[log] Kenya & Yuushi
Nov. 19th, 2018 10:27 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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tennis_hellWho: Oshitari Kenya and Yuushi
What: Kenya is freaking out waiting for Shiraishi to come over and gets the surprise of a lifetime when he finds out that his cousin is in his house and not leaving.
When: September 7th before this log
Where: The now-shared Oshitari residence
Rating: G
Note: For the sake of this log and the one to follow between Kenya/Yukari, we're wrapping up the story line from September. It might not be relevant should we get a new Shiraishi, but the cousins are cute, so just something to keep in mind. ♥
A run had been a good idea. It seemed like such a simple suggestion - of course Zaizen knew Kenya well and therefore usually knew what he needed when he was in a moment of distress, but it was also one of those things where Kenya should have just started with a run rather than allow himself to become so wrapped up in the events of the evening.
It truly wasn’t how he intended for Shiraishi to find out about his and Yukari’s relationship. They had talked on numerous occasions about how they didn’t want to keep it from him any longer and wanted to find a time when they could tell him together. But, as the best laid plans of mice and men usually went, they got busy, then exams rolled around, then summer came with lots of travel between Tokyo and Osaka and Shiraishi disappeared for a month on his own travels, and then everything came back full circle to this particular evening when Yukari instead spilled the news to Shiraishi online.
Not that he was upset by Yukari doing so - not at all. It wouldn’t be fair considering she was simply telling her big brother something important in her life that she hadn’t shared with him yet despite the fact nearly nine months had passed since it began. While the decision to keep it private had been mutual, it truly hadn’t been intentional for it to have gone on for so long (how had nine months already even passed to begin with?), and, well, the grave was dug, and Kenya was just going to have to deal with the repercussions of being the best friend dating the younger sister without telling the big brother and best friend.
But the run truly did help clear his head somewhat and Zaizen joining him only further calmed his nerves. He felt less spazzy, though no less anxious at the promise of Shiraishi seeking him out later, but it was easier to not hone in on all the manners of death in his future care of Shiraishi Kuranosuke when the happy endorphins were pumping through his veins.
The front door opened and closed with a click, and Kenya called out an, “I’m home.” It was mostly out of habit, and not directed toward anybody in particular except for maybe Speedy should she had moved away from her heat rock long enough to greet him. He leaned back against the door to unlace his trainers, slip his feet out, and shove them into the shoe racks in the genkan without so much as noticing there seemed to be some additions.
Thanks to his father, Yuushi had a key to the place he would now share with Kenya. Granted, most of his things were still back in Osaka, but the important items had come along, namely three of his favorite movies, his PlayStation (with the necessary accessories), some clothes, a notebook, and his phone. There was plenty of time to get most of it back to Tokyo before the term began.
Letting himself in, Yuushi called out, "Kenya!," waited a few moments then gave himself the lay of the land, placing all the foodstuffs he had been given by their grandmother into the kitchen, then finding the non-Kenya occupied room and unpacking his things.
Showered and in the most comfortable pair of lounge pants he owned, Yuushi made quick work of setting up his gaming console and switching it on to start playing. Kenya would be home eventually, he thought, deciding that surprising his younger cousin would be a much better gift than announcing his arrival in advance.
Completely oblivious to the fact that he wasn’t alone, Kenya went about his usual business after returning from a run. He bypassed the living area completely to instead head into the kitchen to retrieve some greens and then seek out Speedy. She had free roam of the place, and was known to gravitate to various sunny spots within the house as it crossed its journey through the sky, but ultimately her favorite place to be was on her heat rock - which was exactly where he had left her prior to leaving.
A few moments passed as he fed her the greens and stroked her affectionately a few times on the top of her head. Once he was certain that she was indeed still happy and thriving, he checked the temperature of the heat rock to double check it was where it was supposed to be, and then was back on his feet - this time to grab loungewear before heading into the shower room where he stripped off the clothes sweaty from his run, dumped them in the washing machine, and then hopped in the shower to wash away what remaining jitters he had left. It didn’t escape his notice that the shower was wet - odd given he hadn’t showered yet that day, but not so odd given the humidity and heat that could have left the shower still wet from the night before.
Once his ass was squeaky clean, dressed in comfortable pants, and a towel draped over his neck, Kenya felt immensely better. There was even a bit of a bounce in his step as he returned to the kitchen to grab an ice pop from the freezer (a summer tradition, of course), with every intention of plopping said squeaky clean ass down on the couch in front of the TV to try to drown away his problems before he had to somehow face his best friend.
Yet that TV was occupied. And suspiciously, so was the space in front of the TV, filled by none other than his dear cousin who was supposed to be in Osaka and most definitely not in Tokyo, and more importantly why was Yuushi there?
“How—why—” Kenya couldn’t help the incredulous tone as he accented his words with a wave of his hand - as though it would somehow mean more to his cousin by flailing around. “Actually, wait, no. Back up. What the hell are you doing here, Yuushi?”
Which wasn’t to say that he wasn’t glad to see his cousin! If anything, given the circumstances, it was actually genuinely a relief that Yuushi should somehow pop up just when he needed him the most. It just also didn’t change the fact that he was supposed to be in Osaka. And why had he made himself all cozy with his Playstation?!
Yuushi's eyes followed Kenya around their now-shared place, bemused that the other man didn't seem to recognize that he was there. He noticed his precious iguana-niece basking in her warming light then Kenya being the doting iguana dad, but still his cousin didn't notice him. It would be insulting if it were anyone else.
Eventually though, much to Yuushi's relief, Kenya stopped moving and sat down. He paused the game and set the controller down, leaning back on his arms and tilting his head to face Kenya. Too bad his phone was charging as the look on Kenya's face was absolutely priceless.
"I was starting to worry about you, Kenya," Yuushi finally said. "Thirty more minutes and I would have actually worked to get your attention."
He smiled at Kenya then got up and sat next to him. "Good evening." Yuushi smiled at him then got comfortable. "How was the run?"
It took every ounce of Kenya’s willpower to not stare at Yuushi completely flabbergasted, his expression instead twisting into something that probably (hopefully) resembled a smile? Maybe? Which was not to say that the incredulous look in his eyes had completely subsided, but at least he tried his best to actually look pleased by the presence of his cousin.
“It was good,” Kenya said a bit dumbly, flopping back against the couch and sinking into the cushions. He was being a terrible cousin and he knew it. There was probably a perfectly logical reason for Yuushi and his Playstation to be there. His eyes wandered to the controller lying innocently in front of them before looking back to Yuushi, now a more genuine, almost hopeful smile forming across his lips. “Uh, well, hi. I don’t know if I would have even noticed if you tried to actually catch my attention, I was kinda in lala land.”
Yuushi chuckled slightly at that. Lala land was an understatement. Kenya had been on a completely different planet. "There are few things that can distract you so, dear cousin." He hummed thoughtfully. "It's either Zaizen trouble, Shiraishi trouble, or girl trouble. I didn't come all this way because aunt and uncle thought you were having school trouble."
They hadn't asked him to come at all; Yuushi had decided of his own free will that Kenya Could Not™ be alone in Tokyo and therefore announced at a family dinner he was moving back to Tokyo and would transfer to the same medical school. Six years of experience in Tokyo would be helpful to his barely younger-than-him cousin. (Nevermind that he had heard a rumor that Atobe might be coming home. Kenya was more important than Atobe.)
"So, which is it? I don't think it's Zaizen. He usually just exasperates not this," Yuushi said, waving his hand in Kenya's general direction.
“Well that’s the understatement of the century,” Kenya grumped, twisting his body around so he could bury his face into the pillow. Yuushi was right - his troubles usually did come down to one of those options, but he wasn’t about to give his cousin the satisfaction of knowing that, and fortunately this particular instance was exasperation and Zaizen trouble free. He took a deep breath of supple leather before letting it out slowly and peeling himself away once more.
“Where do I even start?” He laughed, though it wasn’t the usual boisterous laughter that would usually be inspired by his and Yuushi’s conversations, and ran his fingers back through blonde hair before messing it back in the opposite direction. He would unpack the reason why Yuushi was actually there - in the meanwhile, having an outlet that wasn’t Zaizen and Yukari was incredibly appealing. “Uh, I guess it’s a combination of Shiraishi and girl trouble? Basically, Yukari told Kura ‘bout us dating, and he took to it incredibly well.”
Yuushi cocked his head to the side. If things had gone well, then why was Kenya completely distracted? "That doesn't make sense," he started. "To begin, I thought you had a crush on him, not his little sister. Though, I suppose you've always had a thing for people bossing you around."
He smirked at his cousin. "I'd suggest dating both, but I doubt Yukari-chan would like you dating her and her brother at the same time. I think I watched or read something like that once, but if I recall, it didn't entirely work out. One of them realized his true feelings and everything just fell apart." That likely wasn't what Kenya wanted to hear. Yuushi reached over and patted him on the knee, scanning his face for a tell of any kind. "Now, that's nothing for you to worry about, hmm?"
Yuushi was certainly right - that wasn’t really want Kenya wanted to hear. On the other hand, he did actually appreciate the humor and the well placed jab at the whole thing where people assume that he had a crush on Shiraishi; even if it was far from the truth. (That said, if Kenya was into dudes, Shiraishi definitely wouldn’t have been a poor choice, but that was neither here nor there.)
That didn’t mean he really wanted to consider the implications of what it would actually look like to date both Shiraishi siblings.
“Yuushi,” he admonished, though he gave him a bit of a lopsided smile. “Nah, not at all. Well, and all of your joking aside, I think that we’re gonna be fine, but it just wasn’t at all how I wanted it to come out. I was thinking that we’d tell him together, not have Yukari spill the beans online.”
"I was also thinking it wouldn't have taken you almost a year to say something to him, but here we are," Yuushi said, a slight judgmental tone to his voice. At least he no longer had the weight of keeping it a secret from anyone even though he had been dying to tell someone.
Yuushi leaned back into the couch. "Of course it will be fine. Unless you do something stupid, like break her heart, but we both know you won't do that. You know better." If he didn't, Yuushi had an entire digital collection of movies that would change his mind.
Kenya knew that it wasn’t going to be the first or the last time he heard various comments about waiting so long to tell Shiraishi. It really hadn’t meant to drag on as long as it had - especially once Yukari had moved to Tokyo - just the months seemed to pass by so quickly with trying to keep up with everything that… well, they were all excuses, but the point remained. “Yeah, yeah, I know. I didn’t think it was going to be that long, either.”
He sighed and followed his cousin’s lead in leaning back to the couch. It really wasn’t any use worrying so much about Shiraishi. In fact, there was really no point in worrying much at all because it was going to end up the way it was meant to end up, and wait a minute, did Yuushi mention something about breaking Yukari’s heart?
“Of course I know better,” he said, twisting around so he could instead stretch his legs out to rest them over Yuushi’s lap. “I love her.” Even as the words left his lips, he couldn’t help the happy, bubbly feeling that tickled his stomach.
Yuushi was about to remark about Kenya getting distracted when those wonderfully simple words fell from his lips.
"You love her?" he asked excitedly. Oh, that was absolutely lovely. He supposed it was obvious, considering that Kenya had been acting more oddly than usual and more easily distracted. Yuushi had chalked it up to med school, exams, and not wanting to disappoint certain family members.
In any case, the situation was wonderfully romantic. Austen couldn't have done better. Maybe. "I do hope you've told her. If I'm the first to know of this, then there is a major issue we need to discuss."
Of course that would be what Yuushi honed in on first - his cousin was a hopeless romantic with a collection of books and movies that could rival an avid collector. He could have sworn that he had mentioned something… but then again, everything had been such a blur lately, and things just seemed to creep up on him without realizing, and it just didn’t surprise him in the least that it hadn’t come out.
But… wasn’t Yuushi super in tune with these things? And why would he think that he hadn’t told her? He may have been a failure of a best friend, but he’d like to think that he was a pretty good boyfriend. Were there people who didn’t tell their significant other they loved them? Well, he supposed that it wasn’t as common in their culture to be so outwardly affectionate or speak in such plain words… but he had never really fallen perfectly within their culture lines, and he was probably overthinking this.
“Oh my god, Yuushi.” Kenya brought his hands up to his face in an attempt to hide the fact that his cheeks had grown warm. Why was he blushing? This was a time when he was supposed to be proud - yeah, he did love Yukari, and she loved him, too. So why was he acting like this?
...That probably wasn’t the only thing Yuushi wanted to hear.
“Okay, okay, no, I’ve got this.” Now he was just talking to himself. He lowered his hands to give Yuushi a bit of a sheepish smile. There was no reason not to milk it for all it was worth, right? “Of course I’ve told her - and… she told me she loves me, too.” The sheepish smile turned brighter; the warm, fuzzy feelings of love and butterflies in the stomach were seriously no joke.
Kenya was adorable when he blushed. Too bad Yuushi didn't have his phone nearby or he would have snapped a picture and texted out to Yukari on pure principle.
"Oh good, you didn't mess it up," Yuushi said proudly. They didn't have to have a conversation on how to be an excellent boyfriend. He hoped they would never need to. Kenya was aware of What Not To Do (TM), so Yuushi put it out of his mind for the time being.
Onto just-as-important things. "I do apologize for not telling you before I randomly showed up, but I just had to see the look on your face. I hope I'm not intruding or being an inconvenience. If I am, I can crash with my parents or Erina."
“Of course I didn’t mess it up - what do you take me for?” Kenya laughed, the sheepishness and shyness melting away to confidence once more. It’s not like he needed to be all shy on Yuushi’s behalf, anyway. He lightly shoved him just because he could and then flopped back on the couch with his head pillowed against his arm.
That’s right. He had somehow managed to forget the fact that Yuushi being there was actually a surprise to begin with. “Don’t be silly. I’m not gonna kick you out or anything. You could have told me instead of purposefully wanting to see my reaction, but I’m really happy you’re here.” That was the understatement of the century - truly. In all honesty, the happiness couldn’t be rated on a scale.
Yuushi smirked. "Someone less in tune with the ways of romance, obviously." Not that he thought Kenya wouldn't be able to manage. Clearly he was doing fine, mostly. Minus that one hiccup at the beginning, but since that was resolved now, it was okay.
"And no, I couldn't tell you beforehand," Yuushi said. "The surprise was necessary and completely made the secrecy worth it." He gave his cousin a brilliant smile. "I am absolutely thrilled to be here though, I'm sure both of us will hear from grandmother about us not being in Osaka instead."
It wasn’t like Kenya wasn’t the sort of person who didn’t love surprises, anyway. Really, the only thing that was missing was confetti guns letting loose glitter and star shaped confetti, but all that meant was that Kenya needed to make a run to Daiso to pick up just that and shoot it all over Yuushi the next time he came home.
In fact… that was an amazing idea. It was probably written all over his face, but Yuushi was just going to be left in the dark for that one.
“That’s an understatement,” Kenya said smoothly, bending a leg at the knee and crossing his other leg across it to let it bounce in the air. “It was bad enough when you moved away the first time. Dad had to, uh, curb her enthusiasm? If that’s how you wanna put it?”
Yuushi did not like the look on Kenya's face. It screamed of a plan meant to surprise or scare the shit out of him, but he chose not to say anything. There were plenty of ways to get his dear cousin back over time. If it was a one upmanship contest Kenya wanted, then Yuushi would happily oblige.
"Grandmother can blame my father for that. I suppose uncle can too if he so wishes, but she had me back for a few years. There's always visiting of course. Or, perhaps, we could convince her and grandfather to move here, hmm?"
It was a pipe dream though. They both knew their grandparents would never leave Osaka permanently. It was already a struggle to get them to visit Tokyo on occasion.
There was no way that was ever going to happen. Their grandparents moving to Tokyo would be the same day that the Oshitari family would not be in medicine. “Yeah right,” Kenya laughed, poking at Yuushi with his toe. “I will drop out of medical school tomorrow if Grandma somehow agrees to move to Tokyo.” Besides, it wasn’t as though Kenya himself didn’t have every intention of moving back to Osaka himself - he and Yukari both knew that ultimately they wanted to settle there.
And that thought was enough to explore a billion little butterflies into his stomach at the thought of being with Yukari for enough time that they would move back to Osaka together.
“They should definitely come visit, though,” Kenya continued. “Maybe we can host a family dinner or something.”
"Oh, don't do that, on account of Grandmother," Yuushi said with a slight frown. "I won't have anyone to play doctor with or dress up Mister Darcy for holidays." His beloved anatomical skeleton would soon have a place of honor in their living room, top hat and all. "Regardless, once I'm settled in, yes, we should invite them all for dinner."
Yuushi had taken a quick mental image of the space when he had arrived and even with his parents, sister, Kenya's parents, Kenya's little brother, their grandparents, and Yukari (perhaps Shiraishi as well), he was certain there would be enough room. "That's potentially a party of twelve. Might be better to ask Keigo if I could borrow one of the lesser dining rooms for the event. Which would bring the number to thirteen as I clearly couldn't use Keigo's home without inviting him. I suppose Erina could bring her boyfriend to make it fourteen..."
He looked at Kenya to make sure his cousin's eyes hadn't glossed over at the impromptu planning. "And yes, you would have to dress nice."
Kenya wasn't quite sure if Yuushi knew what the term playing doctor meant in the context of them being grown men now and not five, but he wasn't about to touch that one. “Oh yeah~? Speaking of that, I've got a new Santa hat for him this year glitter and all.”
If anything, Kenya only seemed to grow in excitement for Yuushi's thinking out loud. He loved the idea of having the entire family together and even better if it could be hosted at one of Yuushi's dearest friend's house. And the Atobes always seemed to have amazing food available at all times - and private cooks. “Of course I'd dress nice,” he said, grinning brightly. “I'll even go black tie if we wanted to go extra fancy.” And Yukari would look amazing in that sort of dress.
Yuushi paused in his mental dinner party planning. "I do hope it comes with a matching bowtie," he said. "I think I have a beard in one of his clothing trunks." Mr. Darcy definitely did not have as large a wardrobe as Yuushi, but he could definitely make a statement for the holidays.
"Just because it's Keigo's home doesn't mean it needs to be formal black tie. You know I'm going to look at your closet to determine if you have the appropriate clothes, right?" Yuushi loved his cousin dearly, but his fashion sense left much to be desired. It was decidedly non-Oshitari as compared to most everyone else in their family. "I would be horrified if you looked anything less than polished next to the lovely, Yukari-chan."
A thoughtful look passed over Kenya’s face as he considered that. “I don’t have a matching bowtie with that hat, but I’ve probably got something in all the random stuff from Shiten.” Though he was a total neat freak and didn’t like a ton of clutter, he did have a few containers filled with memories of all those years spent as a Shitenhouji student. He hadn’t gone through them since he moved out of his parent’s house, but he was sure that he’d have something suiting for Mr. Darcy.
“Of course I’d look polished,” Kenya said with a huffy grin playing on his features. “I have made some upgrades to my wardrobe over the years, you know.” Which wasn’t to say that Kenya’s closet and drawers weren’t still filled with a random assortment of bright colors and patterns that he wasn’t shy to pair together, but entering adulthood had at least reigned him in somewhat when it came to what was appropriate for certain events. “And yeah, of course it doesn’t have to be formal black tie, but wouldn’t it be fun?”
"We can start a bow tie collection for him. They look rather dashing around his spinal column." Yuushi smiled. Mr. Darcy had been their study skeleton for years. It was only fitting to make him look good too.
Raising an eyebrow, Yuushi gave his cousin a once over. "I've seen your work out clothes, Kenya. I doubt there has been that much of an upgrade." Regardless of the state of Kenya's closet, Yuushi would take him shopping and ask Erina to come along too to give a different perspective. "I'm sure Keigo would get quite the kick out of it. As would I, for that matter. My precious cousin in a cummerbund and matching bow tie. Doesn't the mental image just delight you?"
Kenya wouldn't dream of Mr. Darcy looking anything less than fabulous, of course. Especially as a focal point of his home. Well, their home now. Though it was unexpected and Kenya still wasn't quite sure how Yuushi was able to keep it a secret for as long as he had, Kenya was still beyond happy that he had his cousin so close.
“I'm game,” he said with a firm nod. “Full of beautiful fabrics too because he can't have any old bow tie.”
It actually sounded like a ton of fun, even if Yuushi still looked like he didn't believe that his wardrobe had evolved. “I mean, I don't know if I'd say that it delights me, per se,” he laughed. “But I think we should do it. If nothing else because it can make us feel super fancy for a night.”
Ah, how Yuushi missed this. Kenya appreciated Mr. Darcy almost as much as he did and knew how important it was that the educational skeleton look properly dapper in all his bony glory.
"We'll just have to go shopping. Maybe this weekend if you and Yukari-chan don't already have plans. First for Mr. Darcy and then for you," Yuushi smiled at his cousin, then reached over and patted him on the knee. "Maybe we can even take a photo of us looking lovely -- you, Yukari-chan, and myself -- and send it to our families as a holiday card of some sort. New Years, perhaps."
Holiday cards… just the thought of being able to send out holiday cards to their friends and family with he and Yukari side by side was enough to bring his heart to a rapid race against his chest. There was no way Yuushi wasn’t going to be able to hear it with how close they sat.
Kenya couldn’t decide if he wanted to sing toward the heavens or feel so nervous it would make him sick at the thought, but regardless of anything he thought that going out shopping was fun, taking pictures with Yukari was amazing, and the holiday cards were a fantastic idea.
“I’d love that,” he said with a bright grin, the cold hard reality of Shiraishi coming over at any time slowly fading away as he instead made these grand plans with his cousin. “Everything. Yukari and I don’t have any particular plans, no.”
How romantic. Yuushi could feel the love pulsating from his cousin. It was refreshing to see Kenya so blissfully in love.
"Excellent!" Yuushi said with a clap off his hands. He would text his sister and they'd make a day of it. "Leave everything to me. Our grandparents won't be able to say no."
Definitely not with the plan Yuushi had in mind to get them to leave Osaka for a long weekend.
“‘Course not. You are the favorite, after all,” Kenya said with a grin.
It was only natural for Kenya’s brain to start spinning a thousand and one different stories as to how Yuushi would convince their grandparents; he’d look forward to hearing them when they got there. In the meanwhile, the happy thoughts of getting their family together was certainly a great distraction from everything else, but it didn’t change the fact that there were some eventualities of the evening that Kenya would have to face, and judging by the time lit on his phone, it was going to come sooner rather than later.
“Though, speaking of family, I have a feeling Kura’s gonna be here any time, and I bet you have a million things to do to get settled.” Kenya’s eyes swept over the room and settled over the TV that was now accessorized by the gaming console. “Then again, you’ve got your PS4. What else could you need?” He laughed.
"No, dear cousin, that honor belongs to you."
Yuushi was sure their grandparents would favor Kenya even more once he introduced them to his paramour. All in all, he couldn't complain about it. Kenya was his favorite too.
"Try not to concern yourself too much, Kenya," he advised. "Shiraishi isn't going to hurt you. If he does, he'll have me to reckon with."
Unfolding himself out of the seating position he had been in, Yuushi stood and stretched. "I'll stay in my room while you have your chat and do my best not to eavesdrop or interfere. Just be honest and sincere. Also apologize." He walked past Kenya, squeezing his shoulder in support briefly, before starting down the hall to the bedrooms. "Try to have a good night."
Kenya couldn’t help the grin that played at his lips, even with the impending doom looming over his head. Things were about to get a whole lot easier with Yuushi around - and Kenya had missed being able to bicker with him in person instead of simply over the phone. On the one hand, it would have been nice to prepare for his arrival so he wasn’t so surprised, but on the other, it was just the sort of surprise that he needed.
“Yeah, I will, don’t worry.” He watched Yuushi stand up and naturally leaned to the touch on his shoulder. Yuushi’s presence was always physically calming and complimentary to his state of being that was constantly on the run. “You too, though. Let me know if you need anything and we’ll make it happen.”
What: Kenya is freaking out waiting for Shiraishi to come over and gets the surprise of a lifetime when he finds out that his cousin is in his house and not leaving.
When: September 7th before this log
Where: The now-shared Oshitari residence
Rating: G
Note: For the sake of this log and the one to follow between Kenya/Yukari, we're wrapping up the story line from September. It might not be relevant should we get a new Shiraishi, but the cousins are cute, so just something to keep in mind. ♥
A run had been a good idea. It seemed like such a simple suggestion - of course Zaizen knew Kenya well and therefore usually knew what he needed when he was in a moment of distress, but it was also one of those things where Kenya should have just started with a run rather than allow himself to become so wrapped up in the events of the evening.
It truly wasn’t how he intended for Shiraishi to find out about his and Yukari’s relationship. They had talked on numerous occasions about how they didn’t want to keep it from him any longer and wanted to find a time when they could tell him together. But, as the best laid plans of mice and men usually went, they got busy, then exams rolled around, then summer came with lots of travel between Tokyo and Osaka and Shiraishi disappeared for a month on his own travels, and then everything came back full circle to this particular evening when Yukari instead spilled the news to Shiraishi online.
Not that he was upset by Yukari doing so - not at all. It wouldn’t be fair considering she was simply telling her big brother something important in her life that she hadn’t shared with him yet despite the fact nearly nine months had passed since it began. While the decision to keep it private had been mutual, it truly hadn’t been intentional for it to have gone on for so long (how had nine months already even passed to begin with?), and, well, the grave was dug, and Kenya was just going to have to deal with the repercussions of being the best friend dating the younger sister without telling the big brother and best friend.
But the run truly did help clear his head somewhat and Zaizen joining him only further calmed his nerves. He felt less spazzy, though no less anxious at the promise of Shiraishi seeking him out later, but it was easier to not hone in on all the manners of death in his future care of Shiraishi Kuranosuke when the happy endorphins were pumping through his veins.
The front door opened and closed with a click, and Kenya called out an, “I’m home.” It was mostly out of habit, and not directed toward anybody in particular except for maybe Speedy should she had moved away from her heat rock long enough to greet him. He leaned back against the door to unlace his trainers, slip his feet out, and shove them into the shoe racks in the genkan without so much as noticing there seemed to be some additions.
Thanks to his father, Yuushi had a key to the place he would now share with Kenya. Granted, most of his things were still back in Osaka, but the important items had come along, namely three of his favorite movies, his PlayStation (with the necessary accessories), some clothes, a notebook, and his phone. There was plenty of time to get most of it back to Tokyo before the term began.
Letting himself in, Yuushi called out, "Kenya!," waited a few moments then gave himself the lay of the land, placing all the foodstuffs he had been given by their grandmother into the kitchen, then finding the non-Kenya occupied room and unpacking his things.
Showered and in the most comfortable pair of lounge pants he owned, Yuushi made quick work of setting up his gaming console and switching it on to start playing. Kenya would be home eventually, he thought, deciding that surprising his younger cousin would be a much better gift than announcing his arrival in advance.
Completely oblivious to the fact that he wasn’t alone, Kenya went about his usual business after returning from a run. He bypassed the living area completely to instead head into the kitchen to retrieve some greens and then seek out Speedy. She had free roam of the place, and was known to gravitate to various sunny spots within the house as it crossed its journey through the sky, but ultimately her favorite place to be was on her heat rock - which was exactly where he had left her prior to leaving.
A few moments passed as he fed her the greens and stroked her affectionately a few times on the top of her head. Once he was certain that she was indeed still happy and thriving, he checked the temperature of the heat rock to double check it was where it was supposed to be, and then was back on his feet - this time to grab loungewear before heading into the shower room where he stripped off the clothes sweaty from his run, dumped them in the washing machine, and then hopped in the shower to wash away what remaining jitters he had left. It didn’t escape his notice that the shower was wet - odd given he hadn’t showered yet that day, but not so odd given the humidity and heat that could have left the shower still wet from the night before.
Once his ass was squeaky clean, dressed in comfortable pants, and a towel draped over his neck, Kenya felt immensely better. There was even a bit of a bounce in his step as he returned to the kitchen to grab an ice pop from the freezer (a summer tradition, of course), with every intention of plopping said squeaky clean ass down on the couch in front of the TV to try to drown away his problems before he had to somehow face his best friend.
Yet that TV was occupied. And suspiciously, so was the space in front of the TV, filled by none other than his dear cousin who was supposed to be in Osaka and most definitely not in Tokyo, and more importantly why was Yuushi there?
“How—why—” Kenya couldn’t help the incredulous tone as he accented his words with a wave of his hand - as though it would somehow mean more to his cousin by flailing around. “Actually, wait, no. Back up. What the hell are you doing here, Yuushi?”
Which wasn’t to say that he wasn’t glad to see his cousin! If anything, given the circumstances, it was actually genuinely a relief that Yuushi should somehow pop up just when he needed him the most. It just also didn’t change the fact that he was supposed to be in Osaka. And why had he made himself all cozy with his Playstation?!
Yuushi's eyes followed Kenya around their now-shared place, bemused that the other man didn't seem to recognize that he was there. He noticed his precious iguana-niece basking in her warming light then Kenya being the doting iguana dad, but still his cousin didn't notice him. It would be insulting if it were anyone else.
Eventually though, much to Yuushi's relief, Kenya stopped moving and sat down. He paused the game and set the controller down, leaning back on his arms and tilting his head to face Kenya. Too bad his phone was charging as the look on Kenya's face was absolutely priceless.
"I was starting to worry about you, Kenya," Yuushi finally said. "Thirty more minutes and I would have actually worked to get your attention."
He smiled at Kenya then got up and sat next to him. "Good evening." Yuushi smiled at him then got comfortable. "How was the run?"
It took every ounce of Kenya’s willpower to not stare at Yuushi completely flabbergasted, his expression instead twisting into something that probably (hopefully) resembled a smile? Maybe? Which was not to say that the incredulous look in his eyes had completely subsided, but at least he tried his best to actually look pleased by the presence of his cousin.
“It was good,” Kenya said a bit dumbly, flopping back against the couch and sinking into the cushions. He was being a terrible cousin and he knew it. There was probably a perfectly logical reason for Yuushi and his Playstation to be there. His eyes wandered to the controller lying innocently in front of them before looking back to Yuushi, now a more genuine, almost hopeful smile forming across his lips. “Uh, well, hi. I don’t know if I would have even noticed if you tried to actually catch my attention, I was kinda in lala land.”
Yuushi chuckled slightly at that. Lala land was an understatement. Kenya had been on a completely different planet. "There are few things that can distract you so, dear cousin." He hummed thoughtfully. "It's either Zaizen trouble, Shiraishi trouble, or girl trouble. I didn't come all this way because aunt and uncle thought you were having school trouble."
They hadn't asked him to come at all; Yuushi had decided of his own free will that Kenya Could Not™ be alone in Tokyo and therefore announced at a family dinner he was moving back to Tokyo and would transfer to the same medical school. Six years of experience in Tokyo would be helpful to his barely younger-than-him cousin. (Nevermind that he had heard a rumor that Atobe might be coming home. Kenya was more important than Atobe.)
"So, which is it? I don't think it's Zaizen. He usually just exasperates not this," Yuushi said, waving his hand in Kenya's general direction.
“Well that’s the understatement of the century,” Kenya grumped, twisting his body around so he could bury his face into the pillow. Yuushi was right - his troubles usually did come down to one of those options, but he wasn’t about to give his cousin the satisfaction of knowing that, and fortunately this particular instance was exasperation and Zaizen trouble free. He took a deep breath of supple leather before letting it out slowly and peeling himself away once more.
“Where do I even start?” He laughed, though it wasn’t the usual boisterous laughter that would usually be inspired by his and Yuushi’s conversations, and ran his fingers back through blonde hair before messing it back in the opposite direction. He would unpack the reason why Yuushi was actually there - in the meanwhile, having an outlet that wasn’t Zaizen and Yukari was incredibly appealing. “Uh, I guess it’s a combination of Shiraishi and girl trouble? Basically, Yukari told Kura ‘bout us dating, and he took to it incredibly well.”
Yuushi cocked his head to the side. If things had gone well, then why was Kenya completely distracted? "That doesn't make sense," he started. "To begin, I thought you had a crush on him, not his little sister. Though, I suppose you've always had a thing for people bossing you around."
He smirked at his cousin. "I'd suggest dating both, but I doubt Yukari-chan would like you dating her and her brother at the same time. I think I watched or read something like that once, but if I recall, it didn't entirely work out. One of them realized his true feelings and everything just fell apart." That likely wasn't what Kenya wanted to hear. Yuushi reached over and patted him on the knee, scanning his face for a tell of any kind. "Now, that's nothing for you to worry about, hmm?"
Yuushi was certainly right - that wasn’t really want Kenya wanted to hear. On the other hand, he did actually appreciate the humor and the well placed jab at the whole thing where people assume that he had a crush on Shiraishi; even if it was far from the truth. (That said, if Kenya was into dudes, Shiraishi definitely wouldn’t have been a poor choice, but that was neither here nor there.)
That didn’t mean he really wanted to consider the implications of what it would actually look like to date both Shiraishi siblings.
“Yuushi,” he admonished, though he gave him a bit of a lopsided smile. “Nah, not at all. Well, and all of your joking aside, I think that we’re gonna be fine, but it just wasn’t at all how I wanted it to come out. I was thinking that we’d tell him together, not have Yukari spill the beans online.”
"I was also thinking it wouldn't have taken you almost a year to say something to him, but here we are," Yuushi said, a slight judgmental tone to his voice. At least he no longer had the weight of keeping it a secret from anyone even though he had been dying to tell someone.
Yuushi leaned back into the couch. "Of course it will be fine. Unless you do something stupid, like break her heart, but we both know you won't do that. You know better." If he didn't, Yuushi had an entire digital collection of movies that would change his mind.
Kenya knew that it wasn’t going to be the first or the last time he heard various comments about waiting so long to tell Shiraishi. It really hadn’t meant to drag on as long as it had - especially once Yukari had moved to Tokyo - just the months seemed to pass by so quickly with trying to keep up with everything that… well, they were all excuses, but the point remained. “Yeah, yeah, I know. I didn’t think it was going to be that long, either.”
He sighed and followed his cousin’s lead in leaning back to the couch. It really wasn’t any use worrying so much about Shiraishi. In fact, there was really no point in worrying much at all because it was going to end up the way it was meant to end up, and wait a minute, did Yuushi mention something about breaking Yukari’s heart?
“Of course I know better,” he said, twisting around so he could instead stretch his legs out to rest them over Yuushi’s lap. “I love her.” Even as the words left his lips, he couldn’t help the happy, bubbly feeling that tickled his stomach.
Yuushi was about to remark about Kenya getting distracted when those wonderfully simple words fell from his lips.
"You love her?" he asked excitedly. Oh, that was absolutely lovely. He supposed it was obvious, considering that Kenya had been acting more oddly than usual and more easily distracted. Yuushi had chalked it up to med school, exams, and not wanting to disappoint certain family members.
In any case, the situation was wonderfully romantic. Austen couldn't have done better. Maybe. "I do hope you've told her. If I'm the first to know of this, then there is a major issue we need to discuss."
Of course that would be what Yuushi honed in on first - his cousin was a hopeless romantic with a collection of books and movies that could rival an avid collector. He could have sworn that he had mentioned something… but then again, everything had been such a blur lately, and things just seemed to creep up on him without realizing, and it just didn’t surprise him in the least that it hadn’t come out.
But… wasn’t Yuushi super in tune with these things? And why would he think that he hadn’t told her? He may have been a failure of a best friend, but he’d like to think that he was a pretty good boyfriend. Were there people who didn’t tell their significant other they loved them? Well, he supposed that it wasn’t as common in their culture to be so outwardly affectionate or speak in such plain words… but he had never really fallen perfectly within their culture lines, and he was probably overthinking this.
“Oh my god, Yuushi.” Kenya brought his hands up to his face in an attempt to hide the fact that his cheeks had grown warm. Why was he blushing? This was a time when he was supposed to be proud - yeah, he did love Yukari, and she loved him, too. So why was he acting like this?
...That probably wasn’t the only thing Yuushi wanted to hear.
“Okay, okay, no, I’ve got this.” Now he was just talking to himself. He lowered his hands to give Yuushi a bit of a sheepish smile. There was no reason not to milk it for all it was worth, right? “Of course I’ve told her - and… she told me she loves me, too.” The sheepish smile turned brighter; the warm, fuzzy feelings of love and butterflies in the stomach were seriously no joke.
Kenya was adorable when he blushed. Too bad Yuushi didn't have his phone nearby or he would have snapped a picture and texted out to Yukari on pure principle.
"Oh good, you didn't mess it up," Yuushi said proudly. They didn't have to have a conversation on how to be an excellent boyfriend. He hoped they would never need to. Kenya was aware of What Not To Do (TM), so Yuushi put it out of his mind for the time being.
Onto just-as-important things. "I do apologize for not telling you before I randomly showed up, but I just had to see the look on your face. I hope I'm not intruding or being an inconvenience. If I am, I can crash with my parents or Erina."
“Of course I didn’t mess it up - what do you take me for?” Kenya laughed, the sheepishness and shyness melting away to confidence once more. It’s not like he needed to be all shy on Yuushi’s behalf, anyway. He lightly shoved him just because he could and then flopped back on the couch with his head pillowed against his arm.
That’s right. He had somehow managed to forget the fact that Yuushi being there was actually a surprise to begin with. “Don’t be silly. I’m not gonna kick you out or anything. You could have told me instead of purposefully wanting to see my reaction, but I’m really happy you’re here.” That was the understatement of the century - truly. In all honesty, the happiness couldn’t be rated on a scale.
Yuushi smirked. "Someone less in tune with the ways of romance, obviously." Not that he thought Kenya wouldn't be able to manage. Clearly he was doing fine, mostly. Minus that one hiccup at the beginning, but since that was resolved now, it was okay.
"And no, I couldn't tell you beforehand," Yuushi said. "The surprise was necessary and completely made the secrecy worth it." He gave his cousin a brilliant smile. "I am absolutely thrilled to be here though, I'm sure both of us will hear from grandmother about us not being in Osaka instead."
It wasn’t like Kenya wasn’t the sort of person who didn’t love surprises, anyway. Really, the only thing that was missing was confetti guns letting loose glitter and star shaped confetti, but all that meant was that Kenya needed to make a run to Daiso to pick up just that and shoot it all over Yuushi the next time he came home.
In fact… that was an amazing idea. It was probably written all over his face, but Yuushi was just going to be left in the dark for that one.
“That’s an understatement,” Kenya said smoothly, bending a leg at the knee and crossing his other leg across it to let it bounce in the air. “It was bad enough when you moved away the first time. Dad had to, uh, curb her enthusiasm? If that’s how you wanna put it?”
Yuushi did not like the look on Kenya's face. It screamed of a plan meant to surprise or scare the shit out of him, but he chose not to say anything. There were plenty of ways to get his dear cousin back over time. If it was a one upmanship contest Kenya wanted, then Yuushi would happily oblige.
"Grandmother can blame my father for that. I suppose uncle can too if he so wishes, but she had me back for a few years. There's always visiting of course. Or, perhaps, we could convince her and grandfather to move here, hmm?"
It was a pipe dream though. They both knew their grandparents would never leave Osaka permanently. It was already a struggle to get them to visit Tokyo on occasion.
There was no way that was ever going to happen. Their grandparents moving to Tokyo would be the same day that the Oshitari family would not be in medicine. “Yeah right,” Kenya laughed, poking at Yuushi with his toe. “I will drop out of medical school tomorrow if Grandma somehow agrees to move to Tokyo.” Besides, it wasn’t as though Kenya himself didn’t have every intention of moving back to Osaka himself - he and Yukari both knew that ultimately they wanted to settle there.
And that thought was enough to explore a billion little butterflies into his stomach at the thought of being with Yukari for enough time that they would move back to Osaka together.
“They should definitely come visit, though,” Kenya continued. “Maybe we can host a family dinner or something.”
"Oh, don't do that, on account of Grandmother," Yuushi said with a slight frown. "I won't have anyone to play doctor with or dress up Mister Darcy for holidays." His beloved anatomical skeleton would soon have a place of honor in their living room, top hat and all. "Regardless, once I'm settled in, yes, we should invite them all for dinner."
Yuushi had taken a quick mental image of the space when he had arrived and even with his parents, sister, Kenya's parents, Kenya's little brother, their grandparents, and Yukari (perhaps Shiraishi as well), he was certain there would be enough room. "That's potentially a party of twelve. Might be better to ask Keigo if I could borrow one of the lesser dining rooms for the event. Which would bring the number to thirteen as I clearly couldn't use Keigo's home without inviting him. I suppose Erina could bring her boyfriend to make it fourteen..."
He looked at Kenya to make sure his cousin's eyes hadn't glossed over at the impromptu planning. "And yes, you would have to dress nice."
Kenya wasn't quite sure if Yuushi knew what the term playing doctor meant in the context of them being grown men now and not five, but he wasn't about to touch that one. “Oh yeah~? Speaking of that, I've got a new Santa hat for him this year glitter and all.”
If anything, Kenya only seemed to grow in excitement for Yuushi's thinking out loud. He loved the idea of having the entire family together and even better if it could be hosted at one of Yuushi's dearest friend's house. And the Atobes always seemed to have amazing food available at all times - and private cooks. “Of course I'd dress nice,” he said, grinning brightly. “I'll even go black tie if we wanted to go extra fancy.” And Yukari would look amazing in that sort of dress.
Yuushi paused in his mental dinner party planning. "I do hope it comes with a matching bowtie," he said. "I think I have a beard in one of his clothing trunks." Mr. Darcy definitely did not have as large a wardrobe as Yuushi, but he could definitely make a statement for the holidays.
"Just because it's Keigo's home doesn't mean it needs to be formal black tie. You know I'm going to look at your closet to determine if you have the appropriate clothes, right?" Yuushi loved his cousin dearly, but his fashion sense left much to be desired. It was decidedly non-Oshitari as compared to most everyone else in their family. "I would be horrified if you looked anything less than polished next to the lovely, Yukari-chan."
A thoughtful look passed over Kenya’s face as he considered that. “I don’t have a matching bowtie with that hat, but I’ve probably got something in all the random stuff from Shiten.” Though he was a total neat freak and didn’t like a ton of clutter, he did have a few containers filled with memories of all those years spent as a Shitenhouji student. He hadn’t gone through them since he moved out of his parent’s house, but he was sure that he’d have something suiting for Mr. Darcy.
“Of course I’d look polished,” Kenya said with a huffy grin playing on his features. “I have made some upgrades to my wardrobe over the years, you know.” Which wasn’t to say that Kenya’s closet and drawers weren’t still filled with a random assortment of bright colors and patterns that he wasn’t shy to pair together, but entering adulthood had at least reigned him in somewhat when it came to what was appropriate for certain events. “And yeah, of course it doesn’t have to be formal black tie, but wouldn’t it be fun?”
"We can start a bow tie collection for him. They look rather dashing around his spinal column." Yuushi smiled. Mr. Darcy had been their study skeleton for years. It was only fitting to make him look good too.
Raising an eyebrow, Yuushi gave his cousin a once over. "I've seen your work out clothes, Kenya. I doubt there has been that much of an upgrade." Regardless of the state of Kenya's closet, Yuushi would take him shopping and ask Erina to come along too to give a different perspective. "I'm sure Keigo would get quite the kick out of it. As would I, for that matter. My precious cousin in a cummerbund and matching bow tie. Doesn't the mental image just delight you?"
Kenya wouldn't dream of Mr. Darcy looking anything less than fabulous, of course. Especially as a focal point of his home. Well, their home now. Though it was unexpected and Kenya still wasn't quite sure how Yuushi was able to keep it a secret for as long as he had, Kenya was still beyond happy that he had his cousin so close.
“I'm game,” he said with a firm nod. “Full of beautiful fabrics too because he can't have any old bow tie.”
It actually sounded like a ton of fun, even if Yuushi still looked like he didn't believe that his wardrobe had evolved. “I mean, I don't know if I'd say that it delights me, per se,” he laughed. “But I think we should do it. If nothing else because it can make us feel super fancy for a night.”
Ah, how Yuushi missed this. Kenya appreciated Mr. Darcy almost as much as he did and knew how important it was that the educational skeleton look properly dapper in all his bony glory.
"We'll just have to go shopping. Maybe this weekend if you and Yukari-chan don't already have plans. First for Mr. Darcy and then for you," Yuushi smiled at his cousin, then reached over and patted him on the knee. "Maybe we can even take a photo of us looking lovely -- you, Yukari-chan, and myself -- and send it to our families as a holiday card of some sort. New Years, perhaps."
Holiday cards… just the thought of being able to send out holiday cards to their friends and family with he and Yukari side by side was enough to bring his heart to a rapid race against his chest. There was no way Yuushi wasn’t going to be able to hear it with how close they sat.
Kenya couldn’t decide if he wanted to sing toward the heavens or feel so nervous it would make him sick at the thought, but regardless of anything he thought that going out shopping was fun, taking pictures with Yukari was amazing, and the holiday cards were a fantastic idea.
“I’d love that,” he said with a bright grin, the cold hard reality of Shiraishi coming over at any time slowly fading away as he instead made these grand plans with his cousin. “Everything. Yukari and I don’t have any particular plans, no.”
How romantic. Yuushi could feel the love pulsating from his cousin. It was refreshing to see Kenya so blissfully in love.
"Excellent!" Yuushi said with a clap off his hands. He would text his sister and they'd make a day of it. "Leave everything to me. Our grandparents won't be able to say no."
Definitely not with the plan Yuushi had in mind to get them to leave Osaka for a long weekend.
“‘Course not. You are the favorite, after all,” Kenya said with a grin.
It was only natural for Kenya’s brain to start spinning a thousand and one different stories as to how Yuushi would convince their grandparents; he’d look forward to hearing them when they got there. In the meanwhile, the happy thoughts of getting their family together was certainly a great distraction from everything else, but it didn’t change the fact that there were some eventualities of the evening that Kenya would have to face, and judging by the time lit on his phone, it was going to come sooner rather than later.
“Though, speaking of family, I have a feeling Kura’s gonna be here any time, and I bet you have a million things to do to get settled.” Kenya’s eyes swept over the room and settled over the TV that was now accessorized by the gaming console. “Then again, you’ve got your PS4. What else could you need?” He laughed.
"No, dear cousin, that honor belongs to you."
Yuushi was sure their grandparents would favor Kenya even more once he introduced them to his paramour. All in all, he couldn't complain about it. Kenya was his favorite too.
"Try not to concern yourself too much, Kenya," he advised. "Shiraishi isn't going to hurt you. If he does, he'll have me to reckon with."
Unfolding himself out of the seating position he had been in, Yuushi stood and stretched. "I'll stay in my room while you have your chat and do my best not to eavesdrop or interfere. Just be honest and sincere. Also apologize." He walked past Kenya, squeezing his shoulder in support briefly, before starting down the hall to the bedrooms. "Try to have a good night."
Kenya couldn’t help the grin that played at his lips, even with the impending doom looming over his head. Things were about to get a whole lot easier with Yuushi around - and Kenya had missed being able to bicker with him in person instead of simply over the phone. On the one hand, it would have been nice to prepare for his arrival so he wasn’t so surprised, but on the other, it was just the sort of surprise that he needed.
“Yeah, I will, don’t worry.” He watched Yuushi stand up and naturally leaned to the touch on his shoulder. Yuushi’s presence was always physically calming and complimentary to his state of being that was constantly on the run. “You too, though. Let me know if you need anything and we’ll make it happen.”
