It had been a while since you all celebrated the brothers' birthdays. You had so much fun pampering them and making all of those sweets! Thankfully, your apprenticeship had started to shape up, and you were finally getting the kitchen time you wanted. You had also figured out how to run the front desk fairly well. Although you didn't appreciate it at first, you came to realize that Rinko had actually been looking out for you as she had been teaching you the skills you would need to run your own store one day.
It felt like everything was going your way, for once! You took a deep breath of fresh air, you had a long day at work yesterday, but instead of feeling exhausted you felt exhilarated for the new day. It seemed like everything these days pumped you up to work harder.
You had woken up a little earlier than normal, not for any particular reason, but just naturally waking up feeling refreshed. You glanced in the mirror, even if your mind was in good shape, you had to admit you were neglecting your body a bit. You couldn't remember the last time you had a haircut, and your daily self-care routine had gotten shorter and shorter.
Keeping this in mind, you decided to use your spare time to take a nice bath and treat yourself a bit.
You gathered your things for the bath along with your clothes for the day. You prepared your bath exactly how you liked it, just looking at your setup began to relax you. You could hardly wait to get in the water.
As you began to soak in the bubbles, you thought how it would be so nice to be able to do this every day. You would really have to start taking better care of yourself. After all, it is important to schedule some 'me' time every now and then.
You relaxed more, the tension in your body melting away as you soaked in the tub, deeply inhaling the calming smells. You stretched out, letting out a pent up breath. You had to be careful not to fall asleep due to being so incredibly relaxed.
Finally, after you had your fill, or rather you convinced yourself that you really did have to go to work, and that no, you really couldn't live in this tub forever, you were able to part with the heavenly bath.
You drained the water and went to comb through and blow dry your hair.
"Hm." You examined your blow dryer, it wouldn't turn on.
"That's really weird, maybe one of the guys has a blow-dryer?" You tried to imagine them styling their hair, "Karamatsu or Totty has one, for sure."
You got dressed for the day and wrapped your hair in a towel for now, you looked kind of silly, but you didn't want to get your clothes wet.
The first brother you ran into happened to be Jyushimatsu, who was on his way out to play baseball, per usual.
"Ah, Jyushibee! Is everyone else still asleep?" You asked, as he was usually the first to rise.
He nodded vigorously, "Yes! Sleepy-heads are still asleep, they didn't want to go play with me, again!"
You figured he probably asked his brothers to play every day as he used to with you. Now you just play with him every so often when you're off from work, so he doesn't ask every single morning anymore.
"Also, what is that eating your head?" Jyushimatsu pointed to your towel, his eyes widening.
"It's just a towel, ya goof." You laughed, it felt nice first thing in the morning. You unwrapped your head to show him.
"Oooh! I thought you were doing something new with your hair!" Jyushibee giggled.
"Well, I do need a blow-dryer, do you know if one of your brothers has one?"
Once again, he nodded, but this time he grabbed your hand and led you into his parents room.
"Is it okay if i'm in here?" This was your first time seeing their parent's room.
He just stared at you and shrugged, then he pointed at a vanity with an extensive set up including a lot of makeup supplies and hair products. You noticed the pink hairdryer, but felt uneasy using mom-matsu's things.
"I don't think I can use your mom's things, Jyushibee."
He stared again, but laughed loudly, "That's Totty's!"
You looked at him in surprise, but then.. Looking back at the vanity, there was an awful lot of pink items, you could've guessed.
"Do you think Totty will mind? Why does he keep his things in here anyway?"
"I think if it's you it's A-OK! He doesn't like us to touch them, so he keeps it in here, and mom uses it too!" Jyushimatsu pulled you into a goodbye hug, a blush tinting his cheeks.
You giggled and hugged him back, he had always been one of the more affectionate brothers, but since you had explained how you were polyamorous, he had been even more affectionate. Usually, when he greeted you or said goodbye you would get peppered with kisses, hugs, or at least he would hold your hand. It felt nice that he wasn't put off by your explanation, but you definitely understood that everyone had their own pace.
You waved bye as he began his workout chant and headed out the door, then you settled into the plush vanity seat.
As the door shut, you could hear another open. You guessed someone else was up, you hoped it wasn't from the noise you had made.
You had just began blow-drying, when you looked up to see a wide-eyed matsu.
It was Totty, of course. You hoped he wasn't upset.
You switched off the blow-dryer, "Hey! I, uh, I hope it's okay that i'm using your stuff, Jyushimatsu showed me. My hair-dryer is on the fritz."
He flushed, "Oh! No that's totally cool, so cool."
"You sure you're okay?"
He paused, "You don't.. think it's weird that I have all this stuff or anything?"
"What? No way! All of this is so cool, I bet you know so many more makeup tricks than I do." that thought hadn't even crossed your mind, Totty had such flawless skin, lashes, and luscious lips it really shouldn't be a surprise that he wears makeup. Unless he was just a perfect adonis naturally, that is.
"Oh!~ Well, in that case, why don't you let me do your makeup for today? I promise I'll do your natural cuteness justice!" He cooed, you could tell he was absolutely ecstatic at this opportunity.
"That sounds great, just tell me what I should do!"
He clasped his hands together in excitement, "How amazing! Okay, well first let's do your hair."
"M-My hair? I thought-"
"Well, your hair is just sopping wet still, I hope you used a heat-protectant before you started." He moved behind you, taking the blow-dryer from your hand.
You stared at him blankly, you didn't even know what that was.
He giggled lightly, "I'll get some, and while I'm at it.." He proceeded to spray and dab several products into your hair.
"Your poor hair is so dry!" He examined your split ends, "If you want, we can go to my salon sometime, they are great."
"That sounds amazing, I really need a cut, as you may have noticed." You laughed, you should feel a little awkward, but you didn't, it was Totty after all, you completely trusted him.
He proceeded to walk you through exactly what he was doing, and before you knew it your hair was resting in curlers as he did your makeup.
"Wow Totty, this is like, the best I've probably ever looked."
"Oh, don't be silly, you're always beautiful!" Totty smiled softly, then realized what he had said and turned bright pink.
"You're so sweet Totty!" You smiled happily, it did feel nice to be pampered.
As he finished up your makeup, taking quick breaks to apply his own morning routine, you were really amazed at how talented he was.
"Todomatsu, seriously, you have a gift!" He had taken hardly any time at all, and you looked great. In fact, he perfectly captured the style that you felt suited you best.
He blushed lightly, "Oh stop it~"
You had been so entranced by Todomatsu's skills and were having such a fun time, you didn't notice the time.
"Ahh! Oh no! Oh no!" You glanced at your watch, "Totty, we have to be at work, like, now!"
He turned to you in shock, "What? Already?!"
You nodded, "We only have a few minutes, we'll never make it!"
Totty had run out of the room to get his bag, you had yours already, and you began to think.
Maybe you did have a way to get to work.
When Totty returned you grabbed his hand to rush out the door, "It looks like you're getting that motorcycle ride early, Totty!"
You had rushed into Totoko's house in a frantic hurry, thankfully her parents were up due to their shop.
You thrust your only helmet in Totty's arms, you would really need to invest in another one.
"B-But, you should wear it, I don't want you to get hurt!" Totty started to hand you the helmet back, but you insisted he keep it.
"It can't be helped, I'll have to get another helmet for passengers, and since I'm driving I'm responsible for you!" You explained, hopping on the bike.
Thankfully Totoko had kept her in great condition, your ride was totally beautiful.
If you had to imagine the most badass bike in the world, that was perfectly tailored to you, she was 100% it.
Although your driving was a bit rusty, you had taken her for a spin a few times since Totoko gave her back to you. You had even had practice with a passenger, Totoko would never admit it, but she missed riding with you, so you had insisted you go for a spin.
"Hold on tight, Totty!" You smiled at him, starting the bike and pulling out of the garage.
Totty's heart was beating out of his chest, at first he wasn't sure how he was supposed to hang on, but with your reassurance he hung on to your waist. As you pulled out into the road and gained speed, he held onto you tighter, pushing against your back.
Todomatsu had never been on a motorcycle before, and the hum of the bike along with the fast-paced view was exhilarating.
Your hair was flying everywhere, thankfully he had used a lot of hair-spray and was certain it would hold, but he thought you looked perfect.
You zoomed through traffic, feeling a little reckless since Totty was your precious cargo this morning, but you would hate for him to get fired or for you to be on bad terms with Rinko.
His arms felt nice and warm around you, and he didn't know that you couldn't hear him over the whirl winds so he was trying to tell you something. You would ask when you got to his work.
You pulled up to his Sutabaa, stopping so he could get off.
You saw some of his coworkers and patrons looking at you both through the windows, you thought Totty had noticed as well from the glance he gave them after he took off his helmet and handed it to you.
"That was soo amazing!~ I've never done anything like that, I'm sure we looked so cool." He gushed to you, putting his hands on his chest and smiling wide.
"Yeah! Next time we can go on a longer ride if you want, but I gotta jet now, have a good day Totty!" You put on the helmet, even though you were only a few blocks away.
He waved enthusiastically as you drove off, he was so cute you couldn't help but get a few butterflies in your stomach.
Miraculously, you made it on time to work. Rinko even complimented on your ride and said you could park it out front instead of the back if you wanted.
The customers seemed to like your ride as well, but you were surprised that Totty didn't text you for lunch as he normally did.
Ichimatsu on the other hand, strolled in per usual during his lunch shift and sat in a seat in the cafe. You waved at him when he came in and went to see if he wanted anything.
"Hello Sir!" You pretended to take his order like a waitress, "How are you doing today? Can I start you off with a drink?"
He smirked, trying not to laugh, "How about.. some milk."
"Oh, of course, sir, right away!" You giggled, taking a sarcastic curtsy.
You returned after a moment with a cup of milk and a paw-print pastry, "Here's some milk for a pretty kitty, I threw in a special pastry for you too!"
Immediately, Ichimatsu turned bright red at your comment, it was too cute. You couldn't help but tease any one of them, it was just too easy and their faces were just too cute.
"I have to go back to work now, Ichimatsu. I hope you enjoy your lunch, thanks for stopping by today." You smiled at him brightly, stifling a giggle.
He was still completely flushed, but tried to cover it by nodding and drinking some of his milk.
As you returned to the counter, you checked your phone, still no sign of Totty.
You sent him a text as you were starting to get worried, Ichimatsu had headed home hours ago and you had decided to work through your break until you heard from him and just have a snack while you worked.
You were startung to close for the day when Todomatsu appeared. You wee relieved to see him, but you noticed he was carrying an assortment of things.
"I'll wait over here til you're done!~ I hope you had a great day." He smiled cheerfully sitting down at a table outside next to your bike, his words came out iin his usual sing-song tune.
You quickly finished up and excused yourself to Rinko. As you walked outside you noticed Totty was taking selfies with your ride.
As soon as he noticed you, he handed you your regular order from Sutabaa, "Here you go! Sorry for missing lunch today, my coworkers were hammering me with questions all during break."
"Thanks Totty!" You sipped your drink, "Questions about what?"
He raised a hand to his cheek, looking quite coy, "Oh you know, just about how cool you were, and how cool I was this morning! They had all sorts of questions about you and me, and well.. us!"
You pursed your lips slightly, he seemed to be enjoying the attention from his coworkers, which was totty-ally normal, but something wasn't sitting right.
Before you could ask him more, he handed you another bag.
"I also stopped by to get this! I hope you like it!" He cupped his round cheeks with his hands in anticipation.
You unwrapped the box, curious as to what was inside. To your surprise, it was a new helmet! A pink one of course.
"Oh Totty, that's sweet of you."
"I just wanted to be sure we were both safe! I didn't feel right about taking your helmet this morning, so I wanted to get another one for you to use! Well, I mean of course I can just use that one and you can use the original, or whatever, it doesn't really matter!" He giggled, "I just wanted us to be able to ride again together, that was soo fun!~"
You smiled softly, "I had fun too, but.. I don't plan on driving to work every day."
His face fell a bit, "That's okay! We can go somewhere else, actually.. I was wondering if you wanted to go for an outing now, to the mall."
"The mall? Did you need to get something?"
"Well, not exactly, but it's fun to just shop around!~ The mall is too far for walking, but if we rode there on your bike it would be better than a crowded bus or train, don't you think?"
He looked so excited, you didn't have it in your heart to turn him down, "Okay, we can go if you really want to."
"Yay!~" He squealed, "Oh, thank you! Plus you look soo cute today, you deserve to go out and show off a bit."
You had gotten more compliments than usual today due to Totty's handy-work. You knew that he thrived on this sort of thing, so it was no wonder he was getting wrapped up in the extra attention and potential status of being with you from his coworkers, but.. You two hadn't really discussed all that, you wondered what he had told them.
All of this weighed on your mind as you drove to the mall, Totty was clinging tightly to you the whole drive.
When you arrived he happily tugged you into all his favorite stores, pointing and picking out outfits he thought you would look cute in. You did the same for him, and he ate up the attention and compliments, he was easy to please and did look good in most of the outfits you picked out.
You had made a deal that you would try on the things he picked if he would try on an equal amount of what you picked. Most of the things you picked would actually suit him, but occasionally you would throw in something that could only be described as "painful" just for kicks.
Obviously, he was dedicated to seeing you in the large amounts of cute clothes he picked because he begrudgingly put on all the clothes you picked out. When he noticed you trying to sneak a picture though he would run back into the dressing room to avoid the humiliation.
It seemed he only trusted you to see him vulnerable like that, he would never go out into the world looking so "painful".
After purchasing a few things, the two of you decided to check out the food court to see if anything caught your attention. Eventually, you settled on sharing a parfait.
Totty had been taking selfies with you, solo selfies, and pictures of different things throughout the date. You had realized that this was the date he had promised you after the misunderstanding concerning you and Jyushimatsu. So you weren't surprised when Totty wanted to take pictures of the parfait and of you both sharing it.
"I've had a lot of fun today, Totty! So thanks for that. I'm still shocked we weren't late this morning." You chuckled, taking a spoonful of the parfait.
"Oh me too!~ I always have fun when I'm on a date with a cute girl, but I have to say, this is my favorite one so far~" Totty blushed slightly, "I've had a lot of fun with you too. It's.. easier you know?"
You shook your head, "No, what do you mean?"
"Like.. my coworkers at Sutabaa, I have to always try with them, and I always worry if I'm doing the right thing or not. It's like playing a strategy game, what move could I make that causes the best outcome. But with you.. You already know a lot of the embarrassing stuff about me, things I could never let them know, like my brothers.. You already know, but you like me anyways, right?"
You nodded, now his behavior earlier was making more sense, "Of course I do, Todomatsu."
He blushed and smiled, "I still like hanging out with my coworkers, and talking to other girls, even though it's different than what it's like talking or hanging out with you, but that's okay, isn't it? Like, because of what you said?.."
He must be referencing your polyamory talk, "Yeah, that's totally fine, there's no reason to feel guilty about any of that, as long as you're honest with everyone about it and they're all okay with it. Like, if you were to officially date two people at the same time I mean, just going on dates or flirting seems like it would be fine not to explain everything to, at least to me. You just don't want to lead anyone on or hurt feelings, so it's really up to your judgement when you want to have a talk with them about it."
He laughed dryly, "You.. seem to think that I go on second dates a lot. That really doesn't happen. Most of the time, my flirting doesn't really get me anywhere, and if it does.. A second date never happens, so I don't think hurting anyone would be a problem."
You were a little confused about the change in his mood, "Totty?.."
"Oh, sorry!" He immediately chippered up, "Don't mind me, I'm fine!~"
You frowned, "Todomatsu, you can be honest with me."
He froze, staying silent for a moment eating more parfait.
"W-Well. It's just.. Sometimes it just doesn't feel right to me or to them, or for both. Like, it's really fun to go on dates like this and to hang out, but it never gets to that fluttery romantic stage, at least it hasn't yet for me. I always have fun, and I like doing these things with cute people, but I've never really wanted to.. be exclusive with someone before." He fidgeted anxiously in his seat. "I like being told I'm cute, and I like attention from people. When you dropped me off at Sutabaa, everyone wanted to know about you and said we looked soo cool together. It was really nice."
"What did you tell them though? About us I mean?" You asked.
He flushed further, "Well.. I said, you were someone I liked. I didn't say we lived together or anything, that's too complicated, I just said we were friends and that we hung out a lot, I hope that's okay.."
You put your hand on his hand softly, for reassurance, "That's totally fine, I think that's pretty accurate for both of us. I like you a lot, Todomatsu, and I always have fun when I'm with you! Thanks for everything today, especially the helmet, that was really thoughtful."
He smiled at you, grateful for the chance to change the topic, he was feeling exposed, "I think pink was the best choice for the helmet, I mean, if any of the others had picked out one I'm sure it would be a disaster."
You paused a moment to consider the options, Osomatsu would have just said screw it and went without, Karamatsu would have picked a bedazzled helmet that blinded other motorists, Choromatsu would have picked a Nyaa-Chan themed helmet, Ichimatsu would probably pick out one with cat-ears, and Jyushimatsu would have picked one painted like a baseball.
"Yeah, I would have to agree with you there, your was definitely the best choice, and I bet the others would look great in pink too!"
You both laughed, and he gave your hand a squeeze.
After you finished up the parfait, the two of you left to go home.
As you began to fish the keys out of your purse, he asked if you could hear him when he talked to you on the bike.
You shook your head, explaining that the wind and such was too loud to understand, but you could hear him talk if he was loud enough. Then you asked him what he had said that morning.
He smiled, you could tell he had practiced this cutesy smile in the mirror, and told you, "I said, I felt so happy being able to hold on to you like that, and that you looked beautiful, especially your hair, courtesy of me."
You could feel the heat rising to your cheeks, you looked at him in surprise for a moment, he was being more forward than usual.
He surprised you more, by stepping in closer to whisper a thank you before kissing you.
Like Jyushimatsu, the kiss only lasted for a moment, but that was all it took to take your breath away.