Chapter Text
“I wouldn't say no to a night with him, to be honest.”
Hokuto looks up from his cluttered notes, trying to refocus his eyes. He hasn't been actively listening to what they've been discussing, too focused on the actual task called studying. He raises his eyebrows as his other classmate speaks up too.
“What are you even saying man?! You're not even swinging that way!” There's a small chuckle at the end of his sentence and Hokuto frowns slightly, he's not quite in the mood to discuss sexualities, let alone a stranger's.
His classmates, Kuroki and Nao, aren't the brightest peas in the pod, but they make do. It's nice to try to socialize sometimes. This, however, seems like it's going to be a pretty useless conversation. They're hopeless gossips after all.
“Oh fuck you! I'm just saying it, you can't deny he's like, insanely gorgeous for a guy!” Kuroki says with wide gesticulation. He groans as Nao laughs at him but there's no denial.
“Who are you even talking about?” Hokuto pipes up between Nao's laughter and Kuroki's miserable whines. He's pretty sure he can't voice his own opinion on the matter unless he actually knows who they're talking about.
“Kyomoto Taiga, from the musical department! You know, blond hair, pale skin, and a jawline that could cut cheese?”
“Thanks for the wonderful description Kuroki, I appreciate it,” Hokuto chides as he pulls his glasses off, rubbing his eyes. “So, what's the big deal? You're in love or something?”
It's supposed to come off casual and joking but Kuroki doesn't quite get it.
“No way man, one night maybe, but getting real with him? Ain't gonna happen,” Kuroki laughs as he speaks, in the same way he always does when things are just a game. Hokuto is glad he's not actively hanging around the two of them. It would have been too much game for his tastes. “There are rumors going around that he got someone new every week? Knowing that like, the majority of the campus has gone to bed with him really turns me off.”
“Do you even know if that's true?” A frown appears on Hokuto’s face as he asks, genuinely interested now, leaning his chin on his hand because it really sounds like a rumor you don't want on your back.
“Who knows man, he's not really on our list anyway but what is it to you if it is?” Nao doesn't seem to put much thought into the matter, spinning one pen, and Hokuto can't really find a good answer either.
“I guess… it doesn't really have to do with me at all,” He shrugs, but his mind is whirling. All he can think of when he looks back on his notes is how Kyomoto would react if he knew about the rumors. Or maybe he already knows.
It takes him a week, a week filled with Kyomoto being on his mind constantly. Small things like “Would Kyomoto like this?”, “Is this something for Kyomoto?" and all things around him seemed to be connected to Kyomoto. He doesn't even know Kyomoto.
A soft, melodic voice fills the air as he walks down the hallway of the campus. He turns his head around to locate the source of the voice, intrigued by the way it wraps around the words he can't hear.
The door to the drama club's rehearsal room is adjacent and he can see the faint, yellow light seep through. Shuffling closer, he notices how the voice gets clearer, and when he pushes the door open, he sees Kyomoto sitting there with his guitar.
The light from the lone floor lamp only illuminates the scattered pieces of score sheets, casting shadows over Kyomoto's body. Hokuto holds his breath as he watches Kyomoto's fingers dance over the strings and the way the blond hair obstructs his face. It almost seems magical, watching him like this, wanting time to stop.
“That's beautiful,” His voice breaks the silence after the last note disappears and Hokuto just watches as Kyomoto flips around, eyes wide in surprise before he blinks owlishly.
“What are you doing here?”
There's a slight horror in his voice, volume barely higher than a whisper but not quite a hiss. Hokuto sees how he draws back, trying to put a distance between them without moving from the chair. The grip on the guitar also visibly tightens.
“Kyomoto Taiga, am I correct?” He takes a small step inside the room, looking around, but he knows Kyomoto's eyes are on him. As he walks closer and finally lays his full attention on Kyomoto, he gets a bit nervous.
Kyomoto is indeed gorgeous like no other, and Kuroki wasn't kidding with his description. As he looks closer, he can see the shape of Kyomoto's eyes, looking so round and innocent. Something he's never actually noticed before. Not that he's actually noticed anything about Kyomoto before.
Kyomoto nods slowly in response, his whole body stiff in defense as he watches Hokuto venture deeper into the room.
He hums as he traces his fingers over the tables positioned by the walls, wondering how many times a week Kyomoto spends here. Here, in this particular room.
"Do you have any business here, or?" Kyomoto asks, words straight to the point and the way his hard grip on his guitar doesn't go unhidden from Hokuto. It’s kind of adorable actually, and he briefly wonders if he’s developed some kind of dominant kink or something because the way Taiga seems to turn himself so small in his presence is weirdly attractive. He looks him straight in the eyes as he opens his mouth, words spilling out.
“Are the rumors true, that you keep switching partners every week?” His heart skips a beat when he asks, not because he's ashamed of asking, but because he's afraid of the truth. Even if he doesn’t quite know what he’ll do with the answer anyway, he’s just curious. At least that’s what he’s telling himself.
He might be afraid that the Kyomoto he's seeing right now might just be a facade, a bait, and the Kyomoto in the rumors is the real one. He hopes though, that it isn't the truth. This Kyomoto got to be the real one.
“What if I do?”
Kyomoto's answer is forward and defensive, and it's all it takes for Hokuto to feel a wave of relief. The way Kyomoto leans back and away from him, in an attempt to look casual about it, tells him how he doesn't want him to pry further.
He takes a seat on the table beside Kyomoto and just stares at him.
The way Kyomoto holds his guitar, how his hands and fingers look absolutely stunning despite the countless hours on the guitar, and how the hint of sweat covers his skin, makes Hokuto feel warm inside. Almost scared of himself. There's an attraction to Kyomoto that he doesn't know what to do with. How to describe or even how to handle it.
“Are you interested? I might consider you,” Kyomoto smirks as he leans his chin on one hand on the table where Hokuto is sitting, and his eyes gleam, and it sends shudders through Hokuto's whole body. He hopes it isn't too obvious, as he just chuckles in response, way too afraid to say any proper words, because he knows it'll only be a positive reply. He’d say yes to Kyomoto Taiga.
“You wouldn't be able to take it anyway,” Kyomoto continues with a snort without him even giving him a proper reply. There's something in the way Kyomoto speaks that triggers his competitiveness, and he has to hold himself back from challenging Kyomoto, so he stares at him instead, watching how Kyomoto turns his eyes away from him.
“You suck at lying, do you know that?” He leans in, placing one hand on the surface beside Kyomoto, half trapping him, face barely an inch from the other’s, and as he continues, he can see how they widen in shock, in fear. “The rumors are fake, right?”
Kyomoto draws a breath before backing away, away from Hokuto. In his eyes now, is doubt or anger. A much more fitting emotion for Kyomoto, if Hokuto could choose himself.
“What is it to you if they are or not?” Kyomoto's voice is sharp and louder than before.
Hokuto looks straight at him before closing the gap between them, trapping the other between the table and him. Kyomoto doesn't even flinch, and it only makes it harder to resist pushing the limits. How far can he go before the other snaps? How far would Kyomoto allow him to pry?
“I don’t particularly care about the rumors if I’m being honest,” he admits, and it’s true. Rumors be damned, he just wants to get to know Kyomoto more. There’s something about the older that is so damn attractive, and he can’t help but be attracted to him. Be drawn to him.
“Well, you better stay away from me or you'll be another on the list they'll bother,” The hint of hurt and worry in Kyomoto's voice catches his attention, and he finally understands why Kyomoto is always alone.
Kyomoto is fine on his own, putting a distance from others to prevent them from getting hurt. Kyomoto knows all about the rumors (true or not), and he probably has had his share of people getting hurt from them. He takes a breath before he opens his mouth again, unable to stop his own thoughts.
“I'll show them who you really are,”
The response he gets is immediate and Kyomoto seethes, turning to him so sharply his hair flies around his face, and his eyes turn sharp and narrow.
“I can fucking take care of myself, thank you very much, Matsumura,”
Hokuto is halfway out of the room when he replies, looking over his shoulder and hand resting on the doorframe as he locks eyes with Kyomoto.
“Mark my words, I'll show you too.”
“Try me.” Kyomoto's words fall deaf on his ears because he's set on making everyone see Kyomoto in a new light. Gone will the old, rumored Kyomoto be, and the new will be without any bad rumors and his talent will shine. Not that Hokuto has any idea where to start but he guess befriending Kyomoto is step one - however you do that.
He didn't realize until later that Kyomoto had said his name.