Work Text:
"And I'm telling you, that chick is crazy!" the green haired man continued as he gestured enthusiastically, eyes as big as the the half-empty beer cup in front of him, "like, she fucking threw me into the pool. And then she just like... threw herself after me, prom-dress on and everything and then her friends were like..."
Gakupo pressed his head against the table as he tried to shut Mikuo's irritating voice out of his head. 'A fun night out', Kaito had called it, and Gakupo was yet to see the fun in the 3 hours he'd spent in his, Ted's, Kikaito's, Akaito's and this green haired moron's company.
He should know by now that Kaito's and his own ideas of fun differed significantly, but he would always fail to understand what fun a for the most part soda-drinking geek who's favorite subject of conversation was absurd and sometimes beyond abstract sci-fi movies and amusement parks could find any entertainment in listening to four idiots talking about their history of poorly constructed rally-cars, the vomit inducing drinks they made last weekend and their recent conquests, and oh! The butt of the girl two meters away from them.
23 to 27 friggin years, that was what they were but their vocabulary could at best have belonged to that of four 15 year old boys and even though Gakupo hated to admit it, he would prefer Kaito's talk of ice-cream teleporters and truck-driving gorillas any day over this pathetic conversation which should have been ended 8 years ago.
"Speaking of crazy chicks, what about Sayaka?" Kikaito grinned, a meaningful look in his yellow eyes as he turned towards Ted, "just a one-time thing or...?"
The auburn haired man looked at the blond with that bored expression that seemed to have been plastered to his face since the very day he was born.
"A one-time thing", he muttered, "you can only spend so much time with a mood swinging pyromaniac".
"Oh!" another meaningful grin from Mikuo, "you mean that Nakamura-chick", his eyes practically glittered, "the best damn..."
And at that point Gakupo pushed the mute-button inside his head. He could pretty much imagine what kind of 'best damn' Mikuo was talking about because that and that idiotic drunken boat-race was pretty much what he'd been talking about the entire evening, which was why Gakupo pretty much considered installing an automatic mute button when it came to the green haired man.
"Speaking of crazy", Kikaito laughed suddenly, "Gakupo, what about that adorable blond?"
All of a sudden Gakupo could feel five sets of eyes on him. Kikaito, Mikuo and Kaito's filled with excitement, Akaito's with amusement and Ted's with an overwhelming skepticism.
"What?" Gakupo frowned as he looked back at them.
"You know...", Mikuo grinned meaningfully, eyes completely sparkling with pure idiocy, "that Hiroshi-guy...., you know the bat-shit insane one that..."
"The name was Hio", Ted rolled his eyes, "and if I recall it correctly, you were the one who made an ass of yourself".
"Yeah, yeah", Mikuo muttered, rolling his eyes in return, "and I apologized, didn't I?"
"Yeah", Kikaito frowned, "and somehow managed to make things even worse. You know, the line 'it is known that orphans has a fragile psyche and tend to be hysterical, so it isn't your fault that you overreacted' isn't known to be the best apology. But anyway", his sparkling smile returned as he looked at Gakupo, "you went after him so I guess it worked out. So you know... are you on?" he sent a meaningful look the samurai's way.
Gakupo frowned as he looked back at the tall man, replying a little more crankily than necessary.
"No, we're not on", he muttered as he glared at the other, "I was comforting him, there's nothing more to it."
"So you say", Mikuo grinned, "but admit that you were kinda tempted to tap that. I mean... you did run after him as if your pants were on fire".
Ted raised an eyebrow.
"Now, I don't really swing that way", he said, "but if I did I'd consider him a good 10 out of 10. Well...", he frowned meaningfully, "at least appearance-wise".
"What do you mean by that?" Kaito looked incredulously at the older Kasane-twin, "what's wrong with the rest of him?" The blue haired man looked almost angry as his gaze lingered on Ted.
"Well", Ted lowered his voice as he looked practically nauseous, "that whole thing about only spending so much time with mood-swinging pyromaniacs...", he paused before muttering, "I'll stick to that any day".
"Pyromaniac?" Kikaito laughed, "I do get that he's a bit unhinged but aren't you exaggerating, you know? Only a tiny, tiny bit".
"Yeah", Akaito grinned as he looked at the auburn haired man, "where did you get pyromaniac from?"
"Pyromaniac, cleptomaniac, the male version of Yuno Gasai", Ted shrugged his shoulders, "same thing. All I know is that he's got those crazy eyes and whatever is going on in there I really don't care to find out".
While Gakupo somewhat agreed with Ted about the whole crazy eyes thing he hated to say that he couldn't really agree with the part about not caring for what went on behind them. While Hio just as expected had returned to being the all-over-the-place, loud, manic and persistent person Gakupo was used to already the day after Mikuo's not so wisely chosen words the samurai couldn't say that he was equally as annoyed with his attitude as usual.
Sure, he still didn't feel like having his name yelled out all over the town, he still didn't like to be referred to as senpai in every damn sentence and of course he didn't like to be stalked and have his photo taken when he least expected it but somehow annoying Hio was a lot better than crying, distressed, inconsolable Hio who practically hated his life. When seeing him in this angle he seemed almost...
"Oh, but Gakupo could need a little crazy in his life", Kaito smiled broadly as he looked at the purple haired man, "he could need something to speed it up a little bit".
Gakupo rolled his eyes as he looked back at his barely endurable friend. Oh, on further reflection he took that back. He actually had enough crazy in his life as it was. The evidence sat right in front of him.
"No", he sent the blue haired man a dark look, "and if you bring that up again your life will be a level of crazy that you haven't even seen in your worst nightmares".
Kaito was just about to open his mouth when Mikuo's loud yell interrupted him.
"But don't you have a look at that?" the green haired man whistled as he sent a meaningful grin towards the bar table where tons of guests had gathered, "speaking of the devil. Seems you're getting lucky tonight, samurai-man", the idiotic grin combined with a wink was immediately directed Gakupo's way.
Gakupo groaned from inside as he glared at the green haired man. He knew exactly what he was going to see when following Mikuo's gaze which was exactly why he avoided to do so as long as humanly possible. He would very much like to slam his beer mug in Mikuo's face but right now he was too busy panicking over the fact that he obviously couldn't escape blond over enthusiastic samurai fanboys anywhere to bother making the man lose even more brain cells than he already lost at birth.
Seeing Hio alone wasn't really that terrible of an experience anymore but seeing him together with 5 knuckle heads who'd apparently gotten the completely wrong idea was plain mental torture.
"Hi...!" Kaito called out, throwing his hand into the air but was cut off by a hand over his mouth, a death glare keeping him from moving it away.
The blue haired man frowned as he looked at his friend.
"Don't you dare", the samurai hissed.
"Okey, okey", Kaito muttered, "I'm not calling him here but don't you think it's rude not to say hi?"
"Yeah, it's rude", Ted gave a frown of his own, "but as I said before, the whole thing about only spending so much time with a mood swinging pyromaniac. It hasn't changed in the last 3 minutes".
As Gakupo followed Kaito's gaze he couldn't help but somewhat linger on the sight. It wasn't really as though Hio looked any different from normal, black jeans combined with another one of his dark colored t-shirts, blond hair wild and ruffled. There was however something about those curious auburn eyes and that excited yet strangely relaxed smile that actually almost made Gakupo want to call him over.
As brief as it had been he knew how pleasant the blond could be when he wasn't in hysterical fanboy-mode but the fact that that was hardly ever made the samurai reconsider immediately. Just like as with arts some things were just more beautiful at a distance.
"Suit yourselves", Akaito interrupted the samurai's thoughts with one of those far too familiar smiles, "you're missing out on a golden opportunity. Sit here and mop if you feel like it. That just leaves more for me".
Just like last time the red haired Shion had shown his way to obvious interest in the bubbly Hio that knowing, naughty and overly confident expression in his eyes immediately made Gakupo tense. As much as he didn't feel like talking to the boy the idea of Akaito putting his way to experienced hands on him filled the samurai with an unfathomable wrath.
Hio was a lot of things, loud, indiscreet, ridiculously restless, silly, childish and outright obnoxious but one thing he was not was a cheap, soulless toy that you could put on a 'to do'-list and then be rid off the day after. Gakupo had witnessed first hand how sensitive the blond could be and that sensitivity exposed to the oldest Shion brother's deceitful charm was possibly one of the worst scenarios the samurai could ever imagine.
"That's cool", Ted shrugged his shoulders, "nor dudes and as of late...", that meaningful frown on his face again, "nor loons is my territory, anyway".
"Ditto", Mikou grinned lazily in his amazingly well spoken manner.
"Taken", Kaito smiled as he demonstratively held up his golden engagement-ring.
"Really not my territory", Kikaito shrugged his shoulders as he gave his brother an amused smile.
As the five faces looked expectantly at him Gakupo was very tempted to say that yes, he did mind. He did mind Hio being picked up by the most deceitful man in existence. He did mind Hio being reduced to a one-time thing by a man who switched partners the way he switched underwear. He did mind one of the most adorable people he met getting his heart broken and...
"I'm not the boss of him", was all he finally heard himself say as he glared at the redhaired man.
Akaito's eyes was lingering on his, amusedly, challengingly before he shrugged his shoulders and casually raised his hand.
"Sure, if you say so", he said before turning his back on the company.
Gakupo didn't notice it but as the oldest Shion-brother approached the unknowing blond his fists were knitted so hard they were nearly white. Jaw clenched and eyes locked on the sight Gakupo watched as Hio turned around, auburn eyes widening adorably as he looked at the red haired man before shining up in that genuine, radiant smile that he was so well known for, a smile that almost had Gakupo stop dead in his current track of thought.
Hio when not in rabid fanboy mode was certainly something and unfortunately it seemed 'some' people didn't know exactly how much. In silent anger the purple haired man watched as Akaito returned that smile, confidently placing a hand on the blond's shoulder.
"He certainly has a way with them hasn't he?" Gakupo was ripped out of his thoughts by the deep, friendly voice.
Turning his head he looked right into the amused gaze of Kikaito.
"Girls, boys", the tall blond grinned, "dolls. He could charm his way into anyone's heart".
'And their pants', the samurai thought sternly. He sincerely wondered how long they got to keep them on the instant they decided to enter that tacky apartment of his because out of all the people he'd ever brought home none but the very people gathered around this table had ever left said apartment with their virtue intact.
"Not Hio though", he heard himself say, more crankily than intended, "he's way too smart to buy any of that slimy, slippery talk".
Directly 3 pair of eyes was directed the samurai's way. Kikaito's with meaningful amusement, Kaito's in pure surprise and Ted's with huge skepticism. Gakupo had expected some smartass comment from Mikuo about how badly he wanted get into Hio's pants after all but the green haired man seemed to be in a world of his own as he sat with the frown of the century on his face, looking as though he was thinking so hard that his head might break. So instead it was Kikaito's turn to come up with the smartass comment.
"You've come to know each other well then", he gave a knowing smirk.
"Well enough to know that smug, dishonest, tasteless snakes isn't his type", Gakupo's voice was nearly a growl.
"Such sweet things you say about my brother", Kiyoteru laughed heartedly, not even a hint of annoyance in his voice, "can I assume said snake isn't sticking to his territory?"
Gakupo knew exactly what the tall man was implying but right now he was too angry to care. He watched in silent wrath as Akaito leaned forwards whispering something in the blond's ear that he could only guess.
"If you excuse me", he muttered as he rose from the table, not sparing the people surrounding him as much as a glance as he turned around, quickly walking towards the hateful sight.
_._
"You should come by some time", Akaito was looking at Hio with that dangerously charming smile, "Zeito doesn't say much but he mixes some of the best drinks I've ever had".
"Sorry", the blond laughed softly as he held up the red soda in his hand, "not an alcohol-fan and well...", he frowned slightly, "I have a curfew of kinda 'not hours after midnight'".
"And why is that?" Akaito's red gaze lingered curiously on the young man, "why limit yourself like that on a weekend?"
"Because he said so!" Akaito frowned as he was interrupted by the stern male voice.
"What?" Akaito looked into the purple haired man's defiant glare with a combination of surprise and amusement.
"Because he said so", Gakupo repeated again, not deviating an inch from the red haired man's gaze.
As the two looked at each other in what seemed like a silent measurement of strength Hio watched on with wide eyes, questioningly looking from face to face.
"Okey", Akaito said at last, a meaningful frown on his face before shrugging his shoulders, "whatever you say", a careless smile on his face before he turned towards the bedazzled blond, "see you later okay", he added in a low voice, one of those despicable winks directed at his target.
Gakupo didn't move his gaze one inch from the redhead as Akaito turned around, slowly making his way towards their regular table and he didn't direct it at Hio until the nuisance had pulled out his chair and taken his spot between Mikuo and Kikaito. Once he finally looked at the blond Gakupo's anger was replaced with something very similar to hesitation. This wasn't a situation he was used to.
He was never the one to purposely seek out the energetic blond or for that matter any person that he found so... as the samurai looked into those large auburn eyes with their surprised expression Gakupo didn't really know how to finish the sentence inside his head. Even though he'd seen this particular expression a few times by now he just could never get used to the strange effect it had on him. The strange warm feeling that found its way to the pits of his stomach, the idiotic smile that immediately split up his face. Yeah, annoying. That was the exact right word he was looking for.
"Phew! I thought he'd never leave", Hio interrupted the silence with a radiant smile.
Now it was Gakupo's turn to look at the blond with eyes the size of saucers and mouth half open. Would Hio ever stop surprising him? It seemed the very moment Gakupo thought he'd figured him out the other would come up with the exact opposite reaction of what he expected and once again leave him with that strange feeling in his stomach.
The samurai looked at the young man in silence. The smile that lit up his face like a lantern, the dark eyes which looked at him with nothing but pure appreciation. Not that Gakupo was a man of many words in general but in this moment it seemed he couldn't have uttered one even if he wanted to. Not even during their last serious conversation could he remember seeing Hio like that.
Another moment of silence before Gakupo surprised himself and let out a warm chuckle.
"Never leave?" he said, "he literally stood here for 5 minutes".
"Yeah", Hio grimaced meaningfully, "far too long".
As much as he hated to admit it that line filled Gakupo with an enormous amount of satisfaction. He could of course blame it on the fact that Akaito being dissed in general always was a wonderful surprise (so far Meiko was the only one who had fulfilled that thrilling little dream of Gakupo's) but try as he may he couldn't deny the fact that HIO being the one to diss him made the satisfaction tenfold.
"I really hate guys like that", the blond exclaimed, "they must think that the sun is shining out of their assess", Hio's auburn eyes were practically shooting flames, "no I don't feel honored at the prospect of being the next point of his bucket-list. Forgive me for having an opinion".
Gakupo looked silently at the blond. His narrowed eyes, his contracted jaw and all of a sudden found himself laughing softly.
"Shinning out of his ass?" he grinned.
"Yes", Hio muttered as he sent a dark glance the red-heads way, "exactly that. It's as if he simply expects you to bounce up and down with happiness and thank him humbly for giving you the honor of being his 1000th fuck. Who knows, maybe being 1000th in line gives you some kind of WIP-gift of sorts", the blond rolled his eyes.
"Except that everyone's already received his package", Gakupo surprised himself with his next line as he raised a meaningful eyebrow.
Now it was Hio's turn to look at him with wide eyes and a mouth the shape of an `o`.
"What?" the blond exclaimed as he gave the samurai a look of disbelief.
Hio gave Gakupo a once-over before laughing, a short but warm laughter which made Gakupo give a genuine smile of his own. He didn't know why but somehow making the blond laugh was surprisingly satisfying.
"Oh", Hio frowned as he gave the samurai a significant look, "it's really that bad?"
"Yeah", Gakupo grimaced slightly, "safe for me, Ted and Mikuo and his siblings... or at least I hope so", he muttered under his breath as not so pleasant images flashed through his mind, "I'd make a pretty good guess that pretty much everyone in this place has wrapped in and up that package more than once".
Another look of disbelief from the young man in front of him before an even louder laughter came out of his lips, auburn eyes glittering with amusement. Gakupo watched on silently as Hio's shoulders moved back and forth, hand moving to his stomach as his eyes slightly teared.
"Seriously", he managed to squeeze out, "seriously?"
Gakupo looked at the young man with a look of disbelief and amusement of his own as he raised an eyebrow.
"What?" he smiled calmly, "you don't believe me?"
"No, it's not that", Hio managed to squeeze out between the giggle-fits, "it's just...", the young man drew a deep breath before at least looking somewhat collectedly into Gakupo's eyes, "I kinda thought you were above this kind of humor".
Gakupo looked at him silently. Yeah, he kinda was wasn't he? Why was it suddenly okay to use it now? As he looked into those sparkling auburn eyes and those cheeks still slightly pink from his previous laughing fit the samurai smiled softly.
"Yeah, it kind of is", he admitted, "but I thought the situation kind of called for it".
Hio smiled softly in return, auburn eyes watching him quietly. Once again Gakupo found himself incapable of breaking the silence but somehow he really didn't mind this time. There was a certain tranquility in watching those smooth features, those large eyes and that mild smile. A certain state that he couldn't quite explain.
"You know, it isn't my thing", Hio finally spoke, a certain seriousness reflected in those dark eyes, "going home with someone at 3 o'clock in the morning, do stuff you won't even remember and then leave at 13.30 o'clock as though nothing happened. I'd rather you know...", he looked down at his feet before looking up at the man in front of him again, "it'd mean something".
Gakupo's eyes widened. He wasn't quite sure what he'd expected but somehow Hio saying that line made him feel a relief that he couldn't put the finger on.
"Me neither", he heard himself, "this whole one-night thing", a deep frown on his face, "it's really not... well, there are a lot of other things I'd rather do a Friday night".
Another moment of silence where Hio watched Gakupo with an unreadable half smile on his face before he said the next thing Gakupo didn't expect.
"So who dragged you out here?"
"What?" Gakupo's eyes widened as he looked at the young man in front of him.
Hio was looking at him with his hands on his hips, eyes sparkling amusedly, almost ingeniously.
"You obviously didn't come here because you love partying", Hio said, "so who managed to convince you that this was a good idea".
Gakupo gave the young man a once-over before smiling amusedly.
"Well", he raised a meaningful eyebrow, "wanna guess?"
"Hmm...", Hio placed a hand under his chin in mock thoughtfulness, "can I guess his name starts with K and finishes with Aito?"
"Pretty damn correct", Gakupo grimaced slightly, "and you?"
"Maika", Hio gave a tired smile as he glanced to his right, "and Roro... but just a tiny bit. It was mostly Maika".
As Gakupo followed the blond's gaze his eyes fell on a man with pink hair and one of those hats that he never got why people would wear in doors, and a woman with white hair so long it almost reached her feet and pink highlights at the ends. The man only said his hello with a raised eyebrow and a lazy raise of the hand, grey eyes looking neutrally at the samurai, the girl however looked almost a little too happy. Her auburn eyes were sparkling, not to differently from the way Hio's did and she had a meaningful smirk on her face as she waved at her friend and the purple haired man.
"Don't go telling lies here", she called out, "you're super thankful I brought you here".
"Dream on!" Hio called out, a radiant smile on his face, "I'm not gonna be your permanent wingman".
"Permanent wingman?" Maika snorted as she looked at the blond with a raised eyebrow, "is that what you call it?"
Somehow Gakupo found himself smiling softly at the energetic exchange of words which somewhat reminded him of the average conversation between the Kagamine-twins. That lightheartedness, the tongue in cheek arguments, the silly atmosphere which only Kaito and possibly Kikaito brought into his life.
"You know", Maika frowned as she looked at the blond, "the whole, 'she used to dress up as Godzilla on Halloween'-line doesn't come off as all that alluring. I see you got lucky though", a smirk found its way up her face as she gave Gakupo a meaningful glance.
As Gakupo looked between the two friends he couldn't help but notice the shade of pink spreading across Hio's cheeks. He didn't have much time to reflect on it though because Maika continued.
"You kids take it easy now", her smile was practically vicious as she winked at the two men, "it's only your first night out".
Against his will Gakupo felt an almost painful heat spreading across his cheeks. He had been receiving these comments from Kaito and the gang an awful lot as of late but somehow this girl almost by magic managed to make it ten times more awkward. And if he by any chance had any doubts about Hio's reaction he didn't have to wonder for long, for after only having been a slight shade of pink his cheeks were as red as Akaito's hair and quickly contaminated the rest of his face.
Wow! Not awkward at all! Gakupo thought frantically of a way to retort when the soft voice interrupted the moment.
"Now, I've had quite enough of miss shipping-trash for this evening", Hio put his nose in the air, almost managing to look untouched as he looked at the samurai, "what do you say, wanna get some fresh air?"
While Gakupo believed such an action would result in the opposite of this nonsense stopping he thought it was the best option at the moment. He wouldn't have to stand here and look like an idiot in front of someone that he obviously couldn't retort to, he wouldn't have to deal with the soul-wrecking conversations of the Shion-brothers and Co, and especially not Akaito hitting on Hio. Yes, that last one was definitely a great reason to go out...
"Yeah", he nodded, "let's go out".
Hio nodded in return, that strangely adorable smile on his face again.
"Come on then!" without as much as a warning those slender pale fingers grabbed a hold of Gakupo's sleeve enthusiastically pulling him towards the entrance.
"Okay, see you later", the pinkhaired man who'd been quiet the entire time gave them an acknowledging nod, face still dead neutral as they turned around. Maika however smiled viciously.
"Oh, but I have good reason to be, don't I?"
Gakupo reflexively turned his head in order to escape that piercing auburn gaze, the one that seemed far to close to giving him a brain scan.
"Roro, please tell her to stay off the breezers", as Hio turned to the pinkhaired guy he only almost managed to look nonchalant.
"Sure", Roro nodded again, eyebrow raised, "Maika, it's not soda you know".
"Yeah, yeah", Maika waved him off while rolling her auburn eyes, "anyway, have fun kids!" a big smile and two rows of pearly white teeth, illuminated her face.
Gakupo decided that he liked her. She may be the very epitome of a westerner fan-girl but she was natural and self-certain in a surprisingly non-obnoxious way, and she hadn't made... But Gakupo and Hio had only walked a few meters when the loud voice called out.
"And don't forget to use protection!" ... a complete fool of him yet.
Gakupo frowned from inside before smiling knowingly. Well, well. He supposed he could give her this one. After all, catching a date after a line such as 'she used to dress up as Godzilla on Halloween' wasn't a simple task. Hio's cheeks however seemed to be on fire before he struggled against his blush and called out.
"Don´t you worry", the blond turned towards his friend with a teasing smile, "I´m not the one who likes to do it in public places".
But the white haired girl found herself quickly.
"Trust me", she called out with a wide grin on her face, "it´s only a matter of time".
The pink haired man sent Gakupo a meaningful head shake, half a smile on his face. Gakupo only smiled tiredly right back. Indeed, he would have to give her this one regardless of his own or Hio's wishes. But Hio however was looking towards the door with those adorably red cheeks, dark eyes glaring with a combination of anger and embarrassment ahead of him.
Gakupo chuckled. He didn't know why but somehow seeing Hio in such a vulnerable position brought forth an inexplicable tenderness within him.
"Come on!" he said, "let her have this one. Obviously she needs some kind of compensation for that 'goodzilla'-line", he lowered his voice as he gave Hio a meaningful wink.
As the blond turned towards him that lovely smile adorned his face again, a soft giggle slipping out of his lips.
"I guess", he said, "let's hurry on out while we're still even".
And this time Gakupo didn't even tense as Hio grabbed him by the hand.
_._
"So how does it feel?" Kaito gave the red haired man sitting across from him a knowing smile.
"What?" Akaito looked back at him with a calm smile of his own as he leaned back in his chair, "how does what feel?"
Except for Mikuo who was sitting with the constant expression of almost painful concentration on his face thinking about god knew what, how many beers he'd had during the course of one hour, where the girl with the nice 'booty' to the table on the left had gone or in case he´d forgotten, what his actual age was everyone had gone.
Ted had once again gained another reason to stay of loons as that Sayaka woman had turned up again and practically chased him around the bar while constantly yelling out how sorry she was for 'burning every evidence of their times together, and how she'd love to create new onces' while Kikaito had gone home with yeah, the girl at the table to the left with the 'nice booty'. Akaito however had gone home with and probably was not likely to, with anyone tonight but looked strangely cool about it.
"Come on!" Kaito said, "don't pretend as though you don't get it. You just lost to the 'backwards, samurai-ufo' as you call him", the blue haired man had to struggle not to grin.
But Akaito only sat back with a calm look in his crimson eyes, an unreadable half smile on his face.
"Now did I really?" he sent a meaningful look towards the door.
While Kaito'd always suspected that what Gakupo felt towards the blond wasn't really annoyance the sight that met him had him nearly let out a gasp. It may not look like anything strange in particular to the average person but to anyone who properly knew Gakupo it was practically revolutionary.
Yes, most people smiled every now and then, and most people had at least one person in their lives that made smiling easy but most people weren't Gakupo and most people currently wasn't wearing the dorkiest smile of the century as the person they'd only moments ago called too crazy to be part of their lives stood only inches away from them with their hand on their shoulder, occasionally giving them a playful jab on the arm.
Kaito couldn't hear what they were saying but he could guess by the slight shade of pink on Hio's cheeks, the soft smile and the genuine joy reflected within his auburn eyes that Gakupo wasn't exactly being hostile. And Gakupo himself...
Kaito couldn't help but smile as he noticed the expression in that grey gaze. He had seen it before when he'd listened to the absurd discussions of the Kagamine-twins or when the young Miku Hatsune had told the samurai that she'd finally gotten the A she'd struggled so hard for at the Math-test. Yet there was also a little something else he'd located there that he hadn't seen before.
Something very similar to the gaze he saw in the mirror when he thought of his wife to be, the one that his brothers had described when he introduced Meiko to them for the very first time, the very same gaze he had on when he'd put the ring on her finger.Kaito smiled quietly as he looked at his own ring before he returned to reality.
Akaito was wearing a knowing yet unusually peaceful smile of his own as he sat back in his chair.
"You know", the red haired man said calmly, "sometimes I'm actually pretty decent".
"That you are", Kaito nodded with an usual amount of seriousness. It wasn't a very known side of him, and it definitely didn't come to light when it came to beautiful men and women but Akaito was more caring than he let on.
It was thanks to him that Kaito's childhood had been even remotely close to carefree, and even though it wasn't exactly expected it was actually to a great extent because of him that Kaito had been allowed to be the complete dork that he was.
"Thank you", Kaito heard himself say, "he's probably never going to get it", he raised a knowing eyebrow, "so I may as well say it for him. Thanks for not letting my friend miss out on a good thing".
"Don't mention it", Akaito smiled calmly as he casually waved his hand, "I wouldn't want the rest of the lot to think I like sharing".
Kaito was just about to open his mouth when the high exclamation stopped him.
"Oh!"
As the blue haired man looked to his right he was met with the sight of a wide eyed Mikuo who looked as though he'd just made the discovery of the century.
"Oh!" he repeated again before smiling excitedly, "I think I know why now?"
"What?" both Shion-brothers looked at him with deep frowns on their faces.
"I know why Hio got pissed at me now", the green haired man said happily, "he just doesn't like that I commented on him being an orphan".
"You think?" the sarcasm in Akaito's voice could be detected by the most oblivious person, as he gave the green haired man a knowing look.
"I don't think", Mikuo rolled his eyes, "I KNOW", he looked silently ahead of him, an almost poetic look on his face before smiling again, "I know! I'll just go apologize to him. I'll tell him that I'll never bring up his background again even though it's horrible, pitiful and made him completely hysterical and neurotic".
From only having looked tiredly at him, Kaito and Akaito's eyes reflected plain horror.
"No, you won´t !" they exclaimed with one mouth.
But Mikuo seemed to be entirely stuck in his own agenda as he rose from his chair, practically bouncing towards the door. Kaito and Akaito exchanged another tired look before rising to their feet and with all their might rushing after the green haired disaster. Well, at least this night hadn´t turned out uneventful.