Chapter Text
“Soooo? How did you meet our lovely Touya?” Saki hummed, staring daggers towards her brother’s partner with an element of theatrics that mirrored her other brother. As the subject of conversation made his way home, Akito had found himself face to face with two nightmares. No pinching could make this any less real. Which was probably the worst part .
However, to give Saki the benefit of the doubt, she wasn’t that bad once he got to know her and her character. A bubbly ball of energy - from what Touya had mentioned in brief, not wishing to disclose too much due to privacy, Akito figured it was to make up for lost years within childhood. However, no matter how polite and lovely you are, your positive energy is all for nought if it’s reminiscent of him . Unfortunately for Akito, the him in question was also staring daggers, although he seemed to enjoy every moment of the act. Neither of them had the malice to actually despise nor interrogate Akito, for anger was not something that ran through the Tenma’s bloodstream, however a theatrical performance for the ages was . And, unfortunately for Akito, anything that could resemble a dramatic script was instantly taken on board. Especially if it involved the classic trope of interrogating the ‘recently betrothed’ partner to their youngest sibling.
Their relationship was not recent (if anything, it was a little later than anyone anticipated), however the specific details were not of concern to these actors. Often dubbed poor conduct in the industry, it could be argued that there was an art to playing a role, and it didn’t always have to reflect reality.
That’s probably what that guy would say, anyway, with a dramatic pose.
“Um… we met through music. Has he never told you?” The words ‘he tells everyone’ tried to reach the tip of Akito’s tongue, but with a heavy air (for dramatic effect!) laying into him, the words could not escape his lungs, let alone his mouth.
“No, he seemed to have kept it from us, for the sake of this secret arrangement-!” Tsukasa quickly threw in the last phrase, an absolute lie on his side, which made Akito scowl. Dedication to an art shouldn’t involve neglect of the world outside of it! He often told Ena that, before she shunned him out of her room for disturbing her flow… she always listened and would later quietly ask him for a drink or some food. He externally stated a victory against her evil ways, but internalized her gratitude and intended to continue taking care of her, because he knew she would do the same for him if ever he needed it (albeit not as explicitly as he does).
“Okay, now we both know you’re just lying. What’s the real reason you’re interrogating me, Tsukasa-senpai?”
“Hey! I’m here too!” Saki frantically waved her arms above her head to attract his attention, dropping the ‘intimidating sister’ act entirely. Trying not to chuckle, Akito appreciated the clearing of the air… though why it was polluted in the first place was confusing, since there was clearly no aggression nor bad intentions.
“And Saki-san…”
“Just Saki is fine! Though, since you’re dating my little brother and all, maybe I should make you call me ‘Saki-onee-chan’…” Her grin mirrored her older brother’s in an uncanny way, sending a shiver up Akito’s spine as her words processed in his brain. Once processed, another shiver shot through him.
“Sure… I’ll consider it.”
“Oh my gosh, for real?! That’s so kind of you, it makes me feel so fancy… Does that mean I get to call you my little brother too?” At the mention of ‘little brother’, Mizuki Akiyama’s haunting spirit appeared behind Akito, piercing into his soul as he remembered just how they acted upon getting together with Ena. ‘Real close’... he could certainly tell by the fact they referred to him like a brother-in-law.
“Saki, my dear Saki! Calm yourself! We have not even given him our ‘okay’ to marry our dear Touya, so how could w-”
“MARRY?!” Saki and Akito screeched in unison, Akito turning a shade of red that could possibly be classified as a visual danger due to the vividness of it. His hands shook as he covered his mouth, entertaining the thought a little too much. Marry Touya… he certainly looked dashing in a suit, as that one stand-in event he partook in proved… and that event also caused an internal dilemma within Akito as he had to stop himself from asking Touya to propose to him rather than the woman in the event. While it would’ve added to the drama, it was not scripted at all. Rui would have entertained it, and An would have been entertained by it. There was a clear difference that he was not willing to allow. But, the past aside, a future with Touya as his spouse, making him his husband and waking to see him everyday…
“Sorry, am I interrupting something?” All three heads sharply turned towards the voice, a silent agreement in unison to not mention the previous topic. At the doorway, Touya stood with his phone in his hand, staring in confusion at the triangular formation of those closest to him.
“Nothin’! They were just… asking about how we met. Thought we’d leave it for you to fill Saki-san-” a whisper of ‘Saki-onee-san!’, only audible to Akito, made him blush deeper than humanly possible as he attempted to at least remain composed in his tone of voice, “-in…”
“Yeah! You’ve never told me, Touya! I wanna know all the deets~” Tsukasa gasped at her use of a clipped word, though in an exaggerated manner that made its lighthearted nature clear.
“Alright, I’ll tell you… another time.” He walked over to his partner and his siblings, flashing an (attempted) mischievous smile to his disgruntled sister.
This was his family, the ones who took him in because of who he was, not because of what he could do. It felt nice to have them all in the same place, and it was even nicer to know those he loved were grouped together because they loved him back.
“Ah, yeah, didn’t you say you’d leave Touya some pancakes on the side…?” Akito gestured to the side in question, addressing Tsukasa but catching Saki’s attention too. They both thought for a moment, then turned to look at each other.
“I’ll go grab it first!” Being the first to move, Saki bolted towards the side, though despite best efforts to get a head start her efforts were quickly thwarted by Tsukasa, who grabbed her by the wrist.
“While you are my dearest, most wonderful younger sister, as the oldest of us three, I simply must be the one to serve our dear youngest sibling!” Playfully, Tsukasa held her back in a hug, as she giggled in his embrace
“I’m your only dearest, most wonderful younger sister!” Was all she could muster to say before collapsing into a fit of giggles, leaning backwards into her older brother’s embrace.
“Exactly! And I love you so very much, just as I love Touya - our wonderful younger brother - so much!” He buried his head into her neck, making her laugh harder, and Akito scoffed at the adorable embrace. It was adorable, and the love these siblings held was as clear as day; however, all he could think of was, if this was he and Ena, she would’ve throttled him with no regrets and taken the food for herself.
Siblinghood was something entertaining but also perplexing to analyze. Not that he was one for intense analysis.
“Are you okay, by the way?” Tapping Akito gently on the arm, Touya received a raised eyebrow in reply, as the one offering him such a response shuffled a little closer to him. Speaking again in a softer tone, he continued, “When I walked in, you were bright red. What did Tsukasa… what did Tsukasa-onii-san and Saki-onee-san say to you?” Although he had no intent to seem hostile, his tone came off harsher than intended, so he attempted to rephrase. “I just wanna make sure they didn’t say anything that would feel awkward to you, since I care about you all.”
“Well, it was nothing, but… what’s with the sudden ‘onii-san’ and ‘onee-san’?” Omitting the statement about deja vu that he initially planned on making, Akito smiled at Touya once more.
“Well, I had been thinking when I was walking back, and… since I am a Tenma now, and my brain has really processed and acknowledged this, I thought it was rude to refer to them by just name, since they’re my older siblings… they didn’t seem to mind so much but I still wanted to make sure I wasn’t being disrespectful, since they took me in…” Touya trailed off, only to suddenly remember his final point. “Also, it didn’t seem like ‘nothing’, though I’m sorry if I’m making a wrong assumption. I’ve just never really seen you that red.”
“You’re always so polite and formal, I kind of envy your manners…” He chuckled and answered Touya’s additional statement, “And yeah, it wasn’t ‘nothing’. It was just embarrassing…”
“You can tell me!”
“Well, uh… Tsukasa-senpai basically implied that we might get married someday, and although it was probably just a dramatic comment - as he always makes - it still made me think a little, and yeah. That bastard put stupid sappy thoughts in my brain.” Although the last sentence came out as a hiss, it lacked the usual malice Akito held towards Tsukasa; he’d never admit it, no matter the stakes, but he was softening to Tsukasa. Whether it was due to Touya’s closeness with him or the hospitality he’d offered to Akito, as his brother’s partner, was unanswered. Mostly because he didn’t know himself. And he didn’t really want to entertain the thought that he might like Tsukasa as a person now.
“Would you marry me, Akito?” The words slipped out before he could think about it, and Touya quickly slapped his hand to his mouth. “In the future, I mean! We’re still kids and we have our education to worry about, and-” Erupting into laughter, Akito nudged Touya softly, as Saki and Tsukasa finally ended their ‘fight’ on the sidelines and chose to prepare Touya’s snack together.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so flustered, that was a sight!” As Touya struggled to look Akito in the eye, he smiled and wrapped his arm around Touya’s shoulder and moved him closer, whispering his next words, “I love you, Touya. If you still love me when we can legally get married, I’ll happily take you as my husband forever.”
“You act like I’ll ever stop loving you…” Quickly planting a kiss on his boyfriend’s cheek, he shuffled towards the plate of food that his siblings so kindly prepared and thanked them for the kindness.
With his focus being on the food, he failed to notice both Saki and Tsukasa grinning at Akito, who had hoped they hadn’t heard or seen anything.
They, in fact, did.
It was the role of the older sibling to meddle, after all.
As he ate the pancakes they had prepared, having ensured they weren’t too sweet due to his palate preferences, his phone dinged on the side he’d left it on. Within a few seconds, Akito was by his side, handing him his phone gently.
“It’s An.” An? She never texted Touya privately. While she would absolutely blow up the Vivid Bad Squad group chat with mugshots of herself and her father, alongside random customer updates and the billionth Kohane love essay, she seldom texted Touya in a one-on-one dm.
Unless it was urgent.
Warily, Touya opened the chat, as Akito peered over him. He had no intention of being nosy, however he had clearly caught onto Touya’s worry.
So had Saki and Tsukasa, who both stared at Akito with a mutual stare of understanding.
Something was up, and the mood had shifted.
An Shiraishi: Hey, touya! I dont mean to worry you at all, chances are I’ve got the wrong end of the stick, but I thought you deserved to know what just happened in the café
Touya: what’s going on? Did i leave something with you by accident?
An Shiraishi: No, no! Not at all haha
An Shiraishi: We just had a guy come in, asking about you.
Touya’s blood ran cold. The clock stopped ticking.
He already expected what was coming next.
An Shiraishi: He wasn’t someone i recognised, which already concerned me, but then he said he was your brother??
Fuck. You had to be kidding. It was somehow worse than what he expected.
An Shiraishi: I told him I didn’t know who you are, and he must’ve been in the wrong place, because I wasn’t sure
An Shiraishi: Obvs i don’t know everything and I could be misreading this situation, but I know you’re not particularly close with your blood relatives
An Shiraishi: you don’t have to tell me anything ofc, because i respect your privacy, but if you need anywhere to vent I’m always here
He raised a hand to his forehead and tried to regulate his breathing, for it had skyrocketed within seconds. His lungs were closing in. The walls were closing in. Everything was closing in and he was going to be trapped forever and ever under his father’s control and-
“Touya.” Tsukasa placed a hand to his back, as Akito and Saki stood to his left, both staring in concern. As Touya looked up at his older brother, his vision blurred through tears, and Tsukasa softly wiped his face with his other hand. “Breathe for me, Touya.” He guided Touya to ease himself, and eventually his heart rate slowed down as his breaths regulated.
“He’s trying to find me.” Touya choked out in between tears. “He’s sent my brothers to find me. They went to Ken-san’s café. They’re not… They’re even meant to be here.” The three surrounding him shared a mutual look, and Akito quickly took Touya’s phone to reply to An as his partner sobbed into Tsukasa’s chest. Although he wished to offer Touya physical comfort too, he knew he would only overwhelm his partner, so he offered him aid in another way, instead.
Touya: hey, it’s akito
Touya: thank you for telling him and for doing what you did
Touya: I’m not sure how much more I can say, as I’m sure he’d rather tell you himself, but he’s been staying with the tenma’s as of late, so his family looking for him is a really bad thing
An Shiraishi: Oh god!! Is he okay?! I’m sorry if my message upset him!!
Touya: no, its okay! Its best that he knew anyway, so you really did the right thing by shooing his dickhead brother away and letting touya know
Touya: we’ll keep him safe, and I’ll keep you updated (on my phone ofc(
An Shiraishi: Stay safe, you guys!! I’ll be telling his family to piss off if they invade our street
An Shiraishi: You guys can always come here if you need it!! Discounts for Touya’s family, of course :)
A dark air filled the room, as they all understood what this meant, both for Touya but also the family that had been made - the safety was coming to an abrupt end.
If Touya wasn’t unsafe under his father’s roof, he ensured no other roof he could go under would be safe.
This was only the beginning, it seemed.