Chapter Text
Ever since Azami came into Mankai Company, Kumon was always the friendliest to him, even though he wasn't even an official member yet, and he was also the one Azami found himself to be spending the most time with one-on-one.
One day, after Autumn Troupe's practice, Azami spotted Kumon helping Tsuzuru cook dinner in the kitchen. He slowly and quietly proceeded towards his and Sakyo's room, not wanting to be noticed since he was tired, until Kumon called out to him.
"Hey Azami! Good work today!"
"Yeah, thanks." Azami replied monotonously.
"Hey, wanna help us with dinner?"
"Sorry, I'm pretty tired right now. Next time, though."
"Aww ok... Oh wait, when you're done resting, can you come back here please?"
"..Okay."
"Yay! Thanks!"
Azami continued walking to his room, but without realizing, a subtle smile had formed on his lips after his little conversation with Kumon.
As he gathered his clothes before heading to the bath, Sakyo went in their room, and noticed Azami smiling to himself.
"Someone seems to be in a good mood."
"Haah? I'm not..."
"Then wipe off that dumb smile on your face."
"What smile?!" Azami exclaimed as he threw his facial moisturizer bottle at Sakyo.
"*sigh* Whatever, it's gone now." Sakyo replied somewhat teasingly as he tossed the bottle back.
Azami just grumbled to himself as he picked his things up and brisk walked to the bath. As he got in, he sighed deeply to himself.
"Hey, hey, what's with the long sigh, huh?" a familiar voice called out.
"Ah, Banri. It's nothing." he replied as Banri entered the bath as well.
"Haha! Sounds fun in here." another voice said.
"Ooh! Looks like we all had the same idea, huh?" another one said.
"Well, practice today was more exhausting than usual, so it's no surprise we all wanna take a nice, relaxing dip after." Banri said as Omi and Taichi both got in too.
"So what were you guys talking about just now?" Taichi asked.
"I-It's nothing, really.." Azami replied while looking away from them.
"Lemme guess. It's either got something to do with Sakyo or makeup." Banri said.
"Well, you got shithead Sakyo right."
"What did he do this time?" Taichi asked.
"Not much. Just teased me as usual.."
"Well, that's nothing new." Omi teased.
"Not you too..." Azami muttered out loud.
Just then, Juza came in, surprised to see almost everyone else there too.
"Oi. Why the fuck did you come here now..?!" Banri hissed in annoyance.
"To use the bath, duh. 'Sides, ya didn't tell me you were gonna come here, either." Juza argued as he got in and purposely sat beside Banri just to annoy him.
"Get the fuck away from me! You fuckin' smell, ya bastard!" Banri yelled and quickly inched away from him as the others were just amused with their usual banters. "Oi, Azami! Switch with me!"
"Pff! No way! Wouldn't wanna sit next to Juza if he smells, as you say." Azami said with a smug, yet entertained smile.
"Argh! Move then, Taichi!"
"Not happening~!" Taichi teased, which earned him a hard splash of water to his face from Banri.
"Ow! Banny, that hurt!" he whined, but still proceeded to hit Banri back.
"Nice, relaxing dip, my ass..." Azami muttered.
"C'mon guys, stop playing in the bath like kids already." Omi said, trying to sound stern, but his smile and tone gave away how much fun he was having watching them act so childishly.
"Shaddap! All of you are too loud!" Sakyo yelled as he came in, ready to get in the bath as well.
The two immediately stopped, and Banri just gave in and continued to sit next to Juza. Even though he kept complaining earlier, he didn't look upset nor entirely disgusted when they settled down.
"Sheesh! I'd expect that you guys know how to relax in a communal bath by now..." Sakyo sighed to himself.
"That just goes for Banri and Taichi, though." Azami commented.
"That's true." Omi added.
"Hey!" the two protested in unison. "Same can be said about Hyodo too, you know?" Banri defended.
"The hell did I do? I just sat here." Juza said.
"Be quiet already, you animals! Or talk normally, at least!" Sakyo scolded once more.
Everyone instantly fell silent, except for Omi and Azami, who were quietly chuckling amongst themselves, knowing they had nothing to do with the noise earlier at all. Sakyo noticed this, but just smiled subtly to himself. After a minute or so of awkward silence, the troupe started to engage in small talk, and after another ten minutes, Azami left the bath first, then as promised, he went back to the kitchen for Kumon after getting dressed.
"Oh, hey, you're back!" Kumon called out.
"Yeah, so, what did you want?"
"Here!" Kumon exclaimed as he put a plastic bag from the convenience store on the table.
"What's this..?" Azami asked as he peeked inside.
"I bought a pack of assorted sushi from the convenience store earlier, and when I ate it, I was so sure you would like it, so I just had to get you one too!"
"E-eh? I would've thought you'd gotten something for your brother instead.."
"Yeah, I got him a slice of chocolate cake from the store too! Anyway, try it already!"
"Right.. Th-thanks."
Azami picked a random piece and the moment he placed it in his mouth, his eyes subconsciously widened on their own from how good it was.
"It's good... really good." Azami said after swallowing.
"Right?! Heheh, I knew you'd like it!" Kumon exclaimed proudly and cheerfully.
"But why did you give this to me now, instead of during dinner, though?"
"'C-cuz, I uh, didn't want all the others to see that...I got only you something.." Kumon replied shyly.
Kumon's unusual shyness and the face he makes when he's embarrassed, like right now, always managed to tug on Azami's heartstrings, and even Azami was starting to feel awkward and embarrassed. They both may have also forgotten that Tsuzuru was still in the kitchen, listening to their entire conversation and trying to hold back a smile from how cute they were.
"Th-thanks.. You really didn't need to, though..." Azami said softly while looking down on his seat.
"N-no, I wanted to, so it's ok!"
Azami just nodded and slowly continued eating the rest of the sushi while questions began flooding his mind yet again. He didn't really know why they became friends so fast or how they actually got along pretty well, but he always got annoyed and confused with himself whenever he got that strange feeling in his chest whenever Kumon did something nice or....cute. He figured that Kumon is just innocent and pure like that, which would make sense, given the way he acts when it comes to his brother.
When dinner actually came, Azami was still struggling internally with himself, and since he wasn't as hungry anymore too, the others noticed how he was barely eating.
"Azami, are you ok? You haven't touched your food much." Omi asked.
Azami started to panic in his mind when everyone else started staring at him, and without realizing at first, he glanced at Kumon, who was just subtly smiling, knowng that the sushi probably made him a bit too full for dinner.
"Yeah, I'm fine, just a bit tired." he said as calmly as he could, and they all just brushed it off.
Azami let out a soft sigh, but then felt a pair of eyes shooting lasers into his head, and of course, it was Kumon, who was trying to hold in his giggle. He decided to just ignore him for the rest of dinner.
But this was just the start of Azami's internal conflicts.
During Autumn Troupe's practices, Kumon would often give Azami a bottle of water or sports drink when they had breaks, more often than to his brother, even. For Summer Troupe practices, Kumon would occassionally drag Azami to watch and ask for his opinions in between exercises or script run-throughs. There was also one time where Azami slept in on a school day, so Kumon snuck into his room and woke him up good by jumping onto him, though Sakyo got mad at both of them for waking him up too.
Azami was getting even more confused and frustrated the more Kumon treated him nicely. It wasn't that he didn't like the way Kumon was with him, he just started to not know how to act when he was with him nowadays. At the back of his mind, he knew that what he felt towards Kumon was something different compared to anyone else, but he refused to accept these feelings, thinking that Kumon doesn't even feel the same way towards him too. Gradually, Azami lost himself in his emotions and started to avoid Kumon whenever it was unnecessary for them to be together.
"Hey, Azami! Can you come to Summer Troupe's prac-"
"Sorry, I still have homework to do."
.......
"Azami! Wanna play base-"
"Sorry, I'm kinda tired from practice today."
This cycle went on for more than a week, and it reached a point where both of their performances in practice started to go downhill...especially Azami's.
One day, Izumi had extra work to do, so she told the troupes to practice on their own.
"Kumon, you're up." Tenma called.
"R-right!"
........
"U-uhh...Do you feel alright, Kyu-chan?" Muku asked worriedly after seeing him perform his etude pretty badly.
"Y-yeah! I'm fine!" Kumon replied as enthusiastically as he could.
"Alright then. Let's try this again." Yuki said.
The more practice dragged on, the more Kumon would lose his focus.
"Kumon, are you really ok?" Tenma asked sternly after another failed attempt to make it through the same scene smoothly.
"I.."
"Okaaay! Let's stop here for today." Yuki interrupted. "Are you ok with talking about what's bugging you?"
"S-sure..."
"No pressure, though!" Kazunari assured.
"Kumon~, hold my lucky triangle. It always makes me feel better." Misumi said as he gave him his protractor. Kumon just stared at it for a bit before smiling and thanking him and the rest of the troupe.
"Oi, Azami. That was your cue there." Banri muttered to him.
"Ah! Sorry, can we do that again?"
"*sigh* Fine, but stay focused." Sakyo warned.
.........
"Hey, A-chan. You sure you're ok?" Taichi asked worriedly after Azami flubbed his lines for almost the fifteenth time already.
"I...I'm fine. Sorry for being so slow today..."
"I think it's best for you to rest today, so you can pull yourself together for the next practices." Banri suggested.
"Yeah, don't worry about it, Azami. Just take it easy today." Omi added.
"Right... Sorry again, guys." Azami said gloomily as he slowly trudged out of the practice room.
"Good work today~." Omi, Taichi and Juza said softly to him in unison, but Azami didn't look back nor say anything to them anymore as he gently shut the door behind him.
"Should we talk about what might be bothering him later?" Taichi asked.
"No. Let him solve it himself. We should only talk to him if he wants to tell us about it." Sakyo said.
When Azami got into the dorm room, he immediately plopped onto his bed and buried his face into his pillow. After about ten minutes of laying in that same position, he somehow managed to organize his thoughts properly.
"I can't be any more unreasonable and selfish than this..." he thought.
Though still uncertain with what to do exactly, he was already on his way to the lounge without even realizing. Immediately, he saw Kumon sitting there with the rest of Summer Troupe. It looked like they were having a pretty serious talk, but Azami tried to pretend he was just going to get something from the fridge.
"Yo, Azamin! Doesn't Autumn Troupe have practice right now?" Kazunari called out to him to also signal the other members to be quiet since they were mainly talking about him, after all.
"Ah, y-yeah.. Uh, Kumon? Can you come with me?" Azami asked awkwardly while ignoring Kazunari's question. "Wait, what the hell did I just... I wasn't supposed to do that..!"
"Huh? Oh, sure." he replied with an equally awkward tone and got up from his seat.
"We'll be back in a while~." Azami said blankly as he and Kumon left the dorms, leaving the others hoping they can talk things out well while they're alone. "Great job, me..." Azami dreaded in his mind.
Neither of them spoke until Azami led them to the nearby convenience store.
"Pick out a drink or something. I'll pay." Azami said monotonously.
Kumon just nodded and picked a small bottle of fruit juice from the fridge, while Azami got a bottle of iced tea. After paying, Azami brought them to the nearby park and chose a random bench for them to sit on. At first, there was only a heavy silence between them until one of them finally spoke up.
"Hey, um, I'm sorry." Azami started.
"Me too.."
"But I'm the one who has been acting selfishly lately."
"Yeah, but I'm the reason you were acting the way you did, right?" Kumon replied sadly.
Those words felt like a direct jab at Azami's heart, and he could almost feel the tears forming in his eyes. "How could he still think of me first even after all that's happened...?"
"Shut up..! It's all my fault! I didn't bother talking about it with you or anyone, nor did I even try thinking about it rationally until today...!" Azami protested as his voice kept cracking and tears threatened to fall even more by the second.
"I didn't even try talking about it to you either, so that puts us in the same position." Kumon tried to reply as carefree and nonchalant as he could.
"No, it doesn't! I... I started this! I didn't even have a reason for acting so cold and distant when you've been nothing but kind to me..! Literally no one else in Mankai treats me as nicely as you do!" Azami almost screamed as he looked down, trying to hide the few tears that already escaped his eyes.
Kumon didn't know what to say, but it broke his heart to see Azami in pain and misery like this. He slowly placed his hand on Azami's head and gently rubbed and patted him in an attempt to calm him down, almost similar to how Juza would pet him when he would tuck him into bed at night when they were younger. Slowly, Kumon also started to tear up, but he somehow kept them from falling out.
"You know... I do all those things to and for you because you're special to me. Not in the same way as nii-chan, but....I like you, Azami. No, I love you." Kumon said as his voice continously shook out of embarrassment the more he spoke.
Azami chuckled under his breath then said, "The hell was that? Did you rehearse those lines or something?" in a sarcastic, but still sad, tone.
"I-I did not! Nevermind, I-I take back what I said!" Kumon exclaimed as he turned away and pouted while his ears and face grew redder by the second.
"I like you, too..." Azami muttered, barely audible enough for Kumon to hear.
Kumon quicky looked back at him in surprise and smiled to himself, though he still had his head down. He just continued to stroke Azami's head gently, while Azami slowly wrapped his wrists around Kumon's arm.
After five more minutes of staying like that, Kumon pulled his hand away.
"Ready to go back now?"
"...Yeah."
Even when they were walking back to the dorm, Azami still mostly looked down and kept one hand around Kumon's arm.
"You good if we go in?" Kumon asked when they reached the dorm as Azami just nodded without saying anything.
"We're home." he said as they stepped into the dorm.
"Welcome back~." the entire Summer Troupe greeted.
"..Did you guys wait for me..?"
"Not gonna lie, yeah." Tenma said.
"...Hehe. Thanks guys, you really didn't need to." he said with an endearing smile as he glanced at Azami, who was still somewhat clinging onto him. Even if Kumon didn't say anything, the others knew they'd made up.
Kumon gestured to the dorm rooms, to which the others made room for them to pass.
"Azamin, fighto!" Kazunari cheered.
"Mm." was all Azami said in reply.
Once they got into Azami's room, Kumon led him to his bed, but Azami refused to let go, even holding onto him with both hands now.
"Do you feel sick, Azami?" Kumon asked worriedly since he refused to move.
"..We should ask...shithead Sakyo...first."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"...You know...us dating.."
"O-oh, right. Should we look for him?"
Azami shook his head, and fell onto his bed, dragging Kumon with him.
"Uwaah! Azami..!"
They landed directly next to each other, then Azami hugged Kumon's arm tightly and squeezed it almost as hard as he could.
"Ow..! You're squeezing too tight!"
Azami loosened his hold, but just enough for Kumon to relax his arm and shoulder. They both laid there in complete silence for a few long minutes, and gradually, Azami would snuggle his face closer and closer to Kumon's shoulder.
"Hey." Azami started.
"Yeah? What's up?"
"Why do you even like me..?"
"H-huh? Uhh...I don't really know how to express it well, but...I guess I found myself to be drawn to you more and more whenever we spent time together. You also listen to me when I start rambling about baseball, nii-chan, or whatever, without fail, and you know, it's not everyday you find someone who's willing to listen to you talk about nonsense..... Er.. I guess to make it brief, you're really kind, even if you don't think so, and above all, I get this sense of security when I'm with you that I don't get from anyone else, not even nii-chan." Kumon rambled while a light blush gradually spread across his face.
"..Weirdo..." Azami commented while trying to hide the dumb, innocent smile forming on his face.
"You're smiling, though!"
"..Am not..."
About ten minutes later, Sakyo finally came in and the two immediately sat up before he could see what kind of position they were in beforehand.
"Oh, were you and Kumon here the whole time? Autumn Troupe was looking for you earlier." Sakyo said, which made Azami feel a bit guilty.
"S-sort of... Anyway, we have something we want to ask you."
"Hm? What is it?"
"...We-"
"Sakyo-san, I like Azami..! Is...Is it ok if I, er, go out with him..?" Kumon interrupted, asking Sakyo as earnestly as he could, despite how embarrassed he felt to be saying this out loud to someone else so soon.
Azami quickly turned to him in complete shock, amazement, confusion, and panic all at once. Before he realized it, Sakyo was already smiling and chuckling to himself. This sight made the two of them more anxious, since Sakyo almost looked like a psychopath with the way he tried to keep his laugh in.
"You know, Bon, you don't need to get my, or anyone's permission if you want to simply date somebody. All I ask from you is that you tell me who you're going out with, you make sure that he or she is a good influence on you and on others, you'll talk to me or anyone if any problem comes up, and of course, you get your dad's permission if you want to marry when you're older."
"Ok, I get it!" Azami shouted louder than he intended out of embarrassment and panic. "Th-thanks, I guess..." he continued meekly while his cheeks slowly started to flush.
"Heh. I think Kumon is already a great influence on you." Sakyo teased.
"Shut up, shithead Sakyo..!" Azami shouted as Sakyo and Kumon just laughed at him.
"Hmph. Two troupe mates of ours could learn a thing or two from both of you..." Sakyo muttered to himself.
"What was that..?!" Azami hissed.
"Nothing you need to know." Sakyo retorted.