The Sweetness of Forever [IDOLiSH7 IoRiku]

3: Friendship and Gifts

Thursday, December 25

"Merry Christmas, Riku."

"Merry Christmas to you too, Tenn-nii!"

The twins turn around and away from the room walls. Presents in hand, they take light steps towards each other. When they get within arm's reach, they exchange the wrapped gifts.

"I'll open mine first." Riku watches intently as Tenn begins to pick on the tapes, careful not to rip the wrapping paper apart. Once the content reveals itself, a light pink blush appears on his face.

What Riku bought for his twin brother is a light pink velvet jewellery box, about the size of his palm. He knows Tenn loves earrings and necklaces but he already has large display cases for them. A thorough search online led him to this travel-friendly elegant box.

"How thoughtful of you, Riku." Tenn holds the box close to his heart, sending Riku floating with joy.

Riku tries his best to not rip the wrapping paper apart as well but ends up doing so out of clumsiness and excitement. Two silver bangle bracelets shine beautifully inside the luxurious case.

"Wow..." Riku picks them up one by one, admiring the details. Each bracelet has a tiny gemstone charm dangling in the middle. One is a ruby. The other is a sapphire. Riku's jaw drops in awe. He cannot believe he was given such a precious gift. "These must be expensive, Tenn-nii! Can I really have them?"

"Nothing is too expensive for you, Riku." Tenn smiles sweetly. He loves pampering his little brother. Taking the ruby bracelet, followed by the sapphire one, Tenn slides them through Riku's left hand. They sit brilliantly on the wrist. "The ruby one represents you as it matches the colour of your hair and eyes. You can give the sapphire one to a special someone. Someone you treasure. Or you can choose to keep both. The choice is yours."

"Can I give it to you, Tenn-nii?" Riku asks innocently, his hand already touching the sapphire bracelet, ready to take it off.

"I'm happy, but I cannot accept it." Tenn chuckles. "It wouldn't be right to take back a gift I gave."

"Is that so?" Riku stares at the bracelet on his palm for a bit. "Then I'll think long and hard before giving this to someone. I love you, Tenn-nii!" He throws his brother the tightest hug he can muster.

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Saturday, December 27

The instant Riku comes into view, Iori stops watering flower pots in the garden. "Nanase-san, I'd say welcome but we're closed today."

Riku puffs his cheeks, showing disappointment. "Awww, you close the cafe on weekends?

"Normally we don't, but Nii-san is hanging out with some friends today." Iori sighs. "I can't keep the cafe running on my own."

"..." Riku's expression turns solemn, but it doesn't stay that way for very long. His mouth curves into an unusually sly smile. "I take it that you're free, Iori?"

"Well, I am not particularly busy..." Not knowing what to expect, Iori answers hesitantly. Saying he needs to tend to the garden would be stretching the fact a little too far since he's only trying to do simple tasks to not be completely useless to his family. He knows full well that his big brother can do whatever he does in only one-tenth of the time he takes.

Riku's eyes grow bigger, brimming with excitement. "Then, let's go to the shopping mall!"

"Let's do what now?" The invitation just now sounded so wrong on so many levels, Iori thinks. One, they are not friends. Just a shopkeeper and a customer. Two, he is not the most fun person to hang out with. And lastly, the most obvious reason, he is disabled, which is going to make life more difficult for Nanase.