Chapter 5: A Nice Restaurant

Ichirou had a wonderful Golden Week. He stayed in a bungalow on the gorgeous, cyan ocean. He had to share it with Ichika, including the bed, but it was better than sharing it with his parents, who were certainly up to no good in their cabin. He shuddered to think about it.

He lazily spent a lot of the time reading in one of the lounge chairs, or relaxing in the eternity pool. However, he also did some more exciting things, like scuba diving through some reefs, snorkeling with turtles, eating at an underwater restaurant, and getting really drunk. He was a giggly mess, telling harsh truths before his parents cut him off from drinking any longer. Luckily, he didn’t message anyone.

The only unfortunate thing to come out of the Maldives was how incredibly sunburnt Ichirou got. He had fallen asleep on his tummy in the sunshine, and thus, his back became a fair bit closer to a boiled lobster than a human’s skin. He whined a little, but luckily his little sister was kind enough to help rub in some lotion with aloe vera onto his back.

During that time, he and Masahiro messaged plenty. Ichirou sent lots of pictures of the ocean, himself, and his family, while Masahiro mostly sent pictures of him from the eyes up with a cool looking building in the background. Ichirou couldn’t help but laugh a bit at that. His mother noted that Ichirou was having a lot of fun messaging Masahiro, which, for reasons he couldn’t understand, made him feel embarrassed. He stopped messaging for a couple of hours after that because his mother had made him feel weird about it.

Ichirou came home and, despite having a beautiful, relaxing vacation, ended up immediately sleeping for twelve hours. He spent the rest of the week reading, online shopping, and messaging his new friend. They planned to meet up that Saturday to go to an amusement park, which Ichirou found himself excited for.

Ichika continued pestering him about when she was going to meet this man that her brother was fake dating. Eventually, Ichirou gave in, and asked if Masahiro wanted to go to Akihabara with him and sister on the last Saturday of the month. Masahiro had been the one suggesting events up until this point, so he was excited that Ichirou was taking some sort of initiative, despite Ichirou feeling forced into doing so. So, Ichika finally quieted down, seemingly pleased by this outcome.

On Friday, Ichirou began to feel warmer than usual. He quickly recognized it as his heat, as he was used to it by now. He grabbed a load of snacks and water bottles before heading up to his room, closing the door, and locking it tightly. He texted his family and Masahiro that his heat was starting. Masahiro seemed disappointed, but said that he would be happy to try to take Ichirou to the amusement park on another day. Ichirou was secretly disappointed as well, but he’d never say that aloud.

Ichirou was an adult and had been through his heat many times by that point. He knew the drill. He took a cold shower to help keep him calm while he cleaned himself up a bit. He toweled off, but didn’t bother putting clothes back on. He pulled out a couple of things that he had gotten for himself once he turned eighteen: lube, a long and thin vibrator, and a dildo. Before then, he had just used his fingers, but it never really felt like enough.

Ichirou would start with fingers, then quickly move onto the vibrator. It was by this point that he would really start being in the throes of pleasure, and he would be properly loosened up. After that, the dildo would be used, again and again and again. It was exhausting, and that was why he made sure he had water and snacks available. He passed out several times, sleeping for a few hours, then waking up and starting it all over again.

By the end of it all, Ichirou would need a day to rest and recuperate, and some medication for his poor ass. The whole thing was rather irritating for him, as he felt like it was a waste of his time. It couldn’t be helped though; he was an omega, and that was just what omegas had to go through. Perhaps someday far in the future, he’d have someone to share it with, and then it would be somehow better.

After another few days passed, and it was finally time to meet up with Masahiro again. That Saturday night, they were going to a fine dining restaurant. So, after deliberating for another couple hours, Ichirou had decided that he was going to wear a dress this time. He picked out his favorite pastel pink cocktail dress. It was an off the sleeve style dress with a fairly poofy bottom that made his shoulders and hips look closer to a woman’s proportions. White lace covered the skirt, with a belt that had a cute bow separating it from the top of the dress. Ichirou put on a pink pearl necklace, as well as some strappy high heels that had some pearl finishings on it.

Ichirou left with the family chauffeur, but did not go to the restaurant. No, it was much too early for that. He was going to the salon to get a haircut and get his makeup done, as well as to chat with a dear friend. 

He exited the car, thanked the chauffeur and told him the time he would need to be picked up, then entered the salon. The walls were completely white and the wooden flooring was extremely pale. It had a very minimalist feel to it, with only a couple of plants for decoration. The receptionist, instantly recognizing him, sent him back to meet up with his expert beautician and hair stylist.

“Oh, hey, Ichirou! Come and sit in the chair and we’ll get started.”

Leaning against a gray chair that could turn 360 degrees was Yuuhei Akamine, his best friend. Yuuhei was a beta, and you could certainly tell that he wasn’t an omega or alpha just by looking at him. He was a bit short, had wide, almost buggy eyes, freckles across his cheeks and nose, and a wide mouth that, all together, ended up giving him a frog-like appearance. However, luckily, his hair and eyes were not green, and instead shades of purples. His hair curled somewhat, and he had it slightly slicked back.

Despite his looks, he now worked in one of the top salons in the city. He had helped Ichirou a lot in the school that they attended together, and in return, Ichirou recommended him for the job. While it was true that Ichirou’s surname pulled quite a bit of weight, he was certain that Yuuhei wouldn’t have been able to stay at this job if he wasn’t incredibly talented. 

Ichirou collapsed into the chair, sighing. “It’s been so long since I last saw you… when did we meet last? March?”

“Yup, it sure was. You’ve been too busy with your boyfriend,” Yuuhei teased, putting the cape on Ichirou and pulling his hair out of the ponytail that the omega loved to keep it in.

“Don’t start with me. Besides, we can hang out on days that aren’t Saturdays, but you work like an insane man,” Ichirou said pointedly as he stood up, being led over to hair washing stations.

“Rent in Tokyo isn’t going down,” was Yuuhei’s simple response as Ichirou sat down. Yuuhei turned on the water and began wetting Ichirou’s hair.

“I guess that’s true. I wish you’d let me help you.”

“I told you, if you wanted to help me you’d let me date you.”

“Ha ha, very funny.”

The truth was that Yuuhei actually had confessed to Ichirou on their graduation day, but he apparently did it to just get it off his chest so he could get over Ichirou. Ichirou had already known that Yuuhei was into him, but with that, they managed to get over the awkward hump and had become best friends. Yuuhei had gone on quite a few dates since then, getting dumped each and every time. Poor guy.

“No, but for real, you know anyone who doesn’t mind an ugly beta? I’m desperate,” Yuuhei said, lathering Ichirou’s hair in soap.

“Well, I met about forty or fifty desperate alphas about a month ago. I doubt you could top any of them, though,” Ichirou said.

“I’d be willing to bottom for a rich, hot alpha. I’m that desperate,” Yuuhei commented, massaging the soap throughout Ichirou’s scalp.

“You’re too horny. You need to chill.”

“Yeah, yeah. Anyway, how’s that boy toy of your’s? What’s he like? You haven’t given me a lot of details.” He rinsed out Ichirou’s hair, before applying the conditioner. Ichirou was quiet for a moment before responding, a little embarrassed at the use of “boy toy.” 

“I mean, he’s really nice, as far as I can tell. He seems like he has a lot of baggage, though. Like, I mean, it doesn’t really matter that much since we’re just friends, but it’s something I’ve noticed.”

“Who doesn’t have some sort of trauma,” Yuuhei snorted.

“I know! I’m just trying to help you get a better picture of him, is all. It’s kind of hard because we’ve only met three times. I don’t even have a good grasp on who he is as a person.”

“Well, do you like him?”

“I mean, I think so, I just–”

“No, that’s not what I mean. I’m asking if you like him.”

Ichirou felt a heat rising to his face as he realized what Yuuhei was asking him. “Wh- no, of course not! That’s the whole point of this! I don’t want to like anybody yet!”

Yuuhei laughed as he finished towel drying Ichirou’s hair, having him stand up and make his way back to the chair. “Yes, yes, I realize, but I really can’t see this going any other way, Ichirou. I’ve read way too much fanfiction to think anything else will happen. You’re gonna fall for him, and if he has any sense, he’ll fall for you too, and then this whole fake dating thing will become for real dating, and then–”

“Shut up, oh my god!” Ichirou squeaked. “That will not happen! I’m going to make sure of it.”

“Uh huh,” Yuuhei said, not looking convinced as he combed through Ichirou’s damp hair.

The duo continued chatting about Masahiro as Yuuhei began carefully trimming Ichirou’s hair. His fringe was what really needed attention, as it had begun to get in his eyes. With a snip-snip, they were back to just above his eyebrows once again. Yuuhei blow-dried his hair, put in several products, braided together two French braids to make a little crown around the back of his head, then curled it. It was something simple that Ichirou could do if he wanted, but it felt nice to have it be done by someone else

After that, Yuuhei began work on Ichirou’s makeup. Because Ichirou was wearing a pink frou-frou sort of dress, Yuuhei was going for a much more effeminate look that Ichirou’s every day, just highlighting his good features look. False eyelashes, pink lipgloss, a heavy dose of blush, and glittery eyeshadow made their way onto his face. All in all, at the end of it, Ichirou looked like a beautiful girl, which he enjoyed very much

“You look adorable, per the usual,” Yuuhei said, stepping backwards and seeming satisfied with his work. “A look befitting of our beautiful princess.”

Ichirou scowled ever so slightly at him. “Why does everyone call me a princess? 

“Because you are one. Now, you gotta go and impress your man,” he said, helping Ichirou off the chair.

“He’s not my maannn,” Ichirou whined, following his friend up to the front.

“Yes, yes, just tell me when the wedding is. That’ll be 30,000 yen.”

“Stop undercharging me, damn it.”

“Once I stop working at this job that you got for me, I will.”

Ichirou paid for his makeup and hair, then bid his friend farewell. He found his driver waiting for him out front, so he got into the car. Ichirou checked the time and how long it would take to get there, feeling a bit more relaxed as he realized it would be ten minutes before their reservations at seven. 

He honestly felt a bit nervous going on a “date” with Masahiro in a dress. It wasn’t because this was his first time going out like this, because he had been out in skirts and dresses before. No, it was because it was his first time going with Masahiro in a dress. The difference was simple: he had no idea how Masahiro would respond to it. He had texted him in advance that he was going to be wearing a fluffy pink dress, but still couldn’t help but wonder if Masahiro would think he was gross.

They pulled up to the French restaurant, and Ichirou saw Masahiro (wearing a nice, black suit this time) waiting for him up front. Ichirou stepped out of the car, slowly standing up. He brushed a couple stray curls out of his face, and looked up to Masahiro. To his surprise, Masahiro’s mouth was wide open. Was it really that shocking of a change? He hesitantly walked towards the blue haired man, brushing some wrinkles out of his skirt.

“Sorry, is it too weird?” Ichirou asked, clutching his purse.

At that, Masahiro seemed to come out of whatever reverie he had been in. “N- no! No. No, it’s not weird, it’s just… well, you look like a princess.” Masahiro cleared his throat, looking away. Was his face a bit red, or was that just Ichirou’s imagination?

“Thanks. I like wearing this sort of thing on occasion,” Ichirou said. “Shall we head in?”

“Yes, yes, of course,” Masahiro said, hurrying over to open the door for Ichirou. 

The two of them stepped into the restaurant. Masahiro informed them of his reservations, which the host noted. They stood for a moment while they waited for the table to be ready, and Ichirou couldn’t help but note that Masahiro looked a bit antsy. He bounced on the balls of his feet, his hands tightly clasped together. Ichirou wondered if it was because of the dress, or perhaps the upscale restaurant. Either way, they were soon escorted down the long staircase to their table.

The dining hall was primarily made up of gold and white, with a large floral decoration in the middle with a chandelier hanging just above it. Most of the tables were covered with tablecloths, but a few were simply glass. There were tapestries and glass pieces of art carefully hung and placed everywhere. Occasional pops of blues and blacks dotted the room, and overall, it felt refined and elegant.

Ichirou and Masahiro sat across from each other, one in a booth and the other in a plush chair, and they ordered a glass of wine each.  Ichirou, personally, was excited to be at a fancy restaurant, as, although he loved well made French food, he didn’t find many opportunities to go out. This was the exact sort of place he had always dreamed of going on a date to–not that this was a date. This was just two friends pretending to be on a date.

“So, how were your past few weeks?” Ichirou asked, smiling at him.

“Oh it- it was good.” Masahiro scratched his cheek, looking deliberately away from Ichirou. “All I really did was study and hang out with Takeru outside of being in Shanghai.”

Ichirou frowned. Why was he refusing to look at him? Was he really that uncomfortable with how Ichirou was dressed? He decided to try to continue the conversation for the moment and hoped that Masahiro would face him.

“You really do work too hard with your schooling. Have you tried relaxing?”

“I’m no good at that. I’ve always got to be doing something,” Masahiro said.

He still wasn’t looking at Ichirou. “That may be so, but how about something other than school?”

“I have to be top of my class. Otherwise, it’s all worthless.”

Still not looking at Ichirou. “It can’t be that bad.”

“I need to be the best for my family’s business. I’ve got to.”

Ichirou could take it no longer. “Why aren’t you looking at me?” Masahiro seemed surprised, finally looking over to Ichirou. He met his gaze for all of a second before looking away again. “There it is again! Stop that.”

Masahiro hesitantly met Ichirou’s gaze. “Sorry, it’s just… um…”

The sommelier brought them their wine at that moment, and then after that, the amuse bouche came out. It was explained to them that it was black radish, salmon, and some French cheese. Masahiro sipped his wine and popped the amuse bouche in his mouth. Ichirou begrudgingly did the same, knowing that Masahiro was fishing for time. Finally, after a second sip of red wine, Masahiro spoke.

“I’m nervous about the dinner, since I actually don’t go to these sorts of places. I’ve been to a couple, but not recently. And then you showed up, looking… um, looking very beautiful, and I think I feel a bit out of my depth suddenly. I mean, I may be upper class, but you’re upper class, you know? Our family’s wealth is nothing in comparison. So going to an upscale French restaurant with an omega that looks like a fairytale princess… I guess I’m too casual for this sort of thing,” he said.

Ichirou nodded, trying his best to ignore the “beautiful” and “princess” comments. “I see. Well, just calm down a bit. Let’s talk about something else, and eat when the food comes out. It will be fine.”

“Okay, uh, well, what do you want to talk about?” Masahiro asked.

“Your girlfriend from high school–was she your first love?”

Masahiro audibly gulped. “Oh, um, nope.”

“Really? Then who was?”

“This is not helping my nerves.”

“Then drink. I’m just really curious.”

Ichriou was really curious, but he also found this side of Masahiro a little bit funny, although he knew it was a little mean. Still, he was always the one who was being teased, so it was nice to do it to someone else for once. The next set of food was here, some ossetra caviar on a thin slice of trout. Some buckwheat, cucumber, and finger lime served as a garnish. The food was little more than three bites, but this was common for this style of upscale dining.

After swallowing his first bite, Masahiro continued. “My first love was a kid I knew when I was little. It’s way too embarrassing to go into it any further, so either you talk about your first love or we switch subjects.”

Ichirou pouted at him as he attempted to savor the high dining. The food was really delicious. “Fine, we’ll switch subjects. My first love was like that, too, anyway. Um, what do you think of dogs?”

Masahiro seemed surprised by that question, but instantly relaxed a bit now that the questions weren’t about something so personal. “Dogs are adorable. I’ve always wanted one.”
“Really? What’s kept you back from getting one?” Ichirou asked, sipping at his wine.

“My uncle’s allergic. I don’t want him to have a reaction when he comes over.”

“Why don’t you get a hypoallergenic dog, then?”

He thought about it for a moment, before deciding on his answer. “School. School comes first. When I finish out the next two years of my schooling, I’ll probably get a dog and an omega. Unless, for some reason, the most perfect omega in the world shows up and I have no choice but to date them before I lose them or the most perfect dog falls into my lap and I have no choice but to bring them home and love them forever.”

Ichirou laughed softly. “Yeah, I get it. What about cats?”

“Cats are really cute, too. I want one of them too. If I could have a cat and a dog that were best friends, that would be incredible. God, the dream,” Masahiro said, his eyes having a sparkle in them that made Ichirou giggle once more.

“Do you think you’re more like a dog, or a cat?” Ichirou asked.

“Isn’t the question tachi or neko?” Masahiro asked, sounding amused.

Ichirou blinked in confusion. “What?”

“Don’t worry about it, it’s just a lame joke. I’m definitely more of a dog. I’m needy and goofy like one, anyway. I think you’re probably more like a cat, in both ways.”

Ichirou nodded in agreement, not totally understanding what he meant. “I just need space. But also I’m adorable.”

Masahiro laughed, seeming to be more at ease. Ichirou was glad. He kept a mental note to do this with Masahiro more often so he could get used to it. Well, maybe he would, depending on how things continued to be. Ichirou was mostly sold by now on hanging around with Masahiro for a while, but he still wanted to keep things up in the air in case he needed to make a quick escape one of these days.

A dish made up of several shellfishes, with a sea urchin and vegetable custard in a pea broth was next up in front of them. Everything was delicious, as it ought to be for the price. From what he saw from the website, this place was at least 20,000 yen per meal, probably more. It was this sort of thing that made Ichirou really and truly think that the term princess really did apply to him.

“What high school did you go to?” Masahiro asked, taking another sip of his wine. “I can’t imagine you went somewhere normal.”

“You’re right,” Ichirou replied after swallowing the small bite of food he had taken in. “I went to a really nice school for upper class omegas in Kyoto. It was a really difficult school to be at.”

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“Oh? Why?”

“You said it before. People around me are often upper class, but I’m upper class. People usually just saw me as a stepping stone. When they realized that I wasn’t about to just drown them in money, they’d get mad and either ignore me, or they would start bullying me. I didn’t make a single friend those whole three years. It really sucked,” Ichirou admitted.

“Ah, man, that really sucks. I can’t believe they’d treat you like that,” Masahiro said sympathetically. 

“It really did. The same thing was true of my elementary school and my middle school, but I at least had little cliques at those schools. In high school I was all alone. I spent a lot of time reading back then,” Ichirou said.

“Is that where you got your love of reading?”

“Yeah, I read a lot of r- romance novels there. It’s pretty embarrassing, but I used to dream about a gentle, princely alpha coming to save me from the school on a white horse,” Ichirou said with an embarrassed laugh.

“That’s so cute.”

“Anyway, what was your high school like?”

Another dish was taken away with a new one replacing it. This new dish contained blue lobster atop a stuffed snow peas and carrot puree with a topping of verbena peppers. To the side was a ravioli with some sauce striped on, and a sauce that Ichirou couldn’t quite place. Along with that was a refill for his glass of wine, while Masahiro continued to work on his first drink.

“My high school experience was pretty normal. I went to a private school, where omegas, alphas, and betas all mixed together. I had a pretty normal group of friends, and I guess you could say we were all the ones who took our studying the most seriously. We would often work together on homework or learning. I think that normal experience was God’s way of apologizing for the shitty childhood,” Masahiro joked.

“Yeah, I guess we were kind of in opposite situations, huh? I had a great time until high school, and you had a terrible time until high school,” Ichirou said.

“We really did. But how was college? Was that any better?”

“Yeah, because I met Yuuhei. He’s my beta friend. We met during our makeup course, and then we chose to do hair together. He’s really great, a big dork,” Ichirou said with a smile.

“Oh? You like him quite a bit, it seems,” Masahiro said with a cocked eyebrow.

“Oh god, no, not like that. We’re just good friends,” Ichirou said quickly.

“You didn’t date anyone during college?”

“Nope, and I haven’t for the past year either. No, it’s not even just the past year, it’s period. I’ve never dated.” Ichirou took another bite of his meal.

“That’s wild to me. You’re that picky, huh?”

Ichirou scowled at Masahiro. “I’m not picky. The people around me just always suck.”

“Uh-huh,” Masahiro said, looking unconvinced. 

“What about you? You really haven’t dated anyone besides that girlfriend who broke up with you and Oda-san?”

“I really haven’t. And a nice way to put it delicately there, Ichirou-san.”

“That’s just how I remember her, sorry.” Ichirou did not sound particularly sorry.

The last main course replaced the other dish, this time serving up a roasted pigeon breast that was crusted in orange and spices, a leg cooking confit style, and a sour eggplant and pigeon sausage. The smell of the plate made it clear that there was a little bit of Indian spices thrown into there as well. After this was a selection of cheeses, dessert, and coffee. Ichirou was glad because he was beginning to feel full. Masahiro declined another glass of wine, apparently worried about his driving.

“Well, I haven’t dated anyone since. I’ve been too busy with school.”

Ichirou nodded, not having forgotten, but he still found it to be a slightly odd reason. Surely this handsome, kind alpha could have a partner and go to school. Was it really just that difficult for him to have a school romance life balance? Ichirou shrugged it off once more, deciding that he didn’t run Masahiro’s life, so how could he know what Masahiro found difficult?

“So, since you dated a girl before, do you just like girls, or…?” Ichirou trailed off.

“No, my first love was a boy. I like any gender. How about you? There were only men at your party, so I just assumed you were gay.”

“Oh, I am. I don’t think I could ever be anything besides gay.”

“That seems about right,” Masahiro said.

“Masahiro-san, since you went out of your way for this quote-unquote date, where do you wanna go next? I mean, after we go to Akihabara next week,” Ichirou asked.

“Oh, well. Um. Can we get yakiniku? And maybe something to drink? I’ll bring Takeru, and you can see if you can bring your beta friend?” Masahiro asked.

Ichirou wasn’t expecting something so simplistic, so it caught him off guard. “I mean, yeah, of course. But is that it?”

“Yeah, something like that is enough to make me happy,” he said with a soft smile.

Alarms were going off in Ichirou’s mind that something else was going on with that, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. In the end, he decided to let it go, and made a mental note to convince Yuuhei to take a half of a day off.

Their plates were taken away, with a smaller one replacing them. Their server soon brought over what seemed like a pedestal of cheeses. Ichirou only had a couple of slices to save room for dessert. Meanwhile, Masahiro enjoyed six or seven different types of cheeses. As they indulged on the French cheeses, Ichirou ordered a mille-feuille with vanilla ice cream, and Masahiro passed on dessert, knowing there would be a trolley coming with sweets and coffee.

“I still can’t believe your sister is an otaku,” Masahiro mused.

“Not just an otaku, but a fujoshi. God damn yaoi addict,” Ichirou grumbled.

“Is her personality similar to your’s, or is she completely different? I kind of want to know what I’m getting into,” Masahiro asked.

“She’s a lot more like my mom than me. She’s very dramatic and annoying, but she’s also very loyal and headstrong. She’s got the sort of personality where she can do anything she wants as long as she puts her head to it. She’s got those dominant alpha genes, after all,” Ichirou said, sighing softly.

“It’s interesting that you’re both dominant. I guess I would have expected you to be recessive,” Masahiro said.

“Yeah, well, my great grandma was a dominant omega, and she’s my closest omega relative. You’ve got those dominant alpha genes, too, so I imagine you probably feel pretty powerful,” Ichiro snorted.

“Oh, I’m not a dominant alpha.”

Ichirou blinked and stared dumbly at Masahiro. “Oh, uh. Huh? You’re not?”

“Nope, I’m a recessive alpha.”

Masahiro seemed amused as Ichirou opened and closed his mouth several times. He had assumed that Masahiro was dominant based upon his height alone, but it made sense that he wasn’t because his scent hadn’t scared Ichirou in the slightest. Not only that, but Ichirou had heard that dominant alphas were often scary and cold, and that seemed to be the opposite of Masahiro. It’s true that Ichirou had thought that Masahiro could be scary when they first met, but now he couldn’t imagine that at all.

“Yeah, uh, I had no idea,” Ichirou mumbled.

A cup of cafe au lait was placed in front of Masahiro, and a mocha was set in front of Ichirou. The mille-feuille was soon placed in front of Ichirou as well. Ichirou finished off his glass of wine and grabbed a fork, getting a piece of the cake.

Masahiro cleared his throat, getting Ichirou’s attention. “Um, Ichirou-san… while I was in Shanghai I just…” Masahiro’s face was definitely becoming more red as he spoke. “I found something that made me think of you. I was planning on giving it to you when we went to the amusement park so it would be a lot more casual, but then… well, yeah. Anyway, I just wanted to give it to you, and please don’t make a big deal of it because it didn’t have a real meaning behind it..”

Masahiro pulled a medium sized, gray jewelry box out of his jacket pocket, handing it over to Ichirou. Ichirou opened it slowly, feeling a bit nervous that it was something super romantic. Luckily, he didn’t have to worry, as there was just a simple gold chain bracelet with three, crystal heart charms on it. Based on the touch alone, Ichirou was fairly certain that the gold was real. Ichirou took it out of the box and put it on his left wrist. It was a little bit loose, but Ichirou kind of liked it like that.

Ichirou looked up with a smile. “Thanks, it’s really cute. You didn’t have to get me anything.”

Masahiro smiled awkwardly, obviously a bit embarrassed. “I know, I just… I saw it and I thought of you. You can do whatever you want with it, I just wanted to give it to you.”

“I’ll have to get you something, too,” Ichirou said as he decisively went back for his dessert.

“Please don’t, I don’t need you to get me anything,” Masahiro pleaded.

“We’ll see,” Ichirou responded, fully intending on getting Masahiro something.

The trolley of tea sweets came over, containing cookies, candied fruits, candies on a stick, little tarts, and chocolates. Ichirou only grabbed a couple, as he was getting extremely full, but Masahiro really went for it, getting almost one of everything. Ichirou was starting to feel sleepy after all that food and wine. He was very comfortable in this booth.

“Ichirou-san, when do you think you’ll want to get married?” Masahiro asked suddenly. “It’s obviously not right now, which is why we’re doing this whole thing, but when do you think you will get married?”

Ichirou thought about it for a moment as he nibbled on a cookie. “You know, I’m not really sure. I think after twenty-five?”

“In three more years, then. Are you planning on being with me for three years, then?” Masahiro asked, sounding amused.

“Probably not,” Ichirou admitted easily. “Especially since you want to date in two years. To be honest, I’m not sure if I’ll want this to last longer than six months. I’m still deciding, though.”

Masahiro nodded slowly. “And after we broke up? What would you do?”

“Pretend to be completely devastated so that my parents will stay off my back for a while longer,” Ichirou said.

“What about you and me? Do you think we could still be friends after our devastating break up?” Masahiro asked.

He seemed oddly serious about this. No, maybe Ichirou wasn’t taking this seriously enough? He was treating Masahiro like something to use and throw away. It was true that they were using each other, but at the end of the day, Masahiro was a person, too. If he and Masahiro really got along and didn’t want to end their friendship, what would Ichirou do? It was an option he hadn’t really considered.

“I guess I didn’t think about it, to be honest. But I think if we end up becoming good friends, we could change the story to be a devastating break up wherein you just saw me as a friend, and I have to learn to be okay with just being your friend,” Ichirou said, sipping his mocha.

Masahiro smiled at that, and Ichirou wasn’t sure, but he thought he saw a glimmer of relief in Masahiro’s face. Why would he be relieved at that? Ichirou wasn’t sure, and decided it must have just been a trick of the low light.

“I can go along with that. Whatever you need to do, I’ll help you out,” Masahiro said confidently.

Ichirou nodded, grateful for Masahiro’s willingness to help. It was still a little strange to him, as it hadn’t even been a month and a half since they initially met, but he was glad for it nonetheless. 

Masahiro paid for the dinner, and they finished out their coffees and treats. Ichirou insisted he would pay next time, which Masahiro laughed at. They headed up the stairs out of the dining hall, and into the parking lot. Masahiro at the very least did not open the door for Ichirou, which was nice because Ichirou could open doors by himself, thank you very much.

“Tonight was fun,” Masahiro said as he buckled himself into his seat. “Thanks to you. When I saw you pull up looking so glamorous I kinda freaked out, but you managed to calm me down and we had a great dinner.”

The happy pheromones were leaking from Masahiro, relaxing Ichirou even more than he had been before. “Well, you were the one who made reservations, so you should have known what you were getting into…”

Masahiro started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. “I know, but I figured you would like this kind of thing, so I wanted to do it.”

“I do like this sort of thing. I expect you’ll like it, too, with time, because as long as I’m around, you’re going to have to go to one of these places every so often,” Ichirou said, slumping down into his seat.

“Sure, sure, I bet I will too. It turned out to be really delicious and fun in the end. This was probably the most date-like place we’ve been to, as well. I’ll set up reservations for another place in a couple of months. Oh, not that I want it to be a date, I just want to make sure you’re having fun and our guardians think that we really are dating, you know?... Ichirou-san?”

Masahiro glanced over to Ichirou after the pink haired man didn’t reply, and he let out a soft snort in humor. Ichirou had completely fallen asleep within the span of thirty seconds. He drove down the road in silence, except for the quiet sounds of classic rock playing on a low volume. 

As he hit a red light, he took a second to get a good look at Ichirou. Masahiro took in a deep breath, exhaling it slowly. It was in these few seconds that he felt like he didn’t have to hold back. He was happy to hold back, anything to make Ichirou comfortable and happy. He would hold back forever, never saying a single word for the rest of his life if he could be by Ichirou’s side. But for the twenty seconds that he sat at the red light, he allowed himself a moment to feel the emotions that he kept away as long as Ichirou was around.

In that moment, every part of him screamed to reach out and brush the hair out of Ichirou’s face, to lay his hand upon Ichirou’s, to lean over and press his lips against Ichirou’s forehead. He took in a trembling breath, feeling the wave of emotions overcome him. It was almost enough to make him cry. His hands squeezed the wheel tightly, veins bulging out of his large hands.

Then, the light changed and took control again. He was never going to do any of that, so long as Ichirou didn’t want to. And why would Ichirou want to? Masahiro was significantly less wealthy than Ichirou, a recessive dominant, and just generally a bit of an awkward person. He had no chance, no chance whatsoever. This was the best way he could be close to Ichirou. This was the best way he could be within Ichirou’s vicinity. This was the best way not to lose him again.

As Masahiro drove to Ichirou’s home, he began to feel better again, feeling more like himself. The wine must have caused a momentary lapse in judgment, he supposed. He would have to keep that in check when they drank and ate yakiniku, but he was certain that Takeru would be able to keep him in check. Nobody killed romance quite like Takeru.

Masahiro drove up the driveway, killing the engine after he put it into park. He reached over and gently shook Ichirou awake. Ichirou sat up, yawning and looking around. 

“Oh, I’m home? Did I fall asleep?”

“Yes, you did. And you called my name in your sleep a lot, too.”

Ichirou flushed bright red. “I did not!”

“You’re right, you didn’t,” Masahiro laughed out.

“Jeez, whatever, you jerk,” Ichirou grumbled, grabbing his purse and face aflame.

“Ichirou-san, have a good night. I’ll see you and your sister next week, okay?” Masahiro said, smiling at the other man.

“Yeah, whatever. I’ll text you tomorrow or something,” Ichirou said, opening the car door and getting out.

“Please do,” Masahiro responded as he got out of the car as well. “Are you going to be okay getting back into your house in those heels? You seem pretty tired.”

Ichirou rolled his eyes. “I’ve got this, stop worrying. I’ve been drunk in heels and only fell, like, three times.”

“What great confidence you give me.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll see you next Saturday, Masahiro-san.”

“See you later, Ichirou-san.”

Masahiro watched as Ichirou made his way into the house. Ichirou paused and gave him a little wave at the door, before going inside. He definitely had practice walking in those heels. After taking them off, he would surely wash off his makeup, get into pajamas, and fall right asleep. It sounded like a good time to Masahiro as well, so he got back into his car, turning on the engine.

It was a long drive back into the city for him, and he was exhausted.

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