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Every so often the little town of Thyme would hold a big festival, something to celebrate the time of year, the latest harvest, or anything of great significance. Last fall it was to introduce a newly wed couple, the spring before it was to celebrate surviving a minor flood. The Hayate’s would bring their food truck, the Jirou clan would supply the tables and tents, and a small trickle of tourists would travel from all over Seasoning to take part in the fun. Ever since moving in with Musashi about a year ago, Mob had been quietly curious about the festivals, only going if Musashi was going. Neither of them were much for large gatherings, Mob even less, but this upcoming festival sounded like fun. Mob was actually a little excited?
It was late afternoon and the couple had arrived at the closed off main street. People were bustling and laughing and talking, mom and pop stores had their doors wide open, and activities for different age groups were all over the place. Mob had insisted on carrying the small crate filled with preserves that Musashi’s mom had made, placing them carefully on the potluck table.
Mr. Akane noted something about how much of an honor it was to have a Goda family recipe on the table. Mob smiled, about to say something when a few tourists stopped by the table, asking if they could help. Turning to leave Mob started when he suddenly made eye contact with one of the tourists. Before he could evade any sort of small talk, she smiled and pointed at the glass mason jars filled with preserves.
“Did you make those?”
“A-ah… no, my mother–” he was going to say ‘in-law’ but was interrupted by his phone beeping. “Oh. Sorry I need to take this.” He politely excused himself, standing next to Musashi. It was Reigen.
Reigen: Hey, Mob! Seri, Ritsu and I should be there in about a half hour, work ran late today. Can’t wait!
Mob smiled. It had been awhile since he and Reigen had met together. He was happy that he and Serizawa would be making an appearance. The two had gained a name around the town as the “city slickers who know Shigeo”. Everyone treated them kindly, albeit they all seemed to clue into Reigen’s not being an esper pretty quick. They humored him, though.
Ritsu on the other hand visited much more often, living closer than the infamous not-quite-a-couple. The town adored him, even if Ritsu tended to give people annoyed glares.
Mob: Ok :)
“That Reigen?” Musashi asked, peering over his shoulder.
“Yeah. He, Ritsu and Serizawa are on their way.”
Musashi beamed, and Mob felt a little flutter in his heart. “Wonderful! The more the merrier!”
Mob and Reigen’s reunion was filled with hugs and pats on the backs. He was still wearing that gray suit of his, though his tie was a bit more colorful and both he and Serizawa had gained a little weight since the last time they’d seen each other. Ritsu was especially happy to see his brother and brother-in-law as well, chatting idly with Musashi while he and Reigen caught up.
“So, how’s the farm life been, Mob?” Reigen said, an arm slung around his shoulder. His face was bright and cheerful and Mob could tell it was one of his genuine smiles.
“Good. Musashi and I hired some new farmhands and we finally got the truck’s motor fixed. How have you been?”
“Oh, wonderful, wonderful!” Reigen said, hands doing that weird all-over-the-place thing that never failed to distract Mob. “New clients from all over, exorcisms every other day, the usual.”
Musashi was called by a neighbor to come say hi to a cousin from the city or something and Reigen, Ritsu, Serizawa, and Mob spent some time chatting. Mob mainly listened. Eventually, Serizawa and Reigen decided to go and get something to eat, leaving Ritsu and Mob standing side by side a little ways from the crowd. It was good seeing Ritsu again. They often talked over the phone but now that they were side by side, they really didn’t need much conversation.
“Hey, are you two brothers?” Someone approached the two– the tourist lady from earlier.
“Oh. Yeah.”
She smiled, seeming interested. “Ya know, I thought so. Similar faces.” She smiled at Mob. “My name’s Riko Jirou, I have family here. Distant, but they’re still family.”
Mob felt squirmy whenever anyone stared at him too much and he was definitely feeling that now.
“It’s nice to meet you, Jirou. I’m Ritsu Kageyama, and this is Shigeo” Ritsu said, bowing quickly. Mob mimicked him, tugging at the hem of his shirt awkwardly. Where was Musashi?
Riko seemed loath to leave their company, and continued to talk to them. She kept trying to get Mob to talk more, which he attempted but ended up continuously flustered. Fortunately she didn’t seem too bothered by that, but he would rather just be quiet with Ritsu. He was glad it was so hot out, so that he had an excuse to be sweating so much. Oh. Ritsu was giving him an amused look that he didn’t quite understand, but he was pretty sure it was the one that meant he was missing something.
“So, are you and your brother locals?”
“Ah… I am. Ritsu lives in Allspice.”
“Oh, so you must know many of the people here, then.”
“...I suppose.”
He really wished someone would interrupt. Where was Reigen or Musashi when he needed them? Even Serizawa would be a welcome relief. And why wasn’t Ritsu helping out? He blinked. Ritsu was talking now.
“Let’s get something to eat. I’m starving.”
Mob nodded, relief washing over him. “Okay.”
“Mind if I join you? I’d prefer not to eat next to a bunch of kids.”
An annoying pit of frustration formed in Mob’s stomach. He just wanted to hang out with his family and friends… not some stranger who kept staring at him. But, Ritsu had already agreed and the three were walking to the food stands. He caught a brief glimpse of Musashi, who made eye contact and waved at him. He was about to walk towards them when a group of kids got in his way, demanding his attention. Mob sighed, disappointed. Musashi was a hit with the local kids, and he enjoyed entertaining them… for so long.
“Dude, she’s flirting with you.” Riko had finally been called away by a relative to take a family picture, leaving Ritsu and Mob to sit at the table by themselves. Their meal had been lovely, and the table was littered with trash now. Mob had begun to collect their paper plates, nearly spilling them when Ritsu dropped that bomb.
“Eh?” Mob blinked. “But… I’m married.”
Ritsu rolled his eyes. “She obviously doesn’t know that.” Mob blinked again. Right. He’d forgotten to put his wedding ring back on after tending to the garden this morning. He couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty at that.
“Wha– why haven’t you said anything?”
Ritsu took a sip from his paper cup, a smug look in his eyes. “It’s kind of funny.”
“Eh? Ritsu–” Mob furrowed his brow only a fraction. “Ritsu, that’s not funny.” This was the last thing he would have considered funny. It was insincere! Riko was nice, albeit a bit too intense for Mob, but he wouldn’t dream of leading anyone on ever.
“Oh don’t worry about it Mob. It’s not like you’ll ever see her again after tonight anyway.”
This was just making Mob a million times more uncomfortable. So, he did the only thing he could do– leave . Well, he took the table trash to the garbage cans a ways off. Might as well make himself useful. While he was there he took out his phone. Should he text Musashi about this? He didn’t want to be a bother, but at the same time Mob had no idea where that guy had gone and really he just wanted to be near him. In the end he just sent a quick text with a smiley face, hoping that was enough to prompt him.
“Oh, hey!” Mob jumped out of his skin when Riko appeared out of nowhere.
“Ah! Oh, uh, hi.” Damn it not this again. Time to pull some sort of Reigen nonsense and find an excuse to leave. “I-I was just getting ready to go.”
“Already? It’s only four.” She frowned.
“Yeah, I, uh, have to, uh–” thinking of something on the spot had never been his strong suit. “I… have to feed my cats.” Now that he thought about it he actually had to...
She smiled. “Cats? How many do you have?”
“Oh. Well. They’re uh… not technically my cats. Not, uh, all of them. Just three. There are, uh, lots of others...” He gulped. “But, uh, yeah, I need to–” get my husband and leave or something. And feed the cats.
“Do you know all their names?”
He paused. Nodded. Was it just him or was she standing oddly close? It was probably just him, but he wanted to be literally anywhere else right now.
“Wow! You must have a really good memory.”
“Um. Not really.”
She laughed. “So humble too! You must be hit around here.”
“He is!” Musashi’s baritone voice startled the two of them, Mob even more so because Musashi’s hand had suddenly slapped down on Mob’s shoulder. Despite being surprised beyond belief (a few empty cans jumping with him) Mob was suddenly filled with relief. How Musashi knew to come to the rescue, Mob didn’t care. He was just glad he was here now. Mob’s mouth betrayed the tiniest smile. “Everyone in town adores Mob!” He held Mob a little closer. “Especially me.” Mob hoped his blush wasn’t apparent.
“Oh.” Riko was definitely taken aback by the suddenness of the towering wall of muscle. “Er… I’m afraid we haven’t been introduced yet. I’m Riko Jirou.”
“Ah! I’m Musashi. Always nice to meet another Jirou clan member!”
Mob sort of stopped listening after that. Musashi and Riko shared some small talk, but when it was clear Musashi wasn’t going to leave without Mob by his side, Riko politely excused herself. Mob let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding, leaning a little more into Musashi.
“What was that all about?” Musashi asked. For a fleeting moment Mob was scared that Musashi would be mad at him, but the sound of his voice was calm, and the smile told him he was more amused than anything else.
“Eh… She was flirting? I’m not sure. Ritsu said she was flirting with me. Sorry.”
“Sorry?” Musashi held Mob’s shoulders so that they were standing in front of each other. His face was kind and his eyes were soft. “You don’t need to apologize, Mob. You’re not at fault with anything! It was an honest mistake on her part. Besides…” Musashi took Mob’s hands. “She was flirting with you for good reason.”
“Eh?”
“Yeah, I mean. Who wouldn’t want to flirt with such a cute guy?”
“ Eh?” Mob couldn’t hide the blush on his face, as much as he tried to. He hoped desperately that none of the other festival-goers were noticing them.
“Sure! You’re handsome and nonthreatening. And you have pretty eyes.”
Mob ducked his face behind their laced fingers, blushing profusely. Mob had a feeling Musashi was doing this on purpose, trying to get him all flustered and embarrassed. Musashi chuckled, and Mob felt his kiss on head.
“And whenever you get flustered you try to hide that cute face of yours. C’mon Mob.” He gently uncovered Mob’s face. “Let’s have a fun festival day, okay?”
Mob smiled. Nodded.
Reigen and Serizawa and Ritsu all waved goodbye from the bus station a little ways out of town. For the past hour people had been trickling away, gathering their things and getting into cars. The Hayate’s food truck and a few shopkeepers closing up was all that was left by the time Mob and Musashi left. Mob hadn’t seen much of Riko for the rest of the festival, and he and Musashi had been inseparable. Reigen had teased them, especially after Ritsu mentioned someone had been flirting with Mob, but it was all in good fun.
Mob stretched when they arrived home. The day’s activities had completely drained him of energy. A few cats watched as the two walked inside.
The first thing Mob did when they walked through the door was find his wedding ring and put it on.
He smiled.
Much better.