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As idols, they always give out hints of vague bromance. That was all planned--since most of their fanbases consisted of fujoshi.
Yet whenever idol unit Fruty and idol unit Aqua look at idol unit Citrus, something feels off…
… was their bromance really just a facade?
1.
“Hustle hustle! Muscle muscle!”
As usual, Ono Jyushimatsu’s voice boomed from the changing room to the aisle. The other idol units expected no less. They entered the changing room to find Jyushimatsu bouncing around while Kamiya Choromatsu just sat on the sofa, eating a frog-shaped donut. “Ah, welcome back,” he greeted before taking another bite of his donut.
Sakurai Osomatsu of idol unit Fruty was the first one to notice a smear of green-tinted white chocolate on Choromatsu’s cheek. Yet before he could say anything, Jyushimatsu already landed next to Choromatsu on the sofa.
“Choromatsu-san, there’s choco on your cheek!”
And with that he brushed his thumb over the smear before popping it into his mouth after making sure no chocolate is left on Choromatsu’s skin. Osomatsu expected Choromatsu to say that Jyushimatsu is disgusting and that they are not some shoujo manga characters. The usual strict-man antics Choromatsu seems to have outside the stage.
It caught him off guard when Choromatsu froze there, his eyes wider than usual and blush crept to his cheeks and spread to his ears. He trembled before screaming.
“YOU… YOU IDIOT!!!”
(And that's how, despite the fact that Choromatsu is now kicking and stomping on Jyushimatsu who just laughs there on the floor without even trying to escape, Sakurai Osomatsu starts questioning the straightness of idol unit Citrus. Afterall, Choromatsu blushes as he kicks Jyushimatsu.)
2.
In all honesty, Jyushimatsu’s weirdness was obvious since the first meeting.
So when all three idol units celebrate Choromatsu’s birthday for the first time, they expected Jyushimatsu to give a very weird birthday gift for his partner. Maybe a piece of meteorite. Or even a geruge (which is not a bad idea, it might get along with Choromatsu’s cat).
Nakamura Karamatsu of idol unit Aqua has to admit that it almost scared him when he saw a school idol figurines emerging from the yellow gift box. Even more so when Choromatsu’s face starts to glow with happiness.
“Jyushimatsu-kun, how did you know I love this character?” Choromatsu asked. Jyushimatsu’s grin got a bit wider. “Of course I know! I heard you spazzing about this character to a staff!” he said. Karamatsu swore he saw blush on both Citrus personnels.
Then the Aqua idol turned to look at his partner who is donning the usual cat hoodie. Fukuyama Ichimatsu looks back, and as if he understood what Karamatsu meant with the sparkling look in his eyes, he flipped his middle finger.
“Che. No way I’ll be that nice to you, Shittymatsu.”
(Karamatsu has to admit that he is a little jealous . He wants someone to look at him like that too--like how Jyushimatsu looks at Choromatsu.)
3.
For their solo career, Choromatsu was known as the straight man.
His singles consisted of more serious songs. Rarely does he sing playful songs, and when he does it turned out sexy instead of silly. Irino Todomatsu could vouch for this--during the time when the idol units got mix and matched and he paired with Choromatsu as limited idol unit Fruty-Citrus, their songs are upbeat but still quite serious.
So he could not brush it off when Choromatsu and Jyushimatsu ended up in a heated debate over what to put in their new single, Glow My Way.
“I’m telling you, there is no way we could do that!!”
“Believe in your power, Choromatsu-san!!”
“This is not about power!!”
The other idol units just stared at each other, thinking that this will not end well. Yet instead of throwing sharp words at Jyushimatsu until he surrender (a trick Choromatsu often use as he is very good in debates), he gritted his teeth and said “Let’s finish this the usual way!!”
Jyushimatsu’s face turned serious too and Todomatsu gulped in fear. He could not predict what will happen next, and when both Citrus idols raised their fists he seriously thought this will become a bloodbath.
“ROCK-PAPER-SCISSORS!!!”
That was how Otoko! Rhapsody become the 5th track in Glow My Way.
(As Jyushimatsu screamed and laughed hysterically because he usually never won when playing rock-paper-scissors with Choromatsu, Todomatsu observed that Choromatsu was suppressing a smile behind his pissed off facade. The Fruty idol couldn’t help but wonder if Choromatsu lose on purpose.)
4.
Ichimatsu knew that Jyushimatsu is more of a dog-person instead of a cat-person.
“Cats are okay, but they hate me and I like dogs more,” Jyushimatsu said once. This earned a dirty look from Choromatsu who was hugging a paper bag filled with cat food. Ichimatsu and Karamatsu, the other cat lovers, do not mind. Everyone to their own preferences.
So to say that they were shocked when they came for new year gathering at Choromatsu’s place and see Jyushimatsu playing with Nyaa-chan is quite an understatement.
“Nyaa-chan, Nyaa-chan!” Jyushimatsu cooed and snuggled to the russian blue cat, earning a purr before she puts her paw on Jyushimatsu’s face. For once, Nyaa-chan did not even realize when Ichimatsu and Karamatsu visits. She would usually perch on Karamatsu’s shoulder while Ichi pampers her (Ichimatsu hates to admit it but Karamatsu is quite a cat magnet). He looked to the side and find the Fruty idols cowering in fear behind the sofa, yet waving at the Aqua idols to join them. Both Aqua idols sat down beside Osomatsu and Todomatsu.
“S-s-since when does Jyushimatsu like cats?” Todomatsu asked, his face pale. “This is scary… so scary… too scary!!”
“C-calm down.. maybe this is just illusion…” Osomatsu tried to reason with unreasonable reasoning, as usual. Before any of them could refute, Jyushimatsu’s voice could be heard.
“Choromatsu-san, I’m thirsty!”
And to their surprise, Choromatsu answered from the kitchen. “Your mug is in usual place, and there is grapefruit juice in the fridge!”
Jyushimatsu’s answer drowned out as the other idols stared at him in shock. Osomatsu was the first to broke the silence.
“ His mug? Do any of you guys have a personal mug in this apartment???”
Everyone shook their head to answer the question.
(Ichimatsu finally understood that the reason why he could smell traces of Jyushimatsu in Choromatsu’s bedroom whenever he went to fetch Nyaa-chan from said bedroom was not his sensitive nose playing trick on his mind. It’s because Jyushimatsu was there, most likely so often that his scent rubbed into Choromatsu’s bed.)
5.
The idols minus Citrus idols gathered around a table.
“So, do we confirm this with them?”
Everyone turned pale at Todomatsu’s suggestion. “Can we just… put a hidden camera--?”
“That’s against the law,” Todomatsu shot down Osomatsu’s suggestion.
“Ask Nyaa-chan…” Osomatsu tried again.
“She kept quiet about it,” said Ichimatsu, causing Todomatsu to shout something along the line of “How do you even talk with cats??”
“You know… even if they are dating… that does not matter, right? They are still being professional about it,” Karamatsu reasoned and everyone else stared in awe.
“For once Karamatsu-san is not painful,” said Todomatsu.
“It was so not-painful, my ribs broke,” said Osomatsu. Todomatsu tried so hard keep quiet regarding the lack of logic.
“... tsk. Fine. Let’s just meet them as usual,” said Ichimatsu before standing up and walking towards the changing room. Everyone smiled and followed Ichimatsu. At the sight of the changing room’s door, Osomatsu dashed forward and slammed the door open.
“Hey, gu--”
His words stopped when he saw both Citrus idols, lips pressed tight against each others and Choromatsu’s hand already slipped under Jyushimatsu’s t-shirt. Osomatsu quickly covered Todomatsu’s eyes and Karamatsu covered Ichimatsu’s eyes before those idols could see. “Wh-wh-wha-wHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING??” Osomatsu asked. Choromatsu broke the kiss, and both idols blinked at the intruders.
“Uh, fanservice training?”
“WHAT KIND OF FANSERVICE IS THAAAT??”
Finally, both idol unit Fruty and idol unit Aqua agreed on one thing.
There is no way idol unit Citrus is straight.