“Ryuki. Ibuki.”
The two of them turn to Choromatsu, who then asks whether they’re planning to see any family they may have for the holidays.
“I don’t think my family’d be glad to see me,” Ibuki, the darker-skinned short man, sighs. “They already disowned me when I first came out.”
“I’d like to,” Ryuki, the taller man, answers. “Ma’s been rather cranky lately since I last called her.”
“So,” Ibuki continues. “What about you, Choromatsu?”
“It’s been a year since I was together with my brothers” Choromatsu recalls. “I’m going to visit them, and maybe talk about you guys.”
Easier said than done, Choromatsu now thinks to himself.
Ryuki went out to the outskirts of Akatsuka City to visit his mother, taking Ibuki with him. Choromatsu found himself at the front door of his former home, the home he’d spent his childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood in.
His mind then trails off to the time he left for the first time, which didn’t last because of the chaos that was the baseball invitational. Choromatsu then recalls his second attempt at leaving, which now he says to himself, “At least Osomatsu-niisan wasn’t having his moods this time.” This time, it had been successful on his part; he doesn’t know for sure about the other brothers, especially Osomatsu (and Ichimatsu, from what Jyushimatsu had told him).
Now that the holidays are around the corner, Choromatsu wonders if his brothers, if they went their own ways as well, would be here tonight. He wonders in they even changed, whether for better or for worse. Choromatsu thinks about Osomatsu, the brother that he was closest to, and how he was handling Choromatsu’s leaving. Is he okay with all of us living separately? Is he doing alright without me? Is he still taking care of himself properly after I left? Is he—
He makes several deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself.
Choromatsu knocks on the door. And he waits.
The door opens, and right there, it's the eldest brother standing at the door.
"Hey, Choromatsu," he chuckles. "Are you here to see your big bro for the holidays?"
"Osomatsu-niisan," Choromatsu sighs flatly. "I didn't expect you to answer the door."
"Well... Okaa-san and Otou-san are out right now," Osomatsu rubs his finger under his nose. "So I'm the only one at here at the moment. You're the first person to come, actually."
"I see...wHA-HEY!" Osomatsu grabs his brother's sleeve and drags him inside.
"I could've just walked in, you know," Choromatsu retorts.
"But you didn't," Osomatsu retaliates, "and it's freezing outside."
In a span of a few hours or so, the other brothers arrive. Nothing much had changed since the last time the brothers were together. Karamatsu is still painful as ever, Ichimatsu still hates the guts out of the second eldest (and his love for cats is greater than ever), Jyushimatsu is loud and energetic as always, and Todomatsu is still as sly as ever. The parents arrive shortly after, Matsuyo heading to the kitchen to put away the groceries and Matsuzo to the master bedroom to change out of his work clothes.
The same-faced brothers all sit around the dinner table, eating and talking about what happened in their lives during their time away. Choromatsu eats slowly, and opts to skip telling his tale after Karamatsu. From the long talk at the table, nothing much happened with Osomatsu, Karamatsu is living with Chibita, Ichimatsu is working at an animal shelter and is living with a young couple, Jyushimatsu is dating the girl he spent some time with cheering her up, and Todomatsu is working in a different Sutabaa in the city.
"Choromatsu-niisan," Jyushimatsu pipes up. "You skipped out telling your story. Did something bad happen?"
Choromatsu tenses. "What? N-no, no. It's just... uh... " How the fuck would I explain living with two boyfriends? I mean, Ichimatsu's living with a couple, but they seem straight, from what he told us!
"I'm... living with some friends. It's been difficult for me to find a job, since I quit my last one."
"That's the embarrassing thing?" Osomatsu gasps. "Man, I thought you would finally get a girl, like Jyushimatsu! What's so embarrassing about that?"
Um, I'm dating them? At the same time? Three guys. Together. Dating.
"I-" Someone's knocking, or rather banging, on the door. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit! Who the hell could it be at this time?
"Open up!"
Oh no. Choromatsu felt dread upon the familiarity of that rough voice.
"It's freezing out!"
I thought you were at your Mom's place?
"My friend passed out..."
...No... Ibuki...?
"...e need shelter immediately!"
Matsuzo ran down and pulled the door open, and a frigid gust blew inside.
Damn, it's so fucking cold. Ryuki shivers in the bone-chilling blizzard, keeping Ibuki as close to him as he could, closer and tighter after he lost consciousness from the cold.
Desperate for shelter, Ryuki bangs on the door of the closest house he could find within his distance.
"Open up!"
He can't feel his toes.
"It's freezing out!"
He can't move his legs.
"My friend passed out...!"
He can't find the strength to stand anymore.
"We need shelter immediately!"
He hears fast-paced footsteps from inside the house. The door opens.
Ryuki only sees black.
Oh fuck.
Matsuzo, Karamatsu, and Jyushimatsu heave in the nearly frozen pair to the kerosene.
They weren't supposed to come here.
"Choromatsu."
Didn't Ryuki say he was headed for his Mom's place?
"Choromatsu."
What the hell happened?
"Choromatsu."
Ohfuckohfuckohfuckohfuckohfu–
"Choromatsu!" Osomatsu halts his train of thought. "Something wrong? You're pale. And shaking."
Well, fuck, I am. "H-huh? Yeah... Y-yeah, I know..."
"Do you know them?"
"... Yeah."
"Figured. You look really worried about them. So, are they your friends, or...?"
"They're my boyfriends, okay‽"
"They're my boyfriends, okay‽" Choromatsu splutters. "Yes, I know it's not socially acceptable to be dating another man, especially two, but... They really like me. Not just as a friend, but..."
"Hey, I get it," Osomatsu reassures him. "I know."
Choromatsu gasps."Are you serious?"
"You don't think I notice?" Osomatsu continues. "Ever since the baseball fiasco, you've been acting weird over every pretty boy you see, recently caught an interest in boy idols, and even buy BL manga, for fuck's sake, and I'm pretty sure you fap to that, too. You're gay—"
"Bi," Choromatsu corrects him, blushing.
"Okay, so you're bi," Osomatsu continues. "Even with two guys, I don't see what's the trouble with that."
"You mean having the constant gazes of judgement on you everywhere you go when you're with them?" Choromatsu grumbles.
"If people don't like seeing you being with those guys, they can go fuck themselves for all I care. I may be an asshole, but even I wouldn't stoop that low," Osomatsu tries to lighten up the dilemma. "Besides, Totty's dating that rich guy and goes to mixers with him, and I know it's more than just the money and popularity. And Ichimatsu's into a couple he saw last Christmas."
"And what does this have to do with my situation?"
"You and Totty never told us, much less me, about your boyfriends. We had to go through the Matsuno In-Law Approval Test for Atsushi just so we know that he's not just using Totty for anything suspicious. Same for the couple. So, at least introduce them to us."
"As long as you don't start calling me names after this, especially anything having to do with that."
"No guarantee~" Osomatsu teases.
"Ugh, honestly, you're the worst," Choromatsu sighs.
The two brothers head to the living room to check on the two hopefully-thawed men.
"Everyone! Guess who's here for tonight?"
"God," Choromatsu yanks the eldest brother back. "Don't just announce it to everybody, you shitty eldest brother!"
"Announce what, Choromatsu-niisan?" The youngest brother is curious. "Do tell."
Choromatsu immediately shoots a glare at the youngest brother. "You wipe that smirk off your face, you dry monster. I'm not telling you."
"Now, now, ~brothers~, let's not start." Karamatsu attempts to defuse the situation. "It's ~Christmas Time~, after all—"
"Ugh, please stop," Ichimatsu buries his head into his knees and sinks further into the corner.
"Are the two men that we got in our guests?” Jyushimatsu rocks back and forth as if he’s about to explode with excitement. “I wanna properly meet them!"
“Hey, come on,” Osomatsu coaxes the couple to the living room. “Come over here! Don’t be shy!”
“Ah, y’all must be Choro’s brothers,” Ryuki exclaims.
“He told us about you.” Ibuki remarks. “He wasn’t kidding.”
“We’ll introduce ourselves now,” Osomatsu begins. “I’m Osomatsu, the eldest sextuplet!”
“And the shittiest ,” Choromatsu mutters under his breath.
“Heh, ” Karamatsu continues next. “I am Matsuno Karamatsu, the second eldest ~ brother ~. You two must be quite fortunate to—”
“You already know the third eldest Choromatsu, so I’ll go next. I’m Ichimatsu, the fourth eldest sextuplet brother and unburnable trash.”
“Oh, god, next.”
“Hihi! I’m Jyushimatsu! I’m the fifth son and I like to play baseball!”
“Very excitable, aren’t you?” Ryuki remarks.
“Is he always like this?” Ibuki asks.
“I… don’t want to talk about it," Choromatsu shudders upon recalling looking through Jyushimatsu's yearbook. "Next!”
“My name’s Todomatsu, the youngest, and cutest, sextuplet!
You two must be very dependable for Choromatsu-niisan. He worries too much sometimes.”
“Yes,” Ryuki stammers. “We… know.”
“NEETs,” the sextuplets’ mother calls. “Dinner’s ready!”
The sextuplet brothers, save for the second and third eldest brothers, ran to the dinner table.
“Karamatsu, Choromatsu,” their mother glances at the two upon walking out of the kitchen. “Go cook our guests some dinner. I’ve already cooked for the entire family. Your turn to show some respect for our guests.”
Ryuki interjects. “Ma’am, there’s no need—”
“Yes, Kaa-san,” Choromatsu gets up and heads into the kitchen, but not before facing his partners. “The blizzard’s still going on outside, right? And it’s late. You two almost froze to death. Let me take care of you for tonight."
“Don’t worry ~brother~ ," The second eldest brother follows Choromatsu. "I’ll help you cook.”