Chapter Text
Kuro had told him that his neighborhood was dangerous, but as Keito walked though, looking for the house number Kuro had given him, he was beginning to suspect that Kuro was simply being overprotective of his sister (and of Tetora, on the few occasions he’d come over).
He finds the house number, rings the doorbell, and a young girl with black hair, about middle school age, answers the door. Keito assumes it must be Kuro’s sister that he talks about so often.
“Hello,” Keito begins. “I’m looking for--”
“You must be that nerd in aniki’s unit.”
Keito pauses. From what Kuro had always talked about, his younger sister seemed to be a kind, sweet girl, and not at all someone who would rudely call him a nerd. Though you couldn’t believe everything older brothers said, if his experience with the Sakuma brothers was anything to count. “If you’re talking about Akatsuki--”
“Aniki said you were super serious, but he thinks it’s cute or whatever,” she interrupts. “Oh, I wasn’t supposed to tell you that. Hang on, I’ll get aniki for you.”
The girl leaves Keito at the door, flustered. The Kuro that he knows would never call him cute, so Keito chalks it up to a younger sibling being troublesome. He is, after all, a younger sibling himself.
The girl pops around the corner. “Oh you can come in I guess. Aniki says I’m not supposed to let in strangers but I’ve seen you on stage before. Knights is better, by the way.”
She disappears again before Keito can say anything to refute, so he steps cautiously into the entrance, removing his shoes and closing the door. He’d only stopped by to drop off the papers Kuro needed and had left in Keito’s office, but the two of them could get embroiled in long conversations sometimes, so he might as well prepare to stay for a bit.
The girl reappears around the corner, with Kuro in tow. “Hey, Hasumi. Thanks for stopping by. Sorry bout Yuka-chan, she can be blunt sometimes.”
Keito shakes his head. “It’s no problem.”
Yuka snorts at her brother. “The way you talked about your leader I thought he was gonna be cool, but he seems suuu~per boring.”
Kuro frowns. “Yuka-chan, you know that isn’t nice. Apologize.”
Yuka huffs, folding her arms. “Sorry I called you boring. I wasn’t kidding about Knights being better though.”
Kuro ruffles her hair, and she flinches away. “Yuka-chan always says that, but it’s our poster she hung above her bed.”
Yuka turns and punches Kuro in the arm, but he barely flinches at it. “Gross! I’ll be in my room!”
She disappears upstairs, stomping all the way up, and Kuro chuckles. “She only hits me when she’s embarrassed. Sorry, danna. You have those papers?”
Keito hands over the file. “I’m not certain my brother and I were ever that...violent with each other.”
Kuro takes the folder, setting it aside. “She’s getting stronger every day. Kind of makes me proud, y’know? Anyway, you want some tea?”
Keito fidgets, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. This family is certainly rowdier than he’s used to, his temple at home being typically quiet and unobtrusive. The few times he and his brother had gotten into an argument it was quickly sorted out by his parents and would usually end with both of them reciting prayers. His growing feelings for Kuro are something to consider too, and Keito isn’t sure how long he can keep going hiding it. He’s always been the type to speak his mind, after all.
“I wasn’t planning on staying long, actually.”
Kuro wanders into the kitchen, just off to the side from the entryway, and gets the teapot out. “Nonsense. It was probably a long way out of your way. Might as well stay.” Kuro gestures at the table in the kitchen, and Keito comes over to take a seat.
There’s silence while Kuro prepares the tea, and Keito thanks him when he brings his cup over. Kuro sits down with his own cup. “Probably not the best, I’m not great at making tea.”
Keito takes a sip. The water is a good temperature, but he’s let it brew a little too long. “It’s fine.”
Keito doesn’t necessarily want to ask what’s on his mind, but the curiosity has been burning since Yuka said something to him.
“Ah, your sister--Yuka, was it?--she said something somewhat strange. I’m certain she was just attempting to mess with me.”
Kuro hums. “She’s at a troublesome age, y’know? She was probably messing with you.”
Keito feels himself flush. Right, out with it then. “She said you thought I was...cute?”
For a moment, Kuro seems to fidget a little bit and Keito has never seen a man Kuro’s size ever look bashful before. “Well, yeah. You are, a bit.”
Keito pushes his glasses up his nose. Neither one of them can look at the other. “Just a bit?”
He’s pushing feelers out, and maybe too much hope, but Keito has been enjoying Kuro’s company lately, and their conversations, and the way Kuro’s eyes crinkle when he grins….
Maybe he’s reaching out too far, as Keito isn’t even entirely sure that Kuro would be into men, and even if he were, if he would be into someone as boring as Keito. Yuka had thought he was boring too, after all, as most people did.
Kuro clears his throat. “Hasumi? Did you even hear me?”
Keito snaps out of his line of thought. “I’m sorry, Kiryu, I didn’t--”
“I said I think you’re plenty cute.”
Keito tries to fight down the heat rising towards his face. Composure in all situations is something he prides himself on. “I’m not sure being called cute makes me entirely happy.”
“Would it be better if I called you handsome?”
“Kiryu.”
Kuro scoots his seat closer to Keito. “What if I called you very attractive?”
Keito can feel the heat on his face now, and he sits up straighter. “Where is this coming from?”
“I’ve been flirting with you for the better half of the year, danna. Tetsu said I should try being more direct.”
Keito makes a mental note to do something nice for Kuro’s karate club underclassman.
“You’ve been flirting with me?”
“Trying. Is it working?”
Kuro’s face is very close to Keito’s now. His heart skips a beat as Kuro leans in, and he’s just slid his eyes shut….
“Aniki. If you’re gonna do gross things at least go to your room so I can get a glass of water without getting sick everywhere.”
Kuro’s attention is immediately back to his younger sister, who is standing at the edge of the kitchen with her arms folded. “Sorry Yuka-chan. You want me to get you something? You want tea?”
Keito is trying very hard to slow down his heart rate before he turns around to look at Kuro’s sister.
Yuka stares at the back of Keito’s head. “Go get me my snacks, please, Aniki. They’re in your room still.”
Kuro’s out of the room before Keito even looks up, and Yuka sits down in the chair in front of him. “Hey. Nerd.”
Keito clears his throat, willing the blush off of his face before he looks up at the young girl. “My name is Hasumi Keito. I never had time to properly introduce myself.”
Yuka blinks at him. “I’m Kiryu Yuka. And aniki may be dumb and embarrassing sometimes but he likes you a lot so you better not make him sad or I’ll beat you up. I can do that.”
Keito almost laughs at the tiny middle schooler sitting in front of him, but her face is completely serious and it’s very likely that she could easily beat him up if she wanted to. He saw the punch she gave Kuro, after all.
“I’ll try my best. I don’t want to see him sad, either.”
Yuka stares at him for a long while before she nods. The answer seemed to gain her approval. “He deserves someone to be nice to him, for once,” she says, her voice getting smaller. “He’s a good big brother, but don’t tell him I said that. He’ll be totally unbearable.”
Keito smiles. It seems Yuka has a gentle side to her after all, much like her older brother. Keito can definitely see the similarities. “It will be our secret, then.”
Kuro comes back downstairs and into the kitchen then, looking suspiciously at the both of them. “Are you being nice, Yuka-chan?”
“Of course I am. You said this guy was super polite but he didn’t even introduce himself to me. Aniki is always going on about MY manners, so why didn’t you scold this guy?”
“It’s okay to make mistakes sometimes,” Kuro says, handing her bag of snacks over. “But you make mistakes all the time.”
“Whatever,” Yuka says, getting up. “I’m gonna be in my room so you guys can be gross or whatever.”
She skips all the way upstairs, and Keito swears he hears her humming one of the Knights’ songs along the way. “She didn’t say anything mean to you, did she?”
Keito chuckles. “No, not at all.” He glances at his phone, noticing the time. “I should probably be leaving, at any rate. Thank you for the tea.”
He begins to move to leave, and Kuro stands by with his hands in his pockets. “That’s it?”
Keito considers what he’s about to do for a moment, remembers that he’s young and it’s okay to be impulsive sometimes, and walks over to where Kuro stands. One of his hands reaches up to tangle in Kuro’s hair as he presses their mouths together in a short, sweet kiss. Kuro looks surprised when he pulls back. “Goodbye then, Kiryu. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
It takes Kuro a few moments to react after the surprise kiss, but he stops Keito at the door, kissing him again, longer this time. Kuro wraps his arm around Keito and pulls him closer, deepening the kiss. They stay like this for a few minutes, exploring each others mouths, until Keito finally breaks away. He chuckles breathlessly, pressing their foreheads together. “Where is this streak of selfishness coming from?”
Kuro grins at him in the way Keito loves, all teeth and a mischievous look, and Keito’s heart skips a beat, not for the first time Kuro’s given him that look. “I hope you like kissing, danna, because I do.”
Keito presses one, two, chaste kisses against Kuro’s lips before he pulls out of Kuro’s grasp. “I don’t have an opinion either way, but I suppose I could come to like it….with practice.”
Keito pulls his shoes back on and is gone (with one more quick goodbye kiss) and Kuro is still stuck at the entryway, remembering the way Keito had tasted.
“You’re never gonna shut up about your weird crush on the glasses nerd now, are you?” Yuka says from behind him.
Kuro turns to look at her, a fond smile still on his face. “Nah, probably not. Come on, I’ll take you out for dinner.”