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Hakkai likes Mitsuya too much.
At least, that’s what Yuzuha thinks. And says. And tells other people way too often for Hakkai’s liking! There’s nothing wrong with a little admiration, right?
Hakkai finds himself staring at his standby screen, cheek resting on his fist with a smile he’s long past trying to hold back at the picture of Mitsuya’s profile. He just looks so cool when he’s serious!
“…—kai…. Hakkai…. Hakkai!” The last call of his name is emphasized with a whack to his head, making him drop his phone and yelp in surprise.
“Ow! Yuzuha!” he whines, mouth pulling into a frown as he rubs his head.
“Don’t ‘Yuzuha’ me when I was talking to you and you completely spaced out! What were you even looking a—“
But before Hakkai could even think to get his phone from where it had clattered across the table, his sister beats him to it and is face to face with his notorious wallpaper, again.
“…. Were you at least looking at a message from him?” She asks, exasperated and holding out his phone for him to take back.
He does so with burning cheeks and shoves it into his schoolbag, trying to avoid Yuzuha’s intense gaze. But it’s pretty hard when they’re sitting across from each other in a booth at McDonald’s.
“….. No.” He finally admits after a one-sided stare off. But instead of her usual scolding, Yuzuha sighs and rests her cheeks on her propped up hands, frown still present.
“You really do like him too much, huh?” There’s a silence that sits between them, Hakkai knows what she means this time, but doesn’t want to confront it. Unfortunately, it seems like the Shiba siblings aren’t on the same page.
“I think you should tell him. I’m pretty sure he likes you a lot too.”
If Hakkai wasn’t red enough before, he’s practically a tomato now. He shakes his head violently, how could she even suggest something like that?!
“N-no! I can’t!” and when he realizes they’ve both been attracting a few too many stares, he lowers his voice and looks down at his lap, shaking his head again. “… You said it yourself, there’s nothing wrong with a one-sided crush.” Then he lifts his head and offers Yuzuha a lopsided grin.
And Yuzuha has always had a soft spot for her baby brother, so she lets the matter drop, for now, with another sigh and smile.
“You big dummy.” she reaches across and lightly taps him on the head with her rolled up magazine. “At least…. I dunno, think about it a little, okay?”
“Okay.” he relents, finishing off his soda while Yuzuha gets back to the story she was telling him earlier, something about how Mika-chan and her girlfriend were having problems again…
————
And true to his word, Hakkai does think about the idea of Mitsuya possibly liking him back. In fact, it’s probably all he can think about whenever Mitsuya crosses his mind. Which is a lot.
This goes double for when he’s actually with Mitsuya. Like today.
“Taka-chan!” Hakkai calls, grinning and waving like Mitsuya hadn’t already spotted him from across the street.
“You look like on overgrown puppy.” Mitsuya calls as he pulls down his headphones to rest around his neck as he crosses the street to join Hakkai. The thing is though, Mitsuya looks just as happy to see Hakkai too.
He’s not jumping for joy or waving like a manic, but his eyes have an excited light to them and his pace is quick, with a corner of his mouth upturned in those small smiles he gives. But… They’re friends. Friends about to head to a new kebob place that just opened up. So why wouldn’t he be excited?
“Eh?! No I don’t!” There’s a bit of color painting Hakkai’s cheeks as he says this, now overly self-conscious thanks to his talk with Yuzuha last week.
Mitsuya just laughs before taking note of something and leaning down, hand grasping the fabric of Hakkai’s jacket.
“Oh? This is really cool!”
“Isn’t it?” Hakkai replies with a grin. “I got it when I went to Harujuku with my sister the other day.”
“If you ever get tired of it, send it my way.”
“I’ll give it to you as a birthday present! I’ll buy another one and then we’ll match!” Hakkai’s beaming all over again, giddy with the thought of him and Mitsuya having matching jackets and with having, essentially, the perfect present.
“Yeah….” Mitsuya’s smile becomes amused as he stands up straight again, fingers lacing behind his head. “That’d be embarrassing!” Hakkai’s about to protest, until he notes the light pink hue spread across Mitsuya’s face. Yuzuha’s words ring again in his mind and he laughs along instead of saying anything, it almost drowns out the thumping of his heart.
The kebab place turns out to be pretty good, if a little pricey. And the topic of Hakkai’s jacket doesn’t come up again until they’re about to say goodbye and part ways.
“Hold on a second!” Hakkai shoves his keys and phone into Mitsuya’s hand without explanation, and proceeds to unzip his jacket.
“Wh— Hakkai!” Mitsuya tries to protest, his sleepy eyes going wide and trying to get his vice captain to keep his jacket on despite his full hands.
“Nope! I told you it’s your birthday present!” He zips it back up before offering it out proudly to Mitsuya, who is definitely giving him his ‘you’re going overboard again but I guess I can’t stop you’ look. “Happy birthday!”
“Jeez… What am I gonna do with you?” He’s left with no choice but to take the jacket and hand Hakkai his things back. And if Hakkai was being hopeful, or delusional, he thinks that Mitsuya looks down at the jacket in his arms with fondness.
It makes Hakkai’s grip on his phone and keys tighten along with his heart. He probably just likes it a lot. Taka-chan’s really into fashion after all!
“Thank you, Hakkai.” He finally says, looking up and giving Hakkai a rare, wide smile. And Hakkai swears his heart is dangerously close to bursting right then. Mitsuya’s smiles were unfairly beautiful, and something he found himself chasing after again and again.
That smile was more than worth the chilly journey home. If he was being extra lovesick, he’d even say that he barely felt cold at all, feeling completely warm the entire way. And dare he say it was even worth the incredulous scolding he got from Yuzuha too. But after explaining himself, she begrudgingly agreed that it was a pretty good gift and that she’d come with him to get his replacement jacket.
What he didn’t appreciate, however, was her teasing as he went up to his room about how cute they’d look if they wore their jackets at the same time and how Mitsuya must be completely charmed by Hakkai’s smooth moves.
Hakkai dives right onto his bed, face buried in his pillow as he wills his face to cool down before he feels a vibration coming from his pocket.
It takes some awkward wriggling in this position, but he manages to fish his phone out.
[From: Taka-chan]: thanks again for the jacket
[From: Taka-chan]: it’s great
There really is something to be said about how such simple messages has Hakkai turning onto his back and hugging his pillow to his chest as he smiles stupidly at the small screen.
[To: Taka-chan]: You’re welcome!!!!!!
[To: Taka-chan]: I can’t wait to match with Taka-chan!! ^^
[From: Taka-chan]: embarrassing
——-
The next week, Yuzuha and Hakkai are back in Harajuku picking up another jacket. The bag it’s in feels like it’s pulsing in his hands, and he swings his arms with a little more enthusiasm. Now I get to match with Taka-chan!
Even Yuzuha’s teasing doesn’t do anything to dampen his mood! Not to say it didn’t have any effect, but he’s happy to ignore how his cheeks have gotten a little warmer.
They’re sitting in comfortable silence on the train ride back, with Yuzuha using his shoulder as a pillow while she “rests her eyes” and is absolutely not napping. And then Hakkai gets a text.
[From: Taka-chan]: [.img]
A picture from Mitsuya was rare, so Hakkai wastes no time in opening the message. His eyes go wide as he takes in the picture on his small screen.
It’s a selfie of Mitsuya with Draken and Pochi out on a walk. The intensity of Draken’s normally cool and neutral expression is dampened a little with the inclusion of such a cute dog, but what Hakkai focuses on is Mitsuya. Not the slight upturn of the corner of his mouth like he normally would have, but on what Mitsuya is wearing.
“….Isn’t that the jacket you gave him?”
“AH!” Hakkai jumps and nearly drops his phone when Yuzuha speaks, now clutching it to his chest while he whips his head around to look at her accusingly. “I thought you were sleeping!”
“I told you I was just resting my eyes.” She replies before sticking out her tongue. Then she points to his phone, a smile creeping onto her face. “Looks like he likes his gift, huh?”
A little more calm now, Hakkai looks at the picture again and grins brightly at it. He does. Maybe, just for today, for this train ride home, Hakkai will indulge in the idea that maybe Mitsuya really likes the jacket and the person who gave it to him.
[To: Taka-chan]: It looks perfect on you!!!!
[To: Taka-chan]: Tell Draken-kun and Pochi I said hi!
[To: Taka-chan]: [.img]
[To: Taka-chan]: I got mine today!!!
Hakkai expects another ‘embarrassing’ in reply, but he’s surprised yet again today.
[From: Taka-chan]: then we officially match
And it’s too much! It’s all too much and Hakkai swears his heart is about to leap out of his throat! But before he can delve any deeper into his current crisis, he’s reminded that he has an audience. A nosey, giggling audience with a look that’s way too smug.
Like some kind of blessing from the universe, they arrive at their stop at that very moment. So with a red face and his phone and shopping bag clenched tightly in his fists, Hakkai books it out of his seat and through the train’s doors.
“Hahahaha!” Yuzuha decides on a much more leisurely pace home, no need to get all sweaty and gross. Besides, her baby brother’s earned a little reprieve for now.
———-
“Is it that time of the month already?” Yuzuha asks, a smirk on her lips as she watches Hakkai remove their bathroom rug and toss it into the hallway, replacing it with a small stool.
“I told you yesterday!” Hakkai huffs, lower lip jutting out just a bit. His sister just laughs and leans against the doorway with her arms crossed. After a moment, her expression becomes softer, as does her tone.
“Have you thought about what I said?”
At first, it takes a few moments for the gears to turn and for Hakkai to have any idea of what she could be talking about. And when he does, his complexion turns cherry red and he occupies himself with needlessly fiddling around with the soap dispenser and his toothbrush, like they’re out of place.
“I… I have. But… What if I’m just seeing what I wanna see? Taka-chan is…” Hakkai’s hands curl into fists as they rest against the cool porcelain of the sink as his shoulders tense. Then they drop and he sighs, looking over at his sister with a half-hearted smile. “Taka-chan’s too important for me to lose.”
Just the thought of being rejected, of being treated any differently, of losing what they have now, it sends a pain sharply through Hakkai’s chest. He’d much rather nurse an aching heart over a broken one.
Sympathy crosses Yuzuha’s expression and she takes the few steps over to place a hand on Hakkai’s shoulder, giving it a light squeeze.
“You can be really stubborn when you want to be.” She sighs and goes up on her tiptoes to ruffle Hakkai’s fuzzy head while he yelps in protest. “Boys are pretty stupid. Mitsuya included. So what if he thinks you don’t like him? Even though you look at him like he’s the Sun or something?”
“Wh— I don’t do that!” But he just gets another aggressive head ruffle in response before she backs off at the sound of their doorbell ringing.
“You do. Try to remember that Mitsuya’s only a year older than you. Everyone’s extra stupid when they’re in love.”
“L-LOVE?!” But it’s too late, because Yuzuha’s already running to answer the door and let Mitsuya in and telling him how she’s coincidentally leaving to meet up with a friend now!
“BYE HAKKAI! BE SMART!”
Still reeling from his sister’s earlier accusation, Hakkai slaps his cheeks just as Mitsuya pokes his head into view.
“Hah? You okay?” He asks, lofting a brow as he sets down a plastic bag on the toilet seat before rolling up the black sleeves of his turtleneck.
“YEAH! Yeah! Just… Excited to get my touch up today.” And instead of embarrassing himself further, Hakkai takes a seat on the stool and is tall enough to face himself in the bathroom mirror.
From the looks of it, his face isn’t obviously red anymore. At least, it’s not obvious he was blushing anyway, as faint red handprints appear on his cheeks. He sighs in relief, and then smiles brightly when Mitsuya comes up behind him, leaning his arms on Hakkai’s shoulders, grinning right back.
“Is my number one customer ready?”
When they’re this close, it makes Hakkai’s heart skip a few beats. He leans back into Mitsuya without realizing it and his smile turns into something softer, more adoring. He was the boy that turned his entire world upside down after all, he owed him so much, and he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to pay him back.
“…. Hello?”
Hakkai blinks. Right. Not the time to be spacing out. He laughs and leans forward, clapping his hands together, which startles Mitsuya a little.
“Ready ready!”
Mitsuya gives him another small smile before reaching into his bag for the barber’s cape, gentle as he unfurls it to place around Hakkai, his fingertips brush against the other’s neck. And if Hakkai was really paying attention, when isn’t he when it comes to Mitsuya? He notes how his hands smooth the cape over his shoulders, lingering before giving his arms a quick squeeze. Hakkai gulps. That was nothing, right?
Because Mitsuya’s moving on like it was, going to get his razor pen and placing his left hand atop Hakkai’s head to keep him steady. How could Hakkai forget about this part? When he worked on the part closest to his temple, Mitsuya was also closer to Hakkai’s face, leaning in and with his brows slightly furrowed in concentration.
But then his expression breaks to meet Hakkai’s eyes in the mirror, he’s giving him a half smile.
“So you sure you don’t want anything different ri—”
“No!” It’s a little embarrassing how quickly Hakkai answers, but the thought of having anything other than the swirls Mitsuya designed just for him doesn’t sit right. “I’ll never want anything else.” He insists, hand coming up to touch the design, and accidentally, Mitsuya’s hand.
His reaction is immediate, with a burning on his face and all but smacking his hand back onto his lap. Though with the brief flicker his eyes did to look at Mitsuya before focusing downward, he could’ve sworn that he almost looked…. Flustered?
“Never huh? Your usual it is then.” But this time, Mitsuya’s left hand goes to hold Hakkai’s chin, and wide, indigo eyes meet calm, lilac ones. The latter of the two can only keep eye contact for a moment before flicking away, looking off to the side.
“It’s… Less awkward to keep my hand here. Without covering the design.” Hakkai can only nod silently, his deer-in-headlights expression still staring down Mitsuya’s reflection.
Whatever hesitation Mitsuya had before is gone, concentrating as he carefully retraces the design, cleaning up the lines and shaving down the hair that had started to grow back.
There’s a few quiet minutes between them as Mitsuya works, and eventually, Hakkai has his heart back under control. Not to say that he isn’t intently thinking about Mitsuya’s hand on his chin and how he’s never done that before.
In truth, it makes him a little antsy. Is it really to make the touch up easier? Or was he trying to tell Hakkai something?
If Hakkai were to indulge, he’d love to think that Mitsuya was trying to drop hints, to lead him gently to the conclusion of: I’m head over heels for you too. But isn’t that too selfish of him? To think, to want, to hope, that the hurricane of feelings he has for his captain is returned and with the same ferocity to boot?
Done with the first half, Mitsuya removes his hand and places it squarely on the side of Hakkai’s head, moving to work on the last half. This position is more familiar. And it allows Hakkai to peer back, to look at the real Mitsuya instead of his reflection.
Even with the view from the corner of his eye, Mitsuya looks so fucking cool. He holds back what he’s sure would be a dreamy sigh, and just smiles.
“Have you thought about doing something else with your hair, Taka-chan?” Mitsuya’s expression doesn’t change much, but he does breathe out a puff of laughter at Hakkai’s question.
“Mmm I’ve thought about growing it out once or twice. But that’d just get in the way, I think.”
Immediately, his eyes widen and sparkle. A long haired Taka-chan?!
“You’d look so handsome! N-not that you don’t now— I mean!” And it’s a good thing Mitsuya has an iron-grip on Hakkai’s head, or else he would’ve shot up out of the stool to go and hide. But like always, Mitsuya takes Hakkai’s words in stride, it’s part of what makes him so cool.
“Maybe sometime down the line then. I bet you could pull off long hair too. Might even make you more popular with girls too.” And then their eyes meet again in the mirror. Hakkai completely pales and stiffens at the very idea of more girls trying to talk to him. What a nightmare.
“Pffftahahaha!” Suddenly, Mitsuya’s leaning his head against Hakkai’s and clutching his stomach, shoulders shaking.
“Taka-chan! That’s not funny!” He whines, fully pouting as Mitsuya continues to laugh against him. But it’s so hard to stay mad at him when his laugh is the best sound in the universe and when they’re so close to each other that it’s nearly an embrace.
“You’re gonna have to be able to talk to girls eventually you know. What happens when you get a girlfriend?”
This time, the look Hakkai gives is almost pained. And it’s a good thing Mitsuya had good sense to move his razor away as Hakkai shakes his head almost violently.
“I don’t want a girlfriend!” Curiously, the expression that Mitsuya gives him is one of… Relief? Why would…? And then Yuzuha’s annoying words come back to mind. Is it really wrong to be selfish?
“I-I don’t want a boyfriend either!” Hakkai continues, his heartbeat nearly drowns out all other sound, but he finds himself soldiering on. If he stops now, who knows when he’ll get the courage to try again?
“Wh—? Uh… So you don’t want to date at all?” Mitsuya asks, using his free hand to scratch at his cheek while he looks in the mirror at Hakkai.
“I want Taka-chan.” Hakkai says with all the confidence he can muster, and thank god his voice didn’t waver. It’s a little easier to say something like this to someone’s reflection, but Hakkai’s long since decided to not be a coward anymore.
Suddenly, he spins on the stool to face a startled and red-faced Mitsuya and repeats himself, probably a little louder than necessary.
“I want Taka-chan!” And oh, how his face burns as he forces himself not to break eye contact with the older boy, as if they were in a stare down.
And he’s never seen Mitsuya look so stunned, mouth agape and cheeks blazing almost as much as his. And while this is a pretty picture he’s sure to admire after the fact, Hakkai is getting particularly antsy about his lack of response.
“IF!” He begins again, his nerves getting the best of him. “If you want me too…” What a lame finish to a confession…. If you could even call it one. By now Hakkai’s courage has started to deflate, and eyes flick downward, to the tiles, their socks, anything but Mitsuya’s face.
Until he hears that familiar and beautiful laugh.
“Hahahaha!” Hakkai’s about to protest, about to become teary eyed, and about to whine about how it’s really mean of him to laugh at him!
But then Mitsuya is giving him one of those smiles. Those large smiles that make his eyes squint a little, and make Hakkai feel like he’s at the center of the universe. That smile is coming closer and a hand is pulling him forward by the neck until their foreheads lightly thunk against each other.
“I do. I want you too, Hakkai.”
The relief that spreads through Hakkai is indescribable. His shoulders visibly drop and tears spring to his eyes as he looks up at Mitsuya, the happiest he’s sure he’s ever been.
He can both feel and hear as Mitsuya laughs, gently wiping away his tears and shaking his head.
“You big baby… Don’t cry.” But it’s said with such a gentleness that Hakkai wonders how he didn’t see Mitsuya’s feelings before. They stay like that for a little while longer, before another idea comes to mind. He’s already gone this far, hasn’t he?
“Taka-chan…..”
Mitsuya hums, continuing to wipe away stray tears.
“Can I kiss you?”
He feels Mitsuya freeze, and there’s a second that Hakkai wonders if it was too soon. But the next thing he knows, soft lips are pressing against his, and his mind goes blank. Oh. Mitsuya is kissing him. Mitsuya is kissing him.
It’s when that finally clicks that Hakkai seems to wake from his stupor and surge forward to return the kiss enthusiastically, hands coming up to pull Mitsuya even closer by his soft turtleneck.
As it turns out, Mitsuya’s the one to pull back, technically, since his laughter is what makes them stop.
“Hahaha! Wait wait, oh c’mon don’t give me that look!” He says, pulling at one of Hakkai’s cheeks until he starts smiling too. “Now lemme finish doing your hair.”
“When you’re done give me another kiss, okay?” Mitsuya’s very glad he hadn’t started shaving just yet, as Hakkai’s words make him freeze up before he exhales and shakes his head. One look into the mirror tells him all he needs to know.
It was said in complete sincerity, which almost makes it worse. And when Hakkai beams at him like that, how can he even think to be mad?
“You’re greedy.” It’s a clear yes that they both understand.
From there, it doesn’t take Mitsuya long to finish up and for the both of them to clean up the bathroom before Hakkai is suddenly hugging Mitsuya from behind, head resting on his shoulder.
“I really like you, Taka-chan…” He says, voice muffled.
A swell of adoration blooms in Mitsuya’s chest as he leans back and places his hands over Hakkai’s.
“I really like you too.”
Hakkai grins widely into Mitsuya’s turtleneck and gives him a little squeeze, ignoring the light protest about not crushing him to death.
Yuzuha’s going to have a field day with this, once she finds out. Not that Hakkai planned to hide anything from his sister, but even if he wanted to he thinks he’d probably do a pretty crappy job at it considering how over the moon he feels.
And once more, he finds himself grateful for his annoyingly persistent sister. She was right, he definitely liked Mitsuya too much. But now Hakkai knew that Mitsuya liked him just as much.