Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

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“Wow! Kazu jump so high!"

“It took me a while to finally get it right.” Kazu explained.

“Amazing! Kazu is so amazing! Learn fast!”

Kazu’s face reddened, ducking his head a little lower. It failed to hide the tiniest hint of a smile on his lips, though. “Thank you. And you’re talented too, Cuc.”

“Kazu teach Cuc how to dance like this?” Cuc pleaded, his green eyes big and bright.

And of course, Kazu couldn’t say no. He would never. “Of course. Let’s practice together.”

“Vang! Cuc will make Kazu proud!”

The blond boy wrapped an arm around Kazu’s shoulders, pulling him even closer and squishing their cheeks together. The move never failed to make Kazu blush profusely, his eyes were unfocused, constantly darting between his partner and the phone. Something that didn’t go unnoticed.

“Are you spying on them again?”

“Shh. They’re watching Kazu’s practice video. See? They’re sitting so close. Kazu looks so flustered. So cute!” Nagomu gushed, snapping a few more pictures of them.

Lion’s face scrunched up. “You disgusting brocon. Can’t you just leave the kids alone?”

“I am! I just like watching from afar. They don’t know I’m here.”

“That’s even worse.”

Nagomu rolled his eyes. “Don’t you also have practice?”

“Tch. I don’t know why I even bother with you.”

“Me neither.”

Nagomu redirected his attention to the young couple. Cuc was pointing at the phone and smiling, Kazu was beet red next to him. Another adorable sight worth keeping, he clicked the phone camera a few more times.

The boys had been dating for almost a month now, and were growing closer and closer each day. Nagomu could tell just how happy they were together, from the way they looked each other at the studio to how Kazu talked about Cuc at home, to their after-practice dates that Nagomu had also followed - without their knowledge, of course, but then he’d had to stop after the second date due to work commitment. When Kazu had gone home from their third date announcing he and Cuc had become an official couple, Nagomu had cried right then and there, one because he had been so, so happy for his baby brother and his rival, and two because he had been bitter for not having witnessed it.

But it was okay, he was making up for lost time. He was going to capture everything of his favourite couple in whichever way that he could. Commit every bit of laughter, every smile, every look of affection between his little brother and the boy he loved the most. He planned to make a photobook as a gift for their one month anniversary, he just needed more photos from their dates to fill up the last five pages. Thankfully, they planned another date today. Nagomu had plenty of free time this afternoon to stalk them.

He swore he wasn’t a creep, he just loved and cared for his little brother in his own unique way. As long as they were both happy, why did it matter if he liked to get involved? He didn’t care if the likes of Lion thought otherwise.

Speaking of…

“Why haven’t you left yet?”

“Shut up.”

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“Marumegane!”

“Ah, Jintaro!” Cion perked up, smiling at his boyfriend running at full speed towards him. The blond leapt and captured Cion in a tight hug from behind, making him laugh.

“Marumegane! Did ya miss me?”

“It’s only been a few hours.” Cion rolled his eyes fondly. “But yeah, kind of. I think about you always.”

“Hehe. You love me.”

“Of course I do.” Cion patted his cheek with a warm smile. “And I assume you love me too?”

“Hell yeah! I love you this much!!” Jintaro raised both hands in the air as highly as he could. It brought a giggle out of Cion, Jintaro’s heart swelled so much it might literally burst out of his chest. He embraced Cion again, hiding behind his shoulder, engulfed in his unique scent that reminded him of a walk in a pine woods - if that was what pine woods smelled like. Whatever, he liked it, like he liked everything about Cion. Scratch that, he loved everything about Cion, his boyfriend.

Boyfriend! They were boyfriends now! Lovers! How crazy was that??? Till this day, Jintaro couldn’t believe someone as amazing as Cion would fall for him, him! Cion, who could recite romance novels like love songs, who read more books than anyone ever had, who could sway everyone with his handsome look and charming voice, had chosen Jintaro, his admittedly stupid rival that couldn’t understand half of what he said. But the mighty Jintaro-sama of course had his own way of capturing the intellectual’s heart. He didn’t know what he’d done to achieve that, but it must have been so awesome that Cion had considered him a worthy partner.

And Jintaro would prove over and over again how truly worthy he was, how good of a boyfriend he was for Cion. Take him on dates, listen to him talk, sing for him, make sure he knew how loved he was. Heck, Jintaro would even go to literal hell for him, and he wouldn’t look back like that dumb guy from the myth Cion loved so much! He had told Cion exactly that, on their fourth date under the moonlit sky, and it’d made his boyfriend laugh so much his glasses had fallen off. The sight of his eyes closing and nose wrinkling when he’d snorted had caused Jintaro’s heart to explode into a million butterflies. If this was what it felt to be with Cion, then Jintaro wanted him forever and ever!

Jintaro had never expected to fall in love, let alone love someone this much. He had never expected someone to love him for who he was, either. They were an odd match, but they worked. They were perfect for each other in the strangest way.

“Jintaro, let go. I’ll need to practice soon.” Cion squirmed in his hold with no real effort, as though he didn’t want to leave Jintaro’s side either. “Come on, I’ll see you again afterwards.”

Jintaro squeezed him tighter. “One more hug.”

Cion sighed fondly. “Fine, maybe one more.”

“And a kiss, too?” He already puckered his lips.

“We’re in public, Jintaro.”

The blond pouted. “It’s not that big of a deal!”

“There are people around.”

Jintaro glanced across the studio with an annoyed huff. So what if there were others present? They were minding their own businesses anyway. Not everyone was practicing, either. There, Sakuya and Rey were bickering again; Auguri and Futaba were probably gossiping (they kept looking at him, though); Kazu and Cuc were watching a video; Nagomu was looking at his phone with Lion-

Oh. That guy.

The one Jintaro had thought to be Cion’s real crush.

To think he had once found Lion to be the hottest piece of ass in the audition. Now, seeing that hunk of a man only made his blood boil. Even though Cion’s heart belonged to him, and his to Cion, he couldn’t shake off the fear that his boyfriend might still see Lion as the better option. What if, one day, Lion decided to steal Cion from him?

It was stupid, he knew. Never would he doubt his beloved Marumegane. But the idea had been planted in his head like a seed and he needed to deal with it somehow, even through the most irrational way.

“Where are you going?”

Jintaro was already stepping away without realizing. He briefly turned back to reassure. “I’ll be back quickly.”

That said, he stomped his way towards the white-haired man, making sure he was loud enough to get his attention. It worked, Lion glanced at him, but almost immediately turned away as if Jintaro wasn’t worth his time. Oh, it was on.

“Hey Lion!”

The tall guy finally acknowledged him, raising a single eyebrow when Jintaro stopped. It was time to show him who was the real deal, the one deserving of Cion’s love.

“Stay away from Marumegane! He’s mine!”

There, said and done. Now Lion wouldn’t be thinking about taking Cion from him, not a chance! He returned to his boyfriend with a triumphant grin equal to that of a knight successfully defended his lady’s honour, leaving a very confused Lion behind.

“Huh?”

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“There’s fresh air, there’s diverse vegetation, and the views, Bocchan! The views! Mountains are way better!”

“That is until you have bugs all around you, crawling with their disgusting little feet on your skin.” Rey shivered. “Whereas you shall not have such trouble when you visit the ocean. Tell me, Charao, do you not admire the warm sun on a clear sky, the coarse sand under your feet, the wonderful breeze flowing my gorgeous hair?”

“Don’t get me wrong, I do. You’re beautiful and I love you more than life itself. But we’ve gone on cruise so many times already, the mountain is a nice change. Plus, hiking is a good exercise.”

“Hmm. I suppose you have a point.”

“See?”

“Nonetheless!” He emphasized on each syllable. “The ocean provide us with a poetic atmosphere. Think about it, Charao, is it not more romantic to walk by my side along the seashore, when the sun is setting on the horizon, reflecting its golden lights on the calming waves?”

“Well, yes, but sunsets on mountain views are beautiful, too!” Sakuya argued.

“But we will be all sweaty and dirty by the time we reach the top if you insist on hiking. How unpleasant!”

“But the trip makes it worth it, Bocchan! Like, do you just go to the beach and not swim in it?”

“I thought that was very clear?”

“Then what’s the point of going to the beach?”

“How dare you question my motive, Charao?”

“It’s not even a motive! You just don’t know how to travel!”

Rey gasped. “Excuse me? I do not know how to travel? Which one of us insisted on getting bitten by bugs up in who-knows-where?”

“‘Cause that’s what makes it interesting! Not just laze around doing nothing at an expensive resort!”

“Hmph. I reckon you would say that, given your… status.”

“The hell is that supposed to mean, Bocchan???”

“I was just stating the obvious, Charao!!!”

“Calling me poor uncalled for, Bocchan!!!”

“Where have I ever said that, Charao???”

“What are they fighting about again?” Auguri whispered.

“Where they’ll spend their honeymoon, I think,” responded Futaba.

“WHAT??” Auguri shot up from where he sat. “They’re engaged already???”

“Uh…” Futaba narrowed his eyes at the twinkle on Sakuya’s left hand, fourth finger. It was unmistakably a ring, but he’d assumed they would have announced it if it’d been something as big as an engagement. But so far, nothing. “I’m not even sure.”

Neither was Sakuya, if he was honest. On the day he’d confessed his feelings for Rey, the rich man had given him the very ring that had once been bestowed upon his almost-fiancé. Rey had attempted to get down on one knee, only for Sakuya to pull him up and explain how unconventional it was to propose to someone this early. “Buy me dinner first,” he’d said, and of course, the rich guy had taken it to heart and brought him to a five-star restaurant with his dramatic flare.

Still, he’d pushed the ring on Sakuya’s finger with a simple request that he cherish it. That wasn’t a proposal, at least not outwardly, but Sakuya had accepted it anyway. Marriage had never occurred to him before as a man in his twenties with a career and reputation to keep, but he soon realized he would not mind it one bit if Rey was the one he married.

In fact, he kind of liked it, a lot more than he’d thought. He liked taking care of Rey and pampering him as much as he could. He liked seeing Rey smile whenever he did something that the man enjoyed. He liked when Rey could be himself around him, rely on him, tell him how loved and secured he felt when Sakuya was at his side.

Of course, he liked all of their stupid banters, too. They argued about which side of the bed was better, who should carry the bags when shopping, whose turn it was to do the laundry, which way they should go to reach their destination because Rey kept getting lost; about Rey taking too long in the shower, Sakuya staying up late at night, Rey being naive about certain social cues, Sakuya being too much of a cheapskate. They truly were a married couple, perhaps even before getting together. Name one dumb topic and rest assured they’d bickered about it already.

Like right now, as they debated on their hypothetical honeymoon trip after their hypothetical wedding - the latter of which had already been argued about just last week.

“How about this?” Sakuya suggested. “We take a cruise for one or two days, then we reach an island with both a beach and mountains where we can hike. How does that sound?”

Rey rubbed his chin in thought. “That does not sound too bad.”

“Provided that you know which place to go, of course.”

“Leave that to me, Charao. I have a plethora of connections. I shall find the best, most luxurious service just for you.” The rich man took Sakuya’s hand in his, raising the ringed finger to his soft, warm lips. The gesture had always made Sakuya blush from head to toe, and this time it was no exception.

“You’re so dramatic,” he mumbled, trying to calm his racing heart. He would never admit it out loud, but he liked when Rey spoiled him, too. And Rey seemed to have realized it.

“Charao, believe me when I say I would do anything in my power to bring you happiness, even if it includes being swarmed by insects.” Rey assured him. “For I love you more than my beautiful skin.”

Sakuya couldn’t help but smirk. “Really?”

“Definitely.”

“Well then,” he followed up cheekily, “I’ll go on another cruise trip with you, too, even though it makes me sick sometimes. I just wanna be with you, Bocchan. I love you.”

“I love you more, Charao.”

“Nah, I love you more, Bocchan.”

“No, I love you more, Charao.”

“I got the guts to confess first, so I love you more!”

“I’ve loved you for far longer, so cumulatively, I love you more!”

“Are you making this a competition?”

“You started it, Charao.”

“No, you started it!”

“Here they go again.” Futaba chuckled. “At least they don’t argue about honeymoons anymore.”

“It’s cute, isn’t it?” Auguri sighed. “Wahh, look around us. Love is in the air. Isn’t it nice how everything works out in the end?” A pause. “Oh, um, except for… you know… you and-”

“Please don’t mention it again, Auguri-san.” Futaba grumbled, reminding himself to just tell his rival the truth at some point. Being thought to have feelings for Jintaro was getting more and more embarrassing each day.

“It’s gonna be okay, Futabacchi.” The younger boy scooted closer to his rival, patting his back comfortingly. “I know it takes time, but you’re gonna find someone new soon. All you have to do is look!”

What Auguri didn’t know was that Futaba was actually looking at someone else.

What Futaba didn’t know that there was Mio looking at him.

What Mio did know that Issei and Lion hadn’t found closure yet.

Issei and Lion… they were none the wiser.

Once again, it would be a story for later.