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It started earlier every year, Daisuke noticed. The red and pink, the chocolate adverts, the heart shaped everything… Normally, he could ignore it all, but this year was different. This year, for the first time since his first year of high school, he actually had a crush. Someone he wanted to spend valentine’s with.
If only he could tell him…
Shaking his head, he grabbed the snacks he’d come out for and headed to the counter. Best not to keep Ken waiting. Bag in hand, he made his way back to Ken’s place, stopping to snap a quick selfie on the way. He posted it to Instagram while he waited for the light to change at a crossing.
On my way to a sick hangout sesh with my bestie @Kaiser_Speedruns
A few emojis and the post was ready to upload. Hitting the post button, he looked up in time to see the crossing sign turn green and bounded across with a grin. Just a few more streets and he was at Ken’s apartment complex. He hit the intercom button for his place and bounced on the balls of his feet, rubbing his hands together absently - it had got colder than he expected. He was hoping it wouldn’t snow.
The intercom crackled to life. “Hello?"
“Yo, Ken, it’s Daisuke.”
“Hey, I’ll buzz you in now.”
The door lock clicked and Daisuke opened it with a cheery “ thank you~ ” before heading inside. He stepped into the lift and hit the button for Ken’s floor (he was relatively athletic, but not enough to climb eleven flights of stairs). As he stepped out, he passed one of Ken’s neighbours and greeted her with a smile.
She responded in kind. “Hello there, Motomiya-kun. It’s lovely to see you again. Visiting Ichijouji-kun?”
“Yep! Where’re you off to?”
“Just heading to the shop for a couple of things.”
“Alright, have a safe trip!”
“Thank you, dear.” She smiled and waved before heading towards the lift.
“How did you make friends with all of my neighbours?” Ken’s voice drew his attention and he saw his friend leaning against the doorframe to his apartment, arms folded across his chest with an amused expression.
“What can I say? I’m just that charming.”
Ken snorted and shook his head before beckoning Daisuke inside with a jerk of his head. Daisuke followed him inside and breathed a sigh of relief as the warm air hit his skin. As soon as his shoes and coat were off, he crossed the living room to put his hands up against the AC, relishing the tingling in his fingers as they warmed up.
Ken watched him with a raised eyebrow. “If you didn’t insist on wearing cargo shorts and vests all year round, you wouldn’t be this cold.”
“Shush you, it’s called my style.”
Ken barked a laugh. “‘Style’? Please, Daisuke, don’t make such silly jokes.” Daisuke flipped him off, which only made him laugh harder. Daisuke couldn’t help but smile, even as he felt a bittersweet pang in his chest. His laugh is so cute…
“When does your stream start?” he asked, mainly to distract himself from the ache in his chest.
Ken seemed to notice, frowning slightly. “You know when, we’re squad streaming.”
“Yeah but I forgot what time it is.” Raising one eyebrow, Ken pointed to the clock on his wall that read 10:55am. “Oh, right. Five minutes, then.”
“Yes, five minutes. That’s how long you left yourself to set up.”
Daisuke’s eyes widened. “Fuck!” Dropping the bag of goodies on the sofa, he hurried into Ken’s streaming room, ignoring Ken’s chuckles. Computer booted up, his fingers flew over the keyboard as he logged in, drumming his fingers on the desk as he waited for it to load. Once in, he frantically dragged the mouse to the game they would be playing while Ken waltzed in and dropped into his fancy gaming chair.
“You know we don’t have to start dead-on 11am, right?” He said, plastic rustling as he poked through the bag of snacks. “I’ll just sit in the ‘Just Chatting’ category for a bit while you finish setting up. Or even just leave my ‘Starting Soon’ screen up.”
“You said you’d be on at eleven, I’m not gonna be the one who makes you late.”
“But I will be on, just not playing the game immediately. Which is normal.” Daisuke just shook his head and Ken sighed. “Really, it’s fine-”
“Just start up already.”
There was a long silence before Ken’s chair squeaked, the clacking of his mechanical keyboard quickly following. The minutes ticked by in silence, the pair each working on setting up their streams.
Then, Ken spoke. “Hey everyone. We’re just finishing setup right now so let’s have a little chat. How has everyone been this week?” He went on to read aloud and respond to several responses, making little remarks while Daisuke’s game loaded up. “‘What are we doing today’? Great question! Da- Noods and I will be playing a co-op game together, just casually.”
Daisuke frowned. Ken never messed up his name once the cameras were on. Had their little disagreement (he hesitated to call it an argument) had that much of an effect on him? Had Daisuke upset him that much?
...Should he apologise? He probably should.
Before he could find the words, though, Ken was calling over. “You finished setting up yet?”
“...Yeah, all ready.” he replied. Judging by the short pause, he hadn’t been quite successful at sounding as cheerful as usual. Idiot, just put the damn mask on like always.
“Alright, once Noods is live, we can begin.” When Daisuke glanced over, he saw Ken’s smile was stiff. Turning back to his own screen, he squeezed his eyes shut. Stop fucking up, dammit! You said you would after the disowning. And you swore you wouldn’t hurt him. He was so absorbed in his lamenting that he didn’t notice Ken approaching, jumping when he felt a hand on his shoulder. “Hey…” Ken’s voice was concerned. “It really is fine, you know. Timing issues happen all the time.”
“Yeah, but this one’s my fault. I’m the one who made you late today.” His voice was tighter than he’d expected. He couldn’t bring himself to look at Ken.
“...There’s more to this than you’re telling me, isn’t there?” It was more a statement than a question. Daisuke bit his lip hard. Don’t say anything… “You know you can talk to me about anything, right? I- You’re my best friend. I’m here for you.”
“Right. My best friend.” It came out more bitterly than he’d intended. Dammit, Daisuke, don’t fuck this up! “I know that, and I appreciate it. I just… I hate being the one who caused you and your viewers trouble.” His eyes stung, throat tight around the half-truth.
Ken was quiet for a long time. “You’re hiding something. Just being late wouldn’t make you this upset.”
Shit. “I guess I’m just extra annoyed today.”
“Why?”
May as well be open about it. Ken could read him like a book. “Saw some Valentine’s Day stuff in the store.”
A pause. “And that made you frustrated?” Daisuke nodded. “...You like someone?”
Damn, he was sharp. “Yeah,” he huffed, slumping back in his chair and rubbing at his eyes, “and I can’t muster up the guts to confess.”
“Is there any way I can help?” Oh Ken, you’re so sweet…
“Uh, not really. Thanks for the offer, though.”
“Are you sure? Maybe we can brainstorm-”
“No, thank you.” he cut him off sharply.
“Why not? You’re being overly obtuse!” Ken snapped, irritation leaking into his voice. Daisuke glanced down at him and saw his brows were furrows, eyes sparking and lips thin. Definitely mad. “I’m trying to help you out, as your friend, because I don’t like seeing you hurting like this!”
“I know-”
“Then let me help!”
“You can’t!”
“Why not?!”
“How are you gonna help me fucking confess to you?!” Immediately, his mouth snapped shut and he slapped a hand over it, blood draining from his face. Ken gaped at him, blue eyes wide and swimming with shock. Shit shit SHIT-- “Forget it,” he said quickly, standing up and turning to leave. “Good luck with the stream today.”
Ken suddenly snapped out of it. “Hey, wait-” But Daisuke was in the genkan, already had his shoes on, was pulling the door open, eyes stinging from the cold and the tears that began to fall. He didn’t even want to wait for the lift, rushing down the stairs and wiping his face.
He ran all the way to the train station, breathless from the sprint and his overwhelming emotions. Unable to go any further, he dropped into a crouch in a nearby alcove, trying desperately to stifle his sobs and hoping no concerned citizens would disturb him. How could he have fucked up that badly?! Now he’d probably lost the best friend he’d ever had over his stupid feelings that he was supposed to keep secret.
“Fuck Valentine’s day,” he thought bitterly, choking on another sob.
He barely registered the patter of feet nearby, just someone late for their train. They sounded close, though, so he curled up tighter and prayed that they wouldn’t see him, that the sound of the departing train would drown out his strangled breaths.
The sound of something heavy hitting the floor drew his attention and his curiosity overpowered his desire to hide. Lifting his head, his breath caught.
Ken knelt only a few meters away, doubled over and panting. His grip on his knees was so tight that Daisuke could see his white knuckles from his hiding place and his shoulders continued to shake no matter how long he sat there. When Daisuke saw the tears, though, he had to move, had to do something to make amends. What was he doing, running away like that? Ken probably thought they’d never see each other again.
Daisuke certainly had.
He quietly shuffled out of his alcove, knelt beside Ken. Hesitantly, he reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. Ken flinched, looking up, and a flurry of emotions flitted across his face before it crumpled and he lurched forward, throwing his arms around Daisuke’s shoulders with a sharp sob.
“What the fuck, Daisuke?!” he cried, body trembling with barely suppressed sobs. “Y-you can’t just spring something like that on m-me and then fucking run away!!!”
The tension slowly leaked from Daisuke’s shoulders and he slowly wrapped his arms around Ken. “I’m sorry,” he managed, barely a whisper, “I was so convinced I’d just ruined our friendship…”
Ken shook his head, face still mashed into Daisuke’s shoulder. “Even if I didn’t reciprocate, I wouldn’t give up this friendship for anything.”
Daisuke’s breath caught in his throat. “Even if you didn’t… you feel the same?”
Finally, Ken pried his face from Daisuke’s shoulder and cupped his face, smiling through his tears. “Yes. Of course I do, you… I don’t think it could’ve been anyone else.”
Daisuke was frozen, scared to breathe in case it broke the illusion. This wasn’t real, right? Ken pinched him hard and he yelped, swatting his hand away instinctively and pouting when Ken laughed. Oh, his laughter was so lovely…
The reality finally set in and he felt fresh tears well up and overflow. Ken gently wiped them away and Daisuke, uncaring of the situation and very public location they were in, leaned in and captured his lips in a kiss. Ken gasped, then hummed and pressed back, thumbs caressing Daisuke’s cheeks as their lips moved together.
The tone of the PA brought them back to themselves and they pulled apart. Ken ducked his head, lips and cheeks both flushed a pretty pink and Daisuke had to resist the urge to lean in and kiss him again. Instead, he stood and pulled Ken up with him.
“Y’know,” he started, “I’m not sure what I thought I was gonna do. I left my coat with my keys and wallet at your place in my rush to get outta there.” He laughed, Ken following suit. Daisuke looped their arms together and headed out of the train station, back towards Ken’s apartment. “It’s so cold! I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“You weren’t,” Ken said, shaking his head in amusement, “You were panicking. Understandably so.” He absently wiped his eye with his sleeve. “I shouldn’t have pushed so hard, shouldn’t have raised my voice like that. I just wanted to help, but I should’ve backed off as soon as you made it clear that you wanted space. I’m sorry.”
Smiling softly, he took Ken’s hand and tangled their fingers together, swinging their arms between them. “I guess it’s fine; I finally confessed, after all, even if it was in the heat of the moment.” He paused, a thought striking him. “So, uh… Do you wanna do anything for Valentine’s day?”
Ken blinked, then hummed thoughtfully. “I was planning to do a stream to hang out with all the other singles in my community. I didn’t announce anything though, so we can if you like.”
“Well, I would like to take you on a date. Maybe I’ll dust off my old chocolate-making skills for you.” He winked playfully, earning a giggle in return.
“I’d like that.”
“What kinda chocolate would you prefer?”
They spoke about chocolates and date locations the whole way back, squad stream long since forgotten. When they arrived back at the apartment, Ken’s neighbour seemed worried - they must've been a mess - and asked if everything was okay. The pair exchanged a glance and Daisuke beamed at her.
“Never better.”