Chapter Text
Today is going to be a good day. Kou can feel it, he can tell. As he moves throughout his schedule, floating from class to class, he can’t help a smile from spreading across his face. Yokoo and Satou, of course, questioned him about it. Though, he couldn’t tell them (not that they would believe him in the first place.)
Finally, after what feels like a year and a second both at once, the end of the day rolls around. Kou nearly skips out of class, he’s so excited. Unfortunately, he still has hours more to wait, but he can start preparing right now, at least. So, instead of heading to the girl’s bathroom, he changes course to the school library.
Kou has never been the brightest in his class, not at all, but he’s always been praised for his determination. He greets the librarian with a smile and sets off to find his books. Astronomy has never been a strong suit of his, but he’s at least always found it interesting. It was always fascinating to Kou how huge the universe is (that alone, he thinks, should be reason enough that they aren’t alone in the universe, but that isn’t what he should be worried about right now.)
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Kou sets off to find the astronomy books. Thankfully, it doesn’t take him all that long. There are far too many for him to read before nightfall comes, so he picks out the few with the best looking covers and takes them to a table in the middle of the library. Not many people are there so the library remains quiet as he carefully sets down his stack of books. The only sound is the occasional flipping of pages or murmuring between students. It’s peaceful.
With a soft sigh, Kou leans back in his chair and flips open the first book. The page is filled with bright, colorful pictures of stars and nebulas, each with a description next to them explaining all of their most defining traits and how and where to spot them. It’s almost overwhelming, the amount of information shoved into just two singular pages, but Kou starts reading intently anyway, forcing himself to focus. Reading can be a bit difficult sometimes for him, and it’s not rare for his mind to wander to just about anything else, but he has too much to soak in and not enough time to sit there and daydream.
There’s only so much one can read about stars, though, as interesting as they may be, and Kou finds himself after a while shutting the book in frustration. He decides to switch gears to the next book on the top of the pile, opening it up to a random page. He comes across pages and pages of information on constellations and zodiacs. It’s more intriguing than stars. The sketches covering the pages are beautiful, almost as much so as the real night sky, and he finds himself having an easier time reading.
Kou sits there for a painful few hours, reading about more stars and planets and galaxies and even the moon. Eventually, his eyelids start to fall and when he can’t comprehend a paragraph without reading it three times over, he decides to call it a day. He doesn’t have much more time until the library closes, anyway, so he deems it late enough to leave. He hopes he’s learned enough for tonight.
As he’s closing the library door behind him, Kou spots Nene at the end of the hall, just about to leave the school. He smiles, momentarily forgetting all about his fatigue in favor of calling out to Nene and jogging towards her. She stops and turns when she hears him, grinning back when she sees who it is.
“Kou-kun!” she greets him when he catches up to her, clasping her hands together. “Where were you today? You didn’t come to the bathroom like usual.”
Kou scratches his cheek with a nervous chuckle. “Ah, right,” he says, looking away. “I was studying.” Nene furrows her eyebrows a bit, looking at him quizzically.
“Studying?” she parrots. “Why? Finals aren’t for a while.”
“Um,” Kou sputters, trying to think of an excuse. How does he just casually tell her that he’s trying to impress his date tonight? How does he tell her who it’s with?
So, like any logical person, he makes up a cool excuse and smoothly changes the subject.
“N-no reason,” he stutters, voice cracking and shifting up an octave at the end. Yep. Real cool. “How was toilet cleaning?”
Nene is either merciful or just oblivious to Kou’s internal panic because she doesn’t even bat an eye. Instead, her shoulders slump and she pouts a bit. “Terrible!” she whines. “Hanako-kun decided that just cleaning the toilets today wasn’t enough. He was acting really weird, and now I’m tired because I had to clean almost everything!” Kou stifles a chuckle. He doesn’t mean to laugh, but that does sound a lot like something Hanako would do.
“I’m sorry, senpai,” Kou apologizes, because he can’t imagine having to clean the toilets every day. Kou’s lucky he only gets off with the insufferable teasing (and he hates that, as of recently, even that doesn’t seem to bother him anymore).
“I just wish he didn’t keep me so late—“ Nene stops, perking up. Kou tilts his head in a silent question that is quickly answered when Nene pulls out her phone and blanches looking at it. “Ah, I really need to get home! Sorry, Kou-kun!” she exclaims hastily, gathering up her belongings and heading back to the school exit.
“That’s alright. See you tomorrow, senpai!” he calls after her as she pushes open the door, waving before she disappears out of sight. Kou supposes he should leave for a bit, grab something to eat and then come back, but the sun is already starting to set and he decides against it. He’d have to be back here soon anyway, it’s no use leaving at this point.
So he decides to wander the school for just a little bit, grabbing some leftovers from lunch from the cafeteria as he walks around. He passes a few teachers and even fewer students leaving, though none of them seem to point out that he’s still there so late.
Before long, Kou finds the sun fully set and himself right outside the girl’s bathroom of the old school building. He takes a moment to collect his nerves. He’s never done this before. He’s scared, of course. What if he messes something up? What if he ruins everything? What if—
The door swings open before he’s ready, revealing Hanako with a confused expression. “Kid?” Ah, too late now, Kou supposes. He looks up from the floor to the apparition in front of him. A teasing grin spreads across Hanako’s lips. “Pfffft,” he laughs, eyes squinting. “What were you doing?”
Kou shakes off the embarrassment, crossing his arms. “I was just about to open the door,” he says with what might be might be considered a glare if it had any real malice behind it. “What were you doing?”
Hanako looks nearly delighted, in some strange way. “I was waiting for you to open the door and pull your head out of your—“
Kou quickly shuts him up with a hand over his mouth. “Alright, just move out of the way so I can come in already,” he grumbles, more forcefully moving Hanako than letting him move himself. Hanako doesn’t seem to mind though, and floats out of the way for Kou to enter the bathroom.
But that quickly leads to awkward silence. Kou stares at Hanako, waiting for him to do something (he’s new at this, alright? Cut him some slack), but Hanako only stares right back. At least he seems amused.
“Sooo,” Hanako drawls, the corner of his lips curving up. “What’re we doing tonight?” Right. Kou didn’t tell him. He wanted it to be a surprise. This also means, he realizes with a grimace, he has to take control. Perfect. He’s totally going to mess this up. But at least the tension is gone, Kou tells himself. One less thing to worry about.
He forces a confident grin onto his face. “Follow me,” he says, refusing to elaborate more even when Hanako asks, and leads him out of the bathroom. Let’s be honest, a bathroom is a terrible place for a first date. Kou can’t bear the thought of doing this inside an icky bathroom, of all places. He has higher standards than that. (Kou inwardly groans at how much he sounds like Mitsuba. He really needs to stop spending so much time with him.)
Hanako is mostly silent as they trek through the hallway of the third floor, hovering just behind Kou as he walks. It’s still a little too silent, but Kou figures that will change soon, so he does nothing. Besides, it gives him that time he was deprived of earlier to calm himself.
Soon enough, they arrive at the stairs to the roof. Hanako glances at Kou before following him up. Hanako, such a gentleman, speeds ahead to hold open the door. Kou starts to thank him, but no sooner than the words leave his mouth is the door slamming in his face, Hanako already on the other side. Kou huffs but he isn’t all too surprised.
“Asshole,” he mutters as he opens the door, rubbing his nose where the door hit him. It doesn’t hurt; nothing compared to the wounds he’s gotten training, but he’s just a little pissed and has a point to prove, here. A point, so it seems, that Hanako immediately ignores.
Just as Kou opens his mouth to chastise him, the ghost cuts him off. “Now what?” he asks, still grinning. Kou wants nothing more than to wipe that stupid grin off of his face (though he has to stop that train of thought when his brain thinks of how he could do that).
Kou huffs and sets his things on the ground, pulling a blanket out of his backpack, and arranges it near the edge of the roof. Hanako watches him, drifting over to help smooth it out. Kou sits down, careful not to crinkle it up again too much, and pats the stop next to him for Hanako to sit. Thankfully enough, he does without preamble, happily taking his spot just inches away from Kou. Kou would be terrified of the proximity if it were with anyone else. Instead, it just feels peaceful.
Turning back to his bookbag, Kou takes out a small tupperware. Hanako leans over his shoulder to see what it is and Kou doesn’t miss the near tangible sparkle in his eyes when he finds it to be donuts. Hanako yanks the container out of his hands before Kou can even set it down on the blanket, tearing off the lid all too quickly. Kou can only laugh as he shoves a donut into his mouth, humming happily. (Kou hates how cute he finds the sight.)
“Don’t eat them all,” Kou laughs as Hanako takes a bite out of his second donut. Taking one for himself, Kou makes sure to eat his donut considerably slower than the boy seated next to him. “You’re going to end up choking.”
Hanako stops, lowering him with a deadpan gaze. “Kid,” is all he says, but that’s enough. Right. He’s dead. Can’t exactly die if he’s already a ghost (though he supposes Mitsuba proved that wrong a while ago).
“Sorry,” Kou says, scratching the back of his neck. He fears that suffocating silence will return, but Hanako is merciful and continues to eat his donut, this time slowing down a bit. He leans back on his hands when he’s done, staring up at the sky.
“Isn’t it beautiful?” Kou hears Hanako nearly whisper, almost so quiet he doesn’t hear it. He turns his head back to Hanako, but the spirit doesn’t seem to notice, or at least mind. He just continues staring with his head tipped back, transfixed on the endless sky above them. Kou follows his gaze. Hanako is right, it really is beautiful. With the school closed for the day and most of the lights off, the sky is filled to the brim with stars. There’s so many, Kou can’t help but gasp. He’s never seen so many stars at once. Sure, they always looked incredible in photographs, but seeing it in real life, it’s just short of breathtaking. The moon is full, Kou made sure of that before planning this, and seemingly lights up the sky almost as bright as the sun would. Kou can see why Hanako loves this so much. Who wouldn’t love such a sight?
Kou wants to say something, anything to break the silence. Even though it’s not uncomfortable, rather the opposite, he can’t help but think he ruining things, somehow. He doesn’t even know where to go from here. The stars twinkling above them are a good enough distraction for now, sure, but what happens when Hanako gets bored of just staring at them? But Kou’s thoughts begin to die down when he looks back into Hanako’s eyes. He can tell Hanako could never get bored of this. Kou supposes he’s lived for decades and still isn’t bored of it now. Maybe he made the right choice with this date, after all.
So instead of fighting it, Kou decides to enjoy the silence while it lasts. He grabs another donut, carefully taking a bite as he traces the stars with his eyes, trying to pinpoint the constellations he saw earlier. But there are just so many stars. How is he supposed to find a certain cluster of them when he’s searching through thousands?
Kou takes another bite of his donut, focusing hard on finding at least something to point out, when he hears Hanako shift beside him. He slides down, leaning towards Kou as he rests his head on his lap, never taking his eyes off of the sky above them. Kou’s breath hitches, and suddenly, he has something much more interesting to look at than the sky. Kou’s eyes stop studying the stars and train on the boy below him. If Hanako notices him staring he says nothing. Instead, he hardly blinks as Kou’s eyes travel over his face, taking in every detail; the way his eyes reflect the moonlight, the way his eyelids droop just the slightest bit with the weight of sleep, considering the time. How his skin looks milky and smooth and so soft to the touch, though lacking any sort of rosy tint that would indicate the flow of blood through his viens. How he has the faintest of freckles adorning his face that Kou has never noticed before. How his lips are pale, almost as pale as his skin. His eyes run along his jawline, the way it’s sharper than most boys’ at his school. The way he has just the tiniest bit of stubble, peach fuzz, on his chin, that’s standing up in the cool winter night air.
The way he could almost look alive, despite what Kou knows.
“You’re shameless.” Hanako’s voice brings him out of his trance and he locks eyes with the apparition grinning at him. Kou feels his face flush and he glances away, focusing on anything else but Hanako. He’s an idiot to think he wouldn’t say anything, or at least notice. This is Hanako, after all. “You were staring. How rude. Have you ever even been on a date before, kid?”
Kou scoffs like the answer is obvious, though it’s not very effective when his face is beat red. “Of course I haven’t!” he proclaims, trying to find a place to set his hands without hitting Hanako. They feel very awkward, out of place, and he realizes a bit too late how stiffly he’s sitting. He needs to relax, he knows, but that’s easier said than done with someone’s head in your lap.
“Oh~” Hanako singsongs in a teasing voice that Kou has come to both love and hate. “So this is your first date, huh? That’s unexpected!”
Kou tries his damnedest to not become even more flustered. “Can you not say it like that?” he hisses, ignoring Hanako’s snickering. “And what do you mean, ‘That’s unexpected?’” At least that gets the ghost to stop laughing at him. He simply hums, looking back up at Kou as he seems to put even more of his weight onto Kou’s lap. He’s not heavy, so Kou can hardly mind. It’s just strange, and cold. Very, very cold. Kou silently thanks Teru for reminding him to bring his sweatshirt to school earlier that morning.
“Well, I would think being part of the ‘great Minamoto Clan’--” He makes air-quotes, grinning at Kou’s unamused stare, “--would have its perks.” Kou can only grimace.
“I don’t know what ‘perks’ you’re thinking of, but you’d be sorely mistaken if you think it’s anything good,” Kou grumbles, finally deciding to just lean back on his hands so he can gaze up at the sky again. Surprisingly, Hanako doesn’t press further than that. Instead, he follows Kou’s eye back up to the stars and is captivated once again.
It’s a few minutes before Hanako speaks again, pointing up at the sky as he talks. “See that row of three stars, there?” he asks, glancing back at Kou. Kou follows where his finger is pointing and quickly finds the spot Hanako is talking about. He recognizes it, knows he saw it in his book earlier. Now, which one was that?
Kou nods. “Isn’t that… Cass--er, Cassandra?” he tries. But from the way Hanako stares at him for a moment before bursting into laughter, Kou can tell that he’s definitely wrong.
“Cassandra?” Hanako asks between wheezing giggles. Kou huffs. It’s not that funny. “Do you mean Cassiopeia?” Oh, is that what it’s called? Kou can’t remember. Maybe he tried to cram a bit too much into his brain. He can hardly match the names to the different alignments of stars. “No, that’s Orion’s belt. See the three stars above and two stars below?” Hanako points again, and this time, Kou shuts up and listens. He finds the information a bit easier to remember when it’s Hanako teaching him. “That’s the rest of Orion. His bow is to the right.” Kou nods along. It’s interesting, how someone came up with such things just from staring at a small group of stars in the sky.
“See that zigzag there?” Hanako continues. Kou hums, staring up at the spot. “That’s Cassiopeia.” Right. Kou remembers now (kinda). He glances down at Hanako to say something, but he instantly forgets when he sees the soft smile, the genuine smile, Hanako wears as he talks about his passion. Kou can’t dare to interrupt him, so just listens as Hanako points out more constellations, watching in awe as his smile grows. Kou doesn’t think he’s ever seen the ghost like this, and he feels honored to be a witness to such wholesomeness and vulnerability.
“What’s your star sign?” Hanako asks after a while, breaking from his rambling. Kou’s a bit thrown off at the sudden question, having expected him to start explaining another constellation. When Kou hesitates, Hanako tries again. “You know, your zodiac?”
“I know,” Kou says, managing to find his words again. “Uh, it’s Gemini.” Hanako hums, eyes tracing the stars.
“You’re in luck!” he exclaims, arm shooting back up at the sky to point again and nearly hitting Kou in the process. “Gemini is visible this time of year. Right there. See the almost rectangle shape there with the brighter stars? That’s it. It’s supposed to be the twins holding hands, see? That star right there is where they’re linked.” Kou watches intently as Hanako shows him the constellation. He’s never seen it before. Or, he most likely has, he just didn’t recognize it. He has a feeling he won’t be able to miss it anymore.
The evening stretches on forever, not that Kou can complain. He soaks up every moment of it, not even caring as the cold starts to nip at his cheeks from being up on the roof for hours on end. After multiple tubs of donuts and too many mix-ups with Kou trying to remember the stars, the clock strikes ten and Kou counts each toll of the bell. He hadn’t realized it had become so late. Hanako gives him a quick glance, both of them knowing Kou needs to be home soon. Teru will flip if Kou’s home after curfew again, and he knows he’ll be questioned if he is. And, well, Kou is the worst liar of everyone he knows. He doubts he’ll be able to keep his new boyfriend (is that what they are now? Kou hadn’t even thought to ask) a secret for very long if he’s asked about it directly.
Hanako seems to understand as well, pulling himself up from the boy’s lap. Kou’s legs feel stiff from sitting in one position for so long as he stands up, but he can’t find it in himself to care. He stretches, watching as Hanako cleans up the blanket. Kou also notes how he’s more chilled out in the evenings, it seems, less teasing and more genuine. Kou finds himself smiling at that. It’s nice to see him act like this, for a change.
“This was fun,” Kou says as he takes the rolled-up blanket and empty donut containers from Hanako. “We should do this again.” Hanako grins. Apparently, Kou notices, he still likes to tease in the evenings, too.
“Are you asking me on a second date?” he asks, his grin turning more sly. Kou hates how it makes him flustered. It shouldn’t. It’s probably just because it’s late.
Kou tries to play it cool, running a hand through his hair and shrugging like it hadn’t even occurred to him (he ignores that his hand gets caught in a tangle for a moment and that his shoulders jump up just a bit too high). “I guess,” he answers, voice a bit higher than he’d have liked. Hanako tries to hold in a laugh, Kou can tell. He supposes he deserves it. He’s already made enough of a fool of himself tonight and Hanako hasn’t run off yet, so he would consider that a win.
“Hmm,” Hanako sounds, putting a finger to his chin and smiling playfully. “Maybe.” Kou stops packing his bag to look at him.
“What do you mean, ‘maybe’?” he asks, frowning at Hanako. The spirit’s stupid beam never wavers, though. Hanako scoots a bit closer and Kou’s heart lodges in his throat. He can only watch as Hanako moves to be only inches away.
“Well,” Hanako says, lowering his voice a bit. Kou wouldn’t be able to decipher the feelings he has at this moment if he had his entire life to. “Maybe you could convince me?” If Kou’s face has ever felt warmer than this, then Kou is certain he should be long dead. He can practically feel the fire flaring up behind his skin, making a bead of sweat drip down his face when he thinks about what Hanako means by “convincing.” Of course, it shouldn’t warrant such a reaction, and he’s sure Hanako has mostly-innocent intentions, but Kou’s a mess and can’t help but to overreact and blow things way out of proportion.
The apparition only laughs, though he never pulls away. “Kid, I’m joking,” he says, tone lighter than before. It gives Kou that much needed relief to calm himself enough to at least conceive rational thought. “I didn’t think you would.”
“Would what?” Kou asks before he can properly think it through. And how much he wishes he did. He’s sure he knows exactly what, but he knows he’ll never do anything if his suspicions aren’t cleared (not that he’s planning to do anything).
Hanako raises a single eyebrow, chuckling. “Kiss me,” he answers, almost too casual for Kou’s liking. And Kou had prepared himself for those words, knew that they were coming, but his stomach still ties itself into a tight not, stubbornly refusing to come undone no matter how much he tries to control his breathing.
“Ah, n-no--” Kou stutters, but he stops himself before he can say something stupid again. Hanako looks a bit surprised, and Kou counts that as a win. “I mean,” he tries again, taking a breath, “I…can.” His voice is nearly inaudible in the end, and Kou isn’t even sure if Hanako heard him. But the spirit stiffens a bit as if he didn’t expect that and Kou can tell at once that he absolutely did hear him.
Hanako is quick to regain himself, though. “Oh, really?” he teases, only worsening Kou’s growing nerves. “Then do it.” Hanako is smiling, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. Maybe he’s nervous, too, Kou thinks to himself as he manages to lean forward an inch, then stops. Ah, he can’t do this. He wants to, he really does, but his body is frozen. He couldn’t move if his life depended on it.
Hanako seems to notice this, too, much to Kou’s dismay (or maybe it’s a good thing). He snickers, poking Kou on the forehead and effectively snapping him out of it. “Scared?” Hanako asks, though it’s more fond than anything. It catches Kou off guard for a moment before he nods. “I knew you wouldn’t be able to do it.” Hanako sighs, but he doesn’t sound upset.
Kou watches Hanako cautiously as he shifts a bit, teasing smile replaced with a softer one, one that loosens the knot in Kou’s stomach, if only a little bit. “Can I kiss you, then?” he asks. Kou can only manage a nod, not trusting his voice. Hanako reaches out a cold hand and places it carefully on Kou’s cheek, causing him to shiver at the freezing contact. He leans forward again and he’s so close that Kou squeezes his eyes shut tight, bracing himself. After a moment of nothing, he opens his eyes back up. Hanako is still just as close but is inspecting Kou with a thoughtful expression.
“Relax,” he whispers. If he needed to breathe air to survive, Kou is certain that he would be able to feel Hanako’s breath against his skin. He nods ever so slightly, letting his eyes slide shut gently this time. He takes a breath and then feels it, the firm press of lips against his own. It’s cold, shockingly so, and it takes a moment for Kou to think to kiss back. He’s never done this before, he knows he’s going to be terrible at it, but he mirrors Hanako’s movements and prays it’s enough.
After far too long and yet not long enough, Hanako pulls away. Kou feels dazed, nerves shot, and the cold isn’t the only thing making him shake. He stares at Hanako for a moment before averting his gaze, not being able to hold eye contact for long. Hanako moves forward again and Kou expects it to be another kiss, but he finds himself just as happy when Hanako wraps his arms around him in a hug, raising his chin to place it on top of Kou’s head.
“You’re a horrible kisser,” Hanako informs him with a snicker. Kou can only groan, lightly swatting the apparition on the arm.
“Give me a break, it’s my first time,” he grumbles, burrowing his face into Hanako’s shoulder. But Hanako pulls away from the hug and pulls Kou’s face up with a cold hand back on his cheek.
“Then maybe you’ll be better at it the second time,” Hanako suggests, leaning in again. Kou rolls his eyes but places his arms around Hanako’s waist anyway with a small smile.
“Why can’t you just ask for another kiss normally?” he complains, but still grants Hanako what he wants and leans in to meet him halfway, smiling into the kiss. He knows he’s weak when it comes to Hanako, but Kou decides that Teru can wait just a few more minutes because right now, the most important thing to him is kissing the boy in his arms.