Work Text:
•••
"Hey, Hakuryuu," Judar rolls the other's name on his tongue carefully, approaching the topic with caution. "We're… dating right?"
Hakuryuu shifts a little and turns to look at him, eyes narrowed in concentration at the heavenly bowl of obligation chocolate that he's mixing. "…Right now?"
Judar fidgets at Hakuryuu's tone, sounding as though he just said that he actually supports the closeness between Kouen and Hakuei. Quite honestly, Judar doesn't really care about those two, but he's not stupid enough to voice that thought out loud to Hakuryuu, especially not right now when there are kitchenware, knives particularly, within easy reach.
A moment of uneasy silence passes and Hakuryuu sighs and sets the bowl down on the countertop, before twisting further so he can face Judar properly. Narrowed eyes look at Judar from head to toe, before slowly going back up.
Judar fidgets again, cheeks burning instinctively upon seeing Hakuryuu look at him this intensely – especially since he's currently bare-foot while wearing very loose pajamas, his favorite crop tee (eh, who cares, it's hot) is hidden by the 'kiss the cook' apron (that he bought with having Hakuryuu wear it in mind – he's not even 100% sure why he's the one wearing this actually) that has some splotches of cocoa on various places.
"…not now," Judar finally concedes, taking the hint that Hakuryuu's eyes are telling him about how they better not be on a date while being this sloppy. "…but generally?"
"…hmm," Hakuryuu eventually hums in consideration, before flashing that damn smile that makes Judar's toes tingle and his stomach burn with irritation about how so not cool it is to get wild butterflies in his gut from just one twist of the other's lips. Hakuryuu is the shy, silent nerdy student archetype here, he's not supposed to be all cool and handsome like that – not when Judar is still sleepy and not when he's not prepared for this kind of attack this early in the afternoon.
(Judar gets so distracted by that smile that it takes him two hours later until he realizes that Hakuryuu didn't answer his question.)
•••
"Hey, Hakuryuu," Judar calls out to other teen, jogging to catch up to him and panting slightly from the effort.
Hakuryuu looks at him indulgently, almost fondly, and the expression definitely doesn't make Judar's heart go crazy. He tries to calm himself down by thinking of all the times Hakuryuu had taunted his lack of stamina, but that word instead triggers his memory of scenarios where both of them are panting hard from exertion, but are still doing their best to keep quiet, because Hakuei and Kouen are just one wall away—
"—want, Judar?"
Judar blinks, then flashes Hakuryuu his trademark cocky grin. "Sorry, what?"
"I said," Hakuryuu repeats, looking too amused for his comfort, "that you looked handsome today."
"…Really?!"
"Of course not." Hakuryuu huffs with that indulgent smile still on his face. "I just asked you what you wanted since you were calling for me."
"Oh." Judar deflates, but he bounces back from that because this is typical Hakuryuu. Plus, just because that's not what he really said doesn't mean that that's not what he really thinks. And the world will probably end if Hakuryuu really said that, so yeah. "Well, I just wanted to walk back home with you today."
"…Oh. I can't. I have a… club meeting." Hakuryuu tenses for a moment, before it melts with a well-practiced gentle smile that Judar has a love-hate relationship with. Hakuryuu looks nice like that, but it's also so fake. Judar frowns as he thinks about why Hakuryuu would even lie to him right now. He doesn't think it's possible – Hakuryuu likes omitting things or denying things, but he doesn't do that with Judar. They've known each other for far too long for lying to be effective, so why would—
"—Judar?"
Judar blinks again. This time, he doesn't grin at Hakuryuu, still confused as to why this is happening.
"…I guess I'll see you tomorrow?" Judar finally manages to get out, watching Hakuryuu watch him. The fond indulgence is gone from Hakuryuu's face and is instead replaced with worry. Judar breathes in and holds it in, only releasing it when Hakuryuu finally waves goodbye at him.
(It's not until Kouha lets out a cry about how the day Judar fell finally arrived that he snaps out of it and pulls at one of Kouha's many braids in retaliation.)
•••
"Hey, Hakuryuu!" Judar yells to grab the other's attention, the weird confrontation earlier forgotten. While it's true that Hakuryuu has more or less declined his invitation to walk back home together, Judar figured that he's always been relentless when it comes to Hakuryuu, so this shouldn't be different.
(Though uninvited and unwanted, both Kouha and Kougyoku accompanied him for the first hour of his wait, talking very loudly about a various number of subjects. Kougyoku talked non-stop about how amazing Sinbad is, to which Judar had snipped about how the stupid idiot wasn't worth even half a compliment. Judar left those two behind when their stories that were supposed to cheer him up turned into exchanging beauty tips, because those two will remain ugly forever and no amount of shampoo could save them.)
Anyway, Judar finally spots Hakuryuu, who's walking towards the gate… … … with the rest of his club members.
Judar frowns, because instead of looking at them as a group of friends walking back home together, he remembers that time when Hakuryuu told him about the people he had previously been interested with. The brawny redhead and the idiot blond, respectively.
Judar's frown grows deeper.
He isn't worried about cheating or anything because Hakuryuu isn't like that – but are they even really dating?
It's not going to count as cheating if they're not even together.
But they are, right?
Judar confessed to him – like, possibly a hundred times before – and Hakuryuu finally answered him!
…true, his answer was only a beautiful smile followed by a fond "I know", but still! It was much better than his previous responses!
And he didn't protest when Judar kissed him!
And, and he even kissed Judar back!
Multiple times!
So they're really dating.
Right?!
(It's not until Sinbad and his snake-eyed lackey hits him with a book that he snaps out of it, glaring at the two of them for being so lovey-dovey when the rest of the world are having problems with their own life ugh.)
•••
"…Hey, Hakuryuu." Judar murmurs to the space between them, just enough for someone to sit in-between. It's unlikely, because classes have been dismissed almost two hours ago and there are only very few scattered students that are still stuck at after-school club activities on Valentine's Day. Judar has never joined any of the clubs, despite his teachers' unsubtle coaxing and his fans' pleading. He's content to just slack around, sleep in class and wait for Hakuryuu. Right now, the two of them are on the rooftop where Judar likes to pass time while waiting for Hakuryuu to finish his club activities.
"…Hm?"
"…We're dating, right?"
Judar shifts a little so he can watch Hakuryuu arrange his book bag now that the obligation chocolates have all been distributed. Judar easily sees the fact that there's no wrapped chocolate waiting for him, the supposed boyfriend. Judar's… fine with that, he doesn't even like chocolate anyway, he'd rather have tons of peach ice cream instead, he isn't envious of the stupid chibi or the stupid idiot or the idiot blond or any one of them.
Hakuryuu tenses, before looking up at him with a guarded expression. "Do you want to take it back then?"
…?!
"…Huh? What the hell are you talking about?" Judar blinks and blinks some more when he spies Hakuryuu's expression crumpling into something resembling his face whenever he's two seconds away from bawling like a drunken baby.
"Why do you keep on asking me?"
Hakuryuu's cheeks are pink, something that Judar rarely sees nowadays, because it seems that Hakuryuu has already been immune to his charms. After all, Kouha had always teased him about losing his edge ever since he started being more into following Hakuryuu around like an overgrown puppy. But now, it looks like Hakuryuu's back to months ago, when Judar had first confessed his feelings more seriously (quite honestly, it seems like Judar has started blurting various incarnations of 'I like you!' to Hakuryuu ever since they first met).
"I know that it's not like I'm really your type, but why ask me out in the first place if you're going to change your mind? Is that why you keep on asking? I know that I'm too nerdy and goody-goody for your image, but I tried to be more aloof like you but you still keep on asking me, you're so stupid, stupid, stupid!"
Judar swallows, unsure if where to start. He thinks it would be great if he can calm Hakuryuu down, because if he understands it correctly—
"…now you're asking me every day! If you want to b-b-b-b-break up with me—you're a stupid, ugly, dumbass idiot!"
"I don't want to break up with you!" Judar yells, wincing when Hakuryuu balls his hands into fists and start hitting him on his chest. He endures that and moves to hug Hakuryuu to him, the book bag falling down to the rooftop floor. "And I'm not ugly!"
"You're an idiot!"
"I don't want to break up with you!" Judar repeats, because they're both idiots, but he knows better than to point that out when Hakuryuu's this upset. The last time this happened was when they were ten, and when Judar made the mistake of saying the wrong thing, he earned himself some scratches on his stomach that really haven't faded completely as of present. "I keep telling you that I love you, remember?!"
"Then why do you keep asking me if we're dating!"
"Because you're acting all cold and quiet!"
"Because you said that you like someone who's your opposite!"
"Are you saying I'm loud?!"
"I AM, YOU STUPID JUDAR!"
Judar huffs, before bringing both himself and Hakuryuu nearer to the ledge. He keeps his hands around Hakuryuu, but he turns his head so that he's facing the sunset and the mostly-empty grounds below. Taking a deep breath, Judar tightens his hold around his stupid boyfriend, before yelling for the whole neighborhood to hear: "I'M SO FUCKING IN LOVE WITH THIS STUPID HAKURYUU!"
("Shut up, Judar-chan!" Someone shrieks from the windows below.)
"Do you believe me now?!" Judar then turns back to Hakuryuu, shaking him by his shoulders. "Even if you don't make chocolate for me, I still love you okay?!"
Hakuryuu blushes a deep red, the words being shoved into his face point-blank. After a few moments of tense breathing, he murmurs a reply that's almost swallowed by the sound of their pounding heartbeats. "I would never make chocolate for you."
"I give you a grand confession and that's your answer?!" Judar loves Hakuryuu, really, even when the other even went through that phase of downright ignoring him. But this is just too harsh.
"But you said that you'd hate someone forever if they gave you something as uncreative as a chocolate present! You're so full of shit!"
"H-H-Hey," Judar is a little overwhelmed by hearing Hakuryuu yell at him, as well as say something as impolite as shit. And holy shit, Judar is in so much trouble, because he thinks that this half-crying, half-shouting Hakuryuu is adorable. "I don't even remember—"
"You're really an idiot," Hakuryuu keeps on hitting him on his chest, though there's a lot less force now. Hakuryuu's eyes are shiny and very, very angry. "That's what you said to Kouha while you were insulting Maya-san's gift to you!"
While that does sound like something Judar has said, he still cannot understand this situation, which is a huge shame, because he's pretty sure that he understands Hakuryuu completely. "… who's Maka-san?"
"It's Maya-san," Hakuryuu corrects almost hysterically, "you can't even remember those who confessed to you, I can't believe you!"
"But they're not important," Judar protests, because he's never had the best memory and he doesn't really want to remember anybody else aside from Hakuryuu, if he has that choice.
"You're so—"
"—so in love with you?"
"Stop saying that, you're so embarrassing!"
Judar hides his grin by leaning in close and burying his head on Hakuryuu's hair, not caring if he has to step on his tiptoes to do this effectively. He hugs Hakuryuu tight again, shoving the other's face to his chest, feeling the other's shaky protests die down bit by bit. "I love you, Hakuryuu."
"Quit it!" Hakuryuu's cries are muffled, his words making warm vibrations against Judar's clothes.
"I love you~~~"
"Shut up."
(It's not until they're back at Hakuryuu's room, being fed the heavenly much-better-than-chocolate peach sorbet that Hakuryuu's been perfecting for the past few days during his 'club activities', that Judar realizes that Hakuryuu hasn't really answered his question properly. Instead of asking again, Judar just allows himself to be pampered by Hakuryuu and delights in the other's blush every time his lips brush against his hands. After all, he has realized that he really does understand Hakuryuu completely, even without those words.)
••• omake
Against all logic and good judgment, Hakuryuu ended up falling for that gaudy delinquent-slash-bully-slash-school-idol-slash-meanest-kid-ever. He knew it was very foolish to fall for someone who continuously clung to him and acted affectionate when they were alone, but also acted like a jerk when they were at school. Of course, it wasn't like Judar ever acted mean to him ever, but he had a huge reputation of being a jerkass who thrived in the middle of discord, while he earned the hatred and irritation of everyone.
Judar also was a lying liar who lied, because he kept on gushing about how he liked Hakuryuu so much – usually just before he hugged him then promptly fall asleep afterwards, almost as though Hakuryuu was just a convenient human pillow who wouldn't protest too much. Judar liked rubbing it into Hakuryuu's face that he could utter those words so easily and effortlessly, even if he didn't mean them that way at all.
So Judar was a big, stupid idiot and Hakuryuu was even bigger and stupider for falling for him despite knowing him for so many years, despite knowing better.
(His sister simply smiled at them whenever she saw them together, while his older brothers and even Kouen sometimes just shook their heads at him whenever they caught him looking at Judar like he truly was the brightest point in his life, despite his affinity for dark-colored things. Hakuryuu never bothered to learn what those reactions meant, because it was mortifying enough that they just knew how he felt just by looking at him. He hated how obvious he was, because it meant that even Judar knew, yet he didn't treat him differently from before.)
Anyway, Hakuryuu was stupid, but he was someone honest.
(He ignored the memory of his neighbor, Zagan, calling him stupidly honest, before pranking him.)
He was determined to confess his feelings, unwise as they might be.
So he prepared a letter and a gift. He knew Judar's schedule by heart – not just because he had… ugh, feelings for him – but also because the other relied on Hakuryuu to memorize it for him, whether or not they were on the same class. Judar usually liked to hang around and annoy him, but on Tuesdays, he usually spent his first fifteen minutes after classes hanging around Kougyoku's class to tease her very loudly about her crush on the student council president, Sinbad-san. Fifteen minutes was enough for Hakuryuu to sneak into Judar's shoe locker, and deposit his gift and his request to speak privately for a confession.
(He ignored the memory of his friends' suggestions about what made for a good gift, as well as what spot was good to use, because they only suggested food that they wanted him to make, as well as spots where they could be easily spied upon. He sometimes really hated his friends, who still supported him in his… feelings, despite being obviously wary of Judar. If only they were a little more forceful in stopping him—but he also remembered how their divine intervention on Hakuryuu's feelings only served to make Hakuryuu realize that there was no way out of his hell.)
Hakuryuu enclosed a small sphere of wrapped dark chocolate, as well as his letter (perfumed paper courtesy of Hakuei, calligraphy pen courtesy of Kouen and Koumei, materials for baking courtesy of Hakuyuu and gift wrapper from Hakuren—why do they even all know), and placed it on Judar's shoe locker.
Hakuryuu then sprinted to the rooftop, knowing that Judar was much slower than him. There was a chance that Judar wouldn't show up—no, he would, even if he probably didn't even know anyone named Maya-san (because that name was just something Hakuryuu made up), because he'd be curious to know about the person who dared stuff chocolate balls to his shoes.
Just as expected, Judar finally arrived after roughly ten minutes—only he wasn't alone.
"Ehhhh, but nobody's here? Did you really read it right, Judar?"
"Of course I did," Judar's voice sounded testy and it also sounded like he was tossing something to the air, then catching it, then tossing it back. Hakuryuu didn't dare look, hidden behind one of the walls. Of course, he didn't take into account that Judar would have someone tag along with him while they dealt with 'Maya-san'.
"But this chick didn't show up???"
"Nah, it's fine. I wouldn't want to meet anyone who thought chocolates made great gifts. I'll probably hate them forever anyway, so it's no biggie."
"Come ooooon, I tagged along because I was hoping to get more chocolates."
"You're such a pain, Kouha—"
Hakuryuu didn't even try to listen further, just stared into the space in front of him. Maybe he really should just went along with his original idea of peaches, but he always gave that to Judar…
"Oh, hey, Hakuryuu's here! I don't need you anymore, Kouha. You can go home, I have Hakuryuu with me here now. Hey, Hakuryuu, let's go home together!"
(It's not until a couple more months later that Hakuryuu will realize the reason why Judar had no interest whatsoever with anyone else. And he thinks that they're really such idiots, but that's fine, because at least they're being idiots together.)
••• end