Fai smiled brightly as he readjusted his outfit while Kurogane grabbed a small chilled bento box.
He was going to Higashiya, someplace he'd always wanted to go, but being an orphan, he was lucky to have gotten a small amount of sweets from there before, when Kurogane's father brought some home on a day he was having fun with Kurogane. Mister Suwa had shared some of his one-bite wagashi (hitokuchigashi) with him, and he looked like he had just taken a bite out of heaven, and Fai told Kurogane 'someday you have to take me to that shop to get more'. That day, he brought a single wagashi back to his twin brother so he wasn't left out, because as much as he loved wagashi, he loved his brother even more.
Mister Suwa had left Kurogane the family vehicle to drive that night, taking the trains to work that day, so Kurogane with the bento box in one hand and Fai wrapping himself around the other, headed back out to where the car was parked.
Kurogane opened the door for Fai, who fastened himself into the passenger seat, and while he was buckling up, Kurogane set the bento box in the backseat for later. He got into the driver's seat and turned the car on before buckling in.
Fai leaned over and pressed a kiss to Kurogane's cheek, "I have the sweetest date."
Kurogane flushed up before quietly tching, "keep that mushy talk to yourself, you walking disaster."
Fai gasped dramatically, "Kuro-puu, how could you?"
"You make it real easy," Kurogane rebuffed.
Fai lightly bopped Kurogane on the back of the head, "be nice to me today. I'm your date, after all."
"Aren't I always?"
Fai laughed, "no, you can be a real meanie. Giving out violent hair rubs and such…"
"They aren't that bad…" Kurogane retorted. "My Father's hurt more."
Fai lightly poked Kurogane in the cheek, "are you saying your Father gives out stronger head rubs?"
Kurogane lazily swatted the finger away, "what I'm saying is mine are measured out… I could make them a lot more violent if you like."
"Kyaa~ how evil Kuro-tan," Fai said, the words practically made of heart bubbles. He did let his hand retreat back to his side, even as his smile didn't.
"Is your Brother doing anything special today?"
"Kuro-chan… I thought today was about me."
"Well, yes… because you're the party goer… but I don't want him to be completely left out from having fun today."
"How sweet of you," Fai cooed.
Kurogane tched lightly at that.
"As a matter of fact, he is… what I heard is his boyfriend is taking him out to see a movie...and then to a bookstore, the one with a coffee spot inside, and after that they're going to stop by some place for dinner when most everyone else has already been and gone."
"Good…sounds like he'll like that."
"..you really are the sweetest date," Fai commented.
"Say that one more time and I will mess up that pretty head of yours," Kurogane half threatened.
"So you admit I'm pretty?" Fai asked, fluttering his lashes.
"Yeah, pretty much gonna have just as good a night as your brother."
"That's not what I asked, and you know it," Fai said with a smirk. "You think I'm pretty."
"And now I need to focus on the road," Kurogane murmured. Which was as close to saying it as Fai was getting for a while.
Fai grinned, but grew quiet as Kurogane worked on getting them out safely and to the sweet shop he had made reservations at for them.
It was a slow drive as there was a lot of vehicles on the road, more than usual, but Kurogane had prepared for that, and brought an extra dose of patience with him.
On the way over, Fai stared at some of the passing scenery, making idle comments about them. Some caught his attention more than others.
"Hey what's the name of the place over there? It's got lovely blooming trees…"
"That's the Hamarikyu Gardens… they were once known as the Imperial gardens."
"I bet Yuui would love going there," Fai said wistfully.
"He liked it enough."
Fai gasped at him, and Kurogane looked over in surprise, "What?"
"Taking my brother to Imperial gardens … how scandalous," Fai teased.
"Not funny… I'm trying to drive."
"Will you take me to the Gardens too?"
"If you'll behave."
Fai lightly punched Kurogane in the arm. "So mean to me."
Kurogane snorted. "Only when you deserve it."
"So where else have you gone with my darling brother?"
"I thought you said today was about you."
"Yes, but Brother deserving happiness too, I want to know what you've done with him."
"Well, even though he has probably already told you about some of them, once Father dropped us off at this French restaurant … Another time, we saw kabuki together. He doesn't care for noisy or crowded dates so usually we do house dates, or go window shopping until he finds something interesting. He still gets surprised when I notice and later get something for him. Although after today, I have to save my money for a special surprise for the both of you…"
"For both of us?"
"Yup, so until I get there, I can't tell you about it."
"But why not?"
"Because then it's not a surprise."
"So I guess after tonight, there's gonna be a lot less super nice dates…?"
"We can still have nice dates, though…and yer always welcome to come by the house."
Fai smiled. "But I just can't bribe you into spending everything…"
"Right, otherwise it'll take much longer to save up for that surprise."
"I bet I know what it is…" Fai challenged.
"Oh yeah?" Kurogane raised an eyebrow at that.
"Yup, but if I guess aloud, you'll know already if I'm right or wrong, and you might give away yourself, so I'll write it down and when the big surprise happens, we'll see how close I was."
"I can live with that," Kurogane softly replied.
Even as the drive was slow, the company made it enjoyable.
Higashiya was bustling with more people picking up sweets in boxes and leaving so the restaurant area was only a little crowded that day.
Fai smiled as he sat at the table, looking over at Kurogane, who just sat down. "Will you be letting me feed you today?"
"Mm… yeah. Today you can feed me as many as you want and I won't complain."
"You really are the sweetest," Fai beamed.
Kurogane quietly snorted, "yeah right. How could I possibly be sweeter than someone who pours tea on their sugar with a grin?"
Fai softly laughed, "I suppose you have a point. But you're still sweet~"
"I think I will blame you for that," he replied in jest.
"I will gladly accept responsibility. Of course it is my fault you are so sweet, and as such, it is my duty to sweeten you up more~"
With amusement, Kurogane rolled his eyes. "Well - order whatever you want to eat."
"Hyuu…" Fai looked over the menu, and after a little bit, he showed Kurogane what he found, "may we get this? It has such cute desserts to go with the meal and it even has pickles for you."
"Ah, yeah - that's no problem."
Fai sent a genuine smile his way, "Thanks Kuro-sama."
Kurogane softly smiled in return.
They ordered two of those meals and after the food arrived, Fai slid his pickles closer to Kurogane, who did the same with his wagashi. Some of them still ended up being fed to him when Fai encouragingly held a sweet up to his lips. As he said, he ate them without griping
