Chapter Text
Tsukasa was having one of the best days of his life. He had asked out a boy he found pretty and he had agreed to go out with him!!
"See, I even got his number too!!" he showed his phone to Nene.
"Will you shut up already? You're all 'Akito this', 'Akito that'. I feel bad for him at this point."
"Ok, fine..." he sadly put his phone in his bag.
"I think the fact Tsukasa-kun has a boyfriend is very WONDERHOY!!" Emu jumped on him from the stage. Nene looked at her fondly.
"AGH- my back!" he rubbed the part that Emu jumped on. "And- wait- did you say 'boyfriend??' H-he's not my official boyfriend yet. It's only temporary!!" Tsukasa looked away, flustered. "I hope he will choose to be my permanent boyfriend, though!"
"I hope so too." Rui replied. Nene gave him a side-eye.
"Do you want him to talk about Shinonome-san even more??"
"Anyway, bye guys!!" Tsukasa waved to them, smiling as he left.
Tsukasa got home, looking for Saki. When he found her in the kitchen, he proudly announced, "Behold!! I, Tsukasa Tenma, have gotten a non-official boyfriend! Toya's best friend, Akito Shinonome!!!" Then he showed off his phone like he did with Nene.
"Yay!!" The girl cheered for him, running up to him and they jumped around in circles happily. "Onii-chan finally isn't single anymore!"
"Yes! I'm not!! But this is only temporary. If he doesn't like me after two weeks, I agreed that we would break up."
By this point they had stopped jumping and were just standing. "Oh, so you need to get him to like you, then."
"I'm going to text him now!"
"Wait, let me see the texts too."
5:06pm
Hi Shinonome-kouhai!!
Good afternoon❤️
read 5:08pm
hey Tenma-senpai.
what are you texting me for?
I just wanted to say hi!
And also can we go on a date sometime this week?
read 5:09pm
sure.
where were you planning on taking me?
Um
I'll decide later and then tell you!!
read 5:09pm
alright.
---
Saki squeals with joy, extremely happy that Akito accepted.
"But we have to figure out something he'd like!! Ugh, why did I do that if I don't even know what he likes! Whatdoidowhatdoidowhatdoido-"
"Okay, calm down, Tsukasa."
"... Ok..." he takes some deep breaths, not wanting to concern Saki too much. "Wait, I can just ask Toya! They're best friends after all."
5:11pm
Toya-kun
Toya-kun
Toya-kun
Toya-kun
read 5:13pm
Tsukasa-kun? I'm at practice for vbs pls wait a bit
It's really quick, trust me!!
read 5:13pm
Ok, then... I guess I can answer it then
What does Akito like?
read 5:14pm
Oh? Is this about you dating him??
Anyway, he likes sweets a lot, pancakes the most.
And football too
He does fashion styling sometimes
THANK YOU!!!!
read 5:15pm
---
"Ok, I should be good now!!"
Just then, Akito texts him.
5:16pm
yk if you wanted to get to know more about me, you could've just asked
i saw toya texting you
I didn't want to seem like a bad bf :(
read 5:16pm
you're not a bad bf
we literally just met
ofc u don't know anything abt me
Oh, ok! Thanks❤️❤️
read 5:17pm
np❤️
WAIT I MEANT TO SENS S DIFFEERENT EMOJI
NOT THAT ONE
I MEANT TO DO TE THUMB SUP ONE
So you don't love me?
That's mean (ToT)
read 5:17pm
DON'T USE THAT KAOMOJI
STP i feel bad
Ofc i like you
you're good at cooking and stuff
You like me?
That's good to know!! ^_^
Btw I was just joking
read 5:18pm
.
so anw just tell me abt when the date is in advance
I will, don't worry!!
read 5:19pm
---
"Onii-chan.
That man has a big fat crush on you. There is no way that at the end of the two weeks he won't stay with you until you are old and wrinkly."
"No he doesn't. If he did, he would've said so. He said he only accepted my confession because my puppy dog eyes were too persuasive."
"That is the most dumb excuse I've ever heard. Who even accepts to date people because of a reason like that?? Even if they miraculously did, they wouldn't fold as quickly as he does. You sent one singular kaomoji and he's all like 'nooo i'm so sorryyyy i like you toooo'."
"Yeah, but he's probably just nice." He chose to ignore Saki's mumble of "just nice, my ass."
The next day at school, Tsukasa was doing his usual hall monitor stuff (and trying to stop Rui from fucking killing him in the hallway all day). The traumatised blonde ran for his life, screaming, "Rui, GET THAT THING AWAY FROM ME!! WHAT THE FUuh-" He turned a corner and bumped into someone, losing his balance and preparing himself to hit the floor.
Luckily, he felt someone catch him. He opened his eyes to see Akito. Really close.
As in, they were, like, two inches away from each other. Just staring at the other person for at least a minute straight.
They were one move away from kissing- 'no, stop thinking that.'
While they were staring at each other, Tsukasa's face decided to turn into a tomato upon having him that close. He was close enough to see the lime green flecks in Akito's eyes. Then he let go so Tsukasa could stand up.
"Um- thank you, Shin-Shinonome-kouhai..." his voice sounded so quiet and, even worse, he could see An and Toya looking at him. Rui's footsteps had stopped when he stepped forward to observe the situation, which meant he was definitely using this to blackmail Tsukasa into doing one of his experiments later.
He could imagine it now: Rui's cat-like smirk as he said something like, 'Fine, you don't have to get in that cannon. But, in return, I'll tell Mizuki what happened, who will tell Ena, who will tell- oh, you want to do my experiment now? Tsukasa-kun, you're such a kind best friend...' Sometimes he wondered if the purple-haired boy was a sadist.
'Damn it.' he took a few steps back for his face to cool down a bit and save what was left of his dignity as a star.
"N-no problem." At least he wasn't the only one embarrassed.
"Yeah, I'm going to get back to monitoring the halls and stuff- yeah, those things, you know?"
'Why the fuck did I say it like that AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.'
[even i felt the second-hand embarrassment tsukaflop💔]
He turned back to Rui and Nene, pretending to inspect if people behind them were running too fast as he tried to will his blush away as they went to go have lunch.
When their friend group got to the rooftop, Tsukasa sighed as he looked at Rui pleadingly, even offering food (no vegetables) from his bento. The (evil) boy innocently smiled at him.
'Great.'
"You don't have to get in that cannon I was testing out, Tsukasa-kun. I'll just tell Mizuki-chan what happened with Shinonome-san and how you were caught like a princess, and she'll tell her girlfriend, who will-"
"-I'll do it." he sighed, praying he would survive this experiment.
"I would say blackmailing your troupe leader is bad, but it's Tsukasa-kun so..." Nene shrugged.
"Nene, why aren't you helping me?"
"Your flirting with your 'non-official boyfriend' or whatever was getting kinda annoying."
"You want to test it out? Tsukasa-kun, you're too nice... Even though it launches you 15 feet into the air, you'll still do it for me?"
"WHAT?!"
"Anyway, thank you for the food!" Rui took what looked like at least half his rice and pork with his chopsticks.
As expected, after school, now he had to get into a cannon that could kill him. Just amazing.
"Rui-kun, why do you always do this?"
"Do what?" He said, actively trying to hold back a smile of triumph.
"Neverm-"
He felt a familiar sharp pain in his back as he fell to the floor.
"OWW, MY BACK!"
"WONDERHOY AFTERNOON, EVERYONE!!" Emu greeted them.
"EMU-CHAN?? WHY ARE YOU HERE?!"
"I had some free time so I decided to won-won wonderhoy and break into your school!!"
That might have been one of the most concerning things Tsukasa had ever heard her say. He sweatdropped as Emu got off of him.
"NENE-CHAN!! IT'S YOU, MY WONDERHOY GIRLFRIEND!!!" She greeted the girl by pulling her into a hug and giving her a kiss on the cheek.
"Uh- yeah." Nene promptly turned red.
"How come it's fine when you do that with Emu but it's not when I talk about Shinonome-kouhai?"
"Me and Emu-chan are actually dating, but you're in some situationship-relationship thing."
"...Fair point."
Later that night, he had decided where him and Akito were going to go for their date.
8:57pm
Shinonome-kouhaiii
I decided where we're going for the date
read 9:00pm
oh ok
where is it
You know that new cafe?
The one near Scramble Crossing with the pancakes and stuff
read 9:01pm
that one?
that's nixe
i like going there
That's good then!!
We'll meet after school on Friday
read 9:03pm
cool
Also thank you for catching me earlier when I bumped intobyou
read 9:03pm
np👍
Goodinght Shinonome-kouhai!!
Sleep well❤️❤️
read 9:04pm
---
He turned his phone off and put it on his bedside table, doing his skincare routine before going to sleep.
After many instances of Akito folding for Tsukasa, two goodnight texts and a lot of a ginger in denial, it was Friday, the day of the date and the last day of school before their summer break — Tsukasa couldn't wait for both of the events.
Just before he went to school, he said to Saki, "Today I'm going to go on a date with Akito!!!"
"Ah yes, the other pathetically down bad person who's going on a date with you that you think doesn't love you. Seriously, this is like a fanfiction plot or something..."
"It's probably true is all I'm saying!! He didn't ever say he did!"
"Yeah, right."
He checked the time. "It's 7:50! We should start going to school now."
"Ok, bye onii-chan!!"
"Bye, Saki!!"
When Tsukasa got to school, he was greeted by An.
"Good morning, Kamiyama's wonderful hall monitor!"
"Wow, you're such a kind junior!! GOOD MORNING TO YOU TOO!!!"
The poor girl held her ears, getting the full force of the blonde's voice. Then she remembered why she spoke to him in the first place.
"So. You're dating Akito-kun."
'Does the whole school know at this point??'
"You got any dirt on him?"
"What?"
"Any embarrassing secrets. Dumb habits. Things he did when he was younger that totally contradicts his tough persona-"
"I understand, but why do you want to know that stuff?"
"To blackmail him into doing stuff for me. Obviously."
Tsukasa wondered if An was somehow Rui's long-lost sister, internally shuddering at the memory of being launched from a cannon. He wouldn't want his boyfriend to suffer being blackmailed too!
"...Yeah, I'm not telling you that."
"Alas, I have been forsaken by the bond of true gay..." She dramatically sighed and started to walk away. "Bye Tenma-senpai."
"WAIT, WAS THAT THE ONLY REASON YOU WERE NICE TO ME?!?!"
"No comment."
Tsukasa was going to ask another question, but she was already gone by then.
Throughout the day, he found himself staring off into space, which was quite unlike a star like him. He would think about the date, though it was bound to be short.
And about Akito.
And about that moment in the hallway when he caught him.
'And what it would be like to kiss him wait stop what if you make him uncomfortable he probably doesn't want you to kiss him.' It was safe to say his thoughts were a complete mess compared to how they usually were.
He already had a crush on him, but it felt like it was growing bigger and stronger each day. Like it had taken one of those growth potions in video games, but it was almost unbearably slow.
Just like the school day, which was finally ending.
At the gates, he walked out to see Akito waiting for him, leaning against a wall.
"Hi, Shinonome-kouhai!!"
"Hey." He waved and started to head to the cafe.
"Wait for me!" Tsukasa speed-walked after him.
"Why?" Despite his question, the boy stopped immediately.
"So we can walk there together!!" He said with a lopsided grin on his face.
"Yeah, alright. As the blonde turned away, he didn't notice Akito's small smile.
When they reached the cafe, Tsukasa pushed open the door, holding it for Akito to walk in.
It was a small place, so one of the workers led them to their table quite quickly.
"I'm gonna have pancakes and a chocolate milkshake, what'll you order?" Akito asked him.
"Pancakes and a chocolate milkshake, then, so we can be matching!!"
"You're so corny."
"Wait, do you not want us to be matching??"
"... I do. Nevermind."
"Ok, that's good!!!"
Tsukasa called over a waiter so they could order.
It had been 20 minutes, their pancakes had come, but their chocolate milkshakes still weren't there. At least Tsukasa had learned a lot about Akito, like how he used to be on a football team, and that he really, really loved street music.
'The way his eyes light up when he mentions things he likes, and the way he smiles slightly when he's eating something he likes, and how he cares about everyone he likes so much and-'
His thoughts were cut off by Akito.
"Hey, is there something on my face? You keep looking at me."
"No."
'It's just you look really pretty.'
"I- Thank you, I guess." He looked away, flustered.
'SHIT SHIT SHIT I SAID THAT OUT LOUD I WANT TO CRAWL INTO A HOLE FOR 88 YEARS.
What do I even say now?'
"No problem. It's true."
'Ok I fixed it. phew. that was close.'
Their milkshakes finally arrived and they.
Tasted.
Amazing?!?!
Tsukasa finished his in seconds.
"How come I've never ordered this before?????" he asked in wonder(hoy).
"I don't know, you should've."
"Well, the food and drinks are finished. I'll pay, since I'm the one who invited you here in the first place."
"Thanks. I'll pay next time."
"You really want to go on another date?" Tsukasa's eyes widened in shock and happiness.
"Yeah, That's how dating works, doesn't it?"
"I guess so."
Tsukasa called the waiter over again, bringing out his wallet this time.
When the meal was paid for and they left, he walked Akito to his bus stop.
"Goodbye, Shinonome-kouhai!" He waved to him, turning away to head home too, but felt himself being wrapped in a hug.
"Before you go... is it okay if I do this?" Akito asked, loosening his hold on the blonde's middle slightly.
"Yes. I don't mind if you h-hug me." He hoped the other boy couldn't feel his heart beating louder than his words as he tightened the hug again.
"Ok, that's good. Bye." Akito let go, much to Tsukasa's dismay.
"Something happened on your date, didn't it?" Saki inspected her brother's expression carefully.
"What? That's- ok, yes, it's kind of embarrassing, though. He- when I was leaving he hugged me. And then he asked if it was okay. Then when I said yes, he said that was good. Does that mean he's going to hug me again in future? Because I don't think my heart can take it."
"I'M SO HAPPY FOR YOU!!" Then she deadpanned. "Wait, you don't still think he doesn't like you, do you?"
"I'm starting to think it's a possibility."
"Onii-chan, you'll think it's a possibility until the day you get married at this point. Anyway, tell me about the rest of your date!"
When he finished explaining to an excited Saki, she demanded the ginger confess his feelings for him.
"I mean, it's so obvious... Unless he's in denial or something."
Just then, he got a text from Akito.
4:50pm
hey
do u wanns go to the cafe again? or the arcade?
The arcade sounds fun!!
A star like me will surely top all the charts!
Well, Toya would actually.
read 4:51pm
fair
anyways are u free on wednesday? maybe 1pm?
I am! It'll be fun and I'll definitely beat you.
read 4:53pm
as if.
anyways, bye
Bye❤️❤️
read 4:54pm
---
Tsukasa was waiting at the entrance of the arcade. He checked the time. '1pm. I'm not late or early.' He was quite proud of himself today. He had spent ages picking out his outfit, doing his make-up and just trying to look his best overall.
Saki luckily helped him with which eyeliner he should use and whether he should wear the outfit on his left or the outfit on his right.
He spotted Akito after a few minutes of waiting.
"Hi Shinonome-kouhai!!" he waved to the familiar ginger boy, who was looking down at his phone as he walked.
He started to look up at him. "Hi Tenma-senpaiii..." When their eyes met, the boy just stared at him for at least a minute, blinking in what looked like surprise, his voice trailing off. A blush appeared on the ginger's face as his mouth opened slightly in shock.
"Hm? What is it?" Tsukasa tilted his head in confusion.
"N-nothing. Let's go inside." He briskly walked inside, holding the door open for the blonde.
"So, what do you want to do first?"
They played many games as they went around the arcade, including Puyo Puyo which Akito beat Tsukasa at, a dance machine game Tsukasa won by a landslide and two claw machines (they didn't win anything, Akito complaining that it was a ripoff). Long story short, they (mostly Akito) had won quite a few tickets, so went to one of the desks where prizes were displayed.
"Do you want those sweets?" he pointed to some rainbow-coloured candy.
"I kind of want a plushie... but we don't have enough for one, so it's fine!"
"No, it's not, come here." Akito led Tsukasa to another claw machine, which was filled with plushies.
"I'll win this one." He had a determined expression on his face.
"Shinonome-kouhai, you're going to run out of money... You've already spent 60,000 yen."
"No, I'll win it for you this time, trust me." He, infact, did not win that time. Or the next time. Or the time after that.
"Can't we just try to save up enough tickets for the plushie?" Tsukasa was quite blind to the fact that they had 700 tickets maximum and the plushie at the desk cost 10000.
"Hmph, fine. One more try, though?" Akito looked at Tsukasa pleadingly.
"...Ok, but only one."
"Thanks!" Akito wrapped his arms around him briefly, then pulling back to maneuver the lever for a bit, looking back at Tsukasa. "Your face's so red..."
"Yeah, because I have a crush on you. It's almost like you're doing this on purpose to make me blush."
"Well, how about this to make you blush, then?"
The plushie dropped into the prize door.
Akito slowly leaned in, his pause an ask for permission, then softly pressed his lips to Tsukasa's.