Chapter Text
Fog was rolling in today. It came in from the south, the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico making the perfect environment for a bout of early morning mist. It was no later than seven in the morning when Tsukishima Kei rubbed water vapour off his glasses while waiting for the blue clad mechanic at Handy Andy's to emerge from where he was currently stooped over the hood of Kei's car.
"So," said the mechanic, whose name was Mike and not Andy, "Kei as in Agent K? Men in Black? Your mommy like MiB?"
"No," replied Kei. "Kei as in Kei Tsukishima." His mommy'd liked fireflies.
"Fair 'nuff." Mike turned around, wiping his hands down the front of his denim jumpsuit. His dirty blond hair was sticking up at the back, like he'd just rolled out of bed. "Spark won't jump gap." Kei, who knew fuck-all about cars, nodded. "Leave it here with me, I'll have it fixed up. It'll take a few days, though—mind if I grab your number?"
"Here." Kei wrote down the number of his brother's landline. "Care to point me toward civilization?"
Mike squinted through the heavy, oppressing fog before raising an arm to point somewhere to the left of his shop. With the other hand, he pocketed the piece of paper Kei had written on. "Walk about quarter of a mile down that way, and you'll hit town. Good thing most of the island is walkable, eh?"
"Wonderful," Kei said, struggling to sound enthusiastic about anything at all in the ungodly hours of the morning. He never had been a morning bird by any stretch of the definition—that was his brother's thing. "Can I get an estimate?"
"You're looking at 'round two hundred at the moment. Five hundred if the ignition coil's busted, too."
Kei's already dour mood further dropped. "Great. Thanks." Because of course the moment he set foot on his godforsaken island to see his brother for the first time in six years, the rental got fucked. "You got any good coffee around here?"
"Sure do. Jesus and Marina do the best brews in town—you wanna hit up Kubera or Mama Coco's."
"Thanks."
He could've told Akiteru that he was already here. While his rental wasn't working, his phone and his new SIM card certainly were, but the thought of Akiteru and his happy, smiling future wife picking him up from Handy Andy's like a child from after-school care made him shudder. So, sucking it up, Kei shoved his hands in the pockets of his beige coat, tucked his chin into his turtleneck, and marched off.
Whale Island, Texas, was a lonesome skerry some miles off the coast with only a single two-way bridge connecting it to the mainland, surrounded by cold, black waters. Sheets of ice formed near the beach during not only the winter, but mid-autumn as well. It was a chilly September morning when Kei—after two long flights all the way from Sendai, Japan—walked into Kubera with a single rolling suitcase. The town was slow to wake; a single man sat at the corner table of the bistro eating an egg and bacon roll, flecks of ketchup staining his upper lip. The only other sign of life was the sound of clanging in the kitchen. Kei stood at the counter for a while before the owner finally came out—a fifty-something Hispanic man with a heavy beard and broad shoulders. His shirt sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, exposing his hairy forearms.
"Can I help you?" he asked.
"Just a latte, thanks." Kei opened up his wallet, craning his neck to look at the menu board above the bearded man. "Extra shot, oat milk, two pumps of vanilla."
The owner took the money and gave him the appropriate change. As he steamed the oat milk for Kei's latte, he said, "Never seen you before. You a tourist? Here for the whales? They're beautiful."
Kei, seeing as he had just arrived this morning and straight into oppressing fog in a faulty car, had not yet experienced the beauty of Whale Island, which he knew only existed because Akiteru had talked up the place the night before Kei had left for the airport in Sendai. "I'll be here for a week or two," said Kei. "I got a brother here."
"Ah." He gave Kei an appraising look. "Does he happen to be—"
The bell above the door jingled as a group of fishermen came in for breakfast. They'd been out at sea since before dawn, Kei reckoned; they smelled like salt and seafoam. "Hey, hey! Jesus! Morning."
"Morning, Tom. The usual?"
"You got it, boss. We'll be at our seats."
Jesus's latte art was a sight to behold. Kei's eyebrows rose to his hairline at the impressive whale design on the surface of his coffee. "You like it?" Jesus cracked a smile for the first time since Kei had entered the shop. "It's my own personal touch. Marina can't compare."
Kei didn't know who Marina was to Jesus, nor did he care to ask. Whatever it was, it was probably sensitive in nature. "You must really like whales," he remarked.
"Who doesn't? You won't meet a single resident who doesn't like whales, stranger. " Jesus chuckled, wiping down the steam wand of his coffee machine. "At least, they won't tell you that to your face."
Made sense—Whale Island's economy was heavily dependent on their whale-watching tourism. Every year, all-year round, hundreds of tourists descended from the mainland or flew over from other countries in hopes of sighting some of Whale Island's famous Humpbacks. It was the whole package—with even a sweet sob story to go with it; Kei would know, seeing as Akiteru was the human protagonist in that story.
"While you're here," continued Jesus, "You might as well take advantage of things and sign yourself up for a tour. Kubera—she loves humans."
"Checks out, considering who raised her."
Jesus's thick eyebrows lifted in amusement. "Am I right to say that your brother is none other than Akiteru Tsukishima?"
"Got it in one." Kei sighed. "What gave it away? The hair? The fact that we're both Japanese?"
"Your coffee order."
Somehow, that felt more offensive than anything else he could've said. Sullenly, Kei took his latte to the nearest table and took a sip. Damn. It was good. Jesus really knew what he was doing. The radio, which had previously been spewing out eighties classics of all things, suddenly switched up its tune as a velvety female voice crooned from the speaker. "Good morning Whale Island, rise and shine. You're listening to the Lighthouse Layabout at Harvey Bay. This is Deejay Anji B—you all know me—checking in for the day. We got our usual morning fog from the south-east over the island, so be careful on your way to work..."
Kei's phone buzzed. It was Akiteru and the first Japanese characters he'd seen after getting off the plane at Dallas.
[Akiteru]: Hey! Where are you?
[Kei]: Kubera.
[Akiteru]: Σ(°ロ°)
[Akiteru]: You're here already? You should've called!
[Kei]: I was enjoying a morning coffee.
[Kei]: Also, my rental car is being repaired at the moment.
He hoped Akiteru got the hint so he wouldn't need to outright ask him for a ride.
[Akiteru]: I gotchu. I'll be at Kubera in twenty.
[Akiteru]: ( ˘ᴗ˘ )
For all of his faults, at least Akiteru knew how to read between the lines.
Kei enjoyed the rest of his coffee slowly, even contemplating on ordering another one to go. Maybe it was the long flight and the shitty airplane instant coffee, but this was the best brew Kei had tried in a while. While he waited for Akiteru to bumble inside and fuss over how tall he'd gotten, more customers started trickling into Kubera for their morning pick-me-ups. All of them were on first name basis with Jesus. At around seven fifteen, a teenage boy who had to be a part-timer of some sort arrived. "Sorry I'm late, boss!"
"Don't make it a habit, Lane." Jesus didn't look up from where he was steaming someone's almond milk (extra hot with two sugars). "Put your apron on."
A third person who Kei had not noticed before greeted Lane when he ducked into the kitchen—the chef, who had been making preparations for the day, probably. "I need more bread from Baker's Dozen!" shouted the chef. "I'm sending Joey down to the Cornucopia!"
"That's fine!" Jesus called back.
"Aw, sweet." Lane—or Joey, as the chef had referred to him as—reappeared behind the cash register, opening it up and sifting through piles of President Grant's face with his brown hands. "Tyler's working his shift today."
"Don't go gabbing your shift away," warned Jesus.
"Come on, boss, have a lil' faith." Once Joey was confident he had enough money to buy the bread, he headed out the door and toward the collection of shops nearby Town Square known as the Cornucopia.
"I think I'll get another," Kei said, taking the empty glass to the counter. Jesus put it on a tray of dirty dishes to be carried to the kitchen. "Same thing, but extra hot this time. I'm taking it on the go."
"Good, eh?" said Jesus. "My coffee's the best in town."
"Yours and Marina's," said Kei, because he was feeling like a shit-stirrer today. As if it were an afterthought, he added, innocently, "According to Mike, at least."
"Mike!" exclaimed Jesus. "Mike! What would Mike know? Feed the guy motor oil, and he'd call it gourmet. By the way, whatever price he's given you, you can probably get it fixed up at Dan's for half."
"Five hundred."
"Pah. Lousy blanquito. Word of advice, if you ever run into any more car troubles, call up Dan Derby. He owns Demolition Dan's on the outskirts of town. Not technically a mechanic, but he knows his stuff. Humble, too, unlike Motor-Muncher Mike. That's the important part. You gotta make sure they're humble, honest folk."
"I'll keep that in mind for next time." Hopefully, there would never be a next time. Kei had no plans to return to foggy, miserable Whale Island after this trip. He was only here because... because he sorely, sorely needed a break from his life. Despite himself, Kei checked his phone. One more text from Akiteru complaining about the fog, one from Yamaguchi asking if he'd gotten there safely, and one from a former university classmate who'd had to repeat a unit asking for his notes on the subject. None from mom.
None from mom.
Hm.
Perhaps it was a good thing, but Kei really didn't know what to feel anymore.
When Akiteru came, he was thankfully alone, no girlfriend in sight. A lump formed in Kei's throat as his brother—who was hastily throwing on a red jacket as he crossed the road—appeared in his line of sight. As he got closer, that lump turned into a boulder. Akiteru looked a lot more grown up than the last time Kei had seen him. Six years in the USA did things to a man, it seemed. The way he moved—confidence Kei had never seen before lining his body—the way his hair was cropped short, but somehow still stylish—Tsukishima Akiteru was practically indifferentiable from the locals. No, Kei realized, Akiteru was a local. God's sake, he lived here with his girlfriend, in a cozy little wooden house at the edge of the island that faced the ocean. Suddenly, he felt sick.
Akiteru hugged him. "Kei! God, it's been so long!" He took a step back, Japanese spewing out now that he finally had someone to talk to in his native language. "Have you grown taller? Of course you have. What am I saying?" Something wistful glazed over his eyes. "I always knew you'd end up so much taller than me."
Kei rolled his eyes. "I'm not that much taller than you. Don't be so dramatic. Or are you fishing for compliments?"
He laughed. "Come on—let's put your things in the car. Have you eaten yet?"
"Just a coffee."
"Right, well, Jesus makes the best food in town, but Becca's cooked up a spread, and... well..." Akiteru smiled hesitantly. "If you'd like to join us..."
"I'll join you," Kei said. "Relax." To Jesus, he said, lifting his takeaway latte, "Thanks for the coffee."
"Hey, Jesus!" greeted Akiteru, in English. "Been a while, eh?"
"Yep." Jesus wiped a glass dry and set it atop the coffee machine. "How's Becca been treating ya?"
"Really good! We..."
During the exchange of pleasantries, Akiteru got a coffee from Jesus as well. To Kei's dismay, it was the exact same as his own order, minus one vanilla shot. It was hard to tell through all the hair on his face, but Kei thought that Jesus looked rather entertained by the similarities.
"I parked at the Cornucopia," Akiteru said as they walked out sipping their coffees. Out of courtesy, Akiteru was wheeling along Kei's suitcase. On the way there, they ran into Joey Lane carrying a tray full of bread rolls back from the Baker's Dozen; from the mildly guilty look on his mien, he had more than likely stopped for an extended chat with 'Tyler'. Akiteru said hi to Joey, to which Joey mumbled a hasty response. "Tell Jesus you got lost in the fog!" Akiteru called over his shoulder.
"Like he'll ever believe that!" Joey yelled back.
Akiteru's car was a modern green Beetle with just enough space in the back to fit Kei's things. He was lucky that Kei was a frugal person by nature, and hadn't needed to bring much over. The car shook as Akiteru slammed the boot shut. "Ready to go?" Akiteru looked so excited that Kei was half-expecting him to explode into rainbows and sunshine.
Kei sighed. "Yeah." Let's get this over with. "Let's go."
"Becca's really excited to meet you."
Kei said nothing.
A sign that said 'WELCOME TO WHALE ISLAND: HOME OF KUBERA' complete with a smiling cartoon whale with a mechanical waving fin was sprawled across the Cornucopia, adjacent to the aging fruit bowl sign above the greengrocer's. As Akiteru reversed and drove out of the parking lot, the whale disappeared out of his line of sight.
"You're going to love it here," Akiteru was chattering away, "If you're not too tired, I'll take you down to the facility after breakfast and we can..."
Kei looked back, tuning the rest of his brother's sentence out.
The whale waved at him.