Chapter Text
It was a chilly morning when Onoda finally stepped off the warm train. People bustled around him on both sides while he made his way into the big train station. The floor was stained with salt and wet shoe prints, the air was crisp with its winter chill. Onoda worked on getting his coat zippered up properly and fixing his scarf around his neck while he made way towards the doors to leave. It would be much colder outside, but he hoped that his ride would be here to pick him up anyway.
It was the start of the winter break when Onoda had planned his visit to go see Midousuji again. Onoda and Midousuji had kept in touch over text and a few phone calls in the meantime. Midousuji didn’t seem very comfortable at the start talking over the phone, his texts were choppy and direct, but after a few months now they both called each other almost regularly. Naruko like to tease Onoda about it, telling him he was ending up just like Makishima. But he was happy for him, and so was Imaizumi, thankfully, that he was able to be in such a good mood and keep contact with someone he seemed so close to now.
Onoda was in an even better mood now that he was getting to see Midousuji in person again. He was cheerful, and he hoped that Midousuji was just as excited as he was.
The careful tap, tap, tap followed Onoda through the train station, just under the murmur of the crowd and their many footsteps. Before he even made it to the door to leave, Onoda spotted him; his tall, dark form leaning against the wall by the door, packed into a puffy dark purple Kyoto Fushimi coat and a white tuq. Midousuji was looking out over the crowd of the busy train station, he hadn't spotted Onoda bobbing along yet and coming up to see him.
“Midousuji-kun!”
Midousuji perked, then looked down just as Onoda walked up to him. He blinked in in surprise before he quickly straightened up with wide eyes.
“Sakamichi,” He mumbled through the mask over his mouth. Onoda could see that his hair was starting to get a bit longer again, poking out from under his hat. He reached out a gloved hand that had been hiding in his coat pocket, it only relented a second before giving Onoda’s head a pat though his thick knitted hat, “You're here.”
Onoda paused a moment in surprise, then blushed with a big grin. “It's nice to see you again Midousuji-kun!” Onoda chimed. When Midousuji took his hand back Onoda stole the moment to take a quick hug. He pushed himself against Midousuji and gave him a squeeze. Midousuji grunted, but Onoda backed off before long.
“...It's nice to see you too, gh…” Midousuji mumbled while diverting his eyes. Onoda’s grin didn't falter for a second and Midousuji motioned for him to follow. “My aunt is just outside in the car.”
“Ok!”
Midousuji went through the big glass door first and held it open for him. Onoda cheerily followed with a slight bounce in his step; one, granted, he couldn't help, but Onoda found this setup much more convenient than the crutches. He boosted his backpack up on his shoulders, full of his clothes and other needs for the time he would be here, while Midousuji abandoned holding the door and lead way into the parking lot.
“You've got your prosthetic…?”
“Mm! I'm getting better at using it, so I thought I'd wear it while I was here,” Onoda said as he glanced down to himself and patted his thigh. Midousuji looked to it as they walked before looking forward again.
“That's good. Does it hurt or anything?”
“No, it's pretty comfortable.” Onoda shook his head, puffs of his breath rising and dissipating while they walked over the salted concrete. The edges of the parking lot were lined with small piles of snow after being plowed, burying the trunks of leafless trees. The parking lot was pretty full, but they soon came to a tan colored car sitting mid way through in a parking space. Midousuji went to the front passenger seat, Onoda got into the back and set his bag down next to him. The inside of the car was heated, Onoda was relieved as he pulled the door shut.
“Hey there, Onoda-kun!” a voice spoke up from the front while Onoda buckled himself in, he looked up and saw the woman in the driver's seat looking back at him; she was dressed in a thinner coat and had dark brown hair, a gentle face and kind eyes. Onoda smiled back to her shyly.
“H-Hello! It's nice to meet you.” Onoda gave a bow of his head as Midousuji’s aunt started the engine. Midousuji was looking back at him through the rearview mirror.
“Nice to meet you too! Akira-kun has been excited to see you again,” She laughed as the car pulled backwards out of the space, Midousuji looked to her with a hint of shock before quickly looking back out the window.
“I was excited too, uh- it’s been a while!” Onoda went on cheerfully as he pulled at the scarf around his neck. Midousuji picked at his mask and they pulled out of the parking lot.
“It has! I was wondering when I would finally get to meet you. I’ve heard a lot from the news and Midousuji-kun,” She went on with both gloves hands held on the steering wheel. The sound of the heater blowing hot air into the car came just under her voice. Onoda enjoyed the warmth and rubbed his prosthetic through his pants to try and warm it up as well. She glanced sideways to Midousuji and gave his arm a poke with her elbow, Midousuji jumped slightly, “Do you have any big plans?”
“Eh... Not… really,” Midousuji mumbled with a shrug. He scratched at his cheek and kept his eyes away almost in embarrassment.
“Well, I’m sure you’ll find lots to do around here if the weather holds up. There’s lots of good places you two could go out to eat!” The woman offered with a grin. Onoda and Midousuji nodded along, though Midousuji seemed to be thinking as he looked out the window. Onoda was fine with anything that he wanted to do; his stamina had been recovering as he worked on walking with a prosthetic, so getting tired wasn’t too much of a problem anymore. Midousuji’s aunt continued to offer up things to do as they drove, just until they finally go back to Midousuji’s house.
The small front lawn was covered in a thick blanket of snow, which lightened around the base of a tall tree in front the home. It’s long branches were boney and dark, reaching into the overcast sky. Onoda pushed his bag back onto his shoulders then left into the house with Midousuji and his aunt.
“The spare futon’s just up in the closet, you two can go get settled in,” Midousuji’s aunt called to them after Onoda had stripped his coat and hung it up in the closet with Midousuji’s; Midousuji was already making a beeline into the house, though he kept glancing over his shoulder to make sure Onoda was keeping up. Onoda adjusted his heavy backpack straps on his shoulders while he followed along. He knew Midousuji was usually like this, and Onoda wanted to sit down and warm himself up anyway after the long train ride.
He couldn’t help but look around curiously as they walked towards a thin staircase; there was a living room just off to his right with some flat cushioned couches and a brown table in the middle. A bookshelf on the far off wall had small framed pictures and yellow flowers despite it being the middle of the winter.
“Are- Are you hungry or anything?”
Onoda looked back when Midousuji spoke up, his hand on the banister to the stairs. The questioned was mumbled a bit awkwardly, almost as though Midousuji didn’t know what to do with him. Onoda shook his head quickly and came closer.
“I’m alright! Uh, we can go upstairs if you want!”
Midousuji nodded quickly then turned and continued hurriedly up the stairs, Onoda followed after him a bit more slowly.
The second floor had thinner hallways, ones that made Midousuji look even bigger than he was. His thick shoulders lumbered towards the back, passing the other doorways before he came to his own. He looked up and waited for Onoda to catch up, before he pushed open the door and stepped inside. Curiosity biting at him, Onoda followed and looked around the new environment.
“You can set your bag down by the bed for now and sit wherever,” Midousuji mumbled to him and motioned around his room with a swing of his arm; his room was a bit smaller than Onoda’s, but less cluttered. He had a bed against the wall to the right, a mattress sitting on a low, dark wood bed frame and a dark blue comforter, white and blue mismatched pillows. On the other side of the room was a desk with a laptop setup and a fancy leather chair, next to it was his dresser with a small, dusty television on top. The floor was hardwood, Onoda stepped in as he took in the environment and approached the window with a small book shelf under it.
“... It’s nice in here, pretty clean,” Onoda commented as he looked over the dusty bookshelf. There were a few framed photos on top of it, more pictures of flowers and sky. This was surprising, though Onoda had more been looking around for any hint of anime merchandise. Midousuji had admitted to him over text that he had some, but Onoda was yet to see any posters or figurines… Not that he thought Midousuji would be obsessed with it as he was, but maybe some reaffirmation that Onoda wasn’t over the top would have been nice…
“Y… Yeah. Thanks,” Midousuji muttered. He observed Onoda while he himself stood across the room closer to his desk. Onoda glanced back to him and gave a confident nod, trying to remain somewhat formal like Midousuji. He carefully dropped his backpack beside Midousuji’s bed, then straightened out his sweater around his neck. He turned and looked to Midousuji, they shared a moment of quiet staring; Onoda had predicted that his first visit to Midousuji’s house might be somewhat awkward like this, though it wasn’t exactly the bad kind.
Biting his lip for just a second, Onoda looked around the room again. “...Can I see your figurines?”
Midousuji squinted his eyes, thinking, before he nodded decidedly. While he turned and shuffled off to his closet, Onoda celebrated with an excited punch to the air and a grin; He had been told about Midousuji’s small collect, part of his merchandise. Midousuji had said that he wasn’t big on collecting, he had better things to do, but if he ever saw one that interested him he would buy it, if he had the cash on hand.
Onoda sat himself down on the edge of Midousuji’s bed while Midousuji ducked into his closet, he reached to the upper shelf and pulled down a box, and then another, pushing them under his arm. He took out on more, fumbling to keep them in his arms before he backed out of the closet. Onoda watched with anticipation; they were impressive in size, Onoda was getting giddy already.
“They’re a bit dusty,” Midousuji muttered as he turned and came over to the bed, he dumped all three boxes on the end of the bed while Onoda quickly pulled his legs up onto it, pushing his prosthetic up carefully. Midousuji sat down on his hip on the other side of the three boxes and started to organize them, setting them out in front of Onoda.
“The Bio-Armored Gun System,” Midousuji mumbled as he turned the box around to him, Onoda bent in with a sound.
“Oh! That’s the summer edition one- it’s so cool in person!” Onoda picked up the box so he could observe it more closely. He was careful to not jostle it so much even if Midousuji had been a bit careless while carrying them; it was in mint condition, it looked like Midousuji had never even taken it out of the box, though the sticker seal at the top was broken.
“I got it online, it was cheaper because it was opened,” Midousuji explained, he picked up another box and aimed it off to the side so he could blow the dust away, before he set it down as well. “Armored Royal Force blue-gold.”
“Ah!” Onoda set down the box he had to look at this one, “That’s limited edition- where did you…?”
“Online.”
“Really? I should go look online more often,” Onoda mumbled as he stared at the mecha in amazement, he reached and turned the box to look at it from the side; it was shiny, impressive. Onoda had a few of his own, but he usually only managed to get them when he raced as fast as he could do the store on it’s release day, and took advantage of his slightly less than average height to sneak through crowds.
“And Commander Tanji,” Midousuji pushed this box towards him, Onoda glanced up curiously; this one wasn’t a mecha, but a man with short brown hair in the Royal Forces uniform.
“Oh- I remember him!” Onoda blinked and picked up this box too, turning it in his hands. “Isn’t he kind of a side character? I didn’t even know they made merchandise of Tanji-san…”
“I saw it in a thrift store, he has some paint chipping on the back but it was cheap,” Midousuji said as he poked at the box, then flicked his fingers and made a bit of a face, “It feels gross to touch, so I just leave him in the box.”
“It’s pretty cool though, I never thought I’d see something like this!” Onoda marveled and tilted his head to see through the plastic of the box. Midousuji was passive, but allowed Onoda to go on talking and ogling over his few figurines. After a while and a few pictures snapped from Onoda, Midousuji collected them and put them back up in his closet.
“...You’re room is different than what I thought it would look like,” Onoda admitted absentmindedly while Midousuji picked his laptop up off his desk. He peered over his shoulder to Onoda with a questioning look. Onoda quickly waved a hand and watched back awkwardly, “N-Not that it’s bad or anything, it’s just… smaller than I thought? You’re bigger than me, but I have a bigger room…”
Onoda trailed off as Midousuji turned around again, coming back over to the bed with his shut laptop in hand. He shrugged, his lips pulled back just enough to expose a row of straight, white teeth.
“I’ve been in it since I was little, I don’t care,” Midousuji spoked simply while he sat down on the edge of the bed, then scooted himself backwards so his hunched back could rest against the wall. He kept his shut laptop in his lap. Onoda could see a few light scratches on the back of it under Midousuji’s boney hand, “I was surprised that your room is so big when I first saw it… I guess you use the space.”
“H-Haha… I do, I have uh... A lot of stuff,” Onoda floundered for words for a moment, Midousuji opened up his laptop while he spoke. With a few quick taps of his fingers he typed in the password. Onoda was surprised at how fast he could type, but Midousuji was then brushing the small touchpad with his thumb.
“Let’s watch something for now- I don’t have uh… anything fancy. But the laptop works too…?”
“Yeah, I don’t mind.” Onoda nodded confidently and pushed himself a bit closer. He used his hands to haul himself over the bed and sit with his back against the wall next to Midousuji. Midousuji gave him a sideways glance, but quickly looked back to his computer and went to the usual website that Onoda watched anime on, which surprised him. Onoda watched silently but with excitement as he went on to go through his bookmarked list, watching with wonder; he didn’t know that Midousuji was that into cartoons like this. Midousuji told him that he had specific tastes in television and didn’t go too far into that, but now Onoda’s curiosity had returned. Midousuji was a reserved person, there was so much he wanted to know...
The both of them sat in bed together and watched a few episodes of anime that they took turns picking out; Onoda chose some stuff he knew in hopes that he could get Midousuji into one of his own favorite shows. Midousuji chose some seemingly random shows of different genres, one of which turned out to be a Yuri, which he promptly shut off and excused himself for. Onoda didn’t mind it, though he did end up blushing in embarrassment when he saw Midousuji get fidgety. Onoda reasoned it out in his head, anyway; they were too guys, watching too girls kiss wasn’t that weird, right?
… Even though the thought of Midousuji watching something like that on his own was strange, too…
They went on to mecha anime afterwards to wash that mess away, just until Midousuji’s aunt called them down for dinner.
“I hope this is alright, Akira said he didn’t really know what you liked to eat.” Midousuji’s aunt smiled to him as they sat down at the small table; set out already were three places with a bowl of rice, miso soup, and a piece of grilled fish. Onoda pulled up a smile and waved a hand, though Midousuji looked a bit awkward as he sat down at his side.
“This is fine! I’m not really picky at all, thanks for the food.”
The woman smiled to him, “You’re welcome!”
With a quick bow of his head, Onoda began to eat with Midousuji who mumbled his own thanks. Onoda tried to not to stare again while they ate, though Midousuji looked a bit different eating here than at Onoda’s own house, (at least from what he could remember.) He seemed more laid back, though he did manage to eat most things in fewer bites because of his… larger mouth. Onoda didn’t mind it, however, and tried to keep pace. Midousuji’s aunt didn’t seem too terribly talkative, though a few times she spoke up while Onoda stopped to wipe his mouth off on a napkin.
“You live over in Chiba, right?”
“Yeah, near Akihabara,” Onoda nodded with a smile, Midousuji slurped away his soup contently beside him.
“Akiba! I’ve been there a few times, it’s quite an exciting place,” The woman went on with an excited glint to her eyes, her shoulder length hair frame her face. “Akira said you took him there when he came over before. If he had told me where he was going I would have asked him to take some pictures.”
Midousuji paused eating and set down his bowl when the woman’s eyes moved to him, Onoda swore he saw a hint of guilt in his usual neutral face. He avoided her eyes and ate half of his piece of fish, Onoda butted in to save him.
“I-I’m sure we’ll take some pictures next time, we were pretty busy that day, too. Midousuji-kun and I were walking around a lot.” Onoda waved a hand dismissively. She turned her attention back to him. “It was a lot of fun, we’ll have to do it again some time…”
“Of course! Take pictures for me next time, Akira! I need thing’s to frame, you’re always gone on all these races, I might forget what you look like one of these days!” She laughed and teased him from across the table, Midousuji pursed his lips and challenged her stare lightly.
“Gross. I’m never gone that long…”
“But you’ll be going to college sometime, too, I want lots of pictures of you and your friends. Your sister has been asking about you, you know!” She waved a finger, Midousuji gave an annoyed grimace before scarfing down the other half of his fish. Onoda watched him curiously, looking between Midousuji and the woman; Midousuji had a sister…?
“I don’t care, she can just message me if she wants me,” Midousuji grumbled. His aunt picked up a piece of pickled radish with her chopsticks while shaking her head at Midousuji.
“Don’t talk with your mouthful. She says you’re never on facebook anymore.”
Midousuji swallowed his food almost defiantly, but didn’t make a show of it, “I’m busy with stuff. I will later.”
“Don’t forget about it.”
“Mmf…”
Midousuji seemed almost annoyed, but he was definitely holding back in front of the woman. Onoda chewed on a piece of radish while he thought on the conversation curiously; Midousuji with a little sister. Would she look anything like him…? The thought of a small girl with such big teeth and long tongue frightened him, but Onoda quickly banished the thought; Midousuji’s aunt looked nothing like that, she was probably pretty regular. Besides, Midousuji wasn’t that scary to look at…
They finished eating and Midousuji’s aunt said she would take care of the dishes, so they left back upstairs again for the evening. It was already starting to get late, so while Onoda went to Midousuji’s room to get settled in. Midousuji went off to get the spare futon. While Midousuji was gone, Onoda took a moment to listen to the home; it was different than his own. Onoda was used to sleeping up on the big hill, and didn’t usually have sleepovers elsewhere, so it was still a bit strange to hear the faint sounds of cars passing by outside. Midousuji lived right next to the road, his home was definitely smaller. Onoda didn’t hear the same chorus of crickets that he was used to, but it didn’t bother him too much.
He looked back to the door while sitting on Midousuji’s bed when he saw Midousuji coming back in; he held the rolled up futon in both arms in front of himself, peeking around it to make sure he wasn’t knocking into anything when he came into the room. The end of the roll made a soft sound when it was skidded against the top of the doorway.
“It’s- clean,” Midousuji grunted, he set it down on the floor and let it flop over on its own. Shaking off his hands for a moment, he then started to unroll it for Onoda and set it up.
“Ah, thanks. I’m just going to go use the bathroom quickly,” Onoda nodded as he stood up, taking a wider circle to not bump into Midousuji who set up the futon right next to his own bed. Midousuji grunted and straightened his back with a few pops of his joints.
“It’s across the hall, you’ll see it.”
“Okay!”
Onoda grabbed a few clothes from his bag, then quickly headed off.
He came back only minutes later; teeth brushed, pajamas on, hair brushed, and ready to abandon his prosthetic for the night. However, when Onoda paused by the doorway to Midousuji’s room, looking in on Midousuji who had flopped down lazily face first in his own bed, he felt a hint of hesitation in himself. Onoda wasn’t wearing pants, but a pair of shorts, since it was a bit warmer in the home. His prosthetic was fully visible without it. The long metal bar connected to a fake foot with a sock over it glinted in the low light that crept through the doorway. Of course, even Onoda was still getting used to it. It was different.
Onoda took a moment to steal his nerve and stepped into the bedroom, his old clothes under his arm. When the door creaked open, Midousuji looked up. Onoda flashed him and grin and shut the door behind himself.
“Y-Your aunt was really nice at dinner,” Onoda muttered as he made way over to the futon on the floor. It had a pillow and a blanket with a blue plaid pattern set out for him, one of the pillows being from Midousuji’s own bed. He sat himself down on it while Midousuji sat up in bed and gave a sound. He was wearing a pair of baggy pajama pants now and a long black t-shirt.
“Yeah, she usually like that…”
“I didn’t know you had a sister, though,” Onoda remembered while he leaned and pushed his clothes back into his backpack by the head of his bed. Midousuji gave an more muted grunt and looked away, Onoda went to taking off his prosthetic quickly while he spoke.
“She doesn’t live here anymore. I don’t talk to her often, but she tries to keep in contact for some reason,” Midousuji mumbled. His eyes squinted while he scratched the back of his head. Onoda picked up his prosthetic and set it down by his bag, then went to taking off the sleeve from his leg. He would put a sock over it just for the night, he wasn’t a fan of letting people see what was left of his leg, though he wasn’t sure if Midousuji was watching him anyway. Onoda kept his eyes down at his work and spoke while his hands slid the cover off of his leg.
“I had no idea… I don’t have any other siblings myself, but I thought yours would live here or something.” Onoda put the sleeve on top of his prosthetic then grabbed a sock, pulling it over his leg to cover up the scarring. When he looked back up to Midousuji, he was lying down in bed on his back this time, his legs bent up and his arms behind his head. He gave an annoyed sigh and waved his hand at the ceiling.
“She lives with her dad.”
“Ah… that make sense,” Onoda mumbled with a nod. He lay himself back and looked up to Midousuji, just his legs visible when Onoda lay his head down on the pillow. Midousuji was giving sort of curt answers, maybe he shouldn’t push on that topic…
“I-I think we’ll have fun this week, though, I’m happy to see you again Midousuji-kun…” Onoda muttered up to him, glancing sideways to his legs. Midousuji unbent his knees, lying flat on the bed and letting a bit of silence flow between them. He soon gave a small, throaty sound, and his hand came over the edge of wave at Onoda.
“Don’t get sappy. Gross.”
“Sorry…”
“Don’t go on apologizing either,” Midousuji grumbled, his hand was left to hang limply over the edge of the mattress. Onoda watched his boney fingers, his own tongue sticking out slightly between his teeth. He reached up and poked one of Midousuji’s fingers, it twitched into his palm. Onoda smiled lightly, then shyly took Midousuji’s index finger into his hand. Midousuji didn’t pull it away.
“I’m still glad to see you…”
Silence greeted him for a few moments, Midousuji’s finger curled slightly in his palm. “...I like seeing you too,” Midousuji finally mumbled back, so quietly Onoda nearly didn’t hear. Onoda’s face heated up, but he cheerfully held onto Midousuji’s finger and held his own face with his free hand. Midousuji’s hand suddenly pulled away, however. Onoda blinked in surprise just before Midousuji’s head suddenly peeked over the edge. He squinted at Onoda, his forehead twitched.
“Don’t say anything about this to my aunt or she might make you sleep in the guest room.”
Onoda stared in surprise, before he nodded firmly, “I-I won’t say anything.”
Midousuji studied his face, before his long arm reached down. He planted it on the futon so he could crawl forward, Onoda barely had time to react before Midousuji stuck out his tongue and poked his cheek with it, making him shudder.
“Uah-”
“She’s dumb and nosy, don’t bother answering any of her weird questions,” Midousuji went on, Onoda was stuck in a momentary daze after the lick. Midousuji really was odd. “She’s hard to piss off so-”
“M-Midousuji-kun.”
Midousuji stopped talking, his teeth soon came together with a clack. He knew Midousuji was used to getting close to people, grabbing them or taunting them, his tactics for intimidation had nearly no boundaries. But now he was close to Onoda, and he couldn’t tell if Midousuji knew how it was making him feel now.
Midousuji moved back just an inch, his eyes flicking over Onoda’s face. He didn’t pull himself back up on to the bed, though. He stayed and watched with those big, round eyes, his teeth slightly parted. Onoda could smell his toothpaste, and see the slight purple tinge in his dark eyes.
“U-Um… Can…”
“What?”
“Ah-” Onoda had to look away. His heart was in his throat as Midousuji lingered so close, almost teasing him now. Yet as Onoda glanced meekly back to Midousuji’s face he could see the curiosity in his eyes.
“Why are you making that face.”
Onoda sunk down in the bed a bit more, his lips drew into a line. Midousuji’s upper half stayed suspended off the edge of the bed with his hand on the futon at Onoda’s side. He snapped his teeth together a few times, Onoda jumped but continued to try and avoid his eyes.
“I… Uh…” Onoda swallowed. “I-I really appreciate your friendship and support, Midousuji-kun…!”
“Ehh?” Midousuji pushed himself back just a bit more, his elbows ow on the edge of the bed. Onoda blinked and looked up to his narrowed eyes. “You’re so weird. Gross. What’s that event supposed to mean?” He brought up a few fingers that barely covered his mouth when he giggled with a big, easing grin. Onoda’s heart was beating hard in his chest. “Spit it out already-”
“C-Can I kiss you!?”
Midousuji blinked in shock, then quickly scrambled and to Onoda’s surprise, grabbed him by the face. His other hand came up to his lips with alarm in his eyes.
“Don’t say that so loud! Gross!” He whispered urgently, his palm over Onoda’s mouth and his fingers gripping his face. Onoda sat still, wide eyed, as Midousuji craned his neck to look over his shoulder to his bedroom door. After a few moments of quiet, he looked back to Onoda with squinted eyes, and to Onoda’s surprise, a light pink to his cheeks.
“... You’re so gross. Ghh-”
“Mmf-”
“Stop.”
Onoda stopped trying to talk and looked up to Midousuji with worry. His hand came away from Onoda’s mouth slowly, he shook it with a hint of disgust. A pit of worry started to grow in Onoda’s stomach, his mind began to race. Now he made it awkward. It would be awkward like this for the rest of his trip, he knew it, he shouldn’t have said anything- would it have been awkward anyway? Not saying anything while Midousuji got so close to him without knowing…?
Midousuji suddenly grabbed his face again, however, and leaned in. He pressed his mouth to Onoda’s a bit roughly, his eyes shut tight. Onoda’s eyes widened, his face felt like it could burn off. When he leaned back, Onoda’s glasses slid on his nose and he blinked slowly. Midousuji was still supporting himself in his awkward position, one hand pushed into the futon to hold up his upper half and make sure he didn’t slide off the bed, the other on Onoda’s cheek. Onoda was left speechless. Midousuji watched him in return with quiet, drawn out breaths.
Midousuji suddenly pushed himself back up on to the bed, sliding onto his mattress.
“...G… Gross.”
Midousuji touched his mouth with his fingers, Onoda sat up and watched him nervously. Midousuji licked his lips with the tip of his tongue. He stared down at the floor, then looked back up to Onoda with more focus in his eyes.
“... Don’t tell my aunt about this. Not a word.”
“I-I won’t.”
“You… Did you keep your promise before?” Midousuji mumbled his question. He crept forward again on his hands, his long legs bent on on the bed behind himself. Onoda gave a quick nod and watched Midousuji move.
“Y-Yeah... No one really asked anything…?”
“Good, gross,” Midousuji mumbled, Onoda jumped when Midousuji’s index finger suddenly came between his eyes, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. He scrutinized Onoda with narrowed eyes and the lightest dust of pink still over his pale cheeks, his teeth peeked out from under his slightly pulled back lips. After a moment more of hesitation, he leaned in again and gave another stiff kiss; his eyes stayed open, but Onoda shut his own and leaned into the touch. He could feel Midousuji’s thin lips pressed against his own, his face didn’t give off a lot of warmth but he smelt just like Midousuji always did.
Onoda’s brows furrowed, he was nervous, heat grew between them. He kept himself steady even with his heart thrumming in his ears. He could feel it as some of Midousuji’s uncertainty and nervousness ebbed away, his face relaxed and his mouth move just slightly to deepen the kiss. Onoda soaked up the attention, his shaky hand went to Midousuji’s shoulder for leverage.
Midousuji suddenly pulled back again. Onoda nearly fell but caught himself with a hand on the futon. Midousuji disappeared over the edge of the mattress in an instant, Onoda pushed himself up the rest of the way so he could meekly peek at him. Midousuji was quick to lay back down, facing away from him to hide. Onoda paused to watch him for a few fleeting moments before lay himself back down as well. He sat there with a hot face and stared at the ceiling. He kissed Midousuji. Did this count as a second time? This was the first time on the lips, though, it had to be.
… At least he didn't freak out.
“Was there something you wanted to do tomorrow?”
Onoda glanced to the bed when Midousuji spoke up. Onoda folded his hands on his chest.
“Uh… No, I-I’m up for anything,” Onoda mumbled back. Midousuji let out a long breath and a small sound.
“Alright. I have plans. It's cold out, though.”
“I don't mind.”
Onoda put his hands on his stomach and looked up to the ceiling. He didn’t mind at all. He didn’t know how Midousuji felt about all this now, but… going out with him was exhilarating. Going outside. To a park or something. Yeah.
Onoda had trouble falling asleep that night after Midousuji turned off the lights, and he was sure Midousuji did, too.