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After four days the bruises that Sousuke had left on Kou are now fading away, after their night at the Halloween carnival.
Kou blushes remembering the way he and Sousuke held hands the whole night, marveling at how tiny and soft Sousuke's hands are compared to his own.
Almost everyday Sousuke mutters about how he was going to get Tsukasa back for it, both knowing for a fact that Tsukasa was the one responsible for scaring them. They both are trying to get those thumb drives from Tsukasa, with the footage from the bodycam’s they wore in the Hell of Mirrors maze.
Out of the two of them Kou wasn’t as upset, he has always enjoyed being scared; Kou and his siblings went to haunted houses every year together. Though Kou had tried for years to get Sousuke to go with them he always refused, from the healing bruises on his arms and shoulders Kou now knew why Sousuke refused.
A smile forms on Kou’s face thinking back on Sousuke jumping into his arms out of pure fear, a blush also dusting over his cheeks.
Today Kou is sitting at the usual cafe waiting for Sousuke to show up, all in hopes that the two can spend some together and catch up.
Just as Kou was about to message Sousuke, the pink haired boy walks through the cafe's entrance. Kou goes to stand and move over to him just as Tsukasa appears beside him, draping his arms around Sousukes’ shoulders, the two talking idly.
Kou drops back into his seat just watching the two interact together, they seem so comfortable around each other.
Even with Sousuke threatening to kill Tsukasa for the stunt he pulled at the carnival a few days ago, they are both smiling.
Once Sousuke and Tsukasa make it to the counter to order, with Tsukasa still hanging off of Sousukes’ shoulders, they still haven’t noticed Kou sitting there watching them.
Kou watches as Tsukasa pays for both of their drinks, Tsukasa making a face at Sousuke when he didn’t thank Tsukasa but made some kind of comment instead. The two boys just continue to talk in hushed voices together as they wait for their drinks, thanking Mei as she slides them across the counter to their waiting hands.
Tsukasa, who is still draped over Sousuke, shouts goodbye to Mei as they walk out.
Lowering his head Kou reaches for his phone to message Sousuke, asking what the boy was up to and if he was free to get together. Silently waiting for a ping to alert him of a new message, hoping that Sousuke will say he was free and that they could meet up.
Finally after twenty minutes his phone pings with a response from Sousuke stating that he had plans tonight, but not saying he was with Tsukasa or anything just that he had plans.
Setting his phone back on the table Kou stands heading toward the counter to get another coffee, in hopes that moving around will shake the weird feeling he has.
Mei gives Kou a happy smile double checking he was getting his usual, Kou nods his head yes staring behind him toward the door Sousuke and Tsukasa had walked out of.
Kou gets startled out of his thoughts by a hand on his, spinning back around to notice the look of concern on Mei’s face.
Kou just smiles an empty smile, hoping Mei lets it go.
Thanking Mei for the coffee Kou goes to move back to his table but freezes and asks, “Hey Mei, I was wondering, do Sousuke and Tsukasa hang out a lot?”
Taking a moment to think about the question Mei shrugs, “Yeah they are pretty close, they have been coming in together for the last couple of weeks I think.”
With a stiff nod and whispered thanks, Kou finally shuffles back toward his table in a worse mood than before.
Finishing up his third cup of coffee Kou gathers his belongings, stuffing them all into his bag roughly, waving a quick goodbye in Mei’s direction. Stopping right outside of the door to notice the light rain sprinkling down thinking this is a perfect way to end the day.
Quickly unlocking his door, shuffling through, and throwing his bag onto the floor, Kou slides his shoes off not even bothering to put his slippers on, moving toward his room to just lay down.
Kou couldn’t help but think back to what Mei had told him at the cafe, though Kou was hoping he was overreacting about this and it isn’t what he thinks.
The longer Kou lays there the more he keeps thinking about it all, he eventually drifts off to sleep with that lingering image dancing through his mind.
The next morning Kou wakes to the shrill sound of his alarm, today Kou doesn’t have any classes but he works a twelve hour shift at the restaurant.
Standing Kou felt heavier, like there was a weight on his chest pulling him down. Knowing almost instantly that today was going to be a long and grueling day,
Making it to work early Kou goes to Satou, practically begging him to make Kou a coffee. Resting on a bar stool waiting silently for his promised coffee Kou finds himself thinking back on what had happened yesterday at the cafe.
Just thinking about it upsets Kou even more, as he silently stews in his negative thoughts Satou just watches as his friends eyes darken to a stormy blue. Setting down Kou’s coffee Satou reaches over and flicks the blonde on the forehead, shaking him out of whatever thoughts are running wild.
Satou doesn’t have to say anything for Kou to know he was worried about him. Thanking Satou for his coffee and trying, unsuccessfully, to ease his friends' worry Kou moves back toward the kitchen.
After a grueling and hectic shift with: double the amount of projected guests, two new prep cooks, a broken dishwasher, and three fires, Kou is drained.
Resting in the back alley, sitting on some crates and leaning against the wall, Kou tries to relax a bit before doing one last run through before he leaves for the night.
Reaching for his phone to message Sousuke about his night and double checking they were still meeting up at Kou’s place for movies and takeout. Almost instantly Kou’s phone pings with a new message from Sousuke, Kou’s expression drops as he reads over the words again.
Sousuke apologized saying he was busy with other plans and how sorry he was for not remembering to tell him earlier. The little sliver of a good mood fades and is replaced with rage, Kou messages him back saying, ‘That’s fine. Have fun.’
Even being pissed off at Sousuke for canceling last minute he knew he couldn’t send a pissed off message.
So Kou goes through finishing his night at work barely talking to anyone, they all are shocked to see their sunshine being pissed off. Some went to Satou to ask what was wrong but all he could say was it was personal, Satou not even knowing for sure himself.
The moment Kou walks through his apartment door he just moves straight toward his room and throws himself on the bed.
Kou has heard from Teru-nii and Nene that you should never go to bed angry but he didn’t care. He was happy to feel the warm and inviting tendrils of sleep clawing at him, dragging him into a fitful sleep.
Today was Kou’s day off of work and school, normally he would spend the day catching up on homework and cleaning. This week he was actually all caught up on everything and his apartment was nice and clean, the only thing needing to get done is some laundry.
Thinking back on it Kou remembers why he was so ahead on everything, it was because he and Sousuke were supposed to hang out today.
The mere thought of Sousuke annoyed him, pushing the pink haired boy out of his thoughts Kou sets out to finish his laundry. Glancing toward his clock he realized he woke up at eight in the morning, even without an alarm Kou wakes up early nowadays.
Finishing up his laundry Kou washes up throwing on some jeans and a graphic tee, deciding to go shopping for groceries for the following two weeks.
Stopping by the cafe beforehand for a caffeine fix for the day, knowing that he is definitely going to need the energy.
Mei wasn’t at the cafe today, which was a blessing to Kou given his bad mood, so Kou placed his order with another barista. Walking over to the side as he waits for his order, his eyes scanning over the cafe to kill time.
Feeling his phone vibrating in his pocket to notify him of a new message, he was debating on whether or not to look to see who it was when his name was called and his drink was ready to go.
Shrugging it off Kou grabs his drink and heads out to the store, thinking about what all he wanted to make for meals the next two weeks.
The entire trip Kou didn’t bother to check his phone, still in too foul of a mood and not wanting to actually talk to anyone if he didn’t have to. Lugging all of his bags up the stairs all he tried thinking about was what he was making for dinner tonight, and if he should make a little something for a late lunch.
Just outside of his apartment stood a familiar figure, one that Kou could pick out anywhere, pacing back and forth the very source of Kou’s anger.
Sousuke looks worried and maybe a little panicked glancing at his phone like he was waiting for someone to call, for some reason that annoyed Kou even more. Clearing his throat Sousuke finally stops his pacing to stare down the blonde, a look of shock and then relief flashing over his features.
Before Sousuke could say anything Kou states that he is in his way, Sousuke stepping aside with his brows raised in question. The blonde boy moves to unlock his door but stops to turn on Sousuke and ask, “Why are you here?”
Sousukes’ eyebrows nearly reached his hairline at his shock, yes it was a simple question but Sousuke thought it was obvious why he was there.
So that is exactly what Sousuke says, “Don’t you remember, we made plans to hang out today. I have been messaging you for hours now, why haven’t you been picking up?”
The expression on Kou’s face was cold and detached when you replied, “Sorry I figured you were going to cancel on me again, so I made other plans.”
At that Sousuke didn’t even know how to respond, he just stood there with his mouth agape shocked at not only his words but his expression.
After a few seconds Sousuke snaps out of his shocked state to apologize, “Kou I’m sorry but, something came up last night I didn’t mean to cancel last minute.” Kou merely shrugs him off, opening his door to set his groceries just inside when he feels Sousuke move closer.
Looking back at Sousuke with the same cold expression Kou clariflies, “Sorry you wasted your time but I’m busy today so we can’t hang out. I bet Tsukasa is free so why not call him, you two do spend all of your time together anyway, sorry Mitsuba .”
Closing the door right on Sousuke, not even giving him a chance to respond.
Kou knows that he was being cruel for not only shutting the door in his face but letting some of his anger come out, but he was just so upset at Sousuke. He was keeping something from Kou and he knew it, but Kou knows that Sousuke will never tell him.
In all of their years of being friends Sousuke always kept quiet about his relationships, never introducing Kou to them, this is just like all of the other times.
Only this time Kou didn’t want to deal with Sousuke sneaking around and hiding it from him.
It had bothered Kou before and upset him, now it's different because now Kou knows how he feels for Sousuke.
After the Halloween carnival Kou realized that he was in love with Sousuke, yes Kou had always treated Sousuke differently. It took having Sousuke in his arms to finally cement to him just how special he was.
But now that's all over.
Now Kou can’t just sit by and watch Sousuke, his Sousuke, be with someone else. Kou knows he can’t sit there and pretend to be happy for him, not right now, so for the time being Kou knows he needs space.
For now Kou has to try to bury his romantic feelings so that he and Sousuke can just go back to being friends. He has to accept that Sousuke doesn’t feel the same, and that if he is happy then Kou will be happy too.