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Makoto had been back home for a few months. Haru had taken off as soon as they graduated, Rin had pulled some strings so he could join the swim team in Australia to get pointers for the competitions.
He was walking home from his job at school, when his phone buzzed.
Unknown: Guess who just got back in town.
Who was this? An attachment downloaded. His face heated up, he squeaked and nearly dropped his phone. What the HELL? There was Kisumi, staring at him on his phone. Naked.
Makoto quickly typed back "I think you texted the wrong number" swallowing hard, he shoved the phone back in his pocket. He'd liked Kisumi for a really long time, but he didn't think he'd like Makoto back.
His hands were shaking when he pulled his phone back out after it buzzed again. What if it wasn't a mistake? What if Kisumi liked him? He read the text and couldn't help deflating a little in disappointment.
Shit, I'm sorry... I meant to send that to my boyfriend. Can you just... delete that and pretend it never happened?
Boyfriend. Of course Kisumi had a boyfriend. Makoto was stupid to think otherwise.
Of course :) He replied. He was really upset to learn Kisumi had a boyfriend, but if he was back in town, they could hang out, couldn't they? Hey, Kisumi, how about we meet up for coffee or something?
Yeah, that'd be great! Hayato would just love to see you again, too!
Ah, right. Hayato. Kisumi's little brother. Makoto had taught him how to swim and enjoy water before he went off to college. Of course, he loved kids and Hayato was a good kid, but he was really hoping for some alone time with Kisumi.
I'd love to see him too. Tomorrow?
Sounds good!
Makoto sighed as he pocketed his phone again and started the walk up the flights of stairs to his apartment. Well, at least he'd get to see him, even if it was just as friends.
Sitting at the coffee shop with his coffee, Makoto looked up and smiled when Kisumi ran up, "Makoto, hey!" Kisumi wrapped his arms around Makoto's shoulders and squeezed. He was always a touchy-feely person, much like Nagisa. Kisumi let go and grinned, "Oh! Sorry Hayato isn't here. He wanted to come, but he had already promised a friend he'd be at their birthday party."
"Oh, that's no problem." Makoto smiled. "We can make time to hang out again when it works out for Hayato too."
"Ah, let me grab some coffee. You wanna go somewhere? Walk around the park or something?" Kisumi's upbeat smile and bubbly personality was infectious to Makoto. It always annoyed Haru when they were kids, though.
"Yeah, sure. We can do that."
"Great! Be right back!" Kisumi ran off to get some coffee and Makoto shook his head smiling. The pink-haired beauty was like the personification of bubble gum.
Ten minutes later they were walking around the park sipping their coffees. Both of them were cooing and swooning over the dogs running around. It was nice. Peaceful. Except that whenever Kisumi's phone went off, he frowned at it and then typed back harshly.
"Is everything alright?" Makoto finally asked after the umpteenth time that had happened. Kisumi sighed.
"Yes... No... I don't know."
"What's going on?" Kisumi sat down at a bench and sighed.
"First of all, I'm so sorry about the picture..." Kisumi blushed deeply, as did Makoto. Both looked away from each other. Kisumi cleared his throat, "Anyway, yeah. It was meant for my boyfriend. I was in college and just recently got back. We met up yesterday, but... Apparently he got a job offer in America."
"Oh, wow." Makoto said simply.
"Yeah. He leaves next week. And he wants me to go with him."
"Really? Well, that's great... Isn't it?" Makoto asked carefully. Kisumi didn't look happy about it.
"It should be." Kisumi responded softly.
"What's the problem?"
"Well, honestly, I don't want to be too far from Hayato. I feel like I've been out of his life too much. I want to be a proper big brother."
"I can understand that. Ren and Ran would never let me off the hook if I left them to go to the other side of the world. It's okay to say you don't want to go."
"What if he breaks up with me for it?"
"Then he's an idiot." Makoto said. "But if he loves you so much he wants you to go with him to another country, I don't think he'd break up with you. We have internet these days, so moving isn't the death sentence for relationships it used to be." Kisumi smiled at him. God, he was gorgeous. It was so unfair...
"Thanks, Makoto. You're a good friend." Yep. Friend. He was a good friend. "Oh... Um..." He started fidgeting.
"What is it?" Makoto asked gently.
"Well... See, I've been living with him and when he leaves, I'll have to either find my own place or go to my parents... I hate to ask after so long, but---"
"Of course." Makoto interrupted.
"Wh-What? You don't even know what I was going to ask." Makoto gave him a look. "Okay, maybe you did... About moving in?" Makoto nodded and Kisumi sighed in relief. "Thanks, Makoto. I really appreciate it."
"It's no big deal, I'm actually used to having a roommate and living alone is pretty lonely." Makoto laughed.
"Good, then we're in the same boat!" Kisumi grinned, then checked his watch and gasped. "I'm sorry, Makoto, but I need to get going. I have a date tonight and need to get ready."
"Oh, it's not a problem. Just text me and we'll work out the details to move you in. Enjoy your date." Makoto smiled and silently hoped it didn't look as sad or strained as it felt. Kisumi hugged him again tightly and waved as he ran off.
"I definitely will! Thanks again, Mako~"
Makoto watched the mop of bubble gum hair bound away and sighed heavily. This... was a death sentence to Makoto's heart. What was he thinking? Damn it.
The following week, Kisumi's stuff was moved into Makoto's place. It was too easy for them to be together. They'd joke around, and shove each other playfully. Kisumi's giggle was like an angel's.
Kisumi had taken to skyping every night with his boyfriend. It was... difficult to listen to. Makoto kept wanting to slam his laptop shut, which was a rare emotion for him. He wasn't an angry or possessive person, but he just couldn't stand Kisumi being with someone else. Apparently they'd been together for a few years.
Kisumi collapsed onto the couch next to Makoto and grinned after one skype session. "What's for dinner?" He asked.
"I hadn't thought about it. What're you in the mood fo-- Wait, what's wrong?" Makoto looked at Kisumi in worry.
"Oh, nothing, nothing. I'm fine. It's just hard to keep this up, you know? He's half a world away." Makoto nodded in understanding and got up to start dinner.
This was bad. This was so bad. Kisumi was a constant temptation for Makoto, but he couldn't just let Kisumi be on the street. Even if he'd gone home, it would've been difficult to get any time to himself. Makoto knew that better than anyone.
"Hey, anything I can help with?" Makoto jumped, not expecting Kisumi to pop up behind him. Kisumi laughed, "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you! You okay, Mako-chan?" Kisumi grinned.
"Yeah, fine. I was just lost in thought." Makoto smiled. "I'm making spaghetti, so..."
"I'll boil water and try not to burn it."
Kisumi was bad at cooking. Like, really bad at cooking. Haru could at least make mackerel, but Makoto hadn't seen Kisumi successfully cook anything. He burned toast, poptarts, everything he set to heating up. Makoto had to run in to the bathroom once because Kisumi was using far too hot water and had passed out from the heat.
He shook his head and smiled. Adorable. Kisumi was adorable. Flaws and all.
After finishing their dinner, Kisumi decided to curl up next to Makoto and wrap his arms around one of his, and rested his head on Makoto's shoulder. Makoto's heartbeat skyrocketed. Bad, bad, bad. This was so bad.
"I love this movie, don't you?" Kisumi asked innocently. He had no idea what he was doing to Makoto, he was just being usual, cuddly Kisumi.
"Yeah, it's a good movie." Makoto had to clear his throat, it felt dry all of a sudden. He had to keep reminding himself that Kisumi had a boyfriend. It repeated in his head like a mantra.
"Hey, it's snowing!" Kisumi exclaimed and ran to the door of the balcony to look outside. "Oh, Mako! We gotta go outside!"
"Alright, let me get bundled up."
They went outside and Makoto set to making a snowman, but then he suddenly felt freezing cold on his back and he jumped up with a yelp. Kisumi giggled after stealthily shoving snow down Makoto's back.
"Oh, you're gonna get it!" Makoto threw a snowball at Kisumi who squealed and ran off, forming another snowball as he ran around. After a few more snowballs were fired, Kisumi stuck his tongue out at Makoto, tapping his arm, and running away.
Makoto took chase while Kisumi tried to hide behind trees and bushes, squealing and giggling in glee when Makoto came close before he'd run off again. Finally, Makoto caught Kisumi by his sleeve and pulled him over, but lost his balance and they fell over. Kisumi laughed and propped himself up, catching Makoto's eyes.
They were both trying to catch their breath from all that physical exertion, but for some reason, neither of them looked away from the other. Purple gazing into green.
Then someone came out of their apartment. Apparently they were on the phone. Kisumi gasped and got up, offering Makoto a hand to pull him up.
Makoto took it gratefully. "Thanks."
"Yeah, let's finish that snowman now, huh?" Kisumi grinned.
"Yeah." Makoto smiled.
After finishing the snowman, they both lay on the ground watching the sky side by side and pointing out stars and constellations, but calling them the wrong things on purpose and laughing about it. Kisumi sat up suddenly and gasped.
"Mako, a shooting star!" He exclaimed, pointing. "Make a wish, quickly!" Makoto smiled and made a wish as Kisumi put his hands together like he was praying. "What'd you wish for, Mako-chan?" Kisumi asked.
"If I tell you, it won't come true." Makoto smiled when Kisumi pouted.
"Fiiine." He huffed and then shivered.
"Hey, let's get you inside before you get sick." Makoto was up and helping Kisumi up in no time.
Inside, he made hot cocoa and handed a mug to Kisumi who was wrapped in an oversized blanket watching old holiday cartoons.
"Alright, well I'm gonna head to bed." Makoto announced.
"Nooo, stay with me and watch these with me!" Kisumi pleaded with a pout. "I need to be extra warm and you have body heat. You don't want me to get sick, do you?"
Makoto laughed, "No, we wouldn't want you to get sick."
Kisumi opened the blanket up so Makoto could join him and soon they were cuddled up snuggly watching those bad old claymation holiday films and singing along to the stupid songs.
After a few of those, Makoto noticed Kisumi had fallen asleep. He sighed softly and brushed his hair over his forehead. He really was just beautiful.
He lifted Kisumi up and carried him to his room, tucking him in and then kissing his forehead. "Goodnight, Kisu." He said softly, went to clean up and then to his own room to get some sleep.
It was like torture, living with Kisumi and having to hear his conversations with his boyfriend every night. Makoto took to leaving the house to get some fresh air when that happened... Though, that day, he wasn't expecting to come home and hear raised voices coming from Kisumi's bedroom.
Makoto quietly walked over and put his ear to the door. He couldn't quite make out what was being said, but he did hear Kisumi choke on his words and sob. He had to mentally stop himself from running in there and holding Kisumi until he felt better.
Nodding to himself, he got into his PJs and grabbed some ice cream from the freezer, setting it on the counter.
“What I hear when I’m being yelled at is people caring loudly at me!” Makoto heard Kisumi yell. It made him jump in surprise. Then there was the sound of a laptop being slammed shut. He lightly knocked on the door. "What?" Kisumi asked and sniffled through the door.
"Can I come in?" Makoto asked.
"I don't care, do whatever you want." Kisumi said.
Makoto opened the door to find Kisumi curled up in the fetal position facing away from him and hugging a stuffed animal tightly... Was that a pink unicorn? It looked familiar. "Hey..." Makoto said softly and sat on the edge of the bed.
"You probably heard all that, right?" Kisumi sniffed.
"Ah, I heard... raised voices, and you say some... odd sentence about people caring loudly." Makoto admitted, and Kisumi laughed humorlessly.
"Yeah, well... He broke up with me." Kisumi swallowed.
"What? Why?" Makoto asked incredulously. Kisumi rolled over to face Makoto, still clinging to the pink unicorn.
"He wanted me to drop everything, grab a plane ticket, and go see him. Like, now." Kisumi explained. "I told him I couldn't because I was sick. I guess I stayed outside too long in the snow. Anyway, he got mad at me saying I should go anyway because he was more important than whatever I had here and that people get on planes sick all the time."
"He shouldn't have done that..." Makoto said and Kisumi nodded.
"Are you... wearing pajamas?" He asked suddenly.
"Uh... Yes?"
"Why? It's only, like, five."
Makoto exhaled softly. "You’ve had a rough day so let’s get in our PJs and watch a movie together. I've got ice cream and cake." He finished in a tempting voice like you would to a child.
Kisumi looked up at him and smiled. "I vote today to be a pajama day. And give me cake. But Princess Hornswaggle is coming with me." Makoto chuckled.
"Fine by me." Kisumi nodded at that and started to get up. He stopped and handed the unicorn to Makoto. "Can you take Princess Hornswaggle to the living room while I get changed, please?" Makoto bowed like a prince and took the stuffed animal like it was royalty.
"As you wish."
A few minutes later they were cuddled up with a queue of romantic comedies set up, per Kisumi's request. He was hugging Princess Hornswaggle tightly and eating cake from the pan, curled up next to Makoto. A mug of hot chocolate on the coffee table, also as Kisumi requested.
"Thanks for this..." Kisumi said softly.
"Anytime, Kisu." Makoto replied. He hugged Kisumi closer when he sneezed. "I'll take care of you, okay? Til you're all better." Kisumi nodded amd smiled gratefully.
"You're the best, Mako-chan." He snuggled up against Makoto's chest.
"Where did Princess Hornswaggle come from?"
"You won her for me at a carnival when we were ten, you don't remember?"
"I knew she looked familiar." Makoto said and shook his head. "You still have her after all these years?"
"Mmm. Yeah. She's always been a comfort when I most needed it. Even after we lost touch, it was a reminder that at least at one time, someone cared for me." He hugged the unicorn tighter.
They both fell into comfortable silence and watched the movie. Quoting the parts they remembered and falling into laughter if it was a particularly funny line.
About a week later, Makoto came home from the school exhausted. It had been a long day and the children were especially hyper that day. Once he opened the door, his eyes widened in horror. Clothes were strewn all over the place. It had been Kisumi's day to do laundry.
"Kisumi?" Makoto called, wandering through the house. "Kisumi?" He called again.
"What's up, buttercup?" Makoto jumped and spun around. Kisumi's head had popped out of the kitchen and he giggled at scaring Makoto.
"Why do you always do that?" Makoto asked.
"It's not on purpose!" Kisumi insisted. "Well... Not usually..." Makoto gave him a skeptical look. "Okay, okay, THAT TIME wasn't on purpose." He laughed and walked around the corner. "Anyway, what's up?"
"Well, it looked like a tornado hit and-- Are you wearing my shirt?" Makoto asked. It was too cute. Kisumi was shorter than Makoto, so he was being swallowed by the green killer whale T-shirt. Makoto could feel his cheeks warming up so he turned away quickly.
"Oh, yeah. Mine were all dirty, I hope you don't mind." It was so innocent. Did Kisumi even know what he did to Makoto? He was too cute.
"Ah, no, it's fine." Was his voice shaking? "I was just worried someone robbed us because the living room is a mess."
"Right! Sorry about that, I got really distracted."
"Distracted?"
"Well, yeah... See, I was folding laundry, but then I was hungry, so I decided to get a snack. And then I was thirsty, so I grabbed a soda. And then this really cute dog appeared on TV, so I squealed and hugged Princess Hornswaggle and rolled around on the floor and the clothes got wrapped around my feet and were thrown all over the place. I'm sorry!" Kisumi looked at Makoto pleadingly.
He started laughing and Kisumi looked dumbfounded. "Oh, Kisu... You haven't changed at all, have you?" Kisumi pouted. "It's okay, it's too adorable to change. I'm gonna go grab a shower, you wanna... grab the mess in the living room and throw it into a hamper or something? I'll fold the clothes after I get out."
"Sure, Mako, I can handle that!" Kisumi grinned.
After the clothes were folded and put away, they baked an apple pie together, bumping each other as they did so to try to mess the other up during their part of the mixing and baking. By the end of it, they were both covered in flour and Kisumi had a smudge of the apple cinnamon filling on his nose. Makoto wiped it off with his thumb and licked it off before even realizing what he was doing. He and Kisumi stared at each other in shock.
"Umm, I... Sorry, there was... stuff and I just... without thinking, I..." Makoto stammered.
"No, yeah. I get it." Kisumi laughed uncomfortably and Makoto put the pie in the oven. "Um... Makoto?" He started quietly. Makoto hummed in reply. "Did you... ever like me?"
"What do you mean? We've been friends for years."
"That's not what I meant... Did you ever, you know... LIKE me, like me?"
"Uhh... Why?"
"W-Well, it's just..." Kisumi took a deep breath. "I've... maybe, sorta... liked you... since we were kids..."
Makoto stared at Kisumi. Was he really hearing this? Did Kisumi just say what he thought he'd said? Was he dreaming?
"You know what," Kisumi continued, "Forget I said anything. It was stupid, I'm sorry."
Makoto pulled Kisumi into his arms and kissed him softly on the lips, causing a surprised gasp from the shorter male. "Yes." Makoto whispered. "I've liked you too."
Kisumi smiled, ran his fingers through Makoto's hair and yanked him down to kiss him more passionately.
That was just the beginning of their budding relationship.