Lying is a Sin, A Sin Hanagaki Takemichi Commits Too Often

The Cake and The Cruise - The Eighth Promise - The Wedding Part 5

Senju was bouncing up and down cheering what could only be assumed as 'Cake! Cake! Cake!'. Yuzuha pinched the bridge of her nose at her wife's childish antics but she couldn't deny that she too was excited to see what Takemichi had created. Everyone was. Everyone knew how hard Takemichi had worked on it, and well, let's just say his sweet creations never fell short of excellence. The lights were turned off and the cake was wheeled out, everyone waited in anticipation for the lights to turn on. Takemichi was nervously awaiting Hina and Emma's reactions.

Gentle yellow lights flickered around the cake, illuminating it. Gasps and whispers filled the room, then a squeal Takemichi was positive came from Senju. The cake that Emma and Hina had selected was on three layers and was a pale pink and cream base with flowers iced on. What Takemichi had created was five tiers, the same colours but rather the flowers were all handmade with fondant, edible pearls and gold decorated it. It was far beyond what they were expecting.

The newlyweds turned to him, both having tears in their eyes. Hina pulled him in for a hug first, Emma then joining in.

"It's- oh my goodness Takemichi! It's beautiful!"

"I love it so much, you did incredible it's- just wow!"

Takemichi's heart might have just exploded and mended itself all at the same time just then. He swelled with pride and he felt better than he had all evening, they like- no- loved the cake!

"Let's dig in shall we?"

/

Everyone thought it was beautiful and delicious, Takemichi was red faced for the next hour or so from all the compliments.

"Yuzu, I'm sorry but we need to get a divorce," Senju declared.

Yuzuha looked down at her wife with an eyebrow raised, "And why is that?"

"So we can get married again and have Takemichi make our cake!" She exclaimed before shoving another spoonful of cake into her mouth.

Yuzuha rolled her eyes, "I'm sure Takemichi can make cakes for other events too, like birthdays and things."

"Hey, Takemichi, you should just become our personal baker," Senju called out.

Takemichi turned around from where he was talking to Hakkai and Mitsuya, "Who's to say I'm not already? I serve all of you guys more than any of my regular customers."

/

Takemichi went to sit down at a table, his energy was really running low and his head was pounding again. He stilled when suddenly someone sat next to him. It was Izana. Surprisingly, a small smile was on his face and it was actually directed towards him.

"You made her happy. Thank you Hanagaki." Izana patted his shoulder awkwardly.

"You can call me Takemichi, Izana-kun. And I'm just glad her and Hina liked the cake," Takemichi replied, smiling.

Izana nodded and stood up, before he turned, he said one last thing, "Hey...look after yourself Han-Takemichi, there are a lot of people that care about you. Don't forget that."

Takemichi was left speechless, Izana threw him one last small smile before walking away to join Kakucho.

He didn't really get the chance to breathe either because two more Sano's plopped themselves on either side of him. Shinichiro to his right, Mikey to his left, it was suffocating to be surrounded by those two pairs of endless black eyes.

"U-um, hi?"

"We were all going to talk to you, but Emma is still in another world with her wife," Shinichiro started, confusing him.

"Wha-"

"So anyway, for some reason Shin-nii wants to do something big for Izana's birthday, so we decided we're going to surprise him with a cruise around the islands surrounding the Philippines," Mikey explained.

Shinichiro scoffed, "It's not just for any reason, he will be 30. And he's your older brother, it wouldn't hurt for you to respect him a little more."

Mikey rolled his eyes before turning his attention back to Takemichi, "It's a family trip and we want to invite you Takemitchy. I want you to come."

Why does the universe constantly put him in situations like these where he's forced to lie. He knew Izana's birthday was at the end of August, that's basically three months away. He definitely wouldn't be in any condition to go.

"I-I don't you. You said it was a family thing..." he drifted off, hoping they'd understand. But what was he thinking? They're Sano's.

"Everyone is bringing someone who they consider their family too. Kakucho is invited, Emma is bringing Hina-chan along. I've even convinced Takeomi to get off his ass and come too. Besides, you've always been a part of the family anyway Take-kun," Shinichiro said.

Takemichi wished his heart didn't clench and his throat didn't close up at that. Here he was, hearing how there was actually someone who wanted him to be their family and he was thinking about how to lie to them.

"Grandpa considered you his grandson too. Besides, I don't have anyone to bring. So, will you be my plus one Takemitchy?" There Mikey was again, pleading with those eyes.

"Wh-what about Draken-kun? He's your best friend."

Shinichiro internally smacked his forehead. Mikey didn't want to take his best friend, he wanted to take his love like everyone else was. As bad as he felt for his brother, his mind kept wandering back to Takemichi's tearful expression as he begged him to understand why he couldn't be with Mikey.

"Draken doesn't really know Izana, so it would be strange. Is it that bad of an idea? To come on a cruise with me? And my-our family?"

Takemichi couldn't say no. Not with Mikey looking so dejected. He couldn't lie, it sounded like so much fun and he actually had hope that maybe his treatments could pull him through for a few more months. A genuine smile spread across his face.

"I'd love to come, I promise I'll be there getting a killer tan."