Chapter Text
Youichi didn’t know how he ended up in this situation… He somehow agreed to model for both Miyuki and Sawamura. Yes, maybe Miyuki didn’t have any other friends he could ask… but Youichi was sure Sawamura had plenty of people around him that would gladly jump at the opportunity to help him on this photography project.
Anyways, he refused to spend his entire free day modeling for them, so he told both of them the same exact meeting time. And he picked the golden-time-right-before-sunset, because there was no way he was going to wake up right after sunrise on a Sunday for the dumb golden whatever-it-was that both photographers insisted on. Might as well get both projects done in one go.
Youichi made his way to their meeting spot at a leisurely pace. It was on campus, but in a secluded grassy area right behind the greenhouse and next to a small park. It was a great place to take photos during the fall season due to the backdrop of crisp and colorful foliage.
When Youichi arrived, he could see that Miyuki and Sawamura were already bickering as they set up their equipment. Rolling his eyes, Youichi muttered to himself, “They already act like a couple, going back and forth like that…” They might as well be married. Even I can tell they’re into each other, but for some damn reason, it seems like the two of them don’t see it.
Suddenly, a brilliant idea popped into Youichi’s head. He felt like it was his responsibility to help them get together… After all, they had been dancing around each other since they first met. The fall semester was almost over, and Youichi was sick and tired of seeing his closest friends oblivious like this.
“Hey,” Youichi greeted. “Hope you don’t mind me volunteering for both of you.”
“But you said you were gonna be my model!!” Sawamura whined.
“And you said the same to me,” Miyuki said. “I don’t mind you modeling for both of us, but it’s going to be difficult shooting like this. It would have been better if we scheduled separate photoshoot times.”
“Well, too late now!” Youichi cackled. “Since you’re both here, go ahead and model for each other! I’d rather not be stuck here doing work for a class I’m not even in.”
“But you promised!” Sawamura shouted. “No turning back now, Kuramochi-senpai!”
Youichi shrugged, turned on his heel, and waved a good-bye. “Have fun, guys!” he called out over his shoulder. He didn’t really leave though… He walked far enough so it looked like he was going away for real, and then he ducked behind the greenhouse and flashed his student ID at the clerk so he could enter. Winding his way through the pathways to the warm temperate section, and then to the tropical section, he found a comfortable spot by the glass wall where he could see Sawamura and Miyuki. He wished he could hear what they were saying.
It looked like they were arguing again, but then they finally settled down and went to work. Miyuki screwed the body of his camera to the tripod and then gestured at Sawamura to get into position to pose. Sawamura stood several feet away, fearlessly staring right into the lens. Even from his distance, Youichi could tell it was an intense gaze. He watched as Sawamura changed his pose, this time looking into the distance, and then another pose with his arms outstretched and a wide smile parting his face. After about 10 minutes of posing and some lens switches, they decided they were good for now and it was Miyuki’s turn to be the model.
Youichi felt boredom gnawing at him. Why won’t they just get together already?! And he knew he wasn’t alone. It felt like everyone except those two idiots knew about their mutual attraction. Watching through the glass, he couldn’t tell what they were saying, but it seemed like Miyuki just insulted Sawamura. Sawamura was flailing his arms and shooting daggers with his eyes.
Rubbing his temples, Youichi groaned and pulled out his phone. Time to try to speed things up…
[17:35] Kuramochi: Seriously, just compliment him for once in your life! I already told you that this is gonna go nowhere if you tease him so damn much. I’m surprised Sawamoron doesn’t hate you yet.
Youichi hit send, and then realized he typed up a mini rant. Oh well, too late now .
[17:36] Miyuki: Okay ;)
And of course, that winky face seemed all too suspicious. He hoped Miyuki wouldn’t ignore him, but he also hoped that Miyuki would do things his way (and it would all turn out all right). It wouldn’t make sense for a confession to happen without authenticity. But without some pressure, he felt like there would never be a confession at all.
All Youichi could do now was watch and pray everything would be okay.
***
Eijun complained, “Are you seriously checking your phone right now?! We are supposed to be working on this project.” He continued glaring even as Miyuki glanced up at him with a smirk.
“Hey, don’t make that face,” Miyuki said. “How am I supposed to get a photo of your beautiful eyes if you’re frowning like that?”
“Well, you’re the photographer, so just take the photo!” Eijun said. Belatedly, he realized that Miyuki said he has beautiful eyes. Feeling his face heat up, he practically screeched, “ Wait!! Say that again!”
“Don’t make that face?”
“No!! The other thing!”
“You have beautiful eyes?”
“Yeah!” Eijun said with a grin, all traces of frustration gone. With the diffused light of the flash on its stand, the photo was taken at that exact moment. “I wasn’t ready!” Eijun groaned. He left his spot on the grass and went over to Miyuki to try to peek at the camera.
“It’s perfect, though,” Miyuki said, shutting off the camera quickly so Eijun couldn’t see.
Eijun pestered, “Let me see, let me see! It’s a photo of me, so I need to see it!”
“You don’t need to see it. And isn’t it your turn to take photos? You’ve been improving this semester; I want to see what else you can do.”
Happy to hear that Miyuki wanted to see his skills, Eijun decided to show off a bit. “Check this out!” he said. He unzipped his camera bag to switch his lens to a new one he had never tried before. He was ecstatic that the Imaging Center let him check this one out! “So…” he said as he finished attaching the new lens. “What do you think?”
Beaming, he looked over his shoulder to where Miyuki was… Whoa, how did he get so close all of a sudden?!
Miyuki was literally about two centimeters away from his face.
"That's quite an impressive lens you've got there, Sawamura. The body it's attached to isn't half bad either," Miyuki practically breathed into Eijun’s ear.
The words registered in Eijun’s ears as a compliment and he immediately chirped happily, “Thanks!” And without thinking, he leaned over and pressed a little kiss to the corner of Miyuki’s lips.
As soon as he pulled away, he realized what he had done and turned as red as a tomato. The kiss barely touched Miyuki’s lips, but it was still a kiss and Eijun was horrified that he did something like that without permission.
Sure, he was impulsive... but this was not the time to do something like that.
Additionally, the way Miyuki said it registered in his mind. That totally was not a normal compliment. Was that a weird photography-related pickup line?! What if it has a weird innuendo… Oh my god… What if he thinks I was stupid enough to fall for it?! What if he was joking?! Noooooo.
Eijun wanted the ground to split open and swallow him up. He did not think he ever felt so mortified in his entire life.
“I... um... I d-did that without thinking!” he stammered. “I’ve been thinking about you and your stupidly pretty face, and about how maybe I like you, and then you had to go and do that thing you did, and I didn’t even realize what you were actually saying… and I guess I couldn’t help but kiss you!” The truth was, he had been wanting to kiss Miyuki for a while now. Heck, even though Miyuki pissed him off most of the time, he still liked him. But this was not how he imagined he would reveal his affections.
There was no turning back now, and Eijun wondered if Miyuki could feel the heat radiating from him. He basically confessed to him. After kissing the glasses-wearing bastard. After that same bastard apparently used a pickup line on him.
Eijun could tell that Miyuki was stunned for a moment, since he didn’t have anything witty to say back. The signature smirk slowly made its way back onto Miyuki’s face, and Eijun heard him say softly, “You screwed that up.”
And in next moment Miyuki’s lips were pressing firmly against his own.
Heart hammering in his chest, Eijun briefly wondered if this was a dream. He was frozen for a second before his brain connected the dots and then he was returning the kiss, throwing his arms around Miyuki’s neck as the evening golden hour bathed them in warm light.