Chapter Text
"I can't... I can't do it."
"He's a baby! And he seems to like you. Of course you can hold him."
"But I don't know how to do it."
"Don't be scared, you'll learn."
Three years had gone by since that day at the shore. It hadn't been easy. Understanding, reevaluating everything that had been and would never again. Trusting also, that had been difficult. Having faith, at times. Mikey had to accept change, to adjust to it and recreate inside his mind a pattern which had never been there before. A déjà vu.
It had been hard, with Emma. They had stopped talking for over a year. Embarrassment, unease, resentment. And every time they talked, it ended in fire. Quite literally.
Shinichiro, their formal mediator, had invited the both of them to their old house once. Emma had almost set his hair on fire by the end of the day. An accident. It had been an accident, of course.
It all came together one night. When Emma had knocked on the door of his apartment, handing him his red sweater. "It seems like I forgot to return it. Sorry." She had said and when Mikey had asked her to stay she had given him her best smile.
"C'mon, Mikey!" Emma insisted. "It's just a baby."
"Alright." He sighed.
"Just be natural." Hinata told him and Mikey did as told. The new member of the Hanagaki family was now making suspicious sounds as Mikey cradled him.
"Did he just burp on me?" Mikey's eyes widened.
"He got that attitude from Takemichi." Hinata smiled.
"Oh, I'm sure." Mikey could only agree.
"I do hear you!" They heard Takemichi's voice from inside the kitchen, where he was meticulously washing the dishes.
"I'll stuff his ears with the soap, just say what you want!" Draken butted in, his hands in the sink as well, busy with a pot.
About Draken, Mikey and him hadn't gotten together immediately. There had been fights, misunderstandings and mean words shouted at the wrong time. The burden of what they had done had kept weighing on their shoulders for a while. Even now, sometimes. But one night, the euphoria for his first championship title had taken over him. Mikey had kissed him in a crowded room, with their entire team watching. A lighthearted joke, just carefree exuberance, that's what Mikey had told the others, but Draken knew it was more than that. They had been together since then.
"Hey you two! Wait!"
Draken and Mikey turned around. It was late afternoon and the setting sun cast shadows on the street. It was Emma.
"My car's also this way. Do you wanna walk together?"
They both nodded. They had started talking again lately. The three of them. They still didn't hang around as they used to, but it was nice to exchange a few words all together every once in a while.
"You two should fly under the radar, you know that?" Emma gave them a look.
"What?" Mikey said.
"That article. That article which was posted online." She clarified as she played with her car keys.
"What article?" Draken seemed to have no clue.
"You never read anything on the Internet, don't you?" She shook her head. "This article about a popular Japanese racer who seems to have a secret wife."
"A secret wife?" Mikey repeated.
"That's what they said." She chuckled. "But anyway... are you two free later? For dinner? I got too many leftovers from last night and there's no way I can eat all that stuff by myself." She asked, almost hesitating.
Draken and Mikey both smiled at her. "Sure." Mikey replied.
He felt warm in his chest. Emma had never asked them to come over before.
"I'll be glad to help." Draken quietly added.
"Cool." Emma hummed cheerful.
"Is that dickhead gonna be there?" He then asked and Emma glared at him.
"You lost your right to speak on whom I date, don't you think?" Emma raised her eyebrows and Draken looked away, a little embarrassed.
"But yeah." Emma's expression softened. "He's a dickhead. I actually dumped his ass. A month ago."
"You did? But didn't you say you were on a date last week?" Mikey was relieved, yet confused.
Emma looked away, then she smiled. "So what? You two can be in a secret relationship and I can't?"
"Secret what?" Mikey almost squealed. "Is it someone we know?" He asked before Emma could dodge his question.
"It's definitely someone you know." She winked and then she hopped away. "See you later, guys! Don't be late!"
Mikey waved at her, his mind still scanning through the not so limited options. "She's dating someone we know and she's not telling me?" He muttered.
"Well, it's not like you told me you have a secret wife." Draken shrugged.
Mikey turned around and Draken was standing there. He seemed serious.
"Kenchin." He said. "It's you. You are my secret wife."
And then Draken looked right back at him, a gloating grin on his smug face. "I know."
Mikey simply blinked.
Everything was constantly changing, and what about his life now that he was thirty?
It wasn't perfect, but it was a start.