Work Text:
That day, when Tazuki saw his childhood friend blushed out of embarrassment for having the hiccups, for some reason...he wants to see him blush again.
And so starts his quest to see Sora blush.
(He later thought that was the stupidest idea he ever thought.)
.
"Hey, Kashiwagi?"
"Hmm?" His friend turns his head.
"Wanna..." Tazuki hesitates and even himself, he feels embarrassed of what he's about to say. "...hold hands?"
Sora looks surprised for a moment before breaking out into a smile. "Sure! Like old times, right?" With that, he takes ahold of Tazuki's hands and laces their fingers together.
Tazuki turns his head away from Sora and covers his face, his face feeling hot for some reason. Sora just looks at his friend and tilts his head in minor confusion.
Damnit. First attempt and he's already losing the battle.
.
Calling someone by their first name means you are usually close with this person. Tazuki sees it all the time in shoujo manga, that his little sister insistently tells him to read one of her favorite series. The protagonist called his girlfriend by her first name and she blushed, in return, she calls him by his first name, too. He and Sora has been friends for a long time but now that Tazuki thinks about it, he never really called his friend "Sora". He only addresses him as "Kashiwagi".
Would this make him blush? Tazuki thought as he watches Sora playing with Mii-kun and Pochi.
"Sora." He says the name carefully and slow.
Sora freezes and Tazuki watches his reaction. Mii-kun barks for Sora's attention but Sora turns to Tazuki, something unreadable in his eyes.
"Uh, Sora, what's wrong?" Tazuki asks.
Sora gasps and rushes to Tazuki. "T-that's the first time you called me 'Sora'!"
"Really?" Tazuki raises an eyebrow and Sora firmly nods his head.
"It made me happy!" Sora grins and Tazuki regrets not calling his first name sooner.
(He also didn't see Sora blush but it's okay. Some other time.)
.
"This is stupid, this is stupid..." Tazuki mutters repeatedly under his breath and Sora quickly takes notice.
"What's wrong, Tazuki?"
"Ah, uh, nothing," Tazuki answers and he thinks back earlier where he went to his classmate for advice.
"How to make someone blush? Ah, that's easy! Say a pick up line!"
He wasn't even sure why he bothered asking him but he doesn't really know what to do anymore.
"Uh, are you tired? Cause you've been running around in my mind all day long?" It sounded more like a question.
Sora furrows his eyebrows. "What...?"
"Are you today's date because you're a 11/10." Is that how it goes? Or was it a 10, not a 11?
He's starting to regret this.
"Today's May 5th. Why would I be a date and why November?"
Tazuki rubs his temple. "Wait, no, I've seem to lost my phone number. Can I have yours?"
"You got a new phone, Tazuki?"
Never mind.
.
Tazuki, as always, stops by Sora's house. Conny goes off to play with Mii-kun and Pochi in a game of tag and Tazuki just watches the whole thing from the table while Sora copies notes from Tazuki's notebook.
Tazuki takes a quick glance at Sora, who is concentrated on writing. It's silent; the little creatures are tired from their game of tag and rests on the couch.
He's pondering on all the memories he and Sora spent together and he's wondering. How does he feel about Sora, his first friend he ever made. He suddenly knows why and he's satisfied with the outcome. He knows it for sure that is how he feels about his friend.
"Sora, I love you."
The words flows out easily and Tazuki doesn't even realize it until he registers what he said. He hears a quiet noise and he turns to see Sora's reaction, the pencil that was in his hands was suddenly dropped. He widens his eyes and his mouth partially opens in shock.
Sora stares back, his face colored red. His mouth opens and closes but no words comes out.
"Sora?" He asks, concerned.
Sora suddenly stands up from his seat, the chair scrapes against the wooden floors, making a harsh noise. He turns and finally says something albeit incoherent.
"Uh, Sora?" Tazuki stands up and goes around the table. He sees Sora covering his face and notes that his ears are red as well.
"Ugh, Tazuki..." Sora mumbles, words slightly muffled, and he bends down to bury his face into his legs.
"What's wrong? I can't exactly see you if you're like this," Tazuki states, amusement evident on his face.
"That's the point. I'm covering myself." And Tazuki swears for a second that he hears a pout in Sora's voice.
"Sora, come on," Tazuki gently urges and Sora sighs but he relents. He stands up and his face has returned to a normal color.
"So."
"So?" Sora echoes.
"What was that all about?" Tazuki asks.
"I could ask you the same thing," Sora says softly.
"Well, yeah, I love you."
Sora's cheeks turns pink and stutters, "Y-Yeah, that!"
Tazuki smirks. "It's true. And well, what was your reaction all about?"
"Ok, well, uhm...don't laugh..." Sora begins.
"I won't."
"I never had anyone saying 'I love you' to me before besides my parents, of course. It's just, well...I...all this stuff is new to me!" Sora looks embarrassed. "You saying that, made me really happy and I feel the same. I, well, I always thought you never had took an interest in me and I was just content with us being as friends if you didn't like me and--"
He never finished his sentences as he is suddenly embraced by Tazuki.
"You idiot. Of course I like you, I just have a hard time of showing it," Tazuki admits and Sora smiles warmly as he hugs back.
"Of course you do!" He laughs and they pull apart.
"To be honest, I wanted to see you blush and well, I did it," Tazuki says and Sora snorts.
"Why?"
"I dunno, I just thought you looked cute when you blushed that time," Tazuki confesses. "You hardly blush so I kinda wanted to see it again..."
"Wha--? Seriously, Tazuki?" Sora quirks his lips into a playful smile.
"Seriously," He confirms. "So, should we kiss or something?"
"Sure, you don't have to ask," Sora whispers and he leans in to plant a kiss on Tazuki's lips, arms circling his neck. Tazuki feels himself smile into this kiss and his finds his arms circle Sora's waist, kissing back.
Meanwhile, Conny, Mii-kun, and Pochi all stare at them, an expression of approval on their faces.
(Tazuki later scratches the early thought about how he was regretting this. This was the best idea ever, thanks to this outcome.)
.
extra:
"Hey, we're dating, right?" Sora speaks up. "You're my boyfriend."
"Yeah, what's up?"
"Should we have nicknames for each other?" Sora asks, thoughtfully.
"I don't think you need to go that far, just our first names will do," Tazuki replies.
"...Tacchan."
Tazuki quickly turns his head to see Sora, smirking, besides him.
"Would you rather I call you 'Tacchan'?" Sora teases.
"I'd rather you don't."