Chapter Text
"They’re here again," Nazuna said, a tray tugged under his arm and leaning over the counter.
Mika followed the direction of Nazuna’s gaze. The biker gang was lingering in front of the ice cream parlor. It wasn’t like they were here often, but it also wasn’t the first time. Nazuna didn’t know what to think of them. All his knowledge about them came from rumors, and according to them that biking gang is one you should not mess with. They’re dangerous, people say.
Nazuna would lie if he’d say he wasn’t scared of them. But he didn’t like admitting it. In general Nazuna wasn’t too keen on admitting he was scared, even if he was. People always belittle him because he looked young for his age and was so short. Not to mention the work clothes he was in right now. The shop he was working at had a cute theme, everything was bright and sweet. His work outfit was pink and yellow with a little bit of baby blue, which made him look even 'cuter' than he was already seen at.
At least the roller blades made him a little bit taller, even if not by much.
That being said, the ice cream parlor attracted a specific group of customers. People that like those cute things: children, a lot of girls, younger people on dates. The atmosphere was tense and Nazuna couldn’t blame them. A lot of people were probably scared and feeling uncomfortable.
"What do you think they want here?" Nazuna asked and Mika shrugged.
"I don’t know," he replied. "Should we go talk to Oshi-san?"
Nazuna hesitated. He didn’t want to drag their manager into this, so he just shook his head. "No," he replied. "I think they’ll be gone soon." Hopefully, because the customers weren’t the only one feeling eery with the biker gang loitering in front of their shop.
"But… one of them is coming here," Mika said, his voice shaking.
Nazuna’s grip on his tray tightened when he saw how one of them got off from his bike and made his way to the entrance. What did he want here? Were they some kind of debt collectors? Who knew, he had heard all kinds of stories, and them being associated with the Yakuza had been one of them.
Mika grabbed onto Nazuna’s sleeve. "Nazuna-nii… what should we do?" he asked.
"I- I’ll handle this," Nazuna said. He put the tray on the counter at the same time the guy came in. When he was standing at the entrance, Nazuna noticed how huge he was. He wasn’t just tall, but also had broad shoulders and arms. It wasn’t just his build that made him threatening, but the frown on his face with his fiery red hair pushed back, the black streaks and the ear piercings… It was like somebody looked up how a typical 'delinquent' looked like and created him.
Maybe he didn’t want any trouble. Maybe he just wanted to eat some ice cream, even though Nazuna highly doubted it. He could feel all eyes on him when the other male walked towards him. He was even taller up close, towering several inches over Nazuna.
"Where’s your manager?" the guy asked.
Nazuna let a shriek slip out and he quickly tried to calm down. "What?"
"Your manager." The stranger looked around the shop, one of his hands in the pockets of his pants, the other one at the back of his neck. "Itsuki. He should be here, right?"
What did he want? Maybe he really was a debt collector! Nazuna was shaking and couldn’t form any words in his head. The male slowly turned back to him, his eyes lingering on Nazuna.
"Didn’t you hear me?"
"I- I-," Nazuna stuttered.
"Kiryu," a voice suddenly appeared. Both of them turned to Shu, who came to them from the back with his arms crossed in front of his chest and holding Mademoiselle in them. "You wanted to speak with me?"
"Yes," the man named Kiryu said.
"Follow me." Shu turned away again and walked through the back door. Kiryu followed him, but suddenly Nazuna gained back his voice, even if it was weak and he was mixing his words up.
"I- I don’t know wad you want here, but pleashe conshider the cushtomers! I don’t want them to be shcared!" Nazuna shouted. His heart was racing when he was finished and he cursed himself. Why did he say that? What had gone through his mind, had he completely lost it? He probably just signed his own death sentence.
Kiryu’s eyes were on him and Nazuna was too scared to tear his gaze away from him. Just say something!
"Kiryu," Shu called for him.
"I’m coming." The redhead turned away from Nazuna and disappeared behind the door. Nazuna breathed out in relief and soon he was met with a scared Mika.
"What did he want?" he asked.
"I don’t know," Nazuna said.
"I can’t believe you said that to him! I was so scared… Oshi-san wasn’t scared either," Mika murmured.
"Just… Let’s keep working," Nazuna quickly changed the topic. He smiled at a customer when he saw them waving him over and squeezed Mika’s arm softly before he rolled over to them. His shift was over soon too, maybe he won’t meet the guy again… He’ll just ask Shu about it the next day.
Shu just shrugged it off the next day when Nazuna asked about it. Mika seemed to be at a loss just like Nazuna. Even though he lived together with Shu, he still wasn’t able to get any useful information out of him.
The gang wasn’t threatening them, right? They weren’t demanding money or something from Shu, and that’s why he didn’t want to tell them?
"Nazuna-nii, he’s here again!" Mika shouted to him over the counter. This time, Nazuna was behind it and Mika was the one serving the customers. It usually was the other way round; Mika was still clumsy on the roller blades, but he had to learn some day, right?
Nazuna looked up to see the tall man from yesterday making his way towards the shop again.
"What do you think he wants? Do you think he wants to talk to Oshi-san again?"
There was a little girl with him. She couldn’t be older than eight, wearing a school uniform and a backpack. What did he want with the girl? Should Nazuna be worried? Kiryu walked into the shop, opening the door for the little girl.
"I’ll take over," Nazuna told Mika and rolled from behind the counter to Kiryu.
"Don’t worry," the man said. "I’m not here to cause any trouble."
"Oh." Nazuna didn’t know what else to say and glanced at the girl next to him. "You’re not here to see Itsuki?"
"No," Kiryu replied. "We want a table for two." Then, he turned to the girl and bowed a little bit to be more on her height. "Where do you want to sit?"
It caught Nazuna off guard, how his voice suddenly softened and he even smiled at her. He didn’t have the frown on his face anymore, instead there was just fondness in his expression.
"In the back," the girl replied.
Nazuna hesitated before he put on his professional smile. "We have some free tables in the back. You can wait there, I’ll come immediately."
"Thank you." Kiryu took the little girl’s hand and walked her to the back. Mika immediately rushed towards him.
"What was it?"
"He’s… here as a customer I think." Nazuna glanced over to the table the two have chosen. What was his relationship with the little girl? Maybe they were related? But they didn’t look the same at all. Nazuna was surprised she wasn’t scared of the tall guy, but then again, he seemed to be very gentle with her.
"What should we do?" Mika asked.
Nazuna shrugged. "He’s a customer, right? I’ll treat him like one."
Mika stared at him. "Are ya really?"
Nazuna blushed, thinking about the customs they had at the shop. They had to act cute and overly nice, and Nazuna didn’t have any problems with that. He had been working here for too long. But the thought of acting like that in front of a member of the city’s most notorious biker gang…
"Just be careful! Or should I call Oshi-san?"
Nazuna shook his head. "There’s a little girl too, okay? Let’s not cause a scene." He sighed. "I’ll go there and take their order." At least there weren’t many people here now, just two couples and a group of girls. Nazuna made his way to the back where there wasn’t anyone and took out his pink notebook and fitting glittery pen.
"Hi! My name’s Nazuna Nito, but you can call me nii-chan!" he introduced himself with his a smile on his face, more looking at the girl than at Kiryu. "May I take your order?"
"Nii-chan?" the girl and Kiryu said at the same time.
Nazuna blushed. It wasn’t the first time he had been asked this, but it felt different. It was his nickname he had gotten for this job, but even when he wasn’t working people still called him that. "My name’s Nito, so it sounds like onii-chan, you know?"
The girl’s expression brightened. "Okay, nii-chan! Does Kuro have to call you that too?"
"Kuro?"
"My brother! Kuro!" She pointed at Kiryu. Oh, so it was her brother. They didn’t look a like at all.
Nazuna turned to the other male. "Your name is Kuro Kiryu?" he asked.
"You know my name?"
Nazuna heisted. "It’s- Itsuki called you Kiryu. It’s fitting… I mean, sorry." He bit down on his lower lip, but couldn’t take his eyes away from him. "So, do you two have chosen what you want to eat yet?"
"No," the girl replied. "Onii-chan is always indecisive!"
"Have you decided then?" Nazuna asked her.
"Yes!" She showed him the ice cream she wanted from the Menu. "This one! It looks really cute!"
"That’s a good choice." Nazuna wrote it down. "You even get a little present!"
"Really?" The girl’s eyes widened and she smiled brightly at her brother. "Did you hear that?"
Kuro smiled at her. "Yes, I did." Was this the same man from yesterday? The same scary frowning guy who belonged to a biker gang? He had such a soft expression on his face and looked at his little sister with such loving eyes, Nazuna wouldn’t have believed it, if he wouldn’t see it with his own two eyes.
Someone who loved his sister so much couldn’t be all too bad, right?
"So, how about your brother then?" Nazuna asked.
"Uh…"
"If you’re indecisive, may I recommend something for you?"
"Of course," Kuro replied.
Nazuna turned the page from the Menu and pointed at dish. "This one! I created it by myself," he said proudly.
"Oh! That’s so cute! Nii-chan, do you like rabbits?" Kur’s sister asked.
Nazuna laughed. "Yes! I like them a lot, do you too? I even have a pet rabbit."
"Your name was Nazuna, right?" Kuro suddenly asked. He seemed amused by it. "Your name fits you too."
"Rabbits are cute, okay?" Nazuna defended himself.
"I know, you’re like one," the other male blurted out. There was a faint blush forming on his cheeks and Nazuna felt the heat rising up on his face too. Did that guy just call him cute?
"It’s decided then! We want that!" the girl said and closed the menu.
"Okay," Nazuna replied and wrote it down too, trying hard to gather his thoughts. The scary guy from the biker gang just called him cute. He just called him cute and… Nazuna hated it usually. He knew that he was striving for a cute image here at the shop, but he still wasn’t too fond of people calling him cute. But for some reasons, he didn’t mind that much with Kuro. It made him flustered. "I’ll go back then, bleashe waid for your ordar."
He rolled back to the counter and cursed himself. He was glad that he, on top of messing up his words, didn’t fall down.
"You took some time," Mika noticed. "Is everything alright?"
"Yes, Mika-chin," Nazuna replied. "We just talked."
"You talked?" Mika’s eyes widened. "Why is your face so red? Did he say something to scare you?"
"No! It’s not like that!" Nazuna shouted quickly. "Forget it…" He ripped off the paper from the notebook and slid it over to Mika. "Here, the order."
"Oh, did the girl order your Ra*Bits Special Cup?" Mika asked when he saw it.
"No," Nazuna replied. "He did."
Mika seemed surprised by that, but didn’t say anything else when he prepared the order. Nazuna in the meantime rushed to one of the couples that wanted to pay. When he got back, Mika was already finished with the order. Nazuna was nervous when he made his way back, but not for the same reason he had been before.
Just give him their order and then leave, you don’t need to do much.
"Here you go!" Nazuna said and put their dishes in front of them. "I hope it tastes good!"
"Ice cream always does," the girl said, giggling.
"What do we say?" her brother asked.
"Thank you, nii-chan!"
Nazuna raised his trail, partly hiding his face behind it. "No problem," he replied. Kuro was… not scary at all anymore. He was really kind of… cute himself. "Oh, and the present." He grabbed into his pocket where he had the toys he gave out to the kids. "A rabbit!" He placed it on her hands. It was a little rabbit plush on a keychain.
"Oh, thank you so much!" she shouted. "It’s so cute!"
"It looks exactly like the one I have," Nazuna said. "White with red eyes."
"You have the same eyes as your rabbit," Kuro stated and Nazuna blinked. Oh, he had noticed his eye color. It wasn’t something special, a lot of people did, because he had such an unusual one, and yet he was flustered over it.
"Yes," he said. "My mother said he reminded him of me, so she got me him."
"Can we have a rabbit too?" Kuro’s sister asked. "They’re so cute! I promise I will take good care of them."
Kuro chuckled and stroked his sister’s hair. "We can discuss that some other time, okay?"
The girl pouted. "Fine. Then I’m telling nii-chan that you wanted to come back here so badly because of hi-"
"Mayu!" Kuro interrupted her quickly with a bright red face. "I-"
Nazuna didn’t know what to do or say. Kuro came back because of him? He was too confused about this. It’s not like nobody had ever hit on him while he was on his job, but certainly none of them had been big delinquents. Especially not big delinquents that were really cute and gentle with their little sister.
"I’ll jusht… look, there’sh a new cushtomer! Enjoy yor mahl!" Nazuna managed to stutter out. He turned around, wanted to roll away, but then he tripped over his roller blades and fell. The tray hitting the ground made a loud noise, resulting in the other customers’ attention being all on him. Nazuna cursed himself in the head. Wow, a handsome boy shows some kind of interest in him and he became a mess immediately.
"Are you alright?" Kuro asked. Nazuna pushed himself up from the ground to see Kuro standing right in front of him, concern written on his face and his hand held out for Nazuna to take.
He couldn’t hide the blush on his face when he grabbed Kuro’s hand, who then helped him up. "Yes, thank you," he said. "I’m so sorry…"
Kuro picked up the tray from the ground. "What are you apologizing for? Are you unharmed?"
"Yes, I’m fine," Nazuna assured him.
Kuro smiled as he handed Nazuna his tray. "I’m glad to hear that."
Nazuna hugged the tray to his chest and looked down. "You see… I…"
"What?"
"You’re not that bad!" Nazuna blurted out. As soon as those words left his lips, he regretted them immediately. He could see that Kuro was flustered too. "You seemed scary at first and I’m sorry I assumed such things when we met the first time…"
"It’s okay," Kuro said. "I would’ve assumed too. Itsuki didn’t tell you about me, right?"
Nazuna blinked. "Tell me what?"
Kuro sighed and scratched the back of his neck. "We’re childhood friends," he explained. "Our families are close and I’ve known him all my life."
"What?" Nazuna shouted. "You’re not some debt collector?" Kuro stared at him and Nazuna groaned and hit his head against the tray. "I’m so stupid, I’m so sorry."
Kuro laughed. "You thought I was a debt collector?"
"D-Don’t mention it again!" He was embarrassed enough as it was.
"I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make fun of you."
Nazuna scrunched his nose and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I wasn’t the one to come back here with his sister because they wanted to see me."
Kuro blushed hard at this and Nazuna took this as a success. "See… I don’t know where she got that from. I didn’t tell her…"
"So it’s true?" Nazuna asked.
Kuro averted his eyes. "Yes," he admitted.
"You know," Nazuna said. "I’m a guy, I don’t like being called cute! Just because I’m short, doesn’t mean I’m not mature! That being said… I don’t mind that much with you, I guess." He looked away too. "As long as you don’t go around saying it."
"So I can say it to you only?" Kuro asked hesitantly.
"I didn’t mean that!" Nazuna quickly said. "B-But…"
"Kuro!" his sister shouted. "What’s taking you two so long?"
"You should go back to your sister," Nazuna said. "Don’t make her wait too long."
"I-"
Nazuna turned the other male around and pushed him gently towards the table. "We can talk some other time. When she’s not around." With those words, he quickly turned and rolled back to the counter. "Mika, we need to swap."
"What?"
"I can’t- I can’t go back there now."
Mika seemed alarmed at those words. "What happened? I’ll call Oshi-"
"No, it’s fine!" Nazuna assured. "He’s Itsuki’s childhood friend."
"What? He never told me about him."
"Me neither." Nazuna sighed. "He’s a nice guy, don’t worry."
"So why can’t you go back?" Mika asked him.
"Because!" Because he was too flustered right now and had to sort out his thoughts and how he had just flirted with a member of a biker gang in front of that guy’s sister. This was too much for Nazuna. "Please, Mika-chin?"
"Okay," Mika replied. "He’s Oshi-san’s friend, right? He can’t be bad."
"He isn’t," Nazuna agreed.