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After class ends, and the rest of 3B (those in attendance) are packing up their bags, Kuro approaches Nazuna’s desk. “Hey, Nito. If you’re free, wanna come to the mall by the station with me for a li’l bit?”
Nazuna freezes, his hand clenching around the notebook he’s holding. On one hand, he is free today. There’s no club activities, and Ra*bits held practice yesterday, so he’d proclaimed today a day of rest. On the other hand...
Well. He’s been crushing on Kuro for quite a while, since last year even. And he’s never spent time alone with Kuro, not truly. During the bad time (he tiptoes around these thoughts even now) he met Kuro for lunch sometimes on the rooftop, but they didn’t talk very much, and this year, they commiserate in class sometimes and occasionally their unit activities overlap, but they don’t get to talk, not the way Nazuna wants to.
If he could, he’d spend hours talking to Kuro. Maybe lying together in bed, or walking together with their held hands swinging between them, learning everything about him, basking in the strength and safety Kuro radiates. He’d take Kuro to his house to meet his rabbit, and he’d go to Kuro’s house and meet his sister. And they’d hold hands, even if Kuro’s hands were surely bigger and would make Nazuna feel small and childish. It would be nice... Really nice.
When Nazuna’s silent for too long, Kuro seems to get the wrong impression, and hurries to elaborate. “If not, that’s all right. It’s actually ‘cause I want to get, uh...a Christmas gift for my sister, but I don’t really know what she’d like... The sorts’a shops I wanna look at, someone like me probably isn’t welcome in, so I thought, maybe if you were there...” Nazuna frowns, and Kuro backpedals. “You’re a lot more approachable than me, see.”
Regardless of what reasons Kuro has, the important part is that Nazuna does want to spend time with him. It may not be a date, or anything near as intimate as he wants, but it’s something, for sure. He watches Kuro fumble for words for another moment, and then holds up a hand. “Yeah, okay, I got it. I’m free, so I’ll come with you.”
Kuro clasps his hands together, bowing his head. “Thanks, Nito. You’re a good guy. Let me just grab my stuff...”
He turns and shoves his books haphazardly into his bag. Nazuna puts his book away, hefts his own bag onto his shoulder, and watches, careful to wipe the fond expression off his face once Kuro turns around again.
They leave Yumenosaki and head downtown. The mall isn’t too far, maybe a fifteen minute walk. Nazuna thinks about holding Kuro’s hand, about cold hands growing warm when held together, but instead he stuffs his hands into his jacket pockets. Kuro seems nervous, which Nazuna becomes acutely aware of when Kuro misses a walk sign, only realizing when Nazuna’s halfway across the street. Kuro curbs his long strides to meet Nazuna’s even to the extent of nearly tripping over the sidewalk. He digs his hands into his pockets and then pulls them out as if frustrated, only to have his arms hang uncomfortably at his sides. And he keeps looking at Nazuna, as if checking that he’s still there.
They’re just walking to the mall, and it’s a pretty safe area, so Nazuna doesn’t know what there is to be nervous about. So he asks Kuro about Akatsuki’s activities, and Kuro tells him a few anecdotes about preparations for a recent live. It seems Akatsuki is in a point of low activity, with Keito’s student council duties taking up his time. And karate club has never seemed to worry Kuro anyway, being so small. All in all, Nazuna’s not sure what Kuro could be nervous about. If there is something, though, he’ll do his best to support Kuro no matter what!
When they arrive at the mall, Kuro turns to Nazuna first thing inside the doors. “I’m thirsty,” he says. “Do you wanna get coffee?”
“Oh...” Nazuna nods. “Sure, I could go for a drink.”
Inside Ensemble Coffee, Kuro steps up to the counter while Nazuna hangs back, reading the menu. He zones out examining the line of holiday drinks, and when Kuro asks what he wants, he blurts out his choice without thinking. Kuro nods, repeats it to the cashier, and hands over his card before Nazuna realizes what’s happening.
“Hey!” he huffs, tugging on Kuro’s arm, but the green light is already blinking on the card reader, indicating the transaction is complete and Nazuna’s drink has been paid for. He tries to ignore the fluttery feeling in his chest at the idea of Kuro paying for him. “I could have bought that, you know!”
“I know,” Kuro agrees, and he turns to Nazuna with a smile so soft Nazuna forgets whatever retort he was going to fire back with. “I just wanted to treat you. Is that okay?”
It’s like a date, Nazuna thinks, and then quickly shoves that thought away.
“I guess,” he says.
When their drinks are ready, they leave Ensemble Coffee, Nazuna carefully fitting a lid on his toasted white chocolate mocha and Kuro poking a straw through the lid of his iced tea. Nazuna teases him for getting a cold drink in winter, but Kuro just smiles, saying he likes iced tea no matter the season. Nazuna makes a note of that—he wants to know all of Kuro’s favorite things.
Ah—but this isn’t about the two of them, really. They’re here to find a present for Kuro’s sister. It’s not a date. Thinking that makes Nazuna’s mood drop a little, so he forces a wide smile and turns to Kuro, who’s throwing away his straw wrapper. “What kind of present do you want to get your sister?”
“What?” Kuro takes a sip of his drink.
“You know,” Nazuna prompts, “like, what kinds of things is she into? Did you have stores in mind?”
“Oh.” Kuro frowns. “Well, she likes...” He hesitates, fidgeting with his straw. “I kinda thought we could look around? See if something strikes my eye, ya know?”
It doesn’t quite fit the image of Kuro that Nazuna has—this is the guy who looks after his sister so thoroughly that it annoys her, who misses school sometimes to look after her or talk to her, who even enrolled in idol school in the first place because he thought his sister would like it. But Nazuna wants to give Kuro the benefit of the doubt; maybe Kuro’s sister really is difficult to shop for, or maybe Kuro himself is bad at thinking of presents. It’s not too weird, Nazuna decides.
“Yeah, okay,” he agrees.
So they walk around the mall. They’ve barely made dents in their drinks when Kuro’s eyes light up and he drags Nazuna into a clothing shop. He spends several minutes showing Nazuna variations of the same bland turtleneck and pants, asking Nazuna which he thinks would suit Hasumi best. Nazuna, thinking resentfully of the way Hasumi’s treated many of his friends over the past two years, and also thinking (jealously) of the soft way Kuro always looks at Hasumi, is unable to fake much interest, and after another few minutes Kuro gets the hint and moves on, looking briefly at the girls’ clothing section before leading Nazuna back out into the mall walkway.
Next, they visit a cute shop that sells plushies, jewelry, stationery, and the like. In here, Kuro points out a turtle plush that he says Kanzaki, his junior in Akatsuki, would like, and Nazuna finds several adorable rabbit plushies that he enlists Kuro to talk him out of buying. Kuro proves expertly unhelpful in this, and Nazuna leaves with one of them, a soft yellow-furred rabbit with red jewels for eyes (just like him!!) tucked into his bag.
Then they find the bookstore and Nazuna takes a detour inside to look for a novel sensei hinted they might read later in the semester, and Kuro takes a peek at the manga section, and then they both get distracted thumbing through cute greeting cards, then cookbooks, then self-help books, passing time and books between them. Nazuna’s struck by how easily conversation flows with Kuro, whether they’re laughing quietly over a book held between them or nudging the other’s arm to show them something, and he gets to see Kuro’s face light up in a smile several times. Nazuna knows he’s going to treasure those moments, over and over in his memory like the well-worn crease of a letter that’s been opened and read carefully many times.
Maybe he’ll name the bunny plush after Kuro, as a reminder of this afternoon.
After the bookstore, they pass through another few shops. While browsing through another one full of cute mascot plushies and stationery, Nazuna’s phone buzzes in his pocket, and when he takes it out to check (it’s a game notification), he sees with a shock that it’s been almost two hours since they left Yumenosaki.
“Kuro-chin,” he exclaims, “you haven’t gotten your sister anything yet!”
“What?” Kuro says, and then Nazuna’s words seem to register with him. He rubs the back of his head in a clearly awkward gesture, his face growing red. “Uh... Oh, yeah, I guess not.”
It sure isn’t the reaction Nazuna expected. In fact, it’s so obvious Kuro isn’t being truthful that Nazuna’s a little offended. He puts his hands on his hips and leans forward, getting into Kuro’s space. “And, you haven’t even mentioned your sister in the past few stores we went into!” He sticks out an accusing pointer finger, just shy of actually touching Kuro’s chest. “You can’t hide from Nii-chan!”
For a moment, Kuro doesn’t say anything. He opens his mouth, hesitates, and closes it again. Half-turning, he reaches for a notepad from one of the stacks of stationery, and grips it tightly in his hands, as if needing something to hang onto.
Nazuna’s heart starts sinking in his chest. He can’t think of a way he’s stepped out of line, but what if he has, anyway? He opens his mouth, no words planned but a bare hope that he can rectify whatever mistake he’d made, but Kuro opens his mouth again, and Nazuna shuts his quickly.
“I just,” Kuro says, his tone carefully neutral, “wanted to spend some time with you, actually.”
Nazuna takes a breath.
“I already got my sister her gifts. Well, I’m always down to spoil her some more, but I got her everything I had planned weeks ago.” Kuro’s fiddling with the notepad, nearly bending the plastic cover. Nazuna wants to grab his hands and still them, but he holds back. “I lied to you,” Kuro continues, his eyes firmly on the notepad, “I’m really sorry, Nito.”
“N— No!” Nazuna blurts out. Kuro looks up at this outburst, his eyes wide and unguarded.
“You’re upset,” he says desperately, “I’m sorry,” and he steps back, putting the notepad carefully back on its stack. Nazuna’s heart hammers in his throat.
“Y-You’re wrong,” he manages to say. “I r-really wanted to spend time with you too... This was really nice!” He tries to inject all the sincerity and care he feels for Kuro into his voice, and Kuro looks up at him, his eyes searching Nazuna’s face. Nazuna balls his hands into fists, wanting to get the rest of what he has to say out in case Kuro starts apologizing again. “Y... You didn’t have to lie to get me to spend time with you, y’know! You could’ve just said something!”
Kuro sighs. “I know. I mean... We both...” He hesitates, and Nazuna knows what he’s thinking, We both were with him, knows that Kuro won’t say it out loud. “We’re classmates, and everything,” he eventually says. “But we haven’t really ‘hung out’, ‘n I thought... There’s plenty ‘f reasons you wouldn’t want to.”
“That’s not how I feel!” Nazuna’s hands curl tighter, his chest puffing up as he steps forward again into Kuro’s space. Kuro’s gazing down at him, surprised and vulnerable, and Nazuna squares his shoulders. “I don’t need a reason to hang out with you, idiot! I really like you!”
Kuro’s eyes widen. Nazuna realizes what he just blurted out, and claps his hands over his mouth, his cheeks flaring red.
He can’t look up at Kuro after saying that, and he almost turns away, ready to make a run for it out of the shop, out of the mall, until he can’t run anymore and then he can transfer schools and never see Kuro again, but that would mean he can’t see his Ra*bits, and what would he do then— But he feels warm hands on his own, prying his hands away from his mouth and gripping them tightly. He looks up and sees Kuro looking down at him, his cheeks flushed as well.
“Hey,” he whispers. “Hey, don’t be scared. I really like you too, Nito.”
Nazuna’s hands fall away from his mouth. He stares up at Kuro. He doesn’t want to believe it—but after the rest of today, after Kuro invited him out for what was clearly a false errand, after Kuro bought him a drink and pointed out things he would like in shops and spent a rare day off with him, and blushed like that... There can’t be any other conclusion, right?
He reaches for Kuro’s hands, which Kuro quickly offers, and grips them. Kuro’s hands are larger and more calloused than Nazuna’s, but they’re warm and solid, and Nazuna suddenly thinks that maybe, after this, he could hold them whenever he wants to, or even all the time.
“Okay,” he breathes. Kuro shifts closer to him, and Nazuna remembers with a jolt that they’re in the middle of a shop, barely hidden from the woman behind the registers by a few racks of pens. “Okay. Well... If we’re not looking for gifts, should we...”
He hopes this conveys the real thing he wants to say, which is: I want to kiss you so bad right now, and from the quick nod Kuro gives, Nazuna figures he gets the idea.
The walk out of the mall ends up being a blur of Nazuna tripping over his own feet, forgoing any attempts at awkward conversation as they hurry along; Kuro just plows forward, his tall frame easily cutting through crowds, and Nazuna speedwalks after him, wary of passers-by who are probably wondering why they’re rushing out of the mall. Once they’ve wound their way through crowds of shoppers and exited the mall, Nazuna scans the storefronts for a nook they could duck into, and spots an alley just meters away, probably a drop point for supply trucks judging by the huge doors he sees inside. He grabs Kuro’s hand and drags him into the alley, stopping only when they’ve stepped out of sight of most people walking past, and claps his hands to his own cheeks.
“Augh... This is so embarrassing, but...”
“I’ve waited a long time for this,” Kuro says, and Nazuna looks up to find Kuro’s intense gaze is fixed on him. Nazuna steps forward, grabs Kuro’s tie, and pulls down, stretching his neck up until his lips finally meet Kuro’s.
Kuro’s lips are—soft, a little chapped. Warm. Nazuna cups Kuro’s cheeks in his palms, and kisses him again, maybe hungrier than he should. Kuro indulges him, returns the kiss, and laughs when Nazuna presses closer for more.
“I’ve wanted to do that for a long time,” Kuro breathes, when Nazuna finally lets him go. Kuro puts his hand to his lips, as if Nazuna’s mouth would have left some physical imprint on them.
“You already said that,” Nazuna tells him, still gripping Kuro’s tie.
“It’s true, though,” Kuro insists, and leans down to kiss Nazuna some more.