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𝟒𝟕 || 𝐀𝐎𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐈! 𝐀𝐎𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐈! 𝐀𝐎𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐈! ||

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Keisuke's love for Mikey and Takemichi isn't to be trifled with–this is something Rika learned last year when said boy was planning to split Takemichi and his old girlfriend up. In the beginning, Rika thought it was nothing but silly possessiveness for his two best friends, but–as time flew by– Rika quickly discovered that this wasn't the case.

    For the past year, after Keisuke declared his love for Mikey and Takemichi out of nothing but pure frustration, Rika began keeping her eye out for any sign that this new piece of information was true.

    She'd listen more intently to Keisuke's rants about the two boys and without a doubt took note of the adoration in his eyes as he spoke about them. The mother picked out the devotion the boy had through his voice each time their names flew past his lips. She saw the way his mood would dampen upon not spending time with them and watched as her baby became ecstatic and full of energy when he reconnects with said best friends.

    What Rika thought was nothing but Platonic love turned out to be much more than that.

    It was the type of unconditional love Rika once had for her late husband.

    The kind of love that will make you do crazy things.

    The type of love that had hearts pitter pattering with every second you spend with them.

    And, while Rika has no idea how to properly address Keisuke's attraction to boys in particular, she finds that such a thing isn't really needed. If Keisuke finds himself drawn to boys more than girls then that's none of her business. She'll just support him and lend an ear whenever he feels comfortable enough to express his interest more openly.

    Speaking of her son being in love with his two best friends–

    "MOM THIS YUKATA ISN'T YUKATA-ING!!!"

    Rika heaves out another sigh in defeat and drags herself back into her son's room. Upon sneaking a glance inside the room, Rika tries her hardest to stifle her laughter at the sight of Keisuke being tangled up in his dark blue Yukata. His cheeks are puffed up in frustration and a scowl is present on his face, exposing his sharp canines.

    "What's this? I thought you said you didn't need any help, Keisuke~" Rika teases, thoroughly enjoying the embarrassed look that crosses his features. The Yukata that Rika had bought for him for his upcoming date with Takemichi and Mikey is twisted around him in a weird angle, making it nearly impossible to put on.

    Rika's actually a little impressed that Keisuke messed up this badly with putting his Yukata on. The clothing is essentially just a fancy bathrobe–easy to throw on for festivals.

    "I–I didn't!" Keisuke denies while trying to step out of his blue yukata to try and put it on again. "I had everything under control until this stupid Obi–" Rika watches with bated breath as Keisuke trips on one of the layers and falls face first onto the floor.

    Rika snorts and quickly covers her mouth, hoping to somehow suppress the urge to cackle.

    Don't laugh, don't laugh, don't laugh, don't laugh–

    "MOM THE OBI HAS A FUCKING MIND OF ITS OWN PLEASE HELP ME!!!"

    The last of her dignity is thrown away and she throws her head back and laughs, unable to hide her enjoyment at the mess Mikey and Takemichi have turned her adorable son into.

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"Why couldn't you guys just go on a normal date? Like to the movies or something instead of taking a train to Aomori?!"

    Takemichi pouts at Wakasa's words and crosses his arms in front of his chest as his eyes scan through the many Yukatas the clothing store provided. He doesn't bother looking at his shopping buddy as he grabs another Yukata off the hanger and throws it behind his shoulder, knowing without a doubt that Wakasa would catch it.

    Takemichi doesn't hear the piece of clothing drop to the floor, further proving his hypothesis.

    "Because this isn't just a normal date, you dumbass!" Benkei exclaims from beside Takemichi, his eyes also looking through the many Yukatas. The big muscular man had insisted on helping Wakasa and Takemichi pick out a proper Yukata to wear to the festival that upcoming night for his date with his boyfriends. Wakasa had initially been against it, but all Takemichi had to do was flash him a good ol 'smile and the man crumbled.

    Wakasa groans, his voice loud and clear behind Takemichi and Benkei. "Oh almighty Benkei, please explain to me what makes this precious date so...special?" Wakasa mocks. Takemichi startles at the sudden movement beside him and catches sight of Benkei looming over Wakasa's small form carrying a mountain of Yukatas, an angry vein popping out of the side of his exposed neck.

    "I ain't gonna answer you if you're gonna be a smartass!"

    Before a fight can break out between the two ex-delinquents, Takemichi walks forward and catches their attention.

    "Because it's with Kei-chan and Mikey!!!" Takemichi answers, hoping that it's more than enough to distract the two from throwing hands. They're here to help him look for a Yukata, not fight! "They're–They're really special to me...s-so this date has to be special too!" Takemichi tries to keep his blushing down to a minimum, but from the way his ears heat up, he must've failed.

    Wakasa rolls his eyes at Takemichi's words, earning an offended gasp from the smaller boy. "I still don't understand why you chose to date them, Takemichi..." Wakasa complains, his voice full of spite. "They're rambunctious, dangerous, self-centered brats who don't deserve you. There's plenty of other people to date–you don't gotta settle for them just because–"

    "No–They're the ones I wanna date and that's that!" Takemichi interrupts, having already heard this annoying spiel from Wakasa.

    Takemichi has no idea what Wakasa's problem is with Keisuke and Mikey. Can't he see how sweet they are when they choose to be? Their nice smiles that truly blow Takemichi away? Their considerate actions that leave Takemichi flustered? Oh, Takemichi can talk about all of their pros for days, but Wakasa would feel the need to nitpick every little detail.

    Wakasa looks like he wants to say something, but he's thankfully cut off by Benkei's laughter. "See, Waka-chan?! This is the reason why this date has to be absolutely perfect!" The taller man then turns to Takemichi, a bright smile gracing his plump lips. "--starting with the cutest Yukata!" Benkei adds for good measure, sending an excited thrill through Takemichi's veins.

    "Yeah! And it has to have flowers!" Takemichi exclaims, a fist pumping the air in joy.

    "Every single one of these Yukatas have flowers on them–"

    "Pretty flowers, Waka-chan," Benkei corrects, wagging a disappointed finger in front of Wakasa's face. "Of course, we don't expect a fashion disaster like you to understand, right Takemichi?"

    "Right!"

    Wakasa glares at the two of them and tightens his hold on the pile of clothes in his arms. "Oi–Don't forget i'm the one paying for this shit and the train ticket to Aomori, so watch your mouth!"

    Rather than feeling threatened by wakasa's words, Takemichi sticks his tongue out playfully.

    Taking another step forward, Takemichi grabs Benkei's hand and drags him to the dressing rooms.

    "I wanna try them all on now!!!" Takemichi declares, earning a loud laugh from Benkei and a relieved sigh from Wakasa.

    "Thank god..." Wakasa grumbles from behind Takemichi but the boy pretends not to notice it in favor of skipping to the dressing rooms, ready to pick out his favorite Yukata for his date with Keisuke and Mikey.

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It was actually Mikey who brought up the Nebuta Matsuri festival when the three boys were discussing places for an awesome date.

    "That's where my Grandpa met my grandma!" Mikey explained while munching on a pack of Dorayaki. "It's this Summer festival in Aomori that lasts for five days! People make huuugeee floats and dance and make people join them by dancing really aggressively!!!" Mikey had demonstrated this by dancing wildly–swinging his arms in the air and nearly smacked both Takemichi and Keisuke in the face.

    In the midst of the explanation, Takemichi had dodged Mikey's arms and squeaked, "But isn't Aomori on the other side of japan?!"

    Keisuke also piped up. "So what?! We'll just get our parents to buy us train tickets and then BAM! We're in Aomori!"

    "B-But–" Takemichi was then silenced by two bodies colliding into his own.

    "Cmon, Takemitchy, don't you want our first date to be special?"

    "O-Of course i do, M-Mikey! But won't it be expensive–?"

    Keisuke leaned in further and interrupted Takemichi. "Why the hell are you worryin' about expenses? Wakasa would buy anything for you if you ask nicely!"

    "So?"

    "SO USE THAT TO YOUR ADVANTAGE!!!"

    "...fine."

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Takemichi walks out of the clothing store with a pep in his step, humming happily to himself as he looks at his newly bought Yukata in his hands.

    The trio ended up finding the Yukata in the girl's section–it's light green with a pretty floral pattern that had immediately caught Takemichi's eye. After Benkei and Wakasa argued with some of the store's staff about Takemichi wanting to wear a feminine Yukata, they eventually scared the employees enough to let the ex-delinquents buy the piece of clothing.

    With his smile reaching his ears, Takemichi turns to both Wakasa and Benkei and bows.

    "Thank you guys so much for getting me this Yukata!" Takemichi exclaims, expressing his utmost gratitude the best he can. When Wakasa and Benkei don't say anything, the boy takes it as a sign to keep talking. "A-And for buying the–the train tickets to Aomori and buying us a room to stay in for the entire festival!"

    Finally, after what seems like an eternity, Takemichi feels two calloused hands ruffling up Takemichi's hair.

    "You don't need to thank us, Takemichi. Besides, it's about time we all went on a fun little vacation!"

    Takemichi hesitantly raises his head and is met with the sight of Wakasa and Benkei smiling down at him, their hands still very much tangled in Takemichi's curls.

    "Yeah! Man, I can barely remember the last time I went to Aomori, so thanks for giving us a good reason to use our vacation days!" Benkei adds, his bright smile almost blinding Takemichi and Wakasa.

    "Huh? Wait, who's all coming with us to Aomori?" Takemichi asks, his head tilting curiously at the two adults. From what Takemichi has heard, the boy assumed it would just be him, Wakasa, Mikey, and Keisuke, so who else is joining them for the ride?

    Benkei gives Wakasa a nasty side eye and sneers. Removing his hand from Takemichi's hair, the man crosses his arms in front of his chest, leveling a very sheepish Wakasa with a glare. "You bastard! Did you forget to tell Takemichi who was all comin' with us?! Shame on you, man!" Benkei berates, causing an annoyed vein to appear on the side of Wakasa's neck.

    "Eh?! It just slipped my mind..." Wakasa grumbles, taking his hand off of Takemichi's hand to scratch the side of his neck. "We did drink the night we decided to tell the kids–"

    "Yeah, and your drunk ass forgot to tell them! Seriously, Waka, get a damn grip on your alcohol intake! You're a fucking guardian for crying outloud!" Benkei scolds but Wakasa just turns his head to the side, his face indifferent to Benkei's words.

    "I can drink as much as I damn well please, Benkei," Wakasa grumbles, his voice barely audible, but loud enough for both Benkei and Takemichi to hear.

    "NOT IF YOU START FORGETTING SHIT!!!"

    "Dude relax, you're causing a scene."

    "AND YOU'RE TRAUMATIZING THE KIDS EVEN MORE BY SHOWING UP TO THE APARTMENT DRUNKER THAN A SAILOR!!!"

    "Oh please–me stumbling into the apartment drunk is the least traumatizing thing they've seen. Give them some damn credit."

    "YOU INCONSIDERATE PRICK–!"

    Before Benkei can jump Wakasa, the white haired man moves his gaze over to Takemichi and smiles, blatantly ignoring his enraged companion. "We'll be accompanied by Benkei, Shin, and Ms.Baji. Sadly, Haru's gonna stay here in Tokyo to finish his summer classes, but he'll be taken care of by old man Sano," Wakasa explains loud enough for Benkei to also hear.

   Takemichi gasps, stars practically forming his eyes, as he gapes up at Wakasa. "S-So is this like a–a big family road trip?!"

    Both Wakasa and Benkei appear to pause at Takemichi's words, their faces blank as they turn to look at the boy.

    "...Family road trip, huh?" Wakasa mumbles, seemingly to himself, but Takemichi nods regardless.

    "Yeah! I mean...we're all basically family, right?"

    Takemichi's question brings more silence but–before it can grow awkward, Benkei laughs loud and clear. "Damn right we are, kid! Just think of this as one big Family road trip!!!" Benkei shouts and–instantly–excitement rushes through Takemichi's veins.

    With his Yukata clutched tightly in his hands, Takemichi skips along the sidewalk and cheers happily, already thrilled for what's to come.

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A day after the shopping trip with Wakasa and Benkei, Takemichi and the two ex-delinquents find themselves at the train station, waiting for their friends and boyfriends to arrive.

    Takemichi immediately found himself a bench to sit on by an old lady who complimented Takemichi's band t-shirt and gave him a sheet of stickers her grandchildren didn't want anymore.

    (He snatches them up so fast that the old lady cackled and teased the boy for being childish, but Takemihci ignored her in favor of placing the rainbow colored stars all over his skin.)

    After the old lady left Takemichi to board the train, Wakasa plopped himself down on the spot where the old lady had sat, his eyes twinkling with mischief as he stared at Takemichi. "It's common sense not to accept gifts from strangers," Wakasa lightly scolds, but his serious tone drops the second Takemichi places a red star on the man's cheeks.

    "Yeah, but these are stickers! They're impossible to say no to!" Takemichi explains, already peeling off another sticker from his sheet of paper to place on the tip of Wakasa's nose. Even though the man groans in annoyance, he doesn't remove them.

    "Hah? Where'd you get those from, Takemichi?!" Looking up, Takemichi smiles at a confused Benkei and shows off the array of stickers the old lady gave him.

    "From an old lady! Her grandkids didn't want them, so she gave them to me! Cool, huh?" Takemichi asks as he places a blue sticker on Benkei's forearm.

    Even though the stickers seem to have eased some of his worries, the mountain of a man still scowls down at Takemichi.

    (He doesn't bother getting rid of the sticker though.)

    "Don't take things from strangers! What if that old lady was luring you in so she could shoot you with a hidden glock?!"

    Takemihci's mouth drops open in surprise by Benkei's wild imagination.

    "A GLOCK?!"

    Wakasa reaches out and slaps Benkei's forearm, earning an annoyed hey! from the crazy man. "Stop scarin' Takemichi, Benkei..." Wakasa grumbles.

    Benkei scoffs, clearly annoyed by Wakasa. "I'm just warnin' him, Waka! Old ladies can be dangerous too!"

    "Speaking from experience?"

    "...That's none of your business..."

    "Yeah, and how old was she? Seventy? Eighty?"

    Benkei rounds on Wakasa, his nose flaring in anger, and grabs the smaller man by the collar of his shirt. "YOU TRYNA START SOMETHIN, WAKA?!"

    Wakasa, despite being faced by an enraged Benkei, simply shrugs his shoulders and sticks his tongue out. "Hm...Not really. It's just fun to rile you up."

    "HAH–?!"

    "Oi! Didn't we promise not to get into any fights on this road trip?"

    Takemichi whips his head around at the new voice and catches sight of Shinichiro and Mikey walking up to them, both visibility annoyed by the display before their eyes.

    At the sight of Mikey, Takemichi jumps from his seat and launches forward, wrapping his arms around the blonde.

    "Mikey! What took you guys so long?!" Takemichi exclaims, his smile instantly widening at the feeling of Mikey hugging him back.

    "Shin forgot to buy us new Yukatas, so we had to do some last minute shopping..." Mikey grumbles into Takemichi's shoulder. The curly haired boy laughs and pulls away from Mikey to get a good look at the blonde. The boy in front of him is pouting slightly, his dark eyes making contact with Takemichi's, and–vaguely–he feels the familiar signs of a blush spreading across his own cheeks.

    "I'm just glad you guys were able to make it!" Takemichi says, feeling oddly vulnerable under Mikey's dark gaze.

    Mikey pout fades away into a smile, warming Takemichi's heart. Then, with a strong tug of Takemichi's band t-shirt, Mikey is pulling the smaller boy back into his arms.

    "E-Eh? Mikey–?"

    Mikey cuts Takemichi off by kissing the boy on the cheek, awfully close to the corner of his lips, and proceeds to explode into a dark blush.

    The blonde pulls back to Takemichi's dismay and his smile twists into something silly–mimicking that of a feral cat. "Huh? Am I not allowed to kiss Takemitchy's cheek?"

    "I–That's not–you just–" Takemichi keeps stuttering, stumbling over his words like some blushing fool even though he is, well, a blushing fool.

    Rather than doing anything to calm Takemichi down, Mikey giggles and pokes Takemichi's cheek, a playful grin tugging on his lips. "You're so fun to tease, Takemitchy~" Mikey sings, making the curly haired boy reel back in offense.

    "Y-You're terrible, Mikey!" Takemichi splutters, his eyes looking anywhere but the boy in front of him. Takemichi releases his arms from Mikey and crosses them in front of his chest, not bothering to hide the fact that he's upset.

    "Yeah, but you love me~"

    Damnit...Takemichi should've known that Mikey would pull some shit like this...

    With his head still turned away from Mikey, Takemichi tilts his chin up, even more adamant