Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Rikiya sat sprawled in front of Morning Glory's entrance, lightly scowling at the Sun for being so strong. Even though the roof of the Orphanage was pretty effective in shielding his face from the Sun, it didn't do much for his legs which were covered with his social trousers. If he could change from those pants to some shorts, he wouldn't be suffering from the heat like he is now but, unfortunately, he needed to wear those for his “work”. Sure, he wasn't active right now, but he needed to be ready in case Nakahara needed him to do something. He also needed to be all set for patrol down Downtown Ryukyu later once Mikio came back.

“Man, it's really hot…” Rikiya complained to himself, wiping the sweat that gathered over his brows and upper lip. His button-up felt way more constricting than usual, even though the fabric was made to be airier than the regular ones. The viper on his back was slowly getting more and more drenched and Rikiya was beginning to get irritated. Why was today so hot? Of course, he was pretty accustomed to the tropical climate, but this was something else. Rikiya theorized that maybe a heatwave had come over, or something along the lines of that, but he wasn’t completely sure.

Before he could further dwell himself thinking about how awful the heat was, he felt a cool vapor reach his cheek. Flinching lightly from the slight change in temperature, Rikiya turned to look where the cold feeling was coming from and was greeted by Kiryu, the man offering what appeared to be a lemon popsicle to him. Eyeing the item, Rikiya looked up at him, as if asking if he could really take it. Now that he thinks about it, a popsicle would be just the thing to cool him down a bit.

“The weather forecast said today would be hotter than usual, so Haruka decided it would be great to buy some of these for the kids,” He explained. “We bought an extra box so we have more than seconds for everybody to eat.” 

Kiryu was still with his arm extended to him with the popsicle, so Rikiya took that explanation as some sort of permission and nabbed the treat from his hands, slightly too eager. The mainlander formed a small smirk and hummed at the others' reaction, making Rikiya feel slightly embarrassed.

“U-uh… Sorry, Aniki. Thank you very much!” Rikiya said, slightly hushed as he pushed the popsicle against the inside of the top of the packaging, ripping it open. Kiryu sighed as he sat by his side on the small staircase, ripping open the package of his own popsicle, which Rikiya hadn't even seen was in his grip. Apparently, the other’s popsicle was Watermelon flavored. 'Well, that's unfair!' Rikiya thought, glancing over at the other’s treat. Watermelon was one of his favorite flavors which, in his opinion, won against lemon easily, but then again, Kiryu didn't know that. ‘Beggars can’t be choosers’ he thought, even though he wasn’t begging.

“I don't know why you're apologizing but you're welcome.” the ex-yakuza said, not wasting time and sinking his teeth into the popsicle in his hands. Rikiya weighed in his mind if he should bite his own popsicle, but he didn't want to devour the sweet too soon, so he decided to suckle on it instead. Bringing the popsicle to his lips, he felt the brush of the raspy and cold texture over them, making him visibly melt against the feeling. His body basically drooped against the stair-step behind him as he enjoyed the acid, but sweet taste of the lemon dessert. 

After mouthing on it for a while, Rikiya pulled the treat away from his mouth and released a long, content sigh. The icy cold temperature of the popsicle somewhat refreshed him, making a shiver run down his spine because of the small temperature shock between his body's almost fever-like state and the ice. It was delightful.

“I've lived here my entire life. I don't think there has been a day that was hot like this !” Rikiya said. “It must be at least, what, 30 C°?”

“It sure feels like it,” Kiryu responded after swallowing the top bit of his popsicle. “I'm thinking of organizing an afternoon at the beach so the kids can refresh themselves when they get back from school.”

“Sounds awesome! What are you thinking of doing, some volley? Beach baseball? Oh! Maybe Marco-Polo in the water?!” Rikiya suggested excitedly.

“They would like that. Though I think Marco-Polo at the sea would be kind of dangerous.” he reasoned, Rikiya humming in agreement as he thought about it more carefully. They sat there for a little while, brainstorming ideas regarding what they could do for the kids. 

As Rikiya talked to the other, he couldn't help but get lost in him a couple of times. Their talk consisted of nothing but throwing ideas around, however, Kiryu's voice was so deep and calming that it dragged him into a whole other dimension. That voice, along with those sharp, warm eyes? He was sure he was gone. Maybe he had been so for a while now. 

Since the day he got beat by the Kiryu, he started losing himself in him. At first, he regarded his feelings as admiration and respect, but as the months passed by, they started developing into something that was much more than that. He found himself getting lost more and more frequently in the large sea that was that man. 

It was a big and open body of water, clear to the point everything was exposed for him to see and, even so, its secrets were well hidden in spots where mankind doesn't even know exist, nor know the creatures that lurk beneath it. Truly beautiful, honest — dangerous, and mysterious. Rikiya wanted to reach deep inside that sea and drown in it.

But Rikiya isn't — as much as his first encounter with Kiryu begs to differ — stupid. He can read people pretty well, he thinks, and even if the caretaker was pretty stoic 99.99% of the time, he could tell that his feelings weren't really reciprocated. Maybe he is a nuisance to him, for all he knows — Kiryu had already explicitly said he doesn't want to be called "Aniki" in front of the children, but did he listen? Of course not.

I mean, how could he, really? The guy was a big motherloving tank. A legend that still lived up to the name. If Rikiya was able to show appreciation and respect to him without gushing about it (which he was prone to doing. Constantly), calling him "Aniki" made the most sense. It was a safe enough title that didn't give him and his feelings away, which was always a plus. If his feelings were to suddenly be known, Kiryu would probably ditch him — he doesn't want that to happen, not in a million years. He had to take what he could get and, for now, this relationship was good enough. If he got to stand close to Kiryu, he was happy. 

As long as he didn't get greedy with his own feelings, this rhythm should work fine.

Because that never, ever happens... 

...Right?

“—kiya? Are you okay?” Kiryu asked him. Fortunately for himself, Rikiya was able to catch the question. Shaking his head a little to put him back in focus, he smiled. Hopefully, it would come out honest and reassuring, instead of what it actually was: forced and slightly panicked.

“Sorry, Aniki. Daydreaming is all.” He explained, going for another lick on his popsicle to distract himself from his self-awareness. It was technically true but, judging by the more prominent crease over the bridge of his nose, Kiryu wasn't really convinced with that answer. Regardless, he decided not to pry.

‘Thank God! ’ Rikiya thought, finally surrendering to his gluttony and chomping off the top of his popsicle. Unfortunately, the ice was harder than he thought, so he had to further sink in his teeth and the cold spread over them and his gums and — Jesus Christ, everything was suddenly too cold—

Big. Mistake.

“AAaah!” Rikiya wined, the sound coming out slightly muffled because of the culprit of his pain currently sitting on his tongue. He cupped his hand under his chin as if to not drool out the popsicle piece and instinctively closed his mouth to pass his tongue over the sensitive teeth which didn’t do anything but worsen his torture, since his tongue was terrifically cold now. As he moaned in pain and irritation, Kiryu made a noise that Rikiya had never heard from him — almost like a snort — so he turned to face the other. Kiryu wasn't looking at him, and from his nose-up, his expression hadn't really changed, however, he was covering his mouth with his unoccupied hand and the quirk of a smirk was clearly visible through the gaps between his fingers. 

For a moment, Rikiya forgot the entire meaning of the word “Aniki” and shoved the man's shoulder, mumbling an indignant “MmhnMm!” noise, his mouth still closed as he ate and worked through the unfair sensitivity of his teeth. Kiryu released a couple of chuckles this time, infecting Rikiya with a giggling crisis, which made Kiryu laugh louder, earning more indignant “Mmmn!”s from Rikiya, who was still giggling. Finally swallowing the dessert in his mouth, Rikiya sighed through his nose in somewhat faux frustration.

“A-Aniki, S-s— goddammit— stop!” He stuttered through the giggles, earning another snort from Kiryu who, thankfully, managed to stifle his chuckles. Mostly. They sat there, finishing their popsicles and smiling to themselves as they looked at the waves crashing in comfortable silence. Unconsciously, Rikiya kept glancing at the soon-to-be-finished watermelon popsicle. He felt bad for not appreciating his pretty good lemon one, but he really wanted to have a watermelon flavored treat.

“Uhm… Why do you keep looking at my popsicle, Rikiya?” Kiryu asked. It was bad enough that he was busted glancing at him, but the worst part is how that question sounded like a very unholy innuendo. Rikiya felt blood rush to his face as he thought about some things that were also pretty unholy.

‘Get your mind out of the gutter! It was a genuine question! He's staring at you, just answer the freaking question!’ Rikiya reprimanded himself mentally. He reasoned he might as well be honest since the other answer he had wasn't really in his favor.

“Ah, it's just that watermelon is my favorite flavor. Not that I don't like the lemon one, this is great! But I guess I'm kind of craving it right now…” He justified, looking off to the side, not making eye contact. “Sorry, Aniki.”

“Rikiya, stop apologizing,” Kiryu said. “If you wanted another flavor, I could've switched it for you. Would you like me to grab one for you now?” he offered.

“N-no, you don't need to, I'll feel bad if you give me another one. Leave those extras for the kids.” Rikiya said. Kiryu looked like he wanted to protest, but Rikiya didn't let him. He still wanted a watermelon popsicle, but maybe that was the favorite flavor of one of the kids. Maybe it was Kiryu's own favorite and that's why he grabbed one in the first place. He should leave it for him and the others.

Kiryu seemed to be running something in his head for a while. Rikiya was going to ask what was wrong but was interrupted by the other moving the popsicle he had close to his face, offering. It had the top already off by half, exposing the wooden stick in the middle. There were also some parts that were bitten on one side but it still looked pretty appealing. To Rikiya, anyway.

“Aniki…” he went for a refusal, but Kiryu was not having it.

“You were eyeing it like you hadn't eaten in days. I insist.” The ex-yakuza said. Rikiya still didn't like the feeling that he somehow pressured the other to offer him his popsicle, but despite that, when Kiryu was set on something, it was impossible to change his mind, so he might as well.

“Thank you, Aniki,” Rikiya said. More eagerly than he'd like to admit, he held the exposed top of the stick and tilted it so the middle was horizontal to his mouth, and took a bite. Retracting his lips from the treat a bit, he savored the watermelon flavor. It was so, so sweet, Rikiya thought he'd get instant cavities. The taste didn't seem industrialized at all, making the watermelon that much more prominent. Maybe Kiryu had gotten those from a shop that had it homemade? Regardless, he was swimming in the feeling. He'd have to ask what shop this was from so he could hoard some popsicles for himself.

Having somewhat satiated his craving, he emitted a small moan of satisfaction before swallowing. Somehow, as he delighted himself with that bite, he had kept his eyes closed. Opening them slowly, he was faced with Kiryu. The man was as stony as you could possibly be but the tips of his ears were burning an angry red, and that's when Rikiya realized the position they were in:

Rikiya was hunched over slightly so he could bend down to bite the popsicle. Instead of grabbing the treat and handing it back over to Kiryu when he finished — like a normal person would — he just tilted the tip of the wooden stick while the other man held the opposite end, making them inch slightly closer together. The fact that this position was somewhat intimate — Almost couple-like — for their dynamic, plus Rikiya becoming suddenly way too aware that Kiryu's mouth was once where he bit made him get flushed as well. They stared at each other for a solid five seconds before Kiryu turned his head away from him, making Rikiya snap out of his trance. He released the top of the popsicle's stick and scooted a few centimeters away from the other.

‘Of course, I had to mess this up somehow, right?’ Rikiya thought bitterly, the leftover taste turning sour in his mouth. After what felt like an eternity of awkward quiet stretching between them, Kiryu cleared his throat and opened his mouth to say something. It took a while like he was assessing what to say to him. ‘He is probably going to ask me to leave,’ was the first thing to cross his mind. The logical part of his brain was screaming at him, saying that wasn't something Kiryu would do — he isn't like that — but his emotions were screaming louder, leaving him with an uncomfortable pressure on his chest.

"U-um… Would you maybe like to come over to play with the kids too after your patrol?"

‘Huh?! ’ was his mental reaction, and it must've shown on his face because Kiryu became apprehensive really quickly, mumbling something along the lines of “It's okay if you can't…” to him. Well, he didn't expect that to happen at all. Not like he was going to complain, the other way this could've gone was much, much worse.

“W-well, probably, I guess?” Was his answer. “I'll talk to Oyaji to see if he'll let me leave patrol earlier today,”

“You really don't need to if you can't. I don't want to interfere in the Ryudo family's business,”

“It's alright, Aniki. Nothing really happens over here, anyway. I want to spend time with the kids!” 

‘And you’ he thought but didn't say. “I bet Mikio would love to come as well—” Rikiya caught himself. “Erm— if you don't mind him coming too?”

“Of course I don't mind. Izumi and Mame would be very happy to see him,” Kiryu answered with a small smile. “I think I already know what I'm going to do for them, so it would be great if you could come,” he stated, the flush on the tips of his ears returning briefly. “And, um… Mikio, too.”

“Once I talk to Oyaji, I'll text you the time I'll be able to come over,” Rikiya answered. Kiryu went to say something like “alright” but got interrupted by a loud call coming from the outside of the Orphanage's entrance.

“Oyaji!” Mikio waved from the fence's entryway. Rikiya stood up and walked over to him, his subordinate meeting him halfway. “I've already finished patrolling, sir! Nothing was seen out of the ordinary.”

“Perfect. Let’s head back to the office, I have some things to take care of before I get to my patrol.”

“Hai!” Mikio said, with a slight bow of his head. Twisting his body so he could look behind him, Rikiya waved quickly to the caretaker. “Be seeing you soon, Aniki!” he said. And with that, he turned back. The wave Kiryu gave in return went unnoticed as he walked outside Morning Glory’s bounds and into the dirt road with Mikio in tow. The familiar walk towards the monorail station was quiet, neither Rikiya nor his subordinate speaking while they handed security their tickets and got inside the transport. Finding an empty set of seats, they got themselves comfortable for the ride of about ten minutes to Downtown Ryukyu. 

Five minutes into their trip, Rikiya noticed that Mikio seemed slightly… off. Looking over at him, he noticed how his knee kept bouncing repeatedly and his eyes kept shifting to different places quickly without focusing on any of them. ‘Anxious’ Rikiya concluded, a wave of worry washing over him. Gingerly, Rikiya settled his hand over Mikio’s shoulder, making the latter’s wandering gaze get focused and settled on him. “Oi, are you alright?” Rikiya asked genuinely.

“A-ah… I’m fine, Aniki,” The subordinate answered sheepishly, his eyes not meeting the others. 

“Mikio,” Rikiya called sternly, making Mikio snap his eyes back on him. “Your leg has been bouncing for a while and your eyes are trailing everywhere, but they’re not looking at anything... Even though I’m your boss, I’m your friend too, yeah?”

“Aniki…”

“You can trust me. What’s going through your head?”

Mikio scratched the back of his neck and released a small, quiet chuckle. “You know, I was just wondering…”

“Yeah?”

“When are you confessing to Kiryu-aniki?”

“Ah, well— wait, WHAT?! ” Rikiya exclaimed. His hand shot out to fist Mikio’s purple shirt, the spiel of “I’m your friend too” quickly forgotten. “The hell do you mean ‘When are you confessing’, eh?! ” Mikio paled as he tried to think of something to say before the other fist went for his face.

“A-Aniki, please! Let me, uh— hear me out for a bit!” he went with, tapping the hand clenching his shirt. Rikiya narrowed his gaze on him but — to Mikio’s relief — slowly uncurled his hand from the fabric, setting it over the armrest. Mikio exhaled the air he was holding, blood rushing back to his face as he gathered some courage to tell his boss what he wanted to:

“L-look, when I went back to Morning Glory to report to you, I saw you and Kiryu-aniki talking, so I decided to wait for you guys to finish before I butted in. The whole ice-cream thing that happened between you two? I saw everything and — If I’m completely honest — it was painful to watch!”

It was now Rikiya’s turn to pale. His eyes widened at Mikio’s words, but he didn’t say anything — He didn’t know what to say, really.

“I mean, I have noticed how you look at Kiryu-aniki for a while now, but I never said anything, thinking maybe I was just reading into things too much, but that moment basically confirmed it to me. Aniki... this is not a one-way thing — You can trust me too, you know?”

“Mikio…” was all Rikiya managed.

“I know what you’re thinking. ‘It’s better this way’, right? But trust me, it isn’t. The feeling is just going to eat you inside until you do something stupid, or worse: until it’s too late...” Mikio said, his face turning sour in a matter of seconds before the expression was smothered over just as quickly. The advice was so weirdly sincere, it made Rikiya wonder what happened in Mikio’s past, but instead of asking, something told him it wasn’t the best moment to, so he kept quiet.

“That’s what I mean. So, I’ll ask again: When are you confessing to Kiryu-aniki?”

The air that Rikiya exhaled from his nose almost burned his airways from how hot it was, and not only from the weather but also from pure frustration. He really wanted to take Mikio’s advice to heart, to maybe take some action, but in reality, he couldn’t. He knew his feelings were unrequited, so what was the point? To dismantle their newfound companionship and make things awkward? As much as he wanted Kiryu in a non-platonic way, he knew he couldn’t have him like that, so he should just appreciate what he has now and be happy instead of risking it all and losing Kiryu forever.

“Mikio, I…” he began, breathing in deeply to steady himself a bit. “I can’t. I appreciate your advice, I really do but… I just can’t.” 

“He doesn’t like me that way” and “I don’t want to lose what I have with him” went unsaid as he justified his actions. Mikio seemed like he was about to say something else, but the monorail’s speakers announcing their arrival interrupted him.

“Alright, we should get to the office,” Rikiya said, standing up to go outside.

Like the walk out from Morning Glory, the stroll to the Ryudo family office was equally silent, however this time, the air was thick with tension that exuded from Rikiya still thinking over Mikio’s words. He knew Mikio was right. The feeling was already eating him up inside: Hiding your true feelings from somebody you care so much about has proven to be much more taxing than he initially thought, but what was he supposed to do? Play this game of “He loves me, He loves me not” knowing the number of petals was even?

His thoughts were basically running around in circles at this point and this pattern was starting to get dangerous. He needed to distract himself with something, even if only for a few minutes.

“Um… Mikio? Since you overheard me and Aniki talking, you know he’s planning something for the kids, yeah?” Rikiya went with.

“Huh? Oh, yeah…” Mikio responded.

“Are you going? I came over to the office to grab my swimming trunks and some other things actually,”

“Yeah. I think so, yeah!” Mikio responded with unusual excitement, but Rikiya didn’t think much about it and just brushed it off.

“Nice. I will be occupied with patrol, so please go back to Morning Glory to help Aniki with preparations.”

“Hai!” Mikio answered, and with that, they finally arrived in front of the family office. Sliding the doors open, Mikio entered first, making a beeline straight to the hideout to organize his own things for the afternoon at the beach, Rikiya following closely behind.

Chapter Text

“Uuughhh, Christ!” Rikiya wined doing his last patrol round over Ryukyu Blvd. 

If he had complained about the heat before, then past Rikya didn’t even know what he was talking about. The temperature within the city didn’t rise — perhaps it even lowered slightly as the Sun began to set — but that didn’t matter when you were somebody making unending rounds all over the south neighborhoods and fighting thugs that didn’t know their place while wearing pants.  When the temperature was normal, these activities didn't pull much energy from him, but now he was sure he was almost melting on the pavement. People that were around and recognized him were kind enough to offer him chilly water bottles on the way, and he’s very thankful for it, because if they hadn’t … Hooo boy.

Taking his phone from his back-pocket, Rikya sighed, relieved. ‘4:30 PM! Never has a dive at the sea sounded so good,’ he thought, sending a quick text to Kiryu, pocketing the device back in his pocket, and lazily strolling to the monorail station to go to Morning Glory. Thank God Nakahara allowed his patrol to end earlier, or else he might’ve not even made it through the whole day without having a heatstroke.

A couple of hours back, while he was at the family office, Rikiya grabbed everything he thought he’d need: His tropical-patterned swim trunks, some sunscreen (just in case), some flip-flops, a towel and a new change of clothes to put on for when he leaves. It was an added weight he had to endure while patrolling, but it was worth avoiding getting back to the office. It had probably turned into a sauna by now.

His mood seemed to increase steadily as he got up the station’s stairs. After buying another ticket for the monorail entry and handing it to the guard, he was glad to feel the chill of the AC installed inside. All of the monorails that left Downtown Ryukyu were extremely full near this hour since people were heading home from work. It was a blessing that the transport had an air-conditioning system, or else he would not only have to bear with the heat but also with a bunch of packed, sweaty (and possibly smelly) people.

Sadly, however, the AC didn’t take care of the “full” part of the equation, so Rikiya still had to stand in between some folks, but other than that, the ride didn’t feel uncomfortable. Like always, the monorail punctually arrived at Morning Glory’s neighborhood ten minutes later, most of the people that were inside the transport having already left one or two stations behind. Stepping out, Rikiya groaned at the hot air that got around him. He didn’t like having to leave the refrigerated transport, but remembering the breathtaking beach he would be enjoying himself in (and the breathtaking man) made him form a small grin in anticipation. 

Having made it out of the station, Rikiya walked over the dirt road leading to the orphanage. Seeing it from far away, he was able to see that the kids were relaxing in the front yard, none of them at the beach. Kiryu wasn’t in sight, nor Haruka nor Mikio. ‘That’s… strange,’ he concluded. 

As he reached the stone fence’s opening, the kids spotted him coming in.

“Uncle Rikiya!” Taichi beamed first, the other kids doing the same and running over to him.

“Hey!” Rikiya beamed back, kneeling so he could get in their eye-level. “I thought you guys would already be at the beach. Don’t want to go?” he asked, a feeling of slight apprehension coming over him.

“What? Of course we wanna!” Taichi answered.

“We’re just waiting for Uncle Kaz to get changed and to grab some stuff,” Riona complemented right after.

‘But their school day ended hours ago… Did… did Aniki wait for me?’ Rikiya blushed at the thought. ‘No, no. He was probably occupied with other stuff,’ he concluded, shooting the nice thought down almost immediately.

“He shouldn't take too long, though. Been a while since he’s been inside,” Koji said.

“Ah, alri—” Rikiya started, but the sound of footsteps echoing from the orphanage's interior pulled his attention away. Glancing up to see who was coming, his breathing stilled:

In front of the entrance, there stood Kiryu. Usually, he would’ve gone for a greeting like “I’m back, Aniki!” but his brain cells refused to communicate at the sight that was in front of him: The man was barefoot, wearing a pair of dark gray shorts that had white stripes running over the side seams. So far, so good. 

The problem happened when he looked further up. Instead of that red palm tree patterned shirt, his torso was completely bare. Absolutely nothing over it. Rikiya had only seen Kiryu shirtless once, and that was when he still viewed him as an enemy, so he couldn’t really appreciate the sight he had on that first day. Now, though…

Of course, he himself also had a considerable amount of meat on his bones since his “occupation” required him to be at least decently athletic, but the ex-yakuza was on a whole other level — Greek God kind of level.

Rikiya roamed his eyes, top-to-bottom, over the other's physique: He admired the muscled neck that was perfectly attached to the defined collarbone and shoulders. The seemingly firm, but also soft, pecs curved over the man’s thorax and— Jesus motherloving Christ, that was a six-pack, alright! The toned abdomen was sculpted to absolute perfection, the expression “Washboard abs” gaining meaning at the sight — Not to mention the teasing v-line of his hips that curved down until it reached the short’s elastic band. Man, how he wished he could trail the lines further down until—

“Uncle Rikiya? Are you alright?” One of the kids — he didn’t register which — asked. “You’ve been paralyzed there for like- 5 seconds!”

Snapping off the trance, Rikiya became self-aware quickly about how he looked right now: Immobile like a freaking rock, eyes bulging out of his sockets and mouth slightly parted open as he ate the sight he was presented with. ‘Delightful isn’t it?? ’ he mocked in his head. ‘Can I get more pathetic than this?’ He wondered.

‘… Well, maybe, if I don’t say anything right now, ’

“H-huh? Oh! O-oh, I’m… I’m good, just… it's so hot, I’m getting a little dizzy here, heh…” He lied, trying to fight the blood rising to his cheeks from the embarrassment of being caught. It was a losing battle, since looking over the kid’s faces, he could see some of them smirking at him as if they knew all of his deepest, darkest secrets — the worst part was that that statement didn’t seem too far off at all.

“Mmmhmmm... ” Mitsuo went before receiving a slap on the back of the head from Riona, making the others laugh — he wasn’t sure if it was at his expense or Mitsuo’s, but whichever it was, it didn’t stop him from flushing head-to-toe.

“Do you want some water? We have some that I put in the fridge earlier today.” Kiryu said, looking concerned and somehow oblivious to the blatant staring Rikiya did and the children’s teasing looks. Rikiya wasn’t going to point it out, though — It was the perfect cover for him.

“Y-yeah, that’d be great! Thanks, Aniki,” he said, trying to sound as normal as he could while pointedly avoiding looking at any one of the kids. Setting his shoes down by the entrance and proceeding to follow the shirtless god to the kitchen, he spotted Mikio and Haruka at the end of one of the hallways. Making eye-contact with both, the corners of their lips tugged up maliciously, Haruka releasing a small giggle at him before vanishing along with Mikio to whichever room was over on the other side. Rikiya gulped, a feeling of uneasiness getting comfortable in his heart.

Something was off here. That smirk wasn’t just teasing about the staring he did, no. It was about something else, and whatever it was, it didn’t sit well with him.

Somehow, he felt like this afternoon was going to be a long one.

Chapter Text

The first part of the plan was to basically enjoy the sea for a while to refresh from the heat before playing any games, so Kiryu told the children to get ready and to meet him at the seashore once they were done. As everybody scurried to their bedrooms to get changed to their swimming gear, Rikiya decided that he might as well put on his trunks — He wasn’t directly under the Sun now, having walked inside the orphanage, but regardless, the air was too hot and humid because of the sea across from there, so his black cotton pants weren’t doing him any favors. ‘Not like it did any before.’ Rikiya thought, chuckling low to himself as he grabbed his things and brought them along to the bathroom. Locking the door behind himself, Rikiya stripped from his usual clothes to put on the trunks — It had been a long time since he last wore those, but that wasn’t surprising. He was constantly occupied with the family now, so he didn’t really have the luxury to indulge himself in one of Okinawa’s many beaches. ‘At least I’ll get to swim for a bit today.’ Rikiya thought, making him feel a little giddier than usual.

Redressed, he decided he should stop wasting his time thinking about the beach so he could actually go there. Folding his used clothes and putting them inside his bag, he zipped it back up and slung it over his shoulder, unlocking the bathroom door and making his way outside. After a couple of steps, he found himself dipping his toes into the sand that composed the beginnings of the beach. Skipping his way over the raised portion of the land, he calmly strolled his way down to the edge of the sea. Some of the kids that had just finished changing rushed past him so they could splash their bodies and dive under the salty waves along with the others that were already there playing with Mikio. 

Seeing the children enjoying themselves in that vibrant and clear sea with the Sun setting behind them was an incredible sight to behold. Now that he had reached the distance where the waves could crash over his feet, Rikiya was able to spot Kiryu around a mid-point where he wasn’t too deep in, but was deep enough that some of the kids would not be able to reach him there. Settling his bag down on the sand by one of the rocks, he waved his hands in the air to get the other’s attention. The caretaker lifted himself from his small crouch in the water, weaved a hand through his damp hair, and waved back at him. The ex-yakuza’s skin glistened with a golden hue as the water that trailed over his torso reflected the sunset. ‘Help me,’ was Rikiya’s first thought as he eyed the man. He needed a distraction from the sight if he wanted to keep himself composed and not ogle, and it seemed like his request was answered, however, the distraction he was looking for was definitely not getting his trunks violently tugged down to almost the middle of his thighs. 

Rikiya spluttered, covering himself quickly, and was glad to feel that the hem of his trunks got stuck over his base, protecting most of his “intimacy”. That relief was only momentary, however, being replaced by panic as he quickly grabbed the elastic band of the trunks, pulled it back up to his waist, and held it there for a while, in case any more surprises decided to come in his direction. He looked around, worried if any of the children had seen what happened, but was glad to find that they were distracted enjoying a “Who makes the biggest wave” competition, with the all kids ganged up against Mikio. He felt mildly relieved knowing that they didn’t see his bare, naked glory, but he was still pretty confused. Looking down to see what actually happened, he gasped as he saw Koji holding onto the back of his knees, eyes wide like saucers and a horrified expression on his face — If it was from fear, or from embarrassment, or just pure shock, Rikiya wasn’t able to tell, but he was sure the boy was practically paralyzed below him.

“Koji?! How- Why- What happened?” Rikiya stuttered out, feeling his cheeks heating up in embarrassment. Koji quickly untangled his hands from man's legs once he snapped back to reality and sat up, trying to dust himself off but only adding more sand to the mix.

“U-u-uncle Rikiya! I-I’m sorry! I was r-running and I tripped and t-the first thing I saw was y-you, so I…” Koji tried to explain, not able to look at him in the eyes, voice wobbly and fearful. Rikiya’s eyes quickly filled with understanding and he softly patted the boy’s shoulder.

“Koji, it’s fine,”

The boy looked up at him, a confused expression painted over his face. “Wh— You’re not mad at me?” The boy asked, hopeful.

“Of course not! It was an accident, why would I be mad at you?” Rikiya explained, crouching in front of Koji. “Maybe if you hadn't held onto me, you could’ve buried your face in the sand and that wouldn’t be good at all. Yeah, I’m definitely embarrassed—” Rikiya blushed, “—but I’d take embarrassment before getting someone hurt any day!” Koji smiled briefly but quickly grimaced.

“I think it would’ve been better if I hadn’t tripped at all! My eyes!!” Koji said, covering his eyes with his hands, laughing. “I didn’t want to see your butt, hahahaha! I’m scarred forever!” He ran over to the other kids, still laughing, and no doubt about to diss his ass (literally) to the other children. He tried to grab him, but the kid was very fast. Rikiya sighed as he spotted the kids almost doubling over the water, laughing their asses off at his expense once Koji told them the tale. ‘Aah… I will never hear the end to that, will I?’ he mused and scratched the back of his neck. Mikio gave him what seemed like a pitying look, but he could see the smirk that threatened to form. Rikiya just glared at him, hoping that the message of “If you say anything about this, your body will be floating under the Basin river tonight” got across. Mikio just let the smirk take over, and Rikiya couldn’t help but let out a chuckle himself. This wasn’t inherently bad. The kids were going to laugh and tease him occasionally but that was it — nothing to worry about — but when he turned to look at the sea... 

...and saw a paralyzed Kiryu standing there in the middle of it... 

He froze. ‘Oh my God,’ he thought.

‘Oh. My. God !’

His cheeks started burning an angry red at the realization that Kiryu had seen him almost entirely naked. He did cover the most concerning part, but the trunks got pulled down really far. His entire v-line was exposed, and probably a little bit of his groin too — Everything got exposed but his dick, and he didn’t know if that was better or worse.

Simultaneously, when Kiryu and Rikiya connected their gaze to one another, they immediately looked away from each other, both deeply embarrassed. How is he ever going to look his aniki in the eyes now? He wished he could just run away to a far, far away land and never come back, but he needed to stay for the kids — Kiryu had an entire afternoon planned with him in it, he couldn’t just bail this one out. With a deep breath, Rikiya grounded himself and decided to do something to occupy his time before he went insane. 

Shuffling through his bag, he pulled out his bottle of sunscreen and decided to apply some. The Sun was already setting, but it didn’t mean it couldn’t burn (Was that just the explanation he found to justify his sunscreen applying because he was desperate to focus on something else? 1000% yes, but his reasoning didn’t really matter right now, anyway).

Popping the cap of the small container open, he squirted some of the cream on his hand and applied it bit by bit to himself in small streaks that he would later spread out. After scowling a few times when he made a pass somewhere he put too much sunscreen over, he managed to coat most of his body somewhat evenly, applying the leftovers on his hands to his face. Technically, this was already safe enough (Again, the Sun was setting ), but Rikiya felt like his job was incomplete. His entire back was free of any sunscreen, and he didn’t like that, but he couldn’t reach any inch of his back, even if he tried. He needed someone to help him.

From the distance, he spotted Mikio leaving the sea and drying himself lightly with a towel he had brought along.

“Mikio!” Rikiya called, getting his subordinate’s attention and making him jog over to where he was. “I’m trying to put some sunscreen on my back, but I can’t reach anywhere!” Rikiya complained, nudging Mikio’s hands with the tube. “Give me a hand?”

Mikio nodded and grabbed the container from his boss. He was about to squirt some on his hands but suddenly stopped. Rikiya turned to him and was about to ask what was taking so long, but then he saw the downright mischievous smile he wore on his face as he closed the cap of the bottle. “Ah! But my hands are all wet and dirty from the sand! If I passed the sunscreen on you, you’d get itchy!” Mikio announced somewhat loudly, which weirded him out.

“I mean, you could always clean them at the sea and dry them with your—”

“Maybe somebody else should do it for you!” Mikio said loudly, a brief wink being given to Rikiya as he nodded his head towards the sea, indicating his boss to look over there. As Rikiya turned his head, he saw that Kiryu was also leaving the water, drying himself. ‘Wait, does he mean—’

“Mikio, ” Rikiya said sternly, but this time it didn’t make the other flinch, instead his smirk just widened. “No, ”

“Yes, ”

“Mikio —”

“Kiryu-aniki! Boss wants to get sunscreen on his back, but my hands are all dirty. Could you help him instead?”

The mainlander’s face looked like it was stuck in the same exact stoic expression, but for people that knew him for a long time, the surprised twitch in his brow and the slight rosy tinge to the tip of his ears were a dead giveaway about what he felt in relation to the request having almost seen Rikiya nude just a few seconds ago.

“U-um… sure.” Kiryu agreed, grabbing the tube of sunscreen. Rikiya felt surprised initially, but really, there was no one else that could do the task except for him, and if he refused Aniki’s help, he’d feel like he’d be disrespecting him somehow, so he remained quiet.

Kiryu motioned for him to turn around and Rikiya felt a chill go down his spine in sheer anticipation. Mikio bowed his head, the smug smirk he still wore not missed by Rikiya as he walked back over to the kids. ‘He’s just going to put sunscreen on your back. Nothing else. This is fine. I’m fine,’ he repeated in his head as he turned his viper to the other. Rikiya was able to compose himself just enough to not jump at the sound of Kiryu popping the cap of the container open and squirting the cream on his hand. It was so easy to imagine that it wasn’t sunscreen, but lube being squirted out instead—

‘He’s just putting sunscreen on your back. Nothing else. This is fine. I’m fine,’ Rikiya repeated again. Of all of the moments that existed for him to fantasize, it had to be this one. Of course.

The other man’s fingertips brushed against his shoulder blades, spine, waist, hip, and lumbar in quick swifts as he applied small portions of the cream before spreading everything out over the expanse of his back with his broad hands.

‘He’s just putting sunscreen on your back. Nothing else. This is fine. I’m fine,’

Kiryu’s hands spread over his neck and shoulders, spreading the cream efficiently with circular motions. The movements weren’t intimate in any way, but even so, Rikiya had to use all of his willpower to not melt against the other’s hands. Where Kiryu touched, warmth seeped through him in waves that threatened to make his knees buckle underneath him. 

‘He’s just putting sunscreen on your back. Nothing else. This is fine. I’m fine,’

With the upper portion of his back being taken care of, The mainlander’s hands smoothed down his sides, spreading the sunscreen over his hips and down the middle of his spine, sending an involuntary shockwave through it. Rikiya felt Kiryu’s hands stutter momentarily, but they soon continued their ministrations on him. Rikiya got slightly relieved by Kiryu not paying attention to his reaction, but the feeling quickly vanished once the man’s thumbs breached the waistline of his trunks and caressed his lower back in a place that was dangerously close to the beginning of his butt cheeks.

‘What?! ’ Was Rikiya’s only thought at the sudden action. The pressure of Kiryu’s thumbs near his behind, the way his movements suddenly slowed down — This was beginning to feel way more like an intimate massage than the usual friendly-sunscreen-applying. Rikiya stiffened under the other’s touch, trying to conceal the small whimpers that built in his throat over the gentle caresses. They were so light, it didn’t make sense why he was so affected by them, but the fact that those touches were currently being performed by the man he’s been craving, loving, and lusting over in secret probably played a big part in that. Rikiya exhaled slowly through his mouth, trying to somewhat calm his nerves and to discourage his blood from rushing further down but once a particular spot on his back got pressed, he inhaled the air back in sharply in a hiss that he, unfortunately, was not able to hide, which made Kiryu release a deep chuckle.

Rikiya felt the vibrations of the man’s composed laughter near his shoulder and the warm air that occasionally brushed his nape. When did Kiryu get so close to him? He was sure that he would’ve noticed the man’s slow approach to him, but— 

Suddenly, Rikiya’s eyes widened in shock as realization completely slapped him across the face, his past train of thought forgotten.

Kiryu chuckled. He didn’t back off once hearing his shameful hiss, he huddled closer to him instead; closer to the point where his breathing was fanning over his ear. The ex-yakuza’s hands were still over his hips and Rikiya swore he could feel the man’s fingertips digging into his skin and pulling him a little bit closer still.

“A-aniki… what—”

“Uncle Kaz! It’s already time for the first game!” Haruka shouted from the entrance of the beach and, like a spell had been broken between them, Kiryu quickly removed his hands from the other’s hips and stepped a good few centimeters away from where he was. “Ahem … U-um… your back is fully covered now.” The ex-yakuza said, bashful.

“O-oh, uuhh… thanks...?” Rikiya offered, a little bit baffled by the events of the last minute. Kiryu nodded his head at him, albeit a little too exasperatedly, then made his way to where Haruka was. Rikiya spared a glance at her and saw the same smile he got from her when he first stepped inside the orphanage after his patrol, and then, something in his mind clicked. ‘Oh,’ Rikiya thought, blushing. ‘She knows.’ 

Mikio probably told her about his feelings, and that’s why she was huddled together with him earlier — He’ll scold Mikio’s ears off once they got back at the office. Of course, he knew Haruka was very good at keeping secrets, but even so, he shouldn’t have told her, especially when Haruka was his crush’s daughter.

Sighing, Rikiya ignored the way his body implored to be touched again and made his way over to the other kids that had since formed a semi-circle in front of Haruka and Kiryu. Today was about the kids and not his fuzzy and confusing feelings for the other man, so he was going to try his hardest to make this day a bit more fun than usual for the children and ignore his wants for a little while. As long as he focused on the game they were playing, he should be fine.

Right?

Chapter Text

He wasn’t fine.

He wasn’t fine at all.

Rikiya had just walked back from the beach and was now soaking his body inside the orphanage’s guest bathroom’s bathtub. The water was lukewarm around him as he just stared at the small ripples that crashed across the surface of it, deep in thought. He should’ve started bathing a long time ago, but once he took his seat inside of the tub, he found that his mind had already begun drifting on its own.

After the… thing that happened between him and Kiryu, Rikiya tried his hardest to keep his composure in front of the children. He was somewhat successful, however, now that his body was kind of relaxed, he started realizing how tired his entire being felt right now.

Keeping himself in check while playing games with Kiryu was an extraordinarily difficult task. First, they had played some beach volleyball that was adapted for the kids. Rikiya was in the team that went against Kiryu’s so the odds for the two sides were somewhat fair, and that meant Rikiya had a clear view of the ex-yakuza’s movements and skills — That should’ve been good, since it helped him predict the hit that was coming over his way, however, in the almost pubescent state of mind he was in, he was only able to admire Kiryu’s body, making him miss the ball several times throughout the game. His embarrassment was through the roof at that point, but he smoothed the effects of that emotion away from his expressions and body language as much as he could until the end of the game. It would’ve already been enough if that was the only thing that happened, but of course, it wasn’t. 

The second game they played was human tic-tac-toe. They drew a square grid of 3x3 on the sand and took two sets of cups, one blue and one red to act like the “X”s and “O”s from regular tic-tac-toe. Again, the team was divided between Rikiya and Kiryu to make the odds fairer between the teams and, once they both had formed lines away from the main part and heard Haruka blow her whistle, the game finally started. The first few rounds were fierce, one team winning then the other, neither really getting further in the game until they reached the last turn where Rikiya’s position in the line matched with the other man’s. 

Ayako ran back to her team’s line and high-fived Rikiya, giving him permission to advance and, right afterward, Taichi high-fived Kiryu, resulting in both men racing towards the grid. Both teams had run out of cups, which meant the only option was to switch them around. Rikiya knew where he needed to switch his cup to so his team would get a point, however, if Kiryu was faster than him and switched his cup instead, he’d get the point in his place and, by extension, would win the entire game since his party was leading the score by one. They arrived at the edges of the grid and the most intense staring contest started between them, both challenging each other to move first. Rikiya tried to maintain the challenging gaze, but having Kiryu completely shirtless, sweating, with his hair covering the front of his face due to lack of gel made the task way too hard. Needless to say, he got distracted by his fantasies long enough for the caretaker to sprint towards his team’s cup and switch its spot, forming a red diagonal line on the grid, announcing his win. Rikiya cursed quietly afterward but was able to disguise his reaction as anger for being slower than the other man — At least from the kids, but Mikio had just glanced at him with a knowing look that made him want to shove his head under the seawater and not let go.

Having to mask his reactions once again had made him feel deeply anxious, but before he had time to fully gather himself, they had already moved on to another game, the last one in their little playday.

Marco-Polo.

‘Oh boy,’ Rikiya thought to himself, blushing at the fresh memories. He remembers Kiryu saying earlier that he thought Marco-Polo was too dangerous to play in the sea, but since it was already nighttime, the waves were much calmer, which was perfect for the game. Back when he was a child himself, Marco-Polo was one of his favorite games to play, so enjoying it once again with the kids brought him a pleasant feeling that he hadn’t felt in a while. Maybe he didn’t need to be so on-alert this time, and instead, could enjoy the night for a small bit.

Boy was he wrong.

As the rounds passed by, Izumi eventually got caught and turned into the catcher. She was the youngest of the bunch, which meant she wasn’t as agile as the rest, making her struggle on her own in the middle of the sea. She was beginning to feel distressed after a while of not even grazing somebody else, so he took pity on her and let himself get caught. Rikiya was one out of three other adults playing along with a bunch of children, so Izumi didn’t have to think much about her guess of who she caught, her choices pretty narrowed down. With a few touches just to make sure, she said his name, officially turning him into the new tagger. He closed his eyes and started counting to ten out loud, hearing the splashing and the laughs from the children as they shuffled around in the sea, trying to get as far away from him as possible. He smirked mid-count, feeling nostalgic.

Once he reached number ten, he began walking aimlessly around in the water. All of the kids went dead quiet, not wanting to be the next catcher. Rikiya knew he was in an advantage against them since his reach was much longer, so he played dumb for a little while, screaming “Marco!” and hearing the giggled replies of “Polo!”s echoing around him. As much as messing with the kids was fun, he had to eventually catch someone for real.

“Marco!”

“Polo!” He heard some voices directly behind him and he rapidly threw his arm back. He wasn’t able to grasp the person, but he was able to brush his hand over them, which meant they were still caught. Rikiya guessed that the person he caught was walking towards him if the sounds of the water rippling weren’t enough of a clue. The kids giggled around him the closer the movement got, which gave him a slightly uneasy feeling, but he soon brushed it off. Reaching his hands over to the mystery person he kept his aim low, expecting the caught person to be one of the kids, but once his hand, instead of feeling a small shoulder, felt rock-hard abs, he flinched his hands away. ‘N-no way…’ he thought as he reached again, aiming a bit higher and, this time, he felt the curve of a well-sculpted deltoid.

“A-aniki?” he said, opening his eyes. The kids’ giggles turned into loud howls at the look of utter mortification he had on his face. Kiryu, like always, was still pretty stoic, but the tip of his ears betrayed him once again, having turned scarlet. Rikiya quickly withdrew his grasp from the other, the newly empty hand coming over to fist the fabric of his trunks instead. By how hot his face felt, he guessed he must look very flushed right now. Swallowing the sudden lump that materialized in his throat, he cleared it awkwardly.

“Well, uhh… ha ha… I got it right! Y-you’re it, Aniki...” He said, bashful. He could feel the tips of his fingers itching as if imploring him to touch Kiryu again, but he controlled himself as to not do something stupid — It was getting increasingly harder, though.

“A-aa…” Kiryu agreed just as awkwardly. He kept looking at Rikiya for a couple of long seconds before finally closing his eyes and counting to ten. Rikiya just wished that the game would end soon so he could pull himself together.

And that's what he was trying to do right now, sitting in a tub now filled with cold water.

“The feeling is just going to eat you inside ” Mikio’s words echoed in his skull. It was startling how his urges got increasingly harder to control in relation to when he first learned he had a thing for Kiryu. He knew the feeling was going to eat him up inside then, but he never would have guessed that it was able to get this pain. He thought that his feelings would eventually fade away and be forgotten, but the more he saw Kiryu, the more his heart longed for him. The only solution to this dilemma would be to leave him forever and pretend he never existed, but he wasn’t strong enough to do it — to leave.

Rikiya hugged his knees to his chest. The pressure over his sternum was even harsher now. It was almost like the universe was conspiring against him and throwing punishments because he felt this way and was too much of a coward to go forward — The sunscreen incident, his fantasies clouding his mind while he played volleyball or tic-tac-toe, catching Kiryu in Marco-Polo…

God, the sunscreen incident. If he could pick the worst of all the four situations he’s been in today, that one had to be it. You would think that he’d feel better by having the caretaker’s hands all over his back, that it would maybe quell his thirst for a little while, but it did the complete, exact opposite — If he wanted Kiryu before, then by God, now he wanted him even more, and not only because of the touches, but because of his reaction to him. The way he laughed in his ear… It was almost like Kiryu wanted to make him shiver, but Rikiya knew better. He could have laughed for a number of other reasons. His thumbs breaching his trunks? Maybe he wanted to be more thorough with the sunscreen. His fingers didn’t even touch his butt, so he shouldn't read into the action too much.

‘God…’ Rikiya complained mentally, practically hitting his head against the wall behind him. Even he could tell that those justifications sounded more like poor excuses for Kiryu’s actions and that the man really wanted to caress Rikiya more... intimately, but he couldn’t bring himself to believe it. Maybe he was delusional; Maybe the touches were much less than what they actually were, his passion and anticipation heightening the sensations on him because he allowed himself to feel hopeful. He couldn’t raise his expectations regarding his relationship with Kiryu — He held himself for this long; He couldn’t make waste of his efforts and get everything to crumble down. ‘Not now! ’

He felt his nose starting to get itchy and he cursed. It wasn’t the first time he broke down like this, but this time, the feeling felt so hellish. He can’t allow himself to view this situation as a chance for a future where he and Kiryu are together because that was never going to happen. Again, the only answer was to leave so then he couldn’t look the mainlanders in the eyes and feel the sky crashing over him, but he couldn’t bring himself to even think about that possibility — Never seeing Kiryu again? Rikiya knew he would not survive a single day without at least giving the man a curt “Good morning,” when they spotted each other at the city’s shopping area. 

He was in way too deep.

Rikiya tucked his head over his bent knees and allowed himself to hiccup some sobs out. It was better to get the emotional pressure off him now before he actually withered in front of Kiryu and ended up confessing what he didn’t want to. He chuckled bitterly at the thought — Him on his knees in front of Kiryu, just rambling and rambling. “I love you so much, it hurts!” He’d say, and the ex-yakuza would just look at him, debating if he should try and comfort him or if that would make everything worse and then he’d just… walk away, mumbling a “Sorry” before getting back inside the orphanage and locking the doors.

His tears came out non-stop now. His sinuses stung awfully, but he just kept on sobbing. He didn’t know for how much longer he was able to keep everything hidden before that sour thought got a chance to become a reality. His mind, body, and soul were getting chipped away, piece-by-piece the longer he tried to keep the act up.

He was bound to break eventually, but he still had some determination in him, so he’ll delight himself in Kiryu’s warmth for as long as possible before they inevitably become apart.

Chapter Text

“Uncle Rikiya!” Haruka exclaimed once she saw the man passing through the orphanage’s hallways, already fully dried and dressed.

“Huh? Oh! Hi, Haruka,” he said, feigning a smile that he hoped was convincing enough. Unfortunately, Haruka was very good at reading people and their emotions, so the frown she directed at him told that she didn’t believe him at all. With a small sigh, she decided to not press him about it.

“I’m making dinner tonight. If it doesn’t bother you, would you like to help me prepare it, please?” She asked him. Rikiya froze momentarily, a bit taken aback by the request, before sheepishly nodding his head and entering the small kitchen. “What do you need me to do?”

“There are some vegetables that I need chopped. They’re already on the board over the counter by the sink,” Haruka said sweetly as she went back to check the rice she was cooking over the stove. “Once you’re done, please place them inside that bowl over there,” She pointed vaguely to the direction of the object. Rikiya nodded again and, after washing his hands on the kitchen sink, walked over to the chopping board, grabbed an already peeled carrot, and started cutting it into little rectangles. The silence stretched a bit tensely between them — it was nothing necessarily unbearable — but it didn’t take long for it to be broken by Haruka, who released a small sigh that caught the yakuza’s attention. “Um… Uncle Rikiya, are you alright?” she asked, a frown invading her features. “Your eyes are a bit swollen and red… were you crying?”

‘Ah…’ He thought. It was easy to forget that your face didn’t magically come back to normal after a breakdown. Of course, he wiped his eyes furiously once he got out of the bathtub with his towel, but the remnants of the event were still on him and would be there for a little while. It wasn’t the best-case-scenario to have Haruka worrying about him, but at least it wasn’t Kiryu who saw him, or else he was sure the guy was going to interrogate him and he was not in the mindset for that right now.

“I… yeah. Yes, I was.” Rikiya figured that he couldn’t really deflect this, so he answered honestly, trying to not focus on the ensuing conversation too much and instead on the vegetable chopping he was responsible for. Haruka remained silent after his reply, this time the lack of noise growing heavier and curling around Rikiya’s heart. The pressure applied to his ribcage made him anxious and fidgety, but he tried to not pay attention to that, gulping a few lungfuls of air to steady himself better. 

God, he hated this. It wasn't usual for him to lose control over his emotions — he had a pretty good grasp over them if he was honest — but the breakdown from earlier left him much more fragilized than he wanted to be, and that made things much more complicated. Of course, he knew he was going to get to this point eventually, but why? Why did he submit himself to this? He really wished he could throw the blame at anything or anyone else, but this situation was formed entirely by his own actions. This was all his fault—

“Ah!!” Rikiya hissed as he accidentally nicked his middle finger with the knife’s blade. He released the vegetable and the utensil from his grasp in a haste and shook his injured hand as if trying to minimize the pain. He whined in annoyance when he felt his finger throbbing from the blood being pumped over to the wound. Could this day become even worse? Rikiya figured he shouldn’t really ask, because if he did, the day would definitely get worse.

“Uncle Rikiya! Are you alright?” Haruka asked, concerned.

“A-ah, yes. The knife just slipped, I guess,” He explained, making his way over to the sink to wash the cut — He was in a loop of self-deprecation at the moment, but even so, he wasn’t really fond of having vegetable residue getting in his bloodstream — thanks. 

Haruka hummed, turning the stove knob to lessen the heat under the cooking rice before stepping outside of the kitchen. Rikiya turned off the tap when he felt his cleaning was thorough enough and, at the exact moment, Haruka had returned with what seemed to be a band-aid in her hands, which she offered for Rikiya to take. He felt his heart swell sweetly at the small action, grinning bashfully as he grabbed it and wrapped it around his finger. “Thank you, Haruka,” he said, receiving a nod. “It’s nothing, Uncle Rikiya.”

He was about to turn back to the chopping board when he heard Haruka speak again. 

“It’s Uncle Kaz, isn’t it?” she confronted, making the man sigh out a puff of air frustratedly. “Mikio told me,”

“I figured,” He laughed meaninglessly. “Since when he pieced everything together earlier, he hasn't stopped bugging me about this. I think he wants to set us up, but…” He trailed off and looked over at Haruka. She was giving him all of her attention, seemingly willing to listen. He still felt a bit apprehensive because she was Kiryu’s daughter, but it wouldn’t make any sense to back out now since the damage had already been done the moment Mikio decided to spill his business to her. He might as well finish everything off.

“...but it’s not going to work. I like Aniki. A lot. I wish it was possible to be with him like that, but it just isn’t meant to be. I don’t even know if he’s into men— he probably isn’t and—” Rikiya stopped for a second to breathe so he didn’t have another breakdown. “—and it’s so hard because I can’t let him know anything. I know I’m going to be rejected so why should I taint the thing I have with him? I might as well enjoy this friendship instead of messing everything up and making things awkward, but this is still really taking a toll on me, I think— And it’s all my doing, you know?” he finished with an exasperated sigh. It was weird how those few words were able to summarize the entire sum of his suffering and how refreshing it felt to voice it like this, even though it didn’t really improve his mood — no matter his emotions right now, feeling like he weighed a few pounds lighter than before was always a plus in his mind.

“Sorry, I… you’re his kid, I shouldn’t—”

“Don’t worry, Uncle Rikiya, it’s fine!” She beamed at him with a bright smile. “I don’t mind. It’s good to know that there’s somebody for him and that cares this deeply,”

“...Eh?” Rikiya blinked, trying to process Haruka’s words. “Somebody for him?” The girl nodded her head vigorously.

“I’m not sure what Uncle Kaz’s feelings are, but I know that since you started hanging out with us, he’s been much happier. It’s not my place to tell this to you, but… Uncle Kaz has been through a lot of bad things, and those hit much harder than he thinks they did, so having someone that he can hang out with and trust makes him feel better!”

“Just today, when he was organizing everything, he was pretty fidgety, waiting for you. You’re very important to him even though he doesn’t express that.” She explained and Rikiya just stood there, processing the words. 

“Again, I don’t know what his feelings are, but from what I’ve seen these past few hours… I think I have a pretty good idea,” she smirked at the man, making him splutter flusteredly. Haruka giggled at Rikiya’s reaction, though her face turned solemn quickly.

“Uncle Rikiya… You should confess to him,”

“Wh— I’m sorry, but there’s no way—”

“Shimabukuro-san,”

…

‘... Uh-oh,” Was all Rikiya thought. He had never heard Haruka — or anybody at all, really — use his last name because of the mouthful it was, so listening to it being said by somebody in that serious tone of voice was enough to shut him up. For some odd reason, he felt like he was in trouble.

Haruka heaved a small puff of air before speaking. “I think I understand where you’re coming from, but just— look at you! I can see that you’re sad just by looking, and that’s not good at all! I know it’s very risky, but if you don’t take your chance, when are you going to move forward?”

“Move… forward?” Rikiya repeated after a beat.

“For how long have you liked Ojisan?”

“Um… quite a while, actual—”

“And how has hiding that been working out for you?”

Ouch

Rikiya felt like he had been slapped in the face — no, he was punched in the gut and then slapped in the face. His eyes widened at the girl’s word, not expecting somebody as sweet as her confronting him this way, especially about this subject.

Haruka looked at him expectantly, waiting for an answer. How has this been working out for him? If he was frank, it wasn’t working out at all, but that was exactly the point — The way he was putting his desires to the sidelines was never to his benefit, it was for Kiryu’s. Now that he knows his company is appreciated to some degree, he has to work harder to hold himself down for as long as possible — Again, he didn’t want to throw this relationship away, and confessing would do exactly that; They would get awkward around each other and way too apprehensive, which would set them apart eventually. Even though that separation is inevitable in the future, he wants to cherish Kiryu’s company the most he can.

“It wasn’t. It was never supposed to,”

“Why not?” Haruka asked.

“I don’t act this way for my benefit — it’s for his. Now that you told me he likes having me around, it just gives me more reasons to not do anything and screw everything up,”

“... alright, but did you ever think about that, maybe, Uncle Kaz is not benefitting from this at all?”

“What do you…?” he trailed, thinking about what he was supposed to counter that with. He hadn’t actually thought about that as a possibility.

“The more you shut yourself off, the more distant you get, Uncle Rikiya. Ojisan might not seem like he notices these things, but he does, and he might get the wrong idea, you know? He will confront you when this gets worse and then you’ll need to tell the truth — If you don’t tell him now, he’ll figure it out. The only difference between now and later is that if you let this continue, the outcome will be much worse,”

“Worst case scenario, he rejects you, and the best-case scenario, he likes you back. They are very different outcomes, but they have something in common: either way, you’re going to get your worries off your back — It doesn’t matter which it is; In the end, you won’t need to feel like you need to hide — It’ll be easier to move on from those bad feelings, you know what I mean? Of course, the bad ending is going to be harder, but then you can move forward knowing that you did what you needed to do, and if things didn’t happen the way you wanted to, at least you gave your best shot,”

Rikiya was bewildered by Haruka’s words. He wondered how a girl who was only 11 years old was able to hold so much knowledge. He let her words sink in, analyzing them in his mind. He came up with lots of counters to that argument, but they all got shot down by her logic. Maybe confessing to Kiryu would make his situation better in the long-run, even though he knew he’d get rejected, but…

“Haruka, I… I don’t know what to say… I mean, thank you, but…”

Haruka kept looking at him, her eyes glimmering with silent hope. “But…?”

“... I mean, I see how doing this now will make everything better later on, but it doesn’t make this any easier — Either way, I will be needing to tell Aniki, and that is… I don’t know if I can…”

“Sorry, Uncle Rikiya, I can’t really help you with that part. It depends entirely on you...” She said, fidgeting a little. “...But I know you’ll do it because I believe in you!”

Rikiya felt his eyes sting again, but this time it wasn’t because of sadness, but because of joy. “I believe in you” was undoubtedly cliché, but it was said with such honesty, he couldn’t help but get emotional again. “Haruka…” he whispered and felt himself choke when the girl in question spread her arms out to him in a hug offering. Without missing a beat, he crouched in front of her and accepted the offering, Haruka wrapping her tiny arms around him and doing small circles on his back in a comforting motion. This situation was sweet and also a little amusing, Rikiya figured as he pictured the image of how this looked right now: A grown man brought to tears wrapped around a little girl like she was a lifeline while she comforted him like she was his mother. Honestly, he concluded Haruka was way more mature emotionally than he was, and somehow, that fact wasn’t humiliating at all.

Breaking the hug, he rubbed at his eyes with his palms to wipe the tears away. “God, I… thank you,” he said to her and witnessed her smiling bigger, blinking rapidly to persuade her tears to not spill. For such a young girl, she carried so much wisdom and determination, she was so kind and altruistic… She reminded him of someone he knew.

“Heh… You remind me so much of Aniki, did you know that? Like father, like daughter,”

Haruka gasped at that and Rikiya was able to see her eyes tearing up further for a reason he didn’t really understand. He was going to ask her if she was feeling alright, but then a faint smell showed up under his nose. It smelled like...!

“ The rice! ” He exclaimed, getting up quickly, moving the pot to another stovetop, and turning off the gas. He pulled out a fork from the dish rack and stuck it in the rice, moving it around to check the bottom, and — Yep, it burned. He frowned, putting the fork over the counter. “Yeah. I knew I smelled something off…” he murmured to himself before turning around to look at the slightly more composed Haruka. “It was just the bottom though, it can still be saved!” he encouraged, taking the liberty to grab another pan from the bottom cabinets and scooping the good rice out of the ruined bunch. 

Haruka just looked at him moving in the compact kitchen and thought to herself that, maybe, having Rikiya as another dad wouldn’t be so bad.

Chapter Text

Haruka settled the individual servings over everybody’s respective spot at the table while Rikiya aided in placing glass cups and cutlery by each plate. Mikio kept throwing him guilty glances as he moved, like he was saying sorry for something. Rikiya just smiled at him and nodded, understanding the sentiment — He guessed the reason Mikio looked so apologetic was that he realized he might’ve passed the limits on his attempts at bringing him and Kiryu together. 

Now, don’t get him wrong; Rikiya was absolutely pissed at the attempts when they happened, but looking back on things, Mikio did what he did with the best of intentions and, in the end, feeling pressured like that was the thing that encouraged his will to confess along with Haruka’s wise words, so really, he felt thankful. “It’s okay,” Rikiya whispered to him discreetly while smoothing a hand over his friend’s shoulder. Mikio tensed a bit, a slightly shocked by the action, but soon directed a smile of his own with a silent “Hai.”

Walking around the table to settle the things on the other side, Rikiya took advantage of Kiryu’s temporary absence from the room and the quiet atmosphere to think about how he was going to do things tonight. 

Haruka’s advice was really eye-opening in the sense that it made him see what was really happening to himself and how much more affected by this situation he actually was. He had to confess as soon as possible so he could sort himself out. 

It was sad to think this would most likely be the last dinner he was going to have with Morning Glory’s kids and their gorgeous caretaker, but that was a sacrifice he needed to make so things could get better in the future — It was a harsh reality to accept, no doubt, but seeing things the way they were proved that there was no other escape he could take. It was not like he wanted to run away from this anymore regardless, but now it was definite that this was his only viable choice.

His train of thought was interrupted by a whine coming from one of the kids. “Taichi! We’re only going to eat when Uncle Kaz gets here!”

“But Ayakoooo! I’m starving!!”

“We all want to eat, Taichi, but we should wait for Ojisan!”

“Can you please not start this right now—”

“This isn’t your business, Riona!”

“Wh— Taichi—!”

The trio continued to bicker, the others trying and failing to get them to stop yelling before Mikio stepped in to give them some of his scoldings. This dynamic was present every time they went to eat and, as annoying as this back-and-forth was to experience, Rikiya realized he was going to miss it so, so much.

He felt his eyes stinging again, but he was able to hold himself with ease this time around. He cried twice today — If he were to cry once again, his tear ducts were going to bruise and that was definitely something he did not want happening right now. Taking a subtle deep breath in, he placed the last cup on the table and seated himself over the opposite spot from where Kiryu usually sat — He wasn’t really in the mood of being right in the ex-yakuza’s line of sight, but he didn’t want to tell the kids to move either. 

He never complained about his seat’s placement before, so if he suddenly did, he’d raise suspicion among them and that would go completely against his objective of keeping his plan of confessing a secret — If the kids knew about it and learned that Rikiya wouldn’t be coming to the orphanage anymore because of his inevitable rejection, they’d blame Kiryu endlessly, and he didn’t want that to happen.

His thoughts were interrupted again, this time by the sound of a door sliding open and closed. Turning his head in the hallway's direction, he witnessed the man of his dreams coming inside dressed in his usual attire, hair shining under the light from the newly applied hair-gel. ‘Stunning, ’ was all Rikiya thought at the sight. Not like Kiryu had done anything differently — he looked like this every day — but still; The natural beauty, the healthy physique, the gorgeous brown eyes… — How was he not supposed to admire a man that managed to look this handsome every single day?

Focusing on the real world again, he felt his heart jump at the stare Kiryu was suddenly leveling him with. It reminisced the expression he wore when he was deep in thought about something, but now there was this little twist in it that Rikiya could quite identify the meaning of — Besides pensive, the expression was tinged with a pinch of… joy, maybe? 

He wasn’t entirely sure about what emotion was being conveyed there, but the thing he did know with utmost certainty, though, had nothing to do with the expression itself, per se, but rather with how long he was being looked at with it. The time dragged between them for longer than could be considered normal — it wasn’t just a fleeting look now, it was almost a staring contest — and when he realized that, Rikiya rapidly returned his gaze down to the wooden table, taking a sudden interest in the shape of the fibers that ran along the surface of it. 

Avoiding the stare seemed to make Kiryu snap from it as well if the way his movements stuttered before he sat down was any indication. Getting comfortable on the tatami, Kiryu granted his permission and, once a brief “Itadakimasu” was uttered, they all began to eat.

Not much time passed at all before Rikiya realized that half of his serving was already gone from his plate. Apparently, he was feeling way too anxious, basically moving his hand on auto-pilot, not even tasting the food. “Dammit, ” he thought. Settling the silverware on the table, he retracted his hands, hoping to give his body some time to process the barely-chewed mouthfuls. 

‘This is going to be really hard, isn’t it?’

Rikiya decided to ignore that mental remark. If he thinks about how hard his plan is going to be to execute, he’s going to get discouraged easily — he needs to worry about the difficulty when the time comes, and that wasn’t right now.

Looking up, he caught Kiryu staring at him again, this time with a face he had never seen being directed at anybody before. It was similar to the way he looked at Haruka sometimes, but a little different. Dreamy, even. 

It wasn’t just fond, no. 

It was also — dare he say — loving?

Rikiya shook his head and looked back down, unable to withstand his aniki’s stare on him. He heard some of the girls giggling around the table, but thought nothing about it as he went back to eating his food, ignoring the time he was giving his body to function in the first place. That warm look he received from Kiryu spread a wave of warmth through his heart, but the feeling soon turned constricting on his ribcage as he reminded himself that, despite this being the first time Kiryu looked at him like that, it would be the only time. Ever.

He finished his food before everybody else, carefully placing the utensils by the sides of the plate. He tried to remain still until the end of the meal, he really did, but he was feeling way too fidgety about… everything, really — his thoughts, his actions, his future actions... God, he despised this feeling. Why was it so hard to just… not worry for a couple of minutes?! ‘This is too much!’

With an “Excuse me,” Rikiya left the table hurriedly and went outside, sitting over the stone fence of the orphanage. 

Chapter Text

The scenery across from him looked breathtaking — The stars lined the dark, shining brightly across the entire sky. The gorgeous crescent Moon reflected over the water’s surface, distorted in wobbly shapes, mirrored in the most beautiful way among the freckled, inky atmosphere. Small waves crashed against the shore, bringing the sea level a tad higher before going back again, dampening the sand with the salty water — It was truly beautiful to look at, the sight managing to reduce his anxiety just a little bit.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough.

He told himself he wasn’t going to cry a third time, but Rikiya soon realized the emptiness of that promise as he felt warm tears staining his cheeks again. He didn’t really sob or hiccup. He just remained still, letting the salty liquid pour down his cheeks. “This is for the best, This is—” he choked, deciding to stop muttering so he didn’t escalate his weeping any more than he needed to. He drew in a deep, unsteady breath, clenching his eyelids shut and feeling the way they twitched along with his eyebrows from the dam of energy he was trying to tame inside his body. 

How did he get like this? Why did he allow himself to? This problem could’ve been avoided months ago if he just controlled himself better. This would’ve never happened, but then again, he couldn’t really turn back time and fix everything he did wrong. These were the consequences of his actions, so he was going to submit himself to them and go through this torture because it was what he deserved — Everything he’s feeling right now is his own trouble to bear and nobody else’s — that’s why he’s doing this, right? This was for the best.

Right??

Carefully, he exhaled the heavy air from his lungs, reopening his eyes and letting his head fall back bonelessly to look at the rest of the stars. He really wanted to admire them some more but figured he couldn’t focus on their beauty nor their shine, in place of the night sky appearing a blurred, wobbly, distressing, and depressing mess instead.

Rikiya parted his lips, breathing through his nose becoming too much of a hassle to manage. From his waterline, infinite tears materialized and trailed down his scorching face. His eyes darted everywhere, looking at different spots from the bent out of shape constellations. His chest trembled at every inhale, diaphragm spasming under his skin from how laboring it was to hold everything in.

‘This is what I deserve,’ He reiterated, the thought making his body shake and his knuckles pale from the strength he clenched the stone below him. ‘This is for me, this is for Aniki—’ His shoulders tensed. ‘A-aniki—’

Rikiya brought a knee to his chest and hugged it like his life depended on it. His embrace was so feeble, it was like his vitality was washing away from his body with the wisps of the unnaturally gelid breeze fanning over his clammy skin. He didn’t know if his heart was swelling or if it was shriveling away in his chest — All he knew was that it hurt in a way that made him view the word “heartache” with an entirely new perspective.

He jumped at the feeling of a hand touching his exposed knee but didn’t look down to see who touched him. “M-M-Mikio, I’m-m not—”

“It isn’t Mikio, Rikiya.”

The yakuza’s body went rigid. That deep tone of voice…

Rikiya snapped his gaze downwards to see if he was just hallucinating. He wasn’t. 

“A— Aniki…? ” He questioned meekly, feeling his grip falter around the leg squeezed to his torso. “W-wh-what...” he tried to speak again, but then he remembered the deplorable state he was in, making him turn away from the man and bury his tear-streaked face behind his thigh. “An-aniki-i-i, I… ” he tried again, but his throat constricted every time he tried to get any words out. He must look so pathetic right now, crumbling down bit by bit with the man he deemed most important in his life watching everything. This wasn’t supposed to happen! He was just going to confess his feelings, receive his rejection, and go home to have his breakdown there, but apparently, his subconscious mind had other plans for him. 

He felt Kiryu rub circles on his leg with his thumb in a comforting manner and that was the last straw.

The dam broke ungracefully; The tear flow had already ended because his body couldn’t keep up with the demand of tears, leaving him sobbing dryly. The remaining wetness of his own lashes added to the mess on his face as they pressed against his cheeks harshly, the skin around his eyes swollen red and delicate from his emotional discharge. His lungs worked overtime as he heaved large gulps of air in short spans of time, leaving an uncomfortable pain developing at the bottom of his ribcage the more he breathed. His bottom-lip twitched as he ground his teeth together in a way that made it seem like they were going to break from the strength. He couldn’t really focus on anything that was going on, but he was able to distinguish a warm grip against his wrists, which then migrated to his ankle carefully while he was in the middle of his catastrophic mental collapse.

“Rikiya, open your eyes,” Kiryu whispered quietly to him. Rikiya just shook his head. How was he supposed to open his eyes when he was there? He couldn’t do it.

Hands snaked on the side of his thighs, which made the yakuza open his eyes, startled. From what he could process, Kiryu had lowered his leg from the fence and unclasped his hands from around it, settling them carefully on his sides to give him more room to move closer. Involuntarily, Rikiya’s gaze focused on the caretaker, his breathing stopping when he looked at the other’s eyes filled with worry and concern. ‘Great!’ he thought bitterly to himself. 'I made Aniki worry!'

“I’m-m sor-sorr— ”

“Shh…” Kiryu hushed him, smoothing a caress over Rikiya’s legs. “It’s okay, it’s okay…”

Rikiya felt like one of Morning Glory’s kids being comforted when they had a tantrum, but regardless, the comforting voice that said everything was okay managed to make him breathe again much more calmly than before. “A-aniki…” he didn’t register how broken he sounded until his own voice rang in his ears. His throat was so dry, his voice rasped against the walls of his trachea and came out ragged as if it was dragged over the harshest type of sandpaper before coming out. 

“I-I…” 

He had to talk because if he doesn’t get the words out now, he’ll never have the willpower to try again — Not after this plain fiasco — but at every attempt, a choked noise came forth instead of words. He couldn’t articulate any syllables, jaw frozen in place along with the rest of his body. Rikiya berated himself in his head for not being able to say anything, a feeling of emptiness sweeping through him. 

He failed himself. 

He failed Kiryu.

He was never going to speak, was he?

Silence flourished between them, Kiryu still caressing the other’s thigh gently. Rikiya couldn’t look at him in the eyes again, instead opting to glance at the beach emptily, eyes devoid of any interest. A distressed sigh was heard below him, followed by an intake of breath as if the other was about to speak, but no words came. The yakuza shrugged mentally. He wouldn’t know what to say to himself either right now, so it was okay.

…

…

...

Seconds stretched into minutes and they just stood there, unmoving from their positions. The beach was really beautiful, wasn’t it? 

Too bad he’s never going to get this view ever again.

…

…

…

“... After everybody took their baths today, I went to take mine...” Kiryu started talking, piquing Rikiya’s interest.

‘Where’s he going with this?’ he thought, listening intently to what the ex-yakuza was going to say.

“And… my mind just wandered for a bit, until it settled into someone that I had in mind for a couple weeks now. I remember thinking about how I wanted to spend the most time possible with that someone; I wanted to hold them, love them, comfort them...”

‘Why is he telling me this ?’ Rikiya mused, closing his eyelids and taking a deep breath to brace himself — Whatever Kiryu was going to say in the next few minutes, it was going to hurt him deeply.

“But I thought that it was impossible for that person to like me the way that I like them. It just wasn’t happening. I remembered how uncomfortable I made them earlier in the day when I let myself lose control and I berated myself for messing things up royally… But then,” Rikiya tensed for a reason he didn’t really know. “Then, on my way to my room when I finished taking my bath, I heard some chatter coming from the kitchen. I peeked in a bit and ended up hearing the voice of my infatuation talking with my daughter— ”

Wait.

Rikiya’s attention snapped back to Kiryu, wide-eyed. 

He couldn’t possibly mean—

“—and you can’t even imagine the way that my heart flipped inside of me when I discovered that the person I’ve been obsessing over, leaving me sleepless at night… felt the same way about me. I just couldn’t stop looking at them when we dined together with everybody else, but suddenly, they left in a hurry from the table, and I… ”

“A-aniki? ” Rikiya stuttered, realization sweeping over him. 

‘Am I dreaming?’

“I was so worried. I went outside to look for them. I saw them perched on the stone fencing, trying to hold in their tears. It broke my heart to see them like that because they didn’t think that I was feeling the exact same thing. ”

“D-dammi-t...” the yakuza stuttered as his eyes glistened again, salty liquid accumulating over his lower eyelid.

“I knew I had to tell them. I had to open my heart to them and say what my real feelings are for them. I couldn’t hide anymore, not when I was this sure…”

Kiryu looked up at Rikiya. His eyes were also glossed over with tears, a lone one trailing down his face. Lacing their hands together, the caretaker blinked, and suddenly, his eyes filled with affection, adoration, and devotion. The yakuza’s entire body shivered at the look, a couple of tears escaping his waterline as he fluttered his lashes at the other man.

“I love you, Shimabukuro Rikiya. I love you with all my heart.” Kiryu’s voice wavered as more tears fell down his face. It was already the fourth time Rikiya found himself crying that day, but he didn’t care, because at that moment... 

… he was the happiest man alive. 

A couple of giggles escaped his lips and his body slumped from the sheer relief he felt crashing over his bones. He removed one of his hands from the entangle and, with a trembling arm, he reached for Kiryu, wrapping it around the back of the man’s neck and tangling his fingers in the gelled locks. His torso curved forward and over the ex-yakuza’s head and his legs crossed behind the man’s back, pulling him into a desperate embrace. It wasn’t the most comfortable of positions for him, taking into account he was still perched over the stone fencing, but neither of them cared, clawing at each other like their life depended on it “ A-aniki, I— ” Rikiya stuttered, those two words seemingly the only thing he was able to say for the last ten minutes.

“I love you too, Kiryu Kazuma!” He exclaimed into their embrace. His fingers twitching in the other’s hair. 

Rikiya still thought this moment was incredibly surreal — He looked for anything that indicated that this was a dream, but there was nothing. This was real. 

Kiryu loved him and that was all that mattered.

They stayed there for a while, sobbing into each other’s hold. Kiryu unlaced his other hand from Rikiya’s in favor of bringing both his arms around the man’s waist. Getting the message, the yakuza unwrapped his legs from the other’s back and let his body slide off the stone and onto Kiryu’s hold. Adjusting themselves, Rikiya found himself resting his head on the other’s shoulder, hands supporting themselves on a muscular chest; legs once again wrapped around the other body, this time at waist-length. Kiryu’s hands held the underside of Rikiya’s thighs, holding the weight effortlessly as he nuzzled the neck in front of him, leaving behind a tender kiss.

Bringing his palms to the sides of Kiryu’s face, Rikiya tilted the mainlander’s face towards his own, eyes darting to the other’s lips fleetingly. The yakuza brought their foreheads together and caressed his thumbs on the caretaker’s cheekbones, receiving a pleased hum.

“Aniki… may I— ”

“Kazuma,” whispered Kiryu. “Please, call me Kazuma. ”

Rikiya’s face broke into a gentle grin, closing his eyes and gently rubbing the tip of his nose against the others in a fond eskimo kiss.

“O-okay…” he giggled, one hand leaving the side of Kiryu’s face and, instead, weaving its way in between the roots of the man’s hair, fingers carding through the dark locks and brushing along the long strands until they reached the finer ones on the nape. A small exhale of air left Rikiya as he smiled sweetly.

“Kazuma… can I kiss you? ”

“I thought you’d never ask,”

“Oh, shut it!” Said Rikiya, smashing his lips to Kiryu’s. The mainlander chuckled into the kiss before melting into it. It was a slow, passionate, and a little rough kiss. A small nip was placed over Rikiya’s lower lip, making the yakuza smirk a little and part his lips for the other. Their tongues tangled playfully as they kissed. They had to part a couple of times to breathe before coming back to each other again. Strings of “I love you ”s were whispered between them as they swam through the romantic moment under the stars. Both their hearts were beating fastly, fireworks exploding in their minds as they delighted themselves in each other’s presence.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA— ”

“SHUT UP, RIONA! ”

The couple broke away from their kiss and their heads snapped over to the bushes by the inside of the other fence. There, trying to hide, were all of Morning Glory’s kids.

Oh, Mikio was there too.

“ABORT MISSION! ABORT MISSION! ” The Ryudo Family subsidiary shouted, running back inside the orphanage. All of the kids screamed as well, a couple of snickers and laughs in between the screeches as they followed Mikio, sliding Morning Glory’s door closed behind them. From the inside, giggles were still audible to the now stunned lovers.

Rikiya turned to look at Kiryu and Kiryu turned to look at him. Three seconds passed and, before they could control themselves, they broke out into fits of laughter. Both the men’s cheeks hurt from smiling so much, and they found that they didn’t really mind, the ache reminding them about the immense happiness they were experiencing in this moment.

“Ow, ow…” Rikiya whined as he pressed his fingers to his temple and massaged it lightly. Pain blossomed in his head, most likely from the insane roller coaster his head went through a few minutes ago. “My head’s hurting so bad…” he complained. Kiryu snorted, moving one hand from the yakuza’s thigh to smooth a few caresses on the other’s back. “How about I make you some tea? I think I also have some painkillers inside my room,” the mainlander offered. Rikiya smiled and nuzzled Kiryu’s neck, wrapping his arms around the man’s neck.

“I’d like that.”