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𝟒𝟐 || 𝐏𝐀𝐇'𝐒 𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐓-𝐀𝐒𝐒 𝐑𝐈𝐃𝐄 ||

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"Kei-chan's an arsonist now."

    "And? Does that really surprise you, baby? That boy was born to take down buildings..."

    Takemichi heaves out a breath of disappointment from where he sits across from his mother. Sure, there's still a glass barrier between the two Hanagaki's but like this, talking to one another without a care in the world, he feels closer to his mom than he ever has.

    "No, it doesn't, but I don't want him going to jail! What would me and Mikey do without him?" Takemichi whines, not caring if he appears childish in front of his mother as he spills out his frustrations that he would never be able to share with Wakasa. "I can barely go a day without seeing him–what if he goes out, lights a car on fire, gets caught, and I can't see him for years because he couldn't keep his damn hands off a match?!"

    His mom throws her head back and laughs, amusement pouring out of her voice in waves. Takemichi scrunches up his brow, annoyed by his mama's complete disregard over the whole situation. "Oh Takemichi–You talk about Keisuke and Mikey as if they're your lovers! It's hilarious!!!" She hollers, causing a dark blush to run across Takemichi's cheeks.

    "HUH?! Keisuke and Mikey ain't my l-lovers!" Takemichi stutters, finding the mere image of all three of them holding hands more than a little flustering. "And I'm serious, mom! If Kei-chan keeps this up, he's gonna end up in jail!"

    "So? That kid needs to be humbled and I think jail is a perfect place for that–y'know, speaking from experience and all that," She jokes, making Takemichi roll his eyes.

    "Kei-chan wouldn't let himself be humbled by jail anyways."

    His mom tilts her head, curious.

    "Yeah? Why not?"

    "Because he's a stubborn little shit! He's too proud to let prison change him," he explains, earning another laugh from his mom.

    "Eh, you never know, baby. You'd be surprised by how many people were straightened out here after being in a cell for less than twenty four hours..."

    "Yeah but...I just can't see Kei-chan letting jail change him. If anything, I think he'd love it..." Takemichi thinks back to all the times he's seen the bloodlust in Keisuke's eyes, the kind that makes Takemichi feel nervous and on edge while exciting him at the same time.

    "You ain't wrong, Michi. He'd love the thrill of starting riots here."

    Takemichi opens his mouth to refute, but a loud bell rings through the enclosed space, putting an end to their lovely conversation. Behind Takemichi, a door creaks open, revealing one of the prison guards.

    "Visitation time is over," They say, eyeing the Hanagakis with something akin to pity.

    Takemichi sighs, not bothering to hide his disappointment. "That was fast..." Takemichi grumbles, slowly moving out of his chair to leave the room.

    His mother chuckles from the other side, mimicking his actions by pulling her chair out from underneath her. "Not really–we've been talking for nearly an hour, Takemichi," she muses while stretching her arms above her head, earning crackles and pops that Takemichi is barely able to pick up. "But time sure does fly when I talk to ya, baby."

    A sad smile breaks out across Takemichi's face as he watches his mother from afar, wishing to hold her hand or give her a proper hug goodbye.

    Instead, Takemichi settles on placing the palm of his hand on the glass. His mother reacts accordingly–placing her hand on top of his own from the otherside.

    "I'll see you next monday, Mom. Stay safe in there, ok?"

    His mom smirks at his words. Knowing her, she probably finds them amusing. "I'll try, baby...and I better not hear about you getting in trouble because of Keisuke and Mikey, got it?"

    Takemichi laughs, knowing that such a task would be impossible to achieve. "I'll try, mama," He mimics, earning a cheeky smile in return.

    With his fingers lingering on the glass, Takemichi walks away and towards the exit where the prison guard awaits.

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When Takemichi arrives home with Wakasa–after visiting his mother–he's greeted by the sight of his apartment being overrun by his friends.

    Haru is in the living room, dozing off on the sofa without a care in the world–his diamond shaped scars covered up by square band-aids. Mitsuya and Draken are sitting in front of the t.v. flipping through channels, their nose practically touching the television screen. Mikey and Keisuke are in the kitchen scavenging the pantry, their faces already covered in crumbs when they turn around to face the new visitors, a freshly picked cookie falling dramatically out of Mikey's hand in surprise.

    "Oh hey Mitchy, Wakasa!" Mikey greets with a casual wave of his hand. "You two almost missed out on me and Keisuke having a cookie eating contest! Wanna watch?"

    Takemichi is left speechless at the events unfolding before him, his jaw practically dropping to the floor. With wide eyes, Takemichi slowly turns to gauge Wakasa's reaction.

    He can't say he's all that surprised to find the man in a similar state of shock.

    "What the–HOW THE FUCK DID YA'LL GET IN HERE?!" Wakasa screams, his eyes bulging out of his sockets. His voice catches the attention of Mitsuya and Draken–the two boys on the floor reluctantly spinning around to properly face the adult. Haru, bless his heart, falls off the couch in shock and hits his head on the coffee table.

    "Ah FUCK!!" Haru shouts, rubbing the top of his head with the palm of his hand. Now that the blonde is awake, he inspects the room before him and screeches like a banshee. "WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING HERE?!" The four boys turn to face Haru, sweat seeming to drip down their faces out of nervousness.

    "Morning loser," Keisuke greets, showing off his sharp canines. "Did ya have a nice nap?"

    Haru blatantly ignores Keisuke and turns to wakasa and Takemichi, his eyes wide and questioning. "Did–Did you guys let them in here?" he asks, his voice bordering on hysterical.

    "N-No! We just got back from jail..." Takemichi mumbles, earning an exasperated groan from Haru.

    "Are you fucking serious?! How did I not hear you guys break in?!"

    Mitsuya answers him by putting a finger to his lips, his purple eyes narrowing and his lips twisting up into a playful smile.

    "We're ninjas, Sanzu," Mitsuya teases, grabbing Draken's attention. The blonde then copies Mitsuya, bringing a finger to his mouth as he smirks at the tired boy.

    "Yeah, we've been trained by the U.S. government to break into houses and steal socks–"

    Keisuke groans, his eyes rolling to the back of his head in annoyance. "Damn you two are obsessed with ninja movies..." Keisuke exclaims, earning a snicker from Mikey.

    Sadly, their ability to change the subject does not work.

    Wakasa steps deeper into the apartment with Takemichi at his heels, his shoulders tensing up in anger.

    "Did you bastards pick the lock? Cause if I have to buy a new doorknob, i'm gonna wrangle each and every one of you by the damn neck," Wakasa seethes, making every kid in his presence stand at attention.

    "No..." Draken mumbles, his eyes darting from Keisuke to Wakasa. The adult catches the slip and turns his glare to Keisuke who–for whatever reason–is sweating bullets.

    "Keisuke? Got something you wanna share before I beat it out of you?"

    Keisuke audibly gulps, his hands fidgeting anxiously at his sides, itching towards his pocket–

    Wakasa lunges forward and plunges his hand into Keisuke's pocket, Making the fanged boy yelp in shock.

    "OI! GET YOUR HANDS OUT OF MY PANTS BEFORE I MAKE THE POLICE PUT YOU ON A SEX OFFENDER LIST–" Wakasa pulls a key out of Keisuke's pocket, silencing the black haired boy.

    Takemichi's eyes widen until they burn.

    Isn't that the spare key his mom lost three years ago?

    "Is–Is this a spare key for this apartment?!" Wakasa exclaims, his voice full of shock and annoyance, his gaze piercing through Keisuke like a mighty sword.

    "...Maybe?" Keisuke mumbles, his eyes darting from Wakasa to Takemichi before settling on the shocked boy.

    Takemichi jolts, caught off guard by the sudden attention. The Boy's brown eyes are wide and pleading, a stark contrast to Keisuke's overall personality. A part of Takemichi feels pity, another is astonished, and the other is impressed by how long Keisuke's been keeping this from him.

    So this is how Keisuke's been breaking into his apartment all these years...

    "We–our parents don't want us back home until nightfall and it's really hot outside..." Mitsuya speaks up, breaking the silence. "So Baji–pshh, you know how he is–thought that you'd be ok with us hanging out here–"

    "He thought wrong."

    "...yeah. I've noticed."

    Wakasa's eye twitches at Mitsuya's sudden sass.

    Takemichi finally decides to bring himself to speak up, his hands trembling as he grabs ahold of Wakasa's arm. "It's–It's not that big a deal, Wakasa! Keisuke and Mikey have broken in here before and mom was–"

    "This isn't the first time this has happened?! For how long has this been going on?!" Wakasa seethes, his purple eyes now directed towards Takemichi.

    Takemich gulps, his heart hammering violently in his chest as he forces himself to meet Wakasa's gaze. "It...It doesn't really matter–"

    "Answer my question now."

    Shame courses through Takemichi's veins as he looks away, the answer sitting on the tip of his tongue.

    "For a few years...?"

    Wakasa closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and opens them back up–clearly coming to some kind of decision.

    "Everyone out–Haru, Michi, you two can stay–"

    "EH?! YOU'RE GONNA THROW US OUT INTO THE SUN TO DIE?!" Keisuke exclaims, anger and frustration laced heavily in his voice.

    "It's just for a couple of hours. Once you learn your lesson about breaking into people's apartments and invading their personal space, then I'll let you kids back in–hell, I'll even make you guys dinner."

    The boys appear less tense at the mention of home cooked dinner. "...Seriously?" Draken asks, no doubt suspicious but tempted by Wakasa's words.

    Wakasa nods, not one to break a deal. "Yup."

    "...When will you let us back in?" Mikey mumbles after being quiet for some time.

    "I want you boys outside this apartment before nightfall. Got it?"

    The four boys nod their heads in unison. Wakasa smirks, satisfied.

    "Good!" Wakasa then walks back over to the door and holds it open, waiting for the boys to take the hint and leave. "Now get going boys. Don't do anything stupid before dinner."

    With disgruntled looks, the four boys walk out the door, their eyes lingering with jealousy on Takemichi and Haru before stepping back out into the maddening sunlight.

    As the door clicks shut, Takemichi feels guilt rising up inside of him.

    "...Hey Wakasa?"

    Wakasa turns back to Takemichi, a brow arching in a silent question. "Yeah?"

    "I think–I think I'm gonna go join them outside."

    Wakasa smirks and something akin to amusement begins swirling around in his purple eyes. "I had a feeling this would happen..."

    Wakasa promptly grabs hold of Takemichi's wrist, yanks the door back open, and shoves Takemichi out with the rest of the boys. "And if you guys take care of Takemichi for me, then i'll make dessert!"

    The door slams shut again, but this time Takemichi is left with the four boys who are already sweating buckets from the powerful sun.

    "...I got spare yen in my pocket if ya'll want to go buy sodas...?"

    They all nod in unison, leaving Takemichi to quickly stuff his hand into his pockets and look for his yen.

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Takemichi's friends weren't joking when they were complaining about how hot it was outside.

    When Takemichi and his entourage left the apartment complex in search of a vending machine, Takemichi found his oversized band t-shirt slowly being drenched in his own sweat. By the time they actually found a vending machine that had a good variety of sodas to choose from, each kid was dragging their feet, exhausted and suffering from the effects of the mighty sun.

    After Mikey found them a vending machine and they got their drinks, the group eventually found a bench to sit down at: it's placed nicely underneath a big tree with branches large enough to create patches of shade for the five boys.

    "I'm pretty sure Wakasa has something against me..." Keisuke grumbles from beside Takemichi, his arm hanging lazily behind Takemichi on the park bench, his fingers carelessly twirling the long sweaty curls that fall past Takemichi's nape.

    Takemichi sees Mikey nodding along with him–ever the instigator. "Yeah. He probably hates you or something." Mikey's words don't seem to do any wonders on Keisuke's dampening mood.

    "He's probably homophobic."

    This time all three boys nod along to Keisuke's assessment while chugging down their own sodas.

    Takemichi tilts his head, not quite understanding the new word that dropped from Keisuke's lips.

    "Homophobic? What's that?" Takemichi asks. Mitsuya opens up his eyes and peers at Takemichi from over Draken's shoulder.

    "They're people who hate queers like me, Baji, and Mikey."

    An even bigger question mark slams itself into Takemichi's head.

    "Queers?" The word is familiar; Keisuke's said it a few times as a way to describe himself, but he never went into detail as to what that word means.

    "Gay people, Takemichi–People who like the same gender," Draken answers this time, his head leaning back against the park bench.

    Oh.

    Takemichi finds his interest piqued as he turns to Keisuke, Mikey, and Mitsuya. "Eh? You guys like boys?" Takemichi asks.

    "Yup," They all say in unison, monotone and bored, as if the topic is meaningless to them.

    "Wow...I never knew that!"

    Mitsuya fixes him with an odd look, one Takemichi takes as judgemental. "What? Did I say something wrong?"

    "I literally called you my husband multiple times last year before you started dating Yuzuha..." Mitsuya grumbles, his voice thoroughly annoyed.

    Takemichi blushes at the memory and shakes his head, ridding himself of those thoughts. "Yeah, but you were just teasing me because I was wearing an apron, right?"

    "Oh my god...He's clueless..." Draken openly mutters into Mitsuya's ear, not bothering to hide the glare he shoots at Takemichi. Both Mikey and Keisuke pat Mitsuya on the back, their gazes sympathetic as if they know the pain Mitsuya is going through.

    Takemichi reels back, even more confused than before. "Eh?! How the hell am I clueless?! Mitsuya was just playing a joke on me! That's all!" Mitsuya sets the soda bottle aside and groans loud into the open air.

    "I liked you, Takemichi. I thought we were dating and then you went off and decided to date Yuzuha."

    Takemichi's face explodes into a dark blush.

    Mitsuya–MITSUYA LIKED HIM?!

    Takemichi finds himself appalled as he shouts, "HUH?! LIKE–LIKE A CRUSH?!"

    Mitsuya rolls his eyes and nods, answering Takemichi's question. "Uh huh." He opens his purple eyes and lets them land on Takemichi, a mischievous smirk tugging on his lips. "And you went ahead and broke my heart you soulless bastard."

    Takemichi's mouth falls open, trying to find something to say, but nothing falls from his lips.

    "I–Well–I didn't–" Takemichi's cut off by a round of obnoxious laughter. All four of the boys heads are thrown back, loud giggles leaving their lips at Takemichi's expense.

    "THIS ISN'T FUNNY– MITSUYA! I'M REALLY–"

    "And now you're rejecting me?! SO CRUEL!!!"

    "WAIT–"

    Alas, the four boys keep laughing to Takemichi's annoyance.

    "Well now you got your answer Mitsuya! Time for you to move on now," Keisuke teases from in between giggles, his hand rubbing circles into the back of Mitsuya's shirt.

    "Ah, I guess so." Mitsuya then looks up, his eyes immediately meeting Takemichi's. "I might forgive you Takemichi if you do something for me."

    Takemichi perks up, wanting nothing more than to heal his friend's heart. "Yeah? What can I do?"

    Mitsuya's smirk widens. "Break up with Yuzuha."

    And just like that, with just four words, Takemichi flips Mitsuya the bird. "You're terrible, Mitsuya..."

    The four boys continue to make fun of Takemichi in the safety the shade provides, completely ignorant to Takemichi's annoyed form.

    Actually, scratch that–they know Takemichi is in a terrible mood because of them–but decides to keep laughing regardless of how the boy feels.

    Talk about shitty...

    Takemichi puffs his cheeks out and faces away from his friends, his eyes staring up at the green leaves above them. "Hey, do any of y'all know what Pah's doing today?" Takemichi asks, hoping that–by mentioning the missing boy–they'll change the subject and stop making fun of Takemichi.

    Surprisingly, they take the bait. Keisuke chokes on a laugh and turns to Takemichi, his face clueless. Mikey is wearing a similar expression, practically mimicking Keisuke, while Mitsuya and Draken shrug their shoulders.

    "I think he's at his parents' manor grounded or something..." Mitsuya says, his words unsure.

    Draken turns and gives him a look that screams liar. "That's not what I heard," Draken quips, making Mitsuya swist his lips into a frown.

    "And what did you hear Mr know-it-all?"

    Draken rolls his eyes and answers with a smile, "He told me he was visiting his great aunt!"

    "That's what happened last week, Draken. Since when were you stupid..." Keisuke grumbles, effectively sparking a vicious flame in Draken's eyes.

    "Me? Stupid? I know your ass aint talking..."

    "My ass is talking!!! Pah said he and Peh were out shopping with their parents today!" Keisuke exclaims, but this time its mikey who pipes up, mischievous as ever.

    "The heat must really be messing with your heads," Mikey teases, earning scowls from the three boys. Rather than addressing them properly, he turns and faces Takemichi, a smirk lacing his lips. "He called me this morning and said he was watching