Chapter Text
Koji glances in the rearview mirror at the stoplight to see Ren fiddling at his cuffs, looking out of the window like he wants to be anywhere but here.
“Young master, there really is nothing for you to worry about,” Koji says, turning his eyes back to the road where the lazy weekday mid-morning traffic is trundling along the streets of Ginza.
The tank light blinks an accursed red at him.
He really needs to fill it up soon, and he was going to do it after breakfast, but then young master Ren had called for him and Koji knows he would have been lost without Koji’s wise and familiar instruction, so who was he to say no? (Also driving the young master around was part of Koji’s job, but eh, potato potahto.)
“You don’t know that for sure,” Ren frowns, an adorable little crease settling between his brows.
Koji would reach over and smooth it out if taking his hands off the steering wheel while driving wasn’t illegal. It wouldn't do to cause any trouble while they’re out looking for a nice suit for the young master’s first speech at the company.
“Okay, no, but have I ever been wrong about anything?” Koji glances at the mirror again, and this time Ren is looking right at him, a laugh dancing across his face. “Okay, don’t answer that. Um, when have I ever lied to you?”
The laugh bubbles up now, and Ren leans back in his seat as if he’s settling in for the long haul.
“Where do I even start? When I was five, you told me that Kansai was somewhere up in the sky and that you came down from there. You let me believe that you were an angel for two years. And when I was six, you—”
“Fine, okay. Maybe I’ve lied a lot more than I’ve realised actually. Scratch that. It’ll be fine, Meme - I, uh, mean - young master. It’ll be fine, trust me.” He slows the car down at another stoplight - why the hell is Ginza so full of freaking stoplights? Rich people have so much freaking time! - and turns around for a proper look now.
Ren meets his eyes, and anyone less schooled in his expressions would think that he’s as composed as can be, but Koji sees the uncertainty that darts just under the surface now, just right there like a koi fish in one of the estate’s ponds.
“Trust me, okay? I have a good feeling about this, and you know those are pretty trustworthy.” Koji gives him a smile, and Ren mirrors it instinctively.
“Okay,” he promises. Then, “Koji, go! The light’s green!”
*
Koji offers to drop Ren at the family’s usual tailor, but given that the closest parking space would be 10 minutes away, Ren would have to go in on his own.
A look is all Koji needs to know that he could, but he would much rather not.
If Ren’s parents had accompanied them, Koji would not be okay letting them walk 10 minutes, but it’s just Ren. Koji’s blown on his scraped knees, and they take turns at the wheel on their cross-country trips to visit Koji’s grandparents in Nara.
(Contrary to popular belief, Ren’s also the one who gave Koji chocolates every Valentine’s Day throughout elementary and halfway through middle school before puberty hit and suddenly, he was too cool for school anymore. Ren doesn’t like to talk about it so Koji doesn’t, but if someone pried open Koji’s skull, he imagines they would see that a giant neon sign with REMEMBER WHEN MEME GAVE ME CHOCOLATES EVERY VALENTINE’S DAY FOR YEARS? YEAH, THAT HAPPENED. on it.)
So, yeah. It’s just Koji’s young master Ren. No biggie.
Koji parks the Benz, and they walk to the shop where Koji holds the door open for Ren, nudging him ahead of them both because he knows Ren was fully ready to hang back and let Koji do the talking.
If Ren is going to start working and training as the Meguro heir in a few weeks, Koji is definitely going to be there to help everyone get to know the Meguro Ren he knows and loves, even if it means playing a not-really-bad, just-stricter-than-he-usually-is guy.
The owner of the store, an older lady in maroon pinstripe tuxedo with a navy pocket square, strides up to them. Ren is almost two times taller than her with his 3 metre-long legs, but Hanazono-san has had decades on him and it shows in the way her presence fills the room.
“Ah, if it isn’t young master Meguro Ren-sama and his Koji-san. Good morning, good morning! What can we do for you today? Are you here for a suit for the introductions in three weeks?” Hanazono-san grins expectantly at them, bowing like she has all the time in the world for them. Knowing how much she charges for her suits and how many suits the Meguro family has ordered from her over the years though, Koji reckons she probably does.
Ren blinks at her in astonishment. The anxious fists of his hands loosen a bit, and it makes Koji really want to take them.
“I- um, yes. I need a new suit for it, b-but um, I don’t know… I don’t know where to start.” Ren’s back to fiddling with his cuffs again, but Hanazono-san nods, running her eyes over him with an assessing look. She steps up to Ren and smooths his lapels down, tugging on his cuffs before gesturing at her assistant.
“You’ve grown taller and broader again since you’ve last come in for a fitting,” she comments and Koji’s always imagined she must have holographic screens before her that they can’t see, with little tiny invisible robots making notes of all of Ren’s measurements like something out of an Iron Man movie. Koji’s been on the receiving end of that look before, and as difficult as it is to unnerve him, it had admittedly made him just a tiny bit flustered.
“Well,” Ren starts, ducking his head with a bashful smile and bringing a hand up to scratch the back of his head awkwardly. The movement makes her tut gently, and the hand shoots back down to his thigh. “Well, I didn’t really have a reason to come.”
It makes Koji stifle a laugh. “It’s more like, our young master here is actually quite the spendthrift. The clothes I buy are even more expensive than his now. When he graduated last year, he convinced the missus to let him wear an altered old suit. Luckily there was just enough material in the hem of the trousers to cover his latest growth spurt.”
“Koji!” Ren’s ears and cheeks have gone bright pink. “Sorry, Hanazono-san. Koji, he’s not very tactful, your suits are beautiful, and I really love and treasure the ones that you’ve made for me. The craftsmanship is gorgeous, and the stitching is so fine.”
Hanazono-san laughs, going over to a large chest of drawers to pull out swathes of fabric and swatches of silk that she hands to her assistant.
“You’re a sweet one, Ren-sama, but I have admirers a’plenty.” Her light Yamaguchi accent slips out, and Koji watches the tips of Ren’s ears go pinker still. “Now, let’s see what we can do for you today. I’d say a navy one with a notch lapel? Not black, but not too out-there, either. We’ll take your new measurements, then talk fabric and specific cut. Is that all right?”
She only lifts her chin minutely, waiting for Ren’s flustered agreement. There is confidence and experience in every inch of her posture.
Koji grins.
They’re in safe hands.