Emotional Rent Control and Real-Ass Intimacy, Chapter 3.3

WC: 500

REMINDER: Lunch with Tensei, 11:00
Tenya pinches the bridge of his nose, groaning softly. “Oh, goddammit…”
It’s not that he doesn’t want to see Tensei. Tenya values his close relationship with his older brother above everything else, and their weekly lunch outings are bright spots in his dull, boring life. But his head still hurts, and he doesn’t feel like changing into something more presentable, and he just knows Tensei is going to have a field day over him getting hungover for the first time since college.
While he knows Tensei won’t be too upset if he cancels, doing so at this stage is a major inconvenience to his older brother. Knowing him, he’s already halfway to their chosen café. It’d be rude to make him go back home.
Tenya sighs. Maybe his nap will have to wait, after all.


“I didn’t think you were capable of getting hungover.”
Tenya groans, pushing his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose. “It can’t be that obvious, can it?”
Tensei lets out a laugh. “Guess last night must’ve been fun, huh? How much of it do you remember?”
“Please don’t be mean to me today. My cat did enough of that for the both of you.”
“Miso was cranky because you didn’t come home at curfew, huh?”
“I will go home,” Tenya bluffs.
“Uh-huh.” Tensei’s wheelchair comes to a stop at the crosswalk. “You were safe, though, right?”
“Of course. It’s not like I was the one who had to worry about someone putting something in my drink.” Tenya looks both ways after the signal turns, then begins to cross the street. “Really, I was only there for my friend’s sake.”
“Right. And this friend―”
“She does not, and I cannot stress this enough, swing that way,” Tenya interrupts.
The conversation drifts to what Tenya does remember clearly of the previous night’s events. His makeover at the hands of his ex and her current boyfriend. His nervous chatter with girls who sounded sweet as sugar, but looked like they could kick his ass. His enjoyment of Tsukuyomi’s performance, despite having little exposure to the punk scene. 
Inevitably, the conversation turns to the nice young man whose face he can only vaguely remember. Tenya remembers buying more than a few drinks―oh dear, did Sero(?) make it home safely?―but he has zero clue what they even talked about. Music? Work? Oh, God, did he start rambling about his fucking cat?
“Sounds like a sweet guy,” Tensei says as they approach the café. “You get his number?”
Whether he was too drunk or too nervous at the time to ask, Tenya isn’t sure, but he regrets it. Sero did seem quite nice. Even if nothing came of it, he would’ve loved to hear him talk more about film and music and art and… everything.
Tenya lets out a sigh. “No, actually. I didn’t think to ask.”
End Chapter 3! Chapter 4 will start April 29. Next time, we join Sero…
1. At work
2. On his day off
3. Working on band business