Chapter Text
Zanka could not catch a break. It seriously felt like he was incapable of doing such a thing. Here standing in front of his elder sister on one of her rare visits to see him, and feeling dread climb up his bones. Of course, he should've known when he opened up his shitty dorm room door to see her imposing figure in the doorframe, eyes cold as ice and frown firmly in place. She never visited with good news, only harsh reminders and judgemental looks. Though he supposed he should be grateful she even still bothered to talk to him face to face. The rest of his family didn't bother, much too busy and important to waste their time with the disappointment of the family.
“Zanka, are you going to let me in?” Kyouka's cool voice split through the racing of his thoughts, making his body tense up even more- surprisingly, since he hadn't thought that was even possible at this point. He stiffly steps aside and lets his sister enter his living space, trying not to think too deeply on the assessing and slightly judgemental stare she sweeps across the room.
“Sorry, wasn't expectin’ a visit from you” he manages to speak up after a moment, closing the door behind her. His voice is a false display of confidence that rattles at the edges with his nerves. He knows that his sister can surely see through it but he is grateful that she doesn't comment on it.
“Yes, well, I won't be taking up too much of your time. You must be focused on your studies.” She responds, eyeing the mountain of papers on his desk, a slight hint of derision in her tone. The whole family weren't exactly supportive of his chosen path, training to be a medical first responder instead of a police or military man like the rest of his family, but he had already made that bed and he was going to damn well lay in it. He had long since stopped caring about the fact that his family didn't respect that choice after he had found way more fulfillment in this than he ever had when they were forcing their decisions down his throat.
“I appreciate that.” He responded stiffly, fighting the urge to fidget with his earring and instead clenching his fist at his sides, “What was it that you came over for?”
His sister paused, turning back to him from her brief surveillance of his living space, her frown growing ever deeper. She seemed to gaze at him consideringly for a long few minutes before letting out a deep breath and walking a little closer to him.
“Father isn't happy about your situation….” She says with what almost seems like hesitance in her voice - though that simply couldn't be, Kyouka Nijiku was a storm of a woman and hesitant would be one of the last words used to describe her.
“ But he has let you do as you wish in this regard” she gestures back to his desk filled with his work, “however, he believes it's about time that you get a bit more serious about other aspects of your life. He wants to set you up with someone.”
Zanka can feel his eyebrow twitch and his jaw drop a little in his absolute shock. He had suspected this might come for him at some point, knowing his family's traditional values and need for order, but he hadn't expected it so soon. He was only 20, in his final year of schooling and his father was already on his ass about this?? Kyouka was a good eight years older than him and still had yet to be set up, although he supposed in every other regard Kyouka was the perfect Nijiku. It left a bitter taste in his mouth to think that this would be the only value he held to his family after everything. Still, he wasn't about to take this lying down.
“He can't do that!” The protest was out of his mouth before he could think too much of it, a fierce scowl on his features remaining even in the face of his sister's intense glare.
“He very much can and will, unless you have a valid reason not to be.” Her tone was harsh and disapproving but even so he could hear the opportunity she had presented to him loud and clear. If he wanted to get out of some arrangement of his father's, he'd have to find a suitable way out of it.
“Well of course I have a reason!” He jumped to cut in, although his brain hadn't quite caught up with his desperate desire to be out of this situation. He could only imagine the type of person his father would pair him with. He was sure it would at least be a man, which was good since he wasn't particularly interested in women but bad because he knew that it wasn't motivated by some allyship for his sexuality, and more his denial of his identity as a man. That too was probably motivated more from his need to continue the Nijiku line than anything else. Still, the sort of rich, spoiled military man he'd choose would be simply unbearable.
“Oh and what would that be?” Kyouka questions, arching one of her defined eyebrows at him, “Do you already have some committed partner you've failed to mention to us?”
He had never been so grateful for Kyouka mocking him before. He didn't like lying but in this scenario it would be an easy way out of this situation. It wasn't like his father ever bothered to come visit him, after all, he could say he did and none of them would be any wiser.
“Actually, I do.” Zanka kept his voice as firm as possible, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at his sister's eyebrows instead of her eyes, close enough that it wouldn't seem like he was deflecting but not so direct that she could read the lie in them.
“Hmm… is that so?” His sister queried, her voice screamed of how unimpressed she was, and he felt his body tense under the scrutiny, “Well, I'll be sure to let Father know of this. I'm sure he'll be pleased to see you bringing someone to the gala next week then.”
He couldn't help but freeze as the words registered. He had completely forgotten - more like been willfully ignoring - the fact that he was supposed to attend that next week. Now he was required to bring his loving, committed partner with him, lest he end up with his father's suitors being shoved in his face. Fuck. He really hadn't thought of that, but still it was too late to back out of this lie now.
“Yes. Of course, I'll make sure they can be there.” Was his stiff response. At least Kyouka looked impressed at him sticking to his guns.
“Then I shall see you and this partner of yours there, Zanka. Don't disappoint.” Kyouka said with a deafening finality to her voice, nodding to him once before marching her way out of his dorm.
He waited a moment, just long enough that he couldn't hear the clicking of Kyouka's thick soled boots down the hallway anymore, before slumping back onto his bed with his head in his hands. He was so fucked, so indescribably fucked that he could only groan into his hands in his frustration. Looks like he would have to find a boyfriend, or at least someone willing to act as one before the event. That wouldn't be too difficult … Right?
–
His assumption from the night before had been glaringly wrong. This was an incredibly difficult task. After all, he knew that his sister had already doubted his words, and she was an unscrupulous woman who would ensure his story checked out. He had decided to make a mental list of requirements for his fake date whilst he was getting ready for his first class of the day - he always had a penchant for getting ready a little too early, a need to be prepared for whatever the day had in store for him..
His list went like this:
•Has to know him well enough to pass as a long-term partner
•Has to be polite and well-mannered enough to deal with his Family
•Can't be too much of a pushover to deal with his family
•Has to be able to act the part
•Has to be willing and not too humiliating to ask them for this help
•Has to piss off his family just a little bit.
He was content after setting up his parameters for his potential fake partner but still wasn't able to think of someone off the top of his head. He was beginning to wish that he was a slightly more sociable person, having a small but close friend group was nice, it was all Zanka needed to feel fulfilled but it surely did shorten his list of potential fake partners quite a bit.
As he went about his day he slowly and consideringly thought over his options. He had seen Riyo in the morning, the two as usual making their way onto campus together and chatting. Riyo would've been a good option, she knew him incredibly well, was a convincing enough liar and could play nice when needed, however he was sure his siblings knew by now that he had no interest in women, thus that lie would never sell. Plus, the thought of acting as Riyo's boyfriend sent a shiver of disgust down his spine, she was more of a sister to him at this point than his biological one, that would simply be too gross.
They ran into Rudo on their way to the campus, but the thought of asking him died as soon as it had even been born. Whilst he could begrudgingly admit that he had come to deeply care for the kid, he was 1) way too feral to even make it past the front gates of his family home, 2) way too aggravating to be around to sell any kind of romantic fantasy and 3) he thinks he'd rather die than stoop to the level of asking Rudo, of all people, to do this for him; He could already imagine the howls of laughter and the copious amounts of sugar he'd have to use to bribe the boy. Not worth it.
The search was paused for a while as he made his way through his first lesson of the day, he didn't really have any friends in this class and so even the more friendly classmates he had here were out of the question. They were nothing but acquaintances so there was no way he was asking any of them something like this.
After that lecture it was time for lunch, more potential candidates to peruse as he chomped down his food to the best of his ability. He'd admit his anxiety over the whole thing had definitely dampened his appetite, leaving him unable to finish his food. Still, at least Amo was happy to take the slice of cafeteria cake off of his hands. She wasn't too bad, though had a similar issue to Riyo being someone he absolutely would not date. Plus her demeanour could be a bit unnerving at times.
He couldn't help but sigh loudly, pinching the bridge of his nose as he ruminated at the lunch table. The noise had his neighbor turning to him with curiosity.
“A-are you alright, Zanka?” Fu had asked, eyes big as he looked him over.
“M’ fine, just tired is all” he reassured with a smile to his friend. Hmmm… Fu and he weren't the closest but close enough. The other boy was good at taking instructions and always seemed ready to bend over backwards to help people. He had a quiet and kind demeanor too… There would have been a spark of potential there, if he wasn't immediately and startlingly reminded of his major flaw for this task.
“Hey, if Amo got Zanka's cake then… Fu! You give me yours, I want more sweets too!” Rudo barked across the table, having seemingly just noticed how the girl beside him was happily munching away on another sweet treat. Fu had immediately jumped and handed over his slice of cake, even though Zanka had distinctly remembered overhearing the boy remarking on how much he was looking forward to eating it earlier.
Right. Fu was a total pushover. Lovely guy but a total pushover. His family would absolutely eat him alive. Well, there goes that option.
The sigh he let out was even bigger than the last.
Glancing across the rest of his friends currently there left him no more hopeful. Eishia was sweet, but a girl and also a total pushover in many regards. Her brother, August was fun to be around but definitely not well mannered enough to get through a meeting with his family without something horrendous occurring.
As the day continued and more and more options were knocked off his list - too humiliating to ask, not polite enough, didn't know him well enough - Zanka was close to admitting defeat. He certainly didn't want to, but if he didn't find someone to meet his criteria then there was no point. He'd rather humiliate just himself by calling up his sister and admitting that he had lied than to drag a friend there and have them both suffer the consequences.
He slumped down into his seat for his final class of the day, pulling out the appropriate notebooks and pens to take notes and trying not to stew in his feeling of impending doom when someone sat next to him. He turned to glance at whoever it was and was pleased to note that it was Follo.
“Hey” the older boy greeted with his usual friendly smile, moving to pull his own things out, not without giving him a few more glances over, “You okay? You look a little… stressed out?”
Ah. He wasn't aware that his impending doom had become more external. Still, the concern etching the words was sweet, and Follo had always been a comforting presence to be around, so he found himself smiling a little, letting some of the tension leak out of his shoulders.
“M’ fine, just a lot goin on” he replied, and he could finally hear the tiredness infecting his own tone.
“Well, if there's anything I can do to help just let me know. Always happy to lend a hand.” Follo's words held that dependability that Zanka had long since come to expect from the boy, his presence and kindness always being a comfort.
Before he could respond, the lecturer had entered and began to start the lecture so he instead quietened down to listen in. Still… as more time went by, between scribbling down notes, Zanka couldn't help but let his eyes drift to the dark haired boy beside him, his offer of help playing on his mind.
Follo was a kind and dependable guy, one which he'd known since the start of college when they first began sharing some lessons and had ended up paired together as class partners. He was a good friend of his, he'd say. He was polite and well-mannered, kind and considerate without being a total pushover… The two of them had good enough chemistry and whilst he wasn't totally sure, he was sure enough the older boy could manage a few white lies… Follo wasn't the kind of guy to ridicule others for asking for help either so he was sure it wouldn't be too embarrassing to ask him. He had a respectable future planned, like Zanka he wanted to go into helping others, he believed he was currently doing courses to help heighten his application to go into being a fire fighter… A noble and respectable occupation but one that would be deemed as lesser by his prestigious family. The older boy also wasn't from any rich or significant family, so he was sure his family wouldn't entirely approve but not enough that they could stop him. Follo was also admittedly quite attractive, with his black curls, golden eyes and broad shoulders, definitely someone he could see himself with - in an abstract sense of course, for the sake of saving himself from his family’s machinations.
He was the perfect candidate, Zanka realised, feeling something akin to hope crackling to life in his chest as he glanced over once again at the boy beside him. Now he simply had to hope that his last hope would agree to humour him.
The remaining minutes of the class felt like they dragged on far too long, and he was sure that his antsiness over his new found idea was not having the best of effects on his ability to retain the information the professor was spewing at him. His leg began to bounce under the table, and he noted a concerned glance being thrown his way from the boy besides him. He tried his best to give a reassuring half-smile in return, though he couldn't quite stop the fidgeting of his body.
As the professor finally called for the class to be dismissed, he let out a deep breath and began packing away his belongings in tandem with his classmates around him. The nerves were beginning to grow on him, a tightness in his throat telling him that this request was simply too mortifying to voice. Yet, another part of him, the part that remembered the cold, challenging look in his sister’s eyes from the day prior was warring against that feeling. Surely having to admit defeat to his family and play along with their games would be even worse. He couldn't exactly cut them off, as much as he sometimes wished he could, they were still funding his education and without them he’d be shit out of luck. So, after gnawing his lip almost to the point of being bloody, he risked a glance at the boy beside him, who was almost finished packing his own things away.
“Hey, Follo” he spoke up after clearing his throat a little, hoping to sound more confident than he felt. “Can I talk to you for a sec?”
“Huh? Sure? What do you wanna talk about?” Follo replied, stuffing the last of his books into his bag and turning towards him. It was at this moment that Zanka’s brain finally registered the rest of their classmates around them, getting up and beginning to evacuate the lecture hall. He definitely did not want to ask this in front of an audience of nosy students.
“Wanna grab a drink at the cafe? My treat. It's somethin’ I’d rather discuss a bit more… privately?” He asked this a bit more sheepishly, eyes darting around to their classmates around them. Follo seemed to recognise the hint of anxiety in his voice, giving him one of his kind smiles and nodding as he stood, hauling his bag on his back.
“How can I say no if you’re promising to treat me?” Follo chuckled reassuringly, offering him his hand to get up, which Zanka took after a moment, knowing the stress and fatigue of the day had made his legs weaker than usual. After hauling his own bag onto his shoulder, he began to walk out with Follo at his side.
The two of them chatted idly about random things as they made their way through campus to the cafe situated just across the street; How classes were going, the random shenanigans of their mutual friends and more melted together into a conversation that was slowly easing the anxiety out of his bones. Meaningless chatter that helped Zanka relax a little, settle more into his decision of asking Follo. Really, how he hadn't thought of the other immediately was beyond him when he seemed to meet all the requirements… that was if he agreed, of course.
When they arrived at the cafe, Follo greeted the barista warmly. It was a familiar girl, her name was Tomme and she also attended the university they did, whilst picking up shifts here at the cafe on the side. She was a warm-hearted woman who seemed to have the sort of friendly charm that made it almost impossible to not get along with her, whilst she and Zanka weren't close he knew that Follo was a good friend of hers. He smiled and waved on the periphery of their conversation, only cutting in with his own order once Follo had placed his own. He handed over the appropriate amount of cash and stuffed the change into the tip jar on the counter before shuffling off to find an appropriate place for them to talk, leaving Follo to chat with his friend whilst she prepared their order.
It seemed they had come in during a lull of service, only a few students milling around with laptops and books out, most of which with earphones in as well. Zanka was satisfied when he didn't recognise any of the other patrons and chose a table in the far corner of the shop, with comfy seats and a small bookshelf next to it. The cafe really was quite nice, it had a cozy academic feel that seemed fitting for one so close to a university, soft earthen colours of hardwood tables and bookshelves as well as the occasional potted plant made it a rather soothing atmosphere. Zanka himself tended to come here to study sometimes, when he needed a boost of caffeine to keep him going.
Settling into the seats, he found his eyes drawn to Follo again. The soft interior lighting was quite flattering to his features, softening up his smile but making the cut of his jaw appear sharper, letting the curly waves of his dark hair cast shadows across his unblemished skin. If Follo were to agree, he'd admit an added bonus would be making all those party goers think he'd snagged someone as handsome as him. Though he was quick to dismiss the thought before it could linger for too long.
Soon, Follo was walking over to him with two cups in hand, placing one in front of Zanka with a nod of his head. The scent of the vanilla chai latte was soothing to his senses and he allowed himself to grasp the warm cup in his hands and breathe it in for a second, hoping the comforting scent would give him the courage for what is to come.
Follo, after settling down and having a sip of his own warm beverage, seemed to look him over carefully, head tilting curiously.
“So… what did you want to talk about?” Follo asked, his voice was just as curious as he looked, and he arched a dark eyebrow to enhance the effect.
“Uh, well. Yes. I wanted to ask you something.” He stumbled over his words at first, mentally admonishing himself for it, as he saw the way the other's brows only rose higher on his forehead. Zanka wasn't someone who stumbled around at a loss for words, he prided himself on being decisive and efficient in his daily life… but this certainly was a special circumstance. He paused, trying to think of the right way to phrase things, and began to get lost in the mess of his thoughts; ending up just staring blankly at Follo for a good few moments.
“...You're starting to make me a little nervous.” Follo chuckled a little, though the concern on his face was clear as day, “Are you alright, Zanka? I've never seen you so…. out of sorts before?”
“I'm…” ‘fine’ he bit off the word before he could utter it, his initial instinct to brush off the concern almost taking him before he realised that perhaps explaining the situation would help first. He bit his lips, and one of his hands raised to fiddle with one of the tassels attached to his ears. He still wasn't quite sure how to word it, but the concerned yet patient look on the other boy's face helped melt some of his nerves away. He could not back out now, he could do this.
“I'm not great.” He admitted softly, looking away from the older boy and back down at his cup, “My older sister visited me yesterday, told me some news that kind of put me in an awkward position.”
“Ah…” The noise of acknowledgement Follo let out showed his understanding, even if Zanka didn't talk about it too much, he definitely already knew a bit about the complicated relationship he had with his family, “What kind of awkward position?”
“Well…” Zanka trailed off a little, his gaze wandering from Follo's eyes to the table and back again, “She told me that my father wants to start setting me up with people… somethin’ about me needing to get serious. All bullshit if you ask me but… I can't exactly deny him for no reason, not unless I want to get… well. I basically can't say no to him.”
Follo looked a little shocked to hear all of this, his brows furrowing in a mix of concern, frustration and… Something else that he couldn't quite identify in the other boy's eyes.
“You're not… I mean, that's really messed up, you shouldn't have to do that.” Follo's response was riddled with more frustration on his behalf than he expected and he blinked slowly back at him as it registered. A small bit of warmth began to unfurl in his chest at Follo's concern, it was admittedly quite nice having someone validate his feelings on the matter and even more nice to think that the other boy cared enough to seemingly get... mad over it too.
“That's exactly what I said!” He responded with a heavy sigh, his own bottled up frustration at the situation seeping out, “but nah, my sister said that unless I had a ‘valid’ reason, I'd have to do whatever he wanted.”
“What is that supposed to mean? I think not wanting to should be valid enough” Zanka found himself nodding along to Follo's reply. Even if this didnt go as planned, he'd be grateful for this at least, having someone to vent his frustrations about his fucked up family with.
“Well, she seemed to think one of the only valid reasons would be if I was already in some committed relationship.” He replied, seething a little at the memory. Before it clicked, this was the perfect moment to broach the core of the subject matter. He tried to hold onto that righteous anger but still found himself fumbling a little as he pressed onwards, “and well… I may've panicked a little… I told her I was in one, but she.. well. I kinda forgot that I agreed to go to this family event next week and she said I should bring my partner with me so that father could see and back off but… well. I don't have a partner.”
He slumped forward in defeat, peeking from under his fringe at the man in front of him. Follo was blinking slowly, eyes gradually going wider as he stared back at him, the words finally registering in his brain. He wore a strange sort of expression on his face, somewhere between amused and bemused as what he had been implying started to click.
“... Are you asking me what I think you are?” Follo finally asked, peering at him with an expression he couldn't hope to identify on his face.
“.... Depends. What do ya think I'm askin’?” He replied nervously. He could feel the tips of his ears beginning to heat up in embarrassment. Whilst Follo was surely one of the least humiliating people to ask, the whole situation was still awkward and embarrassing as hell.
“Are you asking me to… pretend to be your boyfriend?” Follo inquired, and he noted with some relief that it seemed he wasn't the only one experiencing embarrassment right now, if the slight redness that was starting to show through across Follo's cheekbones were any indicator.
“... Yes” Zanka nodded, at least, the band aid had been ripped off, though he was quick to assure the other, “It's completely fine if you don't wanna, I'll figure somethin’ out.”
“...why me?” Follo's response was not what he had been expecting, the sheer confusion in his tone causing Zanka to pause. That wasn't the outright denial he had been expecting, though the question itself was a little embarrassing.
“Well… We both know each other pretty well… and you're a really polite, well-mannered guy…” he trails off a little, noting the way Follo's face seems to fall at his mediocre excuses, and it causes something to ache in his chest. This is something he's desperate for, but at the same time, he doesn't want to be ingenuine with Follo. So he bites down the icy feeling of vulnerability to continue, his voice softer, more genuine, “... and I trust you. I don't know if there's anyone else I could really trust with this.”
Follo seems to think over his explanation for a few minutes, looking down at his own drink in his hands. Zanka briefly catches some sort of conflicted expression on the other boy's face before it's hidden away from his view as he stoops over his beverage. Zanka can't push this, knows that he has to give the other time to think over his frankly ridiculous request. He sips slowly on his own beverage, the sweet spiced drink doing little to calm his nerves as he waits with bated breath.
“... I'll do it.” Follo looks up at him again as he gives his answer, a look of determination in his eyes. Zanka can't hide the breath of relief he lets out nor the grateful smile that pulls at his lips.
“Thank you so much” Zanka reaches forward hesitantly, grabbing Follo’s hand on the table and squeezing it. “You're really helpin’ me out here.”
“Well, I did say that I'm always happy to help” Follo seems to relax a little, squeezing his hand back with a smile on his face. Zanka can tell that there's still some uncertainty in the other boy's eyes, but he isn't sure what he can do to help with that.
“You're always so reliable, Follo, seriously” he compliments, his smile growing a little more endeared at the bashful way Follo ducks his head.
“I try my best.” They linger in a comfortable silence for a moment before Follo perks up a little, “So when is this event? We should probably prepare or something…”
Zanka, who was overcome with relief at clearing the first hurdle, stiffened. That's a very good point: he'd need to get Follo something to wear for the event and they'd need to get their story straight in order to make this whole thing convincing enough for his bloodhound of a sister to leave them be.
“It's next Saturday.” He replies, his mind already going into overdrive, “You're right, there's a lot we have to agree upon, plus we might need to go shopping, my family is big on couples havin’ matchin’ attire and all that stuff. It'll be on me, since you're doin’ me a huge favour here… and then we also gotta get our story straight…”
Follo looks a little overwhelmed at the influx of words from him, so he bites his lip to stop verbally spiralling at the other boy. He gives him an apologetic glance that the other seems to brush off.
“Looks like this will be tricky. Well, I have a half-day tomorrow and no work so we can go shopping then if you'd like?” Follo offers, sounding a lot more calm than Zanka feels.
“Sounds good, text me what time and I'll be there” Zanka gives a grateful nod with his reply, finally tugging his hand away. It's strange how startlingly cold it feels after having been wrapped in that warmth.
“Will do.” Follo nods before standing and grabbing his things, “I've got some stuff to do tonight but I'll see you tomorrow?”
“Yes, seeya then” Zanka smiles and waves as Follo heads out before slowly gathering his own things and making his way out a few moments later.
That went better than he had expected, and yet his mind still lingered on the uncertainty he'd felt in Follo before and the warm feeling of his hand in his. He had a bad feeling that this whole ordeal would change things in his life way more than expected but couldn't quite think of why or how he could stop it. So instead, he picked up his phone, sending a quick, formal message to his sister informing her that his ‘partner’ would in fact be able to make it to the event.
At least, he'd get his family off of his back, and spending time with Follo was always something he enjoyed. He'd have to cling onto those thoughts moving forward.