Work Text:
Three things were currently pissing Wakana off.
First, her father and older sister, Saeko, had sat her down yet again to give her a lecture about her obligations to the family. It was becoming a tiresome pattern: they'd ask her to quit her job at the radio station so she could start working at the family business, she'd refuse, and then she'd get into a yelling match with Saeko while their father laughed like he found their bickering entertaining.
Second, although Wakana loved her job at the radio station, she didn't like many of the things that came with being a local celebrity. For instance, she couldn't stand the male fans who congregated outside her office. They blocked her path to and from work, and worse, demanded her attention. She was expected to humor them, but she hated the idea of giving a man her time and energy just because he asked for it, especially when she had no interest in him.
Third, and perhaps most importantly, Wakana was annoyed that her precious younger brother, Raito, had left home to go to university. She loved her brother fiercely, his quirks and all, and she was sure he was entering a world that wouldn't understand or appreciate him for all that he was. She also feared she wouldn't get to spend time with him if he wasn't living at home.
"Futo University isn't far," she had argued, two weeks before he had moved out. "He could easily stay at home and commute."
"He needs to socialize more with his peers," her mother had responded. "Moving out will be good for him."
*
Raito had moved into a spacious two bedroom apartment closer to campus. The house staff had helped him pack what he needed to take. Wakana would've helped too if she hadn't been working.
She went to visit him the night after the move. She rang the bell, and some guy she didn't recognize answered the door. He was wearing jeans, a dress shirt, a vest, and a fedora. He looked, well, pretentious.
She was about to ask who he was, but then she remembered that their mother had arranged for Raito to have a roommate. If Wakana recalled correctly, he was the adopted son of a family friend. He was also making her stand in the hallway while he stared at her with wide, surprised eyes.
"Princess Wakana?" he asked, finally. Given the faint blush that started to appear on his cheeks, Wakana guessed that he was a fan. She scowled. A fan was the last thing she wanted to deal with. "I'm Hidari Shotaro. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Tch," Wakana said, pushing past him into the apartment. She took a look around.
The apartment was located on the top floor of the most luxurious complex in town. It had a decent-sized kitchen and living area, and the furniture was so elegant that it looked like it could've come from the mansion. It also had large windows that looked out over the river.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?"
Wakana startled. She had forgotten about the roommate again. What was his name? Hidari?
"The city, I mean," he continued. "I love that we can see Futo Tower from here."
Sure enough, she could see the tower glittering in the distance. It was her favorite part of the skyline, not that she was going to tell him that.
"Is Raito home?" she asked.
Hidari gestured towards a hallway with three closed doors. "His bedroom is on the right, and the bathroom is at the end of the hall."
He walked over to the door he had identified as Raito's and knocked on it. "Oi, Philip," he called. "Your sister is here."
Wakana ground her teeth. They hadn't been roommates for two days and this Hidari kid was speaking to her brother so informally. He was also calling him "Philip", a nickname Raito hadn't used in years.
"Shotaro?" She heard her brother's voice faintly through the door before it opened, revealing Raito. He was wearing one of his favorite outfits: a striped shirt with an oversized hoodie overtop of it.
The second Raito spotted her, he grinned, and all the irritation she felt at his roommate disappeared when he said, "Wakana!"
He enthusiastically gave her a tour of the apartment, focusing on things such as the model number of refrigerator they had, and then showed her his room. At one end of the room was a large bed and a dresser. The other end was clearly a workspace -- not only was there a desk, but there were also whiteboards hung up on the walls.
There was writing on them -- formulas that she figured were related to the biology and chemistry courses he was taking. She could easily imagine him here, staying up late researching, his laptop or tablet in one hand and a dry erase marker in the other.
After the tour was over, they ended up sitting on his bed. He told her about his classes and she told him about her week. They had a great time just chatting with one another, and by the end of her visit she thought it might not be so bad with him living here, especially if she could still see him regularly. It wouldn't be the same as having him down the hall from her, nothing would, but this could be okay too.
It wasn't until she was leaving that she remembered that his roommate existed. He was sitting in the living area typing on, of all things, an old fashioned typewriter. He almost fell over himself to see her to the door.
She was unimpressed by him. Raito had a roommate because he needed to get used to being around other people. Was Hidari really the best person her family could find?
She hoped that he wouldn't be a bad influence on her brother.
*
Wakana figured her bad feelings about Hidari were right on the mark when she visited the apartment again two weeks later.
Hidari thankfully wasn't there (Wakana got enough of fans at her work, thank you), and Raito was scribbling all over his whiteboards like he was in the midst of researching something.
The boards were filled with what looked like information on Futo University's admission records and criteria. It didn't look like his school work to her, nor did it look like his typical research on random topics. It was too specific. Too focused.
"What are you researching?" she asked, as Raito copied a bunch of names from his laptop screen onto the whiteboard.
"Information for Shotaro."
"Shotaro?" It took her a moment to place the name. "Your roommate?"
Raito nodded. "A group of students somehow got ahold of his admission and police records, and have been giving him a hard time about it. I'm trying to figure out how they could have gotten access to such confidential information."
So Hidari was using her brother to do his work for him. She'd have to do something about that and-- "Wait. Hidari has a police record?"
"He got into trouble when he was in high school," Raito said, like he didn't mind at all. "Before the detective took him in."
The more she learned about this Hidari fellow, the less she wanted him anywhere near her brother.
"Tch. You should be focusing on your own work, not his problems," she told him, annoyed.
*
She complained to her parents about Hidari at dinner the next day. Her mother seemed to take her concerns seriously, but her father just laughed and said, "How interesting."
*
She managed to drag her brother back to the mansion for a weekend in May. Although he was home, he seemed to split his time between two activities: researching the history of some sort of polymer and messaging someone on his phone.
The latter was strange only because, to her knowledge, the only person Raito messaged was her. Sometimes she'd check her phone to find that she had received twenty messages from him -- almost all of them on whatever topic he happened to be looking into at the moment.
But Raito wasn't messaging her, and he was spending more time on his phone than she had ever seen.
She wondered if it was possible that he had gotten himself a girlfriend, and then shook her head to clear the thought. Raito was rarely romantically interested in people, and the few times he had been, his interest had always seemed to be fleeting. Besides, Raito would've told her if he was seeing someone. They always talked to each other about things like that.
She was sitting in his workshop -- the one adjacent to his room in the mansion-- doing her best to talk him into joining her for dinner when his phone went off. As he took it out of his pocket to check it, she asked, "Who was that?"
"Shotaro," he replied.
The roommate. Wakana felt her mood sour.
"You've been messaging him a lot," she said, not quite masking the disapproval in her tone.
Raito seemed to ignore her and laughed at whatever he was reading off his phone, annoying her even more.
"He sounds like you," he said.
She sincerely doubted that, but then Raito was handing her his phone.
The message on the screen was from Hidari. It read: This again? Don't you have a lab report to write?
While it was true she sometimes sent him texts like that, she always meant them affectionately. She didn't think Hidari, of all people, was taking that kind of playful tone.
Honestly, she was really starting to hate Hidari. As far as she was concerned, he was a poorly-mannered delinquent who had Raito do research for him and who didn't seem capable of appreciating her brother.
Raito took his phone back and started to compose a new message, undoubtedly to Hidari.
Wakana needed to do something to cheer herself up. She grabbed the phone out of Raito's hands and threw it across the room. Then she tucked her arm into his. "Come on," she said, and took him out to her favorite restaurant.
*
The next time Wakana visited Raito's apartment, she let herself in with the spare key he had given her.
Hidari was in the kitchen, arguing loudly with a woman she didn't recognize. They were making such a commotion that they didn't seem to realize that she was in the room with them.
Wakana crossed her arms over her chest, and with a smirk, she said, "You and your girlfriend should keep it down."
Both of them startled at her voice, and then, as if registering what she had said, jumped apart. Wakana tried not to laugh.
"Ew, no," the woman said. She held up her left hand and pointed to a ring on her fourth finger. "I'm engaged, and it's definitely not to him!"
"Oi, Akiko!" Hidari shouted, sounding exasperated.
The woman -- Akiko? -- pouted. "You should treat me better. I am your older sister after all."
"I'm older than you!" Hidari shouted back at her, and she stuck out her tongue at him. Then they started yelling at each other again.
Apparently Hidari's entire family had terrible manners. The two of them had once again completely forgotten that she was standing there, and neither of them had bothered with introductions.
Wakana backed away from the kitchen and went to find Raito.
*
Raito stayed at the apartment over his summer break since he was hired as a research assistant by one of his professors.
She noticed that Hidari didn't go home either, even though she was sure he wasn't working at the university. When she asked Raito about this, he answered that Hidari was "working cases".
She wasn't sure what that meant until Raito explained that Hidari had started a detective agency and was running it out of their apartment.
"A detective agency?" she asked, skeptical.
"His father owns one. He wants to be a detective himself. That's why he's studying business."
She hadn't seen that coming.
"Does he bring clients here?" she asked, not liking the idea of strangers having access to her brother's private space.
Raito shrugged. "Sometimes. But they mostly approach him on campus."
She hadn't forgotten the way Hidari had used her brother before. "Does he make you do work for him?" she asked.
"He asks me to look up things for him sometimes," Raito replied. He seemed more concerned with what he was writing on his whiteboard than his answer. "I like it. There are a lot of cases that we can solve together that neither of us would've been able to figure out on our own, and he splits his profits with me."
"You're working for him?" she shrieked.
Raito seemed confused by her reaction. His brows furrowed when he told her, "I'm working with him. There's a difference."
*
Wakana wasn't sure what to think about their impromptu detective business. She honestly tried not to think about it, and it didn't come up again until a male fan she recognized from outside her work showed up at her favorite cafe. And at her favorite boutique. And outside her friend's house when she went over to visit.
Wakana had no tolerance for stalkers. She called the police, and her parents hired their own men after the police proved themselves to be useless. After two weeks of randomly seeing her stalker three more times, she had had enough.
She was sitting on Raito's bed ranting to him about it when Raito asked, "Why don't Shotaro and I look into it?"
Her immediate answer was no. She didn't like the idea of Raito being anywhere near her stalker, but when she realized that he would only be doing research from his apartment, she reconsidered.
She was curious to see if an ill-mannered delinquent like Hidari would really able to handle this kind of work. If nothing else, she figured his failure would be amusing.
Thus, she was surprised when Hidari sat her down on a couch in the living area and, pen and notepad in hand, asked her a series of questions about things like where she had seen her stalker and what he had looked like. He exhibited a level of professionalism she never would've expected from him and he showed no signs of the star-struck kid she had originally met.
The next day, she happened to be with Raito when Hidari asked him to do some research for the case. She watched Raito as he cross-referenced the evidence Hidari had picked up with public records until he had narrowed down their possible suspects to three names. She was thrown off by how well they worked together, and by how little Hidari was actually using her brother.
Within a day, Hidari and Raito had a name of a suspect. In two more days, Hidari had caught him red-handed outside a shoe store she was shopping in and her stalker was in police custody.
In a grand total of four days they had done what neither the police nor her parents' investigators had been able to do in two weeks.
She hated to admit it, but she was impressed, and she started to look at Hidari a little differently after that.
*
It was mid-September on a Thursday night. She was in a car on the way home from the radio station when she got a call on her cell that her call display said was from Raito.
She looked down at her phone and frowned. Raito never called her. He always texted her if he contacted her at all.
She flipped open her phone. "Raito?" she asked.
"Princess Wakana?" someone asked in reply. It wasn't her brother's voice. It was deeper and it sounded like--
"Hidari?" she asked. What was Hidari doing using Raito's phone to call her?
She had a moment to be pissed at his rude behavior, but then Hidari said, "Philip is sick."
*
She headed straight for their apartment. When she got there, she pushed past Hidari, who was waiting for her by the door, and made a b-line for Raito's room.
Raito was lying in his bed, his sheets pulled up to his shoulders, and he looked pale. Someone -- Hidari, she supposed -- had put a cold wet cloth on his forehead. She went to his side, removed the cloth, and placed her hand on the skin above his brows. He was warm.
Raito's eyes opened, and he tried to greet her, but soon he was having a coughing fit.
Hidari came around the other side of the bed and helped Raito sit up, placing a steady hand on his back until his coughing subsided.
"I'm okay," Raito said, utterly unconvincingly given how rough his voice sounded. "I didn't mean to worry you."
"He's had a cold for a week," Hidari told her.
"A week?" she asked. Why was she only hearing about this now?
"It wasn't so bad at first," Hidari explained, sounding exasperated. "But instead of taking it easy, like I told him to, he's been working as hard as ever."
Raito looked sheepish as he lay back down.
"You didn't have to call my sister," Raito whined.
"You're getting worse. I had to call someone." Hidari looked up at her, and fidgeted awkwardly. "Sorry for causing trouble. I didn't know who else to contact."
She blinked at him, thrown off by what she what witnessing. She had never seen them interact like this. They were bickering but it wasn't mean. It was friendly and it seemed like this was an argument that they'd already had at least once before.
To her knowledge, Raito wasn't that playful with anyone, except for her sometimes.
Raito sniffled, pulling her from her thoughts.
"It's no trouble," she told Hidari. She glared at Raito, who was doing his best to avoid her gaze. "Someone should have told me himself."
Raito groaned and tried to burrow under his sheets.
*
She called down to her driver to let him know that they were going to take Raito home with them. She figured that their family doctors could check on him properly back at the mansion, and that he was more likely to rest if he was away from his work. Besides, she'd be able to keep a closer eye on him there.
As Hidari helped her take Raito down to the car, she realized that she would've had no way of knowing that Raito was ill if Hidari hadn't contacted her.
*
She let herself into the apartment two days later to retrieve Raito's laptop, phone, tablet and some of his papers. He was starting to feel better, but she wasn't going to let him out of her sight just yet.
The second she was inside, Hidari popped his head out of his bedroom door. His expression fell when he saw her it was her.
"How's Philip?" he asked.
"Getting better," she told him, heading to Raito's room to grab his things. She could've sent the house staff to do it, but for something as important to Raito as his laptop, she wanted to get it for him herself. She knew he'd appreciate that.
"So he's going to be okay?" Hidari asked as she was about to leave. She looked back at him, and for the first time, noticed the dark circles under his eyes and the way he was wringing his hands.
"You're really worried about him," she said as the realization hit her.
He nodded, but looked away like he was embarrassed. "No one's told me anything. It's... natural to worry."
She suddenly remembered the wet cloth that had been resting on Raito's forehead when she had found out he was sick. She hadn't given much thought to it before when she had been so focused on Raito's illness, but now she gave it the consideration it was due.
If Raito had been ill for a week, had Hidari been taking care of him that entire time?
If she had been the one watching over Raito while he was ill, had she suddenly lost contact with him, she would worry too.
She watched Hidari as he continued to fidget, wondering when Hidari started to care so much about Raito's wellbeing.
Before she could think better of it, she asked, "Do you want to come back with me to visit him?"
*
In the car, Hidari was quieter than he had ever been in her presence. Except for thanking her politely, he stared out the window, his elbow resting on the door and his chin in his hand.
She wasn't sure what to make of his behavior.
*
She watched from the other end of the room as Hidari sat on the edge of Raito's bed and told him a story about a missing cat getting stuck in a tree. She personally thought the story was strange and boring, but Raito was smiling and laughing for the first time in days.
Truth be told, she was a little jealous that Hidari was able to improve Raito's spirits so easily. She knew her jealousy was ridiculous and juvenile, and she was trying not to let it show or get to her.
Movement at her side caught her eye, and she noticed that her mother was standing in the doorway to Raito's room. She, too, was watching the way Raito's face lit up as Hidari continued his tale.
As Wakana headed towards her mother, her mother stepped away from the door and began to walk down the hall. She motioned for Wakana to follow her.
"Raito seems to like that boy," her mother said when they were well out of earshot of Raito's room.
Wakana waited, knowing her mother would cut to the chase quickly. In her experience, when her mother had an opinion, she shared it. Sure enough, as they rounded the next corner, her mother said, "It's good that Raito has made a friend, but is Hidari Shotaro really a good match for him?"
She didn't say anything more, but by the time Wakana split off from her mother, she felt uneasy for reasons she couldn't explain.
*
There was a street of designer shops in Futo near the center of town. They were Wakana's favorite place to shop because the merchandise tended to be good, the staff tended to be respectful, and the other customers tended to leave her alone.
This, sadly, wasn't always the case.
"Princess Wakana!" someone shouted as Wakana exited one of the boutiques.
"Tch." Wakana forced a smile on her face as she braced herself for dealing with a fan.
She turned around to see a young woman running towards her. The woman stopped in front of Wakana and bent over to place her hands on her knees as she attempted to catch her breath.
Wakana tried not to show her annoyance. She didn't want to deal with any of her fans right then. Or ever.
The woman stood up straight and asked, "Do you remember me?"
Wakana was asked this all the time, often by people she only met briefly at a meet and greet or some other event. She usually had to feign recognition to avoid seeming rude, but on closer inspection, Wakana realized that she actually recognized the woman standing before her. She had seen her before in her brother's apartment. She was Hidari's sister. What was her name? Akiko?
As if reading her thoughts, the woman said, sheepishly, "Sorry we were never properly introduced. I'm Narumi Akiko. Please call me Akiko. I'm pleased to meet you."
"Sonozaki Wakana. I'm pleased to meet you," she replied politely, wondering if she should be looking for an escape route out of this conversation. Then what Akiko had said registered and curiosity got the better of her. "Narumi? I thought your family name was Hidari."
"When dad adopted Shotaro, he kept his name. He had his reasons, and we had no problems with that, even if it's an example of why he's a stubborn little--" she shook a fist in the air.
Wakana recalled the way Akiko and her brother had been fighting in the kitchen of the apartment. "So you and your brother don't get along?" Wakana asked.
"Eh?" Akiko waved her hands back and forth. "No, no, it's not like that. We get along fine. We just fight a lot. Mostly over silly things. I suppose... we're not like you and your brother."
Wakana was thinking about her rather thorny relationship with Saeko when a man ran up to them and shoved a large photo of Wakana between them. Wakana and Akiko both jumped back in alarm.
"Princess Wakana!" he cried, bowing his head as he presented the photo to her. "You're so beautiful! I listen to your show every day and I'm a huge fan! I would be honored if I could have your autograph!"
Wakana's eye twitched, but before she could open her mouth to tear into the man, Akiko pushed the photo away from them and yelled, "Oi! We were in the middle of a conversation! You can't just interrupt us like this!"
Wakana blinked at her in shock.
The man started to back away from them. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" he repeated.
He didn't go far. He stood a few feet from them holding his photo like he was waiting for an opportunity to bother Wakana again.
"What are you standing there for?" Akiko shouted at him. "If you were really sorry, you'd leave us alone!"
"But--" the man started to protest, but Akiko cut him off.
"You're being rude! Get out of here!"
To Wakana's surprise, the man actually left. They watched him until he walked down the road, head hanging low, and disappeared out of sight around a corner.
Wakana found herself staring at Akiko in awe.
She wasn't the only one staring. They had managed to gather a small crowd of passers-by. Akiko must have noticed them too because she asked if Wakana would like to finish their conversation at a nearby cafe.
If Akiko had asked her two minutes ago, she would've found a way to decline politely. However, Akiko had impressed her and she wasn't impressed easily. Wakana agreed and they headed towards the cafe together.
*
"Do you have to deal with that kind of thing a lot?" Akiko asked when they were seated in a corner of the cafe with tea in front of them.
"Unfortunately," Wakana replied. Normally, she was careful about questions like this. She had an image to maintain after all, but given the way Akiko had reacted to her fan, she felt like she could be honest about this at least.
"Ugh. I hate rude men," Akiko declared, and Wakana decided that she liked Akiko.
Akiko explained that she was out shopping for a wedding dress. Wakana learned that she was engaged to a police officer and that their wedding was going to take place in the spring. She also learned that Akiko worked at her father's detective agency.
Eventually, their conversation came around to their brothers. Akiko spoke about how much she liked Raito, though she called him "Philip".
After reading a library's worth of Western novels as a child, Raito had started calling himself "Philip". Though no one in their family had used it, Raito had somehow managed to get most of his classmates to call him by the name. Then one day, abruptly, Raito had stopped using it altogether.
He had told her that he had grown tired of it, but Wakana secretly suspected their parents had demanded that he only use the name they had given him. Now that he was out on his own, it seemed that Raito was using the name of his choice again.
Though the only other person she had heard use it was Hidari. She considered that for a moment.
Wakana asked Akiko, "Do you think your brother and my brother are good friends?"
Akiko snorted. "Philip is the greatest friend Shotaro has ever had."
Greatest friend? "Really?"
Akiko raised an eyebrow at her. "Have you seen them together?" Then Akiko sighed, and in a more serious tone said, "Meeting Philip is the best thing that's happened to Shotaro in years."
*
Within an hour, Wakana decided that Akiko was smart and hilarious -- not to mention that she respected Akiko for not letting anyone walk over her. Before they parted ways, she made sure they exchanged numbers.
*
In mid-December, while they were eating dinner, her father said, "Raito wants to invite his roommate to stay with us for a few days over his winter break."
Her mother was immediately against it. "He's been spending too much time with Hidari Shotaro. I think some time apart would be good for Raito."
Wakana lip twitched. It wasn't lost on her that her mother was the one who had arranged for them to be roommates in the first place. "They've become friends," she said. "Why can't he come over for a few days?"
Her father smiled at her and said, "I can't see how a few days could hurt him. Perhaps Raito can have Hidari over after the Christmas party, but before New Year's."
"He's a bad influence on Raito," her mother argued.
Wakana ground her teeth as she listened to them. Wakana hated when her parents treated her and Raito like this -- like they couldn't make decisions for themselves.
She also disliked this argument for another reason. As it dragged on, she found herself wanting to defend Hidari, which was something she never imagined would happen.
She kept her mouth shut, and as she fidgeted irritably in her seat, she wondered when her opinion of Hidari had changed so much.
*
The day before New Year's, Wakana wanted to talk to Raito about their plans since they always rang in the New Year together. She peered inside his bedroom door to see if he was there. He was, but so was Hidari.
Raito was stretched out on his bed on his stomach, his laptop open in front of him. He looked to be scrolling through text.
Hidari was resting on his side, perpendicular to Raito, at the end of Raito's bed. He was reading a novel, but because his back was to the door, she couldn't make out the cover.
They were quiet -- perhaps even peaceful -- and Wakana found herself watching them lying there together, Raito's bare feet not quite touching Hidari's hip.
Raito looked over his shoulder at Hidari and said, "Ne, Shotaro."
Hidari hummed, but his focus seemed to remain on his book. Raito laughed softly and then gently kicked Hidari with his foot.
"Oi," Hidari said, but he didn't sound annoyed. If anything, he sounded amused. He turned his head towards Raito.
She couldn't see Hidari's expression from where she was standing, but she could see Raito's reaction to it. He grinned as he pushed his laptop closer to Hidari and started talking about a chemistry experiment he was thinking of proposing.
Hidari sat up and shifted towards Raito until he could look over Raito's shoulder at the laptop's screen. He placed his palm flat against the center of Raito's back as Raito continued to explain his idea.
Suddenly, she felt like she was intruding on something private and surprisingly intimate. Her earlier questions dried up in her throat.
She turned on her heel and left before she could be discovered. She could always ask Raito about their plans later.
*
She was out for drinks with Akiko, and about three hours into the night, Akiko admitted, "Sometimes I think that our brothers would make a good couple."
Wakana laughed in her face.
Akiko pouted. "Come on. At least consider it. I thought it was silly at first too, but the more I think about it, the more it makes sense to me."
*
Wakana did think about it. Over the next few weeks it hit her at odd times how much happier Raito seemed these days and how Hidari might be the cause. While she was not sure about them being a couple, she increasing understood that they were good for each other.
*
It was one of the rare times Raito was over at the mansion. He had agreed to come with her to an event she was hosting that evening. As she did her hair, he lay on her bed and told her about the case he and Hidari were working on.
It didn't escape her attention that he had been speaking about Hidari since he arrived.
"You like Hidari a lot, don't you?" she asked sometime later when she had moved on to her makeup.
Without any hesitation he replied, "Of course." Then his eyes went wide and his brows furrowed like they did when he was unhappy or uncertain. He seemed strangely hesitant and sounded a bit defensive when he asked, "Why do you ask?"
Wakana wanted to ask him why he was acting so strange, but instead she replied, "No reason."
*
"Can you see it too~?" Akiko sing-songed.
Wakana laughed. "You made that comment when you were drunk," she pointed out.
"So? I was serious," Akiko said with an exaggerated pout. "They work well together."
"That they do," Wakana admitted quietly.
"So you do see it?" Akiko asked, grinning.
"I don't know about that," Wakana replied. "I think..."
She didn't know what to think, honestly. She had no idea if that was something Raito would even be interested in.
Besides, even as a semi-ridiculous what-if, just thinking like this raised a bunch of other concerns for her. What if Hidari wasn't interested in Raito? What if Hidari was interested but Raito wasn't? What would happen to Raito if he lost such a good friend over something like this?
Not to mention the difficulties that would fall upon Raito for being with a man. He would be forced to be discrete. She didn't even want to think about how her parents might react.
"You think...?" Akiko prompted, snapping Wakana back to reality.
"Why am I even considering this?" she asked Akiko, shaking her head to clear her thoughts. She snorted. "It's not like it's ever going to happen."
*
On Friday, she attended another event. Instead of heading straight home afterwards, she decided to visit Raito. No one answered the door, so she figured Raito either wasn't home or was so absorbed in his work he wasn't even registering that someone was ringing the bell.
She called out a greeting as she let herself into the apartment, but received no response. Neither Hidari nor her brother seemed to be around, but strangely, the lights were on. Raito's door was ajar, and though the lights were on in his room too, when she went to investigate, he was nowhere to be found.
She was in the kitchen trying to find a piece of paper to write Raito a note (Hidari's typewriter was on the table, so she knew there had to be some around) when she realized she was hearing the sound of running water. She took a few steps towards the hallway, and sure enough, the sound was coming from the direction of the bathroom.
She abandoned her search for paper and took a seat on a couch in the living area. As she scrolled through her phone to kill time, she hoped it was actually Raito who was taking the shower.
The water finally stopped running, and awhile later she heard the bathroom door open.
"Hello!" she called out, not wanting to startle Raito or Hidari with her presence.
She got no reply, which she found odd. Even Hidari would've responded. She could, however, hear something that sounded like the shuffling of feet on hardwood.
She stood up and walked towards the hallway. "Hello? I let myself in and--"
Her words got stuck in her throat. Both Hidari and Raito were in the hallway, and neither of them were wearing anything more than a towel.
Raito's eyes were wide in shock and Hidari was also gaping at her.
She wasn't quite processing what she was seeing.
"Wakana," Hidari said, and when she shifted her focus to him, she noticed that he had a line of bright red bruises near his collarbone. Actually, they didn't look like bruises so much as they looked like hickies.
A moment later it hit her that Raito must have been the one to put them there.
Raito and Hidari weren't just good friends. They were together.
Her eyes found Raito's. He was staring back at her, alarmed expression still on his face, and all she could think was that she had had no idea. She had spent so much time with him and she hadn't even suspected something like this.
They told each other everything. That's what they had done ever since they were kids, but Raito hadn't mentioned this. He hadn't even hinted at it.
It made her feel angry, and she sounded incredulous and not a little bitter when she exclaimed, "You're with Hidari?"
She knew it was the wrong thing to say the second the words left her mouth -- she could hear the accusation it sounded like -- but it was too late. The words were hanging heavily in the air between them. Raito's eyes somehow got even wider, but now they had an edge of panic to them.
"Raito," she said, trying to think of a way to fix this. She stepped forward and Hidari was suddenly standing between them. She shouldered him out of the way and tried to get at the actual heart of the matter. "Why didn't you tell me?" She was still upset and could hear it in her voice. She had a feeling that she was only making things worse.
Raito backed away from her, and he didn't meet her eyes when he said, "I knew you wouldn't approve."
She stared at him for a moment, nonplused. "How would you know that?" she demanded.
Raito sighed and said, "You've made it clear that you hate Shotaro."
Wakana blinked at him. "What are you talking about? I don't hate--"
"Yes, you do!" Raito shouted.
Wakana's hands became fists at her sides, because dammit, Raito was mistaken. While it was true she hadn't liked Hidari when they first met, that wasn't true anymore. Why was Raito so convinced that she would condemn their relationship?
"Raito--"
There was a hand on her arm. She turned on her heel and found Hidari frowning at her. "I think you should leave," he said.
She looked over her shoulder at Raito, but he was staring at the far wall, avoiding her gaze.
"Raito," she called out. She tried to get closer to him, but Hidari held her back.
"Fine," she spat out, shaking Hidari's hand off of her. She marched her way out of their apartment and slammed the door behind her.
*
She didn't make it to the elevator. She barely made it a few steps down the hall before she was leaning back against the wall for support. Her eyes were wet, her chest ached, and her throat felt dry.
For some reason, Raito had assumed that she would be against him and Hidari being a couple. Why? What had she done to give him such an impression? None of this would've happened if Raito had actually told her what was going on.
What was even worse was that the first words out of her mouth after finding out about him and Hidari had sounded like they were full of outrage. Even if it wasn't her intention, by reacting like she did, she had made it seem like she disapproved.
Her back slid down the wall, and she sat on the floor for a long time trying to process what had happened and what she had done.
*
She barely slept. As she lay awake, she hoped that Raito wasn't feeling a fraction of the pain she currently was.
She messaged Raito the first thing in the morning. She admitted she messed up and tried to explain the misunderstanding. She also asked him to meet her so they could talk.
She checked her phone constantly throughout the day, but he never replied.
*
At work, she had trouble mustering up her usual level of enthusiasm for her radio show. When she got off the air, she hid in the bathroom, her face buried in her hands. She couldn't concentrate. Not when she knew she had hurt Raito. Not when she knew Raito was mad at her.
*
After five days of Raito ignoring her messages, she went by the apartment and rang the bell.
She desperately wanted to apologize and talk things out with him. She also missed him. They had never been apart because of a fight before.
When a minute passed and no one answered the door, she rang the bell again.
She wondered if Raito and Hidari were both out or if they were just avoiding her.
She didn't use her key.
After waiting at their door for ten minutes, she left.
*
It was a long, sleepless week later when she finally received a message from Raito. It was curt and more straight-to-the-point than anything Raito usually sent her.
He wrote that he was planning to attend Akiko's wedding with Hidari, and asked if she wanted to help him purchase a new suit. He gave her the name of a boutique she had been to with him before and a time to meet him there the next day.
Wakana recognized it as the test it was. If she had any issues with Raito attending the wedding with Hidari, it would be unlikely that she would show up.
She didn't like that Raito felt he needed to test her, but this was one test she was determined to pass with flying colors.
*
Raito was standing outside the shop, his attention focused on his tablet. He didn't seem to notice her as she approached.
He looked awful. Even at a distance, she could tell that he had dark circles under his eyes and that the clips in his hair were askew.
Wakana felt a rush of guilt for doing this to him. At the same time, she felt relief that he was actually standing in front of her.
Her voice broke as she called his name. He looked up from his tablet and his eyes widened when he spotted her, as if he was surprised to see her. That broke her heart even more.
She couldn't keep herself from running towards him and throwing her arms around his waist. She buried her face in his shoulder and cried as she repeated, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
At first, he was stiff in her arms and she wondered if embracing him like this has been a mistake, but then his hands slowly came around her back and gently squeezed her tight.
*
She wiped away her tears, and he offered her a small smile when she linked their arms together and dragged him into the shop.
The suit shopping went well, considering they were both awkward around each other.
She picked out three suits for him, and gave him honest feedback when he tried them on. She hesitated when she reached over to adjust his collar or help him with his tie, and she knew he noticed. He didn't say anything, but he was just as hesitant the few times he asked for her opinion or put a hand on her arm to get her attention.
She kept him company as the tailor poked and prodded at him, and in the end, he ended up with a suit that would be ready for him to pick up in a few days.
*
Raito invited her back to his apartment afterwards, and she went with him, relieved to once again be welcomed into his space.
They sat at the end of his bed, shoulder to shoulder, with their feet hanging off the edge.
Wakana told him, "I'm sorry." She waited until he had turned his head towards her before continuing. "I know what it sounded like, but I wasn't upset that you were with Hidari, or that you were with a man. I really wasn't. I was... upset because you didn't tell me."
Raito pursed his lips like he wanted to say something. She waited, but when he stayed silent, she said, "I am sorry for hurting you, Raito. I'm so, so sorry for that. I never meant to... I never wanted to..." Her vision was becoming watery. "I'm so sorry," she said again.
"Wakana," he said, and her name sounded like an exhale. Then he leaned against her side, not hard enough for her to feel his weight, but enough that she could feel his warmth. His eyes were glassy too.
She turned so that she could wrap her arms around him, and this time, when he hugged her back, he clung to her, his fingers tangling themselves in her blouse. His breathing sounded shaky, like he was breaking down, and the next thing she knew, she was crying too, clinging to him just as tight.
They stayed like that for a long time. When she finally pulled away from him, his breathing had long since evened out and her tears had long since dried.
He seemed to search her expression for something. "Are you really okay with me and Shotaro?" he asked.
"Yes," she said, vehemently. She had one question though -- one that she desperately wanted an answer to. "Why didn't you trust me? You know I will support you no matter what, right?"
Raito's brows furrowed. "You really don't hate Shotaro?"
She snorted. "No, not at all. Not anymore."
That seemed to give him pause. "But you did?"
"I didn't like him very much when I first met him," she admitted.
"Would you have approved of me dating him back then?" he asked.
She wanted to answer that she would've been fine with it, but that would be a lie. If she was honest with herself, the answer was no. She had hated Hidari. She had genuinely believed that Raito could've done better, and that was when she thought Raito only considered Hidari a friend.
As she tried to figure out how to answer, Raito sighed. "That's why I didn't say anything," he told her. "I thought you might get upset at me. Or him."
"Oh," she said. What he was saying was making sense. "But I wouldn't have been--" She was about to say "upset", but of course, that was exactly how she had reacted when she had found out, even if she had gotten upset for a different reason.
She ran a hand through her hair as she felt another pang of guilt. She was starting to understand that she had messed up long before she had yelled at Raito in his hallway. "I guess you were right not to tell me."
Raito frowned. "Maybe I was wrong. I hurt you too."
She shook her head. "I shouldn't have been so quick to judge Hidari," she admitted for the first time. "Especially when you seemed to like him so much." Then she told him what she had been thinking for over a month now. "He's been good for you. I'm happy you have him."
He smiled at her. It was a small -- just a slight quirk of his lips -- but for the first time that day, his smile reached his eyes.
*
She was with Raito picking up his suit when it occurred to her to wonder if Akiko had known their brothers were a couple. It would've explained her persistence about the matter. Not to mention that Raito was going to be Hidari's date to her wedding. The more Wakana thought about it, the more it made sense that Akiko had to have known.
As if Akiko was reading her mind, she chose that moment to send Wakana a message. It read: They're together!??? I didn't hear anything about this!
Apparently Akiko hadn't known. That answered that question.
Wakana snorted, and when Raito raised a curious eyebrow in her direction, she showed the message to him.
"Oh," he said. "I forgot that Shotaro was going to tell her today."
*
A week later at dinner, her mother looked at Wakana expectantly and said, "I hear Raito is going to a wedding with his roommate."
Wakana had no idea how she could've found out. "Is that so?" she asked, feigning ignorance and trying (and probably failing) to hide her annoyance.
Her father hummed as he seemed to ponder this. "I did not realize that Raito's relationship with his roommate was of that nature."
"I don't approve," her mother said immediately.
Before she even registered what she was dong, Wakana was slamming the cutlery she was holding down onto the table. Her parents and Saeko immediately turned their attention to her. "Why? Because his roommate is a man?" she asked.
Her mother frowned. "Because that Hidari boy will cause Raito nothing but problems and will hold him back from reaching his full potential."
"I see," her father said. "Does Raito not realize that his responsibility to this family is of paramount importance?"
Wakana knew from personal experience that her parents complained about "potential" and "family responsibility" when they were upset that their children weren't doing exactly what they wanted them to do. If there was any combination of things they could've said to make Wakana angrier, this was it. She ground her teeth.
"You're talking this quite personally," Saeko pointed out, speaking up for the first time. She wore a smug-looking smile. Wakana glared at her, and then at her parents.
"Raito has been getting the top grades in all his classes," she reminded them. "I don't think Hidari is holding him back."
"That doesn't change the fact that Hidari is a poor match for him," her mother said.
Her parents couldn't be more wrong. Besides, this wasn't any of their business anyway.
Wakana wanted to throw something or storm out of the room. Instead, she folded her arms over her chest, and ignored her parents and her sister until she was excused from the table.
*
Her parents threw a large dinner party at the mansion at the end of February to celebrate the completion of a large business deal. Wakana couldn't have cared less about it, but she was expected to attend, as was Raito.
Wakana hated functions like these, so the second she spotted Raito, she excused herself from the pointless small-talk she was having and headed towards him.
Raito was dancing was a woman who looked to be a few years older than him. He wore an expression of forced pleasantness --- an expression both he and Wakana had perfected at an early age precisely for scenarios such as these.
"May I cut in?" Wakana asked when she reached Raito's side.
The woman let Raito go with an excited shriek. "Of course, Princess Wakana!" Wakana's eye twitched automatically, but the woman thankfully didn't seem to notice as she let Wakana take her place.
Raito breathed out what sounded like sigh of relief as they started to dance, but up close, he seemed tenser than he had looked from afar. He was obviously upset about something other than his previous dance partner.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
Raito's looked away. She wondered why until she followed his gaze. At the other end of the room, their father was speaking to Hidari. Evidently, Raito had brought him along.
"He pulled Shotaro aside the second we got here," Raito explained. "He said he wanted to speak to him privately."
Wakana frowned. Nothing good could come from that. She understood why Raito was on edge.
"I can make up some excuse to pull Hidari away from him," she offered.
Raito snorted. "Father wouldn't be happy about that."
"It isn't our father's happiness that I'm concerned with," she reminded him.
As they spun around the dance floor, she kept an eye on Hidari. From his body language, it was clear he wasn't enjoying whatever it was their father was telling him. He was standing rim-rod straight, his hands in fists at his sides.
She didn't notice that their mother had entered the room until she appeared at their father's side. Their mother said something to their father, and then leaned in close to Hidari to tell him something as well. A moment later, she was leading Hidari out of the room.
Raito and Wakana stopped dancing and stared at each other. Wakana was sure Raito's alarmed expression was mirrored on her own face. Without having to say a word to each other, together they crossed the dance floor and chased after them.
They ran through the maze of hallways that made up this part of the mansion trying to figure out where their mother had taken Hidari. For a minute, Wakana was scared that they'd lost them, but then she heard their mother's voice up ahead. She pulled on Raito's sleeve to still him.
"What are your intentions towards my son?" their mother asked as they hid around a corner and out of sight from the stretch of hallway where she had decided to talk to Hidari.
"Pardon me, but that's none of your business," Hidari replied curtly.
"It's very much my business," their mother said. "I want what's best for Raito. He deserves someone who is capable of meeting his needs -- someone who can keep up with him intellectually. Frankly, that person is not you, Hidari Shotaro. You and Raito are not suitable for each other."
If Wakana was furious listening to this, she figured Raito had to be too.
"If you care about him at all, you'll listen to me and do as I say," their mother continued. "It would be in Raito's best interests if you stayed away from him. You should move out before the next semester starts."
"That's not your choice to make," Hidari said and it sounded like he was speaking through clenched teeth.
"Please understand--" their mother started to say, but then Raito was darting out into the open. Wakana followed, close on his heels.
"This is not up to you!" Raito yelled, interrupting their mother. He walked over to Hidari and stood beside him.
Their mother didn't seem remotely surprised by their arrival, which meant she must have heard them coming down the hall and known they had heard everything she had said thus far.
"You can do better, Raito," their mother said. There was a pleading quality to her voice now, like she was trying to get Raito to see the errors of his ways. "There are more suitable matches for you."
Hidari seemed like he had a lot to say about that, and if the look on his face was any indication, nothing he had to say was very nice. Raito reached over and placed a hand on Hidari's arm, and Wakana was sure that Raito's steadying touch was the only thing keeping Hidari from speaking his mind.
As he glared at their mother, Raito said, "Let's go, Shotaro." He started to drag Hidari away, but Hidari hesitated. It seemed like he was torn between yelling at their mother and getting as far away from her as possible. Finally, he sighed and allowed Raito to lead him down the hall.
As Wakana watched their retreating backs, her own anger grew. Before they got very far, she turned to their mother and snapped, "You know, I also used to think Hidari was a bad match for Raito."
Raito and Hidari stopped walking, but neither of them turned back around.
"Wakana?" their mother asked, sounding surprised. She spun around to face her.
"I thought he was a delinquent that was only Raito's roommate because of a family connection," Wakana continued. "I found him to be rude and I thought he was interested in being friends with Raito solely for his own personal gain. I honestly didn't think he was capable of being Raito's friend, and when Raito tried to tell me otherwise, I thought he was mistaken." She took a deep breath and looked over to where Hidari and Raito were standing. "Truth be told, I hated him."
Even from behind, she could see the way Hidari flinched. It was as if she had landed a physical blow.
Wakana turned her attention back to their mother and looked her in the eye. "I was wrong. Hidari is not like that at all. He's been a good friend to Raito. He took care of Raito when he was sick, and when Raito's feeling down, it's Hidari that cheers him up. He makes Raito happy."
She took a step closer to their mother and said, "Hidari cares about Raito, he truly does, and Raito cares about him too."
She glanced over at them. At some point, they must have turned around because they were both watching her with stunned expressions on their faces.
"I was wrong," she said again, meeting Raito's eyes and then Hidari's. She turned to glare at their mother when she said, "And right now, you are wrong."
"Wakana--" their mother started to say, but Wakana cut her off.
"I need you to listen to me!" Wakana was yelling now and she didn't care. "Everything you just said hurt them! It didn't just hurt Hidari, it hurt Raito too! You are in no way acting in his best interests! If you really want what's best for Raito, you'll understand that this matter is not up to you! This matter is up to them!" She pointed at Hidari and Raito. "If you have a problem with that, you need to get over it! Leave the two of them alone!"
For what felt like a minute, Wakana could only hear the blood rushing in her own ears as their mother scowled at her.
"We'll discuss your behavior later," their mother snapped, and then she stormed off in the direction of the party. Wakana listened to the sound of her heels against the marble floor and it was only after she couldn't hear them anymore that she felt like she could breathe again.
"Wakana..." Raito said, and she turned. Raito and Hidari both still looked shocked, but Hidari also looked like he was in awe. It was as if he couldn't believe that she had just stood up for him.
It took a while, but she learned from her mistakes. She understood now that she shouldn't have been so quick to judge Hidari. She should have trusted Raito from the start and given him the unconditional love and support he deserved. It would've saved them all heartbreak and grief.
She walked towards them and said, "Don't listen to her or our father. They're wrong."
When she was standing in front of them, she reached forward and took one of Raito and Hidari's hands in each of her own. She placed their hands against each other, palm to palm, and they automatically threaded their fingers together when she let go.
Hidari swallowed, and this close, she could tell that his eyes were glassy. Raito smiled at her, looking grateful and proud.
She smiled back. "Go enjoy the party. Go home. Do whatever you want. I'll do my best to keep them off your backs."
*
A week later, Akiko asked her out for drinks.
When Wakana arrived, Akiko handed her a paper envelope. Wakana opened it and inside was a wedding invitation.
"Honestly, I was thinking of inviting you before," Akiko explained. "Then Shotaro told me about what you did for him and Philip at that party. I knew then that you weren't just a friend, but a good friend, and I want my good friends at my wedding."
Wakana stared down at the invitation, and then back at Akiko. "I don't know what to say."
Akiko grinned. "That's easy. Say you'll attend~"
*
Wakana rang the bell, and a moment later, Hidari answered the apartment door.
"Good afternoon, Hidari," she said. "Is Raito home?"
"Come in," he said, opening the door the whole way and giving her room to enter. He led her into the living area. "He's in his room. I'll tell him you're here."
He made it halfway to Raito's door before turning around and walking back towards her. He stopped in front of her and scratched at the side of his face as he seemed to consider his next words. "This has been bothering me for a while, and after everything that's happened recently I feel I need to say something about it."
Before Wakana had a chance to feel apprehensive about whatever he was about to tell her, Hidari laughed and said, "You can call me Shotaro."