Work Text:
Ritsu can’t help it if he stares. It’s just too bizarre not to. Because one moment his life is in order and everything’s set aside in their perfect little containers of ‘normal’, and the next moment his brother’s gone and thrown all those little containers onto the floor, a tumbled mess that Ritsu has no hope of cleaning up anytime soon. It’s infuriating, it’s a surprise, it’s just a plain old mess.
...Maybe he’s being a little dramatic.
But still.
He can’t shake the feeling that this is a little unexpected for his brother.
It had certainly come as a shock, seeing his brother hand in hand with the very buff, if somewhat bashful, Musashi Gouda. Hearing the term ‘boyfriend’ had been another shock altogether. Of course, Mob’s been out for awhile now, to their whole immediate family at least, so he knew about that part of his life, but… this guy? Really? He’s just so… loud and the exact opposite of Mob that Ritsu’s having a hard time believing it.
Ever since Mob had told the family that he’s gay, Ritsu’s been doing his darndest to help get him get a date– he’s got to be a good, supportive brother after all –and it had been going pretty well, pretty regular and normal until now. In all honesty he’d assumed Mob would start dating Teruki or, like, that Takenaka guy or something. But now that’s flown out the window and Ritsu’s at a loss as to how to react to this whole situation.
Maybe Ritsu and Mob just have a different taste in guys.
Maybe there’s more to this than meets the eye.
Maybe Ritsu really is being overly dramatic.
“Shige, don’t get me wrong, I support you completely, and, honestly it’s about time you got a boyfriend– but, like… are you sure about this?” Ritsu asks, parents and said boyfriend having a chat in the living room while the brothers set the table in the next room. He’s 100% certain the other conversation is much more awkward than this and only feels about 10% sorry for the guy. Mob only gives him a confused, if somewhat amused look.
“Yes? Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Eh, I dunno… it’s just… he’s…” What’s a good word for him? What can possibly encompass the weirdness of this situation? “...Different.”
Mob thinks for a moment. “Is he? Hm. I guess so.” He places a plate on the table. “Being different isn’t so bad, though. Besides, I… like him. He’s really nice.” He smiles, as if this isn’t uprooting Ritsu’s whole view of him. “Just give him a chance, I’m sure he’ll grown on you.”
Ritsu sighs, setting down silverware. “I will, I will. Just… be careful, I guess. I’m sure he’s a good guy. But don’t let a crush get in the way of seeing the negative side of someone.”
“Mm. I’ll try, if it’ll make you feel better…”
The five of them work together in the kitchen, helping prepare their dinner for the night. Their parents, though just as confused as Ritsu, quickly take a liking to Musashi and his jovial attitude. Ritsu would be lying if he said he didn’t feel enthusiastic just standing next to him and listening to him talk.
“Oh, you live on a farm?” Their mother asks, eyes lighting up. “That’s wonderful, my grandmother lived on a farm. Whereabouts is it?”
“On the outskirts of Thyme. It’s a really nice place, it’s been in the family for generations! My parents are still sorting out who’s going to be in charge of the place next. I was thinking it was going to be my sister, Muriko, since she’s the oldest, but she’s headed to some school to study to be a paleontologist. Next in line would be me, but I’m not sure I’m ready for something like that, heh…”
He talks on and on about farm life and Ritsu’s drawn into the spell of farm animals and early morning crop tending. He even shows some pictures on his phone of some of their cows and chickens, and even more pictures of him and his siblings. The whole time he talks, Mob beams and Ritsu’s only seen that smile on very specific occasions. Seated around the dinner table, listening to conversation drift, Ritsu can’t help but feel his worries drift away.
Well.
Mob is probably right about Musashi. He seems like a sweet, caring guy and even if he looks like he could crush him with just his arm Ritsu gets the sense that he definitely wouldn’t do that. And he can see the way he looks at Mob, with adoration and joy and an unbridled happiness that Ritsu doesn’t think he’s ever seen on anyone ever. He can’t help the childlike reaction of a barely hidden grimace at their sappy, lovestruck looks.
However, he panics when, through some scheming on his parents’ part probably, he finds himself and Musashi on dishes duty. Just the two of them. Well, three if you count the clear presence of awkwardness between them.
“So, uh…” He starts, frantically trying to think of something to say. “Um. How, uh, long have you known my brother?”
“Since middle school,” Musashi says with a fond smile, drying a plate he hands him and setting it carefully to the side. “We were in the same club together.”
“Ah, right. The Body… Improvement Club?”
“Yep! That’s the one. I was the president and everything.” He dries another plate. “That club was my pride and soul for all of middle school. It was an honor to hand it over to Jun and Mob when I went on to high school, although it was kind of sad to let it go.”
“Oh.” He’s grasping for anything he can use as a conversation point, something similar between them. “I was a part of the student council in middle school. That was an… interesting experience. Kamuro was an interesting person, to say the least.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah… I mean. He’s fine now, we’re still sort of friends I guess. Definitely toned down since middle school.” He half laughs. “He was certainly something, though.”
“Mm. I think I know what you mean. I was never too involved in school ‘politics’, except when Onigawara got tangled up in that whole mess. But I mean. We were all, like, 14 and 15.”
“And 13.”
“Right. We were all small and none of that stuff really matters anymore!” He shrugs. “Anyway, um, all that aside… there was something I wanted ask you…”
Ritsu braces himself. “Okay…?”
Musashi takes a steadying breath, fiddling with some silverware. “Ah… I was just wondering, um. Is this okay with you? Me and Mob dating?”
Ah. Not an easy question. Ritsu furrows his brow, wondering what on earth to say to that. On the one hand he could just say ‘yes, I think Mob’s got a good sense of character and you seem like a nice guy,’ or he could be mean and say ‘no, I barely know you and change freaks me out’. He doesn’t want to be mean and scare off Mob’s chance at a… life partner. But he also doesn’t want to just lie to his face.
“Well. Um.” Oh god, Musashi’s smile snuffs out in an instant, fear overcoming him. Ritsu hurries with the next part, not wanting to scare him. “You know what? You seem like a nice guy. I gotta be honest, though, I wasn’t really expecting this. Ever since Mob came out to me I’ve been trying to be his wingman and nothing panned out, until you, I guess, but none of that was me. Maybe I’m a little petty about that, I dunno.” He gives him what he hopes is a sympathetic smile. “Guess I didn’t really know what kind of guy to look out for, huh?”
The fear in Musashi’s eyes drains out slowly, replaced with something thoughtful.
“Oh. That… makes sense.”
“...Really?”
“Yeah! I remember trying to help my sister find dates all the time when I was younger. It annoyed her half to death, and maybe that was part of why I did it, but whenever we were out in town, I’d tell other guys that my sister was single. In retrospect that was kind of mean, heh.” He grimaces. “But you know what ended up happening?”
Ritsu blinks. “What?”
“She turned out to be a lesbian! So, like. I guess my point is, sometimes people close to us take us by surprise. There’s no shame in that, just means we get to know a new side of them and that they trust us enough to let us know.”
“Oh.” He does have a point. Maybe he really isn’t so bad of a guy. He laughs a little incredulously. “I guess you’re right. Sorry, I overthink things a lot.”
“It’s fine, it’s fine, happens to the best of us–”
“You two about done in there?” Ritsu’s mom asks, poking her head around the corner. “We’ve got the projector set up outside and the movie’s ready.”
Musashi’s eyes light up. “You have a projector!? That’s so cool, I’ve always wanted to watch a movie on one!”
Ritsu’s mom laughs. “It’s kinda rusty, but yes. Now, hurry up, we’re waiting for you two!”
“We’ll be there in a bit, Mom,” Ritsu says. “Just finishing up.”
Dishes dry and the five of them find seats on blankets and pillows out in their cramped little backyard, some action movie playing that Shigeo and their mom likes. Halfway through the movie Shou shows up uninvited (much to their parents chagrin) and joins them, not asking questions about Mob and Musashi yet, but Ritsu has a feeling he’ll be dishing out the details later. Throughout the rest of the movie Ritsu can’t help but think that maybe, just maybe, Mob’s judgement of character is better than his own, and that that’s a good thing.
All in all, he thinks that Musashi and Mob, though an odd pair, are also a perfect pair with contrasting qualities that mesh together like velcro.
The movie ends and Musashi says something about heading home, giving their parents cordial handshakes, giving Mob a hand squeeze and a loving look, and giving Ritsu a big, soul-crushing hug.
And Ritsu thinks even though all his containers in life are upset and scattered across the floor of his head, that maybe that’s not such a bad thing.
---
“Name’s Muriko, and this here’s Michi, Mao, and Masaru. Mom and Dad’s over in the living room, over there’s cousin Hyato, and cousin Nori and Kiyoko are still out in the barn. Aunt Hibiki is probably out lookin’ for Granny who, by the way, is Hinata Gouda, head of the ‘Gouda clan’ as we call it. It’s a pleasure to meet ya!” Muriko exclaims, sticking her thumb behind her to address each name and face that fills the room. She is not in fact met with the enthusiasm she’s expecting from the quiet guy Musashi’s introduced as his boyfriend.
“Who is that?” He says, instead, pointing behind her. She glances over and sees to her surprise–
“Uncle Katsuo, get away from the kitchen!” She exclaims. “Mom’ll have your hide if you so much as look at our food! Dinner tonight is special!”
Said uncle relents, caught red handed, sulking out of the kitchen into the backyard. Muriko rolls her eyes and turns back to her baby brother and their guest.
“Sorry about that. Anywho, come on in, make yourself at home. Any friend of ‘Sashi’s is a friend of ours, ‘specially if it’s the romantic kind.” She winks at Musashi, who just groans.
“C’mon Mob, I’ll show you around.”
Mob nods at him, and then says to her, “It’s nice to meet you, Muriko.”
“‘Course! Now go on, ya lovebirds.”
Muriko chuckles, watching them go into the next room, where she knows they’ll meet even more of their large family. She forces herself not to hover, though her curiosity burns– who is this guy? What has he done to make Musashi head over heels for him? What’s his deal? He’s completely unspectacular and lets everyone else do the talking. She’s never seen him before, though in her defense she’s been overseas for awhile. Musashi’s only talked about him a good 30% of their phone call time, but she’s not quite sure she’s seeing what he is.
Though, that might be because she isn’t into guys.
Who knows.
She watches Musashi laugh as a couple of their younger relatives convince Mob and him to play with them, running out into the yard with Mob tripping over himself behind them. Poor guy looks out of his element, surrounded by so many people, so much noise and movement. But, she figures with Musashi nearby he’ll be fine. Right?
God, Musashi would tease the hell out of her if he knew how much she was thinking over this thing.
Still, she worries a little, for the both of them.
“Hey, you little nuisances, leave the lovebirds alone for a second and go help Hyato in the kitchen!” She yells, making her way outside to the two of them sitting in the grass while the kids play pretend. The kids complain but bound inside anyway, excited to help. Mob slumps down into the grass, winded but laughing.
“Hey Muri! You need somethin’?” Musashi asks through dwindling laughter.
“Eh, not really. You shown Mob the barn yet?”
Mob perks up at that, a pleasant smile on his face. “The barn?”
“Yeah, you wanna see it? We repainted it recently, nice and bright now. We can show you the cows and the chickens if you want!”
Mob nods. “That sounds nice.”
“C’mon then, I got to check on some stuff out there anyways.”
Muriko leads the way, teasing them between some earnest conversation and laughter. Mob stays quiet most of the time, only nodding or contributing a few words now and then. Did she offend him somehow? Is he upset? Or is this just how he is? She gets the feeling that there’s more to this pandora’s box of a guy than meets the eye, but she’ll be damned if she ever figures out how to open it. Does she even want to open it?
The cows croon at them in their stalls when they enter the barn– a pair of identical twin girls rush out from behind some bales of hay, taking the three of them by surprise. While Muriko half scolds them and sends them back to the house, Musashi introduces Mob to their cows, encouraging him to pet them.
She can’t help it if she smiles fondly at them, at the way her little brother encourages and smiles and looks happy. It warms her heart to see the two of them together, smiling at each other. Even if she is trying to figure Mob out.
“So, ‘Sashi,” she goads, when Mob’s out of earshot with the cows and she’s asked Musashi for some ‘help’ with some ‘hay bales’. “I know you’ve told me about him before, but… what’s Mob’s deal?”
“His ‘deal?’ What d’you mean?”
“Like…” She waves her hand around, trying to think. “ Who is he? I hardly know the guy. He’s… not very forthcoming with information.”
“You haven’t exactly talked with him much.”
“Yeah, yeah. I can talk with him later, make sure he doesn’t break my baby brother’s heart,” she says with a wink and laugh at his horrified look. “I’m teasing. But I do wanna talk to him. I just… you are sure about this, right? He seems so out of place here. He’s so quiet and… small.”
Musashi chuckles, almost embarrassed for once. “He’s just like that, Muriko. Don’t worry about it, he’s got more to him than his quietness. Took me awhile to see it, but… trust me, he’s just as passionate as I am about life.”
She raises an eyebrow, glancing at a supposedly spacing-out Mob in the background.
“Well… if you say so. Let me know if he’s ever uncomfortable about anything, though.”
“Will do. Hey, do you know when dinner’s gonna be ready?”
Muriko checks her watch. “Mm, Mom said around six, so… ‘bout a half hour…”
They part ways with the doe-eyed cows, somewhat reluctantly on Mob’s part, but spirits are high and Mob seems to be getting more comfortable around her and the new environment. She has to admit, he is growing on her, with his hushed mannerisms and sincere words.
Six o’ clock rolls around and a summer breeze accompanies the folks setting up tables outside, everyone pitching in to set places and bring out food and chairs and table clothes, even Mob helps out where he can. Food steams and people bat bugs away, ice tinkling in glasses and the hens wander around in the yard nearby– the neighbor cats eye the food too, getting close and making quick friends with Mob, who seems absolutely delighted (and the cats are equally delighted at his hand-outs). Mob and Musashi find themselves situated right in the middle of her and the head of the table, resplendent as ever, Granny Hinata.
“You know, when I was your age, we didn’t have phones that could take pictures,” Hinata muses to Mob, who listens respectfully after showing her his phone and a few pictures on it. “No, no, we just had regular phones and regular cameras… pretty things for their own uses.”
“Oh!” Mob blinks. “My dad used to collect antique cameras. They look cool.”
“‘Antique’? My boy, how old do you think I am?” She laughs when he panics and tries to backtrack, patting him on the arm and leaning in conspiratorially. “Bah, don’t worry, I’m only teasing. Just don’t let anyone else around here know how old I am, they all seem to think I’ll turn into dust whenever the sun hits me.”
Mob holds back a giggle and the two of them chat for most of the dinner. This comes as some relief to Muriko– Granny Hinata seems to have a sense for people’s character, and if she and Mob are getting along well, she must like him. She elbows Musashi, seeing relief in his eyes too. He only elbows her back, telling her to shut up beneath his breath.
Dessert comes around and goes around, and everyone’s stuffed by the time folks are assigned to different clean up tasks, families with younger kids and a lazy uncle Katsuo making their speedy getaways. One way or another Muriko pulls has it so that she and Mob end up putting the chairs away out by the shed, while the rest work on dishes and putting leftovers away.
“So. You and my brother, eh?” She says without tact, taking him off guard enough that he almost drops the couple of chairs he’s carrying. She laughs. “No need to be afraid, I don’t bite! I’m just a little curious, I don’t know you hardly at all. ‘Sashi’s told me you two met through that club he was runnin’ in middle school, and that you’re an honest worker. That’s about all I know, though. Why don’t you pull up a chair and we can get to know each other a little better?”
He blinks in surprise as she takes a chair she’d been carrying and sets it down, sitting on it backwards. He follows her lead, though he sits in his properly.
“O-okay? Um. W… what do you want to know?”
She thinks for a second. “You have any siblings?”
He nearly beams at that, lighting up and relaxing instantly. “Oh, I have a brother. His name is Ritsu and he’s a year younger than me. He’s very smart and supportive and I love him very much.”
This is just about the most she’s heard out of him all night. “Heh, it sure sounds like it! Whereabouts do ya live?”
They talk for a long time, and it becomes less of an interrogation and more of an honest exchange of information. She discovers his love for action movies, he discovers her love for paleontology. She shares pictures of some of the dig sites she’s been to, and he shows her a selfie with his boss and coworkers (she’s not sure she heard right what the actual job was, though). They swap stories and swat at mosquitos, and by the time Musashi comes around to find them, the stars are just peeking through a thin veil of darkening sky.
She insists that they go enjoy the rest of their night while she takes care of the rest of the chairs, watching them walk off hand in hand. Her heart warms at the sight.
Even if Mob’s drastically different and has a certain air of mystery to him, she has to admit– he’s good for her brother. They complement each other well. She thinks that no matter what happens, Mob’s got a new family in them, and she makes a mental note to make sure he knows it eventually.