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It's a rare occurrence for Rei to get a moment of quiet.
With how noisy his roommates are (Eichi with his constant "business calls" that Rei's beginning to suspect are simply ploys for him to be as loud as humanly possible just to get back at him for pouring salt into his tea that one time and Aira with his… dancing. Rei doesn't quite understand what a Tick-tock is, but whatever floats his boat.), he hardly has any time to himself when he returns to their room. Today is one of the days, however, when he does have the room to himself, and so he's decided to spend it how any ordinary person would. Sleeping in, of course.
However, his plans are dashed to pieces when he hears a knock at the door, and then another one, and then another one after that. Whoever's at the door, It seems that they really want his attention.
Grumbling, he crawls out of bed, hair still tousled like a mop of overgrown brambles and eyeliner very much so smudged. Hopefully whoever's at the door doesn't mind too much.
"Yes, who is it?"
"Rei!"
As soon as he opens the door, it's as if a blinding light hits him directly in the face. This blinding light's name, of course, is Hibiki Wataru, and he's now wrapped himself around Rei's torso, barring him from even moving his arms in protest.
"Hibiki-kun, you're as… lively as ever, I see."
"Naturally! Meanwhile, you look like you crawled out of a crypt, and even more than usual. Did I wake you?"
He nods, drowsily blinking. Wataru, however, beams down at him with the force of a thousand rays of sunlight-- it's almost too overwhelming to look at him properly. Or, perhaps that's just Rei's… afflictions of the heart presenting themselves. It's been a while since he's felt the warmth of human skin, let alone Wataru's.
"Well, I'm truly sorry about that, dearest Rei." He untangles himself from Rei and, for a brief moment, Rei feels a pang of sadness upon being released. "You see, I was just wandering around the campus for a moment and, after recalling hearing from a certain unitmate of mine that you were still in your room, decided that I'd pay you an impromptu visit, one with completely no ulterior moti-"
"Hibiki-kun," Rei cuts him off. "What is it that you truly want from me?"
To this, Wataru simply grins mischievously.
"May I come in? There's a favor I have to ask of you."
Rei raises an eyebrow.
"You're one of my closest friends, you know. You don't have to ask permission, you're always welcome here."
With this, Wataru promptly makes himself at home, plopping himself down on the couch and beckoning to Rei to do the same. Rei runs his fingers through his matted hair, dragging his feet over to join his companion.
"Rei," Wataru calls out in that wonderful sing-song voice of his, the voice that sounds like dozens of multicolored chimes dancing in the wind. "You're slouching."
Rei grumbles. "I was attempting to catch up on my beauty sleep before you decided to pay me a visit."
"Yes, well, I promise to make it worth your time."
A small smile creeps across Rei's face, overriding his previous grumpiness.
"Spending time with Hibiki-kun is always worth it, no matter the circumstance."
"Oh, you old charmer, Rei." He giggles, another melodic sound, one that Rei finds himself once again entranced by.
"I wanted to ask you for some help pertaining to Dramatica's next project, seeing as you're an enthusiastic patron of ours."
It’s a known fact that Rei makes it a commitment to attend every show of theirs.
If he didn’t, he’d feel heavily ashamed of himself. Of course, Shu and Natsume are there as well, but that aside, any opportunity to see Wataru upon the stage once again is one he wouldn’t miss for the world.
Somehow, every time, he finds himself entranced by the way Wataru moves, the way he morphs and transforms himself into a beautifully crafted clay figure, molded into something new every time.
Rei supposes that’s always one of the things the two of them have in common— the ability to change at will.
“If it is Dramatica related, I happily offer my services. What sort of favor do you desire for me to provide?”
At this, Wataru’s lips curl upward slyly.
“It’s quite a daunting one. You can say no, I won’t hold it against you at all, but I do believe that you’re the only one who can help me with this. No other person in this world is more suited to this than you.”
Is it just Rei’s imagination, or is he closer than he was a few moments ago? Rei quietly gulps, the proximity between them a maddeningly small distance. The beating of his heart sounds like an entire orchestral percussion section blaring through his ears. Can Wataru hear it as well? Certainly it must be loud enough that he can, Rei thinks.
“Go on, then. Let me hear just what you wish for me to do.”
“Rei,” he takes one of his hands, sandwiching it between his own. “I’m in desperate need of a good old-fashioned bloodletting, and you’re the only one who can give it to me.”
Rei’s ears and face feel somewhat warm.
“Haah!?”
Goodness, it’s all happening so suddenly. Wataru knows that he vehemently refuses to drink the blood of any other living human, yes? Asking something like this, ohh... Rei feels dizzy. He wants to go back to sleep— yes, sleep will help him ignore the fact that this was ever brought up. Even so, he can’t help but stare... stare at that pristine arm of his like fragile porcelain, his hair draping over it in—
“...Pfft.”
That sound...?
“Pff... hahaha!”
Unable to contain himself anymore, Wataru bursts into laughter, the creases in his eyes displaying great amusement.
“Oh, I’m truly sorry, Rei,” he says, letting go of his hand to wipe the tears out of his eye with a handkerchief that he’s produced out of seemingly nowhere. “In truth, that’s not at all what I needed you for, though it is related. I was only messing with you, my dear friend.”
Oh.
So it was a joke.
Rei’s flustered face quickly molds itself into a scowl.
“You’re awful, Wataru.”
He giggles.
“Aww, I’m honored that you used my name. What, did I get your hopes up?”
Rei pinches the bridge of his nose in irritation.
“You know I dislike talk of such things, don’t you?”
“I do, but...” He rests his elbow on the armrest of the couch. “I need you to pretend, even just for a time. You see, our next production is a special one— however, I believe the perfect casting for the lead is someone not within our humble troupe at all.”
“Dracula,” Rei muses. “You wish for me to play the part of Dracula.”
Wataru’s face lights up with a certain gleam to it.
“Bingo.”
Rei’s bony fingers slide from his nose to his chin as he takes a moment to stare off into space, his mind pondering the thought thoroughly.
Yet, when he looks up to see Wataru’s expectant face, he can’t help but close his eyes and smile.
“Alright,” he says, “I’ll do it. You’ll need to coach me through it, though, because I’m not much of an actor.”
“Really, you will? Oh, how wonderful~ However, I believe you’re quite skilled in acting already, aren’t you? Rei. Fufu...”
He leans forward to brush a stray lock of hair out of Rei’s face and, once again, Rei finds himself being read like an open book, forever at the mercy of this beautiful creature who practically shares a soul with him, like two sides of the same coin.
“Alright, you got me,” he chuckles. “Wataru.”
Wataru hums, gazing at him with a deep fondness that could rival even the way he looks at his dear birds.
“Of course I did. You may be skilled at putting on an act, but nothing escapes the eyes of someone who knows the experience so well.” Those same eyes, soft and gentle as a field of lavender, hold a sort of silent understanding that Rei hasn’t felt from anyone else.
Ah.
Rei truly can’t help falling for him again, can he?
Abruptly, they’re interrupted by the jingle of a very familiar song— hold on a moment, that couldn’t be Death Game Holic, could it? Mortified, Rei turns toward the source of the jingle.
“Hellooo! This is your very own Hibiki Wataru speaking- oh, Shu? Good afternoon to you as well~” Wataru plucks his phone from his pocket, swiping across it to answer the call. “Yes, I’ll get him in for measurements later— I’ll be there in a few minutes. Yes, yes, see you there!”
Pressing the large red end call button, Wataru turns back to Rei.
“I must go now, but as a way of saying ‘thank you for agreeing to this’, I’d like to leave you with a... parting gift, of sorts.” He smiles mischievously.
Rei raises his eyebrow. “A parting gift?”
Before he can fully consider what Wataru might be referring to, his lips collide with something silky-soft, warm, and light as a feather, something he hasn’t tasted in ages.
Rei can’t imagine how long he would have stayed there, given the chance. So many things could be said— so many unspoken words given new life, and unspoken feelings as well— unfortunately, as fleeting as a traveling echo, so too does Wataru’s kiss end suddenly, and when he pulls away, Rei finds himself frozen in place like a deer in headlights, stunned.
“Wait,” he croaks. “You can’t just...”
Wataru, already halfway through the door, calls out to him.
“I’ll see you at rehearsal, Rei!~”
Fuck.