Ichirou was glad to hear that Masahiro had gotten the high score in his class for the paper, getting full credit plus five extra credit points. After how hard he had worked on it, he deserved that much at least. From what Ichirou understood, Masahiro hadn’t lost more than ten points in almost all of his classes. He was shooting for valedictorian in his Master’s of Business Management degree, which Ichirou was pretty sure Masahiro could do. He was incredibly good at studying, and even more incredibly passionate.

Yuuhei had continued to text him throughout the week, seeming to still be incredibly torn about Takeru. When Ichirou asked if he wanted to hang out with Masahiro and Takeru on the Saturday after next, Yuuhei took a while to answer before saying that he did. This kind of confirmed what Ichirou was thinking; Yuuhei would not block or avoid Takeru because he liked the attention. Who knows, Yuuhei might even end up falling for Takeru.

Ichirou and Masahiro celebrated their two month anniversary away from each other, as Masahiro couldn’t break away from his schooling. Not that Ichirou was expecting a date or anything! No, not a date, a hang out! He wasn’t expecting a hang out! It just happened to be that he wouldn’t have minded hanging out with Masahiro on that Thursday. Yeah, that’s right, that’s all it was.

This left Ichirou with a single worry: his next date. No, not date, his next hang out with Masahiro. They would be going to a shop that he had avoided for many many years. He could stand wearing pink every day, but he got so easily embarrassed that he couldn’t wear cosplay or school uniforms whatsoever. This shop had outfits that, although weren’t cosplay, were even more cute. It was something he had dreamed of wearing for years, and now the perfect outfit had come out, something he would die to own. He had to take the chance, and Masahiro was the perfect one. From everything he had seen, Masahiro would not judge him.

Because he was going to Harajuku, Ichirou had to wear something especially cute. So, he went with a red, pink, and white themed outfit. He wore a cute, pink and white gingham shirt with an anime girl’s face drawn in red and white on the front of it, red shorts, white thigh high socks, pink mary-janes, and a white bow. He also grabbed his strawberry shaped bag, and put on some cutesy makeup, with red rimming his eyes and his lips pink. He had considered wearing a skirt, but he was feeling too anxious. If he wore a skirt, he was certain he would trip and fall on his face, letting everyone see his safety shorts… which wasn’t that bad, but it would still be embarrassing.

With his final mirror check, he walked downstairs and down the hallway to the front entrance. Waiting for him at the foyer were his parents and his sister. He paused at this, blinking at them. Why were they here?

“Ichirou…” his mother, Iwa, said softly. “We wanted to ask you about something.”

Ichirou, somewhat panicked suddenly, looked to his younger, yet taller, sister. She gave him a flat look with the slightest shake of her head. He relaxed a bit. They hadn’t found out that he wasn’t actually dating Masahiro. As long as it wasn’t that, he was fine.

Isami, his father, spoke next. “We were wondering when you planned on bringing Yamashita-san home to meet us.”

Ichirou felt his jaw drop at that, his cheeks reddening. “I- it’s only been two months!”

“It’s just, darling… you’ve been so much happier since you met Yamashita-san. We want to get to know him since you obviously care for him so much,” Iwa said.

Ichirou bit back any protests, but did feel acutely aware of that first sentence. He was happier? Since meeting Masahiro? Was that true? He hadn’t noticed, but he did feel a bit better. Maybe it was because he was getting out with somebody other than his family or Yuuhei. It was nice for an extrovert to get out and make friends, after all. 

“W- well, I’m not ready!” Ichirou proclaimed, walking over to the door.

“But darling-!” Iwa cried, taking a step towards her son.

“Don’t follow me! I’ll introduce you later!” Ichirou closed the door on his protesting mother.

Masahiro was a great guy, he was sure they would approve. That was not the issue; the issue was that they would approve. If they approved of Masahiro, that would make his and Masahiro’s relationship more legitimate. That could not happen. If it became more legitimate, then they might end up actually dating, and that would be absolutely terrible. Why would it be terrible? Well, because Ichirou would obviously end up getting married too soon! That’s why this whole thing was bad. Oh, and also he didn’t like Masahiro that way. That was also obviously why.

Masahiro was leaning against his car once again, wearing sunglasses to beat the summer’s bright sun. He wore a black and white spotted dress shirt with short sleeves, as well as some dress shorts and a pair of white sneakers. His shirt was tucked in on the front side, with the back untucked. He was wearing a black belt, and his shirt was unbuttoned halfway down his chest. It was almost enough to make Ichirou blush; he wasn’t used to seeing so much skin on an alpha, and Masahiro’s body was not bad. He knew Masahiro worked out in the mornings, but it was different being actually able to see parts of his pectoral muscles.

“Good morning, cutie,” Masahiro called with a teasing grin splashed across his face.

“Sh- shut up! Don’t call me that,” Ichirou cried, darting past the other man towards the passenger side door of the car.

“Sorry, you just look cute today,” Masahiro called, opening the driver’s side car door himself.

Ichirou practically threw himself into the car, his face red. He couldn’t take the teasing from Masahiro right after that conversation with his parents. He hated how easy it was to make him blush, but it couldn’t be helped. He was just having a normal, physiological reaction to people poking at him. If only he could be like Masahiro and just laugh it off. He hadn’t seen Masahiro blush ever.

“So, what store are we going to, anyway?” Masahiro asked as he pulled out of the driveway. “You mentioned that it was at that big shopping mall in Harajuku, but what’s there exactly?”

Ichirou felt his face flame up all the more and he squirmed a bit in his seat. “H… have you ever been there?”

“No, it’s got a lot of feminine stuff from what I’ve heard, so I just was never interested,” Masahiro said.

Ichirou nodded, shaking a bit and red faced. “There’s, um… some shops there… that sell really nice dresses. I’ve gone there probably ten times to buy dresses, but I always get too scared to leave the changing room in it, and I end up putting it back because of that. But this time, there’s a dress I really want, so I… I need your help to keep me from running away from it.”

Masahiro’s face showed some surprise, but he nodded. “Of course. We’ll get you a nice dress. It’s weird, though, you don’t usually run from feminine things, do you?”

“... I do when the cuteness is too high. Like, I’ve tried wearing a lot of things that I get too shy to buy. I don’t want people to think I’m childish or that I’m cringey or things like that. It’s too embarrassing.”

“You care a lot about what people think of you, don’t you?”

Ichirou looked up at him and blinked. “Of course. When you’re an omega in high society, that’s all you have.”

Masahiro went quiet at that. “I guess I’ve never thought of that before. But, yeah, it makes sense.”

“Yeah. I didn’t mean to make it weird or anything, but image really matters to me,” Ichirou grumbled, slumping down in his seat.

“Don’t worry, I get it. Let’s move on to a lighter subject, shall we?”

They chatted about this and that as Masahiro drove them over to Harajuku. The skyscrapers slowly moved by, and although it was somewhat cloudy, it didn’t seem as though it would rain. Masahiro found some outdoor parking just about a block and a half away from the shopping mall. He put it in park and they walked side by side down the side street, onto the main road, and across the road.

The six floor shopping mall stood like a warring state’s fortress to Ichirou. The building was made up of several cylinders and a couple of near rectangular shapes. Huge advertisements for the latest smartphone and some well known brands were pasted across the outside, but none of that was what Ichirou was here for. Ichirou felt himself trembling; would he really be able to do this?

“Are you ready?” Masahiro asked, seeming to have noticed both that Ichirou had stopped walking and that he was shaking like a leaf.

“U- um… you promise me that you won’t make fun of me, right?” Ichirou asked.

“Of course I wouldn’t. I’m sure you’ll look great in whatever it is!” Masahiro said, putting his hands on his waist and grinning.

“Okay…” Ichirou said, slowly walking into the building. 

Although there were six levels above ground, there was actually another couple down below, and that’s where Ichirou and Masahiro were heading. They walked down a couple flights of stairs, white walls and gray tiled floors greeting them wherever they went. However, as they began making their way to the bottom floor, dresses began greeting them. Dresses filled with petticoats, dresses with lace, dresses with bows… and then they turned a corner and Masahiro saw what had to be the shop that Ichirou was simultaneously in love with and terrified of.

The shop was small, with little more than a couple clothes hangers and a display table. However, almost everything in it came in soft, pastel colors. The flooring, the wallpaper, the tables, the clothing, it was all pastel, save for the occasional black shirt or dress. The colors ranged from pink to lavender to mint to white, with some of the clothing being just a single color and others containing elaborate patterns. There were bows of varying sizes and colors, as well as a bit of jewelry and some socks. Everything about the store screamed “kawaii,” and Masahiro was a bit dazed at how cute it all was.

Ichirou stopped in front of the store and looked up to Masahiro, his face red and obviously trying to reign in both excitement and embarrassment. “U- um, this is, ah, this s- store, it’s called, uh, Pretty Angel. It sells sweet lolita clothing. I’ve been trying to buy clothes from here for about two years now. There’s a really cute jumper skirt here that I really want to buy. S- so please, help force me to buy it.”

Masahiro nodded. “Something like this will look super cute on you. Let’s get you that dress!”

Ichirou nodded and walked into the store, asking the clerk where a dress called Whipped Strawberry in pink jumper skirt format was. The clerk showed them towards a section, and Ichirou pulled out the dress. He loved it; he really loved strawberry themed clothing in general, but this had been on his dream dress clothing for a while. They had re-released it a couple weeks ago, and he knew he had to get it.

The print along the bottom was that of several kinds of cake, all with whipped cream and strawberries. Printed strawberries, strawberry flowers, forks and spoons, and fake ribbons and bows adorned the rest of the dress. A soft lace hemmed the bottom, with a couple of real bows. Although most sweet lolita dresses have sleeves, this dress had only lacey straps and was meant to be worn with a shirt underneath. A large bow adorned the waist, marking the point where it went from fitted to extremely poofy. White lace, pink ribbons, and pink bows sat atop the bust, giving the top a sort of fun feeling.

It was absolutely perfect, in every sense of the word. Ichirou trembled, holding it and gently running his fingers over the dress. Masahiro grinned at him, and he felt his face turn even more red. At least his cheeks matched the strawberries on the dress. All he had to do was go into the little changing room, try it on, come out, and say he would buy it. That’s all he had to do.

Ichirou picked out a frilly top with balloon style sleeves and went into the little changing room behind a thick, velvet curtain. He quietly and quickly got undressed. Next was the top. He unbuttoned it, fingers shaking, and put his arms through the sleeves, one at a time. Already this was getting to be too much for Ichirou. He slowly buttoned up the white blouse, noting that it was a bit tight on the shoulders. That was fine, he would get it adjusted by a tailor.

Now for the hard part. The dress hung before him, taunting him with its adorableness. He released some of the shirring, allowing the dress to be a bit bigger around the chest and waist. He pulled it on, feeling the softness and flowiness of the dress encapsulate him. He looked down at himself, noting how absolutely adorable it was. He looked like a sweet little cupcake. He looked… too cute. Way too cute. 

Nope, he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t get this dress. This was impossible. People would make fun of him, even Masahiro. He would get called a little girl, and people would belittle him. They would talk down to him, and get called an attention whore. He couldn’t do it, he couldn’t do it, he couldn’t do it.

“Ichirou-san? Are you almost done?”

Masahiro’s voice caught him off guard, pulling him out of his spiral for the moment. He realized that at some point he had squatted on the floor and grabbed his head. He took in a deep breath before responding.

“Um, I don’t think I can come out.”

“What? What do you mean?”

“I mean, um, this dress is too cute, and everyone will stare at me and think I’m weird, so I don’t think I-”

“Ichirou-san. Do you need me to come in there?”

“What?!” Ichirou jumped up, his face completely red. “N- no, there’s no need-”

“You’re dressed, right?”

“I mean, yeah, but-”

“I’m coming in.”

Ichirou stepped back, leaning against the wall in almost abject terror. Masahiro came through the curtains, and stood in front of him, looking the smaller man up and down. Ichirou felt some sort of squeaking sound make its way out of his throat, and he covered his chest and part of the dress with his hands. He was almost to the point of tears, absolutely certain that Masahiro was about to make fun of him.

“Lift your arms, I can’t see properly,” Masahiro said.

“N- no! You’re gonna make fun of me,” Ichirou managed out, his voice cracking noticeably.

“Move your arms, or I will,” Masahiro said, moving closer to Ichirou.

“I’m not going to-” Ichirou began.

Before he knew what had happened, Masahiro grabbed his wrists and pinned him up against the wall. Ichirou felt his mouth go dry and his eyes widen. Masahiro’s scent came rushing towards him, and he froze up completely. Ichirou’s heart was pounding in his ears as he looked up to the taller man, who was quite suddenly very close to him. His scent was slightly different, slightly more forceful, in a way Ichirou couldn’t explain.

Ichirou had completely forgotten about the dress at this point, every inch of him focused on the alpha that had so suddenly taken charge. If Masahiro hadn’t pinned his arms against the wall, Ichirou might have collapsed in a heap. Masahiro was so close that he could feel his breath brush against Ichirou’s cheek. His lips were slightly parted and Ichirou could even see down his shirt. He could see the six pack, he could see his pecs, he could see–

Suddenly, Masahiro released him and backed off, smiling. “You look great. If you don’t buy it for yourself, I’ll buy it for you. And what’s a big muscular alpha gonna do with a cute dress? I’ll head out, you get dressed.

As soon as Masahiro exited, Ichirou fell back into the squat he had been in before, although this time it wasn’t despair, it was confusion and embarrassment. What the heck just happened?! This wasn’t like him at all, he didn’t get put into place like that by alphas! Not only that, but why was he so fixated on Masahiro’s breath and his lips?! Ichirou hadn’t been planning on kissing him, no way! So why did that happen?! His heartbeat continued to pound, and a couple of tears of pure embarrassment fell down his face.

After taking several deep breaths and deciding it must have been some sort of weird fluke, Ichirou removed the dress, then the shirt. He got changed back into his regular clothing, but his heart wouldn’t stop that damn pounding. He trembled, putting the dress back on the hanger, knowing he would have to go out and face Masahiro. His worries about the dress had melted away at the very least.

Ichirou took the dress and shirt out to the front, and picked up the matching head bow as well. He refused to look Masahiro in the eye, his face flaming red. Finally, after two years of dreaming, he was going to own a sweet lolita dress, but at what cost? His sanity, perhaps? Maybe something else. He wasn’t sure.

“I’m proud of you,” Masahiro said as Ichirou slid his debit card into the chip reader. “You’re doing something that has been so difficult for you! You should definitely wear this to our hang out next week.”

Ichirou dumbly nodded and accepted the two bags that the clothes had been put into. Masahiro attempted to take them from him, but Ichirou held tightly onto them. Ichirou stood there for a second, taking in a deep breath. He had the rest of this “date” to hang with Masahiro, he couldn’t just freak out and not look at him for the rest of the day. He had to put aside his embarrassment for now and just be friends with Masahiro. He could psychoanalyze what the heck happened back there another time.

Ichirou looked up to Masahiro, forcing himself to meet Masahiro’s gaze. “Thank you!! For giving me the determination to buy these clothes!!”

Masahiro looked surprised for a moment, before breaking out into that gentle, warm smile of his. “Of course, Ichirou-san. I want to help you out as much as I can. I’m here for you.”

Ichirou decided that the best way to definitely absolutely not be awkward was to suddenly start walking ahead and out of the clothes store. Masahiro, caught off guard, sped up to chase after the shorter man. Despite his best efforts, Ichirou looked like a robot, walking stiffly. It was enough to make Masahiro snort.

“So, where’s next?” Masahiro asked.

“Takeshita Street. I’ve got a really good place in mind. I’ll need you to take pictures for my Instantgram,” Ichirou said, his voice sounding just as robotic as his walking posture.

“Oh? What sort of pictures are we thinking of?”

“Food! We’ve got to eat, it’s past lunchtime!” Ichirou exclaimed.

“Yeah, I guess it is,” Masahiro said, sounding amused.

Slowly as they walked through more quiet streets, Ichirou began to relax again. He couldn’t quite forget about the incident, but he was feeling a bit better. Occasionally, the scent of food would waft by, and he felt his stomach grumble. He had a light breakfast, and that was at least four hours ago by now. He had been so nervous that he thought he would surely puke, but it turns out he was fine. He just needed a really weird experience to get through it, apparently.

“So, Ichirou-san, have people told you not to wear those dresses?” Masahiro asked as they walked down a hushed street. 

Ichirou was quiet for a moment as he looked down at his bags. “Even though omegas are supposed to be all pretty and whatever, some people still think it’s weird for a man like me to wear dresses, especially something that’s so completely and overly effeminate. I’ve seen comments on other men’s posts who wear these kinds of things, negative comments. It makes me nervous that people will judge me, too.”

Masahiro listened quietly, before nodding and speaking. “I understand what you mean, and why you would be afraid, but I think that you should focus on what brings you joy. You like cute things, and you like being cute. You deserve it.”

Ichirou looked down at his feet while they walked, his cheeks pink. “Th- thanks. I appreciate you not thinking I’m weird.”

“Of course you’re not weird! We all like different things. How could I ever judge you just because your interests are different from mine?” Masahiro asked.

A lot of people did it all the time, but Ichirou wasn’t about to say that out loud. Instead, he was just grateful that he had at least two friends who understood him. He wasn’t sure if he would ever take a photo of himself wearing the dress, but he would certainly be happily wearing it around his house every so often, and maybe to that get together next week. The thought of being able to wear a bunch of petticoats and a frilly dress both filled him with excitement and anxiety.

As they neared Takeshita Street, the streets became more and more busy. Despite it not being Sunday, it was definitely busy. He supposed that since it wasn’t too hot or cold, and there was no rain today, it was a good day to get out. Soon the heat of summer would really start up, and then Ichirou would become a sweaty mess that only wore tank tops and shorts. It was his least favorite time of year because of that. It was tragically too hot for fashion.

They turned a corner, and there it was, the shop that had been calling to Ichirou. It was easy to pick out among the white and gray buildings, as this shop had a group of people surrounding it, as well as its rainbow coloring. Pink raindrops and clouds adorned the outside of the tiny building, as well as a human sized stuffed pink bear. People were taking photos of the food, which Masahiro was unable to see from this far away.

“Is this the place?” he asked.

Ichirou nodded excitedly. “Come over here, let’s look at the menu. I know what I want, but what about you?”

Masahiro followed after, amused. They looked at the menu, which contained a real variety of colorful food. There was grilled cheese that had an actual rainbow of cheese when you pulled them apart, soda that had a rainbow of colors sitting atop each other, corn dogs with rainbow cheese, a rainbow potato cheese corn dog, a 50 cm long, ribbon of potato, ice cream with a rainbow of layers, drinks in light bulbs, and drinks in a baby bottle. It was truly a “kawaii” food place, something worth taking photos for Instantgram. 

“Wow,” was all Masahiro could get out. “This is crazy colorful. It seems like it would be a place you’d love.”

Ichirou nodded decisively, his eyes sparkling. “It’s so cute! I love to come here when I go to Harajuku.”

Masahiro laughed softly, his eyes crinkling slightly with his smile. “I’ll come with you anytime you want to go.”

Ichirou burst into a wide smile at that before hurrying over to the end of the line. Masahiro followed after, standing next to him. Ichirou’s mind was mostly filled with excitement over finally having someone there to photograph him with the grilled cheese. So much so, in fact, that he almost didn’t hear a couple of girls who were standing off to the side, trying to keep their voices down but not doing a great job of it.

“You think they’re on a date?”

“I dunno… I think you should still try to give your number to that alpha.”

“But what if that omega is with him?”

“So, what does it matter?”

Ichirou felt a twinge of annoyance at that. He was obviously fake dating Masahiro. Masahiro couldn’t take phone numbers from some random beta girl! What if someone who knew them showed up at that exact instance that Masahiro was receiving the phone number. Ichirou would look like an absolute cuck, and he couldn’t have that.

So, just as certainly as the nod from earlier, he grabbed onto Masahiro’s hand. Masahiro jumped a little, looking down at the small hand that was holding his larger one. He looked quickly between it and Ichirou’s face a couple of times, his cheeks turning pink and his eyes wide. Huh. So he did blush sometimes.

“Some girls wanted to hit on you,” Ichirou said under his breath.

“O- oh, okay,” Masahiro said somewhat lamely, grabbing onto Ichirou’s hand back.

Ichirou could hear the dejected sigh of one of the girls, and for some reason felt a bit smug about the whole thing. He shook off the feeling, instead suddenly coming to terms with the fact that he had grabbed Masahiro’s hand, and now they were holding hands. Ichirou’s hand felt incredibly small in comparison to Masahiro’s, although there wasn’t a giant difference in size. Masahiro’s hand felt warm and slightly rough. It gave off the sort of protective, gentle giant feeling that the rest of Masahiro did. It was nice, although Ichirou was certain that it probably wouldn’t be happening very often.

After they got up to the cashier, Masahiro pulled his hand away from Ichirou’s, suddenly leaving Ichirou’s hand feeling a bit cool. Masahiro pulled out his wallet and ordered a rainbow cheese corn dog and a melon soda in a light bulb. Ichirou ordered himself a grilled cheese and a rainbow soda. They stepped aside after ordering, waiting for their food.

“Okay, so here’s how I want to pose,” Ichirou said, bending over slightly, tilting his head, winking, and pretending to spread apart the nonexistent grilled cheese. “And I want you to go from a little bit of a lower angle, if that’s okay.”

“Of course it’s okay,” Masahiro said. “Give me your bags, you won’t want those in the shot, will you?”

Ichirou opened his mouth to protest, but in the end he silently handed them over. He didn’t want Masahiro thinking he was a weak little baby who couldn’t handle holding some bags for a couple of hours, but it seemed as though he had finally been bested. Masahiro easily held each of the bags on his elbows, seeming to be pleased that he was finally able to hold them.

Their food got called out and they hurried over to grab it. Ichirou put his soda on the ground, posing with his food. Masahiro had to hold his soda awkwardly in his armpit and had his corn dog in his mouth in order to properly take the spread, rainbow cheese photos properly. Because he tried to be a good photographer, he took them from a couple of different angles as well. Once that was done, they walked over with their yummy food to a nearby set of staircases, which they sat at. There was more than enough room for people to walk around them if they needed to get up the stairs, but this business didn’t appear to be particularly busy anyhow.

Ichirou took a big bite of grilled cheese, more strands of delicious rainbow cheese following his mouth as he pulled away from his sandwich. Without realizing it, he began to hum softly, a smile on his face. Masahiro watched from his peripheral vision. He smiled slightly as he ate his cheesy corn dog as well.

“You seem really happy,” Masahiro said.

Ichirou blinked and realized he was humming. He stopped, his face ever so slightly flushed. “S- sorry, I just… I don't get to share my interests with many people.”

“Don’t be sorry, I’m glad you want me to see what you enjoy,” Masahiro retorted. 

Ichirou looked away from Masahiro, towards the ground, a tiny smile flitting across his face. “O- okay… I just… well…”

“What is it?”

“The only people I have that are even somewhat willing to do this with me are Yuuhei and Ichika. Ichika is constantly studying and preparing to be the next head of business, and Yuuhei takes on a whole bunch of work in order to pay for his apartment, so I just don’t get to do this sort of thing with other people very often. I’m glad I met you, Masahiro-san,” Ichirou said, turning and smiling at his friend.

Masahiro was quiet for a moment, taking in Ichirou’s words. “I’m… I’m glad I met you, too, Ichirou-san. You’re such a fun person to be around. Your reactions are always so great, and you like things that I’ve never even really heard of. You’re an incredibly interesting person, and I’d be happy to do this with you again any time.”

Ichirou’s cheeks turned pink and he looked back at his grilled cheese. “Thanks, Masahiro-san. I really feel like I can be me when you’re around, and that’s rare.”

Masahiro continued looking at Ichirou, a quiet intensity to his gaze. He knew he was looking at Ichirou in that way right now, but so long as Ichirou didn’t look up, it should be fine for a moment. After all of the sweet things that Ichirou said, after how vulnerable Ichirou had been today, how adorable Ichirou had been, he couldn’t help himself. Ichirou was truly the apple of his eye, the one he cherished above all others.

Masahiro blinked, allowing himself to break the moment. He smiled, allowing his mood to shift back towards one of friendship rather than anything more. “I’m glad you feel that way, Ichirou-san. I hope I can always be a confidant for you.”

Ichirou, somewhat shyly, looked back at his friend and smiled. “Okay. Same here, you can trust me with anything, okay?”

Masahiro nodded, well aware that he was going to keep one thing secret from Ichirou for as long as possible, while another secret would hopefully be kept from Ichirou forever. “Of course. What else is friendship without trust?”

Ichirou sipped on his rainbow soda and took a selfie with the heart shaped straw in his mouth. He was excited to show off the cute pictures. He had seen several people online take pictures here, and everything was so vibrant. Although he definitely preferred to wear pink and white all the time, rainbows were pretty adorable as well. He definitely had considered wearing a pastel rainbow outfit at one time or another, but he still couldn’t quite get over the hump of wearing something that cute as a man.

“By the way…” Ichirou said, suddenly remembering the conversation he had with his parents that morning. “My mom and dad want to meet you. I told them I wasn’t ready… but I know this won’t be the last time they ask about you.”

“Mm, yeah, I definitely don’t think I’m ready to meet them as your supposed boyfriend, either,” Masahiro said, munching on the last bite of his corn dog. “I think it’s probably best if we put it off as long as possible, right?”

“Yeah, I agree,” Ichirou said. “It would be really awkward to have to pretend to be all lovey dovey in front of them.”

Ichirou couldn’t help but think of what it would mean to have Masahiro come over to meet his parents. For his parents, it would mean that the relationship was serious, and for him, it would mean that he couldn’t as easily squirm away from the fake relationship. It was true that he had been considering extending the length of this fake relationship since he got along with Masahiro so well, but that was just a thought at this point, with no tangible certainty to it. He just wanted things to stay the same for a while before he made any real decisions about anything. 

“What sort of food do you want me to make for you next week? I can make most anything Japanese,” Masahiro said before taking a sip on his soda.

Ichirou thought about it carefully for a moment. “How about chirashizushi? Or maybe chicken katsu?”

“I can make either of them. Do you want me to decide?” Masahiro asked.

“No, I think I want chirashizushi. It’ll be a bit less hot than chicken katsu. It’s a better summer dish, don’t you think?”

“I totally agree. I’ll make that for the three of you then,” Masahiro said, smiling slightly. “I’ve never really cooked for anyone besides Takeru, I hope you’ll enjoy my food.”

“Unless you’re actually terrible, I’m sure it will be fine,” Ichirou said with a slurp, finishing off his rainbow soda. “Do you wanna go look at the shops along Takeshita Street? Then we can head out, if you want to. I just think it’s fun.”

“I’ll do whatever you want, Ichirou-san.” Masahiro stood up.

Ichirou grinned, standing up as well. “Then let’s go! It’s been so long since I came here!”

Ichirou and Masahiro made their way onto the main road, walking somewhat slowly side by side. Although over the years Harajuku had changed from being a hub of only fashion, it still retained a lot of the shops. Huge black boots with tons of buckles lined up outside of one store, a shop with large posters of girls in lolita on the second floor commanded attention, and some accessory shops lined the streets. Some of the fashion would be considered more normal, however, with things like hoodies with a logo or a tank top being displayed in the front of the store. There was an intermittent lingerie shop as well, which made Ichirou wish that boy’s underwear was as cute.

Beyond the stores for clothing, a dozen and one food shops were all over the streets, with things such as a giant candy store or some yakitori. Occasionally people would pass by with a crepe filled to the brim with something sweet, and there was even a purpose with a giant, rainbow colored cotton candy. They even walked by a burger joint once.

Several of the buildings were under construction, which wasn’t too surprising. Almost no one was dressed as cutely as Ichirou was, another testament to how the area was changing. It had once been a safe haven for those who enjoyed alternative fashion, but now just about anyone would come to visit it, especially to enjoy treats. Purikura booths tempted Ichirou, but he couldn’t bring himself to ask Masahiro if he wanted to go in one together.

The smell of all of those people and pheromones was admittedly a lot for Ichirou to handle, but he was willing to do it for the sake of cute things. They went into a couple of the shops that had ultra cute, pastel clothing advertised on the outside. Those were moments of respite for Ichirou, especially since the smells inside were mostly those of beta or omega origin. Nothing was too overpowering and strong.

They decided, after walking the full length of Takeshita Street, to get a crepe to share and then walk back to the car. Ichirou thought it was a bit embarrassing to share food like that, but knowing that it would probably win him romance points for his parents, he decided to do it anyway. They walked down from the arch that signified the beginning of the street down to a pink shop that had a ton of fake crepes up for display. The crepes all held a variety of ingredients, although the most common ones were strawberries, ice cream, custard, chocolate, bananas, and apples. There were even a couple that had fish in them, but Ichirou was certain he had no interest in one of those.

“What do you want?” Ichirou asked, his eyes obviously on a strawberry crepe with ice cream and strawberry syrup.

“I’ll eat a couple bites of whatever you’ll have,” Masahiro said.

“Are you sure that’s okay? I want you to enjoy it, too,” Ichirou said, looking away from the display case up to his “boyfriend.”

“It’s completely fine. I really just want a little bit.” Masahiro smiled down at the shorter man.

Ichirou nodded, and they waited in line for a moment before they were able to order. After ordering, Ichirou and Masahiro waited off to the side. In sequence, people walked back up to receive their order, until it was finally Ichirou’s turn to grab the sweet treat. Ichirou took a bite of it excitedly before handing it off to Masahiro. Masahiro took his own bite on the other side of the crepe.

“Oh, wait, I’ve got an idea,” Ichirou said, grabbing Masahiro’s arm and moving him further into the alley, away from people.

“What is it?”

“A picture, so we can look more like we’re dating. My parents will want it. Bend over and hold the crepe almost against your left cheek.” Ichirou pulled out his phone as Masahiro did what he asked, looking slightly confused.

Ichirou leaned over and took a small nibble of the crepe, snapping a picture midbite. Masahiro looked somewhat stunned at that, but quickly broke out into a smile, laughing. Ichirou looked up to him with a pout.

“Why are you laughing? I’m trying to be serious for the sake of our families.”

“Sorry, sorry, I’m just… well, today felt a lot more like a date than any of our other ones. It’s not bad, but I don’t think you need to work so hard to convince everyone else we’re dating. It’s okay to act more like just friends,” he said earnestly.

Ichirou puffed out his cheeks, glaring and pouting up at the other man. “I’m just concerned! What if our family tails us one day, or if they look through our phones!”

“Well, my uncle wouldn’t do that. My aunt I could see sending someone to tail us, but who ever does more than hold hands in public? Do you think your parents would do something like that?” Masahiro asked, handing the strawberry crepe over to Ichirou.

“I could see my mom pulling something like that if she got really whipped out of shape about us dating. It’s better to have some sort of proof than not,” Ichirou countered before biting into the sweet treat.

“Whatever you say. I just don’t think you have to try so hard,” Masahiro said mildly. “Also, I’m done, you can have the rest of the crepe.”

“I’m not trying too hard,” Ichirou grumbled before biting into his crepe, licking the whipped cream off the side of his mouth. “I am just concerned, that’s all…”

“Of course. You missed some cream.”

“Sh- shush!”

“Hey, don’t shoot the messenger! I’m just trying to help.”

Masahiro chuckled, and Ichirou continued to angrily pout up at the other man. He was just trying to be safe! Maybe for Masahiro this relationship they had going on wasn’t that huge of a deal, but for Ichirou, it was incredibly important. It was a way he could silently rebel against his parents, a way to have relief from the expectations he was crushed under, a way that he could make more friends. He wanted this to keep up for at least four more months, if not longer.

Ichirou wanted to make the decision in a month or so. He would, of course, bring it up with Masahiro. This was a decision they would make together. They were friends, after all, and this con wasn’t a one man job. However, based on the fact that Masahiro had mentioned that he was not wanting to get a partner for the next two years, Ichirou was fairly certain that he wouldn’t mind keeping up the act. That was all in the future, though. Right now, Ichirou just needed to finish the crepe before the ice cream melted everywhere. 

After Ichirou finished the crepe, they made their way down the busy street to the quiet backstreets. The two chatted comfortably, and the sounds of a stray evening cicada signaled the beginning of summer.