Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

When Torao entered the room, all eyes were on him.

Not only was he almost 20 minutes late, he had also slammed the door shut behind him, when he walked inside.

He didn't do any of it on purpose, neither being late, nor making such a noise, but since he liked the attention, he didn't mind at all.

"Mido-kun", the professor said. He didn’t look amused to be interrupted in his lecture and his already not so friendly-looking face furrowed.
"You are late!"
It was hard not to roll his eyes at that.

Yeah, Torao knew that. He had been trying to get that Takanashi girl's number when the lecture had started, but he hadn’t succeeded.

Torao liked girls who weren't easy, and it made finally getting in bed with them so much more satisfying.

But she'd been making excuses for multiple days in a row now and it didn't feel like she was going to change her mind soon at all.

It actually felt like she was trying to avoid him now.

For some reason, it annoyed him. No woman had ever really refused him. Some had played hard-to-get, but not for long either.
Eventually they all wanted him.
Having to experience rejection now was frustrating, even though Torao really wasn’t that interested in her.

Yeah, she seemed nice enough and she definitely belonged to the prettier girls on the campus, but Torao wasn’t looking for anything more than a night or two at most anyways.

What bothered him was that he didn’t get what he wanted, and not actually not getting her.
"Sorry", he answered a few seconds too late, in a tone that made it clear that he wasn't sorry at all, and walked up the stairs to take a seat in the last row.

A pretty blonde girl, eagerly taking notes right in front of his usual desk caught his attention for a few moments, before he realized it wasn't a girl at all.

It was hard to tell from the face alone, especially while Torao was still moving to get to his seat, but the clothes of the person in front of him were clearly men's clothes.

Torao had thought about flirting with her, to make up for the last rejection, but now that he knew it was actually a guy, he didn't.

Not that Torao had never done anything with a man before. He had tried it twice, and both times were good, but he still prefered women.

He sat down a moment later and took out his notebook. But instead of taking notes, he started to rip out pieces of the page and started forming little bullets.

Torao took his time, so the noise wouldn’t alert anyone to what he was doing, but once he was done forming a handful of paper balls, he began shooting them at the guy in front of him.
The guy hadn’t done anything to him but Torao was already in a bad mood and being tricked into thinking he was a girl didn’t make it better.

Torao missed the first few shots but when the guy in front of him stiffened in his seat, he knew he had hit his target.

But it took a second and third bullet to finally get a reaction out of him.

Torao could swear he saw his shoulders rise in a silent sigh, but once he turned and faced him completely, the boy smiled like an angel.

"If you wanted my attention that badly, you could have just asked for that, darling", he said in the sweetest voice that had Torao actually speechless for a moment.

This wasn't the reaction he had expected.
He had kind of expected him to ignore it all.
Or maybe ask him to stop. But he hadn’t expected a condescending tone. Or was it flirting? Or both?

He found his voice after a few more moments and smirked.
"That wouldn't be a very interesting story to tell our future grandchildren, don’t you think?" he answered and had a closer look at the boy’s face, now that the blonde hair wasn’t in the way.

He was very pretty, even more than some girls.
Most of them, actually, if he was being honest with himself.

The challenging look in his amber eyes drew Torao in and Torao was lost in his thoughts for a few seconds until he heard him talking again.

"You seem to have lost something", the guy said, and before Torao even understood what he was talking about, the blonde raised his hand with two paper balls on it, and shot them at Torao.

His aim was near perfect.

The first one hit Torao’s cheeks, but he immediately corrected his aim and the second ball got Torao right between the eyes.

Torao wasn't quite sure, still surprised from the sudden attack, but he thought he heard a chuckle coming from the boy, who now turned back again to continue taking notes, as if nothing ever happened.
For the second time in less than 2 minutes, Torao was taken aback.

"If you want a war, I’ll give you a war", he hissed once he found his voice, and began forming new bullets to shoot at him.

Torao definitely heard a quiet "Bring it" coming from the guy.

And so he did.

With some practice he got better at aiming too, and now quite a few pieces of paper hit the blonde hair.

Funny, he hadn’t noticed the braided strand of hair until now.
It looked good.
Cute.
Kind of sexy too.

After some successful hits, Torao heard the sigh that the boy let out and he smirked when he saw the boy turn around to him. But now he stood up as well.

With a loud sound in the near quiet room, the boy put his stuff on Torao's desk and walked around the table to sit down next to him.

"Natsume-kun?", the professor asked, stopping whatever he was talking about mid-sentence, and stared at both of them in confusion.
Almost everyone else had also turned to look at them.

"I'm very sorry," the boy apologized with a smile that must have looked convincing to everyone but Torao.
"I hope I'm not bothering you too much but I need to explain some things to him."

Again, this beautiful, angel-like smile, that had a certain effect on people.

That bastard knew exactly how to act and what to say.

THe professor nodded, and after a moment, continued teaching.

"Telling our grandkids how you shot paper at me wouldn't be very interesting either, don't you think?" the guys quietly asked, still smiling, and watched Torao.

The little twinkle in his eyes must have been Torao's imagination.

"Telling them how you gave me a blowjob under the desk would make an interesting story", Torao replied without thinking and the smirk that appeared on the pretty face made his skin feel hot.
"That's what you're after, huh", the guy asked and Torao was disappointed when he turned away again and continued taking notes.
Just when he thought the guy wouldn’t talk to him anymore, he stopped writing and looked at him again.

"But I'm not going to. Not unless..."

His voice trailed off in the end, and Torao almost growled. "Unless...?", he grumbled when it became clear that the guy wouldn't continue without being asked to.

The smirk that now formed on the pretty face made his cock twitch. Torao hadn't even noticed that he was already half hard until now.

"...Unless you convince me that you really want it."

That was it?
That would be easy, he would just-

"Here, you can feel that I-", he began, but was cut off immediately.
"That’s not what I meant", the blonde said, almost sounding bored now and Torao felt his brows furrow in confusion. But... How was he…

"Oh, it’s easy. Just tell me. I’ll do it once you…"
Blondy’s voice was soft and when he turned his head, he found the boy watching Torao intently.
He was still beautiful, but this time an angel wasn't what he saw.

He looked more like a...

"...beg."

...devil.

And for the third time in this lecture, Torao was speechless.

By the time he remembered how to speak, the blonde was already taking notes again and he didn’t want to bring it up again. Admitting defeat, if only to himself he let it be.

For the rest of the lesson, which was only around ten minutes, Torao's dick stayed half hard, which didn’t exactly improve his mood. First Takanashi’s refusal and now this guy.

He tried to think of other things, even focusing on what the professor was explaining, but whenever he saw the boy next to him move slightly, Torao was reminded of the look on his face when he told him to beg.

Torao’s body must be confused, since there was no way that the thought of begging would arouse him like that.
He was probably remembering how he had made others beg before.

Torao was almost relieved when the lesson ended and quickly packed his things back into his bag. He heard him say something else but didn’t pay attention until he saw Blondy get up and walk downstairs to their professor.

Had the professor called his name?
It was a shame that he had missed it.

There was no point in denying it anymore, the blonde had caught his interest.

Torao was about to leave, when he saw the boy’s notes lying on the desk.
He had a neat handwriting, and even though he had talked with Torao, there didn’t seem to be anything missing on them.

While the blonde was talking to the professor, Torao took the neatly written notes and left the room with them.

He was pretty sure that the guy didn't actually need them. He seemed smart, and probably didn’t have to study much to get good grades.
Torao usually had good grades too, but since he hadn’t taken any notes in this lecture he should at least look them over.

But his biggest reason was revenge.
After all, Blondy had shot paper back at him and tortured his dick the whole time, by making Torao imagine, what those soft lips would feel like wrapped around his-

Torao almost started running.

Once he left the building, Torao decided he would drive home and skip his last lecture. He couldn’t bear the thought of having to sit quietly for another hour and he doubted he’d be able to focus. He’d find a way to get someone’s notes, or at least a summary of the topic. He had more pressing issues right now.

Maybe one of his usual hook-ups was available to take care of the problem the pretty boy had left him with. It would be good to take out his frustrations, so what better way was there than having sex?

He quickly walked to the spot where he had parked his motorbike in the morning.

Seeing his ‘baby’ immediately made him feel better. If there was one thing he loved in life, apart from women, it was riding his bike.

The freedom and peace he felt whenever he rode was indescribable.

Torao was about to put his helmet on, when he saw something move in the corner of his eye.

Before he even turned to look, he knew who that blonde hair belonged to.

"Missing me already?" Torao asked with a cheerful grin, and put Blondy’s notes inside his jacket and closed it, so they couldn’t be taken away from him.

He didn’t care in the least that the paper got crumpled in the process. Torao’s attention was fully on the guy and he now noticed that he was a bit shorter than himself.
In comparison to the girls he usually flirted with though, he seemed tall.

"Well... You left without saying goodbye", the blonde answered after a moment, and looked at the bike, before letting his gaze wander over Torao’s entire body.

With the way his eyes lingered for a moment before a smile appeared on his lips, it was clear that he had also noticed the slight bulge in Torao’s jeans.

"You're very handsome", the blonde stated calmly, in a voice one would use for talking about the weather, and came even closer, before reaching out with his hand to lightly stroke over the sleeve of Torao’s dark leather jacket.

Torao's eyes followed the elegant fingers, and somehow wanted to feel them on his skin. With the fabric in the way he couldn’t even feel the touch but just seeing that they were touching him made his skin below prickle.

"I look even better naked", Torao said, just a tiny bit too late for it to sound casual, which caused the man in front of him to chuckle.

"I can imagine."

Torao's whole body felt hot now and he struggled to stay still and not shift when thoughts of getting naked with the guy flooded his brain.

Yes, Torao prefered women, but he would definitely fuck this man.

It wasn’t like there was a big difference anyways when it came to sleeping with men and women.
At least in his experience.

"Didn't you say anything about a blowjob?", Torao asked after a pause, and the blonde looked up to stare into his eyes.

"We already talked about that. Make it clear that you really want it and I will," he said and licked his lips. Torao just knew that he did that on purpose to tease him even more.
"That's a promise!"

It was way too easy to imagine those lips wrapped around his length, and Torao swallowed involuntarily. He started to think about what he could say to convince the man when he spoke again.

"Oh, and... You haven't told me your name yet", the guy continued in a quiet and suggestive voice, and Torao noticed only then that he was about to reach into his jacket.
Where Torao had put his notes just a minute earlier.

So that's what he was after.

Torao quickly pulled away and closed the zipper of his jacket again.
It was hard to believe that he had gotten so distracted by his voice, that he didn't even notice someone opening his jacket. It made him slightly uneasy but at the same time he found his interest growing.

"How about you tell me yours? Literally everyone here knows my name," he answered, not sure if he should be amused, or annoyed, that the blonde almost managed to play him like this and steal his notes back.
Apparently he didn’t like the answer, because the amber eyes narrowed for a moment. "I asked you."
Then the smile returned.

An appraising smile, not a friendly one.

"Also, you don't care about names anyways. I doubt you can remember the name of the girl you slept with yesterday."
Now it was Torao’s turn to look at him in suspicion.
"How do you-", he started, but the Blonde raised one hand and somehow, that actually made Torao stop.

"I didn't. But thanks for confirming."

Torao could only stare. Who was this guy?

"I asked for your name." The blonde sounded impatient when he spoke again. That was interesting. He didn’t like to be kept waiting. Maybe Torao could use that against him. Somehow.
Still, he answered.

"Mido Torao", he said, and felt the familiar confidence wash over him.

People knew that name.
The Mido family was one of the top families here. And also one of the wealthiest.
Pretty much everyone respected his father, and almost everyone here had heard of him.

Contrary to this, the blonde didn’t seem very impressed.

Maybe he didn’t know who his family was? Or he had known his name already? That seemed more likely.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mido-san," the blonde said and for some reason, Torao wanted him to use his given name.

And he also wanted to know his name.
If he could only remember.

The professor had mentioned it twice before, but Torao hadn’t paid attention and now he cursed himself for it.

“This is the part where you tell me your name. Otherwise I won’t be able to rank your blowjob in my list”, Torao said, smiling, and the guy's eyes sparkled in amusement.

"You'll just have to call me the 'hot nameless guy' then,” he said confidently and somehow, that was really hot.
Everything he had done until now somehow was hot.
Torao had never thought of guys that way, but it was true for this one.

"You really think you're that good?" Torao wanted to make sure, and got a nod for an answer. It didn’t look like he was joking.

"Do you have another lesson today?" Torao switched the topic, when it was clear that Blondy wouldn’t say anything else about his oral skills, and watched him tilt his head as he considered the question.

“I do. Why? Do you have something more interesting in mind?”

Torao had taken Blondy as someone who would put university first, but the question made it sound like he could be persuaded to skip.
"You should come with me. I can get you the notes of that lesson tomorrow, so you’ll know what happened. And your day will be much more interesting with me."

The laugh Torao got as an answer was really cute again, but it also had something dark to it. "By stealing someone else's notes again? Who did you promise mine to then?"

Despite the accusation, Blondy didn’t seem angry.
"Oh, come on. You don't really need your notes. It's already in your pretty head. Right?"

Torao was still speaking, when he held out his helmet to the blonde.
And to his big surprise, he actually took it and put it on.

He had made his decision, as it seemed. And weirdly enough, it made Torao happy, and exited him even more.
After helping him to close the helmet without getting his hair in the way, and maybe letting his fingers touch his neck for a few seconds longer than needed, Torao got on his bike and waited for Blondy to climb behind him.

Again, he wished not to be wearing the jacket, so he could feel the arms around his middle more, as the blonde held onto him.

"I swear, if you kill us..., " he heard the muffled voice coming from behind him and Torao couldn’t help laughing, before hitting gas.

Chapter Text

Torao didn’t often let other people ride his bike but he had to admit that being hugged from behind like this felt good.
Maybe he should do this more often after all.

He didn't have a specific destination in mind, so he just chose the road that followed the river.
He liked the view, and at this time of the year some of the cherry blossoms started to bloom, which made the road even more attractive.
It was easy to let thoughts pass through his head while he drove, but he didn’t want the man behind him to get bored, so he tried to think of where to stop.

Seeing how he was almost out of gas, however, made the decision easy.
Once he stopped at a gas station, the boy climbed from the seat behind him and rubbed his arms. Holding on to him for that long must have been tiring and he took off the helmet while Torao refilled the tank.

His blonde hair was messy after that and although he tried fixing it with his hands he failed. But it looked cute in Torao’s opinion.

“Are we taking a break, or are we just here to refill?” the man asked when he caught Torao looking, and he shrugged. “We can take a break if you want,” he offered and got a nod in return.

It was hard to read the guy and whether he was bored. And Torao didn’t want to bore him. Not when it looked like they had some kind of connection.

"Are you alright?" he asked once the tank was filled, and the blonde smirked at that.
“Why shouldn’t I be? Being pressed against you from behind like that is really nice.”

The implication wasn’t lost on Torao and he quickly put the nozzle back, so the guy couldn’t see his blushing face.

“Why don’t you walk over to that bench while I pay and get us something to drink”, he suggested, but didn’t wait for an answer before inserting his card to pay, and then walking over to the vending machine.

Torao had no idea what the guy liked, so he just bought two cans of coke and walked over to where Blondy sat, looking at his phone.

He put the cans on the bench and went to push his bike closer to them to not block other cars from refueling.

“Canceling plans with your lover?” Torao joked when he sat down next to him and opened one can for himself.
The blonde looked up at that and turned his head to smile at Torao. “Wouldn’t you like to know?” he asked, somehow managing to sound condescending and friendly at the same time. And it annoyed Torao.
“Is there anything you’ll actually tell me?” he huffed and took another sip, before crossing his arms, which caused the guy next to him to chuckle.

“I’m not trying to irritate you. I’m merely trying to… teach you that I want something in return.”

Torao turned his head to look at him. “Something in return?”

Again, a beautiful smile.

“I’d been hoping you would figure it out. But since it’s the first time, I’ll make you an offer. Would that help?”

Torao nodded, half expecting the other guy to ask for money. Wouldn’t be the first time. Or his stolen notes.

“How about…,” the man gave him a quick glance, before crossing his legs elegantly. “I’ll tell you something about myself for each type of clothes you remove. You can stop anytime. Deal?”

That was an odd request, but he could do that. Torao quickly took off his jacket and put it on the bench next to him. He now realized how hot he was and how good it felt to take it off. And almost immediately he got his first answer.

“I’m gay.”

Torao’s expression darkened, having expected something interesting, and the blonde chuckled. “Don’t tell me you just assumed? How rude. I could have been bisexual. Or hetero.”

In theory, he was right. But Torao had been pretty sure about the other guy’s orientation from the moment he had seen him.

Well, apart from thinking he was a girl at first.

He noticed the man looking at him, waiting for something and it took Torao a moment, until he understood and pulled off his pullover.
He didn’t quite understand why exactly he was doing this, but he was still warm and taking off a few clothes wouldn’t hurt.

“I actually don’t live far from here”, the blonde said after Torao had put aside the pullover and Torao looked at him. “You know, I was actually hoping for something more spicy. Information that tells me something about you”, he said and the answer he got was a grin.

“We’ll get there, don’t you worry.”

Taking off his shirt only took Torao a few seconds and he found the other man smirking, while he watched him.
He was definitely checking him out, and Torao was grateful for the time he spent working out. He knew he looked good but seeing the appreciation on Blondy’s face made him feel giddy

“I live with two roommates. Actually, ‘friends’ would be a better word to describe them.”

The guy’s face softened as he spoke and Torao finally saw something else than the amusement from before. Blondy had seemed cold and controlled until now, but he must really like those people he lived with.

Giving up his shirt for this had been worth it. But now he wondered.

Having roommates usually meant, money was tight, right? Either that, or he lived in a dorm. But then he would have more than just two roommates. At least that’s what he heard.

With his family owning multiple apartments in Tokyo, and multiple hotels too, Torao never
had to worry about finding a place to live. Or money in general. Torao knew he was lucky. Knew that most people didn’t have that luxury, and he didn’t judge others for it.

He had never chosen friends or one-night-stands based on how rich they were, and it didn’t really matter.

But from the way Blondy had behaved, Torao had thought him to come from a wealthy family too, so something wasn’t adding up.

Maybe that was the next thing he would tell him? Torao was already half naked and sitting without a shirt in public was strange, but there were still things he
could take off. He would get dressed in just a few minutes again and it wasn’t like there were many people around.

He heard a soft laugh when he bent down to take off his shoes. “Stop there, honey.”
Torao stopped what he was doing and looked at him questioningly.

“Let’s just pretend you took off your shoes, okay? I don’t want you getting hurt because of me.”

Torao nodded and leaned back. He was right, of course. The area looked clean but there could be bits of glass and fuel spills everywhere, and it wasn’t worth the risk.

"I studied abroad before…" That information was also interesting,and Torao had so much more questions now. "Studied where?" Blondy smirked. "Europe. A small country named Northmare.”
Torao looked surprised. He had heard of that before. Yamato’s boyfriend was from there. What a coincidence. But it was unlikely that Blondy and Nagi had met before. Or was it?

But Torao didn’t let himself think about it too much. He was certainly interested and wanted to know more about his time there, but not now.

“I would take off my socks too, you know,” Torao tried after a short silence and again heard a soft laugh next to him.
“Fine. But let me think. What could I tell you for theoretically taking off your socks?” the man mused and Torao waited impatiently.

Hearing him calmly drink while letting him wait was frustrating, but he was sure Blondy was doing it on purpose and Torao sighed but decided to wait.

When he saw Blondy put down the can, Torao turned his head to look at him, and once their eyes met, he was almost blinded by the smile.

But that didn’t mean that he didn’t see the hungry look in those beautiful eyes.

“I’m not as vanilla as I seem.”

It took Torao a moment until the meaning of what he said reached his brain. And a moment later his cock
But then he grinned. “Sounds fun.”

He could imagine a lot of things he wanted to do with this man. But that statement alone didn’t really tell him much. There were so many kinks he could have and he needed to know more. “So, what are you into then?”

"You'll have to remove one more thing for me.”

Was it imagination, or sounded his voice a lot more suggestive now than it had before.
Torao looked down at himself.
If they didn’t count his shoes and socks, then all he was still wearing were his jeans and the briefs beneath.

But he couldn’t stop now, could he?

After all, Blondy was so close to telling him what he was actually into.

Usually Torao wasn’t insecure. He didn’t mind showing his body. After all, he worked hard for his muscles.

But now, sitting at a gas station with the occasional car coming and leaving, he was suddenly very aware of what he was wearing.
Still, he only hesitated for a short moment before opening his jeans.

"That's enough", Blondy stopped him when Torao was about to get up to slide them past his thighs.
"No need to drop them all the way. We don’t want you getting arrested here."

Blondy’s voice sounded amused, but when Torao looked at him, his face looked sincere.
Torao felt very naked now but he ignored it and tried to grin instead.

"You wanted to tell me about your kinks", he reminded the person who watched him carefully for a few moments, before nodding.
"You make it sound like you have some yourself", Blondy said, sitting closer to him. And maybe he was right in his assumption.

Torao had never really experienced much, sure, sometimes the sex was on the rough side, but he didn’t think he ever actually did something that was considered kinky.

Slowly Blonddy reached out, but hesitated in the air, keeping his hand an inch away from Torao’s arm. Was he waiting for permission to touch him?
Torao felt like he was going insane with the need to feel his hands all over his body, and the guy thought he needed to ask for his consent?

When a few seconds passed and nothing happened, Torao moved his arm closer and initiated the contact.
Once he did, those fingers stroked over his skin, sending what felt like electric shocks down his spine, and also to his crotch.

Having opened his jeans down a bit was actually a relief, freeing his erection from its denim prison.

"Alright, I'll tell you", Blondy finally said, and looked into his eyes.

"Have you ever heard of Dom/Sub relationships?"

Oh, Torao had definitely heard of that. He even liked the idea, and taking control in bed was something he was already doing.
"Do you want me to order you around a bit?", he asked, grinning, putting his hand on the other man’s thigh.

Yes, he could think of quite a few things he wanted to do with him . Throw him on the bed and-

"Think again, darling", he smiled, fingertips sliding over Torao’s abs and even lower, but not quite touching his briefs yet.

Having the fingers so close to where he wanted them, it took him a moment, but then Torao's eyes widened. If he didn't want to be the submissive one, then…

No, that was absurd.

He almost laughed but when he gave it a little more thought, he realized that it was him, who sat here pretty much naked.

Just because the blonde had asked him to.

Torao didn’t blush often, but now he felt his cheeks heat after he understood.

They had been playing since the moment they met. And Torao hadn’t even noticed.
"Seems like you understood” , Blondy said, leaning closer to put his lips to Torao's ear, who now felt frozen in place.

"The two of us could have a lot of fun together."

Torao didn't doubt it for a second.
Honestly, it sounded intriguing, but just the thought of submitting to someone else was odd.
As before, his heartbeat quickened and his cock throbbed, when he imagined it.

"But not here?", he said, almost scared of the answer he would get, wondering why his voice sounded so raspy now.

"Not here," Blondy agreed and got up.

"Put your clothes back on, we're going to my place."

Was that an order? It wasn’t, right?
More like a strong suggestion.

Torao wasn't sure if he liked the idea of following someone’s orders.
Still, he got dressed, ignoring how his bulge strained against the fabric, after he closed his jeans again and resisted the urge to touch.

"You'll have to tell me where you live", Torao said once he was done, and Blondy smirked, looking like he was about to say something sarcastic, but instead giving him an address.

Somehow Torao was grateful for not getting teased, and looked the street up on his phone.

Blondy was right. His home actually wasn't too far away from where they were right now, and Torao was sure he could remember the way.

Once Blondy had thrown away the cans, he returned to stand next to Torao.
But instead of giving him the helmet, he held out his jacket first.

The day had been warm for spring, but now in the evening it was getting cooler, and Torao didn’t want his passenger to be cold. And he still felt hot from learning about Blondy’s interests and cold air would maybe help him to calm down.

"Put it on." He saw Blondy raise one eyebrow, but he put on the jacket anyway. Only then did he give him the helmet.

Before Blondy climbed on the bike, he heard him sigh again. Apparently he wasn’t a fan of either motorbikes, or the way he had to get on them. Maybe both.

But Torao definitely liked the way he put his arms around his body to hold on, especially now without the jacket in the way.

The way to the place was uneventful. It only took them around 10 minutes to get there, and most of it was waiting at stoplights.

When Torao felt one of his hands lightly tap his shoulder, he looked to the right to see Blondy pointing at a house there.

Torao wasn’t sure what he had expected, but it looked pretty normal to him.

Way less luxurious than what he was used to, but definitely not bad either. It even looked like it got painted recently, since the walls were clean and white, and not the usual dirty looking beige he saw on the neighboring houses.

The lights upstairs were on, so someone had to be home. But Blondy had mentioned two roommates before so it wasn’t strange.

“This is quite far from university. How do you get there?” Torao asked after parking next to a dark blue car on the driveway.

“My roommate usually takes me,” Blondy answered with a shrug and gave him back the helmet.

Without wasting any more time, he walked to the door and opened it. Torao quickly followed and after both of them took off their shoes, Blondy took the stairs, giving him a very nice view of his ass in those tight pants.

Upstairs were four doors and Blondy chose the one on the left, which must be his room.
The other two rooms may be his friend's rooms and a bathroom? Torao had no idea how normal houses looked.

He could barely compare the mansions he was used to with this. But he didn’t dislike it. It felt more homely than the big space in his family home.
When he entered the room, he was surprised at how normal it looked.

A queen sized bed, a desk, some shelves full of books and a blue armchair that looked really comfortable.
The room wasn’t too big, but it was clean, the bed made and not even clothes lying around.

The only messy thing was the desk and having a few books and a folder on it barely qualified as untidy.
But it looked unpersonal. No pictures or posters on the wall, and nothing that could tell him what kind of person this man was.

"Disappointed?", Blondy asked, sitting down on the bed and crossing his legs when he noticed Torao stopping close to the door

"It’s okay. Feel free to snoop around."

After hearing that, Torao didn't hesitate, slowly turning in a circle to take it all in.

It took him less than 5 seconds to spot the pair of handcuffs on a shelf . Would he use them to tie him up? The thought should have scared him, but somehow he could barely wait to try them out.

But he forced the thought aside when he had an idea how to find out his name.
He had recognized the logo on one of the books on the desk since he needed them for university too. Slowly he took one in his hands and opened it.

His assumption, that he would find his name on the very first page, was correct.
“Natsume Minami”, he read aloud and then looked at the blonde, who looked amused.

"Congratulations”, he dryly said and raised his eyebrows. “If my name was what you were after you can leave now.” Torao didn’t move.

He was surprised at Minami’s reaction.
Did he actually expect him to walk out just like this? He didn’t quite understand why the mood had changed. "I wasn't just after your name."

"What are you after then?"

Torao had no answer for him.
Yes, finding out his name was one of the reasons why he had come here, but if he was being honest with himself, he was intrigued.

Had been from the moment Minami had sat down next to him.

And after what happened at the gas station he had wanted the guy even more.

Torao had never imagined finding himself in a situation like this; he was usually the one who gave orders and watched others follow them.
He liked being the one in charge. But the way his body had tingled when Minami had spoken to him like that…

"You promised me a blowjob", he answered instead, trying to look casual. Minami hummed.

"Only if you can convince me. But you can start by stripping”

That came so unexpectedly, Torao needed a second to understand. "Completely?"
Minami smiled, kinder this time. "Unless you don't feel comfortable…"

He looked like he was serious, like declining was alright, but to Torao it sounded like a challenge. "Nah, I'm good..." He answered, pulled off his pullover again and Minami chuckled.

"Do it slowly. Show me how sexy you can be." And so he did.

He took his time, taking off his shirt and letting it fall to the ground before taking off his socks.
Afterwards he opened his jeans and took them off completely.

"Like what you see?", he asked, old habits starting to show again, and Minami smirked. "Insecure?" "No? Just-"

"Take them off then.”

Again, a challenge, so before Torao even fully knew what he was doing, he slid down his briefs and stepped out of them.

There was a few seconds of silence, before Minami said something.
Torao only noticed then that he’d been holding his breath.

"Not bad", he said and let his gaze roam over him. And again it lingered at his lower regions for a few seconds.

"I can definitely work with that."

Minami got up from the bed after a moment and came closer. He didn’t touch him, but there was barely an inch left between their bodies. Torao naked and Minami still fully dressed.

Minami’s eyes were gentle now, but it was clear to see the want in them too. Suddenly, there was the urge to kiss him, but Torao held back.

He wasn't the kissing type, had never really enjoyed it.

Especially since it usually meant feelings were involved, and once feelings were involved, things tended to get messy.

"May I touch you?" Minami asked and Torao felt himself nodding before he even understood the question.

At that moment, he would have agreed to everything.

Almost immediately he felt cold hands on him and a shiver ran down his back. It was hard to tell what exactly caused it, the cold or the excitement, but it didn’t matter.

Torao was relieved that finally something would happen, after waiting for what felt like hours.

But when Torao raised his hands to touch Minami’s face, the blonde took a step back and put distance between them again to sit on the bed.

"Come here", he asked, and when Torao took a step towards him, Minami’s outstretched leg stopped him.

"No. On the floor."

Another absurd request, but Torao shivered as he slowly went to his knees on the soft carpet, and looked up at him.

"Good boy", the blonde almost purred and Torao felt himself blush at the condescending words.

"I'm not-", he started, but Minami's foot touching his leg stopped him mid-sentence.

"Don't ruin your reward", Minami advised and continued moving his foot.

Sitting on the floor like this made the whole situation feel more real, and though there was no denying how horny it all made him, Torao suddenly felt very vulnerable.

"Am I not getting more information for getting undressed again?", he quickly asked to cover up his insecurity.

Minami tilted his head a little at that, and the movement on Torao’s thigh stopped.

"More information? On what?"

"What you like... About sex..."

For a moment Minami studied his face, and he must have seen something, because his expression softened and he nodded.

"Alright. Let's see, how many things you took off", Minami said and glanced at the disregarded clothes that now littered the floor.

"I was the one wearing your jacket this time, so you took off…. four-”

"I took off my shoes downstairs!" Torao quickly added and watched Minami’s eyes narrow.

"The shoes were payment to enter the house, if you will. And don’t interrupt me again."

It was ridiculous, but something about that tone of his made Torao shiver. "So literally everything is going to cost me? What do you want for a kiss then?", he asked, not being able to stop himself.

He wasn't a kisser; he didn’t like kissing.
Still, he wanted to kiss Minami.

"What can you offer?" came the counter question and Torao huffed. “My lips? You should feel lucky. I don't want to kiss others often."

The soft laugh was unexpected.
"But you want to kiss me now."

It was frustrating and the guy was doing it on purpose.

"Forget it," he growled and watched a smirk form on those inviting lips.
"What a shame…", Minami sighed and leaned back, taking his foot away from Torao’s leg completely. “I’m a great kisser.”

Torao didn’t doubt it and he already regretted his words.
Sometimes his pride got in the way, and this had been one of those times.

The moment passed and Minami leaned forward again.
"Alright, I'll tell you four of my preferences... If you spread your legs and put your arms behind your back."

His pride was telling Torao to get up and leave, but he was curious. After all, this was what he was here for.
And if he didn’t like what he heard, he could still leave.

There was a short pause, where Torao shuffled his legs further apart and got into position.

He felt even more exposed now than he did before, but when he looked up, suddenly feeling shy now, Minami looked so pleased.
"You're being very good for me now", Minami nearly purred and his smile just looked so beautiful, it made Torao’s heart flutter with pride.

“I like the risk of being caught”, Minami said after another moment and Torao blinked. Right, this was the first thing. He paid closer attention now.

“I also don’t mind being watched; although that depends on the situation.”

Torao didn't know what to say to that. But since Minami made him strip at a gas station, he figured it made sense. And he couldn’t say that he disliked the idea. As long as they wouldn’t get arrested of course.

"I’m not sure what you heard about these kinds of relationships, or what your experiences are, but I don't hurt my partners. Never.”

The way his tone had changed made Torao look up. Minami’s face had gone back to seriousness. He looked like he remembered something unpleasant.
But as he returned Torao's gaze, his expression changed back to the usual smirk.

"But don’t worry, there’s other ways. If you're not being good for me, I won't give you what you want. I'll take my time until you're crying and begging in desperation."

Torao swallowed after hearing that and Minami let out a little laugh.
He reached out his hand and Torao leaned closer, so his fingers could touch his cheek.

"You’d like that, wouldn’t you? You're just too cute."

"I'm not cu-", he protested, but stopped when he felt those fingers grasp his chin, the pressure not nearly enough to hurt or restrict him, but it made him pause anyways.

"Be good", Minami reminded him, but left his hand where it was, while Torao’s heart raced, feeling like it would burst out of his chest.

"Mh, where were we? Oh, right. I tend to bottom more often, but it really depends on my partners."

That was also something Torao had assumed, but it was good to hear Minami confirm it. Despite the situation he was in right now, he smiled. "You’re in for a treat then. I'm really good at fucking."

Minami smirked and tilted his head.
"Oh, I’m sure you are. But just because I like dicks up my ass, doesn't mean I'm going to let you fuck me."
Minami had seemed so sophisticated until now and hearing him speak like that came as a little shock.

"But how-"

Minami leaned forward, close enough to press a kiss on his forehead, if he wanted to do so. But he didn’t.

"You're not creative enough. There are many ways. I might show you soon."
He didn't have to say it this time for Torao to hear the implied ‘if you're good’.

When he leaned back again, his foot casually started to move up Torao’s leg again.

"The fifth one then. I'm not the type for one night stands."

Torao could see his eyes watching him carefully at that. "There's a lot more we can do, if there's trust between everyone involved."

That made sense, even though Torao usually avoided sleeping with the same person more than once or twice.

It just gave people the wrong idea. And he’d had his share with clingy women.
Experiences, he really didn’t want to repeat.

But now he was already looking forward to seeing Minami again, even before anything really had happened.

“Don’t worry. That doesn’t mean I want a relationship with everyone I sleep with” Minam continued, probably misinterpreting his silence.

The way he said it made it sound like he had multiple people like that, and the thought was disappointing.

But then Torao remembered something different.
"Wait, I took off my socks too! I took off five things!"

That caused Minami to laugh and he put a blonde streak of hair behind his ear, before nodding.
"You're right. But I can't think of anything else to tell you right now. How about you just ask one question instead."

That was even better, and Torao thought for a few seconds before looking up at him.
"Tell me what you don't like. Your limits."

Minami's smile faded as he looked at him in surprise, then his expression turned serious one moment later.

"Well, since you’re asking… You're bigger than me. Using that to your advantage to hold me in place - or anything like that is a limit.”

Torao hadn’t expected something like this, and not at all the hard expression in Minami's eyes, but he quickly nodded.

“Got it.”

Then his eyes flickered to the handcuffs again. He wasn’t able to see them from his position, but he knew where they were.

"So you only like bondage when you're not the one wearing them?", Torao asked and Minami softly laughed, the heavy mood gone again.

"I didn't say anything about bondage yet. Not everyone likes it. But I take it, you're interested in it?" he asked, when he followed Torao’s gaze.

"Well...", Torao felt his cheeks get hot. "I never tried it, but why not?"

“That’s good to know. Though I wouldn’t be using those to tie you up. I have other things for that.”
The low tone and imagining what else Minami could use made Torao shiver again.

Still, before he let someone tie him up, he needed to know more.
Minami had granted him one question, but he asked another anyway.

"And what do you look for in a partner?"

Minami looked thoughtful for a moment, and then watched Torao's face, as he spoke.

"I want a partner who I can trust and who trusts me completely. Who I can tie up for hours to play and torture in the best ways possible, until they cry and beg for more because they know it’s worth it."

Torao's heart started beating faster and his body reacted strongly to those words.
Minami may look cute and innocent, but he wasn’t.

Torao had underestimated him. Only a few hours ago he had thought it would be easy to use him once, then throw him away.

Just like he did with everyone else.
But now he was here, naked, on the ground, and willing to do everything Minami told him to.

"Sounds fun," Torao said, breathless, and the beautiful man smiled.

"It does, doesn't it?"

Both of them looked at each other for a long moment, and then Minami stood up.
"Keep your eyes on me", he said and began to undress, watching Torao the whole time.

He began with his pants.

Taking off skin tight jeans was always a hassle, but Minami managed to look both sexy and elegant while doing it.

Instead of letting them fall to the ground, like Torao had done with his clothes earlier, he folded them neatly and put them on the chair.

Next, he took off his socks and then his briefs.

Torao waited, but Minami didn't take off his shirt.

He only opened two buttons, exposing clean white skin underneath and sat again on the bed, spreading his legs a little.

The movement made his shirt slide up a little, and Torao could see how turned on Minami was as well.

Slowly, almost carefully, a well manicured foot was lowered on Torao's thighs again.

In excruciatingly slow movements, Minami began stroking up and down his legs, the foot reaching higher and higher each time, until it finally came to contact with Torao’s very erect cock.

The touch was soft, barely enough to be even called a touch, but it made Torao moan nevertheless.

"Mh, I'll definitely have fun with this ," Minami said and stroked a little harder which made Torao gasp.
"You could have a lot of fun with this in your mouth", Torao joked, his voice sounding a little hoarse.

Teasing him now was probably a bad idea if he wanted Minami to touch him soon, but a part of him was still not ready to submit.

“Oh, I bet.”

He wasn’t sure if Minami meant that or not, since nothing new happened.
He just stroked his dick with his foot a bit longer, before stopping.

“Was that okay?” he asked and Torao’s brows furrowed in confusion. “What?” Minami smiled, not a smirk like before, but a sincere smile.

“Kneeling. Being touched with my foot. Was that okay for you?” Torao nodded and Minami’s smile widened. “Your legs are okay? Not hurting?”

When Torao shook his head this time, the blonde nodded.
“Alright, then lay on the bed.”

Apparently he just needed to check in with him, but once Torao laid down on the bed, Minami continued like before. "Tell me, how your hook-ups usually go", he casually said and Torao laughed, feeling more relaxed now.

It was reassuring, that Minami had paused to make sure he was okay.

"I can show you. Just let me take over" The mental image of bending him over and fucking him was delicious.

And since Minami was a guy he could be a little more rough than he would be with a woman.

"I’m sure you'd like that," Minami said but shook his head. "But this is about what I want, not what you want."

Torao sighed.

"Fine. I choose a woman, fuck her, and then throw her away like a used toy. Was that what you wanted to hear?"

There was silence, but when he looked up, Minami didn't look surprised at all to hear this.
"But you’re still here"

It wasn’t a question; it was a statement, and Torao nodded.

If he was being honest, he had no idea why. Was there even a reason?
Maybe the explanation was that he’d been thinking with his dick.

He just wanted Minami to touch him, but instead of doing that, the blonde was just making him wait.
His eyes suddenly widened, as he realized what Minami was waiting for. But there was no way he actually meant it.

What Minami had said in today's lesson had been a joke, right? About the begging.

"I... found our little game interesting. And you promised me a blowjob,” Torao answered after a moment and his voice got a little more quiet at the end.

Finally he had understood that he was about to actually give up control for the first time in his life. It was a scary thought, but it also made his cock twitch.

He took a deep breath. Then another. "Touch me?"
His voice was quiet, and it sounded insecure even in his own ears.

But Minami had heard him, and actually put his fingers on him, slowly jerking him.
It was a start and felt good, but it wasn’t what either of them really wanted.

"I think you forgot something", Minami said after a few moments of silence and Torao could just hear the smile on his face.

“A little word.”

For some reason it was hard to look at him right now, so Torao stared at the ceiling, his hands clutching the sheets.
It was just a word. A single word wasn’t a big deal at all. Shouldn’t be a big deal.

"Please."

It felt like years since he last said it, but that couldn’t be true. He’d probably said it all the time at his fathers business parties.
But in private? He couldn’t remember.

"Please, blow me," he repeated, a little louder this time and gasped in surprise, when Minami was suddenly on him, and a hot mouth closed around his cock.

The man knew how to use his mouth, and the expert movement of his tongue made Torao's eyes roll back in his head.

It was hard to think about anything now, and when his tip hit what must have been the back of Minamis throat, his hips thrust up without thinking.

Firm hands pushed him back on the bed and his gaze, that had been on the ceiling until now, lowered to look at the man, who had somehow managed to make this one of Torao's top 3 blowjobs within just a few seconds.

When his eyes met those of Minami, Torao moaned loudly.

Seeing the face that had looked so innocent just a few hours ago, and those soft lips stretched around his cock, was just too much for him. He didn’t have the words to warn the blonde, being surprised by how quickly he was about to come, but Minami stopped right before he was about to come.

Denying him an orgasm, a slight smirk on his lips while Torao thrashed underneath him for a few seconds, trying to finish and also catching his breath.

"You should really work on your stamina", he said once Torao calmed down again, and he just stared at the blonde.

“You promised me a blowjob!” Torao accused.

Minami looked amused. “And I gave you one. Not my fault that it was over within seconds.” "Not your-. You've been teasing me for hours. What did you think would happen?!"

Minami laughed and put his hand on Torao’s thigh.
“Don’t be angry, I have another idea. Just be patient a little longer. Can you do that for me?”

Torao nodded and the blonde smiled.
“Good boy.”

It was clear what Minami’s intention was, when he opened the drawer next to the bed to take out two items.

He didn’t seem to be in a hurry and when Torao moved to help him, Minami shook his head.

“Just be patient”, he reminded him again and put some lube on his fingers.

Lying on his back, Torao couldn’t see what Minami was doing, but he could very well imagine.

Minami’s eyes were on him, while his hand moved, stretching and preparing himself and Torao felt himself twitch in anticipation.

It felt like an eternity, before Minami stopped and wiped his fingers with a tissue, before ripping open the condom and rolling it down Torao’s length.

A part of his brain noted how proficient Minami’s movement was, but his thoughts were too far gone to think of anything but the blonde moving on top of him.

A loud moan escaped his lips, when Minami slowly sat down on him.

Torao couldn’t control himself, hips thrusting up a few times, but the blonde seemed to anticipate it.
Instead of sinking deeper, he rode the movements until Torao held still again, and then continued at his own pace.

Right, he was the one in charge here.

Because Torao couldn’t trust himself, he put his arms under his back, so he wouldn’t be able to easily grab the guy and just pull him down.

“Very good”, Minami praised him, having understood why he did it, and rewarding him with faster movements.
“Now, hold still for me, yeah?”

Torao nodded, not sure if he would be able to, but willing to try.
By now he knew that the man wasn’t innocent at all, but that didn’t change the way he saw him at that moment.

Minami looked like an angel.

His eyes were closed, blonde hair swinging, his mouth slightly open and small gasps escaped his lips, whenever he sank fully down on Torao again.

It was clear that he was doing this for himself, chasing his own pleasure and just using Torao’s body to get off.

But that didn’t mean that it didn’t feel good for the man beneath him.

What he saw and what he felt blended together and all left in his head were thoughts of Minami.

Not to move was difficult, and his muscles twitched with the urge to do something, but he tried hard to hold still. Just like Minami had asked him to.

It could have been hours, or mere minutes, it was hard to tell.

But finally, a clear moan indicated the end and Torao could feel Minami clench even tighter around him and something wet hit his chest.

He hadn’t even noticed that he had closed his eyes somewhere along the way, but seeing Minami’s face now was incredible.

It was almost enough to bring him over the edge as well. “You’ve been very good”, Minami affirmed, sounding out of breath and starting to move again, oversensitivity clear to see on his face, but continuing for Torao’s sake.

Torao wanted to protest, didn’t want him to feel uncomfortable, but he was too close to formulate any words.
Just a little more.

Just a little.

When Minami leaned forward to kiss him, Torao came.
His moan wasn’t too loud, being swallowed by Minami’s lips, who slowly stopped moving and stayed on top of him.

“That was good,” Minami said and Torao hummed, enjoying being so close to him.
They stayed like this for a good minute, before Minami moved and let himself fall on the bed next to him.

They lay on the bed for a while, without talking.

After a few minutes, when Torao thought he would fall asleep if he laid there for any longer, he removed his arm from his face and looked at Minami, who was scrolling on his phone.

"Okay, you'll go to the bathroom, and I sneak out," Torao joked, unsure of what to do now, "or would you rather we play a game of scrabble before I go?"

He was sure that Minami wanted him to leave as soon as possible.
Because that’s what Torao expected from his one-night-stands after they were done.

"You don't have to sneak out", Minami said and didn't even look up.
"You know where the door is, so you can leave whenever you want to."

He sounded amused, and finally put his phone aside so he could look at Torao. "But if you're too tired to drive, you can stay. Even overnight."

He seemed to expect some kind of reaction from him, but Torao wasn't sure what exactly it was.
For him to flee maybe?

"Mh... cuddling is probably also a limit, hm?" Torao asked and Minami stared at him. That was probably a ‘No’.

It was odd, but Torao was kind of disappointed. Not that he had expected them to act like soulmates or have some sort of connection, but a little cuddling while watching a movie sounded nice to him.

But Minami’s reaction had made it clear that that wouldn’t happen.
Finally, Torao stood up and removed the condom which he tied before throwing it in the bin.

"I probably don't have to worry about you doing anything crazy with it, right?", he asked, only half joking and Minami laughed.

"You should probably take it with you, if you're scared I'll impregnate myself with it", he mocked and Torao sighed. One of his hook-ups had tried it.
She had failed, but the memory caused him to shudder. He was a lot more careful now.

He shook his head and looked down at Minami who was still lying on the bed.
"Where can I find the bathroom?" "Around the corner. Door on the left", Minami answered and sat up.

"Oh, and when you’re done, just leave my notes on the desk, I’ll be downstairs.”

Torao had totally forgotten about the notes, but he nodded and left the room.
He looked around in the bathroom. It was nothing special. A bathtub, a sink, a toilet and a washing machine.

It was way less luxurious and also smaller than Torao was used to, but it was clean, and that mattered the most.

For some reason, he liked the house.

When he returned to the room, Minami was gone and Torao got dressed too.

Minami had said that Torao could stay, but since he wasn’t here, it felt like the blonde preferred distance, and it wouldn’t be wise to overstay his welcome.

Minami’s notes were crinkled now and Torao tried to smooth the paper, before giving up and putting them on the desk. For a moment he thought about writing down his phone number too, but then decided against it.

It was probably better if he left now.

Chapter Text

Torao grabbed his jacket, the one that he had lent Minami for the ride on his bike earlier and walked downstairs.
Minami was right, Torao knew where the door was. He could see the entrance right from where he stood at the bottom of the stairs.

He could leave now.

He should leave now.

He doubted that Minami was the type to make a scene if he left without saying goodbye. Probably even expected it from Torao.

But he didn’t want to leave.

Torao could hear voices coming from a door on the right, and although he couldn’t hear Minami’s voice, he was sure the blonde was there too. He had mentioned before that his roommates were also his friends and Torao was curious what kind of friends a man like Minami had.

And didn’t Minami say that he could even sleep here if he wanted to?
It would probably be alright if he stayed a little longer, so Torao made a decision right there.

With the leather jacket casually hanging from his shoulder and the helmet in one hand, he opened the door and walked into the room.
It was a kitchen, he noticed after a moment, a pretty normal looking one, not modern but not traditional either and a radio was playing a random song in the background.

Around a square, old-looking table sat three men, one on each side.
And all three of them stared at Torao since he had apparently interrupted them in a game of UNO.

“Good evening”, he said cheerfully and looked at the other two men at the table. Those must be the roommates then he guessed.
“Mido-san, please, have a seat,” Minami said after a short pause and pointed at the last unoccupied chair that was situated next to him and a man with green hair.

On the opposite side of him sat a guy with red hair who looked like he was about to win the round, since he only held one more card.

Both strangers were eyeing him curiously while Torao sat down, but Minami picked up his cards again after one moment.
He threw a card and as expected, the red-head put down his last card.
“I win”, the guy announced and Minami sighed, though he didn’t look annoyed.
There was a cup next to him, a cute one with a cat on it, and Torao took it. It was easy to figure out what it contained from the smell alone, and he downed the rest of the coffee in a few quick gulps.

“Ah, thanks”, he said, leaning back and looking at the man across the table, who had started laughing when he saw Torao steal Minami’s drink.

The man stopped, though, when Minami raised a hand and made a gesture that Torao didn’t immediately understand.
But the other man seemed to get it because he sighed and stood up, and started doing something at the counter.

He held Torao’s interest for a few more seconds before he figured out that he was probably making another coffee to replace the one that Torao had stolen from Minami.

“Seems like your lap dog needs a bit more training”, the green haired man on his left said, sounding amused, and now Torao looked at him closer.

The dyed hair had caught his attention before, but now that he was actually looking at the face, he had the feeling that he had seen him before.
Not only the eyes, but also the rest of his face seemed familiar somehow.
Usually Torao was good at remembering people, but right now he couldn't figure out who he was.

Not recognizing people or forgetting names was a dangerous thing in the business world. Something Torao’s father would scold him for if it happened at one of his events.

“Haru!”, the red-head protested loudly from the other side of the room and the Haru guy chuckled, and took a sip from his own glass.

Torao didn’t even care about being insulted as a dog, though a part of him wondered if it was a reference to Minami’s kink. He was way more interested in who this guy was and why he couldn’t remember him.

“I’m very sorry for Haru’s behavior, he’s usually nicer than that” the man with the red hair said, but was shushed by his roommate whose tone sounded less amused now.

“Give him a moment Touma, he’s trying to remember why my face looks familiar.”

“So you know him?” the red haired man, Touma, asked and the Haru guy nodded, then tilted his head.
“Well, not really? But I know that Mido-san,” he was clearly imitating Minami’s voice now, “has better manners than that. He’s the perfect gentleman at his daddy's parties.”

Minami had watched the scene quietly, but now he softly cleared his throat and immediately all attention was on him.
“I should properly introduce you. Mido-san, this is Inumaru-san,” a gesture to coffee-man. “And this is Isumi-san. They’re my closest friends.”

Inumaru made an “aww” sound in the corner where he was still waiting for the coffee, but Torao had already focused on the younger man again.
“Isumi?” Torao repeated, trying to think if he had heard that name before. He doubted it. He wouldn’t forget something important like the names of his fathers associates.
Either he never heard that name before, or this Haru was someone really unimportant; not that he was going to tell him that.

“Ah, I changed my name”, the green haired man said with a grin, though it didn’t look entirely happy.
“If I told you my former name, you’d immediately recognize it. After all, nowadays everyone knows my perfect brother.”

“Brother?”
Torao tried to think if he knew any brothers that were around his age. At least he assumed that Haru and his brother were similar in age, but he didn’t really know.

But he was sure that the guy had some sort of connection to his father. The comment about his manners and his father's events had made that clear.

Torao thought about it, about any business partners that had children and then his eyes widened. Yes, he knew two brothers, though it was the other one, the older son, that he remembered better.
The nickname ‘Haru’ also fit the younger one.

“Kujo Haruka?”

“I told you, my name changed.” Haruka’s demeanor was still relaxed but the way his face hardened showed that he wasn’t as calm as he wanted to seem. When he continued to speak, he sounded bitter.

"After all, I wouldn't want to get connected to TRIGGER's center. That would just bring bad publicity."

Ah yes, Trigger. The idol group had debuted a little over a year ago and had been very successful right from the start. And their popularity seemed to grow more and more each month.

Their center, Kujo Tenn, was the son of one of Torao’s father’s business partners, which meant that Torao had met him a few times already. Before he became famous though. Apparently an idol didn’t have time for such events anymore. Though if he could decide, Torao wouldn’t attend them anymore either.

Haruka’s description of Tenn was fitting. ‘The perfect son.’ Well-mannered, calm, and always meeting each and every expectation someone had of him.
No wonder that Torao couldn’t remember the other son; everyone would pale in comparison to Kujo Tenn.

In the corner of his eyes, Torao could see Minami lean forward and putting his hand on Harukas which was clenched around his half empty glass.

"You're wonderful, Isumi-san," Minami gently told his friend and Torao saw how Haruka relaxed a little at the touch.
“Those who can’t see that are idiots.”

"Also you sing way better than Tenn", Inumaru chimed in which made Minami send a glare in his direction, probably because mentioning his brother's name again would make it worse, but Haru just chuckled.

"Thanks, Touma. And thank you, Minami."

The affection in his voice made it clear how much he loved his roommates.
Torao felt a bit like an intruder, watching the three of them like this, but Minami focused back on Torao only a few seconds later.

“I believe we can’t offer a game of scrabble, but maybe you can be satisfied with a round of UNO instead?”

It was a reference to something Torao had said right after they had sex, and when he grinned he got a smile in return.

“Sure.”

When Toma returned to the table they began another round.

Usually Torao’s luck was exceptional when playing games, but this time he was barely able to play any cards, and he still had two on his hand, when Minami played his last one.
“He wins nearly all the time”, Touma explained to their guest, and played his last card only a few seconds later.

While Torao played with Haru for 3rd place, Touma returned to the coffee-machine and brought back a mug just in time for Torao to win the duel.
Haruka huffed at first but didn’t seem to mind that he lost.

“Oh”, Torao said and looked up at the other man. How nice of him.
“Thank you, Inamaru-san.”
He had remembered his manners now, but the other man didn’t seem to mind a more casual style.
“Just Touma is fine”, he answered and then refilled Minami’s cup as well.

“Your turn”, the blonde said and pushed the cards in Torao’s direction, who looked at him with raised eyebrows but then dutifully shuffled the cards.

He knew how to do it, but it felt clumsy and didn’t even look half as elegant as what Minami had done earlier.
“You need to teach me how to shuffle,” he said when he lost some cards and shuffled again before giving out the cards again.

“Weren’t you planning on sneaking out of here right after sex?” Minami shot back, and Torao grinned a little sheepishly. “Touché”

It seemed like Minami didn’t mind his roommates knowing what they had done.
They’d surely been loud enough for the other two to hear and who knew, maybe Minami had guests over for that reason often? He didn’t like the thought of that.

But he would like to know how much Haruka and Toma knew. About what Minami liked and all that. To Torao, Minami didn’t seem like the type who would tell just anyone about his kinks, but Haruka’s comment about training Torao made it sound like his roommates knew.
After all, Minami had called them his friends, and they lived together.

Torao lost the next game too but he still had a lot of fun with this group. It was easy to spend time with them, and it felt like he fit in perfectly.
That was only his opinion, though. Who knew how the others felt about him. Maybe they already wanted him to leave and just wouldn’t show it.

It was strange that he felt so relaxed here.
People usually wanted something from him. Often money; sometimes sex or a relationship.
And while technically sex was the reason why he had come here, it wasn’t the reason why he stayed.

Torao’s mind went back to Haruka.
Now that he knew who his family was he remembered the younger son too, though his hair had been brown back then.
He doubted his father, Kujo Takamasa, would have accepted his son dying his hair at all.
He wouldn’t accept anything except perfection, at least that was how Torao had always seen him.

That man had always made him feel uneasy, and Torao was always relieved when someone else started talking to him, or he could find excuses to leave. Not that Kujo was that interested in talking to him in the first place. Maybe because Torao lacked enthusiasm when the topic ultimately changed to Tenn again. Only Tenn, never Haruka.

Yes, Torao knew Haruka. He remembered the boy who had stood alone near the table with the desserts until Tenn wandered over to say something to him.
Torao had no idea what they had talked about, but the unhappy expression was visible in the boy's face afterwards.

They had even exchanged words a few times, but there was never time to say much. And Torao didn’t even know what to say. The only thing they had in common was having to spend time at those events even when they didn’t want to.

It was just expected of them, as it was expected of them to take over their father’s businesses one day. Well, maybe not of them specifically, more of their older brothers, but still. Honor the family and don’t embarrass them was something they had in common.

Torao was brought back to the present when he saw Haruka and Minami flinch at nearly the same time from the corner of his eye.
One moment later, Touma jumped up, nearly knocking over his chair and ran back to the corner where the coffee machine was.

For a moment, Torao thought he had missed something important. A snake under the table, maybe. Or an earthquake.

“It’s fine, you don’t have to-,” Haruka began but Touma had muted the radio already and the green haired man sighed even though he looked less tense than he did a minute ago.
“I can deal with hearing his voice,” he mumbled and now Torao understood.

One of Trigger’s song’s must have started playing, and judging by the way the tune was stuck in his head, it must have been ‘Secret Night’.

“Eh, I don’t like Trigger anyways”, Touma smoothly said, and Torao had no idea if he actually meant it or if he just said it for Haruka’s sake.

“And you?” Torao asked Minami, who had stayed quiet until now.
The other two also looked at him, seemingly also curious about the answer.

It took a long second, but then the blonde shrugged and put a strand of hair behind his ear. It must have gotten loose during their activities upstairs, and that thought was almost enough for Torao to lose his focus.
“I don’t really have an opinion. I haven’t heard much of their music.”

When Touma reached for the radio, Minami shook his head quickly.
“No, no. I don’t want to listen to them. Especially not if it makes Isumi-san uncomfortable.”

“It doesn’t make me uncomfortable,” Haruka protested, but it didn’t sound very convincing, “I just don’t want anything to do with him anymore. I was… just surprised.”

“Did something happen?” Torao asked and felt Minami’s foot on his leg. A warning, but it came too late.
Haruka sighed.
“A lot happened in all those years. But one day I just snapped, and I left.”

“And they were fine with it?”

The foot on his leg moved again, and this time Torao turned his head to look at Minami, whose eyes had narrowed. Silently telling him to shut up.

But Haruka still answered the question.
“Honestly, I don’t think they even noticed at first. They both spent a lot of time overseas and one day I just packed my stuff and moved to my grandmother while they were gone.”

So Haruka had a grandmother?
The fact that she wasn’t here right now was a clear indication of whatever might have happened in the past, but he wanted to listen to his story.
After all, people had talked about the disappearance of Kujo’s second son.
But only for a bit. Shortly after that, Trigger debuted, and all attention was back on Tenn and Haruka forgotten again.

“Eventually Tenn called me to ask where I was. I’m not sure, maybe two days after they returned to Japan?” Haruka continued, and the pressure of Minami’s leg against his vanished.
Torao turned his head to look at the blonde but he was watching Haruka carefully.
Maybe Minami also realized that talking about it all could help Haruka?
Not that that had been Torao’s intention when he’d asked him, but still. Torao liked it when everything worked out so well.

“When I told him, he started lecturing me about being responsible or something, but I hung up and blocked his number after that.”
To Torao, it seemed like the fire in Haruka’s eyes intensified with the memory. He just didn’t know if it was anger, or maybe sadness.

“And your father?” he asked again and that time Minami’s head slowly turned to look at Torao. It looked like he couldn’t believe Torao had actually asked that question. Yeah, potentially that one was too insensitive.

But he didn’t remember seeing Kujo sad or distressed at all. One would think that a child moving out would bother a parent at least a little. But not Kujo as it seemed. At least not if the child was Haruka.

"Kujo-san signed the papers that my grandmother sent him and also transferred some money. I think he was relieved that he got rid of me that easily."

The laugh he let out after that sounded sad.
More like a bitter sob.

“I changed my phone number afterwards, but I don’t think they even tried to contact me. I never heard of them again until Tenn appeared on TV a few months later.”
Now it was easy to hear the anger and the hurt in his voice, and Torao nearly regretted asking. But he had wondered about the second son. At least for a while until eventually he also forgot Haruka even existed.

“What do you think about them?” Haruka suddenly asked after a few seconds of silence, and Torao needed a second to understand the question.

“About Trigger?”

When Haruka nodded, he hummed. Tenn had seemed odd to him, too.

Not for the same reasons as his father, and it was hard to describe.
Sometimes, Torao had even doubted the singer was even human. He was just so stiff, so collected, so perfect.

There was just this angel, there to please others, that it felt like he lacked a personality. But again, Torao hadn’t spent much time with him, so he was hardly one to judge.

“I don’t have anything against them,” he answered Haruka’s question and shrugged. “I mean, the few times I talked to Tenn, he was… I don’t know. But he seems different on stage.”
Haruka nodded, seeming to understand him, even though Torao had poorly expressed his thoughts.
“The other two seem cool. But I don’t buy Ryunosuke’s sexy beast act. And Gaku…”
Well. Women seemed to think he was the hottest man alive. Torao wasn’t sure if he agreed, he found Minami a lot sexier.

“All three of them are great singers and their songs are alright, but I wouldn’t buy CD’s or anything. So I’m pretty neutral towards them.”

Haruka nodded, seeming fine with his statement.
The atmosphere was relaxed again and all four of them continued playing cards.
Torao even won a few games now and it felt like Haruka didn’t give all the bad cards to him anymore.

It had turned dark outside, but since Torao had already decided on staying he didn’t mind.

“You guys can keep on playing while I make us something to eat”, Minami said after a while, and got up from the table.
Torao was then reminded that Minami was only wearing his underwear and that damn shirt he hadn’t taken off earlier.

He heard a light chuckle from his left and when he turned his gaze away from Minami’s body, he could see Haruka’s amused expression.
Torao wasn’t the only one who had checked out the blonde’s body.

Touma had also stared.

The thought of something going on between these two made him tense up and he forced himself to look at the cards again.
There was no way he should feel jealous after knowing Minami for less than a day.

Changing the topic seemed like a good idea. That, and playing cards would surely distract all of them.

“So… how do you know each other?” Torao asked eventually and looked at the two men left at the table.
He could see Minami turning around from where he stood at the stove, and Touma nodded in Haruka’s direction.

“I met Minami at the university’s library”, Haruka answered and smirked.
The way he smiled looked odd to Torao and when he turned to look at the blonde again, he was surprised to see him look embarrassed. At least his cheeks had turned red.

“What happened?” he wanted to know and Haru laughed.

“Well, you know how he is…,” he started but Minami cut in before Haruka could say anything more.
“Isumi-san, I’ll get you that strawberry cake you like if we stop here and just say that I wasn’t studying at that time… “

“Fine,” Haruka agreed and looked very pleased with himself.

That short conversation made Torao even more curious, but it was clear that they wouldn’t tell him.
Haruka was easy to bribe with cake and other sweets. And Minami didn’t want Torao to know what had happened in that library.
But maybe he could ask him later. Or bribe Haruka with even more sweets.

“And when did you start living together?” Torao asked instead and this time Haruka paused to think and shrugged.

“Pretty much immediately. On the table next to… him… was one of those flat listing magazines and I told him I had a free room. He took me up on the offer very quickly.”

Torao didn’t miss the short pause in Haruka’s words, but he was too surprised at the rest to give it much thought.
“He did?” he asked, sounding amazed. That didn’t sound like the Minami he got to know today at all.

“Well, I needed a room,” Minami said from his place at the stove, sounding final. It seemed like that was all the information he was going to get on that topic.
At least for now.

“And Touma?”

“I met him after I had already lived with Isumi-san for a few months,” Minami answered and Haruka nodded.

“I mean, there was another empty room upstairs. And when Minami mentioned another friend looking for a room, I thought why not?”

So the house was Haruka’s after all. Torao had already wondered who the owner was. The question was now, why he had a house. He doubted his former father had gifted it to him. But maybe his grandmother?

He really hoped the woman was fine, but if she wasn’t… No, Torao didn’t want to go down that road.

“So, what do you do now?” Torao asked, because he was running out of things to talk about. “Do you also study?”

Haruka looked at him for a moment and then nodded. “Yes. But I’m also working as an EMT to gain experience.”
He shrugged as if that wasn’t a big deal.

But Torao was impressed. This guy had not only left his family as a teenager, he had also taken in two strangers as roommates and now saved people's lives.
It did sound a little like those heroes in the comics that Torao used to like.
Still liked, occasionally.

“He looks really cute in the uniform”, Touma added with a grin, and Torao could see how Haruka blushed. “Shut up”, he mumbled and played a wild draw 4 that made Touma sigh.
“Rude.”

Minami finished cooking only a few minutes later and all of them ate together.
It was a simple dish, just fried rice with vegetables, but it was delicious.

While they ate, a foot crept up his leg again, and when he stopped in his movement to look around, he could see that Minami was watching him carefully.
A barely concealed smile on his lips as he let his foot wander higher and higher until it rested just below Torao’s crotch.

He tried hard to ignore it and stay, but Torao could feel his face heat up again as the movement made his body react again.

That Minami would do that with his roommates sitting less than a meter away from them… But Minami had told him he liked the risk of being caught, so it made sense.

Still…

“Tora,” a voice said, and he nearly flinched, thinking they had been caught.
But instead, Touma was looking at him, studying his face.
“It was nice meeting you, I hope we’ll see each other again,” he said, sounding as if he had said those words for the second time now, and Haruka made an agreeing sound.

Torao nodded.
“Yes it was, I hope so too.”
He meant it, but right now all he could think about was the foot in his lap.

Haruka and Touma stood up, and after they put their plates in the dishwasher, they left the kitchen.

Finally, Torao turned his head to see Minami smirking.
“You weren’t very discreet”, he said, and Torao coughed. “I didn’t expect you to-” “Maybe you should”, Minami interrupted him and smiled.

The angel smile that Torao had seen a few times today.
The sight made him shiver.

“Are you finished?” Minami asked and Torao nodded, eating the last two pieces on his plate.
“Perfect.”

Minami took both of their plates and after a quick cleaning of the kitchen, he looked at Torao who was still seated.

“Let’s go upstairs,” the blonde suggested, and left the room without even waiting for an answer. Torao didn’t even think and just followed him.

Chapter Text

Minami closed the door behind them this time and smiled, something like hunger in the expression on his face. A hunger that Torao reciprocated, the tiger inside him roaring.

He stood in the room, observing Minami’s movement, as he opened his closet to open some sort of box.
When he stood up again, he held a rope in his hands and came closer.

Torao’s heartbeat immediately quickened, and he felt the ache in his groin again.

“Want to see a magic trick?” Minami asked, eyes sparkling and before Torao even had the chance to think about whether this was a wise choice, he nodded and held out his hands.

Again, he was impressed by how quick Minami’s fingers moved, as he tied the surprisingly soft rope around his wrists.

The man knew exactly what he was doing, and Torao was fascinated by watching him work.
When Minami handed him one of the ends of the rope, he looked at him in confusion.
“Huh?” he asked, and Minami smiled.
“Pull it.”

Torao was able to, even though his wrists were tied and the whole knot came apart within the second.
Minami was showing him how to free himself.
It was endearing, but Torao didn't need his reassurance. He knew he wasn’t thinking rational right now, thinking with his dick and not his head, but he couldn’t care less.
What he wanted was whatever Minami was willing to give him right now.

“I trust you” he said and saw the blonde’s face soften before another expression showed up on his face. Doubt maybe? Sadness? Whatever it was, it was gone quickly, too.
Not that Torao had the time to think about it right now.

“Let me undress you”, Minami said instead, and put the rope on the bed to slowly take off Torao’s shirt.
He knelt down to open his jeans too, and the reminder of how Minami had looked when he’d given him the blowjob was enough to make Torao moan quietly.
The blonde must have heard, but he didn’t react and continued taking off his jeans.

He quickly did the same with Torao’s briefs and got back on his feet to lean closer to him.
Torao expected a kiss, but that never came.
Instead, Minami looked up at him, looking for something in his eyes and smiling, when Torao returned the look. Wanting, but not daring, to lean forward to kiss the other man.

“Get yourself comfortable on the bed”, Minami said after a few moments of almost kissing, but Torao wasn’t able to move, feeling paralyzed until after the blonde stepped away from him to pick up the rope again.

Torao laid down on his bed, relaxed but also expectant, and watched the other, who also climbed on the bed.
“Do you want me to tie you up?” Minami asked, sounding almost serious now and Torao quickly nodded.
He’d already told him that he trusted him! And he still made him wait even longer.

“Say it then” Minami asked and Torao felt himself swallow.
Agreeing to it was one thing; to actually say it another.
It was embarrassing, but he wanted it, so he closed his eyes.

“Please tie me up”

He couldn’t be sure, but Minami looked almost sad for a moment. Still he leaned forward and Torao could feel the fabric of his shirt lightly touch his chest as he moved.

Gently, Minami took his hands and put them above his head, before taking the rope and tying him to the headboard.
Again he handed him one of the endings and looked down on him, completely on top of him like last time.

“You can pull this anytime,” Minami quietly said, leaning down, again close enough to kiss.
“You need to tell me if it gets too much, okay?”
Torao nodded, eyes flickering to the lips that were so close now. If he came just a little closer…

Minami smiled as he seemed to know what he was thinking.

“Ask me,” he demanded and Torao bit his lip. He wasn’t used to asking for something. Usually he was the one who gave.
But after asking to be tied up this was easy.

“Kiss me.”

Some seconds passed, and when Torao didn’t move, he tried again.

“Kiss me, please.”

Minami’s lips were soft, but the kiss wasn’t. It was border lining the ‘too much’, but he kissed Torao at exactly the right speed, at the exact right strength to leave him wanting more.

The ropes around his wrists kept him from reaching out to him. Not really. He was able to free himself at any time, but they served as a reminder.

They were playing by Minami’s rules now.

And that was fine with Torao; more than fine - it excited him. But at the same time it frustrated him since Minami took his time with him, like he did before, and all he could do was lie there and take it.

This time kissing Torao’s body, but not his lips again. The teasing felt cruel and Torao struggled against the ties a few times, but he never even thought about tugging on the rope to get out of his ties.

At some point, his brain shut off.

Minami was riding him again, slowly, taking his own pleasure like before and this time seemed to know exactly how to move to drive Torao insane.
Whenever some kind of thought formed in Torao’s head, a quick movement of Minami’s hips drove it away.

His eyes closed eventually, far from falling asleep, but Torao felt dizzy, in a good kind of way. Like he was floating, only barely aware of his surroundings.
His head felt empty.
It was nice, not having to think about anything for a while.
And the pleasure steadily rushing through his body felt like a reward for letting Minami take over and relaxing.

He almost missed his own orgasm.
The pleasure in him built and built and suddenly released, drawing a soft gasp from Minami, who moved for a little longer and then slowed.

When Torao came back to his senses, Minami was cleaning him with a cloth.
He noticed Torao’s gaze and smiled.
“Welcome back,” he greeted him and put the cloth aside to lie down on the bed again.

Torao had accepted the fact that Minami wasn’t someone who liked to cuddle, but now he lay close to him and put an arm around his chest.
Not exactly like cuddling, but close and comforting.
It felt good.

“Was that okay?” Minami asked, his fingers caressing Torao’s skin, and he hummed in response. He didn’t feel like he was able to speak, still too relaxed to do anything but lie there and listen to Minami’s voice. But it seemed like the blonde understood him anyway.
“For me too. And you’ve been very good.”

Torao thought about these words a bit. He’d been good.
It was nice to be praised; he felt proud hearing it, but what did it mean exactly?

His thoughts slowly returned to him and the realization of what he’d done hit him. He’d let another guy tie him up.

He had thought about it a few times, quite a few times today after seeing the handcuffs in Minami’s room, but also way before he’d even met the blonde.
He had never really thought about it much, just a random fantasy that he wasn’t ever going to play out.
And now he’d let another man do this to him.
A stranger.
Giving him complete control over his body.

He hated letting someone else make decisions for him. It was one of the main reasons why he argued with his family occasionally, but somehow it didn’t bother him too much here.
But why?

“Talk to me”
Minami’s voice interrupted his thoughts, and Torao turned his head to look at him.
“It’s… I don’t know.”

“You’ve done very well.” To Torao, it sounded like Minami wanted to reassure him, but it didn’t really work.

“But how? I didn’t do anything.”

“You underestimate how hard it is to give up control, Mido-san. Not everyone has the courage to do so.”

Torao didn’t answer. It was something he would have to think about. What Minami said made sense, but still.

He couldn’t actually like being tied up, right?

Minami seemed to actually care how he felt, but Torao wasn’t ready to talk. He still felt sleepy from the orgasm earlier, and he didn’t want to think and even less to talk about it.

So he just put his arm under his head and closed his eyes.
“...night,” he said quietly, and Minami seemed to understand because he got in a comfortable position himself and turned off the lights.

“Sleep well”

When Torao woke up in the morning, Minami was lying next to him. Close, very close compared to how much space there was on the bed, but their bodies weren't actually touching.
His eyes were closed and his breathing even and slow.

It was probably a good thing that he was still asleep because Torao needed an easy escape.
Not that Minami had seemed like the type to cling, but it was rare for Torao to wake up in someone else's bed.
Usually he left right after sex.

Minami didn't wake up, didn't even move while Torao got dressed, and that fact made him suspicious.
He held still for a few seconds to watch the sleeping man.
If Minami was just pretending to be asleep, that would be fine too.
That made leaving much easier.

Just as he finished the thought, Minami let out a little sigh, rolled on his other side, moved his mouth a few times and continued to sleep.

Unless the blonde was able to read his thoughts, there was no way he was awake. No one could be that good of an actor, right?

Torao finished getting dressed, took his things and quietly left the house.
Before he drove away, he turned and looked back.
For a second he thought he saw someone standing at the window of Minami's room, but when he looked again it was gone.

With a head shake, he got on his motorbike and drove back home.
He needed to get his stuff for the next courses, and taking a shower and putting on fresh clothes would also be a good idea.

Torao didn't allow himself to think about what happened the day before until the evening.

He was at the usual bar, a woman nearly sitting on his lap and touching him. She was trying hard to get his attention, and under other circumstances it would have worked, but not that time.

Instead, his mind wandered back to the blonde, who didn’t even have to do much to get his full attention. He had known exactly what to do to get Torao to follow him, and then it turned out to be so much more than a casual one-night stand.

Though technically it had just been that. One night.

He let his gaze roam a little, focusing on the way his friend Yamato talked to his boyfriend, lips close to his ears.
Mitsuki’s face was red, though it was hard to tell if it was the alcohol, the heat, or the things Yamato said to him.

Torao had never judged his friend for preferring men, not even for having two boyfriends at the same time. But now, after meeting Minami and rethinking his interest in men, he observed the way they interacted.

The soft smile on Yamato's lips when he watched Mitsuki speak, the way he softly played with his hair and the little kisses they shared every once in a while when they thought no one was watching.

They looked happy together, but Torao knew they were missing their other boyfriend. Nagi usually didn’t go out with his partners, unless they were in a big group.
Not only the way he looked, but also the way he spoke just screamed ‘foreigner’ and he attracted the looks of strangers.

Torao could fully understand the interest of other people in the blonde man. He was charismatic and people were drawn to him, which was exactly why he avoided going out with his partners.
Same-sex couples were rare to see in public, and it being three men instead of two was even more scandalous.

If anyone recognized Yamato, news and rumors could seriously hurt his father's image of being the perfect husband. After all, if his son wasn’t satisfied with one partner, maybe Chiba Shizuo wasn’t either

Torao felt for them, all three of them.
He didn’t know much about Nagi, only that he was from Northmare and his family was very important here.
Yamato sometimes teasingly called him “my prince” but Torao had no idea if the blonde was actually royalty or not. Maybe he should ask Minami about that.

He’d tried looking Nagi up on the internet, but there were zero results in combination with the surname Rokuya.
Torao’s last try was looking up the country's royal family, but the only mention of a prince was a guy named Seth and though he was also blonde on the very low quality picture, Torao thought most people in Europe were blonde anyways.

In the end, the whole thing didn’t matter to him that much anyways.
He liked the guy, yes, but some things just weren’t his business.

Mitsuki on the other hand was rather open about his background.
There was definitely no royalty in his family.
His family owned a bakery and after graduation he started working there to help his parents, which meant, according to Nagi and Yamato, that Mitsuki was an absolute pro in baking and decorating cakes.

He also had a younger brother who also attended university as far as he knew but Torao had never seen him there. After all, he wasn’t close to Yamato’s boyfriends, he only saw them every once in a while when he met Yamato for drinks, and sometimes at business events, when Mitsuki’s shop was the one delivering the cakes.
On normal days, Torao didn’t care much about the unusual couple, but today was different.
The way they looked out for each other made him remember how Minami had been after the sex. Caring. Making sure he was okay.

Most of his hook-ups wanted something from him afterwards. Affection, money, a relationship, but not that time.

Seeing Yamato and his boyfriend, he felt a kind of longing.
Torao wanted something like that too.

When Torao entered the café a few days later, he went to his usual table and ordered a coffee for himself while he waited.
He met Riku there once a week, paying the younger student for a copy of the notes of the previous day's lessons.
Riku himself didn't study at the university, Torao didn't even know what the guy did for a living, but according to him his ' friend' visited the same courses Torao had on Tuesdays.

But Torao didn't care enough to find out who that mysterious person was as long as he got the notes.
He’d tried being nice to Riku, even asked him to join him and Yamato in the evenings, but the redhead always declined.
And eventually Torao stopped asking.

"M-Mido-san," he was greeted, and he gave a short nod to the younger man who stood on the other side of the table.
"Please sit, Nanase-kun" he said, and the boy did, already fumbling with a folder to hand Torao the sheets.
"Thank you," Torao said, and looked at the papers for a short moment, before putting them in his bag and handing him an envelope with the money in return.

They met every Wednesday, and it only took them a minute to exchange the goods, but since it felt awkward to leave that quickly, they usually drank in silence before one of them left.

This time, however, something caught his attention at the other side of the café and when he spotted blonde hair, he took a closer look.
He'd been on the lookout for Minami in the past few days, thinking every blonde person was him for a second before it turned out to be someone else.
But this time he recognized the other man he'd been thinking, even dreaming, about in the past few days.

"Thanks again", he said, abruptly dismissing Riku who looked confused, but nodded anyway.

Without waiting any longer, Torao stood up, taking his coffee with him, and sat down across from Minami, who didn't even look up from the book he was reading.
"And I thought you were avoiding me. I must have been mistaken", he casually said, and Torao blinked.
"Why would I avoid you?"

Minami sighed and looked up now, his gaze finding Riku, who still sat at the other table and watched the two of them.
"A friend of yours?" Minami asked, ignoring Torao's question, and finally looked at him.

"Riku? No way”
Torao shook his head.
He barely even knew that guy, apart from buying notes from him once a week.

"I see."
Minami sounded distant and turned his head to look at Riku again, who blushed and left the café, now looking even more nervous than before.

"So, how have you been?" Torao asked, taking a big mouthful of his coffee, and Minami slowly focused on him again.
The silence was only a few seconds, but it felt a lot longer.
Torao wondered if he had said something wrong when the blonde spoke.

"I've been good," Minami answered, but the way he said it sounded like an innuendo.

It made Torao think of that day almost a week ago.
He'd been having trouble forgetting those few hours they spent together.
Not just the sex, though that was what he remembered most - usually at night when he was alone - but also how they played cards together with his roommates.

Torao had some time to look up Haruka.

There were actually pictures of him in his family's home. A group photo at a Christmas party a few years ago, where Haruka's hair was a light brown color.
Torao only recognized him because Kujo Tenn stood next to him. And their creepy father behind both of them.

Torao couldn't remember that party. All those events were blurred, especially after he became old enough to drink, and he only remembered specific ones.
Like the one where he watched Kujo Tenn lecture his younger brother.

Another picture showed all of them wearing suits or fancy dresses.
Again, Haruka stood near his family, and again he didn't look very happy to be there even though he was smiling.

Everyone there knew that fake smile. The one they got taught right after being old enough to participate in those events.
Always smile, in case someone takes pictures.

When he focused again, he saw Minami observing him intensely, and Torao felt his cheeks heat. He'd been spacing out for who knew how long.

"Welcome back," Minami said, sounding amused once more, after he noticed Torao's thoughts had returned to the café.
"So, uhm, how are your roommates?" Torao asked to quickly change the topic, and because he came to like those two guys.
It felt like they could become his friends too, if he got to know them better.

"They're also very good," Minami answered, hinting something even more this time, and Torao stared at him as a thought crossed his mind.

"You're not sleeping with them, are you?"

"As you can see, I'm currently sitting in a café with you.”

Torao continued to stare. The idea of Minami sleeping with his roommates bothered him more than he was willing to admit.
"But you have slept with them?"

Minami looked at him, waiting, and Torao sighed.
Right, Minami wanted something in return for information.
"What do you want?"

A smirk played on Minami's lips.
"What can you offer?"

Torao looked around. The café wasn't really full, but it still was a public space. Where people he knew worked and also bought stuff.
Getting undressed here was risky.

"My shirt?"

It was more of a question, because he wasn't sure.
He had taken off his jacket earlier, and he wasn't wearing anything under his shirt.
Taking it off here would still be weird, but he didn't have anything else.

"Mh, maybe…” There was a moment of silence and Torao simply waited.

“But we’ve been there already. And drawing even more attention might not be the best thing.”
Torao frowned, trying to think of anything else to give.
Maybe he could be the one giving out information, but he didn’t know what would be interesting enough for Minami.

The blonde seemed to have pity on him after a few seconds.
“You could start by telling me why you met up with that boy,” he said, and Torao nodded. That was easy to answer. But then another thought crossed his mind.

"Are you jealous?" Torao asked, grinning, and something in Minami's eyes changed. It seemed like he disliked Riku for whatever reason, but after looking thoughtful for a moment, Minami smirked.
"Jealous? Mh, why not. He's exactly the kind of person I want to be."

The words were dripping with sarcasm, but it struck Torao as odd.
"You know him?", he asked, more serious, and Minami looked at him again.
"I've seen him a few times. But I believe it was your turn to answer."

The way he said it made it sound like he wasn’t going to elaborate, and though Torao barely knew him for a week, he knew that Minami wouldn’t share any more information than he was willing to.

“He sells me the notes for my lesson on Tuesdays” he answered and Minami watched him; looking actually interested for once.
“Only for Tuesdays?”

Torao had to admit it sounded a little specific, but he had his reasons.
“Occasionally for other days too, but not that often.”

“Why Tuesdays then?”

Torao hesitated only for a short moment. It wasn’t really a business secret, was it? Without an invitation, no one could enter the event anyways.

“There are meetings on Monday evenings that I have to attend.”

Minami kept on watching him, not yet satisfied with the answer, and Torao continued. “They tend to end very late, and I just can’t get up in the morning afterwards.”

Somehow that made Minami smirk.
“It got late at my place too, and you had no problem waking up early.”

Torao blinked and then felt his face heat.
Right, he hadn’t forgotten his escape afterwards.
“Yeah, but-”

“I’m just teasing,” Minami cut him off and grinned. Then he changed the topic back to his Mondays and left Torao wondering whether he was actually fine with the way he’d left after their last meeting.

“So they’re showing you the ropes by letting you attend the meetings?” Minami asked, and maybe it was Torao’s imagination, but it sounded like he put emphasis on the word ‘ropes’.
Even though the memory of another kind of rope deepened his blush, he nodded.

“Yeah, they think it's good training. And socializing with important people is always a good thing.”

Minami nodded, leaning back in his chair, and Torao copied the motion. He noticed how Minami glanced at one of the clocks on the wall, and he observed him closer.
“Are you waiting for someone?”

The blonde seemed surprised that Torao had caught that glance and crossed his legs. “Kind of.”

His jaw clenched when he heard the answer. Who would Minami meet here? And why?

His thoughts must have been easy to read, because the blonde looked amused now.
“Are you jealous?” he repeated Torao’s earlier question, which made Torao stare at him.

His first instinct was to throw that thought aside, but after giving it a few seconds, he thought Minami may be right. Maybe he was jealous? At least a little.

Everyone liked attention, right?
Wanting the undivided attention of someone was normal.

“Who is it?” he asked and Minami raised an eyebrow but answered anyway. “Inumaru-san.”

Torao had to think for a moment. Inumaru… that was one of his roommates. Touma, right.

That reminded him of his previous question.
“You owe me an answer.”

“Correct.”

That guy drove him crazy. Why couldn’t he just answer then?

“So?”

“Ask me again. Maybe you want to redefine your question. I owe you one answer, not five.”

Torao sighed but thought for a few seconds.
“Alright. Have you ever slept with Touma and Haruka?”

“Yes,” Minami’s gaze was right on his own, “and no.”

Huh? That wasn’t what he had expected.

“I told you rephrasing would be a good idea.”
Minami looked amused.

“What’s that even supposed to mean?”

“You make it easy for people to trick you while technically doing what you said.”

Torao wasn’t sure what he meant with that. “Huh?”

“The world isn’t nice. Especially if it’s about money.”

“This is about money?”
Torao was confused now and Minami seemed to notice because he shook his head and made a dismissive gesture.
“No it’s not. Just… be careful.”
“Okay?”

He watched the blonde empty his cup and then sigh.
“Oh well… To answer your question, I never did anything with Isumi-san but I do occasionally with Inumaru-san.”

The jealousy that had vanished for a short while came back almost immediately. The way Minami said it made it clear that it was an ongoing thing with Touma.
And now he met with him here? Were they dating?

“Are you two-,” he began and Minami laughed.

“Dating? No. We meet here, so we can drive home together.”

Torao vaguely remembered Minami telling him about his roommate giving him a ride to uni and back.
“Oh.”

He drank his own coffee, thinking about what he knew about Minami so far.
Not a lot, if he was being honest. Torao knew a lot about his roommate, but not Minami himself. But he wanted to.

“Wanna come with me?” he asked, before his brain had even time to register what he was saying, and Minami’s head tilted.
“Where to?”

He had no idea. His mouth kind of moved before his head caught up with him.
So where could he take Minami?
“To my apartment. It’s not too far from here.”

“Why?”

The fact that Minami hadn’t refused yet made him hopeful.
“We could eat together?”

“And you’re cooking?”

“Uhm. I can try, yeah.”
Minami laughed and then put the now empty cup back on the table.
“Okay then. Let me text Inumaru-san and we can go.”

When they left the café, Torao was still surprised that Minami had agreed to go with him.
He was also nervous to show him his apartment.
It was by far not the first time that he let anyone in, but for the first time he cared about what the other person would think.

It was barely a ten-minute walk to his apartment, and most of that time they walked in silence.
Torao was desperately trying to find something to talk about, but his mind blanked.
“Am I making you nervous, Mido-san?” Minami asked finally, and it made Torao stop in the middle of the sidewalk.

“No?”

It didn’t sound very convincing even to his own ears, but he had no way of describing what he felt. He wanted Minami to like his apartment. To be interested in his life. But at the same time, he wasn’t sure if he even had anything to eat at home.
There was a kitchen in his apartment, but he barely used it.

Torao wasn’t an idiot.
He knew how to cook. Or more like he knew how to follow online tutorials and most of the time he tried it even worked out. Just not all the time.
And ordering was a lot easier anyways.

“Maybe we should stop and buy some groceries first…”

Minami made an agreeing noise and only a few minutes later they entered a small store to buy some things.

Going grocery shopping with Minami felt strange.
Torao went there on his own sometimes, but almost never with someone else. Especially not with someone he was going to make dinner for.

The whole thing felt very intimate somehow. As if they were a couple.

The thought made him blush, and he quickly grabbed a basket and hurried along.
It was hard to think of any kind of food right now, there was just too much to choose from, and he didn’t know what Minami liked.
And even then he wasn’t sure if he could do it.

Minami watched him for a few seconds and then took pity on him.
“It doesn’t take long to make Thai Basil Chicken” he suggested and when Torao nodded, Minami started to look for the ingredients that he seemed to know without having to look them up.

He just followed Minami and carried the basket that got heavier and heavier with each item.
“You surely have soy sauce and rice at home, right?”

Torao nodded, and then had to think when Minami asked about oyster sauce. “Let’s just buy one” he said and Minami nodded.

Torao paid for it all and carried the bag afterwards too.
But it was only another minute of walking before they reached his apartment.

The house was fancy enough to have a gate that could be opened with a code, but nothing too spectacular.
He’d chosen it for the proximity to the university, and not mainly for looks.
Still, it was obvious that rent wasn’t cheap here, not that it mattered much to him.
After a short elevator ride, he unlocked the door with shaky hands - a result of carrying the heavy bags for sure and not at all because he was nervous - and let Minami in.

The interior had a western, modern look and let in a lot of light.
Minami didn’t say anything after taking off his shoes, but Torao had a feeling he liked it.
What was there not to like? He liked it.

“Shall we start with the cooking?” Minami asked after a few moments and Torao nodded before leading him to the kitchen.

He was about to unpack the items in the bag when he noticed Minami leaning against the kitchen counter.
He was smirking.

“I’m very interested in seeing how Mido-san makes dinner”

Torao swallowed.
He’d assumed that they would cook together, but thinking back to a few minutes ago he had to admit that he’d told Minami he would cook for him.

Damn.

He’d need a few minutes to look for a recipe in video form, so he could follow the instructions.
And even then his success wasn’t guaranteed.

“It might take a while,” he warned the blonde, taking out his phone to start looking.
It couldn’t be that hard, right?

Torao was actually looking up recipes now, trying to find one that matched the ingredients that they’d bought, when he felt a hand on his arm.
Minami had moved and now stood right next to him. Very close.

“If you want, I could help,” he said in a voice that Torao had heard before. It was the same voice he had used the first time they ever talked.
That had started all of this. Whatever this was.
He nodded.

“Let’s start with the rice, then.”

The man seemed like he knew what he was doing, and Torao just followed his instructions.
Minami didn’t trust him with the meat, but thought Torao capable of washing the basil and cutting the vegetables while he did the rest.

They worked well together, silent for the most part unless Minami gave instructions. But it felt comfortable and Torao thought he could even like cooking, if it was always like this.

They had to wait a few minutes for the rice and while they waited, Torao hopped onto the counter while Minami just leaned on it.
“So, you’re good at cooking?” he asked, and Minami chuckled.
“Good enough to feed me and others, but not good enough to impress.”

“Well, I am very impressed,” Torao said and earned a laugh this time.
“I’m glad.”

“Do you want to see the rest of the apartment? I could give you a tour” Torao said after a few seconds of comfortable silence and Minami looked amused.
“Let me guess. Your bedroom? I’m afraid our food will burn if we do that.”

“We could leave out the bedroom then. I also have a big couch…” Torao was going along with the joke, though he liked the idea of Minami in his bedroom. Maybe later.

“Fine, show me then. But it’s your fault if the fire alarm goes off.”

The apartment wasn’t that big, so the tour only took a minute at most.
But still, Minami looked impressed when he saw the TV.

“I didn’t know it was this big” the blonde said and tilted his head in wonder. Torao laughed at his expression.
“It’s not that big”
It was way smaller than the one in his parent's house. At least the one in the TV room, he wasn’t that sure about the one in the other rooms.

“It’s roughly the same size as my bed.”
“Ah, not sure if it would be comfortable to sleep on my TV,” he joked.

Minami turned to him, mischief in his eyes. “And I thought you’d like it if I praised the size of your stuff. Especially if it’s bed related.”

That caused Torao to choke, and he coughed just as his rice cooker let out a beep.

“I believe dinner is ready. Are you alright, Mido-san?” Minami asked, sounding innocent now, but when Torao looked at him, the amusement was still very clear on his face.
“I am. Let’s eat.”

Chapter Text

Both of them filled their plates in silence and sat down at the small table in the kitchen. Torao wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say, but after the first spoonful he couldn’t hold back.
“That tastes fantastic!”

He had obviously had Basil Chicken before, but this felt special. Maybe because it wasn’t prepared by a professional? It was stupid. Food was just food - as long as the person making it knew what they were doing, it would always taste good. Right?

Minami looked amused. “Food always tastes better if you cook it with people you like.”
He seemed to wait for Torao’s reaction, but the man just shrugged and continued eating. “You wouldn’t be here if I didn’t like you.”

“Likewise.”

In Torao’s opinion it sounded way too casual but then, he’d been casual too so why should Minami be any different?
Still, he'd been hoping for a more emotional answer. Because Torao really liked the man.
Obviously, women he didn't necessarily like had been in here too, but only for one reason. Never for anything like this.

“Well. I also had fun cooking," Torao said and saw the blonde pause with a spoon near his mouth.
“Helping, you mean,” Minami smirked. “I was the one doing the actual cooking.”

It was clear to see that he was joking and Torao grinned. “Oi, that’s actually a big step for me, cut me some slack. We've always had a personal chef at home.”

Minami smirked and continued eating. But when he continued, he had a sincere look on his face. "Yeah, but you actually did well. I’m sure you’ll be a great cook once you have more experience. Besides, the fact that you were willing to cook in the first place made me happy."

Torao had no idea what he was supposed to say, so he nodded and ate.
The compliment - was it even a compliment? - felt good, and he was definitely proud of having helped to make this dish.
But Minami was right. The fact that he had even agreed to cook for someone else was out of character for him.

Sure, he’d ordered food for his friends a few times, but that had been different. He’d just done the bare minimum to be a good host.
This time he had actually wanted to do something for Minami.

Torao filled his plate a second time; it was just so good!
Minami was eating more slowly and once the blonde was done with his portion, Torao had finished his second.

"Let's clean up, and then we can have dessert," the blonde said and winked before standing up.
The implication was clear and Torao hurried to follow Minami back to the kitchen.

They didn't have to wash the dishes, he had a dishwasher to do just that, but while Minami cleaned the rice cooker, Torao put the leftovers in containers to eat later.

“When did you learn to cook?” he asked once he was done, and Minami looked up for a moment. “I’m not sure. When I was around 12 I guess. My mother had other things to do than cooking for me.”
Minami sounded absent-minded, and Torao tried to read his face.

Was Minami sad? It didn’t sound like it. But he looked thoughtful. Like that memory wasn’t necessarily a good one.
Again, Torao decided to drop the topic.

Before he met Minami, he didn’t really care about other people’s feelings. Sometimes he’d ask even if he knew the other person would be uncomfortable.
But in just a few days, he had learned that it was sometimes better to just shut up.

"Take a seat, I'll be done in a minute," Minami told him, and Torao did what he asked.
Being told what to do was still strange for him, especially in his own apartment, but he didn't mind at all.
Instead, he was curious about what Minami was going to do next, since he had talked about dessert.

Torao knew for a fact that he didn't have anything at home that could be used for an actual dessert. Unless one counted the chocolates that one of the interns at his father's hotel gave him for Valentine's Day.

That had been weeks ago, and he had no idea how long those were edible anyway.

After Minami had put the cooker away, he came closer.
But instead of sitting down on the chair opposite Torao again, he made a very clear gesture, and after Torao had moved his own chair further away from the table, Minami sat on his lap, facing Torao.

The brunette was surprised by that move, since Minami hadn't been very keen on physical contact before.
Being so close to him now felt exciting and even before Minami had done anything else, Torao felt his body react.

Minami watched his face and smiled, when he noticed the blush on Torao's face.
"Is something the matter?" he asked innocently, and Torao swallowed.
"No?"
It even sounded like a question to his own ears, and Minami smiled.

"Good."

He leaned closer and put his lips near his ear. "Since we didn't buy anything for dessert, how about we’ll be each other's desserts?"

Torao nodded and felt Minami shake in a silent laugh.
“I guess that was really cheesy, wasn’t it?”

Torao smiled, but he honestly didn’t care. The meaning of what was said was more important to him than a very cliché pickup line. Especially since he had used many of those before himself.

“Before we get started we should decide on something” Minami said and Torao nodded. He would go along with practically anything Minami suggested anyways.

"Would you like me to tie you up again?" Minami asked, still smiling. Torao shivered because, yes, he wanted to try that again, but Minami ruined his fantasy with the next words.
"I'm afraid we don't have the materials to do that safely here."

Torao's eyes focused on the handsome face, before Minami leaned closer again. "But I'm sure we'll find something else to do that we'll both enjoy, don't you think?"

Torao wholeheartedly agreed and put his hands around Minami’s hips, who tensed under his hands for a moment, but then relaxed and leaned forward to press his lips against Torao's chin.
Slowly, his lips wandered to Torao's ear and stopped there.
"I bet you'd really like to bend me over your couch and fuck me, isn’t that right?"

Torao was sure Minami could feel how right he was, how tight it had gotten in his jeans. The way the blonde smiled confirmed his thoughts, and the way he moved his hips was deliberate enough to cause friction against his groin.

Torao moaned and noticed the pleased look on Minami’s face, as he repeated the motion, stronger this time.

With another moan, Torao put his arms even tighter around the man on his lap and stood up.
A part of him registered Minami’s surprised gasp, but the blonde grasped tightly to him and Torao began to move.
He almost rushed them over to the couch and laid Minami on it.
In less than a second, he was over him.

This position was familiar. Torao had been in that situation many, many times, and he knew the choreography by heart now. He didn’t even have to think about it anymore.

He leaned down and put his lips on Minami’s. Something he’d been longing for in the past few days. He couldn’t quite remember it, but Torao was sure he even dreamed about them. At least it made sense. If he thought about them during the day, then surely at night too.

He already regretted leaving like that a few days ago. Waking up next to Minami sounded great now, but almost a week ago he’d been freaked by the fact that he had let someone use ties on him.

He had had the last few days to think about it, and he doubted he would freak out a second time now. It had just taken him a bit of time to get used to the thought.

The blonde offered no resistance, opening his mouth after Torao pushed and let his tongue inside. A small part of Torao’s brain felt almost disappointed. He’d already gotten used to Minami taking control and expected him to do so, but he didn’t.

Giving up control had felt amazing, like a rush, but he knew from experience that this would feel good too. Even without that rush.
Maybe Minami was the same, and he also enjoyed being taken like this every once in a while.

Slowly, almost reluctantly, Torao’s lips moved away from Minami’s mouth and kissed down over his chin, his neck, while his hand moved down to touch all over Minami’s still clothed belly and up again under the fabric.

He was again reminded that Minami was a man. The skin on his slim figure was soft, but the muscles underneath firm. The most notable part was the absence of breasts though when his hands reached higher.
Slowly he began pushing up the shirt, revealing more and more light skin to his eyes.
He faintly wondered if Minami would let him put some marks on him. They would stand out against his skin so beautifully and remind both of them of the pleasure.

Last time Minami hadn’t taken off his shirt, so this was new to Torao.
Fascinated, he watched the way his belly moved with each quick breath.

When Torao looked up again, he could see the gasps coming from his mouth at being touched. And he noticed Minami’s face was turned to the side, blond hair hiding half of his face. His hands were uselessly lying next to him, not having changed position since he let go of Torao after being dropped on the couch.

He was very passive now, something Torao wasn’t used to, even from other partners of his. Something felt wrong.
When Torao carefully reached for his face to stroke the hair from his eyes and touch his cheek, Minami suddenly moved.

With a force that was surprising for his size, he pushed Torao back, and scrambled out from under him.
The blonde fell off the couch, hit the ground hard, and it must have hurt, but he continued, eyes wide and panicked.

Torao had no idea what was happening, barely having time to figure it out because suddenly his whole being burst into pain and his attention was somewhere else.
While he curled up, he could hear hurried footsteps leaving the room and growing quieter as Minami fled.

Torao hadn’t immediately felt it, startled by the sudden change, but Minami’s knee must have collided with his most sensitive parts while trying to escape.

Not that Torao actually had the mind to think about what had happened.

All he could think about were the waves of pain coming from his groin, running through his belly to his head. He felt nauseous, like he was going to throw up any second now.

He didn’t want to stain his couch, but just the thought of moving made the pain worse, giving him a headache on top of the already existing pain.

Moving hurt, breathing hurt, even just existing hurt, and Torao wanted to disappear. It might have been hours until he was able to form a proper thought again, just lying on the couch and waiting for the pain to end.

Slowly he sat up again, still feeling pain, but being able to move again without feeling like he was going to throw up.
He had no idea why all of that had happened.
He was confused, but there was also anger.
Anger at Minami, who had caused him such pain for no reason at all.

Things were going great, Minami had even clung to him when they had moved.
He had done nothing to let Torao know that something was wrong until he pushed him away.

Torao limped to the kitchen, noticing how Minami’s bag was still here.
He turned like he was expecting to see the other man standing in the corner right there, but of course he wasn’t.

But where could he be then?
He could have left, but without his phone or wallet? He would need them later.
None of this made sense anyways.

Torao buried his face into one of his hands and tried to sort his thoughts.

He faintly recalled the look on Minami’s face.
It was definitely panic. Not that Torao had ever seen someone with that look before, except maybe in movies, but it had been very clear.

He just had no idea what had caused it.

Suddenly he heard something.
It sounded like a cough to him, and it came from the other side of the hall, where the bathroom and his bedroom were.

He checked the bathroom first.
It had a lock, so it would be the first choice for someone who wanted to run away. Not that he even understood the reason for it, he just tried to think practical.

The door was unlocked though, and he couldn’t see Minami inside, so he turned and walked to the bedroom that was the furthest away.
Upon coming closer he could see that the door was slightly ajar, so Torao knew Minami was in there even before going inside.

The pain was still clear in his memory, so Torao carefully opened the door, half expecting an attack. Nothing happened, and he was able to spot the blonde before he even entered the room.

Minami sat in the corner next to the window, resting his chin on his knees and hugging his legs. A position that Torao also knew from movies.
The fact that Minami was the one doing it and that Torao must have caused this made him feel sick again.

Despite his size, the other man had always seemed so strong, but now he looked very small and vulnerable.
“Minami?” he asked carefully without coming closer, and he saw that the blonde head moved.
“Are you-”, Torao began, but stopped. It was stupid to ask if he was alright. It was very obvious that he wasn’t.

"I'm alright," he heard Minami's voice. It sounded shaky, but he raised his head a bit. "Just… give me a moment."

Torao waited, not sure if he should leave the room or not.
Comforting others had never been something he was particularly good at. The best thing he could offer was an awkward pat on the shoulder, and he doubted it would help in this situation.

While he waited, he tried to calm himself, slowly letting out the breath he’d been holding for what felt like hours.
None of this was actually happening, right? Finding himself with a terrified boy in his bedroom had not been the outcome he’d been expecting today.
Or never, actually.

People had been intimidated by his family’s wealth before, but not because they were actually scared of him.
For a fact, Torao had ever even been in a fight, never had to.

He watched how Minami took a deep breath and let go of his legs, seeming to stretch them before slowly getting up.
"Okay,” he simply said and fixed his hair while looking at Torao.

He almost looked normal again, having found his composure again.
Except now that Torao was actively looking, he noticed a few things.
His eyes were red, probably from crying, and his hands were slightly shaking.

When he saw Torao watching his hands, Minami hid them in his pockets. He looked defiant, almost like he challenged Torao to say something. Nonetheless, Torao could feel the vulnerability behind that mask.

"So… I assume you don't want me to drive you home now?" he asked, trying to bring back the normality of before. But that was probably impossible.
Since apparently Torao had been the one scaring him.

Minami shook his head in answer.
"That won't be necessary. Inumaru-san can come and get me."

Torao nodded. He'd expected that. Still, Touma must have been on his way home already and probably had to drive all the way back here.
That meant they had at least half an hour before the guy arrived here.

"I can make us some tea", he offered. Because what else were they supposed to do now?
But when he saw something in Minami's eyes shift, he held up his hands.

"If you want to leave right now that’s fine too. There's a café only a minute away from here. We passed it on our way here and if you’d feel more comfortable-."

"No, tea would be great", Minami said and stopped Torao's ramble before it could get worse.

On his way back to the kitchen, he was reminded again of the pain in his groin.
It still hurt, but it was better now as long as he moved carefully.

Once they were back in the kitchen, Minami went straight to his bag and took out his phone. While he typed a message, Torao turned on the kettle and prepared the tea.
At least that was something he knew how to do without having to be shown first.

It only took him a few minutes to get everything ready, and by the time he put the cups on the table, Minami had put his phone away.

“Thank you,” Minami said after taking the cup in his hands, and Torao sat down opposite him at the table again.
The living room would be more comfortable, but since that had been where the problems started, he figured it would be better to stay in a neutral room.

“So, Touma is on his way?”

Minami nodded and so did Torao. “Okay then...” He wasn’t sure if he should bring up the elephant in the room or not.
Instead, he took a sip of the tea. Still hot, but not enough to burn his mouth.

“Did I hurt you?” Minami suddenly asked, and Torao looked up. “What?”
“You walked funny.”
“Oh. Yeah.”
“Yeah, you’re walking funny or yeah I hurt you?”
“Both?”

Minami nodded slowly and looked at the cup in his hand.
“That wasn’t my intention. I apologize.”

That was it?
Minami didn’t sound very sorry to him.

“What were your intentions then?”

Minami glared at him now.
“Not injuring you? I don’t know, I wasn’t thinking clearly.”

“Oh really.”

Minami had also noticed the sarcasm in his voice and stared at him.
"I don't know what I should tell you."

“How about you tell me what the FUCK just happened?” Torao asked, louder now, looking at Minami, who flinched at the sound.
But when he answered, he almost sounded defiant.
“What did it look like to you?”

Torao’s jaw clenched in annoyance, but he spoke more quietly now, so he wouldn't scare the blonde any further.
“Can’t you answer normally, just for once? Something’s gone horribly wrong, and I need to know what it was.”

Minami's hand was clenched around the cup, and he seemed to ignore Torao.
But just as Torao was about to ask again, Minami spoke.

"I'm… not a fan of being held down. When you grabbed me like that, I got spooked."
Spooked? His reaction had been way too strong for that.
What Minami said sounded like a big understatement.

"And that's why you decided to knee me in the balls with a 20-second delay?" Torao asked. He was aware of his tone, but he couldn't change it.

The blonde looked up at that.

“I told you that I don’t like being held down. I told you that I was scared and not thinking clearly. Are you really that dense? Everyone else would have figured it out by now.”
Minami almost seemed angry now, but Torao could see something else underneath it.
He just had no idea what to call it.
Was it sadness? Hurt?
Something like that.

Minami continued speaking, softer now, and he didn’t look at Torao.
“I don’t really remember what happened in the living room. I just…"

"You just…?" Torao prompted, and Minami ran his fingers through the blonde hair.
"Running away is new. Usually I'd just stay still until it's over."

There was a big stretch of silence while Torao tried to understand what Minami had just said.
The implication was clear, had been for a few minutes. Something had happened to him. But this made it sound like it had happened more than once. Regularly.

"You would have let me do anything, even if you didn't want it?" he asked after what must have been half a minute, and Minami shrugged. He probably wanted to look casual, but Torao could see that he looked tense.

"It used to be the easiest way. But still… I don’t understand. What did you do?"
He didn’t sound accusing, but he watched Torao intensely. “What?”
“What did you do before I ran?”
Torao tried to think.
So much happened, he had a hard time remembering it as well.
"I think I wanted to check on you?"

Yes, he remembered wanting to touch Minami’s face, because the way he laid there had been odd.

"You moved when I touched your cheek."

Minami slowly nodded. He seemed to understand something, but he didn't share whatever it was with Torao and drank his tea instead.

Torao did the same, and they sat in silence again.
He really didn't want to think about it anymore, but the thought of Minami just lying there and letting it happen sickened him.
Would he even have noticed something was wrong if he hadn’t triggered something in the blonde?
Torao felt nauseous just thinking about it.

Both cups were long empty, but both of them still sat at the table. Both thinking about something.

Only after a few minutes, Minami looked at his phone and then at Torao.
"Inumaru-san will be here in a few minutes. I better wait outside."

Torao nodded.
"Are you sure? Do you want me to wait with you?"

He had no idea if Minami wanted to keep a distance between them. After what had happened, he wouldn't be too surprised.

"No, it's fine. I'll wait on my own."

Minami smiled politely and stood up. He put his cup in the dishwasher and grabbed his bag.

Torao got up as well, but stayed at a distance.
"Well. I better get going, before Inumaru-san decides he wants to talk with you."

The thought seemed to amuse Minami, even though he still looked weak, and Torao nodded.
"Okay. Uhm… I'm sorry about what happened today."
It was a lame apology, but he meant it. He just had no idea what to say. There wasn’t anything one could say in this situation, was there?

Minami looked him up and down and nodded after a few moments.
"I should have said something earlier."

With that, he disappeared and Torao was left alone in his apartment.

Chapter Text

Minami had only stood outside for a few minutes when he saw Touma’s blue car stop on the other side of the road.
He walked towards him, but Touma got out and crossed the road, which caused some drivers to honk at the man that barely checked to see if it was safe for him to cross.

“Are you alright Mina? What happened?”
His roommate sounded worried, and Minami shook his head. He had expected Touma to know that something was up, but he really didn’t want to talk about it.

“I’m fine. You could have waited in the car, Inumaru-san. I’m able to walk on my own, you know.”
Touma ignored him and critically looked at the houses that Minami had stood in front of to walk.
“Does he live in one of those? Which one is it?!”

Minami had walked a bit away from the house for exactly that reason. He knew that his roommate was a hothead at times. Who knew what Touma would do if he knew Torao’s exact location.
“I don’t want you to cause a scene. I just want to go home. Now.”

The last word sounded too pleading for his own liking, and Touma turned to look at him.
“Please” Minami said again and finally the other man nodded.
“Okay.”

Despite Minami’s protests, Touma linked their arms and walked back to the car. He caused a few cars to honk again and Minami closed his eyes in expectation of getting hit by a car.
Miraculously, nothing happened, and Touma even opened the door for him to get in the car.

“I’m sorry for making you drive all the way here, Inumaru-san,” Minami apologized while putting on his seatbelt and Touma looked at him in silence before starting the car.

“I’d always come and get you. No matter where you are. Or what time it is.”
His friend sounded so sincere. It made Minami strangely emotional, and he felt the tears well up in his eyes.
But maybe that was just the emotions he had suppressed in Torao’s apartment. He was fine, but his nerves hadn’t caught up yet.

He was glad that Touma was concentrated on the street, so he couldn’t see what his words had caused in Minami’s face.
As long as he didn’t move his hands to his face, his friend wouldn’t notice.

Minami had learned that years ago.

Most people wouldn’t notice tears unless you tried to wipe them away. The movement was what drew the attention, not the tears themselves.

How ironic, that trying to hide them just made them more visible.

This time though, he was able to blink them away without having to use his hands, and turned his head to look out of the window to think.

Would Torao have noticed?

He didn’t know the other man well, but he seemed smart to him. Like an idiot in some ways, but exceptionally attentive in others.
The fact that he had wanted to check on Minami just proved that.

It was a shame, almost laughable, that that movement was what had caused the situation to escalate.
Minami had managed to make the other man feel bad, though that hadn’t been his intention.
Not only that, he had even hurt him.
The one thing he had tried to avoid in the first place.

With a sigh, he put his hair behind his ear and looked back to the street.

There was an uncomfortable silence in the car, and Minami could just feel Touma's gaze on him whenever they had to stop at a red light.
"I'm okay," he finally said, sounding defensive, and saw Touma's fingers clench around the steering wheel for a moment before it was the other man’s turn to sigh.
"Are you though?"

Minami leaned his head against the cool glass of the window and watched the street in front of them.
Good question. Was he okay?

“I don’t know. I think so?”
He didn’t really have the chance to think it all through yet.

"I didn't expect this to happen,” he admitted after a moment, “I was careless and I provoked-"
"FUCK"
Minami flinched at Touma's outbreak and immediately felt his body react to the shouting.
His heart beat fast, and his muscles clenched in anticipation.
Apparently he wasn’t over it yet.
He was never good with yelling, but today was worse.
Especially now that the memory was clear in his mind again.

"I'm sorry, fuck," Touma said a moment later, having noticed the effect he had on Minami, who was watching him carefully.
He was sure if Touma wasn’t driving, he'd burrow his head in his hands.

"I’m stupid! I didn't want to scare you Mina, just…”
He sighed, seeming unsure of what to say, but he took a breath and his voice turned serious. “None of this is your fault. Not what happened back then and not what happened today."

"You don't even know what happened today," Minami argued, but sounded tired even to his own ears.
"Not yet. But if that fucker hurt you, then I'll-"
Touma stopped himself there, sending an apologetic smile to Minami, whose fingers tensed at the implication of violence. "Well, I don't know? Give him a stern talking to?"

Minami chuckled at that. “Mh, that does sound terrifying.” But he also turned more serious afterwards.
“But it's fine. I don't think I'm going to see him again anyway."

Touma didn't say anything, but Minami could almost hear the doubt in the silence between them.
Touma was an idiot occasionally, but it often felt like he knew his friends better than they did themselves.
Minami just wondered why.
Had he seen something in his face? Or maybe in Torao's face back when they met each other for the first time?
All four of them had gotten along so well.

They had nearly reached home, and Minami used the last few minutes to reflect on his feelings for Torao.

He really didn't want to remember the situation from a few hours ago, but it seemed important.
Yes, he used to hold still because that was the easiest thing to do. But he had known it was Torao and not his ex.
Minami had trusted Torao and hadn’t wanted to hurt him despite being scared.

Only the second his hand had neared his throat, panic had overwhelmed him and he had acted on instinct.
Hitting Torao had been an accident, and Minami still felt bad about it.

Torao deserved it, at least a little for forgetting what Minami had said when they met for the first time, but the thought of hurting Torao wasn't a good one. Not at all.

The guy had probably zero experience with that kind of thing, with the kind of upbringing he had. The man barely even knew how to cook!

But then, most people would have no idea how to react in a situation like the one that had happened earlier.
And to Minami, it seemed like Torao had at least tried to.

Minami had enjoyed the time with him, even though they'd only spent two days with each other so far. And if he was being really honest with himself, he wanted to see him again, despite the disaster that was today.

He wasn't sure if that qualified as being in love, but he sure knew he felt protective of the other man.
It was idiotic, and it would cause him even more problems, but somewhere in his brain, or maybe his heart, he wanted to make sure the other was safe, despite the danger.

He just hoped it wouldn't cause problems for other people too.
Hurting his friends and family by getting even more involved with Torao was the last thing he wanted to do, but the selfish part in him wanted to keep holding on.

Keep playing with fire, Minami, and you won’t be the only one getting burned

He could still remember the warning very clearly. Minami doubted he could ever forget those words, spoken in the gentlest voice he could imagine.
It was a shame that it was those words that stuck with him and not any of the other, more positive things.

He noticed the familiar street and Touma parked in the driveway.
After getting out of the car and walking to the house, it took barely 5 seconds for Haruka to pull the door open.
Murderous intent in his eyes.

"I'm going to kill him! Touma, drive me to that asshole's house!"

Minami knew that Haruka was furious for his sake, but seeing him in rage was almost cute.
"Haru, chill!" Touma warned and put his hand on the shorter man's hair, who glared at him.
But after looking at Minami his face softened noticeably.

"Stop it, I'm fine,” Minami said to stop whatever it was that Haruka was about to say.
Not that it made a difference to the younger man.

"No you're not. Stop lying."

Minami opened his mouth to protest, but Haruka was already holding his hand out to him. The fury from just a few moments ago seemingly gone.
"Let's go upstairs, okay? Let us take care of you."

Minami looked at Touma, who had come closer again and nodded with Haru's words.
"Okay then."
He took his friend's hand because he knew Haruka wouldn't touch him right now otherwise. He had no idea what Touma had told him before he left to pick up Minami, but Haruka seemed to have had enough time to think about it. And apparently he’d come to the right conclusion.

Immediately his friend pulled him along to the stairs, and Minami followed him upstairs.

"Is taking a bath together okay?" Haruka asked and Minami nodded.
It almost felt like the younger man needed it more than he did, but it was fine.
The tub was already filled; Haruka had apparently prepared it in advance.
After some urging from his friend, Minami got in the bath and let Haruka go and grab clothes for him afterwards.

It was cute how the other man wanted to take care of him, but Minami hated the reason why Haruka did it.
Something like today shouldn’t have happened at all.
And even if it did happen, he should’ve kept his friends out of it.
But without a car on his own, he had needed Touma to give him a ride.

Torao had offered, but going on that bike with him again wasn’t something Minami was looking forward to. And he needed some space anyway.

Despite his thoughts, Minami felt himself relax in the hot water. Maybe he actually needed this and he felt grateful for Haruka to make him get in the tub.

After bringing fresh clothes, Haruka got in the tub too and sat opposite Minami.
The blonde didn't mind at all. They had seen each other naked many times, which was almost impossible to avoid when you lived with someone for over a year.

It also saved water and the tub was big enough.
When Minami had asked Haruka about the size of the thing, the younger man had shrugged. Said he had the money, and he was used to bigger tubs after living abroad with Kujou.

Minami couldn't argue with that, and he had to agree that it was quite luxurious to stretch out in the water. At least if he was in the bath alone. To give Haruka space, he kept his legs close to his body, but it was still relaxing.
But the position was similar to the one he had been in when Torao had found him in his bedroom earlier.

The thought made him cringe and he shifted, and felt Haru's gaze on him immediately.
"Are you-", the other started, and Minami nodded. It seemed like he’d heard that question hundreds of times today.
He knew that his friends were only looking out for him, but it didn’t exactly help him forget what happened. And that was exactly what he was trying.
To forget.
Maybe a drink would help with that.
But no, he really didn’t want to drink in a situation like this. He might not be able to stop himself if he did.

"Yes, I’m fine. I just remembered something embarrassing."

Haruka smirked now, seemingly changing his strategy to cheer him up. "Oh yeah? As embarrassing as the first time we met?"
Minami's mind went to the day they met in the library, and he groaned.
"Stop it."

His friend laughed now. "I won't ever get that image out of my head. And why would I want to? I mean, it looked hot."
"You weren't supposed to see that."
“Mh, but I did.”

Haru had barely been 18 at that time and Minami was extremely glad that at least it hadn’t been an underage kid walking in on them.

“I even kept listening for approaching footsteps! Why would you even sneak like that?”

Minami remembered nearly jumping out of his own skin when he heard an unexpected little “Oh” from the open door behind them.

The guy he had been with had bolted immediately, grabbing his shirt and leaving Minami behind with a green haired stranger who had looked somewhere between amazement and surprise.

But the longer he looked at him, the more his o-shaped mouth turned into an amused smirk.
“That’s not really what you’re supposed to do at a library”, he said, and entered the room fully, to look at the bookshelves.

He seemed to be looking for a specific title and turned to give Minami privacy to get properly dressed again.
The silence had been awkward until he spoke up suddenly.

“Are you looking for a room?” the other man had casually asked, still not looking at him, and Minami paused in buttoning his shirt to look at the magazine on the desk.
The guy must have seen it, despite there being 2 not fully dressed men in the room.
If it had been Minami walking in on that kind of situation, he probably wouldn’t have noticed the magazine at all.

“I am”, he answered carefully, and walked around the table to pick up said magazine.

“I’m looking for a roommate,” came the answer, and Minami wasn’t sure if the other man was joking or not. It didn’t sound like it, but just the idea was ridiculous.

“And you offer me a room?”

They didn’t even know each other's names yet.
And besides that, he had caught both of them making out at university.

“Yes?”
It sounded like the other man had no clue why the idea was absurd, and he turned around, apparently having given up on finding the book.

“You’re looking for a room and I have a room. Two, actually. I mean, there’s three, but one of them is mine.”

Minami had looked at the other man more carefully now. It had been clear that he must be younger by at least a year, maybe even more. How did he own an apartment already?

Minami had known that rich kids also studied here, but so far he had only really met one of them. Maybe this kid was the second.

“You want to rent your apartment to a stranger?” he asked again, and the other man shook his head.

“Not my apartment. My house.”

That brought up even more questions. But he wasn't going to ask them now.
“And what about the part about me being a stranger?”

A shrug. “You seem nice. And at least I don’t have to fear you’re a homophobic prick.”

Minami sighed. Being caught was one thing. Seriously considering moving in with the guy who caught him, another.
But he had to lie if he said he wasn’t desperate.

“Natsume Minami. Good to meet you.”
“Ku-Isumi Haruka.”

Minami nodded, and the other man ran his hand through the green hair. It sounded like he had almost made a mistake when introducing itself, but caught himself just in time.

But it made Minami wonder.
He was probably too suspicious. No one could have planned this.

“Are you looking for a specific book, Isumi-san?” he asked instead, and seemed to have pulled the other man out of his strange mood with that question.

“I am. Have you seen ‘A Thousand Naked Strangers’”?

“Not yet. I’m working on that though”, Minami said and turned to go back to the shelf he had been leaning against, when he and that other guy had been interrupted. Less than 10 seconds later he pulled out the book.

“Found it!”

Minami blinked and saw Haruka shrug.
“Knowing how to sneak really made my life easier, living with Kujou”, he said, and Minami had to agree.

He hadn’t met either of them, Tenn or Takamasa, but neither Haruka's, nor Torao’s stories really made him want to meet them.
The fact that they hurt his friend so much when he was only a teenager actually made him dislike them already.

Haruka never really talked about that topic much. He had always seemed to avoid it, which was why Minami was really surprised to see him talk so openly after Torao had asked.
But maybe that was it.

He and Touma hadn’t really asked, and maybe Haruka had been waiting for a direct question to do so.
Sort of similar to what Minami was doing as well.
Not lying, but also not telling unless directly asked.

“Touma’s making tea, and then we can watch a movie. Is that alright?” Haruka asked and Minami smiled.

“It is. Thank you.”

His roommates were really trying to cheer him up. And it kind of worked, but the actual reason were his friend's intentions and not their actions.
A bath and some tea were nice, but knowing that there were people caring about him was the real reason why it made him feel better.

Once they were done, they went to Haruka's and Touma's bedroom.
At one point both of them had their own room, but after Touma had started to sleep in Haruka's bed all the time, they used the third room as some sort of guest room.
Not, that they had ever needed one, but still.
It was practical for storing things, at least.

“Ta-daaah”, Touma sang, seeming very proud of himself, when the two of them entered the bedroom.
There was a lot of stuff on the big bed.
Minami recognized a few red pillows and the fluffy blanket from the living room. Apparently, Touma had grabbed everything he could find.

It would be hard to fit three adult men on the bed with pillows everywhere like this, but it was cute.
“Are you planning on a pillow fight?” Haruka asked, seemingly making another connection when eying the mess and Touma frowned, then shook his head.
“I’m making it cozy,” he explained, like Haruka was a child.
“Aaand I also made tea.”

The redhead pointed at the travel mugs on the nightstand.
“Green for Haru, Blue for Mina and Red for me.”

“And what are we going to watch?” Haru asked, looking at the TV, and Touma shrugged. “Whatever you want to watch.”

“Do you want to watch something specific, Mina?”
Haruka seemed to have waited for his answer before saying something himself. So when Minami shook his head, he immediately had a suggestion.

“There’s this series people in my class have been talking about for a while. About that banker”
“Oh, the one with the idol guy? Yuki?”
Haruka nodded and Touma looked at Minami, who also nodded.

If Haruka wanted to watch it, then he wouldn’t object. It wasn’t like he really cared what they were going to watch anyways.

“Okay then. I’ll try to find it and you two can lie down already.”

Minami had to push a few pillows aside to find a spot on the bed, and Haruka did the same.
“You’re going to be in the center”, Haruka objected immediately when he saw Minami sitting near the edge.

Minami shot him a look, but he didn't protest and obediently came closer to Haruka, so Touma could sit on the other side.
“All set,” Touma exclaimed a few moments later and started the episode.

He laid down on the other side of Minami, and now the pillows were almost all on the floor.
Touma pulled a blanket over all of them, and they had to shift again to be able to see the TV.
“Is that okay?” Touma asked, lying close to him now, basically spooning him from behind, and Minami hummed in agreement.

His other friend also came closer and put his arms around the blonde and Touma.

Minami had never been one for physical contact, and he usually didn’t even hug people, but right now, cuddling was fine.
The three of them comforted each other while watching the first episode of the series.

Minami had to admit, Yuki was a good actor.

His character was a rich, manipulative banker, scamming colleagues and customers without anyone noticing.
At the end of the first episode, the body of a woman was found near the bank and all of them waited, until the outro - also Yuki’s voice - was finished and the next episode started.

Minami couldn't say that he liked Yuki all that much, but the series was interesting, and they watched another three episodes, before Haruka fell asleep.

Minami watched him, looking so much more peaceful now in his sleep. Also, a lot younger. Haruka had seemed worried before, despite teasing him in the bathtub. He'd probably done that to keep Minami from thinking about other things.
It was easy to forget that this 19 year old was still a teenager. He’d been through so much and had to act like an adult way too soon.
It reminded him of himself.

"Do you want to continue?" Touma quietly asked from behind Minami, and he softly shook his head and they turned off the TV.
Haruka would complain if they watched the rest without him.
And besides, Minami was tired, too.

He stayed in his spot, even after Touma got up to undress.
The other man tended to heat up like crazy at night and if he wore more than just underwear he was guaranteed to wake up during the night.

Thinking about it, Minami should at least take off his pants too, if he had to sleep next to Touma.
Clothes plus a human radiator would be too much.

Slowly he sat up, so he wouldn't wake Haruka, and slid off his pants.
Thinking about it, he decided to brush his teeth too, so he did just that.

"I'll be right back", he said before Touma could protest when he got off the bed.
The other man nodded and Minami did his bedtime routine, before going back into their bedroom.
Touma was already in bed, waiting for him, and Minami turned off the light.

Instead of having to stumble through the darkness, Touma shone the way with his phone and Minami carefully climbed over his roommate to lie in the center once again.

"Goodnight, Inumaru-san", Minami said, his head facing away from the other man again.
But there was something else he wanted to say. And he meant it.

“And thank you.”

"Sleep well, Mina",

Despite being tired, Minami couldn’t fall asleep right away.
He held still to not disturb his roommates, but his mind raced again.
He really didn’t want to go down that road again, and he sighed quietly, trying to think of something else. Why couldn’t it ever be happy thoughts that kept him awake?

Maybe because there weren’t that many in comparison to the bad ones.

“...okay?”, he heard Touma’s soft voice behind him, and Minami turned his head a bit. Not, that he could see anything but a silhouette in the dark.
“Mhh”, he hummed, not sure what to answer, and then felt Touma’s arm over him.

Not in a suffocating way, more like a one-armed hug. Except he kept it there and shuffled closer to him.
Minami already knew that he’d be uncomfortably warm in the morning, but right now it felt comforting.

The three of them didn’t do this often, though it had happened before. Usually Minami went back to his own bed after a while, but sometimes the other two didn’t let him. Especially when Haruka asked him to stay, he could barely say no.

He almost felt like a little brother to him.

Touma instead didn’t feel like a brother. They’ve done stuff together and no, that would just be weird.
Right now, using the redhead to warm himself up and get some comfort was fine.

It didn’t take long until the man’s breathing got even, a clear indication that he’d fallen asleep. Minami tried matching up his own breath and the exercise was enough to let him fall asleep within minutes as well.

Minami wasn’t surprised to wake up sweating. Feeling way too hot, he shifted away from Touma, who almost laid on top of him now.
For a moment he thought he had woken the other man, but Touma barely opened his eyes, grunted and turned to continue sleeping.

Minami enjoyed the cool air of the room on his overheated skin and stayed on the bed for a few minutes, before carefully standing up.
He had no idea what time it was, but he really wanted a shower now.

With a look on his phone, he confirmed that it was only half an hour until he had to get up anyway, so it didn’t make sense to go back to bed.

Despite having bathed the evening before, it felt good to clean himself. What had happened the day before was almost forgotten when he stepped out of the shower and dried himself.

With how early he’d gotten up, he wanted to make breakfast for himself and the other two, but when he entered the kitchen, Touma was already there.
Apparently he’d showered too long.

“Good morning Inumaru-san”, he said and watched Touma turn his head.
“Oh. Morning Mina,” he greeted him and gave him the cup he had given Torao the last time he’d been here.

“Thank you...”

He had avoided thinking of Torao in the past few minutes, but the cup served as a reminder again. He wondered why Touma had handed him this one and not the usual one with the cat. But it could have been a coincidence too. He seriously doubted it though.

Minami drank a bit of his coffee and watched his roommate move around, trying to save the toast before it burned, while simultaneously preparing another cup of coffee for himself.

“I hope you slept well,” Touma said, shaking his hand after burning himself on the toaster, and smiled sheepishly when he saw Minami smirk.

Touma wasn’t a bad cook. Or well, maybe he was, but the food he made usually tasted fine, really good even.
It was just rare for everything to go smoothly without dropping a plate, burning himself or causing the fire alarm to go off.

Minami wasn’t sure if that made him an excellent or an awful cook. Could one even be both at the same time? Well, Touma surely managed.

“What are you thinking?” Touma asked, seemingly having noticed Minami standing there quietly, and the blonde man grinned.
“Wondering how you haven’t burned down the house yet.”

Touma stopped right then and threw Minami a hurt look. “That’s just rude!”

Still, Minami could see his lips twitch in what was a badly hidden smile, and he came closer. Really close to look at the other man.

Under other circumstances he might have the urge to tease the other man, but Minami was serious now. Especially after what Touma had done for him yesterday.

“My apologies, Inumaru-san. I really appreciate you doing all of this for me and Haruka.”

Minami wasn’t able to put his gratitude into fancy words, but the other man seemed to understand.
Touma’s gaze softened and he nodded.

“Anytime.”

Chapter Text

Despite kind of dreading their meeting, Torao had looked forward to seeing Minami at university again.
He couldn’t really remember seeing him before their actual first meeting but he knew for a fact that they had at least one lecture in common.
But when he showed up extra early this week, Minami wasn’t there, and he didn’t show up for the rest of the lesson either.

Torao took notes this time, so he could give them to Minami if he needed them, but he felt uneasy, having to stare at the empty seat in front of him.
Torao wasn’t sure, but he had the feeling that the professor also looked at either him, or Minami’s desk more often than usual. As if he wondered where the blonde was as well.
It instantly made him feel guilty.

If Minami avoided him then he was the reason why he wouldn’t get the notes he needed to pass the exams. All because of him.

Torao had had some time to think and concluded that what had happened had been his fault. Sure, he’d misunderstood the other man but Minami had told him before that he didn’t like being held that way.
And even then he’d taken way too long to notice that something was wrong.

It made him feel restless and sitting around doing nothing just made it worse.
Torao had thought the two of them had some sort of connection. After all, it was rare that Torao found someone interesting enough to actually want to spend time with them outside of sex.
And while he didn’t know much about Minami and how he usually treated his partners, he had felt very comfortable with him and his roommates.

The evening that they spent playing cards together had been one of the best he’d had in a long time.
Not that he didn’t like going out with his friends, but in Minami’s home - or more like Haruka’s home - he had felt relaxed. Like he could finally be himself without having to pretend to be someone he wasn’t.

Even if that thing with Minami - whatever that was - was over, he wanted to stay friends if possible.
It had taken him a while to realize that the two of them had never exchanged numbers and that he had no real way of contacting the blonde.
Except he knew where he lived - but showing up unannounced was a bit over the top.

Torao decided to wait and see if Minami would show up for the lecture the next week, but when he didn’t, Torao made up his mind.
He’d drive to their house and speak to him there. Right after this lecture.

He would have gone there earlier, but his week had been insanely busy.
As the third son, Torao usually didn’t have to do much except be there for certain events and look pretty. But his brothers had other things to do and according to his father someone had asked for him in particular, so he couldn’t really refuse.
And Torao didn’t want to refuse anyways. Relieving his father or his brothers of some work was the least he could do.

In the end, all he had to do was have drinks with the guy and talk to him. It would be ‘good for business’. It had been quite fun actually and hadn’t felt like work, but still, it had been one of the reasons why Torao had to wait until today to see Minami.

Even if Minami didn’t want anything to do with him after what had happened the last time they met, maybe they could talk and Torao could apologize.
But he really hoped that it wouldn’t turn out that way.

Again he took notes and hurried out of the room after it was over to drive to Haruka’s house.
It was a good thing that he’d looked up the address on his phone before because he wasn’t sure if he’d find the place otherwise.
Not, without driving back to that gas station and trying to remember the route he’d taken more than a week before.

It took him a while to get there, and on two separate occasions he had to stop to look at directions on his phone again to find the street.
But once he was there, he spotted Touma’s car in the driveway and parked his bike next to it.

He hadn’t been scared at all to come here, but now that he stood in their little garden, he noticed that his heart was racing.
Torao desperately hoped that Minami wouldn’t send him away without giving him a real chance to apologize.

He felt himself slow down again and stopped a few feet away from the door, suddenly too nervous to ring the bell.

Torao logically knew that it was stupid. That not trying at all was worse than being rejected, but he didn’t know if he could handle it.
It wasn’t like he’d never experienced that before. He hadn’t been rejected many times, but it had happened in the past.

But still. The doorbell looked menacing now, and he let out a sigh.
He’d come all the way here to apologize, so he would apologize.

Not giving himself any more time to think, he pressed the doorbell twice and then had to fight the urge to run away. How childish of him.

Torao was distracted by thinking about his own ridiculousness that he barely noticed the door actually opening.
“What are you doing here?” a cold voice greeted him, and it made him take a step back. “I… uhm…,” he began and stared into Touma's eyes.
The other man didn’t look particularly friendly, which did nothing to calm his nerves.

People didn’t often look at him like this, and he wasn’t really sure what he should do now.
Apparently, he had to get past Touma to get to Minami.

“I wanted to talk to Minami,” he replied, and saw the other man’s eyes narrow. Apparently that wasn’t good enough.
“Why?”

Torao scratched his chin. Good question.
“I… I want to make sure he’s okay,” he answered, voice nearly cracking all of a sudden, and Torao was surprised with himself. He hadn’t really thought about it that way, but maybe that was the reason why he had felt restless?

Maybe Torao wasn’t so selfish and his reason for coming here wasn’t being scared of losing a potential friend, but making sure someone else was okay?
But he didn’t have the time to think about it now. Maybe he would do so later. But maybe it would lead to even more discoveries of himself, and he didn’t know if he wanted to go there. Things were best the way they were right now, except of course the thing with Minami.

He felt the silence stretch and when his eyes met the gaze of the other man, he swallowed. It felt like the guy stared at him for ages, before blinking.
“Minami’s not home”, Touma finally said, and Torao wasn’t sure whether he was relieved or disappointed. Both at the same time, probably.

“Oh? When is he-,” he began and Touma shrugged. “He’ll probably be here in an hour or two.”
Definitely disappointment.

“I can tell him that you were here,” Touma offered, still blocking the door, and Torao felt his heart sink. He really needed to talk to Minami, and who knew if he’d have the courage to show up a second time?

“No. I’ll wait”, he said and felt Touma's critical look on him.
“Are you sure?”

No, he wasn't. But he would still do it.

“Suit yourself,” Touma said, took a step back and closed the door, leaving Torao to stand on the porch by himself.
Maybe he’d read the situation wrong last time and Minami’s roommates didn’t actually like him but were merely tolerating him last time?
Or had Minami told them about what happened last week? Probably, since Touma had been the one Minami called to get him.

With a sigh, he turned around and left the garden to sit on his bike while he waited. At least it wasn’t raining.

Torao had barely sat there for ten minutes, when the door opened and Haruka appeared in the frame.
“Ugh, come in, idiot.”

The thought of facing Haruka had been as scary as facing Touma, and he was surprised to see the other man so calm. Or at least not angry.
He’d been expecting Haruka to yell at him at least.

“Well? Hurry up, or you can actually wait out there,” he added, and Torao quickly did so and jogged to the door.
Haruka ignored him after that, but went to a room that Torao hadn’t seen before. The living room.

It wasn’t really big, but good enough.
The TV seemed tiny in comparison to the one in his own apartment, but it was probably average.
The couch was big enough for at least 3 people, maybe even 4 if they didn’t mind sitting close to each other, and there was even a fireplace on the wall with two smallish armchairs in front of it.

It looked cozy, but also modern in a way. Or maybe a mix of both.

“It’s nothing compared to the salon you’re used to,” Haruka said after he noticed him looking, and Torao nodded. “I like it.”

That seemed to take Haruka by surprise, and the other man blushed a little. “Well… sit down. What do you drink?”
He sounded rough, like he wasn’t used to hearing compliments often. If Torao thought about it, that made sense. It had probably always been his brother who got all the praise.

“I’ll have a coffee”, he answered, and nearly flinched when Haruka let out a yell. “Touma. Coffee!”

Torao sat on the couch and Haruka took the other end, but turned sideways to face their guest.
“You’re here to see Minami?” Haruka asked and Torao nodded.

This felt like some sort of interview. He’d never had a job, but he’d seen movies, and this felt similar. Or like those scenes where the protagonist had to talk to his love interest’s father before they could marry.

“Touma said you wanted to make sure he’s okay,” Haruka continued, and he wasn’t really surprised. Of course the two of them had talked, otherwise Haruka wouldn’t have let him inside.

“Why do you think he might not be okay?”

That question was harder, and he bit his lip while he thought.

It was obvious that Minami had two good friends that took care of him. Even if he wasn’t okay, Minami had those two to lean on. He didn’t need Torao here to be okay. It was stupid to think that him being here would change anything.

“Last time we met…,” he began, but paused. How much could he say?

He remembered Minami being vague and not wanting to talk about things, so maybe he shouldn’t tell. But then again, he had called Touma and Haruka his best friends.
No, he’d called them his closest friends, but was there actually a difference?

“I… scared him and I don’t want him to be scared of me,” he said, kneading his fingers, and was surprised by the intensity in Haruka’s eyes when he looked up again.
“You’re an idiot,” he simply said and Torao nodded, because yes, he was.

“I am.”

Haruka sighed and nodded. “Okay then. But you better not hurt him again. Ever. Understood?”*

“I won’t.”

A minute later, Touma brought in the same cup he had last time and sat down between the two of them..

The three of them sat on the couch, neither one really paying attention to what was on TV. It was clear that it was some sort of talk show, but he didn’t know the woman that was apparently a singer. She was good-looking, but that was it.
Torao had noticed how his taste in women had shifted. Only a few weeks ago, a pretty face on a cute body was enough for him, but now it was hardly worth a glance anymore.
Generally, he barely found anyone interesting anymore. Compared to Minami they all just seemed too bland.

After a while they heard how the front door opened and almost immediately, all three men put their phones away.
“I’m home,” they heard Minami say, and Touma answered. “Welcome back. We’re in the living room”

A few moments later, Minami's figure appeared in the doorway, and he didn’t look at all surprised to see Torao there.
But then, he’d probably seen his bike on the driveway before he came inside, so he knew he was there.

“Good Evening”, he greeted all of them and looked at Torao, who smiled at the blonde. “Good Evening.”

His roommates were watching both of them in silence, but when Minami looked at them, Haruka got up and pulled Touma with him. “Let’s get Minami a cup of tea”, he suggested, but didn’t give the other man any time to protest, before both of them disappeared from the room.

Minami’s gaze followed them until they were gone, and then returned to Torao.
“Why are you here?”

Last time they’d seen each other, Minami had been shaking. He’d pulled himself together after a few minutes, but it had changed the way Torao saw him.
But now he seemed to be his usual self again, and it caught Torao slightly off guard.

“I wanted to see you”, he answered after a moment and then bit his lip, as Minami continued staring at him. “Why?” he repeated, and Torao paused.
He had no idea what he was supposed to answer.

“Last time you were… I mean, I scared you? And I don’t want you to be scared. Of me. Or in general.”
Torao knew he was stumbling over his words, but he wasn’t sure how to explain it to someone else when it barely made sense to him.
“I like you?” he quietly said and played with his fingers to avoid looking at Minami.

But when he did, a few seconds later, he saw that Minami’s face had softened, and he walked around the table to sit on the couch as well.
At first, it looked like Minami wanted to sit on the other side of the couch, as far away from Torao as possible, but he seemed to realize what it looked like, because he came closer and sat next to him.

"Okay," he said when he noticed Torao's look and gave a tiny smile.
"I'm not scared of you."

Torao didn't think that that would be all they were going to say about last time's disaster, but for now it was okay. Minami probably didn't want to talk about it anymore, and Torao could accept that.

Touma brought in a cup of tea for Minami a few minutes later before leaving again, and the two of them watched TV together.

The same talk show from before was still on, and Torao still didn’t pay much attention to it.
Most of his attention was on the other man and how he didn’t seem to mind Torao’s arm that was around his shoulders.
Instead, he was actually watching what was on TV like it actually interested him.

Touching Minami was like a ticking time bomb, and he moved his arm slowly to avoid startling him, and also give him time to move away if he didn't want it.
But Minami had only turned his head when he saw that movement and looked back on the TV, apparently having no problem with it.

“Can you imagine a life like that?” Minami asked, out of nowhere, and Torao needed a moment to understand what exactly he meant.
“A celebrity life?”, he asked for clarification and hummed when Minami nodded.
“I mean… the way I grew up was sort of similar? Except I didn’t have fans…”

“Must be hard to meet all expectations,” Minami said, and Torao agreed.
If he messed up, the press probably wouldn't get involved. But his father's business partners would definitely know. And remember.
And depending on the severity, even take their business elsewhere.

Though as the third son, he had a lot more playroom. People seemed to care less about what he did than what his brothers did. Whether that was a good or bad thing, he couldn't tell.

Then he remembered something.

“Oh, I actually had a talk about that last week. Or the week before?” He couldn’t really remember, but it didn't matter anyway. “I think it was after we saw each other last time, but I’m not sure.”
“A talk about what?” Minami asked, finally looking away from the screen, and Torao shrugged.

“The entertainment business. Meeting expectations of fans, management and other creators. It's basically what we’d expect anyways if we think about it realistically.”

“And what’s that?”

“It’s all a show to make money.”

Minami slowly nodded and watched his face carefully. "It's always about the money", he said, and sounded almost sad.

"Mi- nami?" Torao asked, because it was hard to place the look in his eyes, and the blonde man blinked a few times and then gently shook his head.
"Forgive me. I spaced out. Who did you talk to, Mido-san?"

Torao narrowed his eyes suspiciously, as it sounded like Minami was trying to change the topic. But he already knew that he wouldn't get anything out of the other man if he didn't want to talk about it, so he just went along with it.

"Oh, right!"
He’d been so busy in the past few days that he’d forgotten to tell Minami - even though it had definitely been a highlight of the week for him.

Torao turned his head to see if the living room door was closed and then leaned closer to Minami.
"Okay, I'm not supposed to say, but - it was Trigger's Ryunosuke."

It was definitely not Torao's imagination when Minami's eyes widened, and he stared at him in surprise before he had his face under control again.
Then he also glanced at the door, checking to see if Haruka had heard.

"Really? How was he?" he asked and put one of his loose strands of hair behind his ear again.

It wasn't like Torao had signed anything that kept him from telling people about the encounter. But his father had asked him to keep it down and not cause problems for him. As if he'd do that on purpose. He wasn’t a dumb kid, and he knew when to shut up. At least most times.

He shrugged and was satisfied that Minami wasn't paying any more attention to the TV at all now.
"He's kind of different from TV. And I'm not buying the rich kid act!"

For someone who didn't seem too interested in Trigger a few weeks ago, Minami seemed quite curious now. "And why is that?"

Torao was at least pretty sure that he was right. Ryunosuke wasn’t born rich - but that didn't mean that he was able to put his thoughts into the right words, and he struggled to explain himself.

"Well… He's nice", he started and saw Minami smile after hearing that.
"And rich people can't be nice?"

Torao shook his head. That wasn't what he meant.

"No. I mean, he was way too trusting. Okay, the alcohol might have played a part too, but he doesn't seem like the person who's aware of people trying to use him. Despite being an idol and having a rich father."

"Stepfather."

Torao paused at that. "Huh?"

Minami used his confusion to come closer, and he sat down in his lap.
"And what about the other part?"
"What other part?"

Why was it suddenly so hard to concentrate? Was it Minami’s proximity?
"He's Trigger's sexy beast. Any thoughts about that?"

Torao swallowed when Minami's fingers started roaming over his skin, and he tried to think. "He's, uhm, definitely good-looking. And it's not like I saw him shirtless or anything…"

“Hmm…” Minami made and continued drawing invisible lines over his arm. "So, why did you two meet? Coincidence?"

"Mh, no. Apparently, his management thought it would be good for both of us to connect. And my dad agreed, so we went to a bar…"

Minami leaned back to look at him more carefully, and Torao was able to think again. It almost felt like having Minami so close caused some sort of mist in his brain.
"How come you're so interested? I thought you didn't like them."

"I said I didn't know their songs", Minami corrected, looking absent-minded again, and Torao really wondered what he was thinking about.
"Ah, I see.”
Torao grinned.
“You have a crush on them," he teased, and that got Minami's attention again.
"What?"

"Mh, you know. All three of them are really handsome. And according to quite a few people, I look like Ryu."

Minami's surprise turned back into a smirk, and he put his hands on Torao's cheeks.

"Maybe a little similar", he admitted after looking at him for a few seconds, then he grinned and leaned closer. "But believe me when I say that I wouldn't do this with him, ever"

He gave Torao enough time to think about what exactly he was saying before leaning in and putting his lips on Torao’s.

It seemed like Torao didn't have to worry about Minami not liking him anymore. He'd kind of hoped to stay friends, but this was even better.
Apparently he hadn’t completely ruined things between them last time.

But now, with Minami on his lap, he didn't know what to do with his hands. The last thing he wanted to do was scare him again, but doing nothing felt awkward.
Minami must have noticed because he paused to look at him.

He noticed Torao's half raised arms and sighed before grabbing them and putting them on his waist.
"You're an idiot, Mido-san", he said and placed a kiss on his neck.
"It's being trapped that I dislike. If you're not sure, just ask, and I'll answer, okay?"

He pulled back to look at him again, and Torao nodded, moving his fingers a little to stroke over his skin through the fabric.

They kissed for a while, not quite reaching the line to making out, but just barely.
Torao had always thought he didn't like kissing much, but it turned out he just didn't like kissing most people. And Minami definitely wasn't one of them.

"Were you planning on having sex today?" Minami asked out of nowhere, and Torao looked at him, still thinking about how good the other man's lips looked.
"What?"

"Did you come here to have sex?" Minami repeated, and Torao shook his head.
"No, I wanted to see you, but not like that."
He knew how it sounded, so he quickly continued.
"I mean, I wouldn't mind and if you want to then that's fine, but… I just wanted to give you the notes and-"

He paused, not sure how to explain it. Minami tilted his head. "What notes?"

He was obviously confused, which was understandable.
But why did Torao feel so embarrassed now?
"You haven't been to our lectures and I thought you might want to know what you missed…,” he slowly said.

He almost expected Minami to laugh, but instead the other man smiled.
"That's very considerate of you. Thank you, Mido-san."
Torao’s cheeks heated at the sincerity of his words and the look he gave him. Especially since he was still so close to him.

“They’re in my bag, I could give them to you-” he started talking, but Minami put his finger on his lips and effectively shut him up.

“Later. Let’s just stay here a bit. Did you want to spend the night?”

“That’s not why-”
This time, a real kiss stopped him mid-sentence.

“I heard that. But do you want to spend the night?”
Torao nodded before really thinking, and Minami smiled again. “Okay then.”

The two of them stayed in the living room for a while longer. Minami eventually left his lap as he thought he was too heavy for him.
Torao didn’t agree with that statement, but he couldn't complain as Minami put his head in his lap instead and used it as a pillow to watch TV.

The program still wasn’t interesting for Torao, but he was fine with it. Playing with the blonde hair was way more interesting anyways.

One time the door opened and Touma looked in the room, but after seeing the two of them relaxed like this, he quietly closed the door again.

Torao was glad that Minami had friends who looked out for him, but knowing that they felt the need to check because of him made him sad.

“How about we go upstairs?” Minami asked after a while, turning his head to look up at him instead of the TV, and Torao nodded.

For once the silence between them was comfortable and since Minami began to undress, Torao did so too, even though he wasn’t sure what the other man had in mind.
He’d asked about sex earlier, but nothing gave Torao the impression that they were about to do it.

Minami noticed his gaze and smirked.
"It seems like Mido-san is hoping for something more exciting,"he said, and started opening the top 2 buttons of his shirt before he stopped.
"I'm not averse to it either if you can get me in the right mood."

It sounded a little like a challenge, and Torao was definitely up for the task. With two long strides he was in front of Minami and his fingers took over the task of unbuttoning the shirt while the blonde let him.

Last time he hadn't taken off his shirt, so this was the first time Torao could actually see him completely naked.
Minami was beautiful.
He'd known that before, but now even more.

He helped Minami to take off the shirt and followed when the blonde went to the bed.

Torao wanted him badly.
But he wanted to please him even more.

It surprised him too, but at that moment he felt no shame.
Maybe it was too early to admit that he definitely had a crush.
And not only that, but also on a guy.

Was this what people talked about all the time? Torao had never thought he'd experience that himself. Had given up and thought something was wrong with him.
Now that he found someone who made him feel like this, he didn't want to give it up again. Wouldn’t give him up.

He stopped in front of Minami and dropped to his knees, hands behind his back and legs slightly apart, like the other man had taught him when they first met.

Minami hadn't expected this, and he took in a loud breath when he saw what he was doing.
But he looked pleased and when his hand moved to stroke his cheek, Torao felt himself blush again.

"I see how it is", Minami said, leaning forward a bit and moving his fingers down his neck and up again on the other side.
"You want us to play together again?

He was correct, of course, but it wasn't what Torao wanted right now.
"Let me… I-", he started and then bit his lip. He'd never really done that before, but he wanted to try it now. For Minami.

"I’ve never…- Can I…?", he asked again, and his behavior seemed to confuse Minami who tilted his head, trying to understand what he meant. Torao couldn’t say what he wanted, so it was on the other man to figure it out.
He did after a few moments, and the playful expression vanished from his face and turned softer.

"Of course you can. I'd love it", he assured him, and Torao felt himself relax a bit. Minami let him do what he wanted to do.
What he should have done the very first time they met.
But he had to admit that today was maybe the best day to do it.

Showing Minami that he wasn’t here for selfish reasons, though that wasn’t why he wanted to do it. He couldn’t explain it, even if he tried.

Slowly, Torao leaned forward and took the already hard tip in his mouth.

The feeling was unfamiliar and for a split second he panicked because he had no clue what he was supposed to do.
But the little gasp Minami let out after Torao’s mouth had closed around the head was already a reward.

The bliss on his face encouraged him even more, so Torao tried to take him deeper.
He managed to do so by a bit, but a soft hand under his chin stopped him before it hit the back of his mouth.
"This feels good", Minami told him, a little out of breath, telling him it was enough and not to overdo it.

But Torao wanted to.
He'd experienced many blowjobs and while all of them were good, the ones that stayed in his memory were those where the other person had taken him all the way.

He was prepared to gag, but he didn't even get that far.
In theory, he knew that he had to relax to make it work, but no matter how hard he tried, there was no way of getting more into his mouth.

Instead, he was at a stage of nearly but not quite gagging without being able to go any further. With or without gagging.

"Mido-san," Minami's voice brought him back, and Torao looked up at him.
"You're doing great. Feels so good."

He could see that Minami didn't just say it to make him feel better. Minami’s face was flushed and his lips a bit swollen from biting them.
Maybe he was right.
Maybe this was enough. For now.

Torao tried remembering everything he heard about blowjobs before. Swallowing and using his tongue and all that.

It was harder than expected. Keeping his mouth open without resting his teeth on the sensitive flesh.
His tongue and jaw also got tired soon, but he ignored it and continued.

"M-Mido-san," Minami said again after a few minutes, definitely moaning and breathing faster now. His hand had tightened in Torao's hair, but he didn't try moving his head for him.

"I'm- I'm close… There are tissues", he managed to say between gasps and pointed at the nightstand.
He hadn't really thought about that before, but he had no time to do that now. The decision of either swallowing or spitting made him freeze up. What was he supposed to do now?

Helpless, he looked up at Minami who seemed to notice his indecision.
With a tug on Torao’s hair, he pulled the other man off him before using his own hands to get off.

Torao watched, relieved but also interested in what Minami was doing, so he could copy his movements next time.

Seeing Minami’s face when he came was something Torao wanted to do many more times.
The blonde used the tissues to wipe his hands and got up to throw them in the bin a few seconds later.
He stopped to look at Torao who was still sitting on the floor before leaving the room for the bathroom. Probably to wash his hands.

When he came back, Torao had gotten up and Minami put his arms around the taller man to kiss him.
Again, Torao noticed that it was easier kissing someone closer to his own height.
Minami was a good 15 centimeters taller than the women Torao usually dated, so he didn’t have to bend down quite as much. He liked that, and he wouldn’t mind doing that more often. The kissing and being with Minami in general.

Both of them got ready for bed in the minutes afterwards and
then laid next to each other in silence. Both probably lost in their own thoughts. At least Torao was.

"Don't you want me to return the favor?" Minami asked after a while, and Torao turned his head to look at him.
"Mh, this was about you, not me."

That seemed to surprise the other man, and Torao looked back at the ceiling.
He had surprised himself, too. Usually, he would have jumped on the opportunity to receive a blowjob. But then again, he wouldn’t have performed oral in the first place if he wasn’t sure to get something out of it too.

Minami had already changed him. Or at least how Torao treated people he slept with.
Was this a crush? Or already more?
He really needed to talk to someone about it.
But who?

His closest 'friend' was Yamato, but he really wasn't the kind of person Torao wanted to talk to in this situation.
But maybe one of his boyfriends. Nagi or Mitsuki. Maybe both.

They could probably help him figure all that out. Even though it would be really embarrassing. And even more so once they inevitably told Yamato about his feelings for the blonde.
And would that actually be a bad thing?
The fact that Torao never had feelings for anyone was probably stranger than finally having some.

"Mido-san", Minami said quietly after a while and when Torao looked at him, the blonde also turned his head.
"I'm glad you came here today"

A very simple statement, but it made Torao incredibly happy.
And when Minami moved to turn off the light, Torao realized that he was still smiling.

When he woke up, Minami was still asleep and Torao just looked at him. Looking so relaxed and innocent in his sleep. Torao’s heart started beating fast and he wondered if this was what being in love was about. Just wanting to be with someone, even if it was just sleeping next to each other.
He had no urge to get up, instead letting his thoughts wander while enjoying the proximity between them. He really had been an idiot when he left in a rush the last time.

When Minami woke up, he turned and after his eyes opened and he recognized Torao his lips curled into a sleepy smile. Torao wanted nothing more than to kiss him but he held back, instead moving his hand to stroke his cheek instead.

“Good morning,” he greeted him and Minami’s smile widened. “Did you sleep well?” he asked in a soft voice and Torao nodded. “I never slept better.” And he meant it. Sure, his own bed was big and luxurious, but it didn’t have Minami in it. He’d probably sleep well anywhere as long as the other man was next to him.

The thought should have scared him, but instead he felt incredibly happy.

He followed Minami downstairs a bit later and leaned against the counter while the other man made coffee.
That reminded him of something.
He'd almost forgotten that. So much had happened in the last few days, and honestly, it wasn’t the first weird encounter he had had in his life.

"Oh, by the way…"

Minami turned to look at him, half interested in what he was about to say, while still working on that coffee.
"Some weird guy came up to me yesterday after I left the café-”

"A weird guy?"

The polite expression on Minami's face had turned into something more alarming, and he stared at Torao who straightened up at the sudden intensity.

"Well… He knew my name, but I guess most people at the university do. Though he looked older than us. Maybe 30?"

"What did he say?!” Minami sounded angry now, and Torao's eyes widened in surprise. He was just sharing an odd encounter, at least that was what he thought.

"It didn’t make sense! I thought it was about you at first but turns out he rambled about summer or so. I think he was trying to promote something,” he hurried to say before Minami could get angrier with him.
He didn’t think this would be such a big deal. It seemed unusual for Minami to react that way, unless… Unless the guy actually meant Minami and not summer.

When he looked closer, he saw Minami's hands were trembling.

"Minami ?" he asked, worried now, and the blonde gave him a tight smile that didn't do anything to calm Torao. Quite the opposite.

"Do you know this guy?" Torao asked and Minami looked at him with an odd expression before he stood straight, clenching his fists.

“I think it would be best if you left now, Mido-san.”

Torao didn’t move and just looked at him. Leaving now did not sound like a good idea if the mention of some guy was enough to get the other man to start shaking like that. And he still had no idea what was happening here

“Minami”, he said softly, and was relieved to see that he was at least willing to talk to him, and didn’t actually kick him out.
Though, he was more worried about Minami than himself.

Torao remembered the last time all too well and though Minami didn’t look as wrecked now, it was still very clear that he was afraid.

“Is that guy bothering you? If he does, then I’ll-”
Minami cut him off right there.
“There’s nothing you can do!"
Minami looked dead serious, but Torao still didn’t understand.
Who was that guy?

“Mido-san, listen carefully. He wouldn’t have talked to you if this didn’t have something significant to do with you.”

The blonde man had given up on making coffee and started pacing back and forth.
Seeing him so obviously stressed was now scaring Torao.

“Who is he?” Torao asked and when Minami didn’t answer, he asked again. Louder that time, and this time Minami stopped to look at him.

“He is the most dangerous man I know. And you either are a target already or you will be one soon.”

Torao still didn't know who the man was, but the answer he got so far didn’t do anything to calm his nerves.

“Target? I’m not- My father will-”
“Shut up!”

Torao stared at him in surprise. Minami hadn’t raised his voice once until now, and that in combination with those words wasn't something Torao expected to hear from him.

“I’m serious Mido-san. If you can think of anything that would hurt you or your family, then he knows it too."

Minami’s eyes seemed to burn into Torao's eyes while they spoke, and it sent a shiver down his spine.
"Spend any more time with me and I can guarantee that he’ll make you regret it.”

Chapter Text

Torao didn’t know what to say.
There was a lot of information to digest before he even knew what to do. And if it put his family in danger, then he had to do everything he could to protect them.
But did that mean that he had to let Minami deal with that person on his own? If that man was so dangerous, then Minami was definitely in danger as well.

“See? I told you it would be better to leave”, Minami softly said, but his eyes looked sad. Resigned.
Torao hated seeing that expression on his pretty face, and he wanted to do everything to change it back to what it was before.

Not, that he had an idea how to do that.

“Isn't there something we can do against him?"

Minami shook his head, and Torao felt himself getting frustrated now.
Frustrated with the situation itself, but also how Minami handled it. Torao needed more information about what was happening, and Minami seemed to try his best to avoid exactly that.
Why would he let some freak control his life like this?
Where was the Minami that had nearly gotten him to strip naked in public?

“There has to be something!” he said because there was absolutely no way Torao was going to give up that easily. His family had money goddammit, getting some sort of restraining order on that man shouldn't be a problem, right?

Minami must have noticed his frustration because he bit his lip. A sight Torao had never expected to see on Minami, but here he was.

"There's one person, but I'm not really sure how to get a hold of him", Minami said, sounding hesitant.
"And I don't know if he'd help us. He doesn't exactly like me."

Torao really wondered who that person was and what had happened between him and Minami. Because Torao found Minami very likable.
But this wasn't the time for backstories, even if he was really, really interested in hearing it. Maybe another time. He'd definitely ask him again.

"We'll have to try. If he won't help us, we'll try something else", Torao said, trying to sound more cheerful, since he didn't like seeing Minami like this at all.
"Do you have his phone number? Address? Email?"

Minami shook his head, sighing. "No, he keeps them private... As you might expect from an idol."

"An idol?", Torao repeated, and his eyes widened. What could have Minami done to make an idol dislike him? Stalking, maybe, but Minami wasn’t the type for it. He was the one getting stalked. Or whatever the weird guy in the suit was doing to him.

"So, how are we getting in touch with him, then?"

Minami shrugged, and Torao tried not to show how annoyed he was with that answer. He wasn't cooperating, even though Torao was trying to help him. Minami was usually so creative and now he couldn't even come up with an idea?

"Well... I went to the bar with Ryunosuke, but we didn't exchange numbers… Maybe I can get it from my dad's office", he thought out loud, but Minami immediately shook his head.
"Unless he's given your father his private one, you'll only get the agency's number. And I really don't want to get them involved in this mess too."

Torao nodded, still in thought, and then looked at Minami. Was it just him, or did it feel like there was something Minami didn't tell him? Was it what he said? The way he said it? If Torao could only point his finger on what exactly bothered him with his last sentence. Even though they knew each other for a few weeks now, Minami was still a big mystery to him, and Torao was far from being able to read him. Especially since Minami seemed to try hard not to show what was really going on inside his head.

"What's wrong?", Minami now said, noticing how Torao watched him, and Torao quickly shook his head. It was probably his imagination anyway.
"It's nothing. So... what other options do we have?"
He got up, so he could move a little while he thought and stopped and turned to Minami after a little while.

"That's it! Kujo Tenn!"
Why didn't he think of it immediately? It was perfect.

Torao smiled and then noticed the questioning look Minami gave him.

"I've told you that I know him. Not very well, but his father definitely knows my dad. Maybe I can arrange a private meeting with him."

"And what then?" Minami sounded skeptical.
"We'll ask him to get in contact with that idol guy. Surely Trigger can get in contact with pretty much everyone!"

Minami seemed to doubt that that would work, but he didn't disagree, and Torao saw that as his way of approving. Great. At least now he had a plan.

He smiled and took his bag.
"I have to get going anyways. We can meet tomorrow, and I'll tell you what he said. Is that fine with you?"

Minami sighed but nodded, and Torao quickly leaned down to give him a kiss. But before he was able to get up again, Minami pulled him closer. But not for another kiss.

"You have to promise me something", he said, sounding more serious now than Torao had ever heard before.

"Okay?"

"You can't talk about this with anyone unless you've asked me first. Got it?"
Torao nodded, because who would he tell anyway?
Not his family and not his friends.

They all would think he was crazy for getting involved.
And it would raise a whole lot of questions about his relationship with Minami that he wasn't able to answer at the moment.

Torao’s way home was uneventful. Which was good because he was definitely distracted. To think that that odd man he met was actually dangerous… If Minami hadn’t looked so serious - even scared at times - he wouldn’t have believed him.

What in the hell had Torao stumbled into here? Staying away would probably be the best, but he also didn’t want to do that. Not if his connections could help Minami.

Torao wanted at least to try and help before giving up on Minami.
After all, he'd never felt that way about someone else before. What if this was actually what he was looking for? What all those stupid romance movies were about?
Throwing it, whatever it was, away just like that felt wrong.

After he had showered and gotten into clean clothes, he knocked at his father's office. No one answered, so he had probably somewhere else to attend to. Perfect.

Feeling like he was some sort of spy or hero like the movies he had adored as a child, Torao quietly entered and looked through the drawers in his father's desk.

There were a lot of loose papers and the occasional notebook in them, and looking through it all would take ages. And he had no idea if he was looking in the right spot either. With a sigh, Torao got to work and tried to find something that looked like an address book.

“Are you looking for something specific?” a voice said, making Torao flinch and look up, caught red-handed.
His father stood in the doorway and studied him, probably trying to figure out what in the hell he was doing in his office.

“Forgive me, father”, Torao said, standing up straight and putting down the book in his hands. His father was a good man, at least in Torao’s eyes, but he wasn’t sure how the man would react to his youngest son snooping around in his office.
Still, he answered the question.

“I was trying to get Kujo-san’s contact information”, Torao said, unsure. His father could probably help him here, but Torao had promised not to tell anyone about Minami's... problem.

"Really? Why?"
His father seemed surprised, but not necessarily against that idea. Which was only natural since Torao had never shown any interest in meeting any of his business associates.

"Do you remember how I met up with Ryunosuke last week?"
When his father nodded, he continued. "Well, I'd like to meet up with Kujo Tenn and I remembered that you and his father know each other."

There were a few seconds of silence where both men just looked at each other. Then his father finally spoke up again.
"Are you… a fan?"

Torao's father had always supported him with everything he did and gave him all he had ever wanted, but letting him think that he was into idols now made Torao feel really embarrassed. Still, he nodded and hoped his father wouldn't see the blush that crept on his cheeks.

"Uh, yeah. I am."
Agreeing was a lot easier than having to explain the whole thing.

His father looked at him for another long moment before nodding and finally smiling.
"Let's see what I can do. I'll call him later and tell you at dinner."

"Thank you", Torao said, even though he cringed at the thought of his father telling him in front of the rest of his family. He really hoped they didn't assume he had a crush on Tenn.
That would be really awkward and possibly lead to the whole "it's okay to be gay" talk, and he really didn't want that.

Torao's father had told him that he would meet Tenn at the Mido-Hotel restaurant.

Most guests were businessmen that wouldn't recognize an idol, and not many people ate there at noon. It was more busy in the evenings anyway.

As it was, Torao and Tenn were basically the only people inside the restaurant. Torao still chose a table near the back, so people couldn't overhear what they were going to talk about.
Hell, he didn't even know whether Tenn would actually listen to him.

If he didn't, he'd have to try talking with Ryunosuke. He seemed like a genuinely nice person, but Tenn would be the best choice here.
After all, Torao had information about his brother and if Haruka had told the truth then the two of them hadn't been in contact for years.
He just hoped that Tenn actually cared about his younger brother. Otherwise, his plan was all for nothing.
He had thought about getting in touch with Gaku too, but approaching one of his teachers that didn’t like him and asking to meet his famous son was something he wanted to avoid if possible.

"We haven't seen each other for a while, Mido-san", Tenn said after the waiter had brought their drinks and left again.
Tenn looked friendly and relaxed, but there was still something that made Torao feel slightly uncomfortable.

Something about the other man felt… 'off' but he couldn't say what it was. Minami also hid his true emotions, but it intrigued Torao. With Tenn, it made him uncomfortable.

"I am aware that you and Ryunosuke went to a bar a few weeks ago. I hope you don't mind that we meet here. I'm not really fond of alcohol."

Tenn had turned 20 somewhere within the last year, but it probably wasn't a good idea for an idol to get drunk in public.

"Oh, I don't mind, really", he answered and waved his hand dismissively. He couldn't care less about what other people drank, and had also chosen water instead of something alcoholic.

"My father said you're a Trigger fan", Tenn continued the conversation, still smiling, and Torao leaned back.
"I mean, I like some of your songs and I definitely enjoyed talking to Ryu, but I wouldn't say I'm a fan. I only said that so father wouldn't ask more questions."

Torao cringed on the inside, thinking what other kinds of questions that lie had brought up.
He had tried to explain to his family during dinner that no, he wasn't gay and that he didn't have a crush on Tenn and wanted to meet him for no superior motive, but wasn't sure if he had succeeded.

They had taken pity on him after a few minutes of frantic explaining and changed the topic.

"I see…"
Something changed in Tenn's expression after that, but it was hard to tell what exactly it was. He was still smiling, though.

"If that's not it, why did you want to meet then?"

Straight to the point.

Torao would have preferred to wait until their food arrived before talking about some weird stalker guy, but oh well.

"I have a favor to ask", he said bluntly, and this time the smile disappeared. Torao noticed how the other man's hand clenched around the glass and gave him a suspicious look.

"And what favor would that be?"

This Tenn here seemed a lot more realistic than the smiling idol, but the difference was so extreme that it made Torao want to leave.
What a strange aura that man had.

Torao had seen Tenn at the parties when he had scolded Haruka, but he’d never experienced this cold glare on him.
Not that Torao was intimidated or scared, but it was a sudden turn of behavior that threw him off a little. Or a lot, actually.
But he couldn't let that get in the way of his plan. Minami counted on him.

"I need you to get in contact with someone else. Another idol", he clarified, when he saw Tenn raise an eyebrow.
"And why would I do that? It would be highly unprofessional of me to inconvenience anyone just for a favor. And honestly, I don't see a reason why I should help you. Our fathers aren't that close."

Tenn was obviously right, but they really needed him. There were alternatives of course, but with Tenn, Torao had a trump up his sleeve.
"It's way more than just wanting to meet them. It’s really important… But before you decline, let me just say I have information about your brother that I would be willing to share.”

Torao expected a reaction, but Tenn looked way more shocked than he thought he would be, and his eyes were huge.
"You do?"
So apparently Tenn was actually interested in getting in contact with Haruka. That was nice to see. After all, it had never looked like it. Maybe he actually cared for him.

"Wait… You're talking about Haruka?" Tenn confirmed, and now it was Torao's turn to raise an eyebrow.
"Obviously. He said you haven't been in contact for a long while."

"Right…"
It almost seemed like Tenn was disappointed, but only for a moment, before he straightened up again.
"He hasn't been answering the phone. And I think he blocked me", Tenn admitted, and Torao nodded.
"He mentioned that."

"And he's willing to talk to me again?", Tenn wanted to know, and Torao winced. "Not… exactly."

Tenn wasn't an idiot, and he must have figured it out pretty quick. "He doesn't know about this meeting, does he?"

When Torao confirmed, Tenn sighed and then nodded.
"Let's make a deal. I'll do what I can to get you in contact with this idol of yours. But only if you get Haruka to meet me."

Not quite the outcome Torao had hoped for, but it could have been worse.
"Deal?"
"Deal"

Now he really hoped he could talk Haruka into meeting his brother.

"No way!", Haruka said, staring at him like Torao had just asked him to cut off his hand or something.
"He wants to talk to you", Torao explained again. "That means he cares about you!"

He had known that it would be a challenge to talk the other man into it, and this time he didn't have anything to persuade him. He had kind of hoped that Minami would help, but instead he stood and watched the two of them silently.

"He'll only criticize me and make me feel bad about myself again", Haruka huffed and crossed his arms.
"You should know that. You saw how he treated me!", he added, and Torao sighed.

"That was like 3 years ago. He's obviously interested in making up with his brother."
Something hardened in Haruka's eyes when he said that, and Torao knew he had said something wrong.
"Please!", he quickly said, before Haruka could turn him down completely.

"I don't want to. He's an asshole."

"Haruka please. I need your help. We need your help here. I'm doing this for Minami, you know."

Haruka glanced at Minami, who stood next to Touma, and hadn't said anything until now. But it was clear that he didn't like the way Torao had used his name to get Haruka to agree, and raised an eyebrow at Torao before walking forwards.

"Mido-san, I don't think-", he began, but stopped when Touma pulled Minami against his chest before he could come closer. Torao was sure that meant that at least Touma was on his side, and he also wanted Haruka to talk to Tenn.
Under other circumstances Torao would have laughed at Minami's facial expression, but he was on an urgent mission right now.

"Tenn just wants to meet you. You can leave at any time if he’s being an ass," he started again, and this time the stubbornness in Haruka's face faded slightly.
"I'm gonna tell him exactly what I think of him!", he said with a frown, and Torao nodded, relieved.
"Sounds like a great idea."

Haruka probably needed to tell his brother a lot, and he was sure that it would do Tenn good to hear how his words hurt other people too.
So in a way he didn't only help Minami, but the Kujo boys as well.
That almost made him feel like a hero.

It was hard to keep the triumphant smile off his face when Touma rushed in to praise Haruka for the decision he made.
Minami also joined his roommate to calm the youngest, but he gave Torao a look that he couldn't quite read.

Torao knew that he had kind of talked to Haruka until he eventually agreed, but in the end that was the only thing that mattered.
Haruka was Minami's friend and even though the meeting with Tenn might suck, it would help Minami with an even bigger problem.

Now it was time to let Tenn know when and where he would meet his brother

According to Minami, Haruka’s mood had gotten worse each day until the day of the meeting finally arrived. All of them knew that it was too important to cancel the meeting, and so the air just got thicker with no way of relieving some of it.

Haruka hadn’t wanted to meet Tenn at home. Neither his current home, nor the Kujo family home, so Torao had offered to host the meeting at his family's mansion. It was neutral grounds and both of them had been there a few times in the past.

The four of them had arrived early, and they all tried to calm Haruka, who looked like he was either about to yell or cry. Maybe both.

“Kujo-san just arrived”, the house staff let Torao know, and he asked them to bring Tenn to the meeting room.
It was obvious that everyone was nervous, but he wasn't sure if everyone worried about the same thing.
Minami and Touma probably worried about their friend.
Torao was more worried that Tenn wouldn't hold his promise and all of this had been for nothing. Not that he thought Tenn was that kind of person, but if the meeting here went really badly, he might just leave.

They all stood near the window, and Torao had the feeling that Touma tried to distract Haruka by asking about the names of several types of flowers when Tenn entered the room.
Kujo's eyes immediately found Haruka, and Torao thought he saw disapproval flash in his eyes when they saw the green hair.
But after a moment he looked at Torao and smiled.

“Mido-san, thank you for letting us meet here”, he said politely, but sounding a lot cooler than last time. Torao didn’t really care since he was only here to help Minami. But he was representing his family, and he'd learned the importance of manners very early in his life.
“Of course. May I introduce Inumaru-san and Natsume-san first. They are your brothers, uhm... friends.”

It was probably best if he didn't share too much information here. Torao didn't want Haruka's relationship with Touma to become part of the argument. If it even became an argument but somehow he doubted that this would be just a calm conversation.

Tenn nodded at Touma, showing just the bare minimum of interest, but he gave Minami a longer look, who just smiled beatifically.
A look that had similarities with the one he gave Torao on the very first day they met.

“Now, with that out of the way, we’re gonna let you-”
“I want them to stay”, Haruka said quickly and gave his two roommates a panicked look. Apparently his bravery had left him after seeing his brother again, and Torao couldn’t really blame him.
“And me?”, Torao asked, and Haruka looked at him before nodding. “You can stay too”

Tenn didn't look too happy with that, but he sighed and nodded.

“Well, let’s sit down then”, he suggested as nothing happened, and they all shuffled to sit at the table. Haruka, choosing the seat furthest away from Tenn, pulling Minami and Touma to sit down next to him.
Tenn sighed and chose a chair that was close enough to be able to talk in a normal volume, but far away from Haruka, so he wouldn't be too uncomfortable.
It seemed like Tenn was more understanding than he seemed. Even if he found it annoying.

But now it looked like it was 3 vs 1 and since Touma didn't think that was the best way to start a talk he chose a seat closer to the middle. Between the two groups.
Maybe that was the best position after all, as he was on no one's side here.

After everyone was seated, the silence continued. Haruka shifted in his chair, Touma's gentle stroking of Haruka's back looked to be nervous and even Minami looked uncomfortable. It was hard to tell since he wasn't moving like the other two, but the way he sat seemed stiffer than usual.
When Torao turned his head, he saw Tenn clenching his jaws.
He didn't know the idol too well, so this could mean stress or anger, but whatever it was, Torao knew he should do something. Just to help them get started.

“So, when did you two last saw each other?” he asked and ignored Tenn's annoyed glance in his direction. So it wasn't nervousness then. Oh, well. But at the very least, it made Haruka talk.

“About 3 years ago. The two went to the States and I moved to live with my grandmother", he said, and stopped shifting in the chair. But he looked at Torao instead of his brother.

“Moved? More like you ran away!” Tenn protested, brows furrowed. “When we came back, you were just gone!”
“And it took you 2 days to notice!” Haruka argued back, finally looking at Tenn, and his voice got louder and angrier. “And who leaves a minor alone for that long? You’re crazy, both of you!”

“You were old enough,” Tenn argued back, but he looked a little unsure now. “15-year-olds can stay at home alone!”
“For a night or two. Not for weeks! And why would I stay with people who wanted me gone anyway? It’s not like we were actually a family.”

It was clear that that was the actual problem. Not staying alone, though that played a part in it too.

“What? Of course we were-”
“A real family wouldn’t favor one son and pretend the other doesn’t even exist!”

Torao was absolutely lost here, and to look at both of them he had to move his head from one side to another. It reminded him of when he used a laser pointer to play with a cat as a child. And it probably looked stupid, so he decided to look at Tenn now, who looked still angry but also hurt.

"Do you have any idea how worried I've been? Kujo and I-”
Haruka interrupted his brother again. True to his word, he wouldn't go easy on him. Still, for an actual conversation, he needed to let the other person talk too.

"Worried? Sure. About your reputation. It was never about me. Only you and how you’re going to reach his stupid goal."
Torao had no idea who "he" was or what that goal was, but Tenn apparently did.

"It’s not a stupid…”, Tenn began, seeming like he was about to lose his temper too, but then took a deep breath.
Torao had to give it to him, Tenn was really trying to stay calm.
“I've tried calling you like a hundred times after we noticed you were gone. It was you who ignored and blocked me.”

That was definitely an accusation now, but Haruka shrugged it off.

"Yeah! Because you're an asshole! Both of you"
He still seemed angry, but Torao could see how tense he was. His hands were clenched into fists and his eyes watered, but he didn't cry.

"I just wanted to talk to you", Tenn said and when Torao turned to look at him again, he saw that the annoyance was gone from his face. So was the weird aura he'd had before. He wondered why.

Haruka let out a sarcastic little laugh. "Oh, I know how you talk. You even belittle your so-called friends. And it was even worse with me.”
Torao could attest that. But he wasn't going to get involved here.

“No, I… I don’t”, Tenn said, but he looked shocked to hear Haruka say that. Had he really no idea how he treated others? Torao had thought he did it on purpose.
“I was just trying to teach you how to behave in certain settings.”

Haruka laughed again, but it sounded self-deprecating and sad now.
“Teach me, huh? Sure, that’s why you did it all the time. Even at home. I couldn't even breathe without you complaining."
The little sniffle made Torao look back at Haruka, who tried to wipe his eyes with his sleeve until Minami silently handed him a tissue.
Even though Torao wasn't close to him, he felt pity again. And he was suddenly really glad for his own family.

“Haruka…,” Tenn said quietly and Torao saw his hand move slightly in his direction as if Tenn wanted to reach out to his brother. But he stayed in his seat and lowered his hand. Torao now saw him play with his sleeves. Looks like Kujo Tenn could be insecure too sometimes.

“You have no idea how it felt. How much I suffered…", Haruka continued. "I hated every single minute in that house. And you can’t imagine how happy I was when Grandma got in touch with me and someone actually wanted me to live with them.”

His bottom lip trembled and Haruka bit it for a moment before he continued. Even his voice shook.
“And you have no idea how alone I’ve been after her accident. She barely even recognizes me anymore."
The tears finally spilled and Haruka cried for real now.
Somewhere within the last few minutes, Touma had started rubbing his back and Haruka now turned sideways to hide his face on Touma's chest while he cried.

Tenn, on the other hand, looked horrified, like that was news to him.
Touma and Minami didn't look that surprised, but they also seemed unsure what to do.

“I didn’t know,” Tenn said with wide eyes, and Torao thought he saw them glistening too.
“I thought you were happy living with your Grandma. If you had told us then-”

“Oh he knew." Haruka said, his voice muffled against Touma's shirt, before he turned and looked at Tenn again.
"He paid a big sum just so I would stay away from you.” His cheeks were still wet from tears, but the contempt in his eyes was obvious.

“Not that I even wanted to return. Being completely alone was still better than coming back to that house.”

Tenn seemed to be completely frozen. He didn’t move at all, probably in shock after having heard all that. Torao almost felt bad for him.

The room was silent once more, only occasionally broken by quiet sniffles from Haruka, who seemed to have stopped crying, but still had a runny nose.
No one knew what to do now.

Torao was about to end the meeting here, when Tenn finally spoke up again. He sounded calm and honest. And he was still missing that weird aura that he usually had.
“I really had no idea. I’m… very sorry, Haruka.”

Tenn looked up, and his gaze found Minami and Touma, who both had their hands on Haruka. Minami on his shoulder and Touma on his thigh.

“I’m glad that you found good friends who are there for you. And if you want I'd like to get in touch again so be there for you too."

“No.”

Haruka looked at Tenn, who looked surprised at the refusal, but Torao thought he also saw something like annoyance flash in his face for a second.
Yeah, that was the Tenn he remembered.

“I believe you when you say you didn’t know, but that doesn’t change anything. We won't ever be a family again. It’s bad enough having to see you on the front pages and billboards. And I'm only here because you wouldn't help them otherwise."

That last sentence felt cruel to Torao, but it was true. Tenn wouldn't have helped them without Haruka.
Tenn stared at Haruka and his brother raised an eyebrow.
“You’re helping them, right? You two have an agreement, and Kujo Tenn wouldn’t just break a deal like that. Or am I mistaken?”

Torao held his breath, but let it go when the idol nodded. “Of course, I’ll keep my word.”
He turned to look at Torao. And there was that Tenn from a few days ago. Torao suspected that he'd seen the 'real' Tenn for a few minutes there, but now that the conversation was over the mask came back on.

“You said it’s urgent, right?”
When Torao gave an affirmative, Tenn nodded.

“I can get you to meet him in 3 days. We’re having a show together, and I can probably bring my brother and his friends in without problems.”
Tenn fixed Haruka with a stare, and it looked like Haruka flinched. Even Torao knew that look, having seen it a few times before. It probably brought back some bad memories for Haruka.
“That means you’ll have to come too.”

Haruka stared back stubbornly, but then nodded. “I’m only doing this for my friends, you know?.”
“I know…," Tenn said, sounding cool again, and turned to look at Torao. "Mido-san, I’ll contact you soon to let you know all the details."

The four of them watched as Tenn gave a short bow and left the room.
They all let out a collective sigh once the door closed behind him and then looked at Haruka, who looked a little uncomfortable.

“What? He’s still an ass. I told you I’m only doing that for you. And for the cake you promised me.”

“You’ll get your cake”, Torao quickly said, and got up to let the staff know that they were finished talking and wanted dessert.
The three of them probably also wanted a few minutes to themselves.

The drive home was silent. They had used Touma’s car in the morning, and Torao’s bike was still parked in the driveway at Haruka's house.
The car was way smaller than Torao had expected, but it fit all of them inside, and Touma was a good enough driver. And since the drive wasn't too long, Torao was fine with it, though he still preferred his bike or a bigger car.

Minami had agreed to take one of the seats in the back so Haruka could sit in the front with his boyfriend.
And while Torao disliked having to sit in the back, having Minami next to him made it a lot better. Even more so when Minami put his head on his shoulder.

“That went… well”, Minami quietly said, and Torao raised an eyebrow.
Haruka had told them beforehand that he wasn’t going to hold back, but Torao hadn’t expected the conversation to be like that.
Haruka had barely given Tenn the opportunity to speak and just fired accusation after accusation at his brother. Probably all the hurt from the past few years.

“At least they didn’t fight with their fists,” Minami explained and Torao shrugged, not sure whether he meant it as a joke or not.
“I don’t think Tenn is the kind of person to do that.”
“Mhh, you’re probably right,” Minami agreed, but he didn’t say the same thing about his roommate. Did that mean he thought Haruka would do that?
Torao was really glad then that it hadn't come to that. That was the kind of drama his family really didn't need in their house.

“Well, I hope he can hold back on Thursday. I don’t wanna be kicked out of there because of him.”
“I’m sure he can,”Minami said with a sigh, and Torao turned his head to look at him. Something else was bothering him then. And he had a good idea what it was.
“That doesn’t sound like you’re excited to see him," he guessed, and Minami gave a little smile.
“Oh, believe me, I’m not. Quite the opposite. I’m absolutely terrified.”

Torao was slightly taken aback at that admission.
“You are? You don’t look like you’re scared.”

If not for the fact that Minami's head was currently on his shoulder, he might not have believed him. But it seemed like he needed a bit of comfort now, which was crazy. But even crazier was that Torao wanted to give him just that.

“That’s because I can tell from experience that it doesn’t change anything. It just makes others uncomfortable.”
“Well... fuck others! You shouldn’t give a damn about how they feel," Torao exclaimed and saw Touma's eyes looking at him in the rear mirror before returning to the street.
Maybe he should talk a little more quietly.

Minami chuckled and sat up straight again to look at Torao.
“It’s not just that. People treat you differently when they know you’re scared. And not in a good way.”
Torao remembered what had happened in his apartment back then and decided not to ask further questions in that direction but return to the main topic instead.

“So, you’re still going to do it? Even though you're scared?” he asked and Minami nodded.
“Of course.”
When he saw Torao’s questioning look, he continued.
“Because you’re right. This is probably the easiest way to defeat Tsukumo-san..."

Torao hadn’t really expected to ever hear Minami tell him he was right, but now that he did, he felt a bit of pride swell in his chest.
That meant that Minami had started to trust him.
Even if it just was a little.

“Yeah. Let’s do it.”

Chapter Text

Torao was impressed by how quick and effective Kujo worked when he received a document by text only a few hours later.
It included all the details to the show, four tickets and a backstage pass for Haruka + 3 people.
Torao would have been able to buy those tickets himself, but this was a welcome surprise.
He now really understood what his father meant when he said having connections was worth money.

He looked forward to the show and finally meeting the man that could help Minami, but the others didn’t necessarily share that sentiment.
Only Touma looked mildly excited, Haruka seemed to be sulking, and Minami only gave a weak smile when he told them the news.

Okay, maybe Torao could understand both of them. Haruka didn’t like having to see his brother again, and Minami already told him how he felt.

According to Tenn, the four of them would meet with him and the rest of Trigger before going to meet the others as a group. Apparently it was common for idols to visit each other before and after the shows, and Tenn had already announced to bring his brother backstage.

Torao thought it was a great plan that wouldn’t make anyone suspicious. It was only natural that an idol would allow his brother to meet other famous people, right?

Thursday came quickly and when he and Minami drove back from university he felt how tense Minami was.
Torao hadn’t asked what had happened between him and the idol, but it couldn’t be that bad, could it?
Unless that idol was the reason for what happened in his apartment a few weeks ago. If that was the case, Torao would-
No, he didn’t know that yet.

“What’s wrong, Mido-san?” Minami asked, sitting on his armchair while Torao laid on the bed.
Both of them were ready and were just waiting for time to pass. Neither of them had suggested sex to relieve some tension. Today just wasn’t the day.

Torao turned his head and noticed Minami’s observing him.
“Do you have doubts? This meeting was your idea,” Minami reminded him, and Torao nodded.
“I know, I know… It’s just-,” he began and sat up. He motioned for Minami to sit next to him and to his surprise he did just that.

“It’s just?” Minami asked, putting his hand on Torao’s leg and trying to figure out what bothered him.
“It’s my plan, but I don’t know anything! I mean, I know that Tsukumo is bothering you, but why? And why is he dangerous? And why are you scared of today?”

Minami nodded thoughtfully and was silent for a few seconds. “You’re right, I should tell you…”
He looked at the clock and then at Torao.
“Do you mind if we take a little walk? You have a watch so we can be back here on time.”

Torao was surprised by that suggestion, but he agreed.
The two of them left the house and Torao followed Minami.
He hadn’t taken a walk here yet, but he was only mildly interested in the neighborhood and way more in what Minami had to say.

“Maybe I should start by telling you about Tsukumo-san…”, Minami said, sounding hesitant, and Torao nodded encouragingly.
“It’s… complicated. I guess one could say he’s an ex”, Minami said, watching Torao's face closely.

Torao blinked. That thought had crossed his mind before a few times, even though he had no idea what Minami had seen in the other man. He looked too old for Minami.
“Okay?” he asked when Minami continued to watch him and the other man gave an incredulous look. “Seriously?”
Torao shrugged. “It makes the most sense. Not many random acquaintances would go to those lengths.”
“Mhh… you may have a point this time,” Minami agreed and shook his head as if to clear his mind.

“We ‘dated’ for a few months,” Torao could practically hear the quotes here, “but in the end it didn’t work out.”

That wasn’t really surprising to hear, but Torao basically still had no new information.
“Why were you even dating?” he asked, and Minami raised an eyebrow. “He looked older than you. Heck, even older than me,” Torao said and Minami chuckled.
“10 years isn’t that much of a difference. You should know that. Isn’t that quite common in your world?”

Torao frowned, opened his mouth and closed it again. “True, but still. How did you even meet?”

Something darkened in Minami’s eyes, and he stopped, staring ahead. Torao stopped too, and it was obvious that those memories weren’t good ones.
“Was Tsukumo the one who-,” he began, thinking it would be easier for Minami if he only had to nod or shake his head, but was interrupted.
“No!”

He looked angry now, but not at Torao.
His expression changed for a moment when he looked at Torao, gestured to him to follow and continued walking.
Minami looked enraged, but was still willing to tell him.

But he walked so fast now that Torao had to hurry to keep up, despite being taller than Minami and having longer legs.

“In a way Tsukumo-san was my savior,” Minami said and Torao just barely understood him with how fast they were walking and the sounds of being outdoors.
He was surprised that Minami told him at all, now that he knew it had something to do with that part of his past.

“But he didn’t save me for me…,”Minami said and stopped to look at Torao. “Honestly, I think he was bored, and I was interesting…”
He shrugged, but Torao could clearly see the hurt in his eyes.
Did Minami still like this guy? Torao started to doubt his plan.
What if it made Minami realize that he’d rather be with Tsukumo again?

“Anyway, I was alone and hurt, and he took me in. He helped me get better, and after that it was almost a normal relationship.”

Minami frowned, seemingly not believing what he was saying himself.
“I mean… ah, I don’t know.”
He now looked at Torao as if to ask him for help. But Torao didn’t know what he wanted to say either.
And since he never had a serious relationship before, he couldn’t say what was normal and what wasn’t.

“It’s confusing,”Minami admitted and massaged his temples as if he had a headache.
“He’s not really a bad person. But he isn’t a nice person either. He’s mean and cruel, but not evil.”
He gave Torao a helpless look. “That doesn’t even make sense, does it?”

Torao shrugged. "Most people aren’t just black or white. It’s rare for people to be just evil or just good"
He had seen Tsukumo only for a few minutes, so he had no idea.
But how could he be dangerous if Minami said he wasn’t evil?

“He’s the kind of person that will destroy a person's life on a whim and take in a lost kitten in the next moment. He’s hard to predict,” Minami tried to explain and Torao nodded.
“Sounds like an interesting person.”

Minami stared at him and sighed.
“I believe it’s time to go back, isn’t it?”

Torao looked at his watch and nodded. “Yeah, we should get going.”

They walked back in silence. Minami seemed to be lost in thought, and Torao had no idea whether he should try and distract him or just leave him be.
When Haruka’s house came into sight, Minami suddenly stopped and grabbed Torao’s jacket.
“Wait!”

Surprised, Torao stopped and gave him a questioning look.
“What’s wrong?”

Minami looked up at him and waited until their eyes met before he spoke.
“Maybe we shouldn’t do this after all.”

He probably saw the surprise in Torao's eyes because he quickly continued, his face almost desperate.
“What if I’m wrong? If he hasn’t been planning something already, then this meeting will absolutely force him to do something. He’s not going to ignore what we’re doing today. He just can’t. He has too much to lose.”

The desperate look on Minami’s face was unsettling. He always seemed so secure in all he did. But now it was obvious how much he doubted their plan.

Torao had been content in letting Minami handle the situation, but he figured it was his turn now.
"Whether he planned something or not, that guy’s a ticking time bomb. I say we fight him."

Minami looked at him for a few more seconds before nodding.
“I really hope you’re not going to regret your words.”

Again, they all squeezed into Touma's car and drove to the arena.
They didn’t have to watch the show to meet with Tenn and the rest of Trigger, but when the four of them had talked today, no one had disagreed, though Haruka didn’t seem too enthusiastic.
But it would be a waste not to go, and Torao actually looked forward to it.

For Torao, the seats they got were normal, but the others looked genuinely impressed by how close they were to the stage and what a great view they had.
It made him think about how different his life had been from them.

Torao had always gotten everything he wanted, no matter how expensive.
Money didn’t mean anything to him, and it had always just been there for him to spend.
Before, he had only two types of friends.
Other rich kids, and those that wanted money.

Those three didn’t fit either category.

Torao had gotten used to being constantly asked for favors and gifts and hadn’t minded it that much either, but now that he had friends who just liked his company, he realized how much he had needed people like that in his life.

“It’s starting,”Minami said next to his ear and Torao blinked, remembering why they were here again.
He was right, the lights dimmed, and a female voice announced the beginning of the show.

Torao had to admit that Trigger were good. They were guests at the show, so they only promoted their new song by singing it live, but Torao had to rethink his opinion on Tenn.
He was good. And while he was on stage, there was nothing left of the cold and unnatural aura that he usually seemed to have. As if he turned into a completely different person on stage.
The other two were actually good too.

Yaotome Gaku had an extremely nice voice. He seemed a little cooler during the conversation than Tenn or Ryunosuke, but not unfriendly.

Torao had met Tsunashi Ryunosuke only once before and although he had realized that the other man's reputation of being a rich son was definitely a lie, he liked him. They had actually spent a good few hours together at a bar and their conversation had been pleasant.
He could now see that Ryu was a great dancer and his voice worked very well with his two group members.

Multiple women had compared Torao with Ryunosuke before, and he tried to see the other man with their eyes.
Torao figured they looked similar enough, but in his opinion the similarity ended there.
He wondered what Minami thought about that.
Last time he had tried to ask, Minami had basically told him that he found Torao way more attractive.

When he turned his head to look at Minami, he could see that his attention was fully on Trigger.
It was hard to say if he was focusing on only one of the performers or on all three of them.

Maybe Minami knew one of them.

He hadn’t mentioned it, but Torao had never asked. And he already knew that Minami didn’t really share anything unless directly asked.

The more he thought about it, the more certain he became that it was likely that Minami had met them before. The way he had talked about them before.

And now that he was looking for it, Torao was sure that Minami’s eyes weren’t following Tenn's movements, but Gaku's. Did he know him?

The rest of the show was interesting too, but Torao had too much to think about to really focus on the other artists much.
And before he even knew it, the show was over, and he noticed Minami standing up from his seat.
“Is everything alright, Mido-san?” he asked, looking slightly worried.
Torao had no idea whether it was because Torao had spaced out, or Minami’s dreaded meeting was so close now.
Maybe both?

“What did Kujo say again?” Minami asked, and Torao needed a moment to understand what he meant.
“Ah, let me check.”

Torao took out his phone and scrolled until he found the brief message that Tenn had sent.
“After the show, go to entrance i7 and talk to the security. Bring identification documents.”

Torao looked at the others.
“So, I guess we’re heading to i7 now.”

To get there, they had to walk a few minutes inside the arena, circling the actual hall.
“There it is,”Haruka pointed out, and sure enough, someone was waiting there.
The security guard was tall and looked intimidating at the first glance, but he was friendly enough and after checking their identities and a quick pat-down he let them downstairs.

Apparently the changing rooms were mostly underground, and so they followed the security through some hallways until they reached a door with TRIGGER on it.

Torao noticed that Minami had slowed significantly.
If he didn’t know Minami as well as he did by now, he probably wouldn’t have noticed at all.
The blonde looked outwardly calm, but Torao saw the tension in his face and when he looked down, he saw that his hands were clenched.

That baffled Torao, since until now he had believed that Minami had been scared of the other meeting. The one they were actually here for.

But then again, Minami hadn’t explicitly said who he was terrified of, and maybe Torao had just assumed wrongly. And maybe that had been Minami’s intention.
He obviously still didn’t trust Torao fully.

Torao didn’t have time to think about it, since the guard knocked on the door and opened it after a few moments, so they could enter.

The room was well lit and despite not having windows, it looked quite comfortable.
Not, that anyone really cared for the interior design. Not, with the three men of Trigger in the room looking at them.

“Minami?” Gaku asked, confused when he spotted Minami behind Torao, effectively breaking the silence.

“Minami?” Ryuu repeated, his surprised face turning into shock and after another moment, suspicious as he faced Trigger's leader.
“Why do you know him?”
He sounded accusing and different from the Ryuu that Torao had come to know.
The idols seemed to forget their visitors as they stared at each other, and Torao almost expected to see them start a fight.
“Where do you know him from? Did you also go out with him?!”

Ryuu looked like he was about to faint, eyes as wide as saucers. “Also go out with him?”

Out of the corners of his eyes, Torao saw Minami facepalm, before walking past Torao and putting himself between Gaku and Ryuu.
“Oh, shut up! Both of you.”

His words did the trick, but only for a few seconds.

“Explain this!” Ryuu demanded and put his hands on Minami’s shoulders to pull him away from Gaku, not quite sounding angry yet, but not far away from it either.

The way he casually touched Minami made Torao bristle, and he stepped forward, about to tell Ryunosuke to take his hands off Minami, when in the same moment Gaku stepped forward as well.

“Don’t jerk him around like that!” Gaku said and reached out to pull Minami away from him, but stopped himself, apparently realizing that he was about to do the same.
Instead, he eyed Torao, who had come closer, sizing him up

The three of them stood around Minami, who looked more annoyed than everything, but didn’t seem to mind the hands on his shoulders.

“Okay, what the fuck is going on here?” Tenn asked, before an actual fight broke out. He sounded confused and irritated.
“I thought I was going to introduce my brother to you, but I feel like something else is happening.”

That got everyone’s attention and after a moment Minami softly pushed Ryunosuke's hands away from his shoulder and moved to stand on his side instead.
“Please forgive me, Kujo-san,” Minami said, looking at Trigger's center.
“It seems I’ve caused quite a bit of confusion here. But I’m sure we can all behave ourselves until all introductions are made.”
He gave Gaku a pointed look, before he shortly looked to Torao and back to Tenn. “Please go ahead, Kujo-san.”

Tenn raised an eyebrow, but motioned at Haruka to take a step forward.
When Haruka didn’t, he gave him an irritated look before he remembered their last meeting and sighing.
“Gaku, Ryuu… this is my younger brother, Isumi Haruka.”

Despite having been close to a fight, albeit a verbal one, both Gaku and Ryunosuke focused their attention on Haruka.
“It’s good to meet you, Isumi-kun”, Ryunosuke said, and Torao thought he saw Haruka blush. “Haruka is fine,” he mumbled, which made Ryunosuke smile in return.

“Why do you have a different name than Tenn?” Gaku asked, and both Tenn and Minami gave him a look that would have made Torao flinch if it had been directed at him.

“That’s not very polite to ask, Gaku,” Ryunosuke said, moving forward to put himself between his group members before apparently remembering Minami who still stood next to him and stopping after only one step.
Torao guessed that Ryunosuke had to stop Gaku and Tenn from fighting quite often.

“We’re not actually biologically related,”Haruka answered the question anyway, and Torao looked at him in surprise. He hadn’t known that.
He had thought both of them were Kujo’s sons. After all, he’d seen them on events ever since his childhood.

Now Torao wanted to hear the whole story. At least until he remembered that he still had no idea what was up with Minami, Gaku and Ryunosuke. But Tenn continued the introduction before Torao could ask.

“And those are Haruka’s friends. Those are Inumaru-san and Mido-san.”
Tenn pointed at both of them and Torao wondered if he should mention that he wasn’t actually Haruka’s friend, just sort of hanging out with them because of Minami, but decided against it.
He did like both Touma and Haruka, after all.

“And it seems like both of you already know Natsume-san,” Tenn said with a raised eyebrow and gave Minami a contemplating look.
“Would you mind explaining?”

Tenn apparently expected Minami to talk, but Ryunosuke spoke first, also noticing his hesitation.
“He’s my brother,”he said, and Torao gaped.
He wasn’t the only one, though, since a quick glance around showed that everyone else seemed just as surprised.
But that explained Minami’s previous answer about preferring Torao.

“And you kept that a secret… why exactly?” Gaku asked, staring at Minami and Ryunosuke.
Ryunosuke stood up straighter, but Minami was the one who answered.
“Because I asked him to.”

The attention was on him now, and Minami smiled. “We’re half brothers, and I’m also an illegitimate child. I didn’t think it would be good for his reputation.”

“And I told you, I didn’t care about that,” Ryunosuke said to Minami, who sighed. “Tsunashi-san, please. We’ve talked about that…”
Minami stopped talking when he saw the way the others looked at him.
Tenn even tilted his head.
“You call him Tsunashi-san?” he asked.
“It feels weird hearing me call that,”Ryunosuke said, looking unhappy, and Minami sighed.
“Fine. I thought it would cause Ryuu less trouble if the only siblings he mentioned were Soutarou and the others.”

“And why would you be a problem?” Torao asked, still not quite understanding.
“Because our mother cheated on his father with my father,”Minami said, looking directly at Torao, smiling. But it wasn’t a friendly smile.
“They divorced shortly before I was born, and Tsu- I mean Ryuu’s father married again afterwards and had three children with his new wife.”

It was obvious that Minami had tried on purpose to make the conversation too awkward to continue, but his brother apparently didn’t care.
“And that’s mother's mistake and not yours. I’m proud to have you as my brother”, Ryunosuke said and pulled Minami into a hug.
Torao wouldn't have dared to do that, but instead of tensing, Minami patted his brother's back before he gently freed himself.

“So the ‘Nami’ you talked about isn’t just a family friend, he’s actually your family,”Tenn asked after another moment and Ryunosuke shrugged.
“Yes and No? In my case yes, but he’s a family friend to my siblings,” he tried to explain and Minami sighed.

"I spent the holidays with Ryuu and his brothers. His family were always very nice to me, and I am very fond of them," he explained, and Tenn slowly nodded.
Then he turned and looked at Gaku.
“And what about you? How do you know him?”

Torao was in the right position to see Minami smirk as he also looked at Gaku, waiting to see how the other man would explain the situation.
“Well… I used to go to the same university,”he began and Torao saw Ryunosuke raise an eyebrow, but Tenn seemed to understand.

"Wait, so you're the ex Gaku has been talking about?" he asked, and Torao blinked in surprise.
He had no idea how Tenn could have come to that conclusion that quickly; Torao was also at that university, and he had never seen Gaku there. But it seemed to be true, since Minami didn't object.

"Ex?" Ryunosuke repeated, and now he really looked like an older brother.

"Talked about?" Minami looked at Gaku, who sighed.
"I had no idea you were his brother. I mean, I knew he had family in Okinawa, but there are millions of people, and it's not like you two look alike"

Torao had to agree with Gaku on that. Minami and Ryuu didn’t look like siblings at all. Not that Haruka and Tenn did either, but they had just told them that they weren’t related by blood.
But apparently Minami and Ryuu had the same mother. Maybe they both looked like their fathers?

“Let me get that straight,” Tenn said, and Torao smiled. Nothing straight here, apparently.
“So you,”Tenn pointed at Gaku and then at Ryuu, “dated his brother? And none of you knew?”
“I guess not,” Ryunosuke said and eyed Minami.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Torao had no idea that Minami could actually look sheepish, but he did when he answered. “I thought that would make it awkward between you.”

Torao didn’t find that logical at all. It was a miracle that Gaku and Ryuu hadn’t accidentally stumbled on that topic before, but it was only a matter of time.
Such an oversight didn’t seem very Minami like.

“Wait a second,” Torao said when he realized something else. “When Ryunosuke’s your brother, why didn’t you call him? That would have been so much easier than talking to Kujo.”

Minami smiled at him. “That’s because I don’t have his number.”
Torao frowned and looked at Ryunosuke, who shrugged.
“Well, his number is probably somewhere in a notebook or something, and you were so sure about getting in contact with Kujo-san.”

Torao noticed that Minami’s gaze was on Haruka for a bit, before returning to look at Torao again.
Maybe he wanted Haruka to reconnect with his brother again? Torao wasn’t sure. He never was when it concerned Minami.

“Right… And I assume what you told me the other day was because of your brother and Yaotome?”
Expecting the awkwardness of meeting the older brother and ex he had kept secret from everyone would probably scare everyone.
No wonder Minami was terrified.

But Minami shook his head.
“A little, maybe. But it’s actually the other meeting I was dreading. And I still am. As I said: Going over there will definitely start something. And I don’t think we’re going to like whatever it is.”

Torao had told Tenn just enough to roughly know what was going on, but he apparently hadn't told his group members.
"Tenn said his brother and his friends wanted to see Re:vale,"Ryunosuke said slowly, realizing something and staring at Minami.

"So this is about Tsukumo? Did he do something? Are you hurt? I'm going to kill him if he-"

Torao watched Ryunosuke put his hands on Minami's shoulders and while he still didn't like the way he touched Minami, he figured it was alright since they were brothers and Minami didn't seem to mind.

"He threatened Mido-san,"Minami and they all looked at him now.
He usually liked attention, but that wasn't one of those moments. Especially since he saw both Gaku and Ryunosuke frown.

"He didn't threaten me," Torao protested, but Minami didn't listen, instead looking at his brother.
"I can't just do nothing. We both know that he'll come after you next."

Ryunosuke still frowned, but his gaze was on Minami now.
"What do you propose?"

Minami sighed
"We'll talk to Momo-san and see what happens."

"And you think he'll listen to you?"
Ryunosuke seemed to know more about what happened back then, which made sense, but Torao still didn't like not knowing.

"I don't know. But he might, if Trigger's present too."

"Tsukumo's that bad?" Tenn asked, and Ryunosuke nodded, looking serious.
"I'm surprised he hasn't come after Trigger yet," he said, and Torao saw Gaku tense at that.

"I think he's about to do that,"Minami said. "He probably waited until he had enough in his hand to strike, and I believe he has everything he needs. I just don't understand what he's waiting for."

"He did say something about summer coming,'' Torao recalled, and Ryunosuke's frown deepened.
"Summer?"
Minami looked at his brother.
"I think something big is coming. But I don’t intend to lean back and watch"

Chapter Text

There was a short moment of silence and Torao noticed Ryuu looking at him. For a second he wondered what the reason was before he understood.
He gave a soft nod, and Ryunosuke did the same.
They were both going to fight for Minami. As a team.

“So, we’re meeting Re:vale, right?” Gaku asked into the silence and that broke the spell.
“That’s the plan,”Tenn said and Torao saw the look he gave Haruka, who promptly turned his head away. It was obvious that Haruka didn’t want to be anywhere near his brother.

Touma had been suspiciously silent for the whole time, a hand on Haruka’s shoulder and just listening. But Touma had always been rather quiet, so Torao thought it wasn't that unusual.

“Let’s just get it over with,”Torao said and Minami gave him a long look, possibly trying to read him, before turning to Tenn. “Did you agree on a specific time, Kujo-san?”

Tenn looked at his watch. “No. I told them we’d come over after showering and getting changed.” He looked up at Ryunosuke and Gaku, and Torao only now noticed, that they didn’t wear the same outfit that they had worn on stage.
Which made sense.

Trigger's part had ended before the rest of the show, so they had had the time to shower before it was time for the final bow. He couldn’t remember if they had worn new outfits for the last few moments of the show, but they probably had.
And they had more than enough time to get changed into comfortable clothes before Torao and the rest arrived in the room.

“We’ve been talking for a while,”Gaku said, leaning closer to have a look at the watch too. Torao distantly wondered why they didn’t just look at their phones.
“I’m pretty sure they’re finished by now as well. Let’s go.”

And with that, Gaku grabbed his jacket and went out of the door.
He was followed by Tenn, Touma and Haruka. Ryunosuke walked out too, but then hesitated, when he saw Torao and Minami still in the room, looking between them and the others.

With a sigh, Minami started to move and Torao walked next to him. Minami had told him twice now that he was scared of the meeting, and he wouldn’t leave his side until all of this was over.
Whatever this was.

“Are you okay?” Ryunosuke quietly asked, slowing down to walk on Minami’s other side.
He looked worried about his little brother, and Torao saw Minami take a deep breath.
“I’m fine,”he said after a moment and turned his head.
Torao couldn’t see his expression anymore, but Ryuu looked at him before he nodded. “It’ll be okay,” he said, gave him a pat on the shoulder and started walking faster again to catch up to the others.

“Okay, but how bad can Momo be?” Torao quietly asked, and Minami raised an eyebrow.
“I mean, he seems nice and all,”Torao explained, remembering Re:vale on stage. Their friendliness didn’t seem staged.

“Oh, he is nice,” Minami said, walking faster now. “Just not to me.”
“Yeah, but why?” Torao asked, taking Minami’s hand to slow him down again.
He really wanted to understand before he met the guy.
Minami stared at their linked hands for a moment and seemed to consider pulling his hand away, before deciding against it and actually slowing down to look at Torao.

“Well… He knows Ryou, and he knew I was with him. He probably thinks I throw puppies out of windows in my free time.”
Torao frowned and Minami sighed as if he was annoyed. But when he looked at him, he didn’t seem annoyed at Torao. Just… fed up with the whole situation.
“I can imagine that Ryou has threatened his precious boyfriend, and he probably thinks I have something to do with it.”

It was Minami now who pulled on Torao's hand to catch up with the others, while Torao tried to make sense of what he said.
Boyfriend? Threatened?

What?

The others were already waiting in front of a door that had a big Re:vale sign on it.
Tenn didn’t look like he was very happy that they had to wait for the two of them, but he didn’t say anything.
Torao was sure that things usually went his way.

“Ready?” Gaku asked once they reached them and when Minami nodded, he knocked at the door.

“Come in!” they heard a cheerful voice yell only a moment later, and Gaku just let himself inside, Tenn and Ryuu directly behind him.

That room was bigger than the other one, which made sense as Re:vale was even more famous than Trigger.
And there they were. Yuki and Momo, less than 5 meters away from them.
And both of them looked very nice indeed.
It was obvious that they knew Trigger well and had spent time with them before.
Of course they had, otherwise they wouldn’t have agreed to meet Tenn’s brother here.

“Oh, hello Trigger! You guys were just great, and your song is awesome! It’s been stuck in my head for weeks now. My darling is probably annoyed with me already.”
Torao was already overwhelmed with how much Momo talked.
“Ah, I nearly forgot. Tenn, you said you’re bringing your little brother today, right? Where is-”
Momo paused and his eyes widened when he spotted Minami in the group behind Gaku and Ryunosuke, and he noticeably paled.

His mood also immediately changed.

“I’m sorry guys, but I forgot that we're actually very busy today,”Momo's tone was noticeably cool now, but the expression on his face wasn’t anger.
It was fear.

He made an attempt to leave, but Yuki's hand was on his shoulder, gently keeping him in place. “I think we should listen to what they have to say.”

Torao was watching both of them, and he didn’t miss the variety of emotions on Momo’s face before he shook his head.
“You don’t understand! This is dangerous. He’s dangerous.”

“Ah, excuse me,”Ryunosuke said, stepping forward. “Minami isn’t dangerous! He's a sweet kid who did nothing wrong!”

That made Momo actually look away from Yuki and he gave Ryuu a scrutinizing look.
“You don’t understand,”he repeated and when no one reacted he stood up straight and shook Yuki’s hand off his shoulder and took it instead.

“You have no idea the danger you’ve bought us all in. None.”
He looked dead serious and there was definitely anger in his eyes when he looked at Minami, who just looked back with a blank expression on his face.
But Torao definitely felt him squeeze his hand a tiny bit.
“Why are you here?!”

“Don’t speak to him like that! He’s not a criminal” Ryuu said, stepping in front of Minami and staring at Momo.
Ryunosuke had always seemed like a gentle, peace loving man to Torao, but he was obviously very protective of his brother. Or brothers. Torao knew that he had more than just Minami.
The thought of them being related still felt weird to him, but this wasn’t the time to think about it.

Momo seemed surprised at Ryunosuke getting involved for the second time. “You don’t-,”he began again, but Ryunosuke shook his head again.
“Oh, I do understand. Better than you think, actually. Nami isn’t the bad guy here. Ryou is. And I’d appreciate not talking about him like that.”

Momo was clearly taken aback by this, and Yuki took the chance to look at all of them. His gaze lingered on Minami’s face for a little longer than on the others, but Torao couldn’t sense a shift of emotion on his face.
“Let’s all calm down and talk,” he suggested, and motioned for them to come further inside the room.
“Yuki,”Momo began, but Yuki just casually put his hand on Momo’s mouth, not even looking at him.

“Please, have a seat,”he continued, motioning to the two couches and the group sat. It was a tight fit and Tora wouldn’t have minded if Minami sat on his lap, but Minami had ignored his non-verbal suggestion and instead sat squeezed in between him and Ryunosuke.

By that time, Momo had freed himself from Yuki, but had apparently calmed down.
Apparently Yuki had taken over and now led the conversation. Torao was more than fine with it, since Yuki seemed a lot more calm than Momo. That would make it easier to explain.

“I thought we were going to meet Tenn-kun’s brother today,” Yuki said and looked at Tenn. “Wasn’t that the plan?”
“And I brought my brother,” Tenn said, pointing at Haruka, who had taken the seat furthest away from him.
“I see…,” Yuki said after an awkward moment of silence, noticing the way Haruka was pouting and then looked at Ryunosuke before his eyes found Torao.

Torao had barely time to think before Yuki spoke again.
“Am I right in assuming that you’re one of the sons of the Mido family?”
Torao was confused, but nodded. Right, they hadn’t had the time for introductions yet.
He automatically got up, straightened his posture and introduced himself.
“I’m Mido Torao, the youngest son. Good to meet you.”

He thought he saw a short smile play around Yuki’s face, but the other man just nodded. “I thought so. You’re friends with Yamato-kun, I believe?”

Torao nodded, though he wasn’t sure if Yamato was actually a friend in the conventional way. They hung out together sometimes, but they never really talked about anything important. Their conversation was usually light and pleasant.
The only time that changed was when Yamato's boyfriends were with him, which rarely happened in public. And if it did, it was usually only one of them - Mitsuki, and not the other one.

Still, that made Yuki seem more relaxed, and he nodded to Momo. Torao wondered what that was about.
It seemed like Yuki also knew Yamato, but he knew for a fact that Yamato had never mentioned him. Ever.
Torao would have remembered that. Yuki was a famous idol, after all.

“And you know this young man?” Yuki said and Torao blinked, having spaced out for a bit. But Yuki wasn’t talking to him anymore. Instead, he looked at Ryunosuke. “Is he dangerous?”
Yuki didn't look like he believed that Minami was, but asked just to make sure.
“Of course not! He’s my brother, and he wouldn’t hurt a fly,” Ryunosuke said without hesitation, putting his arm around Minami, who shifted a bit, now that Torao didn’t sit next to him anymore.

“Brother!?” Momo asked, looking between Ryunosuke and Minami as if to compare their faces.
Torao almost believed Momo's face would turn green any second now. There was definitely horror in his expression.

But Momo wasn’t an anime character, and his face wouldn't turn green, even if he threw up the very next moment.
Maybe Torao should stop watching cartoons.

“Oh god…,”Momo mumbled, burrowing his face into his hands.

“He knows that you didn’t know, Momo-san,”Minami said, looking at the idol, and Momo lifted his face to stare at Minami.

“That doesn’t change the fact that I’ve been friends with him," a nod in Ryunosuke's direction," for the past few months,” Momo said, and the two of them looked at each other for a long moment.

To Torao’s surprise, it was Minami who looked away first, his hand touching the place where Torao had sat a short while ago, before he put it back into his lap.

“When did he message you?” Momo asked, sounding more composed now and Minami looked equally calm. “A little over a week ago.”
Momo nodded and started pacing the room.
“Do you know why?”
“My birthday’s coming up in a bit," Minami said, and that made Momo stop abruptly.
“When?”
“June 8th.”
“Fuck.”

When Torao looked at the rest of the group, he saw the same blank expression on all their faces. It was apparent that none of them had understood anything either.
Was that a good thing? He wasn’t sure.

“So he gave us a month in advance…," Momo said, but it sounded like he was talking to himself. "Why didn’t you come here earlier? We could have used that time.”

Minami looked at Torao for a short moment, and he saw Momo follow his gaze, before the two of them looked at each other again.
“I didn’t want to get you involved.”

Torao wasn’t used to being left out like that. Especially when both Minami and Momo had some sort of connection and could communicate with looks. Torao didn't understand what exactly it meant, but it was clear that it had something to do with him

The others didn’t look like they were used to being left out that long either, fiddling with their hands, but keeping still and followed the conversation between Minami and Momo without interrupting. It was clear that it was important, after all.

So Torao kept still and just listened as well.

“But now you have.”
Momo sighed and ran a hand through his already messy hair, which still seemed a little wet. He also didn’t look angry anymore, just exhausted. “Why?”

“Because you can protect them. I can't,” Minami simply said and Momo’s expression hardened, before he looked at the people sitting next to Minami.
Trigger.
His gaze found Torao next, before it went over to Haruka and Touma, who had both been silent the entire time.

“He’s going after them too?” Momo asked, and Minami nodded. “He delivered the message through Mido-san.”

That made Momo look at Torao again, more thoughtful this time, but Torao barely registered it. Instead, he looked at Minami. “Wait, what? I didn’t deliver any message.”

Minami raised an eyebrow at that. “You told me what he said. That clearly counts as delivering a message, don’t you think?”

Torao shook his head. That wasn't how delivering messages worked.
"No! I could have just brushed it off and ignored it. The fact that I told you was a coincidence. How would he even know that I’d tell you?”

Minami sighed, like Torao had asked the same questions too many times and Minami was getting fed up with him.
“Because,” he said and when he looked at him again, he looked dead serious, “someone told him that we’re-... that we know each other and Ryou clearly counted on you telling me. I told you that he’s dangerous. Multiple times now.”

That sounded unlikely to him, but a quick glance at Momo was enough to make him realize that at least Momo believed what Minami had said.
That was unsettling.

“Is there anything we can do?” Yuki asked now, having stood there silent while Momo and Minami talked.

“I don’t know. I don’t think there’s anything, ” Momo said and turned to hug his partner. Apparently, partner in more than just one way, because there was no way friends or colleagues would just touch each other that casually.
Especially when Yuki’s hand caressed Momo's hair like that.
Minami calling Yuki 'Momo's precious boyfriend' seemed to have been right.

That made Torao think of what else Minami had said. Or nearly had said.
To him, it seemed like Minami had almost said “We’re dating” or something similar before stopping himself. But why had he stopped?

Torao figured it was probably a bit awkward to say it, when both your older brother and your ex were in the same room. Not to mention that Touma and Torao were also in the room.

Now that he thought about it, it made sense that Minami hadn’t continued and instead changed his sentence.
It wasn't like they had ever really talked about what they were.

He sat down next to Minami again and watched the others, while Momo and Yuki quietly talked a few meters away from them. He had no idea what it was, but they’d hopefully tell them later.
As it was, Torao was confused as heck.

“So, how have you been?” Torao heard Ryunosuke quietly ask, and he felt Minami shift next to him.
“It’s been fine… I really can’t complain.”
“Mom said that too… you always say it’s fine,” Ryunosuke said, and now Torao actually looked over at them.

Ryunosuke looked genuinely worried, now that they had the opportunity to speak.

“You worry too much. You both do. I’m fine,” Minami said, and Torao noticed how Ryunosuke looked at him now, before his eyes found Minami’s again.
“I guess I can be a little too worried sometimes," Ryunosuke said, still frowning a little. “I’d be less inclined to do so if you said you were ‘good’ or ‘great’ every once in a while.”

“You can’t expect me to be ‘great’ when Ryou is planning something big,” Minami argued, and Ryunosuke shook his head. “Of course not. But I’m talking about the past few years. I barely even remember the last time we talked to each other.”
Torao heard Minami take a deep breath and Ryunosuke did too, apparently, because he sat up straight again.
“Let’s talk sometime soon, okay? Within the next month. Promise?”

Minami nodded and Ryunosuke smiled. Not a happy smile, but a content one.
He would give Minami some time, but Torao knew the other man enough to know that he wouldn’t let Minami evade him for much longer. Family seemed really important to him.

“Minami,” Momo said and added “kun”, when Yuki gave him a light smack on the shoulder.
They were all looking now, and when Momo waved him over, Minami stood up and came closer.
“We need to talk to you," Momo said, and Minami nodded.
Re:vale started to walk, but Minami waited and motioned for Torao to come.

Torao wasn’t sure if Minami had actually meant him, or maybe Ryunosuke, but got up anyway and walked over to him.
“Are you sure?” Momo asked, having noticed that someone else had joined them, and Minami nodded but didn’t bother to explain.

They opened a door, and after they turned on the light, Torao recognized the room as the showering room. It was way smaller than the other one, the air was still hot and damp and the mirrors fogged, but at least it was private.

“Do you know why we're here?” Momo asked again. Minami nodded and Torao shook his head.
Yuki gave him an amused smile but didn’t say anything, so Torao didn’t either. It was obvious that they were only in here because Minami and Momo didn’t want to talk alone. For whatever reason.

“Do you have any electronics with you?” Momo asked, and Minami shook his head. “I don’t either,” Yuki said and then looked at Torao who pulled his phone out of his pocket.
“Turn it off,” Momo demanded and with a frown, Torao did.
They could just explain what was up instead of being so rude. But this wasn't about him so he just kept quiet.

“Okay, so…”
Momo stared at Minami now, his gaze intense, but Minami didn’t flinch.
“I know you think I can take down Tsukumo, but I can't. I can match him at best, but for everything I have on him, he has something on me too. Yuki being the main thing, but there are other things too.”

Minami nodded, as if he had known that already. Torao had no idea whether he had actually known that or not. But from what Minami had told him earlier, he had known Ryou very well.

“It’s the same for me. Which is why I can’t do it on my own.”
Their faces looked grim, and Yuki put a hand on Momo’s shoulder.
“Momo and I are going to do our best to protect Trigger and you”, Yuki said, and then looked at Torao. “And you too.”

Minami’s expression hadn’t changed, but Torao saw how his posture relaxed a bit. He seemed relieved to hear that.

“The fact that we’re in here means that you think the same thing as I do?” Minami asked the idol and after looking at each other for a short while, Momo nodded.
“I do.”

Torao didn’t. He had absolutely no idea, other than that they were inside a shower room, just to talk.

“And what’s that?” he asked after a moment, and Momo looked at him now.
“There’s no way Ryou would let a gathering like this happen just like that.”

Torao nodded, but he still didn’t understand.

“It means that there’s a spy amongst us,” Minami explained simply.
“Oh…,” Torao said, slowly nodding, before he truly understood. “Oh!”

Then the implication of it hit him as well, and he stared at Minami. “You don’t think it's me, then?”
Maybe Minami trusted him more than Torao had credited him. The fact that he had asked Torao to come with him and not his brother…

“Do you know who it is?,” Yuki asked, and Momo looked at his partner. “Ryou is smart, you know. That person might not even be aware of what they’re doing….”

Minami nodded in agreement, though Torao wondered what they meant. How did someone not know that they were a spy? That didn’t make any sense.
Unless the phones had something to do with it.

“I think I do,” Minami finally said, and Torao looked at him in surprise. “But I’m not positive, and I don’t want them to get in trouble.”

“You think Ryou is blackmailing them?” Momo guessed, and Minami nodded. "I'm sure."
“But I’m afraid we can’t do much with just four people,” Momo thoughtfully said and looked at Yuki, when his partner put his hand on his shoulder and squeezed him to his chest.
That was interesting, on stage Yuki hadn't really seemed like the touchy guy. Or maybe he actually wasn't and he did it to calm Momo.

“I think Yamato-kun could help”, Yuki said, and Momo raised an eyebrow. “I thought you said he didn’t like you.”
Yuki shrugged, not seeming bothered by that comment, and looked at Torao.
“But he likes him.”

That got him the full attention of the other three, and Torao put his hands up in protest.
“We’re just casual friends… I’m not even sure if it's really an actual friendship,” he said, but Yuki tilted his head.

“Does he ever invite you?” he asked, and Torao nodded. “Yeah, but-”
“Do you know Nagi?” Again Torao nodded. “Yeah, but-”
“Then he thinks of you as a friend”
Yuki looked smug and Torao just stared at him.

“I’m a family friend,” Yuki explained. “But I’m afraid I teased Yamato-kun too much when we were younger. He tends to ignore me nowadays.”
“But you also know Nagi? Doesn’t that make you his friend too?” Torao asked, not seeing the logic, and Yuki smirked.
“Yeah. But he doesn’t invite me.”

“Who is this Yamato?” Minami asked Torao, and he sighed. Was this really the right moment for this?
But if Momo and Minami were right, then it was safer in this bathroom than it was out there. Or somewhere else.

“He's around my age, and our fathers converse in similar circles."
Silence.
"What does that even mean?" Momo asked and turned to Yuki. “A translation please.”
Yuki smirked and looked at Torao. "He said they're friends because they're both rich."

Torao had never been embarrassed of who his family was, but the look the other three now gave him made him slightly uncomfortable. He had never thought that much about money, but he knew that other people weren’t that lucky.
"That's not… actually the reason-," he began, and Yuki let out a soft laugh and made a dismissive gesture with his hand.
"I know, I know. Sorry, I was joking."

Somehow, Torao could understand why Yamato didn't like being around Yuki. The other man had a weird sense of humor.
Especially since what he said wasn’t too far from the truth, just the way he said it was… odd. It made it sound like money was the only thing that connected Yamato and Torao, when in reality Torao knew loads of people who were rich - without hanging out with them.

"So, you think this Yamato could help?" Momo picked up the conversation from where they left it and Yuki nodded. "If he’s willing to. The guy has connections. I believe he knows the son of the FSC’s chairman too.”

That was news to Torao, and he stared at Yuki. "Really? He never told me."

Not that they ever really had a reason to talk about that. Their topics were usually rather shallow. And most of the time both of them had someone else with them that kept them company.
In Yamato's case that usually was Mitsuki and in Torao’s case some more or less random girl.

“That could work,” Momo thoughtfully said and stared at his partner before he looked at Minami, who had been quiet in the past few minutes. “What do you think?”

Minami’s gaze wandered from Torao to Momo, and he nodded. “It could work. Ryou isn’t an idiot. He’ll think twice before starting something with the FSC. But depending on what this is about he might not stop”
“So then we need to try!” Momo decided and pointed at Torao. “You’ll talk to this Yamato guy and see if he can get us in contact with the FSC kid. Yuki and I could probably go through our agents too, but…”
“Then Ryou would find out,” Minami finished the sentence, and Momo nodded. “He’s keeping an eye on us already. And on you too. The fact that Torao is already a friend of Yamato makes it less suspicious. I just hope he can be trusted.”
“Oh, he can,” Yuki said and nodded. “But I can’t guarantee that he’ll risk his boyfriends for us.”
Momo grimaced. “Fair enough. Ryou can get really nasty after all.”

Torao nodded. He would try to convince Yamato even though he had no idea how to do that. Maybe he could try to convince Mitsuki? The little guy had a very strong sense of justice.
Torao already felt a little bad about using his friends like this, but it felt like it was necessary.

“Do you know how long it’ll take you?” Momo asked Torao and he shrugged. “I’ll see if I can meet him tomorrow night. Maybe the day after.”

Momo nodded, seeming okay with that time, and looked at Minami again.
“Let’s talk in three days.”
Minami nodded. “How will we do that? I cannot use my phone for this.”
Momo thought for a moment and his brows furrowed.
“We could ask Norihito-kun,” Yuki suggested after a few moments passed, and Momo slowly nodded.
“That could work…”
He looked at Minami again.
“We’ll send a messenger to talk to you. He’ll be waiting outside the metro station at the park around 5pm. Does that work for you?”

Minami looked at Torao, and Torao needed a second to understand that Minami was waiting for his confirmation before nodding.
“That works for us. How will we recognize him?” Minami wanted to know, and Yuki smirked.
“He’ll be playing one of our songs.”

When they left the bathroom, the others were looking at them. Gaku and Ryunosuke looked like they had just been in an argument - and Torao was pretty sure it had been about Minami.
The way Minami raised his eyebrows made it clear that he thought the same thing.
“Is something wrong?” he asked, and Tenn gave his two group members an annoyed look.
“Turns out boning your friend's younger brother makes people fight," he dryly said, and Torao thought he heard a chuckle behind him. Probably Yuki, but he didn't know him well enough yet to recognize it

Torao wondered if Tenn would think the same if he knew that his younger brother was dating Touma, and he itched to say something, but bit his tongue. This was really not the time.

“It’s just so weird,” Ryunosuke said, and Gaku nodded. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell us.”
It seemed like they were turning against Minami now, and Torao wasn’t the only one who noticed.

“So, were you able to figure something out?” Touma quickly said, apparently trying to change the topic.
But the way he looked at the four of them made Torao wonder. What if he was the spy and wanted to get information? Or just help Minami out?

“Yes, we have a plan,” Minami confirmed and Torao looked at him in surprise. He wasn’t actually going to tell them?

“Really?” Tenn sounded doubtful. “I thought you said this guy was dangerous. How could you figure something out so quickly?”
“Minami’s super smart,” Haruka said and glared at his brother. “Don’t just assume things.”
“I only asked a question,” Tenn said and glared back. “But thanks for reminding me that I’m the only one here who doesn’t know him.”
Torao didn’t miss the dirty glance he gave Gaku and Ryunosuke.

“I don’t know him either,” Yuki said and stepped to the side. “We’ll take care of it. Don’t you worry,” Momo said, and Torao could almost see how he straightened up to look bigger, even though he was one of the shorter men in the room.

“So we’re not helping?” Ryunosuke asked, brows furrowing. “I don’t like that.”
“I’m not letting you near Ryou again," Minami said surprisingly cold and Torao turned to look at him. “Again?”
Ryunosuke looked angry, but not at Minami.

“What did he do?” Tenn asked, leaning forward in interest.
“I punched him,” Ryunosuke answered before Minami could say something, and it caused a few seconds of shocked silence.

“Yeah… I agree. Trigger should really stay out of it,” Momo agreed and Minami nodded.
Damn, Torao wanted to know details now. Ryunosuke didn’t seem like the type who went around and punched people. But that guy had treated Minami badly. Torao made a mental note not to anger Ryunosuke.

“So, does that mean we can leave now?” Haruka asked and got up from the couch, and Torao wondered if the way he made sure to stay away from Tenn was a conscious effort or coincidence.

They all went out of the room in silence after saying their goodbyes and thank-you’s. They all seemed to have a lot to think about - at least Torao had.
He had learned about Minami’s relationship with Ryunosuke and Gaku, and also about Yamato’s friendship with someone he didn’t know. Did he even really know anyone? Torao had no idea. Maybe he should try getting to know more people?

They squeezed into Touma's car again, and this time no one talked.
Only when they arrived at their house did Minami speak again.
“Can we talk?” Minami quietly asked and grabbed Torao’s hand to stop him from going inside with the others.

Confused, and also curious, he nodded and the two of them started walking again.
“I should have told you. I’m sorry, Mido-san,” Minami said, and Torao wasn’t quite sure what he meant.

“I didn't tell Isumi-san and Inumaru-san either. I still owe them an apology,” Minami continued, and Torao nodded.

“It’s fine, no need to worry.”
Was that it? Minami wanted to apologize for not telling him about his brother?

“There’s something else… We might not see each other for the next few days.”
Torao nodded again; they had agreed that he would meet up with Yamato when they were still in the bathroom with Re:vale.

“Mh, yeah, that sucks,” he agreed. They had seen each other almost every day since the first meeting with Tenn. Torao barely remembered what his own bed looked like.
“That’s not what I mean. I’m trying to tell you to be careful. Ryou most likely already knows that we went to see Re:vale. And I’m fairly certain that you’ll be watched from now on. Just… be aware of that, okay?”

Torao frowned. “Sure, but… who should watch me?” He would probably notice someone spying on him.
“I don’t know. It doesn’t really matter, either. We’ll have to wait and see what your friend says.”

“So I can tell him?” Torao wanted to know, and Minami smiled. “Do you think he’d help you if you did?”
Torao didn’t know. “Maybe. But Yuki said his Nagi and Mitsuki would be able to convince him if he refuses. And I think so too.”

"You know that getting involved puts them at risk too."
Yes, Torao did know that. And he didn't like it.
Nagi was from abroad and was obviously wealthy too. Torao didn't think there was anything anyone could really do to him.
But Mitsuki was different. His family was hardworking and he had a younger brother who he had to think of.
But still.

"Were like… what? Twelve people if Yamato agrees. Do you honestly think that this Ryou guy picks a fight with twelve people at once?"
If he did, he'd be insane.

"Not at the same time," Minami said after giving it a thought. "He'd pick a target and destroy them to discourage the rest."

That didn't sound good.
"And who would that be?"

Minami looked at Torao.
"If I had to guess then it’s you."
Torao had expected Minami to name himself, so he was obviously surprised.

"Didn't I warn you, Mido-san?" Minami asked, almost gentle. Under other circumstances it would feel like mockery, but Minami looked sad when he said it.
But that expression turned fierce a few moments later.
"But I won't let anything happen to you, or anyone else. Ryou crossed a line when he involved you."

There was nothing cute about Minami right now, and Torao was glad to be on his side - and not on the other one.
"He'll regret it if he messes with us!"

Chapter Text

Torao had stayed the night with Minami and his roommates. There was just so much to talk and think about, and he wanted to be there when Haruka and Touma confronted Minami about Gaku and Ryunosuke. It had been a shock to Torao too, but he had known Minami for only a few weeks. Haruka and Touma had lived with him for over a year and didn’t know.

Minami had apologized for not telling them and there was no further drama, but Torao had felt Minami's hand twitch nervously in his own while they talked.

“Do you feel better now?” Torao asked when they laid in bed later, and it became clear that neither of them could fall asleep right now. Minami's back was pressed close to his chest and their fingers were entwined.
He didn’t answer for a few seconds and Torao thought he had fallen asleep already until he heard his voice again. “A bit. I’m glad Gaku and Ryuu aren’t just my secrets anymore. But let’s talk about that some other time. We’ll need our rest.”
Torao didn’t want to press the issue, and he fell asleep quickly after that.

Instead of going to university, he skipped his morning classes and went to his family’s home. He would meet up with Yamato later, but first he wanted to see if everything was alright at home. If Minami was right, then his family was a target too thanks to him. And he wondered if there was really anything scandalous to be found.

He tried asking his oldest brother when he saw him after lunch, but he had just looked at Torao and shrugged. But he had told him that they would be hosting a big summit in the next week that leaders of different countries would attend. Then reminded him that he should keep his new interest in idols down. At least until after that event.

Torao was embarrassed that his family thought he was into idols - and male idols at that, even if it wasn’t true. But it was better than telling them his new boyfriend's ex was currently trying to find ways to ruin their family.

Thinking of Minami as his boyfriend made him giddy, and his brother smirked when he saw Torao blush. And then he messed up his hair like he did when Torao was a little kid and walked to his office with a chuckle.

Torao watched him go and wondered if his brother actually didn’t know more about possible scandals. Maybe he still saw Torao as a little kid that should stay out of things?

With a long sigh, he went to his room and messaged Yamato.

Chapter Text

Minami was sure that Torao still didn’t understand the situation properly even after he had explained. Maybe no one understood except him and Momo. They knew Ryou best, after all.

Minami just didn’t know why Ryou would start now of all times. Torao was far from the first man Minami had a fling with. And he’d only known him for a short period of time when Ryou had approached him. Minami had dated Gaku for over four months and Ryou never cared about that, so why did he have a problem with Torao? It didn’t make any sense to him.

Minami had wanted to ask Torao so many things, but he didn’t think their house was safe for those conversations. Knowing Ryou, there were cameras and recording devices. Maybe his phone was even hacked, he had no idea. And even if he and Torao were to go on another walk, Torao didn’t know anything useful.

Although Torao had mentioned that he attended some of the conferences, he wasn’t actually a part of the Mido family’s operations. His family didn’t want him to worry about that he had said, but Minami had seen hurt in his eyes while he said that. To him, it seemed like Torao wanted nothing more than to help and instead was told to have fun and play as if he were a child.

It would have been helpful if Torao could tell him more. Maybe they could have found out what and why Ryou was targeting them, but now that Minami thought about it, maybe it was better that Torao was ignorant. If he could convince Ryou that Torao didn’t know anything, maybe he would stop.
Minami needed to try.

Taking the metro to the Tsukumo building, he stared out the window. Not that there was anything to be seen underground. Was there even a reason why they had windows? He sighed and tried to think.
Minami hadn’t seen Ryou in over a year and although his stomach was in knots, he was excited to meet the other man. Even if it was stupid.
Ryou had never loved him, no one ever had, but Minami couldn’t deny that they had some good times. That they had been good for each other, at least for a while. Ryou had his own problems and instead of telling him, Ryou had pushed him away. It had taken him a while to realize that, in a strange way, Ryou had still tried to protect him.
He hoped it was the case here too.

Even though Minami felt so nervous that his knees felt weak when he entered the tall building, he smiled at the receptionist. He didn't know her and instead of letting him up to the offices immediately like the last receptionist always had, she asked for his name and his reason for visiting, telling Minami that he’d have to wait for an appointment.
It took a bit of arguing until she agreed to give a call to her upstairs colleague to ask about him.

Minami watched in silent amusement when her face changed as she was instructed to send him up immediately. Her whole demeanour changed, and even her slightly annoyed tone was polite now.
“I know the way,” he told her with a smirk when she wanted to come with him, and let out a deep breath when the elevator doors closed behind him.

Why did this feel like he was walking into a trap? Probably because he was. Ryou must have known that Minami wanted to talk to him. That's why they wanted him to be let up immediately.
And instead of telling anyone where he was, he had come here all alone. But he could still text them. But should he? He didn’t have much time left, so he sent a quick message to Haruka before the doors opened, with the secretary already waiting for him.

It was the same man as back then, although he wore glasses now, and he asked Minami to follow him after apologizing for his colleague at the reception. Apparently there was quite a lot of new staff nowadays, and they didn’t yet know all of Ryou’s close associates. Yeah, right.
He led Minami to one of the meeting rooms and assured him that Tsukumo would be there shortly.

Wandering over to the windows, Minami looked out. He didn’t see Tokyo from above often anymore, and the view from here was so familiar. So nostalgic. Lost in memories, he didn’t even hear the door open and whirled around when someone spoke.

“Minami! What a surprise to see you here,” Ryou said with a wide grin. “It’s been too long since we last talked.”
Minami couldn’t help but stare at him. Noticing little changes, like how his hair was shorter than it was back then and how he seemed slimmer than before.
“Tsukumo,” he greeted him and tilted his head. “Funny, and I thought you were sending me a message through my friend not too long ago.”

Ryou had sat down in one of the armchairs around a coffee table and gestured for Minami to sit down as well, crossing his legs.
“Oh that.” He waved his hand as if harassing Torao was something unimportant. “But it took you long enough to come here. I expected you here a week ago.”

Minami sat down carefully and stared at him, expecting an explanation. “Want something to drink?” Ryou asked suddenly and, before Minami had even opened his mouth, pressed a button on his phone. Barely five seconds later it knocked at the door and the secretary looked inside the room. “Coffee and oolong tea. Oh, and bring water and some snacks.” Ryou looked at Minami with slight amusement. “Knowing you, you came here without having stopped for lunch.”

Minami felt himself bite his lip. He knew that he had changed within the last year, but being here again, he couldn’t say anything. Just like he was when they first met. A scared teenager.
Now he understood how Haruka must have felt when he talked with Tenn after years. It was like being taken back in time.
Taking a shaky breath, he ignored the last comment. “I’m here because I want to ask you to stop.”
Ryou didn’t seem surprised. “Stop with what exactly?” he asked in an innocent tone and laughed when Minami wasn't amused. “I want you to keep Torao out of this. He hasn’t done anything wrong.”

Ryou stopped laughing then and raised his eyebrows. It was scary how quickly his expression could shift. “Nothing wrong? Then what about that one Wednesday two weeks ago?”
Minami just stared at him, not understanding at first. Then he thought about that day and realized that Ryou was talking about that one day Torao had invited him into his apartment. The day he had accidentally scared Minami.
“That was a misunderstanding,” he quickly said, and Ryou stared back at him. “That’s not the first time I’ve heard you say that,” he said in a more serious tone, and Minami cringed.
“I know, but that was different. Torao didn’t do it on purpose.”
“So you’re saying it was your fault?” Ryou asked, something like pity softened his eyes. “Maybe you provoked him? He had a bad day? He 'apologized' and said it would never happen again? Don’t be ridiculous. People like that never change”

Putting it like that, Minami felt doubt rise in him. Ryou was right, it sounded familiar. Still, he wanted to defend Torao. “He won’t do it again. And he didn’t even hurt me. I just got triggered.”

Ryou sighed and shook his head. “You told him that you didn’t like being caged in, didn’t you?” Minami hesitated, then nodded. “And he still did it.”
Minami didn’t answer, and their silence was interrupted when the servant brought in the snacks a bit later.
"Let's eat. We have time to talk afterwards,” Ryou decided, and they ate in complete silence.

Minami didn’t like admitting it, but Ryou’s words had hit deep.
He trusted Torao, but at the same time, he couldn’t deny that what Ryou said was true.
But Torao had apologized, and he had been respectful of his wishes ever since. And Minami would be lying if he said that he hadn’t noticed Torao’s feelings for him. And he liked Torao too.
Maybe it was too early to talk about love, but maybe he just didn’t want to admit it to himself.

And everyone deserved a second chance. That one mistake didn’t mean Ryou had the right to go after Torao. And it hadn’t even been that bad. Torao hadn’t actually held him down or anything. Minami should have expressed himself more clearly and explained that someone else on top of him was a trigger. He doubted that Torao would have misunderstood that.

Quietly they ate and Minami was lost in his own thoughts. So many meals he had spent here or in Ryou’s office, back when times had been different. He barely remembered why he and Ryou had parted ways anymore. Nostalgia did that to a person. Nostalgia and trauma, he supposed.

“You do know that I’ve been keeping an eye on you,” Ryou finally said, and Minami nodded, having emptied his plate but was still chewing. “And you surely know how I did that.”
This time, Minami swallowed before answering. “Through the professors, Riku and-” “Your roommate, good. But your phone is safe, in case you were wondering.” Ryou seemed impatient now and leaned forward in his seat. “Why don’t you just ask what you want to know?”

Minami took a deep breath and nodded. “Alright then. Why now? It’s been a year, why are you doing this now? Just because of Torao?”

He seemed to have asked the right thing because Ryou grinned excitedly and stood up. “Ah, how I enjoy talking to smart people.” His expression turned more thoughtful then and seemed to study Minami’s face. “But you’re right, there is a reason. I’ve found Harada. And you’ll never guess who he works for.”

Just hearing that name made Minami freeze in his seat, and he stared at Ryou. “For whom?” he managed to whisper and this time he was sure that it was pity in Ryou’s eyes. “The Mido-Hotel-chain.”

Distantly, Minami wondered what that noise was. A pulsing sound, mixed with some sort of whimpering. Finding himself curled up in the armchair a bit later hugging his knees and hyperventilating.
It just couldn’t be. That was too much of a coincidence.

His ex worked for Torao’s family? The one that had traumatized him. The one whose face he had seen instead of Torao’s face when they were on his couch.

Torao surely knew him. Minami was quite sure that they had a lot of staff at their hotels, but judging from the way Ryou had told him, Harada was more than just a part-timer. He wouldn’t take such a position. Knowing his ex, he would have found a way to get himself into a leading position. One where he could do whatever he wanted without being found out and leaving his subordinates under his care helpless.

Minami swallowed thickly and tried to calm his breathing when golden spots started appearing in his vision. This was no place to have a breakdown. He had to pull himself together.
Ryou had in the meantime turned to the window and stared down at the city, giving Minami time to regain his composure. Minami was glad for it.
Still, it took him a few more minutes until he was able to a halfway normal sitting position, although the ache in his chest was so bad that he wanted to keep hugging his knees.

Betrayed by everyone, that’s what it felt like. The people he was supposed to trust were all betraying him. He had known about people working for Ryou, pretending to be his friends while telling everything he said to Ryou. Even Minami’s own family had turned away from him. Not on purpose, but it didn’t change the fact that in the end, Minami was all alone again.

When he had met Torao, Minami had thought that he could use him. Tease his professors, who didn’t like Torao much in the first place, and also tease Ryou by bringing him home. Showing Torao off and proving that he wasn’t all alone. But now it seemed like Minami had been the one getting played. After all, it had been Torao that had approached him first. Maybe Harada had even told him to.

The thought made Minami nauseous and his hands trembled. He wasn’t scared. He was hurt. Every part of him hurt, especially his chest, and it got worse with each breath he took.
He tried fighting the dark thoughts in his head but couldn’t help thinking that Harada had been right and Minami really was worthless. That no one would ever love him.

“Minami,” he heard Ryou’s voice from somewhere far away, and that stopped those thoughts. Ryou had been his saviour once before. Maybe he could do it again. But maybe he had told Minami to make sure this time Minami broke for good.

“Not that I want to get your hopes up, but there is a chance that he didn’t know,” Ryou said, now with a laptop on the table in front of him and looking at his watch. How long had Minami been spacing out for? He only now realized that the sun was much lower in the sky, evening already.
“We’ll find out soon.”
That finally brought Minami back to the present. “What do you mean?” How would they find out if Torao knew anything?
“Don’t you think he’ll wonder where you are? I expect him to arrive here in a short while, and until then I’ll have to ask you to stay here.”

Chapter Text

Having spent the afternoon at Yamato’s place, Torao was on his way back home. He allowed himself a short smile when he caught himself thinking of Haruka’s place as “home”. It felt more like it after he had spent a lot of time here in the past few days. It also felt more lived in and homely than his family's house, although that was also home to him. And his own apartment too. Was that strange? It shouldn't be. Having so many options was a good thing in his opinion.

But now he was looking forward to seeing Minami again. And he wanted to tell him what Yamato and his boyfriends had said.

As expected, Yamato had listened to his story with a beer in his hand without interrupting him. The most interrupting had come from his boyfriends, Mitsuki and Nagi, who had both been there. Sprawled out, they laid on the couch, Mitsuki’s head in Nagi’s lap while his legs rested on Yamato.
Nagi had explained in a loud whisper that Mitsuki had worked half the night and had only come home a short while before. And how after work, he usually took a long nap, but he had wanted to be here when Torao arrived.
Torao had thought that he had been subtle when he had texted Yamato, but the fact that Yamato usually asked HIM to hang out and not the other way around was apparently alarming enough for all three of them.

“Let me get this straight,” Yamato had said, rubbing his temples as if thinking caused him a headache. “You’re dating a guy and that guy’s ex is causing you trouble?” When he looked at Torao again, he raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure he’s worth it? You said Minami told you that you could just stay away and everything would be okay.”

Torao didn’t know what to say. When Yamato said it like that, it seemed the most logical thing to do, but he didn’t WANT to stay away.
“Yamato,” Nagi said then and gave Torao a short smile before looking at his boyfriend. “Don’t you realize that Torao likes Minami?” “And it’s not like you would just turn away if it was me or Nagi,” Mitsuki mumbled in agreement and closed his eyes when Nagi ran his fingers through his orange hair.
“True, but I don’t like this," Yamato grumbled, but that didn't seem to change their opinion. “But it’s not just your decision,” Nagi argued in a soft tone and looked at Torao again. “You mentioned Minami’s birthday was in just a few days, right?” Torao nodded. “June 8th. Momo and Minami seem to think that Tsukumo was going to do something on that date.”

Nagi hummed. “There’s a summit on the 7th. I believe it even takes place in one of your family’s hotels.” “Seems like a great opportunity to cause chaos,” Mitsuki mumbled sleepily, and all three of them looked at Torao.
But Torao hadn't heard about this event until now. Maybe because he hadn't been much at home in the past weeks. But more likely was that his family didn't think that it was something he should bother with.
“Exposing you or your family when the whole world is watching,” Yamato said gloomily and Nagi put an arm on his shoulder but kept on looking at Torao. “And you’re sure you don’t know what Tsukumu is after?” “No idea at all,” Torao confirmed and slumped in his armchair.
“We’ll just have to find out and just make sure he can’t do what he wants to do,” Mitsuki added and kicked Yamato gently. “Sogo-san might know something. And I’ll ask Iori.”

Torao was confused. “Iori?” “My younger brother. He’s with a media company affiliated with the FSC. I’m sure they’ll be present.” “And me too,” Nagi said and Mitsuki nodded. “As one of the Mido-sons, Torao will be there too. The three of you should manage to do something about him, right?”
Torao wasn't so sure if he would really be there, but maybe if he asked his father. Begged if he had to.

In the end, they had a rough plan, and knowing that at least Nagi would be there that day helped to calm Torao’s nerves a bit. But now he really needed Minami to tell him all he knew. This wouldn’t work if Minami continued leaving him in the dark. If Tsukumo was actually targeting him and his family, Torao needed to know what was happening

But when he arrived at Haruka’s place a bit later, Minami wasn’t there. According to Haruka he had left hours ago to go to Tsukumo personally. Torao had just stared at him. Was Minami insane? Going there on his own and without even telling him? Why? And why had Haruka let him go? And why wasn’t Minami back yet? Maybe he was in trouble. Minami had told him more than once how dangerous this man was.
“Give me the address,” he had told Haruka, put his helmet back on and went back into the city.

Torao parked his bike right outside the tall building and marched right in when the sun was about to set.
“How can I help you?” the receptionist asked politely, but Torao had no time to lose. “Where is Tsukumo?” he asked without caring about manners.
She frowned at his tone, but still answered. “In a meeting with an important guest. If you would give me your name, I’d-” “Mido Torao. And tell him to let Minami go right now.”

Torao had already scanned the foyer for directions and walked to the elevator. “Wait, you can’t,” the receptionist said, but Torao already stepped in.
He had no idea where in the building the meeting room was, but the upper floor seemed right. At least that was where most of his father's associates had their meeting rooms and offices.

The doors opened after a while and when Torao stepped out, it looked like he had been right. A serving trolley stood there with tableware, just like the hotel staff prepared for meetings in Mido-hotels.
He didn’t have much time to think though because he heard voices coming closer. Two men in suits with headsets were walking towards him. Security it seemed like.

Torao didn’t wait until they reached him, instead he started opening doors in a hurry. All of them were locked, and he had barely reached the fifth one when he felt a strong hand on his shoulder, pulling him back.
“We’re going to have to ask you to leave,” the older man of the two said in a deep voice, and Torao tried freeing himself from the grasp of the younger one. “I’ll leave when I find Minami,” he said with barely contained rage. “Where is he?”
He didn’t get an answer, but the eyes of the guy holding him flickered to a room further down the corridor for a second. That had to be the room they were in.
If Torao could free himself, maybe he could sprint there before they caught him again?

With a racing heart, Torao stomped on the younger guy's foot and pushed his head away with more force than he intended. But it did the trick and Torao started running.
He heard the other guy yell and follow him, but Torao didn’t stop until he had reached the door and pulled it open. “It’s fine, leave him,” he heard a cool voice from inside the room just when rough hands were on him again, grabbing him hard.
But they stopped when they heard the command and let go of him so that Torao could enter. “Close the door,” the voice said again, and the guards did what he asked.

Now inside, Torao saw Minami staring at him. Another man sat not far from him with a laptop next to him. The man that had approached him a few days ago. Tsukumo, no doubt.
“Minami?” Torao asked, confused, eyes scanning him for any signs of injury. “Are you okay?”

Minami didn’t answer, just looked at him, with a caution Torao hadn’t seen in him before. “See, I told you,” Tsukumo said to Minami and Torao’s eyes narrowed. “Told him what?”

Tsukumo’s cool gaze now turned to Torao. “My guard's face seemed swollen. I’ll assume that was you.” Torao's eyes widened in disbelief. “What’s that supposed to mean? It’s not like I hit him for no reason. My shoulder also hurts from where he grabbed me.” That wasn’t a lie. The guy had a lot of strength in his hand, and Torao felt the spot aching and throbbing in pain.

Again he looked at Minami and something seemed to be wrong with him. He looked at Torao as if he were a stranger. And a dangerous one at that. “What did you do to him?” he wanted to know and noticed how accusatory his tone was.
Tsukumo raised his hands in defence. “Me? Nothing. I just told him some interesting things.”

“Do you know someone called Harada?” Minami finally asked and Torao frowned. “Why-” “Just answer the question.”
Torao thought about that name then. He didn’t have any friends with that name, and he didn’t remember any business partners with that name either. But there was someone else.
“The operations director?”

Minami’s facial expression hardened, while Torao still had no idea what was going on. “What is with him? Did he do something?”
“Are you telling us you have no idea?” Tsukumo looked unconvinced. “Fine, sit down then.”

Torao didn’t really want to do what this guy said, but he figured he should at least listen to him. They had to find out what he was going to do after all.

“You surely have realized that Minami isn’t too fond of physical contact,” Ryou began with a sideways glance to Minami who just stared straight ahead with a stone-like face. “Reason for that was his relationship with a man named Harada Renjiro who didn’t treat him well. Harada has a history of not being nice to his partners, and Minami was neither his first nor last victim. I thought at our last meeting I made it clear what was going to happen if he continued behaving that way, but recently I found out that he’s working at one of your fathers' hotels. In a position that makes it easy for him to abuse his subordinates without anyone noticing."

The glance Tsukumo sent him was one full of contempt. “I have proof that this isn’t just a guess but has been reality for more than 8 employees alone in the past two years. I think it’s highly unlikely that you or your family had no idea.”

Torao’s face was pale as he looked at Minami who didn’t meet his eyes and still kept staring straight ahead. Tsukumo’s tone had turned even chillier while he talked, but Torao barely noticed. He was dumbfounded, hearing this.
He had seen Harada a few times. A man around his brother's age, young for someone in that position. Torao had never wondered how he even got that job, but maybe his brother had something to do with it? Did that mean that his brother had been involved? It couldn't be, could it?

Torao felt anger boil up in him when he remembered Harada and he seriously considered walking right up to his father's office and telling him to fire the man immediately. But in his opinion, just firing him wasn’t enough if what Tsukumo said was true. But was he? Minami certainly seemed to believe him.
That meant that that man needed to go to jail. But what if his family had known? Could he allow them to face similar consequences? And even if they didn’t, a scandal like this could ruin his family completely.
Torao had no idea what to do now, and he clenched his fists in frustration.

“What if they really didn’t know?” he asked after a long pause, and Tsukumo raised an eyebrow, as if that wasn't a possibility. “If they really didn’t know, I suppose we could only blame them for not noticing what was going on in their own hotel. It would still be a scandal, but not as big… Who knows what’ll happen.”

Torao looked back to Minami. There was no way his family would have kept Harada in his position if they knew. No way at all.
“Minami,” he quietly said, and this time Minami looked at him. There was still a certain emptiness in his gaze, but at least it wasn’t as bad as before.
“Let’s get you home. Haruka and Touma-”, he stopped himself when he saw Minami’s eyes widen. “You don’t want to?” Torao was unsure of what to do.
“We could go to my place. Or do you want to stay here?”
He didn’t like his last suggestion, but this wasn’t about him. This was about Minami.

Minami continued staring at him and then shook his head. “No,” he finally said, and Torao took a deep breath while he thought about alternate solutions. When he found one, he was surprised that he hadn’t thought of Ryunosuke earlier. Minami just had to be comfortable with him, didn’t he? They were siblings, after all.
It just sucked that Torao never got his number. But he had Tenn’s.

After dialing the number, Torao waited. He almost thought Tenn wouldn’t pick up, but then he heard the voice. “Mido Torao, what do you want?” No hello, great. But he didn't have time to worry about Tenn's lack of politeness.

“I’m sorry for calling you, Kujo, but it’s about Minami. Can you get Ryu on the phone?”
Tenn was silent for a few seconds, then he heard shuffling and some muffled voices in the background, before he heard Ryunosuke's voice.
“What is it? Is Minami okay?” He sounded anxious, and the unmistakable tone of an older brother worrying about his younger sibling was evident.

“He’s…” Torao thought about it. Was Minami okay? Most definitely not. “He’s not in danger. But can you come and get him? We just had a talk with Tsukumo, and he’s not himself.”
“Tsukumo?” Torao flinched at the loud voice and held the phone away from his ear.
“Well, can you?” “I’m still at work. But I’ll have someone come get you and take you to my place, alright?”
Torao wasn’t sure if Minami wanted him there, but he agreed nonetheless. Ryunosuke also promised to send his contact through Tenn's phone and just a minute later, Torao had it saved in his phone.

When he glanced back up, Minami was still in the same place and Tsukumo was back to working on his laptop again.
Torao walked over to Minami but kept a few feet away. “Ryuu’s place is fine, right?” he asked, and Minami responded with a nod. “Is it alright if I come too? I won’t stay the night, just want to make sure you’ll get there fine.” Again Minami nodded and Torao let out a sigh of relief.

“Okay then, let’s wait outside, yeah?” Minami got up and Torao glared at Tsukumo. “You’re not going to keep us here, do you?”
Tsukumo sounded innocent when he replied, “Oh no, not at all. Have fun.”
His smirk ruined the act, but Torao didn’t care. He just wanted to get out of here. Being with Ryunosuke would hopefully help Minami with whatever his mood was. And Torao wanted nothing more than to see Minami smile again.
To his relief, the security guards stayed away from them when they walked to the door of the elevator and the lady at the reception on the main floor just glared at Torao, which he ignored. He was too worried about Minami even though he walked just fine on his own. But Minami still looked dead inside.

Torao wasn’t sure if he should try and speak to him or not. He was afraid of what Minami was going to say. And he had no idea what he should tell him. Tsukumo’s words had been a shock to both of them, and they needed time to digest the news.
Torao wondered how it all could have gone so wrong. Just this morning they had been fine and now this.

They stood on the side of the road for no longer than 5 minutes before a big black car came to a halt in front of them. One of Trigger's staff asked for confirmation of their names and the address, then they sat down in the back of the car.

“Minami?” Torao tried and Minami looked at him.

There was no fear in his eyes, just resignation. No trace of the affection that Torao was sure had been in his eyes before. “What is it, Mido-san?” Minami asked, but he sounded more formal than usual.
“I talked with Yamato earlier today, and they’re all three willing to help…”, Torao trailed off at the end. Help with what? They now knew what was up. Stopping Tsukumo meant letting Harada continue. And he deserved whatever Tsukumo had coming for him.
“I see,” Minami said, and Torao bit his lip. “You know that I had no idea, right?”
He had tried not to ask that question, but he just needed to know.

Minami looked him in the eyes for a long moment and then looked away before finally speaking, “Yes, I know that.” “But?” Torao heard his own pleading in that one word. “But... I don’t know. I just don’t know, I can’t think.” Minami put his hands in his face and breathed loudly. “I need time to think.”
Torao felt his chest hurt at those words, but he nodded, even though Minami wasn’t looking at him. “I see. Do you want me to leave you alone?” “...No. But let’s not talk about all of this tonight, okay?” “Okay.”

Torao stayed quiet for the rest of the ride until the driver stopped at a residential property and led them in. “Tsunashi-san will be there in an hour. There should be food in the fridge, but he stated that you’re welcome to order some too”

After he left, the two of them just stood there in silence for a few seconds. Then Minami walked forwards and Torao followed. “Have you been here before?” he asked, and Minami gave a slight nod. “Just once, shortly after he moved here.”
He sat down on the couch and Torao sat down as well but kept a careful distance between them. It made Minami give him a small, appreciative smile.
“So… are you hungry?” Torao tried again and Minami shook his head. “Not really. You? You can order if you want.” “No, I’m good.”
He hated how strange it was between them now, and he had no idea how to interact with Minami anymore. All Torao wanted was to hold him in his arms and comfort each other while they sorted things out.
Not doing anything, not even speaking, just felt wrong and made him feel uneasy and he tried to deal with it, but he just couldn't.
“I’ll be taking my leave then. You know this place, and Ryunosuke will be here in just a bit.”

Torao got up from the couch and made his way back to the door to put on his shoes. He didn’t actually want to go, but he just couldn’t stay if it was like this. No point in making Minami even more uncomfortable.
“Mido-san,” he heard Minami’s voice just a few steps behind him and felt himself be hugged from behind just a moment later.

“I’m sorry, it’s not your fault,” Minami mumbled against his shoulder and Torao stood there frozen in place. “Let’s talk tomorrow night, yeah?” “Okay, yeah,” Torao managed, and Minami’s hands let go of him so he could turn around.
There was a faint smile on Minami’s lips when he looked up at him, and Torao thought he saw a glimpse of the Minami he knew in them.
“See you tomorrow then. Haruka's at 2?” he suggested and smiled when Minami agreed. “Looking forward to it.”

Torao had completely forgotten about his bike that was still at the Tsukumo building, and he contemplated leaving it there, but he didn’t want Tsukumo towing it or whatever. So he took a taxi back there and then drove to his own apartment.
He had thought about returning to the mansion, but he wasn’t in the mood for a longer drive, and he needed time to think anyway.

Chapter Text

Torao’s evening had been rough. It wasn’t every day that you learned something like this about your own family. But Torao really doubted that they had anything to do with it. Sure, they hired Harada, but the man surely hadn't boasted about his past relationships in the job interview. And if no one had complained about him, how could his family have known?
Or maybe some of them had tried, but no one had believed them? Or were they too scared to even try?

Torao stared at the ceiling, not really seeing the program that was on, and massaged his temples. He had a headache from all of this thinking, and he could imagine that he wasn’t the only one. Torao knew Minami had pulled himself together in the end, or at least had acted that way for his sake, but those news had hit him hard. He just hoped that Ryunosuke knew how to calm him down.
It wasn’t about Minami anymore anyway. Tsukumo seemed to think that he was doing this for Minami as some sort of sick early birthday present.
Exposing Harada would be Torao’s downfall, not Minami's. It didn’t have anything to do with Ryunosuke or Trigger, so all the worry in the past few days had been unnecessary. At least for them.

Torao groaned and turned around on his bed. What was he supposed to do? Was it possible to ask Tsukumo to stop? Not that he’d listen to Torao, but maybe he would listen to Minami and Momo.
Or maybe Torao should just stand back and let it happen?

He tried letting it go, but his mind returned to Minami over and over again until Torao gave up.
He didn’t have a habit of drugging himself to fall asleep, but he was certain that he wouldn’t be able to sleep at all otherwise. And tomorrow they would meet this Norihito that Yuki and Momo had talked about.
Torao felt it was kind of pointless now, but they should still hear what he had to say.
Relieved, he felt himself getting sleepy, and he fell asleep only minutes later.

When he woke up the next morning, his throat felt dry and ached with thirst. And his shoulder hurt. Looking at himself in the bathroom mirror, he saw the bruise there from where the security guard had grabbed him, and he cringed at the thought of how the other must look now. Torao hadn’t done it on purpose, but he was sure that there was a bruise on the kid's face today.

Looking at the clock, he noticed how it was already 11am. Those pills had really knocked him out because he still felt a bit groggy, but some coffee would help with that.
There were still a few hours left before he would meet Minami at Haruka's place, and Torao had no idea what he was supposed to do in the meantime. There wasn’t enough time to drive to his parents' house to talk to them, and he didn’t want to surprise Minami by showing up earlier than they agreed on.

But he was hungry, and when he thought about going out to buy something to eat, a thought came to his mind.
It may be silly, but Torao still headed to the Izumi family’s Bakery & Cake Shop.

Parking his bike near the entrance, Torao went in and bought a curry pan and some coffee.
He’d been here a few times, but only because it wasn’t too far from his own place, and he liked the baked goods more than those from other stores.

“Are you looking for something else?” the woman behind the counter asked when she saw him looking around, and Torao hesitated for only a moment. “I’m a friend of Mitsuki. Is he here today?” The woman watched him carefully before she nodded and smiled at him.

“He is. Please wait here, I’ll see if he’s still awake.” Torao was about to protest, but the woman, whom he assumed was Mitsuki’s mother, had already walked through a door, leaving him alone.

A few minutes later she returned and behind her trailed Mitsuki. He looked perplexed when he saw Torao, but his face quickly turned into a grin. “Torao? What are you doing here?” he asked and walked around the counter.
Torao noticed that his hair was wet. Seemed like he had just taken a shower and was perhaps about to go to bed after another early shift.
“I, uh, was buying breakfast and thought I’d check to see if you were here.” “Breakfast?” Mitsuki repeated, looking at the curry pan in Torao’s hand with a raised eyebrow. “I see. Wanna come upstairs? I don’t think mum wants us to chat here and disturb other customers.”

Torao followed Mitsuki through a corridor from where he could see machinery behind some large windows, and then a door that led to what he assumed was the Izumi family home. Mitsuki’s room was on the second floor, and he offered Torao a spot on a comfortable chair while he sat down across from him on the bed.
“Are you okay?” Mitsuki asked once they had settled down, and Torao opened his mouth to answer. “I’m fine,” he wanted to say, but he only managed to croak something unintelligible.

“So bad, huh?” Mitsuki's eyes softened in sympathy.
“Is Minami okay at the moment?” Torao gave a shrug as he didn’t trust his voice at the moment. “You can tell me. I’ll listen.”

But Torao wasn’t sure if he should. Minami had told him not to tell anyone about it, but that was before Ryou had revealed what was going on. And Torao really needed someone else's opinion on things. So he decided to keep it simple by leaving out details about Minami's past.

“Okay, uh, we met this Tsukumo yesterday, and he basically told us that he’s after one of my dad’s managers. That guy's a pretty bad person and did some awful stuff. To some of our employees too. Tsukumo wants to expose him publicly to make him pay? But he also thinks my family was involved or knew about it, and making that public will ruin our family’s reputation.”
Torao took a deep breath after rushing through those words and glanced at Mitsuki, who looked surprised but didn’t say anything for a few brief moments.

“I see. That’s unfortunate. But what do you think? Did your family know?” Torao shook his head before Mitsuki had even finished asking the question. “I can’t imagine they’d hire someone like this. And if they found out later they’d fire him. It’s not like they couldn’t find someone else for the position.”
He just couldn’t believe that his family would risk it. If someone found out, it would be a public relations disaster. But was that the only reason? He didn't think so. He just couldn’t see them ignoring or even supporting someone like this.

“That’s good, then,” Mitsuki muttered and pointed at Torao’s hand. “Don’t forget to eat, by the way.”
Torao slowly started eating, still thinking about his family. “I’m just wondering… what if they didn't notice the signs? Or someone tried telling them, but they were too unapproachable?”

Mitsuki tilted his head and looked thoughtful. “I don’t think it would be justified ruining your family over that. But if that was the case, something needs to change, don’t you think?”

He saw Torao’s questioning glance, not able to speak because he was still chewing.

“I don’t know. Maybe hire someone for that kind of stuff. A counsellor for work related problems like bullying or so.” Mitsuki made a face. “Or a complaint box, you know. Something like that. Or a revision of company policies and special training for managers.”

Torao slowly nodded. Those were great suggestions, and he made a mental note to tell his father about them. A lot of pain could have been prevented that way. And maybe there was still a way to help those that had suffered through Harada.

“Thank you, I’ll suggest that,” Torao said and Mitsuki gave a smile. “No problem. Anything else bothering you?”
Torao bit his lip. His current relationship with Minami concerned him, but maybe it was just that one day and today all would be good again? No point in telling Mitsuki about it when he wasn’t even sure.
“I don’t know. Hearing all that was a shock for Minami and me. But we’ll sort it out soon, so no worries. How are Nagi and Yamato?”

Mitsuki nodded understandingly. He wouldn’t pry and try to get more information out of Torao, and Torao was appreciative for that.
“They’re both fine,” Mitsuki said, answering his last question with a soft smile. “And they both want to help you. Yamato has already called Sogo as far as I know. And Nagi has talked with his brother. They’ll also attend the event.” Mitsuki started to grin then. “I’m really excited to finally meet him in person. I haven’t had yet the time to fly to Europe and see Northmarea, but he has already invited us for a few weeks in summer.”

He looked so joyous and the affection he felt for his boyfriends was so clearly visible. Torao felt a pang of jealousy in his chest when he thought about how it had been between him and Minami in the evening before. But he also felt hopeful. Maybe one day their relationship would also be like that of Mitsuki and the others. And he wanted to introduce Minami to his parents - if they really didn't have anything to do with Harada.

They talked for a while, but at some point it became apparent how tired Mitsuki was, and Torao didn’t want to keep him from sleeping much longer. It was nearly time to make his way over to Haruka’s house anyway.
“Thanks for dropping by,” Mitsuki said after another yawn when he walked with Torao to the front door. “Thank you for letting me keep you from resting again. I feel better now,” Torao replied sheepishly and drove off shortly later.
He really did feel better. It was strange how he had never thought about just talking to Mitsuki before. Torao had known that he liked him, but he had always figured Yamato was his friend and his boyfriends just acquaintances, but now it seemed like they all were his friends. And just having someone to talk to and have help sorting his thoughts had been a blessing.

He felt more at ease now. And that was a good thing because driving a bike through the largest city in the world when he was distracted was just dangerous. He’d been lucky yesterday, driving in that state of mind without an accident.

After some time, he arrived at the house and parked his bike near the front door. One of the three men living there had cleared a parking space closer to the house for him to park his bike a while ago so it wouldn’t get wet in the rain. He didn't know whose idea it had been, but he appreciated it greatly. Made him feel like they wanted him here. And he liked hanging out with all of them as well.

Minami was already waiting for him upon his arrival, even though Torao had been 10 minutes early. But the sound of his bike always signaled his arrival to the people living in the house.

Although he had left Mitsuki's home calmer, Torao felt nervous again when he saw Minami just standing there, looking at him. “Hi,” Torao carefully greeted him and started to take off his shoes, when Minami stopped him.
“Can we go on a walk again? It’s still such nice weather outside.”

Torao agreed easily, but he wondered what it was with Minami and taking walks. But since the rainy season was about to begin, he understood wanting to go out when it was still sunny.
He waited for Minami to put on his shoes, but Minami walked to the kitchen and returned with a large bag, which he passed on to Torao before putting on his shoes.
Finally, they left, Torao still carrying the bag.
They were quiet as he adjusted his stride to Minami’s walking speed and let him lead them wherever.

“Do you remember what Momo said?” Minami said after a while, and Torao tilted his head. “About the spy? Yeah.” “Exactly. I don’t think my house is the best place to talk about our current predicament anymore.”
“Because you think Touma and or Haruka are the spies?” Torao asked, stunned and Minami gave a nod. “But aren’t they your friends?”
"It's complicated," Minami sighed, and it sounded so tired and sad somehow, that Torao reached for his hand. When Minami didn’t pull away, he took it in his own, and they continued walking.

He had never held hands with a man before, not like this. Not in public. He could imagine what people thought when they saw them walking like that but couldn’t bring himself to care. Should they judge them, whatever. He wouldn’t let go of Minami’s hand unless Minami wanted him to.

In the distance, he could see a lot of trees now, and he wondered if that was the small park that he had seen on the online map when he first looked up Minami’s address. And whether this was where Minami was headed.

“How was your evening?” Torao asked after they had walked for a few minutes more in silence, just holding hands, and he felt Minami’s eyes on him. “With Ryunosuke? He was worried, of course. Wanted to know what had happened. Made me call our mother too. But it was nice I guess.” Minami paused for a long moment before continuing. “I don’t think I could have spent the evening anyplace better last night. Thank you for calling him.” Torao just hummed in reply, and Minami squeezed his hand a tiny bit.

“Did you talk to someone too?” he wanted to know, and Torao answered with a nod after hesitating. “I did. I wasn’t planning to, but I was at Mitsuki’s house before I even knew.” “Mitsuki?” “One of Yamato’s boyfriends. I didn’t tell him anything about you, though,” Torao was quick to explain. “Just the part with my family, and he seemed understanding.”

Minami stopped, and Torao only noticed when he was pulled back a bit. “I’m glad you had someone to talk to. I’m sorry for making it seem like you had to keep it all a secret from everyone. Of course I don’t want you to go through this alone.”

His eyes stared into Torao’s again, and Torao nodded, helplessly. There was fire back in Minami’s eyes, almost as much as when they first met. It made Torao’s knees feel weak, and he was reminded again that he was in love with Minami.

“Let’s continue then, we’re almost there,” Minami said and continued walking and Torao did the same.
They entered the park and Minami led him over the grass and towards a large tree.
Once they were there, he watched Minami take the bag and spread out a blanket. After sitting down, he pulled out two bottles of unsweetened ice tea and a few containers of food.
Torao grinned and sat down next to him. “A picnic, really? Sweet!”
Minami cracked a smile and gestured to the food. “Please, help yourself.”

In the shade of the big tree, whatever kind it was, they ate. Torao felt at ease here, the light rustle of wind in the leaves above them and the quiet singing of birds. It felt peaceful here and when he glanced at Minami, he saw him smile.
“Do you come here often?” Torao asked and Minami nodded. “Sometimes. But usually I’m near the pavilion at the pond. I just figured there would be fewer people here to disturb us.”

Torao’s smile turned into a smirk as he spoke. “Disturb us doing what?” he asked, and Minami grinned. “Seems like you have some ideas already. I don’t know, we can do whatever we want.”
“So what do you want?”
Torao didn’t expect Minami to move so quickly. Before Torao even realized what was going on, Minami was sitting on his lap and gazing down at him. “I have an idea,” he whispered and took Torao’s chin with his hand before turning his face toward him and kissing him on the lips.

Torao was slow to react, but then he closed his eyes, enjoying the kiss and the tingling sensation of Minami’s hands on him.
It was over again way too soon, and Minami giggled when Torao let out something similar to a whine. “Oh, you want more?” he asked, grinning, and Torao nodded eagerly. Or as much as he could with his chin still in Minami’s hand. He heard Minami chuckling and then his hand fell away and Minami leaned forward, pressing his chest against Torao’s. It took him a second before he understood, and then he let Minami push him back until he was lying on the blanket.

Tora's heart was pounding in anticipation as he looked up at him. He knew he would let Minami do whatever he wanted to do, even though they were in public. Minami had mentioned that he liked the risk of being caught, but he wouldn’t really, would he?

Minami leaned down until he was on top of Torao and kissed him again, silencing the thoughts in his head once more. He was instead focused on the familiar scent and the feeling of Minami's soft hair tickling his face. Letting him take the lead, Torao stopped thinking, only reacted and opened his eyes once more, when Minami drew back a little, face flushed just a bit.

“I wish we had more time,” he said, sounding almost regretful, and Torao raised his hand to check the time on his watch. They had maybe half an hour left before they had to make their way back to the car so they wouldn’t be late. His disappointed sigh made Minami laugh.

“We’ll have more time for THAT later,” he assured him, and Torao nodded, looking up at him. “But we still have time to cuddle, right?” He saw Minami’s smile widen and, with an agreeing noise, kissed him again, a short kiss this time, before lying down next to him with left his arms around Torao.
Torao turned to his side and slowly moved his own arm until it rested on Minami’s lower back and sighed contentedly.

“Can I tell you what I think about our situation?” Minami asked after a few minutes of silently lying there, and Torao stopped stroking his back. “Of course.”
Minami’s hand started playing with one of the buttons on Torao’s shirt.
“I think Ryou is wrong,” Minami began, and Torao quietly listened.
“He might not be as bad as I thought at first, but that doesn’t mean going after you and your family is right. Even exposing… my ex isn’t right. If Ryou had so much evidence, why didn’t he report it? Or supported those that needed help?”
Minami was silent for a few seconds, seemingly in thoughts, and Torao heard the light tremble in his voice when he talked about his ex.

“Harada would possibly have already faced court or even ended up in prison if Ryou had.... No need to make such a mess or drag you into it. They would have questioned your family as witnesses anyway.”

Minami let out a big sigh. “What I’m trying to say is, that I think we should still stop Ryou. And I’ll file charges against Harada afterwards, either with or without his help. Ryunosuke said finding a lawyer won’t be a problem. What do you think?”

Torao took some seconds to think before he answered. “I agree. I don’t know if my father knew, I don’t think so, but if he did, he should be held responsible. But in a legal way, not in whatever way Tsukumo planned.”

“Mh… I hope we can stop him.” He didn't sound entirely sure, and Torao wanted to cheer him up. “There’s a lot of people involved now. Should be enough to stop him.”
Minami didn't sound convinced yet. “I hope so. Don’t forget, he knows about Momo. Not sure if he expects Yamato. How did your meeting with him go anyway?”

Torao replied with a shrug. “Nothing special. Yamato wasn’t sure about it, but Nagi and Mitsuki both wanted to help. Nagi said there’s an event held at our hotel on the 7th. And Mitsuki’s brother works for a press agency or so.”
“I hope Norihito-san can confirm if that event is what Ryou has planned or something else. We’ll need some time to prepare.”

They laid on the blanket for some more time before packing their stuff and heading back. This time, Minami was the one taking Torao’s hand in his when they walked back to the house.

Touma had offered to let them take his car since Minami wasn’t all too keen on riding on Torao’s bike again, and so they found themselves on the way back into the city again.
Torao hadn’t driven a car since it had gotten warmer outside a few months ago, but he figured that he would use his own car more often now. Not only because of the coming rainy season, but also because he hoped Minami would be with him more often.

Minami seemed to guess what he was thinking because he looked thoughtful as well. “I was never really interested in acquiring a driver's license. Or one for motorbikes, but I’m starting to think that I should.”
“Is my driving so bad?” Torao joked and Minami laughed. “No, not at all. But I wouldn’t be dependent on someone else again. And most trains stop around midnight… Maybe after this is over, I’ll look for a school. ”

Torao agreed wholeheartedly with his statement, and they chatted until they arrived at the park.
It took them a while to find a parking spot and get to the meeting point - one of the reasons why Torao preferred his bike- and they arrived shortly after 5 at the station.

A few street performers were in this area, but Yuki had told them that Norihito would be playing Re:vale songs, so they could easily identify him.
But Torao didn’t know too many of their songs, just those that were played on the radio often, and he glanced at Minami. “Do you know all of Re:vale's songs?” he asked, and Minami shook his head. “A few? I'd assume he’ll play the most famous ones,” Minami answered and started moving in the direction of the first musician. “We’ll just stop and listen until we find him.”

Torao felt awkward standing there and listening before moving on again, and so he started giving the performers a few coins before following Minami to the next one.
He had nearly given up when he heard a soft guitar tune that he recognized. But Torao wasn’t sure if that was actually a Re:vale song. He just knew he had heard it before, but there were a lot of songs on the radio.

Torao slowly turned around and looked at the guy with the guitar playing the song. He smiled when he saw Torao looking at him, but after a few seconds changed the melody and this time Torao recognized Silver Sky. He and Minami started walking to him at the same time and came to a stop in front of him.

The man looked a bit older than them. Maybe in his mid 20s and entirely unremarkable if it wasn’t for his friendly smile. And his guitar skills. “Are you Minami-kun and Torao-kun?” he inquired while continuing playing the song. Very impressive in Torao's opinion.

“We are. And you are Norihito-san?” Minami asked to make sure and Norihito nodded.
“Nice to meet you. What do you think, should we walk a bit? There are some benches further in the park.”
So for the second time today, Minami and Torao walked through a park and sat down in the shade of a tree at a picnic table.
“Did Momo find out anything?” Minami asked once they sat without further chatting.
“He did. I’ll make it quick, since most of it is on the paper I’ll give you anyway." Norihito pulled a folded sheet of paper from his pocket. "The World Harmony Summit will be held at the Mido Grand Residence on the 7th. The exact time and address are on the paper.”
Norihito handed Minami the sheet and continued. “According to him, you won’t have any trouble getting into the event, but if you do, he encourages you to contact him through the telephone number also on the note.”

Torao slowly nodded. “Shouldn’t be a problem, but thanks.” His father surely won’t deny him entry, right?
“Leaders and representatives of many countries will attend the summit, including representatives of our emperor. Tsukumo-san has plans to disturb one of the presentations and will instead show the audience something else. Momo-san doesn’t know what exactly, but it will be bad. He also has several people loyal to him in the tech staff, the press and some of the provided security as well. Most guests bring their own security, so those should be safe. Momo-san thinks the only person that could be in danger is Harada-san, if he should be present. He thinks it would be best to have someone you trust in the technical room to make sure no one tampers with the equipment."
Torao had trouble following him, and he hoped Minami would remember it all, but everything should be written on the paper anyway.

"The sheet contains names of individuals that work for Tsukumo, but Momo-san doesn’t recommend firing them or sending them home until the event starts, to not give them time to make new plans. Also, these are only the ones that Momo-san knows of. There’s a high likelihood that there are more of them.” Norihito gave them a pointed look before continuing. “Momo-san has people loyal to him at the event as well, but he explicitly said that they won’t be enough to stop Tsukumo. Their names are also on the sheet.”

Norihito tilted his head and looked at the two of them. “Any questions so far?”

Torao shook his head and saw Minami do the same. “No. We’ll read the paper or contact Momo-san if we do, thank you.”
Norihito then smiled again. “Re:vale will also attend the summit, but they won’t be able to help you to stop Tsukumo. They have other plans but want to let you know that you don’t have to worry about Harada.” Minami nodded slowly and smiled at Norihito a few moments later. “Thank you for letting us know. We’ll be able to plan what to do now.”

He turned to Torao. “We have a lot of things to talk about now. If that is all, we’ll be leaving now. Thank you again for taking time to talk to us.”
Torao wasn’t sure why Minami was suddenly in such a hurry, but he wasn’t going to ask in front of Norihito.
“Thank you,” he repeated, standing up when Minami did, and Norihito smiled. “That was all. Use the phone number if you have questions. It was nice meeting you two.”

Norihito stood up as well and took his guitar case before walking back to his earlier spot. Torao watched him go, then turned to Minami.
“What was that?” he blurted out and raised an eyebrow when he saw Minami smirk. “Oh, nothing. Hey Torao, let’s go to your place.”

Torao felt his body react to Minami’s words before it even reached his brain. He had the sudden urge to kiss Minami and his heart was pounding hard in his chest.
Then he understood. “Torao?” he repeated in amazement, and Minami laughed. “Let’s go.”
He took Torao's hand and pulled him in the direction of Touma’s car.
“I’ll have to check with Inumaru-san if it’s alright to borrow his car until tomorrow.”

Chapter Text

The next morning, in Torao's apartment, Minami insisted on making them breakfast and ordered Torao to relax in the meantime.

“I said relax,” Minami repeated when he saw Torao sit down at the kitchen table instead of going back to bed or watching TV, but he smiled nonetheless.

“I am relaxed,” Torao answered, and he really was. Watching Minami in his kitchen once more made his insides all warm and fuzzy, and he felt weirdly happy. It felt so familiar. Something that a real couple would do, and knowing that they actually were together made him feel giddy.

“Well, if you say so,” Minami chuckled and began to work.
Although he had been here only once before, Minami seemed to remember where everything was and didn’t need to ask Torao for cooking utensils.

Torao hadn't asked what exactly Minami was preparing, but he had no doubt that it would be delicious. They had gone out for groceries last evening, so his fridge was stocked in case they got hungry.
Still, Torao had suggested ordering takeout for dinner instead, not in the mood to waste any time by cooking and instead making their way into the bedroom.

Minami had seemed just as eager and when they had finished their shared bath after their second round, they had gone to sleep.

Torao remembered their first night together, only a few weeks ago, and how Minami had kept a distance back then in his sleep. But by now he seemed to have lost those reservations and last night he had slept peacefully in Torao's arms.
Torao had almost not wanted to let him go when he felt Minami move in the morning but had relented, not wanting to make him feel trapped again.

“Breakfast will take a while. I don’t mind you staring at me until then, but I assume you have other things to do?” Minami said after a while, turning his head and grinning at him.
It seemed like Torao had been too obvious.

“Other things like what?” Torao asked back, frowning slightly. He'd much rather just stare at Minami. And they could take a shower together after breakfast.
Minami's expression softened slightly.
“Preparing for your meeting with Osaka-san for example. Or thinking about how to ask your father about attending the summit.”

Torao had nearly forgotten about that in the comfortable atmosphere and was too lost in the view of Minami’s skin. He was only wearing one of Torao’s shirts and some shorts, and the pale skin was oddly distracting. But he knew that Minami was right and that they didn't quite have time to completely relax just yet.

“Oh, right. Do you have any ideas for that? Because I don’t even know what to say to Osaka. Just a ‘Hey, I think some weirdo is trying to gatecrash an international summit, wanna help?’ wouldn’t be the best way to go about it.”

Torao didn’t really know what to say to someone like that. From what he had heard, the FSC was a big conglomerate, and it would be terrible if he stained the Mido name by messing up a meeting with the chairman's son. But according to Momo their help could be useful.
Either in assisting in the plan or as an ally in case everything went to hell.

“I would suggest talking a little more formally,” Minami said, busy cutting vegetables and not looking at him.
“But we just want him to be aware of what’s happening. Maybe we’ll need their help. And if we don’t, that’s fine too, and you made a new friend.”

Torao chuckled lightly but it didn’t exactly help to relieve his worries.
”I still wish Yamato would come with me. He at least knows the kid.”

Instead, Yamato had gotten Osaka to agree to meet Torao at his home across town, and the thought made him uncomfortable. Torao had met several important people but never on his own. He had always been introduced by someone else - mainly his father, and had gone from there. He wished Minami could come with him, but Momo had advised against that since that would certainly alert Tsukumo.

Minami coughed, making an indignant noise. “Osaka-san is not a kid. He's a year older than me from what I heard.”

Torao smirked. “Is that so? Well, he’s still younger than me.”
He had never really thought about their little age gap before but it seemed like Minami had. Which was surprising, seeing how his exes were several years older than he was. Coincidence?

“I think Nikaido-san would have let you know if there was something to worry regarding Osaka-san,” Minami continued, probably having decided not to talk about the age difference and Torao decided not to either.

He wasn't exactly jealous but knowing Minami had been with Japan's sexiest man #1 was definitely something to think about.
But Torao was convinced that if he were famous he could also make that list. Maybe even take over the number one spot. And Minami too.

The thought made him smile a little but then he remembered the problem at hand.

“You don’t know Yamato. Nagi and Mitsuki are kinder than him,” Torao replied a few moments too late and sighing when remembering Yamato’s habit of quietly watching drama unfold rather than going out of his way to stop them in advance.

“Maybe. But then Nagi and Mitsuki would have told you. Don’t you trust your friends?” Minami asked, stir-frying something, still not looking into his direction.

“Just like you trust yours?” Torao shot back before he could stop himself and saw Minami’s posture stiffen before his shoulders slumped a bit.

“That’s different and you know that.”

Torao already regretted his words the moment they left his mouth. He didn't even know why he had said it.
Screw him and his stupid brain. “I do know. I’m sorry Minami.”

“I understand, Mido-san, please don’t worry.”
The use of his family name felt like a punch to his face and Torao stared at Minami’s back.

Only yesterday Minami had felt comfortable enough to use Torao's given name for the first time and now a thoughtless comment made him go back.
“I mean it, I’m sorry.”

Torao got up from the chair and walked over to Minami, putting his arms gently around him and hugging him from behind. Minami felt stiff at first and Torao didn't know whether he was crossing a line or not, so he loosened his grip slightly but stayed where he was.

“I know your situation is different. I guess I’m just a bit nervous and I hate how that guy - both of them, if we count Tsukumo too, are complicating your life,” Torao mumbled and felt Minami relax against him. He pressed a kiss on Minami's temple.
“I’m sorry, I really am, and I shouldn’t have said that.”

“But you’re right,” Minami said quietly. “It sucks that I have to be so careful around them. I wasn’t lying when I told you that they’re my closest friends, even though I know that they report to Tsukumo. I just wish it were different.”

“In just a few days it’ll be over,” Torao promised, raising his hand to stroke Minami's cheek and felt him take a deep breath.
“Just a few more days,” Minami agreed and then freed himself from Torao’s hug.
“I should continue if we don’t want burnt food. You can sit down again.”

Reluctantly, Torao let go before he sat again and rested his head on his hand.

“Do you think your father will let you attend?” Minami asked and Torao guessed that he wanted to keep the conversation going.
He shrugged lightly.
“Probably. He’ll want to talk me out of it I think but he’s never really been able to say no to me.”

***

Torao had thought about taking his car instead of the bike but decided against it. He enjoyed riding, and there were just a few more days left before it would start raining for the next several weeks.
But as he neared the place that they agreed to meet, he started to wonder if his decision had been wise.
The neighbourhood wasn’t exactly bad, but Torao still thought his bike would stand out. But there was nothing to be done now.
He stopped again to check the address but when he found the house eventually he frowned.

He knew the Osaka family was rich. Even more than his own family. But this house was a dirty, run down apartment building and not at all what he had expected.

Slowly, he got off his bike and walked to the door and rang apartment 5, still expecting to have gotten the wrong address. Maybe as a joke.
The thought was almost a relief. He shook his head and took a deep breath, remembering how brave Minami had been, not just facing Momo but also his brother and his ex at the same time, knowing it could end in disaster.
Torao could do this!

“This is apartment number five. May I ask who’s there?”
Torao startled slightly at the voice, but had himself under control quickly.
“This is Mido Torao, I think-,” he began but was interrupted.
“Of course, Mido-san. Take the elevator to the fourth floor, please.”

The door buzzed open and Torao entered, frowning.
So this was the right place? But why would Osaka live there?
Or was this a trap? Something done by Tsukumo to stop them? Minami and Momo had said that Tsukumo would also keep an eye on Torao and that he’d been known for hacking phones before. Could he have been the one sending a wrong address?

The elevator doors opened and he looked around carefully.
He didn’t see anything special. And Minami and the others also knew the address and would come looking for him if he didn’t return within a few hours.

Torao straightened up and knocked on the door.

It was opened a moment later by a young man with light hair that Torao recognized as Osaka. Yamato had shown him a picture of the boy, but that picture was a few years old. Still, there was a resemblance that put Torao at ease. At least this was the right guy.

Osaka’s eyes briefly scanned Torao before nodding and taking a step back to let him in.

“Please come in, Mido-san.”

Torao entered and looked around curiously. The entrance was plain and nothing special.
But after Torao took off his shoes and followed Osaka into the apartment, it was completely different.
The interior was modern, with blue walls and light wooden floors. It felt cozy and Torao felt himself relax as Osaka asked him to sit while pointing at a grey couch.

“I’ll be right back with some tea,” he let him know, and Torao used the time to look around more.
Pictures of beautiful landscapes decorated the walls, and shelves were lined with figurines and potted plants.
It wasn’t something Torao had ever seen in real life. More like those places you’d see in western TV shows, and he really liked it.
Maybe he should buy some plants for his own apartment in the future. It really made a difference in how it felt.

Osaka was back with tea and placed it on the table before sitting down in the armchair, facing Torao.
“Nikaido-san asked me to meet with you, so I’ll assume this isn’t a casual visit,” he began and watched him.

Osaka was polite, but Torao still felt something underneath the surface. Maybe anger? That would explain the cool look of his eyes and the way Osaka’s eyebrows were slightly raised.

“It’s not a casual visit. It’s about Tsukumo. He’s trying to crash the summit, and we want to stop him.”

Osaka’s eyebrows definitely rose at that but he had his face under control quickly.
“And how can I help you with that?”

Torao bit his lip. This wasn’t going according to plan at all. He just wasn’t good at this kind of stuff but he’d try regardless.

“Momo thinks it would help to have some people on the inside that we trust. And we know that the FSC owns the company that handles the technical stuff during the event. If we had someone that could do something in case anything goes wrong-”

“Tamaki,” Osaka called, loud enough to make Torao flinch, and continued staring at Torao.
Another man entered the room, and Torao recognized the security guard that had grabbed his shoulder at the Tsukumo building.

Torao tensed immediately, getting up from the couch to put distance between them.
“You’re with Tsukumo,” he hissed at Osaka, who just watched him.
The other man, apparently Tamaki, nodded, eyes narrowed at him.

“Mido-san, please sit down again. I want to explain,” Osaka said and after a long moment, Torao sat again but was ready to jump up any second.
Tamaki kept standing, leaning on the armchair behind Osaka.

“This is my boyfriend. Yotsuba Tamaki. I believe you two have met before.”

“Yeah, when he punched me in the face,” Tamaki said dryly and Torao could now see slightly swollen greenish skin around his eye where his hand had connected just two days ago.
“You mean, when you tried to break my shoulder,” Torao countered, and they stared at each other.
“I was just doing my job. You broke in, remember?”
“And your boss said it was fine so maybe you should have asked him first.”

Osaka took Tamaki's hand in his and Tamaki didn’t reply to Torao even though it looked like he wanted to.

“I’ve been keeping an eye on Tsukumo for a while now. It’s just natural to place people in big companies to observe what they’re doing,” Osaka explained as if that was something natural. Torao doubted his father and his acquaintances were spying on each other like that. But maybe it was normal for bigger corporations, he had no idea.

“I asked Tamaki to work for Tsukumo, and he has done so for nearly two years. He will also be part of the security at your hotel’s summit.”

Torao looked up at Tamaki who nodded slowly.
“Tsukumo trusts Tamaki, and I’m not fully convinced it is wise to break that trust just yet. But…,” Osaka looked at Tamaki and the two of them exchanged a glance.
“Maybe he could. If you can convince us why Tsukumo should be stopped.”

Torao nodded, looking at them seriously.
“Right. I’ll explain and you can decide for yourselves. But if you decide not to help, I want your word that you won’t run to Tsukumo and tell him about this, okay?”

Both of them nodded and Torao took a deep breath.

“My boyfriend, Minami, is Tsukumo’s ex. But before Tsukumo he was with a man called Harada who didn’t treat him well.”
Torao saw that this wasn’t news to Tamaki, but Osaka listened attentively.

“As it turns out, Harada has been working in my parent’s hotels for a while now and in that time he harassed and abused some of his subordinates. I don’t think my family is aware of that, but Tsukumo thinks they should be punished for it regardless.”

Torao really should have prepared for this better.
“I mean, I also think they should be punished if they did know, but not by Tsukumo but by court, you know? Tsukumo’s planning to expose Harada at the summit by showing some evidence. And with so many important people there the Mido family will never recover from that.”

He hoped he wasn’t sounding too desperate.
“We think that Tsukumo should leave the summit alone. Harada needs to be arrested and put before a judge. If my family knew about this then they should too. But not like that. And not just because they employed him.”

Torao cringed as he finished. Maybe he should have let Minami write it down and give it to Osaka. Minami had a better way with words.
Torao had no idea if he had convinced Osaka and Tamaki since their faces looked unimpressed.
“Tamaki?” Osaka prompted after a moment and his boyfriend looked down at him.
"Tsukumo’s not a bad man but he’s over the top sometimes. It’s like he stops thinking about consequences when he has a goal in mind. But I think Torao’s right and that matter with Harada should be resolved differently.”

Osaka nodded, looking at Torao.
“I’ll handle the technicians. The younger brother of Nikaido-san’s boyfriend works in that company. I’ll make sure he’ll be there.”

“And I’ll do what’s needed. But only if the situation requires it. I’m not keen on blowing my cover just yet.”

Torao nodded, not sure if that would be enough, but it didn’t seem like he had some other choice.
“Oh, and one more thing,” Tamaki said, crossing his arms and staring at Torao.
“What?”

“If you swing at me again, I’ll return the favour.”

Torao blinked, processing the words and then nodded while Tamaki’s serious expression turned into a playful grin and even on Osaka’s cool face a smile appeared.

“Well, that’s settled then”

Chapter Text

Torao woke up way earlier than he usually would when he slept in Minami's bed and sat up.

He was anxious, having had a bad dream about Tsukumo showing up in a ballroom with some balloons that turned out to be bombs and Tamaki punching Torao in the face and telling him in Minami’s voice “I told you to stay away from me.”

That had been creepy on so many levels.

Minami next to him was stirring, and Torao felt bad for having woken him up as well. It was probably going to be a long day, and they needed their rest. But Torao knew that he wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep.

“Morning,” Minami mumbled, and although Torao was restless, he smiled and leaned down to softly kiss him.

“Morning. But we have another hour. Go back to sleep,” he whispered against Minami’s lips.
But when he drew back, Minami’s eyes looked up at him, more awake now.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, rubbing his eyes and reaching out to put his hand on Torao’s leg. “Did you have a nightmare?”
It seemed like Torao’s distress was still visible, and he let out a sigh.
“Something like that. It's stupid.”
“It’s not stupid,” Minami said, and a tiny, sad-looking smile appeared on his mouth.
“You’re worried about your family. That’s normal on a day like this.”

“Yeah, I guess.”
But it wasn’t just the concern about his family. He was also worried about Minami. And the summit itself. It was important and could help many people in the future.

“It’ll be fine,” Minami said, starting to rub his leg in a comforting way. “In the worst-case scenario, we’ll just have someone cause a short circuit. You said Tamaki knows how to do it?”
Torao nodded hesitantly. “I hope it won’t come to it. Who knows what'll happen.”

“Torao look at me. We have a plan. Osaka-san was right, and now we know what to do even if Tsukumo succeeds. Your family won’t be ruined even in that case. And we know that there’ll be some of our people down there behind the scenes. We need to play it cool so they won’t be forewarned, yeah?”
Torao nodded slowly, and Minami smiled. “Good boy.”

Torao was still concerned, but he couldn’t deny that Minami’s last words made him feel more relaxed. He trusted Minami. They had done all they could, and there was nothing to do anymore than watching it happen.

They dressed in silence, and Minami kissed him hard before Torao could leave the room.
He was going to his parent’s place to change into more appropriate clothes and do his part as the third son of the Mido family.
He wouldn’t be able to talk to Minami until this was all over.

“Tomorrow, at that time it’ll be all over,” Minami said against his lips and looked up into his eyes.
“See you later then. Can’t wait to see you in your best suit.”

He winked, and Torao felt his cheeks heat slightly at those words.
That was right. Minami had never seen him in anything but his casual clothes. He wondered what he’d think if he saw Torao looking like the son of a rich family. Would he think he looked like someone else?
Minami probably didn't even pay that much attention to clothes after being with Tsukumo and Gaku, who both came from rich families.

He shook his head and tried to concentrate on what was actually important here.

Minami would be taking the bus and then a taxi to Yuki’s place, where they’d dress him up as Re:vale’s personal interpreter. It was lucky that Minami wasn’t only able to speak English but also Northmarean to make his role more believable.
This way he’d be able to be there without anyone asking questions. But that still meant that Minami and Torao wouldn’t be able to really do anything but watch once it started.

That thought stayed on his mind even while he drove home and got ready.

Torao sighed, looking at himself in the mirror, and attempted to fix his tie even though he looked impeccable.

His family seemed more stressed than usual, but it made sense since the event was bigger than most of the meetings and conferences that were usually held at the Mido-Hotel.
But for Torao this was nothing new.

To be styled and then put into one of his best suits by professionals before being chauffeured to the hotel with his mother and his brothers was something he’d been doing all his life.

His father was already at the hotel, no doubt ordering his staff around to make sure everything was perfect. It was especially stressful for him, and Torao worried about his health sometimes, glad that his oldest brother was there to take some of the load off his father's shoulders.
He’d help too, of course, but it didn’t seem like they wanted him to.

His brothers were always teasing him, especially tonight, about wanting to attend. That he wanted to look like an adult by being there.
Torao didn’t bother to correct them. He was anxious enough without arguing with his family too.

Many of the foreign guests had already arrived yesterday and this morning, staying in the best suites of the hotel to have time to rest and get dressed before coming downstairs, but some of the more local guests were about to arrive now.

Torao’s job was to greet those arriving and lead them to their seats when his father was busy with more important guests. Not that he was going to tell them that they weren't as important.

Torao tried not to show how tense he was as he talked to the guests and complimented them. Wasn’t it time for the others to show up now?

The event wouldn’t start for more than an hour, but more people arrived every minute, and so far he hadn’t seen any familiar faces, apart from his family and some of the staff.

He hadn't even seen Harada.

“Oh, hello,” he finally heard someone say after he had walked an elderly woman to her seat and headed back to the entrance hall.

Torao turned around and saw two blonde men looking at him. One of them, the one who had spoken, was Nagi, the other one Torao didn’t know. His hair was lighter and he was definitely a foreigner.

Sure that this was Nagi’s brother, Torao smiled and bowed respectfully. He wasn’t certain whether the other man knew Japanese, but since Nagi had spoken English, he just followed his lead.

“Welcome to the Mido Hotel. We’re honored to have both of you here for the summit,” he said and looked at them again. They each gave a respectful nod before Nagi took a step forward to lightly gesture to his brother.

“Thank you. Allow me to introduce my brother. Seto Ranvalt von Northmarea.”

That certainly sounded impressive and very much like royalty. Torao had seen the guest list of course before the event, but so casually hearing that Nagi was indeed a prince was a bit bizarre.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Torao bowed again when Nagi also introduced him.

“Brother, this is Torao Mido. He’s the host’s youngest son and also a friend of Yamato and mine.”

Seto gave another nod.
“A pleasure. I appreciate the welcome, and it’s good to finally meet a friend of my brother.”

He seemed nice, even though he kept their talk formal, but Torao wasn’t surprised. This was a formal event, after all, and that man in front of him was royalty.

He was sure his father would have liked to greet the two of them personally, but Nagi had made that decision for them, it seemed like.

“Please, allow me to lead you to your seats,” Torao continued after a brief pause and led them to the chairs reserved for them.

Directly at the table where the actual important people sat.
The ones that would speak during the summit.

Nagi would sit next to his brother, acting as the interpreter and advisor for him. But he gave Torao a warm, reassuring smile.

Nagi was there. If anything were to go wrong, he’d do something to help and take the attention of whatever would happen.
That actually helped him to calm down.

They had reached the chairs when Torao noticed Nagi looking at another man at the other side of the room.
Torao followed his gaze but didn’t recognize him.
He looked young and like he was part of the staff.

“That’s Mitsuki’s younger brother, Iori,” Nagi quietly said when he realized that Torao had seen him too.

Another person that knew what was likely going to happen and that had their interest at heart. At least he hoped Iori was on their side. But he worked for Sogo and was Mitsuki's brother. And Torao trusted Nagi and Mitsuki more than he had realized until now.

“We’ll be fine now. And you shouldn’t spend too much time with us. Otherwise, it’s going to be suspicious,” Nagi said then in Japanese, and Torao nodded, bowed one more time to Seto and returned to the hall.

Minami and Re:vale surely were here by now, or at least almost here. Their seats had still been empty when he checked earlier.

He knew he shouldn’t be worried that something had happened to Minami, but he still was.

He shouldn’t have let him take the bus. Anything could have happened before he reached Yuki’s house, and Torao wouldn’t know a thing.

Instead of greeting guests, he grabbed one of the champagne glasses the servers carried around and took a sip. He needed to calm down.

Nagi was here. Iori was here, and somewhere Tamaki was too. It would be fine.
And Yamato, Sogo and the others were waiting in a suite, connected by an earpiece with Momo and Tamaki, just so they knew what was going on.

Torao returned to his mother’s side and let his eyes wander, scanning the guests and the people with cameras and microphones.
At least the summit wouldn’t be broadcast live.

A few segments would be filmed, edited and then released to the public, but the discussions would stay private and just a rough outline of what was going to be said would be released to the public.

But he didn’t doubt that word would get out if Tsukumo succeeded.

Taking a deep breath, Torao drank again and finally saw Minami’s light blonde hair.

Next to him were Yuki and Momo, all three of them wearing suits. Not that Torao really had eyes for the other two men when Minami was there.

His dark gray suit looked good on him, a contrast to his pale skin and light hair. He wore thin glasses too he noticed with a short delay. And although Torao could see some tension in the way Minami moved, he looked fine.

They were led to the meeting room by Torao’s father, but when they passed by Torao and his mother, Minami’s eyes met Torao’s, and he gave a reassuring smile.

It would be too much to say all of Torao’s worries were gone like that, but seeing Minami definitely relaxed him, while his heart rate increased. Whether that was caused by anxiety from what was about to happen or just seeing Minami smile at him, he couldn't tell.

His mother distracted him then by asking him how he was doing. How university was and if he liked living alone.

Torao couldn't bring himself to tell her he was doing well and leave it at that, even if this wasn't the right moment for a chat with his mother.

But by now most guests had arrived, and there was nothing for the two of them to do. And he had always had a good relationship with her.
Similar to him, his brothers and father had kept her out of the business for most parts, and Torao guessed she also felt left out.

“I actually met someone,” he admitted, turning his head slightly as he noticed how his cheeks warmed.
His mother seemed to notice too, and he felt her thoughtful gaze on his face.

“Someone special, I assume," she said, and reached for Torao's arm to link it with hers.
“I'm happy for you, dear. Why don't you invite them for dinner sometime? I'd love to meet them.”

Torao raised his eyebrows but nodded. “Yeah, I'll do that.”

Minami was already here, but he didn't think that tonight would be the best time to introduce him to his family.

With a delay he realized that his mother hadn't assumed it was a woman that Torao wanted to introduce.

In a way, he supposed, it was a good thing that his father had caught him sneaking in his office.
That had given his family time to think about Torao being into men.

Even though Torao wasn't into men, he was into Minami. And he'd never been that interested in another person before.

He knew that their relationship was really new.
They had known each other for just over a month, and so much had already happened.
So many bad things too, but they were still together and doing their best.

After tonight, everything would hopefully be fine. And if it wasn't, they'd work it out.
Like they had in the past few weeks.

He felt his mother squeeze his arm, and Torao's attention returned to her.
“We should take our seats. I believe your father will address the audience shortly," she said, and Torao nodded.

He led her to their seats and turned his head to look for Minami.

He wasn't that far away from them. Maybe ten people sat between them, but still too far to talk, even though Torao would have given everything to feel Minami's hand in his own now. To feel his reassuring squeeze and to give him comfort while they could only sit there and wait.

But across the room he saw Nagi and his brother.

Iori and Tamaki were also around, keeping an eye out for Tsukumo and Harada.
Torao closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and blew it out slowly.

It had already started.

Chapter Text

Outside the event hall, people were busy.
Serving staff ran around with refreshments, offering drinks to guests and inside the tech room, several men watched through security cameras and made sure the lights weren't too bright or dim.
Their projector showed the logo of the summit against an elegant curtain on the wall.
The microphones had been tested all day long and the pleasant quiet music had been muted when it began.
The audience was greeted, several important guests introduced, and points on today's agenda listed.

Riku watched with the rest of the security staff, patrolling the area in a slow walk to not disturb the guests.
But Riku knew that it would only be a matter of time.

Ryou had given direct instructions and while Riku understood why Ryou was so keen on telling the world what Harada had done during his time in the Mido hotel, he also felt guilty.
This summit was important and for a good cause, and disturbing him might cause unforeseen complications.
At least Ryou had agreed to wait until close to the end before he gave his signal.

Riku caught Tamaki's eyes and gave a court nod.
Tamaki was also one of Ryou’s men, and he did in fact have a reason to be angry at the Mido family.
Riku had seen the bruise on his face where the youngest son had punched him a few days ago after breaking in the Tsukumo headquarters.

And the way Torao treated his boyfriend…
Riku shook his head in disgust when he thought about how Minami had looked when he had left Torao's apartment that one day.
He didn't understand why Minami stayed with Torao.
After Harada he had expected him to stay away from violent people.
So, in a way, Ryou was right, and they all deserved what was coming.
Just the way they were doing it didn't sit right with him.

Riku passed two more security men that belonged to Ryou’s group. Some of the servers and one man of the technical department as well.
He didn't know them well, but he knew who they were.

Riku was different from them, however.
Sure, Ryou paid him for keeping an eye on Minami and Torao, but what Riku actually wanted was to keep Tenn safe.

Ryou hadn't quite threatened him, but Riku knew that Ryou was angry at Ryunosuke and had been since even before Trigger debuted.
Coupled with the fact that Minami had left Ryou for Gaku and his hate for Tenn’s new father, Riku wanted to keep an eye on Ryou, just in case.

He and Tenn hadn't talked in several years, but he had been to most of Trigger's concerts, and it made him feel good to see his brother.
Even though he desperately missed him.
Ryou had told him that he'd be able to get in contact with Tenn if Riku wanted, but since Tenn hadn't reached out either, Riku was hesitant.
Maybe he didn't even remember his twin brother anymore or didn't want anything to do with him.

Riku sighed and kept walking, waiting for the signal and watching the audience.
They were progressing smoothly, it seemed like.
Although his English wasn't great, he understood some parts of it, and he was glad that people were actually interested in trying to make their countries more environmentally friendly.

He barely heard Ryou's signal through his headpiece and flinched slightly, when the audio in the room cracked and a pre-recorded yell of anger sounded through the room.
Riku was on the other side of the room, and he hurried back to check if his help was needed at the tech room, but even so he noticed some guests looking around in confusion. And some had even flinched.

His gaze found Minami, sitting in the back next to Re:vale, the famous idols.
Minami behaved again like he did that day when Torao had assaulted him. Eyes wide, curled into himself.

No wonder, Riku thought as he jogged.
It's been barely two years, of course he would still react to one of Harada's yells.

He reached the room a few seconds later, just a little out of breath, and watched the situation in front of him.
The young technician had been overwhelmed by Ryou's people and sat on the floor with his hands tied behind his back, but still struggling against them.

The technician belonging to Ryou was the one playing Harada's yells to the audience.
And only a few moments later, loud voices rose from the meeting hall and hurried steps were coming closer to them.
Then another voice, an angry voice, yelled again.

Harada again, but this time the man himself.

Riku had seen pictures of him before.
Harada was a few years older than him, probably closer to 30 and quite handsome. His dark hair and eyes were a stark contrast to his pale skin.
He was tall, athletic and dressed in an elegant suit.

But right now his face was red and furious. Hands tightened to fists and eyes glinting dangerously.
“What's going on here?” he yelled, taking in the situation and trying to figure out why his voice was being played to some of the most important people in the world.

Riku knew that Ryou had expected Harada to check the situation himself. The plan was to stop him from entering once he showed up. So Riku moved to stand in his way when Harada moved to yank the technician away from the speakers.

But a hard push made Riku fall to the floor, and the impact took his breath away.

Sitting up again, Riku felt tightness in his chest and a series of coughs escaped his chest. He struggled to get air into his lungs and, trying not to panic, he reached for his inhaler in his pocket.

The plastic on the outside had a light crack, but it was still functional.
Taking two puffs, he relaxed on the ground, trying to calm down, even as he heard himself wheeze with each breath.

“Riku? What's wrong?”
He blinked and saw Tamaki's worried face not too far from his own. Even the tied up technician frowned at him from the other side of the room.

“Nothing”, he answered, coughing and sitting up. “I just need some fresh air.”
He knew from experience that that would help him feel less like he was suffocating.

A quick glance at Harada showed him that the rest of security had him under control. Ryou's men and the normal staff seemed to have worked together on that.
Riku was almost glad not to be a part of it.
There would be consequences for this, he was sure of it.

“Do you want me to come with you?” Tamaki asked as he helped him get up, but Riku shook his head.
“I'm fine”, he lied and slowly walked over to the exit.
The movement helped somehow, and he tried to keep his coughing quiet to not draw attention until he was finally outside.

It was dark already, but the building was highly lit.
He was glad for some benches in a small, park-like area near the main entrance.
He'd wait a few more minutes and use his inhaler again.
Already the light breeze felt good on his sweaty skin, and he closed his eyes.

Only a minute later he heard hurried steps coming toward him and blinked his eyes open again.
“Are you okay?” a guy with greenish dyed hair asked him and sat down next to him on the bench.
Riku felt his critical gaze on him.

“Are you having an asthma attack?” the stranger asked again after a moment and Riku nodded, a bit surprised.
“Do you have an inhaler with you?” the other person asked again, and Riku patted his jacket with another nod. “And you already used it? Good.”

The other guy was silent but kept on looking at him until Riku frowned.
“Sorry. It's just, I'm an EMT in training, so I'm looking for any signs of distress. Or blue lips and stuff.”
He smiled then. “I'm Haruka by the way.”

“Riku,” Riku answered and also gave a polite smile before continuing with his controlled breathing.
Maybe it wasn't that bad to have someone here with him, just in case.

“Seems like you're plenty experienced with that sort of thing already. I'll just breathe with you for a bit.”

Riku heard Haruka's breath matching with his own, keeping the pace, and it got easier to breathe after that as he followed Haruka's lead.
He had the feeling that the pain in his chest lessened and also the wheezing quieted. Only an occasional cough disturbed him, but the worst was over.

“My brother used to breathe with me when we were kids,” Riku said, more to himself than to Haruka and smiled at the memory.
“Having someone there really helps.”

Haruka gave a thoughtful hum.
“My brother wouldn't have ever done that. Probably would have scolded me for having an attack in the first place. Not, that this is your fault at all," he was quick to add.

Riku grinned softly at his expression. “Yeah, but it still sucks.I took a hit from a guy in there.” He gave another nod in the direction of the hotel and closed his eyes.
He wished he could take a nap, but for now this was fine too.

“What's up with him?” Riku heard Tamaki's voice as he came running towards them, and he opened his eyes again.
“He's sick, isn't he? Does he need an ambulance?”
He sounded really worried, and Riku faintly recalled Ryou saying that Tamaki had lost his mother to an illness.
Tamaki probably thought that Riku was dying.

“I'm fine. And this guy's an EMT, so no worries,” he replied and grinned weakly.
“An EMT in training,” Haruka corrected, but that still seemed to help Tamaki to calm down.

“What's going on inside?” Riku wanted to know then, and heard Tamaki take a deep breath.
“Well. Chaos, as to be expected. I gotta go back in, just wanted to make sure you were okay. Thanks for taking care of him.”

Tamaki patted Haruka's arm before running back to the main entrance.

Riku watched him go.

Did that mean that they played the video? Their plan had worked, and he hadn't even been there.
He was glad, but also disappointed to miss out on so much.

“Haruka?”

The familiar voice immediately made Riku's head snap around to look in the direction, and Haruka also stared.

“Tenn-ni?”

“Riku?”

Tenn’s voice was barely more than a whisper as he stopped and stared at Riku who weakly smiled at his brother.
Of course this was how their reunion had to go. With Riku having an attack.
Typical.

“Long time no see, huh," he said in a joking voice, but it sounded weak even to himself.

Haruka's expression had darkened with each second.
“Wait, you two know each other?”

Tenn nodded slowly, looking like he couldn't believe meeting Riku either.
“I do. He's my brother.”

Haruka suddenly looked so angry and Riku didn't understand why. “Brother? Since when?”

“Since birth, I guess. Or even longer. That's how twins work”, he answered instead of Tenn but was surprised when Haruka glared at Tenn.
“You've been keeping a twin brother a secret? All this time?”

Tenn opened his mouth but couldn't utter a word before Haruka continued. “No wait, let me guess. He knew. Of course he did. Only stupid little Haruka didn't need to know.”

To Riku it looked like he wanted to run off, but when Riku coughed again, he bit his lip, seemed to make up his mind and turned to him again.
“Is it getting worse? Let me look at your hand.”

Haruka began examining Riku's nails, looking for something, and putting a hand on his forehead.

“No, that's not… It's not like that”, Tenn stammered at the same time, and Riku still had no idea what their relationship was. Were they lovers? But then their anger made no sense.
“I haven't seen Riku for a long time.”

“For 11 years to be exact. But who's counting, right?” Riku muttered and this time both of them glared at him.

“Why are you even working as security?” Tenn asked. “Knowing you have attacks when it's stressful.”
Haruka nodded like he was agreeing with Tenn.

Riku sighed, not quite sure why their annoyance had turned against him now. “I’m not really real security. I was just here to keep an eye on… things.”

“So you're with Tsukumo?” Haruka asked, and Riku's eyes widened before looking at the floor. “I guess”, he said, even though Haruka was exactly right.

“I can't believe that asshole never told me that Tenn has a twin brother,” Haruka cursed, and Riku looked up.
“So you're also with Tsukumo?”

“I guess,” Haruka repeated Riku's answer and sighed. “I don't know anymore.”

Maybe his situation was similar to Riku's.

Tenn started rubbing his head.
“I can't believe that both of you are with Tsukumo. Why would you even side with him? Riku? Haru?”

Riku sighed. What did it matter now?

“Since you left he's been helping our parents with the club. And I figured since he has so many connections, he could keep an eye on you. And we'd maybe meet again someday.”

Tenn looked speechless, but Haruka huffed and crossed his arms.
“Sounds familiar. Everyone thinks you're worth chasing after.”

Tenn frowned at Haruka now. “I don't know what you mean.”

The look of disgust on Haruka's face was hard to miss.
“Oh, you know exactly what I mean. Funny how Tsukumo helped me to get away from you two and then Torao shows up and forces me to talk to you and now this happens.”

Riku had kept quiet to listen to this but raised his hand as if he were in school. “Sorry, but who's that other person you keep mentioning?” he asked, and the question made Tenn sigh. But he didn't sound annoyed but more exhausted.

“Our father. Kujo Takamasa. Haruka and I grew up together as brothers in the same house after I left.”

“House? More like prison,” Haruka huffed, but Riku had finally understood what was going on. It made more sense now.

“So you have two brothers now? I thought I was the only one.”

“Well, I left, so I'm not exactly his brother anymore,” Haruka said and Tenn sighed again.
“I never wanted it to be like this. And of course you're still my brother, Haruka. Just like Riku is. Well. Almost. I guess we all have different names now.”

Haruka kept quiet for a long moment. “Well, life doesn't care about what you want. And now we're here.”

Riku smiled. “So I guess this is a family reunion now.”

Tenn also smiled weakly. “We're a mess.”

Haruka nodded. “We are. But it's a start.”

Chapter Text

Torao had been anxiously waiting for something to happen during the summit. But the first hour had been quiet and extremely boring.

Many important people were speaking and introducing themselves. Not everyone spoke English well enough, so often Torao had to listen to people talk in languages he didn’t understand before an interpreter repeated it in English.
Presentations were shown about future plans and ideas and a whole lot of numbers that surely didn’t make sense to anyone else except the person talking and maybe their interpreter.

Suddenly, the man was interrupted when the microphones crackled with static and fell eerily silent. A moment later, a rustling noise filled the hall, together with some heavy breathing that did not come from the man holding the microphone.
Then a yell made the audience gasp, and the harsh sound of a man shouting came from the speakers, but it was hard to make out more than just a few words.

Torao didn't really recognize the voice, since he had never heard Harada talk in anything but a pleasant voice before - and not even that more than twice.
But since he knew what Tsukumo was trying to do, he knew therefore that it was in fact Harada. Maybe some video recordings of him? He had no idea where Tsukumo even got the material from.
The audience sat stunned, and confusion spread amongst the guests, a hum of frantic conversations nearly drowning out the sound of Harada’s yells.

Torao turned his head to look at Minami to see how he was doing, and when he spotted him, his heart clenched in sympathy.
Minami looked like he was frozen on the spot. His eyes were wide open, and he looked visibly anxious and even paler than usual.
It reminded him of how Minami had looked the first time in his apartment.

Momo next to Minami was talking to him, having noticed as well, but it didn't seem like Minami was really listening to him.
Torao wondered if the sound of Harada yelling had triggered some bad memories in Minami.
But Minami didn’t seem to be completely spaced out.
Torao saw him take deep breaths to calm himself, and suddenly Torao couldn't take it anymore.

He got up from his chair, ignoring his mother’s questioning look, and squeezed past the people sitting next to him to reach Minami.
The yelling had been turned down again, but static still filled the room, and several people were rushing around, so no one paid that much attention to him.

When he finally reached him, he bent down to Minami to have a better look at him.

“Hey, it's alright," he said, unsure if he should really touch him now or not, never having been good at comforting people, but decided to try.
Slowly he touched Minami's hand, and when Minami didn't react badly, not at all actually, he took it and began to gently stroke over his skin.

“He won't hurt you again,” Torao softly said and finally felt Minami's hand relax.
His thumb slipped out from under Torao's hand and moved it over Torao’s skin. As if trying to reassure Torao.

“I know," Minami said then and looked at Torao. He still looked pale, but he seemed to be feeling a little better than before.
“Sorry, I'm just… I'm fine. Go back to your seat, we'll talk later, yeah?”

Torao wasn't so sure if that was a good decision, and he wanted to be with Minami, but since the audio had returned to normal and the people next to Minami were looking at him curiously, he agreed.

His mother pretended like nothing had happened when he returned, but he saw her take another glance in Minami's direction. He was sure she had already figured out that something was going on with him and Minami, but she chose not to say anything.
This wasn’t the right timing for it.

But just a few minutes later, the summit logo on the projector wavered, flickered and disappeared before it was replaced by something else.
The image of a man was visible for just a split second before everything went black, clouding the hall in absolute darkness.

A collective gasp rippled through the audience, followed by some shouts and nervous whispers.
Torao tried to reach for his phone to use the flashlight, but then the lights blinked back on. The darkness had only lasted two or three seconds, but it was enough to unsettle the room again.

Torao saw his father ordering his staff around, and he wondered just what was going on down there. Tamaki and Iori were there, and he knew that they must have caused the disturbance before the projector could have been misused to show something bad.

“Just what is going on?” Torao's mother asked no one in particular and got up. Possibly to inquire about that. She seemed agitated, and Torao felt the same way, even though he had known that something like this could happen.

Then Nagi stood up, clapped his hands and cleared his throat loudly until the audience quieted down. Torao was surprised that people actually stopped talking and looked at him.

“Good evening, distinguished guests. It seems like we are experiencing technical difficulties, but I'm confident everything is under control now and will soon be resolved,” Nagi said in English.

“In the meantime, I'd like to seize this opportunity to introduce my elder brother, His Majesty King Seth Ranvalt von Northmarea. He has always been a strong advocate for environmental collaboration and progress, not just in the Kingdom of Northmarea, but in Northern Europe in general.”

Nagi gestured to his brother next to him, looking pale but continuing to smile and nodding to some people.

“Your Majesty, if you would grace us with your thoughts on this topic?” Nagi asked, and Seth nodded, though Torao saw how the man took a few deep, calming breaths.

“I will translate His Majesty's words into English for everyone to understand,” Nagi stated, taking a step back to give his brother more room.

Seth stood up too, standing tall and straight, opened his mouth and began speaking in what Torao assumed was Northmarean.

Torao had no understanding of what Seth was saying. He only heard him say his own name and some words that sounded similar to English, like energy, nature and nationality, but Seth was talking very quickly and almost without stopping to take a breath.

Only after a few minutes he stopped, probably to breathe, Torao guessed, and to give Nagi time to translate. Seth’s face also looked flushed, as if he were embarrassed or uncomfortable.

But Nagi looked relaxed as always as he stepped forward to repeat the words in English for the rest of the room to understand.

“I, Seto Ranvalt von Northmarea, would like to express my gratitude for the efforts of all nationalities that are represented here tonight. Our combined efforts are vital in addressing environmental challenges and preserving our planet for future generations.

It is essential to preserve natural habitats, our forests, oceans and wetlands to ensure the biodiversity of our ecosystem and the well-being of humanity as a whole. By working together, we can ensure their protection and preservation.

In Northmarea, we've taken steps to reduce single-use plastics by providing biodegradable alternatives, and within the first year our burnable trash has been reduced by over 15%.
It may seem like a small step, but it shows that every little bit helps.
I firmly believe that building partnerships that prioritize conservation, eco-friendly practices and the use of renewable energies will lead us all to a healthier and better future.
By sharing knowledge and resources, we can achieve our goals and help our Earth to recover.
Let us see this summit as a crucial step towards ensuring a better future for generations to come, and ignore the technical difficulties as we continue to work together on our goal.”

Torao was genuinely impressed.

Nagi had always seemed cool, but there was a big difference between being casual in a private setting and being casual in front of hundreds of people and translating what someone else said. He seemed like a completely different person from the one he knew.
But this wasn't Yamato’s boyfriend.

This was the second prince of Northmarea.

Nagi's diversion seemed to have worked because after Seth's speech, the summit continued as before. Just without any electronics other than the lights, which caused some awkward moments, but they were trying to work through it.

Torao looked in Minami's direction and was surprised to see tears in his eyes.
But only when he was about to get up did he see that Minami was laughing. So hard that he almost cried.

What on earth was up with him?

Yuki and Momo had leaned in close to Minami, confusion but also amusement visible on their faces.

Torao needed to ask later what was going on because, in his opinion, there was nothing funny going on here.

Torao did care about the environment, but this summit was extremely dull.
Being a politician wasn't something he was ever interested in, and now even less. He almost regretted asking his father to let him watch.

Would his mother mind if he made up some excuse to go?
Maybe he could check out what happened with Iori and Tamaki, or just go to the others waiting in the suite upstairs.
But Tora didn't want to leave without Minami, so he continued to wait and tried to listen.

He must have dozed off for a bit though when his mother shook his shoulder.

“Your friend just left”, she said lightly, sounding almost indifferent, but Torao knew his mother.
She wouldn't have brought it to his attention if she thought it wasn't something important.

And when Torao looked towards Minami's seat, he was actually gone, even though Momo and Yuki were still there.
Why Minami would have left them, Torao had no idea.

“Uh, I'll check what's going on with him,” he told his mother and quickly went over to Re:vale again, ignoring the grumbling of the other guests. They should be glad for his distraction, he thought.
“Why did Minami leave?” Torao asked straight after he reached them, and Momo pointed to his earpiece. Right, he was connected with some of the people.

“Tamaki said Tsukumo is outside with Haruka. I think Minami wants to talk to Tsukumo.”

“Wait, Haruka is with Tsukumo?”

That had to mean that he was the spy, right?

Minami's own roommate. His friend.
Had Minami known? He must have.
Torao remembered that Minami had said that he knew who it was, but somehow Torao had always thought it was Touma since Minami seemed less close with him.

But why would Haruka even help Tsukumo?

“I'm going after him”, he decided, and hurried out of the room.
They were seated quite far from the entrance, and it took him a while to walk around the room to the main hall and then outside.

Outside were several people, but Torao was only looking for Minami's blonde hair and finally discovered him standing next to Tsukumo further away from the main entrance.

His jaw clenched, and he hurried down to the two men. Only in passing, Torao recognized Haruka’s green hair closer to the entrance, but he didn’t pay any particular attention to it. His eyes were on Tsukumo, who had also seen him approach.

When he came closer, Tsukumo's eyes narrowed.

“Look who's finally here. Did you come here to save Minami?”
Tsukumo's voice dripped with sarcasm, and Torao’s eyebrows rose at the tone. He really wasn't used to being talked to like this.

“I want to support him and find out what's going on”, Torao said, putting his arm around Minami's waist and stroking his side in what he hoped was a soothing touch.
Although Minami had laughed so much just half an hour ago he seemed tense under Torao’s fingers now.

“I was just asking him to stop," Minami explained but kept looking at Tsukumo, though Torao felt him relax against him a bit.
“I know you're doing this to help me, but really. It needs to stop. This just isn't the right way.”

It seemed like they weren’t going to stop their conversation just because Torao was here now.
Tsukumo's voice chilled even more after Minami had spoken.

“And what is the right way, Minami? Letting Harada continue without any consequences? I know what he did to you. I know what he did to even more people. He's not going to stop, and you know that just as well as I do. This is the right way. Justice for his victims.”

Torao felt Minami take a deep breath, then he shook his head.

“It's not,” Minami said in a soft but firm voice. “This is just revenge, not justice. And you'll pay a price for it, just like he will, I promise. Torao, his family, and all these people here have nothing to do with it, so just leave them out of it.”

Minami had warned Torao multiple times about how dangerous Tsukumo was that Torao had expected him to freak out now.
But despite saying how dangerous he was, Minami didn't flinch when Tsukumo raised his voice.
Minami apparently wasn't scared of Tsukumo directly. That was interesting.
Torao had wondered how their relationship had looked like, not that he was ever going to ask. Or at least not yet.

“You have no idea what I saw,” Tsukumo said loudly. “People like Harada need to be stopped. And if I have to be the bad guy to put a stop to it, then so be it!”

Torao had already wondered if Tsukumo saw himself as a villain or not, but it seemed like he was, at least to some point, aware of himself.

Minami’s voice dropped instead of raising it and moved even closer to Tsukumo.
Uncomfortably close, in Torao's opinion, especially after Minami had shaken off his arm.

Torao had never been the jealous type, but when it came to Minami he definitely was. Though maybe it was more like he felt protective. Especially when it was the bad guy he was close with.

“I know you saved me back then. You were there for me and protected me when I had no one else to turn to. And I'll always be grateful for what you did. You're not a bad guy, not at all. But this here… this isn't for me. You're doing this for yourself. You're using Harada to get back at people. But he's my problem and not yours.”

Tsukumo had frozen in place while Minami had spoken and now that he finished, Torao thought that this was the right time to interrupt this conversation before something nasty happened.

“Minami's right,” he said, having heard a little about Tsukumo but more guessing at the moment.
“You're helping no one if you keep this up. And you're not even fighting your own demons, either. This will just hurt a lot of people for no reason.”

Tsukumo's eyes flashed in anger, and they were suddenly directed at Torao. But Torao wasn’t afraid of him, even though Minami had always told him to be. He just calmly held his gaze.

“And what do you think I should do? Just watch him get away with it? He'll do it all over again, and I can't save all of his victims.”

“No.” Minami's voice was strong and he raised his chin. “But we're doing this the right way. We’ll get him arrested, and he'll pay for what he did.”

“So what? You're finally saying you'll go to the police?”
Minami only nodded in answer and Tsukumo frowned but seemed calmer already.

“Ryou, please. You'll have to let go. I thank you for your help, I really do. But leave him to me. I don't want you to turn into someone you're not.”

There was a pleading in Minami's tone that Torao didn't know. And he felt a pang in his heart when he saw the look those two exchanged, and Minami stepped away from him to hug Tsukumo instead.
There was so much familiarity in their touch, and it reminded Torao again just how fresh their relationship was.

“I just wanted to help,” he heard Tsukumo say.
And suddenly Torao didn't see the bad guy anymore either. Tsukumo was just a man. Someone that didn't know what to do with himself.
He almost felt sorry for him.

“I know,” Minami whispered, but loud enough for Torao to hear. “But now you can help by telling your men to stop. Thank you Ryou.”

Minami reached out and gave Tsukumo a kiss on the cheek before letting go of him and returning to Torao's side.
“We'll talk soon, yeah?”

They watched Tsukumo take his phone out of his pocket and his fingers lingered over it for a long moment. Torao held his breath until Tsukumo pressed the call button.
“Stand down,” he muttered into it and then walked away without another glance at them.
Minami let out a deep sigh and suddenly leaned heavily against Torao.

“That was stressful,” he muttered against Torao's shoulder, and Torao stroked his arm.

“Yeah. But you handled it well. And he actually listened to you.”

Minami nodded, shaking a little.
“I knew he would. Eventually at least. Now I'm just glad the summit wasn't interrupted too much. Tamaki caused a short circuit just in time to avoid the worst of it.”

Torao knew that Momo had been connected with Tamaki and Sogo and Minami knew what had been going on by sitting next to him. But Torao was going to need a thorough explanation.

“I see… But wait, why were you laughing so much? Was Nagi's speech so funny to you?”

Minami chuckled. “Oh, no, no. Not at all Nagi's speech. That was impressive, really. But the funny part was…”
Minami started laughing again but tried to keep himself under control enough to answer.
His face was flushed red from the effort of holding it back.

“What was?” Torao asked, grinning a little because Minami's laughter was contagious and he needed some stress relief himself.

“Seth was. You don't understand, he didn't say anything even remotely close to what Nagi said.”
Minami giggled again, and Torao wasn’t sure if he had ever heard him giggle before. It sounded really cute.
“I know Seth is a good king and all that, and he's good for the country. But as a public speaker, he's an absolute disaster.”

Torao started to wonder if it wasn't actually his nerves that made Minami laugh so much now. Seth's speech couldn't have been that hilarious, could it?

“He talked about turtles eating plastic straws. But then corrected himself and said that we're the ones eating straws… and then talked about how we should use renewable energy because he likes windmills, and they're so pretty. I swear I'm not making this up,” Minami managed to gasp out between rounds of quiet laughter. A tear even rolled down his cheek, and Torao wiped it away with his thumb.

If that was what had actually happened, it was understandable that Minami had laughed back then.
“But it's so hard to believe”, he repeated and Minami nodded, barely able to speak but calming down again.

“Nagi turned this whole mess into something inspirational while Seth is standing there, rambling about turtles and windmills.”

Torao was also chuckling by now. He just couldn’t help it. Maybe he was also a bit hysterical now that it was over.
“And no one else noticed? It's almost a shame there were no cameras.”

Minami nodded. “Everyone else probably thinks Seth's a genius now, but it was actually Nagi saving their reputation by making up a different speech. It felt more like a weird dream to me.”
Minami hiccuped and wiped at his eyes. “Sorry, I don’t even know why I can’t stop laughing. It was funny but…,” he giggled again and Torao hugged him close.

“I think it might be the pent up emotions,” he quietly said and Minami nodded against his shoulder, taking a deep breath to ground himself. “Probably.”

Minami's arms wrapped around him and Torao could still feel him giggle every once in a while.
They stood there a while, holding each other, until Minami was finally done laughing though his face was still red.

Then he kissed Torao.
“Thank you for your support. I’m not sure if I could have talked to Ryou without you,” Minami said after he had separated from Torao again and Torao looked at him.

“Of course you could have. But I’m glad that I was able to help.”
He stroked over Minami’s cheek one more time before he took his hand to return to the hotel.

But as they turned around, they saw Tenn and Haruka and on the bench next to them was Riku.

Torao frowned, remembering that Momo said Haruka had been with Tsukumo. And something about Riku having asthma.

“Maybe we should see what's going on,” he suggested but heard another voice calling Minami's name.

When he turned around, he saw Touma running towards them.

“Are you okay?” Touma gasped, out of breath, and Minami nodded.
“It's over. But why are you here?”
There was something in his expression. Not quite suspicion, but Minami was clearly surprised to see Touma here.

“Because Haru also left. And I'm surely not going to be the only one left out. I would have been here much sooner, but Haru took my fucking car,” Touma said irritatedly and thrust a bag into Minami's hands.
“And this is what I've been working on in the past few weeks.”
He sounded somewhat proud, but after Torao and Minami exchanged a glance, it was obvious that neither of them had an idea what it was.

Touma rolled his eyes at them.

“The evidence, obviously. Any information I could find out about Harada. And his victims. The ones that are willing to speak in court and those that have documented their, uh… experiences.”

Minami simply stared at him.
“I never told you that I was going to go to the police.”

Touma shook his head. “You didn't have to. I just… figured you’d talk him down if you had more evidence… wait, where even is Tsukumo?”

“He already left. But still, thank you very much, Inumaru-san.”
Minami smiled at his roommate, and Torao was reminded again that Minami actually saw him as a friend.

And that Minami said he had slept with Touma before.

But not since he and Torao had started dating. Or became boyfriends. They never even had a real date. Or counted the picnic in the park as one?

“I think it's time we check out what Isumi-san and the others are talking about,” Minami suggested, and both Torao and Touma followed his gaze.

“Is that Tenn with him?” Touma asked and without waiting for a reply started jogging in their direction.
Minami and Torao followed him but didn't run.

But it seemed like the situation had resolved itself before they or even Touma had arrived, and the three men just stood there in silence, only interrupted by the occasional whistling sound of Riku's chest.

“Nanase-san,” Minami greeted Riku, but his tone was less friendly than it had been all evening. Torao remembered Minami mentioning that he didn't like Riku, though he didn't quite know why.

“Kujo-san. And Isumi-san.”
His gaze rested on his roommate and friend, and Torao noticed Haruka looking at the ground. He seemed somewhat uneasy, which was understandable.

“Haru what's happening here?” Touma asked, and Haruka's lip began to tremble at the sharp tone.

“Turns out, Tenn's two brothers have been with Tsukumo,” Riku said weakly, but it seemed like all attention was on Haruka now, who seemed to be pretty close to tears now.

“Were you really with Tsukumo? And you spied on Mina all this time? How could you do that to him?”
Touma looked actually furious, and Haruka bit his lip.
“Please, Inumaru-san,” Minami tried to calm Touma down. “I knew and chose not to say anything, so don't be angry with him.”

Haruka looked up again at Minami. “You knew? Since when?”

Minami smiled, but it looked bitter in Torao's eyes.
“Right from the start. It was too much of a coincidence that you had a room available right when I needed one. And ever since I moved in, Ryou stopped messaging me. Because he had someone else to tell him how I was doing.”

Torao squeezed Minami’s hand to soothe and comfort him.
But Haruka seemed like he was the one needing comfort more at the moment, as his eyes filled with tears.
Torao would have hugged him if their relationship had been any closer. He couldn’t bring himself to be angry at the younger man, not when Minami had known all along. But he also remembered the hurt on Minami’s face when the topic of the spy came on. He hoped they could work it out now that this was over.

Tenn and Riku, standing a bit behind Haruka, were watching and listening to the conversation quietly.
But then Tenn stepped forward and put a hand on Haruka's shoulder.

Haruka tensed at the touch, and Torao expected Haruka to shake it off.

But then Haruka relaxed, allowing the small gesture of comfort from his brother. Were they still brothers? Torao wasn't completely sure anymore.

“Tell them Haruka,” Tenn said, voice soft. “What you told us and why you did it. They're your friends and should understand.”

Haruka sniffled and nodded, though he shifted uncomfortably.

“I didn't want to hurt anyone. At first, I just needed a way out. Kujo had offered me and Grandma money to stay away, but when she got worse the money was gone so fast. And she didn't get better. I didn't know what to do.”

It was clear to everyone that he was struggling, and Torao thought even Tenn had a pained facial expression as he listened.

“And then Ryou offered to help me. He sent money and doctors and people to help her while I was busy with school. Not that I even knew how to take care of her.”

“Is that why you decided to become an EMT?” Torao asked without thinking, and Haruka nodded absentmindedly.

“With Ryou's help I could finally breathe again. And when Grandma couldn’t live in our house any more he found her a new home with people to take care of her. A nice place with many flowers. She loves flowers... He even visits her more than I do.”

Haruka looked up, desperation in his eyes.
“Ryou was never a bad guy to me. He did so much for me. And when he asked me to keep an eye on another student with a bad past, I didn't think much of it. It was Ryou’s idea to ask Minami to move in with me. He knew I didn't like being alone either.”

Haruka wiped at his eyes.
“I thought I was helping Minami, especially after hearing about what Harada did. And it's not like I made daily reports. I just told Ryou that Minami was doing good every once in a while.”

His eyes landed on Torao's face for a short moment before returning to the ground.
“And then, that he started seeing someone new.”

“And I was the one keeping an eye on Torao anyway,” Riku called out from his spot on the bench, and his cheeks turned pink when they all turned to look at him.

“Ever since Ryou found out that Harada worked for the Mido Hotel Chain and that Torao shares a class with Minami he asked me to keep an eye on him,” Riku explained with a shrug.

“And as Haru said, keeping an eye on someone isn't immediately something terrible, and I didn't think much about it.”

“Until you saw me leave Torao's apartment that one day”, Minami coldly said, and Riku winced. “Ryou warned me that this might happen… So I thought he should know.”

“So Tsukumo just wanted to protect Minami?” Touma asked, and Haruka and Riku nodded.
“In a very dramatic way. I'm just glad he was reasonable in the end,” Minami explained.

Torao was grateful as well.

Even without that kind of drama, the Mido Hotel might face some bad publicity about the technical problems. And they would again once the case with Harada went to court, and it turned out that he had also abused hotel staff.

He took a deep breath and leaned against Minami's shoulder.

“What I don't understand is why Haru didn't just tell us,” Touma said in the awkward silence, and Haruka grimaced at him.

“I was scared. Of losing, you. And when I found out about Minami's plan, I thought I should stay with Ryou to figure out what he was planning. To help you guys. Not that he told me anything. He must have figured out that I wasn't completely loyal to him before even I knew. Touma, Minami… I'm so sorry.”

Haruka wrapped his arms around Minami and sobbed.
"Please don't hate me. We're friends, right?”

Torao had let go of Minami to give them space and saw how Minami stroked Haruka's dyed hair. He knew Minami had forgiven him, even if it were understandable if he had held some resentment for a while. But Torao figured Minami could sympathize with feeling trapped with no one else to turn to.
“I don't hate you. I never have. Thank you for looking out for me.”

With his other hand he motioned Touma towards them and Touma moved closer before being pulled into the hug by Minami.
“Touma, I'm sorry,” Haruka repeated and looked up at his boyfriend, who sighed.
“Well, if Minami forgives you, I do too. Of course I do”

He pulled Haruka in his arms and kissed the top of his head.
“Just trust us in the future, yeah? You're not alone anymore.”

Haruka nodded and snuggled closer into his boyfriend's chest, and Minami went back to Torao's side to lean against him.

“Soo…,” Tenn said slowly. “I'll assume these two are dating?”
He nodded into the direction of Touma and Haruka and hummed when he got a nod from Minami. “I see,” he sighed and Torao wondered what that was for. Because they hadn’t told him earlier?
“But I think we should return to the suite. The others surely want to know what's happened. I just don't know if Riku needs more help.”

At those words, Haruka let go of Touma to look Riku over carefully.
“How are you feeling?” he asked after examining him, and Riku cracked a smile.
“Tired but good. I'm fine now.”

Haruka nodded. “Then we should get you somewhere comfortable to sit. And we can open a window for some fresh air if we need it.”

“There's a balcony too if he needs it”, Torao added, and Haruka nodded.

“Perfect. Then let's go.”

Chapter Text

The whole group, consisting of him and Torao, Touma, Haruka, Tenn and Riku, walked back into the hotel. Torao didn’t hold Minami’s hand anymore, but he walked closely beside him, and Minami was grateful to have him there to ground him.

The group of them had to squeeze into the elevator that didn’t seem as grand with that many people in it and rode up to the 7th floor in complete silence, only disturbed by the quiet elevator music and the soft whistles of Riku’s breathing.
Minami trusted Haruka’s judgment that he would be fine, so he didn’t worry too much. Tenn seemed to think differently, though, if Minami read his frown correctly.

Sogo also had booked a room on the 7th floor, the expensive one as Torao had told him earlier, only two doors down from Yamato’s room, but he and Trigger had decided to wait together with Mitsuki and Yamato, just in case they were needed.
And knowing Ryuu and Gaku, Minami supposed it wouldn’t be easy for either of them to wait alone.

It had been hard enough to convince Ryuu to stay in the room and not to come help them downstairs.
But Ryuu and Ryou together just weren't a good combination.
As peaceful and gentle Ryuu usually was, he didn't think clearly when it came to his siblings and Ryou in turn, reacted badly to anyone loud or forceful. Especially after Ryuu had punched him once before.

Minami was sure that Ryou had only left Trigger alone because he and Riku had asked him to. Logically, Minami knew that he should bury his dislike for Riku by now, but after hearing him confirm that he had been stalking Torao for quite some time just didn’t sit quite right with him.

Minami felt protective over Torao, had, in fact, since he had agreed to be tied up for the first time and had let go so completely, showing Minami he trusted him.
He grabbed Torao’s hand and lightly squeezed it, only to feel Torao squeeze back.
Minami felt warmth in his chest at the touch.

That had to be love. He just knew it.

Finally, they left the elevator and walked along the hall to the suite. Tenn knew the way, having waited in there for most of the evening until he had heard that Haruka was there.
After he knocked, the door was flung open by Gaku just a moment later and Ryuu stood right behind him, looking worried.

“Is everything alright?” Ryuu asked, golden eyes finding Minami, and he could visibly watch Ryuu relax when he saw him unharmed.
“Yeah, fine. Just let us in,” Tenn answered and lightly shoved them aside to help Riku into the room to find him a seat.

After Gaku closed the door, Ryuu hugged Minami, paused and then hugged Torao too. Then Touma and Haruka. Gaku also hugged Torao, then Minami and stroked his back.
Even if he usually didn’t like being touched by others, Minami didn’t mind. Ryuu and Gaku were safe. Torao too, of course.
Also, Ryou.
And Haruka and Touma.

Minami frowned for a moment.
When had he started to feel alright with being touched by so many people? Only two years ago, he would have bolted.

The other men he didn’t know yet introduced themselves but didn’t try to hug, although Minami watched Torao being bear hugged by the much smaller man that turned out to be Mitsuki.

“So, what happened?” Ryuu asked after they had all greeted each other and motioned for the newcomers to find a seat at the rather big sitting area.
They all fit there comfortably now, but Re:vale, Tamaki and Iori weren’t there yet. When they arrived, it would certainly be a tight squeeze.
But seeing how Haruka already sat on Touma's lap, Minami figured that they would find a way to make it work.

Momo surely wouldn't mind if Yuki sat on his lap, and Minami also knew that Torao would actually like it if he sat on his lap too instead of sitting next to him.

He smiled to himself.

Torao just was adorable.
Minami was so glad that he had given him another chance after that one afternoon.
And also that Torao hadn’t given up on Minami either even when it became clear that it could harm his family’s name.

Minami snuggled closer to him and felt Torao’s arm around him just a moment later.
He had missed his touch all evening, watching the summit with Momo and Yuki. They had been so kind to him all evening, starting with dressing him up in an expensive suit and talking to him when Harada’s voice had scared him.

Minami hadn’t really known Yuki until the day of the concert, but he liked the other man, despite his strange humour. And he also liked Momo. He was incredibly thankful for their willingness to help protect Trigger and getting involved in this mess. They were good people.

Then Minami’s eyes found Gaku, sitting across from him, and when Gaku noticed he smiled at him.
Minami had liked being with Gaku. He had liked him a lot too, but back then Minami hadn’t quite been over his breakup with Ryou, and Gaku had also been so busy shortly before Trigger's debut.

They had separated as friends after only a few months, and Minami was incredibly glad that they still were. Even if they hadn’t been in contact at all for the past two years.
Gaku hadn't been too angry with Minami for not telling him about Ryuu and although Minami honestly hadn't expected him to be, it still showed how kind he was.
Gaku was almost too much of a good guy. Someone Minami knew he could trust fully.

But looking around, he realized he trusted a lot of the people in the room.
They all had been there for them and Minami's eyes watered with emotion but blinked the tears away.

He hadn’t been in direct contact with some of them and had actually met Yamato, Mitsuki and Sogo at the door only a few minutes before, but he knew that they were Torao’s friends. He couldn’t have been more thankful that Torao had people he could turn to and trust. Minami had known how being isolated and alone felt like and didn’t wish that on anyone.

He spaced out a little while Torao gave a brief explanation of what happened down there, how the summit reacted and what happened outside. Then Riku talked about what had happened behind the scenes in a scratchy voice, and Tenn hurried to organize him something to drink to help with the dry throat.

Mitsuki’s eyes had widened at the mention of his brother being tied up, but Sogo interrupted quickly before he could get worked up too much.

“He wasn’t even tied up for five minutes! After Tamaki caused the short circuit, they quickly freed him to help with the technical stuff. Apparently the other Tsukumo guy didn't really know what to do without him. And a few minutes later Tsukumo gave the signal to stop anyway.”

Mitsuki nodded, but he still looked worried, and Minami sympathized. He shuddered at the thought of being tied, even though he had tied up people multiple times before. But he had always given them a way out. And they had enjoyed it just as much as he had.
His gaze quickly went to Gaku before he looked back at Mitsuki.

“And where are they now? Tamaki and Iori?”

Sogo shrugged.
“They’re still working, but they'll be here soon. Re:vale too. They’re stuck networking, I understand. Something about being the face of a new event thing?”
Minami had asked them Re:vale about that when they prepared for tonight, and Momo had explained to him that he and Yuki were the ambassadors for sustainability in the entertainment industry.

He had never really spared a thought about how that sector could impact the environment. It seemed so distant, having grown up with huge billboards, and screens all around, but after they had explained it seemed obvious to him.
All the cameras, lights and effects on stage, not to mention merch and food being served at concerts all generated a lot of waste.

Re:vale were collaborating with a few rather unknown brands to reduce the amount of plastic by switching to reusable cups and producing merch from recycled materials. Also, something about different types of lighting, but Minami hadn’t paid that much attention to that detail.

“And Harada? What about him?” Ryuu asked, and Minami blinked back to the present. He had kind of forgotten about him, which was strange. Until a few weeks ago, Harada had been lurking in Minami's head constantly.

No one answered though and Minami swallowed.
“I'll go to the police tomorrow. They can try to find him.”

Sogo made a noise and Minami looked over at him.
“Uh, Momo just said he's been fired this evening. Apparently he caused a scene after his audio was played in the summit and was removed from the premises.

“And he was the one that pushed me,” Riku said from his spot in the only armchair. He was wrapped in a blanket and the window next to him open to help him breathe easier.

Minami frowned at hearing it.
“Maybe it's good that more people witnessed his nasty side. Though I am sorry that you got hurt, Nanase-san.”
But Riku just shrugged.“ I’m already better.”

“You tell me when you get worse again, yeah?” Haruka said again, and Riku grimaced.
“I appreciate it. But you don't need to hover. I'm fine.”

Haruka grinned. “Hovering is literally my job. But fine. It's not like I wanna get up anyway.”

Minami laughed as Haruka leaned against Touma’s chest again and closed his eyes, apparently enjoying himself. And Touma had that soft look in his eyes again that Minami only ever saw when Haruka was with him.
Touma had been able to forgive Haruka and Minami was happy about that.

“We can all agree that tonight was a lot,” Gaku said into the silence, and Torao snorted.
“That's putting it mildly.”
“But it's over now”, Minami spoke up, putting his hand on Torao's leg.
Despite his words, it wasn't over completely. Not for him. He'd have to face his abuser sooner or later, at court definitely, and Minami also had the urge to check in on Ryou, see if he was alright. He hadn't told Torao about Ryou's past, because it didn't change anything about their situation and it wasn't his place to share. But something must have happened recently that made Ryou act the way he did, impulsively and Minami worried. Maybe Momo knew something, he'd have to ask later. “And we succeeded, so that's all that matters now. I think we should all go to bed after we had time to talk to the others,” he continued.
He was tired and only wanted to cuddle with Torao.

Minami had expected at least some noises of agreement, but no one made any sound -apart from Riku lightly coughing, and he narrowed his eyes. That was strange.

“Should we not talk to them?” he asked, and only now did the men in the room react with head shaking and muttering quick “No’s".

But before Minami could wonder about it too much a knock sounded on the door and again Gaku jumped up to open it.
“Hey, come in,” he told whoever was outside, and another group of people poured into the room.

Minami recognized Nagi and his brother Seth, but not the other two men.
Short introductions were made and then began the struggle for finding a place for everyone.

“Come-on, we need more space,” Tamaki complained as he realized that he'd have to sit on the floor. “I've been working all evening and just wanna sit down.”
“And me too,” Iori agreed, looking tired but nothing worse. Not at all like Minami expected someone to look after they had been tied up by some villains.

Torao pulled Minami on his lap and Gaku squeezed next to them to make room.
In the meantime, Yamato and Mitsuki had gotten up to greet the others.

“Are you okay? Sogo said that they tied you up,” Mitsuki asked worriedly, examining Iori before pulling him into his arms and ruffling his hair. Which looked funny to Minami as Mitsuki was shorter than his brother.
But Iori freed himself and found a spot on the couch next to Tamaki and Sogo who were softly talking to each other.

Mitsuki and Yamato now turned to Nagi and looked unsure about what to do.
Minami didn't know them well, but to him, it looked like they were intimidated by Seth behind Nagi. Apparently they had never met before, and Seth looked just as tense.

But Nagi wasn't intimidated, and Minami thought that maybe he was actually completely fearless.
He always looked relaxed, no matter under what circumstances he saw him.

Nagi wrapped his arms around both of them and deeply kissed first Yamato and then Mitsuki to a point where even Minami thought that maybe he was witnessing something he shouldn’t. Nagi’s boyfriends were definitely blushing.

“I'd like to introduce my brother,” he said to them after he was done, but also addressed the other people in the room.
“This is Seth. Seth, this is my boyfriend Yamato, and this is my boyfriend Mitsuki.”

Nagi repeated his words a second time in Northmarean and Minami was reminded again of his ‘translation’ earlier this evening, and he coughed to hide his laughter, which caused Torao to pet his shoulder.
Seth greeted both of them in Japanese, although he seemed not quite fluent. But with Nagi there to translate, the four of them would be fine.

Momo and Yuki had also found a seat on the couch - by making Sogo sit on Tamaki's lap and sending Tenn to sit on Rikus' armrest, not that he seemed to mind too much.

When Minami caught Momo's eyes, the other man gave him a thumbs up signal. But Minami knew that they'd talk soon.
But not tonight. They all needed some time to calm down.

Nagi and his boyfriends settled back on the couch while Seth sat on a chair, and eventually a quiet atmosphere settled over the room.
Well, almost.

Minami wasn't quite sure what it was, but to him, it felt like something was still going on. They weren't getting sleepy enough as would be expected at that time. And no one had talked about leaving yet.
A tense atmosphere was filling the room and it unsettled him.

Torao had already told him that they could stay in the hotel tonight, even though it would just be a normal room and not a fancy suite, since those had been booked by international guests.

Minami couldn’t wait. He was tired after that emotional rollercoaster tonight.
Maybe he could lure Torao to their room now if he started grinding on his lap.
But with so many people in the room - and Gaku right next to them no less, he didn't.

Eventually, he settled against Torao’s chest and listened to the different conversations that were going on at the same time. His eyes began to feel heavy, and he smiled when Torao began to stroke his leg gently. Maybe he should just take a nap on him. He surely wouldn’t mind, right?

Some time later there was another knock at the door and no one moved, they just looked at the door. Everyone was here already, so who could it be?
Maybe the police? Asking for a statement?

No one moved for a second, and Minami guessed that everyone was too tired to get up and open it.
But then Tenn walked over and opened the door.

Minami strained to see who it was, then realized, and his heart started beating fast.
He had completely forgotten what day it was, with all the excitement of today.

Torao pressed a kiss against his neck and lightly slapped Minami’s thigh in order to get him to stand up.

They all watched as room service carried in a big cake with burning candles. They placed it on the coffee table between them.
In delicate letters the words “Happy Birthday Minami” were written on it and Torao hugged him from behind.

“Happy Birthday,” he whispered near Minami's ear and now wide awake again, the warm breath on his skin made him shiver.

The staff also brought a few bottles of champagne and handed champagne glasses to everyone and left afterwards.

“Happy Birthday Minami,” a chaotic call of voices came once the door had closed again. Not at all in unison, but it didn't have to be.

Minami was touched.
“Thank you,” he whispered and looked into all these smiling faces around him.

He usually didn't care much for his birthday, but now it made him feel so warm and loved.
“Thank you so much,” he repeated, wiping his eyes and smiling.

He had no idea who started it, but suddenly they sang Happy Birthday to him, and he swallowed hard.

Then Torao raised his glass.
“To Minami,” he said, and Minami felt himself blush when the other's repeated the words enthusiastically.

He raised his own glass
“Thank you everyone. For being here tonight. It means a lot”

They drank, then Mitsuki started cutting the cake and putting it on plates to hand it out to everyone.
Minami chuckled when he saw Haruka grinning widely. It was no secret that his friend loved all kinds of sweets, and this cake looked absolutely delicious.

“I made that cake, you know,” Mitsuki said when he gave him the first piece and Minami blinked.
Of course, he knew that Mitsuki's family owned a bakery, but still.
“Really? Thank you! But when? We only met tonight.”

“Today. Or more like yesterday now. Honestly, I was glad to be able to do something. And Torao already told me about you. I'm so glad to finally meet you!”

Mitsuki hugged him now, carefully to avoid smearing cake on each other, and Minami smiled, not minding it at all for some reason.
“I'm also glad to meet you. I’ve heard about you too. And thank you for being there for Torao when he needed someone to talk to.”

“Of course! He's my friend too, not just Yamato's.”

Next, Ryuu walked over to him and hugged Minami too.
“Happy Birthday,” he said, stroking his hair and letting go to smile down at him.

“I didn't bring my present here tonight. But it's a flight to Okinawa. Or more like two flights.”
Ryuu glanced in the direction where Minami thought Torao stood.
“If you want to introduce the rest of the family to him.”

Minami smiled at the thought of being in Okinawa with Torao. He wanted to show him a lot of things. And also introduce his family too. And they were his family, even if he wasn’t related by blood to anyone but Ryuu.
“If you guys want a hotel, that's also included in the present, but I think Dad would be delighted if he could host both of you during your time there. And I didn’t know if Torao even likes any hotels other than his family's…”

“It’s perfect. Thank you so much,” Minami choked out, struggling to hold back sudden tears, and after another hug, Ryuu sat back down to give the others a chance to talk to him too.

Torao was the last one that approached him, even though he had been the first one to congratulate him.
“I'll give you my present later,” Torao said after a long kiss. His lips moved to Minami's ear.
“When we're alone in our room.”

Minami shivered again but laughed.
“Let me guess. It's you, isn't it?”

Not a bad present if he was being honest, and he looked forward to it.
Though right now he wasn't sure if he'd have the energy for sex later.
But they could also wait until the morning, he supposed.

Torao just smiled and didn't answer.
Then he put his arms around him.

“I know we haven't been together for long. But I'm glad we made it through this whole mess. I don't think I've ever been so happy before.”

Minami hid his face in Torao’s shoulder.
“Thank you for not giving up on me. And I'm sorry for dragging you into this whole mess.”

Torao stroked his back.
“I would never give you up. So don't worry.”

The laughter and chatter in the suite slowly quieted as the night wore on. The glasses were empty, the cake nearly gone, and people began to leave.

The first one to leave was Nagi's brother. He had probably been uncomfortable meeting so many new people, and he still struggled with Japanese. Minami had talked to him a bit and Seth seemed glad to speak to someone that knew his mother tongue, but Minami felt a bit odd talking to royalty. And Seth probably felt strange too, celebrating the birthday of someone he just met.

Still, he thought Nagi’s brother was a nice person and appreciated him coming here.

The next to leave were Riku and Tenn, and despite Riku's protests that he'd make it home on his own, Tenn insisted that he’d bring him.

But Minami figured it would also give those two some time to talk, which they desperately needed.

Then Iori, Haruka and Touma left. They would drive Iori home and then to Haruka’s house, although the streets were mostly empty at this time, it would still take them a while and Haruka had to work tomorrow.
Minami now understood why both of them had only taken a sip of champagne like the responsible adults they were. They hugged Minami goodbye and agreed on meeting up in the afternoon to give him their presents.

When Nagi and Mitsuki dragged a sleeping, possibly drunk Yamato to the suite’s bedroom, the rest of them also decided that it was time to leave.

“We'll talk soon, yeah?” Momo said to Minami and he smiled. They had exchanged numbers and with so much that had happened between them when Minami was dating Ryou, they'd need some time to figure it out. Yuki seemed too tired to say more than goodbye, but maybe he was drunk. Minami couldn’t really tell.

Sogo and Tamaki followed shortly after Re:vale out of the room, but their room was right next door and the people staying in the hotel had agreed to meet for breakfast later.

The only people left now were Gaku and Ryuu.
They weren’t quite sure yet what to do, and Minami listened to their conversation.

“I’m telling you, my mum’s place is closer,” Gaku said, and Ryuu bit his lip. “My place isn’t too far either,” he replied and Gaku sighed.
“I’m tired. 20 minutes is a big difference right now.”
Minami had to agree, but he didn’t say anything.

“But it’s the middle of the night. Won’t your mum mind?” Ryuu asked and Minami smirked. Gaku’s mother was just as kind as he was. She wouldn’t mind it at all.
“Nah, she’ll be happy to meet you. Even if we wake her.”

“I don’t want my first time meeting your mum to be an unannounced visit in the middle of the night,” Ryuu protested, sounding horrified, and Gaku smirked.

“We’ll have to be quiet then. And you can meet the rest of my family at breakfast.”

Ryuu turned to Minami with a pleading expression on his face.
“I can’t do that, right? That would be rude.”

Minami shrugged. “I don’t think so. I think she’d much rather have you two crash at her place than driving through the whole city while being tired.”

Ryuu sighed, then turned to Gaku.
“Okay then.”

They said their goodbyes and all four men hugged.

Torao watched them leave and grinned.

“You think they’ll let us go on a double date? I like them.”
Minami couldn’t help but laugh.

“You do realize that they are my brother and my ex? Won’t that be weird?”
Torao pulled Minami close and leaned in as if to kiss him but stopped right before their lips touched.

“No. Because you’re with me now.”
Then he kissed Minami and Minami relaxed into his arms.
“Right, if they do end up dating I’ll ask,” Minami agreed after they separated and Torao grinned.

“Let's go,” he then said and taking Minami’s hand, Torao led him to their room.
Their room was on the fourth floor, but it didn’t take long to get there, but by now Minami’s body felt heavy from how tired he was.

When the door finally closed behind them, Minami began undressing without even checking out the room. He wasn't used to wearing a suit all day, and the new dress shoes had begun to feel uncomfortable. It felt like he had some blisters on his foot too, even though he didn’t see anything.

He sighed in relief when he took the shoes off and was about to start unbuttoning his shirt too, when Torao grabbed his hands.

“Hey, wait a second,” he said with a light smile, and Minami looked up.

Torao held a small green velvet box in his hands and held it out to him.
“Happy Birthday Minami.”

Minami blinked, hand hovering over the box in uncertainty before slowly taking it and opening it.

His breath caught when he saw the shiny necklace inside.

A simple but elegant silver chain with a heart charm.

“I just wanted you to remember that you're not alone anymore. And that you're loved. Not just by me, but by many people. But probably by me the most.”
Torao smirked, but it changed into a kind smile a moment later when their eyes met.

“It's beautiful. But you didn't have to buy this. I have no doubts about us.”
And he didn’t. Torao had been ready to get his family in trouble by associating with him, what doubts could he have after that?
But he let Torao put the necklace around his neck while he held his hair from getting tangled in it.

Minami touched the charm with a finger before pulling Torao into a long, soft kiss.
“Thank you. For everything.”

They stayed like this for a few long seconds. Then Torao pulled back.
“Okay, enough sap. Let's go to bed”

Minami rolled his eyes but laughed.

They quickly undressed and Minami climbed under the covers, relieved to finally be able to lie down again.
When Torao had turned out the lights and settled into bed next to him, Minami cuddled close to him, a smile on his lips as Torao wrapped his arms around him.

Minami felt safe.
And he felt loved, even if they hadn’t said I love you to each other yet.
But Minami felt the love in everything Torao did.
It had helped him to get over his fear.

His fear of people.
Of being touched.

Of being loved.

He wasn’t scared anymore.
Torao’s love had given him so much, maybe more than he would ever know.

But Minami swore to himself that he would make him understand.
His fingers played with his new necklace. A simple necklace, but it held so much meaning.

Torao had fallen asleep a while ago, his steady breath and his arms a comforting presence lulling Minami into sleep.
He allowed himself to relax fully against Torao, knowing in his heart that Torao loved him.
And Minami loved him too.

One day, they’d be able to say those words to each other.
Until then, they’d show each other with small gestures and the way they touched and kissed.

They weren’t in a rush.
They had all the time in the world.

Some of my thoughts about this story, my original plans and hc’s that didn’t make it into this story. Since you're here I assume you're ok with mentions of SA but I'm marking them with ! anyways. Also mentions of death (marked with !!)