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"Oh, Tart-kun! Please, you can't leave! I love you!"
"Anya-kun, I have a question."
"Pudding-chan..."
"Anya-kun, have you ever had a girlfriend?"
"Tart-kun, please—"
"Ooh, or have you ever kissed anyone?"
"I swear I'll come back, Pudding-chan. Because... I love you too."
"Anya-kun, have you ever-"
"I swear, if you don't shut up right now, I will punch you, Bakatsuki!"
Akatsuki raised his hands in surrender, silently stepping away.
With a sigh, Anya closed the shitty manga he was reading. Did Akatsuki really not have anything other than terribly-written romances involving foods? Apparently not.
Anya glanced up at Akatsuki, who was now fidgeting with his hands, looking rather upset a safe distance from the bed. Good. Whenever Akatsuki got all close to him like he just did, Anya's heart always seemed to skip a beat, and it felt as if butterflies had decided his stomach was their new home. Anya told himself it was just annoyance at how his personal space was being invaded.
Akatsuki was now glancing up at Anya through his eyelashes, bottom lip jutted out. Anya couldn't watch that idiot mope around any longer. "What were you saying? I was ignoring you, sorry."
Truth be told, Anya heard every word of it. And as much as he'd rather avoid a topic like that (he didn't do that whole feelings crap. Just because his face felt hot when Akatsuki flashed him a smile and called his name doesn't mean anything), Akatsuki's pouty face could win anyone over.
Within a second, Akatsuki perked up and grinned widely. He moved to sit opposite Anya on the bed, pushing his legs back to make room. He was extremely lucky Anya was getting better at managing his anger.
"I asked if you've ever been kissed, Anya-kun," Akatsuki repeated cheerfully. "I never have, but you're pretty handsome so I thought maybe you've had a girlfriend in the past!"
Wait. "You think I'm handsome?" Come on, heart, don't betray him now.
"Of course! The bags under your eyes might put a few people off, though," Akatsuki says, frowning in thought.
"What was that?" Anya growled, giving Akatsuki his best passive-aggressive smile. At this point, he couldn't tell whether his cheeks were heating up from embarrassment or anger.
"But I think it gives you a certain charm." Akatsuki quickly added with a glint in his eye, as if that would make it better.
Ah. Anya wasn't sure if there was any saving himself. "Uh, regarding your question, no, I've never dated anyone or been kissed. Sorry to disappoint you."
"Huh. I thought for certain Anya-kun would be, like, some kind of heartthrob."
"Akatsuki, are we talking about the same me here? The me that can't sleep unless I pop some pills, the me that gets angry over every little thing, the me that terrifies half of the population just by looking at them?"
Akatsuki laughed. "At least you can own up to your faults!" His gaze softened ever so slightly just for a moment. "Not that your medical condition means there's anything wrong with you, though. Dummy."
Looking anywhere but Akatsuki, Anya scoffed. "Right."
Sensing Anya didn't want to talk about it anymore, Akatsuki returned to the original subject. "You must have at least had a crush on someone, right? Any girls at school you found pretty?"
A crush? Not until now, Anya's traitorous brain supplied. Besides, he had no romantic interest in girls whatsoever.
"Nope. Never dated anyone," Anya said. "And I'm sure you haven't either."
Akatsuki grinned. But rather than his usual grin, it was more cheeky and cunning. Anya doesn't like where this is going.
"You're right! Which is why I have an idea! Seeing how neither of us have ever kissed anyone, why don't we practice on each other?" Akatsuki sounded as if he'd just discovered a way to escape The 13th Avenue. Scratch that, as if he'd completed that dumb collection of Paca merch he has going. He was way too obsessed with that.
Anya blinked once, twice, three times. Had he heard him right? Eyeing Akatsuki from the corner of his eye, he managed a feeble, "What?"
"I mean, we're gonna be stuck here for ages anyway, and it's not like anyone else would be willing to do this. You're the best friend I've got, and if you don't wanna do this it's fine. I just thought it'd be fun considering how little there is to do around here. At least, without getting scolded by somebody," Akatsuki spoke fast, and if Anya looked close enough he would have spotted the hint of red on the tips of his ears. But Anya was too busy trying to process everything that was just said.
"You want to practice kissing... with me?" Anya said slowly. There was no way this was real. He'd just fallen asleep reading that manga and was now dreaming of something that would never ever happen.
Akatsuki nodded.
Anya buried his face in his hands.
"...sure." He muttered.
"Huh? Sorry, I couldn't hear you—"
"I said sure!" Anya raised his head, looking Akatsuki straight on. This proved to be a bad idea.
Anya knew his face must be some shade of red by now. He'd always burnt easily, so things like embarrassment and anger showed easily on him. So at the sight of Akatsuki's face, and the thought of his lips on his, Anya swore he almost fainted. But he'd slept last night, so slipping into unconsciousness seemed highly unlikely.
"Seriously?" Akatsuki smiled. How the hell was he not freaked out about this? He was always so calm, to the point where it freaked Anya out sometimes. The guy needs to show some more emotion, honestly.
"Yes. Don't make me say it again."
"Great!" A beat passed. "Um, do you wanna lead or shall I?"
"Dumbass! Just—" Anya shifted so he was closer to Akatsuki, giving up on caring about his complexion. "Put your hands on my cheeks or something."
Akatsuki complied, carefully raising his hands and resting them on either side of Anya's face. He tugged Anya towards him, stopping just as their noses brushed. "Like this?"
Anya swallowed down his fear and nodded once. "Yeah, that's fine." His voice came out as a whisper. They were so close now that Anya could feel Akatsuki's breath on his face.
"Can I kiss you?" Akatsuki murmured, like the dumbass he was.
Anya bit back a rude retort and breathed out a laugh. "What else are you gonna do?"
Akatsuki playfully pushed their foreheads together. Anya really couldn't believe this was happening. He didn't know what else to say. How is this real? Akatsuki, all smiles and cheers and love, is inches away, about to press his lips onto Anya's own? He must be dreaming.
"You're not dreaming."
Oh shit, did he say that out loud? "Akatsuki—"
Anya was abruptly cut off by Akatsuki closing the gap between them, lips brushing softly against Anya's own. It only lasted a second, but it felt like time had completely stopped.
Akatsuki drew back a little. "Was that okay?"
Anya tried to find the words, but he couldn't. So instead, he slipped his hand to the back of Akatsuki's neck and kissed him again, eyelids fluttering shut. It wasn't magical, no sparks flew, but it was amazing. Anya felt like his entire body was on fire; he loved every moment of it. Akatsuki's lips were impossibly soft. Anya drank in every second of it.
Akatsuki was the first to pull away, breathless but smiling for days. "Anya-kun, you're a really good kisser, y'know?"
"Don't say that just to flatter me. You only think that 'cuz you've never kissed anyone else. Go smooch someone else and get back to me." Anya joked, taking his hand back and placing it in his lap awkwardly.
Akatsuki was silent after that, ducking his head and withdrawing his own hands.
"Akatsuki? Something wrong?" Anya asked. "Hey, don't tell me you actually hated it-"
"I don't wanna kiss anyone else."
"...come again?"
"I only want to kiss you, Anya-kun!" Akatsuki half-shouted, eyes wide and honest. "I like you. Please go out with me." He even bowed his head.
Anya gaped at him. His heart had never sounded louder. "C'mon, drop the formalities," he said. "You really wanna go out with me?"
"Yes!" Akatsuki lifted his head, face furrowed in determination.
"I—" Anya inhaled and exhaled. "I like you too. Can I kiss you again? I mean— yes, I'll go out with you."
Akatsuki laughed loudly, falling forward onto Anya, trapping him beneath him. "You can kiss me whenever now, considering we're boyfriends."
"Boyfriends," Anya liked how it sounded on his tongue. "That's great. That's cool."
Akatsuki smiled again, before leaning down to steal Anya's lips in another sweet kiss. This was something Anya could get used to.
With a yawn, Himiko sat down at the dining table with her breakfast. Everyone other than Iride and Kudou was there, which seemed rather odd to Himiko. Of course, they always showed up together, but they were rarely ever the last ones up.
"Have you seen Iride and Kudou?" Karin took the seat opposite Himiko, face furrowed in confusion. "It's weird that they're not here yet."
"I was thinking the same thing. Do you think Kudou-san might have trouble waking up?" Himiko said, motherly side kicking in.
"That could be it." Karin agreed, idly playing with her food.
Himiko was worried. What if something had happened and Kudou wasn't waking up? She knew Iride would look after him well, but maybe she should go and check.
"Bakatsuki, don't do that here!" Kudou's loud voice sounded across the room, announcing his and Iride's arrival. Thank God, Himiko's worries were for nought.
She stood up, glancing over to where they'd entered. Strangely, Iride was practically hanging off of Kudou, whose face was tinted red.
"Why not? It's not like anyone else will care," Idide pleaded, tugging on Anya's arm.
"I will," Oshigiri spoke up from his spot on the couch without looking up where he was filing his nails.
"You don't even know what he's on about, you masked bastard!" Anya said, raising his voice.
Karin sighed. "Here they go again. It's too early for this."
"Well, whatever it is, I'm sure it's something we don't need to see."
"Oshigiri-kun, stop provoking him." Iride scolded. Oshigiri immediately flushed red and turned away, mumbling under his breath.
Himiko watched them with fond amusement. They were all such children. Just as she was about to sit down, she noticed something she was sure no one else had. Anya's fingers were laced with Iride's. With the way Iride was leaning his whole body on him, one wouldn't normally notice it. But Himiko was tuned to notice even the smallest changes in her loved one's behaviour, so it was no surprise she'd caught sight of it.
With a satisfied grin, Himiko sat back down and tucked into her food. It had taken them long enough.
"What's got you so happy all of a sudden?" Karin asked, still fiddling with her chopsticks.
Himiko simply smiled at her. "Nothing much. Now please eat your food, Karin-san."