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sousuke tries not to count the days since his awkward encounter in the supply closet with kou...he really does. but can you blame him, when he’s almost wishing for it to happen again?
it’s not like he likes minamoto-kun, he tells himself. no, of course not, that would be really weird and gross because it’s minamoto-kun, the lame ass traffic safety earring that sousuke wouldn’t want to be caught dead hanging out with. well, that’s what he tells himself anyway, as he itches closer and closer to minamoto-kun every time they sit down to each lunch, every time he’s helping out with a photography project, every time they’re busy (busy, he tells himself with gritted teeth) doing homework.
now, both sousuke and minamoto-kun know very well that the dumbass means a lot to sousuke; he’d been his very first friend, and they’d stuck with each other ever since they first met in their first year of junior high. sousuke pretended to make a fuss about being forced to hang out with him, but really, he was only hoping for minamoto-kun to be able to see through his rude, bad-mannered exterior to the feelings he wished he could express in a normal way.
but. that did not mean sousuke liked minamoto-kun...not like that, anyway; of course not like that, because they were best friends and that would ruin everything. right? he sears this thought into his brain before going to sleep, so much so that all he dreams about is minamoto-kun looming above him with a grin that doesn’t suit his features, saying, “sorry, mitsuba, but we’re best friends, that’s all we’ll ever be,”
sousuke wakes up that with a pounding heart and a sick feeling in his throat, and decided that while it may be inevitable, it doesn’t necessarily mean that he has to like the idea of them being ‘just friends’. he’ll keep hanging out with minamoto-kun, obviously, because his feelings for him run deeper than just a crush; he was sousuke’s first real friend and it’s not something he’ll be likely to forget. minamoto-kun was the only one that knew the real sousuke, who was rude, and annoying, and a camera geek, and sometimes too emotional, and a faker, and still stuck by him. he could never give up a relationship like that, no matter what kind it ended up being.
it’s what sousuke tries to tell himself, what he really tries to convince himself, but his stupid mind just doesn’t want to listen. because, all he can think of during class, and in bed, and at breakfast, and in the shower, and at lunchtime, is what would happen if minamoto-kun liked him as something more than just a friend. would they date? he wonders. would they ever break up? he hates the thought of that; disgusting as this sounds, sousuke likes to imagine them as soulmates, as people who fit together so well and have been together so long that nothing can really separate them. would minamoto-kun want to...kiss him? hug him? would minamoto-kun miss him while they were apart? sousuke wanted to stop his thoughts from straying into these dangerous, uncharted territories. but he couldn’t. the idea was just so nice, so w im eirdly appealing, that no matter how many times he told himself it was wrong, it was impossible, he couldn’t stay away from his fantasies.
it begun to get awkward, soon. sousuke was constantly on edge, and minamoto-kun was so normal, so plainly minamoto-kun. but that didn’t stop the paranoia seeping into his brain, until he was always flinching at the other’s movements, panicking whenever he started to speak, thing, he knows, he’s figured out everything, and our friendship is over because i’m too weird for him.
but the longer he waited, the longer the day never came, until sousuke let himself slip into the easy routine of secretly daydreaming about what it would be like if he told minamoto-kun about his feelings; of taking sneaky glances at him when sousuke was sure he wasn’t looking, and always making sure not to stare too long; to look away before their eyes met, and of course, of spewing insults at him on the daily to deflect suspicion.
it got to the point where sousuke was pretty confident in how well he’d been managing to hide his, well—his crush (there was no other way to put it, no matter how hard he thought about it), and how minamoto-kun couldn’t possibly have any sort of idea about sousuke’s own less-than-innocent ones.
and so, like a fool, he started to let his guard down.
(he’d always thought minamoto-kun was the idiot between them, but then, looking back on this, well. maybe sousuke had his stupid moments too.)
he started to believe that he could do pretty much anything and minamoto-kun would be too dense to notice, because sousuke thought he’d been really obvious so far, yet he hadn’t said anything. so sousuke began acting just a little friendlier. just a small amount, just as much as he could handle. he wanted to take it one step at a time, walking towards something he couldn’t really name.
sousuke wasn’t sure what exactly he was trying to get out of thinking so hard about it, other than preserving his friendship with minamoto-kun. all he knew for sure was that he wanted to be closer to minamoto-kun. sousuke wanted to be the one he came to whenever he was upset, or angry, or sad, or happy. it was so frustrating, wishing so hard to have friends. he still wasn’t fully used to a relationship where his friend would reciprocate equally. it was why he was even more desperate to stay on minamoto-kun’s good side, to stay closest to him. it didn’t matter that they were already best of friends. he wouldn’t let minamoto-kun get away.
it was with these thoughts in mind that he tried to become just that little bit nicer (?) to minamoto-kun, just to let people know that he was different to sousuke than all those other people.
the issue lay with the fact of the matter being: minamoto-kun was a lot less dense than he looked.
and sousuke probably should have expected it, really, what his with luck, but he didn’t. he didn’t anticipate that they’d be stuck in this particular position, again, in a god damn supply closet of all places. this time, they had been in the middle of class, doing a chemistry experiment. naturally, sousuke had to be too distracted by minamoto-kun’s—everything, and he crashed into a whole heap of test tubes, making a mess absolutely everywhere, and had been ordered out of the classroom to go and get a damn mop, goodness, teenage boys. to sousuke’s intense disdain (or delight?), minamoto-kun had accompanied him to help carry the cleaning supplies.
only, like an idiot, sousuke had rushed right into the closet all over again, trying to avoid the odd gaze minamoto-kun was giving him, and he was standing on his tiptoes trying to get the cleaning liquid (all too familiar), when minamoto-kun stepped in to pass it to him, and then all too quickly, as if they were in some shitty movie (what movie would have such a pathetic storyline?), the door slowly creaked shut.
he and minamoto-kun eyed each other in horror, hearing a worrying click. at least this time the lightbulb was on, albeit flickering, though sousuke didn’t exactly know if that was better, as it was doing nothing to conceal the redness on his face at the forced proximity. and even though they tried both pushing and pulling on the door, it just would not budge. maybe the only hope was to wait until someone was set to look for them and would inevitably (hopefully) find them trapped in this closet and come to sousuke’s rescue, because he was decidedly not handling this very well, thanks.
“why me,” minamoto-kun groaned softly to himself. sousuke’s heart thumped with guilt.
“w-well, it’s not every day you get the opportunity to be stuck in a supply closet with someone as cute as me,” he said, trying to lighten the mood. it was sort of working; he was pretty sure minamoto-kun could read between the lines and appreciate his half hearted effort.
“yeah, that’s true,” he said, and sousuke flushed just a little. minamoto-kun never agreed with him on it like that.
“say, mitsuba...don’t you think it’s kind of weird that we keep getting stuck alone together?” he went on, giving sousuke a grin.
“um, yeah, i guess—“ he tried, wishing minamoto-kun wouldn’t use such a weirdly suggestive tone of voice.
“and...” minamoto-kun leaned closer to him, “how does that make you feel?” his breath fanned hotly over sousuke’s face, and he was wearing a little smirk not unlike that of his older brother’s. sousuke shivered.
“wh-what do you mean? i’m terrified that a pervert like you will take advantage of me!” he squeaked, trying to push minamoto-kun away, only he had nowhere to go, because they were cramped inside a tiny supply closet, with him leaning over sousuke, who was just now awkwardly pressing his palms to minamoto-kun’s chest.
“sure,” he received a grin for his efforts. sousuke quietly wondered why minamoto-kun wasn’t being awkward and blushy. but wait, abort, he was way too close right now. sousuke didn’t remember it being like this before.
“mitsuba,” he whispered, right into sousuke’s ear, “you’re dodging the question.”
and what the hell was happening, exactly? why was sousuke’s heart thumping as if to its last beat? he wasn’t sure how he felt about this situation! and why was minamoto-kun so close again?
“i-i’m not really dodging anything,” sousuke tried, but even he knew it was weak, and a lie. was god set out to do him in today?
“good,” minamoto-kun hummed, and his hand was on sousuke’s waist, fingers cupping his cheek, and sousuke was so nervous because what exactly was happening, and then there were kissing.
they. were kissing.
minamoto-kun was willingly kissing him, on purpose.
and sousuke wasn’t pushing him away, either.
it was not the longest kiss, it couldn’t have lasted more than half a minute. and it didn’t exactly produce fireworks, effectively setting sousuke on fire, but his stomach was exploding with a warm, comforting feeling, and he decided he liked that. it wasn’t really the perfect kiss; it was a little messy, and it didn’t set off shooting starts inside him like in the movies, but sousuke liked it. and then, he processed what exactly was happening, and pulled away.
“mi-minanoto-kun...what was that?” sousuke asked, trying and failing to not sound shaky.
“i-it was a kiss,” he replied, looking a little less self assured now.
“well, yeah, i know it was a kiss, i was there,” sousuke huffed, rolling his eyes.
“okay, fine, if you need to be told, i like you!” minamoto-kun snapped, much to sousuke’s delight chagrin.
“i, but,” sousuke managed.
“are you going to say something?” minamoto-kun whined.
he couldn’t. he really didn’t think he’d be able to. “why would you chose the supply closet to confess in!” he blurted instead.
minamoto-kun flushed. “i didn’t exactly want to be stuck in here...i don’t know okay, sorry, the mood just felt right!”
sousuke didn’t really know what to say to that. he hadn’t planned this far ahead in his mind. “oh,” was all he could get out without sounding unnecessarily hostile. but alas, this was where their private conversation ended, because there was a weird clicking sound, and suddenly the door was freaking open with an obnoxious squeal. in the dim light, a pair of eyes stared back at them through the tiny crack in the door. the face of yokoo blinked at them as he edged it open carefully, and the pair all but fell out.
“why does this keep happening to you?” yokoo frowned, but if sousuke focused on the spot behind yokoo‘s head, peeking behind a wall, was tsukasa, amane’s annoying younger twin brother. he heard a giggle and the squeak of shoes before anyone else even noticed. sousuke decided to strangle tsukasa after school.
“i don’t know,” minamoto-kun was saying, face looking duly red and worried. sousuke thought maybe it hadn’t been all too bad, being trapped in that supply closet.
“i like you too,” he blurted again, feeling the god’s favourite idiot that did dumb things, after yokoo had started to retreat to the classroom, mop already in hand.
minamoto-kun gave him a wide-eyed look, but it only lasted a couple of seconds. “yeah, i know,” he said, sounding way too smug and pleased with himself.
sousuke gaped in shock. “what. what do you mean, ‘i know’.”
minamoto-kun only gave him that same proud expression. “of course i knew! you’ve been acting so suspicious these past couple of months! not that it wasn’t nice, though...”
sousuke took a moment to collect his thoughts, flushing. so that’s where that confidence had come from. he stuck his nose in the air and batted away minamoto-kun’s outstretched hand.
“i can’t believe you knew this whole time, jerk!!”