ao3

CHAPTER TWO

If Maeda Riku had to choose one word to describe his life, it’d be ‘normal.’ At the age of twenty-nine, his existence is peaceful; it’s all-around average; it's just about as regular as things get. That’s something he has mixed feelings about. While things are decent, life has taken him from Tokyo back to the countryside, and primary school teachers with college debt are beggars, not choosers. It’d just be nice if he at least had the choice for a little more excitement.

Like some romance, maybe… or exciting gossip… maybe one of the aunties working the food stalls has a secret son or something. That’d certainly be a thrilling addition to plain, small-town Kyoto.

But it’s not like Riku can complain. He makes money, he has a decent place to live, he’s close to his family. Dating in a small town is abysmal but Fukui was worse. He’s got Daeyoung to bother to his heart’s content and plain is better than bad. So things are good.

Or, you know. Good enough.

“Maeda-Sensei!”

The kids keep him busy. Riku lets out little more than a small grunt as Takeda rams full speed into his back, Hitomi at his front. He can’t help but chide, slightly exasperated: “I know it’s almost time to go home, but let’s not get too rowdy just yet, guys…”

Riku knows his gentle scolding does very little to appease a group of hyperactive seven year-olds, but it’s not like he has much choice other than make an attempt. That’s his literal job - he has to keep up the optimism even when the brats are running him ragged in the last hour of class.

“L-Let’s use use our indoor voices!” Daeyoung adds like an afterthought, though his authority is very much undercut by the fact that there are four kids latched onto him. Normally they’re better behaved than this but it’s a Friday, and as usual, they’re itching to go home.

Riku can’t help his amused smile. He mouths to Daeyoung: You need help?

Daeyoung shakes his head, resolute. And, well. If he’s sure then Riku’s choosing to mind his own business.

“Are you doing anything fun over the weekend, Maeda-Sensei?” One of his kids asks innocently. Or, innocently enough. Riku can already see the inevitable switch-up coming from a million miles away but that’s mostly because his students recently learned how to read clocks and now they break into hell in the last hour of school.

“Not really,” Riku says, slightly weary. He squats down to the ground to pick up a stray toy and return it to its proper bin. “Why, Naomi-chan, are you doing anything fun?”

Naomi puffs out her chest. “Okaa-san’s taking me to Kyoto!”

That gets most of the kids’ attention. Their town is on the outskirts of the Kyoto prefecture but most of the families are working class and these kids haven’t seen much other than the countryside. The touristy parts of the main city, in comparison, are shiny and new and exciting. Riku’s just grateful for the reprieve. Naomi quickly captures the kids’ fascination with the very inflated idea that she’s gonna have all the green tea in the world.

And, well. Riku shakes his head with a smile. What child her age likes green tea so much? He really learns more about these kids every day.

He does his rounds and checks on everyone. Most of them are preoccupied by toys or schoolwork but there are a few stragglers; one or two are struggling with homework; Takashi is trying to sneak a snack all by himself under his desk. And then there’s Maku and Megumi playing by themselves in a far corner of the room. Riku wouldn't have expected them to be doing anything else. Those two have been thick as thieves recently, which is honestly a godsend, since both of their parents are solo parenting and paranoid that their kids are socially stunted or the subject of intense bullying or what have you.

And Megumi is definitely… different. But Maku is just deathly quiet according to his sister; he doesn’t even talk much at home. Right now the two of them are wordlessly folding origami. There’s a huge stack in front of them. At this rate they could run a business.

Riku can’t help but be intrigued - these two could definitely be problem children if they wanted to be. It’s hard not to keep a close eye on them.

“Ma-kun, Gumi-chan, how are you doing?” Riku, as always, is slow to approach even though neither of them are particularly skittish to him this far into the school year. Maku and Megumi both look up at him and both of their expressions are neutral, if not guarded. They are Riku’s first time working with kids this closed-off, though from what he knows about their backgrounds it makes sense. They’re both being raised by single parents because the other parent left. They’re both introverted by default. That makes a perfect storm for behavioral issues.

“‘M good,” Megumi says nonchalantly. She’s warmed up a lot to Riku over the past few months. She can be rude to the other kids but to adults she’s fine, which is a curious thing that Riku keeps forgetting to ask her dad about. She holds a crane out to him. “You want one?”

Riku’s a little surprised she offers him one of her creations so readily. “Wow, Gumi-chan, I’d be honored.” He smiles and takes it. “Thank you.”

Megumi nods in approval. Maku doesn’t do much to acknowledge him though he sends Riku a polite-enough smile. Riku tries not to play favorites but he’s always paid special attention to the shy kids since he also grew up chronically awkward. But seven is a weird age. You get a wide, wide range of personalities and social aptitudes and levels of maturity.

“Are you two doing anything fun over the weekend?” Riku asks only because he knows they won’t talk to him first. Children can be adverse to small talk in general but they’ll babble if prompted; these two don’t babble period.

But:

“We’re having a playdate,” Megumi offers without any particular inflection. She’s been speaking up more often, though the frankness of her voice never wavers.

Maku stops fiddling with his paper; he blinks over at her. “A playdate?”

“My Appa called it a playdate,” Megumi tells him in a no-nonsense voice. “Why, do you have something against playdates?”

Riku is really in awe of them. These two talk like little adults. Megumi sometimes has this robotic way of speaking and Maku doesn’t say very many words, but he always puts things in a weirdly intelligent way. It reminds him a little bit of what Sakuya and Ryo were like as kids, though they were much more giggly and mischievous. But the way they talk to each other is a dead-fucking-ringer to his own two kids.

Except:

“It’s nothing,” Maku grunts, going back to folding cranes. His cheeks are pink. “You’re just- you’re embarrassing.” Then he huffs.

Riku hides his laugh but Megumi openly snickers. He’s still not used to watching these kids interact so easily - it’s only been a few weeks since they started sticking together like this - but it’s better than how they treat their other classmates, at least. Megumi is often cold or talks to the other kids like they’re only doing a business transaction when she asks one of them to pass over a certain crayon. Maku’s able to put on an agreeable enough face when they do group activities but Megumi, in comparison, spends most of the day completely mute. That only started changing recently. And thank god for that - Riku was starting to get worried he’d have to tell her dad that she’s incorrigible in the classroom and that’s never the type of news a teacher loves delivering.

So. Riku may as well take advantage of this change, right?

“Are you gonna do anything special for your- your hangout?” Riku’s careful of his phrasing and he doesn’t miss the grateful smile Maku sends his way when he says ‘hangout’. So that’s what he’s embarrassed about. Now, what seven year-old is shy about ‘playdate’? That’s a little silly.

“I’m gonna teach Ku-chan how to play Mario Kart,” Megumi says. And then, without missing a beat: “And I’m gonna win.”

Riku holds back a snort. He should dissuade that kind of behavior, but Megumi’s so-

“No, you won’t,” Maku shakes his head in staunch disapproval. “I’m gonna win.”

“No, I will!” It’s funny. Riku’s never seen Megumi adamant like that, let alone so teasing. “I beat my Appa everyday! You think you’re better than my Appa?!”

Her tone’s hard to read. Sometimes it’s impossible to tell whether she’s mad or just speaking in her usual no-nonsense voice; Riku distantly wonders if he should break this up just in case of an argument. Megumi can be incredibly disagreeable and Riku has noticed Maku’s tendency to avoid conflict with the other kids at all cost. He’d prefer not to test out what a disagreement between these two would turn into.

But Maku only looks back at Megumi. And then his eyes narrow. “But I’m gonna win,” he says, “and then you’ll owe me… uh. A Melona or something.”

Oh. Well. Apparently Maku takes no offense to Megumi’s goading. That’s… very interesting. Riku watches Megumi’s face carefully as she blinks back at him, thinking for a second. But then she nods.

“Okay, fine. But if I win, I want Pocky.” Megumi agrees to the terms surprisingly quickly, immediately going from 100 back down to zero. So she’s lenient with Maku, huh.

That’s new. Wow.

It’s funny. Just as quickly as Riku approached they go back to what they were doing before, quietly folding their origami. But now he knows that they get along well even when disagreeing, and that’s something that makes Riku feel a lot less worried about leaving them by their lonesome when he’s busy wrangling the rest of the class. He tries not to hover too much anyway - they’re clearly more comfortable talking amongst themselves instead of in front of him and Riku has no desire to impose himself on the most sensitive kids in his classroom.

So Riku smiles, stands up, and pockets the crane they gave him, taking extra care not to crush it in his apron. “Then play well together, okay?” Riku says in his usual gentle tone. “And tell me all about your hangout on Monday. I’ll be waiting!”

“Yes, Sensei,” they drone back in unison. Riku’s smile grows. They’re good kids.

He spends the remainder of the hour making sure everyone stays relatively settled, which is a challenge but doable enough. Daeyoung is a good buffer. He’s able to entertain the group of kids who tend to be a little bit more rowdy, engaged in their babbling and storytelling and schemes. Technically the last hour of school is supposed to be calm, quiet free-reading time but they make exceptions on Fridays if the kids spent the week being well-behaved enough. So Riku goes to his desk to organize everything he needs to hand out before they leave. Homework, an art project from last week, test results…

“Okay, everyone, back to your seats!” He calls. Normally this would be when Riku scolds them for notes left by the subject teachers but they actually managed to be on good behavior today, bar their volume. Though that’s not unusual. Maybe the whole staff is too tired from the summer heat to discipline much. That’s also possible. The AC in this building is weak and it’s making even the calmest kids a little fussy. But even so Riku tries his best to keep them in line: “Pass these papers back to your neighbors, okay?”

Everyone files back to their desks, murmuring their “yes, Sensei.” They’re only obedient because they know they’re minutes away from the bell ringing but that’s fine. Riku passes everything out quickly, reminding them incessantly that they have work due on Monday and that they only have two weeks before their big field trip. And then, of course, there’s summer break shortly after that. That gets a cheer. Riku should’ve known they care more about summer break than homework.

“There’s also the festival!” Daeyoung reminds everyone. Which only makes them cheer more. Of course it does.

So:

“Okay, now go get your things ready. And don’t leave until the bell rings!” Admittedly no one would care if they left before that - teaching at a tiny school in rural Japan is vastly different from the huge, strict systems Riku got used to working at in Tokyo - but he still tries his best to enforce rules when he can.

“Yes, Sensei!” They all chorus back. At least there’s that.

It’s only minutes later that the bell rings. Then a flood of seven year-olds are fleeing as fast as they can. Their town is tiny enough that there’s only one class per grade and immediately down the hall come the older kids. Riku’s class is probably the biggest in the school. He’s not sure if that’s more of a plus-side or a detriment considering that means his class is also the rowdiest by far.

“Senpai, why don’t you sit down and I’ll help the stragglers?” Daeyoung offers as he does every single day, his smile easy and happy to please. Riku would feel more reassured by it if Daeyoung stopped calling him senpai. They have a certain decorum to keep up at school, but for god’s sake, it’s still embarrassing.

So, as usual, Riku shakes his head. “No, it’s okay. It won’t be that much longer until they’re all picked up anyway.” He pats Daeyoung on the shoulder and they both fan out across the classroom to ensure the day ends smoothly. He can save his daily lecture over the senpai thing for later.

There’s only a few kids who wait around to get picked up by their parents so it’s not like they ever have to do much work once the bell rings. Hikari’s mom picks her up quickly and so does Kanae’s. They never linger very long. He chats a little bit with Takashi’s mom. Yuuchi’s older brother from a few grades above grabs him under one arm with: “See ya, Sensei!” Pickup is always a very quick affair.

But then there’s Megumi’s dad, who is… he’s a bit of a different case.

Sion comes in just a few minutes after the bell rings. He’s never really late but he always comes in like he had to rush to get here. As usual, Megumi flings himself at him. “Appa!” It’s the loudest she ever gets.

“Hi, baby. How was school?” Sion usually says something in Korean before switching to Japanese. Riku knows he’s working on her speaking. He fiddles with his apron as Sion talks to his daughter, because soon he’ll approach him, and then he’ll-

“Senpai, you’re being obvious again,” Daeyoung whispers. Loudly.

Riku glares at him. “Don’t call me senpai if you’re going to be rude.”

Daeyoung snickers. He’s a sweet kid but he has this conniving side to him that only Riku really ever gets to see, much to his disdain. He elbows Daeyoung in the side when he opens his mouth again. He doesn’t want to fucking hear it.

Soon enough Sion is setting Megumi back down and Riku’s going to take his chance - as he does everyday - to swoop in. So he inhales, exhales, steps in closer, clears his throat, and-

“Oi, hyung.”

Riku stops in his tracks. But that’s because in through the door comes some guy he’s never seen before. He’s short, got a terrible blonde dye job, a kitten-ish face. Riku’s half tempted to call stranger danger, but then Sion is immediately looking back in response to what he said and Megumi is ripping out of Sion’s hands to screech: “Yushi-nii!”

“Don’t scare me like that,” Sion says to the newcomer in a surprisingly stern tone. But he seems fine with letting Megumi jump at him. Which is…

Huh. What the hell is going on. Riku’s never seen Sion pass Megumi over to anyone.

And yet the guy catches her with quick reflexes when she flings herself at him. “Hi, Gumi.” He says it like they’re super familiar, like the movement is well-practiced. He makes a face when she smacks a kiss to his cheek. “Eugh, cooties.” Megumi giggles and he relaxes into a smile.

Riku can only blink. Because who is… who is that.

“Hey, Maeda-san.” He’s distracted enough that he doesn’t notice when Sion slides up next to him, but within a second Megumi is being swung around by this new guy and Sion is giving him a sheepish smile. “Sorry for the ruckus. She gets excited when he comes with. That’s why it’s usually just me...”

Riku blinks again. For a second he wants to ask so who is this “he” and are you two romantically involved, by chance? Except he doesn’t because of course he doesn’t. His mild crush on the hottest dad in his class is something he keeps firmly on the backburner because of, like, ethics and principles and his own insecurities. Or, well, you know. Something close enough to that.

“Oh, it’s fine.” Riku forces his usual smile. “Gumi-chan isn’t usually so loud, it’s nice to see.”

He peeks out of the corner of his eye to the guy in the doorway, who has Megumi on his back as she whispers conspiringly in his ear. Is Riku jealous? Surely not. He’s not supposed to be. Megumi is his student and Sion is her dad and this guy is…

Ugh. Ugh! Why’s he being so stupid! He’s not supposed to have a crush on Sion anyway!

“Yeah, she gets excited,” Sion smiles fondly back at the two of them before turning back to Riku. “So. Was she good today?”

It’s not like Riku ever gets to talk to Sion about anything besides Megumi’s behavior, which is stabilizing the longer she’s in school, and so he gives his usual report without the bitterness he’s feeling just a tiny, tiny bit. The rundown never changes all that much. Megumi is cold to the other kids, sometimes a little abrasive, but that’s usually only when she’s overwhelmed. The school is small enough that Riku’s able to leave notes for the other teachers to accommodate her - don’t force her to talk without warning, she likes doing schoolwork alone, her teamwork is poor but we’re working on it. She’s opening up little by little. Sometimes she raises her hand out of her own volition if they’re talking about something she’s visibly interested in. It’s that kind of thing. Riku runs through all of that as concisely as he can and tries to ignore the weird clench he’s feeling in his belly like a pining idiot. For god’s sake, Maeda Riku, you are twenty-nine years old.

“Oh, that’s good,” Sion seems relieved. “And her Japanese is improving?” He grins when Riku nods. “Wow. That’s really- I’m so glad.”

Sion’s smile is nice. Which is, like, duh - he’s generally nice to look at - but when he smiles like that, Riku feels a little weak in the knees. Because he’s pathetic, probably. Normally Sion has this frantic energy to him but today he’s relaxed. It’s… a welcome change.

“I also heard she’s playing with Maku this weekend,” Riku doesn’t like to push the teacher-parent boundary but considering his class is so small, it’s hard for him to not ask out of curiosity. “Is she excited about it? They both act very… they’re kinda nonchalant.”

“She’s been bouncing off the walls, yeah,” Sion grins. He laughs a little and that’s nice, too, and Riku has to pinch himself so he doesn’t swoon or something equally stupid. “She’s only used to hanging around my family really, and everyone’s a lot older than her. I’m just glad she’s clicked with someone her age.”

And, well, that explains Megumi’s openness around the teachers compared to the other kids, then. “I figured that might be the case,” Riku says. See, he can act normal as long as he focuses on talking about Megumi and doesn’t look Sion in the eyes, like, ever. “Gumi’s good at listening but when other kids get in her space, she can be a little rude to them. But I think with time she might-”

But then Riku’s cut off by the arrival of The Guy. He comes up behind Sion, puts a hand on his shoulder. He says something in Korean that Riku doesn’t recognize, and then: “I gotta go back…”

“That’s fine. You didn’t need to come with.” Sion grins when that makes the other guy scowl. “What, you’re already coming over later!”

“Yeah, but Gumi needs my influence, so- oh.” The stranger’s voice trails off abruptly when he glances over at Riku and sees him staring. But then his eyes flicker somewhere over Riku’s shoulder and then his eyes widen. He blinks, hard. “Oh. Um.”

For a second Riku thinks maybe he did something weird - he needs to stop staring, he knows, but he can’t help but be a little fascinated by this man and his terrible dye job - but then he realizes Daeyoung is still hovering by him, and the guy is looking straight at him. Riku looks over at Daeyoung, who only politely smiles at the newcomer. He bows his head. “Hello.”

The moment is so surreally weird that for a second Riku wonders if he’s imagining things. But the guy goes red and slams a fist down on Sion’s shoulder, hard enough for Sion to make a face: “A-actually, a-an emergency came up, hyung. So I gotta-”

Sion winces back at him: “What are you-”

But the guy is already retreating. Like, he runs off, high-tailing it out of the classroom like he’s seen a ghost. It’s so strange that Riku can only stare. Megumi turns to say something to Sion in Korean and Sion just shakes his head and says a few words back. Riku fights the pressing urge to ask Daeyoung what the fuck they just said. But instead he keeps a firm smile on his face because, like, normalcy or whatever.

“Sorry about that. My friend is… he’s quirky.” Sion picks Megumi up before she even has to ask - Riku’s never seen a seven year-old who likes being carried so much but it’s none of his business, really. Sion smiles over at Riku. “Is there anything else I need to know about?”

Riku, for some reason, is speechless. “Um. No, not really…” He watches Megumi curl into Sion’s neck. So he pivots into Teacher Mode: “You’ll have fun for me this weekend, right, Gumi?”

Megumi peeks out at him. She’s shyer around Riku when Sion’s around. She nods. “Yup.”

“Okay, good.” Normally Riku would give her a head pat or something but right now he’s still processing all of this, namely Sion’s friend-maybe-more who is even more peculiar than Megumi. He smiles reassuringly. Or at least he thinks it comes off that way.

But to his surprise, it’s Sion who moves in closer. “Really, Maeda-san, thank you.” He rests a hand on Riku’s shoulder and that is new, the touch. “She has a lot of fun when she comes to school. It’s because of you. I don’t know how I can thank you.”

He says it so sincerely, like to the degree that Riku has to try very hard not to go bright red. It’s not like he goes underappreciated at his job but it’s rare for parents of “problem” kids to be as invested as Sion is, and he’s so well-meaning on top of it. Riku has to avert his eyes.

“It’s fine, really…” It comes out a little like a mumble. “I’m just doing my job.”

Sion squeezes his shoulder. “Yeah, well. You’re a lifesaver. Have a good weekend, you two.”

“You too!” Daeyoung replies. Riku peeks up as Sion and Megumi make their way out the door. They run into Maku and his sister, Tsugumi; they make small talk. Maku hides half behind Tsugumi when Sion offers out a hand. And then they’re gone.

Riku lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. Is he feeling relief? He doesn’t think so. Everything about that interaction was a little terrifying and out of character for Sion, who usually comes alone and with a single-minded focus on Megumi to boot. Riku has a lot of mixed feelings. And a lot of things he probably shouldn’t be feeling.

But of course he doesn’t get even one second of peace to wallow in his minor humiliation. “Wow, senpai,” comes Daeyoung’s drawl. “You really like him.”

“Stop it,” Riku hisses, running his shaking hands down his apron like he’s just fine even though he knows his face is red. “I don’t- I have nothing to say to you.”

Daeyoung grins. “You don’t want me to tell you what they said in Korean? Hmm?”

Riku takes maybe a second too long to think that over. And then he takes another second too long to answer: “No, of course not,” even though he obviously does, because duh. But if it was anything genuinely juicy Daeyoung wouldn’t be teasing him like this. He’s not the type of person to keep secrets.

But Daeyoung’s grin only widens. “Okay. Then I guess I’ll start cleaning up~”

Maku leaves after Riku confirms with his sister that his behavior is the same as always - quiet, calm, closed-off but amicable when necessary - and she seems relieved by the news, too. Riku feels bad for her. Their mom works long, long hours in the fields. Tsumugi is a smart girl. She’s in high school, the year below Sakuya and Ryo. She’s insanely hardworking. She’d do well at any Tokyo University. But Riku also knows their family’s personal history - the dad left behind a good deal of debt when he fled the family. That was only a few years ago. It’s gonna end up landing on Tsumugi and Maku to pay the money off once their mom is too old to work in the fields. Maku has mentioned before that he wants to go abroad to study medicine and Riku can’t help but suspect that his plan isn’t unrelated to the debt. Those poor kids.

“Thank you, Sensei. I thought all he was good for was homework, but now he has a friend!” Tsumugi’s smile widens into a grin when that makes Maku groan.

“Nee-san.”

“What? You’re too young to be this angsty, Ma-chan, lighten up.” Their personalities are so opposite that it’s honestly hilarious. “Have a good weekend, Maeda-Sensei!”

“You too, Tsugumi,” Riku smiles. He waves at Maku. “And have fun on your hangout, Maku.”

Maku’s ears are pink. “Yes, Sensei…” And then they’re gone, too.

Everyone’s picked up or already out of the classroom, so all that’s left is for Riku and Daeyoung to clean everything up for a fresh start on Monday. Riku puts on music and they work in silence. Things get so loud during the work day, it’s better off that way. They really need any opportunity they can get to decompress. That’s kind of the worst part of the job, all the noise and the chaos…

Though of course Riku loves it. He wouldn’t have taken the pay cut at this position in the countryside if he didn’t. So.

“Do you still want me to come over on Sunday for lesson planning?” Daeyoung asks when he’s done sweeping up various messes over the floor. He must be feeling extra amicable today if he’s letting the thing with Sion go. But then he’s offering: “I can bring sake.”

“That’s irresponsible," Riku huffs immediately, never mind that they regularly lesson plan while tipsy because their kids are seven - it doesn’t take an insane amount of concentration besides formatting pains when they’re knee-deep in worksheets. He’s known Daeyoung since uni anyway. The kid followed him out here to the countryside like an idiot. Riku feels responsible for his professional etiquette.

But Daeyoung only grins. “I’ll cook, too.” And, well, that’s tempting.

“...Maybe.” Riku runs a hand down his face, never mind he already knows he’s going to give in. “But Ryo might be crashing with me and he’s nosy as hell.” His little cousin’s tried several times to sneak a sip of sake when Riku’s back was turned, for some reason. And he doesn’t want to be the reason the kid drinks underage, for god’s sake.

But Daeyoung isn’t even that much older than Ryo and Sakuya. Er, well, five years. But he gets along with them easily, like an older brother. “Then we don’t have to drink.”

Riku manages a smile. His back hurts - the kids were extra grabby today - but he plans doing absolutely nothing this weekend besides a bit of work to recuperate. There's still a lot to prepare for the school festival, and then after that is summer break. He can’t fucking wait.

“We can dig into my stash if we need to,” Riku compromises. He leaves his apron hanging on its hook and grabs his bag. “Ready to head out?”

Daeyoung grabs his own bag and nods. “Let’s go.”

He and Daeyoung live in the same tiny apartment complex on the other side of town. They could’ve rented out a house if they went halfsies on it together, but Riku’s still not sure whether he wants to stay out here long term and he’s certainly not expecting Daeyoung to stay in the countryside once he gets adequate-enough work experience. Their trek home is commutable by walk but some oji-san in town was giving away his old-ass pickup truck for free and Daeyoung ended up being the one he gave it to. So they drive to work and back, technically. Though the car is honestly on its last leg of life.

“Your engine isn’t supposed to be making that noise,” Riku complains like he does every single day. But that’s because he’s paranoid that eventually this car’s going to collapse in on itself while they’re both in it.

“She’s just a little tired,” Daeyoung ignores him, as always. “Let’s listen to music!”

There’s no AUX cord so they’re stuck listening to the top 40 or whatever it is. It’s either that or some random local radio station that commentates on baseball rankings. Thankfully the drive is only ten minutes or so. That’s kind of the only benefit of this town being so damn small.

“I’m gonna nap,” Riku says once they get back, making his plans clear before Daeyoung asks him to hang out. He loves his best friend dearly but he doesn’t have an endless social battery like Daeyoung does - he wants to lay in a dark room and sleep.

“Okay,” Daeyoung accepts it easily even though his eyebrows go a little furrowed like a kicked puppy. “But tomorrow…?”

“Maybe,” Riku says. “Ask me again in twenty-four hours.”

After that, they go their separate ways with little more than some waves goodbye. Riku’s apartment is on the bottom floor and Daeyoung’s is on the third. Though the building is only three stories total. It’s… decent. The walls can be a little thin but most things about it are nice enough. During the school year Riku is too tired for anything to bother him that much anyway. So.

It’s still early in the afternoon - they finish earlier on Fridays - but Riku’s already exhausted. He pokes his passcode into the front door and immediately rids himself of his bag and shoes in the genkan. The summer’s humidity is rising as time bleeds into July and he needs a shower. His shirt is sticking to his skin. Plus he loves passing out after a good shower-bath combo regardless. Riku turns on the aircon before he heads into the bathroom. God bless technology.

Music plays on his phone. He strips from his clothes, turns on the shower, waits for the water to warm up. Then he steps in and scrubs himself down from top to bottom. That feels good after a day like today. Children are so grubby and he likes being clean.

God, one day he’s going to have nightmares about sticky fingers and snot everywhere he touches. There are some things about the job there’s just no getting used to, huh…

Riku’s quick about it. He tries not to linger in the bathtub - he has a tendency of passing out in there - and then he’s drying off and plopping right into bed. The apartment’s nice and cool with the AC blasting. A little too cool. Riku would turn it down if he didn’t already know he’s gonna wake up sweating later in the night. Summertime comes with its drawbacks, but at least break is approaching and tonight he can just rest.

And so, thinking absolutely nothing at all, Riku buries under his covers and passes out. Ahead of him is a whole entire weekend of doing nothing, and he’s never been so ready to relax in his life.

˖.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ⊹ ࣪ ˖

…Except only a few hours pass before Riku is roused from his sleep. It’s because of the shrill ring of his doorbell, which is a very eerie way to be woken up from a deep sleep. BUZZ. BUZZ. It’s followed by a banging on his front door. Riku bolts upright with a groan, sweat-soaked and groggy.

“What the…” It takes him several moments to compute the noise, let alone what the hell is going on. But then he remembers the buzzer on his front door, listens to the banging, clocks a familiar voice.

“NII-CHAN!”

Of course it’s Ryo. Riku groans again and rolls out of bed. So much for a night of peace.

He toes on his slippers as he pads out of his room, flipping on the living room light as he goes. It flickers twice, which he ignores. There’s more banging on the door. “Riku-nii!” God, that kid’s so fucking insistent. Riku hasn’t given Ryo his doorcode for the sake of his privacy but everyday he gets just a little bit closer to giving in.

“How can you be so loud at this hour!” Riku yells back. He glances at the time on the wall clock above his sink. It’s already eight PM. He slumps through the genkan and throws his door open. “Ryo! Seriously!”

“Sorry…” Ryo is sheepish, still in his school uniform for some reason. Sakuya’s hovering over his shoulder but Riku could’ve predicted the both of them showing up on his doorstep, like, yesterday.

“Yo, Nii-chan,” Sakuya grins. Riku squints at him.

“Does- Auntie knows you’re here, yes?” Riku asks just to make sure, even as he steps aside to let them in. The kids are usually welcome to freely roam the town but there have been times Riku’s gotten a frantic text that the kids disappeared with no word only to appear at his door minutes later. It’s never for anything urgent, either. It’s usually because they’re hungry. For fuck’s sake, at this rate they’re gonna make him go grey before he turns thirty.

“She knows we’re staying with you,” Ryo bounds in immediately, because of course he does. He holds up a huge plastic bag of take-out. “Look! I even brought you food!”

Riku blinks at him. That’s, like, way more suspicious. Ryo is seventeen and unemployed and usually so broke that he routinely begs all the cousins for pocket change whenever a new Shonen Jump is stocked at the town convenience store. Riku narrows his eyes: “Where’d you get that.”

“My neighbor gave it to me,” Sakuya supplies, like that’s not a weird explanation at all. “He ordered from Tsukki’s but then he got invited to a better meal, so…”

For a second, Riku can’t tell if they’re messing with him or not. But Sakuya’s a bad liar and his expression is dead serious. Riku looks down at the bag. “You got food from a stranger?” And then: “What kind of person does that?”

“Yushi-nii’s not a stranger,” Sakuya doesn’t seem bothered much by the idea. “I dunno. He’s just kinda weird like that. Can we eat?”

Riku doesn’t really have much choice besides letting them make a mess of his dining table with their school bags and takeout containers. It’s a surprising amount of food. Riku wants to question Sakuya more about where the hell he’s accepting food from but it looks normal enough. Or at least properly sealed. He shakes his head as he slips back into his room to change out of his sweat-soaked top.

For two high school seniors in the middle of applying to university, it doesn’t seem like Ryo and Sakuya have chilled out on their shenanigans. Riku is probably better off not asking what they’re up to, like, ever. They’re old enough now that he can mind his own business. Or at least for the most part he can.

And, well. Thank god for that.

By the time he’s changed into a new shirt and gone back out to join them, the TV is on and both of the little shits have their knees up at the table and their dress shirts unbuttoned. Like they’re two little delinquent otakus making a mess of his home. Riku smacks at the back of Ryo’s head. “Where are your manners.”

“Sorry, Nii-chan,” Ryo says through a full mouth. But all he does is swing his feet down hard against the floor and wipe his mouth with the back of his hand. He’s such a boy.

(Riku doesn’t even have to warn Sakuya, at least, because he adjusts without being told. He’s much better behaved but pretty much anyone is better behaved than Ryo is, at least when it comes to Riku. So.)

At least the food is good. Again, Riku’s gonna ignore the dubious nature of where it came from. He snaps his chopsticks apart while Ryo flips through TV channels, apparently disinterested in everything.

“If you don’t find anything, turn it off,” Riku scolds him before serving himself some rice. He can’t help but grumble to himself like the old man he always swears he isn’t. “These damn kids, always walking in here like they own the place…”

“But Nee-san wasn’t sharing the TV with me and Doyoung’s performing in Tokyo, so I wanna-” He finally stops on a broadcast channel. There’s some guy in heavy makeup and a ridiculous outfit singing to some cheery pop song. Ryo screeches like an honest-to-god banshee. “Look at him!”

Sakuya ignores him, conversing with Riku as his best friend has one of his usual kpop-induced meltdowns. “Did you just pass out after work?” He’s not judgmental but he sends an obvious glance to the state of Riku’s hair.

“Of course I did. I’m a teacher, I’m tired.” Riku rummages through the takeout boxes and nearly cries of joy when he finds takoyaki. “Oh, wow, this looks good.”

“Mm.” Sakuya only pushes a box of okonomiyaki his way. “There’s this, too.”

The food’s a little stale but Riku’s terrible at cooking for himself during the school year and he’s just glad he doesn’t have to splurge again on his own takeout. “Thank you, Saku.”

They talk about school, mostly, because Ryo’s busy shouting a fanchant at the TV. Riku’s going to get another noise complaint at this rate but it never ends up mattering because most of the elderly in this apartment complex think Ryo is the cutest little thing they’ve ever seen. They coo the second he bows to them. Little do they know he’s responsible for all the screeching. God, Riku’s reputation is gonna be in tatters any day now and he’s only been in this town for a year or so.

“Ryo, seriously, I just woke up,” Riku only complains when Ryo starts pacing the floor during the vote count. “He’s gonna win, for god’s sake!”

“But there’s always a chance he doesn’t!” Ryo bemoans. Riku huffs. Sakuya rolls his eyes. He’s a hopeless case.

Most of the time Riku’s content just eating while the kids are over but today they’re being a little more chaotic than usual. Though Ryo always starts getting melodramatic during exam season. He’s got mock exams for Tokyo University, even taking a trip to Tokyo in a few weeks with Auntie to tour the school. So Riku will let him get away with it just this once. Because he’s a very lenient older cousin, thanks.

“Your neighbor really just gives you food?” Riku asks Sakuya when they’re done eating. He packs the food away into the fridge while Sakuya scrolls on his phone at the table.

“Yup. He’s chill. His family owns the ryokan at the edge of town…” Sakuya’s voice trails off as gets engrossed in a TikTok. Then he bursts into giggles.

Riku ignores that. The ryokan, huh? He remembers Sion saying he worked there. His friend’s the owner or something. So Sakuya’s neighbor is…

Wait. Hold on. He thought he knew “Yushi-nii” from somewhere!

“Does your neighbor have, like-” Riku gestures at his head. “He’s blonde, right? With a really bad dye job?”

“Well, I don’t know if it’s bad, I helped him do it,” Sakuya says skeptically. “But yeah. Why?”

Riku blinks. So Sakuya’s neighbor is Sion’s boss who is also the mystery guy from earlier. It’s not like Riku’s an especially nosy person (this is a lie), he’s just… he’s making connections. You know, out of curiosity and with no alternative motives at all.

“So. Is he single?” Riku looks away when Sakuya stares at him. “What?”

“What, are you- sorry, do you know Yushi-nii?” Sakuya looks confused if not a little scared. “I dunno if he’s single, he does his own thing. I wouldn’t recommend having a crush on him, you’re not his type.”

And, well. What the fuck does that mean.

“Wh- that’s not- what are you saying!” Riku smacks him on the back of the head, too, though lighter than he went on Ryo. “I just met him earlier today! I was c-curious!” The excuse is terrible and makes no sense but it’s not like Sakuya is one to question his Riku-nii. Otherwise he’ll get scolded.

“Oh…” Sakuya’s confused expression clears up, though he’s still a little apprehensive. This Yushi guy really must be an oddball if Sakuya is trying to dissuade him like this. “Yeah. He’s Sion’s friend. And Sion’s- wait, Megumi’s in your class, right?”

Riku’s an idiot. ‘Friend’ is hardly a word that signifies anything besides familiarity but he relaxes at the mention of Sion’s friend. Because he’s pathetic and if this Yushi-nii is really only Sion’s friend, then- then that means that Riku can- then he’s allowed to-

Actually, nope. He’s not entertaining that thought. Riku nods calmly and sits back down at the table, trying not to look like he’s investigating on purpose even though he’s secretly biting at the bit to know more, like namely what relationship this so-called Yushi-nii has with Megumi and her father. But he speaks as evenly as he can: “Yeah. Megumi’s great. And Sion is…” He clears his throat. “He’s cool too.”

Sakuya pointedly stares back down at his phone. His ears are getting pink, for some reason. “So you think Sion is cool…”

Riku blinks at him. “Yeah?”

Sakuya only looks up at his phone to stare over at Ryo’s back, turning his head in the opposite direction from Riku. Which is… very suspicious. He only avoids eye contact when he’s hiding something, which immediately puts Riku on edge. Sakuya never hides anything from him. Never. He stares and Sakuya turns redder. So Riku stares harder.

“Saku,” he says, not knowing what’s going on but being just self aware enough to know he needs to press for more. “Tell me.”

Sakuya shakes his head. He mimes zipping his lips shut, throwing away the key - he’s not even trying to fucking hide it, the fact that he’s got some secret. Does it have to do with Sion? Megumi? Yushi? Now Riku’s so curious he could die and Sakuya squirms when he presses in closer. He could only be hiding gossip if he’s acting like this and Riku is- now he needs to know.

“Oi. What are you hiding.” Riku stares right at him and uses his Big Brother voice. “Tell me. What do you know.”

Sakuya’s eyes are still trained on Ryo, who is currently screaming at the TV because Doyoung won. He covers half his face with his hand and whispers: “I’m under oath.”

Riku glares. “No you’re not!”

Sakuya leans away from him as Riku damn near presses himself against the table to needle at him even closer. It’s hard not to. It’s not often Sakuya even attempts to hide anything from him anymore, whether it be one of Ryo’s secrets or his own or someone else’s. He started getting cagey when Sion was brought up. That’s not weird by itself but if Sakuya knows Yushi, and he knows Megumi, then-

Riku blinks. Hold on. “What do you know about Sion!”

Bingo. Sakuya flinches. “Uh.”

Riku presses at him closer. “What do you know! About Sion!”

Riku’s not really trying to yell or anything, but as always, the inevitability of dealing with these kids is that they always end up shouting in one way or another. His demand is loud enough to get Ryo’s attention, who’s filming the TV screen with his phone like a lunatic otaku boy. He looks over at them. “You’re talking about Sion? The guy who’s in love with you?”

And, well. That is a new development in this story. Immediately, two things happen at once:

Riku whips around at him. “What?”

Sakuya immediately bemoans: “Ryo!”

Clearly something is up. Because Riku has no idea what’s going on - Sion is not a guy who is in love with him, what the fuck - but for a second it’s so quiet you could hear a pin drop even over the quiet drone of cheers on the TV. Very slowly, Ryo turns off his recording and lowers his phone to his chest. He scratches at his jaw. “Um. I mean.” He looks sheepishly at Sakuya. “Was it a secret?”

Sakuya groans, so loud and dramatic he literally slides off the chair and falls to the floor. “Ryo-!”

“Wait a- wait a second.” Riku’s having a hard time following what they’re talking about. He fumbles for the TV remote and turns it off because it’s distracting. Not even Ryo causes a fuss about it. “You said Sion is… what?”

It’s hard to be mistaken. He heard Ryo as clear as day - Sion? The guy who’s in love with you? There’s no Sion other than Hot Dad Sion because Sion is, like, Korean. And that’s fucking unmistakenable. That’s just- what the fuck.

“Um.” Ryo fidgets, which isn’t good, because that means he’s going to try and come up with a lie. “Um. Well.”

That boy is useless. Riku wheels around on Sakuya instead. “Saku. What the hell are you hiding.”

Sakuya is in a fetal position on the floor. He bemoans: “Don’t make me.”

Riku’s going to lose it on both of them. Because last time he checked, Sion is- Sion is not in love with him. Last time he checked, Sion is just a very handsome man he only gets to talk to sometimes because his daughter is on at least one kind of spectrum and all they talk about is Megumi and her various deficiencies. Which is fine. Except Sion is not- he’s definitely not- he can’t-

All Riku has to do is send Ryo another look, and the kid instantly caves: “Saku found out Sion likes you!”

“Wh- that’s-” Sakuya tries valiantly to defend himself but he, too, crumples under Riku’s stare. “Oh, god. Yeah. He’s right.”

Riku doesn’t know how to react to this. He’s mostly confused. He slowly sits back down in his chair at the dining table while he… processes. Sion likes him? Him? And Sakuya knew? That’s a joke, right? That can’t possibly be true.

But he doesn’t even need to ask. Sakuya starts spilling when Riku sends him another confused look. “Sometimes I go over and babysit Gumi. And Ryo comes every once and a while, too, so we- we know him.” Riku glances over at Ryo, who nods sagely, then back at Sakuya, who’s still stammering to himself. “But usually Sion just cooks for us and Yushi-nii and we hangout and play video games because Gumi likes Mario Party and-”

“Saku, breathe,” Riku interrupts him. He’s still kind of confused but hell, he’s a teacher, he’s not gonna work a kid up into a meltdown.

“Yeah. Right. Well.” Sakuya still isn’t looking at him but that’s because his head is bowed in penance. “A few weeks ago I was reading to Gumi and I overheard Yushi-nii and Sion-san talking. And I think they were drinking…”

Riku blinks. “Drinking?”

“Just a little bit. But… um. Yushi-nii asked Sion-san if he was into anyone. But then Yushi-nii kept asking and Sion-san said he… um…” Sakuya’s hands are wringing together.

Riku is tempted to hit him. “Saku.”

“Sorry. He said you’re cute.” Sakuya thumps his head down against the table. “And that he likes you, too. But he’s not gonna ask you out ‘cause he’s too old.”

And, well. Well. That is… something.

Sion likes him, allegedly. Apparently. What the fuck. Now that the truth is out it’s hard not to be perplexed. Sion thinks he’s cute, Sion likes him, never mind the thing about being old. Riku has a very hard time envisioning someone like Sion liking someone like him for a myriad of reasons. Sion is handsome. He’s also, like, kind of ripped. He’s a single dad. Riku is plain. He’s nothing more than Megumi’s teacher. Plus Sion is usually kind of distant around him, nervous. Is that because he likes him?

But why the fuck would Sion like him?

Riku is speechless. He can feel his face get very, very red the more he digests these words. Sion likes him. He should be skeptical but Sakuya is the most trustworthy person in Riku’s life. Which isn’t a high bar, but still. It’s not like- wow. Holy shit. Sion likes him.

Ryo slowly approaches the table like how you’d approach a feral animal. “Uh, Nii-chan? Are you breathing?”

Riku doesn’t freak out because he is twenty-nine years old and not, like, a teenage girl. Never mind the very genuine KYAAAA he can feel rising up in his throat. He covers his face with his hands and lets out a strangled, muffled sound into them. It comes out sounding like: “EURRRGHHHHHH.”

“Great, you broke him,” Ryo shoves Sakuya in the side.

“How is that my fault!” Sakuya complains. “This is all your fault!”

“Hey, no, it’s not! You were the one eavesdropping on them like a weirdo-”

“I told you one secret and you couldn’t even keep it to yourself, how the fuck was I-”

Riku lets them bicker on in the background of his meltdown. He just- he can’t understand this. Sion-san? Sion-san likes him? The hunk dad likes him? The hunk dad with the cutest daughter in the world? He likes Riku? What the fuck. What the fuck! That also means Yushi isn’t involved with him either, which means-

“Wait, so Yushi is-” Riku finally looks up to the sight of them grabbing each other by the collar. His Teacher Voice comes out immediately: “Oi. Stop that.”

“Sorry,” Sakuya releases Ryo first, though he doesn’t sound very sorry.

Ryo doesn’t apologize. He lets go of where he had Sakuya’s hair in his fist. He smooths down his shirt and says: “I wasn’t doing anything.”

Riku inhales; exhales. He looks across the table and at the two kids he unfortunately loves more than anyone else in the whole world. He asks: “So Yushi isn’t dating Sion?”

“Oh god, no,” Sakuya immediately pulls a face. “That’d end in a murder-suicide.”

And that is- Riku balks. “Saku!” There’s no reason for him to say something so- would it really be that bad?

But Sakuya raises his hands in surrender. “I’m only being honest! It’d be a nightmare.”

And, well. Well, if Yushi and Sion’s relationship is like that, then Riku feels... he’d like to say it’s something like indifference but that would be a fucking lie. It’s more like elation. Like, a lot of elation. While he can’t help but be weary that Sion - who apparently likes him - has a very good-looking and eligible bachelor as his best friend, that is a hypocritical thought. Riku has absolutely no room to complain. He himself has Daeyoung up in his business basically 24/7.

(But still. It’s different. They’re both bottoms, and at this point Daeyoung may as well just be his gay apprentice or something, so then that’d be like- and, okay, well. That’s not important. But his point still stands.)

“Okay. So they’re not together.” Riku’s hands wring together in his lap. He stares down at the table. “And Sion-san likes me…” He says it in awe, mostly because he still can’t believe that it’s true.

“He does,” Sakuya sighs a weary thing like in the past fifteen minutes he has lived through one hundred lifetimes of hard labor. “And I’d do anything to not be a part of this.”

“You’re the one who snooped!” Ryo points out, which is true. “And then you told me!” Which is also true.

“Sion and Yushi were having a tender moment of friendship!” Sakuya shouts back. “Who am I to interrupt a heart to heart between childhood friends-!”

And, well. They’re seconds away from a screaming match at this point, and so as Sakuya’s voice rings out in the air, Riku exhales slowly. He decides to speak as calmly as he can in his Teacher Voice: “Okay. How about we…” He’s not sure how to word this because it’s not like anything would put a stop to the bickering. “Let’s have a truce. No more insults.”

That’s a tall order but at this point Riku might really get the noise complaint that pushes him out of his lease and he can’t afford to be kicked out right now, not when he has important things to attend to. Like Oh Sion, for one. Or his job. There’s that too. Riku jerks his head over at the couch - he’s doubtful a good cuddle session will be enough to appease them but it’s better than throwing themselves at each other over the kitchen table.

The other two give him dubious looks but eventually relent. They always do. They’re good kids at the end of the day. Even if it’s a long, long, long, long, long day.

“...Fine,” Ryo agrees. He offers a hand out to Sakuya though he doesn’t look that happy about it.

Sakuya eyes him down and then he shakes it. “Fine. Truce.”

So:

They migrate to the couch now that they’re calmed down. Or, they’re relatively calm. The kids are both a little grumpy and Riku himself still doesn’t know how to cope with this news in any normal way. You know, the Sion Thing. The Sion-likes-Riku-of-all-people Thing. He sits on the floor in front of the kotatsu with his hands over his face and his ears burning a bright red.

He may never get over this, actually. When he dies, his last thought will probably be at least Sion the hot dad thinks I’m cute. Oh god, he really is helpless.

Well, it’s not like this is an easy thing to grapple with. Riku doesn’t even know what he’s feeling on a real level. He should be flattered - and he is! - but he just can’t get over the incredibly basic fact that Sion likes him. A normal person would be questioning the authenticity of this information but Sakuya isn’t a liar, so Riku’s not doubting that it’s true. But he just can’t believe that out of everyone on Earth, Sion likes him.

Really? Of all people, it’s Riku?

Riku makes a pained noise, moving to squeeze himself between the babies on the couch because he needs to act normal. Which he fails at, of course. But that’s hardly his fault. What does he even do with this information? Obviously he likes Sion back. Or at least to some degree he does, he’d be an idiot if he didn’t, never mind that he’s secretly been harboring the smidge of a crush for a few months now. But he didn’t- he didn’t think he had a chance, though!

Oh, god. Does this mean Riku stands a chance?

An audible “KYAAA” comes out this time, for which he is immediately scolded. Which is deserved. But that’s not his fault.

“What happened to our truce,” Sakuya hisses from one side of him.

“Nii-chan, you broke the agreement,” Ryo whispers, kneeing him in the thigh from the other side. “How could you!”

“I’m sorry!” Riku wails, except he’s whispering it so it comes out strained. He covers his face again. “I just- I- oh, god, what do I do!”

Neither of the boys seem very impressed. Sakuya presses in closer and rests a hand on Riku’s back like he’s concerned: “Why are you acting like this.”

And Ryo, of course, only lolls his head onto Riku’s shoulder: “You’re too old for this, Nii-chan.”

Riku ignores them. He needs his phone. He left it in his room but in times of peril he always goes to Daeyoung when he needs to spill, and he needs to spill, like, now. Or else he’ll die. Riku manages to sit up from where the babies were leaning into him and whisper-shouts: “I’ll be back!” And then he sprints back to his room, ignoring the grumbling that comes from the two teenage boys on his couch.

This is way more important. His phone is almost dead on his bedside table and he ignores that, instead unlocking it and going right to KakaoTalk. He sends to Daeyoung his usual emergency signal: SOS!!!!!!

For a second he’s worried it’s a bad time and Daeyoung’s out at coin karaoke or wandering around the parks at night like he sometimes does, like, you know, a weirdo. But a response comes almost immediately: ?

Riku types frantically. He has no time for the dramatics. COME HER E PKEEASE I NEED YOUR GUIDANCE

What he gets in response is: what happened to being too tired to hang. And: whatever I’ll bring ice cream. Bless that boy. Riku would kiss him if it weren’t for the fact that they are, again, incompatible on every level including biological. So. A good gossip session will have to do instead.

Wordlessly, Riku walks back to the main room, shooting right to the genkan. He waits, like, twenty seconds. Then there’s a knock. “Riku?”

Daeyoung got here even faster than usual. Riku opens the door before he can knock again and yanks his giant puppy of a best friend inside the apartment with a hiss: “Come here.”

And, well. Daeyoung goes easily. “Uh, sure.”

What ends up happening is that the four of them sit knee-to-knee around Riku’s kotatsu because they need to have a discussion about this, the Sion Thing and all of its implications. This isn’t the first time Riku’s held council like this over his love life either. For a long second, it’s silent. But then he clears his throat and addresses Daeyoung simply: “Daeyoungie, if you had to guess someone I liked right now, who would it be?”

Daeyoung doesn’t even blink. He’s already unwrapping a Melona bar. “The hot dad from work.”

And, well. There’s no denying that. There’s a low chorus of ohhhhh from the kids. So therein lies the fucking problem - Riku never thought he’d have mutual feelings with DILF Sion, except now he does, and that is- that is simply insane.

So Riku then explains in a very calm voice to his dearest friend: “It’s come to my attention that Sion-san might like me back… like… romantically…” He trails off for emphasis. You know, to let the moment simmer.

But then Sakuya points out: “It’s not ‘might.’ He does.”

Daeyoung blinks from where he’s in the middle of going to town on his melon-flavored ice cream. “Sion-san? He likes you?” He bites a chunk of ice cream off - Riku ignores that psychopathic tendency for the sake of their friendship - and only looks even more confused. “How the hell did you find that out?”

So, naturally, Riku jerks his head over at Sakuya. “He was peeping on him.”

“I WASN’T-” Sakuya bellows, to which Ryo slaps a hand over his mouth. Because, you know, the agreement. He keeps his hand there for ten seconds before letting go. When Sakuya speaks next, his eyes are closed and his voice is very calm like he’s meditating: “I wasn’t peeping. We’re friends.”

Daeyoung takes another bite of ice cream before passing the box over to Riku. “Why are you friends with the hot dad?”

Sakuya only slowly shakes his head like it’s a whole thing he can’t get into. “It’s complicated.” Which is… well. It’s true enough.

To Daeyoung’s credit, he doesn’t seem that surprised by this news. Or at least not once the initial shock has worn off. “I mean. It kinda makes sense. Right?” Daeyoung licks up a drip of ice cream, uncaring that the rest of them make faces at him for it. “Sion-san’s always been kinda into you.”

Riku blinks. He blinks once, twice, three times, digests that information. Then he means to say what on Earth are you referring to, Kim Daeyoung, my dearest friend? But what he actually says is: “HEUH?”

It’s loud. Very loud. Both Ryo and Sakuya lunge at him and Riku goes down easily. He deserves that one for sure.

“Nii-chan!”

“The truce!”

“I’m sorry,” Riku wails. They both cover his mouth for him. He deserves that, too.

“I mean. He’s kinda nervous around you.” Daeyoung pays no mind to the lump of them on the floor. “He’s like Megumi. Everything he thinks is on his face.”

Riku wants to die. It’s one thing for his feelings to be mutual, but he didn’t think Sion showed any signs of liking him. Maybe there was some mild interest, sure, but certainly that has a lot more to do with Riku teaching his kid rather than any kind of crush. Right? But Daeyoung’s pretty perceptive in a way even Riku isn’t. So Riku groans into Ryo’s hair, who’s sprawled out on top of him, and peels one grubby hand off of his mouth to ask: “Why me?”

“Because you’re beautiful, Nii-chan,” Ryo says in a very matter-of-fact voice. He only screeches out a laugh when Riku kisses him on the cheek for it. “Argh, you’re gross!”

“Ugh. It’s probably ‘cause you’re good with his kid,” Sakuya groans. He ended up being sandwiched under the other two. Riku decides to be nice and let him wriggle out from down there but he’s not letting Ryo out of his arms no matter how much the kid squirms. Sakuya runs a hand down his face. “It’s not like she’s easy to get along with. I mean, Gumi’s autistic.”

He says it so frankly, the exact opposite to Riku and Sion skirting around the obvious for months. Though that’s mostly because any acknowledgement of it is… complicated. They don’t have the same resources in this town that you’d have in a major city. Megumi is communicative enough to get by without having to be coddled in a special needs program, but she’s still…

Well. Riku’s her teacher and he’s not stupid. So he says thoughtfully: “Well. I guess that’s true.” It’s not like they weren’t all thinking it anyway.

Daeyoung agrees. “Yeah, it’s something like that.” Because, well. It is.

“But that’s kind of the whole thing, right. She really only likes hanging out with Sion hyung. Even around me and Yushi she gets all- I dunno. She doesn’t like being away from Sion for too long.” Sakuya sits up with a wince and snatches the box of Melona. He pays no mind to Ryo making grabby hands for it, choosing an ice cream bar from the box for himself.

“Well. Yeah.” Riku’s a little confused what he means by that because that’s all- those are all things that make sense. Even if Megumi weren’t autistic, Sion’s all she has. And it’s clear that he really does everything he can for her, too.

But Sakuya just huffs a little. “Well, yeah, except from what I hear, her mom wasn’t good with her either. So Sion’s life revolves around her. You guys know him.” He unwraps his ice cream and takes a little nibble. “I always thought Gumi was the only thing that he really cared about. Sion doesn’t waste his time on people who aren’t good with her.”

And, well. That’s certainly true - and also very insightful, wow, Saku - because it’s not like Riku was ever able to get much out of Sion besides him doting incessantly over Megumi. Riku’s never had a guardian be so consistent with their questions like he is, so thorough about everything. He made Riku’s head spin on the first day back to school. A list of her triggers, her boundaries. There are a lot of kids who misbehave with parents who will excuse their behavior for any reason on Earth, but Sion was so insistent that it was impossible not to take him seriously: You have to be gentle. If you yell, you’ll regret it. She can’t handle loud voices. She’s sensitive. She’ll freeze you out, or she’ll start screaming and crying, and I’m the only one who can calm her down. I’m sorry, but that’s just how it is.

At first Riku was skeptical because usually kids with that level of sensitivities aren’t really built to survive in public school - he can’t accommodate every kid in his classroom for god’s sake, he’s only one teacher - but after meeting Megumi, he immediately caved. It’s not like she’s a problem child; she’s quiet; she squirms when other kids approach her but she’s obedient most of the time. Megumi only starts misbehaving when things are too overwhelming, which usually means she’ll plop herself into Riku’s side and refuse to budge. In the first few months she’d go sit in a corner and stare at the wall but now she’ll cling. It’s not a difficult workaround and for now it’s fine. She’s seven. Kids at that age cling. It’s… normal enough.

But now Riku can’t help but be a little curious. Megumi’s mom? He’s never given much thought to her since Sion didn’t seem to want to talk about her much. That was the only thing he was brief about, actually. We’ve been divorced for three years and she’s not in the picture at all. Megumi won’t get upset if you mention moms but she pretends she never had one. That’s not a conventional reaction from a kid her age but given Megumi’s peculiarities, it’s not… it’s not that strange. Did her mom yell? Megumi’s not adverse to all loud noises - a lot of kids with autism would be triggered by the school bell, the desks clattering, and she doesn’t react much to those noises. But she starts freaking out when the volume of everyone’s voices gets too loud. And there was one time Riku was stupid and set a glass of water on the edge of his desk and one of the kids knocked it over by accident. It ended up shattering all over the floor. She freaked out then, too.

That’s not… that’s very different from a simple aversion to loud noises. Riku’s jaw clenches at the thought. He doesn’t like the implications of that, not at all.

Hmm…

“I mean, does it matter why he likes you?” As always, Ryo’s able to cut right down to the core of it, though he doesn’t seem like he intends on unlatching himself from Riku’s side anytime soon. That jogs Riku out of his head. “He likes you, Nii-chan. You gotta ask him out.”

Despite the fact that Riku had just been trying to psychoanalyze one of his most peculiar students, his face flushes. It’s instinct, mostly, when he immediately denies: “That- I’m not doing that.”

That earns him various noises of displeasure from the others. Because obviously he should ask Sion out, god, Riku, he likes you. But Riku can barely understand the reality of Sion liking him, now he has to ask him out? And date him? Oh, god, does he have to kiss him? He does, right? And that’s ignoring the ethical dilemma of this whole thing, which he is pointedly pretending doesn’t exist! For the sake of his mental health, you know!

Riku makes a pained noise. Okay, no, he has to acknowledge that. Megumi is one of his students and he’s not trying to get fired or anything by dating her dad. But even beyond that, he doesn’t know Sion very well besides the things Megumi says on occasion like Appa loves coffee, too or my Appa said one day I’m gonna be 180 centimeters like he is or, that one time: Maeda-Sensei, what should I get for my Appa’s birthday? He really likes cake but I’m not allowed to use the oven. Riku didn't know how to answer that one. Because Megumi is seven and doesn’t have money and yeah, she really shouldn’t be using the oven. They agreed on a nice card and a drawing.

But that was kind of obvious; again, Sion only cares about Megumi, only talks about Megumi, acts like every moment of his life revolves around how Megumi’s doing. So, hm. That only makes Riku more curious to peel back that outer layer of Oh Sion that is a father before anything else. He’s being… very tempted.

But:

“You have to just go for it,” Daeyoung sends him a look. “You were all love at first sight with him. Don’t act like you don’t want to jump his bones.”

Riku only flushes more. “What? No!” Okay, maybe Daeyoung has a point there. Riku was impressed both by Sion’s tenacity as a parent and also his face. And his biceps, too, just a tiny bit. But, like. Respectfully.

(Or. Well. Maybe not respectfully…)

“I would do anything for Doyoung to love me back,” Ryo sighs wistfully even though this obviously has nothing to do with goddamn Doyoung.

“He’s like forty and you’re seventeen,” Sakuya’s face twists up. “You need to pick someone else.”

Ryo only huffs. “Well! I can still dream!”

Riku lays there and tries to think his way out of the responsibility of dealing with Sion’s crush. Because it’s not like he wouldn’t want to date him. Or at least probably not. Again, Riku doesn’t know him that well but Sion is a pretty sincere kind of guy that’s rare to come by. Plus he’s good to his kid. And he’s, like, super fucking hot. But their relationship is strictly professional and it should stay that way because of ethics and everything…

But a part of him wonders. Well. Would it hurt just to give it a try?

Riku rubs that thought out of his head immediately because obviously it’s a bad idea. But, like. He could just see if Sion reacts to him. There’s nothing unethical about a compliment or two. Or talking about something other than Megumi, for once. What would Sion do with a casual touch? Or a purposeful look? Riku was a twink in Tokyo, he knows how to lure a guy in.

But would that… would it work? Well, probably. Riku knows he can be hot shit when he wants to, he’s not stupid. But Sion’s three years out of a divorce with a special needs kid and Riku isn’t really dating material for a single dad. Even though he’d like to be…

Hm. Riku’s not used to having to make the first move. But if there’s one thing he knows about Sion, it’s that he has Megumi tunnel vision. So there’s just no way around it; if he’s not going to make the first move, then Riku should at least try something. He could probably try anything. Sion’s never seemed like the most socially aware person in the world, and if he was, he’d probably be doing a lot worse with a kid like Megumi. It’s really unfortunate that Riku kind-of has a thing for oblivious people.

What would it take for Sion to really notice him? Or notice his intentions?

Or, like. Is that kind of move even worth making?

One of Riku’s hands pets over Ryo’s hair and the other is reaching for one of those fucking ice cream bars. He shouldn’t even be entertaining the idea but of course he is. Because, like, duh. Sion’s the hottest dad he’s ever come across in all his years of teaching. It’s already rare for dads to be so involved, but Sion’s easily the most over-bearing parent Riku has ever met, and it’s not even in the annoying way. Something about how he cares so much about Megumi to the point his life revolves around her is… disturbingly sexy.

Riku accidentally snaps off a bite of his ice cream bar. The cold stings his teeth. He hisses. Ow.

“I think on Monday you should try something,” Daeyoung says after letting him stew in his thoughts for a few minutes. Because apparently for someone with such a staunch good boy image, he can be a terrible influence. Daeyoung sends him a loaded Look. “I mean, there’s no harm in it.”

Riku doesn’t want to admit that he’s tempted. Or, at this point he’s even halfway persuaded. He licks slowly at his Melona. “Maybe. We’ve got ethics but, like, who cares about that…” It’s a half-joke. Or maybe less than that. Daeyoung grins at him.

It’s not like Riku stands no chance. Sion already likes him back. Plus Riku knows the kind of allure he’s capable of, it’s just probably less effective while he’s wearing the smock at school. But Sion’s a dad. There has to be something about Riku he’s drawn to. Is it his face? Riku could try acting cute. For some reason that always works on the older guys. Sion’s not that much older but he’s up there enough for there to be something about him that’s almost excruciatingly mature. Sometimes he skips the niceties and gets no-nonsense when they talk, and Riku ignores the way that makes him ache. Just a tiny bit.

It’s something about his voice and his vibe and his arms and- and sometimes his gaze is so firm and intense and-

Ryo lets out a sigh, long and suffering. “Do we have to keep talking about this? Doyoung has another stage.”

Sakuya punts a pillow at his face. “Shut up.”

They dissolve into bickering and Riku lets them, lets the moment pass. He needs to think about what he’s going to do about Sion. He lays half under the kotatsu while Ryo and Sakuya brawl for the remote. He lets Daeyoung poke around his fridge. “Riku, can I have sake?”

Riku doesn’t even blink. “Yeah, sure.”

He sits there and ponders; schemes; plots. He has two days to come up with something. Something that will knock the socks off the hottest dad he knows. He has to.

˖.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ⊹ ࣪ ˖

To Riku’s credit, he’s a lot less confident about his plan once Monday rolls around. He spent the whole weekend letting the kids and Daeyoung leech off of him for food and TV, and also his lesson plans for the week are a little sloppily made because yeah, last night he had a little too much sake. Is that a crime?

But Riku’s paying for it now. There’s a distant headache pounding behind his eyes. The screeching of kids doesn’t help. There’s no way in hell he’s seducing Sion like this.

“Oi, Yuuchi, stop running!” Riku calls from where he's sitting cross-legged on the carpet in the back of the room. He rubs at his head. Any adult could take one look at him and tell he’s hungover but his students are seven and they don’t know shit. Thank god the day’s about to end. Riku wants to get out of here as soon as humanly possible.

“Maeda-Sensei, are you okay?” Megumi is the one to ask, of all people. Maku’s off at his desk being studious, which generally goes against everything Megumi stands for considering she has said more than once that “math is evil.” But the kid doesn’t seem perturbed, crawling to Riku’s side. “Does your head hurt?”

For a second Riku’s stunned by the empathy because Megumi’s usually the last person on Earth to pay attention to that kind of thing. But he nods and Megumi comes in closer, leaning in to rub at his head too.

“Aigo, Sensei,” she says in a low voice. “You’ve got a boo-boo.”

Aigo? Riku’s only heard that word from Daeyoung, namely when he forgets something at home or makes a petty mistake while grading homework. Then usually he’ll grumble to himself in Korean for a bit. But the tone they both say that word in is exactly the same. Wow.

“Oh, t-thank you, Megumi.” Riku feels so touched by the affection that he could cry, but that’s half because he’s so proud of her approaching him first. Wow! She really is growing up!

But Megumi, of course, doesn’t catch onto the fact that Riku’s an adult who can handle himself because she keeps rubbing at his head for him. “You need water,” she says in her usual flat voice. “Whenever my head hurts, Appa gets me water.”

It’s kind of funny. Megumi’s massaging at his head for him and Riku just lets her, closing his eyes and slumping his head against his shoulder. It’s for the sake of her development, you know, he needs to encourage her when she gets outgoing like this. “Your Appa’s right.” Riku’s teacher tone is good as dead, though. “Your Appa is a very handso- smart man.” Yes, Riku, that was a legendary save.

“He is,” Megumi agrees sagely. “He’s the best.”

Riku isn’t thinking at all. “Yeah, he is.”

It’s not like Riku’s proud of himself. He’s a mess and it’s all his fault because he let himself get riled up over the prospect of seducing Megumi’s dad. But he’s pretty much down for the count at this point and there’s only so much he can do while being hungover in a room with twelve seven year-olds. That’s probably why Daeyoung ends up rounding all the kids together to pass out homework, which is Riku’s job. Riku will buy him dinner as thanks. But, like, tomorrow.

Tonight he plans on conking the fuck out the second he gets home. Because he’s a responsible adult or whatever.

Riku can’t do much but echo everything Daeyoung’s saying. He lets out gentle chides to some of the kids who are being more unruly, but as the bell rings, the kids gather their stuff and pay him no mind at all. And the funny thing is that Megumi never lets up on him. She’s taking her job deadly seriously and now Riku has to accept that he’s hardly the authority figure in this classroom anymore.

“You don’t have to do that, Megumi,” Riku even tries. Because he has ethics and also he doesn’t want any parents passing by the room to think he’s exploiting child labor from his students.

But:

“No, I wanna make it better.” And, well, there’s no such thing as dissuading this kid once she’s made up her mind about something. So now they’re stuck like this. Riku certainly isn’t complaining but maybe that’s because his moral compass as a teacher is all fucked up now.

Which is whatever. And also completely Sion’s fault. But Megumi doesn’t need to know that.

They sit there. Daeyoung asks if they need help, once, but Megumi shushes him off. Riku should scold her for that but honestly speaking, it’s fucking hilarious. Though that’s because Daeyoung’s so submissive to the kids, immediately hanging his head and saying: “Yes, ma’am.” Riku will lecture him later about having a backbone as a teacher but not now.

Right now, it’s funny. And sad. Mostly sad. But Daeyoung’s his protege for a reason, so.

Maku stops by, too. His voice isn’t judgemental but mostly just curious. “Are you okay, Sensei?”

“Yup,” Riku says, his eyes still closed. “Gumi’s giving me a spa day.”

Megumi grunts. Surely she’s tired of this by now. But apparently not.

Maku lingers. He and Megumi talk about whatever seven year-olds talk about and Riku’s not really paying attention to them because this honestly just feels nice. It’s been a long time since anyone’s doted on him. So maybe he should be ashamed that Megumi is the first person to care for him like this in a while - for fuck’s sake, Riku, she’s seven - but hey. He’s not a complainer. Megumi’s specific about touching people. Riku shouldn’t reject her outright. Again, it’s for the sake of her development or whatever the fuck…

He only realizes that he definitely should be up and acting like a teacher when heavy footsteps walk into the room and slow to a stop directly in front of him. Riku barely registers the noise, but then: “Um… hi?”

That’s Sion. Fuck. Riku’s eyes fly open and he’s met with the sight of Sion looking down at them with a perplexed look on his face. He doesn’t seem to be concerned for Gumi’s sake, more for Riku’s, judging by the way their eyes meet and everything in Sion’s expression is asking is something wrong with you that requires my kid kneading at you like dough?

“Oh,” Riku says faintly. “Hi, Sion-san.”

Nothing about this is, like, inappropriate. Mostly. Unconventional, sure, but given Megumi can be a strange kid, Sion’s probably not as concerned as most parents would be. He blinks. “Is she… are you okay with her doing that?” This is when Riku realizes it looks like Megumi’s just got her hands wrapped around his skull while she just kinda pulls him this way and that.

Which is… well. It probably seems pretty weird. Oops.

So Riku just accepts his fate, letting the humiliation wash over him. “She’s fixing my boo boo,” he says like this is a perfectly normal thing for them to be doing. “Isn’t that right, Gumi-chan?”

“Yup.” Megumi’s voice is monotone. This is the first time since the year started that she hasn’t flown into Sion’s arms the second he’s walked in through the door. Riku feels weirdly honored about that even though he should probably be more mortified instead. But sometimes being a second grade teacher leads you to weird places. It’s part of the job.

But even then, Riku’s self aware enough to put a stop to this now that Sion’s here to pick his daughter up and everything. “I think I’m all fixed now. Thank you, Gumi.” Riku coos it but his tone is less self-assured than usual. He needs to get himself together. He gestures up at Sion. “Look, your Appa’s here.”

Megumi doesn’t seem so easily convinced, though. She ignores Sion entirely, which is- “Are you sure?”

Riku blinks. He softens. He ruffles her hair because he didn’t think one of his headaches would matter so much to her, especially when standing in front of them is her favorite person in the world. So Riku smiles. “Of course. You fixed me right up.”

Megumi seems to accept that at face value, though. She leans into Riku’s hand before bounding upwards. She gives her dad a quick hug and says something like “Hi-Appa-lemme-get-my-stuff-!” And then she’s off. That kid’s like a bottle rocket sometimes. No wonder Sion’s so worried for her - how the hell do you know what’s going on in Megumi’s brain?

But Riku’s never seen her like that before, so doting to anyone besides her dad. Though maybe Sion hasn’t, either. He looks after Megumi with something like awe on his face. “Is she usually like that?” He looks back at Riku after he asks the question. Riku’s surprised by the intensity of Sion’s eyes.

“Um. Not really.” Riku attempts to get up gracefully but that’s a lost cause when he winces from the pounding in his head. But then there’s an arm pulling him up, up, up, and- “Oh,” he flushes as Sion straightens him. “Thank you...” He doesn’t know how obvious his hangover is but he hopes Sion doesn’t realize the teacher he apparently likes so much is actually a drunkard who handles his child while hungover. God, he hopes not.

But, instead:

“Of course.” Sion only gives him a short look-over but then he’s staring back over at Megumi just as quickly. His expression is thoughtful. Or maybe intrigued. Sion’s voice is a little disbelieving: “She really does like you, huh.” Okay, so he must not have clocked the being-hungover-thing. That’s good.

Riku’s ears turn pink. “I like to think she doesn’t mind me that much.” He doesn’t want to have an ego about it, though internally he’s fist bumping about being someone Megumi likes enough for Sion to have this kind of reaction. But then, just to be clear: “I also didn’t ask her to do that, just so you know…”

Sion looks back at him when he says that. He blinks. Then he laughs. “Oh, I know. She only does what she wants. There’s really no stopping her.”

Riku feels oddly breathless. Wow. Sion has a… very nice laugh. He’s in his work uniform today, the kind of thing you’d see a janitor wear in, like, a manga. Because manga is Riku’s only frame of reference for anything. But there’s a firmness at Sion’s shoulders that Riku is really impressed by. And so is his chest. Riku tries not to stare but that’s a difficult task. Sion’s so good looking and he’s nicely sculpted in just the right way and- yeah. Well.

It’s hard for Riku to process that a guy like this is into him. Riku, who’s hungover at work and exploiting kids into giving him massages. But Sion doesn’t seem perturbed. If anything, he smiles wider when they make eye contact. Riku flushes deeper.

Holy shit, what the fuck. Riku wants to crawl into a hole and die in there but he also wants to ride Sion like a fucking horse. Which is a crazy contradiction. But variety is the spice of life when you have a crush on a hot dad or however the saying goes.

And. Well. Anyway…

“So. She was good today, right?” Sion asks after a second’s worth of a pause. His hands slide into his pockets and his shoulders shrug all on their own. It’s a meek gesture but on Sion it just looks so humble and down to Earth, wow. He doesn’t seem to realize Riku’s ogling him, though, because his smile is fond: “Her and Maku had a really good playdate. I think she’s feeling better about coming to school now.”

“O-oh, right!” Riku’s ashamed he forgot about the playdate, for god’s sake, Maku and Megumi are the most sensitive kids in his class. But he manages a smile and tries to sound very, very, very normal. “They had a lot of fun, huh?”

Sion smiles back at him. “Yeah. Maku’s a good influence. He’s very… practical.” Sion scratches at his neck. “He talks Gumi off the ledge? I don’t know how else to say it.”

Riku laughs. It’s involuntary. “Off the ledge?”

“She likes to scheme at home,” Sion explains. “She doesn’t look it, but she’s a conniving little thing. One day I’m gonna wake up and her name’s gonna be on the deed to the house, I swear to-” He cuts himself off when he spots Megumi running at them. “Hey, baby.”

Megumi’s her usual self, immediately jumping up into Sion’s arms. Sion catches her easily, only grunting out “oof.” He lifts her like she’s a paper weight. And at this age she’s already getting pretty big, which is something that Riku is not swayed by, not at all, because who the hell would be moved by a big strong man who’s good with kids? Not him.

Riku only reaches out to adjust Megumi’s backpack for her: “Careful, Gumi.” It’s instinct, mostly, but also fretting is easier than looking Oh Sion in the eyes, it turns out.

“Sorry,” Megumi doesn’t sound sorry, though. She turns back to Riku and pokes his forehead. “How’s it feel?”

Riku smiles. He’s honored she cares so much - kids have short attention spans, after all, and Megumi is unpredictable in that way. Sometimes she’ll stew over something all day, sometimes she’ll forget about something she was upset about the second the moment passes. So Riku gives her a little bow of his head. “I’m all good. Thanks to you.”

Megumi reaches out to ruffle Riku’s hair, which would probably be a hard “hell no” for most teachers, but Riku lets her because man, why not. He didn’t expect her to get so affectionate with him considering she entered his classroom at the start of the year attached to her dad’s leg like she’d fuse to him if she could. But then Riku glances at Sion and he has that expression akin to awe again. But he’s looking at Riku, this time, not Megumi.

He’s looking right at Riku; it’s Riku he’s in awe of. How is that possible?

God. It’s funny. Riku spent all weekend terrorizing himself to death about this and that, how to make a move on a guy who’s so good-looking and probably used to endless flirting already. But then he remembers Sakuya: he likes you because Gumi likes you. But that’s not all it is. Sion keeps a careful eye on who treats his kid well. Riku reaches up to squeeze Megumi’s hand and Sion’s gaze softens even more.

Wow. Wow!

“S-so. Um.” Riku wants to take advantage of this nice, warm mood, but he doesn’t know how. He intended to go into his attempt at flirting with teasing, but Sion is intimidating this up close. It’s hard to mess with someone who looks at you like that. And yet Riku presses in a little closer and he says: “So, Sion-san. I wanted to ask you something…”

Sion blinks a little. “Yeah?” He sounds almost- almost hopeful. Except there’s no way he’d be hopeful about- oh, god. Riku flushes.

So he really gets to flirt like this, huh? After a day of being miserable and hungover? Is he even awake right now, or is this a dream? There’s no way he’s not dreaming. Except he pinches his elbow and nothing about the moment changes, and that is- wow. Holy shit.

Riku tries to keep his voice level. “So… next week we’re taking the kids to the zoo in Kyoto. It’s the field trip they’ve been preparing for.” It was Daeyoung’s idea to trap Sion into spending time together but it still feels like a big swing to take. And yet Riku still tries it anyway: “We still need two parent volunteers. Would you happen to have any free time…?”

In the most casual way he possibly can, Riku puts his hand on Sion’s arm. It’s perfectly appropriate. Or, mostly appropriate. But he squeezes down, just once. And slowly, slowly, slowly, Sion’s neck goes red.

“N-next week?” His voice does this funny thing, almost a crack except not really. Sion avoids his eyes. “Um. I think I could make time.” He looks at Megumi. “You want Appa to go with you to the zoo?”

“The zoo?” Megumi asks. She pokes at Sion’s face. “But you said you had work.”

Holy shit. This is amazing. Sion flushes deeper and Riku wants to tease so, so badly. He’s asked Sion to volunteer before but he was always turned down because Sion works Mondays through Fridays. But today he doesn’t seem to have any qualms about it. All because of one little touch? Riku wants to push and he definitely can’t, but hell, it’s tempting.

“I-I can ask for some time off,” Sion avoids Megumi’s eyes, too. “Or your Yushi-nii could come, too…?”

He looks at Riku for permission when he says that. Riku instinctively wants to say: hell no, keep your little friend at home. But he says: “Sure!”

It’s not against school policy or anything, Riku just wanted to corner Sion all alone on the trip. Like, hypothetically. But this is fine. Megumi breaks into a cheer that makes the both of them smile. She beams up at her dad: “Really?”

“Yup. And if Yushi-nii says no, you can tell him he has no choice.” Sion smiles over at Riku and the red is still creeping up into his face. Which is so cute, somehow. “Um. We’ve really gotta go, but- uh. Thanks again?”

Riku doesn’t know why he says it like a question but he likes this flustered look on Sion, his cheeks red. It’s a side of him that Riku’s never seen before. Even Megumi looks a little confused at him because god bless her heart, she barges past every social cue in the book and pulls at Sion’s cheek.

“Um, Appa,” she says. “You’re really red. Are you not feeling well, or-”

“Oh no, we’re gonna be late for dinner!” Sion makes a whole show of checking his watch and balking at the time. Which is an act he does badly, may Riku add. But it’s still endearing as Sion steps away, waving in tandem with Megumi. “T-thank you, Sensei! See you tomorrow!”

Riku waves back. “See you tomorrow.” And with that, they’re gone.

For a second he just watches them go. In the daze of Sion’s proximity Riku hadn’t noticed all the other kids slip off so quickly. Which does… not bode well for worth ethic or general sense of professional responsibility. But it’s hard to be upset with himself when he mostly feels like he’s on cloud fucking nine - he flirted with Sion, got him to agree to a… well. It’s not a date. But it’s something.

But then a voice behind him clears his throat. Riku can’t believe he forgot about Daeyoung in the mess of the afternoon, but naturally his TA got a front row seat to that whole damn thing. “So,” Daeyoung says. “I told you it’d work. Didn’t I?”

If Riku wasn’t pink before, he certainly is now. He can’t even argue because Daeyoung’s plan worked so well that it’s stupid. He goes over to his desk and organizes his things as he mumbles: “...I guess.” He’s an idiot for trying to act nonchalant now but even Riku has an easily-wounded pride.

“Don’t act like that,” Daeyoung calls over to him as he goes to the broom closet to take out the usual clean-up supplies. At least he’s not teasing - Daeyoung doesn’t really tease, but when he does, he knows how to hit where it hurts the most. But the thing that Kim Daeyoung decides to focus on out of everything is: “And he’s bringing his cute friend, too. That’s great.”

Riku glances over at him, slightly admonished. There’s no fucking way that Daeyoung’s talking about Yushi. “You mean the guy who stared at you then ran away? You think he’s cute…?”

And, look, Riku’s hardly one to judge, never mind that they’ve both had their moments of questionable taste. But Yushi is… well. He’s a strange guy. And also not really Daeyoung’s type. But Riku can kind of see it when he thinks back to Yushi’s narrow eyes and stern expression and the hard edge to his voice… like, maybe. Daeyoung’s got a thing for the mean types. Riku respects it.

But Daeyoung’s smile is almost eerie. “I enjoy a challenge.”

And, well. Riku would prefer not to ask what that means, nor what Daeyoung’s plan for this Yushi guy is, because sometimes it’s good to mind your business. So they get to work cleaning up and resetting the classroom for tomorrow. They bicker about nothing, finish up, go home. Daeyoung only teases about Sion once because he’s an angel. Riku beelines right to bed the second they get back to the apartment complex.

Daeyoung calls after him: “You owe me dinner, senpai! I covered for you all day!”

“Tomorrow!” Riku swears. “Really! I promise!”

And then he’s finally home. Thank god. The quiet of his apartment is nice. It’s calm. Of course his headache never actually went away but now he can pass the fuck out in bed after popping a few Advil and chugging water. Because even in darkness there are little mercies or whatever.

Riku showers, changes, gets into bed. His head still hurts but a part of him is so giddy now that he’s alone and he’s allowed to think back over the day (or at least the parts of it where he wasn’t incredibly hungover). Riku focuses on the important things, namely how he saw the affection in real time today - Sion really does like him. How crazy is that? It’s so crazy!

So Riku KYAAAAs into his pillow once or twice before settling down for real. He thinks about the warmth of Sion’s skin under his fingers, that look of awe in his eyes, the softness of his mouth. Would Sion let Riku kiss him? God, he hopes so. He really does. But he also wouldn’t mind just, like, talking. About Megumi, about anything. Or, actually, anything besides Megumi. They’ve already spoken so much about Megumi. Riku wants to sit down across from Sion at a restaurant and just watch him talk, eat, laugh…

It’s funny. Riku knows he’s getting ahead of himself because he has the tendency to do that once he really likes someone. But he smiles into his pillow. Things really aren’t so bad, are they? Maybe this is the excitement he’s been itching for. He’s spent all these years being a beggar ever since college ended but he’d like one opportunity to be a chooser - he’d choose Sion, he thinks. Or at least he hopes that Sion would choose him right back.

And so, naturally, Riku falls asleep with a grin on his face and he dreams of strong hands, a low voice, a nice laugh. In his dream, Sion says his name. Riku. Not Maeda-san, but Riku. Riku, I like you. You’re the one I’m fond of. It’s kind of lovely. In his dreams Sion is just as nice, just as sweet, flushes down his neck just the same. He’s still a good dad, he’s still lean in just the right ways and bulky in the others, still smiles at him so warmly it feels like Riku’s basking out in the sun.

God. Would Sion really take a chance on someone like him? Riku hopes so. And he’s starting to feel like he might figure out the answer to that very, very soon.

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