My Crown [IDOLiSH7]

29: My Smile

Seeing as there was nothing they could do at that moment, Gaku and Tenn moved on to tackle the problem of why Riku was (taken) here at this cafe in the first place.

"So what do you have in mind?" Tenn started.

"Mhmm, Iori likes Usamimi friends and anything cute or fluffy." Tenn and Gaku looked at Riku in disbelief.

"You sure you're not being delusional?" Gaku felt the need to question that since it was the exact opposite of Iori's 'sharp and cool' idol image.

Riku turned to stare at Gaku's face. "Iori likes them." He repeated. Seriously, those blank eyes gave Gaku the creeps. He would not dare ask again. Tenn made a mental note to add this method of "how to shut Gaku up' to his personal list.

"Then why don't you buy those things, Riku?" Tenn asked, keeping a small smile on his face. He enjoyed every minute he spent with his adorable brother. Riku replied that he could. "But I want to do something... special for Iori."

Gaku and Tenn turned to look at each other before each went into a deep thinking pose. Gaku crossed his arms over his chest. Tenn put an index finger over his mouth.

"What if it's a cake?" Gaku muttered loud enough for everyone to hear.

"You use cake to solve every problem, idiot," Tenn immediately countered.

"What?" Gaku glared at Tenn. "You demand it every week!" He shouted. The argument was about to break out when Riku spoke, "Cake is too ordinary," shutting down the couple.

Tenn sighed before smiling a little more, thinking he now understood what Riku meant by 'special'. "You want to give him something that can only come from you then?"

Riku blinked twice. Then he nodded. He explained that he had no idea what he could do. "Make a card?" Gaku suggested. Riku sat still, so Tenn added, "Or buy a fancy one and write something for him?" Riku reacted. Gaku swore his suggestion was never heard by Riku. He held back on suggesting the boy bake a cake as he remembered hearing from Tenn how incredibly clumsy Riku was.

After a while, Riku shook his head. "I... don't know what to write in it."

"Simple, write what you want to say to him." Gaku leaned forward with his arms on the white metal table. His gaze was fierce, yet it reflected a hint of kindness. "Write your feelings down, Nanase."

Riku bit his lower lip upon hearing the word 'feeling'. He seemed to be shaken as the vision of his adoptive father giving him a look of disgust and disappointment overwhelmed his mind. "But-"

Tenn wanted to yap at Gaku for pressuring his traumatised little brother, but he held his tongue. Deep inside his heart, he, too, wanted to see the boy express his emotions freely. Tenn also leaned forward and took hold of Riku's cold hand. "Riku, there is absolutely nothing wrong with showing how you truly feel."

Gaku rolled his eyes. Say that to yourself, brat.

Seeing as this was a sensitive subject for Riku, Tenn took care to speak softly. "Whatever you do, if it truly comes from your heart, Izumi will feel it. It doesn't need to be complicated but it needs to be from you."

~~

Riku rolled on his bed the same night, trying to think of what he could do for Iori's birthday. He did visit a shop selling a wide selection of cards on his way back home. After spending several minutes deciding to buy a pink pop-up Usamimi Friends card, he ended up failing to write down even a single word on it. He had tried to make a card with drawings on it. You guessed it. Riku could not even draw a flower, let alone create something that could tell a story.