My Crown [IDOLiSH7]

28: My (hidden) Feelings

There was a path covered with tall trees which Gaku loved because it felt a little more isolated despite the fact that quite a few people were walking around the area. There was only one bench situated in the middle of the path where Gaku wanted to sit down for a while. However, a person was already sitting on it, or more like he was sleeping while sitting.

Gaku was about to walk past when he took a good look at the sleeping stranger. The young boy had familiar red hair, though with a long ponytail. He was wearing a very thick, long, light grey coat and trousers as red as his hair. Gaku was sure he knew the boy.

"Nanase?"

When Riku did not respond, Gaku walked forward to cup the boy's face, very gently nudging it. "Oi. Nanase, wake up." Gaku kept his voice down so they would not attract unnecessary attention.

A second later, Riku started to open his eyes and blinked. "Tenn-nii?" He muttered sleepily.

Gaku frowned. "Do I seem like a brat to you?"

That woke Riku up in an instant. "Wah! Yaot- cough cough cough!"

"Whoa, calm down!" Gaku watched as Riku took an inhaler out of his coat pocket and brought it to his mouth. "What are you doing sleeping out here in the cold?"

"Mhmm, I wanted to get some fresh air, but I fell asleep?" Riku answered with his blank eyes. He did not sound too sure. "I couldn't sleep much last night. It was hard to breathe."

Gaku placed his hand on his forehead. He felt a headache coming on. "Shouldn't you see a doctor then?"

"This is *huff* normal." Riku explained that his condition tends to worsen during the winter. He had regular checkups with his doctor. What he did not say was that his body was in the process of adjusting to an idol life once again.

Gaku felt he could not leave the boy on his own, so he took out his car keys and jingled them to attract Riku's attention. "I'll take you somewhere warm." However, Riku did not move an inch. Instead, he stared at Gaku's face and said...

"Yaotome-san, I don't know what to give Iori for his birthday."

~~

"Tenn-nii, what's this?"

Riku looked curiously at the tall, clear plastic cup in his hand. It was filled with extra sweet jasmine green tea and black tapioca balls at the bottom.

"Hm? You've never had bubble tea, Riku?" Tenn asked while enjoying his black bubble tea with milk. Gaku opted for the traditional hot green tea.

As for what happened, Gaku took Riku to the tea specialist cafe nearby. He called Tenn over to help brainstorm the idea of Izumi Iori's birthday gift. The TRIGGER leader was not sure why he was helping. He felt he could not leave the boy behind or something bad would happen.

Before we move on to the brainstorming part, Riku seemed to be enjoying his bubble tea, using his large straw to trap each ball in the bottom before drawing it up and chewing it. "I've never seen Nanase so happy..." Gaku was in awe. Riku had a small, cute smile while drinking it. Even Tenn was caught blushing from watching his little brother.

"Mhmm, I like it," Riku said without thinking much, unaware of Tenn and Gaku's shocked faces.

Gaku, did Riku just...? Tenn moved his metal chair closer to Gaku, leaned his body towards the taller man and whispered.

Gaku whispered back, Nanase has feelings??? which earned him a hard stomp on his left foot. Gaku swore Tenn was beaming like a very proud mother.

"Ah!" All of a sudden, Riku stopped drinking. The cup was forcefully placed on the table. He had a horror look on his face. "I'm sorry! I'm really sorry!!" He turned to bow his head endlessly to Tenn and Gaku. Tenn's smile dropped when he saw Riku's body trembling. "Riku?? What's the matter? You didn't do anything wrong."

"But I-I-" Riku was about to cry. "Father's going to punish me." Immediately, Tenn hugged Riku's body tightly. "I'm not supposed to-"

"Shhh, shhh," Tenn cut Riku off while rubbing the boy's back. "No, Riku, no one is going to hurt you. No one. Gaku and I were overjoyed to see you smile."

It took a while for Riku to calm down. Once he did, he went back to drinking his bubble tea, though he only had a blank expression on his face.

This time, Tenn was the one who was ready to cry.

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So strawberry donut is too standard for Riku i gave him bubble tea oh what life XD

Theres a reason I ended this chapter here so ehehe until the next one~! Comments and votes are greatly appreciated!! <3

My twitter is kenarkrsun feel free to dm me ^^ We can talk ainana~

Oh btw to those who are also reading DiMENSIONS, im struggling with it so im sorry it'll take a long while ><