He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not -TDDK-

Chapter 9 -Oh Brother-

I love her but she is so, so, dumb.

"Your welcome, we're so glad we could be a part of your special day!" Tsuyu chirped, taking back a clipboard from their signing customer, the formerly frantic bride from just days earlier. They'd just finished setting up her bridal order after three, mildly frustrating, hours of finicky florist work.

Certainly not a laidback Friday gig.

"Oh, really, thank you, so, so much!!! You really have no idea how much this means to me!!!" She gushed, cupping a grateful hand around Tsu's face. "No other florists would take us, and even if they would, it was way, way, to expensive." Ms. Nakamura sighed, tucking a fallen lock of hair back in the messy rollers she wore.

"Our pleasure," Shouto butted in, receiving a side-eye from Tsu. Nothing personal, he just wasn't allowed in customer conversations; for the simple reason that, to make a long story short, he was bad at converse.

"It's perfect," staring with pure adoration back at her small barn-yard venue, laced with the richest, most beautiful shades of burgundy, grayish dusty rose, and gold, pouring out of the rustic tent. Peonies, plumosa fern, eucalyptus and bourbon roses entwined the aisle, blending exquisitely with the decor and dishes already set.

"Thanks, dear," Tsuyu tucked away the pen and clipboard, adjusting her froggy shoulder bag. "I'm afraid we're going to have to take off now, it's a bit of a trek back and we didn't pack lunch."

"Yes, yes, I'll let you go, there's still a lot to do here anyways." Laughing with a touch of stress, she wrapped her cardigan tighter around herself with the whiff of chilly breeze passing through. "I can't thank you enough, this is truly a blessing and it looks absolutely stunning. Like an fairytale brought to life."

"Aww, we're so glad we could help create your dream." Tsu gently held the bride's hands giving a friendly smile. "Congratulations, I hope your day is magical." Shouto gave a small wave, tailing his friend as she headed back to the van.

Climbing back in, the two prepared for the long journey home. Unluckily, traffic was thick by the time they were back on the road, adding an extra half hour to their drive. It wasn't that big a deal though, they were friends and Tsu had good taste in music, so a few extra minutes was almost a blessing.

After last night's late bedtime, Shouto was delighted to have the extra time for a quick nap. Resting on the passenger door, his heavy eyes began to flutter out the late-afternoon sun as dozy sleep attempted to reclaim him.

BEEP! BEEP!!! BEEP!!!!! BEEP!!!

Obnoxious screeching rang from his cellphone, jostling any hope of sleep out of him. Fumbling for the phone, he nearly dropped it trying to answer.

"Uh, h-hi, hello?" Regretting not checking the caller ID, he tried to be professional yet friendly, pinching the bridge of his nose as he forced himself to wake up.

"Heyyyyyy, little dude," a teasing, sneerish voice answered. Immediately, he recognized the voice.

"Oh, goddammi-"

"Hey! That's no way to talk to your big bro..." That stupid, annoyingly familiar voice chortled. "Anyyywayyyyyssss, where's mom? Can I talk to her?"

"She's not- I'm in the car right now, Tsu's here-"

"Hi Touya," Asui piped up.

"We're headed home from a delivery, why're you- what do you need?"

"Chill man, I don't need anything, I just wanted to check in on my sweet widdle baby brother," his oldest brother, Touya, or as he was more famously known Dabi, mocked.

"Shut up," they were siblings, he couldn't help but be brash for no reason. For his brother, rudeness wasn't his go-to, his tactic was focus around taunting and asshole-ishness. "What do you want to talk about? Your not in trouble again, are you?"

"Ha, no! Not today Sho-bro, haha, today, I am in the exact opposite of jail."

"That's what you said in prison ding-dong, I'm not convinced."

"No, no, shut up, I'm not in jail, or prison, or court, or holding, or the police station, or questioning... or handcuffed. Shouto, I am going to be famous."

"Also not the first time I've heard that." He grumbled.

"Dude, shut the fuck up,"

"Fine,"

"The big deal is, I scored my first art gallery in Kyoto, there's gonna be this huge event on Monday, like a fundraiser sorta thing and I feel like a total dweebus, but I was hopin' you and mom might wanna come down and see it or sum'n?"

"Oh," yes they were argumentative but still, this was a big accomplishment for him. See, Touya had been in and out of jail for five years and he had finally taken the chance to hone his incredible artistry to create a real career and stable life for himself out of his passions and this could be a path to a truly better life. "That's, that's great, I- I'm, wow, Tou, that's, wow..... mom's going to be so proud."

"Thanks dude. So, you think you can make it? No pressure."

"We'll try."

"O-Kay-kay, I gotta go, fancy-pants lunch meeting... 'cause I'm going to be rich... and famous." Dabi said, rather matter-of-factly. "Bye little guy."

"Bye Touya, good luck, I'll see what I can do."

"Keep in touch kiddo, call back with mom."

"Will do, byeee," holding out the 'e' until the phone hung up, Shouto gave a wave to the blank screen, knowing very well that his brother couldn't see it.

Honestly he took a moment to just process what was going on. His brother was finally, after years of trying to figure himself out, going to have a stable, functional, life. Rei was going to love the news.

He spent the rest of the drive fussing over flight schedules, hotel rooms and funds, desperately trying to make this happen for his big brother. Sure, Dab was being nonchalant about it, but he knew better than anyone this was something the his brother cared deeply about and their absence would be practically devastating.

Unfortunately this olive branch forced his nap to be put on hold, or rather, in the trash.

Priority also led him to shed the memory of the barista boy's requested call, the sliver of slight remembrance withheld by sheer exhaustion toward the end of the day. Rei was overjoyed over the news and following a long night at the computer the two found an inexpensive flight and hotel that would set them on the way to support Touya...

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Dear lord, I have a problem, it's me! 💕 -a (relatable) church I saw