The Ludicrous Escapade Pt.4

You Can't Always Get What You Want

You were chilling in the living room of the Higashikata house, reading a book. Around two days had passed since your shopping trip with the vampires.

You were going to meet up with Diego again this evening without Anasui tagging along. The Brando had made the plans this time, so you weren't entirely sure what to expect. All you knew so far was that you'd be going to S City.

Norisuke was on the opposite end of the couch, flipping through a newspaper.

"Dad! Dad!" Joshu ran into the living room and held his phone out to his father. "I have to get Rena Nanami's perfume!"

Norisuke set aside the newspaper to squint at his son's phone. "You... want to buy this girl's perfume? This is just a fragrance she created, right? It's not meant to smell like her?"

"Hm?!" The son had to think it over. "Uh, yeah, I guess so. If you put it next to your underwear in a drawer or whatever it's supposed to give them a nice scent. It's idol merch." He continued scrolling down the web page. "I wanna buy her photo, paper fan, and her wristband, too. See, in S City, there's a meet-and-greet, so I wanna go."

You glanced up from your book at that last bit, not so pleased to learn Joshu would also be going to S City.

"You always want something, don't ya?" Norisuke crossed one leg over the other as he spoke. "Do you ever think about what you could do for society or anything like that? I mean, you're in your second year of college already. How about getting a part time job working under Jobin? Though I can't say it'll be easy."

Joshu blinked a few times before holding out his hand. "Hey, dad, are you gonna give me the money for it or not?"

You noticed Norisuke reaching for his wallet. "You're allowed to say no..." You were barely loud enough for them to hear.

The older Higashikata let out a long sigh, aware that you thought he was being far too lenient. "At least say please, Joshu."

"Please?"

Norisuke handed a few bills over and Joshu scampered away to get ready for his trip.

"You don't have to give him everything he wants." You turned to the next page in your book. "He's got to learn that at some point. He really doesn't know how to handle rejection."

Norisuke put his head in his hands. But your last sentence stuck out to him. That's when he finally put a little more thought into the way his son behaved towards you. "Does Joshu... have a crush on you?"

"Hah!" You couldn't stop the sharp burst of laughter. You put your book on the coffee table so you could speak to the man more directly. "It's more like..." You searched for a good way to describe it. "He assumes every woman is in love with him and refuses to believe otherwise."

"But..." He was going to comment on your age, but realized his son wouldn't have been aware of that tidbit of information.

"He also gets jealous whenever I interact with any other guy. That's why he was being all weird about Kars having his arm on my shoulder. Joshu acts the same way towards Yasuho, too."

Norisuke covered his mouth with one hand, concern written all over his face. "I'll make sure to talk to him about his behavior."

You let out a small sigh, not sure if the Higashikata was truly grasping the situation. "Why don't I show you what I mean." You brought out your Stand. Apparently it was Valentine's turn to be out of the void room. "Funny, put your arm around my waist."