Ichirou found himself in another awkward position. Yuuhei had done it with Takeru again, and was insistent on telling Ichirou all the little details. Yuuhei described how he had his arms tied behind his back and how he wore a ball gag. He had remained tied up for a while, as Takeru just watched him squirm. He eventually began to do extremely graphic and sexual things to Yuuhei.  However, at this point, Ichirou begged Yuuhei to stop as he was extremely embarrassed, not able to take the dirty talk. 

Yuuhei apologized for the crass words, saying that he was just so excited to finally be having really good sex that he didn’t think about what it would feel like to Ichirou. Ichirou accepted that answer and asked that he just try to keep it a tiny bit less lewd from now on. Yuuhei agreed, and there was no further issue.

Ichirou did find it extremely confusing how quickly Yuuhei went from being disgusted by Takeru to wanting his dick constantly. Was this the infamous enemies to lovers scenario? No, it couldn’t be, because they weren’t lovers. They were sex friends, and that’s all. Feelings didn’t just erupt like that out of nothing.

Ichirou wondered if Yuuhei would end up dating Takeru. They seemed to get along sexually very well, but maybe personality wise it wouldn’t be so. Besides that, where was Yuuhei now going to look for a romantic partner? He now had very specific sexual needs, so it would surely be more difficult to find someone to date. Yuuhei was someone who really liked to be dating someone, so this sort of casual sex thing really made Ichirou confused.

He decided not to worry about it anymore. Yuuhei would figure it out, and if he didn’t, well, Ichirou would take him out to dinner and let him sob it out. Instead, Ichirou attempted to focus on trying to get a yes or no out of his father about Ichirou’s business idea. His father refused to give an answer, still attempting to dodge his way out of saying no to his son. It was super frustrating, but Ichirou was also not entitled to his father’s money, so he really had no way to change this.

He texted with Masahiro throughout the week, checking up on him. Their relationship had become such that they texted every single day, and those few times they didn’t text, Ichirou felt somewhat lonely. They would talk about almost anything, from Masahiro’s coursework to Ichirou’s breakfast. It was somehow comforting for Ichirou to hear from him, and he couldn’t quite put his finger on why.

The Friday before Ichirou was to meet up with Masahiro again, Yuri stayed the night. All throughout dinner Ichirou watched as Yuri and Ichika acted mostly like good friends that were happy to be reunited. However, on occasion, their hands would touch, and they would act like a jolt of electricity bolted between them. Their parents kept looking at each other, every time it happened, a knowing smile passing from one person to the next. Yuri stayed in a guest room instead of with Ichika, who was very disappointed by that.

The next day, after a light breakfast, Ichirou got dressed. Ichirou grabbed a pastel pink shirt with a cloud pattern all over it. He then put on a pair of short, pastel blue overalls, some short socks with lace on the top, blue and pink chunky shoes, and a sling bag that was shaped like a pink heart. He wore a little bit more makeup today than usual, just because he felt like it. Hopefully he wouldn’t sweat it off.

He met up with Yuri and Ichika in the entranceway. The two women were chatting on the couch, and, since there was no room, Ichirou kind of leaned up against the wall. Yuri was wearing a pale green dress with a lace peter pan collar and a carefully tied ribbon. As usual, she had a bow carefully tied atop her head, this time brown in color, and as usual, it seemed as though the dress was straining a bit in the chest region. Ichirou couldn’t help but feel sympathetic, wondering if it was difficult to find clothes in her size.

Ichika, meanwhile, looked like she belonged on a small-time softball team, which, funnily enough, she actually was on during her time in high school. She wore a backwards black baseball cap, an oversized navy and mustard striped tee, and some black, extremely distressed jeans. She definitely looked like a lesbian, more so than even was normal. It was obvious to Ichirou that she was attempting to pull the “I’m a hot butch girl please go out with me” card.

“Good morning, Kimura-san,” Yuri said upon noticing him, giving him a very polite bow.

“Oh, um, good morning… Akamine-san, right?”

“You can just call me Yuri-chan,” she said, smiling up to him. 

“Well, you can call me Ichirou-san, then, if you’d like,” Ichirou offered, suddenly feeling a bit more relieved. She had the last name as Yuuhei, so it was a little confusing for him.

“Ah, if you insist, then I will. It’s a pleasure to be able to spend time with you, Ichirou-san,” Yuri said with another, just as polite bow.

Ichirou, feeling a bit awkward, bowed as well. The Kimura family was a reasonably well bred family, but it seemed that Yuri’s family expected her to act like a lady at all times, if possible. Which made her interest in anime and manga all the more odd. How was a girl who spoke so politely such a nerd?

“Yo, Ichirou, will your boyfriend let me pay for me and Yuri-chan?” Ichika asked, obviously wanting to try to have this be a date.

Ah, that’s right. They were hanging out with Yuri today, which meant that they had to pretend extra hard that they were going out. Luckily, due to Japanese culture, that was pretty easy. Being overly romantic in public was enough to raise the eyebrows of most older people, so he knew for a fact that they wouldn’t have to do more than hold hands to make it seem like they were dating. True, it was a bit embarrassing, but Masahiro’s hand was big and a little bit rough and very comforting. Not that Ichirou liked holding his hand or anything!

“I dunno, Masahiro-san’s pretty obstinate on that sort of thing. We’ll see,” Ichirou said with a shrug.

Speak of the devil, Ichirou got a message with a couple of cute stickers that let him know that Masahiro was here. Ichirou informed the two women, and they stood up, following Ichirou out the front door. Although it was hot out, Masahiro was leaning up against his car to greet them. He was wearing a gray tank top that had a small logo over his heart, with a red and black flannel tied around his waist. His sunglasses hung on his collar, and his shirt was tucked in slightly in the front. He wore some dark, almost black pants that were fitted very closely to his body.

Now, Ichirou did not like Masahiro like that. He most certainly did not think of him in a romantic way whatsoever. However… however…! Ichirou felt his throat go dry at the sight of Masahiro’s arms. He had huge, well defined muscles, with some veins even popping out here and there. Ichirou had quite the thing for muscular men, and he knew that Masahiro was jacked, but he had never actually seen the other man’s deltoids, triceps, or biceps. And damn, they looked good.

“Yo, what’s up, honey?” Masahiro asked, grinning. There was the slightest twinkle of mischief in his eyes, and Ichirou felt his face flame up. He glanced over to Ichika, who had a wide grin on her face, and was obviously holding back laughter.

“D- don’t call me that in front of them,” Ichirou stuttered out, looking down as he stood next to him.

Yuri, ever polite, gave a low bow. “It’s wonderful to meet you. I’m Akamine Yuri. I’m twenty years old, and my grandfather is in charge of Akamine Technology. Please take care of me from here on out.”

Masahiro gave a bow in return, obviously a bit flustered by that. “Um, yes, it's a pleasure to meet you as well. I’m Yamashita Masahiro. You, um, don’t have to speak so formally with me.”

She nodded firmly, looking up to him with serious eyes. “Thank you very much, Yamashita-san.”

Ichika, sensing the awkwardness, walked over to the car and opened the door for Yuri. “Please take a seat, my lady,” she said, winking at her friend.

Yuri’s cheeks turned pink. “Oh, um, thank you, Ichika-san.” With that she carefully hopped into the car, ensuring that she wasn’t going to flash anyone her underwear. Ichika closed the door and walked to the other side, getting in.

Ichirou walked over to the other side of the car, one eyebrow up. “Honey? Really?”

“Just trying to sell the immersion,” Masahiro said, a goofy smile coming onto his face as he opened the door to his car.

Ichirou got into the car and buckled himself in. Yuri and Ichika had already begun to discuss a manga they both read. Apparently Masahiro had read some of it as well, because as he got them onto the road, he jumped in every so often to offer his thoughts. While Yuri remained polite, she did relax a bit when Masahiro spoke about manga, obviously trusting him a bit more after that.

Ichirou had absolutely nothing to add to the conversation, so instead he pretended to be listening and stared. He stared at those powerful, strong arms. His eyes couldn’t stop tracing the well defined lines, and in the back of his mind, some part of him was now wishing they’d have an excuse to hug. Regardless of his attraction to Masahiro or not, and he was not by the way, he could only imagine how safe he would feel wrapped in those arms. They were so se–

Ichirou roughly shook his head and looked out the window, breathing deeply in an attempt to get his heart rate down. What was wrong with him?! That was his friend! He couldn’t be drooling over his friend’s arms like that! Yeah, Masahiro had Ichirou’s ideal body type in a boyfriend, but that didn’t mean he could salivate over him like that! Ichirou needed to calm down, and just try to ignore them.

The cat cafe was actually fairly close to where they had parked last time, so Masahiro was pleased to see that there was parking available there. He pulled up into the spot, and the four young adults got out of the car. The cat cafe was actually in front of the train station, and Ichirou wondered if it would have been quicker to take the train. However, being the rich boy he was, he didn’t often take the train, so he really wasn’t sure. It could have been much longer for all he knew.

Yuri let out a soft sigh as they began walking, rolling her shoulders back.

“You okay?” Ichirou asked as they made their way along the tree lined road.

“Oh, um, yes. I apologize. It’s simply… well, I hope you two won’t think badly of me when I get around cats,” Yuri said, clasping her hands together down by her hips.

“Yuri-chan, you’re allowed to be however you want,” Ichika said in a sing-song voice. “You’re in front of people who definitely won’t judge you. Right, you two lovebirds?”

Ichirou’s face flamed and he looked anywhere but at Masahiro. “Y- yeah, w- we wouldn’t do that…”

“Come to think of it, you two usually hold hands when you go out, right? You don’t have to hold back for mine and Yuri-chan’s sake! Be as mushy as you want,” Ichika said, a little too pleased with herself.

Ichirou was about ready to yell at Ichika. However, he managed to keep it in. She was still rooting for them to get together, obviously, and seemed to be taking hold of the situation they were in with Yuri. Before Ichirou could stick out his hand, Masahiro already grabbed his hand. Just as before, it was warm, large, and just a little rough. As they interlocked their fingers, Ichirou thought that his head might explode from all the blood that had rushed to it. Although they held hands when they were in Harajuku last time, too, it was in front of a lot less people, and it was only for a couple minutes. 

Ichirou got the sudden urge to hug and hang onto Masahiro’s arm. His damn, sexy, muscular arm. Ichirou smashed that urge down. If he couldn’t handle the thought of people seeing him hold hands with his fake boyfriend, how would he ever be able to handle the thought of people seeing him holding his arm?! That would be something that a real omega boyfriend would do with their real alpha boyfriend.

“Ichirou-san, do you happen to have a fever? Your face is quite red,” Yuri said, looking concerned.

“I’m fine,” he barely squeaked out.

“He gets embarrassed doing this sort of thing in front of his family,” Masahiro said, quickly covering for him. “Ichirou-san? Do you want to not hold hands? It’s more than okay if you don’t.”

“I’m fine!” Ichirou’s voice was a bit more clear this time.

He was not going to allow any doubt that he was with Masahiro. His pride wouldn’t allow him to let go of Masahiro’s hand. He wanted Yuri to come away from today, thinking, “Ah, those two sure were in love.” Even if it was his sister just trying to goad him on, he would play along for today. And when Yuri was gone… he would kick Ichika’s ass.

They walked over a crosswalk, through a small square, and over to an elevator. They walked into the elevator and went up to the fourth floor. Upon exiting, they found themselves in a thin, short hallway with pale wooden flooring and dark gray walls. Along one of those walls were several windows, allowing for a peek inside the cat’s room. While Masahiro and Ichika both paid for their friends, Yuri and Ichirou looked through the windows at the cats.

Ichirou desperately, albeit quietly, wanted a cat. It was the one thing he wanted but couldn’t reasonably get. His mother was horribly allergic to both cats and dogs, and even had issues with ones that claimed to be more hypoallergenic. So, no cats were allowed in his house, despite his immense love of them.

“Okay, let’s head in,” Masahiro said, gesturing for them to walk in.

They had to wash their hands first, and although there were drinks available, nobody was thirsty at this point, so they all decided to just head in first. On their right as they entered were hexagons of various heights for the cats to be able to jump on. The lights that hung above them were covered in fake greenery. There were plenty of seats, some made of wood, others were a couch. There was a large, fake wooden tree in the middle of the store, backlit by several large windows that, instead of showing more buildings as most windows in this part of Tokyo did, showed Yoyogi Park. Hanging around the tree were what appeared to be bird cages, although they actually had very little of the actual caging part and were used more for perches. Despite it being very much inside, it almost felt like a little park on its own.

There were a few people in here, but less than Ichirou had imagined would be here on a Saturday morning. As such, there were plenty of kitties that were hanging about with nobody there to pet them. Ichirou tried approaching an orange one, but it scampered off fairly quickly. Yuri, however, found a deep brown cat and was already petting it while Ichika sat next to her. Ichirou tried not to be horrifically jealous, and slowly walked over to her, crouching down next to the cat. However, something changed the instant he looked at Yuri’s face. She was silently crying giant tears, her bottom lip trembling.

“Wh- whoa, are you okay, Yuri-chan?” Ichirou asked.

“It’s… so precious,” she sobbed, looking up at him. “How can anything be so perfect in the entire world?”

Ichirou’s mouth formed into an “o” shape. He had thought that he loved cats plenty, but it seemed that Yuri was on a whole different level. Despite her now noisy crying, the cat stayed put, flicking its tail every so often.

Masahiro sat next to them, a smile that looked both sympathetic and like he was trying not to laugh at the poor girl. “You like cats, too, Akamine-san? Ichirou-san is really fond of them.”

“I- I love cats… I love them so much… I am so sorry, I know this isn’t proper at all, but they’re just so sweet…” Yuri rubbed the tears from her cheeks. 

“You’re allowed to love cats a lot, Yuri-chan,” Ichirou said with a laugh.

“My parents still think I am a little girl, so they will not let me have one. I desperately want a sweet little cat, though,” Yuri said, her voice still quaking. 

“I do, too,” Ichirou mumbled. “My mom’s allergic, though.”

“I am so sorry,” Yuri said, looking with wide eyes to Ichirou. “We are the same, then…”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

Ichirou felt something warm at his ankles and he looked down. Down there, he saw that another cat was rubbing against his ankles. Ichirou’s eyes widened, and, with a trembling hand, he held his hand out for the cat to sniff. The cat looked up to his hand and Ichirou almost squealed. The cat’s eyes were pointing in two different directions, and it had a very flat face. The expression gave it the appearance of having absolutely no brain in its head. It rubbed its head against Ichirou’s hand and Ichirou just completely melted.

“Hello, sweetheart,” he whispered, gently stroking the cat’s head. “Are you a good little baby? So cute, so sweet…”

Masahiro watched Ichirou, a smile fluttering across his lips. “Whenever you move out of your parents’ place, we’ve got to make sure you get a cat, Ichirou-san. You deserve one. I’ll do whatever you need to help make it happen.”

Ichirou looked up to him with wide eyes. “Y- you would help me get one? For real?”

“Of course! So long as you help me get a dog when the time comes,” he said with a laugh.

Yuri looked at them curiously. “Will you be able to move in together okay if you have a cat and a dog?”

Ichirou felt his mouth drop, and, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Masahiro’s mouth open as well. His face, once more, turned a bright red color. “S- sorry, what?!”

Yuri looked over to Ichika, who scratched her cheek. “Ichika-san told me that you two are really close and lovey dovey, so I guess I just assumed you would be moving in together sooner or later.”

Masahiro’s face was pink at this point. “W- we’re not quite ready to have that conversation yet. Um, I- I suppose we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

“Oh, my apologies for making things awkward. I didn’t realize you hadn’t had that conversation yet,” Yuri said with a tiny bow.

“I- it’s fine, um… you didn’t know,” Masahiro said somewhat lamely.

Ichirou hung his head and tried to focus his energy on petting the now laying down cat. Him?! Live with Masahiro?! What an insane thought! They were only three months into their “relationship,” there’s no way that anyone would think about moving in together this early on, right?! Then again, maybe Yuri didn’t know how long they had been together. Maybe she just heard they were close and lovey dovey and assumed they’d move in together soon!

However, as Ichirou glanced over to Masahiro, he couldn’t help but note how embarrassed he looked. His cheeks were still slightly flushed and he was looking down at his fingernails, apparently trying to seem casual. It was actually kind of cute.

Wait, what?! No, not cute, not cute at all! Masahiro was not cute. Masahiro could be cool sometimes maybe, but cute? That adjective didn’t suit him at all! Besides, saying it like that made it seem almost like… almost like Ichirou had a crush on him or something! Which Ichirou definitely did not. 

“Um, what sort of cat would you like someday, Ichirou-san?” Yuri asked, looking up to him. “I would love a Persian. A white one would be nice, but I would take any color, really.”

Ichirou blinked a couple times, pulled out of his thoughts. “Oh, um… probably a ragdoll. I think they’re so sweet and pretty.”

“Ragdolls are nice, too! I do think they’re just a bit too much like dogs for my tastes, though,” she said with a giggle.

“But have you seen them play fetch? It’s just so cute, I can’t handle it,” Ichirou said with a sigh.

“I didn’t know there were cats who could play fetch,” Masahiro said, sounding surprised.

“There are all sorts of cats, and all sorts of interesting cat facts. Did you know that most cats are actually lactose intolerant? You shouldn’t give them cow’s milk,” Yuri said, holding up her pointer finger.

“I didn’t actually know that,” Ichika said.

“It’s true! And male cats tend to be left pawed, while females tend to be right pawed. Their purring is also at the same frequency needed to heal bones and muscles, so it’s possible they can heal themselves! Cats also can’t taste sweetness, and they’re probably the only mammals to not be able to. Oh, and the oldest cat to ever live was named Creme Puff, and she lived to be thirty eight whole years old! And- oh, I- I am rambling, aren’t I?” Yuri’s cheeks turned pink and she looked down shyly.

“You’re so cute when you ramble, I can barely stand it,” Ichika said, her excitement plain as day.

“I- Ichika-san, please… ahm, goodness,” Yuri mumbled, her cheeks turning all the more red.

The cat that Yuri was petting finally decided it had enough and got up, trotting over to the hexagons to jump on one. Yuri and Ichika walked over to the large, fake tree, and sat at its base, looking out to both the garden and the street below. Ichirou, grateful that his cat hadn’t run away yet, continued petting it. Masahiro stayed sitting right next to him, looking down at the comfortable sight of a sweet cat.

“You’re doing a great job,” Masahiro said quietly.

“What, petting the cat?” Ichirou snorted.

“No, I mean… I know it’s hard for you to pretend to be my boyfriend. You get so shy that it’s difficult. But if I were her, I wouldn’t realize that we weren’t dating,” Masahiro said.

Ichirou turned somewhat pink at that and kept his gaze firmly on the cat. “Um… thank you. You’re doing the brunt of the work.”

“Does that really matter? We’re both doing what we can to keep our freedom intact, and I’m proud of you for trying so hard.”

Ichirou was silent as he struggled to come up with a response. He wasn’t used to being so openly praised like this. Well, he got compliments about his appearance all the time, but it wasn’t the same as being praised for doing a good job. Most people just shrugged off his hard work, expecting it to not matter because he was a high class omega, and he would just be married off soon anyway. It was incredibly validating for him in a weird way, even though it was over something silly like this.

“Thanks,” Ichirou finally mustered out. “I really am trying.”

Masahiro smiled softly at him. “I’m glad. Should we join the girls?”

Ichirou sighed, looking wistfully at the cat before nodding, following Masahiro over to the raised platform at the base of the fake tree. Ichika appeared to be trying to low-key lean up against Yuri so they were almost snuggling, which Yuri was most certainly not pulling away from. However, as Ichirou and Masahiro sat down next to them, she pulled slightly away from Yuri, seeming to realize that there were other people around and this might not be appropriate for the moment.

They chatted for a bit, petting any cats that happened to pass by. They talked about anything from entertainment mostly, like if someone saw X television show or heard about the new album that Y came out with. Ichirou and Yuri admittedly enjoyed the most media, due to their parents attempting to marry them off and not allowing them to go to school or work. It seemed that Yuri was already meeting with plenty of alphas, although she was only twenty. If Ichirou thought he was too young, he couldn’t imagine being Yuri’s age and having to deal with that.

However, after a bit of talking, Ichika stood up. “I need to go to the restroom, and then I’m going to get a drink. I’ll be right back.”

Pretty close to the instant that Ichika had closed the door to the restroom, Yuri turned to them, a fire in her eyes that surprised both Masahiro and Ichirou. “Please, I need your help.”

“Er, sure, what is it, Yuri-chan?” Ichirou asked, leaning back on his hands.

As Yuri spoke, the fire in her eyes grew and her words became faster and faster. “I need to absolutely and totally win over Ichika-san. I need her to be positively and completely in love with me. After I graduated middle school, I regretted not confessing to her every single day. She was always so kind and cool and funny and attractive, but then when I saw her in the manga store, I really got hit with it! She’s not only extremely hot, but she loves yuri manga, too?! I fell back in love immediately, and now if I don’t have her, I don’t know what I’ll do. So, please, can’t you help me?!”

Ichirou took a moment to completely catch up on what she was saying. “I mean… you want to date her, right? Why don’t you just confess?”

“No, no, no, you don’t understand, I am the one that’s in love with her! She is not in love with me. I have to get her to fall in love with me! So…” Yuri pulled out her phone, pulling up her notes app. “Tell me. Tell me everything about Ichika-san so she won’t be able to resist me.”

For a moment, Ichirou honestly didn’t know what to do. This was a completely different girl than the one he had met with this morning and last night. In fact, he had seen a couple of different variations of this girl today. Although incredibly polite, it seemed that she was wildly passionate as well. Ichirou wondered if Ichika would be okay with such a zealous girl coming after her.

“She, um, really likes cute girls,” Masahiro offered up, once again saving Ichirou’s butt. Without questioning whatsoever, Yuri wrote it down.

“Oh, yeah, um. As well, she’s…. she’s quite passionate about…” Ichirou made a motion around his chest to emulate boobs. He coughed before continuing. “She’s had a couple of girlfriends, and they’ve all been shorter. I think more than anything, though… she wants to share her passion for anime and manga with somebody. So I think you have a leg up on most girls already.”

“Um, you could try wearing a maid outfit or cat ears for her sometime. She really likes that sort of thing,” Masahiro said.

“I don’t feel like you have to do that,” Ichirou said, rolling his eyes slightly at that. “I mean, they wouldn’t hurt, but it’s not like they’ll make her fall in love with you. I think your best bet is to continue being her friend like you are now. I’m sure one of the two of you will confess sooner or later.”

Yuri nodded, still furiously typing. She looked up to the two men, still seeming to be ablaze. “How did that happen for you two? Who confessed first, and how did you know it was time?”

Ichirou jumped a little, his face turning completely red. However, before he could even muster out a squeak, Masahiro jumped in. “I confessed to Ichirou-san. I honestly didn’t know if it was the right time or not, I just wanted him to know how I felt so I could hopefully grow our relationship.”

Ichirou, unable to handle that sort of talk, covered his face with his hands. Masahiro confessed to him first? That was the story, huh? It definitely seemed like it would be the case if it actually happened. Ichirou couldn’t see himself confessing his love first ever. However, this did also make him wonder why his heart was pounding so loudly at the idea of Masahiro confessing to him.

“Then what about kissing? Do you have any tips for kissing, Ichirou-san?” Yuri asked.

Ichirou let out a soft yelp and turned away from her towards Masahiro. “N- n- nope! No tips! No tips at all.”

Ichirou felt his breath catch in his throat as, quite suddenly, Masahiro wrapped his right arm around Ichirou’s waist and pulled him closer. Ichirou felt simultaneous anxiety and embarrassment rise up in him. He could feel that strong, muscular arm holding him close, he could feel that large hand holding onto his waist, he could feel those long fingers gripping him… he had no idea why, but it drove his heart rate up a thousand percent. 

Just as he was about to freak out, Masahiro began releasing pheromones. Those calming, warm pheromones instantly brought his heart rate down again. He didn’t need to freak out, he was safe in Masahiro’s strong grip. Masahiro was just doing this to sell the idea that they were dating. He probably was allowing Ichirou to hide his face into his shoulder as well. 

“Please refrain from asking Ichirou-san any questions about that sort of thing. He’s really shy and I’m very protective of him,” Masahiro said firmly.

This seemed to pull Yuri out of her fired up state. “Oh, okay, sorry. I apologize, I just… I really like her. I do not want to mess this up again.”

“That’s understandable. If I had messed up with Ichirou-san in the past, I would have done everything within my power to try to make it right with him,” Masahiro said, sounding oddly earnest, but Ichirou couldn’t quite place why it seemed that way to him.

“I am grateful. So, I would really like to enlist your help in the future as well, if it is at all possible. I want so desperately to be Ichika-san’s girlfriend.” Yuri sounded almost sad.

“Well, Ichirou-san and I will do our best to help you. We can’t promise anything, obviously, but we’ll try.”

“Thank you so very much. I appreciate it immensely.”

“Hey, y’all, did you have fun without me?” Ichika asked, walking over and plopping down next to the girl who would surely become her girlfriend someday.

Masahiro finally released Ichirou, who was still somewhat pink in the face. He still felt a lot more calm than when Yuri had been asking questions. He still couldn’t get rid of the last question out of his head, however. He simply tried his best to ignore it. He would never kiss Masahiro, so there was no need to worry about it.

“Ah, Ichika-san, I missed you,” Yuri said, completely back to her polite self. “What did you get?”

“Just some cola,” Ichika answered, sipping on it. “What happened with Ichirou and Masahiro-san? Did Ichirou get super embarrassed or something?”

“Yeah, Yuri was asking some questions about us, and Ichirou needed a minute to recharge,” Masahiro said offhandedly.

“I can tell. Your alpha smell is everywhere,” Ichika said, waving her hand in front of her face to imply that he was, in fact, stinky.

“It helps him calm down,” Masahiro said with a shrug.

Ichirou folded his arms and looked downwards. It was embarrassing, but yes, it did calm him down a lot. He honestly wasn’t sure how he felt about Masahiro knowing that it helped him that way. He could easily misuse it. Then again, this was Masahiro. He had done nothing to Ichirou that would hurt him so far.

“Ichika,” Ichirou said, determined to do something to help these two get together. “What would you say your ideal girl is?”

“Heh?!” Ichika jumped a little. “What’s this all of the sudden?”

“It’s part of what we were talking about earlier. Our ideal types,” Masahiro easily lied.

Ichirou, if he was being honest, was starting to notice how easily and quickly Masahiro was able to lie. Every time, it was something completely innocent and was to help someone else out, but it was odd. It almost felt like Masahiro could keep a secret from everyone if he wanted to. It did make Ichirou wonder if there could possibly be anything Masahiro was keeping from him. Other than, obviously, the thing that Masahiro and Ichika discussed in Harajuku.

Ichika seemed to be struggling to come up with words that wouldn’t completely and obviously paint a picture of Yuri. “Well, I like girls who are feminine… really girly omegas are my favorite, probably. I like girls who are kind of princess-like, you know?”

Yuri seemed to have gotten a bit fired up again, leaning towards Ichika. “What about looks? What would your ideal girlfriend look like?”

Ichika went red, a rarity for her. She was normally so brazen with her likes and dislikes, it was almost a bit funny to see her so flustered because of the short girl she was seated beside. Yuri’s intensity did not die down whatsoever, and Ichika stared her down, apparently basing her comments off Yuri’s looks.

 “Um, I like… long hair… big eyes… gentle personalities… with a lot of passion… and uh, I like short girls… and, uhhh…” Ichika stopped herself from saying “giant boobs,” but she had certainly been thinking it.

“Okay, I see…” Yuri said with a nod, managing to bring herself back down again. “What about your type, Yamashita-san? Ichirou-san and I went over our ideal types already.”

Oh, now the story was that Ichirou had already gone? That was good at least.

“Wait, wait, I didn’t hear Ichirou’s ideal type, or yours, Yuri-chan. What is it?” Ichika asked with a mischievous grin.

Yuri turned pink and looked away. “W- well, the others have heard it already, so shouldn’t we just move on?”

“No, no, I want to hear. Ichirou, why don’t you go first to help warm Yuri-chan up?” Ichika lightly elbowed her brother, who looked exasperated. 

“Well, I mean, m- my type of guy… is someone big and muscular and sweet and kind and prince-like. Isn’t that obvious?”

“Yes, yes, his exact type is his boyfriend,” Yuri said simply.

Ichirou froze up a little bit at that. Was Masahiro his type? Yes, true, he was all of those adjectives, but did that make Masahiro his type? Technically yes, but he didn’t have a crush on Masahiro! Masahiro was just a friend! Damn it, why was this so embarrassing and hard?

“Then, Yuri-chan, what’s your type?” Ichika said.

Yuri, seeing that she wasn’t getting out of this, looked to a cat that was hanging out near them so that Ichika wouldn't be able to see her expression. “W- well… I like girls, and an alpha would be nice… um, someone who understands my love of manga and anime… someone who is really cool and kind… maybe a little butch would be nice… tall would be really good, too…”

Ichika looked like she was about to burst from excitement. If she had a tail, it would be wagging furiously right now. She was fully aware that Yuri had described her, even if Yuri was attempting to be vague. Ichirou couldn’t help but think that Ichika would definitely be dating Yuri within the next couple of months. They really did seem to like each other a lot.

“Anyway!” Yuri cried, turning to face them with pink cheeks. “Back to Yamashita-san! What is your type?”

“Ichirou-san,” he responded calmly.

Ichirou felt his head whip up to Masahiro in shock. What did he just say?! He said that Ichirou was Masahiro’s type?! But– no, wait, of course, Masahiro was lying again! He had said it so earnestly and quickly that even Ichirou fell for it. He covered his face with his hands in embarrassment again, although he wasn’t sure if it was from the ease of the answer, or the fact that he had fallen for the lie so easily.

“You two are seriously lovey-dovey. Are you not embarrassed saying something like that out loud?” Yuri held her cheeks, attempting to cover the blush from just hearing him say that so instantly.

“I mean, it’s just the truth. Ichirou is sweet, beautiful, and his shyness is just so cute. I really like him,” Masahiro said with a gentle tone.

Ichirou bent over, still covering his face, putting his face between his knees. Even if it was for the sake of them keeping the truth of their actual relationship under wraps, it was horrifically embarrassing. How could Masahiro come up with these lies so quickly? If it was up to Ichirou… well, he could come up with some compliments for Masahiro, yes, but not as quickly and diligently as it seemed his “boyfriend” could.

“Jeez, you two, get a room. Nobody wants to hear that kind of cheesy crap,” Ichika joked.

Masahiro looked at his phone upon hearing the timer he had set go off. “Ah, it seems like we’re out of time to spend with the cats. It’s noon, should we go get some lunch?”

Ichika stood up, stretching. “Yeah, totally. What’s near here?”

“There’s an Italian place that’s pretty good in a mall a couple doors down,” Ichirou said, standing up as well. “They have gelato, even.”

“I would love to eat, let us go there,” Yuri said, following the others out of the room.

They took turns washing their hands, and thanked the girl who was manning the front station. The group took the elevator back down to the street level. It had grown considerably more warm, and there were more people on the street, leading to Ichirou covering his nose with one hand. He remembered quickly that he was supposed to be acting like a super romantic couple, so he shyly took Masahiro’s hand once again as they walked down to the mall. Masahiro seemed surprised, but he held onto Ichirou’s hand just the same.

There was a large clothing store and a large furniture store in the mall, but they didn’t need to worry about that. They went up to the third story and entered the restaurant. It had a light, airy feeling to it, with everything being a pale wood color, with long glass windows all over. They were seated outside, on the deck that overlooked Yoyogi Park. Plants decorated the outside of the restaurant, but mostly the atmosphere came from being right next to the park and in the middle of Harajuku, one of the trendiest areas in all of Tokyo. It was hot, but when given some wine, the four of them found that they didn’t mind so much.

“Try this bruschetta, it’s surprisingly nice,” Ichika said, offering it to the boys.

“Thank you,” Masahiro said, taking some.

“It is kind of fun to come to a lower class place like this every so often,” Yuri said with a hum, sipping on her wine.

“It really is,” Ichirou agreed.

“By the way, Masahiro-san, you’re in your master’s program for business school, right? I was wondering if I could message you some questions I have about my Global Strategic Management class. There’s some things that I’m just not getting.”

“Oh, sure, here’s my info.”

As Ichika and Masahiro exchanged contact information, Yuri looked to Ichirou. “Um, Ichirou-san? Perhaps we could exchange phone numbers as well. I’d like to have your thoughts on some of my fashion…” As she spoke that last line, she glanced over to Ichika.

With a very quiet sigh, Ichirou held out his phone to Yuri, allowing her to put in her messaging ID. He had some hushed worries that Yuri would blow up his phone, asking about Ichika. Although he was glad to help them get together, he was also… a bit nervous, if he was being honest. Yuri was so passionate, and that wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but it was a lot. All he could do was hope for the best.

“So, then, do you all want to hear a funny story about this guy in my class?” Ichika asked with a wicked grin.

The four young adults all reveled in their food and newfound friendship. From even across the road, the sounds of summer cicadas could be heard. It was a beautiful day.