A Dinner Full of Inouendo

Opposite the kitchen and past the stairs the wall opened into a comfortable living room with plush, comfortable seating and a large, low table that looked like it would be good for board games (it was) in the center of the floor. Sliding doors in the back wall led to a room lit with what looked like firelight and lined in bookcases. "Here's the living room. Looks like Yoshi's got... three separate board games going," he said, counting the boxes spread across the table. "Um. It's my turn in that one actually." He stooped down to roll some dice and move a piece, before hefting his brother and turning to Takahiro.

"There's the library through there. Dad used to tell us stories in there. He still would, actually." He turned to peer at Taka curiously. "How come you wouldn't call me 'Shichan'?"

“It, um. J-just didn't seem proper in front of your parents. You told me your father's a professor and your, um. Mother's a doctor. Th-that's...those are fairly traditional professions. I don't like to overstep my bounds and...well. I'm not Scout. Social protocol is still a thing outside of, um. Outside of my house,”

Only one of the brothers remembers that, ninety percent of the time. Besides! Poor Takahiro had been so nervous!

“And, um. W-well, they're your parents. I wanted to make a good first impression like you did on my p-parents,” Taka, the only way he could've made a bad impression on your parents is if he'd cartwheeled into the room naked, vomiting all over their couch, and then thrown one of them from the balcony.

Idiot.

Shichiro grinned. "I guess so. Mom and Dad are intellectuals. Dad spends all his time buried in old history and myths. Mom loves saving people. They're not really very rigid or traditional. I mean, do you know what they said when I came out?" Still smiling, he leaned over and planted a kiss on Takahiro's cheek, a little laughter in his voice. "We know. Pass the peas. Turns the family had figured it out when-" He paused, his smile faltering a little at a memory. "Uh. When I was sad."

Kiyoshi gave him an easy distraction, thankfully. "My boyfriend isn't any weirder than you, Otouto. Hey, can you give us some private time? I want to take Takahiro up to show him my chess sets. Maybe you could go help Mom and Dad with dinner for a minute?" He knelt down, giving his little brother a chance to climb off his back. "Trust me, you'll like him. He's really fun, and smart. And he plays chess better than I do."

Smiling, Shichiro took Taka by the hand and led the boy into the hallway and up the stairs. The landing was an open loft, bordered by a railing that overlooked the entry hallway. Doors branched off to several bedrooms and another family room. Shichiro led Takahiro to the door opposite the stair and opened it on a comfortable room, a little disheveled. The walls were the color of eggshells and much of the decoration was various soft shades of white. The carpet was a rich purple. Of course. His bed opposite the door was draped with a comforter that matched the carpet and curtains. Multiple bookshelves lined the walls on either side of a desk tucked into the corner, on which a laptop rested with its lid closed.

Shichiro's interest though was in the table and the shelf by the window. They held half a dozen chess sets- glass, metal, wood, plastic. He beamed, clearly proud of his collection. Ushering Takahiro forward, the older boy leaned in for a quick kiss in the light of the window.

"What do you think?"

Takahiro smiles, "I think it's great," Ah, but what is he referring to? The kiss? The room? The window? The state of the world? It's the window. Yup. He appreciates fine craftsmanship. That must be all it is.

He looks around, not really sure what to do. He's out of his element, in someone else's house. Heck, he's out of his element just being outside of his own bedroom. Hss! The light! It burns! It's a nice bedroom though, similar to his own just...bigger.

"He's not joking," Shichiro admitted seriously. "If I'm late he always steals some of mine." He couldn't keep the smile off his face, and beckoned his boyfriend to follow him to the dining room (the other half of the kitchen). Kiyoshi was already seated; after placing the last dish on the round table his mom took a seat to his right. Dad sat next to her, leaving two chairs between Kiyoshi and Mr. Inoue. Seeing the look on his little brother's face, Shichi pulled out the chair next to his dad with a proud smile and held out an arm to seat his boyfriend. Once he'd seen to Takahiro's comfort, Shichi took the final seat between him and Kiyoshi. "Thank you for the food Mom and Dad. It looks delicious." They both responded happily. 

"We're very glad you could join us for dinner tonight Takahiro," Mr. Inoue declared genially as they began to eat. "Shichi tells us you met in chess club. He tells me you're quite good."

"Not the way he tells it," Dad said with a chuckle. "The way he talks you beat him most games. Do you have other interests besides keeping our son humble?" Swallowing a bite, Shichiro spoke up: "Dad, you promised you wouldn't grill him. Let him eat. Kiyoshi, stop poking me or I'll eat your dessert." While his dad feigned a look of offense, Shichi and Kiyoshi's mom leaned forward to smile at Takahiro. "Shichi made us promise not to embarrass him. How are we doing so far? And please dear, help yourself. We're quite pleased to have you with us."

Sighing, Shichiro just shook his head and continued eating. His parents were way too excited about this. Had been for days. They were just so- oh God what did Dad just say?"

"-You're part of this DATS thing as well then aren't you, Takahiro?"