Work Text:
Ryuu hurried up the stairs, taking two at a time, trying not to be late for lunch again. He had made a bet with Io that he’d be on time for at least three days that week. Beating Io out of money sounded like a fun challenge, especially since the other seemed so smug in his pre-determined victory. Ryuu was ready to shock and surprise him.
They had been a bit more flirty as of late, and Ryuu really liked it. It wasn’t something he wanted to discuss, wasn’t something he wanted to figure out or get into, but he was enjoying how playful and silly they were being with each other. The sly smiles Io would sneak him were amazing, as was the pale pink blush that would grace his cheeks when Ryuu would tease him. Those were sides of Io he hadn’t seen before, and he couldn’t lie to himself over the fact that seeing those new sides of him made him feel giddy - giddier than he did with his dates. He wanted to know what other reactions he could coax out of his friend. He wanted to know a lot of things, but he didn’t want to work for it, he just wanted to have it. Basically, he just wanted Io any way he could have him, no questions asked.
But that wasn’t something anybody could know. Maybe not even Io.
Ryuu made it to the club room door and found it ajar which worried him for a moment, but he didn’t hear Yumoto or Wombat yet, which instantly secured his victory for the day. He reached out to push the door open but stopped short when he heard Atsushi’s concerned voice raise in volume through the mostly closed door.
“Come on, Io. What’s wrong? You look really distressed lately.”
“It’s nothing, Kinugawa-senpai. Thank you for your concern, but really, I’m fine.”
Io didn’t sound fine, and it made Ryuu’s brow furrow in confusion. He stayed still in front of the door, afraid that if he barged in he might ruin any chance Atsushi had in getting his friend to talk about...well, whatever it was he seemed to have on his mind. Yet, that confused Ryuu even further; Io hadn’t seemed bothered by anything lately... At least, not with him. So what was Atsushi seeing that he hadn’t?
“It can’t be ‘nothing.’ You’ve been diving into your laptop more than usual, you don’t make eye contact with anyone. You seem... I don’t know, I guess lost in thought? Are you really okay?”
A pause. “I don’t know if I can talk about it with you.”
“Is it something you can talk about with Ryuu?”
The sound of his name perked Ryuu up, and he found himself smiling. Of course Io could talk to him. Io could always talk to him, about anything. They were best friends, had been for years. Okay, maybe there was something new getting mixed into their friendship as of late, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t confide in each other. They could lean on each other for anything, no matter what. Always had, always would, no matter --
“I can’t talk to him about it at all.”
Ryuu’s jaw dropped, breath getting stuck in his throat with an inhale. A hand quickly came up to cover his mouth to avoid letting his breathing or any squeaks of sound escape him and have him get caught eavesdropping. What was that supposed to mean? Why would Io say he couldn’t talk to him?
The sound of a chair getting dragged across the wooden floor of the room made Ryuu picture Atsushi dragging a chair beside Io to sit next to him, probably with the hope that being closer might provide more comfort. That’s what he would do with girls he was trying to talk to; he’d get closer to them.
“Is something going on between you two?” Atsushi pressed. “Are you guys fighting?”
“No, we’re not fighting.” Ryuu could hear a hint of a smile in Io’s voice as he answered, but that furthered his bewilderment. “It’s complicated.”
“That’s good though! I mean, isn’t it?” Atsushi replied with a nervous chuckle. “You’re both good friends.”
“Are we? I don’t really know what we are anymore.”
The smile was out of Io’s voice and in its wake was...sadness? Regret? Ryuu couldn’t make it out.
“We’re simple to figure out, for the most part, Kinugawa-senpai,” Io continued. “He’s more open socially, I stick to a few close friends. He’s brash and stubborn and out there, I keep to myself and collect my thoughts before acting upon anything. He’s always filling up his schedule with social events and outings, dates, and other things of the like. I’m working on finance and jobs and other pressing needs. I’ll openly admit I don’t have much of a social life. We’re the complete opposite of each other, but have always been puzzle pieces that fit together perfectly.”
“Um,” Atsushi paused, collecting his thoughts. “I’m not seeing a problem with what you’ve said. If you guys fit together, what’s going on that’s stressing you out?”
“After time, puzzle pieces don’t fit together so well anymore,” Io replied. He closed his laptop and pushed it further up on the table so he could clasp his hands together on the tabletop. “They wear, and can lose their shape. They don’t fit together as perfectly.”
“Io...”
“I know what I want. Ryuu has no idea.”
“I... I think I already know the answer to this, but I want to hear it from you.” Atsushi’s voice was firm. “What is it you want?”
“I’m in love with him, Kinugawa-senpai. Lately, we’ve been more flirtatious with each other, and a little more touchy-feely, and just closer in so many ways that I just can’t handle because I know Ryuu can never give me what I want. To have it dangled in front of me like that knowing I’ll never have the outcome I’m looking for is like putting money into a stock that you know won’t make it passed the first quarter. It’s pointless.”
Ryuu flinched. He hadn’t had time to process Io’s confession before he felt like he had been punched in the face. He felt as though someone had punched him hard in the face, then punched him harder in the chest and right through his body to grab at his heart and squeeze it so hard it hurt. So that’s what those guys in Mortal Kombat feel like.
“Wait, hold on a second! Aren’t you jumping the gun? Why don’t you talk to him about it? You don’t know what he’s thinking.” Atsushi was hurrying through his words, trying his best to make Io backtrack and rethink his words and plan of action. Ryuu appreciated Atsushi’s attempts, but he knew Io. His mind was set.
“No... He couldn’t even have this conversation,” Io responded, and to his credit he sounded remorseful. “Ryuu’s stubborn and hard-headed. He’s very set in his ways and mindset. He doesn’t get attached, what makes me any different? He loves being popular, and I admit I can be envious of that about him at times. Being in a relationship would require ending all of that, and I don’t think he could. I don’t even think he could come to terms with liking someone of the same sex.”
“But you don’t know any of that unless you ask him,” Atsushi urged. “You need to talk to him. You’re basing everything you’re saying on what you know, but what if there’s a lot you don’t know? Even more, what if there’s a lot he doesn’t know?”
Io let out a long exhale. “He’s going to come in here and brag about his dates, and you know it. He probably has three planned for today alone. That doesn’t sound like I stand much of a chance, so I would rather not bother and not let my feelings continue to multiply. With how we’ve been lately, it’d hurt too much. It already is. I’d rather focus on my finances and forget all about it, but it’s easier said than done. So, I guess that’s why I look so stressed.”
Ryuu couldn’t hear Atsushi’s reply. If Io said anything further, he couldn’t hear that either; everything was too quiet to be heard above the loud hammering of his heartbeat that pounded away in his ears. But...he liked how things were going between himself and Io. No, they hadn’t really talked about what it was or what it meant, but he didn’t think they had to. Why did they always have to talk about everything? Why couldn’t they just enjoy it and proceed from there? And why did it have to boil down to sexuality? Couldn’t they just enjoy themselves and leave it at that?
Ryuu took a few steps back away from the door, his hands falling at his sides. He almost lost his grip on his bag but he tightened his hold, not wanting the sound of it falling being his give away that he was there. No, there was no way in hell he was going in there - not to the cold shoulder Io was inevitably going to give him, and not to the looks of anger or sympathy or whatever that Atsushi would give him. He couldn’t handle that. Ryuu didn’t want to deal with any of it.
And Io... how could he ever think any of that about him? Because you never talked to him about anything! A tiny voice in his mind reminded him, but Ryuu instantly brushed it away. They didn’t even say they were dating or going to, but the weight of Io’s rejection hurt more than he could express, and he didn’t even know why. There were hot tears stinging at the corners of his eyes that Ryuu tried his damnedest to blink away, and he was so focused on fighting his tears that he didn’t notice En had made it up the stairs and was gradually walking toward the door, eyeing him oddly.
“Are you just going to stand there or are you coming in too?” En asked offhandedly, turning around only when he didn’t get some sort of sassy retort in response. “Ryuu?” he questioned, but only gave him a few seconds before he shrugged and pushed his way into the club room, giving a brief wave to Io and Atsushi who glanced up at his arrival.
“You’re late, En-chan,” Atsushi commented with a grin.
“Not that late. Ryuu, Yumoto, and Wombat aren’t here yet,” En replied before sitting down in a chair at the table, stretching his legs out underneath the table as he let out a loud yawn. “Ah, right... Speaking of Ryuu, is there a reason he’s just standing outside the room looking like somebody slapped him?”
Atsushi and Io froze.
“W-wait, what?” Atsushi questioned, looking to En before his gaze returned to Io who looked frantic. “How long has he been there?”
En shrugged. “Couldn’t say. He was there when I got here, didn’t move when I spoke to him. Why are you freaking out, Atsushi? Didn’t he have a bet with Io? Isn’t he going to lose it standing out there?”
“Ryuu’s just...standing out there?” Io repeated slowly, pushing his chair back so he could stand on shaky legs, his conversation with Atsushi replaying in his mind with the fast-forward button held down. “No. No, he wasn’t supposed to...”
Before En could further question the awkward weirdness in the room, Io hurried to the door and grabbed the doorknob, pulling it wide open to see an empty hallway. There was no one there nor on the stairs, but when Io took a few steps outside of the room, he could hear the loud sounds of somebody running down the flights of stairs leading away from the club room and back to the main area of the school.
Suddenly, Atsushi’s advice and warnings seemed like things Io shouldn’t have so carelessly thrown away.