated that her heart still went into a frenzy at the sight of him. With a sigh she refocused on the conversation. “Hey Daichi don’t take stalker pictures of him. That’s weird.”

“Tch as if you aren’t happy for it,” he scoffed. “Anyway this will be the perfect chance for me to ask him what his deal is. I can ask why he is treating you like this. He was pretty cold this morning, didn’t even say hello to you.”

“Dai! Don’t do that! Please don’t say anything to him,” she rushed out with panic bubbling in her stomach.

“Okay, okay. Calm down.” He sighed heavily. “Anyway I’ll be home soon.”

“Sure. See ya.”

Kei ended the call and sighed. Leaning against the kitchen counter she looked down at her phone. His picture came up on her screen. He was really attractive even brooding and scowling like he was. She smiled to herself as she looked down at the picture and recalled the smirk he had given her when she asked him to help her. Biting her lower lip she wondered if saving this picture would be okay. If she wanted to, she could always delete it later but for now there could be no harm in keeping the picture. Before she could think it over too much, Kei saved the picture to her phone and tucked the device away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Opening the door for her brother she found his hands weighted down with the bags. “Welcome home.”

“I’m back.”

Kei peeked in the bags as Daichi tried to push through to get inside. “How much did you buy? You know I have food in the fridge.”

Daichi remained in the hallway with his sister poking her nose into the different bags. “This is stuff I wanted. Plus they had a ton of milk pudding so I bought some.”

“Milk pudding?” Her eyes lit up as she found the bag with several containers inside it. “Oh! I love this stuff! Thanks Daichi! I’m super excited to eat some. I haven’t had milk pudding in forever.”

“Oi.” He shoved the bags into her arms, pushing her back, and held the bag with pudding out of her reach. “I never said they were for you brat.”

“What? You’re going to eat all of those?!” With a pout she tried to reach for the bag. “That’s not fair Dai!”

“Life isn’t fair stupid.”

The sound of keys dropping to the floor got the attention of the twins. Daichi and Kei stopped in their struggle and looked down the hall. A few doors down Yamazaki-san stooped to grab his keys off the floor before turning his gaze to them.

Damn, thought Kei, why is he suddenly everywhere now?

“Ah sorry for the noise,” Daichi said with a small bow.

Yamazaki-san shook his head, as if coming out of a dream. “Don’t worry about it.”

“G-good even—“ began Kei. She was cut off by her brother shoving her into the apartment.

“Go inside Kei and unload stuff.” Daichi gave another quick bow to the other man. “Good evening.”

Yamazaki-san returned the bow and mumbled a, “Good evening.”

“Hey w-wait…” Kei stumbled into the apartment as Daichi closed the door behind him and kicked off his shoes. “Dai~!”

“The guy lived on the same floor and you never knew,” he grumbled as he took of his coat and moved past her. “Broody bastard.”

Kei followed after him into the kitchen. She set the bags down on the table and began to unload things. Daichi in turn took what he needed to start dinner while she put the other things away. “That was rude. I should have at least said good evening to him.”

Daichi snorted and shook his head. “The guy snubbed you and you still want to be polite to him?”

“He didn’t snub me,” she argued.

“Oh? Then what would you call it?”

Kei hesitated and looked down at the table. “I..I don’t know.”

Daichi turned away from his task and looked his sister over. Moving away from the stove he dug in one of the bags and brought out a pudding. Quickly he opened it and shoved it into her hands. “Here. Eat this.”

Looking down at the pudding she smiled. “I love milk pudding.”

“I know.” He turned back to the stove and continued.

“Is that why you bought so many of them?” She pulled out the spoon and dug it into the pudding.

She watched her brother shrug with his back to her. “Figured it would make you happy. You looked sad about the whole Yamazaki thing.”

Her smile grew fond as she watched her brother. She may have been the older one by a few minutes but he always acted like older protective one. “I’m okay Daichi. I’m not sad.”

“I see.” He turned and took the pudding from her hands. “Then you don’t need this.”

“Hey!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Daichi’s snoring was loud enough to drown out a good portion of the anime they had been watching. He lay sprawled out on the couch with his limbs hanging over the edge. Kei sat in a cushioned chair letting her mind wander. After a few thoughts had turned over in her mind, she grabbed her phone and pulled up her messages.

To Cotton Candy: Hey remember how you told me about that friend?

From Cotton Candy: Yeah! The broody one who is a cuddle monster

To Cotton Candy: Think I could still meet him? 

Chapter Text

“God could your mouth be any bigger?”

Daichi watched as his sister yawned while standing in her doorway. He was off to class and she was half asleep. Kei leaned against her door with ruffled hair, lidded eyes, and one pantleg of her sweats pulled up to her knee. She scratched her head and sighed.

“Whatever Dai. Do you have to go to class this early?”

“It’s already half past ten you goof,” he snorted. “It’s early to you because you worked till late at that bar.”

Kei nodded in agreement. “Yuri has had me work later recently.”

But it had worked out for the best honestly. She had been able to see Kisumi and confirm the blind date. He had practically bounced off the wall when he came up to the bar. Kei found it funny and curious how excited he was just by setting things up between her and his friend.

Who I still don’t know the name of.

“Oi.” Daichi bent down to catch her eye. Worry sat in his expression. “What are you thinking about?”

Kei shook her head and smiled to dissuade his worry. She hadn’t told him about her blind date arrangement. Mentioning Yamazaki-san had put him in a bad enough mood, which was worsened upon them meeting. “Nothing, just work. You should get going. You’ll be late for class.”

“Ah,” he nodded and straightened up. “Right. Don’t want to miss my favorite class.” He sighed and turned towards the hall. “I’ll be sure to send you another picture of your rude ass boyfriend.”

“Hey!” She stepped out into the hall and watched him walk to the elevator. Mumbling to herself she went back inside. “He’s not my boyfriend.”

Sulking back into her room, Kei began to clean up the mess left in her twin’s wake. She loved her brother but did he have to leave things in chaos? As she moved around the room picking up things here and there, she grabbed the jacket she had been wearing last night. As she began to place it on a hanger an envelope fluttered to the floor with a light thud. Kei picked it up and turned it over a couple of times.

Setting her jacket to the side, she placed her focus on the object. Opening it with a frown she found money inside and a note. The note read: For Kei. Use the money for whatever you need. ~Hansuke & Mom

“Dai,” she growled. “That little sneak!”

Kei took the envelope and plopped down on the couch. He had to have slipped it in her pocket before she left for work. After she had told him she wanted nothing to do with the money or their step-father he had to go and do something like this. Setting the envelope down on the coffee table she pushed her fingers through her messy hair and leaned her elbows on her knees. There was no way she could send the money back now. It would look like she had taken it of free will so giving it back would look rude.

She supposed she could always sneak it back into her mother’s purse at some point. Or try to shove it on to Daichi and make him take it. Either way this was something she didn’t need to be thinking about half asleep. Kei growled and snatched the money off the table. Moving over to her desk she threw it down before flopping back in her bed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Everything had been set up by Kisumi. The day, the time, the place, and he even went as far as picking out her outfit. Kei sat on her bed while Kisumi rummaged through her closet tossing things over his shoulder every now and again.

“You have no good clothes,” he stated as he threw a dress. It landed on her head as he continued. “Where are your cute dresses? All of these are so bland.”

Kei pulled the dress off her head and set it to the side with other things rejected by Kisumi. “That’s not my style really. I’m more of a sweater, leggings, and jeans type of person.”

Kisumi turned and fixed a judging look on her. “Leggings are not pants. And you have too many sweaters! And they are all so huge.”

He held up a grey sweater that was definitely bigger than Kei. She simply shrugged. “I like being comfortable. The bigger the better.”

“That’s what she said,” he smirked.

Kei rolled her eyes as he laughed at his joke. “Just pick something out. Something nice and easy to put on and…”

“Cute,” chimed in Kisumi. He turned holding up a knee length, teal colored dress. “This will do nicely! In fact it will even match his eyes.”  

Getting up from her bed she walked over to where Kisumi stood. He held the dress up to her and nodded. Kei looked over what he had picked out a little more carefully. The dress had a lace pattern over the fabric in the front and wrapped around to the back. The back was bare, allowing the lace pattern to create shadows over the skin. A ribbon tied around the waist and sat in a neat bow at the right hip.

“I didn’t even know I had this.” Kei moved over to look in the mirror while Kisumi fiddled with her hair. “Good choice Kisumi.”

He smiled gleefully at her while pushing her hair into a messy bun behind her. “You guys are going to look so good together tonight. Take pictures so I can see what a good match maker I am.”

“Did you pick his outfit too?”

“I did! He asked me to actually.” Kisumi let her hair drop back around her shoulders. A dreamy look came over his face as if remembering a wonderful memory. “He is nervous and excited. It is super cute. He was all fidgety and kept asking if he looked okay before letting me pick something.”

Kei turned to face Kisumi. “He…he is nervous? Why?”

“Well cause he gets to meet a pretty girl of course.” He slapped her shoulder. “He should be nervous. That means he is looking forward to the date.”

Her heart picked up in pace at his words. This person was nervous to meet her and was looking forward to meeting her? They hadn’t even met. Had Kisumi even told this person anything about her? Come to think of it she still didn’t know the name of this person.

“Hey Kisumi…”

Just before she could finish her question his phone rang in his pocket. Kisumi grabbed it quickly and practically squealed when he saw who it was. Kei tried to ask before he could answer the phone but Kisumi was already crooning into the phone to his beloved Mako-chan. With a sigh, she turned back to her mirror and looked over the dress once more.

This is going to work out fine. Everything will be fine.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kei pulled her coat closer around her as she walked down the street to the restaurant. As she walked she tried to think of different things to talk about with this person. The over excited bundle of pink, that was her friend, rattled off facts about the person. He had spoken so quickly that Kei caught only a few things here and there. This person had been a swimmer, their father was the head of some major company, his older sister was married, and that he was best friends with someone named Rin.

Based off this, Kei tried to form conversations in her mind. Getting her words right in her mind would help a lot when it came to the actual conversation. She was feeling nervous enough as it was, heart fluttering against her chest, so jumbling her words was something she wanted to avoid.

Hello. I’m Nagi Kei. Nice to meet you. I heard that you were a swimmer in high school. We should go to a pool… No. scratch that. Tell me about your swimming. Did Rin swim too? How long have you known---

Kei paused upon spotting her intended. “Yamazaki-san,” she said under her breath.

So this was the person Kisumi had set her up with. He is quite handsome, can be broody at times, pretty built, teal dress to match his teal eyes. This made sense now. Kei sighed and closed her eyes wishing a hole would open and swallow her right then and there. Yamazaki-san sat facing her but his eyes were locked on the menu in his hands. If there was any chance to escape, this was it right now.

Turning she began to head for the door. However, a familiar low voice stopped her in her tracks. “Nagi-san.”

“Yamazaki-san,” she said turning back towards him. Putting on a small smile she walked back towards the table.

He was on his feet and watching her. Once she was by the table Yamazaki-san started and came around the table to pull out her chair. “Here. Sit.”

Kei glanced down at the chair and then back to him. “I…uhm…”

“Sit,” he said again with a firm tone.

How did this happen?  Kei took her seat and adjusted while he resumed his spot across from her. The two of them sat there for a silence in the quiet atmosphere of the restaurant. Kei looked him over and took in the outfit that had been picked out for him. A black leather jacket hung on the back of his chair with a grey scarf draped over it. To match his scarf, he wore a darker grey sweater, the white collar of a button up shirt peeking out, and a dark pair of jeans.

Well done Kisumi. He looks great.

Kei turned her eyes away from him and internally cursed her fluttering heart. She didn’t want to have this reaction to him right now. They hadn’t spoken in so long and seeing him now was a shock.  Different emotions bubbled inside her as the silence continued. He sat across from her fiddling with the menu and glancing to her every now and then as her mind wandered. She rested her elbow on the table and her chin in the palm of her hand as she tried to sort things out.

He helped me with Eiji so he seemed like a good person. It was nice to talk to him every now and then at the café but then he stopped coming. No. He changed when he was coming in because he was avoiding me. He was avoiding me because he kissed me and felt guilty. Guilty…because he is already dating someone…

“So,” he finally spoke. “How do you know Kisumi?”

“Uhm.” She raised her eyes to meet his. “He frequents the bar I work at.”

He nodded and leaned back in his chair. “He mentioned a bar. Idiot is going to waste all his money going there night after night.”

“What are you doing here?” she blurted.

His steady gaze lingered on her for a long moment before his brow scrunched. “Because the date was arranged.” His answer held a ‘uhm duh?’ tone to it.

Kei narrowed her eyes as sat up a little more in her seat. “Why are you on a blind date when you’re already dating someone is what I meant,” she bit back.

Confused teal eyes stared back at her. His frame seemed to stiffen, hands dropping the menu and clenching on the table. “I’m sorry? Who exactly am I dating?”

Seriously?! This dude… “Don’t play games Yamazaki-san.” Anger was starting to bloom through her veins. “You know very well who I mean.”

He crossed his arms over his chest and watched her with a narrowed gaze. When he spoke his voice held growing irritation to it. “Since you think you know so well Nagi-san, please enlighten me.”

“Makoto! The green eyed, tall ass, puppy I saw you with.”

“Tachibana?” He barked out a laugh and gave her a skeptical look. “I’m pretty sure he is already dating someone and it’s not me.”

“But—“

“He’s a friend from high school.”

Kei dropped her gaze and pushed her hair behind her ear. “Then was it the red head…”

He leaned forward to catch her words. “Red head? Rin? So now I’m dating him hu? Am I just dating all the guys I knew in high school?”

Kei shrunk away from his harsh tone. “N-no. I just…I thought…”

“Who am I dating next? Let me guess, is it Momo? Or no maybe its Ryugazaki.”

“Yamazaki-san…”

“No I’ve got it. I must be dating Nanase right?” His voice grew a little louder and a little harder with each breath.

Her own temper was starting to rise with each word. “If you’re not dating anyone then why were you avoiding me?”

Yamazaki-san dragged a hand through his hair. “You didn’t look too happy after the whole Eiji thing.”

“I was in shock a little yes,” she argued. “How would you feel if some random person kissed you?”

“I’ve been in that situation,” he bit back. “I was trying to be considerate and give you some space and time to think.” He paused for a moment, his hard expression softening into something she couldn’t place. “But…is that what I am to you? Just some random person?”

The sound of someone clearing their throat caught their attention. The two of them looked to find their waiter standing by the table. “Uhm…can I get the two of you something to drink?”

“No,” Yamazaki-san said bluntly.

“I’ll come back.”

As the waiter walked away Yamazaki-san shoved the menu away from him and began to mumble. Kei caught a few choice words leaving his mouth and sighed while rubbing her forehead. This was a mess and it got this way so quickly. Has a temper and can cuss like none other. The bits that Kisumi had told her were coming together. She didn’t want things to be like this between them. She should have cleared this up with him long before now. But of course with her disposition she wouldn’t.

Swallowing her nervousness she opened her mouth the same time he did.

“Look I—“

“Can we just—“

The two of them paused after speaking in unison. They waited for the other to speak until finally he spoke up. “Cane we just start over? Try again?”

With a nod she answered, “That would be nice. Would you like to go somewhere else?”

He smiled. “Sounds good.”

Hope this chapter was okay. If you're reading, thanks for sticking with it! :D

Chapter Text

The ramen shop they walked to was a much more comfortable place to talk. The tables were smaller than the ones at the restaurant, their knees knocking occasionally, and giving a more intimate feel. Surrounded by patrons from the neighborhood and the warmth of the shop, Kei and Yamazaki-san fell into conversation easily. They started off talking about their mutual connection with Kisumi. Apparently, he had tried very hard to get Sousuke to go to Yuri’s club to meet Kei before the date was to take place. But Sousuke had adamantly refused not wanting to make a fool of himself on the dancefloor nor sit like a loner at the bar.

“You wouldn’t be a loner,” Kei voiced. “I would have been there to talk to. You should come.”    

This earned her a bashful smile, a grumbled ‘we’ll see’, and a change of subject. They talked about how it was strange they never saw each other at the apartment. Especially when they lived on the same floor and only a few doors away from each other. How it was probably due to his workout schedule and her work schedule.

 “So you work at a bar and the coffee place. How’d that happen?”

She shrugged and leaned her right elbow on the table while resting her chin in her palm. “I had gone to the bar a couple times with friends and got to know the owner. He offered me a job and I took it. As for the coffee shop, I had a friend already working there and so I applied and got hired.”

“Hu.” He mimicked her and rested his elbow on the table. “You’re popular aren’t you?”

Kei put a confident smile. “What can I say?”  

He chuckled. “So what about school?”

“School?”

“Yeah. I assume we’re around the same age. You’re not going to college?”

“Ah.” Sitting up more she shrugged. “I’m not an academic person. I barely got out of high school as it is. I didn’t think college would be a good idea. Plus I’m not really sure what I’d want to major in.”

“That can be hard,” he agreed. “Especially if you have someone dictating what you should be studying.”

Raising a brow she leaned forward. “Speaking from experience Yamazaki-san?”

He adjusted his posture and removed his elbow from the table. Kei watched him, taking note of the uncertainty that seemed to take over in him. “You know…considering the situation we’re in and the fact that we’ve kissed…it’d be fine if you just call me Sousuke.”

“Oh.” A flush of red began to slither up her neck. “Yeah. That makes sense. O-okay…Sousuke.”

A smile that she never wanted to forget broke across his lips. “Good. Then can I call you Kei?”

The memory of him calling her name in front of Eiji overlapped with how he was saying her name now. A little dazed she nodded and responded meekly with, “Yeah.”

 “Good.”

Things went quiet between them for a moment until Kei pipped up. “Y-you didn’t answer my question Sousuke.”

“Eh? Oh. The college thing.” He rubbed the back of his neck and thought. “My old man is head of this company and he wants me to study business so I can take over one day.”

“But you would rather study something else,” she concluded. He nodded. “Swimming maybe?”

His eyes flashed as an almost blank look contradicted the fire she had seen. “Swimming…”

Did I say something wrong? “It’s just Kisumi mentioned that you swam in high school. He said you were really good at it.”

Sousuke’s eyes darkened while his gaze dropped to the table. “Yeah I was.”

Kei kept her eyes on him as a sadness filled him up. Something had happened with his swimming she guessed. It looked like a sore subject that she shouldn’t have brought up. Of course had she known that, if that little pink haired spaz would have told her more things, the mood wouldn’t have been dampened. However, it seemed to pick back up when two bowls of ramen were placed in front of them.

Sousuke handed her a pair of chopsticks before grabbing his own. Before she could dig into the steaming bowl, one of his knees nudged hers. “I bet I can eat this faster than you Kei.”

She raised a brow at him while a dangerous smirk played on his lips. “Oh~ you don’t want to go there Sousuke.”

“Oh no?” he challenged.

With a shrug she leaned over her bowl, chopsticks at the ready. “Okay. If you insist. What are we betting?”

“Hm. If I win, you have to be my gym buddy for a week.” Kei grimaced. “And if you win, I’ll go to the club with Kisumi.”

“Deal.”

The two of them adjusted in their seats, sparks flying across the table with the challenging looks they were giving each other. Sousuke counted down from three and then it began. A mess of slurping, a cacophony of deep breaths and laughter, and broth slopping onto the table. It ended, to everyone in the shop’s relief, with Kei slamming her chopsticks on the table and raising her arms in victory. Sousuke loudly gulped his last few noodles before setting down his own chopsticks.

He clapped as he chewed. “Well done, well done.”

“I told you, you didn’t want to go down that road.” A cocky smile spread across her lips as she took in her victory.

“Well now I know you can eat.” He dug in his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. “I like a girl who doesn’t tiptoe around food.”

The smile changed from cocky to proud. “Oh…really?” She bit her lower lip to stop herself from smiling too widely. “Ah let me pay Sousuke.” Reaching across she placed a hand over his open wallet.

“We’ll each pay half. That okay?”

With a nod she grabbed her wallet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kei stopped at her door, Sousuke just behind her. Before beginning the search for her keys she turned to face him. “Thanks for giving me another chance tonight. Sorry I accused you of cheating.”

He snorted and leaned against the wall. “Thanks for putting up with my shitty behavior too. No more avoiding, promise.”

“Good.”

“I’ll set up a night to go with Kisumi to the club when you’re working.”

“Ah! He told me to take a picture tonight.” Pulling out her phone, she opened the camera, and looked back to him. “Would it be too much?”

Sousuke took her phone with his left hand. “Nah. I’ve got a good picture for him.”

Kei stood still as Sousuke wrapped his right arm around her shoulders and pulled her to his side. Turning the camera angle so they could see themselves on the screen, Kei watched Sousuke flip off the camera with his right hand.

“C’mon you too Kei,” he said after a moment.

Kei hesitated but raised her left hand till it was in the shot and flipped off the camera. Seeing how they looked, she couldn’t help but smile and chuckle a bit. What would go through Kisumi’s head after getting this picture? Would he only notice how good of a job he did picking their outfits? Would he ignore them flipping him off and call himself a good matchmaker?

“No you can’t smile,” he said practically into her ear. He’s so close. “You have to frown.”

“What?” she chuckled. “Why?”

“Because then he’ll know we mean business.” There was amusement in his voice that mixed with the seriousness he was trying to hold onto. “C’mon. Frown.”

Kei let out one more laugh before trying to school her features. The two of them looked at the camera with equally looking displeased expressions. Sousuke clicked the button and took the picture. After Kei brought up her messages with Kisumi and attached the picture, Sousuke took the phone and wrote a message with it.

To Cotton Candy: That’s what you get for not telling us more!

After sending the message, Sousuke held onto her phone a little longer. She watched as he fiddled with it for a moment before his own phone went off in his pocket. He handed her phone back before grabbing his own.

“There.” He held up his phone so she could see the screen. “I put my number in there and sent the picture to me.”

A text message with her number lit up his screen. “Ah good.”

Tucking his phone away he said, “If you need anything you can call or text. Or you know, walk down the hall.”

Kei smiled and nodded. “Same. If I’m not here I’m at the café or the club. So you’ll know where to find me.”

“Right.” He placed a hand to her shoulder and bent down. Before Kei’s mind could catch up, his lips pressed to her cheek. “Goodnight Kei.”

“G-goodnight Sousuke…”

With a wave over his shoulder he walked down the hall to his door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kei flopped down on her bed with a content smile. Holding her phone to her chest, thoughts of the night flooded her. It had started out so strangely and ended so wonderfully. She loved how they had said each other’s names frequently, testing out their new closeness, and playfulness. She would be happy to have him visit the bar when she was working. She would be glad to see him more now. She was glad he promised not to avoid her anymore. She was still flustered from the kiss he had left on her cheek.

One hand went to her cheek while the other pulled up the picture they had taken together. Kei smiled at the picture knowing that she now had his number and he had hers. She let her eyes scan over every inch of the photo until she fell asleep.

Chapter Text

She stumbled back upon opening the door and finding a broad chest in her path. “Oh Sousuke.”

He stood there with a fist raised as if to knock on the door. “Ah. Good morning. Sorry I didn’t mean to startle you.”

With a shake of her head she finished putting on her coat. “It’s fine.”

He looked her over quickly. “Did I catch you at the wrong time?”

“No, no. I was just on my way to the café.”

“Can I walk with you? It’s on my way to campus.”

“Yeah of course!” She stepped into the hall and closed her door. “You need your morning dose of sugar right?”

He chuckled in agreement as she locked her door and gestured for them to start walking. Kei felt herself fill with happiness to be met at the door first thing in the morning, to be asked to walk together, and to have him by her side. Ah~ we’re just like a couple! As they walked out of their building, Kei allowed herself to daydream just a little about what that would be like.

Sousuke would meet her at her door in the morning. The two of them would share a kiss to the cheek. As they walked their shoulders would brush as they tried to walk as close to each other as they could. Their hands would eventually come together, fingers lacing together. Once at their destination they would share a warm hug. Sousuke’s arms wrapping around her and pressing her to his chest. A kiss placed at the top of her head, smiles, a quiet “I love you” and “See you later”.

“Uhm so,” began Sousuke. Jarred out of her fantasy, Kei shook her head and put her attention back on reality. “I wanted to ask you something.”

“Okay.” She tried to sound conversational and prayed he wouldn’t see her blush.

He hesitated for a long moment and rubbed the back of his neck. “This is going to be a strange request but…”

Kei put on a teasing smile. “You need me to help you break up with someone? What are the chances? So you really are dating that red head guy.”   

Sousuke reached over and pinched her cheek. “How do you have the energy to be a smartass this early in the morning?”

Swatting his hand away she rubbed her cheek. “Just talented I guess.”

“Weirdo,” he chuckled. Kei caught the little smile on his lips while he shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “Anyway. This request of mine…are you free next Monday?”

“Yeah. I don’t work till later that night.”  

“Would you mind going somewhere with me? I need a little moral support.”

Kei paused for a moment as they reached the door to the café. “Where are we going?”

Sousuke’s shoulders tensed while his jaw clenched. “The doctor’s office. I have an appointment Monday that I’ve already put off a few times so I…”

“Okay. Yeah of course I’ll go with you.” This seemed to relax him a bit which in turn made her happy. Kei was glad if she could return some of the comfort he had given her. “Just let me know what time.”

He nodded as they walked into the café. Kei moved behind the counter while Sousuke placed his order with Nao and payed. After talking with Nao for a moment he moved around the counter to the pickup spot. Fixing the order, Kei could feel his eyes on her, watching her every movement. Glancing up their eyes met and a smile spread across both their faces.

“Try not to drown it in sugar this time,” he teased.

Kei made a face at him. “I’ll do my best.”

He gave a low laugh and continued to watch her. Kei finished making the order and handed the cup over to him. After digging around in his pocket he put a couple bills into the tip jar. This was their usual interaction but now there was something different to it. Instead of just saying ‘later’ it was ‘I’ll see you later’ which caused an excited heart to beat still louder. If Kei were to allow herself to hope and dream, there was something to that ‘I’ll see you later’ that held a promise.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kei dropped onto the couch and stretched out fully. The day had passed by so quickly and easily. It was nice to be able to come home and relax before having to go back to the bar for work that night. Turning on her side, Kei reached for the TV remote but hesitated when her eyes landed on the envelope sitting on the table. Ah that’s right. The money that Daichi had left behind, delivered from their parents, that she wanted nothing to do with.

Sitting up and snatching the envelope she sighed. There had to be a way to give this money back. But there was no other options presenting themselves except for one. Pulling out her phone, Kei felt a nervous churn deep in her stomach. Quickly she pulled up her contact list and found the home phone. Once the dial tone kicked in she brought the phone to her ear and tried to think of how to word what she wanted to say carefully.

Please don’t pick up. Let me just leave a message. Don’t answer. Don’t answer. Don’t—

“Hello, hello?” A voice came through on the last ring. The voice was the one she did not want to hear. “Hello?”

“H-hello,” she said timidly. “Hansuke-san.”

After a moment of silence came his surprised tone. “Ah! Kei-chan? My, my it has been awhile.”

“Yes.”

It went quiet between them once more. She always found it difficult to hold a conversation with him. Closing her eyes she tried to muster up the will to say what she had called for. It was ridiculous how childish her step-father made her feel. Trying to speak to him was like trying to unglue her mouth, feeling like a child who was afraid to voice what was inside of them.

“How have you been?” Finally he was the one to break the quiet. “Dai-kun said you came to visit the other weekend. I’m sorry your mother and I missed seeing you.”

“A-ah. Yeah. Uhm Hansuke-san…about the envelope you told Dai to give to me…”

“Ah yes. Like the note says, use it for whatever you need. Your mother and I thought you might need a new computer or perhaps something for the kitchen.” He chuckled before continuing on. “Dai-kun told me he was cooking at your apartment. Said your pans were in need of some help.”

She sighed and rubbed her forehead. “I uhm…I don’t want that.”

“Well of course you use it as you see fit.”

“No Hansuke-san. I don’t want the money.” She could do this. She could tell him what she was thinking. “You don’t need to send me money. I’m earning enough just fine with work.”

The other end of the line was so quiet that for a moment she thought he might have hung up. “Kei-chan there is no reason for you to not accept it.”

“There is though,” she argued. “You told me not to ask for money when I left. And I haven’t and I don’t expect it to be given either. Especially it being transferred to me from my brother.”

“Your mother and I,” he responded with tension in his voice, “gave some money to Dai-kun. We helped him with his school books as well as some for books of his own pleasure. We felt that it would only be fair to give you the same. As for passing it through him to you, we were not sure if or when you were coming home.”

Kei bit her lower lip and tried to take in his tone of voice and his words. “I would like to give it back.”

“Give it ba—“

“I’ll give it to Daichi,” she cut him off. “I’ll give it to him after one of his classes. He’ll bring it home. Have a good day Hansuke-san.”

“Kei—“

Just as he was getting ready to answer she hung up. Kei let out a long breath and slumped back against the cushions of the couch. That probably could have gone better but she knew it would not be an easy talk. However, it had to be done and the money had to go back. Pulling up her messages she quickly typed out something to her brother.

To Twinly: Do you have class today?

It only took a few minutes for him to respond. When she looked at the message it was just a picture, another stalker shot, of Sousuke looking bored out of his mind. Well that was one way to answer her question. Without adding this picture to her collection that her brother had sent her, she types out her own reply.

To Twinly: What time is it done?

From Twinly: In about half an hour

To Twinly: What building?

From Twinly: The west business building

To Twinly: See you there.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kei turned the envelope over and over in her hands as she waited outside the building. Unconsciously gnawing on her lower lip Kei thought over about her conversation with Hansuke-san. She was sure he would tell her mother of it and then there would be another fight between herself and them. Great.

“Kei!” Daichi waved to her as he came walking out of the building.  He trotted over to her and came to a stop in front of his fidgeting sister. “What’s going on? You’ve hardly ever met me at school.”

“Take it back.” She shoved the envelope at him. Seeing her brother starting to argue she continued quickly. “I already called Hansuke-san and explained everything. I told him you’d take it back to him.”

“Tch.” Daichi placed his hands at his hips and gave his sister a displeasing look. “What is wrong with you Kei?”

She pulled the envelope back and turned her gaze away from him. However, that was not a good option either. Her gaze had met with Sousuke’s as he walked out the door of the building with Makoto. She instead put her gaze on the pavement below her feet.

“N-nothing is wrong…with me.” The words came out timidly but there was a fire starting to spark against her brother.

“You know Hansuke-san is not a bad person.” He was trying to reign in the frustration and put kindness into his voice. “If you just took a moment to talk with him, without butting heads, and just try to be around him. Come home and spend time with him and mom.”

Kei clenched her hands into fists by her side. “I have been around him. I’ve been around him since we were ten Dai! I understand the man and have spent more than enough time with him. That won’t change anything! Why do you always champion for him?”

“Because I’m his son,” he bit back.

“Step-son.”

“What does that matter?” Letting out a frustrated growl he dug the heel of his palms into his eyes. “You are so intent on disliking him, you were since mom first introduced him.”

The fire in her gut was starting to slowly grow and mixed with something that felt heavy against her heart. “Just because he favored you…”

Daichi’s eyes grew dark and his mouth set in a firm line. He snatched the envelope from her fingers. “I’ll give it back to him and listen to how he doesn’t understand why his daughter won’t take the help he offers.”

“Dai…”

He pushed past her, ignoring the call of his name. Kei stood there, on the sidewalk, feeling like she wanted to scream, cry, and hit something all at once. Pulling out her phone she dialed a number with shaking fingers.

“Yuri, it’s Nagi. I don’t feel too good. I don’t think I can come in tonight.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From The Prince: Hey there

To The Prince: Hey back

From The Prince: I wanted to see if you were okay. I saw you earlier with that Daichi guy

To The Prince: My brother and I were just having a twin moment

From The Prince: Ah. So…you’re okay?

Kei couldn’t stop the smile that came to her lips. It was nice to have someone concerned about her. Someone who wanted to make sure she was okay.

To The Prince: Mm not really. We fought. But a good dinner should help that

Quickly she took a picture of what she was cooking and sent it. She laughed and felt a weight lift from her as she read his response.

From The Prince: Wth is that? Is that even considered food?

To The Prince: Hey! >:{  I’m trying my best here!

From The Prince: Wait.

“For what?” she said to herself.

A moment later a knock came at her door. Kei padded her way to the door and opened it to find Sousuke on the other side. Seeing him standing there in a blue tank top, black basketball shorts, and with a couple containers of food in his hands was stunning.

“Yo,” he greeted. “Can I come in?”

Chapter Text

“You are just showing up everywhere today aren’t you?”

Sousuke set the containers of food on the table while she leaned against the counter. He looked over her kitchen and the mess she had made. “Well I figured it would make up for the time we avoided each other.”

“We?” Kei raised a brow at him. “What is this we business? From how I remember it, you were avoiding me.”

“Are you saying you weren’t trying to walk out of the restaurant the night of our date?” He raised an eyebrow back and crossed his arms over his chest.

Kei’s mouth opened but then closed again. Oh well no hiding it now. “Yeah…well, I had my reasons…I suppose.”

Sousuke snorted and dropped his arms. “If I’m intruding right now, I can go.”

“No, no. You’re not intruding.” She paused and bit her lip. “I’d like you to stay.”

“Good.” He nodded and began to open the containers. “I’d like to stay too. Now let’s see what mess you made over here.”

Kei moved away from the counter as he brought the containers over. She stood at his side and watched him scrutinize her cooking. “It’s not a mess thank you very much. This is my dinner.”

His nose scrunched in distaste as he took everything in. “The first step to cooking is to have a specific thing in mind that you want to cook. Like wanting to cook curry or a rice omelet. That way you avoid…this.”

He gestured to the stew like substance that was boiling in a pot, the burnt eggs sitting off to the side, and what looked like meat cooking in a pan. Kei looked everything over. “I knew what I wanted to make.”

“Oh?”

After some hesitation, “I thought I did.”

A flick to the forehead brought her eyes to him. “You failed step one Kei.” 

“Tch.” She rubbed her forehead and galumphed into a chair at the table. “Not all of us can be perfect sir.”

He chuckled as he began to add things to her cooking. “Never said I was perfect miss.”

You don’t have to say it. Anyone can look at you and see it. “Yeah well. Daichi is the cook in the family. As long as one of us is good at it.”

Sousuke glanced over his shoulder at her before turning back to the food. “So Daichi-kun and you are twins hu?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t mention him when you accused me of cheating.”

Kei perked up and gave him a look. “Why would I mention my brother?”

Sousuke turned the heat down on something before turning to face her. “He sits next to me in class and I’ve caught him staring at me. Or glaring? I’m also pretty sure he’s taken pictures of me.”

Her eyes widened while her hand slowly pulled her phone closer to herself across the table. Sousuke didn’t know she had the pictures of course but it was still safer to keep her phone close. “Taking pictures?”

“Yeah. I was thinking of talking to him next class. Just to ask him about it and properly introduce myself.”

“No!” Kei placed a hand over her mouth. Keep cool Nagi. “N-no. Uhm I mean…you can ignore Dai. He’s a ridiculous person.”

Sousuke watched her for a long moment. Kei could feel her stomach churn in the moment of silence. Great now I look like a total lunatic. Good job Kei.

 “Ridiculousness must run in the family hu?”

Her brow scrunched while her cheeks puffed out in a pout. “Shut up.”

A deep laugh filled her ears as he turned back to the task of cooking. “Weirdo.”

“Stupid.” She smiled at his back while her heart did a jig of joy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The food had actually turned out to be delicious. Whatever Sousuke did to it made it tolerable to eat. The two of them had eaten every last bit of it before clearing the dishes and washing them together.  Kei paused every once in a while to check her phone. She had sent her brother a message asking if he had gotten home okay while Sousuke cooked. There was no response. This was a common thing when they fought but it felt different this time. As if it was a final, lasting thing.

She sighed and tucked her phone away.

“Everything okay?” He glanced over to her as he handed her a plate to dry.

“Oh just stupid family stuff. I don’t want to trouble you with it.”

He shrugged and handed her another dish. “It’s not a bother. I mean I’d like to listen and help if I can.”

Kei hummed in thought for a moment. What was the simplest way to put this? “Well short version is that Daichi gets along with our step-father and I don’t. Daichi is always trying to convince me that Hansuke-san is different than I think and I should give him a chance. Thing is Hansuke-san wasn’t always great to me like he was with Dai. The tension kind of broke and spilled out between us today.”

Sousuke turned off the water and leaned against the sink. “It doesn’t sound like that’s a bad thing though. Maybe that had to happen sooner or later.”

“Think so?” she asked looking up to him.

Crossing his arms, he stood for a moment in thought letting her story sink in. “I mean it sounds like you and your brother have different views of your step-father. There is nothing wrong with that Kei. Everyone has the right to form their own opinions of people around them, especially when they are as close as family.”

“Yeah that’s true. He and I definitely have different views.” She sighed and dragged a hand through her hair. “I just wish Daichi would understand that.”

“It is hard to change a person’s point of view sometimes. He shouldn’t be trying to force you to accept your step-father the way he is. It’s not fair.”

“You’re right it’s not.” She laughed and shook her head. “And yet I also kind of just want to give in at this point. I hate fighting with him about it and then him ignoring me.”

Sousuke placed a hand to her shoulder. “Don’t give in Kei. I’m sure you and Daichi-kun will work it out. But you shouldn’t have to compromise in what you think and feel just to please him.”

The comfort that had come from his touch once before came rushing back through her body. It was amazing how a simple touch from this person made her feel so at ease. Her mind seemed to clear like the worry was leaving her body just from one touch. However, the calming moment did not last as his phone rang out in a blasting volume and caused them both to jump.

Sousuke reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. The two of them chuckled at their behavior. Sousuke cleared his throat before glancing down at the screen. His expression went blank as he tucked his phone away. Kei watched as he tried to refocus on what they were saying beforehand but was stopped by the ring of his phone.

“Do you need to answer that?”

“No,” he answered a little too quickly. “It’s not important.”

The continuous ringing of his phone, however, said otherwise. Kei raised her brows. “Are you sure about that?”

Sousuke sighed. “Yeah guess I should take it. Sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Kei watched as he dug out his phone and made his way out of the kitchen.

While she began putting the dishes away, she could hear his padding footsteps go into the living room. The insistent ringing of his phone stopped just before she heard his low voice. He spoke quietly, only allowing her to hear little bits of the conversation, nothing she could really make heads or tails of. Though she wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, of course. She would never invade someone’s privacy like that especially when they had stepped out of the room to take a call. Especially when it was someone she had been crushing on for what seemed like forever. And yet, that didn’t keep her from moving quietly in the kitchen to pick up the hushed words she could hear.

“…no you can’t…I don’t want you to…enough of this Nanami.”

Kei went still, her hand pausing on closing a cabinet. Nanami. Who was that? Kei focused more of her listening on the conversation, able to pick up a little more, as Sousuke continued. The way his voice sounded, the words he was using, and the quietness after he spoke made it seem like he was close with this person. Was he actually dating someone then?

Wait. Slow down. You don’t know about this person. You’ve jumped to conclusions before. Don’t be hasty. You just started becoming friends with Sousuke. Don’t mess up.

“No. I’ll talk to you later.” Another pause. Kei shook her head to try and clear it. Sousuke came walking back into the kitchen with a scowl on his features. “Sorry Kei.”

“What are you sorry for?”

“I didn’t mean to be rude and take a call while hanging out with you.”

She waved her hand to push the matter away. “You weren’t being rude.” But that didn’t seem convince him or change this new mood that had come over him. Whoever this Nanami was had had an effect. “Uhm so I was thinking, since I’m not good at it, maybe you could teach me how to cook sometime.”

A smile finally cracked the gloomy look. “Yeah I can do that. That way you won’t starve or poison yourself with awful food.”

“Hey,” she pouted. “I’ve made it this far haven’t I?”

Sousuke laughed as he reached out and ruffled her hair. “You’re the one who admitted you weren’t good at it weirdo.”

“Stupid,” she grumbled pushing his hand away.

Sousuke gathered up the things he had brought before the two of them headed for the door. Kei watched as he slipped his shoes back on and opened the door. She walked out into the hall with him where he paused and turned back to her.

“Thanks for everything tonight Sousuke.”

“Anytime Kei. I hope things work out between you and Daichi-kun.”

With a smile and wave, she watched him walk down the hall to his door.  Coming back into her apartment she looked around the space. Having him there with her was like having a piece of a daydream fill up her real world. She liked how it had felt, how it had been the two of them, how it was not going to be the last time this would happen if he came to cook with her. Kei sighed and ran a hand through her hair. Man was she in deep.

Chapter Text

“Your mom is here.”

Kei looked up from her phone. Akira walked into the breakroom where she had been waiting for him to finish work. As he removed his apron and began to gather his things, Kei stared at him a little in disbelief. Blinking a couple times, she began to register what he had said.

“Wait…what?”

He looked back at her while shoving his wallet and phone into a pocket of his jeans. “I said your mom is here. She is out front talking to Shion-senpai.”

Akira nodded towards the small window in the breakroom door. This window looked out past the counter and gave a good view of the shop. Kei stood on her toes to get a good look. Sure enough her mother was standing by the pickup spot and was chatting with Shion. There was a smile on her lips but it was not a true smile. A dark aura sat around the woman as she spoke with Shion. A shiver ran down Kei’s back as she turned away from the window.

“Did she say anything to you?”

Akira walked over and took a quick look out the window. “She just asked me if you were here. I said you were in the breakroom. She asked if I could send you out.”

Oh gods! She is totally going to yell at me about her stupid husband. I’m going to get killed because Daichi ratted me out! “Ugh.”

“Dude what did you do? She looks like she is ready to kill off her popular manga hero.”

Kei dragged a hand down her face and cringed at the comment. He wasn’t wrong. “It’s a story I was going to tell you while we were shopping.”

“Well.” He patted her shoulder and gave her a farewell look. “It’s been nice knowing you Kei. Guess we will go shopping another time.”

Before he could slip through the door, Kei grabbed Akira’s arm. “No! Oh no you don’t! You have to help me Aki! I need you to help me pick out something for Daichi and to escape my mother.”

His face scrunched up unpleasantly. “Why? They’re your family.”

“Aki!” Kei put on her best pleading eyes and pout. Akira was weak to this look. She had discovered this when they were little. This look had come in handy when Daichi was playing pranks on her. She used it to get Akira to turn on his friend and help her get revenge instead.   

“Ugh!” Slapping a hand over his eyes to block her look he sighed in defeat. “Fine! I hate that look. But you gotta get us out of here quick. Your mom gives me goosebumps.”

“Thank you!” Quickly giving him a hug Kei tried to prepare herself for whatever her mother was going to say or do.

The two of them pushed the door open and walked out of the breakroom. Shion was talking to the older woman about her latest manga and how he loved the new arc the story was going into. The prickly air around her mother did not affect him in the slightest as he talked on and on. It amazed her how their boss was so unaffected by her mother’s disposition. Another grave digging shiver ran down her back as they got closer and stopped in front of her mother.

“Ah here is Kei,” Shion said with a smile. “It was good to see you again Nagi-san.”

Nagi Aimi smiled sweetly at the young man. “You too Shion-kun. I’ll be sure to send you a copy of the new book when it is done.” The sweetness dropped as Shion moved away and Kei’s mother turned her attention back to her. “Kei.”

“Hello mother. I didn’t know you’d be in town today.” Nervously she rubbed the back of her neck and put on a shattered smile. “I don’t work today so you should have come to my apartment.”

“Yet here you are at the café though you don’t work today.” Aimi placed her hands at her hips and narrowed her eyes at her child. “If I went to your apartment you wouldn’t be there.”

“Ah she is here because she was waiting for me oba-san. We have plans today.” Akira took a step forward and hid Kei from her mother’s view slightly. He bowed quickly and put on his best smile. “It is wonderful to see you oba-san. My parents always love the sweets Chika-san sends.”

Aimi shifted her stiff gaze from her daughter to the childhood friend. “Akira-kun, how nice to see you. Your father told me the other day that you are applying to the education program at the university.”

“Ah yes ma’am.” Kei felt she could almost breathe a sigh of relief with how well Akira was distracting her mother.

“Oh lovely.” She rested a hand on his arm and took a step closer to him. “Akira-kun?”

“Yes ma’am?” Kei could see him tense up and she didn’t blame him. Hold that breath of relief.

“May I speak with my daughter alone for a moment?”

“Yup.”

Traitor! Kei grabbed Akira’s arm as he began to move for the front door. She pulled him back to her side. “U-uhm like he said mom. We are going shopping so…”

Aimi crossed her arms over her chest. “Ah no time for your mother? Even though you haven’t seen me in months. You should take a note from Akira-kun. He goes home every other weekend to see his parents.”

Akira clapped his hands on Kei’s shoulders and turned her toward him. “Ah Kei you can spend ten minutes with your mom. I’ll wait outside for you.”

“No,” she whispered to him and shook her head.

“In fact, take your time,” he said giving her shoulders a squeeze.

“Akira,” came through gritted teeth. “What are you doing?”

Giving her a helpless look and one more squeeze to her shoulders, he turned and bowed to Aimi. “It was nice to see you oba-san! Have a wonderful day.”

Aimi waved to him as he rushed out of the café. Kei stood speechless for a moment as she watched Akira go out the door, reach the sidewalk, and use all his strength to not pass out. Yes her mother was intimidating, especially in this attitude, but was it enough to be abandoned like that? Putting her attention back on her parent, Kei realized they were standing awkwardly in front of the pickup spot.

“Uhm…so…want to sit down?”

Kei gestured to a nearby empty table where the two of them took a seat. The second they were sitting her mother jumped right into conversation. Kei watched as her mother folded her hands on the tabletop, straightened her back, and…did…did her glasses just gleam?

“Heard you came home not too long ago.” Kei nodded. “Shame it was when Hansuke and I were both away.”

“Yeah…”

Aimi leaned forward slightly. “Kei what is going on with you and your brother?”

“Eh? What do you mean?” So does she not know then?

The woman sighed. “Something is up with Daichi and he will not tell me about it. He came home all upset yesterday. He spoke with Hansuke but he won’t tell me anything.”

“Tch. So automatically it’s my fault hu?” It is your fault. Stupid.  Kei leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest. “So every time Dai is in a bad mood it will be because of me right?”

“That’s not what I said Kei.”

“You don’t have to say it,” she argued. In almost a mumble she added, “I can tell by the way you’re looking at me.”

Aimi’s expression shifted from stony to an almost remorseful gaze. Slowly she reached out a hand across the table and waited for Kei to respond. After a moment, Kei placed one of her hands in her mother’s. “Sweetie I’m not accusing you of anything. I’m not blaming you for anything. I just want to understand why your brother and father won’t tell me what is going on.”

He is not my father. “How should I know?”

An irritated sighed escaped her mother as the brief tender mood dropped. The woman stood and looked down at her child. “Fine. Then I’ll have to question all three of you at once. Come over for breakfast tomorrow.”

“I can’t. I told a friend I’d help him with something.”

“Do you work at Yuri’s tomorrow night?”

“No.”

“Good. Dinner then. See you tomorrow night Kei.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Sorry,” Akira whimpered as they began to walk down the street. “I couldn’t help but bail. Your mom can be really intense you know.”

Kei swept a hand through her hair. “Trust me I do.”

He gave an apologetic and worried look as she went silent. “What happened? Does it have to do with why you want me to help you shop for Dai?”

“Dai and I got into a fight. It was over Hansuke, as usual, and I just want to make it up to him,” she quickly explained. Akira knew her family, had witnessed the tension, and understood Kei’s feelings. There was no need for her to go into much detail.

“Ah he is playing the cold shoulder game hu?” He sighed and placed an arm around her shoulder. “Sure I’ll help you pick out something. There were a couple movies he has been talking about getting recently.”

“Thanks Aki.” Leaning her head against him, Kei felt very grateful to have him as a friend.

As they shopped, the two of them talked about her recent development with Sousuke. Akira of course gave her grief for not having shared the information earlier. He even went as far as to pout for a good half an hour about it. To make it up to him Kei filled Akira in on how the blind date had now led to a friendship and possible cooking lessons. Akira voiced his wonder at how Sousuke hadn’t asked Kei to be more than a friend yet, especially after he had slobbered all over her in front of her ex.

Kei rolled her eyes. Scratching her cheek she could feel her face grow warm. “It was hardly slobbering…”

Akira laughed and nudged her with his elbow. “Ew you’re blushing.”

“Shut up.” Giving him a shove did nothing to stop his laughter.

Her mind ran back over the kiss. It had been so sudden and yet she could still recall the feeling of her heart going over the moon and back. It amazed her how she and Sousuke had gone from hardly knowing each other to the relationship they had now. They were on a first name basis, bantered with each other, and talk of cooking lessons. She never thought that with how the blind date had started that things would turn out like this.

How would you feel if some random person kissed you?

I’ve been in that situation!

“Hey Aki…”

“Hmm?” She moved over to where he was scanning the movies, looking for the ones Daichi mentioned.

“He said something weird.”

“Dai always says weird things. Ah! There it is.” He pulled a movie from the shelf and looked it over.

Kei shook her head as the words ran through her mind again. Brows pulled together she said, “Not Daichi. I mean Sousuke. When he told me why he avoided me after the kiss…he said he had the same experience.” 

Akira pulled his eyes to her and matched her expression. “So he’s been surprise kissed? Its not that shocking is it? I’m sure you had plenty of daydreams about doing that. What’s so weird?”

Kei chewed on her lower lip as she tried to sort it out in her head. “Well while he was over last night he got this phone call. And the way he spoke to this person, the way his voice sounded it just seemed like he was close to this person. And he called her Nanami. What if—“

A bonk to the top of her head stopped her words short. Akira shook his head at her with his brows raised. “Don’t do this again Kei. No more paranoid what-ifs about him dating someone else.”

Pushing his hand off her head she argued, “Yeah but I keep getting this feeling that something is off. What if he is dating this Nanami person and he kiss cheated on her with me?”

Akira let out an irritated sigh and let his head drop back. “Kei~! You have got to stop! Not everyone is Eiji you know.” He brought his head back down and looked her in the eye.

Kei fidgeted under his gaze. “Wh-what’s that supposed to mean?”

His shoulders dropped as he turned to face her. Setting the movie on the shelf, he then placed his hands to her shoulders. “Do you know why you’re so fixated on Sousuke dating and cheating on someone else?”

“Because it could be true?”

“No.” Akira let out a small exasperated sigh. “No Kei. Because Eiji treated you poorly and you kept that relationship alive when it should have ended.”

“I did end…”

“No you didn’t. You broke it off, sure, but didn’t correct it right away when he came back.” He gave her shoulders a little squeeze before moving his hands to hold hers. “Because Eiji was such an ass you now expect the worst when something is going right. Now I don’t know Sousuke-san like you do, but, I feel he would be honest and tell you if there was someone else.”

Kei dropped her gaze. Her stomach churned with the idea that what Akira was saying was true. Had she kept coming back to Sousuke dating someone else because Eiji had made her so unhappy? It seemed like a possibility. So then…she should just trust Sousuke right? He did seem like the type who would be honest. He had gotten really upset when she accused him of cheating on their date.

“I’ll trust him for now then,” she concluded. “I mean we are just friends. We just started to get to know each other so…it is no big deal.”

“Good girl.” Akira patted her on the head. Turning back to the shelf he grabbed the movie and began scanning for the other. “By the way we might want to get a sorry gift for your mom too.”

“Hu? Why?”

“Because you work tomorrow night dummy.” He reached to a top shelf and pulled out another movie. “Kisumi and I are going to the club tomorrow night for a date. He specifically wanted to go to Yuri’s bar so you could see us together.”

Kei slapped her hand to her forehead. “Crap.”

Chapter Text

“No mother I’m not doing this on purpose.”  

Kei sighed for what felt like the hundredth time. Her phone was wedged between her shoulder and ear as she got herself ready to leave. This made her mother’s irritated tone only louder as she screeched at Kei about not coming to dinner.

“You told me you weren’t working tonight Kei,” her mother repeated. “We got everything ready. Chika-san was looking forward to seeing you.”

“I know,” Kei practically growled. “I got it mom but I already told Yuri I would be in. He is expecting me there tonight.”

Her mother mimicked her sigh. “And why didn’t you mention this to me yesterday?”

Kei shoved her feet into her shoes a little harder than necessary. How many times did she have to explain things to this woman? “I told you mom. I forgot, it was a mistake. We can reschedule for tomorrow night. You said tomorrow night would be fine.”

Listening to her mother rage on about how Kei should keep a calendar so it would prevent things like this, Kei finished getting herself ready. She had her keys and wallet tucked into different pockets of her jeans. Her phone was, of course, in her hand and shoes were on her feet. Checking the clock once more she would be a few minutes early but maybe Sousuke wouldn’t mind.

“…you hear me Kei?”

“Yes mother,” came out with bite. That was something Kei knew came from her mother. They could match bite for bite in their tones when agitated. It solved nothing and only made their attitudes worse. “I get it, I got it okay?”

“Don’t take that tone with me.” Kei rolled her eyes. “What made you so forgetful anyway?”

“I was thinking about something else.” Escaping from you and thinking of spending time with a very cute and tall friend.

A friend who she was very excited to see and talk with. She enjoyed being around any friend that she had but being around Sousuke was different. The attraction she felt for him, the two of them easing into their friendship, was exciting. There were new memories to make and new things to learn about each other. It felt rewarding to learn things about him considering how long she had always imagined what he’d be like beyond the sometimes-grumpy patron of the café. 

 “Kei!” The sudden sound of her mother’s voice made her jump.

“What?” She stepped out into the hall and closed her door behind her.

“Did you hear me?”

“Yes I heard you for the thousandth time. I’ll see you tomorrow night for dinner.” With that she hung up and tucked her phone into a pocket of her purse.

Boy did she hope the gift she and Akira had picked out for her mother would work. Along with the gifts they had gotten for her brother. But that she could think about later. Right now, she was practically skipping her way down the hall a few doors to meet Sousuke. She was more and more glad that he had asked her for support as to her it meant that she had somehow earned his trust in such a short time.

Stopping in front of his door, she quickly adjusted her outfit and fluffed her hair. With a deep breath she knocked at his door. Her heart felt like it was bubbling in her chest as she heard footsteps coming towards the door. Kei readied her best smile as the lock clicked and the door opened.

“Well hello there.”

Kei tilted her head and blinked a few times at the man standing at the door. Crimson hair, sharp features, sharper teeth, kind expression, little shorter. Not Sousuke… “Uh…”

Kei leaned back and glanced at the door tag. Yamazaki. Nope she had the right door. The man chuckled and leaned against the doorframe.

“You’re looking for Sou right?” He nodded in understanding. “Did he ask you to go to the doctor with him?” He sighed and shrugged. “He asked me to do the same about a month ago. Of course, if I’d know he’d asked a pretty girl to go with him I wouldn’t have come. I also wouldn’t have come if I knew he was going to ditch me.”

“Uh—”

The man detached from the doorframe and offered her a hand. “Matsuoka Rin, childhood friend.”

Shaking his hand she answered, “Nagi Kei, neighbor.”

“Nice to meet you Nagi-chan.” Rin stepped to the side and gestured into the apartment. “Would  you like to come in?”

Still a little confused, Kei gave a nod and stepped in. Rin shut the door behind her and waited for her to remove her shoes. Rin led her down the small hallway to the living room. She watched as he flopped down into a chair across from the sofa. Rin let out a long sigh and ran a hand through his hair. As she watched him, she realized he was the one she had seen when she had asked Sousuke to help her with Eiji. She had also accused Sousuke of dating this person and cheating on them with her while on their blind date.

Childhood friend. Good job Kei you dumbass.

“So…where is Sousuke?” She glanced around the apartment expecting the other man to appear before her.

Rin glanced at his watch before putting his gaze back on her. “Well he should be at the doctor’s office by now. I thought he had made some progress with sharing about his problems or being more open about it. Especially since he asked both of us to go with him. Guess not.” He shrugged and stood from the chair. “Would you like a drink Nagi-chan?”

“Uhm…no…I…how did you get in his apartment?”

“Oh I know where he hides the spare.” Rin gave a toothy grin as he walked into the kitchen. After a moment Rin came back out with a drink in hand. He pointed to Kei and narrowed his eyes. “You’re that girl right?”

“Excuse me?” She watched as he moved back to the chair and flopped back down.

“The girl who asked Sou to help breakup with some guy.” He took a sip from his drink while she nodded. “How’d that go? Did he help you out at all?”

Kei nodded and gave a small smile. “Yes he did. Greatly.”

He nodded pleased and took another sip of his drink. “You can sit down Nagi-chan. I don’t think Sou would mind.”

Feeling a little awkward, Kei shuffled over to the sofa and sat down. She had never been in Sousuke’s apartment and it felt strange to be there now without him. Rin was so at home she began to wonder who the apartment really belonged to. For a moment they sat in a silence which Kei used to think things over. Sousuke had asked Rin to go to the doctor with him and then had asked her to go with him as a kind of repayment for her request. But then had gone to the doctor without either one of them…

“Sousuke seemed nervous to go to the doctor,” she spoke up finally. “He asked me to go as moral support, he seemed really tense about it. So then why would he go on his own?”

Rin shook his head and set down his drink. “Sousuke…can be a lone shark when it comes to stuff like his health. I was actually really surprised when he asked me to go with him. When it comes to his shoulder he gets touchy about it.”

“His shoulder?” she mumbled to herself.

“That lumbering whale better tell me everything when he gets back.” Rin picked up his drink and tipped it towards Kei. “And he should tell you too since he asked you to go. I can’t believe he ditched two people! So rude.”

Kei’s brow furrowed as he looked over at Rin. “What’s wrong with his shoulder?”

Rin paused in taking a sip of the drink. He watched Kei for a long moment before bringing the drink away from his lips. “I…I don’t know if it is my place to say. Sou should probably be the one to tell you.”

“Oh. No. Of course. I-I didn’t mean to pry.” It felt like Sousuke had let her in, let her get close, but now it was as if the door to him was being closed in her face.

With a sigh Rin got up from the chair and moved over to the sofa. He set his drink down on the coffee table and faced Kei. He placed his hands on his knees and began to tap nervously. Kei kept quiet, unsure of what to say or what Rin might say. Finally he looked up to her with gentle eyes.

“If he asks…I said nothing.” Kei nodded adamantly and settled in ready to listen. “Sousuke and I used to swim together as kids. We swam every chance we got and it was some of the best times of our childhood. Until I moved to Australia. I never thought I’d get to swim with him again. Then in high school this guy pops up out of nowhere!”

Kei smiled at the fondness in his voice and the joy of memories that glittered in his gaze. There was great love in each word Rin spoke and added to the feelings that were growing in Kei for being included in these memories.

Rin chuckled and nodded as he continued. “In high school we got to swim together again. It was like magic. Having him on a team with me, inspiring each other, pushing each other to do their best…it was all I could have wanted. We got to swim against some other childhood friends and those races, those competitions were my absolute favorite.”

The mood shifted as the look in Rin’s eyes changed. His hands gripped his knees and he seemed to be caught up in his mind. Kei waited quietly, not daring to move or disturb what was happening. After a moment Rin took a breath and continued.

“But Sousuke didn’t tell me everything. He didn’t tell me how he was hurting, how hard he had pushed himself. His shoulder…he blew it out from overworking it. It looked fine until the last…and if I hadn’t confronted him, he wouldn’t have said anything. The idiot had the nerve to say that he didn’t want to tell me because I would cry.”

Even as the words left his mouth, Rin wiped at his eyes with the back of his hand.

“He won’t swim again. Not competitively. Our dream of swimming together was all of a sudden gone again. So quickly snatched away and the…the color of his shoulder that day…I’ll always remember how awful it looked.”

“T-that’s horrible,” Kei said quietly. That’s why he got quiet when I mentioned swimming on that date.

Rin sniffled and shook off the distant look in his eyes. “He’s nervous to go to the doctor because he is scared they will tell him he needs to have surgery. Then there really won’t be a hope that he could still swim.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kei stayed and talked with Rin a little bit more. The mood lightened as they spoke about how Kei met Sousuke and the mess of their blind date. Before leaving she thanked him for telling her about Sousuke and promised that he wouldn’t know what she’d been told. Once back at her apartment, Kei ran over the story Rin had told her once more. She could understand why Sousuke was so nervous but she still didn’t know why he hadn’t brought Rin or her with him. Getting out her phone she sent a quick text to him hoping at least that could help.

To The Prince: I hope everything went well with the doctor

Chapter Text

The club/bar was crowded with the usual customers. It was a strange mix of college students letting loose after classes were done and business people trying to forget the struggles of working life. The lights on the dancefloor were abrasive and ever changing with the beat of the music. At the bar and sitting area the atmosphere was a little tamer with its dim lighting. However, the throbbing music intruded into the bar and added to the headache and annoyance Kei was already feeling.

She moved behind the bar between customers on autopilot. Her hands were busy making drinks, ears attentive to the half-screamed orders, and lips pulled into a neutral smile. Meanwhile her mind and heart were on overdrive thinking about Sousuke’s behavior. After speaking to Rin, she had sent a text just wishing Sousuke well on his visit with the doctor. If she was being totally honest, she also sent the text as a ‘hey remember you asked me to go with you, thanks for ditching me’ guilt trip. Kei wasn’t proud of her moment of guilt tripping but when no response came her pride was the last thing on her mind.  

All day there was no sign that Sousuke had seen her text, had spoken to Rin, or had been told that she had shown up at his door. That’s when the annoyance began to grow. She understood he could have gotten busy after the appointment. Especially if Rin was giving him an earful about ditching people. Yet it still only took a few minutes to write out a ‘I’m sorry’ or ‘talk later’ and give her a sign that he knew what he did. Kei’s text had been sent early that morning and here it was getting closer to eleven in the evening and there was still no response. She had thought Sousuke and her were on better terms as friends to at least warrant a response of some kind. Again it felt like the door that Sousuke had opened to her was rapidly being closed. As if they were going back to being customer and barista.

Her irritation bloomed as she thought it over again while mixing a drink. Seeds of agitation and doubt nestled into her aching brain as she handed the drink off to the customer. Roots of hurt from being discarded began to spread through her body as she made her way down the bar to a customer who had just sat down.

“What can I get for you?” Her eyes were focused on clearing off empty glasses instead of looking directly at the customer. She wanted to keep herself as occupied as possible to keep her feelings from running amuck.

“A hello would be nice.”

The low familiar voice brought her actions to a stop. Kei raised her eyes to the patron sitting in front of her. Sharp teal eyes seemed to glow in the dim light of the bar. The upper half of his tall body rested against the counter, putting his handsome face closer to her than she had thought. The proximity allowed him to not yell his order over the music and instead use a pleasant timbre that caused a shiver to run down her back.

“We don’t serve that here,” she answered more calmly than she expected. “If you want a pleasant hello I suggest you go to a different establishment.”

Giving a forced smile Kei turned away from Sousuke and cursed herself for doing so. She loved that he was there, that he was watching her, that he was speaking to her. Having him there in person was so much better than him sending a responding text. However, hurt and annoyance were still haunting her. Before she could dwell on it more or move too far from his spot, Sousuke snaked his fingers around her wrist and held on. She stopped and looked back at him. His expression was a mix of something she couldn’t quite figure out. Was it pleading? A hint of embarrassment maybe? Or was she being too hopeful?

“Kei,” he began and then paused to think. “I want to talk to you.”

“I’m busy.”

Sousuke glanced to his left and then his right. On either side there were people standing at the bar but most already had drinks in hand or were just talking. He rested his eyes back on her and lifted his brow. Kei fidgeted in his grasp and chewed her lower lip. She watched as his gaze dropped to her lips before flicking back to meet hers.

She sighed and said, “This isn’t the right place to talk.”

“So when is your break?” The music had kicked up as a new song began to vibrate through the floor. This caused the dancing patrons to holler and scream out with excitement. It also caused Sousuke to lean closer, his lips brushing Kei’s ear as he spoke. “We can go outside and talk.”

With a simple shake of her head Kei tugged against his hold. She had wanted to talk to him about what had happened today and gain some understanding. She wanted to reopen that door, to be on a more personal level with him. The need to be more than barista and customer was so strong, yet here they were in that position. He was on the other side of the counter while she was stuck mixing drinks. The only connection and spark of hope for more was his fingers curled around her wrist.

Don’t let go. Don’t give this up, she said to herself. He wants to talk. Let him talk…but not yet. He can stew and sit a little so he knows how it felt to wait around today.

Finally, she huffed out a sigh and moved closer towards him. “The bar closes at two. We can talk then.”

Relief flitted across his gaze. A smirk tugged on his lips as he nodded his head. “Great. Then I’ll have a beer.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kei watched as Sousuke entered her apartment, wobbling slightly on his feet. He had stayed at the bar the whole time ordering one beer after another. Together they had walked home and agreed to speak. Though looking at him now she wasn’t sure what kind of conversation this would end up being.

“Why don’t you sit and I’ll get you some water.”

Sousuke nodded and flopped onto her couch. In the kitchen she grabbed a tall glass and filled it with water. Coming back into the living room, Kei sat on the opposite end of the couch and handed over the glass. He gulped half of it down in one go before setting it to the side on a small table. For a long moment they sat silently, Sousuke settling into the couch and Kei watching him carefully.

“So do you want to start,” she finally asked.

His teal eyes slid over to her looking more tired by the minute. Perhaps this should have waited till tomorrow. Sousuke’s brow furrowed and his eyes drooped a little as he looked at her.

“Are you mad at me?” He placed his hands on his knees and turned to face her. “Rin was mad at me.”

He sounded like a little kid while asking his question. Kei felt her heart throb. The hurt and agitation that had been held up inside her shriveled quickly. “I’m a little hurt. You seemed so worried about going to the doctor. I was glad to go with you for whatever you needed.”

“I was nervous,” he nodded in agreement. “I hate doctors. They never say anything good.”

Kei sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “Then I don’t understand why you didn’t wait for me to go with you. Or if not me then Rin. I also don’t understand why you asked him and then asked me to go.”

Sousuke scratched his neck and shrugged. “I asked him to go cause he knows about…” He gestured to his shoulder before continuing. “But then I figured if I got bad news at the doctor’s he would react poorly. So I asked you to go because I thought you’d be more comforting to have around.”

Okay that was touching to know. She loved hearing him say that her presence was comforting to him. Considering that just a touch from him did wonders for her, she was glad to know she could return the favor.

“I didn’t bring you along because…something came up. My…dad wanted me to do a…work thing to get me ready for taking over the company right after my appointment. He… went with me to the doctor. I didn’t mean to hurt you Kei. I know I should have called and told you.”

“Look Sousuke…I know we haven’t know each other that long. Whatever is going on with your health is personal. I get that and you don’t have to share anything you don’t want to. I’m not trying to pressure you into telling me everything. But I do want you to rely on me a little especially…w-what are you doing?”

Sousuke had straightened up on the couch and began tugging the collar of his shirt up and over his head. A flash of his abs had caught her attention before she realized what he was doing. Heat began to crawl down her neck as a blush spread from her cheeks. Sousuke dumped his shirt in his lap and looked to Kei as if waiting for her to answer. She sat there frozen, unsure of what to do or say or where to look. Finally, her eyes caught on the brace strapped to his shoulder. Her eyes remained on the brace for what seemed like an hour. The movement of his hand snapped her attention back to a shirtless Sousuke.

Carefully he undid the straps. Kei watched every movement of his fingers, wondering if those fingers would feel as gentle as they looked. Stop it Kei, relax for two seconds. As the brace fell away from his shoulder her breath caught in her chest. Rin had briefly mentioned that the color of Sousuke’s shoulder had shocked him the day he saw it. Kei understood why now. The top of the shoulder was a dark red which faded into a purple color at the edge. It was painful to just look at, she couldn’t imagine how much pain he was actually in. Recalling the melancholy in Rin’s voice when he said Sousuke would never swim with him again and seeing Sousuke’s shoulder brought tears to her eyes.

“Oh Sousuke,” she breathed. Tears stung at her eyes while she blinked to try and hold them back. “I’m so sorry.”

He chuckled and shook his head. “You really have been hanging out with Rin. I knew he would cry. Seems like he rubbed off on you.”

Kei tried to swallow past the lump in her throat. Holding back her tears was harder than she thought. “I just…It’s not fair. For you to not be able to do something you love all because of…I can’t imagine how that must hurt.”

“It is what it is.” He shrugged, careful not to lift his bad shoulder too much. “I’ve resigned myself to not swimming competitively with Rin.” With a sigh he dragged a hand through his hair. “The doctor said I was lucky I didn’t do more damage to it. I tore something but it should heal with proper care.”

That was it. That was her breaking point. The way he spoke sounded like he had already given up on everything. She couldn’t imagine how hard that must have been to tell Rin, who was so hopeful, that his dream of swimming was gone and he was okay with it. She couldn’t imagine him being alone at the doctor’s today hearing the news about his injury. As her tears broke free and rolled down her cheeks, Kei tried to turn her head away so he wouldn’t see.

“Kei.” Sousuke moved forward and turned her face back to him. “Don’t. Don’t cry.”

“I can’t help it.” She tired to calm herself by taking a deep breath. “You’re in pain and there’s nothing else I can do but cry.”

Sousuke took her wrist and placed her hand on his shoulder. The skin was warm to the touch. Her fingers splayed over the inflamed skin and she could see him shiver. Leaning forward he rested his forehead against hers and closed his eyes. Kei remained still and listened to his breathing. Her own breathing evened out with his and her tears came to a stop.

“Your hand is so cool,” he whispered. “And you’re crying for my stupid busted shoulder. That’s enough. To have you here…that’s enough for me.”

Kei smiled to herself at hearing his words. After a silence, Sousuke opened his eyes and locked them on her. He placed a hand over hers and kept it on his shoulder while his gaze dropped to her lips. Her heart began to wear a hole in her chest as he leaned forward and set his lips inches away from hers. He lingered in hesitation as their breath mingled together, keeping his eyes focused on her lips.

Ever since he had kissed her in front of Eiji, Kei had hopped there would be another opportunity to share such an intimate moment with him. However, she knew this was not the best time when his breath smelled of beer and he was sitting shirtless on her couch. With one hand occupied on his shoulder, she lifted her free hand and placed it against his (well sculpted) chest. He hummed at the contact.

Oh boy.    

“Sousuke. You’re drunk and it’s late.”

Keeping his eyes downcast he nodded, his hair tickling against her skin. “I am drunk. And shirtless…”

Kei chuckled. “Yes. So it’s not the best time to do this…right now.”

Letting out a groan, Sousuke tilted forward and rested his forehead in the crook of her neck. After a moment he sat up, gave her a smile, and released her hand. “I should go home.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kei had to help Sousuke get his brace back on as well as help slip his t-shirt back on. Once he was set she walked him to the door where he almost fell over twice trying to put on his shoes. While she was wondering if she should walk him to his room and make sure he got to bed okay, Sousuke turned around after opening her door.

“Will you hangout with me tomorrow? Today? Whatever…”

“Yes. I’ll come hangout with you.”

“All day?”

“I’ll have to leave at some point. I have family stuff tomorrow night.”

With a nod and a thumbs-up, Sousuke made his way down the hall to his door. Kei watched until he unlocked his door and made it inside. Closing her own door, she went back to the living room and picked up the half empty glass of water he had left behind. Stepping into the kitchen she stood at the sink and stared at the glass. She had denied Sousuke a kiss, if that is what he was going to do. The way he was staring at her mouth couldn’t have meant anything else right?

Though a kiss from her prince had not happened, she could still share an indirect kiss with him. Turning the water glass in her hands, she slowly brought the spot he had drank from to her lips and finished off the water. Setting the empty glass in the sink she covered her face with her hands in embarrassment.

You are such a weirdo! Get ahold of yourself girl!  

Chapter Text

“Hey drunkie.”

Cool sharp eyes narrowed at her remark, putting a smile on her face. Sousuke stood in the doorway looking a glorious mess. Dark hair was spiked every which way atop his head, basketball shorts showed off powerful legs, and his tank top was pulled up slightly at the hip. How could someone look so good in a hungover daze?

Kei held up a small baggie in one hand and a coffee in the other. “I bring you offerings. Not only do I have super tasty pastries but I also got you your coffee just the way you like. Bitter and hot.”  

Just like you.

Sousuke grumbled before turning his back and walking into his apartment. Kei followed with a chuckle and closed the door behind her. She made her way into the kitchen and set the items down on the counter. Meanwhile he flopped facedown on the couch with a loud groan. The apartment had a different feel with its intended occupant in it. When Rin had been there it felt like a stranger’s home. With Sousuke taking up space, it felt more like a home that she could be comfortable in.

Kei walked over to the couch and crouched by where his face was half hidden in a pillow. “You can’t be that hung over Sousuke. I didn’t think you drank that much honestly.” Reaching out she gently pet his hair and tired to smooth out some of the spikes. “Thought a big guy like you would be able to hold his beer.”

Yes, it was comfortable in the dim lighted room, the curtains pulled mostly shut. It was warm in the apartment but not unbearably so. There was a pleasant mix of air freshener and the natural smell of Sousuke in the air. It was welcoming to an almost overwhelming amount that could swallow anyone up. That was perhaps the reason why her fingers were still working through his hair. Realizing what she was doing, Kei’s hand froze.

Sousuke had turned his head slightly and was watching her out of the corner of his eye. He didn’t seem irritated or upset that she had been touching him like that. He hadn’t voiced any discomfort but that didn’t mean he didn’t feel it. Quickly she removed her hand and looked away bashfully. Clearing her throat she stood and developed a sudden fascination with her shoes.

“So uhm…I left the stuff in the kitchen for you. I hope it helps.”

Turning away she began to head for the door, silently cursing herself as she went. The sound of rustling came from behind her as Sousuke sat up and watched after her.

“You’re leaving?” came his gravely voice.

Kei paused and looked back to him. “D-do you want me to?”

Sousuke observed her for a moment in thought. “I didn’t say anything.”

“That’s the thing,” she huffed. “Sousuke you haven’t said anything.”

Now it was his turn to look away bashfully. He shrugged and curled back up on the couch. “It’d be nice if you stayed. I mean if you don’t need to work at the café or anything.”

A smile broke out across her lips. Kei walked back into the living room and sat in the chair across from the couch. “I already finished my shift at the café. Hence the coffee.”

“Mmm,” he hummed while closing his eyes again.

“You can sleep if you want. I’ll be here.”

“Nah.” Sousuke pushed himself up and yawned. “I’m up.” Getting up from the couch he stretched and began to head for the kitchen. On his way past her, he ruffled her hair. “Thanks for the coffee Kei.”

She could feel her skin begin to heat at the touch of his hand on her head. His fingers dragged through her hair as he let his hand fall away slowly. Once he was in the kitchen, Kei reached up and touched her hair with a goofy smile. Something so simple as him ruffling her hair shouldn’t have made her so happy. And yet…

“Do you want anything Kei?” he called from the kitchen.

“No thank you.” Her heart was flying around inside her chest like a butterfly trying to escape its cocoon. With a happy sigh she sat back in the chair and waited for him to come back to the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

While Sousuke ate and drank his horrible tasting coffee they talked about their discussion last night. He remembered going to her place and showing her his shoulder but not much after that. Kei filled him in on their conversation but decided to leave out the near kiss. Telling him that he stared at her lips intensely didn’t seem like a great idea at the moment.

Sousuke dipped his head into his hands. “Damn. I didn’t mean to make two people cry.”

“It’s okay.”

“No it’s not.” His head snapped back up and he fixed his gaze on her. “This isn’t your problem nor is it Rin’s. You guys shouldn’t get this upset for my shit shoulder.”

“Sousuke…we’re your friends. Of course this is our problem. We care about you idiot.” He raised his brow at the last comment. Kei did the same and gave him a look. “Last night when you told me everything you were so calm about it and okay with giving up what you love. If you weren’t going to cry about it then I was.”

“I’ve been upset about it enough,” he confessed. “So has Rin. I don’t need to keep adding a body count to this…or …well y’know what I mean.”

“Well,” Kei shrugged, “you should have picked friends that don’t give a shit.”

Sousuke snorted and smirked while Kei smiled. It was nice to take time and talk like this together. Little moments like this were nice and gave the chance to know each other more. The door that had rapidly been closing was now reopening and letting in a warm light. Kei sighed comfortably and relaxed further.

“Hmm,” he hummed as if echoing her comfort. “Well that was a fun conversation. Wanna watch a movie or something?”

Kei tilted her head to the side and bit her lip. “Actually…I remember there being a mention of cooking lessons.”

She glanced at him as an innocent smile came to her lips. Sousuke snorted again and nodded. Kei hopped up out of her seat and walked with him to the kitchen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With full bellies, the two had moved back into the living room after cleaning the dishes. Conversation had been lively while cooking and eating together. It had flowed comfortably between Kei and Sousuke as they asked each other questions about school or friends, likes and dislikes, and books they had read lately. Now in the afternoon glow the two sat quietly together on the couch. Sousuke was propped up against one of the armrests with a textbook from a class. Kei leaned against the other side gazing out the window, feeling herself getting sleepier by the minute.

Letting her mind wander she began to think this is what a weekend would feel like with Sousuke as a significant other. Cooking together, having meaningful conversation about relying on each other, and then just sitting peacefully in each other’s company. She could let her leg stretch out a little more and nudge his leg with her foot to distract him from his studies. He would pretend to be annoyed but end up putting the book aside. The playfulness would give way to being in each other’s arms. Whispering a mix of sweet and teasing things to each other while placing kisses here and there.

“Having fun in your own little world?”

The sound of his voice ruptured the imaginary world Kei had been creating. Looking across the couch she found him watching her with a curious look. Straightening up a bit she cleared her throat.

“What?”

Sousuke set the book on his lap. “You were staring into space. Looked like you were daydreaming over there. I feel neglected Kei.”

“Tch,” she clicked her tongue. “If anyone is being neglected it’s me. Over there studying while you have a guest.” She rolled her eyes and have him a teasing smile.

The book was set down on the floor. Sousuke folded his hands on his stomach and fixed his gaze on her. His right leg extended out a little more and crossed the invisible barrier they had set between them. His foot bumped into her leg and rested there like it was the most natural thing, like they had always sat like this.

“Apologies. Is there anything I can do to help you forgive me?”

Kiss me. Reaching out her own leg, she kicked at his. “Yeah you can stop being stupid.”

Sousuke kicked back out at her. “Weirdo. Speaking of, how’s your brother?”

“Daichi? Why do you ask?”

“Last time we really spoke you mentioned you were in a fight with him.” As he spoke he stretched his arms above his head and arched his back. “Were you able to speak and mend things?”

“No,” she sighed. “I’m hoping I can do that tonight. I’m supposed to go home for a family dinner.”

“You sound excited about it.”

She rolled her eyes. “You can tell?” Shaking her head she added, “I just…I don’t want a confrontation but I feel like that’s what I’m walking into.”

“Daichi-kun still being a pain about your step-father?”

“Yeah. I got him a peace offering but—”

Sousuke leaned forward to catch her gaze. “Remember Kei your feelings are valid. Don’t let him push you around. Just because he is family doesn’t mean he can decide how you should feel.”

Kei looked back at him silently. She was a little shocked by how much passion he put into those words. This seemed like something he was very serious and concerned about. It clicked together as she recalled him mentioning how his father wanted him to study business instead of letting him pursue something he enjoyed.

“Thanks,” she responded after a moment. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Slowly he nodded. “Well…do you need a ride or anything? I’d be glad to drop you off or something.”

Kei smiled but shook her head. “That’s nice. Thank you for the offer but it’s okay. I’ll take the train over. It’s just a couple stops away.”

“Okay.”

“In fact, I should probably go.” She stood from the couch and adjusted her shirt. “It would be better to head out now.”

Sousuke stood and followed her to the door. When Kei had her shoes on he opened the door but she lingered for a moment and looked back up to him.

“Thanks for everything today.”

He leaned against the open door. “I should be thanking you. You brought me coffee and everything.”

She shrugged and chuckled. “See you later then.”

Giving a wave Kei stepped into the hall and made her way down to her door. Before she could step in after unlocking it, his voice floated down to her.

“Kei.” She looked down the hall to see him standing in front of his door. “Text me when you get there so I know you're safe. And you can text me…anytime.”

Warmth spread all throughout her body at his words. How had she gotten so lucky to know someone like him? If she had known what he was like she would have tried to befriend him much sooner. Her attraction to him was growing more each time they spoke and was developing beyond just the physical. Under his indifferent and intimidating expression was this considerate pure thing. God she hoped that she was as good a friend to him as he was to her.  

“Thanks Sousuke.”

Chapter Text

To The Prince: I got home okay

Kei shifted the bag of gifts for her mother and brother as she tried to unlock the door. As she stepped into the entrance her phone buzzed in her pocket.

From The Prince: Good. Text me when you’re back at the apartment

She smiled and read the text once more. It was nice to think he would be waiting for her to tell him she had returned. Though of course she knew it was ridiculous, he had his own life and things to do. Still she let herself indulge in that thought a little longer than necessary.

“Ah Kei-chan.” Hansuke came trotting down the stairs and met her at the entrance. “I thought I heard someone come in. Welcome home.”

She nodded. All the warmth Sousuke’s text had given her vanished faster than she would have liked. “I’m home.”

He gestured down the hall as he said, “I was about to start dinner. Why don’t you come keep me company? We can talk for a bit.”

Kei hesitated and glanced up the stairs. “I-I’d like to see grandma first.”

“Ah well she is resting until dinner.”

“Well I have some things for Daichi.” She held up the bag as if to show the proof.

Hansuke gave her a small smile and placed his hands behind his back. “He’s finishing up some work for his courses. Asked not to be disturbed until dinner. And mom is out at the market grabbing something quickly. She’ll be back soon.”

“Oh,” came her lame response. So it was just the two of them. Great. “W-well I guess I’ll come sit then.”

“Good!”

Kei sighed as she placed herself at the table. Hansuke moved behind the kitchen counter from pots, to pans, to the rice cooker. It was silent in the kitchen, save for the noise he made as he cooked. Kei set the bag down on the table and fiddled with the hem of her shirt. He had mentioned wanting to talk but she had no idea what to talk about. An awkward silence fell on the kitchen until he moved over to sit at the table.

“The next part will have to wait till mom gets back from the market,” he explained and folded his hands on the tabletop. “So. How is work?”

Kei stared at him for a moment. “Fine.”

Hansuke nodded. “Everything going okay? You don’t have scheduling problems with working during the day and night?”

“No. I only double shift the café and bar one day a week.” What is this? A job interview?

“Ah. And how’s the apartment? Have everything you need?”

“I guess so…” Her brow furrowed at his questions. Then it clicked, she should have seen it coming. The envelope he had sent to her slid across the table and sat between them.

Hansuke sighed and leaned back in his chair. “Daichi-kun gave this back to me. Was rather irritated when he did so.”

She could feel his eyes on her but refused to meet his gaze. Kei kept her eyes on the envelope. Of course her brother had been irritated when he gave back the money. That’s what she was trying to smooth over. She glanced to the bag sitting on the table and wished she could deliver it’s contents to her brother.

“This money was not meant to offend you Kei-chan.”

“Then what was it for?” she asked in a hushed voice. Hansuke narrowed his eyes at her. “As I told you over the phone, I never asked for money and I don’t expect it to be given.”

Leaning forward, he readjusted in his chair, and bent his head. “I also tried to explain. Mom and I gave Daichi-kun some spending money as well as helped him buy his books this year for classes. We thought it only fair to give you a similar amount to do with as you need.”

“I don’t need it.” She brought her eyes up to him feeling frustration building. They were going in circles about the matter with no end. “I have my jobs, I earn what I need, and I can survive just fine.”

“Kei-chan…I’m just…mom and I are just worried about you.”

If you just took a moment to talk with him

You know Hansuke-san is not a bad person.

Of course I also never opposed him like you did.    

Daichi’s words rang in her mind. While fighting with him, she’d been thinking about what he had said. With a sigh she dragged her hand through her hair. “Look…I know I never did what you wanted me to. I didn’t go to college to find a career. I won’t work at the café or the bar my whole life but for now it works. I’m doing fine. Shion-senpai and Yuri would give me extra shifts if I needed the funds. So your worry is not needed.”

A look passed over Hansuke’s features for a moment. It looked to Kei as if she had slapped him across the face. But it was gone before she could clearly register it. “It is only natural for a parent to worry about his child.”

“You’re not my parent.”

“What is wrong with you?!”

The two of them looked up to find Daichi had quietly entered the kitchen. He looked exhausted with bags under his eyes and his complexion a little paler. Classwork must have been taking a toll on him as it was getting closer to the end of a semester. A distasteful glare had been set in his eyes while his hands clenched into fists by his side. Kei felt herself wilt in her seat as she tried to shy away from her twin’s look.

“Dai-“

He took a couple of steps into the kitchen. “You just can’t be pleasant can you Kei? Why can’t you come home and act like a dutiful daughter for once?”

“That’s not fair,” she responded quietly.

“Not fair? You know what’s not fair? You treating dad like this. After the talk you and I had I hoped you would think it over and come to your senses.”

“He isn’t our dad Daichi.”

“Yes he is,” he practically growled.

“We had a dad! Remember?”

Daichi stepped closer to the table and leaned his hands against it. “Yeah I remember. I also remember that he is gone! Our dad is gone Kei! He is not coming back. He is not part of this family anymore. And with how little you come around I guess you’re not part of this family either.”

If heartbreak had a sound it would be a moment of silence where  Kei could only hear her own panicked breathing. It would be the clatter of a chair as Hansuke pushed away from the table. It would be the muffled boom of his voice as he yelled at his son about his hurtful words. However, Kei was already up, pushing past her brother, and out the door. Not taking notice of what was being shouted, not taking notice of her step-father calling after her, and just running through the gate to the sidewalk.

Kei ran down the sidewalk and only stopped when she got to the neighborhood park. Collapsing onto a swing, she could feel herself shaking with the need to cry and scream her lungs out. Taking in deep, almost painful breaths, she grabbed her phone. Without a second thought she sent a text.

To The Prince: Can you come pick me up?

Chapter Text

Daichi’s awful words played over and over in her head. She had understood what he meant about their father. The twins were nine when he left for work one morning and didn’t come back. No note, no explanation, no goodbye. Kei was nothing like that. Yes, she had left the house and moved out but she had reasons which Daichi was aware of. Yes, she didn’t visit as often as she should because of the tension between her and Hansuke-san. But she did not abandon them as their father had. She was not as horrible as that…

So then why was I trying to defend him? Why was I so upset that Daichi called Hansuke-san dad?

Her thoughts were cut short by her phone buzzing in her pocket. Quickly she grabbed it thinking Sousuke had gotten lost on the way to the park. She had managed to calm down enough to give him her location but maybe she should have just taken the train. Digging the object out, she wiped her eyes of the tears that begged to fall. Looking down at the screen she saw the caller ID: Home.

Assuming it was her mother calling to yell at her about what had happened, she ignored the call. With a sigh she checked her conversation with Sousuke. There had been no response after she had told him where she was.

Kei laughed at herself. Sousuke had his own life. He was probably just as stressed as Daichi looked with the upcoming end of a semester. He was probably busy studying or finishing group projects. He wouldn’t come get her and she shouldn’t have asked. The smart thing to do would be to get her sorry self moving before she missed the last trains. Just as she stood from the swing, a car pulled up to the curb and idled for a moment before turning off.

The driver’s door opened as a tall figure stepped out. Could it possibly be…

“Kei!” His familiar voice was a relief and the most welcome thing she could hear. “Kei!”

“H-here,” she croaked back in response.

Sousuke moved around his car and jogged towards where she stood unmoving. Stunned that he had come, Kei couldn’t seem to process that he was getting closer, that he was standing in front of her at that moment. Sousuke came to a stop before her and quickly scanned over her.

“Are you alright? Sorry I took so long. There was some traffic,” he huffed sounding like he had run all the way here instead of driving. “Kei?”

Quickly she closed the distance between them and held herself as tightly to his body as she could. Her arms fit around his waist and squeezed while her head rested against his chest. Sousuke stumbled a bit but did not push her way. It took a moment for his own arms to come up around her but when they did, Kei lost it.

She had been trying to hard to keep her tears down but as always, his touch brought on so much comfort. He held her tighter upon feeling her body shake with the struggle to keep her sobs quiet. A hand held the back of her head while the other rubbed up and down her spine.

“I’m here,” was whispered a couple of times along with a calming ‘sh’.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The two of them had stood there in the park for what seemed like ages. It took Kei some time to gather herself together and tear away from his embrace. Now sitting in his car, Kei wrapped her own arms around her body trying to hold onto the sensation. When her infatuation with the man sitting next to her was still young she had always imagined what his hugs would feel like. Now that she had experienced one she hoped it wouldn’t be the last.

Kei sniffled, her nose still runny from her emotional scene. Sousuke observed her out of the corner of his eye before looking back at the road. He had been so gentle and had allowed her the time she needed. Even now he was still being considerate. Sousuke asked no questions. Quietly he navigated the streets back towards their apartment building.

The silence was only broken by his phone buzzing in the cupholder between them. He didn’t spare it a glance but instead his knuckles tightened around the steering wheel each time it went off. Kei glanced at the lit-up screen to see notification after notification take up space. Some where texts and some were missed calls all with the name Nanami attached to them.

“You can pull over to answer,” she said watching as another text lit up the screen.

“No.”

“They seem pretty persistent,” she observed.

“They certainly do.”

His tone was stern and his answers were blunt. His mood had changed so abruptly from cradling her in the park to closed off. Kei didn’t want to push the matter but something seemed to be off. Brining her eyes up to him, she finally took note of how he was dressed. A light blue button-down shirt was neatly tucked into dark grey pants. A suit jacket in the same dark grey had been flung into the backseat along with a tie.

Kei wrung her hands in her lap as she thought about it. “Sousuke…where were you when I called?”

Sousuke turned his gaze to her for a moment before looking back at the road. They were a couple stoplights away from their building. If the conversation went sour at least she could escape soon. He remained silent for a moment before taking a breath to answer.

“Does it matter?”

Kei began to gnaw her lower lip. “It just…it just seems like maybe you were busy.” She glanced at his phone once more, it had gone quiet shockingly. “I don’t want to put you in trouble with whoever Nanami-san is.”

He tensed at the mention of the name. Another silence rolled through the car as Sousuke thought about a response. It wasn’t until he pulled into the parking garage for their building and turned off the car that he spoke.

“My father sent me on a marriage interview,” he confessed.

Kei felt her already low spirits sink even further. “Oh.”

“Nanami is the daughter of a business connection of my father’s. He has this idea that I should marry her and expand his business.” He dragged a hand through his hair and huffed in irritation. “The old man isn’t even thinking about my happiness.”

Swallowing hard, Kei opened and closed her mouth a couple of times before the words came out. “You wouldn’t be happy to marry her?”

Sousuke shifted in his seat so he faced her. “No. I will marry a girl who I’ve had time to cultivate a relationship with. She will be someone I choose. I want her to be someone I love.”

His eyes lingered on her long after the words had been said. Kei felt her heart bobbing in her chest like a buoy in the ocean. She could not imagine anything more wonderful in this moment than being that person for him. But love was a little much. They had hardly known each other enough for a feeling like that to be between them.

Yet I would tell him I love you and mean it here and now.

She nodded to show her understanding. “Still…if you gave her the chance—perhaps you might have that relationship with her.”

Sousuke’s brows furrowed and his eyes darkened. “I’ve already refused both my father and her advances.”

“Was she the one you mentioned? When you said you had a random person kiss you?”

He nodded and let out a long sigh. “I’ve refused the match. There is no more to say. C’mon let’s get upstairs.”

Kei nodded and stepped out of the car. Sousuke came around and took her hand up in his. Their hands stayed locked together as they walked to the elevator, up the ride to their floor, and down the hall to her door. His fingers lingered before allowing her to dig out her keys.

“Will you stay for a bit?” She wasn’t ready to say goodnight to him yet.

“I’m going to clean up and change,” he answered with a nod. “Text me when you’re ready.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With a clean face and in comfortable clothes for the night, Kei had texted Sousuke to come back over and that the door would be open. While she waited for his arrival she dug out two futons and pushed them together. She had just finished gathering blankets and pillows when she heard the door close behind her guest.

Sousuke walked in with his usual basketball shorts and tank. His shoulder brace was put on full display and looked uncomfortable mixed with his leisure wear. Upon entering the room, he raised a brow at the mess of blankets that were on the floor.

“I thought this would be comfortable to sit on. The couch works too but…”

He shook his head and took a spot on the futons. “No. This is good.” Patting the space next to him he looked up to where she stood. “C’mere.”

Kei dropped down next to him, allowing herself to sit close. She had placed the futons so that they may rest their back up against the couch. Settling in, Sousuke draped his good arm behind her along the couch.

“Do you want to talk about what happened?”

“There was a confrontation just as I thought.” She hung her head a little as she spoke. “The fight with Daichi got so much worse. He was cruel. And Hansuke-san…” He had been yelling at Daichi when she left the house. He said he was worried about her. “Maybe I was wrong about him.”

“Wrong about him?”

She nodded and furrowed her brow. “I—I think maybe he isn’t indifferent towards me as I thought. That maybe he’s been trying to be a parent. It sounds stupid. I complain about him one moment and then change to he’s not so bad.”

“As long as you made your own choice Kei. If it is how you feel then there is nothing wrong with that.” He shrugged. “You’re allowed to change your mind.”

“I know. I spent seventeen years damning this man. Making sure to oppose him any way I could. But now…Daichi could be right. I’ll never tell him that,” she laughed humorlessly.

“What did your brother say to you?”

The words played through her mind again. The sting of his look was still fresh on her skin and in her heart. “He was defending Hansuke-san as usual but then it went too far. Our biological father left us a year before Hansuke-san came in the picture. Dai compared me to him, said I wasn’t part of the family.”

Sousuke’s hand that rested in his lap tightened into a fist. After a moment he relaxed again and turned to face her more. His arm that rested behind her curled a little closer till his hand rested on her shoulder.

“When I’ve seen you two together you look close. Even when you were arguing on campus. When people are angry they say stupid things.”

“Are you speaking from experience?” She smiled up at him.

Sousuke rolled his eyes but didn’t stop the smile coming to his lips. “Listen brat, I’m being serious. I know it hurts. You don’t need to forgive him now or at all if that’s what is best. Just give it some time.”

With a nod she said, “Thank you Sousuke. You’ve been a very good friend.”

He cast his eyes down as he said, “Just a friend?”

Kei felt her breath catch. They had gravitated towards each other, sitting closer than she had originally thought. His arm had completely curled around her and was holding her against his side. There was a strange moment of nervousness when his eyes met her gaze, though they took their time traveling up her neck, to her lips, and then to her eyes.

“May I kiss you?”

Trying to defuse the tension she responded, “You’re asking this time?”

His free hand moved to take hold of one of hers. “The last time I didn’t ask and you got upset. So yeah. I’m asking.”

“Request accepted.”

Sousuke tilted his head and closed the distance between them. Their first kiss had been done for show. This time there was no one else to see it or interrupt. Sousuke ley quick kisses trying to find an appropriate rhythm. Finally he followed her lead and began to leave long drawn out kisses. Kei untangled their hands and moved hers up along his arm. Her fingers skimmed over the brace, to his neck, and threaded her fingers into his hair.  

Chapter Text

Kei woke to find it was still dark. She and Sousuke, after talking for a bit and sharing some kisses, had decided to rest. They had turned out most of the lights in the apartment, leaving a couple on in the kitchen, and had snuggled down into the blankets. However, upon waking Kei did not find him lying next to her. His space was quite empty, the blankets pushed back in a chaotic mess. Sitting up she looked around and found the man in question standing by the window. The inky sky was colored with the lights of the city which outlined Sousuke against the window.

His face was lit by the glow of his phone. Kei sat for a moment and watched as he scrolled over his screen with his thumb. His brow was furrowed and his eyes looked dark as he went between moving his thumb quickly and slowly over the screen. Her heart tightened in her chest as she realized he was probably looking over the messages Nanami had sent. Sousuke was standing in the same room with her and yet was miles away.

“Are you going to stand there all night like a creep?”

The sudden sound of her voice had caused him to jump. Sousuke’s phone hit the floor with a thud as he turned to face her. “You should be asleep.”

“Look who’s talking.” Kei got up and joined him by the window. Sousuke picked up his phone and tucked it away. Her heart constricted with jealousy and unease. “What did she say?”

He looked at her a moment before looking out the window. “She’s upset I left.”

An uncomfortable knot sat in Kei’s gut. She had interrupted their arrangement when she had texted him. Though she hated to admit it, it didn’t seem right that she had stolen him away. “Guess I really ruined things for you.”

“What are you talking about Kei?” He watched her fidget for a moment before understanding. “I told you already. I’ve refused her.”

“Does she know that?”

“There is nothing to worry about.”

Her shoulders slumped. “I’ve already accused you of cheating. I don’t want to cause problems for you more than I have.”

“Kei.” Sousuke cupped her face with his hands and made her look at him. His voice was stern but held a tone of nervousness. “Do you regret me coming to get you? Do you regret me kissing you?”

“Do you?”

“Oi.” He pinched her nose before placing his hands against her back. He pulled her close to him so she couldn’t escape. “Answer the question brat.”

Kei placed her hands against his chest and lightly pushed to put some space between them. “No I don’t…I’m glad you came. I’m…I’m glad you kissed me. I like kissing you.”

Sousuke pushed against her back and closed the small distance she had made. “Good.”

Tilting his head, he began to bring his lips to hers. Before their lips could meet, Kei placed a hand to his mouth. Sousuke paused and gave her a questioning look. Kei was glad it was too dark to see how hard she was blushing. She had never been this bold with anyone she had dated. With Sousuke, however, it felt like it was worth it to show him what she felt and voice what she wanted.

“You’ve always initiated the kiss. This time it’s my turn.”

A brow arched while a smirk pulled at his lips under her hand. With a nod Sousuke pulled back and straightened up. Kei placed her hands at his biceps and took in a deep breath. Her heart was beating quickly as she adjusted in his arms.

“Should I bend down so you can reach?” he chuckled.

“Shut up Sousuke.”

He shrugged and smiled devilishly. “I know one way you can accomplish that.” 

Without a second thought, Kei gripped the back of his neck and pulled herself up. Their lips crashed together in a rushed exchange. Sousuke hummed into the kiss and tightened his arms around her. Kei pulled back and rested her forehead against his. Sousuke kept his eyes closed and smiled.

“Do that again Kei,” he whispered.

Before she could comply, a noticeable grumble came from her stomach. The two of them looked at each other a moment before Sousuke began to laugh. Kei watched as his face scrunched up and felt the deep rumble of his laugh pass from his body to hers.

“I left before dinner was ready,” she quietly confessed.

Sousuke nodded as he tried to calm his laughing. “Well luckily I know a great place that is open late. My kitchen.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This time when Kei woke it was light out and the alarm on Sousuke’s phone was going off persistently. With a groan she opened her eyes and was met with his face in close proximity to hers. After taking a fieldtrip to his apartment for food, they had come back to Kei’s and once more crawled under the blankets. She smiled upon realizing that he had not let go of her all night.

Clumsily, but with an effort to be gentle, she reached over him and turned off the alarm. Settling back down, she watched him for a moment. It was surreal to have this man lying next to her. It was unimaginable that they shared an intimate moment together last night. With how often she had daydreamed about doing these things with the crush of her life, Kei expected something to break through and bring her back to reality.

“Morning,” came his gravely voice.

“Good morning. Your alarm went off.”

Sousuke nodded and flipped onto his back. His hand searched for his phone before grasping it and bringing it to his half-opened eyes. “Mmm.”

Kei chuckled. “Do you have somewhere you need to be?”

Dropping his phone back to the floor he looked over to her and rubbed his eyes. “I have a couple finals today. That’s all.”

“Oh that’s all,” she laughed. “Not like they’re important or anything.”

Sousuke stuck his tongue out at her and turned to face her again. “Yeah that’s all. I don’t need to go yet so it’s not important.”

Kei snuggled against him and pushed her fingers through his hair. “Well you should still probably get up and eat some breakfast. You need brain power.”

“Mmm,” he hummed as his eyes closed again. “Are you cooking?”

“No.”  

“Oh thank god.”

Smacking his chest, she continued, “But I do have to work at the café. You could walk me there and I can buy you something.”

His eyes opened and a playful smile sat on his lips. “How fancy.”

Earning another smack to the chest, Sousuke chuckled. Kei pushed him out of the blankets before getting up. “Go get your stuff and get dressed stupid.”

“Whatever you say weirdo.”

Kei rolled her eyes and followed him down the hall towards the door. Once he had his shoes on, he opened the door to find Akira with a fist raised and ready to knock on the door. The three of them paused and looked between each other. Eventually, Akira lowered his fist and raised a brow at them.

“Oh ho?” His eyes locked on Kei with a suspicious gleam.

“Aki,” she responded with slight embarrassment. “W-what are you doing here?”

His eyes moved up to Sousuke’s tall figure. A smirk came to his lips. “I came to pick you up for work. But I see you already have a prince here.”

Kei sighed and slapped her hand to her forehead. Great. Sousuke didn’t need to know that their code name for him had been The Prince. With the progress they had made together she didn’t need this revelation to drive him off.

“You can walk with us man,” Sousuke voiced as if nothing had happened. “I just need to grab my stuff and change.”

Akira smiled at him as Kei lifted her head from her hands astonished. “Great! I’ll wait with Kei.”

Sousuke nodded, stepped around Akira, and made his way down the hall. Once he was inside his apartment, Akira pushed Kei into hers and closed the door behind him. Here it comes.

“Nagi Kei!” He took her by the shoulders. “Did that man spend the night with you?!”  

“Can we not do this now?”

“Have you two moved passed being on talking terms?”

Kei sighed and let her head fall back in defeat. “We’re way past just talking.”

Akira’s eyes went wide. “Excuse me?” His mouth dropped open. “You and I have a lot to talk about.”

“Okay.” She placed her hands on his and removed them from her shoulders. “But not now when he’s going to come back pretty soon.”

“Okay, okay. At work then. Promise?”

“Aki~,” she whined.

He pointed a finger at her and narrowed his eyes. “You haven’t been telling me anything and you tell me everything. Promise?”

Kei sighed, and smiled, before nodding. “Okay. At work we’ll talk.”

With a satisfied nod he said, “Good. I’ll see you at work.”

“Wait. What?”

Akira waved his hand and turned toward the door. “I can wait for you and the Prince to walk to the café. I won’t embarrass you in front of him. Though it is very tempting.”

Kei laughed. “Thanks Aki. We shouldn’t take too long.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was so overwhelming. Spending the night with Sousuke, kissing him, hugging him, and walking with him to work were all frequent day dreams she had entertained. Never did she expect any of them to come true, let alone have all of them happen at once. It was exciting and a little worrying at the same time. But she refused to let it ruin the moment right now. Or at least she tried to refuse.

As she and Sousuke walked side by side down the street, Kei felt proud. She caught some envious looks of women passing by them and felt her heart swell. They should be jealous of her and that she was the one Sousuke had picked.

Wait, that’s not right. Did he pick me? What about Nanami? It’s not fun to be jealous. I’ve felt that way towards her. I have no right to be proud…

Kei drowned in her thoughts while Sousuke opened the door of the café for her. She walked in on autopilot and headed behind the counter where Akira was already waiting. He smiled as Sousuke approached the counter and held out a hand to the customer. Sousuke looked at his hand questioningly.

“I’m not going to bother taking your order. Just your money,” he explained.

Sousuke snorted and reached for his wallet. “Should I be worried or flattered that you already know my order?”

Akira shook his head and pointed a thumb at Kei. “I don’t know it. She does. By heart.”

This shook Kei out of her thoughts. Sharply, she turned towards her “friend”. “Aki stop it. And Sousuke put your wallet away. I’m buying remember?”

Ignoring her glare, Akira leaned forward and continued. “Do you know there was one morning she was sure you’d come in and she prepared your order and had it waiting for you. Only you didn’t come that day. So she paid for the drink and then had to drink it herself. Said it was the most disgusting thing she had ever drank. Your taste buds must be dead.”

Kei dropped the cup she was about to pour the coffee in. Rushing over, she threw her hand over Akira’s mouth. His laugh was muffled by her palm while she tried to keep a calm expression.

“Your coffee will be ready in a minute Sousuke.”

Giving her a knowing smile, Sousuke nodded and moved to the side for the next customer. Kei removed her hand from Akira’s mouth and pointed at him in a silent threat. Huffing a sigh she grabbed a clean cup and finished the order.

“After I finish my exams for today do you want to hang for a bit? Or are you sick of me already?”

Kei smiled as she grabbed a pastry to go with his coffee. “I think I could make time for you.”

“Ah thanks. Glad I might fit in your busy schedule.”

She chuckled as he took his order. “Good luck on your exams. I’ll be rooting for you.”

He smiled widely causing her heart to all but stop. Sousuke gestured with a nod for her to move closer. Kei leaned against the counter and pushed forward. Once she was close enough he pressed a kiss to her forehead and lingered for a moment.

Pulling back he said, “That’s all I need to pass. See you later Kei.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I don’t think I can do this.”

Kei and Akira sat in the park down the street from the café. Sitting on a bench she explained everything that had happened with her brother and how it led to the events with Sousuke. She had her hands pressed between her knees to keep herself from tugging nervously at the hem of her shirt.

“What are you saying?” Akira watched her carefully. “You don’t want to be with him?”

With a shrug she watched people walking past them. “I don’t know. I would like to be. But the whole Nanami thing…I was kind of right when I said he was cheating. He’s expected to marry her.”

“Yeah but he told you he refused her already.”

“I don’t know,” she repeated. “It’s just…happening too fast. I mean we kissed and cuddled last night. He spent the night and it was nice. But does that mean we are starting to date? What if he is just with me to pass the time before he marries Nanami? What if I’m a last fling before he gets married?”

Akira took her by the shoulders and forced her to look at him. His gaze was gentle and had a hint of sadness. “Kei relax. If you feel like things are moving too fast or you’re unsure of what it means then talk to him. I’m sure he will understand.”

“Talk to him. But what if he lies to me? How will I know?”

“Stop. Talk to him. Just ask him and listen to what he has to say.” Seeing the hesitation in her eyes, he sighed. “Kei you’ve liked this guy for a long time. He seems interested in you and seems like a decent person. He did tell you about Nanami which is pretty big. He didn’t try to hide it from you that there was a marriage interview. I think he will be honest no matter what you ask him.”

Kei felt a small pressure lift from her with each of Akira’s words. “I just don’t want to get hurt.”

He nodded. “I know. But don’t doubt him right away. Give our Prince a chance.” Kei nodded and smiled gratefully. “Good. Now about your brother…what the hell?”

Shaking her head she said, “I don’t want to talk about all that. Sorry Akira. I just can’t right now.”

“No worries. I’ll talk to him myself. It’s not like Daichi to say something like that.”

Kei sighed and tried to push the subject of her twin out of her mind. It was still fresh and hurt too much to think about. It was enough that there were constant calls from home which she was trying her best to ignore. Turning her attention back to the people walking past them, she thought over Akira’s words. Talk to Sousuke and clear things up. She could handle that much. It was true it would be better to ask him rather than overthink it.

Chapter Text

When Sousuke asked her to hangout, Kei assumed it would be something similar to what had happened last night. They would talk, spend time in each other’s arms, maybe share some more kisses, and laugh together. How it turned out was Kei sitting across from him at his small coffee table while he studied for tomorrow’s exams.

She didn’t mind, just being in the same space with him was wonderful, it was just not what she had expected. In thinking they would be talking most of the night Kei had hyped herself up for the discussion. Looking at his hunched over form with books and notes piled around him caused her confidence to wilt. The possibility of a conflict also crept up on her the longer they sat in silence.

“Sousuke,” she found herself suddenly blurting out.

“Mhm?” he hummed without looking up to her.

Kei had opened her mouth and spoke. He had responded. Now what… “Uhm. So, I know you’re busy and I don’t want to bother or distract but…uhm…”

Finally those sharp eyes looked up to her. His usual intimidating look was set firmly on his face. Kei had almost forgotten about that look as she had seen him smiling more recently. Once again fear of conflict sat on her shoulders and her determination shrunk considerably.

However, in an instant his look softened and accompanied a sigh. Sousuke straightened up and rubbed his neck. “I’m sorry Kei. I asked you to hangout and then I had you just sit there. I’m only going to revise a few more minutes and then we can do something.”

Frantically waving her hands she said, “No, no, no. It is totally fine! There was something I wanted to talk to you about. But it can wait till you’re done.”

Sousuke glanced down at his things and then back to her. After a moment he closed the books and notebooks and shoved them to the side. Kei watched him as he stretched, careful not to strain his bad shoulder. Leaning back on his palms Sousuke looked across the table to her and smiled.

“So what did you want to talk about?”

Kei sat there for a long moment just staring at him. “W-what happened to studying?”

He shrugged. “If I don’t know it by now then I’m effed. Besides, you look like it is something important. What’s up?”

Okay. I can do this! I practiced what to say with Akira. Just talk. “What are we?”

His teal eyes watched her for a long moment before breaking their gaze. Sousuke straightened up with a sigh and dragged a hand down his face. “Oh boy. How do I explain this?”

Kei’s heart stopped. This was bad. Eiji was right. She wasn’t articulate and hesitant and now because she had hesitated so much in asking and clarifying things he was already regretting things. She should have asked him that morning. No, last night! Instead of kissing him she should have spoken up. Instead of letting him cook for her she should have talked to him about this. She should have—

“We’re people Kei,” he finally answered. “Human beings. More specifically, Japanese human beings. See along time ago there used to be dinosaurs and as time went on other organisms—”

“W-wait. What are you talking about?”

“You asked what we are. We’re people.” A teasing smile pulled at his lips. Kei caught on and sighed while slumping over on the table. Sousuke laughed and placed a hand on her head. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

Kei pushed his hand away and sat up. “You’re an idiot.”

“I couldn’t help it,” he laughed. It was such a pleasant sound. “You looked nervous. I was trying to lighten the mood.”

Rolling her eyes, Kei tried to fight back her smile. She couldn’t be upset when he was laughing and smiling like that. “What I was trying to ask you is what am I to you?”

His laughing stopped and his smile slipped little by little. “What you are to me?”

Nervously she tucked her hair behind her ear. “We’ve kissed quite a bit…and we’ve acted like a couple. At least it’s felt like that. Waking up together, walking to work, a kiss goodbye…”

Sousuke nodded to show his understanding. The brief joking air that had settled between them blew out of the room. He sat quietly for a long moment in thought. Kei didn’t feel herself freaking out with this silence. If he was taking time to think about the answer that meant he was really considering things. That was good. It was comforting to know that he was seriously thinking about what all this meant so that it wasn’t just her.

Finally he took a breath and looked back to her. “A lot happened last night. After you left I kept thinking about you. I kept thinking about you being alone on the train, talking things over with your brother, about you coming back to the apartment when it was done. And I was so excited for you to come back…to me.”  

He placed a hand on the tabletop and gestured for her to place her hand in is. Kei discreetly wiped her palm on her pants before placing it in his. His words made her beyond nervous and caused her hands to sweat while the rest of her body was in overdrive.

“When I was at the marriage interview that night and my mind was only on you, I knew. I knew that something had grown between us. It had built up over simple interactions at the café and expanded when I kissed you in front of Eiji. And it was for sure when I basically confessed to you in my drunken state.”

He chuckled and squeezed her hand. Kei squeezed back and smiled. “I thought you didn’t remember much from that night.”

“I, uh, I remember a little more.” He nodded and bit his lower lip. “I know what I said and it was true Kei. To have you here, to have you with me, that’s enough for me. And I’d like to have you with me more, often, all the time if I can.”

She nodded.

“I know things are moving fast. And what I’m going to say may be a little confusing. I’m not really ready to say we’re are officially dating. I would like to know you a little more, spend more time hanging out.”

“Yes,” she answered hastily and placed her free hand over theirs on the table. “Yes Sousuke. That is more than fine. I…I’m not asking you this to pressure you into a relationship. I like you. I like you very much and I have for a long time.”

“I know.”

Y-you…you know?”

He laughed and nodded. “I’ve known for a while that you liked me. The first time I walked into the café you stared at me and blushed when I spoke to you.”

“Oh gods.”

Releasing her hand, he moved around the table and came to sit next to her. Kei remained still and watched him. “So now that we know a little more and have agreed to take things slow, can we still kiss and hold hands and maybe occasionally sleep next to each other?”

There was only one way she could think to answer. Cupping his face between her hands, Kei moved forward and placed a kiss to his lips. Sousuke’s hands moved to her shoulders and gave a squeeze. They had shared numerous kisses since last night but this one felt so much sweeter in that now they both knew how much the cared for each other.    

Chapter Text

Kei deleted another voicemail from home before tucking her phone into her back pocket. It had been a week since the disastrous dinner and every day she had been ignoring calls and deleting each voicemail that followed without listening to it. She knew one of these days she would have to answer the call or text her brother and ask to speak with him. One day, not anytime soon if she could help it. Kei sighed and rubbed her forehead as she thought back to what Akira had told her. Being friends with both Kei and Daichi had advantages and disadvantages.

Akira had spoken and listened to Kei’s version of what happened and then had done the same with Daichi. He had then relayed all this to Kei and expected her to show sympathy for her twin.

“He’s hurting Kei,” Akira had told her. “Dai was stressed from school and I know that’s not an excuse. When you left that night, Hansuke-san ripped into him. He knows what he said was wrong and he went to search for you that night. Talk to him.”

Talk to him. To Akira every problem was as easy as just talking to someone. However, the conflict and emotion that had come from the last exchange with her brother was draining. She was not yet recharged or willing to clear it up yet. If Daichi suffered a little because of her silence she was okay with that. Maybe he would understand how she felt and it would also fill the petty hole that had drilled into her heart.

“Why do you look so sad?”

A deep voice crooned in her ear while arms wrapped around her from behind. A familiar strong chest pressed against her back and at the contact, instant relief washed over her. Kei smiled and leaned back against him while a kiss was placed to her temple.

“How do you do that?” she asked placing her hands on his forearms.

“Do what?”

She turned to look up at him. “Help me feel better with just a touch.”

Sousuke smiled down at her and shrugged. Kei in turn hugged him back, resting her head against his chest. This is exactly what she needed. She was so glad she had agreed to meet him in the park by the university. A walk through the park with just him could take her mind off anything. After a moment Sousuke pulled back from the hug and watched her for a moment.

“You didn’t answer my question. Why do you look so sad?”

“I’m not,” she shrugged. “How could I be sad with you around?”

“Kei.”

She pouted and turned her face away from him. “How could you see my expression anyway? You came up from behind me.”

“Oi.” He pinched her cheek before bringing her face back towards his. “I didn’t need to see your expression. I could tell by your hunched shoulders.”

Raising a brow she asked, “So what you’re an expert on my body language now?”

“I’m getting there, yeah.” He stopped and waited for her to answer. When she didn’t he sighed. “I’m sorry. You don’t have to tell me anything. C’mon let’s walk.”

Sousuke released her and took up her hand in his. The two of them began their walk quietly holding each other’s hand. Kei nibbled on her lower lip as she thought. There was no harm in telling him anything, it would probably be better to have someone on the outside listen to what had happened. And it did make her happy that he could tell her mood by just looking at her. Every moment they spent together brought them closer and closer which is what she wanted. She knew awful it was to feel as if he was shutting her out and she didn’t want to do that to him.

“I keep getting calls from home,” she confessed. “I haven’t answered any of them. I’m scared to.”

He looked down at her and gave her hand a squeeze. “Kei you don’t have to tell me. I usually have to push things out of Rin and it was just habit. If you’re not comfortable telling me—”

“No. I want to.” She smiled up at him and squeezed his hand back. “I’m scared Sousuke. I don’t think I’m ready to talk to Daichi or Hansuke-san about what happened.”

“Are you still unsure about Hansuke-san?”

“Yes. I think…he’s been trying to be apart of my life and I kept pushing him away. I didn’t want someone to replace my dad.” She shook her head. “But that’s not…Hansuke-san is still trying and I don’t know how to respond.”

Sousuke nodded his head. “It’s good you’re thinking about it. You’re not letting yourself get pushed around by him or your brother. You’re not ignoring him out of spite.”

“I know. I just wish they would stop calling.”

“Maybe you need to tell him that you need time.” He chuckled as she looked up to him with wide eyes. “I’m not saying it needs to be a long conversation. I’m just saying maybe tell him you need time and set a date to really talk it out.”

Kei hummed. “I guess.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was still fairly early in the evening but Sousuke was already exhausted. The exams of the day and group project presentations had drained all his energy. Now at home sitting in bed he kept reading the same line of notes over and over not retaining anything. He was pretty sure this was something he already knew so it probably didn’t matter too much. With a sigh he rubbed at his eyes and looked to his left. Kei was tucked under the covers fast asleep next to him, his body blocking the light from the lamp on his side table. He smiled as he watched her sleep soundly. It amazed him how ready he was to be taken in by her and welcome her into his own life.

He hadn’t dated much really. The only experience he had was being told he was going to marry Nanami once he was done with college. Not the best way to start things. He meant what he had told Kei about picking someone of his own will and have it be a person he had a good relationship with. That was why he wanted to take things slow with her. Yet…having Kei with him made him want everything all at once.

He wanted her to meet his friends, he wanted her to meet his mother (she didn’t need to meet his father…ever), to take her to the beach, to see her in one of his shirts after spending a night together, to feel every inch of her, to spend every moment with her from then on. It was a shock to feel all of that and tell her that they needed to take things as they come. It had truly happened very quickly and slowly at the same time.

The first time he saw Kei was the first day of classes at the university. He had stopped into the café to get something to wake him up and there she had been. A blushing mess asking him how his day was so far though it was six in the morning. It was cute and he figured that reaction to him would wear off over time. Yet each time he walked in that’s how their exchanges went. Each one had built up inside of him and burst when he found her at his door asking for help.

Sousuke turned on his side to face her and burrowed down into the covers. His hand pushed through her hair before letting his fingers trace over her features. Leaning forward he pressed a kiss to her forehead. Just as he was ready to turn off the light and pull her close to him, a phone went off. With annoyance he looked over at the side table to see Kei’s phone ringing. Picking it up he saw HOME light up the screen.

Glancing down at the sleeping girl, Sousuke debated if this was a good idea or not. After a moment he carefully got out of bed and walked towards the living room. Opening the sliding door to the balcony he stepped out and answered the call.

“Hello?”  

Chapter Text

“Is this Akria-kun?” was asked after a long pause. The man on the other end of the line sounded suspicious of the voice he was hearing.

“No. My name is Yamazaki Sousuke. I’m Kei’s…” What? Kei’s friend with kissing benefits? Kei’s probably future boyfriend? “Friend.”

“And why are you answering my daughter’s phone?”

“Ah.” Sousuke rubbed the back of his neck as he leaned forward against the balcony rail. “Kei is asleep right now. I wanted to speak with you, Hansuke-san.”

The man was silent for a long moment. “I see. And what is it you wanted to talk about?”

Taking a deep breath, Sousuke set on his path. “It is about Kei and what happened recently with her brother. She needs time and all the calls and voicemails are not really helping.”

“Excuse me?”

“Kei has been deleting each voicemail without listening to them,” he calmly explained. “She can see that you are trying to reach out to her and she greatly appreciates it but she is getting overwhelmed with it. Her anxiety rockets each time she sees you calling. Trust me, she knows that you are trying and she is trying too. Just give her time.”

Again, the line was silent for a long moment. “I’m not sure what bothers me more. The fact that an unknown man is answering my child’s phone while she sleeps. Or the fact that you presume to know what goes on between myself and my daughter.”

“Hansuke-san, I do know. Kei has told me many times about how she feels or what has been going on with her family.”

“So that gives you the right to lecture me on the relationship I have with Kei?”

Sousuke’s free hand balled into a fist. He had heard Kei’s stories about how her step-father could be a frustrating person. Now he understood her hesitance and uncertainty to repair their relationship. Squeezing his short nails into the palm of his hand before uncurling it, Sousuke took in a deep breath.

“I presume nothing sir nor am I lecturing,” he got out between calming breaths. “I am simply trying to help my friend. Kei is timid at times, she has doubts, and overthinks things every second. She needs to be approached slowly, little by little. You can’t bombard her with hourly calls and thousands of voicemails.”

“What gives you the right to say all this?” the other man interrupted.

Sousuke glanced back towards the sliding door that led to the inside of the apartment. Inside, Kei was fast asleep, unaware of what was happening right now. The woman he cared about was asleep in his bed and he could be of help to her right now.

“Sir, in the time I have spent with Kei, I believe that I have a better understanding of her than you have in the years you’ve known her. She is not trying to shut you out, she is trying to adjust. Kei is unsure of how to accept you defending her and caring for her but she is trying. She is changing and growing but needs time to do so. Please. Give your daughter time to adjust to this.”

“I see.” A tired sigh came as another response. “While I…admire your words and understand them, this is a family matter. I will not be calling Kei but instead I will come to her apartment to speak with her. I will allow her a week to have some time.”

Sousuke let out a breath of relief. “Thank you Hansuke-san. I’m sure Kei will appreciate that.”

“Mm. I am going to hang up. Before I do, Yamazaki-kun, let me give some advice. Do not answer my daughter’s phone again without her permission. Understood?”

“Yes sir. Understood. Goodnight.”

Once the line was silent and the call ended, Sousuke shrank down. Holding on to Kei’s phone in one hand and gripping the balcony rail with the other, he focused on calming his heartbeat. It was like having a tamer conversation with his own father and yet way more nerve racking. Yet he had done it and bought Kei sometime. He would have to let her know about it all and felt certain that she would be happy for the help her provided.

Once he was sure his heart wasn’t going to explode, Sousuke made his way back into the apartment and crawled into bed next to Kei. Setting her phone back on the nightstand, he turned off the light, and pulled her into his arms. The movement jostled her awake slightly. Groggily she cracked an eye open and adjusted her head on his pillow.

“What’s going on? What were you doing?”

Sousuke rubbed her back to sooth her back to sleep. “Nothing. I finished studying. We’ll talk in the morning. Go back to sleep.”

Chapter Text

Kei loved opening the café, even if it meant leaving a warm bed and a drooling Sousuke. The morning was surprisingly cool with summer approaching which in turn made the shop comfortably exquisite. It was calm and quiet, a rare occurrence that was to be cherished. There were no demanding customers nor chatty coworkers to distract. This allowed Kei to get through the morning chores much more efficiently unlike when closing the shop.

Moving into the kitchen she looked over the menu for the day and brought out the appropriate items for the display case. This was her favorite part of the morning. She greatly enjoyed organizing the different treats in different ways. Some days she organized them by colors, some days it was by flavors, and another day it might have been by their shape. This time, however, she had decided upon ordering them by customer favorites with new featured items at the top.

Carefully she placed the different pastries on the shelves. Once everything was set, Kei pulled out a set of markers and thick paper to create signs for each shelf. Making each one colorful and attractive was something that also gave her great pleasure. She supposed that was a trait passed down from her mother. Having a mangaka for a mother meant that she had many opportunities to see the artistic process of drawing and creating.

Kei sighed as she placed the last sign in the case. She hadn’t spoken to her mother in quite a while. All the calls from home she had been getting went ignored and one or two of them were probably from her mother. Her mother must have been so confused that night when she came home to an irritated Hansuke-san, a distressed Daichi, and a missing Kei.

“I really should call,” she voiced into the empty shop. “Things need to be cleared up.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Can I speak with you for a moment before you go?”

Shion had popped his head into the breakroom just after Kei had ended her shift. His usual easy smile rested on his face.

“Sure Shion-senpai,” she answered. No one could ever say no to Shion. Standing up she followed him to his small office. “Is something wrong?”

He waved his hand about and shook his head. “Of course not Kei. I wanted to talk to you about a small project.”

“What project?”

Shion rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he continued. “Well I’ve taken notice of something. Whenever you open the café you always arrange the display cases in such a lovely way. Customers take notice too of the signs or the way things are set out. It got me to thinking that maybe you could help me with some advertising for the store.”

Kei raised her brow. “You want me to…”

“There is a summer fair coming up and I got us a booth for the café. I was wondering if you might make some signs for the booth, flyers we could hand out to let people know what we are about. I was also thinking you could help us set up the menu and organize things.”

She blinked at him with her mouth open. “I…I just make drinks.”

A look of panic came over the man’s usual calm mask. “Oh I didn’t mean to put pressure on you Kei! If it is too much or too overwhelming I understand. I just thought…I mean you do so well…the display looks great…you are talented.”

“I,” she began and then stopped. “T-thank you Shion-senpai. I’m glad you like it. Are you sure? I mean you really want me to be in charge of this?”

“Of course.” His calm expression returned. “I’ve seen what you do over time Kei. It really is wonderful and the customers always comment on how they like the look of everything. I think you could be a big help to the business.”

She nodded quickly. “Okay! I would love to try.”

“Great! I can give you more details about it next week and we can think over the menu for the fair.”

Thanking him again for the opportunity, Kei bowed and left. This was big. This was something big! She had always arranged the display cases for fun in the mornings she opened but she never thought anyone had really taken much notice. And now…

With a big smile on her face she pulled out her phone and dialed. Excitement started to build up inside her as the dial tone rang and rang. Finally it ended and a voice on the other end reached her ears.

“You damn leech! I told you I will have the pages done when they are done! Tell the printer that he will have to wait and that he can fu—”

“Mom!”

“Kei?”

“Shion-senpai told me that he liked how I arrange the display cases and the signs I made for them. He wants me to help with the summer fair and advertising for the café! I don’t just make drinks! I am helping with the menu and organizing the booth!”

The news came out in one big breath. Once she was done, Kei gasped to refill her lungs. She waited quietly for her mother’s reaction and felt her heart leap with every quiet second.

“Kei,” came her mother’s voice. “You ignore our calls for a week and then you call out of the blue and the first thing you tell me is this?”

Oh no. Her smile dropped and her brow furrowed together. “Well I…”

A tired sigh drifted through the phone. “Don’t get me wrong sweetie. I am so happy for you. This is wonderful news and I am glad Shion-kun is giving you more responsibility. But honestly Kei…”

She made her way over to a planter of bright flowers and leaned against it. The emotion in her mother’s voice was clear. Worry, frustration, anger, sadness. Again Kei tried to imagine her mother coming home that night to find the house in turmoil.

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry too. Dai should not have said what he did.” Ah so she knows the whole thing. “You can be stubborn like your…like him. But you are not him. He left us and did not come back. You always come back, from time to time,” she added with a small chuckle.

“Mom.” Kei had to paused to keep her voice from cracking. Tears were beginning to sting at her eyes. “I don’t know why I did what I did with Hansuke-san. No, I think I know but I want to make it better. For you. For Dai. For Chika-san.”

“I am glad to hear that.” There was a smile to her tone now. “I am also glad that you agreed to talk with Hansuke next week.”

“Me t—wait…I what?”

Chapter Text

To the Prince: Where are you?

From the Prince: at the gym on campus

Kei ran over the conversation she had with her mother while she stomped towards the university gym. Sousuke had answered her phone while she slept and talked with her step-father. He had agreed that the two of them would talk and work things out in a week. He had done all this without a word to her.  

“Oh dear,” her mother had said when she realized the situation. “What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to tell him how not okay that was!”

Ami sighed on the other end. “Kei, darling, calm down. Clearly this boy thought he was doing the right thing.”

“By answering my phone?” She began to pace as she tried to think what could have possessed Sousuke to do that. “Mom he went behind my back.”  

“It seems like he really likes you. And,” her mother added with a sly tone, “if you were sleeping in his bed you must also really like him.”

Kei stopped dead in her place. “Uh…”

Ami laughed at her child’s reaction. “Look all I’m saying is that if you like this boy and want to keep him around, choose your words carefully when you confront him.”

I’m not confronting him, she thought to herself as she approached the gym entrance. I’m just clearing the situation.

It wasn’t hard to find Sousuke among all the gym goers. His shoulder brace was on full display as he slowly pulled a cord to lift a small amount of weights. Kei momentarily stuttered in her approach, feeling a moment of concern, and wanted to make sure he wasn’t straining his shoulder. However, with a shake of her head she decided that she could be concerned about that later and continued on her way.

Watchful eyes of others followed her, some full on stopping their exercise to see what she was doing. As she stopped by his side, Sousuke caught sight of her and stopped to turn towards her.

“Hey,” he said before gulping down some water. “When you texted me I didn’t think you were coming here. Everything okay?”

Kei clenched her fists before speaking. “Spoke with my mom on the phone not too long ago.”

He raised a brow with a concern in his eyes and tone. “Are you all right? What happened Kei? What did she say?”

“I’m peachy. Until she told me I had agreed to meet my step-father in a week.” The concern vanished from his gaze. Instead there was something like panic that replaced it. “Funny though. I don’t remember having that conversation with Hansuke-san.”

“Kei—”

Her tone had gotten a little sharp towards the end. She was sure the others were watching to see if things would escalate. Whispers came around her saying that Sousuke was in trouble, that the girlfriend was pissed, and that he wasn’t getting any tonight. Kei wanted to turn on them and shout that they weren’t even a couple. Nor were they sleeping together, other than simply being in the same bed.  

“Why did you do that Sousuke?” She shook her head and shrugged. “What made you think it would be a good idea to answer my phone?”

“I—I don’t…” He glanced around at the spectators and lowered his voice. “Let’s not do this here. Okay? Not now.”

Kei gestured to herself and said, “I’m just trying to understand. So yeah I would like to do this. Right now.”

Letting out a sigh he stepped closer to her and dropped his voice even lower to be sure only she would hear it. “Kei, I’m not joking. We can talk but not—”

“Sorry am I cramping your gym, tough guy look?”

His brows furrowed and his eyes seemed to darken a bit sending a chill down her back. Her fiery determination slipped for a moment as he stepped back from her silently and grabbed his things. Coming back over to her, Sousuke nodded his head towards a door.

“Let’s go.”

Kei followed Sousuke through the gym unsure of where he was leading them. Finally, they reached a set of double doors which he pushed open a little harder than he probably needed to. Kei walked into the room and wrinkled her nose at the strong smell of chlorine. The long lap pool glittered in the sunlight that was coming through the widows that lined the wall to her left.

Looking around she assumed he had brought them here because this was where he would feel more comfortable. Luckily it was empty of swimmers at the moment so they would have it to themselves. However, if they raised their voices the noise would carry and echo to whoever was outside. The door slammed shut behind and caused her to jump. Turning, she saw Sousuke carelessly toss his things to the side underneath a window before he set his gaze back on her.

He didn’t move towards her but instead remained by the window. “Was that really appropriate?”

“You want to talk about what’s not appropriate?” She placed her hands to her hips. “How about the fact that you made a decision for me last night by answering my phone and talking to my step-dad?”

His jaw tensed for a moment, the muscle twitching under his skin. “You had already left for work this morning. I was going to tell you tonight when we saw each other. Privately. Not in front of a whole bunch of people.”

“Privacy!” She threw her hands up in the air before letting them fall back to her side. “You are bringing up all the things I should be angry at you for. Not the other way around!”

Sousuke took a couple of steps in her direction, keeping her locked in his gaze. “I was trying to support you Kei. I know you wanted to speak with him and clear things up. You were on the way to figuring it out. I thought by next week you’d…”

“You thought? You didn’t think Sousuke,” she argued. “That was not your choice to make!”

“I know!” His voice boomed around them. The sudden loudness of it startled both of them, Sousuke more so than Kei. He stood there for a moment with a blank expression. A moment later a soft, “shit” left his mouth.

“Look,” she started out slowly. “I didn’t mean to bombard you in the gym. But…I just couldn’t understand why you did that? You’ve told me that I shouldn’t let people push me around or make decisions for me in life. You know how crappy that feels. Yet, that’s what you did. You made a big decision for me and said I’d meet with Hansuke-san.”

Realization widened his eyes before he dropped his gaze from her. His shoulders dropped slightly as he swallowed hard. “I…I didn’t…I just wanted to…Kei, I wasn’t trying to…”

He began to take cautious steps toward her. The tension and spark of anger that had set off between them was sizzling down to ash. Standing in front of each other, silently, by the edge of the pool both of them let things settle. Sousuke’s expression tightened as his brow furrowed, his mind working in overdrive. Kei waited as he opened and closed his mouth trying to form the words.

“We happened so fast,” he finally began. “I know I said things should go slow, so we can know each other better. But you’re already everything to me. I got caught up.”

“Sousuke.” Kei reached up and placed a hand to his cheek. “You are part of my life and I am so glad. But you don’t run my life.”

He nodded in understanding. Kei knew how he felt and what he meant. They had happened fast and they were both reeling from it. She constantly thought how amazing it was that her silly daydreams were now something she was living. It never seemed like a possibility that Sousuke would return her feelings. And yet here they were.

Carefully he placed his hands at her waist. “So…are you going to talk with Hansuke-san?”

“Yeah. I am. It is time that things get back to normal. Hansuke-san first and then I’ll have to talk with Daichi.”

“Do you want me to call him too? Since I helped with your step-dad.”

Kei narrowed her eyes at him and his playful look. Sousuke bit his lower lip to try and hold back his smirk. Kei rolled her eyes and gave a shove at him. This sent him over the lip of the pool and into the water with a splash. Kei covered her mouth with her hands. That wasn’t what she meant to do…but he deserved it a little.

Sousuke popped back up and shook his head. The black spikes of his hair went in every direction as he dragged a hand down his face. Kei snorted as he tried to orient himself. His eyes snapped to her causing her to try and muffle her laugh.

“Oh. Nagi-chan thinks that’s funny hu?” he asked with a mischievous smile. She shook her head but her shoulders shook with the effort in trying to hold in her laugh. “No. No it’s fine. I get it.”

“I’m sorry Sousuke.” She crouched down by the edge and offered a sweet smile.

“Yeah me too.”

Quirking her head to the side she didn’t understand the mistake she had made. Before she could jump back and move away, he had a hold of her wrist and was pulling her towards him. With a less than elegant shriek, Kei fell into the water. She was only under water for a moment before his hands pulled her to him. Legs locking around his waist, she was pulled to his chest and placed her arms around his neck.

“I’ve got you,” he said as she adjusted against him.

Kei chuckled. “Yeah I see that.” As she adjusted she felt something in her back pocket start to slip out. Realization hit and caused her to groan. “Oh shit!”

Sousuke watched as she dug out her cell from her pocket. “Oh…well…that’s a bummer. I can try and help later, see if it might still work.”

“Nah. It’s fine. I’ll figure it out. What about your shoulder brace?”

He glanced over to the black Velcro sling. He shrugged. “It will be fine.”

“Sousuke should you even be in the pool? Or working out? Your shoulder has been looking better. I don’t want something to happen and make it worse.”

Moving closer to the edge of the pool, he took her cell and set it in a dry spot. Keeping a hand on her lower back, he used his other hand to remove his sling. After placing that next to her phone, Sousuke sunk the both of them down into the water and sighed as his shoulder was dipped in.

“It’s fine Kei. Let me enjoy this.” His closed his eyes as he began to slowly move down the lane to the other end of the pool. “I haven’t been in a pool for months. And I just want to relax with my girlfriend.”

“Gir…wait…Sou?”

His eyes opened, the beautiful teal color reflecting the ripples of the pool. “Something wrong?”

“Girlfriend?”

“Yeah.”

“When did this happen?”

“Just before you pushed me in the pool.” He was so calm and sure as if this was a silly question to ask.

Kei tilted her head and raised a brow. “Is this a conversation you had in your head?”

He laughed and a wide smile spread across his lips. “Maybe. In that case let me ask. Kei, would you be my girlfriend?”

With her own wide smile, Kei tightened her arms around him. “Yes!”

Chapter Text

Markers, paints, and paper were strewn around the coffee table. Kei felt her neck begin to ache along with her back as she hunched over the poster. It was cute and had a summer theme but she wasn’t quite sure if it was right for the café booth. If someone was walking past the booth and saw the poster would they know what items were being sold? Would they be able to see the location of the store? Would it entice them to have a taste at the booth and then want more?

She tried asking Sousuke for his opinion about the poster and flyers she had made. Each time his answer had been a mumbled ‘yes it looks good’. Some of the time he answered, he hadn’t even looked at the poster. Instead his eyes had been transfixed by his phone.

“You’re no help. Totally useless,” she had grumbled back to him in response.

“I’m aware.”

With a sigh, Kei sat back against the couch where Sousuke was lounging. Closing her eyes, she felt him shift behind her. His hands slid around her shoulders and up to her neck. Carefully he began to kneed and massage the tense muscles pulling a groan from her.

“You’ve done a lot of work Kei.” He kissed the base of her neck a couple of times. “Why don’t you relax the rest of the night?”

Letting her head drop back a bit, she opened her eyes to look at him. “Shion-senpai trusted me with this. It’s a big deal for the café and I want to get it right. I want it to be perfect.”

Sousuke nodded and smiled softly at her. “I know. And you will but not if you overwork yourself.”

Kei smiled at him. He sounded like Hansuke-san. Whenever her mother was working on her manga, especially if a deadline was coming up, he would tell her the same thing. It will get done but not if you kill yourself over it. Those words were usually accompanied by a sweet kiss and her mother’s favorite treats and tea. She was glad Hansuke-san was there to comfort her mother and help her through those times. Just as she was happy Sousuke was there now.

“I know.” She placed her hands over his. Removing them from her neck, she wrapped his arms around her. “Thank you.”

Sousuke squeezed her as close to himself as he could and kissed her cheek over and over. Kei giggled before turning her head to meet his lips. Their kisses lingered as if it would hurt to part. Each one became deeper as Sousuke slowly tried to coax Kei up to the couch with him. The atmosphere was derailed when Sousuke’s phone began to ring where it lay between them.

A groan came from the back of his throat. Kei pulled back first and glanced at the rude object. SHARK BOY was the caller ID that was lighting up the phone. Giving him a quizzical look, Sousuke answered with a roll of his eyes.

Flopping on his back he snatched up the phone and answered. “Hello Rin.”

Kei placed her chin on the edge of the couch, Sousuke stroking her hair, and listened to the conversation. She smiled at him as his annoyed expression deepened as the conversation continued.

“You have the worst timing ever. Yeah she is here.” He looked over at her with a fond smile. “No you can’t speak with her. Because I said so. No man. I already told you that’s not happening. Because it would be pointless. I can’t swim anyway so what would I even do?”

There was a long pause for a moment. Kei could hear Rin’s voice coming from the other end of the phone. Though his words were muffled she could tell the conversation was heated. Sousuke rolled his eyes and sighed.

“Don’t cry. Please don’t cry.” Another pause. “Look I go to the doctor again next month and we’ll see what they say. Yes I’ve been wearing the brace. Kei won’t let me not wear it. No. No you can’t speak with her. The last time you did, you both ganged up on me. No…dude…”

With a defeated sigh Sousuke handed over the phone. Kei snorted and accepted the phone. “Hello.”

“When he goes to the doctor next month go with him,” Rin demanded. “Even if you have to strap yourself to him. Go with him.”

Kei laughed. “Yes sir. I’ll be sure to report every detail.”

Sousuke rolled his eyes before placing a hand over his face. Rin chuckled. “I knew you’d be good for him. That big dope.”

“Well I am glad you think so.” She rubbed his arm that was now dangling over the couch. “Anything else I need to be aware of?”

Rin hummed on the other line. “I’d like him to come out to see my swim team this summer. You’re are welcome to come too of course. I’d like to see you again.”

“Sounds like fun to me. Want Sousuke again?”

“Yeah let me talk to the idiot. See ya Kei-chan!”

Handing the phone back, the boys said their goodbyes and hung up. Kei tilted her head to the side as he tossed his phone to the side.

“So…summer trip?”  

Sousuke turned on his side to face her more. “He wants me to give the guys on his team some tips.”

“Oh?”

He shrugged. “It would be pointless. I don’t swim anymore and also these guys are headed for the Olympics. What am I supposed to give them tips on?”

Kei hummed as she thought. “Well you could always warn them against overworking themselves.”

“Yeah great. I’m a caution story.”

She placed her hand on his cheek. “That isn’t a bad thing Sou. You could help others, maybe even coach them in that way. Like physical therapy.”

His eyes lit up a bit at the mention of it. “Yeah. That could be something. I should try it out first. Make sure it is something I can actually do.” 

“Well there is a coaching position open at the gym close to the café. It’s for kids and teens but it would be a start.”

He raised a brow at her. “How do you know that?”

She shrugged. “There was an advertisement for it at the café. We have a little board where people can post things.”

“Hu.” He smiled at her and pinched her cheek. “Thanks my clever girl.”  

He nudged her forward and moved off the couch to sit behind her. His legs came on either side of her while she was pressed against his back. His arms came around and enveloped her. Sousuke nuzzled against her neck, his lips pressing to the area where her shoulder and neck met. Kei squirmed in his arms for a moment before lightly elbowing his stomach.

“I can’t concentrate on these posters when you’re doing that.”

She could feel him smile against her neck. “That’s the point. We had something going before Rin called and ruined it.”

“Sousuke.” She shook her head and pulled away from him as much as she could. “Now isn’t really the time for this development in our relationship.”

Easing his hold on her, a look of embarrassment crossed his features. “Am I overstepping again? I’m not trying to pressure you Kei.”

“No, no, no,” she answered quickly. “I know you wouldn’t do that. It’s just…I don’t…” It was her turn to be embarrassed now. “I don’t know if I’m ready for us to be that intimate yet.”

He nodded and tightened his arms around her once more. “Okay. Not a problem.”

Kei chewed on her lower lip anxiously. “Please understand Sousuke. With Eiji, he and I moved kind of fast and it was not ideal. I think it ruined things and I don’t want to repeat that. It’s not that I don’t want to be more connected with you. I do. I would love to…I mean…I just want to take time. We’ve moved so quickly in other ways that—”

With a chuckle he brought a finger to her mouth. “You’re rambling. When I say it is not a problem Kei, I mean it. I’m trying to keep you not push you away.”

She relaxed in his arms and smiled. “Gods you are wonderful. I love you.”

It was quiet for a long moment as the words set in. Both their eyes widened before Kei’s expression turned to shock while Sousuke smiled widely. Kei quickly turned her head away from him and picked up her work on the posters.

“You heard nothing,” she said quickly.

“Oh no.” Sousuke squeezed her and rested his chin on her shoulder. “I heard every word. You said you lo—”

Kei whipped around and placed her hand directly over his mouth. “Nothing! I said nothing.” He chuckled behind her hand causing her to groan.

Moving his face away from her hand, a warm look entered his eyes. “It’s alright Kei. I love you too.”

Turning in his embrace, she wrapped her arms around his neck. “Would you love me even if I chickened out on meeting Hansuke-san tomorrow?”

“Yes I would. But you’re still going.”

“Damn.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kei held on to Sousuke’s hand tightly as they walked through the park to the meeting point. She slowed upon seeing her step-father looking out over the bridge at the manmade lake that was tucked deep into the park. Sousuke looked down at her and squeezed her hand.

“Hey.” She looked up at him. “You can do this. Things will be okay even if they don’t go smoothly.”

Kei nodded. “Right.”

“All of your feelings are valid. Don’t forget that.”

With another nod and a deep breath, the two of them made their final approach toward the man. Kei could feel her heart pounding against her bones to the point she was sure she would fall apart. Sousuke’s touch and presence did not have its usual calming effect. Possibly because she knew he would be leaving once they reached Hansuke. The man turned to face them as they came closer.

“Good morning Kei-chan,” he greeted pleasantly. His eyes then took note of her hand connected to Sousuke’s. “Yamazaki-kun I presume.”

Sousuke nodded. “Yes sir. Good morning.”

Hansuke narrowed his eyes at the young man. “Mhm.”

“Well.” Sousuke released Kei’s hand and came to stand in front of her. “I will be at the café. I’ll see you when you’re done. If you need me you can call. Okay?”

“Okay.”

He cupped her face and offered an encouraging smile. “I love you.”

She smiled back. “I love you.”

Placing a kiss on her forehead, he said farewell to Hansuke and disappeared into the park. Kei watched after him fondly unaware of her step-father watching her closely.

“Are you and Yamazaki-kun…”

She finally looked over to him. “Together? Yes.”

He narrowed his eyes and leaned against the rail of the bridge. “Even after—”

“Yes,” she answered a little impatiently. “He and I have already worked that out. He is the reason why I am standing here right now so I wouldn’t bad mouth his choice right now. Besides he is not what we are supposed to be talking about.”

Hansuke sighed and nodded before turning his attention towards the lake. “Its funny. I thought I would know exactly how to start this conversation when the time came. And yet, I’m at a loss.”

Kei copied his posture and leaned against the rail. “Then allow me. Why did you defend me when Dai said those mean things the other night? Why call almost every night for weeks to check on me?”

Hansuke turned towards her with confusion.

“Why? Because you are my child Kei. As much as Daichi is my child. Contrary to how I may act…I care about you. You see when I was a younger man, I had it in my head that I was meant to be a father. It was my dream, my goal, to have a wonderful family.

Then I met your mother at one of her publishing events. She swept me off my feet. I could not believe how lucky I was to find such a wonderful strong woman. Then when she confessed that she had two children…I was elated.”

Kei watched the man before her. There was a softness to his expression and joy in his words. The chaotic nervousness that she had felt before was slowly ebbing out of her with each of his words. He smiled as he continued, keeping his eyes out on the lake.

“Then the time came when I got to meet you both. I loved you and your brother the moment I saw you.” He chuckled at the memory. “Seeing your identical faces looking up at me when your mother brought me to the house. I knew we were meant to be a family.”

“You loved us?” she echoed. He nodded and finally looked to her. “It always felt like Daichi was the one you cared for and I was just his imitation.”

Hansuke’s brow furrowed. “No Kei-chan. I care for you both equally.”

She glanced over at him quickly. “Daichi was, is, perfect. He is the perfect son. He listened to every suggestion you had, he went to college, he is studying hard, he adores you. And I…”

Her voice cracked. And I just wanted to make you proud in my own way. Finally she understood why she had fought against him so hard. She didn’t want to be Daichi. She didn’t want them to be seen as the same person even if they were identical. It wasn’t that he was replacing their biological father. That man didn’t care enough to stay, she couldn’t even remember if he cared for the three of them like Hansuke did.

“Kei.” A gentle hand came to her arm. Hansuke’s eyes were beginning to redden from tears. “I know I messed up in helping to raise you and Daichi. It was so easy to get to know him and to help, to give him advice. I automatically thought you’d be the same. I shouldn’t have.”

Tears began to sting at her own eyes. “I’m not him. I’m not my father. I’m not my brother. I’m just me and I wanted you…I want you to recognize that.”

He nodded as a few tears began to trail down his cheeks. “I know now.”

“I want you to be proud of me as I am.”

“I am Kei. I am so proud of you. So proud.”

That pushed the tears over the edge of her control. Never did she imagine their conversation would go like this. And yet here they were on the bridge crying. Hesitantly she moved closer and reached out to him. Hansuke took her invitation and the two of them embraced. The moment they hugged, Kei felt relief and peace come all at once. This was the hug and comfort she had needed the most.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kei and Hansuke had walked through the park and talked more. It felt good to finally bridge the gap that had built between them over the years. It would still be a work in progress but this was at least a good step. The two of them walked to the café and said their goodbyes with a promise to visit home more often.

Walking into the café, Kei felt lighter than she ever had. She spotted Sousuke sitting at a table towards the back. A deep scowl sat on his face, phone in hand, and flyers littering the table. She approached to see that the flyers ranged from the swim coach one she had mentioned to cooking classes to a couple for police academy signups.

“Everything okay?” she asked while placing a hand on the back of his neck.

Sousuke’s scowl melted as he looked up from his phone. “Yeah. Oh yeah. I was asking my brother for advice. He is useless though so that didn’t help.”

“I’m sorry.”

He shook his head and set his phone down on the table. “So…how did it go?”

She smiled and nodded. “It went really well. We ended up crying together. But…everything will be fine.”

Sousuke stood and scooped her into a hug. Pulling back he cupped her face and kissed her. “I am so proud of you Kei.”

She laughed as he continued to place kisses and tell her how happy he was for her. She now had two men in her life who were proud of her, who loved her more than they could say. And she loved them.

Chapter Text

For the fifth time Kei checked that she was about to dial the right number. The caller ID read: Bro Bro. Taking a deep breath she pressed the call button. Kei paced back and forth as the phone rang, almost deafeningly in her ear. Finally the ringing stopped and her brother’s voice came through.

“Well this is a surprise.”

“H-hey Dai,” she started. “How were the end of your classes? You passed I’m sure.”

There was a pause causing her heart to speed up beyond normal means. “Is that what you called about? To see how my classes went?”

“No. Not exactly.”

“Good.” Another pause. “I heard you talked to dad last week.”

Kei smiled to herself as she recalled the tearful and freeing talk she had with her step-father. “Yeah I did. We kinda worked things out. I was actually planning to come over for dinner next week.”

“Oh? Well…that would be nice.” There was a mix of joy and relief in his tone. “Thank you by the way for the gift you left me.”

“I know you wanted those movies. I figured maybe we could watch them together at some point?”

“I’d like that.”

Relief. Utter relief washed over Kei. This had been a good idea after all. With how well things had gone with talking to Hansuke she figured it was time to mend this bridge too. And she was so glad she was taking that step.

“So what brought on the need to make things right with dad?”

“Oh well Sousuke and I had talked about it a lot and he kinda had a helping hand in the matter.”

“Sousuke…the guy who was ghosting you.”

Kei felt thrown off a touch. Something had quickly shifted in her brother’s tone. “He…well I guess you and I haven’t talked about this. He and I are dating.”

Silence followed her words. Kei’s heart had calmed but was rapidly starting to accelerate. She hadn’t in fact talked to Daichi about her relationship with Sousuke. The last thing he knew of their interactions was in the hall of her apartment building when Daichi came back with groceries.

“I’m sorry what?”

“W-well it all kind of happened so quickly…but long story short he convinced me to talk to Hansuke-sa…”

“He convinced you?” he interrupted. There was now a bite to his tone that made Kei flinch. “He convinced…this stranger who you’re suddenly dating.”

“He’s not a stranger,” she defended.

“He is to me!” Daichi sighed loudly on the other end. “Tell me something Kei how did he convince you to talk with dad?”

Kei chewed her lower lip nervously. How had this turned sour so quickly? “He…just talked with me about it. He listened and talked…he didn’t pressure me.”

Daichi gave a sharp laugh. “And I never talked about this with you?”

“Well yes you did…but no. No Dai. You preached at me about not being a…what did you call it…dutiful daughter.” Her tone was starting to become just as sharp as his. “You never listened not really. Sousuke did. He supported me and encouraged me.”

“You chose to listen to a stranger over your brother. That’s what this comes down to now.”

Kei flopped down on her couch with her brows scrunched together. What is happening? Why are we still fighting? “Dai you’re not even listening to me now! I talked to Hansuke-san and am working to patch things up. Isn’t that what you wanted? What does it matter who I listened to as long as I accomplished this?”

“It matters because I want you to confide in me like you used to!”

It went silent between the both of them. Kei sat feeling shocked. Her twin was not one to cry in front of her, ask for help when he was struggling, or express if he was lonely. Her mind fluttered with regret on not trying to patch things up sooner with her brother. If she hadn’t acted like a pitiful child should would have told Daichi about the development between her and Sousuke. She would have asked for advice on how to approach Hansuke. She would have…but she couldn’t go back. Instead she had to try and fix it now.

“Dai,” her voice came out hushed and small. “I’m sorry.”

“Whatever.”

The dial tone was the next thing she heard.

.