Love Always

I’m so fucked. What sick god is out there enjoying my pain right now? I wouldn’t even wish this upon people I hate it’s so fucking terrible!

I am so fucking in love with Shinkai I don’t even know what to do with myself. At first, I thought my mind was just playing tricks on me. There’s no way I’d find his munching on those stupid power bars attractive, and there’s no fucking reason my heart should flutter like a freaking girl when he does something for me. But now I know. I’m really in love with him and it sucks.

During practice lately, all I can do is just stare at his ass or legs, or even his arms when we’re beside each other. I can’t focus and Fuku-chan is calling me out on it. Shinkai knows something’s up, but he hasn’t said anything about it. That’s really just another reason I feel so stupidly giddy around him because he does things like that that doesn’t piss me off.

I think I tested his patience though because while we were out riding together today, he stopped at some vending machines near the lakes and waved me over. Leaning my bike against the wall, I clicked my tongue as I went over to him.

“What’re you buying a drink for? You’ve still got plenty of water left,” I scoffed, leaning against the machine next to the one he was using.

“It’s not for me,” he said simply. He leaned down—which gave me yet another really good view of his ass—and handed me a bottle of Bepsi, winking as he did so. “I think resting is just as important as working is sometimes, so why don’t we just take a break?”

Dammit. Stop pounding so hard heart! He’s only doing this so you’ll spill the beans about why you’ve been so weird lately! Get it together, me! “Sure, why not,” I mumble as I grab the soda, playing with the lid so I don’t blush. He gets a tea for himself and leads me to the wall where our bikes are and sits. He’s smart. If anyone rode by here on their bikes they wouldn’t be able to see us. He’s really thought this through.

After taking a few sips of his tea, he sighs and puts a hand on my leg. That part of my leg immediately starts to feel hot, but I don’t say anything. I know he’s gearing up to ask, so I take a swig of my Bepsi instead of calling him out on it. “Yasutomo. . .have you been doing okay lately? Juuichi and I have been really worried about you lately. You know you can talk to us about anything right?”

He turned his body slightly so that he was facing me, but that made the hand on my leg shift inwards. I nearly lost it. My fingers twitched around my can of Bepsi, but I stayed put, letting out a deep breath. He probably thought I was getting annoyed because he stiffened slightly. “You wanna come over today? I got some great porn lately that I think you’d be interested in.”

Okay, I know this looks like I’m digging myself into a grave, but it’s not weird for me to ask something like that. Shinkai and I have watched porn together lots of times before. I actually haven’t invited him in a while—since I realized my feelings for him really—so he’s probably suspicious that I haven’t asked him. This should get him to relax.

“Oh? Then sure, I’ll come. Geez, here I was worried about you and you’re really just thinking about perverted things. Well, Juuichi will be relieved to hear that at least,” he joked as he sipped at his tea again. He moved his hand away and I almost moved it back myself.

Well you’re right about that, but I’m not thinking about porn. I’m wondering how nice it would be to mount you instead, but I won’t say that out loud. Nope. I’m taking this secret with me to the grave.

“Well, make yourself at home,” I said as I opened the door to my room. Shinkai awkwardly shuffled into my room and gently set his bag down by my bed. He looked around hesitantly before looking at me. He was close to making me feel shy. “Geez, don’t look so lost. It’s not like this is our first time doing this. Just sit where you want and do what you want.”

“Right, sorry. It’s just been a while. I thought maybe I was too loud or did something wrong the last time,” he gave me an awkward smile before sitting on the ground next to my bed. I snorted and pulled out a DVD—luckily I really did have porn he hadn’t seen before—and started it up before turning off the lights and sitting on my bed.

When it started, I pulled my knees up to my chest like I usually do, but it’s not like I’m turned on. It’s completely straight, and the girl is really ugly to boot. She’s squishy and round in all the wrong places and her moans were really annoying. This is why I’m gay goddammit. I glanced down at Shinkai and immediately knew it was a mistake.

His eyes were glossed, his cheeks flushed, and though I really couldn’t see anything because his shoulder blocked my view, I could see that one of his hands were in his lap. Now that’s what I call attractive. I’m hard just looking at him.

I don’t know what in that moment possesses me to do it, but I slide off my bed and sit next to Shinkai, undoing the button on my pants as I moved. “Hey, Shinkai. Let’s get each other off.”

“What?”

“Yeah, c’mon. It’ll be fine. If you just close your eyes, you don’t even have to think about it being me. You can think about her if you want to.” I paused for a moment, berating myself for saying the word “her” with such venom in my voice. It’s shit like that that’s gonna give me away.

Shinkai looked hesitant, but he finally huffed out a breath of hot air and nodded. “Alright, let’s do it.” A bit shyly, he moved his hands away and I swear I felt my dick twitch in anticipation.

His pants were already mostly moved out of the way, so I quickly moved mine and sat close enough for our shoulders to touch. Shinkai turned his attention back to the screen, and I took that chance to reach out and touch him. I felt the heat surge past my hand as I grabbed him, pausing to let my pounding heart stop beating so quickly. He let out a long hiss of air and wiggled his hips.

“Damn, Yasutomo, just move your hand already,” he pleaded. I mumbled a quick apology and started moving my hand up and down his shaft, my thumb rolling over the top of it as I did so. His head lolled back onto my bed as he let out a soft moan.

Just like that, I picked up my pace a little, rubbing my thumb over the head of his dick even as he started leaking pre-cum. A major part of me just wanted to stop using my hand and start using my mouth, but that would be much harder to justify than just helping a friend get off on porn. I could tell when he was getting closer to his climax by how he was pulsing beneath my hand and how he was sporadically moving his hips now. In a muffled cry, he moaned and unloaded into my hand, though a little bit spilled onto the floor.

“Tch. Dammit,” I grumbled, reaching for a tissue to clean it up.

“Sorry,” he breathed out, still not seeming all there.

“Don’t worry about it,” I said as I finished cleaning off my tissue. I smiled, pretty damn satisfied with myself. I got to jerk off Shinkai. Shinkai of all people. I don’t think I’ll ever forget this. I turned my head back to the screen, not thinking about anything really until I gasped at the hand touching my own dick. “Hey, what’re you doing?”

“Helping you get off next. Isn’t that what you said? That we’d help each other?” he asked dumbly. I blinked, completely stumped. I didn’t think he’d actually do me too. I was too surprised to say anything, so he took that as a sign to continue.

I am so weak. I turned to putty in his hand, quite literally. My toes scrunched and unscrunched as I started to feel more aroused. My head started to get dizzy as he picked up his pace. He must have spit into his hand or something because everything felt wet. Eventually, it felt so good that I had to rest my head against his chest, my hands tightly clawing at his shirt. I was a moaning mess too. I was feeling so good, I didn’t even think about anything I was saying as I came.

“F-Fuck, Shinkai! I-I love you! Sh-Shinkai!” I moaned loudly as I came into his hand. We both stayed put for a while, me gasping heavily and him sitting silently. At first, I was confused why he wasn’t even cleaning himself off, but then I replayed what I said in my head.

Fuck.

I quickly sat upright, face bright, and tried to wave up the curious and suspicious glance he was giving me. “U-uh, that’s not what I-I mean, I didn’t mean to say that! I-I just uh, knew that it was you doing it, so I instinctively said your name. Not that I say I love you to just anyone, but I-oh god this is sounding all wrong.”

“Yasutomo,” his voice was surprisingly strong, completely different from the normal carefree tone his voice usually carried. It compelled me to look at him, but then I was pinned down by the powerful sultry look in his eyes. “Let’s have sex.”

“What?”

“Let’s have sex,” he repeated, smiling brightly at me. I spluttered about for a bit as he picked me up and dropped me on my bed. He was on me in a quick second and I barely had anytime to react before I felt his already half-hard dick against me.

“Wait, hold on a second!” I turned and put my hand to his chest—I don’t know when he had the time to take his shirt off—and avoided meeting his eyes. “I said I didn’t fucking mean it. No need to go so far to pull some shitty prank, alright?”

“But it’s not a prank. I want to have sex with you. I love you too, Yasutomo, so I’m happy you finally said it. It’s been agonizing waiting so long—did you think I didn’t know that you had feelings for me? You should have just told me a long time ago, and then we could have been doing this all this time,” Shinkai smirked and leaned over me, pinning me to the bed.

“Well, then why didn’t you fucking say anythi-“

“Suck on these for me,” Shinkai ordered, sticking his fingers into my mouth without getting anything from me. I glared at him but couldn’t do much about it, so I gave in and sucked on his fingers. I swirled my tongue around each finger, enjoying the way they curled as I did. His other hand slid under my shirt and started messing with the buttons. After a while, he got it all unbuttoned and slid it off me.

“Good. Now turn over.” I did as instructed, staying on my arms and knees as I felt him lean over me yet again, a strong hand gripping my growing erection. “Man, you’re really feeling it. I thought you didn’t want this.” His voice was just a whisper in my ear, but I could feel his smirk as he pressed kisses to my back, shoulders, and neck. I gasped at each kiss, feeling his tongue reach out and lap at my skin.

“Sh-shut up,” I moaned.

“Still don’t want to admit it? You really should you know,” Shinkai warned as I felt a wet finger prod around my asshole. I shuddered at the weird feeling, but moved my hips eagerly. I would be lying if I said I didn’t imagine this happening after all. I was ready.

“Heh, you’re really eager. How long have you been wanting this? Come out and say it already.” He pressed his finger inside me, curling the tip of it when it was fully inside. He moved his finger in and out of me, and eventually I started moving my hips to his movement, only able to utter moans.

“Maybe you’re too eager. You’re already leaking a lot of pre-cum. You still haven’t admitted anything yet either,” Shinkai noted, adding a second finger in as he did so. I gasped again, moaning a bit louder at the feeling. He bit down on my shoulder and sucked, causing me to lower my head and squeeze my eyes shut.

“F-Fuck, Shinkai…” I gasped, bucking my hips with more force.

“You’re so close~ You just have to say a bit more. Out with it now,” he teased, slowly running his hand down my length. I bit my lip to quiet my moan knowing full well that these walls are not soundproof. “What was that? I couldn’t hear you.”

“You’re a goddamn tease, you know that?” I mumbled through a wispy breath. At that Shinkai chuckled and any and all movement from him stopped.

“Oh Yasutomo, you don’t know the half of it yet.” He inserted the third finger and began to stretch them out instead of just moving them in and out. I gripped my pillow and bit it to stop from crying out, but my hips bucked anyways.

“Shi-Shinkai, I-“

“Do you feel good? Are you ready?” Shinkai asked, sounding more like his usual carefree self again. I bit my lip and nodded, and he pulled out. He pulled back to align himself, but the most I ever felt was the tip of his dick pressing against my entrance. I waited a good minute before sending him a glare over my shoulder.

“Are you going in or what?”

“That’s not how you ask~” He leaned over, giving me a better feel for the tip of his cock and I moaned. “You gotta beg for it, Yasutomo.”

“Fuck you!” I glared. I have more pride than that. I don’t beg for anything.

But then he ran his hand over my dick tantalizingly slow and moved his own in a circle around my entrance. My head swam at the pleasure I was feeling, and I let out a loud moan. At least the bastard knows how to do it right.

The third time I moaned at those actions, I gave in. “Alright! Shinkai please, please just put it in! Pl-Please. I-I need you, I need this. Please, just fuck me.”

“That’s more like it,” Shinkai purred in my ear. He moved in all in one go without warning. I groaned in pain at first, but quickly got used to it and wiggled my hips to let him know he can continue. When he didn’t, I rolled my eyes at him.

“What, you want me to beg you to move too?” There was a silence and I almost felt a little scared. “Just fucking move, Shinkai.”

“Alright. I wasn’t sure if you were ready yet or not, but you seem ready to go. Just no complaining later then,” he warned. I was about to retort when he started moving again. Both of his hands held on tightly to my hips—I’m pretty sure I’ll have bruises later—as he thrusted into me. I moaned again when he started moving, then started moving my hips in time to him.

As time went on, he started thrusting harder and faster and with more force. It didn’t take him long to find my prostate, and when he did, he hit it consistently. I was a moaning mess beneath him, my hands tightly gripping the sheets as I used my head to support my weight. I could feel a heat pooling in the pit of my stomach as a warning to what was coming soon.

“Sh-Shinkai, I-I’m close. I-“

“Oh, no you don’t,” he huffed, and then before I knew it, he was gripping my dick tightly. I groaned, both in pleasure but also in anger. The bastard was gonna keep me from climaxing! “You’re not allowed to cum until you admit you have feelings for me. You already said it before, so it should be no problem now, right?”

“Sh-Shinkai! Ah~ Yo-you, fucking ass!” My voice didn’t carry its usual bite since I was speaking through my moans. The asshole was still hitting my prostate, making my head spin. There’s no way I could form a coherent sentence, or even confess to someone as messed up as him.

“Out with it, Yasutomo. You do want to cum, don’t you?” he teased. He kept pounding into me, making me moan with every thrust. I’m sure the people in the rooms next to us can hear us which makes me even angrier. How long can he keep this up?

“Alright! Ah-Alright! I love you, Shinkai! I-ah-I love you so much. I’ve loved you fo-ah-for months now,” I nearly shouted at him.

“That’s what I wanted to hear,” Shinkai sighed happily as he let go of me. I climaxed almost immediately after and felt him cum inside me. He turned me around and gave me a gentle kiss on my lips. “I love you to, Yasutomo, but don’t think we’re done just yet.” He smirked at me and grabbed my shirt. He tied my hands together and winked. “Are you sure you can handle someone like me in bed?”

I chuckled and smirked, already ready to go another round. “You bet I can. I kinda like this side of you.”

I slowly changed into my biking uniform in the clubhouse, my mind in a daze. All I could replay was that night over and over again. I can’t even count how many times we had sex that night, and every time Shinkai got more and more aggressive and dominate. It was really. . .sexy. I couldn’t get enough of it.

“Yasutomo! Have you been listening to anything I’ve been saying to you? And what’s with that stupid look on your face?” Toudou asked, appearing in my vison. I glared down at him for interrupting my thoughts, but he stood there with his hands on his hips, not even scared of me at all.

“Uh, no. What were you talking about this time? Your shitty headbands or your precious Maki-chan?” I asked, shutting my locker. I was mostly ready anyways.

Toudou scoffed and turned towards the doorway. “Did you hear what he just said to me? It’s like he doesn’t take me seriously! Hayato, do something about him.”

My ears perked at the name, but I didn’t dare look up. Instead, I focused on tying my shoes, or at least tried to, but the mention of his name got my mind thinking about that night again. I zoned out again only to have Toudou scolding me again.

“Seriously, what are you thinking about?” Toudou asked.

I blinked and glanced at Shinkai. Look at him, sitting there like the perfect symbol of innocence. Heh, not anymore. I pointed at Shinkai with my thumb and shrugged. “Did you know that that guy’s a huuuuuuuuuge sadist? It’s kinda scary.”

I heard Shinkai stand up and then I felt a hand on my shoulder. I smirked up at him wondering what kind of smart response he’d have to that, but I should have known better. His eyes flashed that look yet again before he smiled and seemed more docile.

“Well, you know people say we’re good friends because we’re such total opposites, right, Yasutomo? So, if we’re opposites and I’m the sadist, wouldn’t that make you the super masochist?” He smirked, and I knew I lost. Slapping his hand away from me, I grabbed my water bottle and stormed off with a red face. The worst of it all is that I can’t even say anything to that because I’m not even mad that he teases me so much. It’s actually really hot.

All of Hakone Gakuen’s bicycling team was in the midst of changing in their club house after a vigorous practice, courteous of their captain Fukutomi. Mild conversations sprouted and lingered here and there, but there was one conversation in particular that everyone—at those on the Inter High team—were paying attention to.

“Yasutomo, are you doing alright? You aren’t too worn out, are you?” Shinkai, the ace sprinter on the team reached out to touch the ace’s assistant’s shoulder. Arakita then promptly shrugged him off, signature scowl on his face.

“Ha? Of course I am. Don’t you start coddling me for no reason, you asshole.” Arakita had recently become a bit of an expert in changing his clothes without exposing his body, and he was doing so now, even with the interruptions the redheaded sprinter provided.

“I’m not coddling you. I’m worried about you. You worked hard in practice today.” Though Shinkai wasn’t hiding his body, the times you could see it were so brief you would think he was scared something might happen to him in the few short seconds his skin was exposed.

“I always work hard, dumbass. If I’m gonna do something, I’m doing it all the way,” Arakita snorted, sitting on the ground to take care of his sweaty socks.

“Now are you talking about practice or your personal life?” Shinkai shut his locker with a half-smirk, half-smile on his face. Arakita remained silent, but you could see a very distinct blush on his face as he busied himself with his socks. “Are you mad? Are you going to cancel on me for Friday night?”

“What?! Of course not!” Arakita jumped up from his spot on the ground and glared at the sprinter. “I swear to fucking god, Shinkai, if you bail out on me… I’ve been looking forward to it.” The last part was barely audible, but it put a genuine smile on Shinkai’s face regardless.

“Then we have nothing to worry about. We’ll still go, and I’ll be at your dorm room at 5:30.”

“Good.” With a red face and a brisk pace, Arakita left the room without uttering a word to anyone—though he did give a polite nod to Fukutomi before leaving. Such suspicious actions caused the rest of the Inter High team to glance at each other, wondering who would be the first to question things.

“So, Shinkai. . .What was all that about?” Toudou took it upon himself to be the catalyst, playfully leaning on the sprinter’s shoulder in hopes of getting him to open up.

“What was what?” Shinkai asked as he looked over the contents of his bag before zipping it shut.

“’What was what’ all of that. . .that. . .flirting with Yasutomo! You two are pretty friendly, but I’ve never seen you be that friendly with each other before!” Toudou struggled to find the correct words to say decently. Shinkai noticed this and chuckled.

“Were we really that different than any other time?”

“Yeah! It was weird!” Toudou huffed and folded his arms across his chest before plopping himself on the bench next to Shinkai’s bag. Unfortunately for the climber, it was at that moment that the redhead decided to take his leave.

Heaving the bag over his shoulder with a short huff, Shinkai looked down at his teammate and smiled. “Don’t worry, Toudou. We’ll make sure not to bother the team or anything. See you tomorrow.” And with that, he left as well, leaving Toudou sitting on the bench in a stupor.

Spluttering about, the climber turned to his teammates, dramatically waving his arms after Shinkai as if asking “what do we do about this?” Manami was the first to comfort him with a pat on his shoulder, his iconic smile in place.

“It’s okay, senpai. Don’t feel bad just because Shinkai didn’t want to tell you anything.”

“That’s not why I’m flustered, Manami, but thanks,” Toudou’s voice dripped with sarcasm as he stood and messed with the bangs in his face. “Something is definitely going on between those two though. Fuku, you can tell right? They’re hiding something.”

“Maybe we should leave them alone though. Frank seems fine with everything, and I haven’t seen Shinkai this happy before. I even got the chance to practice with him today.” Toudou gave Izumida a pointed look before heaving out a sigh and looking back to their captain with a questioning look.

“Toudou’s right. They’re hiding something, but I don’t think we should interfere,” Fukutomi offered, firmly folding his arms over his chest.

“Yeah, it’s like an invasion of privacy. . .but then again, Toudou is the best at invading people’s privacy, right? Isn’t that why Makishima doesn’t answer a lot of your text messages?” Manami asked, eyes bright and cheery despite the negative meaning behind his words.

“That’s not why! He just. . .has other things he needs to do first! Maki-chan likes talking to me,” Toudou huffed indignantly. “Anyways, we’re getting off topic here. Hayato and Yasutomo are doing something, and I think we should find out. We don’t have to do anything if it’s not a problem. Is that okay with everyone?”

“But how are we going to find out if they won’t tell us?” Izumida asked. Toudou smirked at that, seemingly hoping for someone to ask.

“Well, Izumida. . .We’re going to tail them!” Toudou pointed at the younger sprinter dramatically as if expecting some kind of praise or applause after that declaration. Instead he was greeted by silence. His confidence wavered and eventually his hand fell after getting tired. “Well?”

“If they catch us, we’ll be in trouble. . .but we can’t just let this slide I guess. Alright, let’s follow them,” Fukutomi agreed with a nod.

“Yes! There you go! Fuku understands! So, are you two coming with us?” Toudou turned to his juniors, a hopeful expression shining bright in his eyes.

“Sure, I’ll go,” Manami chirped, looking almost as eager as Toudou. Then all turned to Izumida who looked like contemplating a life or death decision. His stubborn expression faltered under their scrutinizing gazes, and he heaved a defeated sigh.

“Alright, I guess I’ll go too. I would be lying if I were to say that I didn’t want to know what Shinkai was hiding anyways.”

“Then it’s settled~! Be ready at 5:30 on Friday everyone! We’re gonna follow them from school and see what they’re up to. I bet you anything though that they’re dating,” Toudou stated proudly.

“But isn’t that just because you’re interested in that Maki-chan, Toudou?”

“Shut up, Manami.”

A knock sounded through the room, startling Arakita away from his homework. He had been so nervous that he had started his homework thinking that in some deluded way it would help to calm his nerves. With a scowl, he wrenched open the door, putting a hand on his hip when he saw Shinkai there. “Well aren’t you early? It’s only 5:10.”

“Well, you look ready anyways. You’re not even in your school uniform anymore even though you’re the type to laze about in it until it’s time to change into pajamas,” Shinkai smiled and held up a bottle of Bepsi. “I got this for you on my way over. Want to drink it now while we wait?”

“Yeah, yeah, get your ass in here already,” Arakita grumbled, opening the door for Shinkai to come in. The redhead did so happily and soon found himself sitting on the assistant’s bed. “Hey, who said you could get so fucking comfy?” Despite his words, the raven sat at his desk once again, already sipping at the offered Bepsi.

“You’ve started on your homework already?” Shinkai asked, not bothering to answer Arakita’s other question. Arakita himself didn’t mind and instead gave a short grunt before looking back down at his desk. “I guess this means that tomorrow I’ll be the one copying your homework then. I haven’t had the time to start it yet.”

“But you had the time to be here 20 minutes early,” Arakita mumbled as he started on his homework again. They fell into a silence, only the scratching of the pencil’s lead sounding in the room.

After a few minutes, Shinkai stood from his seat on the bed and leaned on Arakita’s desk, one hand covering up the homework the raven was working oh so hard on. “Yasutomo, are you really going to spend our bit of extra time here doing homework?” He leaned in closer, his lips practically brushing against Arakita’s ears as he whispered, “I got here early for a reason after all.”

“Fuku! You’re late!” Toudou pouted as their captain came into the lobby of the dorm building. They had chosen to meet there because with one wall made of windows, they could see whoever exited the building, but it was still secluded enough to hide their presences to anyone who wasn’t paying attention. Toudou had commandeered a large armchair to himself while Manami and Izumida were sitting on one of the couches.

“I think that all of us are late already,” Fukutomi stated, sitting down on the couch as well. At seeing the confused faces around him, he continued. “At around 5:20, I knocked on Shinkai’s door, but he wasn’t there. I think he’s already with Arakita.”

“Well they haven’t left yet. Since I know Hayato likes to be early, I’ve been here since 5:00. The only people who have left so far are people I don’t know,” Toudou shrugged and fiddled with the hat on top of his head. It had seemed as if they had all wordlessly decided to wear disguises. All except for Fukutomi that is. “Fuku, did you not bring something to hide yourself? You’re the one who sticks out the most with your height and blond hair.”

“I didn’t think I would need one.”

“Here, you can wear my hat, Fukutomi,” Manami offered, pulling off the baseball cap and offering it to the captain. The blond then pulled it over his spiked hair only to have the ends stupidly come out under the bill and sides of the cap. Toudou laughed loudly at his captain though he didn’t offer him any help. Instead, it was Izumida who turned the cap around which somehow made things a little better despite the bits of blond hair poking through the hole.

“Ah, I hear whining. Wouldn’t that be them?” Manami asked, breaking through Toudou’s laughter. They were cast into a deep silence only for it to be pierced by an all too familiar high-pitched screech.

“Ha? Shinkai, what the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

“Walking next to you.”

“Ha, that’s so not what’s happening. Try this: cut it out.”

“But, Yasutomo-“

“Don’t you ‘but Yasutomo’ me! I’m fucking hot now because of you and you sticking so close to me is making me sweat!”

The four sitting in the lounge immediately tried to look busy as the two came into view. Toudou expertly kept a vigilant eye on the duo as Arakita complained until they had left the building. Then, they all stood and—on Toudou’s lead—sneaked towards the entrance of the building. They waited until they were sure that there was a good enough distance between them for it to not seem suspicious.

“At this distance I can’t hear anything they’re saying,” Manami pouted as he followed Toudou who seemed to be deep in concentration.

“I bet it’s probably just Arakita complaining about something and Shinkai laughing it off or comforting him. It’s how it usually is between them, right?” Izumida offered.

“But they’ve been weird lately, and that’s why we’re here,” Fukutomi said. The junior’s eyes fell upon their captain expectantly. “Besides, it might seem that way to outsiders, but I think their conversations have more depth than that. Right, Toudou?”

“Fuku’s got it. Hayato might be nice, but he’s not the best at small talk. There’s a good reason those two get along so well aside from the fact that Hayato’s probably the only one who can stand Yasutomo’s terrible attitude,” Toudou snorted before getting visibly excited about the street the two were turning on.

“That’s the way to the center of town, isn’t it?” Manami asked.

“We might have to get closer or we’ll lose them in the crowd of people.” Fukutomi picked up the pace, bringing them closer to their prey.

The four continued following their teammates, stopping abruptly in the middle of the sidewalk when they felt they were getting too close. Arakita and Shinkai seemed to have never noticed them, even as they dipped into a few stores here and there before finally arriving at their grand destination. Toudou frowned as they stood in line, his arms on his hips.

“This is it? This is their ‘big secret’? This is hardly a secret at all!” Toudou groaned as he waved to the movie theater they were standing in front of.

Fukutomi waved him off before straining his ears to hear what movie tickets Shinkai was ordering. “Maybe they just didn’t want us to come for some reason. Those two do go out together without us occasionally. Now get out your wallets.”

“Yeah, but there’s no reason for secrecy or anything. I mean, I would understand if this was a date or something but it’s clearly not. Who does something as cliché as goes to the movies anymore?” Toudou scoffed as he got out some money for the movie ticket.

“But didn’t Shinkai just pay for both their tickets?” Izumida asked.

“That’s definitely what you do on a date, isn’t it?” Manami perked up.

“Yasutomo is also a moocher though. I’ve hardly ever seen him pay for anything himself. If Shinkai doesn’t pay for him, then either Fuku or I do,” Toudou explained.

“We’re next. Get ready,” Fukutomi instructed before asking for the same movie tickets as Shinkai. He gathered all of the cash and offered it to the teller then grabbed the tickets. “Let’s hurry. We might be able to make it in without them seeing us if we go while they’re in line for snacks.”

“Now you’re getting it, Fuku! And here I thought you didn’t have it in you to sneak around,” Toudou praised as they entered the building.

Arakita and Shinkai were indeed waiting in the snack line, so they all hurried into the proper theater though not without hearing a loud explicative from the ace assistant. The four sat towards the top of the theater, hoping that the pair’s eyes wouldn’t drift up that high when they searched for seats. Toudou was on one end followed by Fukutomi, then Manami, then Izumida.

“Geez, he can’t go anywhere without making some sort of scene, can he?” Toudou grumbled as they sank into their seats.

“Are we not going to have popcorn too?” Manami piped up. He wiggled in his seat before putting his legs up and teetering against the seat in front of him. “It’s hard watching a movie without something to munch on. I think we should get popcorn.”

“But how are we going to leave without Shinkai and Arakita seeing us?” Fukutomi asked.

“Maybe we could wait until they’re seated? Then some of us with good disguises can go by unrecognized,” Izumida offered.

“If we’re doing that, then you two should go. Even with a disguise, Fuku is so big it’s easy to recognize him, and no disguise could hold back my beauty. I’ll be recognized by my fans in no time at all if I went,” Toudou laughed.

“Toudou is right. Him and Fukutomi would just mess up if they went, so I think it’s best if we go, Izumida,” Manami said, paying the spluttering Toudou a couple seats away. Izumida nodded in approval then waited, though it wasn’t long until the loud familiar voice was heard.

“Did you really have to buy candy when you have those goddamn power bard with you everywhere? Are you even going to eat any of it?”

“I might. I usually do when I go out to a theater. I can eat things other than these power bars you know,” Shinkai reprimanded, pausing to look at the crowd in the theater. There were some other people in the theater here and there, but it was mostly empty. The four stalkers nonchalantly hid their faces in the dim room, hoping to not be seen, though it seemed as though Shinkai was staring right at them.

“Geez, can’t you just pick a seat already? It’s not like it’s a life or death decision here,” Arakita piped up, pulling Shinkai’s gaze away from them.

“Sorry, it’s just that my favorite seats have already been taken, so I don’t really know where else to sit.”

“Then let’s sit here. It won’t kill us,” Arakita grumbled, grabbing Shinkai’s wrist and leading him to a pair of seats near the middle of the room. They sat, Arakita slouching and leaning back in his seat with his feet on the seat in front of him and Shinkai sitting upright like one should. Arakita held the popcorn in his lap and immediately busied himself with it while Shinkai occasionally reached in for some popcorn himself.

“Alright, well, we’re off. We’ll be back soon, so let us know if something happens,” Manami said as he started pushing Izumida towards the stairs.

“Nothing probably will, but we’ll keep an eye out,” Toudou said dismissively.

Manami and Izumida hurried by the duo they were watching, heaving a sigh of relief in the lobby when they weren’t recognized by them. As they waited in line, Manami noticed that Izumida was a bit jittery.

“What’s wrong? You think they’re actually dating, don’t you?” Manami asked.

Izumida sighed then nodded. “Toudou might not think so, but I think that this place is a good date place for those two, especially if they were being so secretive about it. I mean, Arakita doesn’t seem to be someone who puts a lot of effort into dates. Shinkai deserves better than him.”

“Is that really what you think? I think not putting so much effort into dates is a good thing. I mean, you’re supposed to enjoy them right? Besides, Shinkai is more laidback, so I think he doesn’t want to try that hard either. Dates are more about who you’re with rather than what you’re doing,” Manami explained.

“I guess you’re right. Shinkai has been in a better mood lately too so it’s not like he minds at least. There’s just something about them though that seems… weird.”

“Isn’t it just because you’re not the one dating Shinkai?”

“I’m hardly that petty, Manami. Besides, my feelings for Shinkai are purely of admiration. I couldn’t picture being beside him like that. Now stop talking about it and let’s get popcorn already.”

The two ordered the popcorn and candy and returned to their seniors. The movie they were watching was some sort of romantic comedy which was surprising since Arakita didn’t seem the type to watch those movies. It didn’t seem like anything of importance was going to happen until a little more than half the movie was over, Arakita rested his head on Shinkai’s shoulder.

“Look at that, Toudou! Arakita’s resting against him! Doesn’t that mean it’s a date?” Manami asked.

“Arakita’s also really lazy. He’s asked me to carry him to bed for him. I don’t doubt he’s just resting,” Fukutomi interjected. Manami sat back, dejected, only to gasp again.

Shinkai’s head was now resting against Arakita’s. Manami was practically bouncing in his seat as he gave Toudou a “told you so” look. Just when the youngest climber was going to say something, Izumida grabbed his arm and audibly gasped. All of their eyes widened as they took in the sight below them. Shinkai’s head had turned so they were looking each other in the eyes. If there was any doubt about what they were doing so close, when the movie showed a particularly bright scene for a second, the light illuminated their faces and showed them kissing.

“Holy. . .shit. . .I can’t believe it,” Toudou gasped. Fukutomi was speechless, the only thing giving his shock away was the speed at which he was blinking his slightly wide eyes. Izumida covered his eyes which prompted Manami to laugh.

“I knew it! They are dating!” Manami practically shouted which prompted Toudou to slap his arm.

“Be quiet! They can hear you!” Toudou hissed, glancing down at the pair. If they had heard Manami, the deepening of their kissing didn’t show it. “Ugh. . .I think I’m going to be sick. How can they do that in public?”

“I don’t even think I can tell who’s more eager at this point,” Izumida groaned.

The four wriggled in their seats uncomfortably for the rest of the movie. At some point, the couple did stop kissing, but they stayed rather close for the remainder of the movie. When the lights brightened and the credits rolled on the screen, they all stood, ready to leave.

“That was terrible. I couldn’t even focus on the movie because of them,” Toudou complained.

“I don’t think they were focused on the movie either, Toudou,” Fukutomi finally spoke.

“Well, I don’t think there’s any doubt they’re dating now,” Izumida offered.

“No! I refused to believe it! I’m sure Yasutomo just forced himself on Shinkai or something like that,” Toudou argued.

“But Shinkai’s strong enough to shove Arakita away if he didn’t want it,” Fukutomi said.

“Well, they’re still here. Why don’t we go ask them?” Manami asked.

Toudou’s face lit up as he ran out of the theater and into the lobby. The others quickly followed after him to see him rushing in front of the couple, pointing at them as he took off his hat and shades with his other hand.

“Alright you two! Enough secrecy! We followed you all throughout town today to get here, and then we saw you making out in the theater just now! Are you guys really dating or not?” Toudou asked, narrowing his eyes at them.

Arakita glared back at Toudou and Shinkai’s face flushed as he looked away. The sprinter rubbed the back of his neck and laughed nervously. Arakita rolled his eyes at the coy behavior and spoke up. “Yeah, we’re dating. So? You got a problem with it? Geez, this is why we didn’t wanna tell you guys ‘cause then you’d start acting fucking weird.”

“I-I, wh-what? Wh-why?! Since when?! How? Who? What?” Toudou spluttered as his confidence faltered.

“Shinkai and I are dating. Because we like each other, duh. We have been for about two months now. We usually just hang out in each other’s rooms, but sometimes we get days away from you guys. Well, we thought we did. He told me first then we started. Anymore stupid questions you gotta ask?” Arakita said without pause, his eyes challenging.

Fukutomi put a strong hand on Toudou’s shoulder seeing as how he was mumbling incoherently at this point. “It’s okay, Toudou. Just let it go. They seem fine, so it’s no problem.”

“That’s not the problem! How is Arakita, the slob of all slobs, going out with someone let alone Shinkai! He has his own fanclub!” Toudou shouted.

“I never really cared about stuff like that though, and Arakita is charming in his own way,” Shinkai spoke up.

“Yeah, about as charming as a snake,” Toudou muttered.

“What was that? You think you and your shitty headbands are any better?!” Arakita shouted, his gums showing in his frown.

“Wait, I have a question,” Manami piped up, causing everyone to pause and look at him. “Have you guys had sex yet?”

At that Arakita’s face turned beet red and he avoided looking at anyone while Shinkai smiled, unperturbed by the personal question. “You’d be surprised at how much Arakita loves having sex. For someone who chose a romantic movie like today, he’s surprisingly wanton too.”

“Shinkai! Shut the fuck up!” Arakita turned and covered Shinkai’s mouth with his hand then glanced at everyone. His blush deepened and he hid his face on Shinkai’s shoulder. “I hate you.”

Shinkai removed Arakita’s hand from his mouth and smirked. “That’s not what you said last night.”

“God, I did not need that mental image just now. I’m leaving,” Toudou announced, his hands in the air in disgust.

“I think it’s a good idea that we all leave. Sorry for interrupting your alone time together. It’s fine that you’re dating, but don’t let it affect the team. And don’t kiss in front of everyone please,” Fukutomi asked before dragging away.

The four walked back to campus together in a mismatched array of emotions and energy. Manami was the happiest and most energetic, nearly bouncing as he walked while Toudou was the most upset and least energetic, dragging his feet and groaning as he walked. When they finally reached the dorms of campus, Manami decided it was a good idea to speak up.

“Oh, don’t be too worried, Toudou. I’m sure your Maki-chan will love you back one of these days~”

“Good morning, Juichi,” Shinkai greeted as he took a seat next to the blond in cafeteria, his lunch in hand.

“You’re a bit late,” Fukutomi commented, watching as his friend settled into his seat.

“I overslept a bit. Travelling on the weekends is really hard. At least I didn’t have any morning classes today,” Shinkai smiled as he unbundled himself from his scarf, hat, and jacket.

“So you went to see Arakita then?” Fukutomi raised a brow as he continued eating his own lunch.

“Of course,” the redhead answered as he finally dug into his warm food.

“For some reason, I had thought that maybe you two would eventually break up after going to different colleges, but I think you two are only more in love.” Shinkai chuckled and playfully tapped Fukutomi’s shoulder.

“Ha ha ha, Juichi, you’ll embarrass me if you tell me things like that. . .but I guess it’s true to say that.”

“You don’t sound like you’re complaining about the distance at all.”

“Why should I?”

“Long distance relationships are hard.”

“And this is coming from experience?”

“No, but I’m still allowed to be worried about you two. Arakita is pretty independent after all. I probably wouldn’t have decided to go off on my own like you did. And you chose to come to school with me no less.”

Shinkai paused and sighed. He had expected some sort of talk about long distance relationships a while ago, but hearing it now almost a year later was a bit surprising.

“Juichi, we are different people. There’s no way I could study to be a mechanic like him. Besides, we’ve been together since middle school. It’d be a bit weird to not have you in the same school now. And. . .I trust Yasutomo. Or rather. . .it’s like I’m getting spoiled.”

“You’re the one getting spoiled?” Fukutomi’s brow raised in question for the second time.

“Yes. He calls and messages me more often than when we were in middle school, and he makes an effort that’s noticeable to everyone. Even if people there don’t know that he’s in a relationship with me, they at least know he’s in a relationship.”

“Heh, you’re surprisingly shrewd,” the blond smirked into his cup as he took a sip, ignoring the protests coming from his longtime friend. “Well, from how you talk about it, at least you both seem happy. It also makes me wonder just how long you’ve had your sights on him.”

“How long I’ve loved Yasutomo, huh? It’s been a while. I’ve loved him for a long time now,” Shinkai smiled to himself as he thought about the moment he first realized his feelings for his current boyfriend.

“What?! Who’s there?” a grumpy voice called through the closed door. Shinkai gripped at his shirt even harder as he waited, thinking that coming here was perhaps not the best idea. Even though it had been a little over a year since Arakita had joined the team, they couldn’t be called that close yet really. When the door swung open, a grumpy Arakita stood there, a bit confused as to why the sprinter was at his door. “Shinkai? What do you want?”

“I. . .Can I come in, Yasutomo?” The redhead avoided looking at the other in fear that he would break down again. At hearing the heavy sigh being heaved though, he began to relax.

“Alright, sure. Come on,” Arakita ushered the sprinter in with a hand around his shoulders until they were sat on his bed. The raven leaned lazily against the wall while Shinkai leaned against his knees. “Is this still about that rabbit?”

Shinkai hesitated for a moment. His chest pinged with a twinge of hurt at knowing that is exactly what the problem was, but also his stomach fluttered a little at how Arakita just knew without having to be told. He nodded silently and expected more words to come, but he only felt Arakita’s skinny arms wrap around him.

“…Yasutomo?”

“What? Do you not want a hug? You’re still having those nightmares right? I figured you wanted me to do something, and since I’m not the best at this kind of thing, this is what I thought of. If you’re gonna complain, go see someone else.”

Arakita slowly started to unwrap his arms, but Shinkai’s hands quickly flew up to stop them. Shaking his head, he nuzzled into the crook of the assistant’s neck. “No, you were right. . .Can. . .can we stay just like this for a little longer please?”

For a moment, there was no more movement. There was just the faint sound of their breathing, their chests slowly moving up and down. Shinkai’s ear was close enough to hear the calm, soothing beats of Arakita’s heart. Then, Arakita heaved another sigh and ran a hand through Shinkai’s hair.

“Yeah. We can do that.”

Shinkai stayed in Arakita’s thin yet sheltering arms for a long time. He wasn’t sure when, but at some point in the night, they had laid down and fallen asleep together. He didn’t even have any nightmares.

When he woke up the next morning, a slight gap between the curtain and the wall allowed a sliver of light to fall on Arakita’s left eye. Occasionally, he would twitch it to try to shoo away the light, causing Shinkai to smile at the raven’s antics. The sprinter moved his hand to gently brush away Arakita’s bangs then kept it there to shield the light. He then brought their foreheads together and smiled.

“Thank you, Yasutomo,” Shinkai whispered, taking care not to wake his friend.

Arakita proudly strolled into his morning lecture late. His professor hadn’t bothered scolding him as it was normal practice by now. He said nothing as he slumped into his seat and pulled out a notebook and pencil as if he was going to actually take notes. Machimiya who sat next to him nudged his elbow to gain his attention, though Arakita knew a conversation was going to start based off how the other was staring at him the whole time.

“So does this boyfriend of yours keep you on such a short leash even though you’re so far away from each other?” he teased, his grin stretching from ear to ear.

Arakita rolled his eyes at that and adjusted his position. “Shut up, dumbass. Shinkai isn’t like that.”

“You’re right. Otherwise he wouldn’t have went to a university sooooo far away and with another man, right?”

“Are you trying to make me angry? He wanted to go, and I didn’t wanna fucking stop him from what he wanted to do.”

“Aren’t you serious?”

“Nah, you’re just being stupid.”

“You don’t think being in a long distance relationship is too much trouble?”

“Nah, I figure the least I could do is put in a bit more effort while he’s away. Besides. . .it’s not so bad, the kind of attention I get now I mean.”

Machimiya leaned his cheek on the palm of his hand and just stared at his classmate. Arakita tried to ignore him, but the stupid dumbfounded expression the other wore grated at his nerves. “What?”

“You really love this guy, don’t you?”

Arakita’s face reddened and he spluttered about for a few seconds before gathering his composure again. Brushing his bangs, he tried to hide his embarrassment as he spoke. “Well, yeah obviously. I wouldn’t go through this trouble for just anyone.”

“Heh, I can’t tell if that guy is lucky or pitiable for being loved by a guy like you. I bet you don’t even know when you started liking him.”

“Of course I do.”

“Oh yeah? When was it?”

“Hey, Yasutomo,” Shinkai called, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Fucking what now, Shinkai? I thought I told you not to call me by my first name,” Arakita glared back at him, wanting nothing to do with the first year sprinter.

“I know that we’re teammates, but nothing makes a competition fun without a little bit of a healthy rivalry. So watch out because I’m coming after you.” Shinkai grabbed his power bar with one hand, flashed an award-winning smile and wink combo then formed his signature firing motion with his free hand. “Bang~”

Ah, fuck. Be still my heart, Arakita thought as he was frozen into place though Shinkai was already moving to his starting position.

“You’re blushing,” Machimiya pointed out. Arakita jolted in his seat then avoided looking at his companion.

“Shut up!”

“I bet you thought of something vulgar, didn’t you?”

“I did not, bastard!”

This is the worst.

So my brother went and got himself a boyfriend—not that I mind that he’s gay or anything—and I hate him. Arakita Yasutomo. He’s got this constantly sour face that makes him look like he belongs in a biker gang instead of on a bicycle racing sports team. He’s always really loud, grumpy, cranky, and lazy, and it doesn’t seem like he cares about anyone but himself—and maybe whoever this “Fuku-chan” was which is even worse! He’s a total schmuck, but my brother is all gaa-gaa over him.

Because my brother is the nice person that he is, he invites me out to dinner with his boyfriend sometimes, and this is one of those times. Arakita and Aniki are sitting together on one side of the booth, my brother trying to be lovey-dovey while Arakita doesn’t look the least bit amused, and I’m alone on the other side of the table, angrily sipping at my milkshake.

“Shinkai, cut it out! I don’t wanna eat any of your fucking food, already!”

“But, Yasutomo, it’s really good. It would make me happy if you ate it.”

“I don’t fucking care! Feed it to your younger brother if it’s really that good.”

“But you’re the one I wanted to try it, Yasutomo. Do you hate me that much?”

Aniki started letting out fake tears, and Arakita sat there for a while, letting him do it. You jerk! Stop him from crying right now! It was a full minute before the schmuck finally ate the thing which let my brother stop his “crying.”

To me, it seemed like Arakita was ungrateful for everything the whole meal, and when it came time for Aniki to take me back home, he barely even said goodbye! With a pout on my face, I started walking back alongside my brother, wondering how to start the conversation I wanted so desperately to have. How do I bring it up? Your boyfriend’s a schmuck. Nice weather, huh, Aniki? By the way, I hate your boyfriend.

“So, Yuuto. . .What do you think of Yasutomo? You’ve eaten with us a few times now, so you have to have some kind of opinion by now,” Aniki mused. I could cry in relief right now. Aniki always did have a weird way of knowing what I wanted without me saying anything.

“Well, honestly Aniki, I can’t stand him,” I started, not faltering at all when I saw the half-shocked, half-hurt expression on his face. “He’s such a rude person! It’s like he doesn’t even care about you at all! How could you like someone like him? What is there to like about someone like him?”

“Yuuto, that’s enough.” I flinched. It was rare for my brother to sound so cold. “Yasutomo might have a weird way of showing it, but I can tell that he cares a lot about me. He probably seems rude to you, but I know that he’s just nervous that he won’t make a good impression on you. Yasutomo really is a nice and cute person.”

“Cute, huh?” I pouted and folded my arms over my chest. If anyone knew about cute things the best, it would be me, and that guy is definitely not cute at all. Aniki put a hand on my shoulder and smiled at me encouragingly.

“You’re thinking too hard, Yuuto. Just try to see things the way I do, and I’m sure your opinion of Yasutomo will change.”

“Well maybe there’s a problem with how you see things,” I mumbled as we stopped outside our house. Aniki chuckled and mussed my hair, waiting for me to reach the front door before he waved.

“There’s nothing good about a schmuck like him, Aniki!” I shouted as he took of down the streets back to his school.

“We’ll see about that, Yuuto. Be good in school, alright?”

“Yeah,” I called back lazily before taking out my key and opening the front door of our house. I waited for Aniki to turn the corner before completely going inside and taking off my shoes.

In my room, I laid on my bed, wondering why. Why? Why did it have to be a lazy bum like Arakita? Why someone so rude. . .so crass. . .so. . .so. . . irritating?! Aniki deserves much better than him, but then again, he’s probably too nice to do anything about himself. Maybe Arakita had said he wanted to have sex once and my brother took that as wanting to start a relationship and he just couldn’t say no.

Huffing out a sigh, I turned over in my bed and pulled the covers up to my chin. Well, no matter the reason, I guess I just have to wait until the day they break up. I mean, it’s gotta happen sometime soon, right? With that thought there to console me, I quickly fell asleep.

I woke up to a completely different alarm than I was used to and hesitated before getting out of bed for a bit. Really, why did it sound so weird? And why did it feel like it was so much earlier than usual too?

Opening my eyes, I noticed that things in my room were quite different. My desk was right next to my bed for one, and the window wasn’t along the same wall my bed was. The room had a carpet instead of the hardwood flooring of my room, and the walls were pretty bare unlike mine artily decorated with cute shoujo manga protagonists.

I sat upright in a flash when I realized this was not my room. I looked around to take in my surroundings but only got more confused when I did. I brought my hand to my face only to stop when I noticed it was more tanned than usual. Seeing a door leading to a bathroom, I scrambled into the conjoining room, fumbling for a light switch to turn on so I could look in the mirror.

I wasn’t happy when I saw my reflection.

That bigger, bulkier body. That red hair with blue streaks. The slightly more plump lips than my own. There’s no other way to put it.

I’m in my older brother’s body.

Heaving a groan, I stormed back into my brother’s dorm room and began looking around for where he could have placed his cell phone. His room was relatively neat, but there wasn’t any one obvious place that he would put it. After a couple of minutes of searching, I found it underneath his pillow. I sneered when I realized it was probably there because he fell asleep every night texting Arakita.

Dialing my own number, I put the phone to my ear and listened impatiently for my brother to answer. When he did, I knew he was still sleeping because I only got a half-awake “Hmm?” as a greeting.

“Aniki, we’ve got a problem on our hands.”

“Yuuto? Is that you? Why do you sound so weird?” He smacked his (my) lips and groaned, probably still trying to wake up fully.

“Aniki, I think before I answer that question you should go take a look in the mirror. And try not to be too loud or you’ll wake up Mom and Dad.” I could almost see the puzzled expression on Aniki’s face as he hesitated, but then I heard my bed sheets rustle as a telltale sign that he was indeed getting up.

He must have recognized that he was home because he didn’t seem particularly lost or anything. When I heard the lights flicker on though, he gave out a startled yelp and a bunch of weird noises came through the receiver. There was a hissed curse and more fumbling noises before I heard Aniki speak again.

“Sorry, Yuuto, I dropped the phone. Your phone? Uh. . .please tell me this is a dream. Is this really happening right now?” his voice was uneven and pretty fast for his usual pace. Good, he’s just as confused as I am.

“Not as far as I can tell, but you get it right? I think we’ve switched bodies or something.”

“You could say that again. . .Your hair is really black you know.”

“Aniki, please. This isn’t the time for that. What are we going to do? Today’s a school day, and we can’t just skip school if we don’t know how long this is going to last.”

“You’re right. . .well, I guess for now we can just go to school for each other? I mean, going back to middle school won’t be too bad.” If I didn’t know any better, I would say he sounds quite pleased with himself.

“Aniki, you’re a third year in high school. How am I going to be able to keep up in your classes? I definitely won’t be able to do your homework.” I glanced at the clock and saw that I had wasted quite a bit of time. I didn’t even know what time his first class started.

“Just take the best of notes as you can, and don’t be afraid to ask questions. If there’s something you don’t understand though, you could always ask Juichi to help you out. He’s usually good about helping Yasutomo and I out in class.”

“Uh-huh…” I was preoccupied with trying to find his school uniform to give a proper reply. When I finally found it, I smiled in relief. “So uh, you wanna exchange schedules so neither of us are late for anything today?”

After spending a bit longer with Aniki on the phone, we successfully understood each other’s schedules, responsibilities, and list of friends with helpful descriptions attached. When we hung up, I quickly dressed in his uniform and grabbed a few power bars to go since I didn’t have much time to eat breakfast before his first class started. His body was really hungry. I mean, I know I get hungry after cycling a lot, but his body is abnormally hungry I hope I can make it to lunch with just these power bars to hold me over.

After locating his backpack and textbooks he would need for the day (thank god he had finished his homework yesterday), I took a deep breath and left for his classroom. It was really hard to not look like I was wandering around lost, but I didn’t really know where anything was in this place. When I finally found the right classroom, I sighed in relief.

Finding the desk in the fourth column from the door, third row back, I looked around nonchalantly as I put his backpack on the rungs on the side of the desk and sat down. Alright, no one’s staring. Maybe I can do this. Maybe I can pull of being Aniki.

“Hey, Shinkai.” I nearly jumped at the unexpected voice and almost gave myself whiplash I turned to look at who was sitting behind me so quickly. And of fucking course, it had to be Arakita of all people, sitting there with a judgmental eyebrow raised at me. “You doin’ okay? You’re later than usual today and you haven’t even sent me a message yet.”

“Y-Yeah, I’m fine, Ara-“ Fuck. Aniki always calls him Yasutomo! How am I gonna get out of this one?! “Ara, ara. Are you worried about me, Yasutomo? It’s kind of cute.” Did that work?

Arakita glared silently at me for a while before averting his eyes. If I wasn’t paying as close attention as I was, I would have missed the very faint tint of red on his cheeks.

“No one’s fucking worrying themselves here. I was just wondering if that stupid rabbit of yours was running out of food or something. We didn’t go buy any when we were off campus yesterday because we had dinner with your bother.” He looked back at me and narrowed his eyes, hotly whispering, “and don’t be so loud. What if people hear you flirting, dumbass?”

I hesitated, wondering what kind of answer I could put out. Were they trying to hide their relationship? Well, that would make the most sense I guess, but did it really matter? The bell rang within a few seconds though, sparing me any further conversation. With a pathetic smile and sorry shrugging gesture, I turned back towards the front of the classroom and got out a pencil and the proper notebook with the rest of Aniki’s notes in it.

Class seemed to go by so slowly. The content was a bit difficult for me to understand with it being a senior’s math class, and the teacher spoke in such a monotone voice it was hard for me to concentrate. I didn’t really get a chance to ask much questions, which I guess was a good thing since Arakita seemed to be watching me like a hawk behind me. When the bell finally rang, I took one last look at my notes, hoping that it would be good enough for my brother before stuffing everything in his backpack.

“Hey, Shinkai, did you sleep well last night or something? ‘Cause that was the first time I’ve ever seen you stay awake in this fucking loser’s class,” Arakita rolled his eyes as he mentioned their teacher. He stood beside me, apparently waiting for me to leave with him.

“Oh, you know, I. . .haven’t really been doing well in class, so I guess I just figured it was time for me to try paying better attention.” I stood and pulled on Aniki’s backpack in one fluid motion, hoping to pull off an air of nonchalantness. Usually, I’m as calm as Aniki, but I think being in this situation would make anyone a ball of nerves.

Arakita stared long and hard at me for a while before wordlessly turning towards the door. I stepped into line with him once we were in the hallway, and hoped that I’d be able to cover switching classes well. Were these two in the same class next too?

“Hey, Shinkai. What are you doing? You don’t go upstairs for this next class. You’re down the hall,” Arakita scolded me like a mother would her child and pointed down the hallway for me while he stood still at the foot of the stairs. I glanced down the hallway and vaguely recalled Aniki saying something along those lines.

“You’re right. Sorry, Yasutomo, I guess I forgot what day it was since I focused so hard on math just now.” What a lame excuse.

“Yeah, whatever,” he snorted arrogantly. Man, what I wouldn’t give to hit him at least once. “Go to class you dork. I’ll see you at lunch.” He gave me a pat on the shoulder, but—and I definitely could have been imagining things—it felt like he let his touch linger a bit longer than people normally would have allowed, his fingers holding onto me until the tips fell out of reach.

I stared after him for a while before realizing that I did still have to find Aniki’s next classroom. Snapping myself out of whatever weird daze Arakita had just put me in, I continued down the hallway and eventually into the right room.

I had two more classes to go to before lunch break started. One was Japanese History which I found to be not much more different than my history class, so keeping up there was no problem. It was the English class before lunch that had me tongue-tied the entire class. English was never my strong point anyways, but luckily it seemed like Aniki wasn’t much better than me because the teacher didn’t seem appalled by my terrible pronunciation while reading.

When lunch time finally strolled around though, Aniki’s body was ready. I was so hungry. It felt like I hadn’t really eaten in days when I know that’s a lie. I took a quick glance into Aniki’s wallet and cringed. There wasn’t near enough money to buy as the entire cafeteria out like his stomach wanted me to buy, and this was probably supposed to last him a couple of days too.

“Shinkai!” Instinctively, I turned my head towards the voice, but really I should have just pretended I didn’t hear the bastard. “Hurry your slow ass up already! I’m fucking dying here, and the cafeteria’s gonna be all out of food at this rate.”

Oh, trust me. There’s no way you’re as hungry as I am. “Sorry, Yasutomo. Were you waiting long?” I gave him a smile as we fell into step together—a bit more hurriedly than I would have liked.

“Tch, as if. We just so happened to meet. If you weren’t there I would have left your sorry ass behind,” he mumbled though he had an almost cute pout on his face.

What a perfect opportunity to tease him~ “Then what about all of those times you pulled for me for racing? Are you saying you would have left me behind then, too?”

For a second, I thought he was really angry his face scrunched up so much. But then, I saw his entire face turn a dark shade of red, and he sent me a very narrow glare. “As if, idiot! When it comes to a race, I don’t wanna leave anyone behind, but this is fucking food. It’s dog-eat-dog here.”

And he wasn’t kidding. The line for the cafeteria food was chaos, and it was probably going to take us a while to get to pick our food let alone eat it. I was ready to just wait in line like a normal person, but Arakita grabbed my hand and before I knew it we were at the front of the line though he was the one to bear the grunt of the pushes and shoves for me. I ordered a normal portion of food though I knew I was still going to be hungry later, and Arakita ordered a bit more. He took us out to the courtyard to sit and started munching away on his bread.

I opened my own bread and started eating, looking at the scenery around us. It really was a beautiful school, so at least I know I would enjoy myself when I start high school here next year. The academics might be hard, but I think I could do it.

I glanced at Arakita as I took a bite of my melon bread only to blink in surprised to realize that he had been watching me this entire time. He set a hand down on the bench we were sitting on and leaned on it towards me causing me to blink yet again.

“You know, Shinkai, you never came to see me last night after you walked your kid brother home last night,” he started. He leaned in closer to me, close enough for me to feel his breath on my neck. “I was looking forward to our alone time last night. You should make it up to me somehow.”

My cheeks flamed red as I turned to look at him. He took that as some sort of sign to lean in closer, his lips incredibly close to mine. In a bit of panic, I brought my bread up between us, causing him to kiss my lunch.

“Yasutomo, not now,” I begged, giving him an apologetic glance over the bread. He narrowed his eyes at me then pulled away with a click of his tongue.

“Whatever. If you don’t wanna be with me just fucking say so,” he grumbled, looking away from me. Like hell I want to be with you at all. . .but he looks so sad. I think Aniki would kill me if I broke up with anyways. . .Maybe I should do something…

“Yasutomo, that’s not what I meant, and you know it. We’re out in the open. What if someone comes by? We can also do things like that later, so-“

“Tonight.”

I blinked, caught off guard by his sudden interruption. “Huh?”

“Tonight. Let’s go on a date tonight then. We’ll be back before curfew, so it shouldn’t be a problem.” He gave me a challenging look as if wondering if I’d actually go along with it.

“But, what about practice?” Not that I really wanted to carry out an intensive cycling practice that I was probably nowhere near being able to complete, but it was better than hanging around Arakita so much.

“We’ll skip it. It’s not bad to skip practice every once in a while, and you’ve been so fucking serious about it lately. Let’s just skip and go have some fun.” He gently nudged my shoulder with his, and—ever so slightly—smiled at me. His eyes glanced up at me with a spark of coy playfulness and for some reason, I just couldn’t refuse him.

“Alright, fine. We can go on a date today,” I sighed only to give a wry smile as Arakita’s eyes lit up but his mouth stayed in a firm line. He just has to be a tough nut, huh? Can’t he be honest for once? “Pick me up from my last class today then?”

“Now look who’s being demanding,” he snorted before returning to his lunch. I glanced down at my lap and frowned seeing as how I had already finished my food. I was still really hungry though. “Here.”

I blinked as Arakita handed me his yakisoba sandwich. “Are you sure, Yasutomo? You bought this, didn’t you?”

“Idiot, you’re supposed to say ‘thank you’ and leave it at that.” He leaned back and continued eating his lunch. “Besides, you’re hungry right? So go ahead and eat.”

“Thanks…” I glanced back down at the food in my hands a bit confused. Did he really want to eat this, or did he buy it for me since he knew I only bought one thing? He has to know that my brother can eat a lot, so maybe. . .but no, he’s still rude. There’s no way. Maybe he’s just lightening his conscience for something.

We finished our lunches together in relative silence then went our separate ways for class. We had two more classes together after lunch, but luckily our last class was different. When the final bell rang, I waited around the classroom for Arakita to come, though really I don’t know why I didn’t make a break for it right then. It took the guy a while to come to me, so I definitely had the time. Before the thought or running away ever crossed my mind though, Arakita came, leaning cooly against the doorframe with one arm while the other held his backpack over his shoulder.

“Shinkai! Let’s go,” he called, nodding with his head towards the hallway. I gathered my things and followed him down the hall. “I think it’ll be faster to take the trains rather than biking, so do you have your train pass?”

“Yeah, I do.” Aniki always carries everything in his backpack it seems, so I didn’t even have to check to know that.

Once we walked past the school entrance, Arakita started walking closer to me. Our shoulders, arms, and hands would occasionally brush against each other, and I wonder if it was his way of asking if we could hold hands. I glanced over to him a few times, and each time he quickly averted his eyes and tried to pretend that he hadn’t been looking at me. Before I knew it, I was smiling.

On the train we rode, there was only standing room at first since it was pretty crowded. Arakita stood fairly close to me, and during turns, he sometimes held onto my sleeve to balance himself. I didn’t notice it until people started getting off, but it seemed like the way he was standing was saving me from other people bumping into me. When people got off on the next stop, the seat in front of us cleared up. He didn’t take it like I thought he would, but instead let an older woman sit down. Though his face didn’t show it, somehow I could sense that he was a bit happy she took his offer.

When we finally got to our destination, I couldn’t help but chuckle a little. We were at a movie theater. How cliché could he get? What movie would we watch though? Arakita didn’t look like much of a romantic, so it would probably be something really actiony or bloody or full of tasteless crude humor.

“Here. You wanted to see this movie, right?” Arakita looked down at the ground as he handed me a ticket for Sayonara Kabukicho.

My mouth flapped open in surprise but no sound came out. I know Aniki had asked me about this movie last night at dinner, but I didn’t know that he wanted to see it too. What surprised me the most though is that Arakita would remember that fact and actually want to see such a sappy movie as this with me—or rather, Aniki.

“What? Keep your mouth open any longer and bugs are gonna fly in. I won’t kiss someone with a fucking disgusting mouth, got it?” Despite his demanding tone, he smiled at me as he pulled me inside the movie theater. Not only did he pay for the tickets, but he almost paid for the popcorn and soda too. I talked him out of it since he had paid for the tickets. I would feel bad if I made him pay for everything.

In the theater, I sat, leaning on the arm rest while Arakita slouched in his seat like I saw him do last night. We settled into a comfortable silence for a while, me smiling at him every now and then and him rolling his eyes and looking away though I saw the blush on his cheeks he tried to hide.

Then the movie started. It was just as cute, romantic, and dramatic as I had hoped it would be. I relaxed every time the main character and his girlfriend had a moment of happiness together, but I sat on the edge of my seat during every moment of tension too. During those times, I felt Arakita reach over and hold my hand, giving me a slight squeeze too. Every time, he would pull away when the film became light hearted again, but after the third time, I squeezed his hand when he tried to pull away. I could feel him staring at me, but I was too focused on the movie to talk to him.

By the end of the movie, I was nearly in tears, and Arakita rolled his eyes as he ushered me out of the theater. He had his hand on my back as we walked, and when we paused outside the theater, he patted me and rubbed circles on my back. Oddly enough, I found the gesture to be. . .comforting.

“Well, now that you’ve cried your heart out over a really fucking sappy movie, are you feeling hungry? We have enough time to grab a bite to eat before we have to head back to school,” he offered, pulling his hand away. The loss of the warmth on my back almost made me cry again, but I didn’t. I couldn’t. Then it would be like I wanted Arakita to comfort me.

“I can eat,” I sniffled and rubbed my nose with the back of my hand. I would have to clean up Aniki’s face wherever we went. “I can always eat.”

“God, don’t remind me,” he rolled his eyes and started down the street. I walked beside him, my hands comfortably in my pockets. This time around, I didn’t mind the fact that our arms brushed against each other occasionally. “So? What do you want to eat?”

“Hmm…” At this point, I was just hungry, and nothing in particular was sticking out to me. I’m sure Aniki could eat a full grown horse if he was given the opportunity. “I don’t know. I guess I’m fine with anything, so why don’t you pick, Yasutomo? Besides, you watched the movie I wanted to watch, so it’s only fair you get to pick where we eat.”

“Tch, what kind of logic is that?” He grimaced and then led me to a fast food restaurant. We waited in line together, but when we reached the counter, Arakita did all of the talking. “I want a cheeseburger combo with a medium Bepsi, and then two double hamburger combos but only one water with that. And chocolate banana fritters too.”

Before I even had my wallet pulled out, Arakita had already paid the full amount and just shoved my hand away. “This one’s on me. You paid for the popcorn and soda and movie theater after all.” He smirked at me knowing that he was using the same trick I did before. Heaving out a sigh, I had no choice but to carry my tray behind him to an open booth.

“Thanks for the food,” he mumbled before digging into his hamburger.

I was about to do the same when I looked down at the tray and stopped. He ordered Aniki’s favorite things to eat here without slipping up at all. I didn’t realize he knew Aniki so well.

“What’s wrong? Did you not want that? Sorry, I ordered without thinking again. I bet you wanted something with more vegetables, right?”

“No. . .This meal’s perfect. Thanks, Yasutomo,” I smiled at him, truly grateful. I don’t even know if I could have ordered for my brother so well.

“Yeah, well…” Arakita sat back in his booth, his face bright red with matching ears. He brushed his bangs as a way to hide his face, but it didn’t work so well. Smiling to myself, I started eating.

Dinner passed by without a cinch. It was actually—if I were to be completely honest—not bad. Arakita wasn’t as rude as I thought he was. He actually took notice of a lot of things like if I had dropped ketchup, if I needed a napkin, when I wanted to change the topic of our conversation—he let me talk about the movie quite a lot too—and things like that. He usually gave me some trouble when he helped me, but I could tell now that there wasn’t any real bite to it. It was. . .nice. He’s actually pretty nice.

And it’s probably only because dinner wasn’t terrible that I let him hold my hand on our walk back, or “sleep” with his head on my shoulder on the much less crowded train. He held my hand all the way back to the school, though once we passed the school gates, he let go and hooked his hands behind his head nonchalantly. I chuckled to myself at how cool he tries to look sometimes.

He walked me all the way to Aniki’s room, and I looked around in my bag to see where Aniki’s keys were. I guess that was some kind of sign, because when I looked up to say goodbye, Arakita was leaning in with his eyes closed and lips slightly pursed for a kiss.

He’s going to kiss me! He doesn’t know that I’m not Aniki, and he’s going to kiss me! What am I doing? I need to hurry and push him away so he doesn’t kiss me! Why haven’t I pushed him away yet? Instead of pushing him away, I gasped, my breath getting caught in my throat and squeezed my eyes shut. Oh god, here it comes.

Thump!

Thump? I opened my eyes and held my hands to the top of my head where I was just hit. Arakita was holding up his hand which led me to believe he hit me with the back of his hand just now.

“What are you getting so hopeful for, stuuuupid? As if I’d ever kiss you, Yuuto,” Arakita smirked at me as my eyes went wide.

“What?! You knew? For how long?!” I grabbed his shirt and pulled him closer, glaring at him a little. He put me through so much embarrassment all because I thought he still thought I was my brother! He really is a jerk!

“Hmm. . .I don’t know. I had thought something was different during our first class today, but I guess I really figured it out when we were at lunch.” He grabbed my hands and peeled them off of him, then calmly brushed off his shirt like nothing happened.

“At lunch?” That’s when he asked me out on that date. “Then. . .why-“

“A lot of reasons. You don’t really like me right? I had hoped that by going out today you could lighten up around me a bit. I get it. I’m a real hard ass, and it’s not surprising I don’t have many friends. But you’re Shinkai’s brother, so I thought at the very least I had to get you to like me, for him. He’s been really fucking worried about it, you know. He really wants us to be good friends or some shit, so I thought that by being with you today we could do that somehow.”

For some reason, I felt my face go hot with that reasoning, but I was also filled with a bit of guilt. I made him try so hard, when really I should have just trusted my brother’s judgment of him.

“Besides. . .you still look like your brother,” he mumbled softly. He looked down, his face and ears really red. “It’s rare for the two of us to go out on a date like this. If I didn’t think about it, it was like I was on a date with your brother. It was nice. Especially since you won’t tease me for being so ‘romantic’ like your brother would.”

I stood there in silence for a while before breaking out into a laugh. “Really? That was your main reason? I can’t believe what hopeless romantic you are. Ha ha- Ow! What the hell?”

“Hey, don’t laugh at me. I’m still older than you, so you should respect me. Now go get some sleep, squirt. Let’s hope you guys change back soon, alright?” He patted my shoulder and smiled at me before starting off down the hallway to his own room. I watched him leave, but before he was completely gone, he stopped and turned to face me. “Oh yeah. I know you were just doing it to act like your brother, but. . .you can keep calling me Yasutomo if you want.” And with that last comment, he turned the corner, leaving me stupefied. I chuckled and entered my brother’s room, tossing his stuff here and there before collapsing on his bed.

“Yasutomo, huh? Maybe I’ll call you that in front of aniki sometime soon.” Smiling, I closed my eyes and thought back over my day. I guess Arakita isn’t really a bad person when you get to know his true colors.

Aniki and I went back to our own bodies the next day. We still don’t know why it happened, but nothing bad really happened so we didn’t focus on it for too long. In fact, things kinda worked out for the better this way.

Now, one week later, I’m eating dinner with Aniki and Arakita out at a restaurant again, me on one side of the booth and those two on the other side. Arakita was the exact same as he was last week, but this time, I saw things a bit differently.

Though he was still slouching in his seat, their shoulders were touching as a way to stay in an intimate contact. Arakita had ordered everything again though my brother paid, and though he didn’t ever really add much to the conversation, it was obvious he was paying attention—at least to my brother. He really was like a different person if you knew what signs to look for, but really he shouldn’t be so difficult. I chuckled to myself before sipping at my milkshake.

“What are you so pleased about, squirt?” Arakita barked it at me, but I could tell he was a bit embarrassed. Shaking my head, I smiled and winked at him, copying my brother’s signature “kapow!” move.

“Nothing at all, Yasutomo. You’re just a really interesting guy. You’d better take good care of him, Aniki.” My brother looked really confused for a second, but then he smiled as if he didn’t care how it happened but was just happy that I’ve come to like his boyfriend. I finished off my milkshake and stood up, tray in hand. “Well, I think it’s time I head home and give you two some time alone. Don’t worry about walking me home, Aniki. You still have some time to make up for for walking me home last week.”

Arakita broke out into a furious blush, nearly spitting out what Bepsi he had in his mouth whereas my brother seemed just as confused as before. After dumping my trash away, I started off towards home, glancing back before the restaurant was completely out of sight.

Shinkai lazily sipped on the cup of water in front of him, not really paying much attention to what his friends were saying either. As per usual, Toudou had been ranting about the latest and greatest date he spent with his precious Maki-chan, so he really only had to say an “oh yeah?” or “hmm” or “that’s nice” every once in a while to make Toudou think he was listening. He had become quite skilled at it lately because there had been something else demanding his attention recently.

Across from the coffee shop he and his friends frequented after their college classes was a quaint little flower shop. There were colorful flowers displayed in bins outside the door and set up on a few small tables nearby, and just beyond that were the glass windows that allowed him to see that there were many more flowers inside. Of course, it wasn’t the flowers that Shinkai focused his attention on, but rather the young shop attendant who seemed to work these hours every day.

Shinkai had at first found the situation to be a bit cheesy and corny. The attendant hardly seemed like the type of person to be working at a cushy flower shop. In fact, he looked kind of like a delinquent—or an ex-delinquent for that matter—with his small, pointed eyes and a constant scowl on his face that showed some of his gums. The whole situation had been just too ironic to him, but after that day, Shinkai started seeing him in a new light.

His eyes actually had quite stunning eyelashes, and his skin was so smooth-looking Shinkai often caught himself wondering what it would be like to caress it one day. Though he appeared quite lanky at first, it was obvious those long limbs had some sort of muscle to them and Shinkai wanted to find out just how much he could do with that strength. His mouth was always in some odd position, Shinkai wondered just what it would feel like to kiss them. Would they be hard? Firm? Soft? Would he have some experience in kissing or none at all?

Before he had realized it, Shinkai had fallen in love with the delinquent at the flower shop, and yet just how could he approach him? Because he did look strong and did look like a delinquent, he felt that maybe saying “Hi, I’ve had a really big crush on you for a long time, so how would you feel about going on a date with me?” would only lead to trouble.

But of course, sometimes trouble happened even if you didn’t ask for it.

“Geez, Hayato. Why don’t you just go talk to him already?” Shinkai blinked, pulling himself out of his reverie and looked at Toudou curiously.

“Huh? Talk to who?” Shinkai asked a bit nervously.

“The guy we keep coming to this specific coffee shop for. The worker at the flower shop across the street, though I don’t really understand your tastes there. He looks like a bit of a tool if you ask me,” Toudou shrugged and sipped at his sugared coffee.

“Well, I didn’t, and I don’t want to talk to him. What makes you think that I do anyways?” the redhead asked with a barked laugh.

To that Toudou let out a short, dryly amused laugh. “Ha! Oh please, every time we come here, you never actually listen to a word we say and instead you look out the window with those goo-goo eyes of yours. If he ever looked over here at us he would know for sure that you’re practically begging to bend him over and go a few rounds with him. Right, Fuku?”

Fukutomi sighed and nodded, giving Shinkai a bit of a guilty look. “He’s right, Shinkai. We both know, and that’s why we come here. You need to talk to him one of these days.”

“Well I would if it were that easy…” Shinkai mumbled, turning his red face towards his cup of water. He had already finished the small sandwich he had ordered a while ago, so now just the water could offer him any solace.

“Sure it is. I mean, he works at a flower shop, so why not just go buy some flowers?” Toudou asked as if it were basic common sense.

“What? I can’t do that. . .I mean, what if he thinks I’m buying them for someone I like?” That’s usually what flowers were for anyways. If Shinkai just went and bought flowers, he might be saying that he is actually off the market when he’s really not.

“Look, if he’s really concerned and asks you if they’re for your girlfriend, then that basically means he has an interest in you anyways, so it’s worth a shot. And regardless if he asks or not, if you’re so worried then say it’s for your mom’s birthday or something”

“I don’t know, Jinpachi. . .Just sitting here and watching him is one thing, but actually going to talk to him is another. I don’t think I can do it,” Shinkai mumbled ashamedly sinking in his seat. There was the scraping of metal chair legs on the floor as Fukutomi suddenly stood up, his arms pressing against the table. Shinkai looked up at him in shock, not used to his best friend giving sudden outbursts like that. “Juichi?”

“Go talk to him, Shinkai. Go buy flowers. Do whatever it takes. I know you. You’re stronger than this.” Fukutomi moved his hand to mention to Shinkai’s current cowered over state which made the redhead slump in his chair in shame and defeat. He ran a hand over his bangs to brush them out of his face and gave a sigh.

“Yeah, you’re right, Juichi.”

“Besides, you do realize that if he ever saw you staring at him for weeks on end like this that he would think you’re kinda creepy. Anyone would. I think it’s kinda creepy,” Toudou piped up causing him to earn a sideways glare from Shinkai.

“…Thanks, Jinpachi…”

Shinkai was a nervous wreck. He probably would have been fine buying flowers if he knew that Fukutomi and Toudou were in the coffee shop across the street, but they didn’t come saying how being spoilt wasn’t a good thing. Now he didn’t have anywhere to run or anyone to turn to if things went wrong, which knowing his own smooth talking abilities, Shinkai knew things would inevitably turn wrong.

To calm himself down, he took a deep breath and started smelling some daisies displayed outside the shop. They had such an alluring smell it helped to calm his nerves. Until he jumped at a hand on the small of his back.

“Do you wanna get some of these for your fucking girlfriend or something?”

Jumping back both from the hand on his back and the warm breath on his neck and ear, a hand shot up to his neck as he looked at who had invaded his personal space. He could have really punched himself though when he saw that the invader was the very same shop attendant he had had his eye on for a long time.

“I-I-I-I, uh…” Shinkai stumbled through his words as the boy raised a thin brow at him, wondering just what he wanted. After a little bit more stuttering, the black haired boy sighed and reached out towards the daisies.

“How many do you want in a bouquet? If these are for your girlfriend, then these are pretty good to get. They represent a pure and innocent love and shit after all,” the boy said, prepared to pull some out.

“Huh?! Oh, uh, no! I don’t want any of those. . .Sorry.” Shinkai struggled to find his words as he took a step forward, pulling the attendant’s hands away from the daisies.

“O. . .kay? Then, are you gonna buy any flowers for your girlfriend? ‘Cause if you’re not gonna buy anything, then you should leave. I don’t waste my time with people who aren’t paying any fucking money,” He said, seemingly like he was out of patience, but the way his small black eyes focused in on Shinkai made him know that he would give him anything he asked for.

“N-no. Wait! I mean, yes, but also no. I mean-I’m buying flowers, but not for my girlfriend. I’m single, sadly,” Shinkai said with a smile at the end. He pulled his hands away and used one to tuck some of his hair behind his ear. If Shinkai could ever punch himself, he would do it now. Anyone with eyes can tell you’re flirting with him, idiot! he thought to himself.

“Oh? Is that so?” the attendant smirked and folded his arms over his chest. The motion brought Shinkai’s eyes towards the nametag which read ARAKITA.

“Yeah. I, uh, want to buy some flowers for my mother. It’s her birthday today, so I don’t think it would be appropriate for me to buy flowers confessing my undying love for her,” Shinkai laughed and breathed a sigh of relief when the other let out a short laugh too.

“Then why don’t we get you some pink roses to get her instead? Those are good for saying ‘thank you’ to someone. C’mon, those are inside.” With a nod of his head, Arakita lead the two inside the shop to the chilled displays in the back of the store.

Shinkai fell a bit behind when he entered the store so that he could finally have a look at what he could only guess was there before. Towards the front of the shop where the windows were were more buckets and displays of flowers. On the left wall were mostly tall flowers but also a small section for cards, tissue paper, ribbons, and bags. Along the right wall was a long desk with a cash register on top. Pots and pot holders to take flowers home as well as seeds and gardening tools lined the desk and the wall around the desk, and behind it stood a small stool with a cushion that had a flowery design on it. Along the back wall were tall refrigerated glass cases that had the more fragile flowers inside. Arakita stood by one of the cases, waiting for Shinkai to come, so the redhead hurried over to him.

“Wow, this store really is something special. I didn’t think I would be able to start up my own garden by coming here,” Shinkai said with a thoughtful nod towards the gardening tools.

“Huh?” Arakita glanced over to the wall then shrugged concomitantly. “That’s something my granny thought would be a good idea since older people love to take up hobbies and shit. I haven’t really seen anyone but old people buy those things though.”

“Oh, so your grandmother owns this store?” Shinkai leaned against a bare part of the wall, eager to learn as much as he could before he had to leave.

“Yeah. When I was younger, I only helped out during the summer since my mom and I lived somewhere else, but since I’ve started college in the area, I’ve been working here. It’s both to help my granny and keep an eye on her, but also to help pay for school. My granny is getting up there in age, so it’s nice to have someone like me around who can bend over and do some heavy lifting.”

“You go to college around here? Where? What do you study?” Shinkai’s smile almost fell at the “are you kidding me?” look that Arakita gave him, but his spirits quickly returned when the raven went on to answer his overzealous questions.

“I go to Younan and I study mechanics. I take it you’re a college student in the area too?” Arakita counter questioned, leaning himself against the glass display case.

“Yeah, I go to Meisou, so I moved here for college too. I never really lived that far away either though.”

“Ah, so you’ve always been a city prick then, huh?” Arakita smirked like he was enjoying some kind of inside joke that Shinkai wasn’t a part of. It irked the redhead a little, but at the same time, some teasing meant that he was enjoying the conversation, right?

“Yup, and I’m guessing you haven’t been?”

“Nah, my mom and I live out in the country. I used to play baseball out there ‘till I broke my arm in a fight once.”

“Oh? A fight? I thought you kinda looked like an ex-delinquent.”

“An ex-delinquent? So then what do I look like now?”

“Well, at first I thought it was kinda corny how someone so mean looking could work in a cushy place like a flower shop, but now I see that you really are cheesy. I mean, some delinquent wouldn’t be here having a friendly conversation with me in a flower shop anyways.”

Arakita’s mouth flapped open then promptly shut, and Shinkai could see the faintest hint of a blush on his cheeks and the tips of his ears. The redhead smirked which prompted the flower shop boy to open the refrigerated display case, blasting the surrounding air with a chill.

“How many goddamn flowers do you want in your bouquet?” The question was practically barked out, and perhaps it was because he was trying to hide his embarrassment, but Arakita’s ears only turned a deeper shade of red. Shinkai moved from his anchored spot on the wall and moved closer to the raven, a smirk still on his face.

“I think just five is fine. . .Mr. Showa,” Shinkai said, giving Arakita a friendly pat on the shoulder. The attendant jumped at the touch, but growled at the words.

“That’s not my fucking name,” he grumbled as he picked out the best five roses in the bunch. “It’s Arakita Yasutomo.”

“Oh? So it’s okay for me to call you Yasutomo then, right?”

“Huh?!” Arakita turned to the redhead, his mouth open wide revealing a bit of his gums, his face showing his embarrassment. “Why the fuck would I let you call me by my first name already? You’re getting ahead of yourself there. . .uh…”

“Shinkai. Shinkai Hayato.”

“Alright, then Shinkai. Don’t expect me to call you by first name too.” Despite how grumpily Arakita said that, Shinkai smiled at the use of the word “too.” It had meant—at least to Shinkai—that it was okay for him to call the other by first name.

They stood there for a moment, until Arakita coughed and pulled out the five pink roses. “Right, well, let’s get these wrapped up, and then you can give them to your mom.” They journeyed over to the desk area, Arakita standing behind the desk while Shinkai leaned on it from the other side. In the area of space where the cash register wasn’t, Arakita laid down some tissue paper and arranged the flowers on top of it after cutting the tips.

“Hey, go pick out a ribbon to tie this all together,” Arakita ordered. Shinkai nodded, and scoped out the wall of ribbons before picking out a thick red ribbon with the edges trimmed in a golden glitter. Arakita gave a seemingly judging snort, but the soft smile on his face took away any malice he might have tried to portray. In a quick second, the bouquet had been expertly wrapped, and the total for the transaction displayed on the register.

“So, Shinkai, this is the part where I take your money, so fork it over.”

“Well isn’t that phrase full of great customer service,” Shinkai laughed, pulling out his wallet. It was cheaper than he thought it would be actually.

“Yeah, well, I gotta get you to stop your deluded thinking that I’m a nice guy somehow,” Arakita said almost disinterestedly, taking the money that Shinkai had laid out for him.

“Hmm, sorry, but I really don’t think that’s going to happen. You couldn’t be mean even if you tried, probably.” Shinkai didn’t know where this confidence was coming from, but it felt natural, good even. He smiled as he took back his change and held out his arms for the bouquet. When he took it, Arakita grabbed his arms to hold him in place.

“Don’t test me now, Shinkai. I’ll get mean if I have to.” Arakita’s visage portrayed a rough hardness deserving of an ex-delinquent, but his eyes showed a playful challenge that Shinkai wanted to take up right then and there. But instead, he pulled away, readying himself to leave. “Hey, Shinkai. You better fucking come back and buy more stuff sometime.”

“Is that your way of saying you’ll miss me if I don’t, or is that more of your excellent customer service to get me to come back and never dare to spend my money at a different flower shop than this one?” Shinkai hovered around the door, a goofy smile on his face as he awaited the answer. He laughed when Arakita stuck his tongue out at him.

“You tell me,” he called out as Shinkai left the shop. When the redhead was sure he was out of sight, he put a hand to his chest in an attempt to calm his wildly beating heart.

“Oh, Yasutomo, you don’t want me to have that kind of freedom.”

“So how are things between you and flower shop boy?” Toudou asked one day at the coffee shop. Shinkai gave a dreamy “hmm?” and glanced up at him curiously, a silly smile on his face after having been looking at Arakita again. “Don’t you ‘hmm?’ me, Hayato. Tell me how things are going between you two! I swear, ever since that day you first went to talk to him, you’ve only been staring at him even more when we come here.”

“Oh,” Shinkai chuckled, playing with the straw in his drink. His cheeks flushed slightly and he could feel his heart start to flutter at the thought of Arakita. “It’s been good. We’ve talked a lot, and he doesn’t even mind if I don’t buy things every time I see him now.”

“Well that’s lousy business,” Juichi commented.

“But it’s good flirting,” Toudou pointed out. Shinkai laughed and shook his head.

“Nah, I don’t think it’s that. I still don’t think I stand a snowball’s chance in hell with him, but at the same time. . .I can’t help having some kind of hope there too,” Shinkai sighed and looked back out the window, taking a sip of his drink as he did so.

It was in that moment that Arakita looked up from re-arranging the outside displays and saw Shinkai sitting there. The redhead abruptly sat upright, a bit embarrassed at being caught staring, but Arakita simply gave a bit of an awkward wave which Shinkai returned before sinking into his seat. Toudou burst into a loud and obnoxious fit of laughter, prompting Shinkai to slap his arm.

“Man, that’s perfect! He saw you staring! I wonder if he’s seen you do it before, but just didn’t say anything!” Toudou hit the table in his laughter, not caring that he was starting to attract the attention of the people around them. Shinkai pouted then stood up, glaring down a Toudou.

“That’s enough! Why don’t you just go and bother your Maki-chan instead of poking fun at me?” Shinkai stormed out of the coffee shop and quickly adjusted his pace as he neared the flower shop, hoping not to appear too angry.

“Oh, Shinkai. Sorry, did I bother you while you were with your friends or something? I noticed you had been sitting there, and since you finally looked over at me, I thought the least I could do was fucking wave. . .Unless that was a shitty thing to do?” Arakita looked down and rubbed the back of his neck, looking guilty as if he had just killed a man.

“Huh?” Shinkai paused when he realized his brows were still furrowed in agitation. Softening his expression, he moved over to the counter and leaned against it. “Oh, no, it was fine. Well, you were fine, but I’ve got this one friend who just really loves to talk. He just asked me a bunch of nonstop questions after you waved.”

Arakita let out an “oh I see” as he pretended to be interested with his cell phone. Seeing it out in the open and the perfect opportunity, Shinkai pulled out his cell phone as well.

“Hey, do you want to exchange numbers? It might be better to send each other messages sometimes instead of me having to hang around a flower shop to talk to you.”

“What? You think this is lame? Girls love ‘sensitive guys who love flowers’ or some stupid crap like that. Your popularity might go up hanging around here.” Arakita held out his cell phone, ready to send his number through infrared.

“Oh? Is that why you work here? To get popular with girls?” Shinkai held a teasing tone as he held his phone close to the other, but his curiosity was making him a bit desperate. If that were true then Shinkai would be on the completely wrong team to get Arakita to bat for him.

“Yeah, well. . .It’s something like that.” Shinkai would have become dispirited if it weren’t for the lazy smirk Arakita gave him as he leaned towards him. When their phones beeped to signal a successful arrival of a new number, they pulled away and checked their phones.

“So now that you have my number, how many times a day should I expect you to pester me?” Arakita asked, his tone lighthearted.

“Oh, I don’t know, but apparently people have said that I am pretty persistent when I’m texting. How often are you going to reply?”

“I can be pretty lazy, so I won’t make you any guarantees. Oh, hold on a sec,” Arakita hopped out from behind the desk as he saw a high school girl enter the shop. Shinkai stayed back and leaned against the counter, already used to watching Arakita help out customers over his many visits to the shop. It wasn’t until he heard a giggle that he actually really paid any attention.

The girl was shyly giggling behind one hand while the other playfully nudged Arakita’s shoulder. The raven in return offered a wry smile, though it was obvious he wasn’t really used to getting that kind of attention. Their interaction continued on like that, the girl blatantly flirting, touching Arakita, and trying anything she could to get his attention, and Arakita politely smiling or chuckling.

Something inside Shinkai sank, knowing that Arakita was never particularly that polite with him. Of course, the logical part of him was trying to tell him that Arakita was only being polite because she was a paying customer, but for some reason, the redhead wouldn’t have it. Instead, he lingered in sadness and anger towards the girl for being able to put a hand on Arakita. When the transaction was complete, Shinkai turned towards his friend, catching him off guard with a glare.

“Shinkai? The fuck’s wrong with you?” Arakita asked, a brow perked as he handled the cash register.

“So you really do work here to get popular with girls, don’t you?” Shinkai watched as Arakita sputtered and fumbled about behind the counter, a loud “Huh?” escaping his lips. “Girls like that are your type, huh? I never would have guessed it you know.”

Arakita heaved a heavy sigh and slammed the cash register shut. “Shinkai, you’re wrong. I couldn’t just tell her to stop flirting with me. She wouldn’t have bought anything if I had,” Arakita reasoned much to Shinkai’s chagrin.

“Well, what would you have done if she asked you on a date then? Would you have turned her down?” Shinkai could tell he was starting to be unreasonable, but he just couldn’t stop. Everything just kept pouring out.

“Well, she didn’t, so knock it off already. What’s it matter to you what I do with girls anyways?”

“It’s shady and disgusting. You’d probably date anyone so long as they put some money to this shop, wouldn’t you?”

“Seriously, Shinkai. Cut it out. It’s not funny.”

“Aren’t you so serious? Weren’t you the one just now who didn’t care about people’s feelings?”

“Now you’re taking things too fucking far. You the one who isn't caring about other people’s fucking feelings right now.”

They both had their hands on the counter now, leaning towards each other. Any other time, Shinkai’s heart would have been beating rather fast and rather loudly, but right now, he could only hear the blood rushing to his ears and not in a pleasant way. He sent Arakita one last glare before clicking his tongue and turning his back on him.

“Whatever. Just do what you want then.” With those parting words, Shinkai quickly left the shop seeing red. He was so angry, but after a while, that anger was then turned onto himself.

How could he have been so stupid? He really blew his chance there, and to make matters worse, it had been two weeks since that argument, and they hadn’t spoken to each other at all. Shinkai was too embarrassed to show his face at either the coffee shop or the flower shop, and he definitely didn’t want to embarrass himself any further by sending a cushy apology text. He guessed that Arakita had too much pride himself to send Shinkai a text first after a fight like that, especially since it was the redhead who was in the wrong to begin with.

“So you guys haven’t talked at all since then?! What the hell is wrong with you, Hayato?” Toudou glared at Shinkai over his lunch tray in the cafeteria, Shinkai shying under the gazes of several people nearby.

“Toudou, not so loud,” Fukutomi scolded, causing the headbanded beauty to mumble a small apology.

“I get it, okay? I’m mad at myself, but I couldn’t possibly go talk to him now! It’s been way too long to apologize, but at the same time it would be weird to just go back to him and pretend nothing’s happened,” Shinkai sighed.

Toudou groaned and put a hand to his forehead. Shinkai would have found it comical that he cared more about his friends’ relationships than his own if it weren’t for the fact that it was Shinkai’s relationship causing the distress this time. “Well, alright, what if you don’t talk to him directly when you apologize then?”

“Huh? What are you getting at, Jinpachi?”

Arakita sighed as he checked his phone for perhaps the 1000th time, hoping for some kind of message only to find his inbox empty. Every time he really did get a message, he was always sorely disappointed to see it was just from his mother or one of his sisters instead of who he was waiting for.

Shinkai, you asshole. . .Just because we had a fight doesn’t give you the right to ignore me like this, he thought as he leaned against the counter in boredom. Immediately after their fight, Arakita was still angry and wondered just why Shinkai would have reacted like that, but as the time passed, he realized something and just wanted to see the redhead again to see if he was right or if he was just getting carried away.

But of course, he would have to actually see the redhead again. Arakita could deal with waiting, but it was only the moments he thought Shinkai would never come see him again that really scared him. He could always be the one to send the other a message first, but it would embarrass him to no end. Then again, since it really did seem like Shinkai really wouldn’t come again, Arakita pulled out his phone once more, ready to send the redhead a message.

“Yasutomo?” At hearing his first name being called, he perked up right away, only to frown when his grandmother came towards him bearing a bouquet.

“Is that a delivery you want me to run? Where is it going today?” he asked glumly, slowly sliding off the stool he was perched on.

“No, no. This isn’t a delivery,” she smiled at him knowingly.

“Oh? Then why do you have that? There’s no customer in here right now.”

“It’s for you, Yasutomo,” she said handing over the bouquet. Arakita took the time to look over the bouquet in amazement. It was full of red roses and tulips, obviously the sender confessing their love for him. It wasn’t until he read the card on the flowers (although written in his grandmother’s writing) that a blush finally came to his face.

“That fucking idiot. . .Granny, I’m buying some flowers and I’m going on a delivery run!” Arakita gently set down the bouquet before hopping into action, his grandmother smiling after him.

Yasutomo, I’m sorry for yelling at you, and I’m sorry for saying those things. It was really out of line. I didn’t really know how else to apologize to you except this way, so I hope you don’t mind. And I also hope you don’t mind (in fact I want you to feel the same way) that I love you, and it’s not just from us talking recently. It’s been a while before that, but you probably don’t remember, do you?

Shinkai sighed as he stared out the window, not paying attention to his class at all. Calling in that order had been terrifying. He wouldn’t have known what to do if Arakita had been the one to answer the phone instead of his grandmother, so he was really fortunate for that to have not happened.

A loud clattering sound as the door opened caught Shinkai’s attention. He turned to look towards the front of the room and then froze in place. A very audible gasp escaped Toudou who sat next to him. The professor looked at the black haired intruder quite alarmed.

“Hey, what are you doing here?”

“I’ve got a delivery to make,” Arakita answered simply before continuing further into the room. Each step towards Shinkai he made made the redhead’s heart beat even faster. When Arakita finally stopped in front of him, Shinkai gulped, ready for the worst. “Shinkai Hayato?”

“Uh. . .yeah?”

“These are for you.” Arakita practically shoved the flowers in his face before quickly leaving the classroom. Shinkai flushed both at the attention he received and at the note left with the small bouquet of white violets.

Shinkai, these flowers mean “let’s take a chance on happiness” so in other words, ditto. And of course I remember, idiot. How else did you think I knew you sat at that coffee shop?

Regardless of it still being the middle of class, Shinkai stood up and bolted out of the room, happy to see that Arakita was sitting against the wall nearby the door. The raven stood when he saw Shinkai and coughed to try to hide the redness of his cheeks.

“Really, this is all too much. An ex-delinquent bringing me flowers to confess his love for me in the middle of class? I’ll tell you what I told you a year ago when you gave me flowers to cheer me up. ‘Isn’t this a bit too Showa?’” Shinkai moved towards Arakita, a soft smile on his face.

About a year ago, I was wandering the city because I had lost my wallet somewhere. Because I couldn’t take the trains, I was a bit lost, and just when I was about to give up, I met you. You were standing outside your shop and when I asked for help, you gave it to me. You fed me, gave me some money, and when I left, you even gave me a free flower. When I got home, I laughed all about it, but whenever I saw you after that day, I couldn’t help seeing you in a new light since I knew you were a good person. I’ve been in love you since then. Thank you for always being there for me, Yasutomo.

“Shut up. You were lost, hungry, and pathetic then. I had to do something,” Arakita grumbled, moving closer to the redhead as well. When they were just inches apart, Shinkai wrapped his arms around the raven who then in turned wrapped his arms around Shinkai’s neck.

“You’re really lucky I love cheesy things, Mr. Showa,” Shinkai smiled, showing his teeth.

“Geez, how many times do I have totell you that you don’t fucking have to walk me back every time we go out somewhere?” I chuckled at Yasutomo’s protests because despite all of the “complaining” he didn’t mind the fact that my hand was sliding down his back as we approached the door to his dorm room.

“Well, I’m already all the way here. Why not see you off to the end?” To that I received a click of his tongue as he fumbled with his keys at the door. I studied him carefully as he went through the motions of unlocking his door. About halfway through practice today, he got a phone call, and he hasn’t really been the same since no matter how much he says it’s nothing.

When the door was thrust ajar, Yasutomo turned towards me and folded his arms over his chest. “Alright, I’m in my room safe and sound now, so you can take your chivalry act somewhere else. I’m gonna head to bed. Night.”

“Yasutomo, wait.” I grabbed his wrist and leaned in for a kiss. He grunted, but didn’t really push me away. He didn’t even get angry when I worked my way inside his room either. It was only when I had him against the wall, my hand feeling under his shirt that he started really protesting and pushed me away.

“Shinkai, wait. Stop-“

“Yasutomo, I know we’ve still got school tomorrow so I promise I won’t take things too far. Just let me touch you a little bit, okay?” I pressed against him for another kiss, and though he gave in for a quick second, he pushed me away.

“Shinkai, I said no! Stop it already!”

“But, Yasutomo, I-“

“I told you to fucking stop!” I felt his hand strike my cheek and I froze. It didn’t really hurt, and we both knew that, but the shock of him getting so angry with me made me unable to move a muscle. For a second, I saw regret in his eyes, but then he steeled himself and turned his back on me. “Get it through your fucking head that things aren’t always about sex!”

“Yasutomo, I-“

“Listen, I’m not really mad, but I just don’t wanna see you right now. Next time, learn to either read the fucking mood, or take a fucking hint. Now get out. I’ll see you later.”

Without another word, I left like that wondering what had gotten into Yasutomo. Of course I understand that people don’t wanna always do things like that all of the time, but this was Yasutomo. He was almost always in the mood, even if we were in the middle of class. I wonder then if it really was related to that phone call he got while we were in practice.

Well, no matter the reason, I guess I really crossed the line. I guess I’ll surprise him and pick him up for class tomorrow. Though he might not look it, Yasutomo really likes all of that romantic stuff. It’s a great idea!

If he were in his room that is…

I even woke up a bit early to see him, but he hasn’t answered his door at all. At first, I thought he was ignoring me, but I didn’t even hear his soft chortling snores or any stream of curses indicated he woke up when I knocked on the door. He just. . .wasn’t there. Maybe he knew that I would do something like this and went to class early to teach me a lesson. Yeah, that sounds like something Yasutomo would do.

Just, he wasn’t in class either. Not when I got there, and not after the bells rang either. Then again, Yasutomo wasn't the type of person to ever come to class early. The teachers didn’t even seem to notice or care that he wasn’t there because they didn’t say anything. Was I missing something?

I pulled out my phone when I knew the teacher wouldn’t be able to see me texting and sent a quick message to Yasutomo.

Yasutomo, where are you? If you’re still mad at me, I’m sorry but this is too much. I’m worried about you.

I kept my phone in my pocket instead of my backpack, hoping to get a reply from him soon, but the day went all the way to lunch and I still hadn’t heard anything. I was really worried. He always responds to my messages even if it’s a short or sarcastic response. I was so worried, I didn’t even really get much to eat for lunch, and Juichi must have noticed.

“Shinkai, is something bothering you?”

I snapped my head up away from my phone and shoved it in my pocket as I smiled at Juichi. I had almost forgotten he was there, but he offered to eat lunch with me today since Yasutomo wasn’t here. “I’m fine, Juichi. Sorry, you didn’t have to skip out on eating lunch with your friends from class for me.”

“No, it’s fine. I wanted to, but you seem a bit distracted. Are you sure you’re fine?” he looked down at me with a raised brow, a seemingly knowing look in his eyes.

“I’m fine. I just. . .Excuse me, I’m going to go make a phone call really quickly.” I stood up and walked away from Juichi for a bit while I dialed Yasutomo’s number on my phone. Just why was he avoiding me today?

I waited for the call to go through, but I never got to hear the dial tone. Instead, my call went straight to voicemail. I’m sorry, but the number you have dialed is either out of service range or is no longer in order. Please leave your name and message and try again later.

I heard a beep and was brought out of my shock. His phone wasn’t even on. Was he in some kind of trouble? Is that why he was acting weird last night? He knew that something bad would happen today?

“Shinkai-“

“Juichi, something’s happened to Yasutomo. I just know it. The teachers seem to not even care that he isn’t here today too. Something’s up. I-“

“Relax, he’s perfectly healthy.” I breathed a sigh of relief and sat back down next to Juichi who put a hand on my shoulder. “I’m just surprised that you haven’t heard what happened. I thought he would tell you last night when you were together.”

“What happened?”

Dammit, my bike just can’t be fast enough! Why didn’t I notice? Why didn’t he tell me anything? I should have known better than that. What right do I have to stay by Yasutomo’s side if I can’t even see something like this important had been bothering him?

I let out a curse as my suit leg brushed against the ground as I took a curve and immediately pulled back to stop myself from soiling this suit. I couldn’t possibly show my face in a soiled suit though I’m pretty sure I’m sweating plenty enough to do just that.

“You see, Yasutomo has special permission from the school’s principal to be off campus for a little while. Even though today’s only Tuesday, he won’t be back until next Monday. He told me after practice yesterday that he would be leaving last night. Since you went out with him, I thought he was going to tell you, but I can see now that he still intends on pretending to be strong around you. All of the teachers know already, so that’s why they haven’t said anything. I wonder. . .if he wants me to tell you, but. . .”

When I pulled up to Yasutomo’s house, it was already pretty late in the afternoon. I had even skipped all of my classes after lunch to get here, but his house was further than I thought. He must have been driven here. Parking my bike, I walked up to the door and took a deep breath. My sweating still hadn’t stopped since now I was nervous. Would I be accepted here after all?

No, I can’t afford to think like that. Yasutomo needs me right now after all. I knocked on the door, and it opened a short while later to show a very surprised Yasutomo in a suit. But more than that, he looked terrible. His eyes and nose were red and a bit swollen. There were bags under his eyes that I hadn’t noticed yesterday, and he was a bit pale. I bet he hadn’t eaten anything at all today.

“Shinkai? What the fuck are you doing here?”

“Sorry, Yasutomo, but I heard everything from Juichi. Can I come in and pay my respects to your father?”

“Arakita’s father died in a car accident. They’re having people over today to accept condolences and later this weekend they’ll be having a funeral.”

Yasutomo eyed me for a little while before sighing and stepping aside to let me in. “Ma and I thought that we had seen the last of everyone a while ago, so I’ll let her know you’re here.” I nodded and stepped inside after removing my shoes. “Wait here. I’ll tell her and get out the incense for you.”

I nodded and waited in the hallway, though nearby I could hear some sniffles. They probably belonged to Yasutomo’s younger sisters. Just when I was about to go them and introduce myself, Yasutomo came back and grabbed my arm.

“C’mon, this way.” He lead me down a hallway and into a very surprisingly traditional room with tatami mats. Against the far wall rested a wooden cabinet. Yasutomo lead me over to the cabinet and opened the doors, revealing a small shrine centered around a black framed photo of a middle-aged man. So that’s what Yasutomo’s father looked like.

I nodded to Yasutomo in thanks and sat on my legs with my knees bent, two sticks of incense in my hand. After lighting them, I waved out the flame and placed them in the pot of sand and clasped my hands together, silently offering my condolences for a moment. When I opened my eyes, I glanced at Yasutomo who looked ready to leave then back at the picture and started to talk.

“Mr. Arakita, it’s nice to formally meet you now. My name is Shinkai Hayato, and I’m in love with your son. Thank you for bringing him into this world and giving me the opportunity to know him as I do now. As I am dating your son right now, first I would like to ask forgiveness for not coming for your approval first, and then I would like to say that I will be forever in your debt.”

I bowed despite the embarrassed splutters coming from Yasutomo, and when I sat back up, I smiled at his completely red face. He shot me a look saying “don’t be so smug, you bastard” and stood up.

“Well, you’ve paid your respects now. Go back to school now. I’ll walk you to the door.” I stood up, holding my position in the room.

“Actually, if it’s alright with you, Yasutomo, I’d like to stay a bit longer.”

Yasutomo paused, hesitating for a moment, before looking away from me and folding his arms over his suit and wrinkling it in the process. “You just wanna have sex in my bedroom, don’t you? Well, the rest of my family’s here, so we can’t. You might as well go back.”

“Yasutomo,” I paused and laid a gentle hand on his arm. He jumped slightly when I touched him, but didn’t react in any other way. “What you need now the most is a shoulder to cry on, so how could I possibly think about doing that to you right now? I’m sorry about last night. You were right, and I crossed the line, but right now I just want to be able to be here for you. I want you to rely on me for things like this.”

Yasutomo’s head dipped down, his bangs efficiently hiding his face. His shoulders started shaking slightly, and I worried for a second that he was angry, but then I saw a tear drop down onto one of his arms. “You asshole…”

He looked up and I could finally see what he was hiding from me this whole time. I could see how scrunched his were from crying so much, how much his coarse voice shook from all of his sobs, how the dim light in his eyes showed how close to breaking his soul was, but even so, he smiled at me as he pulled me into a tight hug. His shoulders shook against mine, his fingers gripped so tightly at my suit I could feel his nails pressing against my back, his arms wrapped around me so desperately it was like he hadn’t been held at all since this started, and maybe he hadn’t been until now. A mixture of tears and snot seeped through to my chest, his bangs brushing against my shoulder and neck.

“You just had to go and say something cool at a time like this.”

I held him closely, one hand on the back of his head, slowly petting his soft hair in a soothing motion, the other around his waist, my thumb rubbing circles into his back. I buried my nose in his hair and let out a huff of hair. “Of course. How else would I get to see you like this?”

It took Yasutomo a second, but he was able to form a “Maybe I didn’t want you to see me this way, idiot,” as a response.

Shaking my head, I gave him a soft kiss to the crown of his head. “Stupid, you don’t have to pretend to be strong for my sake. I’ll always be here for you, but you have to let me know. Then, you give me everything. The good, the bad, and the broken.”

After that, we never spoke again, but it wasn’t quiet. Yasutomo’s sobs filled in the silence, not that I minded. It really felt like he was relying on me for the first time and not the other way around.

“Ah, fuck.” I glanced over at Yasutomo in mild surprise. It wasn’t rare for him to randomly shout or utter an explicative, but it usually always had some meaning with him. He picked his head up from my shoulder to sit upright on his own—we had moved to his bedroom at some point—and let out a sigh. “It’s almost curfew for you. We should get you back soon. I mean, I’ve got a reason to be here, but you could get in trouble if you’re not back in time for the room checks.”

“Oh, yeah that’s right.” Still, I wasn’t sure if either of us were ready for me to leave. I held his hand tighter in mine and leaned so our shoulders were touching. “Yeah, but Yasutomo. . .Are you. . .”

“I’m fine.” He looked at me confidently then let out a sigh. “Well, I mean I’m not fine. My old man just kicked the bucket, but I’m better now at least. I think I can actually get some sleep tonight at least. I know I’m staying here until the funeral is over, but. . .the funeral is on Sunday. . .So, if you wanted to. . .you could stay here with me this weekend and come to the funeral with me on Sunday…”

Smiling, I squeezed his hand gently. “Of course, I’d love to. It would be nice to meet the rest of your family and people important to your family. Oh, but you can still introduce me as just a friend if you want.”

“Yeah, yeah, don’t get too full of yourself.” He stood up, loosening his shoulders before glancing back at me. “Well? C’mon. You biked all the way here, didn’t you? We have to get your bike in our car soon if you’re gonna make it back in time.”

And so we did. After a bit of struggle, we got my bike situated, and we piled into their car, Yasutomo’s mother driving, Yasutomo in the front seat, and me in the back. It was relatively quiet in the car, but it was only natural. I could see Yasutomo holding his mother’s hand sometimes, and I could see her patting his in return. They really were a strong family indeed.

When we reached school again, Yasutomo helped me get my bike out then walked with me towards the dorms after telling his mother he’d be back soon. We put my bike with the others on the bike racing team before going to my room. It surprised me that Yasutomo had walked me all the way to my room, so I paused before getting out my keys.

“Yasutomo, thank you for walking me here, and I’m so sorry for your loss.”

“Yeah, well. . .We can’t do anything about it I guess, can we?” He glanced up at me, and I could see that he was lost in what to do, but it seemed like he was on the road to recovery. Taking a step forward, he glanced around quickly before pressing a quick peck to my lips and pulling away with a blushing face. He turned around and started stalking down the hallway, his hands in his pockets. “G’night, Shinkai.”

“Good night, Yasutomo. . .Oh, Yasutomo!” He stopped but didn’t turn to face me. I smiled and held up my cell phone as if he could see it. “Don’t forget to turn on your cell phone sometimes. Text me or call me anytime you feel lonely or just need to talk, alright?”

He stood still for a while before shyly kicking his foot on the ground. “Geez, really…” He turned to face me, his face a mixture of grief, embarrassment and happiness. Tears fell over his red cheeks and past possibly the brightest smile I’ve ever seen him give anyone.

It was chaos. At least, that was the only way the young Shinkai Hayato could describe the preschool he was just dropped off at. Kids ran around, throwing things, breaking toys, and screaming. It was all just too much for the child to take in at once, but he breathed a sigh of relief when the teacher had called the class into order. At labeled desks they sat then began to introduce themselves one by one.

When it was Shinkai’s turn, he stood, taking the candy bar in his mouth momentarily to speak. “My name is Shinkai Hayato, and I’m five years old. I really like animals and candy. I look forward to making friends with you all.” He could have sworn he had heard some snickers sound about the room when he was talking, but Shinkai paid it no mind. He had given a great introduction he thought.

But then the room was thrown into chaos again.

A kid with short black hair framing a round face, long lower eyelashes, and a too long smock that made their body look smaller stood up, long skinny limbs pressing a bit too hard on the desk.

“Wow, she’s so cute!” “She’s so tiny! I think she’s the cutest in this class!” “Let’s try to be her friend!”

The kid frowned and glanced around the room, seemingly displeased by all of these comments, and when their mouth opened, Shinkai found out why.

“My name’s Arakita Yasutomo, and I’m not a girl! I’m five years old, and before you stupid idiots start thinking ‘bout how small I am, just know that I’m able to kick your butts, got it?!”

Shinkai could see his gums he was frowning so deeply, but for some reason, he didn’t find Arakita’s speech to be as appalling as other people found it (Arakita even got scolded by the teacher for it). Instead, the chubby child found it to be highly amusing and couldn’t focus on anything that happened afterwards.

It wasn’t until recess rolled around that Shinkai could actually focus all of his energy anywhere. He searched all around the school grounds for Arakita, but by the time he found him, he was already stirring up more trouble.

“Huh?! What’d you say punk?” Arakita’s voice carried quite far across the playground leading Shinkai to where he was pinning some other kid to the ground. “Are you calling me cute? I ain’t cute! I oughtta teach you a lesson for that!”

“Arakita! That’s enough!” their teacher bustled over and pulled the young bully away without any effort. She held him in the air for a little while until his thrashing had subsided and his hissy fit had calmed then set him gently on the ground. “We do not hit other people or hold them to the ground. Do I make myself clear? Now to the time out corner with you.”

Grumbling all the while, Arakita followed their teacher to the chair placed near the door and sat in it with an angry huff. Once their teacher had left, Shinkai scurried over to him, glancing at him curiously. At first, Arakita had pretended not to notice his company, but after a while, his concentration broke.

“What the heckie do you want?”

Shinkai started in place for a bit before pulling out a candy bar from his pocket and placing it on Arakita’s lap. “I thought you might like some candy.” He then pulled out another bar and proceeded to eat it himself. They sat like that for a while before Arakita began eating the offered candy bar as well. “So, why did you get so angry earlier?”

“Because that idiot called me cute.”

“But you are cute. I like it how you’re so cute and so strong at the same time.”

At first, Arakita’s face scrunched up like he was angry, but then his cheeks and ears turned a light shade of red. Shinkai smiled like he got to see something rare, though it really was. To hide his embarrassment, Arakita took another bite of the candy bar.

“You’re weird.”

Shinkai smiled like it didn’t even faze him and picked himself up from the ground. He plopped himself in the chair next to Arakita and swung his legs a little in the seat. “Hey, can I call you Yasutomo?”

Arakita looked down to hide his embarrassment, but Shinkai could still see that his ears were red. “Do what you want.”

After that, the two became inseparable. Always, they were together be it in class, during lunch or recess, and everyone knew to avoid them. Though Shinkai was a little chubby, he was the nicest person in class—some even called him an angel. Of course, it was Arakita everyone tried to avoid, because within a short period of time, he had become known as the local bully, and anyone who tried to pick a fight with him lost. That was just the flow of things. Those two were in their own happy and uninterrupted world while anyone who tried to interfere would pay the price.

That is until Arakita didn’t come to preschool one day.

Shinkai sat alone, a frown on his stout face as he slowly nibbled at his lunch. Without Arakita, he had no one to talk to, and because he was friends with Arakita, no one wanted to talk to him in case Arakita came back to raise hell later. It might have been a peaceful and quiet day had Arakita not stirred up some bad blood on the first day.

“Hey, Shinkai!” Shinkai turned towards the voice with a hopeful expression, not even thinking anything about it being the boy who Arakita had fought the first day of class. “Look at you, sitting all alone. You know this is because you’re friends with that freak Arakita, right?”

“Yasutomo isn’t a freak,” he rebutted indignantly, taking a bit of his sandwich.

“Heh, that’s right. The freak out of the two of you is you, right? I mean, you’re always eating, you’re kinda fat, you have fish lips, and you’ve got those freakishly large and droopy eyes. The only person to ever be your friend would be someone like Arakita who’s stupid, weird, looks like a girl, but talks like a common thug-“

Nothing else came after except for screams. Shinkai had launched himself from his seat to tackle the boy, throwing a few punches every now and then and also taking a few punches. Desks and chairs clattered as they fell, but Shinkai paid them no mind. The only thing he could focus on was making him pay. His tongue even hung out of his mouth as he attacked the other boy, focusing in on only the face in front of him.

“How dare you say that about Yasutomo?! Yasutomo is way cuter than you, and he’s way better than you’ll ever be! Who are you to judge him?!”

When Shinkai felt arms wrap around his waist, he thrashed around knowing that it was the teacher holding him back. It took the redhead a few minutes to calm down, but when he did he was crying. He tilted his head back to look at his teacher, his plump face scrunched in stress.

“Am I going to be in trouble? It’s not fair. He said mean things about Yasutomo. He deserved it,” he cried, his words turning into wails later on. The teacher sighed and gently placed the boy in his seat, patting his head.

“Well, it’s really not nice to hit people, but you’re usually such a good boy I can barely believe this happened. Why did you do it? Because of Yasutomo? Hayato, I think that maybe you should try to make other friends too. Yasutomo might be a bad influence on you and-“

“But he’s not! Do you hate Yasutomo too? He’s a good boy! It’s just that not a lot of people can understand him, but he can be really nice and gentle on top of being really cute and strong!”

His teacher paused, shocked for a minute, before letting out another sigh. “Alright, I understand. I’m only giving you a warning this time, so the next time someone says anything bad about Yasutomo, please tell me, okay, Hayato?” After receiving a happy nod, she left, leaving Shinkai alone to eat his lunch.

“Oh, Shinkai, what happened yesterday? I was sick, so my mom made me stay home,” Arakita asked, walking into the classroom the next day as if his disappearance were no big deal. At hearing his voice, Shinkai jumped out of his seat and tackled the smaller boy into a tight hug. “Hey?! What gives?! Shinkai, get off!”

“You’re back! I missed you, Yasutomo,” Shinkai smiled brightly at his friend, somehow keeping the candy bar in his mouth through the act. Arakita’s face scrunched up yet again as a blush colored his face, and he pushed his friend away to make it to his desk.

Why?

Mitsunari’s eyes widened in disbelief as the memory of a gentle hand lightly brushing his cheek further clouded his already muddled mind. His breathing became ragged and shallow, his breath mingling with the rain only reminded him of another’s breath mixing with his sending his head into a tingling buzz.

Why did you do this?

His eyes looked into what he thought were once warm, brown eyes, seeing all that he needed to know in that guilty gaze. The ghost of strong arms securely holding him made his skin warm though his blood ran cold. His lips trembled with a sob as he felt the faint yet oh so painfully familiar sensation of a pair of lips on the back of his neck just below the ends of his white hair. Mitsunari pushed himself forward, his rage pushing him farther and farther.

“Ieyasu!” With a weak and pitiful sob, Mitsunari drew his sword as if he would slash at the man before him, but Ieyasu ran away and disappeared, leaving Mitsunari unsure if he really wanted to cut down the other or not.

Dropping his sword, Mitsunari fell to his knees, his hands being the only thing to keep him from lying on the ground himself. Betraying his anger, the sweet touch of firm hands on his waist came to mind, the illusion so strong he could feel each hand roam freely. Each gentle touch he remembered now only felt like a sharp slap to the face and a piercing stab in his heart as he looked at his lord—his gracious lord Hideyoshi who had once saved his life—lying on the cold, wet ground never stirring or moving. Mitsunari didn’t even have to touch his lord to know.

He was dead.

Why would you do this, Ieyasu? Didn’t you love me?

Mitsunari let himself fall, knowing that the soft cloth of the futon would soon catch him. Ieyasu wasn’t too far behind, one hand cupping Mitsunari’s cheek and the other holding him steady on the ground as he leaned in for a kiss. The two kissed passionately as if they couldn’t get enough of each other. Mitsunari’s hands flew upwards, desperately gripping the brunet locks before him as they both ground against each other, their chests touching and huffing whenever they gasped for air.

Mitsunari turned himself over once they both had shed themselves of their clothes, both men looking forward to the second half of their embrace. As Ieyasu thrusted over and over, Mitsunari was reduced to a string of moans and cries of pleasure, not one intelligible word being uttered.

“Mitsunari. . .Mitsunari. . .I- I love you. I love you so much,” Ieyasu whispered, his breath hot against Mitsunari’s ear. The two then reached climax, leaving the silver haired man too tired to verbally answer, though he did reach over to groggily kiss the other one last time before straying to sleep.

I thought you loved me.

Mitsunari was snapped back into reality by a particularly cold rain drop splashing on the end of his nose, spraying his face with the freezing cold water. He wandered over to his lord, holding Hideyoshi’s body as if it would somehow make him move again. His tears streamed down his face leaving hot trails that contrasted with the icy coldness of the rain. The red of his lips had already started to fade turning blue with the cold he felt coursing through his veins.

Mitsunari put a hand over his lord’s larger one and couldn’t help but imagine it belonging to a certain gold-clad samurai instead. He couldn’t help but hear that carefree laugh that irritated him to no end when they first met, and he couldn’t help but to hear those words repeated over and over again like some kind of curse.

“Mitsunari, I love you.”

Stop it.

“Mitsunari.”

Don’t call my name with those traitorous lips.

“I love you.”

Don’t say things you don’t even mean!

“Mitsunari. . .I love you.”

Mitsunari let out a loud and long cry of anguish, unsure of what to do with the two sides of himself fighting in a conflict. He wanted to love Ieyasu, to believe in him and be with him once more, but another part of him wanted to hate him, to curse him, to call him a liar and seek to end his life with his own sword. But which was true?

Had Ieyasu apologized, said something to explain himself, Mitsunari probably would have forgiven him, but knowing that itself is also a sin towards lord Hideyoshi. How could he possibly forgive his lord’s killer so easily? And what if Ieyasu had been lying the whole time? Secretly waiting to betray them all along. . .

Did he really love me?

“Ieyasu. . .I will. . .kill you!” Mitsunari looked to the skies where Ieyasu had fled, as if he would be able to see those warm brown eyes or that soft smile given only to him once again, but of course, he was met with dark clouds spitting out cold rain that served to make him colder. His skin was cold from the rain, but his heart and veins were cold with betrayal and loneliness. The only thing that could warm him was the small fires of anger burning inside him, and as much as he wanted to feel warmth again, he couldn’t.

Ieyasu will die, no doubt, but even that couldn’t offer Mitsunari any warmth or support.

Welcome to ManTalk, the online dating service for men interested in men!

Kagami dubiously eyed his computer screen, a faint blush lightly dusting his cheeks. The flush wasn’t too visible, but still made his cheeks heated as he questioned himself for the umpteenth time in the past half hour. “Am I really about to do this?” However he questioned himself though, he still brought the mouse to a hover over the “REGISTER” button and clicked on it. A new webpage loaded filled with multiple questions for Kagami to answer.

Enter Screen Name.

Kagami struggled for a few minutes before entering “RedTiger29”. His cheeks flamed with embarrassment once more at the seemingly lame screen name. Anything else his imagination conjured was a million times worse though. Forcing himself to continue, he entered his password, his e-mail address, and started filling out his personal information, though he made sure that things like his street address stayed private.

It wasn’t until a few minutes later that he hit a dead stop in his progress.

What are your best traits?

He stared at the screen in silence unsure really of what to say. Should he talk about his good personality as Kuroko would say? The good physique his previous lovers had enjoyed? His determination and passion? His skills as a basketball player? With such a vague question, there were so many things that he could say, but what would be the right choice? Which would attract attention from the other men on this site?

“Tell ‘em about your wonderful hair, and your great eyes, Taiga.”

Kagami jumped and blushed furiously as he turned and hid the screen from his mother with his body. He had been so engrossed in building his profile that he hadn’t even noticed that she had snuck up behind him. His mother raised a stern brow at him, causing his face to turn a rather furious shade of red.

“Mom! What’re you doing?! I thought you were still sleeping!”

“Obviously, I’m helping my son with his online dating profile. I’m already well rested enough. Really, I might be old and not in charge of the shop, but I’m still entitled to work you know.” With a pout, she reached down and pinched Kagami’s nose, a stubborn fire in her eyes. “Who convinced you to try internet dating? Was it that Kuroko boy?”

“Mom…” Kagami groaned as he saved his progress before exiting out of the window. “Can we please not talk about this?” His mother opened her mouth only to shut it and move about the store, realigning various merchandise.

“Alright, I won’t talk about it.” Kagami huffed out a sigh of relief and rested his forehead on his palm. “… So what kind of man do you want to meet?”

“MOM!” Blushing furiously, Kagami stalked over to his mother and shoved her to the back of the store. “Why don’t you go take stock or something?!” Hearing the compliant chuckles from his mother, Kagami only pushed her along faster, hoping to be rid of her.

“Good luck, Tiger,” she said with a wink before disappearing into the back of the shop. Hearing the bell on the door ringing, Kagami inhaled deeply to calm down before turning to the guest with a smile.

“Welcome~! Please take a look around at our wares, and let me know if I can be of any assistance.” The boy, probably around college age, looked startled by Kagami’s greeting, but nodded to him nonetheless. Not too much longer a few more people had come in as well- the busiest Kagami had been that week.

Business sailed smoothly for a while with an influx of people, but hardly ever did he have a lag. Excitement welled in Kagami as he thought of how profitable it was to have this many people here- and also how if a lot of people were at his store, then no one was at Aomine’s.

As Kagami was helping a child with yet another shoe fitting, he heard the bell at the circulation desk ring and called, “I’ll be there in just a minute!” over his shoulder. Asking the girl and her mother for a few minutes, he turned and glared at the man standing there.

“Wow, if looks could kill I’m pretty sure I’d be dead about fifteen times now. Is that how you treat your customers? No wonder your store is going under soon.” Aomine smirked at him, elbow resting against the counter as he slipped his hand into his pocket.

“Well, you’re not a customer, so you don’t get the special treatment. You can wait until I’m done, or even better you can leave.” Snarling a bit, he turned back to the girl and her mother with a smile.

“Nah, I think I’ll just go ahead and stay.” Kagami’s brow twitched slightly as he felt the tanned man stand behind him. It always made him uncomfortable when people watched over him like that.

“Does this fit okay? Remember, when you stand, the spikes on the cleat are going to feel weird at first.” Kagami stood upright to let the girl try out the soccer cleat, using that opportunity to step on Aomine’s foot. “Oops, sorry,” he muttered in passing. A curse was heard from Aomine as Kagami watched the girl move around in the cleats.

“Yeah! These are fine! Mommy, can we get these?” The girl bounced as she waited for the O.K. from her mother, only to cheer once she got it.

“Alright, you two can meet me at the register when she’s finished changing her shoes. Thank you very much!” Kagami moved over to the counter, a hand swatting about him to get rid of Aomine. “Can’t you go somewhere else? I don’t ever bother you and make it hard for you to work.”

“Please, you couldn’t even get to my office even if you wanted to. I don’t work a useless job like you do, so you’d have to go through some security checks to get to me.” Aomine snorted as he leaned against the counter once more, Kagami seated behind it.

“Oh, well aren’t you a hotshot? I’m so grateful that you decided to humble me with your presence today.”

“You think you’re funny don’t you? You better be lucky I’m so nice, ‘cause I’m here to make you a deal. As soon as your little shop goes under, I’m going to renovate it and turn it into one of mine. Since I’m so nice, I’ll let you be the manager of that chain. Think about it? You can come by my place any time to see what workin’ for me would be like.”

Kagami blinked. It was the first time an offer like that had come up. He would still lose the store, but it wasn’t as though he would be out of a job. A smart idea like that made the redhead wonder if Aomine had really thought of that on his own, or if he was told to offer it by someone else.

Seeing the mother and daughter come towards the counter, he focused his attention on them, completely disregarding his business rival. “Sorry, but I’m too busy. Ask someone else to go play with you… Hey, are you ready to own a new pair of cleats?”

The girl nodded and Kagami started the transaction, not paying any attention to Aomine anymore. After that transaction, he started another, and another, not even noticing when Aomine left the store. It seemed like only a few minutes when his mother came for him.

“Taiga, it’s 1:30. You need to leave for your lunch break at some time.” Kagami looked down at the clock on the computer in confusion. “You’ve been working real hard, son. It’s a good thing the store is busy, but you still need your break. Go get something to eat. I’ll be fine here.”

“It’s really 1:30 already? Well alright! Want me to bring you back something?” He started collecting various things he would need like his wallet and phone before moving away from the desk.

“Oh, no don’t worry about me. I already ate while you were talking to that man who comes around here a lot.” At the mere mention of Aomine, Kagami’s face fell which his mother quickly noticed. “Well! Why don’t you take your laptop with you and go somewhere with internet? You could finish that dating profile~”

Kagami flushed and puffed his cheeks into a pout, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he grumbled to himself as he grabbed his laptop and laptop bag before leaving the store. It wasn’t too much longer after that that Kagami found himself face to face with his major problem while he munched on his lunch.

What are your best traits?

Kagami stared at the blank text box, wondering just what he should say about himself. Eventually, he decided on writing about his determination and passion figuring that those were somewhat desirable traits. The next question really threw him for a loop though.

What are your hobbies?

Obviously basketball had been the greatest love of his life, so saying that was no problem. The real issue came when he tried to think about what else he did. Having basketball be your only hobby seemed a little bit… well… lame. Of course he did cook and clean a lot, but that didn’t sound much better to say. Cooking was a good skill to have, but he didn’t want to seem too housewifey.

Heaving a heavy sigh, he continued to struggle through his profile until he figured it was time to go back to the shop. Packing up his things and throwing away his trash, he left the store, humming quietly as he walked.

On his way back, he found himself stopping outside of a large looming building. The sign above the door read “MOMOI SPORTING GOODS”, in other words, it was the store where Aomine worked. The redhead hesitated, wondering if he should go in. Aomine had invited him in, but if he did ever go, it would probably only lead to him being mocked even more by that smug bastard.

It wasn’t long before the pushes and shoves of the crowded streets forced him to make a decision, his feet carrying back to his own store. Kagami couldn’t even start to think about giving Aomine the time of the day. Whenever he did that, it would mean that he accepted his loss, and he would never do that.

***

Aomine looked around uninterestedly at his store when he returned, not caring that there were many people inside. There were always lots of people inside. He walked around, checking up on the store tenders and the stock and taking a mental note of things that would have to be stocked.

He really enjoyed his job because he didn’t have to interact with the customers that much. In fact, he didn’t have to come into work all too often since he mostly conducted meetings outside of the building. He did still have to come in to give reports to the boss whose office was on the top floor of the large building they conducted business in. Aomine didn’t have to do that for a while though, so at that moment he was very bored and wished for some kind of distraction. Though the distraction he got wasn’t what he wanted.

“Aomine! What are you doing here? Have you gotten the new Kagami shop owner to give up yet? My father is going crazy waiting for him to sell. I thought you were really good at getting store owners to sell. Have you eaten lunch yet? Your assistant has been looking for you since this morning!” Aomine rolled his eyes as his daily nagging session started. Momoi was a really good friend of his and had been since they were children, but sometimes he just wished that she would just shut up.

“Satsuki, relax. I went over to see him again today and he kicked me out. I think he’s getting interested now, but he just doesn’t like me. He’s too damn stubborn, so you should be lucky that I’m even trying to work out some kind of deal with him.” Folding his arms over his chest, he watched as her face fell in disappointment that he was ruining yet another good suit. Her eyes focused on his arms for a moment before boring straight back into his own blue eyes again.

“Getting interested? Isn’t that what you said a while ago? Dai-chan, this is the longest you’ve taken to get a deal like this settled. What’s the problem here?” Pausing a moment in thought, she looked around to see if anyone was close enough to hear before leaning in closer. “Is his son really good looking?”

Aomine grimaced as she said that, the thought never crossing his mind before. It was too hard to look at the physical attraction to Kagami when his personality was so terrible. “Never even crossed my mind. I can’t stand the guy, so I haven’t even considered looking at him like that. Though, at the very least I could say he’s a fun guy to piss off.”

“And you wonder why he doesn’t like you. It’ll be your fault if the deal doesn’t go through with that kind of attitude.” Aomine simply dismissed her with a wave of his hand and continued walking again, only this time to escape the nagging currently happening. “Dai-chan! Don’t just walk away from me! Geez!” He laughed as Momoi started huffing and stomping her feet behind him, always finding that to be just a little entertaining.

“Momoicchiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!”

Both Momoi and Aomine stopped and turned their heads at the rather loud ruckus being caused. It wasn’t too much later that a blond head emerged from nowhere and arms wrapped around Momoi’s shoulders.

“Momoicchi, I don’t know what to do! Kurokocchi said I was annoying today!” Momoi gave a sigh and started patting Kise’s shoulders as he did his usual fake tears act.

“Well. . .That’s probably because you were being annoying, Ki-chan.”

“How mean!” At that, Kise stood upright, pouting quite fiercely. “You didn’t even ask me what happened! I didn’t do anything, really!”

“Now even I don’t buy that, but I guess I could hear you out. What happened, Kise?” Aomine sighed and put his hands on his hips, wondering just when his store became a love counsel shop for the blond. This wasn’t anywhere near the first time he’d come here “heartbroken” like this.

“Well, we met for lunch, like usual, and like always, Kurokocchi wanted to leave with just a simple ‘see you next time!’ I didn’t want that to happen so I tried to give him a kiss goodbye, but he hit the top of my head and said I was annoying! What is that supposed to mean?”

“No wonder. Tetsu doesn’t like PDA. By the way, do you have a few screws loose? You know that your kind of relationship isn’t really welcomed in society, right?”

“I don’t care about that! If I did I never would’ve started dating Kurokocchi. Love isn’t something that should be put down like that regardless of who it is, you know? You should just be able to go to the rooftops and shout ‘Hey! I’m in love with this person and no one’s gonna get in our way!’ Even if people hate me for it, I won’t care so long as I still have Kurokocchi.”

At that speech, Aomine’s eyes fell along with his mood. It’d been a while since he last felt it, but that overwhelming sensation of loneliness was back. Momoi and Kise had continued on in the conversation without him, but Aomine just couldn’t make a sound. How nice it must be to have someone like that in your life.

“Aominecchi?” At that, the bluenet snapped out of his reverie, looking between his two friends. “Are you okay? I. . .I didn’t upset you by talking about Kurokocchi, did I?”

Damn, am I that easy to see through? “What? No, don’t get ahead of yourself. I’m fine.”

“You don’t look it Dai-chan. Maybe you really should try dating again. It’s been a while since you did anything right? I know! Maybe Ki-chan could hook you up with one of his friends! He knows a lot of people who might be interested, right?”

“Ah, I don’t know about that, Momoicchi . . . It’d be hard to find someone interested in Aominecchi. Oh, I’ve got it! Why don’t you try internet dating? That might be better and that way they have a chance to like you before they see your face! Or maybe it would be better the other way around . . . It’s hard to tell.”

“Kise, you bastard! I’ll-“

“Alright~ that’s enough, Dai-chan! Let’s go set you up for internet dating!”

Momoi and Kise both grabbed hold of one of Aomine’s arms and started pushing them to his office. It was a struggle and took quite a while, but eventually the executive was snuggled in his chair with the computer in front of him. He sighed as Kise pulled up a website and nearly groaned as the title came into view.

Welcome to ManTalk, the online dating service for men interested in men!

“Are you guys sure this is a good idea? It looked stupid…” Aomine pulled a face as he saw pictures of overly happy gay couples float by on the screen. How anyone could register for this site was amazing.

“Go for it, Dai-chan! What could it hurt? You’re almost 29, and once you hit 30 it’s hard to find someone!” Momoi patted his shoulder to encourage him though it really only served to annoy him further. “Here, let’s help you out~” With a giggle, she grabbed hold of the mouse and clicked on the “REGISTER” button.

“H-Hey!” Aomine growled as she took control. He attempted to reach out to her, but Kise was quick to grab a hold of him so that wouldn’t happen. “Kise! Let go!”

“Sorry, Aominecchi, but we’re doing this to help you. I’ve got Kurokocchi and Momoicchi is doing well with her boyfriend too! You need someone.” Aomine sighed because he really couldn’t argue with that logic. It just killed him that this was the way they had to go about it.

It took a while, but eventually Aomine’s profile was set up quite nicely. The bluenet was shocked by just how well his friends seemed to know him based on how they never stopped to ask him any questions yet their information was correct. Then again, Momoi’s job did mostly have to deal with data and information. Probably the only problem he had with their work though was the screen name. “BluePanther28” was a little ridiculous. It was enough to be the most embarrassing thing in his life.

“Alright! Let’s see, let’s see~ Shall we do some browsing or wait to see who comes to us? I think you’ll be a catch in no time Aominecchi!” Kise giggled, already beside himself. Aomine growled and stood up from his chair, pushing both of the nuisances out of his office.

“You two have done more than enough! Get out and leave me alone!” He was just about to shut the door when Momoi got in the way, a pleading look in her eyes. That caused Aomine to falter because it had been so long since he saw it.

“Just promise us that you’ll give it a try? At least until the end of next week?”

Aomine paused, mulling it over in his mind. He was going to just delete his profile, but he could understand their worry. Huffing out a sigh, he waved her off. “Alright, alright. I’ll keep it until the end of next week. Happy? Now get out!” Finally, he shut the door, the room falling into silence again.

Coyly, he glanced at his computer before finding himself sitting behind his desk once more. Now that Aomine had the chance, he took the time to actually look over the website and figure out just how it worked. It seemed like a pretty nice and well thought out site now that he looked at, but it was just too embarrassing to belong. He hesitantly clicked on the “Browse online members” tab and started scrolling through the screen names.

There were several Aomine knew right away were lonely dorks or losers he wouldn’t be able to get along with at all. He was starting to get bored for the night until he found solace in one screen name. “RedTiger29.” At the very least, this guy was thinking along the same lines and was in a similarly embarrassing situation.

Out of sheer curiosity, he clicked on the name “RedTiger29” and was lead to his profile. Aomine read over a few things, finding some of it to be absolute bull, but some of it was interesting and even. . .captivating. This guy—whoever he was—even liked basketball. Anyone who liked basketball couldn’t be a bad person, at least in Aomine’s book. The “SEND MESSAGE” button on the left of the screen caught his attention, practically begging Aomine to click on it.

So he did.

Kagami smiled and patted the apron around his waist down, giving the small store a quick look-over before flipping the sign on the door to display the “Come in! We’re OPEN” to the public. Working the opening shift wasn’t ideal to most people, but the redhead never minded it. There was just always something special about starting everything up and welcoming the first customer of the day that never made Kagami complain.

His shop was small, quaint. Some would even say homely. One could almost miss it, a small building nestled in deep within the busy city of Tokyo, but it definitely had its charms to it. Having been working there since he was in elementary school, Kagami had definitely come to love the shop that his father had passed down to him.

Hearing the familiar chime of the bells above the door ringing, Kagami turned his head, a customer friendly smile on his face, until he saw just who it was who came into the store. “Kuroko? What are you doing here this early? Shouldn’t you still be sleeping?” Pointing to his own red hair, the larger male smirked as his friend patted down his terrible bedhead with a mean pout on his face.

“It isn’t nice to make fun of me, Kagami-kun. Just when I decided to bring you a birthday present too.” At that, Kagami raised a thick brow, wondering why Kuroko came empty handed then. Seeing this, the smaller male shook his head and held out a hand. “It’s not with me right now. I’ll treat you drinks later tonight. . .just try not to go overboard.”

“You make me sound like some kind of drunkard…” Kagami grumbled to himself before messing around with the ties of his apron. Kuroko’s lips twitched ever so slightly, a sign that he was enjoying himself.

“And you want me to believe that you’re not? I always have to call a taxi for you after all.” Kuroko smirked slightly as Kagami groaned and hit his head on the counter in frustration.

“That was one time! And it was nine years ago when I started drinking for the first time!” Kagami lifted his head and gave his friend a glare, though its effectiveness was questionable when matched with the redness in his cheeks.

“Nine years though, huh? It doesn’t really feel as though that much time has passed. We even knew each other before then…” Leaning against the counter, Kuroko flickered his eyes over to Kagami as he did so. The red head’s glare softened, and he let out a long sigh.

“Yeah, it’s really been that long. It feels like just yesterday my dad passed and I took over the shop though… It was around that time too, wasn’t it?” A nostalgic smile grew on Kagami’s face, various memories of his childhood resurfacing.

“Yeah, you’re still a terrible sales clerk even after all of these years, but I guess this shop is nice enough. You’ve done a nice job with it… It’s just a shame that there aren’t more customers than there are.” With a glum expression, Kuroko looked back to the shop showing no customers in sight.

Kagami sighed and rubbed the back of his neck as he followed his friend’s gaze. “Yeah, tell me about it. It’s already bad enough as it is with the economy the way it’s been lately, but now that bastard’s shown up and is trying to steal away all of my business!” He slammed a fist down on the counter, shaking the computer and cash register sitting atop of it. “I hate him! That bastard can go die! Aomine Daiki!”

“You rang?” The bells above the door jingled, bringing both men’s attention to the door. There a tall tanned man dressed in a loosely buttoned shirt with the sleeves rolled up passed his elbows, an even looser blue tie, and black slacks. He smirked at Kagami as he approached the counter. “You know Kagami, it’s bad luck to talk about someone behind their back.”

“Yeah? Well what’s it to you?” Kagami upturned his nose and looked away from the man. “What the hell are you even doing here, Aomine?”

A slender brow quirked in surprise, though this sort of relationship between them had been established for well over a year now. Aomine simply barked out a laugh and shoved his hands in his pockets. “Well, I was here to see how the competition was looking. . .but I can see that there isn’t much happening here.”

Kagami flushed and stood from his stool, his hands fists at his sides. “Shut up! We just opened, okay? It’s not like little kids wait in line for stores to open unless it’s an arcade.”

“Well there’s tons of people at my place already. We usually sell a lot more in the mornings for some reason.” Pausing for a second, Aomine languidly raised a hand to pick at his ear with disinterest before glancing back at Kagami. “Anyways, I think you should know what I’m here for. Give it up already.”

“Aomine-kun, I wouldn’t push Kagami-kun too far today. You see, today is-“

“Oh shut up for a second, will you Tetsu? I’m talking business here.” Aomine waved off Kuroko and inched closer to Kagami. “Sell me this store already. You know it’s gonna go under eventually anyways. Why’re you hanging onto it?”

“Because this store actually means something to me instead of just a few zeroes in front of a random number. Take a hint and get lost.” Kagami huffed as he sat back down on his stool, grabbing a book to keep his hands busy. Aomine merely clicked his tongue and walked behind the counter, never taking his eyes off of the redhead. The tanned man leaned forward, resting an arm against the counter as his eyes bore sharply into Kagami’s.

“How cute. You still think that feelings are what makes the world go ‘round, but let me tell you this. Give it up already. Do you really wanna see this place suffer? It’d be so much easier to give it to me. I could actually make something of this place unlike you.” Continuing on in their stare off, Kagami subtly narrowed his eyes, his head gesturing to the door.

“This is your last warning. Get out, or I’ll call police.”

For a few minutes, no one moved a muscle, not even Kuroko who had been forgotten in the exchange. A thick tension hung heavily in the air before being cut by a long airy sigh. Aomine shook his head and shrugged as he backed away from the counter.

“Alright, fine. Suit yourself. I’ll be back anyways.” Aomine turned, his large bulky figure moving towards the door. He stopped as he passed Kuroko however, and offered him a small smirk. “I’ll see you later, Tetsu.” Continuing on his way out, a loud bang was heard from the counter as soon as the door was closed, startling Kuroko once more.

“Dammit! Kuroko, how can you stand being friends with a guy like him?” Kagami stood up, pacing around his stool slightly to get rid of some of the energy his recent encounter gave him. He ran a shaky hand through his red hair, his eyes fiercely glaring at the ground. “I mean, he’s just so. . .so. . . Ugh!”

“I understand how you feel, Kagami-kun, but Aomine-kun isn’t a bad person. He can be quite nice. It’s just that. . .he’s an idiot sometimes, but so are you.” Kuroko put up a hand to stop his friend’s protests before they began. “You both are very short-tempered and stubborn, but I know that you are good people. You have a lot in common, believe it or not.”

Kagami barked out a laugh, rolling his eyes at the notion. “Me? And him? Similar? Yeah right. I’m nothing like that egotistical son of a bitch.” His rant ended with an “ooph!” as he plopped back down onto his stool, his anger turning more into a child’s fit than anything.

“Kagami-kun, don’t let this ruin your day. You did just open after all.” Giving a small wave, the smaller man turned towards the door. “And don’t forget. After work, I’ll take you out for drinks. Happy birthday, Kagami-kun.”

The redhead simply huffed out a sigh and waved, a small smile finally appearing on his face after his good mood was ruined. Once the door closed, he rested his forehead on the counter, groaning slightly. Of course Kagami knew that his small store filled with a small variety of sporting goods wouldn’t last too much longer on its own. At least not with the big, new store just down the street. The store that Aomine owned. The large franchise store that stood a few stories tall with so many options that not even a professional player would be able to make a definite choice. The odds were definitely not in his favor, but that wouldn’t stop him.

The bell chimed, bringing Kagami’s attention back to tending the shop. He lifted his head, a large smile on his face as a small boy rushed into the shop, his grandmother bustling after him. “Mr. Taiga! Good morning!” The boy ran right to the counter, his large blue eyes just barely seeing over the top of it.

Kagami smiled and rustled the boy’s hair. “Oh, good morning, Shungo. What brings you here today?” Lifting his head, he raised a brow at the boy’s grandmother before giving her a slight bow.

“Today, my grandma’s gonna buy me some basketball shoes and a basketball!” Shungo jumped away from the counter to the small basketball corner of the store, Kagami and his grandmother following suit.

“Oh, is she? What happened to playing soccer?” Kagami’s eyes started to scan the shelves as he spoke, knowing just how often this boy changed hobbies.

“Well. . .I was gonna play it at school, but then I saw you playing basketball the other day. . .I thought you looked really cool, so I wanna try to play just like you, Mr. Taiga.” The boy’s answer startled the redhead, his eyes looking down at Shungo in wonder. A slight blush dusted his cheeks before he grabbed two pairs of shoes from the wall- he had remembered the boy’s shoe size from when he bought soccer cleats a week ago.

“We-Well… In that case, I better pick you out some good shoes then, huh? C’mon. Take a seat.” Gesturing a hand over to the seat, Kagami walked over, watching as the boy scurried and jumped onto the bench. He kneeled before Shungo and gently slipped off one of the boy’s shoes to start the fitting. “Alright, so you know the drill right? Ask me anything you want, tell me if I tie it too tightly or if it needs to be tighter, and please tell me if you need a bigger shoe this time.”

“Okay!” Shungo waited patiently as the shoe was tied, keeping perfectly quiet until it was done. He then stood up, flexing his foot and doing little hops here and there to test it out. “I like it, but it doesn’t really feel different than a regular shoe. Is it supposed to?”

“Just a little bit. It’s supposed to make your heels and ankles feel better when you jump. Can you jump real high for me and tell me if it works?” With a nod, the boy jumped into the air again only to frown after landing.

“It still doesn’t feel any different…”

Kagami laughed and nodded. “Alright, alright, go ahead and sit back down. I have another shoe for you to try on.” Smiling as the boy sat back down, Kagami slipped the shoe off before setting it down. “That shoe is the most popular, so I thought you might like it. But. . .just in case, I picked out this one for you too.”

He held out a small red Nike shoe, showing it to Shungo before slipping on his little foot. “This one’s my favorite, and I wear these when I play. These are really good for jumping, and they have a little ankle support too so it’ll be harder to hurt yourself.” Tying off the laces, Kagami stood back up and gestured for Shungo to do the same. With a small nod, the boy stood and hopped around again, a large smile on his face.

“Wow! You’re right! These are really cool! Grandma, can we get these? Please! Please!” Even as he started begging, Shungo quickly lost focus and started running around the store, playing with whatever he could get his hands on. His grandmother chuckled and approached Kagami, finally speaking up since she entered the store.

“I think we’ll buy those… Now, about a ball?” She looked up at Kagami with slightly furrowed brows, clearly displaying her lack of knowledge in the area. The redhead chuckled, understanding what she was asking and held up a hand.

“Don’t worry, you can’t really go wrong with a ball like you can with shoes. There’s a ball that I suggest you get because it’s really great for beginners and doesn’t wear out as much. When the ball starts to go smooth, just come back and get another one.” The woman nodded, smiling for all of Kagami’s help.

Just a few minutes later, Shungo’s grandmother held a bag filled with a basketball and a shoebox, Shungo’s hand in her other. The small boy waved with a large smile on his face. “Thanks, Mr. Taiga! I’ll be sure to work hard, so maybe we can play together some day! See you later!”

“Bye, Shungo. Take good care of those shoes, okay?” The boy nodded before leaving the store alongside his grandmother. Huffing out a happy sigh, Kagami plopped down on his stool only to stand at a commotion in the back room. “Mom?!” Rushing back behind the curtain, Kagami stopped abruptly at a hand on his chest.

“Taiga! Don’t you rush back here to help me. I already told you that I’m fine.” Kagami’s lips stayed shut as he watched his mother pick up the clipboards that had fallen onto the ground. “Seriously, just because I’m old doesn’t mean that I can’t do any work around here. Do you expect me to leave everything to you when I’m able to give you a hand?” Kagami opened his mouth only to shut it again, his brows furrowing. “That should be a ‘no’, mister.”

“Geez, Ma… I was just worried about you.” Of course, that didn’t mean much to her. Despite her age climbing higher and higher, his mother seemed to become more filled with energy. His energy and short-temper had to come from somewhere after all, and it definitely didn’t come from his father. Kagami seemed to have inherited a lot from her, including her red hair. Still, everyone could see that she was starting to struggle with the more laborious tasks.

“Taiga, I appreciate it, but leave a woman to her work. I did my fair share of sitting around for a few years back when you and your father ran this store, so now it’s time I finally did something, don’t you think?” Turning to look at her son, she smiled and put a hand to Kagami’s cheek. “I know this store means a lot to you, but it’s not so bad to let me help.

“Ma… It’s not that I don’t want you helping… I just don’t wanna lose you too.” Kagami frowned, following after his mother as she brushed past him to the front of the store.

“I wouldn’t worry too much about that. Your father smoked after all. It was only a matter of time...” She frowned, fiddling with something that Shungo had probably knocked earlier. “I know that isn’t nice to say, but you can’t stay sad about it forever. You have to move on with your life. You’re happy here, I know, but are you really happy?”

Kagami blinked, wondering just what she was questioning exactly. Of course he was happy, well on days when nothing spoiled his mood. He wouldn’t mind doing exactly this for the rest of his life. “Ma. . .of course I’m happy-“

“That’s not what I mean.” Shooting her son a look, she sighed and pointed to the stool behind the counter. “Sit down, Taiga.” Nodding, Kagami sat down, watching as his mother scurried over to him, taking notice in the way her hips shook as she walked. “You know I’m not going to live forever, right? I don’t want to worry you or pressure you, but I do want to see you truly happy before I go. I want to see you in love with someone so I can at least know that my son will be alright.”

Kagami sighed, resting his elbow on the counter as his hand ran down his face. So it was this kind of lecture. “I can’t just make a perfect wife appear out of nowhere, Ma. I can’t even start to think about women right now.”

“Then why don’t you start thinking about finding yourself a nice man?” Kagami flushed, spluttering about as he gaped at his mother. She laughed, playfully hitting his shoulder. “What? Did you think you tricked me? A mother always knows, Taiga. Besides, you’re 29 years old today. Did you really think that you could keep it a secret that long?” Grabbing hold of his hands, she gave them a slight squeeze, a small smile on her face.

“I know that not everyone is accepting, but you should give your own mother some credit. I won’t kick you out just because you prefer men over women. If you’re happy, then I am too,” she whispered, her hands holding on even tighter to his. Kagami calmed himself, bringing a small, sheepish smile to his own face.

“Thanks, Ma… But it still isn’t exactly easy. Like you said, it’s not like everyone accepts it… I can’t just go around town with a sign that says ‘I’m gay. Are you?’” Kagami turned back to the counter with the intention of ending the conversation there, but his mother had other ideas. Tugging on his hands, she gathered his attention again.

“Maybe not, but you can’t be scared to pursue someone if you like them. I didn’t raise a coward after all.” Finally letting go of Kagami’s hands, she delivered a light punch to his jaw, winking at him as she did so. Kagami laughed and waved her off, facing the door once more.

“Alright, alright, I got it. Go on to the back again and see what else you can drop why don’t you?” His mother huffed while he laughed, her hands moving to rest on her hips.

“Oh, so I can only drop things, huh? Well why don’t I go see what else I will drop.” They both laughed and returned to their respective jobs, Kagami’s mood definitely much better than it was earlier that morning.

*****

Loud pop music boomed through the air, lightly thumping Kagami’s chest. It was always such an odd feeling, but he knew he’d get used to it soon enough. The redhead was never too interested in clubs really. They were always so loud, too crowded and filled with drunks. Of course that night was an exception considering Kise was there. It had been a while since the two of them had seen each other after all.

“Kagamicchi, promise me that you’ll dance with me later? Kurokocchi said he won’t dance with me…” Kise pursed his lips and gave a pointed look to the smallest of the three, earning a slight chuckle from Kagami.

“What? You honestly expected Kuroko to get out on the dance floor and actually dance? I don’t think I’ve ever seen him dance.” They sat down at the bar towards the back of the club, Kagami immediately ordered a stronger drink while the others ordered something weaker. Kise blinked at the redhead and whistled.

“Wow, you’re drinking hard tonight. I’m guessing Aominecchi really did stop by your place today like he said he did.” Kise thanked the bartender for his drink and took a sip, deftly avoiding the sharp glare he was receiving.

“While it’s good that you can relieve some of that stress, don’t take it too far, Kagami-kun. Drink to your heart’s content, but be careful. Aomine-kun did cross the line this morning though, so I might make an exception this once.” Kuroko quickly spoke his mind in order to cut Kagami off from giving a long-winded rant. To that, Kagami merely grumbled into his cup and took a sip from it.

“Aominecchi usually does cross the line sometimes, but I don’t know how he could be so mean as to do it on someone’s birthday. I might have to talk to him about it tomorrow…” Kise frowned at the contents of his cup, swirling it around slightly.

“Nah, that won’t do any good. A bastard like him needs to be taught a lesson.” Kagami downed the rest of his alcohol and promptly ordered another cup. Kuroko sighed and placed a hand on his friend’s arm.

“Kagami-kun, I know you’re frustrated, but please try to calm down. Tonight is supposed to be about having fun after all. It won’t do you any good if you insist on being a sour puss like this all night.”

Kagami paused before huffing out a long sigh. He smiled slightly and ruffled Kuroko’s hair. “Yeah, you’re right. Sorry, let’s try to have some fun.” Kuroko frowned and patted down his hair with a frown on his face.

“Please don’t touch my head like that.”

Of course, with just a few drinks later and a bit more time afterwards, it seemed as though Kagami was the only one not having fun. The three of them had settled down in a booth as their spirits rose due mostly to the alcohol. Kuroko and Kise sat on one side while Kagami sat on the other. At first, he hadn’t noticed anything peculiar, but then Kise began giggling too much to be normal.

“You two are flirting again, aren’t you?” They both paused, looking up at Kagami with wide doe eyes. He sighed and held up his hands in defeat. “Hey, go on ahead. Don’t mind me. You know I don’t care if you guys goof around.” Kise smiled brightly at the invitation and started kissing Kuroko’s neck which Kagami had to admit did make him feel like an awkward third wheel. Kuroko’s face remained still as he observed his friend, not paying any mind to his boyfriend’s antics.

“Kagami-kun, why don’t you try dating someone?”

“Huh? Me? Start dating someone? Pfft-“ Kagami laughed as if it were a ridiculous idea before waving off his giggles. “Are you kidding? You sound just like my mother. It’s not that I don’t want to. I just wouldn’t know where to start. I can’t just go up to guys I think look nice after all. It just doesn’t work that way.”

“But what if it did?” At that, Kagami quirked a brow silently, a little curious as to what Kuroko had to say. “What I mean is. . .why don’t you try internet dating? There are plenty of sites now that offer the option to enter you desired gender. Maybe you could meet someone that way.”

Kise finally detached himself from boyfriend’s neck to smile brightly at Kagami. “Oh! Yeah, that’s a great idea, Kagamicchi! One of my friends met her fiancé online, so I’m sure it’ll work well for you too! Give it a try!”

Kagami hesitated, a weird bubbly feeling growing in his chest. “…Are you guys sure about this? I wouldn’t really know what to say about myself…”

“Kagami-kun, it’s an internet profile. It’s not like anyone will be expecting your information to be 100 percent accurate.” At that Kagami stayed silent, knowing that was a valid point. “What risk would you be taking by doing it? Surely it would be better than sitting around a bar all alone on your birthday while you drink to drown your anger. You should give it some thought.”

Kagami gave a wry smile and looked down at the table. His hands lightly tapped on it as he thought, the light drum of his fingers being drowned out by the music. Kuroko did have a point in that trying could make things better despite it being incredibly embarrassing.