My Father's Son - Chapter 67

“Did you know there’s someone in Class B who can read minds?”

Hiroki looked up, glancing over at where the two girls were whispering together, but Ryouji squeezed his hand knowingly, keeping his mouth shut.

“No way! They just know all your secrets? I wouldn’t go near them.”

“Right? That’s so scary!”

Hiroki wondered if Yuuto knew them. He talked about his classmates sometimes, and Hiroki always saw him out playing with them during their breaks, but he’d never said anything about their quirks. He wondered if Yuuto even knew what their quirks were – as much as he loved heroes, he didn’t tend to ask people about their quirks very often. Then again, Hiroki didn’t ask much either, since he’d met his Papa. He hated to think that someone might be feeling bad about themself and he’d just make it worse by asking. Then again, if there was someone Quirkless in their class, maybe he could be the person to make them feel like it was okay? He supposed he’d find out eventually, if he paid attention.

Honestly, they’d probably all discussed their quirks already, and Hiroki just hadn’t been paying attention.

“He keeps looking at you.”

Hiroki didn’t say anything, and Ryouji nodded his head slightly toward the desks to their left. Sure enough, when Hiroki sneaked a look, two boys were mumbling together, occasionally shooting looks in their direction.

“He’s the one who lied,” Hiroki grumbled. “He’s probably planning another mean thing to say.”

“Showa,” Ryouji said quietly. “He went to France and can do backflips.”

“I hate France. And backflips.”

“Now you’re being silly.”

Ryouji slid a piece of paper across the desks, and Hiroki’s crankiness was forgotten immediately, leaning in to examine every detail of the little sketch. It was unfair, to be honest: Ryouji was good at everything. It was a good thing he was so great, or Hiroki might have been mad at him for it.

“They’re perfect!” he whispered. “Especially with the wrists.”

Hiroki had spent weeks trying to draw out what he wanted without any success. At first, Ryouji had tried to help – suggesting changes or how to make things clearer. When Hiroki had gotten frustrated, though, he’d finally offered to try it for him, and of course, it had come out perfect. Well, okay, Hiroki had asked for a few changes along the way that Ryouji had happily obliged, but still.

“I’m gonna give it to my dad tonight,” he said gleefully. “I can’t wait to get my first piece of costume!”

“It’ll take a while to make them,” Ryouji pointed out. “My jacket took months.”

“Yeah, but your jacket is fancy,” Hiroki argued. “Gloves aren’t super fancy!”

“Just make sure you’re patient.”

“Being patient is booooring.”

Ryouji grinned at him, and Hiroki cracked a smile of his own, twisting his arm slightly to elbow Ryouji without letting go of his hand in the process. Ryouji just leaned in a little, nudging him back shoulder-to-shoulder, and Hiroki had to bite back a giggle.

The loud school bell rang, and for a moment Hiroki tensed up, waiting for an announcement to follow. It never did, not since that one day, but still he always wondered, was always waiting for it.

“Alright class, it’s time to head to P.E.!” Terada told him brightly – he always seemed so excited about their next class, no matter which one it was. “As a special surprise, today we’re going to join up with your buddies, and learn some jump rope!”

Hiroki had never done jump rope before, but he’d seen the older kids do it, so at least he wasn’t flying blind. No doubt Ryouji would be amazing at it, so at least he could throw a few pointers Hiroki’s way, when he got stuck and frustrated.

“You okay?” Ryouji asked quietly, as they packed away their books.

“Yeah,” Hiroki answered, unconvincing even to his own ears. “We should go change.”

Ryouji picked up Hiroki’s P.E. bag with his own, and Hiroki managed a smile again when he tucked them both over his shoulder to carry. He knew Ryouji would never admit it, but he got that from his dad – Uncle Number Two was always carrying things or holding doors for Uncle Suneater. Hiroki had always thought it was kind of nice, so he’d been glad when Ryouji had started doing those things too.

They crammed into the changing rooms, and Hiroki did his best to swap his clothes quickly, so they could escape again. Ryouji hated crowds, he’d always avoided being around too many people at once, so it kind of sucked that he was forced to put up with it at school. Hiroki had always given him the wall side, though, and had stood between him and everyone else to hopefully give him a little space.

He supposed he did nice things for his boyfriend, too. He was glad it wasn’t too one-sided.

Ryouji was changed in a heartbeat, and Hiroki shook his head when he dithered, gesturing toward the door. Ryouji always wanted to wait, wanted to walk out together, but Hiroki tried not to let him – it was better if he got happy sooner! He wasn’t far behind, anyway, all he had to do was put his comfy shoes on, and—

“Hey.”

Hiroki narrowed his eyes, slowly standing up and making sure to get as tall as he could, so Showa couldn’t look down on him.

“I uh. Sorry.”

“What?”

“For before,” Showa mumbled, looking away awkwardly. “I keep feeling guilty.”

“Really?”

“I don’t do that stuff, normally.” Showa nodded. “I dunno what happened.”

“You wanted to win,” Hiroki said knowingly. “I guess I wasn’t the nicest either.”

“It made sense. You didn’t need to be nice.”

“No, but I always try to be.”

Showa nodded again, and Hiroki took pity, holding out one fist the way his dad and his friends always did it.

“No more lying and we can be friends.”

“I promise,” Showa agreed, staring at Hiroki’s fist. “Are you gonna punch me?”

“What? No!” Hiroki giggled, grabbing Showa’s hand and lifting it up. “Here, like this.”

He bumped their fists together lightly, and Showa managed a smile, pausing a moment before he bumped him back.

“Okay,” he said firmly. “Friends.”

It was too late for Hiroki to hurry back out the door, so he joined the mass of people slowly funnelling out, pointedly ignoring the smirk Ryouji shot him when he saw Showa at his side.

“Hi,” Showa said awkwardly, when Hiroki stopped at Ryouji’s side. “Um, I’m Showa.”

“I remember.”

“You’re Ryouji, right?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Me and Hiroki are friends now,” he said, making Hiroki blush a little. “Can we be friends too?”

“I guess,” Ryouji said with a shrug. “If you don’t upset him anymore.”

“I won’t. No more lying, ever! That’s not what heroes do.”

Hiroki was a little grateful when he saw their buddy class waiting, everyone splitting off to meet up with their own individual buddies. Despite his words, he still wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to be Showa’s friend, but he couldn’t exactly say that. They weren’t enemies anymore and that was pretty much the same thing. It didn’t mean he had to play with him or anything, after all. He had Ryouji for that.

“Have you guys done jump rope before?” Kitarou asked.

“Nuh-uh.”

“Everyone does it in their first year of school, it’s not too hard to learn.”

“And it’s good for coordination,” Kouichi offered. “A good skill for being a hero.”

Hiroki perked up a little at that, and he knew Kouichi had noticed, even though he didn’t say it.

“The smaller ropes are to do it on your own,” Kouichi continued. “But we’ll try the big ropes first, so you don’t have to think about both parts.”

Two of the older class were standing in front of a group, slowly turning a long rope between them, and a group of giggly girls ran over to go first, bouncing up and down over the rope. Apparently most of them had done it before, because they didn’t need any instructions, they just hopped right in and started jumping.

When the rope caught on one of their feet, stopping its swing, no one complained or groaned, they just stepped back out as a group, letting the next people have a try.

“In front of everyone?” Hiroki mumbled.

Ryouji squeezed his hand, and it brought him a weird sense of relief, just knowing Ryouji was there. He didn’t even remember taking his hand again, but there it was, always ready to encourage or console him.

“You guys want to have a try? We can come too”

Hiroki tensed up, and Ryouji gently slipped his hand away, giving the boys a nod.

“I’ll try,” he agreed, surprising all three of them at once. “Cheer me on, Hirohiro.”

Damn it, Ryouji was being all sweet and selfless again, how was Hiroki ever supposed to catch up?

He stepped in with Kouichi and another pair, watching the rope as it swung in its path, then doing a little hop to let it pass under his feet. He did well, of course, for the first few laps, but then the older kids started to spin it a little quicker, and Ryouji’s foot caught the rope – he usually needed a second to get the timing of things down, Hiroki supposed you didn’t get that in jump rope.

“No big deal,” Ryouji assured him, when he returned to the group. “It’s just a rope, it doesn’t hurt.”

“You wanna try?” Kitarou offered. “I’ll come.”

Hiroki didn’t feel like he had much of a choice, to be honest. He had to do it at some point, and waiting until the end, after everyone else had learned and improved, seemed even more embarrassing than just messing it up right away. He could at least get a few good jumps, right? That was all he really needed.

“I haven’t done it before,” Hiroki mumbled in answer.

“That’s okay,” Kitarou shrugged. “Just give it a try, it doesn’t matter how good you are.”

He followed Kitarou up to the front, joining another pair, and as they stepped up to take their turn he saw Kitarou gesturing to the girls spinning the rope, though he couldn’t figure out what they were saying. Although he got a thumbs-up in return, so he supposed he knew that part.

The rope swung around, and Hiroki jumped, letting the rope pass underneath his feet. It was slow – slower than Ryouji’s, he was pretty sure. He supposed that was what Kitarou had been saying. That was kind of nice of him.

The rope came around again, and Hiroki jumped again. There wasn’t that much to it, it turned out. Watch the hands that turned the rope, and jump when it got close. It was even a pretty similar rhythm each time, the speed didn’t change much, at least to start with.

“You’ve got it!” Kitarou praised him, when he settled into the rhythm. “Good work, Hiroki!”

“We’re gonna go a little faster,” the rope-turner warned him. “Ready?”

Hiroki nodded.

Sure enough, the rope spun a little quicker, but the rhythm didn’t change. He just had to speed up his counting a little, that was all. 1-2-Jump. 1-2-Jump. Maybe jump rope wasn’t so bad after all.

They didn’t warn him the next time, but Hiroki saw the hand change, and he sped up his counting again to match. A few of his classmates were watching, eyes wide, and it took a minute for Hiroki to realise how quickly all the other turns had been going by. Had they all been having trouble?

“Wow, are you sure you haven’t done this before?” one of the turners asked.

“Nuh-uh,” he said, shaking his head. “Isn’t it just counting?”

“What do you mean?”

“One. Two. Jump. One. Two. Jump.”

They turned the rope a little quicker again, and Hiroki just sped up his counting, still saying it out loud as he went, and watching his classmates do little hops on the sidelines to match, testing it out.

“You’re a natural!”

“Maybe your real quirk is Jump Rope,” Kouichi suggested from the audience, chuckling. “The pyrokinesis is just secondary.”

“What word is that?” someone asked, looking up at him in awe. “That was a big one.”

“Pyrokinesis,” Hiroki echoed, still jumping as he spoke. “I control fire, I make it move.”

“That’s a cool quirk. And a cool name for it.”

“Uh-huh.”

His classmate stumbled on the rope, and Hiroki stopped knowingly, eyes widening when the audience clapped for them all. The rope-turners changed places with someone else, and Hiroki slid back into the crowd, disappearing from all the attention.

“That was awesome,” Kitarou told him, when he followed. “You’re good at keeping the rhythm, usually it’s hard to find it so quickly.”

“He plays instruments,” Ryouji explained, and Hiroki’s mouth fell open a little – was that why? “Piano and drums.”

“I only just started the drums,” Hiroki objected. “But um, I’ve played piano a long time.”

“That’s cool. I play the guitar. We’ll have to play together some time.”

“Okay.”

“I’m surprised, I thought your families would be all about quirk training, not instruments.”

“Uncle Katsuki thinks instruments are good for being a hero,” Ryouji explained, knowing Hiroki wouldn’t. “I don’t play one though, I should learn.”

“You’re already good at everything,” Hiroki complained, nudging him fondly. “Don’t take music from me too!”

“I don’t think I’d be good at music. And I’m not good at jump rope.”

Hiroki huffed, but he didn’t bother to argue – he knew Ryouji would never let him win, when it came to doubting himself and stuff.

“Should we try the small ropes?” Kouichi suggested, picking a few up from a box. “They take more coordination, but I reckon you guys can do it, after seeing that.”

Sure enough, the small ropes were no harder than the big one, really. The added difficulty of spinning it yourself was outweighed by the ease of setting your own rhythm, knowing exactly when the rope was coming around and not having to worry about it changing. He spun it a little faster each time, testing himself to see what he could keep up with, and each time he stumbled or missed, he just started again, trying to do better the next time.

Across the field, a few of the girls from their classes were playing with short ropes too, and Hiroki watched when one of the older buddies began turning her rope backwards, where she couldn’t see it coming. Now that, Hiroki liked. He copied her immediately, taking a second to find the rhythm, but Ryouji grinned at him when he quickly got the hang of it, watching fondly as Hiroki bounced.

“Maybe this really is your second quirk,” he teased. “You can be Jump Rope Boy.”

“Ew! My fire is cooler!”

“Yeah but you can’t use that one in class time.”

“I could.”

“Your dad would be really mad to get that phone call.”

“Only if I got caught.”

“You think you can hide the fire?”

Hiroki huffed again. Ryouji had a good point. He was still jumping, though, even as they argued about it, and he was kind of surprised that so many people were having trouble with it – did they not know how to count yet? He was pretty sure that had been on the entrance exam.

“I could try,” he said finally. “If you distract the teacher.”

“We both know I’m not doing that.”

“I will!” Kitarou offered, making Hiroki laugh and miss his jump. “Sounds like fun!”

“Deal,” Hiroki said with a grin. “I’ll start writing up a plan.”

“Looking forward to it!”

———

“Your brother is in class for over an hour, right?” Kitarou asked, nudging Hiroki lightly. “We’ll have you back by then, I promise.”

“Our dads would be pissed,” Ryouji said, giving Hiroki a pointed look. “What if something happened?”

“Nothing’ll happen, we do it all the time!” Kitarou promised. “There are always tons of people from school there on a Friday. What could go wrong?”

“A villain could show up.”

“You can fight off a villain,” Hiroki pointed out.

“Not a real villain.”

“If it was a real villain, our dads would show up.”

“And then we’d be grounded for the rest of our lives.”

“It’s not like a villain is gonna show up to an arcade,” Kouichi offered, elbowing Kitarou sharply when he opened his mouth. “But it’s okay, we get it! Maybe another time, when your dads are less nervous.”

“I wanna go,” Hiroki whispered, getting a little frown from Ryouji in return. “I don’t wanna be a baby.”

“You’re not a baby for doing the right thing.”

“It’s only an hour! Do you wanna wait here and you can call if you get worried?”

“No,” Ryouji answered immediately. “If you go, I’m going.”

“Then let’s go!”

Ryouji sighed, but Hiroki knew that expression – he wasn’t exactly happy about it, but Ryouji had given in. He usually did, if he thought it would make Hiroki happy.

“Fine,” Ryouji caved. “But we need to be back here in an hour, maximum.”

“You have my word,” Kouichi assured him, offering out his pinky finger. “Not a minute late.”

Ryouji didn’t take it, so Hiroki offered has own hand, linking fingers with Kouichi to shake on it. Their buddies were so nice, inviting them to do stuff and making them feel comfortable all the time, he kind of wished Ryouji was more grateful for it. Then again, Ryouji would happily spend his days reading or folding origami creatures, without friends to keep him company, so Hiroki supposed gratitude was asking for a lot.

Despite inching ever closer to their summer break, there was still a gentle breeze in the street as they walked toward the local shopping area, and Hiroki shivered a little when it hit him. He was much more of a summer fan, as much as he had fun in the snow too. He liked it when he could spend his days playing in the park with his friends, or sitting on the beach in the hot sand, or just lying on the floor of his bedroom in that one sunny spot that always hit just right after pre-school ended. Not that he had that sunny spot anymore, since they’d moved house – but he also didn’t go to pre-school anymore, so he wouldn’t have gotten home in time anyway. He was gonna have to find a new sunny spot, when summer hit for real.

Ryouji’s hand slipped out of his, and he looked over in surprise – it was rare for Ryouji to let go of him first, let alone when he didn’t need to do something else instead. Ryouji’s head was turned away, looking down at his satchel, and Hiroki watched as he retrieved a slightly wrinkled blazer. He held it out to Hiroki pointedly, trading it for Hiroki’s bags without even a word, and Hiroki didn’t bother to protest. Ryouji didn’t feel the cold as much as he did, but he always seemed more prepared for it than Hiroki was; he really needed to work on that. He pulled the blazer on and buttoned it up, and even though it was a size too big, he immediately felt better.

“Thanks,” he said quietly, when Ryouji handed him back his bags.

“S’no problem.”

He held out his hand again as soon as Hiroki was settled, and Hiroki smiled as he accepted, letting Ryouji’s warm fingers lace through his. Everything always seemed a little better and brighter and warmer when they were together.

It didn’t take long for them to reach the shopping street, to see kids in their same uniforms walking in and out of stores, buying themselves snacks and treats – he even saw a pair of kids buying the crackers with the hero stickers in them, and wondered which of his aunts or uncles or parents they might be hoping for.

“See?” Kitarou asked knowingly, grinning back at Hiroki and Ryouji. “Nothing to worry about, everyone comes here!”

He led them about halfway down the street, to where a big building was bursting with loud music and bright lights, and Kouichi stopped in the doorway, even when Kitarou marched ahead. He waved for Ryouji and Hiroki to go in front, then brought up the rear, sandwiching them between their buddies. Hiroki supposed it was to keep an eye on them, and while he didn’t think much of needing protection, he supposed he appreciated the effort.

“We’ve gotta start upstairs,” Kitarou said, grinning back at them. “Hiroki, you’re gonna love this.”

They followed him up two flights of stairs, squeezing past other kids heading the other direction, and Kitarou led them straight to a wall covered in big, fake drums. Even Ryouji managed a smile when he saw it, and Hiroki just looked at them both questioningly.

“Let’s test your rhythm skills for real,” Kouichi said from behind them, a little teasingly. “You’re learning the drums, right? Consider it extra practice.”

“I haven’t learned much yet.”

“That’s okay, it’s all about timing, not about sounding good!”

Kitarou handed him two sticks, pushing a coin into the slot, then offered Ryouji the second set, immediately turned down. He tried again, but Ryouji just shook his head, so Kitarou shrugged it off and stood by Hiroki himself, gesturing toward the screen between them.

“Hit the red ones as they pass through,” he explained. “Or if it’s long instead of a circle, keep hitting it lots until the line ends.”

“Okay,” Hiroki agreed – it didn’t sound too hard, after all. “Does it go fast?”

“We’ll do an easy one first, so you can have a try,” Kitarou assured him. “The harder ones get faster.”

“Okay.”

“And if it’s blue, hit the edge of the drum instead of the front,” Kouichi added. “I’m terrible at those ones.”

Kitarou scrolled through a list, picking out a song, then shot Hiroki a last thumbs up and an encouraging smile as the music began. Sure enough, it was pretty slow to start with, but Hiroki kept timing his beats wrong, hitting the drum a little too early or a little too late, rather than right in the middle of the bar. He frowned to himself, trying to dial it in, only to get hit with a long note that had him hitting it repeatedly instead, and throwing off his rhythm. Admittedly, it was kind of fun trying to just beat it super fast, though.

It didn’t take long before the song ended, and Hiroki gave Kitarou an apologetic look, only getting a grin in return.

“That was great!” Kitarou lied. “Your first time and you didn’t miss a single note!”

“Thanks,” Hiroki mumbled, resisting the urge to argue – he knew Kitarou was trying to be nice, he didn’t need to shoot that down. “You were really good.”

“I’ve had a bit of practice,” Kitarou laughed. “Whenever school sucks, we come beat up the drums.”

“We,” Kouichi echoed, with a short laugh. “Sure.”

“Okay, mostly me,” Kitarou admitted, still grinning all the same. “But Kou is always here to keep me company!”

“Someone’s gotta stop him from doing anything stupid.”

“Ryouji does that for me too,” Hiroki admitted. “He tries to stop me making bad choices.”

“Tries,” Kitarou chuckled knowingly. “Yeah, Kou doesn’t always succeed either.”

“Should we try another game?” Kouichi offered, gesturing toward the big room full of them. “Or do you want another go on this one first?”

“Another game,” Hiroki agreed – he wasn’t ready to deal with the frustration of struggling twice. At least he still had the first time excuse, for now. “What’s your favourite?”

“The racing game!”

He led the way over, and after waiting a minute for someone else to finish, they managed to get four of the big red seats all next to each other. He could barely reach the pedals, but he managed to get his tiptoes on them if he sat right on the edge of the seat, and the videos that played on his screen were admittedly pretty cool. He could see Ryouji’s cart right beside him on screen, just like his chair in real life, and it was weirdly comforting to know he was right by his side in the virtual world, too.

Over and over, Kouichi and Kitarou introduced them to new games, patiently teaching them how each one worked and encouraging them as they learned. They tried and failed to retrieve hero merch from a machine with a claw, they pointed fake guns at screens full of bad guys, they stomped on brightly coloured arrows – that was Hiroki’s favourite, he was pretty sure – they even took turns hitting a punching bag to see who could hit it the hardest, which Ryouji of course won, even though he’d barely tried. Hiroki was pretty sure he’d been specifically trying not to win, but he’d clearly overestimated how strong their buddies really were.

Then again, it wouldn’t have surprised Hiroki if they’d been gentle, too, to try to let their young buddies win.

Far too soon, their hour was up, and Hiroki stared at the sky with dismay when they reached the doors. It had been a little cloudy and breezy earlier, sure, but it hadn’t been raining when they’d left. Now, the streets were full of puddles, and Hiroki knew his school shoes were gonna fill just as deeply as they walked through it – he knew the shoes looked nice, and that was what the school cared about, but they weren’t exactly useful some days. After a couple of cold mornings on their bikes, Hiroki had already decided to wear his P.E. shoes to school in winter and change them when he got there, but he hadn’t expected it to be a problem in summer.

“I didn’t bring an umbrella,” Hiroki lamented, his good mood from the games vanishing in an instant.

“Me neither,” Ryouji said apologetically. “I could go buy one.”

“You’ll be drenched by then anyway,” Hiroki pointed out – none of the stores near them looked like the type to sell umbrellas, and there wasn’t exactly a lot of cover over them. “We can just run, we’ll get wet riding home anyway.”

“That’s true. I’ll start bringing a rain jacket.”

“Me too.”

They turned around to say goodbye to their buddies, but the pair was already donning their blazers and tightening their shoes, Kitarou laughing when he saw their faces.

“We’re not just gonna abandon you,” he assured them. “It’s just a little rain!”

It was a lot of rain, but Hiroki didn’t bother to point that out.

“Thanks,” he said instead. “You don’t have to, though.”

“We know!”

Bracing themselves, they ran out into the street together, hurrying back up the hill toward the school gates. The rain wasn’t terribly cold, thankfully, but Hiroki knew the wind against his wet clothes was gonna have him shivering by the time they got home. He was extra grateful for Ryouji’s blazer, and he knew he should offer it back, but it wasn’t like Ryouji was gonna agree to take it anyway. Halfway back, he wondered if they could have used one of their quirks to help somehow – if someone else in the arcade had an umbrella, could Kitarou have replicated it? It might have been too big or too complicated, he supposed – the only thing he knew for sure that Kitarou could do was pencils. He really should have asked more questions about his buddy.

Resolving to remedy it in the future, Hiroki pushed the thought aside, focusing on keeping up with Ryouji as they ran. He could hear their buddies behind them, breathing a little harder than usual as their feet pounded on the concrete, but he could also see the gates getting closer, and knew they’d be able to find some shelter soon, even if it was only for a few minutes. All thoughts of it disappeared the moment they passed through the gates, though, when he saw Yuuto sitting on the stairs of the school building, frowning a little as he tapped at his phone.

“Yuuchan!” he called, when they got closer. “I’m here!”

“You’re soaked,” Yuuto said, his frown deepening when he looked up. “Why are you in the rain?”

“We were playing,” Hiroki laughed. “It happened suddenly!”

“It started ages ago.”

“Yeah, but suddenly! Did your class finish early?”

“A little. We cleaned up fast.”

“Good work! How was it?”

“You didn’t answer my text,” Yuuto complained, ignoring the question. “I was waiting.”

“I’m sorry! I put my bag down while we played, I didn’t hear it!”

Out the corner of his eye, Hiroki saw Ryouji reach into his pocket, his face falling when he glanced at the screen. Ryouji had been checking his phone a bunch at the arcade anyway, but Hiroki knew there had to be multiple missed messages on his own phone, for Ryouji to have gotten one too.

“I’m really sorry,” Hiroki reiterated. “Next time I’ll make sure my volume is super loud.”

“Me too,” Ryouji promised. “I forgot to take it off silent mode, when school ended.”

Yuuto’s eyes narrowed a little, but he didn’t say the words, even though Hiroki knew he was thinking them. Ryouji had been the one to help him put his alerts on a timer, instead of having to silence it manually – what were the chances that he didn’t have the same set up on his own phone?

A loud toot from the road made Hiroki jump, and he whirled around to see a familiar car at the gates, a big smile and a wave aimed their way from within. He looked at Ryouji, but he just shrugged, putting his phone back in his pocket.

“He told me a few minutes ago, I didn’t see that either,” Ryouji explained, then looked over at their buddies again. “Sorry you got wet ‘cos of us.”

“It’s fine!” Kouichi assured him. “It’s not like we’ve never played in the rain before.”

“We’ll dry out soon,” Kitarou agreed. “Get home and get warm!”

Mirio rolled down the car window, waving to them again, and Hiroki waved back, calling out a hello.

“Do you boys need a ride too?” Mirio offered. “We can squeeze everyone in!”

“That’s okay!” Kouichi assured him. “We’re about to go to the arcade to meet up with some classmates, it isn’t far!”

“At least take this, then!”

Mirio fished around in the back seat, and held out an umbrella, laughing when Kouichi jogged over to accept it gratefully.

“Looks like I’m a bit late anyway,” Mirio said, a little teasingly. “You guys been out in the rain a while?”

“Not long, it was just heavy for a bit,” Kouichi explained. “Thank you, I’ll give it back to Ryouji at school!”

“No rush, it’s just an umbrella, don’t stress about it.”

Kouichi hurried back to the group, holding the umbrella over Yuuto as he gathered his bags – the only one that wasn’t already wet. Hiroki suspected it was a bit of an apology in his mind, too, for not being back in time to meet him, but it wasn’t like they could have known he would finish early. Yuuto shot Hiroki another look, in his too-big blazer with his sodden shoes and socks, but Hiroki just flashed him a smile in return.

“Sorry about the texts,” he said again. “Do you want help with your reading homework?”

“I’ll help with your math,” Ryouji added. “It was my fault too.”

Yuuto didn’t seem entirely convinced, but he nodded anyway, glancing at Mirio then back to their group.

“Fine,” he said. “I won’t ask.”

Hiroki grinned. In the end, he could always count on his brother.

“You two be safe,” Mirio insisted, when the rest of them were in the car, only Kouichi and Kitarou left on the footpath under their umbrella. “Do your parents know where you’re going?”

“Yup! We go every Friday!”

“Alright, have a good time. Thanks for looking after my boys.”

“Any time, Mister Lemillion!”

Hiroki shivered a little as they drove off, the rain finally catching up with him, but Mirio turned on the heater, and he knew it wouldn’t take long for them to get home, anyway. To distract himself, he leaned over to greet Koara in her little baby seat, grinning when she cooed at him happily. Ryouji didn’t much like having a little sister, always complained about her being too noisy and too gross, but Hiroki thought she was pretty cute, most of the time. He wouldn’t have minded having a sister, he didn’t think. Then again, he was good at sleeping through noise – Ryouji didn’t have that luxury. He claimed weekends were the worst, when he spent so much more time around her, so he’d spent a lot of weekends at Hiroki’s house since they moved – not that Hiroki minded, of course.

“Can Ryou sleep over on Sunday night?” Hiroki asked, on a whim more than anything else. “Papa will offer to drive us to school on Monday since our bikes are there, so he could stay over first.”

“Will you get any sleep for school, if I say yes?” Mirio teased. “You’ll probably stay up all night whispering to each other.”

“Nuh-uh! We sleep!” Hiroki assured him. “Maybe more, since we don’t text as late when we’re together.”

Mirio raised an eyebrow at him in the rear view mirror, and Hiroki felt himself blush – his dads knew about him texting in bed late at night, they often came in and told him to put the phone away, but he’d kind of forgotten that Ryouji’s dads didn’t exactly know about that.

“We don’t text late,” Hiroki assured him. “Just to say goodnight and stuff, so later than if we don’t need to say goodnight.”

“Good save,” Mirio said wryly. “Yeah, if your dads are cool with it, I don’t mind.”

“Yay!”

It wasn’t long before they were pulling into the driveway, and Hiroki was digging for his house key, ready to dash through the rain to open the door. Before he could get it out, though, he saw his Nana’s wave from the window upstairs, and knew he wasn’t going to need it.

“Thank you for picking us up,” Hiroki said politely – even with family, he still tried his best to remember his manners, unlike his dad. “Have a good time at work tomorrow, and be safe!”

“Thank you for the ride,” Yuuto agreed, gathering his bags and violin from his feet. “I stayed nice and dry.”

“Unlike these two,” Mirio laughed brightly. “You’re welcome, both of you. I’m always happy to help.”

Hiroki leaned forward between the front seats, planting a quick goodbye kiss on Ryouji’s cheek, and then he was out the door, hurrying over to where the front door was opening up for them to run straight inside where it was warm and dry. Yuuto was right behind him, splashing through the puddles, turning to wave briefly from the safety of the roof. Then it was just Mirio and Ryouji left behind, in the warm, quiet car – well, and Koara, burbling to herself in her own little language like usual.

“So how was the arcade?” Mirio asked, as they pulled out of the driveway and waved goodbye to the trio still standing in the doorway. “Did you play anything cool?”

“They taught us all the games,” Ryouji answered, watching the front door finally swing closed as they drove away. “Hiro was good at all the rhythm games, because of piano and stuff.”

“That makes sense.”

There was a pause as they turned into their own road, and Ryouji glanced over, searching his dad’s face for any sign of annoyance or lectures to come.

“Can we go again next Friday?” he asked, deciding to push his luck a little.

“Only if Hiro’s dads are okay with it,” Mirio answered with no hesitation. “Make sure he actually asks.”

“I’ll ask myself, if Hiro won’t.”

“And you still have to text us every thirty minutes.”

“That’s fine, I always do.”

“I know. Thank you for always being responsible.” He paused, looking over at Ryouji as he shut off the car, and smirking a little. “But I expect that phone away at night, from now on.”

“Fine,” Ryouji huffed, smiling a little all the same. “Since you were cool today.”

“I’m always cool!”

“Keep dreaming,” Ryouji snorted, opening up his car door and grabbing his school bag. “I’m hungry, what’s for dinner?”

“Steak.”

“Jerk.”