Chapter Text
Of course Kaisei knew that the universe wasn’t made from a single unit, it had to have multiple species to even be created— but, he did not care for something so little such as the Earth itself; or even the actual universe. Nope! He cared for something much more great, more impactful and life-changing.
What could that be?
Lo and behold, it was… anime! Of course it was anime— had it not existed, Kaisei would not know what to do with himself if it simply wasn’t created by a genius on a random sunday! Heck, he doesn’t even know what day it was when that specific individual decided that anime would be a real thing, but he’s grateful for it nonetheless. Like come on, it’s just the epitome of entertainment and enjoyment!
Kaisei could only shed one single tear as his favourite anime finally ends— but he knows where he’ll find himself typing away again! Where could that possibly be? Only the most used and probably problematic app, X— formerly known as twitter— Kaisei found himself a home in Japan’s rowdy and stupid… #AnimeTWT.
But maybe, being “@SnakeeeeeK” doesn’t give the best impression, but his profile picture does have the prettiest official art of Misa from Deathnote that no one could resist— not even Kaisei. Come on, she was his favourite character, and he did get followers who shared the same interests. But, he never really talked to them, only his friends from college cared for a shady guy like him. Who cares?! He still posts tweets everyday, even if he has no one to talk to.
…
Notification: @kesu_101123 has followed you!
Huh?
Kaisei immediately clicked the follow back button— he hasn’t gotten a new follower since last week, sadly Mlon Eusk refuses to give him a hit tweet. But one day he will! Kaisei scrunched his nose, eyes flickering at the user. Hm. “Nice profile picture!”, were Kaisei’s first thoughts— the second one was that his bio was pretty weird? Weird was the wrong word to describe it. It was more like it was… suspicious in a way. The way he typed it out, but Kaisei couldn’t really be the judge of that— and couldn’t blame the guy as Kaisei also looked shady to some people!
But, Kaisei was way too skeptical… or shy to text first. So, he waite—
Notification: @kesu_101123 has sent a message!
@kesu_101123: Hey~ You also like Death Note?
Oh.
That was— much quicker than he anticipated. But, he had to reply— it would be blatantly rude to ignore someone when you’ve just followed them!
@SnakeeeeeK: yeah. u do too?
What a lame response on his end, the other person for all he knows, could be a great guy! Or— a stunning girl with good looks for years on end. Kaisei wouldn’t know, but he would be lying through his teeth if he said he wasn’t curious to know what he looked like behind his pseudo name.
@kesu_101123: Of course~~ 🎶
Well, Kaisei ignored the sender’s quite… unique way of typing, even if it did tick him off only a slight bit.
Without notice, hours passed and Kaisei was still grinning to himself (and his phone screen). They got along well— he could even say too well. They were both hooked instantly and shared many interests even while having such a difference in personalities and hobbies. So well, that they instantly became friends that clicked almost immediately. Although, Kaisei was extremely— nervous? Of course! It’s been a year since he’s made a new friend, (and that says a lot about what he does in his free time instead of socializing) and, his friend group consists of only two of the most insufferable and idiotic people to exist on planet Earth: Yusei and Ness (on the contrary, Kaisei wouldn’t know what he would do without them, them being his only friends, even if one was incredibly dorky and the other— a chronic gambler), but, he was glad he had them despite all their flaws and imperfections. What’s a person without their faults and negative traits? Because Kaisei knows damn well that he has way more flaws than he could count.
Ah.
…A new friend?
Did it just hit him that someone as antisocial and labeled as weird by society (that someone is him), finally managed to make a friend in his big adult life? Pretty much. Kaisei was pretty slow when it came to these kinds of things, but it meant a lot to him— really. He just couldn't believe it.
Yet, he was grinning from head to toe like a creep. He just felt… glad? Relieved? Someone who shared his interests, his love for the thing that kept him sane from work. Someone who wouldn’t ignore his clear anime references— his someone.
…
That sounded way too cheesy for Kaisei’s liking. But— whatever! He just– wanted to know the other more. All he knew was that the other was male, and that his name was “Milan” (or so he told him, he could be lying for all Kaisei knows”). They both exchanged their own information, putting their trust in one another. Yes, he was giving his personal information to a stranger, not so “nonchalant” of him. He knew the risks! But something about the guy… drew him in. Kaisei didn’t know if it was the way he texted, or was he just— desperate? Well… they did exchange numbers, thankfully it was Milan who asked first, or Kaisei would’ve blanked out. His thoughts were completely opposite of his words. It all didn’t matter to him, they were going to call in an ho—
Notification: Incoming Facetime Call from Milan
Shit.
Oh no.
Was he always this unpredictable? Kaisei didn’t want to question it— and it would be rude to leave someone hanging, especially with a newly acquired friend. Without any thought, it seemed his brain short-circuited and completely cut-off his neurotransmitters, causing his reflex arc to automatically click accept despite his internal conflict. Immediately, it seemed his phone started freezing up at the perfect moment, keeping the frame of Milan’s face illuminated for Kaisei to look in gape as it seemed his mind was starting to shut down completely. His racing thoughts were cut off by a low but delicious (not in a weird way— okay, maybe in a weird way) voice coming from his phone speaker.
His screen flickered to life, and for a second, all his rational thoughts abandoned him. He had expected him to be attractive— sure, maybe even handsome, but not like an angel sent from heaven just for Kaisei. It felt almost unfair. Even through the shitty quality of his iPhone 10, he looked effortlessly beautiful, his easy smile and bright eyes stealing every thought right out of his head. It was ridiculous, really, how someone could look that good from such an unflattering angle. All he could do was stare, hoping the silence came across as his wifi fucking up instead of the fact that he’d completely forgotten how to speak. In return, he gasped, hoping the call didn’t pick up that noise as he rushed to cover his mouth.
“Kaisei-kun~ Turn your camera on, I don’t wanna be the only one.” He spoke with a teasing tone slipping beneath his shockingly sweet voice coated in honey. And luckily, Kaisei could bask in it forever if he really wanted to. Before he could get ahead of himself and dream of the endless fantasies his mind could imagine, he snapped back into reality as his name was called from the other side of the call.
“Oh. Sorry.” He spoke in a hushed tone with underlying embarrassment that could be heard.
Without any second to prepare himself, he clicked the ‘Turn On Camera’ button and prayed he didn’t look like an absolute mess compared to the holy saint on the other side.
God. To say he looked like (and was) a mess was an understatement on its own. But, topping it off with Milan’s eager face that blinded Kaisei completely just tripled his inner turmoil.
“Oh.” Milan spoke as if he was almost impressed by Kaisei, which seemed like a hilarious joke to him.
Not only was his hair a complete mess, his braid was loose, and it definitely did not resemble a proper braid. The oversized hoodie he’d thrown on that morning looked wrinkled beyond saving, and the dark circles beneath his eyes were impossible to ignore, especially in the dim light from his phone.
He held in his breath as he braced himself for a laugh.
Instead, Milan said something that somehow seemed worse than a laugh.
He smiled.
Like full-on smiling.
“...You’re cute.” He mumbles, covering his mouth as if it was a fleeting thought, rather than a solid statement.
Kaisei’s brain short-circuited, his motherboard resetting itself and breaking into a million pieces.
What the fuck did he just say? Not handsome. Not even cool. But— cute.
Kaisei and cute? Both of those things had no correlation whatsoever. But, to say that it didn’t make his heart race would be a complete lie. As much as he would die to admit this out loud, Milan’s words replayed in his mind like a broken record on repeat.
His face burned so quickly it almost felt painful. “Huh? Sorry, I couldn’t quite catch that.” An lame excuse as he quickly tried to regain his composure.
“I said you’re cute.” Milan repeated, casually, resting his chin against his hand. He seemed far too relaxed, unlike Kaisei– his face barely remaining still.
“I was expecting you to look cool all the time, but…” He laughed softly. “I think I prefer this side of you.”
Kaisei swore he could hear his own heartbeat through the speakers, as his phone slipped out of his hand by accident. He caught it in time and looked away, turning his gaze to anything but the screen, suddenly fascinated by an empty concrete wall. “Are you making fun of me?”
“I’m not.” Milan said, his voice gentler this time. He pouts, literally— like he was trying to make Kaisei care. “I mean it.”
A beat passed and they both remained silent.
Kaisei finally dared to glance back at the screen, only to find Milan already looking at him with the same easy smile as before. Somehow, seeing it directed at him made his chest feel unbearably heavy.
Maybe forgetting how to speak wasn’t such a bad thing after all.
—
To say they talked for a while was probably the greatest understatement in history.
One topic turned into another before either of them even realized it. They’d get sidetracked halfway through a story, somehow end up talking about something completely different, then circle back like nothing had happened. It felt stupidly easy. It’s just like their brains interlinked together.
At some point, Kaisei had forgotten he was supposed to be nervous.
He’d stopped worrying about how messy his hair looked or whether he was making a fool of himself. Instead, he found himself laughing so hard his face hurt, teasing Milan back whenever he got the chance, only for Milan to throw it right back at him.
When Kaisei finally glanced at the time sitting in the corner of his screen, he had to do a double take.
“…Holy shit.”
Five hours.
Somehow, five whole hours had passed, and neither of them had even noticed.
“Hey. I’m sorry, Milan. I have work tomorrow and I’ll hop in the shower soon.” He says with a frown, unwilling to hang up.
“It’s fine~ I’ll call you back tomorrow, Kaisei-kun.” He said before the call ended abruptly.
Oh. Kaisei didn’t get the chance to say goodbye.
Lame.
He already missed the sound of his gentle laughter.
Fuck.
He was definitely living in a Boys’ Love Manga— and to his surprise, he didn’t hate it. He did question whether or not he could pass as a main character, but he had other things to worry about.
First things first, he immediately went on Instagram and searched up Milan’s account— which he found pretty quickly.
@MilanKestrel — 20k followers and a bio which read: I am not a suspicious person~ Contact me about Audio issues or Sound quality assistance. He looked through Milan’s posts, and duh— on top of being photogenic, he was also smart. He had everything Kaisei wanted. Kaisei didn’t even know how it was possible to become even more attractive, but he just did that. Literally. He scrolled further to a post with two girls tagged. Oh. Interesting. His smile faded into something that resembled a grimace.
Damn. Of course he’d be taken with that face. Kaisei should’ve seen it coming. Whatever. It was fine, they’d remain friends— good friends even. That was enough for a simpleton like Kaisei who could barely even make more than a handful of friends that made it past the acquaintance stage.
A notification sounded as he quickly peeped his head to check it. An Instagram notification?
@MilanKestrel: Let’s meet tmr~? 👀
@Kaisei_: 👍 send me the details k? also how’d u find me tho?
@MilanKestel: Roger that! 🙂↕️ The other part’s a secret~ ;)
@Kaisei_: wwwwww sure, i’ll play along
@MilanKaisei: See you TMR~!!!!!!! 💙
@Kaisei_: yup. 💚