Work Text:
Within the hours of a day already half-passed by, alone works the man who dreams of a world far more creative than the one he’s currently living in. A curse he’s unable to escape, he’s driven to create the world he wants to see. Take apart the old, create the new, and then hoard it as treasures, his replacement for friends for a long time in his short life. Nimble fingers weave together life through nuts and bolts, yet no matter how complicated the machinery, there’s just one thing that he can’t quite replicate―human touch.
That being, the sensation one gets from touching another person. No matter how many measures he’s gone through to create it, it continues to elude him. Synthetics like silicone and rubber are always too hard and stiff, and even compared to his cold, bony hands that receive little circulation within them, there’s a certain warmth that goes unaccounted for. The pulse that makes something feel alive. If he could create that, then maybe he could escape his loneliness forever. Maybe he could finally forget what being alone is like.
The buzz of a phone is ignored the first time, but after the fourth, Rui finally spares a glance towards the device. He’s receiving a call. The caller ID tells him the name of the individual calling him, though it’s a surprise to receive nonetheless. Why on earth is he getting a call from him now? Pausing his work at his bench, Rui trades a screwdriver for his smartphone, though somehow he feels as though it fits in his palm worse. In truth, he really only uses it for music and the occasional search, otherwise it’s gone painfully neglected. At least, before this year.
“Tsukasa-kun,” Rui greets rather than start off with the pleasantries of a “hello.” Whether or not it’s socially correct to, he wouldn’t know. Regardless, he doubts the person called hates the sound of his name. “What a pleasant surprise it is to receive a call from you. What can I do for you?”
“Rui—why do you sound like a customer service representative?” Tsukasa critiques with a groan. “I don’t need to ask any favors from you, so you don’t have to worry about doing anything for me. Rather, I’m calling to inquire about if you would like to join me somewhere.”
“Hm?” Rui raises a brow, and his hand that is slowly extending towards a wrench settles instead upon the wooden surface with a tap of his fingers. “Isn’t asking me to go somewhere with you the same as a favor?”
“What? No!” Tsukasa denies, though it’s soon heard how loudly he’s coughing. “It’s not the same at all! What I have planned is far more…” Tsukasa stops, and Rui wonders if they’ve disconnected. Before he pulls his phone away to check, however, Tsukasa starts to talk again. “Ah. I completely fouled up that delivery, of course you would think that. Let me start from the beginning, then. Rui, will you go on a date with me tonight?”
“Eh?”
Rui utters the phrase, but what is said next by Tsukasa is a blur in his mind. Something about how it’s time they started doing more couple-like things, as if they’re already in a relationship together. It’s true that they’ve kissed once—technically, twice, but did that mean anything in the long run?
“I understand you probably just want to take things slowly, since you haven’t mentioned anything since this past Monday, but still, I think since it’s finally the weekend, we ought to clarify things, or rather, make things ‘official,’ don’t you agree?”
He doesn’t get it. Why is Tsukasa taking something Rui said in the moment as an attempt to disillusion himself so seriously? Why does he think Rui wants this? Where did he get this idea from? It doesn’t make sense. It just doesn’t. He’s incapable of understanding just why Tsukasa would want to bring the two of them closer together. Isn’t he miserable enough just putting up with Rui’s directions? No one’s ever acted this way towards him before, so why Tsukasa? Why now?
“Rui? Rui, are you still there?”
Maybe he’s accidentally performed some sort of hypnotism on Tsukasa? Rui does have a lot of things in his workshop. Turning around, he can see the shelves full of creations, overflowing with the fruits of his labor. Nuts and bolts are meticulously crafted into simulations of life, given a soul by Rui’s own projection onto them. He does remember making a psychiatrist-like bot that held a hypnosis wheel, perhaps it flickered on in the conundrum of his fainting spell and caused Tsukasa to listen to any command given?
“Rui, did you faint again?! Hold on, I’ll be over soon, just stay on the line—Ah, if you’ve fainted, you don’t have a choice in that. No matter, I’ll stay on the line, tell me when you’ve woken up, if you can at least hear that!!”
The sound of a car honking its horn on the other side of the phone snaps Rui out of his thoughts, and he lets out a gasp as his imagination plays out the worst possible scenario. His heart rate won’t calm down, even as he hears Tsukasa shouting apologies with the wind blowing by. It seems Tsukasa didn’t hear him thanks to whatever happened. Gripping the edge of his workbench a little tighter, Rui closes his eyes. Whether or not he can trust his ears, he shouldn’t let Tsukasa get hurt just because he’s unable to comprehend this new direction.
“Tsukasa-kun, are you okay?” He asks, meaning it in more than one way.
“Oh, Rui!” The wind halts, and Tsukasa sounds relieved. “Thank goodness~ Rui, did you hear what I was saying? Surely you at least heard the first thing I said, though maybe you might have fainted after I said it like you almost did on Monday.”
“So that really did happen,” Rui murmurs.
“Yes, it did!” Tsukasa emphatically reiterates. “Goodness, Rui, you’re a strange man. You had the confidence to say something like that, and yet your reaction to it actually happening is akin to that of a school girl in the manga my sister likes. Are you alright now? We don’t have to go today if it’s going to be difficult for you—“
“No, I’m fine,” Rui reassures quicker than he could think through what he’s saying, but that’s probably for the best. Clenching his teeth, he then relaxes his jaw and stops his nails from scratching into the table, instead resting his palm flat against it. “I’d love to go on a date with you, Tsukasa-kun.”
“Ah—!” Tsukasa’s smile can be heard in his voice. Perhaps it isn’t bad to indulge in this fantasy as well, if it’s making the real Tsukasa happy. So long as that’s a possibility, then that should be all that matters, right? Rui lowers his gaze to the floor with a sense of finality. Yes…That should be the case. “That’s great! Then, is tonight too soon?”
“Whenever is earliest for you,” Rui answers. “Although, I still have to get dressed up, so take your time in getting here, please, Tsukasa-kun. Unless you were planning for us to have our first date in the hospital?”
“Ick, no,” Tsukasa gags and then sighs. “That’s a terrible place to visit. I promise I’ll avoid landing myself there, and hopefully that will provide you enough time to get ready. Ah, don’t worry about wearing anything fancy, just something that’s comfortable and easy to wear while also nice looking. I’m sure you know what I mean!”
Vaguely. Rui can put something like that together, probably. For as many robots as he hoards, he also has a terrible collection of clothing bursting out of his closet and onto an armchair that hasn’t been sat in for at least a decade. It’s not his fault his closet is too small, it was enough work convincing his family that having a whole room just to work in was necessary. In the long run, it’s saved them all a great deal of trouble, but he’s eventually going to need to throw some things away, isn’t he?
For now, he doesn’t want to think about that sort of future. It’s depressing, and reminds him of how cold those metal tins really are. Rather than focus on it, he’ll instead look forward to what’s being offered to him at this moment. Tsukasa...He’ll never know how much it means to Rui that he would offer his company the way he does. It’s almost funny.
“Mm, I’ll see you soon, Tsukasa-kun.” A farewell given and received, Rui pockets his phone into his sweats and takes the quick walk to his bedroom. It’s just as crowded as his workshop, with a few robots stored in here as well. Nothing that isn’t durable, however. They’re modeled after plush toys, though they’re nothing like the ones in the Sekai. They can’t move or act on their own. They look cute though, so they’re worth being loved in Rui’s eyes. The only one that has the most use out of it in recent days though is the one he made that has Tsukasa’s voice in it. A copy for Mizuki, and a copy for him. Both serve the purpose of making someone smile.
Walking towards his closet, it’s amazing how having such a collection can actually make it difficult to pick out what to wear. He should really think it through, considering he’s about to go for a special occasion, but since he only has a limited amount of time, Rui resorts to his usual method. Poking his hands through into the closet, he at least has it organized by types of clothes. Underwear, socks, pants, shirt, and hoodie are selected, and when Rui pulls them out, he’s not dissatisfied with what he’s got. He likes everything he has, after all, it’s a matter of matching them together.
Dark purple capris paired with a white base shirt patterned with overlapping triangles of various sizes of green, blue, and red that blended into different colors together. A yellow hoodie with a blue hood, and somehow, he managed to pull out a pair of yellow ankle socks that were the same shade. He also decides to brush back the left side of his hair with a daisy flower pin, hoping it and his white sneakers will tie the outfit together. For the most part, he looks like himself, and that’s what matters. All he needs to finish off his look is some purple eyeliner and mascara, and he's fit for the evening.
The front door swings open, and Rui steps out into the afternoon sun. It hasn’t quite yet fallen, but it’s no longer high in the sky. He has to wonder where Tsukasa is taking him at this time of day. Surely, if he’s asked for Rui to dress how he normally does, he knows there’s no way they’ll fit in at a fine dining establishment. Not to mention, he can’t see Tsukasa fitting in a place like that normally anyway. He’s so loud, he’d likely get them kicked out. That, or Rui himself would inevitably grow too curious about something and disturb the guests. They’ll have to find a place specialized in catering to oddballs.
“Rui!! Good evening, your prince has arrived!!!” Tsukasa’s loud voice stretches across the street, and as Rui looks around to see where he is, he’s not entirely surprised by the fact that he’s at the very end of the corner. He wonders if Nene heard him, although she’s probably deep in her game right now with headphones practically glued on.
“Good evening, Tsukasa-kun,” Rui waves, speaking at a normal volume out of the rare courtesy of his neighbors. Of course, he’s sure they’ll appreciate it. “Although since the sun is still out, should we really be greeting the night so early?”
“Ah, perhaps you’re right—“ Tsukasa approaches, and soon enough, he’s right here next to Rui’s side. Auburn eyes shine like gold, looking far more vibrant than the sun above. “If it were night, our time together would be short, wouldn’t it? Therefore, let us enjoy this most splendid afternoon together to our hearts’ content!”
As Tsukasa gives his glorious speech, he holds out his arm, elbow bent for Rui to link his own through. It’s an obvious position, theatrical and expectant of Tsukasa. Somehow, though, Rui has a hard time accepting that he’s the one Tsukasa ought to be holding it out for. Regardless, he takes it, letting their arms connect like rings. Tsukasa’s smile truly outshines the sun above, and soon the two are off to whatever destination Tsukasa has picked out for them.
~*~
“Hmm…An arcade, is it?” Rui’s eyes are drawn towards the electronic banner above the open entrance to the building they’re in front of, reading the array of advertisements for all the entertainment hidden away inside. “I didn’t peg you for a gamer, Tsukasa-kun.”
“Ahaha~ then perhaps today I will surprise you!” Tsukasa grins wide, chin pompously lifted. “I’m familiar with all the machines in this arcade. Be aware, however, that I won’t hold back in the slightest!”
~*~
“Ugh…” Tsukasa’s head reels forward, his forehead nearly colliding with the whip on his ice cream. “How…How did I lose every game to you? Every single one?”
Sitting outside the arcade, Tsukasa celebrates his monumental defeat by sinking himself into some cookies and cream with whipped cream and rainbow sprinkles. It's rather extravagant looking, the kind of consolation prize that makes the victor jealous. Well, perhaps Rui doesn't have too much to be jealous about, thanks to the large pegasus plushie that's sat next to him on the bench.
“Tsuaksa-kun, I finished calculating your maximum HP,” Rui announces, looking at the notes he’s written on his phone. “Based on your current level and stat distribution, your HP is 947.”
“What on Earth are you talking about…?” Tsukasa lifts his head, squints, and then grimaces. “You mean to tell me I’m not even over a thousand hits yet? Preposterous, not with what you put me through.”
“Mm, you’re right,” Rui hardens his brow as he presses his thumb down onto his phone screen. “I was using our time playing games together to measure your stats, since it was a prolonged period of time where it was just the two of us doing activities. Seeing your motor skills in action, I was able to take away a greater understanding of your physicality. You see, though you’re not lacking when it comes to physical strength, and you’re certainly able to take quite an astonishing number of hits, you react to those hits rather poorly within the moment, which suggests that your defense is lacking. You possibly have regenerative traits, which would explain why you’re able to bounce back after a couple of moments, but those are slow and difficult to use within the confines of a fast paced arcade game. If we could fine tune those elements, the possibilities of what we could create would be endless!”
“Do you have to make such a scarily serious face when saying all of that?” Tsukasa sighs, although out of the corner of Rui’s eye, he catches the corners of Tsukasa’s lips turning up. “At least tell me doing that was fun for you. I would have preferred it if you had fun playing games with me, though.”
“I did,” Rui reassures, dropping his phone and putting it away. “Especially since I wasn’t expecting this. Thank you for inviting me out, Tsukasa-kun.”
“Ah…” Tsukasa stares over at Rui for a moment before lifting his spoon, carrying a small scoop of ice cream covered in whip and carrying it over. “Of course, Rui. I hope we can do this again sometime! Now, accept this offering of my gratitude for joining me~”
Rui parts his lips and brushes back the long lock of his hair that falls across the left side of his face as he does so. Tsukasa pushes the spoon into his mouth, and as he closes down onto it, he can feel something soft and cold get lost on his upper lip. He focuses on the flavor of the ice cream instead, cookies and cream that’s rich and delicious, and lowers his eyelids without fully shutting them. A finger reaches forward and wipes off that which stained his mouth, and he lifts his eyes just enough to watch as Tsukasa sticks the coated fingertip in his own mouth. His cheeks are stained a scarlet color that only seems to grow past the tips of his ears as he realizes he’s been seen.
“Ah, there was just—“ Tsukasa retracts the now clean finger away and wipes it on his pants. “There was just a bit of whipped cream that got caught on you. That’s all.”
“I see,” Rui tilts his head. “Thank you, Tsukasa-kun.” Out of his peripheral vision, Rui’s attention is drawn to the storefront directly next to the arcade. As they're still in the mall with a few more hours in the night, Rui has ample time to examine and decide on what he would like to do next. “Tsukasa-kun, why don’t we get our photo taken?”
“Hm?” Tsukasa raises his chin, eyes darting over towards where Rui is looking. “Oh, you mean at the photo booths over there? Sure! That sounds fun!”
Tsukasa emphasizes his enthusiasm by finishing up his ice cream quickly, gobbling it down at an astonishing rate. He tosses the empty cup into the trash receptacle next to the bench and stands up, only to immediately keel over with hands on his forehead as he lets out what would be a blood curdling scream if he could make any noise at all.
“Oh dear, are you having a brain freeze?” Rui asks as he stands up next to Tsukasa, petting his head sympathetically. “That’s no good. We’re not running low on time, you know, you could have taken your time.”
“Ahh, right…” Tsukasa speaks slowly in a raspy voice, eventually able to lift himself once more. “Goodness, I really must stop making you worry about me.”
“Ehehe, you need not worry, Tsukasa-kun,” Rui ruffles Tsukasa’s head one last time before walking ahead. “Come, let’s go have more fun~”
The urging inspires a brightness to form in Tsuksasa’s sun colored eyes, and soon they’re heading to the photo booths together. Leaving their belongings with the front check in, they exchange for some coins and then are let in to take photos at whatever booth they desire. There’s a wide variety to choose from, enough so that Rui’s inspired to come up with a compromise—they use two of them. Tsukasa’s choice first, and it’s an entirely expected choice for him. Of course, that means Rui’s going to enjoy it as well.
“Go on ahead inside, Rui!” Tsukasa holds up the blue, red, and gold decorated flap entrance to the booth as he toils over the screen outside. “I’ll pick out the settings from here and join you posthaste.”
Rui affirmatively hums before obeying, stepping into the rather spacious photo booth. It’s all the way in the back of the storefront, so Rui’s surprised that Tsukasa knows about it at all. It’s possibly the only non-beauty focused photo booth here, so that’s likely the reason why. The blaring pop music playing throughout the booth is deafening, and it clashes heavily with the Medieval aesthetics plastered throughout. Stone brick patterned wallpaper, the screen above the camera displaying yellow English script in a gothic style font, and the occasional blaring of a brass horn announcing the countdown until the program is about to start.
“Hahaha!” Tsukasa jumps in at the last second, hands on his hips in triumph. The program starts, and the chipper voice of an idol speaks to them going over the basic protocol about how to use it. “I’ve chosen my favorite poses for this one! My sister and I come here quite often, so be prepared for my brilliant portrayal, director!!”
“Is that so?” Rui eyes the first pose and smirks. No wonder Tsukasa loves this booth. “I’m looking forward to it, Tsukasa-kun.”
“What?” Tsukasa’s voice, already loud on its own, is raised even higher than normal, and somehow pierces through the distortion of noise surrounding them. “I couldn’t hear you, Rui. It’s very loud here.”
“Mm, so it is,” Rui keeps his voice at the same volume. “The first pose is coming up, Tsukasa-kun.”
“What?” Tsukasa shouts again, staring with a furled brow as Rui steps back and raises out his hands in front of him as if he’s holding something. “Oh!!” Tsukasa manages to recognize it, and moving just before the camera flash can go off, he mimics the action with his own flare, one hand pulled back to wipe away imaginary sweat from his brow while one hand is held out closed in a fist. “Ha!! I told you my poses would be magnificent!!”
They really are. For the next one, Tsukasa lowers himself with a foot kicked out, hands in a claw shape pointed up at Rui, manifesting magic through finely angled fingertips. After, he rises back to his feet and extends out his hand towards Rui, one foot bent forward while the other brushes against the wall of the photo booth. Rui meets his hand, following Tsukasa’s lead although with the caveat that he has to bend forward more thanks to his height. Finally, for the last photo, they’re prompted to step forward closer to the camera for a waist up photo. It’s recommended in the photo to wrap their arms around each other’s shoulders, but thanks to their difference in height, they both settle for each other’s waists as they stand hip-to-hip.
“Wahaha~! Well, Rui, aren’t you dazzled by my genius posing?!” Tsukasa cups his chin in his index finger and thumb. “I’m sure you’re absolutely inspired right now!!”
“Mm…” Rui stops looking at their reflection in the digital display and instead down towards Tsukasa directly, the bright light from the screen causing his eyes to sparkly brilliantly. Though his expression may be smug, it’s an expression Rui’s grown incredibly fond of. In truth, he really does deserve to take such pride in himself. He’s made Rui’s day more fun than ever.
The countdown ticks away, and Rui can’t pull his eyes off of Tsukasa. Rather than rely on Rui for directions, he’s been the one in charge. Still, there’s something about this pose that feels incomplete. Rui knows what it’s missing, and doesn’t hesitate to act. Taking the hand on Tsukasa’s chin into his own, he’s reminded of its warmth. Just as the flash is about to go off, Rui brings Tsukasa’s curled fingers to his lips and kisses them, eyes shutting as he does.
Once the brightness of the flash dissipates, Rui opens his eyes to see Tsukasa staring up at him, cheeks burning red hot and lips agape. Rui lets go of Tsukasa’s waist, but Tsukasa squeezes Rui’s hand back before he can let go of it. Instead, their palms embrace, and they move on to the other side of the photo booth to edit their photos.
“Woah, these came out amazing…!” Tsukasa’s childlike glee as he takes his stylus to add effects is absolutely adorable. Instantly, he starts scribbling in lightning effects and adding action line filters, the photos on his side perfect for going all out with such things.
With the main effects added by the photo booth itself, Rui can see what was supposed to be going on in all of them. The first photo is a sword fight, Rui’s sword made larger by Tsukasa for his double-handed pose while Tsukasa’s given himself a single hand blade that’s lighter looking, accompanied by sparkles around his face. The second photo has magic powers emanating from their hands, and Tsukasa adds the bolts of lightning escaping them and converging in the middle. Of the two photos for Rui to edit, he follows Tsukasa’s lead from the magic hands photo and creates streaks of lightning that strike out in various directions from their joined grip. As for the last photo—
“Eurgh!” Tsukasa makes the strange grunt as he finally looks over to the far end of the photo lineup, seeing their last pose. “Was that really the face I was making…?”
“Mhm~'' It's quieter in this part of the photo booth thankfully, so Rui raises his voice properly this time. “It’s quite cute, don’t you think, Tsuaksa-kun?”
“Um, well, if you’re happy about it,” Tsukasa shrugs defeatedly. “I guess it does add some character to what would otherwise be a fairly normal pose, huh…Ah, the more I look at it, the more fine I grow. You really are a genius director, Rui!”
“Thank you, Tsukasa-kun,” Rui returns as he starts editing it, working against the clock. He’s not really sure what to add, the green screen background already a happy rainbow behind the two. Because of that, Rui decides to just spam it with heart stickers, as well as a few sparkles surrounding himself and a “chu” sound effect from the sight of the kiss. It’s incredibly cartoonish, but it’s adorably so, so he hopes it turns out well on print.
Photos saved to their apps, they head to the outside to wait for their photos to finally print out. Once they do, Tsukasa eagerly grabs them from the deposit and holds them out. His thumb covers up the last photo, but once it pulls away, the giddy expression on his face freezes as his cheeks are dyed a ruddy color. Sunset shaded eyes flick up towards Rui and stay locked on him as his jaw closes, though his lips remain curled up.
“It turned out really nice,” Tsukasa says after swallowing. “Your ability to fully realize your artistic vision is truly astounding to me, Rui.”
What does he say to sincere praise such as this? Rui isn’t too certain. Beyond that, the music compounding from all the various photo booths are making a mess of his cognitive functions, words failing him. Yet without needing to think through his actions, Rui knows at least one thing: he still wants to hold Tsukasa’s hand.
“Ah—” Tsukasa’s hand is held in Rui’s once more, and soon Rui’s leading him to the photo booth of his own choice. It’s further towards the middle rows, but there’s no line to get into it since it seems to be a niche choice for only those who are happiest. “Oh...Really? This one?”
“Yes,” Rui nods, holding up the flap as he inserts the coins into the machine. “Go on ahead, Tsukasa-kun. I’ll select our settings for this one.”
“Oh...Okay.” Tsukasa wears a small smile, his brow remaining furled in uncertainty, and his cheeks dyed a bright red. He steps through the flap, and Rui returns his attention to the screen.
Poses, filters, backgrounds, he selects all the last of the four provided. It’s only meant for two people, so no need to worry about that. Lastly, it asks if he would like to add an extra ten seconds to prepare for each photo for twice the cost. Rui shoves in the last of his coins, and then joins Tsukasa inside. When he steps in, he’s greeted with the sight of Tsukasa rubbing his hands in front of him, rubbing his fingers over the palms while the thumbs brush the backs. His smile has all but faded away, replaced with a lower lip bite and breathy hiss. Their eyes meet, and though Tsukasa moves his lips to feign another smile, Rui quickly captures Tsukasa’s cheeks in his hands. They’re soft, fitting right into the form of Rui’s palms, and warm too.
“Rui...” Tsukasa calls out his name, and though the music is loud in here as well, it’s easier to hear each other when they’re this close. Their noses touch, and the prompt for their first pose comes on the screen. A sunset shaded eye catches sight of it, and realization is acted through his raising brow. “Oh, this is a pose.”
It is. The option Rui picked out is for couples who aren’t afraid to express a little intimacy in their personal photos. Cheek holding, nose brushing, and the final pose is but a chaste kiss. It’s aggressively cheesy, sweepingly romantic to the point of farce. The kind of photo a girl in a manga would be shown tearing up to indicate a breakup. Though photos are a valuable way of remembering the past however, Rui’s not really all that interested in how they’ll turn out, or what he’ll do with them in the future. He just wants to live in the present, and do something that only Tsukasa would let him do.
“Rui, um...” Tsukasa reaches up with his own hands, and cups Rui’s cheeks in his fingers. He swallows, and the countdown starts. “I’m actually really happy that you—”
The flash goes off just as Rui leans in even further. A click can be heard, and then their mouths connect. It’s just a simple touch, the feeling of two pairs of lips coming together, yet it can never just be done once. Being the one to initiate this time brings about a strange feeling, or rather, a sense of control that Rui had previously given to Tsukasa. He’d thrown everything onto his actor, hadn’t he? The choice to kiss Rui was directed as an expectation, though the predicted result was the one Rui prepared for.
His assumption had been from the start a thorough rejection, nothing more nothing less. Yet Tsukasa chose to kiss him. More than that, Tsukasa chose to bring Rui out tonight, have fun, even go so far as to call it a date. He acted as a gentleman, but it’s clear that he doesn’t know where to go from there. Therefore, it’s up to the director to fulfill his role, and guide his actor well. His tongue presses at Tsukasa’s lips until they part open to receive him, and when they do, their tongues caress one another. The countdown nears one once more, and Rui raises an eyelid part way to glance down at Tsukasa. He shuts it just before the flash, and then moves his hands down.
His hands grab at Tsukasa’s waist, Tsukasa’s arms in turn spreading out and around Rui’s shoulder. Fingers slip from the nape of Rui’s neck into his hair, and their faces turn as the kiss deepens. Rui’s hands around Tsukasa’s waist fully wrap around, pulling Tsukasa further into an embrace as their chests touch. The fabric separating them is thick, thanks to Tsukasa’s penchant for layering and the wooly sweater he’s wearing, but even then, just this distance alone has Rui excited. Their lips continue to meld, and when Rui opens his eyes again after another flash, he can see that Tsukasa’s are shut tight.
Seconds pass, and then their lips fully part with the two breathing heavy. Rui can feel Tsukasa’s chest rising and falling against his own, and the heat of the other’s mouth hitting his dampened lips only makes him want more. Tsukasa’s eyes hardly open, and he doesn’t move from where he is. His eyelids start to fall, but before they can, Rui is reaching up and grabbing his hands.
“Come on, we need to get onto the other side,” Rui reminds gently as he pushes through the tent flap.
“What?” Tsukasa blinks, and though he’s pulled ahead, he doesn’t quite move his feet on his own until a moment after. “Oh...Oh!” Tsukasa, now standing in the editing room, looks down at the panel of screens, his face growing dark. “...Oh.”
“Ah, we had some saliva connecting our mouths on this last one,” Rui remarks as he attends to the last two taken photos. “I’m impressed that the camera managed to capture that. The rest of them came out well too, don’t you think, Tsukasa-kun?”
“What?” Tsukasa is frozen in place until Rui asks the question. Once set free, he moves slowly and picks up his side’s stylus, wriggling it with his wrist a few times before sharply inhaling with his reply. “I think they’re exactly to your vision, Rui. Um, I don’t really know how to decorate them though...”
“You can just follow my lead,” Rui hums, eyes focused on his work adding cat ears to both of them, along with whiskers and a few glittery heart stamps.
“Right, okay...” Tsukasa’s voice trails off, and after a moment, Rui can hear a second pen tapping away on the screen. Thanks to his payment upfront, there’s extra time here as well, so there’s less of a rush for both of them. The fact that Tsukasa might not have noticed that Rui paid for it at all though is a little amusing to him.
Exiting through the tent flap, their photos are at long last printed. Rui reaches down to pick them up, eyes on the photos he edited first. They came out well, thankfully. The last photo is the one where their lips had only just parted, and the real magic is in that dreamy, half-lidded post-kiss gaze they share. To the left of that photo is the one portraying the passion of their deep kiss, the two of them holding onto each other aggressively. Tsukasa’s fingers are digging into the base of Rui’s scalp, and he can still feel the scratching there just from looking at the photo. Next to those two are the ones Tsukasa edited, the first photo from just before Rui kissed him. Tsukasa’s eyes are wide, but by the second photo, they’re shut entirely, their hands in the process of moving with Tsukasa’s down by Rui’s neck.
“Hm?” Rui taps his finger on the second photo, a heart drawn below their heads with a cupid’s arrow piercing through. In the middle of it reads “T+R.”
“Ah...Haha, they did come out well,” Tsukasa leans his head against Rui’s shoulder, his hand settling around Rui’s waist and pulling him in. Rui has to stop himself from flinching, and he wonders why he even has to do that. “I, um, remember seeing that heart shape in a movie once, only it was carved on a tree. I hope you don’t think it’s excessive, considering it takes up a great deal of space in the photo.”
“No, not at all,” Rui shakes his head, and then leans it down until it’s resting atop Tsukasa’s. Somehow, he can’t stop smiling. “I love it, it’s my favorite one.”
“Is that so?” Regaining confidence in his voice, Tsukasa pinches Rui’s thin side and triumphantly clears his throat. “Then it was worth the effort then! More importantly...” As though all that preparation was for naught, Tsukasa’s voice trails off unexpectedly. Rui turns his head to see the other’s expression, but when he does, he’s greeted with the sight of Tsukasa staring back up at him. His mouth is closed, and his lips are curved up only slightly, but his eyes are sparkling as brilliantly as the starry sky. “Thank you for going out with me today, Rui.”
~*~
“Tsukasa-kun, is it alright if I stay over?”
“Eh? What? I mean, yes, absolutely!”
Sitting at a bus stop together, their hands are clenched tightly between them. Rui’s elongated fingers stretch out across the back of Tsukasa’s hand, while Tsukasa’s grip makes him wonder if he’ll lose what bloodflow he even has coming through to those capillaries. Regardless, he wouldn’t care. He’d lose a lot more for this kind of touch. The light above them is starkly bright, a sharp white that’s tinted blue, same with the rest of the street lighting around here. Tiredness evades them as a result, but Rui isn’t expecting to sleep regardless. He’s had too much fun to dream.
“Ah, yes, we would have to decide if one should walk home alone if we chose to go our separate ways tonight,” Tsukasa cups his chin and nods to himself. “It’s absolutely the safer bet to stick together. My family actually sent me a few texts to check in on me, so they’ll certainly want me to go to my home, but I’m positively sure they’ll be happy to see you! Saki especially was enchanted by some of those tricks you showed her last time she came to Phoenix Wonderland, so she’ll be delighted, I’m certain!”
“Ehe, I’m glad she could appreciate them,” Rui returns. Then, he rests his head against Tsukasa’s once again, finding just this amount of contact to be too comfortable. After a moment, he finally says the thing he wanted to say earlier, but couldn’t find the words to say. “I should be the one thanking you for taking me out tonight, Tsukasa-kun.”
“Rui...” Tsukasa turns his head slightly, then nuzzles his own head into the touch. “Hmph. When you asked me to kiss you the other day, I wasn’t sure where you were going with it. I thought it might have been a joke at first, but the moment you started talking...I don’t know. It surely wouldn’t hurt for us to kiss, especially if you’re asking. Then we did, and I wondered what would happen next. You didn’t ask for anything afterwards at all, so I wondered if you were perhaps just as unsure as me. So that’s why I feel more grateful to you. Since it was your bravery in asking me to do such a thing in the first place that I hoped we could pursue it.”
“Pursue ‘it’?” Rui repeats, feeling Tsukasa’s head turn. Rui does the same, and their foreheads connect. He can hear Tsukasa swallow.
“Yes, pursue what ‘this’ is right now,” Tsukasa clarifies. He takes a deep breath and squeezes Rui’s hand. It’s still so warm. “Boyfriends is the correct word, right?”
“Boyfriend...” Rui echoes the word, and it feels strange hearing his own voice say it, much less chew upon it in his mouth. He clenches his teeth, and then lets them go. “Mm, mhm~ that’s right, boyfriend is the word. We’re boyfriends.”
“We’re boyfriends,” Tsukasa mimics back, and they let out shy giggles that are a far cry from the boisterous laughs they share when playing on the stage. Still, they carry the same if not stronger sense of unity as then. “I never really thought of myself as the type of guy to get a boyfriend one day, but after having met you, it almost feels like a certainty we’d grow this close.”
“You really think so?” Rui’s cheeks start to hurt, his smile growing too wide for him to contain.
“Most certainly!” Tsukasa emphatically returns. “We make a perfect pairing on stage, why not in our everyday lives as well?”
Rui’s heart is racing so hard, he can’t help but laugh. That’s something special about Tsukasa that not many others can say they can do. Tsukasa makes him laugh. Hearty, boisterous laughs that hurt his chest and his stomach. He doesn’t even have to say anything that funny, just being himself is enough. Calming himself slightly, he digs his nails into the soft skin of the back of Tsukasa’s hand, and marvels at the differences between them. His eyes shut, and he wonders if this hazy dreaminess is that elusive emotional state known as bliss. If it is, he hopes he never has to come down.
“Tsukasa-kun, about our photos, I was thinking about something.”
“Yes? Go ahead! Were you thinking about where we should keep them?”
“There’s that, but also, I was thinking about the photo you put our initials on.”
“Ah, if you’d like to keep it to remind you of my intense passion for you, then by all means, it’s yours!”
“I would love to. However, I was also thinking that you should have listed them as ‘R+T’ instead.”
“What?! Why?”
“‘R’ comes before ‘T’ in the alphabet, for one.”
“You’re joking, right? That’s no good excuse—”
“As for the other reason, I think your behavior when I kissed you solidifies that your initial should be on the right.”
“Don’t give me that when you nearly fainted after I kissed you the first time...”
Before Rui needlessly points out the obviousness of his case, the bus arrives. Standing up, he keeps Tsukasa’s hand held steadfast in his own, and pulls him along as Tsukasa scrambles to pick up the plushie won from the arcade. The smile on Rui’s own face is still worryingly long. Thankfully, when looking back at the one in his grip, he can see an expression reflecting his own, accented in the color of a brilliant and warm star.