Work Text:
The sky was littered with dozens of stars that night.
Banri could feel the cold air prick at his exposed cheeks as the wind blew his way. He found himself clinging on tightly to Hyodo’s waist, he didn’t want to end up falling off after all.
At first, he thought he was joking. A night out on his motorcycle? Where they would only be inches apart? Banri couldn’t even come up with a good response to the offer when Hyodo approached him about it. And now, here he was, his chest pressed up against Hyodo’s back, on his motorcycle… Banri could hardly believe that it wasn’t just another dream of his.
A low hum caught his attention, causing him to gulp in return, “Settsu, you know you don’t gotta superglue yourself to me, right?”
“Like hell I don’t!” He countered, his cheeks flushed red, and he thanked the gods that Hyodo couldn’t see it happen. “How do I know that this isn’t your secret plot to kill me!”
Hyodo couldn’t help but chuckle, causing Banri to loosen the grip of one of his arms to knock on his driver’s helmet, “Quit laughin’ and focus on the road asshole.” Fucking hell. He can't stand the bastard, and yet, he was the one he ended up falling for.
What a sick joke.
Especially when there’s no way he could like him back, it’s not like he holds back on his harsh words to combat the rush he feels whenever he’s with him. How could he like him when all they do is bicker and throw insults at each other? But… it’s moments like these where he thinks that maybe, just maybe, he could have a chance at something more. Is that selfish of him? Maybe so, but indulging in Hyodo’s laughter late at night, his cheek resting on his back while they ride together through dimly lit streets, makes him want to be selfish.
With his laughter dying down, he replied, “Don’t worry. We’re almost there.” His voice sounded strained, he probably wanted to keep laughing, what a prick.
“Almost where ?”
“There.”
“Where the fuck is there ?”
“If you keep askin’ questions I’ll just drop you off here. You can walk back alone.”
“Don’t say shit like that! There’s no way I’d let you!”
What Banri got in response was inaudible.
“What was that?”
He could feel Hyodo’s grip tighten, his back went stiff. “Nothin’! Just shut up ‘til we get there.”
Banri looked at the back of his head weirdly for a moment before rolling his eyes, “Fine. Whatever.” He decided to shrug it off. He didn't want to know what he was saying anyways.
“You’re pouting.”
“No I’m not! Stop talkin’ to me, I’m shutting up like you asked now.”
The rest of the ride was comfortably silent, save Banri’s occasional humming and Hyodo’s scattered incomprehensible muttering.
Some considerable time had passed by since someone had last spoken and Banri was starting to doze off, finding his thoughts start to drift away from him. That is, until he heard the engine of the motorcycle die down and finally come to a stop.
“...Mmph?” He stirred. “Here already?”
Hyodo startled as he put a foot down to place the kickstand, “Were ya falling asleep on me? You coulda lost your grip and flown off the damn bike!”
“You’d…” Banri broke into a yawn. “You’d like that wouldn’t ya? Me falling off and breakin’ my face ‘n whatnot.” He slurred slightly.
“Shut up and just lemme help you get off.”
As he felt Hyodo shift, he lifted his head up to watch him get off. Banri almost whined at the loss of heat he felt with him no longer on the bike. Almost.
He blinked a few times, eyes never leaving Hyodo’s form. Call him crazy, he for one, blames his sleep altered state of mind, but as he watched his long-time rival stretch and take off his helmet, leaving him with the most stupidly attractive helmet hair he’s ever seen, he felt his heart pace quicken and his mind blank out.
Holy. Fucking. Shit.
If he wasn’t staring before he was certainly staring now. For what could have been seconds or hours, Banri’s gaze would not, could not , stray away from Hyodo, not even for a moment.
“...su.”
“Huh?”
“Settsu! C’mon. Get your ass up and quit your gawking.” Banri mentally cursed himself out for being a total idiot, while Hyodo looked anywhere but his direction, with his hand out for him to take. After coming to his senses, he squinted at the boy in front of him and could swear on his life that it looked like he was blushing just as much as he was.
Banri cleared his throat and tried to level his voice, not trusting himself with keeping up his act at all, “In your dreams. You’re imagining things, Hyodo.” He remarked, albeit, rather weakly. Damnit.
He took Hyodo’s hand, reminding himself to not think about how they were technically holding hands, something they wouldn’t be caught dead doing in any other circumstance. Not that anything that has happened so far tonight was normal for them. In fact, it was far from it.
…What the hell had gotten into them?
One leg after the other, Banri got off of Hyodo’s bike. The second he tried to stand on his own, however, his legs gave out entirely instead. Next thing he knew, he was grabbing onto Hyodo’s arms as if his life depended on it.
Banri breathed out a sigh of relief, glad that his face hadn't met with the pavement, "Thank—"
He regretted looking up at all.
He was met with a red-faced Hyodo, causing his own face to start to heat up, suddenly feeling overwhelmed. He panicked, pushing himself up and off of him almost immediately, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets, and stomping away. To where exactly? Anywhere that was away from Hyodo.
“Where are we anyways?” He asked in feigned annoyance, trying to block out the quick beating of his heart in his ears. He kept eyes screwed shut in hopes that it would help calm him down as he continued walking. “You brought me here to fight or somethin’? So that the cops don’t show up when I beat your ass? Real classy of you, Hyodo, real cl- Oof. ”
His eyes flew open upon impact, quickly realizing that he had hit some sort of railing, and pretty damn hard too. He steadied himself by resting his hands on the cool metal as he took a real look at his surroundings.
Banri felt his voice quickly die in his throat. His eyes widened in awe. From the railing, he was looking over lush, green fields speckled with the bright colors of cosmos, that met the pitch black sky full of, well, the cosmos.
He felt a large, warm hand rest on his shoulder hesitantly, “Do…” The boy sucked a breath. “Do you like it?”
A wave of shock washed over him as he turned to look at Hyodo. His voice sounded timid. No, that’s not it. Expectant? Hopeful? No. ...Vulnerable. Hyodo was being vulnerable right now. Vulnerable… with him. His cheeks were dusted pink and yellow eyes held an emotion in them that he couldn’t quite make sense of, not yet.
“Yeah.” He suddenly heard himself say aloud without thinking. Why was he breathless all of a sudden? “Yeah I do.”
Hyodo smiled. He had never seen him smile this warmly before, especially not when it’s directed towards him. His smile could melt glaciers, it was a smile that could easily knock his walls down one by one. He watched as dimples formed on both sides of his cheeks, and it felt as if the air was punched right out of his gut. He was as breathtaking as the sight he had brought him to see.
“They’re cosmos.”
“I know."
“You love cosmos.”
“I know.”
“Settsu, I think I'm in love with you.”
“I know.” He froze. “Wait wh— ”
Before he could finish, Hyodo had caught Banri’s face in his hands. His head was tilted down so that his forehead could meet his, their faces were only inches apart, breaths intertwining. He finally understood what he had seen when he had first looked into Hyodo’s eyes, it was… love. He was in love with Banri. Holding his gaze once more, he could tell that he was looking at him as if he were holding the world in his hands. Banri was his world. Holy shit. He was his world.
They stayed there, staring at each other, experiencing millions upon millions of emotions and thoughts all at once.
Until finally, one of them decided to speak up.
“Can I kiss you?” Hyodo breathed out.
Even in his current position, and sudden realization, Banri couldn’t help but tease him, “Not a chance.”
The taller boy faltered, but it lasted only for a moment.
“I should be the one kissin’ you first.” He added slyly, his lips ghosting over his, like a challenge.
He caught the competitive glint in Hyodo’s eyes, but instead of replying, he immediately closed the already little space between them before Banri could even get another word in.
Banri could care less that he wasn’t the one to take the chance first. Hell, he kind of actually hoped that Hyodo would just leap like he did just now with that little push of his.
All he could focus on was the fact that he was kissing Juza. Fucking. Hyodo. His long-time rival. His roommate. His friend. His crush.
Eventually his hands had removed themselves from the railing and his fingers found themselves tangled in dark purple locks of hair. He had his back up against the railing and Hyodo held him firmly by the waist. When did that happen? He could’ve sworn he felt his warm, calloused hands on his cheeks just a moment ago.
Banri doesn’t know how long they stayed like that. What he did know was that what should have been hours of kissing was instead condensed into mere moments. Curse his need for air, curse his lungs, because before he knew it he tugged on Hyodo’s hair harshly, earning him a surprised grunt, disconnecting their lips, gasping for a breath of fresh air. He could hear Hyodo do the same.
His mind felt hazy as his chest heaved up and down. He studied Hyodo’s flushed face, which was only inches away from his swollen lips and wow, that was because of him.
He could’ve said something, anything , that would’ve taken his rival down a few pegs after that, however, his mouth decided to run off on its own. “Shit. You’re a damn good kisser Hyodo.” He said with a breathy chuckle.
Hyodo broke into a goofy smile, “You think?”
“Dunno. I’m not sayin’ it again.”
He pouted at that, and Banri felt a pang in his chest.
“Oh quit being such a baby.” He opted to say, his already red face feeling even warmer.
“If you really want me to,” Hyodo leaned forward, into Banri’s ear. “Then why don’t ya kiss me this time?”
He felt faint. But there’s no way in hell he was going to let Hyodo beat him in this little game of theirs. “Oh yeah? Or else what?” He challenged, twirling a strand of purple in between his deft fingers.
“Do you really wanna find out?”
Banri decided that he really, really didn’t. He preferred kissing Juza Hyodo instead.
He pulled him down, locking their lips together once more. They were in their own little world right now, only the cosmos serving as a witness as to what transpired between them that night. And Banri didn’t mind. Looks Hyodo sure didn’t either.
They could work out the details about their relationship later. All he wanted to do right now is indulge further in the boy he loved. So Banri did just that.
Izumi paced the living room, biting her thumb in worry.
"This isn't like them. It's getting late, I'm going to go out to look for them."
Sakyo held her by the shoulders, "They're adults. They can take care of themselves." He reasoned, although she could tell that his cold demeanor was just a front, he was probably just as worried as she was.
"Sakyo—"
"I'll kill them when they get back."
"That's a bit extreme don't you think?!" She exclaimed, slapping his arm in half-hearted offense. "Come on. We can go together."
"Go where?" A sudden voice asked, startling the couple.
In the darkness of the kitchen, where the voice had come from, Izumi could make out silver hair glistening in the moonlight. "Oh Azuma! It's you!"
They let out a melodic chuckle, "That it is, my dear." Which earned a glare from Sakyo. "Ah. Apologies Sakyo," Azuma waved their hand dismissively, as they had slipped onto one of the high chairs that accompanied the kitchen's island. "You know I wouldn't dream of pursuing a relationship with your fiancé, don't be such a stick in the mud.~"
Sakyo mumbled to himself begrudgingly, earning yet another jab at his arm from Izumi.
"I'm sorry about him, you know how he is." She told Azuma, in exasperation.
Azuma chuckled, "Not to worry, I think nothing of it. Now what's the matter? You both seem rather tense. Nothing a cuddle or two can't fix of course."
"Absolutely not."
"Sakyo! Ugh. DON'T listen to him." Izumi ran a hand through her hair, her patience wearing thin. She loves her fiancé dearly, but there were more pressing matters at hand at the moment. "It's just that... both Juza and Banri are missing. I know we don't necessarily have a curfew but it's getting really late and..."
"Oh them?"
Izumi perked up, "You know where they are?!"
"Didn't Juza tell you?" Azuma said with a playful smirk, hair falling in front of their face as they rested their head on their hand. "They won't be coming back for a while. Something about love confessions. You know how it is, young love stops for no one.~"
"Young... WHAT?" The couple replied in unison.
Izumi felt a headache coming on. Those two were going to get the scolding of their life once they get back, she only hopes that they can survive through Sakyo's attempt at murder.
Banri felt a chill go down his spine as he and Hyo— No. He and Juza were sitting on the railing, looking over the sea of cosmos.
"Did ya feel that?"
"Feel what?"
"I dunno! I felt something, y'know like, I don't know. Just something!" He threw his arms up in defeat.
Juza looked at him dumbly, "You're weird."
"Wow. You're so romantic." He said flatly.
The bastard had the audacity to look proud of himself. "I know."
"That wasn't a compliment."
"I know."
"I..." Banri reached over to hold Juza's hand in his. "I love you too, y'know. For the record 'n whatever. I didn't get the chance to say it back."
Juza smiled, his dimples showing just ever so slightly under the moonlight. A sight that will never get old to Banri, not in a million years.
"I know."